Cholestasis

First, I have to say that I'm absolutely laughing right now because of the ridiculous amount of crazy stuff that is happening to me this pregnancy.

Raise your hand if you are surprised I've developed a condition that happens in 1 out of every 1000 pregnancies.  Anyone...didn't think so.

I mentioned in my 30 week post that I had been itchy and told my doctor at my appointment today (more like cried to her and begged for mercy from the itching God's) thinking it was not related to my pregnancy at all but she might be able to give me something for relief.  Apparently, extreme itching in your 3rd trimester is actually something to do with your gallbladder and liver that I didn't really understand, but is pretty serious.  So she did some blood work and we will get the results back on Monday. You can read more about cholestasis here.

In the meantime my Rx: eat an apple a day (you only thought that would keep the doctor away), drink more water and lay in the pool.  Seriously.  Something about the sunlight helps my bile levels and whatnot (like jaundice in babies) and will initially make the itching worse, but will help soothe my skin more overall.  Right after my doctor appointment I had a fitting for nursing bras with a midwife and she gave me some homeopathic recipe of fruit juices to drink that she prescribes to her patients. Whatever works!

Off to the pool! :)

30 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Size of baby: head of cabbage

Gender: BOY...narrowed down to 2 names!! 

Weight gain: 16 pounds

Movement: he's been hanging out in my right ribs this week

Sleep: slept good last night but terrible most of the week.  I'm having a really hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. 

Symptoms: backache, cramps and itchy

Cravings: nothing sounds good anymore 
What I miss: I guess I miss not fluctuation between 100 different moods all day long...ready to feel like a real person again

Best moment this week: making it to 30 weeks! Dr. P will be so happy! 

Best husband moment/quote: we're finally making progress on Monkey's name! 
Belly-button watch: still holding out...stay strong! 
Notes: we've finally started making progress on the nursery!! 

Happy birthday, Mama!

Happy birthday to the most caring, thoughtful, dedicated, and thoughtful Mama!  Me, Matt, Cooper and Monkey love you so much! 

Happy birthday to you,

happy birthday to you,

happy birthday dear Mama, 

happy birthday to you! 

Emily and Ella visit

I've completely forgotten to blog about this, but Emily and Ella came to see me a few weeks ago!  I had not seen Ella since last June, and it was SO good to see the growing girl! And I am so thankful that Emily (even more pregnant than me!) was willing to drive all the way down to Katy with a 2 1/2 year old.  THANK YOU EMMY!

We had a great time just catching up, talking baby stuff, and we even went out to eat! Of course I didn't take any pictures except this one on my phone Saturday night, ugh!  I wish I would have been better and taken some pictures with Ella.

26 weeks and 30 weeks.  Can you tell who is having a boy and who is having a girl?!? ;)

We're hoping Emily can make it to my shower in a few weeks, and then the next time we see each other Baby Boy and Miss Eva will be meeting for the first time!  The future Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel!! Haha! 

April 22, 2012

Thinking of you today.

Papa's famous!

This afternoon Matt's grandfather rang the New York Stock Exchange closing bell!

His company, Midstates Petroleum, listed their IPO today and celebrated their first day of trading.  We are so proud of you, Papa (and family!)

I tried to watch live, but the storm came through at 2:59 and this is all I could get.

Thank you, rain and hail, for ruining the live feed.  Thank you, YouTube, for saving the day.  

Kelly's Korner

If you have some time today please visit Kelly's Korner blog and read the stories that have linked up with her Show Us Your Life series.  Today's topic is to link up parents who have lost children, which might not be a subject many want to think about, but I feel it's important to keep these angels memories alive.  I've shared my story before, but I just can't go back there today with my little boy moving around in my belly.  Sunday will be our angels first birthday, so this weekend will be hard enough for us.

Please pray for these families and the many more who are a part of this awful club.  The most important thing for us to do is to not ignore these sensitive topics and remember the baby, just as we would remember all the babies who are still alive.  Remember their due dates and birthdays.  Speak their names.  Tell their parents how you think of their babies, even if it needs to be in email or text.  Our angles might not be with us on Earth, but their memory is always alive.

29 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: butternut squash

Gender: BOY!!!

Weight gain: 16 pounds

Movement: all the time, all over the place

Sleep: I'm having good nights and bad nights.  Still sleep the best after Matt goes to work in the mornings. 

Symptoms: back still hurts most days, no heartburn lately (knock on wood)

Cravings: no real cravings but insanely thirsty all day 
What I miss: dancing! 

Best moment this week: nothing memorable this week, but I am glad to be in my third trimester...every week counts! 

Best husband moment/quote: listening Matt talk about football season and telling me all the things during the game I need to be teaching to Monkey
Belly-button watch: right side is starting to poke out a little, I think it's time to say goodbye
Notes: I've reached the tired/uncomfortable phase.  Thank God I'm on bed rest because there is no way I would make it through a day of work right now.  

Boston Marathon

Go Kendall!!

Our cousin, Kendall, ran in the Boston Marathon yesterday and finished in 4 hours, 32 minutes!  We are so proud of you, K!!!  Wish we could have been there with you but we were cheering you on from Katy.  I was planning on going to Boston with the fam before bed rest 2012 kicked in. I followed her online and watched while they aired the first 3 hours this morning (Cooper was cheering too!)

Kendall ran for UT in college (we love her anyway!) and qualified for the BM last year during the Houston Marathon.  

We're so proud of you, Kendall! Hopefully you are resting today and enjoying some delicious Boston food, yum! 

Big girl

When did this:

Turn into this?!?

Where did baby girl go? She's like a little teenager now!

The Name Game

Okay people, we need some help over here.  It's been 12 weeks since we found out our little one is a boy and we just CANNOT seem to find a name we like/agree on.  I thought this would be easier, but naming our child has proven to be very difficult for us.

I think the fact that we call him "Monkey" all the time hasn't helped.  We have made a conscience effort the past 2 weeks to not call him Monkey and practice saying our favorite names to see what sounds the best and feels most natural.  We still haven't found THE name, but we have narrowed our list.

Here's our criteria:

• obviously can't be a name of a family member or friends' baby
• I would prefer a name that is two syllables, it's not a deal-breaker
• nothing that ends in the letter 's'
• spelled like it sounds
• not too common but not too weird
• Matt would prefer something that can be shortened (Matthew/Matt)

Alright, so here's what we have so far.  Let me know your thoughts!

Carter Ryan

• my maiden name + his middle name
• special since it has meaning
• can't be shortened
• not Matt's favorite

Jackson Ryan

• we both LOVE Jackson
• Matt wants to nickname him Jack Mac, which I think is just precious and the perfect little football name
• pretty popular name
• worried that Jack McDaniel is WAY too close to Jack Daniels
• also worried that Monkey would feel the need to drink excessive amounts of JD while in college to "live up to his name"

Michael _______

• haven't decided on the perfect middle name to go with this one yet
• Matt has a cousin named Michael already
• cute since we could call him Michael, Mike, Mikey
• Matt likes the alliteration of Michael McDaniel

William Matthew or William Michael

• Matt's mom's maiden name, so it has meaning
• William, Will, Bill, Billy...all very basic names, which we like
• it doesn't sound "right" when we say it
• Matt HATES Bill and Billy and wants to scrap the name for fear that someone would call him Bill one day

Other names on the list: Tanner, Luke and Andrew.  And accepting all other recommendations!

Going to the chapel!

I'm so excited I want to scream from the rooftops...SARA AND RANDY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!

Sara called us about 9:30 last night with the BIG news and we immediately ran over to her house to celebrate!  Randy had taken Sara to dinner at Taste of Texas (yum! I think I have a new craving!) and when they came home there were rose petals everywhere.

And he had the most GORGEOUS ring made for Sara.  Seriously, this thing is GORG!!!

Cooper and Sophie were really excited too! 

Randy and Sara,

We are SO stinking excited for y'all to start this chapter in your story.  The biggest congratulations go out to two of the BEST people we know and we are beyond THRILLED to have Randy join our family.  May God bless the two of you during your engagement and marriage. Love you both!   

28 Weeks: 3rd Trimester!!!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 28 weeks

Size of baby: Chinese cabbage...3 pounds on his ultrasound today

Gender: BOY!!!

Maternity Clothes: yup, even my pj's are getting tight

Weight gain: 15 pounds...thank you, Easter candy

Movement: mostly on my left side where his feet are. U/S tech said he was head down today.

Sleep: I'm having good nights and bad nights.  Still sleep the best after Matt goes to work in the mornings. 

Symptoms: backache, oh my poor back! And leg cramps at night.

Cravings: anything sweet, still can't stand the idea of Mexican food
What I miss: not much, I guess being comfortable when I am sitting.  But I'm so excited about this little one I don't even care! 

Best moment this week: tie between seeing Monkey dance around at my ultrasound today and seeing Matt's face at childbirth class Monday night.  Should have taken a picture.  

Best husband moment/quote: Before class on Monday night, "I swear if I watch another lady giving birth tonight I'm walking out that door and never coming back"
Belly-button watch: hanging on by a thread
Notes: Slammed my belly in the car door today on the way to my appointment.  It hurt so bad and I was so worried about Monkey but he was happy as a clam (and healthy!) on the ultrasound, praise God!    

Labor and Delivery- Take 3

Don't panic...I went there in my dreams a few nights ago, lol!

I've been having CrAzY dreams lately (like last night when I dreamt my belly was clear and we could talk with Monkey and he would talk back to us) but I think my dream about L&D has been the weirdest.

In my dream my water broke so we drove to L&D at Methodist.  For some reason in the middle of the night there were a ton of people in labor so they put us all in a big room to hang out together and we all got a hospital gown and an IV.  I put my IV in myself and helped a few of the other women with theirs, lol.  Although, at this point I'm pretty sure if I needed to I really could put my own IV in.  There weren't any beds for us so we all just sat around in chairs in a circle.

We hung out in L&D for a few hours (I apparently wasn't in any sort of pain) just chatting and playing card games with the other couples there.  We didn't have any nurses come to check on us at any point but I guess we were all okay!

A few hours later I got hungry so I went and told the nurses I was going to Whataburger and asked if they wanted me to bring them anything?  I took their orders and drove myself, IV and all, to Whataburger and got all of our food.  When I got back and started to eat I mentioned to my nurse that I was still in my second trimester and it was too early for my baby she wouldn't let me eat my food.  She immediately freaked out and said we needed to delivery Monkey NOW.  So she reached up, pulled Monkey out, handed him to me and said I could now eat my food.

Huh.  I hope the real deal doesn't go down like this.  :)

Easter fun!

I have no idea how I've gotten so behind on blogging when all I do is sit in bed all day.  Bad Amanda.

This weekend we were able to celebrate with both families, which is always great during holidays.  I hate having to split time and waste time in the car traveling when we could be spending time with our loved ones.  We have stayed home for Easter the past two years and I am loving this new tradition.

Friday and Saturday we went to the McDaniel's to celebrate with Diana's family, eat crawfish and BBQ, swim and just enjoy time with each other.  I took it easy but still got told 5 million times to sit down and rest, lol!  I guess now I know where Mrs. Diana gets it from :)

Mason was too cute all weekend: walking with his squeaky shoes, splashing in the pool, giving baby kisses and riding on the tractor.  Can't wait until next Easter when we have TWO little boys running around!

 Love, love, LOVE this little face!!

 Mrs. Diana's brother and sisters

I feel like Monkey and Mason are going to look alike- so this picture MAY be a little glimpse into the future :)

Sunday Matt and I went to church by ourselves.  We bought Easter lilies for my grandfather and his grandparents and I wish I had taken a picture of all the lilies before we left, but I didn't even think of it.  Plus it was PACKED and my back was killing me by the end of the service so all I wanted to do was get home.  We headed over to my parents house for lunch and I think Matt is still full from all he ate, lol! 

We got her bubbles for Easter

She wasn't sure what to think at first

I think she caught on 

Tired babydoll after lunch

I spending the day in bed today after being out all weekend.  Luckily I found some re-runs of Grey's Anatomy on Lifetime to help me pass the day before childbirth class tonight.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll catch up on the blogging I need to do.  No promises.