Checking in and asking for support...

There has also been some very sad news in the IF/blogging community and I wanted to ask you all to support Brooke, whose 8 week old preemie, Annaleigh, grew angel wings today. Sean & I are just devastated for Brooke and Joe. Annaleigh, Charlie and Lily were born at 25w5d and have been strong little fighters each and every day. A sudden infection, called NEC, took Annaleigh from her parents and siblings at 4:30 this afternoon. I have shed so many tears for this sweet girl and her parents. I cannot even imagine what they are going through. Please visit "Three Cheers for Babies" and offer some words of comfort during their darkest of days. May Annaleigh rest in peace and be a guardian angel to those who loved her most...

Our babymoon begins tomorrow, so I will likely be MIA for the next week. I am doing well, feeling great and very much looking forward to some relaxing and romance with my wonderful husband. I hope to check in a few times, but am going to try hard to stay 'unplugged.' I wish you all a great week!
edited to update the triplets birth to 25w5d, NOT 24w3d

Two Tickets to Paradise...and pics :)

Whew! What a weekend! Friday was an absolutely wonderful day. We started the day with our level 2 ultrasound and it was amazing! Ralphie was not being overly cooperative and seemed to be having a good time hiding out behind my belly button making it difficult for the tech to get all the images she needed. She did capture some really cute images for us, but I am not sure she was able to get everything she needed of the heart and digestive tract. She said she would leave it up to the OB to decide if he needs to see more. The u/s lasted about 45 min and it was pure joy for us. She was able to go back and forth between 3D images and regular images at the click of a button, so that was pretty cool. Everything looked great to us, but what the heck do we know? I will feel assume that is the case unless I hear differently! Now for some cute pics!


These are totally Sean's legs and my BIG feet! Sean sits like this all the time. My mom said they look like boy legs all the way, and toddler legs at that. In the picture on the right, my little trouble maker appears to be giving the world the finger! Too funny! The whole room was laughing.

After our u/s we went to our favorite place for a yummy breakfast, then we headed home to freshen up. I was excited to see what my sweet hubby had in store. We had decided that we would not buy gifts this year, but we always do cards. Sean suggested we exchange cards before heading out for the afternoon. My first card was a sweet and romantic one, but the second was one of those sound cards and when I opened it, it was playing "Two Tickets to Paradise", I was laughing because I had been singing that all morning in the shower for some reason.

At this point, Sean completely shocks me by announcing that he has planned a vacation for us as an anniversary/babymoon trip. Actually, he knows what a control freak I am, so he had a few different options planned out and let me have some input on the final decision and I am really thankful that he did that.

Our options were: #1- a 9 night Caribbean cruise that went to San Juan, Dominican Republic, a private island and St. Thomas. #2 - a 7 night Bahamas/Grand Turk cruise. #3 - an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Sean was leaning towards option #1 since it was the longest trip and best value.

So which of these amazing vacations did I choose? None of the above. I know, I am a pain in the ass! Ungrateful even! Hear me out though. We have been on a cruise before and I found it to be an ok experience. I neither loved nor hated it as far as vacations go. My biggest concern was being on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic and needing medical attention beyond what the ship infirmary could provide. The cruise lines have very strict rules about pregnant women cruising and 23w is the cut off. We would be setting sail at 23w exactly and that was ok with permission from my OB.

I called the doctor's office and they said a cruise was fine, but to be advised that I was putting myself at increased risk of H1N1 and other illnesses because of the close quarters of a cruise environment. That kind of sealed the deal for me. I know the odds of something happening are slim, but also not out of the realm of possibility and I really was not comfortable being so far from modern medical care. Things like overheating and dehydration can happen so easily at this stage of pregnancy and though they are simple to treat, they can also require fetal monitoring and testing.

I felt much the same about an all inclusive resort on an island. Slightly better than a cruise, but not exactly state of the art medical facilities in the event of an emergency. So I apologized profusely to my hubby who had spent days and weeks researching options. He completely understood and said that is why he did not just go ahead and book something without my feedback. We put our heads together and came up with a compromise and found a pretty amazing deal in the long run.

We leave in 12 days for Key Biscayne, Florida. It is a small island just outside Miami and just what we are looking for - sun, sand, pool, spa, & relaxation. We are spending 7 days being pampered and spoiled by the ladies and gentlemen of The Ritz Carlton resort. We have vacationed at other Ritz locations and it is always an incredible experience. I really cannot wait! Our flight was CHEAP and the deal at the resort was really unbeatable - our breakfast, valet parking, & internet are all included daily, we got 2 nights free and a complimentary oceanfront room upgrade. Food can definitely get pricey so we plan to head to a grocery store and stock up on water, soda, snacks, fruit, etc... We even got a heck of a deal on a rental car. We may head into Miami for a day of shopping or dining, but we plan to mostly relax, relax, relax! It may not be exactly what Sean was originally thinking but I don't think it could have worked out any better. Now we just need to hope for great weather and NO hurricanes!

Do I have an amazing husband or what??? We spent the rest of the day on Friday playing tourist in our own city and then had a yummy dinner at a new steakhouse. The rest of the weekend was busy, but nice!

Now for a 20w1d belly pic and a pregnancy update!

How am I feeling? Dare I say, great?!?! I really do feel good for the first time in months.

How do I look? Pregnant! I feel really good in my own skin though and I definitely think I have lost weight everywhere but my belly. Not a great pic of me - it is so awkward to take belly pics!


Milestones? I am more than 1/2 way!!! Sean was able to feel the baby from the outside over the weekend and I am so happy that he can finally experience it. Movement felt from the outside is so weird!

Cravings? None recently

Aversions? Chicken

What do I miss? Nothing this week - feeling very content and grateful.

What am I looking forward to? Vacation and quality time with Sean. Registering - hopefully this weekend!

Weight Gain? Down five from the flu, but seem to be back to my pre-flu weight. The OBs scale showed no weight gain last month.

What do we think we are having? My gut feeling? A BOY! I will be in shock if this is a little girl.

I haven't stopped smiling in days. Feeling so very blessed and lucky...

20w & Big U/S Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is a big day - it is our 5 year wedding anniversary and our big ultrasound! We are staying Team Green, so no big announcements tomorrow, but we are so excited to see our little Ralphie in the morning.

I am 20w today and it is crazy to think that we are halfway through this pregnancy! What a milestone!

We both took the day off tomorrow and Sean has all kinds of plans that I am not privy to yet. He did send me a lovely bouquet of daisies today - the official flower of 5 year anniversaries apparently :) He is the sweetest!

I am feeling pretty close to 100% - thanks for all the care and concern. I think I might still be in rehydration mode though - very thirsty!

Despite my excitement about tomorrow, it cannot erase the sadness and grief I feel for Mo & Will.

How incredibly unfair & devastating. Please visit and lend some support.

Operation Rehydration

The stomach flu and pregnant women do not mix! I don't remember being this sick in a very long time.

Thank goodness Sean and I planned a relaxing weekend catching up on Tr.ue Blood thanks to a free HBO promotion because I felt blah from the moment I woke up on Sunday morning. I was kind of gaggy and I thought my 2 week streak with no morning sickness was coming to an end. I got on the couch and had a bout of diarrhea around 11am and it was all downhill from there. The vomiting began a little while later and just did not stop. I could not keep anything down at all - not water or gatorade or broth. It was a very long day and night.

I called the OB around dinner time and he wasn't too concerned. He said it sounded like a 24 hr bug and that I was ok just sipping on whatever fluid I could muster until it passed. He said if it went beyond 24hrs with no fluids or if I spiked a high fever, I should come into L&D. He advised me to avoid all solids and to try some Immo.dium for some relief. He also gave me the option of coming right into L&D and getting and IV and some anti-nausea meds. I wanted to avoid the hospital, so I told him I would stick it out.

I finally stopped vomiting around 8pm, but the diarrhea continued all night long, every hour on the hour until I finally took the Immo.dium around 4am. I was trying to let it run it course without taking anything, but by 4am, I was feeling a little nervous and so very exhausted. It helped and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I was even able to munch on some ice chips and saltines at that point.

I felt much better when I got up this morning, but, I lost 5lbs in the past 24hrs! My fever broke overnight and I have been able to drink and hold down some Gat.orade and saltines. I feel hung over, sore and beat up.

Today's mission is Operation Rehydration!

A Big Step

I have not purchased a single baby item since Beta Day when I bought Sean the onesie and bib. I haven't been afraid to, I just haven't been motivated to do much baby shopping. Being Team Green makes it a little easier to show restraint & I know our families are going to go crazy with the gifts. I figure once I start shopping, I won't stop for the next 18 years or so!

That all changed on Thursday because we ordered the nursery furniture! Holy moly! I can't believe I ordered a crib for my house. It is a little surreal.

Sean took the day off and we planned to head to Great Beginnings near Washington, DC for the day. It is a pretty awesome baby store and a HUGE baby/child/teen furniture showroom. They had every furniture line I knew I was interested in, so off we went on our adventure!

Let me just say, my poor husband deserves a medal because even though I knew walking in the door which crib I loved, it still took me nearly 4 hours to commit to a decision. Our salesman was great, but even he gave up on us after a few hours. Part of the problem was that I have an antique armoire that we are using in the nursery and I was trying to find a crib and dresser that balanced out the piece in both style and finish and it was harder than I anticipated. I brought a drawer and a photo with me and that only seemed to complicate the issue. I am an over analyzer and a perfectionist so I was having a hard time finding the right combination and I kept second guessing myself.

This was all complicated by the fact that I wasn't convinced that I wanted a lifetime crib - I like the look of them as cribs, but I am not sure we will ever convert it to the full size bed. When the time comes, it will depend on many factors - space, condition of the furniture, how many children we have etc... We did not order the conversion kit yet because of my indecision on that issue. In addition, even though Bab.y Bargains, gave my first choice furniture an "A" rating, it has gotten mixed reviews online in regards to the finish holding up over time and that concerned me a little. The store reassured me that this line in their number one seller and has been for a few years and they have very little complaints about the brand.

In the long run, we settled on the crib that I had my eye for almost 2 months now and was the leading favorite when we walked through the door. I wish I could have saved myself three and half hours and a great deal of anxiety by just trusting my gut in the first place! You will not be surprised to hear that I am like this about all major purchases in my life. When I was looking at wedding invitations, I fell in love with the "one" in the first book, but I had to look at every book in the store before I could commit. I have issues!

The manager was wonderful and even honored our 15% BRU coupon even though he technically wasn't supposed to because BRU doesn't sell this line. I think he just felt sorry for Sean! All the sales people were laughing at us. They couldn't believe I finally made a decision and they weren't surprised to hear that I went with my first choice.

I couldn't even bring myself to think about gliders while we were there because the fabric choices alone would have paralyzed me for a few more hours and we were both DONE at that point! I hope to decide on that in the next few weeks though. We have it narrowed down to 3 chairs and have an idea of what kind of fabric we want, so it shouldn't be too agonizing of a decision for me. Yea, right!

So, without further ado, here is a photo of our new crib!

It is a Munire Newport crib in Classic Chestnut. We also ordered the six drawer dresser which is not shown in this photo. We love the bookcase and nightstand, but can always add to collection later.

I am thrilled with our purchase and cannot wait until it arrives! Too bad it will take 10-14 weeks. Oh well, that should give me and my neuroses plenty of time to make other nursery decisions - paint, bedding, decor...Eeek!!!