She's Here!

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Today, I was looking through my box of misc memorabilia for something and happened upon this ultrasound picture from when I was pregnant for Kerrigan, 8+ years ago. I was amazed at the difference!

Ultrasound of Kerrigan, 8/18/00 at 18 wks, 2 days

Ultrasound of Megyn, 1/23/09 at 20 wks, 5 days – approx 8.5 yrs later
(she’s giving us a thumbs up =)

Mommy's Having a Baby

The sibling next to me in my family line-up is a sister 7 yrs and 10 months my senior. Welcoming me into her world was not an easy thing for her. But unfortunately that detail wasn't discovered by my parents until many years too late. Having that knowledge and knowing that Kerrigan will be getting her eight year position as "baby of the family" usurped, we have been making an attempt to involve her with my pregnancy in anyway we can. She was especially looking forward to the possibility of a little brother (so she could still be the baby girl - her actual words upon finding out I was expecting!) We tried our best to prepare her for the fact that we were most likely having another girl. So it was even more important after the ultrasound to make sure she felt a part of the changes happening around here.

I was very excited to find out that the hospital offered a "Mommy's Having a Baby Class" for siblings ages 3-8 yrs old. And how much cooler was it that she was the only one of our girls to qualify. It was all about her. She has been waiting quite impatiently since my first doctor appointment for the opportunity to attend this class and last night was finally the night.

The first thing they did was draw a picture of their family for the new baby. Then Nurse Chris read a story to the group. After the story, each child was given a teddy bear of their very own, a tape measure, an I.D. bracelet and card, a diaper, t-shirt with the hospital name and a hat - all the same as the ones that will be used on our new arrival at the hospital. They measured the bear's length, head and chest, weighed it on the digital scales and then dressed it up for it's trip home. We were then given a tour of the awesome maternity ward. It was too beautiful to describe. All I can say is it compares to a hotel room without the carpet!

While we were in the class, a little chime went off with the first few measures of "Rock a Bye, Baby". About 10 minutes later, it went off again. The song signified the arrival of a baby, so we were privileged to see two brand new babies in the nursery during our tour. Of course, all that made us anxious to see our little one and yet apprehensive for all we know that goes along with her arrival. All in all, the evening was a huge success.

What I've Learned While Baby Shopping (recently and in years past)

• JCPenney’s baby socks stay on
• JCPenney’s has the softest receiving blankets and if you can catch them on sale, they aren’t much more expensive than Wal-Mart or Target
• Cloth diapers (which I use for burp clothes and which consequentially became my children’s “bankies” b/c I would put them under their face while sleeping – and which was doubly AWESOME b/c I had not one special bankie but 12 or 18!) are cheapest at Wal-Mart
• Target has the best deal on gowns anywhere around…Chico brand are soft and three in a pack for $10 (even Wal-Mart wanted $10 for a pack of two!)
• Target’s Chico brand onesies are actually thicker and softer than my previously preferred JCPenney’s Okie Dokie - and cheaper to boot
• And last but not least, everything looks so tiny I can’t believe it will fit anything other than my daughter’s dolls but my sister says I will be surprised.

Progression - Nov thru March

Finding the Balance

I said I'd never be a facebooker. Was pretty adamant about it in fact, my husband is quick to remind me. But then I got pregnant and laying in bed all day long to keep the nausea under control provided too many endless hours of boredom. Especially since no one seemed to be blogging. I thought it was due to the fabulous fall weather that I was missing out on. But now I have my sneaking suspicions that it was more of an epidemic called "Facebook". And I got hit too.

Now I spend my days checking the status of over 200 friends and family a few times a day. And updating my own if I have something new or clever to share. (Okay, sometimes it doesn't even meet that criteria =)

Anyway, now that I am doing facebook, it seems redundant for me to post some of the same news on my blog. So I am struggling to find the balance. I'm sure there are some of you out there who read my blog that have no desire to be on facebook. So you are missing out. And that's not fair. I also use my blog for a reference point when I scrapbook. I know that one of these days when I scrap the photos from the past few months, I will have a gap in my journaling because my status updates on facebook will be long gone. And anyway, those don't really share the deepest feelings of my heart...not like blogging does.

So bear with me while I struggle to find the balance. I enjoy writing too much to forsake my blog. Maybe-hopefully- it's just the stage I'm in with the pregnancy and all that keeps my brain from flourishing with an overabundance of words. And is only capable instead, of one-liners at this time.

Whatever it is, I hope to figure it out soon. If nothing else, rest assured that you will inundated with baby photos come June =)

Progression

Free Babysitting?

I dreamed I had our baby last night. Then I proceeded to check myself out of the hospital and meet Tony and the girls at a hotel for the weekend! When I got there I realized that I’d left something behind. When Tony arrived he told me he and the girls had gone to the hospital to get me and found out I'd left. He spoke with the nurses and told them I was anxious about caring for the baby and needed a couple more days with just him and the girls - one last time. They understood and said it was fine to leave the baby with them until we got back from our little getaway.

But just in case you think I've lost it, I woke up feeling terrible!!!

It's My Fault

Having seen this book laying on my computer station this morning...

Tony told me that he is holding me totally and completely responsible for this pregnancy. He said he bought the book at my request and the next thing he knew, I was pregnant! And all along he thought it was a book on discipline.

God IS Good - part one

From the minute we told the girls (waaaaay back in the fall - seems so long ago :) that we were going to have a baby, some of Kerrigan’s first words were, “I hope it’s a brother so I can STILL be the baby girl!” Her words; not ours. I was worried from the get-go with that attitude. We kept telling her since I was so sick that it would probably be a girl but she was adamant that it needed to be a boy. After we heard the heart rate, we were more insistent that it was probably a girl but she wouldn’t hear it. When it was confirmed on the ultrasound last Friday, Tony and I were totally fine with it (I actually thought I’d be more disappointed but once I saw her squirming and wiggling on the screen, I instantly fell in love with her!) Our biggest concern was how to break it to Kerrigan and how she would take it. We didn’t know whether to take her aside or to go ahead with our "reveal" plan. We decided to play it by ear and go with the original plan and see how she reacted.

When Tony got home from work that day, the girls had been home for over an hour and were chomping at the bit to know what we were having. We gathered them in the living room and I gave them each an envelope. Britnee opened hers to find a photo of sugar pouring from a spoon. Janae opened her envelope next and it had a picture of a spice rack with these spaces and words below it “& _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ nice.” Then Kerrigan’s read, “That’s what little _ _ _ _ _ are_ _ _ _ of.” The other two girls figured it out after Janae’s was opened and they looked at each other and said, “Uh oh,” in quiet, hushed tones. Kerrigan read hers and finally said, “that’s what little BOYS are made of?” I said, “Are boys made of sugar?” and she looked up at me with hopeful eyes and said, “SOME boys are.” So I suggested we look at the spaces and see what fit. We spelled B-O-Y-S and of course had one space left over. I suggested we try the word girls. She spelled it with me and when she got to the “S”, she looked up at me with the absolute saddest eyes and said, “Gir…..” Then her face crumbled and she buried her head in my side and cried and cried and cried. It was awful. I started crying with her (and am crying as I type b/c it’s a moment I don’t think I will forget for a LONG time!) We did our best to console her and tried to explain that God knows best. She watched a minute or two of ultrasound and then went and cried on Tony’s lap and wouldn’t look at the rest. It was so heart breaking.

Each girl was supposed to call one of my sisters, but even Britnee was disappointed to the point that she wasn't ready to share. So I ended up calling two of the three. I told Aunt Barb that Kerrigan was supposed to call her but didn't want to in case that gave her any hint as to what we were having. I asked all three sisters to pray for Kerrigan as I didn’t figure we would have a positive turn around until the baby actually arrived. She was so full of anger and sorrow all mixed together. I told my oldest brother, who was disappointed for us as much as anybody, and he simply suggested that we sympathize with her. It was good advice. And that's the approach that we took.

Over the course of the next few days, I would be watching our little girl on video (Tony put the ultrasound to a song off my lullaby CD and put it online for our family's to view) and Kerrigan would come sit by me. Each time, I would point out that baby's different movements and her arms and legs or smile or nose. Just being very casual about it. And each time, I would see a little more warmth creep into Kerrigan's eyes.

Yesterday, she came home from school and handed me a drawing as she often does. But this drawing was different than the others. In the center of the page was an image labeled “Mommy, Me (Kerrigan) and Baby”. She is HOLDING the baby. I had to smile really big when I saw that! I passed it off to Tony and he grinned really big too. Whew! Prayer works. God IS good!

Shopping List for Baby Derscheid

• sugar
• spice
• everything nice

Today's Breaking News

I'M HALFWAY THROUGH MY PREGNANCY!!

1st Comparison

Baby Dreams

It's bad enough that I dreamed I delivered twin girls last night. But when I woke up, it was insane that I remember the names we had chosen and hideous as they were, they actually RHYMED!! Breanna (bree on' u) Marie and Lucianna (loo cee on' a) Luree. Mind you, these are NOT the kind of names I would choose and none of the above have even been contemplated for this child that is incognito. But whatever.

As for the dream, I'd had the babies on Saturday and was at my parent's (in the blue room, for my family who would be interested to know :) trying to get ready for church Sunday morning. I had no clothes for the babies, no baby towels or washcloths. And I knew that my family would have a FIT if my babies didn't smell good. So I was frantically trying to make due with the softest washcloth I could find, which still seemed scratchy on their soft skin. I was hastily washing Lucianna's neck when my mom hollered up the stairs and asked if I was ready. I flopped back on the bed in exhaustion and told my mom I was soooo tired. She said, "Well, go back to bed. After all, you DID just have the babies yesterday. If your dad can't understand you not being at church this quick, I guess that's HIS problem!"

I don't know where everyone else was but earlier in the dream, Kerrigan was fussing about having dress socks on with her little ankle boots. They kept slipping down inside the boot on her heel when she walked. So Tony and I were looking all over the pink room for a pair of her casual socks with better elastic. So I assume they were already down at the church or waiting downstairs for me. Just not helping me! The babies however, were identical and looked exactly like a photo that I have of Janae when she was about 2 or 3 months old. Too funny!

And in case you were wondering, I had chips with mustard before I went to bed.

At Least the Pillow Wasn't Missing

Oh the things that you dream when you can't eat everything that you WANT to! This morning I woke up and was salivating on my pillow, for real! I had been dreaming that Tony and I were at a bakery. While he was talking to "Pierre" I was loading up on yummy bakery confections that were called Bear Claws but were really a mixture between a traditional Bear Claw (I don't even think I've ever had a BITE of one of those) and a long john (my favorite pastry). I had a long skinny box that housed six of these humongous things. I had them all lined up and took a nibble out of one. Not getting any of the filling, I took another bite only to discover it was lemon! Ick! I took inventory and found out that five of the six were indeed lemon, so I was getting ready to switch them out but had to get that nasty lemon taste out of my mouth. So I picked up the one that was creme-filled and took a HUGE bite.

That's when I woke up and found myself drooling! How disappointing to find out that a pastry didn't sound in the least like ANYTHING I wanted for breakfast. It would have been a nice change from eggs. On the other hand, I would have been very upset to find out that I was dreaming about a made-up pastry that didn't exist. Not a good thing for a prego mama with a craving.

World's Best Husband

Yep, he's mine...all mine! Even the lady at Motherhood Maternity shop told him I would be happy with his thoughtfulness. Apparently they don't see many men in their shop.

I had requested a maternity jean skirt for my birthday because the waistband on my regular one is bulky and very uncomfortable on my queasy stomach. Then a couple days before my birthday, I exercised a woman's right and changed my mind, telling him on a down day that, "I wasn't go away anywhere anytime soon anyway, so you can just wait on that request."

So for my birthday, I got a very nice warm, soft fuzzy blanket (for all those chilly days on the couch - the wind has been terrible and makes this house drafty) and a pair of big pajamas. Well, the pajamas were surprisingly a bit too big (that hardly ever happens to me...I can never find them big enough to be comfortable!) so he had to return them.

When he walked in the door today, he had a large bag from Motherhood Maternity. It had this jean skirt (which fits perfect and is soooo cute!)

...a pack of maternity underwear (don't think I've ever even owned those...just got by or bought one size bigger) and two pairs of maternity pantyhose. I'm thinking I might even wear those AFTER the pregnancy! Have I ever mentioned that I HATE tight clothing? But have you ever tried to find support hose without a control top? Nearly impossible!

And in addition to all that, he cooked my scrambled eggs that I hadn't had a chance to fix for myself yet.

Thanks, hon, you are the best!

Quirks

Okay, so we're taking out stock in Kraft now. Macaroni and Cheese and Ham and Swiss Lunchables. It's honestly the ONLY things that taste good to me. I miss my appetite.

Last night, Tony was fixing supper for himself and the girls. I asked, "Do we have any leftover macaroni in the fridge?" He stopped mid stride, turned around and said, "You want macaroni and cheese again!?" It's one of three things that taste normal to me. I've TRIED to eat other foods. Even requested Culver's the other night. But it just didn't taste right. I do not remember this part lasting past the severe nausea for the other kids. In the past, if something sounded good it tasted good, too. Maybe that's my sign that this is a boy? Doubt it! loL!

And on another note of quirkiness, let me tell you...the Styrofoam cups at the dollar store are indeed made of something different than the stronger, higher quality ones Tony has gotten at Walmart. I can SMELL it and TASTE it when I drink my iced Gatorade. (Yep, taking out stock in Gatorade, too.)

And, last, anyone want some leftover Ritz Crackers? I can't eat them with my Lunchables. They are too sweet. So I substitute saltines (and let me tell you, saltines and laptops don't go together very well. Can you say crumbs on the keyboard?) I only tear back the packaging to reveal the meat and cheese. So the crackers are guaranteed fresh! loL!

Lose 20 lbs in 5 weeks

Week 1
Breakfast: Eggs, over easy or scrambled and one half piece of toast
Lunch: Ham sandwich with mayo, lettuce and French bread
Supper: whatever everyone else eats
Snack: Pringles Light or tortilla chips
Drink: ice water

Week 2
Breakfast: Ham and egg burrito or Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit
Lunch: Noodles or potatoes
Supper: Noodles or potatoes with chicken and vegetable
Snack: Corn Chex cereal
Drink: Sam’s Purified bottled water

Week 3
Breakfast: Ham and egg burrito or Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit
Lunch: Ham, Turkey and White American Cheese Sub
Supper: Mashed Potatoes
Snack: Mini Saltines
Drink: Sam’s Purified bottled water

Week 4
Breakfast: 3 eggs, scrambled
Lunch: Saltines with butter and peanut butter
Supper: Campbell’s Healthy Request Chicken Noodle soup
Snack: saltines with butter and peanut butter
Drink: Grape Gator-aid with lots of ice

Week 5
Breakfast: 3 eggs, scrambled
Lunch: Ham and Swiss lunchable with saltines rather than ritz crackers provided
Supper: Kraft macaroni and cheese
Snack: none
Drink: Grape Gator-aid with lots of ice

And Life Goes On

I sit here enjoying my fireplace (electric, that is...I only wish instead of the annoying blowing sound, it crackled like a real one), laptop on my...lap of course, and I open up all the blogs I follow for some new reading. There are a few new posts but most of them, I just click shut as it's the same post that's been there for a few days or maybe a week or two. I am fine with that. People are busy.

But then it dawns on me and suddenly a wave of discouragement hits me. There are no new posts because everyone else is BUSY! Life is going on around me. They are enjoying the busyness of my favorite season, enjoying the brisk fall weather and everything that goes along with it. And I have to miss it! I know, I know...it WILL be worth it in the end. But for right now, I don't feel pregnant - only sick. And I HATE that feeling. The shock and awe of the positive pregnancy test has worn off. It's day after day of sitting or laying on the couch, surfing the web, watching Little House on the Prairie or napping. But, hey, enough doldrums! Let's take Dad's optimistic attitude for a change (I used to think more like him - what happened?)...this too shall pass and I intend to enjoy this pregnancy to the fullest once I feel better!

I distinctly remember a moment when my friend and fellow blogger, Janiece, was expecting Kallee. We were sitting in the same pew in church and suddenly she got my attention. "The baby is moving!" she exclaimed while she pointed to the little kicks visible through her shirt. A pang went through my heart and stomach. I didn't think I would ever feel a baby moving inside me again and that struck me so hard. I'd enjoyed holding everyone else's babies (and enjoyed handing them back when they got fussy :) so I thought I was over all the wanting. And it was a good feeling. But that night, I remember feeling so sad.

Well, now is my chance. And I'm excited for all the new discoveries that we will experience. Especially with the girls being older and able to understand a whole lot more than they did when they were 3 and 5 years old. We might not have planned it, but hey, life goes on :)

So I am currently...

...keeping busy by writing a book while I lay around trying to fend off the nausea.  I can't decide on the title. Maybe one of these...

1. How to Lose 7 Pounds in Less Than a Week
2. From Bed to Toilet in 6 Seconds
3. How to Make an Almost 37 Year Old Feel Like an Irresponsible Teen (tell her she's pregnant!)
4. Read Two Books a Day for a Week
5. Get Your Family to Wait on You Hand and Foot (but don't expect them to like you for long!)
6. The Possibility of Staying Hydrated on Solids Alone
7. Limiting Your Diet to Three Starches