What's in a Name?

If my daughter grows up not knowing what her name is, I will know why.  We have so many nicknames for her right now that I can't even keep up with them all.  A few different names we call Katherine besides her true nickname of Kate are:

Kaff-rin
Baby Cheetah
Princess-ess
Baby Girl
Sweet Baby Girl
Little Pterodactyl
Princess Leia
Lobot
Chubbers
Chubber Cheeks
Miss Thang
Jane Fonda (after she started doing butt lifts on her changing table)
Tooter
Stinkerpot

You have one guess to figure out which two names we use when she's screaming & crying.  Won't be difficult!

And because you KNOW there's never enough cuteness, here's a pic from today.  Mommy needs some Botox.  :)

Busy Day!

I spent most of the day preparing for our little lady.  Started with a doctor's appointment to get rid of this nasty cough/bronchial infection and also wound up getting a tetanus + pertussis shot upon the doc's recommendation.  Afterwards, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some food and came home with diapers, wipes, hangers, and bath stuff.  Then I got home, unloaded groceries, grabbed a bite to eat, and Mr. Rambler and I headed to the baby store.

If you've ever been to a baby store on Saturday, then you owe me a drink for not warning me ahead of time.  It was one crazyass place.  DH said, "I don't crave drinks, but I am now." and "They really need scotch at the end of every aisle."  Of course, he found a couple of things he thought we should register for, so we added them.  We also picked our glider/rocker and the fabric for it.  We finally bought baby's PNP w/ bassinet, some hair bows, a boppy cover, a going home outfit (so cute!), and a few other things.  Instead of going home so I could take my meds and nest, I went for a nail appointment.

Not long after I got home,  my bff since 8th grade came by and brought our travel system!  It was such a generous gift & I'm so excited about it.  Our evening ended with dinner.

My order from Carter's arrived so our baby doesn't have to go nekkid.  When we got home from dinner, I assembled our stroller, car seat, & PNP, washed my first load of baby stuff, folded it all, washed bottles, packed our diaper back, and got ready for bed.

Tomorrow I'll go through the five boxes of clothes from a friend and the two boxes of clothes from my sisters. My car has a date at the car spa, the dogs MUST be bathed, install the carseat base, go by the fire dept to have it checked, and take my dad to dinner for his bday.  I also need to write lesson plans for next week and the weeks that follow.

Still waiting to hear from J and meet our dream girl.  I'm really excited now that we're ready!

Daddy's Book

A friend of Mr. Rambler's gave him this book and told him to start reading it, so he'll be ready whenever our baby finds us.  :)  After I got home from work tonight (at 7:30 pm - ugh), DH showed it to me.  He said, "I'm sure you probably know everything in it, but it would be good for me to read some."  Boy, I must have him fooled!!

Check out the 411 to avoid the 911.

Practice Makes Perfect?

Rewind -- Wednesday, September 5, 2012

 

J went to the doctor yesterday and is doing well. We were VERY surprised to learn that she is already dialated to 4cm (10cm = delivery). So . . . baby girl will be here much sooner than later. J is schedule for an induction on the 21st if for some reason she hasn't delivered by then - which would be surprising.

Last night, J was having back pain. Being worried about being dialated so much & living so far from the hospital (about 45-60 mins from home), she went in to get checked. I drove there & met her there while Mr. Rambler waited to see if this was "it." She didn't even go to the hospital to deliver her son until she was 8cm dialated (ack!), so she appears to have a strong tolerance for pain which is another reason she went.

Baby looked great --- still very active, solid heartrate (I got to hear it!), etc. --- contractions were about every 4 to 8 minutes but sporadic. J was discharged about midnight and given instructions on when to return, so we all headed home at that point.

Anyway . . . we are now in a holding pattern but getting hospital bags ready, and gathering/scavenging/buying/preparing necessities, etc.   We will keep you posted when the real time comes!

MIRACULOUSLY My Own

Well, Hi There!

Rewind -- Friday, August 31, 2012

J had yet another wonderful doctor's appointment today, and A sent us these photos.

J said she felt it was a girl, and she was right!  We didn't think we'd learn the gender until the baby was born.

Meet our precious DAUGHTER!

We are thrilled.  Mr. Rambler is "nervous."

36 Weeks

Rewind: Friday, August 31, 2012

Today is 36 weeks!  J is busy cooking our baby to perfection.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.

At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

35 Weeks

REWIND: Friday, August 24, 2012

NOTE:  This is NOT a photo of my bump, but it is a pic of the bump for my baby.  :)
We hope to meet our (potential) future birthmother next week. 

How your baby's growing:

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.