It's a BOY!

My 20 week ultrasound appointment was yesterday, and as confirmed 100% by the ultrasound tech. we have a boy! This should bring much relief to all McFadden's as Dave is the only male McFadden under 30, so now there is a new heir. I would put photos up, but my scanner refuses to work. We'll have to see what I can do to remedy that.

Can I admit I wasn't thrilled for about 10 minutes? Ok, I wasn't thrilled for about 10 minutes. I had my heart set on a girl, I was sure it was a girl. People said I had a " girl belly", the heartbeat was super fast @ all my appointments- which usually means girl. I just wanted a girl. I figured I would be right. I thought for sure when I looked at the initial picture that it was a girl, and then "IT" showed up in the picture, and it was not hiding. 100% Boy is what the tech labeled the picture. I have to admit, I felt sad, and then when the tech left the room to get the Dr. I broke down...

Me: "but i wanted it to be a girl, I don't want a boy"
Dave: "Mel, you said you weren't going to do this"
Me: "I know, but I really thought it was going to be a girl"
Dave: "it's our baby, it's going to be great no matter what"
Me: "i feel like such a jerk and an idiot, don't tell anyone I was so upset" (slaps my own face as to "slap me out of it")
Dave: "everything's going to be fine, we can have all the girls you want after this"
Me: "but you're the only boy in your family, we're destined to have a girl first"
Dave: "no, my grandparents had 3 boys & a girl, my uncle had 4 girls, and my dad had 3 girls and a boy, it probably skips a generation"
Me: "I'm going to be just like my grandmother and have 4 boys"
Dave: "no, you're not"
Me: "it's all because I bought that shirt at Old Navy Monday"
Dave: "you bought that shirt?! i told you to wait"
Me: "but it was so cute, and they were almost all gone
Dave: "oh, Mel"
Me: "really, I'm happy, we have a perfectly healthy little boy"

So I got on the phone yesterday and called a billion people- doubled our used phone minutes (thankfully we have plenty) and the more I talked to people and told them, the more I was absolutely thrilled! By 2pm, I was in full baby mode! I tried to pick out bedding, we talked a little about names- very exciting stuff. We still have a ways to go, but it just seems so much more real now! We couldn't be any happier! It definitely makes me less patient b\c I'm ready for January to be here now, but I'm going to try to savor my last 4 months and make the most of every day until our little boy makes his arrival!

week 20- baby banana, b-a-n-a-n-a-s

You're at the halfway mark - congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (The way your baby is measured changes now.) He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also now producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (although some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

How your life's changing: Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds (I HAVE)! Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.)

Babycenter.com

20 Weeks- Half way! Wow!!

And tomorrow, we find out the flavor of baby!!

Happy Anniversary/Week 20!

More on week 20 to come later...

It's our 2nd anniversary! The cotton anniversary! I can't believe Dave & I have been married for 2 years already, although we have been together for at least forever. Sometimes I think of this baby, and are we ready for it?! That may be a ridiculous question to ask now, but I'm hoping everyone who is having their first child feels this way! Dave & I have been together 7+ years, and out of all that time, we have only lived in the same vicinity as each other for just 2 of those years. My time with him is very valuable. I guess a good way to put it, as a friend put things once, is that I'm very jealous of my time with him. Am I willing to share my time with my husband with our baby. I know the answer is yes, but it's hard to imagine how life will change- it won't be so easy to just "get away" to the beach, the store, anywhere! Watching movies or tv may be a thing of the past- just getting a conversation in may be hard to begin with. Now I'm probably over-dramatizing things just a bit, but it's still something I think of. By our next anniversary, the baby will be almost 9 months old, and that does make things a little easier. Like I said, I think I'm making this out to be harder than it really will be. We're so excited, and we're so blessed, and we're so ready for our lives to change for the better! It's funny b\c we are very lucky- it didn't take us very long to get pregnant. We started talking about it at the end of 2008. I was tired of taking the pill, so I stopped taking it, and then we waited a couple months before we actually started trying. I used an online "ovulation calendar/predictor" although I didn't know how accurate they were and we just went by that. I had my annual appointment w\ my midwife on May 8th, the day before we moved, and I had told her I wasn't sure things were working out, but little did I know I was already pregnant!

This 2nd year of marriage has held many ups and downs for us, and i will hold onto all of them and remember our joys and struggles and look forward to all the joy that is sure to come with this 3rd year of marriage! Although everything may not be exactly the way I had planned it to be, I can positively say that the best is yet to come!

One week to go!

It is ALMOST here (finally)! Just one week until we know if we'll be seeing pink or blue! I think it's definitely going to make things a little more "real." When you finally start seriously talking about names, registering, and doing all the other things in preparation for baby's arrival! I just keep having these thoughts that baby isn't going to cooperate and I'm not going to get to know, and then I'm really going to be freaking out!

On the house front we may be closer to getting someone in! We actually were expecting that our tennant would be moving in this week, but the Atlanta Housing Authority had other plans for us. We received our tennants voucher and filled it out on July 23rd. We sent that back to our real estate agent, who transcribed the info, and dropped it off at the AHA. 3 weeks later (2 weeks ago) on the 14th, our tennant called us to see if we knew what was going on because she had called the AHA and they had no records of her voucher being turned in. I called the AHA and Dave called our agent in a panic- the AHA had no record, and the agent had turned in our forms. We had to start all over again (it's a 3-4 week process, at least) with our prospective tennant having to pick up a new voucher. We are currently waiting on the forms to be overnighted to us- which means they should be arriving today. We fill everything out, sign it, and then either return it to our agent or to the AHA to wait again. The process consists of a credit and background check on Dave (to make sure we own the house and aren't in foreclosure) and who knows what else. Then the AHA comes to inspect the house, and when it gets the ok, our tennant finally has a place to live. I haven't seen our house in over 2 months :( I assume it's still standing...

Once someone is in our house, and we are receiving rent for it, we can move toward finding our own place to live. I wish I could say we'd been able to save money during the 3 months I've lived up here, but with my not having a job until about a month ago, it really hurt more than helped us. We've paid our bills, and eliminated some of the debt (Dave's car! All we have left is our student loans- we have no credit card debt)! We've saved some money not having to pay for cable, phone or the net, but our storage unit made up for that! We are hoping to receive something from the insurance company on our storage unit, and we have to put some money back into our "tax acct" (we used this money to take taxes out of my nannying paychecks since I didn't pay taxes). I think i've set a reasonable goal for us to be moved out of here by December (sooner would be better), but December allows us to save a lot of money b\c renting a house or apartment here will be more than our mortgage. We just need everything to go smoothly this time! In 4 weeks we will hopefully have someone in our house, and that's what matters!

I now need to get ready for work- today starts my 7 day work week- yes, let's pick on the pregnant girl.

week 19- baby mango/heirloom tomato

How your baby's growing:Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

As always from BabyCenter

Almost halfway there! 1 week and 1 day until our next ultrasound!

stomach maladies!

boy, has baby McFadden gotten mommy's stomach all out of whack. first it was non-stop cramping (this was before I had taken a pregnancy test). the cramping still comes and goes, but it was pretty bad to begin with. then came the constipation, which I really didn't mind- I mean, not having to poop = awesome. then came the nausea and vomiting, which has lasted through my current week (week 18), but seems to be tapering off! with that I was finally unconstipated, but won't go into detail. if you are friends with me on facebook you may have seen that I flooded the basement of my in-laws house, not once, but twice (all in 1 week and 2 different toilets). now, part of this was the fact that their plumbing is really bad (this is according to the contractor who was remodeling their bathroom and saved me from the 2nd flooding by turning off the water in the entire house), and part of it was me (and probably his other pregnant sister who stays there a few nights a week). thanks to me though, there are 4 new toilets in the house, and they are fancy!

my latest problem is the inability to feel full sometimes. i really felt it last night. for dinner we had breakfast and I ate 3 pieces of bacon, a couple spoonfuls of eggs, a bowl of cheese grits, 1 blueberry pancake and 3 pecan pancakes (pancakes were small). Dave and I then went to Target to get our nephew a present for his 1st Birthday Party tomorrow, and on the way back home I wanted a hot fudge sundae from McDonald's (they have delicious sundae's). I ate all of that and then drank a glass of milk. needless to say I wasn't awake much longer after all that! I hope this calms down. I hate feeling gluttonous!

Update on my OCD Baby List.

There are now 34 women on my list. 8 have already given birth with 1 due any day now. 5 of the babies were girls, 4 boys.

7 people on the list are related to me (8 including myself). All are cousins, with the exception of my sister-in-law. 2 have been born (boy and girl). Of those on the way 2 are girls, 1 is a boy, 1 isn't finding out, and 2 aren't at 20 weeks yet.

The next 5 babies due are all boys. After that it's 7 girls, 3 boys and 1 mystery!

10 are at less than 20 weeks with me being the next to find out. 3 of those have announced their pregnancies THIS WEEK!

I made this list to keep up with names b\c I want to be safe on the baby name front- so far I am. This thing has turned more into a kind of math project!

Let's just say that baby fever is in the air. Every day at work I come into contact w\ at least 10 pregnant women + a few with newborns! Must be a good time to have a baby!! Does this mean the economy is turning around?!

Next Dr.'s appointment is on Monday!!

have i complained about work yet?

oh yes, it's time. so I was the proud recipient of a job at Target, because no one wants a pregnant nanny, or a pregnant anything for that matter I guess (although that is illegal, it happens). so i am delighted to "help you find something" at Target, and even more delighted to help myself to a 10% discount as long as I write a check or pay cash.

so as a cashier I have to check people out, but I work at SuperTarget, which is basically like working at a grocery store b\c most people buy groceries there. i don't understand people. if they are buying 5 12-packs of coke, they think they need to put all 5 on the belt, and then I have to lift all 5. they put their 24-pack waters on the belt, they put their 40-lb dog food on the belt. I feel it's pretty obvious that I'm pregnant, but people must be oblivious. I usually just scan the items and ask if they mind lifting "because I can't." I am not allowed to lift anything over 15 lbs according to Dr. Uma. Everyone probably just thinks I'm a wimp.

Now, Dr. Uma said I could stand, but I read that lots of standing can lead to premature labor, and lots of other things I'm already worried about. I took the liberty of telling my co-workers I needed to sit b\c I can't stand for long periods of time. Geez, I know friends who sit at a desk all day and are exhausted, I think they can give me a chair. So, I got a stool. It has no back support, and is hardly conducive to cashiering, but I do get to sit once every hour+ for about 30 seconds... It's not so bad if i work a short shift, but anything over 4 hours gives me raging back and foot pain. i'm definitely consulting with the dr. regarding this.

also. I put an open schedule b\c i wanted the job, and they like that better, of course. i didn't want to work Sunday's, but I told them I would in the interview. I also told them that I would prefer days b\c I have a baby on the way, and a husband, and I married him b\c I like spending time with him. I told them I would work at night, but not every night. Someone there obviously didn't get the memo. I now see my precious husband for only 2 hours a day. I know i'm very lucky to get that b\c I have a friend who is expecting and her husband is overseas, but I currently live w\ my husband and would like to see him more. I'm going to see how long they keep me on this schedule, and try not to complain too much. If I could've found a regular 9-5 upon arriving this probably wouldn't even be an issue!

I do have tomorrow off, so I will actually be here when my husband returns from work, and not the other way around! Looking forward to that! Just praying that my work schedule will change b\c I want to spend all the time I can with him these next 5 months!