Claire's Bear

So Preston's first Halloween has come and gone and I am JUST NOW being able to upload some pictures of his cute little costume! He was a teddy bear for about five minutes! He left the costume on long enough to get a few pictures...then he ripped the hat off!!! Oh well, it's not like he could trick or treat anyway!

We took Preston outside to look at all of the trick or treaters. Unfortunately, it rained all day so we didn't get a lot of kiddos, but the few we had Preston really enjoyed looking at! After the trick or treaters were all gone, we had Chris and Alison, and Roger and Haley over for a camp fire. Preston really enjoyed sitting outside looking at the fire with us...until he got tired and became super cranky!! It took him a while to fall asleep, but I think that was because of all the excitement :-)

Anyway, here is my cuddley little teddy bear!

BIG Boy!!!

Preston had his 6 month check up on October 22 (almost 2 weeks late and I'm still bitter!).  He weighed 18 pounds 10 ounces and was 27 3/4 inches (I thought it was closer to 28 inches, but she didn't think I had his head up agains the board...whatever!).  He's HUGE!!!  He is in the 90th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight.  Dr. Rodgers nicely put it..."He's bigger than the average baby, that's for sure!"  Hahahahaha!  Yes he is!  She also said he's not fat since he's taller than he is heavy...if that make sense.  I thought I wasn't feeding him enough, but HA!  That is not the case OBVIOUSLY!  He did get 3 shots, which he took like a champ.  He screamed when she stuck the needle in, but then quit as soon as it was over; only to scream again two more times.  Mean nurse!  He stopped crying as soon as it was over.  I picked him up and hugged him.  He cuddled into my chest for only a few seconds before he sat up and started playing with my necklace.  My big guy!!!

Not much else is new since Preston is refusing to do anything!  He won't crawl...he won't even scoot!  He just cries and flails his arms and legs out like he's sky diving.  We bought him a walker and he just can't figure out how to put one foot in front of the other to make it move.  He usually just ends up screaming and we take him out.  He is sitting up by himself really well, and has been doing that for a while now.  One thing that IS new is that he's babbling "dada dada dada dada" ALL THE TIME!!!  What a STINKER!  He doesn't know what he's saying though.  When the doctor walked into the room last week (after we had waited for over TWO HOURS!!) he started with the "dada's" so even though he is saying "dada", he isn't referring to James.  LOL  Which makes my heart a little happier since we all know he should be saying "momma" first because I'M THE BEST!!!  

I took Preston outside last weekend to see if I could get some fall pictures of him and he was amazingly cooperative.  Our neighbor came over and brought one of her pumpkins since we don't have any fall decorations.  She and her daughter helped me get Preston to smile.  Her daughter, Anna Grace (4), had a good time squeaking Preston's toy for him.  Here are a few of my favorites.

FINALLY!

My child is 5 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days old today (according to the ticker at the top...I did NOT count the days on the calendar to figure that out...I don't have time for such silliness :) and he finally has done something that I have bittersweet feelings about; but should be elated!  He slept in his own bed ALL night for two nights in a row now.  And he actually slept!  

I, of course, was a nervous wreck so I slept upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms to be close to him.  I will probably stay in said spare bedroom for a while until I can get my Stinerpot to sleep ALL night without waking up around say 1 or 2 am for a feeding.  The book I bought "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" says that by 4-5 months, babies don't need a feeding in the middle of the night.  They should be able to sleep 10 hours without a feed.  I understand this to be fact, but ONE THING AT A TIME PEOPLE!!!  I just got my baby out of my room and into his own room....where he's in a big crib, all alone, by himself, without his mommy!  I hope he's not scared!  Maybe I should rethink this.....???

Anyway, Preston turns 6 months old soon and will be going for more shot.  BOO!  More importantly though, he will be measured again and I can't WAIT to hear his new "stats".  I hope Mommy Milk has done its job well again!!!  

Speaking of Mommy Milk, 6 months was my goal and it totally looks like I'm going to make it!  WOW!  After all that complaining I did and all those times I wanted to quit, the time is here.  It's here!  Now I've got all these sad feelings.  How am I going to be able to let go of my nursing relationship?  I know that once I am able to just whip out some powder and shake up a bottle while still continuing my conversations with friends while we are out to dinner, I will realize that I'm just fine.  But what about those times when we're home and he's hungry?  I LOVE that he wants his momma to comfort him.  Ahhhhhhh!!!!!  I'm so freakin' indecisive, it's scary!!!  I never used to be like this...I always made fun of Kirsten because of her complete lack of ablity to make a decision!!!  

OK...because I can't post without showing off my little Stinkerpot, here he is with his favorite toy: 

(and it's his favorite toy because I SAID SO!  Bwahahahahahaha!!!)

Momma's Milk Rocks!

Preston had his 4 month check up (and shots but we don't like to talk about those!) last month and he's a chunky monkey!  He weighed 15 pounds and 9 ounces....that put him in the 75% for weight.  He was 26 inches long....which put him the 75% for height!  I'm so amazed that my body did that for him!  So many times I wanted to quit nursing him and I have no idea why I didn't stop, but now I'm so glad I stuck with it!  

Preston also rolled over for the first time on Saturday, August 29th!  I was soooo relieved.  I felt like he was WAY behind all the other babies his age.  But since he doesn't like to be put down or left alone, it's not surprising that he hadn't rolled over.  James put him on the couch cushion, which kind of slants towards the back of the couch, so he would have a little extra help getting momentum.  He cried both times he did it, but he did it!  Then he did it 2 more times on the bed after that.  Terri (the daycare lady) said he rolled over twice for her today on the floor, so I think he might have it down!  She also said he scooted around about 45 degrees today on all fours.  YAY!  I was so afraid he would never get up on all fours and NEVER crawl!  I didn't want him to miss that step and go straight to walking!

He also likes to try to pull himself up to a sitting position.  The doctor said he had "great tone" when he was sitting (whatever that means, but I'll take it :) so she thought he would be sitting by himself soon....(*crossing fingers here*).

He's also been having one solid meal every evening.  We've tried rice cereal, prunes, applesauce, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans.  He's LOVED everything except the rice cereal and peas, so we've cut those out for now.  We might try the peas again later, but pretty much just putting the rice cereal in his daycare bottles now.  We're going to try carrots next....hope he likes them!!!

Rice Cereal on top...Prunes on bottom.  Can you tell the difference in how much he liked them?!?!?  He's getting so much better at eating solids now...he hardly gets ANY food on his bib now!  Such a big boy!  Where does the time go?!?!?!?!

One Year Old!

Ha ha!  I know Preston's not one year old...far frome it!  But this blog is officially one year old.  I haven't had much time to update it since Preston's been born, but I just couldn't let it go.  So I have paid for another year to have this url.  Who knows....maybe there will be another baby Brinkley on the way before it expires again!  LOL  I just can't believe it's been a whole year since we found out we were going to be parents!  

Anyway, Preston is now 17 weeks old.  Or 4 months and 3 days as the ticker at the top of the blog indicates.  I would love to say that I haven't been able to update because all my time is spent laughing and giggling with Preston, but actually all my time is spend trying to keep him from crying and screaming.  Poor baby just wants to be held and walked by his momma.  He screams if I sit down, screams if I sit/lay him down, screams if I give him to someone else.  Bless his little heart!  First I thought it was just colic and he would get over it by the time he was 4 months old.  WELLLLLL...he's 4 months now and it's not really getting any better.  We have moments of happiness and those are WONDERFUL!  

I've tried to do a little research (with the extra time I have...LOL) and found some info from Dr. Sears about "High Needs Babies".  Preston TOTALLY fits in this catagory.  Below I is the link for Dr. Sears' website and the 12 features of a high needs baby:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T050400.asp#

Like I said...it's not all bad.  We have moments of happiness and we try to catch those on camera every chance we get!  

Well, I turned 30 on July 27th, so James, Preston, and I headed to Savannah for a nice weekend get-a-way.  While we were there, Preston got in the ocean for the first time.  He handled getting splashed in the face by the salt water surprisingly well!  

Preston also made the trip up to Indiana for the 4th of July.  So at the ripe ole age of 3 months, Preston had made it to 6 different states! (Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana)  He's quite the traveler (well not really...he fussed the majority of the time he was awake!  James and I prayed for him to fall back to sleep each time he woke up!  He could've done better, but it could've been a LOT worse, so we're not complaining!).

Over the last 10 weeks (since my last post) Preston has discovered his hands, sucked his thumb, found his feet, and can reach for toys now.  He still refuses to roll over and for now, that's fine with me.  I know if I lay him on the bed...he's still going to be there.  DON'T FLAME ME!  I KNOW HE WILL ROLL OVER PROBABLY WHEN I'M NOT LOOKING SO I NEVER LEAVE HIM IN AN UNSAFE PLACE!    The other night he also tried eating solid foods for the first time.  We tried to feed him some rice cereal and he really didn't do too bad.  Most of the cereal ended up ON him and not IN him, but I hear that's normal for the first month of trying.

Preston goes back to see Dr. Hamilton-Rodgers Monday for his 4 month well baby visit...and more vaccinations.  BOO!  I hate those dumb shots, but I know they are for his own good.  I'm so excited to see how much he weighs!  I bet he's over 15 pounds now!  

7 Weeks Old and Counting....

Man, life is so hectic with a newborn!!  Preston is 7 weeks old today and I'm wondering where in the world my teeny-tiny baby went!!  He's getting so big!  I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update this blog in over a month.  Poor baby has acid reflux and a touch of colic so he's been a handful to say the least.  We're just now getting to a point where he'll lay down quietly for a few minutes.  He's been eating, sleeping or screaming for 6.5 weeks.  SERIOUSLY!  If he wasn't eating or sleeping, he was screaming.  It's been rough, but we're hanging in there.  

The doctor ordered an upper GI on the little guy to see if he had any anatomical abnormalities other than the reflux, and THANK GOD he didn't!  So we give him Zantac every 6 hours and pray for good days!  BLESS HIS HEART!  She originally thought he had some kind of swallowing problem, but it turns out he's a little bit tongue tied.  However, no bad enough for a visit to the ENT to have it clipped.  

I go back to work Monday, June 1st and I'm really dreading it.  I know he'll be fine and is in good hands with the daycare lady, Terri.  She's wonderful!  But the thought of him crying all day without me there to comfort him is horrifying.  HORRIFYING!  It breaks my heart just thinking about it now!  SO I won't....

Some people have been asking about my birth story and there's not really much to tell.  The labor and delivery were boring...and by boring I mean nothing out of the ordinary happened.  I had contractions, dilated, then pushed him out.  Of course to me there was nothing boring about the entire thing!  I tried really hard to go all natural for the birth, but got a little scared around 6 cm when some friends were in the room talking about how hard the pushing was going to be.  SO I wimped out and got the epidural.  When they checked me right after the epidural was put in, I was at 8 cm.  So I made it all the way to 8 cm with out the epidural.  I was really dissappointed in myself.  I totally could have made it!  Especially since the epi didn't kick in for another 15-20 minutes!!!  Anyway, all the excitement happened after Preston made his grand entrance!  I'll get to that in a minute...for now here's a little timeline of the birth:

6:05 - arrived at the hospital to be admitted

6:45 - 3 cm dilated; started Pitocin

8:00 - baby's heart rate supposedly dropped so they stopped the Pitocin (in reality, I moved and the monitor was picking up my heart instead of Preston's)

9:35 - Dr. Dean came and broke my water

11:30 - 4 cm/70% effaced  Contractions coming every 3 minutes

12:20 - 6 cm/80% effaced  Contractions coming every 1-2 minutes

1:20 - Epidural administered

1:30 - 8 cm still feeling contractions

2:45 - 9 cm/90% effaced...feeling no pain but can still have all feeling in my legs

3:50 - 10 cm/100%  Got prepped for delivery!

4:00 - started pushing

4:16 - PRESTON WAS BORN!!!

Then 30 minutes later a tornado came to town and we were wisked into the hallway of the OR waiting out the storm.  The entire hospital was on lockdown and everyone who was there to visit us had to wait in a hallway as well.  It was HORRIBLE!  I hadn't eaten ALL DAY and was STARVING!  Not to mention so was Preston and we were in a hallway with a bunch of strangers!  Finally a nurse came and put up a screen to separate us from everyone else so I could feed my baby...and she brought me a few crackers.  We didn't get into our room until after 7:30.  I can't remember the exact time.  But we didn't find out what Preston's "stats" were until after 7:00!  No one got to see Preston until after he spent a few minutes in the nursery getting cleaned up.  Needless to say it was a long, exhausting day and the tornado didn't help ONE BIT!!!

Oops...Preston woke up!  Gotta run, but here is a link to some pictures that we've taken over the past 7 weeks (and there are more that I haven't uploaded yet!  YIKES!)

http://picasaweb.google.com/cdbrinkley85/PrestonJames?authkey=Gv1sRgCIaVsbKC5JCrbg#

Preston Is Here!!

Preston James Brinkley

Born: 4/10/09 at 4:16pm

Weight: 7 lbs 1 oz

Length: 20 inches

Our little miracle has finally arrived!  I feel like we've been waiting for him forever (just my entire life, but who's counting?!?!).  He's perfect; absolutely PERFECT!  He's got a full head of hair just like I did and is the spitting image of James!  I don't have all the details of the birth story in order yet (give me a break!  I have slept more than 3 hours in over a week now!), but when I get them all in order, I'll post it.  It was amazing and crazy all at the same time!  My sister Kirsten, neice Rayen, brother Khaim, and mom were all able to make it down to Georgia to be here with me and offer all the support they could during labor.  I love them all and wish they all could have stayed longer.  Dad, Marsha, Grandma and Grandpa Helms made it down on Easter Sunday to spend some time with us and little Preston!  Kisses to all of them.  Anyway, for now, here are some pics of the little man!  I promise there are TONS more to come!!!

"4/10 Good Buddy"

4/10 is what James says when we hang up the phone.  Not sure why or how it started, but instead of saying "10-4" like the rest of the world does when signing off, he switches it up.  So this is the reason I jumped at the chance of having Preston's birthday be April 10th (4/10).  That's right my friends....Dr. Brass offered to induce me and I said YES!!!  So if all goes well, little Preston James will be here Friday!  AHHHHHHHH!!!!!  So exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time!Since it's been an entire month since I last posted there is LOTS to catch up.  Ok, so the first paragraph is the MAIN source of info, but I have a few more belly pictures, pictures of the nursery, and a picture of what MIGHT be Preston's coming home outfit (still deciding on this...).

I was "checked" at my 35 week appointment and wasn't dilated at all, but a week later at my 36 week appointment I was dilated 1 centimeter.  Woo-hoo progress!  By my 37 week appointment I had progressed to 2 centimeters.  Between my 37 and 38 week appointments, I was in a lot of pain.  I was afraid I was going to go into labor early, but at my 38 week appointmet I was still at 2 centimeters....possibly 2 1/2....but nothing to get too overly excited about.  I was getting a little bummed about being in all that pain and not making any progress, but then Dr. Brass asked if I was ok with being induced at 39 weeks.  UM....YEA!!!  I don't know if it was because I had been so uncomfortable or if it was because my belly is measuring big or if it was Divine Intervention, but I didn't argue.  BRING ON THE PITOCIN!

  Hahahahahaha!!!  I have to go back Thursday, April 9th to get checked one last time by Dr. Dean (he will be the one who delivers me if Preston comes on Friday....Or it will be Dr. Brass if Preston is stubborn and comes on

 Saturday.)  I will then get all the information I need for Friday; like when to show up and what exactly will happen.  I really like Dr. Dean, but have only seen him twice so I'm a little nervous.  I really would have rather had Dr. Jarvis, since he's been my doctor for the last 5 years...but I guess it won't matter as long as I have a healthy Preston at the end of it all.

So here are my 34, 36, and 38 week belly shots.  I'll take one last picture tomorrow at 39 weeks before delivering just so I can have on record how big I actually got!

It's really hard to tell the growth because they are taken at different angles, but at least you get the gist of it.

Here is a link to the nursery pics.  It's not COMPLETELY done, but it's done enough for now.  Also the last picture in this album is the outfit we are considering for Preston's coming home outfit....if anything changes, I'll let y'all know!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=cdbrikley85&target=ALBUM&id=5322349032206195393&authkey=Gv1sRgCM2Ev8_htKvlOw&authkey=Gv1sRgCM2Ev8_htKvlOw&invite=CKeP97oM&feat=email

AHHH!  I almsot forgot, I had maternity pictures taken a few weeks back and forgot to share those also!  Here's the links to the proofs.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=cdbrinkley85&target=ALBUM&id=5314948096983178753&authkey=Gv1sRgClyJuL3F6JyDUA&authkey=Gv1sRgClyJuL3F6JyDUA&invite=CM2RgPMK&feat=email

34 Weeks and Remembering to take a Belly Pic!

Remembering to take my belly pics might not seem like a hard task, BUT IT IS!!!  I'm so tired all the time that I can't remember anything, and when I DO remember to take the pic, I'm too tired to do it!!!  Being pregnant is HARD!  LOL   I haven't had the energy or the memory to take a picture since 28 weeks, so here I am 6 weeks later!  Not too much of a difference, but there IS a little bit of growth.  I'll try to remember to take/post the pictures for the remaining weeks!

Which MAY or MAY NOT be six more weeks!  I can't even begin to tell you all how sick I've been lately.  I feel like I'm back in the first trimester!  I get sick when I eat, sick when I don't eat, sick when I get hot, sick if I get too cold, sick if I sit up, sick if I lay down....on and on and on and on!  I've also been experiencing some Braxton Hicks (BH's) contractions lately.  Friday night/Saturday morning I had BH's from 3 am to 5 am that came EVERY EIGHT MINUTES!!!  We were just getting ready to get up and go to the hospital when they stopped, so I took some Tylenol and tried to go back to sleep.  Preston didn't move that entire time which made me a little bit worried, but he made up for it later!  I was throwing up again all day Saturday, which was lovely since the weather was BEAUTIFUL and James was outside working in the yard.  I was actually kind of jealous.  I tried to go out and help him, but then I just got too hot and had to go back inside.  Same thing happened Sunday with the yard work.  I set up my chair outside to "supervise" James' work, but after about 30 minutes I was getting over-heated.  I had to go back inside and put ice packs all over me.

I go to the back to the doctor this Thursday afternoon for my first exam.  I'll be really surprised if she tells me nothing's going on.  I'm really hoping for at least a centimeter!  Stay tuned!

Introducing Peanut Jelly & Butter....WHAT???

Wow it's been a while since I posted!  SORRY!  We did go back for another 4D ultrasound, but it didn't go much better.  At first baby was facing my back and wouldn't turn around.  BOOGER!  So we went to the doctor's appointment, drank some cold water, did a few squats, and went back.  VOILA!  He turned around!!!  ONLY he kept his hands (that's right I said handS...both of them!) over his face the whole time.   He's either REALLY camera shy like his daddy or a little bit on the ornery side.  Maybe it's a little bit of both (LORD KNOWS his daddy is! LOL, but that's why we love him!)  But we were able to get some great pictures of his cute little hands.   Looks like there are 5 cute little fingers on each hand!  No need to count them when he decides to come into the world!  Anyway, here are the pictures and for the first time EVER I can proudly say.....INTRODUCING PRESTON JAMES BRINKLEY!!!!!

Yes, we know that should we ever want to get get his initials monogrammed somewhere it would be PBJ...making it appear that we named our son after a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, but we didn't.  So lets all get the laughs out now and embrace the fact that James & Clarissa FINALLY picked a name!!!!  

Disappointment

Well James and I went yesterday for our 4D ultrasound and were a little disappointed in Lil Man.  Baby decided he didn't want to be seen, so he kept his little arm in front of his face almost the WHOLE TIME!  He's already a little booger!!!  After about 30 minutes of the tech shaking the heck out of my belly, getting up and walking around, going to the restroom, and almost faiting on the table, baby finally moved his arm just long enough to catch a few pictures of the side of his face.  THEN he turned around backwards so we could only see the back of his head.  So it wasn't what we were hoping it would be and I don't think the pictures are clear enough to tell who he looks like yet (although I found a picture of me in my baby book that is seriously the spitting image of the first picture below.....but that could be wishful thinking :) but we are going back next Friday to have a repeat ultrasound done.  If the little guy won't cooperate then, we will have paid $140 for nothing.  We only get one "Mulligan" on this so we will have to pay again if we don't get good pictures next week.  AND since I'm still all sorts of nervous about not getting everything we need because I only have one more shower scheduled, we'll probably just save the $140 for something from the registry (like the pack-n-play we want, but haven't gotten yet.......if anyone wants to go in on it with us!  LOL j/k).  So here are the pictures we did get....stay tuned for (HOPEFULLY) better ones next week!

As the tech was turning the machine off, it switched from 4D to regular and she said "OH MAN!  LOOK at THAT!"  I couldn't figure out what she was talking about so I asked "What? Is something wrong?"  She said "ALL THAT HAIR!"  So she snapped a picture of his hair floating in the fluid.  YAY!  He's going to have a full head of hair like his momma did!!!

TWENTLY-NINE!

Well, today I have decided I have a new favorite number: 29!!!  I went to the doctor today, January 29th.  Everything looks good, except my iron levels have dropped so he gave me a prescription for iron pills.  Joy of joys.  ANYWAY, while I was there they weighed me in and he measured my belly.  I am 29 weeks along, I have gained 29 pounds, and my belly measured 29 centimeters.  And well, we all know I'm 29 years old.  So lets recap:  January 29th, 29 years old, 29 weeks pregnant, 29 pounds gained, belly measured 29 centimeters.  So you see, I have no choice but to consider 29 my lucky number!!!!

I also had to get my Rhogam shot today.  This is to protect baby from my negative blood type.  Um yea...that shot hurt!  I have to get another one after I give birth.  Joy of joys...again.  I have to thank my dad for this.  He is ultimately the reason I have this big pain in my, um....rear end right now!!!  THANKS DAD!  

I also read today that being left-handed can make for a more presidential demeanor.  And since James is left-handed, there is a good chance I may be cooking a future US president.  I'm just sayin....

OK, all that being said, I never got around to posting my 28 week belly pic.  So here it is....along with my 4 week pic so I can remember that I've not always been HUGE!!!

Oh man!!!!  I miss my tan!!!!

Happy 2009! Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

Whew!  Where do I begin???  There is soooo much I need to post that I'll probably forget something!

1) James and I drove to Indiana to celebrate a late Christmas and New Years with my family!  It was soooooooooo good to see everyone.  Kirsten & Jason got me a pregnancy body pillow which has been a LIFE SAVER!!!  I can't sleep without it!!!  Dad & Marsha got me my Sperry's!!!  YAY!!!  I've been wearing those NON-STOP!  Dad made pumpkin pie and Grandpa made chocolate fudge and I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!  I ate too much, but that's what holidays with family is all about....right???  

2) While there Kirsten threw us our VERY FIRST EVER BABY SHOWER!!!!  It was Mickey themed and it was SO CUTE!!!  A picture of the invitation is below!  We had a blast!!!  They had us blind folded and wanted to see who could diaper a stuffed animal first.  WELL little did we know they were going to BLAST us in the face with silly string!!!  HOWEVER, I clearly won!  James couldn't even figure out how to open the diaper...or maybe I am just THAT good!  In any case, I diapered the "baby" all while trying to avoid the silly string!  We received a lot of good presents!  Too many to name off, but I have a link to all of the pictures.  You can see everything we got, and everyone who was in attendance!  FUN WAS HAD BY ALL! 

http://picasaweb.google.com/cdbrinkley85/IndianaShower?authkey=0_uvSP52SW0&feat=email#

3) I had my 26 week doctor's appointment and saw Dr. Dean for the first time.  He was funny.  He had me sign the release form so they had my permission to deliver the baby.  That darn form was so funny!  I mean, if you actually read it (which I did because they left us waiting in that room FOREVER!) you have to wonder what kind of people they are dealing with.  It first said "The diagnosis requiring this procedure is: PREGNANCY."  I'm 26 weeks....THANKS FOR TELLING ME!!!  Like I didn't know!  Then it said 

"The alternative to a vaginal delivery is Ceserean Section. The alternative to Ceserean Section is vaginal delivery.   If neither of these options are suitable for you, you may be putting your health in serious risk."  YA THINK?????    Who is THAT STUPID that they need to put that?????  ANYWAY, baby's heart sounded nice and strong and everything seemed to be going along as planned.  I did gain another 6 pounds which put the grand total by 26 weeks at 25 pounds gained.  Dr. Dean didn't seem worried about the weight, but said if I was worried I could follow the South Beach Diet.  Hahahahaha!  I'm following the "I'm-Pregnant-and-I'm-Flipping-Hungry-So-I'm-Gonna-Eat-What-I-Want" diet!  AMEN!!!

4)  I've been horrible with my belly pics!  I DID remember to take my 26 week pic though!  My 24 week pic is in the previous post...that's all I have for that week.  My 25 week picture is with Kirsten....which could also be her 28 week pic (LOL!).  And yes, I completely forgot to take a 27 week pic.  I would take one tonight and post, but I'll be 28 weeks Friday and I'll just post that one.  SO here are the 25 & 26 week belly pics!  My belly looks SO much different in clothes!

5) I have another doctors appointment next Thursday (1/29).  I will be 29 weeks then.  After that appointment I will be going every 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks until 35 weeks.  Once I hit 35 weeks, I'll be going every week.  We have our 4D ultrasound scheduled for Friday, February 6th.  I'm so excited to see his precious little face!!!  I told James we WILL have a name by then so we can put his precious little name on his precious little picture!  SO hopefully you'll know baby boy's name in less than 3 weeks!!!