Party Time!

False Alarm!!

I often wonder why I can't have a normal pregnancy. Maybe if I had easy pregnancies, then I would be willing to have more children. But that's obviously not the case here.

I woke up yesterday morning feeling kinda 'off' and not well. I got sick, but that's not really a surprise these days still. Then I laid down for awhile and felt a little better. So, I decided to do some chores around the house and just started feeling really lousy. I noticed that Chase had changed positions and significantly dropped. I no longer had a 'perfectly round' belly, but was carrying very low. It felt completely weird, his movements were still there, just in different areas than before and not as strong. If I tried to stand or walk for longer than ten minutes, I felt an awful lot of pressure like he was just going to fall out of me. Back to the couch I went to lay down. It seemed to ease up if I sat or laid down. While sitting down at dinner trying to enjoy my delicious homemade chili and cornbread, I started to feel some cramping. That's it, I had to call the doc. The on-call nurse called me back, asked some questions, and recommended that I go up to L&D at the hospital to get checked out just in case it was pre-term labor. I'm usually not one to freak out, but since I never went into labor with Austin and had a scheduled c-section, I'm no expert on what labor feels like. Yikes!

So, CiCi came to the rescue to watch Austin while Jordan took me to the hospital. Going back up to the 2nd floor at Lake Pointe just brought all the memories back. Got to the room, peed in my cup, and got my gown on. The nurse came in to hook me up to the monitors. However, Chase didn't want to cooperate, and they couldn't get his heartbeat on the fetal monitor. It was hard to stay calm, but I could feel some movement, so I knew in my heart he was fine. But my pulse was racing as we waited. While we waited for the sonogram tech to come, they hooked me up to the monitor and I was having some mild sporadic contractions. WTH?! It was way too early for Chase to make his arrival. I mean, I know the Duggars had their baby at around 26 weeks, but I would rather not have to deal with the stress of a preemie. The sonogram revealed that Chase was just fine, but was really low. He was measuring right at 2 lbs. The nurse checked my cervix for any signs of pre-term labor, but all came came back good. The ultimate diagnosis was that I was dehydrated, so after filling me with fluids, the contractions stopped. I was told to take it easy and stay hydrated. Whew, that was a close one! So, no more chores around the house or anything like that. I'm hoping that everything goes well from here on out, because I don't want to be dealing with bedrest or anything just yet.

In the meantime, Chase is still laying pretty low. Extra pressure on my bladder, yay! I definitely can't stand or walk long distances right now. Next appointment with the doc is next Monday, so we'll see what he says.

Pumpkins, Bellies, and Wine, Oh My!

Jordan and I took our 'babymoon' down to Gruene this past weekend and had a great time. It was just pretty relaxing, with not much of an itinerary. We visited a wine bar that we usually pay a visit to while down there, and enjoyed a bottle of wine on the patio. I'm usually not one to partake in alcoholic beverages while pregnant, but I did enjoy a glass of wine. It was delicious, but made me very sleepy. :) We did a little bit of walking around, hitting up our usual sites, enjoyed lots of delicious food at the Gristmill and Gruene River Grille, and listened to some great music. The bed & breakfast we stayed at was great and very authentic.

Austin stayed with Jordan's parents while we were out of town and had a great time. But he sure was glad to see his Mommy on Sunday afternoon! Once we got home and unpacked, we decided to take him up to the local pumpkin patch to walk around and maybe get some good pics. Well, Austin didn't really want to cooperate with my photo opportunities, and refused to pose or smile in any of them! I may take him back next weekend to try again.

I'm just about 25 weeks now and progressing right along. At my appointment last week, my weight was finally back up to pre-pregnancy, so the doc was happy. He measured my uterus on the outside of my belly, and I'm already measuring ahead. He ordered up another ultrasound on 11/1 to see how big Chase is already. I know my due date isn't til 1/30, but I'm fully expecting our boy to make his arrival by 1/15. I don't know how Jordan and I manage to make such big babies! But chubby babies are the best. :) Chase's crib arrived at the store today, and the dresser should be there by Thursday, so guess what we'll be doing this weekend!! This nursery will finally start coming together!

Just Rambling.....

I thought I would do just a miscellaneous update on all sorts of things. Why? Well, I'm kinda bored. I'm at home for the third day in a row suffering from a terrible stomach virus. I'm hoping to go back to work tomorrow, but still not feeling completely up to par yet.

All Things Regarding Chase

Chase is as active as ever these days! He particularly likes to liven up around 10pm every night. I hope this isn't a sign of what he'll be like when he arrives! But if I try to remember back, I think Austin liked to kick around mostly at night time. It's still an odd feeling, having a little human being rolling around in your tummy. We cleaned out the extra guestroom a few weeks ago, and this past weekend I put paint on one wall in Chase's room. Strangely enough, the color scheme in the bedding I picked out for Chase
matches that of Austin's so I'm able to use paint we already had in the garage. Score! I'm painting the main wall with the crib a dark blue and the remaining three walls a darker tan. I'm getting really excited about the planes, trains, and automobiles theme, especially since his bedding came in this week. And Mom has offered to buy his crib (since she did with Austin and she's insisted on doing all the same things for Chase), so pretty much all we have to buy is a dresser for this kid. Yay! I pulled down some boxes of Austin's clothes from the attic to start going through them. It's so fun to go down memory lane and see how much our monkey has grown. Needless to say, we're pretty much set on clothes for Chase!

Before I got this stomach virus, I was starting to feel pretty good. No more nausea and seemed to have a pretty good level of energy for the most part. But since I've been sick the past couple days, I'm still down 6lbs from my starting weight. Sometimes I wonder how I can still be down that weight when my belly is growing by the minute it seems. My next appointment will be my 24wk checkup next week with my awesome Dr......love him!

What's Austin Been Up To?!

This boy is all over the place!! He has the funniest personality and everyday is an adventure. With the weather finally cooling down, we've been spending alot of time outside playing in the evenings, which he loves. We enrolled him in a program at school called Amazing Athletes that comes once a week for an hour and works with them on different sports activities and coordination. I can definitely tell he's been picking up on a few things! After the first session, Austin's teacher commented to Jordan that the Athletes' director was impressed by Austin's abilities already and could tell we'd been working with him alot. Yay! I'm not saying we're going to have an NFL or NBA star on our hands, but I could tell it made Jordan proud of his little boy!

As you can tell from my previous post, we've completely kicked the paci out the door. Man, am I relieved it was that easy!! His teacher says he's asked about it a few times at nap time, but they just tell him he doesn't have it and he's fine. Ugh, he's just growing up too fast! I have a month and a half til his 2nd birthday, so I'm in full party planning mode now. We've decided on a Handy Manny theme this year, which he's been kinda obsessed about lately. I've got the cutest invitations picked out, all the decor, and the cake that I'm planning on making. I know I'll be cussing myself the night before the party when I'm up til midnight trying to finish the cake, but I'm pretty excited about it. Now all we need to do is his 2-year photo shoot.....I can't wait!

Everything Else!

Next weekend Jordan and I will be venturing down to one of our favorite spots, Gruene, TX, for a little 'babymoon' by ourselves before I get too pregnant. We're looking forward to a little R&R at a local bed & breakfast. There's a Music & Wine Festival going on while we're down there, so there should be plenty to do. Jordan's parents have graciously offered to watch Austin for the weekend while we're gone, but I know I'm going to miss him terribly! But before we can get to Gruene, we get to attend my 10 year high school reunion this weekend. It's going to be a small informal get-together, but I didn't expect much more when you graduate with only 46 people. :)

I can't believe that October is in just a few days! This year has truly flown by. I know we'll have such a busy few months with the holidays, Austin's birthday, and getting ready for Chase's arrival. And I've got to wrap up things at work and get my clients transitioned to another manager before my departure at Christmas-time.

Anyways, I guess that's all the updates I have for now. :)

Bye Bye Paci!!

Before Austin was born, I struggled with the decision on whether we would give him a pacifier or not. It always bothered me when I would see 3-year olds walking around stores with a pacifier in their mouth. Well, when you have a screaming newborn, it's easy to succumb to the easy soother. However, we restricted his use of the paci to only when he was napping, riding in the car, or sleeping at night. As he got a little older, it was only allowed during sleep/naps. It was always my goal to get him off of this by his 2nd birthday, which is in less than two months. I heard suggestions from others about cutting the tip off so it wouldn't give the sucking sensation anymore. That was my original plan, but the other night on a whim, I just decided to lay him down at bedtime with just Woofie (his constant companion dog) and no paci. He never even asked about his paci and went to sleep no problems. Was this just a fluke?! Well, here we are four days later and still no paci! I'm so proud of my little monkey! I had no idea it was going to be this easy to take it away from him.

He has a name!!!!

After much deliberation and debate, we have finally come to an agreement on this little guy's name........

CHASE COOPER HOUGHAM

It wasn't easy this time around. Jordan had his list and I had mine. Finally at 1:30am the other night, we came to an agreement. Chase has become pretty active these last few days, and Jordan was finally able to feel him kick on the outside of my belly. What a wonderful feeling to be able to share! We've emptied out everything from the guest room and am ready to paint and get this nursery started!

The Verdict Is In!!!

It's another BOY for the Houghams!! I saw that little turtle on the screen long before the u/s tech pointed it out to us, and my heart jumped with joy! Everything looked great and the baby was measuring normal with all the different parts of the anatomy. I'm actually measuring 3 days ahead of my actual due date right now, too. After the u/s, Jordan accompanied me to my regular monthly appointment, which has been a first for this pregnancy. It can be particularly awkward when you have to get undressed at the OB's office and your husband is sitting across the room giving you the stink eye. But luckily today, no need to get undressed, which was perfectly fine with me. Just a prick of the finger to check for anemia, talk about my nausea/vomiting, and listen to the heartbeat. My total weight gain/loss at this point is -4 from my starting weight. It's getting back up there, slowly but surely. I didn't actually gain any weight with Austin until after 20 weeks, so we're right on track with last time. For the most part I feel pretty good. I only have about one day a week where I get sick and feel like crap most of the day. Sleep has become a little uncomfortable because I'm a stomach sleeper, so I'm trying to manage that. I've got a little bump going on and feel like I'm carrying just like I was with Austin.

Ahhhh! I can't believe I will be the mother of two boys. I guess I will get to be the Queen of our castle and let them adore me. :) I have no sadness whatsoever about not having a little girl. I wasn't dead set on having one of each before we quit trying to have children. I always knew I wanted two kids and whatever they were, that was it. I would never try to tempt fate by trying for a third for a girl. At least there will be no weddings to pay for! And I think about the boxes and boxes of baby boy clothes up in the attic that I just have to wash and put in the new nursery. So cheap, since they'll be born in pretty much the same seasons.

Now we start the name game/battle. We can't seem to come to a consensus, so this should be interesting. My plan for the nursery is to a transportation theme with planes, trains, and automobiles. I envision a train track, roadways painted on the wall, etc. I've been browsing baby bedding all afternoon and am getting excited about getting the nursery together!