Loral is 7 months now

We can not believe our little girl is 7 mos. old today. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we were heading out to the hospital to have her. She is such a blessing. She now weighs 15lbs 10oz and is close to 28in long. Since her surgery she has gained 1 lb in less than a month. It has really made a difference. She nurses and eats food much better than before. She is sitting up on her own and now is rolling in both directions. She loves to play with balls and her other toys, she has fun changing things from one hand to the other. She will just sit and play for 30-45 mins by herself as long as she doesn't see her mommy she's good. She does get fussy and wants someone to sit and play with her and sometime's she just wants us to pick her up. We are really having a great time with her. Christmas was fun. She got some new clothes and new toys and her first snowbaby ornament. I hope to start her an ornament collection that she will hopefully cherish over the years. I will post some new pictures from the christmas festivities. We purchased a new video camera with our christmas gift cards so we are going to see if we can upload a video or two every once in a while. Well the new year is fast approaching. I am working nights now in OB and Matt is still at Progressive Foam. Things are good in the Shapter House! Happy Holidays may God Bless you and your families in the New Year!

Time just keeps flying by.

I will try and make this short and sweet. The last post was just before Halloween so there is alot to say. We spent Loral's first halloween with her cousins Katy Belle & Lindley then went to Grandmoma's to see her other cousins. She was a monkey and the cutest one ever! November was another busy month in the Shapter House. The first weekend in November Matt & I got an elective sitter for the first time so we could go out to dinner for Tabetha's 30th birthday. So Mimi came over to keep Lola. Although we knew she was in very capable hands, it was very weird for us to leave her when we didn't have to. We did enjoy ourselves but we were ready to get home to see her. She and Mimi had a great time. We spent Lola's first Thanksgiving visiting Uncle in the hospital, he was recovering from a vehicle accident. We ate lunch at Mimi & Pop's she loves sweet potato casserole. The day after Thanksgiving Matt & I went to the LSU vs. Hogs game in Little Rock. I was the ever so intellegent one who left without a coat and got very cold quickly. So we left the game early and finished watching it at Dawn's while we waited on Uncle to be transfered from Conway to Children's Hospital. It was a game I hate that we missed but I was not having a good time being rained on. Uncle did get to come home the week after Thanksgiving and seems to be healing well. God was really watching over him because he could just as easily not survived the wreck and his injuries could have been much worse than what they were. The wednesday after Thanksgiving I spent my last full day in the OR. Thursday Lola had her 6 month check up and weighed in at 14 lbs. 11 oz and 27 1/4 in long. She was sick most of the month of November with a cold, pink eye and teething so it was a rough month and we made 2 trips to the Dr. office so we were not surprised at her weight. She still is pretty small for her age but she is doing great. Dec. 5th she had surgery to correct her tongue because she was tongue tied. She did pretty good during surgery and seemed to feel good that afternoon but by Sunday evening the pain meds from friday were worn off and mortin wasn't really helping. Sunday was one of the longest nights we have had in a long time. We were all up for about 4 hours that night. It made for a rough first day in OB on Monday. The 12th was Lindley's 1st birthday and we went to her house for a party. It is so sweet to see Loral and Lindley playing together and K. B. just loves her baby sister and baby loral. I am so glad that they are so close in age. It reminds me of when Hannah and Arianna were little, they were inseperable. The 13th was a sad reminder of our huge loss last year. Lawson was such a great kid, he was an old cowboy soul in a little cowboys body. We as a family miss him so very much. There isn't a day that goes by that he is not thought of. I only wish he could have met his youngest cousin's. He loved little kids and babies, it was so much fun watching him with Katy Belle. I would give anything to have him back with us, but I know he is always with us in spirit. I know this seems strange but anytime Loral wakes in the middle of the night laughing, I alway's say "Lawson leave her alone and let her get some sleep, she can play when the sun comes out". I guess it's my way of keeping him close to us. Christmas is next Thursday and our tree is up and stocking's are all hung by the front door with care in hopes that St. Nick will soon be here. It is during this time of year that we reflect on they past year. Our lives and family have changed so much we have said good-bye to loved ones and welcomed new members to the family. We are grateful for each experience that God has placed in our life and even though we do not always understand the reason we know he has one.
Merry Christmas and May God bless you and your family in the New Year!
Oh yeah and Loral is sitting up on her own, said dada and she has her first tooth!

catching up

It has been a while since I last blogged. It is so hard to keep up with everything that I must get done and still have time to do things I want to do. I have the best intentions but they only get you so far. Loral has been a very busy girl! We traveled to Nashville, TN with some other ladies that I work with and their little boys for a workshop Oct. 10th. Matt was able to go with me so I was able to take Loral along. She did really well on the car ride over so I was happy. There were times on the ride back that she got fussy but I could feel her pain. She visited the Parthenon replica and the park with her Daddy while I was in class on Saturday and then the group of us 5 adults and 3 babies went to have dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. We all ate pretty good the kids were all getting pretty sleepy, but still well behaved. Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and had breakfast at the famous “Pancake Pantry”. We arrived shortly after 8:00am and there was a short line, by the time we left around 9:30am there was a line all the way out the door and around the corner down the street. We had a good time and the workshop was very informative.
The following Thursday we flew out to Knoxville, TN for Curtis and Carol’s wedding weekend. It was Loral’s first flight! She did fabulous! I was so proud of her. She slept pretty much the whole time from Little Rock into Memphis and Memphis to Knoxville. We spent the afternoon and evening with the Bridges. Silas has really grown up since we last saw him last November. He is such a big boy now. Matt and Bridges went to hang out with the guys while Erika and I caught up on everything. I have to step back for a second. While in the air we realized that we had forgotten “Mr. T” (Loral’s riding companion) in the car so we were a little panicked. After all Mr. T goes everywhere loral goes. She prefers him over baby Susie. Anyway so before we headed to Townsend Friday afternoon we had to find and Mr.T2 and hope that he would work. Target carried the same looking Mr.T but he was just a little different and she is one smart girl and noticed. She did however let him work until we could get home. Townsend is a small town but this time of year is beautiful with the Smokey Mountains in few at all times and the leaves changing it made for some really pretty pictures. The wedding was very nice and the reception so much fun. Curtis looked extremely happy and Carol made a beautiful bride, we were so glad that we could be there with them. It was Loral’s first time to meet Matt’s Shapter side of the family tree and they fell in love with her at first sight. She was such a trooper through all the events of the weekend and only fussed when tired or hungry. Sunday we met the Bridges Family in Pigeon Forge for lunch and a little shopping then headed back to their house for a quiet afternoon. We took advantage of our extremely talented photographer friend and had him take some pictures of Loral at the same time showing us how to work our new camera. My only regret is that we didn’t get any pictures of Silas and Loral together, maybe next time. We had an early flight out Monday morning and were ready to get home. Loral did just a great on the return flight; she really made me proud all weekend.
We have been working with her over the last couple months with eating baby food from a spoon. With her being tongue tied it has taken longer. We started with just cereal and she didn’t really get much down at first. Now she has really gotten the hang of it and looks forward to her meals. She is not picky right now which I am grateful for. She loves squash, sweet potatoes, sweet peas and most all of her fruits even prunes. We are just now introducing a little juice and she isn’t so sure about that yet. She is growing so fast and is rolling over more now but only in her crib. She will sit-up for a few seconds on her own and loves to jump in her entertainment center. She also loves watching little Einstein’s and Bee-bo her baby signs movie. She makes the funniest noises, sometime she sounds like a prehistoric animal. She loves to laugh and laughs so much at herself. She is just really starting to get the dogs and loves to watch the big dogs (Diggs & Erika) walk around. Diggs now likes to try and give Loral kisses which doesn’t bother her but grosses me out so we try hard to keep it from happening. Loral is such a joy and we are so blessed to be her parents. I love sharing her new adventures with our friends and family and I know that she brings joy and love to their lives as well. We are celebrating her first Halloween tomorrow so hopefully over the weekend I can post a new slide show of pictures from the last month or so.

I am finally getting a chance to update some picture. The ones from play day are from early September and the ones of her in her monkey costume are from our recent trip to Knoxville, which I will write about soon. Thanks Uncle B for taking such great shots.....more to come soon!

Loral's First Play Day

This past Saturday some of Loral's little friends came to play. There were 5 babies, 3 boys ages 7mos, 5mos & 2 1/2mos and Loral who is now 3 1/2 mos and the other little girl is 2 1/2mos. We had fun watching all of them. The younger ones didn't play much but I think they still enjoyed it. Loral was sleepy she was to excited to sleep before her friends arrived so she fell asleep in the party. When she would cry one of the other boys would push his bottom lip out and start to cry with her. It was so funny! It was like he just couldn't let her cry by herself. The oldest baby was the only one sitting up by himself. I think all the other babies were jealous. We had a great time and I think we are going to do it again in another month or so.

Recent pictures

Loral enjoy's her baths. Cousin Daisy & Loral


Loral and I on 8/18 the day I went back to work full-time and her first day of daycare.
Then 8/30 in her razorback attire. This one is of her and baby cousin Axel she is 10 weeks older.

Aunt Lorey-Lorey and Katy Belle at KB's 3rd birthday party.
Loral having her first taste of rice cereal. She liked it better in a bottle but by the 2nd try with the spoon she enjoyed it.
Sweet baby!
Before Josue's Christening 8/30
7/13 Allison, Ella, Loral & I at Ella's 1st birthday party.
Melissa & Paige added to the pic. My oldest friend's and the newest ones.
Aunt Sis & Paige
KB holding her baby Loral
Loral & Cousin Lindley in their matching outfits from Memoma. Lindley is 5 1/2 months older than Loral.
We are doing good! Sorry some of the picture jump around. We had some family pictures made this weekend I will try and get a few of those up soon.

The past few weeks.

Well the past few weeks have been extremely busy. I returned to work full-time on the 18th on the 19th I started a new part-time teaching job with the UAMS Surgical Technology program. Loral went to daycare for the first time on the 18th and I cried until about 3:00 pm and that was only because I ran out of tears. Her teachers were all very nice and understanding. Matt has been able to go by and see her almost everyday at lunch so that has made me feel better. It has been really hard trying to balance everything out. I never feel like I have enough time to spend with her. I have found that I don't talk to many people once I get home, that is my time with her and Matt. It has gotten a little easier but every so often I have a little melt down. This week she will start a new daycare. There wasn't anything wrong with the first one, but the new one will have a smaller class and is a little cheaper per week. She turned three months old on Thursday. Time really has flown by. She smiles and laughs so much now and she will grab things that she wants and pull them to her. We are really enjoying this stage. She had rice cereal for the first time last weekend. That was a rather funny experience. She just held it in her mouth not knowing what to do with it. Since she is tongue-tied it will take us a little longer to get her able to eat from a spoon but I am in not hurry we will just take baby steps. We went this morning and had her 3 month pictures made, we also had some made of the family. They turned out nice. I just wish she had smiled a little more, but she was sleepy and I guess at 3 months you can't really expect to much.

Returning to work

After being off with Loral for 9 weeks, I went back to work part-time. The first morning was not so good. I woke up on time, got dressed, ate breakfast, got all my stuff for work together. Then I have to go feed Loral. Now, usually this is a pleasant experience but not this particular morning. I cried the whole time. It was so hard to know that I was leaving her and she had no idea what was about to happen. I told her how much I loved her and that I would be home soon. But, she just drifted back to sleep expecting her mommy to be there when she woke up just like I had been for her whole life. I finally was able to put her back in her crib and went to kiss Matt good-bye and I started crying again. On the way to work all I could think about was her little face and eyes and how she would be searching for me when she woke up. That is what makes this hard. I know what I am doing or about to do, she just gets blindsided with it all. There is no way to prepare her for my leaving she goes to sleep and I am there and she wakes up and I am no where to be found.
At work I called every hour or so to check on her and I couldn't wait to get home. Everyone at work was telling me how good it was to have me back. The feeling wasn't mutual. Not because I don't like my co-workers but because I wanted to be with my baby. When I got home, she had fallen back to sleep and I started talking to her and then picked her up. She started crying a little and would open and close her eyes like "is this my mommy, is she really home or am I just dreaming". It was good to be home.
Friday morning seemed harder than Thursday. I didn't cry as much but just felt worse about leaving. When I called to check on her the 3rd time she was awake and I talked to her on the phone. At first Hannah said she was looking around and then she turned towards the phone and started smiling. Well, that did me in for the day. I started crying because again I realized she has no idea where I am or when I will be home. I had to get off the phone. It is so hard to feel this way and be able to perform like I need to at work. I know everyone says it gets easier and I am sure it probably will, but right now I am intitled to feel the way I do. It is hard leaving my baby and I miss her so much when I am away.
I couldn't get home to her fast enough either day and I am glad that I have had the last four days off with her. Hopefully it will make tomorrow just a little easier than last week.
On another note! My baby brother turns the BIG 16 today. It is so hard to believe that he is 16 and Arianna is 18. April & I did so much for them when they were little they were like our own kids instead of siblings. Its kind of like our kids are grown-up now. When Arianna arrived everything in our house changed. But we knew what to do with girls. Ancel is born and we just looked at him like he was from outer space. We didn't know what to do with a boy and he had colic and we probably could have given him away to the first taker. No one offered to take him. Although the first 6 mos. of his life were some of the worst for everyone else with his colic. After that was all over he turned into the sweetest little boy and we had so much fun with him. He's not a little boy anymore but he still is a lot of fun. Sometimes I still look at him and wonder where he came from, but I love him so much and wish him the happiest birthday yet!

Photos

I know that Loral has been photographed more in her first 2 months than most people do in 20 years. But, I was just able to get my hands on my first outfit and the gown that my mom made for Hannah when she was born. So, I am not apologizing for all the pictures. After all if you are looking at them then you want to see them. You have not been forced to view my beautiful baby. But, I am sure you all feel blessed when you look at her sweet face.
By the way, the photos will only keep coming, she hasn't really started doing any tricks yet.

Loral's New photos

Recent pictures

These pictures are in reverse order from how they happened but thats okay, right?
The ones in the watermelon outfit are from this past weekend. I decided that since she was 2mos old and hasn't had any dress-up pictures made in a month that I would take some before Christopher & Melinda's wedding.



One evening while getting ready for bed, I decided to get out her Bedtime sing a long book and so we did. She seemed to really enjoy it and in some of the pictures looks like she is reading along with me.This picture was made this past weekend while enjoying some tummy time and watching herself in the mirror.

Just one of her many looks
After her first time at church
Happy 29th birthday Mommy, the family just before heading out for birthday dinner. She slept the whole time we were out.
Another look.

2 Month Dr. Visit

We took Loral for her 2 month check-up this afternoon. The visit started out good. She took a cat nap in the waiting room, then they moved us to the weigh and measure station. She weighed in at 10lbs 3.5 oz, she is 23inches long, and her head is 15 in cir. She gave the nurse a run for her money trying to straighten out her legs. She would pull on one and loral would straighten the other and back and forth until the nurse caught on. It was pretty funny! We were escorted to our room to wait, the nurse told us she was a little under 50% in her weight and head cir. but 75% in her length. The Dr. came in and gave her the work-up checking all her parts and making sure everything was in working order. Then he informed us about the shots she would be receiving and out he went. Then the big mean nurse came in and I started tearing up. She just walked in the door and already I was a basket case. I laid Loral down on the bed and hovered over her the best I could not only to keep her from seeing but so I didn't have to watch either. The first stick went in and within a few seconds out came the first shrill cry, then the second shot, and the crying continued from both of us, then the third and all though there were no more shots we were both still crying. The sound she made was awful. She had tears of pain not hurt feelings. I just couldn't stand it. I really wish there was a different way to do these things. I'm glad we don't have to have any more for at least 2 more months. By the way the nurse was not big nor ugly but when she was hurting "my" baby she was the worst thing ever.
We came home and I gave baby girl some Tylenol and she went down for a nap that was a few hours ago. I guess I will get her up in a little while to nurse her,but I may just let her sleep.
Tomorrow is a big day for she and I. It will be the first day away from each other. I am back to work even if it is only 8 hours, but I am not looking forward to it at all. I know that she will be in good hands with Hannah but I would much rather her still be in my hands. I hope that she does okay and isn't to fussy from her shots and being away from her mommy all day. I really am dreading it, but I know it has to take place and that people do it all the time. But, not this people and not yet! I guess if I was one of those mother's who didn't really want to be involved or have much to do with her it wouldn't be so hard. But, this is the child we prayed for and waited for and this is the same child I thought I would never have. I don't want someone else experiencing her first of anything, that's my job I'm her mother and I want to be there for all those first. I know that I should feel blessed that I have been able to take off with her as long as I have and I do. I also know that it will only be for 2days a week, but that does not really console me. The 2days will only last for 3 weeks and then it is full-time. I know that she will be okay but I am going to miss my little baby girl and being away from her is not something I do very well.

8 weeks old and time for a schedule

So we read in our "Week by week, the first year" book that at 8 weeks you should start putting baby to bed while she is still awake and give her a chance to soothe herself to sleep. Well, Sunday night we tried it, at 8:30 I feed her, got her jammies on and at 9:00 she was in bed. She didn't fuss to much and was a sleep by 9:30. Yesterday after coming in from running errands she needed a nap so I thought 1pm would be a good nap time. I put her in her crib turned on her mobile at 1:30 I went and got her up because she was screaming so hard. I rocked her and put her back down at 1:50 and she slept for an hour and 45 minutes. Last night she went to bed around 8:30 and slept until 4:30 am. She put herself to sleep then as well. So today nap time came and it took over an hour of ups and downs to finally get her to sleep. But, hopefully she is down for at least an hour so I can get somethings done. The past few weeks she hasn't been sleeping for more than 30 minutes at a time during the day, but would sleep pretty good at night.
It's hard to believe she will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. We are going to try and get her 2 month pictures made soon. She goes back to the Doctor next Wednesday for her check-up and a few shots. YUCK! The ENT Dr. said she weighs around 11lbs right now, so we will find out for sure how much our little monkey weighs.
I will try and post some new pictures of her soon, now I have to go get her back to sleep. That lasted all of 5 minutes. CRAP!!

Baby Loral

1 MONTH OLD

Loral turned a month old yesterday. It is so hard to believe our first month has come and gone. Time is going so fast. She is changing everyday. She is more aware of her surroundings and likes to look at Matt & I. She has started cooing and smiling a little more. Last weekend we took her out to eat and then to a birthday party, she did great except she was exhausted and cranky come picture time. Sunday morning we went to breakfast with her Mimi & Pop. She was the eye catcher, everyone had to stop by the table and let us know how cute she is. That was no news to us, we think she is the prettiest baby girl in the world. This week started off good but ended on a sad note. Matt's 95 year old Grandma pasted away. We will all miss her dearly. Matt and I are both sad that she never actually got to meet & hold Loral. Somethings just happen before you are ready. She lived a great life and we all have many memories to get us through the rough days.
Loral had her first photo session last weekend as well and instead of emailing out all the pictures we are just going to add a slide show. If anyone wants copies of any of them email us and let us know which one.
Please pray for our family as we deal with the loss of Grandma. Pray for our friends who are adopting their little girl she is supposed to be born Monday, that she be healthy and everything goes smoothly. Please pray for all of our other friends and family members that are pregnant that they have healthy deliveries and babies. Please pray for us as new parents.
Until next time--MALS

Loral

The First Father's Day

Yesterday was Matt's first father's day with the new baby girl. The day started off great she slept for 5 hours straight woke-up at 4am nursed got a clean diaper on and then back off to sleep by 4:30 for another 2 hours. Matt then got up with her to spend a little Daddy time with his new favorite girl and I got to sleep a little longer. That was a nice treat for me since I am usually the only one getting up with her right now. Matt had worked a long week and hadn't been able to spend much time with Loral or myself, but it was Father's day so she got her turn first. I rolled out of bed and preceded to make breakfast for the new dad. Of course, she was also ready for a little more breakfast herself so I had to feed her and eat at the same time. I am getting much better at multi-tasking while nursing or holding her. Anyway, she drifted off to sleep and I laid her down in her crib where she slept for 2 1/2 hours. I was so proud, she usually wakes right back up after I put her in her crib. At night she sleeps in the bassinet in our room and for the first week or so when she would take a nap I would fall asleep holding her. I didn't want her to get used to only sleeping on me so I started laying her on a blanket in the floor. She slept pretty good there for a few days so I have now started putting her in her crib for nap time. She is a tummy sleeper during the day but I don't trust her at night yet so she has now moved from her back to her side at night. I know they tell you not to do either of these things, but that is the only way she will sleep consistently. Now that I have rambled on back to where I was going with her nap. With her asleep Matt and I were able to spend some time together watching TV and laying on the couch. No, I know it was nothing spectacular but it was nice, quite and just the 2 of us. After the princess arose from her sleeping slumber she put on her special I love Daddy outfit and we gave him the gifts we had bought for him. After that we headed to my folks for lunch and then Blake & Bob's for dinner. It was a fun day but we were all exhausted when we got home. Which brings we to my next story. After a long day and being handled by everyone, Loral needed a bath. I started the water and Matt put her in the tub while I changed clothes. From the bedroom I hear what appears to be jets going off in her little baby tub. This is not an elaborate electric tub, so I ask what was going on and through Matt's laughter and disgust he informs me that she has pooped in the tub. Not, just a little but a lot and so we have to let all the water out and start all over again. She wasn't bothered to much by it, she still lounged in the tub like an old monkey in a hammock. She really loves taking baths especially getting her hair washed. She has changed so much in the last few weeks. She as of last Thursday weighs 8lbs 5.5 oz. Her chubby cheeks are just getting bigger by the day. She hasn't lost much of her hair and it is already lightening up. I would bet money she will have blonde hair before to much longer. Loral is holding her head up and is gaining better control over laying it back down but she is still wobbly. When she lays down on the floor her arms and legs start moving like crazy. It is so neat to watch her change even from day to day and I am trying to take it all in. We have taken so many pictures of her already, but she is just changing to fast and I don't ever want to forget this time in our life as a new family. Well that is all for now, she is about to wake up from her afternoon nap. I will post some new pictures of her, we are having her pictures made this weekend so I will post some from our session later. Have a great week!

We have been blessed!

We have been blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby girl. Loral Lanelle arrived Wednesday 5/28 at 8:53pm, she weighed in at 7lbs. 13oz and 19 3/4 inches long. She has her momma's lips, nose and hair and her daddy's eyes, long fingers and toes. She is perfect and we could not be anymore excited than we are. The labor and delivery were not bad, Matt was with me the entire time and did an amazing job. Dr. Martin and our nurses Shannon and Valerie were wonderful. Valerie had been our nurse throughout the day and stayed past her 7pm shift end time to see us through the delivery. We really appreciated her doing so, she was a big help and helped us make sure that everything that could be done in our room was. Shannon we had through the night and she was very helpful and let us get our much needed rest without a bunch of unnecessary interuptions. Dr. Martin, she made this whole experience wonderful. She made sure that I was comfortable throughout the day and I couldn't have imagined her not being there with us. Everyone was so encouraging through the last leg, I felt on top of the world. I also, must thank Pam and John my CRNA's they did a great job of making sure I was with out as much pain but still able to feel enough to be effective during pushing.

The night before we came home was a little rough she just couldn't get satisfied for long. I did send her to the nursery for a little longer after they finsihed her tests and pictures so I could get about a 2hour nap. It was well worth it, but I was glad when she came back to me. We came home yeasterday around noon and it was a little rocky afternoon, she was really gasy. Mylicon drops are our new best friend. Last night we were all worn out. It was a pretty good night, especially being our first night home by ourselves. I think we did a pretty good job. Now hopefully the milk fairy will bring us a great package and we will be good to go.

Thank you for all the calls, visits, thoughts and prayers we are so blessed.

Counting down

Well, we are finally in the week of our due date. Hard to believe how fast time has passed. Okay, so some days seemed to drag on forever. Matt and I are both so excited about our baby girl and we can not wait for her to get here. This is worse than being a kid waiting for Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. All in all this has been a great pregnancy. Loral is already so loved not just by us but all our friends and family. I have really been amazed at how excited everyone else is about her as well. There have been so many babies born in my family, I wasn't expecting it to be as big of a deal as it is. Now, every time I call anyone family or friend the first thing out is not hello it's: "are you in labor yet". It has really gotten comical. I thought I disappeared after she arrived not before. Even my co-workers are going crazy waiting on her to arrive. Babies really do bring so much joy and excitment to everyone.
Hopefully we do not have to wait to much longer for her. But, for the moment she seems pretty happy with where she is.
We will let you all know when she arrives! Have a good week.

The last few events

37 weeks

It is hard to believe how close we are now. I went to the Doctor on the 28th and again today. There are no changes and it doesn't look like Loral is ready to come out to meet us yet. Which is fine because our Doctor is taking a trip next week and will be gone for several days. I like her partners but I really want her to deliver us, so we are going to do what we can to help her stay in until Dr. Martin gets back in town.
We are ready to meet our little girl and we know that our world is about to change but we can't imagine it any other way now. We have been preparing for the day for a while now and look forward to the day when we can bring her home. I am ready to be able to sleep again. Now, I know many of you just laughed so hard you almost wet yourself. I do know that there will be many sleepless nights ahead of us, however I will no longer have a little body inside trying to counter act every move I make to get comfortable. She will be on the outside with all the room in the world that she needs to get comfortable and I can go back to sleeping on my belly when I do get the chance to sleep.
Don't get me wrong I have loved being pregnant and can not really complain about anything except that I am getting uncomfortable now and not sleeping well. But, that is normal. I haven't ever really been sick, I had a few moments. I haven't had any heartburn, swelling, high blood pressure, no real mood swings and I really haven't gained more weight than I should. I have been blessed with such a wonderful first pregnancy and I can only hope that those to follow will be just as pleasant.
Well that is it for this week. I know I said I would post our last ultrasound pictures but I haven't scanned them yet, so I will try to do that and include a few shower pictures. I go back next Thursday and we will see what is going on then.

Catching up

We have been really busy these last couple of weeks so I apologize for the delay in updating you all. Matt and I went to Branson for a quick weekend getaway before Loral arrives. We had a wonderful time and bought a lot of really cute things for her. We came home early on Sunday because it was Easter so that we could go visit my family. It was great to see everyone. Katy Belle was so funny hunting for eggs. Of course all Matt and I could really think about was next Easter and having Loral with us. The weekend after Easter my girl friends threw us a shower. It was wonderful. Everything looked great the food was great and we received so many useful things. We are still trying to find places for some of them. The first weekend in April my wonderful Aunts and my sisters threw a Baby Shower/ 50th Birthday Luncheon for my mother and I. It was just the women from my mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun. On the 12th I had a Surg. Tech workshop in Hot Springs. I spent the day there and Matt went fishing. He didn't catch any fish but he did see a bald eagle. I picked up Katy Belle on the way home, she had been wanting to come to her Bamber's house for a few weeks. We really had a great time with her. We had to take care of the baby dolls and read books. She asked where my baby was as soon as we got to the house. I had to remind her that she was still in my belly. I guess she thought she would be waiting on us when we got there. She is such a sweet girl. I hope Loral is as sweet if not sweeter. Last week Matt's work had a man shower for him and one of the other guys who is expecting. They were both really surprised and Matt was so excited to tell me all about it. This Thursday all the ladies that I work with are throwing us a shower at one of their homes. I am looking forward to it as well.
We have truly been blessed to have such wonderful families, friends and co-workers. Thank you just doesn't really seem like enough.
This past weekend Matt and I had our childbirth class and child safety. I think the childbirth class really helped both of us to make some decisions we were on the fence about. I also think that it gave us both a little bit more confidence in our abilities to work together. He usually has a pretty good way of keeping me calm in sticky situations and I think he will be able to help me when labor gets intense. The safety class was mainly about car seat safety. It was helpful. We found out our car seat was not really in the car as secure as it needed to be and we had to do some rearranging. I would rather learn these things now than when she gets here. There is enough to learn then.
On another note, I had my last appointment and ultrasound on the 14th. Everything looked good. Dr. Martin said she weighs a little over 5 pounds right now. The best news is that she is no longer breech. We are all very relieved about that. I do have some new pictures to post it has just taken me a little longer. Dr. Martin had to make sure and get some really good shots this time, she knows where they end up.
If anyone is thinking about switching Doctors or is just looking for one. We highly recommend her, she has been wonderful throughout this whole pregnancy. She really goes above and beyond. We really could not ask for anyone better.
That is all the news we have for now, I probably have given you more than you wanted to know. No one said you had to read everything. :)
I will post our new pictures in the next day or so. I go back to the Dr. on the 28th. It is hard to believe we only have 5 weeks until our due date. Hope everyone else is doing good.

Recent Ultrasound

4D Ultrasound

Matt and I went for our 4D ultrasound today at Baby views in Little Rock. It was really neat to see the difference in the regular ultrasound and the 4D. Baby Loral looks precious and everything is measuring great. She is estimated to weigh about 3.5 lbs. So at this rate she will not be a low weight baby, but she looks pretty narrow. It was so much fun seeing her fat little cheeks and little nose. She is still breech which I am sure will change of the next few weeks. So, it seems that it is her head and foot that enjoy my ribs and her little bottom that likes to bounce on my bladder. I have really enjoyed being pregnant and love all of her movements even if they are uncomfortable at times. The time really has flown by and it will not be to much longer until she is here with us, in our arms, in our home. We can't wait! Hope you enjoy the pictures. The first few are from our ultrasound on the 6th, the rest are from today.

28 weeks and counting down

When I think about the last couple of years and all that has changed I realize 1) how blessed we are and 2) just how fast time flies. I can not believe I am already in my 28th week. Time seemed to drag at the beginning of my pregnancy and now it won't slow down. To think that she is big enough now to make it in the outside world is crazy! But, to think that it really isn't much longer until she is really due to arrive is mind blowing. We had an ultrasound today. She has grown so much over the last 8 weeks, I took a quick look at her 2 weeks ago and she has even changed since then. I know I am probably more excited than some, but after everything that has gone on and the thought of never having this opportunity it really makes me appreciate it that much more. Yes, I even appreciate the way she has now found my ribs, I think she likes #6 the most. It does get uncomfortable at times, but it is okay. From what we can tell she is beautiful, pretty lips and face, cute little chin, pop-belly (which reminds me of Hannah & AnaGrace when they were little). From the measurements it looks like she has her Daddy's short legs, but that will probably change with time.
We are scheduled for a 4D ultrasound on the 18th and we are so excited. I have seen a few pictures of some friends babies but I have never actually seen one, it will be so cool. We should be able to tell more what she looks like then. We will share pictures from both ultrasounds.
We are supposed to be getting some nasty weather tonight and tomorrow so I am heading to bed. Sun, rain, sleet, snow or ice the Operating Room is open and I have to be there. I did get lucky Tuesday when it snowed I was already off so I got to hang out at the house and rest all day. It was great!

Ohio Feb 08

This is at the Musical Wicked and below is from the same night outside our hotel. In Matt's defense he had given me his jacket to wear.



He couldn't resist making a snow angel.
The picture of Matt was from the next morning and there was a USMC flag flying in the distance so I took a chance. Below, the momma and her baby girl enjoy a little snow at midnight.

We didn't do a great deal in Ohio while we were there, but we did get to see some pretty snow.