Learning a New Language

So we've all heard of American sign language, and some have even heard of it being used for infants. Making it easier for our children to "tell" us what they want, before they can verbally tell us. Well of course I'm a seriously interested in this. It's so neat. I've always wanted to learn to sign, and what better time than when I'm teaching my daughter? =) I've found a really neat site that shows you how to sign a whole but of words. We will in no way be fluent, but with the site I've found (click here to visit site) Elliott will be able to tell me that she wants to wear "red socks" or that she needs a diaper "change" or that she wants some "milk"

Elliott probably wont sign for a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Right now is just a learning stage. Even Matt is helping with the signing. We are having fun learning and teaching Elliott.

Oh and here as a special treat is a video of Elliott's first full out laugh. It's dark, but that's ok =)

No More Disposables!

We are officially and totally out of disposable diapers! We now have 32 cloth diapers for Elliott. I'm so excited! The ones that just came in are pretty awesome! They are a bunch of different colors and are not as "puffy" as the first ones we got. Which means we'll have to change her diaper a little more often with the new diapers but they fit a little more like disposables so she's not stretching out her onsies all the time. We still have the older ones, I use them at night and for when we got out and might not be able to change her diaper when we should. (We all know it happens) Here are some pictures. I got Elliott to model one for the camera. =)

Aren't they simply adorable! I love them. When I ordered them, they said I could pick which colors I wanted and I specified the number of each color I wanted, but I didn't get what I wanted. Which irritates me. There was a cute one with bunnies on it that I didn't get. But before any of you repeat "Complain" I'm not going to. It's not that big of a deal. I'll just have to live with what we got. Ok now that you are all caught up on the cloth diaper situation I must go. 

Change of Pie Plans

Well...more like the cancellation of pie plans. That idea died out within two days of writing the post about it. Sad, I know. But really, thinking about it...it just won't work.

Fortunately I've come up with a new idea that has stuck with me for a couple weeks now. As you all know I've recently started cloth diapering my daughter, as well as looking into many homemade/natural alternatives to everyday cleaning products. I want to start making these products, test them out and if all goes well...sell them. I'm still in the research stage, trying to find the best recipes for everything. When I get to the testing stage, I will need a few volunteers to help "test" my products. (Unfortunately the testers might need to make a donation, since I can't exactly hand out stuff for free.) Anyway, here is a list of natural homemade products I am thinking of making and selling:

Lip balm
Deodorant
Bath Salts
Reusable cloth breast pads (for lactating mothers...or the few men that might have a lactating problem)
Reusable cloth menstrual pads (washable, comfy, money saving, eco-friendly)

That's all I can think of right now. Depending on how the making and testing stages go, I may or may not drop/add items. I am going to be making laundry detergent and hair care but I'm not sure if I want to sell them. I can however still give you the recipes I end up using.

For this next part of the post if you are opposed to talking about a woman's monthly cycle I suggest you discontinue reading.

I know the idea of cloth menstrual pads sounds a little gross at first. But if you think about the benefits for you and the earth than it's not so bad. That is one reason we switched to cloth diapers for Elliott. They are more comfy for her tiny tooshie, they cost friendly, eco-friendly  and come in many cute colors and designs (I know that no one will see them but we woman like things pretty even things that don't get seen.) Disposable pads can be scented, and feel to much like a plastic diaper, added chemicals to make them smell can cause infections or allergic reactions. And NO ONE wants an infection *down there* When making these cloth pads I will also be making a storage bag, that you can put the dirty pads in until washing day.

Ok I'll finish now.

Oh and if you made it this far I want you to comment! I want feed back on this idea and feel free to ask questions. =)

Here's a cute picture as a reward for reading through this slightly awkward post.

Sisters

Sisters are pretty amazing. I have 4 of them and I love them all. They are pretty much amazing. =)

We all have our faults, we all mess up but we are all there for eachother when we need it the most. I would do anything for those 4. And I know they would do anything for me. I love my sister and miss them very much. I can't wait for Christmas! They (excluding Laura) are coming to my house! It's going to be amazing. We'll spend the time picking on eachother, playing games (maybe even hide and seek! and karate!!) Eating and just having fun. It will be epic. =)

Tree Hugging.

So as many of you know I've recently decided to switch to cloth diapering Elliott, rather than using plastic disposable diapers. We just recieved our first pair of cloth diapers and have been washing them daily so she can use them at night. We love them! They are easy to use, and you can tell they are 20 million times more comfortable than disposables. With all this cloth diapering excitement I've also done some research and have recieved a few recipes on how to make your own laundry soap, softener etc. Which got me doing even MORE research and looking for MORE ways I can make cheap and all around better soaps for my home and family. I've found some interesting stuff on homemade hair products which I can't wait to try! So not only is all of this stuff I am finding better for our wallet, better for our lives (chemical free and all natural) it's better for the enviroment! Who knew that I would be hugging trees!? =) Maybe I will post recipes and new ideas as I go. For now, here is a couple of pictures of Elliott in her new cloth diaper!!

She had just gotten out of the bath, she was hungry and she was exhausted! But she was nice enough to let me take these three pictures to share with you all. =)

Plastic to Cloth

I have finally convinced my dear husband to try cloth diapering Elliott, instead of using those icky plastic disposable diapers. I'm really excited about this. Not only will Elliott be less likely to get diaper rashes, she's less like to have a blowout, and we save a ton of money in the long run! Did I mention I was really excited? Cloth diapers come in pretty colors and designs, and you just through them in a "wet bag" (From what I gather it's just a laundry sack, made for cloth diapers, probably water proof so the icky diapers won't soak through and icky-fi anything else) then every few days do laundry. There is also cloth wipes, that you can wash and re-use, but I haven't looked into them much. For now we are just doing the diapers.

See they're cute! And they look so much more comfy than those plastic crappy (pun totally intended) ones. =) And of course there are endless possibilities for color and design.

Who doesn't like Pie??

Seriously!? There is a pie out there for every single person:
Fruit
Chocolate
Vanilla
Lemon
Sugar-Free
Gluten-Free
Vegan
Organic

There is no end to the kind of pies you can make. And all this pie talk brings me to my "IDEA" that some of you may have read on FB.

I want to start my own little at home business of making and selling pie!!

Isn't that the best idea ever?! I'll start out by just practicing, since I haven't had the oppertunity to bake in quite sometime. I'll bring the practice pies to Matt's work and let the guys test them for me. (I think I'll find plenty of willing particpents, they know my baking skills and I havn't heard a bad word about anything I've brought in before.) Oh did I mention that cheesecake is in the pie family? Yep and it will be on the menu as well. It's going to take sometime and little (lot) a bit of money to get started, but I think in the long run it will be good for me. It will give me somthing to do on a daily basis besides sitting around on my tushie forever.

Some plans for after I get this thing up and going:
Shipping. I know there is a way to ship temperature sensitive foods. When my little pie business gets going I'll figure out exactly what that is, and I can start shipping pie out to people, over night. It will of course cost more...but be totally worth it!

Oh and one of the best selling points, especially up here in Portland, is that all of my pies will be home-made with only locally bought ingredients. It will cost more for me, therefore more for you. BUT I know how much Portland loves to buy local. =)

I really hope this idea works. I like baking, I love pie, and of course wouldn't mind a little extra money. =)

I'm not completly sure on a name for this little business. But I'll come up with something. Or I'll have a contest on here and who ever comes up with the most original creative name gets a free pie. Haha, we'll see.

They were playing with the cars. =)

Sad and Lonely

So, talking with Peggie and Matt...we've all decided it's best if Peggie stays in Utah. She's got so many more oppertunities there, and she's doing amazing in school. I would hate to disrupt that with dragging her back to Portland. I am completely ok with this. The problem is...well see I posted an ad on craigslist for friends, pathetic I know. And it seemed to work out. I had 7 people respond. 2 didn't write back after I did. I asked the other 5 to all get together at once and have a ladies movie night. We all needed friends so why the hell not right? Well only one ended up able to come to that movie night. That's fine, I did ask only 3 days before the planned day. So I made plans for next week. A full 7 days before the movie night. The one who showed up to the first movie night still talks to me and we are still making plans to hangout. The other 4 havn't written me back. Sigh. I know this is all pointless and annoying crap that you don't care about but, for the moment..deal. Then I had plans to go to a play group today for church. But that didn't work out. So all plans I had for human interaction have gone down the drain and I feel like crying...again, because I already have a little.

I've thought of trying to host a foreign exchange student. I've talked to Matt about it a little, but we havn't talked about it extensivly. I think it would be awesome! Maybe we could get a kid just for the spring semester of school. Of course they would be in school so they wouldn't always be around, but they would be here earlier in the day. Give me someone to drag around to the Saturday market. Or if school is canceled, we could go to the mall. But now it's sounds like I'm ordering a live-in friend.  Haha even more pathetic than craigslist. There are a few things holding me back from persuing the exchange student route. First, the fact that Matt and I are so young, with an infant...would we actually qualify to host a student? I know any kid would LOVE to live in Portland, and we are right on a bus line so it's about perfect. Second...do we have enough money? Matt managed to support me, Elliott, Holly, Gabriel and himself rather well for 3 months. And an exchange student would have their own spending money, so all we really provide is a roof over their head, a bed, food and transportation. Which brings me to my third problem...transportation. We have one car, and I don't even have a license. I'm thinking that might cause a problem. But will it? We live on a busline. The kid will be in school during the week so there's not many places they can/will need to go Mon-Fri. And if they do we could probably get there via bus.  But I'm sure a car of my own would be plenty helpful. What if there isn't a bus (school or public) that could get them to and from school? I can't take them.  Oh! and what if they get in trouble at school?  Or hang out with the "bad kids" and drink and smoke and do stuff they aren't supposed to? How am I supposed to dicapline them only being 2-5 years old than them? Which 15-18 year old is going to listen to a 20 year old. It would be like their older sister trying to get them in trouble. And another thing...what if they don't like me? What if they're a little stuck up bitch? (Pardon my French...no pun intended.)

Ok I'm done with that long and boring subject for a moment.

And now Elliott is awake so I must go. =)

Yep, she's a thumb sucker. =)

Just the 3 of us.

Elliott is helping me write this one, because she decided we should wake up a whole 2 hours earlier than normal. Thank we normally wake up around 9, so waking up at 7 didn't completely kill me. It also helped that when I went to get her out of her bed she was happy and excited to see me. =)

She is getting so big! She rolled over the other day. Rolled from back to belly, and then back again. Rolling from belly to back again was deliberate, you could totally tell she knew what she was doing. She's such a chunk, turning into the cutest rolly-polly you've ever seen.

Mom, Holly and Gabriel left on Sunday. It's just Matt, Elliott and I in this big ol' place. It almost seems to big now. The biggest thing I don't like about this place is the spiders. There are a million of them out back, and it seems that I am getting bitten by them, but I'm not sure when. I just randomly find new bites. And all the bites would be covered by shorts, that's where they all are. In my hip area. It's crazy.

I made bananananananananana bread today. Elliott helped. And by helped I mean hindered. She sat nicely in her bouncer for the first half of the making part, then decided she was tired of sitting in her bouncer. So I ended up finishing mixing with her in my arms. I of course had to put her back in the bouncer to put the bread in the oven...which pissed her off. I think she's just jealous that she can't have bananananananananana bread yet. =)

Lazy Days

We've got most of our stuff over to our new place. The kitchen is complete and unpacked. But the livingroom and bedroom are messy.

Did I mention that Elliott is laughing now? Well she did one day but hasn't since (about 3-4 days ago) I got some of it on video. She's been cranky since that day, teething. She drools through 2-3 bibs a day. She's only taking 15-30 min naps so she's always tired.

I made an ad on craigslist for friends. Strictly platonic of course. And I had about 6 replies (all female of course, because I obviously didn't ask for males.) so I am going to start a weekly or bi-weekly movie night. It should be fun. It will have to wait until next week because it's too late now. =)

FIRE!!

Oh wait. False alarm!

Two nights ago we woke up to the sound of the building's fire alarm, at 3 in the morning! Who knows how long it was going on before we woke up. But Holly, Matt and I all came to realize it was on at about the same time. We got sweaters and flip flops on. Made sure to grab a blanket for the baby and grabbed the portable hard-drive that has all our pictures. Matt kept saying it was probably a joke by some immature jerk. But I think the risk is too much to take. We then walked down all 6 flights of stairs. Elliott and Gabe were both awake, but were happily confused. Elliott ended up falling back to sleep in my arms as we were standing out on the sidewalk.We're not sure why the alarm was going off but as we walked back in the building the firemen said it was false. (Thankfully we could take the elevator back up to the 6th floor. Can you immagine walk UP 6 flights of stairs at 3 am?!)

I don't see how grown people can be so freakin immature as to pull a fire alarm just for the hell of it!! Especially in the middle of the night. People need to grow up and get life!

Ok vent over. =)

There' s No Place Like Home.

As many of you know, we are currently residing in an itsy-bitsy little tiny one bedroom apartment. It is approximately 550 sq feet. Perfect for the young newly weds we were when we moved in last September. Not so perfect for the parents we are now. There is just not enough room for the 3 of us. Our lease is up September 30th. So for the last month we've been out apartment hunting every chance we get. We've toured more places then I can remember. We go on craigslist often, searching for 2 bedrooms (or larger) that are in our price range.

After touring about 10 places we decided that among those 10 there was one that we could handle living in. We planned on going back to this one place that we could handle and turning in applications. The night before this was planned I once again got on CL in hopes of finding something better. I did.

There was an add for a 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom TOWNHOME for only $875 a month. 1200 sq feet! It just so happened to be in the area of town that we wanted to stay in. So we decided to visit this place before heading over to the apartments we had settled on. I called that night and left a message. Matt called the next morning and made an appointment to tour the townhouse. We were the first appointment of the day. Got there at 10:30 am. The outside was not impressive. The paint on the sign was peeling. The next door neighbors had boxes and a stroller on our shared porch. I was NOT impressed.

However, as soon as I walked through the door I fell in love. You walk in onto a landing. You can either go up, or down. There are only about 5 steps going down into the living room/dining room. Once in the living room you can turn back to the stairs and notice a closet under the "UP" stairs. Also known as "The Harry Potter closet." And it is large enough, that even someone a little over 6 feet can lay down comfortably. There are two sliding glass doors that lead out onto a patio that is walled so no one can see in. It's the perfect little patio for a BBQ and patio table/chairs. The kitchen as almost triple the counter space we currently have. It has a full size oven, dishwasher and full size fridge. All things that we have not had the pleasure of using for the last year. Off the kitchen is the laundry room with full size washer/dryer and the half bathroom.

Now lets go up stairs. As you reach the top a hallway takes you to the two bed rooms. Peggie's is the first door on the left. It has two closets. One has shelves that go all the way to the ceiling. The other has one shelf and place to hang up clothes. There is also a sliding glass door that leads out on to a rather large deck.

If you go through the door at the end of the hall you'll find the master bedroom. You'll find yet another sliding glass door (Leading to the same deck mentioned above...is big!) This room is large enough for our queen sized bed and a full sized crib. We also have two closets There is one shelf that goes through both closets and then a wall from the shelf to the floor that separates the two sides. Both sides have individual clothes racks. (I won't have to shove his hangers aside to get to my clothes!!) We also have our own private entrance to the bathroom. (Which can also be reached from the hall)

I was not the only one who fell in love with this place. After viewing the up stairs we went back to the kitchen and Matt asked if we could fill out applications then and there. The two ladies giving us the tour reviewed our apps and said that everything looked good and that we can basically call it ours! Right now we are only waiting on the reviews from our current and previous places of residence. We'll know Monday for sure if we got the place. I'm not worried. We'll be moving the 9th of September, giving us plenty of time to move and get settled. And to get back to the old place to do a nice good deep clean.

And speaking of the 9th...It's our one year anniversary. And it's also the day we plan on signing the papers and making our marriage legal. =) It's going to be one heck of a busy day! We'll have our car, mom's van and a friends truck, so we'll be able to get everything moved that day. (We don't have that much stuff) The moving will happen in the morning. Later that day is when we'll sign the marriage license and legally become Husband and Wife. We'll then go out to dinner and celebrate. No unpacking, that can be done later. We'll just make sure that our bed and Elliott's bed is set up so we have a place to sleep.

I am so very excited!! (If you couldn't tell)  I went online and googled "floor plan designer" and found a free 7 day trial of a really cool program, and I made a floor plan of our new place from memory. I showed it to both Matt and Holly, they agreed that the floor plan is perfect. (Not exactly to scale, but it will at least show you what it looks like.)

First Level ^

Second Level ^

And here is a picture of Elliott. Just because I love showing her off. =)

Keeping Tabbs...

Thanks to my amazing friend Emily, we now have a new name! Yay! I guess I could wait for more suggestions, but...well I won't. =)

I'm sure you are all smart enough to understand why the name "Keeping Tabbs" is so perfect, so I'm not going to explain it.

So, on to other more important news. My mother has given us 100 dollars to make everything legal. I've done all the research and we will be going to the court house Next week to get the license. Once that is in our possession and the waiting period is other (3 days after the license is issued) then we will be going to the court house again with Holly and one of Matt's guy friends, as witnesses, and we will be signing the papers. Although that will be our our "legal wedding" we will not be celebrating that day. To us, we have been married since September 9, 2009. That is our wedding day. The day we go in front of the judge to legalize it is just a technicalities, that day wont be remembered.

Need New Name Now!

I love alliteration. =) But anyway, I think I want to rename this blog. Yes most of my post will inevitably be about my honeymoon baby. But every now and then I feel like writing about Matt, or Holly and Gabriel or me, and I would feel weird writing about all that if the name of my blog is "My Honeymoon Baby". Now I know what you are thinking..."This lady is a freak! Who cares what the name of her blog is. It's not in the rule books that you can only write about what the name says the blog is going to be about." (if that made any sense..) But if you know me at all then you know that I like things a certain way and they will be that way if I want them to be. Problem: I can't for the life of me come up with a nice, catchy title. I seem to have lossed my creative bone, and can't think of anything that would fit with all that I want to write about. Everything I've come up with sounds weird and stupid.

Oh! How about "The Life of a Portland Mommy" I just came up with it...we can try it out for a little while and see what we think. Maybe that's too long. Anybody got any good ideas?

Ok...on to other things.

Elliott has slept 6-8 hour stretchs for the last 4 nights! Yay! I do believe they would classify that as "sleeping through the night" Although, she goes to sleep usually about 9 (sometimes 8, sometimes 10, but mostly 9) so that mean she's waking up any where from 3 to 5. So it deffinatly does not feel like she is sleeping through the night. And I don't go to sleep until about an hour, sometimes 2, after she's asleep. And with the whole breastfeeding thing, I'm awake an hour before she wakes, because I've soaked the sheets or I feel like I'm going to explode. (Usually both) Thankfully I know that it wont stay like this. My milk production will even out and fit it's self to Elliott's schedule.

I'm soooo glad Holly and Gabriel are here. If they weren't I would be all alone alll day long! And I know I would be deep into depression with out them. Yes right now things are a little cramped, with 3 grown ups and 2 children in a tiny one bedroom apartment. But we get out almost daily. We've found a couple of parks with in walking distance, and there is a little "fountain park" (don't know what else to call it) that we can play in on hot days. I think I've got some pictures I'll show you. It's like a little court yard or somthing with a fountain that was built to play in. It's got picnic tables and chairs and a little cafe. It's a little farther than walking distance but it's only one stop on the train so it's still rather close.

See!! It's nice, huh?

6 Weeks

I'm not very good and staying on top of this am I? Well can you blame me? Elliott is 6 weeks old today, and quite the handful. But I love it!

She's been pretty cranky the last few days, but she's always graced us with her smile. Such a beautiful smile. =)

Every few nights she'll sleep for a good 6 hours and than 4 hours. But she's still mostly in a 4-3-3 or a 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2- (it seems like it never ends!) But we're doing good. She's finally fitting in the 0-3 month outfits! Which is awesome because we have some really cute ones that I love putting her in. I'm just sad we don't have any head bands to put on her so everyone knows she's a girl if she's in something neutral colored.

((I know this is a week late, since she will actually be 7 weeks tomorrow, but I did write this last week, I just never got to finish it and well now here we are a week later. I'll make a new post with more in it later))

3 weeks old

Well, these last 3 weeks have been pretty eventful. Elliott is now over 8lbs 6oz. And I am only 10 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Which makes me pretty happy! Unfortunatly I still wont be in a bakini any time soon. For only gaining 40 lbs I sure gained a lot of stretch marks. Not so happy about those.

For the first time in 3 weeks I am all alone with my daughter. Dad was going to come up and stay a few days with us, but ended up having to leave shortly after he got here, and he took Holly and Gabe with him. Tomorrow will be interesting. I havn't quite got use to doing everything one handed yet. We'll see how much actually gets done.

Elliott is amazing. She gets at least one 4-hour stretch of sleep at night, then wakes up every 2 hours. So that's not too bad. Well now she's awake so I have to go. =)

The Birth of My Child

I don't have much of a birth story, but I'll tell you what I do have.


Elliott decided that she was going to be breech and nothing we did would change that. And trust me we tried everything! I didn't consent to the c-section until my 39th week. Matt and I decided at that time that we thought it would be safer for our little one to come on a schedule, rather than in an emergancy since it was very apparent that she was not going to flip. and my doctor didn't feel comfortable trying to deliver her naturally while breech. And I trust my doctor. We scheduled the c-section for her due date, June 9th.

We got to the hospital at 6 am on June 9th. They hooked me up to everything and monitered baby for quite some time while I just laid there. Rather boring actually =). They took me back to the OR at about 8:20 (20 minutes late, but that wasn't as late as we expected.) After they got the spinal and the cathetor in,l Matt was allowed in. I watched the whole thing in a reflection in the light. =) I mentioned I could see what was happening and they asked if I wanted them to move the light. I didn't. I quite enjoyed the show oddly enough. lol I couldn't see detail very well, but it gave me something to do and look at rather then just lie there feeling to them tugging me around. Matt was there by my head the whole time. Once they transfered me to a gurney, they put Elliott in my arms and rolled me back to my room. Elliott was only seperated from me for a bath (Matt went with her), at night for a few hours, and when I took a shower. We weren't sepereated for anything else, I was quite happy about this. =)

Elliott Morgan Tabbert was born at 9 am. 7 lbs 14 oz. 20 inches long. As soon as the doc sewed me up she leaned over the curtain and informed me that I would be a perfect candidate for a VBAC if I were to have another child. =)

37 weeks-Breech

A couple of weeks ago we found out Elliott was breech (head up, butt down...not the way she's supposed to be) Well, as of today she is still breech. And doctors will not allow a vaginal delivery of a breech baby. Especially since this is my first child, to many things could go wrong. Elliott still has time to flip, but as we get closer to my due date she gets bigger and it's less likely for her to turn. I am not consenting to a c-section until the last possible moment. When I go into labor, if she is still breech...well then I have no choice.


But between now and labor time I am doing what I can to encourage little Ellie to flip. There's the yoga position- the downward dog....which is on my knees, with my shoulders and head on the floor, my butt up in the air. There's taking a warm bath with a bag of frozen pees on the top of my belly (like anyone, babys will try and get away from the cold and go towards the warm.) I will be making an appointment with an acupuncturist tomorrow for a "moxibustion" treatment. My dr. recommended it. It's painless, and is supposed to be pretty affective.


I really really really hope Elliott decides to flip. I don't want a c-section. I feel like we talked about "what if she's breech" to much early on in the pregnancy and we jinxed it...sigh...whatever.




37 week update:
Total weight gain/loss: somewhere between 25-30 lbs.




Maternity clothes? oh yes...and I've recently started raiding Matt's clothes.




Stretch marks? sigh...yes






Sleep: I think I get some between bathroom breaks, but can't be to sure.






Movement: Of course. She likes to take an hour or more at night just before bedtime to practice ballet.






Food cravings: none really, I just eat whats there.






Gender: Girl!






Labor Signs: I've been having some Braxton Hicks...but nothing painful yet.






Belly Button in or out? niether...it's just flat.






What I miss: sleeping on my belly, or just sleeping at all...yeah I definatly miss that






What I am looking forward to: June, I want to see her already.






Weekly Wisdom: i'm too tired to share wisdom.






Milestones: Labor! I reach full term tomorrow, so the only milestone left is labor and delivery!!

Are We There Yet?

34 weeks down, 6 to go. 6 weeks has never looked so long, and unreachable. I don't even have much to do to get ready for her. We found some cute little plastic dressers at Target (only 11 dollars each!!) Unfortunatly it is not allowing me to upload a picture to show you. So I will just have to tell you that the frame of each is white, while each have different colored drawers. Blue, Green, and a purpleish-pinkish color. =) And right now all of her clothes are folded and put away in them. We will be getting baby hangers to hang up most of her outfit and using the drawers for blankets, bibs, socks, shoes, etc.

Oh! My wonderful mama has bought Elliott the cutest little bassinet! Here's the picture off the internet. (it hasn't gotten here yet, so I can't take a picture of ours. But ours will be exacty the same.) Ok nevermind! This stupid thing wont let me upload ANY of the pictures I intended on showing you! Gah! Now I am mad. I was going to show you my poor little belly button, thats as flat as can be and slightly poking out. I was also going to show you my pretty 34 week belly. But nope, you can't see it now!

So apart from being highly cranky with this stupid thing that wont let me show you the pictures...I'm bored. I would show you the pictures and doodles I've been drawing...but again my computer is retarded.

 I almost cried today because I asked Matt to pick up Taco Bell for lunch (mmm!!) and I thought he had misunderstood and wasn't coming home for lunch and only buying for himself. He showed up with my burrito shortly after I started getting hormonal. =)

I've had little feet in my ribs aaaaalllll day today! And the owner of those little feet has already had the hiccups 3 times. Which is actually less than normal. She usually has hiccups 5-6 times a day. But it's only 3:06 pm...she's got time to catch up. Oh and she likes pushing her little bum out, I got a picture of it. You can see a bump at the top of my belly. But I'm not going to even try and upload it, only to have it tell me that it failed to upload. Stupid computer!

Speaking of her bum...I'm pretty sure she is heads down. I feel her hiccups pretty low and there are other reasons why I think she's heads down. But anyway...at my last appointment the doctor was feeling my belly to see if she could tell how Elliott is postioned. She said that she couldn't tell, and she'd try again at my next appointment, and if she can't tell again she'll get an ultra sound. I'm kind of hoping that she can't tell, and she does an ultra sound, then I can ask her to confirm that Elliott is in fact a girl. (I'm paranoid!) My next appt. is May 4th, the same day I get on the train for K-Falls. Exciting! Thankfully I'll only be gone a week because I'm going to weekly appointments after this next one. Oh and mama is planning  baby shower for while I'm down there! I didn't think I was going to get one. I'm so excited!!

My record for this last week is 6. I woke up to pee 6 times in one night. SIX! It's rediculous! I'm going to do my best to NOT beat that record.  I also managed to eat 6 cupcakes in 2 days...yeah it was yummy but I sent the rest with Matt to work, because I didn't want end up gaining 6 pounds in one week. =) I managed to drink 6 cups of water yesterday, which is pretty good for me. And of course I only have 6 weeks until my due date. 6 days until I leave for K-Falls. Oh and I got 6 stars on Mario Party last night. =) lol I wonder how many other 6's I can find. Wow..I'm bored.

8 Months

8 months (32 weeks)

Ok so I've got about 5-10 weeks left. (Since "full term" is 37 to 42 weeks) I'm hoping to hit her due date, give her enough time to cook. But I'm bored. Don't get me wrong, I love feeling her move, her hiccups, and all that. But I'm in that part of pregnancy where nothing seems to be going on. I'm used to her kicks, I'm passed all the "big" appoitments. The next big thing to look forword to is labor and delivery, which feel like forever away. I've finally got TONS of clothes (mostly from craigslist) but  have to wait until next Tuesday to wash them (I want to soak the used clothes in oxyclean to get out any stains and dingy-ness.) Tuesday will also be the day we buy little baby hangers to hang up all her little outfits, and some plastic storage dresser thingy's to put her onsies, towels, lotion and other assortated baby items. That at least will give me something to do for a day or two. I was hoping to have Elliott's bed (a pack-n-play that has a bassinet top someone is giving us) last week, but it was decided that it would come up next month. I'm not sure why and I wish it where different considering I have no idea when next month and Elliott could easily come anytime next month, and it'd be nice if she had a bed.

Other, slightly not baby related, stuff we have to get done...We are looking for a hide-a-bed couch, so that when mom and Holly get back up here they will have somewhere they can sleep that we can easily put away during the day. Our apartment is so small that once I get all the baby stuff organized there will be no room for guests to sleep (hence the hide-a-bed couch.) We've got to get rid of some stuff (my keyboard, and random nick-nacks, and hopefully Peggie's hope chest) so that we have the room to actually walk around in the apartment.

I've got other things to keep me busy until Mom and Holly come back. We just bought Zelda (used) for the Wii. Holly dropped off 3 books and a couple of Wii games when they were here, and then there are 2 more books that Matt and I bought not to long ago. But I can easily finish one book in a day if I let myself. But I sit at home alone all the time so even reading isn't helping with that.

I've made a friend. We met a while ago, and she just had a little boy on Easter. We might get together this weekend to hang out and so I can see the baby (which will more than likely just make me want mine even more.)

Doctor appointments are every 2 weeks now. But they seem so pointless! We'll sit there for over half an hour and only talk to the doctor for about 5 min. They check weight, ask how the baby is moving, take a urine sample, listen to baby's heart beat, measure my belly and send us on our merry way. It's tireing. The only good thing about the days I have appointments is Matt gets half the day off of work.
Ok now I'm just rambling because I'm bored and lonely. =P

Update

So as you all may have read, I was on the search for a midwife that would allow me to have an all natural homebirth. After much talk and a few cancelled consultations, Matt and I have decided that we can not do a homebirth right now. With our living situation, (if you've seen how small my apartment is you would understand that it's not fit for a homebirth.) and money situation (we would have to pay out of pocket up to 4500 dollars before Elliott is even born, which would take away from things that we need to buy for her.) we just can't do a home birth.

But that is NOT going to stop me from going natural or doing a water birth. The hospital I will be delivering at has birthing tubs in each room, and I will be writing up a detailed birth plan. (yes I know it's diffuclt to plan a birth because you don't know what will happen) But the nurses and doctors attending the birth of my daughter will all know not to even offer pain meds.

Matt and I will be researching different relaxing techniques that he can help me with. We will be prepared as we possibly can by the time Elliott makes her appearence.

Oh and we came to this conclusion on a non-cranky day with a clear head. Hormones had no role in making this decision. I'm relieved. It was getting quite stressfull thinking of money, trying to find a midwife that didn't have a full patient load, and all of that. I don't think I'm making the wrong choice. If we decide to have another child than we'll know from the beginning what we want and what to expect and we can plan for a homebirth then. Now I can concentrate on things like what she's going to wear home, and which car seat to buy. Rather than how we are going to pay the midwives, were the tub is going to go and what if the tub breaks and gallons and gallons of water spread throughout our tiny little home(and since we dont have renters insurance...that could be a BIG problem.)

Meanwhile.

BELLY!!

28 weeks. I am officianlly in my third trimester. This is the homestretch! WooHoo!!

All Natural

When I first found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to have a non-medicated labor and delivery (No epidural for me.) Not long after that I heard the benefits of birthing in a tub of nice warm water, and I knew that's how I was going to bring my little girl into the world. I was excited to hear that the hospital has birthing tubs, and allows not only labor but delivery in them as well. (Yay!)

But I want more! I've come to the conclusion that I want to do this ALL natural. I don't want to go to a hospital where the temptation for drugs is just too high. I don't want to be asked ever contraction if I want that epi now. I want to be comfortable.I want to wear what I want (if anything) and I don't want to be parted from my daughter at anytime after delivery.

I am currently looking for a midwife that will assist in a home/water birth. I want to have my baby girl in the comfort of my own home. The fact that we live in an apartment should be no problem. Unfortunatly I have to wait until Monday to see if I can actually have this kind of birth.

Oh for any who think I'm crazy, I'm not. There is no harm in having a home birth. Midwifes are certified and know what they are doing. If something goes wrong they will know and will make sure that we are sent to the hospital, which is only 10 minutes away (at most...there's one or two that are even closer) I'm really excited about this and I hope everyone will trust my decision and support me. =)

Dear Non-Pregnant Person...yeah, you!

(Note I, Kendra, did not write this. But I thought it was very funny, and oh so true. If you have ever been pregnant you will understand where this is all coming from. Oh and I havn't had any of this really come up yet, but this is definatly how I feel about it all. )

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,


I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.


1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass (including, “Did you plan this?”)


2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby".

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. The same goes for the name of the baby.

4) The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.


5) Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance, and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!".


6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes.


7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.


8) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.


9) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.


I hope this helps- it sure makes us feel better.


Signed,


All Pregnant Women

Mental Melt Down

Yeah I know. That's not uncommon while pregnant.


But you see...it is for me. I have a habit of bottling my emotions until I've got so much turmoil and emotion inside that it has only one escape route...my tear ducts. Whether out of anger or sadness the tears come.

Today it was because of how lonely I am. I have Matt and I have Elliott, but I have NO friends. Every day I sit at home, on my butt, doing NOTHING. I know what you are all thinking.

"You live in PORTLAND!! Go out for a walk, go to the mall, go say hi to a random stranger" Oh yeah that sounds like a great idea! I'll go introduce myself to someone who could possibly want to kidnap me!! No...I don't like taking lonely walks, and I certanly don't like introducing myself to a possible KRM. (You wouldn't understand even if I told you.)

Besides family, I have one person right now that I talk to regularly and consider a friend, and the moment (See you March 15th!). All others have decided I'm not worth their time, or they are too busy. I've tried and tried, but it's doesn't seem to be working.

So with all these feelings of lonelyness, sadness that I just might not be good enough to be a friend, and anger that I'm too shy to do anything about it, I cried. All over my pillow and Matt's shoulder. He came home for lunch and the break down started when he had to go back to work. I made him late. He didn't care. If I'm going to cry, I'd rather do it in private. No one needs to see my red puffy leaking eyes, or my red puffy leaking nose. (I personally like to cry in the shower, easier clean up) But I was betrayed by my own hormones and ended up bawling right there in front of Matt.


Well, you don't read this to hear me go on and on with the "poor me" crap. So here have a baby update:

26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 12 pounds

Maternity clothes? Had to go through my shirts the other day and put most of them away...to tight and like to
show off my belly.

Stretch marks? just my sides and my poor bum, and they've began to creep down my thighs...sigh I look like a road map =(

Sleep: I think I get some between bathroom breaks, but can't be to sure.

Best moment this week: Felt Elliott roll against my hand, totally weird sensation.

Movement: She's getting pretty darn good at it, like to roll now, and punch my bladder.

Food cravings: wouldn't mind an apple. but don't really feel all that hungry all together. (don't worry I still eat)

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: Nope, thank goodness!

Belly Button in or out? getting more flat with each passing day.

What I miss: Seafood, and sleeping on my belly, or just sleeping at all...yeah I definatly miss that

What I am looking forward to: June, I want to see her already.

Weekly Wisdom: i'm too tired to share wisdom.

Milestones: 3rd trimester. 2 more weeks!

Pregnancy update!

How far along?  23 weeks 5 day


Total weight gain/loss: At my doctors appointment 4 weeks ago I had only gained 9 pounds. I'll update tomorrow after my appointment.

Maternity clothes? Oh yes, can't even think about my pre-prego pants! I can still wear all of my shirts though.

Stretch marks? ..grr...yes! Not on my belly, just my sides and my poor bum. =(

Sleep: Eh, not the best but I get a little.

Best moment this week: Watching my belly move with Elliott's kicks. =)

Movement: All the time! She's going to be a soccer player

Food cravings: Biscuits and (sausage) Gravey, still. and Apples!! mmm.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: Nope, thank goodness!

Belly Button in or out? getting more flat with each passing day.

What I miss: Seafood, and sleeping on my belly

What I am looking forward to: Getting big enough that you can tell I'm pregnant even when wearing a sweatshirt!

Weekly Wisdom: Take a walk daily. It will help you sleep better.

Milestones: 3rd trimester. Only 4 more weeks and I am there!

I dream of babies...

I've always had weird dreams. I don't have to be pregnant to dream of babies either. Even before I met Matt I would dream of a baby girl. But those baby dreams were sweet, and cute, and normal. So far during pregnancy I've only had 3 baby dreams, all about the sweet little girl I'm carrying right. The first two were pretty much the same.

The dream starts 3 or so days after I have Elliott and I don't remember labor and delivery at all! And the dream basically all about breast feeding, and whether I can do it (almost too well) or can't do it at all.

But the dream I had last night was completely different. It was not normal at all. I was with my parents and sisters in our childhood home. I was only 23 weeks pregnant (same as in reality) and little Elliott is moving around like crazy! All of a sudden, Ellie's face is pushing against my belly, I could see every detail perfectly, and then her head breaks free of my belly, she smiles at me, and then goes back into my belly. Belly is as smooth as ever, no scratch or tear. I of course freak out! What just happened?! Is that supposed to happen!? My mother informs me that is totally normal, just don't whipe any of the gooey stuff off because she could get sick if you do.

Ok,don't whipe off the gooey stuff. Right. So it happens again, Elliott's head is just sticking out of my stomache, but instead of going right back in she just sits there, and I'm afraid that she'll get sick if her head is out too long, so I gently push her back in (she's got a head full of dark curly hair!) making sure not to whipe off any gooey stuff.

The next time her head pops out, her body follows, so now I've got this baby (who looks to be about 2 months old) Sitting in my lap!! I get her dressed and decide to take her to the hospital because this can't be right, but that will have to wait until the next day because it's only 2 in the morning.

I wake up just as my little sister drops her, before she hits the floor. It took quite a few minutes to calm myself down and realize it was just a dream, and that Elliott would not really be able to stick her head out of my belly. But all through the dream it was like I could actually feel her moving...which makes me think that she actually was in reality. Using my inards as a jungle gym.

Elliott Morgan Tabbert

Don't you just love that name!? Matt and I do. We got Elliott from the tv show Scrubs, (Dr. Elliott Reed) yep love it! As for the middle name...we found that in a baby name book.

So I am not very good at keeping up on this blog, am I? Want to see my lastest belly bump picture? Of course you do!!

Ellie knows we are talking about her. As I'm sitting here writing this she is kicking like crazy! Matt gets to feel her move all the time. The other day she kicked so hard it moved his hand! It was pretty impressive, and felt really strange to me.

I have had, so far, a pretty mellow pregnancy. No complications (knock on wood that I end this pregnancy being able to say that!!) I'm getting to the point where it takes my breath away to bend over. (but I can still do it!!) I can't fit into ANY of my pre-prego pants, but I've only gained 10lbs so far! yay!

Can't wait until she's here!!

Little Kicks and Blankets

I've been feeling little movements for a while now. Recently those little flutters have graduated to little kicks. It's quite amazing if I do say so my self. Only this morning hubby got to join in the fun. His hand resting on my belly is becoming a normal habit, well baby decided to kick him. Twice! It was pretty awesome. I wasn't sure he had felt it but when I said "She's trying."  he smiled and said "I felt that."

Yep we know it's a girl, we even have her name. I'd like to share it with everyone I meet. Matt disagrees. He thinks we should wait. Which makes sense, but it doesn't change how I feel. I love her. I love her name.

Oh! I am making a quilt for her. =) I made it on paint to see how I wanted it.

We are going to buy the fabric tonight. It will be 48in x 60in. (When finished) I have to cut out 720, 2.5 x2.5 inch squares. That way when finished, squares will be 2 inches. I'm so excited! I get to do somthing with my boreing days, and I get to do it for my daughter! I love saying that. It will never get old. I can't wait until she gets here. =)