Naming Baby Girl

Here's what the process of picking a name for Baby Girl looked like in our house:

Carrie: We really need to come up with a name for the baby. Any ideas?
Brad: I don't know. What do you want to name her?
Carrie: I don't know. I asked you first.
Brad: Ok, we'll each make a list of our top 10 names and compare.
Carrie: Sounds like a good idea to me.

THE END

We had that same conversation at least 7 times... and nothing would happen. Productive huh?

The other night we had the same conversation again - but this time Brad asked that I send him a few websites with name ideas. I got to work the next morning and I had an e-mail from Brad reminding me to send him the websites. I found a few to send him and was impressed - we were making progress!

I worked on my list on and off all day. I finally had my top 8 (I never found 10 that I was in love with). I took my list home and asked Brad where his list was. He claimed his was in his head. HA! After dinner he quickly put together his list and then we exchanged lists. We marked names off of each other's list until we had 4 names left (2 on each list). Then we realized there was one name in common.

Hmmm...could it really be this easy? Yep, it was. We were done - our Baby Girl will no longer have to be called "Chubs" or "Female".

Picking a middle name was a little bit harder. We had two names picked out and Brad told me it was my decision. Hmmm....what to do, what to do. I made my decision knowing that if we ever have another child the other name will be used (and no, I'm not telling what it is).

For a conversation that we were both avoiding and thought would be a fight - that was pretty easy! Another decision made.

I guess y'all probably want to know what it is, huh?

Emily Kate Weaver

Week 24 - A Very Important Week

Today marks an important week in Baby Girl's development - viability! If something were to happen and I was to go into labor (God forbid) the NICU would try to save her and Baby Girl would have a chance for life outside the womb. There are A LOT of concerns that come with a baby being born that early (and something we don't want to happen) but there are plenty of success stories out there. It's just another milestone that allows me to breath a little bit easier.

I was explaining to a friend that pregnancy, for me, has been surrounded by milestones and at each one I get to breath a little bit easier:

• 6 weeks - first doctor's appointment and seeing the heartbeat. Sigh of relief.


• 8 weeks - second doctor's appointment and second sonogram, heart is still beating and baby is growing right on track. Sigh of relief.


• 12 week mark and doctor's appointment - heard the heartbeat and reached a much "safer" place in the pregnancy. Sigh of relief.


• Initial screen for preeclampsia - comes back normal. Sigh of relief.
  And I continue to tell the doctors that my blood pressure is only high because I'm in their office and are making a big deal out of my blood pressure being high (are you seeing the nasty cycle?). They don't believe me.....no sigh of relief.


• 16 week blood work (quad screen to check for development abnormalities) comes back normal - no further testing required. Sigh of relief.


• 20 week sonogram. This was a HUGE milestone for me. This is where we would learn if everything was progressing as normal. Was this baby developing and growing properly? Were there any problems or concerns? As a bonus we would find out the gender. What most people don't know is that I was so scared for this sonogram. I was scared something wasn't going to be right. I decided to cover my fear with excitment in finding out the gender. Well, everything with the baby was just fine (measuring a few days ahead) and we found it's a girl. HUGE Sigh of relief.


• 22 week appointment. MY doctor is back in the office (she was on maternity leave) and I was so happy to have her back. She went over previous test results in more detail, wasn't concerned with my weight gain (at a previous appointment one of the other doctor's mentioned I had gained 3lbs and she would have liked it if I gain 2lbs?!?!) and wasn't concerned about my blood pressure at this point (finally, someone understands!). Sigh of relief.


• Now here we are at another, very important milestone in this pregnancy journey. 24 weeks. I can't explain to you how important this day is to me. I know it doesn't guarantee anything - but it means there is a real chance. Sigh of relief.

There are many, many more moments to come - test for Gestational Diabetes (coming soon) and reaching my third trimester, among others.

Ok, ok, ok - enough about me - on to Baby Girl. She gained over 4 ounces in the last week and is the length of an ear of corn, about 12 inches. Her brain is starting to grow quickly and taste buds are developing. Her lungs are slowing starting to develop and her body is filling out more and more each day. Check the Baby Center update for more details.

And to answer some very popular questions:
- I'm feeling fine. Up to this point I've been very lucky and feeling good (can we please keep it that way?).
- I'm not sure how much weight I've gained. I really stopped caring after the strange doctor was concerned about 1 lbs (bite me!).
- No, we don't have a name for Baby Girl. Brad and I haven't talked about it yet. But I promise you - when we settle on something I'll tell you. We do need to come up with something soon. My co-workers have named her Female (think tamale).

Later this week I'll post pictures I've been meaning to post in a long time!

Week 23

Another week down! Woohoo!

Baby Girl (no, she still doesn't have a name - we haven't even talked about it yet) is moving around a lot more lately! Today she has been going crazy. It's cool, surprising and strange at the same time. Someone (the strange lady at work that keeps touching my belly) asked if I could see her moving outside my belly - the answer is no. She told me that when I do it will look like an alien moving around in me. Really!?!?! Was it necessary to describe my daughter as an alien? And aliens freak me out. In other strange lady news - she asked if she could take a picture of my belly for her. NO. Not only no, but HELL NO! Help - what am I supposed to do with this lady? She's not taking my hints.

On to the BabyCenter update - Baby Girl can feel me move around and her sense of hearing is becoming more keen. I'm sitting her trying to make Banjo "speak" to the baby - it's kinda funny. Banjo is having no part in my game and would rather chase her tennis balls around the house. (I'm easily distracted tonight - sorry). Her lungs are starting to develop and prepare for breathing. This weeks she's over 11 inches long and weighs as much as a large mango.

On Friday we had our fun sonogram. It was so nice to be able to see Baby Girl again and take our time. We weren't in a hurry and we could just watch her move around. It was really cool. We got some great pictures and a DVD of the sonogram. I'll try and figure out how to post some of it later. But baby still appears to be a girl.

Some of our furniture will arrive this week - YAY! However, I have no place to put it - BOO! I'm in the process of cleaning out the guest room - BOO! I'm so excited for the furniture to get here but we won't be putting it together before we (Brad) paints the room. I'm not sure when painting will be happening - BOO! We are heading to El Paso this weekend for a baby shower - YAY!

Have a wonderful week!

Money Saving Websites

I'm always on the lookout for websites that provide coupons, a heads up on a sale, money saving tips or just sell things for a great discount. I'm not the best at using coupons but I don't love to find a great sale! Below are some of my favorite websites.

WOOT!
http://www.woot.com/
Woot sells 1 item each day at a discounted price. Items range from TVs and computers to universal remote controls and socket sets. I know it sounds strange but it's really fun to check everyday. And if you are lucky enough to find a day with a Woot!Off - you'll be hooked.

MAMA BARGAINS
http://www.mamabargains.com/
This is just like Woot but the items on this site are geared towards moms and babies. I've seen shoes, strollers, art work, blankets and more for sale!

BRAD'S DEALS
http://www.bradsdeals.com/
This is one of the best coupon and deal alert websites I've found. You'll find upcoming sale information, printable and web specific coupons, promo codes and a hot deal for the day. You can search by specific stores or categories. It's greatness.

BABY CHEAPSKATE
http://www.babycheapskate.com/
This is another mom/child specific website. It's similar to Brad's Deals - not quite as cool - but the same concept.

FREEBIES 4 MOM
http://freebies4mom.com/
This is similar to Baby Cheapskate. In addition to great coupon and discount finds this website tells you where to get some great stuff for free!

RETAIL ME NOT
www.retailmenot.com
Type in the store or website you are needing coupons from and see if there are any out there! People share codes they've received from e-mail lists, etc. This site also lets you know how reliable the codes are.


I know there are a lot more websites like these out there. Wanna share them?

Week 22

We've made it to 22 weeks. It really seems like each week is passing a little bit faster than the one before. I can't imagine how fast the next (hopefully) 18 weeks will go by. We've got so much planned and so much to do between now and then.

Last Friday, with the help of a friend, I finished our registry. It was fun, overwhelming and exciting all in one. We had a good time walking up and down every isle in the store and picking out stuff. I'm excited about the things we picked out. However there are several items I know we will need but I don't have a freaking clue what for or how to use them! I guess we'll learn. I also ordered all of the furniture for baby's room - see post below for pictures.

After my overwhelming registry experience I decided to sign us up for a newborn care class. I figured it wouldn't hurt and anything that will give me a little more confidence in caring for a baby is a good thing. Also, I tend to learn better (and listen more) to strangers than people I know. Don't ask me why - just one of my quarks. I also signed us for for the hospital tour - and Brad laughed at me. I may not want to know a lot about giving birth, but I do want to know where I'm supposed to go and what the rooms look like.

The only other productive thing we did this weekend was clean out the garage. It's amazing how much we got rid of and donated. Now there is plenty of room to move furniture out of the guest room (soon to be baby room) and into the garage. I've got to start cleaning out the guest room - once that it done Brad gets to paint.

Onto the baby update - baby girl is the length of a random food item this week - Spaghetti Squash. Seriously, could they not come up with something a little more normal that is 11 inches long?!?!?! Each week our little baby starts to look more and more like a baby. Eyebrows, eyelids and lips are filling in. Check out the entire update from BabyCenter.

We've got another doctor's appointment tomorrow. After 12 weeks I will finally see MY doctor again. It will be nice to touch base with her and find out what is next.

We also get to have another sonogram on Friday! A good friend of my mother-in-law works at a pregnancy clinic and has set us up with a sonogram appointment. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures of baby that I can share with y'all.

Furniture Picked Out!

I think I've finally settled on furniture for Baby Girl's room! I've been searching for a while now and just couldn't find something that liked, was affordable and had matching pieces. Today - I found just what I was looking for! It's all from JCPenny.

Check out the pictures - let me know what you think.

Crib
It's a convertible crib (this is just the crib, not the bedding)

Changer/Dresser

Bookshelf

Now I just need to order everything before I change my mind again!

Week 21

Sorry for the delay in posting. I know you are used to my Monday posts but I just wasn't in the mood to type yesterday.

Anyway, on to this week updates. This week Baby Girl (Brad is no longer allowed to call her "Chubs") is the size of a carrot, about 10.5 inches and weighs 3/4 of a pound. I'm feeling her kick, punch and move around a lot more. Brad was able to feel her kicking for the first time last night. It was pretty cool. Her eyelids and eyebrows are formed. Check out the entire update from BabyCenter.

On Saturday we took a little field trip to Babies R Us and picked out a stroller, car seat and pack and play. Friday morning I'll head back over to Babies R Us with a friend to complete our registry. This weekend we have to start cleaning out the garage and the guest room that will soon be the nursery. I haven't picked out furniture yet - but I'm working on it. OH! I did change my mind about the bedding for the nursery - check it out.

Yesterday I won my first NCAA bracket challenge - I was really excited! And I got to hear my song, One Shining Moment. It was a good day yesterday :)

Exciting News!

This morning was our BIG sonogram...finally! Everything with the baby looked good and baby is measuring about 2 days ahead. It was really cool to watch the entire sonogram - even when I had NO CLUE what I was looking at. It was also really cool to sneak a little peak at Brad's face.

And I'm happy to report that we are having a Baby Girl!
No, we don't have a name yet. When we have something picked out we'll let you know.


And guess what else I found out today?!?! New Kids on the Block is coming to Dallas again! Woohoo - July 17 they will be back in town. And yes, I plan on going (again!).