The New Cupcake's Name

The Muffin has agreed to let us name our Baby-to-be! Unless something changes, we'll be welcoming Pacey Grace to our family in June. If you think you know where the name Pacey came from, you're probably right. The middle name is after one of my favorite little girls from the first preschool class I taught way back when! Let's just say that if she's half as precious as Kelly Grace, we'll be set! Like everything else, I guess there is a small possibility that this could change, but Big Daddy assures me that it isn't likely.

I convinced The Muffin to let us use this name so that all of our "names" will end with the same sound. Pacey, Maggie, Mommy and Daddy. She liked that the sounds "matched". And yes, if you didn't know, our little Muffinhead's real name is Maggie. She probably gets called Muffin just as much, though. I'll be calling little Pacey "Cupcake" most of the time until she's born and probably well after. She has to bake for a quite a while longer, but time is flying!

If you like the name, great! If you don't like the name, we don't really care! That's what we'll be saying when a certain someone finds out our name choice...which we'll try not to let her know until absolutely necessary. And most of you can guess who she is!

The Baby Name

I promise I'll let everyone know as soon as we decide on a name. It's such a personal decision and we do not want outside opinions influencing our choice. The Muffin is having second thoughts about her first pick, so we have a couple of more options now! Big Daddy says that we'll name her whatever Muff allows us to name her. We plan to work on the name thing tonight and I really will post it a.s.a.p. If I don't, my dear Joy will absolutely explode and a few others may follow.

If our Baby-to-be had been a boy, his name would have definitely been

Eli Ronin.

It's a .........

beautiful baby, don't you think?

The placenta, cord insertion and cord placement all look normal and the placenta is located away from the cervix! I was so relieved when I met with my midwife after the ultrasound and she said that the umbilical cord was inserted centrally into the placenta. (I never thought I could be so excited over a placenta in all my life!!!) No sign of vasa previa. We both let out a big sigh of relief. The Baby-to-be's heart and brain look great, too. (Callie was hoping that it would have a "smart mind and heart"...that's what she wrote in the card that she gave me on the day after we told my family the news.) The baby's heart was beating in the 150's. Of course, I still have my worries and will continue to worry until this sweet baby is in my arms, safe and sound after delivery.

I watched the ultrasound with my head elevated off of the pillow until I just couldn't do it anymore. I loved watching all of the little moves and the bloodflow on the color doppler was such a treat! The Muffin wanted to see the baby's nose. We got a great picture of a foot. Those kidneys, that brain, those hands, that spine and those ribs...all so cute. I saw nothing that told me if our Baby-to-be is a boy or a girl. Fortunately, Pam saw otherwise...and she says it's a girl. A sweet, little baby girl. A sister for The Muffin. Another granddaughter and promise of matching outfits for my mom. Another niece and goddaughter for my sister and brother-in-law. Another reason for Big Daddy to buy another shotgun. Surely, another squealing voice in our house.

We really couldn't be any happier! There's no need to worry that we were hoping for a boy...we were just hoping for a baby. The Muffin is thrilled because she knew it was a girl. She wasn't surprised by the news at all. And in case you're wondering, I thought it was a boy!

Thanks to everyone who has been anxiously awaiting our big news!

And F.Y.I.:

She weighs approximately 10 ounces and I've gained (only) five pounds so far!

Baby-to-be definitely has a name...

well, sort of.

************UPDATED************

We will share the name as soon as we are completely sure of it! Big Daddy has told me that it could still change at any time. I'm trying to remind him that it's so important for The Muffin to have a name for our baby so that she can bond. It has nothing to do with my love of anything monogrammed!

If "it's" a boy we have a name! If "it's" a girl, we have a total of four names and The Muffin is determined that our fourth choice is THE name. I swear, she is a little sponge and soaks up every word we say. Our fourth pick is a name that I like, but not with our last name. Then Muff overheard us say it and she is stuck on it. No matter how many times I give her our top three girl name choices, she goes back to the same name, even when it's not on the list.

As for The Muffin's earlier change of heart on a boy or a girl, she is still determined that the Baby-to-be is a girl. I'm still totally blissed out thinking about the baby being a boy or a girl! Big Daddy just wants the baby to be happy.

I think I'm over my biggest anxieties about tomorrow's ultrasound. I have complete confidence in my knowledge of our past problems and I know that we'll get through anything that comes our way with faith. I decided to listen to the words that I say daily to The Muffin regarding prayers. We go through the same thing at least once a day (nap and/or bedtime) where she wants her Nana and/or Pawpaw so much that she says, "pray for me". I say the same prayer every single time and then she cries for them again. I tell her that Jesus wants to help her, but that she has to calm down and let Him. This always works and calms her down and it works for me too.

Things Change

We had our first day back at K.indermusik yesterday. It was lots of fun! Two of our K.indermusik friends (both boys) have baby brothers that tag along. J is 4 months old and N is one month old. Yesterday after class The Muffin insisted on visiting with both babies. I had given baby N his paci during class when he started waking from his nap. He sat in his little car seat and went back to sleep even though we were making so much noise all around him. He started to wake up after class and Muff tickled his feet. She always talks about tickling our baby, so that's her thing. Baby J is at the stage where he laughs, smiles and giggles at everything. Muff wouldn't do her "baby talk" like she does to my belly, but she tickled his head.

Last night she told me that she wanted a baby like N or J. Then she said that I had J in my belly and that she had N in her belly and that they would grow "big and strong" and come out soon. Maybe she's open to having a boy now???

I really can't stress how neutral I am on gender. I get SO excited about either one. Two girls would be fun, they could dress alike, have girly toys and then there's the hair bows and all of the squealing! A boy and a girl would be cute too. I think they'd be more protective of one another and I'd definitely feel more comfortable with Big Daddy sharing his love of firearms and fighting! Yesterday a K.indermusik parent asked "what we wanted". I'm sure most people say it doesn't matter, but I could never be more sure of how much it doesn't matter. I guess you could say that I've never been more unsure of anything in my life...whether I'd want a boy or a girl if I could pick. I really like being so unsure!

Hopefully, I'll be letting everyone know what "it" is on Thursday!

The Baby Belly- Week 18

The Happy Mommy

The baby-to-be is nearly 6 inches long from crown to rump and my uterus is now the size of a cantaloupe!!!

I cannot believe that we are nearly to our halfway point, assuming that the Baby-to-be makes it to 40 weeks! I had horrible round ligament pains last night, courtesy of the hormone relaxin. I guess my next complaint will be the joint pain- that was my worst pregnancy discomfort with The Muffin. It made getting out of bed every morning feel like torture. I can only hope that Big Daddy will give me morning back massages just like he did when I was pregnant before.

The Muffin is now praying for "our baby" every night! She has also started calling it "our" baby instead of "your" baby. She is very excited about taking Nana to the ultrasound appointment on Thursday and seeing a picture of our baby. She "reads" her big sister book that Auntie Sharalee gave her for Christmas and talks about the baby pretty often. I think she's getting excited!!

Just Because...

Such A Busy Weekend

We have been so terribly busy this weekend! It all started on Thursday, but I really don't want to go into that.
We'll start with Friday. Muff and I went to the grocery store, came home, had lunch, played and took a nap. When Big Daddy came home from the gym on Friday, The Muffin and I were just waking up from our nap...at 4:00. We decided to go t Cary to shop for a new laptop for his new computer class that starts next week. We went to the mall first and headed straight to the Food Court...after a ride on the escalators! Muff had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from home (her favorite) waffle fries and lemonade from you now where. Big Daddy and I had Chinese food. It was so good. After that we spent over 2 hours at B.est Buy looking at computers. We had great computer guy, Brian, who was wonderful. The Muffin ate 6 Dum Dum suckers while Big Daddy and Brian talked about school and stuff. Brian graduated (criminal justice) from UNCW and had Mike Adams as a professor. They talked about the NCSU lecture that we attended when I was pregnant with Muff (that's when I fell in love with Dr. Adams) Second Amendment rights and then of course, collecting firearms. Brian's now attending NCSU and planning to go to vet school. Between Dr. Adams and NCSU and computers and the whole going back to school in their 30's thing the guys had LOTS to talk about. That explains the 6 Dum Dums. Anyway...we picked out the laptop and left it there so that the G.eek Squad could do the set-up. It was getting late and I was so tired. We left today around 1:00 to pick it up and get new jeans for Big Daddy. He also insisted that we go to T.arget and back to the mall to M.otherhood to look for me a new shirt...to wear to my ultrasound on Thursday. We found one and then headed to M.imi's Cafe for dinner. It was yummy. After that Big Daddy took me to S.tarbuck's so that I could finally have a S.alty Ca.ramel Hot Chocolate. It was worth every penny of the $3.50. I loved it and could actually see it being a permanent replacement for my Tall Non-fat Decaf Cafe Mocha with no whipped cream...if only it wasn't seasonal. Now my belly's full, my girl's asleep, my sweetheart is playing with his new toy and I'm going to take a nice, hot shower and go to bed.
Tomorrow, the only thing I plan to do is go to church, cook fajitas for lunch and then take a nap. And I'm so excited about it.

One More Week

***UPDATED***I will be sharing if the baby is a boy or a girl, but we might not make the name completely public until birth...we'll see.

Next Thursday is our "big" ultrasound appointment and hopefully we'll find out what our Baby-to-be is. I'm anxious to see that sweet face and if we can find out the sex, I can't wait to have a name for our baby. We're still working on that!
I'm getting more excited about the whole boy or girl thing, but the health of our baby and everything around it is always on my mind. I try to remeber that I know so much more than I did when I was pregnant with The Muffin...well, the bad part there is I know so much more good and bad pregnancy-related things. I know that even my doctors and midwives are probably a little more aware because of our situation when The Muffin was born. I'm hoping that I don't start sobbing are barking off orders to Pam when she starts the ultrasound. I'm going to try to calmly tell her what I need to know first: 1) How many lobes does the placenta have? 2) How is the cord inserted (into the placenta)? 3)How is the cord placement? 4)Is it a boy or a girl? I hope I can get definite answers to all of my questions. The bad part is if there's nothing wrong with the placenta or the cord insertion and placement I'll still wonder if everything is okay. Until I have our baby in my arms and see it moving and breathing on it's own, I won't feel like all of those things are okay. Vasa previa most definitely takes your innocence away. When I was pregnant with The Muffin I didn't know to worry about these things. I didn't know how easily they can go undiagnosed. I didn't know that it's not routine to screen for these things in our country.
On a brighter note, I could just cry with joy when I think of hearing "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!". Either one would excite me beyond belief. I definitely have a feeling about what our baby is, but no matter what, it doesn't matter. The Muffin on the other hand knows that our baby is a girl!

Please keep us in your prayers as we await our big day!

A Review of Our Year

January- Big Daddy had a spur of the moment trip to Italy for business. He found out about the trip on a Friday and left the following Sunday. We spent all day on Saturday trying to get his bag packed and by the necessary travel necessities. I became his unofficial tour guide and went through the tour books and maps that he bought trying to highlight the top things he should do in his free time. Thank goodness for R.ick Steves! He was trying to get all of his computer, paperwork and school stuff ready for the thirteen day trip. The Muffin and I missed him terribly!
The Muffin started showing an interest in potty training.
February- Big Daddy and I took our annual couple's trip to Myrtle Beach a little early. Muff stayed with Nana & Pawpaw. We got a great deal on a Valentine's Day special. It included champagne...which we still have because we don't drink.
We started attending (and loving) the new church.
Muff fell in love with bubbles.
April- Miss Muffin celebrated her second birthday! we went to a homeschooler's outing at Marsh Stables and saw a wild west show. We also toured the old ghost town. We had a small party with my family the following Sunday.
Muffin discovered the joys of sidewalk chalk.
The Muffin became a Life Member of the N.ational Rifle A.ssociation.
Muff made a new best friend and we decided that Ms. Bell (in the church nursery) was the only reason that Muff would willingly go to church.
May- We had our first day trip to W.rightsville Beach. It was so much fun. Big Daddy and I found out that the water zaps all of Muff's energy.
I had my first Sweet and Spicy Chili D.orito.
The Muffin potty trained!!
June- We decided we'd try to have a baby in the next few months.
Muff discovered pregnant bellies when we met our friend Mamie.
August- I celebrated my 31st birthday-ugh- with a special lunch out with Muffin.
We had our semi-annual family beach trip with my parents, my sister and her family and some family friends.
Mamie had her baby and Muffin was amazed!
We decided that getting pregnant in September would make the due date just right for Big Daddy's school schedule.
Had an awesome day trip to Southport and The Muffin rode her first "ferry boat".
September- Found out we had a baby on the way!
The Muffin started asking for prayer when she was sad or upset.
October- The Muffn discovered the "joys" of election year, decided to support O.bama.
Muff had her first B.uild A Bear experience for Callie's birthday party! We made "Joseph".
Muff found out that you get candy at Halloween and wanted to do "more trick-or-treating"!
Muff became addicted to D.ancing with the Stars.
November-Big Daddy turned 33! He bought himself a very nice, expensive gift at the gun shop! Muffin discovered her love of taxidermy.
Decided that she in fact, did not like O.bama or any other candidate.
December-The Muffin fell in love with Christmas, the Advent calendar, Nativity Scenes and Christmas lights.
Learned the difference between a pistol and a rifle.
Big Daddy passed his classes with flying colors!
We took a family beach trip to Myrtle Beach.