Swollen

Yesterday was a sad day for the Mulleys.  I realized about 2 hours after I put on my rings that they were becoming uncomfortably snug.  I had a feeling this day would come but I wasn't prepared for it to come so soon.  Dave encouraged me to take my rings off so that I wouldn't have to have them cut off.  I begrudgingly took off my rings and have placed them in my jewelry box for safe keeping.  Those rings have become a very significant part of me and I am sad to not wear them everyday.  I am also worried for Dave since men will surely be flocking to me if they think I'm not married (ha ha, just kidding!).  I am considering wearing my rings on chain around my neck...but I haven't decided for sure yet.  Until then, I will roam the streets looking like an unwed mother-to-be.

Have a Seat

My friend, Tina, called me Thursday evening and said she was getting rid of the rocker chair that was in her daughter's nursery and asked if I would be interested in it.  She went on to explain that it was more of an overstuffed chair (which is what we wanted), that it was khaki in color (we wanted something neutral) and that it's a Pottery Barn chair (added bonus).  I asked her how much she wanted for it and she said, "Oh!  You can just have it!".  I told her I had to check with the mister but I would call her back and let her know.  I called Dave and started telling him about the chair and before I could get the whole question out of mouth he gave me a resounding "YES!  We'll take it!".  I called Tina back and told her that we would love to have her free chair.  Worst case scenario is that we didn't like the chair in the nursery and then we would put it in the bonus room. 

Tina and her two kids came by yesterday to deliver the chair.  It is super comfortable and it looks great in the nursery!  It has some spit-up spots on it (which I'm sure we'll add to) so we are going to have it cleaned in preparation of the new layer that we plan on contributing.   We are also going to buy an ottoman so that I can put my feet up on those long nights that I'm sure to be spending in the nursery.

Dave and I feel so lucky to have such generous friends! 

The Great Diaper Debate

A while ago I asked my Facebook friends for their thoughts on cloth diapering.  I was interested in hear more about how it works and what the benefits/drawbacks might be.  Unfortunately, I only heard back from people who had not cloth diapered-and they, for the most part, gave a resounding "absolutely NO!".  I was a little disappointed that I didn't hear from people who had actual experience with cloth diapers and I was surprised to hear such opinionated responses from people who didn't have actual experience with the actual product in question.

Yesterday, my friend Bridgett sent me an email with the link to a podcast about whether or not to diaper....at all!  Here is the link to the podcast if you are interested in listening.  It's a little long so I will give you the Cliff's Notes version.  According to Kristen and Molly (the podcasters) about half of the world's children never wear diapers.  Most of these renegade children live in Asia and Africa.  The whole process of raising your children to not use diapers is called Elimination Communication.  Elimination Communication is basically a potty training technique that you start from birth and the parents use timing, signals/cues, and intuition to determine when baby has to go!  People who use the Elimination Communication technique tend to result in a fully potty-trained child by age 1 (up until then, it's probably pretty hard to find anyone who wants to hold your baby).

I actually know someone who did Elimination Communication with his daughter and found it to work quite well.  He did use diapers as a back-up (in case his intuition was lacking) but would also follow a regular schedule of holding his newborn baby girl over the toilet and making a series of noises to "train" the baby to use the toilet on command.

I had no idea that there were so many options when it came to potty-training my child.  The funny thing is that I have potty trained more children than I will ever have due to fact that I work with special needs children.  This being said, I'm sure that I will have the hardest time with my own children!

Until the time comes, I'm going to continue to be blissfully ignorant and assume my child will just come out potty trained!

Realizations

We had a great weekend and with that great weekend I came to the realization that the doctors were right.  When the doctor put me on bedrest last, I thought to myself that I could probably go back to work and I seriously considered disobeying doctor's orders.

On Saturday, Kristin came over with her new kitten, Mr. Willie Jenkins, III.  We were excited to see how Scout and Molly would do with a kitten.  Scout has always been interested in cats, but they tend to scare her.  We haven't seen Molly with any cats.  Mr. Jenkins was not a huge fan of Scouts.  Her tail wags constantly and she is very curious and Mr. Jenkins was pretty scared of Scout.  Molly, on the other hand, was very gentle with Mr. Jenkins and they seemed to get along pretty well.  We did discover that Mr. Jenkins liked to pounce on Scout's tail when she was sitting.  We would have Scout sit down and then Mr. Jenkins would crouch down and then attack Scout's tail.  Scout would then jump up and see what was attacking her tail and Mr. Jenkins would get scared and arch his back and hiss at Scout.  Dave, Kristin and I were all very entertained by this.

After Kristin and Mr. Willie Jenkins, III went home, Dave and I went over to our friends housewarming party.  I was the epitome of the party pooper and picked my lounging chair and did not get up the whole time.  Dave fixed my plate of food and waited on me and my friend, Phil would occasionally bring me a taste of the red beans and rice that he was busy making in the kitchen.  

After the party, Dave and I headed to the Jack Johnson concert.  We had purchased our tickets before I was even pregnant and I was so excited to see Jack Johnson perform again.  We had seats so I thought it would be okay to go since I would be seated the whole time.  The concert was great and I did sit the whole time.  Baby loves Jack Johnson!  As soon as he started playing, Baby was "dancing" all around inside my belly.  It was such a cool feeling and I'm thrilled that Baby likes good music!

Well, needless to say, I did too much on Saturday.  I didn't get out of the horizontal position until about 5 o'clock on Sunday evening.  I was exhausted and just didn't feel like moving.  This is when I realized that the doctors were right and I have been very diligent with my bedrest since then.

One of Baby's favorite songs from the concert:

Follow-up Doctors Appointment and Movement

I had my follow-up doctors appointment this afternoon.  The baby is doing great and is very healthy.  I am measuring right where I should be and his heartbeat sounds great (actually like music to our ears) at 141 bpm.  The doctor has also put me on modified bedrest indefinitely.  With my job, I am on my feet and moving around way too much and the doctor feels that I should be taking it a little easier.  I'm sure that I could go back to work but the problem is that I would do too much (I'm a bit of a control freak) and then end up back on bedrest but possibly restrictive bedrest.  I'd rather take it easy now and hopefully stay on modified bedrest so that I can still get up and move around some instead of busting my ass at work and then having to go on restrictive bedrest and have to have someone wipe my butt.

If anyone wants to come visit me and/or entertain me--just let me know. My schedule is pretty wide open!

On a fun note-Baby Mulley has been moving around a lot lately.  This morning after I took my shower I was laying in the bed and I looked down and my belly was moving every time Baby moved.  It was pretty crazy.  I called Dave in and he was able to see it too.  Not much longer and I'll look like there is an alien in my belly.  Feeling him move around is really comforting.

My next doctor's appointment is on September 2 for a check-up and glucose screening.

Nursery Sneak Peek

Dave has been working so hard on the nursery!  This is just a sneak peek as we are still waiting for our bedding to arrive and haven't even thought about decorations.

Before:

Midway:

Current Status:

We still have a bit to do, but we definitely have our foundation!  We are looking for some sort of chair for the room-possibly a glider, possibly a recliner, maybe even a bean bag chair!  We will also decorate with walls with some stuff, too.

Hey internet...what do you think?

Ultrasound

We went to Duke Parinatal today so I could get an ultrasound and hopefully find out why I have been experiencing so much pain lately.  We got a comprehensive ultrasound where the technician measured all of the baby's body parts as well as the length of my cervix.  At one point, the technician wanted to check out Baby's hands but the baby was playing peek-a-boo and wouldn't move his hands.  The technician proceeded to take the ultrasound "wand" and jiggle it on my belly up and down in rapid succession until the baby finally decided to cooperate.  Once the technician was done, the doctor came in and did a quick ultrasound to look around a bit.  He also looked at the many many pictures and measurements that the technician did.  He said that everything looks good to him.  The baby is measuring exactly on schedule and my cervix is within the "normal" length range.  He was very reassuring that the baby was healthy.  He said that they only way to relieve the pressure that I have been experiencing is to limit activity.  We are going back to my doctor on Thursday to go over the results of the ultrasound as well as discuss any limitations I may have.

On a super fun note, Dave felt Baby moving around last night.  We were laying in bed-Dave was trying to go to sleep and I was reading.  Baby was kicking up a storm so I told Dave to roll over and put his hand on my belly.  I had my hand on top of his so it would be in the right place.  He thought he felt the baby kicking and said that it was really subtle.  It turns out that he was feeling my pulse from me having my hand on his.  I removed my hand and then Baby did the "ol' one-two punch" and Dave said "oh, that's not very subtle at all!".  He kept his hand there for a good 20 minutes and just grinned at the fact that he could finally feel our baby moving around.  I believe we are falling more and more in love with this kid everyday!

Furniture, Treat Hunts and Dog Houses...OH MY!

Today was another adventurous day in the Mulley House! The furniture for the nursery was delivered but we aren't going to show you what it looks like until we do our big nursery reveal.

As some of you may know, Granny Roady has loved doing treat hunts for Scout for several years now. A treat hunt is where Scout has to sit in a designated spot while Granny Roady hides treats all over the downstairs and then once she is done she gives Scout the go ahead and Scout sniffs around the house and finds all the treats. It's kind of like a giant Easter Egg hunt for Scout. While Granny Roady was in town this week, she promised Scout and Molly that she would do a treat hunt for them. Molly is still new to the treat hunt but seems to have caught on pretty quickly.

Here is the video of them hunting for treats.

Molly has also been making some poor choices while outside unattended. She has been found digging her way under the back deck (Dave closed that hole up) and has also been found digging her way under our bay window in the kitchen. Dave decided that it would be a good idea to get out Scout old doghouse and set it up for Molly. We thought that maybe she was just looking for a cool place to lay. Scout is a sun goddess and loves to lay in the sun and catch some rays. Molly enjoys the shade a lot more.

Doctor's Appointment

We had our doctor's appointment today.  This was actually the already scheduled appointment and my doctor told me to keep the appointment on Wednesday when I went in for my surprise unscheduled appointment.  This time I met with a female doctor (the first one I've had) and she listened to Baby's heartbeat, measured my belly and answered any questions we had.  She told me that the pressure that I had been feeling wasn't necessarily normal but it wasn't an uncommon symptom.  She said we would know more about the pressure and cramping after my ultrasound with the specialist on Monday.  She also told me to stay on bed rest next week and the doctor next Thursday will tell us where to go from there.  This was a relief to know that the baby is still doing well!

Bed Rest--Day 2

Today was day two of bed rest and I attempted to sleep in to help the day pass.  I was able to sleep until about 7:30.  I then got up and showered--there is no reason to be stinky just because you can't leave the house.  My friends Tracie and Sophie had decided they were going to stop by and see the new house earlier in the week so I was excited to have a little company.  Tracie and Sophie came by when they got out of school and they brought me and the girls some presents.  I got a beautiful oil and vinegar set that was monogrammed.  It is too cute and is already set up in the kitchen!  Scout and Molly both got some yummy looking gourmet (or gourmutt) treats.  As most of you know, I'm a bit of a "Treat Nazi" so the girls had to wait for a special occasion to eat their treats.

It was so nice to have some human contact and to visit Tracie and Sophie.  As soon as Sophie met Scout and Molly she immediately got on the floor and started playing with them.  Sophie has 3 dogs at home so she has no fear of the four-legged ones.  Scout and Sophie fell in love immediately and I am working with Tracie to set up a playdate for the two of them.

Thanks, girls for helping my day to pass a little more quickly!

Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying one of their gourmutt treats:

"Sit"

"Here you go"

Molly enjoying her ice cream cone treat

Scout swallowed her treat whole...but she is still looking for more!

Resting Up!

I have been feeling some pressure in my lower abdomen since Sunday evening. Nothing major-just uncomfortable. Then last night, I started feeling some cramping as well as the pressure so I called the OB/Gyn this morning and told the nurse how I was feeling. She told me to come in right away. I met with the doctor and he listened for Baby's heartbeat and then measured my abdomen. He said the heartbeat sounded good and I was measuring a little bigger than expected. He also did an internal exam and said that my cervix appears to have shortened. In "regular people talk" that means that something isn't quite right. The cervix is what keeps Baby from the real world and towards the end of your pregnancy the cervix begins to shorten and it eventually contracts completely and then begins to dialate. Wow! I'm sure that is more than any of you wanted to know! So, because of this new finding the doctor has put me on bed rest for at least the rest of this week. They are scheduling an ultrasound with a specialist (I'm waiting to hear back from my doctor as to when that ultrasound will be) and I have a couple follow up appointments this Friday and next Thursday.

On my first day of bed rest, I have watched The Breakfast Club, chatted with friends on the phone, taken a nap, and am now watching Steel Magnolias.

I think the pups are really enjoying bed rest as well. They have been showing me some of the better positions for optimal resting:

They have also done a great job of checking up on me since Daddy is still out of town and very worried about me:

I have also been entertained by many emails from my friend, Sue.  The latest installment was:

"I just read your blog.  I like the bump photo.  Thought I’d see what you’d look like with longer hair and trying on one clown shoe..."

Thanks, Sue, for making me laugh!

I will keep you all updated on how things are going!

Behold...The Belly!

I have received many requests to see my growing belly.  Some have been very kind and some requests have been rather aggressive and demanding.

So I took my camera to work today and asked my dear friend Tracie to take a picture of me.  She was quite shocked that I hadn't been taking pictures of my belly all along (like immediately following conception on) but was more than happy to be my professional photographer!

Either way, here is the current status of my bump:

Cone Free!

I took Molly back to the rescue organization to get her stitches removed and to give them back the Cone of Shame that she has been sporting for the past two weeks.  The vet said that her incisions had healed nicely as she was removing the stitches.  Molly was very happy to see some of her old friends and we might just use them to board her and Scout next time we have to go out of town.  I think both girls would love all the outside time and all the other dogs to play with.  The vet recommended I get some Neosporin  to apply to Molly's face for the next several days to help her face continue to heal.  When we got back Molly and Scout were so happy to be able to play.  They definitely made up for lost time by wrestling, playing tug-o-war and chasing each other around the yard.

It's good to have our girls back in tip-top shape again.

cone-free is the way to be!

Happy her baby sister is back to normal.

Cheese...It's What's For Dinner

It is officially Cheese Fest at the Mulley house this week.  Dave is in San Jose, CA for the week and I am living it up by eating lots and lots of cheese.  As many of you know, Dave does not like cheese...none of it!  I do very well to cook 99% of my dishes without cheese.  I will occasionally cook our dinners in separate dishes so that I can have cheese on mine, but for the most part we eat cheese free here.  All of that abstaining from cheese makes a girl want it even more-so when Dave is away the mouse will play!  For this addition of Cheese Fest I have had Macaroni & Cheese for dinner, bagels with cream cheese for breakfast and microwave pizzas for lunch.  Tuesday, I'm headed over to the McDowell's for some homemade pizza.  As I usually do with Cheese Fest, I overindulge on cheese and then am very happy to go back to a cheese-free lifestyle.  Also on the docket for the week, queso dip, cheese and crackers, grilled cheese sandwiches and broccoli cheese soup.  Uggg, I feel a little ill just thinking about it...

New Clothes

Aunt Kori (you'll remember her from this post) just got back from a trip to Hong Kong and she brought Mini Mulley some new clothes.  She bought 3 super cute outfits.

     

Chances are pretty good that the baby will not look Asian, but now the baby can wear super cute Asian clothes!  Thanks, Aunt Kori!  We love you!