Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Couples' Baby Shower

This weekend we had our very first baby shower for Sibley. It was a couples' shower hosted by family and friends at Katherine and Paul's beautiful house on the Reservoir. We could not have asked for more perfect weather. It was a GORGEOUS day out on the Rez!

A couples' shower really was the perfect first shower. Derek was able to feel included, and he really got a kick out of opening all the pink, girly gifts. Ha!

All of the Greys/Ferrells/soon-to-be Greys...

The guests and the beautiful view of the Rez from Katherine and Paul's backyard...

The food: State Street BBQ pulled pork, shredded chicken, baked potato salad, Candee's baked beans, and desserts by Katie. Absolutely delish!

The sweet gift table with a book for all the guests to write a message for Sibley...

Action shot...

Our gracious hosts and hostesses... such great friends!

It really was a wonderful day. We feel extremely loved, and this little lady is one lucky girl!!

Friday, April 5, 2013

30 Weeks and A NAME!

We had our 30-week sonogram on Tuesday and got tiny little glimpse of baby girl (and confirmed she's still a girl)! She's breach right now, and she had her face covered with her hands the whole time, so we only got a side shot of her chubby little cheeks and a very clear shot of her perfect little baby feet, which I'm already totally in love with. :)


She is actually measuring about 2 weeks ahead weighing 3 lbs, 10 oz. Everything looked great with her! We were even able to see her lungs practicing for when she's able to breathe outside of my belly. It was truly amazing to watch.

The good news is I seem to have the gestational diabetes under control with my new diet (and I've actually lost 2 pounds), so I just need to keep doing what I'm doing. But the bad news is I seem to have a condition called polyhydramnios, which is excessive amniotic fluid. The concern with this is that it can cause extreme discomfort/difficulty breathing as this pregnancy progresses because of all the pressure on my lungs. But more importantly there's a possibility that my water can break early (anytime) because my body thinks the extra pressure is a full-grown baby or multiple babies and it's time to deliver. This condition can be directly associated with the gestational diabetes, and the hope is that now that I've gotten my blood sugar levels controlled the extra fluid will be reabsorbed and level out as she grows. Fingers crossed and prayers said! We want her to stay put for at least two more months!

If there's one thing this little girl has already taught me, it's to just roll with the punches. This is clearly a lesson I've needed to learn, so I'm grateful for that already.

In other news, we're finally ready to publicly share her name. We've known it for months now, but we just wanted to make sure we felt like it fit her.

Sibley Elizabeth Grey

"Sibley" is Derek's grandmother's maiden name (and also Uncle Sib's name), and she'll be a third generation "Elizabeth." We never had any issues with a girl name; it was the boy's name that always gave us trouble. We love it though, and we hope she will, too! We can't wait to meet her in a few short weeks. Let's just hope those weeks aren't TOO short!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Weekend Getaway

I apologize for the lack of pictures in advance, but Derek and I had a lovely little "babymoon" getaway to Biloxi this past weekend.

We stopped by the outlets in Gulfport to do a little shopping, then checked in to the Beau Rivage and relaxed by the pool for a while that afternoon. Dinner reservations were at 6 at Ruth's Chris.

I've never eaten there before, and I gotta tell you... this was a pregnant woman's DREAM. I even splurged with the potatoes au gratin and BBQ shrimp appetizer. It was all so incredibly delicious. They treated us great, too, and even put rose petals and "Happy Anniversary" confetti on our table since this was our big belated anniversary celebration, too. It was a wonderful dining experience.

After dinner we caught a cab to the Coast Coliseum for ELTON JOHN! We missed it when he played in Jackson in September because we were in Orlando, but what a treat it was! That man was amazing, and I was just in awe the whole time at the fact that we were seeing this legend. It was great.

We called it a night about 11:00 (crazy party animals that we are these days), then stopped in Hattiesburg for our annual Easter shrimp boil with my family on the way home on Sunday.

It was a wonderful weekend! We really enjoyed the little getaway and spending time together. It was so nice. And I'm still thinking about that big, juicy steak. :)


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

New Ride for the New Baby

We said goodbye to the Volkswagen on Monday and switched to a family-friendly Camry. It was a little bittersweet since that Passat had been with me since we were planning our wedding back in 2005, but it was time to part ways. Maintenance costs were waaaaay too expensive with the VW, and we certainly seemed to have a lot of maintenance issues to handle.

I'm loving the new ride and thrilled to be back in a Camry again! We needed something practical and reliable, and that's just what we got. I must say, it drives so smoothly and has plenty of room for our soon-to-be family of three.

We had been talking about trading my car in for a year or so now, but since Derek just got his new Jeep last spring we were really trying to avoid two car notes. But then logic won out and we realized the last thing we needed was an expensive repair on a car that's been paid off for a few years. And trust me, something would have needed repairing - like the $800 windshield wiper motor we had to replace a few months ago...

Anyways, I love the new car and we're excited to be that much more ready for baby come June! Who knows? This Camry might even be her first car in about 15 years. Ha, wishful thinking, I know! :)

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Second Trimester

Today we're 28 weeks! HELLOOOOOOOOO, third trimester! So happy to see you! :)

Now we start the every-other-week appointments, which is fine. I like getting updates. At this week's check-up, Dr. Moses said the baby was perfectly healthy, but mama needs a little work. I've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. While it's not the end of the world, it's definitely going to change my life for the next few months.

In summary, she reassured me that there was nothing I could have been doing any differently, and it has nothing to do with the crazy amount of sweets I've been eating because I can't get rid of these crazy cravings. It's genetic and it's just how my body processes sugar when pregnant. Apparently my pancreas can't quite keep up with the overtime work. I will have to follow a pretty strict low-carb, low-sugar diet the rest of the pregnancy and prick my finger four times a day to test my sugar levels. Eek, that's the part I really dread. :(

I've actually only gained 6 pounds total since the start of this pregnancy, so it has nothing to do with the amount of weight gained (which I always assumed it did). The main concern with gestational diabetes is that  if the baby continues to get this streamlined, unprocessed sugar, she'll grow too big too fast, which could make delivery difficult. In my crazy hormonal state, I cried when she was telling me all this. It was just a lot to process! But, Dr. Moses again reassured me that the baby is perfectly fine and LOVES all this sugar. She's thriving. We just need to slow down the sugar consumption now that she's in the home stretch and growing by leaps and bounds each week.

We have another sonogram scheduled in two weeks to see how big she is right now. I'm looking soooo forward to seeing her again! It's been 10 week since we've seen her sweet face, and now I know she should have a little more fat on those chunky little cheeks!

So, following the standard I set with the first trimester post, we'll call the second trimester the Trimester of Growth and Productivity. Everything seemed to change when I hit 20 weeks. That was the magical number. My belly popped and I started to feel her moving, which was amazing. Here are some highlights of the past few months:
  • We're about 80% done with the nursery. It looks so good! We're still waiting on the bedding to be made, but the walls are painted, the crib is put together, our changing table/dresser has been repainted, the rug is on the floor, curtains are up... and most of all, the CLOSET IS CLEANED OUT and ready for all her stuff! If you knew how big of an undertaking this was, you'd be very impressed. :)
  • We have all of our showers scheduled, and we've finished registering for everything we need. I did plenty of research on the big items, so I feel like we're prepared (as much as we can be, I guess). We're excited for the showers coming up!
  • We've been bonding with the baby. I love when she kicks me. I talk to her every day on my way to work about our day ahead and how much I can't wait to meet her. Derek reads to her at night. She is so very loved already.
  • With those six extra pounds and expanding belly, I've already gotten some pretty good stretch marks. Booo... :( Oh well, I'll just take that as a sign that she's growing as she should. I'm not too worried about it. They're just not too pretty right now. No bare belly maternity pics for this girl.
  • I've felt pretty good this trimester. I've battled heartburn, but that's about it. I'm a little more restless at night than I used to be, but I can still get a good night's sleep.
That's my summary of Trimester #2. We're really in the home stretch now. I have officially begun the countdown whether it's too early or not. We can't wait to meet our daughter in just a few short months!

Monday, March 18, 2013

St. Paddy's Weekend

What a BEAUTIFUL spring weekend! We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went downtown for the St. Paddy's Parade on Saturday. This was obviously a different kind of year for me this year, but it was still a lot of fun. It really is one of my favorite things about Jackson. Fun times! Here are a few pics from the day.



FYI, this is a Diet Coke (my indulgence these days) in my huggie, in case you're wondering... :)


Then on actual St. Patrick's Day yesterday I made a day trip to Hattiesburg to see my cousins in town visiting from Oklahoma. My cousin Julie is also pregnant with a baby girl and due five days after me, so we knew this would probably be our only chance to get a pic of our bumps for the baby books. How sweet! I can't wait for these baby girls to meet one day!

It was a lovely weekend, but it went by too fast, as always. We're worn out on this cloudy Monday morning. Welcome to spring time, where the pollen is out in full force and the weekends are booked! ;)
 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Lucky #7

Sorry for the delay, but I'm out of the office this week and working mostly from my iPhone.

Yesterday was our 7th wedding anniversary, and unfortunately we had to spend it a thousand miles apart since Derek is in Chicago for a conference this week.

We were able to celebrate early on Saturday with dinner and a movie (we saw Silver Linings Playbook, which I highly recommend, and ate dinner at Anjou, which I wouldn't necessarily highly recommend). BUT we're heading to Biloxi for our official "babymoon" in a few weeks, so the celebration will continue. :)

Needless to say, it's been a wonderful seven years, and I look forward to many, many more. We're in for an exciting year ahead! Love.