A Big THANK YOU To Lilly Howard From Baby Carly!!!

Dear Lilly,

Today I heard my Mommy squeal with delight when she opened a package that your Mommy sent in the mail. She told me that the box was filled with adorable clothes and shoes that you used to wear, but apparently you have outgrown them. They must feed you well.

That is so nice of you to let me wear them now. Well, not exactly "now" as I haven't been born yet. But I understand that your clothes have already been washed in Dreft (whatever that is) and ironed and hung in my closet.

My Mommy tells me that you are a really cute girl and that your Mommy has great taste in clothes. Lucky me!

She also tells me that the outfits are in many different sizes so I'll get to wear "Lilly clothes" for a long time to come. Cool!

A big THANK YOU to you and your Mommy for the handmedowns! I'm sure Mommy will send you pictures.

Give your big brother Mikey a big kiss from us. I look forward to the day when I'll get to meet your family. I'm sure we'll be fast friends!

Love,

Baby Carly

Will Baby Carly be an Aires or a Taurus???

I just posted a poll to guess what Baby Carly's sign will be ... Aires or Taurus. If you want to make your guess known and share your theory with everyone then feel free to post a comment to this blog entry with your name.

Be sure to read about today's doctor's appointment before making your guess. I have been telling people that my doctors felt I was likely to go between weeks #35 and #37, but now they seem more optimistic that I'll go at least until week #37.

For anyone who wants more scientific data to calculate your answer, on 2/12 my cervix was 5.4 centimeters long and was sealed "tight as a drum." My due date is 4/29. The cervical cerclage (internal stitches) will be taken out at week #37, which would be approximately 4/8.

Click on the following link to read the highlights of the characteristics of each sign...

http://www.pixieplots.co.nz/zodiac-traits.php

Celebrity Aireses include Diana Ross, Elton John and Timothy Dalton.

Celebrity Tauruses include Jack Nicholson, Barbra Streisand and Queen Elizabeth.

Had To Face The Scale Today ...

Today I had a routine checkup with Dr. C, which meant that I had to get on that *@#! scale of his!

I was afraid ... very afraid. After all, I've had at least one piece of yellow cake every day since my shower.

Much to my pleasant surprise the scale was my friend now for 2 appointments in a row! In the past 2 weeks I've gained only 2 1/2 more pounds, putting my total weight gain at 34 1/2 pounds. That's 4 weeks now of reasonable weight gain. Woo hoo! I celebrated with a skinny cow.

And speaking of skinny ... my doctor flattered me today with a 5-word phrase that sent me out the door with a smile. Those 5 words were "because you are so thin." The context? As I was laying on my back with my belly exposed he told me that he could see the position of the baby "because you are so thin." Dr. C certainly has a way with pregnant women.

So the position ... Baby Carly is now head down. Of course there is a chance that she could have already moved from this position, but I'm hoping that at some point she gets stuck in my smaller than average uterus in a head down position so that I don't have to have a scheduled c-section.

Everything with the appointment today went really well and Dr. C is more optimistic than ever that I will make it to week #37 or beyond. Just a couple of appointments ago he said "I just want to make sure we get you to week #35.

Next Tuesday marks week #31. Hard to believe that pretty soon Baby Carly is going to make her way out into the world. I'm going to make sure that "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" is on the birthing playlist.

My next checkup with Dr. C is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4.

I've Always Wanted To Have A Baby Shower!!!

On Saturday, Feb. 16 Anita and Silvia threw me (and Baby Carly) a baby shower at my home in Fort Lauderdale.

I have always wanted to have a baby shower, but you have to actually have a baby to get one.

My day had finally come and Anita and Silvia threw me the shower of my dreams. Everything was perfect and wonderful and awesome and very much appreciated!!!

The weather was perfect and most of the shower took place in my back yard. I was really excited about having the shower at my house so that I could give tours of Baby Carly's finished nursery.

Thanks very much to everyone who was there to make this day so special for me. There were about 16 people there, including both my Mom, and Storm's Mom, who flew in from New Jersey.

Here is a link to the photos I've received from Anita, Silvia & Storm's Mom. If you have any trouble getting to the pictures from this link just let me know and I'll email you a private invitation to view them.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=pd7ndcz.5m60dhs7&x=1&y=ydk9wj

I feel so lucky to have the love and support of such wonderful family and friends. I will cherish the memories of my baby shower forever!

Welcome Message to Sally and Sam CdeBaca

Dear Sally and Sam,

Welcome to the world!!! (I'm not sure I'm actually qualified to say this, since I myself am still in the womb, but whatever.)

My Mommy tells me that you were both born on Feb. 13 in South Carolina (wherever that is) and that you are twins. I didn't know what "twins" are, but Mommy explained that's when 2 babies have to share a womb.

I looked around and there's no one else here in my womb, so I must not be a twin. (I think I just heard Mommy sigh in relief.) I can't imagine how crowded it must have been in there for you guys. I guess this means that you two will be "close" your whole lives. That's cool!

Mommy said that you are both healthy and cute and lucky that you were born to great parents! Congratulations on scoring Amy (DeMasi) and Billy CdeBaca to take care of you. I hear they are great people and that you'll be loved and adored and will want for nothing. As it should be!

I'll probably come out in about 6-8 weeks. Let me know if you have any tips for how to maneuver through the birth channel. I really want my birth to be as quick as possible so that my Mommy doesn't have to hurt for too long.

When I get here we'll be close in age, so I hope we get to meet someday because I'm sure that we'll be fast friends. I understand that we have some other future friends coming along soon after me. Baby Ella is scheduled to be born to Jennifer (Lee) and Stuart Hall in May, and Baby Tori is scheduled to be born to Kristi (Whitt) and Kenny Vega in June. Let's all get together some day and have a party and make a big mess and a lot of noise!

Congratulations again on your "birth" day, and be good babies for your new parents. Make sure they get a little sleep every now and then.

Love,

Baby Carly

Baby Carly Growing Fast! She Now Weighs 3 Pounds, 3 Ounces.

I had a scheduled checkup with the specialist Dr. R today and he said that everything looks great with both baby and cervix!

No changes in my cervix from 4 weeks ago, and in this case status quo is the best possible news.

Baby Carly has changed quite a bit in a very positive way! 4 weeks ago she weighed 1 pound 13 ounces, and today she weighs 3 pounds 3 ounces!

Dr. R said that she's not on track to become a "giant baby" but that her growth rate is accelerated above average. A development percentage of 50% is average and she was 64%. I'm not telling you this to be a premature "bragging mommy". I'm just reporting the medical facts of the case.

Anyway, Dr. R said the fact that she is growing this fast is good news because of the likelihood of an early arrival.

Baby Carly was sitting upright in a breach position today with her legs once again crossed. The above sonogram picture is a bit tricky to make out, but basically you can see her face sideways and she has one of her hands pressed to her right (lower) cheek.

My next checkup with Dr. R is scheduled for March 12.

Gestational Diabetes Test Results

Dr. C called today to give me the results of the gestational diabetes test that they gave me on Friday.

He said, "Jen, your glucose is better than mine!"

I celebrated by ordering a piece of chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory this evening. It was YUMMY and I ate nearly the whole thing.

For the rest of the week I'm not going to eat anything worse than a Snackwells cookie.

Anyway, gestational diabetes is an interesting phenomenon when woman who have never had diabetes before, or who wouldn't normally be at risk, have high blood sugar. They they think is a result of the hormones from the placenta blocking the action of the insulin impacting the mother's body's ability to regulate the glucose levels.

4% of pregnant women get gestational diabetes. Thankfully, I'm not one of them. I'm in enough low percentage categories, thank you very much.

Baby Carly's First Handmedowns = My First Baby Clothes Laundry!!!

CHECK IT OUT!!! Baby Carly scored BIG today with her first batch of handmedown clothes, compliments of my friend Lori who used to work at GSK.

There was about 15-16 outfits in the bag, most of which are 3 months with a few 6-9 months. There is not a single stain or tear or mark on any of these clothes, and the outfits are adorable!!!

As you can see from the top picture, there's even a onesie with a giraffe on it. Baby Carly's Mom has turned into quite the giraffe freak. And there are 2 outfits with little monkeys, which is Storm's favorite. Couldn't be any more perfect.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO LORI!!! (She's also the one who got me the free crib and glider that you see in the nursery pictures.)

I've already washed these clothes in Dreft (Mary ... thank you for telling me that you shouldn't wash baby clothes in regular detergent!) and ironed them (yes, really) and hung them in Baby Carly's closet. Definitely the highlight of the day.

A Week Of Baby Classes

This week I went to Plantation General Hospital for 4 baby classes.

1) Baby Care Basics (feeding, bathing, diapering ... basically your Baby 101)

2) Breastfeeding

3) Baby CPR

4) The Happiest Baby On The Block!

I took pages and pages and pages of notes because I want to get it all right for Baby Carly. Here are some of the interesting tidbits that I learned.

-- Babies don't cry much in the first week. It kicks in strong at week 2 and peaks around week 6.

-- If you play a couple of songs over and over for the baby before birth they will recognize and be comforted by these songs after they are born. Can you say playlist!?!? I've selected 3 Carly Simon songs that I'm now going to play for the belly every day for the rest of my pregnancy, which are "Tranquillo", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Hush Little Baby."

-- Babies lose weight when you first take them home (hopefully moms do too) and return to their birth weight around 10-14 days.

-- Use a toothbrush to wash their hair.

-- Wine in moderation while breastfeeding is fine. Really!?!?! I made the teacher repeat this one. She said yes it is A-OK to have an occasional glass of wine while breastfeeding. That is very good news!!! I hope Baby Carly likes red.

-- If babies are breastfed their poop doesn't stink. Talk about incentive!

-- The Baby CPR procedures were changed in 2005 for the first time in 40 years.

-- I learned the 5 S's of baby comforting which include swaddling (to mimic the womb environment which they are used to), the side position (their "feel-good position"), shushing, swinging and sucking. They gave me a 2-hour DVD on all of the above that they said I should watch 6 times before Baby Carly gets here.

So I'm all done with my baby classes. Now I have about 2-3 months to study for my final exam!!! I hope Baby Carly will give me an A+.

Today The Scale Was My Friend!!!

As I was leaving my appointment with Dr. C today I felt like I was as fabulous and glowing as the pregnant woman above. Why? Because I've only gained 4 more pounds in the past 3 weeks!!! This is good news when you go 12 weeks in a row of gaining an average of 2 pounds a week.

My total weight gain is now at 32 pounds. I do miss running and Beach Boot Camp.

They test all pregnant woman around 28 weeks for gestational diabetes, so I had that test today which involved drinking a really sweet drink and then having blood drawn an hour later. I'll get the results of that test on Monday afternoon.

I didn't ask how many calories were in that drink. I wonder why I couldn't have just eaten a half pint of Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream instead???

Also because my blood type is RH negative I had to get an injection of RH immunoglobulin today, which prevents my body from developing antibodies that could attack Baby Carly's blood. If she is born with RH positive blood (Storm's blood type) then I'll get another one of these shots soon after I give birth.

Since I'm now in my third trimester I start seeing Dr. C every 2 weeks now. My next checkup with him is scheduled for 2/22.

7-Month Belly Shot

I'm 28 weeks pregnant this week, which officially marks the beginning of the third trimester!

I personally don't see much of a difference between my 6-month and 7 month belly shots. Do you?

My photographer paid me a compliment during our photo shoot. He said, "I don't think your butt has gotten any bigger since last month!" May not sound like a compliment to you, but it was music to my ears!

I guess we'll find out for sure when I step on Dr. C's scale on Friday. I don't weigh myself in between doctor's appointments, so I have no idea what to expect.

I'm going to put the over/under at 5 lbs. I have tried very hard in the past 3 weeks to be good. If I've gained 4 lbs. or less then I'll be happy. If I've gained 5 lbs. or more then I'm going to throw in the towel and drive to the nearest Krispy Kreme and eat a donut.