10/20/08

Well, time for an update. Actually it's way past time for an update! For those of you who don't know yet my c-section has been scheduled. We're going in on Monday, October 20th at 7:30 AM. Coen has had enough time to try and turn over, but he hasn't done it yet, so the best thing for him right now is surgery. I'm not too thrilled about surgery per se. I have never had stitches or anything, so his is a whole new experience for me. I am just asking for prayer that I can keep calm during the whole procedure and focus on the good, not the bad. Daniel and I are both super excited though! We can wait to meet our son, and hold him or the first time! It seems like a month ago when we found out we were going to have a baby, and yet it seems like a life time ago. Everything is ready. Except I haven't packed my bag yet. What am I thinking? That should have been done forever ago!

3D

Hi Everyone! Daniel and I were recently given a very special baby gift and I wanted to share it with you all! Daniel's best friend since high school, Donnie, and his wife Jennifer have an adorable little girl, Presley. When Jennifer was pregnant with Presley they opted to have a 3D sonogram. I had heard them talk about it but had never seen it. They were talking to Daniel about how cool it was when they decided that that was what they wanted to give us! I was shocked when Dan told me! We both wanted to do it but I was apprehensive. I had always imagined seeing my child for the first time in the delivery room. What if he was goofy looking? I would need all of those endorphins and adrenaline to convince me he was a beautiful baby! :)

Of course I made an appointment the very next day. We went to Stork Vision. LOVED it and I totally recommend it to anyone wanting to get a sonogram. The have the cutest, coziest facility and my whole family was able to come and watch! It was pretty awesome and pretty freaky too. Usually women go in around 28 weeks, and I was at 33 weeks, so there was less amniotic fluid and Coen was more scrunched which made it difficult to get a good picture. Most of these pics are of his face, looking down, and there are a few profile shots with his arm and foot in there. She can zoom in on different layers of tissue, so every once in a while Coen would look skeletal. Anyway, here they are! We think he is adorable!! Love his nose!

Flip Flop

We had a very encouraging and pretty discouraging check up this Monday. The great news is that Coen is looking beautiful!! He is about 5 and a half pounds and is expected to weigh 7 and a half by his due date, which has been moved up from the 26th to the 23rd! Great heart beat and way cute profile! :) Unfortunately he is breech. His head, at the time of the sonogram, was directly under my breast bone, and his bootie was by my left hip. We were told that unless he turns into the correct position by my next appointment (a week from Monday) the doctor would like to schedule a c-section around the 15th of October.


Boo. I don't want to have surgery! I had totally planned on and envisioned this awesome natural birth. I asked specifically to hold Coen right after he was born instead of being taken to the warming table. My breastfeeding class totally fanned that flame by educating me on the importance of skin-to-skin contact right after birth to engourage bonding and healthy breastfeeding. Now, I might possibly be strapped to a sterile table, drugged up from head to toe and gutted like a fish. Only then will I be able to watch my screaming baby swabbed and smacked around several feet away from me. I won't get to hold him, of course, because I'll be getting stitched up. BTW, I have worked very hard to have a stretch mark free tummy. A feat at which I have succeeded! Now I'll get to have a scar! Hoorah!


I'm going to wait as long as possible to give him a chance to turn. Hopefully he will. Until then we're asking for prayers! Lots of prayers!! The most important thing is that Coen is safe and healthy. Keep us in your thoughts! Thanks!!

Hiccups

** Quick Note: The picture in the previous blog is a picture from the BabiesRUs website, advertising the furniture we got. This is NOT a picture of our nursery!! :) One of my friend's husband recently complemented me on our "awesome nursery". I knew he must have been mistaken, because right now our nursery is still nothing but sheet rock and dust. Sorry if there was any confusion!**



Hiccups! Coen has been getting hiccups every evening now. It's so strange! I mean if he doesn't have them every single night, he has them early in the morning! How does that even work? I thought you got hiccups if your breathing was off. He doesn't breathe air! What is he hiccuping? Guess I was wrong. Regardless, I find it very endearing. My cute little boy has the hiccups! I can't wait until I can hear them and not just feel them. Counting the days! Only 57 to go!

Furniture is here!!

Our furniture is in! A HUGE Thank you thank you thank you to my parents for our furniture!! It was a wonderful surprise and a great financial blessing. See, my mom let me know from day one that they were going to buy us our crib. "We're the grandparents and that is what grandparents do" she said. OK, I could handle that. So a couple of weeks ago, after looking at every piece of baby furniture known to man, mom and I tried Babies R Us one last time. They had some new furniture in! I loved it! The guy said it had only been there for a few weeks! It was very simplistic and a lot more retro/modern. I decided that it was the furniture for us. The next day my mom called and told me she was ordering everything and was going to buy us our crib and dresser too! It came in yesterday and mom and dad dropped it off last night, along with the mattress and changing pad! Wow! I couldn't believe it! I can't wait to assemble everything and set it all up! Thanks again mom and dad! I couldn't ask for better parents, or better grandparents for Coen. If my child ends up spoiled rotten.....we all know who is to blame. ;)

Nice Enough to Frame

I know you are all thinking the same thing. How does she continuously come up with all of these hilarious puns for blog titles? I'll tell you....I'm just punny. See? I did it again! Seriously, I think it's a spiritual gift. :)
OK, down to business. I haven't blogged in a while because every time I try to add pictures, my computer acts up! So, until I figure out the kinks, no pics. The nursery is coming along great though! My dad, Daniel and Clayton framed the whole addition a while back. It's bigger than I expected, which was a nice surprise. Dan ran the wiring and started the sheet rock with a friend from our church, Jeff Thom. Clayton showed up an endured blistering temps. to help Dan finish the sheet rock on the ceiling and nursery closet. I did a lot of taping and bedding, (most of which had to be torn out and re-done because I didn't know what I was doing) cleaning and wired in all of the plugs. So, the actual nursery room is ready for texture and paint! Next tasks will be installing the trim, flooring, doors and AC. It's so exciting!!!
I also had my first baby shower! Faith Presby. (where I worked) threw me a shower for all of my students and staff at Faith KDO. It was so fun to get things for the baby! I got a lot of bath time things and a lot of clothes. My sisters got me books, which I LOVE, and my mom and dad gave us our baby swing! I can't wait until the nursery is finished and we can set everything up!
I will start going to my check ups every two weeks now, which is kind of a defining moment for me. That just tells me we are getting close to having Coen! Ahhh! Also, my body has suddenly decided to let the baby grow out! I went for so long not looking pregnant. Even through out my second trimester it was kinda "iffy". Not any more. BAM! I've exploded! I am growing out of all of my clothes! As a matter of fact I am leaving right now to pick up some maternity shirts!

With sugar on top??

Negative! The three hour Gestational Diabetes test came back negative!! I am so relieved. Not only do I not have to prick my finger every day, or go on a diet, but my chances of having a 14 pound baby are much more slim. Whew!
It all started when I took my one hour glucose test. (Which I had to schedule three times, because the people working at the lab are uber-stupid. More on that later.) The glucose test was horrible! I couldn't eat for 12 hours and I had to drink this huge super sweet orange soda drink, and then sit in the waiting room for an hour waiting for it to either kill me or for me to throw it all up. To top it all off I got to have the smarty pants, who has never known love in her life, jam a needle in my arm and thanklessly take my blood. After which I must get behind the wheel and drive myself to get some sustenance. (Am I making this all sarcastic enough?) The good news is I get a phone call later that week from my doctors office, telling me that my results were pretty high, and I needed to go through the whole thing again, only this time it would require three hours and four blood draws. yay!
I didn't make it back to the lab before my next doctors appointment, where in I was told that a large amount of sugar was found in my urine sample. (FYI- Now that I know that my pee contains sugar, I am not so opposed to drinking it in a survival situation.) I got the raised eyebrows, and the warnings that it was pretty clear that I had gestational diabetes. The whole time I am thinking, "What?!?!? I don't even like sugary stuff! I'm a salty snack person! Stop telling me not to drink cokes! I don't drink cokes!!".
So the next day at diner I had my last meal before the test. I woke up early, planning to be at the lab between eight and nine. The staff at this particular lab refused to see me several times before because they leave for lunch, and couldn't be there for the test. So before I even start my car I call ahead to make sure if I make it there in a certain time, they won't refuse me for their precious lunch break. "We don't close for lunch", the woman on the other end of the line told me, so I headed that way. I arrived and signed in at 8:38. Chubbs-alot (who either went to Aruba or has developed a tanning bed fetish since I last saw him) took my paperwork and said, "Oh, your doctor should have told you that you needed to be here at 8:00". Long story short he proceeds to whine to me that I am too late, I'll have to go all the way home with gas at $4.00/gallon, because he has to go to lunch at noon. Now I'm not a super genius or anything, but simple math suggests that if I start a three hour test at 9, I'll be done by 12. He wouldn't listen. He was just too lazy. I started to cry in the EMPTY waiting room. He handed me back my paperwork, and I called the lab across the street, still crying, who took me in an instant, although they were so packed they ran out of chairs in the waiting room. Needless to say, after finding out that the tan-man was not only required to take me, but refuses patients often, he received a phone call from my very disgruntled husband and will be getting reported by yours truly. Justice.
All in all the ladies at the other lab were great, and I will be going there for any lab work I will ever need in the future! To top it all off, as I said before, my results were negative! Eliminate gestational diabetes and hack off one lab worker.....check!

The Family Car

It's official. I drive an SUV. I live in Aledo and I drive an SUV. I never thought I would ever say that, but on July fourth it became a reality. Daniel and I have talked extensively about purchasing a car that would suit our growing family. Neither one of us really want to go into debt over a car, so we've always talked about only buying used vehicles and maintaining them for many many years, until we can afford to buy another car out right. We really needed to get rid of Daniel's truck. I hated looking at that thing!! We researched the value, and tried to sell it. After being offered only $50 for it, we felt like we had hit a brick wall. We decided to allot $4000.00 from our shrinking savings account to a car. Daniel was being very diligent looking for the best deal, and boy did it pay off. We found a 2000 Ford Explorer V8 with a little over 100,000 miles on it. It was in great shape, only some slight damage to the front right fender. Drove great and our mechanic gave it a good, clean thumbs up! After offering us $1000 for Daniel's truck as a trade in (an offer we couldn't refuse) all we had to pay was $2400.00!!
Now we are both convinced that this whole situation was completely orchestrated by God. We believe that because Daniel was setting aside 25% of all of his earnings from his business (Texas Accent) for this year's taxes. One week before we found the car, our tax guy called us to let us know that our taxes were done, and that I needed to go in and sign the papers. When I arrived they told me that we could keep every penny Daniel set aside. Over $2500.00. The amount the car ended up being! Crazy!!

Then it registered...

We've finally put our noses to the grind stone preparing for the baby. We took the plunge and registered at Babies R Us a few weeks ago. Woah nelly!! That was so much fun! My best friend Kristy was always talking about registering when she was pregnant, and then was so excited about me registering when she found out I was pregnant, and I never really understood what all the hooplah was about. Now I do. I am actually getting to indulge! I am making the first decisions about my growing family! I'm going to get new stuff! BABY stuff! Baby stuff for MY baby! Crazay!!! Figured I would tell you guys all about it.
So we arrive, and walk over to "the desk". That happy little place where you set up your registry. I brought a few magazines and a book to help me make my decisions. Turns out, they graciously provide you with a check list. A very l-o-n-g checklist. A checklist, I am sure, is chock full of very unnecessary baby products. I am no fool. No no! I will stick with what I believe to be necessary items only.
While setting up the registry, the lady asks us if we would like two "guns" to scan the items we want. My initial (and probably very controlling) thought was, "No, we only need one gun. If we get two guns Daniel will start scanning 'who knows what' without talking about whether or not we really need it." You will all be glad to know that I corrected my sinful nature. I figured, "Amy, you are having a baby boy, time to start learning to chillax. Plus, this is Daniel's baby too. Let him freely express his excitement! Give him his own gun, and trust that he will want to discuss big items with you first." "Ok", I said, "Sure, we'll take two guns". The lady hands the first charged-up gun to me, which I hand to Daniel, and starts looking for a second charged gun. While she is looking, I'm thinking about how exciting this is, and where we should start, and how my "letting go" of the two gun issue was a great step towards motherhood. In this moment of bliss and sheer contentment I look to Daniel sitting on my left, only to find him pointing the gun at his eyes and scanning his retinas. Needless to say we stuck with one gun. However, I let him carry it. :) Despite it all, I fell even more in love with my husband in the few hours we were there. The attention to detail and constant input that drove me bananas when we were registering for our wedding, was so endearing while registering for our child.
We only made it through half of the store before they started to close! The bottle department was soooo over whelming! But the baby bath stuff and rattle toys made things fun again. People always say babies are expensive. I used to think, "They don't have to be". Apparently they do. Although there are SEVERAL things you don't need and although I am still considering cloth diapers, the most expensive things we registered for we have to have. We opted for a convertible car seat, and jogging stroller so save some mulah. Plus I really think it's a good idea to carry your baby.
When they started turning out the lights, we made our way back to the desk. I thought we did a great job, and expected to have almost completed our registry. Turns out we only scanned 28 things the entire time we were there! Guess we will be going back for all of those little things we missed. :)

Rockin' And Rollin'

Five Months! It's hard to believe, but we hit the five month mark this Sunday. Everything is going by so fast! It seems like only a month ago when we found out we were pregnant. Pretty soon we will be holding our little baby! We are both getting so excited! Daniel and I love thinking about meeting Coen and seeing who he will look like, and what kind of temperament he will have. Sometimes Daniel will read to the baby and play him music on his guitar! I spend my time nesting. We haven't gotten started on the room yet, but we have decided to stay in the barn and add on an interior room for the nursery. The Presnalls really want us to stay, and are supportive about the add-on upstairs. We are both more than ready for a home of our own, but I'm just not up for moving in the middle of the pregnancy. Yikes! I just want one thing to remain the same in the middle of all of this change! :)
I had a check up yesterday. It was a very special one because Julie and Becky went with me and they got to hear the heartbeat! Hearing the heartbeat is emotional enough for me, because is assures me that the baby is OK. Julie and Becky felt the emotion too! I'll never ever forget looking over my tummy and seeing Becky hand Julie a paper towel, because they were both bawling their eyes out! Dr. McAlpine was surrounded by emotional women! I loved it! They are going to be great aunts!
In addition, I can feel the baby move a lot now! At first I wondered if it was really him, but I know it can't possibly be anything else. On our drive back from Oklahoma this weekend, I think Coen did a complete flip! THAT feels weird. I don't know if I will warm up too quickly to the big movements. Daniel can't wait until he can feel the baby too. Thinking about him not being able to feel Coen, made me kinda sad for him. I never realized how special it is to carry a child.

What's in a name??? A heck of alot!!

We've decided on a name for our baby boy! First let me say that this was extremely difficult. I had my girl name picked out three weeks after we found out I was pregnant. (BTW, It's Norah, so don't even think about using it!) Boy names.....are totally different. I like rare, cool artsy names, and Daniel likes manly cowboy names. The meanings of the names I picked were things like, "from the woodlands" and "of the wind". Daniel's choices meant things like, "warrior" and "man who can spit Copenhagen from tear ducts". Finally we settled on one. I liked it because I had never heard it used as a first name. Ever. Daniel says it sounds enough like a cowboy name to make him happy.
So here it is. Coen Douglas Ferguson. Coen without the "h", because with an "h" it's offensive to Jews. Plus, with an "h", it means "priest", which is just weird. Coen is Germanic and means "Experienced Advisor". Douglas is Gaelic, or English, and means "Black Water". From the very beginning I knew our son's middle name would be Douglas, because Daniel wanted to name him after his mentor Doug Houston. That's cool with me! I love Doug! Plus it gave me tons of leverage for claiming the first name. Now that I think about, I should have picked Sue. :)

It's a BOY!

I am sure that you are all aware that Daniel and I found out last Monday that we are having a boy! We are soooo excited! Since I never blogged all of these events on the babysite, I figured I could catch everyone up. So here is how it all went down. :)
I have always been a little ahead of my appointment schedule, which has kind of been a bummer. We were scheduled to hear the heartbeat on 3/31, which made me 10 weeks. We had an early appointment so Daniel could make it before he had to go to work. The doctor used a little microphone machine on my abdomen, so all of us in the room could hear. He looked and looked and we waited and waited. Needless to say, we left disappointed that morning, and I was a little nervous.

Two weeks later we went out to celebrate Daniel's birthday with some friends. Around midnight I started having a sharp pain on my left side. It got worse, and worse, and hurt REALLY bad. So bad, I was sweating. We headed home and I laid down in the car. The doctor previously told me that I had a cyst on one of my ovaries (which is normal), and when I asked about some minor pain I was feeling, the nurse told me that it could swell and rupture, which would hurt. I assume that is what happened that night.

Unfortunately the combination of the pain and not hearing the baby's heartbeat, wore on me really quickly. So, I called the doctor on Tuesday and they told me to come in. Daniel came straight home to accompany me to the office. Boy, was I glad he did! When we got there the doctor checked for the heartbeat again. Again, nothing. Of course I was about to loose it, the he said, "Come on. Let's get you a sonogram so you won't worry." Off we went, down the hall. (Later that day, I learned that the sonogram nurse is only there on Mondays and Thursdays, and that Dr. McAlpine does not preform sonograms.)

I lay on the table for what seemed like an eternity while the computer warmed up. Suddenly, there was the baby! Flipping and swimming around like crazy!! I gasped and laughed, which caused my stomach to go up and down, and we momentarily lost the picture. Daniel ran over and leaned over me to stare at the screen. Our doctor got really excited, and started showing us the tiny flash on the screen, that represents the baby's heart beating. I couldn't look away! When it was time to end the sonogram, I wanted to pull a Cruise, and buy a sono machine, so we could watch our baby all of the time!!! I was on cloud nine the rest of the day!

So, this last Monday, we went in for our " scheduled sono.". Dr, McAlpine must have misread my chart or something, because when we were checking the heartbeat (which we HEARD this time), he thought I would come in for my sono in one month! What!?!?! I was planning on finding out today!!! I guess it didn't matter, becuase I KNEW it was a girl, but still! I kinda stomped my feet, and asked it we could have it today anyway. To which he said yes, but warned that we probably wouldn't be able to tell the sex, because I was too early.

The sonogram lady was nice, and really good. I knew what to look for this time. She did a great job pointing everything out, and measuring everything. I told Daniel that it looks like our child had my huge brain. (Which it probably does) She asked that if she could tell the sex, if we wanted to know. I said "yes", and without even taking a breath she said, "It's a boy!". Daniel was jumping all over the room! I was asking, "Are you sure? A boy! Are you serious? Really!??! A boy??? Daniel a boy! Ohmygosh! What??!?! A boy???". I couldn't believe it! She said she was sure, and printed out our pictures.

We left, beaming! I threw up in the parking lot, and then we headed to Hobby Lobby to buy baby blue shirts! I called my mom and sisters, and told them we would come over. (They knew I would be wearing either a pink or blue shirt) We showed up, counted down and I revealed baby blue! The whole room went silent, and then broke out into screams!!! It was soooo funny! One of the best moments of my life!

New Start

Hello family and friends!

The babysite we created was a stink. Not so cute and somewhat time consuming. I have moved on over to this blogspot and hope that you all find it a lot more enjoyable. For those of you who are just now joining, I will include my ONLY post from the babysite, and for those of you who have been with us from the beginning, picture me singing and tap dancing so that this process hasn't been a total bore!! :) I promise that I will keep up with this site.



Babysite post- 3/5/08

Well, Surprise! Here we are! Four years of marriage and now a baby on the way. Daniel and I have had soooo many conversations about when (and if) we wanted to start a family. Turns out, God wants us to start it now! I am sure that most of you know what this is a total surprise to us. A welcome surprise never the less. With each passing day we become more and more comfortable with the idea of having a child; and then the next day comes and I start freaking out! :) Our due date is October 26Th and we are excited to meet the little person God is "knitting together" as we speak. Daniel and I ask that you keep the health and safety of our unborn child in your prayers. Also, that God would give us the peace that passes all understanding as we take on this new journey. Love to all. Daniel and Amy