The Waiting Game

Good morning, all!

Well, Ian and I both slept horribly last night! I think we're both excited and worried about the baby - and it's just hard to sleep through that! I started on the couch, and then ended up going back to bed at about 3 (waking up and scaring my poor husband) because I was having nightmares that people were trying to break in! Scary!!!

Anyhow, the Foundation Dinner was really nice last night - We started off by sitting in the very back corner of the big room, and then the Foundation president pulled us up to sit with her and her family - so that was a nice surprise (I suppose!). But all in all, people loved all the artwork the kids made (yay!) AND Mr. Barber offered me my job back for next year!! DOUBLE yay!! So now, pending board approval (I'm just a name on a list so it should be fine) I'll be able to go back to Irving in the fall and paint and make fun stuff with kids again all year :) (Note: I'm planning on taking Family Leave for the 1st 12 weeks of school, so I'll probably end up going back in Nov. sometime)

Other than that, on my errands yesterday and at the dinner, it was so much fun to respond to the question of "When are you due?" with the answer of "Thursday!" That really surprised people and some were even surprised I was out and about!

Now we just play the waiting game - The baby is getting big - I can tell!! So hopefully it doesn't get TOO comfy in there! Still having contractions, but not in any order or reason - and that can happen for a while I guess... so we just wait! I've honestly been praying that I'm ready for this baby to be born :) I think it's about time! (Or I wish it was, anyway!!!)

2 more days until the due date - so we'll just see I guess! Today is Mary's day in the baby pool, and I would just LOVE it if she was the winner :)

Have a great day, everyone!
Love
Laura

Due Date Week :)

**Update for Monday :) Today is Andrew's (brother-in-law) date for the baby being born! Pretty exciting that we're starting all the guesses for the baby pool! Tomorrow is Mary's (sister) date for babe coming into this world :)

Little update on the doctor - STILL not dilated (sorry Andrew and Mary!) but, we'll just see how things go - starting to get some little cramping and stuff, and that's a sign, so these early guesses are still possible winners! (And I really wish they would be right!) Besides that, going in for a non-stress test on my due date - Thursday - to make sure everything is okay with baby. If it's okay, pregnancy keeps going, if baby is having trouble, then they might want to induce me. I talked to the doctor today - he asked, 'If you don't have the baby by Monday, do you want to be induced?" My answer was that I'd really like to try and go into labor naturally, so he is now saying that we will induce only for medical reasons, and I'm okay with that. Anyhow, a week from today, if baby isn't here, I"ll go back to the doctor for an ultrasound and another non-stress test. Then, same thing - baby okay? keep going... baby not okay? induction. Finally, the doc mentioned that if baby isn't here by that NEXT weekend (July 11th or so) then we'll do an induction and get that baby out. Soo... no matter what, baby will be here in less than two weeks :) I just hope I don't need to be induced!!!!!


Good morning, all!

I suppose I should keep updating this every morning until the baby comes - weekend or not :) Just so people know if the baby is here yet :)

Ian and I had a nice weekend together - worked on our room (have the ceiling painted the actual color and working on the walls) Things just take longer than expected, but it's coming together and looks great!!

Swimming Friday was AWESOME - my swelling went away, numbness in the hands was gone, and my stomach wasn't heavy anymore! It was just wonderful :) I would love to go swimming again this week, but it's supposed to be cooler temps (yay!) so we'll see :)

Last night I felt MAYBE some first signs of labor- so some cramping and maybe some contractions? Not sure - but it's definitely feeling more uncomfortable down there! One was even painful! I'm on my way to a doc's appt at 9am today - so I'll update the blog with any new information :)

Anyhow, even if they are still the Braxton Hicks contractions (not the real ones) it definitely feels like we're getting closer! However, the countdown this week is just dragging for me!

Today's plans: Doctor at 9am, Target, pedicure (yay!), stuff around the house, and the District 150 Foundation Dinner (my kids at school made all the artwork that the foundation gives away as favors, so Ian and I were invited) - then home :) So it's a busy day at least!

Have a great Monday, everyone!
Love
Laura

Happy Swimming Day

So what does a 39-week pregnant woman do on a 93 degree day? Go swimming at a place called Glasener Beach! Yay! I've been looking forward to going swimming for quite some time - I've heard it feels so good on just everything pregnant (weight of the baby, swollen ankles) and to have a tube to just float around with (doubt I will be able to fit IN it!) will be GREAT!!! :) Carol and I are going at about noonish, and coming back later this afternoon. I asked the doctor if it was okay, she said it was fine - and I think the baby is pretty protected in there :)

Yesterday the baby was moving a lot! Ian made comments about it getting ready to come out - he thinks it's going to be any day now - so we'll see! I had the ripples across the belly thing - baby was definitely having a party in there!

Other than that - still having trouble sleeping, but that's okay - it's all worth it for this little person! We are so excited to start calling Baby by name! Instead of just 'baby' or 'it' or something like that - just a little while longer!

Here's the link of the lake we're going to today, just to check it out if you want: http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/Parks/Swimming.htm

I'll be safe, no worries! Hopefully the car ride over (40 minutes) won't trigger any labor!!
Love
Laura

Happy 39 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So this milestone is 1 of 2 that I honestly am just so excited to get to! Happy 39 weeks to Baby Bally! (And since my hormones are probably crazy, I almost just cried as I wrote that!) I so remember looking at all these weeks thinking, wow, I will never get to the '30s' and when I do, I'm almost there! Well, this is my last official week until the due date - with of course the possibility that I go longer - But we are definitely getting close!!! :) (Milestone 2 is when the baby is HERE!)

At the doctor's office yesterday there were no changes as far as signs of labor - I guess baby is just snug as a rug in there! However, the doctor said even though there are no changes, it's still possible for me to go into labor at any time - "It's all fair game" is how she put it! but it's also possible for 1st time moms to go a week late - ahh! I have an appt for Monday the 29th at 9am, (Before they go on vacation) and then an appointment the 6th at 9am to do a non-stress test and ultrasound to check for amniotic fluid (in case the baby isn't here yet). Let's just hope I can skip that July 6th appointment!

As far as sleep goes - I thought I did so well sleeping in my bed last night - tossed and turned a lot, and when I finally got up, I was thinking, "Wow, I was in bed for a long time! Surely it's at least 4am" - but, sadly, looked at the clock, and it was only 1:15am!! So, spent another night on the couch - sigh!!

I also helped Ian a little last night in 'our' room - I held the light for him (while sitting on a bar stool) so that he could spread the last layer of dry wall down. Tonight, his brother Ben is coming over to help sand and then maybe they will put down the first coat of primer and check to see that it's all smooth! yay! :)

Ian and I are both ready to hold our baby :)
Have a great day everyone!
Love
Laura

Hot, Hot, Hot!!

Good morning, everyone :)

We discovered yesterday that our AC was working a little TOO hard - so we can't quite turn it as low as we like at night for this preggo woman.... But I actually woke up sweating - with the AC on! And had to go downstairs where it was just a bit cooler - I just did not sleep well though, which I'm sure is just getting me ready for getting up with the baby because I probably do sleep now in a couple hour increments - interesting :)

I'm pretty sure we'll get the van back today - which is great! Next step, setting up the car seat and putting the diaper bag in so that at least those are ready to go :)

Also - doctor's appt this afternoon - so I hope there's some progress! If not, I'll be okay - baby will come meet us when he or she is ready!

We do have one new girl's name that we've added to the list - but I think I'll keep that one a surprise :) Other than that - with names, still going back and forth between the staples that we had a while ago!

We're about 5 days away from when the guesses in the baby pool start - Mary and Andrew, I have to tell you, Ian is rooting for you guys to be right as well! He would like June baby :)

Have a great day everyone - can't wait until I get to post pictures of baby on here!
Love
Laura

I know it's getting close

Good morning!

I know that 'whatever date I'm looking forward to is getting close' is when I see the date in the 10-day weather forecast online - and July 2nd is officially there today!! (I know that makes me a dork, but I'm okay with that!) So we are, indeed, nearing the due date :)

Yesterday Ian and I were able to meet our pediatrician - and we love him! His name is Dr. Miller and he practices pediatrics and internal medicine - meaning that if Ian and I needed a doctor, he would take us on as patients too, so that the whole family could be treated by one doctor - what a great thing! He's very friendly, very informative, talked alot, which I LOVE - I really like it when doctors inform the patients instead of the patients needing to drag information out of the doctors! Plus, he went to U of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, so where can we really go wrong? :) Anyhow, he lines up with a lot of my beliefs about antibiotics and stuff, and I let him know I'm wary of combining immunizations, so he knows what he's getting into there! And he'll still take the baby and us on as new parents! Needless to say, I'm very comfortable with him as our baby's doctor - and so is Ian! So that is a good thing :) Plus, the office is about 8 minutes from home with one stoplight in between, we can call his nurses at any time of the day, there is a pediatric urgent care center we can go to until 10pm (his office closes at 5pm) and its charged like a regular appointment, and all sorts of other good things :)

On a bad note - our air conditioner is on the fritz!!!! There is a heat advisory for Peoria, it's supposed to be 95 degrees today and FEEL like 104 or something like that, and I don't have a mini-van to take me anywhere :( Ian is downstairs working on it right now - so we'll see! But the coils are iced over - is it just that hot? We don't know....

Update at 8:30am: I just went downstairs, coiled are not iced over, but I'm going to wait a little longer to turn the air back on.... Hopefully it will be okay. If not, Ian will call the fix-it man :)

Those are the big events of the day, I suppose :) Another doctor's appointment tomorrow - and then the next doctor's appt I go to is 3 days before my due date!

Ohhh... I"m also going swimming with Carol on Friday (I think... if I don't have the baby!) We're going to a lake where they rent tubes and stuff - so I can just float around all day in nice and cool water :) And have some relief of this big belly, I hope!

Here's a picture Ian took of me last night - I didn't want to take it - but Ian said we needed to document....
Have a great day everyone - stay cool!
Love
Laura

The Real Countdown?

Good morning, everyone!

So...... 10 days until my due date!!! After today, we will be in the single digit countdown numbers - how exciting!! This weekend was the first that I've been pretty uncomfortable throughout the whole thing - the baby is just getting so much bigger! And kind of settling on one side of me - makes it a little strange feeling!

Let's see... Friday and Friday night was great fun with John - We walked along the riverfront, watched thunderstorm come and go, and then went out for Mexican food, ate Uncle Bob's homemade ice cream (we both had blackberry cheesecake - yum!), then John rode Townie - a little moped at the Bally's house which is just SOO fun! :) We also saw almost a full rainbow that night! It was just missing a little bit - but we maybe saw a 7/8th rainbow? Anyhow, it was a great day!

Saturday, John left in the afternoon (and I was sad to see him go!!) And then I had a little pregnant adventure of my own! Ian went to run some errands, drove down our road, went to the median on 24 (the busy road we take to get EVERYWHERE) and who jumps off the top of the car and runs into the middle of this busy road? ELLIS!! (our black cat). Well, Ian tried to look for him, because at least he headed back in the right direction, but couldn't find him! So Ian came back home, broke the news to me, and then of course I went out searching for that crazy cat! I ended up walking up our big hill once, shaking food and calling for Ellis along the way, THEN I decided to putting my hiking clothes on and go down into the ravine - because I thought Ellis might be trying to find his way home! (Special note: I didn't call Ian and tell him I was going into the ravine because I had a big feeling he would tell his 8 1/2 month pregnant wife not to go!)

Anyhow, I took my time - and crawled over fallen trees, under trees, crossed the creek on rocks, waded through in some deep spots up to my knees, and FINALLY got to the end of the creek where the creek meets up with this busy road. Well, when I call out Ellis's name, I heard this scared little 'meowing' and I was SOOOOO happy to have found him! By that time, Ian was home from his errands, and he had called me to see where I was (He was worried about me....) and was walking down the hill to meet me at the end and make sure Ellis wasn't walking UP the hill (in the road) back home...

Anyhow, we took turns carrying this crazy cat up the road, and then safely brought him back to 22163 :)

What an adventure though! My body is still sore from all that hiking!!!

Now, it's just going to be in the 90's all week - yuck! But, luckily, we have the air on - so this pregnant lady doesn't need to feel miserably hot all day!!

We also just took the mini-van in this morning to be fixed (after the speed sensor went out on it this weekend) . Sooo... hopefully we can keep the van going for a little bit and it will be all fixed and functional before the baby gets here! :)

Whew! What a weekend! Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!!!
Love you all!
Laura :)

This week did go by....

Good morning, all :)

Well, as much as I thought this week would go by slowly - it did end up going by pretty fast! I can't believe today is Friday! It has helped a bunch though that John was here - it's been fun to see him and the time is flying!

Baby is moving less that it used to - although Ian's probably right when he says that the baby is just running out of room! I feel little kicks and stuff still though, and there are still little ripples, so that gives me a little piece of mind that our little girl or boy is okay :)

John has been awesome helping us to get our house a little more ready! Ian had about 12 tons of gravel dumped in some dirt by our driveway (in hopes to make our driveway bigger and ready for baby visitors!) and John probably shoveled out 4-6 tons of it - which is a whole bunch! I tried to even do a little raking or shoveling - and it was tough! (I think I did about 1 shovel worth) I mean, not even snow shoveling, but rock! Whew, Ian helped a little when he got home from work and he did a little before John came to visit - but John did so much! (He also had to dig out by the border of the driveway, which was rocky and very hard!)

Then we had a fire last night with our burn pile - roasted hot dogs and made s'mores - so that was awesome as well - it's been a great couple of days!

Here are some pictures of John's adventures down in Peoria - we love John! And he's just awesome for helping :)

Today's plan - John wants to help some more around the house with our garden, and then we're going out for Mexican and Uncle Bob's ice cream tonight!

Have a great Friday everyone!
Love
Laura

John shoveling ROCK! Top picture has a big view of his job, lower pic is of John smiling through it all! :)




Above: Laura and John sitting (what Laura does best now days) - Below: Ian and John by the fire


Below: Ian and John making dinner! Hot dogs (we made them Chicago style)! yum :)

2 weeks left!

Happy 38 weeks to Baby Bally :) It's so amazing to me that he or she could be born this very week, and Baby would be okay and healthy :) Although every extra week growing and maturing in the 'oven' is good for Baby too!

I'm feeling pretty good - swollen hands, feet and ankles (really, noticably swollen!) but I'm getting used to sleeping with a 6 or 7 lb baby in my stomach, so that's good! I'm just HOT at night - so that's not the best, but at least it hasn't been too hot of a summer yet - so I'm pretty fortunate!

John came down here yesterday afternoon, and it's been so good to see him and visit with him! He has been such a help so far - he wanted to help us get things ready for baby :) so he moved some BIG rocks in our front yard (remember that job, Dad and Linda?) and is helping Ian dig out part of a new driveway (of gravel) but we had some fun visiting, just chilling, and going out to eat as well! we went to Burger Barge - a burger place that is kind of a 'dive' but that has GREAT burgers, and we could eat outside right on the river - so pretty fun!

Last night we had a crazy storm here - it was one where I just kept thinking, if there was a baby in this house, he or she would be screaming for sure! But we all made it through with power, so that's good!

2 more weeks until the due date - wow!!!!!! I have a feeling it will go by pretty fast!

Oh, and an update on the car - I went to three different places, and got three VERY different quotes - but luckily, the last place was the lowest, and it is enough that we are covered by the amount of $$ we're getting from the insurance company, so that's good! :) Every where I went though, the people asked, "When is your due date?" And when I tell them - "About two weeks-" They are like, 'wow!" hehe.. it's kind of a funny reaction, probably just because it is so soon!

Anyhow, have a wonderful day everyone!
Love
Laura

Remember... get those baby guesses in! You can either enter the money pool or just play for fun - either one is fine with me and baby! :)

Today's Question....

Will auto body repair shops take an 8 1/2 month pregnant woman seriously? I hope so!!! Today is the day that I'm going to drive around seeking good estimates to fix the mini-van - I should probably take a picture of it, actually, and post it on this blog so that you all can see how bent in it is - horrible!

Anyhow, that should be an adventure - and... I'm going to bring about 1/2 of my stockpile of TIME magazines... I can probably start reading those now, I suppose :)

15 days to go until the due date! Pretty exciting! The doctor went well yesterday - stop reading now if you don't want the update!

Anyhow, cervix is anterior, but no dilating yet - but I looked up online, and when the cervix moves (like mine has), that's a sign that labor is 2 weeks away, a week, or any time! So, that's pretty exciting :) But... we'll all just have to see, I guess!

Sorry if that's TMI - but I figure you guys are probably just as curious about where I'm at as I am! If not... once again, sorry :)

Anyhow - I'm off to talk with car people today - have a great day, everyone!
Love
Laura

Rainy Tuesday

Good morning, all :)

Well, I can definitely feel that baby switching positions when I turn over from side to side at night- sometimes I get a hand/foot in my side, which kind of hurts!!! Other times its just a little 6 lb weight shifts over to the other side of my belly... weird! When I got up this morning, or tried to, Ian said something like, "It's just about time isn't it?" I couldn't agree more!

So yesterday was a marathon errand running day for me! 4 hours of quick errands run - I think I went about 10 places - it felt like a lot though! But it did feel very productive, and now I have all of those taken care of before the baby gets here :)

We had gravel hauled in for an extended driveway this morning - which was pretty cool to watch, actually! Anyhow, the point of having the gravel hauled is now more people can park in our driveway, which will be good when we start having more visitors!

Today is another doctor's appointment - I have today, one next week, and then the week after that is my due date week! So I'm sure we'll schedule one for the week of the due date - but either way, these are ticking down!! We'll see how things are progressing - or not progressing is a possibility as well!

Ian was at jury duty yesterday and then had to go back today - so that's been interesting too! He's going to tell them I'm due in about 2 weeks so they hopefully don't put him on a trial - I bet that will work :)

AND... I do realize (after talking with a couple of people - including Ian and my mom and people at small group) that I probably won't have time to start reading all of those TIME magazines after the baby - so I might pick up a few over these next few weeks and let myself enjoy reading in silence :)

Have a great day, everyone!
Love
Laura

Beautiful Days :)

Good morning all!

These past few weeks have been SO nice - I am just loving this weather! Not too hot, beautiful summer nights - pretty nice :)

I was telling Ian - I'm glad that this baby is going to be born in the earlyish summer (or early/middle) because otherwise I would just spend my whole summer waiting and counting down! Plus it would get HOT :)

Yesterday we went to Target and bought some all important baby items that we'll need once the baby gets here! We bought some hats, baby wipes, baby powder, bottles, bottle warmer, and some other stuff that will surely come in handy - it just so foreign to us though! We were looking at the bottles, and I said something like, "I have no idea what I'm doing!" Ian just laughed and agreed that he felt pretty much the same way :)

John's coming down Wednesday to help us out a little before the baby comes with yard work and stuff that we'd like to do - so that's awesome! And, I can't wait to see him - time with my brother is ALWAYS a good thing!

Before he comes to visit though, I have all sorts of errands that I feel like I need to run - I have two more full weeks (including this week) before the due date - so I'm feeling like i"m running out of time!

One last story - I have been saving/stockpiling all of my TIME magazines to read in the hospital and then once the baby is born. I shared this idea with Ian yesterday, and he said something like, "Umm... I don't think that you're going to be reading these while you're in labor, and then you'll be in the hospital and you'll have a baby and you'll be trying to do all that kind of stuff - but, whatever you want to do sounds good to me!"
I think I'll have time to read those someday - but we'll see :)

Have a great week, everyone!
Love
Laura

Oh, the craziness!

Good morning, all :) I'm writing on a Saturday! That almost never happens!!

I just wanted to give you all an update on the baby pool :) (with the prize being PRIDE thus far!) Email me at laurabally@gmail.com if you want to have a guess but can't make a comment!

Aunt Barb - Early morning July 5th - girl
Mary - Jun 30th - girl
Ian - July 3 - boy
Laura - July 3 - boy

( I want you to know I asked Ian separately and did not sway him with what I had already thought!)

Also - our names have pretty much pretty the same since John's recital.... so we are bringing these four contenders into the hospital with us :)
Girls - Mara, Ella
Boys - Eli, Oliver

So those are some fun updates!

Baby news today - the baby moved hardly at all yesterday, so of course I was all worried! Then at about 3 o'clock this morning, I guess it was time to do some acrobatics or something - it was BUSY all morning then! At least he or she is doing well :)

Today's goal is to pack the hospital bag - Ian, Mary, and my doctor have all told me that it's about time I do that :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend! John is coming down to visit Wednesday and help us work around the house - so I'm excited to see him!

Love
Laura

Am I Ready?

Good morning, all :)

Last night was my last hospital class - whew! So, the total baby education that I've received through Proctor includes a newborn class, epidural class (my least favorite), 4 Lamaze classes, and a breastfeeding class. Since I've taken all the classes that they offer (That apply to me) I was joking to Ian last night that I'm officially ready to have this baby :) haha... not quite - but it's a nice thought! And the classes were helpful!

So on the ticker we are on the 20 day countdown - I can hardly believe it! I'm so excited though - there were ladies at the class yesterday who had due dates in late August and even October, and now going through pregnancy as long as I have, I just could not wait that long!!!

I have a feeling this baby will be a little late, but we'll see! At the sonogram baby was measuring just a little small, and then my belly is also measuring a little small (35 weeks when I was at 37) but the doctor also said that plus/minus 3 inches was perfectly normal and that I should still pack my bag because baby could go at any time :) (Even though I'm not dilated or anything)

Anyhow - my gut feeling - baby will be born on July 3rd - so we'll see!!

We should start a baby pool just for fun! (Or email Dad if you want him to get something going with real money... haha) - but, leave me a comment or email me with the date you think baby will get here and I'll record them :) Hey - it gives me something to do while I'm waiting!! My guess is July 3rd - what's yours? And boy or girl? I think a boy - which most likely means I'm wrong and it will be a girl :)

Have a great day, everyone!
Love
Laura

Happy 37 weeks!

Wow - and I know I say that word a ton - but I just can't believe how the time is going! Happy 37 weeks, Baby Bally :) Who knows - you could be here sooner than 3 weeks! Or in 3 weeks, or a little later than 3 weeks :) We'll just have to see!

I went to the doctor yesterday - everything is good with baby - but... the doctor's let me know that they would be on vacation from the June 29th to July 5th. What's wrong with that picture? Oh yeah... my DUE DATE is July 2nd!!! right exactly in the middle of it! Oh well, I actually had a feeling they would be gone for the 4th of July - and I guess that's something you get when you go to a practice where the doctors are married to each other!

Anyhow, she gave me a couple of options - We could either induce the baby before they left, or I could wait and let things take their course and have their sub deliver me at the hospital.... After talking it over with Ian, we're going to just let things take their course. It just seems so unnatural to us to induce for convenience- so we'll see how everything works out!

3 more weeks until the due date - hard to believe!
Have a great day, everyone :)
Love
Laura

Blame it on the internet....

Good morning, all :)
Sorry about the lack of punctuality this morning! I'm actually blaming it on the internet - we just got it up and running again - so no, I'm not in labor! But sorry if I worried anyone! :)

Today is my first day of summer - yay! Which also means that Baby is soon to be here! Double yay! :) The plan is to walk every day for at least 30 minutes - I heard that that helps things along - Mom, I hope that this baby waits at least two weeks for you to come back from your meetings! But I don't really want it to go that extra week and be late!!!

Today is another doctor's appointment - so we'll find out if anything changed from last week or if the baby is still just hanging in there!

There's still alot of movement even though he or she is getting squished - so that's really a lot of fun! Hard to believe what a miracle this all is - and how I've been pregnant since October!! Think about what you were all doing last October - that was a long time ago!!!

Anyhow, hope everyone has a great day-
Love you!
Laura

last day of school :)

Good morning, all :)
This one is a short one, because I'm running late! Sorry!

We weren't able to meet with the pediatrician yesterday because he had an emergency surgery to do - (insert sad face here) - but we rescheduled fr June 22nd - Hopefully that gives us enough time and the baby will hold out until then!

Baby is doing pretty well - kicking and being just the biggest help getting Mom up all those stairs :)

I'm all packed up at school - so just one more day today - from 8am to 1pm - then summer starts and I can get even more prepared to be a Mom! :)

Love you all
Laura

The first meeting of many...

Good morning, everyone :)
I'm up nice and early (5:52am!) eating breakfast with Ian and then heading off to school to pack a little more - I'm HOPING to get it mostly finished today - that would be great! Then, Ian is going to come to school and help me load up some boxes, and we're going to our 'meet and greet' with who we hope will be our baby's pediatrician!

This guy's name is Dr. Miller, and he was recommended by our OB, AND only about 7 minutes away from the house - so it all sounds good so far! I wanted to do a little informal interview with him before we officially choose him, because we will be at that doctor's office ALOT in the next few years! I remember going to see my pediatrician when I was 22! (I had poison ivy and needed a doctor) - so we'll see - hopefully we like him!

Ian and I and his brother Ben worked on the house yesterday - Ian and his brother sanded walls in 'our' room, finished the can lights, ran wiring for the ceiling fan, and then started another layer of 'mud'. I organized the linen closet, and some other things around the house, and then washed baby clothes and sheets and towels and started putting those away - so exciting!

In the sleep department, getting quality sleeping is definitely becoming more difficult! (For me... and therefore for Ian too). Saturday night I ended up sleeping in our bed, in our Lazy Boy chair, and on the couch - I just could NOT get comfortable - this baby is getting heavy in my stomach!!

Speaking of baby - he or she has the hiccups right now :) I heard this would happen, and I've been feeling them recently! Kind of like a really strong heart beat/ or hiccups, on the lower right side of my stomach :)

So - busy day today! Lots of packing, meeting for school, Ian's coming to school to help me load up boxes, and then we're going to the doctor later this afternoon - hopefully everything goes well!

Have a great week, everyone!
Love
Laura

Last day with the kiddies! :)

Good morning, all :)
Today is my last day of teaching the kids ---- sigh. Ian asked this morning if I was excited or sad... my first reaction was 'Excited!", then... I got downstairs, and realized that these little kids are my LIFE during the year, and I will miss them! Even the kindergartners, I suppose :) I just worry about them over the summer - and they're not the typical kids jumping up and down because school is over - I think they worry a little about the summer as well.... Ah well. We'll all be happy to see each other in the Fall :) And this summer I have a BIG surprise coming my way... we'll get to meet the baby!! :)

It's gotten to the point now where we can feel either a foot or a hand... I guess it could be an elbow, kind of protruding out of my belly. We can kind of interact with it - touch it and make it move - or move it just a little ourselves, and play with this baby - it's pretty cool really, and feels SO WEIRD! But its pretty amazing....

So now I start my doctor appointments where I just go in, and they check and see if I'm getting closer to labor or not (!!!). The doctor yesterday said that things are looking good - the head is facing downwards - which is really good! And I'm 50% effaced - which means my body is starting to get ready! (But I still have weeks until baby is here). Not dilated at all - which he said is fine too. And I should start to feel more contractions... soo, all interesting stuff :) Sorry if it's too much information, but I'm sure you'll recover :)

Okay, off to get ready for the last day with the kids! Have a great Friday, everyone!
Love
Laura

It's Thursday!!! :)

And we should all know what that means by now! :) Happy 36 weeks to Baby Bally! WOW - 28 days until the due date. wow. Baby is definitely running out of room in there - I think Ian was playing with his or her foot last night? Until the baby decided that was 'enough' and it simply disappeared! So funny to imagine that little person camping away in there....

Last night was the last of our Lamaze classes - they were so helpful! Over the course of the 4 weeks, we learned all about the different stages of what it will be like when the time comes, so Ian and I feel more prepared, yet slightly more nervous at the same time :)

Today is also the first of the weekly appointments - those where the doctor lets me know if I'm ready to go into labor or not - so that's pretty exciting! I should have about 4 of these and then we'll have a baby in this house!! :)

I just remember thinking - when the leaves on the trees are nice and full and green, that's about the time we'll have our baby! Well, the leaves are definitely full and green! :)

I'm glad I'm teaching almost up to the end - these days would have gone by so slowly otherwise!
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Love
Laura

In Dreams

Good morning, all :)

Today is for remembering Aunt Karen, who was just an amazing woman.

Last night, I had a dream that Dad, Linda, Mary, John, my mom, Grandma, and I went to visit Uncle Jim, Sarah and Eric. At one point in the dream, I was talking to Uncle Jim, and Aunt Karen walked down the hall and just sat with us while we were talking. It was so good to see her, and definitely one of those dreams that make me just know that she's still watching us and with us in spirit.

I know that there are a lot of things that people wish, but I just really wish that we had more time with Aunt Karen - at the same time, I know that she is in a perfect place, and that it's always harder for those that are left behind.

We love you, Aunt Karen - we are blessed that you were in our lives! :)

Love you all,
Laura

The final stretch?

Today is June 2nd - my due date is July 2nd - so I suppose that means that I'm 8 months today! Wow... All of these little landmarks continue to amaze me - And I also keep going back to look at that ultrasound picture, that REALLY amazes me!

Something else fun - take a look at the ticker up at the top - try and notice what's different about it! Ian asked me something like, "So how does that make you feel?" And my answer this morning was, like a turkey that's about done!! :) I know it's much more than that - but I sure have been baking for a long time! :) SO worth it though - I can't wait to meet Baby Bally!!!

Yesterday at the grocery store, I had this conversation with the lady checking out my groceries:
G: When is your due date?
Me: July 2nd - so we're getting there!
G: Is this your first?
Me: Yep, I'm pretty excited!
G: It's gonna hurt like hell.
Me: Well, at least you're honest with me!

hehe... interesting conversation with stranger!

Well, I'm so happy that I'm now officially 8 months pregnant :) And ALSO so happy that this is my last week of school - Yesterday was a tough day! Everything is just getting so swollen and tired!!!

Have a great Tuesday, everyone :)
Love
Laura

Baby Bally's First Car Accident :(

Good morning, all :)

Well, we started off the weekend great - Friday, Ian and I went to pick up our Lazy Boy chair, and see 'Wolverine' in the theaters - I love the XMen movies :) And then we reflected on how that was possibly our last time seeing a movie before our little baby is born! I really tried to enjoy it as much as I could :)

Saturday was wonderful for the most part - we worked in the yard (Ian planted and worked in the garden... I mostly watched) and then had a nice dinner outside and just were pretty much enjoying a slow, summer day - once again, very nice :)

Then... Saturday night was when we had our little adventure! I went with Ian to be with him while he took down the trailor from the ice cream event of that weekend - I was there for moral support, a little help, and then to give him a ride home :) Well, on our way out of the festival, I was following Ian out - he was in the ice cream truck, I was in my mini-van. He turned right onto 24 (kind of busy road), there was a car coming, so I decided to wait a bit... Well, I had inched up, decided to wait, and the car behind me thought I had went so he accelerated like he was going to go on to this 60 mph highway - except that I was still in front of him!

Well, I was pretty shaken up - the kid (he was 16/17 maybe) was VERY sorry - and I called Ian and let him know he had to turn around and come back... The end of the mini-van is pretty much totalled, so we're not sure what's going to happen there! And since I was wearing my seat belt, but had that jarring accident effect, I was so worried about the baby! It was the first time that as parents, we were both just reall worried about the baby! So, I called the doctor (at 11:45pm) and she basically told me that she was going to call Proctor (our hospital) and that I was to go and get fetal monitoring for about four hours.... I was fine with that, just ot make sure that the baby was okay! So we waited for the accident report (Ian went ahead because the ice cream was working on melting!) - the police woman issued a ticket to the other guy - I drove to pick Ian up in Eureka, then we headed to Proctor hospital.

I suppose it was good practice for if we go into labor in the middle of the night, because in order to get up to Lavor and Delivery, we had to go through the Emergency room - so that was one plus! Anyhow, we got all hooked up at about 1am - they were looking for contractions, fetal heart beat, and if my placenta was still attached... All turned out to be good. Babies heart rate was mostly around 130/135, except when he or she was busy moving around, then it would go up to about 150... Placenta we think is good, and I only had a few small contractions, that I really didn't even notice I was having!

Ian and I are really glad we went - just for peace of mind that our little baby is okay! He was a great husband and sat in a really uncomfortable chair for 4 hours - and then at 5am, they let us go home.... We left the hospital in daylight, and then got home and slept until about 11am - bed felt SO good!

So that was our Saturday adventure and the baby's first trip to the hospital - hopefully it is a RARE occurance!!!

Last day of week for me... and it's June 1st - baby could technicaly be born this month :) We'll see!!

Love
Laura