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www.the-duggan-family.blogspot.com

Saryn Elizabeth Patricia Duggan

Born December 2, 2007 11:59 p.m.

More photos and details to come

Thanksgiving

This year we stayed here for Thanksgiving. Sort of hard to travel when we are 3 weeks away from our due date. We went to Jordan's aunt & uncle's house (Kay & Herb) for Thanksgiving dinner. Jordan's brother Ian and his girlfriend Daphne were here from CA, as well as Jordan's parents Lynn & Jim, and Jordan's cousin Jessie and her fiance Mike.

We of course took some pictures of everyone & of Jordan and I together. I didn't realize how big I really am until I saw the pictures of myself. I know I've gotten bigger but it's different when you are just seeing yourself in the mirror for a few minutes in the morning. I have to say I almost had the urge to delete those photos. I'm a bit on the puffy side. But I didn't - so you all should be very thankful I am sharing these photos with you. :)

Click here for more Thanksgiving photos.



We had a very nice Thanksgiving and the food was wonderful. They say towards the end of pregnancy women get full after a bite or two of food b/c there just isn't room. Well, that is certainly not the case with me. :) I cleared my plate (which I do not normally do) and of course had dessert. Jordan was very sweet to get me a piece of pumpkin pie, which he knows I love. But we had 5 different types of desserts! So I took my plate and headed into the kitchen. He caught me in line getting a little sample of everything. He looked at my plate and asked me what I was doing. I felt like a little kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar!

I have to say I've had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday. Jordan has been very busy with work over the past few months. He works until about 8:00 at night and usually on the weekends as well. Needless to say we haven't seen that much of each other lately. He did have to work a little bit on Thanksgiving Day but he didn't work at all on Friday nor is he working this weekend. On Friday we had lunch with his family then ran some errands together. We came home and did a few things in the nursery & played with the cats. We took a nap in the afternoon with both cats on the bed napping too, guess we tired them out! We got up around 6:00 and started a fire, had dinner & watched a movie. I had a great day! I know that sounds silly because we didn't do a whole lot, but it was nice just doing things together.

I hope you all have had a great holiday weekend too!

Saber & Shower Pictures

These are pictures from the shower Amy, Margaret & Kristine had for me. I had one package that was mailed to me and Jordan thought I should wait to open it at the shower. Well, of course I forgot to take it with me so I opened it when I got home. Saber thought the red bag it came in was especially for him. I am so glad I had my camera right next to me! Click here for more shower pictures.

The cats have been fine with all the new items we are bringing in the house. They sniff everything, walk around it and then pretty much leave it alone. I thought they would like sitting in the glider since it's in the corner of the room by the window. I haven't even seen them try to get up there. Maybe they did when I wasn't looking and it rocked and scared them. :) Who knows!

Baby shower pictures

These pictures are from the baby shower Ann & Martha had for me. I will add more once I have them. The cake was made by Francie Snodgrass (as a surprise for me). It was very beautiful as you can tell and the best tasting cake I've ever had!

Interesting week

Seems like we have just about everything now. Last thing we need to get is a bookshelf. We bought one from Target and Jordan put it together on Sunday. Neither one of us liked it. The color on the box was much darker than the actual bookshelf. So last night Jordan took it apart and we are going to take it back to Target. So the quest for a bookshelf continues. Of course we don't really need a bookshelf but she has received so many toys that we have no where to put them! Right now I have them in little baskets but no where to put the baskets!

So, I think the nesting has started up again. I'd like to call it "gathering" instead, since that seems to be what I am doing. I have 12 homemade meals in our freezer right now. Since about September I have been cooking dinner like usual, then freezing the leftovers so when the baby is here all I have to do is pull out a meal and reheat it. We have stew, chili, lasagna, pork tenderloin, beef wellington, and a few types of soup. There have been a few nights where I have been tired so I'll just pull out one of those meals. Then when I'm feeling energized I'll make something I know will freeze well and replace it. I am also stocking up on items around the house so we won't run out of them in December. I know Jordan can easily run to the store if we need something but I keep thinking it will just be easier if we have extra already in the house.

A few posts ago I had mentioned that I was having some pain/cramping that my doctor said was normal late pregnancy symptoms. No, she was wrong - I had a kidney stone. :) They said it was from too much calcium. They want me to increase my fluid intake, which I am. I am also taking my prenatal vitamin every other day so I hopefully won't get another one. They said it is common in pregnancy - no one told me about that!

I have also had this "thing" on my finger for about a month. Kind of looks like a blood blister. I've seen my family doctor and obgyn about it - neither really knew what it was so I made an appointment with my dermatologist. She of course knew right away what it was (should have gone to see her first). She called it a pyogenic granuloma - again common in pregnancy from all the hormones. She removed it and cauterized it right in her office. Fun times.

This pregnancy has been such a breeze so I really can't complain. Even those two weird things were not that bad. I saw my doctor on Wednesday and he said the same thing. I believe his words were "This has been a perfect pregnancy, barely a scratch on it. You look great, trim and fit with a beautiful belly." Haha!! I almost fell off the table when he said that.

It was very nice of him to say - I don't think anyone has complimented me quite like that before - I certainly wasn't expecting it!

Down to 35 days....

We are just moving right along. Next week I have to start going to the doctor every week. The baby is doing well - still moving around quite a bit.

I've gotten quite a bit done in the past week. All of her newborn clothes have been washed as well as any other material that will touch her skin. I have not washed the "girly" outfits yet just in case. :) Everything has been put together except the swing and one little newborn rocker. We still need to go get the stroller/car seat this week, a changing pad and I'll probably get more newborn outfits.

I've packed her bag for the hospital but have not packed mine yet. :) Something else I'll get started on this week.

Almost all of my Christmas shopping is done. I plan on wrapping everything this weekend. I'm sure my family thinks I'm crazy because I've been asking what they want this year since September. I just did not want the added stress of Christmas shopping in my last month of pregnancy.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather, I certainly am!!

43 days left!

We have had 2 baby showers in the past week. I had a great time at both of them and feel very lucky to have so many people in our lives who are so generous and supportive as we get ready for our little one to arrive.

We were able to pick up the dresser for the baby on Saturday. I spent a good portion of Sunday going through bags & boxes of baby gifts that we have received from the 3 showers. I've started to put her things away and wash her blankets and newborn clothing. As I was going through everything I was amazed at everything we have received!! We have a room full of baby items and we've only bought 2 items on our own. I can't thank you enough for all of our wonderful gifts!

The next week we will be getting the nursery finished up as much as we can without the crib. Eventually I will post pictures of the before, during and after. I have a few things to order for her room but nothing that needs to be here before she arrives. On Sunday I made a run to Target to get newborn diapers (we didn't have any!) so we would have them at the house just in case she decides to come early.

This pregnancy is finally starting to take a toll on me. I'm sure many of you have been waiting for me to say that. :) I've had some ligament & muscle pain/cramping twice this week that pretty much lasts all day and I end up having to lay down to help relieve it (which didn't really help much). I did go to the doctor the first time I had it b/c I had not felt anything like that before and it scared me a bit. The doctor checked me over and said that it was just normal pregnancy pains for women this far along. Good news, but also bad as I certainly don't want this to continue for the next 6 weeks!

As soon as I have the pictures from both showers I will post them for you to see.

Crib Fiasco

So, we order the crib and dresser 8 weeks ago. The company told us that it would take between 8-12 weeks for it to come in. I called this week to see how things were progressing. The dresser, mattress & toddler rails (it converts to a toddler bed) are in, the crib is not. The manager called the manufacturer to find out what the status of the crib was. They don't have it in stock and the crib will not be shipped until December 1st!! Which means it won't be here 7-10 business days after that! The manager told me that they have a crib and dresser in their stock room that we can get instead. If I wanted that set I would have picked that one to begin with!! So. We've decided to get what they have since the baby will be sleeping in a pack-n-play in our room for a little while anyways.

Here's the kicker: I asked how they could have not known that they didn't have it 8 weeks ago. The company who makes the crib has a factory in Chili that burnt down and they lost everything they had in stock!

Pictures at 32 weeks

October 15th was our 2nd wedding anniversary and I had Jordan take a few pictures of me before we went out to dinner.

Christmas Shopping in October?

Yes, I have to say I went Christmas shopping today. Many of you may start your shopping early every year - I on the other hand do not. Usually my shopping begins after Thanksgiving time so you could say I'm a bit of a procrastinator about it.

Unfortunately, I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted to. It's amazing to me at how quickly I get run down and tired. The muscles on the sides of my stomach have not been happy with me today. It's to the point now that I can barely move without some degree of discomfort. Which of course is completely my own fault for not listening to my body. Oh well. I'm drinking a cup of hot cider now and plan on relaxing the rest of the evening. :)

We have two baby showers coming up this month. Three of my girlfriends, Margaret, Kristine & Amy are hosting one on Sunday the 21st. Two close family friends Ann & Martha are hosting the other one on Saturday the 27th. I am looking forward to both of them as I haven't seen many of the people invited since the beginning of my pregnancy. Sorry guys, no men invited!!

I have to say I am so thankful that the weather has turned cooler. Most of the summer I wasn't pregnant enough to really have the heat bother me too much. Although, I did have a few episodes during the summer when I thought I was going to pass out. This only happened if I was outside in the heat & sun for an extended period of time. Twice it happened when I was out showing houses - how horrible would that have been if I passed out in front of clients!! The other time we were out at Falls Lake. I thought being in the shade would help - and it probably did but we were there for 4-5 hours.

The only downside of the cooler weather is that I have to go buy more maternity clothes. :) Motherhood Maternity has some nice things but they do not carry an extra small which is what I need in their tops. Most of their shirts are designed for women who have gotten wider on top - and I haven't. I've read that the baby can push up on the ribs which pushes them out making mom "thicker" so to speak. That hasn't happened to me yet so most of their tops have this extra material on the sides or in the front that just looks ridiculous.

There are higher end maternity stores that have extra small for tops but they are so expensive!! Maybe I'm cheap but I am certainly not spending over $50 for a maternity shirt that I can only wear for a few months! The best luck that I have had finding maternity clothing is at Super Target in Apex & Kohl's. Their stuff is comfortable & reasonably priced and I don't walk out with clothes that look like I'm wearing a muu-muu! (Please see picture of Homer Simpson to understand what I mean)

We've hit 30 weeks...10 weeks left!

It doesn't seem that I've been pregnant for that long. I can't believe she's going to be here in just 10 weeks (give or take a few).

We are still waiting for her furniture to come in. I am hoping that it will be here at the end of this month. We really haven't been able to do much else to get ready for her. Once her crib & dresser are here we'll be able to start putting things in their place. There really is no point of opening things we have so far until we have some place to put it.

90% of the time I still feel great. Over the past few weeks I've noticed that I tend to get tired more frequently. My back will hurt here and there - but not consistently.

She's still moving around quite a bit. Her movements seem more purposeful and controlled. She likes to stretch out on one side which has half of my stomach protruding out and the other half somewhat flat. That is certainly uncomfortable being a bit lopsided but fun to watch. It seems like she is most active at inopportune times. Like when I'm having my teeth cleaned at the dentist or waiting in the doctor's office. I'm sure no one else notices that my stomach is jumping all around but if I can see it I'm sure they could too if they looked!

The doctors said I would probably gain about 30 pounds based on my height and previous weight. I seem to be right on track with that - if I gain a pound a week for the rest of my pregnancy. Not sure if I will gain that much as my appetite has started to decrease over the last week.

Not until I was pregnant did I realize how big of an issue it is with women about how much weight is okay to gain during pregnancy. Most people tell me I am still pretty small for being 7 months pregnant. Although, I don't think Jordan thinks I'm small at this point. :) I have heard other women criticizing pregnant women who gain more than 20-25 pounds. My thoughts on this are that my doctor doesn't think I'm gaining too much weight for my height and build. I eat relatively healthy :) and exercise a few times a week. I gain what I gain and as long as the baby is healthy and getting what she needs I'm happy. Seems like our society is putting so much pressure on women about their weight - pregnant or not. It's just a number!! The baby is healthy and so am I - so what does it matter what the scale says? Just my two cents. ;)

I had my glucose test last week for gestational diabetes. If the test results came back showing levels too high they would call me to schedule another test. I haven't heard anything so I am assuming all is well. 24 hours before you take the test you are not supposed to have food that has sugar in it. This includes fruit, fruit juice, baked goods etc. I had such a hard time that day! I always eat fruit, yogurt, drink a glass of lemonade, and have 2 bowls of cereal every day. Almost everything I wanted to eat or drink I couldn't! Not even healthy cereal because it has raisins in it!!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

I said I wasn't going to....

I've been saying all along that I wasn't going to buy anything for the baby until we have had all of the showers. Well......I broke down last week and bought 4 outfits. I was in Myrtle Beach for a real estate conference and on my way home I stopped at an outlet center. Everything was on sale!! I couldn't resist! I saw this cute little outfit to the left and just had to have it. The material is a soft corduroy and I bought it for when she is 12 months old. The original cost for this outfit was about $30 and I got it for $11!! I did buy three other outfits at a children's store that was going out of business. I think each outfit was about $2 or $3. Click here to see them.

I tried to stay away from pink & purple outfits. We have quite a few of those already. Jordan is afraid that I am going to condition her to like pink. I tried to tell him that she's not going to know what color she is wearing at 3 months old - but he sees all that pink & purple and gets a bit nervous. So for now I will try to buy outfits that are not pink and purple.

For now. :)

83 days left...but who's counting!?

I have my next doctors appointment next week. I have to drink this orange drink and go in so they can test for gestational diabetes. I think after next week I have to start going in every two weeks instead of once a month. Pregnancy is still going smooth. My mid to lower back on the sides of my spine have been bothering me a bit. I have some yoga & pilates stretches that I try to do everyday and that seems to help.

Almost everyone comments on how small I am for being almost 7 months. I've gained 20 pounds, I can't be that small!! Jordan an I were trying to figure out where the weight has gone. We think it's all in my stomach - which probably explains the backaches!

I finally had to take out my navel ring as it was starting to hurt a bit. It was a sad day for me. I've had that piercing for 10 years!! I guess I can always go get it pierced again but I'm not sure I have the courage that I did when I was 19. Although, after child birth I might think getting a piercing is a piece of cake!!

I broke down and had a cleaning service come in a few weeks ago. There were just certain things that I physically couldn't do and the rest of it I was just too tired to get to. Let me tell you, it was the best thing I have done in 7 months!! We are going to have them come in once a month to do a nice deep clean and I'll take care of it the other weeks. The night before I had Jordan help me pick up so they could clean.

His comment, "Why do we have to clean the house for the cleaners to come?" My comment, "Honey, this isn't cleaning, this is called picking up!"

:)

Pregnancy Pictures

I had Jordan take a few pictures of me over the weekend so you can see how pregnant I am. :) These were taken over the weekend of September 8th so I would have been 26 weeks.

The Nursery

We've been working on the nursery for the past week. We've removed all the furniture that was in the bedroom & are working on doing some painting. I painted the trim white & did some touch up paint on the walls. Looks like I am going to have to put a whole coat on the walls as you can see where I touched up compared to the rest of the walls.

So before anyone yells that I shouldn't be painting.....my doctor said it was fine for me to paint as long as I use latex paint (which I am), have the room well ventilated (windows open & fans are on) and take a break if the fumes bother me. The problem with pregnant women & painting used to be that before 1978 paint contained lead - which of course it does not now. :)

I had picked out a crib & dresser that I liked from Target online - they said they didn't have the crib to show in the store. The crib had received great reviews but the dresser not so much. Well our Target in Cary had the crib & dresser set up in the store. I brought Jordan there on Saturday to see if it met his standards. The crib did - the dresser failed miserably. :)

We went to Child's Space to see if they had anything that we liked. We found a set that we liked & that met Jordan's level of quality expectations. Here's the link if you'd like to look at it. We have ordered the crib & dresser that has the hutch on but didn't order the hutch. It looks nice but isn't very practical. She wouldn't be able to reach anything on the shelves until she was 8. So we are looking for a little bookshelf instead. Here's the link if you'd like to see it - we ordered it in the Chestnut color. http://www.babysdream.com/Products/Infinity/

The sales lady also sold me on a mattress. I couldn't resist the sales pitch. I don't know a whole lot about baby mattresses but she told me that foam mattresses are recommended but that they only hold up to 25 pounds. Once the baby reaches 25 pounds you need to buy another mattress. Well, they have a mattress that one side is foam and the other side has springs - so you just flip over the mattress when the baby gets to 25 pounds. The crib converts to a toddler bed then a full sized bed - the mattress will fit the toddler bed as well. Sounds great doesn't it? I thought so too. Well, there's another feature this mattress has. It has a button you can push to have the mattress vibrate for 10 minutes giving the baby the same feeling as riding in a car. Well, isn't that just the best thing you have ever heard of!! Of course the baby will probably hate it and we'll never use it but it's there just in case!

The only downfall to ordering this furniture is that it can take up to 8-12 weeks to come in (Target's was 7 days). My due date is in 14 weeks. :) I had to smother that little nesting voice in my head that was freaking out and remind myself that the baby will not care if her room is set up or not when she comes home. I have also reminded myself that we do have a pack-n-play already so if she comes early we can always have her sleep in that. Crisis resolved.

On our trip to Target I also wanted to get a CD player for the baby's room. I was just going to get a basic little CD player that I could plug head phones into so I could play music for her now - and I figured it would be nice to have it in her room for when she is actually here. I had one all picked out and then Jordan came over. He sees one that you can put an ipod in. Why buy some little piece of junk when we can buy one that has a hook up for an ipod?? I know the baby would have been very disappointed if we didn't get her a CD player that she could hook an ipod up to. So we go to Best Buy and purchase a very nice CD player that you can hook an ipod up to & a remote to control it - tons of bells and whistles. I have to admit it is very nice & as long as she doesn't drop it on the floor at some point & break it - it will be a very nice little player for her in the future.

I have had a few people ask for pictures of pregnant me - I will try to get Jordan to take a few tonight so I can post them for you.

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend!
Stefanie

Baby Names

So Jordan an I have one name right now that we both like. Not sure it's going to be the name we end up going with as we both think we need to keep looking in case we find something better we like.

I found this really interesting site while looking for baby names. Social Security Administration! What a great place to look and see what names are popular right now. You can also go as far back as 1879 to see the top 1000 names for that birth year. You can also type in a name and it will tell you how it ranked and in what year. Here is the link: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html

The name that Jordan & I like has not been in the top 1000 in the past 15 years. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. :)

The baby likes the sound of Jordan's voice. We were trying to get her to move the other day and she was quite willing to move all around when he was talking to her. He leaves the room and she won't budge when I talk to her. Guess she hears my voice all day. So I'm hoping this behavior of not listening when mommy talks doesn't continue once she's actually here. :)

So, I'm 23 weeks along and have gained 15 pounds. My doctor said 15 is right on target for where I am considering my height & build. I've been holding steady at 15 pounds for about a month. He figures I'll gain a pound a week from here on out - putting me at about gaining 30 pounds total. Well, I haven't gained anything since I last saw him and my eating habits certainly haven't changed......

With one exception. When we were in NY my mom made egg salad sandwiches for us to take with us on the ride back to NC. Let's just say they are my new favorite thing to eat. I have at least two a week. Actually, I just finished cooking a few eggs and will be having one for lunch today!

My favorite foods right now are cereal, fruit, peanut butter & jelly & egg salad sandwiches, & peppridge farm oatmeal cookies. :) I honestly could care less if I ate anything else. Jordan on the other hand isn't so happy with those selections for dinner so I try to cook other food for him. It's kind of hard coming up with ideas for dinner when you really don't want to eat it. I try to have a few things he will like i.e. some sort of meat, starch & vegetable - then I've been sneaking in a fruit salad for me - and for dessert a peppridge farm cookie, with a glass of milk of course!!!

That's all for now, hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer!

NY Baby Shower

I've had my first baby shower. My mom and friend Krystal were so nice to have a shower for me in NY when I wasn't so big it would be uncomfortable to travel. They had it at my parents house in their side yard. They had put up a large white tent with tables and chairs decorated with balloons. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The sun was shining & it wasn't too hot. We did have a little bit of wind which tried to knock over a few umbrellas & peoples plates though. :) We managed just fine.

The men (just a few) cooked hot dogs & hamburgers for us and we had tons of sides & appetizers to go with it. There was a diaper cake, a real cake & baby bottles filled with candy. We received a lot of great items for the baby. If you'd like to see pictures from the shower click here. The 4Runner was quite full on the way back home! All an all a perfect day!

I'm still trying to find a place for everything. Right now most of what we received will have to stay put in our family room b/c the nursery is just not ready yet.

The baby & I are doing just fine. She moves all the time now. Her favorite time seems to be between 7:00 & 10:00 at night. She must be getting bigger b/c we are starting to see my stomach move with some of her more forceful movements. I've gained about 12-14 pounds at this point and I am 22 weeks along. I feel great with no real changes except I now have a belly. :) So far this pregnancy has been a breeze - I hope it continues to be that way!

Movement

I've had several people ask me in the past few weeks if I have felt any movement yet. Until Monday the answer was no. I felt her move for the first time Monday at 5:22. I was sitting at my desk working on my laptop when I felt it - very subtle, if I wasn't sitting still I probably woulndn't have noticed it. Kind of felt like a bubble moving around. I felt her move two other times that night. Since then I've felt her move about 3-5 times a day.

Jordan has been trying to feel her by putting his hand where I felt the movement. He thought I was just teasing him by saying she was moving or that maybe I was wrong and what I was feeling was not her. I believe he thought I was just having gas. I told him that I've never felt anything like this before so I was pretty sure it wasn't gas. :)

We were watching t.v. last night and she was moving around quite a bit. So he put his hand where I had felt her move last and I told him to be patient and just keep his hand there for a while. Well, low and behold after a few minutes she moved (it was a big move) and he felt her, twice actually!

We have not decided on a name yet. We throw a few out every now and then but nothing that we both like so far. We have a few middle names we like, but nothing for the first name. I should tell you now - when we have decided on a name we are keeping it a secret until she is born. So you'll have to wait until December to find out!!

Have a great weekend!!

It's a girl!!!

Jordan an I went to have the ultrasound Thursday morning & they told us they are 99% sure it's a girl. Guess they probably say that to everyone just in case. :) The appointment went well - they said she looks good & her measurments are right on target. To see ultrasound pictures click here.

We went to Babie's R Us to finish up registering. We had kind of a hard time picking out bedding. I really didn't want something really girly & everything they had there was pink! Not a whole lot to choose from. We ended up not registering for the bedding there & started looking online. I found this set that I absolutely love!! It's very bright and cheerful looking, not too babyish, and has lots of colors besides pink!! Plus it has little baby zoo animals which I love too. I registered for it on this website called babyenvy.com . Check it out!!

We haven't picked out a name yet. I've tossed a few around that I like - but Jordan didn't like them so I guess we'll keep trying!!

Grandma Lynn has already brought over 3 little girl outfits for baby Duggan. Now she has some clothes hanging in her closet!!

Definitely makes things more real knowing what we are having & that she has some belongings in the house.

Nesting?

So, I know I said that I wouldn't post until after we found out if we are having a boy or a girl but something kind of funny happened today that I thought I would share.

This is the first weekend in a long time that I do not have to work. I knew I wanted to do some cleaning and things around the house that have been neglected a bit.

I did some of the normal household things like laundry, vacuuming, mopping, changing the sheets etc. I did have Jordan help me flip our mattress over too.

Then for some reason I got the idea to clean out our master closet. I started going through my clothes and made a pile for Good Will. I then decided that our closet needed to be organized. I started moving items around and straightening shoes. I realized that we needed some organizational items for our closet - the shelves that have been in there for the past 6 years and have been fine until now - are just working anymore. :) I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought one shoe rack & one sweater/shoe rack combo - both that hang from the closet rod.

I set those up, put items in them, cleared our shelves & vacuumed the carpet in the closet. Closet looks great. I then move on to my dresser and go through all of those clothes and put another pile for Good Will. While I'm sitting on the floor with a dresser drawer in front of me I can see the bathroom cabinet. The next thing I need to organize of course. On to the cabinets underneath my sink in the master bath. Throwing out old medicine, make-up, lotions etc. Once my cabinet is nice and neat and I have quite a large pile of trash I realize that I can't leave the drawer messy so I start to clean that out as well.

As I was looking over to the bathtub thinking I needed to clean out a basket that has bath items in it, I realize what is going on. I started with the closet at 2:00 and it is now 8:00 (although to my defense that includes a trip to BB&B and to get a smoothie) I think to myself, what am I doing? I must look like a nut right now. I put down the items I had in my hand and walk into Jordan's office. I very simply say, "Hun, I think I'm nesting." He just looks over at me and smiles. (Of course all day he has been in the house with me so he's seen what I've been doing. I think he already knew but just let me do what I needed to do.)

Well, so now I know - I'm nesting. But that doesn't stop me. I of course have to finish what I've started in the bathroom - and that basket on the bathtub too. Once I finish - at about 8:45 I call it a day.

The rest of the house may be a mess but our closet & bathroom are neat as a pin!!!

Can you imagine how neat an organized our house would be if every weekend I didn't have to work!?!?

:)

Boy or Girl?

Jordan an I go next week (July 19th) to find out if we are having a boy or a girl.

Anyone want to take a guess as to which one it is? :)

I have a feeling it's a boy. My only reason for this is b/c I have had no morning sickness at all - and have felt pretty good throughout the pregnancy so far. I've heard and seen friends who had girls who were quite sick during their pregnancy. Of course this could be a complete myth - and I could be 100% wrong. :) But it's fun to guess anyways!

So I haven't had morning sickness - but I have had other pregnancy ailments that of course no one ever had mentioned to me before. For the past two weeks I've had headaches almost everyday - the kind that are already there when you wake up in the morning. Those have been a lot of fun. I haven't had one in a few days so maybe they have run their course.

Everyone keeps asking me if I've felt the baby move yet. Answer is still no. Maybe next week. :)

I've gained 8 pounds so far. Jordan took some pictures of me last night - but I don't find them flattering so I'm not posting them. :) He would only take my picture in a white tank top and black pants. I tried to get him to take some the other day when I had normal clothes on but he wouldn't. I'll try again this week.

I probably won't post again until after we find out what we are having. So you have over a week to make your guess as to what the baby is going to be!

We've hit the 4 month mark

This week I am 16 weeks along - and have gained a total of 7 pounds. 2 of those pounds have been in the last week.

I'm still fitting into my regular clothes. No maternity fashion yet. :) Although, I feel like I am wearing the same things all the time. I guess I'll have to break down soon. I have had to buy a maternity bathing suit. Bikini & four months pregnant just don't go well together, at least with my comfort level. It's not a bad bathing suit - tankini that will grow with me throughout the summer. I figure I'll be able to wear it next summer just in case I need it. :)

So I think we've finally finished registering for now. I keep thinking of things that we'll need an adding them. We have friends who have just had a baby on June 7th so it's nice to look at what they have and think, "oh yeah, we need that too!" If you want to see pictures of cute little Nathan click here.

Once we know if it's a boy or a girl we'll add items for the nursery, bedding, etc. If anyone has any suggestion of items that are must have, please let us know!

Have a great week!

Trip to Babies R Us

Jordan an I went to Babies R Us last week to register. I have to say I was quite impressed with Jordan. I thought he'd be uncomfortable and itching to leave. He may have felt that way but he definitely didn't show it. He was pushing around strollers, checking out car seats, shaking cribs & suggesting we look at more items when I was saying I thought we were done. (I so wish I had my camera when he was pushing around the stroller)

We had a good time but it was very overwhelming. There is SOOOO much stuff in there and so many different choices & brands. I've actually been asking a few of my friends who are parents or have recently gone through the process of picking out items how they decided what to go with - and what not to buy. Margaret, Jeremy & Kristine gave me some good tips on items to get and some that just are not necessary. Thank you!!

We find out what the sex of the baby is (as long as the baby cooperates) on July 19th. I think once we know what we are having it will be easier to pick out items we'll need. I've heard from a small portion of people that they feel we shouldn't find out what we are having - we should be surprised.

Jordan an I just don't feel that way. It's not much of a surprise - it's going to be either a girl or a boy - that's it. No other options. I guess I don't find the sex of the baby a surprise. I think what the baby will look like & their personality is more of a surprise than if it's a boy or a girl. So for everyone who didn't want us to find out - sorry! You were able to make your choice of what you wanted to do when you were pregnant - now it's our turn!

On a side note, Jordan an I went to a 80's party last weekend. Jordan went as magnum pi. Not sure you can see in the picture but I actually found hot pink jelly shoes. Thought you might enjoy some of the pictures. If you want to see more click here.

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14 weeks

Things have been going pretty smoothly. I haven't had any morning sickness and I'm in my second trimester now so hopefully that means I won't get it at all.

I get hungry more frequently throughout the day but don't seem to eat a whole lot at one sitting.

I've had a few cravings and aversions to food. I seem to want cold & refreshing food. Ice cream, fruit, vegetables, cereal, cheese & of course pickles. I think we go through a jar of pickles in a week. ;)

Foods that are in dark heavy sauces - I can't eat. For some reason just thinking about eating it makes me want to gag. Not sure what that's all about - but I just try to avoid it! I've also lost my taste for coffee. I was allowing myself my morning cup - but around week 6 I would have one sip and it just didn't taste good to me. So I haven't had coffee in 2 months! Hope my taste for it comes back after the baby is born!

My sense of smell is definitely stronger. The smell of food does not bother me - but the trash and the cat boxes are horrible! I can smell the cat boxes from downstairs and in our bedroom. (we have them in the upstairs guest bath, right at the top of the stairs) Jordan is the one having to clean them - probably more frequently than he'd like b/c I can't stand the smell!

Hope you all have been enjoying reading the blog!!

Ultrasound at 12 weeks

Today we had an ultrasound. The baby was moving around quite a bit. It was kind of strange to be seeing something inside me flipping around and not being able to feel it.

We heard a nice strong heart beat, saw two legs, two arms and a round little belly! We could also see some facial features. Every time the technician tried to measure something the baby would move or flip around. At one point the baby had his/her hand resting on it's forehead - like it had enough for one day. It was quite comical.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Stefanie

Little Cheerio at 5 1/2 weeks

This was done at 5 1/2 weeks. We thought it looked like a little cheerio. The small round circle that looks like it's on the outside of the cheerio is the heart. :)

I could actually see it pumping - crazy.

Getting used to the idea

We waited to tell everyone except immediate family that we are pregnant until we heard a heart beat. I heard it at 5 1/2 weeks but they said it wasn't as fast as they'd like it to be so I had to go in for another ultrasound at 6 1/2 weeks to make sure it was in the normal range. At 6 1/2 weeks the heartbeat was at 128 beats per minute where at week 5 1/2 it was only 93 beats per minute. They like it to be above 120 - they said the heart had probably just started to beat and that was why it was slower at first.

Jordan hasn't been able to go with me to any of the ultrasounds that I've had so far. We are scheduled for one next week and he is coming with me so he'll get to see Baby Duggan for the first time live!!

So far I have not had any morning sickness. The only difference is that I wake up hungry - normally I wouldn't get hungry until around 10-11.

I will start to feel sick if I ignore being hungry - but as long as I eat a little something as soon as I feel hungry I am fine. I have noticed that I get tired easily - but really only if I've been running around all day and not taking some time to rest. The great thing about real estate is that if I need to sit or lay down for 10 minutes I can.

Jordan has started to get used to the idea that I'm not drinking anymore. :) He would go to get himself a beer or pour himself a glass of wine and ask me if I wanted one. About 3 seconds after he'd ask he would look at me, smile and say "Oh, oops, sorry you can't have one can you" At first I thought he was just teasing me but after he did it a few times I think he's just used to offering me whatever he's getting for himself.

I'll try to put up the pictures we have so far this weekend!

2 months ago.....

I thought some of you might like a little background information.

About two months ago I was feeling kind of weird. All home pregnancy tests were coming up negative. We were getting ready to go to Hamilton & Milly's wedding for the weekend an I wanted to be sure before we left.

I went to get a blood test on Wednesday. Results came back on Thursday - negative, you are not pregnant. Alright then, make me an appointment on Monday please b/c something certainly is going on!!

We go to our friends wedding and come back Sunday. Monday morning Jordan is in the bathroom getting ready for work. My appointment is at 9:30 and I thought, I'm going to take a pregnancy test just for the hell of it. I have quite a large stock of them so why not? So I'm sitting at my desk drinking my coffee and checking my email. I look over at the test (it's the kind that says "not pregnant" "pregnant" and see a big fat "Pregnant" staring back at me. I think I stopped breathing and I am sure my mouth was open.

Jordan leaves for work and I say nothing. I wanted to wait to confirm with the dr.

So I go in and tell them, by the way, I got a positive pregnancy test this morning. That pretty much changes the appointment.

They get a positive pregnancy test and give me a blood test and send me on my way. There are two types of blood tests: 1 that gives a yes or no and the other that gives a number of hcg level in the bloodstream. Anything over 25 hcg is considered pregnant - my levels were at 44.

So, Jordan comes home from work. We eat dinner. He still doesn't know. :) We are watching t.v. and I hit pause and say I'll be right back. I bring down a wrapped package and told him I got him a present that day. He thinks it's a tie. :)

I bought a bib that says I love my daddy on it and put a positive pregnancy test underneath it in the box.

I wish I would have video taped him opening the box and his reaction once he realized what it meant. I did take a few pictures after. I'm not sure they do it justice.

We are having a baby!!

Hi everyone!

Most of you by now have heard that Jordan an I are having our first baby. We of course are extremely excited as we assume you all are too! :)

With a large portion of our families & friends living outside of North Carolina we thought that having a blog might make people feel like they are in the loop on what's going on with little baby Duggan.

I did get a little sigh from Jordan when I pitched the idea to him last night - but I think that was because he thought that meant more work for him! But I found this site and so far it looks like I can do most of this myself! Although I am sure Jordan will want to add his two cents as well.

I hope you enjoy our blog!!

More to come soon!