3 Months Old!

Our little Gabbers is growing up fast!  She's over 3 months old now....14 weeks to be exact.  She weighs a chunky 12 lbs. 13 oz!  She's had a little illness this past week.  She's been stuffy and had a hoarse voice :(  Poor little girl sounds awful.  I took her to the doctor and it looks to be acid reflux that has irritated her throat so she's now on prescription zantac.
Gabby had her first professional photo shoot on Saturday and we're so excited to see the photo's.  She did really good and first and then was just not really having it toward the end...but what do you expect from a 3 month old, she just wanted to nap and we were making her pose.
We've been getting Gabby into the Holiday spirit with lots of cute little outfits.  Grandma and Auntie Liv have helped with that.

Here's Gabby's 3 month photo shoot:

Here's a little Santa photo shoot we did with Gabs:



Here are some more Holiday pics:

Gabby Loves to Gab

Gabby is growing like a weed!  At her 2 month check-up (really almost 10 weeks) she weighed 11 lbs. 2 oz.!  She grew an inch and is around the 65% percentile on most her stats.  The doctor couldn't believe how strong her neck was....she was acting like she was trying to sit up (as seen in video below)!  She's consistently rolling onto her side when she's on her play mat and can now follow our voice when we speak to her.  She's at such a cute stage of smiling when we talk to her and talking back to us in conversation.  She's been sleeping about 10 hours every night which is something mom and dad love.  We're excited for her first Christmas and will keep updating with pictures and video as much as we can :)

Here is Gabs gabbing away:

Here is Gabs enjoying her bouncy seat:

Here are Gabby's 2 month pictures:

For Nana

Happy Halloween!

Our little Gabby Goblin had her first Halloween :)  We couldn't really find her a costume in her size but she spread the cheer in some cute little onesies and socks:

Little Gabs is growing up fast!  At her 1 month check-up she shot up to 9 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21 3/4" long.  She did so good but had to get a shot and it was the most awful thing to watch.  She goes in for her 2 month appointment (which is really almost 10 weeks due to timing) November 14th.  Here's a picture of Gabby at the 1 month mark:

 Gabby is doing awesome.  She's sleeping pretty much through the night and giving us about 6 hours (sometimes even 8!).  She has her moments of a little fussiness but really is a good baby.  She's dealing with a little acid reflux but we're monitoring it and hopefully she will grow out of it soon.  I can't believe how quickly time has gone by and that she's almost 2 months old!  Mom has to start work back next week and is dreading it :(

Here are some pictures and video of Gabby:

A little Halloween video for you:

She's Here!

Gabrielle Lynn McClain was welcomed into this world on September 7th at 6:47pm.  She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 19.5" long.  She is completely healthy and is doing great. After 20 hours of labor and full pitocin there wasn't enough progress to do a natural birth (I only made it to 5 cm) so we ended up with a C-section. 

Gabby is now almost a month old!  She's gradually gaining weight but still looks like a little peanut.  Everyone is adjusting well and we're just completely in awe of our little wonder.  I will post monthly updates and pictures :)  She has her 1 month appointment on Friday.

It's the Due Date.....Where's the Baby???

It's the little peanuts due date today!  It seems she doesn't understand she's supposed to make her appreance into the world and is nestled and comfy in my belly.  At my last doctor appointment I was 1 cm dilated and effacement was underway.  I won't lie....i've been a little frustrated.  I had my hopes on seeing her beautiful face earlier than her due date.  Now that I've come to the realization that she will come when she's ready I'm embracing these last few days and enjoying them with the hubby.  We're finishing our sweet indulgences that the baby is insisting I ingest and getting the house spic and span for her arrival.
The belly is big and undeniable.  It's definitely making it hard to sleep and get up from sitting down.  Other than that I've had pretty consistant back pain and daily braxton hicks contractions.  The hands and feet aren't as swollen any more and the heart burn is dying down.

Here's my 37.5 week belly:

Here's my 39.5 week belly:

Let the countdown begin!

We're less than a month now!  These past few months have just flown by.  We are both extremely excited and anxious for the expected arrival of our little peanut.  We're at that point where she could decide to come at any moment.  We are ready....in the sense that the baby's room is good to go, we've got all the necessities and we've had 9 months to wrap our head around this all.  But I'm not sure I'm ready to give up sleep ;)  She will be worth all the sleepless nights and I can't wait to meet her!

All the last month pregnancy woes are kicking in:
The dreams have begun - I dream about her most nights.
Swelling - UGH, I'm starting to get little potato feet.  And I'm at the point where I'm going to stop wearing my rings because they were on the verge of not coming back off at the end of the day.
Heartburn - I get heartburn from drinking water :(
Uncomfortable sleep - I'm tossing and turning most of the night....the belly just keeps getting in my way when i try to roll over.
Pains - lower back, leg cramps etc....
Nesting - I've been nesting, but Jon is waiting for my major nesting phase to kick in.  We were reading my What to Expect book last night and there was a section on nesting he read where it said I'll get the urge to clean the house top to bottom in every nook and cranny and he was like 'Why haven't you done this yet, I hope you get this nesting'.
I've had a pretty good pregnancy overall and I'm just keeping the little peanut happy with her sugar - who am i to deny her ice cream nightly (she begs for it every night....i can't resist)?

Here is my 36 week bump:

I had Chinese last week and this was my fortune.  I thought it seemed rather fitting :)

The Little Peanut's Room

The Little Peanut's room is finally coming together and we love it!  It's taken us a while to get there but it was well worth the wait.  Jon did all the painting and put all the furniture together.  Here is the progress from beginning to end:

I'm 34 weeks now and can't believe there are only 6 weeks until my due date.  This third trimester has been flying by!  I'm getting into 'nesting' mode and organizing the baby's room and the rest of the house.  We started parenting classes in July and those have been going well.  I'm starting to get a little tired again and dealing with my growing belly and leg cramps.  All in all just trying to survive this HOT summer.  It's supposed to be in the 90's for over a week with no rain!

30 weeks

We just had our 30 week check-up and all is well with mom, baby (and dad)!  Our OB provides a free 3D Ultrasound so of course we jumped at the opportunity!  The little peanut was cooperating for about 5 minutes and we got to see some good profile and face on images of her.  Then in what were learning about her personality, she got stubborn and turned her head ;) 
Here is the best picture we got from the 3D Ultrasound:

So we've been trying to tell if she will have the McClain nose or the Crowe nose.  I think we'll have to wait until she's born to fully determine but you can cast your vote from the photo.

Jon has been slaving away on the nursery.  We had a big week for nursery progress - it's painted, the crib and dresser are up and the chair should deliver on Thursday!  I'm taking pictures of the progress and I will post those once we get it all set up (hopefully soon!).

Here is my 30 week belly.  I'm up a few more lbs. that I hoped to be at this point - but the baby wants sugar, who am I to deny her ;)

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

I can't believe it - the 3rd trimester is upon us and it's a short 2.5 months until the due date!  The 2nd trimester flew by....and my belly grew with it.

We had a doctor's appointment at 28 weeks and it went great.  We got another Ultrasound and to see our little baby girl.  I had to take a Glucose test so I had to drink pure sugar right before the ultrasound and man was she bouncing around!  We didn't get a very good picture from the ultrasound but it was so good getting to see her again.  We could already see that she's starting to get some chubby cheeks.  The doctor also had some great news that my low lying placenta had resolved itself and moved up to a 'safe' range.  That means that I can deliver naturally and not have to have a C-section (which I would have had to have if the placenta wouldn't have moved up).  That was a huge sigh of relief and our prayers were answered.

We also had our first baby shower on the 12th and it was perfect.  I feel so fortunate to have such amazing friends and family!  It was a beautiful summer day at the McClain household and the house was decorated in pink to the nines.  My wonderful husband did what he does best and made sure the house was in tip-top shape for the event. 
If the gifts at the first shower have any precedence on how this little girl is going to be then we're in trouble - we will be raising a future Carrie Bradshaw in training.  She got her first two pairs of shoes - Ugg's and some Chuck Taylors!!!  Both Pink!  But they are SO darn cute (pictures below). 

I'm 29 weeks today and feeling great.  I'm starting to get a little achy and my legs get tired after walking or standing a lot.  My belly is pretty big and it's hard to believe it still has 2 1/2 months to grow!  We go back next week for a 3D ultrasound (free from our OB - yay).  I will be sure to post pictures right away :)

Bumping Around

I'm 23 weeks and the baby is growing at a rapid pace!  She should weigh over a pound now and is starting to kick around with a little power.  It's been so fun getting to feel the little kicks and punches.  They're just starting to be enough to feel from the outside of the belly.  My stomach 'popped' about 2-3 weeks ago and I'm definitely visibly pregnant now :)  I'm feeling great besides being a little tired most of the time. 
We finally purchased the crib last week!  Now we just have to clear out all of the stuff in the baby's room.....

Here is an updated bump picture:

It's a.........

GIRL!  We couldn't be more excited.  The ultrasound went smooth today as we got to count all 10 fingers and 10 toes.  There was a point when the ultrasound tech had to step out for a phone call and paused the screen on a shot I swore was a boy - but we were tricked.  Indeed it's a little precious girl who is trying to steal away all her mothers beauty.  Very fun during the ultrasound the little peanut was bouncing around and had her legs crossed most of the time so we were afraid for a second we wouldn't get to find out the sex...she wasn't cooperating too nicely.  Mom and dad are thrilled - now onto the fun of nursery planning and colors (and no we won't have a pink nursery....that's a little over the top girly for me).

Here are the ultrasound pictures:

Bump Madness!!!

In the spirit of March Madness I thought I would share a pic of my growing soon to be basketball belly.  It's beginning to 'pop' and I know one morning I will wake up to a full blown belly.  I'm still in all regular clothes but know I will need to get some maternity pants soon....as I'm worried a morning will come when nothing will button/fit! 

Well no big news from my last appointment....the Dr. says everything looks great and is going well!  My next appointment is scheduled for April 15th and that's when we will do the ultrasound - Jon and I are really excited!  We'll get to find out the sex of the baby - stay tuned :)

Good bye 1st Trimester - Hello 2nd Trimester!!!

Finally - officially out of the dreaded 1st trimester.  While it didn't treat me too awful I'm so excited for less nausea, less hormone breakouts (yes i feel like i look like a teenager again) and a better appetite that includes more fruits and veggies (which i haven't been the best at eating lately).

My next appointment is March 15th, I will be almost 16 weeks....so that appointment should lead to the scheduling of my next ultrasound which will reveal the sex!  We are going to find out....I would love not to but I'm just too much of a planner and I think Jon's just as antsy to find out as I am.

There's been another thing that pregnancy has brought on - my dogs are like magnets to me!  Not that they didn't love me before but I swear they sense a change in me because they will not leave my side.  And Raleigh (my cock-a-poo) always has to lay on my lap when I'm on the couch....not at my feet - has to be around the stomach area.  Here's a little example of my puppy loves:

Raleigh asleep on my lap




Pups glued to my lap