Little Baby Leaders

Townhouse pics!

2010-03-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of our [unfurnished] townhouse! We moved in today and should have all of our furniture by next week. Poor Bruiser isn't adjusting very well, I don't think he knows what to do with all the space! We're having our couch delivered tomorrow so we'll finally have a place to sit down and relax! :) Here's a breakdown of each picture since I can't figure out how to add captions:

1. Kitchen and our "drive through" window as Jason and I refer to it!

2. Another view of the kitchen. Nice and big!

3. Spare room #1 which will be the nursery.

4. Master bedroom.

5. Spare room #2 which will be for visitors (hint hint)!

6. Upstairs bathroom. There's a lot of extra space in both bathrooms

7. Steps going downstairs

8. Living room from the steps

9. Downstairs bathroom vanity (1/2 bath)

10. Entryway/front door

11. Living room from front door

30 weeks and some odd days...

2010-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

So, I know I say this every time I write, but seriously, where has time gone?! I feel like it was just yesterday that we were sleeping in the Rhodus's spare bedroom, hanging out with Fergs and Sug-tastic on the couch, and still being able to fit into my regular sized jeans (oh how I miss those days). I really can't believe that I have less than 10 weeks to go until the little bugger is here. I am just so excited to finally be able to hold him. I can't stop wondering what he's going to look like. Jason and I were both pretty cute babies (although I think I take the cake, but we won't tell him that), so I have a feeling we're going to have a heartbreaker on our hands. Although I'm sure every mother thinks that. ;)

I finally got in to see my new doctor yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised. His name is Dr. Cain and he seems very well-educated and very very nice. The man stays on-call for 72 hours, I gotta give him props for that! Everything seems to be moving along right on schedule and Liam (and my belly) are growing just as they should be. I have a follow-up ultrasound to check out little man's kidneys on the 15th, I'm so excited to see him again!

I woke up last night with some mad cramps. I haven't had cramps like that since before I was pregnant (if ya know what I mean), so needless to say, it was an unwelcome surprise. I laid back down, drank some water, and waited for them to go away. They would come and go every 5 minutes (which is when I started freaking out that I was going into labor), then finally subsided after about 30-35 minutes. I'm not concerned about it at the moment, but if it happens again tonight, I'll call the triage nurse tomorrow morning. I'm just totally at that paranoid stage where I'm convinced I'm going into labor with every single ache and pain. It's obnoxious.

In other life news, we move a week from today. THANK THE LORD! Jason is leaving the Monday after to drive to NC and meet his mom to pick up all of our furniture. Which means I'm going to be all by myself in a new house for a night-creepy! My parents arrive in about 3 weeks for a long weekend and I couldn't be more excited. It's been so long since I've seen a friendly face. We're going to set up the nursery and explore the area a bit, it will be so much fun!

Not much else to report on, Bruiser is adjusting very well (we finally got him back from the kennel since we're in a new, pet-friendly hotel now), and can't wait to meet his big brother, Cash (haha, we'll see about that). Thanks for reading, love and miss you all!

P.S. At the top is a pic of the nursery set we've picked out for Liam. We're going with a "Rockstar" theme and the colors will be blue and brown.

Just some pics!

2010-02-12T12:48:00.001-08:00

I've been working on some stuff for Liam's room while Jason is at work. Gotta find something to keep me busy for 9 hours everyday! ;) I still have to find some ribbon to hang the letters up with, and add a few more coats of paint, but I think I have a good start! We're doing a "Rockstar" theme in his room, we've already found the bedding but are going to wait awhile to buy it. We still have SO MUCH that needs to be bought and since I'm not having a baby shower, we have to buy it all! We've registered at Target and Sears just to help keep ourselves organized! I can't believe he'll be here in 2 months or less! Ahhhhh! I grow every single day and the nights have gotten a little bit more uncomfortable, but I'm dealing! Everything is stretching which really sucks too, so I've been dealing with pelvic and stomach pains lately...fun, huh? I've been craving sweets like crazy lately, and the midwife (whom I was originally going to see, but that has changed now-long story) told me I wasn't supposed to have chocolate or sweets...ummmm, yeah. Not gonna happen.

That's it for now, enjoy the pics!

Well, it's been awhile!

2010-01-31T10:28:00.001-08:00

Excuse me for slacking, but it's been a crazy last few weeks/months! As most (if not all) of you know, we found out that we're having a little boy, Liam McKenzie. They moved up my due date, and I'm now a week further along than we originally expected. My new EDD is May 3rd, 2010. Jason is a little bummed that it's not his birthday, but I'll take it! The sooner he gets out, the sooner we get to meet him, and I can't wait for that! We were fortunate enough to get a HUGE donation from friends of ours, the Weber's, who have a little boy who was born last May. We have so many clothes for Liam now that we won't have to buy anything for awhile! He will definitely be a stylin' little man (but who would expect anything less from his Fashion Major mom?)!

Everything appears to be moving along well for the most part. I've been dealing with some kidney pain off and on for the last few months, and was in the ER about a month ago with a swollen kidney. I guess it's something I'm going to have to learn to deal with until he comes out. We also found out that Liam has a mild case of bilateral renal pelviectasis, but the doctor said it was nothing to worry about and that it usually goes away on it's own. I'm not too familiar with it, other than what I've found out via google, but it seems to be fairly common (for lack of a better word) in boys and that it usually goes away on it's own. I go to my new doctor on the 10th and they'll do a follow up ultrasound to make sure that everything is still going well. So just keep him in your prayers for now, although I'm sure he's just fine. He's definitely become quite the kicker as well (watch the video below for proof). He spends his days kicking, punching, flipping, and even hiccuping inside my belly. It was a feeling that took some getting used to! Jason talks to him every night, and sometimes even sings. Liam seems to enjoy that a lot! I don't think Jason has gotten a kick/punch to the face yet, but I'm sure that's coming!

In other, non baby news, we made it safe and sound to Fort Drum, NY. It was a 15 hour drive, but we split it up into two days so it wasn't so bad! Jason seems to like his new unit so far and we don't have to worry about a deployment until sometime in the fall. So he will be here for the birth and for our first anniversary (I can't believe it's been 6 months since we got married-time flies so fast)! We found a 3 BR in a town called Evans Mills, which is about 2 miles from post. We can't move in until the middle of February, so we're currently camped out at the Inn on post (gag me) for the time being. We also "adopted" a little kitten named Bruiser. He had belonged to the friends we stayed with at Campbell, but they couldn't keep him, so we loaded him into the truck and took him to NY with us! He's not allowed at the hotel, so he's currently in a kennel down the road. We go visit him everyday, and he seems to enjoy it there! We just have to wait a little longer to have Cash, my other cat, join us here and our family will be complete!

The pics are pretty self-explanatory, just some belly shots, some Liam, and one of Bruiser (since he's a part of the family now too)! Looking at the 3D picture of Liam brings tears to my eyes, I can't believe that there's a little human inside of me; living, breathing, and kicking. He is going to be so so so loved!

Jason and I want to extend the invitation to anyone who wants to come visit. We'll have an extra bedroom and upstate NY is absolutely beautiful. We're about 40 miles from Alexandria Bay and Canada, which is a gorgeous area, especially in the summer/fall. There are so many outdoor activities to do here, and I (and I'm sure Jason would agree) wouldn't mind some visitors! Our door is always open to family and friends!

That's pretty much it for now. I'm going to try REALLY hard to update this once a week again, but I can't make any promises! Feel free to call/e-mail us anytime, we miss everyone back home!

Lots of love!

Jason and Carrie

Jason e-mail: hyspeed101@yahoo.com

Carrie e-mail: carrie.leaders@gmail.com

17 weeeeeeks!

2009-12-12T13:01:00.001-08:00

Goodness, how time has flown by! I don't have any new updates to post, everything is pretty much the same, but here are some pics!

Dear Charlotte/Liam (Charliam),

2009-12-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Dear little baby boy or girl that is growing inside of me-

I'm sure it's fun now that you've finally learned how to do backflips and somersaults, but I'd appreciate it if you'd take a breather every once in awhile. Or, if you're going to move, could you keep doing it once your father puts his hand on my belly? I know he'd love to feel you move, but every time he tries to feel it, you stop! What's going on with that? I love you little guy or gal and I can't wait to find out what you are in two weeks!

Sleep tight my little love bug!

Love,

Mommy

Baby fever has officially set in!

2009-12-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

10 days until we find out the sex! I go in for the "big" ultrasound on the 17th so we'll find out before Christmas! We haven't decided if we're letting family know right away or if we're going to make them wait until Christmas (sorry guys)!

I've been looking at baby clothes all night (Baby Gap is my new obsession, I have it bookmarked), and have found the cutest outfits! A knit beret, leg warmers, and even a pair of pink loafers! Oh, and a super cute Beatle's tee from Old Navy. I haven't looked at little girl's clothes since I started shopping, I guess I sub-consciously think I'm having a boy or something. But now that I've started, I can't stop!

We're trying to find a stroller/pack and play/high chair combo that we like as well. Sears had a really cute Eddie Bauer set that the two of us actually agreed on (which is a rare occasion). We have so much to buy! Eeek!

Ok, that's all for now. I need some sleep and Jason is on 24 hour staff duty which means I will barely sleep tonight and when I finally do, I have the WEIRDEST dreams. I hate it!

16 weeks and 6 days! Swim suit pics, you've been warned

2009-12-03T11:43:00.001-08:00

Ho-ly crap, where has time gone?! Am I already almost halfway done? Jeesh, I can't believe it! I had my 16 week check up yesterday and everything went really well. I've gained 4 lbs back (feels more like 20) and my nausea has subsided. I am SO thankful for that! We listened to the heartbeat and the doctor says it's beating very healthily! In the 150's. I was hoping for an ultrasound yesterday, but that was a no go. They said they usually wait until 18 weeks to do the gender determination, but I'm getting impatient! I have to call the radiology clinic today and see if they can fit me in before the holidays, but if not, I have to get an appointment squeezed in before we head to NY (in case ya'll didn't hear, Jason got orders to Fort Drum, NY so we are heading there January 5th). I'm trying to convince Jason to get me a 4D ultrasound for Christmas, but he just doesn't see the need for it (must be a mom thing). Little Charliam (that's my new nickname) is quite the mover too! The doctor confirmed that what I was feeling was the baby moving, and now he/she won't stop! Every time it happens, I just have to smile. :) So cute. We're slowly starting to build the baby's wardrobe, Jason couldn't resist a "Cutie on Duty" t-shirt yesterday at the PX. I've already got a pile of laundry to get done! I had to go out and buy a belly band because all of my jeans are now too tight. I love it because it allows me to wear my regular jeans w/o having them fall down because they're unbuttoned!

As far as the pics go, the reason I'm in a swimsuit is because I feel like I look more preggers than the pictures let on. This was the most appropriate way to show that! :)

That's all for now. I'll be 17 weeks tomorrow and 20 weeks on Christmas Day. I still can't believe it!

I felt movement!

2009-11-24T16:09:00.001-08:00

So I'm almost positive that I felt the little bebe move today. I was laying in bed and felt what felt like two little fingers pushing up into my abdomen. Obviously not hard, but very, very, very lightly. It was insane! I felt more moving around while we were walking around Wal-Mart too. I thought for sure I'd know what it would feel like until I realized that I've never felt this before so I probably wouldn't know what I was feeling. I've got my 16 week appointment on Dec. 2nd so there will be more ultrasound pics to come!

15 weeks and 1 day!

2009-11-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Holy crap, I can't believe it's been 15 weeks! Where did time go?! I was telling Jason that it feels like I was 8 weeks just yesterday! Sitting in that doctor's office with my giant bottle of fruit punch to help curb my nausea. I'll be 4 months next week...wowza. I'm still waiting for my bump to magically appear, but it's taking a long time! I'm still wearing my normal clothes (which I am NOT complaining about), but I can feel my jeans getting a little tighter. When I was on the plane flying back from MN the other day I almost unbuttoned my pants while I was sitting but figured that probably wasn't appropriate. Jason (and pretty much everyone else) tells me I'm not showing in the least, but when it's your body and you're staring at it every single day, you notice it more than everyone else! I'm excited to actually start showing because I feel like I have a beer gut more than anything right now! I want people to actually know that I'm pregnant and not just think that I'm wearing clothes that are too tight for me! I just stepped on the scale and realized that in the two weeks that I haven't weighed myself, I've gained about 7 lbs. I'm almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 135 (I lost about 12 lbs while due to morning sickness). I didn't realized I had gained weight, and you definitely can't tell! My BMI is at 21.1 which is normal and healthy...which makes me happy. :)

Alright, the always lovely symptoms are up next. The really nasty ones are pretty much gone. I still have little bouts of nausea but that's usually only in the morning when I haven't eaten. For the first time in years, I've been eating breakfast regularly. I NEVER ate breakfast! Besides the nausea, I've been getting headaches at times too. Those suck, plain and simple. I only get them when I haven't eaten in awhile, so they're rare, but they're still very obnoxious. My energy level is still pretty low, so I have a hard time doing anything that requires a lot of work. Even going to the mall exhausts me which is a real bummer. Hopefully, my energy picks up in the coming weeks!

As far as cravings go, I haven't been salivating over anything too odd. Mostly just sweets. Jason, being the wonderful husband he is, bakes me cakes. He's become a master and our house has been filled with Funfetti cakes lately! I've been trying to eat lots of fruits and veggies, but considering I lived off apples my first trimester, I've been avoiding those a bit. I'm constantly thirsty too, so I've been keeping myself well hydrated! A bottle of water by the side of the bed is a must!

I think that's pretty much it for now. I'll update throughout the week if there's anything newsworthy going on, and I'll try to get some pics too later today. Thanks for reading this week!

Surprise! You're pregnant!

2009-11-19T01:48:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are! Looks like the Germany blog fell through (I somehow managed to forget ALL our log-in info, plus, we don't really need that anymore), so here's my brand spankin' new pregnancy blog! I hate writing hand-written notes but figured I should have some sort of journal for our child to read when they're ready, so here it is. I'll just update here about doctor's visits, symptoms, cravings, ultrasound pics, and all the other joys of being pregnant. I'm going to start this first post with our pregnancy story and everything leading up until today. I'll start posting at 15 weeks (which will be in one day), and go from there. I'm going to warn you all now, there may be some TMI in here (but I know family is reading so I'll try to keep that on the dl), and some other things that people may not necessarily want to hear, so read at your own risk. So here goes...

Jason and I had been married for, oh, a month. We needed to go to the hospital on post to have my EFMP screening done to head to Germany. All that is, is basically a checklist to make sure I didn't have any serious health issues that the Army wouldn't be able to take care of in Germany. No bigs, but I needed a physical since it had been a year since my last one. Something had felt off all day and I felt like I would be getting my period soon, but nothing was coming. I had cramps, was PMS-ing as usual, but still nothing. I KNEW that something wasn't right since I was usually always on track. I told Jason that we should go buy a test before the physical just to make sure. We were (and still are) living with friends off post and she happened to have an extra test she said I could use. It wasn't a digital, but I took it expecting it to be negative just like every other test I had ever taken. I sat and watched in horror as that pink line slowly but surely appeared. I swear, I sat there for a good 5 minutes just staring at it, trying to make it disappear with my mind. When it didn't, that's when the tears started. Jason and I just sat there, both completely in shock. He handled it a lot better than I did, and I told him we had to go buy a digital, because there was absolutely no way I could be pregnant. So we did, and two digital tests later, I was face to face with two flashing "PREGNANT"s. I think I cried off and on for a few hours. Here we were, newlyweds, supposedly on our way to Germany, no money, and no idea how to raise a child. Needless to say, I was terrified. Jason on the other hand was excited and supportive. I don't know how I would've made it through those first few hours if he was freaking out as much as I was. I called my mom right away and told her, but waited a few days to tell my dad...I wonder why? ;) We waited a few days to tell everyone else, but soon enough, our secret was out.

I wasn't one of those ladies who was blessed with an easy first trimester. Haha, not in the least. I didn't just have morning sickness, I had all day sickness. I couldn't keep any food down, just liquids. And boy was I thirsty. I literally lived off of bagels with cream cheese and apples for the first month and a half. You want to know the grossest thing to throw up? Undigested bagels, with the cream cheese still intact. Talk about blowing chunks. There I go with the TMI. Sorry. My poor husband didn't know what to do with me. He would hold my hair back while I puked every night, but still felt helpless. He would try to cater to my cravings, but by the time he'd get back from the grocery store with my lasagna that I had wanted, that craving was gone and the thought of lasagna repulsed me. I had the WORST food aversions too. Jason had made a plate of enchiladas the morning I found out I was pregnant (yes, my husband eats Mexican for breakfast), and I remember looking at them and instantly becoming nauseous. A sign of things to come? Rice and Mexican food grossed me out to no end, but I couldn't stop thinking about them. It was weird.

Enough with the food, I'm getting sick just writing about it. Let's talk about my mood swings. Boy, those were a blast. I cried. A lot. I mean, every single day. I would think about how much our lives were going to change and I'd cry. Jeez, it was brutal. I tried to be happy, but just couldn't. I was SO depressed, and felt guilty for being pregnant with a child that we didn't plan for while people tried for 10 years and more without any luck. I felt like a horrible person and the thoughts of being a horrible mom slowly started creeping in. Besides the crying, I was an all around bundle of joy to be around. I'd snap at poor Jason for looking at me the wrong way, felt like a whale (even though I lost weight), and was so anti-social; the only thing I wanted to do was sit in my room and watch movies. We watched a lot of movies those first few months!

About 8 weeks into my pregnancy, I woke up one morning with a mild fever and horrible back pain the started in my lower back and shot all the way up my side, to my ribs. I made Jason take me to the ER where they ended up admitting me to the hospital with a severe UTI that had spread to my kidneys. It was there that we got to see our little chipmunk (another warning, we use a lot of nicknames for our little one, chipmunk and nugget are our favorites. They're not meant to be offensive, but we have odd senses of humor and find them endearing) for the first time. Except he/she wasn't a chipmunk just yet. Moreso a tiny gummi bear in a huge black cave. There it was in black and white. Another human growing inside me, heartbeat and all. I remember Jason standing at my feet looking at the screen practically shouting, "I see it! I see the heartbeat!" with a big smile on his face. It was one of those moments I'll never forget. Two days [of hell] later, they sent me home. I now am at high risk for more UTI's and have to be on medication for the rest of my pregnancy. It's worth it though, I'd take 50 horse pills every day for the rest of my life to keep my little guy or gal healthy.

Another month passed and as my sickness wore down, my spirits rose up. THANK GOD. I finally got my appetite back and started feeling genuinely happy for the first time in what felt like forever. I finally got into the doctor (which is just another mess that I'm not even going to get into, but I'll just say for the record that I hate the hospital on post and would gladly pay out of pocket to feel like a person and not a number-rant over), and had our second ultrasound and heard the heartbeat. Let me tell ya, this one's a mover! The ultrasound tech could barely get a decent picture, he/she was too busy doing somersaults, waving, flipping, spinning, everything. Looks like we've got an entertainer on our hands! I never thought I'd be one of those people who post their u/s pics all over FB, but the second I had them, I wanted everyone to see. I remember laying there with that awesome goo all over my stomach watching our baby on the screen and tears rolling down my face. I wanted to lay there all day and just watch him/her. I looked up to see Jason smiling and looking back at me. That did it for me, I was officially a goner.

So that brings us to now. Excited, terrified, nervous, anxious, thrilled, scared, happy, sad, every emotion you can think of. But this is what life has handed us and we're going to do the best that we can. We've decided on names already; Liam McKenzie (McKenzie is my maternal grandmother's maiden name) or Charlotte Ione (Ione is my maternal grandmother's middle name). My grandma passed away before she got the chance to meet her great-grandchild, so we wanted to pay tribute to her. She was an amazing woman and Charlotte or Liam will miss out on having the best great-grandma in the world.

That's pretty much it for now. It's 4:30 am and my pregnant mind wouldn't shut off for the night-yet another joy. I'm going to try and update this each week and be sure to post my bump, but I forget easily, so forgive me in advance if I slack. Before I go, I wanted to thank all of our incredibly supportive family and friends. Without you guys, I would've been the biggest mess ever. You pulled me through those trying first months and have been so incredibly supportive to both Jason and I. We are so blessed and lucky to have people like you in our lives. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Stupid blog won't let me post photos at the bottom, so they're at the top. This mouse is acting out on me as well (mom and dad, if you're reading this, your mouse needs new batteries) and I need to get dressed and ready to leave for the airport.