V I D E O !

Yay! I was able to upload the video I made yesterday to YouTube! Be patient when you watch because he doesn't start moving until about 1 minute and 10 seconds into the video and he really starts to move more around 1 minute and 45 seconds. Here ya go!

Virgin Daiquiris On Burbon Street

I hope everyone had a happy Mardi Gras! I wasn't able to drink, of course, but I still partied it up with the family. On Lundi Gras, I made it to Burbon Street where Joshua and I met with my family and then I surprised myself when I was able to walk all around the quarter and back, and then up to Canal to meet up with Joshua's parents. We went out there around noon and I didn't get home until 10:30pm! I was half dead by the time I made it to bed and I could barely walk the next day, but gosh darn it I celebrated Mardi Gras 8 months pregnant! And yep, they actually had one place that sold virgin daiquiris on Burbon Street. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures from my daddy soon so I can post them.

Last Friday was my first exam with the doctor and although it was uncomfortable, it went pretty well. He checked my cervix which was still closed and thick so he's not expecting Beckham to poke his head out anytime soon. I'm secretly hoping that all that walking I did on Monday will help him come a little faster! My weight gain was 3lbs for a total of 35lbs so far, and my current weight is 150lbs.

Saturday was my mom's birthday and I totally pigged out on crawfish and chocolate milk. I know it's a strange combo but everyone was drinking and I was seriously craving a chocolate daiquiri. Anyway, this was a special birthday for my mom because she was able to feel Beckham move for the first time. Every time I would feel him move, I would call to her to come feel but as soon as she would lay her hands on me, he would stop. Finally at the end of the night, she sat next to me with her hands on my belly while we talked and he suddenly started moving and wouldn't stop. I actually got some video of him moving today! Hopefully I can figure out a way to get it on here.

Hospital Trip!

34 WEEKS & 5 DAYS

Time is running out! I only have about 5 weeks left now! I'm getting bigger and bigger; and everything is more uncomfortable and/or painful. I have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow and it will be my first exam, and up until last weekend I wasn't looking forward to it. Let me back track a bit and tell you a little bit about the weekend...

Saturday as you know was Valentine's Day and Joshua and I spent the day in Gonzales having my maternity pictures taken. It was a long day of shooting in different locations and by the time we were done, I was done. I was totally exhausted but I didn't notice anything unusual that night. However, the next day I began feeling menstrual-type cramps around 11am. I knew cramps like these were pretty normal so I didn't think much of it until about 1pm when they started becoming more painful and frequent. I called my cousin Brandi who told me to try drinking 8 glasses of water and laying down for 30 minutes because it sounded to her like I was dehydrated, and if the cramps continued for me to call my doctor. Thirty minutes after I followed her directions, the cramps seemed to feel worse so I gave my doctor call and left a message for him. By the time he called me back thirty minutes later, they had died down a lot so he agreed that I was most likely dehydrated. Unfortunately, about thirty minutes after that, the cramping began again and continued to grow stronger until about 8pm when I decided to call the doctor again. A midwife called me back a little while later and suggested I go into the hospital just to be safe, although she didn't think I was in labor. So Joshua and I went to the hospital where we stayed until 1:30am waiting to find out what the heck was causing these cramps. They weren't showing up on the machine as contractions and my cervix was still closed so they tested my urine for a Urinary Tract Infection but it came back clear. So finally they decided that the cramps were round ligament pain, and they gave me some Tylenol and told me to call the doctor in the morning if I was still feeling them. By the time I took the Tylenol, the cramps were hurting so bad I wanted to cry, but the medicine kicked in and I didn't feel them again until about two days later when they only lasted for about 15 minutes.

After that, I was feeling pretty okay until last night when I woke up with contractions that felt like they lasted forever. I really don't know though because I refused to look at the clock. I was finally able to fall back asleep and I didn't feel them again until I was at work today. And man, it felt like everything I did brought on a contraction. After a couple hours, I realized that I was probably dehydrated so I guzzled down a few bottles of water and the contractions went away. But I've also been having a lot of heavy duty pain between my legs today so I am just dying to see my doctor tomorrow. He's going to be out of town for Mardi Gras so I really need to make sure this baby stays in until he returns!

NOTE: The entire time we were at the hospital, we were listening to Beckham's heartbeat and it was so cute when he got the hiccups because we could hear him move with each one!

Big, Tight and Shiny

My gorgeous Marine was just promoted to Corporal on Monday, February 2, 2009! This is Joshua's third promotion during his time so far in the Marine Corps (less than two years!) so it's a very big deal, and we're all so very proud of him. He has been working so hard for our little family; and because of him, I really am the luckiest girl in the world.

Here's a snapshot from his promotion ceremony... just ignore the coke machine. lol.


According to my weekly email updates, Beckham should be weighing around 5lbs now and I totally believe it. His punches and kicks have become quite painful, and it feels like everything inside me is incredibly sore. My stomach is really starting to get big now too. I was looking at it in the mirror the other day and freaking out about how big, tight and shiny it was...haha. I decided to have Joshua take a picture of it today from the front so you can see what I mean:

I only have 6 1/2 weeks left until Beckham's due to arrive but with the way I've been feeling, I wouldn't be surprised if he came earlier. But I guess every woman feels like that near the end. I started feeling Braxton Hicks Contractions over the last couple days, and I've also been experiencing a lot of pelvic pressure. It's getting hard for me to walk and to do just about anything, especially since I'm always out of breath. I'm even hurting when I'm sitting! Joshua's been helping to pull me off of the couch when I need to get up and he insist on having me wake him up at night to help me get out of bed every time I need to pee, but I refuse to do that to him. I'm still working, but boy has that been difficult. Yesterday and today I thought I was going to pass out in the office, but I'm determined to keep going. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he comes two weeks early because I can't imagine having to go all the way until the end of March! eek!

Here are my Belly Pics from last week and this week!

Beckham Has A Room!

I bet you're not expecting to hear from me between Belly Pics! I'm surprised myself but I'm just so excited to finally post Beckham's nursery pics! But first, I'll tell you a little about what happened at my doctor's appointment Friday. Of course they weighed me when I first walked in and I'm now at 147lbs which means I gained 4lbs since my last appointment three weeks ago. This now leaves me with a total weight gain of 32lbs. I'm always surprised at how much weight I gain but only because I don't see it or feel it. Don't get me wrong, I see it on my face, arms and legs; but I just expected my belly to be bigger by now. Everyone seems to think I'm huge though so it must just be me. The scale doesn't lie! Anyway, we listened to his heartbeat again and it was its lowest ever: 120! He's finally starting to live up to that old wives's tale that boys have a low heartbeat. My doctor also did a breast exam because I had been feeling some pain in my left breast. He didn't find anything but said that we would do an ultrasound if I felt the pain again. But overall, everything is looking great.

So, I wasn't sure what I was going to do as far as work after having the baby. I knew that I wanted to be able to stay with Beckham and that doesn't really leave me too many options so I was just planning on staying at home until I figured it out. Until... my mom had a great idea... we're going into business together! My mom used to run an in-home childcare center for years and she had been thinking about doing it again but didn't want to do it alone. So when she called me today asking if I would partner up with her, I just couldn't turn her down. Financially, it would be fantastic for us and the fact that I would get to have Beckham with me everyday makes it even better. And of course, Nana is happy that she'll get to spend everyday with Beckham too :).

Speaking of my mom, she's been crocheting a blanket for Beckham for a while now which finally got me on the roll of knitting the blanket I had been planning to make for him. I started on it a couple weeks ago, but I must admit that I didn't get a chance to work on it this past week so there hasn't been much progress. I'm pretty sure that I'll still be working on it after he's here. Donna has also been working on cross stitching a picture for him that will have his name, birthday, weight, etc. on it. I adore homemade things!

Alrighty! I won't make you wait any longer! Here are the pics of Beckham's room! We just finished it tonight and Joshua really worked extra hard on it. He's an amazing daddy already! The lighting is awful in these pictures but it's the best I can do.