Updates

Well folks...Owen gets cuter every day, in case you were wondering. :-) Yesterday we took him to a wedding at Dodger Stadium. It was fun and he looked SUPER cute in his sweater vest.

I am having surgery on Friday to have my gallbladder out. Apparently you don't REALLY need a gallbladder....mine was just there to cause me pain.

I don't have too much to say today, just wanted to post some pics. Also...I just walked past the laundry room and it made me think of smells I like. So, for some reason I am going to list them here, because why not?

~ the fresh laundry smell
~ pot roast
~ rain
~ books and magazines (yes, I actually flip through the pages and smell them, you should too!!)
~ also libraries and book stores
~ My son after his bath (this is my FAVORITE!!)

Ok kids, enough of my rambling. Here are some pictures of the monkey.

One Month!!!!

Can you believe it?? My tiny baby boy is one month old already (tomorrow!!)! We went to his one month check up on Thursday and he weighed in at 9 pounds 9 ounces (he was born at 7 pounds 13 ounces) and he was 20 5/8 inches long (he was born at 19 inches). He was right in the middle for weight and in the 25% for length. He is a shorty currently. :-) Hopefully he will be much taller than his mom (I am 5'1").

He is losing all of his hair on the top of his head and it is hilarious. He looks like a little old man. He is bald on top, but has hair on the sides and the back of his head. Pretty cute if you ask me (but I might be a little biased)!

We got the CUTEST newborn pictures taken when Owen was 2 weeks old. As soon as I can scan them or something I will post a couple on here. He is THE CUTEST!!! Seriously. I can just stare at him all day long. He makes the funniest noises, which I have coined his "guinea pig" noises. :-) He squeaks and grunts all over the place. He is also starting to be awake more, which is fun. This morning he was crying when I was on the phone with my mom and I put the phone up to his ear. My mom started talking and he quit crying and just stared at me like, "what's this??" It was pretty funny.

In other news...I have to have surgery. BOO. When I was pregnant with Owen I started having bad pains in the upper abdomen, but I didn't think too much of it because I thought it was just him pushing on organs and what not. Well, when he was exactly 2 weeks old I had another attack of the pains and it was HORRENDOUS. I had to go down to the urgent care and get checked out. After a few shots of muscle relaxers and demerol I was referred to get a CT scan. Well...my insurance wouldn't cover it since I wasn't referred from my regular doctor, so, after seeing my regular doctor and being referred for an ultrasound.....I have gallstones!! AWESOME!! The only cure for that is to have my gallbladder out. Again...AWESOME!! The only thing I am really worried about concerning the surgery is being able to take care of Owen. He is getting bigger and heavier, and I will have a weight limit of what I can lift. I meet with the surgeons on Tuesday, so we'll see when it's gonna be.

Right now Owen is sitting in his chair (awake) with his hands up behind his head. Just relaxing. Remember the ultrasound picture where he had his arms behind his head?? He does that all the time.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Three Weeks

So, Owen is three weeks old now. I can't believe it. I went downstairs to visit a friend and her new tiny baby (2 weeks younger than Owen). Her baby weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce at birth, and was currently exactly the same weight Owen was when he was born (7 pounds 13 ounces). He was HUGE compared to that little girl. I can't believe it. I don't notice the difference every day, but man that little baby really made me see how much Owen has grown so far.

I LOVE being a mom. It is the best thing in the world. Even when he cries, and even when he chooses 3 am to be his play time...it is the BEST thing in the world. (for the record, he generally only cries when he needs something and he actually sleeps really well at night.)

I saw on someone else's blog where they listed some of the nicknames they had for their baby. So, I am going to list some of the names we use for Owen. Now, all of these names are used in humor and love. Even the ones that might sound different. :-)

1. Stinks
2. Stinky Doodle
3. Mr. Snugglesworth
4. Snugs
5. Monkey
6. Poops McGee

Yes, he poops ALOT. And he toots more than he poops. So, several of the nick names are because of that...but they are always said through a laugh or smile.

In honor of his three week birthday, here are some of the things I love about him:

~ When he gets really hungry he snorts and will suck on the tip of my nose.
~ When we lay him down to change his diaper he stretches his arms over his head and he rolls from side to side like he is dancing. It's really cute.
~ When he is in his papasan chair he sleeps with his hands up by his face (pictured below).
~ He HATES having a bath. But I LOVE that he quits crying and snuggles when we wrap him in his towel and hold him after his bath.
~ I love his tiny diapered body with no clothes. There is nothing cuter.

The 3 P's

1. Pee - I have been peed on more times than I can count in the last 2 weeks.

2. Poop - I was pooped on yesterday for the first time. Lovely.

3. Puke - Well, it is spit up, but that doesn't start with a P. I was soaked twice yesterday and once this morning. Again, Lovely.

It's a good thing I love this kid.

One week old

Well, Owen is one week old as of yesterday. It has definitely been an interesting week getting used to everything. All in all, it has been fun and Owen is such a good baby. He is also the cutest baby, if I do say so myself!! :-) Here are a few pictures of the little monkey. 

Owen Parker Tidmore

Owen Parker was born on January 24th at 4:11PM Pacific Time. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.

Both Mommy and Baby are happy and healthy.

Tomorrow....

is my due date...and I should also be induced! Hopefully, next time we write Owen will be here!!! We are excited!!

Think about us tomorrow and say some prayers for a safe and EASY (!!) delivery!

Hmm...

So, we went to the doctor today. No baby yet. Obviously. They estimated his current weight at 8 pounds 5 ounces. She tried a little something for me to maybe get my labor going...so far...NOTHING. Next Wednesday is my due date and I was basically told today that I would be induced on Wednesday if Owen wasn't here by then.

So, we wait. HE NEEDS TO COME OUT!!!!!!!! I am SO uncomfortable. I am so short and he has literally no room, so when he stretches out his legs (which the doctor mentioned today during the ultrasound that his legs are really long) they shove up into my diaphragm and it HURTS.

Ok so...any ideas as to how to get this kid out?? :-) What do you know? Share. Please. I am begging you.

Owen moving

So here is a video Travis put together of my belly. I shot all of it from my perspective, so it is me looking down at my belly. Anyway...for some reason any time anyone else looks at or touches my belly Owen stops moving. So, I wanting to get it on video as proof that my child actually does move ALOT in my belly. :-)

UPDATE!!

Ok, so we are back from the doctor! I am between 1 1/2 and 2 centimeters dilated, and I'm 50% effaced. His head is VERY low and just about ready. Since they think he is going to be big, next week at my appt. they are going to do an ultrasound to get a better estimate of how big he will be, and then possibly schedule an induction soon after, if he is going to be really big. The doctor today was pretty sure he is going to be very large...but I am small so if they estimate bigger than 8 ish pounds already, then the induction is the best option. That is, if I don't go into labor before my next appt. I am hoping I do, but who knows. At least I know that the doctor won't let me go past my due date due to his size...so we have no more than 2 weeks to wait!! WOO HOO!! There is an end in site!

Ok, I am posting my 38 week pic. Please excuse my heinous facial expression. I slept TERRIBLY last night, and I am retaining water so my face looks huge. But, the belly is there. You can see my belly button poking out too.

Nothing Yet

Owen is not here yet. Sigh. I wish he'd hurry up. :-) I technically still have 2 weeks to go...but I bet he waits at least 3. :-(

Travis is in bed sick...so let's all start saying some prayers that I don't get what he has because I'd really rather not be puking these days.

Nothing new to report. I have a doctor appt. tomorrow morning, so we'll see how I'm progressing. I am betting not at all. BOO. I also need to take a belly pic an post it, but haven't gotten around to that today.

Wow...I really don't have much to say. At least not anything interesting. Not going to work everyday is weird. I'm not sure what to do with myself...and quite honestly there is not much that i can do these days without huffing and puffing. he he I just don't get around as easily as I used to. It could have something to do with the very large basketball shaped growth in my stomach area, but I'm not sure. ;-)

I'll update soon with a pic and reports from the doc, if it is anything worth reporting.

Happy New Year!

Well kids, it looks like Owen will definitely be a 2008 baby. I haven't had him yet. :-( I am getting more uncomfortable, though...and ready to have him. We just found out that my brother and sister in law are going to have a baby in August!! AND, some good friends of ours (won't mention their names yet) are also expecting in August! FUN! Lots O Babies in 2008!

My aunt and cousin come today - my cousin is starting school at Pepperdine next week. She is coming just in time to babysit!!! :-)

We have a doctor appt tomorrow, so we'll see if there's any progress. I know I technically only have 3 weeks left of this pregnancy (if he doesn't show up late), but I am READY!! Of course, I think Owen will laugh at us and be late after all of the commotion. The doctor told us to be ready any day, so every day we are ready...but Owen is too cozy I guess.

I hope everyone is having a good New Year so far. Nothing exciting is happening around here...just waiting for the boy to come. Its ok, because I know we will have teh baby before February!! :-)

Merry Christmas....a Little Late! :-)

Well, I hope you all had a good holiday. This year, since I can not travel in my state, Travis and I did the Christmas thing alone...for the first time since two Christmases before we got married. Now, you could look at this as a sad thing...yes, we did miss family....OR, you could look at it the way we did. RELAXING. We decided not to do gifts this year, but to spend that money on dates (movies, dinners out, etc). We love going to the movies, and when Owen arrives, we will not be doing that as often as we normally do. So, since I have been on my Christmas break we have seen Juno and a sneak peek of 27 Dresses. Both great, I reccommend them to everyone. We went to eat at our favorite roadside place on Pacific Coast Highway....and we will venture out for lunch at one of our new favorite places today (hopefully). We will also be attempting to go to a taping of Ellen on January 7....if Owen doesn't decide to come before then, we will see.

We spent Wednesday night in Labor and Delivery. It was lovely. I went from having zero contractions to being in severe pain...so we went in and I was having legitimate contractions and labor. I puked a couple times, and the nurse just smiled and said, "that's labor." Awesome. Well, they ended up giving me a shot to stop the contractions...they did not stop. SO, we thought he was coming 4 weeks early. Well, eventually I stopped feeling the contractions, but they were still happening according to the monitor. So, they wanted to keep me over night. At 5 am, the nurse told me I could go home, because the unfelt contractions slowed down enough. I am already dialting, among other things (i will spare you)....which could signal quickly approaching labor, or another few weeks with a bun in the oven. To put it in the words of my doctor we saw Thursday, "I think it will be sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be surprised if you went at midnight tonight, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was another 3 weeks." So folks...there you have it. Owen will be born sometime in the next few weeks. :-)

Since our lovely practice trip to the hospital, our bags are NOW packed, and MOST things that we needed to get done are done. Owen's room is finished, the living room is rearranged, our room is somewhat rearranged and the pack and play is set up in there for him to sleep in when he comes home. The car seat is in the car (has been for about 3 weeks now). All baby things washed. And thanks to a little mishap with Worcestershire sauce on Christmas day our refrigerator in spotless.

Anyway...we had a nice Christmas by ourselves. Travis made a big breakfast for us Christmas morning, and we had an early dinner. A few days before Christmas we started making our Christmas treats. We made and decorated sugar cookies, we made peanut butter balls, puppy chow, chex mix (hence the need for the Worcestershire sauce), and we made a Pumpkin and Chocolate pie.

Side note: Travis has affectionately taken to calling my swollen feet/ankles/calves CRANKLES. He says it is because they make me cranky. Well, I think if most of his legs were uncomfortably swollen, he'd probably be a little cranky too. :-) He does rub my feet and fat ankles (or Crankles) every night for me, though.

Ok, here are a couple pics of us making our Christmas treats. Have a good weekend!
Well, I can't find them right now, I will psot them later.

belly pics

Well, I am officially done with work! WOO HOO!! Today after the Christmas party at work we went to the store and bought stuff to make lots of Christmas goodies tomorrow!! It will be fun. I am glad to be finished with work and now I can finally rest. :-)

Here are my belly pics.

34 weeks (above)

35 weeks (below)

prayers

We have a friend that has cystic fibrosis. She is currently in the hospital with pneumonia. Please pray for her recovery - as it will not be as "easy" as those of us who have regularly functioning lungs. Thanks.

7 more days...

of work!! Next Thursday is MY LAST DAY of work!!!!!! WOO HOO!! Well, until April when I will go back for about 4 weeks - then Travis graduates and we will move BACK TO TEXAS!!!!!!

I am very excited, but I am too tired to show much excitement. I have been trying to get over this crappy sickness. I ended up having to do an antibiotic - last resort. I was trying to make it without having to take one during my pregnancy....but, I did not succeed. I have managed to lose my voice 95%, though. That has been great at work trying to communicate with the kids - I think they think I am trying to play charades. I have had to use my hands alot. One little girl asked me today if this was my real voice. Sadly, yes. So, if you call - expect to be talking to Travis.

Yesterday a little boy came over and lifted my shirt up and asked with his face to my belly "where's the boy??" The kids don't understand that I can't just show Owen to them yet. This particular little boy is getting VERY frustrated with me about it. To them I have been pregnant FOREVER, and while I would agree to an extent, they are way more impatient than I am.

Some interesting things are happening to my body. I am quite slow these days...among other things. I am definitely in the end of my pregnancy, and I feel it. A friend of mine told me tonight that she thinks Owen will come early. I'm not opposed to that, actually. As long as it is AFTER Christmas - I am good with that.

Last Tuesday was my birthday. We went out to dinner, just the two of us. We decided that I would put some Christmas money toward a late birthday present to myself. At my staff Christmas party we received a very nice gift card to a very fancy spa here in the Los Angeles area. So, I am putting Christmas money with that gift card and treating myself!! The plan is to go this Saturday for about 4 hours - for a pregnancy massage, a fancy manicure, and a fancy pedicure!!! It will be so nice!

We were so tired that we both just got up from an hour and a half nap. It was nice. Travis has one more final on Thursday, then he is done for the semester!! :-)

I have heart burn. Tums are NOT working. Any other ideas?

Updates

Hello everyone! Long time, no real post. Not that any of you care that much about daily or weekly posts. ANYWAY...

We had a good Thanksgiving with my family in Texas. I had a little shower on Thanksgiving day with the fam. It was fun and I got some cute stuff. The plane ride home was horrendous, as my ankles and feet swelled up marshmallows. I was quite uncomfortable. That was pretty much my first swelling episode, and I can say I am not a fan.

I am posting some pics now. I have a belly pic, but you will have to ignore my Rudolph nose. I am quite sick with a sinus infection, ear infection, and bronchitis. YUCK. Not fun. So, on my belly pic, only look at my big belly, not my sad sick face. Ok? Last week at the doctor she told me that Owen is already head down. Hopefully he will stay that way.

I also have a couple of pics from Thanksgiving. Not many of my pictures were very good, so I am only posting a couple.

33 weeks Preggo. 7 weeks (give or take) to go.

A cute outfit I got at my shower.

Me and Travis with my nephews.

Ok, that's all for now.

HELP!!!!!!!!

If anyone reads this in the next few hours....HELP!!

I am going to a work Christmas party tonight and I need to make a side dish. I want to make something good and really tasty. SO....PLEASE HELP ME. Leave me a comment with a good recipe, or if you have my e-mail address just e-mail me. It probably needs to feed roughly 20 people.

Ok, friends, family....random blog stalkers. SERIOUSLY. Leave me a comment. I NEED HELP!!

THANKS.

Hello!

Nothing much new to report. While we were in Texas for Thanksgiving we miss yet another round of fires in Malibu. Sadly, one of my kid's lost his house, and one of my friends lost her house. I am tired of fire. I think I will stick to storms and move back to Texas.

Owen has the hiccups right now. It is sort of funny. Poor kid.

We have a doctor appt on Thursday morning, so we should hear the heartbeat again. That never gets old.

Anyway...I will update again when I have more interesting information to share. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

30 weeks

Hi folks. We went to the doctor today and things are looking good. I am measuring exactly 30 weeks and Owen's heartbeat was great. I am right on schedule for gaining the one pound a week, since it has been 2 weeks since my last appointment and I have gained 2 pounds - bringing me up to 11 pounds.

Here is my 30 week belly shot. It only gets bigger from here. :-)

Here are some more pictures from Owen's photo session the other day. He is so cute.

OH BABY!!

Today we had another 3D sonogram!! Thanks to my mom! THANKS MOM! :-)

He was NOT active at all. He was sleeping and really did not want to move away from my placenta that he was using as his pillow. :-) So, initially we could only see half of his face, but Travis started talking to him and got him to move his face so we could see most of it. He is so dang cute. He has fat little cheeks. Here are a few of the pictures.

In the picture on the left that is his foot up on the right side. His leg was all the way up there! Too funny.

Ok, I don't have much more time. I will have to post more pictures tomorrow, and my 30 week belly shot...so stay tuned!! :-)

Ahhh....

Gingerbread Latte!! MMMMMMM good! It is that time of year. Starbucks holiday flavors are out!! WOOHOO!! I am ADDICTED to Gingerbread Lattes. Of course, now I get decaf, and I don't get them as often. BUT, when I do...MMMMMMMMMM.





















School at the new location has been going smoothly. Of course, the diet regulations are hard for some of the parents to follow when it comes to packing thier kid's lunches. At the Jewish Center, they are a dairy center, so no meat is allowed. Meat and dairy mixed is not kosher....SO, our kids can't bring turkey or ham sandwiches. They can bring tuna, salmon, PB&J, eggs, cheese and yogurt for protein, but that is hard for some parents to deal with. Unfortunately, when a child opens their lunch and we find meat, we have to pack it back up and not allow them to eat it. The kids have actually been more receptive to that than the parents.

Today I went to get my flu shot. It is a special shot for babies and preggers. Since I have asthma, I teach preschool, and I am pregnant I was told I HAD to have a flu shot. So, Travis and I went down to my docs office. Since I was "overqualified" for the shot I didn't have to pay the $30, and the lady looked at Travis and said, "I need to give you one, since she is pregnant." And, they didn't make him pay either!! My shot was half the size of his (because it is preservative free)!! :-)

The weather has been cool here the last few days!! I love it! Of course, by Monday it is supposed to be back up to 78. BOOOO!!! It is stinking November!!!!! GRRR.

You should check out Travis' blog. (link on the right). He has been out to the picket lines of the Writer's Guild strikes 3 days this week. He is writing a paper for one of his classes and he has gotten alot of interviews and what not. Anyway...it is pretty interesting. He got some more info today...so he will update again soon.

Ok kids...have a good weekend!!

Random things, and Pictures

Well, I hope you all enjoyed Owen's Halloween wishes on the last post. :-)
1. As a good many of you have noticed, I added a couple of little polls on the right side of my blog. I need an explanation from ALOT of you...Why in the WORLD are you so convinced that he will arrive at least 3 days (or more) early?? Seriously...leave me a comment and let me know this. Because I am convinced that he will be at least 3 days late...maybe even a week late. So...if you haven't voted on the polls yet...go for it!! BUT...please leave a comment on here and let me know what you voted for!!! So, those of you that have already voted need to leave a comment and tell me. For whoever voted that he will be small...bless your heart. :-)



2. Ok...on to other things. I had a baby shower yesterday and a baby shower last Sunday. They were both very nice and fun. Owen will definitely be well dressed.

Shower Number 1

(entry table, gift table, fun balloons, family friends Brice and Vicki)

Shower Number 2

(gift table, party favor)

3. Travis and I went to part one of our prepared childbirth class on Saturday. I really enjoyed it, and it was very interesting. This next Saturday is part two, and it will be the active stuff for pain management and what not. It should be fun.

4. The preschool where I teach had moved locations...we are now using rooms at the Malibu Jewish Center. They have been so nice and great to us. It should be a good time. The kids start tomorrow, so we will see how it goes.

5. I am officially in my THIRD TRIMESTER!!!! Crazy. I am on to the every two weeks doctor appointments. At my appt. last Thursday Owen's heartbeat was perfect, I was measuring exactly 28 weeks, and I discovered I have only gained 9 pounds (how in the world that is possible, I do not know). At any rate, I am right where the doctor wants me, and since everything looks and sounds great...I will for sure get to fly to Texas for Thanksgiving!!! WOO HOO!!!

6. We had orientation today at our new site for the parents. One of the dads asked me, "so, your ready to pop huh?" I responded, "nope, I'm only 7 months." His response to my response was, "DAMN!!" Geez, THANKS ALOT!!! I wanted to throw it in his face that I have only gained 9 pounds, but that probably wouldn't have made a difference. I am sure that other pregnant ladies get those types of reactions from people about how big they look, at least I HOPE I am not the only one. Am I the only one that it bothers?? I hope not.

7. I did go to the site of the preschool that burned down. I have pictures, but, I didn't figure anyone really wanted to see them, so I didn't post them here. If you really do want to see, then let me know in the comments and I will post a few.

That's all for now folks. Have a good week.