Lisa Lisa Bo Bisa

On Friday, December 12, we welcomed the most precious little boy into our lives, Carter Joseph. Just one day shy of his official due date. I took a quick bump photo that morning before heading to work, though I'm not sure why. Looking back, I suppose it was intuition that this was my last chance to capture that belly. Lo and behold, 12 hours later, I was holding Carter in my arms.  Here's his birth story, for my own record (and your *curiosity/entertainment*?). At work that Friday morning I had irregular contractions, ranging 10-25 minutes apart. They weren't strong enough that I couldn't continue about my day, so I assumed they were Braxton Hicks. They stayed pretty irregular, but by 12pm I was feeling very uncomfortable sitting at my desk. Added to the fact that I didn't have much work to do, I tracked down my boss and he readily agreed that I could work from home the rest of the day. (He was always afraid I'd go into labor in the office). I headed ...

I say last "days" hoping it is just a matter of days, but it could be another two weeks. Eeesh. I'm doing just fine, and shouldn't be thinking about the timing. But I am, for both emotional and superficial reasons.  Emotionally, I am just done  with this pregnancy and really eager to meet my child and know who he/she is. I'm ready to hold him/her in my arms, give them the name we picked out, and take them home to cuddle forever. It's such a wild thought that I write this now and could be holding my baby tomorrow (or, if I'm anything like my sister, a few hours from now). I can't wait. And superficially? I don't want my child to have a birthday super close to Christmas. And I would love to feel a bit settled in with the new babe before our family holiday festivities begin. I know, it's silly. Clearly, this child will arrive when he/she is meant to, and ready. And if that means it is on December 23rd, I just have to accept that. My child will n...

The baby's nursery has been a long project, and I'm thrilled that it's just about finished. It used to be our "workout/extra lounge/storage" space, and now, a precious space for our sweet babe. I didn't have an exact vision for the space, aside from the color scheme and a few furnishings I knew we'd have. If anything, I felt anxiety over how to make this room perfect. After all, I'm no interior decorator, as evident with the rest of our house, and this was the first room that we have painted and made a real transformation with. Throughout this pregnancy, I scoured Pinterest for hours looking for ideas, wandered aisles for decor and inspiration, and stared at the blank walls hoping something would come to me. While I can't say it's perfectly designed, I'm happy with how it turned out. (And frankly, I know that our child will not care one bit about the color, or what is hanging on the walls, or how coordinated it looks). I imagine that ...

 37 weeks and 38 weeks   We are getting so close to meeting our little one, I really can't believe it.  Apparently "all systems are almost a go" in terms of baby's development, and my OB says he/she could arrive any day now (I wish she could give me an exact indication of suspected timing based on my progression, but that's not how it works). Baby is continuing to fatten up, mature his/her lungs, and fine-tune his/her brain and nervous system. And still quite active, stretching and rolling left to right most frequently in the evening. I want this baby to stay in as long as he/she needs to, but at the same time, I cannot lie that it would be nice to not draw this out too long past our due date. We'll see, that's still two weeks away. I'm slightly dilated already, and feeling a lot of cramping and backaches, so I know my body is definitely in preparation mode. But how long? We'll see. People ask me all the time how much time is left. I...

Happy Thanksgiving! On a day where we gather with family, stuff ourselves with delicious food, and then scour the newspaper ads to make a game plan for Christmas shopping, I don't want to forget the real reason for this day. And this year, I have a lot to be thankful for. First and foremost (this year), I'm thankful for this baby we are expecting. A day doesn't go by that we don't recognize the blessing that it is to become a parent, to bring life into the world, and to be able to grow our family. This child was so prayed and hoped for, and to be thankful that he/she is almost here in the outside world seems like an understatement.   I'm also thankful for a healthy pregnancy. Despite a few hiccups (ie placenta previa scare) and some very unpleasant pregnancy "side affects" for lack of a better word, I have no complaints. I am healthy and baby is healthy. Now we look forward to a positive birth experience and holding this child. My husband is ...

              36 weeks in the (unwelcomed) snow Baby is supposedly the size of a head of romaine lettuce, pretty much at birth height, and packing on the pounds. (Not too many, ok, Baby?) I think I'm feeling every single one of the 36 weeks of growth at this point. There is no more pep in my step. I pant and sweat when putting on socks (or worse yet, boots, aka the devil). I am awakened nearly every two hours for a bathroom break, which is a bit more frequent than previously. My appetite has somewhat decreased, which is fortunate for my weight gain (although I did manage to chow down a whole thing of nachos myself in 5 minutes after dinner last week - ask Jon, I'm not joking). Maneuvering out of bed, or from side to side in bed, is a full on production that involves moaning and panting and an occasional expletive. Heartburn is still atrocious, and Tums are my newest friend. Several of my shirts no...