She may be small but, she's a Quigley...

5 lbs 3 oz
18 1/2 inches long
%100 happy, healthy, full-term baby girl.

Jaedyn Olivia Quigley in all her glory, look and become hers.

Awww she took her....:(

So the other day when I was in my 'wake up stupor' I had this mixture of feelings ranging from disappointment to frustration to irritation to sadness that Arren had taken Jaedyn with her when she left for work...

Pictures at 35 weeks

Suprise! (it's a baby shower... not the actual baby...)

My co-workers threw me a suprise babyshower. Here are some pictures from the event.

Kristina made these cute lady bug cupcakes. They were SO yummy!

The loot:

Choking or not choking?

Definately choking lately!

I've choked on water, my very own saliva, popcorn, chocolate mike and more water and more saliva. What's the deal!?

I'm almost afraid to breathe!

Jaedyn?

So I had a dream the other night that I was playing with Jaedyn and she was a couple months old by then. Old enough, at least, to crawl. That is all I remember of the dream and when I woke up, Arren had already left for work and I remember feeling, in my waking stupor, sad that she had taken Jaedyn with her.

Watching her head...

October 16th Arren and I went in for her OBGYN appointment and a sono. This was the one where they do the blood test and make sure she has the right amount of sugar in her blood. Ya so our doc is cool and said we could play while we waited, so we got another sono. It wasn't a planned or "necessary" sono, just because we had to wait there for an hour and well, our doc is cool. :P So he took the usual measurements and Jaedyn was still breech. The measurement for her head actually came up small, though. It was at this time that he asked if we had insurance. He explained that it was probably nothing and that the angle for the sono was odd but, he wanted to make sure we were covered just in case so we wouldn't be out any money if anything WAS wrong. He also said we should come in again after 3 weeks for another sono to check the measurements again and see what we could see. So, November 6th we went in (three weeks later) and got another sono. She has turned around by now and we measured her head again and everything is perfect. Everything is normal and she is perfect. Yes, it was confirmed yet again, SHE is perfect.

SCARY pictures, right in time for Halloween!

I knew my legs and feet are swollen. I just didn't know HOW swollen they have gotten.

With the recent cold front, I needed some clothes that would keep me warm. I have not been sick yet and I don't want to take unnecessary chances, ya know?

SO yesterday I wore a warm yet uncomfortable and really ugly outfit. Today we had many guests at work and I dresses it up a bit.

Seems like it was a bit too much. I had on one of the two skirts that fit, a cute top and my boots. (I love these boots and have been waiting for a chance to wear them.) It was cute... but the boots have 2.5 or 3 inch heels and my feet got SO SORE! I am sure I made some pretty priceless faces as I was walking down the hallway.

The first pictures are my cute outfit. You'll have to imagine how much cuter it was with my boots ON.


Scott picked me up and I peeled off the boots to reveal this:

Ugh! those are the folds and dimples that the fabric of the boot makes as it bunches a bit around my ankle. Only, notice, there are no boots on! That is the edema of my legs contouring to the folds of my boots and packed tight with lymph and water... EWW!!
So I learned my lesson. No more boots or heels until after the baby comes. Sigh. Good bye cute shoes.

Grateful for my Dr.

He does a pretty good job. And he sees me at every visit... which is evidently more than can be said for some Dr.'s.

I have been more happy and outgoing lately, which is awesome. The only other thing that has changed is that Jaedyn has been moving again. Coincidence? I'm think not. It's nice to know your baby is alive and moving. (Even if her head is stuck in my ribcage and therefore not growing at the right rate, which is my sci-fi-based reason for her head being small.)

We've been playing her classical music before I go to sleep and she reallly gets into it. We're seeing big tub-thumps and wiggles which is really fun. There are some songs on the Baby Einstein CD that she really likes, and others that she sits still through.

Also in the mornings now my lung capacity is obviously restricted. I can't get a full deep breath. BUT after I go pee, things seem to normalize. Also this morning as I was coming to full consciousness, I realized that I was so uncomfortable because I had to be on a side... laying mostly on my back, which is usually my favorite way to lay, was acutely uncomfortable. Sigh, I had heard that would happen, but it's a sad day to hear that it's finally here.

I've also started to feel just the littlest bit nauseous. Yuck. It's never something that restricts my activities, rather it's more like having eaten too much of some food that you were not in the mood for. You feel kinda "bleh". It's probably more stress-nauseous, so all I have to do is get un-stressed! Ha! Easier said than done. On the flip side, I've been able to hang out with girl friends lately and that has been fun. Everyone talks about babies, and that has been a HUGE stress to me. I'm totally, totally in that "what if I'm not good enough" phase. Even going to church last week and listening to mothers in the hall talk about raising their kids was enough to put me over the top. I wanted to sit down and cry. I'm sure I can do it... but what I'm not sure about is doing it as a working person. I REALLY don't want to be a career woman with a kid on the side. I have good skills that are useful in an office, but I feel I have so much more to offer to the position of mommy. Scott is doing what he can so I don't have to work when the baby comes and that is a huge help, but the nagging fear is still there. Lurking.

Scott is cutting back on his evening teaching classes too, and that will be a super great relief. I'm hoping that today we will work on some baby projects and get them out of the way. Oh and the dishes in the kitchen would be nice too. A clean kitchen is such a beautiful thing... Oh and while I'm thinking about it, I want more pots and pans and some silicon bake ware.

My boss asked me into his office today to see how I was doing... I didn't get it for a while, So I told hime about what projects I'm working on and stuff... we just met yesterday to discuss these kinds of things so I was a little confused. But... he was asking about my pregnancy. OH! "I'm doing great." (normal responce, but it's true..)So he asked probing questions like, how far along are you?

Dude, I really need to find my brain again, so I can just tell people what they want to know.

So I told him I was almost 27 weeks... He seemed surprised that I was that far along. I think I'm still pretty small-around for how far along I am. His little sister is 30 something weeks so we talked about being pregnant for a bit. When I got home I saw that according to my pregnancy ticker, I'm 28 weeks today. Oops! Time flies when you don't look at the Pregnancy Ticker...

Enough about me. Oh wait, not quite... we had a Dr. appointment and things are going great. Jaedyn's head is a little small, but he said it was nothing to worry about... yet.. :P
Next month we'll look at it again and see if she is still behind. (Evidently now is when her brain is supposed to be growing at great speeds). She is breech or standing with her head in my ribs and her feet on my bladder. I didn't need a sonogram to tell that... she was actually sitting on my bladder when were were taking pictures last time, so we couldn't check and make sure she is still a she. Very modest. I have not heard back about diabetes, so I probably don't have gestational diabetes. Cool. I can continue to eat cake and cookies and candy!! My belly feels pretty durn small for how far along I am (it probably goes with the small head). But I am down to ONE pare of work pants that fit. I can get away with two skirts but one of them is pretty tight. And it's getting to be winter, so I'm gonna need to get some long pants and stuff to wear.

Maybe I should give my boss a link to the blog, so he gets some real answers...

Three months left...

My due date is exactly three months from today...

I WON'T get up!

Not because I don't want to ... but because I can't get up in the mornings. It is SO hard!
I've tried and tried getting up earlier. Last year I had aworking out buddy that would come and get me out of bed... but now I have to get me out of bed all by myself. Most mornings Scott does not wake up with me and that might be part of the problem. Today he got up with me and it was so much easier, I mean SO much easier to physically roll off the bed.

The progression of ultrasounds... it's astounding!

I mean, honestly, the clarity... the picture quality here... it's amazing!! One is of me and one is of my baby.

Baking and sewing and building... you can just call us Molly and Peter...

We got a bread machine when James and Jen left and after I learned HOW to use it, thanks Cash Case, I have been baking!

And we've been building things. Chests and other chests and bedside tables and rocking chairs...

AND I've also got someone's old wedding dress and I'm using the fabric to re-upholster the rocking chair... when I figure out how to make a sewing machine work...

I want to update this blog with a Ladybug theme... But I'm clueless!!

any help?

Building things

This weekend we splurged on some wood and build ourselves a chest. HOW COOL IS OUR HUMP BACK CHEST?! It still needs to be stained (the same color as our bed) and put the hinges on, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. We also had a set of shelves, one of which broke as we tried to move it loaded with books (pretty smart, huh?). So we kept the shelves and I was tired of looking at them so I had Scott make a baby chest for the 'nursery'. You can see in the pictures the front mess.

I have been in a mood of nesting. Which pretty much translates into "throw everything away". So the piles of crap are actually waiting a turn at Goodwill and or the dumpster. The piles of wood are waiting a turn to high-tail it to the storage shed. We had the second of the set of shelves in our closet. It was a great shoe shelf. But now it is moved to the front room to be the baby book shelves. Aww. How cute. Now I just need baby books to put on the shelf. :)

Another project we started is my rocking chair. We grabbed a old fashioned rocking chair years ago and it's been waiting for me to get pregnant so it can come inside. Now it needs to be re upholstered. We bought ladybug fabric and have padding and everything. Now I just need to see which of my TWO sewing machines works. They are in the crap pile currently... we will have to see which one makes the final cut.

The baby chest... and Scott the Driller

and more... COO!!

We went to Sweet Mesquite with Coo and Jill while we were in Sugar Land. It was fun. Good company and good mushroom burgers and conversation... and I totally got distracted with the Olympic synchronized swimmers. :P

Pictures from Houston... before the storm...

We went in for our 23 wk check-up. Heard the heartbeat... asked a few questions... heard the heartbeat again. Yup, still pregnant.

She was way up high and kept running away from Dr. Maxey. But when he went away she booted me way low where she normally is. So maybe she is head up and kicks all the time... maybe. I have not felt any movement anywhere near my belly button, it's all way way lower than that so we'll see next month when we get a sonogram.

I have evidence of a bladder infection, so they gave me a prescription for antibiotics. Now the sudden and FREQUENT need to pee has been explained. I'm not just pregnant. It's not that I'm drinking tons more water. Even though both of those are true... I've just got an infection!

I also went to the chiropractor and got my feet scanned. Insurance pays for special insols that should be in sometime in a week. Cool.

Names

We've pretty much settled on Jaedyn Olivia Quigley.
My backup name is Emma Hazel Quigley... I'm wishing and hoping and praying that we get two girls so I can use both names!
Oh, and a boy 'cauze I really like Nathanial Scott Quigley.

It's been a while

And I have not gotten much bigger... but I am SO HUNGRY. ALL THE TIME.
Even the days when I have really big meals, I go to bed hungry and wake up hungry.

A Sweet Tomatoes opened across the street from my office and we went there for the grant opening and it is good. There are potatoes but no steak (it's a pretty vegetarian place) but their shrimp bisque is super yummy.

My fingernails are going crazy. They vary almost daily from being super strong to super weak.

I am expecting to grow a bigger bump soon, but until then I'm just outgrown all of my pre pregnancy clothes. I tried. Really. But even the clothes that fit just barely are way to tight to sit in for 8 hours. Every evening my belly line itches like crazy. Either there were buttons or double folds of clothes pushing into my belly all day or it's right where the stretchy fabric of the maternity pants stops and the regular fabric starts.

My feet still have not swollen like I thought they would.

I cannot sleep through the night any more. I wake up at least once and have to go pee. Or I have weird dreams like serial killer dinner parties, or skinning a puppy alive humanely - so the little guy does not get hurt. Or I just wake up because I am uncomfortable.

I am always crabby. The people at work probably don't notice it much, because I am paid to be a happy smily person. But when I go to work with Scott my true feelings show. Prego Hormones!

We went to Houston for the weekend. It was nice to see family and friends. Kourt had a wedding shower Thursday night. We were in Dallas, had just found out the baby girl news and I had to be at work on Friday, so we missed out on that. Saturday we were in town and Chelsea got married... we went to the reception and arrived just after they left for the honeymoon. Doh!

but we got to see family and friends... so it was not a total bust...

Driving at night is the worst! We are pretty much stocked with snacks for life.

cramps

I have a big ol' cramp that won't go away. It is right under the wire of by bra on the right side. Directly under a rib. I just poked it to make sure the pain was under a rib and not between... and it totally spasomed. It felt like a weird bird thing fluttering.

We drove to Houston and Scott had me read to him. That was not a very good idea because now the cramp is sharp and stabby. It's icy hot and burns. And sometimes it burns so much that a new cramp starts up wrapping around the side of my ribs. Gah!

Pregnancy is uncomfortable.

I've popped

Now I have a belly. And just in time, Scott's mom bought me some maternity clothes. Wee!

I've been wearing them and getting compliments and all that good stuff.

Friday we went to the Skembo's like we have been doing all week (yeah for their sharing their big screen and the Olympics)and they said "oh, your big now" which was what made me realize that I had in fact popped. They see me everyday, or near enough.. and THEY thought I looked big.

:P

when we get around to taking pictures, I'll post them.

Also we find out on Thursday if we decorate in blue or pink. (!!!)

And I'm definitely getting more and more excited as I start to look pregnant. I guess I'm just visual like that...

I *think* I can feel the baby move... I *thought* I felt it for the first time last Wednesday while I was getting a massage. It's kinda fun.

Here are some before pictures:

Bedding... will have to wait until I get a bed!

I know I want a rocking bassinet. But look at the choices that are out there! (no offense to anyone who has and / or like what I don't. I'm very opinionated about some things, and this is one of them)

Option one : HORRIBLE and ugly -
It's plastic and looks like it will fall apart at any moment. Plus it doesn't rock. I picked the one with the worst bedding I could find... There ARE much cuter ones out there.

Option two : cute but not quite what I want -
Again there is no rocking action. And I'm wary of that canopy. One little baby tug, and suffocation galore!

Option three - is JUST RIGHT! -

I do want A canopy, but I'm thinking mosquito netting style. From the ceiling, and far enough away that I'd have to give it a tug to pull it down.

This is Scott's pick:

(you'll have to click on the link, I can't get the picture to load...)

hormones

This has been a weekend of tears. I read my new book "Breaking Dawn" and it was really good. There were some touching scenes, but I held my own and didn't cry. I was so proud of myself! But then Something happened and I lost it, big time. I don't remember the exact trigger but I bawled and hiccupped and choked and shook for an hour and a half, straight. I cried as Scott cradeled me, I cried as we took a shower, I cried as we got out and as I got dresses. I cried as he cuddled me again and finally got it under control enough to go out for the night. I only misted while we were out. Then this morning I broke down again. I cried as we were waking up, as we took care of some family business, as we got dresses for church and as we waited for church to start.

It was massive. I think the last time I cried this much was when I was less than a year old. Now I know what it feels like to cry until, when you stop, there is no headache and your sinus' are drained. But even now I'm hiccup-sighing.

Mostly the reasons I cried for are directly related to the book. Gah, here come the tears again! And they are really personal. I recognize that it's ridiculous to pit myself against a fictional character in a book, but Bella didn't totally lose her sex drive and she immediately loved her little nudger. Am I broken that I have and didn't? Scott votes "No", and rules that it's just hormones. I'm still undecided. Perhaps that's an indication that it IS just hormones...

Nathaniel Scott Quigley

My new favorite name for a boy...

pillows

Since we have been back from vacation I have had a horrible time sleeping. Not that I miss sleeping in a van. Far from it. but I have had sinus drainage that causes me to wake up at night... when i don't have to pee!, because I cannot breathe.

I discovered that if I sleep almost up right then I can breathe through the night and in the morning! Halleliuja!

So now, I wish I had a picture to share, I have a wall of pillows that I sleep on. It's great, I'm loving it. Just like McDonalds...
On the other hand, I can't sleep on my side which is a problem and will continue to be so as I actually get big. I hear it's really uncomfortable to be on your back with a big belly. I dunno. right now I still like it. My lower back gets SO tight that to lay down and pull my knees up feels really good.

Also, I can't cuddle up to Scott. He can't sleep on a wall of pillows. *sigh*

I'm officially FAT

None of my work clothes fit anymore.

This week I have tried at least one outfit thatI though had some 'grow room' in it only to pop the buttons on my shirt and or not coming even close to buttoning my pants closed.

Skirts have become my good friend.

This morning I was running behind and found some pants that had been loose before, and squeezed myself into them. I was able to get it all zipped and buttoned, but when I sat down in the car to drive... Holy Cow!, I could not breathe. I ended up doing this:

WOOT for the many uses of rubber bands!

I may have to take Diane up on her offer of maternity clothes a lot sooner than I had anticipated.

It is also important to note that my little tummy does not stick out much yet... but my hips have become huge!

Picture #2 from 11 weeks

New Job

I have the opportunity to move upstairs and work for the ROC (Regional Operations Center)... and I'm excited. Hopefully I will be a thousand times less stressed!

Cravings

Could be called my eyes are way larger than my stomach.

Truth be told I do crave steak, medium rare, and potatoes. Any kind of potatoes! Yesterday we were in Seattle visiting James and the boys and we ate lunch at a fish taco place. The though of fishy tacos sounded gross so I opted for fish and chips. Oops. The fish was very fishy and flaky and greasy. I probably ate a total of one of my fillets between my feeling of overpowering HUNGER and the fact that Aidan didn't seem to be too fond of his fish either and he kept feeding them to me. One time he gave be a "big bite" which was about a quarter of his fillet! What a funny little guy...
James is awesome. He traded me his chips for my fish. I have a sneaking suspicion that his motives were just as altruistic as they were that he prefers greasy slimy fried foods to anything else. So I lunched on potatoes. YUM! Then Alicia offered me a bite of her fish taco, and it was actually REALLY good. Next time little fish taco place in Seattle!

While in Provo, we went to the Sizzler for dinner. I got a steak and fries. But then I saw the salad bar. More specifically I saw the ice cream part of the salad bar. It looked so yummy. I ate as much of my steak and fries as I could and then squeezed in an ice cream cone and brownie for dessert. I was so full that I started putting my cone in the brownie and licking the ice cream to make a torch shape. Scott chided me for playing with my food, and Dad said that we used to go to the sizzler for dinner in St. Charles and they'd get the salad bar because it was so good. Evidently all I'd eat, or want to eat, was the ice cream. Evidently my affair with ice cream goes back to when I was four and is not new to my pregnancy. So I can't claim that I crave it now more than before... I just like ice cream.

last night I was really bubbly / gassy. It made me think of some friends. Janika, I think felt Issac first move early, early but had to focus to distinguish it from tummy gas. Tara didn't know she was having contractions because she thought it was just gas. I think I'm bissfully aware that it was just a tummy bubble...

Picture #1 (at 8 weeks)

Today I saw a Sandpiper and her Sandpipettes as I was pulling into the garage at work. They were SO CUTE. I even said so aloud to the radio who just kept right on talking over me. They just mosied out of the way as I pulled around them. They were totally unafraid of the car. Amazing.

Names

I was bored a while back... way back in the 'desire' stage and we came up with some baby names. Actually they are person names but we will use one of them tok name our baby... :P

Category - Family names Arren likes: (most of them are one name from each family)
James Dwayne (supplant ; dark)
John Roy (God is good ; king)
Charles Oliver (man ; elf army/ olive tree)
Peter Eugene (rocky/ stone ; well born)


Emma Hazel (strength ; commanding authority)
Carol Janelle (freeman ; God is gracious)
RuthE Megan (Firend ; Pearl)
Laura Bethany (crown of laurels ; God's disciple)

Scott's picks:
Jared (descent)
Marcus (martial/ warlike)
Archiantus ()
Brandon (hill/ high spirited)

Katherine (pure/ unsullied)
Catrina (pure/ unsullied)
Olivia (olive tree)
Bernadette (brave)
Chloe (blooming, verdant)

Arren's (not family) picks:
Tobias (God is good)
Gareth (gentle)
Jaron(vocal)
Cody (cushion)

Bianca (white/ fair)
Marget (pearl)
Miereal ()
Ortensia (gardener)
Jael (Hebrew for high climbing)

Other Unusual Names:
Braden (open minded)
Brice (strength)
Damien (to tame)
Devlin (brave, fierce)
Landon (plain, old fashioned)
Rowan (tree with red berries)
Brandt (dignified)
Gavin (white hawk)
Johan (God is gracious)
Nigan (ahead)
Zarek (may God protect the King)
Haydenv (hedged valley)
Hamon (leader)

Zoe (life)
Aniktah () OR Anitra (gracious, fill of grace)
Ester (star)
Arabella (eagle; a hearth)
Gemma (precious stone, jewl)
Aaliyah (to ascend, highly exalted)
Nadine (hope)
Abril (open; secure, protected)
Seraphina (highest 'level' of angel)

Comments and OPINIONS are strongly encouraged!!

Nesting

I woke up dreaming about laundry rooms...

and last night I dreamed we went with the Bradey's to a cliff beach and played paintball...

Scott and I found out "we" are pregnant on May 29, 2008.

Then I made an appointment to meet with Dr. Maxi for June 5th and found out out that I was already 8 weeks and 1 day along.

So, today I am 10 weeks and 3 days. In normal language I am 2 months and 5 days pregnant. (I surprise myself to already be speaking in 'weeks', I always thought that was so confusing...) In either case I am 1/4 of the way done. Crazy!!

When we went in for our first check up with Dr. M, we got to here the heartbeat. That was so weird!!! And surreal. Hopefully when we go for our next checkup and we see it 'jumping around' it will be more real.

Other important things... the first nicknames:

squirm-er - James
human worm baby - Zim
peanut - Me
pento been - Chris and Lani
hermie - Mom and the girls

In the beginning

There was a desire.

Then counsel.

Then a suggestion.

Then a baby!

Yeah!

And then there was exhaustion, and nesting, and hormones!

Welcome to my tummy little baby.