Jolliffe Rib Cook Out

Last Sunday, at a special request, my sister Lori and brother-in-law John had a rib cook out for David and I. When we were waiting for our amnio results to come back, I said to my sister...

"When we get the good news, you and John need to make your awesome ribs!". (How random is that?) I am not a rib eater by any stretch of the imagination. However, Lori and John make this kick @ss recipe that tastes so good and the ribs just fall off the bone. I like ribs maybe once every three or four years, if that. I think there is something weird about eating meat off a bone. Especially ribs. Very caveman like. Kind of freaky.

Anyhow, there has been a Longhorn (I think) commercial on lately where the guy is eating ribs and the wife says he's manly until some foofy drink is delivered to the table. Ever since then, I had a taste for John's ribs. I don't know how anyone could eat ribs in a restaurant. There is nothing delicate about eating them, no matter how hard you try.

So, the Jolliffe's made the ribs....which my mom drove all the way out to Vermillion to buy. She has a special place she gets them at. Then to top it off, my mom made potato salad and even kept a small bowl of it onion free (I don't like onions). If that's not love, I don't know what is!

With the exception of Chris (in FL) and Tasha (in CA), the whole Sherman clan was there and we had a great time.

Lori also ordered a cake from Giant Eagle (my favorite) that was too cute with pink booties and put a sweet little bear with it. Sarah Sherman wrote a beautiful letter to David and I telling us how excited she is and even gave us our FIRST diaper ... on her.

I've added some pictures below of the cake and the kids. I was a little lazy because I don't have that many pictures, and none of the boys. Leah would not pose for any either :)

Ultrasound Pictures from Week 19

These pictures were taken on June 20th at our first ultrasound appointment. We're having our second ultrasound on July 10th and will hopefully receive some more pictures.


Her Little Footie!



This one is a little freaky. She looks like Skelator!

This one is our favorite and we have it framed!

Another profile...you might not be able to see it,

but it looks like she's sucking her thumb!

Final profile picture...She's a cutie!

21 Weeks Today!

Wow. 21 Weeks :) Holy cow. Last week we crossed the half-way mark, and now only 19-weeks until we meet our little girl. Yesterday we received the final results of the amnio and everything is still great. Our doctor confirmed (again) that we're having a girl. Apparently this comes back in the amnio results too. We have a regular appointment tomorrow with Dr. David. Should be pretty basic and not too exciting.

My belly is definitely growing. As exciting as this is, not fitting in my clothes can be very frustrating and cause for minor emotional meltdowns. I feel like the extra weight is going to my legs and sides and not my belly.

This week she is 10.5 inches and weighs 3/4 of a pound. No fruit comparison again this week!

So last Sunday, I went to Pottery Barn Kids to look around and get some ideas. I found the following two sets on sale and couldn't decide between them so I bought them both. I think we're leaning towards the purple set....but we're still deciding.

Our bathroom is coming a long. Still slower then I would prefer, but I'm hoping by the end of next week, everything will be done. The goal is to finish the bathroom and move the spare bedroom furniture over to my in-laws so we can paint the nursery and get the baby furniture over by the end of July. We'll see if that comes together or not.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Love,
Susie

Recap of the Baby's Growth

Week 17 -- 5 inches and about the size of a large onion


Week 18 -- 5.5 inches and about the size of a large sweet potato

Week 19 -- 6 inches and about the size of a small zuchinni


Week 20 -- 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. No food comparison this week!

Updated Belly Pictures (W16 & W19)

You can't really tell the difference between sucking in and not sucking in, but I make an attempt!

Week 16 -- May 30, 2007

Hello BELLY BUTTON

1)Sucking In 2) Not Sucking In

Week 19 -- June 20, 2007

1) Sucking In 2) Not Sucking In

Best Day of Our Lives

I think today ranks number one for David and I. We were thrilled to find out this afternoon that all of the preliminary test results came back normal with zero indications of a chromosomal disorder or spinabifida. The amnio is 100% accurate.

When Dr. Jassani called, I was in a meeting and excused myself. I was terrified. She gave me the good news and then told me to schedule a follow-up ultrasound appointment in two weeks. They want to take additional measurements to see how the femur is doing. Last Wednesday, one of the indicators that the doctors were concerned about is that the femur bones were measuring two weeks behind the rest of the body measurements. With our amnio results, this is really nothing to worry about and might just indicate that our baby girl won't have super long legs, but doesn't mean she'll be super short either.

I immediately called David to tell him. He asked me if I was sure that I heard her correctly because she has a thick accent. I told him I was positive, but then proceeded to hang up with him and call the doctor back asking her to tell me one more time. Fortunately, she was still next to the phone and re-confirmed the good results.

From there, we called our families to share the good news. A few of my siblings had some expletives for Dr. Jassani since she freaked us out so badly. David and I are not mad. Just grateful for the confirmation today. I'm convinced that even if she was God telling us about our ultrasound last Wednesday, we would have still thought she was the Devil.

Now we're looking forward to an ultrasound that we can *hopefully* enjoy.

This was just the best day! I don't think we've stopped smiling!

Thank you to everyone who passed along your kind words, encouragement and prayers. We are so grateful for all of the support.

With Love,
Susie & David

Tomorrow is a Big Day

Not just for us. My Aunt is going to receive her first chemo treatment beginning at 1:30. Prior to that, she'll have some blood work done to make sure everything is a go. She'll have (4) cycles that are each three weeks long with every third Monday off. Please keep her in your thoughts tomorrow. It is the first day of many battles and I'm sure she is scared. I know I would be.

We've had a pretty good weekend. We watched a lot of movies. Thursday night we watched "You, Me and Dupree". Funny. Friday afternoon, we went and saw "Spiderman 3" and then Friday night we watched "Blood Diamonds".

We've also done a lot around the yard. David mulched the whole front yard while I watched. Today we planted some annuals in the front and yesterday we planted a vine thing that will grow up the light pole and bloom pink flowers. Hopefully next year it will come in nice and full.
We did a lot of putzing around the house too.

Yesterday we went to a restaurant on Harvard called Abuelo's. Yummy. I highly recommend it. They have the best mashed potatoes! I had a virgin frozen margarita and it was great. Probably not as good as David's real one, but as good as it's going to get for a while.

My mom came over last night and had us laughing. We told funny stories about pregnancy, grandparents, and all of our grand plans for "perfect" kids. Ha. That is so funny. We know we should "Never say never" but still, it's fun to sit on our high horses before the reality of kids hits.

Well, I'm off to watch the season finale of 'House' and then some shows on HBO...and indulge in some homemade strawberry shortcake.

Less then 24-hours.

Please keep us in your thoughts and our Aunt Rosie.

Love,
Susie

Family. Friends. And So Much Love

Wow. Wednesday was a tough day, but we were able to get through it. We talked to a couple of people Wednesday, mostly family and a few friends. The first person I wanted to talk to was one my best friends Gretchen. Gretch just went through all of this literally TWO WEEKS ago. On a side note of coincidences between Gretchen and me, and our lives and pregnancies, let me highlight the following.

• We were married one week apart in 2005. I actually had to miss her wedding because we were on our honeymoon.
• We are due the same week. Gretch is due with a boy November 15th. So far my date range is November 15th-21st. I am hoping our kids get married!
• We will both deliver at University Hospital. We're hoping to high five each other in the hallways.
• We just bought a Honda Pilot, and she and her husband are looking at them (we had no idea and found this out by running into each other at the dealership!)
• And finally, we both had to go through the Amnio process. I am hoping our results are the same. Gretchen received her final amnio results this week and everything is perfect. Thank God for that.

Gretchen was fabulous on Thursday. She helped calm me down a bit and knowing that she just went through everything was twice as comforting. She told me what to expect and how she felt, etc. She was also able to talk to David and answer some of his questions. She recommended doctors in case the Clinic couldn't get us in Thursday and offered to sit with us during the process.

Later Wednesday evening my cousin Janet hooked me up with a friend of hers, Maureen, who has been a mid-wife for 18+ years and is also skilled at Ultrasounds. Maureen was great! She answered my random questions, and gave me some good questions to ask. This was awesome! Not only did this help me tremendously, it allowed me to avoid Googling, which I highly recommend. Maureen also reminded me that the doctors we saw are considered "Level II" and that there sole purpose is to look for abnormalities. This is what they focus on because it is their specialty. So it is better to be safe then sorry. So far, I have done ZERO Googling and it has allowed me to keep my sanity. David Googled just a bit and went right to Wikepedia. The only thing he highlighted for me was how minimal our risks are based on age, family history, etc. This was reassuring.

Wednesday night, David and I crashed. I think both of us slept very well. I know I did because I had goofy dreams :) We got up around 7:00 AM so I could shower and make my phone calls at 8:00 AM. The Clinic told us to come in anytime after 9:00 AM. I just needed to have some paperwork faxed over from my regular doctor’s office.

Our families have been AWESOME. My Mom and Lori, and David's Mom met us at the Clinic for the appointment. Lori came back with us to be the note taker and an extra set of ears. Because we had some prepared questions, our doctor stopped and reviewed all of the statistics, benefits and risks of the amnio to ensure we knew what we were doing and what the risks were. Once we started the process again, David and I tucked our heads together to keep our eyes away from the needle (this is recommended by the doctor). David did awesome. You have to know that David has a strong sensitivity to needles and blood, and he was a champ. How can you not love someone so much who mouths “I love you” right before the doctor starts and is squeezing your hand?

Lori was great too! She gave us the play-by-play of what the baby was doing on the screen. Apparently she was air boxing. This helped the time go by and kept me laughing and smiling. The only thing I can relate the discomfort of the process to is donating blood.

I just have to say that our family and friends have been so caring. People have called to check on us, emailed, left voicemail or sent us text messages. All of them letting us know we were in their thoughts and prayers and sending positive thoughts. All have offered to do anything we could possibly need, talk to or listen to.

Our doctor yesterday was very positive and easy to talk to. A little friendlier then our doctor Wednesday night, but she had a bit of an accent and was a little brisk. I guess blunt is better. Plus, she just kept repeating things over and over again, and you can only handle so much. It doesn’t change that she’s considered one of the best though, and that is what is the most important.

We’re going with the positivity of the doctor yesterday and keeping that in our back pocket. The good thing about the amnio is that it is 100% accurate. No wishy washy percentages or second guessing. The doctor yesterday told us the odds were in our favor and that if we were betting people, he would put the odds on normal results. That the odds are 90-95% in our favor. That’s VERY good.

I know this is long. But this is for our benefit too, to write all of this out and share how we’re doing.

I didn't mention in my post on Wednesday that the only thing I was nervous about for our appointment on Wednesday was that I would be a little "exposed" infront of our Mom's. For some reason, this cracks me up. That the fear of them seeing me in a compromised position could have kept them from being there with us. What a difference that would have made in the day if I had elected not to invite them because of something so silly. As I said before, we are so grateful to have had them with us.

Thank you all again and please keep us in your thoughts over the weekend.

Hugs & Kisses,
Susie and David

PS. For inquiring minds.
Our Ultrasound Doctor on Wednesday was Dr. Jassani (Cleveland Clinic)
Our Amnio Doctor Thursday was Dr. Muise (Cleveland Clinic)
Our Quad Screen results were negative (ie. Normal)

Could have been a better day

Today could have been a much better day. Instead of getting into the details, I'd like to ask everyone to say a prayer for David, our baby girl, and me this weekend. During the ultrasound, the doctor identified an issue that will require us to have an amnio tomorrow.

Fortunately, for both David and I, we had invited our Mom's to join us. This was a Godsend in and of itself. Funny, as married adults becoming parents, the reassurance of our own parents presence was so calming and needed.

I'm not sure what time our test will be tomorrow. It will be at the Cleveland Clinic in Beachwood. I am to call at 8:00 AM to see how quickly they can get us. They told me they would fit us in because it will be considered an "emergency amnio".

We're obviously on an emotional roller coaster today and hope that this test is all for additional reassurance and that our baby is healthy.

On a very positive note, one of my best friends just went through this process for many of the same reasons, and her results came back perfect. We are hoping for the same.

Baby's Sex & Due Date Poll

Some of the kids gave me their preferred baby names too :)
I'll have to update this with dates from the Shafer's. I forgot to ask :)

If you have an opinion, make sure you add a comment before Wednesday, June 20th at 3:45PM. That's when we have our big ultrasound and find out what we're having!

GIRL

1. Jane Jolliffe -- Ruby -- Oct. 26th (also Leah's B-Day. Ruby is their dogs name)
2. Sarah Sherman -- Lily -- Nov. 5th
3. Janet Sherman -- Violet -- Nov. 11th
4. David -- Nov. 25th
5. Susie -- Nov. 19th
6. Noelle Nead
7. Joyce Shafer

BOY

1. Lori Jolliffe-- Oct. 31st
2. Natalie Sherman -- Colin -- Nov. 28th
3. Leah Jolliffe -- James -- Nov. 26th
4. Jack Jolliffe -- Bryce -- Oct. 20th (Does this sound familiar to any Cleveland Lebron fans?)
5. Francis Sherman -- Good Burper -- Nov. 16th (He also said Maximus. Goes well with Bryce)
6. Tasha Sherman -- Nov. 18th
7. Rick Sherman -- Nov. 11th
8. Kevin Sherman -- Nov. 15th
9. Jodi Nead
10. Grandma Shafer (everytime she sees me, she asks how her Grandson is :)
11. Don Shafer

17W6D

I'm grumpy today.

The only side effect of being pregnant that I've experienced is the increased need to PEE. Honestly, it is just silly. I get up at least three times a night.

Right now, David and his Dad are working on gutting the bathroom right by our bedroom. This is great because we'll have a new bathroom in a few weeks. This is bad because now I'll have to go downstairs in the middle of the night. Lovely. Considering other then the fact I pee a lot, this pregnancy has been a non-issue. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant.

Lori gave me her Doppler a few weekends ago. This is quite fun to use. I get to hear the heartbeat on demand. Sometimes the little bugger moves around and in between heartbeats you can hear this "swoosh, swoosh". Sounds a little ET like. I didn't know that was the baby moving until the doctor pointed it out at our last appointment.

We find out next Wednesday (June 20th) what we're having. I'm really excited to find out now that I've given in. I'm nervous though too. Knowing the sex will make it real. The name game will be fun :) If we have a boy, we already have the name. If we have a girl, well, that will be a doozy to figure out. We definitely won't share our girls name when we do decide on one because facial expressions will just bug me. I totally know I'm guilty of this, so in order to avoid that, the girl name will be top secret.

The other day David and I were driving around and talking about girl names. He was teasing and said "Sasha". I don't dislike the name, but burst out laughing because I cannot say "Sasha Shafer" to save my life. It is like the "sh sh" back to back just ties my tongue and causes immediate heart distress. Try it. Ooh.. maybe we should go with "Sasha Sherman Shafer"

Did I mention that David and his Dad are both hammering away upstairs removing tile? ANNOYING. While I'm grateful they're doing it, OMG I did not think it would be so painful to listen too.

What else...Oh. Sometimes when David's driving and I fear for my life (I'm only half kidding) and I have minor heart attacks, I always wonder if the baby does too. I know this is dumb, but I've become that front seat passenger that everyone hates. I no longer gasp, but I flinch, and sometimes this is just as bad. It drives Dave nuts :) He'll just look at me and go "WHAT?!"

Have I made a list of how many friends/family of mine are pregnant? Lots! In order of due dates...
1. Dawn Thatcher -- July 19th
2. Kim Elgin (cousin) -- September 9th
3. Sarah Walden (friend) -- November 3rd (GIRL!)
4. Beth Arnold Colagrassi (cousin) -- November 15th
5. Gretchen Giannatti (friend) -- November 19ish (BOY!)

I feel like I'm missing someone?? I know it will come to me in the middle of the night on one of my treks to the basement bathroom.

OK. I'm going to look at Priceline.com right now. Dave and I are thinking of going to Niagara Falls this summer and I'm in charge of hotels :)

16W1D

So, I've gotten a bit lazy with the blog. My intentions have been good, but we've been obsessed with shopping for a new car! David got the itch to get rid of his Lincoln LS a few weeks ago and decided to post it on eBay. Low and behold, the car sold with two minutes of bidding to go and boom, we were instantly down to one car.

After looking at every friggin' SUV under the sun, and I mean we left no stone unturned, we decided on the Honda Pilot. It came down to the fact that all SUV's were going to end up having roughly the same monthly payment. The difference in price between used and new was just silly. So, we are going with the 2007 Honda EX-L. We're very excited! We finally have our evenings & weekends back. Car shopping is just stressful. Especially when you have no idea what you want. Honda is a solid reliable car, all the good consumer report stuff and the million airbags that David wanted. Apparently, he's not that confident in my driving skills :)

Hopefully, we'll be picking it up on Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I love our daily commutes to work together....but I prefer Q104 and my celebrity gossip while he enjoys 1100 AM radio and traffic updates (uh, we live 6-miles from work). We definitely have different styles.

Our next doctors appointment is Thursday, June 7th. Not sure what will happen there. Probably just get weighed and then schedule our BIG ultrasound. That should be mid-June. We'll find out what we're having. I know, not what I would prefer, but David just HAS to know. He would make me crazy for five months telling me it was one or the other everyday just to mess with me. No thanks to that.

Lori, Tasha and Jodi have been kind enough to give me FOUR crates of maternity clothes. This took approximately two weeks to sort, label, and wash. Now I have about two-weeks worth of ironing. I'll get it done at some point. I keep saying I'll do five a night. Hasn't happened yet. Tonight, I'm blogging and watching the Cav's instead. Most of the clothes should work out. Lori's cute pants really don't work for me because they're tapered. They're like a constant reminder that she has the skinny legs and I have the ultra hulky soccer tree trunks and "cankles" (giant calves that run into your ankles without any distinction).

We finally started telling people at work on Tuesday. That was fun. Two of the most frequent comments/questions so far.

1. "I can't wait to see how fat you get!". Yeah. That's nice. Go jump off a cliff jackass.

2. "Do you have a preference (boy/girl)?" Uh No. Healthy baby is the preference. And when I say that, they counter with "OK, well that's a given, but what do you really want?". Again, go jump off a cliff. Babies aren't mail order, we won't know what to do with either sex. We're newbies. Dumb ass.

Fortunately, I haven't put on much weight yet, which is a relief. My clothes don't fit that well n the waist, but I'm making do with a few pieces before I make the jump. When telling people I'm pregnant, they immediately give me the once over. I'm probably guilty of that too. But, I'm at the four month mark, so I feel pretty good about that. I've got to stop with the carbs. They will be the death of me. I just can't seem to stomach chicken or salad. Pizza, pasta and PB&J is preferred. We'll see how long that lasts. Hopefully I'll eventually only want healthy stuff (fat chance!).

Today I talked to my mom and we received more results regarding my Aunt Rosie. Unfortunately, her lung cancer was confirmed when the doctors tested fluid that had been drained from her lung last week (2.5 quarts). We were all hoping for better news. For some reason, if the results came back as breast cancer of the lung, that would have better?? In this case, my aunt has stage 3B Lung Cancer. This is not good. She's still having lots of tests run, and from what I know so far, we won't know what type of treatment plan is in her future until June 6th.

Please keep my Aunt, my uncle, my cousins and all the Siegwarth family in your prayers. My Aunt is a very strong person, but she will need all of the extra strength that she can beg, borrow and steal to get through this.

Well, I think that's enough for one day. Here are the pictures for weeks 15 & 16. No belly pictures. I'll start being less lazy.

Week 15 - No food comparison

Week 16 - Size of an avocado

Special Prayer Request

This week our family received some very difficult news regarding my Aunt Rosie. Last week Aunt Rosie went to the doctor to have a cough looked at and some shortness of breath she was experiencing. To everyone's disbelief, the chest xray indicated a spot on her lung. Following a CAT Scan on Friday, it was confirmed that there was a large tumor on her lung. Tuesday we received an update that the cancer was in Stage 3B. Additional tests will be performed to determine if it is Lung Cancer Stage 3B or Breast Cancer of the Lung Stage 3B. We are crossing our fingers that it is the Breast Cancer of the Lung because there are more treatment options (I think). There is so much we still don't know. Aunt Rosie has her next appointment next Friday, May 25th.

Aunt Rosie is a 12 1/2 year breast cancer survivor. She has beat cancer once, and while I know this cancer is more aggressive, Aunt Rosie is a fighter. If anyone has strong will and determination to kick the shit out of this, it's her. A side from this beast in her lungs, she's as healthy as a horse! Doesn't smoke, excercises regularly, good diet....all the good stuff that should prevent this nonsense. If there is anything to take from this, it is that life is unpredictable and not always fair. I could fill endless pages with all of the love, generosity, a good spirit that is my Aunt.

So, I am asking everyone who reads this...Family, Friends, Co-Workers, Strangers...anyone... Please add my Aunt Rosie and her entire family to your prayers. Prayers are powerful, and we need them in heaps and bundles.

With love,
Susie

W12 & W14 Belly Pictures.

Week 12 --Baby is the size of a lime

Week 13 -- Baby is the size of a jumbo shrimp.

No Belly Pictures this week. I was slackin'

Week 14 -- Baby is the size of a lemon

13W -- Heart Beat! (delayed post)

On Wednesday, May 9th we heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was amazing. We were able to record it on my cell phone, and the quality is actually pretty good. I'm trying to figure out a way to link it to the blog.

Dave is watching '24' right now, so in lieu of an argument, I will wait until the show is over before I bug him :)

I'll be posting some pictures soon. My clothes are definitely starting to be snug. I need to round up some clothes from Lori and Tasha. Jodi has already delivered a few bags :)

This week we'll hit the 14-week mark and we'll have officially made it out of the first trimester!

11W -- Belly Pictures

Gotta love the bruise on my waist :) Yup. That was pure Sherman. I walked into the counter top on Sunday! How attractive!

You really can't see a difference between sucking in / not sucking in.

I've been weighing myself every Wednesday morning. And although I won't share my beginning number, I will say that my total gain is 0.60 pounds. Not bad so far. Of course the last few days I just want to EAT. So, I'm packing apples, oranges, bananas, and protein bars. No need to leave the door open for vending machine crap like yesterday when I ate Pop-Tarts!


Week 11 -- Menu Item = Fig! Baby is 1.5 inches :)

10W6D -- What is a Kumquat?

Each week I receive an email from BabyCenter.com telling me some interesting facts about what's going on in my stomach. Each week, they describe the baby in terms of size and then compare it to a piece of food. Last week, I actually had to look up kumquat. I'm sorry, but it just sounds dirty and I was mildly offended that this "dirty" word was in my belly.

So, I thought I would do a recap of the weekly words. Tomorrow I will include the menu item for week 11 and the corresponding picture.

Week #5 -- Sesame Seed

Week #6 -- Small Lentil Bean

Week #7 -- Raspberry

Week #8 -- Kidney Bean

Week #9 -- Grape

Week #10 -- Kumquat (a small, round or oblong citrus fruit having a sweet rind and acid pulp, used chiefly for preserves.)

10W Belly Picture

Better late then never! I'll be taking some new ones tomorrow. Tasha advised that I should take some @$$ pictures too...and watch it grow. Isn't she thoughtful? I'll keep that in mind!

10W1D - How I told David

I seemed to have skipped the story of how David found out we were having a baby.

On Friday, March 9th, I took at test around 6:00 AM before I showered for work. I saw the line and was so excited! I wanted to surprise him with something fun....so I waited ALL DAY. That was torture.

After work I stopped at Toys R Us on the way home and went into their baby section. I found two cute bibs, one pink and one blue, both said "I love my Daddy".

I walked into the house just before David and threw them in my closet. Close call.

We were deciding where to go for dinner, and I desperately wanted The Olive Garden. I love that place! Plus, it was Lent and I couldn't take one more fish fry. Gross. The Olive Garden was advertising some Crab Alfredo dinner and it looked so good. I digress.

When I was in the basement, Dave asked me to grab him a beer. So, I grabbed a Sam Adams for him. We also had these giant 22oz bottles that we had just brewed at the Brew Kettle, but I passed on that knowing I couldn't have any and just brought up the one beer.

Dave figured it out right away. He asked why I didn't grab the big beer, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He just looked at me, smiled and said "You're pregnant aren't you?". So, he ruined my surprise, but I guess I gave it away. It's not really a surprise that can be ruined anyway :) I ran to the closet, got him the bibs and he just looked at them like "Holy Cow". Then I showed him the positive tests. All he could say was "You peed on those. That's gross. Wash your hands". Oh how I love the sentimental side of him :)

From there, we went to dinner and ate our tasty Olive Garden meals. We were both still a little shell shocked by the news.

I took another test on Sunday, and the line was even darker. I was running around the house like an idiot so excited and Dave just kept looking at me like I was crazy :) It was early. Really early. And he didn't want to jinx it.

Dave gave me a beautiful card Monday night (March 12th). It sat on the bed all evening waiting for me to find it. I saw it right before bed and read it and it was so nice. I've read it a dozen times since and keep it by my bed. It is our first Mom/Dad/Parent card.

Mom! That still makes me smile every time I say it or think about it :)

9W4D

This weekend went by WAY TOO FAST. We didn't even do that much. David was busier then I was because he went up to Hillcrest Friday and Saturday to visit Jodi and Noah. Poor Noah had Rotovirus and had to stay over two nights. At least he gets to come home today.

Noelle came to visit last night while Mark went to visit Jodi. Mark made the mistake of telling David that they had McDonald's. So, we had McDonald's for dinner tonight. I don't know why, but that's just gross. It tasted good going down, but then it's like a big grease pit in your stomach. Ugh. At least we only eat McDonald's a few times a year.

I have made my first attempts at researching daycare providers. When I went to YellowPages.com, over 500+ listings came back. So, we'll have to seek out some referrals :) I'm going to make appointments at two places tomorrow. Willoughby Hills Friends Church and KinderCare. So far, I've heard great things about both, and both take infants.

David took all the wallpaper down in the bathroom lastnight and today! I'll miss the yellow and gray flowers. This week, he'll start tearing down the tile. Woo-Hoo! Hopefully we'll hear back from Ricky on a quote and can get started.

I need to start with the upstairs bedroom. Not sure where to start yet....but I've got to get a jump on it. I need to take advantage of the fact that I feel great and have energy. I think the tired phase has passed. Either that or I'm sleeping better. This week, we have NO plans, so I'll start Monday with just making a list. I'm sure I'll need to toss a lot :)

OK. We'll it's 7pm and 60-minutes just started. Need to go snuggle on the couch.

9W1D & First Belly Picture!

Dear Baby -

There's so much I want to tell you about....but it will have to wait until to tomorrow... I'm beat! Here's our first belly picture. I took it yesterday morning at exactly 9 weeks. I'll take one of us each week (if I can remember).

Really quick though, I think you gave me a headache today. Nothing would make me feel better (not even a Diet Coke!). I even went to the gym to be a good sport and walked 3+ miles hoping to get the endorphins going.

No love.

Hopefully, this was a one time thing :) After work I used my face steamer and that seemed to help.

So, calm down on the hormones / headache!

Nighty night.

8W6D -- And Our First Picture!

Wow. Today was a fabulous day! We went to see Dr. David and got our first picture of our little pepper! What a feisty little thing. S/he was moving all over the place! We could see the heartbeat, but not hear it. It was like a little white fleck just pumping away. I think Dr. David said s/he was 8cm.

She gave us a range of due dates. She said the baby measured at 8 weeks and 6 days. My online calculator had us at 8 weeks and 1 day. Not too far off. She thought maybe November 15th or November 20/21. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll be home from the hospital in time for Thanksgiving! My all time favorite food holiday :)

Dr. David said that our baby looked great! She said that the baby looked strong too. Both good things. She even told me I could drink Diet Coke. I love her! However, I've cut down to one a week, and I'll maintain that.

She kind of contradicted herself though. I asked about my sinuses and she said to avoid sinus stuff unless I'm on my death bed. Now, this is not what she told me two weeks ago. Back then she said I could have it in moderation. So, no more sinus medicine.

I still feel great. Just a little bit tired. Smell sensitivity comes and goes. But no sickness, woo-hoo!

Today we told Dave's parents and Jodi & Mark. Dave and I were ready to jump in the car and head to the west side when I realized that Lori was at Kalahari. So, we will head west tomorrow. I want to make the rounds all at once. I want to tell everyone in person, including Chris. I will wait until he comes into town for Jack's First Communion. So, tomorrow the Sherman clan will find out. I couldn't contain myself. I have been dying to tell someone. So, we had the picture in hand and went to make the first rounds. Everyone was so excited!

I'll post tomorrow after we tell the Sherman's!!!

6w5d

Wow. A week has passed since my last post. What has happened since then...

I scheduled my first appointment. We are meeting with Dr. David on Tuesday, April 13th at 3:15 PM. She said it was ok for me to continue taking Tylenol Sinus and Tylenol PM if I need them, but in moderation. The sinus medicine is down to one dose a day...which is a major reduction. Between finding out I was pregnant and talking to Dr. David...I probably only took them twice.

This was a bad workout week. Between getting our drivers licenses renewed on Monday and then the Birthday food fest Tuesday and Wednesday, the gym was not a priority.

Tuesday night Gretchen, Dawn and I went out to dinner at Max & Erma's in Solon. I got there 15-minutes early so that I could get a NA Beer. We were celebrating my birthday, and I thought it would be a dead give away if I didn't have a beer. The bartender was the first person I told :) She looked at me really funny when I asked about NA beer. I laughed and explained wow and she totally understood. She was so nice and sent over a yummy piece of cheesecake for desert! I was even more excited that Gretchen was drinking water. I am always hoping and praying that Gretchen will have a healthy pregnancy soon. I can not think of a person who would be a better mother.

Wednesday night we went to Trattoria's for my birthday with my parents. Yum. I had the lemon picatta. Very good. Then for desert we went to Presti's. During dinner, I made a dumb comment about how Gretchen was drinking water the night before and how excited I was. My mom then noticed that I was only drinking water and asked me if I was pregnant. Fortunately, it was really funny, so I just said "No". That was hard. I know how excited she would have been. Dave and I had talked a little bit about telling our parents on my birthday if we had seen the doctor first. But because our first appointment was almost another two weeks away, we didn't want to jinx it. So, I ended up ordering a beer and pretending to drink it. Dave was a good sport and drank it for me :)

Friday night, Dave made salmon for dinner and it smelled so fishy! It tasted good, but I couldn't eat all of it. The one thing I have noticed is that I am very sensitive to smells. Or, I'll be hungry, then eat a little and feel REALLY FULL. After dinner, we laid down for a bit and I fell asleep for the night....AT 6:30 PM! I was out until 8:30 AM.

Tomorrow we are having Dave's family over for pizza and cake. I'm not sure how we'll work around the beer thing. Dave said he would make me vodka cranberries minus the vodka. That could work as long as no one sees :) Trying to work around the alcohol makes me feel like I drink all the time socially :) I know I'm definitely one to have a beer at a party or dinner.

There is only so much water a human can drink. I miss my Diet Coke the most. I LOVE my Diet Coke! Damn that aspartame!

So far I've felt GREAT. I've been a bit tired, but every day I'm loving being pregnant! I can't wait until we get to see our first picture. Tonight I was on BOTB brain and read a post about a girl pregnant with triplets! I burst out laughing and told Dave. He just said "Oh $hit!". I think I would love the idea of twins...but if we had triplets, we would be done!

Tonight at dinner we talked about baby names :) I think we've agreed that we'll be *those* people that don't tell their names until the baby is born. That way, no one can share their opinions.

This week, our baby is the size of a lentil bean :)

5W3D

Not being able to tell people sucks! I really want to tell our families, but I guess we should have our first Dr. Appointment. I'll be calling Dr. David on Monday, March 26 to schedule our first appointment.

Maybe after seeing the image, Dave will concede and we can tell our families on Easter. I think that would be fun! I understand why he wants to wait. I get nervous too. Especially knowing how common miscarriages are. I see it all the time on BOTB; girls that have in their signatures babies they lost at so many weeks. Some of them in their 12th week. I guess you can never be too sure.

If we waited the full 12-weeks, it would fall right around Jack's First Communion, which would be great because Chris would be in town. I would wait until the day after Jack's party, and have people come East for a belated birthday party for David. Chris said he wouldn't be leaving until Monday, so I've had that in the back of my head. That way, we could tell both families at the same time! I still haven't figured out how we'll tell them. I've got to come up with something good. I'm thinking that I'll incorporate a Turkey into the suprise since our turkey will be born so close to Thanksgiving.

I was laughing about that the other day. Good thing I had my "practice" Thanksgiving last year with a two-day Turkey fest. I'm guessing this year we'll be heating up leftovers or making something for just the two of us. Unless the baby comes early! Jack came a few weeks early, and that was a fun surprise. He was a hef-a-lump too! Jack the "Purple Grape Glow Worm".

Thankfully, we have all summer to prepare. Dave is going to work on the bathroom, and I don't know what the heck we're going to do with the nursery. I have a feeling we'll be doing A LOT of Spring Cleaning! Where in the heck are we going to put all of our clothes??? I know most of the mess upstairs is mine, so I'll just have to make lists and get check them off on the weekend.

Dave has March Madness on. I think I'm going to hit the sack early and DVR Grey's.

Good Night!

5W1D

Dear Baby Shafer -

Today your father and I had a giant debate as to just how old you are. According to BabyCenter.com, you are 5W1D. Your Dad is convinced you are only 3W. Since I am the google master and Babies on the Brain (BOTB) freak, I know this is a battle I will win.

On Monday, March 26th, we will start week six. I will call Dr. David and schedule our first appointment. Maybe she will be able to convince your father I'm right. Should be easy.

Get used to these debates. I know you can't hear for a while....but I am usually right. Your father is usually louder....but that doesn't mean he's right.

See you November 19th!