Johanna Layne

Johanna made her entrance to the world on Nov. 7th at 10:11 pm at a healthy 7lbs, 6.6 oz and 19 inches long. We are so excited to have her in our lives, she is so precious. We already can't imagine life without our sweet baby girl. Thanks everyone who came to the hospital and who supported us throughout out my pregnancy and the few rough patches we had a long the way.

Now here is how it happened: The day started normally, I got up and went to work just like any other day. I started having mild contractions around mid morning. I thought they were just Braxton Hicks since I have been having those of and on for two months! Well they started getting pretty regular and wouldn't stop even after I took a walk at lunch. So I decided to go to the hospital to get checked after work just in case. I really didn't think I was in labor which is why I waited until 5 pm to go. Well I got there and they checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4cm. It was decided to monitor me for a while so I got hooked up the the fetal monitors. An hour later I was dilated to 5 cm, that's when we knew this was the real deal... After getting my water broken, some horrific contractions and and epidural I was fully dilated at about 9:30. I pushed for 20 minutes and our sweetheart was here.

37 Weeks

I made it to 37 weeks! My baby is nwo full term, so that's great news. Although I have to admit that I kind of hope she'll make her arrival soon and not wait until the last minute! If I go overdue, I may have to be committed to the looney bin, because I don't know if I can do this much longer... As long as she come on or before the 23rd I'll be satisfied. I went to the doctor today and I am still at 3cm & 90%.

Nursery

Finally completely finished. At least I think so. We have everythign ready, all the bedding, we have decorations up etc... So now all we need is a Baby! Take a look:

Lucero, Bottleneck, October 10th.

Yep so I cheated a tad and went to this show two days before my bedrest ended... I am a horrible person. But I sat the whole time, so how is it any different than sitting at home? No smoking in public places in Lawrence, so that wasn't an issue at all. This was such a treat to get to see them play after having to hang out at home for six weeks straight. It was perfect. They played my request, "Little Silver Hearts" AKA the best live song ever. ..and Ben even did "Chrystal Blue" which I have never heard live! It was weird not being front and center but it was fun. I was exhausted at the end of the night but it was so worth it. I took some pictures, but I was too far away so they didn't turn out. But here is one my drunken friend Brandon took after the show:

Ben Nichols and myself after the show

33 Weeks!!

Like I have told some of you, I am huge. It's starting to get harder to get to sleep because it seems like she is squashing some organ or the other no matter how I lay down. Last doctor's visit was fine, I still haven't dilated anymore. I may go full term after all (knock on wood)
At least I only have one more week of bedrest left. I am really tired of sitting inside all day...

She is still moving a lot which is comforting to me for the most part. The other night she kicked me in the ribs so hard that I woke up from it and yelped loud enough for Dustin to wake up. That was not so cool, but it's good to know that she is healthy enough to do crap like that.

Only 7 weeks to go, I can'tbelieve it. It still seems really far away, yet terrifyingly close. We starst child birth class next week, and after that we should be as ready as we'll ever be.

Nursery

Here are some pictures of the latest nursery progress. We are almost done! Just need to hang some stuff on the walls and we are still waiting on some bedding.

30 Weeks!

I made it to 30 weeks! Only 4 more weeks to go on bed rest! Seems like 4 more years... Baby is doing fine, strong heart beat and she is moving around a lot! Nothing has changed otherwise: I haven't dilated anymore and I am not having very many contractions as far as I can tell. I do have headaches again and I am starting to feel tired again but that's normal at this stage I hear. It's also getting harder to get comfortable at night but it's not too bad yet.

I feel like I am getting bigger every day...I just recently ran into the island in the kitchen and got myself a bruise on my stomach. I guess I am not used to my belly sticking out that far! We finally got some of the nursery furniture! I'll post pics as soon as we have it all set up. Stay tuned.

Heart Beat

Here is a recording of our baby girl's heart beat at 28 weeks 6 days old. She is doing fine with a heart rate of about 140 bpm!

Baby's Heart Beat

28 Weeks

Well I made it to 28 weeks... A lot has happened this week, but everything will hopefully turn out OK. It all started when something that happened Tuesday night (I'll spare you the details) that made me suspicions that things weren't quite right. But me being paranoid, I figured it was just me being overly worried again. But me also being me I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep well until my doctor confirmed that I was worrying about nothing... So I made the appointment for the next day.

I went to the doctor Wednesday afternoon...little did I know that I wouldn't be back home until Friday!! Turns out that I am already two centimeters dilated! Not good... However the baby is doing fine and is under no distress. Her heart rate is perfect and she measures on schedule for my due date. As a precaution I was sent to labor and delivery for observation for two days, I was hooked up to fetal monitor pretty much the whole time which measured the baby's heart rate and contractions. I was indeed having sporadic contractions here and there that were so light that I could hardly even feel them. I was given steroids to speed up the baby's lung development in case she decides she wants out a little sooner that we planned:).

Now I am back home on bed rest for the next six weeks. After that it will be very safe to deliver the little troublemaker :). I'll get set up to work from home but I can already tell it will be a lame next month and a half. But it's all worth it, I just want a healthy baby. Come by and visit me sometime!!

Me trying to put on a happy face :)

27 Weeks!

This is what I looked like at 27 weeks. That's really all I have to say.

Baby Shower !!

I had my first baby shower this Saturday. It was so much fun, all my friends in one place. I don't get out much so I dont' see them that often anymore! My sis did a great job, the favors were so cute. We played some games and just hung out. It was very relaxed. I got some really great presents and really cute baby outfits. I swear that baby already has more clothes than I do! After the shower we had a BBQ with great food and I think everyone had a good time!

Favors

Hello!!

Presents!!

Sniff the poo game. Laurel hard at work. (It's not as gross as it sounds)

The guys staying away from all the baby talk.

Here is me in all my pregnancy-largeness. That shirt actually makes me look way bigger than I really am.

26 Weeks!

Not all that much to report this week. Everythign is pretty much the same excpept that maybe I am a little bigger. My first baby shower is tomorrow, with friends. It will be more like a big BBQ, but we are calling it a babyshower as well. Should be fun!

Dustin and my second anniversary was on Monday. We went out to a nice dinner and a movie and he got me flowers! My present for him will get here today I hope, he'll be excited. I think he might know what it is, but just in case I won't reveal until next week!

Getting the nursery ready...

Well, the nursery is painted. Other than that we haven't done much except for painting our rocking chair. I think it turnedout pretty well. Dustin spray painted it black and then I painted a design on it. Now he is in the middle of putting a clear coat on it. We also got a cushion for it and a little ottoman. I hope it turns out to be comfortable while feeding a baby because it looks really pretty, but it has to serve it's purpose too. Our rocking chair so far:

25 Weeks!

25 weeks last Friday! Due day is fast approaching. Nothing really major happenning except that I am still getting bigger obviously! I am starting to get out of breath more easily now because the baby is pushing on my diaphragm...elevators are my friends. Last night I had to get up to pee (big surprise) and when I tried to go back to sleep, baby started doing summer-saults! She was moving like crazy as if she was jumping around on a trampoline or something! That went on for a bout 15 minutes and then she finally let me go back to sleep. I guess I should get used to that.

We have been gettinga lot of hand me down baby clothes from co-workers and friends! I swear that baby already has more clothes than I do! It' so nice not to have to buy a bunch of clothes on top of everythign else though. Well here is what I look like today:

24 Weeks

A major milestone passed last friday when I was finally 24 weeks. This is the earliest our baby girl could live outside the womb should she be born early. I'd prefer that she stay in there a while longer though!

Our last Doctor's visit was on monday and everything still looks comfortingly normal. Nothing out of the ordinary happening at all. Heartbeat is going strong and I can feel her kick harder now. Yesterday I felt her kick me at two different spots at once! She must be elbowing me and kicking me at the same time or something. I put a coaster on my belly and watched it bounce around, that was pretty cool to see.

Roommate Reunion '07

Poor Lorraine, had to hang out with TWO pregnant girls. If you knew her you would understand how funny that really is. This is the girl who says she herself will NEVER be pregnant and if she does want children she'll be in the waiting room along with Brandon waiting for her surrogate to give birth to their baby. But as usual she was a good sport and didn't mind all the pregnancy talk. She even asked us if it was OK to order Queso at lunch or if it might make us vomit. How thoughtful :).

We had lunch at Freestate and walked around downtown looking at baby stuff. Kristin is almost 17 weeks along so about 7 weeks behind me. It will be nice to have someone relatively close with a baby about the same age! I kind of hope she has a girl too! Here we are getting ready to go to lunch.

Myself, Lorraine & Kristin

23 Weeks!

23 weeks on friday. Time seems to be moving painfully slow... I wish the baby would get here already, I feel like I have been pregnant FOREVER! While I wait and wait I love going o look at baby clothes. I already bought a few outfits...I really had to stop myself from buying out the whole store when I went to Babies R Us. They make such cute baby outfits... Anyway, here is me at 23 weeks and getting fatter :)

21 Weeks

21 weeks last Friday....I finally got around to another belly shot! Well I feel huge...I can't even imagine what my life will be like in a couple of months. It's already hard to tie my shoes. I am going to have to get some shoes that don't involve laces or velcro or any closure of the manual kind. Too bad they won't let me wear flip flops at work, or I'd be all over that. Anyway here is what I look like today:

It's a GIRL!!!

I had my second sonogram yesterday! The baby was exrememly uncoorporative as far as "showing herself" But eventually the ultra sound tech got a pretty decent look. She wouldn't say 100%, but she seemed pretty sure it was a girl! Dustin and I are very excited, especially me because now I can buy cute girly things!

The baby looked perfect and measured exactly average in every category! She has a strong hearbeat and apparently strong legs, because she was kicking me in the bladder during the ultra sound!

We are keeping the name a secret so don't bother asking! No one will know until she is born! Here are some pics:

A perfect little foot!

Here you can see the head and her hand by her face. Her leg and foot are also there close to her face. She was all folded up!

China cabinet...finally

We finally got a china cabinet!!!! Finally I can display my wedding china and chrystal properly. I love love it. It looks so pretty. (sorry I should have moved the vacuum before taking the picture)

My Garden

So we planted a garden this year since we finally have our own house now. Aside from the weeds it's going surprisingly well. The tomatoes and peppers are starting to ripen finally and the squash plants are still busily growing. It will still be a while before those are ready to harvest but I can't wait. Here are some pics:

My yellow grape tomatoes. Not so yellow yet.

Peppers!!!!!!


Butternut squash. They are getting pretty big, but still not ready yet!

Acorn squash!

20 Weeks

I was advised of my slackation on the blog so I thought I'd give a quick update... Still don't have a functioning camera. It worked for a while yesterday but then it keeps shutting of as soon as you try to take a picture. Stupid.

Anyways I am at 20 weeks and 4 days today. Over halfway home! Baby is moving alot more now and I can feel the movements off and on everyday. Dustin even felt it once already! Only two days until we find out whether we are having a boy or girl!!! Here is what the baby looks like:







Picture was obtained at www.babycenter.com/

18 weeks

I was 18 weeks on Friday! I am feeling pretty good these days...I haven't had a headache in a few days, I guess my body is getting used to all the extra hormones! About time, cripes! Camera is still broken but I'll see if I can get someone else to take a picture soon. Maybe my camera will be magically fixed when I get home today. I wonder if the house/apartment cleaning fairy fixes cameras too. Cause she is deperately overdue and will hopefully make an appearance while I am at work today. HAHA. Anyway in the meantime here is what the baby looks like:

He or she is about the size of a large sweet potato and weight in at about 7 ounces. The baby is flexing his or her arms and legs. Sometimes I think I can feel it but I am not quite sure!



Picture was obtained at www.babycenter.com/

17 Weeks

I didn't get around taking a belly picture this week either. Our camera is broken and I am lazy... so this will have to do. That's roughly what our offspring looks like at the moment. He or she is about 5-7 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces! Can't feel any movements yet but that's supposed to start within the next two weeks! Heatbeat is strong in the 160's according to today's doctor's visit! Next time we will find out if it's a boy or girl!

Picture was obtained at www.babycenter.com/

Poo Story

A friend emailed me this story and I couldn't stop laughing. Don't read this if you are easily grossed out or offended.

On our way back from Fayetteville we stopped in podunk MO and used the restroom at this gas station. Well, upon entering just the STATION itself it smelt like total feces. We made faces and got in line. The girls' bathroom door opened and all the wrath of every butthole in the universe unleashed it's hatred. So, holding my nose, I walk in to get my business done and out of there. While in the stall, this lady comes and in says "Catalina? Are you okay?" reply, "...yea...." lady, "catalina your husband is worried about you." stall voice reply, "well....i had diarreah...." (very sad and embarressed tone) lady, "well what do you want us to do??" reply, "are there any wet paper towels so I can clean this up?" lady, "yea, i'll get you some. What about your clothes?" reply, .."..i dunno....can you get me some?" lady, "yes, i'll get you some clothes" I WAS ABOUT TO DIE. It was teeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrible. That pooooor pooor woman!!!!! Can you imagine? And of course since I couldn't SEE what happened (thank God) my brain totaly filled in the gaps and I imagined her swimming in a swamp of wet poo. Ga-Ross!!!!


Anyone else have a good poo story?

Wedding in Bailey

Wedding season in in full swing! This weekend we went to Bailey Colorado For Dustin's cousin Ben's wedding. Beautiful area in the mountains with streams and breathtaking landscapes no matter what direction you look. At roughly 9000 though I don't recomend going there when pregnant. The altitude really got to me and I spent the last day and a half there hoping my head wouldn't actually explode. That plus nausea and light-headedness made for a fun last half of the wekend and an especially fun plane ride home. I swear I have never been so happy to be boring ol' Kansas in my entire life. I don't have any pics of the wedding celebration yet, but will share as soo as I get them!

Schwanzy, schwanzy, the candlestick maker

So I tried my hand at candle making... Roya had so many candle stumps left over from the wedding so I thought I could make a few big candles for her out of them instead of throwing them away... I have to say for my first attemps, they don't look too bad. My technique is still iffy and the candles definitely look "homemade". I think the pillar candle is my favorite. Although the wineglass candles looked like it actually had some fruity drink in it at first.

I think this may be a new hobby of mine, it's really fun and easy! Just another way to spend my money :)

My baby sister's Wedding

My sister's wedding was this past weekend. Still weirds me out a little since I remember the day my parents brought the little pest home. Ha, but I guess she isn't THAT much of a pest anymore... The wedding went off without a hitch except for a few minor details. The biggest one being that it had to be moved inside because of rain. In the end it was no big deal since it still turned out beautiful. We still got some pictures before it started raining so it was all good!

On top of it being just a great day we had the awesome pleasure to have the always awesome Aaron and Bev from The New Tragedies come sing for the happy couple. Nicest people in the world and it meant so much to Roya. (Buy their new EP at http://www.thenewtragedies.com )

My adorable neice and nephew:

Madisyn, Roya and I: