8 weeks old

She doesn't look like her Dad, does she??

What I've learned in 7 weeks....

Bella - 6.5 weeks

~ Pampers, instead of Huggies

~ The 3 pack of Gerber bottles for $2.99 work just as well as the 2 pack of Avent bottles for $15.99

~ Sometimes if they cry, and you wait more than a half second to get them, they will stop on their own (the baby, not the husband)

~ Don't buy too many cute outfits, beause they won't be able to wear them for that long

~ Alway carry an extra nuk, or two

~ If someone says "he", but they should have said "she", or vice versa, just smile and nod, it's not the big of deal, and they won't listen anyway, and say "he" again

~ TAKE THE HAND-ME-DOWNS!!!! If you get a chance for hand-me-downs, take them...you can spend your money on other things, like formula or formula!

~ It really is OK to let them cry themselves to sleep. You will read that it breaks the bond, or it will make the baby not trust you, blah, blah, blah. 3 nights of crying for a couple hours will NOT break you bond. Promise! I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the cry to sleep thing, but am very glad we did! Knock on wood, but so far, so good! I can lay her down, we might get a couple of squeeks, but then she is out! Not saying it's easy...I do need to turn the TV way up, and turn on the radio, and if the dishwasher can be ran, I did that too, but it's worth it :)

~ Cloth diapers make great burp clothes. You don't need to spend more to get "real" burp cloths

It all started...

...at 1:30am, November 4th. I started having contractions on and off. I thought I was having false labor, because some were close together, some far apart, some long, some short...But, they didn't stop. At 7:00am, I still thought it was maybe false labor, but it wasn't - THANK GOD! Mike came home from work around 10am to help me out. I called the hospital mulitple times, asking what to do, when I should come in, etc. They were very nice each time I called. :) I really wanted to go to the hospital, because I was sick of being home and dealing with the contractions; but we also didn't want to go there, and have to be sent home. Mike helped me tough it out for a couple more hours. Finally, around 12:30-1:00, we headed to the hospital. It was a good thing we did, because once we were in the car, the contractions got much closer together!

They checked me and I was 3cm. WHOOPPEE! That meant we got to stay! I am glad I toughed it out, but also glad that we left when we did. I didn't need to walk the halls or anything, Isabella was just ready to come out! I waited as long as I could to get the drugs, and finally gave in. I don't regret getting them one bit. There is no reason to make yourself go through that. It hurt with drugs - I can't imagine without! YIKES! I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could feel the "pressure" on my "bottom". OUCH. I only had to push for about an hour and a half, when I look back, the time all went by very fast; once we were at the hospital.

Bella made her appearance at 10:33pm - 21 hours later! She was 9 lbs 8 oz...one of the nurses said "No wonder you has such a tough time!" DUH! :-)

2.5 hours until due date....

Hum-de-dum-de-dum.....I'm still here, no baby.

I know usually 1st babies are late, but it's still in the back of your mind that it can happen anytime. I guess mostly because you get so uncomfortable, that there is no denying the fact you are about to pop, at any moment. Knowing that your sisters were both 1 week and 2 weeks early with their first kids doesn't help either. Damn them.

We are waiting patiently for you little one! HURRY UP!!!!

Is it time, yet????

OK. Let's get the show on the road here little one. Your room is all done, thanks to Oma and Opa, so come on! One week and one day....I hope you don't come late. (everyone cross their fingers!)


The jokes are starting to be cracked from people asking if I have a pumpkin under my shirt, and I have a "cute" pregnant lady waddle. Cute-shmute, my feet hurt and I feel like I have to lean backwards, or I will fall forwards!

Comparison - 20 weeks vs 35 weeks

Besides the dorky "smile" in the 2nd pic (if you ever wondered what my fake smile looks like, that's it!)...I'm surprised that shirt still fits!

2 weeks to go.....

Baby is head down and dropped, which is great, however I was a little disappointed I'm not dilated. Come on baby, it's time to come out now! :) I'm thinking by the next appointment I will be though, but we will see.

I had a visit with Figgy's pediatrician today and she was very nice. I was filling out some health history paperwork, and had to think twice about "Mother's Health History". No, not MY Mom's history, but MY history! I'm the Mom! Yikes!

I am getting so excited for the big day to arrive. It's tough though, not knowing when that big day is. It could be tomorrow, or it could be 3 weeks from now! I'm not overly huge (even though in that pic I guess I look pretty big), so they probably wouldn't induce labor unless something happens. My doc guessed that Figgy was about 7lbs - 7lbs 2 oz. A little bit larger than normal for 38 weeks, but not ginormous, which is good. :-)