She's Here!

Sammie has made her debut! It was quite an adventure :)

My previous post mentioned early contractions. Well, those sped up quickly. I never napped, and come just after 3pm I started to time one of them. Clocked 10 minutes apart, which isn't too close together, unless you're me and have babies really quickly. So I call my doctor and he tells me to go to the hospital right away and that he'd call them so they expect me. Well, Matt was sleeping, so I called SuperWoman -- I mean, Aunt Rah -- and she flew over to watch him. I also called JB so he could come home. We left the house around 3:30 and now my contractions are about 3 minutes apart. I get to the hospital at 3:45, check-in (I had pre-registered, so I'm thinking I was totally in like I was with Matt), and wait to be called back to triage. All the while, I'm in pain from my now-2-minute-apart-contractions.

So, I wait -- brace yourselves -- for an HOUR in the WAITING ROOM with about every teen mom from Decatur who think they're in "labor", but really they're just bored, they like to hang out at DeKalb Medical on a Monday afternoon. ANYWAYS. I keep telling JB to say something because I felt like I was going to pass out. Even the teen next to me realized I was a ticking time bomb ("You look like you gon' have a baybee.") So JB won't stop bothering the lady and they finally take me back to triage. I'm 1 minute apart and lasting 45 seconds. I lay on the gurney and boom: water breaks. I instantly get scared because I remember how serious the contractions get after that from Matt. Luckily, when I'm in distress or pain, I'm quite quiet and keep to myself (except for the copious amounts of bad words that are whispered ever-so-sweetly).

So, after my water breaks, a new nurse comes in and whisks me away to a L&D room. Jason later tell me this is about a 60 second trip. Well, in that 60 seconds, I tell the nurse the following: (1) I'm gonna have a baby; (2) I hurt; (3) She's out. Then we finally make it to the delivery room and when the nurse moves my blankets, she sho' nuff sees little Sam, so she cuts the cord quickly, suctions her, and runs her over to the heated bed. Sammie's screaming her head off for about 10 minutes while the nurse runs back to attend to me. All the while, I'm in the exact same position from when my water broke because I was so afraid to move thinking that I'd just fall apart. But when the other nurses came in, they made me finally move to a different position, which wasn't painful, and then made me move off the gurney to a labor and delivery bed (because you need one of those when you're no longer pregnant).

That's pretty much the story! I had a super quick recovery and felt great about an hour afterwards. I guess nature really does know what to do. And I couldn't feel more blessed that Sammie's healthy and happy and fun as can be. We love little Sambuca to pieces and can't wait until Matt's nose stops running so he can love on her. He's already interested in her -- patting her back, jabbing bottles into her cheek, and poking her toes. It's pretty heart-melting, not gonna lie :)

Mama and Sammie in the hospital


Sam at home on her boppy (phone picture, so bad quality)

Early Contractions?!

I woke up this morning feeling the same way I did with Matt the Friday morning before I had him. Lots of cramps that come and go, but now that I'm more aware of what to look for I started timing them just to be on the safe side. I went to breakfast with my good friend Dominique and we were measuring them at about 20 mins apart. That's a far way off from true labor, but they're consistent enough to make me a little cautious to run Target or HippoHop trips. Don't want to drop a baby in public... that'd be kind of embarrasing (among other things)...

So Matt's down for his nap now and I'm going to doze off, too. We'll see where these early (very early) contractions are when I wake up in a few hours. Stay tuned!

Nov. 1st Appt

Everything went well at this appointment. I had gained 4lbs since last week, baby's heart was beating well, and she's measuring fine. Not as big as her brother was, but a healthy-sized boo :)

I didn't get the u/s pictures from the previous visit because you couldn't really see anything. She's so big at this point (for picture purposes) that you can't really make any body parts out and her face was facing my backside. Oh well.

New Nursery Pictures

Here are baby pictures of JB and myself; Sammie will go in the middle. I did the same thing for Matt... it's really cute to see how he looks like us both!


This letter will be her catch-all for cute pictures, cards, etc. I already put up a feather that Matt had in his boutonniere from his godfather's wedding (he was the ring bearer) and a cute sign that a girlfriend gave me.

Weekly Doctor Appointments

I had an appointment on Oct. 25th and everything was looking good. I got an ultrasound, but walked out with the report and pictures because Matt wasn't feeling well and I just wanted to get him home and to his comfy bed. I'll try to remember to pick them up tomorrow at my appointment.

Sammie's heart was beating strong in the low 150's (similar to how Matt's was) and I didn't gain any weight in the 10 days prior to my appointment -- I was still 158lbs. Definitely not gaining as much with this pregnancy as I did with Matt, but I always wasn't chasing around a toddler :)

Full Term

Here's a shot from Oct. 21 @ 37 weeks along

Final Countdown - 9 Months!

I officially have 4 weeks left before this baby's due date and I am counting down the days! I have been struggling to fall and stay asleep more than ever this past week, and the aches in my legs, hips, lower back, and ab-area have reached their peak this week. Not to mention, with my lack of sleep I barely have enough energy to continue my roll as Super Mom to Matt, so that just makes me sad for him that I've turned into a lazy mom.

Anyways, I had an appointment yesterday (Thursday, 10/13) and everything's still looking great. I've gain 28 pounds and now weigh 158. JB and I had guesses going -- I said 156# and he said 165#. We both lose...

Stay tuned! I hope to get some nursery pictures up this weekend!

Ketchup Time!

I'm long over-due for a post! Since my last post, here are a few things that have went on:

*I had an appointment on 9/22 where I weighed 152# and everything was sounding good with the baby's heartbeat.

*We vacationed in Naples with Matt so that he could get to experience the ocean. He loved it!! And I loved feeling lighted in the pools and ocean :)

*Sammie's room is coming together more! We only have 4.5 more weeks before her due date.

*My friends threw me a shower at my favorite restaurant (Mosaic) and it was absolutely amazing! It was just a regular girls' night out, but instead of me drinking some dreamy martinis and red wine, they chilled sparkling apple juice for me and bought an oreo cake. We dined outside in perfect fall weather under strings of lights and chatted the night away over excellent food and drinks until 11pm -- SO MUCH FUN! And Sam received the best gifts from an adorable peacoat (from JB's cousin) to the necessities like hampers, wipes, etc. (from one of my best friends, Cin).

I'll try my best to update more in the next few weeks! On a side note, I'm going to let Matty B steal the spot light: He started a Mothers' Morning Out program this week! He goes on Tuesdays just a few hours in the morning and has a small class of 5 children from 12m-18m. His "school" is absolutely wonderful with the best staff I could ask for. And he totally loved it! Never a sad peep came from that boy's mouth all day, his teacher said! And when he saw me, it was like no big deal. He would have continued to learn and play all day if they let him (although he crashed right when we got home, after talking in the car and telling me everything he did and who has a crush on him).

A Few Updates

First off, I had an appointment on Tuesday and my glucose results came back fine. So no gestational diabetes for me! For some reason I was a little worried since I've been eating crap this whole pregnancy. Also, I'm 148lbs and growing well (and still maternity clothes-free)!

Second, I was remembering my first appointment with this pregnancy back in March. When I gave the first date of my last period (which, for those of you that don't know, is how they figure out your due date), my estimated due date calculated to Nov. 8th. This is the date that was in my chart for over a month. Then, I had an ultrasound and my HCG levels checked, as I was measuring right at 11/14/11. Since then, that's what my OB has label my EDD as. However, I'm starting to think that 11/8/11 is the correct estimation... just a mother's hunch.

Third, I set up Sam's crib, which is just like Matt's except it's white. When he first saw it, he froze and stared at it like, "What a copycat..." Then when I put him inside of it, he stood with his head hung down and then threw out the pillow and stuffed animal. Nice.

Jorts and Jirts

Any daughter of mine needs to own a pair of jean shorts and jean skirts STAT.

Halloween Materials, version 2.0

Back in 2009 Jason and I were gypsies/nomads/Disney-esque-cliche-middle-easterners. As you may know, I make ALL of my outfits... I take Halloween serious like a fat kid takes his McDonald's serious. Anyways, I had left over fabric that I really, really liked, and once I found out I was having a girl, I knew I wanted to incorporate it somehow. Isn't it gorgeous?! I've put some of it on the curtains, but I also plan to make a small toss pillow with it, along with a trim for another pillow. I don't want to drench the room in such a busy pattern, so I've got to contain myself.

Maybe I'll be one of those freaky moms that makes hair bows, who knows...

Decorating!

It's a work in progress, but here is Sam's [messy] room! The furniture colors are white and grey, and although I hadn't picked a theme for her decor, it is kind of turning into a woody/forrest feel with lots of birds and bunnies. It may sound stupid, but it's actually looking really cute and simple. I also have a color palette of shades of purple, sky blue, and silver. I just can't stand baby/toddler/kid rooms that are SOOOOOOOOOOO cookie cutter and childish. No princesses, pink, flowers, butterflies, whatever else 95% of moms do. So, here's what we've got so far...

The awesome tree branch curtain rod that was found, trimmed, primed & painted by Jason's dad. It's exactly what I was looking for!


Curtains that I made (the inspiration fabric is at the bottom), currently clamped together with binder clips to create a wave. I think I ironed them too much...


Shelves and my picture frame addiction (if you've been to my house you know I'm slightly obsessed with pictures)


Dresser/changing area


Matching nightstand and rocking chair (it's going to have a white cushion)

28 Weeks

I'm not as on top of the blog as I was with Matt, so my every-4-weeks-belly-shots are lacking. Anyways, here I am at the start of my 3rd trimester. I'm still a lot bigger than I was with Matt (reference my 28-weeker at his blog to the bottom right), and I'm definitely feeling more preggers at this stage than I did with him(aches, soreness, pinched nerves). Hopefully I'll get used to it soon...

Half Way

Here I was at 20 weeks. I'm a lot bigger now (at 21 weeks) with all the holiday weekend face-stuffing I did.

Double Trouble

Matt and I spent a total of 5 consecutive hours at two doctor appointments today. He was such a good sport the whole time, throwing in the towel at the 4th hour and falling asleep. It was extremely exhausting, not to mention the drive sucked -- they were at the Emory Eastside Hospital physician's complex up in Snellville. I made it up to Matt by going to Wendy's to get him a vanilla Frosty.

The first was at a specialist that does ultrasounds to check for some genetic disabilities. Everything looked good with the U/S! Thanks, sweet baby Jesus :) They even gave Matt his own copy of Sammie's picture, which he stared at while slowly crumbling it. Typical. The next appointment was my regular doctor (who I usually see in the Decatur office). They did routine measuring and I opted for some blood work to check for some more abnormalities. He noted that I'm starting to show (um, has he not been paying attention for the past 2 months?!). I'm now up to 138lbs and already using hair ties on my pants and shorts. (I try to color coordinate the ties with my outfit. It makes me feel a little more together in the mornings.)

I'll post the U/S pictures of Sammie soon!

Miss Thang

Well here you have it: Baby2B is a little girl! (You poll-takers were right! Well, most of you.) Before I went for the gender U/S we wanted to have our names picked out. We already had one for a boy, but were a little stuck on a girl name. One night we were talking about it and Jason mentioned "Samantha". Even though I've never even considered that name for a kid, I liked it a lot right then. So, Jason gets to name our kid again. (Just kidding, I love the names he picks, and I always get to decide on the middle name.) So, Samantha Reese, aka Sammie B, backup rapper for her big bro Matty B. Hey... it flows.

Thump Thump

I had an appointment today and heard B2B's heartbeat for the first time. Matt was with me and just stared at the machine making the "whoosh whoosh" sound, like, "Oh, it's really happening..." The beat was in the 140's which is good. There's an old wives' tale that lower heartrates indicate a boy baby. You never know, but that was definitely true for Matt (he was in the 140's, too). Either way, we should find out if B2B is a girl or boy next Saturday (5/28). Stayed tuned!

First U/S Picture

Here's our new boo. Baby is the little white part. His back is facing up, head to the right, and booty to the left. This was taken at about 8weeks.

What!? So Soon??

Yes, yes. This came as giant shock to everyone, especially yours truly. (Are you still letting it sink in? That's okay, take your time.) JB and I found out the beginning of March but held our tongues since it was early in the game. During that time, I had several doctor visits over 4 weeks that changed the story: first I was pregnant, then was maybe pregnant, then not was pregnant, then (finally) was definitely pregnant.

I have an ultrasound picture that I will post soon. The plethora of free time I once had has now whithered away to a teeny tiny sliver of "free-ish" time. (In case you don't know everything... my father was hospitalized for 6 weeks and is now in recoup mode + 9-month old Matty B is awesome and tons of fun + I want to sleep for 18 hours a day because of this new baby = I'm lucky if I can even brush my teeth twice a day.)

I look forward to creating a new site for what JB has dubbed "Baby2 B"! If you get bored while you spend your sunny weekdays in a cubicle, you can relive Matt's blog days (link to the right) for nostalgic purposes. And because he's so stinkin' cute.