22w3d- BABY DEALS FROM BLACK FRIDAY!

I am finally getting around to posting about the great deals from our shopping excursion the day after Thanksgiving.....In my earlier post, I mentioned that we started shopping at midnight.....trying to get in on the door buster sales.....but no luck because about 500 people had the same idea before I did!  Even the 40 degrees and rain did not stop the lines from forming well before midnight at Babies R Us.....we couldn't even get in the parking lot!  Needless to say, we were not one of the crazies to stand in the rain......instead, we chose to drive over to JoAnn Etc. to camp out in their parking lot all night in order to be the first in line for their 6 AM sales:

Here are my great buys.... cream (bottom), green, brown and pink fabrics!   Each usually run $12.99 per yard but I needed about 51/2 yards of the cream and wasn't about to pay that much! Here's the sale prices:

Cream= $2.99 per yard (WOOT!)

Green, Brown and Pink= $6.50 per yard (50% off!)

PLUS an additional $20% off the total sale!!!!........It was worth sleeping in the car for a few hours in the parking lot in order to get the exact colors and amount of fabric needed to make the quilt for the twin bed in the baby's room!  You should have seen me finagle three 50% coupons (since it was one per person!)  I enlisted the help of Great Grandma Richards, and her friend in order to buy the three different colors during the same shopping stop!  I added the receiving blankets and the letter that Aunt Caitlin painted to the photo so you can see how all of the fabrics and prints blend and match.  I plan on cutting the receiving blankets up and using them as fabric in the quilt as well!  All of which match the nursery bedding that Courtney picked out!  More photos to come when this is all sewn.....probably over Christmas break.... that's when Aunt Caitlin and I have some free time to be creative!!!!

One shopping stop was Kohls:

 

This is one of the many sleepers I purchased for Nevaeh.....originally $12.99 each.....marked down to $4.80 with additional 15% off total purchased .....final purchase price $4.00 each!!!!! (WOW!!!)

Finally we went back to Babies R Us (thanks to Uncle Ajay who was willing to drive this old, tired person around!)............

This rocker was originally $300.00 but we got it on sale for $149.00!  (WOOT!)  It is dark wood with Mocha cushions....so it will match nicely in the baby's room or Courtney and Mike's living room!

IT IS SOOOO MUCH FUN TO GO SHOPPING FOR BABIES AGAIN.....I AM LOVING LIFE!

22w2d- DADDY FELT THE BABY MOVING!

Courtney shared that when she went to bed last night, the baby decided to wake up!  As she laid down on her right side, the baby started doing a little dance and was moving a lot..... so much that daddy felt her moving this time!!!!!  Courtney said it felt like baby Vaeh was walking up Courtney's belly with her little feet....almost like a  big spider crawling up the belly....very weird but cool feeling!

22w1d- ANOTHER THANKSGIVING GATHERING

Dear Nevaeh,
Mommy sent me these pictures to post on this blog so you will can see other immediate family members as they gathered for Thanksgiving dinner:

Uncle Andrew

Grandpa and Grandma Baker

Great Grandma and Grandpa Orlosky

They enjoyed the company of your Mommy and Daddy and got to see and feel Mommy's belly.....Yes I am a bit jealous (still).....but sooooooon, I too will get to feel your movements in a few weeks when Mommy and Daddy come for a visit before Christmas.

Love,

Grandma Dason

22 WEEKS PREGNANT- BARE BELLY PICTURES!

Here's the weekly bare belly picture as promised! (22 weeks!)

22 WEEKS PREGNANT! WOW!!

Dear Nevaeh,
Your Mommy is now 22 weeks pregnant with you, but you should be measuring more like 23 weeks!  According to Babycenter.com you should be about  11 inches long and weigh just over a pound!  Only 2 more weeks to viability!  Ohhhh sooooo close! Please hang in there and keep growing and thriving so we can hold you in our arms as a healthy baby in about 15 weeks due to the induction!

By the way, today was the biggest shopping day of the year for the Holidays. Your crazy grandma (me), great grandma and great aunt decided to go to the midnight madness sales.  We have been up all night shopping......I am exhausted but didn't want to miss this pregnancy update on the blog!  Soon I will update everyone on the terrific buys!!!!!  For now, I am going back to bed and it is only 4PM in the afternoon!  LOL

Mommy promises to send me a bare belly picture for week 22 soon.
Good Night or should I say Good Day! Love Grandma Dason

21w6d- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Dear Nevaeh,

Here are some of your family members celebrating Thanksgiving 2009!

Grandma and Grandpa Dason

Uncle Joey, Aunt Caitlin and Lilly

Grandpa Dason and Great Grandma Martin

Great Grandpa and Grandma Richards

Great Aunt Magda, Uncle Ajay, and cousins Josh and Adriana

Daddy, Mommy (5 1/2 months pregnant) and Jordyn

 

Big Brother, Jordyn 3 yrs. old!

 

Grandma and Grandpa Barnett

Great Grandma and Grandpa Barnett

We are looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving 2010 with you baby Vaeh!

Love, Grandma Dason

21w4d- PREGNANCY UPDATES

Courtney felt the baby moving all around on the inside of her belly....but this time when she put her hands on her belly she felt the movements, nudges and kicks on the outside also for the first time!  How exciting!  I can't wait to feel it for myself.  She also told me that sleeping is getting trickier each night.  The other night she laid on her right side....the baby didn't liked that position and kept moving until Courtney switched sides.....however, that position didn't please Nevaeh either.....she started moving again....like she was trying to tell Courtney something!....Tooooo cute!

I read something interesting on a pregnancy website today......It is not unusual for pregnant mommy's feet to grow a 1/2 to 1 size larger and stay that way after pregnancy.....This happened to me ....I remember it sooooo well because I was and still am a shoe freak!  I had to buy new shoes after each pregnancy!  Now I know why......during pregnancy the ligaments  relax in the belly as it grows ....but not just in the belly....in the feet too! Having this type of information at our fingertips via the web is a wonderful tool that I was not so lucky to have way back when!  I am learning sooooo much and I am not the pregnant one! 

The kids won't be able to come home for Thanksgiving....but that is OK...Having SKYPE and being able to see and hear them everyday keeps a smile on my face.  They are coming home for a weekend in mid December and then again at Christmas.  When Courtney shared that she was pregnant in late July, I remembered picturing the Holidays with Courtney showing off her baby bump with family and friends during the annual Christmas parties......hard to believe Thanksgiving is two days away and Courtney's pregnancy has successfully progressed to this point of  showing off that baby bump .......It has been a long hard road for her with the previous losses....but now we can all keep praying and dreaming to the day she delivers that healthy baby girl.

21w1d -BABY MOVEMENT!

Courtney shared that the baby woke her up this morning doing a little dance in her belly!  Her Aunt Halley was also the lucky one to feel the first movements!  (I am just a tiny bit jealous!).  Halley was talking to Nevaeh and feeling Courtney's belly and the baby must have liked it!....Also, Courtney's belly button is getting shallow....I wonder if it will pop out near the end of the pregnancy.....mine did and it was not pretty!  Luckily the outtie belly buttons sink go back to normal after the pregnancy.....no stretch marks on the belly.....yet!

21 WEEKS PREGNANT- BARE BELLY PICTURE!

Here's the weekly update on the baby bump at 21 weeks (baby measuring 22)!  Don't forget to look at the belly video at the top of the blog!

21 WEEKS PREGNANT (Almost!)

Dear Nevaeh,

Mommy will be 21 weeks in 4 hours (but you are measuring 22 weeks)!....but whose counting! (LOL).  In looking at the 22 week marker on Babycenter.com, you should be about 11 inches long from head to toe and weigh about 1 pound! (WOW).  You are starting to look like a miniature newborn.  Your lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and you are even developing tiny tooth buds beneath your gums. Your eyes have formed, but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If I could see inside your Mommy's belly, I'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers your body and the deep wrinkles on your skin, which you'll have until you add a padding of fat to fill them in.  I could see some of these wrinkles in your last ultrasound....especially on your neck!

Mommy sent this cute picture just a few minutes ago.....She said this is the only nice outfit that she can still fit into.....I think she needs to break down and go maternity clothes shopping....Maybe Santa is reading this post! Tomorrow I will post the 21 Week bare belly picture!

I just realized that your Mommy is pregnant with you the exact same time frame that I was pregnant with her......I should have realized this before since you will be born around her birthday.....I am a bit slow! LOL .......I will have to look up some of my pregnant pictures taken around the holidays to compare bellies.....The only tough part will be actually seeing the shape of my belly.....22 years ago we did not show off our baby bumps.  They were hidden under large (not so flattering) tops.  Will post if I find them.

Love, Grandma Dason

20w4d Ultrasound

Nevaeh finally showed us her face after the 3rd try!  She is measuring 21w5d in these pictures even though Mommy is in her 20th week of pregnancy!  It has been two weeks since we've seen this little one and she sure has changed!  Finally she is getting a little meat on her bones!  She is head down near the pelvis and her cute little butt is up near Courtney's belly button.

This is one of our favorite pictures....look at the placenta carefully.....just under her chin and on the side of her body it looks as if an adult hand is holding her up for the picture!  Do you see it?

She loves having her hands up near her face.  Just like she did during the 14 Week Ultrasound pictures!

A closer look!

What a cute little body!

This is Grandma's pick of the pictures....Such a sweet little face! 

 

Courtney thinks she looks like Caitlin in this picture.....time will tell!

20w3d- OB VISIT

Courtney's OB visit went well.  Her blood pressure is under control 118/70 (Thank You God!), weight gain is 2lbs since the last visit 2 weeks ago (Yikes!).....overall weight gain is 15 lbs....so really not bad for being halfway through the pregnancy!  The doctor is pleased with her progress and heard a nice strong heartbeat again this time.  The doctor refers to this as a 20 week pregnancy.  The nurse on the other hand read the chart which reads a 21 week pregnancy....and stated she was due for the oral glucose tolerance test for her next visit, which tests for gestational diabetes.   The next visit is scheduled in 3 weeks on December 7th at 2:00.......  still no change in due date :-(  

THE FIRST REAL KICK! (20w2d)

Courtney just called and shared that she felt the first real baby kick near her belly button!  The baby was  "sleeping" all day so Daddy decided to wake her up......he laid his head on Courtney's belly and started talking to Nevaeh.....it worked!  She woke up and got excited to hear his voice!  Daddy didn't feel the kick, but Mommy could from the inside!  Soon we will all get to see her kicks!

20w2d - CUTE SLEEPERS FOR THE BABY

OK....I JUST CAN'T RESIST THE BABY DEPARTMENT WHEN I GO GROCERY SHOPPING! Look at the cute little peach colored sleepers!!!!!

Courtney has an OB appointment tomorrow and another ultrasound on Tuesday. Will post the updates as soon as I know information. I am assuming all is going fine with the pregnancy. Courtney's belly continues to grow and Nevaeh's movements are getting stronger and more predictable (like a schedule!) Hopefully we can get a good picture of her face this time!

20w1d- BABY REGISTRY AND SHOWER PLANNING

Courtney is registered at Babies R Us and Target.....hopefully we will add Walmart to the list as well so everyone has a choice of places to shop and still be able to find what she needs and likes. For family and friends who wish to go online or stop in one of these stores, you will need her first and last name in Kentucky. Call me if you still can't find her registry online. We are planning one LARGE shower when they come home on Martin Luther King weekend on January 16h or 17th. She will be about 8 weeks from a possible induction date at that time.....PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER!

20 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!! 140 MORE DAYS TO GO!

Here's a front view of Courtney's belly. She said the belly button ring is starting to pull and hurt so she is looking for a bendable soft one for preggos like her!


Here's a side view at 20 weeks (baby measuring 21w1d)....Don't forget to look at the belly progression in the video at the top of the blog!

ALMOST 20 WEEKS PREGNANT!

Dear Baby Nevaeh,

In a few short hours, Mommy will officially be halfway through a normal 40 week pregnancy (even though she could count last week as her midway mark due to an induction). In four short weeks you will be at the viability marker in the pregnancy, which means that you will have a chance to live outside of Mommy if she delivers early.....but we are praying you stay put for many weeks after that!

You are measuring one week ahead of schedule which puts you at 21w1d. According to babycenter.com you should weigh 12 oz. and be approximately 10 1/2 inches long from head to toe! Mommy should be feeling stronger kicks soon. But she shouldn't worry if she doesn't since the placenta is anterior and in the way! At least she feels your flutters stronger everyday as you grow! Mommy has also discovered a pattern to your activity as she gets to know you better. You rarely move during the day while she is attending class. In the evening around 6pm you start moving after Mommy has food in her belly! You also move later in the evening before Mommy and Daddy go to bed. That is usually when I get to listen to you through the doppler!

The baby website says you are developing eyebrows and eyelids. In looking at your 4D videos two weeks ago, you already had eyelids because we watched you blink your eyes several times! You are an overachiever in development! (Woot!) Since you are a girl, your vajayjay has begun to form as well. So now you have all your girlie parts in place!

Mommy promises to send me a 20 week belly picture to post tomorrow!

We love you baby Nevaeh!
Love Grandma Dason

19w4d STRONGER FETAL MOVEMENTS CAUGHT ON DOPPLER

Dear Nevaeh,

Now that Mommy and Daddy have Skype, we are able to see each other and talk to each other through the computer since they live so far away. It is so exciting to watch your Mommy's belly grow and listen to your movements and heartbeats through the doppler daily. Mommy sent this recording to me over the cell phone. We love hearing you move around all the time. Mommy only feels flutters even though she is close to 20 weeks. I think it will be awhile until she feels real kicks because of the anterior placenta being in the way!.....IN TIME! This is what you sound like at 19w4d...We can hear you swimming around....near the end, a couple of sharp sounds are heard....probably kicks at the probe!!!

Hugs and Kisses,
Grandma Dason

19w2d NURSERY UPDATE

The nursery is starting to take shape! Mike worked very hard to clean the room and organize the furniture since we painted and stained last weekend. I left him with quite the mess to clean up! Sorry Mike!

This picture shows the dresser we stained to match the crib. Turned out pretty nice. There is actually room to move the crib down so all the furniture isn't so close together. I think the kids are trying to hide the boxes in the corner for a pretty picture! LOL


Moving clockwise in the room, you will see the twin bed that we stained to match the crib. This way, Alexis will have her own bed when she stays with Courtney and Mike!


Continuing on clockwise, you will see the changing table that matches the crib!


Finally pictured is the chest that matches the crib. The extra chest that we stained (matching set to the dresser) is going in the other bedroom. With the crib moved down closer to the door, there should be room in the corner to put a glider rocker that the kids will get for Christmas. If it doesn't fit there, it may fit near the window! As you can see we have a lot of wall space to decorate not to mention the bedding.......All in time!

19w1d- BABY GIFT

Dear Nevaeh,

Aunt Caitlin has been busy painting letters to go above your crib. She is soooooo talented! Here are some pictures showing the work in progress.....

The fabric on the left is the quilt from your nursery set. The top fabric is the sheet on your crib. The receiving blankets will be made into a quilt for the twin bed in your room. Caitlin bought paint colors to match your nursery theme.

The painting begins! She is sooooo talented. She is working in Grandma Dason sewing room!

Smile for the camera!!!! OOOPs I should have cropped this picture. You can see the dress form in the background with a bra on it! Geez! Makes for a good laugh!

The first letter is done! At first she went simple....as time went on, she added more dots with her steady hand!

The finished product! We hope that Mommy and Daddy like this!

Love,
Grandma Dason

19 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!

Dear Nevaeh,

Mommy is 19 weeks pregnant today! You are measuring 20w1d, so I am going by babycenter.com on your approximate weight and size. By now you should weigh about 10 1/2 ounces. You are also around 10 inches from head to toe! No wonder Mommy's belly is really popping out this week! Mommy is already at the halfway mark in her pregnancy,since you will be born a few weeks early due to an induction around 37/38 weeks! Soon we will get to see that sweet little face of yours!

Love, Grandma Dason

18w6d ANOTHER ULTRASOUND

Courtney and Mike went back to the same ultrasound place that they visited last Saturday....the one with the live video streaming. I was able to watch the baby from home this time! The quality of the 3D pictures are still poor. The 2D pics are OK but fuzzy! It was wonderful to watch her move, stretch and arch her back. She loves to put her hands up to her face and suck her left thumb! HOW CUTE! ......the best part.....the ultrasound tech (different person this time) invited them back in two weeks to get another FREE peek since she is still hiding behind the placenta!!!! So I guess we shouldn't complain toooooo much about the quality of the pictures! Nevaeh is 18w6d (measuring 20 weeks) in these pictures. Our next peek at her will be on Nov. 17th! Nevaeh will be 20w3d (measuring 21w4d).

Nevaeh is sucking her thumb in this picture with her left hand!

Ahhhh look, she is crossing her arms and her index finger is up near her face! Possibly sucking her thumb with her index finger on her nose???

The only 3D picture that turned out. You can see the placenta is still in the way! Shoot! But at least we get another peek at her again soon!

18w5d VISIT WITH MY DAUGHTER

I drove 7 hours to visit Courtney and Mike after school last Friday. Arrived there around 8:30PM their time. Our first stop was WALMART! We bought a camera for their computer in order to do SKYPE (live chat). We also bought paint and stain for the baby's room and furniture......back to their home and I collapsed....but woke up a few hours later and painted the room 6 times in my mind! (LOL)

The next morning we all got ready and headed off to the 3D/4D Ultrasound which also had live video streaming for all of the family and friends to see with us! (see earlier post)....then back home to paint.

The baby's room was a very UGLY hot pink with purple baseboards. Courtney picked English White (cream color) for the walls and white for the baseboards. Luckily the weather was nice, so we could open the window for ventilation. We also put a towel under the door to block the fumes and of course block Courtney out of the room! It worked and the fumes never made it outside of the room!

Sunday we painted the baseboards. Last summer, Courtney and Mike bought second hand oak furniture, stripped it down and had plans on staining it for a bedroom. After Courtney picked the ebony colored crib, chest and changing table, we decided to stain the extra dresser, chest and twin bed an ebony color to match. This way the kids (yes they are still kids to me....and always will be!) could save money and still have BEAUTIFUL matching furniture in the nursery. Sunday into Monday, we stained furniture and added new hardware. The look is modern and sleek! They will send me pictures when they have time to organize the room. Hopefully it will be this weekend. Then we will be filling the room with baby stuff from the showers and Christmas in the future! (The pictures show the wall color....very neutral!)



Finally, Monday afternoon rolled around for the Level II ultrasound with the OB (see earlier post). We were sooooo excited after seeing that all was well with the baby.... we actually bought a few clothing items for Nevaeh! Here are a few items!

Tuesday came way tooooo fast with the 7 hour road trip home. I can say that I am pretty proud of myself for driving that far alone, doing all this work and still being able to move my tired body to work on Wednesday! It is amazing how a little baby can bring so much joy and energy to our lives!

A memory that I will keep with me for a lifetime is seeing my daughter walking out of the bathroom just as she did when she was a little girl....with a towel wrapped around her wet hair and a towel wrapped around her body....the only difference was a baby belly peeking out of the towel where the ends met in the front! (HOW PRECIOUS!)

18w4d ULTRASOUND

Courtney had her Level II Anatomy Ultrasound check yesterday. Here's a good picture of her girly parts and her back. The placenta is anterior which means it is on the front of her belly. Nevaeh was laying across the lower part of Courtney's belly (head to the left and feet to the right) with her face towards the placenta....so no good pictures of the face....not even a profile. It was rather funny...the ultrasound tech shook the probe on Courtney's belly (really hard...which kinda bothered me!) to see if Nevaeh would turn and look at us.....no luck! You could see the baby shaking her head from side to side as if to say "Not now, I am trying to sleep!"

We kept referring to the baby as a "she" and the tech questioned us on how we knew. When we told her about the 3D/4D, I think we upset her and took the joy out of her telling us. From that point on, the tech was rather quiet! We had to ask her questions rather than she telling us!!!! Anyway...enough of my whining and on with the good stuff....We did get a good look at the brain and heart, along with the rest of the organs. No abnormalities were noted!!!! Yea! Nevaeh weighed 9 oz. and still measuring one week ahead (19w5d instead of 18w4d....which is good...but no change in the due date!) We asked how long she was, but the tech said that she was curled up so she couldn't give us a measurement (and she wasn't about to give us the measurement from head to rump, since we upset her earlier on! Geez!!) The heartbeat was a strong 156! At the end of the session, Courtney asked if all looked fine and her reply was "The radiologist reads the ultrasound not me".

A very nice nurse took Courtney back to see the doctor. Courtney weighed in and lost one pound. So far her weight gain is 13 pounds. Blood pressure is still under control at 106/76. Courtney asked to see her chart and the nurse let her! The ultrasound report was in the file (which the tech could have easily shared with her!)....The report showed a normal growing fetus at 19w5d, no abnormalities, amniotic fluid was good, cervix 3.99 which is average and anterior placenta (strange that the tech would not share this with us!).

The OB is pleased with Courtney's progress. He is going to keep her on Lovenox until a few days before an induction at 37 to 38 weeks. This means there is a good chance that the baby could be born on Courtney's birthday in March or even Grandpa Baker's birthday!

I have more to share about my visit with Courtney and Mike, the baby's room and shopping...but I will save that for a later post!

18w3d

This was the best 3D picture of Nevaeh's face (side view)....the quality of the picture is less than desirable....hopefully the next 3D ultrasound on Thursday will be better!
This is a 2D ultrasound of another side view of Nevaeh's face! Isn't she cute!?
Here is a front view of her face. You can see her full face and eyes!
This is my favorite picture out of the whole setting. You can see she is getting ready to suck her thumb with her left hand. Mommy and Daddy are both left handed. Looks like she will also be left handed!


Nevaeh is definitely a GIRL! We are getting ready to go to the OB for the anatomy ultrasound (Level II). Here are a few pictures from the 3D/4D ultrasound last Saturday. We were not impressed with the quality of this place.....actually the building was beautiful....the services were less than desirable. The ultrasound tech could tell we were disappointed and invited Courtney back for FREE this Thursday at 6PM Ohio time. Same login, username and password. Hopefully we get a better view of our little girl....and a clearer picture to share with you. The pictures posted are the only ones that turned out. The 3D is very hard to see! Her heartbeat was 154. We could see her sucking her thumb and blinking her eyes!!!!