30 weeks

Wow....we have had a heck of a week! We have been going NON STOP...so, warning, this is a LONG post...

Last Thursday, we headed out to Southern Illinois. It seemed like it took forever to get there...we got stuck in some rush hour traffic on the way out, had to stop to fix the chains on the trailer, had to do several bathroom stops for different people in the car, had to make stops so I could stretch and walk around, and had to stop and get peaches, Vidalia onions and pecans for the Illinois fam...and all of this was before we were out of Georgia!

We FINALLY arrived at Papa and Judy's house around midnight, Central time (you gain an hour on the way up). We were all so tired, we changed into PJs and went straight to sleep. I was definitely beat...Ryan started getting feisty somewhere around Nashville, and she was prancing around non stop until Sunday night, I think.

Friday morning we got up early to go pick up our new furniture. It is so much better than I even imagined it would be. The man who built it for us, Van, did an AMAZING job. I had designed a changing table and an armoire to be made and several people saw my furniture in the shop and requested one for themselves! Van told us that he named the armoire the "Georgia Closet", since it was for their Georgia customers. We have furniture named for us! (well, sort of.)

The "Georgia Closet"

Saturday, Dave and I ran into town to get some groceries so I could cook dinner for everyone. Then at 1:00, we drove the 2 blocks from Papa's house to the church for Ryan's baby shower, given by my grandma Judy, my aunt Sheila, and my cousins Leah & Lane. I walked in and there were people there that I hadn't seen in 15 years! A lot of women from the church came, some of my grandma's friends, my family, and all of the women on my aunt's side of the family. Even Brother Dale, our Pastor, came! The only guys there were Dave, my cousin's boyfriend Adam, and Brother Dale...well, until Papa showed up, conveniently when it was time to eat! hahaha :)

My family did such a great job putting on the shower. My cousin made the cutest invitations and my aunt got an adorable cake to match.

Bubblegum, jumpropes, giggles and curls, fairytale wishes make up little girls

There was lots of good food and I had 3 or 4 glasses of strawberry lemonade. Yum! We played some really cute games. One was "the Price is Right"...my aunt would hold up a baby item, like a pack of diapers, and we had to guess how much each item cost. Whoever got the closest to the total cost of all of the items, without going over, was the winner....mom won...she was 3 cents off. Unbelievable!! I won one game - Adam and Leah would play a clip of a song that the title had either 'Baby' or 'Girl' in it, and you had to give the song title and artist. I think I got almost all of them right (I may have copied off of mom for some of the older songs....just maybe)

After the games, we ate lunch and then I opened presents for Ryan. She got a lot of clothes, blankies and other goodies, and my grandma Judy had several things made for her, including the most ADORABLE crocheted dress...I am so in love with it and can't wait to do a photo shoot of Ryan in it!!

Ryan's crocheted dress

I am so grateful for the shower! I know my family worked really hard on it, and it was just perfect. Thank you so much everyone!! Dave, Ryan and I really appreciate your time and I am sure it wasn't cheap to put on! It was so good to get to see everyone, especially my aunt's mom, who recently made a full recovery from cancer, and my great-aunt Delores, who I don't get to see very often - she is hilarious!!

Opening an antique baby book my aunt Delores got for us - it is perfect!!

All of the girls in my family

Sunday was Father's Day, and we took a drive around the lake with Papa. It was ridiculously hot, so we didn't stop to get out very often. When we got back, the guys grilled some steaks for everyone. Dave and I called our dads to wish them a happy Father's Day.

We had a great trip to Illinois. We crammed so many things into 3 days! We had a full day of roaming around searching for primitive shops, went to the auction, played games at my aunt & uncle's house, had a baby shower, went to the Custard Stand for the most amazing ice cream, had Maid-Rite sandwiches (the same ones they make on the show Roseanne...that being my favorite show, I really wanted to get one!), did puzzles at Papa's, went "loafing" at McDonald's with Papa and his friends, church on Sunday morning, had a cook out, rode bikes and walked through my old town (I walked), took a drive around the entire lake, and, most importantly, got to visit with my family. Oh, and I made chicken pot pie for everyone. :)

We got back to Georgia around 6pm Monday, and everyone was BEYOND ready to relax. We wanted to unload our new furniture so badly, but the guys just weren't up for it. Then on Tuesday, Aurora was having a birthday party, so we went to that for a little while. Dave had to work late, so no furniture that night either.

Wednesday night we FINALLY got to unload the trailer full of furniture!! I was so excited I could hardly wait. The guys carried it back to the baby's room, but we had to open it all up to let it air out a little, so I didn't get to start filling it :(

I started washing all of Ryan's clothes, blankets, burp cloths, changing pads, bibs, hats, socks, sheets, and anything else fabric I could find. The washer and dryer have been going non stop ever since Wednesday morning I think.

Since we were out of town on Father's day, and running around like crazy all week, we celebrated Father's Day Wednesday night. I made spaghetti for the guys and gave them their gifts. Ryan gave daddy a book called "Daddy's Girl" and she gave Papa "My First Harley Tool Kit" so she can work on the motorcycle with him...it is a little plush toolbox with stuffed tools inside that rattle and crinkle and make noise. Baby girl gives kind of selfish gifts :)

Yesterday (Thursday), mom and I went out to Babies R Us to get a crib mattress so we could get the nursery more put together. We ended up getting quite a few little things too, and we also found a few things to add to the registry :)

Today I got some contact paper for the new wooden furniture so I could put her clothes away, and I got a crib skirt so we could go ahead and make up the crib. The room still needs a lot of work, but it is really starting to come together.

Overflowing with clothes!!

A little reading nook for Ryan...she may not use it for a while...

The changing table that I designed and had made

Ryan has been kicking a LOT harder this week. I can also feel her moving in new places. I think she has changed positions because my belly is starting to even out. Before, you could actually see that she was completely on the right, but I think she is more in the middle now.

Dave has been "frantic" this week about packing our hospital bag. I had to get some tooth brushes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc to throw in there. I think Dave is ready to get this show on the road! Too bad we still have a little over 2 months left! But, I guess you never know when she will be ready to make her entrance, so better safe than sorry!

It has been blazing hot here in Georgia, and even HOTTER in Illinois, if you can believe it, so I have been staying inside and keeping myself busy. We have a couple's shower to go to tomorrow night, and I have a photo shoot that I need to finish editing before then. After that, maybe we can take a breather Sunday and just have a day off!! I know for a fact that I have been doing way too much lately...my feet and hips told me so. I foresee taking it easy in my future.

Ryan and I have a check up on Thursday, so we will let you know how that goes!

Here we are at 30 weeks...

And here are some pictures of some things we picked up on our trip for the nursery...

A chair, just for Ryan :)

A primitive toy for Ryan! Her first primitive!!

An adorable dress I found in Illinois (not to wear, just for decoration)

A sign for the nursery...never too young to learn your ABCs!

Some sheep I got for her room

Well, I guess that just about covers it!! Have a great week!! I am going to go relax before bedtime :)

~the Sullivans

29 weeks

I am posting a day early because this afternoon we are heading to my favorite place ever - Southern Illinois, where I grew up. We have a busy weekend planned! Friday night there is an auction in town, and not only can you get some great junk, but the people watching is fantastic! Saturday my relatives are having a baby shower for Ryan, which I am really looking forward to. I don't get to see most of my family very much, so it will be nice to get together. Church on Sunday, and I will probably cook something for everyone for Father's Day. I would like to squeeze in some time to do some photos of my cousins, and maybe some family photos too. There are lots of cute stores to keep us busy as well. I am really excited about picking up the baby's furniture and getting our new bed too!

This week, we had a trip to the book store to get some baby books for Ryan. Most of the books we had for her before were regular children's books, which are great for story time, but she needed some very simple books to start out learning from. Dave picked out 3 and I picked out 3. My favorite is "Sheep in a Jeep". Not only is it about sheep, which is my "theme" for the baby's room, but the story is just really really cute.

I had an engagement shoot on Saturday. It was VERY hot, but the pictures came out SO good. It was with some friends of ours, and I am also doing their wedding in October...I am just hoping that everything goes smoothly with the baby and that I am up and on my feet to do their wedding!!

Saturday night Dave went to a friend's house to play volleyball and hang out. I needed some "couch time", so he had to go alone. Someday I will be able to do things like play volleyball again....someday ;)

My friend, Samantha, is planning the Georgia baby shower for me, and we set a date - July 25th. It falls on a Sunday...I think she was hoping to do it on a Saturday, but the place she wanted to rent was booked. Sunday works for Ryan and I, I hope it works for you as well! :)

Ryan and I had another check up at the doctor this morning. I had mom go with me, just to be sure, since I passed out last time! She had my niece, Aurora, with her, so she got to go too. Everything looks spot on with the baby so far. Aurora got to help the doctor measure my belly and find the baby's heartbeat. She also got to find the baby's position and actually feel her in my belly...she said "that is so weird!"

I had to get some more blood drawn today, which I wasn't excited about, but I wanted to really try hard to be a big girl about it. It went fine. No passing out or anything! But everyone was making a big deal over me, asking every two seconds if I was okay. They took 5 tubes of blood this time...compared to the ONE they took when I passed out. But, my gestational diabetes test came back negative, so that is great!!

Here we are at 29 weeks...we are very excited in this picture because we are running out the door to go to Illinois!! (this shirt is a little baggy and makes me look bigger than I really am!)

Happy Father's Day everyone!!

And Ryan says a very special Happy Father's Day to Daddy, Papa, Papa Lee, Grandpa, Grandpa Mark, Uncle Shaun, Uncle Greg, Uncle John, and Uncle Scott!!

Have a great week!!

~Robbi and baby Ryan

28 weeks...3rd trimester!!!

So this week starts my 3rd trimester! We are 2/3 of the way there! Can you believe it??? I have had a pretty "symptom-free" pregnancy so far. I never had the morning sickness, or nausea, no cravings, no drastic weight gain, and I only recently came across some hormones...but I now have one "symptom" that is making me feel like a crazy person....

BABY BRAIN!!

Never in my life has my mind been so completely blank. It is hard to explain, but I feel like even when I am thinking about something, I am in LaLa Land. I can't remember ANYTHING - I will think of something that I need to do, and I can't even verbalize my thought before it leaves my head completely and I can't remember what I was just thinking to save my life. It's like being really really REALLY drunk...when all of your ideas are great ones, but you won't remember any of them once you sober up.

(funny story...I am sitting here writing this, trying to remember my Baby Brain examples, and guess what....I can't think of them...let me dig through my brain files for a sec...)

okay....Examples:

1. The other day, Dave was in the shower and poked his head out to ask if I could bring him a towel. "Sure, no problem!", I said. About 4 minutes later, Dave is streaking down the hall to get a towel because literally as soon as I said "Sure...", I forgot ALL about it. Sorry Dave.

2. I found myself aimlessly wandering around Target the other day. I was half way through the store, my mind a complete blank, and I just stopped in the middle of the aisle and said "What in the world did I come in here for....and better yet...how the HECK did I get here???" So that was kind of scary...

3. I made lasagna for my dad's birthday on Sunday. If you cook, you know that lasagna is a pretty involved dish. It has a ton of ingredients, lot of steps, and takes a couple of hours to make. Well, I had mine assembled and in the oven when I realized that I left out an ingredient all together....parmesan cheese! (Kind of an important ingredient!!) And the worst part about it was that earlier in the day, I thought we didn't have any parmesan cheese, so I was fretting about it and almost had Dave out the door to run and get some when I found 2 things of it in my mom's fridge...so the cheese had crossed my mind once or twice that day! In the end, the final product tasted just like my lasagna always does, so I am thinking about cutting out the cheese altogether to save on the calories :)

4. A few days ago, Dave and I were driving down the road talking about I-forget-what, and I couldn't think of the word I wanted to use, so I said "what's the word for when something is expected?" He looked at me like I was crazy and said "uh....expectation?!" Ah yes....that would be the word.

5. Tuesday morning I was sitting at my vanity getting ready to go to physical therapy. I finished putting my make up on and headed back to the closet to change clothes. As I passed by the bathroom mirror, I noticed something strange...I just did my make up, yet something didn't look right... seriously??? I forgot to put eyeliner on! Eyeliner is pretty much the ONE thing that I won't let most people see me without. You know when people ask you the question "if you were on a deserted island and you could only have one thing..." mine would be eyeliner!! It may not sound like a huge deal...but it was a huge deal for me!

So those are just a few prime examples. Basically I can't think of words I want to use, I can't remember anything, and I always feel like I need to be doing something but I can't think of what it is I should be doing. Oh, and when it's windy outside, you can hear the wind whistling through my ears.

Tuesday we had our 2nd Labor & Delivery class. Mom went with Dave and I this time since we would be touring the hospital again. I wanted her to see the renovations they had made. It turns out that all of the rooms were full that night except one of the old ones down on the end, so she never actually got to see the "pretty room".

The class was pretty normal up until the end, when the lady pulled out the birth video. Nothing makes you want to have a baby LESS than watching a birth video. The video was horrible, grossly out of date, and totally the opposite of how I see Ryan's birth going. For starters, none of the women had epidurals. They were all "chanting" and doing really weird things to get through the pain...just get the epidural...you're not proving anything to anyone.

The video was at LEAST 35 years old. The hair in the video (on their heads...as well as other places...) was enough to make everyone giggle. One of the OBs delivery a baby looked just like John Oates from Hall & Oates...

It was bad overall, but Dave started giggling and couldn't stop during a "close up" because he thought to himself "if this lady poops, we are OUT OF HERE!!" He had to step outside. I really couldn't blame him.

So overall, the video made me really fearful of child birth. I just keep telling myself that the video really wasn't realistic to what my experience will be, but I think they did us all a HUGE disservice by showing it to us. Sigh.

Wednesday night I talked to the lady in Illinois whose husband is making Ryan's changing table and armoire, and our new bed. She said that the furniture is done and ready to be picked up!! She also said that everyone who comes into her shop LOVES Ryan's furniture and she has sold 3 changing tables and 2 armoires off of people seeing them and wanting them too! (I designed both, and we had them custom build them for Ryan) Maybe I have a future in furniture design! We are going up next weekend to pick up our stuff...I have been SO excited about this trip ever since we made the plans back in February...I dreamt about the furniture Wednesday night, and Thursday I woke up at 5:00 a.m. thinking about it and couldn't go back to sleep! Yes, I am excited.

I have been working on Ryan's crib quilt this week. I have all of the squares cut except one, which I am stitching her name on...I have her first name finished, but the middle and last names are still in progress...

And here is an appliqued sheep I made for one of the squares a few days ago.

Today and yesterday have not been great days for me. It doesn't take a whole lot right now to get me down, and when I get down, it is really hard to snap out of it. I really don't have any control over it. Combine that with my 'baby brain', and I am in a total fog. It's called the 'baby blues' and it sucks big time.

Here we are at a very sleepy 28 weeks

That's all for this week. Have a great week.

~the Sullivans

27 weeks...and the Great Diabetes Test Blackout of 2010

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend. I survived a road trip 6 1/2 months pregnant! Friday morning we drove up to North Carolina to stay with Dave's brother, Shaun, and his wife, Heather, and two boys Seth and Brady. The ride wasn't bad at all. We stopped about every two hours so I could walk around, stretch, and of course - go to the bathroom :)

Dave's mom came down to spend the day with us on Saturday. We went into town and ate lunch and walked around the amazing historic district. They had a primitive store and we bought a couple of little lambs for Ryan's room. Then everyone but Ryan and I got ice cream...we were more in the mood for a petit four, so we walked down to a bakery and got our favorite treat. Grandma brought some very sweet gifts for baby, and we showed her the 4D ultrasound DVD before she had to head over the river and through the woods.

Some cute sheep we got for Ryan's room at a primitive store when we went into town

Sunday morning, we all piled in Shaun's Suburban and drove 2 hours to Dave's dad's house for a Family Reunion and baby shower for Ryan. There were lots of people there that I hadn't met or haven't seen in a long time. We started the shower first. There were so many gifts that I had Dave help to open them. I had some yummy punch made for me and an amazing diaper cake, hand made by Nini. Ryan got some cute clothes and other things she will need, and daddy got a new DeWalt drill. Then I had my favorite cake, red velvet. Yum!

We had a cook out for the reunion...Ryan says Grandpa makes AMAZING barbecued chicken. We played yard golf and I got to snap some pictures of Dave with his siblings. We were all exhausted when we got back to Shaun and Heather's house!!

Monday, Dave and his brother worked on building the fence in the backyard while Heather and I played with Seth, Brady, and their super cute dog, Indiana. Some friends joined us for dinner - the guys grilled some steaks for everyone. Then we got up on Tuesday morning and hit the road to come back home. I was very tired the whole way home, nodding in and out pretty much the entire trip.

When we got home, we got cleaned up and headed straight back out the door to head to a Labor & Delivery class. I enjoyed it, but I think it may have been a little "To Much Information" for daddy. We were the only people in the class expecting a girl. It is a 2-part class, so we are going back next Tuesday for round 2.

Wednesday night, Ryan was doing a Triathlon as I was trying to go to sleep. She was just swimming around as hard as she could, and kicking her little legs like she was running....and I think I even felt her riding a tiny little bicycle around in there. It doesn't hurt, it's just funny.

Thursday, I had my first 2 week doctor visit (my appointments were every 4 weeks, now they are down to every 2 weeks). This was the first appointment I have went to by myself. Dave had to work and mom was sick.

I haven't gained any weight since my last visit, probably due to the fact that my stomach is being squished by a baby and can't hold a lot at one time...however, my sis-in-law was force feeding us all ice cream all weekend so I thought I would have gained SOMETHING (just kidding Heather! haha)

Ryan is doing good. I took her 3D ultrasound picture in for everyone to see, and of course they oohed and aahed all over her. I read that around this point in a pregnancy, your belly measurement should coincide with how many weeks along you are. My belly measured right on par at 27 cm. Ryan's heart rate was 154, but she was hopped up on sugar...I had to do my gestational diabetes testing which means I had to drink about 8 ounces of pure sugar. It wasn't that bad...I was expecting Barium or battery acid, but it tasted like strawberry soda. I gulped it down as fast as I could just to get it over with. Then I had to wait an hour, then get my blood drawn.

When my hour was up, I walked back to the lab to get poked. I told the nurse how grossed out I am by needles, requested the baby needle, and told her to please be gentle with me. She tied up my arm and inspected my veins, then she told me that my vein was "too good" for the baby needle, and she would have to use a bigger gauge needle, but that it was still small...I replied "please just tell me it is the baby needle and get on with it"...so she did. She stuck me and it was not bad at all. Didn't hurt a bit. But then......

All of a sudden I felt like there wasn't any more blood in my body for the taking. I tried to focus on a chair that was near me, thinking in my head "that chair has wheels...those wheels roll..." but my words weren't making any sense and I was just slurring gibberish in my head. I started seeing stars and the room was going white and spinning. The nurse asked if I was okay, and as best as I could, I gave a very quiet, sleepy, puzzled and slurred "I think I am going to pass out..." I lowered my head and closed my eyes to try to shake it off. I started dreaming but I can't remember what about, all I remember is thinking "these are good thoughts, I will have to remember them". Then I heard someone say "I need an ice pack" and I woke up with people all around me. The nurse was patting my head with an ice pack, my doctor was kneeling next to me taking my pulse, another nurse was holding her wrist watch out for the doctor to use as she took my pulse, and the other nurse was watching the whole thing with a concerned look on her face. I was DRENCHED in sweat, and hotter than I think I have ever been in my life.

Still out of it, I asked "did I pass out??!?!?" Then I asked if the nurse was able to get enough blood (I didn't want to do it again...for obvious reasons). They answered yes to both questions, and asked if I could stand up to get in a wheel chair. They had me sit in a room for about a half hour before I could drive. I had some water and a granola bar with me, so I had some of both to try to get my strength back up. One of the nurses sat with me the whole time and talked with me, which was comforting. Just another reason I love my doctors office! She told me that my color was starting to come back...I asked if I went white, and she said that I was GREY! It's funny how the ONE TIME no one goes with me, I end up passing out. But in the end, I was just fine and able to drive home. However, I have a feeling that they are not going to let me live this down :(

I came home, grabbed the boys, and headed to my parents' house to sit on the couch with my sick mom all day (she has a bad sinus infection...nothing contagious, or I would not go over there!). My head was a little cloudy all day, so I just took it easy and tried to relax. I asked the doctor if it meant that I had gestational diabetes since I passed out, but she said no and that sometimes people just pass out. Still, I have always hated getting stuck, but NEVER have I actually passed out! She said that pregnancy makes you have some vascular changes, and when you add in all of the anxiety I was feeling about the whole process, it was hopefully a one time thing. By the way...the baby made it through the Great Blackout just fine, which after all, is the most important thing :)

Here we are at 27 weeks!

Here is Ryan's special book I started for her, and mom and I made a sleeve for it so it wouldn't get dirty :) It is a place to write all of the shower gifts she receives, and in the future, everyone can write her little notes on her birthday each year.

A huge box of clothes that people have given us. I am waiting to get her furniture in June before I wash it all and put it all away. She has WAY too many clothes already!

So this was a very long post, and I am sorry if I have bored you, but a lot went on this week! :)

Have a great week!

Love, the Sullivans