Friday, September 26, 2008

Irrational Fears

So, you know how most pregnant woman have fears relating to the birth of their baby? Things like:
Will the baby be healthy?
I hope labor isn't too painful.
I know nothing about babies...how am I going to care for a newborn?

Well, for some reason I'm not worried about any of those things. My two biggest worries are: 1) that my water will break at work (how embarrassing) and 2) that a psycho woman is going to trick me into letting her into my home where she will cut the baby out of me. Gross, huh? Remember those horrible news stories a few years ago where people actually did this? The woman would pretend that she was pregnant when she really wasn't. Then she would find a pregnant woman, knock her out, then cut her open and take the baby. What a horrible thing to think about, I know! But, now you have a little glimpse into my strange little mind.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

We need a DVR!

Today is an exciting day for me because it is the season 5 premiere of The Office! It suddenly hit me today that Baby Kerbs is going to make his/her debut before the season is over. This means that when March rolls around we will definitely need to invest in a DVR or TiVo. I already love this baby a lot, but I can't allow it to mess with my TV watching schedule. :)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I've been tagged! (Not baby related)

THE FIVE TAG
10 years ago I:
1. I was 17 years old.
2. Just starting college at HCC.
3. Had an old Toyota Camry.
4. Ate at Sheetz almost daily.
5. Had been dating Rod for 4 years!

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Work until 4:30.
2. Go the gym (we'll see about this one).
3. Vacuum the livingroom.
4. Clean the carpets.
5. Maybe scrapbook a little this evening.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Utz party mix
2. Chocolate candy (M&Ms, Heath Bar, etc.)
3. Coffee ice cream
4. Frozen coffee drinks
5. Fruit

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Buy a bigger house.
2. Hire a housekeeper
3. Help family members.
4. Work part-time
5. Let Rod work part-time

5 places I have lived:
1. Frederick, MD
2. Boonsboro, MD
3. McDonald, TN
4. Hagerstown, MD
5.

5 jobs I have had:
1. House cleaner
2. Greenhouse worker
3. Secretary
4. Case manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters
5. Director of Child and Adolescent Services at WCMHA

I am tagging: Phoebe, Angela, Cherrie, Becky, and Ariana!!!!

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Maternity Spending Spree


I was hoping that things would eventually get out of hand. See Brooke is not the big spender in this household. I usually hold that title, uncontested. I have accidentally purchased a pro racquetball racquet ("geek" I know that is what you are thinking). And with the help of EBay, I have picked up the occasional symphony level clarinet. So when I saw my wife coming home with some bags from target I became quite excited. Was it possible that this pregnancy thing had caused her to lose her usual fiscal conservatism? Maybe there was a great sale and she needed one of everything in every color, with matching shoes to boot. Instead, she informed me that I needed to go back to work on Monday to cover the costs of her excursion. What had she bought? Oh just $80 worth of maternity clothes. Eighty dollars!!!, I can spend that in tax alone on a priceless first edition of Bobby Fisher and the King's Pawn Gambit. I hope that she realizes that she is worth much more than $80. Shock me sweetheart, go drop a G on something and then you can tell me to get back to work. :)

Weekend Fun!

I told you last week about some of my plans for the weekend, so I thought I would share a few pictures today.

Jeremy, Lindsey, and I had so much fun at the fair on Thursday. He got to see chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigs (and their tiny piglets), cows, goats, sheep, horses, miniature donkeys, emus, ox, alpacas, turkeys, and peacocks. He really seemed to enjoy looking at each of the animals. At the end he asked if he could go on a ride, so he rode this motorcycle thing that went around in circles. Jeremy was so grateful and kept thanking me for taking him to the fair. He is such a sweetie!

Here is a picture of Jeremy and Lindsey looking at the rabbits.


Saturday, Rod and I drove to Lancaster for the Sight and Sound Theater's presentation of "In the Beginning". It was pretty good. The traffic around Lancaster was ridiculous, though.

Sunday, I took our little brother through Big Brothers Big Sisters to the pumpkin cannon. He enjoyed shooting pumpkins, corn, and apples at the targets.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Babymoon

babymoon (noun) : a short vacation for a couple before the birth of their child.

Have you heard this term before? Rod and I are not planning to go away on a vacation, but we are planning a couple of short trips before the baby comes. The first is tomorrow! We are going to the Sight & Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA to see the show called "In the Beginning". You can read more about it here: http://www.sight-sound.com/WebSiteSS/getshowdetails.do?eventCD=ITB.

If you happened to catch Jon & Kate Plus 8 this week, you would have seen them dragging 8 children around the theater. Watching that chaos inspired us to go see the show before we have children. :)

14 weeks - only 182 days to go!

A couple of things to say today.

1) I'm feeling better!

2) I am thankful for my friends and family. :) So many people have called or emailed me to offer their "get well wishes". I really appreciate knowing that people care about me.

3) I have the best husband in the world! After working 11 hours on Tuesday and almost as many yesterday, he still came home and took care of me. Here is a picture of me and my sweetie. It was taken in June, 2008.

4) Tonight I am taking my 4 y.o. nephew to the fair. Although my energy is still low, I can't pass up an opportunity to go to the Great Frederick Fair. More importantly than that, I can't pass up an opportunity to spend time with my favorite 4 y.o. nephew!

5) Even though I didn't get a picture of Baby Kerbs when I was at the doctor's last week, I thought I would share an example of what I got to see on the screen. This is NOT Baby Kerbs, just a random 13-week sonogram. However, it looks almost identical to what I got to see last week.




Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Still Sick

Last evening I could tell my fever was starting to go up again. I took my tenperature and found that I had a fever of 101.1. I looked it up online to see how high it could go without being harmful to the baby. Several sites said 101 or 103. Then I looked again at the paper my doctor gave me and it said to NEVER let my fever get above 100.4!

Of course, that freaked me out and had me thinking that I was slowly baking my baby to death. :( Once I got my brain to work again, I took some Tylenol and put a cold cloth on my forehead. Within about 30 minutes, I was able to bring my fever down to 99.7.

So, I spent pretty much the entire night trying to keep my fever below a dangerous level while not overdosing on Tylenol. Thankfully, my fever broke around 5AM and I'm starting to feel much better. Now that I'm in a clearer state of mind, I'm thinking that I PROBABLY did not bake my baby. :)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

One of the down sides of being pregnant...

...is that you can't take medication.

Today I am hosting an information luncheon at work. I am responsible for setting up and tearing down the tables/chairs, handing out information, making sure everything goes well with the caterer, and doing a 20 minute presentation. We are expecting at least 50 people.

Wouldn't you know it, that yesterday afternoon I started feeling like I was getting sick. I did everything I could to avoid it (vitamins, vegetable juice [Rod swears by this], and tried to get lots of sleep). During the night I developed a fever which has not gone away yet and it is 8:15AM.

Normally in a situation like this, I would dope up on some good cold meds to make it through my presentation. But, all I am allowed to take is Tylenol and it surely isn't helping. So, I am going to go set up (since most of the stuff is in my car) and then beg someone else to do my presentation for me because a group of people will definitely not be able to understand my presentation between all the sneezing and coughing. After I suffer through that I will be back home and in bed for the rest of the day!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Nutter Butter

Did you know that Coldstone Creamery now has Nutter Butter flavored ice cream? I almost tried it last night, but my old standby "Coffee Lovers Only" reeled me in once again.

Anyway, I was reading today that our baby is now the size of a Nutter Butter cookie and it reminded me of the new ice cream flavor. So I thought I should blog about it. Interesting, huh? :)


Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Chocolate Milk

=======================================================
Well MWW is over the chocolate milk phase. It is unfortunate that she has not, as of yet, entered the holy grail of cravings; the pizza phase. How I long for the heartburn to go away so that she can once again enjoy the myriad of flavors locked within a pinnapple and chicken bar-b-que pizza from Ledo's. On the brighter side, she is really enjoying sleeping in on Sunday's. And I encourage her to take regular naps. This has caused a significant drop in my practice on the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, et al. But no worries :) Once the baby is actually here, noise will once again rule the world!

Friday, September 12, 2008

What a coincidence!

So, you all know that my sister and I are both due on March 19, 2009. Well, last night a long-time friend of mine (and my sister's) announced that he and his wife are also going to have a baby. Guess what their due date is??? That's right...March 19! Weird, huh?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Slight Scare

So, yesterday was my second doctor's appointment. I feel so lucky to have found a doctor that I feel comfortable with. Dr. Ginter is great. She didn't get on my case for gaining 12 pounds so far!

Anyway, Dr. Ginter answered a few questions fo me, then she had me lay down so she could hear the baby's heartbeat. She tried for about 6 minutes (maybe more) to hear it, but she could only hear my heart (which was racing by the end of the 6 minutes!). She was very calm and a couple of times she said things like, "I guess the baby is just being stubborn today and doesn't want me to hear its heartbeat". Of course, I was trying not to freak out, but I was getting very scared! Eventually she said, "why don't you come across the hall with me so we can do a sonogram".

As soon as I got on the table and she put the wand on my stomach, an adorable baby popped up on the screen. Much to my relief, I could immediately see its little heart racing away! Although I was scared at first, it turned out to be a good thing because I got a peek at the baby that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. You could see the profile perfectly, she also pointed out its arms, legs, and spine. Unfortunately, she couldn't print pictures for me so you'll have to take my word for it!

P.S. Several people have asked me how to respond to my posts. At the bottom of every post it will tell you who wrote it, what time, etc. There is also a place that says how many comments there are. If you click the word "comments", it will take you to another screen where you can leave me a comment. For those of you who do not have your own blogger account, just click the button that says "name" and type your name in there so I know who wrote it.

P.P.S. I love comments!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Make your guess

My friend Cherie used this webpoll when she was pregnant last year. It was fun to see everyone's guesses of the baby's weight, length, gender, date of birth, etc. So, if you haven't done it yet, please throw your guesses about Baby Kerbs into the pot here: http://www.expectnet.com/games/kerbs.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I want to hear from you!





OK, I know it is early but I am starting to think about what essential items we will need for this baby. Give me your best kept baby gadget secrets! What was something you could not have lived without for your babies? Is there something you saw someone else using with their baby that you thought was super cool? Help me out here!

On the right you will see pictures of a couple of things I know I want. 1) A baby sling. 2) Bumbo seat. 3) Swaddle Me blanket.





























Monday, September 8, 2008

Friday, September 5, 2008

12 weeks

Babycenter.com sends me an email every week that explains the baby's stage of development. Here is what this week's email said:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

I'm just glad to hear that the baby's face now looks "unquestionably human"! :)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Halloween 2009

Next year at this time I will be buying a Halloween costume for a 7 month old! I can't wait. The costumes these days are so adorable!!!

Here are some that I love:





Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A sad story

Last week one of my coworkers told me that her daughter was due two days before me. My coworker was extremely excited at the thought of having her first grandchild in just a little over six months. Today her daughter miscarried at 12 weeks 1 day. I am so sad for their family. :(

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Nursery step 1

This weekend we had a yard sale. Ugh...it was quite a lot of work for $90. The good news is that we emptied a ton of junk out of our house. What didn't sell went straight to Goodwill. Rod says our house feels lighter now!

Anyway, the dining room (which has been our junk room for the past 2 years) is going to be transformed into a nursery over the next few months. This yard sale was the official first step towards the transformation. There are still a few things that need to be taken out of the dining room (once we find a new home for them) but it looks much better now!

The next step is painting. I don't even want to think about that yet. We will probably wait until we know if we are having a boy or girl before we worry about that.