I'll be back, y'all!

Hey y'all!

We are home and loving every second with our girl!  My sweet Momma, 'Sippy SuSu, left yesterday and Daddy Kyle is back at work AND school.  Suzanna Grace and I are adjusting to everyday life together and trying to figure out nursing and sleep schedules (haha-a schedule for a newborn?!?!)

I have sat down many times to add to her "Birth Story" post but each time I look at the clock and realize that she is getting seconds and minutes older as I type.  Needless to say, I am trying to savor every single second of snuggles, letting her sleep on my chest, and awake time. 

 I had no idea that my heart could be SO full.  As my Momma explained, "My heart is so full it comes out of my eyes in the form of happy tears."  I told Kyle yesterday in a hormonal cry that, "I just love her so much and hate to even put her down."  Lord have mercy, this little girl has changed our lives.

I am hoping to hang low for the next week and have a goal of getting back into a more normal routine after she is 2 weeks old...which means I'll have a new post by then.  Today we are working on only taking 1-2 naps on Mommy's chest instead of sleeping ALL day in my arms.
This is per Daddy's suggestion on establishing good sleep patterns/routines... not necessarily my desire. :)   

Thank y'all for your prayers for our family over the past 10 months.  We are blessed beyond words and so in love with this precious gift from God.  We humbly ask that your prayers continue as we grow as a family and raise our Suzanna Grace.  

She's the happiest girl in the world:

39 Weeks and 4 days...but who's counting

How Far Along? 

The picture on the left is from Saturday (39 weeks 1 day) and the one on the right is from this morning (39 weeks 4 days).  Does there look like there as been any drop-age?  And again, thank you Piko brand for clothing me throughout my pregnancy.    

Size? 

Suzanna Grace is:

What a glorious sight!  The tech told me last Thursday that she may not be gaining anymore weight between now and her birthday but I am still willing to guess that she is a 7 pounder.  

Each morning I wake up and look at this app-not that I cannot do the math, but just seeing in print how close we are to meeting our girl is so exciting!

Maternity Clothes?  See pictures above...

Weight Gain?  I was down a pound last Thursday but I think that it was just because I weighed in the AM as opposed to later in the day.  Any woman knows that her ideal weigh in time is first thing in the morning but for a pregnant lady it simply means that you shouldn't worry over it. The most important thing is that I feel fabulous and we are both healthy.  I did go straight to the Dunkin Donuts just for safe measures though.  

Stretch Marks? Nope,  Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion twice a day.  

Gender? A precious baby GIRL, Suzanna Grace!     

Sleep?  I was up at 2:30 on Saturday just because my mind was racing but have been sleeping well since then.  Kyle has had me out walking, walking, walking since Thursday and this has definitely helped us to both sleep really well.  Bless him, his sleep is getting lighter and lighter too.  He usually sleeps straight through my many tosses and turns but over the past few nights he shoots up and says, "You okay?!"  I am honestly looking forward to being able to say, "Okay, but it's happening!" 

Movement?  Bless this tiny dancer.  She really gets going around 9 pm.  I know that she is running out of room though as her movements are really only stretches and body rolls.  I can still see masses moving on my stomach though which is really cool and will be greatly missed.

Food Cravings? Just the usual...anything sweet.  Today on my walk I stopped by Dunkin' Donuts again and this time sat down at a table to enjoy my 2 chocolate sprinkled delights. 

     

Anything making you queasy or sick? Only when I lay on my back for too long and she squishes my stomach. 

Labor signs? None at all.  She is very content.  

Belly button in or out?  We all know the answer to this...out, like a piggy tail.

  

Wedding rings, on or off? Thank you Lord for it still being on throughout this pregnancy.

What I Miss? Sleeping on my stomach.  

Symptoms? Aching hips. With all of the walking the aching hips have actually kind of gone away.  

Happy or Moody? Happy, happy, happy.  I could cry at just about every mention of babies, friends, family, and all sweet things but, as my Momma would say, that are always happy tears.  

Dr. Visit Update:  Nothing to report from the DR last Thursday.  Baby girl is just as happy and content as she can be.  Dr. Heraty told me that we will discuss induction options when I see her again this Thursday.  My prayer is simply that the good Lord give us patience as we wait and that she will come on her own without having any help.  Also that if it does come to her, and I guess really me, needing help that we will be at peace with it.  One of my student's dads is an acupuncturist and not only gave me some resources on pressure points that help induce labor and ease labor pains, but he also offered for me to come in on Thursday so that he could work some of his magic.  I have never done this before but based on the reading that I have done, it can't hurt anything.  Kyle and I have also been walking up a storm since he finished his finals on Thursday.  He is competing in a FitBit challenge at work and I have been joining in.  Saturday we walked 9 miles (down to his office and back) and then on Sunday we walked about 5-6.  He has walked waaayyyy more than I did but good heavens if walking and being vertical that much doesn't help our girl get into position and ready then I am not sure what will.  :)  

Monitoring and sonogram were also great.  I will see Nurse Barb and Dr. Heraty again on Thursday.

Best Moment of the Week: Kyle being finished with class and being able to enjoy a "normal" routine for the weekend and this week.  We celebrated with basketball and dinner on Thursday after his class and from Friday-now have just been enjoying being together.  I do not know how he manages all that he does.  Having him home at 7:30 each night and weekends free without homework are such a blessing.  I don't know what we will do with ourselves when this becomes our normal come September.  

Looking forward to... 
The only thing that I can think about at this point is meeting our precious girl.  My heart is full.

Sweet things and Life in General:  
I have given up on dressing cute or really just in anything other than my 3 standard outfits that all include Piko tops especially after last week.  I wore the shirt below, which in the AM fit but as my belly grew throughout the day the buttons were beginning to get a little tight.  One of my students said, "Mrs. Moore your baby sure is getting big.  The buttons on that shirt are about to pop!  Tomorrow you might have to wear a t-shirt that just pulls over your head."  Her point was proven later in the day when I went to pull it down over my belly and my finger literally poked straight through the already stretched material.  Needless to say, I got a good laugh and the shirt was thrown away.    

Happy Birthday to our youngest of the brothers, Ryan! 

I promise that I tried to get SG here today so that y'all could share a birthday but I am afraid that she is too much like her Momma and insists on having celebrations be just about her.  ;)

We love you Uncle Ryan!

Bowling Baby Shower

Last Sunday my sweet students and their families gave Suzanna Grace a fabulous shower at the local bowling alley.  All of the kids, their siblings, and parents came out for a fun brunch and morning of running around, bowling, and giving lots of good advice.  I think that Kyle has a new appreciation for teachers and parents after spending nearly 4 hours with 40+ kids. 


They brought gifts of books and wrote some of the kindest words inside each one.  Some kids gave us new books and others hand selected books from their own libraries.  

Another precious student made us a "How To" booklet/PowerPoint. 

 I could not figure out how to upload a PowerPoint but PLEASE click on this link to take a look for yourself.  It is just precious and she created it ALL by herself!  I love that she added pictures so that I would know what the baby should/should not look like!  HAHA!

How To Be A Good Parent

I am not quite sure what this picture represents but it is special nonetheless. 

"Mrs. Moore,
I asked my Nana to make these burp clothes for your baby girl.  They are so soft.  You can use them to wipe your baby's nose when she gets older.  When she grows up they make perfect dust cloths.  I will miss you very much."

 All of those things make perfect sense to me sweet boy.  It sounds like his Momma probably made up a game with these clothes that gets him to use them as dust rags without complaining. :)



This gem is a card from one of my little boys who asks everyday, "Mrs. Moore, how's your baby doing today?!" 

Left: "Good luck with your new baby, Mrs. Moore."
Right: The "woman" at the bottom is me holding Suzanna Grace.  He was really proud of how he depicted my puffy hair.

Advice from a 7-year-old combined with a comic to show visuals of newborn care.

One family created onsies for Suzanna Grace to wear.  The one on the far left is a combined effort as they each took a fourth of the onsie to decorate.  I personally love the Dad's onsie: "Lil Moore, BLING Y'all!"

This is from a student who transferred a few weeks ago but was able to come back for the shower.  He told me that the baby will more than likely get mad at some point because she'll want cola...I will get mad too-or so he predicts.  I have a feeling that he probably experienced this exact situation as a 7 year old with his own mother right before he drew this card.   

The two "oo"s in good represent a rattle and a stinky diaper with steam.  I will use the picture to teach Kyle how to support her head when he holds her. 

What a blessing to be able to teach these kids.  I have become a better parent every year that I have been a teacher and I look forward to trying out my skills on our sweet girl in a few short days!  

Happy St. Patty's Day at 38 Weeks

How Far Along? 

This may be the only hand on belly picture that I have of Kyle.  I am truly the luckiest girl there is!  

Size? 

Suzanna Grace is:

Maternity Clothes? Again, it's the same rotation of maternity jeans, black leggings with the belly band, and piko tops.  Geoff wanted to know if I had sewn long sleeves onto a short sleeve shirt.  HAHA. 

Weight Gain?  At my appointment last Thursday I weighed 144 pounds.  That's about 22-25 pounds.   

Stretch Marks? Nope,  Burt's Bees Momma Tummy Lotion twice a day.  

Gender? A precious baby GIRL, Suzanna Grace!     

Sleep?  I have slept better in the past 2 weeks that I have in probably the past 2 months.  What a blessing.  Sleeping on my left side does the trick...I am not sure how I didn't discover this before considering I have read over and over that your left side is the way to go when your pregnant.  A few nights I haven't even had to get up to go to the bathroom which left me really confused (and well rested) when I woke up for the first time at 6:30 instead of 3:30. 

Movement?  ALL.THE.TIME.  She has her days and nights super confused and really gets going around 7-8 pm.  I feel her jabs, tickles, and such throughout the day and at night she stretches out and flips and flops.  I will miss this!

Food Cravings? Peanut butter and hard sweet candy

     

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope, thank goodness. 

Labor signs? Nope.  Walking, spicy food, pineapple, and all other "put you into labor" tricks will begin on Thursday after Kyle's last final exam.  Prayers appreciated for a healthy early arrival so that Kyle can have a whole week off to enjoy being at home with us.  (If she comes on her due date then he has to begin classed again the following Monday...if she comes early that just means more time with Daddy at home!)

Belly button in or out?  Out!

  

Wedding rings, on or off? ON! Still think the freezing temps are keeping the swelling down.

What I Miss? Nothing.  

Symptoms? Aching hips. 

Happy or Moody? Happy, happy, happy.  I could cry at just about every mention of babies, friends, family, and all sweet things but, as my Momma would say, that are always happy tears.  

Dr. Visit Update:  Kyle and I met with Dr. Heraty on Thursday and were happy to receive another good report.  I was, of course, measuring small but SG's HB was 140 and everything else looked good.  Sweet Dr. Heraty gave me her on-call schedule (every Monday and March 29--one day after SG's due date) but offered to come in when I go into labor as long as she is in town.  This lady was put in our lives for a reason and we count her as one of our many blessings each day.  Monitoring with Nurse Barb went well that afternoon too. :)  We'll do it all again this Thursday.     

Best Moment of the Week: 
-First and foremost, our healthy check up and monitoring session on Thursday.  SG's HB is great, she's a movin' and a groovin', and she has plenty of fluid to swim around in.  When they did the sonogram I was able to see her little nose and eyes though her arms were covering the rest of her face.  Loved being able to take a peek at our precious girl!

-On Friday night Kyle, Clarkie, Dave, and I went to the John Prine concert downtown.  Oh how I love some John Prine and the memories of sitting around with my Daddy playing the guitar and all of the little Rays singing, "We blew up our TV, threw away our paper... went to the country, built us a home, had a lot of children...fed 'em on peaches...they all found Jesus...on their own..."

Looking forward to... 

At this point we are just counting down the days until Kyle is finished with the winter quarter (3 days) and until we get to meet our little girl (HOPEFULLY 1 week, 4 days...or LESS!)

Sweet things and Life in General:  

We had a lot of friend time this weekend which was just fabulous.    

I mean...how precious is this picture.  As you know, I just adore our group of friends.  We are truly blessed.  The boys, especially since SG is showing SO much now, love to try to fill her. Kev gives her a poke and if she doesn't respond he'll say, "RUDE Suzanna Grace...RUDE." and then go in for another feel.  Our sweet friend Patrick, who is in med school and was visiting for the weekend, was a great help in calming any anxieties and answering lots of questions.  It's always good to know doctors personally...I always offer out that I will be happy to teach their children to read one day in exchange for their words of wisdom. 

Sweet girlfriends, Clark, and my Belly Button in front of the green Chicago River

Ole Kyle.

Suzanna Grace's Nursery

Y'all, when I say that this is my absolute FAVORITE room, I say it with tears in my eyes thinking about how perfect it is for our little girl.  It is literally more beautiful than I could have ever imagined and I spend countless hours just sitting in it an admiring.  I know that it will be the most perfect little room for our Suzanna Grace.


This beauty will hang on our door at the hospital with all of her stats filled in and we will bring it home to go in her room too!  Here's to hoping that she comes in March!

Walking in to the room:

 View from the door

If this doesn't scream "precious little girl room" then I don't know what does.  This labor of love was nearly thrown out the window by Suzanna Grace's Daddy and [Grand] Daddy B.  Kyle would now tell you that it was worth the time and sweat...but that he'd never do it again as it came in no less than 1000000 pieces and required many man hours of labor.

 Suzanna Grace LOVES her room...I love it too...especially that oversized monogram!!

Oh how I LOVE our Best Chair glider and recliner.  My Daddy made the open front shadow box for the Ashford Collection dress that I wore when I was a little girl.  Suzanna Grace will have her own Ashford Collection handmade heirloom dress too.  

 Suzanna Grace PINK ribbons made with LOVE by her Mommy, SuSu, and Auntie MA.

My Daddy made the headboard for our daybed and MA, of course, made all of the linens.

We are planning on using the all white bed as the changing table too...I joke that we will just put plastic down everywhere to protect all the white..."joke."

 Ahhhh!  I LOVE this!  We took it down to just two big pink pillows and added a smaller white monogrammed pillow.  Look at that sweet lamb from Sissy too!

Book end/mini-shadow box of Suzanna Grace's SuSu.  A barrette that says "Suzanne," SuSu's little girl picture, and baby pearls...love!  We are hoping to make one with some Grandmother Grace items too!

Bonnet collection, a southern belle must:

We took the folding doors off of the first closet so that we could more easily access everything that we needed.  I found this refurbished dresser on Craigslist and it fits perfectly!

Onsies and play clothes for 0-3 months:

Updated room picture with crib mobile and little girl chair with sMg monogram!

Picture/card holders:

Sweet framed print:

Suzanna Grace's growing library of baby-friendly hard books:

Little girl chair and mini-chandelier night light:

Sweet little monogrammed mug and other goodies on her dresser: 

Well y'all, now all we need is a little girl to go in this beautiful room.  Countdown = 2 weeks!  We love you Suzanna Grace!

Final Touches and LOTS of LOVE

Both my Momma and MA were able to visit Kyle and me before Suzanna Grace is born. 
Each of them wanted to come to check in, make sure that everything was the way they thought it should be for her arrival, and to spend time with us before our worlds are forever changed.  


Friday was a busy day as we worked, worked, worked and checked, checked, checked items from our list.  The day started with a DR appointment where we got to hear Suzanna Grace's beautiful heartbeat AND see her with a sonogram!  The nurses LOVED Momma Ray and have asked about her each week that I have gone back.  As we gave ourselves a tour of the maternity ward she quickly made friends with the folks there too.  

We finalized the hospital bag, bought some "much needed" items, and ended the day with a yummy supper out.  Kyle knows how much I enjoy having my Momma to myself and luckily he was occupied with going away festivities for our friend Pat as well as with school. Of course, Momma and I were at home and in bed by 10:30 each night anyways.

We put the stroller back together and practiced strolling around the house.  We also practiced taking it apart, getting it up the stairs, and packing it away in closets.  These are things that you sometimes just need someone to do with you and laugh.    

 

We also went and purchased a KTan which my cousin Cori recommended.  We watched  several videos on how this thing works and I am no pro...but I think it will be nice to have.  We will get another carrier for Kyle to use after she gets here too.  I told Kyle that he was welcome to wear this one too and showed him the picture below.  He was not amused.   

 

It snowed (story of my life this winter) on Saturday but we still enjoyed a 2+hour sit in Starbucks as we sipped hot chocolate and did some excellent people watching-a favorite activity of ours.  Momma could not get over the fact that it snowed so quickly and that people were still carrying on with their lives instead of buying out the milk and bread at the WalMart and staying inside.

Her visit also welcomed Suzanna Grace's birth month! 

 "Happy March SG!"

Southern Belle in a midwest snow storm. 

Kyle and Toes nearly froze to death watching the Blackhawks play outside!

Momma had an early flight out on Sunday morning but was able to leave us with only a few things left for MA and me to do on the "To-Do List."  Poor Kyle kept saying, "I thought you told me TWO weeks ago that we were ready for Suzanna Grace to come..."  We were...and still are...Momma and sister visits are meant for the small details and "wants" not necessarily needs. 

The following week Mary Agnes' school came for a field trip to Chicago, so she had the privilege of being a chaperone for 60+ 7th-8th graders before spending Friday-Sunday with me.  After my call to her from the DR on Thursday she was just positive that SG was on her way and already had the bus driver ready to drop her off at the hospital.  Luckily, SG decided to stay put and we were able to get lots of extras checked off of our list.  We had the car seat installed, ate lots of spicy food, and got our nails done Suzanna Grace pink with sparkles in anticipation of her arrival.  

We also used the massage gift cards that SG got Kyle and me for Christmas since Kyle refused to use his, stating that he just "didn't feel right about doing nothing for an hour while someone touched him..."  MA and I had zero issues with his concern and very much enjoyed ourselves.  I scheduled another prenatal massage for closer to SG's due date in case she needs a little more coaxing to come on out.  

After our work day on Friday, Kyle treated us to supper at Bistro Dre, plus dessert...the key to any womans' heart...pregnant or not.

Saturday after our massages we met up with Renee downtown at the Four Seasons for tea and snacks.  What a fun cold weather activity.  3 hours later we had figured out SG's arrival, solved all CPS and world problems, and done family planning for all three of us.  Love this sweet friend. 
  

Sunday Kyle had us WALK to church so that he could get a one up on some of his coworkers and their FitBit challenge.  We ended up walking a total of 6 miles both ways and after he realized that walking induces labor (around mile 4) he nearly carried me home.  Needless to say we spent the afternoon napping and watching movies.  MA helped me to do a final cleaning of the nursery before we dropped her off at the airport.

I cannot say enough how blessed I am with the best Momma, sister, and Chicago sisters in the world.  Suzanna Grace is going to have the best female role models and I cannot wait for us to all get our hands on her!