Monday, October 15, 2007 5:30 PM

We’re home! Current mood: accomplished Venily is finally here and she is just perfect! She was born on Saturday, October 13th at 4:28 p.m. and weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 in long! And her labor was like a dream come true! I wasn't even sure that I was in labor when we finally decided to go to the hospital. I was bleeding and having contractions about 3-4 min apart, but nothing too bad like they make it seem on the movies. We went to the hospital and when I was checked, I was already 8 centimeters!!! Crazy! I had an epidural immediately b/c otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get one. Then less than 2 hours after we got to the hospital, she was born! Only 18 minutes of pushing and I never screamed or yelled or anything, it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be! And now Venily is here and she is so sweet and so pretty. I haven't gotten much sleep and I did have to have an episiotomy, but other than that I don't even feel like I've given birth! I'm breastfeeding and that's going well, though a little painful at times. We're just so happy to have her and be home and start our family- it's an absolute dream come true! I will probably write a more detailed story on her baby home page site when I get some more time, but it's a lot of work taking care of a newborn, as you can imagine! I've also put up some of the pics we have of her, but we have tons and tons more and I'll try to put them up somewhere when I get the time!

October 13, 2007 (39 weeks, 2 days pregnant/ The day Venily is born!)

Well, this might be it!! I've been having really strong braxton hicks contractions the last two days but they didn't hurt at all. Now today I'm having regular painful contractions 3-4 minutes apart and have had lots of bleeding this morning. I'm going to try to stay at home as absolutely long as I can just to be sure, but all of our bags are packed and right next to the door in case we need to go! If anything we might just go to Kenosha and walk around so we're close to the hospital. My sister brought my laptop home so I might bring that with me and update while I'm there, but it doesn't always work, so we'll see! Wish us luck and a safe and happy, uncomplicated delivery and baby!!! I can't wait to finally see her!!!!!!

October 11, 2007 (39 weeks pregnant)

I'm 39 weeks today!!!! Wow, I'm really hoping I don't make it to 40, even though I'm still feeling pretty good and still doing almost everything I normally do!! I was born 5 days early and Jason was born on his due date, so there is really no telling when little miss Venily is going to make her appearance! I've been asking her to come this weekend so hopefully she listens. I hate not knowing exactly when she's going to come, it's driving me crazy. Every night before I go to bed I walk around my house and clean and put things away and get everything ready in case I go into labor during the night, lol. Last night I spent an hour doing dishes, straightening up my kitchen, and cleaning the bathroom while Jason was in bed! I just want to be ready and I know the one time I'm not is probably the time she's going to come.

So, keep your cell phones on you because we really are close now. Wow, 39 WEEKS, the time has flown by. But it also seems like I've been pregnant forever seeing as we conceived in January- that seems like so long ago!

October 9, 2007 (38 weeks, 5 days pregnant w/ Venily)

I'm STILL pregnant, lol, but there are only 9 days left now until Venily's due date, so the end is finally in sight. I'm getting so excited, but I don't think the reality has set in yet that I'm finally going to be getting the baby that I've wanted for so long! I still can't believe it!! I had another doctor's appointment yesterday and when I was done the doctor said "See you next Monday if I don't see you sooner" so that was really exciting to hear! Other than that, everything is still looking good. I'm not dilated :( but I'm thinned out even more and my cervix is getting soft. It's just a matter of waiting now.

Oh, and isn't this picture so cool?? It's a woman at 36 weeks pregnant and as of today I'm 38 weeks, 5 days, so she's even bigger- it's so CRAZY!

October 3, 2007 (37 weeks, 6 days pregnant w/Venily)

We're FINALLY in October with only 15 days left until Venily's due date!!! My appointment on Monday went well. I'm negative for Group B and even though I'm not dialated yet like I had hoped, I'm thinned out and her head is down low, so that is good. My doctor thinks that she's a good size, but won't be too big. He's thinking like 7 1/2 pounds at birth. I think I can handle that! He also said that most women deliver 3-4 days before or after their due date, but we'll probably have a better idea after my next appt. I wanted to have her this weekend, lol, but maybe next? Jason's got a lot of work going on now, so I guess that's for the best, but I want her out soon! Some nights I can hardly sleep at all. The doctor said he'd consider inducing me a couple of days after my due date, but I'm really hoping not to have to be induced.

Also, I got a new van!! I'm really happy with it too- it's perfect for us! We've been looking at getting a new van but last week I blew both of the brake lines out of my other van while backing out of my driveway and hit the neighbor's garbage cans! Jason fixed it, but decided I needed a newer, safer vehicle ASAP. My new van drives so nice and will be really easy to get Venily in and out of. Jason already wants to get her car seat installed and ready for her just in case!

September 28, 2007 (37 weeks, 1 day pregnant w/ Venily)


Picture: 37w, 1d





Well, I'm full term now as of yesterday and I only have 20 days left until my due date!! I want her out by next Friday, lol, but we'll see! It's getting harder and harder to sleep and/or walk b/c my back really hurts and it feels like my hips are splitting in half! Plus now I'm getting bad leg cramps again, so I'm back to stetching for an hour each night and I'm hoping that will help. I'm really hoping that the doctor will tell me on Monday that she is really close to being born! I had such bad contractions the other night that I dreamt that I was in labor and had to go to the hospital. But I'm sure she'll take her precious little time and not come early! It's so funny b/c Jason jumps at any thing I say and thinks I'm about to have the baby all the time! LOL! Last night I yelled for him to come see something and he thought my water broke!!

September 24, 2007 (36 weeks, 4 days pregnant w/ Venily)



I had the first of my weekly appointments today (hopefully only a few left). It went really well. Everything still looks great. According to their scale though I've gained 4.5 pounds in 2 weeks! My scale says differently though, so who knows. If the doctor's office is right that puts me at a total of 22 pounds so far this pregnancy, which is awesome! But I can feel EVERY pound of it- she's SOOO heavy!!! The doctor checked me and said that her head is really far down which is going to make for an easier delivery, but that it probably feels like I'm walking around w/ a bowling ball between my legs, lol, it sure does! He also thinks that she's about 7 pounds right now!!! I have a feeling that she's going to be BIG! I was talking to my mom and all of her children were over 8 pounds except for my sister (but that was only b/c she was born 4 weeks early at almost 6 pounds anyway). Hopefully she comes in like a week before she can get too gigantic, lol! And, WOW, is she active right now!! All the stuff I read says that she should be slowing down as she runs out of room, but she is really moving all around in there! I had a dream one night that she had bruised the whole inside of my stomach and you could see it from the outside, lol. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised.

Other than being HUGE and having to deal with all of the things that that entails, I don't have any new symptoms, so that's good. Just some lower back pain still and getting tired easily. Jason and I went for a 2 mile hike yesterday at Kettle Moraine and that was really nice. While we were walking Jason told me that he thought I was going to be a great mom and I almost lost it- I don't think I can love him any more than I do right now. Except maybe when I see him with his daughter b/c I already know how much he loves her. About a week ago we went to the Whitewater Aquatic Center and swam, which felt great. I really want to go again. I'm hoping staying active will help this baby come sooner! In 3 days, when I'm officially full term, you can bet that I'm going to be doing everything that I can to get this baby out!!!

September 18, 2007!!!! (35 weeks, 5 days pregnant w/ Venily)


Picture: 35w, 2d



It's the 18th today, which means that there is exactly one month until my due date!!! Which is awesome because I think I'm officially ready to not be pregnant any more, lol! Jason says not to say that b/c he still needs a few weeks to get everything together like getting our roof finished up and stuff! But I am so ready! Venily is ready too- she wants OUT, ha ha! She's been kicking so hard lately that I'm surprised she hasn't broken free! Her foot sometimes literaly sticks out like 3 inches, then she'll pull it back in and I'll push on it and she'll stick it out again! It's so cute, but I thought Jason was going to be sick when I was showing him! LOL, he's funny- I can't wait to see him when I'm delivering her!!

I'm really hoping that when they check me next Monday that I've started dialating or showing some signs that labor will start soon- I can't even imagine going to my due date (or later- oh my gosh!)! I'm not sure if she's dropped yet, but I'd like to think so- I'm not very good at judging stuff like that! I want to see her and hold her so badly!!! Hopefully I only have a few short weeks left!

September 13, 2007 (35 weeks pregnant w/ Venily)



I'm 35 WEEKS TODAY!!!!!
Only 35 days left until Venily's due date and only 14 days until she's full term!!! I've been having a lot of braxton hicks contractions (I believe- I've been having them since I was about 20 weeks) and had them pretty bad last night, making it really hard to sleep! It's so exciting- I've been dreaming about being this pregnant for a long time and now I finally am!!!!

Here's what she looks like this week:

September 10, 2007 (34 weeks, 4 days pregnant w/Venily)



Another great appointment today. I gained another 1.5 pounds in 2 weeks and her heartbeat was 145bpm. My doctor said that she appears to be a very healthy little girl. My next appointment is in 2 weeks again and then I start going to my appointments WEEKLY! We're so close now! At my next appointment I get an internal exam and I'll be tested for the Strep B virus.

We're getting so excited and Jason is being so cute about the baby! He just told me today he was thinking about getting a tattoo with her name on him! LOL, I don't really like tatoos, but I think that would be adorable!

I survived my 4 days without Jason, lol, and got a lot of stuff done. It was actually nice to be able to sleep in the bed all by myself with all 6 pillows, ha ha! I even painted some pictures to go up in Venily's room. I'm happy with how they turned out and am glad I did them myself so that they match perfectly with her room. I need to find a place to hang them up now. I painted a bunch of little butterflies too and put them around her room. I also started a workout routine. I haven't been able to walk much lately b/c of how badly it hurts my back- plus all of the stupid mosquitoes around here! I don't work out crazy or anything- just a lot of stretching and light weights (no more than 10 pounds), but I feel better already. My muscles (especially in my legs and back) are so tight and I'm going to need my arm strength for carrying around my sure-to-be large baby!

Here is a picture of the paintings I made (I even painted the frames)!

September 6, 2007 (34 weeks pregnant w/ Venily)




Picture: 33w, 2d

I'm so excited to be in September already (and I'm 34 weeks today!)- any time after September 27th, she's welcome to come!!

Jason is gone this weekend to Pennsylvania and made me promise not to have her, lol, and he made her promise too! :) Next weekend he's going to Michigan and wants me to come with, but I'm not sure. Then the weekend after that he might be going down south to watch Jake Kotrba's graduation, but he doesn't want to go because he's afraid I might have the baby! He told me that once I hit 36 weeks, he's locking me in the house and I'm not able to go anywhere, lol. We'll see about that, I'm not nervous about it!

Actually, I'm surprisingly not very nervous at all about having her! I'm really looking forward to it! I think I have a very good idea about how things are going to go and I think it's going to be an easy labor (I'm optimistic!)! Plus I look forward to being in such a nice hospital and feel confident that they are going to take good care of Venily and me! I'm 100% set on having an epidural and despite all of the labor horror stories, I think it's going to be an AMAZING experience! I've been watching a lot of Baby Story and Bringing Home Baby and so many people that I follow their pregnancies online are all having their babies and they all handled it fine and now get to be at home with them... I guess I'm just looking forward to that too much to be nervous or worried!

Jason and I have been talking a lot lately about what it's going to be like having her here with us and we're both really excited- he thinks it's going to be a lot of fun!!! Jason is looking forward to getting her a Halloween costume (we haven't found the perfect one yet though!) and wants to take a family trip with her in the Spring. Right after I have her, Jason is going to take a week off of work so we can be together as a family and he can help me out in any way that he can. It's funny- he's pretty clueless about babies and I'm a little scared of newborns until they're around 2 months old and thier necks are sturdier- so we're going to have a lot of learning to do! But I can't wait- we love her so much!!!

As far as how I'm doing, I think I'm doing pretty well for being 34 weeks pregnant! My lower back just absolutely kills me, but other than that- no real problems! I take a nap every afternoon and wake up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom, eat, and rearrange my pillows. But, I'm extremely lucky not to have to work right now, so all of my energy can go to taking care of myself and the baby! The ticker thing on here last week said I probably have cankles, lol, I DON'T!! I don't have any swelling at all (and my rings are still falling off of my fingers). Also, I don't have ANY heartburn (I still don't even know what it feels like!) and no stretch marks (pray that it stays that way- I don't know how much bigger I can get though!). Now that I wrote that though, I'm sure all of those things will come my way- oh well, she'll still be worth it! :)

I started packing for the hospital already!! I think most of all Venily's stuff is ready to go! My next appointment is already on Monday- they come a lot faster when they're only 2 weeks apart!

Saturday, September 01, 2007 9:13 PM

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Current mood: happy 10 Random things about me * I'm one of the luckiest girls in the entire world- and I'm very aware of how lucky I am! * I can't drive well- I have no sense of direction and I can't park my huge van * I love the smell of bug spray, tomatoe plants, and campfires * I want a million kids- have them, adopt them, and be a foster parent * I'm very opinionated, but often don't express my opinions to other people * I'm convinced I could make the world a better place if I was in charge * I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old and I love animals * I have to eat chocolate every day * My dream job is to be a stay-at-home mom, I could never be happy working full time, no matter what the job was * I am OBSESSED with all things to do with babies! 9 Ways to win my heart- (yeah, I lucked out w/ my perfect guy!) * Love children * Love animals * Be dorky * Do everything you can to make me happy * Spend a lot of time with me * Tell me how much you love me... often! * Make me laugh * Be an amazing father * Work hard to make the life we want 8 Things I want to do before I die * Watch my children grow up * Travel around the world * Own a small farm * See something incredible happen * Win the lottery, lol, just kidding * Umm.... I'm really happy with my life the way it is, I just want to continue living it for a very long time and continue doing everything we're doing!! * * 7 Ways to annoy me * Be loud and obnoxious * Talk down to me * Try to push your religion and/or beliefs on me or make fun of my own * Be overly sarcastic * Complain about the same things over and over again but never do anything to fix the problem! * Talk bad about people behind their backs but act nice to them to their face. * Treat others badly. 6 Turn offs * Self-centeredness * Aggressiveness * Ignorance! (and pretending you know what you're talking about) * Apathy * Huge muscles- yuck! * Rednecks 5 Things I'm afraid of * Anything bad happening to our baby * Having something happen to Jason * Centipedes!! (and other bugs) * Praying mantises- I HATE them- I can't even look at a picture of them * Angler fish that live deep in the ocean- the ones w/ pointy teeth and lanterns (I know I'm never going to actually see one, but the thought of them scares me to death!) 4 Favorite items in my room * All our baby stuff!!!! * Our comforter * Xoey Marie * My good luck items 3 Things I do every day * Think about my baby one million times and look at her in the mirror! * Clean * Eat 2 Things I want to do right now * Eat something * Finish doing the dishes 1 Person I want to see right now * Venily!! -but she still has some more baking to do... soon enough I'll see you my baby girl!!

August 29, 2007 (32 weeks, 6 days pregnant)

Only 50 days left until my due date!!!! And only 29 days until she's full-term!!!! I can't wait to see her!!!!!

August 27, 2007 (32 weeks, 4 days pregnant)

My doctor appointment today went great! I was in and out in only like 5 minutes and now my appointments are every 2 weeks! My next appointment is September 10th- she's going to be here before we know it!! Oh, and I gained 3 pounds this month- I'm really proud of myself! I've been eating as much as I can as often as I can and Jason has been making me drink a protein drink every night, lol- I guess our hard work is paying off, I'm up to 142 now. Her heartbeat was at 142bpm as well. Everything else looks good too. The doctor says that Venily is probably about 4-4 1/2 pounds right now! We got to meet our doctor's actual nurse today too and I really like her. It turns out the nurse we saw the last 2 times we went to him was just temporary because his nurse was on maternity leave for 12 weeks, but now she's back. I'm glad b/c I didn't really like the other nurse. We also got all the paperwork to pre-register for Labor and Delivery- soon enough we'll be able to have her in our arms!!!

August 25, 2007 (32 weeks, 2 days pregnant w/ Venily)

I just put up a bunch of pictures of Venily's room and things! Her room is still not quite done, but it's what I have done so far. I'm still working on her dresser- I'm putting a darker border around the outside of the door and a border around the top. I'm also STILL looking for pictures to put up on her walls and I've looked everywhere- I think I might just paint my own. Also, I just decided that I want a large dark brown shelf with hooks to hang things on, so I'll be looking for that now too, lol! So, take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think!!

August 23, 2007 (32 weeks pregnant)

Here is what our little princess looks like at 32 weeks!! I can't believe how big she is (though she feels much, much bigger!)! It's so crazy how a year ago today I would have done anything to have a baby and now she is almost here! I have a lot of online pregnancies that I follow through babyhomepages and myspace and now so many of them are having their babies- it's getting me so excited b/c I know my turn is coming soon!!!! From starting out wanting a baby for years and years, then finally getting pregnant, and then 9 whole months of being pregnant, to actually being able to bring a baby home with us soon is so absolutely sureal. It's almost like I'll believe it when it happens- right now I still feel like I'm dreaming! :)


Aww, those little feet love to kick my ribs and that little but loves to push my stomach out as absolutely far as it can and those little elbows and hands like to flail all over the place and make me laugh (like they are right now)! :)

August 20, 2007 (31 weeks, 4 days pregnant w/ Venily)

Uhhhh, I just got done writing a whole long story and I accidentally closed the whole thing down! I'll try again!

Only 59 days left until my due date (I'm thinking I'm going to deliver early, but maybe that's only wishful thinking!). Hopefully not too early though (I'm thinking like early October) because Jason is going to be gone for 3 weekends in September! Yikes, you just know something is going to happen during one of those weekends! But, I'm way too pregnant now to go anywhere with him, lol! I think it's really starting to catch up to me. My back hurts all the time and I'm soooo tired all day and I toss and turn trying to get comfortable all night! But I'm definitely not complaining because I know a lot of women who are as far along as I am that have WAY more things wrong and my symptoms aren't that bad (at least yet anyway) and I know that she is going to be more than worth it in the end! :) I just can't wait to have her and finally be able to see her and hold her in my arms, it's going to be the best thing in the whole world!

Venily's room is looking soooo cute now! Everything is so pretty- I go in her room all the time and just look around and Jason makes fun of me for it, lol! I already want another little girl!! Her room is really starting to come along- all we really need now is her. We put her shelves, curtains, and the letters for her name up and all of her drawers and most of her closet is all organized (with all of her clothes grouped together by size: newborn, 0-3m, 3-6m, 6-9m, 12m, and up!). I'm going to take some pictures soon of her room and put them up on here as well as pictures of some of her cute things too! The only thing I really am still looking for is some pictures to put up on her wall and possibly a wall border but I'm really picky and doubt that I'll ever find one that I like enough to buy! Venily's car seat and stroller came in the other day and I put that together and it's so cute, I'm so glad I went with that one, I just LOVE it! Well, I think I'm going to go now and try painting her dresser. I decided that I'm only going to paint the main door on it in dark brown and then I might go back later and paint some pink butterflies on it or something. I'm really not sure how it's going to turn out! :)

I go to my next dr. appointment one week from today!

August 15, 2007 (30 weeks, 6 days pregnant)






We're proud to announce that our family is growing by one more!!!!! Venily is getting a new baby cousin in April and has been so excited about it! :) She's been kicking more and more ever since she found out! The baby is only going to be 6 months younger than her and they are going to be in the same grade level in school!!!! It's going to be so much fun! Venily kind of wants another girl cousin but big sister Kaitlyn kind of wants a baby brother so we are going to be thrilled no matter what! OR- maybe one of each? LOL, just kidding Jacki! We love all of our kids so much and can't wait for a new niece or nephew!!! The next year (and on!) is surely going to be filled with tons of excitement!!

August 9, 2007 (30 weeks pregnant w/ Venily)

WE'RE 30 WEEKS TODAY (75% DONE)!!!!!! Only 70 more days left until Venily's due date!! We've been very busy getting things ready for her too! Her crib and bedding are all set up and her room definitely looks like a little girl's room now! Jason made the shelves for her bookshelf and put them in and we've been steadily getting everything put away. We ordered her travel system and should be getting it in about a week! I'm so happy right now, I just can't wait until we finally have our little girl!

August 6, 2007 (29 weeks, 4 days pregnant w/ Venily)



Our baby shower yesterday was AWESOME!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came and helped celebrate our new daughter! I couldn't even get to sleep last night because I was so overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and well wishes for our daughter! It's truly amazing how much this little girl is already loved, I'm almost crying again just writing this! Thanks especially to Lauren and Jacki for throwing the shower for us. It was just perfect (although a trillion degrees and humid- but great nonetheless)! I can't even believe how much stuff Venily got either! I spent all day yesterday from the moment I got home from the shower until I went to bed, opening and putting things away and I didn't even get done! And after shopping today for some of the little stuff that she still needed, she has about 99% of EVERYTHING that she needs! She now has a crib and mattress, her entire bed set and everything that goes with it, lots of packages of diapers and wipes, bottles, baby monitors, umbrella stroller, diaper bag, lots of clothes and blankets, stuff for nursing, socks, bath stuff and lotion, calendar and baby book, robes, lots of cute toys, boppy pillow, hamper and laundry basket, travel bed, shopping cart cover, hair stuff, pacifiers, wipewarmer, medicines, bowls and spoons, frames, etc., etc. etc. I can't even write everything that she got b/c it goes on forever! I'm just in LOVE with all of the stuff too! I washed all of her bedding and clothes and things today in baby detergent and it just melts my heart how cute and little everything is! Especially the socks, oh my gosh, I don't think I could ever have enough tiny baby socks, I LOVE them! And her room smells like baby stuff too now, lol, I'm getting SOOO excited for her to come!!!! Jason is moving Lisa's bed out of her room sometime this week and then I'm going to get the crib all set up and start putting her room more together, I can't wait! I have a few pictures up from the shower, but I'll hopefully be getting more later- keep in mind that I was really hot and sweaty. :) Thanks again to everyone, I can't even express how much it is appreciated!!!