A blog I Stalk

Y'all may have seen on my blog that I stalk  follow a blog called "Blessed by Brenna". Let me tell ya if you are not familiar with this story you are defiantly missing a treat. Brenna was born with a rare skin disorder, Harlequin Ichthyosis. However at the moment this sweet baby seems to be thriving and it is wonderful to see God at work in her life. Today Blessed by Brenna is having a give away, (Click here to check it out) May I just say I think this is a wonderful way to attract readers and in tern spread knowledge about Harlequin Ichthyosis. If you haven't already.....check out the give away, read about Brenna's story and familiarize yourself with harlequin ichthyosis.



Until Next time....


Brandi

30 Weeks down 10 more to go

(Note that I wrote this post about a week and a half ago.....sorry for the delay)

First of all can I say wow!!!! Can y'all believe I am already 30 weeks? God Willing, in just 2 months and around 7 days we will get to meet our first born child!!!! Doesn't that give you chill bumps???

Madilyn weighs almost 3 lbs - about the weight of a head of cabbage.

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Weight Gain: 25lbs. I am officially over my original goal of 25 pounds total. But one thing I have learned about pregnancy is no matter how healthy you try to eat and no matter how many prenatal exercises you do,  you are going to gain what you are going to gain and there just isn't much you can do about it. (I know debbie downer......sorry)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, just no way around it most of the time.

Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend and coco butter. Oh but I have developed the line that goes up the belly. I believe they call it, Linea Nigra?????

Morning Sickness: It seems to have passed although there have been a few mornings when I have felt the need to gag again.

Sleep: Pretty good. I have eased up on the number of times I have to get up at night and have acquired at least 3 additional pillows that I used to not need. Also I always feel it is hard to breath. Justin says if I get any louder with my attempts to get enough oxygen at night he is moving to the guest room (such a caring man...lol)
Baby Movement: Yes there are a lot of days when she is quite the wiggle worm. Today while I was waiting to see the doctor I watched her kick. WATCHED her kick, I mean I could see my belly jump when she would do it. However she never does this when people are around. She absolutely refuses to let her grandparents feel her kick. Although JoNell did sneak her hand on my belly long enough to feel her once.

Food Cravings: Nothing comes to mind at the moment.

What I Miss: Being able to look in the mirror without being in absolute disgust ;)

Looking forward To: Christmas, Baby Showers and seeing our sweet baby's face!!!!

Milestones: Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

I must note that we have had two wonderful baby showers already. One with my coworkers and one with my besties. I was bad and left my camera at the house for my work shower. But I brought it for the shower with my besties. I will try to upload those and post about them soon.

Oh and I took a baby bump pic......are y'all proud???? Well I say baby bump pic but y'all I am not sure "bump" is the word anymore.

Can you Say WOWZERS????!!!!!

Until Next Time.....


Brandi

Christmas List

It is that time of year again......the time of year when everyone begins to ask what I want for Christmas. This year that question is particularly hard since I can't ask for my favorite things.....shoes and clothes. I mean it is kind of hard to ask for that when I am HUGE and even my pinky toes are swollen and puffy. Also I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be the same. There is no way this can go back to what it was with out a small miracle.  However there are a few things I would like to have even though I know they are out of any one's price range.....(A girl can dream)

A robotic vacuum.....

 

 

I haven't really decided on which one of these suckers I want. I just know that I want it to be programed to vacuum up all of the dog hair, dust and little tid bits Madilyn might be tempted to stick in her mouth while I am away at work so it would be one less thing I would have to worry about when I get home.


A cricut.... (and all the must have gadgets to go with)

 

 There have been several instances in all of these crafts I have found to do when I have thought to myself "If had a cricut this would be easier".



A sewing/monogramming machine....

 

 

Not that this is the model I want or anything. I haven't even researched these puppies because I know it is a dream for me to go out and purchase one, find somewhere to put it then find the time to use it but still a girl can dream

Also my Dad got us a Cannon Rebel T2i back when he found out we would be having a baby. However I have yet to buy a case or a larger capacity SD card for it. So I would like that plus I am thinking I would love to have the Photoshop software. However I didn't realize there were that many versions of the software out there so I am stumped as to which one I would need/get.


I guess the last thing would be jewelry. Now when I say jewelry I don't mean the expensive kind I mean like the long necklaces and stuff..I guess you would call it costume jewelry?


Other than that y'all I am stumped. Unless you count a rain check to when I am skinny again (that is if I am ever skinny again)


Until Next Time....


Brandi

4D sonogram....

Well we finally got to go to our 4d sonogram today. However the machine was broken so they were unable to burn copies of the CDs/DVDs. They did let us take a peek at her and they printed some pictures but it wasn't for the full hour session and the pics were not so great to me. The up side was we didn't have to pay!!!! So we got to peek at her for free;). They said we could come back when the machine is fixed next week so we may do that. We will see.....

This one is one of the better ones in my opinion. As you can see her mouth is open and if you look real close you can see the peach fuzz hair on her head!!!

Here she has her hands over her face....as always.

This one we were having trouble getting her since she insisted on hiding behind the umbilical cord

This one she is still hiding

And yet again with the hiding......this girl is going to be the child who hides under the clothes rack at Wal-Mart

And I am pleased to announce she is HEAD DOWN.....(as of now) so yay for that!!!! They said they will tell me how big they expect her to be at my next sonogram which will be at 32 weeks.


Until Next time.......


Brandi

26 Weeks Down and 14 more to go...

Well technically (since I am a week late posting this update) I am actually 27 weeks with 13 weeks to go but who's counting..;)

At 26 weeks M weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches.
(About the length of an English Hothouse cucumber)

How Far Along: 26 weeks

Weight Gain: 20lbs. This is actually up for debate. Apparently I have miscalculated somewhere because I was thinking I had gained more in total than the doctor had in my chart so we will go with her figures :)....

Maternity Clothes: Yes. But I can still wear some of my regular clothes with the bella band .

Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend and coco butter

Morning Sickness: It seems to have passed

Sleep: Pretty good. I have eased up on the amount of times I have to get up at night and have acquired a pillow to support the baby bump. I am also sleeping propped up to help combat the intense burning in my chest (which I hope is acid reflux and not a heart attack)
Baby Movement: Yes but she hides when other people touch my belly. No one other then Justin and myself can seem to feel her.

Food Cravings: Nothing come to mind at the moment.

What I Miss: Feeling like me. I forget what it is like to be me with out being out of breath, having back pains, heart burn and all the other ailments that come with the territory.

Looking forward To: Christmas, Baby Showers and getting everything in her room and organized;)

Milestones: Baby girl's ears are better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both Justin and my voices as we talk with each other.

You may have noticed this post is missing a baby bump pic too....Man I suck at that. I have got to try harder to document my hugeness.


Until Next Time.....


Brandi

My little craft

Last week Justin was gone two days and nights to training in north Alabama so I did this little craft to stay busy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



They were supposed to be more topsy turvy but instead they a little more like the wind is blowing them to the left. Lean or no lean I was still pleased with the outcome!!!

Finally Finished!! (Or at least for now)

We are officially calling the nursery complete... (well for now). I still feel like it is missing something and I am not sure if it is girly enough so I may find something else to add. But for now......

These are Madilyn's bow holders that I made (Thank you Pintrest)

This is her wreath that I also made. It will hang on the hospital door when she arrives

These are her painting that I made with canvas, stencils and a little paint. You may not can tell her but they display the lyrics to "you are my Sunshine"

These are the letters that are hung above her crib (yes I made these too)

 

 

 




I ordered her bedding from www.polkatotdesigns.com and I am extremely pleased!!!
 

A close up

I also ordered a changing pad cover to match!!!

Well that is the tour!!!! I hope she loves it!



Until Next Time.....

Brandi

22 Week update

By the way I am horrible at remembering to post after each checkup. This one is from my 22 week appointment. (And yes I will be 25 weeks this Friday...3 weeks late). In my defense I was waiting to upload a baby bump pic (which I never took). :)

Baby Madilyn is the size of a spaghetti squash

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Weight Gain: 19 lbs. (Still seems like a lot)

Maternity Clothes: Yes. But I can still wear some of my regular cloths with the bella band

Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend

Morning Sickness: It seemed to have passes but the past few days it stopped by to visit

Sleep: Pretty good. I have eased up on the amount of times I have to get up at night and have acquired a pillow to support the baby bump

Baby Movement: Yes. She loves to wiggle when I lay flat on my back. Oh and she does not appreciate when her daddy lays his arm across my belly. She likes to try to kick his arm off.

Food Cravings: Fugi....I have not yet given in to this craving but I will have to soon.

What I Miss: Still my flat belly, clearer skin, moving more freely but I do NOT miss having to shave so often. Y'all these legs can go unshaved an entire week and it’s like I have shaved the day before.

Looking forward To: Getting her bedding in, Christmas and the Baby Showers ;)

Milestones: Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums :)

 

I have felt super accomplished lately. We have almost completed the nursery. All we are waiting on is her bedding to come in. When it does I will post pics (that it is if I don't forget).

We have also finished registering. We went with Target mostly but there are a few things that Babies-R-Us carries that Target does not so we have registered for some stuff there as well. However the registery is missing a car seat and stroller just because I cannot make up my mind which one I want. I have been trying to decide between the Graco Sung Ride 35 or the Baby Trend. So any suggestions you have on this would be appreciated.

We also booked a photographer for the newborn pics. I tried really hard to pick the right one I hope the one we went with works out well for us.

I know there will be lots more to do but I think I have pretty much met my goal of getting the bulk of things accomplished before the holidays. Well here's hoping anyway.

By the way, my sugar test is in two weeks and y'all I am super nervous about it so say a prayer.

Until Next Time...

Brandi

Half Baked!!!!

The bun in the oven is officially half baked!!!! I was 20 weeks along Friday September 28, 2012 and Monday October 1, 2012 we had our 20 week sonogram. Finally!!!! I have been waiting for that appointment for a while, for several reasons.

One reason is because this is the more in depth sonogram where they look at her for certain defects like, clef lip, bone, heart, lung and brain problems. They measure the amniotic fluid to verify it has the proper volume. They check the blood flow in and out of the umbilical cord. (The sonogram lady looked at so much I can't remember half of the things she said she was doing).

The second reason is I have been waiting for this appointment before I proceeded with anything else, like ordering the bedding, starting nursery crafts, painting the nursery and announcing her name. (we decided on it about a week or two ago).

So without further ado........

And just because I want you to see her kick her feet....

So that's it! Did you see it??? It came by faster than I wanted but her name is Madilyn Dawn. (Note it is NOT Maddie). Oh and wasn't she nice to have waved at us in the sonogram ;)

We decided to announce the baby name to the Grandmothers (Mom and Jo) via flowers.....



Mom's flowers she received at her office

Jonell's flowers she received at her office

The cards read "Just beacuse I love my Grandma/Granna" Love Madilyn Dawn Bishop.

Well that is supposed to be what they said. The florist that delivered Mom's accidently left the "n" of Madilyn's name so it just read "Madily". Mom was like "how do you pronounce it, Mad-i-lee)"?. I was a bit irritated with the florist but what are ya going to do? It is the thought that counts.

Until Next Time...


Brandi

18 Week Appointment "A Week Late"

Last week I went for my 18 week appointment, and yes I am just now posting about it.

Baby Girl is about the length of a bell pepper

How Far Along: 18 weeks
Weight Gain: 13 lbs (I feel like such a fatty but Dr. says this is perfect. I am just thinking I have a long way to go and not many pounds left in my goal)
Maternity Clothes: Yes I have given in. I can still wear my regular cloths with the bella band but why would I do that? I mean have you priced a pair of maternity dress pants? I am going to get my money's worth...;)
Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend

Morning Sickness: It's easing up but I still have to eat breakfast as soon as my feet hit the floor to keep from being sick.

Sleep: Still having to pee once a night and I am sleeping with tons of pillows behind my head to help combat sinus drainage.
Baby Movement: Yes. However it's not as often as I would have thought. I am not sure if she is just really laid back or if I can only feel her at certain times/positions, etc.
Food Cravings: Salty and unhealthy. I have always despised McDonald's McNuggets and have never ate them. However I am finding myself craving them....weird.
What I Miss: My relatively flat waistline, being able to move at the pace I used to and not feeling uncomfortable when I bend over.

Looking Forward To: Deciding on her name, painting her nursery, ordering her bedding and getting to all of those crafts on my list.....oh so many crafts.

Milestones: Baby girl's uterus, fallopian tubes and other girlie parts are formed and in place. When we go for our 20 week sonogram we should really be able to verify she is still a she :)

As I mention I had my 18 week appointment last week. I knew they said they would run some tests but I was not prepared when they asked me if I wanted to test the baby for chromosomal abnormalities. Justin and I thought this test was performed via amniocentesis. We decided we would defiantly not have this done due to the slight risks to the baby. However this was a blood test  so I wasn't sure if this was the same test. I decided to let them take my blood.

Turns out it kind of was the same test (all you moms probably know this). They draw blood and test for certain chromosomes (downs syndrome, etc.) If it comes back positive they would send me to UAB in Birmingham to have in depth testing done. This is where the amniocentesis would come in.

If the results did come back positive (note false positives are possible), I would not have had the follow up amniocentesis done. In my mind what was the point? I mean if it came back positive and I didn't get the follow up testing then all that will have done is make me worry the rest of my pregnancy.  (I am a worrier) So having thought about that I called the Dr. and asked her not to send the blood sample to be tested.

There are ALOT of things out there that can not be tested for to worry about so what's adding one more thing to the unknown. God will take care of us no matter what.

To each their own but that was my thinking on the subject anyhow. I just pray daily everything turns out to be okay.



Until Next time....

   Brandi

Overdue Congrats....

I am sorry this is late but Congrats to my good friend Bethany on the birth of her 2nd born.......

Caroline Isabella Waters

Caroline was born shorthly after 1:00 August 24, 2012.

Gender Reveal

The final results of the gender poll showed 55% in favor of girl. If you were part of the majority congratulations you were right! We are having a GIRL!!!!! I must say I didn't realize how much I thought it was a boy until it wasn't. I totally had to switch gears but once the initial shock went away the excitement began to kick in.

Our doctor's appointment was at 9:00am we got to see our sweet girl about 5 or 10 minutes later. She was shy at first she would hold her hands over her eyes to hide her face...soooo cute!!!!

 

 

The next video you will see two legs and nothing in between......

We planned to have a gender reveal party to tell the family the gender Friday night. After our appointment we went and made copies of the sonogram. We made 5 copies, one for the parents and each set of grandparents. We had 15 pink balloons filled and placed them in the nursery. We taped the sonogram pics to the strings and locked the nursery door.

We decided to have a scavenger hunt leading everyone to the nursery for the reveal. Here are the clues I came up with......


1) The answer you should find, only if you're able is under the kitchen _______. (this led the family to the table were the next clue was taped underneath.

2) Little boys will spray their clothes when they use the water _______. (this led to the water hose located in the garage)

3) Girls will get some lovin' when there's something cooking in the ______. (this clue led to the oven)

4) Boys don't squat they use the _______. (this one led to the "pot"/ toilet)

5) A girl will always laugh when she's in the bubble______. (this one led to the bathtub)

6) In the living space little boys will set fire to something in the_______. (this one led to the fireplace)

7) Boys and girls alike love play with a balloon, here's a key to  the baby's ______. (this one led to the family to take the key and unlock the baby's room filled with pink balloons with sonogram pics that read "It's a girl".

Saturday Justin, Momma, JoNell and I went to Birmingham to do a little shopping. Mom surprised me with a few dresses she saved from when I was a baby. JoNell started from scratch by buying baby girl some new ones. Justin and I ordered her furniture...

We ordered everything seen here except the hutch. We thought it would just be too big in her room.

I have picked out her bedding. However, since we are having it made we are going to wait until 20 weeks before we order it (just to make sure she stays a she).....

I am thinking we will paint 3 walls a khakish-pewter color and maybe paint the wall behind the crib a shade of yellow. Although this makes me nervous because yellow is just a hard color to get just right so we will see.

Well that's that.....

Until Next Time..........

 

Brandi

Time to Vote.........

No not for political candidates. Although that is very important, I am referring to what you think we are having. Do you think baby bishop is a boy or a girl????

I keep hearing from different people "it's a girl," "no it's boy". Also since, I don't have a strong gut feeling one way or another and Justin keeps saying "I don't call the game, I just play it" (whatever that means) I thought it would be fun to take a quick poll.

If ya look at the menu on the right side of this blog, under my profile you will see a poll. Just for kicks and giggles, click what you think it will be. Should be fun!!!!

14 Weeks Check Up

Baby Bishop is the size of a lemon......

How Far Along: 14 weeks
Weight Gain: 9  lbs (Can you say Wowzers????? It's packing on faster than I expected)
Maternity Clothes: Not yet but it's on the way. I have started buying some things to get ready. Although if anyone has work attire in size small that they would like to donate to the cause I would be completely okay with that. ;)
Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend

Morning Sickness: It's easing up but still pops in to say hello every now and again.

Sleep: Still having to pee at 2:00am. (However I made it until 5:30am the other day...whop whop
Baby Movement: Not yet, although I thought I felt a flutter a few times but Justin thinks I am crazy.
Food Cravings: Salty not really digging the sweets the way I used to (As per Rick and Bubba I think that points to girl???).
What I Miss: My relatively flat waistline...oh how I hope it makes a return!

Looking Forward To: Finding out what “it” is (August 31st... our appointment moved a day).

Milestones: "it" can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck "its" thumb!

Thursday I went for my 14 week check up. Although I was completely distraught about my weight gain, Dr. M insisted it was normal if not good. She says girls of my size tend to gain at a higher rate in the beginning (however I think she was just trying to make me feel better). The heartbeat was 154 b/m, from what I've been told this also points to girl but we shall see. (2 weeks and we should know).

Last weekend we started and finished the baby's closet.....

It's ready for sweet little baby clothes

I told Pop (Doug) It sure needs a home made wooden toy box in the bottom

Here is my belly bump at 14 weeks.....

Just for fun lets see how it has grown...............

Oh how I look forward to August 31 at 9:30 am.......Pray all goes well. I have not seen our sweet baby via sonogram since week 7.

Until next time.....

  

Brandi



10 Weeks and Momma Growing Way too Fast????

Baby Bishop is the size of a Kumquat 

How Far Along: 10 weeks

Weight Gain: 6 lbs (ugg I know its a lot for 10 weeks)
Maternity Clothes: Not yet but its on the way I just know it
Stretch Marks: Not yet but I have begun lathering up with Mother's Friend twice a day

Morning Sickness: All day sickness is more like it but not too bad I haven't lost my food yet

Sleep: Good until I have to pee at 2:00am. (TMI???)
Baby Movement: Not yet.
Food Cravings: Anything to settle my stomach.
What I Miss: Sleeping all night without getting up (but its totally worth it)

Looking Forward To: Finding out what “it” is (August 30th...counting the days).

Milestones: "it's" vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function!

 

Today I went for my 10 week check up. Everything went well. I got to hear baby Bishop's heartbeat via Doppler. I was afraid Dr. M would fuss at me because of my whopping six pound weight gain but she said it was normal. However the Internet begs to differ. I blame my sick tummy. About every two hours I have an over whelming feeling to gag uncontrollably. The only thing I can do to combat this urge is to eat something. So its be sick or gain weight (fast) what's a girl to do. As you can see I chose to gain weight.......

Jonell giggled at me tonight and said "you aren't supposed to be showing this early. :( With this ringing in my ears I got on google images and searched 10 week first pregnancy belly pics. Thank goodness I am not the only one who shows this early....there are others. So I feel a little bit better.

On a different note does anyone have advice regarding which bottles to use??? I want to research all of this now so when 20 weeks gets here all I have to do is register and buy. My goal is to have everything possible done by the end of October. If you think about it after that the holidays will be here(busy busy), then boom it is almost time for him or her to make an appearance.

Until Next Time,

Brandi

Showing????? So soon???

Yesterday at Church I wore the dress I purchased to wear for Justin's 30 Birthday party (which I have yet to post about....I'm such a slacker). Any way I noticed it being a bit tight around the belly area. So my friend Bethany (being the honest friend she is) put my fears to rest confirmed my fears by saying "I noticed you might have been showing last week". I just thought it would be fun to show you the difference in a weeks time......

So what do ya think?????? Is it just me or has that bump grown in a week????


On a side note...how early is too early to place an order for some mother's friend and begin lathering up???? I mean who wants stretch marks, right? I know Bethany says some say if your going to get em your just gonna. I still refuse to give up...;)

Big Come Back!!!!!

No worries blogger friends, I have not fallen off the face of the earth we've just been busy. But I intend to reward you for your patients with a super great post...... (hear's hoping) ;)

Wanna know what we have been busy doing?????? (Drum Roll Please)..................

That's right those pregnancy tests are positive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are having a baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meet The Bishop Baby..................................

During Christmas I FINALLY convinced Justin having a baby wasn't the sacriest thing on earth. So we began tring to concieve in February. It took us 5 months but we did it (make a baby that is).  I found out June 14, 2012 (the Thursday before Father's day). We had our first doctor's appointment on the 21st.

We told our parents that night but made them wait to spread the word until our next doctor's appointment which was this past Friday. (I will post videos of that later)

At our June 29th appointment we found out as of then I was exactly 7 weeks along and our baby had a heart beat of 130 beats per minute and is expected to arrive February 15, 2013!!!!!!

 

We told Hunter and Britney today. Hunter seems excited

 

Britney......well not so much. :) She likes having her Aunt Ba all to herself. It will take a while but she will get use to the idea.

Well I guess that is all the news I've got for now. I will leave you with the 7 weeks belly shot....

I look super rough, please excuse that ;)