Future Soccer Star?

I wonder if there’s any indication as to whether or not we’ll have an active baby based on the amount of movement he does in the womb? If so, we may have a future soccer star on our hand. However, if I had my choice, I would much prefer a football star. J

Baby Neal is one active lil’ baby. I remember early in the pregnancy, I would research tons of websites to figure out when I would be able to feel our baby moving. Now, as I sit here and watch my belly move, that is just a distant memory. Let me tell you, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt something more amazing in my life.

A few months ago, my in-laws were kind enough to give us tickets (excellent tickets might I add!) to the Grand Ole Opry to see my BFF, Carrie Underwood. Going to the Opry never gets old and I always end up shedding a tear (or in my case, many tears) over the awesomeness that is the Grand Old Opry. This time was no different. I think in all the excitement of the moment, combined with the music, Baby Neal must’ve been feeling the excitement with me because I felt some type of “fluttering.” I remember walking out of the Opry hand in hand with my husband and telling him, “You know, in a few weeks I think I’ll look back at this moment and be able to tell for sure if this is kicking.” And sure enough, it was.

Now Baby Neal kicks all throughout the day taking breaks here and there to sleep. I can even see the movement through my shirt. I haven’t seen any pokes through my belly yet, but it does jump when he moves.

I’ve seen pictures, such as below, where you can see a hand or a foot actually press through the belly. However, I asked my OBGYN about that, and she said it is totally photo shopped! She said we’ll see pokes, like perhaps an elbow, coming through but its unrealistic to see a foot or a hand so perfectly. But still, the thought is neat.

Don't get your hopes up - this is totally photo shopped, as confirmed by our OBGYN.

~Jenn

Build-A-Baby

Lately, it’s consumed my mind of what baby Neal will look like. We had a wonderful profile shot from our last ultrasound that I could just stare at for days on end. He just looks perfect to me!

(The only thing I can’t figure out is that lil’ button nose he has going on.)

But Neal and I are always talking about what he’ll be like…

Will he be born with his daddy’s big blue eyes or big brown ones like me?

Will he be as big as I’ve dreamt in my recent nightmares and completely skip the 0-3mos baby clothes?

Will be have big ole lips like his momma?

There’s a lot of talk of a possible “Ginger Baby” (another name for a red headed baby) because Neal was born with flaming red hair and on St. Patrick’s Day no less! And while his hair has turned to a dirty blonde with age, his sideburns are just as auburn as can be, as well as his facial hair when it grows out a little.

But more so than that, what will he BE like?

Neal said he was very shy as a small child, which doesn’t surprise me because he’s such a quiet, observant man. I remember being so confused after our first date because I felt like I did most of the talking and I honestly thought he didn’t like me. But I’ve come to realize that its just part of his amazing personality. He’s a great listener and his cool, calm demeanor has really helped to balance my much more opposite traits. But as a child, Neal said he didn’t make a lot of noise and wouldn’t necessarily talk to strangers.

I, on the other hand, was a big ham. It helped that I resembled a big baby doll, but mom said I would just eat it up when people would pay any attention to me – like lil’ old granny’s in the grocery store isle that would pinch my chubby cheeks. That led to me giving nightly choreographed concerts on the coffee table like a lil’ diva and then developing some diva like traits such as an attitude and a certain bossy tone. Ironically though, with age I’ve calmed down quite a bit and some might consider me to be a bit on the shy side.

So will Baby Neal have those traits? Do we have any control over those kinds of things? I’m not sure, but until then we are anxiously awaiting his arrival into this world and feel that no matter what he’ll be like in the end… he’ll fit right in. Just fine.

~Jenn

Baby Po Po

Back before we knew what Baby Harris would be, most of my girlfriends kept wishing a little girl upon us. I think it’s because most girls grow up playing with dolls - dressing them, fixing their hair, “mothering” to an extent. And now we’re in our mid to late 20’s and we see having baby girls as having a real life baby doll. A perfect little girl to dress up and tote around in pinks and purples.

In thinking back, I never really played with dolls growing up. I can remember having one Cabbage Patch “Preemie” baby doll whose soft plastic head smelled like baby powder and he was smaller than most Cabbage Patch dolls. That’s the only doll I consciously remember taking care of, and most of the time he was naked. (Or ‘nekked’ as we say in Tennessee.) I hope that’s not a testament to my maternal instinct….

But who’s to say that you can’t have fun dressing baby boys?? I haven’t purchased a lot of clothes for Baby Neal, because I’m afraid he’s going to be a massive child and be born wearing toddler clothes. But I did buy one lil outfit!

My husband Neal is a police detective, and he loves his job. That’s one thing that I absolutely loved (and envied at times) about Neal. When we first met, I was slaving away at Nissan and hating every minute of it. He was working longer hours than me, and never complained about it. His eyes light up when he talks about his job. As many horrible things as he may encounter and deal with, he still loves what he does. And if you ask him, he’s always known what he wanted to be when he “grew up.”

My husband, Neal, as a baby wearing his dad's policeman hat.

I surprised Neal with the cute lil’ baby PoPo outfit and he loved it. It’s a possible Halloween costume contender... if the baby can even fit into it by October! I bought it in a 3-6mos. size and hopefully it’ll slip right on. But even if it doesn’t, this is probably the outfit he’ll wear when he goes to meet Neal’s co-workers for the first time.

I can’t wait!!!

~Jenn

Baby Registry - Round Two

How can one little person need so much?

We started our baby registry at Babies R’ Us a few weeks ago. And in my usual style, I had to go home and take a nap halfway through it. (And that was after sitting in those amazing rocker gliders for a while in the store.) I got overwhelmed with all the brands, the choices, colors, stuff. You name it. I felt under prepared to be honest, so we’ve taken the last few weeks to research things better so we make sure to choose the right items and brands for our family.

We also registered at Target last week. That wasn’t so bad, although I think most non-mom’s will turn their nose up at my list. If you’re accustomed to looking at wedding registries and then pull up a baby registry, prepare to be grossed out. When you register for a wedding, it would be really inappropriate to register for KY jelly. (Right?) But when you’ve got a baby on the way, it’s totally okay to register for nipple cream, petroleum jelly and Boudreaux’s butt crème.

My, my, my….how the tables have turned.

We will probably finish up the Babies R Us registry this weekend and that will be a big step for us. But I know there are “showers” in the future, and I already have people asking me about the registry. My goal is to finish this weekend and then run my list by some seasoned moms to find out what to take off. Which is probably quite a bit. We ended up scanning things because they “sounded good” but whether or not they’ll be used in the long run is a different question and one I have no idea about.

On a fun note, I finally found some bedding that I love and ordered it. It should get here in a few day and then we can match our paint and get going on the nursery. I’ve taken a very scary “before” picture of the office/man room and it will be huge shock to see the “after” picture once we get it all done.

~Jenn

I don’t have a disease!

Get ready yall…. Soap box time!

People who treat me, or any other pregnant woman for that matter, like we have some incurable and infectious disease, are really beginning to ANNOY ME.

Just to put this out there, this is NOT directed at anyone in particular, so please do not think this is some kind of personal call out. But lately, I’ve just had my fair share of disgusted looks and people referring to my baby as some life-sucking alien moving inside of me. I have to get this off my chest.

I’ll be the first to admit. I had to get over my own awkwardness about being pregnant. I’m STILL working through some of those emotions.  I like to think some of this is natural and happens to most first time mothers. And if not, sue me. I’m not quite to the point where I feel like mother f’n nature.

So to all you ladies who have chosen not to procreate at this time in your life, or to those who simply don’t have a filter, let me help you out.

Here a few ground rules on what NOT to say around a pregnant woman:

1 – “I don’t like/want kids.”

If you don’t want kids, just keep it to yourself. I don’t want to hear about how expensive they are, how you don’t want to ruin your body and how you prefer your furry, four-legged “children.” Good for you. So children aren’t for you. But it IS for my family, and I don’t like you making me feel like I’ve made some ridiculous choice.

2 - “No offense, but pregnancy just freaks me out.”  (This is usually followed up with a disgusted look towards my growing belly.)

Here’s a clue. If you have to start a comment with “no offense,” you can almost count on my hormonal self taking immediate offense to your statement.

3 – “Remind me not to drink your water.”

At first, this didn’t bother me. I’ve heard it a lot, but people continue to say it to me and frankly it’s getting old. NEWS FLASH! Pregnancy (in most cases) is a choice, not some uncontrollable genetic disease passed down to women. No worries, drinking my water or eating my food will NOT implant your egg.

4 – “Oh my gosh, you’re getting so… BIG!”

Need I state the obvious?!

These are a few of many things that are really irritating me right now. I’m hoping getting this out will help me calm down a little bit. But if not, this blog may “be continued.” Either way, a good word of advice if just FILTER YOURSELF around the pregnant girls. We have enough to deal with than your judgmental stares and comments.

Thanks,

MGMT

Austin Memories

Neal and I joined my entire family in Austin, Texas last weekend for the wedding celebration of a god family friend, Andrew. (Note to self: Add a star to the great state of Texas to notate that Baby Neal has in fact visited.)

The wedding was beautiful. It was very personalized to the styling of the couple and reflected their personalities really well. They are a well-liked couple so there were a lot of younger folks there which made for a really fun and entertaining reception. The music selection was planned out perfectly and there was never a dull moment on the dance floor. We were right up front and had a good view of the craziness taking place. Because of my swollen “hoofs,” as my brother so lovingly put it, I didn’t dance a lot. Neal and I got a few good slow songs in, but my pregnant ass just couldn’t keep up those crazy kids.

But with all the excitement of the surroundings, the music, and the abundance of really awesome cake, Baby Neal REALLY enjoyed himself. I could just feel him dancing and moving and shaking all night long. As a matter of fact, he never stopped. After a long night, we arrived back to our hotel, with take-out cake in hand. I laid down, propped up my feet and partook in the cake (again.) Baby Neal must really like wedding cake (or was on an insane sugar rush) because he started practicing his dance moves again. Being completely relaxed, I looked down and noticed movement through my pj’s. I couldn’t believe it. I sat there are just stared at my belly and once again saw my belly jump in reaction to his kicks. To add to the theme of the day, I once again, started blubbering crying. I called Neal in right away so he could witness the movement and he actually got to feel Baby Neal kick. He just laid there with his hand on my tummy, feeling all the little movements that Baby Neal produced.

Honestly, that moment ranks right up there with seeing his heart beat for the first time. I’ll never forget it.

The weekend was fabulous. How could it not be? Good friends. Good food. An amazing celebration of love. And life. I’ll never forget it!

More details to follow on our trip to Austin. So stay tuned…

~Jenn