Megan Leah Brown

February 11, 2011 3:03 am

7 lbs, 11 oz.

19 inches

Out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
John 1:16

38 weeks!

I can't believe I have less than 14 days before I meet this little one (actually if I want, they'll induce me next Sunday if I'm not in labor by then so really it'll be less than a week!). Based on the amount of contractions and preterm labor symptoms I've had thus far, I was POSITIVE this was going to be a January baby. But clearly this baby takes after Jake and I.... stubborn ;)

Anyway, for comparison sake, here's the belly a month ago and today:


Um yeah, I feel as huge as I look.

How far along: 38 weeks

Sleeping: It's difficult to sleep anymore, but I'm trying to enjoy as much sleep as I can get because I know it's short lived ;)

Total weight gain: 30ish lbs (I have lost 2 lbs in the past 2 week though!)

Movement: This is the movin-est, active baby I've ever had. It's constant and now that there's so little room left, you can actually see limbs poking out. Crazy.

Food craving: Nothing really; nothing sounds good anymore.

What I miss: To be honest, I'm ready to have my body back. I'm done feeling exhausted and sore all the time.

What I look forward too: Cuddling with our new baby.

Milestones: At my last OB appointment on Wednesday, I was 4 cm's dilated, 70% effaced and baby was"engaged". I'm not quite sure what s/he is waiting for, but clearly labor's on the horizon!

How I'm feeling: As excited as I am to have baby here, I'm worried about labor. I know there's a window of opportunity for getting the epidural, and that ends at 7 cm's. Seeing as how I'm at 4 cm's already, I'm scared to death that I won't make it to the hospital in time to have the epidural before I reach 7 cm's. I distinctly remember the excruciating pain I felt while waiting for the epidural with Lauren and I never, ever want to experience that again. So, say a prayer for a healthy baby... and for an epidural, would ya? ;)

Hangin' in there

Nothing much to report, hence the lack of updates. I've been EXHAUSTED the past few days, (more than usual) and combined with the frequent contractions, I don't have much energy lately. So I'm taking it easy and relying on the Hubster and my mom for help with the little people.

But I promise, if I go into labor, I'll be sure to update on here or Facebook to let you all know :)

34 weeks!

First off, here's the 30 week belly pic. Um, wow... look at me now!


How far along: 34 weeks

Sleeping: Sleeping sucks. I pee like 4-5 times a night now, and I'm getting very little sleep because of that AND it's hard to get comfy with a huge 'ole belly in the way.

Total weight gain: 23ish lbs

Movement: No more kicks and punches, only rolling movements. Baby is running out of room! Oh, and baby is still head down :)

Food craving: Breadsticks and marinara.

What I miss: not being uncomfortable 24/7. Baby is pretty low, and everything hurts nowadays.

What I look forward to: Finding out if I'll have another baby boy or baby girl :)

Milestones: We spent all night in Labor and Delivery a few nights ago with frequent, timeable contractions. I also found out I'm dilating. We're 2 weeks away from baby being full term, so they put me on meds to stop preterm labor. However, I was told that I'll be discontinuing the meds at 36 weeks and they'll let me go into labor at any time. So, we could quite possibly have a baby in less than 2 weeks. Eek!

How am I feeling: A little apprehensive. This pregnancy has flown by and I can't believe he/she will be here soon. I'm trying to get as much rest and sleep as possible now because I know it'll be short lived :)

Baby Brownie's nursery

The hardest thing about not finding out the gender of your baby is planning the nursery. Everything nowadays is gender specific and I had a heck of a time finding stuff I liked that would work for both girls and boys.

Eventually I found some awesome bedding and designed the room around that (although I didn't spend nearly what the website says!). We painted the walls gender neutral colors, added some accessories and viola!


Here are the minor details:


Three canvases that I painted to match the scheme,


three hanging paper lanterns,


and a wall hanging to attach memontos.

The only thing I'm missing in there is baby's name. I'll buy the letters, paint them and hang them over the closet after he/she is born.

Overall, I'm pleased with the results. All three nursery's have been completely different and it's been fun to design and decorate once again :)

Baby Brownie!

Baby was very cooperative yesterday at our 3D ultrasound and gave us over 140 pictures! Here are some of our faves:

Two things are clear to me now:

1) This baby looks exactly like Lauren did when she was a newborn :) I was thinking boy, but now I'm thinking girl!

2) Baby is certainly getting enough to eat. Did you see those cheeks?!?

30 weeks!

So here's the 14 week belly picture, 19 week belly picture, and 24 week belly picture for reference. Eek!

Anyway, I enlisted one of my little helpers this morning. For only being 3 1/2 years old, she's not too shabby :)


How far along: 30 weeks

Sleeping: Sleeping is awful now. It takes like a 5 point turn to change positions. So I'm either up trying to move my large belly to the other side, or peeing every 30 minutes.

Total weight gain: 20 lbs. Not wonderful, but a far cry from the 60+(!!!) I gained with Lauren.

Movement: Baby has been all over the last two months, but the past couple days I think he or she is starting to run out of somersault room. Also, I'm being kicked in the ribs constantly, so I think it's safe to say baby isn't breech :)

Food craving: Still chicken. I can't get enough protein these days.

What I miss: Not huffing and puffing. I'm starting to get winded a lot now.

What I look forward too: Finishing up the nursery. We're close!

Milestones: In the final trimester now! Also, both boy and girl names have been chosen, after a lot of discussion :)

How am I feeling: With only 7-10 weeks left, I'm excited! I know it'll be challenging at first, but really, is there anything more amazing than a newborn baby?!? :)

Double digits!

Um yeah. We're down to 99 days (roughly) until baby Brownie arrives It's hard to believe that so much time has passed so quickly, or that we only have (roughly) three months left before his/her arrival. Lots of things are happening in that time frame so time will certainly fly. The holiday months usually do...

Oh my gosh, this is happening so fast!

24 weeks!

Okay, so here's the 14 week belly picture and the 19 week belly picture for reference. But ACK! I'm 6 months already... where has the time gone?!?

I had the bright idea of enlisting my three year old in picture-taking this time. This was the first shot:


Um, yeah. And while not perfect, this is what she took the second time :)


How far along: 24 weeks

Sleeping: Sleeping sucks now. Having alot of round ligament pain and baby is sitting on my tailbone. OUCH!

Total weight gain: Not sure, I turn my head when the scale appears at the Dr.'s office :)

Movement: Baby is all over the place these days, esp. at night. Justin can feel him/her and even see my belly move now.

Food craving: Burritos and El Pollo Loco chicken.... an improvement from Chili cheese fries I suppose.

What I miss: Not feeling tired all the time. The exhaustion is setting in.

What I look forward too: the big ultrasound in two weeks. Still not finding out the sex, but it'll be nice to see the baby :)

Milestones: We've chosen a boy name and we're very close to choosing a girls!

How am I feeling: Like I finally have that "I'm done" feeling. I didn't feel like this after Jake was born, but I am really content with the knowledge that this will be our last baby. I truly feel like our family is complete, which brings me joy. Plus, my body is taking this pregnancy much, much harder than the other two. Three babies in 4 years takes it's toll, but it'll be worth having those close sibling relationships :)

Name?

So I was doing my Bible Study and came across the name Asher, meaning "happy, blessed." Perfect for our last baby :)

Logan Asher Brown...

Has a nice ring to it I think :)

As promised...

here is Jacob's nursery! I am quite happy with the results and so, with no further ado...


These curtains are particularly special because first off, it took me forever to find this perfect fabric and second, my mom handmade these, complete with "backing" to block the incoming sun. I love them!


And because I can't get over just how many clothes this baby boy already has, I took a picture of his closet. I assumed that only little girls received tons of clothing, but I was wrong! Thankfully, I love baby clothes so the more, the merrier!

Alright, gotta run. It's 8:30ish and the bed is calling my name!

We're having a baby.....

I love this profile picture of Baby Brownie!

We were SO not planning on finding out baby Brownie's gender but when I went in for the Ultrasound yesterday, the tech asked if I wanted to know. My head was screaming "Noooo!" but my heart was screaming "Yesssss!" and as you can tell, the heart won. And needless to say, I am so stinkin' excited!

So, wanna guess what the Hubster and I are having???


Come on, guess!


Alright, I'll make it a bit easier... here's a couple Ultrasound pictures:


See Baby Brownie's cute little face??? And the waving hand?

Alrighty, here's another:


Any thoughts?? Will a foot picture help you decide?


Okay okay, I'll give in....




Almost...........






No, really......this is fun :)






I'm thoroughly enjoying myself here..........






Okay, here we go..................





The Hubster and I are having a baby BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yeppp! I have to admit, I was initially hoping for another little girl. The thought of two little girls, so close in age, sounded wonderful to me. But when I saw that sweet little face on the Ultrasound, yawning and sucking his thumb, I instantly became head over heels in love with him!

And like his sister did when she was getting her Ultrasound, Baby Brownie Boy was all over the place, twisting and turning like a little wild man! But once the tech was through with her measurements, he began to yawn over and over again! Seriously one of the cutest things I've ever seen.... Here he is being sleepy (hey, that's a good sign...I'm sure he'll be sleeping through the night right off the bat...haha!):



And lastly, here is the money shot that sealed the deal for us. There is NO denying he's a boy, although it's hard to tell in this picture:



The best news is, Baby BOY Brownie is measuring right on track and seems perfectly healthy and happy :) As for a name, we're not even close. We talk about it quite often, but nothing seems to "fit" just yet.... But when we decide on something, you all will be the first to know :)

Yay for the BLUE team!

Mish mash of stuff

Uh huh, that's what happens when you set Miss Clingy Britches down for a nanosecond to go to the bathroom....can you say "meltdown"?!? Hehehe...

Actually, although you can't tell from the pictures above, Miss Piddle Pot woke up the past 2 mornings pretty chipper and happy. Her voice sounds much better, and her nose is returning to that cute little button it once was...no more redness, running or sneezing! Yay! This morning she gobbled down some toast and a few strawberries like a champ, demanding to be fed more once she had finished...yeah, she's never been one to resist food!

We're still taking it easy though...lounging around the house and quietly playing with some new Birthday toys. Lauren still insists that she be held 24/7, which is getting really challenging with this third trimester exhaustion and protruding belly. And when I must set her down (hello exploding bladder!), she acts as if her world has come to an end! So, momma got smart and brought out the swing. Sure, she's over the weight limit and far too old to be as content as she is in it, but she likes it and I'm not messin' with a good thing! Now when the never-ending bathroom break calls, I just plop her in there for a minute and she's happy as a clam (with a bear of course!)


As for me, well, I'm doing great now! I was still feeling pretty crappy up until 2 days ago and knowing I've felt this way, my mom stopped by with goodies in hand! Miss Princess girl got lots of fresh fruits and I got these:


Have I ever mentioned I love Daffodils? Thanks mom :)

I still have a bit of a cough but it's really nothing to complain about. Little Baby Brownie is a kicking machine recently, so I haven't had much opportunity to complain about my cough...heck, I'm in the midst of being pummeled by our future soccer star :) Which reminds me...

Because Miss Busy Body has been so sick recently, she's discovered how nice it is to be cuddled and snuggled....a far cry from the child who can't sit still long enough to take a swig from her sippy cup! Anyways, I happily oblige and cuddle her as much as she'll allow because I know the day is approaching when she wants little to do with mommy's snuggling. So I'm rocking her to sleep this morning for her nap, kissing her sweet little forehead and singing lullabye's. I would caress her little cheeks and then gently sweep her bangs out of her eyes. I was totally enjoying this moment with her and mentally tucked the memory away for future use :) And as she lay there soaking it up and drifting off to sleep, WHAM! Baby Brownie kicks super hard and actually startled Lauren!! Sure enough, a party had begun in my belly and Baby Brownie must have been letting me know that he/she was still there and not to be forgotten! It's a rather odd feeling to be putting your baby to sleep as another one is attempting to wake her up :)

We're off today to run a few errands now that the two of us are back to normal...let's just hope Piddle Diddle remembers how to shop like the little pro she is!

The start of Baby's Brownie's nursery...

First off, isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen? She loves, loves, loves these bears and manages to hoard them all to herself...hence the reason there's 4 bears in that crib with her (two are on the other side of the crib and she's laying with the brown bear and the green bear is being smothered under her). She's such a snuggly little girl :)

Great news today...the baby has started kicking me!!! And I'm not talking that "fluttering" feeling. I mean real, hard kicks and when the Hubster gets home tonight, we'll see if they're strong enough to be felt outside. But because I'm feeling these kicks early (4 1/2 months) and the fact that they are frequent, leads me to believe that we may end up having a soccer player, in addition to the little Princess that lives here :)

Anyways, as promised yesterday, I'm going to post pics of the new nursery. It seems so surreal to be decorating another nursery so soon but it was SO much fun! We put Miss Busy Body to bed last night and then began setting up the furniture we had purchased earlier that day. Luckily we had already painted and hung up the chair-rail, so the scene was set for his/her crib, dresser, etc... The dresser we purchased came with the crib as a set. However, it's not quite big enough so we purchased a bigger dresser that matches the set as well and this smaller one will find it's home in the closet where it will house blankies, burp cloths, diapers, etc...

And, I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I decided to go with a Classic Pooh theme (I say I because Justin could care less about the theme, as long as it's not mucho expensive or hideous and luckily it's neither). I contemplated doing this Pooh thing for Lauren but instead chose to do a Safari theme in her room. And I'm so happy I did because the vivid colors and animals totally fit Lauren...she is such a spunky lil' thang and she adores animals, so I'm happy that her room is the way it is. This time though, I decided to go with a nice, peaceful room filled with Classic Winnie the Pooh stuff. My room was Winnie the Pooh when I was a baby and I think it's very fitting that Baby Brownie have the same :)

So here they are:

I really don't think these pictures do the room justice. The paint color is so pretty and you just can't tell that from these pics (as well as the Tigger above which looks brown rather than the burnt orange it is). And even the Pooh comforter doesn't look as nice as it does it person. Ah well, come over and see it one day and I think you all will agree how cute it looks in there... but I recommend waiting 'till the baby is in the room because it will look much cuter in there I think!