Eek..another 3 months has already passed!

It is amazing, once again, how fast time flies. It used to be nothing for me to sneak down to the basement, hop on the computer and "blog" away for an hour or so. Anymore, any free time I get is spent washing bottles, soaking "blow-outs", putting toys away or falling asleep on the couch. Yes, I am my mother's child. I used to always make fun of her for falling asleep during a movie or while reading a book before 10 PM. Now, I can see why she had such trouble, and I just have one little guy to look after, not three!

Since becoming a mother, I have a whole new appreciation and respect for my mom. I am still amazed at how at one point in her life, she was able to raise three children, work full time and go back to school. Where she found the energy to do this all or time for her self is beyond me. But, maybe that was the key..she didn't have time for herself. She has spent her entire life selflessly devoted to others. Whether it be as a nurse at work, a wife to my dad or a mother to the three of us, she always put someone else's needs before mine. Heck, she even read a number of books for me in high school so that I could get my homework done. I am sure that was the last thing she had on her agenda! But, she did it, and without complaint. I can only hope to follow in her footsteps one day. Anyway... I am getting a little off topic here.

The last time I posted was October. Later that month, Matt and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary together. Hard to believe that three years have passed since our wedding. And yes, it is true what we have been told, we have only fallen more in love with each other since that day. We have learned what true love is and have tried to exemplify that to each other, every day. Later in October, Jonathan attended his first baby shower, this side of my belly button. My aunts on my mom's side of the family threw us a joint shower with my cousin Staci.

November brought a small Thanksgiving celebration with just Jonathan, Matt, Judy and me. Matt insisted on making a turkey and I had my first experience carving it...we were lucky to get three servings out of it!! My dad who was a meat cutter in his earlier days, would NOT be proud!

December was quite the month for us. Jonathan LOVED his first Christmas, and so did we. Santa brought Jonathan and Matt a train set, which continues to be up and running in our basement. Never mind the fact that it says "Santa Express." I think it will be up all year! We celebrated Christmas with Judy and were saddened when the ice storm prevented the rest of the Wogsland crew from coming for our family Christmas, to be held at our house.

On the 29th of December, we surprised Matt's cousin, Karl, in Madison, thanks to the genius planning of our cousin Barb. Barb and the girls knew what was coming, but Karl had no idea. Karl and Barb are JW's Godparents, who we are so blessed to have as family and friends in our life.

New Year's Eve was spent with Tiff's entire family on her mom's side, for Staci's wedding. Jonathan was quite the party animal, staying up until 10 PM without a nap! Once the clock struck ten, he hit my shoulder and was out for the night.

Jonathan is now sitting up on his own, eating some fruits and veggies and attempting to crawl. He amazes us everyday with his personality and charm. I still can't believe that he will be six months old this month. Seems like only yesterday we found out that we were pregnant. Oh how we have been blessed....

Fall is here!

Just as the leaves are flying, so is the time. Jonathan turned two months old on September 24 and continues to change just as rapidly as the weather. Jonathan seems to enjoy “talking” to us more and has informed us that he loves stroller rides, bath time and cuddling up with Mommy and Daddy. Jonathan is no longer the fragile newborn that we brought home in July, but has developed into a bubbly baby who loves exploring the world.

Last weekend, Matt and I took Jonathan to his first pumpkin patch. It happened to be Matt’s first trip to a pumpkin patch as well. Jonathan got to help pick the perfect pumpkins to cut off the vine, took a hay wagon ride, looked at all of the apple trees and saw a mini petting zoo. It was the perfect fall day and the perfect outing for the three of us. Days like that are what I always imagined being a family to be…

At the risk of jinxing us, I think Matt and I are getting the hang of this parenting thing. While we have yet to make it to work two days in a row on time, we are getting a routine figured out. Jonathan usually wakes up between 3:30 – 5:00 for an early morning meal, goes back to sleep and gets up again around 7:00. During that early morning meal, whichever one of us is not rocking Jonathan back to sleep, makes lunches, makes the bottles for the day, packs the diaper bag and picks up the house a little bit. We try to go back to sleep after that, but it doesn’t always work. My life as a night owl has certainly needed to change in order to adapt to the 3 AM wake up calls!

As we celebrate the changes in Jonathan’s life, Matt and I also celebrate the changes and growth in our marriage. October 14 will be our 3 year wedding anniversary. June marked our 6th year of knowing each other, which seems so strange! It seems like only yesterday that Matt came up to Decorah for his nephew’s birthday, when we met up for the first time. Since Jonathan was born, our love for each other has grown, just as our family has. We have learned to rely on each other a lot more and I have found some of my most treasured moments to be when Jonathan is asleep on Matt’s shoulder. It is so neat to me, to see Matt growing into the man and the father that God has always called him to be. He was meant to be a father and has taken on that role with such grace, humor and love.

This weekend is my 5 year class reunion at Luther. Again, it seems like only yesterday that I was a freshman moving into Brandt 222. During the first two days at Luther, I can remember meeting some of the most amazing people. Barry lived in the “penthouse” of Brandt (which just means the top floor of the dorm) and Bridget was friends with my roommate. Now, nine years later, Barry, Bridget and 9 others of us are coming together again, staying in cabins, to celebrate our Homecoming. Barry and I lived together senior year, which seemed to be a year filled with a lot more fun than studying. On Tuesdays, we would float down the Upper Iowa River for “Tubing Taco Tuesdays”, J-Term brought “Drink of the Day” and every weekend seemed to bring a crowd of people to our house. When we left in May of 2004, all of our lives changed forever. Several of us have found the love of our life, three of us now have children and all of us have new stories to share and memories to make. I have no doubt that this weekend, like our college careers, will pass by too quickly.

As Autumn leaves change, so do our lives…

The Circle of Life

Time is flying by and Jonathan will be eight weeks old this Friday. I can’t believe how much he has grown in what seems like the blink of an eye for me. Every day I am noticing something new about our little man and falling more in love with the “mustard seed” that God has blessed us with. He is discovering something new in this world by the minute and likewise, he is teaching me something new every day.

This is Jonathan’s first full week in day care and the trauma of leaving him has seemed to lessen each day. The first day was rough for us...ok, probably more traumatic on me than him. He is the only baby in his room at child care that doesn’t cry, so I am sure he is a breath of fresh air. At the same time, it makes me worry that he is getting forgotten about since he isn’t causing a fuss. We are still searching for the perfect child care provider as we both feel that Jonathan deserves more attention than what he can get at a child care center. I have called over a dozen in home providers, but no one has seemed to “click” with me on the phone quite yet. I think when I talk to the right person; I will know it is right. In the mean time, he will stay where he is. My heart may break every time I drop him off, but I know in my heart he is in good hands.

Mother Goose predicted that Friday’s child is loving and giving. That is most certainly true. Jonathan has proved himself to love to others and most certainly loved by others. In the past month, my father has become seriously ill. On August 21, he went into the hospital because he was dehydrated. Two days later, I received a phone call that we “better get home” so we packed up the car and all of Jonathan’s stuff and made the 330 mile trek to Harvard. While home, Jonathan brought so much joy to so many people. My family also truly believes that Jonathan brought healing and hope to my father who had been unresponsive for a few days. While at his bedside, my dad woke up and was able to whisper “Jonathan.” We returned home to Des Moines a few days later, believing the doctors when they said Dad had stabilized. Two days later, we got another call saying we had a matter of hours to get home to see Dad. When that call came, my boss came over to watch Jonathan and a friend and colleague came over with her son to bring us food for the road. We loaded up and flew down the interstate. By God’s grace, Dad pulled through the night and was able to communicate with us that he wanted Jonathan to “snuggle” with him on his hospital bed. Once again, Jonathan was able to bring joy, hope and comic relief to what would have seemed like a grim time in our lives. Dad has now become a little stronger every day and has defied all odds. While Dad remains in a long term care center at the time, we have hope and faith that more miracles are yet to come.

If the circle of life wasn’t clearly enough laid out for us during our visits to the hospital and Care Center, Jonathan was baptized on September 6. What an absolutely perfect day it was. God was smiling down on our family that day as were Jonathan’s guardian angels. During worship, a song that was sung at both my grandfather’s funeral and Matt’s father’s funeral was sung. We all knew that they were looking down from Heaven, singing along with us:

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,Who abide in His shadow for life,Say to the Lord, "My Refuge,My Rock in Whom I trust." And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,Bear you on the breath of dawn,Make you to shine like the sun,And hold you in the palm of His Hand.The snare of the fowler will never capture you,And famine will bring you no fear;Under His Wings your refuge,His faithfulness your shield. And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,Bear you on the breath of dawn,Make you to shine like the sun,And hold you in the palm of His Hand.You need not fear the terror of the night,Nor the arrow that flies by day,Though thousands fall about you,Near you it shall not come. And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,Bear you on the breath of dawn,Make you to shine like the sun,And hold you in the palm of His Hand.For to His angels He's given a command,To guard you in all of your ways,Upon their hands they will bear you up,Lest you dash your foot against a stone. And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,Bear you on the breath of dawn,Make you to shine like the sun,And hold you in the palm of His Hand. And hold you in the palm of His Hand.

Pictures!

Without having too much time to write a blog post, I wanted to be sure to at least upload some pictures. Our camera has been going non-stop, and it only promises to continue! The first picture here is my first time getting to hold Jonathan. He was already about 30 minutes old by this point, due to my C-Section. We wasted no time bonding and getting to be good buds :)
This is Daddy's first time getting to meet Jonathan. He was lucky enough to get to hold him about two minutes after he was born. He is a natural Daddy. He was so afraid of dropping or breaking Jonathan when he held him. I think he did just fine!

Jonathan's grand entrance into the world! We call this his "Praise the Lord" pose. This is how he came out of me and this is what he does after nursing, after getting his diaper changed and when he wakes up from a nap. Yesterday we took him to church for the first time and he did this several times... Sure they are probably just reflexes, but we like to believe he is really saying "Praise the Lord!"

These were from the morning my water broke. Matt was a little more anxious than I was. I was ready to get the party started...and Matt was thinking "oh my gosh..now what!"

More to come!

He's Here!!

It only took me two days short of two weeks to get on the computer again to report to the world that Jonathan has arrived! To say that the last two weeks have been the most stressful, yet most rewarding of my life would be an understatement. Through it all, I never knew how amazing it would be to be a mom.

July 24 is a day that changed my life, Matt's life and our marriage forever. Matt and I have both commented that we have grown even closer over these past two weeks than we have in the past three years. We thought we had it pretty dang good before, but there is a whole new level of closeness that we have been blessed to develop. I am sure it is not like that for every couple, but I am so thankful that God has blessed us in this way. The stereotypical idea of labor, where the wife tells the husband "you're never touching me again" never happened. In fact, our labor experience was quite the opposite. Through every contraction and every scary moment we shared trying to have Jonathan, I kept telling Matt how much I loved him, how thankful I was that he was there with me and how every contraction brought us closer to holding Jonathan in our arms.

After weeks of encouraging Matt to pack his hospital bag, he finally did so about 11:00 PM on July 23. He kept joking as soon as he packed, I would go into labor. Oddly enough, 8 hours later, my water broke. The day was starting as typical as a Friday usually would. We were getting up to go to work when our lives changed. Matt had just hopped in the shower and I was rolling out of bed. I knew without a doubt what happened...my water had just broken. I waddled my way into the bathroom and told Matt "You better make it a quick shower, my water just broke." Matt got so flustered that he put a whole glob of shower jel into his hair! I called my mom, who was getting ready to head Up North on vacation and told her she may need to change her plans. I called our doula, Clorrisa, to let her know the scoop and then called the doctor's office to let them know. Matt made a quick breakfast, knowing I wouldn't be able to eat once we got to the hospital and we enjoyed one last moment in our quiet house. I even had enough sense in me to call our friend Jami to take care of Clyde!

We got to the hospital around 8:30 and found that I still had not dilated past 2 cm, which I was on my due date. They moved me into our room and prepared for the long day ahead. Around 11:00, Dr. Keller came in, heard that I had not dilated and told us that we had to start on Pitocin to get the contractions closer and more intense. This was not what I had hoped and planned for, but I didnt have much of a choice. I begged for one more hour to let labor progress on its own, and he obliged. An hour and a half later, he came back, saw I hadn't yet progressed and started the "Pit." When people say Pitocin makes your contractions stronger, they aren't kidding! Progressively over the next 8 hours, they upped my dosage of Pitocin, until I was contracting between 80 and 90 percent of the peak, at every minute and a half. While contractions were the most difficult bodily pain I have ever endured, I was able to hold true to my desire to not have any pain medications. We had music going, watched a Michael W Smith dvd and even watched Wheel of Fortune. (Yes, even during contractions, I kicked Matt's butt!)

Around 8:30, Dr. Keller came in and told me that I still had not yet dilated further and that we had no choice but to have a C-Section. This was the one thing I had feared the most. Throughout my pregnancy, I had an overwhelming fear (probably irrational) that if I had to have a C-Section, there would be a complication and I would not make it through surgery. I don't know why this fear was there but my fear kicked into high gear. I was so tired and emotional after my day of contractions that I lost control of my tears. Those I had around me were so wonderful though and we all began to pray together. Dr. Keller, our nurse Jenny, Matt, Clorrisa and I prayed together before they wheeled me away. One of my other big concerns was Matt being able to make it through surgery. He has a very active gag reflex, to put it lightly. Several times we had discussed this concern we both had, which further served as the reason we hired Clorrisa. To overcome his anxieties, Matt has found sucking on hard candies to help. While the operating room is a sterile enviornment, we didn't know what he was going to do!! Jenny, our nurse, took a handful of jolly ranchers in her scrubs and told Matt she would look out for him in there. He was a trooper.

Once in the operating room, I was blessed to have an amazing anesthesiologist who I was able to joke with during the entire operation. We dissed each others football teams and talked about his garden. At the same time, I kept my eyes fixed on Matt, knowing that he was going to be just fine. After what seemed like an eternity of pressing and pulling, I heard the most beautiful cry in the world. All I could do was cry and say "Jonathan?" I asked if he was ok, found out that he was, and watched Matt become a Daddy. I will never forget them handing Jonathan to Matt and seeing the look on his face. I fell even more in love with the man I had married as I knew he was going to be the most amazing father in the world.

When I finally got back to my room, they brought Jonathan in for me to hold him. Words can't describe the feelings of holding him in my arms for the first time. They laid him on my chest, skin to skin, and almost instantly, he began curling his mouth to eat. I could not have asked for a more beautiful moment. That night, my parents, sister and Grandmother came to visit us and meet Mr. Jonathan for the first time. It was hard to put him down that night to let him sleep. I knew my life, Matt's life and our life together truly had changed forever.

Since coming home, we have been to the doctor twice, ER once and have called the experts countless times. This child has kept us on our toes, to say the least! We know no matter what challenges we face, Jonathan will have guardian angels watching over him throughout his life. Included in that band of angels are my grandfather, Grandpa Hassel, which is where Jonathan's middle name comes from. Jonathan's first name comes from Matt's father, John Wogsland, who never had the chance to meet any of his grandsons.

More to come later...but first I must go cuddle some more with my beautiful bundle of joy.

Due Date...has come and gone

So July 22 has come and gone. After so many weeks of the doctors telling us that Baby Wogs is measuring FIVE weeks ahead of schedule and that we could have a baby as early as July 1, they were wrong. July 1 came and went. July 11 came and went. July 22 has now come and gone, too. Last Friday, when I was 39 ½ weeks pregnant, the doctor gave me the less- than- pleasant news that I was only 50 % effaced and not yet dilated.

We had another appointment on our due date, which was only five days after my previous appointment, and we found out that Baby Wogs has been stirring things up! I was 80 % effaced and had dilated to 2 cm. This is definite progress! We did make another appointment for next Tuesday, July 29, but Dr. Casper didn’t think that he would be seeing us in the doctor’s office. He was feeling pretty confident that Baby Wogs would be here by that point…let’s hope so!
Now that the day is certainly upon us in the next week, I have taken the final steps in getting ready.. My bags are packed. Baby Wogs’ bags are packed. My birth plan and hospital papers are packed. Matt’s snacks are packed. Everything is loaded in the trunk ready to go…except for Matt’s bag. Guess who still has yet to begin packing for the hospital!! The mom in me must be coming out already as I went ahead and packed a few of the essentials in my bag without Matt knowing. If Baby comes today, Matt will at least have clean t-shirts and shorts, a toothbrush and deodorant at the hospital! Everything else he can probably do without for a little while. My good friend Angie had similar experiences with her hubby before their son was born, so I am attributing this to “being a guy.”

Some days, it still hasn’t sunk in that I am going to be a mother and I will be bringing home a child within the next week. While I have carried him for the past nine plus months, reality still hasn’t caught up with me. Just like when I found out I was pregnant, it didn’t seem real to me for a while. If I were not feeling like a blimp right now and having little elbows and knees protrude from my stomach every once in a while, it still wouldn’t seem real to me that I am pregnant. I am sure it will all seem real enough once we get home and are faced with the question of “What do we do now!?” Friends and family can be prepared for some phone calls from us asking “What do we do!?”

No Baby News..but new pictures instead

While I just updated the blog yesterday, we had an appointment today, so I thought I'd update it again. Unfortunately, there is no baby news to report! Baby Wogs hasn't made any progress as far as effacement or dialation since last week!! I guess our little Mustard Seed is just too comfortable chilling in the Mommy Suite. I can't say that I'd blame him. Life must be pretty good, although getting rather cramped right now. He has a constant hot tub to relax in, plenty of soft cushioning to take naps on and daily massages from Mommy, Daddy and Big Brother Clyde. However, if he decides to extend his stay too much longer in the Mommy Suite, he may get an eviction notice! I would much rather cradle our little one in my arms and not just my womb!

We also drove our new car home tonight. Here are some photo updates we have been falling behind on... You will see our new Impala and the nursery before and after pictures. The cutest picture has to be Matt with his two favorite nephews (Lucas is the baby and Sawyer is the older one) and his sister Kari. I guess Matt and Sawyer are teaching Lucas early to be a Star Wars fan!









And this would be Clyde, showing that he is ready to be a big brother. After hours of not being able to find the cat, I finally thought to search the nursery. Sure enough, hidden behind the bedskirt, underneath the crib, in the tuck under drawer where the clean baby blankets are tucked away...so was Clyde.

38 weeks and counting!

Yesterday marked week 38 for us…. Still no sign of Baby Wogs… Every night when I go to bed, I think to myself “Could this be the night I have to wake Matt up to go to the hospital?”

Every morning, I wake up disappointed that nothing happened through the night. If I can’t sleep, I might as well be doing something productive, like having a baby or something!
This whole sleep thing is now a thing of the past. I used to be the one who could sleep for 8 - 10 hours at a time and not even see Saturday morning, if I didn’t want to. Those days are long gone. If you have never had the joy of being pregnant, especially pregnant in the summer, it is hard to understand how miserable it can be trying to sleep. First of all, it is hot! The fan has to be on full speed, the air conditioner has to be turned down to 71 at the max and I can have no more than a sheet touching me. I had given Matt a “Chillow” last year to keep him cool, but I have since borrowed it every night for myself. It is a pillow made for those going through menopause or chemo treatments, who experience night sweats. It is supposed to pull the body heat from your head and keep you cool all night. It is designed to always stay cold. When I use it, I wake up and the pillow is hot… that is not normal!

Next, it is impossible to get comfortable and stay comfortable. For those who have never experienced being pregnant, imagine an average size bowling ball (8 pounds) attached to your belly. Now try imagining sleeping like that! I have to have a pillow between my knees, a pillow under my belly and a pillow under my head. Pregnant women are told to sleep on their left side to prevent cutting off circulation that is caused by sleeping on your back. I can only take so much on my left side before having to flip to my right side..which also requires the moving of all of the pillows, too. Just when I get comfortable and fall asleep, Baby Wogs decides to move himself on top of my bladder, causing me to have to roll out of bed. Even this is a chore, because I have to use my headboard to get a rolling start to get off of my bed! I am lucky to now sleep more than an hour at a time. Ah the joys of being pregnant. Truth be told, I wouldn’t trade it for all of the sleep in the world.

New this week in the World of Wogsland is the purchase of a new car! After what seemed like decades of car searching, we made our deal last night. We are the proud new owners of a 2007 Chevrolet Impala. We went around in circles test driving 2007’s vs. 2008’s, Impalas vs. Malibus and finally decided on this one. A word to share with those looking to buy a new car… never try car shopping with someone who is over 9 months pregnant. I tried to be a good sport, but I know towards the end, Matt was probably wishing that he did the whole process on his own. We did have a great salesman who was patient enough to meet with us three times, didn’t harass us with annoying phone calls and showed his human side. For that, he got our business and our sincere appreciation for putting up with my preggo, indecisive self!

Full Term!

Baby Wogs has officially reached full term!! As of yesterday, July 1, Baby Wogs is 37 weeks along. We had our weekly appointment today to get the latest update as to where we go from here. Last week at our appointment, when we were 36 weeks, Baby measured at 41 weeks according to fundal measurement (measurement of the belly itself.) Our doctor became concerned about the size of Baby and therefore scheduled another ultrasound for today. His comment regarding scheduling the ultrasound was that we would need to "discuss our options." Upon further prodding as to what that meant, he said he wanted to make sure he didn't need to schedule a C-Section. Their practice does not induce before 40 weeks, so our only options going into today's appointment was to decide if Baby Wogs was going to be able start the labor process naturally or they were going to schedule a C-Section. Needless to say, I have gotten little to no sleep the last few nights. I have been fearing the news they would tell us today.

Today, Matt and I went to the appointment, got to see our little mustard seed via ultrasound again, and were told that Baby is measuring in the 85th percentile...that is one big baby! More specifically, Baby Wogs is weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces, as of today. We were also told that Baby has an above average head, but is no larger in proportion than the rest of the body.

The wait to see the doctor seemed like forever, when it really only took about 10 minutes. Doctor H. made the decision that while Baby Wogs is measuring big, it is not so big that he feels a C-Section is in order!! Thank God!! While I am not yet dialated, I am 50 percent effaced, so that is a good sign. Baby Wogs can now come at any point! Whoo Hoo!!

Daddy Diaper Duty

Baby Wogs due date is a little more than a month away and I think we’re almost as ready as we can be. Life is certainly going to change for Tiffany and I. One change I am not looking forward to is changing diapers. A few years ago a video was circulating the internet of dads with diaper duty and they were wearing gloves, goggles, and breathing masks and they were gagging and getting sick to their stomach.

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly won’t make Tiffany change all the diapers, I will do my share of diaper duty because we both had a part in creating this baby. Actually, if you think about it, Tiffany has been raising this baby for 36 weeks already, so I owe her big time. Tiffany won’t allow me to pull that anyway so it’s not even a viable option.

Obviously I am going to have to get use to the smell of poop unless I can potty train Baby Wogs from the start. Maybe they make a product that will suppress my horrible gag reflex (which I inherited from my mom). I don’t buy the argument that the poop of breast fed babies smells better than formula fed babies. Who in their rightful minds would choose to smell poop anyway? For me it’s the whole package…the thought, look, and smell that gets me. It’s a good thing I never got a job emptying portable toilets because I wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes.

Daddy writes again!

Baby is going to arrive before we know and we’ve been busy preparing.

In April we embarked on a basement remodeling project that took about a month or so. We needed to empty our spare bedroom because that is the nursery. So In April we embarked on a basement remodeling project that took about a month to complete. We put up new 2x4 walls, updated fixtures, and installed drywall. Tiff’s brother Lance visited us for about a week and deserves a lot of the credit for helping us move forward with the remodel. There are still a few things to do in the basement (closet doors, trim work, etc) but we have since been able to move our office and guest bed downstairs and we’re very pleased with the results.

Our friends Jay and Jami also came over a week ago to help us set up baby’s crib. We’ve been able to get the crib, dresser, changing table, blinds and curtains in the room so far. We still have to organize things and figure out exactly where everything should go but we’ve made quite a bit of progress in a week and Tiffany is happy that it is starting to look like a nursery. I know she was starting to get nervous that baby was going to have to sleep in a dresser drawer.

I can hardly contain my excitement to meet Baby Wogs. I am a little nervous about taking care of baby but I’ll figure it out. I have a great wife and good family and friends that will set me straight if I’m doing something wrong. We have an upcoming baby class that should provide some great advice.

That’s all for now

34 weeks!

Wow..It has been a long time since we last updated the blog. So much has happened in so little time. I had my first baby shower in Harvard over Memorial Day weekend and was overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of so many family and friends. We returned home, wishing that our basement has magically finished itself while we were gone... it had not. Matt promises to write soon with more basement updates....

Our nursery is truly starting to look like a nursery. The walls have been red since we painted our office a few years ago, and we really didn’t want to paint over it. One window now has blinds on it as well as a valance. The other window will be shaded and valanced by this weekend. I'm just hoping we get it all finished before Baby gets here!!!

Baby Wogs is continuing to grow, as have I. Most of my growing seems to have been in my feet and hands. Any time I travel more than an hour at a time, even with taking breaks every so often, my shoes don’t fit! We had hoped to do a little more traveling to meet new babies that we haven’t met yet, but after last weekend, we have had to call off all traveling for me until after Baby Wogs is here. Sadly today, my wedding ring also no longer fits. I have a Hawaiian ring that Matt bought me last September which still fits me, so that has become my new wedding ring until after Baby is here.

We are officially three weeks away from Baby Wogs being full term, so the end is in sight! I think Matt and I are both starting to feel a little anxious, but in a good way. His comment this morning was that he is getting goose bumps thinking about how close we now are! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers that we know are coming our way!

new pictures!

Matt and I got to see our little "mustard seed" again today during a growth scan. At my last two appointments, I have measured ahead of schedule, so they wanted to rule out any concerns. What a great ultrasound it was!! Baby Wogs completely cooperated during the scan, so we got some great pictures :) Here is Baby Wogs' 31 weeks and 1 day pictures... Maybe I am biased, but I think this is going to be one cute kid!

If you are trying to figure out what the lump is near Baby's left ear, we have learned that Baby Wogs' likes to sleep like Mommy..with my left arm underneath my head! Isn't it amazing what technology can do these days!?

In case you are wondering, Baby Wogs weighs 4 pounds and 9 ounces as of today. I truly may have a "small elephant" as we keep on joking. The sonographer saw no concerns with the amount of amniotic fluid present, so she just attributes my "measuring big" to having a baby who may have hit a growth spurt a little early. We can't wait to hold our little bundle of joy.

It's a....

As of today, May 16, we have decided that it is ok to share what the gender of Baby Wogs is. We have tried keeping it a secret, but it has leaked out!!! Some have mentioned that they would still like the gender to be kept a secret, and so for your sake, we will not share the answer on our blog. However, if you would like to know if Baby Wogs will be a Polly Wogs or a Junior Wogs, we are willing to share. (And of course, Polly and Junior are not the names!!) If the anticipation is driving you crazy, give us a call..we will fill you in. Don't bother asking the name though, because that is one secret we can and will keep until Baby Wogs enters the world!

glucose test

For those of you who have never had to experience the "glucose test," consider yourself lucky. For those of you who have never had to experience the 3 hour glucose test, consider yourself extremely lucky! At my 28 week appointment, I had to endure the routine one hour glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. You have to drink this incredibly sweet drink and then have to have your blood drawn an hour later to check your blood sugar level. If your numbers are below 140, you are totally in the clear. My nurse told me to not expect a phone call from them...in case I didn't pass. That afternoon my phone rang. It wasn't the nurse. It was the lab. The lab lost my blood.

Two days later, on a Saturday morning, I had to get up before 8:00 to head to the hospital to get my blood drawn again. The lady who did my test was in training, so every step of my test was explained out to her. I was fine with a new person being trained, until the trainer told the trainee to just "eye ball" the amount of glucose drink they gave me. Once again, I had to sit in the waiting area for an hour until my blood was ready to be drawn. On Monday afternoon, the phone rang. It was my nurse this time. My level was 148. I didn't pass. I had to plan for the three hour test.

Later that week, I endured what were perhaps the worst four hours of this pregnancy. I think I would rather have 4 hours of my morning sickness back instead of being so bored. To start things off, I had to fast before this test. So, after 8:00 PM the night before, I couldn't have anything that would throw off my test. This is not easy for a preggo to follow! I showed up at 8:00 but due to a slow computer, they couldn't see me until 8:30. Finally, they found me in the system, but realized they hadn't done my baseline draw they were supposed to do immediately upon my arrival. So, vial number one got drawn. After waiting 30 minutes just for that, I was lucky enough to finally get my perfectly measured, double the sweetness, double the amount, bottle of glucose. And the wait began. One hour went by and it wasn't too bad. I read the newspaper and had small talk with some of the other patients sitting in the lab waiting area. (Once again, I couldn't leave the waiting area...with no TV, by the way.... so they could monitor me in case I got sick) 10:00 AM: Blood Vial number 2 got drawn and I returned to the waiting room. I was starting to get antsy now. I was thankful that I had brought my own magazines to read. I read all the way through my Taste of Home magazine and half way through my Rachel Ray magazine. I had to move to the other waiting room because boredom was over taking me. 11:00 Blood Vial number three got drawn. The nurse commented that my arm was going to have a mark after I got done. Perhaps if the lab wouldn't have lost my blood the first time, I wouldn't have had to be stuck five times in the same arm, within a week. I returned again to the lab waiting area, extremely hungry and very antsy. By now, I was able to direct patients who looked lost to the place where they could pick up their number for the lab, how to find the internal medicine clinic instead of the lab and how to get to the cafeteria. I was not enjoying my seemingly permanent new home. That last hour took forever to pass. Finally, 12:00 rolled around and my poor arm endured one more needle stick. I truly felt like a user at that point since my arm was pretty beat up.

Later that day, the phone rang...it was my nurse... I passed my test. I didn't have gestational diabetes and my numbers were considerably lower than my original one hour glucose test. It makes me wonder just how much glucose I got in the first place when it was just "eye-balled." Maybe this was just a foretaste of motherhood: hurry up, wait, worry, wait, shed a little blood, wait and then celebrate small successes. Baby Wogs is worth it all.

Babymoon!

We are back from Florida! We had an absolutely perfect Babymoon and couldn't have asked for much more. The week leading up to our Babymoon found us in the cat ER with our first child, Clyde. The poor cat was clearly in pain throughout the night and so at 4 AM on Monday morning, I called the animal ER to see what could be done. I woke Matt up, we loaded Clyde in his suitcase and traveled to the hospital. After hours of tests and ultrasounds, he was found to have a urinary tract infection. We had to give Clyde medication three times a day and a new cat food. This led to an interesting decision regarding what to do during our upcoming trip. Our incredible friend Kim, who happens to be a nurse (yes, for humans) offered to take care of Clyde, including giving him his medication twice a day. She saved the day and our trip!

Once we got to Florida, we checked into our hotel which was amazing! The hotel itself was located directly next to a pretty ritzy mall, which was also fun. We grabbed lunch and checked out the pool. Here is the view from our room:

The next day, we took the shuttle back to the airport to pick up the rental car. Somehow, I had entered a "discount code" when I made my reservation, which allowed me a 50 % off discount on my rental car for the duration as well as an upgrade. When offered the upgrade from a Corolla, I didn't hesitate (or ask Matt who was on the phone with his mom!) Since he left most of the trip planning details up to me, I was the one who's name was on the car reservation. Here's the sweet 2009 Ford Mustang that I alone got to drive along the coast. I think Matt got quite the kick out of me being so excited to drive that car. He knew to hold on when I was about to accelerate..there was no holding back! I think this was one of the greatest highlights of the trip for me!!Upon returning to our hotel, we asked the concierge, John, for suggestions of the best beach we could rent a cabana at for the day. He not only suggested going to St. Pete Beach, but made a phone call to his friend to "take care of us." After about a 30 minute drive, which of course I didn't mind in the 'Stang, we pulled into the Don CeSar Luxury Resort. We found the person we were to ask for, who quickly got us cold water, validated our $18 parking fee and walked us out to our free cabana. As we approached the beach, we found the cabanas to be $50 a day..SWEET! She later came back out to check on us, bring us snacks and offer anything else we could possibly need. We were amazed that 6 hours by the beach could pass so quickly. Thank God for SPF 50 sunblock!

The next day, we opted for a different beach, Sand Key Beach, near Clearwater. While there, two people got stung by stingrays, which prompted our decision not to stay in the water too long. It also didn't help that it was 90 degrees that day and our Midwestern bodies weren't quite adjusted to such heat.

When we got back to our hotel, John, the concierge asked us if we had dinner plans. Being our last night in Tampa, we wanted fresh seafood. He recommended and called a place called Mitchell's Fish Market. We arrived to find they had a "special" table for us and incredible food (and the best hand-squeezed lemonade I have ever had!). At the end of our meal, we found that part of our meal was "on John" from the hotel. Matt decided at dinner that when we win the lottery, he is going to hire John to be our personal assistant to make all of our reservations and trips for us, paying him a $1 Million a year. Anyone else interested in applying :)

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, as did our trip. Due to a mechanical issue on our first flight, we almost missed our second of three connecting flights to get back home. When we finally got home at midnight, we were welcomed home to reality: water in our basement, a Corolla that needed a new brake job and a cat so happy to see us.

Gosh, I miss that mustang....

Preggos everywhere!

Being pregnant makes everything a little more challenging. I've had to learn over the past week that I can't easily do many of the things that I used to do without thinking...

Putting my pants on
Putting my shoes and socks on
Shaving
Painting my toenails
Sleeping
And most recently...hugging other pregnant friends!

We went up to Minnesota this weekend for the Baby Shower of a great friend. She is due May 22, but could deliver any week now. We quickly found out that we can't hug each other as easily as we once could!! :)


Angie and I have been fortunate enough to be 8 weeks apart in our pregnancy, which has made things so much fun. When our hubbies (who are actually VERY similar) really don't want to hear our pregnant drama or strange conversations, we know the other one is only a phone call away. Angie and I try to keep a pretty close tab on each other's appointments and usually call the day of, to check in. It is funny, looking back, how much life has brought the two of us through since college.

Some of my funniest and fondest memories of Luther days are running with Angie, followed by the two of us trying to do the Buns of Steel tapes. We will need those again after our babies are born! We also have quite a few pictures together ranging from Halloween parties to formal dinners that are now getting added to with our "Mommy Coldren and Mommy Wogs" pictures.

In church this morning, Pastor Mike talked about the importance of friends...true friends. I am so thankful to have Angie (among others!) as one of those friends for life..and now especially to be pregnant together. I have no doubt our babies will be friends for life, too!

99 days to go!

We have broken the three digit mark for the countdown! Today leaves us with 99 days until Baby Wogs' due date! YEAH! Tomorrow marks the beginning of week 26 for us, and yet, it seems again like we just found out we were expecting our little Mustard Seed.

The past few weeks have been filled with unexpected blessings and we are so thankful to have been given the gifts we have. Here is our top ten list of things I am celebrating today, in no particular order:

10. We have a new nephew on the way who is due within the week!!
9. My Aunt who had a stroke last week is doing amazingly well
8. We have an amazing "contractor" working to finish our basement
7. Plans are being made for my five year class reunion and a group of my close friends from college and the three of us will be staying in cabins in Decorah for Homecoming
6. It is finally Spring, and with Spring comes sandals!
5. I get to see one of my favorite people in the world this weekend who is also pregnant. We shared so many things at Luther and now we have been blessed to share our pregnancies.
4. Easter at our church was amazing. Right when I was feeling pretty homesick for missing my family at Easter and wishing that we would have gone to the "traditional" service for church, the organ got wheeled in and played "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." Matt had to console my pathetic, emotional and crying preggo self in church!
3. We are going to Florida soon!!
2. After my fall on Monday, I went to my doctor's office to find "my" doctor on call who gave us a perfect bill of health..minus my incredibly sore right side
1. I am married to the most amazing man in the world who will make the world's best Daddy to Baby Wogs

So much to choose from!

With our first baby shower just weeks away, we decided we better start thinking about a Baby Registry. It has been a few years since we registered for a wedding, but my goodness...I forgot how challenging (and fun!) registering can be! We started at Target and were immediately confused as to what type of diapers to register for, what bottles are best to use, what Pack and Play we should ask for. How do people figure out this stuff? And then, we started feeling guilty about registering for stuff that was a little on the pricier side, because we don't want to look greedy. How do people figure this stuff out!?!?

We also had to go back over our registry to take off things that were gender specific. While we know what we are having, we later realized if we registered for gender specific items, the whole world would know what we are having, too! Keeping this secret is proving to be much harder than we thought. We should have just kept that envelope closed, so that we would be surprised, too :) On the other hand, it is really nice to be able to call Baby Wogs by his/her name, instead of just "Baby" when we read to him/her. Only 16 1/2 more weeks to go until everyone else knows, too.

The Much Requested "Belly Pictures"

OK, OK, I give in. I really didn't want to post pictures of my ever-growing belly on the Internet. However, I think I have lost this battle! What is it about pregnant women's bellies that we all find so fascinating? I am guilty of it and can still remember when my friend Tiffany was pregnant last summer, inquiring how big her belly was getting. My friend Angie, who is pregnant now, gave in to my strange request a few months ago, and so I too, must add my pictures to the collection.

Matt once again has proven why he is the sweetest husband in the world. As I complained about how "fat not pregnant" I felt, he prompted us to compare bellies. As you can see in that picture, he has clearly positioned his body so that his looks larger than mine, so that I don't feel so self-conscious. I feel so lucky everyday to be able to share everyday-exciting-pregnant moments with him. Tonight we even laid on the couch reading our newest book together to Baby Wogs. If you know of any pregnant women out there, I highly recommend "Oh Baby, The Places You Will Go." It is from the one and only Dr. Seuss and is to be read to babies in-utero. Clyde, Matt, Baby Wogs and I had quite a bonding moment all cuddling up together.