Need your feedback please...

Have any of you gals used the Moby wrap yet? I've heard a lot of people like them but I've not heard why? They look a little intimidating to me... I'm scared that our little guy will be too hot in one, maybe wait until Oct.? They look great for cleaning house and going to the store. I do like that fact that it fits well for newborns and prewalking toddlers. Tell me what you think...

Also I'm in need of a good diaper bag. You really do end up using them for about three years so I don't mind paying a little more for a good one. I LOVED Madelyn's Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag! It held up really well! I would have used it with this baby but its bright pink with a mommy/baby bird on it. I don't think it's too fitting for a boy! HA!

I found a company called Bumble Bags that I really like. Their bags remind me a lot of Maddies baby bag (they way their built). They are also a little cheaper then PPB. I think it may be our winner. It's the Jessica Messenger Backpack and the pattern is called Buttercup Bliss. What I love about it is that mom can wear it as a strap bag or add the backpack feature when her hands are full. Also the changing pad zips right off of the side for use. Both of these features were on Maddie's bag and loved it!

Tell me what baby bags you use and if you liked them!

Another item I'm needing before baby gets here is a new bouncy seat. Madelyn bouncy seat turns into a rocking chair which she uses everyday so I very well can't take it back and turn it back into a bouncy seat for Murphy. I keep looking for good one but I want to know what you moms thought about the bouncy seats that you used. You end up using them a lot so I need a good one!
These are Amazon's Top picks which means they had the best ratings from moms. What did you use/ are using?

36 wks..9 months Pregnant!

We are 90% of the way there! 4 weeks to go!

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.
At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

We went to a doctor visit this morning. Everything is moving along nicely (but slow). BP was 130/70! Very Happy about this! Fundal height is measuring at 38 wks (2 wks ahead). Baby's heart rate was 143 bpm. He did the Strep B test which we will get results back the next week. He also checked me for dilatation...I was a fingertip...not even a 1...bummer. He looked back at my charts with Maddie where he noticed that I measured a fingertip with her too at 36 wks. Let the mall walking begin!

We let Madelyn pick out a "birthday present" for her baby brother when she is brought to the hospital after he is born. She picked out the cutest bunny! She told me that he needed a bow around his neck, so we tied a little blue ribbon into a bow!
She said "Baby Murphy will LOVE this!" She is SO excited to finally meet him. She asks many times a day, "When will baby brudder get here?" She knows that he will come in July but she does not understand months yet.

(pause music on bottom)

35 wks..."Are we there yet?!"

We are 87.5% of the way there!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

(in my pjs)
It's so funny to sit and watch my belly move like crazy!! Our little fellow can move so hard that it moves my entire body! Sometimes he pokes a body part out so far that it literally hurts me...I just gently nudge the body part back! I'm starting to feel like I felt at 39 wks with Maddie...Sleeping has become a little difficult now. I toss and turn all night long! It's really no wonder why I feel like taking a nap every afternoon! For some reason with this baby I wake up every morning around 6:45 -7:00am...usually to go eat corn flakes with bananas.

I've also been having some pretty rough Braxton Hicks contractions. Some even take my breath away and all I can do is stand still until it's over and try not to make a scene or scare Madelyn.

All of these signs are just telling us that we are "Oh-so close!" to meeting our little Murphy! It's pretty much safe for him to come any day now but the next big goal is 37 weeks which is full term! I go back to the doctor a week from today (next Mon.). Dr. Draughn will start to check me for dilation then.

Happy Fathers Day Shane!

We Love You Bunches!

crafts and such...

Murphy's room is SO close to being done!! While Maddie has been in MS with my parents we have gotten a lot done! I went and bought ugly blue wooden frames from Jo-Anns for 50% off which made then $9.99 a piece. I also grabbed a clear crackle finish and white paint. Had I known that it was SO easy, I would have started doing the crackle finish on more things...LOVE IT!!!(close up of crackle finish)

I had to make Maddie a big sis shirt!

Burp clothes for baby Murphy...just learned how to do this so it's not the best looking job;)

Finished the blanket. I love the colors and I think it helps tie in the yellow that is in the yellow minky material in the bedding. (Thank You my sweet Granny for showing me how to crochet!)

I used Sarabeth to write out the bible verse bunny. She did a great job. I bought the matte and frame at Jo-Anns (both 50% off...I love a deal and coupons!) I went back and added the polka dots on the matte.

Shane and dad painted the table. It was an ugly blue-green color before. It is now a slate blue with cream that was distressed. Thanks guys!

~As much as bed rest can be a little aggravating,
I'm definitely finding ways to keep busy while sitting!
Shane always calls me a "busy body" so this has really slowed my pace..I'm just like my dad!

34 wks

We are 85% of the way there!

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds(like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers - which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born -are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.


This morning I got an e-mail from a baby website that said I should start working on packing a hospital bag and gave a general list of things that we might need...I thought to myself
"Really!? Already?!" but I guess a "packed" bag can sit in the corner for a while...but with the blood pressure stuff looming over my head, I guess it's better safe than sorry...

Speaking of blood pressure, I have felt pretty good almost all week! I've been drowning myself in drinking tons of water, watching my sodium intake, and resting...and O-yeah I almost forgot...I've eaten 2 watermelons by myself this week!
(it kinda looks like I swallowed one whole;)They are seedless medium size watermelons at Kroger for only $3.99! LOVE THEM!! I'm a firm believer in Smith County watermelons from MS and believe that the word seedless just does not belong but I must say for an early June seedless watermelon, They're great!

My parents came up this weekend to help me and Shane do a few odds and ends around the house and get baby Murphys' room ready. We got A LOT done!!! They also took Maddie back down to MS for a few days! I can't thank them enough!
It won't be long until his room is ready. I lack a rug, frame the silhouettes, and a piece of art work that my sister, Lauren, is working on for me! I can't wait to see it!

I had a doctors appointment this morning. Everything went really well! BP was great, no swelling, & no protein in urine! Baby's HR was 148-152 bpm. I'm measuring at 36 wks. Dr. Draughn says to continue with the low sodium diet, drinking lots of water and I'm still on modified bed rest...which has not been too bad! I've gotten a lot of crafty things done!
(for another post!)

3 year well visit

We took Madelyn to her three year well doctor visit. She did really well! She even had short conversation with the nurse and Dr. Godfrey! It was a pretty busy appointment..Apparently they start getting kids to tee-tee in a little cup when they're potty trained. She also got her finger pricked to check cholesterol and anemia. Everything came back good! She also had another Vision Screening. I thought we were clear for any more shots until our booster shot at 5...not so much...We got two and boy did she come alive!!! They were 1.) Pneumococcal conjugate aka Prevnar. 2.)Hepatitis A.
We found out today that Madelyn has a heart murmur...He called it a Venous hum. It is a childhood murmur and should go away. It's literally caused by her head being bigger proportionately than her body. So her heart has to work a little harder to pump up to her noggin! When her body catches up to her head than it should go away. He even said that he placed his finger over her corroded artery for a few seconds and the murmur stopped! Crazy right!?

Her stats were
weight~28lb. 1oz. (24%)
height~37 3/4 inches (60%)
head circumference~19 1/2 inches (75%)

fyi-she had to wear the green shirt to get the screening done...
She thought her"dress" was funny!

My Etsy and EBAY Finds

I've been working on the baby's room. I wanted to find a few old toys to put on the chest of drawers. So I've been watching EBAY for a few. I found exactly what I was looking for! The best part is that I only paid $2.45...shipping was more! HA! for a grand total of $7.45! LOVE IT!

On the wall above the chest of drawers I ordered silhouettes to be framed. I decided to do one with a big sister-little brother. Too cute! I love this company! My total was $40.00. They are $20.00 for each print but used a coupon code, Buy 2 get one free! I've ordered many gifts and goodies from her! www.sarahandabraham.com/

This sweet diaper cover and bear hat was also an etsy find! I love it and can't wait to put him in it! I just hope his noggin will fit in it! Grand total was $29.00! So worth it for a cute pic!

If you've not experienced www.Etsy.com yet, you need to! Most of the items being sold are moms that are wanting to stay at home with their kidos while making a little extra. Jenny and I have ordered many cool things!

33 wks and more hospital visits...

We are 82.5% of the way there!

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

I know that you guys might be wondering what's going us with us! First let me catch you up.

~Thursday morn. Woke up VERY tired. Ate breakfast and went right back to bed. Woke up, felt really exhausted, dizzy, and was having hot flashes. Gave Lauren a call and told her what I was feeling. She asked me if she thought I could drive then said to get my BP checked now. I drove to CVS where the nurse practitioner took my blood pressure. It was 160/90. I've never had high blood pressure at all, not even with Maddie! Called doctor, and went to hospital. Fetal Non-Stress test, took blood, urine, etc. Baby looked good though! Was told to go get my blood pressure taken by my OBGYN the following day.

~Friday morn. Went and saw OBGYN. Blood pressure looked...umm okay but not great. He was able to confirm that baby did indeed turn head down. Told me to take it easy all weekend, watch what I eat, and drink lots of water.

~Sunday morn. went to Sunday school. Had hot flashes and felt really dizzy and exhausted. Went to CVS. BP was 138/95. The bottom # was concerning. Called doctor. Went right back to the hospital. Fetal non-stress test, blood work, urine, reflexes, etc. Baby still looked good and my blood pressure was looking better.
(not how we wanted to spend Madelyn's 3rd b-day)

(inhale now)

~We went and saw Dr. Draughn this morning. BP was a little high. I did not feel well either. Found trace amounts of protein in urine, baby sounded good-heart rate was 136. Measured at 36 wks.
Little to no swelling on ankles and hands. I've been put on modified bed rest:(
(I kinda knew this might be the case...) He said to get what I needed to get done in the morning then rest in the afternoon.

Things we have to look out for:
~swelling
~rapid weight gain (I haven't gained any in the last 2 weeks)
~proteins in urine
~headaches
~blurred vision
~dizzy
~hot flashes
~extreme fatigue

Hopefully everything will go well for now on.

Madelyn is 3!

Beach pictures

Sweet Nino made these Liberty of London dresses for the girls! They are absolutely BEAUTIFUL aren't they?!?!

If you want to see the pictures a little better, click on the collage to enlarge it! I just had so many to show you guys!

We had a blast at the beach!! Some wonderful memories were made! Here are a few...
~Crab hunting in the water after dinner.
~Frog hunting. There were so many! Jenny and Shane would pick them up...Me??? NO way! I let out a pretty big squeal when Shane made one land on my hand!
~The crabs in the water were huge! We code named them BINGO's cause Maddie was afraid of them. We put that into her mind though b/c we girls(Jenny) screamed so much;)
~Madelyn and Addy Grace loved seeing each other every morning while eating breakfast on the deck.
~Our first bath experience with the girls when we first arrived at the condo...
~We stopped on the side of the road 7 times on the way down to let Maddie go to the bathroom in her froggy potty.
~The girl loved riding in the mini boats on the ocean!
~Maddie did not like the hot sand...Addy did not like the sand period!
~Nino put together the neatest goody bags for each youngin. Every night before we went out to eat she would put something new in their bag that they've never seen. We never had a melt down in a restaurant...and other people noticed how "well behaved" they were.
~ The first three days we got to see sting rays! lots and lots of them! They were magnificent!
~Baby Murphy decided to turn head down on the ride back home...not so fun but I'm happy he did it!
~We got to visit with Matt and Janelle Mims and finally got to meet their sweet baby girl, Judith!
(She is a Doll!)
~Stinky and Suzy the turtles.
Silly quotes from Madelyn
~"I remember daddy!" in a very dreamy way (She said this after Nino explained to her that daddy was coming to the beach soon)
~(Addy Grace was crying for her pacie(she calls it a bop) and we could not reach it at the time so she was repeating ("THAT BOP!") Madelyn leans over and says "You CAN'T have that Bop!" what was SO funny is that she said this in the creepiest Darth Vader voice we've ever heard!
~"Nino, stop talking and start walking!" Madelyn was ready to get out of the restaurant! I have NO idea where she heard this!