Two weeks!

Well, Ella turned two weeks old on Christmas Day. Obviously, we weren't going in for her checkup that day, so it was into the doctor on the 26th.

Little Miss was back up to her birthweight, 8lbs 6 oz. and was 20.5 inches long (was 20 at birth). The docker looked her over and essentially said she looked absolutely perfect. She hasn't been doing anything out of the ordinary, and I really didn't have any questions/comments/concerns, so the appointment went pretty fast.

I did ask, however, if I still needed to wake her during the night to eat. He said that since her jaundice was behind her, she proved that she could gain and maintain weight, and that she was eating well, that she could be left alone and to let her fall into her own routine. Exactly what I wanted to hear. Besides, I apparently had been shutting my phone alarm off during the night anyways. I'd wake up because of Ella crying, to look at my phone to see it was past the time that the alarm had been set for. Oops! When I told the doctor that, he just laughed and said that that was a definite sign that I most certainly was not a first time mom. We both got a good laugh out of that. Another funny of the appointment was that she had red glitter pretty much all over the place. In her neck, on her cheek, in her hair. Not quite as bad as the appointment the week before when the doctor found a speck of glitter in her diaper. We obviously are living in a house full of girls :)

Sporting just a wee bit of baby acne lol

Also, how in the world has two weeks gone by so fast? It seemed those last few weeks of my pregnancy dragged on, and now time is back to flying by!

So far, she's also proven to be a fairly easy baby. Mainly cries just when she's hungry, and as soon as she has her food, she's set. She's sleeping in 2-3 hour stretches during the night, and after eating its normally right back to sleep. She loves cuddles and her favorite way is to lay on your chest and tuck her legs under. We could both sit there for hours on end like that.

Addisyn and Alyse are still doing well with the new adjustment. Addisyn loves helping and Alyse likes doing whatever Addi does. They still fight over getting to hold her too.

Just like in the ultrasound, sleeping with her hand by her face

I feel completely overwhelmed right now. I have over 500 essays with just 4 days to do them. That's on top of taking care if a newborn and two toddlers. My house is a disaster zone with all of the girls' Christmas gifts. Not to mention, the house hasn't been cleaned since the day before Ella was born. There are about three loads of clothes to be folded as well as more to be washed. Along with a dishwasher sitting with clean dishes and a sink full of dirties. Once I get these essays knocked out I know I'll be able to get the other stuff taken care of. Until then though, I'll just stay stressed at looking at all the mess! And for anyone wondering how I have time to sit and write these posts with so much to do...the miracle of a smart phone app. When you're up in the middle of the night nursing a baby or sitting on the couch nursing during the day, it's amazing what you can do on your phone ;)

Fun fact: Ella had her first poop explosion on Friday, at two weeks old and three days. Of course, it would also be just after a fresh and clean bath.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Dupp girls!

Can I just say how incredibly sweet it was to get to spend the Christmas holiday with my THREE baby girls??!!? The magic of Christmas is most definitely there for Addisyn, and that is what truly makes Christmas so much fun. The fun, excitement, and joy of your child's eyes on Christmas morning is priceless. And, Alyse isn't too far behind her. She may not quite get Santa yet, but she loves copying all the things her sister says and does. And, Ella's first Christmas was her exact two week birthday. I'd venture to say that two weeks before Christmas won't be too horrible of a birthday lol.

"Christmas Dresses" lol

Christmas Eve, we went to both of my grandmothers' houses. Always so good to make the rounds. Then, Christmas morning we waited on the girls to actually wake up, which wasn't until a bit after 9:30!! Then, it was out to explore all the gifts from Santa. Mom, Dad, and Eric also came over to see what goodies they received. Next, Doug took the two older girls out to Mema's to wish everyone there a Merry Christmas. We decided it would be best to not take Ella out there, just because there are so many people, and we didn't want to take any risks of someone being sick.

Feeding the reindeer on Christmas Eve

For the second half of Christmas Day, we went to Doug's parents for lunch. And, Finally, it was to my parents house for dinner. Whew. Talk about a busy holiday! All in all, we had a fabulous Christmas. Always a great thing to spend time with family. And I'm not going to lie, having two little toddlers and a itty bitty baby around makes it that much better.

Ella lost her stump!

I almost forgot!! Christmas night, when we got home, I went to get Ella changed and dressed for bed. I grabbed a q-tip to clean her cord, and hen I went to touch it to her the q-tip in, it just fell off. So, on Christmas and her two week birthday, that last little piece of reminder of her attachment to me was gone. Kinda sad when you think about it.

Merry Christmas and happy two weeks to Baby Ella!

Mellow and Yellow

lounging with her bili blanket

Since Ella's jaundice levels had jumped the two points the morning we were discharged, the nurse recommended we make the appointment at the pediatrician for the following day which was Friday the 14th. First things were first and she weighed in at 7lbs 10oz, which means she lost 11oz form her birth weight. When we saw the doctor (before blood test results were ready) she guessed that she would have elevated levels just by her looks. Sure enough, she was at 16.something. Levels for treatment start at 16. Luckily though, since her levels weren't extreme she would be able to so treatment at home. That same day, the equipment company came to the house delivering her bili blanket. She would have to be on it at all times.

We went back on Saturday to follow up, and her levels had only dropped a few points after being on the blanket. So, we decided to give it a couple more days and to come back in on Monday. She also, was up to 7lbs 12oz. So she gained 2 ounces overnight! Which was proof that my milk supply was most definitely in :)

The cord was ginormous and really heavy

On Monday, it was back to the doc again. This time, there was a better drop in levels and it had gone down to 13.something. Although, it sill wasn't as low as it needed to be. He wanted her at an 11. So, we were told to come back on Tuesday (one week birthday, and my due date!). Still on Tuesday, not down enough. The doctor was pretty confident thought that she'd drop enough to come off the lights by the next day. That was enough to convince me.

Finally, on Wednesday, we went back one last and final time, and she was at 11!!!!!! Woohoo!!! We got the official discharge off the lights and she also got out if having to take the "rebound" test the following day because she was over a week old, which meant she had most likely gotten over the peak. I was just elated that we would have our baby girl cord free! It was very annoying only having about 2 feet if movement with her. Although, it did make for a perfect excuse to snuggle up in the chair with her on my chest.

The light's heatt kept her nice and sleepy

And, I believe she was 7lbs 15oz at that appointment. I'm wondering if she's going to be back at her birth weight by her two week checkup? I have a feeling she will be, or at least be pretty close!

I honestly cannot believe that A) she's here B) she's already over a week old and C) we are going to have her here for her very first Christmas!

Also, in her one week birthday, we had liane come out to the house to so her newborn pictures. We tried to get some family and sibling shots in as well, but as we all know lil Alyse is not a fan if the camera. She really needs to kick this habit!

Smurfette??

All in all, Ella's first week flew by. She's a pretty relaxed and chill baby. Mainly eating, sleeping, and pooping. I do lOvE this stage though. My favorite is just lounging around with her on my chest. Addisyn and Alyse are sill pretty excited about her and often fight over who will get to hold her first. I'm so glad that they are both adjusting well thus far. I was pretty worried about how alyse would react, but so far, so food!

Ella's first few days

After moving to the mother baby unit, Ella was able to meet some more of her family who had been anxiously awaiting for her arrival as well as her big name reveal! Of course, mom was already there with the girls, soon Karen, Megan, Zoe, and Eric were there. Everyone was in such awe over how much she looked like Alyse
when Alyse was a baby.


Her first night went well. The grunting noises that she had been making since her birth stopped overnight. Her blood sugar levels also regulated to where they needed to be. She was up quite a bit nursing, but of course that was expected. The next day, the pediatrician came in and said that she looked and seemed perfectly healthy and shortly after that, my doctor came in and pretty much told me she'd write the orders for me to go home whenever I was ready. We weren't going to leave without little Ella though, so we stayed one more night.



I don't know what in the world is up at Winnie Palmer, but they've made a couple of changes since the last time I had delivered. The biggest annoyances were having to record every single diaper change, every single nursing session, as well as recording how much I was going to the bathroom. Talk about aggravating! I had just had a baby, was trying to recover, and they're wanting me to remember to do all those things?? Sheesh! I could understand if Ella had some issues and that needed to be monitored, but I'm going to call the third time mom card here and say that I kinda know what I'm doing. And as for how much I'm peeing? I get that they need to know that, but why do I have to chart it?

Little Ella sleeping away on my chest on her second night.

Anyhow, the next day, Ella and I were both released. Luckily, my nurse was pretty much on top of things and got our discharge info rolling along pretty quickly. We realized that the Health Department wasn't going to make it to our room in time to deliver Ella's birth certificate, so we called over to their office (which we could see directly out my room window) and told them that we would just come and pick it up ourselves.

So not the best picture, but getting ready to go home :)

Next thing we knew, transport was at the door and Ella and I were being pushed through the hospital to go home. I'm not going to lie, leaving was in a way sad. I was sad that that was more than likely the last time I'd get to go through the whole pregnancy/birth/brand-spanking-new-baby experience. Maybe it was just all my hormones, but I was most definitely sad. I was also worrying about whether or not Ella would have to be re-hospitalized, as both of her sisters did. The nurse checked her jaundice levels just before we were discharged, since it was a concern I had, she was at 9.something (8 maybe??) which was higher from the 7.something he had been during the early morning check. Anyways, at that point I was cautiously optimistic that we would avoid Arnold Palmer this go around.

Ella Kathryn's big arrival!

Well folks, Baby Dupp III (a.ka. Gummy, Coral, and/or Coral-Pie) is officially here. Presenting little miss Ella Kathryn. She made her big arrival during a scheduled induction on Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 1:55 pm. She weighed 8lbs and 6oz (much to my relief she didn't take after her big sister, Alyse) and was 20 inches long.

A couple weeks prior to her delivery I discussed with my doctor about possibly setting up an induction date for 39 weeks just in case things didn't happen on their own by then. I was fully anticipating that I would go into labor naturally, given my past history of the other two girls. Well, little Ella proved me wrong, and made it the full 39 weeks tucked inside her little womb. So, off we went at 4-something in the morning to make it to Winnie Palmer by our scheduled time of 5am.

As our luck would be, we would have to sit in the super cold waiting room for like an hour. Finally, around 6:15 the nurse came and picked us up to bring us to my labor room. It was the routine medical questions along with setting up the IV and monitors. 7:30am the pitocin was started and was 4cm dialated and about 70% effaced. I was happy to hear that there had been some progress since my doctor visit the Thursday prior. I wasn't in any pain, just having the regular contractions that I've been having for weeks at home. I did request that I get my epidural placed though, before my doctor came to break my water. Not because I was hurting at the moment, but because I knew what was ahead of me.

At 9am the anesthesiologist was in the room ready to place it and Doug was out the door faster than I've seen him move in a long time. Placing it was a breeze with just a few awkward pinches. While she was working on getting the epi placed exactly as it should, my doctor came in. At 9:15 she broke my water and checked me again, and I was still at 4cm. It was funny though, because about 30 minutes after my doctor supposedly left to go to the office, she came back into my room to do another check. She was worried that I would progress super fast and would have been called to turn around halfway back to Dr. Phillips. No progress though, so she left.

At 12:15, I had moved to 5cm. Doug sent out a few texts to let some family know of the progress. Then, my nurse was called to her other patient's room because she was ready to deliver. So she sent a back up nurse into my room. This lady had me moving from one side to the other. Apparently, the baby's heart rate would drop a little bit and the monitor wasn't really picking up my contractions. This led to a conversation with the nurse that I was feeling the contractions, that they weren't painful just a bit uncomfortable. So she was like, well you have the epidural so press the button to get your extra doses. As soon as I did that that uncomfortableness went away. A few minutes later she asked if I had felt that contraction that supposedly just happened, and I totally hadn't felt anything. Now, that is truly a miracle drug. With that, she placed my left leg in a stirrup that was on the right side of the bed. This is the magic position that dialated me from 8cm to 10cm in less than 2 minutes with Alyse.

Just minutes old

Anyways, a few minutes later she came back in and told me about the lowering of the baby's heart and the monitor still not picking up all the contractions, and that she had called the doctor to let her know. Dr. Lambert made the call to have an internal monitor placed so that they could get a more accurate read of the consistency of the contractions. With that, I told the nurse that within the last couple of minutes I had started to feel some pressure and had been debating about calling her into the room. So, my nurse was back from her other patient's delivery and she did a check. She immediately told the other nurse to get a glove to double check. Sure enough, I had fully dialated from 5cm to 10cm in less than 30 minutes. They were then on the phone with the doctor. I kinda laughed about it and was told not to laugh because the baby might come out. That of course made me laugh again. Not sure if the nurse was fully serious, but then I coughed and was told no coughing either ;)

I had about a 30 minute wait from the cervical check until Dr. Lambert made her arrival. The pressure was getting much more frequent and much more intense. I just kinda breathed through them. The nurse basically stayed at my side and would frequently ask if I wanted her to call for another doctor just in case. But, I kept insisting that I would be ok. Dr. Lambert probably got to my room around 1:30. She did a quick glance and decided that she was going to change into her tennis shoes. Then, she was back, they had me do a "practice" push through my next contraction at 1:45, when she decided she needed to get all her gear on. It took longer than what I had been experiencing for the next contraction, but once it came, did the standard three pushes to the contractions. Apparently, she was really close. The next set of contractions brought her to the verge of her arrival. Then, on the first push of the next (the third) contraction, she was here. Less than 10 minutes of pushing, through only 3 contractions = the easiest delivery ever. Plus, my epidural was working perfectly, unlike it only working half way during Alyse's delivery.

Ella went straight to my chest while the nurses wiped her down. It was such a sweet moment. Then, it was off she went for her evaluation. I think I overheard them saying her Apgar scores were 8 and 9. Everyone was shocked that she wasn't heaver than what she weighed out, because she looked much bigger than her actual weight. Once I got her back in my arms, we were told that she was grunting a bit, which is actually a sign of respiratory distress and that her blood sugar was low. They asked me to nurse her to hopefully bring her levels up. They brought a pediatrician in, who explained she may have to go to the transition nursery, but after he did a good lookover he decided that she didn't need to do that, but just to keep a close eye on her. The sugar levels also leveled out after her feeding.

We then had a little bit of time to bond while we waited for the effects of the epidural to wear off. It was so nice to have a new little newborn in my arms again. There really and truly is no greater feeling in the world than just having pushed out a baby that you've been growing inside of you for the past 9 months and then having that sweet baby in your arms. It's so surreal to know that that tiny person had just been inside of you.

They are so happy to finally get to see little Ella

Around 4 o'clock, mom made it up to the labor room (we were still waiting to be moved to the mother baby unit) with Addisyn and Alyse. The look on Addisyn's face was absolutely priceless. She was literally smiling ear to ear and her mouth dropped open. She came over to me and baby Ella as fast as she could and told me that she was so excited that her new baby sister was here. Surprisingly, Alyse was pretty excited too. Then, it was time for the girls to hold their new sister. It was so awesome to watch both of them interact with little Ella. Mom was dying to know the little babe's name and asked Addisyn what her sister's name was. Of course, Addisyn stuck with Coral-Pie, but I asked her if she wanted to know the baby's real name. That's when we told her Ella Kathryn. And, Addisyn was so happy and complimented the name saying it was beautiful.

Addisyn and Alyse meeting Ella for the first time!

Next thing we knew, it was time to move up to the mother baby unit and we were being wheeled away to our new room. On the way there we dropped Ella off at the nursery for a quick bath and look over from the nurses. All in all, it was another beautiful moment. It's virtually impossible to explain the feeling of labor and delivery as well as meeting your baby for the first time. All I know, is that I am so blessed to have three amazing baby girls and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the whole world!

Me and my girls <3

38 and 3

Holy big belly at 38 weeks! Can't believe I'm posting this :/

Well, today marks the day of this being the longest that I've ever been pregnant. Gummy (or the newer names Coral-Pie, which just doesn't cut it for me) has managed to stay in longer than both of her two older sisters. Go figure. Third baby and longest pregnancy. I had my check up on Thursday, and still sitting at 3cm. Not any progress, but it's not like that really means much. My doctor still described my cervix as "favorable" so it's not like all these contractions haven't done anything. The past few days, the contractions have gotten much stronger and have even had a handful in a row. But nothing that lasted long enough to warrant a trip to labor and delivery. And, my doctor also told me she is on call over the weekend, so maybe things can get moving along sooner rather than later.

I feel like I've ran out of room. Most of my shirts are too short. My pants are constantly falling down. I've lost all since of self respect walking around the house with the bottom portion of my belly hanging out. I feel like I should put on a wife beater and have a can of beer in my hand. Just a few more days, and the majority of these problems will go away. However, the sad news is, is that these issues will be replaced with jiggly flab that won't allow me to wear normal jeans but leaving the maternity pants a bit too big. Lose/lose, but one of the joys of motherhood.

Heart burn is nasty. I've been living off of Tums. Especially at night. I've also reverted back to trying to take an afternoon nap while the girls take theirs. I can definitely notice the drop of energy. It's going to be a long time before I have any of that to spare. 

Last Saturday, was the city's Christmas Parade. Addisyn's school participated and I spent the Friday before up at the school helping decorate. Because of being uber pregnant Doug went along with Addisyn during the parade. I figured waiting around at the line up for over an hour and walking that distance would leave me pretty swollen and uncomfortable. So, Alyse and I claimed some spots as spectators and later the rest of the gang came to watch as well. Addisyn was so excited when she rode past and was sure to throw some candy to Alyse. The float turned out adorable, and we just found out last night that we won first place for the most Christmas spirit. How cool!

Thursday night, Addisyn had her Christmas Pageant at the Pre-School. It was so adorable to watch all the little ones singing and doing their motions to their songs. Addisyn has been singing them around the house for quite sometime now, but it was fun to see it all put together. And, of course it would be my kid that was digging at her pants almost the entire time because her tights were bothering her. Luckily, she was in the back row so hopefully not too many people noticed. She was so proud of herself though and was extra excited because she was able to be on the stage. Such a ham.

The girls went to the Boat House for the weekend, leaving Doug and I alone for one final weekend. It's nice to just relax, but it's so strange not having the girls. Pretty much my whole world revolves around them and to have them gone is just awkward. Today, went out with Zoe to the mall and also got manicure/pedicures. Good to have a day to myself. Not sure what to do tomorrow. I'm sure we can come up with something.

But, for now, we continue waiting...patiently ;)

Full Term!!!

May (3 months) and December (37 weeks)

The big 3-7 week is here! Full term. So the little princess is welcome to come whenever her little heart desires. I had my checkup today, and still at 3 cm, so no new progress in that area. I also had a sonogram and it showed that she's only weighing 7 lbs 4 oz. That was a HUGE sigh of relief off of my chest. I was so nervous that she was going to be a gigantic toddler in there. The tech's words were that she was within the "normal" range and that she was long and skinny. Specifically, her tummy was skinny. So here's to hoping her machine wasn't way off and that the little bean doesn't pack on 3 pounds within these next few days.

This past weekend was quite busy. Of course we had Thanksgiving on Thursday, and then on Saturday a first birthday party and getting all the Christmas decor for inside and outside of the house out of the attic and up. All while watching the Gators beat Florida State! Perfect day. Sunday, we went to target and got a new stocking and stocking holder for the baby. We are up to 7 stockings on our shelf! Crazy! We also went and picked out of Christmas tree.

The rest of our Sunday afternoon we decorated the tree. Addisyn was so excited to look at all the ornaments and to place them on the tree. Alyse was excited at first but soon lost interest. Once everything was up I had to goal to get both of the girls together for a picture. Alyse said no and ran to the kitchen yelling about wanting a banana. My solution: tell her she can have the banana AFTER she takes a picture with her sister. A few more minutes of crying went by, I reminded her of the bribe, and she stomped over to the tree. And she stood there. Arms folded and her bottom lip poked out. When I asked her to smile and say cheese all I got was a humph and her "humphing" her crossed arms. What a little stinker. So since she took her picture, she got her banana, after all smiling wasn't part of the original deal.

Addisyn's Pre-K3 picture

After a week off, Addisyn went back to school on Monday. She was so excited to get back into the routine. They've started their unit on the Gingerbread Man. I know she's going to have a blast with all the activities her teacher (whom she absolutely adores) has planned. They are also busy practicing for their Christmas Program that will be next week. I just hope I'm not holed up in the hospital and have to miss it :( Also, she will be in the Christmas parade this Saturday. I'm not quite sure how she really feels about it, because I'm pretty sure that she realizes that she is going to miss getting to watch the parade, which is something she really enjoys. We may take her over to Ocoee's parade that afternoon so that she can still get the opportunity to see the parade.

Until then, we're just patiently waiting. We might have a bit more information at my next appointment next week. Or, I may not make it that long lol. But, in the meantime I'll just try not to think about it, otherwise the days are just gong to frag by. I am so ready to meet this baby girl. Can't wait to get a big dose of baby smell! :)

36 down, how many more to go??

At 36 weeks and 3 days, the countdown is officially on! Things could literally happen at just about any moment. I had Alyse had 37 weeks and 2 days. I was induced, but probably would not have lasted much longer on my own anyways. Some people are placing bets that it will be sometime next week, I'm still holding out that it won't be until the week after. Again, she may play us all for a fool and come closer to the due date. I think if I truly did make it to 39 weeks I'd ask for the induction for convenience purposes. I know some people are totally against that, but in my opinion, if the doctor is fine with it and all signs point to healthy then why not use the medical advancements that we have available to us?

I have this gut feeling that my water is going to break sometime during the night. Just a feeling that I have. A few interesting notes on Addisyn and Alyse's deliveries. They were both induced, both born on a Tuesday, and Bill Clinton was on David Letterman the Monday night before being induced with both of them. So, check the schedule to see it Clinton is going to be on Letterman any time soon :)

I'm still feeling good. Not really much to complain about. My back hurts especially when I have to sit at the computer for any length of time scoring essays. I still get winded and out of breath. But really, it isn't all that bad. People keep asking if I'm done being pregnant yet, and honestly, no. I haven't felt pregnant the majority of these 9 months anyways, so just now getting those feelings doesn't have me completely drained. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited to meet the baby girl and to hold her, but this pregnancy has truly been a breeze other than those first few weeks of morning (all day) sickness. I'm still crossing my fingers that she isn't gong to be any bigger than Alyse and would feel like I hit the jackpot if she were to be smaller.

I had my appointment on Tuesday. Progressed from 2 cm to 3 cm and have effaced a tad more. I didn't get to see my doctor because she was doing a delivery, but saw the Nurse Practitioner. I asked her about my random popping noises from my belly and she looked at me as if I were crazy. Said possibly gas (don't think so) or the baby's ribs cracking. Hmmmmm. I go back on this coming Tuesday for a checkup as well as a sonogram to check on her size. At the appointment prior to this past week's I had asked about baby size because of Alyse's giganticness so Dr. Lambert suggested an ultrasound just to get an idea. Not that she could do anything about it if baby Gummy is indeed toddler sized.

Had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. Made the rounds to my parent's, doug's grandparents, my aunt and uncle's, and then back to mom's for a rousing game of Balderdash. Gotta love the holidays. Excited that Gummy will most likely be here for the next holiday! ;)

I can tell you one more thing though. I am PAST ready to get out of these stupid maternity jeans. They slip and slide and roll. They drive me absolutely insane. wish I was one of the lucky ones who can wear their normal jeans the whole pregnancy. But no, I have to deal with the torture pants. I don't get the people who always rant and rave about maternity clothes. I hate them. With a passion. Here's the big belly, at 36 weeks!

Oh! I almost forgot!!!! The other night, Addisyn was doing her nightly baby check where she takes a look at my belly. Alyse saw her and actually came to inspect as well (this is a first, because she is normally not too happy to talk about the baby). Addisyn was pressing around and talking about how she could feel her. Next thing I know, she trying to look into my belly button and her face just completely lights up. She yells that she is able to see the baby. I almost died trying not to laugh at her. Then, that got Alyse excited so she then was trying to look into the belly. It was so cute to see how excited the both of them were. Can't wait to see their reactions when she's really here!

35!

So pregnant. I swear this baby has GOT to be running out of room. I have a feeling she's going to be another long one (as if she had the genes to not be long??) because she has yet again found my ribs. There are times where I have to completely stretch my entire torso out to make enough room for her. It's funny to look at my stomach though when  she's all stretched out because it will be all disproportionate with some huge bump on whichever side she took over.

I'm starting to lose some of my energy. Tired a lot. But, I'm still trucking along through everyday activities. The girls keep me busy as well as scoring essays in the evening. I will admit though that it's quite hard to stay at the computer reading essays for hours at a time (even when not pregnant). Still takes a lot of effort to get down to the floor or to even turn from one side to the other while in bed at night. Ahhhhh, the end is near. I would say that I'm quite lucky to just now be feeling like this. Some women are like this the entire pregnancy.

I had my doctor appointment on Tuesday. Dilated to 2cm. She said the baby was still a bit high, so looks like we still have some time. Not like you can actually predict labor anyways. Doug is swearing the baby will come the last week of November. I'm still sticking with the first week of December. Maybe the second? As anxious as I am to have her here in my arms I want to make sure she's good and ready to come out. Hopefully with some less poundage than what her sister entered the world with. I'm kinda nervous I'm going to end up with three toddlers ;)

Officially on weekly appointments, so I'll be back at the office next week. Then, the following week I'll have an appointment as well as a sonogram just to check on the weight. Not like they can really do anything if she does look big, but it might be nice to know what we're working with. I'm just praying for a smooth delivery as well as a perfectly healthy baby girl. I would LOVE to avoid her having to be readmitted because no mom wants to see her baby go through all the testing and monitoring that the hospital would require. Been there twice and hoping third time is a charm in terms of health.

Alyse's first successful Santa visit, 2012!

I'm pretty much finished with Christmas shopping for the three girls. Have a few more things in route via UPS and Fedex. Everyone else, not sure what's going to happen with you! Just needed to ensure that Santa was taken care of. We also went to Millenia yesterday to get the girls' pictures with Santa. Surprisingly, Alyse had no tears and of course Addisyn was a pro! Last year Alyse wasn't a fan of Santa. Ok, it might be more suiting to say that last year Alyse was petrified of Santa. This year, she went straight up with no issues. It felt strange to be doing the Santa visit before Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to risk not being able to take the girls since there's no way to plan when the baby will arrive. next week, school is out so I'm sure that place will be a madhouse.

Alyse's traumatic experience last year, 2011

One weird side note to happenings this week: I have heard this random clicking/popping type noise come from my stomach on three different occasions. Two times while laying on the couch the other while sitting at the computer scoring essays. It was just one little pop, like the sound your knees would make if you squat down to the ground. Just one single pop. The first time it happened I think my heart skipped a few beats because I had a couple people tell me in other pregnancies that they heard a pop noise as their water broke. That was the first thing running through my head. I have absolutely no idea where the pop came from, but it wasn't fake, I wasn't moving, and nothing else was around. Freaky! Good thing we are pretty much set and ready with just about everything we need. My goal is to install the baby's car seat sometime over the weekend, and then it's all good!

Excited for Thanksgiving next week. I wonder how much bigger i can get this belly to grow? Addisyn had a big feast at school today. Her class has spent the last couple of weeks working on Indian attire to wear to the feast: an Indian vest, headband, necklace, etc, and little Addi came waltzing in not wearing anything. What a weirdo! She loves dressing up at home but yet decided not to wear all her cool stuff! She was excited to show it all off once she got home though. Alyse was just as excited to look at all the cool things that she had made.

I had a bit of craftiness myself this morning before going in to help with the feast. I made big and lil sis shirts for all three girls. I used fabric applique letters off of etsy and applied them to the shirts and tiny onesie. They're pink, red, and green and I though that they were absolutely PERFECT for three little girls during the Christmas season. I just need to get to JoAnn's to get some thread to hand stitch them on for a little extra  umph. Can't wait for the girls to wear them.

34 weeks!!!

Woah. This is getting real. A technical 6 weeks to go. I feel like I essentially say the same thing each post. You know, commenting about how close it's getting. But seriously, each passing week is making time closer and closer. I'm getting more excited each week, but at the same time I'm get more nervous each week. How in the world do I do three kids? Insane. Of course I know I can handle it, afterall I taught several classrooms of 20+ kids. I'll be good. <------- That's my current mantra to get me through.

A funny Addisynism of the week. The other night while I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, she asked if she could lift up my shirt to look at my belly. I tell her yes but inquire as to why she wanted to do so. Her response was that she wanted to check on the baby. So, I step back from the sink and she gently lifts my shirt. "oh! Your belly button is almost closed. So, that mean's the baby's coming out soon." With that, she satisfactorily pulls my shirt back down and walks away. I think I have a future doctor on my hands!

Today, while Addisyn was at school Alyse and I ventured out to do some Christmas shopping. I can honestly say that this is the earliest I have EVER started thinking about Christmas. My normal philosophy is no Christmas until AFTER black friday (nope, not one of the crazies who goes out in that mess!). But, seeing that a new baby will either be on the way or already here, I need to have the ducks in a row prior. I had already been finding a few things here and there online, but that is a bit limiting since I refuse to pay shipping. I'm pretty good about finding coupon codes for a lot of places and my free trial of Shop Runner (12 months was the initial free trial, but I got an additional 3 for signing up for some email thing. I'll be good until March 2013, woohoo!). It's fun tracking packages online and waiting for them to arrive.

I've been having braxton hicks contractions still. Nothing major, but some are quite uncomfortable. I think little Gummy has dropped a bit lower because her foot that was in my ribs for most of last week hasn't been bothering me. I also feel a bit more room to breathe. I have my 35 week appointment on Tuesday, and I'm pretty sure my doctor will be checking to see if I'm dilated yet. If I remember correctly, I was at like 3 cm for this first check with Alyse. The following week I was at 4cm, and the nest week at 5 cm. That's when I was induced. So, if this goes anything like it did with Alyse, we may only be about two and a half weeks out.

33 weeks and a few

Technically, more than a "few" days into the 33rd week, since tomorrow will be 34, but I'll update from the past week. Last Thursday, I had my doctor appointment. Everything went well. The glucose test results from the gestational diabetes retest came back normal, so who knows what was really going on. I was measuring a week ahead of schedule, which has been the norm these past few weeks. After my next appointment, I'll be at weekly appointments! Holy cow! I know these next few weeks are going to drag by.

During the past week the little babe's foot finally found my ribs. Ouch. I know when I was pregnant with Addisyn, she was in my ribs for several weeks which made the last bit of the pregnancy quite uncomfortable. This little one moves around so I'm thankful she hasn't permanently wedged her little piggies up in there. Yesterday, I was pretty much uncomfortable all day. It's like I just needed to lay down (yea, like I had the chance to do that lol) to stretch my torso out. Not quite sure how to describe the feeling, but I'm definitely not feeling it so far today.

All this time I've pretty much felt normal and haven't been able to complain about being pregnant (other than those first few weeks of utter nastiness). I think now, I officially feel pregnant. I think I might have a waddle in my step. I breathe heavy. I even make the obligatory grunts and groans when lifting another kiddo or trying to reach down to grab something. It also takes effort from my whole body to pull myself out of bed. Yes, I really am pregnant. I guess it's a good thing I wasn't going through this the whole time and I only have a few weeks left.

Even though, my due date is December 18, for now, my guess will be sometime during the first week of December. We'll see. I'm kinda hoping I'll go naturally and not be induced (mainly just for the experience, totally not against induction meds lol). Then again, it's scary not to have a plan. Although, my plan right now, is just to NOT have a plan. If that makes any sense?

Oh! And, a name update. Addisyn has, after a few steady months, changed Baby Dupp's name from Gummy to Coral. I guess it is a step up lol.

33 weeks!

Happy Halloween!

 

 A few days late getting this on here, but the girls had such a fun Halloween. The Sunday before the girls carved their pumpkins. Addisyn chose a cat face for hers and then picked out a jack-o-lantern face for Alyse's pumpkin. Addisyn dug right in to scooping out the insides of hers, Alyse was not a fan. She barely stuck her hand in and would start flinging it and screaming. She then proceeded to the door telling me that she needed to wash her hands and that it was nasty. It was hard to hold back a laugh. And, that was pretty much the end of the pumpkins on Alyse's end. Addisyn stuck around though and helped Daddy to carve out the faces.

Addisyn had her party at school on Halloween morning. She was so excited that she was going to get to wear her Wendy costume to school. What was even more fun was that a little boy in her class was Peter Pan. How cute is that? She spent the morning rotating to different classrooms to play games and get some treats. I was able to go in and help, which was a lot of fun.

Then, that night, we went and Trick or Treated in my grandmother's neighborhood. Alyse was very nervous walking up to the first house and actually made me pick her up and carry her to the door. Once she realized that they were handing out candy, she was all about it. She got to where we couldn't get to the next house quick enough. As soon as we would leave one house's doorstep, she would say "next house!" Addisyn was of course the seasoned pro and led the way. We made the entire loop and the girls did such a good job with walking and not complaining. They got some yummy candies and received so many compliments on their costumes (especially Addisyn's Wendy dress that grandma made for her). Every time someone would tell Addisyn about how pretty her dress would be, she would be sure to come back and relay the message to us about their thoughts. She is such a ham.

I also wanted to share my little Halloween "festiveness," a skeleton shirt. I found this applique on Pinterest, and it linked me to a shop on etsy. I bought this months ago just so that I wouldn't forget about seeing it. I thought it was so much fun. It was an applique that had "my" ribs and heart and then underneath was a little baby skeleton. I'll hold on to it until next year and hopefully someone will be pregnant and able to use it! I normally don't do pictures of myself, but I'll go ahead and post.

3D sonogram at 32w4d!

Saturday, at 32 weeks and 4 days we went for a 3D/4D sonogram. A couple months ago, Lisa sent me a link to a Living Social deal for this sonogram package for just $47! The same ultrasound costs $180 something dollars at my doctor's office, so this was quite a steal. And, it really makes me wish we had found a deal like this for Addisyn and Alyse's 3D pictures.

Her little hand

The place was really nice and clean, and the tech was very friendly. Little baby gummy was her typical self and spent most of her time hiding from the camera. Either she had her hand in her face, or the placenta would get right in the middle of everything. After spending a few minutes tapping on my belly, having me turn on my side,  and having me press in in specific areas of my belly, we were finally able to get a couple of clear views of her face. And, boy! She sure does look like Alyse. All the way from her cheeks to her toes!

Little piggies!

Even though this is number three, it is still just so exciting to see the little babe moving around inside my tummy. Sure, I feel her all the time but to see her WHILE I feel her movements is just absolutely amazing. It's really just something you can't even describe. We watched her yawn and move her hands around. It surely is a little miracle.

Addisyn and Alyse both were excited to see the whole thing on the big screen that they had set up in the room. Addisyn especially. In fact, when I told her what we were going to be doing that afternoon she was ecstatic and was kinda disappointed once she learned that the baby wasn't going to be coming out (yet!) and that we were going to get pictures of her INSIDE of mommy's belly. She just can't wait to meet her new little sister. Alyse on the other hand, isn't too thrilled. Whenever someone mentions the baby to her she will get real quiet and give the silent treatment. Poor babe. I'm sure she will adjust well once the baby is actually here and that she can physically see her. At least that's what I'm hoping!

Sucking on her wrist 

Anyways, "little" Gummy is just like her big sisters and is measuring big in the weight department. 4 pounds and something ounces. Going by weight, it would estimate the due date at December 8, instead of my official due date of December 18. Just one more sign to show that there really is a good chance she will be coming early. Selfishly, coming at the beginning of December would be awesome so that things could settle down before Christmas, but of course we only want that if she's going to be perfectly healthy and ready at that point. Only time will tell.