The Night Before Evangeline

After an ultrasound, Dr. McCloskey told us that Evangeline is coming out tomorrow, December 3rd, 2009. The good doctor will perform the C Section tomorrow at 1:30pm.

This is a huge relief to Jane, who did not fancy pushing out a 9 pound 5 ounce baby--no matter how cute she may be.

The ultrasound indicated that Evie has a large tummy and head full of hair. I guess we'll know for sure tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more details!

Auggie (with direction from Jane)

TAG and 38 weeks

TAG

I have been tagged by my law school friend Gara. Gara and Brandon were law school super people who we were lucky enough to get to know through Board of Barristers. They welcomed their handsome son Travis into the world back in August. I check her blog regularly for tips, advice and general good reading.

So, here's what to do. Share five things you're obsessed with then pass the award to the five most fabulous blogs you know. So, here's my five

1. The Family. Auggie is the best and I know Evangeline will be a sweet baby. I'm lucky to have a huge super family both here and back in England. I talk to Mummy (Nana) ALL the time :-) But seriously, they are all great.

2. My HMO. I know - lame. But I really don't think anyone should ever ever be without health care and I really can't argue with the fact that start to finish, Evangeline will cost me $135. That includes 9 ultrasounds, a CVS screen done by the head of maternal medicine at UT Med School, all my doctors visits, genetic screening AND Evangeline's birth and our stay in the hospital. Seriously, why would anyone pay for a PPO?? I got to choose from 850 OBs within 10 miles of my zip so its not like I didn't have choice. Ok. Rant over!

3. Champagne. I really love champagne. LOVE IT.

4. Travelling to Europe. I have to go once a year or I get withdrawal. I have to go to England and we like to fit in a trip to France and hopefully in the future to some other places too. We need to make sure Evangeline is well travelled and well cultured!

5. Cakes and cake decorating. I wish I had more time to do it and I wish I had my friend Melissa's talent!


38 Weeks:

14 days to go!! yay!!
After many threats to arrive early, Evangeline now appears to want to stay put. Its probably the working from home that helps since I don't have to drive or sit at my desk in my uncomfortable chair!!

Weight: Still at 31 pounds gained. Hoping to stay put there until she arrives.
How big is Baby: I am hoping still around 7 pounds. Maybe if I have not gained weight that means she won't have either!!
Maternity Clothes: Almost exclusively!
Stretch Marks: not yet. Holding my breath on that one!
Sleep? Still pretty good'
Best Moment of the Week: Probably hearing Evangeline's very strong heartbeat at the doctors and getting the new energy efficient front door installed. This door has glass that does not feel like a baby could push their way through it!
Food Cravings: Cake. I have been doing my best to ignore it
Labor Signs: More braxton hicks but not much else
Belly button: Flat
What I miss: I'm trying to make the most of having Evie with me all the time since it won't be for much longer
What am I looking forward to: Evangeline arriving either tomorrow or Sunday, or after the 29th (no thanksgiving babies please!)

Who knows . . . . this could be the last update! Only Evangeline really knows what she's up to so I guess all I can do is wait!!

Jane xx

Photos!!

So, here are some more pictures!! Auggie and I thought it would be fun to compare 36 1/2 week bumps since we now weigh almost the same. I say that mine is more impressive overall.

Now, in case anyone thought we were being mean when we said no Christmas pressies for Evangeline, CHECK OUT HER CLOSET!! And these are just the clothes that hang up. We have a whole chest of drawers full too!!! Lucky Baby!!

And here is Evangeline's Room!

This is her cot!! I don't think there was quite as much pink on it when Uncle Alex and Uncle Pip slept in it!

This is Mummy's nursing sofa and Evangeline's new shelves. Christine made the gorgeous blanket.

Evie even has her own bathroom . . . . And here is another view of her room. Her lovely moses basket is on the bed (thank you Uncle Alex and Sam).


Shower pictures will arrive one day . . . hopefully :-D

36 and a half weeks . . .

So! We've had a couple of doctors appointments since my last post and very excitingly, we have finished Evangeline's room!! yay!! We FINALLY got some curtains from target and Nana and I prettied them up with pink ribbon and pink/white tie backs. Pictures to follow after I have asked Auggie where the camera is . . . .

The most recent appointment was today. This included an ultrasound of baby. I think she is cute but I could be considered biased :-) I don't think we are going to make it into December . . .

Weeks: 36 1/2 I think that everyone is now beginning to agree with me that baby is due sooner than the first ultrasound predicted.

Weight Gain: not much since four weeks ago. I have fat ankles at the moment contributing to an extra pound but overall still in the 32 pound range.

How big is Evangeline: HUGE. MASSIVE. She's 7 pounds already. How can that be?? I hope that she does not too much more. Nana says that Uncle Pip was that size at 36 weeks and he was a whopper. Please please please don't be that big Evie.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. And to be honest, somewhat limited in variety.

Stretch Marks: Not yet, but I feel them on their way

Sleep: Good although not quite as good as a couple of weeks ago. I am, however, apparently incapable of sleeping past 5am on any day of the week.

Best Moment of the Week: Finishing her room and seeing her on the ultrasound, even though her weight scares me a little.

Movement: Leggies and knees are sticking out all over the place :-)

Food cravings: None except random desire for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich last week (yuck - why would I want that?)

Labor Signs: LOTS and LOTS of painless contractions. At least three or four an hour. Both the nurse and the doctor think this is a sign that she will be early.

Belly Button: In

What I miss: I'm past that I think. I am thinking about meeting baby and how when she is out, I will actually miss having her with me all of the time.

What am I looking forward to: Happy last few weeks and then finally meeting my baby girl


I think that covers everything. I will be working from home from now on to avoid having to drive and sit in the office all day. Pictures from shower and Evangeline's room should be forthcoming . . .

Jane xx

A couple of bump pictures and City of Houston shower

Hello!

Here are some pictures from last weekend (34 weeks). We were celebrating at a Halloween themed wine tasting!! Very fun it was too.

We have an appointment on Tuesday so more updates after then. Maybe I will get a swine flu shot . . .

Yesterday we celebrated at Auggie's work! The lovely people at the City of Houston put on a great shower for us with cake, punch, games, candy and lots of presents. April and Christine took plenty of pictures so watch this space for those. Auggie seemed pretty excited by his "Daddy to Be" medal and his "New Daddy" mug!

33/34 weeks and XOM Baby Shower

Well, We were fortunate enough to have another shower last Friday hosted by my lovely work friends. The theme was My Little Pony :-) Lots of us gathered to celebrate Evangeline's arrival and we were lucky enough to get so much stuff we had to go and register for more!!! Evangeline now has a mattress, travel cot, video monitor, pink dresses, sun visors, a personalised lullaby CD, and bottles among many other things! It was a lot of fun and I will post pictures as soon as I get them from Jana.

We had our 33 week appointment on Wednesday and I will be 34 weeks tomorrow. So, time for another update . . .

Weeks: 33-34. On Wednesday I measured a perfect 33 cm.

Weight Gain: Only up 1/2 pound from two weeks ago! yippeeee! I was beginning to worry about gaining a zillion pounds but it looks like I am on course to gain 30-34 which is fine by me.

How big is Evangeline? 4 - 4 1/2 pounds. The doc is very pleased with her progress. She is firmly head down and has dropped slightly (so I can breath! yay!). Her heart rate is stable at around 140bpm. Doc says we are looking good for a natural delivery of an average sized baby!! This is a good sign because since I am going non-epidural, I don't fancy a 10 pound monster.

Maternity Clothes? About 90 % of the time. I have a slight problem that bump is getting too big for size S but M swamps me everywhere other than bump area. Very annoying. For this reason I have been wearing a lot of dresses with leggings.

Stretch Marks? None so far

Sleep? Still very nice thank you!

Best Moment of the Week? Hearing Evangeline's heart is always good. But also good was the labor and delivery tour we did last Sunday. It was fun to see the rooms and everything. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of babies in the nursery though :-( Apparently no one was born in Memorial City last weekend.

Movement: I think she is running out of room. I feel her stretch a lot and stick her little heels and knees out. This morning she kicked away my hand

Food Cravings: none :-)

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button: In

What I miss: Grace and Elegance and champagne. And toned thighs

What am I looking forward to? Another shower on Friday, this time at the City of Houston. I am also looking forward to getting Evie's curtains put up and finally finishing off everything in her room.

So, that's it from here. We can't believe there are only a few more weeks to go. I think they will go very fast as we are on weekly visits and have our final ultrasound on November 10th. I can't wait to see big Evangeline!!!

Jane xxx

Amazing Baby Shower!!!!

On Saturday we had our first baby shower!!! It was hosted by Evangeline's fabulous Nana at her house in Houston. 36 of us celebrated Evie's upcoming arrival including her Grandma, Great Grannie, Aunts, and lots of friends!! It was a LOT of fun, possibly due to the flowing champagne :-) Evangeline decided not to play for the occasion which is not entirely unexpected given her performance at ultrasounds. She would not kick for anyone.
We received an insane amount of goodies including two wonderful homemade blankets (which I LOVE), enough clothes for Evie's first 9 months, her whirlpool spa bath and her super-duper Britax car seat. We feel very lucky indeed!
Auggie had his own boy party at our house which comprised of beer drinking, beer brewing, burger grilling and football. Our party was MUCH more fun. Here are some photo highlights . . .




Here's me with super Nana by the amazing food. I should add that while most of the food was catered by a British Catering company, some was cooked at the house. Nana used the oven. This is really quite a momentous event that will not be forgotten for a long time.


Evangline's Grandma and Granny came from Georgetown and San Angelo! They looked very lovely indeed and brought Evie lots and lots of exciting goodies!!
AMAZING cake made by my friend Melissa Rodriguez. It tasted even better than it looked.

Amazing Food! Yummy! Sausage rolls, cucumber sandwiches, coronation chicken, hula hoops etc etc :-) There were also cookies by Grandma and scones by the ever fantabulous Susanna.

Auntie Christine made this amazing nappy cake!! Most excitingly it was all held up by a tres yummy bottle of champagne. Erica came in from San Antonio. She is 16 weeks and has no bump. I'm jealous!! Fran is the third part of our singing group and it was fabulous to see these girls!!

It was a really really great time and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as Evangeline and I did!!

Jane xxx

31 Weeks!!!

Well, it has been a while since we have posted but that's probably because we have not been up to anything remotely interesting. We did have a lovely visit from Bill and Judy which was all too short. They brought lovely presents including Evangeline's first doll from Great Ma and Great Pa. She's adorable and has been called Elizabeth. According to the doctor we are progressing well and everything looks good. With that in mind, here's a 31 week update!!

Weeks: 31

Weight gain? 25 pounds so far. This is sad as 25 was the internal limit I gave myself back in April. Looks like the crunchie bars are catching up with me!

How big is baby? Apparently around 3 1/2 pounds.

Maternity Clothes? YES!! big time. Especially for pants and tops. I can still wear non maternity dresses although some now need leggings to be decent.

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep? Still good thanks to snoogle and not drinking after 8pm

Best Moment of the week? Feeling more alien movements. She amuses me still, especially when other people notice my belly moving from across the room.

Movement? See above. She's rarely sleeping these days. Hopefully she will learn the benefit of sleeping in 8 weeks or so . . . .

Food Cravings? None! yay!

Labor signs? none

Belly button in or out? in still

What I miss? See previous posts. I also miss being able to move around with some form of grace.

What am I looking forward to? I have Mama's shower this weekend which should be a LOT of fun and then we have my work shower after that. I'm also looking forward to getting the H1N1 shot so I can stop worrying about it.

Milestone: clearing the closet in Evangeline's room.

Here are some pics of my 31 week bump! I am all gymmed up on our way out for a walk. Please consider the shadow when deciding if I'm huge!!

Jane xxxx

3D U/S Pictures at last!

Well, they might not be as good as the pictures of Sammy were but they are still cute! Here are some of the best ones . . .

This one of her litte foot is so cute

29 Weeks Pictures etc

Since there are no pictures of Evangeline to coo over I decided you all could coo over us instead . . . or failing that you can coo over our cat babies!! I have also included a picture of the yummy wine I could not enjoy at wine tasting last night so that anyone who likes wine can be as sad as I was!!

Charlie Girl and Alice

Watch this space for . . .

The u/s pictures. Evangeline behaved herself a little more yesterday and we got some good pictures, but then the printing machine broke so we don't have the pictures yet :-( But they will be up ASAP.

Jane xxx

Naughty Baby and 27 week update

So . . . the 3D Ultrasound did not exactly to plan due to Evangeline deciding to bury her head in the placenta and not allow any pictures. We could see part of her face - enough to see that she has Daddy's chin and Mummy's lips. We also saw her pout and stick out her tongue! But, all in all it was a bit disappointing and we are returning next week for another try!!
I did have an u/s at the docs today and she looked like she was still in a difficult position for photographing! But, since I am now in the third trimester I thought it time for another update!

Weeks: 27!
Weight gain: 19 pounds total (eek)
How big is baby: a bit over 2 pounds
Maternity Clothes: Yes! Although still in some non maternity dresses. This fact makes me happy.
Stretch marks? No but no doubt working on it
Sleep? Good except last night when baby decided I would be awake
Movement: LOTS!
Food cravings? Not really although on Saturday I demanded Pumpkin Latte, ice cream and cucumber sandwiches for dinner
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss? Still champagne and spinning class. I also miss being able to move around quickly
What am I looking forward to? Baby showers coming up and the second attempt at 3D.
Milestone? I took the glucose test today and I am now having appointments every two weeks so it will all go even faster from now on. AND we have Evangeline's pram all set up. It is too cute and I will be sure to take a picture of it with the fabulous new camera we have thanks to Bill and Judy!!!

Pictures to follow next week . . . I hope!

Back from Europe

Evangeline very much enjoyed her first trip to Europe. So much so that she double the size of my legs one night just to show her appreciation!!

Seriously though, we had a wonderful time and did not want to leave. Any worry I had about flying was not necessary and we even got upgraded coming home by the nice Steward called Iain. I highly recommend British Airways to everyone. Gramps' 90th Party was a LOT of fun with family and friends. We stayed a night with Helen and Caleb in the Castle and then moved on to France to see Claire and Yann. Both of these visits were fabulous and too short. Finally we went to Kent to see Daddy and Judy and to attend Jen and Mark's Wedding.

Evie behaved herself for her first ever bridesmaid duty and only kicked me once during the ceremony. Linda's masterwork on the dress meant I didn't look too hideous.

Here are a few pictures from our lovely lovely trip to England and France . . . . complete with bump and a pint of beer.

Saturday is our 4D u/s and then we have a 27 week u/s at the docs the day after Labor Day. Yay!!

A brief word of congratulations to Gara and Brandon Hill who's son Travis was born August 25th. He is a very handsome young man and we are really very excited for them.

Jane xxxx

New tricks!

So, Evangeline now turns around a lot and I can finally feel her doing it! Its a bit weird but kinda cool. She is also kicking me a LOT harder now!! I started giggling in a meeting today because my belly had moved so much.

In order to better display these things to Auggie, I have taken to putting the remote control for the telly on my belly and letting Evie kick it. It is highly amusing (or at least it is to first time parents).

For anyone who cares, we are now registered at babysrus for most of our stuff. We are also registering at a local shop in Houston for some of our cloth diapering needs. There is a lot of pink on the registry :-)

That's all the updates from here.

Jane xxxx

23 Weeks

Well, first of all for you lovers of 4D ultrasounds, I am booked in for September 5th. You can thank Mummy for finding the place, booking the time and paying for it :-D

I stole the following questions from a friend, but it gives a good update so I don't think she will mind:

Weight: Lots. Only up 1/2 pound from last week but still, lots. I am told that only a pound of this is baby
Maternity clothes? Oh yes. I can wear a few of my non maternity t-shirts and one dress but otherwise, I'm all maternity.
Stretch marks? not yet but its a bit early. check back in 10 weeks or so for a certain yes.
Sleep? Good. My not drinking after 8pm is working so far. Again, I'm fairly sure I will not continue to be this lucky for long.
Movement? Quite a lot. She has her off days but she's quite an active little girl.
Food cravings? Not really. Just eating a lot.
Belly button in or out? In
What I miss: champagne and spinning class
What am I looking forward to? The next few ultrasounds to say hello to her again. Going to England!!
Milestone: Evangeline's room is finished except for curtains. I am having trouble finding curtains that do not involve and kind of valence and that are just plain.

That's all for now. We have to go and collect Auggie from the bus xxx

August 4th Update

Well, to be honest there is not all that much to update but here goes . . .

Evangeline is now kicking me a LOT! I love it except when I am trying to sleep. She has started kicking so hard it makes my whole belly move. This makes me laugh, sometimes inappropriately during meetings at work. She has also grown a bit recently as my tummy has expanded even further. Its pretty amusing to see me in a swimming costume.

Her room is almost finished. When we have put up a few more pictures I will pop some photographs on here. Her crib looks so cute even though it is currently missing its mattress. We have a white canopy over it which I think looks adorable. We bought a "You are My Sunshine" plaque to go somewhere in the room - Auggie especially wanted this as his mum used to sing that song to him when he was a little boy.

Today we visited Evangeline's school that she will attend once she is 6 months old. It was recommended by someone who's opinion I 100% trust and I was not disappointed. It was lovely and clean and the teachers all seemed lovely so we will be happy for her to go there. Our only issue is that they teach sign language. I think that teaching children to speak is a much better idea (call me old fashioned . . . ) but the teacher said we can opt out of that thank goodness!!! Over all we were very happy and will be putting her name down ASAP!!

Aside from busting out of maternity clothes and feeling a little like Aunt Marge in the Prisoner of Azkaban, that's about all from here!!

xxx

Our house - July 2009

Click here to view these pictures larger

Exciting arrival from England!

Well, Chris very very nicely went all the way to New Ash Green to collect Evangeline's push chair on Wednesday. He brought it back to Houston today and it is FABULOUS! We tried it out with a baby troll (strictly inside only) and we really love it. Auggie already looks like a proud Daddy!

The customs man at IAH looked at Chris a bit funny though. I think he wondered why on earth anyone would by a stroller in England and bring it back to America . . .

Evangeline is kicking some more. She enjoyed the new Harry Potter a LOT! I took her back for a second viewing last Sunday. She is also very large - or at least she feels that way. I am carrying very high so I look massive and I weigh more than I ever thought possible. I am slightly frightened by the "one pound a week" thing that apparently is forthcoming. I am also nearly too big for some of Auggie's t-shirts which is REALLY sad. So much for shopping in your husband's closet!! Of course baby is completely worth it and I can't WAIT for December!!!!

19/20 Weeks!

Well, my belly is getting HUGE and I feel rather like a marshmallow but things are good!

Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound. Auggie was able to attend this one which was very exciting for him. We saw all the important parts of Evangeline! She had her hand to her forehead in drama queen pose for a good amount of the time! Like mother like daughter . . . . I think her little feet were very cute too.

Unfortunately, the u/s lady was a bit mean and gave us really rubbish pictures. I will post them up here at some point but you really can't see much. She was running 30 mins late even though I was the first appointment of the day and then rushed through ours. I was annoyed! Still, it was so lovely to see baby happy and healthy. Mummy (Nana) enjoyed it too!

Evangeline is starting to kick me more and more. She likes mince pies and gives me a bit of a kick whenever I finish eating one. She has kicked Auggie's hand a couple of times too. I am looking forward to feeling her more, although I have it on good authority that this feeling will disappear by 30 weeks when she is huge and using me for martial arts practice.

Anyhoo - that's the most recent update! Everything is good!!

Well, Evangeline's closet has been expanding again. She received her first swimsuits for next summer from Debbie. They are so cute. I wanted to buy an adorable dress yesterday but Auggie cut me off, reminding me that we are going to get a LOT of clothes from other people. I suppose he is right but why should everyone else get all the fun????

We have discovered that the best shop in the entire universe - Mothercare - will ship nappies to the USA. YAY! They have the BEST nappy starter kit and we intend to get two. This gives us 24 of the best quality nappies for regular day use and then we can use Bum Genius for days when she needs to be extra pretty.
Apparently you can't buy NappiSan here so we will have to make to with something else.

Other than my excitement with nappies (which is probably not shared by anyone else) this has been a quiet week. I am looking forward to feeling her kick more as the weeks go on and we get to see her again on the 14th! yay!