Oh the relief!!!!

The whole experience of being pregnant has brought many new challenges to my life. The most annoying was not being able to sleep though the night because my nose would stuff up. This would lead to me not being able to breath through my nose and my mouth would dry up. I would try many positions to sleep and would end up tossing and turning. I even resorted to basically sleeping upright in bed. I would prop myself up with many pillows and Curtis would just look at me like I was crazy. It helped slightly but still I wasn't sleeping very well.

Then I tried the best invention in the universe. Breathe Right Nasal strips. These little pieces of sticky plastic are a God send. I slap one on every night before going to bed and I sleep with no problems or stuffy noses. I do take the ocassional teasing from my wonderful husband. He like to label me as a dork with my glasses and nasal strips. He married me though so he must not care that much!!!!! I would recommend these little miracles to anyone who has trouble sleeping at night due to a stuffed up nose!!!

Before and After

Here are some pictures of the baby's room before and after!!

Four more pounds...

So if anyone is keeping count I am up to 140 pounds. I have gained a total of 22 pounds. I am now at 28 weeks and counting. The baby has a strong heartbeat (160) and strong feet. I find enjoyment in playing with the little feet that push against me. I can feel it push and if I push back I can usually get a good kick out of her or him. The strangest phenomenom as of yet is getting up in the morning and having one side of my abdomen stick out a lot farther then the other. Normally one's stomach is symmetrical and every so often mine is defineltly odd shaped. I just push a little and the little one finds a much more comfortable position for me. I am not sure if you can tell from the picture but my belly button is slowly becoming an outtie. Curtis calls it the timer and when it pops it is done.



The most exciting moment of my apppointment was getting a Rhogam shot (NOT!!!) It freaking hurt!!!!!! Imagine getting a shot, okay not that bad, then feeling like something is burning inside your muscle. It is not fun and it is not a little amount of liquid. The shot is given just above the butt cheek in the muscle. I was not thrilled to say the least. I blame it on Curtis for being blood type O positive, I am B negative. So in the event that my blood and the babies blood mix during birth my body would make antibodies against a positive baby. Then with subsequent children if they were to be positive my body would attack it and eventually the baby would die. So I will suffer a shot (two total, one more to get) to prevent that from happening. In the meantime I will get sympathy points from Curtis!!!!

The baby is roughly just over 2 pounds and can open and close its little eyes and respond to noises and light. Hopefully it will be used to the dogs barking because I'm sure they aren't going to stop doing that anytime soon!! So that is the latest on my growing waistline. Only 12 more weeks to go!!

Here is our second christmas tree. I tried to take a picture without the flash because it is prettier, but it didn't look right! So far the dogs have left the tree skirt and the ornaments alone. Last year it was a constant battle to keep them out of the ornaments and to leave the tree skirt alone. C is working away at the outside lights and I will post a picture of his creation when he is finished. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations to my wonderful friend K !!! Your determination and excellent skills at what you do have allowed you to take another step in life. You will be a wonderful addition to Wayne State. They are lucky to have you!!!!

Monday is appointment day so I will have an update and a new picture!! Getting bigger and bigger!!

I was tagged

Three things that scare me: getting robbed, losing people/animals I love, wild animals in the woods
Three people who make me laugh: my husband, my husband's cousin P, and a co worker B
Three things I love: family and friends, our dogs, my baby, my bed ( I couldn't have just three!)
Three things I hate: cleaning, my boss, and people who don't do their job
Three things I don't understand: horrible work ethics, not doing things right the first time, and taxes
Three things on my desk: Cell phone, picture of C and I, VS catalog
Three things I'm doing right now: listening to C's game, feeling my baby kick me, thinking of what to do when I am done with this
Three things I want to do before I die: learn how to play the fiddle, live on the water, make life a little easier for all my family and friends
Three things I can do: make apple pie, read a map, figure out drip rates for the nurses who can't
Three things I can't do: install trim, speak spanish, lift heavy objects
Three things you should listen to: your heart, your family, the oven timer
Three things you should never listen to: bad advice, my boss, tests of the emergency alert system
Three things I'd like to learn: baby language, sign language, how to play the fiddle
Three favorite foods: cheesy potatoes, alfredo anything, apples
Three beverages I drink regularly: milk, water, Kool Aid
Three TV shows I watched as a kid: smurfs, Mr. Dressup, Full House (I still watch this show!!)

Welcome to the world!

Congratulations to Carrie and Jim on the new addition to their family. Savannah was born yesterday and she is a little cutie.

It is interesting the new view you have on babies when you are going to have one yourself. She was 8 pounds 6 oz and all I could see was a big baby. Oh the thoughts!!!!!

By popular demand!

So here is the growing and growing belly. It is amazing how much skin and muscles can stretch. I am religiously putting lotion on everyday to prevent those wonderful stretch marks. Now I have become fully aware how much I drop things. I don't know what the deal is but I tend to drop everything. After that happens I have to think about bending over to pick it up!! That is a task in itself. Other tasks that have become increasing difficult

1. rolling over in bed
2. getting in and out of the car, especially Curtis's because it is closer to the ground than mine
3. Answering the phone at work, I have to turn my chair sideways to reach the phone when sitting at the computer!
4. getting out of the bathtub
5. getting out of bed
6. just sitting up!!!

Those are just a few that I can think of right now. I am 25 weeks right now if anyone lost count. So I am past the half way point. The big box in the picture is the crib. A lot of good it is doing there right!! The nursery is almost done and then the furniture can go in there. We just have trim and a closet door to go in and we are good to go.

The baby is kicking away and if you watch close enough you can see my stomach move when the baby kicks. I have become to like feeling it kick around. Well until it starts to hurt!!! Everything is going well so far with the new addition to the Furtah Clan.

These Bees won't sting

Lilly and Roxie were all set for halloween. They were very good girls, except for the barking everytime the door bell rang or they heard "Trick or treat" Other than that they did a good job. They kept their costumes on and only tried to eat eachothers antennae a few times! Roxie has offically been fixed and she is recovering nicely. Even though it is a bugger of a time to keep those two from playing too much or running around. She knows her limits though!


I am doing fine as always, getting larger and larger everyday. It is getting a challenge to bend over and I will have to say that I drop a lot more things lately! I can feel that little one kicking away and Curtis has even felt it too. I will have more pictures soon!!

Target is the best!!

I will have to say as me waistline expands I struggle with the everyday task of getting dressed. I am trying to keep the buying of new clothes to a minimum but yesterday I had a breakdown. I did my everyday task of finding something long enough to cover my belly and pants large enough to fit around me, and I had nothing. So I took a trip to trusty Target and bought some pants and shirts. The beauthy of it is that long shirts are in so they are great. They cover by belly and the best thing is that I can wear them also when I have a normal waistline. The pants on the other hand are a bit larger then my normal pants but I can button them up and that makes me happy!!

If anyone is keeping track I have gained 13 pounds to date from prepregnancy and Curtis's response was "that's it!" It does feel like a lot more to me too though. The heartbeat is strong and getting very loud. I can now fell the little feet kicking me from inside. It is just little pokes now but I can't wait for that big kick that knocks my socks off.

I feel a lot bigger!!

When I look at this picture I say wow my belly isn't that big. I sure do feel a lot bigger though!! Thank God that this year long shirts are in!

Everyone Enjoy

Yes I do believe it is an alien!

Here is our little alien! It is a freaky picture but really cool in a way!



This is the bottom of the feet and no they are not attached together!




The little bugger would not stay still to get the perfect side view. This is the best we could get.






The little polite baby with its legs crossed...



Wave hello to the newest Furtah!!

Is that an alien??

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and it actually looked like a baby this time. It was much more exciting than the first time where we just saw a blob. This time we saw legs, feet, arms, hands, a spine, kidneys, a bladder, a heart, a stomach, eyes, and a mouth. It was pretty cool. The baby was moving all around and not staying still for pictures!! The baby weighs 10 oz and I don't remember how long she said it was. All I know is that it looked huge compared to the first time. I can feel it kick every now and then. Well I think it is the baby kicking!! I am really not sure yet.

We have been working hard tearing the nursery apart so we can put it back together our way. We picked out a crib and a dresser and sat in those oh so wonderful gliders. I can't wait to have one of those in our house.

I would have a picture of myself but Curtis left the camera at work!! I am no longer wearing my normal pants. I broke down and bought a new pair of jeans. They are a little big now but I am sure I will grow into them.

The heartbeat was 154 this time and that is very normal. Anywhere from 120 to 180 is normal so we are right in the middle. All was good and it was a wonderful experience to see that little being growing inside of me.

Today I had yet another doctor's appointment. I love sitting in the waiting room for about an hour just to see the doctor for about 8 minutes. I do enjoy getting out of work though. The office is right next to the hospital so appointments are very convienent. It was interesting today because there were little kids in the waiting room waiting with their parents. One couple had a 10 month old and were pregnant again!!! That is definetly one crazy couple!!

The appointment was fine. I have gained 7 to 10 pounds depending on which scale I am on. It is just enough to make my slothes not fit anymore!! Those pants are just not able to be buttoned up anymore. I have adopted the rubberband or hairtie (what i use) method to avoid the buying of larger clothes for as long as possiblle. I am 17 weeks along, or 4 months if that is easier.

The best part of the appointment is getting to hear the heartbeat. It is amazing to hear that fast thump. It almost sounded like a steam engine today. My doctor told me that was the chambers opening and closing. So now the baby is about the size of an avacado and weughs about 4 ounces. That is just an overall estimate of all babies at this stage. I haven't felt any kicks yet and the nausea is going away so I am really excited about that. I am going in the beginning of October for an ultrasound where we will actually be able to see a baby and not just a blip on the screen. That will be an awesome experience so I can't wait!!

The heartbeat was around 166 and for those that love to use different ways to guess the sex, that means it is a girl. The truth will stay a mystery until it is born!!

Those crazy monsters

I haven't been very good about passing along new pictures of the puppies, so I thought I should do that. As you can see they love to get dirty and make my life so much fun. They are good girls though. Lilly just turned one a few weeks ago and Roxie will be one in September. They are still full of energy and love to wrestle with eachother. I would say their favorite pastime is finding new ways to escape from the backyard.. I am still amazed sometimes how they figure out what they do!!

Growing family and belly!!

Hello all!!! For those that have not heard Curtis and I are going to be parents, to a baby this time!!!! No more dogs this time. We have added a new neice dog and three neices and a nephew to our family with Cherie's marriage to Mark. We are all excited about the new additions. In Feburary we will have a little being running this household...

Hello all...This is new for me so I want to see how it all works!