We have colds...

Well, the boy made it to four and a half months before getting his first cold. Ugh. We're just miserable over here! I don't feel well, either, so taking care of a sick baby is doubly hard. The poor little boy has a stuffy nose and has been running a low-grade fever. The worst problem is the fact that it is very hard for him to nurse right now, since he can barely breathe though his nose. Lots of tears and sad faces in my house at the moment.

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I did finally get some pictures taken of my latest FOs - Moldy Cupcakes! I made half a dozen of these cute little things. Notice the fuzzy mold patches that match the green moldy icing. The ribbing turned out nicely on the bottoms - almost looks like the paper baking cups!

Again, you can just click on the pictures for a larger view. I finished these up last month, but just recently got the pictures taken. It seems like there's always too many other pictures to take with the boy! My current WIP is a giant crab for Ryan. I got the pattern for 'Crabius Maximus' from Lady Linoleum at Monster Crochet. I love her patterns! She is my crochet hero. You can view her blog here. Now all I have to do is decide what to do with all of these cupcakes...

37 Weeks

Thirty-seven weeks! I am officially full term! Hooray, hooray! If I have Baby Dolton today, he should be fine! I didn't realize what a relief it would be to know that.

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I have been swelling and swelling lately... My feet, my hands, my face - even my nose and lips are bigger! Here is a picture taken last Saturday - I'm huge!

My second shower - a diaper shower - was on the 31st of March. It was given by my dear friends Adreanne Hoggard and Beth Freeman. All of the guests brought diapers as gifts! It was great. I am diaper-rich at the moment! I'm sure that won't last long once the baby is here... We played lots of fun games - guess what's in the diaper (different melted chocolate candies), how big is my belly (cut a piece of yarn that is the same circumference), what kind of baby food is in the unlabeled jars, etc. We had a blast! The food was great, too - I think I ate half of what was there! I had my camera sitting next to me the whole time, and failed to take any pictures. As soon as I get copies of the ones Adre took, I'll be sure to post them.

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My niece, Emily, will be 2 years old tomorrow! Sweet baby girl is getting so big! Here are a couple of pictures of her... Isn't she a cutie? The pic with the white dress is one of her Easter pictures, and the one in the pink is her two-year-old picture. She's a doll-baby!

A friend of mine is having a hysterectomy on the same day as my c-section - April 13th. I decided to make her a 'replacement uterus' as a get-well gift! Here it is, in all it's yarn-ish glory... I know, I know, its really odd, but I'm proud of it. It's the first softie I've made without a pattern! I just printed off some pictures of uteruses (uteri?) online, and started hooking. I even wrote down the pattern - also a first for me. It's the first Lindsey original! I'm seeing an army of crocheted organs in my future...

It's that time again! From the Baby Center website:

"Congratulations! Your pregnancy is now considered full term — meaning your baby is developmentally ready to handle life outside the womb. (Babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 weeks are post-term.) Your baby probably weighs a little over 6 pounds at this point and measures between 19 and 20 inches, head to heel.

"Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children are born blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

"The next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps and catch up on your reading while you can.

"Have you noticed an increase in the frequency or vividness of dreams lately? Anxiety about becoming a parent can fuel a lot of strange pregnancy dreams.

"You may be getting a lot more Braxton Hicks contractions now, and they may last longer and be more uncomfortable. Sometimes — when they start to come frequently — you may even think you're in labor. You might also notice an increase in mucus discharge from your vagina. If you see some "bloody show" (the mucus plug tinged with a tiny amount of blood), labor is probably right around the corner! (If you have other spotting or bleeding, call your caregiver immediately.)"

This is getting more and more gross as the weeks go by...

It is 1:35 A.M. on April 5th, so I have 8 days, 5 hours, and 55 minutes left of this pregnancy!

35 Weeks

My shower was wonderful! Thanks to Patti Deiter, Robin Lovelace, Debbie Harper, Kathy Neher, Denise Clary, and Jane Ford for hosting it, and extra thanks to Patti for having it in her beautiful home. Here are the pictures I promised last post... (click on any image to enlarge)

Many thanks also go to everyone who attended. I know I am blessed with the most wonderful friends, but was still surprised at the generosity that was poured over the baby and me. Once I got everything home, it looked a bit like Babies 'R' Us exploded in my living room... I actually sat down and cried at how much love was given with each gift!

Putting everything away was so much fun! All the tiny onesies, socks, toys...

Lots of adorable outfits and hats from Adreanne Ethridge, along with days of the week onesies and a beautiful metal picture frame with magnetic booties;

A stuffed classic eeyore from Anissa and Mrs. Core;

A wipe warmer, diaper wipes, and a hand and foot print set from Beth and Mydia Freeman;

A set of puppy dog clothes, a baby einstein outfit, and a rain forest car mirror from Bob and Stacey Golden;

These beautiful picture frames and a car seat from Bopper and Birdie;

Puppy dog onesies, a hat and booties set, an adorable baseball outfit, and a baby einstein video from Cheryl Humphreys;

Diapers, onesies, toys, washcloths, diaper disposal bags, and a winnie the pooh blanket from Cindy, Nate, and Nikolas Harmer and Pricilla, Mike, and Lauren Tubbs;

A Diaper Genie II and Sounds and Lights baby monitor from the Deiter's;

This soothing spa and shower baby bath tub from Jana Atchley and her mom Carol Dutton, and the diaper cake, mum, onesies, washcloths, and towels from Jana as well;


A classic pooh outfit with matching socks, a boppy cover, and baby einstein blocks from Julie Shahan;


Two cute onesies and a pair of camo pants, along with a baby einstein toy from Kelly and Emily McCaskill (soon-to-be aunt and cousin!);


This baby einstein block set from Kiki Short;


This stroller, baby soap, baby powder, and no more rash ointment from Patti Deiter, Robin Lovelace, Debbie Harper, Kathy Neher, Denise Cleary, and Jane Ford; the hand-made diaper bag from Kathy Neher along with the diapers, wipes, and teething toys; and the bibs and baby's first silverware set from Denise Cleary;


A stuffed classic tigger and winnie the pooh hat and socks from Lauren Warmack;

This vibrating bouncer from Marja McCart;


This exquisite hand-made baby afghan from Mary Ray James;


A cute giraffe outfit with matching hat and socks, along with Baby Dolton's first pair of sandals, from Melody Gevaza;

This co-sleeper bassinet that attaches to the side of my bed, and later turns into a play yard from Nana and Papa;

A baby einstein play mat and first aid kit from the Prochaska's;

Baby Dolton's 'coming home' outfit, complete with hat, mittens, and blanket, from Sandy Kimberlin;

An overall outfit, giraffe blanket, onesies, diapers, and ball rattle from Sandy and Chelle McCaskill;

Two outfits, a blanket, and a musical stuffed lamb to go with the check Aunt Sandy and Uncle Greg had already sent;

A set of cloth diapers and a Mommy Bear (with womb sounds) from Shelia and David Simpson;

A stuffed classic pooh from Tanja, Jim, Jessie, and Larissa Detwiler;

And a onesie that says 'baby shower', washcloths, and a bath set from Wendy and Mackensie Knapp.

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Thanks to everyone!

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Adam and Ryan are still in Disneyworld, having the time of their lives. I must say, it has been nice being here by myself... I can walk through the house in my underwear again! Ha ha. Of course, the day after they left, two lightbulbs in the livingroom blew out, and I'm not about to get up on a ladder! It may get rather dark over here by the time they make it home... I do miss having people in the house. The dogs aren't great conversationalists, and the cats just kind of do as they please. Also, I really miss having little Ryan around - "Honey, go get me..." or "Sugar, will you..." He's such a good kid, and I have a feeling I ask way too much of him. Not having him to help pull me up off the couch has sucked! Here is a picture Adam sent me of Ryan and Britian on Main Street, U.S.A. with Cinderella's castle in the background...

I finally got the jellyfish hung up! I think it looks really cute in the baby's nursery. I also got the eyes sewn onto the cat. Ahh, two WIPs turned FOs! Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside... My current WIP is a blue Totoro softie. I think he's actually sort of grey in the movie, but I like my anime monsters to be blue... I'm using RHSS in delft blue for the main body and in white for the accents on the face and belly.
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Wow, another week already! Here's what the Baby Center has to say about week 35:

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"Your baby's getting big. He weighs a tad over 5 pounds and is just over 18 inches long. 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.

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"Your uterus — now up under your ribs — has expanded to about 15 times its original volume, and you may feel like you've run out of room! If you could peek inside your uterus, you'd see that there's much less amniotic fluid and much more baby in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your internal organs too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and have heartburn and other digestive problems. If you don't have these problems, you're one of the lucky few.

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"Your doctor will probably want to start seeing you every week until you deliver. He may ask you to count fetal movements, to track your baby's activity level. Between now and 37 weeks, he'll also do a culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). This is done by swabbing the lower end of your vagina and your rectum — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all. Group B streptococcus is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during labor and birth, it can cause complications (like pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection). Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's important to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll be given IV antibiotics when you're in labor, which will reduce your baby's risk of infection by 70 percent.

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"This is also a good time to fill out your birth plan. Using our form will help you focus on specifics — like who will be present, what pain management techniques you want to try, and how long you want to stay in the hospital. It will give you a starting point to discuss your preferences with your medical team. Labor and delivery are unpredictable and you probably won't follow your plan to the letter, but knowing ahead of time what choices you have to make can take some of the anxiety out of the process."

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By the way, I hate the lucky few. Note to self - washing down antacids with Dr. Pepper will fizz so much it comes out of your nose.