Ahhh motherhood

Omigosh my kid is so beautiful! And I am not biased because everyone says so! If I knew how to post a picture they would be plastered all over this entry (and the next and the next and the next). Emily is such a great baby! She is already sleeping 9 hours at night. Her little nose and full lips are to die for! She looks like her Papa. She's so good, that even labor was easy. I popped her out in only 3 and 1/2 hours. The first two weeks were so surreal, I kept thinking someone was going to come and say "Thanks for babysitting, see ya later." But she's really mine. I've been back at work for a few weeks now so posts will be few and far between and probably short. I'm just waiting for a phone call here at work so I can go home so I have some extra time to post. Putting Emily in daycare was so hard! I cried all day (and I really don't care if that makes me a loser). It seems like everyone had either a rough or blah first week of school. I hope things get better for everyone.

Updating a little late

Ahh the joys of parenthood. Okay so I'm not a parent yet, but I'm pretending to know what it feels like. I am swamped and exhausted! So I told ya'll I'd update after every doctor's appointment, but I've gotten a little behind. In any case, all is still going well so just chalk it up to no news is good news. I've started going almost weekly now so I'll be back in the waiting room on Thurs. My Doctor is so cool! In gerneral I guess people think ob/gyn's are kind of icky, but I just can't think of Dr. Zivney like that. He's so nice and really funny and just cool about everything. It also helps that I am having s close to perfect pregnancy. I hope they are all this good. Not that I want to find out for a few years.Sunday was my baby shower. It was really nice, very intimate. There was a nice generation range there so everyone had someone to talk to. I got so many cute little outfits for Emily and we FINALLY got one of our big items. I'll admit it, I'm in it for the material gain. I really want people to buy me things. We need things. So now Emily has her crib and a play pen and a swing. Still no carseat, stroller, or carrier, but I have one more shower yet. Jesse and I just want to hold off on those big ticket items until know what we're getting. While I sound super material right now, I'm sure everyone understands that we still have to pay our electric bill and house payment and save for the hospital and Emily's daycare. It'a crazy expensive to be grown up! Enough with the whining though, I want to be talking about my nice shower with the yummy cake and the lovely friends and whatnot. So far we've gotten two homemade baby blankets: one from my mom and one from Mrs. Short. Mrs. Short has the most horribly mangled hands on account of arthritis and diabetes, so her handsewn blanket really is full of love. Yay for Mommies of friends! My kid has also been inducted into the service since my cousin and her husband sent a little pink t-shirt that labels Emily as the "Littlest Marine." The adorableness just doesn't end.I am so excited that July is almost here. I cannot wait to see my little girl. I'm already having speration anxiety about putting her in daycare while I'm at work. I mean so far she's been with me 24/7 and I can't even see her or smell her or play with her yet. It's just horrible to think that when I can finally do those things I have to be somewhere without her. I guess that's a mom thing. Jesse thinks I'm being too negative. SHe's going to be so pretty though. I'll just die of pleasure if she gets Jess's dimples! I'll let ya'll know if the due date gets pushed up (which it might since I've already dropped).Tiny little clothes and lavendar baby bath soap,J-

33 weeks, Whew

Okay, I promised to update after every doctor's appt so this is a little late. My appt. was last Weds. It went pretty good though After all the fuss my doctor and nurse made last time about my weight gain they were all smiles and compliments this time around, saying I am gaining at the perfect rate. What! YOU PEOPLE HAD ME STRESSED BEYOND BELIEF FOR NO REASON?! Oh well. However, there is some bad news. The pediatrician we picked is quitting his practice this week and moving away. Pout and stamp foot. Now I have to start interviewing doctors all over again! Oh well. le sigh. I can't beleive I have less than 7 weeks to go. I've been and in reality I could have anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks left. Still, there isn't a whole lot of time.Hopefully we'll get some much needed baby things at my shower. NOTHING is ready! And I don't mean in that panicky nesting way, I mean NOTHING. We have no car seat, no high chair,no bottles, the baby furniture still needs to be repaired, the closet still needs to be finished so we can stop storing things in the baby's room... The list just goes on and on. To top it off, Jesse was a little befuzzled with me yesterday. He says I've been too stressed out to show any sort of happiness about the baby and that I seem more resentful than anything. That was pretty hurtful. He was really just trying to show how concerned he is because I've been extra pregnant lately with lots of crying, but it sort of turned into a blamefest. He thinks I'm resentful and I don't really think he's prioritized right. He always comes through for me though, but I didn't really show him a lot of faith last night. So that's what's up here. Hopefully some of the stress will be alleviated after my shower at the end of the month. That sounds pretty sucky (as in I won't be happy until people buy me things), but we need a little help and I have no problem admitting that. I hope everyone else is having a good summer!

Doctors and Babies and Calories and Such

The third trimester is here. I will be 30 weeks pregnant tomorrow. Can you believe it? I can't. I went to the doctor yesterday, which did not go as well as I had hoped. They are concerned with my weight gain (I'm putting on 2 pounds a week, bringing my total gain to 22 pounds) and want me to start watching my calories. I have never counted calories in my life! So far today I have counted 755. I'm not really even sure how much I'm supposed to have. One article I read said to take my pre-pregnancy weight and multiply by 12 to get the proper calorie intake That means I should have 1368 calories a day and I am already more than halfway there with just breakfast (cereal with raisins, milk, and half a bagel with cream cheese). Does that seem messed up to anyone else? I also have a bacterial infection which COULD cause my membranes to rupture (my water to break) early. It's in a really early stage though so we aren't all that worried Still, it kind of sucks to have something new to worry about. Lastly, I am anemic again and have to take iron twice a day. At first the doctor got onto me for not taking my iron anymore and letting myself get like this and I'm like "whoa doc, I take an iron supplement every night on top of my prenatal." So at that he raised his eyebrows and said "take two and increase your fiber." Really, though I still feel pretty good. I'm getting some pressure at work about what's going to happen while I take time off to have the baby and it's sort of disheartening. My boss is way encouraging, but some of my coworkers, I think, are jealous of the time I get off and are saying some kind of mean things about it. I guess I'll do my best to make me and Jesse happy so we keep our household running smoothly. Screw the meanies. In other news , I was in Denton this past weekend to watch Hava and Ryan graduate. Such a nice couple! Ryan's family must adopt me and feed me chicken rice casserole and let me come to their nice house. It was a great Sat. Last night Miss Sarah came over for dinner. She's so sweet. We talked about her new apartment and getting her a job. She might be here the whole summer and that would be so nice. Hava will be extra enticed to come visit now! That's not it, but that's all I have time for. Y'all be good this summer! Love, J-

Just as I suspected

Went to see Dr. Zivney yesterday and took a look at my baby girl! Yup, that's right, I'm going to have a baby girl. Emily Dawn Gatlin. Currently she weighs 1 and 2/3 pounds. We were lucky that she had just eaten so her tummy and bladder were full which meant we got to see those too. If they are empty they are basically invisible. However, seeing them full tells us she is swallowing and that her kidneys and bladder are working just fine. We also watched and listened to her heart beat and saw all four chambers working just fine. It beats so fast! We took a look at her head and tiny little spine and then we got a nice juicy shot of her crotch. She really wanted us to know that it is a girl on the way. She mooned us and then spread wide open to display the lack of outdoor plumbing. It was really a neat experience. Jesse was so sure it was going to be a girl he had a pink rose waiting for me in the car. (Isn't he dreamy?!) While we were at the doctor's office we checked my blood sugar and iron levels. My iron is way up so we are relieved and my blood sugar is below 140. No anemia or diabetes here. Lastly, I now weigh 128, three pounds up from last month. It finally all seems real! Soon we'll go to Houston to the Build a Bear store and make a little girl bear for our little girl's room. Her first sentimental present from Mommy and Daddy. YAY!!!!

Puppies!

So many new puppies!! What girl does not love baby animals!? Even, better: they are not mine so I do not have to clean up the poopy. My friend Dennia just got a brand new chihuahua which she named Timmy. No one really likes the name Timmy (not even her) but it is the only thing she could settle on. I suggested Bosco. Anyway, Timmy came over and tried to play with Porter for an hour yesterday. Porter was totally obsessed with the puppy. He would not leave it alone. He herded it and cleaned it and rolled it over and stared at it. It was really cute, but sort of annoying. He was so intent on keeping Timmy in his sight he peed right on the back porch so he wouldn't have to take his off him while he walked to the grass! Later I went to see my parent who cooked me brisket while Jesse is out of town. Their 10 year old schnauzer just passed so they got two new schnauzers! They are the cutest little boys and only 5 weeks old. The mother dried up so the breeders sold them really early. Fritz and Hans are adorable. They are really playful and fight just like brothers should. Hans learned to bark last night and Fritz is trying to figure out which of his four legs is the best one to lift while he pees. Fritz is totally independent and tries to climb stairs and wander the house on his own. Hans (the bigger of the two) is way laid back and just wants to chill and play with socks. The funniest thing in the world is watching them eat. They just dive right in with all four feet and nose and tongue and get food everywhere! It's the greatest. And then I get to go home or Dennie gets to leave to go back to her life and I do not have to be kept awake at night by crying and defecation. I love this! Tiny furballs and big smiles, J-

Bragging

I am totally throwing it in everyone's face that I was able to attend the best forum ever! Okay, I've never been to a forum before Monday night, but I can definitely say that I enjoyed attending my first one. We had a leadership forum at the George Bush library featuring David Carr, Dom Capers, Larry Dierker, Jim Nantz, and hosted by none other than former President George Bush Sr! Hell yeah! It was really good. I love working here! David Carr has got to be my new hero. I'm not big on football so I may be out of line, but it is such a nice change to hear a professional athlete talk about God and passion and good character and seem sincere as opposed to running his jaw then getting arrested for drugs or relations with a minor or something else disgraceful. I was truly inspired by everyone there (Okay mostly by the President, Carr and Nantz, but whatever). Yay for feeling inspired to be a good role model! Heroes to you all, J-