Head's Up 7-Up

Remember how much fun that game was as a kid on rainy days when you couldn't go out for recess? Well, the Head's Up I'm talking about isn't as fun. That's right, our Hannah girl is bottom down, legs and head up breech (Frank Breech - think that means I can blame my dad?). We had an ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure she was assuming the position. Her head is below my right ribs and her legs are below my left ribs. That explains the abundance of heartburn. I've only really felt a lot of movement down low all along, so it makes me wonder, does our girl have really bad gas? Or is she like momma and likes to shake a tail feather?
Our midwife suggested a number of things that we could do to get her to flip including accupuncture, laying with my head down inversion-style, and classical music played very low at the top of my pubic bone. Most places I've seen say only 3-4% of babies are breech, so I'm thinking, she's going to pull through for us. Meanwhile, I'll be the girl who's laying on an inversion table with headphones on my lower belly.
It's times like this that I really wish my sisters and mom lived in the same place I did. I could totally go for some belly kisses and first-time mommy advice. If any of you have any pointers for getting my family to move to Oregon, do please share. Thus far, my attempts have been futile.

Baby Shower, Part 2




So, my wonderful friends here in Sandy threw me an awesome baby shower last weekend (May 9). It was such a blast, and of course, we ended up with more cute clothes, some great pratical stuff, and 20 cloth diapers. These aren't your mom's cloth diapers. We got a rainbow of colors and we're so excited. Thanks to Julia, Jen, Rachel, Jackie, Virginia, and Seonaid for throwing the baby shower! And to all the girls for coming out to celebrate with me.

As the pregnancy progresses (I have about 6 1/2 weeks left - when did I start couting down from the end?) I'm getting more anxious to get our girl here. We still have a few things to finish because Kell and I love projects. Here are a couple of things we're finishing up now:



1. Kell and I don't like carpet. We just think it's gross and we discovered that we have the same fir floors up stairs as we do downstairs. So, we pulled out the carpet in Hannah's room. Since it's a small space, Kell decided to tackle the floors himself, and I'm so glad he did. He did a way better job than the "professional" who did the downstairs. We had to special order the sealer and finish we put on the floors because you can't buy anything even remotely earth-friendly at any of the big hardware stores up here. Kell got the floor done on Friday, so now we just have to fix up a couple of patches around the bottom of walls from pulling off the baseboards and put them back up.


2. The changing table. We had a dresser in our spare room that was Kell's when he was a kid. Well, we decided we wanted to use it as the changing table, but it was a bit too tall for me. (Is it safe to change your child's diaper at the same level as your head?) So, Kell cut off one of the drawers (about 13 inches) and now it's perfect. He sanded the whole thing down and now it's painted white. We just have to do the drawers and knobs and we can check that off the list.


3. I decided (because I always do things like this) that I didn't like any of the crib sets you could buy, so I want to make my own. Kell and I spent forever picking out the fabric. It's actually quite easy sewing, but right now, the fabric is sitting on the ironing board, waiting to be cut. I plan to get to it this week while Kell works upstairs.


Wow, three things seem like there's so much that still needs to get done. It all will though, and if it doesn't Hannah won't know the difference.


We can't wait for our sweet girl. We've been saving up kisses for her for a long time (Bella too) and we can't wait to plant them on her.


Sweet Things...

There are so many sweet things in my life lately, that I had to share with you.

1. Our baby shower in San Diego. My wonderful mom and sisters put on a spectacular baby shower for us in San Diego on Easter weekend. Kell and I made a quick trip down and had such a wonderful time. Our friends are so generous. Our little Hannah is well covered for clothes and bath time for the first year of her life. And, who doesn't love clothes and baths? We'll post pictures soon. (Someone - me - forget to pack our camera, so we have to get pics of the shower from my sisters).
2. Hannah herself. She's a sweet thing, I think. Hannah is an acrobat. I think it's only a matter of time before she starts training for the Olympics. She does flips and twists all day, especially after lunch when I'm back at my desk. She likes to tease daddy and stop moving when he puts his hand on my belly. Is this the beginning of wrapping him around her little finger? She responds quite a bit to Bella as well. She likes when Bella cuddles up to my belly. At least, I think she likes it. Maybe she's kicking to say, "get away!"
3. My niece Jillian and nephew Ross. I love those kids. It was so wonderful spending time with them in San Diego. Jilly is very excited about her new cousin, "baby Hanny." Since we got back to Oregon, she has been riding around the house on her Disney Hoppity Hop saying she is coming up to see us. Anytime you want to visit, little miss. We love that little munchkin. Ross-a-Roo has gotten so mature since we last saw him. He is really a good soul and would cuddle up to me and kiss my belly. I love cuddle time with Ross. We've always been close and I just hope he's not too disappointed that we're having a little girl. Maybe we can get you a boy next time, Roo.
4. Glucose test: OK, the test itself isn't sweet, but the "glucola" I had to drink sure was. About 15 minutes after I drank it I started getting shaky and even wackier than usual. After the blood draw, I crashed really hard too. I couldn't wait to get some food in me. When the midwife checked Hannah's heart rate, it was pretty high. She was reacting just like momma. We had yummy Mediterranean food to get us back on track at one of Kell's favorite local delis: Selma's.

I just thought it was important to take time to focus on some of the sweet things in life, especially since there is so much yuck in the world. At least our little microcosm is full of sweetness.

Operation Preparation-H






Nope, this isn't a post about hemorrhoids. It's a post about preparing for Hannah.

We've been working hard on her nursery and have made some awesome progress. We painted the walls a pale yellow and the ceiling is blue with clouds. We added butterfly, dragonfly, lady bug, and flower stencils all around the room. It looks so cute.

We've also been working on some of the extras. I've been making collages inspired by something I saw at Pottery Barn Kids. Kelly has been working on bird house wall sconces, which will be adorable. Big sister Bella has been trying not to lick too much paint off the walls and generally doing her best to be as cute as possible. Everything is coming together. It's so exciting.

Maybe we're just inspired by the fact that it is finally Spring. Although, in the Pacific North West, it's hard to tell. We got a ton of hail this weekend. We have crocuses blooming in our yard, which is so fun and I can't wait for the tulips and daffodils.

Whenever I'm feeling bummed about the cold, I remember that without the cold, we couldn't have the tulips and daffodils, and it helps some. Plus, we don't have any restrictions on how much water we can use (Sorry San Diego).

Once the warm weather is here, Kell and I have tons of plans for the yard (don't we always?). I just hope I'm not too big to be very useful. If you get a hankering to do some yardwork, come on over!

More Belly Pictures


So, here I am at 23 weeks. I don't feel like I'm getting a lot bigger, but when you compare them, it sure looks like I am. Thanks to sister Jenn for sending all the maternity clothes. This is one of my favorite tops from the bunch. I think I wear it weekly.
We tried to get a picture with Bella in it, but she wasn't feeling photogenic that day. She is a really good big sister. She snuggles up to my belly at night. I like to say it's so she can cuddle with Hannah (I know, it's because my belly radiates incredible heat). She also likes to give my belly kisses. I'm pretty sure she can't wait for her little sister to be born.
We took this one right before we went to register at Babies-R-Us. That place is insane. I never realized how much stuff they have. Don't worry, we found plenty of things to put on the registry to get ready for our girl.
We've been working on Hannah's room and will post pictures soon. It's gonna be darn cute, if I do say so myself.

Hannah's Her Name

Laura and I just found out that we will indeed be having a girl!  

We are super excited!  

So, sometime around the beginning of July, little Miss Hannah Elizabeth Allen will be joining the happy little family on Therese Street in Sandy!

Just remember, yellow and green are cute girl colors too!

The Plague (Sickos in the Workplace)

Everyone Kelly and I work with is getting sick, sick, sick and it's awfully hard to fight off all these colds when all my energy is going to my uterus (OK, mom, I know that's not entirely accurate). We're literally at about half staff at my job, but only after everyone has already come to work sick. At Kelly's, everyone just comes to work sick and stays there breathing disgusting germs all over everything (gross!). So, we've both already had head colds. Now I'm getting a tingle in my throat. Not much I can do about it, I suppose. I'm drinking tons of fluids (mom would be proud) and trying to avoid the sickos (there are literally signs on some people's doors that say: Warning - Plague). My midwife says Tylenol products are safe, so I have taken some of that, but I don't really like to take it. Any tips to help me and our little one make it through this without going insane?
Hugs to all (the non-contagious kind),
Lo