Phoebe Marie is born!!!

March 27th 2011: Phoebe Marie enters the world :)

She is BEAUTIFUL!!! SOoooooo sweet! NOW Neil and I are really ready!!! Ahhh I can't wait to our little one is here!!!

Phoebe weighed 7 lbs 6 oz. She has very fair hair and skin. A dainty little lady :)

Amy is doing great! They are both home from the hospital, happy and healthy!

33 Weeks

The little one is hiccuping all time time! So cool!

I am hot all the time... I am SO glad I'm not preggers in GA in August! Whew!

I feel so sorry for the guy who sits next to me at work... with my heavy breathing, my sudden jumps and 'ouchie' noises when baby kicks me, and constantly fanning myself, I'm pretty sure I'm serving as birthcontrol for anyone within a 100 yard radius :)

Our trip to Somerset/Devon area was spectacular!!! Very relaxing :)

Neil and I start parental education classes tonight :) He is SO excited :) Hehe! The course consists of 8 sessions, and covers everything from handling the last weeks of pregnancy, labour, delivery, and the first weeks at home with the new addition! Most of the people enrolled live near Uxbridge and are first time parents... so hopefully, they will be nice connections to have... play dates!!

32 Weeks

Fitpregnancy.com 32 weeks: Your baby weighs about 4 pounds and is about fifteen to seventeen inches tall. Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. Her skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses. Well-placed kicks under your ribs can take your breath away!

I am definitely feeling the rib kicks! Whew! They usually happen when I'm just about to drift off to sleep, and then the little one boots me in the side... and it's always my right side. I think that's where he/she likes to keep his/her limbs :)

As far as general health goes, I've been slightly under the weather. I have consistently had low blood pressure all through the pregnancy, which the Dr. says is fine, but the past couple of weeks I have been feeling extremely light headed. Again, the Dr. says that all this is normal, and that I just need to take it easy... I think I need direct instructions on what it means to 'take it easy'... I'm not sure how to operate other than full steam ahead. So, I've found this new pace slightly frustrating.

However, Neil and I are escaping to the English countryside this weekend to visit Bethany & Sam. They live about three hours southwest of us near Minehead. It is absolutely stunning where they live! Beautiful rolling hills, and it's minutes from the sea! Ahhh, I can't wait. I think this trip will services the much needed R&R!!

REWIND a bit to last Saturday night... I had a group of girls from work over for tea and dinner, and I got to use all my fancy party hosting pieces that we got from the wedding! SO fun :) Anyway, dinner was a success, but little did I know, the girls had planned a surprise Baby Shower for me!!!!! :) AHHH! So freakin sweet!!! They had ordered all this Baby Shower paraphernalia online (bc baby showers are extremely uncommon here... one of the girls went into a Hallmark-like store asking for baby shower stuff, and they commented to her, 'Umm, that's an American thing' HA!) So they decorated my house and loaded me up with baby goodies :) Wonderful surprise!!! :)

Work update: It's official, my last day at Xerox is April 8th! It's hard to believe I've been there since July 26th! Wild! I'm not sure, but, I'm thinking that will be the only time the words, 'Business Analysis' appear on my resume! Hehe!

**One HUGE plus about living in the UK... Maternity leave starts April 11th, and runs for 39 weeks... all of which are paid! WOW is what I have to say about that!!! The first 6 weeks are at 90% of my wage, and the following 33 weeks are at a set wage by the government. My advise... move to England to have babies! Haha!!

31 Weeks

The only time in a woman's life when this is amusing...

Chilly morning, frost covered the ground, and I had to scrape all my car windows which is a rather fresh start to the day :) I zipped off to work in my little 5 speed... I am really starting to get to hang of driving it now! It's my little buddy!

I get to work, start pulling layers off, and that's when it happens.... The middle, most crucial, button bursts off my Marc Jacobs jacket. On any normal, non-pregnant day, this event would have sent me into a tailspin, researching diets and potentially ruined the day. But, alI could do is die laughing! This is the only time in my life when I would find this amusing and exciting, because it means the little babe is growing!!! Luckily, it is the beginning of spring, and I will not need a heavy weight jacket for much longer.

I knew that I was in a growth spurt, because my belly had really been itching the past few days.... which is another very attractive pregnancy side effect. I'll be sitting at my desk at work and unconsciously be scratching, rubbing, patting my belly. This feels completely natural to be doing; however, I think it must look a bit odd, because some of the looks I get from people walking past my desk are that of question. Oh well, as Mina my prenatal yoga instructor says, I'm 'connecting with baby' :) Hehe, kinda granola, but I like it!

30 Weeks

FitPregnancy.com Week 30:

Your baby's length is about 16 inches—about as long as a laptop computer—and she measures almost 11 inches from crown to rump. She weighs approximately 2 1/2 to 3 pounds. From now until delivery, every baby will gain weight at a more individual rate. Your baby has doubled in height over the past six weeks, and from now until delivery, she'll gain only a few more inches in length. Don't worry if she's in a strange position (what your care provider might call a "transverse lie"). There's still plenty of time for her to get settled into the head-down (cephalic) position for birth. She's floating in about 1 1/2 pints of amniotic fluid and has some room to move. Your baby's most important organ, her brain, continues to develop at a rapid pace. Her eyes are able to track light, and some researchers have theorized that exposing your belly to light may stimulate development. Try moving the beam of a flashlight slowly over your belly in a dim room, and see if she reacts.

Only 10 weeks to go!! I really can't believe that it is soo close now! The reality of it all has really started to settle in! I am feeling really good at the moment. Fat and happy :) Hahaha...

Missing everyone back home!! I love you all!

ooxx LAGob