5 weeks to go

A few weeks ago we were able to go and get a 4D ultrasound done as a surprise gift from a friend. It was so amazing to see some of Paisley's features. These pictures aren't great, as I had to take a picture of a picture, but if you look closely you can see her sweet little face. :) My family has already said that she looks like me! I would love for her to look like me, with red hair. :) But I would also love it if she looked like her Daddy! (You know, he is pretty good looking.) :) These pictures were done at 30 weeks.

Since I posted the last blog, things have been super busy. We have had 3 baby showers (what a blessing) and that means I have traveled home 2 out of the past 3 weekends. We had a wonderful time at the showers, and Paisley got some of the most precious gifts. She is spoiled already! Oh and people know me and my love of all things personalized, and Paisley has gotten some adorable gifts with her name/monogram already embroidered. She will end up loving personalized items too!

This cake was from a joint baby shower that I had with one of my best friends, Holly. She is having (well did have already!) a little boy and his name is Carter. (Hence the P & C on the top of the cake) Holly was about 4 1/2 weeks ahead of me and went into labor on her own on Friday morning, and had a beautiful baby boy later that day. She was 38 weeks along! Does that mean I'm next? Oh boy...

And here is Paisley now, clearly ready to get out of my cramped belly. (34 weeks along) I really don't know how much bigger I can get, but I'm sure I will inevitably grow larger than life itself. (If I haven't already) :) I get the sweetest comments, and yet the most awkward ones here and there too. Most people are very sweet and say things like "You don't look big enough to be 8 months along!" or "I was as big as you at 5 months pregnant", and my favorite is "You don't look pregnant except for your belly. Your face isn't fat or anything!" But I do get the occasional, "You are going to give birth to a toddler!" or "Your belly is huge!". I even had a child come visit our school the other day and he said his 1st grade teacher's name is also Mrs. Spangler. I said "How neat, we have the same name! Do we look anything a like?" I guess I asked for it... He said "No, she's a little skinny." Nice. I found myself immediately trying to explain my "fatness" to a 1st grader by saying "but but but, you know I have a baby in my belly" then I realized how ridiculous I was being and just moved on. Hmmm, I use to be "a little skinny"... I think....

I am now going to the doctor every Monday and Thursday for non-stress tests and my regular appointment in addition to the non-stress test on Thursday. I have become friends with a few of the nurses and grown to love my doctor. It was hard at first to change doctors, when I LOVED the Dr I had in Virginia, but I really am so happy with my choice here now. Paisley and I are doing great, and the last couple of tests she has had the hiccups which cracks me up. How am I suppose to document every time she moves when she is hiccuping every 4 seconds? So cute. And I am beginning to think she does not appreciate the 2 belts around my stomach during the tests, because about 4 minutes after they hook us to the monitor, she goes wild. On Monday, the nurse had to come in and hold her heart monitor on my belly because Paisley kept kicking it away. In fact, I had to be on the monitor for an hour because she was too active, and they couldn't get a baseline heart beat. Her heart rate was in the 170-180's the whole time until she finally cooled it a bit and it went down to the 140-150's. Dr. Day has even walked in my room and said "It sounds like a soccer match in here" because she was so active. Sheesh Paisley! Put on a show why don't cha! At this point, the Dr has decided that we will be going in December 27th, to have her on the 28th. That means only 5 weeks to go if she doesn't have plans to come early.

Jason is off the last week of December so that worked out nicely. In fact, he only has to work 2 days from Dec 20th-January 3rd. 2 24 hour shifts that is. He has started his 2 months of ortho and is enjoying it, but boy is he exhausted. He stays busy all the time, even when he is at home he is preparing for cases the next day, working on some type of presentation he has coming up, dictating cases, etc. He loves what he's doing, but this year and next he will work unbelievable hours. He goes in at the latest 6am every morning (this morning he went in at 4:45am) and works until at least 6:00pm week nights. He is on call on average 2 nights a week, but when you are on ortho, it's home call. With home call you may not even have to go in, or you could be gone all night. For example, on Tuesday he was on call, and came home at 8:30pm for 15 minutes, and got called back in, and didn't come home until the next night at 8:00pm. Yep, no sleep at all from Tuesday morning when he went in to 9:00pm ish Wednesday night. Friday night he was on call and never had to leave the house, until 3:45am, and he had to be there at 4:30am anyway. I don't know how he does it. And really, he doesn't even complain about it. Such a trooper. I guess he will have no problem adjusting to sleep-less nights with a newborn!

She's An Angel!

Chubby cheeks, eyes sorta opened. :)

Side view,



Happy, HAPPY, soon to be parents!

Yesterday I had an appointment to have a routine ultrasound done at a nearby hospital. I am having ultrasounds every 4-6 weeks to monitor her growth, and yesterday was the exciting day to peek in at her. I LOVE going in for ultrasounds, as it never ceases to amaze me how much she has grown and changed since the last time. Speaking of last time, (4 weeks ago) we had an ultrasound and I was 25 weeks along, and Jason and I were noticing her large nose! Jason lovingly said she was going to have the "Runyan nose", and I was laying there thinking we were going to have to buy some really big hair bows to off-set that snout! Even piercing her ears crossed my mind (Remember that "Friends" episode). But I am happy to say that she has grown into her nose as of yesterday! Whew!

Jason didn't get to go with me to the ultrasound because he had surgery's all morning, so I decided to have them make a video. At the first sight of her face, you could see that her eyes were open, and she was blinking. It was so so precious. A minute later, she yawned and it was so sweet to see. I was so happy to have gotten the DVD to take home and show her Daddy! As the ultrasound went on, everything looked great. She was measuring right on track, until we came to her abdomen area. She was measuring only 26 weeks along there. Very weird to me, and a bit concerning. Has anyone else had this issue or know someone who has? She measured again, checked the blood flow in the umbilical cord, then took the numbers out to be approved by the doctor. Then, the doctor came back in with her and said he was going to suggest to my doctor that we be monitored more closely. (I go to have my ultrasounds to a hospital were I think there is a high-risk doc). He said there was no reason to think she was in danger right now, but he wants to watch her growth even more closely. SOOOO, I will be going in again in 2 weeks for another ultrasound, and having weekly non-stress tests until 32 weeks, then they will start me on 2 times per week tests. I was freaked out at first, but I have calmed down quiet a bit as I know she is doing fine because I feel her moving most of the day. The Dr. really wasn't too concerned, and the ultrasound tech seemed un-alarmed, too, so I guess everything is a precaution. SO I will be having my first (of many it seems) non-stress test on Thursday, then heading home to Tennessee right after for a long weekend. I am so excited to be spending the day Friday with my Mom doing some baby-stuff shopping in Chattanooga, having lunch, etc,(we NEVER get to do things like that since Jason and I live away) and then having our first baby shower on Saturday, along with a 4-D ultrasound. It's going to be a great weekend! The bad part is the drive home, alone, with swelling feet, but hey it will be so worth it.

Two for One!

I haven't updated our blog in over a month now but today is yucky and cold, and I'm feeling really bloggy, so you are getting 2 in 1 day! Sorry for the overload! :) I just posted the long overdue pictures of our house, and I felt guilty not mentioning our little girl!

She is doing wonderful and kicking and punching most of the time now. I will be 29 weeks along on Sunday. I haven't felt the hiccups yet, but I am so looking forward to that feeling. Being pregnant is such an amazing miracle. My favorite thing right now is being able to look down at my larger than life belly and SEE her kicking, or rolling, or whatever she is doing! I love that Jason can see it too. I have tried to catch these what I call "escape attempts" on video, but I haven't had any luck yet. A friend told me to put a plate on my belly and watch it move around, and I can't wait to do that one night while Jason and I are relaxing on the couch. Oh the entertainment! I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks, and have been for a month now. I guess he wanted to start seeing me more often a little early because of the clotting issue. The shots are going good, by the way. I did indeed learn to give them to myself, even though I thought I could never do it. It's just a part of my day now. Get up. brush my teeth, get my shot. It takes about 5 seconds, and it's the most important 5 seconds of my day. At my last doctor's appointment, he said my blood pressure was great, her heart rate was perfect, and my belly is measuring right on the dot. We are still doing ultrasounds every 4-6 weeks to monitor her growth, and I have my next on on Monday, I love being able to check in on her and see what she's up to. He said we are really doing fantastic. Great news! I guess we already make a good team. :) We are still looking at going in on December 27th or 28th to have a c-section or be induced. It has to be planned because I have to be taken off the blood thinner for a day before delivering.

We have a name for our sweet baby girl! After MUCH thought and going through the girls section of 3 baby name books, we decided to name her "Paisley Lane Spangler". We will be calling her Paisley. It's so great to be able to call her by name now. Here is a picture of us at 26 weeks, and one at 27 weeks. I think it's the most we have ever grown in a week. BIG difference, even though I only gained 2 pounds in that 2 week span. I can't even imagine what's coming in the next two months. I hope I am made of at least 10% stretchy elastic...

26 weeks

27 weeks

Our humble home :)

Better late than never! We have finally got pictures to show of our humble abode! Hey, it only took me 4 months, but we got there. If you are a facebook person, you have already seen these, but for all of you who don't facebook, sorry for the delay! You will still be missing a living room picture, and a nursery picture, because we are still working on a few things in those rooms, (a lot in the nursery) but hopefully soon I will post a picture of the living room at least. Sorry for the overload of pictures! Have a great weekend!

A few cute things...

We have known that we are having a baby girl for about 3 weeks now, and we have already started preparing for her arrival. Since then, we have picked out bedding for the nursery, picked a paint color for the walls, started looking at nursery furniture, and almost decided on a name. I have started putting clothes in her closet, and it is just too cute! I go in her room a lot and just look in the closet and the sweet things out little girl will be wearing in less than 4 months. Hopefully, soon, we will paint the nursery, and get the furniture in there. I will definitely post more pictures when we do! Here are a few now, and the latest of my growing belly. Have a great day!

This is a pillow that matches her new bedding. We are going to put it in the rocking chair.

A view of her closet! :)

A few of our favorite outfits.

Half Way to Parenthood!

Today Jason and I went to have or "big" ultrasound to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. We are very happy to announce that baby Spangler is a GIRL! We are very excited! She was moving all around, giving the nurse a time trying to get the views she needed. She was even sucking her fingers and kicking as we watched. So precious!

Ohioans...really!?!?

It certainly doesn't seem like it, but Jason, Tyke, and I have been living in Ohio for a month now. Boy that's a sentence I never thought I would say! I have always enjoyed Ohio, just being the southern girl I am, never thought I would live here. Speaking of the southern girl I am, I can't say ANYTHING without someone looking at me funny and asking "Where are you from?". I mean really, 1-2 sentences, and they are asking me. I was at Target one day and walked up to the snack counter and said "I would like a small, cherry, icee." (Blame it on the pregnancy, I never liked them before) The guy looked at me and said "You're not from around here are you" I said 7 words!! Geez! I just hope they are thinking that I'm a southern bell and not a hillbilly!

We are getting settled in. We still don't have much hanging on the walls yet. I just feel like it's such a commitment. Once you put a whole in the wall, there's no moving it! I lay pictures out and move them around. I will have to make a decision soon, and stick with it! We have been pretty successful at growing grass, which was luck I'm sure. Although Jason has quiet the green thumb, I am beginning to think he could grow anything. We had sod, so we didn't have to start from seeds, but it's still been a lot of work just to keep it watered the appropriate amount. Jason has been working for over 2 weeks now, and got his first paycheck yesterday!! YAY!! So proud of him. He has earned every penny. He worked a 24 hour shift on the 4th of July, and has to work another tomorrow, and I know he dreading it. I just can't imagine going in at 7am, an not getting off until the next morning at 7am. We are hoping he can get some sleep tomorrow when he's not busy. Last time, he slept zero.

The baby is growing fast and so is my belly! I love it, but it is frustrating not having anything to wear! I have bought 2 pairs of maternity capri's, and they have been my lifesavers. Still a little big, but there's no wearing the old clothes. It's stretchy waist bands or maternity pants at this point. We had an ultrasound on Wednesday, and got to see it again. It had been about 6 weeks, and it has changed so much! It was kicking and stretching, you could see hands and feet, and we tried to see if it was a boy or a girl, but it was a bit too soon to tell and the tech couldn't get a good angle. He said if he had to guess at this point, he would say boy, but don't take his word for it. He saw a little something there, but it could have been the cord. SOOOOO, I guess it's still 50/50. :) I go to the doc again on the 30th, then I will get to have the big ultrasound about 2 weeks later and maybe then we can see for sure!

I went home for the 4th of July and Tyke joined me on my first venture home from Ohio. It's about 5.5 hours, compared to the 4.5 hours it was from Virginia. That last hour makes a difference, let me tell ya! Tyke's not much company since he sleeps most of the way :) I had put my bags in the back seat, and at one point I looked back there and Tyke was in my bag, sleeping. It was too cute! Here's a couple pictures of him I snapped with my phone. What a cutie!