Due Date

We have reached Little Feet's due date. I kept thinking that the baby would come early. At first I thought it would be Father's Day...then Mark's birthday...then his Grandpa's 80th birthday [which Grandpa really wanted :) ] But still no Little Feet. This kid is on it's own time. Maybe we are getting a glimpse of the baby's personality. Things are not happening on Mommy's time!

Oh well. Little Feet seems to be enjoying itself, my mom was rubbing my tummy last night & the baby started to kick back & have a bit of playtime. I'm very blessed and still feeling great other than the normal 'pregnancy issues'. It is a bit strange, I remember when buying maternity shirts thinking that I would never 'fill them out'. Now...they are getting tight over the tummy.

Whenever it happens, I am looking forward to holding our little one, it will be here before we know it.

FYI & Still Pregnant

I mentioned before that our neighbors were looking to our garage door to try & determine if we were in labor or not. It turns out that the loud clunking/popping noise that the door has started to make, is not a good thing. Mark thought he knew what was wrong - but it was out of his league to fix it. The repairman came today & said he could save the door, but won't be able to fix it until next week. So FYI, our door will be staying in the down position for the next few days.


You can kind of see the broken door in this picture, it looks fine from the driveway - but the big crack on the inside gives away it's weak spot. I was mainly going for the flowers in this. Don't look too closely, I haven't felt like weeding.


I was in my sleepy state after waking up from my nap today & trying to come up with all the good reasons for still being pregnant. I for some reason thought that Little Feet would be early. I can't tell you how many strangers told me that I wouldn't make it to my due date or when they hear my due date, can't believe that I've made it this far. Strangers have a lot of opinions.

Here are the wonderful perks of being pregnant/still being pregnant I came up with....

1. Naps. I have always been a nap person. I think it comes with being a DeLeeuw family member. Most of us can fall asleep anywhere at anytime. I used to feel guilty for taking a nap in the middle of the day. I have to say after 9 months of naps basically every day, I love them & the guilt is gone.

(Maddie took a nap with me today, I woke her up when I took her picture. She was a bit grumpy, until I rubbed her belly. We are friends again.)

2. Backrubs. I have never gotten this many in my entire life. I just have to scrunch my face, point to where it hurts & Mark takes care of it.

3. Summer vacation. I am SO glad that the baby is coming in the summer & waited until after tennis camp was over! Mark is around a ton more. He is taking classes & spends lots of time on homework, but he's home. Right now...he's getting me chocolate milk. We discovered a new brand - Country Fresh. It was an emergency the other night & Spartan was too far away. I recommend it - very tasty and it's sold right around the corner from our house.

(Mark didn't pose for this picture - he was scratching his chin & I told him to smile)

4. The wiggles. I am still enjoying all the wiggles that the baby is doing. I think I'm really going to miss them. I am excited to meet Little Feet - but I was reminded by another mommy that I will never get to experience this again with this baby once it's over. Each baby is different & I want to treasure the time we have now.

5. Easy parenting. My dad keeps reminding me that Little Feet has everything he/she needs right now. (Except stretching room) I always know where the kid is & I don't have too much to worry about. Once it's out, it's out & I'll get a whole new set of worries. Our pastor once compared being in the womb as close to Heaven that we'll experience on earth. I understand why Little Feet wants to stay inside.

That being said...anytime that Little Feet wants to come out is great with me! Last week people said that they would pray for me to pop the kid out right away...I have to admit that I was praying the opposite - I needed another week. Audrey has been gone on a mission trip & I knew it would break her heart to miss Little Feet's arrival.

Mark's mom's trip is done, Julie is back, my dad will be home tomorrow night and Audrey will be home early Sunday morning. I can now 'uncross my legs' as my mom has been joking. :)

(Audrey, Brielle & Casey in Maine. I think Aunt Audrey got Aunt Casey to help in the prayer department to make sure Little Feet does not arrive before them)

Stir Crazy

I told Mark that I had to get out of the house tonight. I didn't care where we went or what we did. I was hoping to go swimming at my parents like we did yesterday, but it was raining out, which limited our options.

Mark came into the living room & said - let's go. We picked up chiwawa chili dogs in GH & parked at the beach. We watched the seagulls & a man take a bath in the lake, at first we couldn't figure out what in the world he was doing. Thankfully he stayed clothed. It was 66 degrees out - I can only imagine how warm the water was. On the ride home the rain stopped, so we took the scenic route home. It was wonderful to get out. I have not been trapped in the house all day - but for some reason - I needed to get out.

I am going with the theory that Little Feet just likes it inside & doesn't plan on coming out any time soon. We have been getting lots of inquires as to if I'm in labor yet or not - but don't worry - when Little Feet does decide to make it's appreaence - it will not be kept a secret! :)

A duck and the doctor

I was at work this morning & I got up to make a copy. I was half way to the copy machine when I realized that I was not walking - I was waddling. I knew this day could come, but I really did not want it to. The only waddling pregnant ladies I have ever seen look terribly uncomfortable. I decided to blame it on the fact that I was tired. I think with all the birthday cake yesterday, Little Feet was on a sugar high & partied long into the night. Once I was up and moving, I was able to stop the waddle & walk normally again. Well, as normally as I can right now.

It's Monday, so we headed back to the doctor. Everything is great. Little Feet is doing really well we just have to wait for the baby to make it's move. I am starting to retain water. My toes are getting pudgy, but I still have my ankles! I have another appointment set for next Monday- so we shall see!

We did find out this weekend that we need to leave our garage door up. Or come up with some kind of code. One of our neighbors called because our garage door was down & there were not any lights on. Too fun. No labor - I'm still pregnant - we were just out getting groceries.

Chocolate Milk

I've become a bit of a chocolate milk connoisseur the last few months. I have had painful heartburn that can strike at anytime, like 2:30 in the morning. Chocolate milk is the best way I know to put out the fire. I'm sure that regular milk would work too, but all regular milk tastes sour to me since Little Feet got inside. After throwing out 2 gallons of regular milk at our house, I went to my parents' house & tried their milk and was going to throw it out, but I made my dad try it & it turns out the problem wasn't with the milk. It was me.

My chocolate milk rankings:
3. Meijer
2. Bareman's
1. Spartan

Spartan is my favorite hands down. It's creamy without being too chocolaty & goes down smooth. But in a pinch any will work to put out the fire.

I did put a glass in this picture, but I have to admit that usually there is not time for a glass. I drink it straight from the container. I am my father's daughter. Sorry mom.

Camp fire & back to the doctor

We won't be doing any camping this summer. Mark is determined to have as many campfires in the backyard as possible. For dinner we cooked up hobo pies & s'mores. So fun & yummy! I did say that before the baby is born I'd camp anywhere he wanted - as long as he packed up our bed to take along with us. Good luck getting that in a tent!

We went back to the doctor today. All is well - we just have to wait for the baby to make it's move. The doctor said that there is nothing I can do at this point to help...wish, hope, pray - then he quickly corrected - prayer could work. I think that God is working on my patience. We haven't even reached the due date & I'm just not being a very good student. My doctor keeps telling me that I'm so easy - I don't have many questions & everything has been going so smoothly. When we got home, I told Mark that I just wanted our baby & that my back hurt. He started to joke & give me a hard time - I'm all smiley at the doctor's, but then complain to him. Oops! My patience is still a work in progress.

My sleepless night

Mark is often up before me in the morning. During the school year he's long gone before my alarm even goes off. When I woke up this morning to find him missing, I didn't think too much of it - until I walked into the livingroom & found him out cold in the lazy-boy.

My tossing & turning so far has not bothered him. Apparently last night was too much. The last few nights I have woken up every few hours. To use the bathroom, turn on the fan, turn off the fan, get a drink of water...the list goes on. Last night was the worst & Mark woke up every time I tried to maneuver out of bed...and I was snoring.

I think God is getting us both ready for what is to come. The waking up every few hours - I'm hoping the snoring goes away!

A dry run & the park

Last night I experienced my very first 'real' contractions. We had finished dinner at some friends' home when I began to feel them. I was trying to stay in the conversation with their wonderful daughter about the movie "Return to Neverland" with Jane & her adventures - but all I could think was...Yahoo...our baby is coming!! I did end up having to say...I think I'm having contractions...and I think I need to go home. I knew from the books that the odds that this was 'real labor' were slim to none - but in the back of my mind I was still hoping that it was the real deal.

Once home they did continue for a few hours - but with no regularity. It was getting late & Mark asked how I was feeling. I didn't think we'd have to make a dash to the hospital. He suggested that maybe we should pack a bag & go to sleep. I've had a semi-packed bag in our room for a few days now. I was never quite sure what to put into it. Last night we got to do a dry run of packing.

All is well today - I was a bit embarrassed that nothing happened last night - but oh well. I've never done this before. Mark keeps saying it was a good experience. I'm trying to take the advice of friends & keep doing things & not think of myself as a ticking time bomb. We could still have 3 weeks before Little Feet wants out. I think to help distract me, Mark suggested we grab Subway for dinner & go to the park. It was a great idea, we had a lot of fun - good thing the baby didn't come out last night - or we wouldn't have been able to get a belly picture by the water. :P

Another new friend & a doctors visit

We got a call about 12:30am on Sunday. While we were visiting one set of friends in the hospital just down the other hall - another set of friends were in labor!! Back to the hospital we went to visit another new baby!


M&S had a beautiful baby girl! Such a little peanut! When we first arrived, she was wide awake & looking around at everything. So cute!

When we were visiting on Saturday, we were told that soon after the birth of their son, our friends were moved from the room that she had delivered in because they needed it for someone else. Because of the drop in barometric pressure from all the storms, lots of ladies were going into labor! We even wondered if our other friend would be affected. Turns out she was!

Again as we walked into the hospital Sunday - I got lots of double takes from staff. Especially on the maternity ward. The nurses were sizing me up to see if I was in labor or not.

I am now 0 for 2. The friends that I thought would have a girl...had a boy. The one I thought would be a boy...was a girl. I'm thinking boy for us - but going on my track record, must be a girl!

We went back to the doctor today - all is well with little feet. Could arrive this week...or three weeks from now. I am feeling well - still basically comfortable & bumping into things. The doctor did sound like he expected to see me for my appointment next Monday...which again makes me think - not this week.

Belly Bump

I was planning all along to take photos as my belly got bigger. At first I didn't take photos because I wasn't really sticking out yet...then I remember thinking at 20 weeks that I should really get started. Now I'm at almost 37 weeks and it hit me that - this baby is going to want out soon! This morning we went outside to take a few shots before it got too hot out.

Where did my feet go?

To be honest- my feet have been gone for awhile. I've been tripping over things a lot lately. This is me leaning over to get a good look at my feet.

It's officially June. Hard to believe - but it's finally here. I've been feeling great & can't complain. When I hear what other women go through - I'm very grateful that this has gone so smoothly! Most of the issues I've had lately are pretty funny - some embarrassing - but Mark has been wonderful as always. I snore now. Which I don't like. But I've had a head cold so I'm going to blame it on that & pray that it goes away once the baby is out! I also bump into things. Walls...chairs...Mark. I'm not a good judge of how far my tummy is out & I run right into things.

I had an appointment at the doctor today & Mark was able to join me. Little Feet is doing great! The heart beat was perfect - higher than in the past - usually it's in the 130's to 140's and today it was 150's to 160's. So my theory that Little Feet is a boy based on the heart beat - was blown out of the water today! The kid is just going to keep us guessing!

We didn't learn too much else - other than the doctor doesn't think Little Feet will make an appearance this week. But the kid is head down - so it's good to know that the baby knows the way out!

Little Feet

When we first started to talk about the baby, we called it the kid. My dad started to call the baby Little Feet a few months after, when I found a little bump sticking from my tummy & I thought that it was a foot. The name has stuck.

Little Feet is due June 29...but really, only God knows. Sometime in the next month. This time has gone really fast. June was always so far away...and now it's almost here.
It was October 19 when we realized that we were going to have a baby. I had not been feeling well for a couple of days & wondered if it was a baby...but I've had that before & tried not to think about it too much. I was trying to get through the day and think myself better because I didn't want to miss my friend's wedding. I made it though the wedding and part of the reception - this is Emily & Laura - so cute!

It wasn't long after I took this picture that I told Mark that it was time to go...now. On the way out to the car I told him that if I wasn't pregnant...I had one heck of a bug. On the way home we stopped at Walgreens. I took the test as soon as we got home & met Mark in the hallway with the results. I said that June would be a nice time to have a baby...don't you think? He was in a bit of shock and said...that'd be cool.

This is us shortly after finding out the big news. And to be honest...I was in a bit of shock too. I spent the next few days and months before our 1st ultrasound asking Mark questions like...am I really pregnant...or...is the baby still in there?

At first I wasn't feeling well and was extremely tired. I didn't think that I'd be able to keep the secret for too long. Especially from my parents - working together everyday - they were bound to notice if my head suddenly fell to my desk & I started to snore. We kept our secret to ourselves for about a week. Then told our immediate families by presenting them with a picture.

At first my mom thought that I had cooked something. I am not a very good cook - so it isn't unusual for me to take a picture of something that actually worked. We let them guess for a bit before we told them that it was a baby. Both families were ecstatic. So, in a way, my mom was right - I am baking something...it just won't be ready for awhile.