The Devereaux Clan

Welcome, Mary Tucker Devereaux!

2012-01-24T16:54:00.003-06:00

We are pleased to announce the birth of "baby girl Devereaux" or "Stella's Little Sissy" AKA Mary Tucker Devereaux!

Yes, she is almost 3 weeks old and I haven't posted a single thing about her birth but hey, give me a break...I've got two girls under two years old (wow, that's scary to say out loud).

Our new family of four!

She was born at 10:12 am on Thursday, January 5, 2012 weighing a light 7lbs 12oz (lighter than predicted via ultrasound!) and measuring 19 1/4 inches long. She came out with light brown hair and a few short hours after delivery we could see that she, too, would have blue eyes like her sister. Everything went fine during our scheduled c-section (besides the slight uncomfortable spinal insertion) and I am recovering very well.

Mary Tucker was named after my grandmother, Mary Ann, Matt's great-great grandfather, Grover Tucker, and my dear friend from high school, Tucker. Mary Tucker was perfectly healthy, even though we had a rough start learning to nurse. She lost about a pound in the first week and we had to supplement with a bottle of pumped breast milk for a few days,so she could plump back up, and as of last Thursday, she weighed 7lbs 10.5oz, so she is 2 ounces shy of her birth weight, thank goodness!

She has just melted into life at the Devereauxs and her sister Stella is in love with her, though these days Stella is much more interested in "Dora" and "Fresh Beat Band" than looking at her sissy. But when she holds her sissy, it's the sweetest thing!

Mary Tucker is sleeping well now, but I know from experience this is the honeymoon phase and at about 4-6 weeks old, she'll start acting like a newborn who does more crying than sleeping:) We are enjoying her sleeping patterns now, though.

Her cousin, Ann Frances Moffett (my sister's baby) was born 4 days later and of course, as I predicted, a GIRL! I knew we'd be having girls together, and now my mother has 5 granddaughters!

Ann Frances and Aunt Ro Ro

Cousins Ann Frances and Mary Tucker, 5 days old and 9 days old

Sisters

We are both doing well with our new bundles of joy and getting settled into life with two babes! Updates to come!

Stationery card

2012-01-24T15:49:00.001-06:00

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Spending the New Year at Home

2012-01-01T14:20:00.001-06:00

Since I'm as big as a house and not in the "partying" mood (except if that partying were to bring baby sissy any earlier) we spent a few hours of NYE day at "Zoo Year's Eve" at Audubon Zoo with MC, Dave and Millie, plus MC and Dave's college buds with their son, Reed. We had a blast and I am ashamed to admit it was Stella's first trip to the Audubon Zoo! She LOVED it.

Stella and Daddy watching the entertainment at the zoo

Stella ringing in the New Year with her hat (yes, that's a Saints smocked dress:)

Carousel time! Dad chose the animal Stella would ride, of course...

Mommy and Stella got to ride together, too:)

After a fun day, we spent the evening at home watching movies and trying to keep our eyes open until midnight and NYD at home eating and watching the Saints. I have to say the impending arrival of Baby Girl Devereaux trumps New Year's right now, because I can think of NOTHING else besides our new baby and how her delivery will go.

She is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, January 5 at 10am...only 3 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes left! We are having another c-section (scheduled) as we did with Stella because frankly I have giant freak babies. The first c-section was highly suggested because 1) I had gestational diabetes and 2) Stella's head circumference was measuring in the 97th% and from the looks of the last ultrasound, she would not fit through my pelvis, get stuck after hours of labor and I'd end up having an emergency c-section anyway. I must admit, after hearing so many positive experiences of women having a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and loving it, I thought, hey, that might be an option for me. For one, the recovery time is SO much quicker in a VBAC - you aren't recovering from abdominal surgery for 4-6 weeks, you'll be able to enjoy time with the new baby and the big sibling. However, there are risks in having a VBAC - so much so that some doctors refuse to perform them. My doctor chooses to perform them, but when I asked if I could entertain the idea with this one, she kindly but firmly reminded me of this baby's head size compared to Stella's...she is the same size OR bigger than Stella. Also in consideration was the fact that my sister is also pregnant and due 2 days after me. As it stands, we both have our c-sections scheduled 4 days apart so our family can spend time at both hospitals and homes with both babies. With a VBAC I cannot be induced so there would be no scheduling involved. We would be at the whim of the baby's schedule, which would have been fine had my family not been planning on 2 new babies instead of one. All in all, I weighed my options and decided another c-section was the best option for me because I had such a great delivery with the first one.

Surgery still scares me, I'll admit. I'm still nervous about the operation, even though I know I have a very skilled set of surgeons working on me...I just pray that the delivery goes well and she comes out healthy and safe. Then comes the fun part...seeing what she looks like! We've been going over all the questions we have...will she be huge? Will she have blonde hair like Stella? Will she have fair skin, blue eyes, and a big, round head like Stella? Since Stella is our only baby, we only have her to compare Sissy to, even though I know they'll be different and have their own personalities. Another question is WHAT WILL WE NAME HER???? We are stumped here...we have options but we cannot decide, and won't decide until she is born...but what if none of the names we have fit her little face/personality? I'm a little more anxious about her name than Matt is...he just thinks it will come to us once we see her, and I hope he is right!

...so as we enjoy this New Year's Day, or try to...we are reflecting on the joys we were given this past year through being Stella's parents and all the blessings we are lucky to receive in 2012. We know bringing Stella's new sister into the mix will change Stella's world for the better, even though it may be hard at times, we pray for the guidance to be the best parents we can to both of our little girls! God is good!

Christmas at the Devereauxs/37 Weeks Pregnant

2011-12-28T14:57:00.000-06:00

Well, I've let a month go by since updating our blog, but give me a break...I've been working, running after an 18 month old, getting my house decorated to host Christmas for my family AND keeping up with being 9 months pregnant. Speaking of 9 months pregnant, here I am at 34 weeks, 2 days (Dec 4)...

...and 37 weeks, 5 days (Dec 28)

At 36 weeks I was showing signs of preeclampsia at my regular weekly check up, such as seeing spots in my peripheral vision, having unusual pain on the right side of my belly and a high level of protein in my urine. After some tests and bloodwork, they said my levels were in the normal range and after today's weekly check up they cleared me and told me everything was fine. For a while, my family was on alert because we didn't know if I'd be put in the hospital early if my results came back positive for preeclampsia, thus I'd be in the hospital for Christmas (boo!). But everything was fine, and I hosted Christmas night for the first time at our new house.

Speaking of Christmas, here is our first Christmas in our new house...

front door wreaths I made

Christmas morning loot for Stella

Santa left a table and chairs!

our foyer

office turned extra dining area

freshly painted dining room with new (old) dining room chairs - Xmas present from Matt's mom!

Christmas Eve at MC and Dave's

Traditional "Generations" photo - from R to L, Mae Mae (grandmother), her daughter, Cheryl (our Mom), my sister, Mary Catherine, her daughter, Millie, plus baby Moffett, who I think will be another girl, me, Stella, and baby girl Devereaux #2!

Millie, MC, Mom and me, both MC and I with babies #2 on board:)

We had a wonderful time getting ready for and hosting Christmas Night dinner, even though it was tough doing everythiing a million months pregnant, but we did it! My sister (also a million months pregnant) hosted Christmas Eve after we all went to church together on the Point.

Matt's first smoked tur-duck-en! It was delish!!

Now that Christmas is over, we are waiting on the arrival of Stella's baby sister. We will know this afternoon what her birthday will most likely be, as we'll be scheduling a c-section with the hospital today! Exciting! I must admit, I am pretty much done with this pregnancy. I am ready for the baby to be here, to have a name, and for our family to learn how in the world to adapt with #2:) We are pretty clueless, but try not to stress out about it!

...and lastly, here is baby girl's new (old) baby bed, just waiting for her arrival!

Happy Thanksgiving from Stella and the rest of the Devereaux Clan!

2011-11-27T09:33:00.001-06:00

Hi-fiving Uncle Michael at Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Beth's. We had a wonderful day in Crystal Springs with the Shulls (my Dad's side of the family) and got to see many cousins I hadn't seen in years, plus all the new babies that had joined the family! We really only get to see each other all together once a year and it's been a long-time joke that every year our family grows by at least one because someone is pregnant or just had a baby. This year we had new baby Tate, my still-cooking baby, Sis's still-cooking baby, and our cousins Jonathon and Gretchen (Tate's parents) new baby on the way-they just announced that Tate is going to be a big brother in June!

Cousin Katie took some great photos of each family, and then a great group shot. Be warned...I'm a red head now, so I may not be recognizable!

I didn't get any shots of it on my phone, but Stella has been a real walking machine. The past 2 weeks have been huge as far as her physical developments, which I owe to Early Steps physical therapy, Gym Rompers class, play time with her bestie, Charlotte, and her awesome Mommy Jenn. Stella started off taking 2-3 steps after gentle coaxing from me, and has since walked on her own unassisted for up to 10 steps AND gotten to a standing position from sitting in the middle of a room with no assistance from people or furniture, which is huge. She is making me so proud. I knew she would eventually walk when she was ready, even though I won't lie about being a nervous wreck that something was wrong -as in, way bigger picture wrong like some disease or syndrome that delayed or no walking was a symptom of...alas, my imagination and anxiety got the best of me and I over-reacted...everyone was right. Stella WILL, CAN, and DOES walk on her own! Like I said...we are so proud of our smart, strong little girl! She has many talents to teach her little sister.

We are currently on the way to Hattiesburg to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Matt's parents. Matt's dad missed Thanksgiving Thursday because he's been on a mission trip in Haiti since Monday - what an amazing sacrifice to give of your time during Thanksgiving! I know he will have wonderful stories for us when he get home tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to having a delayed Thanksgiving weekend with the Devereauxs!!

Caroline Devereaux
Sent from my iPhone

Stella in Words

2011-11-18T15:26:00.000-06:00

While she naps, I'll try to notate all of Stella's "words". Though our little 17-and a 1/2-month-old isn't completely walking on her own yet, she IS saying a whole lotta stuff. (In her defense, she took 5-6 unassisted steps yesterday and today she walked all the way from the middle of our huge front yard to the front door merely holding on to one of my fingers. Progress.)

"Mamma"
"Dadda"
"Bo Bo" - our dog's nickname is Bo Bo/Joe...why, I'm not sure - his name is Gus. Ask my husband about that...he is weird with nicknames...thus, Stella now calls all dogs "Bo Bos"
"More" - means she's hungry...she used to same "Yum Yum" when she was hungry, but she's gotten proactive and just goes ahead with "More" when she's hungry.
"Nannie" - not only her fav food "banana", but its also her grandmother Jenny's name - when she sees a banana, whether in a store or on her high chair, she says (repeatedly) "nannienannienannienannienannienannie" until you give her some
"Wa Wa" - water
"Naa" - snack
"Nigh Nigh" - when we ask her if she wants to go night night, she says it back when we know she is ready to go down
"Lo" - shoe...I'm not sure how she got "lo" from "shoe", but every time she sees me putting on or taking off her shoes, she says "loooo" - she also says it when she sees mine or Matt's shoes. Hilarious.
"Walky" - says it when I'm helping her walk
"Noooo" - when she points to her nose
"Eye"
working on "Mou" - mouth
" 'air" - when she points to her hair
"Lawlette" - her best friend Charlotte:)
"Lella" - Stella
"Baby" - multiple meanings...sometimes she says it when she pats my belly (which I love), sometimes she pats her own self and says "baby" and other times she'll call her most fav stuffed bunny "baby"
"Bye Bye" or just "Bye!"
"Aaa-low" - hello - whenever she sees her play cell phone or our real ones, she says this...she also says this when she wants me to sing her the "hello" song from Gym Rompers
"Hiiii" - an alternate to "Aaa-low"
"Mae Mae" - her grandmother
"Maaa" - Matt...comes from hearing me yell it across the house:)
"Ring" - the infamous toy rings I bought her that stack on the white plastic cone, which she will have nothing to do with. The rings are her obsession. She goes everywhere with them. And I mean everywhere. If we are friends on FB, just look at the recent pics of her....almost every pic has at least one ring in it. She will carry one ring, but prefers to have two. She crawls with them, sits and plays with them, will walk for a longer period of time if she can hold them while simultaneously having physical contact withe my hands, rides in her car seat/shopping cart/stroller with them. She recently learned how to hold the sippy cup between her wrists and drink her milk or water while holding a ring in each hand. She wakes up saying "ringringringring" until you give them to her and at night she asks for them. Matt put her to bed with them one night when she was inconsolable. I came home from teaching Pilates and looked at the monitor and saw the rings in the crib with her...her sweet, fat hand clutching one and the other not far from her reach. I will say, sometimes you just gotta do whatever works. Exhibit A...

That's Stella trick-or-treating with a ring...don't fret, I think the other is simply at the bottom of the wagon. Here Stella practices walking while I bribe her with her ring...

Stella has many more words, and I'll add them to this list as I remember them. Also, just because this is precious, here's a pic or two of "Lawlette", Stella's bestie, with Stella (and ring is not far, I'm sure) looking on.

Then and Now - Stella and Her Pumpkin

2011-10-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this picture was taken a year ago...look how much of a chunky monkey my Stella was! She was around 20 weeks old here.

...and here she is now, at one week shy of being 17 months old, picking out her pumpkin at a local pumpkin patch. My, how she's changed, but still looks the same!

And since we are comparing babies and pumpkins...here is baby girl #2 at 28 weeks. Matt and I used to CACKLE when some movie ad came on picturing a large, LARGE woman dressed head to toe in an orange sweatsuit. Man says to woman "Look at you, lookin' like da Great Pumpkin...Trick or Treat!"

2nd Pregnancy, week 27...Trip to L&D!

2011-10-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

So to say we had a rough weekend/beginning of the week would be an understatement. I think the fact that I am about to be a mother of 2 under 2 years old has finally hit me and this week it all came to a head.

Did I mention that I am hugely pregnant? Yes, huge....I don't say that with exaggeration. I really am huge. People tell me every day. I get jaw-dropping expressions from strangers and family members/friends alike when I reveal that I'm 28 weeks pregnant and still have right under 3 months to go. No, I'm not about to deliver this baby as I walk up the stairs, or pull my stroller out of my SUV, or sit on the Pilates reformer and show my clients how to do a Pilates exercise, or insert-any-other-daily-activity...I'm short, as in reeeeeally short (5 feet even, people) and the baby has no where to go but out....waaaaay out.

I understand why I'm already big at this point in my pregnancy. I get that this is my 2nd pregnancy and women tend to show earlier and more prominently with their 2nd babies. It's my body, so I understand that she's got no where to go in my short-waisted abdomen than straight out...really, I do. But it does not make the inability to do my daily activities any easier.

I've spent the first 6 months of this pregnancy doing everything I normally do...picking Stella up off the floor constantly and carrying her around, setting her down and doing that all over again, going up and down the stairs millions of times each day, exercising regularly (Pilates, yoga, cardio machines at the gym, Zumba, etc...), bending over to tie my shoes, teach Pilates and demonstrate exercises, etc...but the past 2 weeks everything has come crashing down on me, throwing it in my face that I have to slow down OR ELSE. The fact that I've been having very strong, uncomfortable Braxton-Hicks contractions every day since 20 weeks doesn't help, either. Well, the OR ELSE happened on Tuesday afternoon in the form of a tumble down the stairs in our house.

Don't freeak - baby is fine and I am fine, aside from a little soreness in my back. After I put Stella down for a nap I (of course) came downstairs in my socks and my feet slipped out from under me and I landed on my upper back on the stair treads. I was paralyzed with pain for a few seconds as the wind was literally knocked out of me, then realized I might have seriously hurt the baby. After trying to quiet my screams of pain for fear that I'd wake Stella up (and at that point I didn't think I'd be able to get up the stairs if she got upset), I slithered down the stairs and crawled to get my cell. Luckily, Matt works close to home and made it there in less than 5 minutes. After talking to my OB-GYN, she said we needed to head to the Labor and Delivery department of the hospital - I was fine until she told me that, then I started to freak out. Apparently any time you get into a car accident (minor or major) or have a fall while pregnant, you are supposed to go straight to hospital to get checked out just to be sure. So we got our sitter and headed there - went straight upstairs and were admitted 15 minutes after parking. Did I mention I love St. Tammany Parish Hospital?

To make a long story short, the baby was monitored and an emergency ultrasound was done to confirm that she was perfectly fine. It also confirmed she was HUGE. I got to spend 30 minutes looking her up and down on the ultrasound, which I LOVED, even though Matt couldn't be in the room with us:( - seeing her sweet little self almost made the hospital trip worth it:) Her overall measurements put her at about 29 weeks, 4 days even though I was at 27 weeks, 3 days. The ultrasound tech guessed she weighed about 3lbs, give or take 7oz, which is a bit heftier than the average baby (2.22lbs) at the same gestational age. If we went by how much weight the average baby gains from 27 weeks through 40 weeks, this chunky monkey would be 10lbs at delivery, at least. No wonder my doctor wants to take her at least a week early:)

So the physical side to being largely pregnant with a 1 1/2 year old running around is catching up to me, and hopefully this little tumble down the stairs will inspire me to SLOW DOWN. I don't like being helpless or dependent on anyone - on a typical day I can do almost anything by myself, and now I can't. That is infuriating. What 28-weeks-pregnant woman can hold a 23lb baby on one hip, squat down to pick up a sippy cup and hold the diaper bag/pair of shoes/snack in the other hand while going down the stairs and out the door? That's what I try to do every day...it never fails. Hopefully I've learned my lesson.

The good news is I didn't have Stella in my arms and both baby and I are fine. We are very lucky!!!

Stella's Traveling Days - 12 More Weeks Until Sissy Arrives!

2011-10-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

I've become one of those bloggers...the one who hasn't updated their blog in weeks/months. It feels like time passes so quickly these days that I don't realize I haven't been blogging, cleaning the house, keeping up with friends, etc...(really, fill-in-the-blank with any task/duty that you deem important). All of a sudden my Stella bug is 2 months shy of being a 1 1/2 year old and my big round belly tells me its almost time to meet little Sissy. We've had a busy month so far -

Stella took her first plane ride to see Pops and Mia in Atlanta and stayed without Mommy and Daddy for more than one night. It was TOUGH to leave her at Dad's, but I know she had a fun time and I KNOW Pops and Mia loved having some grandparent time with Stella!

She learned all sorts of new tricks while at their house, including how to say "coffee", "Lola", and climb backwards down the stairs, which we'd been working on. She had a nasty cold after the flight over which turned into an ear infection in one ear and fluid in the other, but we are fighting that with antibiotics

Practicing walking without holding on to our hands! She went everywhere with those rings!

She spent most of her weekend in this position.

Dinner time in the big girl chair!

Chatting it up with Lola, aka "Yoya"

Morning playtime

Getting dressed for night-night with Mia.

Goodbye hugs with Aunt Colleen!

While in Stella stayed in Atlanta I got to visit with one of my besties who just had a little girl, Ellie, at the beginning of September.

Bathtime fun with Aunt Caro

Of course, we spent most of our time dressing her up and staring at her.

Aunt Caro and Ellie

She didn't appreciate all the rattles we put on her...this is called "sensory overload"

Bye Bye hugs on Sunday - sad to leave this sweet girl!

I had so much fun and I loved catching up with Megan and really getting to meet Dustin. Augusta is a beautiful town with wonderful shopping...I even got baby Sissy's baby bedding on consignment for $50! I only have a few touches to add to it and it will be completed! I feel another trip over there with my entire family is in order...soon and very soon!

In baby Sissy news, I'm 27 weeks on Friday and can't believe I've only got 12 weeks left before she's delivered via c-section. This picture is at 26 weeks, 2 days.

Thank GOD I passed the 3 hour glucose test, which means I don't have gestational diabetes this time around! I thank a good diet and lots of exercise to combating GD - which my doctor suggested. You can't completely avoid having it by being more healthy, but it can lower your chances. So we are looking at the calendar and assume she will be delivered via scheduled c-section sometime during the later part of the week of January 2, around 38 or 39 weeks. MC and Dave hope to go a little later and deliver the week of January 9, so our parents can have some space between each baby, plus I'd like to try and make it across the lake for the delivery! I know that may be pushing it, but we shall see:)

We spent last weekend in Natchez with the whole family and LOVED visiting with everyone. We had a party for all the October birthdays in our family Friday night, spent Saturday shopping, eating and watching football, and Sunday was spent at Mae Mae's doing much of the same:)

Pajama party

Mommy and Stella before church

Daddy and Stella before church

Here are some images of baby Sissy's new room - the crib is being painted by Matt's parent's and I'm still waiting to get the last set of drapes in, but its coming along nicely!

The wall color is "Limelight" which Matt picked out - he had his heart set on a green room and this is green! We found the chandelier at a cute shop in downtown Covington and Matt wired it with the help of his Dad. He hung the blinds while we were in Augusta and we hung the drapes last night (Mom, they still have to be ironed/steamed...don't judge the wrinkles). That rug is going into the trash because the dogs tore it up, so we are on the hunt for a big pretty rug. The adult bed will stay up in Sissy's room until Stella is out of her crib, then we'll move the bed into her big girl room (I can't even begin to imagine when that day will come!)

Here's a shot of the bedding I got on consignment in Augusta for $50. The skirt is a shorter length and I prefer longer skirts, so I added to the bottom of the skirt in a cream/lime zebra print material to add some length and tie in some green. I got her plush crib fitted sheet on consignment, as well, which is Pottery Barn. I have a white one for Stella and it's so soft! So we are slowly making progress and hope to have everything done by the time she arrives!

Baby Girl Devereaux #2's Ultrasound

2011-09-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of #2's ultrasound at 17 weeks, 5 days on August 10, 2011 (yes, it took me one month to get this picture up here-don't judge me).

The baby is kicking like CRAZY. I know for certain she's been kicking so hard that you can feel it from the outside for at least 2 maybe 3 weeks. I first felt this little pony kick me at around 16 weeks. What's also great is that I've been having contractions for 2 weeks now - maybe they are Braxton Hicks, maybe not. Who knows? I did tell the doctor when she called to tell me I missed my appointment (who misses their baby doctor appointments? This girl.) so we've got an appointment this week. I probably had the same thing with Stella, but just didn't realize it. I realize EVERYTHING with this pregnancy:)

This week (week 22) baby girl is about the size of a papaya, or 8 inches long, weighing in at 1.2 pounds. I've got either 16 or 17 weeks left, depending on whether or not we have gestational diabetes again. If we do, we will have a scheduled c-section 2 weeks prior to my January 13 due date. We are still working on names and will probably not announce it until she is born, like with Stella. We like to keep people on their toes:)

Stella 15 Months

2011-09-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

Stella is already 15 months old as of September 1. I really enjoy the changing of the seasons to go along with her growth. Yesterday was an amazing 60 degrees in the morning and we pulled out our first long sleeve/pants outfit of the season. While I know I'm a bit ahead of myself, seeing as how we'll probably go back to 90 degree weather until at least mid-November, it was fun to wear a cardigan and dress Stella in one of her big girl outfits. Up until now she's been in a 12-18 month and yesterday she wore an 18 month outfit. Grant it, the sleeves with the cute tri-ruffles near the cuff were almost cutting off the circulation to her fat little hands, she still looked cute. This outfit will last all winter, so maybe her arms and wrists will slim down so it's more comfortable. She's got plenty of room to grow into the length.

Here she is playing at Gym Rompers, a new weekly class she's enrolled in for the fall semester. That's her friend, Owen, who just turned 12 months. He's a tiny little fella...Stella's not that huge:) He was a preemie.

I really thing this weekly exercise (along with play dates with other babies her age) has helped develop her gross motor skills. After we stopped physical therapy and started doing the exercises at home, she began crawling like a champ, pulling up on furniture, squatting to get an object off the floor, getting down from standing, and cruising around furniture in a standing position...all things she should have been doing, but hadn't. Since she turned 15 months and still has not taken one or two unassisted steps, our pediatrician recommended Early Steps, which is an early intervention/pediatric physical therapy program funded by the state. We have an interview here at the house today at 9:30 to see if we qualify, so here's hoping that if we need it, they will provide it.

Stella is doing great and luckily didn't get a repeat episode with the stomach bug that's been going around, which I got Friday morning...the day we were supposed to go to Ole Miss for the first game of the season. Oops. Unfortunately we missed a fun weekend in the Grove, which would have been Stella's first visit, but after feeling better we made a quick trip to Natchez for Labor Day and got to see Mae Mae and the rest of the family at the lake house, though with Tropical Storm Lee we didn't enjoy any water activities at the lake except for trudging to and from the car in the rain. I did get to visit with one of my old friends, Stephanie, and her husband, Andy, and their sweet little man John Preston, 2 months old.

Stella getting some Mae Mae lovin'

Stella with Mae Mae and Uncle Michael

Hotty Toddy - we were there in spirit!

Stella and Daddy

with Stephanie and John Preston

Friends with babies

Stella waving hi to JP

Stella rocking John Preston

Pregnancy #2 - 20 Weeks (plus Stella Updates)

2011-08-29T21:33:00.000-05:00

It is beyond comprehension how we have reached 20 weeks along in this pregnancy. I honestly feel like we just found out we were expecting #2 last week! But, alas, this past Friday we reached the big half way marker - 20 weeks, which makes me 20 weeks, 3 days today. Here's a belly shot from one week ago:)

It's very true what they say...you start to show MUCH sooner the second time around. I was showing at 10 weeks and I couldn't suck it in. I've slowly grown day by day and week by week to this size. I have stayed much more active then my pregnancy with Stella, even though I was pretty active with her. This time, since becoming certified as a Pilates instructor, I've just been more conscious of needing to work out at least every other day and eat much "cleaner" than before. I've halfway ready "Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven" but must admit I don't follow their philosophy wholeheartedly, though I wish I did. I skipped the "why you'll never want to eat meat again" chapter, too:)

Also, we've already started on Baby Devereaux #2's nursery - Stella will keep her nursery and it will eventually turn into her big girl room, but once the baby comes, she'll more than likely still be in her crib, so we decided to set up a new room for the new baby. Here is our first purchase:

...and old chandelier that Matt (translation=Matt's dad) will wire for the ceiling. I am in love with this and got a great deal on it! We've also chosen the wall color - Limelight by Valspar. So where Stella's nursery was crisp grey blue with black furniture and cream/pink accents, baby #2's nursery will be a verdant green with cream/champagne and natural wood furniture with accents of pink and black...or at least that's where I am today:) I'm pregnant...let me change my mind if I want to:)

So baby #2 is growing like a weed - I've been feeling her wiggle inside me for a few weeks now and Matt recently felt her move from the outside, which is always exciting. Stella is so smart she pats my big belly and say "baby" clearly and concisely. Genius, I tell you. Here is a video of her developed language as a 14 (almost 15) month old:

...hot dog is her newest word and she's only said it a handful of times, but Matt and I roll on the floor laughing when she does. It's priceless. She may not walk for months, but at least she has a very accelerated vocabulary!

Stella's Baby Sissy

2011-08-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

It's official...we are having another GIRL! Stella will become a big sister sometime around my due date of January 13. If my scanner/printer were cooperating, I would be able to upload an image of our ultrasound, but, alas...that is not the case.

Either way, with or without an image, our butter bean #2 is growing fast and strong week by week. When we got our gender-revealing ultrasound I was 17 weeks, 5 days (today I'm 19 weeks, 3 days) and the ultrasound tech said she was measuring almost a week ahead, which was good. She checked her out for any physical abnormalities and said she looked perfect - A+, big girl! She was also moving around ALOT and since the ultrasound I've been feeling her move a few times each day, which is one of my favorite things about pregnancy.

We've been practicing saying "Sissy" with Stella, and she's getting the hang of it. Genius that she is, Stella has learned to pat my belly when I ask "where's the baby?" and will even pat my belly on her own and say "baby". I think I almost tear up each time she does it. It never gets old. I'll have to get Matt to take a video. In other Stella news, she is a crawling machine and can pull up and squat back down like a pro - it may seem like not a huge issue, but to us, this is big. We've been practicing daily standing up on our own and squatting down to reach an item/toy so she can build up muscle tone in her legs and abdomen and she's come a long way. I'm very proud of her! She's climbing stairs left and right and soon we'll have to get permanent baby gates on the top and bottom of the stairs.

I'm already hard at work on Stella's sister's nursery and I think Matt and I have decided to paint her room a shade of green. Stella's is a pretty grey/blue so we thought we'd go a different route for her sister. We are on the lookout for a new old light fixture - hopefully a chandelier - and possibly a rug, but we've got the rocker and changing table already. The rocker is from Stella's nursery, because she won't need it once the baby gets here, and the changing table will be my old childhood dresser. And then, of course, there are the details...my favorite part:) I'll be sure to post pictures of our progress!

And just because she's cute, here is a pic of Stella playing with her good friend Charlotte, and Charlotte's pupy, Bailey.

...and this one shot of Stella at physical therapy is just precious, that's why.

Why Don't Friends with Kids Have Time?

2011-08-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

I stole this from a friend and couldn't help but completely agree...wish I had come across this answer myself! Friends, don't take offense if you read this - those of you who qualify yourselves as my friends DON'T fall under the type of "friend" who wrote the original question in this article!

To end on a positive note, Stella turned 14 months old today and I'm 16 weeks, 3 days pregnant. We find out if little Dev #2 is a boy or a girl in 10 days!

Stella Says "Bye Bye" to Her First Stroller

2011-07-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

Of course I didn't get a picture of Stella actually saying "bye bye" to it as we shipped the thing to the lucky Ebay winners in NY, but we did get it packaged and shipped for a whopping $86. Nice. Not to mention I forgot the bleeping car seat adapter, which had to be shipped separately. Double nice. So even after all the hassle of selling and shipping it, I felt a bit nostalgic riding away from the FedEx store as Stella screamed in the back seat due to being past her nap time and having an ear infection. Yes, even through that, I was sad and sentimental:) Here are some pictures of Stella in her stroller over the past year...insert sappy "Through the Years" by Kenny Rogers.

Matt getting the stroller set up pre-Stella, March 2010

Right after we bought the stroller - I was like 2 seconds pregnant:)

Stella, 6 weeks old in her car seat adapter on the stroller, 4th of July 2010, on the bluff in Natchez, MS

Stella strolling to her first day of daycare, 3 months old, September 2010 - go Saints!

Stella loved strolling in her bassinet to daycare!

Little Stella strolling to daycare, September 2010

Daddy strolling Stella, Uncle Dave strolling Cuz Millie, downtown NOLA after a trip to the WWII Museum, Stella's Baptism Wknd August or September 2010

Our nanny, Dawn, took this picture before an afternoon stroll around the block, August 2010

Hanging out at St. John's Coffeehouse in downtown Covington, October 2010

Winter 2010, bundled up for a stroll on the lakefront

My future's so bright...

6 months, Christmas playtime in City Park, NOLA, December 2010

Christmas Play Time at Algiers Point with Pops, Uncle Dave and Aunt MCat

Hanging with Aunt MCat at City Park, Christmas 2010

At our friend McKenzie's baptism at Our Lady of the Lake, February 2011

Mardi Gras 2011, Thoth parade, Stella cut her first tooth at Thoth!

Mardi Gras, downtown Covington, 2011

Mardi Gras 2011, Thoth parade, St. Charles Ave. Stella 8 months old

With buddy Griffin on MS Gulf Coast, spring 2011 - Griffin and Stella are 2 months apart - both Daddies were room mates at Ole Miss

With Cousin Millie - 9 months, Easter 2011, Algiers Point, one of the last outings with "the stroller"

It was a great ride, Mutsy, but we are on to bigger and double strollers from here on out - making way for baby Devereaux #2! Baby Jogger City Select stroller, here we come!

Stella is On the Move-Crawling at 13 months!!!

2011-07-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

If you know me, you know I've been worried about my girl not being as mobile as she should be (in my opinion). She didn't really roll over until 7 months and has been a pretty laid back baby and content to stay in one place. She never really squirmed much out of swings or chairs as an infant and just a few months ago realized she can roll over and sleep on her stomach in comfort in her crib (I NEVER put her to sleep or even lay her on her tummy unsupervised for fear of having a SIDS episode - Mom had a SIDS scare with me as an infant and has instilled the same treacherous fear in me). It's true, she hated tummy time but I was persistent in practicing with her...but maybe I didn't let her cry long enough on her tummy to really strengthen the erector spinae/multifidi and abdominal muscle groups - excuse the verbiage...I'm eyeball-deep studying for my written Pilates instructor certification exam which is Wednesday!

So as Stella's physical therapy appointment loomed near, she thought she'd outsmart us all and begin crawling before we made it to the PT! Here's my girl, crawling for her Daddy, of course this happened while I was teaching a Pilates class, but sweet Matt caught it on video and sent it to me immediately. Success, Stella!!!!

In baby #2 news, I am almost into my 2nd trimester...woohoo!!! This Friday marks 14 weeks, which I think officially begins the 2nd trimester. I am definitely showing and have been for weeks now. There is no hiding this baby any longer! This little one is about the size of a lemon now, weighing 1.5 ounces. I felt Stella first move at 16 weeks and if this baby keeps up with tradition, I'll feel him or her jumping around in just 2 or 3 short weeks! I cannot believe we'll find out what we are having in about 5 weeks! This is still so crazy!!! Keep little bean in your thoughts and prayers as he/she continues to grow nice and strong. And just for kicks, give Stella a round of applause for crawling...she's worked so hard and we are so very proud of this little monkey!

Sickly Stella at Almost 13 Months

2011-06-29T17:08:00.000-05:00

Our little sweet Stella has been one sick little girl ever since we got back from a Father's Day/birthday trip to Hattiesburg. We finally discovered Stella has pink eye, which led to an ear infection (apparently besides being the world's most annoying illness, the pink eye bacteria can also travel to your ear and cause a painful infection. Awesome.). The ear infection has created nasal and chest congestion, which is always a downer in the summer. Little Stella was becoming pretty active and big for her britches until getting sick, practicing crawling (er, um...scooting backwards) and walking (well, really it's standing up while Mommy and Daddy hold her hands/arms and walk her forward by tipping her body to the left and then right - we kind of manipulate it for her but then cheer for her anyway like she actually walked on her own. She loves this:) Whatever, she WAS making progress, I swear! Now she spends most of her day sleeping, which is what she does when she is sick. She sleeps and sleeps, which is what I remember doing as a child. Nothing made me feel better than getting lots of sleep. We hope this antibiotic that she's been on since Monday will give her some relief and clear up the infection soon. Her eye looks great, thanks to the million dollar eye drops that they (of course) only make in name brand form. Her eyes better have turned into solid gold after we finish with the prescription.

Speaking of spending money on Stella, we finally sold our stroller, which i am fairly sad to see go.

This stroller was wonderful for Stella's first 12 months of life but it doesn't transform into a two-seater, which we will need in 6 months (that still freaks me out!). I'm preparing to ship it out to the lucky Ebay auction winner as soon as the replacement wheel from Mutsy arrives. Yes, of course, I needed another replacement wheel. It magically disappeared on our trip to Atlanta - of course I would lose a wheel at the same time I'm trying to sell it on Ebay. I think we are going with the Baby Jogger City Select stroller http://www.babyjogger.com/city_select_lp.aspx because it goes from a single to a double to a double with a riding board for bigger kids, so when Stella's 4 or 5 and too big for the stroller seat, I can still "push" her on the stroller with 2 other kiddos.

Does anyone out there have this stroller or know any information about it - I've tested it out in person, done research and read reviews, but I would love more input!

As for us, we've just been staying busy with Stella and are getting excited about Devereaux #2! I'm 12 weeks this Friday and he/she is currently the size of a large plum, though I look 5 months pregnant. It's true what they say...you show MUCH sooner with the second bebe! As you know, my sis and BFF is also pregnant and due 2 days later than me, on January 15. We couldn't have planned this if we tried, I swear. We still cannot believe this happened at the same time. I think we've both been pretty tired over the last 8 weeks but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel, which translates to and end to this first trimester...a welcomed change! We are ready to get our energy back and actually look pregnant instead of feeling pregnant (in a bad way). Keep us and our little bebe cousins in your prayers as they continue to grow and develop properly. What a set of blessings from God!

And just for fun, here's a precious pic of Stell Belle, which was taken this past weekend at her new friend Charlotte's first birthday. See, the practice walking she's doing? She's not paralyzed, I promise:)

Stella's First Birthday Celebration!

2011-06-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

Finally, here is the post I've been avoiding because I knew it would take a while to edit and upload everything! So, here goes:

Stella's birthday cake designed after the theme of the party "Oh, the Places You'll Go"

Cousins Millie and Stella

Guests enjoying the patio

Stella's invitation

Cake table decor

Daddy, Stella and Mommy

Mmmm...cake (the smash cake was the frozen top of my cake from my baby shower a year ago)

Yummy

That is SOOO funny!

Stella's cousins

Well, we can't always be perfect - Stella with her first friend, McKenzie

Story time - Matt took care of the reading of "Oh, the Places You'll Go"

"I LOVE story time!"

Karla and I, good friends from high school - so glad she's moved to the North shore!

Our babysitter Molli, with her son, Heitor

Opening presents...this one was from Che Che - my baby bracelet

Bumble bee pillow!

A classic present - Radio Flyer wagon from Poppa and Nana

Present from Mommy and Daddy - a Smart Trike!

Us with the Godparents - MC and Dave, with Millie

The Foggo/Rinehart Clan

The 4 gennies - since the mid 90s we've been taking a generation photo with all the women in my immediate family on my mother's side

The Devereaux clan

Happy Birthday to Stella!

Themed cookies made by our sweet neighbor, owner of Sugar Mamas

Porch decor over food table

Food table decor

table decor

Pork sandwhiches

Mae Mae's famous O'Nassis Salad

food table

Beverage table

The only picture we got with Stella in her birthday dress

All the babies - Stella's friends!

Happiest baby in the world!

Stella's Gonna be a Big Sis!!

2011-06-18T22:52:00.000-05:00

It is official...Stella will be a big sister come January 13, 2011! To add to this wonderful news, my sister is also expecting and is due January 15!! What are the odds, right? Contrary to what you are thinking, we didn't plan this, but are so blessed and excited to be giving our girls sibblings at the same time!

So yesterday I was 10 weeks along and had a great check up with my OB. If everything goes as planned, we'll get to hear the heart beat at our next appointment in mid July. We are having another baby...OMG!!!

On Stella news, she is due to have a super blog on her first birthday, but give me a break, I have had lots going on in our household! She will get her blog, I promise:) she had her one year check up Friday as here are her stats:
Height: 29 1/4 inches
Weight: 21 lbs 13 1/2 oz
Head circumference: 18 3/4 inches
She hasn't crawled yet but has made tons of gross motor skill progress over the last week and a half. She has made a habit of rolling over in her crib and sleeping on her stomach and during play time on the mat she has gotten into rocking on her hands and knees. This is a big step for Stella seeing as she didn't roll over until 7 months! She didn't cause her pediatrician much concern because at every check up she was right on target with all developmental skills except for her gross motor skills like rolling over and crawling on time. However, she did suggest pediatric physical therapy just to check Stella out and make sure she was physically developing properly. I was happy that our doctor wanted to be so proactive and I feel lucky we are going to so something about it instead of just giving her time.

So we are all excited to enter Stella's second year and watch this little angel grow and develop into a sweet little toddler. She already flirta with us and teases us by saying Maaa and DaDa. Recently she started saying ball and oh wow and has mastered waving bye bye and clapping her hands on demand. She excels in all developmental areas other than gross motor skills, so after physical therapy I will feel much better.

I've got more to post later, especially about her fabulous birthday party, but I'm off for the night. Pregnancy is hard and tiresome work, especially with a toddler!

6 Days Shy of One Year Old

2011-05-26T23:53:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that a year ago today we were waiting patiently for the last week of my pregnancy to pass and for Stella to make her entrance into our world (though we didn't know she was "Stella" at that point). As I prepare for Stella's first birthday, I find myself focusing on her tiny, sweet little life thus far. Did I let her cry too much? Did I nurse her long enough? Did she get to ride in the bassinet of her stroller long enough? Did I feed her the best foods as an introduction to her culinary world? Did I hold her too much/not enough? Will she remember the time I dropped the remote control on her head? I hope and pray each day that I am the best mother to my daughter that I can be, and as we close this chapter of her first year of life, I am so grateful to the many people who helped me and Stella (and Matt) in my first journey into motherhood.

I can't stop getting choked up thinking of my sweet girl's first birthday, which is this coming Wednesday. We are having the birthday party this Sunday at our new house and the theme is Dr. Suess's "Oh, the Places You'll Go". My favorite part of the party is when Matt is going to stop and read the book out loud for all the children. With his commanding voice, I know the kiddos will be mesmerized, especially his Stella:) She loves to listen to her daddy.

I can't wait to post pictures from her big day - we are very excited to have friends and family over to our new house, even though it's definitely not finished and still a work in progress! More pics from the party to follow...

As for Stella, here she is at 11 months:

First time EVER swimming, at her new friend Charlotte's house!

Pool pals, Charlotte and Stella

All smiles standing!

Sweet Daddy and Stella

At 11 months, Stella is:

sleeping through the night, duh. She goes down around 7pm and wake at 7am. I usually let her play in her crib after she wakes as she talks and coos to her stuffed animals. These sweet conversations are wonderful eavesdropping material:) I love to watch her when she doesn't know I am looking. Speaking of sleeping, just the other day she slept on her tummy for the first time. Ever. This child never rolls over in her crib if it's time to sleep. You put her down on her back and she stays there. Most of the time she scoots to the top corner of the crib but she always stays on her back. This is probably from my fear of placing her on her tummy to sleep. Regardless, the child is happy on her back. She's not pulled up on her crib yet, but just today as she was sitting up playing in her crib, I saw her awe at the discovery of what happens when she puts her hands on the crib spindles. I know the idea of pulling up is not far away. It's amazing to see these discoveries unfold right in front of her eyes.
Eats anything and everything we put in front of her. Her favorites are chicken, lima beans, peas, hot dogs (Hebrew National All Beef hot dogs), applesauce, bananas, berries, apricots, raisins, broccoli, etc...the list goes on and on. The best part of meal time is when she gets a whiff or sees the high chair come in to view, she literally says "mmmyumyumyumyumyum" until you start to feed her. It's hilarious. And do NOT play around at dinner time with this one - she means business when its time to eat so you best be ready to put the food down on her tray and back away slowly!
Just discovered clapping! She discovered the noise her hand makes when she lightly slaps the flat part under my colar bone. She would make the sound over and over with one hand and smile and giggle. Once she discovered she could make the sound on her own, she was over the moon!
Says a multitude of words and phrases, her newest one being "oh, wow", taught to her by Aunt Christine. We made her say it all last weekend and couldn't stop laughing. She also loves to say "ball".
She is the happiest baby and a joy to be around. She loves her mommy and daddy and literally lights up when we walk into a room. Everyone she meets gushes over how beautiful she is and how happy and smiley she is for a baby. She's got a mouthful of teeth and LOVES showing her crooked smile to any and all bystanders! She's already a flirt for sure and loves craning her neck around to take a second look at interesting people. She wants to make sure they take a good look at her. Then she politely gives them an enormous crooked smile.

I'm off to dream of more first birthday party plans, as the party is only 3 days away and, in typical fashion, we are still getting the menu ready, decorations made and final house projects completed. Are you surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. I know we will have such a great time this weekend. Will post more after the big day!

More Renovations!!!

2011-05-15T10:41:00.000-05:00

It's been C-R-A-Z-Y around here as we renovate/paint/fix up/repair parts of our house in time for Stella's first birthday party, which we idiotically decided to have at hour new home. Why did we do this?? We knew how much work it was going to take to get our house in mediocre condition for guests, but we said "hey, who doesn't like a little crazy, over-zealous project or twelve to accomplish in 2 months?!"

So, here we sit, knee-deep in saw dust and paint, trying to scramble to complete the projects already started. Let's go over some before and after shots, just because it makes me feel better:)

back porch before...

back porch during...

front entryway before...

front entry way after...

(front doors still have to be stained and sealed and our new awning and side porch lights still have to be added - yes, we are getting rid of the current light)
Side note on front doors - my husband found these at an antique store for $40 a piece. These are OLD, solid cyprus doors that probably came off an old church. My father-in-law, who is a magical craftsman and can build/refurnish/renovate ANYTHING, refinished these doors for us and made or refinished most of the hardware. All we have to do is pick our stain and seal it! He estimated have these custom doors made would cost us around $2500. I almost blacked out when he revealed this little bit of info. What are we doing? Winning. THAT'S what!

foyer before...

foyer during...we still have to finish the wall paint and some day add wainscoting and new floors (that will be whitewashed hard wood:)

Ahhhh...see, now I can breathe easier. Just looking at our progress makes me feel better:)

Stella's 11 months old!!

2011-05-02T12:04:00.001-05:00

Stella turned 11 months old yesterday and we can't believe she came into this world one month shy of a year ago. We love each milestone she meets but get a little sad watching her grow and leave behind so many baby things. I hope I have fully appreciated every stage of her life thus far. Every time I say goodbye to clothes that are too small or things that are for newborns, I worry she is missing out on things.I never claimed to be sane:)

Easter morning. Looks. exactly. like. her. Dad.

At 11 months old she weighs around 22 pounds and is wearing 12 month and 12/18 month outfits. She can still fit into some 6 month bishop dresses and dressy bubbles. She has 2 bottom teeth and 2 half top teeth that are trying to poke through, but are coming in slower than the bottom ones. This causes her some discomfort and she hums loudly when her teeth hurt. She also grins crookedly to show off her teeth, which is hilarious. She's growing lots of hair on top, which is still blond, and has a patch of strawberry blonde hair at the nape of her neck.

Cousins Stella and Millie from Easter morning. Love these two together.

She currently takes 2 8oz bottles a day, but this month we plan to go to 1 bottle as our doctor suggested. At 12 months we will cut out the bottle all together and stick with a sippy cup or regular cup. She eats 5 small meals a day and loves chicken! I think it's her favorite. She loves to eat and moans "mumm, mumm, yummm, yumm" while smacking her lips when she sees us preparing her food. It. is. hysterical.

Stella all dolled right after her first Easter Sunday Mass.

When she gets excited she rolls her ankles around and opens and closes her hands rapidly (imagine jazz hands on caffeine) and grins. It is the cutest thing to see her daddy walk through the door from work and her eyes light up and her hands and feet go to work. She also sucks in air when she's giggling which is actually kind of strange - like a reverse exhalation, but with a raspy sound. If it makes her laugh, whatever:)

Our family outside Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Algiers Point, NOLA

She is sitting up on her own like a pro and scoots backwards on her tummy. She's still turned out in her hips when on her tummy, so she hasn't grasped how to stay on her knees and begin to crawl. I am happy that she likes being on her belly now. For a while, she despised tummy time so crawling was no where in sight. Now that she's scooting backwards, I think her mobility will come shortly. The child will lay on her back in her crib still set to the highest level and I know she won't roll over and pull up or roll out. Now, how long this lasts, I have no idea. But for now, she's probably the only 11 month old who doesn't sleep in a lowered crib. I try not to compare her progress to other babies, though it is hard. Our pediatrician says not to worry about it because she's met the other major milestones at 6 and 9 months old. She is very verbal and has the pincer grasp down pat. She knows when things fall or drop to the ground and looks after them showing me she knows they exist when she can no longer see them. She knows her name and she stands assisted and can bear weight on her legs with me barely holding her. My daily mantra is "She will crawl when she is ready".

Mommy and Stella in front of Aunt MCat's jasmine.

The next month will be busy preparing for her first birthday, which I am very excited about. I've got to get on the ball with prep work! Happy May to all!!!

Proof that she is, in fact, doing tummy time:)

At Elizabeth's Bridal Shower this past weekend. Yes, she smiles for the camera.

Stella's April Days

2011-04-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's been over a month since I last posted and we've been CRAZY busy around here. Currently, it's my birthday yet we are spending it watching Stella like a hawk because our Stella bug has the stomach bug:( Friday morning around 1 am she got violently ill two times so we spent the day hanging low and taking it easy on eating. When she didn't eat or drink much during the day and threw up half her body weight around 5pm, I decided we may need to get some medical attention. I talked with the on call nurse and she said if she refuses to drink or eat anything in the next few hours (or can't keep anything down), to take her to the ER. 9pm rolls around and she gets sick again so we load her up and head to the hospital. Around 2am the doctor sees her and declares that she is not dehydrated yet but has a little bug so we took her advice and took a dose of Zofran and made sure she could keep a bottle of Pedialyte down before heading home. Saturday was fine and Stella stayed on liquids all day (really she only had Pedialyte) with a small bottle of formula at bed time and was fine all night. Sunday morning (today) she took a full bottle and decided to give that bottle right back into Matt's lap:( So we've given her another dose of Zofran and hope she can keep it down, along with more Pedialyte. Keep her in your thoughts - I know this sweet girl does not feel good. Here she is in the hospital trying to sleep.

In other news, she's 10 months old and weighs about 21lbs 8oz. She's lost some weight (probably from this bug) because she weighed 22lbs at 9 months. Yes, she's healthy, she's just not very mobile yet and thus hasn't burned that baby fat off. When she's not sick, she is a happy, healthy relaxed baby. She's eating big girl food so well and giving herself her bottles. We are down to 2 bottles a day and will go to one bottle a day starting in May. She's talking all over the place saying "nanana", "papapa", "mamama", "dadadada", "bababa" and a few other words. She's sitting up like a pro and has started to scoot/creep backwards on her tummy! We are thrilled for this because we have friends who have babies around her age and they are already crawling and some are even walking! I know, I know-don't compare. It's a work in progress:

Things with the house are moving fast. We've made so much progress around here and painting the walls makes a bigger difference than I thought. Here are some before and after shots: (note - all before photos include the sellers' furniture - not ours!)

Living room before

Stella's nursery before...

back porch before...

office/sitting room before...

living room after

back porch after (obviously we are still in the midst of construction!)

Stella's nursery - still needing decor

We've still got lots of work to do, but we are very happy with our blank canvas, our new home! More updates to come!

New House...Moving In's a Pain!

2011-03-03T10:54:00.000-06:00

We've been so incredibly busy around that here I haven't posted an update in a while. First thing's first, we've officially moved into our new house!!! We love it here, we love the neighborhood, we love our neighbors, we love the space, we love everything! I say this now because as we were moving in I did NOT love everything. I had to clean...and clean...and clean...and clean. This house was vacant for a few years before it was put on the market after the owner died and the staged furniture did a great job at hiding how really filthy it was. In hindsight, we should have hired a professional cleaning crew (or requested that the seller hire a prof. cleaning crew) to clean from top to bottom before we moved in...but of course, we didn't think of that. So we moved in over a 2 day period and stuffed all our stuff in the living room while I cleaned the house (with the help of my mom and mother-in-law, without which our things would all still be in boxes!) and peeled contact paper off every cabinet in the kitchen. I think my fingers literally bled while I did this.

So, we've come a long way, cleaned up a ton, straightened up the yard and are finally feeling like this place is ours! We've got lots of interior painting to do, but we take it one room at a time. It's less overwhelming this way, and let's face it, I'm easily overwhelmed. Here's a picture of our new place before we moved in...

In other news, Stella is a big ole ball of deliciousness and just turned 9 months on March 1. I still cannot believe this baby is 3 month's shy of one year old.

We go to the doctor today for a follow-up (she had an ear infection last week and has been on antibiotics to clear it up) and her 9 month check up, so I'll post her stats later.

Big Things Ahead!!!

2011-02-09T15:05:00.000-06:00

OMG could I be going through any more WONDERFUL things in my life right now?? I think not! Let's chat about 'em, eh?

First, we are MOVING! Yes, moving, yes, for the 5th time in 3 1/2 years. Apparently, we like to torture ourselves and move as much as we can in as few days as possible. Like now, for instance, we close on our new house this Friday and must be out of our rental by Monday at midnight. I'm quite certain Matt and I promised ourselves at least twice that "the next time we move we'll pay someone to do it for us"...are we doing that this time around? No. Of course not. BUT lucky us, Mattie's parents are coming in town with a big ole trailer to help us move. New house...could there be anything more exciting? It's a big old thing, custom built in the 60s with only 1 owner, so while we've got some pretty heavy cosmetic updating to do, the house itself is in wonderful condition. Take a look...

In other news, I'm undergoing certification to become a Pilates instructor! I couldn't be more in love with my career change. I've been into Pilates for over 10 years so now I get to do what I love and call it "work"! Is there anything better than getting to stay home with your little baby daily AND have a career that you love?? I'm gonna go with no. I'm lucky and blessed and happy and excited all at the same time. Certification goes from January to March then we reconvene to "test" anywhere from 2-4 months later. I'm teaching for my dear friend who owns Pilates Bodies in Covington, LA - her support over these last few months has been paramount and I could not have done this without her! Props to you, sweet friend! Here I am in arabasque on the reformer machine at Pilates Bodies...

...and Stella is still just as cute as ever! She's not yet 8 1/2 months old and has rolled over twice now (don't judge, we were a little slow) and is eating her weight in baby food. She LOVES peas...they are her favorite. Surprisingly, she loves prunes. We gave them to her one day to "help things along" and she devoured them, so now we give them to her every now and then. She loves peaches and pears but we are still working on avocados. She's a bit sick right now with a cold that sounds like it's moved to her chest, so I am weary that it may turn into RSV since that's going around. Fingers crossed this little cold passes...and passes soon. I'll update again after we've moved!! And just for kicks, here's Stell Belle...

Stella Sleeps Bunny-Over-the-Face

2011-01-25T11:27:00.000-06:00

Sweet Stella has formed a new habit...

...she cannot sleep without her bunny on her face...thanks for the bunny, Aunt Megan (Watts)!

Playdates with Friends

2011-01-19T20:45:00.000-06:00

Today Stella and I had a wonderful treat - a playdate with Karla and her baby Jacques! Karla and I are old friends from high school and she and her sweet little fam (introducing new baby Jacques Francois Bezou III) recently moved to the North Shore from NOLA. We are thrilled to have them close by:) We strolled on the lakefront enjoying a beautiful, sunny afternoon...which we must take advantage of before we move! More info on that in a subsequent post...:)

Stella and Jacques played on the mat for a while...sweet Jacques already behaving like a ladies' man! See, Stella made the move...the hand hold!

Jacques has hair. Lots of it. All over his head. You can literally run your fingers through it...and it IS luxurious.

Sweet baby Jacques!

Precious pals...Stella was this small 2 seconds ago, wasn't she?!

Just a sweet shot of my Stella Badella

Stella - "Jacques, can I just touch your hair...real quick?"

Jacques - "Ok, Stella, here - just for a sec."

I Think All "Baby-wearing, Breastfeeding, Cloth-diapering, Co-sleeping" Mommas Would Hate Me

2011-01-18T09:48:00.000-06:00

...but I'm one of those on-the-fence mommies about lots of things "baby". If you are a new mommy or a repeat mommy or an older mommy, you are probably aware of the 2 types of mommies of our generation. In one corner, you've got the aforementioned "Natural Mommy" who believes only in things like cloth-diapering, natural child-birthing, baby-wearing, co-sleeping, recycling, breastfeeding, all things "organic" for her children/family. In the other corner, you've got "those other people"...mothers of Pampers-wearing, crib-sleeping, bottle-feeding, day-caring babies. Who else feels like you may be shot if these "Natural Mommies" see one of us "other people" feeding our baby from a bottle? I do. I'm hugely obsessed with blogging (more so reading other blogs, but whatevs) because I like to learn by seeing people in action in their everyday lives and some of these Natural Mommy bloggers intimidate me...alot. Not because I'm uneducated in the ways of their lifestyle...on the contrary, I've researched everything about being a "Natural Mommy". But it's their (ok, not all of them, but just some of them) stance on "other people" that intimidates me. Anyone out there feel the same way? I like to adopt some of the lifestyles from the "Natural Mommy" world, but not all of them. Sometimes I feel like they hate us "on-the-fence" mommies more than "those other people" because we can't stick it out all the way and live 100% naturally!

I've never been an all or nothing kind of girl because I change my mind. I like to change it a lot. So I can't commit to one form of Mommyism. Sure, I like the idea of baby wearing - I wore Stella in slings for a while just to gain use of my arms again. I loved breastfeeding Stella for 7 months. But then we switched to formula. In theory, I like the idea of co-sleeping UP TO A POINT. I make all my baby food at home. Right now, I'm blessed to stay at home with Stella instead of sending her to daycare...so I'm sort of a Natural Mommy, right? WRONG.

I couldn't have a natural childbirth, or even a tradition, medicated one, for that matter, because of gestational diabetes and my petite frame...not to mention Stella's head was "off the charts" big, so says my ultrasound tech. So I already started this whole thing with a strike against me. However, I loved breastfeeding and continued nursing Stella for 7 months...that's sort of "Natural Mother"-ing, isn't it?? WRONG...American Academy of Pediatrics suggests you breastfeed for at least one year, and many of these "Natural Mommies" are breastfeeding up until their children can master their multiplication tables. So maybe Stella stayed in a co-sleeper for a few month after she was born, but big deal - she is nice and cozy in her big, beautiful crib right down the hall in her very own nursery. She likes it there. We like her there. End of story.

I hate the idea of cloth diapering. I mean, really hate it. I don't care how well you wash that diaper out, it's NOT going back on my daughter's tush. I tried to like the idea...even talked to my husband about what he thought about cloth diapering...but in the end, it's just not right for us. And when it comes down to it, how much extra energy and water will those extra loads of laundry add on to your daily/weekly regimen all in the name of trying to be more eco-friendly? What do you do when you travel and don't have access to a washing machine? Keep the dirty diaper in your bag until you return home? Throw it away? I don't think so...cloth diapers ain't cheap...it's estimated that a start up set is anywhere between $250-$700. I wouldn't be throwing ANYTHING from that diaper set away! I've read that if you do travel and use cloth diapers, it's wise to buy disposable diapers while away from home, but doesn't that defeat the purpose?

I'm ranting, I know...and I do NOT want to offend any natural mothers out there, because I do admire the commitment to your cause. Heck, I even tried to join your people. It just doesn't work for us. And, as I stated, this group of soldiering "natural mommies" that criticize us "other people" and "on -the-fencers" is just a small, small portion of the real "Natural Mommies". I'm trying not to stereotype here:) I just wish us "on the fence" mommies could choose to bottle feed our baby or throw a Pampers on her without the judgment:) I get an "A" for effort, right?

Stella Swings for the First Time!

2011-01-15T12:52:00.000-06:00

I had to upload this video of Stella swinging for the first time. We were at the neighborhood park in my sister's neighborhood celebrating Christmas with Pops and the rest of the gang. How hilarious is this...and the fact that my sister was caught imitating "Elf"...that might be my favorite part...

7 Month Sassafras Stella

2011-01-14T09:26:00.001-06:00

On January 1st, Stella turned 7 months old!!!!! I cannot believe she's on the upward side of one year old. She currently:

sleeps from 7-7...yes, we are in love. Sometimes this varies from 8-6 or 8-8...it all depends on when she goes down. But overall, this girl is sleeping soundly through the night
has transitioned from nursing to formula - no judging, peeps...it was just the right TIME...we are happy with our decision and are happy that SHE is happy - the main goal, right?!
hasn't rolled over yet, but sits up by herself most times (for a few strong seconds, at least) and still masters tummy time for about 5 minutes before she goes bananas
LOVES chatting...she's now saying "mamamama" occasionally, but it's usually in mid-cry, so I don't know how I feel about that. She loves saying "dadadada" and "babababababa" and "gagagagaga" and "aaaaaaaaa"...of COURSE she said "dadadada" first, but what can I say...he is pretty cute to look at. Also, right now she is SQUEALING in delight in her crib...I mean SQUEALING! She gets really loud and surprises herself by how loud she gets, and then does it again because it sounds so cool. It's hilarious to watch and listen to, especially when she doesn't know you are lurking:)
She's just discovered her feet and grabs them every chance she gets. I am hoping this will strengthen her core so she can start rolling over, then scooting and maybe even crawling. I try not to compare, but I know other babies are crawling at her age and I don't want her to be too far behind. The doctor said it is not a concern that she hasn't rolled over yet, because she isn't skipping any other milestones. She said it's probably because she has no desire to move yet...and I know exactly why. Why struggle for the toy across the room or try to reach the puppies when they will just come to me if I wait long enough? Can we say lazy bones?! At least it's precious at this age! I'll be the first to admit that I'd like to keep her a baby as long as possible...I can still lay her in a position and pretty much bank on the fact that she'll be there after I run to get that cup of coffee I left in the kitchen. Don't worry, folks, I've already had nightmares that she's rolled under the couch or out the front door, so I'm never far away.
She is getting BIGGER every day, and by BIGGER, I mean she's one fat cookie.

This girlfriend weighed 16lbs 15oz on December 1st and when we went to get the second round of her flu shot (btw, peeps, GET the flu vaccination for your babies age 6mo+...having a tiny one with the flu is not fun...ask my cousin who had to nurse and sick 10mo old back to good health with NO medication...little ones are too small for Tamiflu and the like) on January 8th she weighed over 19lbs!!!!! My girl is clearly not being starved, even though I just realized that babies between the ages of 5 and 9 months should be eating 7-8oz of formula. Oopsies...Stella's been on 5ish ounces of formula...but let me explain. We just switched to formula after nursing for 7 months and I may or may not have read how many ounces she needed before I just started giving her a 5oz bottle. (Interject great reason for nursing...you never have to measure ANYTHING, thus mistakes like how much to feed your baby are not an issue)

The good thing is, this girl has been growing FINE with her mini bottles and baby food...speaking of baby food, let's see all the things Stella likes to eat!

rice cereal
oatmeal cereal
both cereals mixed with bananas
both cereals mixed with apples
peas
carrots
sweet potatoes
green beans
squash

She's got such a sophisticated palate already! She LOVES her breakfast cereal with apples and cinnamon! Now, the sippy cup is another story...she isn't really a fan, so I've resorted to giving her the occasional bottle of juice....gasp....I know...it's not something I plan on continuing, but the poor thing gets dehydrated with only 4 bottles a day and only a few drops of juice from the sippy cup. For those of you who know what happens when babies don't get enough fluids, its enough to break your heart. Matt and I had to "assist" our sweet girl one night during an intense BM (hey, I never said this blog was PG) so I'd like to avoid ever having to do that again.

In other, more appealing news, I think we may have found another house! We signed the contract on a big ole subdivision house (something we never thought we'd do) and will hopefully close in less than a month. It is fascinating how much your housing specs change once you have a baby. SPACE is a huge factor...as is safe location...not to mention a home that is either on a slab foundation or has sub flooring...the house we are in right now has no sub-flooring and let me tell ya....even Matt is wearing slippers around our house for fear of getting frost bite on his toes! So maybe in a month or so, we'll be moving! Fingers crossed!!!

Stella's First Christmas in Pictures

2011-01-14T08:55:00.000-06:00

It's been one fun-filled holiday season at the Devereaux household! Yeah, its a month after Christmas, but I'm just getting spare moment to blog! Stella enjoyed her first Christmas and New Year's AND her 7 month birthday! Again, slow down, time! Don't you know I have a baby to keep a "baby" forever?? Another post to come about Stella in her 7th month. Here is our holiday in pictures:) PS thanks for the new camera, Che Che...it rocks!

Christmas with Pops in NOLA

The cousins Blair, Millie and Stella - City Park

Mommy and Stella - Christmas 2010 City Park

Pops and Stella Christmas 2010 - City Park

BFFs - Cousins Stella and Millie - New Year's Eve 2010

Stella's First Slide! City Park Christmas 2010

Mommy and Stella, New Year's Eve 2010

Party Outfits for Stella and Millie - New Year's Eve 2010

Uncle Dave and Stella - Yum yum din din at Juan's Flying Burrito, Magazine Street, Christmas 2010

Famous restaurant "Stella" from A Streetcar Named Desire

Stella's first time swinging!

Aunt MCat is special...trying to make Stella laugh...she succeeded in making everyone surrounding her laugh!

Stella with Che Che and Aunt Anne Elise on Christmas morning!

Stella, Christmas morning at Mae Mae's -r inspecting her newest Christmas present...lamb rattle slippers! Now that's a mouthful

Getting some face time with Aunt Mary Jane Christmas morning

Christmas night at the Devereauxs! Cousin Sage bug!

Poppa playing with Stella and Sage Christmas night

Poppa and Nana (formerly known as JenJen) gave us crazy hair dolls...we love them!

Sitting up all by herself - Christmas outfit courtesy of Sarah D. and Mary Mack Walker!

Weaning and Homemade Baby Food

2010-12-21T22:49:00.000-06:00

...so Stella likes carrots...its official. She ate them with her peas like a champ tonight. Matt successfully made homemade baby food tonight, too! We now have 2 ice trays full of carrots in the freezer for Stella Badella!

In other news, I am still weaning Stella and tonight (for the first time) I am a bit sad. It will pass and I know she has not a clue as to what is going on - I mean, really, at this point, she just wants to be fed....but it's the end of an era and I'm not so good with endings, especially when it comes to our all-too-fast-growing daughter. It's for the best, I tell myself...it's for the best. I'll go back to my list of pros in my head:)

Stella is 6 Months Old!!??

2010-12-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

...I can't believe it. Stella is 6 months old, well, actually, today she's like 6 1/2 months old, but I'm late blogging:)

...back to what I was saying...I can't believe it...as in, really can't believe it...here's Stella's past 6 months:

Stella, just born...

"Word" on her one month birthday, 7.1.2010

"I'm judging you" on her 2 month birthday, 8.1.2010

"I can't stand how funny you are, Mommy!" on her 3 month birthday 9.1.2010

"Mom, the sun's in my eyes" on her 4 month birthday 10.1.2010

"Woah, to the flash on that camera!" on her 5 month birthday, 11.1.2010

"I'm the cutest ballerina ever" on her 6 month birthday, 12.1.2010

...we just had her in the hospital, yesterday, right??

Here are her stats at 6 months:

16lbs, 15oz...chunk monk!!!
26 1/4 inches tall
currently sleeps from 7 or 8 to somewhere between 5 and 7, nurses, then goes down for another hour or 2!
started baby food and loves apples, bananas and peas...this week we are working on carrots, though Matt is convinced she isn't a fan...I promptly informed him it takes a baby 15 attempts at one food to determine whether or not she actually likes or dislikes it...we've got a few more rounds to go! I am also making Stella's baby food, which is very cool. It's super easy, cheap and you can make enough food in one day for like 2 months if you have enough storage space! Did I mention how cheap this was?

We've been exclusively breastfeeding Stella since day one, with an occasional formula bottle here and there when we run out of milk and I'm not available, and I've THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. I wouldn't have it any other way and if God permits, I'll breastfeed all of my babies. I can't say enough good things about breastfeeding. However, we've decided to start weaning Stella to formula. The pediatrician said I no longer had to nurse her every 4 hours (what a difference that makes!) and could cut out one feeding so she was instead nursing 4 times a day with 2 baby food meals. It was a very tough decision, one that I have been on the fence about for a while now, but once we reached the 6 month mark, which was my minimum goal, we decided it was what was best for our entire family to stop nursing. I've already begun to replace one nursing period with a bottle and she's doing really well. I feel certain this is because we introduced the bottle to her early - she has never had trouble taking the bottle, so weaning her shouldn't be difficult. It will probably be more difficult for me than her! Hopefully by the end of next week she'll be officially weaned.

Things I'll miss about nursing:

the special bonding time only Stella and I experience...the look on her face is priceless!
the way she relies on ONLY me for nursing...it's a proud and rewarding feeling knowing that I am an integral part of her day, everyday
the time I get to "slow down" during the day when I have to nurse her...it gives me a break to just stop and enjoy my life for a while
this is a double-edge sword, but the ease in which we can "get up and go"...I still have to get her ready and pack her diaper bag, but I never have to worry about a bottle or formula...her meal is always ready and available!
putting her to bed...our ritual is dinner, bathtime, and nursing, then to bed. I am almost always the last one to hold her before she goes to sleep, and that is a sweet, calming time for us both
I'm not too proud to admit that nursing is a great way to keep the weight off...I don't know exactly how much, but I think a mother burns like 300 calories each time she breastfeeds, so its like your working out while sitting down and relaxing!

I will miss breastfeeding very much, but I am excited about all the great things that come with this welcomed change. For one, Matt will get the joy of feeding her now (along with other family members), which for the majority of the time was only my responsibility. I don't know what it is, but there is something so sweet about feeding a baby! Secondly, and lastly (for I do not want to appear to "bash" breastfeeding, as I feel it is the best way to feed newborns), I will not miss having to wear nursing-appropriate attire. I can't tell you how many times my ADHD brain has forgotten to wear something I can nurse easily in, especially when going out for the day or going to a function. In which case, I have to undress to nurse. Not fun. I've learned there are many dresses you cannot nurse in and cannot take one strap off, which requires you to fully undress.

Like I said, I love breastfeeding and will breastfeed all of my babies, and maybe in the future I'll even breastfeed them up until their first birthday, like the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests...but for now, we are closing this chapter on a happy note:)

Thankful for Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T16:54:00.001-06:00

I know its about a week late, but hey, we've been busy and on the road, so gimme a break:) I was very thankful this year for Thanksgiving and time spent with family. We've had a rough past month or so after I lost my job, so we welcomed good time spent with family and friends. We started off a week before Thanksgiving with my best friend's wedding in Mobile. Since my camera broke, I was forced to take pictures with my phone, but I did get a few photos from friends via Facebook, so enjoy:)

Girls' Bridesmaid Luncheon at Cortlandt's

Matt, Stella and I in the vestibule before the ceremony, St. Mary's Church

My besties:) L to R Kelly, me, Candace, Cheree, Victoria, Cherie Kaye

Mommy and Stella taking a break from dancing for suppertime:)

And on to Thanksgiving...we had such a great time in Columbus visiting with family. It's always been a tradition to meet up the night before Thanksgiving and enjoy a Mexican feast at the Mexican Kitchen but we've not been able to attend for at least the past 5 years! We made an extra effort to get there in time and we were so glad we did! Staying 2 nights in Columbus was so nice. One night is just not enough!

Pops and Stella

Gram and Stella fist pump...classic!

"You are the most fascinating thing I've ever seen, Pops." -Stella

Rocking the "Baby's first Thanksgiving" bib, courtesy of Aunt Nancy!

Stella surrounded by loyal subjects...Aunt Colleen on the left and cousin Blair on the right

Mommy and Stella - first Thanksgiving!

Mia, Stella and Pops!

Three generations...Stella, Pops and Grandpa Billy

Then we took it down to Hattiesburg for a weekend with the Devereauxs..Stella was absolutely amazing on the trip...we were very surprised, seeing as how she usually HOWLS when put in the car seat...hopefully that is a phase she is outgrowing!

Yes, count them, that's 4 schnauzers! Sophie, Gus, Tilly and Berti....Stella can't believe it, either!

We even got to visit the Thrashes while in town! We loved having lunch with them and letting the girls play with Stella. Lizzy was the sweetest, always giving her a paci. Marie wanted to hold her and did such a good job!

Tell me he's not an experienced Dad...I guess three baby girls will do that for you:) Also, will you check out the staring contest we've got going on?? Stella vs Lizzy...I think Stella wins! Hilarious!

Katie, my long lost friend:) It was so good to finally catch up with you:)

We also took some Christmas pictures because my oh-so-together, decorating-queen-of a-mother-in-law had her beautiful house decorated and tree up PLUS all the children and both grand girls were in town!

...to add even more fun to a great weekend, my sweet sister in law, Megan, got engaged!!!!! We are so happy for you and Chris, sister!!!!

Of course, Stella must still practice tummy time!

Look at this fat chunky monkey! Can you believe she was a week shy of 6 months old here?! She's heavenly fat, I tell you...I could eat her with a spoon! I'll post more 6 month stats after her check up next week! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as much as we did!

Perfect Christmas Card This Year!

2010-11-27T10:11:00.000-06:00

I now have the perfect subject for Christmas cards this year...Stella! I joined the "now married" population and assumed the role of Christmas-card sender-outer-after Matt and I got married in '07. Now that we have dogs AND a brand new baby, we must continue the tradition (though, I must say, no dogs have graced our Christmas cards:) and what better way to wish friends and family than sharing a picture of us with our prized possession, Miss Stella at 6 months old!

So I am thrilled to pick out our Shutterfly Christmas cards this year! They've got a wonderful promotion going on for bloggers, so if you're interested in sharing the Shutterfly love in exchange for free Christmas photo cards, check out the promo here. Look at how many options I have to choose from here. There are so many precious options - I know it will be a tough decision! Here are more Christmas card options from Shutterfly here. And lets not forget how fabulous Shutterfly cards have been for us in the past..remember Stella's thank-you cards? We even used Shutterfly's photo cards BEFORE she was born by using one of her sonogram images! I remember saying "well, if we don't have a name yet for our butter bean for her thank you cards, at least they will have include her picture! Hopefully you can see the finished project here... Once Stella was born, we took this picture at 7 days old and replaced her sonogram picture with this one - I hope the links work!! We were so happy with the finished product for her thank you cards and received so many compliments...we've already run out and are ordering more soon! Thanks, Shutterfly!

We've been faithful Shutterfly users for years now. For our first Christmas together, we used a great card from Shutterfly that pictured us in front of St. Louis Cathedral in NOLA - how apropos, right?? We were commemorating our first Christmas in the Big Easy! To be honest, I don't remember what we used in 08 and 09, but none will compare to this year's card! I am so excited to get started!

Here are the picture options we will choose between for this season's card - one of the whole fam from Candace's wedding:

or one of Stella by herself looking precious:

...I can't wait to get started testing them out in photo card designs at Shutterfly.com!

Life Changes

2010-11-15T16:25:00.000-06:00

Many things have been going on in our lives over these past few weeks. I am no longer working for Kelly's Kids and am currently staying home with my sweet Stella. We are unsure what the future holds as far as being a working mother versus a stay at home mother, but I am trying to enjoy this time at home with Stella first and foremost. I am keeping a sweet couple friends' new baby girl on Mondays and Tuesdays, which I love! Sweet McKenzie and Stella love playing together:) I also just had an interview with a pharmaceutical company who is looking for a sales rep in this area, as well as taken steps to become a certified Pilates instructor. Both of these are dream jobs for me so we'll see how they play out in the coming weeks:)

In other news, we bought a HOUSE! We are so excited to now be official homeowners in LA after living here for 2 1/2 years as renters! We bought a lovely, historic home in downtown Covington that needs some TLC and updating....a new project I am DYING to begin...but we have a wonderful canvas to work with!

We have agreed on a price contingent upon an inspection and appraisal, so while I say we "bought" this house, it is, of course, not final until we officially close on December 27. Until then, I will have to dream about my projects for this house. For those of you who know me, you know that "planning" is not one of my strong suits. I get a bit excited about potential ideas/plans/projects and tend to jump in full force rather than planning them out methodically...this is where Matt comes in. He's much more practical and thoughtful when it comes to projects like renovating a home:) I already have a folder on my desktop filled with ideas for the kitchen and bathrooms - I'm channeling my energy into finding the exact style I want rather than going out and buying paint and light fixtures ASAP!

We've got a fabulous wedding this weekend and Thanksgiving next weekend, so we are gearing up to be on the road quite a bit over the next 2 weeks. My best friend from college (Candace) is getting married this weekend and I am so thrilled to be her matron of honor. Wedding festivities begin in Mobile this Thursday so we'll head over after work for a fun filled weekend! Then next week its off to Columbus for 2 days and Hattiesburg for 2 more days so we can show off Stella to family members who haven't met her yet and enjoy Thanksgiving with family! We are so looking forward to this time with family and friends! We'll have lots to post more about in the near future! Happy November until then!

Stella Vetos Oatmeal

2010-11-08T22:23:00.000-06:00

Stella tried oatmeal this past weekend and we didn't like it....see her reaction on the video below....hilarious! I think we'll stick to rice cereal for now!

FYI here are our stats:
5 months, 1 week on Monday, November 8
15lbs 7oz (November 1)
24 inches long (November 1)
can lay on tummy and lift head and torso to 90 degree angle
can smile and laugh like crazy
can sit up with assistance
can reach and grasp for things like her paci, Sophie Le Giraffe and my hair
eating her weight in rice cereal
still nursing exclusively (yay!)
sleeping through the night most nights - except for the past 2 nights where she's decided to wake up from 3-4am - I look past it, seeing as how she's been sick for 2 weeks!

Stella, 5 Months Old and Our 3 Year Anniversary!

2010-11-02T08:40:00.001-05:00

As we approach Thanksgiving, we have TONS to be thankful for...one being our sweet, happy 5 month old Stella...

(...don't be fooled by her scowl...this is just too funny of a picture not to share. She cracks me up! She was all smiles 2.2 seconds before this one) and second being our third wedding anniversary!!! We celebrate three years of marriage tomorrow! Happy Anniversary, Love!

In other news, we had a blast trick or treating with Stella for her first Halloween. We joined MC, David and Millie on Algiers Point to trick or treat - Stella was a woopie cushion...and don't worry, she provided the sound effects herself! She got great compliments on her costume!

...and I'll just leave you with this hillarious picture of Stella's Who Dat uniform, courtesy of Aunt MCat and cuz Millie (the onsie, that is)...you don't have to tell me how ridiculous that headband is, I fully understand...but it was black and gold so I HAD to buy it. She ONLY wears it when we watch the Saints...and when I want a laugh!

Can You Really See the Light at the End of the Tunnel??

2010-10-27T21:22:00.001-05:00

...when people say that, do they really mean it? Or are they simply trying their hand at some sort of self preservation...just trying to hold on to the thought of that light at the end of the tunnel, to get through the really messy, unfun part.

I am determined to keep this blog about positivity and all things Stella, which I can say, are usually fun and smiley and nothing but optimistic, because when I look at her, I see only happiness and many, many months and years of blessings ahead of us. But we can only be perfect and happy a certain percentage of the time...so I'll just ask for prayers. Please pray that this difficult time we are going through eases up and that with God's help, we'll be directed on the path he chooses. Another good idea would be to pray for understanding...to let go of the things we cannot change and to change the things we can.

In other news, Stella is a sick baby! The ped said she has a virus, but unfortunately we cannot tell from the blood test what kind. Stella hasn't been quite herself these last few days and I haven't really known what to do. She hasn't been running a fever but I could tell she doesn't feel good. She was a lot more fussy than she's ever been, which is very out of character for her. We've been on rice cereal for a week or 2 now, so I know she's getting enough food, along with nursing, except for these last 72 hours where she just hasn't nursed for her usual amount of time. After 2 days of straight fussing, I scooped up Stella in a rush to go to the doctor, without an appointment. I was just at my wits end...I knew something was wrong with her...I couldn't be imagining it.

While I cried and explained the symptoms she'd had and then apologized for crying, the nurse kindly asked if I'd been getting enough sleep...what is enough sleep these days?? Really? I really didn't know how to answer that. We go back to Stella and they checked her out and said she didn't have thrush (one of the symptoms I noted was a whitish color to her upper back gums and roof of her mouth - but the ped said that was normal coloring for a baby) or a fever or an earache.

After talking with the ped a bit more and explaining that her hunger tapered off a bit (even though she tipped the scaled at 15lbs 7 oz!!!) and she hadn't gone to the bathroom in 6 days, she decided to order a blood test to rule out an infection. So my poor baby had to get stuck:( It was just as bad as a shot:( The tests came back within minutes and it showed that she definitely had a virus. The ped told me that she most likely hasn't been running a fever because she was breastfed versus formula fed. You see, she is definitely sick and more than likely has body aches and head aches and maybe even a sore throat, but the usual tell tale sign of a sick baby is fever and crankiness. Babies who are breastfed tend to fight of fevers more than formula fed babies, so she was very happy I brought her in rather than blame her crankiness on teething or a growth spurt. The ped said my breast milk was probably the reason she WASN'T running a fever, which made me feel great about our decision to continue nursing indefinitely!

So I'm giving her .8ml of Tylenol every 4 hours as needed and will watch her over the next few days. The ped said with a viral infection, you can't really do anything except keep her chocked full of fluids - antibiotics only work with bacterial infections. So here's hoping that Stella gets to feeling much better soon! I'll leave you with this pretty precious picture...it was taken today at 21 weeks, 1 day old sharing a smile for mommy even though she felt pretty rotten!

We Found Out We Were Pregnant a Year Ago!

2010-10-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

...a year ago this past Thursday!!! We can't believe it's already been a year since our lives were totally changed for good:) This collage shows Matt's birthday gift that kept on giving and giving! You see, we found out we were pregnant the day after Matt's 30th birthday, October 8th - a day we will never forget! Like I said on Facebook...last year for his birthday I gave Matt a big ole fat positive pregnancy test. This year - Mellow Mushroom pizza. Way to live up to the curve! Happy Birthday to my best friend! I love you!!

...and now we have THIS sweet thing as a daily birthday gift...I mean, could she be any cuter?

Sweet thing fell asleep in her swing with her pacimal juuuuust barely in her mouth!

Here we are enjoying the festivities of the Light the Night Walk in New Orleans!

We are just so stinking blessed to have Stella, even though the time is FLYING by! We can't believe in 3 short weeks she'll be 5 months old....it's truly crazy. At her recent 4 month appointment she weighed 13lbs, 13oz and measured 24 1/2 inches tall. She is right on target with her developmental goals, though she hasn't mastered tummy time yet:( Maybe I'm a bad mommy...but she just doesn't like it. I try and try and the kid doesn't do it for more than 5 minutes without getting upset and smooshing her face into the ground. Well, at least we get in 5 minutes of practice every now and then, plus her practice at daycare!

The pediatrician gave us the green light for baby food but also said if we weren't ready we could continue to nurse her exclusively and not introduce baby food until 6 months. She said to watch Stella and as soon as Stella pays attention to us eating, she's ready to try it herself. I may have caught her eying a bite of my super over the last few days....but I'm not jumping up to buy a box of rice cereal and a baby bowl just yet. We'll wait and see with the baby food. Neither Matt nor I are really ready for that!

We Met Our Goal for Light the Nigh Fundraiser for LLS!!!

2010-10-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

Here we are at this past Friday's Light the Nigh Walk in NOLA - and guess what...we got a T-SHIRT for meeting our goal of raising $100 - we are "Champions for Cures"!! Thank you to everyone who donated - I walked in memory of Jennifer Steckler, a family friend who lost her battle with leukemia while Matt and I were on our honeymoon and in honor of my childhood bestie, Sophie, whom Stella is partially named after (she is Sophie Estelle and Stella is Estelle Anderson) who is a leukemia survivor.

Matt and I joined the team somewhat last minute. My sis Mary Catherine is team captain AND works for LLS (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society). The team is Life of Brian, made up of Mr. Brian O'Neil's wife and family, neighborhood friends of MC and David. Mr. Brian lost his battle to cancer in 08 and the team has been walking in his honor every year. We were so excited to join the team this year and look forward to walking at many more Light the Night events! Our team is so so close to reaching our team goal of $5000 - we are currently at $4475! I am still fundraising until I meet my 2nd goal - $200. You can help me reach my goal by just donating a few dollars here http://pages.lightthenight.org/msla/NOrleans10/CDevereaux. Even though the walk is over, we can still raise money!

We had such a great time last night - and may I mention that this was no physical/excercising fundraiser...this was a New Orleans type walk where everyone ate heavily and played around prior to the walk. We mosied, really:) But it was great fun. Everyone held balloons lit from the inside and walked around the lake at Lafreniere Park - at the end, they all released the balloons simultaneously...I say "they" because we didn't get to participate. Stella had other plans, which included freaking out, eating and sleeping, so we let our little balloons go on the walk to the car - it was still special to us!

Thanks for letting us join the team, guys! We'll definitely be back again next year!

Love to Look at Houses

2010-10-05T12:52:00.000-05:00

Matt and I are looking at this house today...to purchase. What in the world are we thinking? The whole thing has to be renovated BIG TIME. However...they are pretty much giving the house away in an estate sale...oh, the joys of our crazy life!!!

Stella's Christening and Her Big Upcoming 4 Month Birthday!!!

2010-09-30T23:15:00.000-05:00

Well, in pretty much 12 hours, Stella will turn 4 months old and will be getting some icky shots. I love her birthdays but hate that they are usually commemorated by immunizations:(! It's been SOOOOO crazy around here...I am just barely seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!

Stella started daycare 2 weeks ago, which has been tough, especially since we've all been sick for at least a week now. We went to the pediatrician this past Saturday to make sure it was just a regular cold and not something terrible like RSV and she checked out fine weighing 13lbs 13.5oz! I can't believe how big my girl is, though I know other babies who are SLAMMIN' on the pounds compared to my little Stella. She's just a petite thing, that's all:) Daycare has been somewhat...interesting. I am lucky because (if I want) I can stalk Stella all day via the daycare's webcam and keep an eye on the teacher. After watching for a few days, I can honestly say that I do trust Stella's teacher and the whole daycare in general...there's just something about having to share your child's sole caregiver with 3 other children...especially after having a perfectly wonderful nanny in house for 8 weeks! Other than the sinusitis I've developed from daycare, Stella seems to be ok with her illness. It's really only nasal congestion and a bit of a scratchy throat, which has all improved over the past week. I've got her mattress propped up one side and a humidifier going constantly in her room because I'm terrified of developing ear infections. Fingers crossed, it seems to be working! We'll see at the doctor's office tomorrow!

This past weekend was Stella's Christening at our church here in Mandeville! Stella wore the slip, gown and cap that has been in our family for 55 years. This was also worn by Stella's cousin Millie, myself and my siblings, all my cousins and my mother and her 2 brothers. The gown was a bit small for Stella - apparently you are supposed to get babies baptized before 3-4 months - oops. But I was merely keeping up tradition because my grandmother jokes that when I was baptized, mom waited so long to do it that the gown had to be draped over me because I was 5 months old! Well, at least I was baptized at all!

After her christening we hosted lunch at our home for 30 of our family members and friends. We are so so happy that we got to spend the weekend with everyone - having each of you there meant more than you'll know. Even though it was hot in our little house, the Saints lost and I ran out of food (I know, right? What a terrible host!), it was such a wonderful occasion for Matt, Stella and I. Here are some pictures of our special weekend:

Saturday, WWII Museum, Warehouse District, NOLA

The cake, Frangelico Hazelnut Cake with Butter cream Icing by Zoe's Bakery

The grandmothers (Jen Jen and Che Che) dressing Stella in our vintage christening gown

Parents and Godparents, Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle David

That paci had to be in her mouth...we didn't feel very good - but at least we looked sweet:)

Mommy and Daddy with baby Stella!

Mommy and Daddy getting ready for her baptism

The Devereauxs

Stella's Godmother MCat

Pops and his kids and grand kids!

Lauren and Sean left their week and a half old baby girl McKenzie to be there!

Proud Mommy and Daddy - Stella has her hands in her mouth 23 hours a day

The 4 gennies - for those of you who don't know why we take pictures like this, one of the last Christmases we had with our Nannie (Mae Mae's mother), they took a silly photo at Christmas with Nannie, Mae Mae, Mom and MCat (4 generations) posing like this, all poking a little fun at Nannie who struck the pose first. Now, we've made it a tradition and we have the exact same photo when Millie was baptized!

The 4 gennies again:)

Pyscho About Stroller!

2010-09-16T10:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's flying by...Stella is 15 weeks old now!!! Much like anyone else with a growing baby, I still cannot believe it. Here is a pretty sweet picture of a happy waking baby ...

"Good Morning!!!"

Sweet Stells sleeps in her crib all night now (except last night - we have been in Natchez for 5 days and I left the monitor at Mom's and couldn't get comfortable with the idea of her sleeping in her room without her monitor so we snuggled up together last night in her co-sleeper, which she is almost too big for!). She's doing well with her 4 hour schedule and is practicing tummy time more and more each day. We've been traveling more than usual and she's adapted so well, I was amazed! She loved her time with Che Che and Mignon while I worked in the home office. Thanks so much for taking time from both of your busy schedules to help keep Stella! I couldn't have done it without you!!

In other news, I've finally received that replacement wheel for Stella's stroller. Thank God. For those of you who know the back story, you're probably filled with relief for that poor, poor customer service rep at Mutsy, USA. You see, in late July Matt accidentally backed over the million dollar Mutsy Slider stroller and I almost got sick at the thought that the stroller was ruined. I got such a deal on this fab stroller - like, a once in a life time deal. After looking at our squished stroller, we realized only one tire was broken and the structure of the whole stroller was fine. However, I purchased the stroller through one of my many online sale sites and not through the manufacturer, though I did register the product to make sure if any thing like this happened, I could get assistance from the manufacturer. I called Mutsy USA and spoke to a sweet lady who said that although the stroller was discontinued, they would probably be able to get me a replacement wheel at not charge. I was thrilled! We didn't have to buy a new stroller after all!

Well, 2 weeks pass, then 3 and I start to worry that she hasn't found a wheel after all. I call. I email. No one answers. Another week passes and I call. Again. And email. Again. And again. No reply...nothing. So I start to worry. I call other departments at Mutsy USA trying to locate the woman that helped me and no one answers. I find it strange that NO ONE in the company will answer or forward my message to anyone, so I get a little miffed. I search for them on Facebook and hallelujah, they have a page! I see activity so I know someone at Mutsy is running the page and answering questions and updating their status...but, uh oh, I scroll down to see a ranter - someone who has also tried to reach someone in customer service with a problem with no luck. I posted a message to their page in hopes they'll see that no one has responded and of course, I am ignored.

I am livid by this point. It's almost been a month! I start searching for stores across the US who carry this rare brand of stroller and call them to see if anyone has spare wheels. After calling about 20 stores, I find a lady in Sausalito, CA who offers to contact the warehouse and help me locate a wheel. I am also greeted by an email from the original customer service rep I spoke to that promised me a wheel...I read her email and oops...she's been out of the office for 2 weeks due to a death in the family. Errrr, insert foot in mouth. Yikes. She obviously received all my rants via voice mail and email....I wonder how irate I sound looking back. Yeah, I am one of those scary moms...

After apologizing, she informs me that they had to order a wheel from the Netherlands, where the strollers are manufactured. I thanked her, and she sent the wheel! Our stroller is now in working order and I probably have the worst reputation in Mutsy's customer service. Matt said "Caroline, you are truly psycho about that stroller" and I can't argue with that!

Can I Get an Amen for Sleeping Through the Night?!?!?!

2010-08-30T13:34:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Jesus! We experimented Friday night and put Stella to sleep sans swaddling AND in her crib for the first time. I admit, I was a bit brave to make those 2 big changes together and without much of a plan, but Matt and I spent most of last week staring at the clock waiting for the day to end so we could crawl in bed so we were ready for another sleepless night with Stella crying if this would put us on the path to one day sleeping through the night!.

A little back story - Stella recently started sleeping horribly during the night AND during daytime naps and as I researched the probable causes I discovered a few theories:

night time sleep disruptions interfere with daytime naps and thus daytime moods - then it creates a vicious cycle and we noticed her temperment affected her evening and bedtime ritual which eventually meant everyone is awake at 2am and 3am and 4am and 5 am...I'm not kidding.
baby outgrows swaddling - if she outgrows swaddling, she'll kick and fight in her sleep until she's broken the swaddle. If she doesn't break the swaddle, she'll wake up crying. Stella kept breaking her swaddle and waking up throughout the night, so I thought, why not try it without swaddling one night?

Since both of those theories matched up to Stella's situation I thought it couldn't hurt to test the waters and see how she does! Here's a little background on her sleeping style.

For the first month or so of her life she slept in the bed with us (don't freak out, people, we had a co sleeper thing for her to lay in that went in between us called the "Snuggle Nest" - however safe it was, it did NOT leave room for Matt and I!) Then we transitioned her to sleep in the cradle next to our bed. All the while she was tightly swaddled like a bug in a rug. She loved being swaddled and so I swaddled her all the time! She slept through the night one time before she was 2 months old so we thought, hey, this is working. We settled into a routine of feeding her one last time between 10pm and 11pm and she'd usually wake up around 4am, but all the while she'd wake herself up and we'd have to put the paci back in her mouth or shh her or re-swaddle her if she came out of her swaddle, so needless to say, even though she wasn't wide awake and refusing to go back to sleep, we were still up all night with her just making sure she'd get back to that deep sleep.

Since she kept breaking her swaddle and waking herself up, I thought we may need to try removing the swaddle from the nighttime equation. Since she's also around 4 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller than she was when she first came home, I thought moving her out of the cradle and into her crib might be a good idea, too. We bit the bullet and didn't swaddle her Friday night, put her in her comfy crib around 9:30 with the monitor on full volume in our room and to our surprise she slept right through the night! She woke up around 6am and I thought - "it's a miracle!" Saturday and Sunday nights she followed suit and is now sleeping in her crib exclusively without being swaddled and we couldn't be prouder! She is getting so big, so this is bittersweet for me! But man are we glad to get a full nights sleep again! Katie Pugh, you were right - month 3 is the magic age!

Life Lately With Stella!!

2010-08-19T08:43:00.002-05:00

I have been terrible about blogging lately - my apologies. We have been busy around here! Since the last time I posted, which was early August, she's passed 8, 9 and 10 weeks old. She just turned 11 weeks this past Tuesday and is growing right in front of my eyes! We've been working on our schedule, like I mentioned in my last post. She is still sleeping in the cradle next to our bed and I have to be honest, we are not moving very fast on the track to get her in her own crib. However, we ARE working to get her to take steady naps (instead of 30 to 45 minute ones) during the day and to sleep 8-10 hours at night, and last night was HUGE progress! She ate at 9 and went down immediately and woke around 3 fussing a bit, but I did not feed her, though I wanted to. I changed her and swaddled her and put her back down and rocked the cradle for about 20 minutes and she was out! She stirred a few more times in the night but to my amazement, 6am rolled around and she was still asleep! It's a miracle! Now, she may never do that again, and I realize that - but we know its possible!! 3 stars for Stella!

We had a monumental weekend last weekend where Stella stayed with her Daddy and Che Che for the WHOLE weekend while Mommy went out of town! It was the hardest thing in the world to do and I almost came home early once, but in the end, with the help of my AMAZING husband, I got to see her in videos a few times each day and managed to enjoy my entire trip. Here are some videos:)

...and here's another one...

...and another...

These videos made the entire separation bearable. I have such an amazing husband! My trip was that much more enjoyable because of him!

We are currently missing taking our evening walks with Stella because someone (my sweet husband) ran over our stroller. Oops. I am pretty sure its salvageable - the company is sending us a replacement wheel and I think it will work like new! Fingers crossed!

We are fully registered for daycare at Old Mandeville Preschool - yay! Stella was given her bag with her name on it and everything. While I am excited we FINALLY have child care secured for her, I am so sad to think about not having Dawn, our nanny here with her everyday. We love her and know she loves Stella so much...I hate to think of her last day with Stella. It breaks my heart! The good news is that she has offered to keep Stella anytime the daycare is closed or Stella is sick, so Stella will still be able to see her.

In other news, we've set up Stella's baptism for Sunday, September 26! It will be here in Mandeville at our church, Our Lady of Lake, which is beautiful and only a few steps from our house. She'll be dressed in our family baptismal gown and cap that we all wore - though Mom waited so long to get me baptized that they had to 'drape' the gown over me because I was too big for it! Mae Mae has taken care of the gown since it was made for her children and will have everyone's initials who's worn the gown monogrammed on the hem by the time its Stella's turn. What a special, beautiful tradition!

I'll leave you with some recent pics of "Beaner", which is her newest nickname from Daddy, shorty for "Butterbean".

I'm judging you (yes, she's picked up my trait of 'flaring the nostrils')

Hungry hungry hippo!!!

I'm a bow head

RrrrraaaRRRRRR! Look what I can do!

Party Time - Sarah D's Baby Shower!

Che Che and Stella!

Soon to be Mommy Sarah D practices with Stella!

I wear only day gowns when my Che Che keeps me:) This was actually Mommy's day gown!

Smiles for everyone! "I love people!"

I love my cousin Millie!!!

Stella is 2 Months Old!!!

2010-08-02T17:36:00.000-05:00

We cannot believe that yesterday marked Stella's 2 month birthday! We miserably celebrated that fact by getting her 2 month shots today:( She is sleeping right now, and has been all day, poor baby. She did well with the shots - screamed for a few minutes and then fell asleep in the car seat, thanks to the pre-doctor's appointment dose of Infant's Tylenol we gave her. I am so happy I love our nanny because tomorrow is the first day I'll leave Stella longer than an hour - I am headed to the Natchez office for the day for the first time since before my maternity leave and Stella will stay with our nanny. Since I'm still breastfeeding, our nanny will use some of our freezer reserve of breast milk to feed her via bottle while I'm gone, and I'll figure out the joys of pumping at work:) Here's hoping that she sleeps all night tonight and doesn't give Matt too much trouble while he keeps her before and after the nanny leaves! Let's also pray for Mommy's nerves...I know I'll be a basket case tomorrow.

2 Month Stats:
Weight: 10lbs, 6 oz (she's gained exactly 2 pounds in the last month!)
Height: 22 1/2 inches
Milestones: first smile, lots of cooing, can lift her head up like a little turtle and hold it there for a few seconds when you hold her up on your shoulder - it's the most precious thing ever, can grab objects like Mommy's hair and skin (ouch) and follows the sound of my voice

She is currently sleeping in about 5-6 hour stretches on average, though this past week we had a few nights where she woke at 1am, 3am and 5am. We deeply hope that does not continue! The doctor said not only is she a gorgeous baby, but she is doing wonderfully on all developmental milestones. She wants us to firm up her feeding and sleeping schedule so that we have a routine down - waking for the day, feedings, naps and bath time/bedtime prep should happen at the same time each day, that way we can get her sleep schedule (and ours) more regulated. Our goal is to have 7 hours of straight sleep for her at this point, so we've got our work cut out for us!

Just over the weekend she's been pretty fussy with tummy troubles and the doctor is doing some lab work on her stools to rule out a stomach/intestinal infection, so we hope everything comes out ok in the tests! In her second month she is much more fussy than her first month, but we were blessed with an almost silent baby during her first 4-5 weeks. She ONLY cried if she was starving! Now that she is growing and developing her little system, I just think she is more aware and sensitive to her surroundings - it's no wonder, with Matt and I as parents and these two crazy dogs as a brother and sister, its no wonder she's fussy - her nervous system is in overload (just kiddin', puddin':)!

I have been reading TONS on child development/infancy and can say we've become accustomed to the swaddling, shhhhing, sucking, shaking (lightly - not like child abuse) side-lying art of calming Stella down - I tell you what, it works every time. Dr. Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" book is a life saver! I recommend it to each and every new parent. I'm not super into the methods of Baby Wise yet because of the foundation from which it came, but I must admit I am reading the book to learn how to better adapt to this schedule our pediatrician wants us to follow. Baby Wise can be a bit strict, so we are taking it one chapter at a time:)

Until next time!

Back to Work!

2010-07-23T18:06:00.000-05:00

It's officially the end of my first week back at work after 7 weeks of maternity leave! I must say, it went MUCH better than anticipated. This is due in part to the fact that little Stella is almost always in earshot, if not eye sight while I work:) Working from home is HARD without a baby - it is not as glamorous and relaxing as one would imagine. However, the highlight of working from home now is that my lunch break is filled with me getting to see Stella all I want:) While I wish this were a permanent fixture in our lives, it's only temporary:( We have a wonderful nanny who's keeping Stella here at the house for the next 8 weeks, at which time we'll put Stella in daycare. I wish we could keep our nanny forever, but it just isn't cost effective to keep working and pay a nanny - I may as well stay home with her, and for now I like my career. The main reason we're doing this is to let Stella get a bit older before we throw her to the wolves (aka put her in daycare with...duh duh DUH...the 'public', as my mother and grandmother so lovingly refer to it). At that point, she'll almost be 4 months old and I think she'll handle daycare just fine. The daycare we hope to get into is literally right around the corner. I could put her in the stroller and walk her to daycare, it's that close. Fingers crossed they have a spot for us when its time to register!

It's Friday night and I won't spend any more time blogging, but I did want to say that the first week back has been great. I know it may actually get worse, and I'm prepared for that, I am just thankful that we had a good first week to ease into our new life! Stella rocks!

Stella Smiles!

2010-07-22T11:55:00.001-05:00

Stella: "OMG I am soo excited I can finally smile!!! You people are hilarious!"

Yes, we caught Stella's first real smile on camera! Doesn't this just brighten up your day!? She's just so stinkin' cute!!!

Life with a Newborn

2010-07-15T13:29:00.000-05:00

...so I've read how to care for a newborn and how to feed a newborn and play with a newborn and swaddle a newborn, and I've also read how to do all of these things with an infant a bit older...so now I'm learning what to do with myself! For instance, daily showers are just now coming back into my daily repertoire since all the 'help' has been gone. My helpers made sure I had time to myself to shower or nap whenever I wanted, and boy did I appreciate that! We had it pretty good for those first three weeks, having my mom, then my dad, then Matt's mom and then Mae Mae come stay with us for anywhere from 3 days to a week and a half! Now that its just me and sweet Stella every day, I have to relearn how to create and tweak our daily schedule.

I kept reading how awful those first weeks home can be because both mom and dad are so unaware and unprepared for a new baby that needs to be taken care of 24/7...but for us, that was not the case! The first 2 weeks flew by without any problems. Even the nightly feedings every 2 hours didn't really bother us that much. I must say, prior to giving birth I was preparing myself for an all out breakdown on my part as a new mommy...for those who know me, I'm pretty high strung as it is and so I'd planned on being pretty stressed out and welcomed all the help we could get. I have been so pleasantly surprised with how we've adjusted to life with Stella:)

Things have definitely changed, though. For instance, the highlight of my alone time this week was being able to soak in the tub and read "Happiest Baby on the Block" with a glass of wine - this replaced the usual quick shower, and if I time it right, I may be able to enjoy a glass of wine IN that quick shower...I got this idea from a friend of mine who enjoys coffee in the shower now that she has a newborn, too! My daily pampering ritual has been replaced with making sure I remember to use lanolin after I nurse and trying to slap on a bit of body lotion before Stella cries...and lets not even mention make up. When I left the house pre-Stella, I almost always at least had applied concealer and mascara. These days, when I even venture to leave the house, it's never with make up on:) I was OCD about keeping the house clean, up with laundry, dishes done while pregnant...these days, if the dishes get loaded into the dishwasher once every two days, we are happy! When I get stressed out about the house, I just go over and look at Stella or pick her up and tell myself the time I have with her now is way more important than any load of dirty laundry or dishes that need to be done. Scooping her up and cuddling her close to the side of my head is our fav way to move about the house - she loves this:)

I have about one week left until I'm off of maternity leave and back to work and I honestly do not know how I'll cope. Since I work from home we'll have a nanny come for the first 8 weeks I'm back at work to keep Stella under my watchful eye and adjust to life back at work AND being a new mommy:) Actually, I'll probably be so busy with work I'll have the office door closed - no watching over the shoulder, so I hope our nanny Dawn is good with her! After 8 weeks with the nanny we plan to send her to daycare. Hopefully we will get in to Old Mandeville Preschool which is RIGHT around the corner - Matt's trying to work his magic now on holding a spot for Stella until September:) Please pray for me once I go back to work - I'm not sure how things will play out, but we are hoping for the best! I just hope Matt, Stella and I adjust well to our new way of life!

Stella's First 4th of July - Trip Home to Natchez!

2010-07-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July! Stella had a lot of firsts this weekend! We celebrated her first 4th of July, her first trip to Natchez and her first trip to the lake!!! Packing for our first road trip was hilarious, I must say. Please keep in mind, we did not take a little 4 door car...we took our Tahoe, so we thought we'd have plenty of room for traveling. WRONG. With our beloved pups, we have to bring our big kennel with us wherever we go, which takes up the ENTIRE trunk space where the third row of seats would have been. Stella goes in one captain's nest seat and I go in the other next to her, with a multitude of bags dispersed between us and our seats. The best part, though, were the looks we got when passing people on the road with my big pram stroller stuffed in the front seat. It looked like we were traveling cross country! I really wish I would have gotten a picture of that!

We had such a good time over the weekend and got to see SO many people!!! We spent most of our time at the lake where Stella was such a good baby. She went to whoever wanted to hold her and barely made a peep. We've got a covered porch at the end of the pier and she was content to stay outside with 2 fans blowing on her for a good while. Of course, she was dressed in her Kelly's Kids bathing suit:)

We had so many visitors this weekend!!! Sarah D and Ryan (who are expecting a little girl of their own in October) were Stella's first Natchez visitors and brought with them the MOST special gift - a handmade quilt made by Ryan's mom, Mrs. Eddie, especially for Stella. It is so beautiful!! We were instructed to USE the quilt and not keep it up on a shelf - so we did! It went to the lake with us and Stella loves it, I just don't have pictures of it right now:)

Tori and Mary Margaret also came to visit - Stella was so excited to meet 2 of her aunts:) We can tell who can sunbath and who stays inside with a newborn, can't we?? I'm 'not so secretly' jealous of your beautiful tans, girls!

Matt, Stella and I got a good family picture at the lake - something I really wanted to do! When we are home by ourselves, there is no one to take a picture of the three of us, and i'm not about to try using the self timer - that just gives me a headache thinking about the effort!

Stephanie and Andy (soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Andy Guida!!) also came by for a visit! Steph and I, long time friends, were talking about how crazy it is that I have a baby and she is getting married next week and how time FLIES by...wasn't it just yesterday that we were making our own TV food show in my kitchen with do-rags on our heads and aprons on while Bill took silly photos of us??? Didn't we just get through with our Drivers Ed class??? Stephanie, we can't wait to see you next weekend on your Big Day - yay for weddings and babies! By the way, if there were a contest, we'd win the "I Own the Biggest Pair of Sunglasses" Award!

Che Che had all three of her grandgirls together and somehow we got a precious picture with EVERYONE smiling, even though the eldest grandgirls had a big day filled with swimming pool fun, lake swimming, boat and tube riding and splinters:(

We also had a special visit from our friends Holly and Parker - and look at what a wonderful, special gift they made for us - a hand-painted plaque for Stella's room!!! I say "they" because Parker proudly announced he "drilled the holes", so we must give him credit! Holly is one fabulous artist, isn't she?? She's also the graphic designer for Kelly's Kids so I've missed her while on maternity leave! Their beautiful gift is proudly hanging directly over Stella's bed!

We've got more pictures from another camera coming shortly - if I can ever find it!!! We had a wonderful weekend followed up by an even better milestone that occurred today - Stella's first SMILE!!!! Again, if I can find my camera, I'll hopefully get to snap a picture of her smiling for her baby book. Let's hope I didn't leave it in Natchez!

Happy 1 Month Birthday, Estelle Anderson!

2010-07-01T14:39:00.000-05:00

Stella is officially 1 month old today! Her birthday was unfortunately commemorated by her one month shot:( in which she cried and so did Mommy. It was heartbreaking - I knew it would not hurt her that badly, about as bad as a shot hurts adults, but it was just so paralyzing hearing her cry and KNOWING what was making her cry and not being able to do anything to stop it. Within 3 minutes of getting the shot she had stopped crying and fell asleep so that was comforting:) Here is a picture of her battle scar - thanks for Bugs Bunny band aids!

This was the easy shot compared to her next few vaccines. They instructed us to bring infant Tylenol to her 2 month appointment because she'll be getting 2 shots which may give her a fever - I've heard these shots are very difficult from baby and Mommy - difficult for baby because it HURTS and you feel pretty rotten afterwards - difficult for Mommy because you are helpless to do anything to avoid the pain...and you know its coming!! I do NOT look forward to this visit!

We are spending her 1 month birthday at home but are looking forward to our weekend in Natchez and at the lake celebrating the 4th with friends and family. We can't wait to see everyone!!! If you'll be at the lake this weekend, feel free to pop over to Mary's Quite Time aka the Foggo-Eidt/Shull/Rinehart/etc... lake house! Lots of love!!!!

Stella's Bedding is Finally Finished!

2010-06-29T15:03:00.000-05:00

We are so excited that Stella's bedding is now 100% finished! We just completed the last leg of this custom project - having the pillow sham made and the duvet monogrammed. Matt's going to pick up the pillow sham from our new favorite seamstress we found, Mrs. Nelly. She is the bomb.

A few days before Stella was born we realized the bedding that Mrs. Rosa was making at Kelly's Kids was not going to be finished on time because the sewing floor had to start on actual Kelly's Kids samples. We scrambled to find a seamstress who specialized in baby bedding and came upon fabulous, sweet Mrs. Nelly! She finished the bedding and created the pillow sham - we can't wait to see it! Today I picked up the duvet from our new monogram shop and am in love with it - it is so so so pretty!

Here are some pictures of Stella today, as it's her 4 week birthday!

We had fun on an unusually cool morning walk on the lake front today and ran some errands for the first time on our own! We just can't believe we've had Stella for 4 weeks already. The days and weeks have flown by! We are looking forward to seeing family and friends this weekend at the lake for the 4th - it will be our first trip ever! We are excited but nervous about the car ride:)

Stella's telling me its lunch time so I've got to go for now - enjoy the pictures!

Stella, Week 3

2010-06-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

Today Stella is 3 weeks, 4 days old! I can't believe she is almost one month old! Here she sits with Daddy, Berti and Gus. It seems like yesterday we were all playing the waiting game for her arrival. Her first two weeks consisted of virtually no fussing - just sleeping eating and using the bathroom:) Now that she's hit three weeks she is going through the traditional growth spurt and has been eating more frequently and a little bit more fussy that usual. She has been sleeping for at least 3 hour intervals at night, which is amazing. Last night she slept for 5 1/2 hours straight, so while she's a bit fussier than she has been, her sleeping patterns are still pretty great. The only real trouble she has is going back to sleep after waking up for a diaper change or a feeding in the middle of the night.

We had our first bath this week! Che Che brought Mae Mae to town to stay for us for a week and spent the night Sunday and gave Miss Stella her first real bath (now that her belly button has fallen off). She's be enjoying sponge baths for the first 2 weeks, so now she gets to have a full blown bath! She LOVES it, though it took some getting used to! She loves trying to eat the washrag!

She is growing everyday and getting bigger and prettier! She went to the doctor a week and a half ago and was 7lbs 6 oz, so she has by now for sure surpassed her birth weight of 7 lbs, 10 oz. She's enjoyed her first lunch date this week - Mae Mae has been with us all week and Wednesday was our big day out.

I finally got my hair done and then we went to lunch at Mattina Bella on Gibson Street in downtown Covington,

...followed by some fun shopping! Stella is finally getting some of her things monogrammed (now that we know her name:) like some dresses and her duvet cover for her bedding. We can't wait to see it!

We are looking forward to the 4th of July as it will be our first trip to Natchez! We are so excited to come home and spend some time at the lake...we've missed the Flotilla for the past few years and can't wait to relax at the lake house and enjoy the boats and fireworks!! We cant wait to see our family and friends, especially the ones who haven't met Stella yet!!!

Stella, Week 2 - Growing Well Now!

2010-06-18T11:47:00.001-05:00

Stella is officially 2 weeks and 3 days old today! Above is a collage of her second week of life. I have been very negligent with my blog, but for good reasons:) Taking care of Stella takes up all of my time, as I knew it would, and when she sleeps, I sleep, clean, organize things or just sit still and browse Facebook. That is a BIG stress reliever for me...is that weird??

Anyway, my Stella is growing up so fast and I cannot believe it! Our first 2 weeks home from the hospital have been filled with doctors' visits and family and friends' visits, which we love! Stella is one popular person! Everyone wants to meet her! I am so touched by the outpouring of friendship from everyone who came by, called, texted, sent happies, meals, flowers, etc. They have meant so much to us and we are so thankful for everyone in our lives! Stella is so loved and we are so blessed!!!

Our 2 week doctor's appointment for Stella went so very well. We discovered she gained 6 1/2 ounces in 7 days, which is amazing. She was not gaining weight very well during her first week because I am nursing and my milk supply was a little late arriving. Now, since we see she's gained a hefty amount of weight, her doctor says we have nothing to fear and we can continue nursing as usual. We were worried we'd have to start permanently supplementing with formula or even switching to full formula instead of nursing! Thankfully, we do not and we are nursing full force now!

...about the nursing...while I love it, I can totally see why people start nursing and then stop. It is PAINFUL when she doesn't latch on properly, and she is hard headed, let me tell you. At 2 weeks we introduced a paci to help her sleep, since the only thing that calms babies at this age is the act of sucking. While she is at a good age to determine the difference between her paci and me, she has started to latch on to me differently because of the paci, which causes TONS of pain for me, so we have to spend some corrective time re-teaching her how to latch on if she strays away from the preferred initial maneuver. We do not want to forfeit the paci, because if we do, that means I turn into the human paci...which only equals more pain and sleepless nights. For those of you who breastfeed or ever breastfed, you know what I'm talking about. It takes lots of latching on, removal, and re-latching on, which means lots of hot salt water soaks for me and an endless supply of lanolin ointment. I haven't done the cabbage compress, but I fear I'll try them soon if she continues this:) All in all, it is worth it to me to continue through this rough patch if it means giving her the best nutrition at this age.

Other than her doctor's appointments, I've gone to my post-op appointment and the doctor gave me the go-ahead to drive and start low level exercising, as in brisk walking with weights if I like - but I need to avoid any abdominal movement/exercising for a few more weeks. I've really rebounded well from surgery, due in part to my nurse who got me out of bed to walk to the potty less than 24 hours post-surgery! From then on I wanted to be as mobile as possible, which meant I got to spend more time with Stella now that I was able to sit up by myself and thus walk by myself! Matt and I have a new found obsession with walking the block and a half from our house to the lake front (Lake Pontchartrain) and strolling Stella at dusk in her super stroller when this Louisiana heat is bearable with a nice breeze off the lake. Stella LOVES being outside and gets very calm when we stroll or even when we take her outside on our screened in front porch. Just last night we took her on the porch to witness her first summer rainstorm - Matt and I stood with her outside and let her listen to and smell the summer rain on the tin roof. She loved it!

My Mom spent the first week and a half with us, followed by a great weekend visit from my Dad, and then we got to spend a few days with Matt's Mom. Mae Mae is going to spend a week with us starting Monday and we are looking forward to visiting with her and enjoying lots of good food!

More to come - keep checking our Picasa web albums for more pictures of Stella - look for the link at the right!! Lots of love and kisses from Stella!

Welcome to the World, Estelle Anderson Devereaux!!!

2010-06-10T18:05:00.001-05:00

She's here! Welcome to the world, Estelle "Stella" Anderson Devereaux!!!!!! Stella was born a week and 2 days ago, Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 10:59am via c-section weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 19 inches long!

Whew! It's been one world wind of a week and I can't believe Stella was born 9 days ago!!! I truly understand the meaning of the statement "time flies"...it surely does and I wish I could pause each moment to enjoy it more clearly and seal it away in my memory. Though I frequently blog and use words to describe our life, I feel certain that words cannot describe this stage of our lives and how utterly blessed and in love we are with our Stella. I try to find an adequate way to describe becoming a mother or her first moments of life or the second I felt her in my arms for the first time and I am speechless and teary eyed each time. Even now as I sit and blog about what has consumed my life for the last week I am brought to tears - just looking a few feet away at my daughter rocking gently in her swing moves me...and I just sit and smile and soak it all in:)

As for her birth story, as everyone knows we were scheduled for a c-section Tuesday afternoon at 1pm. We spent our last weekend at home resting (or trying to) and getting last minute details squared away. Mom came in Monday evening and we had a great "last meal" at Hibachi 21 - a Japanese steak house and hibachi grill, which is one of my most favorite meals! Mom went into "mother mode" and spent a few late hours cleaning our house and getting ready for our 4 day stay in the hospital.

Tuesday morning came and the hospital called around 9:15 saying my doctor was ahead of schedule and if I was just sitting around not eating (fasting since midnight - boo!) I could check in early and come on to the hospital ASAP. Of course we were thrilled with this idea - we were getting this show on the road!

So we go to check in about half an hour ahead of schedule and wait for the rest of the support team to arrive - including Mae Mae (my grandmother), Michael (my brother), Megan (Matt's sister), Poppy and Jen Jen (Matt's parents), and Mary Catherine, David and Millie (my sister, brother-in-law and niece). What we didn't know was that we were heading for surgery immediately - not waiting until 1pm to go into surgery! Matt and I checked in and went to the hospital room and the nurse told the guests who were already there to wait in the waiting room. We assumed I'd be admitted and set up in the hospital room and then the rest of our family could come back and hang out with us....WRONG! The nurse was dressed in scrubs and a mask and started getting my IV hooked up, had the anesthesiologist come talk to me and then let us know that we'd be going into surgery within the next 30 minutes! We were so surprised and excited that we were going to meet our daughter so soon...but also anxious that the rest of the family hadn't made it in town yet! They allowed both of our mothers in the room before they wheeled me into surgery, and of course the goodbyes and sniffles started flowing.

Before I knew it, I was wheeled into the surgical room without Matt and was being prepped for surgery. I'd worried a bit about how it would be to get the spinal for the surgery and always assumed Matt would be there next to me to hold my hand if I got scared, but he wasn't allowed in until right before surgery began because it was a sterile environment.

The spinal was NOT as bad as I imagined. I am not good when it comes to needles, so the nurse and I became pretty close as I gripped her for dear life and put my head on her shoulder and started doing Lamaze breaths once the anesthesiologist started to administer the spinal. It all went smoothly and I started loosing feeling in my legs as I should have. When I was certain they'd already started the surgery without Matt, I started to ask where he was and when they'd let me see my husband, and in he walks - I instantly felt relief! A few moments later (after some tugging and moving) we heard the doctor say she's just broken our water and then she yelled "She's got a head full of blond hair!". We knew it was only moments before we'd hear her sweet cry.

After a few minutes of jabbering about nothing with Matt to keep my mind off what was going on below the curtain, we heard the most glorious sound in the world...one loud whimper followed by 2 cries...cries made by our sweet angel! She was here in the flesh and we couldn't believe it! They held her up for me to see and through my tear-stained, swollen face, I saw my daughter for the first time. Matt got to go where they cleaned the baby and took the most precious pictures of her...there are photos uploaded to our Picasa web albums and our Facebook page. Then he brought her over to me and I got a close up of her and we knew what her name should be...Estelle Anderson Devereaux - Stella for short!

The names are both family names - Estelle is my great-grandmother Nannie's sister's name - Lily Estelle. Anderson is Matt's grandmother Nannie's maiden name. Estelle is also the middle name of my childhood best friend Sophie. As little girls we both loved each others' middle names and said we'd name our daughters after each other! No pressure, Sophie! I promise!!

...and the rest is history! I spent the next hour or so in recovery dying to hold Stella while the rest of the family got a good look at her in the nursery. The moment they brought her to me I was in awe. She was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen...a part of me and a part of Matt - I could see Matt in her immediately. I hope she has his eyes.

We stayed in the hospital from Tuesday to Saturday where I spent most of my time nursing, sleeping and then learning how to actually nurse. For a while it was difficult because my body wasn't fully ready to nurse, but the lactation specialist we worked with was wonderful! Thanks to her we are nursing 100% now and Stella is doing great! (We were concerned for a bit because towards the end of our hospital stay Stella lost too much weight from solely nursing - most women's milk supply comes in fully on day 3-5 and by day 4 mine was still a no-show. This caused Stella to lose more than 10% of her original body weight of 7lbs 10oz. When they told me she'd lost another ounce and weighed only 6 lbs 13 ounces the day before we were supposed to leave, I got nervous we wouldn't be able to breastfeed after all. I was very upset, because breastfeeding was and still is SO important to me! The next morning she'd gained close to an ounce and the lactation specialist explained how to supplement with a tiny bit of formula until my main milk supply came in 100%. The pediatrician told us at today's appointment that Stella gained 3 ounces since Tuesday so we are 100% sure Stella is growing like she should and my milk supply is fully in and supporting her growing body! Thank goodness!

The last two weeks are really better told in pictures, so I do hope you'll check them out in our Picasa web album or our Facebook page. We've been home for close to one week and Stella is currently a week and 2 days old. We are utterly in love and can't wait for the rest of our friends and family to meet her!

Baby Girl is Arriving on June 1st!!!!

2010-05-24T15:22:00.001-05:00

We've scheduled it - baby girl will be born on Tuesday, June 1st via c-section at 1pm!!! We went to the doctor today for our last appointment and had an ultrasound that showed this little lady is HUGE! She tipped the scales at an estimated 8 pounds, 4 ounces and the ultrasound tech said her head circumference was "off the charts". She is HUGE and we are only at 37 weeks!

Here are 2 pictures of her sweet, sweet profile:

...see the top of her head in the second one? That's tons of curly hair, says the ultrasound tech!

...and here is a shot of her curly hair on the back of her head!!! It's hard to see but she basically took the picture above of her profile and then moved the 'camera' (if you will) over to the right to get a picture of the back side of her head...so look to the left side of this pic and you'll see the profile of the back of her head with all that fuzzy hair!

Because of baby's size and my small stature my doctor has scheduled us for a c-section at 1pm on Tuesday, June 1st - I'll be 38 weeks and 1 day! We couldn't be more thrilled and are relieved to know that she'll be coming relatively pain free via c-section. Though we'd like her this week, our doctor said it's better to let her stay until 38 weeks so her lungs can be more developed. With gestational diabetes, the baby could be large is size but still lacking in complete lung development, and we want to avoid a NICU visit at all costs. We trust our doctor and know she will deliver a perfectly healthy baby at the perfect time!

Memorial Day Baby?!

2010-05-20T07:18:00.001-05:00

Here I am 36 1/2 weeks pregnant with little baby girl Devereaux!

Well, little isn't quite apropros...she's over 6lbs right now and probably reach 19 to 20 inches tall! We will find out her measurements this coming Monday 5/24 at our big ultrasound - I'll be 37 weeks on the nose! Currently, Lil Bow Wow likes to kick me in the ribs (which is why I think she is head down) and snuggle on my left side. She frequently gets the hiccups and Matt can feel them from the outside. It's really precious - I can just imagine her precious face hiccuping! I can't wait to see what she looks like! She hasn't "engaged" yet, which means making her descent into the pelvis, so I still feel her very high and resting right on my diaphragm. People say the "waddle" aka pregnancy walk doesn't happen until she engages...I'm here to prove them wrong. I've been waddling for weeks now!

We went to the doctor yesterday and all is well! The NST went well even though I'm still having contractions - the baby isn't being bothered by the contractions, which is what they watch for on the NST. After the exam, our doc judged that the baby is still high and dry which means no effacement or dilation. This is completely normal for a first-timer like me, but she is still wanting to induce rather than let me go full term. Not only is it safer to induce a woman who has gestational diabetes to cut down on the possibility of having an oversized baby, but she said it also averts the placenta from aging - something she does NOT want to happen. Apparently if we were to wait until 40 weeks, not only would the baby be huge, but the placenta would age inappropriately and stop being a good nutritional source for the baby.

The big news is she did announce that she wants to induce no later than 38 weeks and 1 day (38 weeks exactly is Memorial Day) so we've narrowed down the induction time to be somewhere between this Monday 5/24 and Tuesday 6/1!! As of last week the dates went through June 7, so she's narrowing down our window little by little! We are so excited about the possibility of having her in a week. Really, the most we would have to wait is a week and a half...which is insanely soon! It's very surreal...we can't quite wrap our brains around the fact that this little miracle baby will soon be HERE!

Things we will discuss at Monday's appointment after the ultrasound: the size of the baby (doc will take her weight and decide what day she needs to do the induction), the placement of the baby (if she's bottom first, head first, transverse, anterior or posterior, which is facing forwards or backwards), and the shape of my pelvis and the size of her head to see if the baby will fit. All of these things will be discussed to determine whether or not I can deliver normally or via c-section. If the baby is too big for my pelvis or not in the proper position, the doctor will more than likely schedule a c-section. But she was very comforting letting us know that we can discuss all our options and she'll talk to us about what we want - a regular birth vs a c-section. Assuming that everything is normal, I think she will induce and try for a normal delivery! We personally do not care which type of delivery we have. We know the side effects and risks of both and have become well informed on both types of delivery and really want to put it in our doctor's hands. She knows what is best for me and what is best for the baby and my body. We trust her immensely, if you can't tell!!

Keep your eyes peeled for Monday's blog where we will reveal our induction date and possibly little girl's birthday!!!!!

36 Weeks Today!!!

2010-05-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

How Far Along: 36 weeks (we will find out in exactly 1 week what day Dr. Steen wants to induce - it could be anywhere from May 24 to June 7!)

Total Weight Gain: I haven't gained weight in 3 weeks, thanks to my diabetes diet! Overall, the scale tips at around 35 lbs I think :)

Maternity Clothes: went shopping this weekend for MORE clothes because, sad day...my belly doesn't fit in any of my petite maternity clothes:( I have resorted to wearing leggings with my husbands button downs, which I must admit he thinks is cute:)

Moment of the Week: Getting little girls gilder in on Saturday - woop woop! It's beautiful!!!!! Posting a pic shortly...

Movement: She is a mover and a shaker, let me tell you! Sometimes it feels like she is doing petit battements (for you non-ballet dancers, it's a ballet barre exercise where you stand on one leg and point your opposite foot so it touches your ankle on your standing leg and then you 'beat' it back in forth very quickly) all over the place! Its like she is having convulsions, sometimes! She rolls around a ton, smashing her little heels into my rib cage (thanks, sweet angel!)

Food Craving: I'm just now into sweet tea - don't ask me why. I make decaf and enjoy it with my fresh mint I've grown outside on the deck!

Food Aversion: not really - I'll eat anything you put in front of me, as long as it's sugar free!

Morning Sickness: none of that! I was one of the lucky ones, knock on wood!

Gender: It's still a little girl, though one of my dear friends had a dream I was having a boy and named him John Alexander! I had a vague dream about it being a boy, too! My vet said (yes, my vet -we are tight) he thinks my doctor is completely wrong just based on the way I'm carrying!

Labor Signs: Ha! I've been having contractions every day since 30 weeks, BUT as last week's exam proved, little girl is high and dry with no signs of having moved down, which means no effacement or dilation - so the medication my doctor prescribed to help avoid pre-term labor (Brethine) seems to be working!We shall see how we look this Wednesday for my next appointment!

Belly Button: Big time outie - BIG TIME:)

What I Miss: Laying on my stomach, jogging somewhere across the room, climbing on cabinets to put things away, seeing my feet without leaning forward, having the car seat belt fit "right", the occasional martini, seafood and vigorous exercise - I feel the need to sweat in order to complete a good work out!

What I am Looking Forward to: A FINISHED nursery!!!

Weekly Wisdom: An intelligent and well rounded doctor is worth their weight in gold! I just love that my doc is so honest, straight forward and just plain down to earth!

Why I Think My Husband will ROCK as a Daddy: Matt Devereaux is ALREADY hooked around her little finger and she is not even here yet! Every time something arrives for her or her room and it needs to be put together he is on it like white on rice - just Saturday I bought a lamp shade for her nursery not knowing if it will fit the lamp and I wanted to keep the plastic on just in case we had to return it...well I turn around after taking the old lamp shade off and he's already ripped the plastic to shreds waiting like an excited puppy to put the new lamp shade on - of course, the lamp shade doesn't fit and we can't return it now:) But every time we talk about her he gets googly eyed and mushy - I know he'll be the best Daddy in the world!!!!

34 Weeks and a Semi-New Due Date!

2010-05-06T11:21:00.000-05:00

Here I am 34 1/2 weeks pregnant with baby girl Devereaux!

We went to our doctor's appointment yesterday and all is well with baby girl! I haven't gained weight this week, either, which is another good sign. My lack of weight gain is probably due to the diabetes diet, but we also read that you tend to stop gaining weight right before you go into labor...needless to say, every little thing makes us think "this is it - we are going into labor!" but we try to be a bit more realistic, even though we want her to come right now!

The doctor said she looks fine and is growing properly. She checked me out and said I'm not dilated at all, which means we are not subject to pre-term labor as of right now. BUT that could change, of course. We are prepared with packed bags now! All we have to do is put in the car seat!

Our doctor scheduled our final ultrasound for Monday, May 24th at 11:30. After this ultrasound, she will schedule the induction date based on little girl's weight. She said the absolute last day we will have this baby will be June 7 - so no more June 14th due date! I've been using that date as a milestone for months now, so it's bittersweet to let it go! But it means I get to see her sooner! So if we don't go into early labor, we are looking to meet our daughter sometime between May 25th and June 7th! Very exciting, but scary...I thought we had 6 weeks to go, and it looks like we only have between 2 and 4 weeks now!

As for me, I am pretty immobile right now, even with my new maternity belt (it's awesomely hot, ladies, let me tell ya). She is sitting on a nerve so my lower left back HURTS relentlessly. Just yesterday, Matt had to put my socks on my feet for me. Yes, it's gotten that bad LOL! I'm also having ridiculous insomnia, which I understand is mother nature preparing me for my sleep pattern (or lack there of) after the baby arrives. Last night wasn't so bad, though - I only woke up twice, which is a huge improvement to waking up ever 2 hours.

I've also got monster heartburn and I'm eating Tums like M&Ms. The doctor suggested I move to a more preventative medicine like Prevacid or something similar, because Tums are full of sugar...the thing I cannot have right now! I could go on and on about the list of inconveniences of pregnancy, but like I've said throughout the whole pregnancy, it's nothing compared to the end result! Simply NOTHING could spoil this pregnancy and how happy and lucky Matt and I feel to be blessed with this gift of life. It's surreal to think that at the beginning of this blog we didn't think we'd ever have a baby of our own and now look at us...soon to be parents of a healthy little girl in a month or less! Time truly flies by when you're having fun, and we've had the time of our lives:) God is good!!!!!!!!

ER/Hospital Visit on a Saturday Night!

2010-05-03T10:23:00.000-05:00

Not to worry anyone - we are all fine and baby is still brewing...but, we did make an visit to the ER/Labor and Delivery floor this past Saturday night. I will say, it was the best hospital/ER experience I've ever had! We are so excited to be delivering at St. Tammany Parish Hospital!

Anyway, back to the story...Saturday was filled with running errands with Millie and MCat on the Northshore, exchanging things and picking up baby items needed for the nursery. I have been having contractions since 30 weeks and the doctor said that was fine, but if we get 6 contractions in a hour to either call her and come to her office or the hospital, if its after hours. Around 5pm I started having pretty frequent contractions, having 4 in an hour, then 5 in an hour and around 8pm I had 6 in an hour. We knew that it could be a false alarm and if we went to the hospital they'd just check us out and turn us back around, but with the gestational

diabetes, we didn't want to risk it. So we told ourselves if we had 6 contractions in an hour for 2 straight hours, we'd grab our bags and run to the hospital. Mind you, there is no such thing as "grabbing our bags"...

So at 9:30 we decided to go for it and go to the hospital. I, of course, haven't packed my hospital bag or the baby bag, so Matt's freaking out ready to leave and I'm sitting in the baby's closet trying to find an outfit for her to hypothetically come home in, since we do not have one for her yet. Now, I know the chances of her coming that night were slim, but I just didn't know. We couldn't have her coming home in some 'knit' thing! I'm a basket case, I know. Then I had to pack MY bag...oh wow, let's just say Matt isn't the most patient person when it comes to stressful situations. He just can't help it:)

So I have a hodge podge of things in my hospital bag, the baby's bag and we lock up the dogs and get ready to leave. Matt drives like a bat out of hell out of the neighborhood, potentially scaring our neighbors and their children to death and then says "I need something to drink, you want something to drink?" and casually pulls in to a gas station to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper and a bonus size Twix - great, thanks, husband, supporter - I'd really love a freaking candy bar and a DDP right now but I can't have one because of stupid gestation diabetes. Way to be a good supporter! He says "but it's DIET Dr. Pepper...that doesn't help?"

So we make it to the hospital, check in oh so quickly in the ER and then head on up to Labor and Delivery. We get checked in and go into the mini-emergency room specifically for labor and delivery patients and get hooked up to a fetal monitor. Then we find out that my doctor is the doctor on call for the night so we immediately relaxed. The baby looked great and they measured her heartbeat and my contractions for about an hour. They said coming to the hospital was definitely the best thing to do, so we felt a little less crazy at that point.

After doing an exam the nurse announced that I was no where near labor and that everything looked and measured right where it should be - ZERO! They ran a urinalysis and when the results came back they showed the cause of the contractions was SEVERE DEHYDRATION!!!! Matt and I still can't believe it, because I drink water all day long! The nurse said "Well, apparently that is not enough for baby girl"! Sooo I re-hydrated in the hospital and the nurse gave me a shot of Brethine to ward off any contractions. She also gave me a prescription for Brethine to take regularly to stop any further contractions, because while I wasn't dilated at all, if contractions keep going on like that, it will lead to pre-term labor.

So we were given a clean bill of health and sent home at 1am! I still have my weekly doctor's appointments so I'll see my regular OB GYN Wednesday. At last week's appointment she mentioned that she probably wouldn't let me go the full 40 weeks because of gestational diabetes and she'd decide when to induce me after we had a special sonogram to measure baby girl's weight. If I stay on the diet the baby should only gain half a pound a week until birth and right now she already weighs 5lbs, so we are looking to induce between 37 and 39 weeks, so that's somewhere between May 24 and June 7! We'll know more after Wednesday's appoint!

The Baby's Nursery...a Work in Progress

2010-04-28T10:19:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos of baby girl's nursery...still a work in progress. We are currently waiting on the crib mattress, the crib bedding and the glider to be delivered. I've also got to work on rehanging the drapes - they look a bit funky. And I would LOVE to find an old antique chandelier to hang instead of the ugly black ceiling fan/light fixture, but it is definitely not a priority.

Daddy building baby's crib

It's almost done!

Finished! Just waiting for the bedding!

Door Decor - for the hospital door once she arrives!

Gus, the protector in the baby's nursery - view from the doorway

This antique rocking chair will be replaced with our new glider, expected to be delivered on or around May 22...I know, I know, I'm cutting it close!

Few from the opposite side of the room - her crib and armoire - Matt and I refinished the armoire ourselves! Matt's mom made us the precious ballerina lamp on top of the armoire, but I just realized you can't see it:(

Baby's crib - we LOVE the crib and can't wait to get our linens!

Changing table, which for a while served only to display her gifts and decor, but with only 6 weeks left I felt the urge to prepare it for baby changing station, so not all gifts are displayed:)

But, we got so many wonderful gifts from our showers, and I want to thank EVERYONE for such special gifts!!!!! We are so very lucky to have our friends and our family's support! I forgot to use my camera at my shower so I'm forced to wait for others to send me photos so I can publish them on the blog. That is my next task:)

Costa Rica at 31 Weeks Preggo!!

2010-04-22T17:57:00.001-05:00

Well, we made it back from Costa Rica with baby still in utero, so that's exciting! Lots of people were worried I would go into labor in Costa Rica - but thankfully, we had a great trip sans labor! Above you'll see a collage of pictures from our trip - if you click on the little icon below, it will enlarge the image. To see all the images from the trip, you can check out our Google Picasa Web Albums (listed somewhere in the right hand column of this page).

We had a great work trip - the Reps really enjoyed Costa Rica and Matt and I enjoyed being there! We were fussed over by the locals EVERYWHERE we went. We loved it! Costa Ricans are so generous and gracious - they congratulated us and asked all about the baby, which is not something regular American strangers tend to do - probably for fear that they'll ask someone who is not, in fact, expecting. Oopsie:) Anyway, one waiter almost didn't give me my glass of red wine (which my doctor totally allowed) at dinner one night because he said in Costa Rica pregnant women "don't do that", and also proceeded to tell me all the other things pregnant Costa Rican women can't do. So Meg, my boss (who also joined us on the trip with her husband) took up for me and said "That's really interesting, now give her the damn glass of wine!"

I went to the diabetic counselor and my OB-GYN Wednesday and at the counselor's meeting I kind of lost it. I may have skipped a few readings while out of the country, and my new counselor (who doesn't know me from Adam) was just trying to make sure I knew how serious the whole gestational diabetes thing was. I, of course, know how serious it is and have been pretty strict with my diet, so when she said that I kind of felt like a failure - my hormones kicked in and I started baaawwling, which probably made her uncomfortable...but in the end she made me hug her, which made ME uncomfortable. All in all, she said I don't have to get on insulin - thank God - and that I seem to be doing fine, I just need to manage my time a little better and work at not forgetting to take my blood levels on time. Check.

At the OB's office, I participated in my first non-stress test, which went fine, except we realized I'm already having contractions! I thought it was just the baby moving/stretching really hard, but the nurse and the doctor informed me that those stretching feelings across my abdomen are NOT stretching - they are full blown contractions because they occasionally come with moderate discomfort! So now I know I've been having these contractions every day since 30 weeks!

The doctor said that it was fine and the baby's heart beat was fine and I shouldn't be worried, unless I have 6 contractions within 1 hour - if I do, then I need to call her or go to the nearest hospital...OMG! I was anxious, but after hearing her talk about how normal this is and how the baby looks fine, I relaxed. I also feel better now that she has scheduled me to come in every week from now on, instead of every other week, so we can do these non-tests weekly.

Besides all that, I feel good! I am tired so much that I want to go to sleep at 8pm every night, but find that I have too much to do to call it a night that early. I am getting in the uncomfortable stage, in terms of sleeping, but its nothing I can't handle. My ankles and legs are tending to swell more, but that may be because of the heat. If you look in the pictures, I'm all belly, and when I mean "all", I mean it's huge. Matt calls it a torpedo, because sometimes the baby is positioned sideways which makes my belly look pointed. I'm still feeling pretty large and in charge:) Just today our vet told me the OB was wrong and that I was having a boy because 1) I didn't get sick at all in the first trimester and 2) I'm carrying 3 basket balls in my tummy and when I turn around you can't tell I'm pregnant. Boy, for the sake of clothing an nursery decorations, I hope he's not right!

We are so happy that everything is going smoothly but we pray that these contractions do not continue in regular patterns. It's too early for her to meet the world....she's still got about 8 more weeks to brew (though I don't know if I'll feasibly make it that long)!

Gestational Diabetes and 30 Weeks, 4 Days

2010-04-09T13:05:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture taken yesterday (Thursday) of me 30 weeks and 3 days pregnant with no-name Girl Devereaux! Yes, she has definitely decided to 'pop' out! Matt jokes that soon we'll have to get a grocery cart to rest my belly on whenever I walk anywhere! Just this week I can tell her movements have changed. She is losing room inside and her movements are much more pronounced and strong, where in the past she's kind of flitted around in there, swimming and flailing about. Now, it's much stronger and you can definitely see her moving through my skin! She's also gotten the hiccups a few times, which feels like twitches in my lower belly.

Many have asked and no, we haven't officially decided on a name yet. We have some choices, but I think I'll have to see her sweet face first! I have gotten over that rotten cold (mostly) but I think the main interference has been the gorgeous blooming foliage on the Northshore! We had a huge storm early yesterday morning which wiped out most of the pollen, thank goodness! All in all, I feel great! My back is only minimally hurting me and my toes look like mini-sausages because my ankles tend to swell, but if I drink tons of water, it doesn't seem to be that bad.

As my last post revealed, I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes:( Boo, diabetes! Our family has a history of diabetes, and my doctor and the diabetic counselor made sure I understood that I did nothing wrong to get gestational diabetes. (It wasn't the ice cream/cake cravings that did it, Mom!) 5-10% of all pregnant women happen to get gestational diabetes, so my family history of diabetes increase my chances of having it.

I went to my 30 week appointment yesterday where I got to hear baby girls heart beat, which was strong at 154 bpm. She was hiding from the nurse, though, and gave her a hard time at getting a solid reading! Every time she put the doppler to my tummy, the baby would shy away from it! I also got my doctor's approval (and a note, for the pesky airlines who may try to give me a hard time) to travel out of the country next week. We can't wait for Costa Rica! She also let me know that for the next 4 appointments she's got me scheduled for a non-stress test each time I come in, which will more closely monitor the baby's heartbeat due to the gestational diabetes.

My doctor also gave me my glucose meter and today I met with a diabetic counselor at the hospital to learn all there is to know about diabetes, including my new restrictive 2000 calorie diet and how to prick myself 4 times a day to read my blood glucose levels. All in all, gestational diabetes seems more like a time-consuming diet right now. I don't have to be on insulin at this point and if my new diet levels out my glucose levels, they don't think I'll have to do anything else to treat this. So I'm happy right now! It could be worse!!!

The furniture store just called and Lil Bow Wow's crib has arrived! Matt is going to pick it up as we speak, so we know what we'll be doing tonight! Crib construction!!! Yay! Here is a picture of sweet girl's pretty crib.

We look forward to our Costa Rica trip and our next shower in Natchez at the end of April! Baby girl will be here before we know it!

Stupid Glucose Screening - Gestational Diabetes

2010-04-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah....so we failed the 3 hour glucose screening which means I have gestational diabetes! Boo! I'm still digesting everything since finding out yesterday so I don't know much right now. All I know is that I'm scheduled to see a diabetic counselor this Friday who will put me on a restrictive 2000 calorie diet, show me how to prick myself daily to test my glucose levels and teach me how to journal about my levels so my OB-GYN can review my journal every other week when I go in for my appointments. All in all, I think things right now will be managed by this diet and my daily glucose testing. The baby is fine and as of right now they don't think she has diabetes. Usually, as long as you catch the gestational diabetes around this point and monitor your diet and glucose levels, the baby will go through the rest of the pregnancy and delivery without any problems.

We'd love your prayers that the baby makes it through this unaffected! I'll post more after my appointment with the diabetic counselor!

Baby Girl Devereaux's First Baby Shower!!!

2010-04-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time this past weekend at Baby Devereaux's first baby shower hosted by my sweet college girls and Lauren, a friend of ours from Covington. Here is a collage of photos from our special day. We got the sweetest gifts and now little girl's cradle is ready for her to be in it, thanks to the Hostesses! After the shower, my college girls and I (who have not all been together at the same time since New Year's 08!!!) and my family hung out at our house and enjoyed the spring weather on the screened in front porch (which I'm obsessed with as of late).

In other news, I am sick as a dog with a cold and NOT liking it. As I type this I am laid up on the couch trying my best to work as much as I can with a severe sore throat and stuffy ears that are only working at 70%. Not. Fun. What is also not fun is having to take the 3 hour glucose tolerance test after failing the initial screening last week. Yes, I took it today. Yes, I stayed at the doctor's office for 4 hours this morning. Yes, I got stuck 4 times, twice in each arm. So I rightfully want to crawl in bed and sleep for eternity. Thank goodness tomorrow is a holiday and Matt and I are both off work! And since I'm having a pity party for myself, you can top all that business off with the fact that my cold kept waking me up on the hour, every hour last night. At 3am it got a bit ridiculous so I took a bath and tried to relax by watching a little TV. (For those of you who haven't heard my story about TV and Matt while sleeping, here's a brief run down. Before getting married I, like my mother and my grandmother, fell asleep every night with the TV on. Rude awakening #1...when I married Matt, I discovered he has to have absolute quite and darkness to fall asleep, so bedtime for the first few months of our marriage consisted of me trying to fall asleep before he did so his snoring wouldn't keep me awake or getting him to fall asleep so I could sneak the TV on and try and fall asleep. The later never worked because he always woke up. Then I resorted to trying to fall asleep with my IPod and earphones on so I could block out the sound of him snoring. First time I tried this, he woke up and said (literally) "Honey, turn that music off, it's keeping me awake." He almost got pushed out of the bed. Now we've worked out a nice little routine where we watch TV in bed till I fall asleep, then he turns the TV off. )

Though I slept terribly, I did watch maybe one of the funniest episodes of The Cosby Show at 5am that I have ever seen. It's the episode where Claire is going through menopause and her children are acting as if she has a life-threatening disease. Claire and Cliff decide to prank the kids by going berserk at dinner with exaggerated menopause symptoms. I was cracking up in bed trying not to wake up Matt - it was so hilarious!!! It made my morning!

The test results come back Monday morning for the glucose tolerance test. Let's pray it's not gestational diabetes AND that I don't have to do it again!!!

27 Weeks and SPRING TIME!!!!

2010-03-14T23:14:00.001-05:00

We are 27 weeks tomorrow and we cannot believe 1) how time has flown and 2) how huge I am. Seriously. 2 weeks ago, multiple people guessed I was 8 months along and I had to wearily tell them "No, I'm just 6 months, 1 week...I've got a ways to go!" Maybe it was the shirt I was wearing...:) My doctor says that I'll show quicker because of my short stature and I'm hoping this baby stays all belly. It's really hard to carry lots of weight gracefully at 5 feet without looking like a balloon!

In other news, my sleep schedule consists of waking up at 1am and 3am for no apparent reason. For the past 4 months I've at least woken up in the middle of the night to make a trip to the bathroom...now it seems I just wake up to listen to my husband snore or stare at the clock. It's highly entertaining, let me tell you. But most of the time, Lil Bow Wow (baby Devereaux) is awake with me, gently nudging me...so our late night rendesvous are worth it:) What DOES make sleeping a lot better these days is my newest companion, the Snoogle. I was having a hard time getting comfortable on my side with all the pillows I was using so I decided to go for it and give this crazy looking pillow a shot. Turns out, I can't imagine sleeping without it. I am 100% hooked. This is my LIFESAVER! I highly recommend it to any preggo people out there! (Pictured trying out my Snoogle after FedEx delivered this little lifesaver is Gus-man, our mini-Schnauzer puppy who likes all things human.)

This weekend Matt and I painted the armoire for the baby's bedroom and we are so happy with the way it turned out!

Her cradle is black and her crib will be black so while each peice of furniture will look different, they will all blend together nicely. We are using a white washed peice of furniture that Matt's parent's gave me for my birthday a few years ago as the changing table so now we just have to order the crib, glider and find a night stand to paint and we should be set. I've already hung the curtains (ivory dupioni silk) since we are using the extra curtains from our master bedroom (our house in Hattiesburg had lots of windows). I'm also so so excited about the baby bedding! A lady I work with is familiar with making baby bedding so we are designing something together. Here is the inspiration - white linen with cream velvet trim for the bed skirt and bumper...I can't wait to see how it turns out!

We go to the doctor for our last monthly appointment next Monday and then it's on to doctor's appointments every 2 weeks! I'm also preparing for my first baby shower in 2 weeks (YAY!!!), a business trip to Costa Rica in April and another baby shower in Natchez in late April. Time is officially starting to fly! We'll keep everyone posted!

25 Weeks, 1 Day and a Brand New Niece!

2010-03-02T10:15:00.002-06:00

We are so happy to introduce our new niece, Sage Alexandra Devereaux, born 7 weeks early on February 19 at 3:05pm - 4 lbs, 7 oz and 17 inches long. Sweet Sage has a heart condition called PAC and had to be taken via c-section 7 weeks early, but she is strong little one and is doing fine! She is breastfeeding now and never had to be hooked up to a ventilator, though she is staying in the NICU in Jackson, MS for a few more weeks until she gets 5-7 days under her belt with no apnea issues. We are praying for this sweet baby!

We were very lucky to be able to go see her on her birthday. Matt had been sick and wasn't allowed in the NICU, but I got to go in and see her face to face:) Jen Jen and Poppy (Matt's parents) were also in Jackson, along with Aunt Meg. We couldn't hold her at that time, but just seeing her sweet little face and holding her hand was wonderful! We've been updated that Sage can now be held and I am sure her mommy Heather is so thankful for that! I know our sweet little girl can't wait to meet her big cousin Sage. They will be best friends at only 4 months apart!

We are doing well in Mandeville, though we are tired of this cold, rainy weather!! We reached 25 weeks yesterday (yippee!) and at our latest doctor's appointment everything went fine! Her heartbeat was in the low 140s and our doctor said we were right on track even though my belly is a bit big for 6 months. She said because I'm so petite (I'll say petite rather than short) the baby has no where to go except straight out, so I've got a sizable soccer ball belly right now! Our next appointment marks the final monthly appointment and at that time we begin going every 2 weeks. The countdown begins next month!!

Also, I now understand the swelling ankles...or rather, the fankles, as Matt likes to call them. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, my legs look pretty rad. I mean, you can't see a hint of an ankle bone anywhere. I can't even point my feet all the way when I'm really swollen! I've been so busy with work that I've missed my exercise regimen for 2 weeks in a row so that may have something to do with it. I'm looking forward to going back to my Pilates classes this week! This is a pic of the belly at 24 weeks.

We are still working on names but I just can't commit. We have a few family names picked out but I just can't seem to nail down the right one. Of all the times to have commitment issues, right?! We know we'll find the perfect name for her in due time.

Until next time!

21 Weeks, 3 days!!!

2010-02-03T22:14:00.001-06:00

Today we're 21 weeks, 3 days pregnant!!! We've been very busy around the Devereaux household - right now I'm spending the week in Natchez for work (Kelly's Kids photo shoot for Fall 2010)! I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen ANYONE accept those at the photo shoot or the office and my mother...I'm a bad friend, I know:( But really, photo shoots are hard work! I think I went to bed at 6:30pm last night!!!) After being on my feet all day chasing 4 and 5 year olds, I deserved an early evening in bed!

We somehow lucked out and got yet ANOTHER ultrasound visit with little lady right at 20 weeks - and this time, I remembered my VHS so we've got it on video!!! See how cute?! I must admit, I'm already a little biased, though:)

Little girl weighs 11 oz and is around 7 inches long. They checked her face up close and personal to rule out a cleft pallet and said that she has a cute, small little nose! This time I really saw her moving around in there - twitching and jerking her sweet little arms and shaking her head. At one point I thought I saw her do a few very-Michael Jackson-esque pelvic thrusts, which I'll have to talk to her about later...:) She also had some mad donkey kicks, which were very entertaining! She would bend both legs and then jab them straight out, then bend one, straighten the other and then KICK, and do it on the other leg! The ultrasound tech said right now I am only feeling 1 out of every 10 of her movements, so she must be going crazy in there! Maybe she's having a rave or a dance-off with herself. She does have to be in there all by her lonesome for quite sometime...I'd have to entertain myself, too! I hope it's not like the movie Castaway where she has to make friends with an inanimate object like Wilson the volley ball to keep herself entertained...all she has in there to be friends with is the umbilical cord!

My doctor also said that between 20 and 21 weeks little girl is having a big growth spurt and that I'll be feeling some uncomfortable 'stretching'. She said during these 2 weeks she'll be growing in length very quickly and will then spend the next few months filling out with cute baby fat, which is reassuring because I googled what she looks like right now and apparently she is really skinny and very red while being covered in some crazy wax. Ewww. Seriously, I love you, honey...but eeeeeeeewww. But anyway, back to the growth spurt...I can definitely tell that my belly has been growing over the past week and a half! This past Friday it felt like my belly would burst right out of my abdomen and my breathing was getting more and more difficult - but now everything is fine! I don't feel any round ligament pain and I can take big, deep breaths with no problem! I guess this is normal?! But like I've always said, the pregnancy symptoms are really nothing compared to the amazing gift Matt and I have been given!

I love everything about being pregnant and still thank God that everything has gone so smoothly during this pregnancy. Matt and I count ourselves very, very lucky! Our doctor checked everything and says that baby and I are both fine and on the right track - she says baby girl is developing beautifully, which is what we like to hear! Until next time!!!

19 Weeks, 3 Days!

2010-01-21T16:53:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are, right on the cusp of the half-way mark of this pregnancy! We can't believe it! This pic was taken yesterday, so today we are officially 19 weeks, 4 days. Our little girl is starting to move more frequently, which I absolutely adore. It's the best feeling in the world...like flutter of butterflies or someone drumming their fingers on my tummy. I can't feel her externally yet, so Matt is having to use his imagination and be patient. It's like little girl and I already have our own girl secrets from Daddy:)

At this point, she is around 6 inches long and weighs almost one whole pound! She is most active when I'm lying on my back either in the mornings or in the evenings. One rather disgusting analogy of her development this week is from What to Expect When You're Expecting...apparently the Holy Bible for pregnant people. The equated her size to "a mango dipped in greasy cheese"...seriously. Seriously? What the hell is that? Why even go there? I know, I know, she probably does look pretty funky at this point, but why use 2 types of food that I (used to) like separately and combine them together to make some disgusting analogy? I'll never eat a mango again without thinking about that....and I love mango! Thanks WTE!

This past Monday we spent the day shopping and pre-baby registering with my sister, Mary Catherine. I have no idea about the nursery furniture but I am pretty sure I know what I want the nursery to look like overall... but I'm going to mull it over for a while, just to make sure I'm in love with my idea:)

....which is very similar to our name situation. Matt and I are in love with a certain few names and while Matt is pretty certain he knows what he wants to name her, I am having commitment issues. It's not that I don't LOVE the name(s) we've picked out...I really really do love them! I am just having trouble committing to naming her that for the rest of her life. Its like I need to spend some time referring to her by her hypothetical name before I commit...this is normal, right? RIGHT?! Maybe I'll practice writing her name and printing it out...maybe that will make me feel better. I am a nut, this I know! We have another doctor's appoint this coming Monday where I have a list of questions to ask my doctor like how to avoid a c-section (of which I am terrified), do I need any vaccinations to go on my Rep trip to Costa Rica in April, and a few other graphic questions I'll leave to your imagination.

Think Pink!!!

2010-01-14T17:10:00.000-06:00

It's official! We are having a beautiful baby GIRL!!! We went to the doctor for our 18 week ultrasound and the big gender reveal today and were very surprised to find out we've got a little lady on our hands! From the beginning, Matt and I have felt we were having a baby boy. I, of course, wouldn't have cared if it were a baby dinosaur (as my sister MC predicted) just as long as it was healthy! I have been dreaming that the baby is a girl over the past 2 weeks and just yesterday Matt commented that he thought it could definitely be a girl instead of a boy. Today in the waiting room we realized he was wearing pink unitentionally!

During the ultrasound, lil bebe was a perfect performer. The ultrasound tech didn't get a picture of it, but at one point the baby had her hand stretched open in a wave gesture as clear as day! The tech said she rarely sees that this early - usually she just sees fists and feet. She also commented (and took this picture above for proof) that the baby was really posing for her profile picture. Matt said "Just like her mom...and her grandmother...and her great grandmother!" It was trully amazing to see the baby so clearly. Last time we saw her, she was no more than an olive.

I wish I had remembered to bring the VHS to film the footage of the ultrasound, but at least I had the CD to record the images! I can still see her little movements as clear as day. When the tech went in to determine if we were looking at a he or a she, little girl was quite the exhibitionist and put herself in a pose that made sure we all knew there were no boy parts - only girl parts! She was perfectly cooperative and the tech said she is 100% positive we have a girl! Our tech was very cute with the whole reveal and as she slowly said "ok, are you ready? It looks like....ya'll are having...a....GIRL! The moment she said the words I burst into tears and laughter. I couldn't do one without the other. It seems like Matt and I have wanted this for so long and for a while were nervous that it might not be in the cards for us. Each time we get to see our miracle baby on that ultrasound screen or hear her sweet heartbeat with the doppler, we see that God is good and life is as it should be. Our prayers were answered. A little Devereaux girl brewing right up!

The tech said everything looked wonderful and the doctor called this afternoon after she looked at the ultrasound to tell us that everything looked great and the baby was growing exactly as she should. We are thrilled...and elated...and still in shock...and crazy in love with each other and our sweet girl. See the rest of the ultrasound pics at our online Picasa web album - link at right!

16 Weeks (December 28) and 17 Weeks (January 4)

2010-01-08T09:30:00.002-06:00

This was taken last week, but with all the traveling and holiday celebrations going on, I'm a little behind on the blog! For those of you who don't know, I am tracking the week by week growth of the belly, which is why I take a photo every week. I was suppossed to take it in the same spot in the same outfit every week, but I got bored with that:)

Here is the belly at 16 weeks. It's pretty round for just one baby in there (and believe me, I made the nurse check for twins at the last ultrasound since they run in my family!), says all my already mom friends. I feel absolutely wonderful and had a really good last 2 weeks. At 16 weeks and 4 days I felt my little miracle babe move!!! I have been waiting for that for a while and knew that I should feel it between 16 and 22 weeks. I was so shocked and excited when I realized what that funny sensation was! We were in the car on the way to the airport for Matt's good friend's wedding in FL and right before we arrived, I had that flutter sensation around my belly button. I just knew it was our little baby:) Since then I've taken my good friend Katie's advice (mom of three, so I listen pretty closely to her baby/pregnancy advice!) and tried to prompt another baby flutter by resting a cold or hot drink on my tummy. Katie says she felt each of her 3 daughters move in her 16th week. She said after that first movement, they would react to a hot or cold drink resting on her stomach! It hasn't worked for me yet - it seems this baby already has a mind of its own!

The second and last time I felt the baby kick was (of course) during Pilates this past Wednesday. For those of you who don't know, I am addicted to Pilates. I go 2-3 times a week. It's the one chance I get out of the "office" during the week! And I love, love, love my instructor, Rachel - she's become one of my close friends! Everyone in class is already excited for me so when we were doing high rows on the machines (arm excercises) and I interrupted everyone with an "OH!" (then explained I wasn't hurt - I had just felt the baby move)everyone was so excited for me! It's a wonderful feeling to know others are genuinely excited for us, and my Pilates instructor is no exception! She was one of the first people to find out, because I had to disclose my pregnancy with her for health/safetly reasons in class. She has been an angel since then - offering me 'solicited' advice, maternity clothes, modifying her already busy classes to get the best prenatal Pilates excericises in there for me. And get this, she texted me a few weeks ago to tell me that at bedtime prayers, her 3 year old son "prayed for mommy's client that has a baby in her belly". I was so choked up when she told me, I cried! I love that sweet child!

Anyway, while this is a terrible photo taken after a 6am flight on a Monday morning, here is the belly at 17 weeks.

I finally talked my doctor into scheduling the big reveal ultrasound for 18 weeks instead of 20 weeks, so we'll be going to the doctor next Thursday! We cannot wait to find out. The chinese calendar predicts a boy, and so do Matt and I...though I have had the strange feeling over the last week that this could be a girl...who knows -we are all 50% right in this guessing game! Until next week!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Millie!!!

2010-01-03T14:44:00.003-06:00

Click the image to watch this precious video!! Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Millie! After Christmas, we had dinner in NOLA at Cafe Giovanni where Millie was serenaded by a true opera singer!!!

We had a wonderful holiday - one spent on the road, but none the less wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Natchez, celebrating Mom's birthday on Christmas Day and Millie's Christmas morning Santa reveal. Look what my Mills got!!! Yadybugs!!!!!!!

Then we drove over to Hattiesburg on Christmas Day to see Matt's family. We often like to refer to Matt's parents' house as the Ark - because when we all gather there we usually have more dogs than humans! We had 6 dogs there on Christmas day...count that, 6!!! We are really into dogs... We've got Berti and Gus, two mini-schnauzers, Matt's sister Megan has Tilly, a mini-schnauzer, Matt's parents have Sophie, also a mini-schnauzer (we like schnauzers, can you tell?) and Matt's brother Marc and his fiance' have Bailey, a sweet old cocker spaniel and CoCo, the 6 month old rottweiler. It was madness! But we all had such a good time.

Marc's fiance Heather is also expecting, due April 16th (just 2 months before us!) and Heather and I talked babies non stop! Matt's mom pulled out Matt and Marc's baby stuff and showed us their hospital pictures, their door decorations and what they each wore home from the hospital. If we have a boy, Matt's mom is going to lend us Matt's coming home outfit!:)

After Christmas, we met my Dad in NOLA for for Millie's big 2nd Birthday Party and then followed Dad home to Jacksonville, FL where we spent our New Year's! Matt's good friend Lance is from Jacksonville and got married yesterday so we've had a big weekend full of celebrating the New Year and their nuptials! We must say we are pooped - but all the traveling was totally worth it! We got to see all our family and tons of friends so we count ourselves very lucky this holiday season! We hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

15 Weeks!

2009-12-21T14:39:00.001-06:00

Matt and I are so shocked and thrilled that we are already 15 weeks today! Here is a pic of the belly - I know, I know...it's getting pretty big and I'm ONLY 15 weeks! People tell me that all the time. Then some sweet, but totally dishonest people say "You aren't even showing at all!" I can already tell this baby is going to be HUGE, just like his Dad (you can tell what I think I'm having)! Matt was over 9 lbs and his mother is just about as small as I am! His brother was also a HUGE baby, so apparently mother nature thinks its cool for tiny, small women to marry into the Devereaux family and have HUGE, ginormous Devereaux babies!

I feel great, though, and cannot wait until our next appointment on December 30. Then, we go in 2 weeks later on January 14 for an ultrasound to find out if we should think pink or feel blue!! Until next time!

13 Weeks, 1 Day and We're Moving!

2009-12-08T10:56:00.000-06:00

So we've officially made it to the 2nd trimester...well, I think officially...everyone keeps saying different things. Either I'm in my last week of the first trimester or I've got until 14 weeks until I'm in the second trimester...it's all very confusing. I just go by the week number. 12 weeks equals 3 months, which represents a trimester to us! You know, we make our own rules!

So everything is great with the baby. We went to help MC and David on their home improvement project this past Sunday and I got to play with Millie ALL day. She is my favorite person. MC told her about the lil bebe and she asked Millie "What does Ro Ro (my aunt/godmother name) have in her belly??" and Millie says "baaaby" with a sheepish grin. I almost cried right then and there. She probably does not fully understand yet, but I can't wait to have a big old belly so she can see her new cousin! I asked her where the baby was and pointed to different places on my body and I think I confused her because now she say "is no baby on your shoulder??" very inquisitively. Way to go, Ro Ro!

In other news, we are moving! We have grown out of this precious condo and our lease didn't run out until the month the baby is due, so we have found a fabulous house 2 blocks from the lake in Old Mandeville - we are 100% thrilled to be there! We move on January 15. MC, David - you can expect to arrive at our condo on Friday evening to join our caravanning to our new place to help us move:) Here is our new house!

We Inherited a Baby Bjorn

2009-12-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

Mary Catherine and David gave us their Baby Bjorn - Gus likes it!

12 Weeks, 3 Days - And a Wide Load!!

2009-12-03T15:17:00.000-06:00

At 12 weeks, 3 days, we had such a fabulous visit at the doctor today - we got to hear Lil Bow Wow's heartbeat for the first time!!! It was amazing! The nurse walked in, explained what she was going to do with her hand held doppler thing (Matt said it looked like a Tyco toy), and said "Do not freak out if you can't hear the heart beat right away. Sometimes it takes a while for us to find it. It doesn't mean-" and right when the doppler coldly touched my belly, we immediately heard the swish, swish, swish of his or her tiny heartbeat!!! Of course, I laughed and cried at the same time, which was awkward - but Matt's expression was priceless. It was a combination of elation and sheer terror. It was the first time we'd ever heard our baby do anything! Just that morning I was saying that I didn't feel pregnant...I didn't have a big belly yet, I couldn't feel the baby move and I didn't really have any symptoms. Well hearing the heartbeat made all the difference in the world! I sure do feel pregnant now! The sporadic dizzy spells help out with that, too. But I can't complain - if this is the only annoyance I have, I'll have 40 kids if I can!

Now, I'd like to share what a sweet older lady at the Kelly's Kids home office told me - she says "I think you are definitely having a boy because I noticed your behind is getting wider"...wow. I'm not 100% convinced that is the baby. It's more likely the Buffalo Ranch Doritos and popcorn I ate in the car on the way home from Natchez yesterday...or it could be the Huddle House I had for lunch today. She is a really sweet lady...!

We have another appointment in 4 weeks (December 30) with my doctor, just another check up. Then we go back 2 weeks later on January 14 to find out if the little lady from work was right about having a boy! What do YOU think we're having!?! Can't wait to hear your predictions!!!

11 Weeks, 1 Day and the Holidays!!!

2009-11-24T16:12:00.000-06:00

Well, I am officially in the last week of my first trimester and feel absolutely fabulous! I'm still not showing to the normal public, but I can definitely tell! I've learned that this week, the baby is over 2 inches long and his/her body has begun to straighten out. Lil Bow Wow is also growing hair follicles and nail beds this week, and next week he/she will have nails! Hopefully it won't inherit it's father and mother's bad habit of nail biting! However, the prenatal vitamins have really given my nails a push - they actually look normal in length now! This week, el bebe can also turn, flip and do somersaults even though they say I won't be able to feel them for a few more weeks.

I'm not sure if its nesting or not, but I had an urge to decorate for Christmas and all but my Christmas tree has been up for a week now! I just couldn't help myself:) I love decorating for the holidays! On task for tonight is making my yummy pumpkin soup with cranberry/apple relish. Matt and I will be toting this with us to Jackson Thanksgiving tomorrow. We can't wait to see the Shull side of the family for Thanksgiving! We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Cheers!

Almost 10 Weeks!!!

2009-11-13T15:47:00.001-06:00

The latest crisis is solved - my ultrasound nurse saved the pics of my last visit and I brought her a new disc to copy the images to, thank God. And they work this time, thank God even more! So I've been feeling great these last few days. My appetite has been the same...HUGE. I've been sleeping pretty restlessly but other than that, I can't find much to complain about! I won't say I've got a bump, per say, but I definitely do not have that a flat tummy...and there is no 'sucking it in' at this point. I have to let my SPANX do that for me from now on. To make myself feel better, I tell myself it's the babe! But I'm not supposed to show for a while - well not to the normal person, anyway.

Matt's been so great lately - his goal right now is the P90X challenge. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically boot camp-style exercise program you do for 90 days straight! Matt's totally dedicated and while I can't excercise yet, I sit and eat on the couch watching Matt work his little butt off. I'm sure it's really motivating him! Well, I press pause and play on the DVD when he needs a break! I'm not totally worthless!

My next appointment is not until December, so until then, we'll just be counting down the days until we get to see lil Bow Wow next! Hope you all are well!