Pics of Esther.

I'm sorry it's taken me so long. As you can imagine we're pretty busy around here. More are coming I promise... as soon as I can get over to the library and get faster internet access.

To all those who sent prayers, blessings, love, e-mails, cards, gifts, etc: We Love You!!! Thank You!!!! And we promise to visit you before she starts walking... at least we hope.

It's A Girl!

After 72 hours of labor, Elizabeth Anwyll Jones, with the wonderful attentions of Benjamin Rush Matthews gave (unmedicated) birth to Esther Mathilda Jones Matthews at 2:58am Saturday, October 28th, 2006. Miss Esther weighed in at 7lbs and 6.5oz, has blondish/reddish? hair and blue eyes and is beautiful. Mother, father, and baby are all doing well, and (hopefully) sleeping a lot.

10/31/06 Sorry this took so long to publish, folks. Blogger was acting up on me on Sunday. -Jes

Thursday?

So this is it, this is the week.

Today is officially my last day at work. Unless i find myself stir crazy next week and still knocked up despite my best efforts to have oogobs of sex, down cod liver oil, do those pelvic tilts, take long ass walks, and talk the baby into fitting it's solid little bowling ball head through my... in which case i may just come back in to work to keep from going completely nuts. And for the glorious internet access i get at work (as opposed to our prehistoric dial-up in the hollow).

My plan you ask? well tomorrow morning I'm getting a massage. Then i'm gunna stop by my father-in-law's house and get more boxes of our shit that has been slowly mildewing since last december when we moved here and had great intensions of starting a whole new life full of adventures and nights out... and then i'm going to haul it all back to our house and try to fit it all in somewheres.

So, if you didn't catch the hint, WE'RE MOVING IN!!!!!!!! We've been sleeping in our house since last wednesday (Ben's birthday) and despite that we don't have a shower curtain, our kitchen appliances don't work, and Ben is still building the kitchen and bathroom and finishing little things i didn't know had to be done (ie the weird door stop thingie...) we are quite comfortable and warm and dry and happily making our middle of the night trips to the bathroom (in my case 8-10 middle of the night trips) naked!!!

I'm so happy to be moving in. Unfortunately, I'm terribly frustrated by my lack of efficiency with the moving process. It's not easy being hugely preggo -- I can't carry anything heavy or large, I can't climb into the loft to store things, I can't get into the closet under the stairs cause I won't fit through the door. But slowly things are happening... or not so slowly... depending on how you look at it.

So with our little world coming together (and I mean LITTLE, as in our whole house is less than 700 sq ft) i'm hoping that this wee one will see fit to not go too far beyond (if at all) it's due date.

Here's hopin'

Oh and just for kicks here's our list of names:
boys:
Owen Calder/Lee
Wyatt Calder/Lee
James Owen
Calder Lee
James Grey
Calder Grey
Emmit Owen

girls:
Ada Rae
Esther Rae
Mathilde Ann (Tilly)

*place your votes in the comments section, or if you're not a blogspot member feel free to send me an e-mail to place your vote.

(I know everyone did this already but it's getting down to the wire and we're still no where with it)

My Half-Hearted Apology

Dear Everyone I come in contact with in the next week or two,

I am sorry i'm so cranky with you. I'm sorry I yelled at you or mocked you behind your back by making that stupid face.

I'm sorry i'm 8months and 3 weeks pregnant and feeling at the end of my rope. I'm sorry I'm so busy and don't write you or call you back. I did get your messages and I did think they were sweet...

I'm sorry i'm a black hole for your energy and mine. I'm a taker right now. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'll be a giver from the time this baby pops out until the end of time...

I'm sorry things won't really go back to normal but rest assured they will reach some level or mundanity at some point and as odd as it sounds that's comforting.

Thanks for stickin' around anyhow. Thanks for calling me and checking up on me and loving me. Thanks for letting me be cranky and knowing that when i bite your head off it's not about you.

Love,
Libby

Nope, not yet... still waiting.

pictures as promised.

I promise

to update tomorrow. My mom and best friend threw Ben and I a surprise baby shower over the weekend with tons of food and people. It was a truely amazing event. My best friend from college flew in for the weekend, also a surprise (I love you Kirstin!).

I have pictures (but i forgot to bring them to work with me). I will post tomorrow with pictures (Thanks Melissa!!) and tons of details.

Also, Yesterday my co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower lunch with a giant chocolate chip cookie for a cake (Jodi, You Rock!!!).

It never ceases to amaze me how many people in this world not only like me but love me... thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks Rowen!

These videos are great!

Baby Moving

9 Months Gestation

To Do List

-finish insulation and drywall
-plaster
-paint
-install water heater
-install gas heater
-install bathroom sink, toilet, and kitchen sink
-get the plumber in again
-get the electrician in again
-get the septic guy in again
-the loft floor
-the downstairs floor
-the staircase
-window and door trim
-sand and paint front door
-sand and finish the upstairs floor
-buy a bed and other furniture we may need
-pick furniture up from Ben's mom
-pick up the co-sleeper from my friend
-several trips to and from Ben's dads to get all of our shit in storage
-buy cloth diapers and diapering stuffs (and then wash them 40 thousand times before use)
-Go to target and spend a freakin' fortune on random crap for the house and the baby
-Move in

Think we can do it all in 4 weeks?

35 days until D-day.

Ben is insulating and drywalling our beautiful Little House.

I am slowly collecting the things we still do not have for the baby.

My friend Maggie's little sister had her baby this week. Another boy. Congrats Ame!!!

We have our 35 week appointment today.

Hiccups?

My whole pregnancy I've been wondering if the baby would get the hiccups. Low and behold, several times in the last couple weeks (including right now as i write this) i've been experiencing what I can only assume is the hiccups. It's a rhythmic kicking feeling. Quite funny really. In my head I imagine the noise that would go with them (*hic*).

Also, my belly is so big that it's hard for me to wash the dishes. Note here how far away from the sink I am and the awkward lean to my back I as stretch to reach the faucet for rinsing... Maybe that means I'll get to relinquish my dish duty.

Due Date Count Down

49 Days to go!

(and an endless list of things to do before then... yipes!)

My cousin, Sarah had her baby yesterday. She was induced after being a week late and walking around one centimeter dialated for like three weeks. After 21 hours of labor she had a boy. 8lbs 4oz. Duncan Quincy Winger.

Monthly Check-up

So we had our monthly midwife visit lastnight.

Turns out the Polyhydramnios has taken care of itself it seems. I am now measuring right on target (31cm at 31 weeks) which means my belly shrank (it was 33cm at 28 weeks last visit).

Also, last month I gained 9lbs in a 5 week period. This month I only gained like 2.5lbs.

The baby's heart rate is good and solid and the baby is reactionary, meaning the heart rate rises when you poke at my belly... it's really quite funny.

And the baby is head down.

So Let's Celebrate!!!!

Holy Crap!

I haven't any idea why i'm making that face... and yeesh where'd my butt go? The joys of pregnancy: Goodbye young, taut, sexy body, hello goof-ball!

Weekend In Pittsburgh

Jes and I went to visit my sister, my god-daughter, and her brother who all live in Pittsburgh last weekend.



She is the cute brownish one in the blue shirt on the far left in the first picture.
We made a lovely dinner of Longanesa (filipino sausage), Lumpia (filipino meat egg roles), rice and squash.
Jacob is Jes's brother who patiently sat while Jes gave him a Willy Nelson.

I spent a lot of the weekend sneezing as they have cats and I'm deathly alergic.



The blonde is my adopted sister and god-daughter, Kali.


And... I miss my sister!!!

Visiting the Midwife

Sorry for the long delay again. However, it seems those of you who read this have sort of fallen in numbers anyhow.

So the house is coming along beautifully. I love my hard-working, handsome husband.

At our 28 week check-up we had our first Sonogram. The Sonographer said that it looked like we may have extra fluid. We got a call a couple weeks ago that confirmed that we do have excess fluid and we scheduled a second sonogram. We went in for that last thursday. That Sonographer said that it looked to her like the amount of fluid has decreased since the first sonogram but that we still have excess.

And yes, it has a name. Polyhydramnios

Now, you may be wondering why this is a concern.
1. It can be indicative of developmental problems with the fetus (such as Downs, Spina... etc)
2. The excess weight can trick the uterus into thinking the baby is ready to be born before the due date.
3. The baby can get in some strange positions pre-birth due to all the space to move about.

And some other things i'm sure i haven't discovered yet.

So, I worried for a bit, ate up anything i could google on the subject for a couple weeks. And now i feel fine about it. The liklihood that everything will work out fine and the baby will be healthy and full-term is in our favor.

I've started taking a homeopathic remedy called "Natrum Muriaticum" which is a salt balancer and may help, or at least not hurt in the process of riding my body of the excess fluid slowly but surely.

On another note, i feel enormous. I have three shirts that really fit, the rest gap slightly at my pants and you can see my belly and the beautiful Linea Nigra i've developed.

My cousin Sarah is due by the end of the week and has been having severe back pain since last week. She's ready to pop.

Other than that, thank god the weather has cooled off and lightened up a bit.

Due Date Update

76 days to go.