Friday, April 24, 2009

Whoa, baby!



Today Bret and I went to our last monthly checkup. Now that I'm beginning my third trimester (trust me, no one finds this harder to believe than me) we'll be going to Mobile Infirmary every two weeks for our checkups.

Not sure if the hospital had their second string staff filling in today, but the usual nurses weren't on duty. Not even the jovial receptionist (who reminds me a bit of Weezie Jefferson) was there to greet us as we signed in.

Here's a lesson in what NOT to do after you call a patient back to get blood work---phone another lab tech while the patient waits in the adjacent room with the door open and ask for help saying and I quote, "I've got a Mrs. Webb here, and I'm not sure what to do. The girl that's usually here had to leave and I haven't done this before."

Excuse me? You what?

They did send another lab tech down to perform the test. Although I apparently "blew her streak" of successful blood withdrawls for the day as she exploded a vein in one arm before moving on to the other. Not sure if "exploding vein" is in the Harvard medical dictionary but it was exactly how she described the predicament.

Things began looking up as Bret and I only had to wait an hour for Dr. Helen... JACKPOT!

In the past we've waited up to three hours to see her. Now I know that I am not the most patient person in the world, but if there's anyone that I don't mind waiting on it's Dr. Helen. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful doctor with impeccable bedside manner. She's even a Gator and did her residency at Shands in Gainesville. It couldn't be more perfect. Gillian will be brought into this world by a fellow Gator and with any luck she'll be doing the Gator chomp before she's cleaned up and swaddled.

I was measured today and Gillian is looking like a healthy but BIG baby. According to the calendar I am 27 weeks. Dr. Helen's measurements have me at 30 weeks! Whoa, baby!

To be honest none of us were surprised at Gillian's growth---especially since her Daddy was almost 11 lbs. at birth. Her mama was no slouch either, weighing in at almost 9 lbs. Dr. Helen did bring up a Cesarean but told us that we'd have a better idea what we're looking at our next appointment at which we'll have another ultrasound performed.

We heard the best sound in the world---Gillian's heartbeat. Her ticker ranged between 135 and 147 bpm.

Dr. Helen gave us the thumbs up and told us everything continued to look great!

---A side note----As mentioned earlier in this post, I had the glucose screening done April 13 to test for gestational diabetes. Needing a reading less than 135 to pass, my glucose results read 81. Go me!

Surprise! Surprise!

Today my class threw me a surprise baby shower! To say that I was shocked is a huge understatement. I was left speechless (and for those that know me, that's hard to believe).

After coming back from Friday's chapel service where my class had a performance on the red steps, we arrived to my classroom to find it had been transformed into a baby wonderland. Pink and green adorned the tables; balloons and ribbons were everywhere. On my door hung a wreath of pink and green toile with Gillian's initials GGW. The kids were so excited to share in this special occasion. The best part of the day was when my mom and aunt drove over from Pensacola to share in this special occasion. Their presence was the icing on the cake!

I was so proud of my little ones! It's hard to believe that twenty-two 7 and 8 year olds were able to keep a secret like this for so long. I am truly blessed to have so many thoughtful people in my life.

Life is good...













Tuesday, April 21, 2009

It's no Urban Myth

Although rare and exotic, once thought to be extinct in this part of the country, the occasional Gator fan can be found in Mobile.

Jim, a friend and colleague of Bret's, presented him with a gift...a copy of Urban's Way, a book about Head Florida Gator Football Coach Urban Meyer and his plan for the Florida Gators. Surprised by the gift Bret was understandably appreciative. His appreciation soon grew into utter excitement when Jim explained that this wasn't just any book, it was an Urban Meyer autographed copy. Now, the only thing better would've been if our boy Tebow had signed the book as well. Thanks, Jim!

Go Gators!





Look Mom, no...ANKLES!


This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed at home.
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.

Well, after teaching all day and being on my feet for nearly eight hours, my little piggies are definitely screaming! Not even an afternoon rest helped to completely rid my feet, toes, and ankles of the swelling. Now I've always thought I had rather unattractive feet, but this is just ridiculous.

The joys of pregnancy...

Baby Boom

As I am typing this, we know of at least ten people expecting their first child within the next several months.

While we are out, we tend to notice a number of young families in the early stages of parenthood...from expecting mothers to fathers toting screaming toddlers. Is it just us or are you noticing the baby boom too?

Our guess: we're trying to do our part to ensure that Social Security lasts well into the future.

Family of the Hour

Since my last post, everyone and I mean everyone, has been asking to see a picture of Tracey's family. Not wanting to disappoint here they are!


Tracey, Mike, and Jack at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the Orange and Blue game in Gainesville, Florida.


Jackson Garrett Reese

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Last Gift

Although the mister and I first learned that we were expecting in early November, we decided to keep our blessed news a secret until further along in the pregnancy. I also wanted the sharing of the news to coincide with my favorite holiday, Christmas.

Knowing how close we are with my parents, I'm sure you are shocked that we (mainly me) were able to keep such big news a secret. Trust me, I'm right there with you. I'm not even sure how I managed not to slip up and blurt out what's surely the biggest news of my life. I think the fact that the mister and I opted not to share the news with friends and co-workers also made the secret a little easier to keep under wraps.

Christmas is always a gigantic occasion in our family. It begins bright and early with a Christmas breakfast feast followed by hours and hours of opening gifts. For the mister and me this Christmas was filled with even more anticipation than normal as we had news that we were waiting to share. The unopened presents became fewer and fewer until finally nothing but shreds of red and green paper lay strewn across the floor. Everyone assessed their bounty and commenced once more with hugging and heart-felt thank yous. Looking for just the right time, the mister and I decided to wait until later in the day to present our last gift. When everyone went their separate ways, we pulled out the last gift and put it on top of my parents' stack of opened gifts. Hours later when my parents came up to begin the daunting task of putting everything away, the last gift was discovered.

The last gift itself was quite simple, small picture frame ornaments with the words Grandmother and Grandfather inscribed on the top. Inside the frame was our first ultrasound picture of Peanut. As mom and dad opened the gift, we could hardly contain our excitement. Dad saw the Grandfather inscription but didn't see the picture at first. Mom first noticed the ultrasound picture but, like me when I first saw it, didn't know what she was looking at. Then it hit both of them! As if on cue, they looked up at us for confirmation. Yes, mom and dad...we're having a baby!


Sunday, April 19, 2009

Just for T

26 Weeks and 2 days

This pic is just for my friend, Tracey! Having recently had a baby of her own I've lived vicariously through her blog for the past few months. It's given me insight into all things pregnancy and baby related. From the announcement of her pregnancy, to the swelling and the unexpected bodily changes, to the beautiful birth of her baby boy Jackson I've read it all. We actually got the idea for our blog from her. What a great way to keep friends and family in the loop during this exciting time!

Thanks for being such a huge help, T! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to answer all my many questions in between feedings and diaper changes.

Good friend and mother, you are. Yes, hmmmmm.

What a Girl Wants



In the past few weeks it seems that everyone we talk to wants to know where we're registered. To be honest, registering has been the furthest thing from both our minds. However, since I was on Spring Break this past week, we decided to spend a couple of hours registering.

We left around 10 o'clock Thursday morning and didn't pull into the garage until almost 9 that night. What we thought would only take a few hours turned into an all day affair. We did have a blast though and I must say Bret was a trooper. Not usually a shopper, Bret really got into the baby spirit and seemed to enjoy finding the necessities and of course the luxury items that we feel will make Gillian (and us) more comfortable.

We were really clueless at the beginning of this whole experience. Not only did we underestimate the time it would take to compile a registry but we grossly underestimated the amount of things a newborn needs. If it weren't for the guidance and recommendations of friends we might still be registering.

I'd like to say that having a baby has really made us mature beyond our years, but that may be stretching the truth just a tad. Although we made it through the nipples, breast pump, and diaper section without so much as snicker, we completely lost it when we reached the aisle with the pee pee teepee. Apparently a must have for parents of little boys, it's a good thing we won't be needing this interesting accessory this time around. I'm not sure I could ever keep a straight face when using it!



We're registered at Babies R Us and Target.

Babies R Us
http://www.babiesrus.com/registry/index.jsp

Target
http://www.target.com/registry/baby/find

The Name Game



After months of reading various books with names and their meanings we've finally decided on a name...



We waffled on the spelling of the first name --- whether to go with a "J" or a "G" --- and after taking an unofficial poll of family and friends we have decided to spell Gillian with a "G."   We did not want her to be called "Jill," and liked the uniqueness of our chosen spelling.  As it so happens, the name Gillian means youthful.

It's a Girl!



On February 27, 2009 we learned that Peanut was a girl! I was shocked since all along I had predicted a boy. Bret felt vindicated as he had always said a girl was on the way.

An interesting tidbit about our home...
Our house was built in 1977 and in that time it has had six owners including us. There has never been a boy born to families that have called 3933 McGregor Court home. We were able to keep the streak alive and will give birth to yet another girl this July.

Our due date is July 24, 2009.



February 27, 2009
Heartbeat: 172 bpm
Length: 13.6 cm

Uh, I see it?


I can completely identify with Rachel in one of our favorite episodes of Friends when she views the ultrasound for the first time. Ross shakes his head confidently as the technician interprets the image. Rachel unwilling to admit defeat, follows with a series of uh-huhs and oh-yeahs until she finally breaks down admitting that she has no idea what she's supposed to be looking at.

Fast forward several years to December 10, 2008. There I was sitting in the ultrasound room while our adorable technician Kristy pointed out our little one. Bret was thrilled and from the get go seemed to have little trouble discerning our little bundle of joy from the rest of the grayish white smudges on the ultrasound screen. I, on the other hand, couldn't tell what I was supposed to see. However, not wanting to spoil the moment or admit my own ineptitude, I simply smiled and channeled my inner Rachel Green. Just as I thought our own ending would mirror that of the infamous Friends episode, Kristy (as though reading my mind) clicked a few buttons and up popped an arrow pointing to our Lil' One. Even though I could now see it, I couldn't help but think that it looked more like a peanut than a human being. The peanut idea stuck and for the next few months leading up to our appointment to learn the gender of the baby, we fondly referred to Lil' One as Peanut.

December 10, 2008
Heartbeat: 174 bpm
Length: 6.4 cm

Finally



After months of promising that we'd start a blog at the request of friends and family, we've finally got one up and running. We're flattered by all the interest in our growing family and look forward to updating this site frequently with all that's new and exciting in the Webb household. I can't help but laugh a little as I type "new and exciting" because Bret and I have often joked that if they were to make a reality show of our lives, it wouldn't attract a single viewer. After all, who's up for watching a couple whose lives consist of work, conversations about our day over a quickly thrown together meal, and lights out before the 10 o'clock news? But with a baby on the way, that's all quickly changing and we seem to add a little more to our to do list each day.

The inspiration for the theme and title of our blog is obvious...GATORS! Of course being the huge Gator fans that we are, we couldn't resist the opportunity to honor our Alma Mater while laying the foundation for the brainwashing...ugh, I meant to say the supporting, that will ensue once our little one is born. Rubbing salt in the still so fresh and often discussed wounds of our Roll Tide compadres is just an added bonus.