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Sean & Tammy Smith We are the proud Parents of little Miss Autumn Marie Smith and look forward to everyone joining us on this journey of information and photos from the beginning of the pregnancy to the birth and enjoying our baby with us.

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Feb. - Third Trimester Emotional Ups & Downs

In the emotional department, I have not been easy to get along with this month. As if we didn't have enough emotionally between things happening at home and the economy, the Pregnancy of course tops things off in the emotional department. Me and Sean have become increasingly anxious about the upcoming labor and delivery. I have read up on what is going on with me in the emotion range and here is what it says, hits it right on the nose for what is happening with me and what Sean is having to deal with, poor guy, he he he he:

There is an increase in mood swings for no apparent cause, an increase in irritability. Insignificant and unimportant thoughts may cloud your mind. Health concerns about baby, yourself also rise; you wonder about labor pains, about the whole delivery process. Along with this your growing size is becoming more of an impediment; you are no longer able to do many things. This makes you more uncomfortable and dependant. To top that, your inability to sleep is increasing your agitation as well, yeah, I get up every 45 mins. and so staying off my feet in the middle of the night is impossible. All these factors can work towards making your emotions swing wildly from highs to lows.

02-26-09 More Feet swelling photos


Here is my swollen feet, they have gotten so bad nothing much seems to make them go down, and now the skin stays sore from the severe stretching, itches and stings, as if it was bruised with all the severe swelling. I have been advised to stay off my feet as much as possible and now I am starting to spend most of my days in bed if possible to keep my feet up. So when I am not up and moving around the house a bit I am spending it in the bed. JUST SUCKS . . .

02-26-09 -Spoke to my assigned Bluecross Prenatal Nurse

02-26-09 -Spoke to my assigned Bluecross Prenatal Nurse

Gave her all the information she wanted to know on me, blood type, blood pressure, etc. Told her what all me and the doc had talked about as she has instructed me to bring up certain issues. We talked some more about my swollen feet as now the skin stays sore as if it was bruised with all the severe swelling.

Then last I told her I had told the doctor that I had delivered Cory at 37 wks and when I told him this you could see his indecision on his face to check me to see if I am dilating or effacing any. She told me he probably won't check me for awhile after I told him that as they don't like to check and stir things up, ha ha ha ha. So she said my goal now is to make it to 37 wks as babies born before 36 wks have a little bit of trouble stabilizing a body temperature and are weak eaters. Anything after 36 is okay, better if 37 and up.

My Pregnancy belly photos placed in the online Pregnancy Gallery

See if you can find my belly photos in the Pregnancy Gallery, I just sent them more updated ones to add whenever they have time.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/pregnancyphotos/ig/2009-Belly-Gallery/

34 wks and the Count down



Other things happening at 34 wks are I am experiencing where I have recently noticed some less-than-appealing itchy red bumps my your belly, just a few here and there and they are VERY ITCHY, according to the Pregnancy bible and online I have a harmless but not fun round of pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP if your don't have the patience for the full name).It is the most common rash in pregnant women.

02-24-09 OB/Baby Check Appt. today (34 wks)



Okay, I went from 142lbs.to 144lbs., I talked to my doctor about me possibly going into labor early, made his eyes big as saucers when I told him Cory came at 37wks and I am 34 now. So we discussed that for a bit, talked about pain management for me, which he suggested my best route would be a light Epidural, then talked about my previous Episotomy, he is super conservative and said let's take that as it happens, he prefers not to do one, which is GOOD. We talked briefly on my bladder disorder and delivery. Everything checked out fine with my blood pressure, temp., weight and baby's heartbeat. It took him a minute to find the baby's heartbeat, as he was on the wrong side of my tummy or she was on the side he wasn't checking, ha ha ha ha. I go back in two weeks on 03/10/09, by then I will be 36wks.

SOooooooooo, all went well, moving right along, instructed to stay off my feet as they look like sausages ready to explode now.

Here is the latest photos of me at 34 wks. Not much change really from the 32 wk photos but I am going to take them now every 2 wks along with the appt. checks with us not sure when I will go into labor by gestation weeks.

02-23-09 Updated Baby Movements

02-23-09 Updated Baby Movements

Well the baby is running out of space in this tummy of mine, so I don’t get many kicks anymore. What I do get and spend my time wondering is . . .

We find ourselves playing "Name that Lump!" as baby pushes and presses against my tummy, causing it to contort and protrude in unusual ways! Is that an elbow? A knee? A foot? I find this more interesting than anything on TV these days, ha ha ha ha.

Feet swell almost immediately when I get up in the mornings. I no longer have the luxury of being able to get onto my feet for very long before I am suffering from super swollen feet, that cause them to itch and sting.

Neighbor thinks I have dropped, I am not sure yet . . . pregnancy moving right along, counting down the days.

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Last Set


The Hostesses and Me

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Set Five

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Set Four

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Set Three

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Set Two

02-21-09 Our Baby Shower Photos - Set One


I want to send a HUGE thanks out to everyone that was able to attend, to all my hostesses that provided us with a wonderfully decorated and successful Shower and to all those that also sent in baby shower gifts. All the gifts were just awesome and we had such a great time seeing family and friends, I enjoyed getting out of the house and socializing with everyone.

We got home, we were tired, had SUPERRRR swollen legs and feet but had so much fun . . .

Here are the photo highlights of the Baby Shower . . . ENJOY THE PHOTOS. . .

Tammy

Sean & Tammy Smith
Baby Smith due April 6th, 2009

Cummins Twin Girls


Here is a photo of my cousin's twin girls . . . proud parents are Bo & Dianne Cummins

AMANDA JEAN ON THE LEFT AND ADDIE FAYE ON THE RIGHT

Niece's baby Arrives - Baby Girl Arivzu is Here



My niece had her baby “GIRL”, this morning . . . .

Proud parents are Adrian & Heather Arvizu
Proud Grandparents are: Johnny Temple, Mary Sanford and Arvizu Family

Baby arrived by C-section, after an unsuccessful inducing since Thurs. 2am, but was successfully delivered at 8:04am this morning . ..

Baby weighed in at 8lbs. and 6.9 oz., 21 ½ length

They have named her Abbie Elaine Arvizu



Tammy

02-19-09 Round Ligaments Pains are Back and super painful

Well I started getting all the horrible round ligaments pains in my second trimester, but they were off and on and not too terribly intense. Now that I am in my third trimester at 34 wks approaching this weekend, they are back with a vengeance with the baby gaining rapid weight. My sides, belly and inside pelvic areas are totally suffering, I can't get comfortable in any position day or night, no matter what I wear it doesn't feel comfortable on me and if I walk OMG I better move like a snail or otherwise those round ligament pains almost put me on the ground. I find myself holding my belly with my hands if I have to walk anywhere, and the pain seems to rotate to my back, ha ha ha ha ha, ARRGGG, OUCH!!!

Rolling over in bed is a total chore, lifting all the belly baby weight just to change position is getting so hard on my back, I try to move super slow and help myself by holding my belly but my back is so sore during the night and once I am up and awake.

02-17-09 Better Morning with Swelling Issues

Well I had a miserable day yesterday in stretch pains and swelling, I spent my day basically in the tub and that helped a ton. Then last night I slept with my wedge pillow between my legs and up under my belly and then stacked up two pillows to elevate my feet. It was a miserable night sleeping in positions I am not used too to keep baby off that vessel and I kept the baby up all night too trying to find comfortable spots long enough to snooze and to keep on my left side as much as possible, on top of guzzling water. I woke up so exhausted, but had NO swelling which was great. Both baby and me may be putting in some naps today. Will have to see how long it takes today for the swelling to come back during the day, ha ha ha ha

Hopefully the stretch pains will subside today even thou I woke up with rib pains and sternum pains. I just don't know how I am going to make it another month in pregnancy, arrrgggg, I am so ready to be done NOWWW . . .

02-16-09 - Autumn's Wooden Name & Growth Chart Now up and Hanging



Yesterday Daddy Smith added some of the last finishing touches to Autumn's room by hanging her Wooden Name we painted and put together and hanging the Matching Theme Growth Chart that Grandma Halladay purchased for the room.

Enjoy the photos . . .

02-16-09 Early Morning Swelling, Swelling getting worse


I am not sure HOW to stay on my left side when I do a lot of tossing and turning in the middle of the night, so that I can keep the baby off that vessel/vein that causes legs, feet, hands, etc. to swell.

This morning I woke up laying on my Right side and when I crawled out of bed, I realized I must have been on that side of my body for awhile as my feet were swollen, the right foot the worst, even stinging a bit where my toes intersect with my foot when I would walk and it would bend, and my hands were swollen and my veins on my right side were puffy and standing out in my arm and leg.

The swelling hasn't gone down much, just enough for me to get my rings off, thank goodness, guess those are staying off permanently now that swelling is really starting with me.

It doesn't seem to matter whether I am off my feet on moving to keep blood flow. I have been told you get to a certain point in your pregnancy where no matter what
you do nothing makes the swelling go away, I think I am on getting on that road at 33 wks. My Doctor said swelling is normal when I brought it up at my last appointment.

I am a tiny person, only 5'3 and normally weighing in at 125lbs. but now I am up there at 143lbs. and climbing to a due date of Apr. 6th, altho I do suspect I will be having baby in March, I had my last son 3 wks early, and talked to the Lamaze nurse and she did say to possible expect and early delivery and short labor like my last pregnancy.

I have attached a photo of my legs taken yesterday which gives an example of what I am starting to regularly deal with.

Tam

02-14-09 Our Lamaze Class Experience

Well it of course has been several several years since I attended a Lamaze Class, it all is till intriguing to me, however, for the cost of the class, which was HIGH IMO, I don’t feel we got what was needed.

They had tons of informative DVD’s we watched, posters to look at, items she passed around . . . HOWEVER, we never got down on mats/floor and did any breathing exercises, we did just a few sitting in a circle and that was it. And they never showed us any birthing films of Natural Labor & Delivery and C-section so the men could be prepared. Sean and I both were disappointed at how much it cost and how little they had scaled down in education. Originally the class was supposed to also be from 9am to 4pm, but the class went by so quickly we ended up getting out of there at 2pm, probably because they didn’t have more educational DVD’s or exercises for us to do.

I was the only one in there of older age, ha ha ha ha and the only one that had ever had more then one child, so our questions of course were a bit different from all the new first time mom’s.

I did find out my from the nurse giving the educational class, that my doctor is the conservative one, I was the only one in the class out of my doctor’s office. I don’t have to worry about my doctor inducing me or scheduling a C-section unless it is a plain necessity, both my doctor and the hospital encourage Natural Childbirth as much as possible unless someone has gestational Diabetes. I think there were two girls in our class that had this condition and both were scheduled to be induced early before their due dates.

It was neat seeing all the different size pregnancy bellies, there were only two big bellies in there, mine and another young girl that had gestational diabetes, he he he he

Well that is all I have to report about our class, basically disappointing but did refresh me on things and gave Sean some good information on working with me in labor, etc.

Fun Expecting Cover magazine

Baby Shower Approaching

WOW, hard to believe the Lamaze class is this coming weekend and then the following weekend the Baby Shower. Things are rolling along super fast now as we are counting it down to the birth.

Just a reminder Baby Shower is Feb. 21st at 3:00pm at the Hudson Residence and we would of course LOVE to see all our friends and family there enjoying this special moment with us. This is Sean's first baby so all these new experiences are a time for celebration for him, ha ha ha ha

Will be posting soon . . .

Tammy

02-10-09 OBGYN appt. at 32 wks

Today’s appt. went well and normal as usual. They checked all my vitals, the measured my baby belly and listened to the baby’s heartbeat. He said all looked good. I spoke to him about my swelling on my feet and about the other weird area exhibiting swelling and he said it was all normal and some women get it in those hush hush areas and not to worry over it much. He said to stay off my feet as much as possible.

I went from 138 lbs. to 142lbs.. WHEWWWW growing growing . . . .

He has now said he wants me coming in every two weeks, FUN, like I already enjoy going to the OB doctor, ha ha ha ha

This weekend we start our Lamaze classes, so I will let everyone know how that goes, how Sean loves his class, ha ha ha ha

02-07-09 32 wk Pregnancy Photos


02-06-09 First Leg Cramp

I got my first leg cramp during the night while sleeping, it happened when I went to roll over and I thought I was dying. It took me a good two hours to work out the stiffness and soreness this morning when I got up and pain once I got up so I could even walk. It left me sore and stiff for two days before it worked it's way out.

02-04-09 Ankle/Feet Swelling has begun

02-04-09 Pregnancy Update

I have been experiencing the following:

>>>>Blood and excess body fluids "settles" in places during pregnancy, and the vaginal area is very common.

Since I hit my third trimester I am getting new pregnancy symptoms . . .off and on I have been getting swelling on my right side . . .my vaginal area on that same side swells off and on like a balloon and stings. I have found while soaking in a warm tub helps it go down immediately and then during the night it goes all the way back down while I am sleeping, but during the day it slowly begins to swell back up. So, I got the blood flow issues/symptoms all the information list.


Then yesterday on the top of my right foot all those veins that run on the top of your foot, one of them started to sting and swell as if I had accidentally hit it and it was so hard to walk on that foot. I noticed over the night it had gone down and was not painful but the minute I got up and started moving around the pain was coming back in my foot.

The more I try to move around to enhance my blood flow to that side of my body, the more it hurts and swelling starts, so back on the couch with legs in air resting.

I looked it all up online and see where a lot of Mom's experience this in their pregnancies but haven't heard anyone yet mention it yet on my support groups or from my friends that are Prego.

As each day has passed since then both my legs/feet and ankles are now swelling anytime I am on my feet and the swelling does not go down until I go to sleep, then we start a new day of swelling.

Baby Delivery Due Date Poll

Okay someone has asked me to start a "delivery date poll", if anyone wants to have fun participating, email me and I will add your name to the list:
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Alica Koehnle - predicting two weeks early, 03/26/2009 - 8 lbs., 10 ounces and 21" long

Tammy Smith - predicting two weeks early, 03/26/2009

Frank and Karen Cresci....Dominique's B-day is on the 5th so we are going for that date! - 04/05/09

Sean Smith – 04/01/09

Michael Heflin – 04/01/09

Rebecca Joines – 03/17/09 St. Patrick's Day AND Darby's b-day

Chantel Johnson – 03/20/09

Barbara Woods - March 21, 7 lbs 8oz.

Michele Andreetta - 03/21/2009

Dianne Schulteis – 04/06/09

Alvin & April Kmeic - 04/02/09

Karen Kus – 4/5/09

Tracy Black - 3/28/09