31 days to go!!

Well, time is slipping away, and Kelsi's arrival is right around the corner! We went to the doctor today and he said I'm about 1 cm dialated, Kelsi measured 37 in (at 35 wks 3 days), and her heart rate was 150 bpm. I know better than to be excited about the 1cm because I've heard of all the women who went for weeks at 2cm dialated, etc. But the dr says "it's better than 0, the cup is half full". I asked hime to estimate how big he thought she would be and he said somewhere in the 8 lb range, so that's not too bad. At the last appt I had finally gained some weight, 3 lbs. Well when I went today I had lost it!!So I guess I am back at 0 on the weight gain front. The dr says it's perfectly fine though bc Kelsi is growing. He also said that she is head down, in the right position. I guess that's all there is to update on for now. Here are a few of my favorite maternity pix!!

7 weeks to go!

Since the last time I wrote we have had our last shower, which was given by Tara, Allison, Courtney, and Autumn. It was a lot of fun! It was a couples shower and we played a few games. One was where TJ and I had to answer questions about the baby and how things will be and then guess what each other said. I said that I would be the one to get up Kelsi, TJ said he would! We will see! Another game was where TJ and I had to drink out of bottles and see who could drink the most in a certain amount of time. TJ won. The other game was where they melted different kinds of candy in diapers and everybody had to guess what candies they were. This looked pretty disgusting. Some people were smelling and tasting the diapers. We recieved many beautiful clothes and precious gifts for Miss Kelsi. We all had a great time! We are blessed with great friends and family!

The hostesses

                                                            Autumn made the cake!!

                                          
                                                  Jade and Nick tasting the diapers!!

Yesterday Roxanna, Tara, Courtney, Allison, Autumn, and I had our annual Christmas party! It is always so much fun and it was this year! We ate, played Dirty Santa, and took lots of pics. It's so funny bc Autumn, Tara, and I are all pregnant at the same time. I wouldn't have imagined that this time last year! Tara was 17 wks along, Autumn 20 wks, and I was 33 wks!At our Christmas party next year we will be going from 2 kids to 5! There just might be more on the way by then!

Today we took our maternity pics with Jennifer Young. She was really sweet and we had a good time taking the pics. She showed us a few on the camera as we were going along and I think they are going to turn out great! They should be ready for us to view in about a week and I can't wait to see how they all turned out!

Well, there are 10 working days for me until Christmas break! Woohoo!Our next dr's appt is Wed. We will have one more 2 wk appt after that and then go to once a week! I can't believe how close we're getting to Kelsi's arrival. We are getting so excited. We just can't wait to see what she looks like. I'm getting a little nervous bc I am starting to think this baby's gotta come out of me!!Oh boy!

Getting Closer by the Day

Well, I am almost 31 weeks along now, which means we will be in single digits in the amount of weeks til Lil' Bit gets here! I am so thankful for the 9 days I am about to have off of work. Being pregnant really does wear you out. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We had our church shower and my work shower, where we received oodles of precious gifts for Miss Kelsi. I haven't gotten it all organized just yet, but I plan to work on it while I am off next week. We have also been taking our birthing classes. Our last one is this Monday. The highlights were seeing a video of an actual birth and visiting the hospital to see the room where we will deliver and how all of that will work.

I am feeling Kelsi move all the time now. I never really felt the butterfly movements that a lot of women describe, or at least I didn't recognize them. Dr. Marnio told me not to worry that around 28 weeks I should start feeling movements that were more like kicks. He was right! Probably around that time I started to feel little kicks, and now she's going at it all the time. I love it though because it helps me to rest assured that she is doing just fine. I love to lay around and feel her kicking. There have been times where I have seen her kick through my belly- pretty neat! The last time we were at the doctor I was reading a magazine and had it propped on my belly. She kicked me hard and it made the magazine jump!

The last time we went to the doctor she measured 2 cm ahead. I still haven't gained any weight, with 2 months to go! That is a miracle within itself! We are going to the doctor every 2 weeks now and go again this Monday. Dr. Marino said he thinks she will be a big baby. I am hoping she won't be as big as me at 10lbs 4 1/2 oz, 23 in long! I am glad Thanksgiving is right around the corner, then Christmas, then baby! Life is so exciting right now and we are so blessed!

The Blessing

Dear Kelsi,

It is your daddy....I would like to take this oppurtunity to tell you that I am very anxious to see you. I hope you are excited to see me as well. While I am excited about seeing you, I am also just as equally scared. I worry if I will be everything you need. Will I be able to answer every question or solve every problem that you come upon? Probably not, but I gaurantee I will love you and guide you along the way. I wish nothing but the best for you. I can't wait to see which of us you look like....I know you will be beautiful, especially if you look like your mother. Your mother was my blessing, and you are hers. I found myself tonight already planning a trip for us to go Disney World. You don't know what that is yet, but I promise you will know soon. I know your grandparents are excited to see you as well. You have no idea how spoiled you will be....and you probably are going to be catching bass that weigh more than you do. We are all looking forward to your arrival.

I am very anxious to see you.....Kelsi Shianne.....

I love you....

Daddy....

Miss Priss

Well we went for two 4-D unltrasounds, one on Oct. 11th and the other yesterday, Oct. 18th. Both times Miss Priss, as I sometimes call her, decided to be a little difficult. She was in the breech position facing towards my back, with her hands and feet in her face! So we couldn't see very much of her face, but it was still nice to see her and know that she is doing fine. She is one ounce shy of a pound and her heart rate was 140 beats per minute. That will be our last ultrasound if all continues to go well, and we will not be seeing her again until January. The nursery is just about complete and is turning out really cute. Showers are coming up next month, then Christmas, then Kelsi! Can't wait!

This is the best picture we got of her face!

My Nephew, Braxton Arrives!

Today was a great day! My nephew, not from Shaye ;), but from my best friend Elizabeth, Braxton Lamar Bell, made his entrance into the world, and let me tell you he is a cutie! Weighing in at 8 lbs 8 oz, 21 in long, he is in perfect health and a true blessing from God. I am so glad that he is finally here and that he and his mommy are doing so well.

Today I realized that there is nothing quite like holding a newborn baby to make me wish the remaining 4 months of my pregnancy were over! Don't get me wrong being pregnant is a blessing and I haven't been through the most exciting parts yet, but today was a glimpse into what we will be experiencing in 4 months and I cannot wait!

Making Progress

Well, today we went to our dr's appt. I am 21 weeks along and measured 22 cm. Kelsi's heart rate was 145 bpm! She seems to be doing just fine. Going to the dr and getting to listen to heartbeat makes my week! Sometimes it's still hard to believe there's a little life growing inside of me, but when I hear the heart beat there is no denying it! She is such a little miracle and we can't wait to meet her...

We are making progress with the nursery. Daddy did a wonderful job of painting it a beautiful purple, called soft amethyst. It is gorgeous! We also just got new carpet in the 3 bedrooms, which has made the whole house look 100 times better! Kelsi's bedding and furniture are in. We are going to wait until sometime in Oct. to put up the furniture.

Our next appt. is Oct 11th and a few weeks after that we will be going for her 4-D ultrasound. I am looking forward to that, but until then we are waiting on Christmas and then the arrival of our baby girl!!

It's a...

Of all days on my birthday, Aug. 13th, we had our dr's appt to find if we were having a boy or girl. This was probably the most anticipated day of my life, at least up until that point. We went in and the tech looked for all the things she needed to and asked if we wanted to know the sex. We told her absolutely and she said "It is a female." I almost fell off that table. Everybody had me thinking boy, mind you my husband has been calling her Eli the whole time, which was our boy name!

The appt was at 9:30, but we decided to tell everybody in person at 6:30 that night at Logan's. So at the beginning of the dinner we explained for everyone to pick a blue cookie if they thought it was a boy and pink for a girl, cute idea taken from our good friends Levi and Emily Elliott. Here is what everyone thought.

We think it's a girl!

 

We think it's a boy!

After everyone made their pick we had Mama and Daddy open a present to reveal the sex to everyone...It's a girl!!

We did the same with TJ's family the next night!

If you don't know Jonathan, my bro n law, he's a little crazy! :)

                                                And finally the diva herself- Kelsi Shianne!!

Telling Others

I forgot to mention all the fun of telling other family and friends in the first blog. Of course that day I was just so shocked that I called all of my friends and told them. I text Shaye a picture of a bun in the oven because he was out of town. Mama and Daddy were gone to the beach so I wanted to wait until they got home to tell them in person. Below is a picture of the frame I put on the coffe table. When they walked in and realized what it was they were also in disbelief, but very excited! Of course all of the extended family were ecstatic, too!

Expect the unexpected...

In my mind I always imagined that I would come up with a cute way to tell TJ we were expecting. There are all sorts of ideas on the internet from writing something on your belly to giving them an unexpected gift- maybe I could give him a baby Bama gift? All fun ideas! Now I want to share with you what actually happened that day...It was the last day of the school year, May 21st. We had been going to the doctor and trying to get pregnant for only 3 months now. I really felt like there was no chance we would be pregnant that month, but I knew I should take a test anyway. We had just gotten our new puppy, Jetta. So I went to feed her and Sandy and laid the test down on the counter. I came back into the bathroom ready for what I expected to be a negative test that would be chunked in the trash can. I looked at it, then I brought it up inches from face, and I just stared at it. Was that a faint plus symbol I saw?! So here is the precious way my husband found out we are having our first child- I walked into the living room where he was getting ready for work, handed him the test and in a nervous panic I asked,"Does this look like a + sign to you?!" He replied that it did. I told him you do realize what that means- we are going to have a baby! We were both in such disbelief. So I did what any girl would do in this sitatuion- I called one of my BFFs- Elizabeth. By this point I was boohooing. She wanted to know what was wrong and I was trying to tell her it looked like a plus sign on there. She thought I said I found a black dot! (like a skin cancer or something) Once she finally figured out what I was saying she said go get another test to be sure and come on to work. So that's what I did, only--Winn Dixie was closed , so was Walgreen's (aren't they 24 hours?), and so were the first set of doors I try to enter Wal-mart with! Finally I got them, the ones that say the word. I went to work and took it, and sure as the world in a matter of a second- the word PREGNANT appeared! On June 25th we went to the doctor and it was confirmed. Here is the pciture of the fuzzball, our baby, that we saw that day!

New to the Blog World

Hi! My name is Ashley Jeffares. TJ and I have been married for almost three years and we are expecting our first child in January. We are so excited about starting this new chapter in our lives. I wanted to keep family and friends updated on my pregnancy and our little bundle of joy when she arrives. Enjoy!