Thursday, April 22, 2010


Hey guys!! I am getting around to answering your questions now... I wanted to do it earlier, but well... I fell asleep this afternoon, and when it comes down to sleeping or blogging these days - I'm just gonna choose sleep.

Before we jump off into the answers to your burning questions... have you had a chance to go look at James' preview photos from his photo shoot on Monday? Go look... I'll wait....

You're back? Great!

Sooooo... lets see what you're dying to know...

Katy asked:


I got my maternity clothes from Motherhood Maternity - they have the best selection of plus sized maternity clothes that I can find. I was considering ordering it online as well - because I'm lazy, but I'm really glad that I went to the store and tried them on first. They convinced me to buy a size smaller than I would have chosen for myself because of the super stretchy nature of the pants. The jury is still out on the comfort level, but that could be that they don't fit quite right yet - since my belly hasn't really changed much. It is just hard as a rock in some places and is uncomfortable in my regular pants. 

I looked into stores in your area, but there aren't any - looks like the closest ones are Midland and Abilene.

Denee' asked:


The current plan is that I will return to work in June. We are still looking at our options and finances, it would be absolutely wonderful if I could figure out something that I could do from home around the babies' schedule and make a little extra money for our family. I don't know what that would be yet - but if you guys have any ideas please send them my way. I've got great experience with database management, fundraising, general office management, grant writing, writing of any kind really... and a HUGE desire to be at home with by babies rather than leaving them with someone else. HELP blog friends...


Still having a good amount of the nausea - it happens now mostly later in the evenings so that is a blessing because when John is working at least he makes it home before it really kicks in. The doctor did give me some Zofran which helps - so I'm grateful for that. Other than that - there are some general issues with sore body parts (trying to spare the male readers...aka my Dad) and general exhaustion... which could have as much to do with the pregnancy as it could be having a newborn in the house. 

From everything I've read so far - some of the nausea and exhaustion should start going away this week or in the next couple of weeks and the best part of the pregnancy begins... the second trimester is supposed to be the part where you feel the best. Bring than on!! I'd like to enjoy the time with my baby while I'm home. 

Heather asked:


If I were closer to the actual surgery it might have a bigger impact on the pregnancy, but now I can eat whatever I want and eat normal sized portions. I mainly have to modify the prenatal vitamins to chewable (which are DISGUSTING!!) because that is the best way for me to absorb the most nutrients for the baby. 

I do have to be careful with my diet and things but that is more because of my diabetes history and high blood pressure. The beautiful thing though is that my cravings so far have been mainly for healthy items... mainly fruit and vegetables... like yesterday - I made the boys get out and go to Olive Garden for lunch because Mama needed to down almost the whole bowl of salad! I am grateful that my cravings have shifted - because if I ventured to guess about any for the first three months - I'd say sugar was the main component. If only it would shift slightly now more into a protein/vegetable phase we'd be doing really well!

Jenn asked:

If baby #2 is a girl, will you consider naming her Bailey or is that name out of the question because of the failed placement?

I think I've got a different perspective on that now. Maybe this baby is God giving us our Bailey just in a different way... where the middle name isn't someone else's choice. I don't know maybe it's just him giving me the perfect baby to be given that name - the baby girl I've dreamed of all these years. 

Don't read into that and think that I am any less thrilled with James - because believe me - he's perfect! I just wonder if after everything we went through - and then our final decision to just give it all over to God... might have warranted a miracle that we never expected possible.

What was the most memorable response you got after announcing that you were expecting?
On of John's college friends - because he is a character to begin with... but he said "Wow, parenthood has hit ya'll with a vengence!"
There were a couple of other unexpected reactions, but overall - most folks just laughed and said Congratulations!  

Has the reality of pregnancy set in yet? How? 
Oh, I don't know - in some ways yes... in others no... it gets pretty real when you see the baby on the screen and hear a heartbeat. But in terms of feeling anything - I just generally feel cruddy... but with something that feels like a melon in my gut causing some discomfort when I sit or lay down wrong. I can only imagine that some of those things will only get worse over the next 6 months... but it's all worth it in the end. 

Do you feel a close maternal bond with James yet?
Again, in some ways. When he snuggles up and just looks at you - you can't help but fall in love all over again... but at other times I just feel like I'm babysitting or in some sort of alternative reality. Sort of like I need to constantly pinch myself... on both accounts - having a baby and being pregnant. I mean honestly! I would have laughed at any of you if you would have predicted this a month or two ago! 
Do you worry at all that you might be closer to baby #2 since it's your biological child? 
Not at all, I think that we've got several good examples of how that works in our families... John's family is that way - where he's adopted but his sister is biological, and there aren't 4 people that are more bonded together regardless of how they came into the family. Same thing with my Dad and adopted siblings... I don't think there is any difference in the way we are all loved... is their childhood different than ours were - sure... but that comes with being at a different place in his life and career than he was when we were little. 
So, no - I don't worry about that at all... we've got a LOT of love to give and it doesn't matter to me where the babies came from... they both grew in my heart every bit as much as baby #2 is growing in my tummy. I've loved them for many years without knowing them or how we'd find them.  
Are you going to convert another room of your house into a nursery or use James' nursery and move him to another room? Because I have a feeling if this baby is a girl, you're gonna want to go pink crazy!! :)
Oh, I think since they will be so close in age - regardless of gender... we'll use the nursery we have for both babies. We will likely have to get another crib, but I don't want to spread them out like that while they are infants. If we have a boy and a girl... as they get older and move into "big girl/big boy" rooms... then we'll do something different for each. 
Christi asked: 

Oh girl... are you kidding? I'm finding out the moment that we can! I need to know if I should be packing things to be reused in 6 months or if I need to be buying a thing or two in pink to get ready for a girl. We also need to know if it's a boy because we have no names picked out for another boy.


I think the biggest surprise is the amount of work involved for something that sleeps 80-90% of the day. The bottle washing, laundry, and time spent feeding/burping was a little shocking. By the time you do that and try to sleep when he's sleeping... you're pretty much out of time. 
The size of him is a little shocking at times too - he's so much smaller than any of the other babies I've been around... he's two weeks old and his newborn clothes are still a little big on him. But he sure is CUTE! 


I think we'd like to have one more (I'd go for two... but John says one) so we'll just see how that happens over the next few years. I don't know how it would happen for us this time around... we'll just see what God has in store for us and follow his plan. 

That's all I've got - great questions!! We'll try again next week... so you can start posting or sending me questions as you think of them.  


  1. Hey it's Denee'. I did have an idea for you to work from home. You can take a class and become certified to be a medical transcriptionist. You can do it from home, and then set your own schedule. Not sure if you are interested in that, or what the salary would be, but it's a thought!

  2. Great questions and even greater answers!

