I am thrilled to announce that Shawn and I are having our first baby!! The intention of this page will be to keep track of all my happy news and events throughout this pregnancy.

April 29th - I took a home pregnancy test at 7 p.m. and got a faint positive! I couldn't contain my excitement and told Shawn (my husband), my two best friends, two of my cousins, my mom, my dad, my brothers, and my mother-in-law. This is the GREATEST news ever!!

April 30th - I didn't sleep much last night because I was so excited!! I took a second home pregnancy test at 5:45 a.m. and got a much more definite positive! I called my mom (3 times before 8 a.m.!) and four of my five aunts and uncles (the fifth was already at work). Shawn's shock is finally wearing off and he's very happy too! I made a doctor's appointment for June 1st at the hospital's clinic, then went to work and told all my coworkers!

May 2nd - Shawn's oldest sister, who is pregnant and due in August, called to congratulate me. She recommended her doctor because she thinks he's great. It is a small practice with only one doctor so I'll get personalized attention.

May 3rd - Called and made an appointment with the new doctor for May 24th. I can't wait! Also took a couple of pictures of me so that we can keep track of how big I get! Click here to see those pictures.

May 24th - Today was our first doctor appointment! Shawn came with me and we were given an ultrasound! The baby looked more like a bean but we could see his/her heart beating. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life!! We were given a due date of January 9, 2002. Now, we just have to see how accurate that turns out to be! Our next appointment is July 2nd. The doctor said we should be able to hear the heartbeat at that appointment.

July 2nd - Today was our second doctor appointment! Shawn came to this one too and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! The doctor says that we'll get to listen to it at all of our appointments from now on! Yay!! The doctor says that we are doing fine - I have even lost 7 pounds! However, I am into maternity clothes already as I don't fit into too many of my own clothes anymore. Our next appointment is July 23rd. I am going to have blood drawn for the AFP test and schedule my ultrasound! We hope we'll get to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl!

July 17th - Today is my 25th birthday! Not really a big milestone in the pregnancy but I turn 25 and am exactly 4 months pregnant today. Time sure is flying!!

July 23rd - Today was our third doctor appointment! I decided to pass on the AFP test since I am not too worried about it. Things are progressing nicely. My blood pressure was great, I gained 3 pounds, and I heard the baby's heartbeat again! It was nice and strong at 148 beats per minute! What a beautiful sound!! My ultrasound was scheduled for August 10th at 8 a.m. I can't wait to see the baby!! I also scheduled my next doctor's appointment for August 20th.

July 27th - I was given a very nice maternity outfit from my mother-in-law and one of my sisters-in-law for my birthday. Shawn took pictures so I now have more belly pictures! Click here to see those pictures.

July 30th - We had only one picture left on our roll of film so we took one more picture of me! lol ... and I usually hate having my picture taken! Click here to see that picture.

August 10th - We had our ultrasound today! Everything measures right on track and the baby looked perfectly healthy! We are so THRILLED! Click here to see the ultrasound... you can clearly see the baby's face! You can also see the hand and upper body!! And... we found out that we are having a little BOY!! His name will be Clayton Warren after my grandfather... we are so happy!

August 20th - Today was our fourth doctor appointment. It was a very quick appointment. My blood pressure and weight are fine, the baby measures right where he should be, and everything seems to be going fine! Our next appointment is September 25th. At that appointment I have to drink some orange flavored drink, wait an hour, and have my blood drawn. It's a diabetes test.

August 27th - My sister-in-law had her baby today! It was a little girl and she is so pretty! They have named her Autumn Ruth. She was 7 pounds, 9.6 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long. Finally a niece in Shawn's family. He has three nephews and our son will make the fourth boy!

September 5th - I went to the doctor today. I keep having trouble with my legs, pain and numbness, but my right ankle has been terribly swollen for the past two days. I figured that it would be better to be safe than sorry. The doctor says there is nothing to worry about. Things are just being moved and squished due to my uterus growing. I was happy to hear that all is well!

September 11th - Today was a very sad day... makes me very nervous about bringing a new baby into the world. I will never forget today's events and will always remember how happy I was that my baby was safe and healthy inside of me. Thank goodness my family and friends are all safe. God Bless America...

September 15th - Shawn and I went to Indiana to visit my dad this week. He teased me all week, calling me Bertha and Shamu, but he's so happy to be a grandfather. He bought me some baby clothes... one shirt says "My fingers my be small but I can still wrap my Grandpa around them". It was great to see him. He's coming out here for two weeks after the baby is born.

September 25th - Today was my sixth doctor appointment. I took the glucose test...that drink tastes like orange flavored sugar! I'll hear soon if I failed. If I get no phone call, that means I passed. I have gained 10 pounds... yuck! The doctor said that 10 pounds isn't bad but that I should watch my calories because if I gain too much weight, it'll make things difficult for me at the end. My blood pressure was 120-something over 50-something and we heard the heartbeat (what a wonderful sound!). The doctor says that I am 25 weeks going by my due date of January 9th, my ovulation date of April 17th, and the fact that my cycles were usually 33 days or so... I count 26 weeks from the day of my last period - not a big deal though, the baby's healthy and that's all that matters. The doctor gave me brochures on the childbirth and child related classes that the hospital offers as well as on breastfeeding. We talked about circumcision and the fact that I should start looking for information on pediatricians. That's about it... sorry this was so long! My next appointment is October 22nd.

October 20th - Today was my friend Jen's wedding! It was a beautiful wedding and she was a gorgeous bride... I made sure to get a picture of me and her... click here to see it.

October 22nd - I found out today that my cousin is pregnant. She is married to Shawn's brother and they have a son, Nikolaus, that turned 2 on October 11th. It's funny...she is four years younger than me, we were pretty close as kids and have remained close. Now, we are married to brothers and are each pregnant... who would have thought things would have turned out like this. Also, today was my seventh doctor appointment. I've gained 5 pounds for a total of 15. Found out that fruit juice and fruits can be just as bad for you as cookies and chips in the weight gain department...how tragic! My blood pressure was good...uterus measured 34 centimeters (I'll be 30 weeks by my LMP tomorrow) and the baby's heartbeat was wonderful! That's about it... he answered some of my questions and my next appointment is November 12th. After that, I start going every two weeks and then every week. I can't believe I am at this point already! How has it gone SO quickly... seems like just yesterday I was getting my positive! We start our Prepared Childbirth classes on November 6th.

November 6th - We had our first childbirth class tonight. I am 32 weeks...8 months...now. It was fun... the class is a little bigger than I thought it would be but it seems great so far. There were a few joksters...including Shawn! When one woman was talking about how she'd been naseous her entire pregnancy, Shawn announced that I had been moody the entire pregnancy! The class is every Tuesday, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for six weeks. Our third class will be a tour of the maternity ward... I can't wait for that... that's the week of Thanksgiving.

November 12th - Today was my eighth doctor appointment. Nothing special happened other than hearing the baby's heartbeat again... I couldn't love any sound more! We had the usual weight, blood pressure check kind of appointment. I go again in two weeks, on November 26th... then I think weekly after that. Everythings going by so fast! I told my husband that I wanted to get the baby's room done by this weekend. Next weekend is right after Thanksgiving and the weekend after is already December 1st... I know my husband well enough to know that he'll start hounding me to get a Christmas tree then... so I said... No decorating for Christmas without the baby's room being done! He's already done the walls and floor... this week he just has to do the furniture...

November 15th - Today is Shawn's 22nd birthday. Happy birthday Daddy!

November 17th - Today was my surprise baby shower! Click here to see the page my buddy Jodi made for me! My cousin had been asking me all week to go shopping with her this weekend so I decided to go. We went to the mall, had lunch at Friendly's and I ate so much that it hurt. By the time I walked to the end of the mall, I was ready to come home! So, we only shopped for about a half hour. She says it's okay... let's just hang out at your house for a while and I figured whatever, just get me off my feet. So we go to my house, I walk in the door, and hear SURPRISE! The whole point of shopping was to get me out of my house so they could ambush me! My husband was in on the whole thing! It was so much fun. We played guess the baby food, a cotton ball game, and guess the girth. The baby got so much stuff: a high chair, car seat for newborn to 80 pounds!, clothes, a ton of baby soap and lotion, pacifiers, bottles, bassinett, sheets, the bumper I wanted... he got so much stuff that I cannot remember it all!! I also got a piggy bank with ducks painted on it and the baby's name painted on it (it's beautiful!). People came to me and put money (any amount they wanted) in and made a wish for the baby... they also did a baby poll... a dollar a guess to guess what day he'd be born on and all proceeds went to the baby. It was a lot of fun and I am still in awe about how many people came, how much stuff we got, and I cannot wait to set it up in his room!!

November 18th - Today was a very sad day for us. We had to put our cat, Heathcliff, to sleep. He was very old and sick and we had to rush him to the vet because he had a seizure relating to his diabetes. Shawn had him for 16 years... since Heathcliff was a kitten and Shawn was 6. As hard as it was, Shawn decided that his faithful buddy deserved to rest... we miss him very much and are sad that our little boy won't get to meet Heathcliff.

November 26th - Today was my ninth doctor appointment. All is well so I have nothing new to report! After listening to the baby's heartbeat, the doctor said that he sounds like a very happy baby! I go again in two weeks, on December 10th. At that appointment, they will start checking me (what fun!) to see if my cervix is starting to change yet. Also, I will start going in weekly for these checks starting with this next appointment. It's going by SO FAST!! I can't believe my little boy will be here so soon!!

December 2nd - Shawn got our Christmas tree today. This isn't a huge event in the arrival of our baby but I wonder... will our little boy be here before the tree comes down?????

December 10th - Today was my tenth doctor appointment. All is well with the normal things. The doctor did an internal this time though and I am 1 1/2 centimeters dialated! Things are headed in the right direction. I made my next three appointments... for December 17th, 24th, and 31st.

December 17th - Today was my eleventh doctor appointment. All is still well and there has been no change with my cervix since last week. Hopefully that'll change at my next appointment... I am SO ready to have my baby in my arms!

December 24th - Today was my twelfth doctor appointment. Everything is fine and there has still been no change with my cervix... c'mon baby! We are both healthy minus a cold that I've got... going to try and get lots of rest tonight so that it'll go away! Next doctor appointment is next Monday, New Years Eve. Merry Christmas everyone!!

December 31st - Today was my thirteenth doctor appointment. My blood pressure was high so the doctor wants me to come back on Thursday, the 3rd, to check it again. Otherwise, all is well... I am about 2 centimeters. My next appointment, other than the BP check, is next Monday, January 7th. Happy New Year! Stay safe!!

January 2nd - Well, today was a visit to the hospital... but never fear... all is well. I woke up in excrutiating pain about 4 a.m., called the doctor, and he said to go up there... they monitored me all morning and I wasn't in labor... the pain eventually subsided and they drew blood for lab-work. All my tests came back fine... thankfully! I did find out that my blood pressure was back to normal so I don't have to go to the doctor on the 3rd.. only for my regularly scheduled appointment.

January 7th - Today was my fourteenth doctor appointment. Everything is going well and I got good news!! I am now 3 centimeters dialated and 50% effaced!! Because my cervix is "ripe", as the doctor called it, he'll induce me on the 17th if I don't go on my own... I told him I'd think about it. My next appointment is Monday the 14th... if I make it that far!! My due date is in 2 days!! I can't believe that!!

January 9th - Clayton Warren was born today... on his due date! The cliff notes version of the story is (or the best I can do!)... Last night, around 7 p.m., I noticed that I had lower back pain. The pain was like the cramps I used to get when I had my period. I noticed that the pain was coming and going and wondered if it was contractions. I decided to go to bed and get some rest, just in case, around 10 but I kept waking up to go to the bathroom and each time I was in pain... it was pretty uncomfortable. At 10 minutes of 1 I woke up and realized that I had to be labor because the pain was still coming and going, was more frequent than before, and was really starting to hurt. I let my hubby sleep while I did things to try and deal with the labor but that didn't last too long. Just before 3 a.m. I woke him up and told him that I thought this was it... after only being awake a few minutes, he realized that the contractions were coming pretty close together so I called my doctor and he said to go to the hospital and get checked. I got there around 4 and they checked me and found that I was dialated to four centimeters... They checked me again within the hour and I was up to five centimeters... so they got me to a room. In there things went slow for a while and I stayed at five centimeters for several hours. I decided to get an epidural but had trouble with it... took 4 or 5 tries!! Within a very short time after getting it... I had to push... I was SO afraid of pushing but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... while I wouldn't want to go through labor and delivery on a daily basis, it was definitely not as bad as I was afraid it'd be! Clayton was born at 1:36 p.m., weighed 7 pounds 7.7 ounces, and was 22 inches long. I am SO happy to have him here. He is an absolute gift!

to Clayton's page.