Baby's room... In progress

We have gotten the baby's room started. Brett unloaded all the furniture that was in the room and we now have everything in its place. We also have the baby's bedding already on the crib. We are waiting on everything else (the curtains, changing pad cover, etc.) to arrive next week. This is my favorite part! I love decorating his room. It makes everything seem that much more real.

We sat everything up in his room last Saturday night after Brett got home from work. Sunday I went looking for Brett and could not find him. I finally found him curled up in a ball in the baby's crib, lol. I asked what he was doing and he laughed saying he was "testing" his bed to make sure it would hold him. I assured him that if it could his 150 some odd lbs. than the baby would be perfectly fine, ha ha. I just wish I had a camera at that time. That would have been a great picture for the baby's book. :)

20 weeks

Its a boy! The little finger is pointing to "it".

Legs

Hiding his face.

Brett says he is showing his "guns".

Sweet Baby Boy!

Here are the 20 week photos of our baby boy. He weighs 13 ounces and seems a little shy by the photos. When I first saw him I thought he already looks like Brett. To my surprise everyone that sees them seems to agree. You decide...

It's A BOY!!!

Brett & I went to our doctors appointment on Friday to find out the sex of our little one and after 45 minutes of being stubborn he finally revealed his "diaper shot". I had a feeling from the very beginning that it was a little boy. Brett never really said what he thought but seconds before we walked back for the sonogram he said he thought it was a girl and that he had always thought it was a girl. When our nurse told us it was a boy my eyes filled up with tears and I couldn't help but look at Brett and say "I told you so" lol. We are thrilled and couldn't be happier!
After Brett work I used the rest of my day off to run some errands (and do a little shopping :). My mother in law works at Zales in the mall so I stopped in to show her the pictures. On her break, she and I walked down to Belk where she ended up buying TONS of little outfits. I couldn't help myself either. I ended up buying a couple of little onsies, 1 said "I love Daddy" and the other of course said "I love mommy". I ended going ahead and purchasing the bedding I had picked out for a little boy that night.
Yesterday Brett & I met my mom & stepdad along with my stepsister, brother in-law and niece at Babies R Us to "look" at baby furniture. We really didn't have any intentions of purchasing anything that day. We walked through and Brett showed me what he liked and what he didn't like. We picked out our pack-&-play, car seat, and stroller. Momma bought a bunch of little outfits, bibs, and an adorbale pair of little shoes.
We all went to the Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory and ended up picking out the baby furniture and putting it on layaway. We got soooo much done this weekend. His room will be the cutest. We decided to use Brett's camaro pics. and models in the baby's room since it will match the bedding. This made Brett really excited and I think it started his whole "Let's get it now" attitude toward everything which surprised me. I think just knowing the sex of the baby made everything seem real.
Here are pics. of the bedding and the furniture. I will have pics. of the baby up asap!

Cabin Fever

I can definitely say that I am a victim of Cabin Fever. The past couple weeks the weather has been up and down, cold then hot, rainy & sunny. This past weekend Brett & I pretty much stayed in all weekend because the weather was cold and rainy. Today, now that I am stuck in doors due to work, it is beautiful and warm with the high about 73...Perfect Day and I have to watch it tick by through my office window. I can't stay motivated or focused.
I am in need of some serious outside time and would love to be able to do... well anything at this point. I am tired of winter, tired of being pasty white, tired of being stuck in doors. I want to lay out in the sun and just feel the rays (by myself of course... I don't want anyone to see my growing belly). I need maternity clothes or just clothes that will fit desperately but have been trying to put it off as long as possible so that I can buy spring weather clothing. I am down to 1 pair of jeans, 3 pairs of work pants, and the same tops I seem to be wearing over and over due to the comfort factor.
I do love the winter especially when we get snow but since I am 16 weeks pregnant there are only so many things that I can still do. I am ready to get my hands dirty in my flower beds before I am too big. I would like to grill out big fat steaks and make home made ice cream. I am ready flip flops and pedicures. I want spring to stay sprung so that my Cabin Fever does not get the best of me!

The Predictions Against The Odds

When I first realized I was pregnant I had this overhwelming feeling that I was having a little boy. It looked like the odds were in our favor. If you look at Brett's family he is one of two boys and his brother has three boys. Men outnumber women on the Riggs' side so much that Brett's cousin is pregnant with her fifth boy. EVERYONE thinks or wishes that we will have a little girl and I do mean everyone. Frances, my mother in-law says she prays its a little girl. My cousins tell me they want a little girl and everyone at work predicts I am pregnant with a little girl. Brett's cousin says there is no way its a little boy.

Curiosity got the best of me in the beginning and for fun I would look at the Chinese Lunar Calendars. 80% of the time they would predict a little boy. I find myself looking at little boy stuff when I go through the baby departments but the ladies at work say I "Ooo and Ahh" over the little girl stuff. Don't get me wrong, I will love my child and be thrilled with either gender. The strange thing is, we are pretty much set on a girl name and debate on the boy name. My mother in-law's co-worker had a dream I had a little girl with a lavendar bow in her brown hair.

Now I seem to be second guessing my "overhwelming feeling" and find myself getting anxious to know the gender. The bad part is I have 7 WHOLE WEEKS to go before we find out. There is one theory that keeps me believing Tater Tot/Butterbean is a little boy... Both Lori in my office and I have been lucky enough to not have morning sickness. Lori found out she is having a little boy. We know several work associates who have been and were very sick and both were/are pregnant with girls. I have also talked to friends to see who was or was not pregnant with boys/girls and had morning sickness. Our theory is that when you are pregnant with a little boy you may not be as sick as you would be with a little girl. Now this is just a theory but I'd like some comments or experiences from any of you?

So 7 WHOLE WEEKS from now we will know if the Predictions won against the Odds... Till then Tater Tot/Butterbean will remain an "it".

My Meltdown

Well I hate to admit but I had a meltdown this morning. My clothes are beginning to not fit properly and my face is breaking out. I have never been one to have issue with my complexion or my face breaking out and now its as if at all at once my face has decided to look like the Appalachian Mountains...I'm exaggerating just a little but I feel like it does. My chest has grown dramatically and even the tops I thought I might be able to wear for a little while are now extremely snug across the chest. I have noticed that after I eat my pants seem very tight across my belly and feel very uncomfrotable. I am only 11 weeks and did not think I would have to begin my search for maternity clothes this soon but it looks like I will have to.

Confessions of a Coke & Cherry Iceeholic

Hi my name is Kayla Riggs and I am a Coke & Cherry mixed Iceeholic. Yes its true, I am addicted to the cold refreshing taste of a Large Coke & Cherry Icee. I am 10 weeks pregnant and I fear my baby may end up with a brain freeze. I crave these delicious frozen treats all day everyday.

It all began on a cold dark Tuesday night. I stopped by the mall on my way home from a long day at work never expecting a craving to hit me. As I walked by a candy store I caught a glimpse of the Icee machine's blue & red lights and that is when it all began. Don't get me wrong, I have always loved the taste of coke & cherry mixed icees but never like this.

Yesterday was the first day in over a week that I have been able to the resist the urge to stop a get icee. It was a very long a grueling night but I made it. I tried not to think about the wonderful taste or the way my throat feels as the cold frozen beverage runs down my throat.

My addiction is scary. I can tell you 5 places in town that have icee machines and I search for others. I can tell you which ones have regular cherry, wild cherry, and white cherry flavors. I can tell you which machines are out of order for the time being and the next closest machine.

Earlier this week I had to stop after work to buy groceries at Wal-Mart. As I walked in the Icee machine located in the Subway grabbed my eye. I could not wait to get all my groceries piled in my buggy, get through the check out line, and get into the Subway. When the little man behind the counter asked how he could help me I took a deep breath and requested a Large Coke & Cherry MIXED icee. (Mixed icees should have a layer of coke, a layer of cherry, a layer of coke, etc.) I watched as the little man grabbed the cup and put it under the coke dispenser. He then filled the cup up to the rim of the cup with coke icee and then moved it under the cherry disepenser and added a Drop off cherry. I am pregnant....You do not gip a pregnant woman on the cherry icee. When he sat the cup in front of me it wasn't even full to the hole opening of the lid. (A good icee conductor puts the lid on the cup before filling it so that the icee goes all the way up to the tiny hole of the lid). He gipped my of cherry and of icee which is just sooooo wrong. I looked at it, looked at him, gave an evil smile, grabbed my cup and walked out the door.

I have to say thank you to all the other knowledgable icee conductors that have served me. Thank you for filling my cup so that it runneth over for you and for know the correct way to mix an icee.

Boom...Blame it on the Economy

So there is a joke among the ladies at work about the Undeniable BABY BOOM. Apparently (according to Lori) the reason for the boom can be blamed on the Economy of all things... Everyone is trying to save money so they stay home and well, as Mojo on 104.3 likes to say, "Drinks Coffee" :) Literally, I know over a dozen couples that are expecting.

So I decided after sharing stories with one of my coworkers who is 19 weeks pregnant, hearing stories from my mother in law about one of her coworkers with who is 12 weeks, and comparing notes with a business associate who is about 25 weeks that I would share how different our pregnancies seem to be.

My coworker, Lori, and I seem to be some of the "chosen few" who have not experienced the horror of morning sickness. We both have nausea and fight our way through it but have not been SICK. Our business associate, let's call T1 and my mother in law's coworker, T2, both have had morning sickness that seemed to last all day. They both have stories that break your heart and would make anyone think twice about having a baby. I have the nausea and have to eat or feel as if I am going to be sick but never have I felt half as bad as the T's have.

My symptoms have been mild. I have to visit the little girl's room every 20 minutes, I have nausea unless I eat, I can't sleep worth a diddly right now but that's a whole 'nother posting on its own, I seem to be avoiding pastas, (Sorry Guys) my boobs seem to stay sore, and I crave Coke & Cherry Icees (yum yum)...Daily! These other ladies' symptoms are completly and totally different from mine.

Lori has just recently started visiting the little girl's room half as much as I do. She craves coffee...actual coffee not Mojo's "Coffee", that I know of. She is showing her little bump and is now wearing maternity clothes. She does not have any food that she tries to avoid. She finds out the sex of her baby next week and has not gained but a few pounds which is all baby. Her pregnancy seems even more perfect than mine.

T1's chest has filled out drastically...seriously the girl walked in our office after a few weeks and we all were like "Whoa...your boobs are huge". Her belly is poking out and is too cute. The girl is all baby too. She has started drinking milk which I can't even seem to make myself. She craves chinese food. She has entered extreme nesting faze and she and her husband are even looking at purchasing a new house.

T2 is an unsual case. When I heard her stories I couldn't help but giggle. According to my mother in law, T2 craves vanilla ice cream with A1 sauce poured over it and she satisfies this craving ALOT...ewww! She is also extremly emotional and seems to cry at the drop of a hat. I saw her a couple days ago and her belly has already started to show. T2 is only a couple weeks ahead of me. I think her symptoms are a total 180 from mine.

Now my question is... how can we all be experiencing these very different symptoms when there are only two genders? Can symptoms be a predictor of what our child will be like? If one person is sick and the other isn't does that mean one's child will be healthier than the other? How can pregnancy symptoms vary so much much from one woman from the other?

I can only pray that I continue to avoid the morning sickness and the vanilla ice cream & A1 cravings :)

Our Christmas Surprise

Brett & I found out December 22, 2008 that we are expecting our first child. We told the great news to our parents on Christmas Day. Confirmation day was January 8th where I was told that "Butterbean's" due date is September 3rd. We are so very excited about our new addition to our family. I have to say that I am thrilled to be a mom and I know Brett will be the best dad ever. His daddy instinct has already kicked in. He is constantly asking me how much water I'm drinking, what I'm eating, and keeps me from over working myself. He asks how his babies are doing (me & the baby...not twins, that we know of, lol).
Our friends and family could not be more excited for us. My family swears up and down that they all knew I was pregnant Christmas Eve. The grandparents are already deciding what they want to be called and debating about the sex of the baby. I get text, phone calls, and emails on a daily basis from the baby's "aunts & uncles" checking on mommy & baby. Our child will be surrounded by people who love and adore it.
This coming Wednesday I will be 8 weeks and on Friday, January 23rd, Brett & I get to go hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. January 24th, will be 5 years since we started dating and I believe its the best 5 year anniversary present either of us could give each other. We received the best Christmas present ever Decemeber 22, 2008.