Merry Christmas!!!

Introducing Grayden Nicholas Hottinger...

Grady came early!!!

Grayden Nicholas Hottinger was born at 3:53 am on July 24, 2010.  He came early as our due date was August 1st.  Thursday night I was having some contractions but they were far apart and very sporadic.  I took a Tylenol that night before bed and felt ok in the morning.  I went to work on Friday and was on my feet most of the day.  By about 1 I finally sat down at my desk to do some paperwork and noticed that the pains I was having were coming more frequently and they were pretty much about 7 min apart and regular.  I ended up calling my OB office and they told me that I should get my feet up and try and hydrate a little better than I had done that morning.  At 3: 30 I went home.  I put my feet up, got  a big jug of water, some grapes and of course some M&M's and plopped down on the couch.  At about 6:30 I had a feeling while laying on the couch that my water may have just broke!  I called the doc and he sent me to the hospital just to find out if it had indeed broke.  Lets just say I never got to leave!!  I was hooked up to an IV, gown on, and in bed by 7:30.  I think I got my epidural by 11 or 12 that night and started pushing at 3am....... Grady was born 53 min. later!  We are still at the hospital now hoping to leave this afternoon sometime.  They are supposed to come take pictures around noon and then I think we'll be on our way.  It will be so nice to lay down in my own bed tonight, even if it is only for a couple hours :)

30 Weeks!

Well, we are 30 weeks along now!  I can't believe how quick it has gone by!  Went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and another ultrasound.  2 months ago the doctor thought that the baby may be just a little small for its age.  The next visit (1 month later) another doctor in the practice said that the baby may be on the large side.  So needless to say, they wanted an ultrasound this month to take measurements.  As of now, the baby is still small.  They said he is about 2 pounds 11 ounces.  At this time I believe he is supposed to be closer to 3 pounds.  The fix:  eat more protein.  I have been eating way to many carbs and I know it but it's what I crave. 
While we were there we had the tech make sure it is a boy.... and he is still a boy!  Too many people had told me that they thought the last picture looked more like the umbilical cord so I was getting a little worried! 
So as for now, we are scheduled to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for a check up and the birthing classes are every Tuesday this month. 

On a side note:  I accepted my first RN job today.  I will be working at the Heritage in Findlay.  It's a Nursing Home.... but I've worked there before as an Aide so it will at least be familiar to me.  Which will make having a new job and a new baby that much easier.  They also have good scholarships and tuition reimbursement so that I can get my bachelors eventually. 
Nothing else is new really on the home front.  Will update you if anything changes!

off topic: I PASSED MY BOARDS!!

Ok, this has nothing to do with the baby but definitely has to do with our money situation once the baby gets here....

I took my State Boards on Saturday and found out on Monday that I PASSED!!!  ON THE FIRST TRY!!! 
I am looking for jobs right now but in our area they are slim picking.  I am not sure anyone will hire me either with only 3 1/2 months to go for the baby to get here.  But I am still looking and applying, at least maybe I will get an interview and they will remember me in a few months if another position opens. 

Anyway, our next appointment with the doctor is on April 30th.  So, more news then!

Proof That it Is Indeed a Boy!

Cute Profile Picture.

Our Little Guy Sucking His Thumb

It's a ............................. BOY!!!!!!

I will post pics as soon as Nick gets them scanned I promise!

We had the ultrasound today and everything looks good!  The baby is 15 ounces and around 10 inches long.  The doctor said he's a bit small for his age but it's nothing to worry about and that we'll have another ultrasound around week 30-32. 
Nick is so excited to have a boy.  I have to say that I was sort of hoping that I would be able to get all the frilly outfits and do a little girls hair but I am more than happy having a boy.  Now on to decorating!!!!

I'll post pictures soon!

Bri&Nick

18 Week Doctor Visit...

I went to my 18 week appointment today.  All is well with the baby.  He/She had a heart beat of 150 beats per min.  All of my measurements were fine and things are progressing just like they should.  I still haven't gained any weight, which my doctor said was fine... and I'm COMPLETELY fine with that!  I worked so hard to lose the 31# that I really would hate to see it come back... I've still got pleanty of extra weight that the baby can take!! :)
Since about week 14 I have been feeling "things" in my stomach.  Since this is my first I have NO idea what a baby moving around would feel like.  Yesterday I DEFINITELY felt the baby move.  After talking to the doctor and listening to it moving around I'm positive that is what I felt.  She said it should happen more often now.  You are so excited to feel the first movement but then again dread the movement when you are trying to sleep at night.  I'm already tossing and turning because I can't get comfortable.  It's just going to get worse too! 
My next appointment is March 30th and that is when we will find out what the gender is!!!  That one will be exciting!  We asked about getting a 3D ultrasound and they said they could do that but insurance wouln't pay for it.  It is more an elective thing.  It would end up costing us 175.00 so we're not sure we really want to spend the money on that right now.  Anyway,  that's the update for now.  More later!

17 Weeks Today!

Well, today is the 17 week mark.  Three more weeks and we'll be half way through the pregnancy!  CRAZY!! 
So lately I've been throwing around names with Nick because on March 30th we will be able to tell the gender.  We can't really agree on a girl name at all.  The boy name is picked out but we would still like everyone's opinion.  So I made my own name list and you can go to the link and vote on your favorite name.  I'm still not sure about the girls names but so far this is some that we like.
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9754042 

So go to the link and vote for us.... we would love your input!

Our next appointment is on March 2nd... we'll post more then!!

Second Trimester is Here!

As of Sunday we are now at the 14 week mark AKA the second trimester!

Your baby measures about 4 inches, crown to rump, and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces (a little more than an extra-large egg).

To see week to week size of the baby see http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/blogs/nb_checklists/pages/how-big-is-baby.aspx?r=0 

I've been felling pretty good.  Still EXTREMELY tired all of the time.  I don't work full time and I still take naps!  Thank god I married such a great guy that he doesn't complain about me sleeping all of the time!  I did have an appointment with the doctor on Friday and everything went very well.  The baby's heart beat was 158 beats per min.  This is very good.  I had to ask her opinion if the old wives tale was true or not.  (higher heartbeat=girl, lower=boy)  She said it wasn't true.  I keep telling Nick that the baby is going to be a girl just because we secretly want a boy :)  It doesn't phase him, he's still convinced it's a boy.  We are definitely going to find out what it is.  It will make shopping MUCH easier on everyone!  The ultrasound date is March 30th.  We can't wait! 
Anyway, enough from us tonight.... check back soon!

Coming Soon

Hello!! This is our attempt to create a blog for our family and friends that aren't close by to see what is happening in the next 6 months. We can't promise that we will be very timely with this but hopefully you will be able to follow along as the baby's due date approaches.