Camden: November 2009 (85 photos), by Steven McNew

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Camden's "Birth" Day (35 photos), by Steven McNew

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
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So close! :)

Yep, so close to the due date, but still no signs of our little Jelly Bean arriving any time soon! This picture is actually from last week - my belly has dropped even more! This time is so exciting yet a little scary at the same time.

We have set up labor induction for next Friday, Oct. 30, if he doesn't arrive before then... so no matter what, it will only be a week or less til our little bundle of sunshine is actually in our arms! :)

My students at school threw a surprise shower (thanks to some kind parents & an incredibly thoughtful teaching partner!), it was so incredibly sweet! It was so fun to see them so excited about this. We got some really cute stuff, including PSU gear for the little tyke. I had my students guess the date/weight/name for the baby, it was precious to read their responses (3 ounces, 1 pound...etc....). Too cute!!

Today was actually my last day teaching - it is so weird to walk out of my classroom with nothing to take home to bring back. I am so happy that the long-term sub is exactly who I wanted, I feel very confident leaving the class in her hands. The sad thing is, I am really enjoying this class a lot, so it is very hard to leave them. But I'll be back in January...

I've been trying to find ways to speed up Jelly Bean's arrival - my friend Katie took me for a pedicure on Tuesday, it was so relaxing and so generous of her. :) Now it's on to the raspberry tea and lots of walking (which I've been doing all the time with teaching, anyway) and hmmm, maybe some other things to speed it up... :)

I don't know if I'll be on here again before our Jelly Bean arrives, but I'll be sure to update as soon as I can with pictures - pictures of him will be much cuter than pictures of me with a belly! :) Here's hoping for a quick labor and a healthy baby boy!! :)

Baby McNew does PSU :)

Since Baby McNew has been heading up to Happy Valley so much, we thought we'd post a picture! :)

And, the Daddy-2-B celebrated a birthday up there... :) Thanks to Sam & Maegen for the yummy cookie cake!!

critter chatter...

It's so hard to believe we have less than 3 weeks to go!!! We have put the final touches on the nursery, so I thought I'd share some pics. I LOVE the "critter chatter" theme - I think it turned out so cute!! Each animal block has a different texture (fuzzy, corduroy, felt, etc.) - wish you could feel the different textures through the pictures! :)

The paintings above the crib were done by a teacher at Steve's school, they are so adorable!! They match our 2 favorite animals (the dog & the frog) perfectly. Gotta love the dog ears!!

Another one of Steve's co-workers put the loops on our comforter so we could hang it. It looks so nice on the wall!

My wonderful co-workers at Lurgan threw a shower for me, so the first pic is from that. Note the big bags of Panera bagels (I eat a bagel every day for lunch!) and the PSU theme!! So thoughtful & creative!! I'm very thankful to have such caring & supportive co-workers.

Enjoy the pics!!

Pumpkin Time!!

Finally, I found a moment to update the blog!! :) And the title means that our little Jelly Bean for Easter has turned into a Pumpkin just in time for Fall!! Wow, he is certainly taking up a lot of room in there. It is getting so hard to just sit or lie down comfortably....and night-time shifting has turned into 3-point turns.


JB has done some more traveling - he had a wonderful fun- & friend-filled baby shower in York at the end of August, organized by my mom. The shower was themed with jelly beans & books...so thoughtful. It was so nice to see such wonderful friends & family, and it was a "Book Shower", so Jelly Bean has already started quite a library collection. We also got a great rack that holds most of the books. I can't believe we didn't get any duplicates, and they are all such fantastic books! Thanks for the wonderful shower, Grandma! :)

We have also been traveling to PSU games - yesterday was the longest, coldest, wettest day so far. We went up early to enjoy a full day of tailgating....in the rain. But it was still good times. And luckily our seats are under the top deck, so we were dry. Unfortunately the game wasn't a lucky one for us. We did get a nice PSU pic with the belly so I will have to post that one on here soon!


JB even made it to our cousin's wedding in New York. It was a lot of driving, but it was a great time. And it was a blast to hang out with Tim & Tiffers & Mom (Dad was still in rehab recovering and learning to walk again). Tiffers & I even got a belly bump pic! :)



The car seat is in and ready to go....we took it to the State Police to install correctly, and boy I'm glad we did. It took them an hour to get it adjusted and installed safely. We never would have known that the car seat had to be at a 45 degree angle for a newborn.

Teaching has been okay...it's a little stressful this year,with a lot of early mornings and late nights spent at school, because we were given a new curriculum in August. Adding to that, less planning time and more student instruction time this year, it can be draining. But teaching itself has been pretty easy on me - I sit a lot in the front of the room when I'm teaching, because I get out of breath so quickly. But so far that has been the only hard part - my feet swell a little, but I haven't had any major problems. I really can't complain, because I know it could be a lot worse! :)

Well, that is a quick update...hopefully more later along with a PSU pic! :)

from butterflies to sand crabs...

Jelly Bean is 30 weeks old! :) And wow, is he ever showing his healthy growth with all his kickin' around inside. He has so many different kinds of kicks, I've started naming them all. Here's a glimpse at some of his more frequent kicks & movements:

the butterfly: these were most frequent when I first started feeling J.B. move - just felt like a really slight movement inside, kind of like hiccups.

the acrobat kick: this is the one where I can feel him at the top right and bottom left, back & forth, back & forth...

the soccer goal kick: this one is just one great big BAM! sometimes he can really make my ribs hurt! even Steve can see this one in action!!

the snare drum: sometimes it feels like Jelly Bean is just pulsating in there - i really wonder what he's doing that makes it feels like this!!

the quarterback pass: i named this one for when it feels (and sometimes looks) like he is swiping his arm across the inside of me, like he's passing the football for a touchdown - one slow, solid movement.

the wrestling hold: still not sure how to best name this one - sometimes J.B. pushes up against the inside of my stomach and just holds for a few seconds.

the sand crab crawl: ahhh, this one is my favorite. when my brother tim and i were just little ones playing in the sand at cape cod, we used to go down right to the edge of the water and dig for "sand crabs"(I'm not sure if this is the proper name for them, it's just what we called them); we'd hold them in our hands to feel the slightest tickle as they crawled across our skin. sometimes i feel Jelly Bean just like that inside; i love that little tickle. :)

I know I mentioned a lot of sports in my kick titles, so I can't stop there without mentioning my favorite sport, cross country. This one ties in with the frequency and energizer bunny mode of J.B. & his kicks - he's building up quite the endurance, just like a long distance runner needs to do. See, I knew I could tie XC in there somewhere.... :)

From what I've been told by other moms, I have many more Jelly Bean movements to look forward to! I'm especially looking forward to the high-five (when supposedly we'll be able to see the shape of his tiny hand pushing against my stomach) and the butt-bump (when we'll see his little bottom slide from one side of my stomach to the other).

Steve & I have been trying to take a lot of day trips this summer (it didn't really make sense to do our usual Busch Gardens trip since I can't do the roller coasters). We ventured out to Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, Washington, D.C. (the nat'l zoo - but I was disappointed when we couldn't find the otters!!), Inner Harbor, and we even went up to Penn State for a day to enjoy happy valley sans the game crowd. It's been fun!


And finally, here's some good news - Steve and I graduated from our Birth Class, we even got a little diploma. As much preparation as we try to do though, I know that Jelly Bean will be the best teacher we'll have. :) And we still have 67 days to learn more about his fancy footwork & drills before we even get to meet our very active little mr. sunshine....

tiny hiccups & mighty kicks!!

Wow, can our little Jelly Bean ever KICK!! We certainly have a very active little guy!! :) I'm supposed to be feeling slight movements inside which are referred to as baby "hiccups", and it should feel like a little tickle....but his kicks make my entire stomach move, it's like little jolts inside me! I've asked other prego friends if this is normal... Katie assured me it just means we have a healthy baby. And Laurie, I think you're right, he might be ready for soccer already!! :) I'm confident that he just has very strong legs, and he will be an excellent athlete! :)

It has been a while since I've written on here; we finally took a picture yesterday to post. J.B. is about the size of a head of cauliflower now, about 14 1/2 inches in length. I can tell he is getting bigger as I feel him moving so much - I imagine he is stretching his little legs & tiny toes, flexing his fingers... I can't wait for him to be snuggled up in my arms instead of in my tummy! :)

Steve's mom put together a baby shower with some of my friends/relatives here in Chambersburg - we got so many nice gifts, and it was so nice to see some friends I hadn't seen for a while! We took a picture of the wonderful things people have given to us (see below).

I think I can also now officially announce that Tiffany (our sister-in-law) is pregnant, too!! YAY!!! Congratulations Tim & Tiffers!! How exciting - our little tykes will be growing up together!! :O) Now we just need to get them to move closer so we can see them more....

I have been feeling fine, but extremely hot at times outside. I know I'm pretty lucky that it's been a rainy, cloudy summer overall - we've only had 3 days in the low 90's, and 2 of those days were in April. So I'm definitely counting my blessings!! :) It's getting harder for me to move fast (I get out of breath quickly), esp. up and down stairs or hills outside. And my back is definitely getting sore from all the weight - I just can't imagine getting any bigger than I am right now! But I know I will....

Cravings have been happening more - my biggest cravings are for Wendy's jr. cheeseburgers and root beer, and most of all peppermint patties!!! Jelly Bean really likes the patties, so I have been making sure to give him a taste of them daily. :)

87 days to go til our little bundle of sunshine is wrapped up in our arms!! (He's already wrapped up in our hearts!!) :)

The nursery so far...and more!

Well, since Lori is off travelling with Jelly Bean in Alaska, I thought I would update the blog with some video of the nursery so far. Much more to do in there! Lori hasn't seen things here at home in awhile so there is a bunch of video with some stuff you probably won't care too much about...like Abbi and I getting attacked by our Purple Martins and the size of our broccoli. I just want to get Lori's opinion before I keep working and this is the easiest way to show her. Check it out if you're interested but if you only want to see the nursery, this is at the end of the video. Almost July and counting...October will be here before we know it and Jelly Bean will make his grand appearance!

Jelly Bean does AK...

So here we are in Alaska - Jelly Bean has been kicking away the whole trip so far. :) So far JB has done some camping out in the wilderness of Denali National Park, and he was with me when I got to see some pretty cool wildlife: grizzlies & their cute cubs (climbing trees!!), caribou, moose, dall sheep, a wolf, a fox, and tons of snowshoe hares. We did some good hiking out in the wilderness, too. Someday we'll have to come back when he can really see it all for himself! :) (And when I have more energy to do a little more activity here.) Tomorrow we're going kayaking in the Prince William Sound, then Mon-Tues we head down to Seward to camp again & take a boat out to see some arctic marine life. Hopefully we'll see some otters & sea lions & whales!

So this week JB's as big as a mango - can't believe he is 23 weeks old now! And seriously, as big as my belly is getting, it's kinda hard for me to believe that he's ONLY as big as a mango - I'd guess he was as big as a pumpkin in there!! :) I certainly feel him moving much more frequently, and his kicks are easy to feel outside my belly now. I can almost feel the vibrations echo through the rest of my body! I am definitely getting tired more frequently & more easily, too - I get short of breath just going up a set of steps. And I'm always ready to fall asleep pretty early, not quite the night owl I've always been anymore. Definitely feeling tired & exhausted here in Alaska - lots of walking & activity.

I've read that at this point, Jelly Bean can feel me moving around - like if I'm swaying or dancing, he can feel the movement inside. I wonder how much he'll feel when we're kayaking tomorrow? Maybe he'll feel the movement on the water...pretty cool! And I know he is hearing sounds now, too - he should be used to Abbi's bark before he meets her. :)

Steve has been setting up our nursery - we got a lot of our furniture at IKEA, and now we have a glider, too. :) I hope to get some pictures up soon....hopefully in the next blog entry!! Jelly Bean & I need to get home safely from Alaska first.

It's a....

BOY!!! :) And he's got quite a kick these days!! It was so exciting to have our ultrasound yesterday. The best part was seeing his little hand opening & closing...so precious!! It was simply amazing. It's nice to be able to say "him" now, too!!

Today was our last day of school, and my wonderful 5th graders completely surprised me with a baby shower!! I was definitely surprised, and I was so amazed at the kindness and number of gifts!! We got lots of little onesies, cute hoodie-towels, socks, diapers....tons of stuff that we will certainly need and definitely enjoy!! I was so touched....what an unforgettable class. And MANY THANKS to LeAnne, Laurie, & Tammy who helped plan it all!!! What wonderful friends!!! :)

That's it for now - more later....just wanted to announce that it's definitely a BOY!!! Yay!!! Now it's time for the name game - but the name won't be announced til birth. :)

Baby McNew's 1st Marathon!

Baby McNew got to run his/her very first marathon on Sunday!!







Or to more accurately put it, JB got to run/WALK the first marathon!! :) I had signed up for a marathon before finding out I was pregnant, and decided to do it anyway, just very slowly & cautiously. There was not much training involved at all (the longest I've been able to run the past few months is 9 miles), but I figured I'd walk most of it anyway. So we started off strong - we ran the first 10 miles, then stopped to walk for about 3 miles, then ran every other mile. My parents & friend Katie(who is currently 31 weeks pregnant!!) were there, what great supporters! Very pregnant Katie even walked the last 3 miles of the marathon with me, so we actually did cross the finish line...just under 6 hours!! I think they were pretty close to shutting down the course by the time we got to the finish. But we did it!! :) Thanks to my wonderful supporters!! Boy, did we ever feel sore the next couple days. Being pregnant made my back & knees especially hurt from the impact of the running - the marathon was wonderful tho, and definitely one I'll do again (great incentive for next year!!). It was on a rail trail, so all flat and relatively soft surfaces. Nice!

In other news, we are heading out this wknd to purchase our "travel system" (it's not just a "stroller" anymore!) and pack & play. Fun stuff!!

Jelly Bean has been kicking a LOT!! I felt some real kicks for the first time on Memorial Day, first thing in the morning - 3 solid kicks! Since then, I feel little JB kicking and moving around more frequently. Steve still hasn't felt it, tho. :(

We are so excited to find out if it is a boy or girl next Thursday!! 142 days til due date....

more veggies...

JB is about the length of a bell pepper or a pickle this week (take your pick!). Definitely feel him/her moving around inside me! Still haven't been able to feel it from the outside, tho.


I added a countdown ticker to the blog (you can see it if you scroll down on the right), and right now it says 153 days til our due date! Wow...it seems like a long time right now, but I know it will go so fast!!


Jelly Bean has developed ears now, so that means he/she can hear us when we talk. That is amazing to me! I love the idea of being able to kinda communicate with JB already. :)


Yesterday we took a big trip to IKEA, and returned with a crib, changing table, and dresser for the nursery. If you look closely at the picture, you can see these purchases still in the boxes....maybe in the next picture you'll see them all set up!! This will be exciting!!

Turnips, anyone?

Yep, you guessed it - the vegetable of choice for Jelly Bean's size this week is a turnip. :) He/she is about 5 inches long now.

I have still been running a little bit, but I've definitely had to slow down (my pace is about 1 1/2 minutes slower per mile now), and I get exhausted quickly. As I'm getting bigger, my balance is starting to get a little tricky, too. I'm very excited about a prenatal yoga dvd I just got, and hopefully that will help me stay fit as my running soon turns into walking.

Now that we're into the 17th week, JB's skeleton is starting to harden as it changes from soft cartilage to bone. I wonder if this is when I'll start to feel him/her move around more - I'm sure the bone will make the kicks a little harder. JB's joints are getting more defined now, too, so I'm sure that will improve the form of his/her little kicks as well! :)

I have been feeling flutters inside, but nothing that Steve can feel or see yet. Hopefully soon!! We are really looking forward to June 11 & finding out if we have a boy or girl! :)

tiny toenails....

...are forming this week!!! Little Jelly Bean is growing fast now!! As big as an avocado this week....yeah, all these references to fruits and vegetables are kind of strange, but it's nice to be able to visualize how big little JB really is. Even more amazing, his/her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood a day...wow.

We had a healthy visit to the doc this week - heard the heartbeat again. Found out that JB is quite the squirmy little tyke! Moving around all over the place. Think he/she definitely takes after Steve in the antsy-ness aspect!! :) Just can't sit still for very long!!

We are all set up for our 4D ultrasound on Thursday, June 11 - if all goes well, we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl! Can't wait!! :)

It's so exciting to think that next year on Mother's Day I will really be a mother. It gives me chills to think about it! I just hope I can be as amazing a Mom as I have - Happy Mother's Day, Mom!! Thanks for all you do for all of us!!

apple of our eyes...

And Jelly Bean certainly is the apple of our eyes right now, as through this coming week JB will be about the size of an apple! I can't believe this is our 15th week!! As you can see in the pic, the belly is definitely showing. And I'm wearing one of my very first official (and very much needed!)maternity shirts, thanks to Mom's generosity on our shopping trip yesterday. :) We also hit a few yard sales; found a few nice things in pretty good condition.

This week JB is up to 4 inches! His/her eyes are still squinted closed, but he/she can now sense light. If we shine a flashlight on my belly, supposedly JB will squirm in response and move away from the light! Little lungs are developing in the body now, and tiny taste buds, too. Wow, so much growth in such little time, it's so amazing to us!

This week (Thursday) we have a doctor's apt, and there is a chance that we can find out if it's a boy or girl if they do an ultrasound, but it's a very slight chance. We'll see! Here's hoping for a healthy visit! :)

Lemon Zest :)

So we're a little excited that over the past week (the 14th week!) our little Jelly Bean has been growing to the size of a lemon! :) Haven't felt anything yet - but I've finally stopped feeling any nausea in the mornings. Yay! And Jelly Bean's little body is now about 3 1/2 inches long, his/her body growing faster than his/her head.
We've been debating over names now - definitely have a girl's name chosen, still not settled on a boy's name. We have plenty of time tho! We are hoping to find out the sex of the baby in June, at our 5 month visit. Things are really changing these days - we have been told we can take a blank CD in to record the 4D ultrasound! That is so exciting.
We plan to share with everyone if it will be a girl or boy, but we're going to save the name til his/her birth. :)

Pop!

Yeah, I really popped this week! =) My belly is much bigger, which means clothes are much tighter and I'm much more conspicuous in my running clothes! I've been scavenging my closet for the baggiest clothes I can find.

Jelly Bean is really growing! This week we've learned that he/she is about the size of a shrimp - I just wonder what that really means, because I've seen rather large shrimp served as H'ors doeurves at fancy parties (thinking of Aunt Linda's Anniversary Party for Ellen Tracy right now!), but also small shrimp on friends' platters at Red Lobster. Hmmmm.....anyway, we know our Jelly Bean is bigger than a lime, so that must be a pretty good-size shrimp!

Right now Jelly Bean is developing his/her own unique finger prints. How amazing!! I still haven't felt any little kicks or squirms inside, but I am sure that our little Jelly Bean is dancing away in there.

I feel pretty lucky that the morning sickness (or nausea, as I never really got very sick) has been COMPLETELY GONE. I better knock on wood as I'm writing this...but I'm also pretty blessed that I've been able to sleep through the night completely (and I sure do fall asleep fast!! A true change for me!!). Steve certainly appreciates how quickly I fall asleep, as he gains complete reign over the remote for the rest of the night. =)

Yawn, I'm feeling sleepy already....

Li'l Bump!

Just a little one, but it's definitely there! And I feel like I can finally say there really is a baby growing in there, I'm not just eating way too much. :) This week Jelly Bean is about the size of a lime. Growing so fast!!

Baby McNew's dramatic changes this coming week will be reflexes! He/she will be opening & closing its tiny fingers, its eye muscles will be clenching, and his/her little toes will be curling. Wow, the whole process is so AMAZING!!! :) We've also been told that just by gently prodding the abdomen, our little Jelly Bean will feel it and squirm at the touch....but WE still won't feel anything.

We are looking around at baby furniture now - strollers, playyards, cribs, etc....wow, babies sure need a lot of stuff! It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

We will try to continue posting pictures for weekly or bi-weekly updates. :) Thanks so much for all of the wonderful support & love from all of you!!!

fingernails, heartbeats, & hiccups

We are officially 12 weeks! Yay!! :)

So our little Jelly Bean is growing fingernails and developing a diaphragm - leading to tiny little hiccups! :) Wish I could feel them!!

Today at the doctor's we got to hear the heartbeat!! The baby's heart beats 3 times as fast as mine - and wow is it ever beating strong!! We even got to hear the baby's heart beating alongside mine, how amazing!!

Right now Jelly Bean is about the size of a fig - so small, yet growing so incredibly fast. Soon his/her hands will be opening and closing, and its bones are beginning to harden. And I know he/she is kicking and stretching around in there, can't wait to feel it. :)

Bring on the 2nd trimester!!

Jelly Bean

How do we even begin....what a whirlwind of excitement the past couple months have been!! :) We've been calling our little bundle of sunshine on the way our "Jelly Bean." We've had the chance to see his/her heartbeat 2 times now!! It's still so unreal. Tomorrow we go again for our 12 weeks appointment - hoping for good things!!

It's still so hard to fully believe that I'm pregnant - tho the tight fit of my clothes the past couple weeks has definitely helped it become more real to me. :) The major slow-down in my running has been a big clue for me too. And of course the mighty appetite increase hints that I'm pregnant as well. Luckily, I haven't had to experience any bad morning sickness - just a little bit of nausea (usually in the car on the way to work) that passes pretty quickly.

We got to tell both of our parents in the same wknd - my Dad's 65th birthday. :) Kinda funny, when he opened up our "I love Grandma" & "I love Grandpa" bibs, he automatically assumed they were for Charlotte (my brother's newly born little girl)....then he reached in to look at the picture we had also enclosed, and the realization spread over his face as he passed the pic on to Mom. :O) Grandma was there for the whole thing, too, and Jon & Karine called via webcam just in time to hear the news. And we got to see Baby Charlotte wide awake with gorgeous eyes blinking!!

We told Steve's parents the next day, and they are so excited. They're ready to go out and buy things now...we have to remind them that we have plenty of time. :) Buns said she could smell the little bundle of sweetness already....and Gary is already making plans for taking the grandchild to McDonald's and making peanut butter eggs with him/her. :) Gotta love the Grandparents!!!

We are really looking forward to our 12 week point & our doctor's appointment Thursday, as we can finally share our good news with our extended family & friends. And we even already got our first real "baby equipment" from Jolene & Franco - a wonderful little baby bath kit to bathe a newborn, infant, and toddler. And we have plenty of reading up to do with our new subscription to Parents magazine (thanks Keith & Heather!).

We can't wait to meet our precious little Jelly Bean!! So sweet.... :)