IT'S DONE!!!

Bobby finished the nursery today! Enjoy the photos!

36 Week Belly Photo

I'll be 36 weeks on Monday and here's my belly photo that Bobby took today. We have our ultrasound and OB appointment on Thursday. They'll be checking his size again and hopefully deciding what to do from there.

Expecting at TaterHill!

Last night after Bobby got home from work, he put a chair outside for me so I could get some fresh air and spend some time with the doggies. I sat in the chair while Bobby unloaded a truck load of hay. Our neighbor sold his horses and is selling his hay to us for $5 a bale...that's a bargain in the the South right now so it's a blessing and it's nice hay!

Anyway, Bobby let our Springer, Mollie Bea, out for some fresh air as well. She's been living in a whelping pen in the barn. She's expecting along with me! Mollie Bea is due any day now and should deliver by April 5th at the latest. She has gotten HUGE over the last couple of days and already has milk. I thought it would be cute to have a picture of Mollie Bea and I taken since we are both waiting for our babies to get here! hahaha So here we are....

We are also expecting some rabbit litters to be born in April....a litter of mini lops, a litter of netherland dwarfs, and a litter of lionheads. Last night, we allowed our Springer, Montana, to mate with Buddy so we will also be expecting another litter of puppies to be born in May. And our pygmy goats, Solomon and Connie, are together so we should have pygmy goat babies around August/September.

Bobby surprised me last night with flowers and lemons....yes...flowers and lemons. It was so romantic...here's why.....The flowers of course were to cheer me up. I'm having a hard time being on bed rest and not outside with the critters. Well, Monday night, we learned in childbirth class that adding lemons to your water removes sodium from your body which is healthy for you especially if you have high blood pressure and swelling. SO...not only was Bobby listening but he remembered that and brought me lemons! How Sweet!!!

Another Baby Shower

My church had my baby shower for me on Tuesday night. At my church you "request" what kind of shower you would like. I asked for a diaper/bath shower. Well....we got a total of 516 diapers! Bobby added them up! haha The good thing is that they range in size from Stage 1 to Stage 3! Here are some photos from the shower.

My stack of diapers!

Showing off a gift!

My group of friends from church....we are ALL pregnant at the same time. From left to right: Due in August, Due in April, Due in July, Due in April, and Due in June!

Crazy Couple of Days

Well, it's been a crazy few days here. Here is the update:

Saturday: Saturday afternoon at 4:52pm, I started having horrible contractions. Had them through the night and some were getting as close as 10-15 minutes apart.

Sunday (Easter): Still having contractions so my doc told me to go to the hospital to get checked. We headed there (an hour one way). After being there for a little while, the contractions got farther apart and then went away. My blood pressure was high but went back to normal so they released me. At 5pm, the doc from the hospital called and told me that she didn't like what my blood pressure was doing and that I should get in bed and stay there until I can see my OB the next morning. Well...instead of going to bed, I went to church but we came home right away.

Monday: My OB wanted to see me right away. When I got there, my blood pressure was high and she told me to do partial bedrest. Basically, I should be resting as much as possible but can get out of bed to do light duties. Monday afternoon, I start having a bad headache and seeing spots, so my OB sent me back to the hospital. When I got there my blood pressure was high but they had me lay on my left side for a few hours and it went right back down to a great reading. I was ordered to do a 24 hour urine collection to test for preclampsia/toxemia.

Tuesday: I went outside to feed the dogs in the morning and my heart started racing and I started having pain down my left arm. I called my doc and they wanted to see me. When I got there, my blood pressure was 162/95...horrible. They had me lay on my left side and within minutes it went down to 120/65...great. SO....My doc has put me on bed rest. I am allowed out of bed for 2-4 hours a day. Her plan, as long as my urine test and bloodwork are normal, is to keep my blood pressure down through the bed rest for a week to 2 weeks and then possibly induce.

Today: I had to go back to the OB to turn in my urine collection, have my blood pressure checked, and have blood work done. My blood pressure was 132/84...much better than yesterday but not terrific.

As of now our next appointment is next Thursday where we will have an ultrasound to check Connor's size again and to discuss what to do next.

Sooo...it has been crazy to say the least. I am having a really hard time with this bed rest stuff. I just want to be up and about and taking care of the animals and cleaning the house. It's killing me but I know I have to do it.

OB Appointment Update

I was at the doctor today for my routine 34 week appointment. All is well. Connor was moving around like crazy of course! haha His heart rate was in the 150's and sounded great. I am still measuring ahead of schedule. I measured 36 weeks instead of 34. The doc said "Good grief, Tabitha. This baby goes from here to here!" haha So she scheduled me for another ultrasound on April 3rd to confirm his size and weight. We will meet with the doc right after the ultrasound to talk about the results and the "game plan".

34 Week Belly Photo!

I'll be 34 weeks on Monday and here is my newest Belly Photo! Next OB appointment is Tuesday. I'll give an update then!

Crying Over Baked Potatoes!

Yes, it's official....I'm an emotional wreck and I'll blame it on being pregnant! Yesterday, I was about as irritable as can be and last night I even cried over baked potatoes! And I couldn't stop crying! I wanted to make loaded baked potatoes for dinner and of course I use the microwave for that. Well, I didn't have any plastic wrap so I had to just cook them without it. I put them in for 10 minutes and then when we cut them open they still were not done! And the tears started flowing! Bobby looked at me and said, "Don't cry over potatoes." And I said, "I can't believe I'm crying over potatoes" and just kept crying! haha I'll be glad when Connor gets here!

On another note...it is a gorgeous day here today...in the 70s. We moved alot of the Springers around last night and I'm not sure if it's being with new dogs in new pens or the wonderful weather...but it's extremely peaceful here today! No barking and the dogs are just stretched out enjoying the sunshine! The rabbits seem to be enjoying it too! And our little puppy, Felix, is spending his last day here romping in the sun with another puppy, Ella. I take Felix to the airport around 8am tomorrow morning and he'll fly to his new home in PA. Ella will leave Saturday to go live at Rainbowbridges Kennel, another local Springer breeder. We are taking her there with us when we go over there to see a dog.

I will do my best to get a new belly photo soon!

Connor's Quilts

Connor's Great Aunt Cathy (Bobby's Aunt) has made Connor 2 quilts! One is a frog quilt and the other one is a John Deere quilt. We haven't received them yet, but we did get photos yesterday! They are too cute! Here are some of the photos. Thanks Aunt Cathy!

What's Been Happening At TaterHill?

Well, there's a lot that's been going on here at TaterHill. Spring is definitely in the air. Our house tends to get hot quickly and believe it or not, we've already turned on the AC a couple of times this year. It is supposed to be near 70 today and I'm looking forward to it. It sure makes feeding the animals a pleasure when you can do it in nice weather! We got tons of rain on Tuesday which was very much needed but of course left everything a mud pit. The Springers love it though. Often, they stand out in the down pours enjoying the water instead of retreating to their dog houses!

In "Springer" news.....We sold our last puppy, Felix, yesterday. He will be flying to his new home in Pennsylvania next week. I'm excited that he's found a great home and will be leaving before Connor arrives but I'm ready for more puppies! haha We are hopefully expecting a litter the last week of this month/first week of April. I say "hopefully" because sometimes it's hard to tell. We don't take our dogs to have an x-ray done to confirm pregnancy. We figure we'll know sooner or later! haha Bobby tried to palpate her and he believes he feels a couple of puppies. Sometimes the Springers can be so deceiving because they can carry their babies high up in their ribs. I personally think she is pregnant. I hope so! We have 7 people on the waiting list for this litter. Granted, some may change their mind or find a puppy before these are born but a few are are very very interested. Here are photos of the expecting parents, Mollie Bea and Buddy. Our friends, Clarissa and Vee, took the photo of Buddy.....it's gorgeous! We took the photo of Mollie and obviously need to get a better one! haha

**This is Mollie. For some reason my photo of Buddy does not show up when I publish the post.

In "Rabbit" news..........We have baby Lionheads, Netherland Dwarfs, and Mini Lops that have hopped out of their nestboxes! They are so stinking cute! We are accepting deposits for them now and have already received some. One family is coming on Friday evening to pick out their mini lop.

In "Goat" news............Little Spud is doing well. His new family is coming to meet him on Saturday. His mom has decreased her milk production and I was worried about him not getting enough so I started him on a bottle. He doesn't like it very much and still wants momma. Maybe he's getting more from momma than I thought? Not sure. But he seems happy and content.

In "Connor" news........I wish he'd get here! haha I've been having some Braxton Hicks contractions and pretty much ache all over but I'm still trucking!

Well....gotta head out to feed the critters and enjoy the sunshine!

Meet Connor Through 4D Ultrasound!!!

We had our 4D ultrasound tonight and it was incredible! Connor kept covering his face at first with his hands and feet, but he eventually let us take a peek at him. Does he ever have chubby cheeks and a little pudgie nose! Here are some photos. We got a cd with 78 photos but here are some of our favorites!!!
Chubby Cheeks!!!

Button Nose!!

Grabbing his toes!!!!!

A Little Yawn!!!

Thumbs Up and See Ya Soon!