Our First "Children"

Today's post is going to be a little different but no worries, I will do an update, like I always do, at the end. :)

Though Leighton Elizabeth is our first baby, our family actually began about 3.5 years ago. This was when we added our first member, Baron McGhee. He is our brilliant, sweet, and hyper-active Rat Terrier. (Cousin to the Jack Russell)

He was born the day after Valentines day in 2007. We welcomed him in to our family in late March that same year. I picked him out specifically because he had a slight, natural mohawk on the top of his little head. He still has it. Baron is the smartest dog in the whole world, and I'm not just saying that because he's ours. He was potty trained in a mere two weeks, and does every trick in the book. We call him our "circus dog." He sits, lays, stays, jumps, dances, high-fives, shakes, etc. And he does most of these by hand signals that we came up with, kind of like sign language for dogs. His favorite things in the world are: chasing the red dot from the laser pointer, eating, playing fetch, his brother, treats for being a "good boy," his toys, people in general. Most dogs, believe it or not, are not attached to their owners like most people think. Baron is very sweet and loves just lounging with us but he is also very hyper and loves chasing, playing, etc. He does tend to jump on new people (a habit we have tried sooo hard to break, failing miserably) but he is harmless. He will turn 4 just before Leighton is due.

Then, in May of 2009 we added another member to our growing family. 

Barlow McGhee, our Miniature Dachshund, was given to me on my birthday, May 27th. He was born April 3rd. Barlow, well, he's our pretty dog. He is dumb as rocks but my goodness one look at his sweet "please pet me" face and you're hooked. He is the happiest, sweetest dog in the universe and his being dumb is a great source of entertainment for us; there is never a dull moment. It's almost impossible to have a bad day in our household because of him. Baron didn't particularly like his brother at first but now they love each other. They love playing together and only get jealous on occasion. Barlow was a much more difficult dog to train. It took an entire year to potty train this poor thing and there were so many times I'd want to give up and give him away and then he'd crawl in to my lap, turn over on his belly and give me the saddest face you've ever seen. Naturally, I could never do it. Barlow's favorites are; his mommy, his toys, his brother, food, treats, being outside, people in general, and being loved on. Barlow will turn two about a month after his little sister is due.



We love our dogs. We treat them as family members, but not as people. We are a little concerned as to how they will react when Leighton gets here. We have done all the research and gotten tips like "bring home blankets from the hospital with her scent on it before you bring her home" and "before she comes, play crying baby sounds for them often so they will be used to it." We want to know what worked for you? How did you get your dogs used to the idea of a new member? How did you handle jealousy issues? Safety issues? We only have dogs, no other pets, so any advice is welcomed and we thank you in advance.

Now, for the regularly scheduled update. We are 24 weeks pregnant as of Friday! Baby girl is now more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, about as much as an ear of corn. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that her increasingly developing ears pick up are preparing her for when she gets here. Supposedly, loud noises that become familiar to her now probably won't bother her when she hears them after she's born.  She has a tiny figure now, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

I feel her little kicks a lot more recently and I can now see them. 

I have begun to get a little swelling  in my feet when I am on them for too long so I try to rest a little during the day and the back pain before bed is no fun either but luckily once I fall asleep it seems to disappear, it's just the falling asleep part that is uncomfortable.

Gestational Diabetes test tomorrow afternoon! I would appreciate anyone who will say a little prayer for me for this delightful occasion.

I think that's all I have for now, hopefully I'll have nursery progress pictures posted soon. We are working on it right now!