Month 2 Highlights

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Claire Photography

Month 2 Highlights

-Size:  You are 11 lbs, 9 oz 23.75 inches

-Clothes: You are wearing 6 month sleepers and 6 month pants but 3 month onesies (although not for long). Your legs are long girl, and so are your feet. I am not sure what size socks you are wearing but they are definitely not newborn...they might actually be closer to 12 months.

-Diapers: You are also wearing size 1 diapers, but as soon as I run out we are moving you on up to size 2

- Skillz: You can roll from front to back, and have several times now.You are a chatterbox, especially in the morning after you've had a full nights/mornings worth of sleep, and you smile when people baby talk to you or make funny noises,

-Favorites: You love your swing, your paci when you are upset, you love your sleep, and to be snuggled with, you like tummy sleeping best, you like your play mat and your vibrating rocking chair (thanks for letting us borrow it Aunt J), and you LOVE bath time,

-Dislikes: You are not a fan of your Rock n' Play anymore (not after our 2 weeks away around Christmas time), you don't like to be swaddled now. and you aren't really a fan of your crib but you will tolerate it if you are tired enough, you hate hiccups and unfortunately you get them a bunch!

-Events: First Christmas and New Years :)

Caroline's Birth Story

So this might be too much information for some but I wanted to document the day so I figured I would write it here. :) Before having Caroline I was a little obsessed with reading people's birth stories so I am happy to contribute to any of you who like them as well. Let's see how far I can get before I am pulled away ;) Please excuse the poor quality of the iPhone photos, we have them on our nice camera too, but for blogging purposes this is faster :)

Well we were 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant when we walked into Memorial Hermann but I need to back up a bit. At my last doctors appt (40 weeks, 1 day) I was dilated to a 3 and my doctor couldn't believe that one I was still pregnant but two that my water had not broken because baby girl was engaged, head down and "right there". I was getting mighty uncomfortable at this point with sciatic nerve pain so we started discussing induction options.

They called over to the hospital because we said we would be ready to go in that evening if they had an opening well to our luck they didn't have anything until Friday, and even then we could get "bumped" to the next week if there were too many laboring women that day already...sigh. But he was still confident I would not make it til Friday.

We were instructed to call the hospital at 5:00am, with bags backed ready to head out the door, on Friday morning to make sure they had room for us so we woke up about 4:00am to start getting ready. When we called at 5:00am they told us to come in at 7:15am but to call one more time before leaving the house. Ben took this opportunity to catch a few more minutes of sleep and I took the opportunity to start shaking in anticipation/excitement/nerves. Called again at 6:30am and all systems were go so we headed out. It was very weird driving to the hospital. I had imagined so many ways that it would go... middle of the night, rushing trying to get there, water breaking in various places along the way...most scenarios in my head were in the middle of the night. I never thought that we would be driving the speed limit or under, on our own terms, past my due date.

I told Ben I was nervous and wanted to listen to some music to take my mind off of our impending day. So T-Pain and Eminem it was...don't judge. We arrived at the hospital got checked in and waited for our room for about 15 min. It seemed like an eternity. When we got into our room it was about 7:30am and our sweet nurse hooked me up to my IV, gave me my "gown", and all 5 of my hospital bracelets, and started to explain the day and made us feel a lot more at ease about the whole thing.

My doctor came in at 7:45am to check my progress before we got started and to break my water. I was already at 4cm (before anything had started), Thank Goodness. So they said I could order the epidural whenever I wanted :) so I went ahead and placed my order before anything had even happened. At the same time the nurse said she would put in the order for my pitocin (to get things started). It was about an hour later that the nurse came back in with my pitocin and up to that point I hadn't really felt any contractions from my water breaking. She informed me that I was on the anesthesiologist's list but he had to make a stop for an emergency before he would get to me. At this point I was thinking, he should stop and help whoever that is that is in desperate need for some sedation because I am doing just fine.

It had probably been an hour on the pitocin before things started revving up pain wise, and by 10:00am I was wondering where the heck my magical shot was to make all of this awful pain disappear. I understood that things were just going to get more intense and I would be lying if I said that I didn't think anyone that did not have an epidural was a little crazy (love you guys). I mean lets be real. I had just started the contractions and I was already violently waiving my white flag of surrender. Ben was so sweet he kept asking if I wanted ice chips :) I mean if we really want to get into this whole labor experience why would I ever tell him no. So he diligently fed me ice chips while I squirmed with each contraction. Let me stop and say I could NOT have gotten though the day without him. I am so blessed to have a supportive husband who kept me calm the whole time, cracking jokes with me and keeping everything so lighthearted. Luckily I didn't have to wait long and at 10:30am, the lovely anesthesiologist came in. Ben was asked to leave the room (protocol) to which he happily obliged and I was prepped for some wonderful drugs :)

I wasn't nervous about the whole needle next to the spine thing one bit... and at this point he could have stabbed me in the back with jagged shard of glass and I wouldn't have noticed but the "pinch and burn" he said I would experience I did not. About 10 minutes after he walked into the room I was starting to feel all warm and toasty and wonderful. Seriously...nothing to be scared about and something I don't understand why everyone doesn't do, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, I mean really... really.

Anyway, my nurse said she would be back in a bit after I was completely numbed up to place my catheter since I wouldn't be able to get out of bed for awhile, she told me to try and sleep or rest in the mean time, no problem sister! 45 minutes later she came back in and said she was going to check me and to everyone's surprise I was 9cm! This was 11:45am. She paged my doctor since he was supposed to be in a surgery at 12:00pm to see what he wanted to do. They started wheeling in the carts and warmers and I was asked to do a practice push to where I was quickly told not to do anymore.

The nurse told me I was doing a great job pushing and I told her I couldn't feel anything, not even pressure, and she said it was ok and that my brain knew what to do. Guess so because my doctor came in at 12:15pm and we pushed through two contractions (4 pushes) and Miss Caroline Elizabeth was born on November 8, 2013 at 12:33pm.

We were shocked, it went by so fast, how was she here after so much waiting for 9+ months and then in the matter of minutes without much fuss at all she was here. While the doctor stitched me up (2nd degree tear from an episiotomy) they got Caroline all cleaned up, a nurse gave her a bath, put her footprints on a certificate for us, took her initial height and weight (7lbs, 14oz, 20 inches) and handed her to Ben. :)

Well Miss C is waking up and ready for a bottle, I will blog about the rest of our hospital stay in the next post.

Work Shower!

 

My co-workers hosted the a sweet shower for me a few weeks ago, Stephen was the mastermind! It had to be pink!!!

 

My "throne" with some gifts :)

  

The theme was "Sweet Caroline" and everyone brought a dessert. 

 Really cute baby cake that one of my co-workers provided for the party!

Another baked potato bar?  I must talk about how much I love potatoes, It was perfect :)

Some of the yummy desserts: Cake, Cookies and Pie!!

Really enjoying the yummy food! Carbs Carbs Carbs mmm

 Just one of the sweet gifts I received but it was too cute not to share. It was an owl basket made up of receiving blankets, diapers, slippers, washcloths etc.

Weeks 36-40

Baby & Mommy @ 36-40

Size of Baby: At my 38 week doctors appointment the doctors best guess was that baby was measuring in the low to mid 7lb range Yay! But Now that I am at 40 weeks...I wonder how much bigger she has gotten!

Total Weight Gain: +18-20 lbs depends on the day/week

Maternity Clothes? Yes and they are all getting a little too snug...my pants I leave unbuttoned most of the time and my shirts are getting a little short since I am carrying straight out in the front of the most part. 

Gender: GIRL!!

Movement: Even though the movements have slowed down quite a bit when she is active, she is ACTIVE. She hits my sciatic nerve quite a bit and I have had a few episodes of total meltdowns because the pain is excruciating. I am not sure how people with chronic conditions of this stuff do it. Poor Ben has to just watch me writhe in pain when it happens nothing I do seems to help until she moves off of the nerve. Alternating heat/ice for the residual pain but the initial is killer

Sleep: I have been sleeping alright when I am not up with contractions. The contractions make me have to pee so I get up every two hours or so to deal with that. I am usually able to go back to bed though so it hasn't been that bad. And, I could easily take a nap everyday if I wasn't working. 

What I Miss: Being able to go out in public without people making comments about the baby not being here yet, why can't I make her come, that I look like I am about to pop etc. haha. I know people mean well but when its a stranger and not a friend I think its a little weird to be so interested in the progress I have made in regards to her coming? Sensitive...Maybe :)

Cravings: Nothing really. I really want to want eggs again. Taquitos always sound like a great idea until I get one...gross :( I do crave Sonic ice waters with extra ice. I think its the combination of the Styrofoam cup, straw, and crushed ice, mmm

Anything making you queasy or sick: eggs, too much milk products but I have learned to avoid both so not too bad.

Symptoms: Sciatic Nerve, Contractions, Pressure, Bursts of Energy, Pure Exhaustion

Belly Button in or out? actually its kind of flat most of the time now but still a lot further out then I am used to.

Best moment: Making it to 40 weeks pregnant! (I thought I would have been early) And a shower my co-workers hosted for me at work. Ben would say its his new truck :)

Song of the Week: Strong - Will Hoge

Mommy- To- Bee Shower

I had an awesome group of ladies host a Mommy-To- Bee shower for me. A huge thank you to Jessica for hosting the shower at her house and coordinating the event, and to Allison, Haley, Ashley and Teresa for bringing things to contribute to the shower, food, decorations, flowers...everything was perfect!

My Sister-in-Law Jessica is so sweet and thoughtful, a Baked Potato Bar was a perfect shower lunch! She knows me so well!

Haley worked hard on her cake ball Bumble Bees and they turned out so cute and even more delicious :)

My sister, Teresa made the cutest tissue paper balls to look like Bees too. The attention to detail was so much fun with the little signs and banners everywhere. It was perfect!

Baby Girl and I were definitely spoiled. It was so much fun to go back through again and again to look at everything, and set things up around the house. We cannot wait for her to make her debut!

Weeks 32-35

Baby & Mommy @ 32-35

Size of Baby: 18.75 inches, 5.5 lbs (according to my phone app) According to the doctor, as of 32 weeks, baby girl was 4lbs 9oz 63rd percentile but that was 3 weeks ago.

Total Weight Gain: +16 lbs

Maternity Clothes? All the way :) So thankful that I received clothes from a co-worker that fit! Everything I bought in the beginning is now to small...even though I still try to fit into a few select items

Gender: Baby Girl :)

Movement: Yes, the movements are bigger but less frequent because she is running out of room in there

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty soundly. Waking up a couple of times a night to change positions but I can fall immediately back to sleep. With that being said I feel like I could take a nap at any point during the day. Right after breakfast, in the afternoon or evening I think I could sleep at any point during the day.

What I Miss: I want my body back, I am ready to be a little more predictable with the way I feel, and not get nervous about not feeling good when just out running errands or something. I am ready to not run into doorknobs or underestimate how much my tummy sticks out. I am ready to hug people and not have my belly hit them first or have to stick my butt out to be able to reach them haha. I had side hugs...lame.

Cravings: No real cravings except that I will not turn down sweets at this point especially snickers and chocolate covered pretzels (snacks provided at work)

Anything making you queasy or sick: If I don't go to bed at a decent hour and have to wake up at my normal time or earlier...body doesn't like that. I think just 3rd trimester in general is making feel gross haha.

Symptoms: Bring on the Braxton Hicks Contractions...I have felt one every now and then but the last two days I have had some that are a bit more uncomfortable/painful. I feel them in my lower back mostly...preview of what is to come?

Belly Button in or out?  out out out

Best moment:  I had my baby shower this weekend, a big thank you to my sister-in-law Jessica who graciously offered her house for the big event. The theme was Mommy-to-Bee and it was the cutest thing ever! Thank you also to my other hosts, Ashley, Haley, Allison and my sister Teresa. Everything was perfect.

We also moved into our new house :) Well "moved in" is relative. All of our stuff is in the new house but we have a long way to go before things are set up the way we would like. We are REALLY enjoying our new yard and back patio. It is so nice to rock in our rocking chairs and watch Rollie run around without fences or worry. It's so relaxing!

Song of the Week: Come Away with Me- Norah Jones

Weeks 28-31

 

Baby & Mommy @ 28-31

Size of Baby: 17 inches, 4 lbs, The size of a baby :)

Total Weight Gain: +13 lbs

Maternity Clothes? This weekend a co-worker of mine came by the house and dropped off two huge garbage bags FILLED with maternity clothes. Almost makes me want to be pregnant longer just so I can wear them!

Gender: Baby Girl :)

Movement: Oh yes, I even get worried when I haven't felt her in awhile because she moves so often. She is the most active when I am laying down, which makes trying to fall asleep interesting but its a great opportunity to thank God that I get to spend another night with her safely growing inside me.

Sleep: Just this week I have started experiencing a little insomnia, I sleep solidly til about 3:00am and then I am up for awhile before falling back asleep...last night I was up from 3am-5am.

What I Miss: Feeling normal. Daily I go from feeling great, to not so great, to nauseous, back to great, to tired etc etc.

Cravings: Nothing too unusual, I am still good with sweets, I have been a bit more thirsty lately. But nothing out of the ordinary.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not sure what it is but at least once a day I feel faint and nauseous. Maybe its just the end of pregnancy woes not sure just hope it stays to a couple of times a day and not all day. 

Symptoms: Bloody Noses, Fatigued pretty easily, feeling lightheaded, blood tests revealed I was a little anemic so I am starting to take extra iron supplements, hopefully that will relieve the dizzy/faint feelings I feel sometimes.

 

Belly Button in or out?  out, way way out

Best moment:  Buying things for Baby Girl's room, bedding and decorations, planning our big move that will happen NEXT WEEK, and then maybe focusing on baby girl's arrival. So spending some quality time with Ben over the next couple of weeks is a must. Oh ya, college football started :)

Song of the Week: 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)- Matt Redman

Never Grow Up

It kills me to watch my four nephews grow up, because they grow up WAY too fast. They melt my heart with each new age and phase they go through, but there is just something special about their baby and toddler-hood.

I am sitting here watching my belly bounce up and down as Baby Girl gets comfortable and I can't already help and pray that time moves slowly. Like it or not the things that EVERYONE lets me know : "they grow up too fast" that "life just moves more quickly once they get here" and that "you are going to miss this". I REALLY want to and am going to try and soak in every moment.

This Taylor Swift song came on my Spotify Radio tonight and I felt the selfish need to share the first verse/chorus.

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger, and its so quiet in the world tonight.

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming, so I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light.

To you everything's funny, you've got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have honey if you could stay like that.

Oh, Darlin', don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up 

Just stay this little

Oh, Darlin', don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple

I won't let noboby hurt you, won't let no one break your heart

And no one will desert you.

Just try to never grow up

I don't know that I have let it sink in yet, just how blessed we are to have this new life joining our family. I can't wait to meet her, but at the same time I am going to really try and enjoy these last three months, only The Lord knows if I will ever get this opportunity again. I pray that I do but that does not give me an excuse to take this time for granted. I wish we could freeze frame time.

Weeks 26 & 27

Baby & Mommy @ 26/27 weeks

Size of Baby: 14.5 inches, 2 lbs, roughly the size of a head of cauliflower

Total Weight Gain: +11 lbs (I'm in the double digits!)

Maternity Clothes? Yes, I am at the point now where I am replacing the first set of maternity clothes that I bought that were just regular clothes in a size up. I now need the shirts with the gathered sides, and my one pair of maternity shorts isn't going to cut it much longer. I need to go shopping...

Gender: Girl

Movement: Yes, a bunch of movement! I notice her most when I am hungry, when I lay down, and when I am riding in the car. Instead of it being little bumps and kicks its more rolls like she is flipping over. When I and laying down my belly becomes very lopsided/lumpy like you are able to see her head and bottom instead of just a perfectly round belly. I also noticed that she has been responding to louder noises like praise and worship music at church, when the drums start or the whole congregation is singing. God is good :)

Sleep: Sleep is good, I have been staying up a lot later lately, 11 or 11:30, which is pretty late for me and waking up at the same time so I guess my body is getting me ready for less sleep. I can tell though that even though I am sleeping less it is more solid. I am not waking up at night like I was before, so I guess its a trade off.

What I Miss: I used to feel cold all the time, and now I cannot seem to stay cooled off. I really start to feel faint when I don't feel air on me or if a room is too warm etc. I didn't think that was something I would miss but I can't wait to have my body temp return to normal so I can ward off the overheated feeling.

Cravings: I am pretty much always up for something sweet, chocolate covered pretzels especially :) but nothing else really. Things have been pretty crazy around here lately so I am craving some food made at home...fast food is getting old fast.

Anything making you queasy or sick: just the heat, if I don't stay cool or if I over-do it sometimes physically I get lightheaded and faint feeling. I try and carry snacks with me because my blood sugar crashes very quickly these days.

Symptoms: Bloody Noses, Fatigued pretty easily, feeling lightheaded, blood tests revealed I was a little anemic so I am starting to take extra iron supplements, hopefully that will relieve the dizzy/faint feelings I feel sometimes.

 

Belly Button in or out?  out...beginning to wonder if it will ever go back in after I have the baby.

Best moment:  There have been a bunch of great moments lately. Planning baby girl's nursery finally is exciting. I don't know if it's nesting or not but I am definitely ready to get into our new house and get things set up. One more month to go!!

Song of the Week: Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)- Chris Tomlin

Weeks 22-25 Family Recap

Wow, where did the last month go? We have been super busy around here, let me fill you in :)

Week 22 was the week of the 4th of July and we spent it with James, Holly, the boys, Philip and Amanda. It was so great to relax a bit before the scramble of getting ready for our big Alaska Vacation. 4th of July has become one of those holidays that I really look forward to. Not only do you get to cook out and eat good food, watch fireworks, catch up with family, but we get to celebrate our independence, give thanks for those men and women in the military who defend our freedom and protect us so we can have great days of celebration like we do. I will always associate this holiday with our first nephew, Tyler's, birthday since its so close. We always get to spend time with Ben's side of the family around this time of year!

This 4th of July was a little different in that we put our house on the market, on the 4th. We spent the evening of the 4th cleaning out the garage and doing little last minute touch ups here and there around the house before our first showing the next day. We took a break in the middle of it about 10:00pm and sat outside on our back patio to listen to and watch all the fireworks being shot off in our neighborhood. I think that memory will stay with me for awhile, knowing that it could potentially be one of the last holidays spent at our first house and just taking that moment to be still with Ben. Fireworks have always been really special to me, I definitely feel like a kid again and get excited just as excited hearing the firework launch and waiting for the burst of color in the sky. I hope I never forget that moment, that night.

Week 23 was spent in Alaska, we spent a week in Juneau with Ben's mom's family there. We had such a good time! We experienced a few firsts during the trip, in our 12+ years, 3+ years of marriage. We had never been on a plane together. (I hadn't flown since Jr. High) It is safe to say that we now have that one under our belts. It was a long couple of days of traveling but worth it! Here are just a few pictures of our trip. Ben posted an album on facebook documenting it, if you would like to see more.

Week 24-25 have been spent trying to get back in the groove after vacation at work and at home (lots of laundry), getting out of our house for showings, having my glucose testing done for this pregnancy to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes (I'm in the clear and passed!!), having our monthly couples bible study, celebrating birthdays at dinner with friends, and going to pick up our Rollie Jean from my family who had been watching her while we were gone. I feel like we have been pretty go, go, go since we got back.

All of the daily cleaning and and showings paid off because early this week we got an offer on our house that we excitedly accepted!!!  We also started house hunting for ourselves and found a great one that we are currently working on a contract! We are so excited but are cautious in our excitement while we wait for inspections to be done on our house as well as our new house. Praying that everything goes well for all parties and we will be moving mid September!

We feel so incredibly blessed that everything is coming together before baby girl makes her debut. I think it would have been a lot harder to sell our house had it been the one we brought her home to. More on the house to come as things become more finalized.

I'll leave you with a few pictures we took, in Alaska, to potentially be placed around the baby's nursery.

21 Weeks

Baby & Mommy @ 21 weeks

Size of Baby: Well the app I was using for "baby size" stopped giving me fruits/veggies to compare the baby to so I had to switch to a new app. This one says baby girl is the length of a banana (10.5 in)

Total Weight Gain: +4lbs down a little bit from last time...maybe I had just eaten a big lunch before my last appt?

Maternity Clothes? I had success at Old Navy this past weekend. I bought two dresses one classic maternity v-neck knee length black dress, and one maxi dress. This is the first one i have ever owned and I must say I am a fan. I need to find some more of those :)

Gender: A sweet baby Girl :)

Movement: She has been moving so much this week. Especially when I am in the car and after I eat. It's fun to be able to feel her, be able to see her move from the outside and to have been be able to feel her too :) She's an active little lady.

Sleep: This week of sleep has been incredible. A friend of mine Valerie gave me her maternity body pillow and it has pretty much eliminated my aching back at night ;) and I find myself missing my first three alarms and truly waking up only to my last one...this has never happened before...usually I am a pretty light sleeper in the morning.

What I Miss: Being able to choose when I want to go to the bathroom. With all this new movement one of little girl's favorite activities is to bounce on my bladder making me feel like I need to run to the bathroom whether I actually needed to go or not...I have a feeling I will be making many trips back and forth in the next few months.

Cravings: Nothing really this week

Anything making you queasy or sick: chicken and I are still iffy...but not as much as it was last week. And I start to not feel all that great if I have too much sugar, so  I have to cut back a bit on that....hehe

Symptoms: Anxiety and Sleeping Like a Rock,

 

Belly Button in or out?  OUT

Best moment:  Feeling baby girl move and getting to share that with Benjamin.

Song of the Week: Ben and I have been jamming to "The Proof of Your Love" by For King & Country

Half Way There!!!

Baby & Mommy @ 20 weeks

Size of Baby: Length of a Cucumber (9 in), and she is right at 1lb right now :) 66th percentile which is right where my doctor wants her to be. He figured with my frame the baby would be weighing in on the lower end so he was very encouraged to see she is above average for weight.

Total Weight Gain: +6 lbs (per the doctors scale at our big 20wk apt)

Maternity Clothes? Ok...this weekend...I am going...mark my words

Gender: Girly Girl

Movement: Well at our doctors appointment this week we discovered that little lady was laying sideways facing my spine so I wouldn't feel any movement because if she kicked or anything it would be my organs and not my outer belly. So that makes me feel a little better. And then the night after my appointment I was laying on the couch (so my stomach is all shifted to one side) and I swear I felt her :) it was so cool, but then as soon as I sat up she went back to her normal position apparently because there was no movement. It's pretty cool though, regardless

Sleep: I love sleep.

What I Miss: Food...I miss food...and the desire for food.

Cravings: I was really excited to make Taco Soup this week...not sure why but when I finally did make it, it hit the spot.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Chicken...still gross

Symptoms: The area around my belly button hurts which is kind of funny, waking up really thirsty in the morning from not drinking water through the night, achy back and hips.

Belly Button in or out?  out out out out out

Best moment:  Seeing baby again at our 20 week sonogram. She was quite photogenic showing us all of her bones without a fuss. However, she was curled up facing my spine and the sonogram tech wanted to try to get her to flip over so we could see her face and it was almost like she kept turning her head as if to say "hey, i'm sleeping here" a few times. it was the coolest thing. The tech tried shaking my belly pretty vigourously with her Doppler to no avail... guess she is going to be stubborn like her parents. The tech corrected me and said "strong willed"...oh boy lets hope not :)

Song of the Week:
I have been listening to Macklemore, Of Monsters and Men, Mumford & Sons and other good roadtrip stuff.