Pages

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Flashbacks

So recently, while hearing about a delivery, I thought back to the birth of my sweet Leah. I could recall the scenes in the delivery room and the exact conversations. I am writing this down for my own sake. I want to be able to look back and recall those moments forever. This is what I thought of:
  • One of the nurses asked me as I laid there in stirrups whether I knew it was a boy or a girl. I said it was a girl, and I hope they were right, because we never could think of a boy name. "Otherwise, we'll just name it Baby [Last Name] Number One." My ob laughed and said, "What did you say? Baby [Last Name] Number One?" She was quite amused.
  • I also remember being in stirrups and thinking, "This is it." I couldn't believe it. I told the nurse I thought I was going to cry, and she told me that was fine, as long as it was out of joy. :)
  • It was so weird to watch my belly get lower and lower and disappear. I remember thinking, "Wait, this is it? She's out?" Then I heard the tiniest little cry I had ever heard. I had never heard a newborn baby cry, and couldn't believe how quiet it was.
  • "Well, it IS a girl!" my doctor announced.
  • Right before delivery, they put a blanket on me. When they placed her on my chest, I remember studying her as she screamed. She was curled up, and I couldn't believe this tiny little thing was a human, my baby.
  • Watching them place her on the baby warmer while they were stitching me up. I couldn't believe it was over. This was the moment I had dreamed of for 9 months. Actually, I had dreamed of it for much longer than that. I remember passing by the hospital before I was pregnant, dreaming of the day I would go in there and have a little one.
Honestly, I tear up just thinking about delivery. Those moments are just so amazing and precious to me.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

4 Months


Stats
Weight: 15lbs1oz (75th percentile)
Length: 25.5 inches (75th percentile)

Leah is 4 months (okay, and a few days)! She had her wellness appointment this morning. She's getting so big!

At the appointment, we were asked if she rolled yet. We told her that she had gone from front to back, but not back to front. She's always gotten stuck on the shoulder.

Well, in between when the doctor left and the nurse came in, she learned to roll from back to front! Good job, baby girl! Her head control is great, too.

We were also asked if we had started rice cereal. We're not really sure whether/when we will try that stuff. I'd really love to give her only breastmilk until 6 months, but the doctor suggested rice cereal at five months, so I don't know.

We also tried the jumperoo out last night. She seemed unsure at first, but then she started bouncing up and down.


I think she likes it!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Halloween and Other Musings



On Halloween, I dressed up my dear Leah as a ladybug. My dad was here to help me pass out candy, which is good, because Ray was at school. I know there's pretty much no purpose to dressing up a baby for Halloween, but I couldn't help myself. She was so darn cute!

My parents loved their time with Leah. My father hadn't seen her since July, so she was much more interactive this time. My mom shows up pretty much every month.

Leah is almost 4 months old. Where did the time go?

Still pumping like a maniac at work. I have quite the stash of frozen milk in our spare freezer. I like knowing I have backup in case my supply ever plummets.

Leah spends a lot of time in her bouncy seat these days. She fusses sometimes when we hold her, and the bouncer calms her down. Here's a picture of the cutie sleeping:


Also, can I just say how much I love sleepers with little animal feet? Check these out:

Seriously, how cute are these? This particular sleeper also has a bear on the back. So freakin' adorable! I'm pretty sure all footed pajamas should have these.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention this. I think Leah had her first cold last week. It was so sad. She was so stuffed up. Poor girl. Luckily, she seems to be all better now!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Once again, time is flying!


Little Leah is already 3 months old. Where the heck is all the time going? She's growing so fast. Stats from 2 month appointment:

11lbs7oz
22.5 inches

She jumped from 30th percentile to 75th percentile. She's got such chubby cheeks, I love it! She's getting heavy to carry around, too.

I don't write as much as I'd like to, or take enough pictures. Heck, in this picture, she's actually 3 months and 2 days, but I figure that's close enough to 3 months.

My parents will be visiting soon. My mom has seen her once since she was born, and my dad hasn't seen her since she was born. They're pretty excited.

She learned to laugh yesterday! She's sort of cooed when you tickled her for awhile. However, last night she laughed the most adorable laugh! It's a bit of a giggle/shriek. I am so in love. Also, we're pretty sure she has a dimple. :)

She's also started grabbing my hair recently. Uh oh! It might be enough to get me to cut my long hair short. Maybe. I do love having long hair. When I was younger, my mother always made me have short hair, so when I started being able to decide for myself, I decided to grow it much longer.

Breastfeeding is going well, I think. I've been at work for over a month and a half, and have pumped enough for her so far. In fact, we purchased a freezer recently to keep the stash. Otherwise, we were going to have to start throwing stuff out. I know that my supply could eventually dry up, so when we found a good deal, we jumped on it. Strangely enough, I like pumping at work, as it really breaks up the work day. Also, I love returning home and nursing her right away.

On more children



Last night, I was looking through pictures from Leah's birth, and I have to admit: I don't remember ever looking so pregnant. I always expected to get a lot bigger than I did, so I guess that's why I never noticed.

While looking at this picture, I missed pregnancy. I think about it more than I want to admit. And I can't wait to give our darling little girl a sibling or two. I've only known her for three months, but I bet she'd be a fantastic older sister. I'm torn. Part of me wants to give her a sibling close in age, while another part just wants time to enjoy her.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Almost 2 months!


In a few short days, my baby will be 2 months old. I can't believe it. It really does go by so quickly.

Work is still going well. Leah is sleeping through the night pretty consistently these days, so I'm not completely exhausted or anything. I have been pumping enough for her, plus a few ounces to freeze everyday. I like stocking up on milk in case I go through a period when my supply drops considerably or something.

Leah finally decided she liked the bouncer, which I'm glad about. I was starting to think it was a waste. She really enjoys the lights, and seems completely fascinated by them.

Her two month appointment is next week. I'm not looking forward to it, because she will be getting vaccinated. I don't know how I will handle it if she starts to sob inconsolably.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Returned to Work on Wednesday

Man, six weeks at home really flew by! Pregnancy goes by slowly, but time with a baby sure goes by quickly!

Returning to work wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think the anticipation was worse than actually returning. I've been doing 2 pumping sessions. However, due to my husband's schedule, I'm going to be working 9 hour days 4 days a week, and will probably have to increase it to 3. So far, I've gotten enough for her, but I know that my supply might suffer after more weeks of pumping. We'll see.

Also, I had my postpartum appointment, and things have healed up nicely! Yay! :)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Things I never want to forget

Leah is growing up so quickly, and it has me thinking of what moments I want to remember when she's grown. So far I have:

  • The feeling of her falling asleep on top of me as I sit reclined on the couch.
  • The satisfied look on her face and the post-meal stretch she does after a feeding.
  • I once heard my husband singing lullabies to her over the baby monitor when he didn't think I was listening. It made my heart swell.
  • The cute noises she makes when she's waking up. I also love the look on my dog Popcorn's face when she hears this. She's not quite sure what to make of it.
  • Leah staring me in the eye as she nurses. This is one of the reasons I love breastfeeding.
  • The cute, crooked little yawn she has when she's sleepy.
I'm sure there will be more times like this, but I never want to forget these. I wish time would slow down a bit sometimes.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Leah is a month old!

I can't believe it's already been one month since my sweet daughter was born. Where the heck did the time go?

I'll be returning to work on August 24th. I will definitely miss my sweet girl. My current obsession is making sure I leave enough breast milk for her to eat while I'm gone. I'm nervous I'm going to fall behind. I'd really like to not supplement, though I know it's not the end of the world if that happens. My current plan is to pump before I go to work, pump twice at work, and pump once at night. Hopefully, that will give me enough. If not, I'll re-evaluate.

She's growing so fast! This week, she moved to size 1 diapers and is mainly in 0-3 clothes. A few of her newborn outfits fit, but not many. It makes me a little sad, honestly. However, I know it's a good thing that she's growing and gaining weight.

We took her to the drive-in twice this week. The first time, we saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Captain America, both great movies. She slept through both movies, waking up between them for a diaper change/feeding. In other words, couldn't have gone better. The second time, we saw Captain America again, as well as Cowboys and Aliens. She was a little fussier then, and cried a few times during the movies. Luckily, she calmed down fairly quickly.

And finally, some pictures of my little girl at one month old:


I'm also a huge fan of this one:


She does not look happy.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Things I Love

Taking care of a baby has been a learning process. We have quickly learned which products we can't live without.

Aden and Anais Blankets from Target
These are SO easy to swaddle with. I know a lot of people say the Target ones are inferior to the ones sold on the A&A website, but I love them. They are 4 for $30 as opposed to 4 for $50 for the regular ones. Leah only likes sleeping on a flat surface (like the crib) swaddled. In fact, after I got home and saw how well she slept in them, I went to Target and bought another pack.

Chicco Lullaby Pack n Play
We have a two story home, and during the day, like to keep her with us. We put this in the living room, and this is where she spends a lot of her time during the day. It also has a changing table that we use during the day. Love it!

Fisher Price Rainforest Swing
She loves the music that comes from it. Sometimes we just leave it playing all night. In addition, sometimes she won't go back to sleep after a night feeding, and we'll put her in the swing to rock her to sleep. Once she's nice and sleepy, we put her in the crib.

Diaper Genie II Elite
When Ray is changing the bag in this, I occasionally get a whiff of what's in that thing. It smells awful, but this diaper pail holds the smell really well. We actually have two! One downstairs and one in Leah's bedroom.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

3 Weeks Old

I think time is flying by way faster now that I'm a mama. I can't believe 3 weeks have already passed since my sweet daughter came into my life. That's half of my maternity leave!

I love being a mom. I can't believe how amazing it is. I love seeing this face everyday:



She's starting to stay awake more and more. She still sleeps the vast majority of the day, though.

In vanity news, I'm in pre-pregnancy clothes now! I'm pretty excited...I hate those stupid jeans with the full belly panel. Old Navy jeans, I have missed you!

We scheduled Leah's baptism for September. So now, I'm on the lookout for a baptism gown, and can't find one I like enough to spend that kind of money. She's only going to wear it once, so I don't want it to be TOO pricey. Yes, I am definitely a cheapskate.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Leah is over 2 weeks old now...

and growing fast! At her pediatrician's visit on Thursday, she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz at her last appointment 10 days before. I put her in her cute little monkey outfit today, and I have a feeling it's the last time. :( She's looking like she's outgrown it. It was big on her when we brought her home. Time's going by way too fast! It actually makes me a little sad.

Man, if I'm sad about her growing up now, I can't imagine how I'm going to feel when she graduates high school or gets married. I don't even want to think about it. :)

I've been so exhausted lately, I've been sleeping in until 2 pm (with interruptions, of course). I think it's a combination of being tired from interrupted sleep and recovering from delivery. I hope I can shake it off by the time I have to go back to work.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Leah's First Week

We got home on Friday afternoon. My parents, who had been staying with us and taking care of the dogs, picked us up. Here is a picture of Leah in her coming home outfit:

I fall more in love with her everyday. I can't believe it's been a week since she came into this world. While a week isn't very long at all, it seems like she's been here forever. I can't imagine my life without her.

She went to the pediatrician's office for the first time on Monday. Everything looked great! She's gaining weight, and there were no concerns.

I'm so close to becoming one of those moms that announces diaper habits on facebook. Seriously, I cannot believe how many dirty diapers this tiny little baby produces per day. It's ridiculous.

Baby Leah's Birth Story

I ended up being induced at 41 weeks. This is my final bump picture from the morning of the induction:

We checked into the hospital at 6:30 AM on July 13th. There was a lot of paperwork and people coming to talk to us, so we didn't start the pitocin drip until about 7-7:15 AM. It started at a low dose, which gave me contractions, but they weren't that painful and didn't seem to really do anything. To be honest, I was getting a little nervous this wouldn't work.

The nurse steadily increased my dose until I was at the second to highest setting. This was at about 11:30 AM. Suddenly, the contractions got super painful. My husband was a champ and coached me through them.

I was worried about taking an epidural so early, since everyone says it can slow down progress, but I asked the nurse about one. I wasn't ready yet, and she said she'd check again at 12:30.

When 12:30 came around, she checked, and I had gotten to about 4 cm, which meant I could get the epidural. She told me she was going to ask the doctor if she could break my water.

While waiting for the epidural, I felt a gush of warm liquid. I got the epidural around 1 PM, and the nurse checked to see if my water had broken. It had, and I was at 5 cm. She told me to try to get some sleep since I would need energy for pushing later, and that first time moms tend to dilate at about 1 cm an hour.

Around 2 PM, she came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her I could feel some pain, but it was the same type of pain I had from early contractions. She thought maybe my bladder was full, but there wasn't much there. Then she checked my cervix, and discovered I was fully dilated. She had me sit up so that Leah could descend through the birth canal.

Around 2:40, she set me up to push. We only pushed 3 times before the doctor got there, mainly because she was coming down quickly. My doctor showed up, and we had 3 push sessions, and she came out at 3:05 pm at 7 pounds 4 oz and 20 inches long. I did have to get a small episiotomy because the head wouldn't come through. I cried when they put her on my chest...I couldn't believe she was here.

Also, after delivery, I started feeling fuzzy and passed out. Apparently, my blood pressure dropped to 40s/20s, but I woke up after about 5 seconds. When they asked me where I was, I asked "What do you mean?" thinking "are you really asking me if I know I'm at the hospital?" The nurse laughed. Because of the passing out, they had DH hold her, and told me not to hold her right away. After I drank some Sprite, and it didn't seem like I was going to pass out again, they let me hold her. We are so in love and can't believe we brought this little person into the world.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Getting closer...

I can't believe that I'm full term already! She's not due for a few more weeks, but it seems so close now!

We finished our classes at the hospital. I'm feeling a bit more prepared for all this stuff, though obviously nothing can completely prepare you for having a baby.

We've also picked up most of the stuff for our baby. Now I'm going into a washing/cleaning frenzy, trying to get the house ready for our new addition and the guests who will be here soon. I think I'm driving my husband crazy. :)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Lots of stuff going on since my last entry!

First off, we have finished 3 out of 4 of the classes at the hospital. Crazy, considering they seemed sooo far away when we signed up for them in March! We took a breastfeeding class, infant CPR class, and a childbirth class. We took the all day childbirth class yesterday, and I actually feel a lot more prepared for the process. Hopefully some of this information will be useful when I actually go into labor. We have our final class, the newborn care class, on Thursday.

We also finished our baptism class at the church, which means we'll be able to schedule the baptism as soon as our baby is born. Another thing out of the way!

We took our maternity pictures, and the photographer posted a few preview pics this week. I love them, and can't wait to see the rest.

Finally, we finished the nursery today! We put up the cute jungle decals a couple weeks ago. Today, we put a nursery rhyme decal for over the crib and finally purchased a crib mattress. Things are really coming together for our baby. I still need to buy a few things, as well as pack my hospital bag, but I'm feeling a ton more prepared! :)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

What an eventful week...

On Wednesday, at work, I started feeling a little lightheaded. Since I was at a coworker's desk, I decided to go back to my own cubicle. Before getting far, I passed out. People at work called an ambulance, and I ended up going to the ER. All testing (echocardiogram, EEG, and bloodwork) came back normal. They also monitored me for contractions and for the baby's heartbeat, and everything looked good. However, they admitted me to Labor & Delivery for observation. I was discharged Thursday afternoon and have been resting at home ever since. I see my doctor tomorrow, so we'll decide what to do then. I had no idea when I woke up on Wednesday that I'd be spending the night in L&D!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Appointment Today

My appointment went well today. My blood pressure was good, and I measured on time. I also had a bunch of blood drawn. Fingers crossed for good results!

Also, I told my doctor I wanted to deliver at my original hospital choice. She said that was fine. That makes me really happy, because I was worried she was going to push the other hospital again. The other hospital would take forever to get back to me about anything (I'm talking 1-2 weeks). This really bothered me. Add that to the fact they sent me a form letter with 3-4 grammatical errors in 4 sentences, and it seemed like they really didn't give a crap. I've also heard such good things about my original hospital.

I also scheduled my "for fun" ultrasound for May 2nd. We're so excited!

Finally, I am officially on the every other week appointment schedule! That makes my due date seem much closer. :) This both excites and scares me, because it seems there's a lot to do around here.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Wow, it's been a month since my last entry...

I am 28 weeks 4 days pregnant now. I can't believe I'm in my third trimester!

Since the hospital tours, my doctor has been trying to convince me to use the other hospital. However, I have strong reservations about that hospital, so I am going to talk to her at my appointment tomorrow.

Last week, we purchased a diaper bag. My husband picked it out. He was so excited about it. In the store, he started showing me all the features and telling me why we HAD to have it. I've never seen someone so excited over a diaper bag. It made me smile.

Also, tomorrow is my 1 hour glucose test! I hope I pass. :) I'm a little nervous about how the stuff they're going to make me drink will taste, but even more nervous about failing. Tomorrow, we're also going to schedule our 3d/4d ultrasound. We're very excited about seeing our little one again.

Finally, I found a newborn photographer! She also gave us a decent price on maternity pictures, so we're going to do that. We didn't think we were going to do maternity photos, but now we're so excited for our session.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Toured the hospitals this week!

Ray and I went on hospital tours this week. We've been struggling to pick between the two hospitals near us. I had heard good things about both of them, but didn't want to make the "wrong" choice.
As it turned out, we got a much better vibe at the second hospital than the first, so we're going with that one. When we walked out of the second hospital, we were in complete agreement. We even signed up for classes tonight! They are not for a couple months, but still, it's pretty exciting. :) Hopefully, we'll get some good information at those.
I'm glad to finally have that choice out of the way.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

And the nursery is painted!

Ever since we moved into our house, I have hated the color on the walls of the small bedroom near the master bedroom. It was the color of mint ice cream. Just a little too bright, if you ask me.
However, I have never really had a reason to paint it. However, it will now be little Leah's room! We painted it a beautiful yellow/tan color. By we, of course, I mean my husband. I love the results!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Furniture came in!

Our combo unit and crib came in on Friday. Our neighbor helped us take them home since they wouldn't fit in our car. His 3 year old daughter and 12 year old son rode in our car, since he had to put the seats down. His daughter was not fond of this arrangement. I never knew a child could scream so loudly.

Anyway, the combo unit and crib look gorgeous, and we can't wait to put them in the nursery! First, we're going to repaint the room. We purchased a gallon of paint from Lowe's this weekend and are really excited to put it on our wall. Ray will probably do that sometime this week, since he is on Spring Break.

We've purchased a couple of outfits for Leah. I just can't resist buying her cute girly things. She is going to be so spoiled.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

My First Post

This is my new blog to write about our baby girl, Leah Brooke, due July 6th. As we prepare for her, I wanted to have a place to write about her.

On Monday, we saw our sweet baby by u/s for the first time since 8w6d. Obviously, there was a big difference. Our baby now looked like a baby! She measured on track and everything looked great! Also, this was the appointment where we found out she was a girl.







Since then, we've gone a little purchase crazy. We have ordered her crib and changing table/dresser. Also, we have purchased a few girly outfits for her. We are so excited to meet her in July!