Today, he started to really show off how well he giggles.... :)
">
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Life of Three
It's been three months of our new life, now. I have to say that things have changed pretty seamlessly, if only with a few snags here and there. As of late, Ryden smiles all the time, and coos pretty often. He is starting to get a bit of a giggle down, but not too much just yet. We have been doing tummy time lately, and he is pretty so-so about it. Sometimes he enjoys it and sometimes he could care less. I think for the most part he has been meeting most of his milestones roughly around time. He is however off the charts when it comes to his height and weight. I have weighed him in the past week or so, but I am sure he is around 17-18 lbs. I think his mission in life is to see how many chins he can collect. He has already collected quite a few.
It's amazing how many things you figure out the hard way as a first time mom and first time parents. After a couple of weeks of him getting pretty fussy at times, I realized he needed some type of routine. I thought that if he was tired he would go to sleep and I would just watch for his hunger cues. I feed on demand not by a set schedule. How much he eats during the day also depends on how much he ate through the night. The longer he sleeps in between feedings the more he eats during the day. Well, after going through the couple of fussy weeks, I realized I had to watch for his sleepy cues, too. Apparently just because a baby is awake for two-three hours straight doesn't mean that is what they wanted. I have now noticed that he starts showing signs of sleepiness around an hour and fifteen to an hour and a half. So, that is when I start putting him down. He falls asleep much quicker and without fuss if you catch him in that window. I think putting a baby down is an art to be mastered, and we are still working on it.
Eric just said that Ryden's nakie butt is like cashmere. I felt that was important to add... haha.
I took a few pics of Ryden this morning........
You can go here if you want to see more pics of him.
Here he is hanging out in his crib with the Rockabye Baby lullaby version of Coldplay playing in the background.
I guess that is enough cuteness for one entry,
Michele, Eric and of course Ryden
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The New Life.....
Well, the little man is now 1 month old. I can't believe that much time has passed already. The first week and a half was us getting to know each other, the week and a half after that we got to spend with my mom here and this last week or so, with my mom gone and Eric back to work, Ryden and I have started to get a routine down. It really gets better and more fluid each day.
I don't half a lot of time to write, but I am going to post a couple of videos.
This one is Ryden cooing a couple of times. I recorded it a couple of days ago during his morning time-happy time. It's when he is really alert and just likes to look around.
and this one is from today. This is what a full time, stay at home mom does with her time. A couple of days ago, I started to try a little EC-elimination communication with Ryden. I know y'all are probably laughing at me, but I haven't changed a single full on poopy diaper in like 4 days. He still ends up with little skid marks on his diapers from when he toots and he had a really small poopy diaper the other morning when he woke up, but that's it. I don't EC in the middle of the night. The rest have been in the toilet. However, the pees are a lot harder to catch because he does them every 30 mins. or so when he is awake. I miss a lot of them, but I'm getting better. Eric recorded this video this morning and it is him pooping over the toilet incase you don't want to see it. I would understand. We found it quite funny!
anyhoo, I am nursing and typing right now (not so easy) so, I will write something more substantial later.
michele
I don't half a lot of time to write, but I am going to post a couple of videos.
This one is Ryden cooing a couple of times. I recorded it a couple of days ago during his morning time-happy time. It's when he is really alert and just likes to look around.
and this one is from today. This is what a full time, stay at home mom does with her time. A couple of days ago, I started to try a little EC-elimination communication with Ryden. I know y'all are probably laughing at me, but I haven't changed a single full on poopy diaper in like 4 days. He still ends up with little skid marks on his diapers from when he toots and he had a really small poopy diaper the other morning when he woke up, but that's it. I don't EC in the middle of the night. The rest have been in the toilet. However, the pees are a lot harder to catch because he does them every 30 mins. or so when he is awake. I miss a lot of them, but I'm getting better. Eric recorded this video this morning and it is him pooping over the toilet incase you don't want to see it. I would understand. We found it quite funny!
anyhoo, I am nursing and typing right now (not so easy) so, I will write something more substantial later.
michele
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Birth of Ryden Ash Sanford....... 8/25/09
Well, I have been meaning to get around to writing my Birth Story, but it's hard to find the time to sit down and actually get this done. I't's been 5 days since the birth of our little man, and I think I have processed everything enough to write this.
Ryden Ash Sanford was born on August 25th, 2009 at 5:21pm immediately into the arms of his mama at a very healthy 8 lbs. and 8 ozs. His daddy was right there by his side, and my side, every step of the way.
It all started on the night of monday the 24th. That was actually my due date. I was outside with Eric after a really big dinner, when I made a joke with him saying, "who says you're going to work tomorrow." Well, who knew how true this would ring. After I said that, I came inside and sat down on the couch. I think I might have heard something after I sat and immediately started to feel something very warm underneath me. At that moment I definitely knew what was happening, but I think I was still in denial. I kind of held myself and scurried into the bathroom. At that point, I had started to gush. My water had broken. and no, it wasn't a trickle.... it was like Niagra Falls. Even with that being said, when I heard Eric walk in the back door, I called him to the bathroom and proceeded to tell him, "I think my water broke!", mind you I am still gushing. Also for whatever reason, I am hysterically laughing. He helps me over to the toilet where the gushing continues. I'm also still laughing, thinking what in the world am I going to do.... this is such a mess. At this point, Eric gets into prep mode and the only thing he can think to do is to start making the sandwiches we were planning to take to the birth center. I think he needed something mindless to do. After about 10 minutes and once I could get the leak to let up enough to let me move around a little, I decided to call our midwife to let her know. She asked me if I was having any contractions and if the water was clear (free of meconium staining). I told her no contractions yet, and that the water was clear. She then told me that the best thing to do would be to get some rest and try to relax and to call her when things started up regularly or in the morning which ever came first. She also asked me if I could still feel the baby moving, which I could. I knew she was going to tell me to try and relax which was way easier said than done... haha. So, I made a little place on the couch to lay down, but after about thirty minutes decided to get into bed.
Sometime after midnight, I had a pretty decent contraction that woke me up. Nothing to write home about, but definitely enough to get my attention. After a couple of them, I started to time them with my handy contraction timer on my iphone. I fell asleep in between a few of them, but they were averaging probably about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Nothing major but at least there was some type of pattern. I guess I fell asleep again and some time around 2 or so I woke up with ones a little stronger. After timing these ones for about an hour, they started averaging about 7-10 minutes apart. Sometime around 3, I went and sat on the couch, where Eric was, and woke him up. I knew it was no where near time yet, but I just wanted him to know what was going on. He hung out with me through some contractions for about an hour and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I guess they were still too far apart to call our midwife and that I guess he should try to get more sleep. He told me the same thing, but at that point, it was impossible. For the next several hours, I tried to rest, walked around, timed contractions, took a shower and just kept myself busy. Probably at about 6 am Eric woke back up and we kind of accessed everything. I was still having fairly strong contractions, but still not close enough to call my midwife. Eric made me an egg sandwich because I definitely needed something to help keep up my energy. This would be the last thing I would eat for the day until right after Ryden was born. I think finally around 7ish I had Eric call and let our midwife know how I was doing. My contractions were now closer together, but still not as consistent as they should be... or lasting quite as long as they should. They were anywhere from 3-7 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 40 seconds to just over a minute. BJ (our midwife) said that we could come in if I really wanted to, but she thought it sounded like I wasn't quite there yet. A little later, I decided that I did want to go in and get checked to see where I was. I was thinking that if I was 2 cms. yesterday then I would have to be at least a 4 at this point with all the contractions I had been having. So, we set off for our trip to the birth center, in rush hour traffic none the less. Thank goodness for the carpool lane, because it only took us about 20-25 minutes to get there. Not the best ride of my life, but definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Once there, BJ did check me. The first thing she says is, "well, the baby has brown hair." We were like what?!?! That made me think, great, I must be quite a bit further along. That is when she the informs us that I am at 3 cms. (bummer) and probably about 80% or so effaced. I will admit I was a little disappointed, but I didn't want to let it get me down. So, I asked BJ what should we do and she said, we could go walk around and come back in an hour or two, hang out or even go back home. I figured if we hung out, it might just delay everything even more, and I figured if I needed to do some walking, I would feel more comfortable doing it at home. So, believe it or not, we chose to drive back home and to continue my early stage of labor in our own privacy. Now, I can see why people choose home births.... it's your space and much more convenient.
After we got home, Eric decided to try to get a little more sleep in and recommended me to do the same... yeah, right. Even if it might tire my out, walking is what needs to be done to get this baby to drop some more and to help open me up. So, for the next hour and a half I did circles around the house in between contractions that were becoming even more regular. It was cute, because no matter how many laps I did, Ilsa was right behind me. She knew since the night before that something was going on. BJ had told us that when I got past that first part of early stage labor I would become much more focused and a lot less talkative. After waking Eric up around 11:45, I told him that I think we should call BJ and go back in a little bit. I think around 12:30 or so, we headed back to the birth center... for the second time.
When we arrived, BJ checked me again to see if I had progressed. My contractions were closer together and a lot more attention grabbing, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Luckily, I was in for some good news. The walking did the trick. In a couple of hours, I had gone from 3 cms. to 5-6 cms. I was now in active first stage labor and was going to be staying at the birth center. I think it was around 1:15 at this point. Over the next few hours, I labored on the birthing ball, leaning on Eric, leaning over the bed and finally in the big fabulous tub. The only problem was.... I was having REALLY bad back labor. Even thought the baby wasn't posterior, something about his position or my back, was making all the contractions go right to the small of my back, and there was nothing I could do to mellow the pain. It really made it hard to relax during the contractions and to just sink into them, because it felt like my back was going to break. Even the water didn't help much. Either way, I knew relaxing was the best and only thing I could to bring on the contractions and progress my labor... so, that is what I did. There were several times I tried to pull away from the pain, but there was always someone there to remind me to sink into them, whether I liked it or not. I have never really meditated in my life, but during my labor I swear I went somewhere else in between contractions. Then when I would get one, I would quietly moan through them. Sometime after 3pm, BJ had checked me and I was at 7-8 cms. Then probably about an hour or so after that, while I was in the tub, my moans got a little bit deeper and I had a contraction that almost blew my mind away. I also mentioned how I felt a lot of pressure with that one. I think this is what signaled BJ to think I was getting really colse. At that point, I got out of the tub and had a few more contractions on the bed. I guess I was going through transition and didn't really even know it... other than the fact that I was about ready to give up and that is a typical sign of transition. BJ checked me and said that maybe with the next couple of contractions I could just try some pushing and see what that would do. So, I did.
Apparently, a couple of contractions was doing something and they started to get things set up. This, to me, was very encouraging. Through all the pain for over the past twelve hours, I had been telling myself this was just one day out of my entire life and I could do it. I have to say the first couple of pushes actually felt pretty good. I think it was because they felt productive and they distracted from the pain of the contractions. However once the baby started to move down and closer to our side of the world, it didn't feel "pretty good" anymore. I remember even saying to everyone, "this really is not comfortable!" haha. Well, minus the haha. After what was about only 40 minutes of pushing Ryden entered the world at 5:21pm. I never felt the ring of fire that people talk about, but I did feel amazing pressure of a baby coming out of me. When his head came out, I couldn't believe it was already happening and before I even knew it, the rest of him slid right out. I didn't even have to push his shoulders out and that surprised me. He even came out with his hand up by his face, which can sometimes make pushing a little longer and harder. I never made anything more then a few grunts... noise wise. I think Eric mentioned, after the fact, that I had said ouch a couple of times and that was it. The most amazing thing was as he was coming out, I was able to reach down and pull him right up onto me. I can't even explain how special that was. I also didn't even think to ask what sex the baby was... I was just so beside myself that he was even here to begin with. Thankfully, Eric had the peace of mind to check.
Our baby was out and boy, did he let us know. Even though the room was very dim, serene and filled with a lot of calm energy he came out whaling... haha. As he rested on me, all the pain that I had just gone through was so in the past. After a couple of minutes the cord stopped pulsing and Eric cut it. BJ finished everything else with me, and I got a shot of pitocin for the tiny bit of extra bleeding I was doing. For the next hour and a half to two hours, Ryden just laid on my chest and looked around and then nursed for probably almost an hour... and I was eating the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever and drinking some juice. From the very start, he was so alert and came out such a wonderful pink color. Things really could not have gone any better. Over the next hour, the ladies there got me all cleaned up and BJ did such an amazing newborn exam on Ryden while Eric did a little bit of videotaping and made all of the phone calls. Eric also held him skin to skin for a little while. Just after 8pm, we were now ready to venture home. We got packed up and I cant even put into words how surreal it was driving home with our brand new baby. Life would never be the same and I just couldn't shake the amazingness of what had just happened. After we got home, I settled into bed with Ryden and Eric ran and got In & Out. Probably the best burger I had ever eaten... in bed, none the less.
I will never be able to express the amount of gratitude I have for everyone that helped me through one of the most amazing moments in my life. Especially Eric and BJ. This was by far, the best moment of my life.
.... and as the new chapter in our life begins, the rest is history.....!
Eric did have a chance to do a little bit of filming before and after the birth, and this is the compilation that we came up with...... enjoy! btw... there is some very loud crying at one point, so be careful at how high you have the volume.
here are some pics of the newest addition..........
with much love,
michele, eric and ryden
Ryden Ash Sanford was born on August 25th, 2009 at 5:21pm immediately into the arms of his mama at a very healthy 8 lbs. and 8 ozs. His daddy was right there by his side, and my side, every step of the way.
It all started on the night of monday the 24th. That was actually my due date. I was outside with Eric after a really big dinner, when I made a joke with him saying, "who says you're going to work tomorrow." Well, who knew how true this would ring. After I said that, I came inside and sat down on the couch. I think I might have heard something after I sat and immediately started to feel something very warm underneath me. At that moment I definitely knew what was happening, but I think I was still in denial. I kind of held myself and scurried into the bathroom. At that point, I had started to gush. My water had broken. and no, it wasn't a trickle.... it was like Niagra Falls. Even with that being said, when I heard Eric walk in the back door, I called him to the bathroom and proceeded to tell him, "I think my water broke!", mind you I am still gushing. Also for whatever reason, I am hysterically laughing. He helps me over to the toilet where the gushing continues. I'm also still laughing, thinking what in the world am I going to do.... this is such a mess. At this point, Eric gets into prep mode and the only thing he can think to do is to start making the sandwiches we were planning to take to the birth center. I think he needed something mindless to do. After about 10 minutes and once I could get the leak to let up enough to let me move around a little, I decided to call our midwife to let her know. She asked me if I was having any contractions and if the water was clear (free of meconium staining). I told her no contractions yet, and that the water was clear. She then told me that the best thing to do would be to get some rest and try to relax and to call her when things started up regularly or in the morning which ever came first. She also asked me if I could still feel the baby moving, which I could. I knew she was going to tell me to try and relax which was way easier said than done... haha. So, I made a little place on the couch to lay down, but after about thirty minutes decided to get into bed.
Sometime after midnight, I had a pretty decent contraction that woke me up. Nothing to write home about, but definitely enough to get my attention. After a couple of them, I started to time them with my handy contraction timer on my iphone. I fell asleep in between a few of them, but they were averaging probably about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Nothing major but at least there was some type of pattern. I guess I fell asleep again and some time around 2 or so I woke up with ones a little stronger. After timing these ones for about an hour, they started averaging about 7-10 minutes apart. Sometime around 3, I went and sat on the couch, where Eric was, and woke him up. I knew it was no where near time yet, but I just wanted him to know what was going on. He hung out with me through some contractions for about an hour and asked me what I wanted to do. I told him that I guess they were still too far apart to call our midwife and that I guess he should try to get more sleep. He told me the same thing, but at that point, it was impossible. For the next several hours, I tried to rest, walked around, timed contractions, took a shower and just kept myself busy. Probably at about 6 am Eric woke back up and we kind of accessed everything. I was still having fairly strong contractions, but still not close enough to call my midwife. Eric made me an egg sandwich because I definitely needed something to help keep up my energy. This would be the last thing I would eat for the day until right after Ryden was born. I think finally around 7ish I had Eric call and let our midwife know how I was doing. My contractions were now closer together, but still not as consistent as they should be... or lasting quite as long as they should. They were anywhere from 3-7 minutes apart and lasting anywhere from 40 seconds to just over a minute. BJ (our midwife) said that we could come in if I really wanted to, but she thought it sounded like I wasn't quite there yet. A little later, I decided that I did want to go in and get checked to see where I was. I was thinking that if I was 2 cms. yesterday then I would have to be at least a 4 at this point with all the contractions I had been having. So, we set off for our trip to the birth center, in rush hour traffic none the less. Thank goodness for the carpool lane, because it only took us about 20-25 minutes to get there. Not the best ride of my life, but definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Once there, BJ did check me. The first thing she says is, "well, the baby has brown hair." We were like what?!?! That made me think, great, I must be quite a bit further along. That is when she the informs us that I am at 3 cms. (bummer) and probably about 80% or so effaced. I will admit I was a little disappointed, but I didn't want to let it get me down. So, I asked BJ what should we do and she said, we could go walk around and come back in an hour or two, hang out or even go back home. I figured if we hung out, it might just delay everything even more, and I figured if I needed to do some walking, I would feel more comfortable doing it at home. So, believe it or not, we chose to drive back home and to continue my early stage of labor in our own privacy. Now, I can see why people choose home births.... it's your space and much more convenient.
After we got home, Eric decided to try to get a little more sleep in and recommended me to do the same... yeah, right. Even if it might tire my out, walking is what needs to be done to get this baby to drop some more and to help open me up. So, for the next hour and a half I did circles around the house in between contractions that were becoming even more regular. It was cute, because no matter how many laps I did, Ilsa was right behind me. She knew since the night before that something was going on. BJ had told us that when I got past that first part of early stage labor I would become much more focused and a lot less talkative. After waking Eric up around 11:45, I told him that I think we should call BJ and go back in a little bit. I think around 12:30 or so, we headed back to the birth center... for the second time.
When we arrived, BJ checked me again to see if I had progressed. My contractions were closer together and a lot more attention grabbing, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Luckily, I was in for some good news. The walking did the trick. In a couple of hours, I had gone from 3 cms. to 5-6 cms. I was now in active first stage labor and was going to be staying at the birth center. I think it was around 1:15 at this point. Over the next few hours, I labored on the birthing ball, leaning on Eric, leaning over the bed and finally in the big fabulous tub. The only problem was.... I was having REALLY bad back labor. Even thought the baby wasn't posterior, something about his position or my back, was making all the contractions go right to the small of my back, and there was nothing I could do to mellow the pain. It really made it hard to relax during the contractions and to just sink into them, because it felt like my back was going to break. Even the water didn't help much. Either way, I knew relaxing was the best and only thing I could to bring on the contractions and progress my labor... so, that is what I did. There were several times I tried to pull away from the pain, but there was always someone there to remind me to sink into them, whether I liked it or not. I have never really meditated in my life, but during my labor I swear I went somewhere else in between contractions. Then when I would get one, I would quietly moan through them. Sometime after 3pm, BJ had checked me and I was at 7-8 cms. Then probably about an hour or so after that, while I was in the tub, my moans got a little bit deeper and I had a contraction that almost blew my mind away. I also mentioned how I felt a lot of pressure with that one. I think this is what signaled BJ to think I was getting really colse. At that point, I got out of the tub and had a few more contractions on the bed. I guess I was going through transition and didn't really even know it... other than the fact that I was about ready to give up and that is a typical sign of transition. BJ checked me and said that maybe with the next couple of contractions I could just try some pushing and see what that would do. So, I did.
Apparently, a couple of contractions was doing something and they started to get things set up. This, to me, was very encouraging. Through all the pain for over the past twelve hours, I had been telling myself this was just one day out of my entire life and I could do it. I have to say the first couple of pushes actually felt pretty good. I think it was because they felt productive and they distracted from the pain of the contractions. However once the baby started to move down and closer to our side of the world, it didn't feel "pretty good" anymore. I remember even saying to everyone, "this really is not comfortable!" haha. Well, minus the haha. After what was about only 40 minutes of pushing Ryden entered the world at 5:21pm. I never felt the ring of fire that people talk about, but I did feel amazing pressure of a baby coming out of me. When his head came out, I couldn't believe it was already happening and before I even knew it, the rest of him slid right out. I didn't even have to push his shoulders out and that surprised me. He even came out with his hand up by his face, which can sometimes make pushing a little longer and harder. I never made anything more then a few grunts... noise wise. I think Eric mentioned, after the fact, that I had said ouch a couple of times and that was it. The most amazing thing was as he was coming out, I was able to reach down and pull him right up onto me. I can't even explain how special that was. I also didn't even think to ask what sex the baby was... I was just so beside myself that he was even here to begin with. Thankfully, Eric had the peace of mind to check.
Our baby was out and boy, did he let us know. Even though the room was very dim, serene and filled with a lot of calm energy he came out whaling... haha. As he rested on me, all the pain that I had just gone through was so in the past. After a couple of minutes the cord stopped pulsing and Eric cut it. BJ finished everything else with me, and I got a shot of pitocin for the tiny bit of extra bleeding I was doing. For the next hour and a half to two hours, Ryden just laid on my chest and looked around and then nursed for probably almost an hour... and I was eating the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever and drinking some juice. From the very start, he was so alert and came out such a wonderful pink color. Things really could not have gone any better. Over the next hour, the ladies there got me all cleaned up and BJ did such an amazing newborn exam on Ryden while Eric did a little bit of videotaping and made all of the phone calls. Eric also held him skin to skin for a little while. Just after 8pm, we were now ready to venture home. We got packed up and I cant even put into words how surreal it was driving home with our brand new baby. Life would never be the same and I just couldn't shake the amazingness of what had just happened. After we got home, I settled into bed with Ryden and Eric ran and got In & Out. Probably the best burger I had ever eaten... in bed, none the less.
I will never be able to express the amount of gratitude I have for everyone that helped me through one of the most amazing moments in my life. Especially Eric and BJ. This was by far, the best moment of my life.
.... and as the new chapter in our life begins, the rest is history.....!
Eric did have a chance to do a little bit of filming before and after the birth, and this is the compilation that we came up with...... enjoy! btw... there is some very loud crying at one point, so be careful at how high you have the volume.
here are some pics of the newest addition..........
with much love,
michele, eric and ryden
Monday, August 24, 2009
40 weeks and ripe......
Well, I did it. I made it to 40 weeks. I will say that I kind of got it in my head that i was going to go into labor last night, though. That obviously didn't happen, unless I slept through it.
Since the beginning of the pregnancy, I have been telling everyone that I will probably go 41 weeks and 1 day. Once I started to get so close to my due date, that kind of went out the window. Along with my modesty and grace... hah.
The fact that I have been having prodromal labor since last thursday hasn't helped either. I swear, it is kind of a mean joke to make someone keep thinking this could be it. At first, I was excited that something was going on, but once it kept happening and the fizzing out, I have to say, I wasn't as excited.
Now, I am going to do my best at not reading into any little signals. I will now go out and check the garage and the attic to see if I can find my patience. I'm sure I left it somewhere nearby.
I have my prenatal appointment at 2:30 today. I was secretly hoping I wouldn't end up needing this appointment, but now that it is here... I am happy to go.
UPDATE
I just got back from my appointment, I am right at 2 centimeters dilated, 60-70% effaced and the baby is at 0 station. So, I guess all the prodromal labor has been doing something. I know these numbers don't always meant anything, but they are encouraging that progress is being made. YAY!
and keep an eye on this page, because when things do kick into full gear, Eric is going to keep everyone updated through the blog. It will be something to keep him busy and sane... haha.
here's to a productive week.........
michele
Since the beginning of the pregnancy, I have been telling everyone that I will probably go 41 weeks and 1 day. Once I started to get so close to my due date, that kind of went out the window. Along with my modesty and grace... hah.
The fact that I have been having prodromal labor since last thursday hasn't helped either. I swear, it is kind of a mean joke to make someone keep thinking this could be it. At first, I was excited that something was going on, but once it kept happening and the fizzing out, I have to say, I wasn't as excited.
Now, I am going to do my best at not reading into any little signals. I will now go out and check the garage and the attic to see if I can find my patience. I'm sure I left it somewhere nearby.
I have my prenatal appointment at 2:30 today. I was secretly hoping I wouldn't end up needing this appointment, but now that it is here... I am happy to go.
UPDATE
I just got back from my appointment, I am right at 2 centimeters dilated, 60-70% effaced and the baby is at 0 station. So, I guess all the prodromal labor has been doing something. I know these numbers don't always meant anything, but they are encouraging that progress is being made. YAY!
and keep an eye on this page, because when things do kick into full gear, Eric is going to keep everyone updated through the blog. It will be something to keep him busy and sane... haha.
here's to a productive week.........
michele
Thursday, August 20, 2009
38 week shoot.....
Eric and I did a shoot with my friend Marcella Treybig again last week. I was just at 38 weeks at that point. Again she did a fabulous job and it's amazing how much three months can make with showing off a pregnant belly. Here are a few of them and you should be able to click on them to see them bigger.
Now, I just have to decide which ones to have printed out!!!
btw... my little ticker says 4 days left......... CRAZY!!!!
luv,
michele
Now, I just have to decide which ones to have printed out!!!
btw... my little ticker says 4 days left......... CRAZY!!!!
luv,
michele
Monday, August 17, 2009
Wow... one week...
Who would have ever thought I would have only a week left... or at least somewhere around that. I would say that it seems like time went by so fast, but I have been waiting to be this close for a long time. I remember how excited I was when I was down to double digits. Well, they ain't got nothin' on single digits. Now, just as long as the baby gets the memo that it's about time to make it's precious little entrance.
On saturday, we did a lot of walking. Well a lot for someone that is crazy pregnant.
We easily walked over two miles through the course of the day, and the proof is in the pudding.... my pelvis totally hates me now. I swear it feels like it is going to separate into two. It's just busy trying to figure out which side is going to break off first.
Now I know what Pangea felt like.
That's ok, though... it was totally worth it. I am determined to walk this baby out of me.
Believe it or not, I think all the walking really helped or I maybe felt the need to walk because things were slowly progressing. Yesterday evening (sunday), I finally started having some pains down below. Don't know if they were cramps or practice contractions (they were definitely something), and the pressure is really strong. It all feels so nice, even though some of it was hurting a little. Just the fact that something is going on down there is refreshing. In life I tend to be early for things and well prepped, so, things better not change now. That would be just my luck.
It's funny though, it kinda made me panic a little about the real thing coming soon, so, I started vacuuming everything in the bedroom and changing the sheets. I just felt it wasn't clean enough.
Eric came home from the store and I was vacuuming the walls. He was like WTF?
... and I was like, it's not clean enough with the seriousness as all get out. haha...
the look on his face was quite priceless. as was the look on mine, I imagine.
Still had some little pains throughout the night, but nothing to write home about.... just nice to know my body is doing something.
I've never been the best at noticing subtle changes, so it takes a little more obnoxiousness to really get my attention. So, hopefully if I see a baby's head coming out of me, I then will realize that I am in labor.
Today I went to my 39 week appointment, and again my midwife was very thrilled to see that I still have ankles. I never thought that my ankles would really come through for me in life. I guess they deserve quite the thank you.
Maybe I should go by the local trophy store and see if they make a "Best Skinny Ankles 2009" award.
Other than that, not too much happened at the appointment. It was kinda just a marker to let me know that we are that much closer.
My friend Marcella took some more great pictures of us last weekend. I will be sure to post some of them here when we receive them. Some of them really turned out great!! It's amazing what a few months does for a pregnant belly. Good and bad... in this case, good thankfully.
I imagine I will at least get in one or two more post before the baby comes. And then, I think Eric might take over, depending on how long the labor takes, to keep everyone updated from the birth center. Maybe you guys will get a play by play....
anyhoo, let's hope things keep moving forward and not backwards.
michele
On saturday, we did a lot of walking. Well a lot for someone that is crazy pregnant.
We easily walked over two miles through the course of the day, and the proof is in the pudding.... my pelvis totally hates me now. I swear it feels like it is going to separate into two. It's just busy trying to figure out which side is going to break off first.
Now I know what Pangea felt like.
That's ok, though... it was totally worth it. I am determined to walk this baby out of me.
Believe it or not, I think all the walking really helped or I maybe felt the need to walk because things were slowly progressing. Yesterday evening (sunday), I finally started having some pains down below. Don't know if they were cramps or practice contractions (they were definitely something), and the pressure is really strong. It all feels so nice, even though some of it was hurting a little. Just the fact that something is going on down there is refreshing. In life I tend to be early for things and well prepped, so, things better not change now. That would be just my luck.
It's funny though, it kinda made me panic a little about the real thing coming soon, so, I started vacuuming everything in the bedroom and changing the sheets. I just felt it wasn't clean enough.
Eric came home from the store and I was vacuuming the walls. He was like WTF?
... and I was like, it's not clean enough with the seriousness as all get out. haha...
the look on his face was quite priceless. as was the look on mine, I imagine.
Still had some little pains throughout the night, but nothing to write home about.... just nice to know my body is doing something.
I've never been the best at noticing subtle changes, so it takes a little more obnoxiousness to really get my attention. So, hopefully if I see a baby's head coming out of me, I then will realize that I am in labor.
Today I went to my 39 week appointment, and again my midwife was very thrilled to see that I still have ankles. I never thought that my ankles would really come through for me in life. I guess they deserve quite the thank you.
Maybe I should go by the local trophy store and see if they make a "Best Skinny Ankles 2009" award.
Other than that, not too much happened at the appointment. It was kinda just a marker to let me know that we are that much closer.
My friend Marcella took some more great pictures of us last weekend. I will be sure to post some of them here when we receive them. Some of them really turned out great!! It's amazing what a few months does for a pregnant belly. Good and bad... in this case, good thankfully.
I imagine I will at least get in one or two more post before the baby comes. And then, I think Eric might take over, depending on how long the labor takes, to keep everyone updated from the birth center. Maybe you guys will get a play by play....
anyhoo, let's hope things keep moving forward and not backwards.
michele
Monday, August 3, 2009
I am technically term!!!
Today I am 37 weeks... yowsers, I can't believe it. So, as of now the baby is pretty much fully ready for this world... but I wouldn't mind the little one staying in there until closer to 40 weeks, just so the bebe can really finish marinating. I went to one of my weekly prenatal appointments today and everything is wonderful. I found out that I am GBS negative which really makes me happy. It is at least one less thing for me to worry about... now, the baby and I don't have to be given antibiotics and it also puts us on less of a time crunch of getting to the birth center for said antibiotics. If I start labor, I can labor at home for longer without any worries. This makes me very happy.
Today, I washed all of the baby's clothes. I feel it is truly possible that we might have too many onsies. I hear that it is not possible, but we'll see. Now, I am in the process of washing all the diapers, pre-folds, inserts and what-nots. I was going to leave this stuff for the two weeks that I am going to be off, but I couldn't help but start now. We also went shopping over the weekend and got all of our final birth need products. Other than the food and beverages we will be taking to the birth center, we are pretty good. Although, I did realize today that we actually don't have a diaper bag yet. I'm sure I can find a bag around the house to use until I find one I really like.
This week is my last week of work for the rest of the year. Well, at least work outside of the house that is. I really can't fathom this, and it continues to blow my mind. I am almost afraid of some of the tasks that I might find myself taking on over the next two weeks. I can already imagine me convincing myself that the I will need to do something like clean out behind the fridge before the baby comes. Nesting is a crazy thing, and it is funny what you find important to do, clean or organize.
I'm also still not panicking about the upcoming labor. I know I am not in denial about what I am getting myself into. It's just I am so excited to meet this little one that has been in me for the past nine months, that it is overriding any fears of labor. I'm sure the weight of it all will set in once I realize that I have gone into labor. Who knows, maybe I will never loose it... we'll see.
anyhoo, here is a pic from today at 37 weeks. I took it with the laptop, so, it's not that great.
that is all for now and I hope everyone is wonderful!!!!
michele
Today, I washed all of the baby's clothes. I feel it is truly possible that we might have too many onsies. I hear that it is not possible, but we'll see. Now, I am in the process of washing all the diapers, pre-folds, inserts and what-nots. I was going to leave this stuff for the two weeks that I am going to be off, but I couldn't help but start now. We also went shopping over the weekend and got all of our final birth need products. Other than the food and beverages we will be taking to the birth center, we are pretty good. Although, I did realize today that we actually don't have a diaper bag yet. I'm sure I can find a bag around the house to use until I find one I really like.
This week is my last week of work for the rest of the year. Well, at least work outside of the house that is. I really can't fathom this, and it continues to blow my mind. I am almost afraid of some of the tasks that I might find myself taking on over the next two weeks. I can already imagine me convincing myself that the I will need to do something like clean out behind the fridge before the baby comes. Nesting is a crazy thing, and it is funny what you find important to do, clean or organize.
I'm also still not panicking about the upcoming labor. I know I am not in denial about what I am getting myself into. It's just I am so excited to meet this little one that has been in me for the past nine months, that it is overriding any fears of labor. I'm sure the weight of it all will set in once I realize that I have gone into labor. Who knows, maybe I will never loose it... we'll see.
anyhoo, here is a pic from today at 37 weeks. I took it with the laptop, so, it's not that great.
that is all for now and I hope everyone is wonderful!!!!
michele
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Baby showers, baby room and much more.....
It has been a fabulous last week. Things have been going really well and we have accomplished a few things that are making us realize that this is all happening sooner than later. Shockingly, this doesn't even send me into a fit of panic. It just makes me ecstatic!
Thanks Melissa for taking the pics!!
We are almost done with our Bradley classes. We only have three more. I can't even tell you how much both of us have learned in them... and our instructor has been just great. She is really putting me at ease with everything. Considering she had nine kids, I trust her knowledge on birthing children. I can't believe we have somewhere around 6 weeks to go. woohoo!
well, as always, I hope all is well with everyone else...
michele
We went to my 34 week prenatal appointment yesterday and everything looked good. It is the first one Eric has been to since the first trimester. It was really neat having him there. He also got to check out the birthing rooms since he hadn't seen them yet. He took a few pics of the two rooms with his phone. I think I will definitely feel comfortable and at peace in these rooms. I already do just going there. That makes me feel really good.
We pretty much got the nursery set up. Everything except all the little things and any stuff we are going to put on the walls. I went ahead and took a few pics so I could show you all here.
Isn't it all adorable. We also got a double bed for guest since the baby won't be sleeping in that crib (the baby will be sleeping in a arm's reach mini co-sleeper next to me in our room) for a while.
I also put the stroller together all by myself last weekend. Go me!!
On sunday, we had our baby shower bruncheon at a little restaurant down the street from us. It was mainly all our dear friends from my work and Melissa. They were all way too kind to us. And since I didn't want a big fuss made... it all was so nice and not stuffy at all. I'm glad they didn't listen to me when I said I didn't want a shower. I will definitely remember that day forever and it was really special... even if it was hot as heck outside. Melissa was really nice and took a few pictures with my camera for us....
Thanks Melissa for taking the pics!!
We are almost done with our Bradley classes. We only have three more. I can't even tell you how much both of us have learned in them... and our instructor has been just great. She is really putting me at ease with everything. Considering she had nine kids, I trust her knowledge on birthing children. I can't believe we have somewhere around 6 weeks to go. woohoo!
well, as always, I hope all is well with everyone else...
michele
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
it's all coming along.....
Wow! What a weekend. Instead of shooting off fireworks or having a bbq... we decided to show our patriotism by stimulating the economy. On saturday, we got the crib, dresser, car seat and the stroller. We also got the rest of the bed set for the baby's room. Not to mention, we saved quite a bit of money by waiting until the stuff went on sale. Now we have to wait for the furniture to be delivered on friday. I am so excited. We have the room all clean, but quite bare. I can't even imagine how real it is going to be when everything is in place.
Today I turned 33 weeks. That means I have barely over 1 and 1/2 months left! I am starting to get really anxious, but I am trying to contain it. Eric gets to go to my 34 week prenatal appt. next week because he has two weeks off. I am really happy for him since he had been working so much overtime for like 8 months. My belly is rounder than ever and the baby is non-stop action. I already foresee quite the busy body entering our world.
I didn't take any pics yet this week, but here I am last week at 32 weeks.
I can usually tell where the butt, back and the baby's feet are most of the time. I think that is pretty neat.
Today, Eric and I finally took care of the car situation. Since I had a two door car, we new that we were going to have to get something new. We weren't sure what we wanted, but we had a couple of ideas. Unexpectedly, the car found us. When we went to go look at another car... and we found the this winner just driving by another dealership. BINGO!!
We ended up getting an '09 Ford Flex that is already slightly used... so, we got a great deal. Here are some pics I took of it earlier this evening........
Did I mention that I am completely in love with it!!! I can't even wait to go to work tomorrow so I can drive it. We took Ilsa for a ride in it, and she is in love with it too. I'm sure the baby will feel the same way.
It's late... I am off to bed. Hope all is well with everyone.
michele
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)