Friday, December 5, 2014
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Kroy's First Month
I don't even like to think that our baby boy is already a month old. But, somehow I don't have the ability to stop time and the days keep marching onward. Kroy is a really good baby. I'm sure most parents say that, and maybe it is cliché, but he truly is a good baby. The only time he tries to fuss is when I am changing his diaper and he gets cold, or when he's wet. He does not like being cold or wet! Poor little guy! He is sleeping about 3 1/2 hours a night which means about 2 feedings during the night and during the day is starting to be more & more alert. He really enjoys the mornings with us, and in the afternoon normally takes his little naps between eating. He's eating 3 1/2 ounces every 3 1/2 hours or so. He currently weighs 9 lbs. 3 ounces and is 21 3/4 inches long. He's gained over a pound and grown over an inch in his first month here with us! That makes me both proud and a little sad at the same time. My baby boy is growing up...and he's growing faster than I'd like to think about.
There are so many things I want to remember about him at this age. He wakes every morning around 6 am and goes to the living room for his breakfast and to have one-on-one time with his Daddy while I catch a few more zzzz's. I'm up by 7 and start our breakfast while Kroy and Daddy watch sports center and play on his play gym (if he isn't back asleep). He absolutely loves his bouncer and takes most of his naps in there. He also just started showing interest in his swing so we put him in there when he is restless and he watches the mobile and listens to the music. He is starting to smile back at you when you make faces at him, which melts our hearts! He does this adorable rooting/birdie/hungry face when he's looking for his pacifier or you're about to put the bottle in his mouth. It is the cutest face I've ever seen! He loves his play gym and in the evenings will lay and look up at the toys for upwards of 30 minutes at a time. He has also started to try to grab for the toys on his play gym but can't quite get his hand coordination down just yet. He enjoys tummy time but is such a strong little tyke that we really don't need a whole lot of tummy time for him because he constantly is working his neck muscles for us when we're holding him. Bath time is a real treat for us because he has so much fun in the bath! He kicks his little legs and coos at us. It's truly a treat to see him with so much joy on his little face. And while he loves taking a bath he absolutely hates getting lotion put on him afterwards. He gets so upset when I put lotion on him but its because it makes him cold and he hates to be cold. He is officially out of newborn clothes and in 0-3 month. I've started to pack away some of his newborn clothes to make room for others and it breaks my heart to think that just a few short weeks ago he was that tiny :( There are certain times during the day when he loves to snuggle with me. Generally around 10:00 am he wants to cuddle for a bit, and again about 4 pm he likes to be held. Other than that he is very content in his bouncer, swing, or on his play gym. Every Sunday he and his Daddy watch football and generally fall asleep in the recliner. I have some adorable pictures of Kroy sleeping on Wesley's chest and Wesley snoozing as well. It makes me beam with pride just looking at the both of them! While he doesn't have a set "schedule" yet because to be quite honest he's too little for one, he definitely has a bed time! He likes to be swaddled and in his bassinet by around 8:30 or so and if he isn't he will definitely let you know! He eats, gets changed, swaddled, and is in bed by about 8:30. He also LOVES his Mommy Bear that his Aunt Brittany gave him. He has to go to sleep with the womb sounds playing every night (and, now it puts Wesley and I to sleep too!).
Kroy's first Thanksgiving was so wonderful. We spent Thanksgiving at his Grandma & Grandpa Davenport's house and our neighbor Gary came over to celebrate with us too. When Grandma & Grandpa weren't arguing over who was going to hold Kroy (haha :)) we enjoyed good food, great desserts, and fun card playing. I can't wait to see how his first Christmas goes because he's going to be with is cousin Kannon for Christmas. It ought to be a grand time!
As soon as I get his 1 month pictures taken & uploaded I will be sure to share them. He is changing so much already!
There are so many things I want to remember about him at this age. He wakes every morning around 6 am and goes to the living room for his breakfast and to have one-on-one time with his Daddy while I catch a few more zzzz's. I'm up by 7 and start our breakfast while Kroy and Daddy watch sports center and play on his play gym (if he isn't back asleep). He absolutely loves his bouncer and takes most of his naps in there. He also just started showing interest in his swing so we put him in there when he is restless and he watches the mobile and listens to the music. He is starting to smile back at you when you make faces at him, which melts our hearts! He does this adorable rooting/birdie/hungry face when he's looking for his pacifier or you're about to put the bottle in his mouth. It is the cutest face I've ever seen! He loves his play gym and in the evenings will lay and look up at the toys for upwards of 30 minutes at a time. He has also started to try to grab for the toys on his play gym but can't quite get his hand coordination down just yet. He enjoys tummy time but is such a strong little tyke that we really don't need a whole lot of tummy time for him because he constantly is working his neck muscles for us when we're holding him. Bath time is a real treat for us because he has so much fun in the bath! He kicks his little legs and coos at us. It's truly a treat to see him with so much joy on his little face. And while he loves taking a bath he absolutely hates getting lotion put on him afterwards. He gets so upset when I put lotion on him but its because it makes him cold and he hates to be cold. He is officially out of newborn clothes and in 0-3 month. I've started to pack away some of his newborn clothes to make room for others and it breaks my heart to think that just a few short weeks ago he was that tiny :( There are certain times during the day when he loves to snuggle with me. Generally around 10:00 am he wants to cuddle for a bit, and again about 4 pm he likes to be held. Other than that he is very content in his bouncer, swing, or on his play gym. Every Sunday he and his Daddy watch football and generally fall asleep in the recliner. I have some adorable pictures of Kroy sleeping on Wesley's chest and Wesley snoozing as well. It makes me beam with pride just looking at the both of them! While he doesn't have a set "schedule" yet because to be quite honest he's too little for one, he definitely has a bed time! He likes to be swaddled and in his bassinet by around 8:30 or so and if he isn't he will definitely let you know! He eats, gets changed, swaddled, and is in bed by about 8:30. He also LOVES his Mommy Bear that his Aunt Brittany gave him. He has to go to sleep with the womb sounds playing every night (and, now it puts Wesley and I to sleep too!).
Kroy's first Thanksgiving was so wonderful. We spent Thanksgiving at his Grandma & Grandpa Davenport's house and our neighbor Gary came over to celebrate with us too. When Grandma & Grandpa weren't arguing over who was going to hold Kroy (haha :)) we enjoyed good food, great desserts, and fun card playing. I can't wait to see how his first Christmas goes because he's going to be with is cousin Kannon for Christmas. It ought to be a grand time!
As soon as I get his 1 month pictures taken & uploaded I will be sure to share them. He is changing so much already!
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Kroy's Birth in Pictures
Here are some pictures from our birth experience both before and after Kroy was born. Enjoy!
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| Baby's heart rate (top line) and Contraction Monitor |
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| Trying to "rest" after getting my epidural |
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| Kroy's baby warmer where he'd go after being born |
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| Happy and anxious! |
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| Someone isn't resting either! |
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| Our birth suite room number |
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| Kroy is here!! Getting his first bottle. |
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| Proud Grandma & Grandpa coming to see Kroy at the hospital |
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| Grandma helping put Kroy's footprints in his baby book |
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| First bath! Grandma got to help with the bath :) |
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| Beautiful flowers |
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| Passing the time after his birth playing Cribbage |
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| First day home with Grandma rocking him to sleep |
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| She's so smitten with him. He's a loved little boy. So blessed! |
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| Grandpa adores him equally as much! |
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| First sponge bath at home given by Mom & Grandma |
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The Birth of Our Son
We can't believe it has been one week since we welcomed our son into this world. When everyone says "time flies once you have children" you never know the truth to that statement until you actually have a child of your own. In one short week we have fallen more in love with this little guy and each other than we ever thought possible. Before the beautiful memory of bringing our son into the world becomes a bit faded I wanted to tell the story of his birth from start to finish so we will always remember the tiny details leading up to bringing him into this world. I will warn you...this is a birth story. There will be details in there that some might not want to read (blood, amniotic fluid, IV, etc), but I want them included in our story.
November 4th started out as any other day does for me. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions since about 36 weeks so it wasn't anything new that I was having them that day as well. Wesley went to work (cell phone in hand just in case) and I went about my day cleaning the house and getting last minute things ready before his arrival. That afternoon we went to vote in town in Colstrip, then I rode home with Moo Moo while Wesley & David went to pick up a yearling of ours that was in the neighbors pasture. I noticed I was a bit more tired than normal after we got home that evening and by 8:30 p.m. we were in bed (good thing too). I tossed & turned trying to get comfortable and finally fell asleep about 10 p.m. that night. At 10:56 p.m. I noticed I was having menstrual like cramps and needed to go to the bathroom. When got up to go to the bathroom I noticed what I thought was amniotic fluid. I didn't want to wake Wesley yet because I wasn't sure that my water had in fact broke, so I tip-toed to the living room to call the Birth Center to ask them what their opinion was. After explaining my symptoms they confirmed that it was in fact my water breaking and that we needed to head straight in to the birth center since we had a 2 hour drive. So, I walked back to the room to wake my sleeping husband and tell him it was time to meet our son. I sat on his side of the bed and whispered "babe, its time...its time to go". I've never seen him pop up so fast ever. He was like a tornado getting dressed and throwing shoes on so we could head out the door. I remembered my sister telling me she wished she had taken a shower before heading to the hospital so I hopped in the shower right quick before we headed to Billings.
It was 11:15 when we were walking out the door of our house. We called his parents to come get our dogs and away we went. By this time my contractions were getting stronger. They always said that you'd know the difference between Braxton Hicks & the real thing and they were right (although when its your first baby you often wonder if you will know the difference or not...It scared me for the longest time that I wouldn't know I was in labor)! My husband went the speed limit on the creek road due to the deer, but once we got onto the interstate headed east towards Billings I believe he topped out at about 90 MPH heading that way. An hour into our drive my contractions were getting even stronger. Reminding myself to breathe, and holding my husbands hands I powered through them (like a boss as my adorable husband told me). We made it to Billings in about an hour and 40 minutes thanks to the amazing driving skills of my nervous husband. We were lucky to find a parking spot right in front of the birth center at the hospital and I insisted on walking so that labor would be sped along even faster versus riding in a wheel chair. We grabbed our suitcase and camera and hauled butt up to the second floor of the Family Birth Center (FBC). Since they knew we were coming they had all our paperwork done and all I had to do was sign my admission rights & responsibilities sheet and we were in.
We were officially admitted at 1:30 AM on Wednesday, November 5th. We were escorted to Suite 2 in the FBC and at this point my contractions were every 3 minutes apart and lasting about 60 seconds each. I remember my sister telling me she had to grab onto the railing along the walls of her hospital when in labor & walking to her room, and I had to do the same thing. In fact, as I grabbed the railing on the wall to breathe through an intense contraction the thought of her doing the same thing 6 months prior ran through my head. My husband massaged my back as I breathed through the intensity of the contraction.
Upon arriving in my room they immediately checked my cervix. I was dilated to a 4 and my cervix was 90% thinned out. The doctor came in to help thin my cervix along, and I was immediately given an IV. I also requested an epidural right away, and to my surprise within an hour of being admitted and given an IV the anesthesiologist was in my room and prepping me for the epidural. They put my IV on the fast track to emptying 1 bag (because you have to have 1 bag of fluids in you before they'll administer your epidural) and in no time I was sitting up slumped over getting prepared for my epidural. Of all the things about labor that I was worried about most, this was it. I was facing my fear of needles and receiving the numbing medicine that would help my labor be less painful. I had a wonder anesthesiologist and I do mean wonderful. He was kind, gentle, and always let me know what was going on. To my surprise and amazement, the IV catheter hurt about 10 times worse than my epidural did. He did warn me that the numbing medicine he would inject in me before administering my epidural might sting some, but I didn't hardly feel a thing. From start to finish it took him all of 5 minutes and he had administered my epidural and was taping the epidural catheter down. What an amazing thing epidurals are! While I know there are women out there that do it completely natural and pain relieving medication free, I was not one of them nor did I want to be. I wanted to be able to experience the beauty of the laboring and delivery process and not be so focused on the intense pain that I didn't get to have special moments with my husband. At about 2:30 AM the doctor came in and checked me again. I was a 5 this time, and she told us that we should try to rest if we could so that I wasn't warn out for the pushing that was to come. Try as we might we could not go to sleep at all. So, my husband put on some music on his iPhone, sat next to my bed, held my hand, and we talked.
By 6:00 AM my contractions had become a bit more spaced out, so the doctor started me on some Pitocin to help my contractions along. I never felt any more pain with the Pitocin, and really no more pressure. Wesley loved watching the contraction monitor because he'd tell me that I was having a "big contraction" yet I wouldn't feel a thing. It was pretty cool to watch. By 7:30 it was shift change at the hospital so we got a new set of nurses and a new OB doctor as well. When I first met Dr. Osborn (not my regular OB doctor) I thought she was quite intense, and a bit "in your face". As it would turn out later, that is exactly what God had ordered for us and she was a blessing. By 9:00 AM I was dilated to a 7 and Dr. Osborn told me that she was going to make her rounds and the nurses would call her when I was ready to push. She figured it would be around Noon when we would start pushing. By 9:45 AM I was feeling lots of pressure and the urge to push. The nurse came in and checked me and sure enough I was a 10 and ready to push. The baby had a little bit of descending to do so they had me push with each contraction to help move him down the birth canal. I was able to get 4 good pushes out of each contraction which the nurses were extremely happy with. By 10:15 I had intense pressure to push, and the doctor wasn't in the FBC yet. She ran from the other side of the hospital to be in the room for the birth. While waiting for her I couldn't push through the contractions I just had to breathe through them so he wasn't born without her, and that had to be the worst pain yet. All I wanted to do was push, yet I had to wait for her to come back. Dr. Osborn flew through the door of our room around 10:30 and after 3 good pushes at 10:49 AM our son was born.
Kroy Wesley was born at 10:49 a.m. and weighed 8 lbs. even. He was 20.5 inches long. As soon as Dr. Osborn pulled Kroy out of my body and placed him on my chest I was in love. He was absolutely perfect. I looked over at my husband who had tears streaming down his face. He had to walk away because he was overcome with emotion at the sight of our beautiful baby boy, and so was I. We had done it. Our hard work, waiting, and preparation had paid off and we had a beautiful, healthy baby boy in our arms. After I got to hold him for a minute the nurses took him away to weigh him, dry him off, and hand him to his Daddy. The sight of my husband holding our son for the very first time is a memory that I will forever hold on to.
After delivering my placenta the doctor got a bit concerned because she could not get me to quit bleeding. The concerned look on my husband's face said it all to me as well. Something wasn't right. My uterus had given out and stopped contracting therefore the bleeding wasn't getting any better. I had nurses massaging (rather roughly) my uterus to try to get it to contract and help control the bleeding, and the doctor removing clots the size of my husband's fist out of me. After about 2 hours of working on me they inserted a balloon into my uterus to help control the bleeding. With the good Lord on our side it worked. The doctor was able to stop the bleeding with the help of the balloon, and I was not clotting anymore. Thank God. Remember how I mentioned that when I first met the OB that would be delivering Kroy that day that I was a bit taken back? All of those concerns flew out the window when I saw how intently she was working to control the bleeding. She was amazing. Although I believe almost every nurse in that room got her butt chewed for not moving fast enough (and there were about 15 nurses in the room with us at that time), Dr. Osborn was absolutely fantastic. Because of her we were able to avoid a lot of other medical complications, and we have thanked her over and over for all the hard work she did to stop the bleeding. I was very fortunate that I did not need a blood transfusion. I was borderline with my levels, but since I never lost consciousness, got lightheaded, dizzy, saw stars, etc. I didn't have to have one. I was on bed rest for 24 hours after the delivery because of the balloon in my uterus and the multiple catheters they had inserted to monitor blood loss, clots, etc.
My amazing husband was such a trooper through the entire thing. And on top of it, the first night Kroy was born he had to take care of everything from feeding to diaper changing since I could not get out of bed and my stomach was so bruised and sore from them working on my uterus. Kroy doesn't know it yet but he has the best father and role model out there and we are both so lucky to have Wesley in our lives. He was amazing that night. He would change Kroy, feed him, rock him, swaddle him, and put him back to bed. And he did this every 2 hours. I was able to capture a few pictures on my phone of him with Kroy after he was first born, and then a photography company came in to the hospital and took professional pictures of us as a family. Those are pictures I will cherish forever. Kroy looks just like his Daddy and I couldn't be more proud of the both of them. I'm also quite proud of myself because I am normally not tolerant of pain at all. It is an amazing thing for your body to give birth to another human being. My husband is constantly telling me how proud he is of me because of how tolerant I was of the pain, the contractions, and how awesome I did when it was time to push. For a first time mom to push for right at an hour is not common. The doctor told me to be prepared to push for 2 hours because as a general rule that's about average for a first time mom. So I was pretty proud of myself for only pushing for an hour. The miracle of life is indescribable and I am so blessed to have my husband and child here with me today. I love them more than anything in this world and I would do absolutely anything for either of them.
November 4th started out as any other day does for me. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions since about 36 weeks so it wasn't anything new that I was having them that day as well. Wesley went to work (cell phone in hand just in case) and I went about my day cleaning the house and getting last minute things ready before his arrival. That afternoon we went to vote in town in Colstrip, then I rode home with Moo Moo while Wesley & David went to pick up a yearling of ours that was in the neighbors pasture. I noticed I was a bit more tired than normal after we got home that evening and by 8:30 p.m. we were in bed (good thing too). I tossed & turned trying to get comfortable and finally fell asleep about 10 p.m. that night. At 10:56 p.m. I noticed I was having menstrual like cramps and needed to go to the bathroom. When got up to go to the bathroom I noticed what I thought was amniotic fluid. I didn't want to wake Wesley yet because I wasn't sure that my water had in fact broke, so I tip-toed to the living room to call the Birth Center to ask them what their opinion was. After explaining my symptoms they confirmed that it was in fact my water breaking and that we needed to head straight in to the birth center since we had a 2 hour drive. So, I walked back to the room to wake my sleeping husband and tell him it was time to meet our son. I sat on his side of the bed and whispered "babe, its time...its time to go". I've never seen him pop up so fast ever. He was like a tornado getting dressed and throwing shoes on so we could head out the door. I remembered my sister telling me she wished she had taken a shower before heading to the hospital so I hopped in the shower right quick before we headed to Billings.
It was 11:15 when we were walking out the door of our house. We called his parents to come get our dogs and away we went. By this time my contractions were getting stronger. They always said that you'd know the difference between Braxton Hicks & the real thing and they were right (although when its your first baby you often wonder if you will know the difference or not...It scared me for the longest time that I wouldn't know I was in labor)! My husband went the speed limit on the creek road due to the deer, but once we got onto the interstate headed east towards Billings I believe he topped out at about 90 MPH heading that way. An hour into our drive my contractions were getting even stronger. Reminding myself to breathe, and holding my husbands hands I powered through them (like a boss as my adorable husband told me). We made it to Billings in about an hour and 40 minutes thanks to the amazing driving skills of my nervous husband. We were lucky to find a parking spot right in front of the birth center at the hospital and I insisted on walking so that labor would be sped along even faster versus riding in a wheel chair. We grabbed our suitcase and camera and hauled butt up to the second floor of the Family Birth Center (FBC). Since they knew we were coming they had all our paperwork done and all I had to do was sign my admission rights & responsibilities sheet and we were in.
We were officially admitted at 1:30 AM on Wednesday, November 5th. We were escorted to Suite 2 in the FBC and at this point my contractions were every 3 minutes apart and lasting about 60 seconds each. I remember my sister telling me she had to grab onto the railing along the walls of her hospital when in labor & walking to her room, and I had to do the same thing. In fact, as I grabbed the railing on the wall to breathe through an intense contraction the thought of her doing the same thing 6 months prior ran through my head. My husband massaged my back as I breathed through the intensity of the contraction.
Upon arriving in my room they immediately checked my cervix. I was dilated to a 4 and my cervix was 90% thinned out. The doctor came in to help thin my cervix along, and I was immediately given an IV. I also requested an epidural right away, and to my surprise within an hour of being admitted and given an IV the anesthesiologist was in my room and prepping me for the epidural. They put my IV on the fast track to emptying 1 bag (because you have to have 1 bag of fluids in you before they'll administer your epidural) and in no time I was sitting up slumped over getting prepared for my epidural. Of all the things about labor that I was worried about most, this was it. I was facing my fear of needles and receiving the numbing medicine that would help my labor be less painful. I had a wonder anesthesiologist and I do mean wonderful. He was kind, gentle, and always let me know what was going on. To my surprise and amazement, the IV catheter hurt about 10 times worse than my epidural did. He did warn me that the numbing medicine he would inject in me before administering my epidural might sting some, but I didn't hardly feel a thing. From start to finish it took him all of 5 minutes and he had administered my epidural and was taping the epidural catheter down. What an amazing thing epidurals are! While I know there are women out there that do it completely natural and pain relieving medication free, I was not one of them nor did I want to be. I wanted to be able to experience the beauty of the laboring and delivery process and not be so focused on the intense pain that I didn't get to have special moments with my husband. At about 2:30 AM the doctor came in and checked me again. I was a 5 this time, and she told us that we should try to rest if we could so that I wasn't warn out for the pushing that was to come. Try as we might we could not go to sleep at all. So, my husband put on some music on his iPhone, sat next to my bed, held my hand, and we talked.
By 6:00 AM my contractions had become a bit more spaced out, so the doctor started me on some Pitocin to help my contractions along. I never felt any more pain with the Pitocin, and really no more pressure. Wesley loved watching the contraction monitor because he'd tell me that I was having a "big contraction" yet I wouldn't feel a thing. It was pretty cool to watch. By 7:30 it was shift change at the hospital so we got a new set of nurses and a new OB doctor as well. When I first met Dr. Osborn (not my regular OB doctor) I thought she was quite intense, and a bit "in your face". As it would turn out later, that is exactly what God had ordered for us and she was a blessing. By 9:00 AM I was dilated to a 7 and Dr. Osborn told me that she was going to make her rounds and the nurses would call her when I was ready to push. She figured it would be around Noon when we would start pushing. By 9:45 AM I was feeling lots of pressure and the urge to push. The nurse came in and checked me and sure enough I was a 10 and ready to push. The baby had a little bit of descending to do so they had me push with each contraction to help move him down the birth canal. I was able to get 4 good pushes out of each contraction which the nurses were extremely happy with. By 10:15 I had intense pressure to push, and the doctor wasn't in the FBC yet. She ran from the other side of the hospital to be in the room for the birth. While waiting for her I couldn't push through the contractions I just had to breathe through them so he wasn't born without her, and that had to be the worst pain yet. All I wanted to do was push, yet I had to wait for her to come back. Dr. Osborn flew through the door of our room around 10:30 and after 3 good pushes at 10:49 AM our son was born.
Kroy Wesley was born at 10:49 a.m. and weighed 8 lbs. even. He was 20.5 inches long. As soon as Dr. Osborn pulled Kroy out of my body and placed him on my chest I was in love. He was absolutely perfect. I looked over at my husband who had tears streaming down his face. He had to walk away because he was overcome with emotion at the sight of our beautiful baby boy, and so was I. We had done it. Our hard work, waiting, and preparation had paid off and we had a beautiful, healthy baby boy in our arms. After I got to hold him for a minute the nurses took him away to weigh him, dry him off, and hand him to his Daddy. The sight of my husband holding our son for the very first time is a memory that I will forever hold on to.
After delivering my placenta the doctor got a bit concerned because she could not get me to quit bleeding. The concerned look on my husband's face said it all to me as well. Something wasn't right. My uterus had given out and stopped contracting therefore the bleeding wasn't getting any better. I had nurses massaging (rather roughly) my uterus to try to get it to contract and help control the bleeding, and the doctor removing clots the size of my husband's fist out of me. After about 2 hours of working on me they inserted a balloon into my uterus to help control the bleeding. With the good Lord on our side it worked. The doctor was able to stop the bleeding with the help of the balloon, and I was not clotting anymore. Thank God. Remember how I mentioned that when I first met the OB that would be delivering Kroy that day that I was a bit taken back? All of those concerns flew out the window when I saw how intently she was working to control the bleeding. She was amazing. Although I believe almost every nurse in that room got her butt chewed for not moving fast enough (and there were about 15 nurses in the room with us at that time), Dr. Osborn was absolutely fantastic. Because of her we were able to avoid a lot of other medical complications, and we have thanked her over and over for all the hard work she did to stop the bleeding. I was very fortunate that I did not need a blood transfusion. I was borderline with my levels, but since I never lost consciousness, got lightheaded, dizzy, saw stars, etc. I didn't have to have one. I was on bed rest for 24 hours after the delivery because of the balloon in my uterus and the multiple catheters they had inserted to monitor blood loss, clots, etc.
My amazing husband was such a trooper through the entire thing. And on top of it, the first night Kroy was born he had to take care of everything from feeding to diaper changing since I could not get out of bed and my stomach was so bruised and sore from them working on my uterus. Kroy doesn't know it yet but he has the best father and role model out there and we are both so lucky to have Wesley in our lives. He was amazing that night. He would change Kroy, feed him, rock him, swaddle him, and put him back to bed. And he did this every 2 hours. I was able to capture a few pictures on my phone of him with Kroy after he was first born, and then a photography company came in to the hospital and took professional pictures of us as a family. Those are pictures I will cherish forever. Kroy looks just like his Daddy and I couldn't be more proud of the both of them. I'm also quite proud of myself because I am normally not tolerant of pain at all. It is an amazing thing for your body to give birth to another human being. My husband is constantly telling me how proud he is of me because of how tolerant I was of the pain, the contractions, and how awesome I did when it was time to push. For a first time mom to push for right at an hour is not common. The doctor told me to be prepared to push for 2 hours because as a general rule that's about average for a first time mom. So I was pretty proud of myself for only pushing for an hour. The miracle of life is indescribable and I am so blessed to have my husband and child here with me today. I love them more than anything in this world and I would do absolutely anything for either of them.
Friday, October 31, 2014
About My Husband...
As we prepare to welcome our son into our family any day now, I feel I've neglected to say a few words lately about my husband. He has been my angel throughout this entire pregnancy. For the first 16 weeks I was so, so, SO sick all day long. He made sure to make me breakfast every morning and deliver it to me in bed before he went to work so that I could hopefully quell my nausea (sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't). He would come home at lunch & make us both lunch if I was up for it. Then after a long day at work he would come home and make supper for the both of us as well. He took the trash out, dusted the furniture and vacuumed the house all while I couldn't. And, he made sure the toilets were clean for me because I was using them regularly with my morning sickness lasting all day. That's love.
As our pregnancy progressed he made sure to be with me the entire way. He has never, ever missed a doctors appointment. He is engaged with the doctor at our appointments and makes sure to ask questions if there is something he wants to know. His face lights up every time he hears our baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office. I love watching his expression as he bobs his head in rhythm to our son's heartbeat each time we go to the doctor. He thinks its quite funny to poke at the baby to see if he will kick back at me, which normally he does. And most of all, he constantly tells me I'm beautiful even when I don't feel beautiful at all. He tells me what a good job I'm doing caring for myself and our baby, and he tells me how proud he is of me for enduring what we have had to go through in order to conceive our child.
We will be celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary in a little over a week and I cannot believe how fast these 2 years have gone by. It seems like yesterday we were saying "I Do". Time flies when you're having fun as the old saying goes! Although there are many times when I don't think I could love this man any more than I already do, I know that as soon as I see our son's face my heart is going to overflow with love for the man that helped me create this beautiful life. I am so blessed to be married to my handsome prince and I cannot wait to see his face when he becomes a Dad and I become a Mom. And I want him to always know that I love him with every ounce of my being. He's my partner, my soul mate, my love, and he completes me in every way that I never thought possible! I love you babe!
As our pregnancy progressed he made sure to be with me the entire way. He has never, ever missed a doctors appointment. He is engaged with the doctor at our appointments and makes sure to ask questions if there is something he wants to know. His face lights up every time he hears our baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office. I love watching his expression as he bobs his head in rhythm to our son's heartbeat each time we go to the doctor. He thinks its quite funny to poke at the baby to see if he will kick back at me, which normally he does. And most of all, he constantly tells me I'm beautiful even when I don't feel beautiful at all. He tells me what a good job I'm doing caring for myself and our baby, and he tells me how proud he is of me for enduring what we have had to go through in order to conceive our child.
We will be celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary in a little over a week and I cannot believe how fast these 2 years have gone by. It seems like yesterday we were saying "I Do". Time flies when you're having fun as the old saying goes! Although there are many times when I don't think I could love this man any more than I already do, I know that as soon as I see our son's face my heart is going to overflow with love for the man that helped me create this beautiful life. I am so blessed to be married to my handsome prince and I cannot wait to see his face when he becomes a Dad and I become a Mom. And I want him to always know that I love him with every ounce of my being. He's my partner, my soul mate, my love, and he completes me in every way that I never thought possible! I love you babe!
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
37 Weeks
We've officially hit the "safe zone" in pregnancy. We're past the 37 week mark and therefore considered full term when it comes to the baby's gestational age and giving birth. HOORAY! We are very excited about this. The doctor said the baby can come anytime now and we can't wait to find out when that day might be here. At my last doctor visit I was dilating and effacing right along so it could be any time now that he decides to make his entrance into the world! I'm not sure who is more excited to meet the little guy - me or his Daddy! I'm sure it's a tie but all my husband can talk about is meeting him. Its quite adorable :)
While we anxiously await his arrival we have been soaking up the last bit of me and him time that we'll have for a while. We've went on lunch and dinner dates and are enjoying our time together in the evenings before he comes. We have all our bags packed and are loaded in the pickup so whenever it is time all we have to do is load ourselves and head for the hospital! We are both so anxious to meet him, see what he looks like, and welcome him into our family.
As my pregnancy starts to come to an end it is joyous and sad for me all at the same time. While I'm sure many of you would think I would be happy to not be pregnant anymore (and there are times that I get excited thinking about the fact that I'll be able to bend over again and pick things up off the floor!), since this was such a long journey and struggle for us I am savoring every last minute of my pregnancy and baby being inside me. I've started to slowly pack away maternity items that I will no longer wear once he arrives (because they're for the summer months) and it brought tears to my eyes thinking about the day we found out we were pregnant and how far we've come in order to have our son. Although I may look in the mirror and not like how much weight I have gained during the duration of the pregnancy, or the stretch marks that are now on my body, I realize that there is a miracle growing inside me and I am forever grateful to God that he has allowed us to be this little guys parents. I forget about the weight and stretch marks and remind myself that it took my body changing in these ways in order to grow a happy and healthy baby and that's all that matters. I'll worry about myself after he's born healthy. So many people never get to experience the kicks of a growing baby from inside, or a growing belly, stretch marks, or the way others look at a pregnant lady when in public. It is as if you have a halo over your head and you're walking on air (most of the time...there are those who make snide remarks about weight or "popping any day" but you learn to ignore them!). So for the opportunity to carry our child I will forever be thankful.
Since we have been given the "all clear" from our doctor I am going to try to start doing a little bit of walking in the afternoons/evenings in hopes of speeding the delivery of our baby along. The baby has dropped a bit more from our last appointment so we know he is getting ready to meet us. And he is definitely head down so we don't have to worry about him being breech, thank goodness!! The doctor thinks he'll be an average baby at birth with a weight of around 7 1/2 lbs. or so but he is definitely a long baby...possibly a bit longer than average. That's thanks in part to his mom being taller and his Dad being extra tall! I'm going with 22 in. long at birth and Wesley said he thinks he'll be about 23 in. long. Wesley thinks he'll be on the lighter side of 7 lbs. while I think he'll be on the heavier side of 7 lbs. I guess time will tell who is right!
I don't have any new pictures of my baby bump and probably won't post anymore until after our baby is born so stay tuned for those pictures coming (hopefully) soon!!
While we anxiously await his arrival we have been soaking up the last bit of me and him time that we'll have for a while. We've went on lunch and dinner dates and are enjoying our time together in the evenings before he comes. We have all our bags packed and are loaded in the pickup so whenever it is time all we have to do is load ourselves and head for the hospital! We are both so anxious to meet him, see what he looks like, and welcome him into our family.
As my pregnancy starts to come to an end it is joyous and sad for me all at the same time. While I'm sure many of you would think I would be happy to not be pregnant anymore (and there are times that I get excited thinking about the fact that I'll be able to bend over again and pick things up off the floor!), since this was such a long journey and struggle for us I am savoring every last minute of my pregnancy and baby being inside me. I've started to slowly pack away maternity items that I will no longer wear once he arrives (because they're for the summer months) and it brought tears to my eyes thinking about the day we found out we were pregnant and how far we've come in order to have our son. Although I may look in the mirror and not like how much weight I have gained during the duration of the pregnancy, or the stretch marks that are now on my body, I realize that there is a miracle growing inside me and I am forever grateful to God that he has allowed us to be this little guys parents. I forget about the weight and stretch marks and remind myself that it took my body changing in these ways in order to grow a happy and healthy baby and that's all that matters. I'll worry about myself after he's born healthy. So many people never get to experience the kicks of a growing baby from inside, or a growing belly, stretch marks, or the way others look at a pregnant lady when in public. It is as if you have a halo over your head and you're walking on air (most of the time...there are those who make snide remarks about weight or "popping any day" but you learn to ignore them!). So for the opportunity to carry our child I will forever be thankful.
Since we have been given the "all clear" from our doctor I am going to try to start doing a little bit of walking in the afternoons/evenings in hopes of speeding the delivery of our baby along. The baby has dropped a bit more from our last appointment so we know he is getting ready to meet us. And he is definitely head down so we don't have to worry about him being breech, thank goodness!! The doctor thinks he'll be an average baby at birth with a weight of around 7 1/2 lbs. or so but he is definitely a long baby...possibly a bit longer than average. That's thanks in part to his mom being taller and his Dad being extra tall! I'm going with 22 in. long at birth and Wesley said he thinks he'll be about 23 in. long. Wesley thinks he'll be on the lighter side of 7 lbs. while I think he'll be on the heavier side of 7 lbs. I guess time will tell who is right!
I don't have any new pictures of my baby bump and probably won't post anymore until after our baby is born so stay tuned for those pictures coming (hopefully) soon!!
Monday, October 6, 2014
It's Getting Closer!
Better late than never...right? Here is a picture of me at 33 (actually...closer to 34) weeks pregnant! While I am getting to the point where I really don't like taking pictures of myself anymore, I continue to do so to help us remember this special time in our lives especially as we are getting close to becoming us plus one!
All in all I am feeling good...just ready to meet our little man in a few weeks! I have all the normal pregnancy symptoms that most pregnant women at this stage feel. My feet are tired and swelling. My hands are swelling...well, actually, I think my entire body is swelling! But it's all worth it as long as our little man is happy and healthy! I'm starting to have more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions also. But, that's ok with me because it lets me know that my body is doing all the right things to help me prepare to welcome our son into the world. I'm so thankful that my child is head down as well! I've gained the appropriate amount of weight for my height and to maintain a healthy pregnancy so although I may look like I'm a cup of sand away from being a beached whale, I'm actually right on target for our pregnancy. Haha :) My husband hates when I say that about myself; but there are days when a complete stranger can make you feel just like a whale. It used to bother me in the beginning. However they have no idea the struggles we went through to have our baby so I really don't take it to heart anymore.
I'm hoping to get one more post in (possibly two) before the baby comes so stay tuned for more pictures...and if nothing else the announcement that our son has been born!!
All in all I am feeling good...just ready to meet our little man in a few weeks! I have all the normal pregnancy symptoms that most pregnant women at this stage feel. My feet are tired and swelling. My hands are swelling...well, actually, I think my entire body is swelling! But it's all worth it as long as our little man is happy and healthy! I'm starting to have more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions also. But, that's ok with me because it lets me know that my body is doing all the right things to help me prepare to welcome our son into the world. I'm so thankful that my child is head down as well! I've gained the appropriate amount of weight for my height and to maintain a healthy pregnancy so although I may look like I'm a cup of sand away from being a beached whale, I'm actually right on target for our pregnancy. Haha :) My husband hates when I say that about myself; but there are days when a complete stranger can make you feel just like a whale. It used to bother me in the beginning. However they have no idea the struggles we went through to have our baby so I really don't take it to heart anymore.
I'm hoping to get one more post in (possibly two) before the baby comes so stay tuned for more pictures...and if nothing else the announcement that our son has been born!!
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