From our family to yours.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
One Month Old
Yesterday our baby girl turned one month old.
Normally, I would be expressing my disbelief at how fast time is flying and would you just slow down already. But it honestly doesn't feel that way. I have soaked up every single second I have spent with my sweet one, that arriving at this first milestone feels just right. Of course she's one month old...what else would she be???
In the last week or so, I've noticed exactly how much Ruby is growing. I don't know her exact measurements (she has an appointment with her pediatrician after the New Year) but she is certainly lengthening and gaining weight. She is stretching out her legs, spending less and less time with them curled up into her tummy. She has outgrown the few newborn sized clothes she had and the little knit hats I bought for her before she was born now pop off her head shortly after I put them on.
She is eating three ounces of formula every three hours (we had a few formula issues early on but those seem to be resolved, at least for the moment). Much like the boys, she was easy to set on a schedule and she does a really good job sticking to it. She's almost like a clock; she wakes almost exactly on time in order to eat. If her bedtime bottle is late enough (11:00ish) she'll wake only once during the night to eat, and then wake again in the early morning. She is sleeping really well in her crib, and *thankfully* falls back asleep easily after her midnight feedings.
After sleeping much of her first two weeks of life, she now has longer periods of awake time throughout the day. She'll tolerate "play time" (lying under her play gym, tummy time, talking with her brothers) for short moments and then will want to be held again. Speaking of being held, she seems to think she needs to be cuddled in order to stay asleep. She'll fall asleep in our arms, and within 10 minutes of putting her down (either in her bouncy seat, the swing, or in her crib) she'll wake up. We'll rock asleep again, only for the cycle to continue. I'm thankful this isn't the case after dark!
This last month, she celebrated her first Thanksgiving. And we're fairly certain we saw her first smile on Friday night. That will be confirmed when we see the next one. (Her smile, by the way, is beautiful. It starts in her eyes before you see it cross her lips.)
She is a wonder.
Normally, I would be expressing my disbelief at how fast time is flying and would you just slow down already. But it honestly doesn't feel that way. I have soaked up every single second I have spent with my sweet one, that arriving at this first milestone feels just right. Of course she's one month old...what else would she be???
In the last week or so, I've noticed exactly how much Ruby is growing. I don't know her exact measurements (she has an appointment with her pediatrician after the New Year) but she is certainly lengthening and gaining weight. She is stretching out her legs, spending less and less time with them curled up into her tummy. She has outgrown the few newborn sized clothes she had and the little knit hats I bought for her before she was born now pop off her head shortly after I put them on.
She is eating three ounces of formula every three hours (we had a few formula issues early on but those seem to be resolved, at least for the moment). Much like the boys, she was easy to set on a schedule and she does a really good job sticking to it. She's almost like a clock; she wakes almost exactly on time in order to eat. If her bedtime bottle is late enough (11:00ish) she'll wake only once during the night to eat, and then wake again in the early morning. She is sleeping really well in her crib, and *thankfully* falls back asleep easily after her midnight feedings.
After sleeping much of her first two weeks of life, she now has longer periods of awake time throughout the day. She'll tolerate "play time" (lying under her play gym, tummy time, talking with her brothers) for short moments and then will want to be held again. Speaking of being held, she seems to think she needs to be cuddled in order to stay asleep. She'll fall asleep in our arms, and within 10 minutes of putting her down (either in her bouncy seat, the swing, or in her crib) she'll wake up. We'll rock asleep again, only for the cycle to continue. I'm thankful this isn't the case after dark!
This last month, she celebrated her first Thanksgiving. And we're fairly certain we saw her first smile on Friday night. That will be confirmed when we see the next one. (Her smile, by the way, is beautiful. It starts in her eyes before you see it cross her lips.)
She is a wonder.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Ruby's Birth Day
Three weeks ago, our sweet angel came into this world and immediately stole our hearts.
Her arrival day was planned. I saw my doctor on Wednesday (the 20th) and very politely asked if we could go ahead and have this baby (hey, I never claimed to be a patient person). I was ready, both physically and emotionally, to be *done* being pregnant, and taking into consideration a tremendous amount of anxiety surrounding the unknowns of when this little one would come on her own, I really wanted to be induced. I was hoping for either Friday or the following Monday (my actual due date). So when my physician said he was free on Thursday - the very next day... I got a little nervous! I was feeling really ready to have this baby, but maybe not quite that quickly! Regardless, arrangements were made, and Brad and I made our way to the hospital at 7:00 the next morning.
Here is a rough rundown of our day, and how things progressed. I didn't keep a close eye on the clock, but I have a general idea of when things happened.
7:00am - Arrived at hospital, checked in, settled into room, paperwork filled out, signatures given, questions answered, IV placed.
8:00am - Pitocin started.
8:30/9:00am - Sometime in there my doctor arrived and checked me. I was dilated to "barely a two" which is what I was the day before at the office. He broke my water and I waited for the contractions to begin.
9:00/10:00am - At some point within the next hour, Jeff, the anesthesiologist (and the man at the top of my *favorite persons of the day* list), came in to place the epidural line. I had made it quite clear that I would be wanting drugs as soon as I could get them (I marvel at women who can go without, I really do. But I cannot. No no no no no.). So one of the things that I found quite awesome at our hospital here is that they'll place the line so that when it comes time to administer the meds, they don't have to take the time then (when I'm in obvious pain) to put the line in. Five stars right there, people.
This is when things get a little blurry. It was maybe around 10am when I started to feel the contractions. I'm not sure how long I labored before I decided it was time for the drugs {contractions hurt, ya'll}, but reflecting back on the timeframe of what happened later, most likely it was a couple hours. I was checked again, before given any meds, and I was at a three. Oh Lord, only a three. And I thought to myself, "it's going to be a looooonnng day."
My most favorite person returned to administer the drugs, and after waiting the 30 minutes it takes for the drugs to take effect, I had total relief on my right side...but could still feel every contraction on my left side. It should be clear that, given my need for an epidural in the first place, this was not fun.
{I want to interject here that every single person at the hospital that helped me through the whole having-a-baby process was amazing. I loved each and every one of them, and they honestly made this experience the best.}
So I labored like this for a good hour, I'd say, before deciding that my body wasn't going to fix this problem on it's own. Let me note that this same thing happened when I had Drew - epidural numbed one side but not the other. They gave me a "booster shot" (for lack of a better word) and it worked. This time, it did not work. So our only option was to re-do the epidural. Giant needle #1 removed; giant needle #2 inserted. {This is not a big deal to me. The procedure for having the line placed doesn't bother me in the least, so having to do it twice was fine by me.}
And thankfully, it worked. Almost immediately, I felt the tingling go down my left side, and within 20 minutes, I was pain free. Woo-hoo! It was about 2:30, and as I was finally comfortable, Brad left to go have lunch. Within 10 minutes of him leaving, I started to feel pressure, and with each contraction (now about two minutes apart, it seemed to me) the pressure just increased. Like a lot. Thank goodness the cafeteria wasn't busy because by the time Brad returned (15 minutes, tops) I knew it was time. We called for the nurse. She entered the room stating "So you feel like you could push?" to which I replied "Uh huh!" She checked me and immediately said, "Yes you could! Don't!"
My doctor was in the hospital, so he was able to get to my room quickly, and once he was prepped and the equipment table had arrived, I could start pushing. About 30 minutes later, our little lady had arrived.
And this is the moment, people. For those of you who ask or can't understand or wonder why on earth we would choose to not find out the baby's gender at the 20 week mark, this is why. Because when nine months of anticipation and wonder and waiting comes to an end, and the baby arrives, and finally - finally - we meet...the only way to describe it is as pure magic.
Ruby's arrival was extra magical because - I'll finally admit it publicly - she was a girl. I had only fully confessed my deep deep desire to have a baby girl to a few people. How I wanted a girl so so badly! And both my nurse and my doctor knew it so when Ruby came and we saw that she was a she - there was a lot of excitement!!
A moment I will remember forever.
And she was perfect. And beautiful. And I thought she looked so small! I thought for sure she'd be in the seven pounds range, so I was surprised when she weighed nearly eight and a half pounds. I later decided that she looked small because her features are so delicate - small face, small ears, fine lips, tiny cheeks.
Around 6:00, the boys were brought to the hospital (they had spent the day with a dear friend of ours) and they met their baby sister for the first time.
They were both tentative - not totally sure what to expect - but very curious and very very happy. And oh, how they love her!
This girl is something special.
We love her so, so much.
Her arrival day was planned. I saw my doctor on Wednesday (the 20th) and very politely asked if we could go ahead and have this baby (hey, I never claimed to be a patient person). I was ready, both physically and emotionally, to be *done* being pregnant, and taking into consideration a tremendous amount of anxiety surrounding the unknowns of when this little one would come on her own, I really wanted to be induced. I was hoping for either Friday or the following Monday (my actual due date). So when my physician said he was free on Thursday - the very next day... I got a little nervous! I was feeling really ready to have this baby, but maybe not quite that quickly! Regardless, arrangements were made, and Brad and I made our way to the hospital at 7:00 the next morning.
Here is a rough rundown of our day, and how things progressed. I didn't keep a close eye on the clock, but I have a general idea of when things happened.
7:00am - Arrived at hospital, checked in, settled into room, paperwork filled out, signatures given, questions answered, IV placed.
8:00am - Pitocin started.
8:30/9:00am - Sometime in there my doctor arrived and checked me. I was dilated to "barely a two" which is what I was the day before at the office. He broke my water and I waited for the contractions to begin.
9:00/10:00am - At some point within the next hour, Jeff, the anesthesiologist (and the man at the top of my *favorite persons of the day* list), came in to place the epidural line. I had made it quite clear that I would be wanting drugs as soon as I could get them (I marvel at women who can go without, I really do. But I cannot. No no no no no.). So one of the things that I found quite awesome at our hospital here is that they'll place the line so that when it comes time to administer the meds, they don't have to take the time then (when I'm in obvious pain) to put the line in. Five stars right there, people.
This is when things get a little blurry. It was maybe around 10am when I started to feel the contractions. I'm not sure how long I labored before I decided it was time for the drugs {contractions hurt, ya'll}, but reflecting back on the timeframe of what happened later, most likely it was a couple hours. I was checked again, before given any meds, and I was at a three. Oh Lord, only a three. And I thought to myself, "it's going to be a looooonnng day."
My most favorite person returned to administer the drugs, and after waiting the 30 minutes it takes for the drugs to take effect, I had total relief on my right side...but could still feel every contraction on my left side. It should be clear that, given my need for an epidural in the first place, this was not fun.
{I want to interject here that every single person at the hospital that helped me through the whole having-a-baby process was amazing. I loved each and every one of them, and they honestly made this experience the best.}
So I labored like this for a good hour, I'd say, before deciding that my body wasn't going to fix this problem on it's own. Let me note that this same thing happened when I had Drew - epidural numbed one side but not the other. They gave me a "booster shot" (for lack of a better word) and it worked. This time, it did not work. So our only option was to re-do the epidural. Giant needle #1 removed; giant needle #2 inserted. {This is not a big deal to me. The procedure for having the line placed doesn't bother me in the least, so having to do it twice was fine by me.}
And thankfully, it worked. Almost immediately, I felt the tingling go down my left side, and within 20 minutes, I was pain free. Woo-hoo! It was about 2:30, and as I was finally comfortable, Brad left to go have lunch. Within 10 minutes of him leaving, I started to feel pressure, and with each contraction (now about two minutes apart, it seemed to me) the pressure just increased. Like a lot. Thank goodness the cafeteria wasn't busy because by the time Brad returned (15 minutes, tops) I knew it was time. We called for the nurse. She entered the room stating "So you feel like you could push?" to which I replied "Uh huh!" She checked me and immediately said, "Yes you could! Don't!"
My doctor was in the hospital, so he was able to get to my room quickly, and once he was prepped and the equipment table had arrived, I could start pushing. About 30 minutes later, our little lady had arrived.
And this is the moment, people. For those of you who ask or can't understand or wonder why on earth we would choose to not find out the baby's gender at the 20 week mark, this is why. Because when nine months of anticipation and wonder and waiting comes to an end, and the baby arrives, and finally - finally - we meet...the only way to describe it is as pure magic.
Ruby's arrival was extra magical because - I'll finally admit it publicly - she was a girl. I had only fully confessed my deep deep desire to have a baby girl to a few people. How I wanted a girl so so badly! And both my nurse and my doctor knew it so when Ruby came and we saw that she was a she - there was a lot of excitement!!
A moment I will remember forever.
And she was perfect. And beautiful. And I thought she looked so small! I thought for sure she'd be in the seven pounds range, so I was surprised when she weighed nearly eight and a half pounds. I later decided that she looked small because her features are so delicate - small face, small ears, fine lips, tiny cheeks.
Around 6:00, the boys were brought to the hospital (they had spent the day with a dear friend of ours) and they met their baby sister for the first time.
They were both tentative - not totally sure what to expect - but very curious and very very happy. And oh, how they love her!
This girl is something special.
We love her so, so much.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Nursery
Shortly after school started, I began transforming what was our spare/guest/scrapbooking/dump-all room into the baby's room. When my parents last visited, back in June, my dad very graciously painted the room for us, so with that taken care of, it was a matter of clearing everything out (which also involved finding a new space for all said stuff) and beginning the process of unpacking those moving and storage boxes labeled "Baby."
It was really fun. :)
The theme and decor has remained the same for all three of our babes. {For memory's sake, go HERE and scroll to the bottom of the post to see what the nursery looked like for the boys, at our previous house.} Thinking back to when we were expecting Drew, we knew that we wouldn't be able to switch out nursery decor with each child, so settling on a very neutral theme was the goal. Teddy bears and "green" it was! I'm so glad that was the direction we went, because I still love it. Classic and simple.
The baby's room in this house is considerably smaller than it was at our old home; half the size, I would say. I can manage with the space limitations just fine, but it did require a little downsizing and reevaluating what was necessary and what needed to go. {And to be honest, that's kind of the way things have been since we've moved - there just isn't the space we use to have. And it's been good. Time to cut out the clutter, ya know?}
To start, here's a 360 degree look at the room as it is right now, beginning with the view from the doorway.
Now for some details:
This pennant banner is a new addition to the nursery decor. I wanted something new, and these banners are so perfect for a baby's room. As a bonus, I was able to use the leftover fabric from two other baby projects (details below). {Related, but not important: I'm debating the location of the banner here on this wall. It looks a little cluttered with the mobile hanging right in front of it, but once that comes down in a few months, it'll probably look less congested.}
In the boys' old nursery, we had teddy bears everywhere; and we had the space for shelves and bookcases to house them all. Such is not the case here, so the teddy bear collection was downsized and more creative display options were explored. Thanks to Pinterest and the flower boxes that use to adorn the front of our new house, we now have this ever adorable bear cage! Yes, yes, it is simply the cutest thing ever. I know.
The teddy bear cross stitch, made by my mom, and the bookcase, made many many moons ago by Brad's grandpa, have made their reappearance.
The nursery in our old house had two huge closets. Granted, they housed more than just baby stuff, but the blankets alone would take up the entire single self we use to have in here. So we replaced the old rod and shelf, and installed a new one, along with two extra shelves to hold all the excess. Baby's require a lot of stuff, ya know. {And yes, that entire bottom shelf is full of blankets, towels and sheets. Please, no more.}
My favorite part of unpacking all of the "Baby" boxes was finally reaching into the totes of baby clothes. Such deliciousness, I say. What was not-so-fun was discovering all of the stains that surfaced after being stored away for four and a half years. But with a little masterful mix of detergent, oxyclean, vinegar, and a good amount of soaking, they are looking fresh and new! This is our collection of neutral sleepers. We'll know soon if I need to start washing up all the blue stuff, or if Mama gets to go shopping for pink, pink, pink!
I'm pretty excited about having a newborn here at Christmas time. :)
I have purchased very little new for this baby, but I couldn't resist this little Santa sleeper. And the big boys may or may not also be receiving Christmas jammies this year. ;)
The dresser and crib are the same as before. But that glider. Oh, that glider is the pride and joy of this room.
Previously, we had a green swivel chair for the nursery. It looked great in the room, but it truly wasn't used much. It didn't really rock (just sorta swayed) and as all the bedrooms were on the second floor of our old house, we usually relocated to the living room to the big, comfy rocker/recliner to feed and rock the babies. Our current home is a ranch, with all the bedrooms on the main floor, and the big, comfy rocker/recliner now lives in the basement. The thought of finding a new rocker for the nursery wasn't even on my radar (I figured we'd use the green chair and/or just do without)...until Brad and I spotted this beauty at a garage sale. For 20 bucks. Retail pricing for these gliders and ottomans start at $100, so I really felt like we had found a steal. It is in really good structural shape; the cushions, however, were filthy. I had never attempted to recover anything more than a pillow, so it took me a while to convince myself I'd at least be able to try. But for such a great deal, I decided to give it a go (with a lot of help from this tutorial).
And man, I impress myself sometimes. :)
{They are all removable slip covers so they'll be easy to toss into the washer when needed.}
{They are all removable slip covers so they'll be easy to toss into the washer when needed.}
So now it is clean, functional, and really quite comfy. I think the baby and I will enjoy it very much!
And just a few small decor items on a small shelf. All recycled from the old nursery.
{And who's that baby in that picture frame? That'd be Baby Drew. Apparently updating photos when Reed was a baby never happened. Huh.}
One last project that I completed for the baby is car seat canopy, which is like a glorified blanket for the cold, winter months. Rest assured, the baby will be wrapped up tight underneath the canopy, but it does provide extra protection from wind and precipitation. And it's pretty cute, too.
I had seen this one on, you guessed it, Pinterest, and really loved the look of the patchwork fabric. While on one of my many fabric store adventures, I had fallen in love with the elephant fabric, and went from there in finding some coordinating, gender-neutral fabrics to create the patchwork look I was going for. The extra fabric, then, from this and the glider went in to making the pennant banner.
And there you have it! Everything is ready! Now we just wait for baby!
***********************
A few funny notes to record here so that I always remember...
I'm obviously pregnant. The boys still love to hug and kiss the baby, and Reed has even taken to saying "Mama, that's a big baby you have there!" But what they find especially hilarious is exactly *how big* my belly is when on the very rare occasion they see my belly bare. Holy eyes-as-big-as-saucers Batman!
In a conversation a few weeks ago, the boys learned that the baby is all naked in there. They found this to be equal parts shocking and funny. They very kindly suggested I eat some pajamas so that the baby would be warm. :)
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
The Final Countdown {& a Maternity Photo Shoot}
Today marks week 37 of this pregnancy.
Three weeks to go, give or take a day or two. Hopefully.
I have a hunch that this baby will come before the due date. I also think that this baby will be smaller than both of the boys.
Or maybe it's less of a hunch and more along the lines of wishful thinking. ;)
I am both reluctant and ready to have this baby. I would still declare this as my best pregnancy, and as I've previously disclosed that this will be my last, I'm not in a hurry to wish it to end. I'm wanting to still relish in it a bit, while at the same time, I've been doing a lot of moaning and groaning lately. The extra weight and size make for some uncomfortable moments, and I'm quite looking forward to wearing jeans that I can button. In just the last week I've really noticed how much I've grown, and the size of my belly does hinder my ability to do certain things.
I shared with my doctor this last week that I'm finding myself more anxiety-ridden over the delivery of this baby than I was even for Drew's birth. I'm not sure why that is. I've done this before - twice - and yet while I know what to expect, you really can't plan exactly how things will go. Mentally, I have some work to do to find a place of peace and rest before I go into active labor.
And while I have been over-the-moon excited for the arrival of this little one, I know that with that comes major changes for my little family. Four will become five, and life won't be like it has been for the last four and a half years. Anticipating this change, and the significant adjustments everyone will have to make, is a challenge.
But this change, the ways in which things will be different than they have been... they're good.
Really, really good.
To commemorate {if you will} this significant "last" in my life, I wanted to capture myself, and these last few weeks, in pictures. I really wanted to invest in a professional photographer to get the quality of photographs I was wanting. However, after thinking more about it and discussing it with Brad, we decided to save those professional costs until next fall for a full family photo shoot, when our family officially numbers five.
So I hired Brad. Last weekend, we spent a few hours outside, trying to capture me, the boys, and our family. We had some weather issues (it was cold and breezy) and some camera issues (neither of us are schooled enough in using the fancy thing) but Brad did a really great job, if I do say so myself. Here are a few of my favorites (my plan is to create a Shutterfly photobook to include all of the images).
Here's to the end of this chapter... and with big, open arms, hello to the next!
Yahoo!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)