Moving my blog.......

I am now on Wordpress. So check out my blog there. www.joyfulnoiselife.wordpress.com :-)

Motherhood changes EVERYTHING!

Motherhood changes EVERYTHING! This year is my first Mother's Day, and I am very excited about it. I'm not excited about it because of any gifts I may receive. I'm just excited to celebrate the fact that I am a mother to a truly amazing little girl. I'm excited to celebrate the fact that God has blessed me with this little angel. From the day I found out I was pregnant my life completely changed, and for the better. It changed even more the first moment I laid eyes on my baby girl.


Love: I didn't know it was possible to love someone so deeply until I held Alice for the first time. I believe I love my husband just as much as my daughter, but it's a completely different type of love. It's more intense. It's protective. It's selfless. It's sacrificial. I would do anything for that little girl. And it grows every single day. I thought I understood how deep a mother's love is before I had a child, but I didn't. It's beyond description, but I know so many other mothers out there understand it. And to realize this is just a shadow of how much God loves us. I stand in awe of that!


How I Love and View Others: My husband is an AMAZING man. I don't know what I would do without him. He's always there for me. He supports me. He deals with my intensity and insistence on doing everything perfectly for Alice, even when I'm going a little overboard. When he holds me all the tension leaves my body. I've loved this man for over 5 years now. That love has constantly grown over the years, but it went through a huge growth spurt when Alice came into our lives. Tyler loves Alice. He is head over heels for that little girl. He's an incredible dad. Those things make me fall in love with him all over again. The fact is Alice has become the key to my heart. If you love her and treat her right I will love you.


I've always loved and respected my mom. She's a strong woman. She's been through so much, but she's still not bitter. She's loving and selfless. Now that I'm a mother myself, I see her in a completely different light. To think that my Mom loves me as much as I love Alice brings tears to my eyes every single time I think about it. The fact that someone could love me that much. Wow. What else can I say to that? I love her more. I respect her more. I understand her more. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have a mother like her.


I thought I wouldn't understand how it would feel to be a mother in law for many, many years. But then I really thought about it. I realized how much I love and care about those who love and care about Alice. When Alice grows up and meets someone who loves her as much as I love Tyler and he loves me. Someone who treats her with just as much respect and cares about her to that degree, then how could I not love him? How could I not welcome him with open arms into our family? How could I not treat him like a son? Would I love him the same way and as much as I love Alice? I doubt it, but still I would love him. I've always very much appreciated how well Tyler's mom has treated me. I have felt very much a part of their family. Tyler's mom has treated me as one of her own daughters. She's welcomed me with open arms from early on. I've always been so thankful for this, but I'm just now beginning to understand it.


I love and care for my other mommy friends more than ever before. Don't get me wrong here, I really love and care about my friends who are not parents as well. I just now view mothers in a different way. I love all of my friend's children (or grandchildren in some cases). Some of these kids I've only met once or twice, but I love them so much. I would protect them. I care deeply about them. I love their moms so I love them. I just feel like mothers (and fathers too) are connected with their kids in such a way that it's hard for me to love one and not the other.


I also am now less likely to judge a mother on how she is raising her child. There are some genuinely bad mothers out there. I'm talking about mothers who neglect or abuse their children, but I believe the majority of parents out there do what they feel is best for their child. Being a mom is hard work, no matter how much help you have or how easy a child you have. Alice has been such an easy, happy baby, and I have a lot more help (from family and friends) than a lot of people. That still doesn't mean there haven't been a few times where I've wanted to pull my hair out and cry. Thankfully I can count those times on one hand, but I'm pretty sure the number will go up dramatically the older Alice gets. There are no perfect moms out there, and what works best for me and Tyler and Alice, won't always work best for another child. There's also no perfect or best way to raise a child. Every child is an individual and has his or her own unique characteristics and needs. So each parent must have a unique way to raise their own child. I realize this more and more each day.


My Passions: Before I had Alice I couldn't tell you exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't have any subject that I was overly passionate about. It's a different story now. As I'm sure all of you reading this know by now, I had an unintended natural birth with Alice. I wouldn't have had it any other way now. Don't get me wrong, at the time I was screaming for my epidural. Now though I couldn't be more thankful that I didn't get it. I can't explain to anyone who hasn't been through it exactly how it feels to let your body take control during the birthing process. I was at a standstill for so long during the labor. The pain was there, just not the progression. Once I went home after trip number one to the hospital I just did what felt right and natural. I let my body tell me what was best. I got into positions that felt right and eased the pain. I had Tyler pressing on my back constantly (back labor's not fun). I got under the hot water. I swayed back and forth when needed. I listened to my body. I felt so in tune with my body. It was still the worst pain I've ever experienced. But it was a good pain. The minute I let my body take over was the minute I started progressing. I wish I could put into words how incredible that experience was.


Ever since then I have become very passionate about natural birth. In fact, I think I annoy people sometimes with how passionate I am about it. I've also started really looking into doing other things more naturally. I cloth diaper now. I did some research and realized that was the best way to go for us. I am bound and determined that my child will have breast milk, despite the fact that has not been an easy road at all for us. I encourage other people to do it, but I don't push this subject. I know people will do what is best for their child and family in the end, and it's certainly not a sin to get an epidural or use disposable diapers or formula. What truly matters in the end is that your child is loved and cared for. The means of getting there are different for each person. I also did baby led weaning with Alice starting around six and a half months. I prefer to give her organic food. As one friend told me, “You've turned into a hippie.”


With all that said I've decided my ultimate goal is to become a midwife. There's an absolute beauty in birth that I never knew about before. What I'd like to do is become a direct entry midwife, but at the present moment that's not an option. Unfortunately, NC is one of ten states that ban direct entry midwives from practicing. So for now I'm going to get trained as a doula and go from there. It may take a while to get where I want to be, but it's a start.


My Emotions: It's never taken much to make me cry, but it's like tear city these days. I cry whenever Alice hits any milestone or does anything that indicates she's growing up. It's ridiculous at times. Watching her grow is so bittersweet. I want her to grow and change and learn about the world. I get excited when she does something new, but at the same time it makes me sad to see how very fast she's growing up. She's 8 months old already, and I'd swear I just had her 2 months ago. I also cry anytime I see a commercial or watch something on TV about a baby. I'm a mess these days. I like to blame the hormones since I'm still BFing, but I'm not so sure that's the cause. I think it has more to do with the fact that my heart is crawling around on the floor and getting into things. It's much more susceptible when it's not tucked away.


Becoming a mother has been the greatest, most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. That little girl brings so much joy to my life. She's my little sunshine. She's been such a blessing to me and Tyler.


Motherhood has changed me in so many ways, but being a mother does not define me. It is merely another part of who I am. It's a very significant part, but still just a part. It's the most important thing I do, but not the only thing I do. I'm also a wife, a daughter, a sister, a survivor, a friend, and so much more.


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of the other mothers that I am fortunate enough to call friends and family. You are amazing women, and your children are blessed to have you!


P.S. I promise I'll put an update  blog on Alice and everything that she's doing these days up soon. I've had family and friends who don't live nearby asking for updates. :-)

Four Months Old!

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant with Alice. Eight months later I gave birth. My baby girl turned four months old today. In the last four months my life has changed dramatically, and I couldn't be happier about it. It's amazing how someone so little can change a person so much. I thought I'd give everybody an update on what Alice is doing. I don't get a chance to stay in regular contact with as many people as I'd like to these days.

I could not have asked for an easier baby. I deserved a baby like me, but somehow I got one like Tyler. I am so thankful for that. With the exception of breast feeding my little angel, everything else pertaining to Alice has been easy. The breast feeding issue is a long story that I don't feel like going into at the moment. But I'd be glad to explain it to anyone who asks. She still gets breast milk. It's just that part hasn't been easy. Alice started sleeping seven to eight hours a night in her crib at six and a half weeks. She started sleeping ten to eleven hours a night at around ten weeks. She takes three, two hour naps a day. She wakes up happy the majority of the time. She simply lays in her crib and “talks” until someone goes in there and gets her. She gets slightly fussy when she's tired. She usually starts rubbing her eyes and yawning before she gets fussy though. That's usually our indication to lay her down. Most days she stays exactly on schedule. The only time Alice gets truly mad is when she's hungry or she's not quite full. Like if you take the bottle out of her mouth before she's finished it to adjust or something. Then she can be quite mean. Lol. Thankfully due to her schedule she doesn't get the opportunity to get hungry often. Just when she has growth spurt days and such.

She's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen. She just doesn't get upset much at all. I'd love to say it's because of mine and Tyler's amazing parenting abilities. Haha, but I can't. I don't believe for one second that it has hardly anything to do with our parenting. I think we were just very blessed in getting a baby with a very good temperament. She's just easy going. That's not to say she's perfect. She's still a lot of hard work. I think no matter how good the baby is, a baby is always hard work. However, she's worth every single second of it. She brings so much joy to our lives!

Alice has been rolling over both ways since she was two months old. She'd only roll over back to front once in a while for the longest time. She'd roll over front to back every single time I tried to give her tummy time. Haha she hated tummy time. She was holding her head up without help by ten weeks so I wasn't really concerned with it. There was a day almost two weeks ago that I left for work and Alice was one way and then by the time I came home it was like she had changed so much. I couldn't believe that in ten hours so much changed. She wasn't just rolling over once in a while. She was rolling over back to front almost every time I laid her on her back. Then she'd get on her tummy and start kicking her legs as fast as she could. Eventually after not being able to go anywhere she'd get mad and roll back over. Now she stays on her stomach for a long time and will play with toys or just watch things. She's also starting to move her arms in sync with her legs. It'll only be a matter of time until she's able to lift her whole body up and start crawling. We're definitely in for trouble then. She also started sleeping on her stomach. We lay her down on her back, but she promptly rolls over onto her stomach and goes to sleep. This worries me some, but the fact that she can roll over both ways is reassuring. There's really not much I can do about it. I can't go in there every ten minutes and roll her back over. Neither her or I would get any sleep. That same day two weeks ago, she started squealing......very loudly. She's been “talking” for a long time, but it was like she suddenly found her voice and realized how loud she could really be. Now she'll sit there and fluctuate the volume. It's funny.

Just this week she started laughing. She did it the first time on New Years day. It was just a little giggle, but both Tyler and I were so excited about it. We've been wanting to hear her laugh for a while now. It was also really nice that she laughed for the first time with both Tyler and I there. Since I work I'm always so afraid that I'm going to miss her firsts. So far I haven't missed any, and I'm thankful for that! She giggled a little the next morning as well. Then last night while Tyler was undressing her for her bath he started tickling her tummy and she started laughing so much. Like one of those deep belly laughs. I absolutely loved it!!! I cried. Lol, I cry about almost everything she does. I wasn't able to get the camera in time, but I'm going to try again tonight to get her to do it. That way I can record it.

Alice loves singing. For a long time now, she gets the biggest smile on her face when you sing to her. She also tries to sing as well. She'll try to mimic the mouth movements you make and then make little noises. She loves football, cartoons, and Sesame Street. Strange combination I know. If anything else is on the TV she usually ignores it. But if one of those three are on she is totally engrossed. For this reason we try to keep the TV off as much as possible. She absolutely loves books and being read to. She's liked being read to since she was two months old. She loved looking at the pictures. Now she likes holding the book and turning the pages as well (whether it's time to turn them or not). She drools and chews on her hands a lot. Haha we go through bibs like crazy. She use to love her bouncy seat and swing. Now we can't put her in the swing, because she tries to sit up and lean forward in it, and she's tired of the bouncy seat. She wants to be on the move. She loves her bath. She loves kicking and splashing in the water. She has become much more interested in Brindy these days. She keeps reaching for Brindy to try to feel her fur. Brindy responds with licking Alice like crazy. When she gets tired she loves being put down in her crib. I have never met a baby that is happy to go to sleep. She just smiles when you lay her down (only when she's actually tired). She'll talk to you for a few minutes and then roll over, stick her thumb in her mouth, and go right to sleep.

Alice absolutely adores her Daddy. Actually a lot of times she prefers him to me. And she's definitely got him wrapped around her little finger. It warms my heart to see the two of them together. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tyler would do anything for that little girl (as would I). I love watching them play and cuddle. She doesn't reach out for people yet, but when she wants someone she starts squirming and leans her head and body towards them. She does this a lot when I'm holding her and Tyler comes in the room. She already is a Daddy's girl. She's become the key to my heart. If you love Alice and are good to her I will love you. There are people who I use to not be to fond of, but they love and are good to Alice and suddenly I like them.

Alice loves her Mimi. I'm so thankful to have my mom there to watch her. I know Alice is safe with her. My mom has made mine and Tyler's life so much easier in so many ways. She's made it possible for us to have date nights and some time with just each other. Alice loves her Nana, as well. She just smiles the biggest smile for Tyler's mom. Alice's aunties spoil her. She's won over the hearts of her Uncle Jordan and Papa Holtz. She loves her Uncle Matthew and her Papa, as well. She loves when they come to visit her. Tyler and I are very lucky to have such wonderful families that love Alice so much.

She goes in for her four month visit on Monday. I'm excited about this visit, but dreading it at the same time. I'm excited to see how much she weighs and how much she's grown. She hasn't been since she was two months. I'm absolutely dreading her getting shots. It breaks my heart seeing her get those.

Everything in her life is new. Even the most common things are new to her. I love being there to teach her about life. I love watching her process and discover things. I feel like I'm a part of something incredible. Watching her grow, learn, and change is my favorite thing to do. She is growing so fast. Time just flies by. She has really made me realize I need to enjoy every single second of life. I enjoy every minute with her. I won't ever get this time back. Before I know it she'll be grown up. So I refuse to take any time for granted. She's made me realize how short life really is. I'm just trying to make the most of the time I have with her.

Alice's Birth Story......3 months late!

Disclaimer: This is a REALLY LONG blog!

I decided to write a blog on Alice's birth. I know I'm almost 3 months late, but there are so many people that wanted to know the story and I haven't had time to tell them. I figured it would just be easier to write a blog about it, rather than telling everyone who hasn't heard it, but wanted to individually. Some of this may be TMI for some of you. So if you get grossed out easily I wouldn't keep reading.

For a couple of months before I had her, I told everybody that Alice would be born on September 4th or 5th. I can't tell you why I thought this. She wasn't due until the 14th. I just did. I was so convinced of it that I cleaned out my desk at work the Friday before. I was still scheduled to work the next week, but I was just so sure Alice would come that weekend. We made sure everything was in order on Saturday, and Tyler and I took a nice LONG walk. I was huge and so very miserable. That walk was really hard actually. I had gained 7 pounds the last week of my pregnancy. I was so swollen. My tennis shoes wouldn't even tie. I was so ready for Alice to arrive. I took that walk to try to induce labor. I guess it worked, because I went into labor the very next day.

Sunday morning I went to the bathroom and had some bloody show. I was beyond excited. Although I knew this could mean I still had a few more days, but it was at least something to indicate Alice was coming soon. Sure enough around 1:00 pm Sunday I started having contractions. The first time I really noticed them was when we were in BJ's shopping. I'd been having Braxton Hicks for a couple of months so I wasn't really paying attention earlier than that, but while we were shopping I started to time them. They were about 7 to 8 minutes apart. My doctor, as well as, the lady who taught our labor and delivery class told us that labor is always very long with your first child, so I knew we had plenty of time. We came home, we ate dinner, and we kept timing the contractions. Finally around 8:30 pm the contractions had been between 4 and 5 minutes apart for about 2 hours. We called the doctor. He said to go on into the hospital.

We arrived at Rex around 9:30. At this point my contractions were running 3 minutes apart and I was in a fair amount of pain. I hurt really bad, so I was sure I was almost dilated enough for an epidural. lol, not so much. The nurse checked me, and I was only 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. You wouldn't believe how depressing that was to me. I remember I looked at her and said, "Are you serious?" She talked to the doctor and they had me walk around the hospital for an hour and then come back. First of all, walking around in a hospital gown when you are the size of a whale is uncomfortable enough. Add to it the pain of contractions every 2 to 3 minutes. Well it wasn't fun, but I thought if that means it will progress my labor I will definitely do it. So we walked. I came back to my bed after an hour, and guess what? I was still only 1 cm dilated. At this point I was crying the pain was so bad. Plus I was so frustrated that my body wasn't responding. They attached me to the fetal heart rate monitor. They started watching Alice's heart rate, as well as, monitoring my contractions. The nurse told me it was very unusual, especially since it was my first born, for me to be having contractions that intense and that close together and for my body not to be progressing any. I thought oh great I'm going to be one of those women with a two day labor.

Alice's heart rate started getting really high so they monitored that for a little while. It finally slowed back down. I still hadn't progressed past 1 cm, so they sent me home. The nurse told me I probably wouldn't be back until sometime the next morning. They discharged me at 12:30am. On the way home my contractions started getting worse, but they were still bearable. By the time I got home I was in so much pain. I was screaming through each contraction. My mom came over to help out. Certain positions would make the pain bearable. I would either get on all fours on the bed or lean forward on the couch while Tyler rubbed and put pressure on my back, because I was having back labor as well.

I decided to get in the shower. We have an attachment we use for when we bathe Brindy. Tyler attached that to the sink and sprayed my back while the shower sprayed the front of me. The hot water felt amazing. I was finally able to talk through the contractions. Suddenly the contractions were bearable. Best thing ever for labor! It helped so much.........until the hot water ran out! After the hot water ran out I got out and got dressed. This took forever. I'd have to stop every time I was having a contraction and get in a more comfortable position, and at this point I felt like I was always having a contraction. Tyler pretty much dressed me. At this point I was in some major pain. The worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I obviously got through it, but it seemed pretty much unbearable at the time. Tyler and my mom decided to time my contractions again. We had stopped timing them when I was in the shower. They figured out that the contractions were lasting longer than the time in between them. The length of the contractions were no longer consistent. I was clearly going through transition at this point. After we realized how long they were Tyler said, “I don't care what the doctor says. We're going back to the hospital.”

We got in the car and left for the hospital the second time around 2:30am (I had to ask Tyler about the times later, because I was not paying any attention to it. I was to busy trying to get through contractions). The car ride to Rex this time was horrible. I couldn't get in any of the positions that helped ease the pain a little. I didn't think the contractions could get any more intense, but they did. I was crying. I was screaming, and I was praying. I cursed every red light we hit. Lol I do remember at one point Tyler telling me, “Just breath like this” and then he did the breathing noises. I responded with, “I can't! I love you, but could you please shut up.” I'm pretty proud of the fact that that's the worst thing I said to him during labor. And he did shut up. It's pretty funny now. It wasn't at the time. At one point on the ride there I felt the need to push so I lifted my butt off the seat. Tyler went from 65mph to 95 mph real quick!

We finally arrived at the hospital around 3:00am. Tyler didn't park the car. He just pulled the car up to the curb, grabbed a wheel chair, and ran me upstairs. The security guard didn't even make us check in. They had me undress in the triage so they could check me while Tyler ran back out and parked the car. The nurse checked me and said, “You're 6 cm. You're having this baby tonight.” I looked at her and said, “Good so I'm not going crazy. Can I have my epidural now?”(I was so afraid that she was going to tell me I was only like 2 or 3 cm). She told me she'd call the anesthesiologist, and I could have the epidural once they finished running my blood work. Then they wheeled me into a labor and delivery room.

I was screaming during contractions. The nurses were telling me to just exhale. Just keep exhaling. It actually helped. I just held Tyler's hand and looked into his eyes and exhaled. I apologized every time I screamed. The nurses kept telling me, “Don't apologize. You're doing great.” I really don't think I was doing great. I think that's just what they are suppose to say. Joslyn (the nurse I had from the first time we went in, who I LOVED) checked me again. It hadn't even been 20 minutes since they had checked me last. She checked me and then made this face. The face made me ask, “How far along am I?” She said, “Well you're at 9, and I really think your water needs to break. Do you feel the need to push?” Me: “Yes, but I don't want to push. I want my epidural.” (Logically I knew if I was 9 cm it was to late to get an epidural, but I just wanted the pain to stop.) Joslyn: “Well we can wait a little while if you want, but it'll feel better if you push.” Me: “If I push I'm going to tear, and that will hurt.” (I was so afraid of tearing). Joslyn: “We'll cross that bridge when it comes. The contractions hurt worse than the tearing. Your water needs to break so you should push. And you will feel better if you push.” So after much coaxing I pushed.

Everything I'd ever heard or read or seen about your water breaking shows it either as a big puddle like you peed yourself or a slow trickle. Yeah mine wasn't like either. I pushed and my water broke and it sprayed Joslyn all over her scrubs. It was gross. I said, “I'm so sorry.” Once again she said, “Don't apologize.” Then she ran and changed her scrubs. There was meconium. So not only did I spray her. I sprayed my baby's poop on her as well. Honestly at that point I was in so much pain that I wasn't embarrassed about hardly anything, but I did feel real bad about that later.

After my water broke, Joslyn told me she really thought it was time to push some more. She said, “Next contraction, exhale and push into your bottom and count to ten. We're going to try to get three to four good pushes in for each contraction.” So I did. I never did make it to ten with any of the pushes. I usually only made it to eight before I gave up. And I only did about three pushes per a contraction. After three contractions, nine pushes, Alice's head came out. The doctor barely made it there in time. In fact, he never finished tying his scrubs on before he started delivering her. Alice's head was out and suddenly they told me to stop pushing. I couldn't understand why. It was rather uncomfortable and it burned having her half in and half out. I asked, “Why can't I push? Just get her out of me!” Joslyn said, “Her cord is wrapped twice. We have to get that taken care of first.” This scared me pretty bad. I asked, “Is she okay?” Joslyn said, “Yes she'll be fine. Just don't push.” I didn't. Finally, they got her cord unwrapped and I was able to push her the rest of the way out in one push. They held her up and she cried. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, even if she was covered in blood and grossness.

Tyler kept saying, “Look Pooh. It's our baby!” He has been head over heels since the first moment he saw her. They took her over to get her weighed and cleaned up a little and check her out. Tyler went over and took pictures, while I delivered the placenta and they sewed me up. I did tear, but Joslyn was right the contractions were worse. To be honest, I never even felt the tear. I had to ask if I had teared. It was a fairly minor one. A “second degree laceration” to be exact. Lol, I guess all those kegels paid off. Once they were done with Alice they laid her on my chest, skin on skin. I was and still am so in love. I never knew my heart could grow that much. Alice made me feel so much closer with Tyler. The fact that we created this life and shared this beautiful baby made us much closer. Seeing how much he loves Alice and seeing what a great dad he is just makes me love him that much more. He loves her so much and takes such wonderful care of her.

Alice was born at 3:53am, less than an hour after we arrived at the hospital the second time, on September 5th, 2011 (labor day). She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 21 inches long. She had the fattest cheeks! All the nurses that saw her while she was swaddled and after we got wheeled up to our room talked about what a big baby she was. I said, “She's only 7 11.” They would then open up her swaddle and say oh she's little. She just has fat cheeks! Her cheeks were swollen from coming through the birth canal. She had every birthmark imaginable, her forehead, her eyes, the top of her head, the back of her neck. Her nose was smushed and crooked on one side. That was from the birth canal too. It has since straightened itself back out. She was and is the most amazing, adorable, beautiful baby I have ever seen, but I'm suppose to think that. I'm Mom. I never got my epidural. All the nurses kept saying, “Oh you're the one who had the natural labor.” Evidently 95% of the women who give birth at Rex have an epidural. I wanted to be proud about that and be like yeah that's me. I'm awesome. Haha, but I knew had I been given the choice during labor and things had went as planned I would not have done it naturally.

The doctor told us that it was a really good thing that I didn't get my epidural. An epidural slows down labor and since Alice's cord was wrapped the longer the labor lasted the more likely it would have been that she could have died, or I would have been forced to have a c section. They think her cord may have been wrapped off and on earlier in labor, and that was why her heart rate was so high. She was in distress.


I was told over and over again that labor never goes as planned. I was prepared for so many things, but not having my epidural was not one of them. I had it drilled into me that labor lasts a long time with your first birth so why wouldn't I have time for one. And labor did last a fairly long time. It's just my body didn't want to respond correctly, but once it finally started responded it was FAST! Nothing went as I planned it, at all. And I couldn't be more thankful for that. If it did, I may not have my beautiful baby girl right now. I can't imagine life without her. I wouldn't have changed anything about her birth. Clearly God's plan was much better than my own.

I never planned on having a natural birth. I was one of those people who didn't see a point in it. Why go through the pain if you don't have to. That was my philosophy. Now, if I were to ever do it again I would do it naturally. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced, but it was worth it. I recovered from birth so fast. I was taking walks all around the hospital by the second day. I had to take literally 3 pain pills the whole time after I had her, and that was only when I was nursing Alice because I was getting contractions. I felt like I accomplished something by having her naturally, and it was amazing and wonderful. It was a beautiful thing that I'm so thankful I got to experience. Now that I've done it, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Only five and a half more weeks!

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in so long. I've been staying very busy. The system is down at work today so I figured it would be a good time to update everybody.

I only have five and a half more weeks until my due date. There are moments that I say to myself, "ugh I still have five and a half more weeks. How can this be? I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER! I hope she gets here early." Then there are moment's when I say, "Crap I only have five and a half more weeks and I still have a million more things to get done before she gets here. How am I going to get it all done?" I'm scared, nervous, and overwhelmed one moment. Then the next I'm so happy and excited to meet our baby girl that I can hardly stand the wait!

My last ultrasound was at 32 weeks. At that time baby girl was weighing in at 4 pounds 5 ounces! The doctor said she was in the 52nd percentile, so right on track. If she keeps gaining at a normal rate and doesn't come until her due date, she'll be between 7.5 and 8 pounds. She was head down and in perfect position. Her belly was full, which means she's swallowing great. Her bladder is full which they said means her kidneys are functioning perfectly. I made them check her gender again, just in case. lol, She's definitely still a girl! She was moving pretty much non stop. They kept commenting on how much she was moving. She moves a lot normally, but she has certain times of the day that she is more active than others. One of her active times is around 1 in the afternoon, and my appointment was at 1 that day. I think that's why she was exceptionally active for the ultrasound. Her hands were covering her face. She was making little fists. We were able to get a few decent pictures of her face and profile. They just weren't as good as the last time.

I passed my gestational diabetes test just fine. I'm thankful for that. I really didn't want to have to go in for the three hour test. My iron levels were good as well. I've been getting a lot of braxton hicks contractions lately. I don't enjoy them at all. Hopefully it just means my body will be more prepared when it's time for the real thing! We finished our child birthing classes about two weeks ago. It was good to get all that extra information and learn coping techniques, but to be honest labor and delivery still scares me some. I know women have been doing this forever so I can definitely handle it. It's just the closer it gets to the big day, the more it scares me. I know I'll be fine once the time comes. I have a wonderful husband to support me, and my body was made to handle this :-)

My baby shower is this weekend. I'm very excited about it. After that we can finish shopping and get everything the baby needs. We can also finally finish the nursery! We already have the outfit picked out that we plan on bringing her home in, as well as, an extra one just in case. We also found someone to take care of baby girl once I return to work in late November/ early December. I was really concerned about that one, but things have come together perfectly. I have another doctors appointment today. I feel like it's been two months since my last one, but it's only been two weeks. The bigger I get the slower time seems to pass by. Everything is coming together, and this precious baby girl will be here before I know it. I can't wait to see her beautiful face and hold her in my arms!

26.5 weeks and counting

To say I'm exhausted these days is an understatement. Life has been BUSY, but I still think I'd be exhausted even if it were slow. I never realized how draining it is to carry around this extra weight. I complain about being fat a lot. lol, and in response my husband always makes me say this line, "I'm not fat. I'm pregnant." In my head I know this. It's just sometimes, well really most of the time, it doesn't feel that way. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in months. It's only getting worse as time goes on. I know my body is preparing me to get use to getting up several times a night with a newborn, but personally I'd rather rest up for the whole process. I wake up every few hours, and during the week I don't have the luxury of taking a much needed nap. I look forward to the weekend just for the extra sleep! The heat is also starting to get to me. I hate that the weather decided it would reach record highs the summer I'm pregnant. I knew I'd be miserable this summer, but I was dreading July and August, not late May and June.

I had a doctors appointment and ultrasound last Friday. Baby looks GREAT. She's definitely growing. During my last ultrasound she kept hiding her face. During this one she made sure to show it off. She was moving her little lips and had what looked like a little smile on her face. She kept moving her arm in front of her mouth as well. She's a little squirmer for sure. It's absolutely adorable :-)
They checked my placenta and it is exactly where it's suppose to be now!!! Woo hoo! It's refreshing not to have to worry about that anymore.

My next appointment is on the 24th. I'll be 28 weeks then. They are going to do my gestational diabetes test and check my iron at that appointment. I'm not looking forward to downing that fruit punch drink. I'll officially be in my third trimester. I can hardly believe that. After that appointment I start going in every two weeks.

We finished painting the nursery last weekend. I'll have to post pictures of it later. We bought the crib set a few weeks ago. We also finished our registries at both babies r us and target a few weeks ago. We're going for a girly jungle theme in the nursery. I still have to buy some wall decals. I found some really cute ones with monkeys on them on etsy. We still have a lot to get done. September will be here before I know it!

Just 16 more weeks!

I'm 24 weeks and things are still going smoothly. There are days where I want to cherish every single second of this pregnancy, and there are other days where I'm just ready to get it over with. I'm so excited to meet our baby girl.

There are a lot of things about pregnancy that I really don't like. I'm so tired of peeing! I just thought I'd share that. I'm tired of not getting any sleep. I can't get comfortable. My dreams are very vivid and wake me up. When they aren't waking me up the need to run to the bathroom is. I've always slept on my stomach. This is no longer possible for me. I've gotten to big. My back hurts a majority of the time. I'm almost always hungry. I stay exhausted. I get worn out so easily. None of my clothes fit. I feel like a great big blob most of the time. I'm emotional and will cry for no reason or for a really stupid reason. I've become lactose intolerant. I get leg cramps and the list goes on. And to think I have three and a half months left and it's only going to get worse.

But every single one of these things is totally worth it when I feel the baby move and kick. When Tyler feels her kick (she's become quite the little dancer lately). When I hear her precious little heartbeat. When I see her little body on the ultrasound. When I think about her future. When I think about my little girl that is growing and living and thriving inside of me right now. These few amazing things outway that long list of bad things any day. I just can't wait to meet this tiny blessing that has already stolen my heart!