Friday, March 29, 2013

3 weeks?!

How is it possible that my baby is 3 {almost 4} weeks old already?!  I can't believe how fast time is flying.  I swear it was just yesterday I was staring at her in amazement in the hospital. She seems to have grown and changed so much already in these first few weeks, I can't believe it.

A long time ago {like before-I-even-got-pregnant-long-time-ago} I saw this idea on one of the blogs I read, and fell in love.  I knew I had to do something similar when the time came.  So I tucked it away, and now that I finally have my own little one, I can start weekly photos for her!  My goal is to do a photo a week for her first year.  We'll see how that goes. :)

To get things started, here are her first 3 weeks...




I can't wait to see how she changes week by week, and hopefully end with a photo book documenting it all in time for her first birthday party. :)

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

my newest love

so, I know I owe you an update on what went down after my week 39 post, and how that darling little girl of ours came into the world.  let’s just say it’s a long story. :)   the reader’s digest version:  I ended up having to be induced, I was in labor for almost 40 hours, I pushed for 3 1/2 hours, I didn’t have any pain medication, and I have the most beautiful little girl to show for it.  Also: I have the most amazing husband and a wonderful doula to thank for getting me through it all.  I will write out the full version to share at some point, but for now I will hold you over with a bunch of pictures.  I’m sure you won’t mind. :)

these are all cell phone pictures, but don’t worry, I’ve taken a million pictures with my big camera too, just haven’t gotten them uploaded and edited yet.  oh, and a new weekly photo segment is also coming, so stay tuned for that.  but in the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite moments from the past 2 weeks with the newest love of my life, miss Lilly:

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I took this picture at something like 2am the night she was born…Matt was passed out on the couch in our hospital room, and all I could do was stare at this amazing little person and watch her sleep.  As tired as I was (and I was EXHAUSTED), I just couldn’t get enough of her, and couldn’t believe she was actually outside of my belly.

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this girl already has her daddy wrapped around her finger…he is so in love, and it’s quite possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. :)

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ready to go home from the hospital!

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first doctor’s appointment…healthy as can be!

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dad’s new favorite afternoon activity:

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(I realized I had a million pictures of her and Matt already and none of me with her, so I made Matt take a few – I did not, however, consider how frumpy I was looking at the time…yikes.)

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happy 311 day :)  (of course I’ve already put my child in a 311 outfit…come on, would you expect any less?!)

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and of course she has to sport her KU gear…she was born in March after all!

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watching the game with dad (well, one of them was watching the game…)

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4 generations, on both sides of the family

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taking this picture was about the most eventful thing we did for St. Patrick’s day this year (unless you count her first trip to the grocery store…).  7 St. Pat’s Days ago was Matt and my first date ~ I never imagined that day that 7 years later we’d be married with a baby girl…who knew I would be so lucky :)

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I can’t believe how in love with this girl we are already…I knew having a baby would be life changing, but no one can explain to you how amazing it really is.  I could just sit and stare at her all day long…and in fact, I do just that sometimes. :) 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Introducing...


Lilly Thames German

born 3.3.13 at 9:19pm
7lbs 11oz, 19 1/2in

Friday, March 1, 2013

{week 39}

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… this could very well be the last one of these updates I write.  Ahh!  It’s looking like baby girl will be here sooner rather than later.  Eek!

 39 weeks

 Week 39 (Feb 23 – Mar 1)

Operation Prepare for Baby Girl’s Arrival, as well as Snowmageddon 2013 both continued this week.  Over the weekend, we went to an open house for the new birth center at the hospital we’re delivering at – let me tell you, it is NICE!  I’m pretty excited that we’ll be some of the first people to use the nice, new, shiny rooms there. :)  Sunday I went to a bridal fair with Jess, which of course was so much fun.  Although I found it funny that several vendors were chasing me down (namely a photographer who said she loooves taking pictures of babies – thanks, but I already have a great photographer!).  We made it back into work on Monday, but that was short-lived as the snow started falling that evening, and didn’t really stop.  Another 10 or so inches later, and Tuesday was another snow day.  Well, for Matt.  I worked from home. I also worked from home on Wednesday, until Matt came to pick me up to go to our doctor’s appointment.  Little did I know what was in store for us…

Doctor appointment update: I was seeing a different doctor this week as mine was out, and our appointment got moved from Tuesday to Wednesday.  What I thought was another boring routine appointment was anything but.  When the nurse took my blood pressure first thing after taking us back, she was not happy.  It was 150/100, which is not only high in general, it’s very high for me.  High blood pressure and pregnancy don’t mix, so the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound test – a biophysical profile – to check on baby girl.  We were sent out to the waiting room and I all but panicked.  Matt helped to calm me down, but I won’t lie, I was very freaked out.  (Especially because the nurse made a comment - “you might be having this baby sooner than you thought!” – um, WHAT?!)  We went back for the ultrasound, and I will say it was comforting to get to see our girl again (although the bigger they get the harder it is to tell what you’re looking at on the screen…).  The test didn’t take long, and we were told that everything looked great and there were no issues with baby.  WHEW.  They had me hang out in a recliner for a few minutes to rest, and then came back to check my blood pressure again.  This time it was lower, so that was definitely a good sign.  We met with the doctor and he said that it was a good sign baby got 8/8 on her test, and that my BP went down with rest.  He wanted to give my doctor a chance to make the call on what to do next, so they scheduled us for an appointment at 9:45 the next morning, and sent me home to rest.  Woah.  For a minute I sincerely thought they were going to send me straight over to the hospital to be induced, and my biggest fear was coming true.  Thankfully I dodged that bullet.  I went home and while I tried to rest as much as possible, I basically went into prepare mode – I wrapped everything I could up at work, and told them I was very likely starting my maternity leave the next day, and then I tried to check every remaining thing possible off my “get ready for baby list”.  I was glad I got to go home that day and not straight to the hospital, but we weren’t out of the park just yet.  Thursday we went in for our appointment with my doctor, and the dreaded blood pressure check.  Once again it was a little lower, and after rest it went down even more.  I was relieved, thinking that everything was good to go – until the doctor came in.  She was concerned with my blood pressure levels over the past 2 days.  Even though they were close to normal after rest, the numbers are still high for me.  This could be an early sign of preeclampsia, which is not something you want to mess with.  Her suggestion was for me to come in Friday night to the hospital, and be induced on Saturday morning (my due date).  SAY WHAT.  I really really really don’t want to be induced, like willing to avoid this at all costs, and I told her that.  She wasn’t very thrilled about it, but agreed that I don’t have to schedule the induction just yet.  I have another BP check Friday (today) at 2pm, and then if I don’t induce or go into labor naturally over the weekend, I’ll see her again on Monday for another bio-physical profile, and I’m assuming no choice but to schedule an induction.  GAH!  When I spoke to our doula after the first appointment on Wednesday, she reassured me that this wasn’t a huge concern, there was no reason to induce just yet, and I could very easily do what I can to keep my blood pressure down and let this baby cook until she’s ready to come out.  After the appointment yesterday I was a bit flustered, but I came back to reality and realized it’s my body and my baby and whatever is going to happen is going to happen.  So, that being said, assuming my BP isn’t crazy high at today’s appointment, the plan this weekend is to try any and all natural methods of induction and go into labor on my own so that I don’t have to have the induction talk on Monday.  Either way, the moral of the story is: WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS!  Holy cow!  I’ve crossed the bridge and I’m no longer freaking out at the thought of her being here, I am now just focusing on avoiding an induction.  If it doesn’t work out, and I do have to be induced next week, so be it, but if I can talk this girl into making her appearance this weekend instead I would be much happier. :)  So, stay tuned I guess!  Chances are, the next update will involve a big announcement. :) 

Size of baby: WATERMELON

Total weight gain/loss:  51 lbs. {on Wednesday it was up to 54 but I was uber-swollen that day, so I’m going with yesterday’s weight :)}

Maternity clothes: this question is officially pointless.

Stretch marks? a few little guys here and there, but I got lucky and don’t have any big ones, thank goodness.

Sleep: still nonexistent.  

symptoms: see update above.  PUPPP, high blood pressure, swelling… you name it.

Best moment this week: starting maternity leave!!  it was a little bitter sweet, and unexpected, but it is kind of amazing to think that I don’t have to go to work again until MAY.

Movement: the ultrasound confirmed she is not in fact sideways, but is quite crammed in there.  She’s a lot more active at night now…ugh. 

Food cravings:  Dr. Pepper still, but I’m avoiding caffeine so as not to spike my BP.

Anything making you queasy or sick: not this week


Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Belly Button in or out? It’s the tiniest little bit out, but I’m still calling it in.  Yes, still.

Wedding rings on or off? Off  

Happy or Moody most of the time: excited for the most part, but obviously a bit nervous about this whole BP situation.

Looking forward to:  MEETING OUR BABY GIRL!

{week 38}

 38 weeks

Week 38 (Feb 16 – Feb 22)


This week was Operation Prepare For Baby's Arrival.  The past couple of weeks I have been slowly freaking out at how soon my due date is, and how little I feel like I've done to prepare.  So this week I focused my energy on preparing anything and everything possible, if nothing else to calm the anxiety a bit. :)

Naturally, the first thing I did to start preparing was to shop.  :)  I was feeling like I didn't have enough clothes for baby girl for her first months (you know, because she's going to be such a social butterfly during that time…) and I was also feeling like I didn't have any real decor for the nursery.  Well, both of those problems were solved very easily with a bit of shopping. I now have an adorable stash of itty bitty clothes (which, with my luck, she will be a 10lb baby and never get to wear…) and a plethora of adorable things for hanging on the nursery walls.  Sunday, we had a day of visitors - my parents came over in the morning (and my dad helped Matt to get the last of our stuff out of our storage unit, meaning we are *finally* all the way moved in!), then our Bradley teacher came by in the afternoon (she is going to be our Doula, so we just chatted about 'the plan' and showed her around the house since she'll likely be coming over to help get me through early labor, before we head to the hospital), and then in the evening Matt's uncle came by.  For hanging out at home all day, it sure seemed busy. :)  Monday I was off work, and I pretty much spent the entire day in the nursery.  I made one last shopping trip in the morning for a few things to add to my hospital bag (and came home with 2 more bags of baby clothes…no idea how that happened…), and then I did lots of baby laundry.  I'm sure I will curse these words in a few months, but I must say that teeny tiny baby laundry is so much fun to do.  I have never had so much fun folding clothes. :)  I started putting things away in the nursery, and finally got the closet emptied of all the gift bags from my showers.  It was a big step in feeling ready for a baby to come home. :)  Tuesday and Wednesday were busy at work, and busy in the evening with more nursery projects.  Then Thursday came and Snowmageddon 2013 hit - we got about 11" of snow over the course of the day, and I happily watched it fall from the comfort of home, in my PJs.  Both Matt and I didn't have to work, so it was a snow day all around.  We lounged around a bit, and then turned up the productivity and worked on some more nursery projects - Matt was a painting fool, and I clocked some quality time with the hot glue gun. :)  Friday was another snow day, although I worked from home.  I didn't last all day, apparently I just had to get back in the nursery for some more quality time. :)  I'm happy to report that it is getting very close to being finished, and I am finally to the point where if I were to go into labor right now, I can confidently say I wouldn't have a full blown panic attack.  That's saying a lot, people. :)  

We have a few last projects to finish up, and then I'm hoping to post pictures of the nursery - it may not be 100% finished, but it's pretty darn close, and if I don't show it to you now who knows if you'll ever see it. :)  So stay tuned for that.

Doctor appointment update: nothing new here.  No dilation, but thankfully no more talk of induction.   I do have a lovely rash that the doctor confirmed is common in late pregnancy (called PUPPP).  I was convinced I had chicken pox at first, but thankfully I don't.  Although this diagnosis isn't much better…I will just have to deal with the itchy red bumps all over my body until after I deliver.  Joy.

Size of baby: pumpkin

Total weight gain/loss:  50 lbs. {gained that pound back}

Maternity clothes: this question is officially pointless.

Stretch marks? i think I can see inklings of them starting, but nothing major still.

Sleep: nonexistent.  Constant itching all over your body + 9 months pregnant = no such thing as sleeping anymore.

symptoms: PUPPP.  It's loads of fun.  Nothing like constant itching, scratching like it's your job, and being covered in red bumps.  Yay, pregnancy!  

Best moment this week: folding baby clothes and diapers and a snow day with my hubby

Movement: still a lot of it, although I can tell she's running out of room in there.  She must be catching on to my inability to sleep…the last couple of nights as I lay awake trying my hardest not to think about how itchy I am, she seems to be dancing the night away.

Food cravings:  Dr. Pepper!  In fact, I could really go for one right now...

Anything making you queasy or sick: not this week


Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Belly Button in or out? It’s the tiniest little bit out, but I’m still calling it in.  Yes, still.

Wedding rings on or off? Off  

Happy or Moody most of the time: The stress and nervousness are slowly switching over to excitement.  But overall I have been quite happy!

Looking forward to:  More snow!  Ok, maybe not really, but we are supposed to get another storm on Monday, so I'm guessing I'll be spending another couple of days cooped up in the house either working from home, or enjoying snow days.  Hopefully this weekend we will get the last few nursery projects finished, so I'm definitely looking forward to having a finished(ish) nursery!

{week 37}

 37 weeks

Week 37 (Feb 9 – Feb 15)

This week the “holy crap, we’re having a baby soon!” continued. :)  I realized just how close we are getting, and honestly I’m feeling quite unprepared!  I have made it my goal to get a lot of things in order this weekend, so that the whole “any day now” mentality can possibly stop sending me into a panic attack.  As for the weekend, Saturday was a busy day – I had a photo shoot in the morning with some adorable twins (check them out here), then met my cousins for lunch and we later met up with my mom and aunts for shopping (it almost felt like a “normal” Saturday again seeing them!), and then I went wedding dress shopping with Ashley.  She said Yes to the dress, and we had a fabulous time.  (well, the store was insanely crowded and about 10 million degrees, so not the ideal prego conditions, but I survived.  And cried.  Multiple times.)  I also got wonderful news that my best friend Jessica is now also engaged!  And planning to get married this fall as well!  So needless to say I have a very busy summer and fall ahead of me between this whole life-with-a-kid thing, plus my two best friends getting married.  It should be fun!

Speaking of looove, Valentine’s day was this week!  We are officially old people – our romantic celebration included staying home and relaxing on the couch.  My gift to Matt was a heart-shaped cake, and his gift to me was cooking me dinner.  Oh, and while at the store together a few nights before, we went ahead and picked out cards to give to each other.  At least we didn’t read them until Valentine’s day. :)

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My heart-shaped cake for Matt – strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream {ok, we all know it wasn’t just for Matt…}

Doctor appointment update: Cervix is still thin but not dilated.  Apparently I am having Braxton-Hicks contractions, I just didn’t know what they felt like. (I had a lovely first-pregnancy moment while lying on the table – I made a comment that baby girl must be jabbing a foot in a strange place because it was hurting, and Dr. C said “dear, that’s a contraction – just a Braxton-Hicks, not a real one, so nothing to worry about”.  Oh!  Well what do you know.)  Then I was completely caught off guard by her mentioning a possible induction.  Say what?!  She said she “likes to have a plan in place”, so if I haven’t gone into labor by the 10th then she would like to schedule an induction.  Well, if you couldn’t have guessed already, my goal here is to do this labor thing completely naturally, meaning no drugs, meaning no induction.  So I had to attempt to put my foot down and say “no thank you”.  She reassured me she doesn’t think I’ll go that long anyway, so we probably don’t even have to worry about it.  So I guess we shall just see how things go at the next appointment(s).  And just for the record, Matt is now required to attend all appointments not only for moral support but for damage control in case this induction nonsense starts to come up again, or in case my irrational fear of them telling me to head straight to the hospital and have my baby comes true.

Size of baby: wintermelon (no idea what that is.  When I first read it, I read WATERmelon, and almost fainted)

Total weight gain/loss:  49 lbs. {somehow I’m down from last week…no idea what that’s about but I’ll take it!}

Maternity clothes: this question is becoming pointless.

Stretch marks? So far so good…

Sleep: at about 3am I can usually be found lying in bed, wide awake, thinking of all of the things I need to do before this baby comes.  It’s fun.

symptoms: the swelling has been a little better this week.  Now that I know what Braxton-hicks contractions feel like, I convince myself that I’m having them all the time.  Not sure how accurate that really is, but I know I’m having them off and on.

Best moment this week: finding out that my BFF is (finally) engaged!

Movement: It feels like she’s laying sideways (I really hope this is not true!)…I get what feels like a foot sticking out on one side, and then a butt on the other.  If only I could see in there…

Food cravings:  nothing new

Anything making you queasy or sick: I’ve been back to that yuck feeling from the first trimester the past couple days…hooray…

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Belly Button in or out? It’s the tiniest little bit out, but I’m still calling it in.  Yes, still.

Wedding rings on or off? Off  

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and stressed and nervous and excited and (insert every other possible emotion)

Looking forward to:  a 3 day weekend!  Hopefully this means major productivity in the way of nursery and general baby preparedness.  Or extra naps.  Either one sounds great to me. :)

{week 36}

 36 weeks

Week 36 (Feb 2 – Feb 8)

This was the week I went "holy crap, we're having a baby...and soon!"  Saturday was our last Bradley class - which was bittersweet, we have become friends with our classmates, and I'll miss seeing them every week, but at the same time it is comforting to know that we completed the class and are now "prepared" for labor and the birth of this baby (I use the term prepared loosely...). If that didn't make things real enough, Sunday was our hospital tour and pre registration! The brand new labor and delivery unit of the hospital is scheduled to open February 26th, so this girl better not show her face before then! I want one of those fancy new rooms! Anyway, the rest of the week was pretty run of the mill, and ended with a meeting with or birth photographer and a breastfeeding class...again more reminders that d-day is right around the corner!

Doctor appointment update: (since I have one every week now I thought I'd just start throwing this in...) They now check my cervix at every visit. This week I an still zero dilated (yay) but am 75% effaced (which just means my cervix has already started thinning-not necessarily a bad thing). I also got the low down on how to know when I'm in labor, and when to call (although I already knew those answers, thank you Bradley class!)

Size of baby: honeydew

Total weight gain/loss:  50 lbs. {woah.  I need to just stop looking at the scale when I go to the doctor...}

Maternity clothes: comfy pants and a sweatshirt are about the only things that are actually what I would call comfortable these days...

Stretch marks? Still haven't seen any...but I hear these last couple weeks is where they can really come with a vengeance...

sleep: still not getting worse...but definitely not getting better either

symptoms: this week the swelling has been the main culprit. Hello,cankles! I feel like just about every part of my body is swollen at this point.

Best moment this week: seeing the painted nursery with the crib and glider in place (forgot to mention that progress...it's really coming along!!) Sitting in her room with Matt, talking about what life will be like when baby girl gets here...  :-)

Movement: it's getting to that (creepy? cool?) place where you can see my belly move, and watch her limbs as they drag across.  Crazy!

Food cravings:  still enjoying the Twix bars...I'm glad they keep the vending machine at work stocked. :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: not this week

Gender: GIRL!!!!!!

Belly Button in or out? It’s the tiniest little bit out, but I’m still calling it in.  Yes, still.

Wedding rings on or off? Off  

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and stressed and nervous and excited and (insert every other possible emotion)

Looking forward to:  wedding dress shopping with Ashley this weekend, along with a lunch date with my cousins and shopping with my mom  and aunts - I haven't been able to participate in the weekly Saturday ritual of girl time for quite a while now...so I'm excited I at least get to see them all!