Some New Photos

These were all shot from my cell phone, but I thought they came out pretty well!

Today after our trip to class... my last lecture!


Yesterday just hanging out with his belly full!


A couple of weeks ago after his bath!


Again, a couple of weeks ago hanging out in his camos!


Will post more stuff later, but just happy to have gotten on & browse the internets! :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Quick Update

Sorry to have been MIA, but life has been a bit busy. Between the baby & family life, I've also returned to my (hopefully, if I can pass) final nursing class. Less than 5wks left of the lecture portion of it.

On to more exciting things... or people! ;)

Little E is doing fine. In fact, last night he let me sleep over 4hrs straight... nursed for a bit, then went right back to sleep! A contrast to the prior night, where he decided he didn't want to nap/sleep @ all from 3am-6am. That was rough on Mommy... but we also napped together yesterday, so that helped!

I haven't been as crazy about taking pictures as I thought I would. I guess it just seems so laborious to grab the camera when he's doing something cute. I have many pictures from my cell phone & lots of sweet video clips from my Flip camera to upload later, but the "nice" camera isn't as mobile/portable. I think the better I begin to feel, the more pictures I will snap! :) Baby steps!

I still have achiness & pressure in my abdomen, but every day it seems to get better. I'm not as tried/lightheaded/dizzy as I have been, which hopefully means the anemia is getting better. Have more of an appetite now, too. For the first couple of weeks, I just didn't care to eat/drink anything.

We're still getting the hang of brea.stfeeding, but am fortunate that little E has not had issues going from br.east to bottle. I left the hospital pumping as latching hurt & the nurses were pushing us to supplement with formula. We were determined to do all we could to avoid that. The day after we left the hospital, my milk came in. I was producing three times what he was needing for each feeding, so we already have a decent amount of milk frozen & stored. We attempted latching several times a day, but by Thursday (his 1 week birthday)... I decided we would try nursing exclusively. It still hurt, but he was doing great. We have found a routine with bottles of brea.stmilk @ night & nursing during the day.

He get hiccups pretty much every day. They say there's nothing we can do about it, but it's so sad watching him. He inherited his daddy's violent hiccups. He lost his umbilical stump last Wednesday & has a cute little belly button underneath. He loves kangaroo cuddling & I do, too! His skin has become less peelie in the past couple of days... his little hands & feet were so peelie! :) He loves to have his head rubbed, unless he's just too angry with the world! Then, not much other than nursing helps that! We have been naughty & co-sleep sometimes with him. More so in the first week than now as we have learned his sleeping pattern & regulated his feeding more to suit his growing needs.

Well, I have a project to research for now, so I should head off. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I think I'm getting back into the swing of life & not feeling so much like a zombie all the time. I would leave with a couple of pictures, but not able to upload to Blogger right now? You can click the link for one of the most recent ones of Little E...

Click here

At Last...

Elias arrived Thursday, August 28, @ 3:55am.

He was 7lbs3oz & 18.75 inches long with a full head of hair! :)



We're doing great & in so much love!

Baby Update: 38wks (Still Knocked Up!)

Since I didn't get my post done in time, I thought I'd update a bit here. Can't upload pictures with our internet connection... so I'll add the fruit/veggie of the week later. I think it's a LEEK that Elias is now as long as.

Thoughts/Happenings:
** This week, we had a procedure performed to see if Elias's lungs were mature enough to induce labor a bit earlier than normal. Have I mentioned that the closer we get to his due date, the more overwhelming the anxiety I have about actually bringing home a live baby? I think I've cried at least once every single day since hitting the 37wk mark because I'm so nervous that something horrible will happen. Yes, it's irrational & illogical & probably unjustified... but I can't help it. I'm worried & stressed like nothing else. So, after discussing this with my OB, he agreed to induce if Little One's lungs were developed. Since we know his exact gestational age... I didn't think there would be any problems at all. Well, his quick results (on Wednesday) showed immaturity. At that point, they wait for an (almost) 48hr return test that *could* reflect lung maturity. Got the call this morning, that that test also agreed with his lungs not being mature. I was shocked. Still am. Oh, and even more nervous. The Specialist did say that we can safely assume if my body goes into labor on it's own, that his lungs should be fine by then. And, every day he's still "in the oven", his lungs get more & more mature. So, my next appt with my OB is Wednesday... a day after they'd induce any other patient... but, I obviously have reservations about it. I'm very much looking forward to being able to discuss all this with my OB. Oh, and my Fall semester starts back up Monday. This will be fun... and probably not possible.

** As of Tuesday, I hadn't dilated any more. I was still at 3cm, but 80% effaced & the baby was in "0" station. Progress on that front, at least. Still "any day now" mentality. Ha.

** I've had this whole week off from work. It has been nice, but I sure haven't felt much like doing anything. I have worked a bit in the office (umm, MAJOR work needs to be done in there... been putting it off) here & there. Rested plenty. I think I'm sleeping 9-10hrs/night plus naps. Got the animals to the vet today... three dogs + one cat for a 2hr vet visit + a 9mth pregnant woman. Not as bad as I imagined it may have been!! Smooth, actually. I've cleaned & cleared dishes every day, some laundry, cooked several nights (except for the night I'd been craving Mexican), & other piddling around the house. I'm sure there's more I can do & since Nick will have to work yet again tomorrow, Saturday, I'll be working around the house then, too.

** Hmm, not sure there's anything else I can think of to add? Oh, we went to triage twice in the last week. Last Thursday was because I thought my water might have broken. It hadn't, but we found out I was losing my mucus plug already. Sunday (early morning) was because I had an extremely intense pain that would not stop from about 1am to 2am... which we called the doula & headed to the hospital. It eventually went away & they monitored us for a while, but he was okay.

Cravings/Symptoms:
** Some discomfort @ night, when I have to roll over or change positions... other than that, I get very nice restful sleep. A bit of heartburn every now & then if I have soda, but I've cut out almost all of that... so it's not as often as before.

** Still lots of movement. Elias has permanently planted his backside on my left side & kicks like crazy on my right side. Lots. Especially during the procedure w/ the Specialist Wednesday. What a stubborn boy... so much like his Daddy already.

Hope to not have a 39wk update... unless it's got pictures of this boy outside the womb, but as long as he needs to stay in... we're okay with. I'll just be an emotional wreck that much longer worrying!!

Maternity Portraits Done!

Check out Amick's website to see our maternity pictures! :)

MATERNITY PORTRAITS

Been having contractions all weekend long, so we've got out fingers crossed to meet this little guy face-to-face soon!

Baby Update: 36wks (60% effaced!)

Yay! We've almost made it to full term. Only 1wk until Elias would be considered full term! We're truly in the homestretch!

According to the websites, Elias is over 18.5inches long & weighs almost 6.0 pounds (or the weight of a CRENSHAW MELON)!


Thoughts/Happenings:

** We had our maternity portraits shot this weekend. I'm very interested to see how they turned out & hope that we got several "favorite" shots. Our photographer is on vacation this week, so I think we'll have the edited photos in our hot-little-hands within 2 or 3 wks. We'll have them on CD/DVD with print rights, so we can print them @ our leisure & post them online no problems! :) AND, we've already set up a tentative newborn session by the end of September! Yay! {You must know that I will post some of the shots as soon as we get them!}

** I am officially heading to the doctor every week. Every Tuesday to be exact! My group B strep status: (still waiting on the call back from the doctor) ; my dilation/effacement status: 2-3cm/60%. Who knows how much longer we'll have? ;)

** Had some either fake (okay, I know they're technically Braxton Hicks) or real contractions last Thursday evening/Friday morning. Woke me up I was hurting so much. But, they went away. We can only hope they were a couple of "real" ones that are preparing my body for labor & delivery in the next couple of weeks!

** My last day of work before maternity leave (unless Elias comes earlier) will be August 14th. Our plans are for me to return to this current position at the beginning of January. That gives me about 4mths @ home with Elias, so we're very excited about that! :)

** Elias's hospital bag is packed... only thing to add later is when we get the "unborn child John" insurance card in the next week or so. Our hospital bag is pretty much packed. I'm sure I'll add more later, but we have the little toiletries, the Flip video camera, extra batteries, one change of clothes each... probably will add a robe & the computers on the way out. We can stay up to 48hrs following the delivery, but as little as 24-36 hrs be discharged. I think we're leaning towards the 24hr mark as long as the pediatrician clears Little One to head home with us!

** The carseat bases have yet to be installed, but the carseat + base are located in Nick's car. That's the one we'll plan to take to the hospital. Hopefully, we can have the carseat base installed & checked in the next week. Doesn't hurt to be as prepared as possible!

** Elias's room still has some work to be done, but not too much. I hope to make some room in his closet for his swing + bouncer, so that will be outta the way. His bassinet is already beside the bed & a changing table we were given is in our bathroom. A tight squeeze for sure, but we're hoping it'll help get us through the first couple of months as it has shelves for (lots of) extra diapers, wipes, outfits, & sheets. Once he outgrows the bassinet, I think we will move his playpen beside our bed until it's time to move him into this own room. Weird to think about even now.

Symptoms/Cravings:

** More heartburn every now & then, aching back during sleeping/rolling over, & lots of fetal movement! It's great!

** Still craving proteins... steaks/burgers, dairy... ice cream/milk/shakes.

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Baby Update: 34wks

Umm, seriously? This is cah-razy! Lots of stuff happened in the last week & I'm sure it will just continue until Little One is born!

We are only 3wks away from official full-term, 5wks away from possible medical induction, & 6wks away from "technical" due date.

This week, the websites estimate Elias' weight as 4.75lbs (a CANTALOUPE) & almost 18inches long. You can tell the length has slowed considerably as he was growing 0.5-1.0 inch each week... now, he's in the fattening up stage! :)


Thoughts/Happenings:
** We have another week until our doctor's appt. He will do a check to see if my body is progressing at all towards labor & also complete a beta test. If I'm positive, I'll need some prophylactic antibiotics during labor. If not, I get to labor @ home as long as possible!!

** We met with our doula Sunday. Very good meeting. We still feel very comfortable with our plans & are excited about the additional support our doula will provide!!

** We had two baby showers this week! One @ work on Wednesday & one @ church on Saturday. They were so much fun & we pretty much have all we will need (umm, we THINK we will need?) for the baby's arrival! There are several items I'll still need, but most definitely was not comfortable w/ other purchasing them! :) I don't have pictures of all the stuff, but I will try to take the rest of them tonight & post them tomorrow!

** Nick & I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on Friday. G'Ma was so sweet & prepared a meal for us... more to come on that later!! I have a post ready w/ pictures for that! :) It's hard for me to NOT reflect when I reach milestones, so I think of what I expected when we got married. I would have thought we'd have several little ones running around & maybe done with the child-making "thing". But, God has different plans than we do. We are so thrilled to be expecting this sweet little boy he created just for us to love & raise for Him.

** We are rescheduled for maternity portraits on August 1st. After cancelling our first session & several emails back & forth, we will be using the same photographer ( Amick Cutler), but here in the "greater Tallahassee area" instead of Pensacola. He & his wife will be in town that weekend, so we're hoping to head to the Coast to take pictures near the lighthouse. I'm so thankful this will work out & will share pictures here as soon as we get them!

Symptoms/Cravings:
** Pretty predictable here... milk, steak, cheerios, sweet stuff. Heartburn is coming pretty consistently, but not horrible. I have more aches & pains moving around at night... sleeping is harder cuz my back & hip get to hurting, but it sure doesn't stop me from sleeping! (Last night, I got approximately 10-11hrs!) Clinicals are a bit more difficult, but still not unbearable. Standing up is harder since it requires more than a quick thought & leaning over to pick up trash (or anything) takes much more effort & time. LOL It's funny. I still haven't had horrible swelling, but my ankles & hands will get swollen at night.

Heading to the grocery store tonight after work, then home for a bit of resting & organizing in the baby room. Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!