Updating My Blog...

I've plenty of posts that have been started and not finished... I am working on completely all my posts and being able to post them within the next two weeks!

First Weeks.... Being a Mother

The first two weeks were probably the hardest, so far. Having never babysat when I was younger or been around babies or even children very much; it was a HUGE change for me. One day I'm leaving home care free and I return home a couple days later with a whole other life to care for and protect. I knew this day would come, once I had become pregnant but it just seem to come to this day quickly. I had a huge rush a emotions for the first week after we brought John home. I seemed to cry EVERYDAY at exactly 6:20 pm (probably because that was the time John was born) and it seemed like I did for no reason at all. I would always say "John's already a day old"; "John's already two days old;" and so on and this lasted for like a week. Everything seemed to make me cry, and I mean everything. And every show or commercial about babies = crying. I am glad that that only lasted for about two weeks and then I went back to "normal" or I guess my hormones were less crazy.

For the first four weeks...I got absolutely no sleep on top of recovering from major surgery. Obviously, with a newborn no one gets much sleep (which I was expecting, I guess my body wasn't prepared to loose that much sleep and recover from labor, delivery/surgery). John wouldn't sleep for the first two weeks without someone holding him. Brian or I would have to sit/lay on the couch with John laying on our chests for him to sleep. EVERY TIME we laid him down he started screaming. (I am not exaggerating, he FLIPPED!) We had to hold them for about an hour or two before we could even attempt to lay him down in his crib. (Yes, we started putting John in his crib the day we came home from the hospital). Then all the sudden one night, probably when he was about 3 weeks old we laid him in his crib and he went to sleep and slept for 3 hours at a time. And each night after that he was consistently sleeping 3 to 3 1/2 at a time during the night.

After we had been home for a week my mom came every day and stayed with me while Brian went back to work; it was hard with Brian not being there (because he had been since the day John was born), but it was nice having my mom help and she helped a lot...cleaning, watching John, running errands and making me food while I recovered and attempted to catch up on my sleep. Thank God for moms! She only came for a week; and when John was almost 3 weeks old...I was on my own during the day. I was really scared and nervous at first; but I caught on pretty quick!

I love being able to be at home with my little boy and watching all the new things he does, learns and figures out; although that part is just beginning. Below of pictures from John's first four weeks of life!

Nightly routine of having tummy time with John before attempting to lay him down in his crib for the night.

 He's so cute!

 In his overalls!

 His new friend, Lily, checking him out!

Actually asleep in his swing, which only lasted for 10 minutes. He's never been very fond of the swing.

Delayed... Labor & Delivery

Things have been very busy since the arrival of our son in mid-February. So these next few posts will be dedicated to updating everyone with what has been going on over the past 3 1/2 months; starting with...

40 weeks and 2 days... a couple minutes before we left for my last doctor's appointment and the hospital!

Labor & Delivery
Well John Cayden Thomas has arrived! We were admitted to the hospital Wednesday night (2/16) for some tests and stuff and so we would be ready for the induction in the morning, which was to occur at 7:00 am! The morning of February 17th arrived; as we were woken up at 5:00am to get things ready and to move to the labor and delivery room. By 6:00 am everything was ready to go and my induction was started! Induction was not a bad experience at all, at least for me it wasn't. There was no progress on my labor until around 12:00 pm, even with the pitocin. The up the pitocin even more, almost maxing it out... and POP! My water breaks, which happened to be the MOST PAINFUL part of the whole labor and delivery process; this was because I had a MAJOR contraction at the exact same time my water broke... YAY for me! Once my water broke, I didn't last 5 minutes before I was crying and screaming for my epidural (for those who don't know, I'm a BIG PANSY and CAN'T STAND being in pain). It took the anesthesiologist 45 minutes and two tries to get the epidural in; only because I kept making her laugh. After the epidural was in... I was in heaven. No pain at all, however I could feel the pressure of the contractions, but no pain. My doctor came in to check me twice during the next 4 1/2 hours, both times I was dilating but John's head would not move down. Checking me one last time around 5:00 pm.. she said it's go time, we don't need to wait any longer. I was prepped and taken into surgery with Brian by my side. At 6:20 pm, John Cayden Thomas was born!!!

  John Cayden Thomas

9 pounds, 13 ounces

22.75 inches

I remember seeing John for the first time, once when the doctor held him up although I couldn't see him very well and then a few seconds later when Brian held him and showed he to me. I had tears in my eyes, but feel asleep very shortly afterward due to the anesthesia. John was taken out of the OR to be cleaned, weighed and measured...Brian by his side, while I was finishing up in the OR. An hour later, I saw my son for the second 'first' time and held him for the first time, while in the recovery room. He was perfect!

We spent the next 3 days in the hospital recovering; John from birth and I from labor & delivery. We left the hospital Sunday afternoon to head home to start our new lives with our precious baby boy. Below are a few pictures from the hospital...

39 weeks!

I saw this on another blog I was reading and decided to do it, even though my first pregnancy is almost over.

How far along?
  39/40 weeks

Maternity clothes?
Yes. At this point I can pretty much only wear maternity lounge pants. All the maternity jeans I have are becoming too small and with only 7 days (at the most) left, I'm not buying any more clothes. So I'll just be comfortable for the last week. All my maternity shirts pretty much still fit.

Stretch marks?
Yes.

Weight gained:
Total - 61 pounds (EEEEKKK!) It's all belly and water weight, though.

Sleep:
At this point, not really. I constantly wake up in the middle of the night to pee and to switch sides and get comfortable.

Best moment this/last week:
Setting my induction date, if he doesn't come by then! And getting to hear his heartbeat  : )

Movement:
His moving has decreased a little, probably because he's running out of room. But I still feel him kick, move, and punch constantly  : )

Food cravings:
My appetite has decreased significantly in the past 2 weeks. I crave water, fruits, veggies and baked potato soup (that my lovely husband makes)

Gender:
Boy- John Cayden

Labor Signs:
None, although a have a few contractions. And by a few I mean like 2 contractions in the past week.

Belly Button in or out?
Half-way Out

Wedding rings on or off?
Off...my fingers are swelling due to all the water retention

 
What I miss:
Being skinny, wearing my normal clothes, and running

What I am looking forward to:
Having my body back and meeting my little boy

Weekly Wisdom:
Get plenty of rest and relax!

Milestones:

ONE WEEK LEFT!!!!!

Induction Date is February 17th!!!

So the countdown begins... 8 days til induction! 

I had my 39 week doctor's appointment this morning and I did not get the news I was hoping for; it wasn't bad new by any means. I have not made ANY progress since my last appointment. (Just to recap, my 38 week appointment I wasn't dilated or effaced at all. Baby John was no where near the birth canal). For this appointment I was hoping I had made some progress, maybe dilating and effacing enough to be induced the end of this week; but nope! I am BARELY dilated 1cm (her exact words) and still NOT effaced. Baby John is still exactly where he was last week. So it is a disappointment for me because I have to wait another week to see my little boy! I have my 40 week appointment next Wednesday at 3:00pm, where I will get another exam to check my progression (which she doesn't think will have changed, but hopes it has). After the appointment I'll be admitted to Piedmont Hospital Wednesday (Feb 16th) night and induced bright and early Thursday morning (Feb 17th). So either way my little boy will be here by next Friday! YAY! I'm VERY excited, even though I still have to wait another week. But I guess he'll come when he wants to come or he'll be forced out next week, haha!

At least everything is done...

House Cleaned - CHECK

Grocery Shopping - CHECK

Cars Cleaned - CHECK

Laundry - CHECK

Nursery Complete - CHECK

Hospital Bag Packed - CHECK

Baby John - the only thing left!

John's Nursery is Finished!!

We have finally finished baby John's nursery! YAY! Everything is cleaned, organized and ready for him to come! However we had to changed one plan with the design. Originally we were planning to have train tracks run across the ceiling, but decided that he wouldn't be able to play with it for a while so we abandoned that idea and have decided to wait until he's about 2 1/2 years old before we do that; it's also not a cheap thing to do. So instead we decided that we would stagger two wall shelves over the rocking chair and the changing table. The wall shelves were going to hold the Southern Company/Georgia Power trucks that Brian's grandfather gave us and the Georgia Power train set we get every year from GA Power. So we were installing the wall shelves and had the first one up, which according to the stud finder, was in studs. Once we placed the train set on the shelf, it fell off the wall. So we decided that that wasn't a good idea and abandoned that tactic quickly. So instead I am placing a cross-stitch over the changing table that my step-mom made for John; which I think overall is a better choice. I won't have to worry about anything being sturdy or worry about things falling off the wall. We decided to place the train set on top of the dresser and place the trucks on each of the book shelves. All in all everything turned out great and I am happy with the way the nursery looks. Below are pictures of John's COMPLETED nursery...

John's crib and nursery letters

John's dresser with his train set and PBK picture frame

 John's changing table with his cross stitch above

My grandma's rocking chair; John's bookshelf with his trucks and alphabet picture

Train window valance and gym activity mat

 John's swing and rocking horse

John's organized closet of clothes with cubby holes

View of the nursery from the door

View of the nursery from the corner

I'm so excited for him to arrive and to actually be able to use everything in the room and to play with my son!

Is it February 15th yet?!?!

38 1/2 weeks along, but I'm feeling more like 41 weeks. Since I've hit 37 weeks, it feels like the days keep going by very very slowly. My pregnancy went by fast; I can hardly believe it's February already! But the last weeks seem to drag on and on. I'm not a very patient person; I had to wait 8 months to get pregnant with him to begin with and then another 9 months of being pregnant...I am definitely ready for him to be here! But I know a couple more weeks won't kill me.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and found out that I am NOT dilated or effaced AT ALL! He's no where close to being making his appearance; which does make me a little sad! I was hoping I could get induced at 39 1/2 weeks (which would be like next Thursday-Friday), but that doesn't look like that's going to happen. I have to go back on Tuesday and get checked again and see if anything has changed. Hopefully something will I have changed and I will have a better chance I getting to finally meet my son towards the end of next week, but if not then I will go back again on the following Tuesday (15th..week 40) and get checked again. However, if there is no progress still at 40 weeks then I will be induced at 40 1/2 weeks. So either way baby John should be here by February 20th, although I am hoping he comes much sooner!

I am definitely beyond the point of being uncomfortable. It literally takes me around an hour to fall asleep a night, only to wake up an hour later to pee; the cycle continues like that all night. Needless to say I don't get that much sleep, although I AM trying very hard. I know once baby John does make his appearance, it will be hard to get any sleep for a while (unless he's one of the babies that sleeps all night, but I heard those are few and far between). I CAN'T WAIT!

38 1/2 week belly pictures below...(there will probably only be one more post with belly pictures before baby John arrives).

Could I get any bigger?!?! I mean really; I already feel like I'm going to pop and there's still 10 days left! OH MY! 10 days... 10 days til we meet our son. WOW, pregnancy sure did fly by fast, but I'm okay with that since it wasn't my favorite thing. But in the end (even though I haven't made it there yet), it will be worth it!

However, to tell you the truth... I am TERRIFIED of labor & delivery! All I can think about it the pain and the fact that I am like the BIGGEST wimp alive! I know that I definitely want an epidural AND pain meds for the labor/contractions before the actual pushing. I'm definitely okay with not feeling anything and having to have the doctor tell me when to push, I could care less if I even feel it. All I want is to see my son and have no pain. My doctor seems to agree with me about the pain meds and epidural, since she has seen me get my blood taken and get shots. So it's good we're on the same page! She's awesome! 

I'm getting so excited, anxious, and nervous all at the same time because it's all so close!