Lainey's first week

This week has been full of surprises. Lainey has already brought us so much joy! We are just amazed and in love with this little girl. Brian took a full week off and we loved every minute of our time with him. Lainey loves her daddy and loves to snuggle up with him any chance she gets. We are still trying to figure out this whole sleep thing. From the moment Lainey was born she has had trouble sleeping unless she is being held. We are really working to get her to sleep in her nap nanny or her pack and play, but right now she's only sleeping well on our chest. One night this week she slept six hours straight, but that was a one time thing. Her doctor showed us how to position her on her side, and she will do that for about 20 minutes. However once she realizes that she's not with someone she tends to get fussy. Lainey is a great eater! She lost 6 oz. from birth to her first doctor's appointment, but at her weight check today she was right back up to her birth weight. She eats 30-35 minutes at each feeding. We are trying to get her on some sort of routine, but we also know it's going to take some time. She is so alert and will be awake for up to three hours at a time just looking around and talking to anyone who will listen. You would think this would wear her out, but she still doesn't love to sleep at night. She even has alert times at 3:00 am. :) We are enjoying time with Joyzie, my mom, now that Brian is back at work. She has been such a lifesaver and source of strength. I love having her here. She plans to stay until Friday when Brian comes home and I'm really thankful for that. It's nice to have someone to hand her off to when she fusses for a while and someone to help take her to the doctor and things like that. I'm a little nervous to take her anywhere by myself, but I know we will have to do that soon. Lainey is such a blessing and Brian and I are so thankful that God has blessed us with the joy of being parents. We have such great friends and such a wonderful family that this week has been great. We look forward to seeing what next week will bring.

She's Here!

Our little miracle decided to show up a few hours early. We were scheduled to be induced on Wednesday morning and she decided Tuesday evening would be a perfect time for mommy to go into labor. It was quite a funny experience because Brian had decided to take Excedrine PM before going to bed Tuesday night. Little did he know that about an hour into his deep sleep I would be waking him up to take me to the hospital. I was in so much pain that I was begging him to speed and could hardly walk into Labor and Delivery. I quickly went from 4.5 cm to 8 and was at a 10 within two hours of being at the hospital. My doctor was not on call and the one that was did not do the best job. My water never broke and he did not show up to break my water until 5:00am. The nurse said I could have probably delivered around 1:00 if my water would have just broken. She had a bowel movement in her sack so the NICU had to be called in for our delivery. I was super scared when I hear the call for NICU so I was determined to push her out as quickly as possible. After we started pushing we delivered her within 40 minutes.  Needless to say it was a long night of waiting and not the easiest labor, but our beautiful little girl was welcomed with love at 5:41 am.  She weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long. She has the fullest head of thick black hair and perfect skin! We are truly in love. Lainey hates laying on her back so we've been holding her a lot. We got to go home from the hospital yesterday afternoon and are enjoying this sweet baby at home.  Today is the first day that we've really worked with her to show her that swings, bouncers, and nap nannys are her friend. :) She's getting much better at laying by herself for a few minutes so I think she may sleep better tonight than she did last night. She's nursing really well, almost too well. She is very alert and such a precious little girl! I'll post more about her first few days later. Right now we are enjoying our visitors, trying to sleep and recover and getting to know this beautiful blessing that God has given us.

My last belly pic. about an hour before we went to the hospital.

Any Day!

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and found out that I was at a three! Our doctor was super pleased and scheduled us for an induction on Wednesday, October 19th. Since our appointment I've been having lots of contractions. Last night they were 4-8 minutes apart so we went to the hospital to get checked. They ended up letting me go because although they are regular, they are not strong enough to have dilated me more than I already was. We came home and for the first time in weeks both really got good rest. We have everything packed in the car and are ready to go if my water breaks or if the contractions get stronger. The nurse said some women have contractions like this regularly for days, and some get much stronger pretty quickly and end up back at the hospital pretty quickly. We shall see what Miss. Lainey decides to do. :) We are so ready to meet her and bring her home, but if we have to wait until Wednesday that will be OK too. We are enjoying the last weekend as a couple and trying to get as much rest as possible before she comes. Hopefully in a few days I will be posting pictures of our precious girl.

9 1/2 Months Pregnant!

I am so excited that I've been lucky enough to carry this sweet girl to nine and a half months! It feels great. My feet are swollen, I'm getting tired easily and I've officially starting having REALLY bad false labor pains. Lainey seems to be out of room in there and is making me quite uncomfortable. I'll be thrilled if she makes it to forty weeks because I want her to be as healthy as possible, but if she comes early that would be great too. Brian and I spent the weekend getting last minute things done and enjoying our time together. We went out to dinner on Saturday and then went to see Courageous. What an amazing movie! It was perfect to see with just a week or two before our first child is here. I can't wait to see God work in our marriage and family as we being this next phase of our life.

 Tonight I got to meet Amanda and Jeremy's baby Seth. It was so special to get to hold that precious boy that we've prayed for for so many months. Amanda and I wanted to be pregnant so badly for so long and then we found out within a week of each other that we were both expecting. To get to hold her precious little one was truly one of those moments that God opened my eyes to his amazing plan. Although we wanted to be pregnant so long before we finally were, God has always had a plan. I cannot wait to watch our sweet little ones grow up together. God is good!

While I was at work today I had several really strong contractions. One was so bad that my kids noticed. I could hardly get my lesson out and turned bright red because I was in so much pain. I don't know if that means anything, but I'm hoping it at least means that I'm making some progress. I went ahead and set my sub plans out just in case something happens tonight. I don't think that it will, but WOW, the reality that I could go into labor at work set in today. :) I am going to miss my students while I'm out. I'm so lucky to have a job that I really do enjoy. However, I'm looking forward to the best and most challenging job in the world, being a mommy to our little one. Here is my latest belly picture. I've really grown this week, it will be interesting to see what that scale says on Wednesday. :) I really am close to staying at my goal weight gain so I hope these last few weeks or days don't ruin it for me. I guess either way it will be worth it. Hopefully I'll be posting a 39 week photo next week, but if not pictures of our little one will be up soon. We can't wait!

37 Weeks

It's so exciting to know that we are finally 37 weeks! It's wonderful to know that we are officially full term and if Lainey was born today she would most likely be very healthy. We have everything ready if she decides to come early, but if she wants to hang out for a few more weeks I'm ok with that too. My feet have been swollen and I've been tired, but overall I'm still feeling good. We have a doctors appointment tomorrow so we will see if I've made any more progress. Brian and I are enjoying as much time together as we can, it's hard to believe that our 7 years as just the two of us are about to come to an end. It's so exciting, but it's also making us appreciate every moment that we have together. I'm so thankful to be married to such an amazing man and cannot wait to start our family of three with him soon. We are truly blessed and cannot wait to meet our little bundle of joy.  Here is my latest tummy picture, she seems to be growing every day right now. :)

9 MONTHS PREGNANT!

Well, we have made it to the 9 month mark and I cannot wait to officially be "FULL TERM" in a few days. This week has been even crazier than last week. We had our last shower given by my co-workers last week and so I spent some time this weekend organizing Lainey's closet, washing a few items for her, and finishing our "before Lainey comes" list. We have checked everything off of our list so we are now ready whenever she decides to come. I even made some freezer meals so that we can just pull things out if needed. I want us to be able to enjoy the few days we get with Brian home. I'm still trying to finish the book Baby Wise, but other than that I am ready!

  I know everyone thinks they will have their baby early, but Lainey is so low that I'm convinced she may come early. Our doctor checked me today and said that she was so low that she had to go around her head in order to feel my cervix. I think this little one is going to want out soon. We've given her lots of pep talks and made it clear that this week and weekend just aren't the best, so she needs to hold on a little longer. If we can make it to the next week that would be even better. :)

Right now Brian's daddy is in ICU. He had a heart attack on Sunday and ended up having major surgery on Tuesday. The doctors only gave him about a 50% chance of surviving surgery so things were really scary for a few days. He did make it through surgery and is trying to recover. He is in such poor health that we don't know how long we will get to have him here for, but we are glad that for now he's hanging on to meet our sweet girl. We've spent the last two nights at the hospital and I think Brian is going to go up tonight after his class ends at 9:00. I am physically drained and feel like I'm getting a cold so I'm not going to make the trip to 290 this evening. I really want to keep from going into labor so I am just going to try to relax and get some grading done. Brian has games the next three nights and is hosting a tournament this weekend. We've been running like crazy and my poor body has just had enough! My feet and hands are finally starting to swell and I'm just in that uncomfortable stage. I'm so happy to be pregnant and wouldn't trade it for the world, but at this point I need a night of rest. Here are a few pictures from our last shower and of what I look like at 36 weeks. There is no doubt that I've grown.

                          Our work did a joint shower for three of us.

                    Karen and I are both having baby girls! Lela and Lainey!

                         One of the coolest gifts we got was a set of 12 bibs! One for every month and every special holiday. Angie started the idea with the pumpkin last October. She knew we were going IVF and bought it hoping we would be pregnant. Although it didn't work the first time she kept going with the idea and ended up with one super cool gift!

                     All of Lainey's cool things from my co-workers.

      36 weeks! I've gained 22 lbs. and I think 5 of those have gone to my face. :)

34 & 35 Weeks

The last two weeks have been so super busy that I haven't even had a second to think about blogging. We have been so busy trying to get last minute things done for Lainey and have also been very busy at school. We had a doctor's appointment last week and everything still looks great. I go back next week and will be checked for progress each week after that. Lainey is growing so much! I've gained 21 pounds and she's really cramped for space. She's been hurting me a lot because she's all over my ribs. I know we will both be glad when she's free. :)

Since this weekend was Brian's last weekend without a tournament until mid October we went ahead and bought the rest of the things we needed for her, loaded car seats, washed her sheets and packed my labor bag. I don't think she will be coming for a few more weeks, but we only have 32 days left and I want to be prepared. We've also been super blessed to have two more showers with my former cheerleaders and some co-workers and Brian's school. We are truly amazed at how loved our little girl is! The presents have been a huge help, but it's the thought and the fact that almost 300 people have sent her something to tell her how loved and welcome she is that means the world to both of us. We are so blessed!

Our schedule this week is pretty crazy, but nothing like the last two. I think we may actually get some sleep at nights. That will be wonderful! We've been going to bed late, waking up early and I've been up a lot at night. The other night I went to the bathroom every 15 minutes for two hours. It was crazy. I am convinced that God uses pregnancy to prepare us for being sleep deprived once our little ones come into the world. I've also had so much on my mind. I still have so many things I want to do, books I want to read before Lainey comes and it's hard to shut my mind off. I've been reading the book Baby Wise and love it! There is so much more to a peaceful baby than what I thought. We cannot wait for our sweet girl to get here, but in the mean time we really are enjoying each other. We even got to go to the Third Day concert this weekend! It's been great! Well, we are about to go to bed! We're both exhausted! Here are a few photos of the last couple of weeks.

                                            35 weeks!

                               Third Day and Matthew West Concert

 Some of my former cheerleaders helped host a shower for Lainey! It was SO good to see them!

                              My sweet co-workers! Love these ladies

                                  One of my favorite outfits for Miss Lainey

                                  Love these girls so much!

                          Lainey's first pair of boots! Thanks Marianne!

                         Lainey's Love Letters from Amy! This looks great in her nursery!