for the turkey’s one week birthday and daddy’s birthday, we did our first family bridge run. the turkey even got dressed in a tank top for the occasion.

the family that runs together...

daddy did the full run while me and baby walked to the top of the bridge and back. we got approximately two miles in and baby finished just ahead of me 🙂

made it to the top

okay, technically only six days since i got too excited and took the pic a day early.  it still counts.  i still can’t believe he fit in that belly!

27 Aug 2014

one of his favorite things is cuddle time with his daddy.

daddy waited 9 months for this bonding time

my husband has been fantastic.  he was a super supportive partner throughout the pregnancy and has been a devoted father since the turkey’s birth.  the one thing that he always maintained that he just wouldn’t do was to change diapers.  of course, i repeatedly told him that he was downright delusional.  as the pregnancy progressed, i heard him change his story to people, saying that he would change wet diapers but not poops.  naturally, he ate crow on all of this right off the bat since i had limited mobility the first day in the hospital and he had to take care of our son’s needs.  when we got home, he gagged over the first few post-meconium diapers but he soldiered on.. for the most part.  this afternoon, i overheard him talking to the turkey while changing one of the stinky ones.  he told him how much he loves him but that he’s not changing those diapers because he loves him.. he’s changing them because he loves momma and is amazed at all that she does to take care of him.  it brought tears to my eyes.  my husband, whom i admire so much, was telling our son how lucky he was to have a mother who sacrifices her nights and days to make sure that he is fed and changed and soothed and rested.  i couldn’t possibly have a better parenting partner.

in other news, today was also the turkey’s first bath (at home) before his first appointment at the pediatrician’s office.

ready for my first sponge bath at home

for his five-day checkup, he got a clean bill of health… the dr was pleased with all his wet diapers (he even wet the exam table before the dr came in) and he was impressed that he was almost back to his birth weight already.  it can take up to two weeks for a baby to regain the weight they lose after birth… our turkey weighed 7lbs 9oz at birth, had lost back to 7lbs even when we left the hospital (two days), and is back up to 7lbs 8.5oz now.  what can i say?  he’s a really good nurser!  he still measures 19.5 inches today.  i actually would have been surprised if they said his length had increased but they said it does happen.  the dr didn’t seem concerned about the umbilical cord falling off prematurely yesterday and said everything seemed to be healing as it should.  we went from the dr to the dept of health to pick up his birth certificate and we got to try our first public nursing.  i sat in the backseat and nursed while hubby was inside getting the cert.  mostly everything worked out well but i think the nursing cover was a little warm on him.  it was harder than usual to keep him awake and alert through the feeding.  I’m not sure whether it is better to sit in the car with a/c or to try to find a place to sit outside where there’s some actual moving air.  since it was his first time with the cover, though, i thought he did well.  i would imagine it will take getting used to and learning to adjust temp is just part of that.

other milestones of note:  he’s been smiling since day 2 and yesterday he started doing big belly laughs in his sleep.  i don’t know what babies dream about but his must be pretty happy ones 🙂

we had all kinds of family here over the weekend to meet the little guy.  my sissy made it here in time to help with the labor and delivery.  my dad got here his first night.  hubby’s parents and siblings arrived late saturday night, after we had gotten home from the hospital.  my sissy was a huge help around the house and the grandparents all enjoyed their time with the newest grandchild.  everybody left this morning so we’re officially on our own now.

we are family

my son decided to make his grand debut today.  he was born at 10:50 this morning and was 19.5 inches, 7 lbs 9.2 oz.  he and i are both healthy and happy.  birth story to come later…

our first meeting

"give me my mommy back!"

first family pic

contemplating this life

15 Aug 2014

today was the first time I’ve been displeased with my dr.  generally, I really like him.  he’s got a great bedside manner, is very patient with questions, and was just all around wonderful with all of the fertility drama.  today, however, he took it upon himself to strip my membranes without asking first.  i would have declined such an offer.  especially since we had just had the conversation about how i have no interest whatsoever in inducing labor (unless it becomes medically necessary, of course).  i just didn’t understand what was going through his head and there was no reason for it.  I’m not even due for another week.  he seems sure that i’ll go into labor this weekend now.  i have no such confidence and, frankly, if it’s because of artificial stimulation i really hope not.  i just don’t think that’s really healthy.  and next week i will definitely make sure to state ahead of time that i do not want my membranes stripped.

anyhow, petty venting aside… today’s visit was all good.  138 heart rate, 2cm, 95% effaced, -1 station.  so no real progress other than another cm of dilation but we’re still healthy and nothing else matters to me.

it’s funny that i’ll probably end up in better shape after this pregnancy than i was before.  the pregnancy started with months of sloth due to vacations and holidays and a general affinity for couch-potatoism.  as soon as i saw that positive, however, i immediately started dragging myself out and into a routine.  for about five months, i walked about twenty miles a week.  then there were 6-8 weeks of crazy travel and sickness and the sloth crept back in for a while but the last couple of months I’ve been good about getting back at it.  I’ve been doing an hour on the elliptical 3-4 days a week plus the bridge run (walk) most weeks.  i never thought i could be this close to the end of my pregnancy and still be this active.  and really, after a lifetime of natural sloth and lethargy, who would have thought i would even find the motivation for it?  i guess this kid is already working on making me a better person because all I’ve wanted to do is keep him as healthy as i possibly can.  if that means i have to get out and work up a sweat when i really would rather eat Cheetos and take a nap… i won’t even give it a second thought.

multi-tasking - elliptical, Netflix, and talking to my daddy on the phone

8 Aug 2014

nothing much new in today’s dr visit… still 1 cm, 95% effaced, -1 station.  heart rate 137.  the nurse seemed to be less experienced with the Doppler and the fundal measurements than the other nurse that’s been taking care of us.  she had a heck of a time finding the heartbeat, whereas the other nurse goes straight to it every time.  she was way short on the fundal measurement which caused the dr to come in congratulating us on dropping… uh, nope, no dropping here.  he re-measured and declared us right where we were.  I did tell him that I’ve been having an increase in Braxton hicks contractions which he seemed excited about.  the ones that I almost can’t feel that tighten my entire belly and leave me short of breath and lightheaded are almost constant now.  it doesn’t matter how much water I drink or if I’m laying on my side or doing the elliptical, they are always there.  within the last few days, I’ve started having more menstrual crampy contractions.  the first few days they were pretty light and the last couple of days, I could definitely feel them but they’re also very sporadic.  anyhow, more wait and see.  there’s nothing really to indicate that he’s not going to hang in there until the due date and, thankfully, I’m still feeling good enough that I’m perfectly happy with that.  I’m not waddling yet, you can clearly tell the difference between my ankles and my calves, I’m still able to do an hour at a time on the elliptical… I’m doing pretty darned good for an 8.5+ months pregnant woman 🙂  the acid reflux and carpal tunnel are not fun but I never expected it to all be sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns.

unfortunately, there hasn’t been a whole lot of free-time lately with both of us having to work crazy long hours to get ready for taking time off, not to mention having to get things ready around the house for baby’s homecoming… but we’re trying to enjoy all of the last moments of DINKhood when we can. wednesday evening, we helped mellow break down the running store so that he could move to another location. it was work but it was also time with a friend. we followed it up with a quickie “date” at five guys. last night, we dropped in on sunny (scooter was supposed to be on his way home but after an hour or so visiting with her, he was still a no-show). we had a good visit though, just chatting about random stuff. today, hubby spent the day helping mellow move in to the new store location while i stayed home making cards. mid-afternoon, chef texted with a suggestion of dinner and CAH. they got here just a little after hubby had gotten home and we walked to a newer restaurant a few doors down. it was a great meal, on the beach, with great friends. we walked home on the beach, enjoying the not-so-sunset and then spent a couple hours laughing and enjoying game-night. you never know; it might be the last time we’re able to have friends over for an evening without a crying baby breaking up the mood 🙂 fortunately, chef and trainwreck will probably be bringing their new grandbaby along with them next year. i wish we had time for more “date nights” or a quick last minute getaway weekend together but at least we’re able to squeeze in some adult fun here and there.

it sure looks like i need help holding up all that belly!

1 Aug 2014

today’s dr visit was more of the same.  heart rate around 140.  fundal measurement on track.  1cm dilated; 95% effaced; -1 station.  our dr was much more non-committal about making guesses than the dr last week.  he said that he’s seen women who get to 100% and immediately start dilating and he’s seen women who walk around at 100% for weeks without further progress.  he said a lot of it depends on if the baby drops more.  if he drops down below the pelvic bone, the weight on the thinned out cervix would start dilation.  it’s all just wait and see.  his only comment on the matter was on his way out of the office when he said he’ll see us next Friday, if not sooner 🙂

pregnancy is still good.  the belly button would probably be a total outie if if weren’t for the laparoscopy scar holding the bottom half in.  still have achy thumbs but I’ve gotten used to it.  I’ve been needing more back-rubs the last few days.  the acid reflux is back with a fiery vengeance after finishing the 14 day course of Prilosec – i guess it’s only a miracle cure while you’re actually taking it.  if that’s all i have to complain about, i figure I’ve got it made.  but still, as far as the minor annoyances of pregnancy, I’d call that the biggie.  i would definitely rank it way worse than the nausea at the beginning (if i had actually been vomiting, I’m sure it would be a different story).

taken at the dr office today... calm is my mantra

when my MIL was about eight months pregnant with hubby, they came to the beach for vacation and FIL took her picture sitting in the monkey paw at the goofy golf place down the road. it’s always been the family story that this was hubby’s first trip to the beach and the reason he always wanted to live here.

MIL 8 months pregnant with hubby

this picture meant enough that, just before his 39th birthday, we did a beach vacation with his family and he and his mom posed with the monkey again.

mother, son, monkey - 39 years later

so it was always just an unstated understanding that, if we ever got pregnant, we would be paying a visit to the goofy golf monkey to celebrate the 8th month.

me 8 months pregnant with our son

the full monkey - i don't know if it had the evil red glowing eyes when MIL was pregnant

we three and the monkey

to me, this is probably one of the most special moments of my pregnancy. i love that we were able to recreate this memory that he and his mom shared and i hope that it means as much to her as it does to me.

capturing the moment, 48 years apart

25 Jul 2014

still loving being pregnant… haven’t reached that “when is this going to be over?!!” point.  i was having some wicked heartburn that wasn’t all that fun but the Prilosec stuff seems to have licked that so woohoo for that!  a couple weeks ago, my knuckles started hurting.  a little in my fingers but mostly my thumbs… owie, owie  thumbs.  it started right after our marathon of furniture building so i figured at first that it must have been from the screwdriver i was using.  since it has continued and gotten worse, I’m pretty sure it’s a late pregnancy symptom.  it’s like an arthritic feeling.  i looked online and a lot of people talked about it being a sign of swelling.  i find it odd that it’s mostly confined to my thumb knuckles.  my toes are perfectly fine (also should be noted that my ankles are still ankle-shaped, thankyouverymuch).  so anyhow, that’s been interesting and achy.  my hands have been going numb while laying down too, so that probably doesn’t help the joints.  i also decided to measure my belly tonight, just out of curiosity… i have a 38 inch waist!  good golly that’s a lot of belly!

in other news, some of our closest friends announced this week that they’re going to be grandparents.  their daughter is about 8 weeks along and just moved back home with them.  I’ve been bummed that we’re going to lose all of our friends because they won’t want to hang around with us and our crying baby but if they’re pulling grand-duty, it’ll be great.  and this is hubby’s primary training partner so I’m sure they’re going to wear these kids out.  good times on the horizon!

last night was our last baby shower.  our local friends got together and threw an awesome, tailgate-themed, coed shower for us.  it was such a cute idea to make the men feel comfortable celebrating all things baby!  i got all decked out in gator-wear and hubby donned some crimson tide gear and we celebrated bringing our baby into a house divided.  instead of a cake, they had a froyo bar; instead of a guestbook, they had a football for people to sign; instead of games, they had diapers and bibs and onesies for people to decorate… so much fun.

go gators!

“our local friends put together an awesome tailgate baby shower! we had so much fun and seriously appreciate everything that has been done for us and given to us.”

From PCB Shower, posted by J’Lynn Holloway on 7/23/2014 (65 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher 2

today was the big all-campus beach baptism.  that means that roughly one year ago i was baptized and made new in Christ!  thank God for saving a sinner like me and for all of the blessings in my life.  i am so grateful that i can bring my baby boy into a family of faith and i pray that we are able to raise him to be a believer and follower of Jesus.  i love baptism days!

18 Jul 2014

last week, i mentioned to the dr how horrible the heartburn has been lately.  he advised me to go to sams and get the generic Prilosec otc and take that.  oh!  my!  goodness!  that stuff is made of pure magic!  i haven’t had a lick of heartburn all week.  it’s been fantastic.  granted, heartburn is a very small price to pay for all of the joy I’ve derived from this pregnancy but it is so nice to be able to lay day at night without feeling like puking up fire.  they don’t really tell you that the third trimester is like the first trimester on steroids… double the fatigue, double the heartburn, okay maybe not as much nausea but it’s still back.  but, i also have this absolutely amazing alien moving around like crazy in my belly.  i watch his elbows and feet jutting out at odd angles all over the place.  i laugh at him when he gets a bit ouchy trying to pull my ribs loose.  i am so awed by this itty bitty person!

sometimes i just can’t believe how blessed we are. this morning, i woke up and went out on the balcony to find a momma and baby dolphin pair playing in the shallows right out back. i enjoyed watching them for a few minutes before it even occurred to me to grab the camera. usually, I’m just disappointed because it’s hard to get the camera to focus on creatures in the backyard with all the moving water around them but i do believe these are the best ones I’ve ever gotten. unfortunately, i wasn’t able to capture the tiny shark that was following them around or the momma chasing him off when he finally worked up his courage to go after the baby (the shark was actually smaller than the baby dolphin so it really never stood a chance).