One Month

Bean is one month! I can't believe it.  [Okay so I'm late posting this and he is 6 weeks now. (ahh!)]
We were a little busy with Lola's eye energy and visiting family so I failed to take a staged 1 month photo. I had planned one with a chalkboard of stats but you know....give it up with good intentions. Maybe next month.

One Month:

Bean is

-9 pounds 2 ounces.

-starting to follow our faces and voices. 

-more alert everyday.

- calm when mommy sings and reads to him.  

- always up for a walk around the house exploring with Daddy. He especially likes looking at the ceiling.

Mommy loves

-snuggles!!!!

-tiny toes and nose. 

-newborn cry and the wrinkly faces. 

-when breastfeeding clicked and fell into a normal routine.

-watching Kyle learn to be Daddy.

A Day in Our Life with Baby Bean

We've been home for 3 weeks now. Beaner is almost 4 weeks old! It's flown by. The first few weeks at home have been very tiring. My BP went from very high at the hospital to very low at home with the medicine I was on. I was lightheaded with headaches and fatigue. Now that I"m off the medicine, I realize how much of a fog I was in when we first got home. Now, I'm just "new mom tired" and I am handling that so much better.
Oh my this guy is cute!!

Okay. So. A Day in Our Life with Baby Bean.

Bean sleeps a lot and through the night (usually) only wakes up to eat about every 3-4 hours. K is great and takes him after the 6am/7am feeding so I can get a few extra hours of sleep or shower before he is hungry again.

Then K heads off to the gym and run errands and Bean and I get some fun play time while he is alert in the mornings. Yesterday we got out the play gym and he seemed to enjoy looking around. It's amazing how much they change, he can see us much better and seems to look at us when we talk.

The rest of the day is feeding, fussing, cuddling, a lot of sleeping, and a LOT of spit up. Normal baby type things. We are just soaking it up and loving on this little guy.  Bean and I will be so sad when K goes back to work next week and I know K is already missing him.

Baby Bean's Birth Story-Family Edition

Our family has been great. I can't even tell you how great my mom and mom-in-law were when I was sick at the hospital after birth. They stayed with us all through the night, got only a few minutes of sleep and helped us make it through our first nights. Bean's birth story isn't complete without sharing the photos of our families who are overjoyed to have this little guy in our lives. I think their enthusiasm is obvious.

Baby Bean's Arrival

He is here! 

Our little bean has made his debut. Actually it took me a long time to get blogging again so he's nearly 4 weeks now. But I'm backtracking and posting his birth story first.....
He was born on a cold Thursday and came without too much of a fuss. My parents and K were there during labor and the rest of the family arrived as I was pushing, just in time to meet our little guy.
He was as perfect as could be! Red, squealing, with a giant cone head that had a little bit of dark hair. Although now it's a normal head with more of a light brown with red tint like momma. :) He was cuddled and kissed and loved all around. I'm so glad that part of our experience was fairly easy and so amazing!

The next few days proved to be a little harder for me.

 Right before I delivered, my blood pressure was up. Actually the last few weeks before we had him, my blood pressure had been sporadically high. My protein tests were normal so I wasn't technically deemed preeclampsia. I chose to be induced 2 days before my due date. I was really wishy washy on that decision and looking back I'm so glad I did. I think it saved Bean and I from further complications and we were at the hospital when I got sick instead of at home. The Dr. said that normally delivery is the treatment for preeclampsia and after I delivered it would most likely go back to normal.
Unfortunately that did not happen. After I delivered, though I felt okay, my blood pressure got worse so they ran tests and monitored my blood pressure every hour. My Dr. put me on a blood pressure pill which helped the numbers, but my bloodwork came back with my liver enzymes a little high and everything else normal. So I was being watched some more and if things didn't improve I had to be put on IV magnesium. If things were better, I could go home.  The next day we were supposed to go home, I felt fine, we packed our bags up, had my parents come take some "going home pictures" for us.

My Dr. came in and said "You are really not going to like me." My liver enzymes had increased, though everything else was normal and I wasn't having enough fluid output. I had postpartum preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome.  In a matter of minutes, I was hooked up to magnesium IV, had more blood drawn and was told to be prepared for the medicine to make me feel like I had been hit by a semi.
They were not joking.

Bean was released, which meant we could not utilize the nursery to give us a break. The nurses were nice enough to give us extra diapers and wipes. I could not get out of bed except to pee and had to have someone drag my IV stand with me when I went because I nearly hit the floor from being so dizzy if I stood up. K was on his own in taking care of Bean.The first night on the IV, my mom (who had just left the hospital) came back over and stayed with us. I was still trying to breastfeed, my milk was coming in, and I could barely hold him because of the medicine making me blurry and weak. So after a long, horrible night, my mom got me the equipment and I pumped so that K could take over feedings. The next day, my numbers were still not improving so they kept me on the IV another 24 hours. This time my mom and K's mom switched and my mother in law came to help drag me to the bathroom and help K with little Bean. It was a long two days. Finally on Tuesday morning, I was able to come off the IV and rest. If things looked okay, I was going home that evening. I was determined to go home by this point!
A few hours off the medicine and I felt much better. We took our second set of "going home pictures" and ran out of there as fast as possible.

Later I googled all about HELLP Syndrome and the postpartum preeclampsia which turns out is pretty rare, especially the HELLP. Most people get that after they've gone home and have blurred vision, or even seizures. The IV medicine was keeping me from seizing and helping my liver enzymes to return to normal. I'm so grateful that my Dr. caught everything early and I was so well taken care of. It was so nice to be back at home and begin our life as a family of three. 

Waiting....

This is our last week waiting for our little boy's arrival!

Kyle was off this weekend so we have been purposefully lazy, playing with the soon to be neglected pups, using up restaurant gift cards from Christmas, and stocking up on some groceries. 

The nursery has been "kind of" done for a while, but mainly it's been storing things to sort. I got it cleared out enough today to take some pictures to share. I started out with a blue and red vintage theme. Then it turned into a travel theme, then more things were added and it's just a little boy nursery. I have a tendency to decorate with items I love, even if it's mix matched and random, so it only makes sense that our nursery is the same. 

Anyway, here is our nursery and some of the before/after projects I did: 

BEFORE: Mom gave me an old rocker that she had at her house. I bought new cushions and fabric to recover it. 

AFTER:  Comfy little rocker. Night stand from my mother in law. We were fortunate to only have to buy a crib for furniture. 

Found these cute little handmade bookends at a flea market. A bulldozer and backhoe. Couldn't resist. 

BEFORE: Another flea market find. This ratty little horse just needed some love. 

AFTER: I cleaned the horse up and gave it some new shaggy yarn hair.  It sits next to the little vintage gas pump we found in STL. It opens up with little cubbies for  Baby C to hide his treasures when he is older. The shelves above are full of  vintage toys and items I mostly had around the house.  I got some red clearance under bed storage after Christmas sales and it works perfectly for extra diapers. 

The closet is full of all kinds of cute baby things. I'm sure we will change it around once we start using this room, but for now, it works great for storage. The other closet still has Kyle's things in it so we will re work the closets once that is empty.  

Here is our changing table we made from the dresser we got from my mother in law. I've already changed the peg board storage a few times and I'm sure I will change it more. But for now, this is what we are using with all our bibs, burp cloths, blankets, diapers and wipes in the drawers ready to go. 

I made Kyle take my picture while I was in normal people clothes (for church). Now back to sweatpants and propping up my feet!

 And just for fun, here is Lola, helping me blog. Throughout my entire pregnancy every time Lola snuggles up to my stomach the baby starts kicking. I"m not sure if they will be buddies or enemies. Guess we will find out soon! Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts throughout my pregnancy. Can't wait to share our bundle of joy with you! 

On the Countdown

I started writing a blog post, but this past week has been so terribly awful that it was a really depressing post so I deleted it and instead I'm just going to shout out to those who made this terrible week a little easier to bear! Thank goodness this cold is on it's way out and we'll be snuggling this little boy in less than 2 weeks! 

My coworkers-I was feeling pretty exhausted and run down at work this week with a cold coming on and being swollen and pregnant. My coworkers are great at support, sympathy, helping out with my patients, and keeping my mind off of things. I had to take off Thursday and they covered my schedule and checked on me throughout the day. I'm grateful to work for a great dental office with great girls!

My friends- After I posted how sick I was on facebook and asking for prayers, I found there are so many sweet friends, old and new, that had kind words and thoughts for me. It kept me from burying my head in the pillow and crying the whole day long. Kind words can go a long way, never hesitate to give them. 

My mom & sister- By Saturday I was feeling a little better so my mom and sister came over for our last "girls shopping day" before we are slowed down by this little guy and his stroller, diaper changes, and hungry demands. Although I think my waddle and many bathroom trips slowed us down anyway. But it was great to get out of the house and pick up some last minute baby things.  

My friend, Kiersten- Thank you for bringing me medicine today! My friends have all offered to stop by and help with anything, even though they are packed full in their own lives right now. It's so great to have their love and helping hands when I need it. 

Most of all, Kyle- Poor guy has had sinus problems on and off himself. He has had to do nearly everything for me, especially this week and he's doing it without an argue. I know we are both exhausted, anxious, and our patience for each other is wearing thin. He has been running errands, taking care of the dogs, picking up things I drop, living off frozen pizzas, and watching my once cute face puff up. Plus being busy at work, working a new area of town and I"m sure having his own daddy worries for the big day.  I don't know how I  would have survived the end of this pregnancy without him. I'm a lucky girl. 

A New Year

I love that every time a new year rolls around, we are given a chance to reevaluate our lives and see where we want to change or wipe our slate clean and try again. I don't usually get caught up in making "resolutions" because it seems no matter how many times I want to "exercise more" it fizzles out as soon as I get a stuffy nose or the wind blows to the north.

 But still, I like to use this time to think about how the previous year went and where I want to be in the new year. Obviously this year will be totally different because we are going to be assuming a new role of "mommy" and "daddy." Ahh! I can't wait!  But what a responsibility! I am not buying the "martyr mother" idea that no matter what, everything is now all about my child. 

Before you jump at me, of course my child's safety, health, and cute little toes will be top of my priorities. But  I believe that my relationship with God and how I use that to be a good mother and wife should be the dominating priority. God has gifted me this child, and one day, I will be held responsible to how I bring him up in the teachings, and the example I show him and others as a woman in Christ. 

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (Deuteronomy-Moses instructing the Israel on what God expects of them and how they are to use the 10 Commandments and God's teachings.) 

  

 In my daily life, this will be a big shift. Because honestly, last year I did not study the bible daily, I did not spend my time in prayer as I should, and I let several things take priority over that relationship (including this pregnancy) Oh how I have selfishly taken this gift of a child, given myself credit, and many days not given God first thought. 

So in light of a new year, I am striving to do better at keeping myself fueled spiritually so that I can show love and patience and knowledge to my family. As I embark on these new mommy challenges and the obstacles  it will bring to our marriage, I pray that I can accept the grace given to me and give God rule over my entire day, not just when I remember to throw Him in. 

As an added note: I have the YouVersion Bible App on my phone. It has a section with "plans" There are all kinds of bible reading, devotions, and topics that help you with your daily time in the Word. There are short term devotions for a few days or longer ones, that go through a whole year. You can even set a reminder for a certain time of the day to remind you to read your devotion. I set mine for a time I am usually checking facebook. If you are thinking about digging in to a new study, or just dipping your toes in, I think it would be a great place to start. 

And yes I know I'm behind on baby updates, shower blogs, and nursery reveals. I"ve been going through extreme spurts of energy and "yay! this baby is coming soon!" excitement, followed by hours of complete exhaustion and stress over "oh crap this baby is coming soon!"  lethargic type panic. So blogging has been forgotten, as well as why keeping candles away from flammable decor is a good idea, and where to put the BBQ sauce (not in the doggie storage corner). I'm sure Kyle is glad we work opposite hours so he only has to deal with crazy wife part of the time. He's been a real trooper though and I know he's getting excited to meet this little guy!