Our Hospital Stay...

We made it to our recovery room around 9ish and had nurses with us until around midnight. At that point we had been awake almost 40 straight hours and were e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d! Caroline's temperature was low, so they had to keep coming to check her and finally take her to put her under a warming lamp, so that postponed nursing a bit which I was really worried about, but luckily she's a great eater so the delay didn't seem to impact her. The first night was great! We stayed up for a little bit longer just looking at her and talking about how perfect we think she is...typical new parent stuff. She barely made a peep and we were both so tired that we both actually fell asleep. I was so paranoid though that she would stop breathing for some reason so I kept waking up to look at her and make sure she was breathing haha. Monday we enjoyed visits from our family and a few friends. We really appreciated our parents bringing food because the hospital food was pretty bad and that way Greg could have something other than McDonald's. Monday night was a little bit more difficult than the previous night, as Caroline decided that would be a good time to party, but considering she only cried on and off for a couple of hours and the baby next door screamed all.night.long...I'd say we still had it pretty easy! Tuesday morning our nurse came in to tell us that we would be getting to go home as soon as Caroline's jaundice results were back. We were so excited to be getting to go home! Even though she did have jaundice, it wasn't bad enough to keep her, so around 2pm we packed up and headed home! The nurses at Northside were AMAZING and we really appreciated all there help, but we were so glad to be getting things started "for real."

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Caroline's Birth Story...

Saturday we woke up to another morning of no baby! Since we already had our induction set for Sunday, I didn't have my hopes set too high on going into labor on my own, even though I really, really wanted to. Throughout the day I was pretty crampy, but I had been having Braxton Hicks and cramps for about 2 months, so it didn't really bother me. Greg and I spent the day relaxing and running a few errands (one being taking back a few newborn clothes since we had been told she would probably weigh around 9lb 2 oz), then we went to Henry's for dessert that evening. We went to bed around 10:00 and watched a movie. Around 11:15pm I had a few pretty strong contractions, but decided to just go to sleep and see if they passed. By 12am they were too strong to stay in bed, so I went and got on the computer and started timing. They were already consistently 6-7 minutes apart and I timed for over an hour before going to tell Greg that this may be the real deal. Around 1:30 they moved to around 4-5 minutes apart and were VERY strong. I called my midwife, Judy, and told her what was going on and she said, "well, do you wanna have a baby today? If so, come on over and I will meet you in labor and delivery!" I woke up Greg and told him we were going to be going to the hospital so I was going to take a shower. We both got ready very quickly and were out the door by around 2:15am. The contractions were painful but bearable at this point and I remember thinking "I'm already 4 minutes apart, I must at least be getting close to 5 or 6 cm, I can do this natural thing after all"...how little did I know =) Once we got to the hospital and checked in, my midwife- who I am SOO thankful was on call she is my favorite in the practice and I've seen her the most- came in to check me. Well guess what? I had barely changed from Friday! I was still sitting at barely 3 cm! This was very discouraging because the contractions were already pretty painful and I knew we had quite a ways to go. We decided to walk the halls for a while to see if that would move things along. I spent the early morning walking, sitting on my yoga ball, using all kinds of Bradley stretches and relaxation techniques, and by around 9:30 am I was in PAIN! Greg was AMAZING and the absolute perfect couch, but the contractions were coming so close together that there didn't seem to be a break in between. I started getting very nauseous and eventually got sick in between contractions. I had the midwife come back and check me around 10am, and guess what?! STILL only around 3 cm!! After almost 11 hours of active labor, I'd barely progressed a full cm! I was SO upset because I knew I couldn't take it anymore and if I didn't have some kind of relief I was going to be too exhausted when it came time for pushing. So, I finally had to throw my "plan" out the window and go for the epidural. I cried about it and felt disappointed that I couldn't go unmedicated the way I had wanted and planned, but I knew it was right for me at the time. So around 10:45 I got the epidural and then guess what...I was in heaven! I finally felt like I could breathe and I was able to enjoy the whole process. Around 3 pm, Judy came in to check me and to break my water. FINALLY some progress! I was already 7 cm, which was music to my ears! She told me that after my water broke, things would probably go even faster so she was going to be back in little bit to start pushing! I was so excited! She came back around 6pm, checked me and said, "well, are you ready to start pushing?" Greg and I just looked at each other and grinned, we were PUMPED! After the first couple of pushes Judy said that she didn't think I'd be pushing long so she recruited some nurses and told them to get ready because this baby was going to come fast. I ended up asking for the mirror so I could see everything and I was so glad I did because, I could see the progress the pushes were making and it encouraged me to push harder. After 40 minutes of pushing, our sweet baby girl was placed on my chest! It was SO emotional and Greg and I were were both crying and trying to look at her. After a few minutes, they took her to the table to clean her up and to let Judy stitch me up. Greg went and stood with Caroline to take pictures and watch her get weighed. After a few minutes she was brought back over to me. It was so surreal finally getting to hold my baby girl who I had been carrying around for 9.5 months! Greg was AWESOME and was so encouraging through the whole labor and my midwife was amazing! After a few minutes of just the three of us, Greg went to tell the family that Caroline was here! We had everyone come back to see her before we headed up to our recovery room, but it was a quick visit because they were trying to get us upstairs quickly. I'll stop here for now and write about our stay next...

Anxiously awaiting daddy!

Before the epidural

Caroline Gray makes her appearance at 7:09pm!

Weighed in at 8lb even and 21 and 1/2 in long
Me and Judy- my midwife

Getting to hold my baby girl for the first time =) Heaven!!

Out with the old...

Day 19:

Ever since we moved into the house we made a checklist of things we wanted to change or update, and a few of those things were our kitchen appliances. We got the dishwasher first, then did so many other things around the house we kept putting off the stove and refrigerator. Well, for the past couple of weeks we've been deciding on what new stove to get and then decided we really wanted a new refrigerator first, SO we did lots of shopping around and then just happened to browse Craigslist and happened to find one of the ones we were looking at! It is only a year old, and a fraction of the cost! Brand new it cost around $2,000 and we got it for less than $500...DEAL ALERT! They were selling it so cheap because they had actually won it in a Lowes' survey a year ago, and now they were moving and their new house already had a new refrigerator. Score! So, Thursday night Cindy and Thomas came over to help us go pick it up and then Thomas came back last night to help Greg switch it out with our old one. Unfortunately, our measurements were slightly off, and it wouldn't fit under our cabinets, but luckily Greg and Thomas are two of the handiest men I know, so they simply sawed and sanded the trim of the cabinet and it was able to fit perfectly. I'm SO glad to have a side-by-side instead of our old one and this one has so much more room which is nice. Next up is our stove, which we will get in a few weeks, we figure we'll wait until things calm down a bit considering we'll be having a baby in the next few days =)

I forgot to take a picture of the old one, but I did find a picture of the kitchen...

In with the new...

Just an update...

Day 18:

Well...I missed a day. Oops. Oh well, I will continue on in the challenge as long as I can =)

First a picture since I forgot to post one with my 40 week survey...
....looking a little bit like Barney.

Our day started bright and early (well, mine started around 4am...seems to be a good time to wake up for no good reason) and headed to the doctor for our ultrasound. They wanted to check and make sure everything looks healthy and that there is still plenty of amniotic fluid and such for Caroline and to measure her. Everything looks great and they say she looks super healthy which is music to my hears, but what was not so exciting was after the technician plugged in all the measurements she said "hmm...let me check these again, because maybe these are wrong" and then said "nope, they're all right! Looks like you're going to have a big baby! She's measuring in the 92 percentile and estimated to weigh around 9 pounds 2 ounces!"...yikes! They told us on Wednesday that thought she was a big girl, but hearing a more precise measurement certainly made me nervous about pushing this baby out unmedicated...however, I'm still going to give it a shot! After the ultrasound, we headed over to see our midwife. She suggested since Caroline is so big already and since I'll be 41 weeks on Sunday, that we go ahead and try to induce. Fortunately, she has been awesome in working with what we want and trying to stick to our "plan" that she is going to try and help us avoid pitocin so I can have the best chance of not having an epidural. However, I've come to terms with the fact that my "plan" may not work out just the way I want it to, and I'm ok with that. I just want to have my girl here! It is so crazy to think that wait is almost over and by Monday we should be holding our daughter! The midwife checked me again today and said there is a VERY good chance I will go into labor on my own before Sunday because I am 2 cm and 100% effaced and Caroline is very low, so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that happens! We will see soon enough =)

After a morning of appointments and a long afternoon nap, Greg and I went on one last date to see Breaking Dawn and then to dinner at La Bamba. I was SO glad I got to see the movie in the theater, because I was so bummed whenever the trailer was released and I saw it came out the 18th...maybe Caroline just wanted me to be able to see it haha! After dinner we came home and had Thomas come over to move in our new refrigerator! It is so much better than our old one, and I'll post about that tomorrow!

Sitting, Wating, Wishing...

Day 16:

Well, here we are...stilllll pregnant. I know that the due date is "just an estimate" but you do create this mental finish line, so when it comes and goes, it's a bit disappointing. I'm still only around 2 cm dilated and my midwife stripped my membranes yesterday-that was pleasant. So, IF that is going to help speed things along any, we should see some movement within 48 hours of that happening. Tomorrow we have an ultrasound scheduled to measure Caroline. They are guessing she is around 8lb 8 oz...big girl already! We considered being induced, even though it's been against our "plan" from the beginning, but since they couldn't do it Friday and the earliest was Sunday we chose to just wait it out as planned. So, still waiting and hoping she gets here soon! Greg has worked from home since last Thursday and will continue to do so until she is born, so we're hoping she comes over the weekend so he has the most time home with us. We are certainly on pins and needles as we wait for our baby girl! This is not working well for my type 'A' planning personality =)

Tasty Tuesday...

Day 15:

(This picture is from Pinterest)

This soup as become one of our favorites! It is SO easy and SO delicious. I add a bit of cayenne to add some heat, and it hits the spot every time! Enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chowder

can of rotel
can of corn
can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
2-3 frozen chicken breasts,
8 oz cream cheese
1 packet dry ranch dressing (I use spicy ranch)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook 6-8 hours. Shred chicken, and enjoy!

Musical Monday...

Day 14:

I am pretty much a sucker for any musical talent show- American Idol, The Sing-Off, The Voice, and now The X-Factor. I told myself I wasn't going to watch the X-Factor because I thought it was just a stupid play off of American Idol...but who was I kidding? I've watched from day one and love it! There are several similarities between it and AI but several difference as well. There are a few contestants that I really like so here they are with my favorite performance so far...

This girl, Rachel Crow, is SO stinking cute! Her personality is just adorable AND to top it off...she is only 13-years-old! Just think of how incredible her voice will be after a little training (even though it is already pretty awesome)!


This is Melanie Amaro, probably my favorite girl and the most talented in the whole show. Beautiful voice...


This is Josh Krajick. I. Love. His. Voice! May be tied for first in my opinion with Melanie, but definitely the best guy!



Anyway, if you like these type of shows, check this one out =)

Due Date...

Day 13:
I was hoping I'd get to skip this survey and instead have a picture of a sweet baby! Oh well, I guess she's just going to make keep us on our toes even longer...

How Far Along:40 weeks

Size of baby: a watermelon=)


Total Weight Gain/Loss: a whole bunch...but I've only gained a pound in the past 2 weeks and based on how I've eaten, I'm pleased with that!

Maternity Clothes: Are a bit more like circus tents these days

Gender: Sweet baby girl!!!!!

Movement: Every day! She like to cram herself in to my right side...quite pleasant.

What I miss: Energy, being able to breath normally, and sleep

Sleep: I've accepted the fact that it will probably be a LONG time before I get a good night's sleep again.

Symptoms: LOTS of Braxton Hicks, which is always fun because that just gets us excited.

Cravings: Oranges and Bananas. I've eaten a bag of oranges and probably 2-3 bunches of bananas in a WEEK!

Best Moment this week: Greg had Friday off, and we had a false alarm on Thursday so he was here all day with me then too, so I've enjoyed our nice long weekend together! I also enjoyed Jill coming over to watch a movie with me and hang out.

What we are looking forward to: FINALLY getting to meet Caroline!

40 Week Picture:

I'm not in the picture mood(aka still in pjs)...so I will try to remember to post one later =)

Simple Saturday...

Day 12:

This is basically just a post to say I've written in today. We started our morning with breakfast and then taking the dogs to the dog park to enjoy the beautiful weather, let them get some energy out, and to walk the track to try and walk this baby out! We only succeeded in two out three of those goals...bummer. We enjoyed walking and talking together though and watching Jackson and Chance run around like two crazies. A lady at the park asked when we were due and was quite shocked when I told her tomorrow and said "Oh my gosh! I thought you were going to say some time around Christmas!" Everyone was surprised and this one guy said, "Please tell me you two have cell phones with you in case you need to call 911" haha. After a nice walk, we came home for some lunch then waited for Jill to get to the house for a movie day. It was nice getting to spend some time with her and just hang around catching up. After she left, Greg and I watched the last Harry Potter and now we are off to bed!! Simple Saturdays are fine by me!! How quickly our time to just sit around and watch movies all day will be gone, so we better enjoy it now =)

PS- Tomorrow is the due date!! Considering both Greg and I are always on time for things, if not early, I would like to think she'll follow in our footsteps =) Who knows...she may start off rebelling from the beginning!

Friday Confessions...

Day 11:
Here are a few confessions from the week and just in general...

• I am over being pregnant. Over. It. I want my baby, I want to be able to walk normally again without waddling or feeling like my hips are about to bust out of socket or without shooting pain that runs from the middle of my back to my ankles. And lots more. I suppose nature does this on purpose so you don't mind the pain of childbirth as much.
• I have eaten TERRIBLY this week. Wednesday particularly and even felt compelled to have a confession session with Greg that night about just how much sugar I had that day. Embarrassing.
• I am super paranoid about my water breaking in public, specifically at Publix because I am there pretty much every day so I feel like I know everyone and I would never be able to go back. I purposefully made my last trip to Publix (hopefully) earlier this week so I wouldn't have to chance anything.
• Nesting has somewhat set in this week and yesterday I got up at 6am to clean the toilets, vacuum the upstairs, dust the fans, wipe down kitchen counters and the sink, and laundry. However, I couldn't bring myself to sweep which I desperately need to, simply because I didn't want to bend down to use the dust pan to pick up the trash. Laziness.
• I've been ridiculously bored at home since I've quit working. It definitely makes me rethink any thoughts of being a stay-at-home-mom. (And I know what you're thinking...aren't you basically that as a nanny?...the answer is no)
• I'm sure I can think of plenty more things to "confess" but I'll save you. I really just needed a Friday post for NaBloPoMo =)

Thankful Thursday...

Day 10:

I am SO thankful that I've had such a healthy pregnancy! I'm thankful we were able to get pregnant in the first place and that it only took about 2 months. What a huge, huge blessing and such an answered prayer! We are completely overjoyed and so, so ready to meet out sweet girl!!

Wednesday Wisdom...

Day 9:
For the past couple of months I have been involved in a Wednesday morning women's Bible study at our church. The study we are doing is called Spiritual Parenting by Michele Anthony
It has been SO interesting and inspiring! Every Wednesday I leave with so many new thoughts and ideas about parenting, and things I look forward to incorporating into our family as Caroline gets older and our family continues to grow. It's so easy to forget who is really "first in charge" (God) and to constantly take matters into our own hands, when if we would just take time to stop and pray and truly seek God's counsel in raising children we could avoid so much frustration (not saying you'll never be frustrated of course). We're only about halfway through the book, but here are my favorite "ah-ha" moments from the book so far...

• Our goal is to create a transforming faith in our children by setting eternal goals for them, not just temporal ones.
• Considering chores as "acts of service" rather than chores, so that kids understand that they are part of a family and therefore will work together to serve each other for the good of the entire family. (This whole chapter was very interesting and one of my favorites).
• Teaching kids about the "Big God Story" and where they can find there role/identity in it.
• Creating an environment of service not only in your home, but in your child's heart. We are all called to be servants so as parents we should create opportunities for children to serve others and not just themselves.
• Creating an environment of responsibility

These are VERY broad key points that are discussed in better detail in the book, but they've each given me some great things to think about.

Anyway...lots of learning on Wednesdays =)

Tasty Tuesday...

Day 8:

Crock pot Chicken Taco Chili

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it actually comes from this blog. We love it! It's so easy and so yummy, pretty healthy, and perfect for this cool Fall weather! I've made it super spicy lately so maybe it will help get Caroline moving haha! Anyway, try it out and enjoy =)

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
Servings:

1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans
1 16-oz can kidney beans
1 8-oz can tomato sauce (used a 16 oz can)
10 oz package frozen corn kernels (used 2 small cans of corn kernels)
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies (used a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder (used a bit more as I didn't have any chilies in my tomatoes)
24 0z. (3) boneless skinless chicken breasts
chili peppers, chopped (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream.

Date Night...

Day 7:
Last night we decided it was now or never to go out to dinner just the two of us, because we may not get a chance to again for a little while. We had plans of this on Saturday, but we were both so tired we stayed in instead. Our original plans were to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Henry's, but we forgot about it being closed on Sundays so we went to another all time favorite, the Ok Cafe. So so unhealthy and so so delicious!!! It was definitely worth every fattening bite =) And of course we washed our dinner down with their very yummy banana bread pudding!! It was nice to go out and enjoy what time is left just the two of us! We talked about how excited we are for Caroline to get here, what things we're looking forward to most, what we think we'll miss the most, and how happy we are to be opening this new chapter together! There is absolutely no other person on this earth I'd rather share parenthood with than Greg. We had a fun time and I'm glad we made time for it before she gets here! I'm sure our next dinner out will be much different =)

39 Weeks...

Day 6:
Hopefully this is my LAST survey for the pregnancy =) Not too much has changed in a week but for memory's sake I wanted to record SOMETHING the last week! however I'll switch this one up by recording what I loved about pregnancy and what I could've done without =)


How Far Along:39 weeks

Size of baby: a watermelon=)
Things that I loved:

• Feeling her move for the first time and then feeling her move everyday
• Watching her roll in my stomach
• Being fortunate enough to have not really experience morning sickness or really any major illness during the entire pregnancy
• Smiles from strangers just because I'm huge haha
• Maternity clothes...I'll miss the stretchy pants haha
  
• Hearing her heartbeat at each appointment
• The excitement of finding out whether we would be having a son or daughter
• Planning and decorating her nursery with Greg
• Buying cute clothes and day dreaming about dressing her up in them
  
• Seeing Greg SO excited about meeting her and waking up in the mornings to him saying "Anything yet?! I was hoping today was the day!"
• Lots more I'm sure, I'll add as I think of things...

Things that were not so pleasant:

• The backaches. I've had trouble with my back basically since the second month and now it is terrible.
• Having zero energy this past month
• The lack of sleep from the back and hip pain
• the Braxton Hicks- 1) because they are quite uncomfortable and 2) because they get my hopes up that it's the real thing, only to be sorely disappointed that it's not
• The stretchmarks...I'll get over it eventually. It could be WAY worse.

Overall, this pregnancy has been remarkably easy and I feel SO blessed that we were able to get pregnant so quickly and have everything go as smoothly as it has so far. I feel like a jerk complaining about anything, but with everything said, pregnancy is/was still harder than I expected, although I certainly realize it could be so much worse. I am SO beyond ready to meet our sweet girl and I am counting down the days, hours, and minutes until that happens =)

39 Week Picture:
(Sorry for the poor picture quality, it was dark and I didn't have the flash on and the ones with the flash were terrible)

Sing-a-long Saturday...

Day 5:

I thought I would share the musical stylings of two of my cuties! These are the twin 2-year-old girls I kept on Fridays...So cute!

Candy Stealers...

Day 4:



This video absolutely cracks.me.up! Basically just because of the two kids at the end..those boys are HILARIOUS! This totally something we would do as joke, just to see the reaction! Terrible, but oh so funny!

Thankful Thursday

Day 3:

Surprise, surprise...I'm SO thankful for this guy!!!

Greg is a phenomenal husband and I am SOOO very thankful that he is mine =) He is an incredible person and I feel so blessed that this is the role model of a man that our children will have!
I'm doubling up on this Thankful Thursday because I am also thankful for Greg's job! This week, Greg had his one year review with his new company and not only did he receive an awesome promotion,he also scored one of the highest evaluation scores anyone in the company has ever made. Needless to say, I am one proud wife =) Greg is fantastic at what he does and his "new" job has been such a blessing to us!

(Somewhat) Wordless Wednesday...

Day 2:
Someone is starting to pout about being replaced as the baby of the family....
...then again he could also be mad at us for letting his hair get so long, BUT he does have a hair cut scheduled so he's not totally neglected. I was just waiting as close to the due date as we could make it so we won't have to cut them again for a while. However, the outcome of the wait is two ewoks =)

November...

Day 1:
Well, we all know what this means right?...
What's that you say? I'm crazy for even attempting to do something as time consuming and silly as writing at least one post a day for the next 30 days?! Well, yes you are probably correct but this is a challenge I've completed (I believe) for the past 3 years, so why stop now? Granted, I'll probably have a lot of "theme" days (wordless wednesdays, thankful thursdays, etc) and nothing too inspirational or mind-blowing to write about...however, stay tuned because with November, also comes a sweet baby girl who I am sure I will have lots to say about =)