Was I Dreaming?

 

 

We Are Family

Let's see if I am able to make it through a blog post without crying (ha)....I doubt it. I'm not really sure where to start off the blog so I guess I'll just start with today.

Austin is 2 weeks today!!! The last 2 weeks have flown by me. This week I'm hoping to get into our mommy-baby routine. This morning we started with waking up at 10:00 (he likes to sleep in like mommy), then we ate breakfast and then mommy did a little mini photo session. I want to capture every single moment with this little boy. Haha, cue the tears. It's silly but every minute that passes makes me realize I won't get that time back. I literally feel like my world has gone from day by day to second by second. I'm so in love with being a mommy. Even waking up in the middle of the night and being sleep deprived...I'm thankful for every second. It's such a long day waiting for Eric to get home now. We miss him like crazy during the day. Eric and Austin are so sweet in the evenings. Eric can't put him down. Austin is usually sleeping on daddy's chest, or getting his left arm exercised or being explained some sports event that's on the tv. Sweet doesn't begin to describe it.

Right now Austin seems to be on somewhat of a quirky sleep schedule. If it's daylight, he's sleeping. Some nights he sleeps 3-4 hours and some it's only 1-2 hours at a time. This week I'm going to attempt to get some routine going. Right now he's in his bouncer chair looking out the sliding glass door. Tonight I'm going to try and give him a little bath around bedtime and we'll try to turn the lights down low. That's what they suggested in baby class, my fingers are crossed.

Isn't he just beautiful??

Birth Day

Well little boy, your birth day is a little more than 12 hours away. I cannot believe your time has finally come. This has been one of the longest weekends of my life waiting for tomorrow morning to get here. Mommy has been a ball of emotions this week/weekend. I'm so excited and happy I will get to hold you in my arms tomorrow and kiss your little face, but I'm also a little sad that this was my last day with you in my belly. You've been pretty quiet all day, almost like you were thinking about tomorrow too....but now you're all playful and frisky (maybe you're excited??). This weekend I really didn't want to do anything or even really talk to anyone. I've been a little bit of a recluse. The nervousness and excitedness and even the little bit of sadness hasn't made me want to be very social. I've been trying to soak up every last minute with you. Your daddy helped me paint my toes yesterday...he did a pretty good job. I have the proof....(hehe)

We also installed both car seats and finished our bag packing. Mommy pigged out on Tijuana Flats for lunch today and still am STUFFED. Bleh, I guess the churros were a bit over the top lol.

Your daddy and I have to be at the hospital at 7:45 a.m. and the surgery is planned for 9:45. According to them it'll take us about 2 hours and we'll all be in the recovery room together where I can try and feed you. They told us probably by 1:00 p.m. we'll be moved into our room where your family can come and meet you!!!! I honestly still cannot quite believe that tomorrow is it. I almost feel like someone else is having surgery and going to the hospital to have a baby. I don't think it will truly hit me until I hear your cry tomorrow. I love you little boy, see you tomorrow!!

All About Boobies

How could I forget!!! Eric and I went to a breastfeeding class last week at the hospital. During the class they passed around the little picture to the right, this is the size of a newborn baby's stomach. The picture to the left is Daddy's stomach. I thought it was amusing, Daddy did not.

So far we have taken the Newborn Basics Class and the Breastfeeding class. This Thursday we are taking a class for a C-Section Birth. Yikes.

Here are a few cool things we have learned so far:

• Babies should always be put to sleep on their back, swaddled, nothing in the crib with a pacifier and a fan on to help avoid SIDS
• Point the little boy's pee pee DOWN to avoid him peeing everywhere
• Breastfed poop is less stinky that formula poop (and less often)
• 1st boob is dinner, 2nd boob is dessert
• Skin to Skin is amazing- a mom's body can adjust up or down to whether the baby is hot or cold; the baby will wiggle around the mom's chest until he finds the nipple (he can smell the milk) ; it also helps your babies brain development
• You will nurse about 5-7 hours per day!!
• It takes about 2-5 days for your milk to come in and your body should provide what the baby needs. Ex., a preemie baby's mother will produce milk that is higher in fat content

The Home Stretch

Well it's 4:49 a.m. and I've finally made myself get up out of bed. I haven't sleep AT ALL tonight. I've peed more than normal, I haven't been able to find a comfortable spot, and Koda was about to strangle me with her paws at any second, so I'm up. Maybe this is some tricky thing my body is doing- maybe I didn't' sleep tonight, so that I will Tuesday and go into labor Wednesday for the full moon. HA, doubt it. I can't believe we only have 6 more days until our little baby is here. I've been trying to soak up every little movement from him while I still can. I don't even think the full realization has hit either of us yet. I can't wait to hold him and kiss those chubby little cheeks we keep getting shots of. YAY!!!!!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of work. I have a pre-op on Thursday and then I'm sure Sunday night will be much like tonight and no sleep for me. We go in Monday morning at 9:45 and the surgery is scheduled for 11:45. The hospital told me it typically takes about 4-6 hours before I'll be in the room for visitors. So just a heads up for everyone. All of these words still feel so funny- hospital, surgery, baby, breastfeed. Not to get graphic or anything, but I literally cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I will be able to FEED my little boy. This whole pregnancy experience has been great, and scary and amazing to me. I'm sad it's almost over, but sooo happy too. I've gotten so uncomfortable. Everything seems to ache, hurt and be stretched out to the max. If I have to hear one more person tell me just how big or swollen something is, I may scream....be a little nicer please people!! As "huge" as it seems to you, it freaking hurts me.

I still feel like there's so much to do on my list. I've redone my budget about 50 times, retyped my birth plan about 30, checked my bag about 20. I want to clean, install the car seats in both cars, finish packing for hospital, stuff my face with food since I can't eat Monday. Which, btw, the surgery rules stink- no eating, drinking, gum, deodorant, shaving, makeup, nail polish, jewelry, contacts, etc. So before anyone comes into the room, I'll need a few minutes to put my contacts in and a quick swipe of makeup. Call me vain, I don't care, I want to be pretty happy mommy for my 1st pictures with Austin.

So here's the deal with the hospital. We go in Monday and I'm told to expect to be there for 72 hours. We are more than happy to have visitors. If you want to see the baby the first few days, the hospital would probably be a little easier on us than home. Give me a couple of weeks to recover from surgery and I'll let everyone know when they can head over to the house. (this of course does not apply to the grandmas) Visiting hours at St. Joesph's (Womens) are from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. I believe. Our cell is (813) 352-6428 / (813) 767-2612, you may want to call or text us and give us a heads up 1st.

I wish I would've taken more pictures but my nesting stage has come more in the form of baking and crafting. One disaster- these terrible little pumpkin nasties (picture got lost). The recipe said not to bake, Eric's face said they should have just been thrown into the trash from the beginning. Whatever, I don't like pumpkin anyways. Then there were these little pretzels, hugs and candy corn fun guys. Too sweet for me but I still thought they were cute. ( picture doesn't look as cute)

Sunday I made about 200 muffins- blueberry, banana nut and chocolate chip. I wanted to take some to work for a thank you gift for the shower. I think I probably ate about 100 of them (shh don't tell Eric) Then after the baking I began playing around with making hair clips. I've been recently obsessed with Pinterest and was trying to make some fun stuff for my hair for the hospital or other upcoming bad hair days. I wish I could sew or knit because there is some cool stuff on there. Austin's lucky he's a boy because oh my goodness the little girl bows I could make is ridiculous. Heather and I may be loading Gianna up soon with a new collection!

Here is a hair clip I made from an idea off Pinterest, Fireflies and Jellybeans . I'm not usually a hair bow/clip/flower person, but like I said, I may need the help in the upcoming weeks with things to control the hair.

Anyways, sorry about the randomness of the post- that's what happens at 5:15 a.m. on no sleep. I'm going to jump on Pinterest now for a little while, hehe.

38 WEEKS- How your baby's growing:
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds (AUSTIN WEIGHED IN AT 6.14 2 WEEKS AGO) and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

For many women, the next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of necessary tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps, catch up on your reading, and spend uninterrupted time with your partner while you can. Some swelling in your feet and ankles is normal during these last weeks, but call your practitioner without delay if you notice excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, any swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, or have a sudden weight gain. Also let her know immediately if have severe or persistent headaches; visual changes (such as double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, light sensitivity, or a temporary loss of vision), intense upper abdominal pain or tenderness, or nausea and vomiting. These are symptoms of a serious condition called preeclampsia.