Week 2

Tuesday, Preston turned one week old!  I got to sleep off and on until around 4am the night before.  I needed to get up and start getting ready so that we could get to Champaign for Preston's newborn pictures and doctors appointment.  It's crazy how your world goes from sleeping in to getting up at 4 am!  His newborn pictures were from 8-11 am.  Mr. Preston was a grumpy pants!  I don't blame him though.  He was hungry and tired, and not in the mood for pictures, but he did so good!  The pictures are going to turn out fabulous!  Our photographer was so good with him.  She is pregnant with her second, a little boy, so that was neat.  I'm not so sure that the family pictures we took are going to turn out too great.  It was so hot that I was sweating like crazy, and I was getting too flustered trying to get Preston to calm down for pictures that I got even more sweaty, not to mention my shirt was covered in breast milk!  But I know that his individual pictures and his pictures with Jaidyn are going to be great! :)  After picture was Preston's circumcision.  I struggled so much after this appointment, and I still am.  It was a horrible experience for me.  From the start, Kyle and I were both adamant about getting him circumcised.  When I was sitting in the room with the consent forms, I started to have second thoughts, but I quickly dismissed them and signed the papers.  We went back into one of the rooms where they checked his weight and jaundice levels.  His levels are still great, and he went from 6lbs 12oz from his Friday appointment to 7 lbs 5.5 oz!  I couldn't believe that he has already surpassed his birth weight, but was very happy to hear it!  When you are breastfeeding, it's hard to tell how much milk he is getting, and I have been nervous about it, but feel much better now!  After his weight check, they took him back to have the procedure done.  I could hear him crying from down the hall, and it broke my heart.  But then it got worse.  They brought him back to me, and he was shaking uncontrollably and making this sad little whimper.  I fed him, and he continued to shake and whimper the entire time.  Jaidyn cried after the doctor came in and showed us how to take care of his incision.  I looked over and she was holding his little hand with tears streaming down her face.  She just loves that little boy so much.  We headed home after that, but stopped at the outlet mall in search of something for Preston to wear to his baptism.  Fail.  Apparently newborns only wear sleepers, because I went to 3 or 4 different stores and that's all that I could find for newborns.  It was very frustrating.  We went home, and Jaidyn and Kyle went to the pool for a bit.  I stayed back with Preston, who was just not himself at all.  He was sleeping a lot, and wouldn't eat much.  When Kyle and Jaidyn came back and we were all sitting in the living room, I sat on the couch with my little baby in my arms and cried.  I felt so guilty about the circumcision appointment.  I just kept looking at his sad little face.  I couldn't believe that I let him go though all of that pain when it could have been avoided.  Maybe I will feel differently later down the road, but I think if I could do it again, I would have thought about it a little more before making the decision.  As time has passed, I don't so much regret the decision to do it, but I also don't think that people are crazy for choosing not to do it like I did before.  All I can think about is how his little body shook so hard, and how he snuggled up so closely to me when the doctor brought him back.  It still makes me sad :(  But, what's done is done, and he is back to normal!  

On Wednesday night, Jaidyn and Daddy went to the fireworks with the youth group, and mommy and Presty stayed home.  He was so alert, so we decided to play on his play mat for a bit and listen to different Rockabye Baby albums (Journey lullabies, coldplay. etc). Honestly, we haven't done a whole lot this second week.  Preston had his first cluster feeding this week, which lasted about 3 days.  He would be fussy for several hours a night, wanting to eat constantly.  He would start to eat, pull away and fuss, start to eat, pull away and fuss....and this continued for many hours.  This generally lasts from around 10-1 or 2am.  The only good thing about it is that once he's done, he is so full that he sleeps for a good 3 hours or so.  Thank goodness it has since passed!  Now he will wake up and eat, then sleep for a couple of hours, which has been great.  We are still sleeping downstairs though, and he still won't sleep unless I am holding him, which makes my anxiety about SIDS go way, way up!  I think we are just going to move upstairs and co-sleep until he is out of the 4th trimester, then we will try again to transition him to his cradle.

Kyle's parents came to visit from Saturday to Monday.  Kyle's mom brought his baby books, and oh my goodness does Preston look so much like Kyle did as a newborn!  I think Preston has my eyes, but everything else he got from his daddy!  Sunday afternoon we had a baptism for both Jaidyn and Preston.  Jaidyn has been asking Kyle and me for almost two years now if she can get baptized, and after having many talks with her about it, we both felt like she was ready.  We are very proud of how much she loves God, and we pray that that love will only grow as she gets older!  Sometimes, I think that little children understand God and his love more than we do.  We had several family members as well as some close friends attend.  It was a very nice ceremony!  After the baptism, we had some cake in the fellowship hall, and then went home.  Kyle's parents, along with both sets of my parents came back to our place to visit for a few hours.  Kyle had youth group that evening.  Joyce and Larry stopped by for a bit to see what he does every weekend, and I took the baby to meet the kids.  There weren't many kids there, so we will have to do it again sometime soon!  Preston and I went back home and Jaidyn stayed at youth group with daddy.  I snuggled on the couch with my boy and watched One Tree Hill.  I have watched countless episodes of OTH since we've been home.  It's keeping me sane while I'm constantly feeding the baby.  Sunday morning we met Kyle's parents for breakfast.  Afterwards, we headed to a doctors appointment for Preston, and Joyce and Larry headed back to Kansas.  We had an appointment to check Preston's weight and his circumcision.  Everything looked great and is healing nicely, and Preston is now up to 8lbs 2.5 oz!  I can't believe how quickly he is growing!  After his appointment we met my mom for lunch, then went to target to spend some gift cards.  We got him a bumbo, which Jaidyn had when she was a baby.  Then we stopped by our doula's house on the way home.  We stayed for quite awhile, talking about the baby and our birthing experience.  Jaidyn kept her teenage son busy, playing and bossing him around while we were there ;)  That's what my girl does best!  It was a very nice visit, and I hope to do it again someday!  

Highlights from week 2: I can't believe how much he is changing already!  Everyday he is changing, and it's both exciting and sad.  He is such a cutie :)  I love that he is chunking up...I love chunky babies!  He makes these adorable squeaks all the time, especially when he is stretching.  I have to get them on video, because they are so cute!!  Developmentally, not much is happening at this point.  He is just trying to figure out this crazy world that he was thrown into, and enjoying snuggling up with his mommy, daddy, and sissy!

Nicknames:  Presty pop, Presto, froggy boy, stinks, squeaker, Preston Weston...there are probably more!  This boy has so many nicknames already!


Challenges:  Cluster feeding, gassy baby, and fussiness.  Last week, he was perfect.  Hardly made a peep.  This week, the fussiness has started (he's still perfect to mommy though!).  But it's not so bad, and the 5 S's work so well at getting him to settle down!  We have started occasionally giving him gripe water for his gas issues, and that is helping quite a bit.  


His likes: He loves being swaddled!  He also really enjoys being bounced, swayed, rocked, etc....especially when swaddled.  The boy loves to eat.  He eats about every 1.5 hours, and when he's not hungry, he still wants to suck.  He is definitely a comfort sucker.  The moment he is in my arms, he starts to root.  Sometimes he sucks on his little hands.  He really likes the sound of the vacuum cleaner and the hair dryer.  Works like a charm to settle him down!  Something else he likes is having his sister hold his hand.  He generally settles right down when she does that!


His dislikes:  He absolutely hates having a wet diaper.  He will sit in a poopy diaper, no problem...but if it's wet, you will know it by his screams!  He also hates being changed, and screams the entire time.  He's not a fan of being put down either.  You can get away with putting him in the swing, boppy, or bouncy seat for a little while...but usually a very short time.  The only reason I am writing this blog is because he's asleep in his bouncy seat...not sure how long it will last though! :)   

July 5th~ Our First Family Walk

Preston's Birth Story

As I had mentioned before, I had been having mild contractions pretty regularly for a couple of weeks.  On Monday, June 25th, I noticed that they were beginning to change.  They were slightly stronger, and just...different.  It's hard to explain how, but they were just different.  They sort of wrapped around my abdomen slowly instead of just appearing like before.  We went to bible study that night, and they continued.  I actually had a few people mention that it looked like I would be going any day now.  I had the same feeling.  I knew that it was finally getting close.  We went home that night, and Jaidyn and I decided to have a little girls night.  She slept in my bed with me and we watched Cadet Kelly.  She fell asleep, and I tried to fall asleep.  I slept off and on from around midnight to 2:30am.  I had taken an ambien, and it had no effect on me.  I still woke up because of the contractions, which were starting to get stronger.  I started timing them around this time.  I honestly don't remember how far apart they were...I would assume 7-10 minutes.  They were definitely getting stronger though, and I got out of bed around 4am.  I called my mom around that time, and told her what was going on but that I would walk around and see if anything progressed.  I walked around for a bit and I began to notice a slight rectal pressure.  Hmmm, this was new.  I woke Kyle up around 4:30am.  He and I sat in the nursery for awhile and timed contractions.  After awhile we went downstairs to have some breakfast, then went back upstairs so that I could shower.  We called our Doula, Trish, to let her know that the contractions were picking up and that I was having pressure.  We talked about how since I could still talk and walk okay through my contractions to wait it out a bit and call her around 7am.  Kyle and I hung out in the baby's room for awhile longer, talking while I did my hair.  Around 6:30am, things were really picking up, particularly the pressure.  I had Kyle call the doula back, and when Kyle told her, "Meagan says she feels like the baby is about to come out of her butt (that's seriously what it felt like!)" she told us to get our booty's to the hospital.  We woke up Jaidyn, got her dressed, grabbed a few last minute items, and hoped in the car.  We were on the road by 7am.  Being in labor in the car is miserable.  Every bump and turn in the road makes your contractions so much worse!  Thankfully, the contractions didn't get really bad until we were close to Champaign.  We  pulled into the hospital parking lot at 8am, where we met our doula.  My mom and dad were both on their way to the hospital to keep in eye on Jaidyn.  Kyle wheeled me upstairs with sweet little Jaidyn by my side, holding my hand as we went up.  When we first arrived, all 6 of the labor rooms were full, so I went into the triage room. 

One of the nurses checked me and I was at a 5.  This is when my contractions got pretty bad.  I had a horrible time focusing, and would not have gotten through those contractions without my doula there (she was invaluable, and I highly recommend that everyone who can, hire a doula for their birth!  My experience would not have been the same without her.).  She showed me how to lean on her a certain way and rock back and forth, and it helped me get through those contractions while I was in that room.  Somewhere between 8:45 and 9am (I think), we were moved into a labor room.  I got on the bed as one of the nurses struggled to get my IV in me.  It took her forever, and my hand was bleeding all over the place. The nurse checked me again, and I was already at a 9.  I went from a 5 to 9 in a ridiculous amount of time!  I was in a lot of pain from the contractions and pressure at this point.  It was a pain that I will never be able to describe.  The pressure was almost unbearable.  Within minutes, my water broke.  It felt amazing.  Immediately that intense pressure that I felt before was minimized.  What seemed like seconds after my water broke I felt the urge to push.  That urge is unlike anything I have ever felt before.  I wrapped my arms around Kyle neck and pulled him as closely to me as I could.  I held on to him so tightly as I bared down and pushed.  I let out these yells and noises that I didn't even know existed within myself.  Apparently my parents heard me from the waiting room!  With what felt like one giant, everlasting push (my midwife said she thought it was 5 pushes total, but it felt like one big one to me!  Everything was such a blur in that moment, it was all so intense.), I felt my baby boy emerge from my body.  First his head, which was by far the hardest part to push out.  Then I felt his tiny little body slide out of me.  It felt so amazing.  It feels weird to say that, but it did.  Pushing was the part that terrified me the most.  I kept reading other women's stories about feeling the ring of fire when their baby's emerged from them and I waited for that as I pushed my own baby out.  But I didn't feel it.  Pushing was great.  It was the best part.  All I could think about in the moment was, "you are going to meet your baby soon...push!!."  The strength that you feel in that moment is unbelievably amazing.  You don't think that you are going to be able to do it, but you do.  I even remember saying to the nurses, midwife, and my doula right before I pushed, "I don't know what I'm doing!"  "Yes you do," they said, and they were right.  In that moment, your body knows exactly what to do.  All I can say is that God designed it so perfectly.  We spend so much time saying, "Thanks a lot Eve.  You ticked God off and now we have to deal with the horrible pains of childbirth."  But we don't realize how amazing the act of birthing a child is.  We don't realize that God gives us the strength to get through it.  I am glad that I felt everything, because if I hadn't felt the pain I wouldn't have felt the amazingness (that's a word, right??) of it all either.  After I pushed that giant push, I heard the most amazing sound!  My sons little cry.  And there he was, on my chest.  The most beautiful little boy I had ever laid eyes on.  All I could do was cry and kiss him over and over again.  I could not believe that he was finally in my arms!

I could not have done it without Kyle.  He was so strong.  As I held him closely, he kept telling me how amazing I was doing, and it helped me so much.  I had already warned him ahead of time that I would probably not be pleasant to him during my labor; that I would not want to be touched or talked to.  It was completely the opposite.  I needed him.  That is why without even thinking I grabbed a hold of him and held him as tightly as I could.  I depended on him completely to get me through.  That moment in the delivery room brought us so much closer.  After Preston was on my chest, the three of us cried and smiled and kissed and were just in pure bliss!  It was one of the most intense but wonderful moments of my life.  I am so glad that my son is finally here.  I feel like our family is finally complete.  Within minutes of his arrival, Jaidyn walked in the room to meet her little brother.  That moment was so special.  I had waited and waited for the moment when we were finally a family of four.  And it couldn't have gone any more perfectly than it did.

Preston Beauregard Creel was born on June 26th, 2012 at 9:17am, after an extremely fast, natural birth.  He was 7lbs 4 oz, and 21 inches long!  He has such long fingers and toes, and has his daddy's nose!  He was and is perfect in every way.  He has the most beautiful head of golden, blond hair, and adorable chubby cheeks that I can't stop kissing!  For his first few days of life, he made this adorable little snort sound that I hope to never forget, and smelled absolutely amazing!  I love everything about him, and I am so glad that he is here!  Thank you God for my perfect little boy :)

Preston~1 week old!

Our First Week

I didn't include Tuesday on here, because I am still in the process of writing out Preston's birth story.  All you need to know for now is that that day was one of the most amazing, happy days of my life!

Wednesday:  Mommy got no sleep the night before.  It's hard when nurses are coming into your room constantly.  It's also hard when you are terrified of falling asleep and taking your eyes off of your baby :)  I am now going on a couple of days with maybe 3 hours of sleep total.  Our friends Jon, Kendra, and Shane came to visit in the morning.  Unfortunately as soon as they got there, Preston was taken away to have some blood work done.  Daddy wont let them take him out of the room without following them to the nursery and standing by the window watching.  So sweet!  Anyways, when he brought him back to the room everyone got to hold him for a bit.  Dad and Jon came around lunch time.  They brought us chicken teriyaki from the mall....yum!  Cathy, our midwife, came to visit in the early evening.  She hadn't seen the little squirt yet since she wasn't on call the morning he was born.  We also got a visit from our doula in the afternoon.  Bubby had all kinds of tests done :(  I absolutely hate how much he is being poked and prodded, but because I couldn't get any antibiotics in my system before he was born, it was necessary that they check him out (GBS).  Jaidyn was with us all day, and was very sweet and helpful.  Mom stopped by after work to visit briefly and take Jaidyn back to her place.  Kyle has been incredibly helpful.  He is the master at diapers and getting the baby out of the crib for me since I am still healing.  It was nice after everyone left and it was just the three of us (not that we didn't enjoy our company, because we did!).  We needed that time to just bond.  I got to take my first postpartum shower which was absolutely heavenly!! 

Thursday: We got to go home finally around 12:30 or 1 in the afternoon.  The car ride home was quite amusing.  Kyle drove so slowly and so cautiously!  We are talking old man driving ;)  It's funny to see how much a baby is already changing him.  We picked up Za's on the way home.  When we got home, we placed the baby on the floor in his carseat so that the cats could get used to him.  They acted weird from the second we opened the door, doing this weird, slow creeping/walking thing.  They each came up to sniff him.  Binks seems to like him, not so sure about Charlie boy yet.  I thought that the opposite would happen!  We gave Preston a tour of the apartment (even though he was sleeping the entire time), and began to settle in as a family of four!  Cass and Josh dropped of food and visited for a bit.  My mom came and stayed with us for the night since she was in the area for Uncle Charlie's funeral.  The first night was rough.  We are seeing that he likes to be awake at night but sleeps all day long.  We started off upstairs in the bedroom, and that was a disaster.  He wouldn't stay asleep in his cradle for more than a few minutes.  Every time I got comfortable and was just about to fall asleep, he would wake up crying.  It was really hard for me to keep getting out of bed to get him out of his cradle, and even harder for me to feed him in bed.  So we ended up downstairs in the livingroom.  He slept in the bassinet part of the pack-n-play for a little bit, so I got a few winks of sleep.  The highlight of the day....my milk came in!  I stressed and stressed about it not coming in, so what a blessing!  

Getting ready to go home!

Friday: We took Preston to Kyle's work for a second while he cleaned off his desk and said his goodbyes to people.  Yay for no more Consolidated!!  Then we headed to Champaign for Presty's first pedi appointment.  The pedi helped me with Preston's latch, which he's been having some trouble with.  We are still getting the hang out it, but it's getting much better.  He was supposed to have his clip on his cord removed that day, but when I took off his diaper, not only did the clip fall off but the cord fell off too!  Wow, that was fast!  Apparently Preston is an overachiever and has to do everything in record time!  He is down to 6lbs 12oz, which is the same weight he was when we left the hospital Thursday.  He looked good except the doctor was concerned that he looked a little jaundice.  She wanted us to go to Provena for a bilirubin test.  It took forever to get his blood...and mommy was not at all amused.  I hate seeing him in pain :(  We headed home but stopped briefly at Baby Land to get a second, more firm nursing pillow.  Then we went home to wait on the test results.  Somehow, I missed the call from the pedi giving us instructions on what to do next, but we knew that the results came back as 12.1, which is only slightly elevated.  We had another rough night.  At one point I was bawling my eyes out while feeding him.  Breastfeeding is no joke!  It's hard, but we aren't giving up!  Preston is very awake in the evenings from around 11-4am, which of course is right when mommy and daddy would love to be sleeping!  Kyle and I took shifts, which worked out pretty well. 

His favorite thing....snuggling with mommy!

Saturday: Remember how I said I missed a call from the pedi?  Well, I noticed the next morning around 10am that I had a voicemail.  It was from the pedi saying that they wanted to do ANOTHER bilirubin test to make sure that the numbers were going down rather than up, and that we needed to be back in Champaign to have him tested before the lab closed at noon. Well, that wasn't going to happen because it was already 10, no one was even dressed, the baby needed fed, etc.  So we took him to the hospital in town instead to have the test done.  This time it took them no time to get the blood that they needed...thank goodness!  It amazes me how well Preston handles all of these tests.  He's such a calm baby, but definitely needs mommy snuggles after he's all done.  Turns out that his numbers are going down, so now jaundice for him!  We went to get a good nursing bra after the appointment and then came home.  I am determined to help him get his latch down so that we can make breastfeeding work!  We had lots of visitors in the evening.  Jake stopped by to see Jaidyn, and let her know that he is moving.  Chad, Kristi, and their kiddos stopped by for a bit to pick up some things for youth group.  In the later evening my Grandpa Allen and Grandma Barb stopped by to visit the baby.  Jaidyn has started camping out in the living room at night with us, which Kyle and I have decided to start doing until the baby is on a better schedule.  It's more convenient to be down here where there is a tv, baby swing, plack-n-play, rocker, etc.  Everything we need!  I sent Kyle to bed around 11.  Preston and I had a good night together.  He let me sleep from 1-2, while he slept in the pack-n-play next to me.  When he was awake, he hung out and talked, and working on his latch, which he is getting better at!  Then he slept in my arms from 3-6:30....or I should say we slept.  I have now started a bad habit...letting him sleep in my arms on the couch.  Don't judge me, I needed to sleep :/  

After his first sponge bath

Sunday: We woke up around 6:30.  After he ate, Kyle let me sleep again until 9ish.  That was wonderful!  I had my first outing without the baby.  I ran to walmart to get a few newborn sleepers with Jaidyn.  Turns out he only had two of them, and peed on both the night before!  I came home to find him sleeping quietly in daddys arms.  It was the sweetest thing!  We hung out at home all day, just the 4 of us.  Preston's latch has improved a ton, making breastfeeding so much easier.  He nurses a lot, at least every 2 hours, sometimes more.  We like to do skin to skin nursing, which keeps him from falling asleep.  He can be a lazy bones and fall asleep in the middle of most of his feedings :).  Daddy and Jaidyn headed out in the evening to go visit the youth at youth group and go to family video.  We watched Mirror, Mirror that evening, but me and Presty ended up passing out on the couch for an hour or so in the middle of it.  He slept for 2.5 hours in the pack-n-play by himself, which was amazing! 

This is how I found them when I came home :)

Monday:  Got lots of sleep the night before, which means that everyone woke up in a good mood!  We did some tummy time for the first time, and our little boy is strong!  He can lift up his head and move it from one side to the other.  I don't know if that's impressive or not, but we sure were proud!  Preston hung out with mommy for most of the day, and nursed like crazy.  He is getting pretty good at it!  In he evening, we gave him his first real bath.  We took him upstairs and put him in his little tub while I washed him up.  He was not amused.  I wish I had a picture, but we ended up video taping it instead.  He cried the entire time, but was very content once I got him all wrapped up in his towel and took him downstairs to rock with mommy.  Kyle and Jaidyn went to the library for a bit after the bath, and I got to spend time with my little one!  We all tried to go to bed early because the next day we had to be out of the house by 7am.

My little guy after his first real bath.
He just wanted to be in mommy's arms!

Reflections:  I have spent many moments this week holding my son, looking into his beautiful face, and crying like a baby thinking about how he is already changing, and how if I could freeze time I would.  If I could re-live this first week over and over again for the rest of my life, I honestly would.  There is something so wonderful and special about a newborn.  They are so sweet and innocent, and absolutely perfect.  I would give up sleeping for the rest of time to have him stay this little and sweet forever.  I love knowing how much he needs me, and how much he loves me.  I can see it when he looks up at me with his little blue eyes.  I can feel it when he snuggles up so closely to me.  I want him to stay my perfect, sweet, newborn Presty for forever.  But, I am also looking forward to watching him grow, and learn, and become an amazing little boy, and someday an amazing man.  I just love him to pieces.  I struggled before he got here...wondering how I could love him like I love Jaidyn.  Wondering what it would be like to have a son, when I've only known what it was like to have a daughter.  But now I totally get it.  I love him more than I ever imagined that I would.  I feel such a bond with him; a mother and son bond.  That bond that I was scared of not being able to form.  But it is there and it is so strong.  I can now already say that there is nothing like having a son.  I find myself to be incredibly protective of him already.  I love Jaidyn and Preston equally, yet so differently.  I truly have the both of best worlds.  A beautiful daughter, and a sweet little boy.  And I thank God for them both.  I can't look into either one of their eyes without seeing Him.  What amazing gifts he gives us!    


My favorite things about my boy: His little baby snorts, which he hasn't done since we came home from the hospital.  :(  His sweet baby breath.  His grumpy faces.  His chubby cheeks, which I love to kiss!  The fact that he has his daddy's nose.  His beautiful blond hair.  It's so golden and shiny!  How he likes to have his hands up by his face, just like he did when he was inside of me.  His froggy legs :)

Maternity Pictures Part 2

We thought we'd get one last little photo session in before baby arrives, because as big as this belly is getting, and as difficult as it's getting to lug it around, I am going to miss it!!  I seriously have issues with the fact that I only have one picture of myself pregnant with Jaidyn so I've been fairly obsessed with documenting my belly this time around. :)  I can say one thing for sure, my belly never got this big with miss Jaidyn!  We are currently in possession on my mom and Reece's amazing Canon again (waiting for the big day to arrive), so we took advantage of that!  And as I was going through my pinterest account last night and deleting maternity pics, I found one that I never got to take and really wanted to.  So we set up shop on the kitchen floor.  That's seriously been the best part about taking these pictures ourselves.  The first set of silhouettes we shot were taken in the living room, and the second in the baby's room.  These were taken in the kitchen/dining room.  I didn't do my hair or have a stitch of makeup on for either.  So easy and stress free!  And with a little bit of editing on picmonkey.com, we ended up with pictures that (we think) are great!  They may not be professional and are far from perfect, but they are free and fun, and that is awesome!  Before I post my favorite shots from last night, and the second silhouette shoot we took a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would post a couple of before and after pictures so you could see what the raw photos looked like!  You will have to click on them to make them bigger.

Note: I did have to darken the 1st pic rather than show it completely raw
because I'm not comfortable with you seeing me
in my skivvie's :D  But you get the idea

    



Ok, here are my favorites!

38 Week Update

Before I start my usual update, I should probably mention that since last Thursday I've been having consistent contractions.  My doula calls it prodromal labor....where my uterus is basically not doing its job.  I've literally had contractions at least 10 minutes apart, sometimes less, for days, but it's not making my cervix dilate like it's supposed to.  It's basically a slow, early labor.  I was pretty miserable about it at first, but I have pretty much accepted it now, and it's becoming slightly less noticeable, except at night when it really picks up.  Last week I pretty much went two days without sleeping because my contractions were keeping me up, and after a trip to labor and delivery (where my contractions were 3-7 minutes apart but not dilating me), I was given a prescription of ambien.  I'm not a big fan of taking medicine while pregnant, but I'm also not a big fan of having to deliver a baby on zero sleep.  Despite all of this junk, I still don't hate being pregnant, and would gladly do this all again :)  Especially if it means that my little boy will be in my arms soon!    




His size: Pumpkin



Total Weight Gain: still 22 lbs


Sleep: Great now that I have my good friend ambien :/      


Cravings: I think I'm over cravings.  Everything gives me heartburn so I just eat what I can.  Although I have really wanted a skillet cookie all week....maybe I will have to make one tonight!   


Symptoms: Contractions, contractions, contractions!  Heartburn, hip pain every now and then, back pain, nausea.  


Stretchmarks: none


Movement:  Still moving....I wish he'd move his way on down and out! :)


Belly button: out


What I miss: I am so ready for that first glass of wine.  Oh how I miss the taste.  And of course once this little boy has arrived, Kyle is going to get me some sushi!


What I am looking forward to:  An end to prodromal labor and the start of active labor.  Yes, I am actually looking forward to my contractions becoming painful so that this baby boy will be here!


Special moments:  Honestly, I can't think of anything I'd consider too special.  I spend the weekend at my moms, and then she came to stay here Monday and Tuesday which was nice.  Jaidyn and I have spent lots of time bouncing and swaying on our exercise balls in a effort to "bounce the baby out".  She and I are trying to spend lots of time together before her bubby gets here!  We taken a few family walks, and I've been enjoying watching old episodes of Pretty Little Liars on netflix.  I am just trying to take it easy until the little guy arrives.  


Appointment:  I had an appointment on June 20th.  My doula came along this time which was nice!  It's great to have someone to sympathize with everything I'm going through since men really have no clue!  I had my 4th (if you can believe it) cervical check in a week and a half, and I am now 2 cm and 80% effaced, so I have at least made some progress in the last week.  My midwife said that my cervix is super, super soft which is another great sign!  After our appointment we went and ate lunch with my mom, where after some discussion we decided to switch hospitals for delivery.  The one we originally chose is being super strict and a pain about everything because of my GD, plus we found out today that the laboring jacuzzi's are broken, and I really, really want to use them, so we decided to switch!  Hopefully our experience there will be a great one!  

37 Week Update

His size: Winter Melon

Total Weight Gain: 22 lbs.  Looks like someone needs to lay off of the popcorn....



Sleep: Is pointless....I wake up every night with acidy stuff in my throat and almost throw up.  It's lovely, really.  On a good note, my hips haven't hurt as much while sleeping, but that could be because most of the night I am sitting up watching crap on netflix instead of sleeping soundly, snuggled up with my boppy.  Not to mention, I am nauseous most of the night because of the heartburn/acid reflux.  Let's just say, I finished the series Greek, and have now started watching both Dawson's Creek and Pretty Little Liars from the beginning to give myself something to do at night.  The past few nights contractions have also woke me up.  See...pointless.    


Cravings: I've had quite a few PB&J's this week.  Makes baby dance at night!   


Symptoms: Contractions, which are more frequent and more painful.  Non-stop cramping which started Sunday evening.  Nausea, heartburn, acid reflux, back pain....need I say more?  I am feeling great right now....but I'm still not complaining, because my boy will be here soon!


Stretchmarks: none


Movement:  I think it's slowed down just a little bit, but he still moves enough that mommy doesn't have to worry.


Belly button: out


What I miss: Sleep.  But, I won't be getting much of that when the little guy is here anyway :)


What I am looking forward to:  Having my baby!!


Special moments:  I wouldn't really consider this to be special, but we had a false alarm on Saturday.  I won't get all TMI and go into details, but basically Friday I thought I was leaking amniotic fluid (and no, I didn't pee my pants! (; ).  It was still occurring Saturday, so our midwife told us to go to labor and delivery.  Our bags were already packed, so we put them in the car and headed to the hospital.  After an hour and a half of tests and being monitored, we were sent home with no baby boy.  Jaidyn was so disappointed.  As we were leaving, she stopped walking and demanded that we stay until she got her baby brother!  It was so sweet how excited she was, but sad how disappointed she and Kyle were.  As we were leaving for the hospital, Jaidyn said, "Yessss!  I am going to get to snuggle you again!"  Needless to say on the car ride home there were tears as she said, "Now I still won't get to snuggle you".  Poor girl is going to break my heart!


Appointment:  Now that appointments are getting more frequent and less boring, I will add this to the list!  I was very excited about this appointment, because I was going to have my cervix checked and was anxious to see if any progress was being made, and it was our last sonogram.  Needless to say, I ended up crying in the waiting room.  Almost nothing went right yesterday.  We got there early (which is good for us), checked in downstairs, then upstairs, and sat down to wait.  We were told that we needed to go downstairs to talk to some lady about our insurance.  I knew what this was about.  Basically last month we received a letter letting us know that we were being removed from our insurance June 1st (great timing, right??).  We have since reapplied and are now playing the waiting game.  Anyways, so we had to go into a room with some lady and explain why we didn't have insurance, which made me feel like a huge failure...cue the tears.  Meanwhile I receive a text from our doula saying that she is at a birth and won't be at our appointment, and that our midwife is also at the hospital.  I had for once come so prepared.  I brought my sugars, my birth plan, a notebook full of notes about the symptoms I'd been having lately....and I wouldn't even be seeing my midwife or my doula.  I wanted to cry all over again.  But, we went back upstairs and started our sono.  Seeing my baby boy made me feel better.  He is ~6 lbs 7oz, which is wonderful news!  After the sono I met with an OB that I have seen one other time (she would have taken over as my doctor had I not been able to keep my diabetes under control).  She said that the baby looked great, and will probably be in the 7 lb range, which is perfect!  She checked me, and I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced, very soft, and with a very, very low baby boy.  Progress!  She then offered an induction at 39 weeks....which really bothered me.  I really like this doctor, and have nothing against her whatsoever, but it bothers me how available inductions are these days.  My baby is perfectly healthy, and growing beautifully.  There is no reason for an induction, so I definitely said no...but I almost wish she hadn't said anything because now it's in the back of my head that if I were to say yes, I could potentially be holding my baby by next Friday.  It's so frustrating that we live in a world with such high induction and c-section rates.  I will wait for my little man to come into this world when he is ready :)  I certainly hope it's soon....but I will let him and God decide!  

    

My Reflections on Pregnancy

This pregnancy is coming to an end, and it's so bittersweet.  It's really flown by.  I am so excited that little P is almost here, but also sad that my pregnancy is almost over.  So, I thought that I would write a blog about my reflections on my pregnancy with my sweet baby boy.


Sometimes, it feels like this is my first pregnancy.  Being pregnant with Jaidyn is such a blur at this point.  To be honest, for the most part, that pregnancy is not a happy memory, and I have probably blocked a lot of it out.  I don't feel guilty saying that though, because there was never a moment during that time when I didn't love her, or that I didn't want her.  And since the very moment she became my outside baby, we have been best friends.  I've never been closer to anyone else in my entire life, so I don't feel bad admitting that the pregnancy itself was less than perfect.  

There are certain things that stand out that were so incredibly special to me, like the first time I heard her heartbeat and started to cry, or the first time I saw her at my ultrasound.  Also, feeling her move inside of me, and the first time I got to lay my eyes on that beautiful little face.  I clung so hard to the love that I felt for her throughout my pregnancy, but other than that love and that bond, the rest of my pregnancy was pretty terrible.  No one will ever, ever know how emotionally difficult it was for me.  It was one of the most emotionally painful times of my life.  But, so completely worth it.  Most people don't know that Jaidyn is responsible for my finding God.  I didn't know what else to do but pray like crazy during that time of my life.  It would still be awhile before I really got my life on track, but Jaidyn was the one that lead me to that path.  

Anyways, so to sum that up....my pregnancy with Jaidyn was a very unhappy time in my life, yet she led me straight to God and has made my life so wonderful.  So part of me feels like this is my first real pregnancy.  I did it right this time.  I made a new, precious, little life with my husband, the man that I love.  And because of that, I have truly savored and loved every single minute of it.  Talk about a ton of pressure for poor Kyle though, eh?  I came into this pregnancy with giant expectations for him, whether I vocalized them or just kept them to myself.  Regardless, it was like part of me wanted him to make up for my horrible first experience, plus some.  Having those expectations is completely unfair of course, and to be honest, I didn't vocalize it very much.  Most of it was just in my mind.  But, I can now say that he has more than exceeded my expectations (without me even asking him too).  He has truly been the best throughout this pregnancy.  And even before then.  It can't be easy for anyone to marry someone who already has a child.  To come into a little girls life after missing 4 years of it.  To take the place of someone who has been missing for so long.  To deal with the pain of a little girl that he loves so much fighting against that love constantly.  It isn't that way anymore, but it took a long time for her to let him love her, and to allow herself to fall in love with him too.  The love that I see between those two now is amazing, and it makes me want to cry.  But it was a battle getting there.  I truly think God played a huge role in that.  He helped her through it all, and I am forever grateful for that.

Not only has he been such a great dad to Jaidyn, he's been a great dad already to this baby, and a loving and supportive husband.  Kyle has been to every doctors appointment.  He has gone out to get everything I've craved, or gotten out of bed to cook me something.  He has dealt with my crazy pregnant lady hormones.  He's held me while I've cried, and stood there while I've yelled without yelling back, he's calmed all of my crazy fears, he's sat up late at night talking about baby stuff when I know he'd rather have been sleeping.  He's spent way more money that he's comfortable spending on this pregnancy and baby.  He talks to his baby, and loves to feel his little kicks (well,  I guess they aren't so little anymore!).  He's even painted my toenails, and taken all of our maternity pictures for me.  He has been perfect.  He's barely slept this entire time.  He's got to be absolutely exhausted, but you would never know it.  He is the greatest, most humble man that I have ever met.  So husband, if you are reading this, thank you for making this pregnancy extra special for me!  And thanks for putting up with your crazy wife and daughter these past few months :) 


Not only has Kyle helped to make this an extra special pregnancy, but so has Jaidyn.  I was worried about how a new baby would effect her.  Especially the relationship that she and I have.  But she has been amazing.  She's been so happy and excited this whole time.  For some reason, she's wanted a brother from the start.  I had just assumed that since she was a girl, she would be dying for a baby sister, but she's wanted a little brother so badly.  She's loved him so much this whole time.  She talks to him, sings to him, kisses my belly every morning when she first wakes up, and then a thousand other times throughout the day.  She still giggles every time she feels him kick, and I am convinced that those two are already bonded together so closely.  She's made me very proud, and has grown up a lot over these past 9 months.  Again, I think God has totally helped get her ready for yet another change in her life.  She's had her moments lately where she is starting to panic a bit....realizing that some of the things that we do together (going to the movies, JAC dates, etc) aren't going to be quite the same from here on out.  She's not adjusted the greatest to not being able to snuggle me as tightly and closely as she used to, and like her, I really miss that too.  There has been some tears shred over her worry that things will change between us, and it breaks my heart.  But more than anything, she has been so happy and such a big girl.  I know that things will be different, especially those first few weeks, but I am praying that everyone will adjust and she and I can get back to having those JAC dates very soon :)  I am just so in love with that little girl, and so excited to watch her become a big sister!

Feeling her little brother move always makes her giggle!

Now, let's talk about that sweet little boy.  I know that I haven't met him yet, but I am completely in love and attached to him already.  I worried in the beginning that I wouldn't love him as much as I love Jaidyn, and that I wouldn't be able to bond with him like I did her.  That is totally not the case.  I'm learning that I can love them equally, just differently.  He is my little peanut, and I can't wait to bring him into this world.  I've loved every moment of this pregnancy with him.  Well, mostly ;)  I can't say that I loved 6 weeks of morning sickness, or the heartburn and hip pain that I am currently dealing with....but I can say that it is all worth it.    Honestly the worst part of this pregnancy has been my worry over everything.  I worried in the beginning that I would miscarry, and I have spent the remainder of my pregnancy worried about my gestational diabetes and how it would affect him.  But everything has worked out so far.  He's growing great, and he's healthy, and for that I am so grateful. 

Things that I have loved about being pregnant with Baby Creel:

• He's brought us all closer together.  I feel like once he's here, our family will truly be complete.  We are just all so happy :)  He's brought a lot of happiness and extra love into this family, and he hasn't even arrived yet.  
• I loved hearing that little heartbeat for the first time.  It's the most amazing sound.
• Although I haven't enjoyed the reasoning behind having to have so many ultrasounds, I have loved seeing him so frequently.  The first one was probably the most amazing.  He was such a little peanut, and we all were amazed when he started wiggling around!  I will never forget the looks on Jaidyn and Daddy's face that day....it made my heart melt!
• His movements.  I first felt his teeny tiny little baby kicks at 14 weeks, and it wasn't long after that that Kyle was able to feel his first kick too!  Little did I know that this baby was going to be as active as he has been!  I love it, but I just can't believe how much he moves.  Jaidyn didn't move nearly as much as he does.  It's fairly constant throughout the day, which means that I don't have to worry if he's alright or not!  And I absolutely love it when he pokes that butt of his out!  This is something that miss Jaidyn did a lot too when she was in my belly!  I will never forget the way she laughs when she feels her little brother move, or how she says, "Oh, Bubby!" when he sticks that bottom out!
• My body.  That may sound weird, but I have loved my body throughout this pregnancy.  I've felt really beautiful for most of these 9 months.  My skin and hair have been awesome, and I   love love love my belly!  I am going to miss it a lot :(  I'm not looking forward to having to worry about covering up rolls again....pregnant bodies are so amazing! 
• Having him with me all the time.  I love that he is constantly with me.  I love talking to him, and singing to him, and reminding him how much I already love him.  I love that he's all safe, and snuggly, and warm in there.
• Learning more about the beauty of being a woman.  I have been reading a book called Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.  She talks so much about the beauty of childbirth, and how special and wonderful that day will be; that moment when you bring the child that you and your husband and God created into this world.  It helps me to be less scared, and more excited about the soon to be birth of baby Creel.  And it makes me realize how lucky I am to be a woman; to get to experience something so beautiful and so amazing.  I don't know how the entire process of making and having and raising and loving a child isn't 100% proof to people that there is a God.  Who else could have designed something so perfect?
• My June Bugs :)  I was lucky enough to stumble upon thebump.com after I found out that I was pregnant.  I didn't enjoy it at first.  The beginning was filled with snotty women posting snotty posts on the message boards, or what seemed like a million miscarry posts.  It didn't help calm my fears at all, so I left it for awhile, and then decided to come back.  I am glad that I did.  I was able to get tons of advice, and even though it still had it's fair share of snotty posts, I learned to ignore those and focus on the positive ones.  I basically just stuck to the June 2012 board.  Eventually, a facebook group was created for members of this board called the June Bugs.  My June Bugs have been my saving grace throughout this pregnancy.  I witnessed so much kindness and love from these women.  And sure, there is still some snarkiness (we are all incredibly hormonal), but we've learned to love each other despite that, and have really started to depend on one another.  People in real like suck when you are pregnant.  They are rude, and judgey, and overly opinionated, and down right mean.  No one needs or wants that during this incredibly fragile, yet special time in their life.  In February, one of our moms lost her baby boy to premature labor.  It was devastating to us all, but through that time I got to witness something amazing.  Some 200 women coming together to pray for this woman and to raise money for her and her husband.  Another women was on bedrest and carrying twins.  We raised money to have her home cleaned so that she would have a nice clean home to bring those beautiful babies too.  Most of these women, I don't believe would consider themselves Christians....but I have seen the love of Jesus so many times over the past few months in this group.  So many prayers each and every day for women that we don't even know in real life.  It's been pretty amazing.  I am praying that the group will stay together once all of our babies have arrived!  I probably wouldn't have survived this pregnancy without them.  :)  

    So, here we are, at the end of this pregnancy.  I am currently sitting here at 1 cm, 75% effaced, with an incredibly low little boy.  He could be here any minute, and I am getting so anxious to meet him!  These last few days I have felt pretty bad....super nauseous, horrible heartburn, crazy back pain, terrible cramping, you name it!  But I would totally do this all over again, because I am creating something so wonderful....my sweet baby boy!  Baby boy, mommy, daddy, and sissy are anxiously awaiting your arrival!  We all love you more than you will ever know, and are dying for you to get here! <3