switching back...

so i originally started this blog because we werent announcing we were pregnant yet, and i wanted to be blogging about my experiences without posting it on our "real" blog

mattandbrittneybolt.blogspot.com

I have been blogging there since we got married and I don't want to lose 3 years worth of blogging. I guess I wouldnt really lose it, but I dont like that it's just been sitting idle for 9 months. SO I'm switching back. I will keep this blog so that I have all my "pregnant memories" and her birth story and first month of life, but I figure I might as well switch back now, before I get in too far and have two year long blogs.

SO, I hope you'll follow us again @ The Nuts and Bolts of It All :)

One Month Old

I can't believe I have a one month old :)

Mary Tyler,

At one month here are some things you are doing:

- You sleep pretty well. Sometimes you nap so much during the day that I get really worried about night time, but then you surprise me. We put you down around 11:30 and you usually wake up and fuss a little around 4 and I give you your paci then you last until 5:15ish. (SO, that's a good six hours you are sleeping!) BUT THEN after I feed you at 5:15 you have a really hard time going back to sleep. I can tell you are sleepy but you fight it. I swaddle you back up, rock you, sing to you, turn on your sleep sheep, give you your paci, everything!! Finally you fall back asleep around 6:45/7:15 but Mommy is SO TIRED by then. The past two nights I've put you back down in your pack n play with your paci and you are fine (quiet) until you spit it out and scream... so I have put you in bed with me and am able to pop that paci right back in when it falls out, then when you finally fall asleep I put you back in the pack n play. Daddy gets up with you between 8:45/9:15 and feeds you a breastmilk bottle and entertains you in his office (Mamaroo) until about 10:30 when you want to eat again. I'm not sure why you only go about an hour and a half between that morning feeding, but you do. After I feed you then you fall back asleep until about noon then wake up and eat every 2-3 hours until bedtime.

- you are a very good/efficient eater. sometimes you eat so fast at first, it strangles you and you choke on the milk. I have to sit you up and burp you, and then you go right back to eating. You're eating about 3 oz right now, I think.

- you LOVE your bath

- you look like you want to smile at mommy and daddy but still havent given us that first little smile yet!

- you developed reflux last weekend. we had you on Zantac at first and it was TERRIBLE. Mommy tasted a drop and realized no WONDER you hated it. It tasted horrible and you would almost choke on it every time bc you did not want to swallow. We switched you to Prevacid and you've done so much better with it. Apparently, it tastes like a creamsicle, and you love it. you just smack your lips like you want more. We cant tell if the medicine has really made a huge difference yet. You dont spit up very often but you cough up some acid and we can tell bc you get a pitiful face and start smacking your mouth and arching your back, like you got a bad taste in your mouth. After you eat, you HATE if we lay you on your back or in your lounger. You want to be laying on our chest or on your tummy in the lounger. We've started letting you take naps on your tummy and you seem MUCH more comfortable.

- you like to kick your legs and swat your arms around when you're happy

- you have taken a paci since the hospital but only occasionally. now you are starting to really love it. right now you take the gumdrop kind. you were liking the dr. brown's pacis but not anymore. you changed your mind. you do not like the mam's.

- you dont even notice when cooper and annie bark or howl. i guess you got used to it in my belly.

- you like me to bundle you up in a cozy blanket

- you seem to get bored easily now. you dont like to just sit here if you're awake. you want me to walk you around, bounce you, etc.

- your little head gets sweaty when you lay on your side for too long, or rest on my chest and your hair kinks/curls up. i hope its a curly like mommy's!

- you fall asleep in the car and stay asleep no matter where we're going. (dinner, errands, etc) if you are in the carseat, youre asleep.

-you make funny squeaking/squealing sounds all the time

- you hate daddy's beard

- we go back to the dr. for your one month appt on tuesday (march 20th) i will do another update then

We love you so much, little monkey!

good girl!!

Dear Mary Tyler,

We celebrated two big milestones for your 3 week birthday:

1. You moved up to size 1 diapers. THey are still pretty baggy on you but the newborn ones were getting too tight and leaving marks on your little waist.

2. You slept through your 2 am feeding!!! We put you to bed at 11:30 and instead of waking up at 2am like you've been doing, you slept all the way until 4:45 am!!! And then you did it again last night!

You did both of these things exactly on your 3 wk bday (March 8) You are SUCH a good girl and we love you! :)

things i want to remember

i dont even have the 20 min it takes to write a good, solid blog post... complete with cute commentary and precious pictures. instead, i have time to jot down a few things i want to remember that i may or may not write a "fancier" blog post about later.

so, sweet mary tyler, here's what's been going on with you the past 3 weeks: (you'll be 3 weeks old in 2 days)

- you lost your umbilical cord stump on friday, march 2nd at 15 days old. WOHOO!

- we gave you your first bath on Saturday, March 3rd. and you LOVED IT!!!! You didn't make a peep when we put you in or took you out. You were just as content as can be. Daddy is thrilled that you're a little "water baby" and cant wait to make a swimmer out of you. (but those 5:30 am swim practices like he used to go to are for the birds... or for him to take you to. ill be sleepin)

- you make the sweetest little cooing sound when you nurse at your 5/6am feeding. I dont know why thats the only feeding you do it at. I like to think bc its the quietest time of night or day and its just you and mommy and you want to make it memorable and special for me.... or maybe you're trying to help keep me awake.

- you have a really hard time pooping. sorry if this embarrasses you later, but poor little thing! you strain and you fuss and you turn as red as a beet, but when you finally get it out, you just melt, totally relaxed.

- you love to stretchhhhh and put both hands behind your head with your elbows flared out and just arch your back as far as you can. you're also really good at holding your head up.

- you HATE having your diaper changed, esp when that cold wipe hits your bottom. you still dont full out "CRY" you just fuss and whimper. i try to warm the wipe up a little bit in my hand before i touch it to your soft skin, that helps a TINY bit.

- you don't like the process of being swaddled in your miracle blanket, at all. but as soon as youre a tightly wrapped little baby burrito, you're better. you've slept in your miracle blanket every night since youve been home from the hospital.

- your brother and sister (d0ggies) loud, howling and barks do not wake you up, at all. Annie can howl right by your head and you sleep right through it! Probably bc she laid right by my stomach while I was pregnant with you and did the same thing all the time :)

- you are SUCH a good and efficient eater and have been since day 1. I am counting my blessings, after hearing so many breast feeding horror stories and "warnings" before you were born, you've been SO GOOD! a great latch since the first time you fed. i havent had one single instance of a cracked or bleeding nipple and only used lanolin for the first week of feeding you. i understand what a blessing this is and i am so sorry to you mommies who had to struggle with it! i never expected breast feeding to be a breeze for me, thank you, Jesus.

- You eat around 11, we change you and swaddle you and then we put you down for bed. you sleep in the newborn napper part of your pack n play in our room. i have the monitor set up on it bc the doctor told me not to have you right beside the bed, or else you can smell me and wake up wanting to eat more often. so when we put you in there, mommy gets in bed, too and i lay and watch you wiggle and squirm for about 10 min on the monitor before you finally fall asleep. you love the "vibrate" option on the napper. sometimes when it shuts off after the first 30 min you start fussing and as soon as i turn it back on again you are content.

- you love your paci, when you'll take it! sometimes we think you really want it and you refuse. you push it away then grab for it frantically like a little crazed baby. and flap your hands and arms all around. but when you do finally take it you suck suck suck. like maggie on the simpsons. the regular pacis (nuk, mam, and soothies) gag you! we put them in and you gag bad. so we finally figured out the Dr. Brown's paci's are thin and not as long and those are the ones you'll take right now.

- when you are awake and playing you just sit in your lounger or mamaroo (which you love) and kick kick kick your feet and flap your little hands and arms. and smile and grunt. and look all around the room! your eyes get SO BIG when you are having fun "flapping." we see more real (as opposed to gassy) smiles here and there and can't wait for you to smile in reaction to us!! shouldn't be too much longer now! dr. said between 4 and 6 weeks.

- you take a bottle (of breastmilk) from Daddy every morning around 9 when he gets up for work. He brings your downstairs and makes his breakfast and coffee and feeds you then takes you back up to his office and puts you in your mamaroo while he starts work. This let's mommy sleep from 9 til around 11 when you wake up again. and is a HUGE HELP since im up so much during the middle of the night. We'll see how much longer you actually keep letting us do this :) for now, its amazing. *the doctor told us you'd probably take 1.5 to 2 oz. of breastmilk from the bottle... you will drink 3.5!!!!! but we are only feeding you 2.5 now bc one day you stayed really full and didn't eat well throughout the day and were up all night!*

- you are the absolute best thing that's ever happened to your daddy and i. we cant believe how much you change and grow every day and we love you more anything!

- - pictures and videos to come as soon as i get another break :) - -

Mary Tyler's Birth Story

On Valentine's Night (Tuesday) I went to bed crying, telling Matt I know I have to wait for God's perfect timing to bring her into this world but I seriously thought my hips were going to break the next time I stood up, I couldn't sleep worth a flip, SURELY the doctor knew what she was talking about last week when she said "You can make your appt for next Wednesday but I dont think we'll be seeing you." It was Tuesday night, after all, and that Dr's appt was at 1:30 the next day. I was weepy and blue but I knew it couldn't be TOO far away.

Wednesday, on the drive to the doctor, I said "I will be just devastated if I'm not a '3' (cm) anymore. I'm so scared I've made 'reverse progress.' Matt said "There's no way. We're gonna have her soon!" So we waited and we saw Dr. Twedt (my doctor) and she checked me. She said "You're 5 cm. As soon as your contractions become regular like clockwork, go on to the hospital, there's no way they'll send you home at a 5 but you dont want to labor there forever if you're not progressing quickly." I said "Ok. Will you go ahead and strip my membranes?" She said "I just did!" Haha. I was like wow, I knew it was uncomfortable when she checked me that time but I had heard the membrane stripping hurt pretty bad. I felt proud of myself. So, Matt and I made our next appt and headed out with high hopes that she may arrive by the time the weekend got here. We went through the Wendy's drive thru and then headed on an errand to Costco. I needed to get some flowers for a few people that were being honored at the Cheerleading Banquet that night (I wasn't going to be able to go but Cathleen was picking the flowers up from me). Anyway, against Matt's wishes I wanted to go in and pick the flowers out myself. I was cramping and contracting a little but just attributed that to getting checked. It was a pretty quick trip and we got in the car to head back home. I had two or three really painful contractions in the car. I said "Ok, I know what they mean now when they say 'the real deal contractions will be different!'" By the time we got home around 3:00 they were coming every 4 and 1/2 minutes. Matt needed to tie up some loose ends at work and I wanted to finish packing the last minute things in the hospital bag. So as we both did that, I timed them and they stayed consistent. Finally around 5:00 we said "lets go!"

Getting to the hospital was not a breeze. If these next events happened to anyone else trying to get to the hospital to have a baby, I think it would have been a detrimental experience, but for some reason, it happening to Matt and I only seemed fitting and we couldn't help but laugh....

So first of all mom and I were running around the house like crazy people trying to get the dogs set up for being alone for a night (my brother and janey ended up coming to house/dog sit) while Matt took a quick shower. He got ready then he and my mom were loading up the car with things and I came in to get one more blanket then we'd be on the way... the car was already started... and Annie darted out when I opened the screen door. Are YOU KIDDING ME?! She takes FOREVER to catch bc she is so fast and she was literally half way down the street before Matt even understood what I was telling him... "SHE GOT OUT!!! SHE'S DOWN THERE!" So, my freshly showered and clean husband took off in a full sprint down the street trying to get her. I was standing at the end of the driveway having a full blown contraction, squatting down, and yelling "COME ON MY SHE!!!!" at the same time (when I could breathe anyway). Mom was running around going "TREAT!! TREAT!!!" Next thing I know Annie is running towards me with Matt sprinting as fast as I've ever seen him run behind her, he chased her and trapped her and we finally got her in the fence in the backyard. PHEW!!!! Now we are on our way to the hospital and my poor, just showered husband, is now furiously gasping for air telling me he's out of shape and can't breathe and is sweating profusely. Then he tells me he thinks he pooped his pants while running. "HAHA.... WHAT?!?! Baby!!!!!" We get about a mile away from the house and he is in obvious discomfort, as am I, having contractions but they were still just about 4 min apart so I wasn't panicking. I said "Why dont you stop up here at Zaxby's and go check?" Next thing I know, we are whipping into the parking lot at Zaxby's. As he is running in there, I am in the passenger seat deciding whether to crack up laughing or cry. I ended up cracking up laughing and shaking my head thinking "This would only happen to us." He comes back to the car and says "I didn't sh**, it's just sweat!" HAHAHA. Ohhh goodness. So we're back in route... its 5:15 and traffic is WORSE THAN EVER!!!!! Matt already has road rage so he is driving like a bat out of hell (a total change from his typical grandpa driving) and asking me if he can put on his emergency flashers. "Baby, it's ok. I'm fine. She's not coming out. Take a deep breath, we'll get there." We spent the next 15 minutes or so talking about whether or not this was really it. After being to triage 6 times now and never coming back home with a baby, I was in denial. Matt was beaming ear to ear saying she's comin!! she's comin tonight!! and I'm like no way am I letting myself get one BIT excited til they check me and say I'm being admitted and not going home without a baby. I was in a pretty foul mood because I was so nervous we were about to get sent home again.

WE FINALLY MAKE IT TO THE HOSPITAL at 5:45! Go up to triage to check in and Matt starts filling out the info sheet with all of HIS information. Poor Daddy was so flustered. It'd been a crazy afternoon :) We got to a room and they checked me... "You're about 6-7 cm. We'll call it 6. Let's get you admitted and have this baby!" The nurse walked out to get my wheelchair and Matt stepped out of the room to call his mom, and I lost it. Cried and cried, tears of pure JOY, I'm finally REALLY and TRULY about to meet my baby girl. We got to the labor and delivery room around 7 pm, they checked me and I was 7cm and waiting on my epidural. All every nurse kept telling me is "Girl!! I cannot believe you are 7 cm and just breezing through these contractions?! You are awesome!" I felt proud. I'm like, I mean, it hurts when I have one, and I have to concentrate on breathing through it, but I wasnt even close to wanting to scream or cry or make loud groaning noises like you see on tv. The anesthesiologist got there around 7:30 and I got my epidural. I was SO NERVOUS about it, but it was seriously a breeze. An uncomfortable pinch and burn when they gave me the numbing shot, but lasted about 4 seconds and not nearly as bad as getting my IV placed. The epidural started to work and it was such a weird feeling. I kept telling everyone my legs felt like plastic mannequin legs. Around 9:45 Dr. Dubose came in to check me and break my water. I was almost a 9 and she predicted baby to be born around 11:30. Now the friends and family were trickling in and we talked/tried to watch tv/relax/etc. We are so thankful for our friends and family and Mary Tyler is certainly blessed to have every single one of them in her life... the delivery room was full of people who love us :) So full in fact, that it was starting to get a little hectic. Right when I was about to say "ok time for us to get a little bit of calm before the storm" the nurse came in to check me and said I was complete and it was time to start pushing. What??? The time is finally here?? It was about 11:30, just as Dr. Dubose predicted.

Everyone cleared out except for my mom and matt, and the whirlwind that still hasnt ended, began. Within minutes the nurse was saying "Ok, we aren't going to push for long, her head is starting to crown and I see hair!" She scurried over to the phone and called Dr. Dubose and started setting up all kinds of things on the babys side of the room. I started pushing at 11:45. Matt was refusing to "look" for the longest time and after just a couple of pushes mom was almost in tears exclaiming "look at her hair!!!!" Matt and I had been speculating for weeks on whether or not she'd be bald, I said "just look" and he did, and he started bawling. I couldn't see anything but they let me feel and to feel the top of her head and that was amazing. It made me more motivated to get her on out. The pushing hurt then. She was a little bit stuck and at one point around 11:57 the doctor said "ok this next contraction/push determines her birthday, if you get her out on this one she'll be Feb 15th!" I didn't care one bit about the birthday but I really wanted her OUT! It was painful with half of her head just chillin right there. I knew once her head came out, it'd all be over. Matt and my mom seemed to be pushing harder than I was! Haha. With each of them holding a foot and a leg, with every "10 count" they were both holding their breath, too! That was the only comic relief I had. She didn't come with that next contraction (in which I pushed three times) and I was mad. Mad bc it HURT!!!! Matt said he's never seen me so determined. The Doctor was like "ok britt, come on. this next one you can do it. i know you can. your baby girl is gonna be born on this next push if you give me all you got!" I've never worked so hard in my life. Instead of my normal 3 pushes per contraction, I gave it one more shot, on the 4th push I heard the doctor say "ok!! good good!! her head is out! Now just one more little push and let me get this shoulder." After that is a blur....

All of the sudden two HUGE eyes were blinking at me from the warm, squishy blob laying on my chest. I thought I'd be bawling but I was just in pure shock and amazement. She was absolutely perfect. Right when the thought "why isn't she crying?" came into my head the doctor said "It's ok she isn't crying yet, she's perfect. Just rub her!" So I laid there holding my big eyed, blinking, baby in amazement and tried to rub her real hard. She had so much vernix (white, waxy substance that keeps her from wrinkling up in amniotic fluid) that she felt just like biscuit dough. So sticky!! I couldn't rub her good because she was so sticky. Matt was crying and so was Mom, and I have never been filled with so much joy at one time. It felt like my heart would explode.

The doctor cut the cord as Matt and I watched (per Matt's request, he didn't want to do it, haha) then they whisked her away to get all her vitals and Matt and Mom went over and filmed. Mom was facetimeing with the people in the waiting room! (Technology is awesome) They all got to see her from the time she was on my chest, to getting her footprints done, checking for six toes (which she did NOT have), and getting weighed! I had a small, 2nd degree tear and the doctor worked on me to get that sewed up. It wasn't that bad. I was just sad bc I was laying there getting worked on while everyone else was watching my new baby's first minutes of life. But with patience comes joy, and about 10 minutes later I had a warm, wrapped up bundle of love in my arms. Mom left and Matt and I spent about 40 minutes alone with our baby girl. I really don't even remember how that time was spent, except for smiling and crying and staring at her, studying her, seeing what she looked like. So much love!

Everyone else came back, and passed her around, and cried. There was so much love in the room. Around 1:45 everyone went home and we were moved to the mom/baby floor. The nurses over there were great!!!! Although we were exhausted (and still are) those first few nights with her, and with Matt, are unforgettable. I hope I always remember that feeling of falling in love with my husband all over again as I watched him with his daughter for the first time. From the first time he held her, to the first time he changed her diaper, the first time he gave her a paci, the first time he rocked her to sleep, etc etc... I've always known I have a great husband, but watching him with her solidified that. He has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined these past 12 days, taking care of both her and me. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else with anyone else in my life right now. I am blessed beyond words. Thank you, Matt. I love you so much.

...next post to come will be about our first week at home with our precious angel!

... any suggestions for a new blog name?? :)

She's Here!!

I am working on the birth story post but it's long so I just wanted to say quickly: Thank you all so much for your prayers, kind words, support, encouragement, and love throughout my entire pregnancy and the birth of our daughter. She is an absolute miracle and I can't believe she's finally here with us. Matt and I could not be more in love with each other or our baby girl! We are so blessed!!!

Here she is:

Marion Tyler Bolt

February 16, 2012

12:06 am

7 lbs 13 oz. & 20 in. long

and PS- she doesn't have six little toes! :)

37 weeks

Maybe this will be my very last pregnancy highlights:

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far along? 37 weeks 2 days

Size of the Baby? a watermelon

Maternity Clothes? of course

Gender? girl

Movement? she still moves a lot considering there's like, no room left in there. her movements pretty much hurt me now. ouch baby gir!

Sleep? terrible. for the past two weeks i have the worst time sleeping. i finally resulted in taking some unisom the past few nights (it's safe, dont worry) and have gotten a little bit better sleep, even though im having to get up and go to the bathroom so often. the hip pain is what makes it so difficult to sleep.

Cravings? Pears!!!!!! Ive eaten like 10 fruit cups of them in the past few days

Symptoms? terrible hip pain. some colostrum leakage (if you dont know what it is, look it up if you dare). back hurts. contractions. frequent urination. some headaches. and some nausea. exhaustion. i can go on...

What I miss? sleeping on my tummy!!!!!! and wearing my wedding ring... had to take it off this week due to two or three panic attacks of not being able to get it off and thinking my finger was going to lose circulation and fall off

Milestones? well we had our 37 week appt today and the doctor told me I am now just about 4 cm and 80% effaced. The baby is at around a 0 station and my water bag is "bulging." She said it could break anytime now and she is willing to bet she wont be seeing us at next week's appt (next Wednesday). I hope she's right but im trying very hard not to get my hopes up. Any day now!!!!

Weight Gain? 24 lbs. :(

What I’m nervous about? labor and delivery

What I’m excited about? MEETING HER!

Baby Center Update for Week 37: Your baby is now considered full term, even though your due date is still three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Belly Sunday

Sorry I forgot to post yesterday...

Here we are at 36 weeks, 5 days!

Sheeeeeeeeeesh! this morning she felt SO LOW and my hips hurt last night worse than they ever have. Think we're getting closer!!! (well, i know we're getting closer, just not sure how close!)

wish i would have cleaned the mirror some before i took these, its dusty. oh well.

she may be on her way!!! 36 weeks

I very well could be writing to you all 4 weeks from now, on my due date, wishing what I am about to write would have come true.... but I'm going to pretend like I don't believe in jinxes and write it anyway:

This morning we went to have our car seat installed/inspected at the fire dept. then picked up some lunch and headed to the doctor. Somewhere between waiting in the car at Costco for matt to get some things and sitting in the parking lot eating at Sonic, I started having contractions. By the time we got to the doctor they were about 3 minutes apart but I was still talking through them and they werent too painful.

I had a normal, routine check up and Dr. Twedt checked me. She said i'm a good 3 cm and 80% effaced. (Last Wednesday I was 2 and 80%) She can feel the baby's head pretty low. I asked her how soon she thinks she'll be here and she said "Within the week" I said "ONE week?!" and she said "Yeah. Two, max!" She said baby is measuring still about a week ahead, has a great heartbeat, and everything looks perfect. If she wants to come now, that is fine with her! I am off of bed rest and don't have to take the Procardia anymore. I told her about the contractions (which I happened to be having right then) and she felt my belly and looked at me and said "Yep! I may even be seeing you later tonight!"

It's so crazy that we could potentially be meeting our daughter within the week!!!! Matt and I were talking on the way home, wondering, had I progressed to 3 cm (from 2) just since I was having these contractions, or had it slowly happened over the past week. I guess we will soon find out. This was all about an hour ago, and I am laying here in bed with the dogs, still having contractions.

You'd think when I got off bed rest I would be out of bed, but I hardly slept at all last night and really need a nap! I will be up and about later!

Perhaps next time I write to you, I'll be a mommy or perhaps I'll be crying, reading this in 28 days saying "WHY DIDNT YOU COME THEN?! PLEASE COME OUT!"

ahhhhhhhhhhh! the anticipation is killing me :)

Belly Saturday

35 weeks 4 days

35 weeks, yall!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far along? 35 weeks 2 days

Size of the Baby? large cantaloupe.. honeydew melon

Maternity Clothes? today i put on "real clothes" (maternity) and not pajamas for the first time and they make my belly look even BIGGER!! I feel my 10 year old self walking around with a basketball under my shirt just pretending im pregnant.

Gender? girl

Movement? the lower half of my stomach never moves. i was told Wednesday (by the dr) that's bc she's already "dropped" into my pelvis and isnt really able to move her head (locked and loaded) but that from about her chest down she is totally movable (duh!) i get jabs to the ribs all day... her bony butt sits about 4 in. above my belly button and it feels bruised from being stretched out, and i get elbows to the sides a lot :)

Sleep? still bad. this week, there's only been one night i've fallen asleep before 6 am. Sheesh!!!! the other morning I fell asleep at 6 but was up 4 times between then a 9am going to the bathroom. My hips hurt SO FREAKIN BAD. i have to roll over every 30 min or so to get some relief. between going to the bathroom and changing positions, it seems as though i'll never sleep. Luckily, I have no where to be/go every day so I sleep from about 8:30 am to noon. I dont know why it's easier to sleep then.

Cravings? Still eating Philly Swirls (italian ice) a lot. Pancakes. Chocolate chip cookies.

Symptoms? new development this week: carpal tunnel. my left wrist hurts pretty bad. same ol: hip pain. back pain. pressure when i walk (feels like she's gonna fall out, so the waddle is in full effect). some sciatica still (shooting pain down my inner thigh..all the way to my knee!!.. caused by baby pressing against my sciatic nerve)

What I miss? there have been a couple of nights this week I could have definitely enjoyed a nice cold beer.

Milestones? 5 more days of bed rest, yall!!!! Then you BEST believe this mama is gettin OUTTA the house.

Weight Gain? hit the 20 mark this week!!

What I’m nervous about? How big she is getting. She's heavy. and big. and she has to come out, folks. Yikes.

What I’m excited about? My first baby shower that was cancelled is rescheduled for this Saturday and I have another one on Sunday!! Two baby showers this weekend!!!!! Im so excited!!!!

Baby Center Update for Week 35: Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basicphysical development is now complete – he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

nursery update part 2

Monday night, mom and I spent from 5:30 to midnight trying to finish up loose ends in the nursery. Or should I say... Mom did all the work while I sat in the glider and pointed and laughed and consulted. Haha, thanks mom!! All that's really left is to put pictures in frames, over the changing table (this is the only thing i dont have pictures of bc its not really done), mount the camera for the monitor, hang art work her Aunt Kelleigh is painting, and put a baby in there! :)

Here are some pictures from our night:

the new tutu lamps mom got her :) so cute!

showing off her hard work!

the whole wall..

touching up a coat of paint on the door

working on the paper lanters and pom poms over the crib

close to done.. still need to tweak a few things

And Cooper and Annie had to be part of the action, too. Even though they acted incredibly bored

It's looking pretty close (color-wise, anyway) to my ORIGINAL nursery inspiration picture, i think! :)

UPDATE: i am annoyed looking at this post bc the pictures are dark and the walls look green or something. I will take real pics w my real camera (and not my phone) when its all said and done!

34 Weeks :)

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far along? 34 weeks 3 days

Size of the Baby? large cantaloupe

Maternity Clothes? more like matts pajama pants and t-shirts... that's what bed rest has done to me

Gender? girl

Movement? still moving all the time, despite all the pregnancy apps and blogs saying she should stop moving so much due to running out of room. her movements actually hurt sometimes, now. headbutt's to the bladder...sharp elbows in my sides.... heels under my ribs. she is having a grand ol' time in there. feels like shes ready to get out!

Sleep? terrible. miserable. awful. being in the hospital for four nights and on bed rest for the past week have made my sleep schedule pretty wonky in the first place. you aren't THAT tired at night after laying around all day. however, last night was the worst of them all. by this time, my body is producing a lot of a hormone called Relaxin that loosens your joints to prepare for birth. my left hip and shoulder are really feeling the effects. combined with the weight from my belly, it makes it miserable laying on my side at night. but that's the only way i can sleep (not on my back or stomach). so i just switch sides all night long and choose which hurts less. last night i didnt fall asleep til 5:30 am and only slept on and off for 30 min intervals. I guess thats ONE good thing about being on bed rest, i dont have anywhere to be and can try to nap throughout the day.

Cravings? Phillie Swirls (they are italian ice cups from bilo) ive eaten a whole box in three days. so good! strawberries. orange juice and apple juice.

Symptoms? haha. everything in the book? leg cramps. sore and achy joints. contractions. shortness of breath. headache occasionally. back pain to the max. HEAVY belly, haha. she feels so big in there!

What I miss? sleeping comfortably. sitting comfortably. putting on my shoes and socks easily.

Milestones? making it to 34 weeks was a great milestone after all thats happened! the doctors kept telling us 34 weeks is a great milestone, 36 weeks is an EXCELLENT milestone. So I hope she'll stay in until February 1st!

Weight Gain? 19 lbs. wheeeewwww

What I’m nervous about? i had a nightmare that i hemorrhaged after delivery and all the blood loss made me pass out and i didnt get to see the baby for a long time. i woke up woozy. this is my worst nightmare. i already cant deal well with blood, particularly blood leaving my body (like giving blood, or cutting myself). the blood that is going to be on the baby and come out with placenta and everything, i am prepared for. that is normal and supposed to be there. but excessive or unexpected blood loss would for sure make me pass out so i am PRAYING my placenta detaches normally and everything goes smoothly.

What I’m excited about? Finally a baby shower this saturday!!! my first one got postponed bc i had just gotten out of the hospital and we were unsure what was going on. Think it's been rescheduled for next Saturday and I also have one next Sunday! So that will be a fun weekend!

Baby Center Update for Week 34: Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers – which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born – are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

is there a stronger word than thankful?

Just a week ago today, we were in the hospital, being briefed by the head NICU neonatologist on what to expect should Mary Tyler arrive within the next 48 hrs (as they were expecting). You can imagine the panic/excitement/nervousness/worry/etc. One of my stressors was that the house wasn't clean... the nursery wasn't ready! She would most likely have to stay in the NICU for at least a week, but still. NOTHING was done!

I didn't even have to say this out loud, my mom knew. The new carpet for the nursery had to be installed Tuesday morning, so monday night while I was in the hospital, Mom, Trav, Tyler, and Janey came to the house to take care of some things for us. We had been planning on painting the baseboards Sunday night then moving the nursery furniture out so the carpet could be installed. So they came over and worked their tails off to get the carpet ripped up and boards painted and furniture moved. Also, the cleaning ladies we hired we going to come clean Wednesday morning and I was going to have to "de-clutter" in order for them to deep clean everything. SO, my family had to do that, too.

Luckily... they all took some pictures of each other to document their work for me:

here's the nursery once they got all the furniture out...

our bedroom with all the nursery furniture moved in

tyler and janey ripping up the old carpet

mom taping

Janey getting ready to paint..

new carpet.... (bad lighting)

the nursery should be completely finished by Sunday and I will post pictures then. In the meantime, I needed to give credit where credit is due and THANK my Mom for the endless work she's put in and help she's given me not just in the past 11 days but since June 17th when I found out I was pregnant. I really, seriously don't know what I'd do with her!! She keeps telling me as long as I do the same for Mary Tyler one day, she doesn't mind doing it for me. I hope I can be even half as good of a mother to my baby girl as my mommy has been to me :)

And to the rest of my family and friends who have been here for me, any little thing I need. Trav, Tyler and Janey for doing all that work... Cindy for bringing me Hardees in the hospital three mornings in a row so I didnt have to eat nasty hospital food, Kelleigh for coming over two days in a row and cleaning my entire upstairs, Dad and Susie have brought me dinner and offered to bring anything we need, truly EVERYONE has been so great. Mary Tyler is so incredibly blessed to be joining our family!

Don't even get me started on Matt, he deserves much more than a blog post. There are still two weeks of this bed rest left and I'm sure he's going to blow my mind even more than he already has As most of you know, my husband isn't normally the most patient person. He has a very short fuse before he becomes easily frustrated and irritable. These past 11 days he has been the most cool, calm, and collected I've ever seen him. Although I know there have been a few times he's been panicking inside or nervous or irritated, he hasn't shown it. He's been a wonderful caretaker, grocery shopper, dog nail trimmer, laundry man, pharmacist, masseuse, pack n play assembler, refrigerator cleaner-outer, shoe and sock putter-onner, chef, etc. He still melts my heart and I know he's going to even more when I see him with our daughter.

I've been overwhelmed several times this week just thinking about how blessed I am and how I can never express to all these people how truly grateful I am for everything. I wish there was a word stronger thank THANKFUL, but for now, that will have to do.

Thank you EVERYONE for the prayers, the meals, the phone calls and texts! I love you all and can't wait for Mary Tyler to meet you :)

-B

back to the hospital...

doubtful we will forget, but i just wanted to note for future reference:

we went back to the hospital friday night. (jan 13) i started having contractions around 9 pm and tried to ignore them, around 1030 they got so close together that we decided to time them and I had 14 in an hour. so we left and went around midnight. i got to triage and they monitored me for a while and then gave me another shot of Brethine. gah that stuff is bad. makes me feel like im going to shake out of my skin. and heart races. then they checked me and i was still at 2/3 cm (same as when I left the hospital on Wednesday) so they let me go home.

Obviously those contractions werent progressing me, so from now on im just kind of ignoring those contractions. The doctor said she really doesnt think ill go full term. I'm still not sure what I think. Somedays I think she'll come really early and some I think ill be lapping the neighborhood on my due date trying everything I can to get her to come out. :)

we've got a baby prankster on our hands!

Dear Mary Tyler,

You are just like your Daddy, you think you are very funny :) I am pleased to announce that I'm writing this blog from my own bed, at home! You've kept Mommy in the hospital for the last 4 days, threatening an early arrival.

On Sunday afternoon, Aunt Janey and Uncle Tyler were here helping your dad and me get some things done around the house, for your arrival. Janey and I were cleaning out the laundry room and Dad and Tyler took some old guest room furniture to a storage unit to make some more room for you. While they were gone I started feeling the "cramps" in my lower abdomen again and getting some radiating back pain. I really didn't even want to call the OB on call. I had a lot I'd planned on doing that day and felt like it'd be a false alarm type thing. When the contractions just got worse with more movement and activity, I called the dr. They told me given what had happened a few days earlier, I should head back to the hospital.

We arrived and they hooked me up to the monitors to see what my contractions were looking like. They gave me a shot of brethine and did something called a Fetal Fibronectin test. Here's a little info about the test: Fetal fibronectin is a protein that acts as a "glue" during pregnancy, attaching the amniotic sac — the fluid-filled membrane that cushions your baby in the uterus — to the lining of the uterus.

Fetal fibronectin is often present in cervical secretions during early pregnancy. Fetal fibronectin also shows up later in pregnancy, about one to three weeks before labor begins. If your health care provider is concerned about preterm labor, he or she may test a swab from your cervical canal for the presence of fetal fibronectin. A positive fetal fibronectin test is a clue that the "glue" has been disturbed and you're at increased risk of delivering within the next 2 weeks.

So, after the shot and the test we waited for the results which were going to take about an hour. The shot calmed the contractions during that time, but after about an hour they were back and I had about 8 contractions in 30 minutes. They decided to admit me, even though we still didnt know the results of the FFN.

We were admitted to the labor and delivery floor and the nurses were so great. They told me I would be hooked up to magnesium for the next 48 hours to slow contractions enough that the steriods they gave you would work. (They gave mommy two steriod shots to help develop your lungs, in case you did come early). The magnesium was terrible. It made me feel like I had the flu. It made me so hot that the nurses declared my room an "igloo" and everyone that came to visit us had to bundle up in a big furry blanket. The FFN test came back negative, meaning there would only be a 5% chance you would come in the next 2 weeks, but the next day, when I started having contractions again (9 in 30 minutes) they were thinking you were in that 5%. They said they'd no longer try to stop you from coming bc you were 33 weeks and have a great chance of thriving and having a healthy life, but you'd have to spend a few weeks in the NICU. The head doctor from the NICU came in to talk to mommy, daddy, uncle tyler, aunt janey, travdaddy, gmommy, grandy, and grams. He made us all feel very comfortable with what would happen should you arrive. At that point there were some nerves, but more excitement at thinking we may meet you so soon. although it was not the ideal situation. What a roller coaster the past three days had been!

Luckily, over night, the contractions spaced out and slowed down. They let me come off the monitors all day yesterday and made sure you and me were ok, and we were. They decided to let us come home under one condition, strict bed rest. That means for the next three weeks you and me will be doing a whole lotta' nothin. I'm also on a medicine called Procardia, to control the contractions. It makes me feel a little weak and funny bc it's a medicine for high blood pressure, and I have low blood pressure, so it lowers it even more. My cardiologist said I wouldn't be able to take it if I were going to be allowed out of the house because it would probably induce my passing out, but since I'll be in bed, I should be ok.

You are so active since we got home last night. Bumping and nudging me constantly. You feel SO HEAVY in there. I think it's because I was pumped full of IV fluids all week and my amniotic fluid is just full to the brim. It's crazy to think that in just 3 weeks you may be able to make your debut into this world. I'm allowed off bed rest on Feb 1st and you are due on Feb 29th. Mommy and Daddy both think you have decided to stay nice and cozy in there, though. I'm expecting you to arrive around Feb 22nd, just one week early, and Daddy thinks you're going to be born in March. Either way, we are so excited to meet you, but more excited you decided to stay in and get a little bit bigger over the next few weeks (hopefully)!

Love,

Mommy