Slacking on the pictures!

I have been so bad about taking pics lately. I am normally a picture taking FREAK... the PAPARAZZI, if you will!

I feel so bad. I should be snapping pics like CRAZY of Hailey right now... she's growing up so fast and  want to remember this stage forever.

I have been taking some pics... but usually with my phone, since it's always handy. They aren't the best quality but they are better than nothing!

I thought I would share a few...

Random but cute =)

I have a feeling I will be taking a lot more pics now that Hailey is growing up and getting more of a personality. She smiles, makes faces, etc. Can't wait to post more =)

Hailey meets Santa!

Good morning!!!!

Here I am.... blogging at 6:30am! It's the only chance I am getting these days.

I'm up early... Thanks Hailey! She was hungry for breakfast, so mommy fed her and decided to stay up. I have my 6 week post partum doctor's appointment this morning (My baby is already 6 weeks old????) and would like to get the last of my Christmas shopping done today! I just started my shopping yesterday soooooo that's not too bad!

I'm not going to lie... I have been a little stressed this year about Christmas and getting everything done and some other "junk". Thankfully, I am feeling much better since getting most of my shopping done =)

You probably don't care about any of that... On to the title of this post!

Hailey got to meet SANTA for the first time this past Sunday!

Never wake a sleeping baby =)

Yes... she is fast asleep... we tried to wake her but it just didn't happen.

I am loving this pic. I was a little worried since "Santa" and his "helpers" were a little... what's the word? QUESTIONABLE!  I will leave it at that =) 

I better cut myself off right there. I have to get some things done before my little girl is wide awake and I don't get to do anything.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far!!!!

It's "that time of year" again!!!! And a special offer from Shutterfly!

What I mean by "that time of year" is that it's time for Christmas cards!!!!

Again, I am a huge slacker on the blog and I am embarassed to say I have been slacking on getting my birth announcements out and show off my HAILEY!

I decided that I am going to combine my birth announcements and Christmas cards this year and what better way to do that than through SHUTTERFLY!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE pictures and I love that Shutterfly has so many Christmas photo cards to choose from. I need to get busy on the picture taking for the cards but here are a few of my favorite cards...

Wishes Whirl Christmas

Cornflower Blue Snowflake 

Warmest Wishes Holiday

I love sending and recieving photo cards. They are so personal! I love to see how people, families and children are growing. Sadly, we can't always see the ones we love as often as we would like. These cards are a perfect way to show off your family or something amazing you got to do over the past year.

Shutterfly is doing an awesome promotion right now! If you are a blogger, you can get 50 (YES 50) photo cards FREE! Just visit this site to sign up. You will recieve an email with instructions on how to recieve your 50 FREE photo cards. What are you waiting for????

My photo card (which ever I choose) will defintely include at least one picture of this little angel!

What will your Christmas cards look like?

Our baby is 1 month old... ALREADY!

Our baby girl is already 1 month old! I can't believe it!

Incase you were wondering, I still think she's the most amazing thing that has EVER happened to us. I just love her to pieces and am so happy to have her.

I have been slacking on the blog posts... a lot has happened. My baby turned 3 weeks, 4 weeks and officially 1 month old AND celebrated her first Thanksgiving ALL in one month!

Thanksgiving was a great day... for the most part. We had plans to get together with Craig's family in the morning for a Thanksgiving breakfast, but it didn't work out. Craig's sister, her kiddos and "Grandma" were all sick. Total bummer, but they didn't want to get Miss Hailey sick so we canceled breakfast. I was thankful that everyone was so good about not getting the baby sick, but it was sad not seeing them! We are SO Thankful for them and hopefully we will get to spend some time with them sometime soon to make up for it! After everyone's germs are gone =)

We made the best of our first Thanksgiving morning together and had breakfast as a family of 3!

We spent Thanksgiving with my family at my aunt's house. Our family is small, but everyone was there. It was so nice to hang out and it was actually relaxing... REALLY!

There was a TON of food... everything was amazing! I am so thankful for my family as well as Craig's. We are very lucky!

I meant to get a picture of Craig, myself and Hailey but forgot!

I did get a good pic of daddy and his little girl!

Not only did Hailey celebrate her very first Thanksgiving, but she also "celebrated" her first BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!

No... I didn't pull my baby girl out of bed at 3am (although we were probably up!). I let her sleep in until about 8 and we hit up Target. Anything we had set out to get was gone by that time... but it was still fun. Hailey was a good girl and slept the whole time!

As you know, I am slacking big time on the blog! I have been much busier these days... Hailey is high maintenance and when I am not holding, feeding, changing her I am getting things done around the house or doing any running around that needs to be done. I will try my best to keep things updated around here!

I am SOOOO looking forward to celebrating Hailey's first CHRISTMAS and will definitely blog about it! Hopefully it will be sooner than later. Probably after her first NEW YEARS =)

Until then, I will try to keep things updated around here as much as I can!

My baby is 2 weeks old!

Two weeks and a few days to be exact! I'm finding it a little harder to find time to blog these days! I have a good excuse... I PROMISE =)

Sorry... the pic is a tiny bit blurry, but still pretty cute if you ask me!

Time seems to be flying by just like it was when I was pregnant! I wish it would slow down a little. My little girl is going to grow up SO fast! I am enjoying every minute with her... trying not to think about how long I have left before I have to go back to work =( If anyone figures out where I can find a "money tree" to plant in my backyard, please let me know!

We took Hailey to the doctor and checked her height and weight and she is measuring in the 100th percentile for height (Shocker! LOL... not! Daddy is 6'6") and right in the middle on her weight. Sounds good to me! Everthing else was just fine... she's eating like a little piggy and sleeping good MOST of the time. I guess a little sleep deprivation for mommy and daddy comes with the territory, right?

That's all I've got for now!

One week already?

Hailey made her entrance one week ago today (well tonight at 11:57, but who's counting?)

Seriously? It's been a week already?!?! Time really has flown. The last week has been a whirlwind.

We have been getting to know our little Hailey and had MASS AMOUNTS of visitors =) Everyone wants to meet our little angle! She's made lots of new friends already!

Here is one of her first pics, for your viewing pleasure...

Hailey Marie is here!!!

HAILEY MARIE

Arrived October 26, 2010 @ 11:57pm

7lbs 15oz / 21 1/2"

As you may have noticed, I have been totally MIA since my 40 week update.

I had a doctor's appointment that day and was still not progressing much on my own. I was only dialated to 1, which I had been for a few weeks. The doctor scheduled me for an appointment on Monday of the following week, which brought me to almost 41 weeks. At that appointment, I was still not dialating and any progress I was making was SLOW. Miss Hailey just wasn't wanting to come out on her own. The doc gave us two options... 1. schedule an induction for the next morning (Tuesday, Oct 26) OR 2. Give me until Friday to see if I went into labor on my own and if I didn't he would induce me then. We asked the doctor if either option was safer than the other and he assured us he wouldn't tell us it was ok to induce any earlier than Tuesday if the baby wasn't ready. I was already so close to 41 weeks... the baby was fully developed.

After some questions, Craig and I decided we wanted to go ahead and induce on Tuesday. I felt like if I hadn't progressed much over the last week, that I probably wouldn't progress much more in the next 4 days on my own... plus, we were SO ready to meet her!

Tuesday morning arrived. The doctor told us to start calling the hospital early (Around 6am) to see if they had any room for me to come in and begin my induction. We didn't get the "OK" 'till 11:00am. When we finally got the call I started to get nervous! HERE WE GO!

We arrived at the hospital at about 11:45. I got dressed in my "pretty" gown and hopped in my bed. The nurse we had was A-MAZ-ING! From the second we walked in the door she was as nice and as helpful as she could be. This was the same nurse that delivered Craig's sister's babies! I was SO happy she was there to help me out.

I hopped in my bed and that's when it all began!

My doctor came by to check on me and by about 12:45pm the nurse had started my IV and the pitocin was flowing to get my contractions started. I progressed quickly and my contractions were regular and about 3-4 min apart right off the bat. I was happy and a little surprised. I have heard horror stories about labor being induced.

As time went on I was able to feel my contractions more and more. My doctor arrived (for the second time)around 4:30. He checked me again and I believe I was only dialated to 2. At that point he decided to break my water. That's when I got scared! I knew that once my water was broken things could REALLY get moving quickly... I questioned whether I was ready for that but not for long... BREAK MY WATER DOC!

In what seemed like minutes I felt my contractions intensify! WOW... contractions really hurt! The nurse could see that I was in a lot of pain and obvious in "active labor" and gave me a little pain medication to take the edge off. It helped relax me a little but I was still in a lot of pain. She told me that the anasthesiologist would be in soon to give a couple other mommies their epidural and it would probably be a good time for me to request mine. I quickly agreed.

This is where things got a little hairy. I was waiting for my epidural and trying to "tough out" my contractions but I was not a happy camper. There were a lot of family members in and out of the room while I was in labor. Once my contractions got that intense, I really didn't want to talk to or listen to any one talk. This was serious stuff. I had heard stories but you never really understand until it happens!

The doc w/ the good drugs finally arrived and gave me my epidural. I laid in bed flat on my back trying to get it to disburse evenly and I could still feel my contractions and they were still very painful. We waited about 20 min w/ no improvement in my pain level. The nurse suggested that I have the epidural done again. She said that I shouldn't be feeling ANY pain at this point and if I was something wasn't right. I decided to have the epidural done again. I was scared that this time it wouldn't work at all and I would have to go without. After about 15 minutes of being poked and sticked, my epidural was re-done. I laid down and got some relief but was still feeling some pain. The nurse told me to let the "drug man" know before he left for the night. I did! He gave me a quick shot of something extra and everything from then on was downhill! I felt no pain. Whew. I found out later that the anasthesiologist stuck me 4-5 times with EACH epidural (So about 10 times in total) trying to find "the spot". I had a lot of holes in my back. Craig said that even though he wasn't able to see exactly what the guy was doing, he saw a lot of blood on his gloves... ugh!

After the epidural kicked in, it was smooth sailing. I was happy again... our poor family didn't have to tip toe around my contractions! LOL

During the time the epidural drama was taking place my nurse was off for the night and a new one came on. Thankfully she was super sweet! I couldn't have asked for better nurses.

The nurse who had just come on shift checked me and I was dialated between 4-5. I was happy to hear that but had a feeling things might slow down after the epi was administered. Again... just something you hear.

We waited and waited and waited.  We could see that my contractions were still regular on the monitor and coming every 1-2 minutes. The nurse decided to check me around 10pm. I was SHOCKED when she told me I was dialated to 9 - 9.5! Holy cow! REALLY???

The nurse called my doctor and he was there before I knew it.

Everything from here on out happened so fast. My doctor sat on the edge of my bed (we asked everyone to leave so he could check me). He told me that I was ready to push! O M G! I was totally in shock. Was I ready for this? Didn't matter. Hailey was about to make her entrance!

The doctor had me pushing 3 times w/ each contraction. I felt no pain but it was hard because I couldn't even feel that I was pushing. Apparently, I was doing something right because she was coming down exactly how she should.

The doctor suited up, I told Craig to "GET THE CAMERA" and within a few more pushes I had Hailey in my arms!

I pushed for about 30 minutes total (not bad!) and my daugher was born and laying on my chest!

This was definitely the most amazing moment of mine and Craig's lives. Our daughter was here, looking right at us. SUCH a miracle. She was (and is) PERFECT!

I am totally teary eyed typing all of this. I am so happy. Hailey is the best thing that has ever happened to us! I can't stop staring at her, smelling her, checking on her as she sleeps. I look forward to her waking up so I can feed her. I often find myself wondering "How did we make something SO perfect???".

Craig has been the BEST dad. I knew he would be good at this but he's even better than I expected. SO hands on. He loves her more than anything and he wants to do anything and everything he can to take care of her. It's a beautiful thing, a daddy and his little girl!

Our lives are changed forever and I catch myself wondering why we waited so long to have a baby. It was obviously meant to be.

Well that's the story! I finally had time to tell you how Miss Hailey made her entrance.

Everyday she has been here is a blessing. I couldn't ask for any more than I have right now. HELLO HORMONES =) I feel so mushy and sappy! That's what babies do to you!

We have taken tons of pictures, so here is a little slideshow!



Here we are... 40 weeks!

Yep, you read that right... 40 weeks pregnant TODAY!

As happy as I am and as good as I feel, I can't have too many complaints at this point except I AM SO READY TO MEET HAILEY I can hardly stand it! Figures she would be taking her time =) My due date was Monday, October 18... that came and went!

I have a doctor's appointment this morning. I am hoping that the doctor is going to tell me I am still progressing and maybe he can do something to "help me along" a little!

Your pregnancy: 40 weeks

How your baby's growing:

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

How your life's changing:

After months of anticipation, your due date rolls around, and... you're still pregnant. It's a frustrating, but common, situation in which to find yourself. You may not be as late as you think, especially if you're relying solely on a due date calculated from the day of your last period because sometimes women ovulate later than expected. Even with reliable dating, some women have prolonged pregnancies for no apparent reason.

You still have a couple of weeks before you'll be considered "post-term." But to be sure your baby is still thriving, your practitioner will schedule you for testing to keep an eye on her if your pregnancy continues.

You may have a biophysical profile (BPP), which consists of an ultrasound to look at your baby's overall movements, breathing movements (movement of her chest muscles and diaphragm), and muscle tone (whether she opens and closes her hand or extends and then flexes her limbs), as well as the amount of amniotic fluid that surrounds her (important because it's a reflection of how well the placenta is supporting your baby).

Fetal heart rate monitoring (called a nonstress test or NST) will generally be done as well — by itself or as part of the BPP. Or, you may have what's known as a modified BPP, which consists of an NST and an ultrasound to assess the amount of amniotic fluid.

If the fetal testing isn't reassuring — the amniotic fluid level is too low, for example — you'll be induced. If there's a serious, urgent problem, you may have an immediate c-section.

Your practitioner will also check your cervix to see if it's "ripening." Its position, how soft it is, how effaced (thinned out) it is, and how dilated (open) it is can all affect when and how your labor is induced. If you don't go into labor on your own, you'll be induced, usually sometime between 41 and 42 weeks.

I know I shouldn't wish away my quiet, mellow, relaxing mornings BUT both daddy and I are so full of anticipation! We have waited to meet our baby girl for so long! We are READY! (We think!)

I will post a little update if anything new or exciting happens at my appointment... until then, here's a my last (hopefully) bump pic for you!

Enjoying the last few weeks of pregnancy

Good morning!

Well here I am, blogging at... well it's not even 5 am yet, but by the time I finish this post it will be =)

WHY would I be up this early, you ask? No idea. Sometimes I wake up around 4am STARVING and I have to eat breakfast and can't go right back to sleep. Thank you Miss Hailey =) This is probably the 4th or 5th time this has happened since I got pregnant!

Sooooo I am writing this post to sum up my last few weeks of pregnancy. I have been really bad about posting anything but my weekly updates, but Craig and I have actually had just a little fun here or there rather than just waiting for Hailey to make her appearance.

As you may know, I have been off work since September 21 and it's been AMAZING! The first week or two Craig and I worked on getting the house ready and some little projects. Since then, I have been living the life of leasure (LOL) waking up when I want (normally around 7am), eating breakfast, working out, etc. but all on my own time. I LOVE not having a schedule to keep to. The only thing I have really HAD to do is make it to my weekly doctor's appointments.

I have been feeling really good... sometimes I think TOO good and the baby is NEVER going to come out =) I thought that if I worked a couple weeks longer the baby was sure to make an early arrival, but since I took off 4 weeks before she was due, she's taking her sweet time. I am starting to get anxious for her to hurry and get here but I am enjoying my time waiting!

Craig and I haven't been up to much. Honestly, we hang out around the house watching reality TV, listening to music, he's nesting, .etc.

In my free time, I packed a couple of bags for Hailey and I...

Can never be too prepared =)

My bag isn't completely packed yet but the things I don't need right now are ready to go!

We went to dinner at Mongolian BBQ (like 30 times since I have been prego! LOL). I always get these weird fortunes in my fortune cookies that seem pretty meaningless, but one night I got this one... which I LOVED and kept for Hailey's baby book!

I'd say so! =)

Oh... here's some proof I can still see my toes!

BARELY!

Note - I have a lot of free time on my hands LOL

Aside from that, we have had just a little bit of FUN here and there!

Our friends Keith and Alicia welcomed baby Kaleb Vincent into the world August 15th. We finally got around to going to meet him two weeks ago! He's a DOLL! Holding him was totally surreal because not only was that a part of Keith and Alicia and now he was here and precious as ever, but it reminded me that in a couple of short weeks we too would have our little bundle of joy in our arms!

I hope Keith and Alicia don't mind that I "stole" this cute little newborn pic =)

Isn't he precious????

Last weekend we were talking to our friend Jon and he mentioned he and his wife were heading to the pumpkin patch that weekend and asked if we wanted to go. I told Craig that I would L O V E to go... I haven't been in years and Craig had never been to the one closest to our town. We had to go check it out and make sure it's ok for Hailey to visit next year ; )

We decided to go and had a great time! Here are a few pics...

Perfect! Now we know where to go when the BIG DAY arrives!

BABIES!

We found a corn maze and decided to take our chances! Didn't take us long... about 15 minutes.

After the corn maze, we took a little hay ride to find Hailey's 1st pumpkin! She's not here yet, but it will bve here waiting for her =)

The candy is for her too ; )

There you have it... the little bit of fun we have had while waiting for our baby girl!

Won't be long now... stay tuned!



39 Weeks... The home stretch!

Today marks my 39th week of pregnancy! I can't believe it. Seriously...

Craig is still working on building Miss Hailey's changing table/dresser, but that's about all that we need to have done before she gets here. Even if it's not done before she arrives, it's not a big deal. I think we have everything else we need. Keyword "THINK" =) I am sure that after she comes I will be reminded of a lot of things I need that I don't have. I am ready for that.

Craig is TOTALLY nesting! It's so cute! He's got the bug. At least one of us does... it sure isn't me! I feel so lazy lately. Right now I am currently trying to talk myself into going to the gym this morning (stalling by blogging first!) before my doctor's appointment where they will probably tell me I am still not dialated and there is no progress being made. Hailey's probably going to be a late arrival.

On one hand I want her out NOW so I can see her beautiful little face but on the other hand I should be ok with waiting and getting all the rest I can now! It's so hard to be patient... we have waited so long to meet our baby girl and now the time is here... any day now!


Your pregnancy: 39 weeks

How your baby's growing:


Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

How your life's changing:

At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay.

My doctor says that if I don't go into labor on or before my due date, he will let me go 1 week to 10 days over before inducing me. I would rather not be induced, but we have to do what we have to do! You know I will keep you posted =)

38 Weeks

38 weeks down and (approximately) 2 to go! '

I think it's safe to say we are in the "home stretch"!

We are pretty much in WAIT mode. We are finishing up some little last minute things but are pretty much ready for Hailey's arrival! As ready as we will ever be anyway =)

I have Hailey's diaper bag all packed up and I have started a hospital bag for myself with a couple of things in it for Craig since we never know what time or how long we will be in the hospital. Better safe than sorry!

I can't stop thinking aboutholdingd her for the first time and seeing what she looks like! I can't believe that day is almost here. I am always thinking "she could literally come ANY day"! Seems so crazy. We have waited so long.

It seems like we just found out we were "expecting". I remember the day I told Craig, still half asleep, that we were going to be parents! It seems like yesterday... seriously! Our lives were about to change forever! Our lives have already changed so much. Hailey is already our priority and she's not even out of the "oven" yet.

Your pregnancy: 38 weeks:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.


Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)


How your life's changing:


For many women, the next couple of weeks are a waiting game. Use this time to prepare your baby's nursery or to take care of necessary tasks you may not get around to for a while after your baby's born. Take naps, catch up on your reading, and spend uninterrupted time with your partner while you can.


Some swelling in your feet and ankles is normal during these last weeks, but call your practitioner without delay if you notice excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, any swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, or have a sudden weight gain. Also let her know immediately if have severe or persistent headaches; visual changes (such as double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, light sensitivity, or a temporary loss of vision), intense upper abdominal pain or tenderness, or nausea and vomiting. These are symptoms of a serious condition called preeclampsia.

The past 9 months I have been "warning" my doctor that my baby will be abnormally huge! LOL He still doesn't believe me and to be honest, I am second guessing myself. I have always thought at least 10lbs but lately I am thinking 9-ish. The doctor went out on a limb and told us he thinks the baby will weigh "8lbs 9oz". We shall see! The time isn't too far off at this point!

I still can't complain about how I am feeling. I have felt great this entire pregnancy. The last couple of weeks I have felt a lot more fatigue, but I finally have some time to rest.

I am taking FULL advantage of not working. We were pretty busy the first week or so I was off but the last week I have had some time to rest and enjoy some "ME" time =)

I can't wait for Hailey to get here so I can hold her in my arms, but I am relaxing as much as I can until that time comes. From here on out I'm checked out! LOL

Maternity Photo Shoot!

For your viewing pleasure =)