Austin is 1 month!

Friday, December 7, 2012


That's right, my sweet baby boy is 1 month old (and a few days now that I'm finally getting around to posting this). He had his 1 month check up a few days ago... let me just tell you the story.

Our morning started off a little rocky as we overslept because our alarm didn't go off so we were rushing around like crazy and if you know me at all, you know rushing and being late absolutely kill me. I can't stand to be late. Thankfully we walked into the doctor's office only a few minutes late and they were behind anyways. I'm still figuring out how much time it takes me and little mister to get out the door. Getting me ready is a breeze but feeding, burping, and changing him is all good until he spits up last minute and absolutely soaks his clothes or has a blow out diaper as I'm finishing getting him dressed can add just a few minutes to say the least.

Little A was born weighing 8 pounds 1 ounce. His discharge weight was 7 pounds 6 ounces. I was so anxious to see how much weight he had gained. He had a check up 2 days after we left the hospital and he was up to 7 pounds 9 ounces. Once we got him on the scale, I couldn't believe my eyes. My little chunky monkey now weighs 10 pounds 1 and a half ounces!!!! Guess those newborn clothes will be packed up sooner rather than later! It was such a relief though, breastfeeding is a job and I worry sometimes whether he gets enough, but his weight proved he definitely was!! His doctor was very pleased with him and said I get an A+ in nursing! Whewww, sigh of relief!

I have always had quite the relationship with shots, I am terrified of needles, but watching your baby get a shot makes you absolutely LOATHE shots, I'm talking Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, loathe! 


Little A was looking in the mirror beside the changing table smiling and looking around, then the nurse stuck him. His bottom lip poked out and then, it happened. The most heartbreaking sound ever, he screamed this high pitched, blood curling scream and starting bawling. And as any mother would do at the sight and sound of this, I started crying too.

It felt like forever before the nurse told me to pick him up. When she finally did, Little A buried his face in my neck and held on to my shirt so tight and wouldn't let go. It took a few minutes to calm him down, and for me to suck it up and be ok too. But we pulled it together and besides our heartbreaking shot experience, it was a great appointment. Little A's pediatrician just couldn't stop bragging on him. Of course I know our boy is perfect but it's always nice to hear confirmation from a professional.

1 month stats:

  • Weight - 10 lbs. 1.5 oz. (50th percentile)
  • Length - 20 and 7/8 inches long (25th percentile)
  • Diaper size - newborn
  • Clothes size - newborn
  • Favorites- bath time, laying on daddy's chest, looking at lights
  • Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- while I'm not a fan of this warm weather in December, it did bring about the opportunity to get out the stroller and go for a few long walks. And of course, watching my baby boy change, grow, and develop. His little cheeks are filling out
Here are some pictures of Little A's first month !


This may be my favorite picture ever, he was just a few days old




 waiting on Dr. B at his check up, look at those sweet cheeks 


After the check up. Notice him holding my shirt, he would NOT let me go


Flannel never looked so good 

Psalms 127:3

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

More exciting baby news!

 My sister gave birth to my second niece !!! MaryAnna was born at 12:34am weighing in at a tiny 6 lbs. 15.5 oz. She is 19" long. I was with my sister as her labor coach when she gave birth to her first baby, my niece Camille. My brother-in-law was in Iraq during her first pregnancy and delivery and I was so happy when she asked me to be her coach. It was an incredible experience, so I was THRILLED when she asked me to be in there again.This time around, it was a whole new ball game. 

Brittni was my co-coach with my hubby only a month before! Being a coach after giving birth yourself feels very different. I had a better understanding of what to do and what not to do, what helped and what made it worse. Side note- my first niece is 1 year old, my son is 1 month old, and obviously MaryAnna is a brand spanking new baby. My sister and I have the same Doctor, we delivered at the same hospital, and all 3 deliveries we have had the same nurse. SO needless to say, we are known pretty well in the Labor and Delivery ward. Our nurse Donna is called "our family nurse" and she knows us well, which is so comforting, she just happens to be the most amazing nurse in the universe and deserves a huge bonus!

Going through this experience makes me realize a few things.

1) Yes, my sister and I have our arguments, disagreements, and times we bump heads on things, but at the end of the day we ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have each other's back no matter what. She is my best friend and I know I can always count on her.

2) Babies are such a beautiful gift from God. If you have ever experienced pregnancy, labor and delivery and then motherhood, you know it could only be orchestrated by the Lord. Pregnancy in itself is such a miracle. There are times it's tough, but each dirty diaper, sleepless nights, and spit up filled day is worth it. What an awesome God we serve.
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."- Psalms 127:3

3) My Husband in incredible- I have always loved my husband with all of my heart, but there is just something indescribable about seeing him with our son. He gets up to change his diapers, plays with him, and does anything and everything possible without being asked. He is the perfect father and wonderful husband. My boys already have quite the bond and I can't wait to watch it grow and develop over the years.

let me just show you MaryAnna's sweet little face

And this is Little A waiting to meet his new cousin.... i think the excitement was too much
please excuse the poor quality, it was dark in the room, and I used my phone.


Labor brain

Monday, December 3, 2012

WARNING- lengthy post!

All things labor and delivery (don't worry, this will be kept sensitive stomach friendly)

I definitely want to share our labor and delivery story for many reasons. 1) it was our first experience, something I never want to forget. 2) hopefully it will make all you future mamas out there rest easy

My doctor told me only 15% of pregnant women actually experience their water breaking on their own.  All of the women in my family have to have their waters broken by the doctor so needless to say, when my water broke at 11PM while I was asleep was a total and complete shock! Rewind a bit to that afternoon (Thursday the 1st). I had a Chiropractic appointment and my Chiropractor suggested some accupressure points that "induce labor". I laughed and said "I'm such a skeptic when it comes to that stuff so you can show me but I'm not getting my hopes up." Well I am a believer! He showed Mr. J places on my feet and legs to rub that supposedly get the process started. Mr. J rubbed my feet at 9pm, we went to bed, and BOOM, 2 hours later, I woke up to my water breaking.

I was so in shock I just sat there while Mr. J asked what he could do for me. I just sat there and said "I don't know, what do we do?" I called my mom and she gently (ok, not very gently) reminded me to call the hospital (confession: I had not even thought about calling the hospital). Once I did, the nurse asked if I was having contractions, my response "I don't know I don't think I've slowed down to notice." She told me to take my time, take a quick shower to relax, and just come when I was ready. 

I stood in front of my open closet for 15 minutes trying to figure out what to wear, not because I wanted a cute outfit, but because that's how long it took me to process that I needed pants, a shirt, socks, and everything else. Seriously 'in labor' brain is way worse than pregnancy brain, I kept aimlessly wandering around our house. I would go into a room, stand there for a few minutes then walk back to our bedroom. As I was double checking the hospital bag, I started having contractions, at first they were 10 minutes apart, once we were in the car headed to the hospital they were 8 minutes apart. By the time we parked at the hospital and were walking in, the contractions had picked up and were painful.


My labor progressed very quickly. After being at the hospital for about 3 hours, my contractions were coming every 2 minutes and lasting a minute and a half. Side note----- what they don't teach you in lamaze class, breathing through contractions and trying to keep your sanity is exhausting! Everytime I had a contraction, I would start shaking uncontrollably, which made it difficult to try to breath and relax. It was so annoying to have no control over my body, shaking made it way more uncomfortable since they tell you not to tense up but my muscles were spazzing. To make matters worse, as soon as I got the hospital and hooked up the the monitors, my nurse told me my blood pressure was high. Everytime she checked it, it was higher. She said it was stress induced. Well who isn't stressed when they are about to give birth? I had made a playlist of praise and worship music to listen to and it helped so much, and having a husband who lets you squeeze the life out of his hands is a huge plus. I was THRILLED when my nurse said she would go get the anesthesiologist for my epidural. 

Can I just say, epidurals are God's gift to the world. Seriously, I have never loved a needle so much. Once I got the epidural, I was able to relax and actually enjoy the moment. So future mamas, NEVER EVER EVVVEERRR pass up the chance to get an epidural, if it had not been for the epidural, I don't think I would have enjoyed labor at all. Also, the epidural helped my blood pressure lower to normal.

Everything happened so quickly, once I got my epidural, it seemed like 2 minutes later, I was checked for dilation and my nurse said "OK we will have a baby in about 10 minutes, I will go get Dr.K". Mr. J's eyes got big, and my other labor coach, my older sister, said "ahh yay!!!" I only had to push for about 15 minutes and it was surprisingly easier than I had prepared myself for. In that moment I was glad I had exercised all throughout pregnancy, I know it helped.  My Doctor was bragging on me telling me how I did so good that I should teach a class on giving birth (he probably tells that to everyone to make them feel good, but hey, i'll take it). Next thing I know,  Dr. K was placing my sweet boy on my chest and in that moment when I connected eyes with my son for the very first time, my world became complete. Words cannot even describe that feeling. Love at first sight has a whole new meaning. Looking at Little A while crying with my hubby was such a beautiful moment that I will treasure forever! When they took Little A to check his weight and vitals and clean him up, it seemed like he was gone forever, I was so anxious for him to come back. Mr. J stayed with him and my sister stayed with me.

It seemed like our time in the hospital flew by. We had so many of our sweet friends and family come visit. It was so much fun to see people's reactions when they were able to meet our sweet boy. We are SO blessed. Now let me share some pictures of that wonderful day.

waiting patiently for my epidural

last kiss before

daddy holding Little A for the first time

Finally getting to hold my sweet baby
Our little angel <3


So incredibly thankful for my hubby- he was an awesome coach! Love you babe
Also, thanks to my other coach my sister, who by the way was 8 months pregnant while she was coaching me!