Hadley Update

Yesterday we had our 2 week check up so I thought this would be a good time to update the blog again.  It’s hard to believe our little girl is already 2 weeks and 1 day old!  She did really well at the doctor (probably better than I did) – they did a newborn blood screen, so they had to prick her heel at the end of the appointment and it just hurts my heart to hear her scream out in pain.  I am not looking forward to our one month since she has to get another shot. 

We did get some update stats – Hadley has gained 12 oz since her last appointment at 4 days old and now weighs 8lbs!  I was so happy to hear that because that means we don’t have to wake her up at night for feedings anymore (although she can do that just fine on her own, it gives me hope for a stretch longer than 2 hours every now and then!) We actually had a stretch of almost 5 hours between feedings already, so I’m hoping she keeps that up! 

She’s also grown 1/2 an inch and is 21 inches long now. 

Here are some pictures from the past 2 weeks…

Stretchin out after being swaddled up

On our way to our first doctor’s appointment

First bath – she actually really liked it (I think it helped that we had a small space heater going in the bathroom – she loved being all warm and cozy)

Hadley’s first snow day!  We had left the house for our newborn photoshoot, and it started coming down really hard before we left!  I was definitely happy to be watching the snow from the warmth of our house – the drive home was a little nerve-wracking for a new mom  

This picture cracks me up – this is her one-week pose  

Warm and clean after bath #2

Mid-sneeze!  I hope we can catch a sneeze on video – they are the cutest things ever!

Workin on her pout

Tummy time

Much more alert these past couple days!

Sleeping soundly in her swing.

Hadley’s Room

I drafted this post before she was actually born, and there have been a few updates since I took these pictures, but my camera has been a little busy taking pictures of Hadley and not her room, so I thought I’d post this in the meantime. 

Here’s the before…

And the same view (before she was born) – obviously the car seat isn’t in there anymore.  We have a cute white table there now (thanks mom and dad!) and the book shelf has changed a bit too.  I’ll have to get some updated pictures sooner or later.

The canvas above her crib is Proverbs 3:24 “When you sleep, you will not be afraid; when you sleep, your sleep will be sweet”

The crib and dresser are by Pali, the rug is from Rugs Direct.com and I made the tissue poms (with some help from my sister in law) hanging from the ceiling.

My friend Keely monogrammed Hadley’s name on her bumper (which is from Pottery Barn Kids)

And baby makes 3…

I’ve updated facebook but just realized I’ve neglected the blog  a little in the past week.  We thought we had until the 12th, but little Miss Hadley Ann decided she had other plans and arrived on January 3rd at 10:30pm!  Warning: birth story to follow so for those of you not interested in too many details, you can skip to the bottom for pictures  

On Sunday the 2nd, we went to bed fairly late (11pm – who would have thought that I would ever say that was a late bedtime for me?) and I woke up around midnight to what felt like a really strong Braxton Hicks contraction.   I tried to go back to sleep, but 5 minutes later I had another one.  They weren’t extremely painful, just enough to keep me awake, so I started timing them, just to pass the time more than anything else.  By 5am they had gotten a little more painful, so I woke Matt up and told him I was calling the doctor to see what they suggested.  The doctor said since I could still talk through them easily and my water hadn’t broken, to just sit tight at home and try to rest as much as possible.  So, that’s what we did until 10:30a or so when the contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes (although I could still basically talk/walk through them).  We called the doctor again and they said to go ahead and come in to get checked (thankfully it was a weekday and during business hours, so we didn’t have to go to triage in labor & delivery).  We went in and the doctor said I was only 2 cm and should go take a walk, have some lunch and try to get some more rest.  She told me to call her when the pain basically made me hit my knees. 

So, Matt and I went to the mall and walked around for about an hour, had some lunch in the food court, and although the contractions were coming faster (about every 2-3 minutes) I was still on my feet, so we hopped in the car to head home.  About 30 minutes after we got home, I laid down on the couch and started feeling much more intense pain in my back.  I tried to stay lying down to rest but the only position I could handle being in during a contraction was on my hands and knees.  Since I’d talked to the doctor twice at this point and neither time did they seem concerned that she was coming soon, I decided to try a bath to relax some more before calling again.  At that point, I had definitely reached my limit on pain, so I got out, we loaded up the car and called the doctor on the way to the hospital.  Again, I was thankful I could just go into my doctor’s office (on the second floor of the hospital).  I was in tears by the time we got to the doctor’s office so they brought me right back, came in and checked me and told me I was at 4 cm and they had called down to labor & delivery and told them to expect me. 

Around 4:30p we were checked in to the hospital and I was told the epidural was on it’s way.  Although I could still tell when I was having contractions even after the epidural, it was such a life-saver.  I wouldn’t have had any energy left for delivery without it.  The doctor seemed to think it would still be awhile so she left and said she come back to check me in a couple hours.  By 6p my water had broken and they said I was 6 cm – which was great news.  At 8, they came back and I was at 10cm, but they told me we would wait before pushing to let the contractions do some of the work for me.  I started pushing around 9p and Hadley was born at 10:30p. 

The next few days are a bit of a blur in my head – we were in the hospital from Monday through Wednesday evening (I had to be on antibiotics because I had a fever during labor, so they wanted to monitor me all day Wednesday before releasing us). 

Here are some pics and Hadley’s stats:

Weight: 7lbs 9oz (she was 7lbs 3oz when we left the hospital)

Length: 20 1/2 inches

Head: 14 1/2 inches

We had a weight check appointment at the doctor on Friday and she had already gained an ounce back, so as far as we know, we are at 7lbs 4oz now.  She is a pretty good eater, so I’m hoping we’ll be even bigger at her 2 week check up. 

Christmas 2010

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings *were* hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

And the rest of my pictures don’t really go with the rest of the poem, so I’ll stop there and just share the remainder of our Christmas pictures. 

Playing a little Wii…

Before Christmas Eve service…

Santa came!

I feel like Matt and I went out with a bang this Christmas – because I’m guessing next Christmas a certain little girl named Hadley will be the star of the show.  We got so many wonderful, generous gifts this year and feel so blessed!  A couple of my favorites were…

A DSLR camera!  I have been wanting one of these for awhile, and am so excited to take some good pictures! 

Matt and I also got a video camera to take videos of Hadley once she’s here…

I got some new luggage thanks to my sweet in-laws!  Both of these bags from Jon Hart – only in black/tan and not the colors below.  One of these bags is already packed with things (including the cute lounging clothes my sister got me) for the hospital!

And, because our phones were dying (and I was not okay with Matt not having a phone that worked this close to the due date), my sweet husband got us both iPhones!

We had such a great Christmas this year – it’s hard to believe that next year we’ll have an almost 1 year old to add to the celebration!

Pregnancy Updates

Life has been pretty busy around here, so even though I took a picture at 36 weeks & 4 days, I never got around to posting it, and now here I am at 38 weeks & 4 days.  So this post will have to serve for both pictures.  First, a quick baby update for what’s going on with her…

From 37 weeks: 

Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away.  (How is that fair?  She’s ready to come out, but we have to wait 3 more weeks to meet her?)  If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard—anyone know what that is?). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

And 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—again, this is not a very good comparison for me). 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.)

My hair & eye prediction is that she’ll have blonde peach fuzz for hair and brown/gray eyes. 

How Far Along: 38 weeks and 4 days

Total Weight Gain: I’m right around 35-40 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight!  YIKES! Again – I can’t believe I’m posting that for all the world to see – but I do want to be able to look back on this and remember where I was at each point in the pregnancy…

Maternity Clothes: Even my maternity clothes are getting uncomfortable.  I wear leggings and t-shirts pretty much every day

Best Moment this week: Since this post is covering the last 4 weeks since I posted, I’m just going to say pretty much all of Christmas time.  Everyone came to us this year and it was nice to be able to relax and enjoy spending time with family.

Gender: Still a girl for all we know!  - Hadley Ann :)

Movement:  I can feel her all the time now – in addition to the jerky little kicks, I can feel her rolling around and squirming in there.  She also gets the hiccups a couple times a day (and night).  They’re cute at first, but when they’re waking you up at 3am they lose a little cute-ness.

Food Craving: No real cravings, and I haven’t been quite as hungry lately either.  Hadley is definitely taking up more room so I can’t fully enjoy a big meal. 

Sleep: Still not too much trouble here – I wake up once or twice a night still, sometimes because of Hadley kicking, sometimes to go to the bathroom – but I typically don’t have too much trouble getting back to sleep.

What I am looking forward to: Finally meeting our baby girl!

Belly Button: Half in-half out.  If I’m lying down, it’s in, but pretty much any other time it sticks out a little.

Symptoms: We had our first visit to labor & delivery just before Christmas because I had a fever and chills and my doctor’s office was closed, so they wanted me to get checked out.  After almost 5 hours there, they basically said I was fine and sent me home.  I’ve also had a bad cold the past 4 or 5 days, which has NOT been fun, but thankfully Matt has been off work and able to pick up the slack around the house so I can rest.  Other than those things, I’m not feeling *too* bad yet – just getting tired quickly and have a hard time getting up/walking around too much. 

And here are the latest belly pictures: