Over 30 days down

How has it already been over a month since my 

beautiful daughter entered this world?! 

It amazes me to look back and see how things have changed so much in such little time!

Right now I am lucky to get on my computer every couple of weeks,

as I simply just have not had the time.

(Thank goodness for my iPhone and apps!)

So yes, I am a little late on her one month update, but better late than never!

In the last five weeks, we have done quite a bit of stuff, all of which of course
included adjusting to having a newborn around.

We celebrated mine and Randy's 6th wedding anniversary. 

Tegan and I had our first girls weekend, while daddy went elk hunting. 

In that same weekend, Tegan had her first growth spurt.

She is now in the midst of her second growth spurt.

Tegan had her first professional photo shoot.

We had Tegan's two week appointment, in which we found out she surpassed 

her birthweight and was (at that time) 7 lbs, 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches (she is much bigger now). 

We celebrated daddy's 30th birthday.

We celebrated our nephew/Tegan's cousin Jonah's 3rd birthday. 

And of course, we had quite a few visitors, including our out of town guests: 

Grandma Lee and Great Grandma Jessie 

(Sept 17 - Sept 24)

and

 Great Uncle Tom, Great Grandpa Steve, and Great Grandma Alice

(Sept 25 - Sept 30)

 As for Tegan, this month she has:

Discovered her tongue and loves to stick it out.

Is starting to smile more and more.

Loves to push up on things with her legs. 

Enjoys tummy time and reading books with mommy. 

Long overdue's!

Oh man..

When they say time goes fast when you have children, they seriously weren't lying! 

 I have been meaning to write this blog for quite some time!

In fact, this was meant to be my blog for when I was 39 weeks; however,

a little misses decided to make an early

appearance and instead led me to blogging about her birth story. 

So what is it this blog is about? 

Well my maternity pictures of course! 

While living up north, I worked with an amazing girl who does photography on the side.

She has such a gift for capturing photos and I was so blessed to have 

her capture this special time in my life. 

For many, maternity pictures are a way to remember your changing body and the little miracle that is growing inside of you. 

While this was true for me, it also meant something more. 

It meant a new chapter in my life and unfortunately, one I wouldn't be able to 

share with all those who meant the most to me.

While pregnancy was not the easiest thing for me, I also often

felt very sad knowing my mom would not 

be a part of my daughters life.

I hated thinking about my daughter not knowing who her grandma was,

 the way I never knew who my mom's parents were. 

It makes me sad to know that I have no feelings towards my maternal grandparents, 

as I truly knew nothing about them. 

I did not want this to be the case with Tegan.

I very much want my daughter to know who her grandma was.

I want her to know that if she were still here, she would be loved by her more than anyone 

could imagine possible.

I want her to know that even though our relationship had many ups and downs,

she was one of the strongest woman I knew and 

she would have done anything for us. 

Most importantly, I want Tegan to know that she has an angel watching over her in heaven

and just as my mom prayed over me every night,

she is praying over Tegan as well.

I look forward to the day when my daughter looks back on these maternity pictures. 

I cannot wait to explain to her why I chose to wear some of the outfits I did. 

You see, in a few of these photos, I am wearing my mothers' clothes. 

Outfits that she wore often, as well as outfits she wore 

when she too was pregnant. 

I wanted to incorporate my mom somehow, someway.. 

and I was thrilled that Marissa was on board with my idea.

She did such an amazing job capturing me in these "not-so-in-style" pieces 

and making them look like pieces of today. 

I can't thank you enough Marissa for capturing such a special time in my life that I will 

always be able to remember. 

There were SO many to choose from.. these are just a few of my favs! 

If you, or anyone you know, are ever in need of an awesome photographer in the Seattle area.. 

please check out Marissa's page!

http://www.maririckphotography.com

She seriously is amazing and so much fun to work with!

xoxo

Early Arrivals

Miss Tegan Mae's Birth Story

It's hard to believe I already have a one week old. 

When I was pregnant, a week couldn't go by fast enough.

Now I'm just dying for it to slow down!

This blog is going to include the details leading up to, as well as, the birth of my daughter. 

I won't be getting too detailed, but as most know, birth (although a quite amazing thing) is not the prettiest thing. 

It all started on Tuesday August 20th.

I was going about my day as I normally would..

Woke up, scarfed down a couple bowls of cereal, and tried to figure out how I 

was going to pass the time. 

The day before, I had gone in for a prenatal massage and I was so thankful because I actually ended up getting about 10 hours of good uninterrupted sleep that night. 

Because I was actually feeling pretty good, I decided to bake! 

It was a great way to waste time, avoid spending money, and little did I know my 

pumpkin crumb cake was going to be a lifesaver upon coming home 

from the hospital. 

At around 6:00 pm that evening, Randy and I were getting ready to eat some dinner, 

when I felt this weird trickle. 

It was very slight, but definitely not normal. 

Embarrassed, I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, did I just pee?" 

I went to the restroom, assessed the situation, and just thought okay that was weird.

Well 10 minutes later it happened again. 

This time I was even more perplexed. 

Within 30 minutes, I knew something was up because these little "trickles" just kept happening. 

I was texting my girlfriend and asking for her opinion, researching online to see if I had suddenly developed a new pregnancy symptom of incontinence or how to tell 

if I was in fact leaking amniotic fluid. 

I decided I would take a shower just in case something

 was happening and then evaluated the situation for the next couple hours.

I was determined that I was not going to be that overly anxious 

first time mom who makes a billion trips to labor and delivery, only to be sent right back home.

Plus, how embarrassing would that have been if they were like, 

"Uh sorry hun, but you did indeed just pee yourself."

Hey, it happens I guess?! I read plenty of stories about women who went into L&D 

thinking it was time, but really they just couldn't control their bladder!

It also didn't help that I had no other signs of labor at that time. 

Finally at about 8:45 pm, I made the call that we should go into L&D just to be safe.

It hadn't quite hit Randy that this could be it because:

1) I was way too calm; he was sure that the day I went into labor it was going

 to be complete chaos and stress, and 

2) he was not thrilled with the idea of potentially going in for nothing considering he needed to be up at 4 am for work the next morning. 

When we got to the hospital around 9:00 pm, 

right away they had me strip down and change into a gown.  

To my surprise my nurse (Tracey) kept telling me, 

"Well it sounds to me like you are leaking amniotic fluid."

I guess in my mind I was still in denial and thought everyone else was thinking to themselves, "Oh great, another first time mom who thinks "it is time"." 

The first thing they did was perform a swab test to detect the presence of amniotic fluid. 

Generally it takes about 10 minutes for the results to appear, but about two minutes

 later, I did indeed pop up positive for a a leak.

With no other questions asked, I was immediately admitted to the hospital.

Randy and I kind of glanced at each other, smiled, and without hesitation fastened our seat belts for what was about to come.  

Things got "real" really fast at that moment. 

Since I had yet to be "checked", the on-call doctor for my doctors office wanted to know what my status was as far as labor progression. 

The nurse came in to do the check and it turns out I was nowhere near being in labor. 

WONDERFUL.

 I could just see the look in my nurses eyes. She wanted better news to tell me, 

but the truth was Tegan was so high she couldn't even feel her head 

nor had she even come close to "dropping".

She was considered -5 station and I think just to be nice, the nurse told me I was 

maybe 1 cm dilated. 

Without much choice, it looked as though I was going to have to be induced 

and I was schedule to start pitocin around midnight.

Since the nurse couldn't verify if Tegan was still head down or not, we had to have 

an ultrasound tech come in to determine her positioning, as well as how much

 amniotic fluid I still had remaining. 

At first I was excited to have the ultrasound and see baby girl,

but then once he was performing it, she was so squished up inside it was kinda scary looking! 

We were able to determine that she was indeed head down, as well as sunny side up! 

OH JOY! 

As if labor wasn't going to be painful enough going all natural, now I not only get to have pitocin, but I also get to push out a baby who is face up! ;)

I had about one hour to get on my hands and knees and try to get this little girl to flip 

so she would be face down. Unfortunately, there isn't

 any way to determine if this technique works 

until come push time. 

It was still worth a shot in my opinion, so I gave it a go 

(and yes, in my case, it did work!!)

At 12:30 am, they started me on the pitocin and my nurse (Judith) told me to try and get some rest. 

Pish.. fat chance! 

Although I did try, lets be realistic, I was about to have a baby! 

While Randy got some shut eye, I tossed and turned, checked my FB, checked my instagram, tossed some more, went on my pregnancy app, and finally at 2:00 am, I felt my first real contraction. 

They weren't consistent at this point, but it did mean things were progressing. 

By 4:00 am my contractions were starting to become more consistent and were strong enough that I needed to focus on breathing through them. 

I text my sister Danielle and told her she better head over as things were picking up.

Randy had just awoke and I updated him on my progress throughout the night. 

At 5:30 am I asked to be checked again as I was starting to have some pretty 

good pressure throughout my hips, back and lower region. 

It turns out I was now 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. My nurse was very thrilled

 with my progress thus far. 

As things continued to intensify, breathing through my contractions got harder and harder. 

It didn't help that I was also starting to feel nauseous. 

My sister Danielle and Randy continued to try and coach me through each contraction.

Randy let me squeeze the crap out of his hand, and while I held Danielle's hand as well, I tried not to take it out on her too. 

By 6:30 am I was 5 cm dilated, 80% effaced, and -2 station. 

I could definitely feel the intensity of her dropping and my pelvic bones separating.  

At 7:45 am my doctor stopped in to check on me. 

I was 6 cm (almost 7), 90% effaced and at 0 station.  

By this point I could barely take the contractions. 

As my contractions continued to intensify, I started having them one on top of the other. 

I was maybe getting 15-30 seconds between some of them, 

which was definitely not enough time to recover. 

I called the nurse in and asked how much longer I had to be on the pitocin 

and begged for them to turn it off.

My nurse (Shanon), who was AMAZING, cut my dose in half

and drew up a bath for me to see if that would help bring down the intensity of the contractions.

While I really didn't want to move or get in a bath, I was diminishing and 

getting more and more ready to throw in the towel. 

I was starting to feel defeat and wasn't sure I could do this all natural.

I kept saying, "Why am I doing this without meds? What is wrong with me?" or "I don't think I can do this much longer." 

Randy, my sister Danielle, and my nurse Shanon were such huge support. 

They kept encouraging me and telling me I could do this, but always reminded me that the pain meds were there if I absolutely needed.

They never tried to push them on me and instead tried to take my mind off that aspect

and comforted me, reminding me to breathe. 

While in the tub, my contractions did not ease up whatsoever; but I was able to relax a little more when 

I did get the slight brake between some of my contractions.

They were so erratic at this point. 

Sometimes I would get them one on top of the other, and other times

 I would get a minute or two between them.

I was getting an increased urge to push, so my nurse checked me again and this time I was 8 cm dialted and 100 effaced. 

It was 8:00 am and my nurse wanted me out of the tub because 

she knew it was going to be "go time" soon.

After waiting it out through another set of contractions, I moved back to the bed and by about 8:45 it was time to get this baby out. 

I guess for a lot of people they say with pushing comes relief.

Well, I found absolutely no relief in pushing. 

Pushing was hard. It was intense. And I almost threw up multiple times. 

It was even harder when my Dr. was no where to be found and I had to try and relax myself

through two sets of contractions. 

I knew I could have pushed her out through those, but my nurse was sweating bullets and kept 

telling me to hold off on pushing and to try and relax and breathe. 

It was during my third set of contractions that I didn't care anymore. 

 I was pushing this baby out with or without my doctor there.

My nurse had already called for someone to get the on-call doctor, in which I think I may have whined and said, "I want my doctor."

And it was just as I was getting ready to push Tegan's head out, that my Doctor did end up swooping in, barely had her gloves on, and delivered the rest of my daughter.

I pushed for all of about 30 minutes 

(which every minute was excruciatingly painful)

and at 9:13 am, miss Tegan Mae made her debut. 

She is absolutely perfect and I couldn't be happier about how my whole experience at Legacy went.

I had amazing nurses, Tegan had amazing nurses, my doctor was amazing, 

and the delivery all in all went as smooth as one could as for. 

Everyone truly made me feel special and wouldn't stop ranting and raving about

my decision of going all natural and sticking through with it.

Since that day, Tegan has been nothing but perfect.

She hardly cries and has done everything exactly how it should be done.

She has had no issues with latching, she eats like a champ, she sleeps all the time, and she has been gaining her weight back (and more I'm sure!)

She barley whimpered when getting her shots or having her blood drawn.

She loved her bath. 

She hardly fusses during changes.

While we did have a little scare with jaundice, she was able to get over that 

all on her own as well. 

(Thanks to her ability to eat so well!)

I know I may come off as bragging, but I also have to say we are already on a

 schedule which goes a little like this:

Sleep, eat, poop, repeat.

We do this about every 2-3 hours with no complications. 

Seriously, it's like clockwork. 

Although I know not everyone wants to hear every little detail about

 the birth of my daughter, it is something more so for me 

to document, as well as for the book 

this blog will become. 

For those of you that read it, I hope you enjoyed. 

If not, then at least enjoy the pictures that are to follow. :)

Just got hooked up to my IV 

This is really happening! 

First family photo

6 pounds, 4.9 ounces

Getting all cleaned up. She loved her 1st bath.

Daddy is in love already

Proud Daddy and Aunties

<3 my sisters

About to change his 1st diaper ever!

Day #2 and another proud Auntie came to visit! 

So in love already 

Time to head home

You're just so little! 

And Lovable! 

xoxo

Sleepless Nights.. Insomnia, You Are Not my Friend

Oh man, this insomnia stuff is no joke! 

The last two nights have been awful. 

It is one thing to toss and turn and have a rough night occasionally,

but when you have been consistently sleeping bad for a few weeks and then suddenly this

insomnia stuff makes it's way into your routine,

it takes you to a whole new level!

I feel like I have completely lost my mind.

It seriously hurts to think and I feel like I'm moving at a pace that is slower than a snail. 

I guess they say it's just our bodies getting ready for the sleepless nights to come once baby is here

and let me tell you, I will give up sleep any day if it means taking 

care of Tegan and giving her whatever it is she may need;

but to lose sleep right now simply because your body just aches and you are restless, well it just plain stinks!

I am really hoping these next two weeks (give or take) don't get any harder and before 

I know it I will have a precious little baby girl in my arms.

Randy thinks Tegan is going to come sometime around August 27th and I'm thinking

more so around September 3rd. 

It is so hard not being in control of the situation, but I continue to remind myself that 

everything will happen according to Gods plan. 

Here is to hopefully a relaxing week that I intend to fill with some pampering. 

I think I may just go get that prenatal massage I've been wanting, as well as a nice little trip

to get a pedicure. 

Until next week (if she hasn't come yet!)

How far along? 38 Weeks 2 days

Total weight gain: Back up 2 lbs! Oh man, this water retention thing.. So, that puts me at a total of 31 lbs.

Maternity clothes? I am so over clothes. Haha

Stretch marks? None

Best moment this week: Celebrating my sister’s birthday and a surprise visit from my SIL and BIL.

Miss Anything? Being able to snuggle my husband without this huge bump in the way.  

Movement: Yes; and for about the last week, it is typical for Tegan to get the hiccups before bed and once again when I wake up.  

Food cravings: None. I have had a sweet tooth lately, but that is pretty normal for me. I think Tegan will follow in my footsteps because every time I eat some sweets, she goes crazy inside! J

Anything making you queasy or sick: No

Gender: Oh she better be a girl. I am getting nervous about the fact that you really don’t know until they are actually here! Lol

Labor Signs: Nothing significant. Contractions (that I am usually oblivious about) and her head is getting lower and lower.

Symptoms: Insomnia, lots of achiness from the hips down and in my thoracic/rib cage area, and slight swelling.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? Finally took my ring off this week. I was getting a little nervous because it was starting to feel tight. Randy said he would rather me have it off than wait too long and end up getting it cut off!  

Happy or Moody most of the time: I’ve been really moody the last two days due to being so uncomfortable and lack of sleep. I literally have had about 8-9 hours of sleep total in the last two nights. Insomnia is not my friend.

Looking forward to: My upcoming anniversary, as well as my doctor’s appointment on Friday. I am actually looking forward to this appointment as I will be about 39 weeks and am finally at the point where I am interested in seeing what my progress is. I declined being checked at my last appointment, as I knew it was too soon, but I think I am finally getting my mine wrapped around the fact that I am indeed ready! 

Projects and To-do Lists

Okay..

Isn't there this thing called nesting that is supposed to happen? 

Well, it can come anytime now! 

I swear, I am such a procrastinator and I could totally use a burst 

of energy to get things going. 

My list of to-do's continues to get bigger and I have yet to cross any items off. 

The only reason the nursery is somewhat put together is solely based on the fact that

I had my dad over for dinner on Friday and wanted it to look

presentable. 

Here is just a little peak at some of the things on my to-do list: 

- wash all baby items

- go purchase necessities for hospital stay

-pack hospital bag

- get dinners prepped for post baby easiness

-go on hospital tour and pre-register

-take Randy to get tdap shot

-get pedicure prior to d-day!

(okay, that last one isn't a must, but more so a want..)

Anywho, I sure hope my nesting instincts kick in soon

cause I didn't even go into the things I still need to do around the house! 

 I think you all get the drift though. 

So onto bigger and better things!

The NURSERY! 

So while it isn't 100% completed, for the most part it is where it needs to be. 

I have a few more things to purchase, such as:

the nursery chair, side table, a lamp, a clock, and some more decor; 

but all in all, I am pretty happy with how it is coming along. 

I had fun getting crafty this weekend (it has been awhile) and I can't thank 

Randy enough for helping me put this together!

I hope you guys like it as much as I do, because it is probably my favorite 

thing in her nursery right now!

It started as this...

And became this... 

This baby cost me a whole $3.44 cents to make! 

We took an old wood pallet and pulled it apart, washed it, and pieced the planks together how we liked. 

Randy then nailed them together using two wood pieces on the back. 

I printed and cut out the words.

I then painted them using paint we already had from the trim in our house.

The $3.44 was used to buy the mounting so we could hang it on the wall and know it was nice and sturdy!

TAHHH-DAHHH!

And now for the nursery...

I know it isn't your typical nursery, but it is exactly how I like it.

As I mentioned before, it isn't 100% done, but it is coming close and I can't complain. 

I am hoping that as Tegan grows, she will keep pieces from her nursery that she can use in her room throughout her life. 

Little girl, we are ready for you!! 

(sorta, kinda, maybe.. eeek!)

How far along? 37 Weeks 2 days

Total weight gain: Woo hoo! I lost a pound this time! So I am at 29 lbs.. I’m sure it is just my water weight that is fluctuating, but I will take it!

Maternity clothes? Yes, and sadly I am starting to run out of things to wear, even to bed! My own pajama shirts, which I am usually swimming in, don’t fit.. haha

Stretch marks? None yet. My oh so sweet doctor has faith that I won’t get any. She says she can just tell. Haha, I love her!  

Best moment this week: Putting the nursery together (for the most part) and having my daddy over for dinner and dessert! J

Miss Anything? Having abs and muscles to move like a normal person; it is amazing how your body gets completely taken over and you no longer have control.

Movement: Okay, I am afraid my child is huge.. I can feel her all over the place all at the same time. Like currently, I feel something jabbing my lower left hip, upper left rib, it feels hard just above my belly button, and there is something poking my right side. So, in short, she spans my entire stomach, side-to-side, top to bottom. Lol

Food cravings: Nope and thankfully I'm not having any more hunger binges lately.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Today I was feeling a little nauseous, but I think it was because I needed to eat.

Gender: Girl, girl, girl!

Labor Signs: I slowly feel like my body is starting to prepare for her arrival. Nothing significant has gone on, but slowly I can tell things are changing.  

Symptoms: Lots of baby jabs, horrid back pain, pain in the heels of my feet, and last night I had a bad headache and my ears were randomly burning.

Belly Button in or out? In/flat.. Randy says I no longer have a belly button; however, it isn’t an outie.

Wedding rings on or off? Solitaire is still on!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy. Towards the end of the night I get a little moody just from being so uncomfortable. I totally cried last night from the aches and pains, I think I had just had enough and got overwhelmed. My sweet husband was so comforting though and laid next to me, rubbing my back and reminded me that we are almost there.

Looking forward to: My sister Michelle’s birthday on Saturday and spending time with my family. We also have our birthing tour next Sunday. Ah, it’s getting real!