Meeting the Fam...

Last weekend Beckett got to meet his family and friends...

Auntie Cori and Sweet Hayden

Grandpa!

I love this picture :).

Captain Thunder



Aunt Aimee, Allison, and Colin.

Beckett is already so loved!

A Million Things I Want to Remember...

Today my sweet baby boy is ten days old young.  Words cannot even describe what the last week and a half has been like for Guy and I.  We are in constant amazement of our son. 

Already I am feeling a bit sad at how fast he is changing and how time is flying.  I know, crazy - he was just born.  I'm SO excited for his future, but I feel this overwhelming need to remember/record/document every little thing that happens.  I don't want to forget a single memory. 

So, here are the highlights:

Driving to the hospital last Sunday night was surreal.  It didn't seem real to me that I was about to have a BABY.  I was excited, but I was also really nervous.  I had gone to the ER a few times as a kiddo, but thankfully I have never had major surgery or medical issues. 

When we checked in I had the NICEST nurse.  I only had her for one night, but she really made me feel at ease.  In fact, the entire 5 days that we were at the hospital I was surrounded by the most professional, patient, sweet, and sensitive people - everyone from the cleaning ladies to the nursing staff to the ladies who brought me meals (I will elaborate on hospital food later).

Contractions SUCK.  Big time.  They started around midnight Sunday night and lasted until the sweet relief of the Epidural came around noon the next day.  That anesthesiologist was my best friend.    I had been in tears from the pain and was completely relying on Guy to get me through it. 

A catheter is kinda gross, but it was my other best friend too.  Preggo ladies go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME.  Really, I could have used the catheter the last few months of my pregnancy and been pretty cool with it.

After each contraction the nurse started to notice a pattern that Beckett's heart beat would drop.  This pattern progressively increased until my doctor suddenly came in the room and said that a c-section would need to be done.  And soon!  Guy barely had time to let our families know and get in his blue gown before I was wheeled off to the OR room.  I felt scared, but I was also SO drugged that it didn't even seem real to me.  I remember just asking Guy to make sure and take pictures and video.  He did!  Good job, hon.

I will never forget hearing his first cry.  It was just a couple of quick, soft cries.  Mind you, this was all over the Britney Spears and Fergie music that the doctors were jamming out to....seriously?!?  I listened to Guy and the doctors talking about him - surprised at his small size, Guy saying he had a cone head (it went away after a few hours), there were a few extra twists in the umbilical cord.  All the while I was dying to meet him.

When Guy finally brought him to meet me all I wanted to do was kiss him.  My euphoria didn't last long because just a few seconds later I was throwing up :(. 

Soon we were wheeled off to the recovery room.  There were bouquets of flowers waiting for us, which was so sweet.  After doing some measurements and a quick clean up, they laid him on my chest and he started to nurse.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats the skin to skin contact of a baby on your chest.  I swear that feeling is better than any other experience in the world.

Our little peanut weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19.25 inches long.  We had been expecting a much bigger baby!  In so many ways he has surprised us. 

While all of this was going on, everyone was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to meet Beckett.  They finally had the chance when we were wheeled from the recovery room to our new hospital room.

Shortly after Beckett had his first bath.  He didn't mind too much.

Ok, I was patient up to a point....now bath time should be over!

Happy now that bath time is over and everyone is lovin' on me.

Between a million visits from nurses and doctors, our family and friends coming for visits, and

 all of the drugs they were giving me, five days in the hospital actually flew by.  We had the best time getting to know our little man.  A few things we quickly learned - he LOVES to suck his fingers or anything else that can get into his mouth, he sleeps on his side and not on his back, and he is a good eater and sleeper, he has one little dimple on the right side of his mouth, and he scrunches up his forehead for most of his expressions. 

He also does not enjoy dress up.

In the hospital, Guy changed ALL of the diapers.  He didn't gag once!  Guy got lots of practice because Beckett had 23 dirty diapers in his first day and a half of life.  The nurses were very impressed. 

We were fortunate to have many family and friends come to visit us in the hospital.  Beckett finally got to meet his future wife, Hadley!

 

Our first family picture.

 Isn't he handsome???

Our hospital stay was actually pretty enjoyable.  On several occasions Guy and I said that we almost didn't want to go home.  We loved being in "baby land" and just enjoying getting to know our son and being a family of three.  The outside world seemed very distant!  In fact, there were severe storms with tornadoes and hail in our area and in Oklahoma City/Norman on Tuesday.  Guy is a complete weather NERD and didn't even realize this until I mentioned that I saw something about it on Facebook.  Of course after that he had the laptop and TV on constantly to watch the news!

Back to the hospital food - Due to the c-section I wasn't allowed to eat until I passed gas.  Yes, you read that right.  Never have I been more anxious for that to happen!  We ate a delicious dinner Sunday night and I didn't get to eat a real meal until Tuesday afternoon.  I could only eat popsicles and juice :(.  When the big moment finally arrived and I was presented with my celebration meal, it was a Thanksgiving turkey dinner.  Sick!  They followed that up with some nasty meatloaf concoction.  I will give them credit for making a mean dinner roll, but that is about it.  Not surprisingly, my husband gobbled up almost all of my hospital meals. 

On Thursday it was finally time to take our little man home.  Guy was more than a little anxious to get checked out.  We tried to put him in his tuxedo, but it was WAY too big :(. 

We are finally home and things are going great! Right now, Life on Autumn Trail is pretty darn good :).



T-Minus 7 Days!

One week from today we will get to meet Beckett!  Guy and I are beyond excited.

Here are the 37 week details:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks as of yesterday

Size of Baby: A week and a half ago he was weighing in at 6 lbs. and 7 oz.  At this point he is probably growing 1/2 to 1 full pound a week! 

Total Weight Gain: Gained 29 pounds (and feeling every bit of it!)

Maternity Clothes: I'm getting pretty tired of them!  I have a limited wardrobe, so I feel like I am wearing some of the same things over and over again.  I live in basic cotton t-shirts and comfy flip flops or tennis shoes.

Movement: Wow!  During the past week and a half Beckett has been moving around a LOT more.  For a while there his movements weren't as hard as they had been.  Mostly I think he would just shift around a bit here and there.  Now he seems to be making up for lost time!  I am getting his feet up on the left side by my ribs and his rear in the middle of my right side.  As soon as I touch the spot, though, he will curl back up and stop kicking!

Sleep: I feel lucky because most nights I am sleeping great.  I think it's because I have been SO busy and on my feet all day, so my body is just exhausted.

What I miss: My size 8.5 feet!  My sausage feet just aren't fitting into most of my shoes.  My ankles can get really swollen by the end of the day. 

Cravings: I haven't really been craving anything too badly.  I definitely have given in to some bowls of ice cream though!

Best Moment this week: On Saturday night Guy and I went out for our last "fancy date."  We went to Cool River Cafe in Las Colinas and it was delicious!  We ate calamari, salads, prime rib for Guy and shrimp for me, macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, creamed spinach, french fries, bread, and creme brulee for dessert!  Yum!

On our way to date night!



Busy, Busy

As I mentioned earlier, our lives have been CRAZY BUSY.  Here's a quick wrap-up:

I had my 34 week appointment.  Our little guy weighed in at 5 pounds and 14 ounces!  I love, love, love these pics!  We have a hairy headed little thumb sucker :).

He already needs a hair cut!

My parents came to town for a quick visit two weekends ago.  We went to Taco Diner, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and Northpark Mall.  It was all a hit!

I actually had TWO showers at work the next week!  So fun to celebrate!  The first was my work shower thrown by my sweet team.  Then I had a little class shower from my students.  The kids were SO excited... especially all of the little girls.  Pretty cute :). 

We then had my 35 week appointment.  Unfortunately, the sonographer found fluid on Beckett's kidneys :(.  This means we will have to head back to the Perinatologist (high risk doctor) soon and also talk to a kidney specialist at Cook Children's Hospital.  The good news is that it's actually somewhat common (especially in boys) and can be managed through medicine, etc.  Everything else looked great - fluid levels, heart, and weight (6 pounds 7 ounces!). 

The next day we were off to a quick Oklahoma trip.  Alex (Guy's brother) and Jessica had their post Mexico wedding reception, so we had to celebrate! 

Who says pregnant ladies can't dance?  (Just maybe not gracefully...)

Finally, today we went back to the doctor for the 36 week appointment.  And....WE SET AN INDUCTION DATE!  Yippee!  We are set to go in Sunday the 22nd at 7:00 pm.  I will then be induced the next morning.  We absolutely cannot wait to meet Beckett!

Maternity Pics

As promised, here are a few more of the maternity pictures that we took at 32 weeks.  I am so glad that we did them!