8 weeks, where has the time gone?!

I can't believe that Lorelai will be 8 weeks this Friday. It seems like yesterday that we brought this tiny little baby home and we were very unsure of ourselves. It is funny how they let us just take this little one home a day after she is born without an instruction manual. We are adjusting wonderfully to having Lorelai in our lives and now we can't imagine life without her.

When I was pregnant with her I kept hearing how your life was going to change. Sometimes it was stated with love and other times it was like "well you won't be able to do this or that once she gets here," and now that she is hear I can say that it is not good advice to give to a pregnant woman :) Lorelai has definitely changed our lives, but not in a "oh we can't do this, or go there" kind of way. Sure it takes a little more planning and making sure we have a stocked diaper bag, but there is not anything we haven't been able to do with her, well with the exception of going to the movies. Now we watch a lot of movies thru Netflix and have family movie night. We have taken Lorelai to the mall a few times and out to dinner, and I am very excited to take her to the park, and go camping once it gets warmer. We have been able to do all of the things we love to do and I have to say it is so much more fun now! I love going to the mall and trying to score a good deal on some cute baby clothes, or buying hair bows, and we have discovered how wonderful Mom 2 Mom sales are.

Lorelai is growing so much! I had to pack away all of her newborn clothes because she is growing to long for them. She is going to be just like her daddy, tall and thin. She is now in 0-3 month clothing and they are so baggy on her, but the newborn clothes are too short for her. If it was summertime she could be rocking out some really cute capri pants, that once were regular pants. She loves tummy time and just started to smile. She has the most beautiful smile and every once in a while if we are lucky she will let out a beginning of a laugh. I can't wait until she starts to really laugh. She loves to lay on her play gym and stare up at her toys. She is starting to roll on her side more and more, and one day she will make it all the way over.

Being a mom is the coolest thing that has ever happened to me! I can't imagine not being a mom, and most of the time it still doesn't seem real. I don't know if it will ever seem real, I guess I will just continue to grow into my new role. I am not looking forward to having to go back to work and hopefully one day soon I won't have to anymore. I have a very blessed family and life is so good! I am loving every moment of this adventure and I can't wait for her to do something new. Everyday she is learning and growing and I don't want to miss a moment of it.

Enjoying being Mom,

Amanda

Lorelai Grace is here!

So at 36 weeks and 5 days little Lorelai Grace decided it was time to arrive. It has definitely been a whirlwind for us the last few days. I had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and was already dilated to 3cm and my water was ready to break. I was told by my doctor that I would be having a baby by the weekend, and my sister and I just looked at each other. Then the count down was on! Katie and I went shopping to pick up all of the last minute things that I would need for the baby and for the hospital. By the time I got home Tuesday I was so exhausted I was unable to pack my bag or anything. So Wednesday evening comes around and the first thing I did when I got home was to pack my bag and the baby's bag. James got his stuff packed and we just figured we could leave everything by the front door for the big day. Little did we know that little Lorelai was just about ready. Thursday I was at work and decided to take a walk to our other office to pick up some things and to grab some lunch. On my way over all of a sudden I felt a strange warm gush. I made it to a bathroom and once I figured out that I had not peed my pants I figured I better get my things and head to Hutzel. This also meant that I had missed my opportunity to get any lunch and would have to wait until the baby arrived to eat. Good thing I had some oatmeal in the morning! Walking back to my office was a sight. Between my nerves and the feeling that everyone was going to think I peed my pants it was enough to get my blood pressure going. I made it to my office, collected my things and was on my way to the Labor Reception Center. When I got there I was first in line for a room but man they were busy. After I got into my LRC room I got settled in and the waiting game began. I found out at my Tuesday appointment that I was Group B Strep positive and that I would need antibiotics before the baby came. That means I would have to have an IV for sure. YUCK! It took two nurses and three attempts to get my IV started. Sometimes I wish that all hospitals would have an IV team like at Children's does. I finally got my IV and multiple bruises and was being moved to my delivery room. Once I was settled and everyone arrived the true waiting game started.

I sat and sat and just kept feeling like I had peed my pants! I must have made the trip to the bathroom 100 times! My water had broke around 12:45p and it was going on 9pm and nothing more had happened. I was having contractions but not feeling them and I wasn't progressing. This would mean that the pitocin would have to start. I was dreading that, but in the end it really was not so bad. My nurse started me on a very low dose around 11pm and we waited some more. An hour went by and a higher dose was given, and still nothing. This continued for a few hours with nothing. We were thinking that we would have a baby by 2 or 3 in the morning but that time came and went with nothing. Finally at about 4am I felt a strange kick in the butt that made me jump. A few minutes later I was having painful contractions. I got up to go to the bathroom and had more contractions. They hurt so bad that I started to cry. I wanted to have a non-medicated delivery but at that point I was ready for something, and that was after only a few contractions. My nurse came in with a resident and they checked me and I was dilated to 8cm. My nurse was wonderful and told me that I was so close to delivery that I would be able to make it without and meds. After a few more contractions they checked me again and I was at 10cm and ready to go. My doc came in just after I was checked and we were ready to roll. Then the real fun began!

Pushing is HARD!!!! My doc was great, James was super amazing and my mom and sister were so helpful. I just remember pushing and saying I was so tired. James helped me through all of my contractions and mom and Katie kept encouraging me to push. After about 1 hour of hard labor and another 20 minutes of pushing little Lorelai made it into this world at 5:21am Friday January 14th. She weighed 6 pounds 11oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. She is perfect! The docs checked her and cleaned her up and my mom and sister stayed with her while James stayed with me. I never realized that the after delivery part would take so long. My doc cleaned me all up and had to give me some stitches and it seemed to take forever. After what seemed like forever I was finally able to hold Lorelai. What an amazing thing!

I don't know how anyone can go through child birth and not be changed. God has truly given us a miracle and we are so grateful for her. She is starting to get better at breastfeeding and she is sleeping all the time. She likes for us to snuggle with her and she does not like to sleep on her back. We are slowly getting to know each other and I can't wait for the next snuggle session.

We are truly Blessed beyond reason and we thank everyone who has been praying for our little miracle!

THANK YOU!!!!!

James, Amanda and Lorelai Grace.

Fluffy Mail!!!!

I am so excited. I found a great webpage that sells cloth diapers pretty cheaply, and I had a coupon code which made them even cheaper. I am so excited to get them washed and ready for baby. The ones that I got in the mail today are pocket type diapers, meaning the microfiber inserts that absorb the pee and poop actually go in a pocket sewn into the diaper. The inserts come out in the wash and get clean. I got some really cute diapers and I just had to share!

Thanks for indulging me in my craziness.

Amanda

29 Weeks

So far the weeks seem to be flying by for me. At the beginning each week seemed to take forever, now it seems like every week is getting shorter and shorter. I can't believe we are already at 29 weeks, we have made it to the final trimester and the due date is quickly approaching. The baby's room is not ready yet and we still don't have any of her furniture. Although we do have her crib and mattress, and bedding. At least this way if she comes early she will have a place to sleep. As far as symptoms or pains there have not been much to speak of (with the exception o heartburn) and I know I have been pretty lucky. I do have problems sleeping now and I can only imagine that they are going to get worse. The only thing I keep thinking is that in these last few weeks, my body is just starting to prepare me for after the baby comes.

I did start to buy some of the cloth diapers and I am so excited for my "fluffy" mail to arrive. I still need many more, and I am sure as the due date gets closer I will be purchasing many more. I really want to have everything ready and washed before the beginning of January. My thought process is that any time after 36 weeks is considered full term, which means anytime after Jan. 6 is game on! I want her to arrive right on time for her, but hopefully not to early. She is getting so much stronger and I am sure so much more cramped in my belly. Her kicks are getting so much stronger and she is even able to move things off of my belly now with her movements. I don't know what type of gymnastics she is doing in there but she can move from my ribs all the way down to my groin at the same time. We just keep praying that she will be strong and healthy, and that we will be as ready as possible for her arrival.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Amanda

WOW 24 weeks Already!?

It has gone by so fast and I can't believe that I am so far behind in my updates. UGH! It seems like just yesterday we were so excited to be hitting our twelve week mark, and now we have essentially hit another twelve week mark. It seems so unreal! Since my last post we have found out that we are having a GIRL, we thought that the baby was possibly going to have clubbed feet, and found out today that her feet are fine. Praise GOD. We had a lot of people praying that the baby would be fine, and by the looks of the ultrasound today her feet look fine. Although the ultrasound tech did comment on how large her feet looked. Surprising? No. Have you met James aka size 16/17 shoe? I am thinking that means we are going to have a tall girl when she gets big.

She has been moving around a lot lately and until this past Sunday James was not able to feel her little kicks. Every time she was moving around, he would place his hand on my belly and she would stop moving. I kept telling him that she was just being shy, but as of Sunday she must have come out of her shell. Now it seems like every time he talks to my belly or is even around me she is moving non stop. She actually kicked James in the head yesterday. It was the funniest thing I have seen so far with this little one. We both started to laugh so hard, I almost wet my pants. That seems to be an easy thing for me to do lately. I know there is less room in my belly and she is growing right on track. At the ultrasound today she was measuring at a pound and a half. That explains a pound and a half of my weight gain, but what about the rest? I am actually doing well, but I do have to be careful not to pig out because of the baby. Fortunately I have not had any midnight cavings, just midnight potty breaks.

As for James and I, we have been busy getting the house in order. We still have so far to go, and we are running out of time. We have the "man cave" almost complete, and once that is all done we can finish the baby's room. Then it is on the the rest of the house. We have to get new doors installed and preferably before the baby comes home. There have been a lot of changes going on at our house and it is all really exciting, but at the same time I am very nervous. I look at all the things on to the "to do" list and I get very overwhelmed. Every time I think we are getting ahead I look at all the work to be done and I feel like a hamster running on a wheel. I am sure I am not the only person who feels this way.

James and I have also decided to do cloth diapers for our little girl. I have done a lot of research and James and I have decided that this is what we want to do. I know there are people who think we are nuts, and we get those funny looks sometimes when we tell people. But we are committed to doing this and we feel very confidant that this will be the best thing for us and baby. The best part of cloth diapers is all of the money you save, and you have a much lower rate of diaper rash. We have also decided to take a spin at making our own baby food when we get to that part. I would like to breastfeed as long as possible, so now investing in a good quality pump is going to be essential. Hopefully we have the whole going back to work thing figured out, but we just keep praying that the plan will actually be the plan when the baby comes. I think that about catches us up from the last post. I am sure I have missed some things but there will be many more to update.

Thank you for the continued prayers.

Amanda

12 Weeks Today

Today marks the 12 week mark for us!!! We are so excited to have made it this far. It seems like it was not that long ago that we began everything, but at the same time the weeks seem to move so very slowly. I have been very fortunate as to not have any morning sickness really to speak of. At least no throwing up, which is amazing for me because I used to throw up all the time when I was little. I remember being so excited about having mac and cheese for dinner one night, that later that night I got to relive it coming back up. I aways had a nervous stomach and pretty much anything could trigger it. At least little Almond didn't make me sick. I did get some stomach aches at night, but overall they were not to bad. The one symptom that I am really hoping will get better in the next week or two, is the constant fatigue. It is really taking a toll on me, and I am looking forward to it getting a little better. I have already started to notice that sometimes at night I am getting lower back pains, and I have a feeling a pregnancy pillow is in my near future. So much for snuggling up with James! I don't think my belly is really to much bigger, but it sure looks huge after I eat anything. I think it is all just bloating right now, but I have had a few people notice my "baby bump."

The reality of the baby has not fully sunk in and I am not sure when that will actually happen. We have been working on a budget for Almond and we are in prayer about some major life decisions once Almond arrives. I know that God has an amazing plan for us, and we are being patient and waiting for Him to reveal parts of the plan to us. At the same time we are starting to look for a new - used car that is a little more family and dog friendly. James and I have been doing really well and I am excited for one more week of trimester one. I am ready for trimester two!

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Love,

Amanda

A Year Ago. . .

I know most people take time around Jan 1st to reflect on the past year, and take stock of what has changed and what they would like to change. I on the other hand don't normally follow the rules so I have decided to take time now, in the middle of July to take stock of my previous year.

Well this time last year James and I were just getting back from a trip to Tennessee. It was our big summer vacation that we had planned, and a few days before we were to leave James was let go from his job in Livonia. It was a tense time for us, and we didn't really know what to expect, but we had everything all set for the trip, so we decided that this job situation was not going to keep us home. I was so glad that we went, and when we returned home it didn't take to long for James to find a new job. He started the new job right after Labor day, which was great because that allowed us to take a trip to NY to see our good friends who had moved. Fast forward a few months and James's job was not going so well, and everyday he would come home so discouraged. I don't think I was very supportive for him during that time, but fortunately God provided a new job for James. We went to SC to visit with James' mom after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and before James started the new job. In the time in between the trips I had made a few doctors appointments and we had decided to start the IVF journey. When we went to visit Carol, we had decided to tell them and then tell my parents what our plan was. We were so blessed with the out pouring of support from both families that it made it so much easier to go through everything.

We made it through everything, and when the positive news was told we were again so blessed by the excitement of everyone. We get update calls from Chris and Carol, and my parents are always asking how things are going. We have made it to 9 weeks, and I will be officially 10 weeks on Tuesday. It seems like every week takes forever to pass, but then I look back on how we are doing and I can't believe how fast it has gone bye. The best part about hitting the 10 week mark is that I am officially done with all of the shots, and yucky meds. I now will only have to take my vitamin. Whoo-Hoo!

I have been feeling really good for the most part, just tired most of the time. I think James is getting bored, and he is the one that likes to stay home all the time. I also have to get up to go to the bathroom almost every night. I get very excited when I get to sleep the whole night through. I guess I am just preparing for when little Almond comes into the world, with the 2am bathroom breaks, that will undoubtedly turn into 2am feedings. I am very blessed that I have not had any major morning sickness, the only thing I notice is that if I don't eat I will get nauseous or that if I eat to much I get nauseous. Other than that I am doing very well.

James and I are coming to the point where we are going to have to make some decisions. I don't know what lays in store for us, but I am excited to see what God has planned for us. I would love to be a stay at home mom, but we have yet to decide if this will be a possibility.

Thank you everyone for your prayers, and I will do a better job of posting updates.

Amanda