Baptism

We had Elizabeth baptized on Sunday, November 13th.  She looked so cute in her big dress and the day was full of family and friends welcoming her into the church.  We had already been going to church every Sunday so Elizabeth and I were used to going to church but she did great as usual.  I think she really loves the music that St. Philip's has (I think she likes music in general!).  Here are a few pics from the weekend...

Her Godparents, Chris and Brandie Matthews

One month

Our little Elizabeth turned one month on 11/5/11.  Since this fell on a Saturday, we had our one month check up on the following Monday.  Everything checked out great with her and she had already gained two pounds... she was 8lbs 5oz and was 21.5 inches long.  It amazes me how fast she grows.  We even had to put away all her newborn clothes.  At one month she is definitely a totally different baby.  Besides her sleep patterns still out of wack, she is awake and more alert.  She started following voices and she is really practicing holding that head up.  She definitely knows her mommy and is calmed when I pick her up.  Sometimes Greg gets mad that he can't do that but I have to explain I am with her all day, everyday.  She is definitely a blessing in our lives and even through the rough nights we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Night vs. Day

I can't believe it has been a month already since she has been here!  Week 3 and 4 were definitely a challenge for Mommy as Daddy went back to work nights.  Sometimes I feel like I don't have a minute to spare but this week things have really started to get into a routine.  My little angel definitely has her nights and days mixed up, but we are working on that.  It has been a lot harder than I thought when Greg went back to work nights.  Before he went back to work, Greg and I would take baby shifts and sleep in between.  We had gotten into a routine with that but then it all got tossed in the air when he went back to work.  Now I am home with Elizabeth all night and all day, I don't really have that relief.  So, to help a little, I have been staying in El Campo a few times and every weekend.  It is so nice to have my mom's help with her and she will let me go to sleep until around 11 or midnight. As much as I love the help, you do begin to miss the comfort of your own home.  Every time I think I have it down and I can handle it all by myself, I then think it would be so nice to just have someone to talk to in the evening to break up my day and I head to El Campo! I keep praying that maybe Greg's schedule will be changed for a while, but that is also up in the air.

These are pictures of her at three weeks... she is getting so big, so fast.

Greg and his friends cooked in the Nada cookoff the weekend before Halloween.  That was Elizabeth's first meeting with lots of family and friends.  It was nice to get out of the house and see people... we even made our first trip to church.  Now that she is a month old, we felt more comfortable taking her out in public.  She slept most of the day while we were out in Nada.  We were even very proud of Daddy and his team for winning second in sausage and second in chili.  I have to admit that the sausage that Greg and his friends made this year was really good but I think we were all so surprised that they won in sausage.  The chili was a new recipe that Greg used at a cookoff at work that he won so it was exciting for him to win again with that recipe.  We ended up staying in El Campo that night and woke up on Halloween so I could make it to a doctor's appointment.  She got to wear her cutie Halloween outfit all day and show it off!  At my doctor's appointment, he said my c-section is healing great and most days I forget that I even had a c-section.  From there we went to my work so I could show her off! After a long morning of running around (and a long weekend for that matter), I think we were both glad to be home.   I went ahead and decided to get some pictures of her in her outfit and good thing I did because Elizabeth gave us her first big blow out of her diaper... it was so good that it required a good bath!  Here are the pics I got!

I will post more later as my baby girl just woke up!  Happy Tuesday everyone!



Week 2

So maybe I should have done a little more reading about babies and what comes after pregnancy because man do I feel lost most days.  Our second week with Miss Elizabeth was definitely a learning curve.  Thursday was another trip to the doctor but this time it was for mommy.  Everything checked out with the incision from the c-section and I had lost a total of 22 pounds from the day I gave birth.  If you remember, I had only gained 7 pounds while pregnant so I have lost about fifteen pounds so far just from giving birth.  Yeah for me!  By Friday we were so exhausted both physically and mentally that we had decided that we would go to El Campo for the weekend to have a little extra help from my mom.  It was really nice having the few extra hours of sleep.  We would go to bed about 8pm and my mom would watch her until about 11 or so... three extra hours of sleep is definitely priceless!  We ended up staying until Monday morning before we headed home.  One thing that was different between our house and my mom's was that she had a recliner to sit in.  Greg insisted that we get a recliner for our living room so we could be more comfortable while we "camped out" with Elizabeth.  So, on the way back home Monday we stopped in at the La-Z-Boy store and got us a new recliner... and boy do we love it! 

As her second week came to an end, it was full of good nights and bad nights.  We are now trying to get as much information about babies and sleeping and everything else.  I know it will all work out in the end, but we are taking one day at a time and learning.  At her two week appointment today she weighed in at 6lbs 14oz and was 19.5 inches long.  The doctor said she is in good health, just small for her age.  She is only in the 10th percentile.  She even had to have her little foot poked and she screamed of course!  Our little princess is growing and it is so hard to believe that two weeks has already past!  Stay tuned for more of our crazy, busy life!

Since her ugly cord fell off during her second week, we were able to give her the first real bath... she loved it (much to my surprise!)!

Mommy and Lizzy

Just relaxing at Granny's!

This was her Sunday game day outfit! 

Loving the new recliner!

Two weeks old!

Such a cutie at two weeks!

Week 1

Elizabeth was born on a Wednesday afternoon and we were released on Friday afternoon.  I was so ready to go home because sitting around in the hospital was getting really old very fast!  It took forever to get released... but we were finally on our way home!  Greg was so nervous with having her in the back seat and actually driving with her.  He insisted that I sit in the back sit even though the little princess was sleeping!  I had not eaten anything that whole day because they told us we would be released a lot earlier than we actually were so we made a quick trip through a drive thru to grab some dinner.  My parents came up after they got off work on Friday evening to see Elizabeth, but they left and we got settled for our first night at home with her.  I don't think Greg and I were really prepared for that first night.  I am so thankful for Greg because even though I was getting around pretty good, my c-section had me moving a little slower.  The first night was probably the worst night we had since we had her.  We could not get her comfortable and we were nervous on top of it.  We stayed up the whole night!  So, when my mom called the next morning to see how it went, we asked if she could come stay with us for the second night.  It was such a blessing to have her stay and help.  Saturday was full of visitors which made the day go by way to fast but it was nice.  My mom left on Sunday evening and it was back to the three of us but it got easier when we got more comfortable with her and knew what to do and how to help her.  The first week went by so fast.  Monday morning we had a doctor's appointment to check out Miss Elizabeth.  When we left the hospital she weighed in at 5lb 14oz but on Monday she was already back to 6lb 3oz.  The doctor checked her out and she screamed but she is in great health so far.  We were a little worried when we got home from the hospital because right before we left the hospital they switched her formula and she just was not taking to it at all.  On Saturday evening Greg ran to the store and got the same formula we used while we were in the hospital and she drank it with no worries.  Needless to say, we have stuck with that and she seems to be doing great with it.  We also had our first little outing too.  I think it was more for me because I started to feel like the walls were closing in on me after being in the house for so long.  We went to Target to get a few things that we realized we would like to have now that she is here.  It was nice to get out of the house!    As the days continue to go by really fast, we are trying to take it all in and remember this experience because it is truly amazing!

Getting ready to go on an outing!

She loves her swing!

Her first sponge bath... team effort!

She didn't really like it too much!

One week old picture.

Another one week picture...

She's Here!

Well, Elizabeth made her debut into this world last week.  Now I have a little time to share our story while Greg holds out sweet bundle of joy! 

We were told after our second hospital stay that we had one week to prepare for baby.  The doctor thought it would be best for my health to take Elizabeth out and since she would be considered full term, it was just time.  On Friday, Sept. 30th, we went for testing at the hospital.  Elizabeth was still doing great inside but my blood pressure was just so high.  Of course they didn't want to let me leave the hospital on Friday again but I explained our situation and they called the doctor so we went about our business.  We had a great baby shower on Saturday morning and got lots of great things.  Of course I was nervous because I knew I needed to get everything back to the house so I could start washing and preparing for baby.  Monday the 3rd, Greg and I made a big day of it and went to return everything we needed to return and finish getting everything we didn't get.  We also had a doctor's appointment where the doctor just explained how everything was going to happen.  He checked my cervix but I was completely closed.  We had a long road ahead to get our baby girl out but he said that we would try and do our best to make it as natural as possible.

Tuesday came so fast and Greg had to go to work that morning so he left me home to worry!  It really wasn't that bad but I was nervous and all I had to do was sit around until we went to the hospital.  We had to be at the hospital at 6pm so we left around 5.  I knew I needed to eat something because as soon as they started labor they would not let me eat.  Since we had such a long road ahead, I knew eating would be the best thing to keep my energy up.  When we walked in the hospital they already had me a room ready to go and I changed and they hooked me up to the IV right away.  The doctor came in and again explained to us what we would expect over the next day.  That night they put this medicine on my cervix to soften it and make it start dilating.  They put too rounds in so it was a long night of getting woken up and having to take my blood pressure every 30 minutes.  Needless to say, it was a long night.  They came in on Wednesday morning and started the pitocin at about 5:30am.  She had checked me a couple times throughout the night and my cervix was soft but it was still closed.  The doctor came in about 7am and I started having contractions every three or so minutes but they were not painful.  They were kind of like braxton hicks contractions.  My cervix was still closed and he told me it looked like it would be a long day.  He said he would be back at lunch to break my water and hopefully that would speed up the labor.  I didn't mention yet that they put me on this medicine called magnesium sulfate that made me sick and feel even worse.  It sure did make for a long morning.  When the doctor came back to the hospital about 1:30 and checked me, it was clear that my body was not going into labor.  My cervix was still closed and I was not having labor contractions.  We had two options to chose from: 1) we could stop everything and wait another day and try again (with no guarantees) 2) we could have a c-section.  I was miserable and the doctor said that a c-section would be what he recommended so that is what we decided to do.  He told us he would be back at 3:30 and we would have the c-section at 4pm.



It was a long hospital stay but we are home and happy now.  It is a HUGE adjustment and the lack of sleep is hard sometimes but we are doing good.  Today has been the best day yet since she has been born.  I am thinking she has her nights and days mixed up but we will work on that!  Thanks to everyone for the support and prayers as we welcomed our baby girl.  She is precious and changing so much already.  It brings tears to my eyes to just type it here!

Getting ready to meet his daughter!







Here she comes!

Our tiny bundle of joy!

 Meeting Mommy for the first time!

Our family... this must of been right before I got sick...

Proud Daddy!

Hospital Stay #2

We have definitely been having an adventure as this pregnancy is coming to an end.  Elizabeth is doing great but mommy's blood pressure is not doing so good.  For those of you that didn't know, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure probably 6 or 7 years ago.  It has been controlled with medication and I have not had any problems with it until about two weeks ago.  We had a regular doctor's appointment on Wednesday but before we saw the doctor, he wanted us to go by the hospital for a few tests just to make sure after our hospital stay on Friday.  We got there about 6:30 so we could get done before our doctor's appointment at 9.  We got hooked up to the machines and then they took my blood pressure... that is when it went down hill.  My first reading was 179/107... and I knew right away that we would not be going anywhere.  I have had high readings when I first got diagnosed with high blood pressure and knew what a number like that meant.  The nurses didn't even say anything but they continued to take my readings every few minutes but it really didn't go down.  The bottom number (which is really the important one) stayed in 90's the whole morning.  The doctor came in for his morning rounds about 7:30 and told us that it is not looking good.  He told us that I would be admitted to the hospital and that we would most likely be having a baby soon.  Talk about starting to freak out!  I was dressed for work and didn't have anything ready for baby at home!  He just basically told us that he was going to order a bunch of blood work and an ultrasound and he would see us after lunch to get the induction started.  Greg was super excited thinking he was going to have the best birthday present ever and have a baby!  He got on the phone and started telling people that he was going to be a daddy on his birthday.  I was just trying to relax and get it through my head we were having a baby!  The nurse came in and started an IV line and they came and took me down to ultrasound.  After all that excitment of the morning, it felt like forever before we saw the doctor again.  He came in about 1:30 and told us that he got all the test results back and that it looks like that everything is ok with the baby and that the only thing that is not coming back ok is my blood pressure (which was still high by 1:30).  He felt that one more week would be better for Elizabeth (and her lungs) and that since she looks ok and is actually measuring big, she would be ok for one more week.  I will be full-term on Wednesday, Oct 5th, so that is when he decided to schedule the induction.  Even though Greg didn't get the ultimate birthday present, we are thankful that everything is ok and we hope that this one week will help Elizabeth be born healthy.  Then we had to call and tell everyone that it was a false alarm!  I was so hunger by this point because they would not let me eat or drink anything just incase he decided to induce.  The only problem was there were five people in labor that day and all the nurses were tied up delievering babies when it came time to release me.  I think it was about 3:30 by the time I got released from the hospital. 

The doctor ordered some tests for Friday and Monday so we will be busy for the next week preparing for baby.  It is kind of a catch 22 knowing when we will have her because now we can be prepared all the way through but then again, I won't be able to have the feeling of "I don't know if this is it?"!  I would have loved to went into labor naturally but God has a plan for her and me so we have to go with it!  The first thing I did when I got home was wash all her clothes and blankets we got at the shower.  I also washed bottles and pacifiers.  Now I feel a little better about bringing home baby.  The doctor told me it would be best if I got lots of rest between now and next week when we induce, so I am now home "resting"!  I did have to run a few errands this morning which included making a quick trip to work this morning to finalize everything on my desk, picking up a prescription, and going to the bank, but of course because our lives are never easy, I got into my car to a dead car.  It would not start for nothing... dead as a doorknob!  I think it is about time for a new car but again, just waiting to close on the new house before we venture into anymore debt.  Luckily, my loving brother came and took care of me this morning.  He took me up to work and to HEB.  Talk about not needing anymore stress in my life and then having a car that doesn't work!   Hopefully we can get it fixed and all is good again before Elizabeth comes. 

So now that the count down is on for Elizabeth's birthday, Greg and I continue to ask for prayers for comfort and a safe delivery.  We are both nervous and anxious at the same time.  I hope everyone has a blessed weekend and next week we will have pics of baby on here!