5 Month Squeal

Natalie is 5 months today! I just can't believe how quickly she is growing! We are loving her little smiles, her giggles, and her determination as she struggles to get herself off the ground and mobile. Luckily, we haven't made it there yet, but I have a feeling it won't be long!

4 Month Squeal

Four months old on June 11, 2012 and today Natalie weighed 15lbs 13oz and is 26in long! We had our fourth month appointment today which included immunizations and making sure she was on track developmentally. Everything looks great except those silly crossed-eyes she has! Now that I mentioned it, I'm sure you'll notice it in all the pictures, but I'm not supposed to worry about it until after 9mos...but I can't help but worry! I'm just a mom, I suppose.

3 Month Squeal

Wow, three months old and I feel like we've hit a huge milestone! See that kind-of-a-smile? Yes, we are smiling now and even playing with our toys! Suddenly the world is an exciting place and one of the best places in the world is the grocery store. We walk in and she's immediately mesmerized by the colors, noises, and everything around her. For the first time, I feel like I can take her places.

2 Month Squeal

Two months on April 11 and my little girl is up to 12lbs 5oz and 24.75in long! It surprises me how fast they grow in these first few months! She's looking less and less like my little newborn and more like an older baby. But it was a rough past month that I won't mind not revisiting.

1 Month Squeal

Natalie turned one month old on March 11. Already a month has gone by and suddenly my sleepy little baby is now an alert little baby! And she has gotten so long! At our 1 month doctor's visit, Natalie was 10lbs 12oz and 24in long! How in the world did my little baby grow 2 1/2 inches in a month? She's amazing!

Newborn Squeal

Wow, I am finally a new mom and still in shock that I have a little baby girl! Months and months of labor and birth preparations finally paid off and finally a little squirmy baby in my arms!

February 11, 2012 - IT'S A GIRL!

Natalie Paige was born February 11, 2012 at 4:31pm. She arrived on her due date weighing 8lbs 8oz and 21.5 inches long. My labor lasted about 27 hours and pushing for about an hour. She was born at a birthing center happy, healthy, and very eager to nurse!

Brief birth story to come!

January Appointments

Starting in January, I am now doing weekly appointments. These appointments were on January 9th, 20th, 24th, and 30th (you would think there would be some consistency here, but nooooooooooooo...going from Monday to Friday to Tuesday to Monday is just weird). My first appointment was with a new midwife whom I did not care for at all. Her impersonal manner just left a sour taste in my mouth and I left the appointment a little upset. I had done the GBS test this week and she instructed me to do it again because "even though the other midwife does things differently at her clinic, you should really be doing this GBS test next week." Lots of eye-rolling ensued.

And, oh, don't come in unless you're contractions are 3min apart, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour. Because we don't want to take you unless you are in active labor.

Yes, ma'am. And I really hope I don't get YOU for a midwife on D-Day! I really wish my husband was here for this one, but he had a meeting. When I got home, I was so upset that he promised not to miss another one again.

Besides that sad story, the other appointments went well. Baby sounded great and moved around happily! We asked about the post-birth procedures and what to expect, when to call, etc. By the end of January, I was 38 weeks and could pop at any time! I was also starting to get contractions--most likely Braxton-Hicks, but also some more painful and crampy ones that were probably real contractions. It was nice to feel something going on even if labor was probably not going to start for another few weeks.

December Appointments

I had two appointments in December: the 14th and the 26th (yes, the day after Christmas!). I actually can't remember much about these appointments except that I met two new midwives and the baby was doing fine and growing! One of the midwives made a point about my doing kick counts, so now I officially have to do them every evening (ok, 5 out of 7, but if baby was active the entire day and then decides to take a nap in the evening, then that is not my fault!).

December marks not only the end of the year, but also the end of the pregnancy. Even though I wasn't due until February, New Years feels like I'm suddenly sliding down a slide and will be sliding all the way until our due date!

November Appointments

I had two appointments in November on the 9th and the 30th. My first appointment was another glucose test (diabetes runs in my family, so I had two done). The first test came back negative, but I still had to take the second test just in case!

The most memorable part of these appointments was that I gained 8lbs at both appointments! I had barely gained weight the entire pregnancy and in one month, it shot up 16lbs! Really, body?? I don't think that was all baby! But the midwife was excited to see that I was gaining weight finally and when I told her how scary it was to gain weight so quickly, she wondered if I had ever had an eating disorder. Well, no, I didn't. I can see where she might ask that, but honestly--I love food, I love digesting food, but I also like to be healthy and maintain a happy weight. When you start hitting numbers far beyond what you ever weighed, you start mentally getting panicky--even if you have a good excuse like pregnancy!

I passed my second glucose test and YAY for not having gestational diabetes! I could eat Christmas cookies and and all of that good stuff at Thanksgiving and Christmas still! Hurrah!

October Appointment

The beginning of October marks the beginning of when I started feeling the baby move consistently. It was like suddenly the baby figured out that it could stretch its little hands and legs and hasn't stopped since! Even though I wasn't required to get fetal movement counts yet, I was still eager to feel the baby move and became a little paranoid when I wouldn't feel it for hours on end.

At this appointment, however, baby was sure to let us know he/she was there! This was the first appointment that Chris attended with me and was able to meet my favorite midwife, Vanessa. She found the baby's heartbeat right away and even though we heard the heartbeat at our u/s, it was a lot of fun hearing it together in the examination room. The funniest part was the baby kicked the doppler when she was finding the heartbeat! Yes, our baby was opinionated and it did not like that doppler!

I was 22.5 weeks at this appointment and this would be my last monthly appointment. After this, I would be going biweekly.

Ultrasound!

Chris made sure to take off time to come to the ultrasound and I'm so grateful that he did! We were taken back into the room where the ultrasound was done and the first image to pop up on the screen was our little baby! I was so shocked at how big the baby was! We were just hitting 20 weeks and the baby bump I had just didn't feel like one. I still felt tiny and thought the baby must be tiny, too! I was very wrong--our baby already had moving and functioning legs and arms, a spine, and it was hiccuping! I couldn't feel it, but it was so cute watching its little body jump with each one!

Usually this is the ultrasound where they tell you the gender, but Chris and I opted not to find out. We wanted to be surprised and I knew that if we found out, that it would take the fun out of the birth. There's something fun about waiting for Christmas to open your presents!

The ultrasound tech allowed us to see some 3-D pictures of our little baby before doing the exam. We were thrilled and relieved to hear that everything was there, nothing looked out of the ordinary, and that the next thing we had to worry about was teenage years and a college fund. That was promising! Overall, the exam was quick (15min).

The best moments were seeing our baby's face and how much its cheeks resembled mine and when Chris pressed down on a part of my tummy and on the screen, he was touching the baby's hand! Both moments were priceless and made me excited to see our baby when it would come in February. On the screen as we were finishing up, the tech typed out, "See you in February!" And my heart sunk a little bit--February was still 4.5 months away and I had so much fun glimpsing our little baby on the screen. I really couldn't wait to be a new mommy now!

Here is the vote on what gender we each think the baby is:
Chris: Girl
Stephanie: Boy

Who will win???

September Appointment

I had two special appointments in the month of September. First was my prenatal exam on September 14, 2011 where I also took my first glucose test.

The glucose test wasn't anything that I expected it to be. So many people complained about the fasting being so long, the drink being disgusting, and then having to wait an hour/three hours for the test. For my test, I had to fast at midnight and came in at 8:30 to have my first blood draw. Then I drank the sugary orange drink (which was cold, so it tasted delicious!) and then I had my kindle to pass the rest of the time away. Two hours really went by fast and soon I was on my way. I also had my prenatal exam where I got to hear my baby's heartbeat again and I reported that I was starting to feel some movement, although not too much. Maybe a bump here and there. This was my third appointment without my husband and at this point, I decided that he needed to be at all of my appointments. I watched another couple filling out paperwork together and it made me feel really sad that that wasn't Chris and me doing paperwork together.

That's it! The husband must come!

August Appointment

My August appointment marks the end of the first trimester and the beginning of the second. I loved the midwife that I met with for my August appointment and she was awesome in explaining the procedure and how they make sure that the baby is doing well. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again and she measured my uterus and showed me how to feel for the top of it. Once again, I went to my appointment on my own and for the second time, heard the baby's heartbeat by myself. It was a little disappointing not having anyone to share this experience with and at this point, I really wish Chris had come with me.

We took this picture to mark this appointment and what I thought was maybe a little bump. I'm so glad I took the picture as now I love to look at them and watch my baby grow!

July Appointment

I had my first prenatal appointment on July 20, 2011. At this point, I thought I was coming up to the end of my first trimester, but my due was adjusted to February 11, 2012. The three days felt a little depressing (I thought I was 11 weeks and now I was 10.5!), but I can't complain too much. It was a long appointment filling out paperwork and discussing my medical history with the midwives, but in the end I was able to hear my baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was the first sign of life from my little baby and even though I tried to stay calm in the room, I had butterflies in my stomach listening to it. A pelvic exam was also done and the midwife determined that my cervix was nice and closed and that my uterus was the right size for the gestational age. Our baby was really alive and it was really going to grow!

My only regret is that my husband, Chris, couldn't be there. He wasn't able to get away from work for the 2-hour appointment (3 hours including driving) and so I went to the appointment on my own. But I was ecstatic afterwards calling him and my mom to tell them that I was really pregnant and there was really a baby and I got to hear it!

Our First Positive!

We had our minds made up for a whole year that we wanted to start trying in April for a baby. My husband and I would be married for almost two years and even though he could have waited longer, I was eager to dump the birth control pills. At the beginning of March, I finished my last pack of pills and as soon as my period finished in April, we were ready!

But April came and went and in the beginning of May, my period made an appearance. I won't lie and say that I wasn't crushed. Sure, I knew that trying for a baby could take up to a year, but this was our first try and I was convinced it would work on the first try!

May wasn't as exciting as April. Summer was coming, friends and relatives were graduating from school, and my own graduate program was demanding much of my time. Beginning of June, I wasn't surprised when I started cramping and feeling like I was going to start my period again. It was another depressing moment, but since May was so busy at least I couldn't say we tried very hard.
But days passed, I kept feeling yucky and crampy, but still no period. I didn't want to get my hopes up and why should pregnancy feel like cramping? So I spent a long weekend feeling miserable before my husband and I decided that it was time to take a pregnancy test. It was past the 34th day of my cycle and at least if it came back negative, I could go to the doctor to find out exactly why I was in so much pain.

Monday, June 6th, we went out and bought a pregnancy test from the 99 cent store (which I highly recommend doing over the expensive brands at the pharmacy). That night, we got our first big fat positive! It was a light pink line and for a few minutes, my husband was doubtful that it was positive...but it was a line and any line meant that we were pregnant!

The only problem was the cramping. Did that mean that I was going to miscarry? Was this an ectopic pregnancy? We were really afraid that our sudden excitement would turn into another devastating moment and we took the next week day by day, waiting for our happily ever after bubble to burst. Luckily, it didn't. I went in for a blood test and the weekend of our anniversary, the test came back positive! At the same time, the cramping disappeared completely--I managed to figure out it was mostly due to constipation (probably from the change in hormones) and as soon as I started taking fiber pills, the cramping went away. Hurrah for the good turn of events and the beginning of our pregnancy journey!

My last menstrual cycle was May 4, 2011. According to the bump, my due date was February 8, 2012.