More Pictures!

It's already been a month?

So, by trying to wait until I have time to write long posts, more and more pictures and what not keep piling up, which would make it almost impossible for me to ever become current on this thing. In honor of today though (Adam's one month) I'm going to post a ridiculous amount of pictures (not necessarily in chronological order) and try to put a caption for each one. Then, hopefully, I can keep current and just write longer posts when I get the time.

Here we go...

A smile captured by Nana (my mom) during her stay. I think he was just about a week old then.

 

At a few days shy of three weeks, Adam communes with his bottle. 

"Waking up" the morning of one of his first nights in his bassinet.

Staring at my mom while she talks on the phone to her friend. He was probably about two or two and half weeks there.

This was his first night home from the hospital. I briefly stole a minute to look on facebook and saw that everyone was demanding baby pictures...so this is what I took.

Here's Mr. Adam being held by his Uncle Chaise for the first time. I think this was February 24th, so he was just a few days old.

Chillin' with his Daddy after being burped.

First bath at about a week old. He was not a happy camper.

The first Saturday he was alive, I was tired of sitting around the house, so the whole family got out and had a picnic and a walk at Wanamaker Park.

My Mom holding him in the hospital a few hours before we were discharged.

My beautiful grandma doing the same. She brought us cherry cheese cake and cookies, which were delicious.

Relaxing on my chest after eating.

A little half smile

His infamous "poop face."

Their first father-son picture.

Thomas' handiwork. He was trying to catch the huge yawn he'd had moments before, but got this....which is still pretty adorable.

Heading home for the first time.

Aunt Katie holding him for the first time while we were at Wanamaker.

Another picture during his first car ride home.

This was taken as we waited to be discharged from the hospital. He was a bit camera shy.

Same, but a little more bundled up and a little less aware of the world.

I think this was his first time over at my dad's house. Sleeping away...

Being a little froggy (courtesy of Uncle Chaise) while Mel holds him for the first time.

Thomas took this picture of us last night while we were watching Everybody Loves Raymond, right before bed.

This was the first picture I personally took of him. It was late at night in the hospital and I couldn't sleep, so I rolled him over and took this from my bed.

Donning his St. Paddy's Day garb (Thanks Brittany and Jalen:) )

Sleeping a few days ago with his hand propping up his face.

Another St. Patrick's Day picture.

In his hoody, slowly falling asleep as the car starts.

Okay, so this is Thomas, but I saw this on his Granny's wall and had to share because of how much they look alike there.

Alrighty, well that's it for now. I'll try to scrounge up a few more in the coming days.

Hey everyone! I know I've been silent for nearly a month now, but that's just because I was taking most of that time to enjoy my mom's visit and to get a hang on this whole mothering thing. Now that I finally have a day that's a little bit more relaxed though, I think it's time for a proper update.

Valentine's Day 
As I may have mentioned last time, Thomas and I made our way to my 38 week check-up on the afternoon of the 14th. I'd been feeling especially pregnant (lots of soreness and Braxton-Hicks contractions) that whole week before, so I wasn't at all sure what I'd be dilated to. It turned out I was 3 cm (for real this time) and still without any complications.

While we were talking to the doctor, I let it slip that my mom was coming in for three weeks, starting that Saturday, in order to help out with the baby and all...so he decided to schedule us for a tentative elective induction on the following Tuesday. That way, if we had the baby then, not only would my mom get her full three weeks in, but he'd also assuredly be the one in the practice on delivery duty. Up until then, Thomas and I hadn't really been too keen on the whole induction idea. Sure, it's convenient, but we didn't need it. We talked about it again however and decided it actually was something to at least think about. Besides the aforementioned perks, it would allow Thomas to have a full paid week off (with President's Day) and I'd be facing induction in a week or two anyway if I hadn't had Adam by 41 weeks (the stillbirth rate dramatically increases then). So, after a few days of talking things through, we decided that, if I hadn't given birth by the day of the induction, we'd go ahead and go through with it (we could also still back out the morning of if we changed out minds).

February 18th
I hope that all of you, or at least most of you, know that this was my 24th birthday. I had originally asked to have the baby shower that afternoon because, while I didn't have anything I wanted for myself, it'd still be nice to have some sort of celebration that day. After we looked at the dates though, we decided to have it the next day and instead, my mom would be flying in that day and we'd all go out to dinner that night.

So, Thomas and I met up with Chaise that morning; drove to airport to pick Mom up; and then headed over to Sesame's (in old North Charleston) for lunch. Having not seen each other for over a year, it was really great to finally get the chance to relax and enjoy a slow afternoon together: a great birthday present. After lunch, we returned to Goose Creek; chilled at my grandmother's house; and then headed out to Summerville to have my birthday dinner at The Mustard Seed, which was especially nice, because I got to be surrounded by my entire immediate family, my husband, and my best friend. I think it was the first time, since the wedding, that we'd all gathered together like that.

Mel and I definitely had a few high school flashbacks that night too. Besides the fact that that was where Thomas and I had our first dress-up date (and I hadn't been there since then), it's also where Mel and I celebrated one of our last nights with the Winterguard, as well as where we went with a few other friends for dinner before our Senior prom. To top it all off, the radio was set on a station that seemed to play solely hits from that same year.

Mel and I at the Mustard Seed

 

I was originally planning to include the baby shower in this post too, but I feel like this whole post is very dry and boring, so I'll wait until I have a bit more creativity running through my veins and I'll give it it's own post.

So, until then (which hopefully won't be more than a day or so),
Cheers!
 

No, I haven't forgotten about y'all ...

Hopefully I'll get a chance to make a real update in the next few days, but until then, here's a pic of the little man content and completely passed out in my arms.

This last week in baby news :).

So, I'm sorry for being silent for a week. Don't worry; I didn't have him and not fill anyone in. I've just been avoiding my computer as much as I can. That way I force myself to just relax (not sit up at the computer and put more stress on my joints than I need too); actually get some stuff done (cleaning, reading, knitting, etc.); and don't accidentally get caught up in the middle of several profiles for work and then go into labor.

Tuesday we went to the doctor and got to see my normal doctor for the first time in a few weeks (he's been on holiday). According to him, I'm only 2 cm (or at least was), not almost 3, like the midwife said. Other than that, nothing's really new on that front. The GBS (Group B Strep) test did come back negative though, so that's good.

Thursday was our meeting with the pediatrician. We're actually going with my old doctor, so that was a little weird. I don't know if I've ever been in that little check-up room and not been asked to hop up on the examination table. Anyway, I had prepared a few questions, which I brought in with my baby/mommy binder full of stuff; Thomas asked them; and we both tried to put on our best "yes-we-are-ready-for-this" faces. Overall, the meeting went well.  The doctor had a lot of really insightful things to tell us on the psychological front...if you're interested, I'll gladly share.

 On Saturday, pretty much everyone was out of town, so we took the free-time to do a few more last minute touches on the baby's room and our room. We hung up the letters Michelle made us and cleared out a few of the boxes. We washed some of the clothes that were the floor in our room (there's still some to be dealt with though) and took one of the closet doors off so we could actually fit the bassinet in there, next to my side of the bed.

Again, another phone picture, but you get the gist.

So yep, that's where things stand for now. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (yep, on Valentines Day), so I guess we'll see what they say then. If I don't write again before this Saturday, my mom's flying in on that day (my birthday)! She's staying for three weeks and I'm super excited to have her here and to have her help.

Until next time,
Cheers

Getting Inked

So, as I mentioned yesterday, we trekked over to Thomas' coworker's house last night for him to get Adam tattooed on his upper arm. I wasn't necessarily super thrilled he was getting another tattoo, but I couldn't deny him from showing the commitment and love he already has for the little guy in his own way ("look, I've already bled for him,"he told me smiling). He's already daydreaming of when Adam learns how to read and realizes his name is on his dad's arm. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, as they're from my phone, but here you go. I think it turned out pretty good.

much <3
-Alaina

Hello Everyone!

I know this blog is somewhat delayed, especially for those of you who've wanted to keep up to date with the pregnancy, but live too far away to really do so. Up until now though, there honestly wouldn't have been much to tell. The only thing that really changed, besides the big things I made sure people knew anyway, was the degree in which I felt nauseous/sore. Now though, things are really starting to gear up and I suppose it's about time that I stopped being slack.

Today marks 24 days until the due date, which is both exciting and pretty nerve-racking. Everything's starting to shape up though.

• The nursery is painted and furnished, it just needs some decorating and for all of the boxes to be cleared out and either thrown away or put elsewhere (it was our Room of Requirement for quite some time, so there's a lot of little odds and ends everywhere).
• Our room, which is where the baby will sleep for the first little while in a bassinet, is slowly getting cleaner...though, with my size and Thomas' work schedule, it's definitely more slow than steady. 
• Thomas would probably like me to let you all know that he's getting a new tattoo (tonight, as a matter of fact). His coworker apparently does them and his mom offered to pay, so he's getting Adam written in Celtic Knotwork done on his upper arm.
• I'm actually roughly 3 cm dilated (as of this past Tuesday), which is kind of crazy. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. The first stage of labor, from what I've read, can last anywhere from hours to weeks, so active labor is still pretty much up in the air. 

Finally, I should let you all know that Thomas, his family, and I were in an accident last night. While it definitely wasn't ideal, it could have been a whole lot worse. We were stopped at a red light in Summerville and this woman (who turned out to be the Labor and Delivery manager at Summerville Medical oddly enough), didn't stop in time and rear-ended us. There was definitely a jolt in our car, but when we all got out and looked, there wasn't more than just a scratch or two on either car.

Being responsible though, we still called the 24-hour line at our doctor's office and went for an hour of fetal monitoring at Trident, just to make sure everything was a-okay...which it is. Despite the late hour and, of course, the reason we were there, it actually probably turned out to be an everything-happens-for-a-reason moment. I was put in a labor and delivery room, so touring the hospital is another thing I can mark off of my list. I got to experience, first hand, what it's like to sit in the ward, hooked up to several monitors. Also, we're assumedly preregistered at the hospital now, because they had to put us in the system and all of that jazz. Hopefully when we go for the delivery, we shouldn't have as much paperwork to fill out. Lastly, what was really good for me was, by watching the monitors, Thomas was able to help me figure out exactly which thing I was feeling was a contraction. They're obviously not very strong yet, but up until now, I've been unsure what was a contraction and what was the baby pushing.

To reiterate though, everything is fine. No one is hurt. The only pain I feel is the pain I was already feeling from carrying this big belly around and everything else that goes with it.

Since I have no pictures to post today, I'll just post the 3D ultrasound pictures for those who haven't really gotten a chance to check them out...or maybe want to look through them again. They're about two months old now, but still pretty awesome.

I miss all of y'all and I hope this finds you well,
much <3
-Alaina