Grayson is HERE!

Grayson William is here!

Between a tough recovery, nursing, entertaining a toddler and learning my limits (no, I really can not tackle a new organizational project at 3 days post partum; haha), I've had little time to blog.

But, Mike and Grayson are sleeping and Maddie is (sorta) playing happily (and by that I mean that she is dismantling the bouncy seat and bassinet to better suit her doll's needs). So... I can blog for a second!

I have a thousand pictures but these are just some from my phone. I promise to do more soon. Like, when I'm agile enough to easily get up off the couch and find the camera card. Ha!

I'll try to do a brief birth story, too.

On Monday morning at 5:00am, we checked into the hospital. It was a scheduled induction, but we'd later find out that I was already in early labor.

My water broke around 7:00am and by noon, I was ready to push.

Now, up until this point, the labor had been so much easier than Maddie's. The epidural, even though it needed several adjustments (ouch!) and dosage updates, worked beautifully. However, the delivery itself was terrifying.

After an hour and a half of pushing, the doctor used the vacuum to get our little man out. His shoulder was stuck and he was born with mild shoulder distocia. The doctor pulled out a limp, blue little boy and there was quite a bit of panic.

We got to briefly see him before he was whisked away for observation.

He spent the afternoon under observation but was finally able to room with me (thanks to an amazing husband that just kept insisting he join me). We were surrounded with such amazing support, including my sweet friend Jenny... but they deserve a post of their own!

The most amazing man holding the largest newborn. Ready for his stats?!

Weight: 10 lbs. 8.6 ounces

Length: 22 inches

Whoa!

Maddie and Grayson meet for the first time.

Totally safe to say that it was love at first sight.

She also deserves a post of her own, but she's been amazing. She adores him and continues to say that the day he was born was the best day of her life.

And so, we are home. We are learning how to be a family of four, I'm learning to release (a little) control and let the house just be and we're loving every single minute.

Grayson is absolutely and entirely a blessing. I love him beyond words could ever describe and I can't help but thank God every single moment of our days and nights. He is such a direct answer to so many prayers.

Welcome to the world, sweet, sweet Grayson.

39.5 Weeks!

Wouldn't today be a nice day to have a baby?

I think so, but so far, I've been unable to convince a certain little someone to agree with me. :)

I'll be 40 weeks on Sunday.

40 weeks!

I'm feeling gigantic, enormous and huge. Ha!

Maddie and I spend most of our days walking; we've walked Ikea and the mall, we've walked to the donut store (where else would we walk?!) and the post office.

My feet and hands are super swollen (no more wedding rings for me until this puffiness goes down) and I'm just generally very, very ready!

This is 39.5 weeks. I took it this morning, though I don't think I'd done more than brush my hair and teeth. :)

And, not to scare anyone...

but there's a baby in there! Ha!

(I promise no more bare belly photos! I have one from this point in Maddie's pregnancy and will have to see if I can dig it up.)

And here's what I usually look like:

Exhausted! Haha!

I'll find a chair wherever I am (which probably counteracts all the walking, huh?!)!

Come on out Grayson! We are all waiting!!

Eek!

The last thing on our big "To Do" list (well, almost last thing; more on that in a second) was to install Grayson's carseat. But, since our car has been in the shop for the past four weeks, we couldn't do it until...

Today!

It's so exciting! Seeing it back there... Oh my goodness, my heart races just looking at the picture. Ha!

I had a little panic attack this afternoon when I was driving and looked in the mirror. For a split second I saw the empty seat and thought I'd left him somewhere. Haha!

And, even though I blog about these appointments all the time (and it's probably boring for others to read), I had another one this morning.

Little man gave us quite the scare, as his heart rate kept dipping low and sending off the alarms. The nurse was so calm (which kept me from absolutely losing it) and the doctor assured me that he wasn't concerned because it would still spike back up after a bit.

But still. Not fun.

We also talked about the next week and a half, and what it will look like. I'll continue with my twice weekly appointments next week and then...

It's baby time!

We've got arrangements for Maddie and I've obsessively made lists of things she eats and doesn't eat, likes and doesn't like (which is funny since my parents will have her and they know her just as well as Mike and I do!). Mike, my mom and my friend Jenny will be with me when Grayson enters this world and just thinking about it has me so excited that I can't sit still. I've got another amazing friend, Monick, lined up to take pictures so I think we're pretty much set!

I guess I really do need to pack my hospital bag (that is the one remaining thing on my list!).

Have I mentioned that I'm a little bit excited?!

38 Weeks

This is a very scattered post. :)

I have no What I Wore post this week because, literally, I'm now down to about two things that fit comfortably. That means that I will still wear the uncomfortable things, but I only last until about 2pm in them before I resort to Mike's basketball shorts and my old stretched out tank tops.

It's pretty. Ha!

I'm still going to the doctor twice a week. Good thing I really love them, since I feel like I see them more frequently than my friends! I'd been having random contractions, but over the past week or so, they've totally fizzled out. Now, I'm just left with the annoying (and useless, as they don't actually do anything, right?) Braxton-Hicks contractions.

Maddie and I made a countdown to Grayson's arrival, which was fun.

I'm due May 15th, but think I have an induction scheduled the 16th if he doesn't come by then. With Maddie, I was induced past due and it was a great experience and so we're praying for something similar.

I'm not tutoring anymore and everything is ready so he could, ideally, come any day now. :)

I drove past a Babies R Us yesterday and thought that I'd stop in. Then, I realized that there is not one thing that I could possibly buy that I need. Ha!

We've also been getting in all sorts of fun family activities, from the petting zoo to the beach.

Maddie and Mike got to ride an elephant at the zoo last weekend, which was enjoyed by all (I enjoyed not riding the elephant and taking pictures instead!). :)

We also celebrated friend Emma's birthday with a Chick-fil-a lunch date, followed up by some manicures and pedicures.

The girls just love this and it's so cheap when you just want their nails trimmed and polished (and you should've seen how cute they were in picking out their colors!).

They wore their matching dresses and just looked too cute!

I love, love, love having a daughter! Afternoons like these are so much fun!

And finally, we even braved a Disney day!

It was the first time I'd been in months (despite the expensive annual pass; ha!). I'd stayed away because I was intimidated by all the walking. But, it actually felt good and we had a great time.

Now today, I can barely walk, but that's okay since we have nothing to run off and do. Ha!

37 Weeks!

I've totally slacked on the What I Wore pictures.

It's probably because I have about 4 shirts and one pair of pants that fit comfortably.

And that would make a boring week's worth of photos. :)

But, here I am at 37 weeks!

I can't believe it's almost May and it's almost baby time!

We are so ready and so excited.

I think my nesting is done. Mike's, however, has just kicked in and he's been cleaning the garage like a crazy person.

I support it, of course, but get so winded that I don't think I'm much of a help!

Maddie talks about "Mickey Mouse" all the time (yes, she refuses to call him anything but Mickey Mouse) and can't wait to meet him.

He also bought her a couple of big sister gifts, so I think she's pretty excited about that, too. :)

A Great Appointment

Because of the car accident, I go to the doctor twice a week for fetal monitoring and an ultrasound (to check fluid levels). Since Mike is on Spring break, he and Maddie got to join me a few days ago.

The monitoring went great and I even let Maddie be in charge of pushing the button every time Grayson kicked. She took her job very seriously. :)

We also had an ultrasound, where we actually got to watch him breathing. It was so amazing! The doctor said that he won't do it consistently until he's born, but she was super impressed that he was doing it in such long stretches and with such consistency. She was also super sweet and carefully showed Maddie lots of his parts, like his head, his legs and his bottom. It was really neat and Maddie soaked it all in.

There's also been some huge discrepancy over my "official" due date and we finally got a chance to sit with my doctor and lay all the dates out (seriously, it's been progressively moved up 4 times). And yes, I know that babies come when babies want to come, but at least we were able to agree that the date I had all along was right (based on measurements and all the ultrasounds). Ha!

And, as much as people may scold or judge, we are planning on inducing at a certain date. Maddie was overdue and needed some help and I'm wondering if this little man will be the same. Either way, it felt so good to discuss dates and kind of have an end in sight (because we are SO excited to meet him).

As for me, I'm feeling... tired. I'm not used to having to slow down and I think that's been the hardest for me. I've had the same to do list for a week and I usually like to knock these lists off in a day. Ha! He also gets in these wacky positions that make things like sitting and breathing quite a challenge. :) Both my mom and Mike commented yesterday that he definitely appears to have dropped, though I'm not feeling any heartburn relief yet!

We're just so thrilled to have him in our arms. So, so thrilled, even if Maddie continues to insist that we name him Mickey Mouse. :)

What a week!

Last week was... exhausting.

On Tuesday, I was driving home from tutoring (with Maddie and one of my students in the car) when a young girl crashed into the driver's side of my car.

She was very sweet and incredibly apologetic, but it smashed the door in (and absolutely terrified me). She said she thought I had a stop sign (I didn't).

Anyway, I called my doctor, who had me do some kick counts and come in first thing the next morning (the office was already closed and Grayson was reassuring me by having a huge bout of hiccups as we were talking; ha!).

I went in the next day and got a whole work up:

I had my first every non-stress test (NST) and an ultrasound to check fluid levels. All was good and I got to see him sucking his thumb. :)

I also had blood work done.

Blood work that, the next day, didn't come back all that great.

Because of me being Rh- (a blood thing), the results became more serious.

So Maddie and I were sent off to labor and delivery for monitoring.

She thought it was cool.

For about 10 seconds. Ha!

Thank heavens for my amazing parents that raced down to the hospital and picked her up (where she got to play at Nana and Poppa's for hours; much better than a hospital room!).

My view. Ha!

I will say that listening to Grayson's heartbeat and watching the heart rate was a joy.

Also, being forced to rest for a few hours wasn't that bad, either. :)

Waiting four hours for the lab to deliver yet another Rhogam shot was not as enjoyable, but thankfully my mom was there the whole time to keep me company.

I also had to go back the following day for more monitoring, since they're a little concerned about placental abruption. The doctors assure me that everything looks good and every single nurse has commented on what a happy baby Grayson is. He is constantly moving, hiccuping and trying to kick off the monitors. Ha!

We're not sure if I'll continue this twice weekly monitoring up until my due date or not. We'll find out more at my next appointment on Friday. I'm so thankful that Mike has a job where he can get home fairly quickly and that I have parents who have totally stepped up to take care of Maddie. In fact, she now frequently asks me if I should just "drop her off at Nana's and go check Grayson's heartbeat." Ha!

So, totally unfortunate time for a car accident but very, very thankful for thorough and loving doctors!

Big Sister Class!

Our hospital offers a big sister/big brother-to-be class and we were so excited to enroll Maddie!

My parents gave her this baby brother doll at my baby shower and she is super attached to it.

She had to bring a baby and she immediately grabbed him!

They learned how to bathe a baby, swaddle a baby (sort of! Ha!) and even how to love on your new sibling.

Mike and I even walked away with some great ideas to help make a smooth transition from three to four.

They went on a field trip upstairs to the labor and delivery rooms. :)

She got to take a "ride" in the hospital bed and then she got to be the one to push the buttons. I think this was her favorite part!

After watching a short video about being a big sister, she "graduated." :)

She got a diploma and a shirt.

A shirt that she totally refuses to take off. Ha!

It was such a wonderful experience. As soon as we left, she said, "That was great!" and later told us, "I can't wait till my little baby comes!" :)

Babymoon!

This past weekend, Mike and I got away for a little vacation and it was SO amazing! It was just the two of us (well, plus Grayson, who made himself well-known with kicks, hiccups and the occassional contraction) and we had a great time. Our hotel room overlooked the bay in one of our favorite spots and we even got to watch two weddings, right from our balcony! We took long naps, shopped (I have the best husband; he bought me a shirt, Maddie a dress and even surprised me by getting Grayson an outfit!) and ate. We had an Uno tournament (we're geeky) and he might have won. :) He woke up early (early as in 8:30; ha!) Sunday morning and ran all around the island while I laid in bed and read magazine after magazine. :) Maddie was blessed to spend a ton of time with her grandparents. My parents took her to the nature center (actually, it was a Maddie and Poppa date!), to the beach, and to the horse stables so she could ride the ponies. Mike's mom brought over the movie Tangled and then took her to church in the morning. She was a very lucky girl! I remember that the last time Mike and I went away, I was in such a sad place, as we had suffered another miscarriage. It's just amazing that this time, I'm only a month away from giving birth. God is so good and we're just so, so excited for what the future holds!

Big Bellies, Sickness and Baby Boy

Whew! What a week.

I think any time you can measure your week by trips to the doctor's office (which was a total of four) and trips to the pharmacy (a total of three) are never going to be your best!

First up, check out Grayson!

Or at least, the belly he's growing in. :)

This is my 32 week picture.

I feel enormous but I secretly love it. He's SUCH a mover. I think it's God's way of constantly reassuring me. :)

I have bronchitis and, obviously, cough all the time. I think it must startle the poor guy because after every coughing fit I have, he gets the hiccups.

This poor cutie got really sick last week. We thought it was just a cough and cold, but when her cough persisted and the fever would go away only to come back a day later, we took her in. Her sweet pediatrician tested her for the flu (negative) and strep (negative) and then sent us to the hospital for a chest x-ray.

She loved every single second of our hospital visit! They treated her like gold, she thought the hospital was "fancy" and she was actually sad to leave. Ha! As we were walking out the doors, she said, "This has been an amazing night!"

What wasn't so fun is that the x-ray showed that she had pneumonia in both her lungs.

Coupled with my bronchitis, we've been quite the pair!

Mike has just been amazing and stepped up to take over all household jobs plus taking care of his two girls. My parents have also been a God-send and just helped us out so much.

We're all on the mend now (I hope, I hope!) and we even got to see our baby boy today in 3D!

We did this with Maddie's pregnancy too (I really need to do comparison pictures; they have totally different noses!) and it was so fun.

We watched him smile, yawn/open his mouth and wiggle his toes.

With Maddie, the tech said that she had lots of hair and full lips.

With Grayson, she said he has chubby cheeks, big feet and a little bit of fuzz on his head. :)

We're so in love and I just can hardly wait to hold him in our arms.

I do have all sorts of projects to blog about but being sick has wiped me out. My normally high energy level is currently incredibly low, which is really hard for me. The good thing is that at least I've been sleeping at night!

The 10,000th post about Grayson's room

I know that I keep posting about baby Grayson's room but I'm just a tad bit excited. :)

It's truly such a different pregnancy than Maddie's. He feels bigger (or maybe it's just me and the feeling that I'm bigger!), he moves a ton more and it's taken a lot longer for me to truly let myself get excited about his arrival. Honestly, the first five months were filled with so much anxiety and fear and I feel like I'm finally at that thrilled, "We're having a baby in two months!" stage. :)

So, bare with me as I continue to post pictures of his room. Just wait until he gets here! Ha!

We have a supply of diapers! And believe it or not, this is about half of the total stash!

We're very thankful for these boxes and packages!

This was a portion of the amazing baby shower gifts we got.

Once we got home, everything got hung and organized in his closet. :)

And, his artwork was hung, along with the new LOVE sign my friend made (she takes the photographs herself and then makes custom frames; it's the artwork in the bottom right corner of the picture).

Mike's mom's gift to us was to have the pink chair recovered (yay, yay, yay!) so that'll be the next big change in the room!

Random Cell Phone Pics :)

I have some cute pictures from my cell phone and even though I post them on Facebook, I thought I'd blog them too. I'm so thankful for a camera phone, since I can take pictures throughout the day, without lugging around my big camera.

Maddie's new favorite show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, on the Disney channel.

Mike gave her some special paper and she immediately wanted to draw all the characters from the show. :)

We had our first ever parent-teacher conference and it went so well!

The teacher is a sweetheart and had so many great things to say that afterward, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. She loved it!

She's also started staying an extra hour on Thursdays so that she can eat lunch and play with her friends. I was hesitant to do this (even though it's only an extra $4!) because I thought it'd be too long of a day, but she actually gets mad when she doesn't get to stay long on Tuesdays!

We're still teaching Sunday school once a month and Mike is so, so good at it. As my energy level drops, he's just stepped up and the kids adore him. :)

Maddie got to celebrate her friends' 4th birthday (sweet twins Mia and Jacob!) at a cupcake place. She loved it!

I got to celebrate Spring with a crafting night with girlfriends! My friend Amy hosts these once a month and it's so fun to get together and make cute projects.

And finally, Grayson's artwork got hung above his crib! I've actually rearranged it since this picture was taken (surprise, surprise! haha) and I think it turned out great!

I think that's it! Well actually, there's like, I don't know, 20 more, but I won't bore you all. Ha!

Grayson's Baby Shower!

Oh my goodness, what an amazing baby shower was thrown for Grayson this weekend!

I was (and still am!) so totally overwhelmed by the love and friendship shown to Mike, Maddie, Grayson and I this weekend. It was the cutest shower ever and such a fun day.

My sweet friends that threw the shower, Monick and Jenny, totally outdid themselves with an all-out nautical-themed brunch. There were so many yummies, including quiche, fresh waffles, fruit, and...

buttercream frosting shots!

They truly know me! Ha! I ate so many of these little beauties that I am not looking forward to my next weigh-in at the doctor's! :)

We were blessed with such beautiful weather and everything was just decorated so cute. I wish I could share all the pictures. Monick took over 70 and it was very hard for me to narrow it down to just these!

Mike brought Maddie when it was time to open presents. She was totally overwhelmed by the large crowd of people and headed straight to her Nana for some snuggles. :)

Maddie sat on my lap (and on the floor) to open all these amazing gifts. I know I said it before but really, overwhelmed is the only word that describes this! It makes me all teary when I think of all the love showered upon us.

Maddie was also totally spoiled and got a ton of big sister presents!

My love :)

And, my sweet, sweet hostesses, Monick and Jenny.

I could never thank them enough for this day. I remember this time last year, when I was throwing showers for friends and my heart was just breaking that we couldn't get pregnant. I remember Monick saying that as soon as we got pregnant, she'd start planning my shower.

And, she did. :)

There were also so many helpers and I'm thankful for all of you, too. It was just a surreal day and oh my goodness,

we're having a baby!!! :)