Where has time gone?

It's hard for me to believe that somehow this last year has completely slipped away from me. I have gone from having a tiny little defenseless infant to the little crazy man that he is today. I never pictured myself chasing a little naked butt as I am trying to strap him down to get his diaper on! But-here I am! He's so fast-he can climb our stairs in like thirty seconds! I can't even begin to describe the joy that Matty has infused into our lives. He is absolutely hilarious. I seriously can't wait to have more children. That will come in the Lord's time though! So, to those of you who follow my blog-if there is anyone left out there-here are some updates pictures and my apologies for not posting more often!

I have the GREATEST Friends!

I had the best weekend...three of my dearest friends came to visit me and we had a wonderful time.It's amazing just how being with your best girlfriends can melt away stress and allow your crazy side to come out! As much as I love being a mom, sometimes, I can't help but notice that the free sprited crazy girl has been replaced by the mother who is far more serious! Thank you girls! I love you so much!

6 months old!

Matty will be six months old in only a few days. I can't believe I have been a mother for six months on one hand but on the other I can't imagine ever not being Matty's mom. He has two teeth now and is working very diligently to cut the two upper teeth. He drinks from a sippy cup too! He crawls on the floor, although not very gracefully! We are still working on sleeping through the night, but I don't mind. It's so hard to believe how quickly he is growing. He has such a great personality and is genuinely happy. Although, I have to say, I have seen recently that a little monster emerges when we attempt to put the boy in his car seat. There is something that he just doesn't appreciate about being tied in. Perhaps he is a free spirit like his Mommy!

Angry Mess

Well, we just hit the four month mark, and the little man is finally ready for something other than just a liquid diet! So, we have been working on integrating some steak and potatoes-or should I say rice cereal and pears? It's so exciting to see Matthew learning about food, the taste, stickiness, and feel of it in his mouth! He is doing well but man does he get completely drenched in food when he eats. It seems that he and I are in a spoon grabbing competition with each mealtime. I had to share this picture. It's hilarious!

Breastfeeding:before and after

It's weird how your perspective changes on situations based on the side of the fence you are on.I always knew that I wanted to nurse my kids but my thoughts on nursing before I did it and now once that I am doing it vary a great deal. So, I have compiled a list of my thoughts on breastfeeding now that I am in the saddle!

1. While I do believe in being discreet, I do believe that it's my right to nurse wherever the heck I want. For the first two weeks I nursed, I was terrified of doing it in public and didn't want to leave the house. I would go back to the car and nurse the baby for fear of what people would think. Then something clicked and I realized a couple of things. First, I am the only one who can feed my little one and he is depending on me. If he wants to eat, I am going to feed him-end of story. Secondly, in case society has blurred your vision, God made boobs to feed babies-not to fill full of saline and squeeze into tiny triangular shaped bathing suits. I shouldn't have to be embarrassed because I am doing what I was created to do.

2. The bond that it creates between you and your child is immeasurable. This is something that my little boy and I share that no one else shares with him and I love the closeness nursing provides.

3. I recently bought nursing pads made my Gerber that had no sticky adhesive on the back. Whoever made these pads couldn't have been thinking. As I am nursing and trying to be houdini so no one gets a free show, my nursing pad comes flying out. Great. Or, if it doesn't come flying out, it bunches all up so it doesn't do it's job and it makes me look like I stuffed my bra with a lumpy sock. So, don't buy nursing pads without the little sticky. It makes a BIG difference.

4. Did you know nursing burns an extra 500 calories a day? That my friend is why after only three months, I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant!!

5. When you are a nursing mother, you have to give consideration to all the items in your wardrobe. In the morning a shirt may be more than appropriate but as the day goes on and you are away from your little one, it may grow less and less appropriate! You may end your work day looking like Pamela Lee Anderson if you aren't careful!!

6. I feel the rewards greatly outweigh the inconveniences of nursing so my advice to all mothers is- Go for it!

School of Hard Knocks?

So I am just a few weeks away from my ten year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been ten years. I don't feel as old as I thought people my age were when I was young. And, as I have been on the committee planning the reunion, I have had alot of time to really think about how I have changed since I graduated. I have learned so much. I wish someone would have told me all the stuff that I had to figure out on my own but then again, get real, as a teen I wouldn't have believed them anyhow. So, here is my two cents about the last ten years:

1. Whether you are popular in high school in no way effects whether you are successful and popular in life.

2. If I would have been as ambitious about my studies as I was with being in every single extra curricular activity, I wouldn't still be paying on my student loans because I would have had scholarships

3. I spent way too much time worrying about what other people thought. Who the heck really cares if your jeans come from Wal-Mart of Abercrombie?

4. In high school, I spent all my time trying to convince everyone-mostly my parents-that I knew everything. I have spent these past ten years discovering just how much I still have to learn.

5. Small schools and small towns aren't bad. When I was in high school, I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from this town as possible. Now ten years later, we've moved back here.

6. When we were kids, we didn't have to walk through metal detectors to get into school and kids didn't get in trouble for carrying pocket knives. My goodness how things have changed in ten years.

7. I wish I would have been less afraid to stand up for my faith. People knew that I was a Christian but I am sure that I could have done a better job acting like one.


So...those are my thoughts about high school. Holy crap, time flies...

I love Motherhood

I have to say that being a mom is the greatest thing that I have ever experienced.I have wanted it for so long! I don't know if it's what I expected. I am not sure what I expected exactly, but it's wonderful. Matty is almost three months old now and I still remain sleep deprived but every time he smiles at me, it makes it all worth it. He's getting to the point where he wants to play now and I love it. He smiles and laughs and my heart melts.

Tub Time!

Our little boy LOVES the water! We just got him a new tub!

Ahhh, motherhood

The little man is sleeping so I have decided that I should quickly update my blog sine these opportunities seem to be few and far between. There are so many things that I have learned in this last month. I had so many ideas of what being a mother would be like and now...I am realizing that I had no clue! Here are some of the things that I have recently learned.
1. Boys pee EVERYWHERE!
2. The episiotomy was worse than the delivery.
3. I have never been so in love :)
4. I was so worried about not knowing what to do, but it just comes. It really does.
5. Nursing Matthew has been such an amazing bonding experience.
6. I have never been so sleep deprived or delirious.
7. I really underestimated how much time it takes to take care of a baby. He dictates everything that I do.
8. I never understood why people with kids could never get anywhere on time. I use to think they were just poor planners and then I had Matthew. Last week we were just ready to go out the door and he peed all over his clothes- so I was late! It doesn't matter how early you start getting ready, stuff still happens.

What about you? Have any of you had surprises with motherhood?

Motherhood Has arrived

Wow...I am a mom. I finally am a mom. I grossly underestimated the shock this would impose on my life! Wow! As evidenced by the fact the the little guy is three weeks old today and I a just now getting to posting about having him! What an amazing ride this has been. When I look into his little face, I still can't believe that I had a part in creating him. Seth and I just stare at Matthew sometimes in utter disbelief.

Well, to go back a little bit...

I went into the hospital at 8am on the 8th to be induced. They started the cytotek to thin my cervix out shortly after I arrived. That medication produced only mild period like cramps. I was able to walk around all morning with little difficulty. At noon, the doctor came in and broke my water. That's when the craziness began. I went from comfortable to crying in pain in less than ten minutes. In fact, the doctor came back in shortly after breaking my water and the baby's heartrate had begun to show signs of distress. It had dipped into the sixties with normal ranging from 120-150 BPM. He immediately order Brethine {sp?}, an IV push medication to slow down my labor. The labor had come on so strongly that the baby wasn't able to tolerate it. They also gave me oxygen. It was really scary. But, the medication worked and Matthew's heartrate stabilized. After that, I was nice and comfortable with my newly placed epidural to reach full dilation. The doctor came in to check me at about ten minutes til six and said, "we are having this baby!" I of course was terrified and unsure if I still wanted to go through with it...He assured me that I would be able to do it and rushed out to get his clothes on for the delivery. He came back in and three contractions later, Matthew was born!

He was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches long- and he came out screaming!

We went home from the hospital on Tuesday morning. It was so unbelievable to be able to carry a baby out of that place. Seth and I were just beside ourselves.

The first week was a really rough one. I had no idea that recovering from childbirth could be so hard. When I had Mia, she was so little {2.1 pounds} that I didn't need an episiotomy. I wasn't so lucky this time. I was in agony for an entire week. I remember thinking...what have I done? I can't even take care of myself! How am I going to be a mom? I slept, took pain medication and sat on icepacks for a full week before I started to feel better. But amazingly, it got better and it has been totally worth it all.

So, here I am...Matthew is three weeks old and Seth and I can't imagine being without him. Sure, it's a major life change and I do miss sleep-because I get none but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Here are some pictures of him. I will try to post a bit more often than every three weeks, but man...I can't make any promises!

Tomrrow is the big day

Wow, I can't even believe that tomorrow I am going to be able to hold my little boy. I am so unbelievably overwhelmed that I can't even put it into words. I feel like I have been pregnant forever! And, right now I am pretty darn uncomfortable and miserable. I am scared out of my mind. I never had a chance to be scared with Mia. Everything happened so fast, but with this one, I have had plenty of time to get all freaked out about everything. I think I have read far too much and watched far too many baby shows. That in combination with being a nurse...good grief! I am going gray just thinking about it. Please pray for us! It's going to be a memorable day. Finally we are going to be getting the child that we have longed for for so long!
God is good, isn't He!

Nursery Pictures

Well, I have finally conceded and decided to work on the nursery. It is finally complete with three weeks to spare!

Shower Time

Here are some pictures from my baby Showers! How exciting!

31 weeks

Well, I went to the doctor today. Matthew is no longer breech! His head is down in my pelvis-which may explain why I constantly feel like I am going to wet my pants! They also had me go for a fetal non stress test which the doctor said looked great as well. I didn't gain any weight this month. I am not sure why. I eat. Maybe it's because I am eating less amounts because of the awful heartburn.I don't know. He did an ultrasound though and he's growing fine. Who knows? As long as he is healthy!

My baby shower is in two weeks. I am so so so excited! Mia died just before I had a shower last time so this will really be very exciting!

Keep praying! I won't relax until I hear cries...