Welcome, Amelia Ruth

SHE'S here! Finally, SHE'S here! One week ago today our precious daughter, Amelia Ruth, was born.

Amelia Ruth
5:49am
Monday, August 24th, 2009
7 lbs 10 oz
21.25 inches

Here's how it all happened....

I started having contractions Thursday, Aug 20th. I didn't go to work. I was was over due by 4 or 5 days and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable! I had a doctor appointment that morning and for the first time I was registering a high blood pressure reading. The dr told me to go home and rest and she said that we'd induce the following Wednesday if the baby didn't come over the weekend. Thursday came and went. No baby.

Again, on Friday, even more contractions. My doctor asked me to come back in for another blood pressure check. I went in before work and it was still high. The office was really backed up and there were only 2 doctors in. They had me go upstairs to Labor and Delivery for a Non Stress Test. I went up and they were full as well. Finally, they found a room for me and monitored my contractions and baby's heartbeat. The contractions were there and consistent but just too far apart so they sent me home. I was just 1 cm and 100% effaced. I was told to go home and get horizontal. No walking. No salty food. No fun!
Before I went home I had to stop at Barnes and Noble to get a baby book. It had been on my "To Do" list for weeks but never got checked off. On my way out of the parking lot I reversed into another car that was backing up. That's really great for an almost 41 week pregnant woman with high blood pressure. We both got out and inspected our bumpers and all was well. I thought at this point it might be a good idea to follow dr's orders and go home and lie down. By the end of the day, Friday came and went. Still no baby.

Saturday I rested all day. I still felt contractions but I couldn't get them closer than 7 minutes apart and you have to have them 5 minutes apart consistently for an hour. I started to feel like this baby would never come. I worked from home a little and took a couple of naps. Nathan and I had to miss Adelyn's (Rachel's little girl) 1st birthday party. We heard it was a lot of fun, though!
I went to bed. Saturday, still no baby.

Sunday I woke up at 5am with stronger contractions and they were finally 5 minutes apart. I timed them until about 6:30 and called the dr. He said that I could either stay at home where it would be more comfortable or I could go in to the hospital. I thought to myself," hmmmmm....stay at home where there are no pain killers and no drugs is more comfortable than going to the hospital? Well, we did stay at home for a while. We took a short walk around the block to see if the contractions would stop or slow down and bring us to the realization that it was just another false alarm but this time it wasn't! I truly was in real labor! Yay!

Our bags were by the door and had been packed for weeks. We loaded up the car and went to the hospital around 11am. We were checked in quickly and I was checked out. They said I was now 2cm. Big freakin' whoop! I was hoping that I was going to discover that my threshold for pain was miraculously way better than what I thought. Nope! I'm a wuss. The contractions I was having were very uncomfortable and I thought to myself, "HOW CAN I ONLY BE AT 2 CM???!!!" So many friends walk around for weeks and weeks at 2 and 3 cm. I was experiencing real discomfort and I'd be so bold to say PAIN for those 2 little centimeters. Oh geeez, what would this day bring?

Thankfully, the staff was accommodating and gave me my epidural a little early. They normally wait until you're at a 4 or 5 but I think they could tell that I was a big baby so they granted me my wish. All I can say is an epidural is your friend. I know its not for everyone but its definitely for me!

So, the day is going along nicely. Family starts to arrive at the hospital around mid afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good. I get to about 5 cm and then I start to feel some discomfort. Ouch! It's starting to hurt again! The anesthesiologist, (love, love, love this doctor! He was so wonderful and comforting and let Nathan watch every move and even added a little more commentating since Nathan was so intrigued) came back and topped me off with more of the good stuff.

Ok, ok, I'm feeling good again! Whew! It got a little scary. By this time I was so thankful to have loved ones around but I also was getting very tired. It had now been 12 or 13 hours since labor began. Nathan asked everyone to wait outside for a while so we could rest. The put me on pitocin and magnesium sulfate. The mag/sulf was for my high blood pressure. It actually is a muscle relaxer that helps high blood pressure patients avoid seizures. I didn't feel any different with high blood pressure but I guess it's something you don't mess around with. The side effects of the mag/sulf are flu like symptoms. I felt HOT and achy. Not too bad, though. Since its a muscle relaxer and the uterus is a big muscle that needs to contract to get baby out they had to counteract with the pitocin. Once that was in full motion my contractions were much more productive. By midnight I was at 8 cm then it just stopped. We predicted the baby would come around 2am but by 2am I was still 8cm. At 4am the dr came in to talk with us about considering cesarean. He said the baby was ready...just waiting for those last 2 cm. He was worried about size of baby's head and shoulders and considering how long I'd already been in labor he recommended c-section to avoid any additional stress to the baby. I was all for it! Cut me open. I'm ready.

From time time they start the surgery it takes about 5 minutes for them to get the baby out. I was very groggy from no sleep and hours upon hours of labor. I remember telling Nathan that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to grasp what was going on b/c of how out of it I felt. Then, I heard them say, "Here it comes.....it's.....a..... GIRL!" I have waited so long to hear those words, "It's a _______". I still get teary when I relive that moment in my head. What a precious moment I'll never forget! Even though Sunday and Monday felt like one gigantic day, Monday will go down on record as one of, if not the most, wonderful day of my life! It's right up there with the day I married Nathan. I'm so thankful for this little girl that God has entrusted to us to raise. We are up for the task. She's a week old today and this past week has been filled with tears of joy, very little sleep, moments of pure happiness just starring at her endlessly, time with family and friends and of course, lots of poop and pee!

Fat Feet

Pretty much my biggest and worst complaint is swollen feet. Every day. I sleep with a wedge pillow under my legs and feet to help the swelling go down and it works but by the time I'm ready to walk out the door they look like this again. What's worse, my boss loves to tease me about the swelling. In fact, today at work ended with me practically running down the stairs (I know, not a smart or safe thing to do when your over due in your pregnancy) yelling "NO! NO! NO!" because he was trying to take a picture of my ankles. In fact, he is now calling me "Anks". Thanks, Greg, for being so encouraging and sensitive!

40 Weeks

Wow, how anticlimactic! Your whole pregnancy you focus on your due date....your due date...due date! Then, it just comes and goes! August 16th has been such a big date to us for the last 9+ months and now its gone and still, no baby.

Here I am at my 39 week appointment. They hooked me up to a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor. Baby's heartbeat was strong, beautiful and perfect. The contraction monitor detected zip!


We went to Gruene for lunch on Saturday with my dad. It was a beautiful day and we were able to snap a few pics...



















Here's a picture of me and Nathan on our due date going out for dinner and a movie. Everyone keeps telling us to do that....to go to a nice dinner and to see a movie in the theater. So, that's what we've been doing....
Actually, I guess its a good thing that I'm late. I was able to attend a luncheon for our awesome interns today. I went to work for a few hours and got some much needed preparations done. Nathan was even able to do a project on his "to do" list! He's been wanting to make a mold of my belly and tonight we did just that. It was a fun experience. We went to Michael's today to pick up the casting cloth that is pre-treated with the plaster. You just cut the cloth into strips and dip them into water and then place on whatever you want to make a mold of.

You're thinking...."Kinky". Well, maybe a little but it was still awesome! The mold looks great! He did a great job of capturing my pregnant belly. Here are some cute belly molds we saw on line. We're still thinking about how we want to decorate ours.

Baby Shower or Baby Party....which is it?

All of this shower fun is still on a roll! Check out who else had a baby shower.....
Well, if you ask Nathan he'll tell you it was a baby PARTY. Not a shower. Showers are for girls. Guys have PARTIES. His department at work wanted to throw him a baby show....eh-hem....party last Friday, Aug. 7th.

With all the hastle and security they have at USAA I rarely go up there to his work. It was so nice to meet all of his co-workers and watch my sweet husband open baby gifts. He might be a little reluctant to admit it but he had fun!
Above is our friend Amy. She used to work in Nathan's department but she was finally able to break free. She now works in security but she managed to get away to come to the show..... er, um...party.
Don't worry, honey! Baby parties are so manly and cool. You really can't complain. Especially when there's Costco cake!

Baby Shower by Brooke

Brooke is my oldest friend that I grew up with. In fact, we met around age 5 at our neighborhood swimming pool. We were both in the baby pool playing, minding our own business when Brooke came swimming up behind me. I guess I was in her way of the wall and she wanted to grab on to the side of the pool. So, she did the next best thing. She pulled down my little 5 year old bikini bottoms. There I was like the Coppertone little girl. My super white butt against my very dark tan lines was shining for all to see. I turned around horrified only to see Brooke laughing with her mischievous smile. I pulled up my trunks and ran over to my dad so we could go home. Even though it was a bad day for me, little did I know that the little girl who embarrassed me would be my lifelong best friend. Brooke and I have gone through a lot together and have enjoyed growing up together. I am so thankful for the sweet baby shower she threw for me on July 31st. I can't wait to return the favor! She'll be next, I just know it!

We had a great time at the shower. So many family and friends came. We ate, played games and caught up with one another. Ashley and Lacey enjoyed playing Baby Bingo!


Nathan's cousins from Austin came to San Antonio to help me celebrate.
Thanks so much Mindy and Erica for coming. Susan wanted to come down from Fort Worth but things just didn't work out. These 3 sweet girls and their parents got us our awesome car seat. Check it out.....we LOVE it!
Here are two great friends from high school. Emily is on the left and Joann is on the right. It's been a long time since we've been together. I can't wait to see them again and see their babies. Joann lives in Lockhart and is a Game Warden. Emily actually just lives about 2 miles from us and we just found that out. We've got a lot of playground and park play dates in the future.
Brooke has great connections in the party planning department and had a friend of hers make the shower cake. You can see how beautiful it was....I just wish you could TASTE it. It was delicious!
Well, Baby Carmines, just look and see how much you are loved already and you're not even here yet! So many people are waiting to meet you and spoil you rotten! I'm so excited to have all of this documented for you to see when you're older. We love you and we love this special time preparing for you.

Thanks Brooke for a wonderful time! You're right...your mom would have been so proud of you for throwing such a sweet and thoughtful shower! Love you lots!

AOII Shower

I'm so behind on blogging so I'm frantically trying to get caught up before baby comes. By the way, I'm officially 39 weeks and it looks like baby will stay in the womb through his/her first day of Kindergarten. Nothing is going on. Nada. Baby dropping? Not yet. Cervix dilated? Nope. Not at all. My doctor says its ok. Nothing to worry about. The baby is still a good size and not too big. She's predicting an 8 pounder. Yikes! That sounds big to me.

July 12th was my shower at Becki's house by my sweet AOII sisters from college.

We're all scattered between SA, Austin, Houston and Dallas so it was an awesome time to get together. I was so excited to mix and mingle them with my friends from church.
Thanks to Ali, Amy, Becki, Jo and Shannon for a beautiful party and Traci left baby Z at home with daddy to come. It was a great time except something was missing. Amy wasn't able to be with us because she was checking into hotel North Central Baptist hospital, her description. She had to go in for a week of continuous chemo. We missed her but she still made so many of the shower details so special. Keep her in your prayers! She's prepping for stem cell transplant. More on that later as it gets closer....

Jo stayed in town all week to hang out with Amy at the hospital and help with family stuff. Times like these make you count your blessings. We are all blessed with the love of family and friends. People who are there to celebrate things like the birth of a new baby and on the flip side to help you when you're in the trenches of a valley. I'm thankful for these special people that make life sweeter. They are gifts from God. Not only is Jo a great care taker....she's also a great emcee for baby showers. Here she is in all her glory...

Thanks again, girls! I had a great time!!

Rockport 2009

Last month we took our annual trip to Rockport, TX. We had a great time hangin' with family and friends. With the 100 temps around town we were surprised to find a little relief down at the coast. Usually its even hotter and more balmy down there. Not the case this time.
We enjoyed time at the pool, games after dinner and relaxing just being schedule free. I passed on going to the beach since I was 34 weeks preggo at the time. I read My Sister's Keeper and enjoyed a quiet condo while everyone else went to take on the waves, sun and sand.