Stay at Home Mom

Having little Claire in our family has been such an amazing experience! We love her sweet spirit and love being a family of three. I love being with my baby girl and am grateful that
I can stay at home with her. But I'm not going to lie, although it is amazing to be a mother it is also one of the hardest things to get adjusted to.

Right after Claire's birth everything seemed perfect and blissful. But the baby blues quickly set in and they hit me really hard. I was bursting into tears for no reason, sad about not being pregnant anymore, and was terrified of being left alone. I've never been a very emotional person and have always hated crying in front of people so when I started bursting into tears for no reason it would make me cry harder because people were watching me.

I also found that breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks. I tried breastfeeding right after she was born but had a difficult time because apparently I have flat nipples. So with the help of a nipple shield I was able to get her latched on. But as the days went by I was having trouble getting my milk to come in enough that I wouldn't have to supplement with formula. I started to drink chlorophyll and that resulted in a blocked milk duct and a breast infection. At the same time Claire was having a hard time with her tummy and was extremely fussy and gassy. So we took her to the doctor and found out that she was lactose intolerant, so we switched her supplement formula and I cut out all dairy all the way down to butter. Well she wasn't getting any better so two days ago we switched her completely to formula and miracle of all miracles it worked! She is now a completely different baby. She is happier, sleeps by herself and through the night, and is hardly ever fussy! So even though it was a hard thing for me to give up we decided yesterday that it was best for her if we just stop breastfeeding. I cried about it but I know that for whatever reason, the formula is easier on her little tummy.

But other than dealing with crazy hormones and breastfeeding troubles I love being a stay at home mom! Now that I am no longer trying to get my milk production up I am able to do more of the house work and focus more on enjoying my little girl rather than stressing over making enough food for her. I love being her mommy and watching her grow!

Claire Marie

Our beautiful baby girl, Claire Marie, is finally here!

She was born on June 15th at 9:49 PM and was 8 pounds 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches long! She is the perfect addition to our little family and we are so in love with her!

For those of you that haven't heard her birth story, here it is. On Tuesday, June 14th I woke up at about 4 AM with some mild, irregular contractions. I was excited but not completely sure that it meant she would be here soon. The contractions continued all through the day and finally around 10 PM the contractions started developing a pattern. Joe was so excited he could hardly sit still and insisted that we pack our hospital bag just in case. I still wasn't convinced that she was coming just because the contractions were so mild and were 10 minutes apart, lasting about 15 seconds a piece but I was proven wrong.

At 2 AM we left for the hospital. My contractions were 5 minutes apart and each lasted a minute or longer but they were sometimes so mild I could hardly feel them. So we got all checked into the hospital and they hooked me up to all the little machines. The nurse came in and checked me and I was dilated to 2 cm and 90% effaced but my contractions were not hard enough to be admitted so they sent us home. I was instructed to stay at home until I could no longer talk through a contraction so I labored at home from 3-8:30 AM which by this point I was still doing fine with the pain but the contractions were getting too close for our liking. We left for the second time for the hospital and this time they admitted me. I was dilated to 5 cm and 100% effaced. After getting all settled in they allowed me to walk the hallways and soak in the tub. The midwife was pretty optimistic that I would deliver before 1 that afternoon so we were pretty excited. After a few hours the contractions were getting harder but Joe was an awesome coach and kept me focused and laughing. My mom arrived to be there with me around 11 and we were all so sure that I would be able to complete the delivery completely natural.

But when 1 PM rolled around I hadn't progressed at all. Our midwife was afraid that if I didn't start progressing soon that I would be too tired for delivery and suggested we start me on some pitocin. Once that was started the feeling of the contractions changed completely. They were hard and unnatural but I pushed through the pain with no pain medication until the pitocin pain level reached a 6. I was able to handle it until she checked me again at around 5 PM and I was STILL at 5 cm. She explained that she needed to up the dosage some more and that's when I finally broke down and cried. The pain was too much and to think about it getting worse was overwhelming so I decided to go with the epidural. While we waited for the epidural they injected a pain medication into my IV and upped the dosage on the pitocin. The medication made me feel loopy and dizzy and caused my entire body to shake. I could hardly concentrate on Joe telling me to breathe. I was getting frustrated and the pain was becoming unbearable. About a half an hour later the anesthesiologist arrived and proceeded to stick me with that huge needle THREE times while I tried to breathe through the contractions and Joe held my shaking body as still as he could and tried to get me to stop crying. But as soon as the epidural started to work I was in heaven!

At around 7:15 PM the midwife came to check me again and I was finally at 10 cm!!! She said I could start pushing and after 2 hours we could see the top of her head but her heart rate was starting to get too high so they called a doctor in to use the little vacuum on her head in order to get her out as soon as possible. Two pushes later and at 9:49 PM our little girl was finally born! They placed her on my chest and I was so relieved and happy to finally have her here that all I could do was cry. She cried with me on my chest while Joe stood next to us just beaming. :) He was so excited he just kept kissing both of us and kept telling me over and over that she was finally here. It was a wonderful moment to finally have our family of three.

My mom stayed with us through the whole thing and took a ton of pictures. Here are just a few.
Before they started the pitocin

Claire finally arrived!!

So happy to finally have my baby girl

8 pounds 1 oz

proud daddy

First family picture (please ignore how awful I look)

Our beautiful little Claire

It was a long and hard day for all of us but in the end it was so worth it! We love our baby girl and can't imagine life without her.

It's Go Time!

Today is my due date! And according to my pregnancy countdown on the right of my blog, it's go time! Ha I don't think Claire got the memo. I think she's decided she's pretty comfortable in there and I've decided I'm ok with waiting. Not thrilled about it but I'm ok with it.

I can honestly say that earlier this week I was NOT ok with waiting any longer. I wanted her out and I wanted her out now! But after my amazing husband gave me a blessing I feel much more relaxed and calm. I wish that was the case with Joe, the longer we have to wait the more antsy he gets. I think he's just a little over excited! :) I just keep reminding him that she will be here before the end of the month! I know it helps me to know that there is an end to being pregnant.

At our last doctor's appointment they told me that I am now dilated to 1 cm. Thank goodness! I was so worried that there would be no progress because I have had no contractions during the last week. At 37 weeks they were telling me she could come any day because of the contractions I was having but when week 38 rolled around I was only effaced 50% and then only 70% the next week. So now I know that just because I can't feel the progress, there is still progress going on. And since Claire is measuring slightly smaller than average they will not induce me until after the 25th. So I'm just going to sit back and relax and wait for this little girl to come out and greet us. :)

Here's some pics to show how big she's gotten:
This is 38 weeks...

And this was taken today at exactly 40 weeks!

I'm hoping she comes soon cuz I don't want to get much bigger than this! :)

One more month!

As of today I am exactly one month from my due date! I can't believe that she will be here that soon but I am so excited to meet my little girl! I can't wait to kiss her sweet little face and cuddle and love on her! We had a baby shower this past Saturday and it was so much fun! (I will post pics when I get them from my sister) We got so many things for her but it made me super antsy for her to be here already. :) But I keep reminding myself that she will be here soon enough!

So here I am at 35 weeks and 4 days

Thankfully this part of the pregnancy has been really relaxing. I have NO back pain, heartburn, or trouble sleeping! Yay! I get swollen feet mostly just after church and I still throw up occasionally when Claire decides to kick my stomache too hard but other than that I feel great! I'm still pretty flexible and free to move around for the most part. I can still touch my toes but rolling over in bed is a different story! Joe always makes fun of me when I roll over but I'd like to see him switch sides with a belly that feels like it's pinning you down! :) And the closer we get the due date, the more active Claire gets! It's fun to sit on the couch and just watch my stomache as she twists and turns. She's been getting the hiccups a lot lately too and it's pretty funny to watch!

Anyways, we finally got the nursery finished! It's perfect and I love it! My goal was to finish the nursery before the baby shower and I am so relieved that it is done! The biggest part was getting her pictures painted. So here are all the pictures I did for our little girl. They are from the books Angelina Ballerina. I loved reading them when I was little and I hope that she likes them too.

My personal favorite!

My mom helped me make some mates that would match the pictures, just to bring some color into the room. And she helped me paint the frames white. I love the way they turned out!

Here is the completed room. (this is the view from the doorway)

My sister, Kayleen, made the bow holder. It has already come in handy with all the bows we got from the shower!

My sister, Savannah, found this adorable bookshelf outside of her apartment and I love how perfectly it fits under the window. It has so much room for books and toys!

My friend katie made this for Claire. It's such a cute idea. In the empty space below her name is where her birthday date is supposed to go.

other corner of her room

And her nursery would not be complete if it had not been for my mother-in-law! She sent the sweetest little bed set for her room and it matches everything else in there!

Some of the gifts from the baby shower! I can't wait to see her in some of these outfits!

We thought it was pretty funny that the "C" fits my belly!

So stay posted these next couple of weeks because I will soon be blogging about my little girls arrival! Yay! I can hardly wait!

Sneak Peak

I was so excited today because the long awaited package FINALLY arrived! About two weeks ago I ordered a beautiful pink butterfly mobile for Claire's room. It's perfect and I LOVE IT!!!!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!

I love it because the little butterflies flutter when you walk into the room. I'm pretty sure she's going to love it too. :)

I'm also loving how the rest of her room is coming together. I used a lot of decor from my old room in college and am so glad/relieved that it all matches! I haven't finished her paintings yet but I thought that I would give everyone a sneak peak before the finished project. I'm hoping to have her nursery completed before the baby shower.

I hung this wreath on her door...

Her beautiful crib and the butterfly mobile hanging above :) (the mobile looks bigger in person)

I don't have her bed set yet but I have it picked out and I'm hoping to add a pink letter "C" on this side of the room.

The other side of the room...

This side hasn't been finished yet. This is where all her pictures will be but I've also been toying with the idea of putting this above the changing table instead...

But I can't decide if it will be too much or not. I think I need to finish all her pictures first and then decide.

Also, Joe bought me this really cute rug

It's so SOFT and it has a reverse side to it! Sometimes I just want to curl up on it but I know that if I get down on the floor like that I won't be able to get back up lol :)

This is the soft side...

And this is the reverse side...I love the stripes!

And here is a sneak peak of the paintings

This is the only one that is completed but I hope to get the rest done before the end of next week.

And if you can't tell from all the frilly, pinkness in her room...I am super girly and super excited to be having this little girl! I can hardly wait for her to be here! And I am happy to report that at the doctor's appointment today everything was all going great! Apparently the diet they put me on really did help my baby girl. She is measuring only a week ahead now instead of a whole month(YAY!) and I only gained two pounds for a total of twelve pounds from the twenty I originally lost. I was also relieved to know that the cramps I've been having and the braxton hicks contractions are normal and a good sign that my body is preparing for labor! So the countdown continues...I am 33 weeks pregnant and have 7 weeks left! I can't believe she will be here that soon but I am so ready for it! I have a lot planned for the upcoming weeks so hopefully they will go by fast. :)

P.S. I am so proud of my amazing husband for his grades this semester! He worked so hard and it showed! I love you baby!

Update

Things have been pretty busy over here the past couple of weeks.

Joe has been super busy with work and school. Now that the end of the semester is coming up he has a lot of projects and tests but it will all be over in a few weeks! Yay! We also found out a couple of weeks ago that he needs a root canal. :( He was pretty sad about it but was a good sport when they completed the first half of the procedure. He gets to go in again this week and finish it but hopefully that will mean no more toothache!

We also sold the Grand Am...I was pretty sad to see it go just because it has a lot of sentimental value. It was the first thing Joe and I ever bought together as a couple. We paid $400 in cash for it and owned it for two years. We had so many fun times in that car like our honeymoon trip to Vegas, the countless trips to Utah, and the several late night drives we would take just to get out of the house. We loved that car and even nicknamed it the "Dam Grand" haha but it was getting too old and too expensive to keep running so we had to say good-bye.

Joe got a new calling too. We were released from being primary teachers and he was called to be the second counselor in the Sunday School Presidency. It's a lot of hard work but he loves it! The Bishop said I get to have a break until the baby is here so I've been able to attend Relief Society for the first time in a year and a half! I have been enjoying it but I get a little frustrated when women in the ward ask if I'm new or INACTIVE (most awkward question EVER!). It's frustrating because usually I've been in the ward longer than they have or for the past year I was teaching their child! But I guess some people don't pay that much attention. I also think it's pretty funny when I'll mention that I'm pregnant and then they ask, "Oh, you're pregnant?" It kind of surprises me every time I get asked that because it's kind of obvious at this point. But in my head I always answer, "No, no I just gain all my weight in my stomache. I'm just fat." But I can't ever be mean so I just smile and nod and let it go. I just think it would be nice to get a response like "Aw you look cute" or "That's exciting! When are you due?" Joe and I have talked about this a few times and he thinks it's hilarious, especially when I get asked that question in front of him. He knows exactly what I'm thinking and can't help but laugh. And this sort of thing doesn't just happen at church, I get it ALL the time but I just think of it as them trying to be polite and not wanting to offend me just in case I wasn't pregnant. :)

Anyways...I have now entered into the THIRD trimester! Yay! I'm so excited that I only have two and a half months left! On Friday I went in for my glucose test. I didn't think it was that horrible of a drink and I thought it was silly that all you get is a finger prick. (Some people make it sound like this terrible ordeal but it really isn't that bad.) After the test was taken I found out that I failed it. :( And to add onto that bit of news they said that Claire was measuring a month ahead of schedule. The midwife said that she was a little concerned about it but that we would wait to see in a few weeks if she returned back to normal. She then scheduled me for a second glucose test but this time I would have to fast for it and it was a three hour test. So that's what I went in for today. I felt super nauseous through the whole thing cuz I couldn't eat anything but I made it through. The test results were confusing for me. I only got to talk to a nurse and she didn't know a whole lot about it but apparently my first blood test came back really high, the second was a little above average but not by much, and the last was normal. She wasn't sure if it meant I had gestational diabetes or not because it was so borderline. She said I would only have to go on a calorie intake diet and I don't have to check my blood sugar everyday or use insulin. So my conclusion is that I'm still insulin resistant like I was before I got pregnant. But I'll know more when the dietation gives me a call this week.

I think that's all I needed to update on...sorry it's such a long post! I have had a lot on my mind lately and it feels good to get it all out! :)

Something new...

So I decided this week that I had had enough of my frumpy hair and got it cut!

I love it! I feel sooooo much better about myself and am glad that I decided to try something new. :) It still needs to be colored but that will have to wait until Baby Claire arrives. I also took a picture of my belly again this week...

...just because I look (and feel) double the size I was last week! It's crazy how fast she is starting to grow! I'm getting pretty excited because her nursery is starting to come together! My sister Kayleen made an adorable bow holder for my little girl and a ton of bows! :) I love it! It's pink and girly just like me! haha and my mom bought the picture frames for the nursery pictures I'm painting. I can't wait to get started on them! I'll post pictures of them when they are finished. :) I am also pretty happy that in about a month Joe will be done with school until September! Yay! I get to have my husband back! I miss him when he's gone all day at work and school but I am so thankful that I have a husband who works so hard for our little family!