1 Month and Tummy Time

Kyle is 1 Month Old Today! I can't believe it! This month has gone so fast and he's getting so big! I can see he is focusing more on things and seems more thoughtful in his actions and expressions. We are still waiting for that first real smile, especially Ben. Hopefully we will see it in the next month. He also had his first Tummy Time today. He did awesome, he would keep his head up for 3-5 seconds and can turn it from one side to the other.

Prayer Request

I read a blog called Kelly's Corner and today she posted a desperate prayer request for a friend who's baby was born yesterday not breathing and in a coma. Please pray for Katie, Jason, and baby Reese. Thanks so much.

3 weeks

Well, Kyle is 3weeks today and getting so big! He was 9 lbs 6 1/2 oz. when I got him weighed on Monday and grown at least 2 more inches (22in). Here's my most favorite picture of him recently. He loves being naked! It's funny.

Show us your life- wedding dresses

One of the blogs I read Kelly's Corner does this fun thing on Friday's- this week is wedding dresses, so here's mine!

This shows the back and front and sides. It was a Maggie Soterra and I love it! I did all the beading on the egde of my veil myself too!

Bath time!

Kyle had his first bath today since his umbilical cord fell off yesterday. But there is a little story to go along with it. He woke up for he 7am feeding as ususal but him and I were both really tired so we slept till almost 11 after that (so nice!). I got up and knew he had a dirty diaper so I went to change it and he peed all over himself and his cute little outfit. So I decided now would be a good time for his bath. Dad was busy working and needed 15 more minutes so I wrapped him in his towel and decided he needed a little snack. Now the nurse at the hospital was saying they can't do two things at once, but he certainly can. He pooped in the towel a good one while he was nursing away...LOL He loved his bath though he didn't cry and just looked at us. He feels much better and so does mommy after she got her shower this morning too :)

Please Be praying

I posted a while ago about a little baby around Kyle's age that was born at 24 weeks. He is still in the NICU and fighting various obsticals that are keeping him from coming home. Read here what the latest is and be praying for this young momma who still have yet to bring her newborn home.

One week old - first walk

Wow it's been a week already...time flies

Here's a picture of Kyle's first walk!

Welcome!

Kyle Thomas!

I thought I would share my birth story with everyone.Kyle was born at 38 weeks 5 days. My water broke at midnight July 15th when I got up to go to the bathroom I noticed I was leaking fluid. Contractions started right away and were 2-4 minutes apart. So we finished getting things together, made some coffee and called our Doula. We called the midwife and they said I could come down when I wanted.We got the hospital around 2am and didn't get a room till about 5 am. I was still getting strong 2 min contractions and tried laboring in the tub for a while. Really the only thing that worked was swaying back and forth holding on to DH while someone rubbed my back. I had bad back labor even though he wasn't sunny side up.Around 10 am my midwife came in to check me and I was 7-8cm. I remember saying "Thank you God!". It is all such a blur. I don't know when I exactly got to transition because I was having double peaking contractions the whole time towards the end. I just remember being asked if I felt like I needed to push yet and got so frustrated when some contractions I did and others I didn't. It was also hard to know how to push and push effectively. Once I got the hang of it things went fast. I pushed for over an hour though and it was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done. He was born at 1:35pm so just about 13 1/2 hours of labor. He had the cord wrapped once around his neck but cried right away when he was put on my chest. I love that as soon as he was out it was instant relief. My midwife was also great in instructing my pushes and kept me from tearing.I was so thrilled to be able to go natural and still can't believe I did it. If anyone is thinking about it, you can do it!

I get to see Beth Moore!!

I am a Siesta (Beth Moore Blog Reader) and she is coming in town tonight and tomorrow but the tickets were $65 so my mom and I decided not to go. But then she posted onher BLOG yesterday that the first 10 people to call would get free tickets. I figured since it was yesterday that it got posted that i wouldn't have a chance but I did and my mom and I are going!

38 weeks

Well we are getting down to the very end, and boy does my body feel like it. Between not hardly being able to walk from hip pain and peeing every 2 minutes I'm getting tired. I know it is all worth it and I have had such a great pregnancy I am truly thankful. Here's the stat's from today's appt.

Weight: +33 1/2 lbs pre-preg
BP- 120/?? (higher because this was right after I was told my glucose test was normal and I am negative for group B step!)

Fundal height: 37 1/2 cm
BPM- 130-160 it jumped when he got excited which is perfect, it means he's active and his placenta is still functioning well

Progress- That will be a mystery till I go into labor because she doesn't do any more checks and for good reason- once you know your cervix is "ripe" for labor like mine any more progress won't determine "when" labor will begin...I'm cool with that cause they hurt! I did have contractions for 6 hours yesterday and 4 hours last Friday...awesome!


Praise God I am GBS negative so if my water breaks I can still labor at home for a while. Also I was spilling glucose and now I'm not, and I don't have late onset gestational diabetes!! I'm going to go eat ice cream now...

So that's it...next appt. is Monday.

36 Week appt 1 day before 37 weeks

Well today was my 36 weeks appt. and tomorrow I'm 37 weeks! Yay for full term!

Total weight gain/loss: 31 lbs though I think a few of that was water weight
BP: 100/67
Fundal height: 36cm
Heartrate: 130bpm
Maternity clothes? they suck and don't cover up my belly that has recently dropped.
Stretch marks? yep, the ones from puberty on my hips have grown and I have a few faint ones that are under my belly that I can only see in the mirror.
Sleep: My hips hurt so it's hard sometimes.
Best moment this week: My appt today!
Movement: He's a little wiggle worm sometimes, he just can't get comfortable as he's running out of room.
Food cravings: BBQ sandwhich
Gender: little boy
Labor Signs: Crampy and Braxton Hicks, 2cm dialated and 50% effaced!
Button in or out? It sticks out a little but not as much as it could
What I miss: feeling pretty and fitting in my clothes
What I am looking forward to: having him here!
Milestones: Tomorrow I'm full term.

AND- she thinks he's 5 1/2 to 5lbs 13oz.

36 Weeks

Wow! I'm so happy to have made it this far. The birth of little Kyle is just over the horizon and I'm getting so excited. I told Kyle to figure out where the exit is and start getting ready. I'd love for him to drop anytime now so by the end of the day I can breathe...But I have a feeling he'll hang out higher for a few more weeks yet...we'll see. I'm also counting down the days till I get to go to part-time at work...only 5 more after today! WooHoo! It will be so weird to not be working all the time, but so nice too. I don't have another Dr. appt till next Wedensday so I don't have any updates for you there but here's what's going on with the baby at 36 weeks...

Week Thirty Six: Baby may drop into the birth canal

You are 36 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 34 weeks)
The baby is about 19 inches (48 cm) long.
Weight is around 6 pounds (2.7 kg).
The baby's body is becoming chubby as fat layers build.
Between now and birth they may gain about an ounce (30g) a day
You may feel contractions of the womb, called Braxton Hicks contractions.While it says that your baby weighs six and a half pounds this week and measures 19 inches long, this is only an estimate. In general, babies are gaining half a pound per week now. Baby continues gaining weight as fat deposits and is forming creases in the neck and wrists.You may feel contractions of the womb, called Braxton Hicks contractions, which can be used to perform and practice breathing exercises. You may be visiting your caregiver weekly up until the birth. Regular internal exams may begin, to see if your cervix has softened, thinned, dilated or if your baby's head is dropping into the pelvis. Any of these could be signs of impending labor but there are no guarantees and you could be waiting for weeks yet. Your baby is almost ready, a pair of kidneys and the liver has begun processing some waste products, the only organ still to mature is the lungs. This week your baby may drop into the birth canal, this is called 'lightening' or 'dropping'. If this is not your first baby, this 'lightening' may not occur until right before labor. Your care provider may refer to it by saying that your baby is now 'engaged'. The majority of babies are now in the birth position, either head down (vertex) or butt down (breech), most will maintain this position until birth. Any movements that they make are more likely to be rolls from side to side.You may notice when this happens because it will suddenly become much easier for you to breathe. While breathing becomes easier, walking may be the exact opposite. If your baby has dropped you may find yourself visiting the bathroom much more often as baby is resting right on top of your bladder again. The average twin birth occurs between 36 and 37 weeks and the babies weigh an average of 5 pounds apiece. A baby's average size is now 18.5 inches (47 cm) and 6 pounds (2700 g).

Father's Day

Ben and I decided to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day this year even though we don't have an outside baby yet. I know some people don't celebrate but we wanted to this year. Ben got a watch this year (of course to time my contractions with!). It turns out it's the same one I got his as an engagement present (that he left at school one day) and I didn't even know. I just thought it looked liked something he would like. I made him dinner (he wanted cheese burgers) and didn't ask him to do any work all day (except get down on the kitchen floor and reach into the back of the cabinet for me). He took a nap (I did too!) and played his computer games...it was a relaxing afternoon (though hotter than heck!) Then we went with his family bowling (I sat this one out since I'm already carrying around a bowling ball) and someone got the idea to put a bowling ball under their shirt and look like me- so then we had to get a picture of it...hilarious! I thought it was so funny! It was a great day and I know Ben's going to be a great dad in just a few short weeks!

Cloth Diapers

I feel that I am almost an expert on cloth diapers, at least as much as I can be before the baby comes. I was super excited to find a sale on Bum Genius 3.0 one size fleece pocket diapers on cottonbabies.com last week so I bought 2. I am still going to try out some different things before I buy any more. Thanks to a friend I bought 10 small prefolds and like 20 medium prefolds and 3 covers for $20! My other favorite website is diaperswappers.com. I got 6 kissaluvs size 0 and 3 Thirsties covers for $53! So we'll see how it goes. I am probably going to use disposables at night at first. But we'll see.

35/35

35/35 is something fun we post on thebump.com. It means 35 weeks and 35 days to go! I'm getting more and more excited to meet this little guy and to also know what real labor is like. Yesterday I was having some cramping and lots of Braxton Hicks even though I drank a ton of water. I think I was just over tired, they went away once I went to sleep. I had my 34 week appt. yesterday (it's so weird having an appt for the previous week the day before I start the next week).

Here's the stats.
Weight- +28lb pre-preg
BP- 102/70
Fundal Height- 35in (she said I'm definitely running out of room)
Heartrate- 145-148bpm (he was super active so that's why it was higher- she said he's a happy little guy today)
Progress- won't get my first internal till 38 weeks- but she did say his head is getting wedged in my pelvis (sounds painful I know) but this is a GREAT thing.

Now I'm just counting down the days till I go to part-time at work. 10 days left! WOW! That will make things so much better because I get so exhausted in the afternoons. So next appt. is July 1st and then I will have weekly appts. after that. So next week is the only week I have left without an appt!
This weekend I think I will work on installing the carseat and setting up the pack n play. That should be fun!