Getting Over It

So, for the last few days Simone has been loving her swing. She wants to eat be kissed and then put right into her swing, she gets very upset if you try to do anything else. Lord help you if you have to change the angel. The whole thing has made me feel like a bad mother. I feel like I am ignoring her even if I am sitting next to her in her swing and I don't take my eyes off of her. Silly. My mother wisely says "she just likes her swing... it has nothing to do with you". I'm glad my mother is here or I would be really going crazy! It is really amazing how guilty you feel about everything as a parent.

Our Sweet Girl

Here she is... Simone Marie Davis born March 10, 2009

7 pounds, 6 ounces, 20 inches

I am in love. Miss Simone is a very sweet baby. She lets me sleep at least 4 hours a night, I think that's pretty good for the first two weeks. She has a soft little cry that she reserves for diaper changes and when she is really, really hungry. She is a great eater! The lactation specialists at the hospital were very annoyed by this. They wouldn't believe me when I told them that I didn't need any help. They would demand to see her latch and eat! I don't know why I felt like I had to prove anything to them, but I did let them see, then they would give me a strange kind of disapproving look and leave. The pattern was the same with all 4 of the lactation specialists that visited me during my stay.


I love this picture! She looks like such a gremlin!
By the way... my amazing friend Megan of Megan J Photography took these photos. You can find her web site here.

Here we go...

About 10 mins after I posted last night I started having contractions. I am now posting from the hospital :). We will be having our baby at 1 (less than an hour from now)! Jer and I are super excited, and more than a little nervous. Please pray for us and little Simone.

still waiting/ I love my man

Nothing yet. I think she may wait till Thursday. It would actually be a very good thing for Jer, he has some of the biggest deadlines coming up at work and a couple of extra days would give him a chance to get everything done before he takes time off (and only work 16 hour days to do it all). He is such a good provider. He never complains, he always comes through the door with a smile on his handsome face and is constantly asking me if he can get/do anything for me. I am so blessed!

Another Sleepless Night

Last night was spent tracking strong contractions the got stronger and closer together throughout the night. By 4 am they were 7 minutes apart and pretty strong. At sunrise they stopped, just stopped. This has happened a few times this week. I totally understand why women go to the hospital thinking that they are in labor when they aren't.

The Day After Tomorrow... maybe

I am at the end of my count down. The nursery is done, and we have all the little things Simone and I will need for a few months (I think) my bag is packed the charts and lists have been created and printed. I am ready.
For those of you that haven't heard, I am scheduled for a c-section on Thursday at 7:30 am. I am due on Monday but Thursday was the soonest that the appointment could be made. If I go into labor before then I will have an emergency c-section. This is because of the size of my pelvis and the fact that Simone will be around 9lbs! So big! The poor little lamb has been trying to get things started, but my body just won't cooperate. So "they will have to go in and get her" as my mom says.

Ughh

So... I had an appointment this morning with my OB, she informed me that I have a narrow pelvis. This means that if Simone is over 9 lbs or if she has a big head (if you have met anyone from my side of the family you know that this is very likely) I will need a c-section. I guess that this would not be so bad, but I haven't been preparing for major surgery. Also, I felt like so much less of a woman... I keep hearing her say "narrow pelvis" in my head. I know I'm being silly but I can't help it.
On the bright side...
I am dilated to 1 cm so I should be delivered by early next week!

Hip Pain

I had not had very much hip pain till the middle of my 2nd trimester, but once it started it was a real problem. I lost allot of sleep because of it. Fortunately I found a couple of things that helped me.
1) Invest in a pregnancy pillow. They are expensive, but they really help you sleep longer.

2) Get out of bed and take a walk (I walk to the restroom, killing two birds with one stone).

3) Bounce on an exercise ball for a little while.

4) Always ALWAYS wear good shoes when you are standing or walking. I got some slide on sneakers (on the advice of my beautiful sister-in-law) that I keep with me all the time.

None of these things have taken care of the problem, but they all help me, and I hope they help you.

Big Time

I said that I would blog about the last few weeks of my pregnancy very honestly so that anyone who is earlier in their pregnancy would have a play-by-play. So, here goes...
I am big... really big. It takes me forever to get up and walking happens in slow motion, man, I thought I was slow the last few months but that was nothing compared to now.
The other thing that has changed, again, is my sleep pattern. I seem to get around 5 hours a night in 1 1/2 hour stretches. I have to go to the restroom, or be sick, or change positions after a little walk. I was given a pregnancy pillow which seems to help with the soreness. This all seems to be really good practice :).
I think it is a good thing that the end is so uncomfortable, otherwise you wouldn't want to give birth. If you aren't ready, or if you are having angst about your birth, you will be ready by the time you are at 9 1/2 months.
On the bright side, and there is lots of bright side...
Simone does some really cute things. She likes to tickle me with her feet (I wonder if I will be able to swaddle her feet) she brushes against me with her toes so much that I have begun to wonder if she is trying to make her way out by digging.
I love that it is so obvious that I'm really pregnant! People are so much nicer and full of smiles around me. No matter what people may think they think, they are always made more cheerful by the thought of a new little human. I like to see the joy happen.

Home Again

We spent a few hours at the hospital last night. I was very dehydrated and seem to have some kind of intestinal bug. I was experiencing moderate contractions that were fairly regular, and I was in a lot of discomfort. I had to drink a bunch of water and given saline through an IV. The nurses had a lot of trouble getting the IV in so my hands and wrists are quite bruised. once I was hydrated my contractions stopped so we were sent home just after 1 am. It was quite a night, and I learned a few things.

1. I have to drink way more water than I thought. About 16 oz. an hour.
2. Jer is very calm in the midst of a crisis.
3. Moderate contractions are uncomfortable but not really painful.
4. get your bags packed at least a month before your dew date, you may not need everything in them, but its really nice to have everything you may need all in one place.

Hmmm

Well I just got off the phone with our doctor. I am experiencing severe pain in my abdomen, some pain below my belly button and some pain above with some "shooting" pains around to my back. The doctor thinks (and I agree) that it is probably just because of something that I ate, but he said that if the pain doesn't get better in the next hour I must go to the hospital and have an ultrasound.

So... please pray for us. Jer seems a little worried, but I am very calm... strange.

The 9th Month

I was thinking that I should post about all the changes that my body is going through this month. It has been rather interesting, but also very personal. I know that I would love to have a kind of play-by-play of a friends 9th month to read right now... so if you would like me to post I will, otherwise I will assume that it is totally gross, and I'll keep things to myself.

Super Yummy

Tonight we had the BEST slow cooker meal so I thought I would post it.

Asian Short Ribs

3 lbs. beef short ribs
1 jar (7.6 oz) plum sauce
2/3 c. ketchup
1 T. rice vinegar
2 T fresh ginger, grated

1. Brown meat.

2. Place meat in slow cooker.

3. Mix other ingredients together and pour over the meat.

4. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

5. Serve and enjoy!

Lookin' Good

... That is what my Doctor said at my 9 month(!!!!) appointment yesterday. Simone's little head is down, she weighs 4 lbs. right now, and is about 17 inches long. She should stay the same length, and gain about 1 lb. a week, so at 5 weeks to go... she should be a big girl.

Question

I am planing to make some swaddling blankets, burp cloths, and bibs for the baby. The more I think about this plan the more I am worried that I will not make enough or that I will make way to many, although having to many wouldn't be so bad I guess... I would just feel silly. How many of each item should I make? Any advice?

Gettin' Big

Well, it took long enough didn't it. Here is a picture from about 3 weeks ago. Simone has grown quite a bit since then. I'll be posting another belly pic soon along with some pictures of the nursery.

P.S. Isn't my husband cute!

Update

Yesterday was the first day of our 30th week of pregnancy. I am so happy that we are getting close, but I'm also having allot of anxiety about the whole "birth thing". I will not dwell on this... I'll just say that I am very glad that there are good drugs, and I love that I will be giving birth in one of the best hospitals in the world.
This new trimester has, like the first two, been very challenging, but allot more fun. Our little Simone is very active all the time! She does different kinds of activities at different times of the day.
In the morning she does this funny scratching thing. It tickles, which is really strange.
In the afternoon and evening she gives the strongest kicks and punches. Jeremiah has been able to feel her kicking, but nobody else has had their hand on my belly at the right time.
At night she likes to dance. She kicks softly, but really fast and she throws her head back and to the side. I think she will like to dance like her daddy when she is older :).
I always respected the fact that she was her own little person, even when I couldn't feel her, but now that I can feel her I am getting a real idea of her personality it is really striking how much I know about her... she likes Vivaldi!
I hope to be able to download some picture soon. I have been taking "belly" photos every month, so hopefully I can post some so you can all see the growth. For now I''ll just say that my belly has gotten huge the last two weeks!

christmas time is here

I didn't think it would come, but it did! I figured that since we had decided and indeed completed our move within 3 weeks, and that we are still unpacking from this move that we would have to forgo the usual Christmas decorations. This was very sad to me, considering I usually start pestering my housemates for a Christmas tree the week before Thanksgiving. This year I thought I should be a big girl and not whine about a tree or lights or cinnamon scented candles... I would only get out our creche this year. But... do you know what my husband did this last Saturday? He woke up and said "lets go get you your tree today". I was soooo happy! Now, last years Christmas tree buying trip was far from ideal. It took hours, it cost lots more than it should have, and there was a lot of... colorful... language. Jer did not have fun. I did not have fun. We came home with a very expensive tree and bad moods. This year, however, we arrived at The Home Depot picked up the first tree that we came across and it was perfect, proceeded to the checkout counter, paid, had the tree tied to the top of our car, and were on our way home in less than 15 minutes. I spent the rest of the weekend decorating the tree, putting out the scented candles, addressing Christmas cards, and making a place for the creche. Now I have to get some lights for the porch.

Life is good, and festive :)

I Got An A :)

I had to take all the 6-7 month blood tests last week. For some reason I was really nervous about the glucose test well... I have been getting nervous about allot of things that I have no reason to be nervous about. I just got the results and I have "very good looking blood", says my doc. Well, that is a relief.

We Made It

Well, the move went very well considering we only had a week to plan it, and it happened on a holiday weekend. I even learned two good things.
1) The Home Depot has the very best box prices.
2) Hiring movers through uhaul is a great thing. The movers were very nice and did a great job (though they were 2 hours late).
So... we are now getting used to our new surroundings. There is lots of nice shopping near us and gas is much cheaper. Also, I am very happy that we are so much closer to our friends. We have had a few people "drop by" already. They have been able to find parking and everything!