On Saturday Jason and I participated in the Harvey 5k Run/Walk. It was our very first race and we were really excited about it! The weather was absolutely beautiful - not too hot, not too cold! The first half of the race (as I was going DOWN the huge hill) all I could think of was how awesome it was that I accomplished my goal of running a 5k. However, running UP the hill on the way back I was singing a different tune, hehe!
I had a goal to beat 35 minutes, which I had never done during training. I was proud when I finished in 34:21! It was slow, yes, but I never walked! Jason made his goal, as well. He did so well - 2nd in his division only to the race winner.
My favorite part of the race was when Jason and I met (it was a run there-and-back type of race) and we high-fived. Cheesy, yes, but it was a great feeling. We started running in January and doing it together is the only thing that kept both of us motivated. So often we both wanted to quit, but we never did. Now we are planning for another race in a few weeks!
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Confucius
I cannot believe Lilli turned one last week!! She amazed us by walking the day before her birthday and has not slowed down since! She is so much fun!
We had a beautiful party with all of Lilli's family. I am so blessed that everyone was able to come out and celebrate with us! We had over 30 people - but as always, I ordered way too much food! Oh well, we are enjoying the leftovers!
Jason and I did most of the work ourselves...including the decorations. If you have any questions about where I got the supplies or ideas, feel free to leave a comment!
Now I will let the pictures do the talking, because I know that is what you really want to see!
Beautiful spring day -in the 70s and sunny! We are lucky to have a back porch and flat yard to have the party.
Her tulle covered princess high chair
The birthday girl! Mom made the tutu and her onesie, which says "It's My Birthday" that I designed to match her invitations
Auntie Ash made it in from Chicago!
Notice her bow - go big or go home, I say.
Inside my kitchen, the cupcake table -
I went with Walmart cupcakes because the icing is divine. I have eaten way too many at this point!
I used cupcake toppers and fondant candy pieces, both from Etsy.
Treat bags, which I need to get a better picture of! They included lots of candy and even cupcake shaped crayons.
The banner came from Etsy, but Jason put it together for me. (Same etsy seller made the invites, cupcake toppers, goodie bag tags and banner)
You can sort of see it in this picture, but I created a slideshow of her pictures from her first year and had it playing in the background.
Lilli loved playing wtih the bows while I opened her gifts!
Back outside, she loved waving to the crowd -
Me and my mommy-
My mom and dad
Her very own "smash cake"
Make a wish!
She very much enjoyed eating (and playing in) the icing!
Love her piggies!
The hubby and I
Getting some Lilli love!
My Granny and her granddaughters
Lilli and her cousins - I just love her face and hands and feet in this one!
L and her great-grandparents
Family photo!
Auntie and Nana, so proud!
Mom made her bloomers - they said "Party Animal" She walked around and showed them off
Lilli and her "Aunt" Lindsay - my photographer for the evening
All her gifts - thank you everyone!!
It was a perfect first birthday party and I know Lilli had a blast. I cannot believe her first year has come and gone...what a wonderful year it has been!
I can't believe it! My baby is now a TODDLER! She no longer takes a bottle and now she is walking. Crazy!!
At 3:19 PM Jason and I sang "Happy Birthday" to sweet Lilli. She giggled, I teared up! She makes my life complete and now I understand what true, never ending love feels like.
Every month I take her picture and post her stats. I also include any info from that month that I want to remember. I plan to combine each monthly update along with favorite photos from that month in a book. I can't want to compile it all and look at it in book form! (I also keep a traditional baby book...because I love those, as well!)
At 12 months, Lilli:
*weighs 19lb 12oz (around 40%ile)
*is about 30 inches long (90%ile) - hard to measure so I'll wait until the nurse does it to put it in her real book!
*Sleeps 12ish hours at night...goes to bed around 8:30
*Puts herself to sleep consistently. Uses paci and lovey bunny, as well as her soother
*Naps 2 times a day. Usually about 3 hours total. Does fine with one big nap, but we usually put her to bed a little earlier.
*Has all of her formula from sippys. She does great with a sippy, and now uses those without handles.
*Has taken all the breastmilk in my freezer, I gave her the last bag today!
*Takes Similac Soy formula. Will start adding in whole milk after we talk to the doctor.
*Eats anything and everything! She is a great eater. We call her a little beggar because she will beg at your feet for whatever you are eating until you give her some! She had a few bits of "Tater Day" food and chicken nuggets last week. We are still not giving her a ton of dairy but what she HAS tried she loves and has done well with. She had a little bit of ice cream for the first time on her birthday.
*She walked (7 steps) on April 5th to mommy! Now she is walking lots all over the house, but falls down often!
*Waved (to a complete stranger) on April 3 for the first time!
*Said "doggie" while pointing to Cooper on April 3
*Loves to "dance" and stomp her leg when music comes on
*Can climb up steps
*She does this crazy roll around thing where she practically does a flip on the floor. It is funny!
*Eyes are blue/green, hair still light brown. It is getting long and in her eyes. She won't leave a hairbow, despite my multiple attempts!
*Only 2 bottom teeth, but top 2 are about to pop through.
*Wearing size 3 Cruisers diapers.
*Shoes are size 3
*Wearing 6-12 clothes, but soon she will be in 12-18 months, especially for length.
*Loves to be outside.
*She is soo active and wiggly! She doesn't miss a beat!
*She rarely cries. We are always commenting on how "good" she is when we are out and about!
Saturday is her 1st birthday party. We have invited all our families and expect over 30 people. The forcast says beautiful ,so we hope to be outside. I'll post lots of pictures on Sunday I'm sure!
In honor of her birthday, I wanted to repost this. I have some friends reading this blog who are about to give birth...so hopefully this won't scare you but just give you a glimpse of what labor and delivery could be like!
It started on Tuesday, April 7th at my 39 week checkup. I was 39 weeks and 2 days. I went in knowing I would be talking about induction, as the past few weeks had been pretty hard on my body, with high blood pressure, LOTS of swelling, and even protein in my urine. I even told my mom (who drove me to the appt) that I wanted to eat lunch with her at Back Yard Burgers because I thought it might be our last lunch just her and I. And I was right!
Jason met us at the doctors office. At the appointment we checked the fluid and weight of baby Peep on the ultrasound. My fluid level was a 6 and baby was estimated to be 8 lbs 4 oz. This scared me a little! When we were able to talk to the doctor he said he was concerned about the lowish fluid level (I think he said a 4 was considered dangerous and an 8 was considered normal so it was right in between.) He was also worried about my swelling/bp/protein and didn’t want me to go any longer. In fact, I had gained 8 lbs in 4 days! So as much as I didn’t want an induction, we knew it was the best thing. He hated to suggest it because he knew its not what we wanted, but he wanted to do what was best for baby girl. As did we.
Just hearing that I was going to be induced made me want to throw up. I was so nervous!! We went ahead and checked into labor and delivery around 3 PM. I was so frazzled I gave Jason’s super old cell phone number (from when we were dating!) that I cant even tell you if you asked me for it now! I got changed and into my gown and the nurse came in to get all my info. She said they would start the cervidil and allow it to work overnight, since I was only 1 cm dilated and just “soft” (whatever that meant.) My doctor said that cervidil could put me into labor but that was very rare and that he would see me in the morning to start the pitocin.
After they inserted the cervidil I had to lay on my side for a few hours without moving. That sucked! Jason, my mom and my dad were all with me though to keep me company. We were all nervous and excited at the same time. I just couldn’t believe I would be meeting my baby girl in about 24 hours!
That night seemed to go by very quickly and very slowly at the same time. My parents stayed for awhile and my aunt and uncle came by. While they were there I started having contractions. They were bearable and I was able to talk through them. However, once they left around 8 PM I started to really feel the contractions. They started getting harder and faster, to the point that I was in pretty bad pain. I don’t remember much, other than that I wanted hard candy and immediately spit it out once Jason gave it to me! I also wanted him to get me a honey bun from the vending machine and as soon as he came back I told him I didn’t want it! The nurse was afraid I would get sick by eating it. Sometime around midnight the labor started to get VERY intense. I don’t know if it was the cervidil or if I was coincidently going into labor on my own, but it was miserable. I wanted to crawl out of my skin! I tried walking around, I tried moving, nothing helped. When the nurse came to check my cervix I about lost my mind. It was the worst pain I had ever felt or could imagine feeling! I was still around 1 cm dilated. The contractions were coming so fast and furious that finally I asked for pain medicine. I don’t remember how long they lasted but there was no time in between them for me to rest. I would look at the monitor and think the peak had come but it would continue getting higher and higher! I had originally wanted NOTHING to do with pain medicine, but I always said I would change my plan if I was induced. So once I got that cervidil my plans changed! They gave me Stadol, which I had heard was horrible, but I LOVED it! It was a pretty good trip I was on the first round of Stadol, but by the 3rd round the contractions were just too hard for it to have any effect. Jason was such a great labor coach, he was trying to help me breath and rubbing me to help me get through the pain. However, around 3 AM (I think I was only dilated 4 cm) they gave me an epidural. The thing I was so terrified of was a piece of cake! I loved it! I guess I slept some because I don’t remember much else from those wee hours of the morning.
Throughout the contractions, baby Peep’s heart rate did get lower. Nothing horrible, but apparently it was stressed enough that my doctor wanted to slow my labor down. The contractions were continuous and she must not have had time to recover between them. I still to this day don’t understand what happened. I was too out of it to question anything. They gave me Terbutaline, and everything changed after that. The medicine gave me horrible shakes. I was 4 cm when they administered it around 4 AM. Doctor came and broke my water around 7 AM and nothing changed. They gave me pitocin an hour later, nothing changed. I stayed at 4 cm for the rest of the day. It was horrible. They kept checking me and checking me, no change. The contractions were apparently strong (I couldn’t feel them until my epidural wore off…OUCH! Thankfully they gave me more medicine after I about lost my mind and killed the anesthesiologist who was no where around! Apparently I went without medicine for a while…the anesthesiologist was shocked that no one had given me more medicine. Whatever.)
Several times Peep’s heart rate would decline and about 8 nurses would run in and move me around and give me oxygen. This was the scariest thing I have ever been through. I would look at Jason and he would assure me that everything was ok, although I knew he was just saying that to calm me down. At one point they put a monitor in her scalp to get a better reading. I was just so scared and nervous and ready for all this to be over.
I have to mention that we had a nursing student with us the entire day. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about students learning and I understand they have to do that on the job. However, she drove us INSANE! She was asking me all these silly questions that I did not have time for (like, did I take any prenatal vitamins…did I get morning sickness…did I plan to breastfeed, etc) and she kept getting in Jason’s way when he would try to coach me. I was so glad when she left! (However…she did reappear once while we were in the postpartum room a few days later!)
Around 3 PM my doc came in to check me – again, only 4 cm. It was at this time that he said we needed to get her out. He said he could let me continue to labor for 12 more hours or so (I had been in that room for 24 hours at this point), but he knew it would end in a c-section. Something was causing her to be in distress. The nurses could feel her head and couldn’t believe she was so low and I wasn’t dilating further. Nothing was making sense. My doc didn’t want to increase the pitocin any more because it obviously wasn’t working. My body was NOT ready to have this baby, but this baby needed to be born.
So around 3 PM we said ok to the c-section. The nurse told me things would go quickly and it was all a blur at that point. One thing that I remember was that Jason said a special prayer for us and the baby before we left the labor room. We both cried…tears of nervousness, and tears of joy. They wheeled me in the operating room and Jason suited up. I was all alone and very scared. I kept asking for Jason and they told me he would be in soon, but I was still nervous. Thankfully I already had the epidural so they just gave me more medicine there. My doctor joked that if anyone would puke during the procedure it would be me…I tried to laugh but I was out of it. Finally they allowed Jason in, after they made sure I was good and numb. I remember holding his hand and feeling some tugging, and then she was out! It took longer than I thought it would, I guess he was taking his time. Jason stood up to see her (something he regrets, as there was a lot of blood!) She was born at 3:19 PM
She cried out immediately (thank goodness!) and they all commented on how big she was. Turns out she was sunny side up and pretty much stuck in the birth canal. She had a severe cone head, which was why the cervix was low. It was deforming her head and pushing my cervix down, but she was not descending like she was supposed to. They took her to get cleaned up and Jason left me to be with her. It was then that I really got scared. I could hear them talking about sewing me up and such and I was so alone and frightened. I started to feel sick and thankfully the anesthesiologist was right there when I needed to puke (of course I did!) The anesthesiologist that I had hated so much (because my medicine ran out earlier in the day) was the sweetest lady and was so good throughout the procedure. I do remember thinking how horrible it was and that I never wanted to go through this again. I wanted to be with Jason and my baby girl and I had no idea where they were.
Jason tells me now that he brought our daughter, Lillian Brooke, to see me while I was still on the table. He said I was emotionless and didn’t say anything but “I’m too tired.” I just had a blank look on my face. He said it terrified him. I was just out of it, and I don’t even remember this.
They told me she was 7lb 11 oz and 19.25 inches long.
Everyone in the room commented on how beautiful she was. I hated being tied down and unable to see her. I remember asking how much longer and they telling me not much. I just wanted to be with Jason and Lilli again, it was a sad, lonely feeling being on that table.
In the recovery room I was all alone until Jason came in and showed me pictures on our camera of Lilli. I immediately thought she looked like me. I was shaking uncontrollably and overall miserable, but I was already so in love. I’m crying now as I type this just thinking about it.
My mom was finally able to come sit with me in the recovery room while Jason was with the baby. I was still shaking so badly. Finally, Jason brought Lilli in to see me. It was heaven. She was so precious. I couldn’t hold her at first but somehow we were able to breastfeed. Jason told me later that he was holding her, his back about to break! She latched on easily and perfectly and it was then that I stopped shaking. Having her near me, on my breast, was the ONLY thing that helped me recover. I’m so thankful for that time to be with her. It was a moment I will always cherish.
Soon after, Jason left again and I was with my mom, the nurse, and finally my doctor. I don’t remember much of what he said, but he did mention that she was sunny side up and had I gone into a vaginal delivery it would have been VERY tough on me and her. He was glad we made the decision to operate and he said the next baby could be born vaginally because it was nothing wrong with my body. I made a joke to him about it being his birthday present (it was his birthday that day, too!) because I knew he loved to operate. He hated it that I had to have a c-section, because he knew how badly I wanted to avoid it. I was glad to have the chance to talk to him, even though I barely remember it!
While I was in the recovery room, Jason was finally able to introduce our daughter to our friends and family. This is the moment he had been waiting for, the reason we had kept her name a secret. Thankfully my brother-in-law captured it on video! It was a precious moment for him and our family and friends. It felt so great to finally be able to share her name with the world!
From there I was wheeled to the postpartum room where I finally met up with Jason and Lilli. I actually got to see him in the nursery with her, and he was talking to her in her little bassinet. It was adorable.
I was so out of it, I don’t remember much at all from then on. Due to the c-section I was stuck in the bed while Jason held, changed and took care of our daughter. This was very hard for me to go through. Although we were breastfeeding, it was painful and difficult to get in a good position. So doing that was very hard for me.
Thursday and Friday were hard. I was in pain and couldn’t move much. Taking that first shower was not only painful, but I thought my insides were going to fall out! I hated losing my catheter because that meant I had to get up to pee and it hurt so badly! Of course I tried to move and walk as much as possible, as I heard that helps with recovery. I also asked for a support belt, which was the best thing in the world! I loved that belly binder! But it was miserable not being able to take care of my daughter. That was the hardest part of all. My blood count was low on Thursday morning so I had to keep the IV in, which I HATED. I hate IV’s! I was able to eat and my favorite meal was a ham and cheese sandwich!
I did get a little depressed on Friday because Jason was getting to bond with Lilli and I wasn’t. Although I have been a little weepy and emotional since, it was that day that was the worst as far as my emotions. I hated that I resented Jason for being able to hold our daughter, but I did. I have since told him about this and I know it was just my hormones and everything I had been through, but it was still a very weird feeling for me.
As for Lilli, she stayed in the room with us most of the time. Actually, we kept her in the room with us all night Wednesday and Thursday. It was only Friday night that a mean nurse came and took her and told us we couldn’t fall asleep and keep the baby in the room with us (no one told us that before, we had no idea.) I still think this is hilarious – what were we going to do when we took her home? Never sleep!? Anyway, the nurses in the nursery called her the “Hoover” because she loved to suck so much. That’s probably why my nipples cracked and bled those first few days!! Overall, she was a perfect baby. She rarely cried! We thought she would cry more when she woke up more, but to this day she rarely cries.
One night a nurse came in to check on us and Jason was in a very deep sleep. She woke him by flipping on the light and he screamed “WHAT THE HELL!?” at her. Thankfully, I was awake and able to tell her that she had just scared him. (Little did she know he is prone to sudden outbursts when woken like this!) Poor nurse, she was a sweet older lady. Jason felt bad about it the rest of the stay!
We left on Saturday and by then I was moving around easier and feeling a little better.
We had lots of visitors but thankfully never too many at one time. That first day at home was hectic with people coming over and me trying to nurse, but we managed to get through it. My parents helped us take everything home, all the gifts and flowers. One funny story – Jason had ordered me a huge bouquet of yellow lilies. He wanted them to be delivered to my recovery room AFTER she was born (Keep in mind we hadn’t told anyone her name yet!) Instead, the florist sent them early and my mom came in with them! Jason about freaked, as did I. Thankfully mom didn’t catch on, but it could have ruined the surprise!
Looking back, my story is one of medical intervention after medical intervention. I know that they were all necessary at the time, and we will never know what might have been. However, it’s hard for me to think back and wonder if we made the right decisions. I am more upset about the induction than the c-section. I wanted to call Jason and have the “it’s time” moment. I just wanted to go into labor on my own and experience those feelings. I wanted to see if I could do it without pain meds. I don’t look back at a vaginal delivery and wish I had one, because I know the recovery isn’t fun or easy. But I do wish I would have had more time with my daughter in the beginning of life. However, I KNOW that I am blessed. I know that I am lucky. I know that I have the most amazing little girl in my life and I would do ANYTHING to get her. And that’s what matters.
Lilli is still sleeping, but we have a fun birthday planned today. I hope to get back on some point when she is asleep today and post her monthly update! Stay tuned!
I am joining the land of the living - and becoming a blogger! I follow a lot of blogs (soon I will share) and have enjoyed reading and learning through them. I thought I would start this blog to share stories and PICTURES of Lilli as she grows and changes. I always upload pictures to Facebook but so many do not have access or an account there, so this might be easier for friends and family.
So what should I discuss in my first real blog post?
Well, how about Lilli, of course! She will be one next week - where does the time go!? I find myself thinking about this time last year. The weather, the Tater Day festivities, spring break, etc. I mostly think about the excitement, nervousness and anxiety I was feeling. When would she come? What would labor and delivery be like? How was our life about to change?
In honor of this time last year, I went back and looked at my online journal to see what I wrote - and wanted to share.
I wanted to post some of my thoughts about pregnancy before baby Peep arrives. So I think Im going to do 2 lists-
What I will try to FORGET about this pregnancy: *The hyperemesis that put me in the hospital twice during my first trimester and kept me from working for almost a month *Not being able to drink water because it made me sick. *The multiple blood draws and IV's that I had to have (this includes the ectopic pregnancy I had last summer) *The food aversions - mostly meat but sadly any Italian food. I miss it! *The swelling. I cant imagine being pregnant in the summer since it is so bad now!
*The constant worry that something might be wrong with the baby *The guilt about drinking sweet tea and eating ham sandwiches. *The guilt about not taking my prenatals (this is okayed by my doctor but I still worry) *The guilt about taking the gazillion pills I had/have to take due to the nausea I still have *The fact that I can barely walk because she is so low. *Getting up multiple times to pee at night. *My horrible body acne *The stinky feet *Not being able to eat salt.
What I will want to REMEMBER about this pregnancy: *The look on Jason's face when I told him I was pregnant via scavenger hunt.
*Sharing the news with friends and family, especially my parents *Hearing the heartbeat for the first time. *Finding out we were having a little girl! *Choosing a name and keeping it a secret. *Planning and decorating the nursery. *Feeling her kick, then having Jason feel her kick. *Growing a belly and having people touch it (I actually love this) *Hearing Jason talk about how much he loves the belly *Getting foot and back rubs nightly and being spoiled by my wonderful husband *NOT having to clean the litter box! *Feeling beautiful, even after gaining weight *Baby showers thrown by friends and family *Daydreaming about what she will look like *The excuse to eat whatever I want and not exercise. I will definitely miss this! *Having so many people care about me and want to know how Im doing. *Full panel pants. I dont ever want to wear pants with a waist again! *Being at home with my pets preparing for her birth. *Having a perfectly round belly and only a teeny stretch mark or two. Lets hope it stays that way!
*Having her all to myself for 9 months... *Feeling like Jason loves me more than ever and knowing he will be the best daddy
Im sure I could think of more and go on and on. But thats it for now. I feel like this pregnancy has lasted forever and has gone by so quickly at the same time. I cant wait to meet her, to see what she looks like and to experience labor and delivery. I cant wait to see Jason hold her and calm her. I cant wait to share her name with everyone, especially my mom, dad and sister. I know I will miss being pregnant but for now all I can think about is having little baby Peep in my arms!
I am going to try to post once a week...so I'm sure next week will be about her 1st birthday and then her PARTY! Stay tuned!
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Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather we are having in Western KY. It has been gorgeous. Lilli and I played outside today and she loved it, as did I. I will share some pics in just a minute.
We had a great weekend. Friday Jason and I had the day off (well, I took the day off to take Lilli to Dr. Aaron and have an eye check as well. We both had great checkups, and my vision is 20-15! That night I found this -
Saturday we had made plans to run in the Tater Trot 5K but Jason was called into work at 3:30 Saturday morning. I didn't want to run without him since we have been training together since Jan. for it. Bummer! So now I am on the look out for another 5k. If anyone knows of any nearby, fill me in! We did manage to do some Tater Day-ing and she enjoyed the sights and food. Last year at Tater Day I waddled around 9 months pregnant trying to get her to come out! My how things have changed in a year!
She said "doggie" on Saturday morning while pointing to Cooper! She has also been standing up from the seated position and taking more and more steps. I think she will walk very soon!
Sunday we had a beautiful Easter with L. It is actually her 2nd Easter, as she was less than a week old last year.
Here she is Easter 2009, 4 days old -
Notice her rolled pants! They were newborn and huge on her!
This year -
We attempted a family photo before church with little success. I don't know why she was crying, but isn't this picture hilarious!?
She enjoyed her basket(s) from the Easter Bunny...especially her bunny that sings "Jesus Loves Me" from Nana and PawPaw. We had a yummy Easter lunch at my house after church. My grandparents and Jason's granny were able to join us so it was extra special. Lilli slept through lunch but did wake at the end to see everyone. Even Ashley was able to see her for a bit after flying in from Chicago.
Today we played inside and outside. She loves being outside!
I am hoping Jason doesn't have to work late again tonight. He has been putting in lots of hours lately and we miss him! I plan to fix some BLTs and sweet potato fries. Hopefully we can take a walk together and play in the back yard again. She is napping now, so I know she will be ready to go!
