One week old!

Well yesterday Amelia was 1 week old...wow...time really does fly. She is such an amazing baby and has been such a blessing on our lives already. I just can't believe how much you can love someone. We are doing well as a family...she is eating well, and sleeping pretty decent for the most part, about 2-3 hours although last night she slept almost 5 (which is not good for a breastfeeding mom, talk about some pain!!)I wanted to update with some new picturesI took of her yesterday...her 1 week pictures! My good friend, Shannon is coming to take her pictures tomorrow...I can't wait! Shannon does such amazing work and I can't wait to have some great pictures of our little Mia!

This is Amelia in the chair in her room with the bear my mom got her...

And a closeup...1 week old!

New Pictures of Amelia...

Here are some more pictures of Amelia...I can't seem to take enough pictures of her!! haha! Enjoy! These are some of my favorites.

This is Amelia with my Grandma...this picture brings tears to my eyes...this is the 1st
great-granchild and my grandma NEVER wants her picture taken, but the joy on her face when she saw Mia was priceless...this is a picture I will always treasure!

Here is Mia and I going to her baby shower...yes, she attended her own baby shower since she was early!

Look how tiny she is!

Now you can really see how little she is.

Here she is in her bouncer

Put your hands in the air!

Here is Comiskey and her baby sister!

Here she is in her boppy and cute little outfit.

Just chillin' and maybe flexing a muscle...man she really takes after her daddy!

Didn't quite make it to 38 weeks!

So, our little one has made her arrival in the world at 37weeks 5days. Here is the story... Sunday night the dog tripped me on accident and I fell hard on my side. I didn't think anything of it but Monday everyone said I should call the Dr. just to tell them. So I did and they had me come in for a non stress test (NST). All looked good except at the very end her heartrate dropped. They figured it probably wasn't a big deal but decided to send me to Labor and Delivery just to be sure. So I went to the hospital and had another NST done and all was well, so they sent me home. Tuesday I went to work, got a prenatal massage, a pedicure and decided to run some errands. I thought I had started "leaking" so I called the midwife and she said again just to be safe I should go to L&D for a NST. So at 8:44pm on Tuesday I checked into triage to make sure my water didn't break. They were pretty sure it wasn't my water, but while waiting for the lab test decided just to monitor us. Well her heartrate dipped to 78 and was taking her awhile to recover. So in comes the doctor and says we are doing a C-section now...well Josh was at work, so I called him and told him it was go time. He got to the hospital, they handed him his scrubs, whisked me off to the OR and at 10:51pm we heard the cries of our baby girl, Amelia Rae. She was 7lbs, 15oz and 20 inches long. She is perfect!! We are so in love. Josh is an amazing dad already and she loves her daddy for sure. We are just so blessed that she is here and healthy. They are not sure what caused her heartrate to drop but they are thankful that the dog tripped me causing me to be monitored for 2 days and therefore delivering a healthy baby girl.
The C-Section wasn't too bad...they gave me a spinal block which numbs you but you can still feel...it's very weird. So I did feel lots of pulling and pressure. The recovery has been pretty easy. I am feeling better with each passing day. You never realize how much you use your stomach muscles until you can't. Breastfeeding was a challenge at first, I reminded myself not to get frustrated and Josh was super supportive through it all, now she is feeding like a champ...and let me tell you...She's got a grip!! haha!! Well, I fully understand now the type of love people talk about after having a child. You can't explain the love that fills your heart. I didn't know I could love someone as much as I love her. I also didn't realize how much more I would love my husband. Every time I look at her I fall more and more in love with him. He is such an amazing father and he has been an amazing husband as well. I thank God everyday for blessing me with such miracles!
Here are some pictures from the ordeal!
Here is Josh and I before they took me into surgery.

And here is our first family picture...look at those proud parents
Here she is...Amelia Rae
Daddy and his little girl, taking a nap
Amelia in her coming home outfit, the same one I wore home from the hospital 27 years ago. This is the day we left the hospital.
Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us over the past couple of years and especially these last 9 months. It has been a journey to say the least. We battled infertility, a rough pregnancy, an unplanned delivery and yet it all seems so miniscule when I hold this little girl in my arms, a little girl that was created out of love between my husband and I, and a little girl that was truly a "MIRACLE" from God!

37 weeks...we're almost there!

So here we are, only 21 days to go until baby Amelia's due date!! I am starting to get more excited and yet more anxious every day! However, Josh and I are as ready as we can be for this little girl's arrival. My bags are packed, our birthing class is completed, the swing is assembled and in the living room, the car seat is installed, so now all we need is our sweet baby to arrive.
I went to see my midwife yesterday because I started having Braxton Hicks pretty regularly. While this is normal, especially this late in pregnancy, they were coming about every 5 minutes the other night and lasting almost a minute. So yesterday I went and had my group B strep test done and then she decided to do a "gentle exam". Well, she said the baby is at +1 station. At -3 they are still floating around, 0 is engaged in the pelvis and +3 is crowning...so she is VERY low...this would explain all the pressure I have been having lately (the feeling that she is going to fall out) haha! I am also dialated to 2 cm on the outside and then funneling closed on the inside. She thinks this could be do to my previous cervical surgeries. They are not too worried, but think they may have to "snap" the inside to open. My cervix is soft and she doesn't think it will be TOO long before Mia arrives. However, it could be 2 weeks or more...so we will wait and see. I have another appointment next Thursday.

I have been retaining water, my feet have been swelling and it is evident by the 4lb. weight gain this week! Oh well...the end is near...that's all that matters.

Here is the belly this week.
From the side.

From the side, covered.
And here I am before work!

Less than 1 month to go!

I can't believe that as I sit here typing this I only have 28 days to go until Amelia's due date...hopefully she will arrive a little early, but either way I have under a month to go. It is amazing how fast this journey has gone, and how soon I will be holding our daughter in my arms. What a feeling.
Well, I have been sick for about a week now, with a stupid viral infection. Runny nose, coughing, backache, the whole works...it's a good time...let me tell you. I am finally starting to feel a little better...slow but sure.
People have started making comments about how I've dropped...and after I looked at pictures I realized I really have dropped. I don't know if that really means anything, but hey, it's got to me that I am getting closer and closer, right?!?!?!
Well, here are the pictures from this week.

I actually lost a pound this week...so that was exciting!

Here I am from the side at 35 weeks for reference to see what you think!
And now you can compare it to this weeks picture at 36 weeks to see how if you think I've dropped. What do you think, does it look like I've dropped? Covered belly
Ane me, headed to work

5 weeks left!

Sorry for the late post. I am actually post from home today because I stayed home sick. I taught 6 classes a day at the high school this week and think it finally took a toll on me. My feet have been swelling horribly and now I have a sore throat and runny nose. So let me tell you how fun it is to be swollen, making it hard to walk, then feeling so sick and still not be able to get in and out of bed! OH MY...yes, I am throwing myself a pity party at the moment!!

I did go to the Dr. this week. I am actually measuring a week ahead, which is not really a big deal. My blood pressure was just a touch on the high side, but they are not concerned with that at the moment either. They think Amelia may be almost head down but at my next appointment in 2 weeks if they aren't sure, we are going to do an ultrasound to check her position. I only gained 1 pound this week, so they were also happy with that. I have been having a lot of cramping and pain, but the midwife says all is well and it's just my body preparing for birth. At my 37 week appointment they are also going to do a gentle exam to see if I am progressing at all...I think this was the most shocking thing, because that means there is a baby coming!! WOW!!

So all in all, I'm doing alright, not great, but I just keep thinking I am on the downhill slope and soon our little girl will be here and I will be able to look back and realize how amazing this journey has been.

So here are this weeks pictures...the belly is continuing to grow at rapid rates!! Haha...
Here I am from the side, up 1 pound from last week.

Here is the covered belly!
And here I am from the front...that poor belly button is halfway out!