month 2 and Christmas

my little baby is getting so big!! (10 weeks in this photo)

Super delayed but here is Jameson's 2 month update! We were very busy this month. I tried to summarize the month in photos but it doesn't even come close to the amount of photos actually taken throughout the month. Okay here it is!

"sleeping Santa" at the mall. we had a tights-pooping incident just before we saw Santa but we still made the nice list

our white trash Christmas tree (soon to be Jameson's tree in her nursery)

sassy Christmas dress from Mimsy's coworker

this baby was not pleased with her elf costume

Patti and Jameson coordinated outfits and hair-dos! haha jk mom

Sleep:  So, so, so much better! Her naps are still few and short but she has been sleeping so much better at night. She averages about 6 hours. When we have messed up her routine she woke up during the night a couple times to be fed or changed but she mostly will sleep the whole way through. But since I'm an overprotective mom I will get up every now and then when she makes noises...just to make sure. I even occassionaly wake up and stare at the monitor to make sure I see her breathing...and to check the room temp (she is a hot sleeper). Her schedule right now is this:

-Anywhere between 9-10:30pm we give her a bath (depending on her last feeding/nap)
-After the bath she usually gets another bottle and then I start the bedtime process (this can take anywhere from 45-90mins...including feeding and burping). I usually feed her and then if she doesn't fall asleep immediately I will burp her and rock her until she is limp. If I try to put her down too early she will wiggle and get fussy. Usually I pick her up and she just needs to burp again and go right back down but occasionally it takes me 2-3 tries. I'll take it if it means sleeping 6 hours though! 
-So on average she is sleeping from 11ish to 6:30ish (give or take an hour on either side).
-Once she has her morning bottle she will go back to sleep on me for like 3 more hours. If Will is around to help I let him feed her in the morning and I go and pump and then we can all go back to bed until close to 10am......yesssss! 

Size: 10lbs 5oz and 21.75 inches. So far she has an average head and then is in the 10-25% range for weight and height.

Clothes: Size 0-3 months and 3 months only. No more newborn outfits!

Diapers: Size 1 only! Good job baby chunk! We use Pampers Swaddlers but have recently tried the Pampers Baby Dry version for nighttime...they keep dry up to 12 hours so she doesn't wake up when she has a wet diaper. So far they seem to be working! We tried this purely by mistake after I bought the wrong kind....

Eating: 4 ounces! Sometimes more...but she will spit up when she eats more than 4 ounces...not sure why she likes to punish herself.

Likes: She still loves baths so much...to the point where she gets upset when she gets out! This is a special Will/Jameson event that I have yet to partake in. I watch every now and then but it's usually a good time for me to wash all the bottles and pump parts from the day and get everything ready for bed.

Also...I'm embarrassed to admit...she LOOOOVES tv. Like, loves it. Mostly soccer since that is all her and her dad watch. She loves the green. And much to my dismay, she loves the color orange. For some reason she has an abundance of orange colored toys that she just stares and stares at. 


Dislikes: Clothes over the head! She is such a brat about that sometimes. I think she is starting to not like her car seat too. She used to sleep through dinners-out in her car seat but lately she starts to wake up and gets uncomfortable and wants out. She is easy though since she can usually be pacified by a bottle or just being taken out of the seat to sit up and look around.

*Side note: twice when I have been at a restaurant I have seen couples with babies around Jameson's age that just bring in their baby. No car seat, no diaper bag....nothing! I just can't see myself doing that....I don't know why it makes me nervous?!? 


Other: Jameson has been having signs of teething. She is extra drooly and will gnaw on things that we put in her mouth (i.e. fingers, toys, and most recently the kitty). I don't know if she actually is teething though...we went out and bought that ridiculous $25 Sophie giraffe just in case. (It's way too big for her mouth though)

Milestones: Sleeping (mostly) through the night!! We can make her smile and "talk" to her. She will talk to the tv when she is watching it. She is super super close to sitting up in her Bumbo by herself. I know it's too early for that but she really does a good job in there if we watch her. 

Me: Thanks to a stomach bug I am a little closer to my pre-pregnancy weight. I am down to 160...12lbs away from where I started. I was getting better about running a few times a week on the treadmill and then we went out of town for about a week and I got sick so now I get to start all over! Will got some free weights for Christmas so I will have to start using those now that baby chunk is getting heavier! I could barely lift my friends 6 month old baby the other week! 

baby's first thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 Had to share these...better late than never!

this makes me laugh every time...poor tortured baby! she's upset that we didn't go the the parade. me too, baby, me too.

my all time favorite picture...no way she can top this 

The pictures below are of Jameson in her awesome turkey bib from Aunt Karen, Uncle Dean, Johanna, and Melissa...the perfect thing for her Thanksgiving milk-feast! We had a lot of outtakes and by the end she was totally over it! But I can't stop taking pictures!!

month 1

The Jameson is a month old!! We love her so much. Here are a ridiculous amount of photos for your viewing pleasure:

her most favorite sleep spot

the "corral" for tummy time. we've since upgraded to the pack n' play or the floor

typical Jameson face... she is not impressed

tiny baby vest

dad's eyelashes! so cute

Sleep:  We are NOT on a schedule. She naps/sleeps anywhere from 1.5-4 hours. We are all over the place. We have established a new routine that hopefully catches on! Bathtime before bed, then bottle, then 30mins of awake time so she doesn't spit up when we put her down. This is sometimes followed by an hour of cranky time...it has only been a few days of this so I'll let you know how it works out next month! She naps on us A LOT. I have to admit...I love it! I'm sure I'm creating a bad habit but it's so cute.

Size: 9lbs 2.6oz and 20.75 inches. Jumbo head and jumbo tummy! So cute!(Up 2lbs and an ounce since her birthday!)

Clothes: Still mostly newborn onesies but she has started fitting into some 0-3 months! The footed pajamas are our faves. Will loves the "towel outfits" (aka terry cloth jammies...).

Diapers: Newborn and the occasional size 1 when there is nothing else within arm's reach! Pampers are our favorite...we had some disastrous blowouts with Huggies. Plus Pampers have Cookie Monster and Elmo on them...so much better than Winnie the Pooh (pun intended).

Eating: Depending on her mood 2-4 ounces. Mostly about 3 ounces.

Likes: Dad, baths, food, dad, swing (with buddies), and training play time with dad. Mostly dad :) Will will have her crawling or walking by 6 months I swear. At the very least, she will be holding her own bottle.

Dislikes: Wet diapers, clothes over her head, sleeping at night...especially in her Rock n' Play. 

Other: Poor Boo has baby acne. She also scratches her face while she eats...so odd. The doctor said the acne will go away soon but it's so dry and looks painful. I started putting little baby face lotion on it to help. I hope she grows out of it soon though, makes me sad. 

Milestones: She loves to head-butt. She can turn her head from side to side on her own while laying on her back or stomach and she can track us from pretty far away now. Oh and she only has eyes for her dad...they are best friends!!!! You should see her face when he dances for her, yes, dances.

Me: So I'm going to put this number on here so that I'm motivated to NOT gain so much weight the next time around...I started at 148lbs which is about 5-7lbs heavier than I normally weigh (it was my winter weight). I went up to 192lbs during pregnancy...I don't know what I would have done if I broke 200. That is not a number I ever want to see again on a scale. Anyway, I'm back down to 167lbs which is nice to see after that other number but still very far away from what I want to be. I'm shooting for 140lbs...we shall see.

Birth Story

I went back and forth about typing this but I want to get it written before I forget any details...I'm going to do this timeline style to keep from going overboard on the deets. Ready, set, GO!

Okay I'll start with October 18th (one day past due date):

OCTOBER 18TH

8:00AM- I headed to work for my last day and I was 95% sure I was feeling some contractions. I decided to time them for fun and they seemed to be about 20 mins apart. I was having a throbbing back pain with some uterine contractions but mostly back pain.

12:00PM- I wrapped up all my open projects and decided I was DEFINITELY having some sort of contractions and got ready to head home.

1:00PM- Headed home and called Will to see if we could meet for lunch (he took his paternity leave a day earlier than me...diva!). We decided on Mexican in case it was our last meal for awhile.

1:15PM- I decided my contractions were kind of strong so I called the doctor's office to see if they could squeeze me in just to check my progress (per Dr. Hauschka's instructions since I was past my due date). They told me to come in as soon as I could.

1:30PM- I get home and tell Will that Mexican is cancelled (he was so sad) but then we began to frantically prepare the house (i.e. feed the cats an obscene amount of food, make the bed, clean the bathroom, and some other various tasks). Before we could head out the door (we packed our hospital bag just in case) I had to use the bathroom and passed my mucous plug. I freaked out a little. Not what I expected. Then the doctor's office called back to tell us to go to the hospital since our doctor on call was there at the time. Our office is right next door to the hospital so no big deal.

2:00PM- Get on the road and obvi make a pit stop at Chick-fil-a....and get to the hospital. I was definitely nervous and even though Will wasn't showing it, he was too, because he threw his keys in the garbage can (by mistake)at the hospital...he still denies he was nervous. We get upstairs and made it as far as giving a urine sample before someone came to tell us that we are supposed to go back to the doctor's office. RAAAAAGGGGE. At this point I feel like my contractions are about 5 minutes apart but they aren't unbearable.

2:30PM- Go to doctor's office and get checked...still 3cm and I'm instructed to go to the hospital when I'm "huffing and puffing and I stop thinking my husband is funny". Pretty vague! So we head home and I hang out in bed.

6:30PM- Eat dinner and contractions are really all over the place but definitely more painful.

10:00PM- I've had enough. Contractions are terrible and I make Will call the hospital. After having him call the wrong place first...he finally talks to Presby and they tell us to go ahead and come in. Now the fun begins!

10:30PM- Arrive at the hospital and get checked into triage. I am miserable at this point. Wait in triage with my bitch-nurse Kathy for 3 hours. Every time Kathy left the room I dropped f-bombs. I was crying, screaming, sweating and barfing! Yea! At what I felt like was my breaking point (3 hours after checking in) I made Will page the nurse and then they magically arrived with a wheelchair to take me to my room finally...

OCTOBER 19TH (my our bday!)

3:00AM- I get to the delivery room and get my epidural. It was probably all mental, but the minute the needle hit my skin I already felt better. My contractions were all over the place and really close together but I still hadn't dilated any more than 3cm. Getting an epidural during contractions was my biggest fear but I wanted the medicine so bad that I don't even remember the pain if there was any. I do remember the nurse asking Will if he was okay...he had to be as exhausted as I was dealing with me for those 3 hours. 

Okay so I don't remember much between now and 6AM but I know that the doctor on call came in to tell me I made progress but that the new doctor would be in to break my water and get things underway, and also that he had to get to the soccer fields for his daughter's soccer game...

Sometime that morning: My new doctor comes in and checks me out and says that we will probably start pushing soon. Then she leaves and I sit there going crazy with fear for I have no idea how long! I also heard a lady somewhere on the hall scream ridiculously loud. I demanded to know if she had had an epidural before pushing. My nurse played dumb...but I was not fooled! 

12:00PM- My new nurse comes in and says, "okay lets push!". It was very unceremonious...haha! I imagined like 5 people coming in but instead it was me, my nurse, and poor, poor Will. I think he slept less than I did the whole hospital stay. I was still having terrible back pain this entire time and even got an extra dose of pain killers via a shot that made my whole body cold. Weird. And not all that helpful.

3:00PM- So I pushed for about 3 hours and it was time for my nurse to change shifts and right before she left she came in to tell me that Jameson was probably face-up and that was the reason she felt "stuck" and why she wasn't making progress. My nurse said she talked to the doctor and wanted me to be prepared that I was more than likely getting a C-section. Queue the tears! I was so upset that I had done the "hard parts" of labor and then had to give up and get surgery. I saw my friend during her recovery of a C-section and I didn't want to be in that sort of pain on top of trying to take care of a newborn. C-section mom's are hardcore!

 [Enter my new sassy nurse]. She tells me that I am NOT having a C-section and that we WILL push this baby out! They give me an hour break and then we push for another 2 hours doing all sorts of turns from side to side to see if we can get Jameson to turn over. The nurse basically talked the doctor into letting her work with me for an allotted amount of time and then the doc would come take over and probably do the C-section. 

6:00PM- WE did it! Will gets credit because he was my cheerleader after I tried to quit a few times. I honestly didn't think I would get to have her naturally at this point and I definitely would have thrown in the towel if it wasn't for Will . BUT, WE got her to crown and it was time to push. I have no idea how this nurse got me to this point. I think I almost gave up like 3 times but she kept saying, "how about 2 more pushes?" we went through that several times. I was so weak. I kept telling Will that I couldn't do it. Poor guy was having to hold my leg and probably see things no man deserves to see! Superhero Will! 

Something I didn't know that happens is that once the baby crowns they just kind of leave you there with a baby head partially exposed and then get prepped for the doc(noooow all the people come in!). The doc comes in (I can't remember her name now) and then we push some more. I will spare these details, but I will say that I didn't NOT feel anything. (I feel like it's okay to use a double negative here). 

6:37PM- Baby Jameson is born! It was the craziest thing. Even though I never saw her before I already knew she was mine and I HAD to hold her. I didn't wait for her to be cleaned (like I thought I would). I wanted her immediately! So, they gave her to me and then the rest is a blur. I don't even know how to explain. I was immediately a new person and someone's mom! Will was a mess (first time I've ever seen that!). So yep, that's it! That's how she got here!

my baby chunk! she looks a lot bigger than she was! just a tiny 7lb 1oz nugget!

my favorite memory!

this is my OTHER favorite. that hat!

she's here!!!!!

Jameson Mae Nova

born October 19th at 6:37pm

7 pounds 1 ounce

20 inches

week 39

THE SWEEP!!! So today was my 39 week check up with Dr. Hauschka. I showed up expecting to get my sonogram, blood pressure, and exam (like I have done for the past 3 weeks)...but I got a bonus! The nurse asked if "she was going to swipe my membrane?" but I just stared at her because I thought she was talking about Jameson for some reason. I mumbled something and then she had me change and wait for Dr. H. I got a high-five for making it until 39 weeks and then Dr. H told me that she was on-call this weekend and it would "be cool if she could deliver Jameson". THEN, I got checked. One centimeter dilated...boring. And then after THAT I got the membrane sweep. She told me to tell her when "it" was too much. I still had no idea what I was having done...and then I felt "it". It was not comfortable. I think I gave up after 30 seconds. In those seconds I went from 1cm to 2cm dilated so that is fun! I read that getting a membrane sweep could help induce labor anywhere from within 24 hours to a week later. Luckily, I'm ready for Jameson to arrive any minute now otherwise that would be a kind of scary realization since I wasn't really given a choice. Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted but maybe she'll be here by this weekend! Crazy!

Hoping this might be the last
picture of me pregnant!
We shall seeeeeeeee!

I made him do it. It was sitting
on the porch and I couldn't
resist seeing as my shirt matched.

Total weight gain:  It's over 40lbs...I don't know what it is...but the number is higher than 40...ga-ross.

Maternity clothes? I have been dreaming of being able to fit in regular clothes for weeks now! Actually, I will even  settle for fitting in my maternity clothes and being chubby but not ginormous.

Stretch marks?  Duh, they aren't going away anytime soon.......or ever.

Sleep:  I cannot even begin to explain the level of exhaustion I feel after I get off work. I have all these "ideas" of what I'm going to do after work and then I just walk into the bedroom instead. I'm exhausted from sitting on the couch. All tv watching is done from the bed. This past weekend I napped a combined total of probably somewhere close to 6 hours...on top of my 8 hours of sleep I received. Also, someone please explain the physics of a 7lb baby ACTUALLY weighing 50lbs and crushing my insides. Turning over is insanely uncomfortable. Feeling the actual weight of the baby crushing me from inside is blowing my mind!!!!!!

Best moment this week: We went to what are friends dubbed: "The Last Supper". Our good friends Mark and Nicole went to Firebirds with us one last time before we say this every weekend...."sorry, our baby has sucked every last ounce of energy and money out of us so we can't". That is all said lovingly of course! I'm happy to have the reason to say that, but it was a very sobering moment to take in! Like, dang! we're going to be trading in Firebirds date nights for "Kids eat free nights" at McAlisters (I secretly can't wait!!!!!)

Miss Anything: I miss all my body parts being the right size. Hopefully I will go back and read this exact sentence when I'm a month postpartum and crying because I still can't fit in my jeans. Any size has to be better than size: house.

Movement:  Still movement but drastically different. Instead of feeling Jameson-cartwheels, I feel Jameson politely poking and asking if she can come out now. 

Food cravings: Y'all, I think I have an intolerance for potatoes and rice. I have been trying to diagnose my condition at least a year. Sometimes after I eat dinner I get a stuffy nose and it gets a little hard to swallow. I feel like I need to hack something up. Not barf, but congestion type stuff. I have narrowed it down to potato dishes (including fries) and rice. I don't know what they have in common, besides deliciousness, but it is the only explanation. I'm very sad about it. FYI this has nothing to do with pregnancy....I've always been this way but never had the patience to figure out what was making me stuffy. Ta-da! My patience gene has kicked in just in time for motherhood! 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  My kitties smell right now. I think they are testing me. Will changes the litter fairly often but they are on doody overload. It never ends. Luckily, they are cute and Will changes it every time I ask. Thanks Will!

Gender: Girrrrrrrl! Hurry up so we can triple check!

Symptoms:  Tired from walking, sitting, standing, thinking about walking, and even tired from sleeping. It's such an event to get situated...I almost prefer just sleeping while sitting up. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and worried! I just want to know when she's coming!!! Why can't they just tell us!??

week 38

"Congratulations! Your baby is the size of a leek!" or is it actually the size of a...I dont' know...a baby?!? This week Jameson should weigh 6lbs 11oz if she is growing on track with what the US tech weighed her at PLUS the half pound of weight gain per week! Why would this help me know what my baby is the size of???

So dumb. They should use something I can relate to...like kitten and puppy sizes. "Your baby is the size of a 2 month old goldendoodle!" That would make way more sense.

 This is my only photo for the week and it's not even a good one. Will snapped this when I took a 4 hour nap on Sunday...Rose is surely going to be disappointed when his spot is taken by a human baby...poor guy!!

Here's how best friends nap together!

Total weight gain:  38lbs...no weight gain this week. Dr. Hauschka said it was okay though since I seem to be gaining in clusters now.

Maternity clothes? I'm moving to dresses and leggings only....dresses are getting shorter and shorter the more my belly grows! I keep waiting for it to be cold enough for my boots but I fear that won't happen until after she comes!

Stretch marks?  Yes, I'm tempted to delete this section....

Sleep:  I had some sweet night terrors the other evening. I woke up and SWORE our room had smoke in it. I turned on all the lights and freaked out. Will slept right through it. He is already in-training to sleep through all baby noises and conveniently "not hear them". Just like he sometimes "can't smell" when the baby's diaper  kitty litter needs to be changed. I'm on to you, guy!

Best moment this week: I went to a vendor fair this week at work, which was outside (a 200 yard walk from my cube to the parking lot), and a lady congratulated me on "walking around" this far into pregnancy. I thought she was messing with me. But she gave my coworker and me free gifts for that great accomplishment! Haha! I'll take it! People are weird. Or maybe it is an accomplishment?!!? I didn't have to stop to pee on the way sooooooooooo....

Miss Anything: Yea, I miss that part of pregnancy where I'm not thinking every little thing is a sign of labor. I apologize in advance to all my postpartum friends that I text with questions alllll day!

Movement:  Yep, still lots of movement!

Food cravings: Nothing AND everything. Just depends on my day.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  I say it every time but that dang reflux. I can't think of anything more disgusting than bending over to get my purse and then my mouth all the sudden filling with whatever the hell reflux is....stomach acid maybe???

Gender: Still a girl hopefully!

Symptoms:  Tired from walking, sitting, standing, thinking about walking, and even tired from sleeping. It's such an event to get situated...I almost prefer just sleeping while sitting up. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy with a side of sweet panic-attacks thinking about being in charge of someone/something for the rest of my life.  Luckily, Will is always there to make me feel better by saying things like, "if you're bad...I'm going to be worse". Somehow that makes me feel better...and worse! Haha! That's what google is for though!?