Long overdue: Welcome to our world with Bryce!

Well, I could write a novel about life since April 18, 2011- the day our sweet baby boy entered into our world! Bryce arrived safely at 8:21 P.M. after a long day of labor. The first half of the day was slow and painful because I wanted to wait as long as possible before receiving any medications. Our doctor broke my water that afternoon and things really speeded up after that. I received an epidural and went from 4cm to 10cm dilated in about 4 or 5 hours which was fast compared to the morning. After an hour of pushing that seemed like just a few minutes, we welcomed Bryce to this world!

And now he is already 6 weeks old- time is flying by! At birth, he weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long, and at a 3 week check-up he weighed 10 lbs. 2 oz. and was 22 inches long. I am anxious to see how big he is when we go for his 2 month check-up in a few weeks.. my guess is 13 lbs 5 oz. and 23 1/2 inches long.

Some notables so far:

*He is NOT a cry baby..He did not cry during any heel pricks, or during his CIRCUMCISION! He does not cry during diaper changes, baths, or while suctioning his nose unless he is hungry. It really is amazing what he will tolerate.

*At 2 days old, he was already able to lift and hold his head up. He can now push his upper body up for a solid minute.

*At about 3-4 weeks old he found his voice and is now cooing, grunting, and making any noise he can- including the girliest shrill I have ever heard. His favorite place to talk is on his changing table.

*He loves being outside, and he loves being on his changing table. He does not like his swing or his bouncer, and hardly takes a pacifier.

*He got his first bottle from daddy at 5 weeks old. He took it like a champ and continues to have one bottle from daddy every night.

*He has a milk protein allergy, which means mommy is on a dairy-free and soy-free diet. (this is harder than you think-soy and dairy are hidden in so many things!) After 3 weeks on the diet, we have seen drastic improvement with his colic-like symptoms.

Here are some pictures of life with our little man so far:

  

 

I'm not biased or anything, but he is the most adorable little thing I have ever seen!  I will update again soon..

38 weeks 3 days: we have a date!!

Big news from our appointment yesterday: we have an induction date! We will be going in on Sunday evening..so only 5 more days unless he comes on his own time before then! Our butterball Bryce weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. according to ultrasound measurements- which I will repeat myself and say they have a 10-15% inaccuracy rate. Either way, he is a very healthy size and my mommy guess is that he will weigh around 8 lbs. 9 oz. at birth. Also, we found out that I am 2cm dilated, 50% effaced and he is at -2 station. Yay!!
We are so excited to know that Bryce will join us here in this world in less than a week- FINALLY!

With that said, the next time I post on here it will be about Bryce's arrival! Please pray with us for a smooth and safe delivery, and for a healthy baby boy. Thank you for sharing in our journey- it has been such an exciting time in our lives, and we look forward to what lies ahead.

As I promised, the finished nursery:

Bryce in his nursery: 38 weeks 3 days

37 weeks! just waiting...

37 weeks 4 days..and counting!

 Officially full-term and if I do my math correctly, Bryce COULD (we can never know for sure) be weighing in at around 8 lbs right now. Mommy would love it if you would just come out now, little man!

This week has been a week of re-finishing the nursery, cleaning, organizing closets, and also resting. Our 37 week appointment yesterday was short and sweet- the normal routine with our weekly NST test. Have I mentioned how much I love hearing his heartbeat for 20-30 minutes? The first few seconds alone brings me so much peace and joy, so I cannot even imagine hearing his first cry! He did great again, so now we just wait around until our next appointment on Monday.

... I will post pictures of the finished nursery next week and give an update after our appointment. Or, maybe our Bryce man will decide to come before then :)

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." (Psalms 127:3-5 ESV)

Thank you Lord for our sweet little reward!

36 weeks- nesting gone wrong.

Today we are 36 weeks and 5 days..almost full-term! I have been in nesting mode full force this week, mostly motivated by my intuition that he might come early. We have been cleaning and organizing the house, running errands, and buying all of the last minute things we will need before he arrives. Somehow that list grows everyday.. I know that all of the mommas can sympathize with that!

Tuesday was our 36 week appointment- now we will go every week! We had an NST (non-stress test) done because of my hypothyroidism and Bryce measuring so big. He did great and we loved getting to hear his heartbeat for 30 minutes straight. We will now have NST's performed every week until he comes as a precaution. For anyone who is curious, a non-stress test basically records baby's heartbeat and movements to make sure his heart rate goes up and down according to his movements. It also measures any contractions I may be having. The doctor also checked me and I am 50% effaced- any progress sounds good to me!

And now you may be curious about the blog title..
My plans for this week's post were to show you pictures of the nursery, since it is almost completely finished. However, the Lord had other plans and decided to allow a tornado to come through Lakeland today before I took pictures. The winds blew rain and hail at such a speed and angle as to make it's way into our house through the window seals. I know that sounds crazy.. only us! Luckily I was home to dry everything up, so no damage in the nursery. Not so sure about our wood floors down in the den though.. a moment to be glad about renting!
 I'll stick to my plan and show you pictures of the once finished- now disaster nursery (nesting gone wrong):

The water in the den was much worse:

Just one more reason I think Bryce might come early.. it's things like this that could send a pregnant woman into labor! :) until next week...

34 weeks- a "BIG" surprise!

Today we are 34 weeks 4 days into this fun adventure! I finally remembered a 34 week picture:

Bryce and I experienced our first Strawberry Festival that evening, which is something everyone around here has been to at some point in their lives. It was like traveling back in time to my childhood for sure- same games, same rides, same food as the fairs I grew up going to. And of course, strawberries! We had their famous strawberry shortcake and a chocolate covered strawberry to be festive.

On another note..

Yesterday we had our 34 week appointment, and since Bryce has been measuring small the past few appointments they scheduled an ultrasound and were considering a NST (Non-Stress Test) pending how the ultrasound looked. The NST part was news to us, so it made me slightly nervous. Well..Bryce never fails to surprise and amaze us! We loved seeing him again as the tech took measurements- he seemed so much bigger than I remember! She showed us his sweet chubby face and I melted. The doctor came in to look on with us and told us everything we were seeing. I had to lay on my side away from the monitor, but Daniel was able to watch him "take a breath".

After the tech was finished, the doctor gave us some BIG news.. Bryce was not as small as they had thought.

He actually was weighing in at 6 lbs 8 oz.! Are you kidding me?? I will do the math for you.. he is in the 90+percentile in weight at this age. He is measuring the same as the average baby does at 36 weeks 6 days. By estimation he would be close to 10 lbs. by our due date! So, needless to say the NST was not necessary and my nervousness had made a turn in another direction! I must note that ultrasound measurements are not 100% accurate.. but the doctor said that induction at 39 weeks might be an option. Since we met with a doctor in our rotation this time and not our main doctor, we will discuss it more with her in a few weeks. All along my prayer has been that we would be able to go into labor naturally, so I do covet your prayers that labor will come before 39 weeks if this is what the doctor chooses to do.

Lord, we praise you for a BIG, healthy baby! We can't wait to teach him about You, his Creator and the Lover of his soul. 

Week 32-33

Week 32 has come and gone..already in week 33! We were very busy last week, and now I see that I don't quite have all the energy I thought I did. Sleeping is gradually becoming more difficult, and when you add a day full of errands I am exhausted! I am just thankful to feel good enough to get things done, so I'm okay with it. I have also had the luxury of experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions for the past few weeks. They only bring mild discomfort, and the doctor said that they are normal and good. My cravings have been pretty intense the past few weeks- topping the list are fruit smoothies from Tropical Smoothie. I was awake for 2 hours at 4:30 AM planning out a trip to Tropical Smoothie before church yesterday if that gives you an idea of what I mean by intense. Other cravings have been for sweet potatoes, pineapple, and cookies from the 7-11.

Last week the rocker came in to complete the nursery furniture- yay! this is what it looks like:

We had our 32 week appointment last Thursday- it is hard to believe how close we are getting to D-Day! We will have an ultrasound at our next appointment (34 weeks) so that they can measure him and see how he is positioned. He is measuring about a week smaller than he actually is from my belly measurements- which is perfectly normal and completely okay with me :)  We are just excited to get to see him again in a few weeks!

We also had our baby shower last Thursday night, which was hosted by some of the women in our church.   We are so thankful for the acts of love like this by friends and family to remind us that we have a community of support, and most of all a loving Savior who is our Provider. (I had my pregnant thinking cap on and took zero pictures of it so none to share on here..sorry! )

The only picture I have to show for the past few weeks was from the Magic game we went to. We were 12 rows behind the bench:

-j

31 weeks: at the beach!

We are in the 31st week now! The weather here has been much different than what I am accustomed to, but we took full advantage of it on Saturday and headed to the beach! This was our Valentine's Day date, so we went to Anna Maria Island and had a sunset dinner on the beach to end the day. Ironically, our Valentine's Day date last year involved dinner out with alot of snow in Atlanta. Just a little different this year :) Our little trip reminded me of how blessed I am to have such a loving husband who desires my happiness. Thanks D for all you do for our family!

Bryce seemed to enjoy his first beach trip.. and of course we documented it with pictures. Now we are ready to take little man back to the beach when he can touch the sand and see the water for himself!

Until next week...