Thursday, April 19, 2012

Maternity picture session with Pix by Sheri

We were lucky enough to have a maternity photo session with a wonderful local photographer. As a photographer myself, I am always soooooo incredibly picky about photos taken of myself. Not only was Sheri a wonderfully sweet woman, she was great with the kids, and the photos she took were absolutely wonderful. I love them!!! :)

Here are some of the wonderful pictures Sheri took...










The whole time the kids were standing there, Ayla was resting her head on my stomach. And the whole time her head was there, Caleb was kicking! Ayla said it felt "so weird" and she couldn't wait to move...


My prissy princess in her "bis sis" tutu. She danced around in it almost the whole time...



Easter photos and an update...

I hope you all had a blessed Easter!


Myself, 33 weeks pregnant

SO, since this post, we have had an interesting few weeks. I am finished in the Sunday school class and I have closed my shop for the summer. Since that morning in the hospital, I have been resting as much as I can. It's not bed rest, but it might as well be some days.

For the past week, I have been having contractions almost everyday. Sometimes it is only a few a day and sometimes I have to spend the whole day resting because of it. Caleb is a big, healthy boy with a very strong heartbeat. My blood pressure is keeping safe and stable, so they are still planning the c-section for around the 18th of May. At my appointment this week, I was starting to dilate. The midwife told me "unofficially", that if I make it to 35 weeks (which is today!) they will no longer try to stop labor. If I keep having contractions and dilate to a 3 or more, they will take the baby by c-section then. That means that Mr. Caleb could be here anytime between now and the middle of May.

Thankfully, as you can see from the past few posts, we have been getting ready for the little guy. We have everything ready for him. I am still trying to take it easy until my next appointment on May 1st. We hope that Caleb will stay put until then. It will be easier for Bryan to take off 3 weeks in May and the kids will only have a few weeks of school left. It will be harder if Bryan has to take off his full 5 weeks, so I am just trying to convince this little boy to stay put for two more weeks.

We are so blessed to have a family friend who has come over to clean the house. She will probably come at least once more before Caleb comes, I hope. We plan on having "nanny Doris" stay with the kids if Caleb can wait until the middle of May. If he comes before that, I know Bryan's family will be able to help Bryan with Ayla and Zach. I had planned to cook several meals and freeze them before the baby comes, but I'm not sure that will happen. LOL! I can only stand in the kitchen for about 20 minutes at a time before my feel swell or I start having contractions again and I have to lie down. It's enough of a challenge to get daily meals done, let alone stockpile anything. I'm going to try though!!! There is always fish sticks, frozen pizza, and mac & cheese if I don't get around to it. :) Good thing is Bryan and the kids love that kind of food, even though I can't stand it.

I am sort of in shock over the last few weeks. I am so emotionally and mentally drained from having to spend so much time resting. I am such an active, hands-on person. It is VERY hard for me to sit around and not be able to do daily things - like cook, clean, or play with my kids. I am ready for the baby to come, but I also want him to wait just a little bit longer. Because of the bed rest, swelling, and other problems, I have gained quite a bit of weight. I am very eager to get back to eating well, exercising, and getting all that weight gone. I am prepared for the hard work and I think it will be pretty easy to get into the swing of things once we adjust to having Caleb at home.

I also look forward to being back at church and seeing all my friends and family again. It has been so hard for me to miss church the past few weeks. Between the swelling, the contractions, and everything else, I can't sit at church with the kids for an entire service. Sunday mornings, Doris is there and is able to sit with them and help me if I need it. Bryan is stuck working long hours and is also upstairs running the sound this month, so he isn't able to help. He tries SO hard to help around the house and help with the kids, but after working 70+ hours, I know it is hard on him... He worries so much about me too. I am so blessed to have him... It will be nice to see people again and not be cooped up in the house.

Anyhow, I guess that is enough ranting. LOL! I am sure you get the idea of what the past 3 weeks has been like. We are looking forward to the end of this final pregnancy and welcoming our last baby to our family. I know this summer will be crazy, but I will try to keep everyone updated.

You can also keep updated with us by friending me on Facebook. :)

Making room for Caleb...

Caleb's space is all ready for him to come home! Bryan put together the crib yesterday and I got everything put where I wanted it...

This is Caleb's side of our bedroom.

This dresser holds his blankets, burp cloths, towels and washcloths, robes, bibs, hats, socks, extra bed sheets, extra boppy cover, and a few miscellaneous items. On top the dresser are his shoes, a few toys, a nightlight (for middle of the night business), the baby monitor, and his stuffed toys (in the basket). I love the sign above the dresser. One of Bryan's aunts gave it to me for my birthday and I loved how the colors went in our room... :) All of Caleb's clothes (size newborn through 3 months) are kept in one side of my dresser (3 drawers full!). We also have his bumbo, rocking horse, large playmat, and some other items tucked away in our closet.

His bed is all ready for his first night! One of my aunts bought the bedding items for us and we LOVE it! The crib quilt sort of covers the back of the crib, but you can sort of tell that it curves. Ayla and Zach love the mobile!

Diaper stacker, stocked and ready, and the diaper pail.

Stash of diapers and wipes from our baby shower! I think we might have enough for his first month... You can also see our Ergo backpack carrier and the striped bag holds a tummy mat and Caleb's books.

AND because of Mr. Caleb's recent stubbornness (post coming soon), I have my bag and his bag packed and ready to go. All I have to do is grab the last minute things as we walk out the door... I also have an extra diaper bag packed and stored in our car (just in case).

So, we are ready for the little guy to come home. We thought his birthday would be May 18th, but we aren't so sure anymore... But that's a story for the next post. :)

Making things for Caleb...

I have been busy making some things for baby Caleb...

Burp cloths

Tabby blanket

Tabby blanket

Tabby blanket

Boppy pillow cover (I made one in the blue dot fabric too)

Crinkle pillow


I plan on making some more things, but it has been slow going because of Caleb's stubbornness... but more about that in an upcoming post... :)