Santa Baby

So we went to the Gaylord Texan Saturday to see Santa... and it was awesome! This is one of the pictures Santa took with Lincoln... So cute! I'll post more pictures soon but I had to get this one up for the grandmas.

Bubbles

I love these pictures.I wish this one wasnt blurry, but he was mid-laugh. So cute!

First Snow

This is Lincolns new hat and his new habit of sticking his tongue out.

This morning as we were getting ready for work we realized it was snowing. I was feeding Lincoln and said, "Lincoln! Its your first snow fall! It's so exciting!"

Jay's response was, "Gee, why didn't we celebrate his first rainstorm?". Then I kicked him. Kung-foo style.

Thanksgiving

Our First Family Thanksgiving!

(Mimi and Papa were here too - just not in the picture!)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. Mom and Bobby were here for Lincolns first turkey day and it was a huge sucess. The picture above is a post - dinner nap that Jay and our (ahem) tiny little baby boy were sharing. Isnt that the best!

I have to brag for a second. My turkey rocked!!! Everyone agreed that it was the best they have ever had. I'm glad to share the recipe with anyone who is interested. The rest of the feast was also very good... all the usual fare. The only other important thing worth mentioning was that I made my first homemade Pumpkin pie and it was awesome. I used a very special, secret family recipe. (Its the one on the Libbys Pumpkin can.) Lincoln liked sitting in his bumbo supervising.

Mom and I also made jelly! My step-mom gave me juice from Muscidine grapes, and mayhaw fruit when I went to visit way back and I finally made it into jelly. It was very fun and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

On Tuesday before turkey day Mom came up with Peter and Amy and Baby Sarah! It was the first time I got to see Sarah and the first time they say Lincoln. It was great to see them even though the trip was short. They have another bundle of joy on the way!

RASCAL

4 Months OLD

Lincoln,

You are 4 months old! You went to see your pediatrician and you weigh 19 lbs and 9 oz and are 26.5 inches long. You are so big!!! Huge! We had to buy more pajamas in size 9 months this time because you are already too big for the 6 month ones we bought about a month ago! Your thighs are gloriously huge and you have baby fat rolls everywhere. Its adorable. You nearly broke your Mimi's back when we went to visit last weekend because she carried you up and down her street to show you to all her friends and neighbors. She's currently lifting weights so she'll be ready for Thanksgiving.

We went to visit both your grandparents last weekend. They hadnt seen you since 2 months and couldnt believe how big you are. We took you to Wurstfest in New Braunfels, and you slept right through the umpa-loompa band. Then we went to Georgetown and took a ride on Grammys golf cart and almost got stranded and again, you slept! Your dad and paw-paw had to pick us up half way across town!

Halloweeen was fun. You dressed as a pumpkin on the actual day because it was too hot for your Monkey suit. Your friends Cason, Carsyn, and Jack came over to help give out candy. The grown ups ate frito pie and cupcakes. We had your picture taken with both your outfits on. It was your first official professional photo session and you were adorable, except when you screamed when I changed your clothes. You really dont like to put on or take off clothes.

This month your personality has certainly continued to show up and show off! You are so cute and flirt and smile at everyone now. You have found your feet and as soon as I take your diaper off, you grab your feet and make noises and try to eat them. You try to eat EVERYTHING. You can reach out and grab what you want now and whatever that may be, it goes into your mouth. You chew on your blankets, toys, my hair, me and dad's clothes, and the washcloth at bathtime.

Your dad got you a jumperoo and you are starting to jump in it a little... but mostly you chew on the seat and look at the toys. We have so much fun watching you and seeing you discover new things. You stare at the kittys and at Lola looking a bit confused - like you are thinking "why does that stuffed animal move?".

I'm sorry you didnt have a 3 month letter. About a week before you had your 3 month birthday I went back to work. Thankfully I only have to work Wednesday through Friday each week, but I have had a very very VERY hard time leaving you. You stay with Mrs Brandy, and she is so sweet and takes great care of you, but I hate leaving you during the day.

We have our house on the market now as well. That was a big chore to get the house ready to sell, and to keep it looking good because your stuff seems to multiply all the time, and get spread from room to room in a matter of minutes. So everyday your Dad and I pick up toys and blankets, and bouncers, and burp cloths from every room before we leave the house so hopefully someone will come over and love our house and give us lots of money for it.

You like to be outside now. You love to watch the trees and talk to them. We went shopping at Southlake Town Square with Catherine and Cason and you loved it and had a great time looking all around. I'm using your strollers more now because you are so heavy that its hard to wear you in your sling for very long.

We love you,

Mom and Dad

Headlines

I usually don't comment on this blog about what is going on in the news. That is usually because I don't have the faintest idea of what is going on in the news except for the really big stuff that is so big that people talk about it.

First, I would like to say that Levi, Sarah Palin's daughter's baby daddy is really annoying me. I read that he is preparing to appear in Playgirl and he is always popping up here and there with an opinion about this and that. WHO CARES! He is a random loser who glommed on to celebrity thru his ex-girlfriends mom and now is milking it in the most shameful and embarrassing way. This is further reason to not have sex in high school, because you could end up having a precious baby with an total dork. Not to mention that God says not to (have sex) till you are married. Man he really gets on my nerves.

Secondly, and I know this is old news, but I simply love Leach's rant about the "fat little girlfriends" who apparently held some responsibility for the loss of Tech to A&M. I don't know the whole story, but my understanding is that Leach feels like some of his players chose to listen to what their "fat little girlfriends" had to say over the leadership of the coaching staff and this made them lazy and as a result - Aggies beat Raiders.

So from now on, I am blaming "fat little girlfriends" for all bad things. For example, I now believe that the "fat little girlfriends" sent the HIVES to me - just to annoy me. I also believe that they must be the reason we haven't received an offer on the house yet. Maybe they are hiding in my bushes and whispering bad things to the potential buyers. Maybe they are farting in the living room and leaving a bad smell so people don't like the house. Either way, I am certain its all their fault!

(In my head "fat little girlfriends" are a little like garden gnomes - but female.)

Baby Mama Drama

So the last several weeks have been a bit of a beat-down. I had a nose-thing where my nose got all big and red and owie. So I went to the doctor and he said "You have an infection!" Woo hoo! So I took some medicine and started to feel better.

The next week I woke up to feed the monkey at about 4am and felt this awful pain in my back that just would not go away. It lasted all morning then went away. Then came back. Then went away. Then came back worse! Then went away. Then I peed out a kidney stone! My doctor said that I need to drink more fluids.

The week after that my sinus infection came back with a uti to boot. So more medicine.

Then a few nights later I started to get HIVES. Yes, HIVES. If you remember, when I was pregnant I got hives all over my body and they couldn't figure out why and ended up attributing it to the baby in my belly and all the crazy accompanying hormones. They went away ,finally, 1 month later.

So this time I called the doc right away and they put me on a Steroid dose pack that helped a ton. Yeah! No more HIVES. Until last night when they came back. I guess now that I am not using the steroids they decided to pay another visit.

(I put HIVES in all caps because they are awful and also because it reminds me of dooce's SHINGLES that she had after giving birth. I also copied her letter idea. www.dooce.com )

Lincoln's 4 month birthday was this weekend and we had fun visiting my parents and Jay's parents. I'll be posting his letter and pics from the weekend soon.

A long future together

I hope Lincoln and Charlotte like each other.
So far they seem to get along ok.
They have a long future together. They are 3 months apart. Charlotte is older although Linc is passing her up in size. I joked at my baby shower that Jay was Charlotte's future father-in-law but I think that it is more likely that they hate each other in the future than love each other. That seems to be how it goes when your mothers force you together from a young age.

lincoln JOHNNY

Here is my chunky monkey in his super cool jeans and hoodie. I love to dress him up like the cute little man he is. Sadly this is one of two warm outfits he owns that fit him properly. So this weekend we have to go buy him some warmer clothes - that are bigger too. I felt like an unfit mother yesterday sending him to Miss Brandy's house in an outfit so tight he looked like a sausage.


And here is a picture of Linc's namesake, Johnny Gene Kalenda. He emailed it to me - ya thats right. Baba can email! He's pictured here with Chris Schatte, one of his buddies out at the ranch.
Baba had a rough year last year health-wise and I was so happy to see this picture and him looking so much better!

Our house is officially on the market as of yesterday. We even had our first showing last night. The pain in the butt is that we cant go home while people are there, but the nice thing is that we are living in a super clean and pretty house! My aweseome, talented, and sweet friend Dina came over and re-arranged our furniture and decorations and made it look amazing! I wish she would have come over when we moved in, instead of now that we are selling the house.

So pray that it sells soon for oodles of cash!

Happy 3 Month Birthday!

Back to work again

I'm back at work... IT IS SO HARD! I knew it would be hard, I watched others struggle with it but I had no idea I would have such a hard time leaving my little chunky monkey.

Miss Brandy is awesome and so sweet and I know she takes good care of him. That still doesn't make it easier. I am very lucky to be only part time, an everyone has been so nice in welcoming me back. I'm looking at the positive... The little monkey tried to give me a heart attack by refusing to eat from the bottle at first but now he's back to eating like a champ!

Lincoln is getting bigger and bigger. We had to go buy 6mo pajamas for him because all his others are too small and too short for him. I know they say that babies grow so fast but I had no idea!

My friend Catherine mentioned on her blog that she has a serious addiction to Starbucks and I do too. Since the PSL (pumpkin spice latte) is back, its bad! I think they put crack or heroin in those because I crave them sooo much. And they are so expensive! Now that we are on a budget (me working part-time) Its crazy! But I found a good and cheap alternative. They make a creamer called Pumpkin Pie Spice and its only about 2$ for a bottle of it and I can make my own at home. No, its not the same, but its close!

Oh ya, Linc had his first fever. Nothing major but it happened... one milestone down!

Buttered Popcorn

This post is not what you think it will be about. Its not about going to the movies or popping the perfect popcorn. Its about poo.

That's right. You heard me, poo. My baby's poo smells just like buttered popcorn. And not because I'm so in love with my little guy that I'm delusional. I even have witnesses who can attest to the yummy popcorn smell.

Jay came home from work one day and was wondering around the kitchen and asked if I had made popcorn. I had not, but Lincoln had made one huge poo that had spilled out of his diaper and got on his changing pad and onesie and I had them sitting on the island so I would remember to put them in the washer when it was done. We sniffed around and quickly that the delicious movie-style buttered popcorn smell was coming from the poo-stained items. AWESOME!

His farts smell like popcorn sometimes too... its pretty awesome and I wanted you to all be jealous of my yummy smelling poo producing baby!

2 Months Old

Lincoln,

You are 2 months old and are growing so fast! We went to the Doctor today for you to get your 2 month check up and your first round of shots. You weigh 15lbs and 4oz and are 24" long. The nurse gave you 3 shots and you were looking right at me when she stuck you and I don't think that I'll ever forget the look of surprise on your face, then the red-faced, outraged screaming that followed. I felt so bad but you stopped crying very quickly.

You can so so much already! You like to be held at the shoulder now because you want to look around, no more cradle hold, you get mad! You smile all the time and are awake so much more now. You don't laugh yet but when you think Mommy and Daddy are funny, you coo and awww and talk to us. It blows me away every time you do it and I'm convinced you are trying to tell me something very very important. You work so hard on getting those little sounds out and they are coming more and more all the time. You also sleep a little more at night now - most of the time.

You have outgrown a ton of clothes and all of your nighties are already too short for your long legs. You are in 3 months and they dont always fit. You get baths more often now so I can keep up with your sweaty fat rolls and you like them now, and usually don't cry at all. You like to look at your friends Mr Fan and Mr Lamp... you smile at them and stare so intently its like you are trying to memorize them. You take a pacifier sometimes now, but not from me too much... I think its because you know I have the boobs with milk and you would rather have that!

This month you went to your first restaurant (On the Border), and many after that. You also had your first play date with your buddy Cason. You two looked at each other for a few seconds so Catherine and I declared it a success. You also took your first road trip. We went to Georgetown to see your Grammy and Pawpaw, then to Corpus Christi to meet your aunts Misti and Amanda and to see your great grandparents, then to New Braunfels to see Mimi and Pop on the way home.

Your Nani and Baba, and Granddad and Aline were all so excited to see you and hold you. You were such a good baby on the drive down and had only a few meltdowns. Granddad and Aline gave you a high chair and an awesome set of wooden blocks along with other goodies. Nani and Baba took you to dinner at Kiko's to celebrate your 2 month birthday, and Baba's 74th birthday. He's the one you re named after and who cant wait to teach you to shoot my BB gun.

I even left you with a baby sitter (Charlotte's Mimi - Melissa) to go out with the girls Saturday night for a couple hours. I was a wreck but you slept the whole time. I have to go back to work this Friday, only part time, but I'm dreading it so much. I'm so nervous about leaving you with someone else all day but I know you will be fine.

You are such a joy, you cry less now and I can just see you soaking up the world as you gaze around with your big blue eyes.

Love,
Mommy

My baby birthing story

(this took a long time to write because I started it then got distracted... you know, with a baby and all... but I'm glad I started it when I did because I'm already forgetting!)

Well, as many of you know I really, really, really wanted to have a "natural" birth. To me, that meant no c-section, no induction, no pain killers, just a good ol' fashioned vaginal birth. Jay and I took birthing classes - the Bradley method - to prepare ourselves for that sort of birth. Well, it didn't all work out how we had planned or hoped but it all worked out well anyway. We do have a healthy baby boy after all!

First, I will say that if you do want this kind of birth make sure to have a birth team (doctor, midwife, whatever) that supports your wishes. We did not. I didn't want to change doctors because I felt the need to stick with my doc since she had treated me when we miscarried before, and she had treated me for my PCOS while we tried to get pregnant with Lincoln. In hindsight, I wish I had found a doctor that I had 1. been more comfortable talking to and 2. didn't think natural childbirth was absolutely butt-stupid crazy. Don't get me wrong, Dr Moser is a great doctor! She deals with high risk and multiple births all the time and has a great track record with them but our philosophies just didn't line up when it came to birthing babies and having options. She wanted to schedule and medically manage every aspect and I wanted to be a hippie and let it just come when God said so!

So I didn't have a perfectly healthy pregnancy. The Bradley Method is really geared towards the "typical" pregnancy, one free of complications and medical issues. I did great till the end when I found out I had Gestational Diabetes. Besides being a pain in the butt, Gestational Diabetes makes for big babies. So as soon as I found out that I knew that my doc would be pushing for an induction. We let our wishes to not be induced be known and she agreed to let us go till 39 weeks before inducing, then thankfully, she was booked that week so we scheduled for my due date, which would put me right at 40 weeks. I felt good about that. I was so certain that I would go into spontaneous labor on my own I didn't even worry about the induction too much. Well, I didn't go into labor despite my best efforts. I had walked, sat on the birthing ball, squatted, pelvic rocked, even had sex! And no labor, just a few random contractions here and there and I did loose my plug in the Albertsons bathroom following a fabulous dinner at Trulucks. They moved my date, but we went to the hospital on the 7th at 7pm to check in to be induced. We had our bags packed, all our stuff ready to go and even had a thank you note and brownies for the Labor and Delivery nurses.

We checked into the hospital that night and they checked me and I was still only about 2 cm dilated and about 30% effaced. Let me say that its confusing because everyone who checked me told me something different... the doctor and all 984,000 other people who checked me all gave me different - drastically different numbers. The plan was to give me Cytotec that night, a prostaglandin medicine that is actually developed to treat ulcers but that some doctors use to "ripen" the cervix. I DID NOT want to have this drug. I had read very scary things on the Internet about it and it made me very nervous but I felt like I didn't really have a choice and I didn't want to P.O. my doc by making a stink about it so I was a good patient and did what she said. Let me say that it is very uncomfortable when they check you and when you are in the hospital it seems like everyone that works there comes in and has a go at it(hence the 984,000 people.) My nurse was very sweet and got me all settled in then tried to put in my IV and missed twice - ouch! Then she brought in another very nice nurse who finally got it in. I hate IV's!!! (Another reason that I will totally go to a birth center next time.) So after the paperwork was done, and the IV was in, they put the medicine in me - on my cervex - and we tried to sleep. I had never stayed in a hospital overnight and it was not so fun. They came in quite often to check my vital signs and the bed is hard. Poor Jay had to sleep on an awful chair-bed thing. Not to mention I was all excited and nervous about having this baby finally!

So in the morning at about 6:30 my nurse came in and started my pitocen. I had some contractions but nothing very painful or memorable. I was getting excited and hungry. I forgot to mention that the doc gave me instructions for before I checked in to the hospital. Those included administering an enema on myself and not eating after 3pm so I had the biggest Whataburger, fries, drink, and lemon pie you ever saw at 3 then, ahem, did the other thing which was awful and I will never ever ever do again. Another reason I want to go to a birthing center.

Anyhow, the doc came in at 7 and checked me, said I was about a 3, still just about 50% effaced and that he was "very high" meaning he had not dropped at all. I was bummed! That was what the evil medicine was supposed to help with and it seemed like it had no real effect on my stubborn cervix. Well then the party started, she broke my bag of waters, and before she could, ahem, remove her hand from my lady parts, the contractions started.

I'd like to take a minute to say here that everyone lied to me. They told me that contractions feel like menstrual cramps and the LIED! Yes, the pain is in the same area but the pain is different and more intense than any cramps I have ever had, and I've had some bad ones. I don't think that is normally how they start out - but the pitocen ramped them up right away.

So my "active" part of labor had started with a bang! I immediately began having contractions every 1-2 minutes and they lasted for a minute each. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this fun stuff, that means that most of the time a contraction started as one ended. It was like they were all best buddies and couldn't stand to be apart for a second! Even the nurse commented on the intensity and frequency of the contractions. I had told Fatma that I wanted to go as natural as possible. That was kind of funny considering nothing at all about my labor was "natural". I was hooked up to an IV pole with my water broken, hooked up to a fetal monitor and an internal monitor too. The internal monitor measured the intensity of my contractions and the baby's heart rate. It was incredibly uncomfortable too... I had hoped to spend some time in the shower relaxing during labor, to walk around, to get on a birth ball, and all that was not an option due to all my attachments.

Fatma was more supportive of my wishes to not have any more drugs and simply told me that if I decided I wanted an epidural that it would take her about 20 minutes to get me "ready" for it from the time I requested it. That included getting 2 bags of fluid in me and giving me a nausea medicine. I could tell that she thought I was a bit nutty for not wanting the drugs right away but I was sticking to my guns! I asked for the birthing ball because I was really uncomfortable lying in bed and wanted to sit up. Because of my internal monitor she suggested the rocking chair. I moved over to it and was more comfy. Jay was an awesome coach. He was very calm from the beginning and very supportive. He started rubbing my feet and legs during each never ending contraction. He moved to my shoulders and head from time to time and never stopped being my cheerleader.

I did good for quite a while. I had my eyes closed most of the time and kind of went into myself. I knew I couldn't fight the contractions because that would only make it worse so I concentrated on keeping my whole body limp - including my face. My big fear was that I would wear myself out with the labor and be pooped when it came time to push. After learning so much about the stages of labor in my class, I was shocked to find that I felt like I had jumped right into transition. My contractions were right on top of each other and I was nauseous right from the very beginning. I kept thinking that I was doing well and that with all this intensity there must be great work being done to bring my baby down and out. I think Jay was surprised how relaxed I looked. We also get several comments from nurses and from the doc on how relaxed our room was - we had classical music playing - Jay had made me a play list.

So about noon Dr Moser came back into check me. I had not been checked since that morning when she broke my water. (This did surprise me since the previous night it seemed like someone was waving their forearm up there every 10 minutes of so, but I digress.) So they made me get back in the bed to be checked and WOW it hurt. Because my contractions had no breaks, she checked me during one and that really hurt bad. She said I had made progress and I was thinking GREAT! I BET ITS TIME TO PUSH!!! Then she said, yes, you are about 3-4 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and at a 0 station. I wanted to die. She kept feeling around and the pain got worse, much worse once she was done. It didn't help that I was exhausted and now felt hopeless because of my slow progress.

She left and I said to Jay, "I think I want the drugs". We had a deal that if I asked for drugs I had to wait 15 minutes to make sure. I was afraid he would be disappointed in me but he was very understanding. I had gone a long time and not gotten very far and couldn't continue without some relief. Even as I write this I am bummed that I didn't get to have him without the epidural but hopefully next time I will... and without the other drugs as well.

So we told the nurse and she got me going, and it turns out she had lied. It took her an hour and 20 minutes to get me the epidural and by then my carefully constructed relaxation plan was starting to crumble. I was having trouble keeping my focus during contractions and that made the pain worse. The doc finally came in to give me the epidural and it was quick and painless. They numbed my back before putting in the big needle and it was completely painless compared to the contractions, and in fact, I don't remember any pain from the epi at all. I laid back down and within about 10 minutes was completely pain free.

Now I failed to mention earlier that my favorite place had been in the bathroom. For some reason I was much more comfy on the potty than just about anywhere else but they wouldn't let me stay in there with my monitor unhooked and iv pole to drag around. Now that I had the epi, the nurse put in a catheter because I could obviously not get up anymore that the bottom half of my body was numb. That wasn't bad because I was numb, but it did hurt later.

After all was situated with my catheter and epi, I fell asleep hard! I slept for about an hour and a half I think. The epidural made my legs feel like what I imagine a teddy bear would feel like if it was alive. They felt warm and furry. I could still feel pressure with each contraction, but no pain. They did have to keep turning my pitocen up after the epi because my contractions slowed down and lessened in intensity.

Soon after my nap my mom and pop, and Jay's parents showed up. They each came to say hello then went and waited in the waiting room. Jay and I took another nap. It was kind of boring waiting with nothing to do and I was still sad that my birth plan had gone so completely out the window. At 5 pm Doc came back and checked me. I was convinced she was going to try to c-section me because I hadn't progressed. But to my surprise she said I was complete! Awesome! Now just another couple hours of pushing and he would be here!

So the doc starting breaking down the bed and getting me ready to push. The nurse came in and pretty soon we started. The doc was in a rush to get to a dinner at 3 forks (something I did not care at all about) so we got right down to it. I started pushing with my contraction and they said I did good. I had been really nervous about not knowing how to push correctly - the doc told me to push like I was pooping so that is what I did! I had my legs up in stirrups and the nurse was on one side and Jay was on the other. With every contraction I would grab my legs and push forward holding my breath for a count of 10. Then I would quickly breath out then go right back into another count of 10. I did this 3-4 times each contraction. Pretty soon Jay said he could see hair! I was shocked! It had only been about 10 minutes and there was already hair! Wow! So within 10 more minutes, at 5:20pm, Lincoln came into the world. It was amazing! All of the sudden there he was, all slimy and BIG!

Doc let Jay cut the cord and then they put him in my tummy, he was so beautiful and perfect - I couldn't believe it! I didn't even notice that he was all goopy. He had a lot of Vernix on him and the nurse rubbed it in when she took him to the little warmer. Jay started taking pictures and the doc started sewing me up. I had a 2nd degree tear and needed several stitches, I don't know how many cause I was too busy staring at my darling baby to ask. I also missed the placenta! I delivered it pretty quickly after he was born but didn't get to see it. I know it is weird that I wanted to... I was just curious! After she weighed him, 8lbs 11oz, she wrapped him up and gave him back to me.

He was amazing, his eyes were open and he was quietly looking around the room. I stared at him and he stared back. I was able to breast feed him then and he did a great job taking to the boobie. I fed him for about 20 minutes and Jay and I just stared at him! I think we were in shock a little that we have a baby!!! He ran out at some point to show our parents a picture of Lincoln on the camera. I didn't want everyone to come in right away because we wanted a little family time. After I got done feeding, we invited the Moms to come in. Everyone loved him of course, and we all agreed that he is the most beautiful, smart baby ever!

Soon after that they had to take him to the nursery to be bathed and to measure his length. I did not like that they took him but Jay and I had already agreed that Jay would stay with the little monkey. So Jay went and watched them give him a bath and they brought me food... awful food, but I didn't care. Finally I got moved to my new room and they brought my little guy in and we settled in... Jay went and got me Burger King cause I was still so hungry and he's a great husband.

1 Month Old!

Lincoln,
My baby is already 1 month old! You're getting bigger and changing already. I'm very impressed at how you can hold your head up. If you are laying on my chest with your head facing 1 way, and you decide you want to look the other direction, you pick your head up and turns it by yourself! You'll also just hold it up and look around when you are on my shoulder. I think this means you are going to be a genius!

You are awake more and more during the day and last Wednesday I think you smiled at me. I was singing your favorite song, the song about putting pee-pee's in the diaper for Mommy to change that I sing to you every time we change your diaper and you smiled. Some may say it was gas but I know better. You may be the only person on earth that likes my singing.

We're going to the doctor today for your 1 month checkup and I'm willing to bet that you probably weigh over 10 lbs and are 24 inches long. Your little legs and arms are getting chubby and you love to store sour milk in your adorable neck fat rolls. We give you a bath every 3 or 4 days and you like being in the water, you relax as soon as we put you in the tub.

You have lots of gas and that makes you fussy sometimes, but we expected that because you are, after all, your father's son. I never thought I would worry about the digestive tract of another person so much. I stopped eating Dairy products and it seems to have helped you out. You like to be swaddled when you don't feel good, and you like to sit with your Dad in your rocking chair and listen to music together. He is trying to instill in you a love for Tom Petty at an early age.

Every morning when we wake up, which can be anywhere from 5am to 8am, we sit in the living room and you nurse and I read a chapter of the Bible to you. Right now we're reading Matthew. I figured that the gospels were a good place for us to start. You went to church with us the last 2 Sundays and everyone thinks you are adorable, of course.

We've already been to the grocery store together, to Costco, to Target, and to mommys work to show you off to the girls. When you are in the car, you love to stare out the window at the world. If you get mad, you do NOT like pacifiers but you will suck on my or dad's pinkie. You are already in 0-3 month clothes and don't fit in most of your newborn ones already.

Your grandparents have all seen you and spent time with you except for your Nani and Baba, and Grandad and I-ene, your great grandparents. You are so loved... by me and Dad and everyone!

Love,

Mommy

More of little Lincoln

Tiny fingers and toes
Sleepy Boy

Letting the bottom air out!

Lincoln Johnny Foy

I'm back on the internet! I am sort of amazed that I remember how to type. He's here! Lincoln arrived on July 8, 2009... a healthy 8lb 11oz 21 inch long baby boy!

I'm working on my birth story and an update of the time since then but its not done yet. WARNING! It will be a little graphic in the birth part. Not for shock value, but because I feel like not telling the truth would do an injustice to all women who may read this who havent had babies yet.

Nursery and Belly

Here is finally some pics of the nursery. I dont have the drapes done yet but I did finish the mobile and I think it looks kind of cool!



The BigBird, Grover, Kermit, and Cookie Monster were made for me when my Mom was pregnant with me by her mom, my Mimi who is no longer with us. They never got to me so when Mom found them she saved them and now they are for baby Lincoln!
DANG that is a big belly!

07.08.09

Well it is official. If I don't go into labor today, I'll be induced tomorrow evening and have Lincoln on Wednesday!

I went to the doc this morning and am still just about 50% effaced and only 1-2 centimeters dilated. So she wants me to go to the hospital tomorrow at 6 to get some medicine to make me dilate more then be induced Wednesday morning. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time!

I'm still hoping to have an epidural - free birth in spite of the fact that I will be having the evil Pitocin. My biggest prayer is for a healthy baby boy and secondly no c-section! Please pray for that with me if you are praying!

I'm so excited, I have to go clean my house now and get everything ready for Lincoln's arrival!!

Lincoln watch 09'

I went to see the doc today and I'm 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. That means progress! I am also now on the waiting list for a July 8th induction, the doc has a meeting on the 7th so cant induce me then. If I don't get in on the 8th, they wont induce until the 15th since the hospital is booked till then for inductions.

I did lose my "plug" yesterday (at Alberstons) and got very excited thinking I would go into labor any minute, and now 24 hours later and no labor I think I'm coming off of my adrenaline high and now am convinced that this baby is going to live in my pelvis until his would-be 30th birthday. I know that isn't the case but still! I'm not expected to be rational at 39 weeks and counting.

The positive side (that is the side I'm trying to look at) is that hopefully I'll have a bit more time now to go into spontaneous labor instead of being induced. If you are praying, please pray for that! God has been so generous to us so I am just thankful for whatever, whenever it happens.

I'll keep everyone posted on news flashes as they happen.

Other preparation

Jay did a great job putting together the baby bed and bassinet. He is very handy. Mary and I were good supervisors.

My friend Lisa and her daughter Courtney brought us this diaper cake - it was very yummy.

Since the showers we have enjoyed relaxing and not working on projects. I now have only 9 days left (or less) until he arrives! My doctor put me on house rest last Wednesday after seeing my swelling and the fact that my blood pressure has been a little elevated. Its been very very nice to sleep lots and rest... I'm working on a few small projects, like his mobile, but nothing too strenuous.

So the nursery is done, the crib is ready, the house is (mostly) clean and we are as ready as we'll ever be. I'm not sleeping well anymore, trips to the bathroom and aching belly wakes me up several times a night and I really love sleep. I know - everyone keeps telling me its gonna get worse but I don't really want to hear that - I'd prefer to be in denial! I have some stretch marks on my sides but none on my belly so far. At least, none that I can see.

Any last minute advice is welcome! Please pray that I go into labor on my own, I really don't want to be induced if I can avoid it.

Second (Awesome) Shower

My friends from church threw me my second baby shower. It was super awesome... Dina had it at her house and she's very creative and decorated everything with baby bottles and whatnot. We painted onesies and ate and opened a bazillion presents - thanks everyone!

Crystal organized the onesie - painting and Melanie bought petite-fours that were scrumptious. Terra, Courtney, and Leianne did food and it was all delicious, I especially loved the cucumber sandwiches and cheese blintz's that Dina made. It was all wonderful!

This is Dina and I in front of the onesie- mantle - Catherine provided the onesies.

Everyone had fun and looked really cute in their dresses. I wore pants to cover my cankles. :( These are some of the custom, one-of-a-kind onesies that were made for baby Lincoln. He's very lucky!

I'm so blessed to have such wonderful and caring friends!

First Baby Shower

My first baby shower was given by my friends, Ashley, Misti, Amanda, Lindsay, and Jayme. It was memorial day weekend and the reason for all my husbands stress in the months and weeks leading up to it. I think he may have been more excited about the weekend than even I was due to the fact that the projects were completed and I would then leave him alone.

Ashley, Melissa, and Charlotte were the first to arrive for the weekend. Nani, Jim and Mary showed up soon after. Charlotte is getting so big and really liked her bath in my Kitchen sink.

Charlotte got to wear an especially frilly dress for the occasion. She looks happy huh?I didnt get a picture with all the hostesses, here is one when the out of town girls. And another with Gabby, Stacey, and Michelle.

JAY HELD A BABY! JAY HELD A BABY! I think the only reason he did it was because it was Charlotte. Otherwise he would have abstained. I think this picture speaks volumes and needs no other commentary from me.

The shower was awesome. We had tons and tons of food, including my favorites, tiny sandwiches and love dip followed by yummy chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. We had punch, and favors and tons of presents.

Isnt Nani cute all dressed for the shower. She had a great time looking at all the baby stuff.

We had a great weekend, after the shower we let the guys come back over and we hung out and ate and looked at baby stuff... always a great time!