Cade's Arrival

Cade finally made his appearance on Tuesday, December 17 at 12:53 p.m. He weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was exactly 19 in long.

My contractions started on Monday night/Tuesday morning around 1:30 a.m. I knew right away that these were the real deal. I got up, told Brian he was coming but it would be a while so to get some sleep, showered, ate, and cleaned the kitchen between contractions while I waited. I eventually laid down for a bit but was never able to get any sleep. Most of my night was spent timing contractions.

Finally at 4:30ish I woke Brian up again because they were about 4 minutes apart and had him start getting ready. I then called my mom and we headed to the hospital. We called Brian's mom on the way. When we got there, we weren't sure if they would keep us. They put me in a room, checked me, and told me they would check again in an hour to see if I was progressing. At this point I was at a 3.

My mom couldn't wait so she headed on up. They came back in an hour later, checked and said that I was at a 4 and they would be moving us to a room. This is when it all got real. We started telling everyone since we knew he was really on his way, and we were beyond excited. We were thinking it would be that night before he arrived so told people to go on to work and come up after. Little did we know, this would be a fairly quick and easy labor.

Every time they came to check me, I was dilated one more centimeter. They asked about the epidural and I said YES as soon as I can get it. They did that and that was the worst part of the whole thing. From then on, labor was smooth sailing. And really up until that point, things weren't too bad. I had a lot of back labor but I really can't complain. Things went great! 

Our 1st family picture

Finally she came to check me and said I was at a 9 then I started feeling a lot of pressure (as they had said I would), so we called for her to come back, she checked again, I was at a 9 1/2, and next thing I knew she said we were about to start pushing. This was right around 12:20. I pushed with 2 nurses for about 10 minutes until we got me crowning then they called in Dr. Bell, then it was about 20 more minutes of pushing and our sweet boy was here!

Brian, who has said for 9 months that he was not going to look, ended up delivering him! And the whole thing was just a wonderful experience. I could not have imagined any of it going better. After he got here, they gave us 30 minutes alone, which killed our families who were patiently waiting, so we could breastfeed. He latched right on and did wonderful!

Finally they let Brian go get our family, and they passed Cade around and took pictures as he got his first bath.

I was so glad to have everyone there to see him.

They then left to get me some food and let me shower then we had a night full (and 2 days full) of visitors.

Brian was pretty proud

We are in love with him

Honestly, I have to say this whole experience from pregnancy to labor to delivery all went so much smoother and easier than I ever could have imagined. I am hoping our transition into parenthood goes just as smoothly!

Finally on Thursday 12/19, they released us to go home! We were so excited to get our baby boy home! I will blog soon about our first week with him and the craziness of adjusting to parenthood.

And just for fun, here is the last picture of me pregnant. This was at work on Monday. I went into labor that night!

Early Labor

We had a very eventful yet uneventful weekend all at the same time! 

It all started Friday. I woke up feeling fine and normal and unswollen. I went to school, was fine, and about 8:30ish I noticed my rings were incredibly tight all of the sudden. My hands had swollen up out of no where and next thing I knew I was extremely light headed and could not focus. I headed straight to the nurse's office to have her check my blood pressure. She said it was in a good range but she was not sure how it was compared to where it normally is for me (when I later called the dr they said it was higher than I normally run but still fine). I continued to feel light headed and luckily the principal was wonderful and came to my room and told me to go home for a free day. My long term sub was already at the school so they pulled him to my room and wanted me to go rest without docking me a day. 

Things from there were a bit of a blur, but Mrs. Chambers got my mom to drive me home while Mrs. Herrera got me peanut butter, a coke, and candy because by this point everyone had decided my sugar or iron had dropped. Teachers are wonderful support during times like this but can be a bit much. :) I appreciated all of the concern but at one point had 10 people in my room all checking on me and making suggestions while I was alternating between trying not to pass out and trying not to throw up and in a pretty confused/overwhelmed state. 

Mom and I headed out and surpassed my house to head toward the hospital until we heard back from my doctor. By this point, I was having on and off back pain that my mom assumed was back labor, as she had it strongly with me. The nurse finally called and said for me to go home and rest on my left side and call if anything else happened and went back over the reasons to come in. So home we went. Mom cleaned the kitchen while I laid down. We assumed at this point my labor was starting. Brian got home shortly and by that point I was feeling much better, but still having the back pain. 

That night, we went for a short drive to catch the score of the Booneville game (we beat Dollarway-YAY!) and I started having contractions. My first one was at 7:38 and we timed them but they never got consistent. We had our bags packed and by the door, but finally went to bed that night to try and get some rest...assuming still we would end up in the hospital before the night was over. Much to our surprise and disappointment, we woke up Saturday to nothing. 

Saturday was filled with random contractions as well. We got Macy groomed, Brian stocked the house with groceries, we made some meals to freeze, and we even tried to go for a walk but it was so cold we didn't make it far. Finally that night we were going stir crazy so we went out for hot chocolate and a drive to look at Christmas lights. When we got home, my contractions got a little more intense and longer but still inconsistent. I, again, went to bed thinking we would wake up at some point in the night and head to the hospital. And AGAIN we did not.

Today I felt better so we went out on a day date to Red Lobster for my birthday since I did not feel up for it last night. At this point, not much is happening and I am feeling discouraged. It is still 5 days until my due date, but these contractions keep getting my hopes up then nothing comes of them. That is beyond frustrating to me. At this point, we are just trying to kill some time and keep our minds occupied because all I can think about is having this baby! I wake up every morning thinking it will be TODAY and go to bed every night thinking it will be TONIGHT! Only for 2 nights now but that is more than enough to truly believe it is happening only to have nothing happen. I know he will come eventually and I have been patient thus far, but once you think it is starting to happen it is hard to think about anything else. So here's to the waiting game! 
COME OUT CADE!!

38 Weeks

1st snow of the year...we had about 4 inches when we measured earlier

How Far Along: 38 Weeks 

Size of Baby: 6.8 pounds or a leek

Weight Gain: +32

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity except dresses and a few long shirts...Nothing in this picture is maternity

Gender: Boy...Cade Alan

Movement: Yes, I am finally noticing him slowing down a little. That has me wondering if he has finally dropped. Fingers crossed for news at my appointment Tuesday. 

Sleep: Not happening. We are down to 13 nights of being able to sleep so I'm really trying, but I just don't sleep for some reason. And I can't nap either. I'll sleep again some day I guess...or learn to live without it. 

What I Miss: Nothing currently. Trying to enjoy these last 2 weeks of eating for 2 :)

Cravings: Nothing new. 

Best Moment This Week: Getting 2 snow days off with Brian! I love snow days. I have a lot to do at school and didn't really want to miss but I always love these days. We have sat in front of the fire, drank hot chocolate, watched too much tv, and just enjoyed being lazy together. Oh and ate a lot of course. :) And we were lucky enough to not lose our electricity though it has flickered a little. He's trying to talk me into cleaning today so I guess that's our agenda for the day. My nesting MIGHT not be in full swing. Cleaning sounds no fun at all. 

37 Weeks

How Far Along: 37 Weeks, 4 Days

Size of Baby: 6.3 pounds or a swiss chard?? (again no idea what that is)

Weight Gain: +30 

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity except dresses and a few long shirts...the shirt in this picture is obviously not maternity, but I wore it under a dress today that I stripped off as soon as I got home

Gender: Boy...Cade Alan

Movement: Yes, lots of flips, rolls, and hiccups. I am supposed to count him 5 times within an hour after each meal at this point and we always get there within 10 minutes. He's quite the little mover.

Sleep: Still totally random. I slept good over break, but now am back to being up most of the night.

What I Miss: Between the holidays and rival week in football, I'm ready for a drink.

And to feel like a person again! Right now everything I eat, breathe, think is BABY. I'm ready to eat, drink, think for myself again. I know he will forever consume my thoughts, but last night I just wasn't hungry. I was tired, slightly sick, and not feeling supper yet I had to eat because he had to eat. I'm ready to just be me again. That being said, I will miss feeling him and have really enjoyed being pregnant for the most part. I am just 9 months pregnant now, not progressing at all, not sleeping at all so I may be getting a bit crabby. At least I can admit it.

Cravings: Ahh mint chocolate chip ice cream! I bought a whole gallon Saturday and it is almost gone...and Brian hasn't even had a bite. I cannot stop thinking about it. 

And on a healthier note, orange juice. I've pretty much craved that the whole time too but have not mentioned it much.

Best Moment This Week: Hmm let's see, the doctor told me he thinks Cade is waiting until it gets warm outside to make his appearance, we went back to school from Thanksgiving break, and nothing is going on around here. There's my crabbiness again. I'm just gonna skip this part today.
But I will add, I am still very thankful for this whole pregnancy and it has been much easier up to this point than I could ever have imagined. I've truly been blessed with an easy pregnancy and I will forever be thankful for that. I am just getting a little impatient and hearing that I am not progressing...and the fact that 2 people I know are being induced and having their babies tomorrow...is not helping things. I am just so ready to meet him. 

17 days and counting!

36 Weeks

Thanksgiving Day

How Far Along: 36 Weeks, 6 Days

Size of Baby: 5.75 pounds or a crenshaw melon (no idea what that is)

Weight Gain: +27 

Maternity Clothes: Mostly maternity except dresses and a few long shirts

Gender: Boy...Cade Alan

Movement: Yes, lots of flips and rolls. Dr. Bell said I can expect the movements to slow down at this point but lately he has been a little wild man! Maybe just because he is getting so big. And I feel the hiccups at least twice a day...usually 3 times. In fact, he has them right now as I am typing. Bless his heart, he probably hates them!

Sleep: Random. Some nights are great, others are terrible.

What I Miss: Nothing! I am just ready for him to be here!

Cravings: Ice cold water and as always ice cream

Best Moment This Week: Thanksgiving of course and NESTING!

As far as Thanksgiving goes, I am thinking I will keep some maternity pants on hand for every Thanksgiving from here on out :)

As for the nesting, I got 10 weeks worth of Math ready at school in 2 days, made 4 weeks worth of folders labeled Monday-Friday to start sorting work, and have completed the majority of my lesson plans through February. I was planning on going up there every Friday and getting things ready for the next week, but my new plan is to get as much done as possible now so I will not have to spend much time there once Cade is here. I will still have to go on Fridays to get my grades in the computer and just check on my sub and my kiddos, but if everything is already in the folders my time there will consist of switching out folders and grabbing my gradebook! Much better than running a week's worth of papers every Friday. Nesting has been helpful!

Oh and I had decided the nesting might stick to school for me, but I finally started nesting at home as well. I was off for break yesterday and managed to get everything BABY out of our extra room, wash any of Cade's remaining laundry (blankets, hand-me down clothes, bath stuff, car seat covers, etc) and put them all away! His room is officially done! With the exception of finding some things to hang on the wall. The hospital bag is packed with what we can do without until then and the car seat is ready to be installed! I almost want to undo some things to feel less prepared so time won't seem to move so slowly! 22 days and counting!!

All we could seem to talk about today is that this will be our last holiday without a baby! We cannot wait for him to be here and know that everything including holidays will be so much better when we have a little one to share them with! We talked about on our drive to Booneville this morning that when we drive there for Christmas there will be a car seat in the back. We talked about him being here as we get ready for Christmas this year and all holidays from now on. We just cannot wait to have him here with us! I really want to make it to close to my due date because the later I go in, the less time I have to leave him with a babysitter before summer, but I would love to fast forward 3 weeks. 

Thankful

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and it is always my favorite time of year!! I love getting together with family to eat, relax, and just enjoy each others' company. It is so much more laid back/less stressful than Christmas to me. We always have a lot to be thankful for, but this year I feel extra blessed. I didn't participate in the THANKFUL FOR stuff on facebook, but I, unlike some, really do enjoy reading what everyone is thankful for. Most of us have a lot to be thankful for and don't always take the time to acknowledge those things so here are the things I am most thankful for:

Of course, this sweet boy and the fact that he will be here so soon! I cannot wait to squeeze those chubby cheeks!

And the fact that this will be our last EVER holiday without him! I have washed his Christmas clothes and cannot wait to dress him up in them.

My amazing husband/best friend. He is always great, but this pregnancy has shown me how blessed I really am. He does just about everything right now, never complains about doing it, and takes such good care of me. He has always grocery shopped with me, but now he is extra concerned about buying healthy things to cook for me. And he does the majority of the cooking and cleaning at this point...and has throughout my entire pregnancy. He constantly talks about Cade and when he is here. And loves to feel him move in my belly. He also talks about being excited to pick him up from the babysitter each day and get to spend some time just the 2 of them before I get home every day. He is definitely going to be an amazing dad. I always knew he would be, but have been amazed at how excited he already is. I thought his excitement might come once the baby was here, but he was excited and wonderful from the second we found out! And I cannot wait to watch him with Cade.

The day we got engaged

2 days before our wedding in Florida

In Mexico, one day we will go back even if it takes us 18 years :) 

Putting together Cade's crib

 And of course, I am so thankful for my family! From amazing grandparents to my amazing parents, wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins and of course 9 nieces and nephews who I love more than anything in the world.

Here are Mac and Ma Rube at Rivertowne for Mac's birthday a few years ago. Ma Rube doesn't get out much any more. In fact, she rarely gets out of her chair, but we all love to go over there and visit her. Mac, on the other hand, will probably never stop getting out. He loves to go places and talk to/bother people. :) They are the best grandparents anyone could ever ask for, and I am so glad that Cade will get to meet them!

They rarely let us get a picture of them! :)

My parents who always have, and always will do anything for me:

Doing what we do best...eating :)

Mother's Day 2011

And all of my nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters:

On one of our yearly fair trips a few years back

At Laken's high school graduation

Hard to believe Colten and Mason are Seniors

And I love all of them so much, but am especially thankful for the fact that my parents have raised Ian and Anson. Ian and I refer to these 2 as my "brephews" because they became more like my little brothers than my nephews. It was so fun when we all lived together. Here we are on my last Christmas at home: 

Anson is seriously the sweetest little boy I know. He hugs me every time I see him and would do anything for anyone. He has such a big heart!

And Ian on the other hand, is a little mess. :) He is so fun and truly does have a big heart too. He just doesn't like to show it as much as Anson. He has the funniest personality and is always fun to be around. This is him dressed up for a student council skit at school last year:

And I can't forget out fur babies! I am already feeling a little bad for them because I know they will not be as big of a priority once Cade is here. 

This is what this little spoiled girl does 99.9% of the time...sleep.

Peggy on the other hand loves to play and love on you. She might look like the scarier dog, but she is a lot nicer than Macy. She loves everyone especially her dad!

And lastly, I am thankful for a job that is never dull! I can't imagine going somewhere and doing the same exact thing every day. My job is truly exhausting, but it is never boring. These little cuties...along with 15 others...keep me entertained from 7:45-3:15 every day. There are days I come home dead tired and tell Brian I can't take any more. But I can honestly say there is nothing in the world I would rather do. I think I was destined to be a teacher. HOWEVER I must add that being 8 months pregnant and trying to keep up with the energy levels of 18 6 year olds all day every day is a tiring task. But I do love them all so much and truly have a job that I enjoy going to every day.

This is just the gist of the things I am most thankful for in my life right now. I have so much more that I am thankful for as well, but these things are all top priority and things that I am thankful for every single day of my life. :)

35 Weeks

How Far Along: 35 Weeks, 6 Days

Size of Baby: 5.25 pounds or a honeydew melon

Weight Gain: My scale says +30 but the scale at my doctor's appointment Tuesday said +27 so we will go with that! 

Maternity Clothes: Still mixing, mostly maternity except dresses and a few long shirts

Gender: Boy...Cade Alan

Movement: Yes, mostly just flips and rolls and random body parts sticking through my ribs. 

Sleep: Random. I either sleep 2 hours a night or 10. There is no inbetween.

What I Miss: Nothing really. Trying to enjoy these last 4 weeks of being pregnant...and feeling him move...as well as these last 4 weeks of just me and Brian. The other night we were talking about the fact that we won't live alone together again for over 18 years and that kinda freaked me out a little, but we are so ready for Cade to be here. He is already all we can seem to talk about!

Cravings: Ice cold water and anything chocolate or sweet

Best Moment This Week: Getting his room together! It isn't completely done, but we are making some definite progress. Also painting his dresser together and washing some of his clothes. Never thought I would enjoy laundry, but washing and putting away his clothes was fun for some reason. I guess it made it that much more real that he will be here SOON!

In other news, I only have 18 days of school left before my maternity leave!! That is if I make it until my due date. I had been kinda sad because I will miss my kids, but after today I am beyond READY! They were wild, I'm tired, things are getting more and more difficult, and my patience is running thin. Bless their hearts! I am in need of a break! I am hoping the short Thanksgiving break will give me a 2nd wind so we can enjoy our last 3 weeks together before I am gone for 8. And so I can start organizing for a sub!! I have started typing up some plans and trying to find ways to organize all the papers he will need while I am gone, but still have so much to do before I am ready to hand my classroom over. Hopefully I can get some energy/motivation and get it all done soon!

And also, just because I want to remember....my doctor starts checking me at my appointment this coming Monday! I am so ready to see if I am dilated. I know it doesn't matter either way because some women aren't dilated at all then progress super fast and others stay as far as a 3 for weeks, but I am needing some news...any news. And this weekly doctor's appointment thing needs something to spice it up a bit. 

4 weeks, 1 day!