I made that!

Well, I’m jumping ahead of myself!  Let me back up and tell you the whole story…

Well, technically, it started about 9 months ago….but you don’t need to hear any of those details!   So…as far as you are concerned, it started about three weeks ago (around the 14th of August or so).  I began having contractions on a regular basis.  I had been going to my doctor on a weekly basis, and to make things simple, she said things “were moving along.”  So, in the light of the contractions, we began to prepare for little Amelia’s possible early arrival.  That weekend, I was having contractions about a minute apart and a minute long.  I called the doctor both Saturday and Sunday nights, wondering if “this was it” and I needed to head into the hospital….but because I was only feeling pressure, and no pain….I was told to wait it out.  And I’m so glad I did, because it turns out I was only slightly dehydrated, which was causing the contractions!  So I went to my normal appointment on the 18th and was told that I was “far enough along” that we needed to schedule an induction for early Saturday morning.

So, we arrived at the hospital at 6 am on Saturday the 20th.  Mom Mom and GP had arrived the night before, so they and Sue Sue and Papaw entertained Buggy for the day.  Loo Loo met us up at the hospital after we were admitted.  My favorite part of the morning was when I first walked up to the admitting window, and informed the girl there that I was there to be induced.  She promptly replied, “Induced for what?” and then, “OMG, I didn’t even realize you were pregnant!!!”  I love that girl.

It was a long day, but it went fast, as my progression also was pretty quick.  Loo Loo kept busy by decorating my delivery room.

Dave took a nap.

I watched 6 hours of HGTV (and saw this chandelier that I really liked!).

The nurse came in and broke my water.  Loo Loo read a magazine.  I got an epidural.  Dave took another nap.

Next thing I know they are informing me that I am 8cm and they are paging my doctor.  My epidural kicks in and I can no longer feel my legs.  Or butt. Or lower back.  The nurse gets Amelia’s little bed ready.

It’s 1:50, and Dr. Campbell arrives and announces that It’s Time.  We wake up Dave.  Somebody has to hold my legs….. after all, they are about 347 lbs each!

I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details, but Amelia Josephine was born at 2:18.  HUGE thanks to my SuperHubby and my WonderSister who were my cheerleaders, leg-holders, joke-tellers, water-getters, and overall just a fabulous support system in the delivery room!  I love you both!

She got to stay with us for about an hour before the nurses whisked her off for her first bath, and I attempted to gain back the feeling in my legs!

We were soooooo happy to have our favorite people there to help with the birth…Dr. Campbell (who also delivered Jayna) and Nurse Tracey (who also stuck it out with us waaaaay after her shift ended when Jayna was born).  It was so nice that they both were able to be there!

We were finally released from the hospital on Monday afternoon and have been so blessed to have wonderful friends visiting and bringing us meals ever since then!

So, I apologize that I haven’t been around as much…..but with our impending move in two weeks (and yes, we are STILL packing!) and trying to get some sort of routine down with Amelia and Jayna, blogging has been a bit on the back burner!  But, don’t worry!  We had some professional pictures taken last week which I will get up on here with my first review, AND some new pictures of the house (it’s almost done….!).  Thanks for all of your comments…its great to know y’all are sticking with me!

Hello World!

Hi!  Just thought I’d pop by to introduce myself!  My name is Amelia Josephine and although my due date wasn’t until yesterday (the 26th), I arrived at 2:10pm last Saturday, the 20th (hard to believe I am a week old already!).  Guess I was just ready to come and meet y’all!

Although it was hard work for both Mommy and me, I’m so glad to be here!  We arrived back at my house on Monday afternoon and had a nice relaxing week visiting with Mom Mom and GP, Sue Sue and Papaw, Loo Loo and my wonderful big sister, Jayna!

I look just like Buggy (or so I’ve been told) when she was born, but I have shorter and straighter hair, and I’m almost 2 inches shorter than she was!  I’m also a little feistier….I like to be held and entertained, and I’m hungry all the time!  I play hard, but also sleep hard….which  my mommy is sooooo thankful for!

My big sister, Jaynabug, was a little unsure about me when she found out I was arriving last week.  She copped quite the little attitude and wanted nothing to do with Mommy or Daddy!  But a couple of special days with Mom Mom and GP (and some extra special gifts from the dollar store!!) seemed to turn her opinion of my arrival right around!

And as soon as she met me in the hospital, her little maternal instinct kicked in and I have received nothing but hugs and kisses from her since then!  She has been an excellent big sister so far!

Well, I need to get ready for yet another photo shoot, and Mommy is getting a little cranky, so I think I’ll put her down for a nap…..see y’all soon!

Baby Amelia is on her way!

Breaking News!  I got scheduled for an induction this morning, so Dave, Loo Loo and I are at the hospital right now!  Mom Mom and GP arrived last night and with Papaw and Sue Sue, they will entertain Buggy today until we give them a call that Amelia has officially made her debut! I’ll keep you posted this week (literally, with pictures!) and I’ve written a couple of How-To posts and gotten a guest poster to keep you entertained while I am concentrating on baby for a few days!  So, keep in touch, leave me some love and I’ll be back soon!

P.S. In the meantime, here’s how our family spent our last day as a family of three (four, really, with Loo Loo!)! We went to the Lowcountry Children’s Museum!

Newborn Matching Outfit

Good morning!  We are so excited today because it is our last day of swim lessons!  Don’t get me wrong….we love to swim.  But unfortunately the swim lessons we enrolled in were less than stellar and have messed with our whole schedule the past two and a half weeks.  They were from 12-1 (naptime) and were a half an hour away from our house.  I didn’t even take any pictures because the pool was disgusting!  The swim lessons teacher was 16 years old and purely a lifeguard, while the three of us moms fended for ourselves attempting to teach our kids…not even knowing where to start!  But I’m happy to report that Jayna is able to dunk her head under water while blowing bubbles, paddle with arms and feet while I hold her around the waist, and jump off the side to me!  That’s about all we could handle without any direction!  But, I can’t complain because we only paid $30 for the whole session…but needless to say, we’ll be swimming elsewhere from now on!

In other news, I spent the evening completing a bundle of burp cloths (in between Braxton Hicks contractions!).  I also decided that I’d like to splurge on some in-hospital professional pictures of Amelia and Jayna.  So of course we’ll need matching outfits for them!  I decided to complete the set I made for Jayna and Lulabelle, with a little onsie, burp cloth and bib for Amelia.

I started with the burp cloth, and made it like I usually do by cutting the fabric and the flannel to the size I wanted and matching up the wrong sides and sewing together.

I also like to sew a double seam for durability.

And I also fold it into thirds, iron the creases, and then sew a single stitch down each crease.  This helps with bunching when you wash it, and gives you a little guide to fold it.

Then I decided that a pillowcase dress was unrealistic for a newborn, and a onsie would be better.  I hand drew a daisy on the fabric, used an iron-on transfer to get it to stick to the onsie, and then I hand-sewed red stitches around it.  I was aiming for it to look a little ragged…I think I succeeded!

And finally, I decided to add a bib to the outfit.  I traced a newborn bib that I already had to get the size and pattern right, and then added another inch around the edge to account for the seams.  I matched the right side of the fabric to two layers of flannel, and placed piping around the raw edges.  I sewed around the piping before layering the back of the bib (fabric again, with the right sides together), and then sewed over my original stitching.  Don’t forget to leave a 2-3 inch opening so you are able to turn the bib right-side out!

Then I added velcro.

And tada!  A super absorbent spit bib for a newborn!

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the way they came out, and can’t wait to see how the pictures come out when Amelia arrives!

P.S. I linked up with these linky parties today…take some time to check out what other people have been working on this week!

Tips for Going to the Mountains in Your 9th Month of Pregnancy.

#1  Maybe, don’t go. =)  Believing I am Superwoman, I decided kind of last-minute (aka last Thursday) to drive (on Friday morning) to the mountains of Asheville, NC to a little slice of heaven many of us call Montreat.  On second thought, maybe I am just Crazy.  It takes 4+ hours (depending on how many bathroom breaks you your two-year old needs) to get there.  Half of which is up and down crazy hairpin turns through the mountains.  Throw in a few logging trucks going 10 miles per hour.  In the rain.

#2 Oh wait!  DO go!  Because it is a wonderful place and your wonderful friends (Bets and Jay) are there leading their youth group!  Let me back up a little and give you some background.  Oh boy, I wish my old, fun pictures weren’t in storage and I could use them to reference to for this! (If you are reading this and have some old fun pictures from the good old Montreat times, please email me with them and I’ll add them in!)   A long, long time ago (think mid 90’s)… the church I grew up in would take a group of us high schoolers to Montreat for a week for their annual Presbyterian Youth Conference.  Thousands of high schoolers would gather in the mountains of NC to worship, bond, play and eat ice cream.  It was fabulous!  Truly some of my favorite growing-up memories!!  And because I don’t have any pictures of hallway human pyramids, ice-cream cone unicorn horns, boys wearing make-up, or piles of stolen undies….let me see if I can set a classier scene for you…

Back to the tips:

#3 Bring a stroller to push your 35 lb kid in…..I don’t recommend trying to carry her up the vertical hills.  Especially if she falls asleep and should be considered “dead weight.”

#4 When you get tired of carrying that sack of potatoes around….make sure you have a couple of teenagers at the ready to entertain your two-year old!

#5 You are nine months pregnant…..enjoy as much ice cream as you can without any guilt!!

#6 If Bets won’t share her ice cream with you, yell at her!

#7 Sit down and put your feet up while enjoying thousands of youth singing and dancing to energizers, and then try to stay awake and focused for the sermon (don’t worry, you have an excuse….you are growing a life inside you, and you woke up at 4am to get here!!).

#8 Be so thankful for your safe trip to the mountains as you bask in the glow of the waterfront candlelight service.  Treasure the memories you have of this place, and pray that all of the youth that are here are equally touched by God as you have been.  Pray for their safe travels home and for each of their journeys in their faith.

(Thanks to the Montreat website for this last one…my nighttime pictures couldn’t have done this moment justice)

Lord prepare me

To be a sanctuary

Pure and holy

Tried and true

With thanksgiving

I’ll be a living

Sanctuary….for You.