Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Friday, September 24, 2010

ONE WEEK OLD


Baby Boston is one week old today. I can't believe how fast the first week has gone by. We have learned so much already. Boston is a really good baby. He only cries if he is hungry or uncomfortable. He sleeps a ton, up to 4 hours at a time at night. I love just staring at him and watching all of his adorable facial expressions. He seems to have a little personality already. He has the cutest little cry and has this squeally scream that makes me laugh. Our life is busy with sleeping, feeding, changing, and staring. Being a mommy is the BEST! It is still surreal that he is OUR baby!

We had Boston's first doctor's appointment on Tuesday. It was really weird filling out the paperwork for our son as his parents. We got into the room and had to undress him to get him weighed. We got sprayed for the first time! Ha Ha! He lost only 2 oz. so the doctor said he is feeding well. We really like his pediatrician and the appointment went well.

Today we had some professional photos taken of our little guy. It was interesting having to get little B up and fed and then get myself ready by a certain time. People weren't lying when they said it takes longer with a baby. The photo shoot went well. He was a little fussy, but did really well for the most part. I got to peek at a couple of the pics when she took them and they were wonderful. We can't wait to see all of them!

Tim has been home with us all week and has been really wonderful. He is an amazing daddy already and has been so sweet and patient with me and my hormonal-needy self. We have had family and friends visit and bring us food and we are SO thankful for that. I don't know what we are going to do next week, when Tim goes back to work. I am emotional thinking about it (no shocker there).

Here are a few pics of Boston from his first week!

Bringing Home Baby

first ride in the car

meeting Molly

sleeping with Daddy

first time in bassinet

first Saints game

first bath

Baby with very happy Mommy

A smile!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Part 3: The ARRIVAL of our baby boy!

We are so in love...

Announcing

BOSTON WILLIAM GRACE
September 17, 2010
10:09am
6 lbs., 14 oz., 19 1/2 in. long


We can't believe we have our very own bundle of love. A little us. He is all ours forever. We get to show him the world. Our love is stronger than I could have ever imagined and we get to share it with OUR son. Our baby is healthy and happy. What more could I ever want? All my dreams have come true!


Part 2: The arrival of our baby boy!

At 6am on Sept. 17th, they checked me and I was at 6cm. I had gone from 3 to 6 overnight. At that point, they told me it was time for my epidural. Tim began contacting our family to let them know we were there.

They had me sit on the edge of the bed and bend forward for the epidural. I was scared in general of the fact that they were going to put a needle in my spine. I was in pain, so I knew it would be worth it. The tough part was the 2 contractions I had while they were trying to get me to be still to insert the needle. OUCH! Once the contractions were over, they gave me the epidural and I felt amazing within seconds after. I was having contractions and didn't even know it!

At that time, our family began showing up. They asked me how I was feeling and I was able to say WONDERFUL! The epidural was AMAZING! We were glad our family was there, but very thankful we had not called them the night before as it would have made it a little more chaotic and not as calm. A while later, they asked my family to step out so they could check me...I had gone from 6 to 9 cm in 45 minutes...they told me it was time to start pushing!

With Tim by my side, I pushed for an hour. It was so strang to have a conversation going between contractions with Tim and the delivery nurse. I had been expecting a totally different experience after seeing movies and hearing stories from others. The pushing part was tough, but nothing like I had imagined. Once again, the epidural was AMAZING!



First family pic (I was worn out!)

Dr. Michael and L&D Nurse Rhonda Wiggins

I felt so blessed to have had such a wonderful pregnancy experience with no morning sickness and then a fairly easy delivery (minus the labor pains from Thursday night). Through that experience I discovered that maybe my pain tolerance was a little higher than I thought :).

To be continued in Part 3!
See Part 1 HERE.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Part 1: The Arrival of our baby boy!

On Thursday, 9/16/10, I had a doctor's appointment at 11am. I was nervous about what kind of progress I had made because I had been at 1cm for the previous 3 weeks. I knew that no progress did not mean I could not make a lot of progress in a small amount of time, but I still felt that a change would make me feel like I was closer to meeting baby Boston. The doctor checked me and I was at 3cm! She said that the Braxton Hicks contractions that I thought I was having were real, even though I told her I had not been in a lot of pain. I had only had slight cramping and a small back ache in the few days before and thought nothing of it. She told me that based on my progress, if I didn't have him that night... it would definitely be by that weekend. I called Tim and he was just as excited as I was. We were both in awe at the fact that we were so close to meeting our little honey. I headed back to work and was very busy that afternoon. I tried to finish up everything that was in progress and leave notes on things I could not finish, just in case Boston decided to come that night. Because I was so busy, I was not paying attention to my contractions. Once 5 o'clock hit, I got in my car and decided I might want to time them since I was not distracted with work. I timed them and they were about 4 to 5 minutes apart...the doctor told us to head to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart...I was freaking out.

Thursday night, while lying in bed at the hospital...I sent myself this email:

"Right when I got home from work, I told Tim I wanted to load the car and take a shower because I felt like my contractions were close together. I cried because I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. I took a shower and Tim and I finished packing. I even made the bed and dried my hair a little. Tim and I got in the car and headed to the hospital. They told us they were keeping us here no matter what, since I was making progress. The nurse set up the monitors and my contractions are about 3 to 4 min apart. I'm still 3cm, but they will check again in an hour to see if I'm in active labor. I can't eat or drink and I'm starving! Baby B is worth it though! Its so weird to me that I'm not in pain, just a little back pain. I always thought that I would be hurting due to my low pain tolerance, but I guess it's also still early. This is so exciting! Tim is so patient and calm and I am so grateful. I love him so much!"

The night we went to the hospital
The nurse checked me and I was still the same. She gave me permission to eat a light supper. Tim went to Newk's and got dinner for us (a small salad for me). Tim and I decided not to call any family and tell them we were there, because we wanted to wait until we new I was in labor. We enjoyed a quiet night in the hospital and I was able to peacefully get through my contractions with just him. As the night went on, they started coming harder. I took some pain medicine so I could get some sleep and be okay if it got worse. A couple of hours passed and I was in A LOT OF PAIN. It became unbearable and the only thing that made me feel better was crying and breathing through the contractions, while concentrating on a single flower on the border of the wall. I paged the nurse and she told me that I could not have more medicine within 4 hours of a dosage. I told her I could not handle it and they should have informed me of that before I took the medicine when the pain wasn't that bad. She called the doctor and they were able to give me something else. I was able to sleep for a couple more hours once the medicine kicked in.

To be continued in Part 2!



ANXIOUSLY WAITING

The due date is SO close (2 days!). All I can think about is when is little Boston going to be here?! I am not so much nervous as I am anxious to know WHEN. I am curious to know what kind of birthing experience I'm going to have.

I can't wait to see how Tim and I handle the pressure.
I can't wait to see and hold our "little us".
I can't wait to see Tim as a daddy and know what it feels like to be a mommy.
I can't wait to give him a million hugs and kisses and he can't stop me :).

My mind is on Boston 24/7 and how Tim and my world is going to change for the better. This is such an exciting time for us all we can do is leave it up to Boston and God. I know they've got it under control, but I can't help but wonder...

Yesterday morning, my dad called to invite Tim and I to eat some SPICY mexican food. He thought it would be good for us to WALK over to thier house (about 5 min. driving distance from us), then ride in the back of the truck down the BUMPY road...of course he was kidding...i think? (ha!). Needless, to say...we went to dinner, but the other ideas were out of the question. We have family and friends just as anxious as we are, calling & texting asking for updates all the time. I look forward to actually having some news!

Last night we got to meet Tim's cousin's brand new baby girl. She wasn't even a day old yet! As soon as I saw her, I got tears in my eyes. She is just so tiny and adorable. I can only imagine the feelings I will get when I see my very own bundle of joy.

Jalene Isabelle Rene Parker

For your entertainment, I saw the video on this post and can see this in Boston's future. Pay close attention to the background, which has no similarity to Molly.... Scroll down to the video after clicking HERE.

Hopefully I'll have an exciting update soon!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

"All our bags are packed...We're ready to go..."

The bags have been packed, except for a small list of things that will need to be packed at the last minute. The car seat (and instructions) are ready. The house is clean (enough). I am caught up on laundry (for now). We are ready whenever Boston decides on a birthday. We tell him every day there is more room out here for him to move and squirm around. He has been a big time wiggle worm the past few days. I still love the feeling, but it is a little more uncomfortable now. (I think I have a knee? or foot? that occasionally pokes out of my right side). I wake up every 2 hours due to a certain someone on my bladder, not to mention my curiousity is killing me. Tim and I will be parents of our very.own.child really soon. That moment can't come soon enough.

Come on baby boy! Mommy and Daddy are ready to meet you and show you the world!

38 weeks, 5 days pregnant

ABOUT 9 DAYS TO GO!!!!

Baby Shower #2

Unfortunately, this post is a little late...but on August 14th, these sweet ladies threw a wonderful shower for Boston and me. They did a fantastic job with everything. For decoration, they had little boy things in different places including a big dump truck, a ginourmous teddy bear, and even a large blow up duckie that quacks when you pinch his bill. The food was delicious and everything was wonderful.

Thank you so much for all of your hard work. You truly made the shower memorable.

In this photo:
Jane Shea, Shannon Shea, me (& 'lil B), Lauren Spano, Kelly Focht, Julie Spano

I also wanted to include a photo of me and my mother-in-law that I really love. You can see part of the duck in the background (it was filled with punch for the shower)!

Here is a photo, from the first shower, of me and the grandmothers-to-be. Also, a photo of me and my sweet sister-in-law. Boston is going to be the luckiest boy ever!


Thursday, September 2, 2010

Baby Boston's Nursery

WARNING: LONG POST :)

The first thing you see when you walk into Boston's nursery is these white cube shelves. This is the first furniture we bought for Boston. We wanted a place to keep his books and toys, so they would be easy for him to get to.


From the moment we found out we were having a boy, I wanted a "name train" for him. I found this train on line and it turned out just right. I had seen people put their little one's names in their nursery and I thought this would be perfect for him. The company selling the train did not sell Engines or Cabooses. Tim's Grandpa Mooty gave us this special vintage train to add to this decoration. Tim played with it as a kid and I think it is so special and unique.

The little baskets on the shelves were carefully picked out to get just the right color and size. These cubes seemed to be a unique size so it was a little challenging to find them. I was happy when I found that these seemed to work just right and they were on sale!

When you walk in Boston's nursery, immediately to the right is this chest of drawers. Click HERE for a little background on it.

Above the dresser is a sign made especially for Boston, given to him by some sweet friends. Once he is born, his date of birth, weight, and length will be added to it. (So special!)


On top of the dresser is a diaper cake made by one of my best friends Spano. It was one of the decorations at the shower and it is now decoration in his nursery until we need to use the diapers. She did an awesome job! Tim and I picked out the little lamp together and the frames were also gifts.

Here is a view of Boston's crib. Tim and I looked carefully to find a crib we both liked in the right finish and one that would convert. Yes, this crib converts to both a toddler and double bed! We are proud of this investment.




The pictures above the bed were some that Tim already had. They have different stadiums in them including Tiger Stadium (LSU), Texas Rangers Ballpark (taken by Tim's dad when Tim lived an apartment over looking it), and of course Fenway Park (Red Sox). We discovered that the Red Sox photo has a date on the scoreboard of Sept. 19th. That is just one day after Boston's due date. What are the odds?! We think that is pretty cool. I also added some blue ribbon above the photos to make them look a little younger for our baby boy.

I found the rug online and I love the way it matches all of the different neutral colors in the nursery. I was worried that the blues and greens would be hard to match. I like that the rug can grow with him or even be used somewhere else in the house if necessary one day.

Tim and I new from the beginning that we did not want the nursery to have a particular theme. We do not know our baby's personality yet and so we felt it would be good to include "All things Boy". Most bedding we found incorporated sports or animals. We were glad when we happened to both come across this bedding on the internet and both liked it. It has polka dots and stripes and is simple and just the colors we like--calming and relaxing.



The mobile was a gift from THESE special women. Tim and I found it at a local boutique and fell in love with it. It is one of our favorite things in the room. It is made out of wood and the propellers spin. It is a modern look, but has an antique feel. We hope little Boston enjoys it as much as we do!


To the right of the crib is the little rocking nook. We look forward to reading lots of stories, feeding him, and cuddling with him here. We got this glider this past weekend. It is very comfortable and we are really happy with the way it fits with the other furniture in the room.

Draped over the glider are blankets made by my mom and Tim's parents. The fleece blanket was hand tied and cut by both Tim's mom (and even his dad!). It is an extra large blanket and will be perfect for snuggling on the couch and having tummy time on the floor. The quilt was hand made by my mom and she did an awesome job on it. The back even has a little song sewn in that my Grandpa Fred wrote. I cannot wait to teach the song to Boston.

On the left of the chair is a table that I looked long and hard for. I was dead set on finding an antique round pedastal table in just the right height to go by the rocker. My step mom (MomR) pointed out that Boston could pull it on top of him when he gets older and the ones I found were more than I wanted to spend. We actually found this one at Target and we think it works just fine!

On the table is a box given to us by our sister-in-law, Loren. It is filled with handmade burp cloths, bibs, and recieving blankets made by her and other friends and family. Loren also hand-embroidered and stitched a blanket for Boston (it is draped over the bed, but you can't see it in the picture). Boston is one lucky baby and he doesn't even know it yet! [unless he happens to understand what I say when I talk to my belly :)].

Here is Boston's changing station. There are built in cabinets and shelves in his room. For some strange reason, there is even a sink! It is behind the shutters, but it is there. Even though it is strange, we have heard a million times how it will truly come in handy when our baby decides to make a mess for us.


Right behind the changing pad is a baseball scrap book given to us by MomR. We think it is awesome and I look forward to documenting the beginning of Boston's life in it. Included on the shelves are a cross given to us by dear friends in Cleveland, MS and a silver baby cup and rabbit from when I was born.

Tim and I say to each other "I love you this much" and "I love you that much" back. We have been saying it for a while and thought we needed to share it with Boston. We found out that both his mom and my grandmother both have the same vintage W & R Berries statue. Also on the shelf, I found one for Boston's room and I was overjoyed!

This is a plaque that my cousin made for little B. Read more about it HERE. She did a great job and it fits nicely in the nursery. Tim really wanted something to hang some little baseball caps for our baby on. This is just what we needed. Hanging on it now is his very own Red Sox cap. He also has a 'Lil Tiger LSU cap!


Also shown here is B's bassinet. This will go in our room beside our bed to make it a little easier for night time feedings, diaper changes, kisses, and hugs for him. We have a sleigh bed in our room, so we thought this was just right!



That wraps up the "Nursery Tour". We can't wait to show Boston his room! Less than 2 1/2 weeks left!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!

Just want to wish my sweet husband a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! What a great year it has been and what a fun adventurous year we have ahead of us!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Preparing for Boston

Here are a few photos of some of the preparation that has gone into making a home for our Boston:


After the white cube shelves, the crib is one of the first things Tim put together. For me, it made it so much more real to see a crib in the office turned nursery for OUR little boy. Tim suprised me one day and had it set up with the mattress for little Boston. Molly got in the pic too, although I don't know how much help she was! Ha!

After a shower, putting together the jumper toy and making places for things. Thanks Katie (aka "Aunt Bug")!

We thought it would be a good idea to take Molly for a ride so she would be okay with the stroller. BAD IDEA! She is now scared of the stroller as if it were the vaccuum cleaner (for those of you who are familiar with this puppy fear). She will not go near it. If it is by the door in the room, she won't come in. I think she will get over that pretty quickly when she wants to go on a W-A-L-K with Boston :) .

Tim and his Grandpa Mooty worked really hard refinishing this chest of drawers that Tim used as a little boy. They had to sand it down (shown on the top) and then re-stain it to match the crib. I think they did an excellent job and it turned out beautifully. The finished product is in the nursery photos. Thanks guys for all your hard work in the heat of the summer!

My wonderful husband has done a ton as far as puttting things together for the baby. He has done a fantastic job and I can't wait to see him in action as a daddy! Here he is putting the bassinet together.

This past weekend I made it my goal to get clothes, blankets, etc. washed (with the special baby detergent) so we would be ready for our little guy. I had lots of fun folding all of the iddy bitty clothes!

Nursery photos to follow!

Followers