2 Weeks

Parker is two weeks old today! I am going to take a weekly picture of him and when he is one I will put them into a photobook! Since he was born on his due date it will be easy for me to remember to do my weekly Tuesday post!

Everything has been so great with our new love being here :) He sleeps really well at night right now...usually 3-4 hours in between feedings and he usually gets right back to sleep after eating. We get him to sleep anywhere between 9 and 11 and he usually gets up between 8 and 9 but sometimes falls back asleep after we get him up. The pets have all been pretty good being around Parker...Zoe tries to get sneaky licks in here and there but she has been pretty good so far. The cats are pretty indifferent towards him although they love to lay by me when I feed him sometimes.

Likes: being held, warm water on him at bath time, getting his boogers sucked out, feedings, when I sing to him with the help of Pandora, when daddy carries him around kicking everything, warm diaper wipes, car and stroller rides, being carried in mommy's baby carrier, giving kisses to mommy and daddy, making silly faces, sneaking in quick smiles

Dislikes: changing clothes, cold diaper wipes, being cold in the bath tub, when you take too long to change his diaper

What's New in the Last Week: his umbilical cord stump fell off, staying awake for several hours during the day for playtime, gained at least 8 ounces (went from 7 lbs 3 oz to 7 lbs 11 oz in four days)

I didn't get around to posting this one last week and I didn't like the way the picture came out but here he is at one week old in his puppy slippers :)

I just love his skinny little legs!!

Snapshots from the Hospital

Here are a few more pictures from our  first few days at the hospital.

All bundled up and cozy!

Daddy and Parker J.

Early morning...Parker wanted to sleep in.

We love to give him mohawks!

Before Parker was born...my blood pressure got pretty low so they had me use some oxygen to help our little baby :)

Parker's first bath...he really enjoyed it ;)

More daddy snuggles

Our first family photo!

Tucking him in for his first car ride!

Clint being silly and my reaction :)

Busting out of the hospital!

All tucked in and ready to go home!

Daddy driving us home in the rain!

He is absolutely perfect :)

Parker Jameson Reed

 Parker Jameson Reed was born Tuesday, April 16, 2013! He arrived at 5:58pm and weighed 7 pounds and 12 ounces and he was 21 inches long. Our punctual little pipsqueak arrived on his due date!

So last Tuesday I woke up at 5 am to go to the bathroom for the third time that night. I noticed that I had some cramps but nothing too bad. Clint's alarm wasn't set to go off for another half hour so I decided to lay back down. As I was laying there I started thinking that I was having contractions but I still didn't really think anything about it because they were so small and I had been having very minor ones for a few days. 

Clint finally got out of bed so I decided to get up and eat breakfast with him before he went to work. I finally told him that it felt like I was still having contractions but nothing too serious. I told him I would keep him updated while he was at work. About 7 I decided that I would try to go back to sleep for a while. As I was laying there I realized that these were contractions and that there were definite starting and stopping points. They were a few minutes long and about 5 minutes apart. I ended up only laying there for about a half an hour because I wasn't really that comfortable. I took a nice long hot shower to see if that would help...it felt good but didn't change up the contractions at all. I texted Clint that I was definitely having them and that I would call if they got worse. 

I texted my sister about 8:15 to see if she would come over soon to help me start working on my to-do list. I finally realized that the baby would be coming soon and there were several things I wanted done first. She said she would be over whenever she rolled out of bed...apparently I should have been more direct! I started working on some laundry, some light cleaning, and packing our bags. I had set out most of our things a couple weeks ago but we never finished packing the bags to take to the hospital. About 9:00 my contractions started getting a little stronger so I texted Lindsay again telling her that I was having them and if she could come over soon. She got the hint this time and came right over!

I texted with Clint around this time and he told me to call the doctor. I called them and told them how I was  and they decided that I should get to the hospital. I was supposed to have my 40 week appointment that afternoon but she decided that I needed to be checked for leaking amniotic fluid, which I though I'd had. I called Clint and told him that he needed to come home so we could go to the hospital...luckily his boss had let him park on his jobsite at IUPUI so he was able to get going soon.

Clint got home a little before 10:30 and got the car all loaded up and then we were off. Traffic was pretty good and we got all checked in about 11am. By then my contractions were strong enough that I had to focus on breathing a little more and not tensing up so much...which was clearly a little hard! She checked my cervix after I got settled in and was only dilated to 1.5 cm and 75% effaced. I thought I would be further along so I figured I was in for a long haul.

I spent a couple hours working through contractions that were about 3-4 minutes apart. After two hours I had dilated to 4 cm. Another two hours went by and I was to 6 cm and my contractions were one right after another and really strong. I took a dose of pain medicine through my IV, seeing if I could hold off on getting an epidural. About 20 minutes after the pain medicine the contractions were back and much stronger. I set myself a time limit before asking for one and I made it; I definitely realized I wanted an epidural. I got the epidural at 2:45ish. In 20 minutes I progressed from 6cm to 8cm...it was definitely getting close! The called my doctor shortly after that so she could get to the hospital to deliver our baby!!

Once the doctor got there we had to wait a little longer but a little before 5pm I was ready to start pushing!! By then my contractions slowed down to about 3-4 minutes apart which slowed the process down just a bit. After about an hour of pushing our little guy was ready to make his entrance into the world!!

Here are a few pictures of his first few hours:

Today Parker is already one week old!! Our hearts are so full and we love him so much!!

39 Weeks

Today I am 39 weeks! I have a little wiggly watermelon in my belly now :)

I had a doctor's appointment today. Clint is working at Camp Atterbury which is about an hour away so we decided it was ok for him to miss the appt. I went to get in the car to go and my car wouldn't start! Clint changed the alternator tonight and it's good to go. Luckily Augusta is a good friend and took me to my appt! Perfect blood pressure as usual...measuring right at 39 weeks and the baby's heart rate was good too (138)! However, my cervix is not cooperating! Not dilated at all nor has it softened at all :( Boo. We discussed inducing after 40 weeks but Clint and I are going to discuss it some more before deciding 100%.

The last week has been pretty similar to the last few except that my ankles (and mostly just my right) are swollen still! They go down a little but unless I have them up they are puffy. At least they don't hurt for the most part. I just hate laying around so much.

Now time for the best story from the last week. I decided Sunday to do a little shopping. The weather FINALLY warmed up so I wanted to wear a dress. Remember the cute peacock maxi dress I made back in October? 

Fit nicely here doesn't it?? Well add about 6 months and 20 some pounds...and Houston, we have a problem!

Somehow I got it ON but I could not for the life of me get it OFF! I was sweating from trying to pull it back over my head! Finally I called my stepmom who lives across the street. However she wasn't home! Clint was helping a friend with some work but had been gone a while so I called him. Luckily he was just getting ready to leave! So I had to lay down on the bed for a half an hour stuck in this stinkin' dress! I spent way too much time sewing it together that I was not going to cut it off! Thankfully it only took Clint a few tries to break me free! Lesson learned!

My mom also sent me a package yesterday with some goodies! I had asked if she could make me a hospital  gown for when we have the baby. She sent me a million fabric choices and said she would make me two! Here are the fabric choices:

 So cute! 

She also made some sheets in this fleece material.

My sister gets here Friday!! I'm excited about that.

Well here's to hoping the baby comes on his own and sometime soon!! We can't wait to meet him!

38 Weeks

38 weeks along and baby boy is still cooking! I just got back from my doctor's appointment. Glad my regular doctor is back :) She really is awesome!

I only measured 36 weeks today...and still not dilated any. She did think that my cervix felt a little thinner which I guess is progress. I mentioned that my mom went 42 weeks with my older sister and me and asked if that 'runs in the family' and she didn't really think that it did but she did say she wouldn't wait that long. She said that she wouldn't have me go past 41 weeks. In two weeks she will check my fluid levels to see how everything looks. But regardless, 3 more weeks or less until our little guy is here! It's good to know there is a more definite feeling to the end of this! I am so glad that everything has gone smoothly and I never really had anything to complain about but I am definitely ready to be done and meet our baby!

This week I have done quite a bit of walking...around the neighborhood with Clint and at the gym with Augusta. I was so lazy the last two weeks with a cold and sinus infection that it feels good to be up and doing something active...although I was wiped out after the trip to the gym yesterday. I took a big fat nap on the couch! I need to remember to rest my feet in the evening though because my ankles are a little fluffy this week! Saturday we did some major yard work and that did a number on them too!

With not much time before our little pipsqueak is here I have a few things left on our to-do list to get done! Today I called our family doctor to see if she saw newborns. We both really like her and would love to keep seeing her for all three of us. Well, she was willing to take him on but she is switching jobs in July :( So back to the endless list of doctors...not just for the baby but now for all of us! Boo!

I also finished painting the book shelves that Clint made but he is trying to figure out how he wants to hang them. Once they're up I'll share a pic. I was also thinking about making a rug for his room. I have looked everywhere for an orange rug but I can't find one anywhere! So I may make this in orange:

I can't quite decide!

Well here is how much I have grown since the middle of November: