What had happened was. . .

So, I admit that I completely misjudged the amount of free time I would have to write about being a parent. I thought for sure that in Shaun's first weeks and maybe months that he'd nap off and on all day. What I didn't know is that due to his digestion issues and sensitive tummy, he would nap off and on all day... on ME. Making it nearly impossible to do anything other than bask in his sweetness and make peace with the fact that no housework would get done, dinner sometimes wouldn't get made, and I would shower every other day at best. BUT, as trying as some days are, I wouldn't trade this time for a second. I'm lucky enough to have an amazing boss that understood how difficult it was going to be for me to leave Shaun at such a young age when he was still struggling with so many things, and supported my longer maternity leave. I get to do some work from home and still spend my days with this little guy. And I couldn't be happier.

Since I slacked on posts thus far, here are his monthly pictures :)

Hopefully my next post will be sooner than later. :)

So in love

At the last posting, we thought Shaun would be here via c-section on Wednesday morning.  Little did we know, he had other plans. I began my maternity leave the week before to rest up and finish preparing for his arrival. The 16th was an especially trying day. I had sporadic contractions averaging about 20 minutes apart all day.  Darren had gone to work to finish up on a project so he could be totally devoted to being with us once Shaun got here.  Around 5pm the contractions ramped up, getting to be about 10 minutes apart.  At 7pm they were around 7-8 minutes apart, and I told Darren to get home and we'd probably go to the hospital because I couldn't take the pain. Then at 7:40, my water broke. 

Once we got to the hospital, they performed their paper strip test to confirm whether my water actually broke or if it was just me wetting myself.  After the nurse insisted it was the latter, no matter what I said, I was about to strangle her.  She performed another test that proved my water did in fact rupture. However, I was still only dilated 1 cm, so our doctor instructed them to get me prepared for surgery and he'd be in around 11pm that night, instead of making me suffer until the morning.

Everything went into fast forward at this point.  They wheeled me into pre-op and whisked Darren away to get ready.  I got my local anesthesia shot, followed by the spinal, and then I was feeling pretty good, aside from shivering to death.  The team wrapped me in heated blankets, and soon Darren came in dressed in scrubs.  Before it really even registered what was happening, doc said, "Here comes baby!" and Shaun was out!  Darren got to see him and cut the umbilical cord and watch them clean him up, and then they brought him to me to put on my chest.  This perfect, wrinkly, screaming little guy.

While doc finished stitching me up, Darren went with Shaun to recovery and I soon followed.  They monitored me there for about an hour or two, and then took us to our temporary room.  We got a Pineapple Suite at Baptist, but it wouldn't be ready until the following morning.  So around 3am family came in to meet the little man, and then left us to attempt to rest until the morning. Darren "slept" on one of those tiny chairs made for people as short as me.  Around 8am, we got to move to our permanent room.  Between constant monitoring, painful trips to the bathroom, and just loving on our new addition, the rest of the stay was a delirious blur.  We were released on Friday, February 19 and ever since we've been trying to figure this whole thing out. :)

The bottom line is, we've got a beautiful little baby boy and we're over the moon.  Thanks for following our journey so far, and stay tuned!

The final countdown...

So, we're two days out from meeting our little boy. It all seems so surreal that the time has finally come. Our appointment this morning revealed that I'm (barely) dilated a centimeter, so all signs point to a c-section on Wednesday. We're a little sad we'll miss out on the surprise of water breaking or going into labor, but Shaun has made himself a cozy little nest and doesn't seem to want to vacate! It's a little fitting though, since D and I are meticulous planners! :)

We were able to enjoy our last weekend as a twosome doing very "us" things - went to see Deadpool and had a "romantic" valentines dinner at Fuddruckers! I think we were both more amazed I made it through the movie without a bathroom break, and that I was able to still walk in and out of a restaurant. :)

Thank you everyone not only for all of your support thus far, but for giving us the space these past few weeks to just "be." We're so excited for what's to come.

So close and yet so far

It seems like any day now Shaun could make his arrival. We've done some major nesting lately... Darren's man cave is painted and we were able to get (most of) his music gear out of Shaun's room and make it look more like a nursery. We also washed all of Shaun's clothes and got them put away. The car seat/stroller has been assembled, installed in Thor and we're (relatively) confident how to use it. :) Our hospital bag is packed and ready to go. Thanks to my amazing coworkers, we were able to order a majority of the remaining items on our registry.  Today Darren's coworkers surprised him with a whole slew of gifts as well.

So that's the positive. The negative? I'm ridiculously big and uncomfortable, especially when it comes to sleep! My feet also blow up to the size of loaves of bread when I'm standing/walking/sitting for a long period of time. The only way it seems they stay a semi-normal size is to have them up - via couch or my recliner. I've had a few pity parties because I can't do anything for myself anymore. Darren has been my rock. He not only does whatever he can to help, but he constantly tells me how great he thinks I'm doing. So I'm trying not to let my hormones win and keep the wallowing to a minimum. We just can't wait for our little rock star to get here!

our boy in 3D!

Last Saturday we got to see Shaun in 3D!  He cooperated so well and we got so many images.  Hubby is crazy creative and put together this little montage of all the video clips they gave us and set it to music.  Shaun looks like a little squishy alien and we are over the moon!

happy holidays

As we round out 2015, I wanted to say how grateful we are to have so many supporters surrounding us during this exciting time. If I don't say how appreciative I am, chalk it up to being constantly uncomfortable/tired/pained/forgetful.  When I'm not walking around in a daze, I'm likely napping or trying to nap!  I have a newfound respect for working  preggos/mothers that somehow make it through the day unscathed.

We were lucky enough to have my brother visit for Christmas and New Year's this year, with the exciting news he'll be relocating back to Florida early next year. Not only will Shaun have his Auntie Lys close by, but he'll have his Uncle Jay too! Family is a priority for 2016 now more than ever, and whether related by blood or not, you all know who you are, how important you are to us, and how glad we are to have you in our lives. We wish you a happy and healthy new year, and will be back in a few days with pics from our 4D ultrasound!

32 weeks. . .

We had our 32-week ultrasound yesterday and Shaun is looking great! He's 4 pounds 4 ounces and in the 65th percentile.  I also got my tdap vaccine and want to chop off my arm today, but I know it had to be done! We go back in 3 weeks to check in with the doctor, but are looking into scheduling a 4D ultrasound in the meantime.  Here's a shot from yesterday:

Shaun @ 32 weeks

Time seems to be flying by and I feel like we'll never fully be ready, but we can't wait to meet our little boy! Life is going to change drastically and we're both so excited for it.

Slight delay, but what a trip!

I got sick a few days into our OKC trip (hence the posting delay), but aside from that, we had a blast! Friday the 4th was our maternity shoot with the fabulous Lisa at LG Photography, and we are thrilled with how the pictures turned out! Just a few of our favorites that made our holiday card this year:

Saturday was the boys' superhero themed party - and I think it was a success!  It might seem like it was more a party for adults - especially since we forgot to grill the hot dogs for the kids until AFTER our food was ready... but everyone had a great time: 

me & Ash

Awesome Avengers Cake!

D & Iron Man

Sunday we went to the Thunder game (after dining at our favorite Greek place, Zorba's, of course).  Bonus - they beat the Kings!

Thunder Up!

Sadly, Monday was our last day with these munchkins.  I'm so grateful to have them in our lives! They grow sweeter by the day and make us laugh to no end.  

Ellie

Ace

Elliott is very excited to teach Shaun all about Christmas trees next year.

Serious cousin discussions

Can't wait to see them again soon!

size isn't everything, but...

I'd like to think I've been handling most of the bodily changes and accompanying discomfort pretty well.  After getting a Snoogle, my sleeping infinitely improved. But since I can't sleep on my back, I flip sides every hour or two.  Last night was a low point - my feet are starting to swell, and they look huge!  I soaked them in Epsom salts, elevated them... all to no avail.  I finally gave up and tried to go to bed just to escape the pain.

soaking didn't help :(

D and I are headed to OKC tomorrow to visit our friends, Ashley and Nathan, and we couldn't be more excited.  It's a yearly tradition (for the past four years, anyhow) to attend their son Elliott's birthday.  And since Archer (their youngest) is an early January birthday, they combined the parties and are basically accommodating our schedule so it doesn't coincide with my no-fly period.  After meeting on our honeymoons five years ago, we've been (virtually) inseparable and I wouldn't have been able to navigate this pregnancy journey without her!

I love her!

Up until this point, aside from the morning sickness early on, I've felt like nothing TOO spectacular (aside from the fact that Shaun EXISTS) has been happening that I needed to document it.  But now that our little peanut is moving around so much and the belly is oh-so-apparent, it seemed like a good point to jump in.  Life is going to change in a big way very soon, so I'm going to try to capture all of it. :)

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

times are changing...

I decided to revamp this blog to focus on the center of our world - the arrival of Shaun! Not to say I'll never post recipes again - I enjoy food WAY too much for that - but for now, this little person who isn't even here yet seems to consume most of our time and thoughts. I figured this would be a good way to let all those people who are so excited about him to get a peek into the day-to-day.

Tomorrow starts week 29 - the time has just been flying by! So far he is happy and healthy, with what I assume is just the usual discomfort to be expected. He's kicking up a storm and feels like a giant has taken up residence in my belly, but Darren and I couldn't feel more blessed. We're taking our last few trips before I become a house-hermit.

To close, this has been a fan favorite so far - and I feel my expression accurately depicts my shock at the size of our monkey. :)

Til next time!