Wednesday, December 31, 2014

4 Weeks

It has been 4 weeks since #wiggydiggy came into our lives. Even after preparing for 9 months, it is still surreal that he is here. 


Tuesday, December 30, 2014

My Bellefit Story

Half way through my pregnancy I started to see Bellefit Girdles everywhere online.  From Instagram and blog posts to Pinterest and Facebook.  It was enough to peak my interest to look into this 'amazing product.'

I ended up following Bellefit on Intagram to read their user reviews each week.  Every time I read a real woman's positive review of their product, I was sold.

Now, I may be a fortunate one, but I wore the girdle only three times between giving birth and #wiggydiggy's two week check-up.  At that appointment I was already at my pre-pregnancy weight.  In the weeks following, I still haven't worn the girdle as often as I should.  However, on the days I wear it, I feel better.  My back is supported, I have better posture and I don't have to think about 'sucking it in'.

When I ordered my girdle I was assigned a size small, my only issue is that my long torso has the top of the girdle hitting me in the middle of a rib.  If it was a half inch longer, it would fit perfectly.

Without Bellefit at 3 weeks postpartum

With Bellefit at 3 weeks postpartum

It may be a small difference, but it's noticeable to me.  Mostly I feel better when it's on.  Right now I'm still on the outside setting of the corset and my goal is to be on the tighter setting before my 30th birthday (January 30th!).  I know that when I wear it regularly, I'll be able to reach that goal.

I had looked into other tummy binding products on the market, and I can honestly say that Bellefit is exceptional.  The results I see and feel are worth it.  I'm so happy that I've been in pre-pregnancy clothes since I got home from the hospital!!  All thanks to the help from my Bellefit :)

I have not been compensated by Bellefit in anyway.  This is my own personal opinion I wanted to share with all of you!

Update 1/28/15
Bellefit shared my story on their Instagram and Twitter accounts!!  Wow!  

Also, on January 3rd I hit my goal of using the tighter setting. After two solid weeks of 12 hours a day on that setting, I retired my girdle until my (maybe) next pregnancy. The girdle is now too big!

I love the results Bellefit helped me achieve!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Saturday, December 20, 2014

The Greatest Help of All

For 12 days, we were fortunate enough to have my mom stay with us.  I honestly don't know what I would have done without her.  Having her here gave J and I the chance to spend all of our time with our son and not worry about anything else.  

She grocery shopped.
She did the laundry.
She cooked.
She cleaned.
She vacuumed.
She watched #wiggydiggy sleep so I could shower.
She sat and talked.
But most of all.....
she was just here.




#wiggydiggy is named after my brother, her first-born.  It was extremely special to have her love on her grandson.

When she left, there were lots of tears (and occasionally there are still a few.....) but we are so excited to know that she'll be back in a few months!

post signature

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

#wiggydiggy's Birth Story

When J and I started trying for a family, I would spend hours scouring the blog world reading birth stories.  I loved knowing that women like me had gone through an amazing miracle and would share their stories with the world.  I found so many to be helpful and educational, as well as inspiring and hopeful.  Maybe my story will be remembered by some other mother-to-be.

Saturday November, 29th

I felt my first contraction.  On a pain scale of 1 to 10, they topped out at maybe a 1.5.  When I would get up and walk around, the contractions would end and I felt fine.  A few hours after they started, they were over.  False Labor it was!  J was at a Carroll College football game and I waited to tell him I was experiencing false labor until he got home.  The rest of the evening we spent relaxing and I went to bed not feeling another one.  

Now - to backtrack some here.  J and I were being very careful up until Thanksgiving that we wouldn't do anything that could possibly jump start labor.  Being constantly told we were going to go early had us on high alert until after the holiday.  I was excited that the first sign of any progress showed up the Saturday after Thanksgiving :)

Sunday November 30th

That evening, false labor came back.  Once again the sporadic and inconsistent contractions would end if I got up and walked around.  Just a few hours after they began, they ended.  I had my 39 week appointment Wednesday, December 3rd and I was excited that I had finally felt a contractions so I could have my Dr check to see if I was making any progress, though I still believed my baby wouldn't arrive until closer to December 10th.

Tuesday night December 2nd

J and I had dinner and headed to bed a little early.  Then we ended up staying up later than expected talking about the future and all of the possible changes.  I finally fell asleep around 10:30.  J fell asleep at 11:45.

Wednesday December 3rd

Around 1:00 in the morning I was woken up by an 'odd' feeling.  In my sleep induced state, I assumed I needed to use the restroom so I began my '9 month pregnancy rock' to scoot me to the edge of the bed.  As quick as the feeling came, it ended, so I just fell back asleep.  This happened a few more times before I finally woke up enough to realize that something was going on.  I grabbed my phone off the night stand and started tracking my contractions.  By the 4th contraction I realized that we may be in for the long haul.  One whole week early!!

In an effort to let J sleep longer, I headed to the family room to watch some TV and pass the time.  I barely made it an hour before I started to become concerned.  The pain was only a 3, but they were coming 3 minutes apart for 45 seconds.





Knowing that my Dr wanted us to head to the hospital at 5-1-1 (5 minutes apart, one minute long, for one hour) and I was almost at 3-1-1, it was time to start thinking about heading to the hospital.  I was still in denial that "real" labor was starting so I decided to hop in the shower to see if my labor would slow down or maybe stop.  I woke J up just after 2 AM to let him know that I was contracting and going to shower.  After 30 minutes of standing in the hot water and contractions were not slowing but intensifying, I decided I might as well wash up and get ready to head to the hospital.  J came in at this time to check on me and agreed that we needed to load up the hospital bag.

At 3:30 in the morning we pulled up at the hospital and checked in.  I was thinking I was at least at 3 cm dilated because I was hovering around a 4 on the pain scale.  When I was checked I was only 1.5 cm dilated so the nurse recommended we walk the halls for an hour and get re-checked.  (hello party of wimp)  While J and I were walking I would pull him in front of me and put my head in the middle of his chest and grip his arms.  He would then zip his jacket back up once we started walking.  After the third time doing this, and ripping his jacket zipper back down so I didn't head butt it, I finally growled at him mid-contraction.  "Leave your damn zipper alone!".   I did apologize once baby arrived. :)

After an hour of walking the halls I was checked and had made no progress.  (according to that nurse. Our delivery nurse, Orpha, told us she saw us leave that morning and knew I'd be back in that morning, I was laboring fast.)  With a "pep talk" from the nurse saying 'Labor is a marathon, not a sprint' (said in your most annoying voice) I felt defeated.  I knew that I was exhausted from no sleep and couldn't walk the halls for another hour.  The contractions were stronger and I was losing the ability to talk through them.  I asked J to take me home to labor for a while hoping I could rest between them and maybe even catch a little sleep.  We got home around 6 AM and I tried to nap on the couch but contracting every 2-3 minutes didn't give me much of a break.  So J ran me a hot bath and the sweet guy pulled in all of the blankets from the living room so he could lay on the floor next to me while I was in pain.

As much as I appreciated his concern, I told J to head to bed because I really needed him to get some sleep before the show really got going.  I was going to be leaning on him for my strength and if he was exhausted it wouldn't do either of us any good.  He reluctantly headed to bed and set his alarm for 20 minutes to come check on me.  The hot bath did WONDERS for the pain and I was finally able to close my eyes for just a few minutes.  Then THE contraction hit.  I went from a 3/4 on the pain scale to a 7.  I swear I was climbing the shower wall.  The next 15 minutes were a blur of me trying to put my clothes back on in the middle of much more intense contractions and then trying to find a comfortable position to labor in.  I was afraid if we headed back to the hospital I wouldn't have made much progress and I couldn't be admitted.  J saw how much pain I was in and encouraged me to hit the road.  This time, there was no way I could sit in the front seat.  I COULD NOT labor sitting down.  So instead I climbed into the very back of the Jeep and rocked back and forth on my hands and knees until we arrived.

**Contractions are NO JOKE!**

At the hospital I was in so much pain that I wouldn't let J stop at the admitting desk on the main floor.  Instead I headed straight to the elevator to go to the Woman and Children's floor.  When we walked to the main desk full of nurses at 9:30 in the morning J announces ' She was at a 5 earlier, but she's at an 8 now.'  I was in the middle of a contraction I couldn't breathe through and the nurses jumped to life at his announcement.  Once I could breathe, I informed them '8 on the pain scale.'  That brought out a few laughs!  Turns out, J wasn't far off.  

Our most amazing nurse, Orpha, took us to a room and checked me.  Less than 3 hours after we left the hospital at 1.5 cm dilated, I was 7 cm dilated and beginning transition.  As soon as she made the announcement I yelped out "Epidural!  I want one now!'.  I was suddenly scared that if an epidural wasn't administered soon, I would end up delivering with out pain meds.  That sent me into slight hysterics.  I was in excruciating pain, my back would not stop hurting and contractions were coming 2-2 1/2 minutes a part and lasting for a minute or longer.  For someone who's never had menstrual cramps, this was a whole new experience and one I was not mentally prepared for.

The next hour was a blur of nurses putting in an IV (which I don't remember at all.  J said I put my arm behind me, buried my face in the side of the bed and groaned through contractions), running blood work and having Orpha massage my back while J let me attempt to break his fingers.

Side note - I had no clue I am able to grip that tightly.  I don't even remember holding his hands that hard!  He had to take off his wedding ring between contractions because I was causing him pain.

Once the anesthesiologist arrived, I was hopeful that I would make it.  I had gotten inside my head that the pain was never going to end but I refused to announce that 'I can't do this'.  I refused to have a C-Section if I could help it and I was mentally struggling with my capabilities.  J on the other hand, was a rock.  I knew that putting my strength in him was going to get me through the next few contractions before the epidural kicked in.  The epidural process was quick and painless.

Once the epidural kicked in, it was a whole different world.  My super awesome Dr had arrived during my contractions, but I was in so much pain I hadn't noticed.  I finally saw her and was excited that this was really it!  Our baby is coming!!  At 11:00 she checked me and said I was at a 9 and she asked to break my water.  I was ok with it and thankfully it was clear.  That gave me the go-ahead to nap for a little over an hour before I started pushing.  Orpha hung out in our room the whole time prepping for the baby and finishing admitting paperwork with J.

The only pre-birth photo.  Epidural was a success!
At 12:30 my Dr came back and checked me again,  She said baby's head was already coming through the birth canal and I could start pushing at anytime.  Orpha prepped the bed and J and I were giddy with excitement.  The best part of my epidural was that I could still feel my lower legs and I could feel some pressure when I was having a contraction.  I felt like I had some control during my pushes.  The downside to my epidural was my contractions had slowed down to 4 minutes apart.  After Orpha walked me through a few different pushing techniques and had me do some practice pushes, we began the real deal.  I honestly loved every minute of pushing.  J, my Dr and our nurse had a blast between contractions.  We were cracking jokes and debating baby's sex and birth weight.  Every time I laughed the baby made more progress too!  Who knew laughing would help push the baby out?!

1 1/2 hours after I started pushing, the baby's head was out and I felt time freeze as I stared at J's face.  I knew that the next words he said were going to tell me if I had a son or a daughter.  Once the baby was fully out, J's eyes filled with excitement and he said ' It's a boy!'.  I couldn't believe him and asked him to repeat himself.  'It's a boy!' he tearfully chocked out and we both started crying.  #wiggydiggy was put on my chest for skin to skin and J and I stared at him in awe.  I was totally oblivious to everything else in the room.  My Dr was stitching up my minor tear and delivering my placenta.  Our nurse and the baby's nurse were cleaning up the room and checking #wiggydiggy's stats.  Our hospital is amazing and does everything with the baby on momma's chest, so #wiggydiggy and I weren't separated until that evening when they weighed and measured him.   All the while J and I were staring teary eyed at our little boy.  Our son.



At 2:25 PM on Wednesday December 3rd, our son was born.  He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

J and I are over the moon with our little man and couldn't be happier to be a family of three.  This chapter of our lives is going to be the greatest one yet.


So far my recovery has been a breeze and we are navigating nursing. Our lactation consultant was amazing and #wiggydiggy is plumping up nicely :). Now if only J would let me change a diaper!

post signature

Friday, December 12, 2014

Friday Five

-One-
We survived our first week!
This little man sleeps the day away.

-Two-
I've totally lost track of the days.  Every morning when J leaves for work I'm surprised it's not the weekend yet!  I'm so glad he's taking vacation next week when my mom heads home.


-Three-
Now that we have a BOY we are excited to start putting up decor in the nursery.  Our recent purchase:



-Four-
With breastfeeding, I've found myself looking for a new show on Netflix.  I ended up on Gossip Girl.  I was a HUGE Gilmore Girl fan in high school and own all of the seasons, so I thought it would be a fun guilty pleasure to indulge in.  So far, I'm hooked.

But I'm open to suggestions for my next show!

-Five-
I have never been in love with my husband anymore than now.  Watching him rock his roll as Dad and taking amazing care of me for the past week has been such a blessing.  I always knew he was the best man around.  I love you .  To the moon and back.


Linking up
September Farm
Farmers Wife





post signature

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

40 Weeks - We Have a Baby!


#wiggydiggy arrived one week early after 12 hours of labor.

We are thrilled that he decided to show up before 40 weeks!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Introducing

It's a BOY!!!!

nicknamed #wiggydiggy

12/03/2014
2:25 PM
7 lbs 5 oz
21 1/2 inches long







We are so in love.
post signature

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

39 Weeks

Edit:  This photo was taken at 12/2/14, 5:30PM.  7 1/2 hours later I went into Labor at 39 Weeks.

How far along:  39 Weeks

Baby size: Size of a watermelon!  Around 20 inches and 7 pounds.

Baby's progress:   Baby is just putting on weight while waiting to arrive!

Weight gain: 15 pounds - my cold has prevented me from enjoying eating.

Stretch marks:  Still in the clear.  Morning is Burt's Bee's Mama Bee's and evening is Burt's Bee's vitamin E oil.

Sleep:  Haven't slept too well due to my cold.  Congestion leads to lots of nose blowing and coughing :(  

Gender: SURPRISE!!!

Movement: Movement is getting less and less as they lose more room.  It's more like a whole body shift.

Best moment this week: Hosting the family at home for Thanksgiving.  Even though I was at the worst part of my cold, I loved having the house full.

Looking forward to:  Meeting our little Love Bug!  We are SO CLOSE!!!

Food cravings:   Being sick has taken away all of my appetite.  

Belly Button - In or Out:  It's flat now.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Wedding Rings - On or Off:   On

Labor signs:  False labor showed up on Saturday and Sunday.  It's getting real!

What I miss:  Being healthy.  This cold is for the birds.

Symptoms: False labor - contractions that are irregular but getting painful.

Workouts: Just walking.  

Things that suck:  Thinking about labor and delivery too much.

Things that don't suck:  Knowing this is the final week of pregnancy.

post signature