Back to Work

My last post was Jan 22nd. Time flies when you're taking care of a newborn!

Last night I read Amy Kilpatrick's blog. She is our preacher's wife, and I couldn't help but laugh. She was basically saying in a funny way that as a mother there is not enough time in the day to clean, cook, take care of yourself, and your baby (and did I mention go to work?). She has three kids, bless her heart. I can't imagine. I was laughing as I was reading her blog because while I was out on leave with Kelsi there were many days when I didn't get to brush my teeth or shower until TJ got home. Having a baby is life changing for sure. Daddy (Grandaddy) and Mama (Grammy) helped out so much during my time off. I don't know what we'd do without them!

This week I had to go back to work. I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. TJ and I are very fortunate to have a wonderful babysitter, my best friend's mother, Mrs. Charlene to keep Miss Kelsi. If I had to drop her off at a germ filled daycare where she wouldn't have been paid any attention I probably would've lost it, but I know she is in good hands.

I have only gone to work for five days, but I can already tell you my routine of waking up at the last minute is OVER! The day starts at 5:00 am and it still seems like I'm running to get her to the babysitter on time and me to work on time. It's a challenge, but I LOVE being a mommy.

She's almost 8 weeks old and I don't know what I'd do without her already. I love to watch her funny faces and listen to her grunt and growl as she wakes up. When she's sleepy but she still wants to see what's going on she opens one eye like Popeye. It's so funny! Sometimes she will hold her bottle and she always grabs a handful of my shirt while I'm holding her. When she cries and I pick her up and she snuggles me because all she wanted was mommy to hold her it just makes everything worth it. Her sweet little smile melts my heart. I'm so blessed to have such a sweet baby girl!

Working mother is a bit redundant...saw this and thought it was very fitting!

Newborn pictures will be coming as soon as I have time to add them!

An Angel Without Wings

Well, i titled my last blog "Come on Baby" and that's just what she did a little over 2 days after writing that. Kelsi will be 2 weeks old on Monday and I have discovered that life with a newborn is very challenging and exhausting, while also very rewarding and worth every minute of it. So this is how the weekend of her arrival played out...

Saturday night, January 8^th, TJ and I went out to eat at Red Lobster and saw the movie Country Strong. We had a great time, came home, and settled in for bed as usual.  I had become very accustomed to going to the restroom 24/7. So during the night I went to the restroom, and I will just say that I noticed things I never had before. I had read that when those things take place labor can be a few days away. So I woke TJ up and told him about it, and then we spent the early morning hours laying there worrying about it. In birthing class Nurse Julie told us that we could always call the labor and delivery floor if we thought we were going into labor. So I called and they told me that I likely was not going into labor and that what was happening was typical for where I was at in the pregnancy, 38 weeks.

Well, Sunday we decided to watch a movie. I was lying down and Mama had called and I was talking to her. I had been feeling a lot of pressure and I was quite uncomfortable. While I was talking to her and telling her about the things I was feeling I had to get up to go to the bathroom. TJ pulled me up and when I stood up to go to the bathroom a small gush of water came out. When I told Mama she said, “I’m taking a shower. We are on the way.” So I called labor and delivery back and they told me that sometimes the baby’s head can press down on your bladder and make you use the bathroom on yourself. I thought to myself I know that was not pee! So I called the doctor on call, which was Dr. Litsey. He called me back and I explained. He said, “Don’t eat or drink anything, just come on in.”

Upon arriving to the hospital around 5:00 p.m. I was quickly checked in to an observation room. The nurse did a test with a strip of paper that turns a different color if you have amniotic fluid leaking. She looked at it and said she didn’t think it had broken. So I told myself false alarm, get ready to go home. Well, Dr. Litsey came in and examined me and said, “The bag HAS broken.” To which my response was, “Did you say HAS broken?” He told us yes and that we were going to be admitted and he would finish breaking the bag. I asked, “So there’s no turning back after that, right?” His exact reply was, “You won’t be going home without a baby.”

So we got set up in the labor and delivery room. We met Paula, our nurse, and she explained what was to come. I wasn’t having contractions at this time…Then Dr. Litsey came in and finished breaking the bag. I would say about 15 minutes after that I started having contractions. It happened so fast that there wasn’t enough time for me to tell the nurse I needed the epidural an hour in advance. So began the worst pain I have ever felt. The best way I can describe it was if say Hulk and Superman both had the ends of my insides and were twisting them as hard as they possibly could.

I lost track of time, but TJ thinks that whole episode went on for about an hour. I kept saying that I thought I was supposed to get a break in between because before one could stop another would start. Mama and TJ soothed me through each one the best they could, but by the time the ant. got there I truly felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. However, he finally arrived and I still don’t understand why those guys take forever to get there, but within 15 minutes of getting the epidural the pain stopped. I was always afraid of getting the epidural, but to me that part was a walk in the park.

I lost track of time because I just felt so relieved that I wasn’t hurting anymore. Contractions came and went and I never felt a one. The dr. came in every few hours to check my progress. When we arrived at the hospital I was 3cm dilated. The next time he checked 4.5, then 8, then the next time he said I was ready to push. Pushing started at 12:50 a.m. It was tiring and a lot of work, but manageable, thanks to the miraculous epidural. TJ and Mama stayed back with me and encouraged me. The nurse was also super sweet and very encouraging. Around 3:00 a.m. Dr. Litsey came in and said he would give me about 20 more minutes if I could handle it and if she hadn’t crowned by then he would use the suction cup. For some reason I didn’t like the idea of him sucking her out, so I tried to push even harder and it worked. The dr came back in for the last few sets of pushes and the next thing I know he was pulling her out.

Then they laid her on my chest. She came out crying and with her eyes wide open. When they laid her on me I couldn’t help but cry and I started talking to her. She seemed to calm down a little. Although she was covered with white goo from head to toe she was the most beautiful and amazing miracle from God that I had ever laid my eyes on.

Kelsi Shianne Jeffares weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz and was 20 ¼ inches long. I had expected I would be a week late with a huge baby, but we ended up going 2 weeks early with a tiny baby. She is just perfect. I spent so many days wondering what she would look like and praying that she would be healthy and I would have a safe delivery, and God answered every one of those prayers.

Having your first born child is the most surreal feeling in the world. She is alomost 2 wks old now and I find myself just staring at her in amazement. It still hasn’t really sunk in. TJ has always known that the thing I wanted most in life was to be a mother. I can’t believe it’s here, but now it’s time to hang on for the crazy ride of parenthood. I’m going to try to take in every moment because so many people have told me that time flies by.  So for now I will enjoy every feeding, diaper change, sound she makes, facial expression, yawn, etc. I am so grateful for this blessing from God.

Come on baby!!

Well Christmas and New Years have come and gone, along with our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's funny to think from here on out we won't be celebrating these things as a couple anymore, but as parents to a baby girl. We will be a little family! The whole concept is still mind blowing and very surreal! I am sooo ready for her to get here. I find myself daydreaming about what color her eyes will be, if her ears will stick out a little like her daddy's, if she will have a pug little nose like mine, and mostly how big she will be! I feel her moving and getting around inside of me everyday, and it is amazing to know that our little girl is growing inside of me...BUT I am ready to meet her. So is her Daddy and grandparents and Uncle Shaye, along with many other excited family and friends. Our last dr's appt showed no progress. However, everything checked out good. We do not go back to the dr. until Friday, the 14th. That seems like forever. A lot of people at work think she will be arriving early. TJ and I have made up our minds that she will be late. The dr. said he won't let me go longer than a week over. I'm thinking if she's not here by then we should just induce on her due date, Jan 23rd! Work has become a big challenge. I get very tired and have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. This makes for a tough day! But like everyone tells me- it will be here before I know it and then I will know what it's like to be tired! So for now we will count down the rest of the 16 days (at least), and I will just have to be content watching Kelsi kick around for a few more weeks!

31 days to go!!

Well, time is slipping away, and Kelsi's arrival is right around the corner! We went to the doctor today and he said I'm about 1 cm dialated, Kelsi measured 37 in (at 35 wks 3 days), and her heart rate was 150 bpm. I know better than to be excited about the 1cm because I've heard of all the women who went for weeks at 2cm dialated, etc. But the dr says "it's better than 0, the cup is half full". I asked hime to estimate how big he thought she would be and he said somewhere in the 8 lb range, so that's not too bad. At the last appt I had finally gained some weight, 3 lbs. Well when I went today I had lost it!!So I guess I am back at 0 on the weight gain front. The dr says it's perfectly fine though bc Kelsi is growing. He also said that she is head down, in the right position. I guess that's all there is to update on for now. Here are a few of my favorite maternity pix!!

7 weeks to go!

Since the last time I wrote we have had our last shower, which was given by Tara, Allison, Courtney, and Autumn. It was a lot of fun! It was a couples shower and we played a few games. One was where TJ and I had to answer questions about the baby and how things will be and then guess what each other said. I said that I would be the one to get up Kelsi, TJ said he would! We will see! Another game was where TJ and I had to drink out of bottles and see who could drink the most in a certain amount of time. TJ won. The other game was where they melted different kinds of candy in diapers and everybody had to guess what candies they were. This looked pretty disgusting. Some people were smelling and tasting the diapers. We recieved many beautiful clothes and precious gifts for Miss Kelsi. We all had a great time! We are blessed with great friends and family!

The hostesses

                                                            Autumn made the cake!!

                                          
                                                  Jade and Nick tasting the diapers!!

Yesterday Roxanna, Tara, Courtney, Allison, Autumn, and I had our annual Christmas party! It is always so much fun and it was this year! We ate, played Dirty Santa, and took lots of pics. It's so funny bc Autumn, Tara, and I are all pregnant at the same time. I wouldn't have imagined that this time last year! Tara was 17 wks along, Autumn 20 wks, and I was 33 wks!At our Christmas party next year we will be going from 2 kids to 5! There just might be more on the way by then!

Today we took our maternity pics with Jennifer Young. She was really sweet and we had a good time taking the pics. She showed us a few on the camera as we were going along and I think they are going to turn out great! They should be ready for us to view in about a week and I can't wait to see how they all turned out!

Well, there are 10 working days for me until Christmas break! Woohoo!Our next dr's appt is Wed. We will have one more 2 wk appt after that and then go to once a week! I can't believe how close we're getting to Kelsi's arrival. We are getting so excited. We just can't wait to see what she looks like. I'm getting a little nervous bc I am starting to think this baby's gotta come out of me!!Oh boy!

Getting Closer by the Day

Well, I am almost 31 weeks along now, which means we will be in single digits in the amount of weeks til Lil' Bit gets here! I am so thankful for the 9 days I am about to have off of work. Being pregnant really does wear you out. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We had our church shower and my work shower, where we received oodles of precious gifts for Miss Kelsi. I haven't gotten it all organized just yet, but I plan to work on it while I am off next week. We have also been taking our birthing classes. Our last one is this Monday. The highlights were seeing a video of an actual birth and visiting the hospital to see the room where we will deliver and how all of that will work.

I am feeling Kelsi move all the time now. I never really felt the butterfly movements that a lot of women describe, or at least I didn't recognize them. Dr. Marnio told me not to worry that around 28 weeks I should start feeling movements that were more like kicks. He was right! Probably around that time I started to feel little kicks, and now she's going at it all the time. I love it though because it helps me to rest assured that she is doing just fine. I love to lay around and feel her kicking. There have been times where I have seen her kick through my belly- pretty neat! The last time we were at the doctor I was reading a magazine and had it propped on my belly. She kicked me hard and it made the magazine jump!

The last time we went to the doctor she measured 2 cm ahead. I still haven't gained any weight, with 2 months to go! That is a miracle within itself! We are going to the doctor every 2 weeks now and go again this Monday. Dr. Marino said he thinks she will be a big baby. I am hoping she won't be as big as me at 10lbs 4 1/2 oz, 23 in long! I am glad Thanksgiving is right around the corner, then Christmas, then baby! Life is so exciting right now and we are so blessed!

The Blessing

Dear Kelsi,

It is your daddy....I would like to take this oppurtunity to tell you that I am very anxious to see you. I hope you are excited to see me as well. While I am excited about seeing you, I am also just as equally scared. I worry if I will be everything you need. Will I be able to answer every question or solve every problem that you come upon? Probably not, but I gaurantee I will love you and guide you along the way. I wish nothing but the best for you. I can't wait to see which of us you look like....I know you will be beautiful, especially if you look like your mother. Your mother was my blessing, and you are hers. I found myself tonight already planning a trip for us to go Disney World. You don't know what that is yet, but I promise you will know soon. I know your grandparents are excited to see you as well. You have no idea how spoiled you will be....and you probably are going to be catching bass that weigh more than you do. We are all looking forward to your arrival.

I am very anxious to see you.....Kelsi Shianne.....

I love you....

Daddy....