The Happiest Day of Our Lives

I don't think I ever knew what we were about to experience when we got pregnant with Caroline. People try to tell you that your lives are going to change forever and that you do not know what real love is, but until you actually get to that point it all remains just words. The day she was born will forever remain in my heart. I literally sit here at home and stare at her sometimes and cry because I am so overjoyed and thankful that God entrusted me with her. Yes, the hormones probably help with that, but it is the sweetest feeling I have ever experienced. 

This is when I was dilated to around 5. I received my epidural earlier in the morning and was just experiencing pressure throughout contractions. If I could do it all over again I would do it the same. The epidural made me get to enjoy every minute by making the pain bearable. 

We were so happy but nervous. Kyle stayed by my side for almost the entire day. He also helped deliver Caroline. Watching my husband pull her out and lay her on top of me was amazing. 

Uncle A is going to be the best uncle. He was just as excited as we were. 

One of the best labor nurses in the world. I had asked Jennifer if she would labor me if she was working when we were there. Kyle and I are both so thankful that she was there. Although I only labored from 7 or so until she was born at 1:37pm, Jenn coached me the entire time and was so helpful, kind, and patient. When I turned from my right side to my left and went from 6 cm to 9.5 cm in around 30 minutes, she was on top of getting everything ready in a matter of minutes. Not to mention that when it was all over this girl basically picked me up and helped bathed me and washed my hair….with a smile on her face. We bonded that day.

This is the only picture I had of Dr. Justice that was actually presentable. He just thought he was going to sit down at Wendy's and eat lunch until he got the call that I was dilated to 9.5. He loves me so much that he got a police escort back to the hospital so he could make it. :) If he didn't he knew he would never hear the end of it. 

 The rest of the pictures pretty much tell our story…the tears are the happiest I have ever cried in my life. I know some of these pictures show me at my most vulnerable moments but they are so special to me that I wanted to share. 

There is nothing in the world like staring at your child for the first time. 

Being a mother is absolutely the best reward God has ever given me. I already have seen myself transition from my old self where the world revolved around Kyle and I to a full on mother in mindset in every action that I take. I also have realized just how much I can get done on no sleep. Life is so much sweeter these days. 

Welcome Baby Caroline

Caroline Reese Page

Born February 19th, 2015 at 1:37 p.m.

6 lb. 14 oz.

20 1/2 inches 

Introducing to the world my beautiful baby girl. As I am sitting here typing this, we are 18 hours post-birth and we are all doing great. I figure it might be a few days (or weeks-hope not) before I can post about our birth experience and first days of life so I wanted to do a quick update. Life is so sweet and so good with this little girl. Her mama might not have slept a wink last night, but she is totally worth it. Thanking the Lord constantly for this healthy little baby. 

Valentines 2015

This post is nothing special and normally Kyle and I do not treat Valentine's day different than any other day but I decided that since this might be our last weekend together before Caroline arrives that I would write about it. 

I woke up at 6:45 a.m. to Kyle tapping me on the shoulder and giving me a box of Dove chocolates and a card. Some girls may not be a fan of traditional chocolates but I am that girl who eats something chocolate every day so a box of chocolates makes me nothing but happy! Kyle and I also have this thing going since we have been married that he always gets me dog cards for birthdays/holidays since I love dogs so much. This years was my favorite but I forgot to take a picture. 

This is week 38 and the physical changes of pregnancy are really tolling on my body. I am pretty sure C has grown quite a bit because my back hasn't hurt much this entire pregnancy (partially due to the chiropractor) but today it was killing me. And still is. I stayed at home yesterday and got some things done so today we got out for a couple of hours and strolled Bridgestreet in the pretty 50 degree weather. I knew that we would be walking a lot so I planned my outfit around the shoes I wanted to wear…a pair of leopard print Croc flats. I knew they would be super comfy and sure enough after walking around for a couple of hours my feet weren't hurting that bad. Of course we knew Bridgestreet would be crowded but I didn't realize that everyone and their brother would stare at me. Some people act like they have never saw a pregnant lady before but I just smiled anyway. 

Nothing makes Kyle and I happier than being at home in pajamas and having nothing to do….we could seriously do this every day. Right now, we are home at 7:30 pm watching Netflix and wrapped up in blankets. I have my magazines, Lemon Oreos, and a glass of milk beside me. :) The only thing about being at home and resting is that the past few weeks I just can't get comfortable. Or if I do, I can't stay that way very long due to C moving around on me. 

I have to brag on my Valentine before I end this post. I haven't had much of an appetite at home the past few weeks but the one thing that Kyle makes that I love is grilled cheese. No joke, every day for about 2 weeks that he has been home he has made me a grilled cheese. So what do you think I picked for my dinner tonight when we got home?

I told him that I was going to take a picture of him making it for me so that I could tell Caroline how many grilled cheese sandwiches we consumed during my pregnancy. :) Anyways that is it for my Valentine's post.. we relaxed and are patiently waiting for little girl to join us in this big crazy world! 

Last Few Weeks!

We have finally reached the countdown. A few weeks until my sweet daughter makes her world debut. Kyle and I are getting pretty excited and a little nervous at the same time. We had our 37 week appointment this week and Dr. Justice says that I am dilated one centimeter. I don't know if he just told me that to make me feel better or because I really am dilated, but I do know that tons of pregnant women stay at a one for weeks so we will have to see what happens this week at our 38 week appointment. I do know that it was an unpleasant experience getting "checked" to see if I was dilated and that epidural is sounding better and better. 

The last trimester of this pregnancy has actually been fun although exhausting. Lots of people have told me that I am "all belly" which makes you feel good when you feel like the size of a whale. The heartburn that I had in the previous months doesn't compare to the heartburn I am experiencing this month. Now that she weighs 6+ pounds the food struggle is real. I try not to eat dinner after 6pm because I have figured out that if I eat at 7 or 8 then lie down shortly after around 9, I wake up throwing up.  This happens even with my medicine. Poor Kyle just got into a routine for a while of crawling out of bed, wetting a washcloth for me, and helping me off my knees. He has been very patient. Work has also been a little trying this past month. I no longer have my energetic spunk and it takes me a little longer to do things I used to could whip through. This week I cut back to two days and it's killing me! I keep reminding myself that this is only temporary. :)

I don't know if any other first-time parents are like Kyle and I, but we (okay, especially me) have been busy getting super prepared for C's arrival. The carseat has been in my car for a week now. I have washed 0-3 month clothes, burp cloths, bibs, bouncer and rock-n-play covers, and socks. Dresser drawers are organized and closet is somewhat organized.  Dreft has become one of my new favorite smells…it is so sweet smelling. Bottles and bottle parts have been boiled. Bags have been packed. A few times. :) I spent an hour or more on Pinterest collaborating two different lists, one for my hospital bag and one for Caroline's.  My cousin is letting me borrow her Medela and I have already ordered the replacement parts and crossing my fingers that nursing works out. I know, I probably sound like a lunatic, but it's just something about a first baby and knowing your life is about to change that makes you want to be super prepared. (Although you are never prepared!)

Caroline's nursery is almost complete for now. I still haven't posted pictures because we have things in the corner we need to install, like her carseat base for Kyle's truck. I also have a half bookshelf I bought at an antique store last year that Kyle is supposed to be finishing to put in the nursery soon. I am not too worried about it though because I do realize that having a bookshelf finished before her arrival isn't too important. I do have this picture, and this might me my favorite spot in the nursery.

 Although I do not know all that much about parenting/newborn life yet, our plan is for Caroline to start out in our room in her Mini-Arc Co Sleeper Bassinet that I just love! One of the four walls slides down and the bassinet can be pulled beside the bed at night so I can just pull her over for night time feedings. I read countless great reviews online so I figured the choice was easy. This is the color that I ordered.

I had a weird episode on Monday at work. I was just working as normal in one of our operating rooms and started seeing black splotches and felt my knees go weak. Turned out my blood pressure was 80's/30's in both arms so up to OB we went. I was not dilated nor having contractions and baby C was just doing her thing, but I do have a urinary tract infection and more than likely was dehydrated. Sigh…really? I have pretty much kept a urinary tract infection on the right side this whole pregnancy… will be glad to see it gone! So instead of going back to work like I wanted, I didn't go back until Wednesday and now I am at home again. There are only so many episodes of TV shows I can watch, loads of laundry I can do, or crossword puzzles I can complete until I go stir-crazy. I am not an OB nurse and have only basic knowledge of these things so I didn't know much about this monitor. It monitored baby's heart rate and my uterine activity to make sure I was not having contractions on Monday. 

Like I said earlier, the past few weeks have been pretty exhausting so maybe I will have time to take a couple more belly pics before she gets here. I will end this post with a picture of Alada and I at her little surprise birthday dinner! (Like my Instagram caption states, ignore the fact that my face is fat and my skin is pasty! #pregnantgirlprobs) I am waiting to get the pictures from my home shower so that will be a post for another day… maybe before she gets here!