Bentley's Birthday!!

Bentley was born on January 12, 2011!! I was induced about 7:30...started pushing at 3:00 and he was here by 3:30... I was very blessed to have an amazing nurse, Karrie Galyon, and a smooth delivery. He was 8lbs. 5 oz. and was 21 inches long...hard to believe he was inside of me!! Steve and my mom were in the room during the delivery. It was the GREATEST day of our lives!!

Too excited to sleep!!

I am up with pregnancy insomnia so thought I'd write a little more. I hate it when I don't write for so long b/c I feel like there are things that I have forgotten. Here are a few more thoughts I've been having and things that have been going on the last few weeks...
-I got a prenatal massage after Christmas. It was a gift from Steve. I was 37 weeks and apparently they can't give the full massage after 33 weeks because it could cause you to go into labor. The girl had to modify it so she didn't hit any pressure points...would have been fine with me if she put me in labor! lol
-Steve has been on my case about caffeine and hot water in the bath tub. Everytime we go out to eat and I order a diet coke I get the evil eye! And he researched online about the temperature of baths and found out that it was ok as long as the water is under 102 degrees...so he has checked it a couple of times with a thermometer. So funny! But it makes me feel good that he cares and is just trying to take care of us.
-My gall bladder is still bothering me, I've just been trying not to complain about it as much. I hope it stops when Bentley arrives. If not, I will be getting it checked out and possibly removed. I am sooooo tired of it hurting!
-Steve's parents have decided that they will be called Oma & Opa...Steve's mom is from Germany so I think it is very sweet that they decided to be called that. My parents are going to be called Nana & PopPop. I have been calling them that for years when I tell Gunter we are going to their house so it should be easy to remember.
-I have been reading a lot on this website called BabyCenter...It has lots of women on it that are pregnant and you can join birth clubs and talk with women who are due the same month as you. They post blogs & questions and other moms comment on it. It has been very interesting to read and neat to see some of the other women who are going through some of the same things as me.
-Steve and I went to tour the hospital at West Ga Medical Center where I am delivering. They just built a new wing that includes Labor &Delivery, ER, and ICU...The L&D is sooooo nice!! It's painted so pretty with huge b&w portraits of babies on the walls and the rooms are HUGE!! The downside is that after you deliver and recover you go to a postpartum room for the next 2 days. The post partum rooms are in the older part of the hospital and they are very small and not near as nice. Steve said it's gonna be like going from the Hilton to a Motel 6! lol
-While we were there a sweet little nurse named Isa gave us the tour. I also know a nurse named Karrie that works there...it is comforting to know that there are such great nurses and I know I will be taken care of. Karrie's kids go to my school and her daughter was in prek a couple of years ago so it might be a little weird, but I've heard that once you are in labor you just don't care and the nurses have seen it all so they think nothing about all of the things I will go through. I hope that is true!
-My friend Miranda gave me the idea to create a "group" in my phone for Steve to call with baby updates. I did that yesterday so he will easily be able to call/text my friends and family and let them know everything that is going on Wednesday.
-I have heard some horror stories, but mostly encouraging things about being induced on WEdnesday. I cannot wait for my appt. tomorrow to see if I'm progressed more! I wish I would go in and be like 4 cm and my water would break at the dr's office and we could just ride next door to the hospital...haha!! That would be nice! I want to mentally prepare myself for the pain, but I also know that everyone is different and my labor will be it's own thing. So far my body has taken the pregnancy well so I hope it continues.
-I am looking forward to seeing his sweet face and hearing him cry and holding him for the first time. I was watching a baby story on TLC last week and there was this sweet mama on there and as soon as the baby came out her lips just started quivering and she could not stop smiling and crying...I got sooo emotional. I think I am going to be like that for sure. I have a bundle of emotions that I cannot even explain! I am interested to see how Steve handles the labor too. I know that he is going to be great and helpful to me b/c of how awesome he has been so far (esp. in my 3rd trimester). I wonder if he will cry? He is not much of a crier. My mama hopefully will get these things on video! I don't want all the gross stuff on video, but I would like some footage before the hospital and right when I got in and when I"m pushing (from a non graphic angle) and as soon as the doctor holds the baby up and my face and steve's face when we see him and hold him for the first time! Hope you are reading this mama!
-Well I guess that's it for now. I'm sure I'll post more Tuesday night while I am up and can't sleep!! I know, I just know, there is no way I am going to be able to sleep Tuesday night. I am gonna try, don't get me wrong but I have always had a hard time with this.. As a kid, going on family trips, Christmas, etc...I have never been able to sleep when I was excited. I am going to have a MILLION thoughts going through my mind!!

Last Belly Picture...READY!!!!

4 Days Until Our Precious LIttle Miracle Arrives!!

I've been a horrible blogger lately. The last time I posted I had four weeks until my due date and now it's just a little over a week....lots of things have happened since my last post!!


-Christmas was awesome! . We spent Christmas Eve with Steve's family. They got us the video monitor that we wanted and I've already been playing with it...I love it!! I am looking forward to being able to wake up in the middle of the night and just look over at it to check on him without having to go across the house. We spent the night with my parents so we could experience our last "Santa Claus" visit. It was very special and kinda sad to think about but I know next year is going to be so much fun! On Christmas day we went to Nanny's and it started snowing when we got home! It was beautiful!!! The day after Christmas my daddy's side of the family came over for our family get together. It was a lot of fun! Steve got me a very nice Nikon camera so we will be able to take good pictures of Bentley when he arrives...he heard me talking about how cool the camera was on Oprah one day and immediately looked it up online to research about it..he's such a researcher! Anyway, I was very surprised and I'm thankful to have such a thoughtful husband that pays attention to me.

-After our Christmas get together with my daddy's side of the family, they threw me a blessing shower. It was so sweet and thoughtful. Everyone went around the room giving advice to me and Steve and wrote a special blessing for Bentley to go in a blessing book. We also played a fun game called "Name that Baby" and it described all kinds of kids in our family and we had to guess who we thought it was based on the description... I think everyone had fun doing that and I learned a lot about some of the babies in our family that I didn't know! My cousins Jennifer, Carol, and Brenda hosted the shower and they did a fantastic job. It was obvious that a lot of love and time went into making it a very special day. Oh yea, I forgot to say that Steve got some pretty hilarious gag gifts consisting of: parenting vocabulary cards, duct tape, goggles, pooper scooper, etc... We are blessed to have such a wonderful family!! Here are a few pictures from the shower...
-We finally got the carseat installed! It was tricky...Steve thought he had it all put together right then started looking at the directions better and realized he had done something wrong. We started out with it in the middle but moved it over to the passenger side because it was going to be so hard to get in to!


-Our bags are packed! I have a full size suitcase packed and ready...I have stuff for me, STeve and Bentley and it took up way more room than I was expecting. I don't know why they say pack a "bag" they should say pack a suitcase...there were just so many things I wanted to take. Steve said, "They are gonna think we are moving in!" Mama has my dress that I'm planning on wearing home and she is gonna bring it for me so it doesn't get all wrinkled up in the suitcase.



-Speaking of mama, I don't know what I would have done without her the past few weeks. She takes such good care of me. She and daddy came over and cleaned my house from top to bottom before our family get together. They swept, mopped, cleaned the toilets, tub, and shower, cleaned off the porches, dusted, even vaccuumed the couches!!! Mama has also been over here several other times just to help me with random things like laundry, grocery shopping, etc... She has been wonderful to me and I'm so thankful for her!



-And the big news I guess is that we know that Bentley will be here this Wednesday. When I went for my 37 week appt. I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced...then last week I was 2 cm...I had talked to Steve about what he thought about me getting induced and he said he wasn't opposed to it. I had heard my dr. would induce at 39 weeks and I asked him at my 38 week appt. just to see what he thought and he said he felt comfortable doing it. The main reason I was interested in it was b/c of my maternity leave and his size. I am going back to work the first of March and I was scared of going past my due date and only having 5 or 6 weeks with him...plus he is expected to be almost 8 lbs already and I don't want to risk him getting too big where I can't deliver him the way I want to! He said that I was a good candidate to be induced and that all the worries about it increasing the risk of csection would not be true for me. I am going for my 39 week appt. on Tuesday and if I still want to, he will induce me Wednesday morning. He already scheduled it for 5:30 am and said that he could cancel if I changed my mind. I'm hoping to be a little more progressed by Tuesday....I am thinking I will be b/c I've been feeling very different the past few days. I just LOVE my doctor...he's so nice and thorough and he is a great Christian and has always made me feel comfortable. I couldn't have asked for anyone better!

-Well I guess that's about it for now...I've started to get a little nervous but mostly I've just been trying to savor these last few days with Steve. It is so hard to believe that we will be parents in just a few days. We will be leaving Gunter with STeve's parents while we are staying in the hospital...he's not gonna know what to think about his new little brother!!! :) Our lives are about to change forever and I just don't even know how to describe the feeling I have inside about all of this. It's all been an answered prayer and a blessing from God and Steve and I just cannot wait to meet our precious baby boy!!

36 Week Belly Picture

36 Weeks!! Hopefully he will be here by this time next month. I've been so blessed with an easy pregnancy...thank goodness! I've been uncomfortable lately, but nothing unbearable. I'm loving the cozy sweatpants in this picture....I swear I could wear them everyday! Especially since it is cold outside and I'm home for the break. I think next week, after Christmas, Steve and I are gonna work on packing our "bag" and installing the carseat...he will be here very SOON!!!!

4 weeks & COUNTING!!

Well, it hasn't been that long since I last posted, but so much has happened that it feels like FOREVER!! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving...spent lunch in Greenville at Nanny's then came back to Steve's parents for dinner. I was so happy to have a few days off from school to destress & relax. Mama and daddy helped me put up my Christmas decor because they were both out too. Me and mama did most of the inside stuff and daddy did the outside stuff. I hung my "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament even though I probably should have waited til next year :)

The Saturday after Thanksgiving my cousin's Lauren & Amber and my aunt Susie threw me a baby shower in Greenville, so we were back on the road again. It was at my Nanny's church. It was very nice...I'm so thankful for those girls...nothing like having aunts & cousins that you are close to and spend so much time with. Family is the best! I got lots of good stuff...mostly clothes, blankets, etc... I also got the Little Lamb Swing that we registered for! It was put together the next day and I love it! It is so sweet and cuddly looking and it's gender neutral so we can use it for the next one no matter what. It plays the SWEETEST music...it is so weird to think that in about a month he will be here and the swing will no longer be just a piece of furniture in his little nursery.

The next weekend, some of my mom's best friends from her school threw me a shower in Beulah. I invited a lot of my close friends from high school and some other special people. I grew up going to school at Beulah and staying at the Elementary school after school with mama so I was very close to some and a lot of the teachers have watched me grow from little girl to now almost a mommy! The shower was a brunch and the food was amazing! The same group of friends threw us a wedding shower and they always put so much time & love into making everything so nice and making me feel special! I was happy that so many of my friends were able to come... Haley, Melissa E., Melissa W., Tamara, Amanda, Ashley S....my friend Audrey from Troy came all the way up and it was great seeing her. Nanny, Lauren, Taten, and aunt Susie came up for this shower too and it meant so much to me. I got some nice things that I didn't have. I felt very loved and it was a great day!!

My last shower was last Sunday night at mama's church. I grew up going there and they threw me a diaper/gift card shower. It was so nice...the food was delicious & the cake...well everyone was going on and on about how great it was. I took leftovers to my school and Steve's work and had tons of people asking who made it. There were also some adorable cookies that our friend Lane had gotten with his name on them. I am grateful for the sweet ladies that helped with everything!

I have had six amazing showers and cannot even express how grateful & blessed I feel! I have some kind, amazing, thoughtful, generous, hard working, people in my life and I just LOVE THEM ALL!! I always try to help out when I can and go to weddings, showers, birthdays, etc... for my family and friends. You just never know how much it means to them. When you have special things and so many people come and show you love it makes you realize how important it is to do those kinds of things. It has certainly meant a lot to me.

From Thanksgiving to Christmas we had 3 busy weeks back in school...I took a personal day to work on my progress reports and was very glad that I did. I always get so stressed during Christmas time and taking that day helped my stress level tremendously. I didn't want to be overworked and overstressed and go into labor early!!

I can't believe I made it all the way to Christmas break! I remember thinking at the beginning of school..."Christmas break is so far away and by that time I am gonna be wobbling all over the place!" Well here it is!! It went by so fast! I don't think I have actually started wobbling yet, but definitely at the end of a long school I feel achy and like I'm walking a little funny! Everyone at school keeps saying he looks like he has dropped, but I don't think he has cause I can still feel him kicking up in my ribs. It took me a long time to finally feel him move, but once I did it was NON STOP!! I love feeling him move. I know it is special for a mother to experience all of these things but I just wish Steve could feel what it was like too...he just knows what I tell him but it is just not the same!

Our childbirth class was great! We learned alot and it helped me to feel a little more prepared for things, although I know nothing can truly prepare you for being parents! Steve enjoyed it too I think. He did get a little weird about the whole epidural thing though...when we were watching the video it was showing some very dangerous risks and things and he was feeling a little like he didn't want me to have one. He said he wouldn't be mad at me if I got one but he wanted me to have an open mind and not just go in saying for sure that I was going to have one. Well this past week at my doctor's appt. he went with me and asked the doctor lots of questions about them and Dr. Bowie made him feel much better. He said, "I'm gonna ask him if his wife had one and that will tell me a lot!" Well Dr. Bowie didn't have anything bad to say about him and he reassured Steve that those risks were VERY rare...he had NEVER seen any of them in his ten years of delivering babies...and when Steve asked about his wife he said that she had had 2 of them...whew!! I believe he also said he thought they were one of the greatest things ever invented! I was SO glad that he made Steve feel better about it because I really want us to be on the same page when it comes to the delivery...even though ultimately it is about me and I am going to be the one going through everything...I know he will always be supportive of me no matter what but it is nice that he doesn't have those fears in the back of his head as much anymore.

Well I've managed to write a TON!! I feel like I will be able to keep up with the blog better now that I'm out on Christmas break. I'm thankful to be off and resting these last few weeks. When Bentley arrives I hope that I can share exciting things on the blog...when I have time!! I feel like the 7 weeks of maternity leave are going to go by so fast! But I'm not gonna think about that right now...Right now I just wanna focus on these last few weeks with my husband and getting things ready for my angel! Thank you for sharing this exciting journey with me!

Me & Steve at our childbirth class...we talked about pregnancy symptoms, labor & delivery, postpartum issues, breastfeeding, & infant care...it was very helpful & informative...I'm so glad we went!

Ok, I promise I'm gonna find time to post when we get out of school! For now...I'll just post a few pics from recent baby showers and our childbirth class. I've been so busy and absolutely exhausted after school lately...my brain kinda shuts down and I don't feel like writing. More to come soon!