I got a smile!!!

Today is a big day because Lucas smiled for the first time and not in his sleep. I was so lucky to have the camera sitting right next to me so I could capture this beautiful moment!! How sweet is this smile? I cannot believe that he is growing so fast already! I am so in love with my son and even more today with this gorgeous smile!!

moving on up!!

Today we went for a checkup at the doctor because I thought Lucas was getting sick and turns out he has an ear infection!! My poor baby only 1 month old and already has an ear infection!! The only good that came out of going to the doctor was getting the medication he needed to get better and to know that is already 9 lbs. 5 ounces! Wow my little man gained 2 pounds in a month! He is a great eater now which is such a relief!!

First real bath!!

Yay the umbilical cord is gone...does anyone know how freakin annoying the umbilical cord it? Diapers don't fit right and it was starting to smell like sewage...who wants their baby to smell like sewage? NOT MEEEE!!!!
So today I gave him his first bath! He didn't really know what to think! His little eyes got so big and he was making the cutest little noise! But he didn't cry which I expected! He did so good for his first bath. Daddy wasn't home to see it so I made sure to take pictures! He is 2 weeks exactly!
This bath tub is a nice bathtub...I love the netting...makes it so much easier to ensure he doesn't fall into the water or go under! Plus it gives me the opportunity to take pictures :)

First Halloween

Daddy and I decided to watch scary movies for Halloween since we had a newborn and I was still recovering...Lucas didn't care much for the scary movies and covered his eyes and went to sleep...he slept through every single one of them! I guess he was mighty comfortable on mommy!
Even though we didn't take Lucas out trick or treating we still got him a costume and of course it was a monkey!! This way at least he will have pictures of his first Halloween! I think he is the cutest little monkey in town!! He was still out of it and didn't care for his costume at all!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

First baby shoot with mommy

I couldn't resist it today!! I love baby pictures when they are all cuddled up in a ball...I had to put him on his belly while he was out and take a couple! I am sure daddy will love these!! My little guy is so precious! I swear he could be an anne geddes baby!! Especially like this!

One of my favorite things about babies are their precious little feet. Don't really care much for the adult feet but the baby feet I just have to kiss and rub and play with. I just absolutely love this picture of Lucas' feet! He has such tiny and cute feet! I am glad he has mommy's feet because daddy's feet just aren't that pretty :)

first trip to doctors

When Lucas was 5 days old we went to the doctor for the very first time. I was scared to death of Lucas getting sick since the doctors office we went to only had one room for sick and well children. Luckily they got us back quick. Lucas slept the whole time till we had to take his clothes off to weight him. He had lost a little bit of weight. Went from 7 lbs. 12 oz to 7 lbs. 8 ounces. I wasn't worried considering most babies loose about a pound when coming home from the hospital, but the doctor wanted us to come back in a week to make sure he was gaining weight. Since we were having trouble breastfeeding I was scared we would have to do even more formula then we already were and then he wouldn't breastfeed at all. The doctor tried to convince me that formula was ok and some people just couldn't breastfeed. I was an emotional wreck. I wanted to breastfeed and it sounded like she was discouraging me to keep trying but I did anyways. After the doctor examined Lucas she handed him over and I cuddled him in a blanket...about 2 minutes later I felt really warm and wet...yes that's right the doctor didn't put his diaper on right and he peed all over me. The whole bottom of my shirt was soaked in urine!! It was definitely an experience!!!
As soon as we got home from the doctor I attempted once again to breastfeed and he finally latched on. But, it was the only time he would that day. I was very discouraged and crying about everyday. This went on for about a week till finally he started latching on like he had been doing it forever. I was so thankful for all the support from my mom, sister and even Marcus was encouraging me to keep trying! I knew what was best for my son and I am glad I got to experience it!

Daddy time

Lucas is spoiled...the one thing I said I would never do is have the baby in bed with us...what i didn't realize when I said this was you will do ANYTHING to get some sleep. The only way Lucas will sleep is in bed with us. It makes it easier to just pick him up lay him in between my legs and change his diaper, and then feed him and lay him back down to sleep without ever leaving the bed!! Definitely helps when you are so sore that just moving one legs hurts!

We got into a routine where daddy would read to Lucas every night. It seemed after a couple days he was really into it. This is after a couple days of the routine. Lucas loves it when daddy reads to him. He loves it when daddy does anything...sing, read or just talk to him. He just stares at him like wow you're interesting!! ha. I guess he will be a daddy's boy after all!

First bath

The night we came home Lucas got his first bath...I cannot believe how horrible he screamed considering I had yet to hear him really cry. It was so heartbreaking to hear him cry but it was refreshing to smell a clean baby! We survived and now I get to cuddle with my sweet smell good baby.

First moments at home

We are finally home and ready to start our new lives as 3!! I cannot believe I brought my baby boy home. He is so small and sweet! When we walked in the door I just couldn't wait to get him out of his car seat and rock him in his own room in his rocking chair. I rocked him for about an hour. Just me and him cuddling and bonding!
It wasn't long till visitors started showing up and at first it was a little stressful. We were having trouble breastfeeding and I was in a lot of pain. I could barely move so the last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by people. I know everyone wanted to see the baby but since we just got home I just wanted to relax with my baby for a little while. But being the person I am I didn't say no.
My mom stayed at our apartment while i was in the hospital and stayed the night and that was a HUGE help! She had our apartment spotless when we walked in the door with Lucas. She also helped me a lot that first day because Marcus had a dinner he had to go to. It was wonderful having my mom there. She helped me with his first sponge bath (which he hated) and helped me around the apartment since I could barely move! I am glad she got that time with her new grandson too since she doesn't have much time to spare these days having 3 other grand kids that she watches on a daily bases!! So THANK YOU MOM!! I will never forget the generosity that you showed!!

Going Home

So we finally get the ok to go home! I was so looking forward to being in my own surroundings, on my comfy couch and my own shower!! The shower at the hospital was horrible and sooo small! We packed little Lucas up and headed out the door!
Getting wheeled out probably hurt worse then walking. Sitting was not comfortable for me and I guess it shouldn't be after pushing a watermelon out of an orange for 3.5 hours!!
When we got home Lucas and I took time to cuddle and rock. It was a great moment. I was still in so much pain and felt so huge and ugly but I loved the time I got with him!!

Days in the hospital

So being in the hospital is not fun at all. The room is tiny and I am so sore and swollen, I can barely get out of bed. I finally got to take a shower and feel a little better but I always know when my pain meds are about to wear off cause the pain is intense. I always told myself i was never going to send my baby to the nursery at night cause I finally got him now i want him with me at all times but I was so tired and worn out that I decided it was for the best. I got the nurse to bring him to me every 2-3 hours to eat.
Our days were spent cuddling, changing diapers and taking pictures. It was a great experience but can wait for awhile to do it again!

The Day I met my Son

At my last doctors appointment at 40 weeks my doctor decided to go ahead and induce me since my blood pressure was high. My due date was October 19th and was going to be induced that day. I was told to be at the hospital at 6 am, so I got up at 5 am and started getting ready. At 5:45 am we got a call from the hospital saying they were full and I would need to call back at 10 to see if any beds were open. At 10 I called and still no beds so they told me to call at 12. When I called at 12 they told me to be there at 2 pm. I was so upset. I just wanted my baby here!! SO we got there at 2 and we had to wait. All the beds were still taken. So there I was HUGE and ready and had to stand in the hallway waiting for things to start. While waiting I was getting texts left and right asking what was going on. Finally we were called and taken to a room. I was put in a gown and then waited and waited and waited! I thought they have forgotten about me until finally almost an hour later a nurse walked in to get me set up. By the time they got in there and hooked me up to the IV and asked the doctor what she wanted to do it was 5 pm and the doctor didn't want to really start anything till the next morning. Again I was so upset. It was not my fault they were taking forever and it was not my fault I had to come in late but yet I had to wait over night with no food and no drink. Even though I did sneak some crackers cause I was starting to shake and feel sick!

With the smallest amount of pitocin I started getting a lot of contraction and they were all pretty painful. At 11:47 pm my water broke on it's own and the real labor began. I was in so much pain and the contractions were so close together.
Around 4 am the nurse came in cause the babies heart rate kept dropping and so she wanted to check me and put me on oxygen. Then nurse was checking me and was like well there's the reason...and I was so worried something was wrong and she said you are 7 cm. In 3 hours I went from 4 cm to 7 and that is the reason the babies heart rate was dropping, I was moving fast.
So I called my sister and mom who came from Louisville late that night and were staying at our apartment. Since I asked my sister to be in the room I had to makes sure she was there for the big show. They both arrived at 5 with breakfast for Marcus. From that point on things were moving really fast. My epidural was starting to wear off and the pressure was unbelievable. I knew it was time. At 8 am I was ready to start pushing.
After 3.5 hours of pushing Lucas arrived! Marcus was sooo emotional and it was so cute! I didn't expect him to react the way he did! Lucas was amazing.
They put him on my chest and feeling him skin on skin was the best feeling in the world. The nurse was really concerned because he wasn't crying so they took him away to monitor him and give him oxygen.
His breathing still wasn't what they wanted and he was a little pale so they took him to the nursery to look over him and make sure he was ok. After 6 hours in the nursery he was completely fine! He just doesn't cry.

Proud Daddy

Daddy was very emotion when little Lucas was born. I don't think he knew he would react the way he did but he was so scared to even touch him at first. He was just balling his little eyes out which I loved. It was nice to see him cry. I think it really got to him when Lucas held his finger in the picture above. Already bonding and only minutes old. He admired his son while he was being worked on. I think he was in awe over his little boy! It was nice to have my sister there to capture all the moments!
Daddy was the lucky one who got to carry little Lucas to the nursery. Usually the baby would stay with the parents the whole time, he would get all his shots, and his first bath in the room with mom and dad but since Lucas had trouble breathing they took him to the nursery and told me i would see him later. I was disappointed, I didn't get to breastfeed right away, I didn't get to truly bond right away and when it was time to get my son they took their sweet time getting him to me. By the time he made it to the room he was too tired to try to nurse!

38 weeks and ready to pop

SO I am now 38 weeks and more than ready to have this baby. I have been having sooo many braxton hicks contractions. I was put in the hospital cause i thought I was in labor. I was have contraction every 3-5 minutes and were pretty painful, plus my blood pressure was really high so they wanted to monitor that. It ended up being that I was dehydrated and just needed fluids...after 4 bags of IV fluid I was sent home the next morning and I was so exhausted. I couldn't really sleep in the hospital and they made me collect my urine for 24 hours which ended up being a huge mess. Getting up every couple minutes to pee and unhook all the monitors and drag the IV pole with me to the bathroom was a hassle. I ended up having to take it home and collect it and bring it back that night. The only problem with that was there was a UK game that night so traffic was a mess and it was very stressful getting to the hospital just to drop off some urine.
My husband was getting very upset over it all which I can understand but I was already upset cause I just wanted this baby out so him getting upset did not make anything better.
After finally dropping off the urine, we went home for a much needed nap!! I slept so great in my own bed and it was amazing! I forgot how great it was to sleep in my own bed, but after sleeping one night in the labor and delivery bed made my bed feel like a cloud!!

Monkey's Monkey's Everywhere

So I have dropped..Little Lucas is sooooo low, I have to spread my legs to sit down so the belly has a place to go. How fun NOT!!! Working is becoming ridiculous and no one really understands. It is hard being on my feet, getting up and down from the chair and xraying people is getting harder and harder. The worst part is I am the only x-ray tech a lot of the times I am there, which really makes me mad. Why would you do that to someone? When you know they are huge and very pregnant and you make them the only xray tech. Luckily I have decided to start my maternity leave Oct. 1st...no matter when I actually go into labor, I just can't deal with the work anymore!

I am getting so excited...the nursery is complete and now just waiting for my little baby boy to be born and join in the fun. We went a monkey theme. We were going to do teddy bears cause I thought it would be cute but couldn't find ANYTHING teddy bears. I found a bedding set that I liked a lot and it was monkeys and that was that. Our theme was changed! Everything in his room was homemade mostly by my mom (she's amazing) and a couple things by me! She wanted to make it her gift to little Lucas and I am sure he will love every bit of it. It makes his room extra special knowing grandma worked hard in making everything.
Our baby showers were amazing...I had lot of gifts and good friends and family to celebrate Lucas with. I am thankful for everyone who cared enough to celebrate with me!

Below are pictures of Lucas' nursery. I can't wait to have the little guy and show him around his new digs!!

Getting big and dropping

So it is getting harder and harder to move around!! We decided to go to Pittsburgh to get away before I can't travel anymore! So this will be Lucas' first trip to Pittsburgh and I am sure many will follow. We love this city. It is amazing but LOTS of walking and let me just tell you that it is not fun walking around very pregnant and HUGE!!! But it was a lot of fun. We picked up a lot of things for Lucas (steelers, Penguins and Pirates) stuff so he will be ready when the time comes!!


The best part of going to Pittsburgh when you are this pregnant is the photos that you can get! The one above was taken by my hubby in front of the beautiful city. We can show this picture to Lucas when he gets older, and tell him great stories about the time we went to Pittsburgh with him still in mommy's belly! I am sure he will love it!

20 weeks and loving the belly but hating the stretch marks

So I am now 20 weeks...HALF WAY THERE!!!! I cannot believe it that it is getting so close. I feel like yesterday I was telling everyone we were pregnant! Then finding out it was a boy...what a joy it was! I will never forget finding out that we were expecting a little boy!
Now the fun part has started...I feel little Lucas kicking inside now, he is getting bigger and stronger by the day. He can now respond to touch, and will sometimes kick my hand when I am rubbing or patting my stomach. I just can't keep my hands off of it! I love to rub it.
We have finally accomplished getting all the furniture out of the baby room, now just getting everything that is in there organized so that we can start filling it with the furniture I already picked out months ago!! Call me crazy all you want but when you are excited about something so special you just want everything done in one week...I know i have 4 more months to go but if they fly by like the other 5 did then I will never be ready for his arrival into this world!
The belly is getting HUGE!!! which means tons of stretch marks. I guess he is worth it though :) It just means no more bare belly pics and no more bikinis!! I hate the stretch marks and never thought it would happen to me but I got soooo big sooo fast that it was just destined!!
Marcus is getting more into feeling on my belly and talking to little Lucas and reading to him. I have also started letting Lucas listen to some mozart. It is supposed to help with brain development, but I guess we will see when he comes into this world.

June 7th is my next ultrasound...we get to spend a lot of time watching him on the tv...sad news is Marcus won't be there...he will be in Virginia but I have invited my mom and mother-in-law to join me and see Lucas for the first time themselves. I think they will enjoy it! I am thinking of recording the ultrasound so Marcus can see it but I don't even know if they will allow that! I guess we will see!

Well that is all for now...working on cute projects for his room, when I have them done I will post pics!

18 weeks and loving every minute of it!

my view at 18 weeks

I cannot believe I am already 18 weeks. It is hard to believe that the time has flown this fast, I feel like I just found out yesterday! I have so much to do and am working on it little by little. I invested in a lot of arts and crafts stuff cause I love doing it for the baby room! I think it will be cute and special because mommy did it for her little Lucas!

Marcus leaves tomorrow and let me just say it is going to be hard, I know I will survive and I know it is for the best but still I need someone here to help me off this oversized couch! Plus it gets kind of lonely and no matter how much I talk to Wiggles she never talks back. Wiggles has been dealing with the pregnancy pretty good I think...she gets in trouble a lot because she is used to kicking me and me holding her like a baby and now I can't do any of that and there is no kicking my belly unless it is Lucas. I don't know if she hates, but I think she is a little jealous cause she loves being the baby of the family!

Last week Marcus and I kicked butt on the nursery. Since it used to be our office it was a lot to clean out. We have took apart and thrown away 2 bookshelves and my desk, cleaned out the walk in closet and threw away a bunch of stuff that we no longer need or use! Now all that is left is getting his desk out of the office, getting the coffee table that we put in there out, and his golf clubs and guitar.

So here is my list of things to do...

- get desk, coffee table, guitar and golf clubs out

- vacuum and clean the carpet

- finish all homemade decorations for room

- hang art

-order furniture

- put furniture together

- wash bedding and put it in the crib

- wash all clothes, towels and blankets

and that is just the nursery...I have a lot more to do for the rest of the apartment just to ensure that is the cleanest it can be and organized so I won't have to worry about a thing once my little prince gets here!

the beginning stages of getting the office cleaned out!

The gender test was right!!

So I should have wrote about this before I announced we were having a boy!! I had heard of the gender test, this little kit you get at stores that you pee in and it should turn either green for a boy or orange for a girl. Well I wanted to do it, even though it was 20 dollars I really thought it would be cool to see one it would be right and two if we were gonna have a boy!

So we got the kit one night and of course they want you to take it with the first morning pee....UGH!!!! So I waited till the next morning, but was kind of confused because I am up half the night peeing so which one would be considered my morning pee? I just decided to do with the last one I did when my husband got up to go to class. So I did the pee thing and you are supposed to wait 10 minutes so I did. When I went back it was green...which means we were supposed to have a boy and turns out it was right!!

It was a fun thing to do that got our minds wondering even more...I am just glad we got to schedule an early ultrasound so my husband would be able to be there to find out if it was a boy or girl. I think I would have been really upset if he wouldn't have been able to be there!

S

Learning to Diaper...

So since Marcus has only changed one diaper in his life, that being my nieces when she was a year old, I decided to use a sample diaper that we had gotten and a teddy bear that my friend Audra have given us and see if he knew the proper way to diaper...turns out he did, but the question is can he do it on a squirmy infant that curls their legs up the their belly?

I guess we will know in 5 months!!