Monday, March 31, 2014

Doctor Visit

Today Scott and I made our first outing with Mr. Campbell with a trip to the pediatricians office for our first little checkup!
Scott and I gave ourselves 2 hours to get ready and we still ended up being a few minutes late. Getting Campbell in his car seat takes us forever to do right now. We've only used it for him twice now and he's so little and we're never sure if we're doing it right. The nurse at the pediatrician's office assured us that he's in there correctly. Everything about having a baby is definitely a learning experience!!
The appointment went really well. Campbell's weight has dropped down to 5 pounds, 10 ounces which doesn't concern the doctor at all since he's a breastfed baby. My milk came in yesterday (is that TMI?) so the doctor expects Campbell to gain about an ounce a day now. He was such a good boy during his appointment and didn't cry which made me such a proud Momma! His jaundice level was a little high so we have to go back tomorrow to check it again and see if it's come down. I'm hoping it will since he's been eating really well and has had good poops the last two days. What has this blog come to that I'm talking about pooping and breast milk now? I promise I won't always do that.
Nursing is even better today than it was yesterday. Campbell and I are both really starting to get the hang of it. Now I'm exhausted and need to crash. Waking up every 2-3 hours and being up for about 45 minutes during that time is definitely catching up with me. I'm going to call it a day. Until tomorrow (maybe).....

Sunday, March 30, 2014

First Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone! It's so crazy to think about how different my life has changed in just a week. Last Sunday Scott and I went to church, had lunch at Firehouse then came home and watched countless hours of TV on Netflix. This Sunday I woke up taking care of a baby!
Life is going good and we're surviving. My biggest challenge right now is nursing Campbell. It's hard! I feel like I'm being fairly patient with it and not getting too frustrated but sometimes I want to erupt into tears. We always start out our feedings with him screaming and wiggling in my arms for a good 10-15 minutes before he'll finally latch on and get going. Once he gets going we're pretty golden. Getting him to calm down and be patient and not get frustrated when my milk doesn't come out with his first few sucks is the hard part. I'm definitely hanging in there because I really want to nurse him. Every feeding gets a teeny bit easier so I'm hoping that maybe by this time next week Campbell and I will both have it down a little better. I know this sounds crazy but my favorite time of the day with Campbell is in the middle of the night when I wake him up to feed him. He's a deep sleeper so it takes me forever to get him to wake up but I love that time. It's just us and he's so sweet and I could just kiss his little cheeks a million times a minute. Then he screams and I feel every muscle in my body tense up. But then he starts eating and he's so calm and content and happy. It's weird for me to say I love it--even at 3 am--but I do.
This is a picture of a happy baby after eating a big meal last night! Aren't his little pj's cute! The day we came home from the hospital my Mom ran out to get Campbell some preemie clothes because even his newborn stuff swallows him. When I was having my emotional breakdown while I was in the nursery with Campbell for the first time, I cried to Mom and Scott about how none of his clothes fit (hormones). Now he has a couple of things and he looks adorable in them all!
Notice the wubbanub? Mom and Dad ran out and got that yesterday because I just really thought Campbell needed one. Someone is jealous of it.
I told you the toys were going to be a problem! Madison stares Campbell down any time he has that paci in his mouth. And in case you're wondering.....yes, she has been successful in pulling it out of his mouth---twice.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Campbell's First Day Home

We're home! Just before 2:00 we walked into our house with our new little addition! The first thing we did was set Campbell's car seat on the floor so the girls could get a good sniff of their new little brother. They sniffed and sniffed but weren't as interested in him as I thought they would be. I'm not sure they know what to think but I know over time they're going to fall in love with him and he will do the same! For now they're just keeping their eye on him from a distance and trying to figure out what he is!!
Shortly after being home I took Campbell into his room and held him for a long time while I sat in the glider. I don't know what came over me but the second I walked in his room with him I cried and cried and cried. The hardest cry maybe ever. I've spent so much time in the nursery for months now, anxious to meet my sweet little boy, and it was just so surreal to finally be in there with him. It was such an unexpected emotional moment.
I'm so happy to have Campbell home now. I can't wait to get our new life started!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Campbell Scott Johnson

He's here! Our sweet little boy who we've been anxious to meet for so long now made his grand debut at 1:04 this morning weighing in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long. We are madly in love with him and think he is the most precious, perfect little being there ever was or ever will be!!
Since most of you have been on this journey with me for many months now, I thought I'd share Campbell's birth story with you today if you'd like!
It all started yesterday morning at about 4:30 am. I woke up from my sleep with really bad cramps and some other weird stuff was happening that kind of alarmed me so I made an emergency call to the on-call doctor to make sure what was happening was okay. She told me to just keep an eye on things so I crawled back in bed and attempted to go back to sleep which, of course, wasn't happening. At about 7:00 I texted my doctor to tell her what was going on and she suggested I go to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. So Scott and I packed our bags just in case I was in labor and headed that way. After being there for about 2 hours running a few tests and monitoring everything, they sent me home. I didn't think I was in labor so I wasn't surprised to be sent home but I wanted to make sure everything with the little guy was fine. Scott and I grabbed some Chick-Fil-A for lunch then I came home and took a nap.
Shortly after I woke up from my nap, I noticed a little water came out. It seemed like it could possibly be my water breaking but it wasn't much so I took google's suggestion and lied down for 30 minutes then stood up to see if more water came out when I stood up. It did, but again, not much. So I called my doctor (it's really awesome when your doctor is also your friend) and asked her if she thought it was my water breaking and she suggested I go back to the hospital. I really didn't want to be "that person" and go back again. So I laid down on my bed and called my Mom to ask her what she thought I should do. A few minutes into our conversation, a huge dramatic gush of water came out. There was no mistaking it---my water broke!!
I hopped in the shower really quickly and piddled around the house for about an hour then Scott and I made our way to the hospital at about 7:00.
For about the first hour I wasn't really having any contractions. They asked me if I wanted an epidural but since I wasn't feeling anything I decided to hold off on it. The contractions finally started to come and they were painful but only lasted about 45-60 seconds so it was totally bearable. I got to about a 6.5 before they came in and gave me an epidural. I honestly probably could have made it further but I started getting scared of what might come so I decided to go on ahead and get the epidural. I was terrified of getting it! I was literally shaking so, so hard as the anesthesiologist was getting everything prepped to put it in. It ended up not being a big deal at all. A little sting, but totally no big deal.
Around 12:00 the nurse came in to check me and I was ready to go. My heart started pounding a little bit at that point! They called my doctor and she arrived about 30 minutes later to deliver my little boy! The delivery was a piece of cake! A couple of pushes later and Campbell was here!!
Campbell came out screaming but the second they laid him on my chest he stopped crying. It was such an amazing moment! I honestly didn't really know what to feel but tears filled my eyes as I held this precious little baby that I made! And I have to say that Scott was so amazing throughout the entire thing. He was perfect as he stood by my side. I have such a great husband and he is already an amazing daddy to our little boy!!
Isn't he cute!! We love him so much and can't stop staring at him! He's basically been asleep all day long. He doesn't even care to wake up very much to nurse! So far that's going pretty good and we're both trying hard to get the hang of it. I've only done it a few times but I love it. It's such a sweet and precious thing to be able to do for him.
It's been a long day and I haven't slept much at all. It's been such a great day though! I don't think I'll ever forget a single detail about this day--or at least I hope I don't! Everything about this experience has been so surreal. I can't stop thinking about how precious Campbell is and how blessed we are! Everything went exactly the way I hoped it would and he is perfect and healthy! We are over the moon for our little man!!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Shows and Toys

I had a great weekend! It was the laziest weekend ever but that's why it was probably so great! Since Scott and I furnished our bonus room, we've actually been spending quite a bit of time watching TV up there. We got Netflix and can only watch it on the TV in there which is kind of fun because it gives us an excuse to use that space. A few weeks ago we started watching House of Cards and this weekend we finished season 2. It's a really good show! It took a few episodes for me to get into it but once I did I was pretty hooked. When Scott and I get hooked on a new show we don't mess around. When we first started watching Homeland (the best show ever) we were behind by two seasons and I think we finished the entire two seasons in a week. Now we need a new show to watch on Netflix and I'm thinking we should give Scandal a try. Everyone says it's so good. We also want to check out Breaking Bad. I think we're the only people in America who haven't ever seen that show.
These little nuggets love that we go to the bonus room to watch TV now. They love playing up there and always have.
Other than watching episode after episode of House of Cards, our weekend didn't really consist of much else. We had dinner at Bonefish with some friends on Saturday and went to church on Sunday and that was kind of it. I've spent the last few weeks trying to get everything done before the baby arrives and now that I've accomplished it all, I have absolutely nothing to do except sit around and twiddle my thumbs. I didn't leave my house today because I had nowhere to go. Needless to say, I'm bored!
And let me tell ya, this waiting game is absolute torture. Every morning I wake up wondering if today will be the day. Everyone keeps asking me how I'm feeling and if there's any changes. Nope. Nothing. Notta. Throughout the weekend I did all sorts of natural induction methods the internet suggests to try to coax him out. Don't even bother......it doesn't work. The not knowing is just killing me! I'm entirely too impatient to handle this. I'm trying to enjoy my last few moments of being pregnant but I'm getting super tired of waking up 5 times in the middle of the night to pee and that alone is starting to make me really grouchy.
I've mentioned before that the girls always want Campbell's toys and that I'm worried it will be a problem. I walked into his room one night to find this. It was clearly a group effort and they managed to get into his (tall...for them at least) grey toy basket and pull out tons of stuff! Madison is hiding under the crib because she doesn't like to get in trouble. I thought it was really funny but I'd prefer if they didn't slobber all over his toys/stuffed animals. I don't know how I'm going to avoid it though! My girls love toys and they think everything belongs to them.

Friday, March 21, 2014

37 Weeks

Thirty seven weeks today and officially full term! Yay! I'm so grateful that I made it to this point. Knowing Campbell could arrive any day now is so exciting!
Size of Baby: I'm guessing Campbell is about 6 pounds now.

How I'm Feeling: I have horrible pressure because he's down so low and when it hits me it hurts SO bad. My back has started hurting me again but that comes and goes. I've only been sick once this week and heartburn is better but still lingers. Overall I feel pretty good. If I still feel like this 3 weeks from now I'll consider myself pretty lucky. I don't feel amazing but I'm comfortable enough.

Cravings/Appetite: Some days heartburn is terrible and some days I don't need to take anything for it. For the first time in months I've had cappuccinos and orange juice and they didn't make me sick. I still try to be cautious about what I eat though, especially at night.

Clothes: Maxi dress overload! It's all I'm wearing right now. My BF gave me a bunch of hers that she wore while she was pregnant which has been awesome. If there's a slight chill in the air I just throw a blazer over them.
Movement: Campbell is still moving but like I said last week, it's definitely slowed down. His little kicks and jabs hit me much lower than they used to. What I've mostly been feeling in my belly these days are contractions.

Changes in Me: I had my weekly appointment yesterday and without over sharing too much, let's just say that I've made some very nice progression. I was shocked when she told me what I was at considering last week was zilch. My weight gain count is now up to 19 pounds.

Baby Purchases: Last Saturday Scott and I bought Campbell some Sperry's and I think I died a little on the inside. They are so tiny and ridiculously cute!
Favorite Moment This Week: My doctors appointment yesterday. I think Scott may have had a mini panic attack when she told me what I had progressed to. He's been making fun of me all week because I just knew last week she was going to tell me I was on my way there and when she said zero it really tickled Scott. He's not laughing now!!

Looking Forward To: The weekend. Sleeping in, watching too much TV, hanging with friends and snacking on junk food sounds pretty nice.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

My Hospital Bag

Today I'm talking luggage! Well, more specifically, what I'm planning on taking in my hospital bag for the big day. I don't have my bag packed yet but I have an empty dresser drawer in my bedroom and decided to fill it with everything I'm planning on taking. This way I don't have a big suitcase sitting out and cluttering my space but everything is in one spot and can easily be thrown into my bag when we're ready to go. Also, I wanted to be prepared in case something weird happened and I suddenly had to go to the hospital and didn't have a bag with me. With everything being in one spot, I can tell someone where they can find what I need for the hospital and they can bring me everything with ease.
This is everything that I think I need/have ready for the hospital. For those of you out there that have done this before, if there's anything essential that you think I'm leaving out please tell me! I want to be as prepared as possible!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Campbell's Nursery

Welcome to Campbell's nursery! We are officially done decorating this room. Now all we need is a little boy to come live in it!
I've always known, regardless of gender, that I wanted to do a grey nursery. Most of our house is done with a grey color scheme and I felt like we should keep that flow going throughout the house. Right when I found out I was pregnant I started browsing the furniture at Restoration Hardware Baby and Child. All of their baby furniture is exactly the look I wanted to go for so I knew we would be purchasing the main nursery pieces from there. We ordered many wood swatches and loved a lot of different cribs but ultimately we ended up going with the Layne Crib Collection. 
One piece of advice that my BF gave me was to have two chairs in the nursery. This way Scott won't have to sit on the floor while I'm in the glider rocking or feeding Campbell. I thought that was such a great point! I found this chair from IO Metro and ended up picking out a custom fabric that would match the rest of the room. I LOVE the chair. Not only is it super comfortable but so cute as well! It's kind of hard to tell in the photo but it's a chevron pattern of different shades of grey, blue and white. Perfect for a little boy's room!
I always thought I would go the custom route for baby bedding but ended up purchasing this simple bedding from Restoration Hardware. The grey linen is exactly what I wanted and was about half of the price of the custom route. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out!
I found that the art for Campbell's room was the most challenging task in decorating a boy nursery. I didn't want it to be baby-ish or cheesy but I still wanted it to look like a little baby lived there. Enter these shelves! They quickly solved my problems. I liked the idea of adding some fun elements to the room such as books, pictures and stuffed animals. Plus when he gets older we can replace the baby-ish items with big boy items. The art above the crib are animal prints that I got from RH. They're the one really baby-ish element in the room and I surprised myself by getting them but I think they're really sweet. They're also light weight which was important to me. The thought of something heavy going over the crib--and possibly falling on my baby while he was sleeping--sent shivers down my spine. My glider is from West Elm. It was the first big item we purchased for the nursery. The fabric is a soft velvet and the chair is really comfortable. 
So there it is! My little one's room. I'm not going to lie, it was more challenging than I thought it would be but I knew it would come together and I love the way it did! I spend a lot of time sitting in the glider in piece and quiet just looking around. I think it's a calm and relaxing space, which is exactly what I wanted. I hope my sweet little Campbell enjoys his room as much as I do!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Full Moon

Hey everyone! I hope your week is off to a good start. Mine has been good so far. As you've probably already assumed, the full moon on Sunday didn't put me into labor. I didn't think it would since I'm not full term yet but a teeny little piece of me wondered if it would happen. When I first found out I was pregnant, I looked into when we would have full moons in March and April and put them into my calendar on my phone. Ha!! The next one is April 15----4 days past my due date. If this baby doesn't come before my due date my world will collapse. However, if April 11 comes and goes and Campbell is still just hanging out in my belly, I'd be willing to bet pretty good money that the full moon would give him the little push he needs to make his arrival. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I can't tell you how many people have told me "the first one comes early" and I'm crossing my fingers that they're all right. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally content and completely fine right now. It's just the anticipation of it all that's killing me! 
I'm trying to relax and enjoy these last few weeks. I only have a short amount of time left to be pregnant which makes me a little sad. I love being pregnant and you only get to experience it for such a short amount of time in your life and I know there will be so many things about it that I'll miss. I'm also trying to soak in these last few days with my husband and it being just the two of us. We were cuddling in bed on Sunday and tears filled my eyes and I got so emotional thinking about our life together and how everything is about to change. I'm so looking forward to the change but it will never be just the two of us ever again. That's worthy of a tiny cry, right? I find myself crying quite a bit these days. I was imagining saying goodbye to Ivy and Madison as we're headed to the hospital and it opened the flood gates. Their little lives are about to change and it makes me sad for them. Hopefully their lives won't change at all but they probably will a little bit and I hate that. They're my babies too and deserve all of my love and attention. Want to know what opens the flood gates the most? Imagining seeing Campbell for the first time. Everyone tells me that you're so exhausted and glad it's over that you don't really get emotional and cry but I have a feeling I'll be sobbing buckets. Tears are filling my eyes now thinking about. I can't wait to hold my precious baby.
Speaking of precious babies, my girls got much needed haircuts today. They were looking like such a mess even though it's only been 5 weeks since they last went to the beauty shop. Don't they look pretty!? They're always so worn out when they get home from the groomer. I think it emotionally drains them. I think it's safe to say going to the groomer isn't their favorite. Although they do behave like very good girls....or so I'm told. 
I'm pretty worn out myself. I think it's time for me to get myself in bed. Until tomorrow....

Monday, March 17, 2014

Two.

Today my two girls turned two!!!
We didn't do much to celebrate today but we did have two bones and a small bowl of ice cream so that was pretty exciting. I sure am grateful for these two little nuggets. They are my sweet baby girls and I can't believe they're two now! Now that they're two, they behave much better than they used to which is nice. They still act like puppies and have a lot of spunk but we're definitely over that puppy stage where they did bad things like chew my furniture. That was a disaster! Thankfully everything is fixed now and you can't even tell that they destroyed anything. Ha!
These two are a mess and can be total crazies at times but I wouldn't change anything about them. They keep me laughing and entertained all day long. I love them so much and I'm so thankful to have them! They're just as sweet as can be and give me so much love. My life is definitely better having these two in it! They're the sweetest little sisters ever and I love watching them together. How much they love each other makes me want to cry sometimes. I don't know what I would do without my little Ivy and my crazy Madison!!
Happy 2nd Birthday Ivy and Madison!! I love you girls more than you know! (Madison looks like a mess because I was taking a bath before I took this photo and Madison was sitting on the ledge watching me--she loves to do that for some reason--and she fell into the tub full of water!! Happy Birthday to her)
"Why does Mom always put these stupid hats on us?"

Friday, March 14, 2014

36 Weeks

Size of Baby: At our ultrasound yesterday, Campbell measured a teeny bit behind at 35 weeks and 2 days. He weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces which puts him in the 23 percentile. Our little boy is looking good!

How I'm Feeling: I feel so, so good. Campbell has officially dropped (I'm about 99% positive it happened on Monday) and ever since then I've felt amazing!!! I haven't gotten sick once this week, my heartburn isn't near as bad as what it has been, I can breath better, and my energy levels are great. Sometimes I have crazy bad pressure since he's down so low but it's nothing I can't handle. The previous few weeks I was so uncomfortable but I feel so great now.
Cravings/Appetite: Now that Campbell has dropped, food is so much more pleasant and enjoyable. My heartburn is the worst at night and since I'm usually not ever hungry for dinner, I've been eating a little fruit with some cheese and crackers for my meal and it's helped me not have heartburn and makes it easier for me to fall asleep.

Clothes: Now that the warmer weather has graced us with its presence, I've been wearing maxi dresses every day this week. It has been so amazing and comfortable! I just purchased the black maxi that I'm wearing in the photos at Forever 21 this week. I told Scott he'll probably get tired of seeing me in it because I have a feeling it will get worn a lot here in the last month or so. I've completely given up on maternity clothes. I've found I can wear normal clothes in my normal size as long as it's got a little extra room in the waist.

Movement: Campbell is still moving really good but he's definitely slowed down a bit. I mostly just feel his little legs flailing around and that's it. His heart rate is coming in around 129 these days.
Changes in Me: I'm still measuring 4 weeks small but since Campbell looks great the doctor isn't worried about it. My belly button is gone now. It is completely closed up and basically invisible and it's cracking me up. I can't believe it didn't pop out but my Mom's did the exact same as mine so I guess I inherited her pregnant belly button. I haven't gotten any stretch marks (yet) and I'm hoping that since I've made it this far, I'm going to avoid it. I've certainly done anything and everything I can to prevent them.

Baby Purchases: While it's not necessarily for the baby, I did get something for myself to have for the hospital. It's been kind of hard trying to figure out what to wear while I'm there. I decided this from J Crew would probably come in handy. I'm looking into getting the pocket monogrammed because why not?

Favorite Moment This Week: I woke up from a nap one day this week and heard Scott doing something upstairs. I walked up there to find him building the rock and play and bouncer. I thought it was really sweet especially since I didn't even ask him to do it!
Looking Forward To: The weekend. I only have a few "free" ones left and I'm trying to enjoy them before the little man gets here. Dates with Scott, hanging with friends, running around town doing nothing....I'm trying to squeeze in as much of that as I can. Also, there's a full moon on Sunday and even though it's probably too early and I'm about 90% sure nothing will come of it, I wouldn't mind at all if it put me into labor.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Maternity Maxi

Today has been a good day! It started with my weekly appointment with my doctor. We had to have an ultrasound today since I'm measuring 4 weeks small. I'll share more on all of that tomorrow but thankfully everything with Campbell looks great! I had a good feeling about it so I really wasn't nervous about the ultrasound at all. It was nice getting to see the little one again even though he was so squished it was honestly hard to make out anything. We got to watch him practicing his breathing and swallowing and it's comforting to know that everything with the umbilical cord looked good. That cord scares me! I was hoping we would get to stare at his little face and she flipped it on 4D for us to get a look but he is so far down and so cramped that there really wasn't much to look at. I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait until Campbell arrives before I can get a good look at his sweet little face again!
After our appointment Scott and I had a lunch date at Table Mesa. Yum. We had our camera with us so we decided to take some bump pics on the Bentonville square for tomorrow's 36 week update. They'll probably be the last bump photos Scott takes of me which is a little sad to me! I'll miss the bump. Wanna see a little sneak preview of what's to come tomorrow?
It was such a beautiful day today and I have been wearing maxi dresses every day this week (well except for yesterday because it was cold) and it has been wonderful!!!! I am so glad that it is warmer outside. My tulips are starting to sprout, I've been taking the girls on walks, Scott and I have been hanging out on our back porch and this all makes me so very happy. According to the 10 day forecast on my weather.com app, it's kind of sort of officially spring time and I am loving that.
I'll see you all back here tomorrow for my 36 week bumpdate! Until then....

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Check It Off

I have been a busy little bee all week long. I made a long to-do list and every day I've been running around getting things checked off of it. I had some stuff to take care of down in Fayetteville so I spent the majority of my day down there. Since I was so conveniently close by, I decided to pop by Rick's Bakery and get myself some goodies. Thank goodness Rick's is a 30 minute drive from me otherwise I fear how much I would visit that place! Their little treats are entirely too delicious.
One of the main reasons I went to Fayetteville is so I could get some new house shoes. My friend, Jax, gave me some Goody Goody Slippers as a bridesmaids gift a few years ago and I love them! I wear them daily. I made the mistake of washing mine a couple of weeks ago and it didn't damage the appearance of them but it ruined the cushioning inside. I tried really hard to get the cushion to smooth out but was unsuccessful so I decided I would just go grab myself a new pair. They sell them at French Quarters on the square in Fayetteville for anyone in NWA who wants to go get a pair! I settled upon these and I love them! I could seriously own a dozen pairs of these things. Not only are they so uniquely pretty but they're super comfortable as well.
I also popped in the Fayetteville mall while I was there and of course I stopped in baby gap. Gap is having a 30% off your entire purchase sale going on right now which was incentive enough for me to get Campbell a few little outfits! I settled upon these four items and I think they're really cute. When I got home with my sack and Scott pulled out the graphic rugby tee, he gave me a very disapproving look! It's not normally a clothing item I would gravitate towards but something about it was really cute to me so I went for it. Scott has such an opinion on Campbell's wardrobe and I honestly kind of like it. If we were having a girl I would want him to keep his opinion to himself (haha!!) but since we have a little man on the way I like getting Scott's opinion on his clothes.
After being gone all day I'm finally home now and ready to chill out, relax and watch my shows! I'll see you all back here tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The Final Month

Campbell's due date is one month from today! I can't believe his arrival is getting so close. I was reading one of my baby apps this morning and it said "soon you'll be a mother. Enjoy the moments, even the painful ones--your body is working hard to get your baby into the world." It made me pause and think about everything I've been through the last almost nine months. Pregnancy is hard work but I've honestly enjoyed it so very much.
I think back to where I was a year ago and I wanted this so badly. All I could think about was being pregnant and having a baby. It consumed my thoughts. I feel really lucky and blessed that our road to baby didn't end up being a very long one. I read stories on peoples infertility struggles and it never fails to make me cry because I can't imagine how hard it must be to go through that. When you decide you're ready for a baby, you're ready for a baby. When we started trying and it didn't work the first time, I was devastated. I cried and cried. Then it didn't work the second time and I was like "I knew it, I'm not fertile." The desire for a baby is enough to make even the most patient woman go a little crazy. When those two pink lines finally appeared on a pregnancy test, I couldn't stop crying. Happy tears this time. The only thing I ever wanted for my life was happening---and I was elated.
I remember being at the mall one day. I was just starting to get a little baby bump that was slightly noticeable to not just me. I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window and I thought to myself "I've never been this happy before." For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. These last months have been amazing to me. It's definitely true that I haven't had the easiest pregnancy. I'm tired, my back hurts, heartburn is horrible, nausea was miserable and I've pretty much been sick this whole entire time. Through all of that though, I'm still one of those women who "loves being pregnant." I have all I've ever wanted right now so I just can't bring myself to complain about the woe's of pregnancy. I feel so very blessed to be able to experience this!
Now this journey is about to come to an end. It's been an amazing one and I think I'll really miss it. But I can't wait to meet my little boy. I wanted him so badly. I prayed for him constantly. I can't imagine what it will be like to see him and hold him and kiss him for the first time. I cry just thinking about it! I love him so much already and I know my heart will multiply a million times when I finally get to meet my sweet, precious Campbell.


Monday, March 10, 2014

Grace Turns Two

Yesterday this sweet little munchkin turned two years old!!
We celebrated Gracie's birthday with an outdoor party in the backyard. It was a nice day so the girls got to play outside for the longest time and they had so much fun running around, sniffing grass and tackling one another!
We also picked up some special birthday treats to celebrate the occasion! I don't know about your dog but mine never seem to like treats like this. You know, the cute expensive ones. We gave one to each of the girls and they spit them out onto the floor without giving them so much as a lick. A few hours later I noticed that they had finally been eaten but they never devour these kinds of treats.
Of course once we were done playing outside I had to bring the girls in and take a photo of Grace in her birthday hat. Ivy and Madison have one too and I guess we're going to make it a tradition every year and get pictures of them in their birthday hats!
And then Grace was like "Okay I've cooperated long enough, please just take this stupid hat off of me. I can't take it anymore!!!"
Happy 2nd Birthday Gracie Grace!! We love you!!

Friday, March 7, 2014

35 Weeks

Thirty five weeks today. Wow! How did I get here? Campbell's arrival is so close and I may or may not have cried about it yesterday. It was a happy cry mixed with a nervous cry. My life as I know it is about to completely change and it's a little scary. But it's definitely more exciting than it is scary. My curiosity is starting to get the best of me---when will he arrive?! Will he be a March baby or an April baby? It's like a tiny bit of torture!!! Here's is this weeks update.

Size of Baby: Around 5.5 pounds and between 19-22 inches long, about the size of a large cantaloupe.

How I'm Feeling: I'm fine. I'm not great----I'm not miserable. My back literally feels broken sometimes and I lay on a heating pad every chance I get. I still have horrible heartburn and I get sick every single day. I'm definitely slowing down but I still have moments where I feel just like my old self.

Cravings/Appetite: I have been so thirsty lately. I still try to be careful about what I eat but even bland food gives me heartburn these days. As of today I've decided no more caffeine free diet cokes for me. They've been added to the (super long) dangerous list.

Clothes: My pregnancy jeans are starting to get uncomfortable. They dig into my stomach where the band meets the actual jean and after wearing them all day it kind of hurts. I have one pair of maternity jeans that I've not really worn this whole time because they were a size bigger than the others and I didn't like how baggy they were on my legs. Now they're quickly becoming my go-to's because they have a little more room in them than the others. Those along with my Hue leggings are still my favorite pants to wear. I can't wait to wear dresses. It will be so much more comfortable.

Movement: Campbell is still moving a lot even though I know the little guy has to be as squished as can be. I spend a lot of my evening watching him move all throughout my belly. It's so wild and so neat!!

Changes in Me: I had my doctors appointment yesterday. When she measured my belly I measured small---31 weeks. At my previous appointment 3 weeks ago (I had to miss last weeks appointment) a nursing student measured me and I heard her say I measured in at 29 weeks. It should have been 32. I didn't think anything about it because to be honest, I just assumed she did it wrong. Since I'm measuring 4 weeks behind the doctor wants me to have an ultrasound next week to check and make sure everything looks okay. I'm not too terribly worried about it since we checked in on Campbell just 3 weeks ago and everything looked great. It definitely caught me off guard to be told I'm measuring small though because I've always measured exactly on track. What's funny is while Scott and I were in the waiting room, I told him that I felt like I wasn't as big as I thought I should be at this point. He brushed it off and reassured me that I look plenty big. Thanks babe.

Baby Purchases: I finally settled on Campbell's coming home outfit---sort of. I now have two precious little outfits for him. One for his first day in the hospital and one for coming home. I'll probably just decide while I'm there which one he'll wear for which day.

Favorite Moment This Week: Getting a lot accomplished on my to-do list. It makes me feel a lot better and more relaxed about his arrival.

Looking Forward To: My ultrasound next week. I'm sure everything will be just fine but I'll be a little bit on edge until then. Also, I didn't think I'd get to see the little nugget on an ultrasound again and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited about the opportunity to see him.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

a frisbee & a changing pad

This toy right here.....
This is the most popular toy in our house. We love frisbee. We love it too much. We're relentless about asking Momma and Daddy to throw it. If it didn't have Razorbacks all over it I would be soooo tempted to throw it away. Because it gets on my nerves. But they love it so I tolerate it.
Nursery sneak peek! All of the puppies love laying on Campbell's changing pad. They hop up there all the time to hang out or take naps. I don't know if they like the height of the dresser or the softness of the changing pad cover but Ivy, Grace and Madison are all obsessed with it.
I checked off something on my to-do list today! It was a big one and I feel really good about it. Now it's time for me to grab my heating pad and get in bed. I'm tired and my back is achy. Story of my life these days folks!!