Hadley Michelle Heath

She's here!  Sweet girl arrived exactly on her due date, Sunday April 22.  On Saturday, we stayed home...I wasn't feeling the best in the world.  I had actually gone to bed as soon as I got home from work on Friday because it had been a crazy day with me trying to tie up a lot of loose ends at work and I was exhausted and just not feeling good at all.  I had planned for last Friday to be my last day of work, whether Hadley had come on Monday or not.  Mallory had asked to go to her favorite restaurant (Two Dogs Pizza) all day Saturday and I told her we would go that night.  My parents went with us and before we left, I noticed that I was having some contractions so I started timing them with a contraction timer app on my phone.  All through dinner, contractions were regular at around 8-12 minutes apart.  Nothing painful though and I really didn't think much of it.  We got home and they continued.  I drank a big glass of water and laid down about 9:30 to see if they would stop.  The contractions continued on and were coming every six minutes so I decided to call my doctor.  She told me I could come on in and be checked.  Patrick's parents came over and picked up Mallory.  Bless her heart, she was so worried about mama.  I was in no pain or anything, but she knew I had called the doctor and she was confused by going to Grandma and Grandaddy's house so late at night.  We got to the hospital Saturday night a little after 11.  They checked me to find out I was only 1 cm dilated and they did not seem impressed although my contractions were now 3-4 minutes apart and starting to be painful.  They told me I could walk for an hour and be re-checked or go back home.  Since we live an hour away from the hospital, I was not about to go back home so we walked.  After walking for 15 minutes, we went back into the triage area and I told the nurse that the contractions were becoming too painful to walk through and I had had 5 contractions in the short time I had been walking.  The nurse told me she wouldn't re-check me within an hour and to keep walking because that was the best way to dilate more.  She said on average, women dilate 1 cm an hour.  Not what I wanted to hear again...I was ready for some pain medicine at this point but we kept on walking.  After 15 or 20 more minutes of walking, I couldn't bear the pain anymore so I went back and laid down in the triage.  At this point, another patient came in who was saying this was her 6th baby and she had delivered her 4th baby at home because it had come so quick, etc, etc.  The one and only triage nurse focused solely on getting this lady into labor and delivery at this point while I was laying on the other side of the curtain, slowly dying.  My water broke around 12:35 I think and Patrick called out to the nurse that my water had broke.  That got her attention and she called my doctor to come check me.  My doctor came in and I was at a 4, yay!  I was happy to hear that I had gone from a 1 to a 4 in an hour.  They finally said I could go to labor and delivery.  During this time, my pain level had sky rocketed.  I felt like I was going to throw up with every contraction and I was begging them to hurry up with my epidural.  They tried to get me to walk to labor and delivery and that wasn't happening!  I was in so much pain that I couldn't move much less get off the bed, walk down the hall and get on another bed.  They rolled me down to L&D and I did manage to change beds.  My doctor checked me again and I was at an 8!!  That's when she informed me there would be no time for pain medication.  NOT what I wanted to hear...but then she said at this rate, I would be holding my baby within a few more contractions.  That was promising to me after such a long labor with Mallory.  Immediately after hearing that, I started feeling the urge to push.  My doctor put on her scrubs and after about five minutes of pushing, Miss Hadley made her entrance into the world at 1:21 am.  She put her on my chest right away...she was beautiful and perfect. 
 

First bath and my awesome L&D nurse who I never had a chance to meet BEFORE delivery but she was on shift all night and she was wonderful.

Big sister and little sister meeting for the first time.

My two girls

First family photo (even though we were all looking at another camera)

In the moment, I thought my labor was awful and traumatic but looking back it really wasn't so bad and faster is MUCH better.  Compared to Mallory's it was a breeze and I feel like I have bragging rights saying that it was all natural!  Hadley has been such a good baby so far.  She even lets us sleep at night right now!  She wakes up about every three hours most nights and goes right back to sleep.  This whole experience has been so much different than my first.  Breast feeding has come naturally this time and there is no doubt that she is getting enough milk and thriving on it.  We can not express how blessed we are to have two healthy and happy girls.  Mallory has been very clingy to me, but she loves her little sister and enjoys helping mama out with Hadley.  Not everyone agrees, but to me Hadley looks just like Mallory did as a newborn.  It is hard to imagine yourself loving another child as much as your first, but it does happen!  We are so in love with this little girl and enjoying every minute with her. 

One month to go!

Size of baby:

Your baby's the size of a coconut!


She's still in the 17.2- to 18.7-inch and 4.2- to 5.8-pound range and continues to beef up.

Gender: Girl!  Hadley Michelle Heath





Maternity Clothes: Yes, of course & I'm sick of them, ha!  It is so hot here that it is like summer time already and I am trying to show the least amount of skin as possible so it is not easy to dress.




Weight Gain: 40 pounds.  Lots of swelling thanks to the hot weather we have on a daily basis.  I can only wear one pair of shoes - Toms & I'm sure I have stretched them to the point where I won't be able to wear them post pregnancy.  I also can't wear my rings or watch now. 



Movement: Yes and it can be down right painful. 




Sleep: It's not too bad although I do have nights where I can't sleep for hours at a time. 



Symptoms: SWELLING, SWELLING & MORE SWELLING. 



What I miss: Just being comfortable and being able to do normal everyday stuff without giving out of breath.



Cravings: I have been on a cottage cheese with pineapple or grapes kick.  I've eaten two big containers of cottage cheese in the past week.  At least I have a healthy craving for a change!



What I am looking forward to:  Having a baby!

We finally started preparing for Hadley's arrival by getting all the baby stuff out of storage this past weekend.  You can see Mallory being little mama, with her baby in the swing giving her a bottle.  She begged Patrick & I all weekend to let her drink out of a bottle and kept telling us that she was Hadley, haha.  

I ordered Mallory & Hadley new bathing suits from Zulily and Mallory had to try hers on.  Here she is posing with Lambie.  This was right before she peed in her brand new bathing suit :/  More on that below...

Standing on my bathroom counter this morning using my toothbrush.

So back to the peeing in the bathing suit thing...Mallory has not worn a diaper since last Friday night.  We have been talking & VERY loosely working on potty training for maybe a year now.  When I say very loosely, I mean that.  There have been times where we would work on it for a few days and Mallory would not really show any interest or no improvement what so ever and so we would just stop with me saying that she wasn't ready.  Also, in Mallory's defense, she doesn't have a lot of consistency.  Between being with me, preschool, her granny and her mema all during the week, we were all working with her in different ways and it is very difficult for us to do the same EXACT thing.  I remember blogging a while back saying that she was doing great with potty training (I really thought she was...I have never potty trained before) and my mom called me up and said, "Ashley, Mallory is NOT doing great with the potty training, she is doing terrible!"  Haha!  I thought it was funny because I had no clue.  Apparently, some children are very easy to train and practically train themselves.  My mom said I was one of those children and was completely potty trained before I was two.  SO..back to Mallory.  As time went on, I noticed her interest level and willingness to use the potty was getting less & less the older she got.  After doing some research googling, I found a program by Lora Jensen that is three days and seemed to have great results.  It was guaranteed to work on the most stubborn of children...sign me up! 

Well my first & biggest problem with the program is I do not have three days.  Even if I took a day off of work, chances are that I can't go three days without leaving the house or without having company over.  I think my family & extended family would disown me.  So we tried the program last weekend in two days.  I did the program but can honestly say that I did not follow it to a T.  We went to my moms house Sunday night for dinner.  Mallory does great during naps and during the night, she hasn't wet the bed since the very first night.  However, she still will not tell me when she has to go.  I just have to catch her or make her go every so often.  She seems to have about one or two accidents a day, but I am off of work tomorrow so hopefully the extra time with her will be what she needs.  I REALLY want to have her trained before Hadley arrives, because I know I won't have the time to devote to potty training that she needs with a newborn in the house.  I hope to report back very soon with news of no accidents!   

Camera dump.

We are having a lot of quiet nights these days because about half the time during the work week, Mallory has quit taking a nap during the day and she passes out for the night as soon as we get home.  I told Patrick that it is like the calm before the storm because I am pretty sure there won't be any more quiet nights for us in about 7 more weeks for years to come. 

Today is one of those days, where Mallory is out for the night so I decided to get off my lazy butt and blog for a change!  I just realized that I have not uploaded any pictures to my computer this year from my camera and I've only taken about 50 pictures so far.  That is unlike me and I must do better. 

Here are a few of the pictures that I have taken over the last two months-

One Sunday after church...this was such a cute dress on Mallory, however she wasn't feeling having her picture made.

Mallory's furniture (our old bedroom furniture) finally arrived with its new paint job.  I love it, now I just need to add the finishing touches to her room.

Her bedding, which I also love.  A pillow sham is missing because I had taken it to match up some paint for a project I am working on to go over her bed.

Hadley's room...still pretty bare but she has the necessities.

Our foyer which needs help.  This area has stumped me more so than any other in the house.  I just can't decide what to do with this space.  I do have a large mirror above the table now, but I'm still not loving it.  Suggestions?!

The future Mr. & Mrs. Andrews at a dinner to celebrate their engagement :)

My two loves at the engagement dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was the day Mallory had her Valentines party at school.

We have had the warmest winter ever in NC, so we've taken advantage and played outside after work.  Seriously, I think I may have worn a coat about 5 times so far this year, its been nice!

She is dangerous in this thing...two months after Christmas and she still can't drive too well but she loves it!

Showing off!

 

31 weeks

Size of baby:

Your baby's the size of a pineapple!


She's about 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds this month. She's getting so big, she's probably crowding your lungs - - YEP!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gender: All girl!  & she now has some clothes in her closet finally!  She will have a ton once I bring in Mallory's baby stuff, but she has accumulated a few of her own things now too.  I bought her and Mallory their first coordinating dresses last week. 




Maternity Clothes: Yes, most definitely.  I am now in those clothes that you look at at the beginning of pregnancy and think, 'Wow, I'll NEVER be that big!' Ha! 




Weight Gain: 30 pounds.  YIKES!




Movement: Lots of movement :)




Sleep: I am almost scared to say this because I don't want to jinx myself, but sleep is fabulous.  For some weird reason, I don't even have to get up in the middle of the night to pee anymore!  Also, I got the snoogle body pillow after reading a ton of 5 star reviews on it and it is my new BFF.  Perfect support for the back and belly.  I highly recommend. 




Symptoms: Some heartburn, but not nearly as bad as it was with Mallory.  Braxton Hicks and a little swelling.  I can still wear my rings and all my normal shoes so I'm not complaining.  Yet. 





What I miss: Wine, sushi and not carrying around an extra 30 pounds!




Cravings: Urmm, girl scout cookies??  As well as brownies and still Dr Pepper.




What I am looking forward to: I've started the bi-weekly doctor appointments, which means the end is near! 
 
 

& here is my 31 week belly pic.  So glad my phone hides my face...it's as big as my belly! :)

 

Brain dump.

Wow, its been awhile since I've blogged.  I would like to say I have a good excuse, but the truth of the matter is I do not.  The main reason why I haven't is because of the silly game, Words With Friends.  Patrick and I have become addicted to playing and spend our nights (and any free time during the day) playing each other and our friends.  Yea, we are that exciting!  Anyway, this will be a catch up post:

• First and foremost, my little brother got engaged!!!!  Our entire family is beyond ecstatic about this because we LOVE LOVE LOVE his future wife.  Ashley & I have become very close over the past few years also and I can't wait to call her my sister-in-law.  They have set a tentative date of April 27, 2013 and we all can't wait.  They are the cutest couple and I have no doubt that the wedding will be gorgeous.  I've been so consumed with everything baby for the past few years, it will be exciting to go back to weddings for a little while.  Also, what better motivation to lose baby weight than an upcoming wedding??  I'll have a whole year so there should be NO excuses.
• I only have about 11 weeks left of being pregnant.  As I type that out, it is so hard to believe!  I have had the perfect pregnancy and I am so incredibly thankful for that.  I was swelling last week and began to think the worst...(I really need to post a picture of just how swollen I was with Mallory), but this week it is better if not almost gone.  Honestly, I have never felt better than I have during this pregnancy with Hadley.  The next two months may be different, but the first seven have treated me well!  Poor thing still does not have a decorated nursery though which leads me to my next bullet...
• Pinterest has given me some great ideas for the girl's rooms.  However, I really wish I could sew and had more time to do all the neat ideas that I pin.  Mallory's room is complete except for pictures on the walls and window treatments.  I keep meaning to take pictures on the weekend during the daylight, but I haven't even picked up my camera in about a month.  Dang, words with friends!!  Poor Hadley still has no bedding (unless she uses Mallory's which I might do because I haven't found anything I really love).  I would love to get something custom made, but I'm pretty sure I've waited too long for that!  So basically, I have 11 weeks to find bedding, window treatments, wall decor, get it all put together, get out all the baby stuff we have packed away like swing, bouncy seat, car seat, etc.  Oh my, I'm getting stressed just thinking about it all!
• My goal this weekend is to post some updated house pictures.  We have finally hung some pictures and done some decorating, but there is still SO MUCH left to do.  I need to find a money tree.  Stuff is expensive and I am not good at being thrifty, although I am trying to learn.  I still want pictures though, even though the house feels incomplete now I will be able to look back and see the progress that was made one day.  Maybe. 

That is about all my brain can handle after 10 pm on a weeknight.  I'm going to be a better blogger in February, promise!!

25 Weeks

How Far Along: 25 weeks and 2 days.

Size of baby: Baby is the size of an eggplant!

During month six, the average fetus measures about 13.6 inches to 14.8 inches and weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.

 

Gender:  Still a girl!  I had another ultrasound at my last appointment to check on things they couldn't see well back in November and girl parts were still there.  The ultrasound went great and baby Hadley appears to be very healthy. 


Maternity Clothes: Oh yea.  I have been so lucky to get maternity clothes from a cousin and friend and they have saved me!  I am also loving wearing all my regular cardigans with a maternity tee or tank underneath.



Weight Gain: I have no clue.  Patrick took our scales from home to use for something at work and he has yet to return them.  I would guess between 15-20 pounds.  I don't think I will be keeping it under the 25 pound mark like I had hoped. 



Movement: Lots of movement :) 



Sleep: Sleeping is pretty good.  I have just got to the point where it is difficult to roll over or to get out of bed but overall I can't complain.  I ordered a pregnancy pillow that is supposed to arrive today so I'm excited about trying that out. 



Symptoms: The Braxton Hicks have started.  I asked my doctor about it and he said totally normal as long as they did not become regular where I could time them.  I don't remember them being this early with Mallory and he said they start sooner with a second pregnancy.  That's about it.  Still no swelling, thank you God!



What I miss:  I have heard a few weight loss stories lately that have really inspired me.  Patrick and I have agreed to get a treadmill as an anniversary present to each other and I want to start a 5K running program once I am able.  I hope I don't lose the motivation between now and then, although with two kids two and under...I can totally see that happening!



Cravings: Grape juice and lots of it. 


What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery and picking out bedding and decor for Hadley.  Also, entering the third trimester in two weeks.  By this point with Mallory, her nursery was done.  Poor Hadley...I haven't even started on hers.  I guess it's true what they say about the second child! 

2012

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it is 2012.  It can't be ten years ago that I graduated from college!  So much has changed since then.  I'm married with a mortgage, SUV and two kids to feed.  AKA - every dream I had has come true.  Now if only I could work three or four days a week instead of five, my world would be perfect :)

I have LOVED every second of having the past two Monday's off work.  I can't express how nice it is to have that extra day to recover from the weekend and have time to actually get some things done.

We had a pretty quiet New Year's Eve.  Nikki & Jack came over to play Saturday morning.  It was really the first time that Mallory has gotten out of the garage and drove her "car".  The weather was warm and perfect and they had a good time with it.

 Jack was such a gentleman & was content to be pushing the car.

I'm sure we will see this again in a real car in about 14 years.  & I will probably need a nerve pill.

How sweet is Jack?!  Or as Mallory has been calling him, Jacky Boy.

We encourage lots of running to get all that energy out.

Great naps are followed by play time like this.

By the way - Mallory picked her own clothes out on this day.



We had planned on taking Mallory to see her first movie that night but Patrick didn't get home in time.  So, being the big party animals that we are, we stayed home and took down all the Christmas decorations.  I was disappointed about missing the movie because I had talked to Mallory about it all day, but it was a huge relief to get the trees down and everything clean and put away for another year.  We also organized the bonus room, put our old tv up there and did some much needed vacuuming.  I was exhausted by 10 pm and did not see the new year come in.  Not the most fun New Year's Eve, but at least it was productive.  I've had my fair share of fun in the years past and there is always next year! 

We did end up taking Mallory to see the movie like we had promised after church yesterday.  We saw Alvin & the Chipmunks - Chipwrecked.  Mallory got sleepy towards the end, but overall did pretty good.  It was a cute movie and she has talked about it quite a bit since.  It is definitely something we will do again soon, but maybe at a different time of day next time.

Last night we ate black eyed peas with my parents and then again today at the hunting camp, so here's to hoping for a very prosperous 2012!