Baby Love

Maya Grace Liddell....

arrived on Saturday, October 23rd at 5:53pm. She weighed 5 pounds, 14 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long! We are soooo in love! Who would have thought it would have taken me four weeks to FINALLY get a post up about our baby girl?! Oh - that's right, you all did!! Apparently the first four weeks (and then some) with a newborn are extremely emotional and tiring! Who knew? :) Wow- I have barely opened my laptop since we arrived home from the hospital!

Her Arrival ~

I don't really know how to make a long story short, but I'll try my best :) On Friday, October 22nd, I went to bed feeling rather "yucky." I woke up around midnight and realized the "yuckiness" had become mild contractions. This time it was the "real ones." I always wondered how I would know when the contractions were "real" and not just Braxton Hicks. Everyone assured me that you "just know" and boy, is that true. The pain of contractions is very real! Rob began timing my contractions and continued throughout the night. Early Saturday morning I finally made the phone call to the hospital when my contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart for a good hour and a half. I was really hoping they would tell me to come on in, but that was not so :( Instead, the nurse told me to give it another hour or so and then call back. By this time I was really beginning to feel the pain, as the contractions were getting closer together and more intense. We finally packed up the car and headed to the hospital around 6:30 am, desperately hoping they would not send us home. Much to my excitement, we arrived at the hospital and they determined that the contractions were, in fact, progressing labor. YAY! An added bonus was that my midwife also happened to be in labor and delivery that day! They admitted me, asked me a million questions, began my IV, and ordered my epidural. Before going into labor, I was undecided as to whether or not I would get an epidural. However, once labor began, it didn't take me long to determine that I absolutely wanted one! It was such a life-saver. I had been feeling pretty miserable {and crabby} and once the epidural was hooked up, I was finally able to relax and rest as labor progressed. How do women do it without?? I don't ever want to know ;) I progressed pretty steadily throughout the afternoon, pain-free I might add. Rob and I hung out around the room, watching tv and napping here and there. Around 5:15 my midwife came in to check me and I was complete and ready to push! I pushed for about 20 minutes and Maya was born. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had in my life. Rob was such a trooper! They immediately brought her to my chest and I was able to hold her skin-to-skin. I cried and couldn't believe how absolutely perfect she was. I couldn't get over her perfect fingers and toes, her beautiful eyes and little nose... I was just in awe, overwhelmed with love for this little girl I had just carried for 10 months. It truly is amazing! Here are a few pics from the first days... will update again soon about "life at home." More pics to come because God knows we already have hundreds of them ;)

Our new family of 3!

38 Week Update

I had my 38 week appointment with my midwife this evening and all is looking well. She estimated baby girl Liddell to be around 6.5 pounds and said she sounds wonderful. She is still in the head down position, ready for delivery! She "checked" me and determined that my cervix is still "closed." However, she made it very clear that this is just a measure of where my body is at right now and has no bearing on what tonight, tomorrow, or next week will bring! I could go 3 more weeks for all I know. {Let's hope not!}

What I do know is that I am feeling much better this week than last week. The swelling in my ankles and feet has gone down significantly. In fact, I've lost 4 pounds since my appoinment just last week. My midwife attributes the weight change to the extra water weight I was carrying last week! Yuck- thank goodness the swelling has subsided {for now!} Good-bye marshmallow feet! I know most people call them cankles, but these babies were far beyond cankles ~ Just ask Rob ;)

~ 38 week belly picture ~

I have to take a moment to thank a wonderful friend for being so dang thoughtful that it brought me to tears today! Flowers are just the icing on the cake for all that she did for me today. Thanks Jen for making my week! Thanks to Rob for being in on the "little secret" and for not spoiling the surprise even when I threatened you ;)

Peace

As my due date approaches, I am finding that I have days when I feel completely at peace with our baby girl's pending arrival and then I have days when I feel moments of complete panic and anxiety! {As if it really matters if every last onesie or pair of socks is washed!!} :p

Last night as I was prepping for what I hope to be my last full week of school, I began to feel some pretty strong contractions. Although they were totally sporadic, I admit, I felt a moment of panic. Rob and I were just relaxing, watching tv while I was typing up some lesson plans on the computer. At one point I remember looking at him thinking, "This could be it!" followed by "Crap~I don't have all my lesson plans done for this week!" Thankfully, once I got up and moved around, the contractions subsided and the evening proceeded uneventfully. I say thankfully because I'm really hoping she'll hang out in there until her due date! As much as I would love to meet this little girl and hold her in my arms, I know that it's best she stay put for just a few weeks longer.


I know one of these times, this really will "be it" and Baby Girl Liddell will be on her way, whether or not the laundry is washed and put away, the dishes are clean, the floors are swept, the lesson planning is done, or my toenails are polished. {But for the record, my toenails ARE polished ~ just in case} :)


In the meantime, I am enjoying my moments of quiet: my mornings when just the kitties and I are awake eating breakfast, my afternoons of walks and play-time with Annie, and my late nights of chatting with Rob before falling asleep. I know our lives will change in the most amazing way possible, but that at the same time, things will never be the same. That thought makes me kind of sad, but excited at the same time. Rob and I had 6 years together of just him and I before getting married. After living together for almost a year, we decided to add to our family by adopting our two furry cats, Ellie and Macy. Only months after getting married, we added to our family again with our yellow lab, Annie. Now, having been married for a year and a half, we are getting ready to celebrate yet another addition ~ this time, a baby girl, to our lives! So for this moment ~ I am feeling at peace...

My favorite part of this quote is the last sentence:

"it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. "

9 Months?!

Wow ~ I have reached the 36 week mark. If you do the math, that makes me officially 9 months pregnant! I can't believe we're within weeks of meeting our little girl. I think I can safely say that I can count down the weeks on one hand now! Really, I could go into labor at any time now and the risks would be very minimal, if any!!



I had an appointment with my midwife today and she had nothing but positive things to say. Baby sounds good (her heart), feels good (when poking and prodding at her), and looks good (based upon my belly measurements)! She is currently in the head-down position, with her little butt just under my ribs. Let's hope she stays that way!! While things are beginning to be much more crowded in this belly of mine, she continues to move quite a bit. She must be moving her hands and feet around. Occasionally, I'll feel a nice little kick or punch to my bladder, my ribs, or any other organs that might get in the way of her kickboxing! As much as I can't wait to meet her, I will miss the feeling of her constantly moving inside of me. It's a pretty amazing feeling! I love that every time I cross my arms on my belly or put my hands on it, she lets me know that she is there!



I had another wonderful shower this last weekend. It was such a beautiful day! Thanks to Jenny for hosting such a nice shower at her house! Thanks to all my Onalaska/Holmen/La Crosse friends and family for coming :) A special thanks to my Mom for surprising me and coming! Unfortunately, I only took a couple pictures, but here's a little sneak peek!

Jenny, Jenni, and I after the shower.

The beautiful diaper cake that Jenny made! I just love it and all the goodies hidden inside it!!

And the yummy angel food cupcakes with home-made frosting!! Don't they look amazing?!

36 weeks ~ I apologize for the less than stellar quality of this photo. It was taken on a commercial break during the Packer game last night only minutes before my bedtime! It was a quick photo-session, as my photographer (AKA Rob) was a little distracted by other things currently on tv (AKA Monday Night Football)! ;)

6 (+ or - a couple) weeks to go!

A couple of FAQ:

How far along are you? 34 weeks

When are you due? October 26th ~ 39 days to go, according to lilypie.com

What are you having? A girl!

Do you have any names picked out? Yes and No. We have a list of a few names, but none that we are set on (Correction ~ none that we totally agree on.) We will have to narrow it down when she is born. Don't tell Rob, but I'm secretly hoping he'll break down and let ME choose her name ;)

How are you feeling? I am feeling great! My belly is getting big, but otherwise I have no complaints. Okay - other than my ankles which are CONSTANTLY swollen. I guess that's what being on your feet ALL day will do to a pregnant woman! I think I'll be wearing flip flops until November because God knows I can't squeeze my feet into regular shoes (at least not during the week!)

How are you sleeping? As good as I can! I think the long days at school help me crash at night! I also sleep with multiple pillows to help keep comfortable.

Are you nesting? Yes- not only at home, but at school too! It is awful! I feel like I can't ever keep up with wanting things to be immaculate around the house and in my classroom ~ attemping the impossible, I guess. I'm probably driving Rob even more crazy than normal when I flip out over some mail laying on the island, a dish or two in the sink, or some socks laying on the floor! What can I say?? ;) I'm getting ready for baby!

How is Rob feeling? He thinks he's gained sympathy weight. I think that's great! Then we can shed the pounds together post-baby!! Otherwise, he's doing great and getting excited for baby's arrival! He's been extremely supportive through this entire journey ~ always making me laugh when I just want to cry, rubbing my back when it's been a long day, and waiting on me when I whine about my swollen ankles. However, I think he may have a heart-attack if she gets any more clothing! I think he'll be surprised at how many outfits she will actually go through in a week! Oh - and the whole dirty diaper thing has him totally freaked! I say he'll learn quickly and it won't be nearly as bad as he thinks it will be. Okay- it will totally be just as bad as he thinks it will be, but I think he'll handle it much better than he thinks.

Will you notify people when you go to the hospital? Don't worry ~ Rob will be updating facebook regularly on our progress! My friend, Jenny, has also graciously volunteered to update my blog as soon as there is any news (Right, Jenny?)

All in all things are going wonderfully! We finally picked out our crib bedding which I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I will post pictures as soon as I have the nursery set up. It is currently cluttered with gift bags, tissue paper, baby clothing, baby suppplies, baby toys, and many other things baby (ALL of which Annie thinks belong to her, I might add). I am beginning to feel ready ~ ready because we have all the "stuff," ready to be done being pregnant, ready to have my ankles and feet back, ready to wear my old clothes again, ready to meet our baby girl, and ready to watch Rob fall more in love with our daughter than he could ever imagine!

Next up... pack our hospital bags and WAIT!

Here are a few pics of our first baby shower, thanks to the Liddell/Flynn families, friends, and a WONDERFUL Mother-In-Law who organized the entire thing!!

Thinking really hard while playing a fun trivia game!

Mommy and Daddy-to-be

Yummy cake!!

34 Weeks Pregnant ~ Beware of the following pictures!

I am baring the belly this time to show its true size!!

Annie: Big Sister

When Baby Liddell arrives in October, Annie isn't going to know what hit her. Her world is going to turn upside down with all the attention {eeek...} on something other than HER! But I'm not worried! You can see for yourself that Annie is already a great "helper" and I'm confident that she'll be a great big sister. For other dog lovers... How did you introduce your furbaby to your new baby??

Annie helping to paint the nursery

{Notice old paint color: canary yellow}

Annie helping to open the boxes of crib parts

{Notice new paint color: celery green}

Annie helping to find all the pieces

Annie helping to read the directions for the stroller

Annie helping to assemble the stroller.

I'm sure she'll also "help" with dirty diapers, stinky laundry, and baby toys. ;)

P.S. I'm 30 weeks (30 weeks 3 days to be exact) pregnant! Almost to the single digit countdown!! AND I think I finally found a cribset that I like.... pics coming soon!

Time for an Update....

.... in more than one way! First things first, I got a new laptop!! Yay!! I was so excited to frequently update my blog once I became pregnant and had actual news to blog about. However, I've been without a laptop since last December when mine crashed!! Sitting in our office (in the basement) at the desktop is not exactly convenient for internet surfing, online shopping, facebook stalking, and blog updating! BUT I am back in the game, and hopefully more frequent updates will follow. My blog is currently "under construction" and might be for awhile because I know nothing about designing blog templates. So - forgive me while I play around with different fonts, colors, and backgrounds until I find something that works for me!
In baby news, It's hard to believe I haven't updated since our ultrasound almost 10 weeks ago!! My pregnancy is going wonderfully, and I am feeling amazing. I really have nothing to complain about if you don't count weight gain, heart burn, and swollen ankles, but those are just minor, right? ;) I am growing daily, which means baby is also growing bigger and stronger. I can't believe I am already in my 3rd trimester. I know those first 12 or so weeks just DRAGGED on while I waited to announce our news, but the last few months have just flown by. She will be here before we know it!

Here I am in all my pregnancy glory at 28 weeks!

Coming soon: Nursery pictures! We've painted the nursery and purchased our crib. However, we are STILL looking for a cribset, so please pass on any suggestions you might have for cute websites, shops, etc... I've checked Target, Babies R Us, JC Penney, Pottery Barn Kids, Amazon.com, Ebay, and countless other sites and have yet to come across something I love.