It's Thankful Tuesday!

 Since I have a lot to be thankful for, I'm stealing my friend Amber's Thankful Tuesday blog theme. :) Speaking of which, you should check out her blog here and her photo blog here. Lots of cute photos of her adorable kiddo!

This week I'm thankful for...

1. Our first month with Kellen. It's been one crazy and fun adventure for sure. He is such a sweet, precious baby and I can't imagine life without him. He's growing entirely too fast for my liking. I want time to slow down so I can enjoy having my tiny baby longer!

2. Time with friends. Last week Kellen and I got to spend some time with the lovely former support staff ladies (and he decided to misbehave...*sigh*), then we headed down to Droverstock with Mom and saw some USAO peeps. It was fun catching up with everyone! I haven't gotten to see many friends lately, so that was some much-needed friend time.

3. Maternity leave. Today is the last day, and it seems like it lasted 5 days instead of 30. I get to work from home for a month, which is great because honestly, a mental breakdown would probably be in the forecast if I had to go back to my office without him tomorrow. Even though I'll be home with him I still have ambivalent feelings about it. I'm blessed to be able to do that and thankful to have an income, but I also want nothing more than to dedicate every waking minute to my baby boy. It's a tough situation for me, knowing that eventually I'll have to spend over 8 hours a day away from him.

4. All the wonderful deals I've found lately. Finances are always tighter than skinny jeans on a chunky emo kid around our house, so having a baby in the mix makes them even tighter. Thankfully, I've found loads of great coupons to help with some of the more expensive things I need for him (Babies R Us in particular has some good'uns), and I've also started religiously checking out blogs like Money Saving Mom. How did I not know about such websites before now??

5. A great Easter weekend. Shaun, Kellen, and I went to church then headed down to Cement to celebrate with the Ladymons. I was really thankful for such a fun first Easter for Kellen, and especially that my in-laws' foster children were able to take part in a Christ-centered family's Easter. Who knows if they'll have that chance ever again.

Time flies when you're sleep deprived and having fun!

I'm currently laying on the couch with a sleeping baby on my chest. Every time I put him down he wakes up and cries. Good thing I love cuddle time with my Kellen! Plus it gives me time to blog.

My lil' man will be 3 weeks old on Monday. I can't believe he's so close to a month old already! Time never seems to pass slowly when I want it to.

The past [almost] 3 weeks have brought many funny and/or sweet moments. I think sitting in our rocking chair with Kellen and singing every hymn I know while he goes to sleep is one my favorite things in the whole world. It definitely makes up for all the moments when Kellen behaves less than stellar. ;)

As far as less-than-stellar behavior goes, today has been pretty full of it! Whitney and Ray came over to do some newborn photos [very belatedly, so they're not even really newborn photos...obviously I'm not the greatest at scheduling lately lol], which means Kellen spent a good portion of the time naked. He peed on me twice, on Whitney's blanket once, on Shaun once, and then he rounded out his bodily function-fest by pooping on my jeans. I think a couple of months ago I would've found this horrifying, but today it just made me laugh. I like to think I'm handling slightly gross bodily functions fairly well! I was worried that I wouldn't.

Speaking of ways I've surprised myself - I've become one of "those" parents. You know them. The parents who post 5,000 photos of their kids every day. Yeah, I was seriously pestered by those types before I had a kid. I promised myself that I wouldn't be one. I wouldn't flood Facebook with pictures of my kiddo! Buuuuut it looks like, despite my promises, I've failed. Let's face it, my kid is too darn cute! If anyone dislikes seeing so many photos of undeniable cuteness, they can unsubscribe from me. :)

Well, that's about all my sleep-deprived brain can come up with for now. I've definitely got some blurry days going on lately! Thankfully Shaun and I seem to handle lack of sleep better than most...or maybe Kellen is sleeping more than most newborns do. In any case, I haven't done anything incredibly goofy yet! Don't worry though, if I do anything too crazy you know I'll share it. :) I can't help but tell on myself!

{2 weeks}

Kellen will be 2 weeks old tomorrow night. Time flies when you're trying to savor every moment!

These past two weeks have taught me a lot. I dove headfirst into motherhood with the notion that anything I expect will probably turn out totally different, and I was right. For starters, everyone's "if you think you're tired now, just wait til he gets here!" proved totally wrong. I'm definitely tired, but not like I expected. Kellen sleeps at night. Not as much as I'd like, but sometimes he'll sleep for 3.5 hours at a stretch, which is awesome!

Kellen also doesn't cry very much. There have been a lot of fussy babies in my family, so I halfway expected him to spend a good deal of each day wailing. You can imagine my relief that he's a quiet little guy!

One of the things I did expect is how much Shaun loves our sweet baby. He's already the best father I've ever seen, and I'm getting teary-eyed just typing that. Having a partner in this parenthood stuff who is patient, loving, and kind is such a blessing.

What I love the most, though, is how my entire perspective on life has changed. It's hard to describe to anyone who doesn't have kids, but the way I view everything, from church sermons to songs to free time at home is different. Somehow a baby brings everything into focus. I feel I understand God's love a fraction more than before, because my love for Kellen is a dim mirror of God's love for me.

This new adventure is by far the favorite I've ever had. It's a tiring, sometimes confusing, always expensive adventure, but it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. Shaun and I are so blessed to have Kellen. God's given me the best family anyone could ask for.

3/12/12

Kellen Daniel
Born at 11:33 on March 12, 2012
Weighing 8 lbs, 4 oz

My sweet baby boy is finally here, and he's already a week old! Time is already flying, and I'm not sure I like it. I want him to be my teeny little guy for a bit longer than he probably will be.

Last Monday Shaun and I went in to Deaconess at 7:30 a.m., where they induced labor. I originally decided against being induced, but my doctor would be taking a few days off and wanted to be sure she was there for the birth, so I agreed to it. Thank God I did! Turns out Kellen was bigger than anticipated (the doctor guessed 6 to 7 lbs), so any longer and I might've ended up getting a C-section or an episiotomy at the very least (yuck). I've been praising God that my doctor needed vacation time to move into her new house!

During the first few hours of labor, which lasted about 15.5 hours, the nurses and doctor monitored my contractions, asking me how much they hurt on a scale of 1 to 10. When I repeatedly said 1 or 2 they kept calling me a trooper. :) Apparently I was talking and relaxing through contractions that leave other women breathless. Then in the afternoon they broke my water and all that changed. I was still able to talk through most of the contractions, but I've been told my face turned some interesting colors. I'd already settled on having an epidural, but I didn't realize that the contractions would triple in pain right after my water broke. I wanted my epidural NOW!

The hilarious anesthesiologist made a point of telling me repeatedly that I had the perfect back for an epidural and that he was used to working with the "great white American buffalo." All the silly banter made the process pretty painless! After that it was smooth sailing, and while many women swear by the beauty of a natural birth, I couldn't be happier with my decision to have an epidural. I remained calm and clear-headed while I pushed and I was able to thoroughly enjoy my first glimpses and touches of Kellen much more than if I'd been in unnecessary pain.

Future mommies, I highly suggest Dr. Alward and the team at Deaconess for labor and delivery. Their birth center is unparalleled in the OKC area. All the doctors and nurses are as sweet and helpful as can be, and the lactation consultant works wonders. Add in the really nice rooms and calming atmosphere and you've got a winner!

Well folks, that's the story of the day Kellen arrived. I'll have more blogs on Kellen and some of our special moments for you soon! I'd appreciate everyone's prayers as the three of us are embarking on this journey as a family. Everything from Kellen's continued good health to finances to just learning to be godly parents has been on my mind lately. It's a lot to take in!

More week 38: Pregnancy brain

Brain no worky.

To be fair, my brain is working...there's just some sequencing off somewhere. I've heard of pregnancy brain, but this is ridiculous. For the past eight months, I've forgotten to do plenty of stuff, but not quite like this week. I usually forget an entire task, but this past week I've done surprisingly well remembering to get everything done...with the exception of one tiny (but important) detail.

First it was my three cheese chicken and pasta. I put all the ingredients in my skillet, Wanda (yes...she has a name. She is my favorite skillet of all time, so she deserves a name), turned the burner on two notches past medium and slapped the lid on, just like I always do. A few minutes later I noticed it wasn't bubbling like it should, and it took me another minute to realize it was because I had turned the knob the wrong way. Instead of medium high, I had it set between low and medium.

Possibly the same night (I really don't remember), I had just put a small load of Kellen's stuff in the laundry when I realized I'd forgotten to put in a few new onesies. I ran (read: waddled) back to his room, grabbed them, and ran back to the washer. I opened the lid...and saw enough water in there for a leprechaun to go swimming. I had forgotten to reset the load size, so instead of "small," it was set on "extra large." -.- Not a big deal, but highly annoying.

Fast forward to tonight...when I started frustrating myself to no end. Mom and I ran some errands and ended with a trip to WalMart so I could pick up cookie ingredients. I double-checked the recipe, declared that I had everything I needed, and headed home. Around 7:15, when I decided to start baking, I realized I'd forgotten something: eggs. I read the recipe twice, I've made this type of cookie a hundred times...yet I forgot one of the most important ingredients. *sigh*

Shaun kindly went to Braum's and picked up some eggs for me and I got started baking. I was putting the first batch in the oven when I realized that I set out the salt, but I never put any in the dough. I decided maybe it wasn't important and went ahead with my cookies.

Turns out they taste just fine, but apparently pregnancy has stolen my ability to tell when cookies are done. The first batch literally fall apart on my cookie rack. And when I say "on" my cookie rack, I really mean "through" my cookie rack. Cookies pieces everywhere.

So here I sit, drowning my sorrows in some nice cold milk and eating broken cookie pieces. I'm pretty sure I've had about 1/3 gallon of milk, but at least I'm not drowning my sorrows in what I really want: cookie dough. I think this is why I haven't baked much in the past few months. I can't handle the temptation!

I suppose Shaun was right when he recently told me "I know what a man's job is in pregnancy. The woman eats for two, the man thinks for two. In my case, anyway" At the time I wasn't so amused, but I have to admit he's right.

Hey, guess what? Still pregnant.

Since my last blog was super short, I feel like I can take license to write as long as I want for this one. Let's face it...I like to ramble.

Today marks the 38th week. Gotta tell ya, I am tired of being pregnant. Being pregnant means I don't get to meet Kellen yet, and it means I get to deal with all these stupid pregnancy woes, like the heartburn. And the nausea. And the tiredness. And the rib pain. And all the other little things like that.

I haven't been too emotional throughout the past 8+ months (that I know of), but I think it's starting to catch up with me. I've seen several Facebook friends who were due after me have their babies early, and the other day it actually made me cry. Yep...I cried out of baby jealousy. Ridiculous, I know.

Every time I read an article saying that women as close to delivering as myself should get extra rest and generally take it easy, I just have to laugh. Who has time for that? I've got tons of work to get done before maternity leave, I've got a crazy amount of housework to do, and I've been helping Shaun get the first issue of the scene[essence] magazine done! So, silly articles: I laugh at your naivete.

Speaking of the magazine, I'm really excited about it. Last night I finished up a fun article about Mitch Brown, the tour manager for Woe, Is Me. He's been a friend of ours since the first time we met the WIM guys in 2010, and he's one of the most impressive young guys in the music industry today if you ask me. If you don't go read about him...I'll cry. Seriously. I'm pregnant. The waterworks could start any time.

...You'll also love the rest of the magazine! Articles about great music + Shaun's super-cool designs = pure awesomeness.

In the midst of all this craziness, I've found myself yearning to go on vacation worse than I can ever remember. I think it might have something to do with knowing I won't get to go anywhere for quite a while! I'm starting to get cabin fever. I'm just ready to go somewhere peaceful. Somewhere that doesn't involve work or other everyday tasks!

I guess that's all that's going on in my exciting little world lately. And when I say exciting, I mean the opposite, because my entire existence is revolving around waiting right now lol. If anyone feels the urge to help me whittle away at my pre-baby to do list, come on over! :)

 Yep. I get this a lot.

Weeks 37/38 in numbers

3 - The number of baby showers Kellen has had

18 - The number of packages of diapers we've been given (that's a lot of diapers!)

15 - Days until Kellen's due date

37 - The number of weeks I've been pregnant (tomorrow is 38 weeks)

24 - The number of pounds I've gained so far

6 to 7 - The approximate weight the doctor is guessing for Kellen's birth weight

4.5 million - The approximate number of times I've complained about how much my ribs hurt

Since this blog is entirely too short, here, have a cartoon!