A much better week!

This week is already starting off so much better than last week was. I didn't know it would be this hard, but I truly wouldn't change it for the world. Jeremy's mom is here with me this week and I am so thankful. She is the kind of person that does everything for you, so I know that I will have so much help this week which will be so nice. I didn't think I would want her to spend the night w/ us, but now that the time is here, I am so glad I have asked her to do so. Even if I don't need her in the middle of the night, I do feel better that she is here. I think she is enjoying the time also. This is their first grandchild and she is loving that. Jeremy's parents were born to be grandparents. They have been grandparent-like to my other nieces and nephews (our families get along very well and spend a more than average amount of time together) for years now and we have always said that they would be incredible grandparents and they are just that. Anyways I love her and his dad very much and am so grateful to have them in my lives!!!

I attached a pic of Connelly. We had a little photo op w/ her this past Sunday. This is one of my favorite pictures of her. Hope you enjoy it!

I promise I will be more blog active someday soon. Thanks for sticking w/ me and keeping me company through my journey.

Beth

Connelly

Well I apologize for my absence; it has been a long and hard, but for the most part good week. Wow, motherhood is hard, but I love my daughter and can't believe that she is finally here. I don't have time to tell her birth story yet, but hopefully within the next week I will. I will just say she got here safely, at a faster rate than we had expected and with such a better labor & delivery that a could have ever hoped for. No one could believe that she came out of me b/c she was so huge, it was funny seeing the doctor's mouth drop when he pulled her out. No wonder I had such bad ECP (EVIL CROTCH PAIN)!!! Anyway, this week as far as being a mom goes has been incredible. I love holding her and and watching her and I can't believe how much Jeremy & I love her. Breastfeeding has been a nightmare, however, I REALLY want to do it, and so I am keeping with it until I get it down! I have spoken w/ many specialists to get help and luckily I have such a large support system between our moms and all my sisters. Yesterday was probably my lowest point and I cried most the day, but by last night, things were looking up and today I am almost completely heeled (my nipples) and breastfeeding hasn't been as painful today and so which each time it goes well I build so much confidence and my spirits are raised. I am really sorry I haven't posted, but like I said I just haven't felt like doing much and so I am hoping next week I am feeling much better and am able to get more done. I appreciated all of your well wishes, we feel so blessed with our miracle girl and can't wait to celebrate our first Christmas as a family!

I hope you enjoy the pics; a ton more to come along w/ the whole birth story!

Beth

Connelly Maret is here!

This is Beth's friend, Carrie, here to give you a quick update.

Connelly Maret was born yesterday at 3:37 pm. She weighed a whopping 9 lbs, 4 oz! And was 21 inches long! Here she is, just minutes after her birth...



Connelly and Beth are both doing very well. I was up there this morning and saw first hand just how adorable Connelly is! She has the cutest cheeks!

Beth is being discharged tomorrow so she will probably post the details and some pictures in the next few days.

Congrats to Jeremy and Beth on the birth of their beautiful daughter!

How Far We've Come

I attached pics of me at 6 weeks and than those of me at 40 weeks. What a difference. We are almost ready. I got newborn diapers last night and we bought our camcorder. Jeremy had fun playing w/ it all night taping Lucy. He wanted to tape me in the bath tub which I put a stop to very fast. He was like we won't show anyone, and I still said "um, hell no, get a good look now, b/c there is nothing about this look that I want taped!!!" It was nice to take a bath though, I read up a little in the "What to Expect when Expecting." I haven't read all the book, I just read some of the parts that seem helpful to me as I get to that stage. I am starting to get nervous. I mean holy cow we are getting induced in less than 24 hours. I just pray that everything goes okay, and baby & me make it out safe & healthy. Lately I have been having a hard time w/ superstitions again. I have found myself wanting to say, we'll have a baby on Friday, but saying hopefully. I hate myself for thinking that way, but again I am having a hard time thinking that I might jinx myself. I know it is silly and I wish I didn't think that way, but this whole thing still seems so surreal. Again, I pray that tomorrow goes smoothly and Jeremy & I are blessed with a healthy little girl at the end of the day!!!

I decided to treat myself to a prenatal massage today, so that will be happening in the next couple hours. I haven't had a massage in over 2 years, so I am really looking forward to it. I also am going to go to the fire station to ask them to install my car seat (which I love and am so glad I switched!!!) Jeremy has been so sweet these past couple days. It is neat to see how he is trying to bond w/ the baby since his experience is different than mine since I am carrying the baby. He talks to her and holds me & her and he is just so excited. I can't wait for it to be the 3 of us in the hospital room, it is going to be amazing! I am also really excited to give him his gift. I don't want to say what it is now, just in case he reads this but I will share afterwards.

Okay, well wish me luck, I will post as soon as possible tomorrow or I'll have Jeremy or Carrie do it for me. And no Dr.Dom you can not videotape at my feet, and neither can Jeremy. We will be videotaping only from above, I do not need footage of my crotch for me or anyone else to see.

Have a great night, I am going to try and get some sleep tonight, b/c tomorrow is our big day!

Beth

We set a date

A date has been set. We are getting induced this Friday morning. We are so excited. I went in today to get checked again and to have a sonogram. Everything looked great w/ the baby. She kept sucking her fist and fingers. It was nice to see her again and to see that she is doing okay. The doctor said I was still only 1-2 cm dilated. He stripped my membranes w/ didn't feel great. I was glad to have Jeremy there w/ me today for everything. He rubbed my legs during the sonogram and it just was nice to have him there to experience everything w/ me. When the doctor said that he would induce and gave us the option of Friday or Tuesday we went for Friday b/c Jeremy had kept saying that was the day he wanted beforehand and I had said I wanted the first date they would do it, so we both got what we wanted. The doctor said he could wait up until next Friday, but we decided we were ready and he reassured us that the baby is fine to come whenever. Like I said before, we are so excited. I am now getting a bit scared. I hadn't really wanted to be induced b/c I didn't want the Pitocin contractions, so now I am fearful of them, but I'll live and it will be worth it when we are holding our little girl.

I ended up deciding to exchange my carseat & stroller. Thank god I am obsessive about keeping boxes b/c we were able to get a full refund and I was able to get the one I wanted at BRU. We ended up saving money b/c it was cheaper and I feel so relieved. I swear each time I walked by the other one I disliked it more, so I am glad I was able to return the other one and I know I have the one I want now.

We took some pics yesterday but I haven't downloaded them yet, but when I do, I will post them. Thanks for hanging in there, we will be delighted to show off our little girl in just a few days!

Have a great night. I am not feeling 100% and the weather here was TERRIBLE today so I have spent quite a bit of time in the car driving, so I am really tired. I think I might take a bath tonight. I got the baby's bag packed last night, Jeremy's gift wrapped and my bag almost packed. I am waiting on one more load of laundry. I need to get a pack of newborn diapers and our breastpump and I would like to get one of the J.J. Cole carseat covers this week, so I hope I can get it done tomorrow or Thursday.

Beth

Blog Awards & Memes

I thought I would finally catch up with these. Thank you SO much to Candi & Martha who awarded me the "I Love Your Blog" award and "Your Blog is Fabulous" award. I want you to know how much I appreciate you guys reading along. It has been a long year so far and I don't think I could have got through it like I have w/o the support of all my blogging sisters!!!

I will pass both awards on to the following five people b/c I think they are that great that they deserve both. And also right back at you to Candi http://ivfinglife.blogspot.com/ & Martha at A Sense of Humor is Essential http://comicallyflawed.blogspot.com/ for your blogs b/c I LOVE reading along. Oh and btw, I don't know how to make someone's name a link, so I had to put their whole URL in, sorry, I am not completely blog savey yet.

1. I have to first give the awards to my good friend Carrie at The Simple Life of Carrie http://thesimplelifeofcarrie.blogspot.com/. We are not only friends online, but she is one of my greatest friends in the world. She & her husband are expecting in May after suffering a miscarriage in July. They are so excited and so am I.

2. I want to give the awards to Jen at Here We Go Again http://jenniferelaineg.blogspot.com/. She and her hubby just delivered their beautiful baby girl Elizabeth Rose yesterday and she was already blogging about 3 hours after delivery. I love reading along and am so excited for them.

3. I can't forget Nancy at The New Life of Nancy - Infertile & Sarcastic http://thenewlifeofnancy.blogspot.com/. She is pregnant w/ their 3rd after much trouble and they are having their first boy. I can't wait to meet Karl. I just love reading all her out there posts. I don't know how she comes up w/ the topics she does, but I love it and can't get enough!!!

4. I enjoy reading Beverley at a Baby? Maybe... http://ababymaybe.blogspot.com/. I can't remember how I found her blog, but her & her hubby looked about my age and so I became interested and haven't stopped reading since. They are expecting a little girl this January.

5. And then I love reading Apple & Banana from Denise at Freezer Buns http://freezerbuns.blogspot.com/. I have been fascinated by reading about her pregnancy w/ 2 babies and can't wait for their arrival.

Now for the meme:

Rules for this Random Meme:

1. Link to the person who tagged you. (Martha http://comicallyflawed.blogspot.com/)

2. Post the rules on your blog.(here you go)

3. Write six random things about yourself.

a. I am obsessed w/ crime shows and don't get squeamish at looking at pics of crime scenes

b. I am a pack rat

c. I am an OCD, perfectionist, control freak

d. My favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast (this Disney version)

e. I am very indecisive (you know this if you've been reading for a while)

f. I love football, I could watch NFL all day Sunday and usually do, and I love watching my fav college football team, the MU Tigers (even if they have semi-sucked this year, not really, but they should have done better)

4. Tag six people at the end of your post: well I will tag five & I will do the same I gave my awards to.

5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

7. Thank you sincerely for any randomness or blog love that you have to share.

Okay so thanks again to Candi & Martha for my awards. I am still pregnant and have a feeling I will be for at least another week or two.

Have a great day.

Beth

Updating FINALLY!

38 weeks

36 weeks, 4 days

I have been so busy, I apologize for not posting. So much for not working, not only have I worked the past 2 days, I have accumulated overtime. I am so tired and ready for this week to be over. I know once my awards ceremony is over on Saturday I will be able to relax, and I can't wait for that to get here!!!

I went to the doctor yesterday and didn't have that great of a visit. It really wasn't a big deal, but I think I am just getting tired now and so that is what made it not good. He said I am dilated 1 cm, so mainly no activity at all. Yesterday's check was pretty painful, just like the first one. (Last week's wasn't too bad, but last week I wasn't dilated or effaced) I feel silly b/c it hurts and I wonder if the doctor is thinking if this hurts her than how the hell is she going to take having a baby. I also gained 4 lbs in one week so I felt big, I know it isn't that big of a deal, but I was already feeling down and for some reason it made me feel worse. He said we would schedule an induction date at my next appointment (next Tuesday). He also ordered some test next Tuesday, which was some fancy word for a sonogram where they do measurements and check on the baby. I am just glad to be able to see her again next week if she hasn't come already (which I don't think she will). I told Jeremy that I really wanted him there to be w/ me. I am just tired now and want him to be there for me to lean on a bit, so luckily he was able to get off work and will be able to go.

He has been great lately. He was sick for a couple days, so that was hard w/ us both not wanting to do anything, but is feeling better now. We went to Babies R Us on Saturday and got quite a bit that I think we'll need before the babe gets here. We got the new swing. Jeremy hasn't put it together yet b/c he didn't feel good and then had to do work last night, so hopefully tonight. We want to see if the swing is noisy so like some of the reviews have mentioned, all the displays I checked were really noisy, but I still wanted to get it home myself and try it out. If we aren't happy, there was one more that we liked that I will exchange it for, the other one was more expensive and I liked this one better, so hopefully we will be pleased with what we have, we'll see.

I have been going back & forth now wondering if I chose the right color pattern for my car seat & stroller. I know that that is so dumb, but as a very indecisive person, I have been struggling w/ my decision. I can't even return mine now b/c it has been over 2 months, so I don't know why I am stressing about it, but I am. I also realized that the one we chose holds up to a 30lb baby while the other one holds up to a 22lb baby, so that is good. But do 22lb baby's still fit into carseats like these anyway???

I do pretty good during the day, but night times are the worst. I get so stiff. It isn't usually falling asleep that is the problem, it is when I wake up to pee, that I am stiff and it is painful to move. I feel like such a complainer so I apologize, once again I am just tired. For some reason for the past 2 months my right wrist hurts so bad when I wake up. I don't know what the hell I am doing w/ it in the middle of the night, but somehow I am aggravating it, b/c it is not happy w/ me each morning!!!

Okay, well, I guess I'll stop whining now. I am sorry I haven't been around, I haven't had time even to read blogs. I posted some pics from 36 1/2 weeks & 38 weeks and then one of Lucy in the jumperoo. Enjoy!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, we did!

Beth