6 weeks

Tomorrow marks Connelly's 6th week birthday. I also go in for my 6th week checkup. The last 2 days have been really hard. I have been exhausted. Yesterday and today Connelly has been crying way more than usualy and I have been more tired. She is starting to smile a bit, but I still haven't considered any her 1st smile yet, not until she gives me a full out grin. I can't remember if I mentioned I got her pictures taken last week by this amazing photographer, I have been waiting all week for them to be posted. Well today she called and told me most of the pictures had somehow been deleted. I was so bummed, b/c the best pics were taken at the end of the session. We go back Sunday to have more taken, but when you have a 9lb 4oz baby at birth, they are quite huge at 6 weeks. And she has a little bit of baby acne. So I really hope she gets a lot more great shots and she is able to get them up fast so I can get the announcements ordered and sent out b/c I am a little behind on that.

Okay, well off to bed for me. Have a great night.
Beth

1 month old

Connelly was 1 month on Monday. Wow time flies by when you're a first time mom. Connelly is doing great. Breastfeeding was SO hard the first month. Miraculously something happened between last Friday & Saturday and now it doesn't hurt. I mean Friday I was still in so much pain, latching was excruciating and I cringed mostly the whole feeding time, but not anymore. It doesn't even really hurt to latch her anymore. I am so glad, b/c I asked myself everyday why I was still trying, it was beginning to not be worth it. I still alternate every once in a while with breastmilk in bottles, which gives me a nice break. Also she slept through the night for the first time Tuesday night. We put her to bed at 10pm and I woke her up at 7:30am. I figured it would probably be a one time thing, but she slept through the night again. Last night we put her to bed at 10:30pm and she woke up this morning at 7am. I can't believe it, I feel so lucky. I still get up once a night to pump though, but I am glad she is getting her rest. Anyways, I hope all is well (Martha, Jen, Nancy, Carrie, everyone else). Sorry I haven't been in the blogging world for a while.

The pic I took on Monday when she was 1 month old. We are having her pics taken tomorrow by this AMAZING photographer that takes pics like Anne Geddes so I am so pumped.

Have a great day and week.

Beth

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