Settling in...

We are enjoying every second as a little family of three. This morning, the reality of what we have accomplished truly set in when I saw my husband and my son lying on the couch together listening to music. Both of them were equally fascinated with each other and it felt amazing to witness such a special father/son moment. It is just a dream come true. We are filled with emotion and love and just couldn't be happier to be starting this new chapter of our lives. We are still getting settled in but I will write Ayden's birth story very soon!
~Sarah

So in love <3

This little man has captured our hearts. He has quite the birth story. We are going to take some time soon to recall the details for another post or two before we forget. We just can't get over the fact that we made this perfect human from scratch. A little of me and a little of the love of my life. No words can describe it but since a picture can say 1,000 words:

He Is Here!!

Ayden Matthew

7lbs 1 3/4oz and 20" of pure cuteness. 

He arrived today at 4:03pm.  

Welcome to the world baby boy!!

Still Waiting...

Soooo our due date came and went yesterday (surprise, surprise).

 We had a midwife appointment last night and everything still looks great! The best news is that our little guy is fully engaged in my pelvis (never really crossed my mind that such things would one day be so exciting). Here was my friend Whitney's response to the post-midwife appointment update text:

Haha, love her! :)

I'm lying in bed right now because I can't seem to get more than an hour or two of sleep at a time. I figure if I hang out here, I can take full advantage of any sleepy opportunities that may present themselves. It's also still only 8:53am and I think most normal people who don't have to go to work, or have young children are still in bed at this time anyway. One upside to being over-due is that I still belong in this category.

In a recent post I had said that I'd accept any discomforts with open arms because I was concerned that the "loss" of my pregnancy would keep me from fully embracing labor. Well bring. it. on! Last night, Ayden got in the most terrible position! My back was aching in the most indescribable, uncomfortable way and he was shoved up into BOTH sides of my ribs (a first as he's usually considerate enough to only crowd one side at a time). I also was having some mild, yet crampy contractions. To top it all off, it all happened at bed time (and then continued all night long). Needless to say, after another night or two like that I'll totally be on board with my anxious husband and family members who WANT THIS BABY OUT!

But, at almost 9 am on the day after my due date, my comfort level is good again (comparably) and all seems quiet. Now I shall summon the patience that every parent needs to find to let their babies do things in their own time and in their own way. I want to be the best mother I can possibly be so in the spirit of finding the bright side, I shall look at this great waiting game as our first true test. We love this baby so much already and can't wait to have him in our arms but it will be on his own time and in his own way and that is as it should be.
~ Sarah

The Great Waiting Game...

Tomorrow is January 17, 2012... our estimated due date. I've been experiencing some interesting symptoms since Friday (a couple of spells of crampy contractions as well as some pelvic pressure) but nothing too crazy. David and I got all bundled up yesterday and took Maverick for a brisk 3 mile walk and I've been bouncing on my birth ball and engaging in... other physical activity as much as possible ;). I know all of these things are supposed to get the baby in position, and possibly even induce labor, but at the end of the day our little guy is going to come when he's good and ready. Until then I'll continue to try to encourage things to get moving as well as do as much of this as possible:

Snuggling with my cat, Polly

...because I know relaxing just may become a thing of the past very soon! I am actually using the Blogger App on my iPhone to write this and think it will definitely help me post much more often!! See you soon!

~Sarah

It's been a while...

Wow... I haven't updated since the end of my first trimester and here we are at 36 weeks. Almost TERM! Here are a few big things that have happened since I last wrote:

1. We found out that we are having a BOY!! And we are naming him Ayden Matthew.
2. We have decided to have a home birth.
3. We've had our baby showers, his room is ready, his cloth diapers and clothes are washed and everything is set up, and ready for him.

What an amazing experience pregnancy has been for me. As we near the finish line (or starting line... depending on how you view it) I am filled with mixed emotions. Overall, I have LOVED being pregnant. I have been so fortunate to feel fabulous from the start and I don't think I ever want it to end. This, to me, is good and bad. Good because I can always look back on it so fondly; but bad because I always thought that the discomfort that pregnant women face toward the end of their pregnancy was there to give them extra motivation to face birth head on. As of right now I do not fear birth, but I don't want the "loss" of my pregnancy to hold me back during the process. This being said, at this point I am willing to accept any discomfort with open arms!!

I thought that I would want to document my pregnancy weekly, or maybe even daily, but when it came to it... there really wasn't much to share. I felt like myself most of the time and when I would try to think about what I could write or make a video about I would just have the same old stuff to say. I hope that I don't regret not doing more.

There are so many complex thoughts and emotions involved this late in a pregnancy. At least for me and my husband. We have both become more emotional overall. I guess the reality of becoming parents is hitting us and a wonderful and powerful way. We'll watch a movie and be crying saps by the end and this week he brought me flowers after a busy day and it made me cry (if you knew me when I wasn't pregnant, you'd know that sappy crying is a little out of character). Aren't they beautiful??

I just love him so much and am so happy to have him as a partner for this next chapter in our lives. Now that the end (or beginning) is near, my biggest concern about becoming a mother doesn't actually have anything at all to do with the baby. It's whether or not David and I will be able to maintain the strong relationship we have spent the past 11 years (12 in March!) building. I want our top priority to be to keep the perspective that we are a team and in this together. There isn't a single other person in the world who will understand, relate or support what we are going through with this little guy, good or bad, better than each other. As I've been reading countless pregnancy and child-rearing related books there has been a quote that has stuck in my mind (though I can't remember which book it actually came from):

"The most important thing for the baby is the health of his parents' relationship."

I would love to hold this as our mantra. Though it may be difficult at times, striving to keep each other as number 1 will be the best thing we can do for our son. It is as simple as that.

Here are a couple of comparison pictures of my belly thus far in the pregnancy. Total weight gained to date: 24lbs and NO stretch marks (yet... YAY!).

First Trimester Reflection

13 weeks! Goodbye first trimester, hello second! Now that I am in the second trimester, it's time to start TRUELY enjoying this pregnancy :). Things can now slow down and take as long as they want. While I sit back and enjoy my decreased risk of miscarriage and my increase in energy (ummm... energy... are you there? This is your official invitation to come back!), I thought that I would reflect on my first trimester experience.

• FATIGUE: This has been my most consistent symptom. Naps have become my friend! Come mid day I’ll look at a nice, soft spot of carpet on the floor and think it look as good as a goose down comforter to snuggle in...
  So what if I’ve napped on the floor a couple of times, don’t judge! My energy has not yet fully returned but I am looking forward to when it does!

• "Morning" Sickness: I think I have been lucky overall nausea wise. I've had five bouts of dry heaves - two induced by hunger and three by rotten plants (more on that in a second...) and have totally tossed my cookies only once but it may not count since it was triggered by a sensitive gag reflex (guess I won't be brushing my tongue for the next 6 months) rather than nausea.

• Aversions: I've only had one. As mentioned above, ROTTEN PLANTS and most green vegetables. Especially the highly nutritious leafy green ones that I used to eat all. the. time. This started happening around 7 or 8 weeks. I usually just tried to stay away from them but sometimes it's difficult. One gagging episode was triggered when I dumped an old vase from a bouquet of flowers (the stems had gotten moldy and the water STUNK), the second was cleaning out the produce drawer in the fridge which I had been avoiding. Avoiding it just made the problem worse but luckily I have a supportive hubby that cleaned out the rest after I had to take a gag break (he may or may not have found it a little humerus). The third episode was triggered when David dumped our compost bucket and I couldn't get the smell out of my nose. Nasty stuff!!

• Cravings: Pimento cheese, salt & vinegar chips, wheat pasta with butter and parmesan cheese, blueberry bagels, blueberry waffles, also all other berries. I haven't indulged all of these but for the ones that I have, once I eat it once or twice it's out of my system. I think I'm yet to experience the TRUE power of a pregnancy craving...

• Worry: I think most women are plagued by worry in their first trimester but it is especially when you aren't having the symptoms you are "supposed" to. All of the people I talk to and books that I read talk about how sick you should be Instead of being thankful that I felt normal most of the time, it just made me worry that something wasn't right.

• Body Changes: Things are definitely changing. I had a breakout around my mouth and on my chin around 9 weeks or so but once it cleared up I've had nothing since. My chest is sore most of the time but some days more than others. David sure isn't complaining about the changes going on there... We started seeing belly rounding at around 9 weeks or so. I'm in the stage now where people who don't know me still can't tell and people who know me but don't KNOW probably think I'm eating too many blueberry waffles and salt & vinegar chips. I also noticed less than normal hair shedding in the past couple of weeks so maybe I'll finally have a thick head of a hair (for a little while at least)! I have gained about 3lbs. and they say that 3-5 is normal for the first trimester so I can't complain.

• Headaches: "Funny" how you are more susceptible to headacheswhen you can't take much for them... I had a few doozies early on that I thought sleep would cure but they just woke me up throughout the night with their throbbing. They did eventually go away without medicine but they were pretty bad in the mean time.

• Mood: Not too different. Maybe cry a little easier but nothing too crazy. (yet...)

• Exercise: Jogging and yoga on most days. My doctor encourages patients to continue their previous workout regimen so I have. I'd like to keep lifting light weights but I need to find a pregnancy-friendly program to follow so I don't get bored (oh, and some energy!).

• I also have just felt "weird" most evenings, especially if I can't get a nap in. I think it's been a combination of fatigue and low blood sugar after a long day.

That's the first trimester in a nutshell. The best parts by far were, of course, the ultrasound and going to my second doctor's appointment on June 29th at 11 weeks where we heard the heartbeat again, loud and clear:

Tata for now! :)