Welcome to the world little miss Hadley Kaye :)

WOW! I cant believe it has already been a little over a week since we have welcomed this miracle into the world.

Hadley arrived on March 9, 2014 at 6:16AM at the adorable size of 6 lbs 7.5 oz. She is perfect. God is so great.

Her original due date was March 21st and the labor/delivery was one for the books (says all the doctors who were around during the delivery). As  a matter of fact, after she was born the attending physician looked at the other physicians and nurses and said "OK...time for some champagne to celebrate this delivery HOLY COW!" then my awkward timing I say, "Have 2 glasses of champagne for me!" haha

Here's how it went down.....

Friday March 7th/Saturday March 8th- my husband (who has NEVER been sick since I've known him..legit, NEVER been sick) got sick. He ended up going to the ER to get fluids pumped in him and came home to sleep it off on Saturday. Half way through Saturday I started getting sick....really sick. At first we thought Travis had food poisoning but when I got it and we haven't ate the same things we figured we had a virus that spread to me (awesome..). Well, in the midst of my puking fest (TMI? sorry. you can stop reading now) my water broke. Yep, I puked so hard that I broke my water....i'm thinking..oh great this will be fun haha. So, my dad was already over because he was being the awesome daddy that he is and brought us jello, applesauce and gatorade...I walked downstairs and told my dad and Travis that we have to go to the hospital because "I either peed my pants or my water broke" haha. Travis just looked at me, in his glassy eyed glare, and said "oh...my...gosh...seriously?!?!". The car was already packed and ready to go so off we went.

I was texting my best friend the entire way to the hospital and she was pumping me up lol I'll never forget that conversation haha

Travis dropped me off at the entrance so I could get in a wheel chair and he went and parked. He wheeled us up to the Labor and Delivery floor and on our way up in the elevator I snapped a photo and sent it to his mom and said "I think we might be having a baby!" Sure enough, this is the last photo we took together as non-parents.

Once L&D did their thing, they admitted us and we started the labor process! I made it perfectly clear that I wanted an epidural ASAP. Well...thanks to C-sections and anesthesiology being super busy....it took them a few hours to get around to getting me that epidural...so I labored up to a 10 without the epidural....while puking from the stomach bug still..it was glamorous. HA! Once I got the epidural, we realized it only worked on half my body and didn't help back labor. Well, sure enough, Hadley baby was sunny side up (head facing up) and giving me the most wonderful back labor ever. Thank God that Travis and my mom and dad were around...because I needed those hands to squeeze every time a contraction came on. It's a pretty weird feeling when you cant feel your leg but you watch it being picked up and moving...ok anyways, I digress.....

From 3:30pm (when my water broke) to 4am (when the epidural finally kicked in) we went from a couple with the stomach flu to a couple ready to push out a baby! All the doctors came in (I think there were 4). There were so many because of how she was positioned (low and face up), she had meconium  surrounding her (so they got neonatal down there to help her when she finally came) and they had the NICU on call (in case they needed to send her up there). Then...we started pushing....for 2 1/2 hours....we pushed and pushed and pushed. We weren't making much progress so the attending came in and gave us our options of 1) keep pushing (which probably wouldn't do anything) 2) go straight to a C-section (which isn't the smartest option because she was already practically out that it would have caused more stress/damage) or 3) use a vacuum (which I was terrified of) . I asked the physician what I should do because at this point I knew I was done pushing! He said the vacuum is the best option at this point.....so, that's what we did. I pushed for about 15 minutes in the midst of them trying to assist and she finally was born. They took her straight to the warmers and the NICU staff started procedures because of the way she was positioned she had head trauma and swallowed meconium. Travis went right over there and stayed with her the entire time while they finished up with me. I was able to hold her for about 10 seconds before they wheeled her up to the NICU and I would see her about 6 hours later....which felt like FOREVER.

She did great in the NICU. We had some scares and thankfully, she overcame those, and they taught us how to monitor some other things. We were in the hospital for 5 nights/6 days and finally came home on Thursday.

{{March 9, 2014}}

Well..there's a quick synopsis of the most exciting 15 hours of my life. Hadley, we love you so much.

It's so true. All the pregnancy pains and labor difficulties and the second you see your baby you immediately forget about all of them. She is worth it 100 times over. I wouldn't change anything for the world (except maybe that the epidural would have actually worked and been administered on time..LOL)

Now, time to hang out with my Baby Girl. :)

{{1 Week old. March 16, 2014}}

-M

37 weeks!

I haven't taken any true bump photos for...a while. Partially because I'm on bed rest and have no reason to get ready and partially because this weather is so freaking weird (currently "feels like" -12 outside) and I don't even want to try. So, we all get to marvel at my messy bathroom (pre-best husband in the world house cleaning day) and a photo that I sent travis with the caption "Did you ever think you would be married to a girl with a belly?!" haha. I actually put jeans on and was ready to go to my doctors appointment on Friday looking semi-put together..but then I put them on long enough just to snap this photo and decided it was a horrible idea. So back to sweats I went and I'm not sorry one bit!

How far along?

37 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain:

More than enough. LOL

Size of baby:

Watermelon (19-22 in, 6.5 lbs)

Maternity Clothes:

Surprisingly, all the sweats i'm rocking are Victoria's Secret PINK and shirts are a mixture of my soft cozy ones and my husband's shirts. Fashionable, I know. 

Gender:

Girl :) 

Movement:

Yea she's a moving machine. Especially last night when we were watching the Oscars she was kicking, rolling and hiccuping at the same time..it was a party. 

Sleep:

I'm up early having breakfast at 5:30AM with my husband then he leaves for work...and I go back to bed. haha

What I miss:

Working out! 

Cravings/Aversions:

3 musketeers. It's a little out of control. Currently we have 3 in our refrigerator "just in case". Travis is too good to me.

Other symptoms:

So far so good. Haven't been back in the hospital in a week (milestone!). You know, as cruddy as I sometimes feel, I really don't mind at all. I'm growing this amazing human being and I cannot wait to meet her. 

Big moment(s) this week:
1) We're full term!
2) Car seat is installed.
3) Hospital bags are packed and in the car.
4) We're ready for you Hadley girl!

I'm the kinda girl who...

I'm the kinda girl who...

-wont take 'no' for an answer.
-loves to prove people wrong and show them, instead of tell them, of what God is capable of doing in my life.
-keeps it real.
-can wear workout clothes most of the time and be perfectly OK.
-loves to work hard but rest hard also.
-would take sweatpants and a movie at home over a fancy date night out.
-doesn't drink soda.
-actually says "i'll pray for you" and does.

-believes in the power of music and a long run.
-gives everyone the benefit of the doubt but also believes in pruning the branches if they don't produce fruit--real friends stick around.
-will be in rainbow flip flops during the summer...regardless of the outfit.
-wore rainbow sandals with my wedding dress.
-requires dessert after dinner. always.
-loves my husband & prays for him daily.
-won't own cats. ever.
-hates the grocery store.
-doesn't put makeup on most of the time and loves it.
-needs a workout that almost makes me puke...no pain no gain.
-lives for awkward moments.
-buys outfits based on what the mannequin's in the store are wearing. If the mannequins have an ugly outfit on, I make a u-turn and have to leave. I.cant.shop.

-believes in spending money for awesome jeans. Hey, when you're 5'9.5" and have crazy long legs...you gotta!  First purchase post baby? new True Religions. please & thank you.
-knows that God has a perfect plan and doesn't think twice about it!
-is super behind the power curve on this linkup but ehhhh whateves. ;)

 

All we need today is a little bit of Coffee & a whole lot of Jesus

.....And by Coffee I mean water.

I woke up this morning (and by "woke up" I mean, decided to call it a morning. Truth is, I'm up every 2 hours anyways now haha) and, like most mornings, I got into the Word. Today's passage was perfect (like always):

Great reminder that circumstances change and people get unhappy and fed up. C'mon, we've all seen it. We see people complaining at work when management switches over, we see people complaining on a constant basis because news channel A said such and such while news channel B is saying the opposite. If only we could get back to why we're here--to love God and love people. What do we do for those we are to love? We pray for them. We pray for strength. We pray for understanding. We pray for them to overcome.

We have control over what we ask God to move. He tells us that if we want a mountain to be moved then ask God to move that mountain and He will.

Any circumstance or situation that you're facing today can be a stepping stone for greatness. Ask God for help. Pray for those that may be making the decisions. Know that the second you ask Him for help, He's there with his entire army of angels surrounding you. He will never fail. He never has failed & He won't start now.

So--with that, let's start our Sunday off with some good 'ol Coffee, time with Jesus and the excitement that comes with our ability to help change lives, to help overcome mountains and to show that God is love and that we are here to love Him and to love others.

Time to "go to church"--Travis is actually at church and i'll be tuning in live from our apple TV, couch and my pajamas. Praise the Lord for church online at lifechurch.tv! I love our church :)

36 weeks update (no bump pic though!)

Here's a little bit about what's been going on on our side of the country.  I don't have a 36 week bump update today because I have zero energy to take it and my sweat pants are too comfy to change out of LOL. Maybe sometime this week I'll take one...or I'll just wait until 37 weeks.

It has been quite the week. Last monday I had the day off of work and decided (thanks to nesting I think..) that I couldn't last another night in our Ikea 6" above the floor platform bed/mattress. So, off I went to find a new box spring and mattress and I found it! Travis came home from work to a new bed and it was the best impulse buy I have ever made--I can now get out of bed without feeling like I need a crane to help me thanks to my ab muscles being non existent now.

Tuesday we had an infant CPR course that we attended which was awesome for the both of us to go to together.

Then...Wednesday morning happened. I will spare the details but it started off in a panic mode sometime around 5:30AM complete with me yelling down the stairs "Travis we need to go to the hospital- NOW!" He had just poured his cereal and just left it on the counter, got the dogs in their crates, and off we went to the hospital. We got there and I was immediately checked in to triage at labor and delivery. It was such a relief to hear Hadley's heartbeat and know that she was doing fine. Apparently I was having contractions also (which I had no idea of by the way) but when I was hooked up to the monitors the doctor decided to let me know when I was in the middle of one and how far apart they were. The doctor asks "Have you been feeling contractions frequently?" Me: "ehh...I've felt cramping..." Doctor: "You're having contractions. As a matter of fact, you're right in the middle of one right now." Me: "ohhhhh....so THAT'S what they feel like"...DUH MEGAN!  Thankfully, they thought I was good enough to go home b/c the other things that were going on stopped. I was told to go home, stay on the couch/in bed and make sure I keep hydrated, so that's what I did for the rest of the day. It was also my daddy's birthday that day and I'll be totally honest, a part of me thought Hadley was going to be born on his birthday (Praise God that He was able to heal us and that she is still cooking!). As of now, I am on bed rest for pre-term labor. Honestly, at first, I was pretty upset because I am not someone to sit still all day and I thought I would be fine just "taking it easy" but between me trying to go to work on Thursday and a birthing class...it is 100% clear to me that I need to just let my body rest and that it is OK to NOT be going a million miles an hour and that it's best for me and baby. Speaking of this birthing class, we decided to go because a) it was at the hospital and b) I was thinking ''i'll just be sitting there so I should be ok...right?''....WRONG! It was horrible. The class was great but I'm regretting every second we stayed. Bed rest really means BED rest..not take it easy rest...because even the slightest bit of parking a car, walking to the elevator, going up the elevator, walking to the classroom, walking to the bathroom, and reversing the process back to home....hurts and really scares me. With that being said, my couch and my bed are my best friends from this second on. After all, I want this baby cooking until 40 weeks so I have every intention of staying put, drinking lots and lots and lots of water/gatorade, and keeping stress levels at a minimum to keep her growing and growing!

I am so blessed to have such a supportive husband, a supportive work and a doctor who knows what's best for me and our baby girl. 

God has the perfect plan. He knows this baby girl's birthday already. He knows what we can handle and He is protecting us. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone--if you're in OK....get outside! It's BEAUTIFUL out!

Peace out,
-M

PS. Here are a few photos...because I couldn't leave this totally photo-less!

{{She is perfectly OK with this arrangement...}}

{{A friend from our LifeGroup was baptized last weekend! God is good..ALL the time!}}

{{I love her CarSeat Canopy. Can't wait to use it!}}

Hadley's Nautical Nursery

As I've talked about on this blog, we are so blessed to have the opportunity to be building our home together. With building a new home, comes renting a house until ours is done being built. With renting, comes not being able to paint. I think we did pretty darn good at decorating her nursery sans paint.

We are from California. born and raised. We love the beach. Actually, it's where most of our dates happened and where we got engaged. Sad to admit, but the most difficult part of moving out of California was leaving the ocean. In college, I enjoyed rowing crew and luckily, in Houston, I could continue that "love/hate" by indoor rowing. Fast forward a few more years, and we get placed in Oklahoma City...where, we are pretty much land locked (or so I thought). They have an amazing boathouse here, an olympic rowing team, and once I have baby and get cleared to start working out--you can bet I will be jumping on that rowing team! So, what does this have to do with her nursery? Well, we wanted to share our love for the ocean with our baby girl. Yes, I know, she won't remember this nursery BUT a picture is worth a thousand words and you can bet I will show her these photos when she remembers. PLUS Travis (being the amazing husband that he is) hand painted all these wonderful oars that we used to decorate her unpainted walls in this current room and when she can talk I know there will be a HILARIOUS conversation with her asking her daddy "Dad, why are these oars here? what do they do?" and Travis' response will be somewhere along the lines of "Hadley, I spent way too many hours painting those things and they are going to be used as decorations one way or another!" haha.

So...here we go. Hadley's Nautical Nursery round 1. Round 2 will be in her custom built home, with paint on the walls (gasp!).

{{Travis & I back in college.}}

{{Love the Message in a Bottle. Everyone at our baby shower wrote us a little tid-bit and although I have tried to start reading them, twice, I pulled out one written by my mom and one by Travis and emotions got the best of me. So, I will be reading these when I can or during those late nights that Hadley insists on keeping us awake. ;) The small pink one next to it was a valentines day note that Travis wrote me. }} 

{{We layered her sheets and waterproof mattress pads so she has grey chevron sheets under these ones. We wont be leaving those stuffed animals in the bed while she is sleeping but for now, I think they look pretty darn cute. The lamb has her heartbeat recorded in it and every time we squeeze it we can hear it- this was probably the best purchase we made at the 3D ultrasound.}}

{{This is hanging next to the window and is used to tie the curtain back.}}

{{Lots and lots and lots of blankets.}}

{{This girl has more clothes than Travis and I combined!}}

{{Bought the closet dividers off of Etsy.}}

{{How cute are these booties? A friend of ours got them in Belgium for Hadley.}}

{{Her bath shelf in our linen closet.}}

Well, there we have it! Can't wait to re-decorate and paint her new room in our new house. We are so excited for this little girl to make her arrival!

Now.

It's been a while since I've caught this blog up with our life here in (now) Sunny Oklahoma! We had quite the start to February.....below zero temperatures, snow, freezing rain, highs in the teens...it was rough on this California born & raised family let me tell you! I think it even made our Texan doggies a little loony because ever since February started Valor, our border collie/german shepherd, barks at random stuff...I think she officially started going stir crazy! haha We've been so blessed this month by all the love that our family & friends have poured into our lives & Hadley's nursery/closet--she is one spoiled girl! We are so grateful for everyone that has supported us and honestly, it is overwhelming. God always knows what He's doing. He always has the perfect plan and we couldn't be more happy to be living here in Oklahoma, at our home church (shout out to Lifechurch.tv woohoo!), building our first home together (GOSH I can't wait to write a post w/ photos for a virtual tour!), and doing life with the friends we have met here. We are truly in awe at everything He has done for us. Ephesians 3:20! Anyways, I really hope to get photos of the nursery taken this weekend so I can give you all a virtual tour of it. We are building our home so we are in a rental right now which means no cute fun paint on the wall, but I think we've done pretty good despite not being able to paint.

On other not so fun news, I started getting sick yesterday and now have the full on sore throat, sinus crud that's been going around. Needless to say, I will not be cooking tonight so off to Chipotle it is (my husband is a little too excited about that!). The sun is FINALLY out (13 days into the month..) and it's in the 60's (which is WARM by Oklahoma winter standards now) and...get this....it just MIGHT get into the 70's before it goes back down to the 40's (and hopefully not below that).

Next week is already making me feel exhausted (call that the final month of pregnancy or just being lazy)! Monday is a day off of work (can I get an AMEN!?), Tuesday we are going to infant CPR class (which...if you ask me...having a class end at 9pm should be illegal for 9 month pregnant ladies), Wednesday is a meeting with our builder to get all the details squared away on his blue prints so they can break ground ASAP and it's also my daddy's birthday! I can't wait to celebrate his birthday with him! Thursday is (dun dun dunnnn) a MUCH needed hair appointment (gotta fix these roots before Hadley makes her appearance...I don't want her first photos to have a momma with ugly roots in it! haha). So WOW that's my next week.

Now, more than ever, is it so important (and difficult) for me to be in the PRESENT. I'm only promised right this second and need to live life for this second. Yes, I just wrote an entire post about what the next week can bring but truth is, I'm not promised any of that. I pray that I am able to live it but I also know that I am here for a reason right at this second. I don't know if it's just the constant go-go-go feel of work, etc or the whole "nesting" phase of pregnancy but I've caught myself (more often than not) living in the tomorrow and forgetting about the today. So, I'm challenging myself, I WILL be in the present starting right....NOW!

I can't wait for my husband to get home and to enjoy our few hours together before he goes to life group tonight and while I sit on the couch trying to feel better--I don't want to get all my Life Group peeps sick too....I like them too much! haha

It's all about the NOW.

Over & Out,
Megan