First Thanksgiving

Well I have to say that Taylor's first Thanksgiving was a success! We invited both sides, Joe's and mine, over for dinner at one, which came to about 14 people. We have a small house, but everyone was jammed into gills and visiting and loving the company. It was a great sight to look around and see all of the people we love so dearly in one place. I love Moments like that =)

Taylor did extremely well with all of the stimulation. She played with her cousins for a while and then ate some Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes ( all put into the food processor) Which she absolutley loved! Then she played some more and finally went down for a nap around 3. My father was introduced to our Wii game by my husband, and needless to say a tournament broke out right then and there. The food was awesome, the company great and looking around seeing candles lit, Xmas decor, pies everywhere and people smiling and laughing was the best feeling..Love the Holiday Season!

My how things have Changed!

So its been a while since my last entry! Life has been busy latley. My husband is working non stop with his business and I myself have gone back to work full time ( three days a week =) so we are all juggling the everyday routine of what we call life. Taylor is ten months old now! Its crazy to think how time flies and how fast they actually grow. Everyone tells you that, but until you have your own, its hard to imagine them growing so fast. But they really do , and its amazing to see how she changes everyday.

She pulls herself up on anything and everything she can find these days, and is constantly into everything! I turn my back for two seconds and shes causing more chaos and destruction that I ever could have imagined! Thank goodness our house is baby proof, except for the massive wood stove that sits in the middle of the living room. She doesnt seem to interested with it so far, but we will see. We have a daily routine of waking up around 7, heading out to the living room , giving her a sippy cup and puting on Baby Einstein while mommy goes and gets her coffee. =) Then we play for a while, have a bottle and go down for a morning nap. Then play some more, eat some snacks, run some errands and maybe go for a walk, come home, nap around 2, then head to the gym. She loves loves loves the girls at the gym and she never wants to leave when Im all done and ready. She's such a social butterfly it makes my heart proud to know my daughter is a people person. She smiles at everyone and laughs all day long at just about everything. I look at her sometimes and feel like my heart is going to burst with love for her.

So we are still in our little house, fixing it up slowly. Currently my hubby is working on the driveway and the garage. Today we could hear the nail guns and saws and hammers working away out there. Little by little it will be our dream home, and by that time we will be moving to an even bigger dream home. But until then we are content and happy with life and all of the changes that it brings! I think the secret to life is to be happy with what you have, thankful each and everyday ! I certainly know I am =)

Four Months Already!

So its been forever since my last blog, I know, But things are crazy and hectic in the Bates household latley. I started up again at my work as an RN here in town for a Hemodialysis clinic. Its just two days a week, which is perfect for us right now. I love it, I put my two days in and come home and get to spend the rest of the week with my baby doll. She has grown so much in the past few months its amazing how quickly things change!

She is four months old ( almost to the day) and weighs in at 15 lbs 14 ounces and is 25 inches long already! Our pediatritian said that she is in the 95th percentile for everything. Her head growth, height , weight, and development are just perfect! She reaches for everything now, laughs at everyone who says hello, and talks to herself non stop. She loves her walker, we put her in it everyday while she watches sesame street. She especially loves elmo. =)

I have lost aprox 50 lbs since giving birth and have another 20-30 that I would love to lose. I have been trying to hit the river trail or do some sort of physical activity everyday, but its hard with the little one, Im not quit ready to leave her in daycare at the gym =/ . I walk all day long at my job, and when I have some free time I do pilates or sit ups. I have been following Weight Watchers , which has helped sooo much, I love it!

She is sleeping so much better. We started the rice cereal a couple weeks ago and she loves it. Just a tbsp in her bottle and everymorning she gets to sit in her high chair and eat breakfast with mommy or grandma. My mom is wonderful- she comes over to the house twice a week to watch her grandaughter, and were so lucky to have her! My husband wants to start trying again in a year, so we will see how things go and if were able to move into a bigger house and rent out the one we have now. So things have sort of settled into a routine, however hectic it may be, its blissfully chaotic and I wouldn't trade one minute of it for anything! I love being a mom. I love being a wife, this is the perfect life! =)

5 Wks Already...

Well my baby is growing so fast. It's hard to imagine that a little over a month has passed since we had our baby girl. Seems like just yesterday we were sitting in the hospital room surrounded by family and friends. This whole experience has been the best time of my life. It has been filled with joy, hugs, laughter, smiles, tears, fears, and anxieties about everything from which pacifier to use to reaching into the backseat to feel her chest and check if she is still breathing. LOL. I am a control freak, always have been, and having this being outside of my body, not being able to know exactly what she needs has been the hardest thing to adjust to.

I had complained about my huge ginormous belly from time to time. Complained about the heartburn , swollen ankles, weight gain of substantial proportions, and oh so fun mood swings, but the truth is ......that I would do it all again in a heartbeat for her. I would do it all with a smile on my face knowing that she is the prize at the end. She is a chunk of my heart outside of my body. An extension of my being. I cannot fathom being apart from her , even tho I am forced to head back to work in a month and a half. I plan on cherishing this time to the full extent. She is sleeping with us in our bed right now. All she wants to do is cuddle, and all I want to do is cuddle her back. There are no words for my love for her...

She loves feeling my hair. She already reaches up and grabs a chunk, then burrows her head in my chest and falls asleep. She smiles when she is halfway to la-la land. It is the sweetest smile I have ever seen. She knows her daddy's voice and lights up when he comes around. She loves being outside and looking out the window.

Here are some pics, there will be more to come !!

January 15th at 6:19 am

So baby Taylor has arrived since my last blog! I have been so busy with her that I haven't had any time to write, but I will give an update on everything. My last blog I was 38 and 1/2 wks preggers and nesting like it was going out of style. I would clean anything that remotely looked dirty in any way. I was reorganizing pantries, and cupboards and drawers over and over again. And the swiffer became my best friend. LOL. So as I turned 39 wks preggers, I decided to go to barnes and noble and put the gift card that my dad had bought me for xmas to some use. As I was walking back out to my car, I was feeling slightly strange. Now, the day before I had started some contracting here and there . Nothing too bad, but I was timing them and they were approx. every 8 min or so. My husband took me to olive garden and then back home where they continued. We called the doctor and he said to go on up to the hospital to make sure it wasn't the real thing. So we did. I was hooked up and asked a buttload of questions, given a gown and a room. My poor hubby sat there at the side of the bed with eyes as big as silver dollars scared to death. Deer in the headlights look ! LOL. They determined that they were contractions, but they wernt lasting long enough for an admission, so we headed back home. So hence, the contractions were still coming and going as I waddled out of barnes and noble. I was feeling the strange twinge down below as I stuffed myself into my car. I leaned forward to start the ignition and felt a gush of fluids. I was absolutely positive that this was NOT my bladder emptying itself, so I hustled on home and called my OB. He said n0t to worry and that it would probably be best if I came into the office for an exam , which wouldn't be for another two hours. I wrestled with that idea, consulted a good friend who works over on post partum, and finally decided to just head to Labor and Delivery to make sure. Why not try for strike two with the false alarms? The contractions started getting stronger as I entered the lobby and elevator. I could feel something happening. I was hooked up and given a gown. They took a sample of fluid and came back in what seemed like 5 hours to say that it had been my water breaking and I wasn't going anywhere. Thank the Lord above!
Well my husband was in burney at the time. Actually he was about an hour east of burney, so When he found out where I was, he dropped the job and came rushing home. Managed to escape a speeding ticket as well! The nurses checked me at noon and I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. I walked the halls with my mom a few times, Huffing and puffing the entire way. I used what I had seen in the movies and a baby story to the best of my ability! When I hit four cm I asked the nurse for the doc with the good stuff to make it all go away. LOL. The anestesiologist came in and was the NICEST man ever. The epidural felt like a tiny little prick to the back and then relief came not a moment too soon. Only the most intense itching ever known to man came with it, but I figured I could put up with the poison oak like drama if the pain down under was MIA. My family and friends stopped by, filtering in and out , saying hello and visiting. It was actually the best experience We could have asked for. At around 5 I was checked again. I was still at four, not moving and the baby had actually moved back up into my pelvis. No progress. The doctor was notified and informed the nurses that I was to be left alone until 5 the next morning and then my cervix would be checked again. I itched all night. My husband put cold compresses on my back while my fingers itched everything that my chubby little arms could reach. I actually had red scratch marks the next day. LOL. So five o'clock rolls around and the nurse checks. To my surprise I was completely dilated and fully effaced. She had turned during the night and dropped as well. I was actually started on pitocin when the epidural was administered, but they turned it off once They realized I wasn't progressing. So it was time to push all of a sudden. I felt my face get red and flushed. My stomach turned with a thousand butterflies and my husbands hand felt like it was going to snap off and go hurdling through the glass window overlooking the city. I starting pushing , counting to ten, doing it again like a good little girl. I w0uld push, then take a break. Tell a joke, tell a story, or take a sip of water. I felt something down below, pressure of some kind. Something I couldn't stop, like a freight train coming at full speed. The doctor made it just in time. I pushed twice more and then the most beautiful baby girl was being placed on my belly. She was crying and flailing her arms about. She was ours, the being I had grown inside me for the last nine months. Taking her first breath of air, filling her lungs with survival and victory. Something my mind plays over and over again everyday. The miracle of life, of my husband and I making a life.
Taylor came out kicking and screaming with apgar scores of 8 and 9. She weighed 7 lbs 8 ounces and was 19 inches long. Dark hair and blue eyes and the chubbiest cheeks any baby has ever possessed. She is our miracle, our love. My greatest achievement. Being a mother is not something anyone can prepare you for. But it is by far the best thing I have ever done, and will ever do. I love my life as a mommy and a wife .......

Right Around the Corner...

So I haven't written in forever, but a lot has been going on since my last blog. I am currently 38 and 1/2 weeks now and am anticipating Taylor's arrival Any day now. I was taken off work due to cramping issues when we arrived back from our trip to Miami. I look back and know that it was all of the traveling and walking and hauling luggage that probably brought on those darn cramping episodes, but the hip pain was unbearable at times, and I was so grateful to be able to take some time before the big due date.

So the nursery is almost complete with a few minor details that need to be attended to. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Having to share the room with my husbands office was not exactly my fantasy idea for a nursery, but it didn't turn out too bad.

So I went to my first Dr apt two weeks ago where I would start seeing him every week. He told me that I was dilated to a 1. Nothing new really. He mentioned stripping my membranes to aid the process and I jumped all over that opportunity. LOL. He said it would hurt for about five seconds. And let me tell you, it was definitely NOT pleasant in any way ,shape, or form. That was a long five seconds. It's now two days past the stripping of the membranes, and nothing. A few strong cramping episodes here and there....some bleeding.....mucous plug falling out....etc, but nothing that would make me think I'm having contractions. So I am to sit and Waite and answer phone calls from eager family members wondering if anything has happened yet. I'm so curious as to when this baby will decide to come out into the world. I'm dieing to see her little face and make sure that everything is okay. I will update as soon as something changes ...Life is going to get pretty chaotic here comin up....