April 25th, 2012 - Welcome to the World, William!

Our precious angel arrived on Wednesday April 25, 2012 at 3:57 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces, 21.5 inches long. There are no words to describe the love Grant and I feel for this child, and we will forever thank the Lord for giving him to us. I really want William to be able to read this one day, so I'm going to attempt to recap the days leading up to his birth, along with his actual birth.

I convinced my mom to come up to Birmingham on Monday, even though I wasn't scheduled to be induced until Thursday morning. I will forever be grateful for the very special time I got to spend with my mom leading up to the birth of William. We enjoyed walking, talking, eating, and shopping with each other all day on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday, my mom and I had a very eventful day of intense shopping and running last minute errands and I was literally outside, on my feet, for the entire day! We started the day by taking a long walk around the Summit before meeting Julie at Olexa's (my favorite lunch spot) for lunch. For the rest of the afternoon we perused all of the fabulous baby stores around Birmingham.

So Tuesday night, Julie, Grant, my mom and I had dinner at Avo in Mountain Brook and I had the best salmon salad I have ever eaten.  I also indulged in some of Grant's french fries he had with his burger because I just couldn't resist! After dinner, we all went back to our apartment where my dad was waiting on us. As we were all sitting there, I vividly remember my mom saying over and over again, "You are going to have that baby tonight.....get ready." I remember thinking, "Yeah right....I'm just ready for Thursday to get here so I can be induced and have this baby already!"  Well, Tuesday night I was having trouble sleeping and at about 3am, I got up and took a Tylenol PM to try and help me sleep a little better.  Shortly after 4am, I woke up to my water breaking!!  My exact words to Grant were, "Grant, I think my water just broke and I am being completely serious."  I called the after hours number for my OB and after the on-call doctor asked me a few questions, he finally said the words I have been dying to hear "Come on in because you are going to have a baby by the end of the day!" I don't think Grant nor I have ever smiled that big!  He told us not to rush and that I could take a shower and get all of our things together.  This was such a relief because I definitely did not want to be rushed and end up forgetting something. We had our bags packed for weeks so Grant and I really weren't panicky about getting to the hospital.

The ride to the hospital at 5am was one of the most fun 15 minutes of my entire life. Grant and I were seriously giddy. When I arrived at UAB, we went straight to the Maternal Evaluation Unit so they could confirm my water had broken before moving me to the Labor and Delivery Room.

 It was confirmed my water had broken, so an IV was started. We are going to have a baby today!

Then we were transported to the Labor and Delivery Room where the real action started! We arrived in the L&D room around 7am. 

Labor and Delivery Room - so nice!

Even though my water had broken, I was still only 1 cm. dilated when I arrived at the hospital. Shortly after arriving to the L&D room, an epidural was started and then the Pitocin drip was hung. Contractions had started in the picture above. 

 Contractions monitor

 Telling my parents to come on up to the hospital

 My parents arrived around 11:30.

 The hardest part of labor was not being able to eat. The entire 12 hours I fantasized about what my first meal would be :) I ended up eating a chicken pesto sandwich from Newk's.

 William's birthday cake from Aunt Ray Ray.

Most wonderful nurse ever! I will call her "E", but she was a God send. I don't have enough nice things to say about this girl. She was amazing. 

 We were a little worried Douglas may not be able to come up for the delivery but he made it happen. I was at 10 cm. at this point so this was right before the family left the room. At 3pm I started pushing. Dr. Gleason arrived at 3:50 and William was born at 3:57. This is going to sound really cheesy but Grant was THE most amazing supportive "coach" to me the entire day. I am blessed beyond measure to have a husband like him, and William will soon learn just how lucky he is to have Grant as his Daddy.

 Pure joy.

 First family picture

 8 lbs. 3 oz. 

 He looks SO big in these pictures! I think he was still pretty swollen.

 First bath

First time in Daddy's arms. I tear up every time I look at this picture!

 First time in Juju's arms. 

 Loves his Aunt Birdie

 Happiness.

 All of my amazing cheerleaders that patiently waited outside the door. William is one loved little boy!

 With some of his very special "aunts"

 Family picture. 

 Yaya's minus Meg.

 This is one of my very favorite pictures. Dad and Douglas are checking out William's toes.

 Snuggle time with Elaine

 Early Thursday morning after our first night at the hospital. 

This is a rough picture of me but I want to remember these special moments. 

 Snoozing with Daddy

 Mommy doing what she does close to 24 hours a day...just staring at my baby.

Delivering at UAB was such a fabulous experience! I seriously felt like I was at a resort. I had mixed emotions about going home on Friday afternoon. Next post is bringing baby home. 

A Letter to William

Well William, it's Sunday April 22, 2012 - a day that's been engrained in my head for the past 10 months because it's your DUE DATE, but I think you've officially decided you'd rather have a different birthday. As much as I want to count your little toes and fingers, kiss your sweet face, and see your Daddy hold you for the first time, I know that God has a plan for your entrance into this wonderful world.

Your Daddy and I have had a pretty boring weekend, but we've constantly reminded ourselves to enjoy our last days together...just us. We spent the weekend cleaning, chowing down on juicy burgers at Flip last night, basking in the sun at the park today, and tonight we are making spaghetti, which happens to be one of three meals we prepare at home. Maybe when you get here we will cook more :) Your crazy mama has reached a whole new level of OCD when it comes to cleaning. They say that all mothers-to-be go through a phase called "nesting" near the end of pregnancy, which basically means obsessively cleaning everything and touching up on every little detail before the baby arrives. My absolute favorite thing to do lately is to walk into your nursery and just imagine you being in there with me, just laying in your crib or sleeping in my arms while I rock you.  Pretty soon, I won't have to imagine because you will actually be here!

I've started to feel EXTREMELY pregnant this weekend and I'm having a difficult time moving around. Getting from the sitting to standing position requires effort, which is pretty pathetic! You've still been kicking up a storm even though I question how you have any room to move at all? Your Daddy thinks you will come in the next 48 hours, but I think we will meet you on Thursday. Your grandmother, Juju, plans to come in town on Tuesday so she can go with me to your last check up appt. in the womb early Wednesday morning, unless you decide to come before then!

William, you will come into this world loved by so many people! Everyone is anxiously awaiting your arrival. I can't wait to call you my little boy. See you soon. Love, Mommy.

Patience

This past week has really been a true test of patience for this very large pregnant gal! I shouldn't be complaining because I still feel great, but I am so ready to meet this little boy that has been nestled away in my belly for the last 39 weeks and 4 days. I had a great check-up appt. on Wednesday but I haven't made any "progress" so unless baby William comes before Wednesday, I'll be admitted to the hospital Wednesday evening and induced Thursday morning. Having a plan and a possible DATE for our little boy's birthday makes me feel much better. Grant and I are really trying to soak up our remaining days as a family of TWO before we bring home William. We were really hoping he would arrive on his namesake's (Grant's Dad) birthday on April 17th but I know he will come when God is ready for me to bring him into this world. Hopefully these will be the last belly pics I post:

Only Thing Missing is William

William's nursery has been one of the most enjoyable projects that Grant and I have ever done together, along with the expertise and advice of both of our moms! Preparing our baby's nursery and thinking through every little detail has been so special to the both of us. So, the past 10 weekends have revolved around making this room a happy, peaceful, dreamy place for our little boy. Check out William's Peter Rabbit World:

The prints above the crib were our favorite online find. Shopping online is so tricky because you never know what the real product is going to look like. It took some time to find the ones that we really wanted and after a lot of trial and error, we are finally pleased!

My mom made the beautiful gown hanging on the wall, and it is what William will be wearing home from the hospital. Grant did a phenomenal job hanging those letters which was no easy task!!

The bookshelf is full of the special books I received at my baby shower.

The Peter Rabbit figurines were actually in my room growing up as a child, so they are a very special addition. 

We originally bought these little wooden pictures to go over the crib and they turned out to be way too small....but we just couldn't part with them so now they are the first thing you see when you walk in :)

The plan is for William to sleep in the cradle in our room until we he is ready to move to the crib.

Life Lately

Last weekend, my cousin Lee flew into town from the Big Apple for a couple of days of R&R. We enjoyed Sunday lunch with Julie and Lee-Lee. I miss her being in Birmingham SO much. I'm already excited about introducing William to my mom's entire side of the family.  That day will come on the 4th of July when everyone will be down at the beach!

 Please excuse the protruding navel. Ew.

I had my 37 week check-up appt. this past Wednesday. I didn't see my doctor because he only had afternoon appointments that would've conflicted with my work schedule, and I was a little apprehensive about seeing someone new. However, I felt very comfortable with the female doctor I saw, and I needed to toughen up anyway because my primary doctor may not even be on call when I deliver. The appt. went really well. She didn't check for dilation because I've had NO braxton hicks contractions or other signs of preterm labor. She did feel my tummy and said William probably weighs right at 7 pounds and she predicted he'd weigh 7.5 pounds at delivery. It's hard to believe I'm carrying a 7lb. human being in my tummy. Other than that, the appt. was pretty uneventful. I've gained a total of 25 lbs. and it should plateau from here on out. I'll be quite honest and admit that I'm thoroughly enjoying eating whatever and whenever I want, and I plan to let this trend continue until William arrives. 

On Thursday, my wonderful co-workers had a baby shower for me and Grant at the hospital. I was so glad that Grant and Julie finally got to meet all of the people that they hear so much about.  I felt so loved and honored to have so many people I work with show up to celebrate baby William's pending arrival! Due to everyone's generosity, I received lots of things that we desperately needed such as a video monitor, diapers, wipes, diaper genie, shampoos, lotions, etc...

Today I am 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Besides my ENORMOUS swollen feet, I'm still feeling great. However, it is getting more difficult to move around and I'm going to the bathroom at least 4 times in the middle of the night, which is always such a blast...For some reason, I strongly feel that this baby boy will still be nestled in my belly at 41 weeks, but the doctor says things can change in an instant and you never know. Grant and I are so unbelievably excited to meet William that we don't even know what to do with ourselves. We made a run to Babies R' Us this afternoon to pick up a couple of things, and we can officially say we are finally ready for our child to be here. 

Our to-do list over the past couple of weeks included the following:

-Purchase hospital gowns and nursing bras for mommy (Thanks, Mom!)

-Pack hospital bag, which is quite an involved process...who knew?!

-Finish nursery (Not quite done with this but will be soon)

-Wash William's clothes, crib sheets, bibs, burp clothes, and blankets

-Install car seat bases

-Buy infant bath tub and nursing "supplies" for me

-Buy diapers and wipes...yes I know this is an important item that we put off until now

-Stock up on baby shampoo, lotions, diaper rash cream, etc...

As usual, here are some belly pics: 

 37 weeks 6 days

I'll close by thanking my friend Kori for the most amazing lasagna I've ever eaten in my entire life! She just happened to be in town and surprised me with a "ready-to-eat" homemade lasagna that we dove right into for dinner tonight.  I'm assuming it was supposed to be frozen until William arrives, but we couldn't resist.