a baby shower

before noah arrived, my family and friends had planned a shower for us on sunday the 27th. this wasn't the ideal date, i had actually wanted a shower in january to make sure we had plenty of time to wash/return/exchange gifts before our son arrived. of course, i had no idea when we picked that date, due to everyone's busy schedules and a lack of other available dates, that it would end up being 3 days *after* noah's birth instead of 4 weeks or so before it!

so after noah was born we were faced with the tricky task of trying to decide whether or not we should still hold the shower. in the end, we decided that we needed baby "stuff" now more than ever and really wanted the opportunity to show off our new baby. so at 3 days old, noah attended his first party. actually, we joke that he crashed the party and refused to let me be the guest of honor. maybe it's a good thing the shower wasn't in january if that really was his logic!

despite the short notice (no one was sure if the shower was still on or not once they found out that noah had been born), we had a great turn-out and received many wonderful gifts. everyone had a great time enjoying food, company and, quite possibly, the first trans-state shower ever. we had arranged to set up a webcam for the gift opening so that our friends and family in ohio could "attend" the shower also. they were able to see and hear all the action as we opened gifts from texas and the gifts that they had lovingly shipped ahead of time from ohio.

and how did noah react to all this commotion? he slept through the whole thing. guess he needs to learn a thing or two before he decides to crash another party ;)

the tasty desserts

the tasty food!

talking to the family via webcam

opening presents (with liv's help)

noah spends time with the ladies

worn out from partying too hard ;)

noah matthew king

surprise! while i originally thought that my next post would be the 36 week post, our little man had made other plans. noah matthew king was born at 5:19 pm weighing in at 6 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 20 inches long on february 24, 2011.

(the rest of this post chronicles the events leading up to his delivery and birth, so if you aren't interested in that you can skip to the pictures by clicking the photo below.)

noah matthew king

if you were surprised by the news....so were we! before i go into the actual story of his arrival, let me preface this by saying that the week, and even the night, before his arrival there were no indications that he would decide to be a february baby instead of a march kid. the only "abnormal" before his arrival was that i actually had several days off from work. instead of my usual hectic schedule, i was off from children's for a whole 5 days in a row (i worked my last shift on friday and wasn't supposed to be back until thursday night). AKUC had only scheduled me for the monday in the middle of that stretch of time off, so i was trying my best to get some stuff taken care of before the birth. still left on my to-do list as we went to bed on wednesday night: choose a pediatrician, pack the bag for the delivery, install the car seat.

the day before noah's birth, matt and i met a friend for lunch, matt went to work and i ran some errands and then headed over to my parents' house for dinner with them and all 6 of my nieces and nephews. i left, picked up matt at work and we decided to hang out at a starbucks for a while before heading home. once we were home, we realized we should take advantage of the nice weather and took a walk (we later calculated it to be about 1 mile) around the neighborhood with lexi. once home we got ready for bed, knowing that the next day was going to be a long work-day for both of us. the last thing i said before i turned out the light was, "he just has to stay in there one more week so we can deliver at the birthing center." and then to my belly, "do you hear that? one more week and then you can show up any time you want." we fell asleep around 4:15 am.

on thursday morning i woke up at 10:00 am with the usual end-of-pregnancy i-have-to-pee-right-now bladder. when i got to the bathroom, i realized my water had broken but sat there for several minutes in disbelief, trying to convince myself that there was no possible way it could be true. my medical brain battled with my desire to have this baby naturally at the birthing center and i struggled with what to do next. as i walked back to bed, i started having contractions...and realized that these were *real* contractions, not the false-labor kind. i lay in bed for several minutes trying to figure out what to do: wake up matt? call the birthing center? call my sisters or my mom? go back to sleep? i finally decided i should walk around and see if that made the contractions go away. no luck, they came regularly and were strong. i walked back to the bedroom and matt woke up, obviously wondering why i was standing at the bedside at 10:15 in the morning.

when he asked what was wrong, i answered that i thought my water had broken. he jumped out of bed and picked up the phone, ready to call the midwife. i stopped him, knowing full-well that as soon as i admitted i was in labor at (exactly) 36 weeks, it would most likely mean at trip to the hospital and the very likely possibility of not being able to labor and deliver naturally. i cried at the realization, but after some coaxing from matt, we decided to call our (amazing!) childbirth instructor, stacy. she advised us to contact the birthing center so they could check to see if my water had truly broken and offered some words of encouragement. she reminded me that if my water really was broken, it was good to have contractions. before we got off the phone with her i told matt to tell her that if we were headed to the hospital she would be getting a call from us, and i would want her to be there. she agreed.

we called the birthing center next and were told to come in. we changed clothes, grabbed a snack and headed over. our midwife amy was amazing. she was completely supportive and knew that i was struggling with the situation. her exam only verified what i already knew and didn't want to admit...my water was broken, my contractions were real, and we were going to have to have our baby at the hospital. i cried... a lot. amy arranged for our transfer to the hospital and told us that they would be expecting us in 1.5 - 2 hours. she had explained to the accepting physician that we hadn't packed a bag or installed the car seat. we headed home to get things together and called a few people to let them know what was going on.

we got home right at noon and i attempted to eat (knowing i wouldn't be able to at the hospital, and expecting a long labor ahead). i managed to eat a waffle and drink some orange juice before my appetite was gone and my contractions kicked into high gear. matt was wonderful, constantly coaching, encouraging and keeping me moving to make my labor progress as much as possible before we left. we walked a lot: around the yard, throughout the house and to the point that i couldn't walk any more. we finally left for the hospital sometime shortly after 3 pm. we parked at the far end of the parking lot and walked in, refusing the wheelchair.

when we got to L&D, matt filled out the paperwork and we met the nurse and the doctor, they explained what to expect. fortunately, they didn't want to do anything except let me labor and put in a saline lock IV since i hadn't yet been tested for GBS (that was scheduled for my next appointment), i would have to receive antibiotics in labor to prevent noah from getting an infection. they also wanted to do a 20 minute non-stress test to check noah's heart rate and the strength of my contractions and a quick sono to make sure noah was still in the head-down position. fortunately, the sono showed a healthy little boy, still head down. they put me on the monitors for the non-stress test and, according to matt, i didn't even make it the full 20 minutes before i felt like i needed to push. i changed position from the rocking chair to the bed and matt notified the nurse. about that time, stacy showed up to help coach me and a few minutes later, so did amy. i had the best support team available, and by 5:19 pm noah matthew had entered the world: healthy, screaming and a full month ahead of schedule. i joke with matt now that he must have his father's sense of timing -- according to matt, being on time means being 20 minutes early -- clearly, noah felt the same way about his due date!

even though he arrived early, noah had no complications, ate like a champ, and didn't have to go to the NICU. they did have to do a CBC (a blood test) to check for infection since he arrived sooner than expected -- i guess they thought they were going to have enough time during my labor to give me 2 doses of antibiotics and i barely received the first dose in time! the labor was so fast, that we weren't even able to notify our families until after he arrived. that night we were able to show off our little man to most of the family (here in texas), and then get some rest during the night. after 24 hours of observation for mom & baby we were able to go home and enjoy some time as a new family.

thanks to everyone who prayed for us and little noah! we appreciate all your love and support!

35 weeks

35 weeks along!

this week i think i switched into "mommy mode." as i mentioned in the last post, several things have happened recently that brought to light the fact that pregnancy is drawing to a close and we are about to be parents of a precious baby boy -- whether we are ready or not! this prompted us to assemble the crib, purchase the changing table/dresser, and start figuring out the other types of things we seriously need to have done before the baby arrives (install car seat, find a pediatrician, pack our bags for the labor, etc.). since i've had some days off in a row this week, i've actually been able to get some of this accomplished, and spend just a little bit of time dreaming about being a stay-at-home mom...... unfortunately, that isn't really something we could do any time soon, if ever. for one, it's probably not wise to give up the second income when we are adding another person to the family. also, as much as i love being home, i think i would miss working and being a nurse too much to ever give it up entirely!

in other news this week, we finished up our bradley classes. this was bittersweet: we are excited that we have completed the classes and feel more prepared for the labor, but we will be sad not to see our amazing instructor every week. she has given us some great advice on everything from reducing lexi's shedding to diet and exercise tips to resources for new parents and parents-to-be who are trying to figure all this stuff out. with no football and no classes, what on earth will we do with our sunday evenings? ;)

the other fun news this week? our baby had the hiccups! i had made it all this way through the pregnancy and was beginning to think that i just wouldn't feel what everyone else apparently did and suddenly, last night, our little man got the hiccups. i was reading a book in bed and i thought he had kicked me (like he always does when i rest my book on my stomach) and then he kept the pattern up. when i realized what he was doing i started giggling so much that it woke matt up and had to explain why i was laughing. what a crazy feeling!

sorting thru the crib pieces

crib assembly

the daddy-to-be with the mostly assembled crib

ta-da! our new crib with the blanket i made (and no, we don't have the mattress yet!)

the dresser/changing table and a sneak-peek at the name. of course it won't be official until he's born and it's on the birth certificate, but we're pretty sure he's going to be a little noah!

the weekly maternity quiz:

How far along? 35 weeks

Weight gain/loss: ~22 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? I think I found one…not so bueno, but it’s a small price to pay for an otherwise easy pregnancy!

Sleep? No changes. Hopefully I won’t have a hard time adjusting to a newborn schedule….we’ll see!

Best moment this week? getting the nursery together (some) and having some time off work (just some fluke scheduling, really)

Food cravings: none come to mind…still enjoying oranges, though

Gender: little boy!

Belly button in or out? Still an innie

What I miss? My energy….it seems to be waning just a bit. By 8 hours into my shift I’m pretty much ready to go home (but then, who isn’t?!)

What I'm looking forward to: holding our little one and seeing what he looks like. i.e. what’s the result of his punnett squares?! ;)

Weekly wisdom: so close, but still plenty of time to enjoy this pregnancy. Trying to take advantage of not needing babysitters, child care, the freedom to run errands without considering a sleeping/feeding schedule, etc. I know we will enjoy him when he arrives, but it will also be very different and I will miss having him so close all the time!

Milestones: got the crib and some of the nursery set up! It’s starting to look like a baby’s room! We also finished our Bradley classes on Sunday (exciting, but a little sad!).

maternity photos

our fabulous friend and photographer leah luquette was nice enough to make a trip to texas to shoot some pics of my baby bump on february 13th (i was 34 weeks and 3 days). despite it being *really* windy, we ended up with some excellent pics. thanks, leah!

next up, newborn pics!

if the slideshow doesn't work, you can see the pics on leah's website.

34 weeks!

34 weeks of baby growing, right here!

our little man is getting bigger all the time and is obviously running out of space in there. he is still very active and likes to distort my abdomen into all sorts of weird shapes as he rolls and kicks when he feels it necessary to remind me i'm taking up too much of his room.

we got to take our maternity pics this week and the weather was mostly cooperative (it was a little too windy, but otherwise okay). i can't wait to see them!

we also had another OB appointment this week and everything checked out just right. the midwife said our little man still seems to be in the head-down position and that his little bottom does feel like it's just under the right side of my rib cage (where it seems to have been for most of the last several months). this visit was the first one matt couldn't make because of his work schedule, but i was able to come home and bring all sorts of fun paperwork. no, really. if anything made it seem like this whole pregnancy thing was about to turn into a real-life event it was the stuff i brought home: a list of numbers to call when we go into labor, information for the birth certificate, waivers and consents for certain treatments after the baby is born and a handy-dandy guide for "when to call" (which matt was especially relieved to have for the refrigerator door). wow....pregnancy is almost over and we are about to be parents. a little person will be living with us in another few weeks and we know (but not really) that nothing will ever be the same. so weird that everything is about to change so quickly! so exciting!

for those who are following the weekly quiz:

How far along? 34 weeks

Weight gain/loss: ~20 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? None so far

Sleep? No problems with sleep itself, but I do have to make several trips to the bathroom now. Apparently, he doesn’t like sharing his space with my bladder.

Best moment this week? a great OB appointment!

Food cravings: apparently, it’s oranges

Gender: little boy!

Belly button in or out? Still an innie

What I miss? It seems silly….but sometimes I miss wearing a belt! I don't get to accessorize like that right now.

What I'm looking forward to: seeing this amazing little person be born

Weekly wisdom: I just can’t get frustrated about having a big belly that “gets in the way”…there is a whole person in there and I still think that’s the coolest thing ever!

Milestones: we have the list of who to call if we go into labor and the stuff for birth certificate information!

the bare belly pic

i realized when i got home that i *might* have had a craving for oranges this week...

thank you, costco!

super bowl XLV

our littlest niece maddie shows off some football spirit -- say cheese!!!!

matt and i are pretty low-key. we don't really celebrate birthdays, halloween, valentine's day, anniversaries or other "big days" with a lot of hoopla. in fact, we pretty much end up working on the majority of these days/holidays and celebrate on another date (just check back on some of our posts from years past, and know that i am already scheduled on valentine's night and my birthday).

what do we get excited about? thanksgiving, christmas and... super bowl sunday (not in any particular order).

so it's no surprise that despite our hectic work schedules, appointments and classes that we both made sure to be off work sunday evening and planned to celebrate with family. and, for those who are familiar with my family's idea of celebration, this means lots of food and lots of fun!

the food...well, not all of it, but you get the idea

as per usual, i worked saturday night and headed home to sleep a few hours before our bradley class. matt worked a couple hours in the morning (to help catch up from all the snow days!) and came home to wake me up and whisk me off to class. then we headed to the store for a few last-minute super bowl food items, rushed home to feed lexi, and finally made it to mom & dad's house just in time for kick off. of course, it didn't matter because we ended up tivo-ing the game and staying about 15 minutes behind the rest of the watching world for the whole game. i mean, we obviously couldn't fast forward through the commercials!

sarah models the cheese hat that ray brought over

we had to cheer for green bay, since they are in the NFC....and we aren't particular fans of the steelers, either.

this year was especially interesting to watch after having heard practically round-the-clock coverage in the week before-hand about the game being at cowboys stadium. the coverage probably would have been round-the-clock, if not for the crazy weather...although several stories talked about how the two were related. since we didn't have to deal with the crowds, the closed-off seats, the unknowing security guards and the weather (after paying to sit outside to watch the game...uhm...seriously people?!), we could enjoy the game for what is was meant to be: an excuse to watch some good football, crazy commercials and eat a ton of not-so-healthy but seriously tasty food! it was everything super bowl sunday should be and the only sad part is that, as always, it marks the end of football season. but, just like we say every year after the big game: now, we are all undefeated! go cowboys!

time to eat! everyone say "super bowl!"

my plate: chili cheese dip with fritos, croissant sandwich, cheese sticks, fruit salad...

eating and watching the game

part of the crowd enjoying the game

week 33

me and the little man at 33 weeks along!

according to the charts, our baby is roughly the size of a honeydew this month. which means he is between 17.2 -18.7 inches long and weighs 4.2 - 5.8 lbs! as my mom would point out when i was younger and needed a visual, 5 lbs is a sack of sugar...which means i'm carrying around a whole sack of sugar in there by now! crazy!

in other news, i've finally kicked my sinus infection and have been able to sleep without problems, taste my food and smell every pleasant (and not-so-pleaseant, read: pediatric ER RN) smell once again. yay!

the other big news this week? 33 weeks technically marks the 8 month milestone! how am i already 8 months pregnant? and how is it possible we haven't done a thing for the nursery? the latter question came to full force during our home arrest courtesy of the texas freak "ice-pocalypse" of 2011. for more on the weather and pics to prove that it can (and did) snow in texas -- a lot-- see my previous post. i started to get a taste of the nesting instincts while sequestered inside for 2 days due to weather while simultaneously realizing that the baby is now due NEXT month. fortunately, my wonderful husband was able to reassure me and help me figure out enough of a plan to get things together (read: crib, changing table, infant carrier, etc.) that my mind was put at ease and we were able to enjoy a couple days off together. someday soon, that man is going to be a great dad to our little one! :)

looking for more info? here's the weekly quiz:

How far along? 33 weeks

Weight gain/loss: ~20 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? None so far

Sleep? Not a problem this week (esp. compared to last week)

Best moment this week? kicking my sinus infection and getting back to enjoying pregnancy

Food cravings: big fatty burgers…I have yet to indulge, though!

Gender: little boy!

Belly button in or out? In for now

What I miss? Starting to miss my lung volume. Our little man likes to stick his little bum under the right side of my ribcage

What I'm looking forward to: the possibility of meeting this little man next month!

Weekly wisdom: it’s almost over, so I’m trying to cherish each kick and comment, each smile I get as strangers see my baby belly and the knowledge that our little man will soon get to join us on this side of the womb.

Milestones: month 8! (already?!)

ice-pocalypse of 2011

snow-my-goodness!


when we moved out of ohio in august, i figured i had said a fairly permanent goodbye to all things snow and ice. well, at least the kind of snow and ice that sticks around for days at a time, requires snow plows and indicates that temperatures are remaining below freezing for days at a time...even during the actual *day*. however, mister snow miser would prove me wrong on february 1st of 2011 with a week of everything mentioned above right here in our own southern backyard. while it's something that will, doubtless, be spoken of for years (and possibly decades) to come, here is my own chronicling of the events...

monday night: i worked at AKUC. due to the impending bad weather -- an ice storm was predicted to hit that night and last for 2-3 days -- i knew we would be busy. sometimes, it's not good to be right. we saw a ton of patients in the clinic that night and actually had 3 doctors on staff (compared to our usual 1) to help with the volume. fortunately, i work with amazing people and the night went about as smoothly as possible, and i tried to make regular updates to the families in the waiting room explaining that the volume seemed to be a combination of the time of year (flu season, etc) and the threat of the bad weather. when i said this, most parents smiled and nodded in affirmation, some would even shout, "that's why we're here!" (to which i would reply in my head: "yes, i know...")

after work, matt and i head to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next few days. being pregnant and having been in similar situations in ohio, i knew better than to enter into any sort of potential "lock-down" situation without being prepared. by the time we leave the store (just before 1am), it's raining and cold! by the time we get home, it's sleeting.

by 5am (of course i was still awake), the ice had not only hit but had turned everything outside white and slick. our driveway, cul-de-sac and sidewalk had disappeared under the ice and i was thankful i didn't have to be at work tuesday or wednesday, and fell asleep thinking that the vet appointment for lexi and my OB appointment would most likely be cancelled.

tuesday morning, nothing but ice...

tuesday: matt's work gets cancelled, but the vet and birthing center stay open. i'm never lucky enough to get a true snow day! but knowing that we won't be able to find a suitable make-up date for either appointment due to our crazy schedules, we head out in the ice to both. it takes us about 35 minutes to get from our house to the birthing center, normally an approx. 13 minute drive. we watch on the overpass as an 18 wheeler fishtails and we don't drive more than 20mph all the way there or back. in my texas mind i'm thinking, "the sun is out, why is there ice on the ground? how is this even physically possible here?!). i wish i could say we ignored the school zones since school was out...but since we were only driving about 10mph down spring creek, i don't think that counts!

wednesday: no appointments, i don't have work and matt's work gets cancelled. i feel antsy having a single day off work and not being able to run errands and start to worry about getting the nursery ready. matt is an awesome husband and keeps me calm :) by the evening, the roads are *slightly* better and we dared to leave the house to enjoy a fire, dinner and movie night at my parents' house. after all, we did live in ohio for a year...what's a little ice? we made it safely there and safely back.

thursday: all week i had figured that by the time i went back to work on thursday the ice would have cleared (i mean, seriously, it's texas!) but the weather reports extended the forecast to include freezing temps on thursday as well, and i ended up having to leave the house nearly an hour earlier than normal...and i clocked in late to work, just before 7pm! matt's work was cancelled again that morning, but nurses don't get snow (or ice) days. fortunately, no one was counted as being late to work all week (at least that's what i was told). then we heard that it was supposed to start snowing around 6 or 7am. "great," i thought sarcastically, "just in time for me to leave work in the snow." if only i could be so lucky! the snow started at 11pm instead, and continued through the rest of the shift and into the morning. by the time i left work there was close to 6 inches of accumulation on the roads on top of the ice. needless to say, it took me a little over 2 hours to get home....just in time to do it all over again on friday. the snow was beautiful, though :)

friday morning, after i got home from work:

some bunny was attempting to find our front sidewalk!

friday: matt is off work this day already. i left for work 2 hours early and was able to make it there in time, mostly because i was one of the few either a) required to be somewhere and/or b) brave or stupid enough to be out on roads that horrible. in defense of the north dallas/DFW metroplex, we don't own *any* snow plows and only have a limited number of sand trucks. we use sand because it's cheaper and usually provides a temporary enough solution to get us through the one, or maybe two, days of bad weather conditions we have per year. usually, the weather warms up enough that everything melts and no one complains. this year, we borrowed snow plows! (hosting the super bowl in a few days and all the visitors with it probably had *something* to do with this decision).

our snow dog. surely she's thinking we've moved back to ohio without telling her:

saturday: the roads are better, it only takes a little over an hour to get home (usually a 30 minute drive). i leave for work only slightly early and enjoy the knowledge that no matter what the weather, i'm off on sunday!

sunday: my morning drive makes me smile. there is a gorgeous sunrise and *no* ice or snow on the roads. hallelujah! also, i don't have to be back at work AND i get to watch the superbowl tonight. life is good. snow is pretty. ice....sucks!