Gavin is 3 Months!

Gavin is 3 months old! I can hardly believe this time has passed by so fast. 

At 3 months you are:

Such an easy going baby. I still can't believe how lucky I am to be your mom. You can spend an hour straight just laying on the bed next to me looking around and cooing.

A super smiley baby! All mommy and daddy have to do is look at you and you smile. The ceiling fan is your favorite thing to look at. Followed closely by hanging toys, which you are just starting to get the hang of touching on purpose. I see more and more eye-hand coordination almost every day.

Loving 'talking'. You will just sit there and talk and scream but be super happy for hours. Sometimes I can't tell if the screams are sad or happy ones.

An amazing sleeper (at night, naps are a different story)! I don't know how I got so lucky having 2 great sleepers. You sleep between 6 and 8 hours at your first stretch then eat and go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours.

Mine and your sister's little buddy! You love hanging out with us so much all day that you barely want to nap. You'll lay on the bed totally content and watch tv with us, you'll sit in the bumbo in the kitchen with us when we eat, you just love to be at our sides.

Gavin's Birth Story

(I am going to try to remember as many details as I can, but I am writing this a couple months later so I might forget to include some things) 

 I did not go into labor on my own so on the morning of February 28 Brandon and I headed to the hospital for my scheduled c-section. My surgery was scheduled for 9:30 so our check-in time was 7am. That morning our alarms went off at 5:30am. We both showered, got ready, and made sure we had everything packed that we needed to. We were both nervous but very excited. The night before we brought Brooklyn to Brandon's parents so the house was oddly quiet. We left the house around 6:45am. When we got the hospital we left all of our bags in the car since we wouldn't be in our permanent room for a few hours. We checked in at the front desk and then met with someone to fill out all of our paperwork, that took about 30-45 minutes. 

After that we headed up to labor and delivery. By that time it was about 8am. A nurse showed us to our triage room. There I changed into my hospital gown and got settled in to wait to get hooked up to my IV's and all that fun stuff. It felt like we were waiting in that room for hours at the time. We were so close to meeting our little boy, yet the nurse was taking for ever to get me ready for surgery. Finally the nurse came in and I answered some more questions and she hooked me up on my IV's. After that we watched some TV and just waited for a little while while Brandon put on all of his scrubs over his clothes. At about 8:45 the anesthesiologist came in and explained everything that would happen. Soon after, my doctor finally came in and told me we were ready to go! 

We walked from the triage room to the operating room and I laid down on the table. It was so different to be so relaxed and have the doctors take their time than it was for my last c-section which was very rushed and scary. Once I was on the table the anesthesiologist put in my spinal tap and soon after I started to go numb from the chest down. The doctors were all very relaxed and it was not stressful at all. Then they put the paper up between me and the doctors so I couldn't see. I could sort of feel the pressure of what they were doing and Brandon was watching and giving me a play by play. About 5 minutes later he told me they were about to pull baby boy out. A few moments later I heard him cry and they held him up over the paper so I could see him. Gavin was here! That was one of the 2 best moments of my life. I couldn't believe how beautiful he was. I'd finally met the little boy I had been waiting the last 9 months to meet. The nurses cleaned him up and weighed him and brought him back over so I could hold him while they were closing me back up.

After I held him for a little bit the nurse took him back and had to take him to the nursery while the doctors were finishing the surgery. Brandon went with and I was left there waiting. That again felt like it took hours, when really it was only about 15 minutes. As soon as I was stitched up they rolled me into recovery. Once I was there Brandon came and showed me pictures he took and went back and forth between the recovery room and the nursery a couple times. After an hour or so in recovery they brought Gavin in so I could nurse him. He latched right away and was an excellent eater from the start. 

After I was in recovery for 2 hours and doing well we were moved to our room we would be in for the rest of the hospital stay. As soon as we were there our families quickly started coming in. First, Brandon's parents came in with Brooklyn. I watched her as she walked in the room and I can't even describe the look that was on her face. She was excited, but I could tell she was very apprehensive and trying to hold it in. She was very quiet, but had a smile on her face the whole time. She held him (with help of course) and looked like she fell in love with him at first sight, just like the rest of us. Two months later and she still surprisingly likes him :)

First time meeting little brother

First family photo

39 Weeks

(I am writing this from memory as I am terribly behind and writing this 4 weeks later!)

How far along? 39 weeks

How big is baby? Size of a watermelon still. Anywhere between 19 and 22 inches long and weighs anywhere from 7-8 pounds.

Physical differences from last week? Feeling as big as I could possibly get. I'm sure laying around since I have been off of work isn't helping much either. My feet have been hurting more and getting more swollen.

Total weight gain/loss? 2-3 pounds this week. Up to about 40 lbs overall. 

How I'm feeling? Just trying to stay as relaxed as I can so that hopefully baby boy will come whenever he is ready. 

What's been on my mind? Worrying about having to have my planned c-section now that it is getting closer to the day and I am not going into labor on my own.

What I'm looking forward to? Being a family of 4! So crazy to type that out, it will be real soon!

Best moment this past week? Being done with work! It makes it feel so much more real that it is happening any day now.

This is the only picture I have from this week. Forgot to take a better belly one but this one is cute :)

37 Weeks! Officially Full Term!

How far along? 37 weeks!

How big is baby? Size of a watermelon still. Anywhere between 19 and 22 inches long and weighs almost 7 pounds.

Physical differences from last week? None really. Still getting bigger by the week and more uncomfortable. Still making it around at home and work without too much difficulty though. 

Total weight gain/loss? 1 pound this week. Up to about 33 lbs overall. 

How I'm feeling? Just trying to stay as relaxed as I can so that hopefully baby boy will come whenever he is ready. 

What's been on my mind? Still working on getting everything set for work. I need to just get it all done and then hopefully Gavin will make his appearance as soon as I have everything set!

What I'm looking forward to? Being a family of 4! So crazy to type that out, it will be real soon!

Best moment this past week? Finally getting checked at the doctor and hearing that I am 1cm dilated  and 50% effaced. Glad that I am showing at least a little bit of progress. Hopefully at my appointment next week I see even more!

36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks!

How big is baby? Size of a watermelon (that seems huge!). Anywhere between 19 and 22 inches long and weighs about 6-6.5 pounds.

Physical differences from last week? I'm pretty sure I'm starting to feel some slight contractions, hopefully that means I am starting to progress so I can get my VBAC!

Total weight gain/loss? 0 this week. Up to about +27-30 lbs overall.

How I'm feeling? A little stressed now that it's getting so close! I've started to get stuff together for my hospital bag and finishing little things here and there in the nursery.

What's been on my mind? Still just thinking about everything that we need to get together before Gavin makes his arrival. Also been trying to get everything settled for work so I won't be stressing at the last second about my long-term sub.

What I'm looking forward to? Baby boy just being here already!

Best moment this past week? Getting our fridge fixed! It was a disaster trying to live without a fridge/freezer for over a week and a half. So glad it's finally fixed.

35 Weeks down/35 Days to go!

How far along? 35 weeks!

How big is baby? Size of a honeydew melon. Anywhere between 19 and 22 inches long and weighs about 5 and 1/4 pounds.

Physical differences from last week? Getting more and more uncomfortable still. His kicking and turning is painful at times.

Total weight gain/loss? Up to about +27-30 lbs overall.

How I'm feeling? Pretty good. As long as I get enough sleep at night I have enough energy to get through most of the day.

What's been on my mind? Getting everything ready that baby boy will need when he gets here! Still need to pick up his car seat, a swing, and some sheets for the crib. I think after that we will have all necessary things ready!

What I'm looking forward to? Starting to go to the doctor every week starting this week. So crazy that it is going so close! Hopefully I will start to see at my appointments if any of these random contractions have been causing any progression or not.

Best moment this past week? My baby shower! I had so much fun and Gavin is already so spoiled. It was so amazing to see all the support we have from friends and family.

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks!

How big is baby? Size of a pineapple. Anywhere between 19 and 22 inches long and weighs about 4 and a half pounds

Physical differences from last week? Getting more and more uncomfortable :(

Total weight gain/loss? Still only up to about +25 lbs overall. Glad this slowed down a bit since I have been eating much healthier the last couple weeks.

How I'm feeling? Now that it's getting closer I am getting a little more stressed about getting everything ready at work for when I'm gone. I definitely have a lot of work to do before D-Day! (So hopefully he's not toooo early)

What's been on my mind? Getting the house cleaned for the baby shower next week! So excited to see everybody and celebrate baby boy's soon-to-be arrival!

What I'm looking forward to? Baby shower next weekend!

Best moment this past week? Nothing too much has been going on the last couple weeks. Trying to rest while I know I can but I can't stop thinking that I have a million things to do and get ready :(