Loving my Summer!

Its been so nice to be home with my girl this summer. We've had a lot of good times and she's growing up so fast I can't believe it. She is running all over the place....walking is a thing of the past. She's my big helper too; she helped me wash my car this morning:

She washed the same spot over and over and over, it was so cute.

She loves playing peek-a-boo

And riding in her wagon

And picking flowers

Too Busy!

The weeks are flying by and life is far too busy. Thankfully the end of school is near, one week left of this term and then one final term to go. Lily is growing up so fast and getting more and more of a personality every day. Its been so fun to watch. I treasure our time together. She finally cut a tooth this last month, man that was a miserable experience for the whole house, we didn't sleep for days. It was like having a new born again. Alas she STILL isn't sleeping through the night....someday maybe.....I think I've forgotten what it is like to sleep all the way through the night myself. Lily has also decided that mommy and daddy's food is far better than baby food....that one is my fault....feeding her from my plate too much.....so we have to feed her first and then she sits in her high chair and nibbles on whatever she can from my plate while we eat.

We had a couple nice days this past week so Lily and I made a trip to the park. The swing swallows her up but she loved it despite the fact that it nearly put her to sleep.

She also out grew her infant seat already since she's so tall so we gladly accepted our cousin Jace's car seat since he moved onto a booster seat. She loves this new seat since she sits up more and can see out the back window of the car. It makes traveling in the car far less painful for all of us.

Update

Life has been pretty hectic these days....but that's nothing new. I thought for sure during Christmas Break I'd find time to post some long overdo pictures of my adorable little girl....but somehow time slipped away and here I am back to the grind of school again. 23 weeks to go and I'm done!! Yahoo! So tired of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So yeah back to my cute little girl. Here is a video of her from tonight, she just started doing this in the last few days....so cute!

Christmas was great! We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family which was chaos, with kids running everywhere and 25+ people in the house, but that's Christmas with my family and I wouldn't have it any other way. Dustin BBQed the prime rib as is customary since he's been in the family and is the king of the BBQ. Then Christmas day we had at our house. It was nice and low key. People came to us this year, we had Dustin's parent and mine over as well. I had fun decorating the house, although I kept it simple since we have limited space. I also enjoyed finally getting out some more of my china.

I made omelets for breakfast, I just discovered that I could make them this year, Dustin insists I've been holding out on him our whole marriage...but apparently all those years of working in a restaurant and watching gave me the skill. Dustin grilled tri-tip steaks in this amazing marinade for lunch/dinner. Yummy! I love that he can cook and enjoys doing it.

Lily was an absolute ham. She loved ripping the paper off of her gifts, although she just wanted to eat it. We got some great video of it. Thankfully Aunt Misty wrapped Lily's gifts in a foil wrapping paper which Lily thoroughly enjoyed the crinkling sound it made and that she was allowed to chew on it since it didn't get soggy.She was even willing to put up with wearing a santa hat
I have a cute Christmas dress for her but I haven't actually put it on her yet....yeah yeah I know it was supposed to be for Christmas but I actually bought it for pictures....which I still haven't gotten around to doing quite yet....who can fit all this stuff in? Soon though...I promise. I actually had to buy her two dresses because the first one turned into a long shirt because she had a huge growth spurt.....plus I bought it in November thinking I was planning ahead....nice.

More Pictures to come.....

Hurray for some sleep!

The last 4 months have been some trying months. Along with the excitement of Lily's arrival came some rough days in the Landreth house. Lily had colic for the first 5 weeks. It was rough seeing my little girl screaming for 3-4 hours straight every single day. Thankfully cutting dairy out of my diet cured that one. Adjusting to being a mom was definitely a challenge that I didn't expect. I was so excited to be a mom I thought it would be a smooth transition. Now I'm back in school for my final year of nursing school.....well not really my final year but its the last one before my RN anyway. Next year it will all be on-line....can't wait. I hate how much I'm away from Lily. I've struggled a lot with the guilt of always leaving her but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for the betterment of my family, I'm almost done and then I'll only have to work part time. Dustin has been amazing through this whole experience. He's done more than his fair share to keep me sane and get things done around the house. I couldn't as for a better husband or father to our little girl.
Lily is 16 weeks old already. She rolled over last week which startled her at first but then she smiled. She's sitting up with assistance and getting pretty good with her hands too. She's found my hair on a few occasions and I've stopped wearing dangly earings. She started eating cereal this week and I finally decided it was time to graduate her to her own room. I'm sleeping much better now that I don't hear every movement she makes during the night. She's also sleeping better now that she's eating cereal before bed. We were getting up 2 to 3, sometime 5 times a night. Now we are getting up once or twice and last night we didn't get up at all.....well she didn't but I woke up at least twice and went to check on her. I'm not sure if I know how to sleep through the night anymore :)

Everything goes into the mouth right now and she slobbers like crazy! Hence the bibs. Otherwise we have to change her shirt several times a day. I love her big brown eyes and her sweet dimpled smile!

She's getting big so fast!

I can't believe how fast she is growing! I know everyone says that....but its so true! She is starting to smile now and trying really hard to make noise....other than crying....she's got that one down. We have hopefully solved the colic issue. I quit eating dairy and that made a huge difference. Although the last two days she's been extra fussy so I think I'm going to have to add BBQ sauce to the do not eat list since the only thing I ate those two days that was the same was a BBQ beef sandwich. Its pretty crazy how long that do not eat list is getting. No dairy, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (that one is easy...yuck), onions, spicy stuff and now BBQ sauce.

We're having her dedicated this weekend. I hope she doesn't cry through the whole thing. I made the mistake of thinking it would be ok to go to the chiropractor by myself today...just her and I that is....and she cried, actually screamed, through the whole appointment. It was supposed to be during her nap time. Needless to say I won't be doing that again.

I bought her Halloween outfit last week. I figured I better get it now when it was on sale and I had the time to look for it. With school starting in about 4 weeks free time will be a thing of the past. She's going to be a lady bug. I can't wait to dress her up in it :)

1 Month!

Our little munchkin is one month old today. She's getting so big and a lot more alert. We're already saying good-bye to the newborn clothes because she's too long for them. There sure has been a lot of new experiences and adjustments around here in the last month.

Colic, Mastitis and Little Sleep......

The challenges of parenthood have settled full force into the Landreth household.

Happy 3 Weeks!

I can't believe she's three weeks already! I'm absolutely loving being a mom! I'm still trying to figure out how to get a shower in and get dressed before half the day is over with though. The bouncy seat and the swing have helped occupy her most days so I can get dressed but some days they just won't due. There have definitely been some rough days in the past three weeks too.....poor thing has colic. Last night was probably the worst night yet, I got maybe three hours and the rest was spent in the rocking chair trying to console her. Thankfully Dustin stayed home from work today and I got a 4hr nap in. He's such a good dad, never tries to pass her off when she's crying....unless she's hungry of course. They are both sacked out on the couch right now so I better take my opportunity to get dressed

She's finally here!

Lily finally made her debut on Tuesday July 14th at 7:52PM. I was scheduled to have a doctors appointment on Tuesday morning to schedule an induction if she hadn't arrived by then but I woke up Monday morning and decided another day was just too long to wait. I called my doctor early Monday morning and begged them to fit me in sometime that day. So off to the doctor I went and with no more progress being made on my part, my doctor didn't see why we should wait any longer either. She scheduled us to check in to the hospital at 8PM that evening. Dustin took the rest of the day off work so we could spend the day together and get any last minute things wrapped up before we headed off to the hospital.

We checked in around eight as planned and once I was all settled in the medication was started. They started with some medication to get my body ready since it hadn't moved too far on its own. I didn't get much sleep that night because the nurse was in and out constantly to adjust the monitor that was strapped to my belly to detect Lily's heart rate. Lily kept moving out of range of the monitor......she's still a little wiggly one :) At 6AM the next morning the pitocin was started and a little after 7AM a doctor (not mine) came and broke my water.....talk about a weird sensation. And many hours later my little bundle finally arrived safe and sound. I don't think I'll ever forget the moment I first laid eyes on her, what a precious time! She weighed 8lbs and was 21 1/4 inches long. Thank goodness we didn't leave her in there any longer! I'm still trying to figure out how she fit in my belly :)

We've had some rough nights of not much sleep but I absolutely love being a mom. She is so precious to me. Its been really fun to see Dustin with her too. He's a natural and a wonderful help to me. Since he's limited on how much he can do because I'm breastfeeding, he says "mom takes care of the baby and I take care of mom" He hasn't hesitated to change a diaper, I think he even changed the first one in the hospital.
I'm feeling better everyday....when I get decent sleep. We've even made two trips to town and two trips out to visit family. Today though, is a stay at home and catch up on sleep day. I think the sleep deprivation is really starting to catch up to me.

And Waiting.....

Here we are at 40 weeks plus

And this is where we started....
Kind of a difference :)

Still Waiting.....

We are still waiting for Lily to arrive....patiently some days and impatiently others. I had a doctors appointment today and since tomorrow is my official due date we'll be talking induction at my next appointment next Tuesday. I really hope I don't have to go that route but if I do I guess I do. I'm only dilated to 1 cm and last week it was only 0.5 cm. Its a little discouraging but one more week isn't too long.

Preparing for Lily's arrival

Now that school is out I've actually had time to stop and focus on the upcoming arrival of our little Lily. I'm not sure that it has really fully sunk in yet that I'm going to be a mom at any time now....although I've heard it never really does sink in until your home with the little one.

Its crazy how much stuff we've been doing to prepare for her arrival. Dustin and I have gone to a few classes like a baby basics class and a birthing class; although I didn't feel like I learned as much as I had hoped to....been doing too much reading on my own I guess. I also took a breastfeeding class with a friend of mine that is also pregnant.....Dustin skipped that one, although he was willing to go for my support if I wanted him to, which I appreciated.

I've had three baby showers....yep three. My mother in law wanted to have her own for Dustin's side of the family, my sisters put one on and my classmates also put one on. All my cakes were very cute/beautiful. I got SO many outfits....guess that's the fun stuff to buy. Needless to say I took a passel of it back along with a bunch of excess diapers and bought the rest of the stuff on my registry. A girl can only wear so many outfits....and I still feel like I have more than she could ever wear before she outgrows it all. Its been fun washing all the tiny clothes though.

My little nephew Jace isn't quite sure what to think of my belly. Everytime he sees me he pokes at my belly. He's got the concept that there's a baby in there but always wants to see the baby.....its so cute. He told me yesterday that he wanted to hold her :)

I've been trying to motivate myself to pack my bags for the hospital but Lily's bag is more packed than mine is. Most of my stuff has to be last minute anyway so I made a list so I won't forget anything. The car seat is in the car and I had a safety guy look at it yesterday to make sure it was put in right.

The nursery is finally done and organized thanks to Dustin, my mom and my sisters. My mom and my sisters came over yesterday and helped me go through a bunch of clothes and decide what to keep and what to take back.
I'm enjoying my time to sleep in and getting some social time in before her arrival. At first I was really anxious for her to get here but now I figure I better take advantage of my sleep while it lasts :) Some days are more miserable than others and some nights are more restless than others but soon she'll be here and our lives will forever be changed...and blessed.

Massive Update!

As you know its been a LONG time since I last posted so I'll try to catch up what been going on. I am finally free of school for the summer. Finals were brutal but I was happy to have passed. Now I almost feel guilty with all my "free" time....and its hard to remember what to do with it since I'm not studying. I think I've filled it pretty well so far though. I've been trying t get my house in order since its been neglected for far too long. I've also been washing all the miniature clothes that I have acquired in the last couple months. That's been fun! I think I have more onsies than I could possibly dress my child in for the first month at least....good thing its summer time.

I had my first baby shower today but sadly I forgot my camera and so did everyone else. My fellow nursing student friends put the shower on for me. It was great fun and very nice to hang out without having to study :) I scored a bunch of diapers.....everyone brought a pack which was very kind.....and more clothes too. I'll have to take photos of some of the outfits.

I have another baby shower tomorrow and then one next Saturday.....and then Lily can come out. I'd hate for my family and friends to have gone through the trouble to plan and organize my showers and then not be able to go.

Sleeping has become quite a challenge these days. I've taken to sleeping on the couch because its much softer than my bed and therefore much kinder to my hips. I can only alternate from one side to the other so many time before they both equally hurt and I just give up. Oh and I can't forget the cankles....its pretty gross actually and they get really bad when I go to work and am on my feet for 8 hours straight. Thank goodness I only have a week and a half of work....which really is only a few days since I work part time. Bending in the middle is also quite comical, and makes putting on my shoes and socks more work than it should be, not to mention work itself. I feel as though I might pop when I try to bend in the middle lol and it sure makes the acid reflux flare up too. Its quite funny all the things we pregnant ladies endure....good thing its all worth it :)

The room is coming along very nicely. Its painted and the molding is up. There are a few minor touch ups that need to be done but it looks great. I also have some wall hangings to put up and the curtains to hang. I was hoping to employ my mom's help with that since Dustin's always at work when I have the energy to do anything but she's ditched town for a couple weeks to visit the Grand Canyon.....with strict instructions that she has to be back for my baby shower and ready to hop on a plane if I go into labor :) I know she wouldn't miss it for the world....and she's only been begging to go on this trip since I was a kid so I completely understand....plus its my first baby so what's the likely hood that I'll actually go into labor early.....I know it happens but it seems like the baby usually comes late. Lily and I have already had a discussion about not coming until grandma gets back.....so we'll see if she listens :) So here are a few pictures of the room in progress.



My brother said the room looked like neapolitan ice cream......thanks Brad.....only he would think of that. And of course that's all I saw whenever I went into the room for weeks after he said that. Thankfully now that everything is back in the room it looks less like the ice cream. More photos to come.

And of course there are the belly pictures. I've gotten in trouble from more than one person for not posting one in a while....so here are the last 2 I have:

This was at 32 weeks....and looking a little lumpy....

And this one was from today....36 weeks. I can't believe how big the belly is getting! It doesn't look this big from my perspective!!

And I can't forget the cankles....they don't even look like they belong to me.....and what's up with the right one being bigger than the left?? I had a pedicure/foot and leg massage yesterday and it helped a little but it sure did hurt. I sure couldn't paint my toe nails right now....at least not very well.....I'd probably paint the whole toe and pass out in the process.

I was completely spoiled by my mother in law, Debbie, yesterday. She took me to Portland and treated me to the pedicure/foot and leg massage I mentioned earlier. She also took me out to Red Lobster for lunch/dinner and we visited a Babys-R-Us since we don't have one in Eugene. I found the cutest blanket! I'll have to take a picture of it. Its pink and brown of course, with butterflies on one side, and SO soft! Debbie also spent way too much money on some more outfits and then we visited a craft store....a super store no less.....and purchased some fun items for scrap booking. Debbie is probably the most talented person that I know when it comes to making homemade cards and she made me the cutest scrapbook/baby book. I was secretly hoping she would but she far surpassed my hopes.

10 weeks to go!

I saw my OB yesterday and everything is still going just as it should be. I was a little concerned when I went to my appointment because I had just seen my PCP a few days earlier (I had to follow up with him after the ER visit) and he basically lectured me about how I was overdoing it and made it sound like I was hurting the baby or something. My OB reassured me that she'd be the first to tell me if I was harming the baby in any way, I might be sleep deprived but the little one can sleep whenever. I was relieved to hear that.

I only have 5 weeks of school left for this year and then I'll just be working until I can't anymore or she arrives....hopefully the latter. I think I'll go stir crazy if I go from being incredibly busy to just sitting around waiting for her to get here.

The crib bedding arrived a couple weeks ago and I've picked out my paint colors so now its just a matter of getting the nursery painted. I HATE painting.....but if you know me, you probably already knew that anyway. Thankfully my mom enjoys it and has offered to do the painting....it might happen this Thursday. I'll post pictures of the progress. Speaking of progress....here's the latest picture of the ever growing belly

Student Nurse to Patient

Yesterday was an interesting day for the Landreth family. I started out a student nurse and ended up being a patient. This week was a really long week for me because it was my week of clinicals and of working on the same two days. I dread these weeks but they happen every other week during the term, thankfully only four times each term. Clinicals start at 7AM and get out at 12:15PM then I have a break until I work at 3PM until 11:30PM. The first day isn't so bad, its the second day that I dread, of getting up at 5AM after going to bed at 12:30 or 1AM after work. But the bills must be paid and insurance is a necessity right now so that's just the way it has worked out. So I went to clinicals at the hospital Friday morning and found that the patient that I'd been assigned that week had been discharged the night before. Another student, Amy was also in the same situation so we were assigned a research project on a particularly interesting patient that was admitted that day. We were to interview him and look into his medical history. So Amy and I were going through his medical chart when I suddenly felt nauseous followed by feeling as though I was going to pass out.....which I apparently did....pass out that is. I came to to about three nurses rushing in the room and talking about calling the ER. I passed out a second time and then came to again. Apparently it looked as though I was having a seizure so the next thing I know I'm in a wheel chair and Amy and my instructor are wheeling me down to the ER. I called Dustin on my way down and told him they were taking me to the ER and he should probably come in.....poor guy I completely freaked him out.....I didn't even mention that I was ok......but I can't say that I was completely coherent at that point. I was a little freaked out myself and a little embarrassed at the same time.

It was an interesting experience being the patient and not the one giving the care. I got the whole works.....IV, seizure pads on the bed, hospital gown (which they kindly stripped me in front of my instructor and classmate....nothing like getting to know them well). So after a few hours in the ER, some lab work and making sure little Lily was ok, they concluded that it was most likely just fainting but made an appointment for an EEG anyway just to be sure it wasn't seizure activity. It has to be a sleep deprived test.....I told them I could qualify that day but it had to be done another day. The ER doctor sent me home with orders to lay low....so no going to work that night....to follow up with my PCP and Obstetrician as well as the EEG appointment....oh and no driving. I was grateful for the day off and went home and crashed for most of the day. I'm feeling alright today, just a little run down but I'm taking naps and trying to relax.

Here's my latest belly pic (27 weeks):

Its official.....

We officially found out that we are having a girl. I was so glad that she decided to cooperate this time around....and we had an awesome ultrasound technician who said she's only been wrong once in 16 yrs (and the doctor confirmed that too). Now I'm on the hunt for a bring home outfit. I really want to find a cute summer dress with some sandles to go along with it. I may have found the one at Walmart, I just need to break down and buy it. I keep looking and comparing everything I see to this one. There is even a pair of sandles and a bonnet that goes with this outfit :)



There's just so much cute stuff its hard to decide. And I'm very excited to finally order my crib set so the nursery can be painted. We did get the crib put together, or rather Dustin got the crib together while I was at work this past week. I also did my registry today. I took Kelly and Melissa with me since they have both been through this whole registry thing a couple times and know what is actually necessary and what brands are the best. I registered at Target and at Toy-R-Us. I had a hard time finding the high chair I wanted though which is rather frustrating. Most of the ones they had in the stores were ugly or too gender specific and I'm hoping to keep my high chair around for the next baby so I don't want to go girly. I did find it at Target on-line so I guess I'll just have to add it to my registry that way.

I can't believe I'm already 25 weeks....she's going to be here so soon. Classes start again tomorrow too so that's going to make the time go by much faster but I'm excited to finally hold her....and to have my ribs back to myself :)....she climbs in them often these days. I so enjoyed my Spring Break and I'm somewhat reluctant to go back to school and especially back to not seeing Dustin again. We actually had a few days off together over the break and got to spend some quality time together. I'm going to miss that. He's at work today and then we are working opposite shifts most of the week so I'll see him again Thursday evening.....so sad.....but in a year from June its all going to be worth it....I just have to keep reminding myself that. Plus there is a good chance that I'll get to stay home this summer which will be very nice if it works out.

So here's some pictures from our latest ultrasound:

Spring Break!!!

Finally! My spring break is here and I can get some of the things done that I've been wanting to do but have been putting off because of school. On Saturday I borrowed a carpet cleaner from my sister in law and shampooed the baby's room. Then yesterday Dustin and I actually had a whole day off together so we assembled the baby's dresser.
It was a fun project to do together. Next time it will be the crib. Next Thursday we have our third ultrasound so hopefully I'll be able to register next weekend. I'm hoping our ultrasound technician is better than the last one we experienced. And I hope the baby cooperates too.
Here is my baby bump photo from last week at 23 weeks....we're making up for lost time now.
I'm feeling the baby move a whole lot more now and when the baby kicks you can see my shirt move. Its such an amazing experience and still so surreal.

Almost Spring Break....

I'm nearly done with my second term of nursing school. Its hard to believe that its gone by so fast but at the same time I'm looking forward to being done with this term and having a break. The busyness of school has definitely caused this pregnancy to fly by too. I'm 23 weeks already....and yes I know way past due to update my belly picture. I'm planning to get to that as soon as my husband and I are in the house at the same time (and not asleep during that time). He's been a great support and a very understanding husband throughout this busy time. He's taken on the household chores, most of the cooking and he gets up with me on his days off to help me make my lunch and occasional cup of coffee.....yes I get one cup of coffee a day, I asked my doctor....so no lectures about that. Best if all I never hear a complaint out of him. I think I'd go mad if Dustin wasn't so supportive and helpful. He even tolerates my occasional mental breakdowns when life feels like its overtaking me :) and he reminds me that God will never give me too much to handle and He hasn't set me up to fail.....those are good reminders. He's my biggest cheerleader. Hopefully spring break will bring some much needed sleep, reorganization of the house and most importantly some quality time with my hubby.

Hello Belly....

It seems as though my belly just decided to pop out this week. I pretty much said good by to all my pre-pregnancy tops and most of my pants. I'm still hanging onto at least one pair of jeans though.....got to love the low rise jeans! So here's the latest belly picture:
There was also a request to see pictures of our crib and dresser. Sadly they are still in their boxes awaiting assembly.....maybe over Spring Break.