10 Months

Today Lily is 10 months old. 5/6ths of a year. It is now safe to say she's almost ONE. While she has waved off and on, today was the first day she waved bye-bye from the Goodbye Window at daycare. My big girl, with both hands pressed against the glass, pulled one away to wave at me while I backed away toward the car. She looked so big in that moment. It is amazing to watch her grow. I'm constantly in wonder at the things she learns and does. 

Daycare is still a place she loves and still such a hard thing for me to do every day. I miss her terribly and feel somedays like I am missing so much. We just try and focus in the many benefits that daycare provides. Especially for her learning.

More and more Lily is turning into a functional, and semi-coordinated, little human. She is making her opinions known, she gabs all the time, and does things to intentionally get a laugh (yup, she's my kid alright!). She is such a good baby. If we were to doubt that for even a moment, everywhere we go we are reminded by friends, family, coworkers, and perfect strangers how lovely, well behaved, and sweet she really is. Even when we are traveling, off her schedule and in a new place, she always manages to share her sweet giggles.

Lily is cruising along. Crawling like a maniac, walking well along the furniture, and standing against anything she can touch, including poor Lacey! Often trying to let go and stand on her own. She is currently doing a lot to experiment with the volume of her voice, whispering and screeching. Babbles lots of 'mama' 'baba 'nana', but her favorite is for her sweet 'dada'. She is making more complex sounds that resemble 'daddy' and 'baby'. We just crack up when she accentuates her ramblings by talking with her hands, even pointing fingers when she shouts. 

We do have a baby foodie on our hands. She loves food and has yet to refuse anything. She eats almost everything we do. With the exception being anything sweet, salty, over processed, or greasy. Her pincher grasp and hand-to-mouth coordination has really improved. She's also actually eating a lot more of the food instead of just playing. 

This 10 months has been a lot of things. Learning to be a parent is hard. It's sleepless night, uncertainty, worry, feelings of failure or inadequacy. But amidst its challenges is an overwhelming sense of joy. The immense privilege of getting to be Lily's mom is enough to outweigh any tough day. Not for a moment do we take our little blessing for granted. 

We love you sweet Lily Bean. Forever and ever.

6 Months

On Tuesday we celebrated our sweet Lily's half birthday! 6 whole months.

It was a big month for Lily! Her 'vocabulary' is greatly expanding to many many more babbles and squeals. She learned to sit up all on her own and really enjoys playing with the big kids at daycare this way. Lily had her first (two) big colds and now recognizes the nasal aspirator when it is near... Boy she hates that thing! She has tried a number of new foods, including apple, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, and cantaloupe. Avocado is next up!

She's doing very well at daycare and loves playing with the kids. It's great to see her smile when she gets there. You can just see her observing and studying the kids. It's wonderful!

This last weekend was especially exciting, Lily had her first airplane ride! She and I flew down to Southern California to stay with one of our very favorite friends, Susan, and her gorgeous family. While we had a lot of stuff to juggle (I'm not known for packing light), Lily was a dream. She got compliments on being so well behaved and everyone went out I their way to help us. There is a lot of good people in the world. We had a fantastic time with our friends. Her son and daughter are such a light in the world. They have crazy toddler energy and are filled with love and sweetness. 1200 miles is a long way, but I'm so happy we are going to make regular effort for them to be in each others lives.

Lily had her 6 month pediatrician appointment yesterday and is the picture of health. Measuring a whopping 18lbs 8.5oz and 27inches tall, she's consistently in about the 85th percentile for both.

Her personality is coming out more and more. She laughs all the time, talks to the dogs, and we think is going to have a great sense of humor, one that will really match her brilliance.

Lily Bean, we love you. We are so proud of the little girl you're growing into and we cannot wait to discover the world by your side. You are so loving and already showing signs of independence. We hope to nurture those traits and watch you grow into the individual you're meant to be. This 6 months went by fast, too fast. Do us a favor and slow down a bit, will you?

Sitting up!

Another big milestone for Lily Bean!

Our little girl is officially sitting up. For weeks she's sat up for a few seconds before falling over. If she could lean against us, she did okay too. But, it's like a switch flipped! All of a sudden Monday night, she sat up and stayed! She's even used her arms to balance and keep herself from toppling over.

We are so proud of our big girl!

Adventures in Food

We are just beginning our food adventures with Lily. She's 5 1/2 months now and fascinated with food. Lily has been fixated. We cannot eat a thing without her laser guided stare or chubby little fingers reaching for it.

Time to step up our exploration? We think so.

On Superbowl Sunday she got her first simple taste, celery! It was cool and she got to hold it herself. Snacking right along with all the big kids!

Todays food adventure: cucumber!

It took Lily a moment to explore, but after a few minutes she dove right in. She would watch as I snacked on slices and got very excited when I handed one to her. Granted, not a lot actually made it in her mouth, but that's not what it's about! She's all about the discovery.

Next up? Carrots (steamed) and avocado!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

And a Happy New Year!

At 4 months, Lily is 15lbs 6oz (72%) and 25 3/4" long (92%).

A whole year...

 (the second line is hard to see in the photo, sorry!)

I hope to add a few more of these comparisons over the next few weeks! I can remember exactly how I felt in that moment. It's hard to believe a year has passed!

3 Months Old!

Lily is 3 months old!

Our sweet baby is just growing by the day. She's getting more and more of a personality too!

I've been back to work for a few weeks now and Lily has done so well with our friends, Rachel and Stacie. They've both been splitting time with her each week to help us with childcare. It's been tremendous to be able to transition back to work this way. We know that Lily is with people with know and trust, she's got little friends at both houses, and - they both text us photos so that we can get a peek at our girl during the day.

Both ladies have commented on what a good baby Lily is. I don't want to brag, but I will, and they're right! She's a pretty relaxed little girl - unless there is something she needs (diaper, food, nap, snuggles, etc). We really did hit the baby jackpot!

Lily has grown a lot this past month. We haven't been able to weight or measure her, but she is already starting to grow out of her 3 month clothes! Her PJ's and onesies anyway, she's just too tall! Her legs are very strong and she absolutely loves to stand (with our help to balance). Look at her in her crib!

Lily is very chatty. We love to sit down when we get home and let her tell us about her day. She'll squawk and coo, all while she's kicking her legs and smiling. Most amazing of all is her little giggle! While playing on her mat or vibrating chair, she not only reaches up to hit her toys, but now she's grasping them as well. She is really discovering her hands. We'll catch her checking them out quite often. She also hit a big milestone on the 14th - she slept through the night! Granted, "through the night" is only until 4:00 a.m. for us, but still! I'm forever grateful for the extra sleep, that's for sure.

We love how happy she always is. Sunday morning while Jeremy made breakfast, we all listened to music and danced around the kitchen. I was holding Lily and Jeremy was playing with her feet and she just giggled and giggled. Along with her birth and our wedding day... it was one of the happiest moments of my life. Nothing complicated or extravagant - just our little family, being silly, together.

Our Lily simply amazes us each and every day.

Happy 3 Months, Sweet Lily!

Pictures!

Keeping up with this blog regularly has been challenging since Lily arrived, but even more so since I returned to work. I really enjoy using this space as a journal to record our goings-on and keep in touch with our family/friends that are not local. But, it's hard to find time to sit down and settle my brain enough to string together a few words.

With that being said - I am much much better about keeping up with pictures. Not fancy photo-shoot type stuff, but silly camera-phone stuff. So, if you are jonesing for a photo of sweet little Lily, here are a couple places you can find them!

Instagram - if you have a smart phone, download the app! My profile is private, but send me a request to follow along.

Facebook - (for my family and friends) not updated quite as often as Instagram, but there are tons of photos there too!

Now if we could just get it together enough to have our family photos taken, sometime before Lily turns 30....

Halloween!

This year being Lily's first Halloween, we were excited to get her dressed up and parade her around. We talked about going trick-or-treating with our friends. Lily can't go door to door, but we could put her in the stroller and go for a nice walk as a family. Great idea, right? Tell that to Mother Nature who sent us a week of downpour!

Since the rain put a stopper in our plans, we decided we would surprise our parents and bring Lily trick-or-treating to their houses! (Sorry, dad! Yakima is a little far to swing by. Maybe next year. :)) At each place we got Lily in her costume and knocked on the door.

What was our little Lily this year? Why she was the cutest elephant that you've ever seen... (our girl loves her sleep and really felt that this whole 'Halloween thing' was being blown way out of proportion.)

In the afternoon I met up with Rachel to make sure that our girls had their pictures taken together. Emma was a zebra and it's practically a requirement to take pictures of cute zoo animals!

Aren't they adorable?


Early in the day, Lily and I decided to play dress up. Here she is in the tutu that she received at my first baby shower:

For Lily's 10 week photos last week, we decided we would put her in a pumpkin. That didn't quite work out as well as we'd hoped, but we've gotten lots of good tips to try it again next year. So, we really only got a series of outtakes:

I am back to work now and things are going as smoothly as they can. I'm so grateful for supportive coworkers and friends that are willing to help watch Lily. It means that we don't have to put her into daycare until the first of the year. We are so lucky to have such a great support system!

Two Months!

Yesterday our Lily turned two months old! I know we say it constantly, but the time is just flying by. I will say that at the same token, we have a hard time imagining our lives before she was around.

Lily is changing constantly. We've got quite a tall little girl on our hands. She's so very expressive. We could spend hours just watching her face. From her already infectious smile, to her furrowed brow when she's investigating something new, to he pouty bottom lip when she gives her tired cry...

She's growing like a weed. For a couple of weeks now she's been able to stand! We have to hold her up for balance, but she bears her full weight on her legs. Her neck is getting stronger all the time. She holds her head up pretty well most of the time. Only sagging when she gets tired.

This past Thursday we hit another fun milestone - her first official giggle! We cannot wait for her to use that more often.

At 6 weeks, Lily and I met with another lactation consultant and we learned that Lily was tongue-tied. She had her tongue clipped (a frenotomy) and we've seen major strides in her breast feeding. At almost 9 weeks, we're finally getting into the swing of things.

It is just in time too, because this next week is my last week before I go back to work. The time has just flown by, but we're ready to settle into our routine.

Here's Lily at 2 months!

One Month Check Up

Lily had a great check up with Dr. Haugen yesterday.

11 pounds (82nd percentile)
23 1/2 inches long (100th percentile)
15 inch head circumference (89th percentile)

She's a healthy girl!

Lily does quite a bit of spitting up, but the doc had no concerns. She's gaining good weight so we'll just keep doing laundry!

We've been working through some breast feeding struggles the last few weeks. It has been a hard few weeks and an exhausting couple of days, but I hope we're on the mend (FINALLY), but only time will tell. One thing I've learned is that this stuff isn't always as intuitive as you'd think. I should have asked for help sooner. Because my support system is awesome. It's not necessary to make it harder by going it alone.

We live and learn, right?

The important thing is that Lily is healthy and frankly, amazing. She's starting to smile socially, to coo and find her (loud!) voice, she even found the mobile on her swing - it was a fun moment to watch her discover. Lily loves getting baths and even better, taking them with her mama! She's an excellent sleeper and a champion snuggler.

We hit the baby jackpot.

4 Weeks!

I'm not certain how it happened, but Lily is four weeks old!

Lily has changed so much since we brought her home. She spends so much more time alert and looking at the world. She is turned into a pretty good sleeper at night and all around we're getting a routine down. Best of all, she is a Grade A snuggler. In fact, I am forced to type this with one hand because I just cannot put her down!

This last week held a really great milestone - smiles! Babies are born smiling, but it can take time for them to smile socially. Our little overachiever is at it! When in the right mood she responds to kisses and even the occasional silly face. It isn't consistent, but we'll take each one we can get!

Isn't she perfect?

And Baby Makes Three... (Lillian's birth story)

I know we sort of fell off the face of the earth there for a bit, but I promise it was for a good reason. A great reason actually - Lily is here! The last week has been filled with little more than trying to get settled as a family of three (okay, a family of 5 - can't forget the dogs now!).

While it is still fresh in our minds, I wanted to get Lily's birth story down. If you're not interested in reading about things like my cervix, you've been warned. I promise it isn't too graphic of a tale. (Jen B - if you're reading - it shouldn't make you faint! :)

Friday, August 17th (yes, her story requires that I organize the process first by DAYS)
After a fairly relaxing morning, and the completion of my Miles Circuit, I started to notice my contractions were more regular.Timing them for a bit showed that they were about 7-10 minutes apart at about 11:30 a.m. Nothing I needed to throw the bags in the car for, but I certainly had 'the feeling' that things were getting started. I didn't call Jeremy right away. He was working and the last thing we needed was for him to come flying home in an unnecessary panic. I did talk with him when he was on his way and by that time (about 3:00 p.m.) the contractions were now closer to 5 minutes.

Off an on I would keep track of their regularity and that evening Rachel (our friend and doula) came over to spend some time with us and help us through the early stages. Around 9:30 p.m. we headed to the hospital. We were excited! Contracting in the car isn't my favorite game, and at about 3minutes apart, I got to have a few on our drive in. In triage I had an exam and the nurse reported I was at about 3cm dilated. A bit more than my last appointment. She suggested that we walk the halls for an hour and check back in... unfortunately we were still at 3 - 'maybe 3 1/2'. (12AM) Since we were not progressing rapidly and still had some laboring to go, she recommended we go back home and try to rest - HA!

Saturday, August 18th
I did get some sleep, took a couple baths, and did my best to rest. By morning (7AM) my contractions had definitely picked up in intensity and had returned to some regularity (again about 3-4min apart). We decided to head back in. The great news was that our doctor was on call that day! YES! We were thrilled with the idea that our doctor would actually get to be the one to deliver our girl. That never happens. It felt like fate.

Another round of triage, 30 minutes of walking and we were admitted. 4cm dilated, completely effaced, and regular contractions. That folks, sounds like go time. About 10AM and we were settled into our birthing suite. The rest of Saturday blends together a bit for me. We did a LOT of walking the halls, working through contractions as they came and generally crossing our fingers that things were progressing. Rachel and I did try to play a game of cribbage, but that didn't work out so well. (Let the record show, I totally would have won. :) ) My contractions were getting more and more intense as the day went on, so we were hopeful it wouldn't be too much longer before we met Lily.

That evening (6PM or so), my contractions had lost a bit of their regularity... going back to every 7-8 minutes while I was down and back up to 1-3 minutes while I was up and walking. Jeremy and I talked at length and after a long discussion with our doctor, and an internal exam that showed I was only dilated to "maybe 5cm", we decided to break my water (how it hadn't broke at this point with the strength of some of my contractions, I have no idea). The hope was that would be all we'd need to get things going.

Unfortunately that didn't serve to move things along a bit. With still no further progress, we started the Pitocin to increase the intensity, and hopefully effectiveness, of my contractions... that didn't work either. Well, it did work - my contractions were certainly intense, but Lily still wasn't having it.

About 9PM - 12AM was rough. Probably some of the hardest work I've ever done. My contractions remained very regular, close together, and very strong. But, at this point I was exhausted. After laboring for the better part of two days, on little more than a handful of hours sleep, things were getting rough. I know they had to be for Jeremy and Rachel too. Both of them were at my side, encouraging me along, the entire way. With few breaks for them, our team was pushing through. We tried pretty much everything - different positions, walking, lunging, sitting on the ball, the shower, etc. But, I was wearing out. I'd had a bit of Fentanyl for the pain, but what really kept me from resting between contractions, the shakes. Let me tell you - they're the worst. Contracting is hard, and painful, but knowing that it is temporary and keeping your eye on the goal - you can manage it. But the uncontrollable shaking - during and between contractions - was maddening.

That's when I called it. I needed to know my progress or I was getting an epidural. If I was close or dilated, I may have pushed through (I'm not certain where I would have had the energy, but that was my stance), otherwise - find that anesthesiologist.

Almost 6cm.... All of that and only 6cm!?

I was losing myself. I felt snappy, angry, frustrated, and just exhausted. Without Jeremy there for every contraction, I wasn't certain I could hold myself up. My nurse and Rachel did exactly what we asked them to do at this point - respectfully challenge me to make sure I was certain. Rachel looks at me and says, "Sarah, how about we try 30 more minutes. If we don't have any more progress, we'll call them. You're doing so well!" I went a bit grizzly bear on her at that point - and a quote they've not let me forget since - "Rachel, I am no longer bartering with you. I'm done." 

Sunday, August 19th
At just after midnight, the anesthesiologist showed up with her magic kit.

- - let me break for a moment. I think it is an important thing to mention here that I don't find my long labor to be a horror story saved by the magic of an epidural. I went into labor with a very open mind. I wanted to try and do this on my own. Women have done it for thousands of years, our bodies are made for this, and I wanted to climb and tackle this mountain on my own. However, I also have spent a good deal of time educating myself on the alternatives should I need support. I don't find epidurals or all intervention to be 'evil', but I do feel that they are commonly overused because of the fear our society places on the pain of childbirth. However, they are extremely valuable tools that serve an important purpose. Okay, that's the end of my soapbox rant. On with the story... - -

By magic I mean she was flawless. Contracting while there is a giant needle in your back is not the highlight of my year, but she could not have been nicer, more patient, or done a better job. I could still feel pressure in my legs and during contractions, but no pain from my abdomen, down. I could have kissed that sweet woman on the mouth. Instead - I slept. For the first time I actually got almost 3 straight hours of sleep. All of us did. And when I woke up (5AM), I had returned. I was back to making jokes, smiling, and happily anticipating our babies arrival.

Sunday morning progressed about as slowly as the rest of the weekend. I had managed to get to about 8cm overnight, but we were stalled again there. We increased my Pitocin to further strengthen contractions and kept a close eye on Lily. A few times in the morning she appeared to be a bit stressed. At one point her heart rate reaching almost 200bpm. We changed positions and worked on deep breathing and thankfully she returned to normal. It was around 9AM when we started talking cesarean section. This was something I really wanted to avoid if I could. But, if it is what we needed for Lily, that was what we were going to do. We'd come up with a plan of who to call and decided to try one more position change before we talked it through again.

It worked! At 10:45AM I was at 9cm. Almost there! 12:30 PM and our nurse joking called me 9.5+, just the tiniest bit left to go that she could barely count it.

We made it. With the C-section off the table, we decided to let her "labor down" on her own. Basically wait for her to settle into my pelvis without my pushing and forcing her through. That way I would conserve my energy and save it for when I really needed to push. They sat me up in bed, with my knees butterflied out and we waited. Chatting nervously, knowing that it was almost time. We all had the giggles. The light at the end of this two day tunnel was here and all of us had elevated spirits. We traded funny stories with my awesome nurse (who it turns out I played softball against in high school - small world!), told inappropriate jokes (something about Pez dispensers that almost had Rachel wetting the couch...), and tried to be patient.

At 3:00 p.m. exactly we started pushing. Shannon, our nurse, called them practice pushes at first, just to get the feel of pushing when you can't really feel anything - it did take some practice. But, with each contraction we kept going. I could feel the pressure of the contractions build, without the pain, and knew when to say go. With Jeremy on my right leg, and Rachel on my left, we worked together to inch Lily closer. It was about 3:50 when the doctor and team came in. With each push she edged closer - yes, we all watched - Jeremy and Rachel live and me with a mirror. Seeing her progress was incredibly motivating to me. Knowing that she was almost there. Her heart rate strong and steady - she also doing her part.

After only 1 hour and 17 minutes of pushing (it went by SO fast), she was here. After passing her head, everything else followed without hesitation. She cried instantly. A soft, adorable, cry. She spent a minute or two with the nurses checking out her airway and then handed her to Jeremy. My husband was a father. With tears in his eyes, he laid her on my chest, and the three of us were finally together.

After 53 hours of labor, months of being pregnant, and all the years we waited for her before that - Lillian Josephine Scott had arrived. Perfectly round head, beautiful little red lips, and chubby little body - she is everything we hoped for. We snuggled and loved on her for almost an hour before we resumed with the remaining formalities. We all placed our bets on what she would weigh - and I lost - big time.

10 pounds, 11 ounces and 22 inches long.

Granted, we were on IV fluids a long time and both of us were puffy and retaining a good deal of water... but still! How on earth did we make a baby that big!? Even the next day, swelling down quite a bit, she was still just over 10lbs. Sorry baby girl, your mama likes her carbs!

All of her tests went by flawlessly 8-9 on her Apgar, perfect hearing, blood sugar series was excellent... she's a champ.

We're in absolute love. Jeremy doesn't like to put her down - always loving, kissing, and snuggling her. He's taken very very good care of us this week. Already he is such an amazing and loving father. Sleep is hard for me to come by and that mixed with hormones and learning to breastfeed creates its challenges, but nothing that snuggling that perfect baby cannot cure. Each day we're getting more in sync and figuring each other out.

And just like any good tale, it wouldn't be possible at all without the entire cast of characters. While I was certainly the one with the baby in her tummy - Jeremy and Rachel worked just as hard to see Lily into the world. Rach - we love you. We cannot thank you enough for your knowledge, encouragement, sounding board, and general bossiness when I need it most. Our main nurses were fabulous. Shannon and Tiffany made the difference for us. They were advocates for us, a support system, and truly just awesome. We felt like they truly cared for us, and our daughter, and that we were not just another day at the office for them. World class people. My parents took turns and stayed at our place to make sure the dogs were taken care of. All of our family was so patient and encouraging. Such an amazing community we are bringing Lily into. we cannot wait to continue to share her milestones as she grows!


While I'm certain I've left out a detail or two, you get the idea. It was a long couple of days with its share of twists and turns, but we got our happy ending. The happy ending to our labor and delivery is just the happier beginning to the rest of our adventures together.

40 Week Doctor's Appointment

Just a short note to keep everyone up to speed on our progress.

We had a good doctors visit yesterday. I did do another internal exam (not nearly as traumatic, but boy those are not fun!) and found that I am over 2cm dilated - last week he said we'd have good progress if I had further dilated 1/2cm or more (I was about 1cm last week), so this is great! - and easily stretched over 3cm. My cervix is 'super soft' and I am about 90% effaced. She is in a good head-down position as well.

Right now I am ready and raring to go for labor. We are just waiting for contractions to pick up and become more regular. With a cervix that is almost entirely effaced, that means that once contractions do become productive, effacement will be out of the way and they'll be all focused on dilating. That's a good thing!

We have scheduled another appointment for next Tuesday. Let's hope to the Gods that we don't need it. Should I still be pregnant at that time, we will do a NST (non-stress test) to look at her fluids, do some monitoring of her heart rate/lungs, and make sure that she remains as happy as a clam. Also, if I'm still pregnant a week from now, Doc would like to schedule the induction. So long as she is healthy and happy, this is something I'd like to avoid - mostly because I just want her to come when she's ready.

The short version of this update - we're still waiting!

40 Weeks

We made it!

Today we start our 40th, and hopefully final, week of pregnancy. Tomorrow is our due date (not sure how the weekly updates and our due date are not synced up, but I don't have the energy to care much about it either!) and also our next weekly appointment. While we are certainly ready for her to arrive any time, we're trying our best to be patient. If we can avoid evicting her before she is ready (induction), we'd like to. So long as she and I remain healthy (and her daddy keeps what's left of his sanity/patience - he's currently tapping his foot louder than I am!) than we're prepared to wait her out. And wait. And wait.

Not a lot has changed for Lillian - other than she continues to grow and mature while she makes us all await her entrance. She's still moving around like a champ, but now with quite a bit more force and power than her smaller self. While I'm certain she doesn't have a lot of space, she does what she needs to be cozy, my organs and skin be damned. Stubborn and strong willed... I cannot image who she got that from (her dad, of course).

I have been able to accomplish a few things - picked up some last minute items from the store with my mom (breast pump shopping is intimidating!), hung a few more things and organized Lily's closet... small projects that are keeping me occupied. Jeremy continues with his projects as well and I'm helping as much as I can (or I should say - as much as he'll let me!). He's done more work to organize our garage, is still working on the back porch (sanding, etc), and countless other small to-do's he is able to check off around the house. Hopefully getting out of our way a few distractions, so that we're ready for nothing but quality bonding time once Lily arrives.

I'm still getting around pretty well. The extra rest I've had these last few days has made a world of difference for my stress levels and general mental health. I am still getting up 3-4 times a night, but being able to sleep longer and rest more throughout the day is invaluable. It's amazing what a full 8 hours of sleep does for a person. I really cannot complain. We are so grateful to have made it to the marathon's finish line. There is a healthy baby girl in this tummy and our biggest 'problem' is being patient until she gets motivated and working to stay comfortable. I'd say that's pretty much the most wonderful problem a person can have.

Here I am at 40 weeks:

And for good measure, I thought I would throw in a couple more comparisons, just for fun. Who knows, they may be our last!

 At 20 weeks, we'd just found out we were having a baby girl and the nursery preparations began. 

At 30 weeks, I remember feeling GIANT. Oh the chuckle that gives me today.

And now, at 40 weeks, I look like that I could topple over with a breeze from the right angle!

The changes my belly has seen in just the last 10 weeks is remarkable. I don't even think I realized how much she (and I!) have grown in the last handful of weeks.

Lily's Nursery

Over the past few months you've had an opportunity to see bits and pieces of Lily's nursery as we've worked to pull it all together. From the hours Jerry and Jeremy spent installing the board and batten, to the painting, sewing, and constant reorganization of that small space... it is all done.

We could not be happier with how it turned out. She certainly has the nicest room in our house! It is such a calm place and we love spending time in there. Now we just need Lily to join us.

Here it is!

From the bedroom door

She has a lot of little friends waiting to meet her:

And do not get me started on her closet or her superb collection of clothes:

Her diapers are washed and ready for use:

Our cozy corner is stocked and ready with all that we'll need to spend time with Lily. The iPod (loaded with some good tunes), a support pillow, clock, and of course a good selection of books (housed in a magazine rack/holder that Grandpa Jerry made when he was in school - how cool is that?!).

Folks, I think we're ready. In classic Sarah fashion, I may even be over-prepared. I suppose my Type-A, Virgo, personality could have produced a worse flaw than my need to plan and prepare. We are just too excited to sit still.

We are forever grateful to everyone who helped pull this together. Our parents played a huge part in pulling this off - from shopping, to building, to making sure it had elements of our own childhoods, the handmade blankets and art from family, the amazing books, and our friends and their never ending generosity. There are consignment sale finds, hand-me-downs, designer items, handmade features... The thing I love best about Lily's room is that there really is no theme - it is the eclectic assembly of her whole family - blood or otherwise. We couldn't be more ready for her to love this space, and the people that made it happen, as much as we do.

Doctors Appointment Update

We had our weekly visit with the doctor yesterday (Wednesday). In addition to our normal measurements and heart rate monitoring, I had my first internal exam. He was checking to see if I was dilated and the general status of my cervix.

He swiped my membranes and determined I was about 1 - 1 1/2cm dilated and 80-90% effaced... follow that? Basically my cervix is almost all the way thinned out (the 'tunnel' is 80-90% gone) and open about 1 - 1 1/2 cm. He described it as very soft. All of these things are good. However, they really don't mean anything. I've had plenty of girl friends who walked away from exams 3+ cm dilated and stayed that way for weeks. I was only 1 or so cm and I could have this baby tonight. Only Lily knows for sure!

Oh, and HOLY COW no one warned me it would hurt so bad! He really rooted around in there and coupled with the back spasm I had from laying on the table... I was a hot mess. Not my most pleasant visit.

We talked about my general status and the doc determined that I needed to be done working. I am not getting enough rest, and coupled with everything else, it was time for me to take it easy. Which is not something easy for me to do! So, I drove to work today, doctors note in hand, wrapped up a few things with my replacement... and they gave me the boot.

I truly love my coworkers. I have the most supportive peers and managers. I could not have a greater group of friends at work. To think the next time I will see them, I will be a mom. WOW. Thank you! I truly appreciate all of you.

Now, we wait.

Hopefully she doesn't keep us in suspense too long!

39 Weeks

Lily is approximately 7+ pounds and should be around 20 inches long. This week she's compared to the size of a mini watermelon (my fav!). Her outer layer of skin is sloughing off, along with the remaining vernix, and new fresh baby skin is replacing it.

We've had a few contractions the last couple days - nothing we need to be sounding alarms for, it could still be a few weeks before she's here - but it's a nice little start to say things are at least moving in the right direction. My belly continues to get bigger, something I wasn't sure was even possible. Did I mention here the story about the lady in the elevator at the doctors office? If not, basically a complete strangers eyes bugged out as she exclaimed about how huge I was. Even when a woman is obviously pregnant - a damn near at the end - when did it become okay (at any time?!) to comment on a woman's size? For those that don't know or forgot - the answer is never. Ever. Being told you're huge, for whatever the beautiful reason, no bueno. There, I'm glad we got that lesson out. Now go forth and spread the word like gospel.

Physically - this part is hard. I know I've said it a thousand times now, but pregnancy isn't for wusses. Or maybe I'm a bigger weenie than I thought. Overall I've been pretty fortunate, but even with just the 'typical' stuff, it certainly isn't easy! I'm fairly achy most days, my hips especially after sleeping, I've had some days of decent swelling with this hot weather, heartburn, fatigue, etc. Thankfully I've been able to soak in a cool bath and that seems to offer some good relief on these 90 degree days.

Mentally I'm in a pretty good place. I was worried that when I got here I would be pacing up and down the hall, impatience at it's peak, losing my mind because she hadn't arrived yet. Just in case you don't know me at all - I skipped the day they handed out patience, and I've managed not to collect any more of it over the years. But here, I do have to give myself a bit of credit... I'm doing pretty well. I'm certainly ready to be done with pregnancy and to meet our daughter, but I haven't turned into Captain Crazy Pants. Yet.

Jeremy is definitely ready for her to arrive. When we went to sleep last night he laid in bed, rubbed my belly, and was sweetly asking Lily to come out. "I love you, Lily. You can come out now." I love those moments. Almost every time I stretch or groan he gives me a hard time, "Is it time yet??" He's like a kid anticipating the best Christmas morning ever. I absolutely love his enthusiasm. People continue to give him a hard time with the, "Oh, you just wait!" but he really is just as cool as a cucumber. I think his calm and excitement is really what is helping to keep things together for me as well. He's going to be a great daddy.

Our weekly visit with the doc is on Wednesday of this week, so we will continue to keep you posted with any exciting updates!

Tick Tock - the countdown begins!

39 Weeks:

(Final complete nursery photos will be coming next week!)

38 Weeks

Another week closer to meeting our Lily!

At 38 Weeks Lily is just under 20 inches long and probably between 6 1/2 and 7 pounds. All of her organs have full matured and she is ready for the outside world. She's not the only one - we're ready too! While we are excited and know that she could arrive at any time - we are preparing for her to take her time. We've had no signs of labor what-so-ever.

Meanwhile we've been really focused on collecting the last few essentials we need before her arrival. I've also had a chance to finish a few projects for her nursery - including her ruffled crib skirt! (yes, FINALLY)

We found an amazing deal on a jogging stroller, ordered a few more diapers, and a number of other little items (crib mattress protector, cover for the changing pad, etc) to finish everything off. Otherwise my week has been filled with loads of baby laundry and organizing her room. With the exception of a few things we're still using, we are also all packed and ready for the hospital!

Here are a few of the items we hung in the nursery:

 A finished crib skirt!!

Our sweet new jogging stroller: (Yes, that second photo is Jeremy chasing our dog through the yard with the stroller. Meanwhile I'm laughing like a lunatic and snapping photos. Oh yeah folks, we're going to be parents. Go ahead and let that sink in...)

And lastly, me, at 38 weeks:

We have a doctors appointment this evening, so we'll reporting anything exciting!

37 Weeks - FULL TERM

We've made it. As of today we are officially considered full term. Should she choose to arrive, no one would do a darn thing to stop her (least of all - ME). Granted, it could still be another month before she decides she's ready, we're just going to kick back and hope she's feels motivated sooner, rather than later.

This past week was full of awesomeness. I intended to keep you posted on the shenanigans as they took place, but we were just too busy!

This week my boss was in town (Hi KM!) and I love it when she's here. This time, she even threw me a baby shower. I have to start by saying, I could not work with a greater group of women. You would think a couple dozen women in a confined space would spell disaster - as it typically does - but no. They're smart, talented, strong, awesome people. And to have such an great group be so excited for our little family, just means all that much more to us. I would have felt over the moon and spoiled with cake and quality time, but no - they wouldn't stand for that. We got SPOILED.

I mean it - from adorable clothes, helpful mom-approved products, toys, diapers, etc. Also, you may or may not have heard me talk about THE curtains. They're from Anthropologie (one of my favorite stores ever) and were the perfect shade of coral - which I'm sure you can imagine is hard to find. Basically they were the curtains all other curtains were compared to - unfortunately just curtains that lived not in our budget! My lovely ladies pitched in and saw to it that Lily's room not be decked out in less:

How awesome is that?

Thursday was our 4th wedding anniversary. We played it pretty low-key that day, but had a great dinner with friends. Friday was the 11th anniversary of our first date! We also had a doctors appointment and an ultrasound to see Miss Lily. Doc had great things to say about her and I - both healthy! He took some measurements, checked her out, and estimates that right now she is about 6 1/3 pounds. Gaining approximately 1/3 of a pound each week from here on out - we're looking at about a 7 1/2 pound baby - give or take. Perfect! (I mean really, were we expecting any less??) 

Saturday brought another day of fun - my best girlfriends threw me a shower at the park. You would not believe the decor:

GORGEOUS! 
It was great to spend time with my girlfriends and see how much they already love our daughter. We couldn't possibly be any luckier. They too saw fit to spoil her - more diapers, great books, cute clothes, and delicious baby smelling bath products. Even some handmade items - a cozy blanket and this gorgeous matching set for Lily and I:

Hand painted by the talented Chelsi (Chelsi Lees Designs - FB - Etsy). I cannot be the only one that is crazy jealous of her artistic skills.

Saturday afternoon Jeremy and I left for Semiahmoo for the night. We had a great dinner, relaxed overlooking the water, and even spent time floating in the pool. Floating may be my new favorite past time - such relief! Sunday morning we really topped things off and got massages before heading home. It was an amazing little escape before Lily joins us. We couldn't have asked for better quality time together.

It may have been one of the greatest weeks of my life. So much fun, love, and quality time with some of my favorite people.

Folks, I think we're officially ready. C'mon baby girl!






37 Weeks: