Welcome Miss Zoe!!

Well, it's been a minute since I last wrote! So here is what has been going on:

On May 18th I went to the AMP studio to film my acting for the camera scene from Juno, then I went with Vanessa to her dance studio to do some "get the baby going" exercises, then we were going to get my car washed, and while we were stopled at a red light, I got rear-ended! It wasn't anything bad, just a little jolt. But we went to the hospital to get everything checked out! They hooked me up to the monitors, and everything was looking good. The nurse asked me if I was feeling contractions (no), and she said I was having some about 20 minutes apart. They were just little ones, though, so I suppose I was feeling them--just as little cramps. The nurse checked me, and I was not dilated at all (this was around 5pm), but she said I may have some cramping later because of the exam. My mom also got into town at that time, so Mike and Bobby (Vanessa's husband) went to pick her up from the airport and she came to the hospital to hang out while they were checking me. Then Mike had a soccer games, so we stopped home to change, and headed out!
All during the game I was cramping, and I didn't know if they were contractions or just cramps that the nurse warned me about. After the game, Bobby and Vanessa came over and we all had tacos/burritos and I felt like the cramping was getting worse, so I was pretty sure they were contractions. Slowly they started getting even worse, but we got into bed as usual (around...9 or 10pm?). Just in case, though, mom didn't change into her pajamas in hopes of heading to the hospital that night.
As soon as we got into bed, the contractions started to get a lot more powerful. Therefore, I was not able to sleep at all. Mike was so wiped out that he was falling asleep in between contractions, but he would wake up to let me hold his hand as they got worse. Eventually I just let him sleep, and squeezed the pillow. Now, we thought we were supposed to call the hospital when they were 45sec-1min and 2-3 minutes apart, and they were getting close, but every now and then it would decrease to 3-4 minutes apart. But then they started to get so painful that Mike woke up and he started getting things together for the hospital (I finally had packed the hospital bag the day before), and as he was getting dressed I decided we should definitely call the hospital (this was around 12am)
We got the paper that had their number, and it turns out we could have called the hospital when contractions were every 5-7 minutes apart. Mike was on the phone with the nurse, and she wanted to talk to me to ask me all these questions, but lady I'm having contractions and I can't talk! So I said like 2 words to her, another contraction started, I handed the phone back to Mike, and the nurse said we could go ahead and come in.

We got to the hospital, they checked me, and I was dilated about 3.5 centimeters! Sweet! So they officially checked me in (around 1am), and got me all hooked up to monitors. Then there was a lot of sitting and contracting. We were all exhausted, but my contractions were about a minute apart so I couldn't get any sleep, and Mike was really trying to stay awake with me (he was doing a great job--only dozing off now and then). They kept checking me, and I was dilating pretty slowly, but regularly enough. At one point Mike and I went for a walk in the hallway, and that was when we decided we would go with "Leigh" for her middle name.
Vanessa came to hang out early in the morning, even before Bobby had to go to work.
The nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural, and at that point I wasn't sure, and she asked me if I wanted a pain med that would kind of take the edge off, but I decided to wait. Then about 6 am I got the pain med. I'm not sure it did much, but I guess maybe it took the edge off? And at some point (I think it was after 6, maybe before) my water broke!
Then, still quite sleep deprived, I got an epidural at 7am and we hung out, relaxed, listened to some music for awhile, then I finally decided to take a nap. I woke up a little after 9am telling Vanessa it felt like I had to go to the bathroom, and she told me "I think you're about to have a baby!" So I buzzed the nurse in, she checked me, and said I was fully dilated and the baby was right there! She said "I think 2 pushes will do it." She called my doctor, and he didn't believe her, so she had me push once and we were crowning. So she called him back, and we waited a bit for him to get there. When he got there the most complicated part was getting my bed to come apart right. We stay in the same room for birth, and the bed essentially transforms into a birth table, but the bottom part of the bed wasn't coming off. After all that struggle, we were ready to go. And then I believe it was one push, and I heard a little baby cry as they suctioned stuff out of her mouth. He pulled her out the rest of the way, and my first reaction was "Is it still a girl??"
It was. Welcome to the world little Zoe! 9:20am on May 19, 2011. She weighed 6lbs 9oz, and measured 21in.
Fortunately the labor and delivery was nice and easy, and she was just a great baby from the start! She slept so well, and breast fed well right away. We even got to leave the hospital the next day because everything was going so well.

And then her first month here:
She is sleeping well for the most part, with just a few nights she doesn't really want to sleep. So every once-in-awhile she sleeps in the bed with us, but I like to keep her in her crib and she typically does well there.
She never lost weight after birth--just gained right away. I weighed her today and she's at about 8.5 lbs. If I remember, I also want to measure her  later.
She's growing, filling out, and becoming more aware! She loves looking around at things (especially the TV!) and watching us. I've even been able to entertain her with some toys. And she gives some adorable faces!
She does well staying awake during the day, which is good for sleeping at night, but difficult for me  getting stuff done--which is especially hard right now because we move to TX on  Friday! And I have nothing done yet. Fortunately the Army is paying to pack and store our stuff until we get to our more permanent duty station (we're only in TX for 15 weeks), but I have to clean and get together the stuff we are bringing with us.
For Father's Day Zoe made daddy a card with her hand and footprints, and a baked playdough mold thing of her footprints. :)

Well, I think she's getting ready for a nap so I can stop typing with one hand, upload some pictures, and start packing! TX bound in 4 days! With unbelievably hot weather! We're going from 60-70ish to over 100! Yikes!

One month old!

One week left!

So we have reached the last week! (Or so...) And here is what has been going on!

A few weeks ago, we had another ultrasound to make sure she was growing okay, and everything looked great! Big head, skinny abdomen, and long legs... :) She was measuring at the 50th percentile actually, and he thoroughly checked everything and she looks really healthy. He checked and saw girly parts again for, what, like the 5th time? We got another picture of her, but it does not really do her justice; he pushed print at an awkward moment, and then he got a better look, but didn't print that one. Oh well, we will see her soon enough!

The week after that I had another appointment and was still measuring small (35 cm at 38 weeks), but he's not really concerned anymore since we got a good look at her. My cervix has started to thin which is awesome, because I know some people who hadn't even started that by their due date, and I don't want to wait too long for her, or have to induce! However, there was an interesting moment during this appointment...

     When Dr. Walker got into the room and we were talking, he asked, "It's a boy, right?" before looking at the file where he had written girl. We corrected him, but he didn't seem fully convinced. He paused a moment, and asked, "But we thought maybe we saw boy parts on the ultrasound, right?" ...nope...

     He still seemed set on it being a boy. Then he listened to the heartbeat and says, "Sounds like a boy."

?!?!

It's too late for this!! We have all girly stuff and just washed all her laundry! Someone we know just had a boy they thought would be a girl--and they also had 5 ultrasounds! I guess we will just have to see...! Dr. Walker said he is rarely ever wrong, so he trusts himself based on what he said on the ultrasounds, but he has still made us wary now. We'll see. We may frantically ask everyone to send boy stuff our way if it turns out to be so. :)

She has definitely been dropping into position. She had started before, and was pretty low last week (as Dr. Walker let us know), but now I can tell for sure on my own so she must be even further dropped. Part of me is worried that she'll actually come early because I keep getting labor signals and she seems antsy to come, but I've planned a lot around her coming on time/a few days late. I actually got a part in my first commercial! It's nothing big; just a commercial for the college I'm going to, and I don't get paid because it's technically a PSA, but it will be good for the resume'! Anyway, that films on the 16th, and then on the 18th I have a 3-camera film project in a studio for my acting for the camera class AND I'm doing a scene that I have to be pregnant for, so I'm pretty much planning on her coming that evening at the earliest! :)

Appointment today:

Well, today I had actually lost some weight, and I measured smaller than last week. I've heard it's common for women to lose weight before birth, but Dr. Walker didn't seem to like it. So he looked at her via ultrasound again, and didn't seem as positive this time. It seems that her abdomen is not growing (and possibly a bit smaller than before), but everything else is. So next week (before the due date) he's going to hook me up to some monitors to check on everything. In the meantime, we went to the grocery store and got all sorts of foods that are supposed to help fatten baby. She's still moving around though which is very good! But we could use some prayers for her to make sure she stays healthy! We will let you all know if anything else comes up. Otherwise, we'll just keep trying to fatten her up and keep an eye on her movement. :)

Last month!!!

We have hit 36 weeks, and only have 4 to go!! :) We're finally getting there!!

We had a doctor appointment yesterday, and she's still in the right position. He pushed on her and she stuck her butt up for him--it was funny. He measured me again and we're still a bit small; we measured at 34cm instead of 36, so next week we'll get another ultrasound to check on her and make sure everything is okay. I'm not concerned about it, though, I really did not expect a large baby--there's just not quite room in there! So hopefully we can get a good look at her next week and get another picture printed out!

Other than that, there really isn't any news to report. She's still all wiggles and fun!

Big ole belly! It's actually weird looking at it--it seems like some attachment on me rather than my actual belly!

8 months!

(I typed this awhile ago and forgot to post it because I hadn't uploaded the picture yet! So I'll add a bit of an extra update at the end...)

We have finally hit the 8 month mark! Zoe is still growing and moving, but since she has less room now, we'll mostly feel her butt, back, or knees just press up against my belly as she moves. She is (as she's been pretty much this whole time) in the head down position, so I get a lot of her feet in my ribs. Usually it's not an issue, but every once-in-awhile she'll stick it up there as I lean over and I smash her foot a bit. Oops! Last night she rolled over so her arms and legs are facing out instead of her back, and it's been fun to feel her little hands and feet moving around (definitely a change from a big buldge in my stomach from her butt)! This morning she also had pretty big hiccups! It's so cute to be able to tell what she's up to in there! But other than that we haven't had a lot going on. I'm still on track as far as growth goes, and we are just anxiously awaiting her arrival!

And now....we are at 8 1/2 months! We had a doctor appointment Tuesday (5th) and got to see her! She's looking good!! Unfortunately, we did not get a picture printed. :( We were just so excited to see her so big, we didn't even think about it until after. I measured a centimeter small this week; I've been exact with a centimeter per week, but for 34 weeks I was only at 33, and I only gained a pound since the last appointment. I think it's because I've gotten better about exercising though (I lagged behind in doing much for awhile). But that's why he checked her--to make sure there was enough fluid in there with her, and nothing indicating issues with her growth, but she's fine! She'll probably just be smaller since I don't have a lot of room for her! (Which I am A-Okay with! As long as she's healthy!) We are getting SOO anxious to meet her! It was awesome seeing her today--her cute little tiny fists and all! I am so sad we didn't get a picture printed! But...next month we get to see her in real life! :) :)

And we have made our trip to the hospital to get all ready in the system--so they are ready for us when we are!

So here's a picture of us at 8 months:

Hello third trimester!!

On Wednesday we finally hit the third trimester, and I actually have a belly to show for it now!

Archie (our cat--living with us again, but primarily outdoors) now loves curling up on my belly. :) It's so sweet!

And Zoe has stayed quite active moving ALL over! She literally moves around to all areas she possibly can--from my baldder to my ribs, but nothing painful (thank goodness!). I love how big she's getting because I can feel all her moves. She moves more smoothly now, and I can feel her gliding along my belly. Of course, she still has jerky movements and sometimes feels like she's running and trying to charge out of the belly! The other night I had lots and lots of crushed red pepper on my pizza and she was going NUTS! It was crazy how much she was moving.

She's also developed quite a love for daddy. When he gets home in the evenings, she'll start kicking as soon as she hears his voice. And she loves kicking for him when he puts his hand on my belly; as soon as his hand is there she gives him kicks and love! Sometimes she just wants daddy time because I will keep my hand on the belly and talk to her or prod her to get her to move, and nothing! But as soon as daddy puts his hand there, she's all wiggles! And we'll try to trick her and switch our hands out, but when she wants daddy, she only moves for him!

And we may have actually landed on a middle name for her! Mike talked about Leigh, so one day we were just passing random names by her (calling them out to see which ones she would kick for--yeah, we use our baby to make decisions. Sometimes she decides dinner for us.), and Leigh always got a kick. Madison got a kick once, but it was not as consistent as Leigh. So we're looking at Zoe Leigh Jones! Sounds like an actress name, right? :)

Everything is going just as well medically. We're still on track as far as size (we didn't get another ultrasound, but he measured my belly), my blood work looks great, and I passed the diabetes test with flying colors! I keep growing every day, and when it grows quickly I feel the discomfort of my skin stretching and everything inside growing. But the discomfort is usually gone by the morning.

I finally got to see her in my dream, and she was so gorgeous! She looked like a little model baby!

And still the countdown continues...we started buying the necessities for her, and it can get quite overwhelming at times. We aren't always sure about what we need or how to get everything, so one step at a time I suppose!

But my friend Vanessa had her baby Annaliese early this morning so congrats to her!! We're looking forward to getting to visit with them later today!

6 months!

I've been meaning to update this for awhile, but we don't have wireless internet and I don't really like sitting at the desktop computer, so I've kept pushing it off! But here's what has been going on!

Zoe has been making so much progress! A couple of weeks ago she started responding to light and my voice which was really cool! I was reading for my lit class, and decided I would read out loud to her. Well, I started getting tired of reading out loud, so I would stop and read to myself. But every time I did that she started kicking until I would read out loud again! It was so cute. So then I decided to test her with light: I got a really bright flashlight and shone it on my belly and she started kicking and hitting it. I moved it around a little (still in the same general area), and she would hit it wherever I moved it. And she did that until I guess she got tired of it and I felt a big move when I suppose she rolled over or moved further back or something because I couldn't feel her right up close anymore and she stopped kicking! Since then I've only tried the light on her one or two times because she does not seem to care for it! :)

Then we had a doctor appointment and took another ultrasound peek at her to confirm that we do indeed have a little girl!! And no other names have come up, so Zoe is looking positive. But still no middle name. And I haven't really been thinking of any, so maybe it will come to us some time in the next four months!

Oh, and the other day (as well as today) she was especially dancy and RIGHT up againt me so we could definitely feel her--not just when she moved, we could just feel my belly and feel her! It was awesome! We don't know for sure what we were feeling, but I think it was her head, and Mike thinks it was her butt. But it was just good to feel her. And since then she's been up close like that a few times. And we talk to her, and using certain tones make her move! (usually just annoying voices I do make her kick.) Also, sometimes she's moving around so much it looks like my belly is boiling--like lots of bubbles under my skin!

Time has still felt like it's dragging on! We hit 24 weeks on Wednesday, and it made me realize that when we were back home for Christmas (which had seemed like awhile ago), we were at 20 weeks--only 4 have gone by since then!! But classes start on Monday so that should help. And my friend Vanessa is due in 3 weeks so that should be a good distraction!

Until then, Zoe keeps growing, and I keep growing (just not quite as fast as her yet). We didn't take a new picture this week because there hasn't really been a change, but here are our 23 week pictures!

Gender, name?, kicks, and mommy growth!

On December 20th we skirted into the doctor's office for our ultrasound about an hour before we had to get onto our plane to head to TN for Christmas break, and we got this beautiful picture of our little baby:

Everything looks perfect and healthy, and Dr. Walker said he was about 99+% sure that we've got a little baby girl!! He was kind of hesitant at first, thinking he saw girly parts; but then we actually got to see her pee, and that was the selling point for him! Part of me is still a little hesitant because we never got a really clear shot of the genitals, though. I'm not sure if we get another ultrasound, but I'm hoping we do so we can look for some confirmation.

And then came the baby name book! Kind of...

We got it out to start looking for names, but way back when we had talked about Zoe, and that one has pretty much stuck around. We aren't 100% sure, but since we like it we haven't really been looking for other names. We don't have much on a middle name yet. We've tossed around Grace, but it isn't totally settling right with either one of us, so we don't really know yet!

Anyway, on December 26th after eating some noodles for dinner, I was not feeling very well so I went down to bed early. But a few minutes after lying down I was feeling mini explosions in my tummy (weird way to explain it, I know, but it really felt like tiny fireworks going off), and I let it go for a little bit, but then I decided to put my hand on my belly to see if I could feel anything--and there it was! Little Zoe's first kicks!! I texted Mike (who was just upstairs), and he came running down and was able to feel them as well! It was so awesome!! Especially because I hadn't been 100% sure I was feeling her move around in there; I'd feel something now and then, but I couldn't tell if it was baby or just my body. So the first time I know I definitely felt her, Mike was able to confirm and feel her movements as well!

Since then she's kept moderately active; she's pretty relaxed as of now and doesn't move around a whole lot. And she lets me sleep at night! A lot of my pregnant friends tell me they are woken up at night with baby movement, but Zoe stays quiet throughout the night (either that or I'm just so passed out--which is quite likely), and when I wake up in the morning she gives me a few wiggles to say good morning!

She's also started some more profound movements I'm quite convinced are body slams. It doesn't hurt me or bother me at all since she's still so tiny, but every once-in-awhile I feel her just slam her whole body against my belly instead of a few little movements. Also, I'm convinced she's going to be gigantic! Most women talk about the butterfly flutters they feel in their bellies, but I feel Godzilla stomping around when I feel her move! She doesn't move all the time, but when she does she likes me to know she's there! :)

We're at 21 weeks today and counting....! (very slowly, I may add. I know it's supposed to go by fast, but I guess when you're counting every day that slows it down a bit!)