Monday, September 30, 2013

Mom and Patsy Loves Visitors

It really is amazing how much time has passed since my last post. The days seem to go by fairly quickly, even though I feel like I'm not doing much. Our little Patsy is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3+ hours during the night (at least on good nights) which has worked out alright thus far. I can usually tell when she is getting fussy, like clock work. We are trying to keep her up before bed time so she sleeps better during the night. Not every night is perfect, but we're getting there.

We've had lots of fun visitors this week, some of which may be familiar to you!

Amanda (Get to Goal) came by on her day off on Monday, after another marathon finish at Fox Valley on Sunday. Like a bad blogger, I didn't take any photos of her visit. Oops!

Amanda Too Tall Fritz also came by with her kids. As we plan on having more than one child, I always love when kids come to visit. It gives me a glimpse into my potential future, chaos and all.

Kim and Bobbi made the trek from the far north suburbs all the way out to visit me! It was so nice that they came all this way! Kim brought along some delicious Fake Meats Meals (complete from the monthly meal plan that I keep talking about signing up for).
Bobbi and I both wore orange... Unexpectedly

So far I'm loving maternity leave and I'm not looking forward to going back to work in a few weeks. Thankfully I won't be going back until after Thanksgiving so I still have some time. :)

I've been taking a few walks a week and been feeling good. Hoping to get the all-clear to run at my 6 week appointment! I've been feeling much better since the surgery so we'll see how the next 4 weeks go. :) Thanks for following along!
My favorite walking buddies!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Baby Wilson's First Week Home

Well, Patsy is now over a week old and we've been home from the hospital for just over a week. We have had lots of visitors at our house and I love all the company. It really helps the day go by faster with other people coming by. Pepper also really loves all the visitors. This is Dad's first week back at work since Patsy was born and it has been off to a bit of a rough start (very late to work his first day back and a horrible night's sleep the night before). I'm excited that things seem to be healing well with the incision. I'm happy for when I can take my little nugget out and about (I really dislike being cooped up in the house all day). After 2 weeks, I'm cleared to lift things heavier than the baby, so I will actually be able to pick  her up in her carseat.

Get ready folks. Here comes some of the TMI stuff of what it has been like at home. I had a plan to exclusively breastfeed my baby and I'm happy to report that Patsy has really taken to it. She is eating (and pooping and peeing) like a champ. It isn't easy and it is very tiring being the only food source. But I think it is worth it and I would do it all over again. I hope that things continue to work in the future, so we'll see how it goes! Sometimes the hubs and I will have a conversation strictly about what color poop the baby has. Yes, we've turned into THAT couple. It is kind of hard not to when we are both completely enthralled with our adorable baby girl. All in all, she is pretty much just eating, pooping, peeing, and sleeping these days.  She is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. At times when she is awake and alert we try to do some tummy time or something. We also try to keep her awake right before we go to bed (only letting her sleep for no more than an hour between 7pm and 10pm). This has worked out fairly well so far. I would like to get into more of a bedtime routine with story time and such when she is probably about a month old.

There are some products that we've liked so far and I'll be sure to do a product post in a little while, once I take some photos of her using the various things. :)

As I mentioned before, I have been pretty much stuck in the house most days, but Patsy has already been out to dinner, out to breakfast, and even made her first trip to Kohl's. I really can't wait until I'm feeling better to take her out and around! As I'm typing this up, I'm contemplating going for a walk around the block, just to get up and out of the house. (And I want to give her stroller system an inaugural trip.)

And here is my new favorite way to spend Sundays.


Friday, September 20, 2013

More Patsy Rose Photos

Since I don't really have much to blog about, I thought I would just post photos of my adorable baby girl! She actually has her own hashtag if you're looking for more photos. Check out #PatsyRose on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!

Carseat snuggles on the way home from the hospital

Wearing Mom's favorite color

Stealing a smile!

Whatchu lookin at?

Momma and baby during our first night out for Daddy and Uncle Dan's birthday

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Baby Wilson's Birth Story

If you read my 38 week update, you saw that there was a chance I would have a c section because our little nugget was breech.

We went to my doctor's visit on Wednesday as scheduled and the doctor confirmed that Baby was still breech. I was also dilating further and my doctor did not feel comfortable waiting any longer to see if Baby would flip. As I absolutely love my doctor, I trusted her judgement and we came home making the final preparations for Baby's arrival. It was kind of surreal to know exactly when we were going to have the baby. I didn't get much sleep Wednesday night, obviously. I woke up several times and just couldn't go back to sleep. This was it, this was the end of our old life and the beginning of our new life together. I needed to be at the hospital at 10:30 am on Thursday for a 1:00 pm surgery appointment. We made sure to get one last "family photo" on Wednesday night. I wanted to do some nice formal pregnancy photos but we kind of ran out of time. Oops!

I also made sure to take one last bump photo before we left for the hospital.
I was a little emotional on the way to the hospital, thinking about how our lives would now change forever. And I was nervous about the surgery. I've had my wisdom teeth removed, but that is the extent of my surgery experience. The hubs was super supportive and we did our best to try to calm each other to make the process a bit easier. I checked into the hospital and was set up in our room. They got the monitors rolling and did a last ultrasound, confirming little Baby Wilson was breech.

The nurse we had was absolutely fantastic. She reminded me a bit of myself. She was chipper and very thorough (I could tell by the way she anticipated everything that the doctors needed). She made me feel more at ease with everything that I was nervous about. I was wheeled off to the operating room while the hubs waited right outside. They gave me a spinal so I would be numb from the waist down. If you've never experienced it before, the best way I can describe it is like novocaine. The doctors and nurses waited for it to kick in and I was laying out on the table. My doctor could tell I was nervous so she held my hand while I waited. (Just one of the many reasons why I LOVE my doctor.) My nurse also comforted me as well. The anesthesiologist was very helpful and explained everything as it was happening. I kept trying to move my toes as long as I could just because I was nervous I might be able to feel something. I was warned that the medicine might make me nauseous. As soon as the medicine was kicking in, they called my hubs in. He held my hand and we tried to talk to keep each other calm. He thought we were having a girl and I thought we were having a boy. We tried to guess the weight to help talk about anything. I didn't want there to be silence; I needed to talk! :)

I could feel the pressure of the doctor pressing on my belly. They were working for a bit and then we heard them say "IT'S A GIRL!" I couldn't believe it. I was in absolutely shock. I thought for sure I was having a boy! As soon as I heard that she was a girl, I immediately said I wanted to name her Patricia. I just knew it was meant to be (this was one of the names on our list). They held her up for us to see and I was surprised to see a full head of hair! They wiped her off, weighed her and then they put her right on my chest for some skin-to-skin time. This was one of the things I loved about my hospital. This is something that is very important to us so I was happy to get that time.
First family photo during skin-to-skin time

While they finished stitching me up, they took the hubs and our little baby girl to the nursery. He announced that it was a girl and the family went crazy. I heard that there was lots of jumping and screaming. I told him not to say the name and tell the family not to post anything on FB yet. After I was ready for recovery, they wheeled me back to my room where the hubs came in with our baby. We then got a full hour (called the "golden hour" with our little baby. It was more skin-to-skin time and more time for us to spend alone as a brand new family. (This is something else that I love that our hospital does/did.) As I was coming down off of the morphine, it made it much easier to have a nice and calm environment with our little baby girl who was completely calmed by the sound of her mother's heartbeat.

After that time, the nurse helped wrap her up so she would be nice and warm and ready to be passed around to all of her new family members. 
I really don't have enough positive things to say about the hospital, nursing staff, and overall positive experience I had. This wasn't my ideal situation but everyone on staff made me feel much more at ease. 

My husband's uncle is a local photographer (you should check out his work) and he came by to take some photos of our Patricia Rose when she was less than a day old. I love the way these photos turned out. She really is quite precious and I feel he captured her appropriately. :)



We were able to leave the hospital a little early and life at home has been a little chaotic (as I'm sure you can guess). I'm still recovering from the surgery but every time I look at my little nugget, I know she was worth every stitch. :) When we came home from the hospital, some of our friends had decorated our house for us with beautiful fall decorations.

We also had a pretty important introduction to make when we got home. Pepper has been pretty jealous of the new baby but I'm sure they will become friends in due time. It is just going to take some time... In the mean time she has been really sweet and tries her best to be gentle (although it doesn't really work out so well). 


We feel so very fortunate to be surrounded by so much love! Our family and friends have been so wonderful. We've had so many visitors coming and going and I really enjoy the company. The hubs goes back to work next week so things, I'm sure, will change quite a bit once he goes back. I couldn't be happier to welcome a beautiful baby girl into this world. Thanks so much for your kind words and support in following my journey! I hope you're ready for a blog full of baby photos! And maybe a little bit of running thrown into the mix.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Baby Wilson is Born!

If you checked my Facebook page or Instagram account, you've already heard the news. Baby Wilson was still breech so we had a scheduled c section on Thursday, September 12.

Patricia Rose Wilson was born at 1:55pm, 7lb 5oz, 20.5 inches... I will post the full story of my experience later. Baby and Mom are doing great and are already home and recovering! Dad is doing great too! Thanks so much for all of your well wishes and support!


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Baby Wilson: Nursery Tour

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have the nursery pretty much finished up. Here is a video I made before the drapes were hung. We may do another tour once the drapes are done, things are hung on the wall, and the crib is assembled to make it seem a bit more complete. But, I thought I would share this with all of you regardless. Guest starring: Pepper Biscuit Wilson


I'm really excited with how the room turned out. If you have questions about any of the items that you see in the video, let me know. I did lots of research on everything I registered for, looking at online reviews as well as talking with friends and co-workers. Once our little baby arrives, I'll be sure to do a post on some of my favorite items.

I have my doctor's appointment this afternoon to determine the next steps. Look for an update on my Facebook page!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Baby Wilson: 38 Weeks


How far along? 38 weeks
Baby’s size/development this week: weighs 6.8 pounds and measures over 19 1/2 inches long; about the size of a pumpkin. I’ve decided that I need to have lots of pumpkin flavored things to celebrate.
Maternity clothes: wearing them? Yes
Miss anything? Pumpkin beer
Food cravings? None
Anything making you queasy or sick? Just the cologne thing still. Gross.
Sleep: My sleep schedule is pretty sporadic. Some nights I sleep through, other nights I wake up in a pool of sweat (despite our room being freezing), and sometimes I have to get up multiple times to use the bathroom. I can’t complain though, I know this stuff is all pretty normal.
Best moment of the week: Seeing our baby’s face on an ultrasound! (reason for the ultrasound explained below)
Nursery: Things are pretty much complete! The only thing left is to hang the drapes and to purchase the crib. We are waiting on a gift card from my dad before making the purchase. Plus, we have our Pack N Play in our bedroom that the baby will be using for the first few months anyways.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Movement? Stretches, jabs, rolls, all stuff signaling that Baby wants out! :)
Weird pregnancy thing of the week: I had a little incident take place on Saturday. I tripped and fell after going out to breakfast, as my toe got caught on a lip in the curb. I fell to my knees and then fell forward with my arms trying to break my fall. Since my belly is so big at this point, it did hit the ground. I called my doctor right away and headed to the hospital. As I’m so far along, I wasn't sure of the possible scenarios. Soon after I fell, the baby started moving a little bit so I knew that we would be okay. When we got to the hospital, they tested the heart rate and everything was great. I was told I needed to stay for 24 hours for observation.

They needed to do a full ultrasound to make sure that the placenta did not come away from the uterine wall when I fell. The placenta was still in-tact so that was good news. However, we found out that our little nugget went from being head-down to being breech. As I’m currently already effacing and dilating, my doctor doesn't want me to go into labor or have my water break with the baby in the breech position. I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) to determine the next steps. If Baby is still breech and I’m dilated further than 1cm, we have a c-section scheduled for this Thursday. If I’m still only dilated to 1cm and baby is still breech, we wait a week and give Baby some time to flip. If baby has flipped, we go back to our original scenario.

Long story short, this baby may arrive in just 2 days! Thankfully with my obsessive planning, most things are already ready (especially as far as insurance, HR and all things work related). This wasn't part of our original plan, but the best way you can prepare for a baby is to be flexible. We are excited and about as ready as we can be for little nugget’s arrival, whether it is this week or next…
Daddy is feeling: the need to get lots of things done around the house
Mommy is feeling: excited and nervous
Workouts this week: Walking as usual to and from work during the week. Was pretty much on bed rest while at the hospital on Saturday/Sunday but my doc approved normal activity following my release.
Looking forward to: Finding out next steps at our doctor’s appointment tomorrow!! :)

Friday, September 6, 2013

Baby Wilson: The Final Preparations

As many of you know, Baby Wilson's due date is right around the corner! (September 21st to be exact.) I have done a little bit of nesting when I have the energy to. I thought I would go through some of the things I've done to prepare. 9 months is a really long time to be pregnant. However, there really is SO MUCH to learn about pregnancy and that new little baby so it is kind of nice we had/have some time to do as much research as we can.

In case you didn't already know, local police and fire departments have staff equipped to install infant and convertible carseats. I recently went and the very nice officer installed the seat for me. He gave a lot of safety tips about the chair itself, and even looked up proper placement of the seat in the car in the car's owners' manual. I highly recommend going to your local public service office if you want to give your husband one less task to do. :)


My hospital bag has been packed for a few weeks now. I read somewhere that you should have it packed 6 weeks before your delivery date, just in case. I looked up a couple checklists online to find what I felt would work best for me and the hubs. I was able to fit everything into a single bag. I mean, let's be honest, who wants to worry about bringing multiple bags to the hospital! The most important thing I packed was snacks. Hopefully the hubs has no plans to eat those SPKs in front of me while I'm in labor. (My doctor will allow me to have sorbet and popsicles to go along with the traditional ice chips. I think the extra sugar will only help me out.) I also packed a sparkly ActiveBand to help keep the hair out of my face, and a PickyBar or two for the morning/day after. :)


As mentioned in my update from week 35, Chris and I completed the birthing and baby basics class. He learned how to give me some good back massages to relieve the pressure during contractions. I learned some sweet breathing techniques to get through the pain. We also learned how to change diapers and hold our future little baby. We practiced on these scary looking dolls provided in the class.


I've been stock piling some new toys for Ms. Pepper so that she knows that we still love and appreciate her once this little baby arrives. She has been extra affectionate lately so I've been giving her lots of love, kisses and attention. I mean, how can you not love that face! I actually want to make an appointment for her to get a bath, a trim and her nails clipped before the baby comes. So she is sparkling and can be on her best behavior! Thankfully my friend Steph has agreed to come to our house and watch Pepper when I go into labor. We have tried to desensitize her to lots of the baby's things so she isn't so overwhelmed. Nothing seems to scare her, which is good. She doesn't understand why all these non-squeaking toys are in the house, but she can't play with any of them. Lol.


This baby will be the first grandchild on both my side of the family and my husband's. It is the first great grandchild on his side and the second great grandchild on my side. To say our families are excited about this baby would be a little bit of an understatement. It makes us feel really loved and supported for when our little baby gets here! I've gotten the chance to wash most of the clothes, sleepsacks, sheets, and blankets in anticipation. You may spy some turtle toys and already-packed diaper bags. (I plan on doing a full separate post on diaper bag essentials once I actually figure out what works for me and the baby.)


I'd like to think that we are about as prepared as we can be at this point. So much of what babies bring is the unexpected so I've been trying not to anticipate too much. I'm just going to go into this whole thing with an open mind and see where I end up. Hopefully on the other side with a happy and healthy little nugget baby! :)

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Baby Wilson: 37 Weeks -- Full Term!



How far along? 37 weeks – Full term!
Baby’s size/development this week: weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures over 19 inches long; about the size of a head of a winter melon or a bunch of swiss chard. I don’t regularly eat either of these vegetables so this isn't really a great comparison.
Maternity clothes: wearing them? Ye, although many of them are stretched to capacity….
Miss anything? Maneuvering easily
Food cravings? None
Anything making you queasy or sick? Some people really have to lay off the amount cologne to wear. Seriously.
Sleep: Meh, this has not been great. The night sweats continue and I usually get up in the middle of the night either to go to the bathroom or because I’m uncomfortable. Then, I can’t get comfortable so I’m just up. Usually pretty early no matter what day of the week it is.
Best moment of the week: My doctor’s appointment when I got to hear Baby’s heartbeat again! Also, I found out that I’m starting to dilate. My body is prepping and getting ready for Baby Wilson’s arrival!
Nursery: Items are put together, the room is painted, the furniture is now painted. It is just a matter of organizing and final prep!
Wedding rings on or off? on
Movement? Shoves, jabs, and rolls. Baby wants to get out!
Weird pregnancy thing of the week: I've been feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions which are super fun. At least that’s a sign that my body is getting ready to deliver!
Daddy is feeling: Excited and scared
Mommy is feeling: The same as Dad.
Workouts this week: Continued walking, although this morning I felt particularly sluggish. I just didn't feel like moving. I still have a few weeks left to go! Let’s hope today is just an off day. :)
Looking forward to: BABY'S ARRIVAL!!!