Being a mom

My little Lottie Lou is now 2 months old! I can't believe how fast time goes by...I want Lottie to stay little forever. I know I was pregnant for 9 months and now have been a mom for 2 months but I still get emotional thinking about being a mom. I'm so grateful for everything I've been given. I've wanted this for so long and to be honest I don't find being a mom hard. I absolutely love being a mom and I enjoy every moment.

I don't have to get up with Charlotte every night I GET to get up with her every night.

I get to feed her every 2 hours
I get to hold her close when she is crying
I get to give her a bath even though she hates it
I get to change her diaper even when I just changed it 2 minutes ago

I got up with Charlotte the other night and I started to feed her...she stopped eating and so I looked down and to my surprise she was just staring at me with the biggest smile! I started to laugh and cry at the same time. What a special moment I got to share with my sweet angel. Just a small smile in the middle of the night made my entire day and I savor every moment with my little sweetheart. Lottie has reminded me what truly is important in this life. Family is the most important. When I think about the happiest moments in my life I don't think about the flat screen TV or the new toy we just bought...I think about sitting in my home (or Michigan home) and laughing with my family. I think about hugging my family, Fourth of July's where we're all in lawn chairs, or across the dinner table discussing our day. That's what lifes about.

Updated Baby Room

I was able to do a little bit more work on the babies room...obviously I still have a lot to do to the room. I wish I had someone who could come and help like my amazing sister-in-law Sara who knows how to decorate any room! I sure I hope I can get the room done within the next couple of months. I know I'll finish if I just do a little at a time. Enjoy the updated picture.

Baby Room and Nesting:)

I've worked more on the babies room but still it is far from complete. I know it's taking me along time to get the room done but I'm willing to be patient to get the room exactly how I want it. If I'm not sure what to put on a certain wall in the room I will wait until I get an idea I really like...it could takes months or years. That is how I have been with the rest of our home. I don't like to impulse buy and once I buy something I want to love it not just like it. Also, I don't ever want to waste money so I'm willing to be patient.

I just put up floating shelves in the babies room and put up a quote that I absolutely fell in love with when I was pregnant. The canvas sitting on the shevles says,

"No one will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside."

Also, you will notice on the shelve a willow tree figurine that was given to me by a dear friend (Jules). The angel is an "Angel of Miracles" and she gave it to me when I announced I was pregnant. Every time I look at the small wooden angel I get a little teary eyed because it is a small reminder that my precious daughter is truly a miracle. I was told I could never get pregnant which was tough news to hear when you really want to expand your family. However, doctors aren't always right and someone in Heaven gave me the chance to be a mom. Being a mom has been the most rewarding and spirtual experience of my life.

Baby bedding we chose.

Also, I realized how much I was nesting during my pregnancy! Poor poor Noah did something new to the home everyday. I sure love him. I realized while I was pregnant I did the following: New kitchen table, new curtains, plates put on the wall in kitchen, new frames up the staircase, new rug under kitchen table, new mirror in kitchen, 2 rooms re-painted, staircase landing with new pictures, etc etc. I can't believe how much I did while I was pregnant. I was able to get everything I listed for amazing prices and I sold all of our old stuff on KSL so we hardly came out of pocket on any of it. Noah says he can't believe how good of deals I get. If I ever get pregnant again I hope to notice my nesting tendencies and calm it down. ha.

plates on wall and curtains






Baby Photos!


Me with the kiddos 2 weeks after giving birth! What was I thinking...ha.

My sister (best bud) holding Charlotte

My mom visiting

My mom came out to help with the baby for about 16 days and to be with me and Koren. I don't know how I got so lucky to have the mom that I have...she is the nicest, sweetest and most giving person I know. She ALWAYS gives everyone the benefit of the doubt and looks for the good in everyone. I sometimes will rant and rave about someone or something and she always looks for the positive. I sure hope to be just like her.

The moment my mom showed up I became instantly calm. She has a feeling about her that just makes everything "okay" and I love sitting in a room with her and snuggling up to her. I'm so lucky. My mom came into town and did all of my grocery shopping and cooked lunch and dinner the entire time she was here. She also cleaned up my home, sat with me and just talked and laughed hysterically with me as we watched "Wipeout" together.

Also, she was able to teach me how to do a couple things better then how I was doing them. For example, giving medicine, bath time, rocking Charlotte and feeding her are all now done better because my mom taught me all her little tricks.

When my mom left today we just hugged and cried. Living so far away is very difficult and sometimes all I want is my mom. I've been crying all day and can't wait to see her again when I go home to Michigan in a couple months. I have a relationship with my mom where I talk to her everyday on the phone and I look at her as my best friend.

**as a side note poor Noah has had to give me lots of hugs today to make me feel better. I'm lucky to have a husband who understands why my mom is so important. Also, I'm lucky to have a husband who loves my mom. He thinks she is the sweetest little old lady ever! He also loves how my mom usually takes his side...lucky Noah

Stats and Being a new mom

I wanted to let everyone know little Charlotte Lou's stats when she was born:) I also included my stats.

Charlotte:
Born: February 22 (exactly on her due date) She was full term
Weight: 6 lbs. 7 oz.
Height: 19 inches
Hair Color: strawberry blonde (red)
Eyes: blue for now but every baby has blue at first
Who does she look like? Charlotte is an exact replica of her daddy! I love it!
Problems: When Charlotte was born she had low blood sugar which isn't a huge deal but they had to give her formula immediately to get her sugar levels to a normal level. I had to continue to give her formula which wasn't my ideal plan but as long as she is healthy I don't care.

Me!
Weight: I weighed 129 when Charlotte was born and now weigh 112 which is lower then what I weighed before I got pregnant. I don't wish my pregnancy on anyone! I lost so much weight and I blame myself and my body for my daughters low birth weight. It really bothers me she was full term and only around 6 lbs.
Stretch Marks: No stretch marks...hurray! probably because I lost so much weight. I would take a million stretch marks for my daughter to have been at least 1 lb. heavier.

Best mommy moment: I was at the hospital and the nurses brought my sweet daughter into my room at night because it was time for her to be fed. She was crying at the time they were wheeling her in...anyway I said, "there's my sweet girl, I missed you" immediately she stopped crying and started turning her head to find me:) The nurses said she must know I'm mommy! I started to cry. I've waited for this moment for so long. I love being a mom and I'm so grateful I get to take care of this precious child. I love being a wife and sharing my life with a man who loves and respects me. This is what life is about.

Labor Story - Best Day of My Life

I had my 40 week appointment on Tuesday the 21st to see if I had progressed. At past appointments I wasn't even dialated but when I went in Tuesday I finally was dialated to a 1 cm. which really isn't anything special espcially since I was full term. The doctor told me this baby wasn't coming anytime soon and as normal procedure I had to go get a stress test at the hospital the next day to make sure my little baby was healthy.

The next morning I was getting ready to go to my stress test and was so relaxed that I told Noah to go to work and not to worry about coming with me. This is a normal test and all I will be doing is sitting in a chair for an hour as they monitor me. Noah said he wanted to come and was persistant about attending the appointment. Of course I was happy he was coming but I always feel bad when he misses work etc. I get hooked up to the monitors and the baby has a perfect heartbeat but the movement isn't so great. The nurses keep monitoring me but continue to get concerned as they try to get the baby to move. I start getting concerned and was so grateful Noah was there with me. The nurses contact my doctor and admit me to the hospital to continue to monitor me for a couple more hours to see if the baby makes any movement. Well my stubborn little baby still wasn't showing signs of movement and my doctor comes to the hospital to look at all my results. The nurses check me to see if I progressed at all with labor and I was 2.5 cm dialated and 80 percent effaced! I couldn't believe I progressed so much overnight. So after my results from the stress test and the fact that I had progressed since the night before my doctor said it would be best if we get the baby out because it is under stress and they don't know why.

I walked into the appointment that morning thinking I was going to be home by noon and now they're telling me this baby is coming today! I didn't know how to comprehend everything and started to get a little nervous. I was put into a hospital gown and was put on pitocin. I already had a labor plan that I wanted to follow and that was to have my epidural ASAP. I wasn't going to wait until I felt a lot of pain or until I was at a certain point in my labor. I always wanted the epidual as soon as possible and that is exactly what I did. I received my epidural the moment I went into my hospital room so at 2.5 cm dialated. The hospial was amazing at doing everything I wanted and they listened to all my request. I loved it! I felt extremely comfortable and was grateful for the support the nurses and doctors showed me.

After about 30 minutes I was at 4 cm diallated which was awesome! The nurse said I would probably have the baby around midnight because labor takes an average of 15 hours. Well about 45 minutes later she came to check me and couldn't believe I was fully dialated and the baby was starting to crown. The nurse immediately called the doctor and he was still in his street clothes and told me not to push and he will be right back. Once the doctor came back I pushed through a couple contractions and my sweet AMAZING beautiful baby girl was born. My labor was a couple hours long and I'm so happy with my doctor and all the nurses.

The moment I saw my sweet little girl I instantly was in love. I don't know how to describe the feeling I had for her but I immediately started to cry and I knew my life had instantly changed for the better. Also, watching my sweet adorable husband with her was a sight imprinted on my brain I will never forget. This was by far the most spiritual experience I've ever had. I instantly thanked my Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to take care of this precious child. I can't help but think I don't deserve this blessing and I continually think how fortunate I am to have this little girl. I now understand why I had such a hard time getting pregnant and why I had such a difficult pregnancy...most things in our life we value the most will take the most sacrifice and work on our part:)


My only advice to those that are going to have a baby is to do the labor how YOU want it. I had so many people who would try and tell me I should do things how they liked or how they had their baby and I'm so proud of myself for having my sweet baby how I planned.

37 Weeks - Update

Today I am 37 weeks and I can't believe I'm actually going to have the baby this month! There are so many things going through my head. I hope I'm ready to take care of a child. What if the baby cries all the time? What if I'm a horrible mom? Wish me luck.

Baby Update:

Weight: I currently weigh a total of 125 lbs. which is good because I'm gaining about a pound a week. I would like to be about 130 lbs. by the time the baby comes.

Baby Room: We finally have the crib and some other items to make the room complete but I decided to wait until the baby is born to decide how I want to decorate the room. I've gone back and forth about crib bedding, curtains and decor and can't decide. I think I will just have to wait until I see this cute little one in person. Also, my mom will be here to help and will give me some ideas about the room.

Work: I'm offically unemployed! That's right I don't have a job. I'm going to be a stay at home mom and so far it feels really weird. I don't like sleeping in while my husband gets up to go to work. I feel very lazy right now and its been a difficult change for me. The baby will be coming soon and I think staying at home and not working will make more sense...but until then I've become a cleaning machine.

Nesting: To say I've been nesting would be an understatement. I have cleaned and organized every part of my house except for the office because that is Noah's room. He likes it just the way it is...which is messy. Noah likes to show people our "junk drawer" and other area's in our home. He thinks it's funny how crazy I have become over the past 9 months. He said he is excited for me to pop this baby out! Just for fun I posted pictures of our "junk drawer".




Home Projects: For the 2 days I haven't had a job I've already had a million projects for Noah to do when he gets home from work. I've been decorating my home and doing some small touches around the house that I've wanted to do for a while now. Poor Noah. I need to do something special for him. I haven't decided what to do but if anyone has suggestions please send them my way! Noah has been the most supportive, loving, kind and gentle husband during this crazy pregnancy. I truly don't know what I would have done without him. He constantly is helping me and making me feel special. I understand I'm carrying the baby and going through the labor but he has definitely done his part with taking care of me along the entire journey.