Sunday, December 29, 2013

2 weeks in

Well you might get tired of hearing things like this, but I can't believe he is two weeks old already!

He is starting to look less like a potato and more like a baby!



Dan and I are enjoying this time with our little man and it is flying by! It feels like we have had him forever, but then we learn new things about him every day!

Even though Dan and I are still learning things everyday, figuring out how to feed, care and keep this tiny little human alive, we are so very happy with the way things are going. It almost seems to be a rose-colored view of our life right now. We can glaze over all the struggles (finding time to eat, shower or sleep) and just be happy to see this little man staring back at us.

I am content.

You won't find much complaining from me. I find the entire presence of Amos to be a miracle and I am still reveling in the wonder of it all.

My little reindeer


I mean I don't want to bring anybody down, but last Christmas looked like this:

Christmas 2012

Let me tell you, I do NOT miss being bald! It wasn't that last Christmas was so bad, but this Christmas was pretty sweet:
Christmas 2013

And let's be honest. 2012 just sucked in general. 2013 has been fan-freakin-tastic! With 2014 just around the corner we only have more awesome things to look forward too (such as sleeping longer than 3 hour stretches). We are very excited to welcome in 2014 but we will be sad to see 2013 go. 

Happy New Year from the Hartman's
Dan, Julia, Midas and Amos






Friday, December 20, 2013

He's Here!

Well Tuesday is supposedly the day.

Since only 5% of women actually give birth on their due date though we are not holding our breath.


And that is how far I got on Sunday afternoon when I started writing this post. Surprising everyone, Amos actually came before his due date! 


But let's start at the beginning shall we?

Friday after school I had a midwife appointment. Everything was looking good so I didn't get checked or anything. Figured if I was 0cm or 3cm it didn't really matter. Little man was going to come when he was ready.
Friday night I came home exhausted, passed out on the couch at 6:30, woke up at 8 and went to bed! Fun Friday night!

Saturday though Dan and I had a great day. We spent the morning looking at all the glorious snow we had gotten the night before.

Winter wonderland!

Luckily we didn't have to go anywhere or do anything, so we spent a lazy Saturday morning around the house. Saturday night we decided to go bowling with some friends since we heard it was a good way to start labor.

Bowling was fun for everyone no matter what their age...

Or size!

Not to give away the ending, but this is the last picture of me pregnant! Here I am at 39 weeks and 5 days


We also ate some spicy Thai food and stayed up late with friends playing board games. It was a great night! 

Sunday morning I woke up and went to church for my last Sunday directing the children's choir until February. It went really well and Dan and I met as usual at Einstein afterwards to get brunch. We sat around and talked and tried to decide what we wanted to do with our day. We decided against going to a movie and went to the grocery store instead (glad we did!)

When we got home I still felt exhausted so I went and took a 2 hour nap. I woke up to what I thought was really bad back pain. 

I kept trying to get comfortable but the pain was intense so I got up and walked out to the living room. That's when I noticed that the back pain seemed to be coming and going. 

I had downloaded an app to keep track of contractions when the time came, but I thought for sure this was just the product of me being huge and uncomfortable and I didn't want to use the app if I wasn't in labor, so I held off.

After awhile though of trying to still get comfortable and having Dan rub my lower back we decided to see if there was a pattern to the back pain.

Looking back now I am glad I kept track. I can now easily tell you that the first contraction I took note of was at 5:04pm and it lasted a minute and half. 

That was the thing too. The contractions seemed to last a lot longer than what I thought they would be. Averaging around 2 minutes but the time in between was so sporadic at first that we didn't believe it was "real" labor. And all the pain was in my back! I didn't feel anything on my belly.

So this continued awhile and we decided to call our doula. A doula is a labor coach and ours had been at the birth of 2 of our closet friends so we knew she would be great for us too. She gave Dan some advice and we tried doing a few different positions to see if the contractions would stop or get more intense. At one point I got in our tub and looked up to see this looking back at me: 
My boys.

As the night wore on though the contractions didn't stop.They were still pretty sporadic in  spacing however so we just weren't sure what was going on.

We skyped my parents for a quick chat just in case they would worry if they didn't get their weekly Sunday night phone call from us. Dan distracted them as I worked through a contraction while on the phone with them. 

About 9 o'clock though things started to really get intense and we wanted to get some advice so we asked our doula to come over. Before she could even get there though I had 5 contractions in a row at 2 minutes apart. That freaked Dan out a bit since we knew I needed to get some antibiotics by IV before the baby was born.

So Dan threw me (Ha!) and all our hospital bags in the car and off we went to the hospital. We called our doula on the way there as well as some girlfriends of mine. Everyone met us at the hospital and we had our "posse" as we called it the rest of the night. 

I actually have some pictures of the labor that my friend Tara was kind enough to take. I have kept out any "icky" photos or anything too intense due to not wanting my Dad to faint when he reads my blog, so no worries there. 

When we first got there they wanted to check me and see how far along I was before they would give me antibiotics. I was dealing with some pretty intense back labor (I now know, didn't at the time) so laying down was the worst thing ever.
Dan was there every step

We decided beforehand that unless they were going to send me back home I didn't want to know how far along I was. I felt it was too much of a mind game that I didn't want to deal with, so I just didn't want to know. 

The nurse was able to tell Dan and our doula though that I was 5 cm along and I could officially get admitted to the hospital! 

They put me in a Jacuzzi tub next since I wanted to labor in the tub as much as possible. They were able to give me my IV there as well. The tub helped tremendously with dealing with the pain. I would hold on to Dan during a contraction as tightly as I could while our doula pressed tennis balls as hard as she could into my back to give me some counter pressure. 




Holding on for dear life

I swear I just was banging on the walls from pain not checking out my manicure

Cool towels on forehead were a must. My hair was fabulous. Obs.






After being in the tub for awhile. I was starting to get the urge to push. The midwife decided to move me  to a room and start to get things ready. The walk from the jacuzzi room to the room I would give birth in was probably the longest of my life.


My hips ached so bad with each step and I was wrapped in towels and surrounded by my friends and Dan as we shuffled our way to the room. I hadn't opened my eyes for a good hour or two and I was definitely beyond the point of caring what I looked liked. 
Dan said it took about 7 minutes for us to walk 30 feet to the room, which I almost believe. We got in the room and I tried every position I could think of from our birth classes to try and find some relief. By the end though I just got up on the bed in a side lying position.





Dan again being amazing

After maybe an hour or two laboring on the bed I started to be encouraged by our midwife to push if I felt like it. I did, so I did.

Pushing was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was tired and sleeping in between contractions. I tried a lot of different positions looking for anything that would help me get the kid out. I was told he was stuck on my tailbone and when he was born he had his hand right next to his face. Both of those things made pushing extra hard. I was also just pretty exhausted by this point. I knew the only way I was going to get to sleep was if I pushed the kid out as quickly as possible. So I focused in and pushed him out in less than 2 hours. 

I felt such relief when they handed him to me.


My Favorite pic.


Dan was also super excited to meet our son

Born in the dead of the night




Already had a hat

Even though I wasn't really aware of them most of the birth, I was so glad to look up after Amos was born and be surrounded by the people I love. So thank you very much to my birth posse for being with me and Dan through the whole night!

Ridiculously happy

I have really been enjoying looking at this face everyday and realizing he is ours. That no one is going to come take him home and thank me for babysitting. It is also so cool to think that there is a little bit of Dan and a little bit of me in this little guy.

Amos Orin Hartman
Born at 3:17am
7lbs 8oz 20 inches long




Looking back on it, I am surprised at 3 things I guess. 1. That each contraction was completely different. Some had double peaks, some were short, some seemed to last forever, but each one was unique. 2. That I kept my modesty (mostly) but really wasn't even aware of anyone or anything around me except Dan. I focused on his voice and his coaching and ignored everything else. 3. How it wasn't necessarily easier than I thought it would be, but it was doable and not half as scary as I thought it would be.


We are adjusting well to parent life. Yes, there is less sleep, yes there is a more freak out moments when you have to count how many diapers you have changed that day and how much he has eaten. But in the end I think we are rocking it.

We are excited to see this little guy grow!

More to follow....?









Monday, December 16, 2013

And then there were three

December 16th 2013
3:17 am
7 pounds 8.6 ounces
20 1/2 inches
cool
dude
Amos Orin Hartman

Sunday, December 8, 2013

9 days

Our countdown to Baby Harts is down to single digits people! Holy cow!

Friday night at Dan's company Christmas party was when we decided to stop saying a week and half left and just started saying 11 days.

Today I realized however we are even down to single digits! 

We thought he might be making an appearance on my birthday Saturday, but no go. Some nice contractions have been happening every once in awhile though. Nice to know my body is just getting ready and I get a little preview of what is to come.

All I am thinking about right now though is making it to Wednesday. That day I have both my Christmas concerts at school. It will be a long, stressful day, but I just need to get through it and then I am in the home stretch till Christmas break. 

I have plans for this weekend to help promote labor (massage, bowling, spicy food) in case I haven't gone into labor yet. I have plans next week for an Infant CPR class (feel like I should have done this earlier) and a breastfeeding class (again, feel like I should have done this earlier). So I am staying busy even after my due date to keep my mind off of this magical date that everyone is going by.

It seems a little crazy that the 17th is being seen as the finish line when I could possibly still go another 2 weeks! After that though or probably a little before they will start talking about inducing me and that is a huge NO in my book. 

So Dan and I will go bowling, eat that spicy food and take the dog for many cold walks hoping to help this labor get started on its own.

JUST NOT TILL THURSDAY!

How far along: 39 weeks. Counting down the days!
Total weight gain: Another 2 pounds. Grrrrrrrr. I hope everybody is right and after I pop this baby out and start breastfeeding that the weight will start to come off.
Maternity clothes: The shoe situation is in dire straights. I am also wearing less pants nowadays and more leggings and dresses. Which is nice, but my poor feet. They are just so puffy. As is my face! So random thing, but I got home from school Friday and was so sad at how puffy my face was. I looked up a coffee face scrub and tried it out. I think it actually helped reduce some of my swelling!

Comparison. What do you think??

Needless to say I am sold. And if the coffee scrub wasn't so messy I would wear it ALL. THE. TIME.

Stretch marks: Nothing. Though I have really popped and can feel a lot of stretching happening in my lower belly.
Sleep: Ahhhh sleep. How I miss thee. I sleep really well for the first 5 or so hours and then I wake up with heartburn, having to go pee and leg cramps. Then I can't get back to sleep for a couple of hours and don't sleep well the rest of the night. I don't feel exhausted yet, but it is mostly at night that I am really happy I don't have to be pregnant for the rest of my life.
Best moment of this week: Enjoying a lovely birthday with Dan. I wanted to just hang out with him and do fun stuff (well fun stuff for me) all day. So we went to see Catching Fire, went to Target and Barnes and Noble and then came home with Chinese take out and an ice cream cake. 
I mean we knew we couldn't top last years 3-0 Birthday EXTRAVAGANZA...
Sushi, laser tag, and lots of alcohol (though not necessarily in that order) make for a great birthday!

But low key was just what we needed this year. We still got to enjoy Dan's company Christmas party too, where this happened:
Ugly sweater party is taken to new heights with a fireplace that moves.

We didn't get one shot of ourselves at the party though (bummer!) Though we did not partake in the ugly sweater side, mostly due to the fact that Dan forgot to tell me that was the theme! Oh well. We still had a great time and I laughed so much I was afraid I would send myself into labor.

Miss anything: Bummer to not have a nice cocktail on my birthday. I got some alcohol though as a present at the company Christmas party though! Woo hoo!

Movement: Tons lately! I also am starting to second guess myself that he might have dropped lower. The heartburn continues though, so I am not sure.
Food cravings: Not really craving anything and not very hungry most of the time.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  Heartburn is not helping anybody out right now. Besides that though, I haven't felt queasy.
Have you started to show yet: FREAKING HUGE. Proof:
39 weeks.

Gender: Amos Orin Hartman 
Labor signs: Had 4 nice strong contractions during Catching Fire, but haven't had any since. I could blame the slightly uncomfortable theatre seats or the tense plot line.
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: Off but still wearing my replacement!
Happy or moody most of the time: Feeling more balanced this week. Felt a little sorry for myself that I couldn't do all the things I wanted to for my birthday, but really it was a good week.
Looking forward to: Getting through my concerts, taking Thursday off from school and getting a massage and spending the weekend  bowling and eating spicy food to try and get baby boy to make an appearance!


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

38 weeks

Starting to feel pretty huge over here. So close to D-Day though! I could go any day! 


38 weeks!



Comparison chart! I believe this is 30, 32, 34, and 38 weeks



The anticipation is starting to get to Dan and I though. Not knowing when Baby Harts will make his appearance is really keeping us on our toes. Dan had one last gig last weekend that he thought for sure was going to mean Baby Harts would make an appearance while he was gone.
Luckily Baby Boy stayed put and Dan doesn't have any more gigs until the end of January. At this point I am just hoping not to go into labor at school. Also after my concerts would really be nice too. Though I have almost gotten to the point of letting that one go since they are on the 11th and my due date is the 17th. 

I know if I make it to the concerts all my parents will be sitting there watching me closely to see if I will give birth to this baby during the show! :)

Christmas break for school starts the 20th though, so I think after my concerts are over I will start drinking all the labor teas, rub the acupressure points and go on lots of walks with the dog and Dan.

We saw the midwife Friday and we have another appointment this Thursday. Going every week now! We also had our last birth class on Monday night and we now know all the secrets to giving birth (HA!). 

I decorated the house for Christmas (with some help from Dan) and kept my silver/blue theme in honor of little Boy Harts.



Snowflake ornaments hung in the window

The large version of our hospital tree!


Made these jars for my birthday party last year. I love them! 
They are mason jars with silver glitter mod podged on them.

The outside of the house which my Dad and Dan tackled this past weekend. 
Love my candy cane poles!


With the nursery being done, our hospital bags packed and all the clothes/diapers washed and ready to go.....we are just waiting on the Baby!


How far along: 38 weeks! Full term, can go any day!
Total weight gain: A lovely 4 pounds gained. :( I know I haven't kept this part updated very much, but total weight gained for this pregnancy is up to 35 pounds. I have to at least be honest so I know for the next pregnancy what to really expect.
Maternity clothes: Might have worn one of Dan's shirts around the house on Sunday. Might have still shown my belly the entire time too. Oh well. At my midwife appointment I was now only measuring a week behind. I am starting to feel like I "popped" though. 
Stretch marks: Nada. The midwife even congratulated me at my appointment last week. He said if I haven't gotten any yet I probably won't! YAY!
Sleep: Still feeling uncomfortable. Having more and more trouble with heartburn. I am so worried one night I'll just wake up throwing up since it comes on so quickly. 
Best moment of this week: Having Thanksgiving with some of the family. We enjoyed a low key Thanksgiving this year and mostly just hung out. Mom and I went shopping for a little bit on Saturday. It was a nice break. It will almost be weird to head back to school for a full week this week.

Miss anything: Bourbon.

Movement: Had dinner with some friends Sunday night. Was sitting on the couch afterwards and watching my belly shift and move with a friend. He was dancing around in there pretty intensely.
Food cravings: Can't eat very much at a time right now. I feel especially uncomfortable if I eat too much.
Anything making you queasy or sick:  More and more heartburn. If only it was only a burning feeling and not like I was constantly throwing up in my mouth.
Have you started to show yet: Feeling pretty big, but everyone tells me I don't look huge yet! :) 
Gender: Baby Boy Harts or Amos Orin Hartman 
Labor signs: Started to get some pretty intense, consistent cramping on a long walk on Thursday. Got home and sat down and felt find again. Body is just practicing and getting ready.
Belly button in or out: Still in and now I think it might stay that way!
Wedding rings on or off: Off but still wearing my replacement!

Happy or moody most of the time: Some up and downs this week.  Definitely starting to feel more excited than anxious about Baby Boy making his appearance. However things not in my control are starting to affect how I feel a lot more than they normally would.  Dan is helping me work through all these hyper emotions I have going on and being so patient with me. It is really nice.
Looking forward to: This week Dan's company has their annual Christmas party. This is always such a great time. Also my birthday is Saturday so Dan and I might try and do something fun. Maybe a movie. We'll probably keep things pretty low key though. No laser tag or sushi this year! 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Nursery!!

Trumpet fanfare!

Here it is! What you (ok me) have been waiting for! I have thought, planned and executed everything I wanted to do. It is the perfect nursery for us. Dan and I both love it.

I like to go in there and just sit and look around, imagining what it will be like once little boy gets here. 

For right now here are just a bunch of pictures. I will do another post with the info for the week (38!) later on.

Enjoy!

The nursery: woodland, modern, gray, aqua and red


Bucky the deer head and Mr. Moose!

The art wall. Everything either given as a gift or made by me! ;) 
If you look closely you can see what his name will be!

Woodland mobile. My favorite part...made by me! :)

The little crib where he will rest his head!

Cute little creatures to keep him company in the crib. 

My great grandmother's dresser refinished in white with "twig" hardware

One half the closet. We have enough clothes!

Other half of closet. Seriously! No more clothes!

Bucky Jr. 

I love my little red tweet lamp!

Welcome home Baby Harts!

Gotta love IKEA

The art wall over the crib and changing table. Notice high tech camera in top right corner.
Dan is so excited to use it!

Love my art wall!


I didn't even notice Midas had made it into this picture. But that is his favorite spot to lay.