2-3 month update

Hello readers!

I would say I'm sorry for not blogging lately, but I'm not. I've been busy spending as much time as I can with my sweet baby girl since I've gone back to work. (Sorry I'm not sorry.)

Some highlights: 

-Harper smiles ALL the time now! She's just starting to laugh and coo as well.

-She has moved up to size 1 diapers. We are still buying Pampers Sensitive and I still love them.

-She is wearing size 0-3 months, but she can already fit into size 3-6 months, and shockingly 6-9 months. She is so long!

-She's getting better at self soothing. Sort of. I can at least put her in her rock n' play for 20 or 30 minutes and get some things done around the house whereas before I couldn't put her down without her screaming and crying instantly.

-I joined Amazon Mom. More on that later.

-She does a fantastic job of holding her head up unassisted! We're still working on tummy time. (I probably don't give it to her as often as I should.)

-She sleeps in the Pack N' Play in our room without the bassinet insert. We use her noisemaker giraffe on the ocean setting and I think it really does help her stay asleep longer.

-She eats 4-5 ounces per feeding about every 3 hours. Occasionally she'll take six ounces.

-At night she goes to bed around 10 or 11 and only wakes up once for a feeding. Occasionally she won't wake up until it's time for us to get up!

-She can roll to one side on her own.

-She really doesn't care for pacifiers, so I won't have to worry about weaning her off of them later.

-Heyward seems to really like her now! I caught him licking her head the other day - what a sweet big brother.

-She really enjoys exploring bright lights and objects on her activity mat. Oh, and she loves staring at ceiling fans.

-She LOVES bath time, thank goodness!

-Her list of nicknames are Baby Bear, Harper Bear, Little Bear, Little, Sweet Bear, Pretty Girl, and Honey Bun.

-I stopped breastfeeding and pumping three days ago. My supply was so low after returning to work that I just weaned her off. I truly enjoyed the breastfeeding experience, but formula is so much more convenient for us at this stage.

-We have switched to Enfamil newborn, Enfamil gentlease, and Gerber soothe blends. We buy both the powder based and ready-to-eat bottles. I highly recommend each of them and definitely prefer them over Similac. They don't make her gassy and they blend into water better than Similac does.

-She is an early teether! I've stocked up on baby Orajel, baby Tylenol, and I bought her a Tommee Tippee chewther. She drools like crazy so I'm having her wear a bib a lot more lately.

-She has much shorter crying spells! It used to take a while to soothe her, but now she calms down relatively quickly. Her night time crying spells have reduced from 4-5 hours to only 1 or 2. Progress!

-I realize I'm bragging now, but my baby is just BEAUTIFUL. Many people have stopped us in public to compliment how cute and pretty she is - makes me feel great!

-As of this past weekend I can fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans! 

Okay! So at her two month check up (which was two weeks late due to a scheduling error at the pediatrician's office) she is 25 inches long (off the charts percentile wise) and 12 pounds exactly (75th percentile.)

I joined Amazon Mom! It's basically Amazon Prime. You get 2-day free shipping, and great deals on all kinds of baby items. Diaper shopping is wonderful. You can't beat $46 for a box of 192 diapers. You just can't! I highly recommend moms to join. It's $80/year but well worth it.

So this next topic is pretty personal. I went back and forth as to whether or not to include it on this blog. I decided that it's too important to not share - after all, sharing my experience could help a new mom out.

For a while after Harper's birth I found myself on a roller coaster of emotions, which is pretty normal. The first 3-4 weeks I cried at EVERYTHING. I was sleep-deprived too, which did not help things at all. I was anxious every time she woke up. I remember feeling panicked and thinking, "What will I do this time when she cries? What if it doesn't work? What am I doing wrong?" I was very short with Taylor. I'd pick fights with him. I'd fly off the handle at the smallest things. I was exasperated every time the baby cried. I even punched the oven one time during an argument (that I started.) In general, I just felt really really angry and short-tempered all the time. And then I'd feel really guilty about my behavior. It wasn't until Taylor literally said to me "You have turned into such a mean person." that I realized how bad it had gotten, and it just seemed to get worse once I returned to work. I shared some of that with a friend who suggested I may have post-partum depression. Now, THAT had never entered my mind before. At first I thought, "No way. I'm not sad, I'm not crying all the time anymore, and I don't want to hurt myself or the baby." But she told me her symptoms were exactly the same. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with my doctor a week later. Sure enough, after all of the questions she went through she told me I have post-partum depression. She prescribed me 50 mg of Zoloft to take daily. It takes about two weeks to go into effect, but I noticed a difference less than a week in. I am so much calmer and happier. I don't get anxious or as frustrated when she cries anymore. I definitely don't feel angry and mean anymore. I can actually enjoy being a mother now! I am so grateful to my friend for talking to me about it and sharing her experience with me, otherwise, it may have taken a lot longer to figure out and correct. 

Since I did not update last month I have two pictures to include this time!

Age: Three months

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Heaviest weight: 150 pounds at 39 weeks

Current weight: 123 pounds

Maternity clothes or regular clothes: I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans!

Stretch marks: Still visible.

Diet: Nothing notable. I'm trying to make healthier choices. Trying.

Favorite Milestone so far: Listening to Harper coo and watching her smile.

Moody or not moody? Much better now with Zoloft.

Looking forward to: My birthday and visiting my BFF in Savannah with Harper.

 Easter 2013

 Harper and cousin Hope

One month update

Hello readers! Okay, so we're two weeks past the one-month mark, but you'll just have to forgive me. It's hard to find time to blog!

It's REALLY hard to believe I physically gave birth to a baby. It's harder to believe my sweet baby Harper is six weeks old and that I'm already back to work. She had her monthly check-up on Valentine's day. She's 23 inches long (97th percentile) and 8 lbs 15 oz (25th-50th percentile.) The doctor is pleased with her progress and says she looks and sounds great!

I have had a lot of moms ask what I took to the hospital. Here it is!

Find out from your OB how many nights they anticipate you being there. (I was in the hospital for three nights.) This makes the packing of clothing so much easier. The clothes that you do pack should be loose and easy to take on/off. I packed yoga pants, tank tops, and zip up hoodies. My mom also got me an awesome "birthing gown" that I wore all day the day after Harper was born. I highly recommend that. It's much cuter, softer, and more comfortable than a hospital gown, plus you can detach the shoulder straps for easy breast feeding. (http://www.birthingown.com/)
Don't worry about underwear! The hospital will provide you with these huge, netted granny panties to hold in the huge maxi-pads and ice packs you'll be using. Having a c-section? You'll still want to use those hospital panties as you'll still experience a lot of bleeding after delivery. (Something no one mentions.)
Also (for you breast feeding mamas) buy a few nursing bras to bring with you. They are fantastic! My favorites are from Target and they're wireless and feel like a sports bra. They're the kind with the front panel that you can snap on and off. SO highly recommend this! 

* Shampoo/Conditioner - yes, the hospital will give you some if you forget, but it's really cheap, crappy stuff.
* Soap - again, they'll provide it but it's really cheap, crappy stuff.
* Lotion - your body and hands will be SO dry, so pack your favorite lotion!
* Chapstick - again with the dryness - you'll definitely want this.
* Toothbrush and toothpaste
* Make-up removing wipes - not just for make-up removal! I love these if I don't feel like washing my face, and trust me, you probably won't want to.
* Camera
* Phone/camera chargers - no need to explain this one.
* Prenatal vitamins - the hospital won't provide you with these, so bring your own if you're planning on breast feeding.
* Slippers (or socks) with rubber bottoms - for walking around on those slick floors.
* Tucks hemmorhoid pads or Dermoplast - I brought both of these but didn't use them since the hospital (unexpectedly) gave me Epifoam. Epifoam was wonderful - it was numbing, cool, and had a steroid in it to reduce swelling. Ask for a few extras to take home! I did end up using the pads and Dermoplast once I ran out of epifoam though. Definitely bring it with you in case your hospital doesn't provide an alternative!
* Straightener, hair dryer, or usual styling products - If you're in the hospital a few days after giving birth and you're expecting company it's really nice to be able to style your hair. It made me feel more human, anyway.
* Coming home outfit for baby

I realize I'm no longer pregnant, but I'm still going to post my (slightly modified) survey. 

Age: Six weeks

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Heaviest weight: 150 pounds at 39 weeks

Current weight: 123 pounds. I have not worked out yet, but according to multiple sources the reason for the weight loss is due to all of the calories you burn while breast feeding. I've dropped eighteen pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I can't fit into my pre-pregnancy pants because my hips widened so much, plus the skin around my midsection is still kind of loose from being stretched so tight. (Gross.) Hopefully, once I start P90X it will tighten back up!

Maternity clothes or regular clothes: Both. I am still wearing maternity jeans because none of my pants fit yet.

Stretch marks: Yup. They all occurred right around my belly button. They should fade with time though.

Diet: I have lovingly welcomed sugar and carbs back into my life! Since I was on a restricted diet the last trimester I still find myself thinking about food choices a little more than I would have before I was pregnant. 

Recovery notes: I went to the doctor last week and she said my progress was great. I'm almost healed - still have a stitch in place from the episiotomy, but it's painless. (By the way, it took about two weeks post-delivery to feel pain-free down below.) 

Belly button in or out? I'm back to having an innie!

Wedding rings on or off? On. Hands never swelled!

Moody or not moody? Pretty emotional. Post-partum  hormones are no joke. I just cry at everything!

Looking forward to: Any time off of work and watching my baby bear grow!

Also, I did not have time to make a one-month board. So instead, enjoy this photo montage.

It's a....

G I R L ! !

Harper Adelle Roberts was born on January 14, 2013 at 12:15 PM. She weighed exactly seven pounds and is 21.5 inches long. 


This is going to be a long post because I will be writing about my birth story. If you don't care to read about it, scroll until you see pictures!

Last Sunday, the 13th, we went to church and then lounged around the house watching the Falcons' play-off game. As expected, the hospital called us and asked if a 4:30 check-in time would be okay. We told them we'd be a little later than 4:30, but didn't disclose that it was because we were watching football. Luckily, they were just fine with it. (Honestly, I was surprised I didn't go into labor because of that game.) We had our bags packed and ready to go the night before, so we piled them in the kitchen so we weren't rushing around at the last minute. I wanted to feel as calm and prepped as possible because I was really afraid of this huge life changing event that was about to take place. I was pretty emotional, having a few crying spells throughout the day. I felt guilty leaving the cat all alone for three and a half days, so I made sure to cuddle with him and tell him how much I love him. Crazy cat lady in the making. I wear that badge proudly. After the game we went to Rhea's for our last meal out as a couple without a baby. (Best burger in Roswell!)

We got to the hospital around 5:30 and were greeted with a lobby full of pregnant ladies and their husbands all wearing Falcons gear. I guess we all had the same idea! I was extremely nervous and when they called us back I felt like there was a huge weight on my chest. I was shaky and pretty close to tears. The nurse brought us into the delivery room and told me to go ahead and strip down to a hospital gown and she'd be back to explain everything and answer our questions. Once that was done I settled into the hospital bed and answered a very long list of questions and signed a ton of papers. My vitals were taken (BP was 135/90 due to anxiety!), I was hooked up to a fetal monitor to watch for contractions and fetal heartbeat, and the nurse explained how everything would work. Basically, she was going to vaginally insert the Cervidil patch and that would pretty much be it until morning. In the morning they would be starting the Pitocin drip to begin labor. Turns out I had all that anxiety for nothing and I started to relax. I was most concerned about how the Cervidil would make me feel. Plus, I had a strong, nagging feeling that I'd go into labor because of the Cervidil. I had heard it could trigger strong contractions and start the dilation and labor process, but that it was pretty rare. My nurse said I may feel some minor contractions but it would not start labor. I tried to pry more information out of her - mostly I wanted to know  what symptoms to look for if I suspected labor had begun. She told me if for some reason I felt contractions and they were painful I could have a shot of Morphine and Phenergan. The only rule was that I had to lay down for the first two hours after it was in. After that I could only get up to use the bathroom. (As expected, about 20 minutes after it was in I had to go REALLY badly...so that was a long two hours.) The Cervidil was in at 7:50 PM, but the placement was so painful it drove me to tears. Harper's head was very low and the nurse had trouble finding my cervix because of that. Luckily she was as gentle and understanding as possible, but it was still excruciating.  After the first hour I started feeling crampy. We were following the little graph on the fetal monitor and it showed that I was having minor contractions about every 8-10 minutes. They weren't too strong and just felt like period cramps. After the initial two hours were up we expected them to come in and check on us but no one did. By then I was having contractions pretty regularly - they had started at ten minutes apart, then dropped to eight, then dropped to five, and finally I was having them two to three minutes apart. They weren't horribly painful, but they were definitely getting stronger and I had to grip the bed rails at one point. We gave it another 45 minutes or so and then paged the nurse. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be having such regular contractions and wanted to make sure I wasn't starting to go into real labor. A different nurse came in to see what was up. Turns out the woman in the room across the hall was in active labor and she and the baby were in distress which is why no one had been in to check on us. The nurse acted very irritated to be in my room answering my questions and said she'd do a dilation check if it "made me feel better." (Um, yeah. It would make me feel tons better knowing if I may or may not be in real labor.) She was very rough and gave up pretty quickly saying she couldn't find my cervix and asked if I'd rather someone else come in to try. (I'm making her sound much nicer than she actually was, by the way.) Our original nurse came in and checked (again, painful and brought me to tears) and told me I had actually dilated one centimeter, but there was no cause for concern about being in labor. Still, a good sign for the next morning! She said I was welcome to get up and use the bathroom if I needed to, and I had until midnight to eat something if I was hungry. She ordered that shot of morphine and phenergan I mentioned earlier, since the contractions were stronger than expected. The next hour or so was pretty nice. Taylor brought me McDonald's chicken nuggets and I enjoyed my morphine high. The contractions slowed down due to the medication and we popped in a movie and settled in to sleep. Another hour later I was wide awake (this was about 12:30 AM) and the contractions had come back every three to five minutes. A different nurse came in and gave me 5mg of Ambien. It didn't work, so at 1:30 AM she gave me another 5 mg. In hindsight, the Ambien was a pretty terrible idea. I never actually got to sleep and felt really loopy. Every time I'd nod off a contraction would hit and I'd be up again. Except I wasn't all the way awake - I was in some weird "twilight" state of mind because of the drugs. I think I did eventually fall asleep but not for long. (Later I found out I was texting all kinds of people at 4:30 AM and making no sense at all...and I really have no memory of this.) 

I don't remember everything that happened next in detail, because of the Ambien effects - a lot of this story was told to me later by Taylor, my mom, and my mother-in-law.

 Around 6 AM I was woken up by a new nurse who came in to ask if I wanted an enema. Now, as disgusting as the concept of an enema is I definitely wanted one in order to save myself the embarrassment of possibly pooping on the delivery table. Sorry if that's TMI, but that's why they offer one to you. The enema wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - it was no walk in the park, but it wasn't painful. I showered after that and they checked me for dilation progress - still one CM. They decided to hold off on the Pitocin since I was already having contractions and starting to dilate on my own. At 8:30 the nurse and a mid-wife came back to check again since my contractions were getting to be pretty painful and uncomfortable. I was 5 CM dilated! No wonder! They decided to break my water and called the anesthesiologist for the epidural because I was progressing so quickly. In the meantime they administered pain medication directly into my IV to take the edge off of the contractions. I'm pretty sure it really didn't do any good by that point.
The difference in contraction pain after your water is broken versus before it is broken is crazy. I thought they were bad before...but once they hit after they broke my water it was almost unbearable. No no, it WAS unbearable. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I was white-knuckling the bed rails. I'm pretty sure I was yelling in pain and cursing and everyone was trying to get me to calm down and breathe through them. It's a lot harder to breathe through a very strong contraction than it sounds. Once the anesthesiologist came in I had to sit up for the epidural. NOT fun. I thought I was in the most pain possible while laying down, but sitting up was a whole new ball game. I'm not sure what exactly happened during the epidural process but all I knew was I felt a prick in my back and my next memory is of me lying back down and starting to feel tingly from my chest down to my toes. I think this is when my mom and Taylor's mom came in to see how I was. Maybe. Apparently I was in and out of sleep after the epidural. It really does numb your entire body to the point of no pain! Plus you can't really move on your own. And FYI, you will get a catheter if you opt for an epidural. The only thing I felt after the epidural hit was pressure, but it was not painful at all. Thank goodness! I did feel like I needed to push when the pressure would hit and I verbalized this to my nurse but was advised to hold off for a while longer. 
At 10:30 a nurse performed another pelvic check - I was 8-9 CM! They said they'd be back in an hour and that would be when the pushing would start. I have no idea what went on during that hour except that I'm pretty sure I was in and out of sleep and I do recall the nurse turning me from one side to another every so often because of the baby's heart rate. 
The doctor came in about noon-ish and it was go time. We sent my mom and and Taylor's mom to the lobby to wait with my dad and sister. During the pushing process Taylor was on my left holding my hand (facing me) and the nurse was on my right side. The way it works is you push three times for ten seconds during a contraction. It was easy to tell when I was having one because of the pressure, so I didn't really have to wait for them to tell me to do it.  I'll spare you the pushing details, but I only pushed for about fifteen minutes all together. On the final push (I think) the doctor ended up performing an episiotomy. It was only a second degree cut though. Could have been worse! 

It was a complete surprise when the nurse announced that we had a baby girl! We had completely convinced ourselves over the past few weeks that we were having a boy.
Taylor went and checked her out while I got stitched up. He told me she had dark curly hair and that she was beautiful. I patiently waited for them to finish cleaning her up. They finally brought her over to me to hold for the first time. It was such a surreal experience! I had carried her for nine months and in a matter of six hours I went from being pregnant to holding my first baby. I have a daughter! 

We were moved to a permanent room upstairs in the women's center of the hospital and that is where we stayed until Wednesday. We did not get a lot of sleep or get a chance to establish a feeding schedule because of the constant stream of nurses, medical techs, lactation consultants, and doctors coming in and out to check on us multiple times per day and night. They continued to monitor my glucose levels four times per day, but I was no longer having the high readings that I had during pregnancy. No more diabetes! 

That is pretty much it! We are home now, attempting to establish a permanent schedule and trying to get sweet Harper to reverse her days and nights - she has them mixed up, but apparently this is completely normal. I'm biased, but she is such a good baby and she is just gorgeous. We are such lucky and proud parents. It will be so so hard to go back to work in four weeks. I love her SO much!

Oh! We've had a lot of questions about how we came up with her name. Honestly, I had heard the name Harper years ago and thought it was a very pretty, feminine, and traditional name and it always stuck with me. We also wanted a name that not everyone is using right now. Luckily, no one I know or Taylor knows has used the name Harper at all. Adelle is a family name on my mother's side (also my middle name) that goes back many generations. (We did NOT choose Adelle because of that horrendous singer, FYI. It's not even spelled the same!)

I'll leave you with some photos of us and the baby.

Hospital time

Friday was my last day of work for the next six weeks. Took a photo to show you how I've had to sit since my ankles started swelling.

Today's the day. We got the call to check into Northside at 4:30 this afternoon. Our hospital bags are packed and ready to go. I hope they'll give me something to reduce my anxiety - can't wait to see what my blood pressure reading is! Tonight it's just Cervidil placement to soften my cervix...and I'll get an Ambien to help me sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll get Pitocin to begin labor. Hopefully by this time tomorrow baby bear will be here! I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and well-wishes! It truly means a lot.

Friday night we did not go to Scalini's. It was rainy and dark and we didn't feel like making the drive all the way into Smyrna. However, we did go to Provino's after discovering they are owned by the same people that own Scalini's AND they use the same eggplant parmesan recipe. Plus, it was less than a mile from the house. Win-win! It was SO GOOD!  I would definitely order that dish again, pregnant or not. It did not send me into labor, though. Still a fun date night experience.

Yesterday my mom took me out to breakfast and to Target for last-minute things. I got to indulge my craving for a biscuit from The Spot with butter and grape jelly! I also got my hair highlighted and trimmed. We cleaned the house again...you know, nesting. And finally, my dad took us to dinner at Macaroni Grill and then we had ice cream from Cold Stone. All in all a very good weekend.

My dad gave me two more charms for my Brighton bracelet. One is a baby carriage and the other is baby bear's birth stone - a garnet!

The nursery is complete, minus the giraffe canvas image and our project from Hobby Lobby. I won't post any photos until those are up, but I am really proud of everything we've done!

I am really going to miss Heyward while we're in the hospital. He's been such a sweet snuggler lately and he knows since the bags are packed it means something is about to happen.

He wants to remind us to take him with us! Such a sweetie!!

I'll leave you with our final pregnancy chalkboard photo. (Today is the first playoff game for the Falcons, so we had to add a little something to commemorate that.)

How far along: 39 weeks

Trimester: Third

Pre-pregnancy weight: 141 pounds

Current weight: 148 pounds (Not sure how much I've gained since Monday, so I'm leaving it the same for now.)

Maternity clothes: This will be my last day wearing them.

Stretch marks: Just the one on my hip and the few small ones around my belly button.

Best moment of the week: This whole weekend was pretty great.

Movement: Still pretty active!

Food Cravings: #1 from Rhea's with a side of fries. And THAT is what we're going to get on the way to the hospital!  

Anything making you queasy or sick? No. Unless you count anxiety. 

Miss anything? No.

Other symptoms: Just the usual heartburn, back and hip pain, frequent bathroom trips, and ankle swelling.  

Have you started to show yet? Yes.

Sex: We will find out tomorrow!

Labor Signs: Nothing overly obvious to me. 

Belly button in or out? Out.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Moody or not moody? Emotional.

Looking forward to: Meeting the baby tomorrow!