Time for cluster posting!

So I haven't been great about updating this. I know. I would like to blame it on Amy, but of course it's not completely her fault. :)

We finally got internet in our apartment two weeks ago (and promptly had to get it fixed, because something was wrong with the wiring and the first guy didn't do anything about it). It's running well now, and at the speed it's supposed to instead of more than 3 times slower.

The only downside to this is that now I have unlimited access to the internet! It's great for email, keeping up to date with stuff, finding recipes....but I don't have great self-control, especially when I would rather be doing something fun, like playing online, rather than doing something awful, like cleaning. I'm working on it, but my willpower just...isn't really there.

Rather than posting a huge long update that would take forever to read, I'm going to post several short ones. Much easier that way. Plus, then I can put up more pictures.

Nothing but pictures!

The three of us:

Amy and me:

Amy was sleeping here. She's decided she likes grabbing my wedding ring (which still can't fit on my finger):

Big yawn for such a tiny girl!

The three of us on her blessing day:

Oh, goodness.

Well, it's been over a month since I posted. Amazing how TIRED I am all the time. I sleep when I can, but it seems like the sleep issues I've had for years are only exacerbated now. Not fun. But all in all, things are progressing quite well. I think I'm adapting well to life as a stay-at-home mom. I enjoy it (most of the time), and I'm glad things are working out so that I don't have to go back to work. It's so much fun to be with Amy and to watch her learning and getting bigger. It really seems these days like you can actually see the wheels turning. She just loves watching things and stares, like, "I can't figure you out yet....but I'm gonna!" She's getting so much stronger, too! She loves standing up, and her legs are strong enough that I don't really even have to help her much. Her neck muscles have also gotten stronger, so she has pretty good control of her head, too. It seems like she's eager to be moving, she gets pretty frustrated when she realizes she's 'stuck' somewhere. Poor kid.

She's starting to coo a little more now, which is cute. And she turned over a few days ago without any help! We were having some playtime, so I was down next to her on the floor. She looked over at me at seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something, and next thing I know, she just flipped over onto her back and gave me a huge grin! It was so adorable!

Amy is a little over two months now, so here are some pictures.

Just because I want to, here's a progression from newborn to now (or rather, now to newborn, since for some reason it isn't letting me copy/paste the pictures):

I think since I'm having such a difficult time with the pictures, I'll make a new post with more pictures.

Quick update

Amy is almost a month old now! Holy cow! It's hard to believe. She's grown so much already. The first few weeks of her life have gone well. She had a bit of jaundice and dropped enough weight at first to worry the pediatrician, but she's made up for it and now weighs 7 1/2 pounds. She is such a sweet girl! Granted, we definitely have our little battles with Ms. Crankypants, but by and large she is a very happy, mellow baby. She already sleeps 5-6 hours solid during the night, which I certainly appreciate. She enjoys tummy time and tries so hard to scoot herself around, but she hasn't quite gotten the hang of bracing her feet against the floor. She seems much happier when Brett helps to brace her feet against his hands, and she'll push off like a champ!

I'm also doing well. My recovery has been remarkably easy, for the most part. I did have a uterine infection and so was on antibiotics for a while, but that's over and done with now. It's taking quite a bit of adjusting to get used to taking care of a newborn 24/7! She just loves being held and will cry frequently if I put her down. We're trying to come to a compromise so that mom and baby can be happy (and I can actually get stuff done!). I'm tired a lot, but that's to be expected. One would think that being mostly nocturnal and having spent most of my life sleep deprived, that I would be used to this, but alas....it was not meant to be. Fortunately I get to nap on a regular basis.

I am starting to notice that I'm not feeling...quite myself. I know it's normal to get the "baby blues," and I have to say....I've got them. I can't really pinpoint it, but I'm just....not quite happy. I love Amy, and I love being with her and holding her and cuddling her, but I just don't feel normal. I've been really bummed all day today, and I can't put my finger on a reason why. I just try to keep in mind that it's normal, that it'll pass, and remind myself not to take it out on my poor husband. Hopefully this won't last long. I don't like being unhappy.

Wow! I am officially a mom!

I had an appointment on Monday, Aug. 2nd at the Perinatal Center at my hospital to do some routine testing since Nugget was technically overdue. They did a non-stress test, but she wasn't moving around a lot, so they took me into another room for a biophysical profile, which uses the ultrasound machine. She was moving a little bit more, but the nurse noticed that her heartbeat was irregular. They also measured my amniotic fluid level, and it was fairly low. So they moved me into another room where they did a bigger ultrasound to recheck the fluid levels and take a closer look at Amy's heart. This whole process took about two hours.

Finally the doctor in the Perinatal Center came in and explained to me what they'd seen, and that he was going to call my OB, Dr. Whalen, to recommend that I be induced that night as he didn't feel comfortable sending me home with such a low level of fluids. Dr. Whalen agreed with him, so I was taken straight up to labor & delivery. This was quite unexpected! I knew I'd be having the baby soon, but I didn't think it was going to be then! I made several phone calls while I was waiting for transport to take me upstairs, so Brett left work to grab the bag and our parents knew what was going on.

I have to admit, it was kind of scary. Granted, I was going to be induced Wednesday night, but I'd prepared myself for that, not Monday! I don't like that kind of surprise! I also felt bad because I hadn't gotten the laundry done that morning. Silly, maybe, when I was about to have a baby, but I'd intended to do all the laundry and make some cookies that day, and it just didn't happen.

Once I got upstairs, they hooked me up to two monitors--one to monitor my contractions (or rather, lack thereof), and one to monitor Nugget's heartbeat. They started an IV and ran some fluids, and I just kind of hung out for a while. Brett got there shortly thereafter (with a contraband milkshake and a parfait for me, bless him!). A little bit later they came in to administer Cervadil, which is a gel that is intended to help the cervix soften and dilate, which helps to bring on contractions. They leave it in for 12 hours.

Yeah....that didn't work. I was kind of bitter, I really had not wanted Pitocin. I had hoped to labor without an epidural, and I pretty much knew that if I got Pitocin, my contractions would be bad enough that I would need one. I'm proud to say that I managed to labor for eight hours on Pitocin without any drugs, but finally they were intense enough that I asked for some pain meds. I took a shot of Stadol first....wow. I will NEVER take that drug again. I felt so high! The nurse had warned me I would feel loopy, but I hadn't expected it to be that bad! The funny part was that I was with it just enough to realize how out of it I was! We'd called Scott, my brother-in-law, to come up and help Brett give me a blessing. When he got to the hospital, I remember telling him I wanted him to tell my mom about a dream I'd had on the drug. I'd dreamt about purple cows hopping around in a pasture, and cows always remind me of my mom because she likes cows.

Once the Stadol wore off (thankfully), I decided to get the epidural. I actually ended up getting two of them because the first one wasn't numbing my right side no matter how long I laid on that side! It just wasn't happening! Still, I got a lot of relief, so I was able to relax. Thank goodness. Mom came up to the hospital around 8:30pm. I was still only dilated to a 6, and I had been progressing very slowly. Dr. Whalen told us that if I hadn't progressed in the next hour, we would have to have a C-section. (He'd broken my water earlier that day.) Well, I guess Nugget just needed to be threatened a little bit! Around 9:00 I started feeling some pressure, and by 9:30 I told the nurse I was feeling a LOT of pressure. 20 minutes later, I started feeling the urge to push. She had me do a little test push to see if she needed to help me labor before calling the doctor, and...nope. I was good. Dr. Whalen arrived five minutes later. After only seven minutes of pushing, Amy Rebekah arrived at 10:02 pm.

The three of us just after Amy was born:

Amy weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long, with a full head of hair!

Brett, the proud new dad:

Our adorable little nugget of a girl:

The happy new family at home (yes, we're big Penguins fans, and yes, Amy is wrapped in a Terrible Towel):

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my 24th birthday. We had a lot of fun hanging out this afternoon with Mom, Heather, and Kristin & her family. I just think my family is so much fun! I'm really glad I've gotten to the point in my life where I actually enjoy spending time with my family, rather than feeling like it's a chore or an obligation. I have to say that by this point, I think I have one of the coolest families ever! I know none of us is perfect, but I really love my family. I feel so blessed to be able to be part of the families that I am. I know my 'arrival' to the Johnson family wasn't necessarily traditional, but I've always felt welcome and loved. And I'm so fortunate to have the in-laws that I do. I really love Brett's family. I was always sort of...apprehensive about what in-laws I'd get "stuck with", but Brett has such a cool family, too! I enjoy and look forward to the times I get to spend with both sides of my family. Hopefully eventually Amy will feel the same way!

Speaking of the little Nugget, she's still baking away. I'm technically overdue now, but that's okay, really. I've got a non-stress test on Monday to make sure she's still doing all right, and then we've got an induction scheduled for Wednesday evening. So keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Surreality

In looking back over my life, I've noticed something of a trend. I've had so many big changes in my life, both good and bad. Every time something changes, there's sort of a surreal feeling about it, often for a good long time. Like when Brett and I were married, it seemed really unreal for probably over a year. Like....wow. Am I really married?

I've really been noticing this lately. It's kind of hard to deny that I'm pregnant since it affects every aspect of my life. But it's still so difficult to wrap my head around the idea that I'm going to be a mom any day now. I know it's happening, but it just...doesn't quite seem real. I think it's my brain's way of adjusting to the changes, especially since they are such huge changes, like it takes some time to get used to. But it always sort of throws me off. Hm.

Just as an added bonus (sort of), here's a picture of me today at 39 weeks and 2 days. And yes, I look really tired. I don't think I have any makeup on.