Naptime

I really thought that my nap time days were over years ago. Then I got pregnant and I napped pretty much every day, as it was impossible not to. And while Aubrey keeps me pretty busy most of the day catering to her every whim ;), we do still have a little nap time built into the afternoon. I love these moments SO much.

She's such a warm little snuggle muffin, and she just curls right up in the crook of my arm like that's right where she belongs. I think she's right... besides, I can't imagine anything at all that I would rather be doing.

Playdate with Emma!

This weekend Aubrey and Emma got to hang out together for the first time. Does it look like they're having fun? LOL

Emma is Steve and Jamie's little girl, and was born March 5, 2010... almost exactly 3 months before Aubrey. I feel sure the older they get, the more fun playing together they'll have, haha!

Proud Daddies with each others' babies :) These guys have been friends with each other for like 15 years... it was a really special thing, this little get together. :)

Steve with Aubrey

I left the Daddies babysitting while I ran to the grocery store and this is what I came back to... too funny!

Me, Aubrey, and Emma :)

Hanging out on the couch together!

Mommy likes to take pictures...

It must be her squishy little cheeks, or maybe her downy, feathery hair... possibly the delicate little eyelashes, or her delicious little toes. Sometimes it's just the way the light catches her sweet face, or just a moment in time with Daddy that I want to capture.

I'm not quite sure what possesses me to take zillions of pictures of her, but I just can't help myself. Here are some of my favorites from the first month.

Jerry's First Father's Day!

June 20, 2010

Originally Aubrey's due date was June 19th, then at some point during my pregnancy, it got bumped up to June 15th. In any case, Jerry joked that she should come a little early so he could squeeze in his first Father's Day this year. Well, since I was induced on June 3rd, there was more than enough cushion for him to get his wish! I must say I might have enjoyed this day for him just as much as he did! :)

gifts and cards from Mommy, aubrey & Tina

Aubrey all dressed up in her "I Love Daddy" outfit for Father's Day!

pretty little girl!

I made Jerry's favorite dinner: 

My famous fried chicken with cream gravy, 

green beans with bacon, 

and twice baked potatoes. 

He was a pretty happy guy!! :)

Happy first Father's Day to my love... I'm so happy that we had such a special reason to celebrate!!

Aubrey June meets Granny June!

As I've mentioned before, Aubrey's middle name comes from Jerry's favorite Grandma, Reba June Clark. I know that Granny June will be just as special to little Aubrey as she was to Jerry growing up! Even though Granny couldn't make it to the birth (since it was kind of short notice, etc.), she came in the following weekend and got to meet our little angel! They were just so cute together... :)

Giving Aubrey her first bath!

Well, as I'm still working on getting things caught up on the ol' baby blog here, things are still a little bit out of date, but better to be late than never, I say!

Aubrey's little umbilical cord stump fell off on day 8, so we decided to give her her first at-home bath over the weekend. At first, she didn't seem to like it, but she sure was cute in her little froggy towel!

I have to apologize for the poor photo quality... with things so nuts and unorganized, it seems the easier option is always to grab the ol' cell phone camera. I promise we'll get better! Or else I'll have to get a better phone, LOL!

Going home...

After 2 nights in the hospital, they sent us home. Boy, was I ready! I don't know if this is "normal" or not, but I was feeling good, not having any soreness, and definitely going stir crazy in that hospital room. Everyone keeps telling me it wasn't the norm, but I'm thankful things post-delivery went so well... especially given my not-so-easy pregnancy. :) 

Even with the awesome view... (I felt more like I was staying in a resort than at the hospital with my little lakefront view and the cute little gazeebo outside, LOL) I was ready to get out and get going.

More than anything, Jerry and I were both looking forward to getting back to our own bed. Since I hadn't been sleeping and had been so uncomfortable for the past several weeks, I especially was looking forward to reconnecting with my old friend, the bed. LOL

Riding in the wheelchair to meet "Daddy" at the front door with the car:

Already loving those car rides... she sacks out every time! 

Of course, you know I just had to ride in the back seat with her... and Daddy was driving slow and careful on the back roads going home. No I-45 for this new family!! LOL

Hanging out at home the first day:

(being held by Uncle Dylan)

(snuggling in bed with Daddy)

(snuggling with Mommy in the glider)

(sleeping in the bassinet for the first time)

I don't think I will ever forget that first night. Jerry jumped up every time he heard Aubrey squeak or grunt or anything. It was like a shot out of a gun, LOL. She was pretty good for the most part, but we were up 3 or 4 times that night. I also remember snuggling with her in bed that first night before we put her down... we watched "Legends of the Fall" on DVD b/c we had caught the end of it on TV at the hospital. What a strange thing to remember, haha!

Hospital, Day 2

After the delivery, for the most part the remainder of our stay was just a bunch of sitting around. Especially for me. But because my blood pressure was still up and down, they decided to keep us an extra night to monitor me. But we do have some pictures from that 2nd day to share...

Aubrey's first checkup:

Getting "hospital-issue" newborn photos taken:

And just some hanging out:

(snuggling with Daddy at the hospital)

It's impossible not to take hundreds of pictures... LOL There's no way I could put them all up here, but these are some of my favorites. :)

The Birth Day

Well, it's no secret that I've been a little busy and have failed to maintain my blog. I have tons of stuff to post, and I think it's about time I get to updating!

So, June 3rd was my scheduled induction. After a visit with the OBGYN on the 1st and a high blood pressure reading, he decided it was time for Miss Aubrey to make her debut.

We arrived at the hospital at 6am, ready for the big day. As odd as it was to have this all planned and scheduled, it was really nice to have time to plan, have enough notice so my family could get into town, make sure everything was ready, and even get a shower before we headed in.

After checking in, I was settled in my room and getting hooked up to the monitors by 6:30. After I was all hooked up, the nurse told me I had had already had contractions registering 3 minutes apart... Apparently, I had already been having contractions and didn't even realize it!

The plan was to go all natural for the birth, and knowing I had already been having contractions without really feeling them was definitely encouraging. They started me on the pitocin to get things moving along, as my blood pressure was still pretty high. Doc came in and broke my water around 7:30am and we were well underway.

Jerry rubbed my back during every contraction and brought me all the ice I could want, he was a great coach and totally supportive. I could not have asked for a better partner in this!! Needless to say, all things considered, I was still feeling pretty optimistic about the whole natural birth thing.

(J rubbing my back through the contractions)

About 5 hours in, I was really starting to be in pain. I agreed to let them give me some medicine in the IV but was still resisting the epidural. (What can I say, I'm stubborn.) Let's just say the medicine sucked. It wasn't so much "pain" medication like they told me, as a sedative. So there I was, essentially sedated and "sleeping" but still feeling EVERYTHING. Not so much help. When it finally wore off, and I was reaching my 7th hour of labor, I practically demanded the epidural. LOL

I was in pain, pain like I've never felt before. I was shaking and breathing heavy and quite frankly, it scared the heck out of me. I knew that if I didn't take the epi that there was no way I was going to make it to the end in one piece... and neither would anyone around me. haha! The epidural itself was pretty awful. It certainly didn't help that the anesthesiologist was a freakin' jerk and on his cell phone the whole time. Believe me- he got some rude, snotty comments from me regarding his cell phone usage. (And then I reported him to the hospital administrator post-delivery. Jackass.) It's a good thing they made Jerry leave the room for the epi because I feel sure he would have kicked that guys ass. What unprofessional behavior on his part, not to mention the fact that his distraction was at my expense.

Anyway, with the epidural in place and a clicker in my hand to administer more medicine as I needed it, I was feeling much better. No longer drowsy, but in much much less pain. 'Round about the 10th hour of labor, it was getting close to pushing time. The nurse didn't even have to tell me I was ready, because I could feel it. No pain still, but I could tell she was ready and was bearing down to come out. I pushed for about 4 contractions and out came our beautiful baby girl!! (4:47 pm)

Jerry cut the cord and they proceeded to clean her up and get her vitals. She weighed in at 8lb. 3.9oz. and measured 21 inches long. We heard her cry for the first time and both burst into tears! Here's some pictures of us holding her for the first time!

So... After everyone had a chance to come in to meet her, the baby nurse came in to give her her first bath.

(some of these pictures have poor quality... but I've been collecting them from several different people, so they're all different.)

What was really cool about the way the hospital set up the birthing center was that everything was done right in our room.  Labor, delivery, all the baby checking, cleaning up, and our whole stay was in the same suite. It was pretty nice to be able to settle in- and to not have them grabbing the baby and taking her away all the time. She was always right there with us day and night. :)

(one of the nurses made us a special hat with a bow on it since she's a girl! SO sweet & so cute!)

So that was pretty much our first day with Aubrey! It was a roller coaster, and one of the coolest and most emotional experiences I've ever had. Maybe I was just lucky, I don't know, but it was not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, for sure. :)