Pictures from our first week.

So here are some pictures from our first week together as a family of three. It's been so great! These aren't really in order..but it's late..and we're creeping in on bedtime/dinner time...so they'll stay out of order.

Here he is after his first bath in the nursery..a whole hour old.
His precious little foot after his footprint was taken.
Our first picture.
Right after he was warm..while he was in the bun warmer.
Maybe my favorite picture...right after he was born when they let me hold him for the first time.
I love this picture.
Noah and Grammy.
I carried him for 9 months, I feed him every 2-3 hours, I love him more than I can even put words to - so he peed on me when I gave him his first bath at home. That's love for you. Marking his territory on mama.
Before he gave me his own type of bath.
Caught him dreaming. Precious.
With daddy. He LOVES his daddy! I love these two..so stinking much.
With mama.
On his sweet blanket Grammy had made for him in his sweet outfit from Aunt Sarah.
Love that there are three of us now.
:)

Oh and we have a porker on our hands. The little guy left the hospital at 7lb14oz. His birth weight was 8lb7oz. We went to the pediatrician on Tuesday and he was back to 8lb8oz. That's 1oz in 4 days. That'a boy!

Have a great week!

He's perfect.

WARNING: Long winded.

So our little man arrived, a week ago now, and it was perfect. Brad and I were so thankful for how it went, it absolutely was better than I even expected..and in the end we had this perfect little man in our life.

Last Monday (Valentine's Day) I woke up at 6:30 ready to go for the day. I wanted to get all the last minute finishing touches completed before we went to the hospital that night to be induced. On Sunday I thought that I was starting contractions too, so I wanted to make sure everything was done..just in case.

Well I took my sweet time getting moving that morning, and at 7:30 I felt like my water broke. I figured there was no way that was true but I went to wake up Brad anyways. After that I called Sarah who said that I better get a move on calling the doctor. We did and they wanted us to come to the office right away. We headed that way and by 9:45 were told to head to the hospital. Thankfully we had brought everything with us since we were pretty certain it really was my water that broke.

Once at the hospital, I wasn't in active labor, so we had time to get settled and just relax together for a few minutes. Because my water had broken, they had me on the fetal monitor the whole time rather than intermittently. I was surprised by that, because I thought I would be able to walk around. At one point I asked if I could walk, but the nurse was concerned that Noah's heart rate had maybe dropped and didn't want me to walk until we were sure that wasn't real. So we watched a while, and while we were waiting Dr. Garza came in. He said Noah's heart rate was great but wanted to start pitocin if we were ok with that because the longer it took for Noah to come, the higher the risk for infection for both of us. I said we were all about anything to make this baby boy safe. They let me hop in the shower and walk around the room for a few minutes and then started the pitocin. At this point my contractions had just started to get more intense.

We continued along, with those contractions getting more and more intense until around 5:30 when I told the nurse I thought we would be heading towards an epidural. I had decided that despite my fear of an epidural and all that could go wrong with that, I was more frustrated that I had to go to the bathroom every two minutes and that alone was reason for me. Plus..the contractions were getting worse..and I was only 3cm dilated. We got the epidural at 7:15..and that was amazing. I was a little disappointed that I didn't make it all the way without the epidural, but it was definitely the best decision for us. When they checked me again at 9:30 I was still only 3 cm dilated..and I was SO thankful we had decided on the epidural because I thought that labor might keep going forever.

But then..at 12:30 our nurse came to check, and we were ready to push. I couldn't believe it at all. I had to wake Brad up again, this time to tell him we were about to push and welcome our child into the world. We started pushing at 1:15 and Noah entered the world at 3:05. So it took almost two hours but it was so awesome!

Our nurse was fantastic, we were so thankful for her. Our doctor was amazing. He was so calm and he made the experience so special. After Noah came and before the doctor left, he prayed with us over Noah. That was amazing.

I have to brag about Brad...he was so amazing. He knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He made the experience so special for us. When we were pushing at the end I was getting tired, and Brad took over the coaching. He was so encouraging and tough all at the same time and I just felt so protected with him there. He's such a natural daddy.

So Noah came, and we were so amazed. We both immediately cried like babies by the way. :)

The last week has been phenomenal. We are getting to know this little man. He is peaceful and sweet. He really is, thus far, an INCREDIBLY content baby. We are so blessed. We have actually been able to rest, not a lot, but more than expected at this point. Brad's parents were here with us until Sunday, and Mom has been here since the day he was born. Dad gets in on Saturday...we can't wait! We have been so very thankful for our parents and their help. It has been amazing to have their support. Mom stayed up with Noah one night while I slept. I woke up to nurse, but other than that I was able to rest. It was amazing. One night we did stay up most of the night, Noah and I, and Brad informed me he expected me to take a nap. Well pretty much as soon as Noah had eaten and Mom was awake I went and took a 3 hour nap. It was amazing. Mom then cleaned our whole house. She's so awesome.

Anyways..we're in L-O-V-E!!! Sorry for the long post...it had been quite awhile! We'll work on getting updates more frequently now! Pictures to follow!

It's Official!!! Noah's here!

Only time for a quick short update! But promise a great update soon!

Noah Bradley Allison arrived this morning at 3:05am. He is PERFECT!
8lb. 7oz. 21.5" long.

We're totally in LOVE!

Here's just a sneak peak!

Here he is after his bath just hanging out snoozing,
Our first family picture as a family of three!

Post #199 = DUE DATE!!!

Yep. It's here. We arrived to the date that we have been so stinking excited about every single day for the last 9 months. WHOA!

So far..no action. Still at home! That's all ok though! We went last night and walked around Home Depot and Target and I felt like maybe that would help. I intend to take some nice long walks today..either stopping by the gym or around the neighborhood. Something. It feels good to walk, and it will feel awesome if it results in our little one joining us on the outside! :)

We decided that if we don't go in today then we'll head out on a last date tonight. I'm excited about that, but I will willingly give it up if Noah comes!

This week has been so relaxing. I don't think I've ever had 7 full days off without any plans, and without somewhere to be. But the beauty of being due this week has been I didn't make any plans in advance (except fro yo because that deserves advanced planning!), but we've still been able to spend time with friends and relaxing together and that's just been wonderful! It's been fun..and it will probably be the last time ever that we will be able to just pick up and go as we please without worrying about work, or you know without an infant. So it's been a fun week!

I plan on keeping busy today so I won't stare into space all day! :)

Anyways. As usual I have a one track mind...so this is all I've got for today! Hope you have a fantastic day! We're so excited either way today because our sweet friends the Beans should be welcoming their son Carter into the world anytime today! Yay!!!

Alright..next time that you hear from me..it should be with our precious little man!

So confused.

So we're two(ish) days away..and I don't know what to do with my time. I realize here in a few days we will wish we had more time...but currently...I'm going stir crazy. I think because today I was under house arrest this feels so much more so. Thank goodness I didn't have to be on bedrest over the last few months...because I would have gone stir crazy.

And thank goodness for Shauna getting me out of the house today. Even going from our house to their house (6 blocks away) was a field trip today. It's always so nice to have some girl time!

House arrest was self imposed by the way...there was ice on the roads today, and the story that follows this will explain why I placed myself under house arrest.

Anyways..so I keep telling Brad I'm not sure what to do with my time. I want to walk laps, run, do some squats..something...but that's just because I'm so excited to meet the little man. However, Grammy had a talk with him and told him he's not allowed to come early now because she can't be here until Tuesday. So I feel a little guilty doing anything to get him here sooner. Plus, Brad's parents can't come until this weekend either so we don't want to get things moving too quickly.

I've read, knitted, cleaned, vacuumed, organized, dusted, mopped. There really just isn't a whole lot left to do..plus anything that I do at this point will make a mess..that I'll have to clean up..and that will stress me out if we go into labor before the mess is cleaned. It's crazy. I'm crazy.

Oh well..it's wonderful to be able to relax. I really need to remember what a blessing that is. If I were working I would be exhausted, and instead I'm able to just relax and rest in preparation. Silly girl.

As for the self imposed house arrest. Due to the ice today...the roads were a little slippery. (Austin has like one truck to deal with ice - realistically I'm not sure if that's true but it does appear that way.) So Brad drove my car today because I didn't have far to go today, and he had some errands to run. Well he made it safely to work...but then was rear ended just before he pulled into his parking lot. YAY.

It's totally fixable, Brad's safe, and the car is drivable. We are so thankful for the Lord's protection there. We're bummed about our little car, but life will go on.

However..after that adventure I quickly decided that driving anywhere in our remaining car was just not necessary. So self-imposed house arrest. Tomorrow though..I am going to get out of here!

Anyways..that's about all we have for now! Have a great night!

YEA!

I wasn't imagining it! Those really were contractions..and he really has dropped!

We're 1 1/2 cm dilated, and 35% effaced.

Not a whole lot..but a huge improvement over last week! My doctor was so encouraging and said he thinks we could go on our own before the induction on Tuesday! He had a huge smile on his face and said he thinks we legitimately could go this week!

YAY!!!

If not that is ok..we'll get admitted on Monday and induced Tuesday morning. I'm praying that he'll come on his own though..I just think that experience will be so cool. Either way though..he'll be here. That's the best ever!

I keep telling Brad...I want to go for a walk/run and see if I can make him come out. It's very tempting to start walking circles around the house. :) I'm going to come up with something...I'm thinking if I'm up way early again this morning that some yoga may be my start to the day..or a stop at the gym. Something good. Something to get this labor in gear!

I stopped by work today to take care of my paperwork for maternity leave...and one of the patient's husbands stopped by to tell me to drink some caster oil and go run some laps. Hilarious.

However, though I really want him to come..I'm actually really comfortable..and despite waking up at 3:30 this morning I felt so great all day! I've had a ton of energy, and the house is totally ready now for the little man's arrival.

Today I stopped to pick up a few groceries...I'm afraid to buy too many because I don't want our fruits/veggies/milk to go bad before he comes. However...remember when I mentioned that I don't buy cookies at the grocery store...because I'll eat them? Well tonight they had the heart shaped cakes..you know the kind that come in 2 packs..kinda like swiss cake rolls? They were on sale and I totally fell for it. PURE JOY! :)

Have you watched the Biggest Loser? Brad and I both cry every time we watch it. I get so excited for them. I love that my husband has such a tender heart too.

Alright..that's it. This was 197..so I'll have to find two more crazy posts to write and then hopefully the big one! And by hopefully..I basically refuse to spend that 200th post on anything but our little guy.

Have a great day!

Nesting?

Well...I think it finally set in.

I can't sleep because I have some crazy dreams.

Such as:

The other night it was that my water broke. So all night every time I woke up to use the ladies room I felt like I was going crazy because I was just certain it had broken.

It didn't. In case you were wondering.

Then last night I had a dream that there was a rattlesnake in the cabinet above the refrigerator. I was up a lot of the night on that one.

So last night around 3:30am I decided rather than fight for sleep that just didn't want to come I would get up.

So I got up and watched the Bachelor...which is just crazy because I don't believe that show is of any quality and yet I still sometimes watch it.

Then I decided I would go ahead and start organizing the kitchen. I *think* I've been having contractions this morning and it got me a little worried that I better get on it because things could change quickly any day now. So I finished up the bottom cabinets and then passed out on the couch for a whole 45 minutes. I think I'm going to go finish up the uppers while Brad is still home. If I can get this done then the only thing still remaining for cleaning is to vacuum.

**I say think because I have no idea what real contractions feel like, and everything I read sounds different for everyone. However...I think that whatever it is I'm feeling might actually be contractions. I'm pretty sure there is still a pretty good chance that we could go to the doctor today and no action.

Yesterday I scrubbed the bathrooms, swept and mopped, finished all the laundry.

Want to know something I forgot to do? It's funny because it's crazy. I forgot to contact human resources at the hospital regarding my maternity leave. Who does that? I guess I just assumed I was good and would go have a baby and my job would just be waiting for me. Oops. Thank goodness we have a FANTASTIC human resources department who take good care of us employees. Jeffrey called back immediately and took care of all I needed to get done. Good man that Jeffrey. So today I have to run around town and finish up some errands so that I can be assured that everything is taken care of. I like the feeling of peace.

We also had some awesome fro yo last night! Everybody loves some fro yo! They have a new flavor, snicker doodle. It literally tastes like you are eating a snicker doodle cookie. Pure deliciousness. Also...Shauna and Kathrin - we packed last night. :) Be proud.

Well... I apologize for the one track mind I have here. Imagine living here. Poor Brad.

Oh well! 196 posts down. 4 to go. YAY!

Have a great day!

Let's not get too excited...yet

So..I'm trying to hard not to get too excited..but I really think baby boy dropped this week!!

I know this doesn't mean that labor has started or anything..but it means it could happen on it's own.

I'm so excited...but I'm trying so hard to remember that we could go to the doctor on Tuesday and he could say we still have nothing happening..and that if that happens that's totally ok.

But still..I mean all day I've been telling Brad..."I think he's coming I think he's coming" Brad has patiently cooperated and not made me feel silly..but I keep thinking maybe it's "mother's intuition." That's supposed to be real right? Maybe not. Either way I can't wait to meet him I'm just so excited I kinda can't think of anything else.

In other news..this is my 195th post. I think an appropriate 200th post would be Baby Boy's arrival..so I'm going to have to come up with 4 more posts between now and then. Silly obsessive tendencies.

Oh...here's a fun story. Remember when we bought our new dining chairs that we ADORE from West Elm? Well one of them started to chip and I was so sad about it. The paint was coming off and I am always worried that it will come all the way off. Brad and I had thought about how to fix it...but then I thought maybe I should just call West Elm and see if we could exchange it, because there was really no reason why it should have chipped. They had a manager call me back and he said he has a brand new one waiting on me to be exchanged!! YAY!! You rock West Elm. I will continue to bring you business because I'm kinda in love with you!

Also..I love watching The Nanny. It has reruns every night, it's pretty funny.

We're planning to get rid of cable..hopefully like tomorrow..but we have to make sure we have the phone/internet all figured out prior to shutting it all down. So I'll only enjoy The Nanny a few more nights.

I'm pretty excited about getting rid of cable. Growing up we only had one channel..TV18. I'm so thankful for that! I didn't want to sit and watch TV all the time..it was awesome. Now I find myself with it turned on just for noise...all the time. Well with our income dropping and us adding a family member we decided it was time to go free of cable. We'll see how that all goes but I'm excited.

In final baby news..we installed the car seat this weekend and I've been driving around all weekend thinking how next weekend we could have a little one in there. We went on a hospital tour on Saturday..that place is amazing. I love the hospital I work in..but it is not nearly as fancy as this place. I mean seriously..I've never been in such a fancy hospital. We're packing our bags tomorrow. We seriously need to. Brad's been telling me to do this for a week. I've been putting if off saying we have so much time. I think it's time.

Oh..and a final note...I have no idea how to be a patient in a hospital. A patient? I mean I'm a nurse. They told us on the tour that if we need something to call the nurse on her phone, instead of using the call light. WHAT? I feel like that's crazy to call the nurse...she'll be too busy to answer that. Weird. Thankfully..kinda..I know absolutely nothing about labor and delivery..so thank goodness I'll need all the help I can get and I'll have to get over my stupid irrational issues about being a patient.

That's it. I think you'll be hearing from me frequently in the next few days..need to get up to our 200th post.

Have a great week!

We have a PLAN!!

True story.

A real plan.

This makes my heart happy.

Want to know what doesn't make my heart happy?

I somehow landed myself a virus on my computer earlier today. BOO that. I don't download anything..seriously..but apparently I visited a website that gave me one. That's what I get for trying to look up trendy hairstyles.

Sara gave me a cute hairstyle even without a picture from the website though. So I guess it was worth the virus. We'll see how I feel about that if we're able to fix my computer.

But back to the plan.

We went to the doctor today for our 39 week appointment (a few days early). Well...the little one remains head down..but he's just teasing his parents. His little head continues to float..he just won't get into position. Which, while we don't mind him hanging out in there longer than 40 weeks...we would at least like him to THINK about joining the outside world. However, as of right now we have made zero progress.

So today our doctor decided it was time to talk some options. I like talking options. I like plans. Very much so. I was concerned because I had the understanding that at a certain point he may tell us that the best option would be a c-section without trying to go naturally...and I was really hoping to at least try before a c-section.

Well today he told me that if it's important to us to give it a try then he would definitely suggest that. So I asked him at what point we would get to do this. He said most likely, if we go back for our last appointment next Tuesday and nothing has changed then he will most likely admit us to the hospital on Monday the 14th, give me some medication over night, and see how we look in the morning. If we still haven't progressed then we'll go ahead with a c-section...but if we have some action then we'll give it a try! So most likely by the 15th ...at some point that day..we will have ourselves a little Noah in our life! :) YAY!!!

I'm so excited just to know that we have an idea. I'm also so very excited he's going to let us try before jumping straight to the surgery. I just really want to try! He told us at this point it's about a 50/50 chance either way. I can handle 50/50. Ultimately..the most important is that we have a healthy little man and a healthy mommy...but we're really hoping that he'll begin to make his descent and we'll see him soon. We're just so happy!

Now I have a schedule for when I need to finish all my organizational hopes and dreams. It's awesome!

For this week...have to work Thursday and Friday and then I'm a free woman! So that's it for now! Yay!

T - 10 days.

Seriously.

We'll be 39 weeks on Friday.

Which means at some point...most likely in the next 10-14 days we will have a child.

An actual outside, in this world, breathing little man that the Lord made of both of us.

WHOA.

That being said...there is so much to do.

I have been so looking forward to this time. I thought my crazy organization obsession would be out of of control..and I was pumped for that.

But then I earned myself a huge ol' sinus infection - two weeks away from having a baby. So I have been less than productive.

Throw in a weekend of working..that was INCREDIBLY busy..and you have a girl who can't breathe, can't sleep, and functions like a zombie.

I'm feeling better today. So much so I woke up at 6:30 with Brad to start the day. So today has been much more productive. I'm so glad!

Only TWO more shifts at work. I work Thursday and Friday and then I'm officially done for three-ish months! Most likely to return somewhere around the second week of May.

Have I told you that it works out for me to only have to go back one day a week? This is AWESOME! I'll be honest...I never had a desire to stay at home all the time..I thought I would always want to work. But, as the time has come closer and closer..the idea of leaving our sweet boy at home while I work has been difficult to swallow. I mean when I work I'm gone from 5am until sometimes 8. That's a HUGE part of the day to be without our little son. Yet, I still LOVE my job. So I was kinda torn. Well..since our insurance for our little family is through me I had to keep working, but I wasn't so keen on the idea of working full time. That's a LOT of time away from Brad and Noah..especially while he's so very little! Well..when our hospital was purchased, the requirements for benefits for part time was that you work enough to pay for your premiums! SO..I can work one day a week, make enough for insurance, get to use my brain and heart for something I adore, AND be home the rest of the week with our little one! I'M SO EXCITED!!! Such a blessing!

We meet a pediatrician tonight. I'm really excited about that. Although I have no idea what kind of questions I'm supposed to want to ask him. Oh well..we'll figure that out.

The little man still hasn't dropped...despite being head down for what feels like forever..he is just LOVING it inside me. I'm hoping for some changes this week when we head to the doctor. I thought maybe all the craziness at work would encourage him to get into position..but I'm thinking not. He is definitely WAY up in my ribs. I feel bad for him because it is NOT a big space in there for him. I feel so huge and then I realize that I am pretty short..and he has to fit somewhere.

He's so big though my stomach is always lopsided. That's adorable. Seriously.

I think this week I'm going to have to go ahead and pack a bag, and we'll have to get the car seats installed. It might be time. :) I don't know!

My baby brother turned 22 last week. 22? Are you kidding?!?! We're so proud of him for graduating from Purdue a semester early..and we're excited for him as he starts out his adult life. We wish it could be in Austin. Think about it Luke! :) He's 22. Crazy.

That's it for now! Hope you had a great weekend! I can't believe all the crazy snow up there in the midwest...I'm a little jealous..but then I remember that this week would definitely NOT be the week to be snowed in for us.

It is cold though. 31 degrees and windy. I mean..that's cold for here. :) Have a great week!