what Grace does best

She sleeps!! And sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. She is so precious and innocent. I could stare at her all day when she sleeps like that (and I do, which is why nothing on my list of things to do gets done!) Here are some of my favorite pics of the pumpkin doing what she does best!

our first trip out

Last Friday, Beth, Grace, and I had our first day out of the house. I was still sore, but it was so good to get out of the house and feel a little bit normal. It is amazing what a pair of blue jeans will do for you when you have lived in sweats for nearly two weeks (even if they were maternity!) We went up to the store so I could work for a little while, and Beth watched Grace for me. It felt great to return some phone calls and wait on a few customers.

Amy hadn't seen Grace yet, and while we were there A'Lysia and her mom came in and were able to meet the munchkin.

Then we went to the Sinclair shop so everyone could meet her- they all loved her and thought she was precious!

She did great and didn't have a meltdown until we got in the car. Always the lady! All in all, it was a great day and mommy and Grace were worn out by the end of the night.

Settling In...

Ahhhh, motherhood. I am having such a blast. Grace is a wonderful baby and we feel so blessed to have such a sweet little girl that sleeps through the night and most of the day! Breastfeeding was definitely not a fun experience in the hospital but has become so much easier since being home and I love that time I have with her. Mom left on Monday morning and Beth has been staying with us the last three nights. I don't know what I would do without all of the help. I knew it would be difficult having a c-section, but I didn't realize how dependent I would be on other people. I feel like every five seconds I have to ask for something and I hate not being able to take care of myself! But again, I am grateful for the help and feel blessed to have people that love me here taking care of me.
One of my favorite things is watching Danny with her. I knew he would love her and be a good daddy, but I didn't realize how sweet and amzing he would be with her. He takes great care of her and loves to hold her- melt my heart everytime I see them together!


I was ready for how hard and exhausting motherhood would be, but not for how much fun it is!! I love to sit and look at her, and I hate putting her down. I would rock in the rocker and hold her all day if I could! Thank you for all of the sweet comments and advice!

Grace has arrived!!

Grace was born Tuesday, November 11th at 11:04 pm. I went back to the hospital about 8:30 that night thinking I was having another false alarm but my water broke on its' own and everything started moving quick right after that! Because I was only dialated to a one and I needed to have her relatively soon because of risk of infection we decided to go through with the c-section we had planned for friday. We called Tom and Beth about 10:05 and the dr. got there about 10 minutes later. Alisa, our amazing photographer and friend was there within 15 minutes and actually beat all of the family there!


I didn't have time to be nervous, which was wonderful- it was all so fast and furious. After they got me all hooked up and into the OR, Dan came in and sat beside me. I felt a lot of weird tugging and pulling and 10 minutes later, I heard the most amazing sound in the world!!! Grace cried for the first time and I felt my heart leave my chest. It's funny, that is the exact thought I had at the moment- I will never have all of my heart again and I love how it feels. While I was in recovery, Dan wheeled Grace down to the nursery and showed our family.


Then they wheeled me out and I got to hold her in my arms for the first time. How AMAZING!!!! Friends try to explain to you the love you feel and how instant it is but no words can describe it. I remember looking at her and saying, "she's mine!!" What an angel!

We could not be happier and more proud. We promise to post more when we (ha!) get time. Thank you for all of your flowers, cards, emails, texts, and love you have sent. This is one lucky child to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family!

Insomnia

Oh my, what I wouldn't give for some rest! I have tried several things to cure my insomnia, but so far, nothing has worked. Blogging, tv, relaxation techniques, reading (have you ever tried reading Leviticus at 2 in the morning?), praying, trying not to focus on Danny's deep sleep snoring... Isn't it a funny concept knowing that in less than a week we will have a newborn and rest will be a thing of the past? I have been praying a lot for Grace, for Dan, for the new family we are about to become. When I can't sleep I try to imagine what she will be like, her personality, her smile, what it will feel like to hold her for the first time. I absolutely cannot wait and I am sure all of these thoughts are not helping me fall asleep. If you have any insomnia cures, please share. I have so few nights left of uninterrupted sleep and I would love to enjoy them!!

My False Alarm

Well, I became a pregnant woman cliche today. I woke up at 5 this morning needing to go to the bathroom and thought I had wet the bed. I went to the bathroom and thought maybe my water broke but it wasn't like the big gush that fills your shoes like in the movies, so I made Dan come in there with me. The poor guy, I wake him up out of a deep sleep, and make him come in the bathroom and smell my underwear to make sure I hadn't just wet myself. I called the nurse and she said if I knew it wasn't urine, to head up to the hospital and have them check my fluids and make sure my water didn't break. I admit I got pretty excited, thinking that miss thing was coming early, and then I freaked out a bit. I took a shower, shaved my legs, washed my hair, put on my makeup (waterproof mascara!!) and had Dan load the car. We went up to the 4th floor at Covenant, got checked in, and they put me in triage and hooked me up to all these machines. How official!! The nurse checked me and said that the litmus test wasn't conclusive so she sent another test down to the lab to see if I was in fact leaking fluid. If it was fluid, she said we would have a baby today and if not, they would send me home. After 45 minutes of small talk with Dan and his parents, the nurse came back and said my membrane had not ruptured and she was sending me home. No stinkin way. I had already shaved my legs and washed my hair and everything. She said it could have been a number of things and if it happened again to come up there immediately because they don't joke around when it comes to fluid. So great. No baby yet, but my at least my legs are smooth and ready for my dr.'s appointment in the morning.

A few of my favorite (and not so favorite) things...

I have absolutely loved being pregnant. Save for the last few weeks, I have enjoyed pregnancy to the fullest and am a (little) sad that this 9 month journey is about to come to an end!
My favorite things about pregnancy:
* Feeling her kick (and lately, watching her kick)
* seeing her on the sonogram- I wish we had an ultrasound machine so I could watch her everyday.
* telling our friends and family we were pregnant.
* taking long baths and talking to Danny about how much our lives are going to change once grace is here.
* setting up her nursery
* baby showers!!!
* going shopping for pink things with ruffles on the bottom and matching bows
* feeling such a sense of community with other women. I am going to miss walking into a public restroom and having conversation with perfect strangers about their pregnancy and labor stories.
* secret fit maternity pants. they have played a large part in the comfort of my pregnancy
* being able to take naps and not feel guilty.
* being able to eat ice cream and not feel guilty.

My Least Favorite things...
* the morning sickness and cramping. I am so lucky it only lasted about 8 weeks.
* insomnia. I cannot get more than a few hours of sleep at a time and they usually end up between the hours of 2 and 5. I am sure God is getting me ready for the nighttime feedings.
* the last two weeks. I spend most of the day trying to keep my mind off the fact that my stomach feels like it is going to pop, there is a bowling ball weighing down on my bladder, and I am exhausted from all the non-sleep
* I have not enjoyed food as much since I've been pregnant. Especially in the last two months, it seems like a fruit smoothie or a piece of toast is enough to make me feel like I have had a 5 course meal. there just isn't much room in there!
* waddling
* shaving my legs. not that I ever enjoyed it before, but man, it is a tough task these days

The pregnancy journey

We found out we were pregnant on march 12th. I went to bed that night knowing I was pregnant, even though we had to wait til the next morning to confirm it. What a morning. We had such a blast telling all of our friends and family. The next 8 weeks were pretty rough, with the nausea and cramping. I was so scared we were going to lose her and could not wait to be out of the first trimester. We also moved into our new house (which is a ton of fun when you feel like you want to puke into each box you unpack.) I was lucky to start showing very early on, so I didn't have to spend a lot of time in the weird pudgy phase where nothing fits and people are afraid to ask if you're pregnant.

(16 weeks)
My dear friend Alisa started documenting the pregnancy each month and I love having those pictures to see how much my body changed each month.

almost 5 months
I was able to take most of the summer off, working only about 20 hours a week at most, which was fabulous. It was good to see that the store could survive without me living there all day everyday and good practice for the girls to take on more responsibility so that I can stay home with grace the first two months after she is born. The last three months have been full of baby showers, countdowns, dr.'s appointments, and getting ready for little miss to get here.

almost 6 months

almost 7 months
I have just lately begun to feel miserable and have tried everything short of cod-liver oil to get this baby to come out of me! I understand now why God makes pregnancy 9 months. The first 8 I was so nervous about having her and now I am ready to take her out myself and the least of my worries are about delivery!

8 1/2 months
I cannot believe we are a week away from having a baby. The excitement, responsibility, and anxiety are absolutely overwhelming at times. I love being pregnant, but I am SOOO ready to meet our sweet little girl and hold her in my arms.