Introducing...

Elizabeth Anne 

Born March 26, 2011 at 6:46 pm

7 pounds and 10 ounces

21 inches long

She is beyond precious and we are soo glad she is finally here! We went to labor and delivery early on Saturday (4:45 am). Labor was great, with the epidural, I didn't feel a thing! And my anesthesiologist was amazing! I'm terrified of needles, but it honestly didn't really even hurt. The two nurses I had were amazing, one of them had a child that was born on Elizabeth's birthday, but 25 years ago). The on-call doctor was also very nice. In fact, he shares the same last name as my grandparents. :) I started to push almost exactly 12 hours after we got to the hospital, and then 2 LONG hours later, Elizabeth was born! We were in the hospital until Monday afternoon, but that was only waiting on my doctor to make rounds - Elizabeth was discharged several hours before I was. Enjoy the pics from the past couple days!

First family picture

Oh so ready to leave!

She LOVES to cross her feet!

    

Putting Elizabeth in her car seat...

... which she hated, so I carried her out and then put her in the car seat

all ready to go home!

We're home!!

Sleeping on the couch

Ready for our first doctor's appointment on March 30

Sweet girl!

Konked out in the car

This morning we went to the pediatrician's office for the first time. Elizabeth is now down to 6 pounds, 9.5 ounces. Hopefully she starts gaining again soon! We have another appointment when she turns 2 weeks old, so we'll see how she's doing. Aside from her weight, the doctor said Elizabeth is perfect! Alan and I also made our first trip out with her today. After the appointment, we went to Target to get a couple of things that I needed. I carried her with me and she didn't even make a peep!

On another note, I've already lost 20 pounds! And, I'm going to put in a plug for the Belly Bandit. I'd heard great things about them from various, so I decided that it was something I wanted to try it for myself. When I went into a baby boutique in town and saw it, I knew it was fate. I've been wearing one since Tuesday and can already see a huge difference! I would highly recommend them them to anyone post-baby!!

Still Pregnant

Well guys, it's now 5 days after my due date and it seems that Elizabeth just doesn't want to come. My mom has been down since last Sunday, so we've been having lots of fun walking (the malls) and eating lunch. No wonder my weight gain has gotten a little out of control... haha. BUT, I can resume my healthy eating after Elizabeth arrives! I'm just trying to enjoy the last couple of days where I can pretty much eat whatever I want and not have to worry. :)

I started swelling up a little last Thursday, and, at 40 weeks, I can no longer wear my wedding band. As sad as that makes me, I'm just thankful I was able to wear it that long! I'm down to 2 maternity shits that I can wear, although I do have 2 regular shirts that still actually fit. In all of our walking, Mom and I have found a couple great deals on some post-maternity clothes for me (and a couple of ADORABLE outfits for Elizabeth). I just can't wait to fit in them! I also got a Belly Bandit, which I can't wait to use!

I took my 40 week picture, but again, my camera is packed in my bag, ready to go at a moments notice. :) Can you tell that I'm REALLY ready for Elizabeth to get here? The hospital has wireless, so I'll be sure to upload a picture as soon as I can! And if I haven't had her by Sunday, I'm going in to be induced sometime on Monday. Hospital policy won't allow inductions before 41 weeks, 3 days, which is this Sunday. We're definitely praying that she comes before then, though!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

39 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 39 weeks


Baby's size? She was 7 pounds, 4 ounces according to the ultrasound on Monday, so somewhere close the there? AND she's in the 46th%!! So much for a small baby. :)


Gender? Still a baby GIRL! Elizabeth Anne


Weight Gain? I thought it was supposed to slow down at the end!?! 30 pounds... Hope she decides to come soon! I don't need to gain any more weight!!


Maternity clothes? Mainly maternity, but I can still wear regular dresses and "comfy" shorts/pants


Stretch marks? Still the same ones and the linea nigra... Why oh why did they wait to pop up at the last month?


Belly button in or out? The top is out but the bottom is still in,


Sleeping? I've had good nights and not so good nights...


Foods I'm loving? Mexican food, anything spicy, cheeseburgers!!!


Foods I'm hating? Nothing really


Best moment this week? Seeing Elizabeth on the ultrasound (even though we didn't get any pictures... couldn't really see her face), picking out maternity photos!!


What I'm looking forward to? Actually meeting Elizabeth!!! Sleeping on my stomach.


What I miss? Sleeping through the night and sleeping on my stomach


Symptoms? Frequent potty breaks, extreme exhaustion, insomnia, some heartburn


Milestones? Nothing that I can think of...


Emotions? I cry over just about anything these days...


I have a picture, but I have my camera packed right now. I'm lazy and don't want to go get it, so the picture will have to wait for a while. :)

38 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 38 weeks


Baby's size? Somewhere between 6 and 7 pounds? If I haven't had her by Monday, I'll have a better estimate.


Gender? Still a baby GIRL! Elizabeth Anne


Weight Gain? 28 pounds...


Maternity clothes? Mainly maternity, but I can still wear regular dresses and "comfy" pants


Stretch marks? I've got a couple new ones from when she dropped... :( and the linea nigra


Belly button in or out? The top is out but the bottom is still in.


Sleeping? I've got good nights and not so good nights. I'm still waking up every 2ish hours, but sometimes I can't go back to sleep.


Foods I'm loving? Greek yogurt with granola! Mexican food, anything spicy!!


Foods I'm hating? Nothing really


Best moment this week? Being told Elizabeth could come any day, but I'm not getting my hopes up!! Also realizing that I've dropped! Shirts that fit last week don't fit any more... haha


What I'm looking forward to? Sleeping on my stomach, walking normally, actually meeting Elizabeth!! And getting the dresser in, although that might not happen before Elizabeth gets here... It still hasn't been shipped...


What I miss? Sleeping through the night and sleeping on my stomach


Symptoms? Frequent potty breaks, extreme exhaustion, insomnia, some heartburn, and I've definitely got the "waddle" most of the time


Milestones? Well, I'm dilated and thinned out! (sorry if that's TMI) And I think I'm having some contractions... we'll just see if they go anywhere... :)


Emotions? I cry over just about anything these days...

38 weeks (and one of the only shirts that still fits...)

Sneak Peek

So I know Alan isn't completely done yet, but I just wanted to post a sneak peak of the *almost* complete TV stand. Hopefully the final product will be completed this weekend!

Alan ordered the parts he needed so he could make the drawers!

 Hopefully that won't take too long to get so we can get them built!!

Awesome feet! Alan didn't make them, but I sure love them!

37 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along? 37 weeks, 1 day


Baby's size? Guessing she is around 6 pounds, 4 ounces since babes this age typically gain about half a pound a week


Gender? Still a baby GIRL!! Elizabeth Anne


Weight Gain? Still 25 pounds!


Maternity clothes? Mainly maternity, but I can still wear regular dresses and "comfy" pants


Stretch marks? Still just the two and the linea nigra


Belly Button in or out? The top is out, the bottom is still in. It's pretty consistent now...


Sleeping? Pretty decent. I still wake up tons to go to the bathroom, but the past couple nights I've had some longer stretches of sleep (2-2 1/2 hours instead of 1-1/2)!


Foods I'm loving? Anything sweet! But there is nothing that I absolutely have to have.


Foods I'm hating? Nothing really


Best moment this week? Taking maternity pictures! I can't wait to see a sneak peek!!


What I'm looking forward to? Sleeping on my stomach and having Elizabeth here so I don't have to go to the doctor and get told crummy news every week. :) And getting the dresser in so that I can finally finish organizing Elizabeth's room!!


What I miss? Sleeping through the night and sleeping on my stomach.


Symptoms? Mainly frequent potty breaks and extreme exhaustion.


Milestones? I'm considered full term! Now she just needs to hold off until after next weekend (but I'm still thinking I'll go past my due date) so I can see some sweet friends from College Station!!


Emotions? I cry over just about anything these days... And I'm beginning to get a little frustrated with my doctor, but that's a whole 'nother story that I'm not going to go into. It's raising my blood pressure just thinking about it... Haha

37 weeks

Woodworking!

Alan has been working on a project here and there since New Years, and we're just now getting to the point where it is getting semi-close to being finished! You see, since we've been in this house (which is just over a year... man, where has time gone?), our TV has been on a makeshift TV stand... i.e. one of our end tables. You can see (and/or pull at) all the cords, and with a 2 year old nephew that is occasionally over at our house AND our soon to be arrival, this just wasn't cutting it. 

So, we began the search for the perfect armoire for our TV and stumbled across this beauty at Ethan Allen (my all time favorite furniture store... although we don't buy from there because it's a little way too pricey for our budget).

This was the perfect piece, in my mind, minus the fact that it was 4 or so inches too wide for our little nook. So, my husband, being the awesome carpenter that he is decided that he would make our own armoire, using this one as a model. It will consist of three pieces, the base, the middle section (which is for components), and the actual top part (where the TV will eventually sit). Alan has only started on the base, and that's what we'll use until he has the time to finish the rest. Now, keep in mind that we are still missing the feet (we're ordering those tonight), doors, and an actual color, but that will come probably next weekend, and I'll be sure to post pictures once it is actually done!

Base as of yesterday... The bottom two shelves will consist of 

4 drawers and the top shelf will be open.

Alan screwing the back onto the frame

The completed base (minus doors, feet, and drawers)

Side view

Top view

Detail of the top

Alan is quite the handyman, if I don't say so myself! I'm so lucky to have married such a talented man and I can't wait to see the finished product! This will be something I will treasure forever.