One Month and Counting

I can hardly believe it. One month ago today Henry was born. Where has the time gone? It just seems like yesterday we were going to the hospital. If the first month has gone by this fast, I can't imagine how fast the rest will go.

Henry is growing fast. We went to the doctor today for his one month checkup. He weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 22 1/4 inches long. So he's gained 1lb 9oz and has grown 2 1/4 inches!

This first month has definitely been a learning experience. Chip and I are learning to take care of this little person who is totally reliant on us for everything. It's been scary, frustrating and exhausting. But at the same time, no matter how tired or frustrated we get, when we look into Henry's eyes we know that it is all worth it. Henry has only been in this world a short time but we cannot imagine life without him.

So here is to a great first month, and to many more.
Happy Birthday Henry!
Love Mommy and Daddy

Welcome to the World Henry!

This post is written for my handsome Henry.

It's hard to believe that you are already 2 weeks old . It seems like just yesterday your dad and I were wondering if you were ever going to get here. But you are here now and here is the story of how you came to arrive in this big and crazy world.

It all started around 11pm on June 7 (your actual due date). I was awakened by some pains but they were not enough to keep me awake, so I dozed back to sleep. Around 12:00am I woke up again because of pain and I thought to myself, am I in labor? I got out of bed and went into the sunroom. I sat there for a little bit and timed my contracts. They started out being 10 minutes apart but quickly went to 5 minutes apart. I went back to the bedroom to wake up your dad. I told him this was it! You were on your way. We got everything ready to go to the hospital and arrived around 2:00am. Once I was taken upstairs and hooked up to the monitor we found out I was only 2 centimeters dialated. With all that pain I would have thought I'd have been further along. The nurse said she needed to monitor me for a least an hour to see if there was any change. Now, let it be known, mommy does not do pain well at all, so the time seemed to drag by. Even though my contractions were very close together (1-2 minutes apart) and were very painful (by my standards) when the nurse came back an hour later there was still no change. I couldn't believe it! You have got to be kidding me! She said she would continue to monitor me to see what happened. Your dad and I decided to walk the halls to try to speed things along. After making a couple of rounds we went back to the room and when the nurse checked me again there was very little change. Give me a break! I thought for sure I would be up to 10 centimeters and she would be telling me to push! I asked for something for the pain but because I had not officially been admitted to the hospital they could not give me anything. She said she wanted to give me a fair chance, so she said she would monitor me for at least another hour, but if there was no change, she would have to send me home. I could not even fathom being sent home in this much pain.

After what seemed like forever, she came back in and I was almost 4 centimeters. She said she would go ahead and admit me. Thank God! Can I get my drugs now? Once I got in a room they gave me some Stadol and Phenergan and I was out like a light. Sweet relief. I'm sure you were feeling pretty good too little monkey. A little while later the labor nurse came in and asked if I was ready for my epideral. Well, of course I was, you don't have to ask me twice!

After the epideral I couldn't feel a thing and got some much needed sleep. However, things were moving pretty slow. You just seemed content to stay safe and secure inside mommy's belly. The nurse came in to check on me around noon and decided to give me some pitocin to move things along. I went from 4 centimeters to 7 centimeters in about an hour. Around that time the anxious grandparents arrived. I believe they all made the trip in record time. About 20 minutes later, I thought my epideral was starting to wear off. I called the nurse and told her I was starting to feel the contractions. She checked me and I had gone from 7 centimeters to 10 centimeters. Wow, that was quick! Now your dad, bless his heart, had been cool as a cucumber all day, but when he heard that it was time to start pushing he got nervous. In fact we both did. We were anxious for you to get here but also nervous about how you were going to get here!

Now, I'm not going to go into too much detail about this next part. All you need to know is that I wanted to see you as soon as possible, so I got over my pain and pushed with all I had. Your daddy was a trooper. Let me tell you, the man knows how to work a cold compress across mommy's face to keep her cool and he held on to me each time I pushed and gave me words of encouragment. Fifty minutes later you came into the world and our lives have been changed forever.

We are so glad you are here and we look forward to all the great adventures that we are going to have with you. But most of all we look forward to being the best parents that we can be. So be patient with us little one. We will get the hang of it. We promise.

Love you bunches,

Mommy and Daddy

Do you smell that?

When Chip and I found out that we were expecting we decided we needed to start saving money in order to pay for all the baby stuff we were going to need. We looked at the budget and made some cuts. Did we really need digital cable and the DVR? Nope, everything we watch is on standard basic and we never watched the stuff we recorded. Did we really need to go out to eat as much as we did? Nope, while it's nice, we can cook at home. Did the dogs really need the $40 bag of dog food? Nope, they are too spoilt anyway.

So, we cut back on all these things including the dog food. Instead of the expensive Nutro brand that they have been eating for the past 4 years we went back to Pedigree. We were saving $25 a bag. Woohoo! I was excited. We did the mix the food together thing to make the transition as easy as possible on their little tummys. Then we made the full switch to Pedigree. One night we were lying in bed and it hit me. "Oh my God! What is that smell?" I asked. Chip, ever quick with a response said "One of them let go." I swear it was the worst smell I had ever smelt in my life.

We figured they were still adjusting to the new dog food and that the gas would pass (no pun intended). No such luck. The gas didn't get better, it got worse. Their poor little tummys were all messed up. After two months of thinking the gas would clear up we finally broke down and went back to the Nutro brand dog food. Would you believe their gas problem cleared up within 2 days after switching back to Nutro! We've been smelling nothing but roses ever since! I felt terrible that we had subjected them (not to mention us) so long to the pains and smell of gas. But we felt it was necessary in order to save money. Oh well, we will just have to cut the budget in some other place. Somethings are just worth the money. And looking at the those cute little faces, don't you think they are worth it?

Tick Tock

So, we are down to eight weeks and counting. It seems like little Henry is never going to get here. While we are so ready for him to make his grand entrance, we still have so much work to do. And in typcial Kim and Chip fashion we have waited until the last minute to try and get everything done.

If we can just get the nursery finished I would feel so much better and we haven't even started yet! We've been waiting on painting the nursery because I wanted to color match the paint to the bedding. Who knew it would take 2 months to get the bedding but it finally arrived yesterday. And after taking a look at it what do we decide? To paint the walls the same creamy beige color that can be currently be found in our living room. It actually goes really well with the colors in the bedding.

Chip has been working hard on the crib. He has made a lot of progress and I have to say when it gets done it will be beautiful! I can't wait to post the final pictures. He also has plans to make a matching dresser, but I'll be happy with the crib for now.

We also need to clean out the closets in the nursery in order to make room for all the baby gear. I'm thinking this won't take long, but you never can tell. I plan to head upstairs after I've posted this blog and get started. Once the closets are cleaned out we can get the shelving system set up to hold clothes, baby supplies, etc.

Whew. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. But I have faith that we will get everything done within the next eight weeks. And who knows, if Henry is anything like his parents, he will take his sweet time and be late buying us a little extra time!

Are We Too Old For This?

I never thought that I would be a first-time mom at 40. But in 12 short weeks (unless the little fella decides to come early) that is exactly what is going to happen. Not exactly how I thought my life would turn out.

You see, when I was younger I had my whole life planned out, or so I thought. I was going to go to college. While at college I was going to meet my prince charming. We would be married the summer after we graduated. We would have our first child at 25 and our second one at 28. Then we would raise our kids and be "empty nesters" by the time we were 50. Then we would live out our golden years happily ever after.

Since then I have learned that you can't plan life, you just have to let it happen. And what happened was, I met my prince charming at 34. We got married when I was 36 and we started trying to have kids at 38. We had some ups and downs, but now we are expecting our little bundle of love on June 7.

I can't begin to tell you how excited we are to finally be starting our family. Everyday when I feel him moving around, I am amazed that I have this little life inside of me. We feel so much love for him already, that we cannot begin to imagine how we will feel when he arrives. Chip and I talk about what he will look like, if will he be smart, if he will be a good kid. We have so many questions, and only time will answer them all. For now, we are just happy to be planning for his arrival. I think we both have had moments where we have thought "Oh my gosh! Are we too old for this?" But we always come up with the same answer, no. If anything, he will keep us young!

So please stay tuned as Chip and I continue on our adventure to become 1st time parents at 40. It can only get better from here!