We Are The Shepperds

Campbell is 5 months old!

2018-03-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

Eating: Campbell eats every 3-4 hours during the day. She is SUCH a wiggle worm while she eats! Side lying nursing isn't really relaxing anymore because she's all over the place. We haven't quite gotten to the stage where she's really distracted yet, but I know it's coming! She still takes 4 4oz bottles by the Kiinde system when I'm working. I'm grateful she transitions well from nursing to bottle.

Sleep: She has a crib! We moved Landry to her big girl bed (aka mattress on the floor) since I posted last, so Campbell sleeps in the crib now. We transitioned to the Zipadeezip around 4 months old. She had been getting her arm out of the swaddle and I knew she'd been turning over soon. Sleep has been so inconsistent and pretty terrible. She slept through the night ONE time with 10 uninterrupted hours and it was great. But usually she's up every 3-4 hours at night. Momma is ready for better sleep!! She can now turn over on her belly and then gets stuck, so most of the time she'll cry. We've been making bedtime around 8pm. She typically is a good napper for me if we are home and she has her crib and sound machine. I can almost always get at least one nap that is 2-3hrs long.

Clothes: We are in mostly 6 month clothes now. She's so long!

Diapers: She is in size 2 diapers. We are still using Pampers diapers and wipes.

Campbell is 3 months old!

2018-01-19T21:12:00.000-06:00

Eating: She is still breastfeeding about every 2-4 hours day and night. I've still been feeding often during the day because she's fussy a lot. She doesn't have to burp very often and she doesn't really spit up much. We've given gas drops on occasion thinking maybe that was the reason for her being fussy. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. We still nurse side-lying sometimes. Since I went back to work this month, she takes from a bottle like a champ! We are using the Kiinde system and haven't had any issues with her liking that bottle/nipple. So far I've left 4 bottles with between 3-5 ounces when I'm working.

Sleep: We are in the SwaddleMe swaddle now and she seems to do pretty well in it. At night she is waking 1-3 times usually, most often twice. We aim for a 9pm bedtime and her morning wake time is inconsistent. I usually turn sound machine on and nurse to sleep at night. During the day she's difficult with her naps most days. She typically naps for about 45 minutes for her first nap, and then the other naps are pretty inconsistent. Sometime 45 minutes, a few times 2-3 hours. She's still in the pack and play in her room.

Clothes: We are in 0-3 month clothes now. I love seeing her in clothes her sister wore. And some that her cousins also wore!

Diapers: She is in size 1 diapers. We are mainly in Pampers which I prefer!

She takes a MAM pacifier occasionally. I'll sometimes give it to her to get to sleep for naps, but try not to at night because I don't want her to wake up and need the paci put back in her mouth! We've moved the Mamaroo into the living room and she seems to like that a little better than the Rock & Play.

Campbell is 2 months old!

2017-12-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

TWO months old! The first six weeks flew by so fast. But the last 2 weeks have draaaagged. We've hit a bit of a stormy patch where she's crying all the time. She can't be put down but sometimes isn't content with being held either. It's very trying for us and we hope it is a short phase!! But she's grown so quickly and we love her so much! Landry is still always asking where she is in the mornings and loves to give her kisses.

Eating: She is still breastfeeding about every 2-4 hours day and night. The last 2 weeks I feel like she's always nursing if she's awake! She usually eats more frequently when we're home. We prefer side-lying and I feel like she eats better that way. I still haven't started pumping yet.

Sleep: We have been using the Pod and she seems to sleep well in it. We are still waking to feed every 3-4 hours though. I try to put her to bed around 9:30-10pm and our wake times vary. She's still in the pack and play and will be until Landry is transitioned out of her crib. She has NOT been napping easily. Even when held, she's super squirmy and fidgety. I've gotten a few good naps out of her when I nurse her to sleep side-lying in my bed.

Clothes: I've packed away her newborn clothes and she's into 0-3 and 3mo clothes now. She got so many new 3mo clothes!

Diapers: She is in size 1 diapers. We have some honest size 1's that I just don't like! They leak and are not soft. She's also worn Huggies, which are fine. But I still prefer Pampers Swaddlers. And Pampers wipes too!

Campbell is 1 month old!

2017-11-19T23:00:00.000-06:00

ONE MONTH! Fastest month ever. So many people ask how it is having two kids vs one. It's easy and it's hard and it's overwhelming. It really just depends on the day! Landry is great with her and seems to love "baby sister" very much! She's always asking about her if she's gone a little while without seeing her. She loves to try and share her goldfish with her. But when both girls are home, finding time to sit and feed Campbell has been difficult and that's typically when Landry seems to get jealous. I've made several outings with both of them and we all survived! I even took both of them to church this morning by myself and we were pretty late, but we made it with no tears! Campbell has been very easy so far. I joke about her being the easy child because she doesn't tell me no! Landry has been going to daycare during the day and I love my time with Campbell. The past few days she has preferred to be held between feedings, but the housework can wait, right?!

Eating: She breastfeeds about every 2-4 hours day and night. If we are home, she usually wants to eat more frequently, but she can stretch longer if we are out and she's in her carrier. Thankfully she breastfeeds well and we haven't had issues! I haven't started pumping for a stash yet.

Sleep: Sleep has improved the last week or so. Thanks to a sweet friend we tried the SwaddleMe Pod and she loves that. She's able to move her arms a little bit so she can keep them up by her chest but her startle reflex doesn't wake her up. I highly recommend the Pod! We also transitioned to the Pack and Play instead of the mamaRoo. This makes me feel much better because I know she's safer to sleep on a flat firm surface. She's going 3-4 hour stretches at night now. At bedtime I usually nurse her in my bed and then swaddle and put her to sleep in her bed. She sleeps with the sound machine (like the rest of us!). Naps are just wherever/whenever.

Clothes: She is still wearing newborn clothes. The weather hasn't really allowed her to wear much of her newborn long sleeve stuff. It's fun and nostalgic to see her wear some of the things her sister wore!

Diapers: She is still in NB diapers and I still prefer Pampers Swaddlers. We are almost out of NBs though so we'll move on to size 1 soon. I tried a bunch of Honest diapers that were given to us and she leaked out of those a lot! She also had a lot of Huggies and those seem to work fine.

At 1 month old she:

still loves snuggling.
is starting to be awake more.
has dark eyes. They're grey brown right now.
likes the Rock N Play and the mamaRoo.
takes a Mam pacifier sometimes, but still will often make the MOST sour face when we try to give it to her! We think it's hilarious.
has really smelly poop! It's sour! Chris made a comment about it and then another friend with a baby mentioned it and I realized it's a little stinkier than most newborns!
loves lying next to me or Chris in bed.
is a hot box!

Campbell is 2 weeks old!

2017-11-02T22:20:00.000-05:00

At two weeks old Campbell is/has:

8 pounds, 1 ounce.
Wearing newborn clothes and size NB diapers.
Sleeping very inconsistently! We've tried several different ways including bed sharing (that was awful), pack and play, rock n play, next to me on the couch and most nights ended up in my arms in the chair. Last night we actually got two 2 hour stretches with her in the Mamaroo in her room and me in my bed! Win!
Breastfeeding really well every 2-4 hours. She really never had any major issues with feeding which made the early days so much easier than with Landry. My milk came in on day two (such a relief!) and she struggled on day 3 or so to latch because I was so full...but we got through it.
A perfect little belly button. Her cord fell off on day 12.
The squeakiest hiccups! She gets them about once a day or less now, but they're still pretty squeaky!
Been to church twice. Thankfully she was quiet through both services, although I was a little nervous she may get hiccups during church.
Lots of dark hair! Everyone asks if Landry had dark hair like that, which she did. So I'm anxious to see if Campbell's will fall out and lighten up like her sister's.
Definitely favors her sister, but you can tell their pictures apart for sure.

At two weeks old Landry loves:

being held!
The mamaRoo and usually is content in the Rock N Play too
Having her arms out while sleeping
Riding in the car

Campbell's Birth Story

2017-10-26T23:47:00.000-05:00

This was my last belly shot, at 39w5d.

At my 39wk appointment, we scheduled my induction for 40w1d. My last day of work was 39w6d and I didn't want to be on maternity leave with no baby! Unlike Landry, Campbell didn't come the night before my scheduled induction!

The morning of October 19, we were supposed to call the hospital at 4:30 to see if we could come in at 5:30am. When I called, they said they had just gotten a few patients and they were pretty busy and asked us to come at 6:45am instead. The nurse actually told me to go back to sleep for a little bit. Ha! Way to much going through my head to go back to sleep!! My parents had come in the night before and were planning on waking up with Landry and taking her to school then come up to the hospital.

[6:29am]

I had scoped out who was working that day and had asked Charlotte to be my nurse.

[7:09am]

Getting my IV started.

[7:39am]

There was a little delay in getting my pitocin started after I got my IV. There weren't orders put in for me so we had to wait for my doctor to come up there. At [8:10am], Dr. Jansky came in and broke my water. I actually told her I wanted to wait to get my water broken after I had an epidural because I'd heard horror stories that it hurt really bad. But she told me it doesn't hurt and quickly just went for it after I agreed. It really wasn't bad at all. Mostly just pressure. I was dilated at 3-4cm at this point.

[8:24am]

My Pitocin was hung about [9:05am]. She started it out pretty slow and came back and increased it every 30 minutes. I was told to just let her know when I was ready for my epidural. They weren't going to check me again until I got my epidural and about every 2 hrs until I got closer.

At [9:52am] my contractions were about every 3-5 minutes but I really wasn't feeling much yet. I kept putting it off because I was so nervous it would hurt a lot since I didn't have super painful contractions to distract me. They gradually got worse and I got my epidural around [11:30am]. It really wasn't that bad! And the doctor was really nice.

This guy was so great!

[11:44am]

At [12:12pm] I was 5cm and 80%. The anesthesiologist did an initial bolus into my epidural when it was started and my entire back was numb. Such a weird feeling!

[1:46pm]

At [2:15pm] I was 7cm and 90%. About 30 minutes later I called Charlotte back in there because I was having a TON of rectal pressure and when she checked me at [2:50pm] I was 9.5cm! She told me she'd come back in about 30 minutes to try a few pushes and see if we were ready to call Dr. Jansky.

Our pre-push selfie!

[3:13pm]

Charlotte came back about [3:25pm] and had me push but she quickly stopped me because I was complete! She called Dr. Jansky, who had one more patient to see for the day. She went ahead and finished with that patient and came over about [3:45pm]. They quickly got everything ready and when it was time I pushed TWO TIMES! It was over so quickly! With Landry I pushed for 3 hours and I just hoping Campbell was positioned in a way that wouldn't take that long. But 2 pushes!? So awesome! She was born at [4:03pm]. 7lbs 8oz, 20.5"

Dr. Jansky sewed me up while they cleaned Campbell up and weighed her.

[4:03pm]

She was so alert soon after delivery! I was amazed by her big eyes that stayed open.

Such a pleasant experience this time around! It really couldn't have gone any better. So grateful to have a health baby girl and excited to be a family of 4.

Landry is 11 months old!

2016-10-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

She said her first word (dada) on September 8 and this picture was taken on Sept. 9. Chris asked her to say dada, and she repeated it back to him as clear as can be!

Her first wave on September 17. So so cute!

Landry is 10 months old!

2016-09-08T22:51:00.000-05:00

Landry is 9 months old!

2016-08-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

Baby girl is already 9 months old. It's hard to believe! She's been outside my belly as long as she was in it. The months just keep flying by. She's becoming less and less like a baby and more and more like a little girl. Life is more beautiful being her momma!

Monthly pictures have become pretty difficult. She's the biggest wiggle worm and very rarely stays in one place for long! Somehow I managed to get a few good pictures and even more not so good ones!

Height: 29 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 20lbs 7oz (82nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches (81st percentile)

Eating: We are still breastfeeding when she will sit still long enough to eat! She is eating solids twice a day and she loves anything and everything. She has lost some interest in purees since she has gotten better about picking up foods on her own. She is miss independent and wants to feed herself. She loves puffs, strawberries, frozen blueberries in her mesh feeder, bananas, watermelon, cheerios, teething biscuits, and lil Crunchies. She will eat pretty much anything we set in front of her. I did have better luck with the Gerber Lil' Bits because it has small chunks of food that keep her interested.

Sleep: She is such a great napper now! She will go down pretty easily and usually sleep 1-2 hours. Some days I have to wake her up after 2 hours. She's taking 2 naps around 11am and 3:30pm.

Night sleep is a different story. She will go down with no problem. But she's awake many times during the night. Most of the time she can soothe herself but then cries again an hour(ish) later. I've let her cry plenty and this really hasn't gotten better. I've been feeding 1-2 times a night. She's still sleeping in her own crib in regular PJ's now. The cutest thing! She also has grown an attachment to her lovey and will suck her thumb and hold its ear when it's handed to her. Also, so cute!

Clothes: We are still in 9-12 months. Most of the 9 months clothes that have an elastic thigh are way too snug. The girl has thick thighs! Most of what we are wearing is 12 months.

At 9 months old she:

has 6 teeth!
wears a size 3 diaper (Pampers Baby Dry)
is still so serious. She will smile for mom and dad and a few others. But not much with others. And a giggle is rare!
Has brown eyes
Is a FAST crawler! She can get wherever she wants, and quickly! She especially loves it if she's not supposed to be there!
Is pulling up on anything she can. She walks a few steps along furniture
Never stops! Because of that she really isn't a snuggler, so I get my snuggles while she nurses.
Hates having her nose/face wiped
Doesn't mind wearing clothes but hates getting dressed
Can pick up Cheerios/puffs with thumb/index finger
loves to copy sounds with mom and dad
Doesn't like it when mom comes home from work and doesn't IMMEDIATELY come to her!
puts EVERYTHING in her mouth
loves music. If she's fussing, I can usually sing something and she'll quietly just watch me.
is very observant and loves to watch people.

I came home from work one day to Landry and Chris hanging out in the front yard. She had been fussy and she LOVES being outside, so it kept her happy.

Her first top tooth broke through after she tried pulling herself up on the bedframe and fell into the wood. It bled and momma and baby cried. And then I noticed a tooth!

Her best boyfriend was born on July 13! We hung out in the waiting room until they were ready for visitors.

We went on a trip to Houston and stopped in The Container Store.

Sweet girl found her thumb on the Houston trip.

First trip to the Library

First time eating scrambled eggs. No surprise she loved them!

On Momma's birthday

Our little water baby. She loves the water!

Landry is 8 months old!

2016-07-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

Weight: approximately 18lbs 3ounces

Eating: We are still breastfeeding. She has become very efficient. Usually eats just on one side for 5-10 minutes per feeding. She takes three 5-5.5 ounces bottles of breast milk when I work. I'm still taking Lecithin 3 times a day to prevent clogged ducts. It has worked though! I haven't had a clogged duct in 2 months!!

She eats baby food like a CHAMP! She has had stage 1 and stage 2 baby foods. We've tried pretty much all of the Gerber ones. I started out making my own, but our Pediatrician told me to use caution when preparing them so there was no cross-contamination (raw chicken, etc) and that was enough for me to decide to just buy. It costs the same to buy myself vs pre-made and I don't have to actually make it. She loves puffs and little baby crunchies (cheeto-like chips) and yogurt melts. She occasionally will get Beech Nut Oatmeal. She really doesn't refuse much, if anything! We have to watch her hands while feeding because she can get grabby with the spoon. I will usually let her chew on it every few bites.

Sleep: She is still napping pretty well. Most days she will sleep 3-4 hours total in 2 naps. The past week or two she's slept 3 hours a few times! She naps in her crib and will usually fuss/talk for 10-15 minutes before falling asleep.

And night sleep....Bedtime is between 8 and 9pm. She typically goes down pretty easy. Will flip around and talk for up to 30 minutes, but doesn't usually fight sleep. Around 12-1am she starts waking every hour to hour and a half. She almost always consoles herself and goes back to sleep within 30 seconds-5 minutes. I finally just had to turn the monitor off because I would wake up every time and was exhausted. If she goes longer than 10-15 minutes, I go to console her, which ends in me feeding her 100% of the time. This is usually once a night in the 4-6am hours. But then she sleeps until about 9am every morning!

She is still in her crib and now sleeping in regular pajamas. We cut out the Zipadee-Zip this month and she did great. Our nighttime routine is change diaper, pajamas, feed, song/book, bed with lovey.

Clothes: We are in 9-12 month clothes. My sister gave us so many 12 month clothes that she is able to fit into. I haven't noticed much difference in 9 month to 12 month clothes. She still doesn't wear any shoes! Most rompers and outfits that have elastic on her thighs are pretty snug and sometimes too tight!

Diapers: She is wearing size 3. We mostly use Pampers Baby Dry and have been happy with those. I had some Up & Up (Target brand) diapers that we used and I liked those also. I still put her in the Pampers overnight though just in case! Since she sleeps on her tummy most nights, she still occasionally will wet through the front of her diaper/pajamas, especially if she gets more than 1 MOTN feeding.

At 8 months she...

is so serious! It takes a lot of work to get a smile out of her, and even more for a giggle! We don't hear those giggles very often. Sometimes Jenna can get them though! The time for an (almost) guaranteed smile is right when she wakes up.
will never be still. She's always on the move. The only time I can get her to stay in one place without fuss is when I'm feeding her.
has 2 teeth.

Landry is 7 months old!

2016-06-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

Landry is 6 months old!

2016-05-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

How in the world are you half a year old?! I can't believe it's been 6 months since we met your sweet face. Our life has been changed in the best way. This is such a fun age. I just love seeing your personality develop and watch you achieve your milestones. It's such a blessing being your mommy!

Weight: 17lbs 6ounces (74 percentile)
Head Circumference: 16.75 inches (61 percentile)
Height: 27 inches (89 percentile)

Eating: She is still breastfeeding very well. She eats about every 3-4 hours during the day and waking 3 times at night. (AH!) During the day she feeds about 10-15 minutes. She takes three 5-5.5 ounces bottles of breast milk when I work. I'm still taking Lecithin 3 times a day to prevent clogged ducts.

We started solids this month! She has had sweet potatoes and carrots and love both. I made those myself and didn't liquify them enough the first time I fed her and she didn't like it! But I mixed some more breast milk in with it the next time and she took it all and loved it!

Sleep: She has become quite the little napper! She will take 2-3 naps during the day and will usually be 1-2 hours long. I will wake her up at 2 hours if she hasn't woken up then. I've tried to not rock her to sleep and just put her awake in the crib. Occasionally she will go to sleep with minimal fuss, but usually she will roll around and cry/talk for up to 15-20 minutes before falling asleep. There are still times when she just won't nap, like if she falls asleep in the car she will almost never go back to sleep when we get home.

And night sleep....I had a 5 hour stretch of sleep once. That was fabulous! But the rest of the time she's waking/eating about every 3-4 hours during the night. She got where she was consistently waking up 2 hours after she went down...every single night. Chris would try to soothe her, bounce her, rock her but usually I had to go in and feed her. That has tapered off a little and she'll go longer than 2 hours for the first wake up. I definitely thought by 6 months I would be sleeping more. I have to remember that this isn't forever and I'll sleep again eventually! (Right!?!)

She is still in her crib and sleeping in her Zipadee-Zip. I did stop nursing to sleep. So I usually change diaper, feed and then put in to her zipadee-zip. She can usually sleep until 8-8:30am with 1 or 2 cries but then goes back to sleep.

Clothes: We are in 6 month clothes. She has a few outfits that are 6-12 months that are a little loose but she can wear them. She has so many hand-me-downs that it's been nice that we haven't had to buy many clothes.

Diapers: We moved up to size 3 diapers this month. We've been using Pampers Baby Dry and Swaddlers. I like that the Swaddlers still have the indicator line but I usually put her in the Baby Dry at night. She's been sleeping on her tummy a lot and has wet through the front of the diaper several times. It hasn't happened as much since we moved her up to 3's.

At 6 months old she:

still LOVES bath time! We bathe her 1-2 times a week.
Went to the pool for the first time

Wants to put everything in her mouth!
Has a tooth!! It hasn't come up all the way, but I discovered it on May 2 and it's come up some since then. It's her lower central incisor.

Is much easier to make smile and laugh.

Takes her paci at naptime and sometimes if she's fussy. We've retired the Wubbanub.

Rolls all over the place!

Loves being outside

Eats in her Bumbo

Loves playing peek-a-boo

Loves to pull up to sitting and standing with our hands.

finally has more hair! It's growing back!

has grey/brown eyes.

doesn't ever wear shoes

loves her daddy and his tickley beard on her face/neck!
is hard to keep still long enough to take her picture!
riding in her stroller like a big girl now! We converted it from the carrier to the umbrella stroller this month.
got a door jumper and isn't too sure about it yet.

First time in converted stroller-4/26/16

She started sleeping on her side which makes her look so big!

Trying sweet potatoes for the first time - 4/18/16

First time I wore Landry in the Ergo at the grocery store, she loved it! - 4/28/16

First time trying carrots - 4/27/16

the day I felt her first tooth! - 5/2/16

My first Mother's day was the day she turned 6 months old!

Landry is 5 months old!

2016-04-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

Weight: approximately 16lbs

Eating: We are still exclusively breastfeeding. Not much has changed with feedings. She eats about every 3-4 hours during the day and waking 2 times at night. During the day she feeds about 10-20 minutes. She takes three 5-5.5 ounces bottles of breast milk when I work. I am able to pump 3 times at work to provide bottles for the next day I work. If I don't work the next day, I usually freeze the fresh milk and use the oldest frozen milk the next time I work.

She's become so wiggly while she's nursing! She's very distractible and will often pull off and look around if someone is talking or there's a new noise. The cutest thing is when she will pull off and look up at me, when I look down at her she'll quickly go back to eating like she got caught doing something.

I'm still taking Lecithin 3 times a day to prevent clogged ducts. They happen less frequently, but unfortunately I've still gotten a few this month. Usually it's when I've missed a dose or if Landry went a long time between feeds.

We haven't started any solids yet. We gave her a breadstick from Olive Garden to gum and she went CRAZY. She loved it. And got mad when we took it away. We also gave her a french fry just to see what she'd do with it and she gummed it until it fell out of her mouth. We will probably introduce a few foods this month and then be more intentional with feeding solids at 6 months.

Sleep: Naps have improved some this month. She's taking 2-3 naps in her crib. Sometimes they last 30 minutes up to 2 hours. The days I'm home with her I usually rock her and put her in her crib awake.

She slept through the night ONE night early in the month. The rest of the month...sleep regression. I don't think we've gone longer than 3 hours at a time. This means I'm feeding at least 2 times a night, occasionally 3. We transitioned out of the swaddle this month. Early in the month when she was waking every 1-2hrs I figured we might as well get that out of the way. She is sleeping in her Zipadee-Zip. I still nurse to sleep at night. It's nice when I'm off work I can actually sleep from that 6-8:30ish time. When I work, she's sleeping and I have to go to work! So many nights before I work, I get less than 4 hours.

Clothes: We are in 3-6mo and 6mo clothes. Dressing her is so fun!

Diapers: We are still in size 2 diapers this month. We still prefer pampers diapers and wipes. I usually put diaper rash cream on her at night and so far no diaper rash!

At 5 months old she:

is developing quite the personality! I love making her smile, laugh and talk.
LOVES bath time! We bathe her 1-2 times a week.
Likes to chew on anything she can grab.
Can be stingy with her smiles!
Takes her paci at naptime and sometimes if she's fussy. She takes the Wubbanub but plays with the giraffe part more than the paci.
Rolled over for the first time. She's only done it a couple times.
Loves being outside
Doesn't mind her carseat. She will usually fall asleep if we are in the car more than just a few minutes.
Sits in her Bumbo for short amounts of time.
Loves to pull up to sitting and standing with our hands.
Still has cradle cap but it's much improved. The hair loss continues! She has a patch on top of her head that is a couple inches long. It's pretty silly looking but so cute!
has been in her johnny jump up for a few minutes at a time.
has tried a breadstick from Olive Garden and a french fry. She went crazy tasting the garlic and salt on the bread stick and just gummed the french fry until it fell out of her mouth.
loves her daddy and his tickley beard on her face/neck!
keeps her tongue hanging out of her mouth most of the time.

Landry is 4 months old!

2016-03-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

Baby girl, I can hardly believe you are 4 months old! The months just come faster and faster.

Weight: 14lbs 12ounces (64 percentile)

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (76 percentile)

Height: 25 inches (76 percentile)

Eating: We are still exclusively breastfeeding. Not much has changed with feedings. She eats about every 2-4 hours during the day and waking 1 or 2 times at night. During the day she feeds about 10-20 minutes. She takes three 5 ounces bottles of breast milk when I work. My routine is pretty much the same as last month. I am able to pump 2 or 3 times at work to provide bottles for the next day I work. If I don't work the next day, I usually freeze the fresh milk and use the oldest frozen milk the next time I work.

I started taking Lecithin 3 times a day and I'm not getting clogged ducts as much. I've gotten one when I've forgotten to take it but they clear up a lot easier when Landry eats than before I started taking the Lecithin. So glad that's working for me!

Sleep: Inconsistent seems to be the theme every month. She doesn't nap very well. We haven't quite gotten our groove on that. It's difficult to establish a routine when I keep her 4 days a week, Chris' parents or Chris keep her the other 3 days. Plenty of room for progress!

She's slept through the night 4 or 5 times this month. Other than these rare nights, we are usually up 1 or 2 times to feed. She usually goes down pretty well at night. Bedtime is usually around 8 and bedtime routine hasn't changed. Thankfully she also usually goes back down easily after feeding during the night. Nursing to sleep has worked for us so far. Until the last week of this month. All routine (and sleep) is out the window! We have been up every 1-2 hours for almost 5 nights. I'm losing my mind! Hoping this 4 month sleep regression is short lived!!!

Clothes: We are in all 3 month clothes. She has a few 3-6 month onesies that fit her pretty well. It's been fun for her to wear more "outfits" rather than just onesies. She's fun to dress!!

Diapers: We moved to size 2 diapers this month. We still prefer pampers and still haven't had to buy diapers. We had a random assortment of brands from diaper cakes at our showers and she's blown out in those a few times! I learned pretty quick that we only leave the house in Pampers!

At 4 months old she:

Found her feet!
Has started to talk/squawk. It's so fun to listen to! I love it!
Likes to chew on her hands
Is a lot more distractible while nursing
Loves looking at herself in the mirror
Has sat up in the Bumbo a few times
found out she has two best friends coming this summer/fall!! We are so excited for our friends!
Loves bath time! A few times this month she would SCREAM when I took her out. Baby girl loves her bath! She hasn't quite gotten down how to splash around yet. I took the sling out of the bathtub this month and she fits much better.
Giggled for the first time this month. What a sweet sweet sound!
Loves ESPN. It's her daddy's special trick! ;) When she's fussing, he'll turn her mamaroo towards the TV and turn on ESPN and it usually will keep her quiet/content for a while.
Loves going for walks in the stroller.
Took a trip to Longview with me last weekend and slept the whole 2.5hr ride there and almost all the way back. She did awesome!
Still has cradle cap. And when I've scrubbed her head to help it come off, her hair comes out. So sad!! I know it's normal for the hair they're born with to fall out, but she had so much of it and it's only fallen out in a few places. It looks kinda silly!
Is sportin' an impressive bald spot where she's rubbed off the hair on the back of her head.

Landry is 3 months old!

2016-02-08T15:50:00.000-06:00

Month 3 was full of change with me going back to work!

Weight: About 12.5 pounds

Eating: We are still exclusively breastfeeding. She eats about every 2-4 hours during the day, and waking 1 or 2 times at night. During the day she feeds about 10-20 minutes. She takes breast milk in a bottle when I work, usually three 4.5oz bottles while I'm gone. So far I am able to pump 3 or 4 times at work to provide bottles for the next time I work. The amount has ranged from 16-22oz in a day. Unfortunately I've dealt with clogged ducts this month. Lots of painful clogged ducts. I'm working on figuring out how to make this better! She had her tongue tie released on January 26 which has made a huge difference with nursing.

Sleep: This is still very inconsistent. I've had one or two nights where she slept through the night. It was glorious! But most nights she is still waking 1 or 2 times to eat. I've experimented some with her bedtime too. We average going to bed around 9pm. Our bedtime routine is the same as it has been, diaper, butt paste, swaddle, nurse, crib. She's still sleeping in her crib. Most mornings she will wake up around 7:30am. When I work, I try to feed her before I leave. So I'll come in and change her diaper and feed her usually around 5:35-45am and then Chris gets up with her when she wakes up again, usually around 7:30-8am.

She is such a mover in her sleep!! The night she slept through the night she turned herself 180 degrees in her crib. It's so impressive since she's swaddled she just kicks her little legs! She often is turned from how I left her.

Clothes: We are in mostly 3 month clothes. Her 0-3 month onesies are pretty snug, but we can still squeeze in to most of them. It's been fun to put her in some 2 peice outfits. She looks so much bigger and I get to kiss on her naked tummy when her shirt comes up! We really haven't had to buy many clothes. We went out and bought 2 footed pajamas last month, but that's really the only thing. We have been very blessed with gifts and hand me downs!!

Diapers: She's in size 1 diapers. We still prefer pampers and haven't had to buy anymore since she moved from newborns since we stocked up while I was pregnant. We prefer Pampers wipes too, although we will use whatever was given to us!

At 3 months old she:

Has been away from mommy while I've gone back to work. I'm working three 12 hours shifts a week. If it's on Friday-Sunday then chris keeps her. If it's Monday-Thursday, Chris' parents keep her at our house. It's worked out pretty well so far.
has started watching facial expressions closer and even mimicking tongue movement.
Loves bath time!
Has started staying awake more during the day. She will still nap in the Mamaroo, but took a crib nap this month. Hope to transition more naps to the crib this next month.
Has great head control.

Christmas 2015

2016-01-12T12:17:00.002-06:00

This year we spent Christmas with my family in East Texas. Landry and I went in a few days before Christmas and spent some time with everyone before Chris was able to join us on Christmas Eve night.

This outfit was newborn size...which we squeeeezed her into for the picture!

The great-grands. (missing 4!) Pretty entertaining trying to photograph that many kids at the same time!

My dad's mom has always made stockings for everyone in her family. I love this with all of them on the mantel!

Landry got one this year too.

Chris bought a selfie stick for our Hawaii trip so we played with it a little Christmas morning.

The aftermath of presents!

Mom got us all fun socks in our stockings!

Landry is 2 months old!

2016-01-08T07:44:00.000-06:00

Just like that we have a 2 month old! It's wild how fast it's gone by. Month 2 was full of family, traveling and smiles! It's been so fun watching her learn and seeing her personality develop.

Weight: 11 pounds, 5 ounces

Eating: We are still exclusively breastfeeding. She eats about every 2-4 hours during the day, and waking 1 or 2 times at night. During the day she feeds about 10-20 minutes. She's gotten a bottle just a few times and done great with those. We are preparing for me to go back to work, so I pump at night after I put her down to bed to build up a stash. I get a little more than last month when I pump, maybe 2-4 ounces usually. I'm still a little sore, but that's much better than last month too.

Sleep: I would still say she is fairly inconsistent with sleep. But we definitely have more good nights than bad. She usually goes down about 10-10:30pm. Her first stretch of sleep is always the longest, about 5 hours. Then she'll eat for 10-15 minutes and go back down for 2-3 hours. She's still swaddled in her crib with a sound machine on. It's nice because when she wakes up at night she will make noise/cry, but doesn't scream! I noticed this change around 5 weeks.

Clothes: We are in 0-3 month and 3 month clothes. She squeezed into a newborn outfit for Christmas and it was pretty small!

Diapers: She's in size 1 diapers. I prefer Pampers, but she has some Huggies that she has worn that seem to work well. I always make sure she's in a Pampers at night and she hasn't leaked yet.

At 2 months old she:

has had her first cold. I had a cold that I sadly shared with her at 5 weeks. It seemed to stick around foreeever. It lasted almost 3 weeks! We were using the humidifier, elevated the head of her crib, Nose Frida, saline drops. Her cough sounded terrible. So glad she's better now!
had her first outing in the Ergobaby to an A&M basketball game. She slept the whole first half and I pulled her out at halftime because she was hot! We had friends with us that were happy to hold her!
has hair that is curly when wet and pretty straight when it dries.
has flown on an airplane! We went to Hawaii for 5 nights last and she was so good.
smiles some for us! While we were in Hawaii I feel like she figured out her smile. Love seeing that sweet smile.
is holding her head up pretty well. She can still be a little wobbly, but this past week her head control has improved so much. We haven't done a ton of tummy time, but she likes to be propped up on the boppy and when she's burped she'll hold her head up well.
went to the church nursery this past week. She was the only baby this time and slept most of the hour.
got her shots at 5 1/2 weeks. I gave Tylenol the next night because she was pretty fussy. She took the shoots like a champ though.
will start staying with Chris' parents when I go back to work on Jan 20. I am so grateful I was able to take off 10 weeks!

the time we went to hawaii

2016-01-01T12:42:00.000-06:00

Chris was asked to officiate his first wedding this year. Then the bride and groom decided to have a destination wedding and asked Chris to come with them. So we all went!

The many different sleeping positions on a plane!

We got to visit the Pearl Harbor memorial. This girl slept in the Ergo the whole time!

Megan had a birthday while we were there.

So we got her a cake and ate it down on the beach. Which somehow ended up in people throwing cake at each other. Which ended up with someone losing their ring. Which...SOMEHOW we found in the sand after looking for a bit.

This girl was a dream traveler. She adapted so well to the time change and being on the go most of the time. She slept pretty much whenever, wherever. The only time it got a little hairy was riding in the car. She wasn't a huge fan of the car rides, especially if she was tired. I was a bit nervous traveling with a 7 week old, but several people told me this is the best time to go. Would totally agree now!

My time with family in Longview

2015-12-24T12:54:00.000-06:00

Landry and I went to visit my Longview family for 4 days before Christmas/Hawaii trip. It was so great to get to hang out with everyone and spend extended time with them!

Landry is 1 month old!

2015-12-08T12:59:00.000-06:00

Our sweet girl is already one month old! This month has flown by. Some of the nights/days have been long, but it's hard to believe it's already been a month! We are just loving being parents. I feel like we are kind of getting the hang of things and get into some sort of routine. We have been grateful for a pretty easygoing baby. She doesn't cry a whole lot unless she's hungry or needing to be changed. She usually doesn't mind her diaper being changed.

Eating: I think we are both figuring out breastfeeding! I'm still pretty sore, but about 10 seconds after she latches we are good. She's eating about every 3-4 hours for 20-30 minutes. I'm also pumping once a day or every other day just to have some stash if needed. I only pump 1.5-2.5oz per pump so I only have about 15 ounces stored up.

Sleep: Sleep has been pretty inconsistent so far. We have some nights where she wants to feed every 1.5-2 hrs if not more, and then (glorious) nights like the last two nights where she only wakes up to feed once! Last night I even got a 4 hour stretch of sleep! She is in her crib, so at least there's that. Our bedtime routine is to diaper, swaddle, nurse in her room. I leave the lights off and sound machine on. I lay her in the crib after she nurses. During the day she is still napping in her mamaRoo or my arms. Sometimes after I feed her, I can't help but just hold her while she sleeps and just stare at her.

Clothes: She is still in newborn, I noticed last night that her legs are running out of room in her footed outfits. Some are still big on her. It's puzzling how newborn size varies so much based on brand. I imagine we will have to try out some of her 0-3mo sized clothes soon.

Diapers: Pampers are our favorite and she is still in newborns. The past few nights I put her in a size 1 at night so she doesn't wet through her clothes/swaddle.

At 1 month old she:

LOVES looking at the Christmas tree. She can stare at it for 15-20 minutes!
is such a snuggler! I LOVE IT!
has what looks like a dimple on each cheek. I can't wait to see her real smile to see if they'll stick around.
She had her hip ultrasound last week and it was negative! No hip dysplasia. The pediatrician said he will just monitor her hip click at her well checks and make sure it doesn't change.
has grey eyes. I can't wait to see if they'll change. Chris and I both have brown eyes so I suspect they'll eventually turn brown.

Landry is 2 weeks old!

2015-11-22T17:00:00.000-06:00

At two weeks old Landry is/has:

7 pounds, 15 ounces.
Wearing newborn clothes and size NB diapers.
Sleeping in her crib at night (or on mom or dad's chest in the living room) and takes naps in her Mommaroo (or mom's arms) during the day. She's sleeping about 2.5-4 hour stretches. (When she sleeps!) I usually feed her in the living room and then put her back down. If it's past 6:30-7ish in the morning I'll just lay down with her on the couch and we will both take a nap until Chris gets up.
Breastfeeding pretty well every 3-4 hours. We had some struggles with this early on but I think we are both getting the hang of it. We haven't had to supplement since day 8!
Sporting a cute belly button! Her cord fell off on day 10.
Has the hiccups at least once a day, sometimes more.
Has the cutest sneezes! Usually just one at a time, but sometimes twice in a row.
Still has a right hip click. She goes for an ultrasound on her right hip next week.
Responsive to mom or dad's voice.
Been to church twice. She stayed quiet through service both weeks! We loved getting to show her off!

At two weeks old Landry loves:

Her wubbanub (the soothies are the only brand pacifier we've tried)
The mommaroo
Being swaddled (we are using the SwaddleMe brand)
Going for stroller rides around the neighborhood
Riding in the car

The first time we got out of the house for her 5 day appointment.

At church on Sunday at 14 days old. She was quiet the whole service.

After Landry's birth... the hospital stay

2015-11-12T12:51:00.000-06:00

Landry's Birth Story

2015-11-12T12:34:00.000-06:00

At my 39 week appointment, we went ahead and scheduled an induction for 40 weeks, 2 days if I hadn't gone into labor on my own before then. It wasn't medically necessary, but my maternity leave was starting and I didn't want to use my leave without a baby!

The week of my due date I was definitely feeling more Braxton Hicks contractions, especially at work. I was due on Saturday, November 7 and my last day of work was Thursday, November 5. That Thursday I had BH almost all day. They were never painful, my belly was just incredibly tight all day.

Chris and I were both off that Friday and Saturday and were able to spend some time nesting/organizing our home office. It was much needed! My parents decided to come into town Saturday afternoon. My mom suggested we go get a pedicure to see if a good foot massage might induce labor.

The rest of the night we enjoyed some pizza and Aggie football.

When I woke up Sunday morning I felt normal. As I got ready for church I felt a little crampy. It was hard to tell if it was contractions or what. I texted Chris around noon "I may be contracting. It's kind of constant though, not really letting up like I've read real contractions do. Definitely more uncomfortable than I've felt thus far." We went to eat lunch at Texas Roadhouse with my parents and I still felt uncomfortable, but I didn't think much more of it. We had gotten the nursery pretty much set up so my parents wanted to get a picture of Chris and I in the nursery. I am so glad my mom suggested this!

Around 3pm I started feeling more uncomfortable. My mom and I walked down to the mailbox and I could tell something was different but still wasn't certain that what I was feeling were contractions. About 3:45pm the contractions became pretty regular and I could time in between them. I went and laid down on our bed and asked Chris to download a contraction timer app on his phone. At this point they were about every 4 minutes and lasting about 45 seconds. I timed a few of them while lying on the bed and then he called his sister, Jennifer and she suggested I get in the bathtub to see if it helped the pain. So around 4pm I moved to the tub and it definitely helped make them a little more tolerable.

At this point Chris and I knew that I was in labor and we were likely having a baby today! I already had most of my bag packed, so he took my list and added the last few things I needed. He got everything together and put in the car while I labored in the tub. He set his phone on the side of the tub and I would push start/stop every time I had a contraction! He would walk through the bathroom and say, Oh that was a long one! He was so great about staying calm and being as helpful as he could be. They were still about every 3-4 minutes and lasted about 45-60 seconds. At this point I wasn't able to talk through them. It was difficult to even walk out to the car during a contraction.

We left for the hospital at 5pm. Thankfully they got me checked in pretty quick and I didn't have to wait very long to get up to L&D. Once we got upstairs MaryAnn put me on the monitor and checked me and I was 5cm!

Things moved pretty quickly from there! They got my IV started about 5:45pm. She got it on the first try and it really wasn't bad at all. She drew blood with the IV and that allowed them to know if my platelet count was stable enough to call for the epidural.

During my contractions the most comfortable position for me to be in was either bent over against the bed or in the bed on all fours. Neither one was really a great option because I was hooked up to the fetal monitor, blood pressure cuff and the IV, so it was easy to become a tangled mess! At one point the nurse told me she was impressed with how calm/quiet I was. The contractions HURT, but I just buried my face in the pillow and held my breath during them.

My platelets were stable, so the epidural was placed at 6:30pm. In the days/weeks leading up to my due date, this is what I was most nervous about. But during labor, I didn't care! The hardest part was enduring the contractions and sitting how I needed to sit for him to place the epidural.

The numbing medicine they use first did sting, but it kicked in pretty quick. He actually had to put more numbing medicine because when he started with the epidural I could feel what he was doing. Chris sat in front of me and held my hand and I rested myself on his knee. I think it took about 15 minutes for him to finish placing it and I had about 3 contractions while he was working. While he was placing it, it made the muscles to the right of my spine spasm. That was pretty uncomfortable and weird!

Once the epidural was in and working, I felt GREAT. It was the weirdest thing not to feel the contractions now but my stomach would be tight to the touch. My legs were warm, numb and heavy, but I never lost complete function of them. This sounds dumb, but I didn't expect my stomach to be numb. It totally makes sense that it would be, but I only anticipated my legs being numb!

Shift change happened about now and Tara took over. At 7pm I was 7cm.

Landry had a decel with the first contraction after the epidural was placed, so I had to wear oxygen and lie on my left side. She improved with that and her heart rate came back up.

By 7:30pm I was at 9cm and they called Dr. Jansky to come in. At 8pm Dr. Jansky came in and broke my water. It was meconium stained, so that meant the NICU team would have to be present for the delivery just to be on the safe side. At 8:40pm we started pushing with each contraction. They were still coming about every 3-5 minutes and I pushed 3 times for 10 seconds each with every contraction. She still hadn't crowned, but we were trying to move things along. We did this for THREE hours. She was sunny side up, and not coming down! The first hour went by pretty quick, but when hour two came I was getting pretty tired. Around 11:10pm the Neo team came in and Dr. J started asking how I felt about using the vacuum. By then I was open to whatever! They tried vacuum suction once and it came off as she was trying to pull her out. With the next two contractions she used forceps to try to get her out and the second time she was successful. At 11:32pm, Landry was finally here!

She was floppy and had very little color when she was delivered and once they got her to cry and pink up they kept her under the warmer for a little bit while I got stitched up.

I was so relieved that she was finally here and pretty exhausted, which you can tell by the pictures that were taken of me!

We almost took our first family picture here, but as soon as this one was taken I basically threw Landry at Chris and told the nurse that I needed to throw up. I threw up twice and then felt fine.

I need to take a minute and brag on this guy. He was so incredible during this whole process. Neither of us knew what we were doing and Chris was so supportive and encouraging. He held my left leg through every single contraction while I was pushing even though his shoulder hurt. At one point he asked me if he could do anything for me and then followed that up with, "I'm going to keep asking you that." He said he felt very helpless but I couldn't have done it without him. So so grateful for him!

Chris' parents with their first granddaughter! (She's the third grandchild on both sides though.)

This special group of friends waited at the hospital the whole time! Chris and I are very blessed with great friends and Landry is so loved by them already.

Progression of Baby Bump {#1}

2015-11-09T19:36:00.000-06:00

I didn't do a great job of weekly updates during this pregnancy, but I did post some! I compiled the pictures here with the caption from Instagram if it was posted there.

The bump comes out at night.

We hit the halfway mark yesterday! The belly is undeniable at this point. I'm still feeling pretty great except the leg cramps at night. I have an anterior placenta, so I still haven't felt any movement. Looking forward to the anatomy scan on Tuesday!

22 weeks today! I'm feeling great and even started feeling her move this week. I'm in almost all maternity clothes except my scrubs. Legs cramps are better after changing my prenatal and adding magnesium supplements. Hungry all the time but I get full pretty quick when I eat. Loving sweets! (Not new!) Still very grateful for an uneventful pregnancy!

We had our 24 week appt this week and our girl is measuring right on track! I've been feeling her more and more, which is the coolest feeling. Chris even got to feel her this week. Hard to believe only 15ish weeks left until we meet her!!

Hard to believe we are 9 days into the third trimester! Going to the OB every 2 weeks now. I passed my glucose test! Everything is still looking great! She's moving around a lot and I'm having to pee much more often now! Less than 11 weeks until we meet our sweet girl!

We are less than 10 weeks from having a baby! That's wild and awesome!! It's getting more difficult to squat and bend over at work. She's been a squirmy worm these past few days but still hard for someone else to feel her move. Thankfully I'm still sleeping well most nights. This past week I had someone ask if I was about 11 weeks along (bless her) and the next day someone told me I was waddling and looked like I could deliver any day. Ha! We are slowly getting her nursery together.

We are halfway through the 32nd week! A patient we have today at work has me even more grateful for this precious life inside of me and I'm reminded that we aren't guaranteed a single day with her. // She moves all the time now (except when someone tries to feel her!). Overall still feeling pretty good!

36 weeks today! I can't wait to meet our sweet girl but hope she hangs on for a few more weeks to give her daddy time to recover from shoulder surgery he's having on Wednesday. We are putting the finishing touches on her nursery and I still need to pack a bag. We are pre-registered at the hospital and probably about as ready as we could be! Strangers/patients still tell me how small I am (bless them) and our friends say how big I've gotten. This whole journey has been amazing and gone by so fast. Here's to the last few weeks!

I had my 36 week check last Thursday and she's head down and ready to go! I do feel like she may have dropped a little in the last week. Seeing my OB weekly now. Only 9 more work days before my leave! 🎉Still feeling pretty good! Not feeling any contractions yet. Looking forward to meeting our baby girl!

Less than 2 weeks to go! (Or so) My lower back has been sore off and on this weekend, mostly just when I'm at work. I'm still sleeping fairly well (other than getting up to potty 2-3 times a night) The nursery is almost ready! I still have a few things on my to-do list before she comes! I go back to the OB on Wednesday and we will see if anything else is happening. We are almost there!!

We are so close to having a baby! I got checked on Monday and I'm 3cm dilated and 70% effaced. She is a 2+ station and I'm definitely feeling that! I have one more day of work tomorrow before maternity leave. Having a lot of pelvic pressure but I feel pretty good! Braxton Hicks (or what I assume are BH) almost all day yesterday. Come on sweet girl!

{We took this picture Sunday after church/lunch and I never had a chance to post it because within a few hours I was in labor!}

Some thoughts/overviews about my pregnancy...

-Weight gained: 32 pounds

-No stretch marks on belly! (A small one on my love handle area)

-Never had heartburn

-Was queasy for a few weeks in the first trimester, but only threw up 3 times. Twice when brushing my teeth (holy gag reflex!) and once when riding in the car with Chris.

-Leg cramps were annoying/painful for a while around week 19-22.

-Never really had any cravings. In the first trimester, carbs were my best friend (loved baked potatoes). I couldn't get enough sweets in the last trimester, but I think it was mostly because I allowed myself to eat pretty much whatever I wanted.

-My belly button stayed in. The last few weeks it had almost disappeared.
-I am very grateful for an uneventful pregnancy!

Soon to be...family of three!

2015-06-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

We've been off birth control since Fall of 2011 and tried to get pregnant naturally off and on since then. When it hadn't happened for us, we decided to pursue fostering (in hopes to foster-to-adopt). We went to an informational meeting in January of this year and were still interested, but the timing just wasn't right for us get the training done that is required. I was bummed, but excited about at least taking a step in that direction. At the beginning of March, we found out we are expecting!

How I found out

On March 5, 2015, I was a day late and decided to go ahead and test. I had seen so many "not pregnant" tests that I usually just wouldn't even test, I would just wait until my period came so I wasn't so disappointed. But this month was different! I saw that 2nd pink line. Then I was mad at myself for not having a digital test to see the word PREGNANT. I waited a few hours and took another one, still pregnant! Chris was at work and on Thursdays he works late. Somehow I kept the news from him until the next day! I had picked up some digital tests that night, so I took 2 more on Friday morning. Still pregnant!

How I told Chris

Small back story...in November 2013, I tested positive the day after Chris had shoulder surgery. We were incredibly excited and dreamed for 4 days about our baby. I started bleeding on that 4th day and it turned out to be a chemical pregnancy. We were devastated. So I really didn't know how to tell Chris this time, which I think is why I waited another day after taking the first tests.

We were waiting on our tax return to come in and had thrown around what we wanted to do with the money. When Chris got up Friday morning (4w6d), he came in the living room and I hugged him and said "I think we should put the tax return in savings." Oh course he asked why...and I replied "Because we are having a baby!" We were both still pretty hesitant to believe this was happening. The subject really wasn't talked about much that next week or so. We wanted to believe, but had our hearts crushed last time and didn't want to get too excited. A week after I told him (5w6d) we went to Target and looked at baby stuff and it started to feel a little more real. We even bought our first box of diapers!

How we told our parents

Chris' mom's birthday was on Easter this year, so we took her gift over to their place the Thursday before Easter. (8w5d) We made up a gift bag with things that she loves. So I had tags that said "For your love of..." and included things like chocolate, gerber daisies, Italian food. The last one said "For your love of being a Nana" and it was a box with some custom cookies we had made. Their reaction was pretty cute! They were both very surprised and excited.

My parents came to visit us for Easter, so we went out to eat Friday night. When we got back home after dinner, I told them I got them something and they had to open it together. They opened the box and mom slowly pulled the cookies out and handed them to my dad. Their reaction was also very sweet and both very excited for another grandbaby! I wish I could have recorded both of them, but I knew the second we pulled out a camera to record they would have known something was up!

How we told our friends

Our good couple friend that we had vacationed with earlier in February came over to help us move on Easter night. (9w1d) Their anniversary was the week before and I had ordered a cute little memory book for them since it was their first anniversary. I signed the card "Chris, Lei and Little S". Megan read it first and passed it on to Jake without saying anything! When Jake read it, he said "Oh cute..from Scout too". I said "Nope, not Scout..." and he realized what I was saying and then passed the card back to Megan. She freaked out and squeezed me as hard as she could! It was very sweet and felt honored that they were so excited for us.

I facetimed with my sisters to tell them and they both suspected something when my mom made them sit down and facetime me together, but still were very excited! We moved at the end of that week, and when we showed our college students and other friends/family the new house, we showed them all the bedrooms including the nursery (which was still just an empty room). Most of them got it right off, some of them needed a little explaining. One of my coworkers was showing off a picture of her daughter saying "Look at my baby." So I said "Well look at MY baby" and she assumed I was going to show her a picture of Scout, but I showed her the ultrasound. She said "WHOSE BABY IS THAT?!" and when she realized I was pregnant she was so excited! It's been so fun to experience people be genuinely happy for us and excited with us. Telling people has been one of my favorite parts of pregnancy so far.