Mr. Smiles



Love it.



With his Nemo toy from Chuck



A pic of me with my little nugget!

1st Visit to the Doctor's

Hey Caden, how do you feel about going to see the Doc?



Hmm....



got his thinking cap on.



Whew! That took a lot out of him!

A Night of Visitors

Resting on his daddy's chest. His comfort zone.





With Uncle Scott & Aunt Whitney



With Nicole



And now he is hungry!

cute lil nugget

Our little bundle of joy!

He's so peaceful!



I love the left pic, looks like he is crossing a finish line in a race!

haha

It's bath time!!!!

He wasn't a huge fan of getting a bath, but what newborn is? He gets another one tonight after we attempt to get some hand & footprints made.

Wish us luck.

We'll need it.

Homecoming!

Michelle with Caden

He came in from the nursery one night at the hospital with a faux hawk. A nurse came in and said, "Oh there's the cute little blondie we're talking about." Ha! Already a ladies' man. good work son!



Getting him primed to go home! I love how his outfit is too big for him. A lot of his clothes are too big for him. It's so cute!



Daisy meeting Caden for the first time! I love how precious her face looks.



Oakley & Daisy sniffing their new pal





We're home.

day 2

Hanging with his dad at the hospital

1 week

As of today @ 1:55 PM, he will be a week old! I can't believe it! Well actually I can. I know time flies by. That's why even though he keeps me up from 3am-6am, I still look at him & smile bc he is just so darn cute! He is stretching out in his bouncer right now about to wake up. Just in time to get fed & then HOPEFULLY work on his photo shoot. It keeps getting put off & he just keeps getting bigger. * And he is back out for the count!* I'll try to work on some more pix that I have already taken & get them posted!

a pic from my phone in the hospital. "Hey guys! I'm having a blast!"

At home with his Dad.

This is his Muscle Man pose

I also love how his pants are too big on him, so he kinda looks like an little old man with his knickers jacked WAY up there!

Baby Caden

With Jimmy & I




With My mom







With Jimmy's parents: Leslie & Jim



With my dad, Scott & my brother, Mikey



With my mom, Karen



Back in the postpartum room.



More to come! I promise. One post at a time. Haha!!!!

Whew!

Sorry this took so long!

So Monday, I was definitely in early labor. That is some painful shizz. My contractions were finally 5 minutes apart, so the doc said go straight to L&D!

Jimmy came home from work & drove me over there. My mom met up with us. I felt like a total tool being wheeled down that long hallway. There was a food service lady in the hall, and she let us take a shortcut up to LDR. She was eating potato chips in front of me, just to make me hungry. bitch. haha jk.

They put me in a room & got me all situated. Every nurse I had while I was there was AMAZING! We had fun watching the screen for my contractions. It was cool that Jimmy & my mom could tell him when it was starting to go down. I downed a bunch of popsicles that day. And ice chips- WOW those are AMAZING!!!!! I had to have the IV in the back of my hand. I wasn't too thrilled about that. And I bled all over my wedding ring. Gross. The contractions were seriously horrendous. I was still only dilated at a 2. WTF! If they send me home, I'm gonna flip out! I don't really remember the progression of my dilation. I do remember throwing up orange popsicle & it tasting good, and that I wanted another one after that. Ew, no I didn't.

The nurse said that if I didn't dilate more that the Doc would probably send me home the next morning. Then she checked I was at a 4, I believe. Good work! I had to have my water broken. I asked if she did it yet, and she did. I thought I would feel a gush or something- nope. Then at night she gave me an Ambien to help me sleep a little. Yeah, that didn't work. The contractions were so horrible. Then she gave me some Demoral to take the edge off a little. I don't even remember if that worked at all. I do remember being dilated at a 6 or 8 around 7Am, so I got an epidural and life was PERFECT! No more back pain, no more labor pain, I was passed out! Finally, some sleep. I was sleeping but I could still hear people and feel that I had contractions. They didn't hurt at all, I just knew they were there. Which I didn't mind. I could hear Jimmy & my mom look @ the monitor- "Whoa! That one went up to 108! I'm glad she didn't feel it." My nurse had to go to a meeting, she said she will be back in 30 minutes & to not have the baby while she is gone.

I finally woke up & was about take another nap, but the Doc came in. "Ok, let's see if you're dilated anymore. OMG! There's the head!" - "What?" - "Yeah, Dad do you want to see your baby's blonde hair?" We all jumped in amazement. The head is coming out already? I was just going to take another nap! Haha! How the hell did I not feel that?

So, they prepped me up. I said, "Amy [the nurse who left] is gonna be pissed!" It was time to push. Delivery was NOT AT ALL what I expected. In movies & tv they make it seem like it's this super horrible, painful experience. I must have had a super dose of epidural, bc I didn't feel ANY pain! And I must be good at "bearing down like I'm gonna take a dump" bc I only had to push for about an hour. They said that was a quick delivery for a first time mom. Must be from all that working out I did. {patting myself on the back}

As his shoulders & the rest of his body came out, I could feel my stomach sink down. It was the weirdest feeling.....ever. But so cool at the same time. They put him on my stomach & didn't cry at first. But for some reason, I wasn't worried. It was like I knew the Doc would handle it. And she did. He burst out a loud cry & they swept him away to prepare him for me. He wasn't all gooey like most babies. Super clean. And a hairy little bugger. {that explains the HORRIBLE heartburn} He had the BLONDEST hair, too. So adorable.

He scored a 9 out of 10 on his APGAR test! Good work kiddo!

Welcome to the world Caden James!

7 lbs 7 oz
20.5 in
Born March 22 @ 1:55PM


More to come!

39.5

early labor BLOWS!

*x*fingers crossed*x*

39.2

I had contractions today! But they weren't 5 min apart, so I can't go to the hospital yet. I'm definitely going to pay attention to them though!

Also, apparently 2 walks yesterday was a lot. My knees & ankles are in really bad shape today. Very strange pain. Oh well. And as I'm sitting here typing, it feels like the baby is resting on my legs. Whoa! That HAS to mean that he has dropped. Right?

Gotta go watch Jimmy play basketball against Mikey, hopefully right after their game, we will be taking a trip to the hospital! :)

p.s. Is it wrong that I keep checking for open shifts at work? Am I trying to push myself a little too far, or am I just bored?

Oh dear...

I got an email for bizarre products. Check this out!

baby hook

butt fan

oh, stop... Who wears this?

Now this could be cool.

I should get this so I'll stop wiping my own nose on my sleeve

yes! I HAVE to have this

I'm getting you this for christmas

OMG! I can't stop laughing!

Wow! So many messed up things out there. What will people come up with next? HAHA!

Looks like this baby won't be a St. Patrick's Day baby. :(

I guess that's for the better. Who wants to share their day with a Saint? How do you live up to that? Plus when he is older and goes out to celebrate St. Patty's Day, he will still get another day to go out and celebrate. It's like people who's birthday's are close to Christmas. They get gipped on presents. If you're born on St. Patty's, you get gipped on going out & getting tanked!

39.1

Still nothing. I also don't feel like I've dropped. I know his head is down there and low, but his feet are still jabbing me in the ribs & I had heartburn pretty bad last night. I literally didn't get much sleep & now I'm irritable. Oakley won't stop meowing & Daisy won't eat her breakfast. She is also pacing all over the dining room. She had no problem scarfing down a treat earlier. haha. So I'm about to pick up the kitty & throw him out the window. I'll open it first though. geesh!

I emailed the hospital's visitor policy out to some friends & family, but I just realized that was a stupid idea since this baby IS NEVER COMING OUT!!!!!!! [insert sarcastic laugh].

It's 60º out, which is awesome, which is also the reason I figured I'd be in the hospital today. It's finally sunny & getting warm, you'd think I'd be missing out on this. Nope. Instead, I opened some windows, and now I'm sitting in my dining room with a jacket on. Which oddly enough smells like cigarette smoke & is pissing me off. Why the heck would it smell like that? None of my friends smoke. You can't smoke in public places anymore. wts?! [see the irritability?]

Oooh!! I hear the Papa Hageman bird!!!!! Maybe he is telling me that everything is going to be ok & that I should just take a deep breath.

*So in case anyone is wondering, I'm tired, irritable, happy the sun's out, pissed that this baby hasn't been born yet, annoyed with my animals, and super thirsty.

"weekly" update!

How far along: 38 weeks & 6 days

Maternity clothes: Basically done wearing them. I've just been wearing sweats, I know, super attractive. But it's only 40º out, and I don't leave the house unless to go to the gym or doc, so what's the point?

Sleep: I haven't slept through the night in awhile. I get up about once a night to pee, which isn't so bad. My left hip is killing me though, bc I am only allowed to sleep on my left side. I also have some bruising on that hip. I wonder if it's from that? I haven't ran into anything.

Best moment this week: finding out that I started to dilate a little & that my cervix is thinning out. Also having a for sure due date.

Movement: He is still usually very active. Today he wasn't as much, so I kinda freaked for about 2 min. Then he started moving, so it's all good.

Food cravings/aversions: Chocolate, fresh fruit, Trader Joe's milk, noodles, & potato chips

What I miss: My old body, REAL sushi, sleeping on my back or right side, & not having heartburn.

What I am looking forward to: meeting this baby

What I have learned: this labor is a slow process & may never happen

Milestones: taking a nap, finally. I really had no choice though. It was either that or be BORED outta my frickin MIND!!!!

38.6

I took a belly shot today, but it doesn't look any different from the last one. So there is no need to post it.

burned out & baking....?

I was soooo tired after work the other day. And instead of taking a nap, I decided to make cookies! Who does that? Anyway, I'm happy that I did, bc they were sooooooooooo delicious!!!



baking away



Seriously, don't those look tasty?



Since I'm a master cookie maker (haha), I know to take them out before they are supposed to be taken out. Because every good chef knows that they still cook a little after you take them out of the oven. They ended up being PERFECT! And the baby loved them, too. Today, I ate the last one. It was a sad moment. I wish I had more.


I guess I will have to settle for something else.

So I really thought that the baby would be born tomo, but I haven't had any fake contractions, so I'm wrong. I honestly thought I had it pegged though. Kinda disappointing. I really don't want to be induced & then find out that I have to get a C-section. Why doesn't he just want to be born?! haha

38.5

Alrighty, I haven't dilated anymore. :( Still around 2cm, but I did find out that I'm about 50%-60% effaced. Doesn't mean much. Still have a big time frame - - could be tomo, could be in 12 days... I also found out that my OB & secondary OB are out of town next week. So that's awesome. This baby HAS to come out this week. Haha!

He said that if the baby doesn't come out before the 25th, then we are taking me to the hospital and inducing on the 26th. He doesn't want to induce just yet, bc it ups my chances of having a c-section. Hopefully, this little guy heard the doc & just comes out this week. Today looks good, Wednesday would be IDEAL! Plus if he is born on Wed, Scotty wins the pot! He was pretty lucky last night with his die rolling, let's hope his luck is still right on! :)

After my appt, Jimmy & I went to the gym. I'm up to 24 lbs gained so far. My goal was to walk for 15 min & do that vertical elliptical climber thingy for another 15 min. I only made it the 15 min on the treadmill. I couldn't even do the cool down, I was in so much pain. So hopefully that will do the trick. Jimmy is making me take it easy for the rest of the day. He has baseball, so he can't observe me then! muuwahhhahahaHA!

I had 2 chili dogs for lunch, so I will probably have this baby tomo, bc that is just disgusting! ew.

peace.

38.4

I have been pregnant for 270 days. That is ALMOST a full year!!!! Ok, maybe not, but it's pretty damn close. I am done with it. Haha. We are going to the gym. Hopefully walking or going on one of the other machines will make this baby want to come out & meet everyone.

I have heartburn.

This blows.

38.2

OMG! GET OUT! I'm sooooooo over being pregnant. haha. AND THIS WEATHER!!!! I guess the good news, is that since it will never warm up, I'll be able to wear jeans for the rest of my life! I swear this baby will be late, just to piss me off. I'm sitting here in the office freezing my huge ass off. Ooh, maybe that will help me shed some poundage! :D

I was making sure my hospital bag is packed, since I haven't gone in the baby's room in about 2 weeks. And I read the 3 things to look for to notify if I need to go to the hospital. One of them is decreased fetal movement. I'm supposed to see if he kicks within 2 hours after I eat. So I ate a kiwi, and before I could finish the first half, he was already kicking a little.

Last night, while I was lying in bed, I was thinking how EXTREMELY weird it is to be pregnant. There is a human life inside my belly who is bigger than a football! I look down & even though my belly is huge, it's still hard to believe that there is a little person in there. Kinda gross, kinda cool, and just plain weird.

38.1

I thought I read somewhere that if you drink milk & you feel your baby get the hiccups then he/she will be lactose intolerant when they are born. Every time I drink milk he DOES get the hiccups!!!! I have to drink milk every night b4 I go to bed to take my heartburn pills. And this morning I had cereal for breakfast & sure enough....hiccup! hiccup! hiccup!

So I went online to look for it, and of course, I can't find anything linking to that.

Has anyone ever heard of it or did I just dream about it or something?

38.0

OMG! I have 14 days to go until my due date!!!!

That is sooooo cool!!! Yesterday, we put the car seat in my NEW car! (ok-It's Jimmy's car, but it's NEW TO ME)! haha. I figured nobody is going to be sitting in the backseat until this baby is born & I'm not really going anywhere. Might as well be prepared. Since Jimmy is a car seat tech, he made fun of me bc I didn't make the strap tight enough. "Come on Sally! Use some muscle." What muscle? Due to this pregnancy, I'm all lumpy & fat.

I'm dilated finally, not much, but it's getting there! And I had cramps all day yesterday. Hopefully those are Braxton Hicks. It would be a lot cooler, if they were the real deal. But oh well. A couple I know is at the hospital today, having a baby. I'm so jealous!

I can't wait to feel like myself again!

I am boycotting...

...maternity clothes! I'm done.

Yes. Everything I am wearing is from my wardrobe before I got pregnant. {except my underwear-damn ass & thighs got bigger} After thinking, that doesn't sound like a compliment....at....all. Was I really that big? Well, to make myself feel better, the clothes that I'm wearing were rather big on my before.

Yup. Definitely pregnant. And after going through this experience, I feel bad for every pregnant chick out there. You can't go anywhere without people staring at you. It makes you super self conscious. And what's their deal anyway? Have they NEVER seen a knocked up girl before!?!?! geesh.

Oh and how classy is that? See the little white fluffs all over the floor? That would be from Daisy's toy that she tore up. Have I picked up that mess yet? The answer is no. I thought blogging was more important.

Now THAT is my best angle! You can't see my face & other than the fact that my hourglass figure is gone, it kinda looks like I'm not even preggo. Just a chick with a typical male body. Straight up & down.

Damn, my hips are WIDE!

Dang, my hair is getting long. I didn't even realize that.

37.5

wooHOO! I had an appt today. I'm dilated 1cm, my cervix is thinning out, and the head is lower than it was last week! :) My doc said, "I'll see you next monday [for my next appt] if not sooner!"

wooweeeee! That is what I like to hear. Let's get this thing moving! I'm not going to get my hopes up, but COME ON!!!!

I only got 3.5 hours of sleep last night due to horrible heartburn pains. And stupid me signed up to work this week. Ugh. It's hard to say no. I can't just sit at home & wait to have this baby. So I figured it would be better to at least get paid to sit & wait for the baby. But now, that I'm not sleeping through the night again, bc of the pain, I'm a little mad at myself for signing up. Oh well. Who needs rest for labor? Uh...EVERY person that goes through it! shit.

It's 7th grade Social Studies, too. So I'm pretty sure this is gonna BLOW!!!!!

On with the show!

"What's in a Name....

....That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Oh man, people! Give us some ideas!

Any boy names you can think of. Send them this way!!! There isn't much time left.

Speaking of which, the pool is now closed. So we can't accept anymore guesses on the length, weight, time & date. Thank you to all of you who joined in & good luck to ya! I know my weight & length guesses were bogus, so I won't be winning either of those categories. :/ haha.

Back to naming this baby. I didn't realize how hard it would be to name a boy. This is a frickin' nightmare!!!!!!! Boys' names SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

Please tell me your ideas!

37.4

17 more days!!!!!!!

Went bowling last night again. HAHA! Let's hope that did the trick! I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in awhile. It was fun to see their reactions to the big bump in front of me. They couldn't believe I was able to bowl being as far as I am.

It was a good night, and I still got to bed fairly early. I didn't get to sleep through the night, but I just had some protein enriched cereal & I feel like walking a marathon! Too bad it's FRICKIN' SNOWING OUT! WTF!?!?!

I'll go on the elliptical then. Tomo I have another appt, then headed over to the gym! :)

I know "shorts season" HAS to be around the corner, somewhere...... :(

37.1

So, yeah, I'm gonna go with the fact that I'm 38 weeks preggo now!

Come on BABY LEFF! GET OUT!!!! Gonna try the red wine next!!! I'm really looking forward to that by the way. I just read that his vocal chords are all set to go. Grrrrrrreat. I get annoyed when Oakley whines, can't wait to hear the baby crying! haha.

HA! ok, so we all know the cheesy preggo shots that ladies take, right?

Well, I apologize for those of you who like having them done. I think they are just outrageously horrible. haha I mean the cheesy thing EVER!!!!!! So as a joke, I took 2 today. I thought maybe I'll get why people like doing them. Nope. They still made me laugh & cringe at the same time. I don't know what it is, but they are just hysterically lame.

I think it has something to do with the fact that I don't think being pregnant is "beautiful." In fact, I think it's very unattractive. Your belly is huge & if you're like me, you have thunder thighs. How the hell is that beautiful? And don't start preaching the "having a baby is such a beautiful thing." Uh, no, actually it isn't. I've seen live births, they are not beautiful in the least. "No, no. The fact that you can grow a baby inside you is beautiful." Oh- that's what you meant. Yeah, still not beautiful. Kinda cool & interesting, but not beautful....at....all. Poor choice of adjective people.

Or how about when people "bond" with their baby {that is still in their belly}? My friend Jenna & I were discussing that. Neither of us did/do it. I don't sit and read to my belly. I'll read in my head, but not out loud. I know the baby can hear me, but that is just stupid. I'll say, "Hey! Stop kicking me there!" But that is the farthest I'll go with talking to my unborn child. It's just creepy.

I also don't like it when I'm reading one of those magazines that I get at the Doc's & they say something like: "Make sure to eat well for baby." THE baby, writers! THE BABY. You forgot to put a "the" in front of the word "baby." Not too sure why, but that bugs the hell outta me. "Is the room all set up for baby?" Ugh. Just aggravating. NO! The room is NOT all set up for THE baby, bc THE baby isn't going to even notice! Ok-not true, his room is TOTALLY set to go! I'm anal. I like things ready. :) Haha. Ooooh he's kicking around down there. I should go eat! And drink some wine!

Trying stuff out...

So I'm starting to try stuff out to jump start this labor thing. I've heard/read many different ways, so why not try them all? I mean it can't hurt. So far, none have worked, OBVIOUSLY!

I do notice that when I walk (exercising) I start to cramp up or contract, so maybe I should just jump on the elliptical and get moving. Not too crazily of course. Just a slow pace.

We tried bowling the other night, hoping that would do the trick. Nope.



Going bowling again this weekend though, so maybe that will be the last straw! :)

I'm doing laundry today {BOOOO} and I notice that when I pick up the baskets my lower abs contract again. Maybe doing laundry will get this ball rolling. I know the baby will be born when he is ready, but I'm not late for anything, and I certainly do NOT want to be late for this. If he is in there over 40 weeks I will rip him out myself. ew. mental picture.

He still moves around a lot. Maybe I can coax him into wanting to be born a little early.


I think everything is ready, now we are just playing the waiting game. I don't like that game very much.

damn!

Only dilated a fingertip, so basically not at all. Doc said, "you'll still be pregnant next week."

booooo. I went to the gym afterwards and walked on the treadmill for 30 min. Hopefully that will get things going a little more quickly.

Also, I weighed myself.....23 lbs total! HOLY WHALE!!!! Looks like no more ice cream for me. Great! Now I'm hungry!

p.s. I miss my abs. :(