Jaden's Birth story part 2

Jaden’s Birth Story Part 2
…we arrived at the hospital around lunchtime I believe, I was very hungry (never a good thing ;)…especially at 9 months preggo) anxious, and nervous! I was examined, placed on the monitor and after a little while was instructed to walk the halls over and over and over again in order to see if my body would make progress on its own. It was a very small hallway I might add. We did this for probably about an hour…Josh arrived a little while after we started our walk. We were getting really excited but I also was afraid to get my hopes up just yet. After all there was no guarantee that we were staying just yet.
Here we are walking the halls…



After our walk, I think it was about 2:30 or so…I was re-examined and told we had made it to 2cm…I can’t remember how far I had effaced, unfortunately…I want to say 80%. So, while we had made progress , it wasn’t enough to keep me there…

…home we went. On the way home my mom and I stopped at Target, to pick up some things…my mom and Josh stopped and got us subs from Publix for dinner, yum!!! I was soooo starved at this point! I think I could have eaten two!
Later in the evening we went for a walk in order to try and help move things along. Here we are walking day one...




Sometime late that night, I kept waking up with more intense contractions. Up until that point they had been more “crampy” than uncomfortable. They were coming about 3-4 minutes apart but not very regular. I called the midwife on call and she said to “wait and see” , so we did.
Here I am lying on the couch with my mom and Josh trying to time contractions. At this point I was a little cranky because I hadn’t really “slept” much in two days already and it was still hard to figure out exactly when the contractions were starting and stopping so unfortunately I found myself getting frustrated. They were there, no question about it but they weren’t anything crazy just yet. Not the most flattering picture, but for memories sake….why not.


After a few hours of timing contractions we decided it was best to at least attempt sleep once more, I spent most of the time just lying in bed because the contractions were keeping me awake, but at least Josh was able to sleep.
In the morning, we got up and had some breakfast, and I said to my mom and Josh “He’s coming out today!!” We walked and walked and walked. I was determined people! ;) I wanted to meet my boy! Here we are walking Day two…(notice how low my belly is!!)









We did this for a few hours, and as we did the contractions got stronger, more regular and lasted longer…so after our walk we showered, and headed back to the hospital, round two…

Getting back in shape...

So it's been 3 weeks and 5 days since I gave birth...so far the weight has pretty much come off on its own, thank goodness because I certainly don't have the time or energy at the moment to work out. There's a small pooch left but I only have about 6 lbs left to lose and I'll be at my goal weight. I do have some nice stretchmarks all around my belly button (thankfully in the pics they didn't show up)from my little monkey, but Josh says I should look at them as "trophies" lol...he tries ;)

Anyway, I don't plan on "working out" or dieting until after the new year, and once I have the "go ahead" from the Dr...but I figured I'd try to go ahead and start tracking my progress now. I have every intention of getting my booty in shape and this will help me keep myself accountable!

Pre-pregnancy weight: 107lbs
38 weeks weight: 144lbs
Current weight: 121lbs (as of Thanksgiving)
Goal weight: 115lbs

Photo taken just a couple weeks before Jaden made his grand entrance...believe it or not, I miss the belly sometimes!!!


Photos were taken at 2 weeks and 4 days postpartum....

Jaden 3 weeks and a Happy Thanksgiving...

...well, mostly ;) my poor little monkey wasn't too happy in the pics because he was hungry! When this boy is hungry...watch out, lol...arms will punch and legs will kick! He will let you know just how unhappy he is! He gets that from his mommy. Lol. When I'm hungry I'm hungry and it makes me a wee bit cranky...ooops! ;P
We spent the day with Grammy and Pap...they certainly enjoyed having Baby J around...it was a nice and quiet, small Thanksgiving meal that was followed by a couple of movies. Sadly I had to end it going home and worrying about my already late assignment...ooops again!

Jaden's Birth Story Part 1...

Jaden’s Birth Story Part 1:


Jaden

The name Jaden is a baby boy name. The name Jaden comes from the Hebrew origin. In Hebrew The meaning of the name Jaden is: Jehovah has heard. A Biblical name.
http://www.babyhold.com/list/Hebrew_Baby_Names/Jaden/details/


Oh where to start?! First of all, I’m so embarrassed that it has taken so long for me to actually sit and write this out, but as you can imagine it has been quite a crazy few weeks between school, home, and most importantly caring for my little baby boy! I hope I can remember everything correctly. There is so much that I want to write about, I hope I do not leave anything out and can make sense of all that I have in my head! This past month has been the craziest, most amazing month of our lives! We waited for this little boy a very long time and always hoped/prayed for this experience. It is still at times surreal that it is actually happening to us! We couldn’t be happier to have our Angel with us. Every sleepless night/chaotic day is worth it ten times over…when I get to look at that precious child! It amazes how natural becoming a mother came to me. It’s like I cannot remember life before him…as if he has always been with me!
So…I suppose it all started the weekend before I gave birth, October 30th/31st.
Let me just go ahead and preface this with … nothing about this labor and delivery went as I had planned it, lol; and to be honest, not much has since. I suppose this is how that good ‘ole saying “Man plans, GOD laughs” came about …
I didn’t realize it at the time, but my body was actually preparing for labor the entire weekend before I gave birth. I thought I was just having some plain old Braxton Hicks contractions and pain in my pelvis. I had been majorly achy all weekend long. Getting up and sitting down was so painful that whenever I had to change positions I either needed help or it took me forever to do so. So that’s pretty much how Saturday and Sunday and Monday…went.
Tuesday morning started early for my mom and I, she came with me to my routine Dr’s appt that had been scheduled for that week (November 2nd). Now let me just add that this was midterm week…as in I wasn’t really planning to be in labor through that. Especially after failing my final exam for the previous class because I gad gotten myself so worked up about school and going into labor during an important test!
Anyway, so we sat at the Dr’s office, and waited, and waited and waited some more. They were as usual running way behind schedule. I vividly remember joking with my mom that by the time I would be seen I’d be in labor! Haha…jokes on me! That was 9 a.m., by 9:10 I was having contractions! No kidding! They took me back, strapped me on the monitor, yup…definitely contracting…did an exam…yup…dialated about 1 cm. So off to the hospital we were sent! I called Josh at work and told him…and so the craziness began !! At 37 weeks and 5 days, we were off to have ourselves a baby, or so we thought...

This was the last belly pic we had taken...37 weeks.

I promise....

Someday (hopefully soon) I will blog again ;P ...I will post Jaden's long and somewhat amusing birth story...I will get caught up on all that has fallen behind. In the meantime I have an adorable little monkey to tend to. Love you all! <3
Nadine

More Photos of my little Angel...

Pooped from all that emailing, posting, blogging :)


Helping Mommy get caught up on emails, etc.


Helping Mommy with Homework!


Mommy's favorite outfit!

Announcements....

As silly as it may sound, I've always looked forward to sending these out one day...well, one day is here!!!!
I ordered the little prince's Birth Announcements! They turned out so cute! Even better...got them on sale and had a promo code! :) Happy Girl!

Sweet faces....

that pretty much turn me into a puddle!!!

My little family...

...my everything!!!

The fruits of my heartburn labor....

Jaden's first mohawk....at two weeks old! Not bad if I do say so myself :P

Two weeks old...

I promise that someday when I am caught up I will blog again ;) Until I will have to leave you with adorable photos instead. You don't mind, do you?!

Jaden is two weeks old today! It was actually supposed to be his due date! We are so happy he came early, couldn't be more in love with our precious son! He's the best thing that ever happened to us and I can't remember life with out him!Every lost second of sleep (averaging between 1 and 3 hrs per night, lol), poopy diaper explosion(oh do I have pictures!!!), pee pee shower (yeah...good luck trying to cover the laser pointer on your forhead when you're trying to wipe an already wiggly little boy)and tear over breastfeeding mishaps (I'll get into this in more detail when I have more time)is so worth it! You are perfect in every way! I love you baby J! You are my everything!

Funny baby faces....

He'snot even a full two weeks old but he's already quite the ham! :)

Can't get enough of him...

One week old...

11-11-10

Jaden is one week old!!

So in love....

There are no words to describe the love in my heart for these two boys!! <3

Jaden Scott Dillard...

Jaden Scott Dillard arrived Thursday morning at 9:21, after 48 hrs of labor and pushing...at 38 weeks and 0 days... he weighed 7lbs 6 oz, measured 20 in and is taking our breath away! So in love!

Dear Jaden...

We are so excited to meet you sweet little prince! I can't believe that you could be ready to make your entrance into the world at any moment now. The anticipation of it all is killing me! I want to see your little face, your little fingers and toes...and who could forget those cute little baby cheekies!!!!! There's nothing cuter than baby cheekies!!! Too bad they spend so much time hidden by diapers (although for our own safety sake)!
Your daddy and I still cannot entirely wrap our minds around the fact that this is ACTUALLY happening...after so many years of waiting and wishing...you really caught us by surprise in March little man! You are a little miracle baby boy. A true miracle! Apparently you were GOD's 7th Anniversary gift to us...and may I say you were/are the greatest gift we could have ever asked for!!!
I pray that your daddy and I will always be able to show you all the love you need and set great examples of what a Christian truly looks like. I pray that will always be able to protect and guide that precious little soul of yours. May you know Jesus the way we have come to know him and always love people...even better than your daddy and I.
Please know that it is ok to make mistakes, it's what you learn from them that counts. Don't expect to get it right 100% of the time...it's perfectly ok to fall short sometimes, we all do. Try your best, give GOD the rest. He is our strength, and he gives us wisdom to do those things that seem beyond our strength and wisdom to do. Don't let people make you question your faith! It takes a very strong person to believe in things unseen and to follow the narrow path. GOD does not tell us it will be easy, but it is so worth the reward. Just alone knowing that we are not alone when times get tough is more than enough. Daddy and I will do our very best to show you what true faith looks like baby boy, what true Christians behave like, etc. Just keep in mind that we too will fall short...we are far from perfect, but we love Jesus with all our hearts and we will try very hard to help you know him and help you grow in your faith in him.
We want you to know that we will support you in whatever dreams you have for your life, it makes no difference to us whether you want to be a musician like your daddy, a lawyer, a doctor, an artist, a writer...do what makes you happy! We do hope no matter what you choose to do, you'll go to college first, so that you never have to struggle like your daddy and I, but the choice is yours to make. We support you no matter what. Dream big and pursue your dreams!
I pray that someday you will find a godly woman who will love you and cherish your heart as much as I do your daddy! Someone who will not only be your lover, but your very best friend and most trusted confidant. Your greatest ally, your cheerleader, your companion for life! You were created out of pure love sweet prince. Pure love, the kind that only GOD can create! I hope we will always be able to show you what that kind of love looks like.
We love you so very much already little man, everything about you. You already have quite the personality...which is an indescribable thing to witness. We feel like we know you already, and yet feel like there is so much more about you we are dying to know...we cannot wait until you get here! We're so ready for you, but if you need more time sweet angel, no matter how much we joke about you getting here already, you take your time! You are so worth the wait! All 7 years and 9 months worth of waiting!!!
We love you with all that is in us baby J!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

My heart is eager to know...

...what is feels like to hold that sweet little boy that we've waited so long for!

This week's scripture pretty much sums it all up:

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM!"

1 Corinthians 2:9

That's how it feels waiting for our little prince to arrive...there is no way to describe it. I can imagine that until we actually hold him, it's just not going to seem real. We are so excited!