Maleigha's First Christmas

Life is full of "firsts" --some we remember forever, some we never know about. Maleigha will never remember her first Christmas but it was our best Christmas ever! Not for any present or anything like that, for what it meant to our family. This was our first Christmas as parents, as a family.
It began with Sunday before Christmas because Chuck's mom, Nana Beth, was visiting for the weekend, for Christmas and for Chuck's birthday (12/21). She went to a "paint-it-yourself" party and painted a beautiful ladybug for Maleigha's room. She also brought Maleigha an engraved ornament for our tree next year.
Christmas Eve and Christmas was spent at Granny and Pawpaw's house. We stayed up til midnight just to say Merry 1st Christmas to baby girl. Needless to say, she was unimpressed as she remained asleep. Santa did pay a visit overnight bringing her a pony...yes, you read that right, she got a pony from Santa. Ok, it's a rocky-horse, but it does make a gallop sound and it neighs (is that how you spell that?) which is really cute. Doubt she'll sit on it for another year or so, but it's still too cute for words. She also got a stocking full--a pair of sunglasses from Pawpaw, a ladybug outfit, her first purse from Aunt Lisa just big enough to fit a paci!, and lots of other things. Mama Jessie & Arthur surprised her with her first luggage, a ladybug shaped rolling bag with a kid sized backpack. And, my favorite part of all Christmas---Mama Jessie & Arthur bought Maleigha her first Barbie. I'll explain more as to why this brought tears to my eyes---if you know me, you know that as a child, I was a Barbie addict. And Mama Jessie and Arthur contributed to my habit usually weekly and I had hundreds of Barbies and accessories. Since we found out I was pregnant with a girl, I've talked about how excited I was to be able to play with Barbies again, much to Chuck's laughter. Mama Jessie played Barbies with me all the time, it's some of my favorite memories of growing up. And as most know, Mama Jessie is older now, and isn't doing as good as she used to, so it means the absolute world to me that Maleigha's first Barbie was a gift from her & Arthur. It might be the only Barbie she ever gets from them, so it means everything to me. I doubt I'll even take it out of the box. Chuck laughs because the Barbie was inside the ladybug bag and when he unzipped the bag, I giggled and grabbed the Barbie almost knocking the bag out of his hands. Tickled me to death! (and yes, I'm her mother, not the child!)
Also, more sentimental notes---my parents gave us 2 pictures, 1 that says Christmas 2009 and is the pic of Chuck, Maleigha, and I from the hospital and one that the frame says something about family and it's the pic of the 3 of us at the top and Maleigha at the bottom. Yes I teared up! And we were also given Maleigha's hospital photo that had been made into a blanket by Nana Sherry and Poppa Jim, yep--teared up again! And I know I can't blame all this tearing up on hormones---I'm just weepy!
All in all, it was a great holiday, spent with lots of family and lots of memories made. None Maleigha will remember, but her mommy and daddy will forever!

Wee Hours of 12/15

It's 2:20 am and Maleigha just dozed off, unless she's faking again, as she's done since about 11 pm. We spent the weekend at mom's, in which I did get a few hours of sleep. I'm convinced that she has her days and nights mixed up and we're working on that. I'm hopeful that if she is indeed asleep now, she'll sleep til 7 or so. The bad news is it is 2:20 am and now I'm wide awake. I'm trying to be as quiet as possible because Chuck is working day shift this week and he has to be up at 7:30 and he's having a horrible time sleeping. I want him to get as much sleep as possible. I can at least nap on and off during the day with her, well sorta! I do have a day planned tomorrow, if sleeping allows! We are going to Midsouth to pick up some Avon things and a baby gift from a coworker. Then it's off to the bank and some light shopping to try and find Daddy a birthday gift. Everything he wants is wayyyy beyond my budget so we gotta be inventive this year! :)

Last night, we went to Palisades Park in Oneonta and looked at Christmas lights and sat in Santa's lap for the first time. He was GREAT Santa, very authentic and one of the nicest men! He really was Jolly! We got some great pics!

Ok, I feel some sleep coming on, because it looks like she is passed out! Fingers crossed!

Merry Christmas!

Maleigha's First Dr Appt

Maleigha saw her doctor in his office for the first time today. Her pediatrician is Dr Joseph Hamm and he is great. He came as a recommendation from a friend at work, and we are thrilled with him. He is so great with her.
Today she weighed 10 lbs, 2 oz and is 22 1/2 inches long. She is in perfect health. We've had some bad nights lately so I asked about that and he said he thinks it may just be her GI tract learning to work and her growing into it, basically, but if it continues until her next appt, Jan 17, or gets worse, then he will call her in some meds for reflux. He said the other thing it might be, and it's a long shot, that could be a mild case of colic, but he does not think it's colic. We are very hopeful it gets better on its own and she starts sleeping at night. Mommy is tired!
Also, just a note--I had my check up yesterday and I'm doing well too. My incision is healing well, swelling is down. I can now drive and lift up to 15 lbs. She released me to walk for exercise but no other exercises yet. I've lost 27 lbs since the Wednesday before Maleigha was born (last time I weighed). Chuck says I'm getting skinny, but I have never seen skinny, so I'm not holding my breath for that! :)
Hope all is well!

How a Baby Changes Things

I sit here today, on the couch, with two cats on either corner of the back of the couch, and a baby sleeping with her new paci on the cushion next to me. I can't find the remote, so the tv is on Dog the Bounty Hunter marathon since I can't turn it. I've had a half of a Mr Pibb and a handful of chips to eat today. There's a empty bottle on the coffee table. And I've learned to run to the bathroom, do my business, and run back---I've almost mastered the art of a 25 second potty break. My biggest roadblocks these days are wipes out of hands reach, a dropped paci on the floor, and a baby that doesn't like to keep her blanket over her legs. I swear she kicks harder and faster than any ninja ever wanted to! And it's the greatest days ever!
Laundry needs to be started, there are a few dishes in the sink, and a litter box that needs to be cleaned out. All of that is going to wait. I'm loving on my baby.
We had our first outing yesterday. We went to my office and met the folks there, then to lunch, then to Babies R Us to do some shopping. Maleigha did great, she rode in her Cadillac stroller and didn't make a peep. She started getting fussy about the time we were coming home, so all is good.
Of all the happiness in my life right now, it's weird that I still find myself sad sometimes. And, no, I don't feel like it's anything major. I cry. I'm hormonal. And it's not a real sadness, as in despair and the world is ending. It's almost a happy sadness. I look at Maleigha and I'm ecstatic. I'm fulfilled. I'm in love, the truest love there ever could be. She looks back at me, and my world is complete. She makes me want to be a better person. She makes me want to be the best mother and to be proud to be MY daughter. And then I get scared. What if I'm not? What if I screw up? What if something happens to her, something I can't control? What if she hates me? What if I do something to let her down? And yes, I know, all of these things will happen. I have a mother and all of these things happened between she and I and I think she's the greatest human on earth. I can only hope Maleigha thinks of me half as much as I think of my mom. Then I will have succeeded.
Chuck and I both have had a meltdown this week. Some tears and some laughs. Lots of hugs and reassurances have gotten us through. These two humans that share my home mean more to me than anything. I dont want to see either of them hurt or sad. When they are, I have to step up. Chuck is working day shift this week, so we have our nights as a family which is great. This is the life we've been wanting and waiting for.
The worst part of these days are knowing that I will have to go back to work soon. I dread it --not because of work, but because I will have to leave. We are still working out babysitting arrangements, at least until late February, when our babysitter will be available.
Other happenings this week was I won a trip to Las Vegas for New Years Eve from a local radio station. I had to turn it down though, Chuck has to work the day we would be leaving, and we don't have the money to spend right now to go. Still not exactly sure how bills are going to get paid the next couple of months, so definitely don't need to spend money in Vegas! It would be a great getaway for us, but not this time. Maybe it'll happen again!

Welcome to the World Baby Girl....

Chuck and I proudly announce the birth of Maleigha Claire Boyles. Born Nov 17, 2009 at 5:22pm, St Vincents Hospital, Birmingham, AL. She weighed 9 lbs, 6 oz, and was 21 1/5 inches long.

We were scheduled for induction on Nov 17 at 5 am. Dr Davis broke my water at about 5:45am and labor began. My contractions began almost immediately at around 4 minutes apart. I had dilated to 3. Doctor gave permission for epidural whenever I requested. At 8 am, I requested! Contractions were pretty hard at 3-4 minutes apart. I was dilated to 4. Besides Chuck, Mom, Daddy, Lisa, Beth (Chuck's Mom), Jim & Sherry (Chuck's dad and wife) and my cousin Kendall were all there. Kendall had to leave (she works at St Vincents overnight and had stuck around to see how things progressed in hopes they woudl progress quickly). Our nurse was Valle and she was awesome. Around noon, Dr Christine came and checked me to say I was dilated to 6 but baby was not dropping as they had hoped. In fact, she was very high and she would have to drop drastically for pushing to begin. I napped off and on, much to my mother's amazement. That eipdural was the BOMB! Around 3, Valle called Dr Christine back because there was some kind of concern with baby's heartrate. I was put on oxygen and Dr Christine said I was still dilated to 6 but may have dropped some, so she wanted to wait til about 4:30pm and would reassess. We all became very concerned at this point. It was a bit scary. Not knowing exactly what it all meant was frightening. We asked about the possibility of a C-section and Valle and Dr Christine had concerns with that due to my weight and the risks of a major surgery at this point.

At 4:30pm, Dr Christine reassessed me to say I had dilated to 7, but had not dropped. She called for a 5 pm C-section. The next 30 minutes went by so quickly I don't recall all of it. They took Chuck out to dress him in a gown, mask, hat and booties. The anestistiologist (or however you spell that), Valle and another nurse began prepping me. I started vomiting, from nerves I assume. All of our famil, including Chuck's brother, Michael, who was able to come after work and made it in time, came in quickly to kiss and hug and reassure us that all was ok, and baby girl would be here shortly. Dr Christine said that once we got to the OR, she would be here within 10 minutes. So in my head, I kept saying 5:10, 5:10, 5:10.

We arrived in the OR and the entire staff, all what seemed 50 of them!, were absolutely fantastic! The anestistiologist and his assistant stood behind me and prepped me explaining every step in advance. They put the sheet up so I couldn't see and brought Chuck in to sit beside me. He held my hand and rubbed my head. I heard Dr Christine come in and say hello and tell me it would just be a minute or two. They kept telling me I'd feel tugging and pressure but I never did. I did feel them put the clamps on when they opened me up. I thought it had been just a couple of minutes since we had gotten in there, but then the doctor said 522. I looked at Chuck and said what's that mean? and he didn't know. Then she said it again---"Cara, she's here, birth time 5:22 and she's a big girl!!!" We both started crying, and I started asking to see her. The nurse said she was bringing her around shortly. And she did and oh my gosh, there is no feeling in the world like the first time you see your child. Even all gooey and bloody, she was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen. All I wanted to do was hold and kiss and hug and be her mommy. The nurse said she's being her back, they had to clean her up and weigh her. Chuck and I were absolutely elated. I did feel some pressure and tugging then as they began sewing and stapling and doing all they were doing. I found out later that the incision was much deeper and larger than usual, partly due to my size, her size, and her position in me. I've learned that the doctor almost had to climb up on the table with me and basically uncurl her out of me. She was in at an odd angle and being her size, was very difficult to remove.

I was thinking it had been about 10 or so minutes, but then found out it was almost 6:15 when they were finished and Maleigha was brought to Chuck to hold and for us to admire. Shortly after, he ran out to tell the family that were anxiously waiting.

I finally arrived in my room, baby girl in my arms, around 6:30. By 7, the family was allowed to join us. Needless to say they were all elated at the sight of this beautiful little girl.

Sadly, Jim and Sherry had to leave because they had to drive back to Mobile for Sherry to work on Wednesday. I so hated to see them leave. They are coming back Thanksgiving.

We were all so exhausted, but she is so worth it all.

I can not express in words what the entire pregnancy, birth and motherhood has meant to me. I have developed more emotions and feelings than I ever thought possible. Chuck and I have become much closer, not just as spouses, but as best friends and now parents. We have a bond, that is the most amazing thing ever-we created a child.

There are times she looks a lot like me, a lot like him. She has a lot of both of us, depends on the minute you look at her. I also see my brother, Tony, in her too. She has long fingers and long feet, lots of dark hair, beautiful eyes, sweet little ears and chin, and the most precious little lips ever! She has a little birthmark on her belly. She doesn't like diaper changes and is growing to not mind her feet being touched. She doesn't like to stretch her legs out just yet, so she stays in a frog like position most of the time. She loves sleep and has to be awakened to eat. We luckily, knock on wood, haven't heard her cry a lot yet. She's had some gas bubbles but they quickly resolve. She loves being in her daddy's arms, and he's pretty fond of it too!

On a side note, the staff at St Vincents was absolutely the most amazing bunch of people I've ever experienced. Valle, our delivery nurse was so wonderful. The entire C section staff was so nice and each made a point to come to us in the OR and congratulate us. The floor nurses, Jacqueline & Imagene especially, were phenomenal. They answered all our questions, especially being first time parents, with enthusiasm and patience. We had many other nurses and staff, but these stick out in our minds.

Today, we got the ok to come home and I was so happy. I had had just enough of that hospital bed that I could stand. Maleigha passed all her labs and hearing tests with flying colors. All of my labs were ok too, except for hemocrit, which I was told was due to losing as much blood as I did during delivery and that I needed to up my green leafy vegetable intake to correct. We left the hospital at 9 am today, made a couple of stops to pick up Chuck's check and go by the bank and through a drive-thru to get some lunch and we were home by 10:30. She did great in the carseat and slept the whole way home. I even dozed off myself, having had about an hour's worth of sleep last night.

Once home, greeted by Nana (chuck's mom who is here for a few day to help out) Maleigha met Garfield and Sassy. They didn't react, Sassy sniffed her hand but then ran off. Garfield looked, with amazement it seemed and then walked away. The next few days will be interesting I'm sure! We ate while she continued to sleep in her carseat. She and I then went to the bedroom to attempt breastfeeding which was partially successful, Chuck brought in the back up bottle and after feeding, we all laid down together for our first family nap! Although Maleigha had other idea and decided she would stay awake with hiccups! Nana was able to get her so me and Chuck could nap.

Then Chuck cooked an awesome lasagne dinner, Granny, Pawpaw and Uncle Tony came over for dinner and for him to meet Maleigha.

As of now, with this posting, Chuck is holding Maleigha and they are both sound asleep on the couch, and all is good! I love family!

Changes

I wasn't able to post before now because of a busy weekend, but induction has been changed to Tuesday Nov 17 @ 5 am. This is due to my doctor having an emergency or something like that and not going to be there on Monday, and for some reason, if you schedule an induction, your primary doctor has to do it, so we're stuck with changing it to Tuesday. I wasn't real happy with this but really had no choice. Plus I honestly thought she would come on her own before then any way. I was wrong.
It is now Monday morning, about 4 am, and I'm still pregnant. No contractions to speak of, a couple here and there. My feet are still swollen. My back still hurts, and as I said, it's 4 am and I'm awake! Let me just say, I'm not complaining.
Today is the last day I will ever be pregnant in my life. I've been very lucky to have had a great pregnancy. I've enjoyed being pregnant. Even the back ache and swollen feet and hands, I know what the end result will be and I'm smiling. Being pregnant is an experience that no one can describe, and if they tried, you wouldn't believe it. Seeing her for the first time during the ultrasound was awesome, feeling her kick for the first time was amazing, and I absolutely can not wait to hold her.
She will be my child. Chuck's child. Our child. It's so scary and amazing and nerveracking and beautiful--all at the same time. This baby will never know how wonderful she is, she will never know how many times we prayed for her, how much we tried for her, how much we went through to have her in our lives. Not because she won't read this one day and find out or be told, but because she won't understand how absolutely precious her mom and dad thinks she is. Before we've even met her. Not to mention the grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that are here for her too. And even the ones that are no longer on earth with us, because I know each of them are watching for her too. No, she's not a miracle baby, she's OUR miracle baby.
And we'll get to meet her tomorrow.

Birth Day Any Day

I had my FINAL doctors appointment today. I had to see a different doctor b/c my doctor was off, but it was all good, because she was great. We really liked her (Chuck and I). Baby is measuring around 8 lbs, 5 oz, give or take a few oz either way. She's very long but they couldn't get an accurate length measurement since they can't actually stretch her out and measure. But I swear her thigh bone looked longer than my arm!!! Heartbeat was in the 140s. She is VERY head down, as in almost falling out. I have dilated to a "good 2" according to the doctor. And as she was examining me, she stopped quickly and said she almost broke my water doing it. She is confident that I am farther along than what they initially felt, as baby measured on average 40 weeks today. I am scheduled for induction on Monday at 5 am, but doctor seems thinks she'll be here before then. So we're now on full alert. Car is gased up, bags are in the car, camera batteries charged, phones charged, READY!
My feet are very swelled, flip flops are my new fashion statement! I hurt when I walk and my walk is very slow. We are both extremely excited, nervous, elated, ready, and scared to death, all at the same time. Is that possible??
Please pray for us all. It's been a long, rocky road, from the miscarriage, numerous tries, and the emotions of it all. It will all be so worth it, to hear her cry, to see her smile, to hold her close and to kiss her cheek. I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait.
My next post will probably be after I get home from the hospital and I will post pics as soon as possible. I wish I had a laptop and I could do it from the hospital, but no luck!!
Take care everyone and I'll see you when I'm a mommy!!!