It's Official!

Ahhh, it's official, folks!

Daniel is a RN, BSN!
He took boards about a month ago, and PASSED!

What a relief. We are so thankful! I honestly never doubted that he wouldn't pass, but he obviously did. Last week was his first week of orientation. He will be working in the Emergency Room as he has been for the past 2 years, except he will be a nurse now instead of a tech {obviously}. Hopefully since not everything is so new, orientation for the next 12 weeks won't be too overwhelming or stressful for him. {Because let's face it, when he's stressed, so am I}

For the next 12 weeks he will be on day shift(thank goodness!), but he is actually hired on as a night shifter. However, we're praying that he can apply and be accepted for a better shift. I've gotten more used to nights but it's still not my favorite thing. Having Henry has helped so much. I don't feel so alone. Even though he's just a baby, he is still company to me and keeps me occupied in the evenings.
Daniel's ok with being on nights for a bit because the ER is crazy at night and you get better experience. So I guess whatever God wants. :) It could be kind of a long 12 weeks as Daniel doesn't have any say in his schedule. But I feel like it's a good time for that... after all, we are in the dead of winter with no big holidays or anything.

So blessed and thankful we are to this point and that we can get used to a new normal as a family!

Henry Daniel- 3 Months

Our little buddy was 3 months old yesterday. 

He weighed 10lbs 11oz and is just a little peanut in the 1st percentile. He wears 0-3 month clothes.

An overview of the last month:

Sleeping: He went from going 5-6 hours at night back to 2-3 hours. Makes this momma a little frustrated, and I'm hoping he will go back to the 5-6 hours! It shocked me that when he was all worn out from all the Christmases we had(4 in 4 days), he slept 8 hours! Sadly he hasn't done that again. He does take pretty good naps during the day, however. Usually at least one 2 hour nap, sometimes longer. I love that long stretch.

Henry still sleeps in our room, right next to our bed in the Rock and Play. I wouldn't have it any other way for the first few months. It's so nice when they're so little that they're right beside you. I also love the fact that I don't have to get out of bed every time I need to stick his paci back in. Today I've been trying to put him in his crib for naps, but he will. not. sleep. He doesn't like to be flat on his back. It might be a harder transition from the Rock and Play to the crib than I thought.

Eating: He eats every 3 hours pretty much around the clock since he's getting up so much at night. Once in a while he goes 4-5 hours. 

As much as I say this is his normal, Realistically, he doesn't have much of a routine down. We just kind of go with whatever. For the most part he's pretty predictable but not always. I'm just glad I finally kind of know what he likes and dislikes. 

One thing I am so thankful for is that he has really became a better baby. He used to scream in the evenings and there was nothing we could do to console him. He still has a fussy evening here and there but is usually pretty consolable. Most evenings, as long as you give him your full attention he's usually fine. Silly boy. But definitely pretty touchy.

Usually he's only fussy if he needs to eat or sleep. For the majority of the time anyway. But today? Not so much. Like I said, for the majority of the time. I guess babies can't be perfect all the time. :)

Henry is only 3 months old, but I honestly feel like he stranges. Several times I have given him to someone else and he starts bawling. As soon as I take him back, he's fine. And he always goes to sleep better for me. Fine with me if he's a momma's boy. :)

This month he started reaching and playing with his toys. It's so cute. He will lay down on his play mat and just smile and coo away at those little animals hanging down.

He pays a lot of attention to his surroundings, and is very alert. He loves ceiling fans, and notices bright colors on people's shirts. He will also smile at anyone and everyone. 

He's not a huge fan of laying on his stomach. He can roll from stomach to back, and is so so close to rolling back to stomach. He gets stuck on his side. :)

This is how he sleeps in his crib- maybe that's why he won't sleep very well

Our "little old man" as everyone says (and we agree)- he always wrinkles his forehead

We love our little buddy and he brings so much joy to our lives! 

(Sorry if these updates are boring to you- they are mostly for my records)

Thoughts of 2014

It's the first day of the new year, and I'm actually sitting down updating my blog. I really hope to update more, as I want to remember the day to day life with my little Henry. I can't believe he is 3 months old next week.

I am slowly going to play catch up month by month, but for now I am going to reflect on the past year.

Daniel and I were talking about 2014 last night and discussing the hardest and the best of times.
The best for both of us was the obvious: becoming parents and watching our little miracle grow and develop. Henry truly makes our day every day. He is such a smiley boy- when he's being held that is. He loves to be held and have attention every moment that he's awake. He just makes us laugh because he never. stops. moving. If he's laying in bed and going to sleep, he's still moving something, whether it's his leg, foot or arms. He gets it honestly... from his dad and Grandma Leman.

Daniel's hardest for the year was being in school, working, and adjusting to a new baby. That was a tough month(or two). He wasn't getting much sleep and was extremely run down so he kept getting sick over and over again.Thankfully we are done with that, because he graduated!

My hardest? Daniel thought I'd say child birth. :) Nope...being sick almost my whole pregnancy was way worse and honestly the first month or two of Henry's life was rough. Breastfeeding was very rough for the first couple of months. I think we went to the doctor every week for awhile there. I'm so thankful things are going better, Praise God! The only thing is Henry's not gaining tons of weight... he was just 10.2 pounds last week at almost 3 months. But we love our little peanut...It's kind of fun he's stayed little for longer. :)

We're both looking forward to another year of being parents and watching our little bundle of joy grow up. I don't want him to grow up, but at the same time I know every stage is so fun as they interact more and more with you.

We are thankful and blessed!!

Henry Daniel

Introducing Henry Daniel.. born on October 6, 2014 at 4:47pm. He weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 19 inches long. Labor and delivery went extremely well- we are so so thankful! 

Proud Dad

So relieved to be done!

I am truly blessed by my little family!

If you want to know the whole labor story.. I will eventually post it, and I'm sorry if it's TMI for some of you! :) But for right now, I'm just trying to adjust to this lack of sleep and feeding a baby every couple of hours. :) It's gone very well actually, and we are thankful he is a pretty good baby! We are completely in love with him!

Baby Showers

I have been extremely blessed with baby showers. I was worried I wouldn't have any, and then people offered left and right to do one for me! We are so blessed by the family and friends that we have! 

The Hostesses

I had a Leman/Knapp/Roanoke Church shower hosted by my sister-in-laws. It was an evening shower and they had a delicious taco bar with cute little trifles.

The Hostesses

Next was a Pfaffmann family shower at Aunt Sandy's, hosted by several of my cousins. It was a delicious brunch, and they even made delicious gluten free items I could have.

Sarah made me an adorable diaper cake!

Then I had a Schick family shower at Aunt Dawn's. What an adorable table. It was a group gift shower which was wonderful... I got some of my bigger items like my video baby monitor, swing/bouncy seat, and my rock and play.

Hostesses

I was also blessed by my wonderful co-workers who hosted a baby shower for me at work. They did it late afternoon, so everyone got to quit work early and attend the shower in the conference room. :) Even the guys came! A coworker made this adorable elephant diaper cake riding a tricycle. Sadly, I did not take any other pictures.

And lastly, Heidi and Kendra hosted a shower for me at Heidi's house with a group of good friends. It's the only shower I didn't take any pictures at,,,It doesn't mean I didn't appreciate it, girls! Thank you so much for all your work!

It's amazing how much "stuff" they say you need for a baby. And how expensive it is for the first one! I'm not sure what we would've done without the generosity of others! Good thing we can reuse all the furniture and equipment for our second! :) 

Baby Update

Well, I'm still here. My due date isn't for another 2 days... but I thought I would go early. Or my doctor did(and everyone else, too). Over two weeks ago I had already progressed a lot, and she told me if she had to put money down, I would have this baby at 39 weeks or no later than 40. I guess she could still be right, but I only have a couple more days left to be considered early!

However, I am thankful that I didn't have him at 39 weeks. Last week I was terribly sick with a virus. It was all stomach/bowel stuff (sorry if any of this is TMI). I had it for days and days, but it only continued to get worse, not better.

 Finally last Tuesday night I was in such horrible pain (goodness, I might as well have been in labor), we went to the hospital. That amount of pain and blood will scare anyone when they're pregnant.... or even not pregnant. They sent me right up to the labor and delivery floor, but they didn't really know what to do with me. They told me it was a virus, gave me some medication for nausea, and fluids because I was so dehydrated. Since it's always hard to know what you can and can't take when you're pregnant, it was good to have the Dr and midwife tell me what I could take to try and calm it down. We went into the hospital at about 9:30PM, and left at about 3:30AM. I was already feeling better by the time we got home. Daniel was such a trooper.... we were at the hospital until 3:30AM and he was back at a different hospital for clinical by 6:30AM. He is so supportive and does anything for me! We were just thankful they didn't actually admit me and make me stay overnight. I was feeling soo much better by Wednesday  morning, the fluids themselves made such a difference. Wednesday was a much better day... by evening I actually sat upright for over an hour, and that was much improvement. 

Thursday I had to go back to the doctor, and while I felt a lot better, I was sooo worn out I felt like I got hit by a truck.  The midwife was glad to see I was doing a lot better, but they had to put me on an antibiotic for an infection which could potentially upset my stomach. Grand. 

Are you bored of my story yet? If not... Wednesday was supposed to be my last day of work. Well, I wasn't there on Tuesday or Wednesday because I was so sick. I had been there Monday even though I wasn't feeling very well. So after my doctor's appointment on Thursday, I went back into work to say goodbye and collect my things. I apologized for it kind of being a bad ending, but it really wasn't worth me coming back at all. I didn't have to say official goodbye's or anything, because I have strict orders to come back so they can see the baby. :) 

I continued to gain energy back last weekend, but still wasn't quite myself. A lot of people told me I didn't look so great. Haha.. thanks. I wasn't feeling so great either, so I guess that explains it! Monday of this week I really felt the best I had in a couple weeks. So now that I'm done with work, it has been nice to rest and relax a bit and just recuperate. I am so thankful I am feeling so much better. I can't imagine going through labor feeling as exhausted and wiped out as I was already feeling.

So I have been home all week... I've had some time to just keep the house clean, cook meals, organize last minute things, play the piano, and go on lots of walks. This is the first time in a long time that I've had this much time on my hands. While I'm SO anxious to meet our little boy and get out of the 9 month pregnancy stage, I am enjoying my time at home and my time with Daniel. He took vacation time this week and next, so he's been home a lot in the evenings. It's been wonderful.

I can do all the exercises/walks I want... but only God knows what day our little blessing will arrive! I will keep you posted when he makes his appearance! :) 

...and if you made it through this whole post, you are a dedicated reader. :)

How could I forget?

How could I forget to mention in my "last" post before he's born...

This little guy has been breech my entire pregnancy. At my 32 week appointment he was still breech, making this momma a little worried. As I talked with people, most told me their's flipped by 32 weeks, but some told me there's flipped in the last month or even in the delivery room. I tried not to let myself freak out about it... but it added a lot of stress, wanting to have that baby flipped SOON. I did exercises/positions a lot on vacation. I had a doctor appointment right when we came back, and he was still breech. So I tried new positions, and also peppermint oil on my stomach that my sister in law gave me. Daniel's family went to the dunes in Michigan, and I was sure that crawling up those dunes would make him flip. I had that "theory" because that's how my mother-in-law got one of her babies to flip years ago. I was convinced it would work for me too. :) I managed only to make it up and down a huge dune just once.
4 days later I had another doctor appointment, at 34 weeks, and Praise the Lord... he had flipped! I don't know what it was that made him flip...maybe nothing I did mattered except the prayers, but I was so thankful! One day before my birthday I found that out... it was the best birthday present! It was amazing how much stress I was relieved of. It lowered my risk of C-Section... which that word "Section" just terrifies me, especially for my first. So I'm thankful that he's in the right place now... behaving for me. :) Now he's face up and just needs to turn. They told me it would sure relieve my back pain if he turned... so now that's the next step. :)
But I'm counting my blessings, and trying to remember that God is in control of the entire situation and birth. Because as you can imagine, it's my first... I have a little bit of anxiousness/nervousness going on.

One Month Left!

Can you believe it? Only one more month until this little one is expected to make his appearance! Oh wow how I am SO ready. I've really enjoyed pregnancy even with not always feeling well....but I think I could skip this last month. :) The nauseousness has returned, and it's been difficult getting around and doing tasks that used to be so small... like cleaning up my house, or getting out of bed. I'm just tired of carrying all this extra weight around all the time. They told me at the doctor that I'm measuring small. Ha...yeah right! I don't feel small at all, but I'm hoping that means my baby won't be huge?! We will see I guess. I'm so ready to be back to a "normal" size (although who knows that may take months..or years). I love feeling him kick...24/7. He never stops and often keeps me awake at night or wakes me up by pounding on my ribs. I love feeling my little boy move all the time, but I am ready to actually see and watch him move instead. :) 

I still have SO much to do before he arrives. The nursery is pretty well finished for now... I'm sure I'll add more things later. His coming home outfit is washed and put in the diaper bag, along with some fresh new blankets and pacifiers. It makes me so anxious. Seeing his little "take home" outfit, I can't imagine it fitting him... it looks like it's for a doll. But I guess they start tiny, and for that I can't wait for. I have always been known as the "baby hog" at church or family things... and now I get to have my very own. :)

There's a lot to get accomplished as far as work before he comes. I need to wrap things up at Gorenz, I just had my last Thirty-One party on Tuesday until January, and now I have a bookkeeping client I am doing from home which is brand new. It's added a lot of extra work and time as I'm just now starting and trying to get used to it. I don't have time for it right now, and it's been a little stressful, but in a few months I think I'll be glad I have my own bookkeeping stuff at home. 

Other than that, I've just been trying to not over-commit myself... because that's what I tend to do. A lot. But in the next month, I'm not really committing to anything, because who knows how I'll be feeling. I told Daniel each day I think it's the worse I've ever felt while pregnant, but then the next day comes, only to be worse. :) But I am enjoying these last few weeks with just me & Daniel. I'm kind of selfish when it comes to our time together(because it doesn't seem like much), so that will be an adjustment with our baby boy. At least I will be home all the time, and not have to rush off to work. For that I'm thankful! 

I'm not promising another post before our little man is born... unless I'm overdue...then I'm sure you'll see me on here because I'll need something to keep me occupied. :) I have a lot of catching up to do, but just a few pictures from the summer:

Enjoying Vacation

My Birthday Celebration

Me & Kendra... having baby boys just 6 weeks apart!

I'm hoping I'll be more regular on the blog once we have a little one... there will be more to post about, right? :)