Connor's Birth Story... Part 1...

My little baby Connor is now 4 months+. I think I have finally got a grip on this whole new mom title and everything that goes along with it. I figured before life gets anymore crazy I should type out the day my sweet baby boy came into this world. It is still currently fresh in my brain, and sometimes I replay that day in my head and the days following over and over.

But first here is a little back information...

Me in San Antonio April 7th - 34 weeks prego

My official due date was to be May 18th which landed on a Friday this year. I thought for sure I would go beyond this date, because typically, that is was happens your first time around. I was nervous because my doctor {who assured me from the get go would be the one to deliver my baby} so conveniently told me at my second to last appointment that he had to be out of town that weekend and to rest assure his replacement would be prepared to deliver my baby if I were to go into labor. That is exactly what a very pregnant woman wants to hear... that I have gone through this whole pregnancy with you as my doctor, but there is a chance that you will not be the one delivering my baby... gee THANKS! I didn't really worry about that too much, because in my mind at that point my motto was "it is what it is."

I am blessed to say that I had a very easy pregnancy. I never got really sick in the beginning and didn't have any complications, concerns, weird test results throughout the whole nine months. At the last ultrasound appointment where they took a 3D or 4D whatever it is picture of the little guy which I think was like 34 weeks... he was already measuring to be 6lbs! I was semi relieved because at this point I had began to BLOW up so it made sense. But what made me nervous was if he was 6lbs already and he hasn't even reached the part where he grows the most, how much will he weigh at birth?! At this point... I am thinking that there is no way I will be able to push this baby out on my own!

Anyways... that being said about my easy pregnancy... the last two weeks of being pregnant were a mess! I had gotten orders to be on bed rest from the doctor so I left work and stayed home waiting for the baby. For some reason at this point I was constantly thirsty! (If anyone else experienced this please let me know) And when I say constantly thirsty I mean I pretty much was consuming some sort of liquid 24/7. I would literally fill up jugs of water and chug them down like a frat boy at a kegger. It wasn't just water... it was gatorade, MILK, soda, juice! You name it, I was drinking it. I got bored with water, so my favorites were chocolate milk and gatorade. When I wasn't drinking I was peeing! LOL I don't think I slept longer than 2 hours at a time the last two weeks... it was insane! I was finishing up the spring semester of school with an online final that was timed and I thought I would never finish because I kept having to get up and go to the bathroom! And to top it off... I couldn't walk!

Yes.. people warned me about the sciatic nerve pain. How debilitating and painful it was. I figured a little discomfort, no biggie, I can handle that... I waddle everywhere already! BUT OMG! The pain I had in my left hip/leg was unreal! I couldn't walk! The last few days of my pregnancy I was crawling up the stairs. I made my final grocery run before going into labor and I had to use the cart as a walker. After I loaded the groceries (which consisted of 90% liquids for me to devour by lunchtime) I burst into tears from the pain. At that point I told myself I was sitting put until this huge little nugget decided to come out.

So this is pretty much the weeks/days leading up to the day. I will never forget how much I drank in a matter of 2 weeks! My husband and I still joke about it and he is just amazed at what he witnessed. He knew I was back to normal when he started finding half drunken beverages throughout our house.

This concludes part 1 of my birth story. I didn't anticipate sharing this part, but I think it is vital for the rest of the story. Please stay tuned for part 2... and possibly 3? Not sure.

=)Rachel

Wordless Wednesdays

=) Rachel

Two Months {Baby}

Two Month Stats:

Height: 

Birth: 19 1/2 

2Weeks: 20 3/4

2Months: 24 1/4

Weight:

 Birth: 9lbs 

2Weeks 9.6lbs 

1Month: 11.4 lbs  

(per our home scale, not 100% accurate)

2Months: 14.3

Hair color: 

Light brown/blonde

Eye color: 

still dark blue

Clothing size:

You are too big for your 0-3 month clothes. 3 Month clothes fit just perfect and I started bringing out 3-6 months, but I don't think you are ready for those quite yet.

Sleep:

You have become much more consistent when it comes to your sleeping schedule. After your last feeding which can be anywhere between 11:30 and 12:30 you go to sleep and sleep through the night!! You usually wake up between 6 and 7:30 in the morning. The other day you even slept until 8:15am!! I can't quite get you on a consistent nap schedule, but you do tend to always have an afternoon nap around 3-5pm. 

Eating:

I stopped nursing you at the end of this month. I wanted to make it longer,  but I am proud of myself for making it this far. We made the decision that this was the best thing. You are a good eater and unfortunately I couldn't keep you full!! So you are now eating 5 oz. every 3 hours and then you are able to go the long stretch at night. 

Random Milestones:

This month you have really began to smile and laugh. You smile at everything, but you especially love ceilings! You are still doing really well on your tummy and when we carry you, you are able to hold your head almost completely on your own. I tried putting you in your bumbo chair, but it is not for you quite yet.

Favorite activity:

Granny and Papa from Houston sent us home with a play mat that lights up and plays music and you really enjoy that. You are slowly becoming more interested in your toys. You definetly enjoy listening music. 

Firsts:

First Houston visit

First Trip to Babies R US

First trip to the mall

One Month {baby}

As I start typing this... it is 3:30am and you just got done eating (at least I think you are done - you could wake up any second screaming for more) and you are laying in my arms. I cannot believe it has been a month since you came into this world. You have already changed so much and are growing into a little man b4 my eyes. Our days fly by and I am still not quite sleeping enough so I want to make sure I don't forget a thing! You have changed my life so much in the past month and I cannot imagine my life without you. As much as I cannot wait for you to grow and watch you change, I don't want you to get big. You are the biggest cuddle monster and I could literally spend the entire day holding you and cuddling you. We are so blessed to have you in our lives and love you so much! Happy 1 month birthday Connor!
Love, Mommy & Daddy

One Month Stats:

Height: 

Birth: 19 1/2 

2Weeks: 20 3/4

Weight:

 Birth: 9lbs 

2Weeks 9.6lbs 

1Month: 11.4 lbs  

(per our home scale, not 100% accurate)

Hair color: 

Light brown/blonde

Eye color: 

still dark blue

Clothing size:
Can still fit into Newborn if he wants to look like a member of the Jersey Shore cast, 0-3 months fits perfectly, but he can fit into his 3 month clothes with a little extra room to spare.

Sleep:

You are still all over the place when it comes to sleeping. I can't quite get you to be consistent. One thing I can say is that whenever you are in my arms you fall asleep very quickly. You had one night last week where you slept the entire night. Sad thing is, I did not. You do not like to be swaddled anymore, so I always worry you are never warm enough, but you are. You have started to stay awake for most of the day with only two real big naps. And slowly you are sleeping for longer stretches at night. 

Eating:

You are an eating machine! My plan was to EBF and my first goal was to make it 8 weeks. Well, you lost 10% birth weight at about 4 days after you were born, so I was instructed to supplement formula after each feeding. After getting your weight back up and meeting with a LC I went back to EBF. At your 2 week check up your weight was up to 9.6lbs! Yay! But after or during your 3 week growth spurt, you just were not getting satisfied with my BM alone. We would spend hours on feedings and you would eat every 2 hours and just not get full. So now I am supplementing again. I am OK with that b/c the majority of your food is BM with a little formula to top you off. I want you to be full and happy and if that means you need to eat formula too, that is what we will do! So, for now you are BF and FF. Not sure what the future will bring. 

Random Milestones:

You are a very strong baby. You love to grip and hold on to whatever you can get a hold of (mostly my hair!!) You are able to hold your head up for a short period of time when we do tummy time. If I would let you, I am sure you would try and hold your bottle on your own. You also LOVE to look at the world around you. I catch you being mesmerized by whatever is catching your eye. You LOVE ceiling fans and the painting that is hanging in our living room. You are able to recognize mine and dad's voices. Whenever your dad comes home your head perks up and tries to find where he is. (you did that in my stomach too... you would always move to where his voice was and kick) I catch you smiling (even though I know they are not true smiles yet, I love them just the same) Grandma swears she hears you laugh... but I don't believe it. You stretch your vocal cords at every chance you get... I have a feeling you are going to be a talker! Of course everything you do, I think is amazing! =)

Favorite activity:

You love to be in your swing! I wish we had a swing in every room so I didn't have to move it around so much. It is the only way I can get a shower in without you going nuts!   You also LOVE music. Grandma plays the baby Einstein play list on Pandora, and that seems to get you to calm down. Your dad bought a horse that is black and white and vibrates when you pull on it, and that just fascinates you so much - which is good because it took him like an hour to pick it out! =) 

Firsts:

First doctors appointment

First real shot =(

First outing with mom

First crying breakdown in public (fun times!)

First bath

First blow out diaper (a story your dad and I will NEVER forget)

I still cannot believe you have been in our lives for one month! I am grateful for every second we spend together. I am trying to capture every second of our time together because the next thing you know - you will be off to college!

HAPPY ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY!!!

=) Rachel 

Stoppin' By to Say 'Hi'

The Last almost 4 weeks has been a crazy and wonderful journey! Needless to say my little guy has consumed 100% of my time - but since he is so adorable I cannot resist showing him off... so we just decided to come and say HI!!! 

Talk to ya'll soon!

=)Rachel (&Connor)

He's Here!!

Connor Joseph Donahue was born May 15th 2012 @ 4:36 p.m. Weighing in at 9lbs. and 19 1/2 inches long!!!

1 CM.!!~!!

Good Morning!

It is currently approx. 4:45 am and I am wide awake! =( not cool!!! But since I have exhausted all of my other forms of useless activities to occupy my time, I thought I would do something useful and BLOG! I know I went M.I.A. again... but as of today I am officially 37 WEEKS PREGGO!!! yay! The last month has been nothing but getting everything ready to go for this little guy... and yet I seem like I have nothing ready.

I am officially out of commission as far as work goes... we are now down to a one income family - which leads itself to a whole other set of issues and anxiety. But I know we will be just fine!

My mom, brother and I visited San Antonio back over Easter weekend... I don't think I have ever been so swollen in my life! I will share some pics of that event with y'all.

So... getting back to the title of this bloggie... which I am sure caught your attention because of its riveting creativity! I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday (I am now down to the weekly doc appointments) and I found out that I am officially 1 Centimeter dilated! I don't know about you guys... but for me that feels like an accomplishment! The prior week there was no glimpse of any sort of progression, and a week later... ta da! 1 CM. I know that I can very well just stay this way up until I am full term, but as of right now I will take what I can get!

I just wanted to touch base with you guys and let you know I am still breathing... I will leave you with a little to-do list of things I should probably get done in the next 24 to 48 hours!

- Pack Baby Bag

- Pack Hospital Bag

- Install Car Seat 

- Wash ALL of baby's clothes and blankets

- Take as many naps as I can before baby arrives!

=) Rachel