Adelle - April 2006

Saturday, 01 April 2006

Look what we bought this morning!!! Isn't is beautiful???



I really wanted a rocking chair for Baby's room (a real rocker, not a glider). But they are so hard to find and insanely expensive - who knew! So we have been searching for a nice one we could arrord for awhile now. We found this one that a lady was selling online. So we drove to the other side of the city this morning and bought it. It was her grandmother's and was made in the 1880's. It is in gorgeous condition as you can see from the picture and we got it for an amazing price! Yay! So now Baby's room is all set. I'm so excited.

People have been treating me really funny lately... like they are afraid I will go into labor at any moment and they won't know what to do. I suppose it is possible, but it cracks me up. Today while I was at the grocery store I actually did what I think most people are afraid I am going to do - I got a weird feeling in my belly so I stopped, grabbed my stomach, and went "oh!". No one noticed except Jamie, thankfully, but it was hilarious! It was just Baby doing some sort of crazy kick in there, but I can't imagine the panic I might have started if anyone else had noticed! Ha ha ha!

Monday, 03 April 2006

Baby Garrett Watch 2006 update...

Still no baby, but that's no surprise! Braxton Hicks are definitely more often, though. But this could go on for weeks. I am getting so excited and want to have Baby soon. Not because I am tired of being pregnant (I'm not) or because I am so uncomfortable (which I guess I sort of am), but because I just really want to see and hold Baby.

I'll keep you updated!

Monday, 03 April 2006

The hospital has webpages for their patients (which I think is way cool) and I've gone ahead and set ours up. It has updates, pictures, a message board, and contact info. During the hospital stay we'll update that page, not this journal. So you can go ahead and go here to see it. Bookmark it now! If you need the page's name it is skunkflyer (you may need this in the future).

Tuesday, 04 April 2006

I woke up this morning with a weird lower backache and a sense of great urgency to get things wrapped up for work. Could Baby be coming soon? Time will tell!

Thursday, 06 April 2006

Ginger's in labor! Yay! My sister is in the hospital now getting ready to have baby #3. What fun! Even though she was due after me, I had a feeling she might have her baby before me. Very exciting!

I just got back from the midwife and her official prediction is very soon. As she put it, I'm "in the batter's box". Hopefully by the end of the week. I have been feeling really sick the past two days (like when I was first pregnant) and she says that's a really good sign. So let's go Baby!!! My next appointment is next Tuesday and if Baby hasn't arrived by then she wants to start talking about induction then because Baby is pretty big. Jamie and I are hoping I will go into labor before then... maybe today? Today would work just fine!

Friday, 07 April 2006

Welcome Christian Scott Resendiz! Ginger had him yesterday afternoon and both mom and baby boy are doing great! Congratulations! Here's a picture of him (looking very vocal!) right after he was born.



I have been SUPER sick today. The midwife says it's either a tummy bug (fun) or my body reacting rather unkindly to all the hormones that are trying to get labor going (also fun). Either way I feel pretty yucky, though I am feeling a bit better than I was about an hour ago. Let's hope this yuckiness is a good sign of progress!

Saturday, 08 April 2006

There is nothing quite like having the stomach flu a few days before your due date. Miserable doesn't even begin to cover it! Thankfully it was a 24 hour deal and I am feeling better today. Not great still, but better.

Sunday, 09 April 2006

You know, it just struck me this morning how amazing it is that I have been pregnant for nine months! It has gone by so fast! Isn't it crazy that it has taken my body 9 whole months to grow this little (well, rather large) baby inside me? Crazy. I bet I'll miss being pregnant after Baby arrives. All those kicks and wiggles inside me... I should enjoy these last few hours/days as much as I can.

Monday, 10 April 2006

Stop, go, stop, go... I started having pretty consistent contractions yesterday afternoon, but instead of growing closer together, they just fizzled out by dinnertime. I had more last night, but the same thing... no progress. I can tell my body is trying hard, though! It's a little frustrating and is making me a bit antsy. Sigh. At least we know one way or another, Baby will eventually be born!

Tuesday, 11 April 2006

One day left until my due date and not much has changed. Still having contractions, but nothing that goes anywhere. My frustration is exaggerated by loving and well-meaning people asking if we've had the baby yet. I promise we will not keep the birth of our baby a secret. Really. We will tell anyone and everyone who will listen. So, please just trust that when we have the Baby, you will know about it. If you would like to encourage us, tell us how excited you are for Baby's arrival or ask how Jamie and I are feeling/doing. We love it when people check in on us, but please... don't make remarks about Baby not being here yet. It only discourages a very tired and uncomfortable pregnant lady. Thanks!

The following is a list of things very pregnant women can't hear enough of. If you don't know what to say, pick one of these!

• You look GREAT!
• Wow... It doesn't look like you've gained much weight at all!
• We're so excited for you guys!
• Please let us know if we can help in any way.
  
• Can I bring you some ice cream?
  

Okay, maybe that last one is just me. Ha ha ha!

I go see the midwife this afternoon so I'll update the site again when I get back. Maybe she can help encourage Baby to come out and play with us!

Tuesday, 11 April 2006

Well, the appointment with the midwife went well. My body has been working hard over the past few days and I am already at 3 cm. She actually said that although the last few days have been a bit frustrating for me, I have probably knocked off the first 10 hours of my labor. She says it'll probably go pretty quick then once my body gets going. So, maybe tonight! Yay!

Wednesday, 12 April 2006

This is Jamie, writing on behalf of Jo. The baby has arrived. Her name is Adelle Jo Garrett ans she was born at 8:19 am on Wednesday April 12. She weighs 8 pounds and is 21 inches long. More details to come once Jo gets back home.

Thursday, 13 April 2006

Update: baby Adelle is doing great. She is eating well and sleeping well. And she is so precious! Jo will write some more specific things when she gets home tomorrow.

Saturday, 15 April 2006

We're home! We got back from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'm totally pooped but can't imagine being any happier. Adelle is just awesome. Jamie and I are absolutely in love with her.

I will try to update the site with all the details in the next few days for those who might be interested. For now, it's nap time! I'll post a slug of pictures of the website then as well.

Sunday, 16 April 2006

Sorry it has taken me awhile to get a real update up on here. A new baby takes up a bit of time!

Here is the quick version of the birth story for those who don't really want to know all the details - I went into labor about 5:00 pm on Tuesday, April 11 and gave birth at 8:19 am on Wednesday, April 12. Yes, I did it with no drugs or interventions - not even an IV and it was awesome!

For those of you who want all the details - here ya go! Warning... when I say all the details I mean it, so if you don't really want to know, I'd stop reading now.

I had been having contractions (not Braxton-Hicks) since Sunday afternoon. They were consistently 15-20 minutes apart but never progressed anywhere. I could tell my body was working hard and trying to go into labor, though. I had an appointment with the midwife at 3:00 on Tuesday afternoon and by then I was 50% effaced and already at 3cm. She gave me the award for the 'most promising cervix of the day'! Ha ha ha. By 5:00 my contractions were already about 7-10 minutes apart and my labor had actually really started going. I called Hillary and my Mom and told them to come on up when I was sure I'd be having the baby soon. My labor progressed pretty quickly, but when I decided to rest around 10:00 it slowed back down. Discouraged, I went to bed at midnight thinking maybe it wouldn't pick back up again... I was pretty bummed and really tired already. But by 12:30 my labor did a quick jump and I flew into very active labor. My mom arrived around 1:00 just in time for us all to go to the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital I was at 6cm and was really working to relax through each contraction. I have to interject at this point, that the Bradley Method rocks! So I labored for a good while and then around 4am the midwife broke my water for me and I was jet propelled right into transition. Thankfully, transition is very pretty quick and after 20 minutes I felt like I wanted to push, so the midwife told me to go for it. This is where the really hard part started for me.

Everyone talks about how painful labor is. For me, it was no problem. It was the delivery that was really difficult for me. I ended up pushing for almost 4 hours before she was born. I am actually really surprised they let me go that long, but Adelle was handling it fine so they let me keep going. During the last hour she would crown everytime, but she just couldn't quite make it the rest of the way to be born. I was so exhausted that I would halfway fall asleep between contractions and then try again. Towards the end Jamie and I had both pretty much given up. We were asking the midwife to call the doctor to come vacume her out. But she just kept encouraging us and saying that she knew I could do it because I was so close. So she would just suggest a few more pushes before we called the doctor and I would keep trying. To my amazement, she did finally come out. I was stunned! I am so thankful for Julianna, the midwife, for not giving up on us when we had. Thanks to her, Adelle was born without any interventions. It was the most amazing thing ever. Jamie and I both started crying, of course, and they laid her right on my chest and Jamie told me we had a little girl. I was really shocked that she was a girl, too because everyone had me convinced that she was going to be a boy. It was too perfect.

So, they cleaned me up (and stitched me up) and after that, with some quick instruction, I nursed her right in the delivery room after she was born for a good 30 minutes. She was hungry! She has caught on really quickly to nursing and is already a pro. I'm so proud.

So now I am just trying to recover and be a new mom. I ended up bruising my tailbone which is always fun. It happens sometimes and it didn't surprise me since I had broken it before. So, it makes sitting to nurse a little hard, but other than that, everything is great!

Thanks for being interested in Adelle's birth story. Love you all!

Sunday, 16 April 2006

Happy Easter! I've put some new pictures up on our webshots site! You can see them here.

Tuesday, 18 April 2006

Adelle had her first appointment with the pediatrician today. It went so well! I was concerned a bit since 1-she was jaundiced when we left the hospital and 2-I am nursing her and can't tell if she's getting enough to gain weight back. But the doctor said she is doing AWESOME! Her jaundice is gone and she has already gained back 3 ounces! Yay! She said babies are usually still losing weight at this point and mom is totally stressed, so I guess we're doing okay. I'm so proud of Adelle... she's such a great baby.

Wednesday, 19 April 2006

Today is my first day alone with Adelle. My mom left yesterday and Jamie is going back to work today. It's a little scary, but I think we'll do just fine. I've grown a lot in confidence in the past week learning to care for her. I just need to do the same thing on my own now.

I can't believe she's a week old today! On one hand it feels like she was just born, but on the other it feels like we've always had her.

She has started doing the funniest thing. Whenever Jamie (and only Jamie) goes to change her diaper, she immediately starts pooping right as he starts undressing her to change her. It's the funniest thing! She doesn't do this to anyone else but him. He has the magic poopy touch I guess!

Thursday, 20 April 2006

Well, I made it through the day yesterday alone with Adelle. However, my worst fear was realized. I just KNEW that she'd be gassy and sick the first day I was home alone with her, and I was right. She pretty much cried all day. By the time Jamie got home I was laying on the couch in tears myself. Sigh. But by about 10 last night she was feeling better and slept well. So far so good today...

But other than the occasional rough day, we're doing well. We're really starting to get a good routine established and she's starting to figure out some of the routine's cues (like a diaper change after a nap means food is coming). We're all getting to know each other a bit better everyday. It's amazing how much of her personality we can already see!

Friday, 21 April 2006

Adelle is doing so well with her tummy time. She is trying so hard to lift her little head!



Her umbilical cord stump fell off this morning so she now has a (very cute) belly button.

Yesterday was a really good day. Yay! Jamie came home to two happy girls. That's got to be better than two crying girls. Ha ha ha.

Adelle is awake a little longer now between feedings. Still not super long, but long enough to quietly take in some things around her. It's amazing watching her try to figure things out. Can you imagine everything being new to you?

Saturday, 22 April 2006

Adelle is just too cute when she is waking up. She gets all squirmy and squeaky and makes the funniest noises and faces. I put a whole series of pictures of her waking up on the webshots site this morning. You can see them here.

The weather is yucky today so I think we'll just stay home and take lots of naps. Jamie and I could certainly use them! If I can muster up the energy I might even do a little housework. We'll see. It's pretty low on my priority list these days.

Sunday, 23 April 2006

You know, it's amazing what getting out on my own for just a few minutes will do for me. I realized yesterday that I hadn't had a break from caring for Adelle since she was born. So, I took a quick trip to the grocery store yesterday while Jamie stayed home with her. It was just a 15 minute trip, but it was a nice little break and I came home refreshed and ready to care for her some more. This morning I went out and took a walk around our neighborhood. I love being Adelle's mom, but everyone needs a little break here and there. Thanks, Mitzi, for that great advice!

We're going out to run a few errands this afternoon. It's our first shopping trip together as a new family. Let's hope she likes to shop, otherwise we might not do it again for awhile!

Wednesday, 26 April 2006

Adelle is two weeks old today! I can hardly believe it! She's doing so well, too. Yay!

She has been very snuggly lately. She loves to fall asleep laying against my chest these days. I guess it makes sense... she was inside me for over 9 months so I am sure being close to me and feeling/hearing my heartbeat is comforting to her.

Have I mentioned yet that Jamie and I are tired? If I ever claimed to be tired before she was born, I was wrong. I've never known tired like this. How do new parents all over the world do this? Jamie and I keep reminding each other to take it one day at a time. I wonder how parents do it with other children already in the house. It has to be so hard!

Jamie's parents arrive today. I know they are excited to meet Adelle. We're excited for them to get to meet her!

Friday, 28 April 2006

So, as you can see, Adelle is having lots of fun with her Granddaddy and Grandmommy. I think they are having lots of fun with her, too.



Last night we were giving her a bath and as usual, she was pretty unhappy about it. This time, however, it was a little more chaotic. We get her all washed up and I get her wrapped up in her hoodie towel on the kitchen counter (she takes a bath in the sink) and just as I am about to pick her up, she poops all over the counter! Seriously. So we now have a wet, cold, and dirty (again!) baby girl. Do you put her back in the bath? Do you just wipe her off so she can stay warm? It was hysterical. I swear if we had it on video we would win a bunch of money on America's Funniest Home Videos. Ha ha ha!

Saturday, 29 April 2006

Today was a big day... Jamie and I went out alone today for the first time. It was weird. Jamie's parents babysat for a few hours while we went out to eat at the mall. It was probably good for us, but I missed her. After two hours I was ready to get home. But we all survived being separated for awhile... it can be done!

A fun snuggly picture for you!