Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Adventures in Mommyhood....




The last month, well technically 5 weeks and 1 day, have flown by. Each day runs into the next. Each day a repeat of the one before it. Normally this would drive me crazy, but I don't have time for that. It's been A.MAZING.

Sophia nurses (normally) every 3 hours. This has caused me to be a multitasking CHAMPION! I have even amazed myself! :) This is also the reason that my days run into each other. If it wasn't for the calendar on our wall and our tv guide, I would never know the date or what day it was!

As much as I love hanging out with Sophia and being her meal ticket, I now understand why mom's savor their alone time so much! I soak in every moment I get! Luckily Laurin is very understanding of this. I get to soak in my hot bath with a good book while he lays with her until she falls asleep "for the night." Granted my alone time is anywhere between 10pm and midnight, it doesn't matter. I NEED THAT TIME!

You know how kids do the darnedest things? Well.... my little one farts.. A LOT! She spends several hours in the early morning GRUNTING LOUDLY in her sleep! It definitely makes sleeping next to her hard! Then comes the gas explosions! Little farts, big farts, short farts, long farts! Absolutely RIDICULOUS! I hope we get out of this phase soon, it is starting to get hard to determine whether or not she is farting, pooping, sleep grunting or awake grunting! Consistency child - PLEASE!

Milestones so far:

Lifts head on own while on tummy - minutes after birth! In fact she was nice enough to sneeze in my face! That is how we met!

Rolls from tummy to back - day 3 or 4. I can't quite remember. She's such a wiggle worm that it didn't take long for her to figure it out. She still doesn't do it all the time.

Smile: her first REAL smile - as in NOT the gas or sleepy smile - was on July 19 (one day short of 1 month).

Laugh: I think that happened today! She was drifting off to sleep while on my lap. It caught me off guard so I can't be completely sure!

After the last post I promised more pictures... so without further adieu....


 
Memorial Day at the Thienes house!
2 days before The Big Show! 


Yay for epidurals! 

What else are we going to do in the wee hours of the morn?




The moment I'll never forget!




No wonder they sleep together so well!




Great Grandma Janie & Baby
Great Grandpa George & Baby

Finally Home.


Thank You Cousin Selena for my cute bows!



In her bouncy seat. She loves the vacuum.
Yay! She actually looks a little Asian like her mommy!
Uncle Stevie, finally holding Sophia!
Auntie Ashley and Sophia on Ashley's birthday
Grandpa holding Sophia
Bath Time!
Crazy Bath Hair!
I call this "The Thinker"
Shopping!
One of my Favs!


Daddy & Sophia Time!......






BEST FACE EVER!


Daddy feeding Sophia



WE TOOK A SPONTANEOUS TRIP TO THE BEACH...







AND OUR NURSERY!
(Still needs the wall paper border, bookshelf, shelves and pictures)





Crib!




I even added bees to go with our Pooh theme
The Wall hanging that TOOK FOREVER!




Picture Courtesy of Kim Wisely


















Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Working, Cleaning and Miracles.

Sorry. I've been busy playing mommy.

I knew that it had been awhile since I had posted last, I just didn't realize it was 2 months ago! Trust me, I have lots of excuses! ;)

1. I've been busy cleaning.
2. I was working until June 11th.
3. We were busy putting our house together.
4. Laurin took our Mac to work (so I cant sink my phone or our camera with awesome pictures AND my laptop is old and lame and doesn't like to connect to the web sometimes).
5. I was enjoying the downtime I had once I was done working.
6. I gave birth.
7. I've been busy being a mom. <----- WINNING EXCUSE!

The entire month of May was dedicated to preparing our house for the arrival of little Sophia Grace. We were busy tearing out carpet, putting floors in and cleaning during every spare moment we had. It took weeks for the floors to be put in (for several reasons I will not state). In fact, our floors are still not finished. We have a tiny section left to do upstairs, the stairs and the baseboards all need to be finished. On a brighter note, it looks beautiful!! The downstairs looks awesome! -- Just in time for our baby shower!

We had two showers set up for June 5th and June 12th (my birthday). When we were putting our guest list together, we realized that we had A LOT of potential guests! So... we were going to have one for the Thienes family and one for the Gregg family.
HOWEVER.......... We did not have enough RSVP's to have two. :(   Oh well.

Anywho. We had our wonderful baby shower on the 5th. With that baby shower came a ton of work! That morning around say, 6am, we were busy cleaning, setting up, food prep, and putting the baseboards on downstairs. Yes, you read that right. We were just putting the baseboards on downstairs! It was just like one of those movies where the main character is slated to do this miraculous clean up and set up in a really short amount of time. They make you think that its not going to happen, but then suddenly the open the scene with everything in its exact place! That's how it was! :) Everyone had a great time. I had a great time. The weather was beautiful.

I'll have pictures posted soon. (See excuse #4)

My last day of work was June 11th -- one of the weirdest days ever! The thought that once I clocked out, that was it. That would be the last time I would be behind that counter. The last time I would be waiting on customers, cleaning up messes, being the go-to person for questions or problems. It was weird. However, I walked out the door and felt good. It felt right. I haven't missed it since. It took a little bit to get used to the idea that I didn't have to work the next day or the day after that. I didn't just have a couple free days a week, I had free WEEKS! FOREVER! The only thing that I have missed about Plato's are the employees. The interaction and conversations with them. They were my "friends". I'm ready to go visit, but Sophia needs to be just a bit older...

I was supposed to have 3 weeks until my little one was "scheduled" to arrive. Hell, it could have been up to 5 weeks! Most first timers go on past their due date. I got one week. EXACTLY one week.

ON TO THE MAIN ATTRACTION!

............................ This story --> expect it to be long :)  ..................................

Father's Day, Sunday, June 19th, 2011.

This day started out pretty normal for Father's day. Laurin and I dragged our butts out of bed early so that we could enjoy breakfast with my parent's, grandparent's and my uncle. Getting out of bed a bit earlier than usual was a daunting task on this day. Laurin had shot a wedding the day before and didn't get home until after midnight. I didn't sleep well due to my bulging belly and the annoying need to pee all the time!

Anywho. The topic of when Sophia would arrive came up (as it always did). My grandmother had asked me how my last appointment had gone. I told her I was a dimple dilated (yes, apparently that is an actual term used!). However, that didn't mean much. Nothing had pointed that Sophia would be arriving anytime soon. Then, my mother had mentioned that she believed that Sophia would be early, end of June early. Laurin disagree, he thought I was going to be late.

And a bet was made.

Yes, Laurin and my mother bet each other. It was only for breakfast (thankfully).

Later in the afternoon, my parents came over to help Laurin plant some trees in our backyard while I made my dad cookies. All was well and normal.

Scene: Evening. Laurin and I watching a movie on the couch.

I felt what I thought was Sophia sucker punching me in the gut, which is something that she had never done before. Then I hear a pop. I thought that was a bit weird, but I didn't really think anything of it.

10 minutes later @ about 6:45pm.

Me: "Uh-oh."
Laurin: "What?!!"
Me: (yes, this is really what I said) "Either I just peed my pants or my water just broke!"
Laurin: "Are you serious?"

Only 15% of women experience their water breaking before labor begins. Most of the time it happens during active labor or the doctor breaks it.

After about 5 minutes of freaking out in the bathroom, I finally got the sanity to call my doctor and begin packing my go-bag. Yup, that was one of the many many things that still needed to be done. In fact here is a list.


1. Go-bag
2. Nursery including wallpaper border, crib, shelves, and books.
3. Getting car seat
4. Pack 'n Play

All while I am freaking out that my go-bag still needs to be packed, Laurin is calm.

Since we took classes, we knew that it wasn't necessary to rush to the hospital. We need to wait until the 5-1-1 rule (contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute long, for 1 hour). I had yet to have a contraction, so we waited. And waited. What did I do in the meantime? I straightened my hair and touched up my make-up. Yup, that's what I did... After that it was resting and drinking as much water as possible.

By 11pm we were headed to the hospital. And for the record, contractions SUCK! They were awful. By the time we got to the hospital they were 3 minutes apart. I could barely make it into the elevator!


I opted for an epidural (the pain was too much). Oh boy was that the right choice! Nothing like losing all feeling in your legs!

Once we got "settled", we were informed that Sophia would be considered late preterm. This meant that she could have some problems at birth that would also be associated with premature babies. I know that they were required to inform me, and I would want to be informed, but there is nothing scarier than someone telling you that your baby could have some problems, large or small. All any parent wants is a healthy child.

I must say that labor went extremely smooth. We only had one small complication, if that is even what you want to call it. Everything progressed fairly quickly from 11pm to 7:30am. At that time I was dilated to 9.5 (we were close)!!! At 11:30am... still at 9.5. I had stalled out. My doctor was absolutely wonderful and had such a positive attitude. We were nervous that since I stalled out the chances of me needing to have a c-section increased...

HOWEVER...


After 17.5 hours of labor....

SOPHIA GRACE THIENES
5 lbs 10 oz.
18 inches long
19 days early
6 days old.



She was so little, Auntie Ashley had to buy premie onsies so she would have an outfit to go home in!


With big brother Kane.


5 days old.



Already with the attitude!




 
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

MORE PICTURES TO COME!!!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Hello. It has been awhile.

So since it has been awhile, this one might be a long one.

Laurin and I have been working on putting our house in order. We have gotten a lot done and we still have a lot to do!

We finally got a bed frame! Yes, you read that right. We actually have a bed frame. It even came with attachable  nightstands! So, with our new bed frame came the task of cleaning and reorganizing the things in our room.
Thank you IKEA!


We have also been working on Sophia's nursery. My mom came over to help me paint; it is going to be so cute! All that is left to do on the walls is putting up the border. (We are going with a Classic Winnie the Pooh theme)
You can't really tell, but this was the start of the painting.


We've chosen a cute yellow for the walls!




Pink Stripes! 


Our crib is bought and waiting for me to pick it up. The only problem is is that we can't really do a lot until we put in our floors. Yup, that is our next task. We are getting rid of our crappy carpet and putting in floors. Luckily, I wont really be doing that - Laurin will. :)
Our totally awesome Crib/Changer Combo!


So this is what I have been doing on my days off from work. Cleaning, rearranging, and putting together rooms and furniture. It has been exhausting, overwhelming, and daunting. I know it may seem neurotic, but I just can't help it. We have been in our house for almost 5 years and we have never REALLY put any of our rooms together (at least not upstairs). Now we are trying to do it within 2-3 months! We must be nuts! Yup!!! I know that I wont be satisfied until it is done though! So call it neurosis or nesting, I don't care! Just know that I will/need to get it done! Grr..... :)

Other than neurotically cleaning I have been working. That's what I do! Right? It is weird knowing that I only have about a month left. After 4 years, it just seems weird. I don't know anything else, and it has been hard trying to let go. I am really excited at the same time! Not only will I get to spend so much time with my daughter, but I wont have to put up with some of the crap that I do at work (read customers).

With my pregnancy, everything has been going really well. I am growing and growing. I'm at that point where my feet swell and ache every night. Sophia moves ALL the time! I love it (even when she is kicking  my ribs)! I fell blessed every day for her!
Not the best picture. -- Me @ 7 months
T - 64 Days! Holy Crap!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

A Semi-Eventful Week

We are just one week closer to meeting our little Sophia Grace. In fact 97 days away from our due date of July 9th! (Thank you iPhone apps!) Every day I get a little more nervous and excited to meet her. I can't wait to look into her beautiful little eyes and hold her tiny hand. She is already my entire world.
26 weeks.

On a classier note.. Our dog Kane is a sneaky pup. One of the many quarks that he has is that he hates green (human) foods. No, we don't feed our dog scraps - at least not any more. This is something that has always made me chuckle.  A dog who doesn't like green foods. Well, the other night we had an incident with a possum in our backyard. While Laurin and I were scanning the backyard, sneaky chomped down the rest of my BLT. How do I know it was Kane and not Leyla you ask...
Someone left behind some evidence! That would be the T from my BLT sitting on the floor!


I frequent a blog called Woah Baby. I found her off of thebump.com and have enjoyed what she has to write about. However she introduced me to another blog called Younghouselove.com. I have absolutely fallen in love with this blog. This couple have put some fantastic ideas on how to reorganize and redo things in your house! Check it out sometime, you will walk away inspired! I promise!

One particular inspiration I had was for the ceiling hanging above. They created it as a mobil above their changing table, but I like the idea as a decoration. I even found some super cute bees to add in with the flowers! They used yellow and pink flowers. I decided I needed much more color! It is a cheap decoration idea if you look in the right places!
 
These are the colors I have chosen. In all this all cost me about $12 and that includes the flowers (from the Dollar Store), the wire, bees, and glue (all from Michaels). I haven't started on them yet, so I'll let you know how it works out! Here is the link to the "How To" from Young House Love.

Something else I found while perusing Michaels were these super cute letters.

They were only $2.49 a piece. We are going to paint the letters - once we figure out a color scheme - and then screw the "shelves" that hold the letters into the wall. Again, I'll let you know how it works out! 

As you can see, I'm really excited to get Sophia's nursery finished! I just hope I have ample time to get it done! Between working 50 hours a week, birthing classes on Tuesdays, and miscellaneous weekend events, I feel like time is slipping away! Most days I have to take a step back and take a breath. However,  ONLY 97 days left!