One Month Old

Our little man is a month old now and we can't believe it! He is growing so fast and still not sleeping well at night. The biggest thing is that he loves is pacifier and loves to sleep anywhere but his crib ;-). We sure do love him to pieces and he is absolutely precious. His baby acne is clearing up, no more blocked tear duct, and still lots of gas! He gets more and more alert every day and is really starting to pay attention to his surroundings. We like to play the staring game together.

This weekend we are headed to NY to be with our family for Christmas. This will be Eli's first trip on a plane and we are also taking the dogs w/ us...UH OH. We are excited to have Elijah meet the rest of his family, but a little nervous about traveling w/ him being so tiny.

3 Weeks Old

Yesterday Elijah turned 3 weeks old! He is growing by the day. We bought some newborn diapers yesterday only to realize that the size 1 fits him much better...ALREADY! His onsies are actually fitting him now :-).

Some other developments: Poor little guy has a pretty bad case of baby acne and some major gas. Most babies lose some of their hair and then it grows back, but Eli seems to have more hair, and with a serious rooster tail in the back. He is definitely a sucker. He likes to have his binky in his mouth a lot (this will be good for our plane ride home to NY). He even has a favorite kind of pacifier (I am sure you have seen it in pictures). He still likes to be swaddled and cuddled especially when he has a battle w/ his gas. On average our little buddy is sleeping 3-3.5 hours at a time during the night (w/ the exception of this past weekend). Daddy had weekend duty and Eli was especially unhappy at night :-(. It seems much better though now :-).

My little precious guy watching his musical cow in his bouncey seat








A father and son precious moment









My three favorite boys chillin' on the love seat.

All Alone

Just got home from dropping GiGi and Aunt Chelsea off

Give me a break, I'm tired

I love this picture...he looks like a little man

Well, after a month of family here we are finally on our own. Mommy, Eli and Daddy are all back to work. Eli spent his first night in his crib last night and it went pretty well. This morning we took a trip all the way to El Paso to drop GiGi and Aunt Chelsea off at the airport. Eli did great until the last 20 minutes of the trip. He was ready to be home!

Elijah Mitchell Rex

It is hard to believe that Elijah is already 2 weeks old. Here is our story:
Our precious little one was born on 16 Nov @ 1610. He weighed 7lbs 5.4oz and was perfectly healthy. On 15 Nov I was in labor all day long. At around 1800 I wanted to go for a walk so my father-in-law and I went out for a stroll and sure enough my contractions started getting very intense. They were about 15 minutes apart and getting longer and stronger. My mom was to come in at 2000 to El Paso. I really wanted to go b/c I knew I would go crazy sitting at home and waiting. No sooner did we get on our way that the contractions started getting closer together and lasting between 1-1.5 minutes each. We picked up my mom and by the time we got back to Alamo the contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and REALLY starting to hurt. We decided to stop home to grab our bags and head right to the hospital. Of course on the way I was having a super contraction and Mitch stepped on the gas a bit and ended up getting pulled over. My father-in-law, who was following behind us yelled out, "She is very pregnant and in labor." Thankfully he let us go.
We got to the hospital and I was sure I would be 4-5 cm dilated w/ how much pain and discomfort I was in. When the nurse told me I was only 1-2 I started crying just out of frustration. Because I was having some serious labor they let me stay and finally admitted me when I reached 3 cm. I did my best to breathe through the contractions. I had a lot of support from my amazing hubby. He was so sweet and helpful. I tried the shower and labor ball as well. After hours and hours I was exhausted!!! At one point I was dilated to 8-9 cm but Eli wasn't descending. He was still +4. I tried the labor ball again to see if that would help him move down. We didn't have any luck w/ that so I decided to get an epidural so I could at least get some rest before I had to push. When the baby was at +2 they gave me some pitosin to again help things along w/out making me push right yet. Things were going along well when suddenly baby Eli's heart rate dropped below 100 bpm. Suddenly the mid-wife and nurses rushed in and said we couldn't wait any longer, he had to come out now. This was scary, but I just prayed and stayed calm. They got ready and soon I was in position and pushing. Mitch was waiting all gowned up and sterilized ready to catch the baby on his way out. Every once in a while he would mouth that he loved me and gave me thumbs up :-). We did need a little help w/ the vacuum but all in all I only pushed for an hour.
When Eli came out Mitch's face was absolutely priceless. I can still picture his face and it makes my heart melt. Eli's lungs were definitely working b/c he came out screaming :-). Unfortunately the umbilical cord was so short that they couldn't even lift him up for me to see. The mid-wife said it was the shortest cord she had ever seen. When Mitch cut the cord and they placed Eli on my chest it was such a wonderful moment as a new mom. I couldn't believe how perfect and beautiful he was!
All in all, I was in labor for 29 hours w/ 22 hours of really hard labor. 100% worth it!!!
We sure did have a lot to be thankful for this year. Thank you Lord for our precious little one and for all of our friends and family that love and support us.

I will update this very soon...I promise

On 12 Oct Mitch and I went to the portrait studio inside walmart (we don't have much of a selection here) to get professional pics while very pregnant. I am 35 wks in these pictures. While we weren't extremely happy w/ the 10 min sitting we received, at least we have something and Mitch really wanted to have pictures w/ my bare belly. I think they turned out pretty decent. W/ the exception of the first pic, these are the poses we did. We were able to get upgrades on them (black and white, sepia, borders), but I didn't scan them. Just wanted to give an idea.

Close up of the expecting parents

And there it is...the bare belly

This is my favorite. I think it is so sweet. It looks really neat in the sepia.

PWOC Baby Shower

Today I am 38 wks along and yesterday The PWOC bible study gave Sarah and I a baby shower. We are due around the same time, Sarah being due a bit before me. The shower was very nice. We had great food and Eli got some more great gifts. He is so spoiled already! It is amazing to me the generosity of others.

Hubby is on his way home to us today...YAY!!!

Full Term!

I am now 37 weeks, which means full term. Yay!!! The waiting game begins. We will now be going to the doctor weekly and our next appt is Tuesday. Mitch leaves on Wednesday for a TDY to Reno. It is a short trip, but we have our friends the Bohans on stand-by. There have also been people from church that have offered their help no matter what time of day or night. Starting 8 Nov we will have family here until 5 Dec. I am looking forward to having them here for this special event.

My Wonderful Husband

I would like to dedicate this post to my husband. He is the greatest and has put up with a lot from me lately. I am blessed to have a husband that is so dedicated to his family and to making me and our unborn baby a priority. Since I have been sick he has been taking over much of the domestic responsibilities. He has been cooking (Mitch is a great cook), cleaning, and doing the grocery shopping. He will even call me periodically throughout the day to make sure that I am taking it easy and resting. He has been completely selfless w/out complaining. Thank God for my husband! I love this man!!!

Below are pictures of Mitch making homemade sauce (his own recipe...delicious!)

Best Appointment Yet!

Yesterday we had an ultrasound and then an appt. The ultrasound was to determine where my placenta is to see if a c-section would be needed. We went in and of course were happy to get to see our little precious guy and how he has grown and were pleasantly surprised when the tech decided to play around a bit w/ the 4D pictures. It was amazing!!! We were able to find out that He likes to suck his thumb and the back of his hand, he has chubby cheeks and it looks like maybe dimples, he has his daddy's lips, and he has LOTS of hair! My suffering from heartburn is not in vain ;-). The tech gave us some pictures, which she did not have to do and we are very grateful.
After taking some measurements the doc decided to rule my condition low lying placenta instead of marginal placenta previa. This is a blessing b/c it means that I can try for a natural vaginal delivery. We still need to be very cautious w/ the amount of bleeding. The doc said that she has seen women who are 4 cm dilated and not progressing much but have a lot of bleeding and have to go in for an emergency cesarean and she has also seen women who progress to 9cm quickly and the amount of blood loss is not too much before the mother is able to push the baby out. Basically they will keep a close eye on me and I need to be prepared for either outcome.

SO Sick Of Being Sick!

Here I sit sick once again :-(. I am really getting worn out and frustrated from all of this. I really hope that this isn't going to be how things go for the rest of this pregnancy. I want to be healthy and rested by the time labor and delivery comes.
I noticed my throat getting scratchy this past Thursday and by Saturday I wasn't feeling well at all with sinus pressure and a sore throat. Things just kept getting worse and of course sleep was out of the question.
I was able to get to the Doc today and got some meds that are similar to Benadryl which should help me w/ my symptoms and sleep. That is about all they want to give me at this point due to the pregnancy. The good news...I don't have strep!
So, please pray for me that I would get well, stay well, and get rested and strong so that I will be able to better endure labor and delivery. Thank you!!!

Its Been A While

I know it has been a while since I have written something, but I have been pretty busy lately. I have been trying to get acclimated to the new job and it is that time of year when we have a lot going on. I have a lot of activities to plan and implement while trying to learn the ropes at the same time. We also recently had Mitch's aunt and uncle visiting us from PA and I had been sick last week and the week before.
Things are getting pretty uncomfortable. Baby Rex's head is very low (a good thing) and his feet are in my ribs (not so good for me). Since I don't have any room to grow up or down, it looks like out is the only option. The concentrated weight is putting a lot of strain on my middle back which makes sitting pretty uncomfortable. Oh, and I am surprised at how hard it is to breathe now-a-days. All of these things must be why women are ready for pregnancy to be over at this point ;-). Don't get me wrong, overall I feel good and I am thankful that I am even able to experience these pregnancy hardships. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Next week we have our appt on the 21st where we will have the ultrasound to see where we are with the placenta previa. We will also be getting the strep B test done. By then we will be at the point where we go to the Dr. every week until Baby Rex arrives.
We have family that has plans to come down soon. Grampy Rex will be here Nov 8th-22nd. Grammy Post will be here Nov 15th-23rd. And Grammy Karen and Aunt Chelsea will be here Nov 24th-Dec 5th. We are very excited to have family here to support us and welcome our little miracle into this world :-).
We talked with our friends the Carpenters tonight and they are getting ready to have their baby girl very soon :-). We can't wait to hear the news that Ashleigh is here!!!

Completed Nursery

Some Random New Pics

Emily brought me her crown to wear

Mitch was feeling left out so I shared ;-)

I'm not the only one nesting

Mitch and I on our trip to Cloudcroft w/ Tammy and David

David and Tammy w/ the mountains in the background

Here are just a few recent pictures that are from our baby bash given by our church family, a visit from our friends Tammy and David, and the nursery to completion. Our friends Tammy and David came to visit us from Albuquerque. We originally met them while we were stationed in Corpus Christi. They were part of our church family there and we love them! They ended up moving to NM right before us due to David's job and we have been fortunate to have a couple of visits w/ them and their adorable son, Marcelo.

New Job

I'm not sure how unusual this is, but I will be starting a new job this wk and I will be 6.5 wks away from my due date. I guess it may not seem like the most ideal time to get into something like this, but I really feel that I was blessed to have the opportunity. Also, everything fell into place w/out me having to put too much effort into it so I'm confident that this is right. As of Oct 1 I will be the RE (Religious Education)Director for the Holloman AFB Chapel. One day I was asked if I would be interested, the next day I inquired about it and applied, a week later I was told the job was mine. What is really great about this position is that I can walk to work, I can work from home if I need to, it is part time, if I do go into my office I can bring the baby with me, and I get to work in ministry for the Lord who had blessed me with all these things. One thing I probably should find out is what happens during that time when I am having the baby, not sure how maternity leave works in this situation ;-).

What A Day (Of Appointments)

Appt 1 - "Moley, moley, moley": I made an appt to have a beauty mark, ok fine, mole looked at. I know this is gross, but I am a red head w/ fair complexion so I don't take any chances here and I keep an eye on all of my beauty marks, freckles, moles, etc... There was one mole in particular that I was concerned about. I had had it for as long as I can remember and it is located in my bikini area (I'll try not to get too graphic). Well, with the big belly and all, I can't really see it. One day I was in front of the mirror when I noticed that it suddenly wasn't the cute little mole I had grown to know and love all these years. It was now oddly shaped, very dark, and HUGE! This thing had to get checked out and no matter what... IT HAD TO GO! So, I go in, have the Doc look @ it (he isn't concerned, says it doesn't look cancerous), and he says, "I'm right on schedule, lets take it off right now." Allrightythen. I say, "While your at it, what about this one?" I had another one on my lower back that is right where your clothing tag rubs..annoying. While he was prepping me for the removal of the bikini area mole, I felt the need to apologize for the forest that has been neglected since my belly has made it impossible to see that region, let alone take a razor to it ;-). The doc was very understanding and said that I had a perfectly good excuse. Of course you know that this couldn't go as smoothly as one would expect, nope, not with me. First, he couldn't get me to go numb and had to use much more lidocaine that he anticipated. Second, they didn't want to come off (I guess they were used to their home). And third, the incisions wouldn't stop bleeding. At this point I just have some pain and discomfort given the very sensitive areas they were in (I'll spare you any more details on that) and who needs more of that when your in your 3rd trimester of pregnancy?!? Do you feel sorry for me yet ;-)?

Appt 2 - "Back to Back": I finished my first appt @ 9:49 and had my next appt @ 9:50. Luckily they were right down the hall from one another. Now we have PT for my back. What joy! The last time I went to PT, it made my back worse. I get there and have to do all this range of motion stuff and describe my pain and the level of pain I'm experiencing in certain positions...And guess what, he makes me get on my back, yes the same back where I just had the mole removed w/ a knife. It really wasn't that bad though b/c I was still pretty numb. I paid for it later though. After all was said and done the physical therapist said that it could either be pelvic displacement, but more than likely it is a bulging disk. I can't even tell you what number this diagnosis is. The kicker is that he doesn't personally like to deal w/ pregnant women so we are basically going to do some stretches each time I go and he gave me a lumbar support to use while I am in the seated position. Mind you, the whole reason I got referred to PT was b/c my lower back is out of whack and I was worried about it making for a difficult labor. Oh well.

Appt 3 - "By the way...": My last appt of the day was w/ the OB. this was the first time I had met w/ this particular OB. Oh goodie, another person who doesn't know me or my situation thus far. She briefly browses through my file to get up to speed and begins the usual proceedings. She measures me, looks good. Listens to the baby's heartbeat, sounds good. "Oh, by the way, has anyone gone over the results and findings of your ultrasound from your visit to labor and delivery?" "Uh, no, I guess not." "Well, it shows that you have a case of marginal placenta previa." "REALLY?!?" Thats funny since I was just in last week for a follow up from that very visit to labor and delivery and no one said a thing to me! Seriously, isn't this something that is rather important and should be discussed w/ me, marginal or not? She said that she expects the situation to resolve itself by 36wks at which I will go in for another ultrasound. Its a good thing that I have been taking care of myself and that I have an amazing husband that helps me out A LOT. I talked w/ a nurse here on base and she was amazed at this and at the fact they didn't even tell me what I should be doing in this situation. I also talked to another woman who has the same thing and they have been monitoring her very closely, have been giving her specific instructions on how to take care of herself, and she has seen the same OB the entire way through. I can't help but feel that I have fallen through the cracks since day one. The one thing I can rely on though is God (the healer), b/c He will never let me fall through the cracks and He has obviously been taking very good care of me and Baby Rex the whole time. PRAISE GOD!!!

The Transformers @ Holloman?!?

We are famous! Who knew that here in Alamogordo, NM (HAFB) would have a claim to fame to a blockbuster hit?!? I am pretty sure that the 1st Transformers did some filming here as well @ White Sands Missile Range. Last Wednesday I was observing @ Holloman Middle School and they had a couple of tanks from the US Army in the parking lot that were being used for the actual Transformers 2 movie. I thought that was pretty cool. Then on Thursday I had heard that there were star spottings (ShiaLaBeouf) @ our local WalMart and Chilis. I even saw the pictures caught on the camera phone of a friend of mine. This week they brought in some of the actual Transformers here on base so I went to get some pics :-). Enjoy!

A Day At The Hospital

This past Friday started as any other day. I got up to see my hubby off to work and had a lot of expectations for getting things done. I had some breakfast, caught up on some emails and was feeling motivated to work out a bit. I got on the elliptical for a half hour and then did some reps w/ my little 5 lb weights (Ive been doing this the entire pregnancy). I felt really good all through the work out, but shortly after I started getting really bad cramping in my lower left abdomen. It was continual pain w/ sharp pains every once in a while that would radiate in my back. I laid down for about a half hour w/ no relief so I decided to call the Dr. I spoke w/ the nurse on call and she advised me to go to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. Mind you, the baby was still moving a lot, as usual, and there was no bleeding.
When I got to the hospital I had to give a urine sample and they hooked me up to the monitors. I could here the baby's heartbeat which made me feel better. They asked me a series of questions and kept track of the monitors. The nurse told me that everything w/ the baby looked great and she could see small contractions. The pain was not getting any better so they sent me in for an ultrasound. While that was nerve racking, I enjoyed hearing about Baby Rex. The technician said that all his measurements were good, his heartbeat was 158 BPM, and he weighs 3 lbs, 9 oz. How cute is that!?!
The ultrasound showed that things were just right, there were no tears and my cervix was still closed. The urine sample came back showing no issues either. Because I wasn't having more than 4 contractions in an hour, but still having the pain, they concluded that it must be really intense round ligament pains b/c of the rapid growth of my uterus. They gave me some pain meds w/ a script and told me to go to the OB this coming week instead of waiting for my next appt.
Well, by the time I got out of there is was 5:30 and our prenatal class started at 6. Mitch ran home to take care of the dogs and get out of his uniform ( he would be late) and I was to get us something to eat. We ate and listened for the first part pf class and the second part was more hands on. We got to practice labor positions w/ the labor ball (exercise ball). The instructor gave us a bag of ice and when she said, "contraction begins" we had to hold the bag tightly while using our breathing techniques and labor positions to keep our minds off the annoyance of the ice. Fun, fun, fun. I do have to give props to hubby b/c he was so darn cute and doing everything he was supposed to :-).
By the time we finally got home it was 8:30. Needless to say, my expectations for getting things done did not happen. Oh well. Better to be safe than sorry.

Nursery Coming Together

Den and Mitch had fun building things during their visit, which included the crib/changer combo and the glider and ottoman. The nursery is coming together. It is now just a matter of finishing touches and getting the rest of the baby items we need so that we can find a home for everything. The pictures below will give you a glimpse into Baby Rex's nursery (and all the hard work Den and Mitch did while watching football ;-O).

Gives new meaning to, "behind bars"

Yes, Mitch is actually reading directions and yes, Den is watching his Vikings

All put together

Pretty soon is won't be the teddy bears using this nice glider :-)