Ansley's Beautiful Bedroom

I just realized I never posted final pictures of the nursery. Here's her beautiful bedroom :)

Too big too quick!

Okay, so who would've known that there wouldn't be any time for blogging once you become a mommy (haha)! Or atleast, it's not on the top of the priority list. We have really been enjoying our precious baby girl and all the ways she is constantly changing. Ansley is currently 7 weeks old. At her 1 month check-up she weighed 8.1 and was 20.5 inches long. She looks like she is getting bigger by the day. She has already begun growing out of her newborn clothes (a few outfits are getting a little tight). Most of her 0-3 months stuff is still a little too big though. Ansley has finally begun to enjoy bathtime! For some reason, she also loves to lay on her changing table. She begun smiling at about 4 weeks and has been smiling more and more each day. She is typically really happy and smiley first thing in the morning. No matter how tired, frustrated, or drained I am, as soon as she smiles at me, I can't help but to smile back and then I just feel so much better. We haven't had much luck with getting her on any kind of schedule yet, but I know she's still really young. Getting her to go to sleep in her crib at night is the most frustrating part of our day. She typically won't finally go to sleep for the night until around midnight. Then. she is getting up around 2 times a night. She usually wakes up for the morning around 7ish. Luckily, she typically takes a nice long nap in the morning hours, so thats when I get a little more sleep. Ansley loves tummy time for the first few minutes and her neck muscles are getting very strong. But, after a good 4-5 minutes she starts getting tired and is ready to stop. I am still breastfeeding, but we are also supplementing with formula as well. Here's some pictures from the last 5 weeks.

Week 2

Ansley's 1st Week

I can't believe Ansley is already 10 days old! In just the short time that she has been home I already notice ways that she is growing up. Also, when we left the hospital she weighed 6 lbs 2 oz. At the doctor this morning she is already 6 lbs 10oz. Most babies don't even regain their birth weight for about 2 weeks, and she is already past her birth weight. When we left the hospital last Thursday she was a little jaundice. We went to the pediatrician on Monday and he jaundice level had doubled. The doctor suggested supplementing 1 oz of formula after each breast feeding session as well as putting her in the sun for 10 minutes a day when possible. We went back to the doctor Tuesday and then today and her jaundice level is continuing to decrease. We are so happy about that!
Ansley is such a little doll. For the first week, she slept for 18-20 hours a day. We would try so hard to wake her up but she wouldn't have it. Mom and Dad Doyle were at the house when we came home on Thursday. It was so heartwarming to see my parents with their first grandchild. They were so incredibly helpful the entire week. They went grocery shopping and planned and cooked meals for us all week. Mom cleaned my whole house for me and helped me take care of Ansley. She would even get up in the middle of the night after I fed her to stay up with her so I could go back to sleep. Dad was hesitant to hold Ansley in the beginning. He said "she's like a baby pigeon" so small and precious looking. He eventually gave in and spent some time cuddling with his grandbaby. They left yesterday morning :( It was super sad to say goodbye. Dustin and I have a wonderful life here in GA, but it makes me really sad to know that Ansley is going to miss out being close to her grandparents. Hopefully we will all travel more often and see eachother as much as possible.
Ansley has been sleeping pretty well at night. She gets up every 2-4 hours to eat. Most of the time she will go back to sleep, but sometimes she is just wide awake. Breastfeeding is also going pretty well. We had some issues latching on and staying awake for a feeding, but everyday has gotten better and better. I think Ansley and I will be pro's soon enough. Ansley and I got some flowers, gifts, and cards sent to the house the first few days we were home. The house looks beautiful with all the gourgous flowers around. It's so nice to have such loving caring people in our lives.
Ansley really hates getting her diaper changed and especially hates taking a bath. Poor thing screams the entire time we bathe her. Luckily, the doctor said to bathe her every 2-3 days. She absolutely loves to lay on her daddy's chest and sit in her swing. Dustin even plays the guitar for her when she's fussy and she calms down. She also found her thumbs a couple days ago and has started sucking on them occasionaly. Dustin and I were going to try not to give her a pacifier, but in the midst of a crying fit, we gave it a try and she calmed right down. So, now we are trying to save the pacifiers for just night time crying to try and get her back to sleep, but who knows what will happen.
This week has been so exciting, exhausting, and really memorable. I can't wait to see what the future brings for us.
I still have quite a bit of time to stay home with her. My return to work date is January 26th, 2010. I plan to cherish every single solitary moment.

She's Here!

Please welcome Ansley Elsa Schularick to the world. She was born on Tuesday 10/13 at 8:03 pm. She weighed 6 lbs 6 ozs and was 17 3/4 inches long.

I went to my 40 week doctors appt and my blood pressure was still really high. Doctor Ruffin recommended that since I was full term that I just head right over to the hospital to be induced. She was worried about me developing preclamsia. This was quite unexpected and everyone was caught off guard. Even though I was incredibly scared, I was equally as excited. I headed right next door to Kennestone Hospital and began the induction process. For that night the doctor gave me cervidil to ripen and dialate my cervix. On Tuesday morning I was only dialated 1/2 a centimeter. We were very worried that I wasn't going to dialate properly or that it was going to take forever. Dr. Tagechian began me on pitocin at 7am. At 10am I was dialated just 1 centimeter. At 2pm I was dialated 2.5 centimeters. At this point, Dustin and I thought we'd be at the hospital all day and maybe the next day. I was already having pretty strong contractions. Dustin was massaging my back, we tried using the birthing ball, but I had to be constantly monitored and couldn't move around too much. I asked for my epidural, knowing it was pretty early in the process. It was honestly already the worst pain I had ever experienced (at least I though so). The epidural worked wonders (for a short time). Luckily, at my next check at 5pm, I was 5 centimeters. We were so excited. Dr. Tag said we'd have a baby by 11pm that night. I started feeling really strong contractions again and they called for a redose of my epidural. It didn't help too much. I was still really feeling the pain of each contraction. At about 6:30 I told Dustin to go down to the cafeteria to get some dinner "just incase things started happening quickly". Dustin and our friend Jonate went to get some dinner. Tessa was holding my hand and letting me sqeeze with every contraction. Candi was checking out the contractions on the computer screen and telling me when they started to decrease. The pain was getting pretty severe, and all of the sudden I felt like I had to push. I thought that there was no way I was ready, but I called a nurse to check me anyway. At 6:45 the nurse came in, checked me, and said I was already fully dialated, the babies head was right there, and I was ready to push. I couldn't believe that I had gone from 5 to 10 centimeters in such a short period of time, but, it did explain the sudden increase in pain. Candi quickly called Dustin and told him to rush back to the room. Tessa called my parents to tell them that I was going to start pushing. Dr. Tag even came in with complete surprise that I had dialated so soon. Dustin quickly got back to the room and we started the pushing process. Dustin was an amazing coach. He held my right leg back, counted at every contraction, and was very encouraging at each push. He watched the whole process (which he wasn't sure if he'd be able to). An hour and 10 minutes later, Ansley Elsa came into the world. She was such a precious little angel immediately. Dustin and I were thrilled. I cried my eyes out and was so proud of her for making it to us quickly. The rest is history...
Lots of Love,
I can't believe I'm a mommy Erin

Just Waiting...

I am now 39 weeks pregnant and getting a bit miserable. I feel like I've been pretty happy and easy the whole time, so I think I'm entitled to a little venting.

I can no longer sleep (well, atleast). My acid reflux is at it's worst, and even more terrible at night. I sleep propped up on about 5 or 6 pillows. I might as well be sitting straight up. Also, I have begun snoring really bad. Don't know why. It's so loud though, that I actually wake myself up from it. My poor husband :( Also at night, I have these hot/cold flashes where I am really cold at one moment and cuddled under the blanket, then wake up the next and am soaking wet from sweat. I get up to pee atleast 2-3 times each night, and rolling over to get out of bed is really hard work. So, all in all, I'm up atleast half of the night. Exhaustion is really starting to hit me, and I think I'm supposed to be getting as much sleep as possible to prepare me for the exhaustion of bringing home a newborn. It's not working so well.

Headaches, headaches, headaches. I've been getting some pretty bad headaches for the last 2 weeks or so. I've been really lucky during the whole pregnancy and didn't have any headaches or migraines (except for my sinuses during allergy season). I think it may have something to do with my blood pressure. Recently, at each doctors appt my blood pressure keeps increasing. Today, it was 150/70. This was the first time my doctor seemed a little bit concerned about it. I am now on the lookout for symptoms like bad headaches that make me see spots or can't be cured with tylenol and a nap, and any swelling at all in my hands or face. If any of this happens, I'm supposed to call them immediatly or go to the hospital.

Still getting some braxton hicks contractions. They are the strongest when I have a full bladder or when I do excessive walking around. Problem is, they always go away :( I wish they would lead to labor.

Okay, at my appt today the doctor did another exam. He found that I am more effaced, "atleast 50%" he said. My cervix is still not dialated. He would have stripped my membranes for me, but couldn't get through my cervix without any dialation. I've been trying some things to get labor started, like lots of walking around the neighborhood, drinking red rasberry leaf tea, cleaning my house like crazy (I have intermitent spurts of energy), etc. But, baby Schularick is obviously not ready to join us yet. Hopefully she will want to meet her mom and dad really soon.

It's hard to wake up every morning thinking, "Is this the day?", then go to bed that night continuing to wait. I know she'll be here before I know it, but right now every day seems like forever...

I just want to see her beautiful face!
Love,
Erin

Can't wait to meet my girl!

I am officially 38 weeks pregnant. I went in for my weekly check-up today. The doctor did an exam and found that I am 50% effaced but not at all dialated :( I've been having tons of braxton hicks contractions this past week. The first time I got them they were really strong and scared me a bit. I thought I might have been beginning labor. They are also continuing to monitor my blood pressure. I am VERY ready to meet my little girl. I hope she doesn't make me wait too much longer.

Officially 9 Months Pregnant

Who ever decided to tell women that pregnancy only lasts 9 months is a big fat liar!

Going out to celebrate my 28th Birthday.

Future Eagles Fan (Not sure how I managed to squeeze into my jersery?)

Baby Girl is on her way!

I am going to the OBGYN weekly now. Today during my physical exam I found out that she has dropped and is in position in the birth canal :) However, I am not dialated at all just yet. I had a feeling over the past couple of days that she had dropped. My lower back has been feeling a lot more achy, and every now and then I get these sharp pains in my back or low abdomen region. I also feel like I've been waddling more than usual and am more "uncomfortable" than I have been. I'm hoping this means she will want to come out into the world in the next few weeks, and not make her mommy wait until 40 weeks. However, I do know that her dropping could mean absolutely nothing :( We'll just have to wait and see. I am 36 weeks now. My blood pressure was an issue for the first time today. The doctor took it 3 times (after resting the last two). They are going to keep an eye on it each time I go.

The wonderful staff at Sanders threw me a baby shower last week. I got a bunch of the last stuff on my registry (like the gymini). I also got a beautiful lamp to go with her room. I love the lamp :) I was so very thankful for their generosity and thoughfullness! Dustin and I have also been finishing up some last minute baby preparations. I started packing a hospital bag, we installed the car seats, and I returned some things and picked up a couple of the "must haves" for the first couple of weeks. We are waiting on our new TV to be delivered so that the old one can be put in her room. Also, we finally decided on her name (but it's still a secret...sorry). We bought some wooden letters and painted them to hang on her wall above the crib. I've also been trying to get things ready for a supply teacher to be in my classroom for 12 weeks, but that is quite a daunting task. I'm sure I'll forget something.

Anyway, pray for me that Baby comes in the next couple of weeks, and doesn't make her mommy wait another entire month+ . I am VERY ready to meet my little girl (and get my body back!).

Love,
Super excited almost mommy Erin

bummer

I really thought that with only 6 weeks to go I was going to be one of those lucky mommies to avoid the dreaded stretch marks. Unfortunely, in the last few days I've developed a small map right under my belly button, cocca butter lotion and all :(

Super bummer!

I'm still within a healthy weight gain though. Cross your fingers for me that it stays that way in the small amount of time I have left.

Baby and I are so Spoiled!

Tessa through me a surprise shower this weekend. I did know something was coming, but just didn't know when. I thought I was going over to her house to hang out, go get pedicures, and the boys could play cornhole. I immediately noticed that her culd-a-sac was full of cars. Thank goodness I put on makeup that day :)

It was a fabulous shower! Great friends and good neighbors. I feel very fortunate to have such loving caring people around me. Kristin planned the games. We played this hilarious game where there were different chocolate candy bars melted in diapers. We had to guess which candy it was by looking, smelling, and even tasting the candy. It was interesting :) Baby Schularick has almost gotten everything off of her registry! I think we will be more than set when she decides to make her arrival. Great big thanks to my bff Tessa!!!