Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Whole New World

As you know, this post has been a very long time coming! There are many reasons for this delay. My days are now filled with changing diapers, nursing, singing lullabies, holding my beautiful baby boy and getting used to motherhood. Very rarely do I find the time to sit down and actually have both of my hands free to type on the computer. Another reason for my delay in posting is that I have been working on writing down my labor story. It is a story that will go down in history as one of the most painful labor experiences in the world (at least that’s how I like to see it!), but after spending hours typing out every detail, I realized that most of you aren’t really interested in when my water broke (9:00am Friday August 8th) and the fact that I experienced the dreaded “back labor” for my entire labor, or how many hours I had to push for (a total of five hours!) and when our sweet little Camden actually arrived (7:49 pm Saturday August 9th). The simple things that you probably do care to read about, like the fact that he is a beautiful, healthy baby boy, that he weighed 9 pounds even and was 21 inches long, and that he is the love of our lives, could have been posted months ago. Needless to say, I’ve given up on sharing my entire labor story with you all (ask me if you want details, otherwise I’ll spare you the long story) and have decided to continue posting smaller, more manageable posts to keep you all up to date with our busy, but wonderful, lives.

I do want to say one thing though...and that is that I couldn’t have survived labor and delivery without Scott’s endless love and support throughout the painful process.

He never left my side, and although it was difficult for him to see me in such a pitiful state, he never waivered. He was right by my side, helping me through each and every contraction, giving me encouragement and helping me be strong. I’m a very lucky young woman to have such an amazing husband! I also don’t think either of us could have survived without the presence of my sister, Caren. She served as an unofficial doula for me, wiping my forehead with washcloths, helping me through contractions and making suggestions to try and ease the pain. She was a rock, and really helped me and Scott in more ways than she will ever know.

I'm hoping that eventually the memories of the unbearable pain and the long recovery process will fade (people swear to me that you forget about these things - but I haven't yet!), but the one thing I know will never leave my memory is the incredible feeling of relief, joy and love that swept over me the moment Camden finally arrived and was placed on my chest. It's a feeling that is hard to describe with words, a feeling that I think only a mother can feel for her newborn child, a feeling that although I have not forgotten the pain of childbirth, somehow makes every last second of it worth it. This child is truly a gift, a miracle that we will always treasure.

Camden is already 9 ½ weeks old and has changed SO MUCH in the short time he’s been alive! He is cooing and making so many noises, smiling, interacting with us and is just so much fun to be around. He really is a good baby. He cries when he’s hungry (if he wakes up from a nap hungry, you’d better watch out…he makes his wishes known to the whole world!), or if he has a dirty diaper, or sometimes when he’s just so tired, but can’t calm down enough to fall asleep. But we have learned that this is just how he communicates with us! We’re learning the difference between his hungry cry and his gassy cry and do our best to meet his needs before he gets too worked up. It seems as though his favorite time of day is about 5:00 in the morning! He usually wakes up to feed around that time and just doesn’t really want to go back to sleep. Instead he sits up in bed, leaning against our knees, and coos and smiles the biggest smiles! Despite our complete and utter exhaustion, Scott and I can’t help but laugh and enjoy this special time with our son. Here's a picture of him at about 4:30am...

Our life has changed greatly in the last couple months, but we couldn't be happier with all that God has blessed us with! Keep checking the blog for updates (I promise to be more consistent from now on!).

Sunday, July 27, 2008

One more week to go!!!

The last month has been a very full one! We've officially moved into an AMAZING new apartment on campus! We have beautiful wood floors, an incredible view, much more privacy and peace and quiet than our old apartment had and we just feel so blessed to be living here now!

Here's a picture of our little set up. We sit on our couch and look out the big sliding glass doors that overlook the campus and the mountain! And the best part...we have two stories to ourselves and no students overhead! YAY!!!!!



Here are a couple pictures of our view...



Along with moving, we've had a chance to spend some extra time with friends and family! We had a blast having our dear friends Courtney and Adam and their little girl Annabelle out to Scott's parent's place on Lake George.

Annabelle is a little snugglebug!


Me and Court enjoying the beautiful lake...


The Maggs!


A classic...


I was a bit nervous that my extra weight might break the hammock...but we survived!


Playing Backgammon on the dock at Lake George...


The three of us!


Last week, Scott and I hiked the mountain!


Being silly...


38 weeks!


My sister and me with our hubbies at a family gathering...


We went back to Lake George for a final visit before little JoJo arrives last week.


Although the sun is setting on one era of our lives, we are so excited to face the future together and see all that God has in store for us and our growing family!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Only Six Weeks Left!

We are officially enjoying our summer vacation and can't believe that we've been out of school for a few weeks already! Scott is super busy taking three courses towards his Masters, we are waiting to move into our new house across campus and we are enjoying our last weeks as just the two of us! Aghhh!

I cleaned out my office in the Social Science department and brought all my books and papers home. Scott will be replacing me in the department, teaching US History and Economics next year!

It was kind of sad bringing all my materials home!


32 weeks along...


My Mom, sister and family friend, Peg, threw me a wonderful baby shower at Peg's house. It was so fun to be surrounded by so many special women in my life.

Grandma Sylvia and me...(soon she'll have her first great-grandson! Doesn't she look amazing for being a great-grandmother?!?!?!)


Some of "my girls" (my students and advisees from Proctor) came to the shower as well! It was so fun to have them there!


Clara had lots of fun!


Scott made a brief appearance at the end! :)


Last week Scott and I had a fun opportunity to spend a few days in Maine with my parents and his parents! We had so much fun and feel very blessed that our families get along so well together!

This is my great grandmother's house in Castine, Maine. My mom has been going up to this house every summer since she was little and I've only missed one or two summers in my lifetime as well. Even if it's just for a few days, it's fun to get up there.


33 weeks!


My mom loves how small she looks next to me these days!


Scott and me on a boat ride...


Scott and Dad A in the kayak...


Dad A and Scott returning from their kayak adventure...


Two years of wedded bliss!


Me and Bepa! (That's what JoJo is going to call his grandpa).


Family game of Croquet!


Scott's first Father's Day!!!!!


Mom and Dad A gave him a navy polo shirt and a matching one for baby JoJo! SO CUTE!


Over the last few years Scott and I have really enjoyed playing tennis together. Despite being 34 weeks pregnant, I got on my little tennis skirt and we had a blast playing together.


An action shot...


I love my hubby (although he was kind of sad here because I had just beaten him)!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

31 weeks!!! YAHOO!!!

We have had a very busy few weeks since the last post. As of yesterday, the campus has emptied, the dorm is quiet, commencement is over and grades and comments are written! It feels so wonderful to have completed another school year. We will definitely miss some of the kids that we've worked with this year, but it will also be so nice to have some down time and enjoy eachother's company.

Scott and me at 28 weeks (same weekend as Mother's Day) on the way to chaperone the Formal. Despite a very concerted effort, we could not find a dress for me to wear! Sad!


We had a very special Mother's Day this year. It was so fun to feel celebrated and loved even though our child isn't even born yet! Here's my sister, Caren, my mom and me together on Mother's Day.

Scott and I drove to Queeche, VT and met his parents, my parents and my sister and brother-in-law and Clara for lunch at a yummy little Farmer's Diner. We enjoyed fresh, local food, warm sunshine and the company of family. Here are all the women being celebrated on Mother's Day...




















Mommies!!!




















Scott and me...


We're very lucky that our parents like each other! I don't know if every married couple can get together with both families at once and have as much fun as we do! Thanks Moms and Dads for being so easy to get along with!



Me and my Daddy...













30 weeks!



Here's a picture of 3 of the 5 pregnant women on Proctor's campus!!! This was actually taken the day before Sarah (on the left) had her baby girl! Crazy!


Yesterday we had an hour and a half visit with our midwife at her house in New London! We feel SO lucky to have such individualized care. Everytime we see her, we feel like we're her only patients (even though the other two women pictured with me above see her too!). We got great news yesterday, the baby is finally head down and in the right position. He wasn't the last time we had seen our midwife and we were hoping that he would get situated before seeing her again. Way to go, JoJo! :) We are still feeling a lot of movement in my belly, but she said he will probably stay head down from now on. It's always reassuring to hear the baby's strong heartbeat and know that he is healthy and content in there! We feel very blessed that our pregnancy has been so healthy and "easy" so far! Keep praying that it continues to go smoothly!

Today we got to enjoy being outside and playing softball at a faculty party...





I have to say, I've lost some of my skill being 31 weeks pregnant. They kept throwing me out at first...I guess I'm not as quick as I once was!
Scott still had it in him though!
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