Monday, April 27, 2009

Introducing Madelyn Grace :)

Little Madelyn Grace graced us (haha) with her presence a day earlier than expected, and was born at 11:16 p.m. on Wednesday night. She was 20.5 inches long and 8 pounds 5 ounces. I was supposed to have a c-section on Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m., but all day Wednesday I was having labor contractions. I figured they'd go away and didn't think much of it, until they got stronger and closer together. We called the doctor and ended up in the hospital a few hours later. The process moved very quickly and a few hours later she was born! The c-section wasn't bad at all and while recovery has been a little difficult, we are so blessed to have a wonderful, healthy baby :) She is an absolute dream- she never cries, eats like a champ, and sleeps all the time.










Friday, April 17, 2009

April 23- the soon to be new best day of my life :)

It's official- Madelyn will be born around 7:30 a.m. next Thursday, April 23! That is, of course, assuming she doesn't have other plans :)

I went to the doctor this week and am not progressing at all on my own. Madelyn is still head down but I'm not dilating or effacing any further than I was three weeks ago, so we've decided a c-section is the way to go. At first I was hesitant about this idea but as I've thought it through I grew increasingly comfortable with it. I really didn't want to go past my due date, and this is only two days before her original estimated due date of April 25 which is perfect. The upside is that our family members all know exactly when to be here, which for a compulsive planner like myself is a huge bonus. The downside is we'll be in the hospital for 3 days. But, I'm told I'll be very thankful for this when the time comes, so we'll see.

So, we arrive at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. (no food or drink after midnight), I'm admitted, hooked up to an IV, and then a few hours later we get to meet our little girl! Needless to say we're pretty excited.

My mom is getting into town on Tuesday so we'll have some time to spend together and tie up any loose ends I have, which I know will be a Huge help. Seeing as how I really don't sleep these days, I hardly have the energy to do anything, so I'm very grateful she can take off work to be here. Dad gets here Wednesday (yay!) and Lindsey will be here at some point, we're just not sure when.

This weekend we are going to try and take advantage of the last weekend we'll ever have without children (woah) and spend some time with friends, work around the house, and just enjoy it being the two of us for a few more days.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as I am a tiny bit anxious about the surgery and just hope for healthy baby girl and quick recovery :)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Soul Food

When my mom worked in downtown Orlando she discovered this tiny hole in the wall soul food restaurant called Johnson's Diner. It was in a less-than desirable part of town but had the best southern food you've ever tasted. Pretty soon mom was not only a regular customer but Johnson's Diner was catering our family holiday dinners. Aside from our obvious favorites like macaroni and cheese and greens, our standout favorite was the corn casserole. We'd eat this stuff for days afterwards as it was even better leftover. When my mom found the recipe in the newspaper a year ago it was like we'd struck gold! I made this for Matt's family as my contribution to Easter on Sunday and it was just as well received as the original. I highly suggest you try it next time you're craving something sweet and savory :) Sorry I don't have a picture, I forgot to take one before it got demolished...

Johnson's Diner Corn Casserole
*I halved this recipe and it still made a full 9x13 dish

6 cans cream-style corn (I recommend the sweet kind)
8 oz sour cream
1 stick melted salted butter
1/4 C sugar
4 large eggs
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

1. Heat oven to 350; coat a 9x13 pan with Pam
2. Combine all ingredients and pour into pan
3. Whip ingredients well
4. Bake for 30 minute or until mixture is firm (you'll likely have to bake longer than this)

Enjoy!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Lesson of the Day: Babies are Expensive!

So we found out yesterday that Madelyn is not quite ready to come out on her own and I'm progressing very slowly. That's not to say she could change her mind and show up any day now, but at this point we likely have another week or so. In addition to that she appears to be a large baby (currently weighing in at 7 1/2 pounds, approximately) and has somehow inherited her aunt Kristin's large head by osmosis! That's right, her head measures in the 95th percentile. Seriously no clue where she got that from, but seeing as how Kristin had a large head at birth, I will forever tell Madelyn it is from her non-blood-related aunt :)

So, our doctor has given us the option to have a scheduled c-section. This was by far not my first choice, but as I weigh the options I think that's probably the way we will go, mainly because there is a chance we could go in for a natural delivery and her head may not fit and we'll have to do a c-section anyways, and the thought of doing that unplanned scares me to death. I'm going to continue to think about it over the weekend but will likely call the doctor on Monday and schedule something for the week of the 20th---stay tuned!

In addition to that, Matt and I made a Babies R Us run last night to pick up all of the last minute items we needed and WOW was I surprised at the tab we racked up! Luckily we had a lot of gift cards so it was all "free" to us, but I couldn't believe how quickly our bill added up. What shocked me even most was the actual cost of diapers. I get it that they're expensive, but a box of 210 was $40, and given that in the beginning we'll go through 8-10 a DAY that's only around 23 days worth! Crazy. We did get a few little goodies for her and stocked up on batteries, wipes, lotion, things like that so that we can hopefully avoid running out for one-off items at first, and I think that will be very helpful. All in all it was a very fun shopping spree. Then we went to Panera for dinner where I had a roast beef sandwich for dinner, which is so odd because I don't even like roast beef really and I swear the only time I've eaten it is from Arby's, but it sounded good and it was delicious. Hormones do strange things to a girl.

Tonight we are going to the Atlanta Hawk's NBA game with free tickets from work (I love cheap date nights), tomorrow Matt is going to the Clemson spring game (Kristin is on call in the random event that I go into labor), then Sunday we are heading up to Matt's parent's house for Easter lunch. I'm making a killer corn casserole I'll post the recipe for as well as my mom's no-bake peanut butter chocolate cookies which you can find here.

Monday starts what will likely be my last week of work! Yay!

Oh, and thanks to Jenny over at SavinSistas- last week I only spent $31 at Publix and saved $28!! That's almost a 50% savings!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Life: 9 Months Pregnant

As I venture into the second half of my 37th week of pregnancy I thought I'd share a few observations about third-trimester joys and obstacles :)

- I am constantly hungry. Constantly. Therefore, I'm eating every 2 1/2 hours or so. It absolutely amazes me I haven't gained more weight, but I guess that just means Madelyn is eating more! Considering at this point I figure I have a 7 1/2 pound baby in there, that would make sense.
- On the subject of eating, I've really loosened the healthy-eating strings lately and indulged in several dinners of small Dairy Queen Blizzards or movie popcorn. Her poor arteries are probably already clogging. I have also taken to eating peanut butter straight out of the jar, which doesn't surprise me given that I've always loved peanut butter and my mom ate a great deal of it while pregnant with me. And carbs- I eat A LOT of carbs. Yum.
- It really helps if Matt can pull me up off the couch instead of having to get up myself. You'd be amazed how much effort it takes to hoist yourself up with 20 or so pounds of belly in front of you. It's not so much pregnancy-induced laziness as it is just a general lack of mobility.
- If I'm outside and it's humid my wedding rings barely fit my fingers. I am really hoping they can just hold out a few more weeks.
- The pregnancy waddle is not flattering- I see myself in the mirror and I want to stop it but I cant. If it felt like a head was about to fall out of your unmentionables you'd waddle too.
- I spend a lot of time just sitting in Madelyn's nursery with Cooper soaking it all in and mentally memorizing where everything is so when it's 3 a.m. and I'm stumbling around in the dark I won't risk injury.
- I really wish Matt got to experience the feeling of an elbow or foot poking his insides, not because it's uncomfortable (which if often is) but because it's so cool! To make up for his inability to do this I constantly make him feel said elbow or foot sticking out of the side of my stomach.
- Being pregnant has been much easier than I anticipated. I realize this is not the case for everyone, but it's very hard to complain when you think about the absolute miracle that is taking place. I don't even mind the aches and pains to be honest, or the massive amount of fatigue- it's frustrating not being able to finish everything you want to in a day for lack of energy, but the sooner I get used to it the better!
- Strangely, I am really looking forward to being able to work out again. I realize it's going to be a bit before I'll be out jogging again, but I am excited about the prospect.
- Lastly, it's amazing how being pregnant puts everything else in life into perspective. Matt and I have been so blessed and I can't believe we're so lucky that we're about to have this little girl completely take over our lives. Remembering that instantly makes every other petty worry seem very insignificant :)

Sunday, April 5, 2009

It's almost Monday already....again??

I was such a blog slacker last week, my apologies. Not much has changed here in our pre-Madelyn household :) Work is pretty busy- I am trying to get as many things wrapped up as I can since Madelyn could really show up any day now. I've been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions and am feeling more and more like she is coming soon. This could and likely is of course just wishful thinking, but nonetheless...

We go back to the doctor's on Thursday for an ultrasound to try and gauge her weight and hopefully we'll have a plan of action from there. Being the compulsive planner I am it's so hard not to be able to plan this, but I've learned to enjoy that part as there are so few times in life where you're truly surprised.

I've really enjoyed these last few lazy weekends and have taken plenty of opportunities to catch up on sleep which I can't seem to get enough of. Thank goodness for Matt taking such good care of me and being so understanding. He's been working like crazy to finish getting the house ready as we know there are all sorts of little project we'll be completely uninterested in doing once she gets here.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes- keep em comin' :) I'll try to post more updates in the next few weeks so stay tuned!
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