One week old!!

I cannot believe we've had little Carter for a week already! This is what he's been doing today:

We had a followup pediatrician appointment today to check his bilirubin levels - the doctor should call back this evening with results. Hopefully the numbers are going down! In the meantime, Carter's been napping on the couch in the sun!

Here is another cute picture of Carter and his daddy:


We miss Corbin very much when he is at work!!

Pictures as promised

Here are some pictures from Carter's birthday!


Here is little man in his going home outfit! As you can tell, the newborn size is HUGE on him! We had to get him some preemie clothes so he had something to wear that he wasn't swimming in. The second picture is him in his first preemie outfit (4 days old)!


Carter has been napping comfortably in his bassinet for almost an hour - this is a MIRACLE! Hopefully we will be able to get him to do the same at night so me and Corbin can sleep a little better.

Carter Ross Crittenden

I'm sorry I haven't been able to update this sooner. As you can imagine, things have been busy!

As most of you probably know, Carter Ross arrived safe and sound on Monday, December 22. We got to the hospital at 5:00 a.m. and started my induction. Unfortunately, things moved very slowly. I managed to do without pain medication until around dinner time and then opted for some Nubane to help me sleep. That worked for about an hour and a half until I woke up in a good bit of pain. I was hesitant to get an epidural until I was farther along so not to slow things down, but after suffering for a few more hours, I decided to get one. At about 10:30 I started feeling pressure, and by 11:35 I was pushing! After about 6 contractions, Carter Ross came into the world at 11:55 p.m., barely getting a birthday of December 22nd! He was a little man weighing only 5 pounds 7 ounces and 18 inches long.

It was a long rough day/night, but seeing our beautiful little boy was worth it! He is just perfect. And this is not because he is mine, but seriously I think he is the cutest baby I have ever seen. Judge for yourself:

We got released from the hospital on Christmas Eve and settled in pretty well. Our first night home was pretty terrible...Carter didn't fall asleep until 6:00 the next morning (Christmas) and Corbin and I were exhausted - emotionally and physically. We managed to make it through Christmas Day without falling asleep and enjoyed time with both of our families and our new family of 3!

I am doing well - healing up and recovering from several sleepless nights. Corbin and I are learning as we go, but enjoying every moment with our little boy. I am happy to report that Carter's second night home was MUCH better, and we all got some much needed rest.

Carter's first pediatrician appointment went well. He hasn't gotten back to his birthweight, but hasn't lost any, so that is good. He is a bit jaundice, though, so we have to go back on Monday to have his levels checked. Please pray that this clears up quickly!

I will post more pictures tomorrow hopefully! Gotta go put baby boy to bed.

It's almost time!!!

While several people have told me that they think Carter is going to make his arrival before Monday, we are still a go for the induction. I have been having irregular contractions, and pretty much just not feeling well the past few days. My sister is coming in town tonight and we have already made plans to do some walking on Saturday to try to help things along.

But if not, we will be heading to the hospital bright and early at 5:00 a.m. on Monday!! I am super grateful it is so early because I know I won't be getting any sleep anyway.

We will try to update things as much as possible and will add pictures as soon as we can, I promise!

Corbin and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers and cannot wait to introduce you all to little Carter Ross!!

BIG NEWS!

My doctor's appointment went well yesterday! Corbin went with me just in case any decisions needed to be made about when Carter would make his appearance, and boy am I glad he came. My doctor expected me to be 3 cm dilated, but unfortunately I was only 1 cm and 50% effaced, so she went ahead and stripped my membranes (for those of you who don't know what that means - be glad - it hurt...bad). She also went ahead and set up my induction for...

MONDAY!! That's right, if Carter doesn't show up by the 22nd, that will be the day we help him along! His head is "right there" according to my doctor, so it looks like I have officially dropped.

I must admit that I was super nervous when I started to realize that Monday is only 5 days away...and that he will be here on Christmas!

So...I guess this is my last belly pic at 38 weeks:


In looking at the little baby pool, A LOT of people are out of the running now.

Oh, and since we have been a little busy these past few weeks (I think we have a decent excuse, don't you?), we will not be mailing Christmas cards this year. We will, however be sending out birth announcements once Carter gets his newborn portraits taken. So...here is a little picture of our firstborn in front of the Christmas tree wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! (sorry the pictures is kinda crappy)

Blah

Okay - enough with that "I'm feeling pretty good" nonsense. I am so ready to be un-pregnant. Today especially. I feel like death - my back is killing me, my contractions are annoying me, and I'm about to rip my bladder straight out of my abdomen.

My mom is convinced that Carter is going to be born tomorrow - since there is a full moon tonight and because it is the 13th, her lucky number AND apparently a popular birthday for many family members. I think it's probably still too early.

Unfortunately, while I am ready to not be pregnant and excited to meet the little man that has been making me go to the bathroom every hour on the hour (whether I really have to go or not), I'm not sure that I am ready to go through the actual process that is involved to get to that point.

Ah, the anxiety!

37 weeks!

Well, I've made it! I am officially full term! This basically means that if Carter decides to come today or any day after today, he is free to. Though I'm pretty sure he won't make an appearance for AT LEAST another week, it is good to know that he is fully cooked!

I am still doing okay. Days are fine for me, but nights are when I start to have some pretty painful contractions/back pain. I've been trying my best to walk around at work and stay active in hopes that it will help me progress a little bit. I also spent some time on my birthing ball last night. Not sure if anything did any good, but I am at least trying.

A few people have said that they think I might have dropped, but I'm not so sure. I think I still look the same, but then again I look at myself every day, so it might not be such a drastic change to me.

I am hoping this weekend to install the car seat and make/freeze some meals for after the baby gets here.

Nothing new...

My doctor's appointment was rather uneventful. My weight hasn't changed, blood pressure and baby's heart rate still looking good. I was having some pretty painful cramping off and on all day yesterday, but unfortunately, haven't really progressed at all. My cervix is apparently thinning out, slowly but surely. My doctor said my cervix is being "stubborn" so she decided to "irritate" it a little bit (um...ouch).

Next appointment is next Tuesday, so I intend to do what I can to get things moving along!

A small step in the right direction...

Well I just got back from the doctor! Everything is still fine - Thanksgiving did a number on my weight, but oh well! I even took off my shoes this time! haha!

She checked me and I am a fingertip dilated and Carter's head is engaged in my pelvis, so it's not major progress, but at least things are starting to happen. She gave me some tips on how to get things going, so I will try those and see what happens at my next appointment on Monday.

The most exciting thing about my appointment though is that my doctor told me that she is pregnant! She has been trying for YEARS and had even gotten used to the idea that she was not going to be able to have children, and now she is pregnant with TWINS! I am so excited for her! She is only 5 weeks, so it is still very early and she is being cautiously optimistic, so if y'all could keep her and her little babies in your prayers, I know she would appreciate it. I couldn't imagine wanting to be pregnant so bad and having to deal with pregnant people every day.

36 weeks! Holy Cow!

Where has the time gone?!? I cannot believe that I am in the month that Carter will be born. It just seems unreal! I am still feeling okay - not fabulous, but what else can you expect from a 9 months pregnant person? I am having pretty consistent contractions, so my body is definitely gearing up for delivery.

The word "slow" probably describes my movements here lately. It is a workout just getting out of bed in the morning, and when I bend down to pick something up, I usually have to catch my breath when I get back up (isn't that sad!?!). Carter is still wiggling in my belly which I am thankful for - whoever said that the baby slows his movements the closer to term I get LIED! I'm just glad to know that he is doing okay in there.

We still have a few things to do/buy before baby gets here, which I hope to do sometime this week/weekend. My bags are halfway packed for the hospital and most of Carter's things are washed and put away!

Something inside of me decided that I needed to clean the baseboards in our house at 7:30 this morning. Maybe this is what nesting is? I have no idea - but I have clean baseboards now!

Oh yeah - here is my 36 week belly pic: