Family Fun

Donnie has decided to take this week off of work, and this makes me very happy. With how I have been feeling, I'm not sure I'm ready to go 9 hours without him. I will be ready one day, but that is not today.

Donnie and I have had some moments were we thought we were going stir crazy. So we have had some outings with the peanut. On Sunday we went to Target, and then today we headed to Wal-Mart. Its funny how just being out for a little bit makes us feel so much better! As for the peanut, he just sleeps. :-)

The other day I decided to take a family photo of the four of us, and this is what I got.
I think it is hysterical. I look a mess, the peanut is staring at Frankie, Frankie is trying to get away, and Donnie looks great.

I had to try again.
This time I look much better. However, Frankie was done having his photo taken, peanut was wanting to sleep, and Donnie still looks great.

Thoughts on Motherhood

Before the baby was born, Donnie and I were at Target and I saw this book called "I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids". The title made me chuckle, and now after having Josiah I can see how true this really is.

Before Josiah I had a list of things I would NEVER do as a mom. Sadly within a short 24 hours, the list had gone out the window.

Here's the list:

1.) I said I would NEVER use a pacifier.
The first night we had Josiah in the hospital he would NOT stop crying for anything. Everything we tried would not stop the crying. Soon I looked at Donnie and said "Put the pacifier in him!!!!"

2.) I said I would NEVER use formula.
After 24 hours with Josiah not really eating, and getting yellower by the minute, I knew we had to do something. Formula was something I really did not want to use. However, within 10 minutes he had drank an ounce and was sleeping. I then discovered formula is my friend.

3.) I said I would NEVER use plastic bottles.
I was so excited about my Dr. Brown glass bottles, that I swore I would never use plastic. However, in the hospital with the formula feedings we did use the plastic. And when we got home what have we used? You guessed it, plastic. However, I do plan on using my glass ones right away.

I have a feeling my list will get longer by the day. I'm telling you, I was a really good mom before I had kids!

Updates

Hello Everyone! I know I have not posted in a few days, so I think I will catch everyone up now.

Baby
My mom and I took Josiah back to the doctor on Thursday for a check up. He is not back to his birth weight yet, so we are trying to give him as much food as he can take. We have to go back next week, and the doctor REALLY wants him to be at birth weight by then.

He slept last night!!!!! This is BIG news. He had been not too fond of sleeping at night, but last night he was sleeping in 2-3 hour stretches. Donnie and I got some much needed rest. I know the prayers of God's people really work! :-)

Mommy
People keep asking me how I'm doing, and I have a hard time answering. Its very easy to give an I'm fine answer. And at times I am fine, and at other times I'm a mess. I can have a good few hours, and then a few not so good hours.

Donnie has been WONDERFUL during all of this. He has been doing the majority of the baby care, so I can rest. He is so patient and kind to me and the baby, I have no idea what I would do with out him!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the kind comments on the last post. I did go to the doctor, and she is changing around some of my medication. I know there is no quick fix, but I feel I'm on the right path.
I shall leave you will another Josiah picture. I think this is cute, because it does look like he is smiling. I, however, have been told that babies this young don't smile, they just have gas. Either way, I think its cute.

Not Feeling Well :-(

As some of you know, in the past I have struggled with depression and anxiety. Well, the anxiety has come back full force. I knew this might happen because of the changing hormone levels, but I really thought I would be okay. Tomorrow I'm going to head to the doctor to see what she thinks. Please keep me in your prayers! :-)

Want More?

For even more baby news and posts be sure to check out my hubbies blog!

First Family Outing

Today the four of us (me, Donnie, Josiah, and Frankie) went on an outing together. It was a walk around the neighborhood. Donnie and I were going stir crazy from being in the house for so long. I don't think Josiah fully appreciated it, seeing that he slept the whole time.

Also, yesterday we got out our Boppy pillow for the first time. I have to say I love it already! It makes feeding a lot more comfy.

(Here Donnie modeling how easy feeding is with it)

Josiah likes to fall asleep during feedings, so I thought if I put him on the ground on his Boppy he would for sure wake up. However this was NOT the case, and he just kept sleeping. (please note that I do know that the Boppy is not for sleeping, I was just trying to wake him up)

The Birth Story- Monday

So we had decided to give him the formula. And you know what? He took the whole thing, and fell asleep. I can not put into words how happy this made us. So now he was eating, but the doctors were still worried about jaundice.

Every time they would test his blood, his jaundice levels would be higher and higher. However, by Monday he was eating much better, and sleeping too. Donnie and I were happy about that!

I had to be discharged on Monday because there was nothing wrong with me, and insurance would not pay for it. However, Joshia was another story. They were talking about having me go home, and keeping Josiah to keep an eye on him, and maybe give him some light therapy.

It was really odd thinking that we might have to leave him there. To be perfectly honest, I thought if he had to stay and I had to go home, maybe I could get some sleep! (I know its a horrible thing to think)

In the end we did all go home as a family. (under the condition that we took him to the doctor the next day) I was so happy to be home! So happy I cried when I saw Frankie. I'm a mess I tell you! :-)

He's Home!

Good news! The jaundice is much better now, and he is home!
And here, for your viewing enjoyment is our first family photo. This was taken before he went back into the hospital, so that is why he is so yellow. :-)

The Birth Story- Sunday

Sunday evening was the estimated time that the three of us would go home. However, there were some problems.

Josiah liked to sleep (they think because of the shock that he had after birth), so he was not to big into eating. He would go VERY long times between feedings. I was breastfeeding, but it was not working out so well.

Also during the nights he liked to stay up and scream. Needless to say Donnie and I got very little sleep. It was SO frustrating having this baby that would not eat or sleep at night. I spent a good chunk of Sunday sobbing in frustration. This was not going as I had hoped.

However, my parents were with us at the hospital most of the time, and that was a HUGE help.

Because Josiah was not eating well, he turning a bit on the yellow side. So the doctors wanted us to stay until they saw two good feedings. Well, these feedings did not come, and we ended up spending the night. With me still sobbing in frustration.

Then at some point Sunday night we decided to give him formula. This was something we REALLY REALLY REALLY did not want to do, but we were so desperate for him to eat.

Want to know what happened? Stay tuned! :-)

An Update

I hate to interrupt the birth story, but I had to give an update. As I had mentioned before, Josiah was having a jaundice issue. Yesterday we had to take him to the doctor to get his levels tested again. Well, the doctor called us around 10:30 pm and told us his levels were high, and he needed to go back to the hospital.

So the three of us headed to the ER to see what needed to be done. We spent almost 4 hours in the ER waiting. Waiting for doctors, waiting for test results. I'm sure you all know how ER's can be. They did deiced that they wanted to admit him into NICU so he could be under the lights for awhile.

After he got settled into the NICU we headed home. There was not any thing that we could do by staying, and Donnie and I REALLY needed sleep.

The plan is that they will keep him under the lights until his levels are down to a certain number. The good news is that I called to check on him a bit ago, and his levels are starting to go down!

I do have to say, it feels very odd being in the house without him now!

The Birth Story- Saturday

I had been dilated to 10 and pushing for a good 2 hours when my doctor decided that something needed to be done. So she decided that the baby would have to come out with the help of a vacuum extraction. I was pushing for another hour without much success, and a c section was being discussed.

However at 3:22am I gave one final push and Josiah made his way into the world. He was a little in shock after delivery, so I got to look at him and hold him for a couple seconds, then they took him away for awhile to be looked at.

The rest of Saturday is sorta a blur to me at this current moment. We did some breastfeeding, got some rest, and I even took at shower! The nursing staff there could not have been more helpful and kind to me.

Want to know what happened Sunday and Monday? Stay tuned!

The Birth Story- Friday

I know you all are dying of anticipation for all the gory details of the birth, so here we go.

Donnie and I headed to the hospital bright and early on Friday morning. Fairly quickly we got into our room, and got settled in. I did not realize this, but they would not start to induce until I was dilated to three. When I went in, I was at one and 1/2, so I had a little ways to go. They worked their hospital magic, and soon I was at three.

(this is Donnie resting in the room before the big event)

At this point, I was thinking labor was going to be a breeze. If it was that easy to get to three, how hard could it be to go the rest of the way?

(this is me thinking labor is a walk in the park)

Well, shortly after they stared inducing, I found out how hard it could be. I was going to try it without medication, but I quickly changed my mind about that. First, they gave me something in my IV that just made me feel loopy. Soon after that I was asking for my epidural.

However, there was a problem with that. The doctor who needed to put it in had several emergency's before she was able to get to me. So by the time she got to me it was sorta too late.

I can not put into words how bad the pain was. People told me that once you have the baby in your arms, you forget about the pain. Ohh no. I still remember.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the story!

Yeah! Home!

All three of us are home from the hospital! Yeah! As Donnie said, Josiah, because he is not such a great eater, is having some problems with jaundice. We were able to take him home, but we do have to take him to the doctor tomorrow.

I'm pooped, so I will post more later. Here are some more pictures!
Here is Grandpa and the baby
And Grandma and the baby

And the baby

Josiah James
Born Saturday September 13th at 3:22 am
Weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces

Baby Pictures!

Hi all! This is Donnie posting for Stacey as she is still at the hospital. Josiah has a few Jaundice issues that are slowing his arrival at home but it doesn't seem too serious at the moment. Please just keep him and Mommy in your prayers. Anyway here's some photos!

Our little peanut with Papa!

Josiah James Kelley the sleepy Peanut.

"Papa? Is my cap on straight? I wanna look good for my adoring public!"

Its almost time!

In less than 8 hours I will be heading to the hospital! How crazy is that? I have to say I have been a ball of nerves. I have to remember to take my cleansing breaths that we learned in our childbirth class.

Here are my current prayer requests. :-)
I'm praying for short and easy labor.
I'm praying that the baby will be delivered within 24 hours of being induced.
I'm praying that breastfeeding will come easy to both myself and the baby.

Thanks peeps! Just think....the next post might have baby pictures!!!

What do you think?

Yesterday when I was meeting with the AAA guy to get my car seat checked he told me that I needed to remove a couple things I had in my back window. (well not IN the window, but on the little ledge before the back window) Then he went on to tell me how he knows of two people who have been killed by tissue boxes that were in the back window area during an accident.

When he told me this I was like, wow, that's crazy! But I did accept it as fact. Then I came home and told Donnie, and he was much more leery of the situation. He is not to sure that a tissue box really could kill someone.

So what do you all think? Could someone die from a tissue box in their back window in an accident?

Updates

In less than 40 hours I will be heading the the hospital! How crazy is that? I wanted to give you all some updates.

The Baby- The baby is still doing great. I have been having the non stress test done twice a week, and each time the doctor says the baby looks beautiful.

The Induction- I have decided that being induced will be okay. Donnie and I have been praying a lot about it, and its in God's hands now. I really have great peace about being induced at this point. I have the peace that passes understanding down in my heart. :-)

The Baby Doctor- Donnie and I still have not chosen a doctor. We have to decide, and we have to decide soon. After interviewing over 6 doctors you would think we have found "the one", but sadly that has not happened.

My Weight- So a few post back I was all excited about gaining a few pounds. Well..those pounds have gone away. For the past few weeks I have not been able to eat. So now my weight is two pounds less than my pre- pregnancy weight. Oh well....I don't think its having an effect on the baby.

The Car Seat- I put the car seat in my car today, and wanted to get it checked out to make sure I put it in right. I went to this website to get a list of people that check them. I thought this would be no big deal, but boy was I wrong. I guess you have to be certified to check car seats, and mostly car seats are only checked a couple times a year at big events. I really had no idea. However, I found the nicest guy at AAA who took pity on me, and checked the car seat. I indeed had put it in wrong, and this guy was SUPER helpful! Yeah!

Okay, I think thats it for now. I'm sure I'll think of more to post tomorrow!

Way Cool

Every Sunday at church Donnie and I sit in the same seats. The church encourages people to change seats each Sunday to meet new people. But not me. I don't do change. :-)

So, a few months back a new gentleman was coming to church and he would always sit right in front of us. In chatting with him, we found out his name is Vince, and he paints murals. Right away Donnie and Vince hit it off with the common ground of art.

Over the past few months our friendship has grown (thank goodness we sit in the same seats each week! hehehe) and we look forward to chatting with him each Sunday.

Well, this past Sunday he told me that he had a baby gift for us. And you know what it was? He had painted a mommy giraffe and a baby giraffe for the baby's room! How cool is that?

It looks great in the baby room!!

Sunday Fun

Yesterday was a big day around here. First was church, and then Donnie and I headed to the hospital. I had to have another non stress test done, and the only time they had open was Sunday at 2pm. I was not too happy seeing that that is in the middle of puggie picnic!

So we ended up going to the puggie picnic at the tail end of things. We did miss the group photo. But we still had a really good time. The weather was PERFECT, and the park was so nice. Sadly I do not have pictures because my camera battery was dead. But I can tell you that 30 some pugs running around is a sight to see!

The three of us had a great time. So great, that Frankie and I had to come home and take a three hour nap!

That Pug 2

Yesterday, I posted that Frankie was acting up. Well...I was thinking about it, and I came up with a great idea. Nothing makes pugs feel more loved than having a photo shoot. So I got down on the ground (no small task with my belly) and we did a shoot. He slept through most of it. Here is my favorite shot. He is quoted as saying "Wow, I feel loved now!"

That Pug

Frankie, over the past few days, has been acting funny. Normally, he is not the most obedient pug, but it is getting worse. Now if I tell him to do something he gives me this look like, mommy....do I have to? Here is what I'm thinking. I really think he knows the baby is coming, and coming soon. I don't think he is really happy with this, and is acting out.

Donnie and I have been trying to spend more time with him to make him feel better. Any one have any other idea's?

I can have the baby now!

I can say I'm ready to have the baby now. My ebay auctions have ended and Donnie and I took the boxes to the post office tonight. All is ready! However, I still want to go to the puggie picnic on Sunday. So, I would be okay with any time after Sunday . :-)

Update

Once again I was at my doctor today to get checked out. I feel like I'm there ALL the time! The good news is that the baby is still doing great. The bad news is that she is inducing me on the 12th. She wants to induce because of the extra fluid that is around the baby, and also I have some thyroid issues that make her nervous.

So why is this bad news? I really wanted to go into labor on my own. I really wanted not to use medication. When I told my doctor this, she was understanding. She highly recommend being induced on the 12th, but said it was up to me. If I was not induced she would watch me VERY closely until I did deliver.

So as of right now I have an appointment to be induced at 8am on the 12th. However, my doctor has made it clear that at any point I can cancel the appointment, and wait for my body to do it on its own.

So what would you do? Wait for your body to kick in, or be induced?

Maybe the baby will come on its own before the 12! :-)

All Packed!

I'm happy to report that I'm packed for the hospital. Now when I'm ready to go in, I can just grab my bag and go! There are a few things that I want to take, but can't pack because I'm still using them. So, we have a list next to the door of what to take.
Any suggestions on what to take to the hospital?

Sunflowers!

Last year I planted some sunflowers in the back yard. Well, you know what? They came back this year!
The birds must have done it. I did not plant them this year, nor have I watered them all season. But somehow they have come back and they are HUGE! I think we could have won tallest sunflower at the state fair this year.

Update

Sorry about the long delay in posts. Over the past few days I have not been doing much of anything.

I went to the doctor last week, and I'm already dilated to 1! Yeah! However, I know you can be dilated for awhile before baby comes. Also, my doctor was able to feel the head. How crazy is that? She says the baby will be here before the 19th.

Here is my only concern. A couple days ago I listed some stuff to sell on ebay, and then I started thinking....what if I go into labor before the end of the auctions? So, I'm hoping the auctions will end, I can get the things in the mail, and then go into labor. :-)

Happy labor day every one!