My Big Girl

We went to the Doctor yesterday for Grace's one month checkup and she is up to 7lbs, 15ozs and has grown 1 1/4 inches!  With this weight gain, she has leaped into the 20th percentile for weight, up from 10% at birth.  Dr. Matthews was really impressed and said it was fantastic for a breastfed baby to have gained so much weight in such a short time.  I was so relieved to hear that...it's nice to have confirmation that she's getting enough.  :)

Grace's 1st Christmas

Grace's 1st Christmas was wonderful, but bittersweet. This was the first Christmas in my lifetime that I didn't spend it at my grandparents with my mom's side of the family. Our time together is rooted in tradition and not having that this year was difficult. Plus, it was a constant reminder that my Grandfather is no longer with us and that was hard too. That said, Grace is with us and what an amazing gift she is. My dad & stepmom are with us too and it was really special to have our first Christmas with her here at home. Plus, David has been off since the 19th and doesn't have to go back to work until the 3rd which is awesome...I love having him home with us. We also chose not to go to Atmore to celebrate with David's side of the family so I'm sure that will be strange too, but we know it's the right choice to keep Grace healthy. At least Deborah, Blayne & Grady will be driving up to meet us 1/2 way so they can meet her and we'll get to visit.

Anyway, I'll keep the post short and sweet and include lots of pictures which is what you really want anyway. :)

Nana & Grandpa arrived on the 16th and had barely taken off their coats when they started snuggling with their Gracie girl.
She has spent lots of time sleeping on Grandpa I love pictures like this that capture emotion. You can just see the love on David's face for his precious girl.So Angelic...I just love her!!Chilling with DaddyI just LOVE her big blue eyes!I finally got a picture of Bethany and Grace together.Kisses from MommaThe boys and the Christmas Tree - the white cat is my dad's cat, Casper. He and our boys have so much fun playing together. I know it's strange for cats to get along, but they do. :)Gracie's loot!With Daddy in front of the Christmas TreeKisses!A pretty good Family Portrait

The First 3 Weeks

It has taken me a week to get the pictures up & loaded, so while she's almost a month old, I'm still gonna post this for you. :)

I simply cannot believe our precious Grace is already 3 weeks old...time has certainly flown by. Despite our best efforts to treasure every moment, I feel confident she is going to grow up way too fast...

We have had lots of help over the last few weeks and my dad & step mom arrived on Wednesday to spend Christmas with us. My mom stayed the full week after we came home from the hospital, which was great. Since I had the c-section I really needed the help both for me and for Grace. She was so great about doing all the household stuff and even scooping the poop, endearing herself both to the cats who appreciate a clean litter box and to David since that is his least favorite chore. :) We had such a great visit, it was probably the sweetest mother/daughter time we've ever had and we were sad to see her go home. Last week David was able to take 2 days off which was wonderful. He was able to go with us to our Doctors appointments and we had a great time as a family of 3. His folks came up on Thursday and left yesterday and Momma was a great asset in helping around the house too. Of course all the grandparents got in lots of snuggles with our Gracie girl when she wasn't eating.

Nursing is going really well and as of Wednesday she is already up to 7lbs, 1oz - she is thriving! We couldn't be more thrilled and I am grateful to not have to supplement her feedings with formula or pumped milk. Not supplementing certainly allows for more free time and sleep time for me. :)

We have been adjusting really well and I have been trying to sleep when she sleeps some which has been great. I think David has really been the one who has had to function with little sleep. It has really been a sweet time in our marriage. My friend Jennifer asked me the other day what surprised me the most. I said how my heart overflows. I can't believe how much I love her and how much my love for David has increased...I didn't know it was possible to love him more but seeing him as a father overwhelms my heart with joy and love. I know they say that love multiplies with each child, and I think that applies to our spouses too. He takes such good care of both of us, it really is amazing to me how wonderful he is.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the first 3 weeks for you to enjoy including some from the hospital off David's mom's camera.

David & I admiring our girlOur new family!Mom, Gracie & IWith David's folks at the hospitalWith Grandma & GrandadMe & my GirlDaddy & Gracie - too sweet!In the big bed - I pull her in with me after her morning feeding and we snuggle and snooze together :)I love this picture of her smiling...David was holding her in his hands and talking to her and she was just grinning!I was taking pictures of her for her announcement and I just loved this oneSnuggling with PaulieSnuggling with me & ScottyShe really isn't crazy about bath time...

More pictures and updates to come soon, hopefully. :)

It's a Girl!

Our precious miracle has finally arrived!Grace Elizabeth Bilbo
November 24, 2009 at 6:57pm
6 pounds, 5 ounces
19 inches long

I know alot of you are wondering about her birth, so here's a brief summary of the 24 hours it took to get her here.

Gracie was due on November 23, so I went in for my regular weekly visit and my blood pressure was high. That combined with the fact that I had felt the baby's movements decrease over the weekend and a bad headache I'd had for days left Dr. Hudson concerned. She recommended that we go ahead and with an induction overnight and see how things went. We went immediately to the hospital to get checked in and overnight I was monitored with a medication designed to soften things up in prep for the pitocin. At 6am Tuesday morning after a rough night with little sleep, they started me on pitocin and things were progressing nicely. David & my mom were with me as I labored through the first 6 hours on the meds until I was 3cm and Dr. Hudson broke my water. At that point I had an epidural and I was able to sleep much of the next few hours.

At 5pm, she came and checked me and I had completely stopped progressing, no change at all since they broke my water. So, she gave me another hour to labor while they messed with the levels of pitocin in hopes we could get things jump started. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, sometime after 6 they started prepping me for the c-section. It was really hard for me especially when I had to be apart from David, but we made it through. I don't remember much about the actual procedure, but I do remember Dr. Hudson asking David if he wanted to call it. She counted to 3 and pulled the baby out and he said "It's a Girl!". It was the most special moment ever!! I also remember Dr. Hudson bringing her around fresh from my belly for me to see and she was unbelievably beautiful looking at me with her eyes wide open.

It took a while to get everything wrapped up in surgery so David went with Grace for all her newborn stuff. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to hold my baby girl. We had a few moments just us, our new little family of 3, that were simply wonderful and it's a time neither of us will ever forget. Words cannot express the overwhelming joy in our hearts as we looked at this precious gift from above. We are so grateful to have her here safely, and even though nothing went according to our plan, we know that the Lord designed her to come in her own way and He prepared us for that and the recovery ahead. As of today, a week later, I'm feeling pretty good. Still really sore and tired, but the joy in my heart every time I hold my precious baby outweighs any of the pain and struggle of my recovery. Thankfully my mom was able to stay with us this week too and she has been such a huge help, we are truly blessed.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the hospital and our first few days at home...

Look at those long, beautiful fingers!
Meeting Grandma for the first timeDaddy & his girlI absolutely love this picture of us. David always knows how to take amazing photos that capture exactly what I'm feeling in the momentCarol and David's folks drove down just to say hello to our sweet girl in the hospital. Here's Aunt Carol holding Gracie for the first time. Mama & Papa (David's folks)Our good friends (and pastor) Jim & Elizabeth came by to meet Gracie and pray for our new family.  They had been praying for us long before she was even conceived, so it was a special to share her with them.All bundled up and ready to leave the hospitalShe's so tiny in her carseat!Not a moment after I sat down (after we came home from the hospital) Scotty was in my lap looking at "his baby" To cute!Look at those big blue eyes!First sponge bathDavid loves Tigger, so it was only fitting that Gracie have a Tigger towelI love this picture of us too!Kisses!!

I'll post more pictures soon. :)

Another Baby Update

Well, the baby has dropped! Today Dr. Hudson said "it could be anytime...tonight, tomorrow, 2 weeks from now..." I had to laugh at that "timeline" of sorts. :) I'm still having contractions and while they are getting stronger, they aren't at all consistent.

We're ready though. We're all packed, my mom gets here tomorrow, David finished the cradle, the outdoor Christmas decor is up (don't judge - the presents are all bought, wrapped and delivered and the CC envelopes are all addressed too...I did all that over the summer) and I got everything on my to do list done. It's funny though, now that the house is spotless, I am being a little OCD about constantly cleaning up after us. I wash a dish as soon as it's used, I'm doing a load of laundry as soon as there is enough to wash...things like that. I keep thinking I don't want to come home to a mess with a newborn - lol. We both think it's kinda funny, I think it's just my need to control something in all of this. :)

Anyway, we're really hopeful that the baby will come sometime this week. Dr. Hudson said that if I haven't had the baby by the 30th an induction is on the way, so Lord willing the little one will come before that. We'll be keeping you posted!

My Talented Husband

I just need to take a second to brag on my extremely talented husband. Just yesterday his new logo design for Growing a Greener World was announced. They are launching a new show on PBS in the spring and this logo is for their show. I am so proud of him!! Check it out at the link above on Facebook. :)

Maternity Shots & Baby Update

Yesterday Bethany went with us to Oregon Park to take some maternity shots of us. My beloved husband was wonderful and let me pose us however I wanted to get the pictures I was hoping for of this special time in our lives. Here are a few of my favorites and the most recent belly shots at 38 weeks.

I really, really love this pictureThis one just makes me smile and I had to share it in color since that tree is so beautiful!And here's some shots of this massive belly...

As for a baby update - I want to the Doctor today and things are moving right along! I started to soften last week and things are progressing. We have 2 weeks to go until our due date and today she said I am dilated to a 1 (slow and steady, right?) and the baby has shifted to a full downward facing position which is fantastic! I have been having real contractions for the last 3 days which is also great news so hopefully next Monday we'll see even more progress. My mom gets here next Tuesday, so as far as we're concerned, anytime after that this little one can make his/her entrance. :)