Ivy Grace Davies-6 pounds, 3 oz. Born 1/4/14 at 11:15am

My last post was written 3 days before I had little Ivy Grace. It's hilarious to re-read that and think...

"wow, when I wrote that, I thought I had 2 more weeks to prepare for this little one in my life." But NOPE...Ivy didn't want to wait 2 more weeks, she wanted to come hang out with us early, which is fine by me.

On Thursday and Friday, I felt different. Things were happening that made me think I was closer to having little Ivy. But, at my Dr. appt on Friday, I was only dilated to a 2. It made me think that I would not be going into labor for another few weeks. Well, I was dead wrong on that one. On Friday, around 7pm, I started having contractions. You know, the ones that feel like cramps. I thought, "okay, here come those pesky Braxton Hicks contractions." When they started to hurt more, I was like "hmmm....this can't be it, can it?" Around 10pm, Jason and I thought we should throw a few things in a bag just in case it happened that night. We kept saying "there is no way it is happening tonight, but just in case."  

I woke up with the first bad contraction at 11:41pm. It lasted about 30 seconds. I tried to be quiet, because I didn't want to wake Jason up. I opened a note on my phone to keep track of when the contractions occurred. I remembered that my Dad told me "don't go to the hospital until they are 5 minutes apart." Here is what my iphone note said:

11:41

11:45

1:09

1:30

1:41

2:03

2:21

2:27

2:32

2:39

By the time is was 2:39 am, I was in so much pain that Jason and I went out on the couch in the main room to try to get my mind off of it. It didn't work. It was so frustrating because the contractions would be 6 minutes apart, then 10, then back to 7, then 11. I just wanted them to be 5 minutes apart so we could go to the hospital already. Jason and I logged on to the Davis Hospital website to pre-register, just in case the contractions kept continuing. That epidural was callin' my name. I don't know how to describe the pain of contractions. It's like you can't do anything for a minute, you can't talk, you can't walk...you just hunch over, try to breathe and swear (just a few times.) Don't ask Jason how much I swore, he might tell you it was a few more times than I remember. The contractions continued...

2:48

2:53

3:05

3:11

3:17

3:24

3:32

3:36

3:40

3:45

The contractions were now close enough to head to the hospital. We threw some more stuff in a bag and went to the car. It had snowed a little and I was so upset that we had to take time to wipe off the car. I also was upset that Jason was going 80 and not 100mph!

When we got to the hospital, we found out our pre-registration didn't go through. I had to register again while my contractions continued. It was kind of funny because she would ask me a question, I would say "hold on one second" and have a really painful contraction and then answer the questions. They then took me up to a room in a wheelchair and checked me. I was between 3-4 cm dilated and 90% effaced. I was so scared that they were going to send me home or something, but nope...I was on my way to having the baby.

The epidural came at 5:45am. I cannot describe to you the relief that I felt after that shot. Glen (the guy that gave me the epidural), was my absolute best friend for taking the pain away. People always talk about scary epidurals and how they hurt. I only felt a little pressure and would take 300 more needles like that over feeling the contraction pain.

Getting the epidural makes your legs feel like they are asleep. They kind of tingle and when you touch them, you can't feel them. It is the weirdest thing.  When they would come to check on me, they would have to move me, because I couldn't move my legs myself. By the time I had Ivy, the epidural had worn off a little, so I could move my legs and feel the pressure. 

At around 10:15, I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. It was so crazy how fast it happened.  I was ready (and terrified). I pushed for about 15 minutes and out came my little Ivy Grace. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen. They put her on my chest (she was screaming), and she calmed down a little. It was the absolute best feeling in the world, meeting my daughter, seeing what she looked like. She had my pouty lips and Jason's adorable but huge feet. She was perfect. Jason cut the umbilical cord and we got to hold our baby. It was the happiest and best day of our lives. I think our hearts grew 5 sizes. Sounds cheesy, but it is true. You can't describe the feeling. It just is something you have to experience.

Below are some pictures we took at the hospital. I will post a lot more later. I just wanted to remember everything.

She LOVES sucking on her hand

Jason's sleeping spot

We didn't know she'd be so small! All of her NB outfits are huge on her. This is what she wore home from the hospital.

So tiny for her carseat!

When we got home, my family had deep cleaned our whole house. It was sparkling clean. I cried I was so happy.

She loves her daddy

Love my little girl, even when she projectile poops on me-7 feet!

Sneak peek of her NB pics taken yesterday. I'm so excited to see the rest. I'm obsessed.

37 and 1/2 Weeks and Freaking Out a Little!

37 and 1/2 weeks....2 1/2 weeks left. I keep telling people that when they ask me, but when I actually say it out loud to myself and think about it, my hands start to shake a little.  I don't understand how time flies so quickly. I remember thinking in July about Christmas. I thought, "that is so far away, I'll have plenty of time to prepare for the babes." But here we are, a few weeks away. I'm 92% excited, 8% terrified, or maybe it is 8% excited, 92% scared.  I really am so excited to hold Ivy in my arms and see what our cute little munchkin is going to look like.

Prego Update:

How far along? 37 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: I think it is 25 lbs (I'll let you know after I get on the dreaded scale on Friday for my next dr. appt.) My sister Jamie said that the last time she went, she didn't look at the scale and it was amazing. I may have to take her approach. What you don't know won't kill ya!

Maternity clothes? I have been gravitating between like 6 outfits for the last few weeks. My go-to outfits include a couple things: leggings, a big sweater/shirt, boots and usually a scarf. My ever-expanding belly LOVES these outfits.

Stretch marks? None that I can see so far. But maybe it's because it's hard to see any part of my body now with my big belly blocking my view.

Sleep: It's getting a little bit harder to sleep. Now that Ivy is moving lower and lower into position, I have to pee a lot during the day and about 2-3 times during the night. I also wake up sometimes with those fake contractions. The ones that just hurt a little and are super short. 

Best moment this week: Having NO plans on New Years, so Jason and I put on our sweats and slippers, watched a movie, ate delish Thai Food and just hung out. It was so nice to just relax with Jas. Also, when Ivy seriously kicked her little heel like an inch out of my stomach and Jas was able to feel it.

Miss Anything? Dressing in normal clothes. Sushi. Working out. Running. 

Movement: Ivy moves constantly. When she doesn't move for a bit, I get freaked out and try to wake her up. Her movements shake my whole stomach now. I can usually grab her heel when she kicks. It's really fun to experience.

Food cravings:  Mandarin Chinese Food (Imperial Chow Mein, Ham Fried Rice, Five Taste Shrimp). Tomato soup with noodles. Hot chocolate almost every morning or night.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Certain smells and right when I wake up in the morning because I'm hungry.

Have you started to show yet: People still tell me that I'm hardly showing, but I feel huge. Here is the most recent pic of my baby bump. Don't mind the background. I'm too lazy to crop it. 

Gender: Girl

Development: Baby is as big as a watermelon (19 to 22 in, 6.5 lbs). That is what my app says. When I went to the dr and he measured her, she was around 5 lbs 12 oz.
Labor Signs: Just in the past few days. I've felt the fake contracts, but nothing other than that.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, unless I'm hungry or super tired. 

Looking forward to: My Dr. appt Friday & my family baby shower on Saturday!

There were a lot of fun things or highlights of December that I haven't written about.

1. My mom threw her 2nd annual Christmas Tea Party. It gets more amazing each year and I love going. We drink hot chocolate, eat amazing sandwiches, salads and appetizers. We then do a craft (I'm really bad at this part), but it is still really fun.

For the craft, we made adorable trees out of fabric and decorated ornaments. My mom did most of mine, but I loved the finished products.

2. We got a lot further on our baby nursery. My sisters and Mom helped put up the polka-dots on the wall and Jason and my brothers set up the crib. It's coming together and I'm so excited.

3. We had our annual Spaghetti Factory dinner and Temple Square lights. Our family is getting so big, we take up almost the entire restaurant!

There are so many things I love about the picture below, but mostly I love it because Lucy is photobombing, Mikey is photobombing and Jame is pulling the old school bunny ears.

4. We had our annual Christmas work luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Love the people I work with.

5. Jason and I made our mix we always make. We made WAY too much. It took up all of our countertop.

6. Enjoying the Sunday before Christmas in front of the tree. 

 7. Christmas Eve, spent at Jason's extended family party, then watching the Christmas Story with the Davies Fam. I pulled out the sequined leggings at an attempt to distract people away from my huge baby bump.

8. Christmas Day was spent with the Meeks. It was so fun, getting our pj's, playing the quarter game (Jason won), and just enjoying the family time. We were SO spoiled by both families with gifts for Jas Ivy, and I!

9. Jason cut his hair! Happy New Year to me! It was the longest it has ever been. I was a teensy bit elated about him cutting it....just a little. He's so handsome.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I am so blessed at this point in my life right now. I have an amazing husband, family & in-laws. I also have an adorable baby Ivy Grace Davies coming into my life in a couple weeks. Can't wait for the change she is going to make in our family.