She's Getting So Big!

Things have been crazy around here, but that hasn't stopped our little Monkey from growing! She's getting so big! I can't believe she's already 2 and a 1/2 months old. I have about 4 weeks left until I have to go back to work, and needless to say I am enjoying every single second until March 3! Here are some things that have occurred since our last post...

1. Claire got her first round of shots. She did great, although she did look pretty pitiful during the whole thing. I just loved on her a lot afterwards, and she was fine. (This isn't a pic from the doctor's appt, but this is what she looked like...)

2. She weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. at our last appt. (January 14), so we are estimating that she is over 10 lbs. now. Yikes!

3. Claire really likes to stand up and be held where she can push down with her feet. She pokes her head around and looks a bit "bobble-headish" and a bit like a turtle all in one!

4. SLEEP!!! We are getting about 6-7 hours of sleep on a good night. Everyone once in awhile, C will wake up in the middle of the night, but we really try to let her cry it out or change her and put her back down.

5. Teething... I know... it's weird, and seemingly too early. I thought "Oh no, my kid is going to have a full mouth of teeth before she's 6 months old... is that normal? Yikes!" So I did what any mom would do, I googled it to see how normal it was, and apparently, it's normal. Phew! :) No teeth have poked through or anything, but she's bearing down on things, drooling, tiny fevers here and there, and she was quite fussy. She's not teething right now, but we are preparing for it to happen again soon!

6. Goodbye Friend. This month we said goodbye to Ben Andersen, a dear family friend, who went to be with the LORD after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was a wonderful man of God, and he taught Mark a lot. I wish Claire could have met him, but I know we will all see him again. Claire cheered everyone up at the funeral with her sweet smile.

7. Claire's First Sleepover with Grams- Mark and I wanted a date night, so we arranged for Mark's mom to watch Claire overnight, with Papa of course assisting, and we would get a full night's rest... finally! We were so excited to go to dinner, sleep in, and have breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Then, we got home...

8. Water Works.... We were ready to clean up for dinner, and were surprised to see our plans change when we got home. Our hot water heater busted and flooded our Master Bathroom and bedroom. It was wet, smelly, disgusting, and a ruiner of our date night. :( Luckily, Claire wasn't with us, we cleared all the furniture out, Mark rented some "water soakeruper machines" and fans, and after almost a week of living "loft style in our living room" we are finally back in our bedroom. Kudos to my husband for being able to salvage our carpet. But what a mess! ** Uhhh, date night rain check, please??? ( I thought I'd include a pic of the "boo boo" face... it's not a cry, but a cry is coming... it's like the "warning face" of a cry in the making.)

9. Sitter- We found someone to keep Claire when I go back to work. She's wonderful and is the mom of a former student of mine. I feel really good about her, and since she only lives 5 minutes from my work, it helps to know that I could get to her easily if I need to. I took Claire over there today to "try things out" for the day and kind of ease our way into it. I only cried once on the way to drop her off and twice on the way home. Maybe I won't cry when she actually goes there in March. :)

10. Cooing and Similing- well, I saved the best for last. Our little Bear is just making precious sounds and smiling up a storm. She really recognizes Mark and I, and loves her activity mat so much she just smiles and smiles. I stinkin' love her! To quote my husband, "She's just awesome."

Here are some other pics of the past month and a 1/2 :)

* Claire LOVES her Bumbo seat... as soon as she could hold her head up, we put her in it. :)

* We went to Roadhouse to see Mark's Grandparents to celebrate their anniversary and Mark's dad's Birthday. Here is a photo from that. This is a pic of the "3 Maries"- Nanny (Marie), Grams (Twyla Marie) and Claire (Marie) :)

All the Nicknames...

I am starting to wonder if Claire will actually know what her real name is. I mean, we started with McBaby, then McBaby Girl, and Mark and I (even though no one else knew) started calling her Claire. But since she's been born, other names have emerged. Don't ask me where they've come from. I am curious, though, for all those parents out there. Is this normal? Am I the only one who does this? I mean, Mark and I do call each other Panda (he'll kill me for saying that), but that's it. No other names really. So why do I resort to this? I think it's cute, but I am preparing myself for that strange look from a bystander or relative, or sadly, the day Claire calls me "Shevawn" instead of "Mommy" in front of all of her tween friends, and tells me not to call her that cute nickname... well, that's a ways away, so I'll try to get away with it as long as I can! :)

Here are some of the names she has been called in no particular order...

Nicknames:

C

C Bear

Claire Bear

Little Bear

Monkey

Monkey Face

Button (my personal favorite)

Buggy

Pandita

Kiddo (this is what Mark calls her)

We'll see what other names emerge in time!

Thanksgiving and More!

I hope that I can catch up and not be a month behind on every post, but I'm trying here!

THANKSGIVING

We have so much to be thankful for! Thanksgiving was only about a week after Claire was born, so we stayed at home on Thanksgiving Day and had a small Turkey Day lunch at home- just the 3 of us (plus Myko :))

Here are pics from our 1st Thanksgiving as a little family:

Can you believe that our turkey was bigger than our baby?
Of course, I couldn't forget the Myks. :)
I made Cranberry Sauce with baby in tote. :)

Thanks Aunt Shawna for this super cute onesie!
This was our Thanksgiving plate: Stuffing, cajun turkey, yummy casserole potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. We were able to eat our our china for this meal (we only have 2 place settings of our Vera Wang Wedding China), and it was wonderful!

Daddy loves his baby girl!

Such a great meal!

We headed to Waco that weekend (just for a couple of hours) for a few close friends of the family to meet Claire. We only see them once a year, and they were excited to meet her. She did great in the car. Here's a pic of us outside by the lake (we only stood out there for about 2 minutes--- it was freezing!)

OTHER NEWS...

This week, Mark started a new job, and is really enjoying it. He no longer gets to work at home (sniffle, sniffle), but it looks like it will be a great opportunity for him.

Claire is doing great. She is 4 weeks old today! Time has flown by! We aren't sure how much she weighs, but most likely, she is still under 8 lbs. We are working on trying not to fuss so much in the evening. (Mark and I, too, but mostly Claire :)) She is really calm, alert, and naps great during the day, but the evenings are really inconsistent and at times quite difficult. We know it's a phase, but I am up to my ears in reading all different baby books (BabyWise, Baby Whisperer, Your Baby's 1st Year, What to Expect the 1st Year, and Happiest Baby on the Block). Is there not a book titled, "How to Raise a Baby that Sleeps Consistently and Never Fusses" ???

She's so stinkin' cute, though. I absolutely adore her. She's really opening her eyes really big, making fun sounds, and watching her laugh and grin in her sleep make me really look forward to the day when she'll laugh at me.

Until next time...

Now you are a witness to the fussing...

And when she's resting, peacefully! Here are some other pics: One where I am burping the bear... her face is so stinkin' cute! After a sponge bath, and one with mommy! She's such a joy!

She's Here!

Welcome-

Claire Marie McSpadden

Born November 14

10:24 am

6 lbs. 2 oz.

Well, I feel awful that I haven't posted anything to the blog, and here it is December 1st already! Claire is already 2 weeks and 2 and a 1/2 days old. What can I say... we've been a little busy!

I'll catch everyone up now!

The Labor:

Well, my doctor thought she would have to induce me, but I prayed really hard about her coming on her own, and apparently the LORD agreed with me. I woke up Friday the 13th (yikes) and knew something was different. I started having contractions that morning, so I went to see my doctor early (we had appt. scheduled for 1 pm), and I called in my sub. Interestingly, Friday was supposed to be my last day at work... just missed it by 1 day! So, I had contractions all day, and Mark and I stayed at home trying to "wait the labor out" at home as long as we could, so as "I" could, shall I say. :)

After the contractions got to be about 3 minutes apart, we went to the hospital. Things progressed rather quickly, so we were prepared to have a Friday the 13th baby. This is merely laughable now, considering that I eventually was in labor until Saturday morning at 10 am. :) That's right 27 hours. I was really determined not to get an epidural, and at around 2 am ish (this was when I hit my wall) my contractions slowed waaaayyyy down. No changes. I was so frustrated. Every hour seemed like an eternity. My husband was an amazing coach, but at that point, I think he would have signed off for me to have a C-Section. Still no epidural (by my choice). I mean, I got that far... why quit now. Well, I eventually took an IV drip of a type of sleeping medicine to help me relax between contractions and rest. This was great. I mean, I could still feel the contractions (not great), but it was great to get a minute of rest every 3 minutes. :)

My mom and Mark's mom were also in the room off and on helping massage my back, get me ice, and breathe. They were great assistants! I felt bad for our families who were in the waiting room from around 7pm to 10 am the next day! They were so beat, but excited to finally meet her.

Towards the end of the labor, I was incredibly exhausted, but I was so excited to see our little girl. She was so tiny. What does she look like? Is she healthy? I mean there was so much rushing around. She was perfect!

At the Hospital

Claire had some issues eating, so we had to do some formula supplementing and she eventually had to be fed with a tube (which crushed me). She also was a little jaundiced, and had to do a photo therapy. We called her our little "Super Claire" because she got to wear "superhero" glasses. :) We were so excited to take her home and start our new life with our baby girl.

At Home

Well, the first few days were an adjustment. Luckily Mark took off of work and the following week was a short work week for him (Thanksgiving), so we were able to try and get this whole thing down. Here's a quick list of what we learned the first few days...

1. Buy a better and new coffee maker

2. Sleep when we can... 20 minutes feels like 6 hours

3. When the hospital prescribes pain medicine for new moms for 12 days, there is a reason for it... :) (ouch!)

4. When Shevawn cries, it's mostly hormones... she doesn't want to drown the baby... she's also lacking a full night's rest. :)

5. Mark is great at washing bottles, pump parts, and changing diapers

6. it's a lot easier to hold her and "not break her" than we thought!

7. Always keep a diaper underneath her when you are changing her, or prepare for a leak!

8. Nothing smells better than a newborn baby!

9. Patience is a virtue. :)

10. We love her more than we ever expected to!

Now...

Claire is eating much better, and sleeping well for the most part. Each day is new! We've had wonderful visitors bring us food, do laundry, dishes, and mow our lawn, and we are so very grateful. I am still recovering from the longest labor ever (still surprised at how long this recovery process is), but it helps that I have the most wonderful husband ever to help take care of me, and the cutest baby girl ever to stare at me with those big (currently blue) eyes. :)

Although I'm not getting a lot of sleep right now, I am really enjoying my "maternity vacation" and I am trying really hard not to think about March 3- when I have to go back to work. I'm just going to enjoy these days... she'll ever be this little again!

There are other big changes coming next week, but that is a blog post for another day! So, our next post: Thanksgiving with our little family of 3 + Myko, Mark's exciting news, and more photos and Claire updates!

The Final Countdown...

Well, we have about 3 weeks left! The time has flown by. It seems like we were just posting that we were expecting, just yesterday. :)

We are really feeling pretty ready for her arrival (or as ready as we could be). We still have little things to do, here and there, but all of the "necessities" are done, so there has been kind of a wave of peace on the McSpadden front. As of last week, the doctor said that I am still not dilated, in which I replied, "Thank goodness..." She was shocked by this b/c apparently most women are wanting it to be over. I haven't felt that way. I LOVE being pregnant. I love feeling a human move around inside of me, and the wonder and mystery of it all. Also, I want to make it to November, so just a few more weeks and then I might be one of "those" moms.

In the past month, we've had 3 beautiful baby showers (I'll post these pics later...), I had (and recovered from) the flu, and we learned that I can back off of the gestational diabetes because the baby is pretty small, and my doctor wants the baby to gain a bit of weight. Also, at our last appointment, we learned that there is a small chance that the McBaby Girl may have kidney reflux. We are praying about that, and we have been encouraged by so many people who have said that there kiddos have it (or have had it) and it isn't that big of a deal.

Mark and I have also been SO encouraged by our new church. We have met SO many people, and we have felt like we just joined a new family. It's been wonderful, and it was really what we were praying and looking for. Yea!

Both of our jobs are going great. I am ready for what I would call my "maternity vacation" with McBaby girl, but my students have been really cute about the baby, and this week I intend on cracking down on my maternity plans, so that things are ready to go for the 12 + weeks that I am gone.

As for how we are feeling, I'll start with Mark... in his words, "I'm excited! It's a lot of preparation... I'm ready for it to happen already." :) Cute... In my words, "I daydream a lot now about what she will look like, how will she laugh... what will it be like when there are 3 of us... and these Braxton Hicks contractions are driving me nuts..."

Here's some other pics that our friend Zach took with our new camera. Thanks Zach! We'll keep you posted on any news! I think everyone's more excited about finding out her name more than her actual arrival! Either way, we'll keep everyone posted!

Time for an Update

We've Reached Month 7! Here's my latest belly pic. My how McBaby Girl has grown!

If you want to see really how much I've grown, I am wearing the same top below on our anniversary, but that was about 2 months before. Yikes!

Well, let's see... since our trip to Tahoe back in June, A LOT has happened around here... Here's a brief summary:

1. Mark and I actually celebrated our 4th Anniversary (we were in College Station, so we went to Square One). Our dinner was unusually inexpensive for a fancy meal, and it was so yummy!

2. We have started to pick out baby furniture, baby girl accessories, clothes, etc... and Mark (with the help of Myks) has put together our changing table. (Crib was shipped this week)

3. The baby's room was painted (we did a mocha color- we wanted neutral) and it looks great!

4. Shevawn celebrated her 28th Birthday (twice because that's what you do when you are a twin!)

5. Shevawn went back to work... :( It's been rough, but Maternity Vacation is right around the corner!

6. Shevawn discovered she had Gestational Diabetes. See our other blog for updates.

7. Mark is a great husband, and has decided to have "Gestational Diabetes" as well. :)

8. We started our Natural Childbirth classes last week, and we are really hoping that we can do it! The birthing video was a little scary for Shevawn.

Here are some photos from the past few months. We hope to be a little better about blogging this month and next! Coming up for us: Finishing getting things ready for baby, trying to survive the school year, completing our birthing classes, and a couple of baby showers. So much fun!

Birthday Celebrations:

Our 4th Anniversary

Changing Table: With the Help of The Myks

Blog Update Coming Soon... I promise!

On my agenda for this long weekend is to update our family blog. Things have been absolutely crazy busy around here. Until I get around to photos (yes, I'll post a new belly pic) and an update, we have had to face a new development in the pregnancy. Here's our new temporary "side blog" with all the details.

http://10weekswithdiabetes.blogspot.com/2009/09/411.html