Happy 4 Months from our Little Turkey

4 months, really?! Oh goodness!! When they say time really flies by with little ones-- they are so right!! I can't believe it's November and we now have a 4 month old! It was this time/season last year that we had done our infertility procedure, IUI, to try and become pregnant. Little did we know, the first try would work! It was November 28 that we found out we were pregnant. That day happened to be Thanksgiving this year. Coincidence? I think not-- just a huge blessing from God is how we see it! 

Collins turned 4 months on 11/25. The same day we went for her 4mo check-up and shots. :( Always a sad day. She didn't do as well this time as she did with her 2mo shots. Initially, it wasn't too bad. But for about the 2 days following, she ran fever and was so fussy. Mommy and Daddy felt helpless at times. She eventually got over it and was back to her normal, happy little self! She weighed in at 15lbs 2oz. (75th%) and was 25" long. (75th%) head circumference was 40". (50th%). Dr. N said Collins is growing perfect! He said we could begin to introduce some rice cereal and solid foods if we wanted. Mommy thinks we are going to wait another month, til about 5 months. What a fun and perfect time-- Christmas Day! ;) hehe 

Collins is still sleeping mostly about 8 hours a night. Sometimes she will surprise us and do a little longer, which always makes us happy! She is still loving bath time too! Always loves being naked! ;) 

Collins has made a few milestones this month. I guess the biggest would be her rolling over from her back to her tummy at 15 weeks old. And boy, does she have it down pat! Anytime you place her on her back, instantly she's rolled over to her tummy! It's kind of funny! Collins is drooling more and more as the days go on and continuously has something in her mouth. She's really noticing figures and people more, smiling all the time! Boy, does that smile get me! We celebrated her first Halloween this month. We went to the scare on the square and to our church's fall festival too. Of course, we had the cutest little pumpkin ever! ;) 

Next month, Collins will be 5 months old and it will be Christmas! We can't wait to begin some new traditions as a family with our little sweet pea! 

Enjoy a few pics! (These are a few from 3-4months) 

Happy Halloween from the cutest pumpkin in the patch! 

LOVE bath time!! 

Daddy's little turkey

Daddy's biggest fan! 

Doctor visit for 4 month check up/shots 

Thanksgiving was a few days after Collins turning 4 months but with the title of this post I had to post this one! 

Happy 4 months little girl!!! 

Quarter of a year old

Well, 3 months has come so quickly! Friday, when Collins woke up for her morning feeding, around 5:30, I sat there looking into her precious face, thinking how am I so lucky to be her Mommy?! And thinking about what we were doing 3 months ago at that time... Waiting on the doctor to arrive, so I could start pushing! Crazy, how time flies! 

Collins is truly the biggest joy I have ever experienced in life! She makes my heart smile bigger than I could've ever imagined. She is now talking so much more... She's very vocal and happy right after eating. She's smiling more and more these days, which makes Mommy and Daddy smile! She is now drooling, really chewing on her fingers and hands. (She tries to fit her entire fist in her mouth sometimes) Ha! She likes to suck her thumb, once she finds it. But Mommy always tries to replace it with something else. She began sucking and playing with Sophie the Giraffe and really seems to like her. She still enjoys laying on her play mat and kicking away, while looking up at the mobile animals. She still loves her swing and just began really figuring out the TV. (Definitely her Daddy's girl!) ;) She's been watching a lot of baseball, considering our Cardinal team has made it to the World Series! She's going to know all about it! She's now sleeping about 8 hours a night (she really started getting the hang of it around 10-11 weeks old). Sometimes she will go longer, sometimes she won't make it but about 6 hours. It just depends. Collins LOVES bath time and being naked! She loves laying on her changing table. It brings a smile to her face just about every time she is on it. She has gone on 2 short road trips this past month. We went to Nashville for a mini weekend getaway with her boyfriend Cooper and his parents. We also made a day trip up to MO to visit with Eric's parents for the day one Saturday.  Mommy went back to work right before she turned 3 months old (the week before). Boy, was that hard! Luckily, Ive gone back PRN and we are working hard to make a flexible schedule where she is home with us most of the time. It's starting to get a little easier, but I'm sure it will never be easy saying goodbye to my baby. Ready to see what month 3 holds! ;)

So behind, yet again...

I guess this is my norm for blogging- to never be on time with my posts. But, maybe I'll try and do more of a monthly post these days. A lot has happened since my last post! ;) I now have a 2 month old baby! Yep, that's right. I went into labor at 37.5 weeks. My water broke at 9pm on July 24 and my precious little miracle girl was born the following morning of July 25 at 6:32. It was an amazing experience! Being on the opposite side of things was different too. The past 2 months have been some of the most difficult times in Eric and my lives; yet, some of the most rewarding. The night my water broke, I had gotten off working an 8 hour shift and Eric came to meet me at the hospital to go and visit my grandmother at another hospital. While we were visiting, all of a sudden, I knew the time had come! Talk about a nervous wreck! And, I'm a L&D nurse--- why was I so nervous?! Ha! I said good-bye to my Granny, not knowing it would be my last chance to tell her how much I loved her. I love knowing the last time I saw her, she was as excited as me about her new great-grand baby on the way. She got very sick, very quick and quickly fell downhill. I did have the opportunity to see her before the final measures were taken to end her life, but I chose not go because I wanted my last memory with her to be a sweet and happy one. 5 days after Collins arrived, Granny passed away. Talk about a God-thing! He allowed life into the world as he took one life away. She never got to meet my sweet little girl, but she did see her picture and I did talk to her the morning after delivery. At just 1 week old, Collins had already been to her first funeral celebration. Because that's what it was- a celebration of her life. Then, at 1.6 weeks old, Eric's dad was on business working about 9 hours from here and had to be rushed to the hospital with a massive heart attack. He had to leave us late that night to drive up and see him. Thank God, he made it! He had 2 major blockages that stents helped fix. We are so grateful that all went well and he is now recovered and feeling so much better. Then around 3.5 weeks old, my dad was admitted back into the hospital with different complications. This whole time was very difficult for me as a brand new mommy. I didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't sleeping and I didn't really have much help since Eric had gone back to work during the day. All I wanted was for life to be "normal" again, to enjoy my new baby and family of 3 and it just seemed like I wasn't able to do so. I'm so thankful for my Heavenly Father and his unending love, mercy and grace. Without him, I wouldn't have made it through that first tough month. Not only was my dad in the hospital for about a week or so, he then went on to an alcoholic rehabilitation center to seek help and treatment. This was a long awaited answered prayer. He is currently still there, but thankfully coming home this weekend. It was a 30 day program. He seems to be doing really well. We are just praying that he continues to do so. Now, an update on my little toot! She changes every single day. I just can't get enough of her! I could hold her and kiss her all day long! Currently, Collins loves her play may and swing. She does tummy time quite well, while holding her head up and really strengthening those neck muscles. She has rolled from her tummy to her back a couple different time; the first time at about 7-8 weeks. She is beginning to be quite "vocal," talking to Mommy and Daddy. She is smiling more and more, seeming to recognize objects and faces more. She loves bath time and being naked! Ha! She went to her own room and big girl bed all by herself at exactly 8 weeks old. Talk about difficulty for Mommy and Daddy! Since then though, she has been sleeping about 5-6 hours at night, making day time naps shorter. We have been to the doctor for a 2 month check-up and shots. That was not easy on Mommy at all! Overall, she's doing great! I go back to work in about a month... SOOO not looking forward to that. I am going back part-time though, which will hopefully make things a little easier. Crossing fingers that I can update in about another month! :)

33.6 week check-up on 6/27

I hate I didn't around to posting last week, but I had a dr. appt. last Thursday...just a regular check-up. Daddy got to go, again, so I was thankful. Everything is still looking good! We checked my weight, urine and BP... all is good. I hate seeing that number constantly rising on the scale, but I know it's for the best for my growing little girl! There hasn't been another "official" ultrasound done (although Mommy looks frequently at work), so I am not too sure what her estimated weight is at this point. Around 4-5 pounds probably at this point. We listened to hearttones... I sure LOVE hearing that fast, strong heartbeat! Although, this visit it seemed a little slower, maybe around 140's. Collins normally is about 150's. No major complaints from Mommy other than work getting more difficult, uncomfortable with contractions. Dr. M says we can cut my work hours back if needed, but I want to try and save my time for when little Miss arrives, so I am trying to deal with it as much as I can. Next appt is in 2 weeks, then we will begin weekly appointments! I scheduled all my appointments up to 39.0 weeks! Crazy to think this time has come... Bring it! :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Angel!

Well, June 23 has rolled around again. It seems just like yesterday last year that I made the post I did last year. I can't believe it's already been a year! It's hard to believe where we are now too. 

It's crazy to think we could have a little one year old right now. I never had dreams or anything, but I feel like our sweet angel in heaven is a little boy. I don't know, and it doesn't matter, that was just always my gut feeling. I know he or she is dancing and playing up in heaven now with all the other angel babies. Funny this morning... I turned on K-Love and first song I heard playing was Mercy Me's 'I can only Imagine.' It brought sweet tears to my eyes as I thought about what eternity will be like with our Heavenly Father and knowing I will get to see my sweet angel one day. Unimaginable! 

I know God's plans and timing is more perfect than we can ever think of. I sure am glad that he chose to give us another chance at becoming parents and that our sweet little Collins will be here very soon now! 

I rejoice in the promise that I will one day see my sweet angel baby one day. Until then... Happy 1st Birthday sweet angel! 

31.4 week check up

Today I went back to the doc for a check up on baby Collins. Daddy got to come which was nice, since he can't always. We had a pretty good check up. The doctor listened to hearttones. Collins has a very strong, fast heartbeat. As she was listening, Collins kicked a big kick! It was kind of funny! ;) 

She asked how I was feeling and I told her I had been feeling pretty good except that I knew I had been having some contractions, most of which are very uncomfortable in the standing position.  Of course, she didn't like me saying all that, so she performed a (FFN) fetal fibronectin, which tests for pre-term labor. It's a swab test that has to be sent to lab. I got a call back that the test was negative. She did check me and my cervix was closed and thick, which is 

good too. She told me to try and take it as easy as possible when working and to let Eric do all housework at home. He really liked hearing that one... But I told him it was the doctors order! ;) ha! 

Next appointment is in 2 more weeks! I have 2 showers this week and we are beginning to really get the room in order. It's all starting to seem a little more real finally. Next update soon! 

The last few months

Well, a lot has taken place since last post , but I'm going to do a quick update to get you up to speed. 

Since my belly began growing some, it was time to start finding some clothes that worked! My mom and I had fun shopping and trying on the "belly bump". I got a few things that would at least get me going for a couple weeks. 

March 14 came and that was the BIG ultrasound day! I had been waiting for that day for a while. I had gotten 2 different phone calls- one the day before and one the morning of trying to re-schedule my appointment because my doctor wasn't going to be able to be there. I was furious! Did they not realize this was HUGE and I had a gender party planned for the following day?! Thankfully, I ended up being able to keep my scheduled appointment just with a different doctor. We had the ultrasound and got to finally see our little baby together, it actually looked like a baby to us both! We were waiting for the party to find out the gender, which was so difficult. But we were happy to hear everything was looking healthy and normal with our little baby. We had about 32 hours of waiting. 

March 15 finally came and so did 7pm- the time of the party! We had just some desserts and punch for our friends and family. The pink and blue table was a hit! Everyone had to pick what they thought the gender was so we could take pictures. Majority went with boy. It was finally cake cutting time... I was so anxious and nervous!! Eric and I cut into the cake together and I couldn't believe my eyes... PINK! Was this really happening?! A little girl?! I was estatic! We were so happy either way though. We had fun opening some of Collins McKenzie's first little happy gifts from our sweet friends and family. 

A lot has happened since we found out we were having a little baby girl. We began shopping for nursery furniture, and of course, I have had to contain myself buying clothes and little girl things right away! ;) I found the perfect dresser/changing table the day after the revealment party. The crib was bought soon after and then the rocker/glider. I continued growing... ;) We celebrated 2 years of wedded bliss, made a trip to the beach for a vacation/babymoon before little Miss makes her appearance. We also went up to the Lake of the Ozarks, as we do every year as well. That was our last little shin-dig for sure. Enjoy some of our pictures and watching my belly grow through the weeks... 

(I will be better about posting now-- so sorry! ) ;)