1 month

A few pictures to compare how big Miss J has gotten.  Earlier this week I had an appointment, so I dropped Miss J off at our "full service" pediatricians office (grandma works there-hehe).  Dr. Fernandez checked her out, and they weighed her.  She weighed in at 9lbs 12oz.  Man, she is eating good!

                                                                             

                                                                                 

Birth Announcement Photos!

By now, you all should have received Jocelyn's birth announcement.  Since I only put one picture on the announcement, I wanted to share the rest of the pictures.  I took all of these pictures myself with the assistance of my good friend Karley...and my Dad.  :)  Enjoy!

Is it just me, or is she smiling?

Look at that ruffle butt!!  So cute!

Trying to figure out my new flip camera

Sorry for the random video, but I am trying to figure out how to upload videos from my flip camera that I got for my birthday.  I promise, I will post more interesting videos in the future :)

Ha!  I figured it out.  Yeah for me!

3 weeks-what I have learned

Jocelyn is 3 weeks old today.  Derek and I were just saying that it seems like the longest, but shortest 3 weeks ever (weird, I know).  We can't believe that she has been in our lives for 3 weeks, and I can't believe I have gone 3 weeks of sleeping in 2.5 hour intervals! 

I know we still have a lot to learn about Miss J, but here are some of her personality traits so far.

1.  Do NOT restrict her arms.  She WILL find a way to get them out of constraints. 
2.  She is a wiggle worm.  There have been numerous times I will go check on her during a nap, and she is nowhere near the sleep positioner I laid her in.  She has ooched her way out and toward the head of the bed?!?
3.  We think she might have a dimple?  On her right cheek, when she smiles (I know she can't smile yet, but it looks like it to me), we can kind of see one.  I hope it does develop, because that would be too cute!
4.  She likes to have half of her bottle, burp, have a diaper change, finish the bottle.....then have a massive blowout for mommy to clean up-never fails :)
5.  She is not a big fan of the pacifier.  This may not end up being a bad thing.
6.  She can sleep up to 4 hours during the night, which is great for sleep, but bad for my boobs as I feel like they might explode!
7.  She has 3 favorite looks: pursing of the lips, the content smile, the one eyed sailor.
8.  When she is done eating, she will let you know by ever so forcefully pushing the bottle out of the way with her tongue.  She has a very strong tongue!
9.  When she cries, I can walk back into the room and she will stop?!?
10.  She is a very messy eater.  I have never done more laundry in my LIFE!!

A few more random things to share:

I think Toby is confused!  He lays in the boppy pretty much every time I feed Jocelyn.  I know this is probably really wrong and totally unsanitary, but it is too cute!

On our walk yesterday, I noticed this (above picture).  This homeowner has planted not one, not two, but three fake ficus tree/plants in the front yard.  Look here neighbor, I know we are all busy, but seriously?  How about we go ahead and take those out?

Her umbilical cord STILL has not fallen out (sigh), so here is a pic after a mini bath.

Too cute!!  He is a good Dad!

Good baby stand off

In order to get baptised in my church, you have to attend a brief baptism class.  So, last night Derek and I went to this class.  We thought we would be brave and bring Jocelyn eventhough the class started at 6:30PM and she normally eats at 7PM. 

There were about 5 other families in this class with us, and luckily for us, one other brave couple decided to bring their infant as well.  So there we sat, pretending to listen to Pastor Clayton, when all I could do was pray that Jocelyn would not start crying because she was hungry!  Poor Derek, sat there next to the stroller with a bottle clenched in his hands (sweating I am sure) ready and waiting to pop that sucker in her mouth at the first sign of a peep. 

Well, I am pleased to announce that the other couples baby started crying and they had to take our out of the class.  So, that means we won the good baby stand off!  Yeah!  When Derek and I were leaving we looked at each other and smiled and said, well, we won!  hehe

Miss J was perfect, and didn't wake up until about 7:15PM, so we were able to feed her out in the car.  I hope I am not jinxing myself for when we actually do get her baptised.  I am sure she will be an angel then too!

2 week check up

On Wednesday, I took Jocelyn in for her two week check up.  We are going to Dr. Fernandez, which conveniently is where Jocelyn's Grandma Joyce works!  She was like a celebrity.  Everyone wanted to see her, love on her and give her kisses.  Everything checked out great, here are her stats:

Weight: 8lbs 9oz, 55%
Head: 14in, 55%
Length: 20 3/4 in, 75%

I must admit, I was incredibly stressed out about this big trip to the doctor.  I am certain that I over packed.    Before the doctor, I wanted to stop off at Target to get a couple of things.  Right before we left, I fed Jocelyn, changed her and put her in her super cute outfit.  I said a little prayer that she would not spit up on her super cute outfit.  Of course, my worst nightmare happened.  We were in Target, I look over, and blehhh...spit up all over the car seat, and her super cute outfit....sigh!  So much for that, at least we tried.  Nobody seemed to care though when we got to the doctor.  Here are a few pictures from the big visit.

Miss J wasn't up for the picture? Grandma Joyce, Ann & Debra

Debra was so nervous to do the PKU test on Jocelyn for fear of her remembering her as the "mean nurse".  I promised Debra that Jocelyn forgives her for the heel prick, and still loves her!

WARNING: (Yes, she really is that small, and Yes, the bear really is that BIG)

On Monday, Jocelyn's Uncle David and (soon to be) Aunt Mandi came by to meet her for the first time.  I opened the front door to find David standing there with this ginormous teddy bear and the biggest shit grin on his face.  I think he knew my reaction would be "Where am I going to put that thing?"  Of course he thought it was hilarious.  It really is a soft teddy bear and very comfortable to lay on!  Miss J wasn't too happy about the picture, but I think it will be neat to show how big she gets month to month in comparison to this ginormous teddy bear.  Thanks Uncle D and Aunt M!

4 Generations

Also, for the past week, Great Grandpa Freese ( Joyce's Dad) has been in town.  GG Freese and his dog Jake, drove all the way from Urbana, IL to meet his new great granddaughter.  He was a natural with her, held her, fed her and loved on her.  It is almost as if he has done this with 4 kids of his own!  :)  I am happy that Jocelyn got to meet her GG Freese!

First walk

So, I am just about two weeks into this stay at home thing, and about to go stir crazy!  We decided to take a walk today.

Jocelyn did great, she slept the whole time.

Toby, on the other hand, pooped out about half way through the walk.  So, being the resourceful mom that I now am, I threw him under the stroller and finished the walk!  I think he liked it there!

Jocelyn's Birth Story

WARNING:  For those of you who know me well, you know I am not a woman of few words.  So, sit back and enjoy the novel!  :)

As promised, I wanted to post Jocelyn's birth story. 

On August 31st, I woke up to get ready for work (yes, people, I was still working on her due date!) and as I was getting ready, I felt a trickle of water down my leg?!?  I froze for a minute, then asked Derek what he thought I should do.  I had heard in passing that when your water breaks, it could be like Niagara Falls, or just a trickle.  So, we decided to call the doctor to seek their advice. 

Well, just my luck, "Dr. Precautionary" was on call.  This is the same doctor in the practice who sent me to the heart doctor around 18 weeks, only to find out that my heart had ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with it.  Of course he told me to come on in and get checked out.  No problem "Dr. Precautionary", we only live 45 minutes away from the hospital, and it is now morning rush hour traffic, fantastic! 

So, Derek and I pack up the car, and head down to the hospital.  It took us about an hour to get there.  The entire time, I am saying to myself, "geez, I hope this is the real deal, or I am going to be so annoyed!"  We get to the hospital, check in, and get sent to triage.  As I laid there on the bed, hooked up to all of these machines, I heard another woman in pain next to me from contractions, another woman who was 34 weeks and  several centimeters dilated.  I looked at Derek and said, "I think I am going to be sent home". 

They monitored me for about an hour.  I did NOT like the triage nurse at all.  A:  I couldn't understand her, B: she had fingernails (ewww), C: during her questionnaire, she asked "if my child came out to be a boy, would I like him circumcised?".  Listen here, lady, I have had several sonograms confirming the sex of this baby, and I have more pink than I know what to do with.  We are HAVING a girl, no if's and's or but's!!

Now, "Dr. Precautionary" has left, and Dr. Thurston was on call.  He came in and told me that my water had indeed NOT broken, but he thought it might be the outer membrane?  So, long story short, my time is coming very, very soon.  Then he sent me home.  Yeah!  Now it is like 10:30AM, I have almost missed a half day of work, I am in pain, I am fat and I have been crying.  Joy, Joy...let me go back to work!  I went by work, picked up my computer, etc. and got the approval to work from home.  Glad I did.

After work, Derek and I decided to go get dinner and run by his parents house to pick up one final piece of the bookshelf that his Dad made.  We ate, picked up the piece, and as we were standing in their living room saying goodbye, I heard a pop, and then GUSH!  I looked at everyone and said, OH MY GOSH, I think my water just broke, for real.  People, this was not a trickle, this was like Niagara Falls in my pants.  How embarrassing!  My water just broke in front of my mother in law, father in law and brother in law.  It doesn't get much better than that.  I am just glad that I was not in a public place, or worse, wearing khaki pants.  That would have been like a bad memory from kindergarten.

So, for the second time, I called the doctor.  The same one (Dr. Thurston) that sent me home earlier in the day, was still on call and told me to come right back in.  Derek and I rushed home, to pack, AGAIN, and headed to the hospital.  We got to the hospital around 10PM, checked in...again, and went straight back to labor and delivery. 

After we got settled in, we started to walk the halls from about 11-1AM.  The contractions were getting stronger, but weren't incredibly close together.  Finally, at about 2:45AM, I decided to get an epidural in hopes of getting some sleep.  Well, the sleep part didn't happen with all of the distracting noises and alarms going off in the background, but we tried. 

On Wednesday, Sept 1st, around 11AM, my contractions were starting to spread apart, so they gave me some pitocin to jump start the contractions again.  By this time, all of the family had arrived at the hospital, only to take turns sitting and staring at me.  We all thought this process was going to be a lot quicker than it ended up being.  After about 2 hours of the pitocin, they wanted me to start pushing.  At 1pm, I tried to push for a few contractions, but her heart rate was not in a safe place to continue.  So, they turned down/off the pitocin drip and monitored her for another hour.  (Longest day of my life by now)  Now, a 3rd doctor from the practice was on call, Dr. Hagood.  Ironically, she was the only one in the practice that I had never met?!?  Although, I felt comfortable with her because a friend of mine recently delivered a baby with her, and everything went well. 

At 2pm, I started pushing again.  I would like to give a little shout out to my L&D nurse, Nancy.  She is a trooper and definitely deserves a raise.  She was like the energizer bunny, and was very motivating.  I pushed until 4pm on pretty much every contraction ( I think).  At 4pm, Dr. Hagood came in to assess.  She informed us that Jocelyn's head was slightly turned, therefore making this delivery last as long as it has.  She and Nancy both said they sincerely thought I could continue to push for another hour and not have a c section, but at this point, it was my choice.  Either way. 

So, at this point, I felt the need to start negotiating?  She told me that she thought that I could push for 1 more hour and have good results.  I then spouted back and said how about 30 minutes?  She laughed, and said okay.  Well, apparently, I was tricked.  Because, she didn't come back at the 30 minute mark like I requested, she came back at the hour mark...nice.  By this time, it was 5pm, I was exhausted and ready to get this show on the road.  Dr. Hagood had to use forceps to get Jocelyn's head turned so she could come out. 

Jocelyn was born at 5:25pm on September 1st.  When she came out, her cord was wrapped around her neck, so they whisked her over to the other side of the room.  I had absolutely no clue what was going on.  However, when I didn't hear her cry right away, I started to ask questions.  The NICU nurses got her all cleaned up and then, we heard a sweet little cry.  She had a lot of fluid in her lungs, so they had to get all of that cleared out.  They gave her some oxygen, wrapped her up and gave her to Dad.  I couldn't believe it!  We were finally meeting our little girl!  Derek looked like a natural holding Miss Jocelyn. 

They left us in the room for a bit to be with our new little one.  Then I realized, oh my gosh!  You need to go tell the family.  Our poor family had been sitting in the waiting room for like 100 hours with no updates.  I am sure they were freaking out.  My sister said that she asked the desk to check on me several times, but unfortunately, I forgot to put all of their names on the medical information release form.  NOTE:  next time, put everyone's name on the medical information release form!!  All of the family took turns coming back to meet the new addition and love on her. 

This was truly an amazing journey, and I still can't believe I am someone's mom!  21 hours of labor was definitely worth it.  She is so sweet and precious.  We think she looks like Derek, so of course, I am positive she will have my dazzling personality and wit. 

Below are some pictures from the delivery, Enjoy!

At the hospital (for the second time in one day) 40 weeks & 4 days

One last belly shot, all hooked up to the machines

Not the best picture, but we tried.  Dr. Hagood delivering Jocelyn

7lbs 11oz, 20 inches long

Our little munchkin

Daddy holding his little girl for the first time.  Look at that grin!!

Mom holding her little girl for the first time. 

Dr. Hagood and Nurse Nancy.  (It's almost like they have done this pose before?)

All packed up and heading home.  Most nerve racking drive of our lives!

Hope you enjoyed the story, more to come later!

A few more pictures of Jocelyn!

Unfortunately, I have not had time to post the story of Jocelyn's arrival on the blog.  I promise, as soon as I get in a rhythm, I will do so.  Many of you have requested more pictures of Miss J, so here you go! 

Thank you to all of our friends and family for all of your love and support during this exciting time.  We enjoyed all of the visitors at the hospital, and all of the flowers were beautiful.  We are very fortunate. 

Showing some school spirit!

The new England Family of 3

Our sweet little girl

I also wanted to give a HUGE thank you to Derek.  I don't want to say that I am in shock, because I knew Derek would be a great Dad, but I cannot believe how wonderful Derek has been with Jocelyn.  I quite honestly feel like an idiot?!?  I am pretty sure he knows more about babies than me, and it just melts my heart to watch him with her.  He loves her so much and they are so sweet together.  Derek has been my rock through out this life changing experience.  He has helped me out more than he will ever know.  Thank you, honey, you are one in a million. 

She is here!!

Miss Jocelyn Ann England has arrived!

7lbs 11oz
20 inches long
Born September 1, 2010 at 5:25pm