Albuquerque

I never in my wildest dreams believed I would be moving out west. But here I am, with my amazing husband and adorable son, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We bought a 2000ish square foot corner lot pueblo that has a rock garden and a gorgeous view of the Sandia mountains. The house was the first built in the neighborhood in 2003. It is custom designed with hand carved doors, gates, and ceiling planks. It is full of sky lights and tiled floors (including custom art in the tile). Instead of air conditioning we have a "swamp coolor." (which is really strange..we have to keep a window open at all times so the hot air blows out..it doesn't circulate the air like air conditioners do...) I will post pictures as soon as I take some...which will be today! The movers FINALLY arrive this afternoon. Apparently the truck broke down along the way...with ALL my possessions!

Langston has been a trouper at 5 weeks of age! He did wonderful on the plane...I breastfed him at take off, though I am not sure he needed anything more than a pacifier! Mom has been a huge help! It took all that was in us both to move out and clean the house in Starkville. I know I pushed myself too hard too fast...but I really didn't have a choice. I would have been a nervous wreck in the airport without mom as well... you should have seen me changing a diaper in the airplane...having Langston pee all over everywhere...then changing his clothes... what fun memories we have!

Michael started his first day on the job yesterday! He works at Sandia National Laboratories where he is a computer scientist who researches, designs, and programs cool stuff for the government! I am so proud of him! He is so intelligent and has surrounded himself by even more intelligent people (as he says...which is hard to believe).

As for my job, I start July 5. There are around 40 Walgreens in the 2 districts combined that I will be floating between. I have my schedule for 3 weeks and have noticed that one is down in Carlsbad...which is over 3 hours away...I am DEFINITELY going to contest that...I can't do that with a new baby..not sure WHAT they are thinking... This is going to be a lot different than what I had been doing in the Birmingham district. I only floated in between 3 stores before I got my own. I am really nervous about how I will be handling a baby and work...I might just have a mental breakdown. But with $100,000 in student loans, I have no choice but to work full time.

Mom has been helping me decorate the house..we are going to make curtains, and a window seat... I hope she can show me how to make some cute pillows as well! I will post pictures of everything..I promise!

Life is Grand

Can life get any better?
Michael and I are having a blast being parents. Not only is it fun watching Langston grow and learn, it is thrilling to watch each other figure out how to care and love on our child!Langston had his 2 week check up this past Friday. It was our first trip outside the house, so we got the diaper bag packed, fed the baby, got him tucked away in his car seat and were on our way! We bought him some sunglasses so we could get him accustomed to wearing them. Parts of Albuquerque are a mile closer to the sun! Langston spit up all over his outfit during the car ride and then proceeded to have a NASTY diaper at the doctors office. Michael and I decided to change the diaper before the doctor came into the room..haha... and for the first time...Langston peed without his diaper on... all over the whole exam table! Then he peed all over the doctor while he was checking out the circumcision! He was acting a fool...but we were laughing hysterically! Langston had gained A WHOLE POUND in 2 weeks...he went from weighing 6 lb 14 oz to 7 lb 14 oz....surpassing his birth weight (7 lb 6 oz)! He is a good eater and I am thankfully a milk machine! The doctor said he was pretty much perfect!...minus some clogged tear ducts...
Since the doctors appointment, we have taken Langston out to lunch a couple of times. It is wonderful to be able to leave the house...I was getting a bit lonely and claustrophobic!
We are adjusting pretty well to the change in our sleep habits. Michael is precious to watch as he swaddles Langston in the "burrito roll" and cuddles with him. We are both getting very protective of him. We take turns passing him off when he is inconsolable...Langston has a lot of tummy pain...I guess he takes after his mom :-) It can be a bit nerve-racking when we can't figure out what we can do to help him. There is really nothing to complain about..honestly...we LOVE taking care of him!Michael and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary this past weekend and are very thankful for Michael's parents who came to play with their first grandchild and to babysit for us! We went to dinner and saw Shrek! Kevin, my brother is coming to visit this weekend and some friends are coming the next weekend!!! We are definitely feeling the LOVE!! We are also preparing for the big move here in a couple of weeks! There is a lot to do in a little time!
Please pray for our family as we make the move to Albuquerque! We need a smooth transition to a new house, new jobs, and a new life with a son!

We did it!

Langston is now 1 week old! What a blessing! He is the most adorable little baby I have ever seen! At his 5 day check up he had already gained 3 oz. back of the 13 he lost while he was in the hospital.

Mom has been a wonderful help taking care of me while I take care of Langston. I have suffered from a spinal headache this whole entire week. Apparently my CSF is leaking out my spinal column, a side effect from the spinal block (epidural) that I had during the C-section. Most people go back into the hospital to get a blood patch, but I was already "traumatized" from all the poking and prodding that I decided to wait it out and let it heal on its own. The blood patch would have provided instant relief, but the leak would heal itself in 7 days. The blood patch would have consisted of injected 15 ml of my own blood back into my spinal column to clot off the leak. Now can you see why I chose to wait it out? Thanks to mom for taking care of me while I heal! I am doing much better now and can enjoy being a mommy!

The C-section went of without a hitch. I was very surprised with myself at how well I did..I only tried to pass out once and the anesthesiologist gave me some medication that pepped me right up. I was off all major pain medicines except Tylenol #3 and Motrin after the 1st day. I was up and showered and walking some on the second day! My stitches still hurt and I have ..what I call "phantom pain"... in my stomach where all the nerve endings are growing back together.

Mom is leaving today. Michael and I get to try this parenting thing out by ourselves... What an adventure!

I still feel like I am babysitting...well...minus the whole breastfeeding thing...

BREASTFEEDING is taking over my life! It is a wonderful thing..but it takes FOREVER!

We will post more pictures soon..for now visit www.langstonking.shutterfly.com for pictures of Langston. Thank you for the encouragement. I am happy to talk on the phone..now that my headache is gone... The only problem we have is that my iphone won't let me TALK on the phone..so text me and I will call you back on Michaels...or just call Michaels phone :-)

While my mom continues to get ready to leave, Michael and I are going to sneak away to get lunch :-)

C-Section Tomorrow

Today is the due date for our son, Langston, to be born. After going to the 40 week checkup this morning, we found out that Langston has somehow flipped himself around this past week. I had noticed him being EXTREMELY hyperactive this week...didn't realize what was actually happening. All the pelvic pain was due to his feet! The sonogram took a while today. Langston had his legs straight out and wasn't moving them much at all. They pushed and pushed and tousled him around. He finally moved them a little bit. This made Michael and I very nervous. Babies don't just chill with their legs straight out...I am still worried that something is wrong. All I can do at this point is pray and know that God has a plan, and there is no sense in me worrying. Because Langston is breech, the doctor wanted to schedule the C-section today or tomorrow. I haven't been preparing myself for this possibility and it hit me hard quite honestly. We planned it for tomorrow morning so our family would have time to be here. I have to get to the hospital at 5:30am. They will begin around 7 or 7:30.

I have only had one other surgery in my life...sinus surgery. It took 4 people to start an IV. Today I have to go get my blood taken. I usually come close to passing out every time. I almost passed out during the sonogram this morning (it was hot...and scary). I am going to get an epidural...oh dear... I am the biggest baby and have NO IDEA how I will make it through. PLEASE PLEASE pray that I don't have a panic attack!

I can't wait to see Langston's sweet face. I told Michael earlier...that he may not see me smile much until I do. I have way too much anxiety and worry for him to have time to smile. But as soon as I know he is okay... and that I have survived...then it will be a beautiful moment! I can't wait!

39 weeks!

Thursday we went for my weekly check up. The doctor did say that the baby was definitely lower, but I am still not dilated. I have still not had any contractions, so they scheduled me to have another sonogram next Thursday (the end of 40 weeks). Hopefully we will have some action this week. The exam was rather painful and unfortunately caused some side effects that took me off guard. For the sake of blogging, I will leave the description out. I guess Langston is being stubborn. We ate Mexican food last night, walked around downtown Columbus today for several hours, got a pedicure/foot massage...any other suggestions?

The difficult decision will now be whether to induce, c-section, or wait it out. Dr. Brown said if I were induced now, it would be about a 30 hour labor...YUCK!... I am tremendously wanting to avoid surgery, but waiting so long is killing me. What if the baby is huge? I guess we will see after Thursday's sonogram!

Please pray that I have some contractions between now and Thursday. It apparently will cause the dilation to occur, which in turn would mean I could be induced...or that Langston will be coming soon.

Mom is now here having fun with me! She brought more gifts, baby room stuff, and part of the baby bed that my dad has made. I will post pictures soon! Dad did a fabulous job...it is just beautiful! It is wonderful to have parents that are so talented... it is so special to have their handmade crafts to pass on for generations!

No Braxton-Hicks

It's now Tuesday.  That puts us at 9 days to delivery date.  I don't think we are off by much in the conception date, even the OB said Emily was really close with all of her date estimations.  We are both really hoping that Langston comes on or before delivery date.  If not, I won't get a chance to spend much time with him before I have to head off to Albuquerque.  Of course Emily will be only a week behind me, but who wants to be apart from their newborn son right after birth for a week?  All this complaining because Emily has had only one Braxton-Hicks contraction, and that was around two weeks ago.  According to our OB Em will have more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions as the baby gets ready to be born.  I didn't know that Braxton-Hicks were a sign that the delivery day was getting close.  Also, her cervix was still high as of last Thursday, which is also isn't a good sign in terms of baby coming soon.  Maybe all this will change by our next appointment (this Thursday).  We are both getting pretty anxious.

38 weeks!

I reached 38 weeks of pregnancy today..just 14 days left until D-day! We went to see the OB/GYN and didn't get the most exciting news. I am still not progressing very fast. The baby is turned downward head first which is great news...BUT...my cervix/uterus are still way high up. I got up this morning feeling like Langston had dropped some, but unfortunately I was wrong. I am still not dilated. I know God has his own timing and the actual due date has already been determined, but it is just hard to be patient and wait. I can't wait to see my son's sweet face! I have only had 1 Braxton-Hicks contraction and that was over a week ago. Since tomorrow is my last day of work, I plan on doing everything I can to get this baby active! I drove over railroad tracks twice today already, now I need to start walking!! It will be so much easier to walk, now that I won't feel absolutely terrible everyday (due to standing on my feet all day long at work).

Dr. Brown says we are in his top 10 list now of upcoming deliveries. He delivered 6 last week! I am glad he is getting a lot of practice, because I already know I won't be an easy patient.


Michael and I have started selling a lot of our furniture. Out west, since we are living in a cute little adobe pueblo (pictured to the left), we will have no storage (no attic, no basement). We are ready to start buying furniture that we absolutely love and will keep for a long time. Most of our furniture (though it is a wonderful blessing to have it) has all been hand me downs or stuff we bought for the college dorm or apartment. On my day today, we have several people coming to buy some furniture..yeah! We had the surveyor come by our house today to prepare for the movers. He has to give them an estimate of all the stuff we have, so the movers know how many boxes to bring, what to expect, etc. We are SO thankful that Sandia (well i guess the government) is paying for us to move to ABQ. They are even paying for the baby and me to fly there and to ship my car!

The Joys of Pregnancy

I can honestly say I have been blessed with an easy pregnancy. During the first trimester I only struggled with being overwhelmingly tired and dry heaving. I guess being pregnant made me more prone to dry heave over drainage and strong smells. I tried to exercise...I even joined an early morning dance class. But was too tired to continue. The second trimester, I hardly knew I was pregnant. As you can see from earlier pictures, I didn't really start showing until around 18 weeks. I have only recently become uncomfortable during the last trimester. In fact, all I think about is being pregnant and when Langston will FINALLY make his debut. My ankles and feet are swollen, making it impossible to wear any shoes except flip flops.




My lower abdomen hurts a lot, I guess preparing me for labor. My blood pressure had started to climb as well. Langston is sitting so high in my abdomen that he has injured my ribs and caused a lot of acid reflux. Due to the increase in problems, my OB/GYN (Dr Jake Brown) and I have decided that this coming Friday will be my last day of work as a pharmacist in Starkville. It is just getting too difficult and strenuous to stand on my feet all day long. The job can be stressful at times and required more out of my body than I realized! I am very excited for the time off, however. I can relax and prepare my heart and soul for becoming a mommy. Michael and I are so excited! I feel as if we have been "nesting" for almost a month now. We have made a make-shift nursery for Langston. Michael's office is now being consumed with baby stuff! Since we are moving in mid-June, there is only so much we could do.

Today Michael and I went to Walmart to get snacks for family and friends that come visit. With only 17 days left (until the due date) We have stocked our refrigerator, I have made all my lists for post-partum days, and I am packed and ready to go. Now we are ready for all the fun!!

Emily

Pregnancy Re-Cap

We are 37 weeks and 4 days into the pregnancy, and aside from a few minor hiccups it has been a textbook case.  All through the Fall and into Winter it was not even very apparent that Emily was pregnant.  As Spring has arrived she has really started showing.  We haven't been as good about sending out progression pictures as we should have so here is a quick photo re-cap of the pregnancy as it progressed.

Here is Emily at 18 weeks.  We could barely even tell that she was pregnant at all.

Here she is at 20 weeks, just two weeks have passed and there is a pretty dramatic difference!

This one is Emily at 23 weeks, looking quite a bit more pregnant now.

This last picture is of Emily at 37 weeks and four days, 04/25/2010.