MBA 1 Month

Hello All!

I apologize I am a week late on Molly's one month check-in :) But, I have been a bit busy! When Molly goes down for a nap I have three choices - 1) get work done around the house 2) take a nap 3) or get on the computer and write a blog post. Number two usually wins, but sometimes I will get some housework done!
Molly is doing great and we are so smitten with her. We are pretty sure she is the cutest baby there is, but we are her parents!

She is officially eating up to 3-4 oz and we recently made this change. Sometimes she will take down 4 oz easy! We are still formula and breastfeeding which, for me, is working best. I had my first over protective Mother moment and took her to the doctor on Saturday morning because I was sure she was having retractions while she was sleeping, had a cough, and wheezing. Turns out, she's just fine! I was also able to get her current weight and this girl weighs 8.3 lbs! Yay! She is gaining weight back well! She is sleeping 3-4 hours at a time with her longest stretch being at the beginning of the night when I first put her down. After that she will go 2.5-3 hours or so until we decide to finally get up anywhere between 7am-9am. Sometimes, she will go back to sleep with me after her 7 am feeding. I will put her in the bed with me and we get a little bit more shut eye. But, sometimes she is up and ready to go! She is still wearing newborn sizes and 0-3 months. Hopefully she grows a little more because I have a TON of smocked outfits ready and waiting in her closest, but they are all just a tad too big!

She has a very strong grip and loves watching anyone and everyone on the computer. She will stare at the computer screen forever! We give her a little bit of tummy time on her play mat and she seems to like it for the first few minutes. She is working on lifting her head and she is getting practice while laying on our chest. She will take a paci {sometimes}, but she isn't attached to it which, I think may be a good thing until she is then we have to worry about weaning her off eventually.

Well, here is a photo dump of some pictures from her first month.... WARNING overload!!

This is the best I could do...she was hesitant about growing older... I'm convinced. 

we are going to check the mail. 

holding the mail for me on the way to the mailbox! she's a good helper!

She is growing attached to this lovey and will hold onto while sleeping {sometimes}

first bath after her cord fell off! 

she is taking a nap in her Daddy's spot while he is at work! shhhh...

meeting her Grandpa for the first time!! 

she LOVES her swing her cousin Tiffany got her! 

go Gamecocks! 

she is quickly becoming a Daddy's girl {which is perfectly okay with me!}

i told her this how cranky her Daddy gets when he really hungry too. 

i LOVE this denim dress her Mimi made for her.

Mister Mom. 

2 weeks! {or 16 days}

Hello!

Molly is officially 2 weeks old {well, she is 16 days old today, but I am late on the blog writing}.

This is definitely one of my most favorite pictures, so far.... This dress is just something I picked up from Carter's {we live 2 minutes from the outlet} But, it's SO CUTE. 

Well, we left the hospital on Thursday August 22nd and that was the day both of our Mom's happen to be flying into town {thank goodness}! We left the hospital and I was so tired I didn't really have time to think about the fact that the hospital just sent me home with a new life to keep alive take care of all by ourselves. We got home and Molly and I immediately took a nap together while Tyler and his Mom did some grocery shopping. I got up feeling refreshed and ready for motherhood-- HAHA. That first night was crazy! She wouldn't sleep {little did I know what things I needed to try in order for her to sleep}. She finally fell asleep around 2am until about 5am. Then back to sleep until 7am. I called my Mom in tears telling her to come over, help, and I needed a nap. haha! That Friday I slept for four hours and got up once in between to nurse. That day was pretty much a blur. We've made HUGE strides since then and I must say I am pretty proud of myself! I am not sure what new mothers would do without the help of their Mothers {the Grandmothers}. 

Molly then had her first visit to the doctors office. The doctors visit was my first scare as a Mother. We took her in thinking everything was fine. When they weighed her she weighed 6.3 lbs! She was 7.5 lbs at birth. We all know babies lose some weight in the first few days of life, but over a pound was too much. She was also jaundice. The doctor suggested I start supplementing with formula because my milk wasn't coming in fast enough and I wasn't really producing enough. We started supplementing right away and it's seemed to have worked. Our doctor also called us on Sunday to come in {her first appointment was on a Saturday} to check her again- talk about my heart stopping! Why is the pediatrician calling me on a Sunday! But, it was for the best. She always gets the breast first then the formula unless I have pumped for some reason. I still don't produce a whole lot of milk and for now, I am happy with the breast and formula combination. We had to see the doctor five times. Today was the fifth time and she is up to 7 lbs! yay! The doctor said we are doing everything right and her color looks great. We didn't even have to get blood drawn today to check her bilirubin score! 

Other than the weight/jaundice issue she is doing great. My milk supply isn't great, but I feel good about giving her what I have because any breast milk is better than no breast milk at all. She is definitely growing because we are breastfeeding and she is then downing about 2 ounces of formula! Molly is eating about every 2-3 hours and sleeping around 3-4 hours a night. As much as I complain about sleeping, she really is a good sleeper. We are slowly getting into a routine and her last feeding before bed is around 11pm, we burp, and then she gets rocked to sleep. She is usually asleep between 11 and 12, gets up around 2-3am, and back to bed until about 7am. I am getting used to it and starting to enjoying our 3am feedings together. I know these moments won't last forever. Soon, she will never want to cuddle in the middle of the night! 

Molly is looking all around. She sometimes looks like she is focusing hard on certain objects. The ceiling fan in the living room is a big focus for her. She also keeps an eye on the pictures that are on our wall in the living room. She has so much personality already. She is such a good baby! When we take her out in the car seat she is silent! The only time she cried was once on the way home because she needed to be changed. We are so lucky {hope I just didn't jinx us}. Sometimes she cries and just prefers to be held, but not all the time. She likes the paci, but isn't addicted... she can go without. She LOVES to sleep in her boppy lounger. I have no idea what we will do when she outgrows it!! 

Everyone is getting used to the changes including Molly. We are very excited to watch her grow. She has even changed so much since she came home from the hospital!

I hope I am not forgetting anything...she is up and ready to be fed as we speak! Tyler goes back to work on Monday and Mimi and Grammie have left. It's just me and her..... keep your fingers crossed for us ;) 

picture dump...

Not a big fan of diaper changing

Mom thought I was a boy at first... so I have a few blue onesies. Thank goodness Mimi was able to add some embroidery to make them more girly! 

Molly Bess Anderson

Introducing Molly Bess Anderson

7.5 lbs 19.5 in 

Born August 20th, 2013 at 12:20 pm

*Disclaimer: I wrote this really fast so please excuse any mistakes!

I apologize for taking so long to get to Molly's birth. It literally happened so fast! Here is the last belly picture I took of myself at 38 weeks. I got so big so fast and I was getting worried she put on a few lbs herself!

On Monday August 19th I had my 39 week appointment. I was checked by the doctor and my cervix was still CLOSED and Molly had no intentions of 'dropping.' I suppose she was comfortable where she was, but I on the other hand was not and I was getting antsy. I was worried about her being over a week late and my Mom not being here for the birth. Dr. Gluck, on the other hand, was not worried about that, but making sure she was okay. So after he checked me I immediately had to have an ultrasound to she how big she was and the ultrasound said 8.3 lbs! I still had a week to go and she would do nothing, but gain. I then had to do a non stress test. I hadn't had to do that my whole pregnancy so I was freaking out a bit and getting worried, but the NST went well. Dr. Gluck was worried Molly would get bigger and because my hips and pelvis are so small she might have trouble getting out. So, he said he would do a c section tomorrow (Tuesday 8/20), but wanted me to talk to Tyler first. I said my worry was getting checked the following Monday and little to no progress being induced and ending up in a c section anyway. So, our plan was wait until Monday and probably schedule a c section for Tuesday the 27th unless I changed my mind about going ahead with it. I talked it over with Tyler and our Mom's. Tyler and I decided we should go ahead with the c section especially since when I was getting out of the hospital our Mom's would be in town to help with the hard part. So, I called the doctors office and had it scheduled for 12pm. I couldn't eat past midnight so, I was going to be waiting a long time to eat again! Anyway, Tyler and I cleaned, got the house ready, and set up our dog sitter for Riley. I thought I would get no sleep that Monday night, but I had no trouble falling asleep. I was definitely ready. Here I am waiting for everything to start.....

I have never had any sort of surgery before nor have I ever had to spend any time in the hospital except for maybe a ER visit every now and again {probably all soccer related injuries}. I was pretty nervous! I was even more freaked out once I was on the operating table, with the spinal, and I felt stuck! I really wanted to tell them quit and I would just wait until she came on her own. But, I am sure that would be a no go! They started at 12:14, Molly was out crying at 12:20, and I was stitched up by 12:37 and rolled into recovery. Where I was sore, couldn't feel my legs, and became super nauseous from the pain medication! But, it was all worth it for this moment....

The nights in the hospital were a learning experience, but we had nurses checking on me and Molly every few hours. We got very little sleep. The first week home is a different story and for another blog post. Hopefully I can write that today or tomorrow. We are a little busy over here :) But for now, I will leave you pictures of our precious little miracle who we are absolutely in love with. We can't imagine life without her now!

The best Daddy ever! He has helped out more than I could have ever asked and I have never been more in love with him than I am now that I see him with our daughter! 

38 weeks 3 days and no progress

Ugh. After reading many pregnant blogs of friends I started to understand what happens when you get full term and 'get checked.' Trust me, when you're pregnant google can be your best friend or worst enemy.

Sunday night before my 38 week appointment I started to feel {what I thought} were contractions. They were starting in the back and wrapping around to my front. I called both my Mom and Tyler called his Mom and they told us to start timing them. So, we did and they weren't far apart, but they didn't last long and weren't getting worse. It lasted maybe about 30 minutes and for the rest of the night I just had a sore back. I thought to myself and even called my Mom and said 'I will call you after my doctors appointment unless something happens tonight.' Well, nothing happened and in fact, I slept like a baby {no pun intended}.

At my doctors appointment I anxiously awaited to 'get checked' strange, I know. But, I thought surely I am dilated some with some of the irregular yet not painful {more annoying} contractions. My 3 minute appointment and all I found out was her head is still pretty high and your cervix is closed. What!? NO.WAY. Like closed, like just shut..nothing...nada. Dr. Gluck said 'yes.' Disappointed, I called Tyler and my Mom. My only hope is that you can dilate within hours so hopefully my 39 week check up will bring better news. I also start to feel grateful because I know a few friends who have had a cervical cerclage {where they close your cervix to prevent early labor} and I have to feel thankful that I never had to take that route. Also, I feel thankful that I am not having to be induced early or schedule a c-section for any reason other than I am overdue.

I am not sure if I would feel different if I was living in Columbia where all our friends and family are and just a phone call and a few miles away from the hospital. Problem is, we aren't and our Mom's are coming into town on August 22nd. My Mom is only staying a week {Tyler's Mom is staying two so no worry she will be there for the birth} but, my Mom plans on coming back in October so the week she is here... I need to have a baby!! I am the only child and this is her first grandchild! I may be just as anxious in Columbia and ready to get Molly out, but I am also enjoying sleeping in and taking naps. I may be uncomfortable, but I do like sleep {for now}. Oh well... Molly will come when she is good and ready. I do want her to cook as long as she needs too. If not, she will be evicted. I do hope she can make an appearance before the Gamecock football game or after. :)

Part of me says... hopefully, the next post will be a labor story, or will have better news, or I will do nothing but complain again!

How far along? 38 weeks 3 days

Size of Baby A? a watermelon {19 to 22 in., 7lbs}

Maternity Clothes? yoga pants and maternity tops have become my staples. and some t shirts i own. there isn't really anywhere in el paso i feel the need to put on anything fancy so a lot of my maternity clothes are just sitting in my closet. 

Weight Gain? 24 lbs at the doctor, but i had eaten breakfast :(

Gender? all PINK over here

Sleep?  i get like 5 hours of really really good sleep other than that i toss and turn.

Movement? all the time. 

Cravings? hungry all the time! 

What I miss? still a glass of chard. iced coffee.   

Symptoms? ugh so many. back aches, irregular contractions, congestion, lack of sleep

Best moment of the week? hearing her heartbeat is always the best :) 

37 weeks

Hello All!

I am officially full term as of Saturday. Not much has been going on since I last blogged at 34 weeks, but I figure a quick update couldn't hurt!

Tyler was in the field for two weeks while I was 35 and 36 weeks along. I don't really like to post anywhere when Tyler leaves and I am home alone. I wasn't too excited about Tyler leaving while I was so far along in case something were to happen, but there was nothing we could do about the situation. We were able to keep in touch so, it wasn't huge deal. Luckily, I was fine and no emergencies occurred! He got back last Monday and thank goodness! I was getting bored and having trouble sleeping.

Which brings me to pregnancy insomnia! It only happened a few times but those two times I was up literally ALL NIGHT. Two nights in a row! I thought I would have no problem falling asleep the second night because I hadn't got any sleep the night before... well, I was wrong. I didn't really want to take a tylenol pm, benedryl, or unisom, all of which are okay'ed by my doctor (he even said I could take an ambien if I wanted- but I was definitely NOT doing that), but I was worried her movement would slow down and I would freak out. That would keep me up all night anyway so, it wasn't really worth it. One thing I have found that helps is a glass of warm milk right before I go to sleep. I have read that it would help, but I am not really sure if there really is something in warm milk that helps you sleep or it's all in my head either way, it's helped.

Other than not being able to fall asleep I get up a lot during the night either to use the restroom or because I can't breathe because my nose is so stuffy! I have to get up at least once to use some nose spray and blow my nose. I also get tired during the day so Riley and I usually lay down to take a nap for about an hour and a half. I have had no 'nesting' instinct and I am actually just tired all the time so my plan is just to sleep, take a walk, eat, sleep, eat, and repeat. Kind of take advantage of it while I can. Everything for the nursery is done so, I am not sure if my nesting is not kicking in because it's already done and ready for her?

I went to the doctor last Monday and have started my weekly appointments. Last week my doctor wanted me to start kick counts. I think they misunderstood me when I said I feel her, but her movements are just a lot slower because I think she is running out of room. I don't really like the idea of kick counts for someone like myself because I am such a worrier. So, if I feel her a lot throughout the day I do not count. Dr. Gluck likes the way my sugars look and isn't worried. And besides the kick counts everything looks great! Yesterday I saw the PA because Dr. Gluck was on vacation. We talked a little bit about contractions and when to call, etc. And next Monday at my 38 week appointment, I will start being 'checked' to see what kind of progress I am making. I am little nervous about it because I am somewhat of a pessimist and I am just sure that I will have made NO progress. {good news is I am having some irregular contractions. they don't bring me to my knees, but they are still annoying} I am hoping all the walking I've been doing for the past 20 or so weeks have paid off. I am also continuing to walk. Part of me wants her to come on and meet her, but then part me is getting anxiety about labor and then caring for another life and think she can stay in for as long as she wants! Anyway, soon I will start trying all the tricks I've been hearing about to bring on labor! Eggplant, pineapple, walking, Chinese food, and etc. I know both my Mom and Tyler's mom hope she comes right on time because they will be flying in on the 22nd and I know Tyler wants her to come on time so he will be able to watch the Gamecocks first football game on the 29th. I don't think he wants to watch it from a hospital room... I don't think you're aloud to have a few cold ones in there!

Anyway, I thought this would quick... sorry!

How far along? 37 weeks 3 days

Size of Baby A? a watermelon {19 to 22 in., 6.5lbs}

Maternity Clothes? yoga pants and maternity tops have become my staples. and some t shirts i own. there isn't really anywhere in el paso i feel the need to put on anything fancy so a lot of my maternity clothes are just sitting in my closet. 

Weight Gain? about 20-21 lbs. i'll take it

Gender? all PINK over here

Sleep? ha. i don't know if i'll sleep again for another 18 years ;) 

Movement? all the time. she has officially started kicking my ribs... it hurts, but i welcome it. 

Cravings? hungry all the time! anything and everything really:) i was craving  hamburgers last week, which is weird for me. 

What I miss? still a glass of chard. iced coffee.   

Symptoms? ugh so many. back aches, irregular contractions, congestion, lack of sleep

Best moment of the week? hearing her heartbeat is always the best :) 

34 weeks

I have been extremely lazy lately which may be why I haven't written.  And by lately, I mean the last couple of weeks or so! Tyler and I don't do much here in El Paso (I feel like every time I venture out in El Paso I get super bad road rage). We really can't stand El Paso and we think it's the worst place ever. Sorry to be so negative and some people love El Paso, but it's just not for us and no border town would be for me and Tyler. Anyway, besides the horrible place that is El Paso, we don't go many places and even going out to dinner I have no motivation to put on fancy clothes, do my hair (as in straighten), or put on makeup. I am not sure why, but it's just like I don't care! haha. I also may not have written because there is much excitement here in the Anderson household!

So, here is a small update for you....

How far along? 34 weeks 2 days

Size of Baby A? large cantaloupe {19 to 22in, 5.5 lbs}

Maternity Clothes? yoga pants and maternity tops have become my staples. and some t shirts i own. 

Weight Gain? Ugh.... up 19-20lbs from my starting weight. went to the doctor today and ended up seeing the PA b/c my doctor was running behind (it's okay with me b/c I really like her), but she said that was totally okay and my belly is measuring perfect. 

Gender? girly girl!

Sleep? what's that? seriously i sleep okay throughout the night, but my best sleep seems to be between 5:30-9am. i thought i was sleeping in and being lazy, but i realized that i was actually getting good sleep in that time. 

Movement? all day. every day and thank goodness :) tyler saw her the other night and could see a arm or leg poking out of my stomach. i love it. and i often laugh...she's making me laugh already! she moves a lot right after i eat then about an hour or so afterwards she's quiet.. she must like to nap after eating ;) 

Cravings? peanut butter crackers; ice cream (sugar free yogurt); and well, anything really... just really hungry!

What I miss? still a glass of chard. iced coffee.   

Symptoms? congestion. usual aches and pains of getting around with a pregnant belly. - same and getting up off the couch or out of bed feels like i moved a mountain. 

Best moment of the week? my doctors appointment today. hearing her heartbeat, hearing her say that she sounds perfect, and the PA telling me my weight is just fine! 

31 weeks

Hello!

I have not written in a while, but we have been out of town and then as soon as we got back I had work, dentists appointments, and we started our birthing class at the hospital!

We went home to Columbia for a week with a quick trip to Charleston thrown in for a babymoon. We really love visiting Charleston after all Tyler has a condo there and lived there for a few years. We stayed on my Dad's boat which would usually be okay except being 29 weeks pregnant and Charleston going from cool spring-y weather to rain to normal summer weather {HOT} it got a little uncomfortable. I had the a/c down so low in the boat Tyler woke up freezing! But, anyway we were able to eat our favorite place....

Oak Steakhouse. We enjoy their oysters rockefeller {THE BEST} and my husband was sweet enough to ask for our reservation on the third floor near a window! Please excuse my hair... it's difficult to get ready on a boat. Also, we got caught in a normal Charleston summer shower for about 30 minutes. But overall it was a great dinner and I highly recommend trying out Oak next time you're in Charleston. Then, I have heard Tyler talk about Kaminsky's plenty of times and we were supposed to go on our honeymoon, but for some reason didn't get by there. Well, even though I have to watch my sugars, how could you deny a pregnant lady some good dessert? I had figured that we had done so much walking in downtown Charleston from the car to Oak to Kaminsky's and back that I would be fine okay. It was totally worth it! 

The next day it had turned HOT! I guess the rain brought it in and so we got some breakfast at our favorite breakfast spot, The Marina Variety Store, and headed to the Charleston Harbor Marina pool {the Variety Store is not at the Charleston Harbor Marina where we stayed} and decided what was next. We decided that it may be a good idea to see some beach before we left the coast since that's not possible out here in the desert! So, we went back to the boat and got ready to hit Sullivan's Island. It was already lunch time by the time we made it to the island and we tried Poe's. Ehhh. I maybe was supposed to get a hamburger there, but considering how hot it was outside eating something so heavy didn't sound great. I had a buffalo shrimp salad {it was nothing to write home about}. But the atmosphere there was pretty cool! We didn't stay at the beach very long and headed back home after about 30 minutes. HAHA. It was hot and I am just not into tanning while pregnant. We headed back to the pool then back to the boat where Tyler had a few beers on the back. I took a shower and laid down for a nap rest. All in all it was a great babymoon and I couldn't have asked for anything better and I got lucky because I am pretty sure I got all my walking done in those two days for the whole week! 

Back in Columbia it was family every day. It was good for Tyler to see all his family since I had been in Columbia a few weeks before. Our schedule was packed every single day and we didn't stop, but that was okay. We were also able to bring home all the items I had received from the baby shower. And, our nursery is finally coming together and I would say is pretty much together except for a few odds and ends. Molly could go home now, but we definitely do not want that! We are prepared though! 

As I said before we started our birthing class last week, took a pediatrician Q&A class, and had an ultrasound. Last week was a nice welcome back from vacation. Now, we just wait and prepare for baby!

At our ultrasound, all went well... she's measuring right on track! 

How far along? 31 weeks 2 days

Size of Baby A? bunch of asparagus; 16.2 inches and 3.3 lbs {But Molly is weighing 3 lbs 10 oz according to our u/s}

Maternity Clothes? maternity jeans. larger size dresses. pre-pregnancy tops still work {kinda}

Weight Gain? 15.6 lbs{not happy about this but I am blaming all the good food in Columbia and Charleston}

Gender? girly girl!

Sleep? ehhh. if sleeping and waking every hour or every other hour counts. at least i am sleeping. i am a natural side sleeper so being uncomfortable hasn't really hit me yet. but i just wake up often. i guess it's better than not sleeping at all.. huh?

Movement? a lot. she seems to be calm while i am active, up, and walking around. but it's so comforting. i love every time i feel it. there have been no painful jabs except maybe a few times when she hits a specific nerve! 

Cravings? peanut butter crackers. waffles or pancakes with syrup {i try to stick with whole grain or whole wheat and sugar free syrup}. still ice cream! 

What I miss? still a glass of chard. iced coffee. pasta.  

Symptoms? congestion. usual aches and pains of getting around with a pregnant belly. 

Best moment of the week? well it's been a few weeks so Charleston and seeing our sweet girl on the big screen!