Quality Time

I feel like we got to spend a lot of quality time as a family this weekend. We had to finish Christmas shopping and such but I'm glad we got to do it together. Especially since Luke leaves at the end of the week for his first 2 weeks on the slope!! It will be SO nice to have him home 2 weeks out of the month and at work 2 weeks.

Everyone keeps asking if I will miss him, OF COURSE! But knowing that Ford and I will get to spend SO much more time with him, makes me really happy. It is so hard to spend time together and enjoy time as a family when you work ALL day and then have to cook dinner, clean, etc in the evenings. It's exciting now, knowing that for two weeks straight we get FAMILY TIME!

We are planning a trip to visit my grandma for Mother's Day, it will be our first family vacation!!!!! It's nice knowing that Luke doesn't need to take vacation, I just need to make sure that the kids I nanny for have alternative care while we are gone! Hopefully we will get a chance to make it to Washington at least once next year as well!

Yay for quality time! Looking forward to taking more pictures of Luke and Ford!

3 months old!

Yesterday, Ford turned 3 months old! I am not sure how time flew by so fast, it's only a couple weeks from Christmas, Whitney's due date and New Years!!

Ford is growing like CRAZY, he is already 24 inches long. That is 5 inches he has grown since he was born!!!! He is fitting nicely into 3 month clothing, some of it is a bit big still, but that's okay, I like the fact that he has gotten good use out of the "smallest" sizes, it makes me feel like everyone bought him needed things. Even though I know most everyone (including myself) bought him NB and 3m because it's CUTE and LITTLE instead of "practical" although they need every size of clothing anyway!!

I was SO sad when I packed up all his NB clothing; we had so much of it I had to take out all his 6 month stuff and put it in one drawer so i had room in the tote that fits under his crib!!!

Ford is getting really good at being able to look around during tummy time. He has yet to roll over, but I know when it happens it will not stop. He LOVES to stand up and walk, he is so strong it is crazy, if he wasn't so spastic (like his daddy) I am sure he would be able to stand unassisted but he is always looking around so he gets wobbly. He now plays with the toys on his play mat and in his bouncer chair thing. It's so cute when he kicks at them! I put him in the REAL bouncer yesterday, but his legs are still a good inch to short to touch the ground, he didn't really care about the toys on that, just stared at me the whole time like, "what is this and why am I stuck here?!"

With Christmas fast approaching I wasn't too sure we were going to buy anything for Little Man, only because he will never remember it. But we decided to get him a couple things. I made him a photo book of his first 2 months, narrated by him!! So he can keep it knowing we gave it to him as his FIRST Christmas present! We also got him a "Poppity pop musical Dino"... I'm sure I will become annoyed at it, at some point but I saw the commercial (stupid advertising!) and thought it was TOO CUTE!!! Surprisingly it was cheaper at Freddie's then amazon or BRU, we just happened to look while we were there. I wouldn't have thought they were the less expensive of the 3.

On another note, Luke's last day at AFF is today!!!!! GOD IS GOOD...He answers prayers, Luke has gotten picked up as a welder for Nabors, they do oil work all over the world. He of course, will be up on the North Slope. I think he will really enjoy it, he hates working 10+ hrs a day, coming home and only being able to play with Ford for a couple hours before bed. This will allow him to have 2 weeks of "play time" and then when he is at work, he's at work! I really think it will be the best of both worlds for Luke, I am very excited for him. With his new job comes a raise in pay which will (God willing) allow us to BUY A HOUSE before Ford is a year old :) I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to have Ford's first birthday at HOME, not in a rental! We always planned to buy then have a baby, but God decided it was best the other way around!

We are all very excited to see what the New Year will bring and what blessings God has in store for us in 2012.

12 weeks already?

How in the world is Ford 12 weeks old???? It is CRAZY, time flies when you are having fun!!!

Ford is now sleeping from 9pm-4am without any issues, this morning I put his paci back in and he fell back asleep when I was warming up his bottle, so he ate at 4:45 when he started to stir again. He is still only eating 4oz which is on average the "least" he should be drinking in one sitting being almost 3 months... but that's okay, he is a chunky little man so he is obviously getting enough!

On the 7th he will be 3 MONTHS OLD... CRAZINESS!!!!

Thanksgiving RECAP!

Holy Moly.... Thanksgiving week was a BLUR! We had so much fun, but it was BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

We flew down to Washington on Tuesday night, the babies were AMAZING on the plane. Makayla waved at EVERYONE, I'm pretty sure she thought everyone was sitting in the plane, just for her amusement. Of course the boys stayed up WAY later then they should have talking and catching up on life... We got up around 8 on Wednesday, got the babies fed, dressed, etc. Seth and Katina had to drop Maya off at her parent's house and then met us over at the house so we could load up the rest of the stuff. We got going about 9:30, there was SO MUCH traffic mostly because it was RAINING and there was a couple accidents that people just HAD to look at. It took us about 7 hours to drive to Eugene, which is longer then usual but not as bad as I expected with the amount of stop and go traffic we sat in.

Wednesday afternoon/night we hung out with the grandparents and Ford got to meet EVERYONE! He was such a good baby, getting passed around so everyone could say HI to him! We stayed at my Aunt's house of Wednesday night so it was fun to visit with them and introduce Ford to them, on Thanksgiving my uncle Zane, cousin Averi, cousin Erik, his girl friend and baby came over to my aunt's. It was nice to see all of them and we got pictures with Ford and Lyrik!!! It was so nice to see a little baby, Lyrik was 2.5 weeks!!! Thanksgiving at Luke's grandparents was low key and a normal "Jacobson" Holiday!!! We suprised everyone and picked up Luke's aunt and uncle (who live in AK), Luke's grandma almost had a heart attack! It was SUCH A NICE SUPRISE for everyone!!!!! So of course we had WAY TO MUCH FOOD, since his uncle is a chef and his dad always makes to much to begin with. We spent the night at Luke's grandpa's on Thursday night, didn't get to bed until almost 2 AM! Ford slept until 8:30 and was still really tired, we got on the road at 4pm (way later then we wanted) but it only took FOUR HOURS to drive back!!! We met my mom for dinner, who was OF COURSE late to pick up my brother from the airport Friday night, but it was okay because she got to spend one on one time with us and her FIRST grandchild!!!

Saturday we went to lunch with my Uncle Tommy, Aunt Janet, my uncle's kids, mom and brother. It was really nice to see everyone... My aunt made us a HUGE afgan, it is SO pretty!!!! Says 2011 on it since we started our family this year! My cousins got Ford the cutest little moose outfit and a little music toy!! We got to stop by and see our old neighbor after we got back from lunch, I miss Elizabeth SO much!!!! It was so nice seeing the girls, they have grown SO MUCH. Elizabeth just sat and watched Ford sleep the WHOLE time!

Saturday night we went out to dinner with Fred, Ashley, Makenzie (Ford's Girl Friend!!), Silvia and Alex, then we went to the Holiday Light show that Pierce County puts on, I'd never been and it was actually REALLY COOL! We then got to go over to Uckie's and hang out for a while. I miss everyone down there so much, you know you are TRUE friend when you can start a conversation and it feels like you still see them everyday instead of twice in the last year! Hopefully we will get down there in April or May, Kenzie and Ford will be SO BIG by then!!

Sunday we got LOTS of pictures with the family, my mom came over before we left for the airport to say goodbye, it was nice being able to see her so much this trip. Then we went to the airport. Our flight was FULL because of another airplane having issues... so it was a LONG flight, it was running late because they had to de-ice the wings, etc etc... Makayla was super tired so she was a little angry but wasn't nearly as bad as some babies I've seen!!!! Ford slept the WHOLE way as per his usual easy self!

We stopped to grab dinner when we got back and ran into Whitney and Beka at Freddie's it was nice to see Beka, since she hadn't gotten to see Little Man! She will be back for Christmas so I'm sure she will get to see him again. Whitney is looking amazing like usual and VERY pregnant! I cannot wait for her to have Riggs!!!! Only a couple more weeks!

Washington (and Oregon)...

Rainy old Washington is just how we left her... Rainy and cold! I must say it's nice to be "home", Washington will always be HOME! Even though some things have changed even if the 5 months since we were here last, there is just so many familiar things...

We are currently driving to Oregon, just past Cabellas. Other then the new pavement it is exactly the same drive, stupid people, lots of semi trucks and no yellow license plates (atleast until we get into Oregon)... It is weird being here and seeing so much green, even though we've only had snow in AK for a month. You just get so used to seeing WHITE! The trees even still have leaves on them.

Ford did amazing on the airplane, did not sleep well last night however. I think he was just all wound up from all the new things, hopefully tonight is better. Atleast he is asleep now but will soon need to eat, though I do not plan on waking him up, so maybe he will sleep for 4-5 hours and we can get the bulk of our driving done.

I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to see my Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, Lyrik, etc etc and have them meet FORD! of course I'm excited to see Luke's grandparents as well, but introducing him to my family is really important to me, especially since I used to spend EVERY summer with them :)

Slacking, kind of....

Hey Everyone,

So I haven't been blogging as much as I should. We are getting ready to go to Washingon and Oregon for Thanksgiving, we leave in 6 days!!! We will be down there for 5 full days/nights and we are taking all of the Christmas presents for the family down there so I've been super busy making presents and buying the ones we need too... I just ordered our Christmas cards today. Shutterfly.com has 40% off cards through the end of today (code Card40) and then free shipping on purchases of 30 dollars or more (before coupons!!!! Code Ship30) I also had a coupon for a FREE 8x8 20 page baby book (could be any 8x8 book they have up to a 29.99 value, though they are 20% off right now) so I paid 19.20 for 50 cards, a book AND got free shipping!!!!!! I LOVE deals like that.... I highly suggest going on and ordering your cards or gifts today! If you sign up today you also get 50 free 4x6 prints (expires 12/31 so I'm going to wait until I have pictures from Thanksgiving and Christmas!) And if you facebook or blog (like my blog below) your purchase as advertisement you get 10 off your next order, so next time I order from them I will use that too!!! They always have GREAT deals, this is the first order I've done from them, normally I use another website so I may be moving all my business over here... The other website takes FOREVER to ship (birth announcements took 2 weeks to get here!)


Ford is growing like a weed!!! He went in last monday (11/7) for his 2 month check up, he was exactly 2 months. His birth weight was 6lbs 5.5oz and he was 19 inches long. As of 11/7 he was 10lbs 8 oz (4lb 2.5oz gain) and 21 inches (3 inch gain)... so needless to say not only am I a MILK COW, it's GOOD MILK! He also got his shots :( He cried for a little bit and didn't really act himself for a day or two... but he is okay now, besides a stuffy nose... The doctor says babies don't have allergies this early in life, but I'm not so sure. We do need to get a humidifier and see if that helps, maybe I will go do that tonight!

Okay, well, I have more gifts to make and need to make sure I catch up on ALL our laundry so I can pack this weekend!

Love to everyone and I hope that everyone is getting as much stuff done as I am this week! <3

Photo Card

Tis The Season Christmas

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Winter Wonderland

AH... I love Alaska after the first couple snowfalls!!! I was destined to live here! Ford even loves the snow! I popped him in his bumbo this morning and took pictures of him in the 4ish inches we got early this morning... He was sitting there looking ALL around, happy as a clam!! It snowed more this evening and I'm sure we will get even more tonight. I can't wait until Ford is walking next winter and can play in the snow :) it will be SO much fun!!!!

We are very happy about the snow so far this winter, Luke went riding yesterday. Ford and I stayed home and worked on Christmas gifts. Hopefully we will get lots more snow and get lots of snowmachining in this winter!!

Pictures from the first 8 weeks!

Birth Story... REDO!

Okay since I deleted the original on accident:

September 6th, 2011-- I was in a super good mood, so I made Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner from scratch with cous cous and veggies... Luke was supposed to be leaving for Kenai in the morning so he kept bugging me about having Ford, since he didn't want to be 2 1/2 hours away when I went into labor! We finished dinner and were in the middle of watching, America's Got Talent (about 8:30) I was leaning on Luke, in a weird position when I felt a POP. There was no huge gush of water or anything, so I sat there for a minute debating in my head if it was actually my water breaking. I got up and went into the bathroom, my pants were a little damp so I changed to see what would happen, while I was changing I sent my sister-in-law, Jill, a text message and asked her if there was a POP when her water broke, she couldn't exactly remember because she was in active labor when it happend but she said from my description she was sure my water had broken. I walked back into the living room and Luke asked me, "So are you going to push this baby out tonight or what?" So I responded with, "Well, I think my water just broke, so probably..." Of coruse he had a moment of panic and asked if, "We should leave, NOW?" I told him I wasn't having contractions (it's okay upto 12 hours after your water has broken but because you can get infections it's important that labor starts as soon as possible) so I was going to take a shower and such. After my shower, I folded laundry, text messaged my mom to let her know, called my grandma and got everything ready to leave. Around 10pm I started having small contractions 10 minutes apart, nothing major, they didn't hurt, after a couple of them, I told Luke we should get things in the car so that we could leave, He went out and started it and put our bags in it.

As soon as we got out to the car (about 10:45) I started having pretty painful contractions that were 45-60 seconds long and only 2-3 minutes apart, you are supposed to go into the hospital when they are 5 minutes apart, so I knew my labor wasn't going to be super long since they were close together. We stopped at the Holiday station so Luke could get an energy drink (He'd been up since 5AM). We got to the hospital at around 11:15, got checked into triage and had to get hooked up to monitor the contractions and they had to collect some fluid to make sure it was my water. The nurse asked if she could see how dilated I was since she was collecting fluid anyway, I told her that was fine, that I was a 2 a week before at my 37 week appt. She was AMAZED when I was a 6, so she said even if it wasn't my water (which it was) that I would be admitted because I was in active labor.

Walking to my delivery room, I was telling the nurse I wanted to go naturally, then almost puked because of contractions so by the time I got to my room, I told her that I actually wanted an epidural. They got me settled and checked me again (about 12 am now) I was a 7-7.5 so they put a rush on the epidural!!! I needed a bag of fluids before I could get it so they were trying really hard to get my IV in... to no avail, it took 3 nurses, 7 tries to get it in!!!! (My arms were bruised for over a week) Once I got it in they turned it up as much as they could so I didn't have to wait for my epidural very long, my contractions were 2 minutes apart and 70-90 seconds long so I wasn't getting much time to relax in between them. I got my epidural around 1am, it was BLISS!!! The worst part was the topical numbing injection... that BURNED, the actual epidural wasn't painful at all and started working after about 3 mintues! I could still feel the contractions but they didn't hurt, which was really nice! The Midwife, Tonya, then came in and checked me again, I was a 9!!! So she told me to rest a bit since I was content and Ford was happy, that we were going to let him settle into the birth canal on his own and if I felt like I needed to push to call the nurse in... Luke's Aunt and Uncle were there so we let them stay with us for about an hour. Around 2:45 the nurse came in, to see how I was doing, I told her I felt really good and there was a bit of pressure, she called Tonya to come and take a look and see how far down Ford was. As soon as Tonya lifted my sheets she was like, "Well, I can see the top of his head, so if you want to start pushing we can!" We were all REALLY SUPRISED he was ready to go, so we decided to try. My contractions were about 4 minutes apart then but were a good 60-90 seconds long, so I pushed with each contraction and rested inbetween, while I rested we were all talking about horses giving birth, crazy people and how the new fad is to keep your placenta and turn it into pills and take them as a daily vitamin... Tonya hadn't heard of this so she was really suprised by it! Luke was making jokes with the nurse and we were all laughing, which was pushing Ford out even more. It only took 10 contractions and about 40 minutes for Ford to come into this world. Tonya announced after she put him on my chest, "You just literally laughed your baby into this world, deffinetly the best birth I have seen in a LONG time!"

FORD EASTON was born at 3:48 AM on SEPTEMBER 7th, 2011... 19 inches long and 6lbs 5.5oz

There is absolutely NO words to describe how I felt the first time I saw Ford, it is such an unbelievable feeling to know that he is ALL MINE! Love at first sight truely does exist and if you think it doesn't, HAVE  A CHILD!!!! I truely truely enjoyed my delivery, if I knew every delivery would go that smoothly I would have more kids!

Irritated!

Bah hum bug....

Downloaded the app so I can blog more often, since I can do it one handed while holding Little Man... Well, I deleted some blogs on accident. One of them being the one RIGHT after Ford was born with pictures and my birth story... Of course there is no "backup" so I'm SOL now :(

Sleeping patterns= Happy Babies

Ford has been a pretty good sleeper from the beginning. The shortest he slept at night was 2 1/2 hours. So far the longest has been about 6 which is great, he does make some noise and sometimes cries in his sleep, which I wake up too. But that is only because he gets gassy! Like this morning; around 4:30 he started fussing, so I scooped him up and laid him down inbetween Luke and I, he fussed a bit in his sleep after that, so I couldn't really sleep, but atleast he was able to sleep some more. Of course, he is SOUND asleep right now, but I can't get a nap because Makayla is here! Oh well, that's part of being a mommy, right?

Ford has to be one of the all around most content babies I've been around. He is either sleeping or just looking around, smiling at stuff on the wall or in the bath tub! He has smiled at people a couple times but I think it's more because we are in his line of sight and he was smiling anyway. Like I said his only grumpy times are when he is gassy (from either end, normally a nice big burp solves his pouty little face!)

I know it's amazing to see them when they are first born, but I'm glad my mom will get to meet him when he has some personality. I think it is better if you can't see them all the time, to atleast be able to interact with them on some level!!! I am praying very hard that our travels to Washington and Oregon for Thanksgiving do not interupt my happy baby and his sleeping patterns. It is going to be a whirlwind trip anyway. The last thing I want is to be sleep deprived and have everyone meet a grumpy baby! He has been so easy going these last (almost) 8 weeks, I do not see there being a problem, but God is the only one who knows how Ford's first trip will be!

Eat, Sleep, Poop... Repeat!

Pretty much what Ford has done since he was born 7 and 1/2 weeks ago! But he's a baby, so it's normal.

He eats well and has really started sleeping less like a newborn and more like a human! He goes to sleep between 9:00-9:30pm, wakes up around 2:00am is fed, changed and back to bed in about 25 minutes and then sleeps until around 7:30am. I should probably start working on an earlier bedtime for him, but it's so hard when he LOVES to be cuddled! He has been sleeping in his pack n play next to our bed for the most part, we had him in his crib for a couple nights but I like him close. He generally makes noise around 5 so I bring him in bed with me to snuggle when Luke gets up for work!

His milk intake is 3.5oz every 3-4 hours except at night. Some people will tell you to wake baby after 3 hrs to feed... WHY? if they are happily asleep, let them be! Unless there is a medical reason, of course. Ford has been allowed to sleep when he wants (except we try and keep him awake between 7-9pm) and he has steadily put on weight since he came home from the hospital! I'd say he is about 8lbs now. We will find out 11/7 when we go to his 2 month appt. I am glad he is growing steadily and not packing on the pounds then growing. I think it is better for them to maintain their body fat, since babies cannot regulate their temps like adults can, especially with the time of year it is.

I wish I could sleep like him, anywhere, anytime. He sleeps through ANYTHING! One things for sure, as much as I hate the dogs barking, I know it has helped Ford be able to sleep with noise! They are still annoying though!

All in All, Ford is a pretty easy baby, he has made his own schedule and I adapt to it's changes as needed, he has blessed me with how easy he is, I just pray he stays this way and isn't psyching me out for his toddler years!

Motherhood

I tried looking up the definition of MOTHERHOOD to no avail. I was a bit surprised, but, should I be? How is it that we could define something so complex? I believe you are considered a mother as soon as you become pregnant, because you will forever be changed, regardless if you carry the baby to term or lose it... If you give your baby away or keep it, you are forever a MOTHER... If you have to live with the pain of losing a baby or the pain of raising one, you are a MOTHER... You have entered into MOTHERHOOD... You will think about your baby everyday, you will change things about yourself, how you do things and how you think... I know some AMAZING people who have lost their little ones and I know some people I would not expect to be a mother, get the gift of life. God has his reasoning for everything, even if we do not understand, but, in the end he has given us all the gift of motherhood.

Motherhood has changed me, in a good way, I would say... We still go do things, but of course it's on Ford's schedule, that will change but for now, I'm okay with it! Yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE snuggling up with Little Man and a blanket... there is nothing more precious then watching him sleep, you truly can just watch a baby sleep! Motherhood, is not easy by ANY means, it means sleepless nights and wanting to pull your hair out at times... but I would say it is worth it in the end... at least as of now! I wouldn't change a thing, well, I might slow time down a little, so I can enjoy Ford being small for longer. It is so important to remember that, "This too shall pass..." during the hard moments, remember to stop and enjoy the good moments, making memories as we go throughout our daily lives.

Motherhood may mean something different to everyone in this world, but I think we can all agree, through the tears, the laughter, the good, the bad, the morning sickness and fatigue, aches, pains and extra sleep or lack there of, it is the BEST "job" in the world... It's the hardest job at times but I do not think any of us moms would take back what we have turned our lives into... The crazy chaos of Motherhood...

Finally... FALL!!!

So Fall is my favourite time of year, I guess that is why Luke and I decided to get married in October and we were lucky enough to welcome Ford into the world in September, OKAY, he was born at the "End of Summer" but oh well... September is the start of Fall in Alaska, even if it's not "official"... I have to say, I am very sad that there isn't a real pumpkin patch up here. There is one farm in Palmer that has pumpkins but it's ONLY IN SEPTEMBER... I'm not quite sure why, as Halloween is the END of October... I was so excited to take Ford and get pictures with the pumpkins :"(

I think I'm mostly excited for Fall and Winter because since Ford was born, snuggling has been one of our favourite past times! I know we will have LOTS of time to do this over the winter. I am excited to take him in the snow and take pictures of his first ride on the RMK with daddy!

The weather is getting colder, which I'm excited about. I know lots of people hate it, but I moved to Alaska because I wanted too. I love the cold, the snow, etc. Put on a scarf and some wool socks, go out and ENJOY!!! If I can take a newborn outside and not think about it twice, shouldn't everyone living here be able to enjoy the crisp air as well?!

The fact that it's fall also means that the holidays are quickly approaching. We will be spending Thanksgiving in Washington/Oregon this year. I am excited to be able to see Luke's family and get a pictures of all 5 generations!!!! His Great-Grandma, Grandparents, Parents, him and his brothers and the kiddos!!!! It will probably be the only time that ALL of us are together, his great-grandma is having more health complications, but then again, she is 96, she has had an amazing life so far! Knowing that she is a woman of faith, makes it easier to know that she won't be around forever, because we know that she will end up with our maker, in the place she wants to be! I'm hoping that this trip will not be the ONLY one that Ford gets to see her on. I would love for him to actually have memories of her, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Christmas is still up in the air, my grandma is coming up to Washington and I would LOVE to be there to see everyone again, but, we will have to see how everything is going. There is a lot of things up in the air right now that needs to be decided on before we are able to make a final decision... wish it was easier to decide! Although staying in Alaska, guarantees a WHITE CHRISTMAS!

Then right after Christmas... WHITNEY is due!!!! I cannot WAIT for her and Stevie to have Riggs here; They are going to be AMAZING parents. I cannot wait to hold him, Ford is growing so fast and I know by the time Riggs is born, Ford will be HUGE! lol

4 weeks already?!

I cannot believe that my little man is FOUR WEEKS OLD! Ford will be ONE MONTH on Friday!! And that I haven't blogged in 3 weeks... Oops.

It is true motherhood is a FULL TIME JOB... actually it's WAY more then 40 hours a week, it's 168 hours a week (24/7 if anyone didn't want to do the math!!) I have used ALL of my nannying skills and learned so much in the last 28 days... I only took a week and a half off from nannying so having an almost 2 year old (who is potty training) and a 7 month old all day PLUS taking care of a newborn is CRAZY!!! I will be getting another toddler here soon and his 5 year old brother (after school), they are actually our new next door neighbors so it's perfect! Makayla always tried to grab Ford, I'm assuming so she can chew on him, I think she is starting to teeth, hoping that one or two pop through soon!!! Aili is AMAZING with Ford, she gives him his paci if it falls out, puts the blanket back on him, helps him play with his toys during tummy time, etc etc. I think she needs to be a big sister one day, but I'm not sure her parents would agree... lol!

The things that I've learned in the first (almost) month of being a mommy:

1) When you THINK baby is done going to the bathroom.... THERE IS MORE!!!!
2)Even when baby THINKS they are done going to the bathroom... THERE IS MORE!!!!
3)Blow outs are a very normal part of life, as is getting peed/pooped on and spit up on!
4)As soon as you bathe and have them fully dressed baby, they will go to the bathroom!
3)ALWAYS take an extra shirt with you and pants if you have room, the first time baby spits up all over you, WILL be in public!
4)ALWAYS have an extra change of clothing for baby!
5)You can live on NO sleep, it really is possible!
6) Even when baby is sleeping, it takes to much energy to try and sleep, when you can just lay there and stare at them!
7)The TV shows you have seen EVERY episode of, aren't as exciting once you have a baby to stare at!
8)As soon as you THINK you are in a great routine, baby will decide to change it up on you, it's okay, that's what they do!
9)Keep a burp cloth within reach 24/7, in the bed, in the car, in the kitchen, etc etc. you NEVER know when you will need one!
10)Baby will decide that it's OKAY to sleep ALL day then wake up at 9:30pm and not go back to sleep, that's what everyone does RIGHT?!


I'm sure I have learned other things, but those are just the things I can think of off the top of my head. But, even though life is CRAZY busy and I feel like I'm always doing SOMETHING these days, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Ford is the greatest gift that God could ever bless me with. He is perfect in every way, God is so good! He is a good sleeper. He is happy when he is awake, unless he's hungry! He LOVES to cuddle with mama!!!! He is getting a personality and I am so excited to watch him grow and become his own little person!

Little Man!

My little man is SO adorable. I do not care who says otherwise, haha! Last night was interesting, he decided that it was okay to stay awake after his midnight feeding, so I'm thinking he may need more then 2 oz. at each feeding now. His little stuffy nose kept his from getting a good sleep until daddy decided it was time for him to get some skin to skin time. Luke slept with Ford on his chest for a couple hours and I think it really helped BOTH of them sleep well. I was up on and off everytime he made a weird noise, MOMMY SENSE!

This morning I had to drive Luke to work so we were all up at 5! I have to say, I DO NOT like getting up that early after being up 3 times to feed, change and pump, which takes about an hour depending on how long Ford takes to eat! So I stopped at the store to get some saline spray for little man's nose, which has worked WONDERS! I have been sucking out snot all morning and he can actually breath!

I did think of something last night, although when your baby is finally born, they are their own PERSON and honestly, a STRANGER as you don't know what type of personality they will have or anything like that... It is love at first sight, atleast it was for me... For anyone who doesn't believe in love at first sight, needs to have a baby, it will change their mind!

I am so looking forward to Whitney having Riggs, I know Ford and him will be BEST FRIENDS... just because of their cool names! Not to mention I cannot wait to be able to hold another newborn, they are so tiny and always so adorable! Only 14ish more weeks :)

Coming soon?!

Had my 37 week appt today (even though I'm only 36weeks 4 days). Got a literal 60 second ultrasound to see where Ford's head was, which it is LOW LOW LOW... As LOW as it can get before labor!! So he is taking full advantage of the room he has to move his feet around, kicking me in the ribs and stomach! Got to see his little heart beating, it's my favorite!

I got my first internal after listening to the heart beat and getting the ultrasound. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but probably because I'm already a full 2cm dilated and around 80% thinned... meaning that my body is getting ready!! Obviously, Ford is pretty ready as well, since he is "in position" so we will see how much longer he decides to stay in his little water world!

Almost full term!!

So tomorrow I will be 36 weeks and 4 days, meaning Saturday when I turn 37 weeks Ford is considered "full term"... He can come at anytime after that and would NOT be a "preemie"!! Tomorrow is significant because I get my last (2 minute) ultrasound before delivery. Just to make sure he is still head down and hopefully engaged!! I will also be checked to see if I am dialated at all and get tested for Group B strep. Which adults can carry with no ill effect the them, but if a newborn were to contract the bacteria they can get pnemonia or other serious lung infections. All they do is give you an IV antibiotic when you go into labor if you carry it, if you are negative then you don't get any antibiotics. So hopefully I'm negative because I don't really want to be hooked up to fluids the WHOLE time I'm delivering, I would much rather be free to walk around, stretch, etc.


I just got done reading Hypnobirthing... Hopefully the techniques in the book will help me labor totally naturally, the thought of getting an epidural makes me light headed and nauseas so that is 100% out of the picture! I know I have to go through labor and the birthing process NO MATTER WHAT... So I'm at peace with the fact it is not all fun and is hard work, although I refuse to say it will be PAINFUL because I do not want to set myself up to BE IN PAIN... if you have read hypnobirthing you would understand what I am saying. I know it will hurt, but hopefully all of the breathing exersizes and whatnot from the book will help curve the pain and it will be bearable. I have also been using an exersize ball to do exersizes to help open and stretch my pelvis... So hopefully that will help as well. Just sitting on the ball seems to help with the pelvic pain I have been having... I guess only time will tell if ALL this reading/practicing will help!

Eeeek... So close yet so far away... But who knows when Ford will decided it's TIME!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I think even if Ford is on time or over due, time is going to fly! Tomorrow is the 24th, so ONE MONTH until my due date! Saturday we are going to the fair, seeing Craig Morgan in concert there! Hopefully doing a bit of Christmas shopping and I will be 36 weeks! Tomorrow is my 36 week appt, which starts my weekly appts... hoping that I don't end up going to ALL of the appts I have scheduled. With how my pelvis is feeling, I do not think I will be making all of those appointments, since Friday I have felt like my hips are going to fall apart and my pelvis is going to break in half. I get an ultrasound tomorrow just to check Ford's position so we will get to see just how low he is sitting and if labor will be sooner rather then later, although he could decide to change his mind at anytime, that is the crazy thing about waiting for labor, it really isn't up to my body, but Ford's!

Next weekend is Labor Day and we actually don't have ANYTHING planned, I'm sure that will change between now and then, but I will be 37 weeks and "stuck" in the Anchorage Bowl until Ford is born. Which I am fine with since we got stuck in traffic coming back from Sterling on Saturday night, I could NOT imagine being stuck like that in labor. I would say that is the only thing about living in the largest state, with the least amount of roadway, if there is an accident, you can't get around it until the highway opens back up. I would assume we are going to finish deep cleaning the house, organizing the summer stuff we have to put away and pulling out all of the winter gear, since it will be snowing before we know it! We also have to finish hanging up things in Ford's room. Hopefully it will be nice over the holiday weekend so we can BBQ!!!!

I know the next month is going to go by extremely fast as the last 8 months have! I cannot wait to hold my little man and see just how much he looks like Luke!

Baby Shower and blessings!!!

I had so much fun at my LAST baby shower, last night! Whitney did such a great job planning it and a huge thanks to my sister in law, Jill, for helping set it up, since Whitney was late (not her fault)!!!

Ford is SO blessed to have such amazingly kind and loving women to look up to. All of the ladies at the church not only have welcomed me with open arms and hearts, but have made a point to ask how Ford is doing and keeping tabs on my whole pregnancy! I cannot wait until he is here, so he can meet everyone and know just how loved he is!

Jill spoke last night, about how we as mothers must remember that our kids (and others around us) watch our every move, even if we don't see them watching, they learn from us. So making sure we teach our kids about God, not ONLY through church, the word, etc. we MUST show God's love and will through the things that we do, even on a daily basis! I think it was a great reminder for all of us women, regardless of whether we are tired of cleaning the house, doing laundry and other such things, we MUST remember while we are doing these things, that God has blessed us with a house to clean and laundry to do. He has blessed us with a family... I am so thankful for the gift of Ford, even though this pregnancy hasn't been the easiest, we have had many questions that had to be answered and it definitely wasn't easy waiting for those answers, but having faith and knowing that God had given Ford to us, made it much easier to wait, knowing that whatever the answer to the tests were, was God's will.

NOW, we must wait for Ford to arrive, knowing that labor is a HARD and PAINFUL event... I have faith that the Lord will guide us through it, letting Ford arrive safe and healthy. As well as making sure that I am taken care of! I wouldn't say that I am SCARED, maybe a bit nervous because you can't really PLAN for the unknown, but it has to happen one way or another, so why stress out about it!!! Only 5 and a half weeks until my due date, we will see how long it really is until he is here!

The weekend is always too short!

The weekend never seems to be long enough and the closer it gets to Ford being here the faster the weeks have been going by. It was really nice being able to get a lot of stuff done this weekend, Luke got the garage organized on Saturday, we went to the Ultimate Frisbee game and then to Tasty Freeze... which was DELICIOUS by the way, I had a chocolate peanut butter shake, it totally hit the spot! Sunday, we went to church and then out to lunch with Zach, Jill and Makayla! Then Luke's cousin, aunt, etc. all came into town from the valley and we got to meet the newest member of the family. Orion is SO cute... I couldn't believe how LITTLE he was!!!! He is two weeks old now, but is still so tiny. It made me really excited for Ford to get here, although I do not want Ford to come too early. It was really nice seeing Luke's Aunt, Tina, hopefully they will be moving back up here soon (she is living in Oregon right now)... I know she would be here already if the housing market wasn't so wishy-washy in the lower 48 right now!

I am really excited about this week, Kristin comes back home tonight, so Freckles will go home, although dog sitting has been so easy as she sleeps a lot of the day, doesn't bark and isn't a bad dog in ANY way! Whitney and Steve get to come over tonight for dinner, I got fresh red out of the freezer!!! Whitney and I are making CHEESECAKE CUP CAKES for my baby shower tomorrow that she is hosting!!! Then on Friday, Alex flies in and we are going out to Sterling for the weekend, probably the last weekend out there before Ford is born :( since the fair is next weekend and then I'll be full-term and not allowed out of, "The Anchorage Bowl"...

There really isn't too many weekends until Ford will be here and then I know we will have even more to do and they will go by even faster... Why can't we all work 2 days and then have 5 days off... that sounds like a much better work week!!!

Cravings...

ALL I want is an English Muffin... guess I will have to make a trip to the store later :)

I really haven't had much in the craving department during this pregnancy... mostly Artic RoadRunner, but who could resist ARR, it is just WAY too good!!!

Of course, Luke has had his own "cravings", which have been CANDY and ICECREAM.... things I'm not supposed to eat! Yesterday, I caught him eating my LAST Crunchie bar... Of course you can ONLY get these wonderful candy bars OUTSIDE of the US, we got a box at costco when we drove the Al-Can in October, I ate 2 of the 18 (I think there was 18), Luke has eaten ALL the rest of them... Would someone please explain to me WHY you would eat your PREGNANT wife's LAST crunchie bar?!

I can dream right?!

Pictures of Nursery

Crib with JoJo Design Casey Cabin bedding set (And the quilt Kelsey made Ford)

Mobile, bumper, quilt, accent pillow

Glider- GreatGrandma Romer bought it for Ford!

Diaper Bag we got custom made!!

Letters I made for above Ford's crib!

Finished the nursery and starting weekly appointments on the 24th!!

We finally received our bedding set and the glider on Monday. Luke put the glider together as soon as he got home and I unpacked and washed everything in the bedding set! So last night we got to finish the nursery!! I love how it looks, we just need to finish organizing everything, but I will probably wait until after my last shower, which is NEXT WEEK!!! Then, we wait...

Also, today was my last 2 week appt. starting on the 24th, I go pretty much every Wednesday, until Ford is born! I'm hoping I can cancel a couple of the appts, but we will see. Today my blood pressure was 114/76 which has been pretty normal for me this whole pregnancy, so glad I'm not having to deal with high blood pressure. Dr. McCreary was really excited to see that I haven't gained anymore weight (up less then 15lbs and haven't gained anything in 5 weeks). My glucose has been totally steady over the last month, which is WONDERFUL. Although, when I hit 36 weeks it can all change due to hormones and I may have add or cut carbs... Ford is still head down, settled nicely in my pelvis, waiting NOT so patiently to be welcomed into this world! His heart rate dropped from the 140's into the 130's so we are one step closer to being able to hold him. I'm going to miss being pregnant, mostly because I don't want to share him!!!

Shift Work

So many people work on a shift schedule... people on the slope work 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, shift work is generally 12-hours on, 12-hours off or 4-10's.... lately I have been gearing up for my 2-hour rotation... every night, no matter WHEN I go to sleep, every 2 hours (almost to the minute), Ford wakes me up kicking or with the hiccups! I think he is in "training mommy mode". Of course I am also having to PEE, PEE and PEE again, since his head is sitting RIGHT against my bladder, but hey, atleast he is "in position". Though, I hope since he has been head down for 4 weeks already, that he doesn't have a CONE HEAD... EEK... I have to say, I am not actually THAT tired during the day on this "rotation", although when Aili and Makayla are napping I try and relax as much as possible, knowing that in 4-6 weeks I will have Ford to take care of 24/7,

I think the afternoons will be the easiest, since Luke will be home from work. Hopefully I will be able to catch some ZZ's when he gets home each day! I really wish he could take time off from work, but he can't, so I will be coming home from the hospital and be alone during the day, to take care of Ford myself. I know that TONS of people who have kids already do it, so I'm positive I can too... it will just take getting used too. I am not really scared, but anxious to have Ford home and to start my lifetime of late nights, early mornings and trying to help Ford walk the path that God has laid out for him!

Grow, Baby, Grow!

I won't go on and on about ALL of the appts I have had but I will highlight some with the pictures we have gotten from ultrasound! Each time you see your baby or hear their heartbeat you fall more in love! I did have to see a specialst because the NT measurement was elevated at our 12 week scan, Ford's heart echo came out GREAT but I ended up getting an amniocentesis and FISH test done at 20 weeks 6 days, due to some indication he may have had Trisomy 18, which most babies don't make it past 3-4 months old. God blessed us with AMAZING results with all of the tests that we underwent, genetically Ford is as PERFECT as God has intended him to be! I have to say, it was nice going to the specialist, being able to go over EVERY inch of Ford's body and being able to get so much time seeing him develop in the womb!

10 weeks 2 days FIRST appt:

12 weeks 3 days (ultrasound tech told Luke he would guess baby was a boy):

20 weeks 6 days (gender scan and specialist appt, took 45 minutes to find out HE was a HE!):





23 weeks and 3 days (Heart Echo, His way of telling us, he is JUST FINE!):

29 weeks 6 days (growth scan, he is in the 35th percentile which means that he is a little under the average size of babies his age):

Funny Feeling... Jan. 20th, 2011

So do you ever get those funny feelings, like something is in the works, but you can't quite figure out what it is?! Yeah, I got one of those... It was the middle of January 2011, Luke and I had just been talking about how great it would be (IN A YEAR, so our plan was) to find out we were expecting.... I had been feeling "different" but shrugged it off as it was the middle of my first Alaskan winter... I figured my body was adjusting because it had been a steady -10 outside and was dark pretty much all the time... Of course, being the way I am, I decided that I would take a pregnancy test if "Aunt Flow" didn't show up by the next day, knowing that it wouldn't be positive, since Luke and I were being careful not to get pregnant.

The next morning I woke up, Luke was already at work, I probably would have been WAY to embarresed to take the test in front of him and would have chickened out! So I grabbed the test and headed into the bathroom... after "Peeing on the stick" like all us ladies get to do, I put the cap back on it, set it down and went to make breakfast... forgetting about it for the next 15 minutes... I walked back into the bathroom and almost had to do a double take, remembering that I had ACTUALLY peed on a stick! SO I picked it up, to throw it away and to my SHOCK, there was a faint second line...

 I IMMEDIATELY text messaged my sister-in-law who was 35 weeks pregnant with the message, "so I took a pregnancy test and there was a SUPER faint second line..." Jill's response, "A line is a line, CONGRATS!!"

At that point I was ready to run out and get a digital test, TO MAKE SURE, but I had to wait for the girl I nanny to be dropped off... it was the WORST half an hour of my LIFE!!!!!!!!! I thought for sure I was going to PASS OUT! As soon as she got here, I started the truck to warm up, made sure she was bundled up and went to target... since I pretty much knew at that point I was pregnant (but still in shock) I got a digital test AND I got a card and a couple baby toys for Luke (I wanted to suprise him when he got home)... I took the digital as SOON as I got home and of course it said, "YES+"

TELLING LUKE:

So he text messaged me on his lunch break and I reminded him to make sure that the HR lady had processed our insurance, as it was supposed to kick in on Feb. 1st.... His only response was JOKINGLY, "Why are you pregnant?!" ... so instead of saying anything, I sent him the picture of the digital test... his response to that was, "WHAT?! Wait is that a pregnancy test, DOES that say YES?"... So then he called me, I of course started balling as soon as I picked the phone up, he asked when I found out and I told him I took the test after he went to work... because of the FUNNY FEELINGS, I had been having!

Needless to say, ladies, if you have a FUNNY FEELING, you never know if it's because you have cells dividing and growing... Definitely go with your instincts, it was a very scary but very exciting day!!!

Back story to baby Ford!

First of all WELCOME! I am really excited to start this blog about being a mama!!!! I have waited what seems like FOREVER (atleast to me) to be able to consider myself a mother. I guess I will give you a little background on our family so you understand where my blog is going!

Luke and I got married on October 11th, 2008... one of the best days of my life! We would have started our family right off the bat, but wanted to move to Alaska before we had "more responsibilities". Luke was born and raised here in Anchorage. The first I vistited, I was 13 or 14, I fell in LOVE with this state and wanted nothing more then to move here, luckily I married someone who was from ALASKA. So fast forward 2 years, in the spring/summer of 2010 we found out BOTH our sister in laws (Luke's brother's wives) were expecting, I have to say, it made me a little jealous! Even though I was really happy. We decided it was TIME TO MOVE and settle down in Anchorage so we could eventually start our own family! In October 2010 we finally packed the dogs, my dad (Yes, he moved too) and all of our belongings and drove the famous Al-Can. We arrived in Anchorage on October 29th after 6 days of driving, we had to go slow, due to bad weather and road conditions. We settled into the "Alaskan Winter", Luke got to snow machine quite a bit, the dogs really enjoyed the snow (for the first couple weeks, then they realized it wasn't going away anytime soon), Luke and my dad started work, I found a family to nanny for (from my house, SCORE!), we started attending Diamond Boulevard Baptist, where Luke grew up going (and my brother in law and sister in law go still)...

Around Christmas, Luke and I decided that we would start PLANNING for a baby, we decided that we wanted a fall baby, so we were going to start trying in the winter of 2011... We wanted to be able to settle in more, have a great summer this year and save up more before starting our family... I guess God had other plans for us, funny how that works!!