On Love and Family

Surprise, surprise...I LOVE being a mommy. It is hands down the best thing I have ever done.

I knew that the second that Max came into the world things for Nick and I would change drastically, but you never really know what exactly how the change will occur until it does. His birth changed EVERYTHING, and I am not exaggerating at all...our responsibilities, our feelings about life in general, and the way we tackle everyday tasks/how we live our daily lives among other things. Most surprisingly to me, however, is how it changed our love for each other.

I am a firm believer in the common advice that babies don't fix relationships. Nick and I really had no relationship problems before Max arrived though, so please don't misunderstand me. We had an enormous love for each other and for our life together prior to having a baby. Now...that love has grown even more. I never realized that we could love each other quite as much as we do and in the way that we do now. Seeing my husband as a father has caused my love to expand for him in drastic measures...and it seems that he feels the same way about seeing me as a mother. I LOVED being married and living our life together before Max came along, but I have learned very quickly that I love my life even more now that we are a family.

Max has completed our relationship in a way (at least for a few years...we want a big family, so there is definitely room for growth in the future!)...everything just feels right, and I love it.

This picture was taken by my Momma...at the exact moment that I was realizing how much I love being a family of 3 (literally. That is one of the things I can remember very clearly from my labor and delivery experience). The look on my face says it all...

Max's Arrival

We had the most amazing delivery experience with Max :)

He was delivered at Women's Hospital in Greensboro. We had a great nurse throughout the day on Wednesday, and she played such a big part in how well everything went. She previously worked in a birthing center and had lots of tips on how to control pain naturally prior to me getting an epidural. She taught Nick to read the monitor, which he loved, and was very supportive. By the time Max arrived we were very comfortable with her and it made a big difference in our overall experience. I really believe that it was all because of our nurse and my amazing doctor that everything went so well and so smoothly.

I was given Cervidil overnight on Tuesday, which very slowly started my contractions. By Wednesday morning I was in active labor, and my contractions were coming pretty regularly by themselves. However, they went ahead and gave me Pitocin to help me along a little quicker. Honestly, a lot of the day was a blur. I do know that my contractions were pretty intense after I was given Pitocin, and I don't think it was long after that that I got an epidural. I do remember that getting the epidural was not nearly as bad as I had expected it to be. I expected it to be very painful, but it really wasn't. It was more of just a strange feeling, and was a little uncomfortable, but so much less painful than the contractions I had been having (I guess labor pains will put everything into perspective for you)! After I had the epidural I started progressing a lot more quickly and even took a nap. I did get sick twice, but it was pretty insignificant really didn't even phase me. After they checked me and told us that I was 10cm dilated, Nick asked the nurse how much longer she thought it would be before Max arrived. She responded by saying that since I was a first time mom that I would probably be pushing for about 2 hours. BUT...apparently we exceeded the odds...because I only pushed for 35 minutes and he was here!!! :)

Turns out, Max is quite the little miracle baby. We knew that his umbilical cord had only 1 artery instead of the usual 2, and that it was attached to the side of the placenta rather than the top...none of which really worried us. However, after he was delivered we discovered that his umbilical cord was barely attached to the placenta and could have easily become detached. Our nurse was very interested in it...she said that she had never seen that because they very rarely ever make it to delivery apparently.

I absolutely cannot say enough thanks to Nick and Momma, who were both in the delivery room with me. They were both so very supportive and helpful, and I couldn't have asked for two more perfect people to have with me for such an important event.

Nick and I are so extremely happy, and we just love being a family :)

He's Here!!!

As I imagined it would be, life as a new mother is crazy. And of course completely wonderful!

But honestly, my priority has not exactly been posting news about our precious little boy all over the internet...so, sorry it has taken some time ;)

Max Parker Brown was born at 6:32pm on March 30th. He weighed 7lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long...and is completely perfect, in our opinion!

We came home on Friday morning and we are all doing wonderfully. Nick and I love being parents and everything is going really smoothly (so far so good)...

I will post more about our new addition and our labor and delivery experience later on, but for now, here is a picture for your enjoyment!

This was taken just moments after Max arrived

My Sweet Sweet Husband

I just have to say...I am the luckiest gal in the world, just because of my husband (not to mention all the other countless ways I am blessed)

He is going to be the most wonderful father, and I am so very thankful that I get to call him my sweetie.

Husbands/fathers don't really get a lot of credit for the whole pregnancy bit...it is all about the mama. In some ways I can agree with how that works...we (women) have to sacrifice a lot to have a baby. I personally have gained almost 40 pounds, I can only wear about 3 pairs of shoes that I own because my feet are so fat, and I have had multiple people tell me in the last week that I look exhausted (so very kind of them). And lets not forget about the birth itself, breastfeeding, all the changes in diet that you are expected to follow through with during pregnancy, lack of sleep...I could go on for days. Really.

But lets not forget about our loving husbands. They are responsible for a lot, too, if you think about it, and I think they actually deserve some credit. At least my amazing husband does, and I hope the rest of you ladies are at least half as lucky as I am in the husband department. Nick has done so much for me while I have been pregnant.

He has provided for me like you wouldn't believe. I don't have a "real" job, and he is just fine with that. He works his butt off so that we can have everything we need and then some. We also have a wonderful understanding about my eating habits, and he is very supportive of them. Even though he jokes that I eat away his paycheck, he encourages me to eat as much as I want to and makes sure that both Max and I are completely satisfied 100% of the time in the food department. He has fixed doors so they will close, repaired the kitchen sink, hung a million shelves and hooks and picture frames, put together countless pieces of furniture, and even reorganized the pantry. Funny thing is, I haven't had to ask him more than once to do any of that. He is happy to do those things for our "family."

Probably the most important thing that Nick has done during this pregnancy is be a huge emotional support for me. I am an emotional person by nature. And I will be honest, it can occasionally get out of hand. So lets just go ahead and add being pregnant on top of that natural emotionalism and what do you get? Emotional basket case. Seriously. I can't stand myself most of the time, and it amazes me how patient he is with me. Sometimes I don't realize how irrational I am being until after my sob-fest is over (you know...20 minutes to an hour later), and then I also realize how wonderful he is for putting up with my craziness. I am so thankful that he is such a supportive husband and understands me like he does. I have LOVED being pregnant, but it has definitely been an emotional time for me as well. I have cried over everything from a spilled cup of orange juice to Ikea not having the crib in stock the day we wanted to buy it to absolutely nothing...depends on the day. But each and every time Nick has made me feel better, and best of all has not criticized me, not even once, for being so emotional. He gets me, pregnant and not pregnant. And I am so very thankful for that.

I love you, sweet husband, and I can't wait for us to become a family of our own :)

Just for fun, this is the oldest picture I could find of us, at least on my computer. I think I was 15 or 16 and Nick was 18...

One week...

...and YES I am counting! :)

It is still a little unreal to me that in just a week I will be going to the hospital to have a baby. Obviously, not a bad sort of unreal, but unreal nonetheless.

We have been preparing for this for months...thinking about babies constantly, getting our house ready, getting our cars ready, registering, having baby showers, doing research about labor and delivery, preparing myself mentally for motherhood (as much as is possible) and going to a million doctor appointments, etc. It's a little strange that after months and months of preparing we are finally on the home stretch, and Max will be here in just a few short days.

I am a little overwhelmed with emotions! The hormones, I am sure, are not helping much. I am excited to become a mother, but scared that I will not be as good at is as I hoped. I am anxious about giving birth and nervous about being in the hospital. I am happy and ecstatic about holding my sweet boy in my arms. But most of all I am overjoyed that "Nick and I" are becoming "Nick, Max and I"...a FAMILY.

Family is and always has been one of the most important things in life to me. I have ALWAYS wanted children. I was never that teenager who was gagging at the thought of being a mother and swore I would never have children. I have always valued being a parent, and have always known that it would be the most important role I would ever take on. Even when Nick and I were dating as teenagers, it was extremely important to me that I did not continue to date a boy who didn't eventually want children (much later on in life at that point).

This is a dream come true for both of us, and I cannot wait to see what our lives will be like with our new addition!

Induction date is set!

I woke up this morning feeling wonderful! I slept well for the first time in ages, the sun was beaming in the windows, it's Friday, Nick doesn't have to work late tonight, I have the whole weekend off with my Nick, baby shower and seeing family tomorrow, Ikea Sunday...you get the picture! NOTHING was going to be able to ruin my good mood! Then I checked the mail and it only got better :)

I got a letter in the mail today from Women's Hospital to schedule my induction! It is set for Tuesday, March 29th at 7:30pm...and yes, you read that correctly. We have to be there at 7:30 AT NIGHT (actually we are supposed to be there by 7:15, but once again, you get the picture). We are so excited! I really thought that it would be at least Wednesday or Thursday of that week at least, but I am happy about it being Tuesday. I moved my last day of work up (again!) to the 25th so that I will have Saturday, Sunday and Monday all off to prepare for Max's arrival.

Even though it is still possible that I could go into labor before my induction date, it is actually nice to have a date set for induction. This way we can plan ahead! Making sure everything is ready for his arrival, making sure family is available to help out where we need it, etc...so much easier this way!

AND here is the picture from this week that I promised :) Yes, I am huge...haha. 37 weeks 2 days...

Playing the waiting game

Yesterday was my weekly doctor appointment, and we had an ultrasound to check on my amniotic fluid levels, too. Last week Dr. Taavon told me that depending on fluid levels this week that I may be induced as soon as next week (around the 23rd at 38 weeks pregnant). When we had our ultrasound yesterday, we found out that my fluid levels have remained stable and that I will be induced at around 39 weeks!

Dr. Taavon basically said that he would "keep me on the monitor" for next week (which I am assuming means ANYTHING could happen- I could kick myself for not clarifying!) and that someone from his office would be calling me to schedule a birthday, probably by next Friday.

So at this point we are just playing the waiting game! We know that unless Max comes along by himself that he will be making his big debut sometime in the last week of March, so that actually helps us plan ahead a little bit for his arrival. He is now past the 37 weeks mark, so he is technically full term, meaning he could really come along any day! I had to change my last day of work before Max's arrival (originally scheduled for March 31st) to March 26th, and Nick was able to give Lowe's a heads up that he would likely be out for a week starting close to the end of March. He is the department manager of the Garden Center at one of the busiest Lowe's stores in North Carolina, so needless to say this time of the year is sort of crazy for him!

In the mean time, we still have plenty to do to keep us busy! This weekend we have another baby shower in Wilkes, and we are going to Ikea on Sunday to get a few things that we would like to have before we have a baby in the house. Not to mention keeping the house clean (easier said than done when you are a nit-picky and humongous pregnant woman) and a few other random projects that I know...if we do not get them finished before Max is here they will probably never get finished!

I will try to take a belly picture later on today and post it...some of you have been asking! :)