Apology

I have to apologize. I have been bad about posting. Our computer is now downstairs in a room with no windows and I truly hardly use it now. Oh and my schedule is a bit different now. Babies are a lot of work! I thought I would get bored. Ha! Boy was I wrong.

Hadley is doing well. We are learning together how all of this is suppose to work:) He seems like a pretty good baby. Happy most of the time unless he is hungry. He loves going on walks. We have been walking around the lake in the mornings. It is chilly at first but then warms up by the time we get home. It makes me so anxious for the cooler fall weather. He will be 1 month old tomorrow! Crazy how fast time has gone. And in a sense I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing! I suppose everyone feels that way right?!

Here are a few pictures. He is simply adorable:) We are going to take some family pictures this weekend, so I will have more to post later.

2 weeks!

Hadley is a growing boy! We went to his 2 week appointment today. He has gained a little over a pound since his last visit. He had to get his heel pricked...he didn't like that much. The office was SO busy. It was quite the experience. There were probably 15 children screaming and crying. Needless to say, it was a little overwhelming. Poor kids. They just hate the doctor. Our pediatrician is great. I REALLY like her a lot and you can just tell how much she loves what she does.

We are starting to get use to this new little man. Loren said to me last night how it's still so funny to think we have a baby. Yes, it is funny how your life can change SO much in 2 weeks! We wouldn't trade it for anything! I can't stop kissing and cuddling him. He is quite the noise maker. Lots of grunting noises and when I burp him he sounds like a little horse-SO cute! His umbilical cord fell off yesterday. That was...gross. Now he can take a real bath. I wonder if he will like it? Not sure.

My mom was out here for almost 2 weeks. I cried when she left on Thursday. It was SO nice having her here. Loren's parents are coming out on Wednesday to meet the little man. It will be fun to have them here as well.

Here is a picture of his first sponge bath at home. Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

Our sweet little Hadley

Well, he is finally here. After months of waiting and preparation we are able to hold him in our arms. Life could not be any sweeter!! He is perfect. I know, we are biased but so many people have commented on how cute of a newborn he is. Of course we agree:)

So, here is "the story"-
Saturday, I spent the day running some last errands that I wanted done before our sweet mister arrived. I just wanted to get things checked off the list and not have to worry about them any longer. After about 2 hours of running around, I was exhausted and felt a bit nauseous and just weird. I felt like my body was telling me to chill out and relax. Loren and I stayed home Saturday night and just laid low. We went to bed around 12:30pm. I woke up at 3:30am to what I thought was me peeing the bed. ha! Boy was I wrong. I was so confused and ran to the bathroom. I slipped on the bathroom floor and wiped out. Good thing I didn't smack my head on the bath tub and knock my self out! I went back into our room and Loren asked if I was okay(he heard me fall, but also heard me laughing so he figured I was okay. How could I not laugh? It was pretty funny). I told him what had happened and I called the Dr. and she told us to pack our bags and head into the hospital. As we were frantically running around the house, I realize my husband has a mustache. I made him shave it off before we left:)

I called my parents on our way to the hospital and they got out of bed and got on the road. We get to the hospital and I was already pretty far along. I was dilated to a 4 and was 100% effaced. So, I only needed to dilate 6 more centimeters. The nurse predicted I would deliver by 2pm. They regulated my contractions and by 1:15pm, all the hard work began. Seriously, the hardest work I have EVER done!! My doctor was out of town, so we had the doctor that was on call. We could not have hand picked a better doctor(besides our usual) and nurses. They did a wonderful job at taking care of us. After 3 hours of pushing, Mr. Hadley Douglas Ekart was placed on my chest. I was so overwhelmed and exhausted. It was such an amazing moment. All of the sudden Hadley was no longer "Franklin". He was here. Our first baby. Laying on my chest crying. Of course I was bawling. How could you not? My parents made it to the hospital about 45 minutes before he was born. So, they were able to be the first to meet Hadley. I am so glad they made it to be there right after he was born.

Enjoy the pictures of our sweet little Hadley. Every time I look at his face the rest of the world seems to fade away and nothing else matters. Life has become so simple and we are totally fine with that. God is so good and we praise him for giving us a perfectly healthy son. Thank you to all who have been praying for Loren and I as we began this new adventure 9 months ago.


PS- I will post pictures soon of his room.We still have a few finishing touches!!

He's here!!!

Hadley Douglas Ekart
August 8, 2010 at 4:23pm
8 pounds 7 ounces 21 inches long
We are SOOOOO in love with our new little mister!!!

More to come...

Thoughts

Things I will miss about being pregnant:

-So many compliments. No one compliments you more than when you are pregnant.
-Random conversations with strangers (as long as they are nice)
-Eating ice cream every night and not feeling guilty about it
-Feeling those kicks and hiccups. It will be strange to have everything return to normal again
-Some of my maternity clothes. I really found a lot of cute dresses and things. Next time around I need to plan so I can wear my clothes again. Although, maybe not the end of August
-The anticipation and excitement of it all

Things I will not miss:

-Feeling terrible for the first 18 weeks. I thought it would NEVER end.
-Advice from strangers. Funny how people think they know better than you
-Sleepless nights. I know my sleeping will be totally different once Franklin is here, but it will nice to feel comfortable when I do get to sleep
-Sleeping on my side. This has been difficult for me because I hate it. I am a back and stomach sleeper. Sleeping on my side makes my hips hurt!
-Feeling like I do not have control over my emotions
-Getting huge at the end
-Being SO hot most of the time
-Having to take WAY too many bathroom breaks!

Things to remember:

-“Morning sickness” will go away. Just have to take it day by day.
-Ginger candy and tea calm the tummy
-Don’t be due at the end of August again :) too hot!
-Belly didn’t really pop out until 22 weeks
-Thermostat is set at 65 every night before bed
-5 pillows seem to be the most comfortable
-Don’t go camping 6 months pregnant (that was fun…)
-Couldn't get wedding rings on my finger comfortably around 34 weeks

38 weeks

In some ways I cannot believe we are so close to meeting our little mister. In other ways it seems like time has gone slow. When I think back to December 14(the day we found out), it seems like an eternity ago. I am definitely getting anxious but I also am enjoying these last few days/weeks as just two. Yesterday Loren and I had such a nice day of relaxation, just us. Loren truly is the best person to go through all of this with. His selflessness and servant heart have really blown me away. And for that I am so grateful. I could not ask for a thing more from him.

Franklin is a leek this week. He weighs somewhere around 6.8lbs. and is 19 ½in. long. It would be nice if he came this week. If so, he needs to come no later than Wednesday. My doctor is out of town Thursday-Sunday. I would REALLY love it if she delivered Franklin, but also understand there is a chance she won’t, even if she is in town. She told me last weekend was a good weekend because she was on call, but obviously Franklin was not quite ready.

My parents left yesterday morning. It was so nice having them here. We got so much done! Franklin’s room is pretty much complete. I will post pictures soon. It has really turned out cute. All of his clothes are washed and put away. Now all we need is him!

Until next time…

blessed and full term

We have been so blessed by all of our friends and family! I am overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. We are almost ready for Franklin. His room is coming together. I just need to get organized and we are still waiting on the rocking chair to come in. Then, believe it or not, I think we will be ready!

I went to the doctor last Friday and she seems to think the baby might come early. I was 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Who knows really…It is now just a waiting game. I go to the doctor again tomorrow so we will see if I have progressed over the past week. I am starting to get uncomfortable. Hit that hump this week. So, you can pray that Franklin comes early!! And for no complications and that he comes out easy (I can pray for that, right?!)

I had 2 showers last week. The first one was on Thursday. Some of my sweet friends from work threw me a surprise shower. I had no idea. It was so fun and so sweet of them!

The other shower was thrown by my friend Chrissie and a few other girls. It was on Saturday and I was surrounded by great friends and food. Here are a few pictures from the shower.