Pregnancy, Labor, and being a NEW MOM!

This little blog post is more for me than anyone else. I'm the type of person who likes to have memories, dates, and special moments documented where I can see it. It helps me remember it when I look back.

*FIRST TRIMESTER*

How I found out I was pregnant: Home pregnancy test on February 18th, 2008.

First doctors visit: March 11th, 2008. Tiffany Few, MD.

First Ultrasound picture: March 17th, 2008! My 24th BIRTHDAY!!

Size: 14.6mm

Anticipated due date: October 30th 2008. I thought this was a little far away. According to this schedule, we conceived the week before I confirmed my pregnancy. I *thought* I was pregnant for at least a week before I got the test.

Heartbeat Heard: April 15th 2008. Dr Few said, "Wow! Strong heart!"

First Kicks: Early May 2008

How I'm feeling: Pretty good. Minimal morning sickness, but a lot of tiredness.

**SECOND TRIMESTER**

Cravings: Minute Maid push pops, strawberries, ice cream, Mexican and Chinese food, and anything with loads of garlic or cilantro.

Sex confirmation: IT'S A GIRL! Confirmed July 1st!!

Picked Name: Just the first name. Alexandria.

How I'm feeling: Really good. A lot of energy. No more sickness. Took part of my maternity leave to rest, playing a lot of games, and nesting.

***THIRD TRIMESTER***

First Baby Shower: August 30th, 2008. Hosted by April and Beth in Chattanooga, TN. We played guitar hero, rock band, and mario party as games.

Second Baby Shower: September 20th, 2008. Hosted by my mother in Cleveland, TN. Much smaller, with mostly family. Went to chilis and had lunch.

Moved into better place for babies: September 21st, 2008

Finished Nursery: FINALLY! October 2nd everything was ready for the baby!

Day before Labor: Having false labor all day. Competed in a Guitar Hero competition and came in 2nd Place! Also went to have ultrasounds taken. Doc's worried about weight of baby being small.

****LABOR AND DELIVERY****

Day: October 10th, 2008

6:00 AM: Woke up 2 hours before I need to get ready for work with stomach cramps. Thought it was gas. Went back to bed.

8:00 AM: Woke up as usual for work, but had a feeling the "gas" wasn't just gas. It was a little more painful and came in waves. Checked the preggo book and it said that's what contractions feel like. Called the doc and they said to go to L & D in the hospital. Called my boss, grabbed my stuff, and made way to Erlanger East.

10:30 AM: Arrived at L&D. Registered papers and went upstairs where they hooked me up to a beepy machine and checked dilation. Just over 1cm. Doc says to send me home. I started crying because I knew what false labor felt like. If *this* wasn't labor, I didn't know what it was. Doctor Few assured me that it WAS contractions and that I was going to have the baby really soon, but it's not time for me to be in the hospital.

1:30 PM: Husband took me to Red Robin for a burger and a salad.

5:00 PM: Met my mom at her house and waited through contractions. Neil was drinking a celebratory beer.

10:00 PM: Neil had almost a whole 6-pack of celebratory beer. Good thing my mom was going to drive us! Contractions staying 5-8 minutes apart, but getting more painful.

Day: October 11th, 2008

12:00 AM: Contractions are getting really painful. Decided that I couldn't wait any more and had my mom drive myself and my sleeping husband to the hospital.

1:00 AM: Arrived at Erlanger East. Re-registered and went upstairs to be hooked up to the beepy machine.

2:00 AM: Admitted to Room Lilac with 4cm dilation.

4:30 AM: Contractions are hitting 70's and 80's (out of 100) and decided to take the epidural.

5:00 AM: Pain free and ready to rest.

10:00 AM: Doctor came in and let me know I would be going into hard labor very soon. Neil was out getting everyone breakfast, so I told her I couldn't start pushing until my husband got back.

11:00 AM: Husband and mom were ready for me to start pushing. I'll spare the gross details, but I didn't feel a thing.

11:30 AM: Alexandria Sierra is BORN! 7lbs 10 oz! 21 Inches!

*****Being MOMMY*****

The first 3 months of being Mommy has been wonderful. Though for the first 8 weeks I didn't sleep more than 4 hours at a time... and it seemed that all I did was feed the baby, change her, and sleep when I could. Alex went to her first doctor's visit and saw Dr. Fernando. He's really nice and Alex even gained weight! Doc said a lot of babies LOSE weight, so Alex was doing really well. Still 21 inches. Alex started smiling and gabbing to us in no time. Now she likes to watch mommy and daddy play Wii games, loves the ceiling fan, and thinks getting "bonked" in the head by blankets is HILARIOUS.

Introducing....

I'm not new to blogging. I've been doing it for years now, but I've never had a site dedicated to just blogging. It's always been on myspace or facebook. I don't know what compelled me to start one here, but I like the idea.

I guess I'll start with myself. I'm 24 (25 in March) and I'm married. I have a daughter who's almost 4 months old and she's amazing! I live in Tennessee, but I was born in a suburb of Seattle. I really miss the Pac NW lifestyle but there's something to be said about Southern hospitality. I like having seasons. I like the hills these people call mountains, and I love some good old home-cookin'! The pace here is much slower, people are much sweeter, and the scene along the way is fantastic.

Essentially this blog is going to be about me, my family, my life as a gamer, and any other random thought that pops in my head. I'm not one to rant much, I like sarcasm, and I try to see the glass as half full (depending upon what's in it)...

(Myself and my husband)

I'm starting this introduction of myself, but havent said much about my family and whatnot. They are very close to me as well. Besides my husband and daughter, my mom is a big part of my life. She's always been my best friend and hero, and I'm thankful to have her in my life. My brother is also very close to me. We play a lot of video games together and I've always tried to be the best big sister I could be. I like to think that one day my brother and I can compete in a gaming tournament or travel to Europe for an adventure, just the two of us... but I think thats more wishfull thinking. We're both very busy people.

(Myself and the Lil Bro)

I grew up in Issaquah, Washington. My best friend Christa (who I refer to as "Dood" for future reference) I have known since I was just over 3 years old. We were connected at the hip all through adolecent life. We got into a lot of trouble and had a lot of fun. She's in most of my fond childhood memories.

I guess I will stop with the lame introduction. I could talk about myself and where I came from all day, but there are more important things to babble about. I'm actually writing a feature on http://www.girlsentertainmentnetwork.com/ about familes who play games together as a hobby. Instead of family movie night there's family Halo night... I'm thinking about maybe putting together a book about it. I'll probably talk a lot about that in the next few months, but for now, it's dinner time!