Claudia's First Christmas

We celebrated Claudia's first Christmas in a very low-key way. We're watching movies On Demand and are getting ready to enjoy Chinese takeout. Claudia doesn't know but Santa still visited our house. She received an ornament, activity mat, Ugg booties, new jammies and an outfit.

We have also been gifted with a lot of Christmas outfits. I had bought one outfit and one pair of jammies just in case she made her appearance before Christmas. Since she arrived we have received more festive wear from friends and family.

My first Christmas onesie from Aunt Cathy.

Here's the outfit that I bought before she was born.

Clockwise: Elf suit from mommy's friend, Jennifer; red union suit from mommy's coworker, Kristen; reindeer jammies from mommy's friend, Kate and more reindeer jammies from mommy; another outfit from Aunt Cathy.

Brand New

One of our baby girl's hospital photos when she was just a day old.

Claudia's Room

I never did show off pictures from Claudia's room. These were taken before we added the bedding which is a gray chevron crib skirt and yellow floral crib sheet.

Meet Claudia

Our little girl arrived almost three weeks early on December 12. She wasn't ready to come per say but we had to evict her. I had developed preeclampsia and my condition was not improving. Doctor took awhile to weigh the benefits and risks to both of us before he decided we should induce before I got any sicker.

It all started with a routine doctor's visit on Monday afternoon. During my appointment, he checked my blood pressure three times before sending me to labor and delivery at the hospital to be monitored. He told me to expect to be there a couple hours. Then he said, "Well don't get too surprised if we keep you overnight for more testing." The couple hours turned into overnight and the next day, that turned into a discussion about induction. I also learned that even if I wasn't induced, I wasn't going home. This made me antsy to meet our baby girl but I also wanted what was best for her. Finally on Wednesday morning we decided to induce.

My labor was started around 11 am and silly me decided to go 9-10 hours without an epidural. I have no idea what I was thinking. I was completely exhausted. I like to tell people that with my pregnancy-induced insomnia I hadn't slept since April but I really wasn't sleeping in the hospital either. The entire labor was 15 hours with two of those hours pushing. During my final pushing, soon after the doctor arrived, our baby girl's heart rate plummeted. Doctor did an unexpected and very quick episiotomy to just get her out as fast as possible and then when she was out she wasn't breathing. Everyone rushed over to her. What went from a room of three medical professionals (including my doctor) soon turned into a room of ten medical professionals including two NICU doctors working on our baby. Nobody said anything but they just did their job. Soon we heard a cry. After checking her out for awhile longer, they announced she was fine - she was perfect. Instead of sending us to Mother/Baby within two hours after labor (standard at our hospital) they kept us for seven hours to keep an extra eye on me and baby. I honestly can not say enough great things about my doctor, the nurses and the care we received at our hospital. Everyone was so calculated and careful with us. I felt so confident with every decision.

After five days in the hospital, I'm home and so is our baby, Claudia Grace at two days old. We are exhausted but we are learning her cues and have mastered the art of swaddling, burping and being anxiety-ridden new parents. It's lovely.

Brand new

Just a couple hours old 

A day old

Day two and leaving the hospital 

Thirty-Six Weeks

Thirty-six weeks and the doctor has asked me to wrap up work and go on bed rest as I've started having high blood pressure. It's a bummer to be at home during all the festivities going on this time of the year but hopefully the rest will do me and baby some good.

Thanksgiving

Our last Thanksgiving as a family of two came and went. Joe's mom and stepdad came to visit and early last week I was given instructions from my doctor to take it easy due to an elevated blood pressure. So I have spent a lot of time resting. Thanksgiving dinner meant catering from a local restaurant. I did venture out for a couple of meals. One was a Christmas tea that Joe and I had planned weeks ago for us to do. It was a fun experience and maybe will be a tradition in the future one day with our daughter.

Joe and I at the Christmas tea. Bring on the mini sandwiches!

One Last Hurrah

With about five weeks left until baby's anticipated arrival, we had one final celebration today with my church.

Super cute decorations and gift table.

The proud parents to be.

The hostesses (minus Lola). What sweet church friends!

Thirty-Four Weeks

Forty-One

Friday night we celebrated Joe's birthday at Japonais. Yes, that's octopus. Eww.

My prego self had to play it safe with a steak. Probably for the best since I need the extra iron anyway.

Our New Kid on the Block

Today my crazy coworkers threw me a NKOTB/Donnie Wahlberg-themed baby shower. Yes, they know me too well. It was so cute and so much fun.

The most adorable cake ever! Each block was a different kind of cake.

Baby girl's very own NKOTB onesie.

My husband is such a good sport!

Funniest onesie ever!

I got some other fun gifts, too, like STL Cardinals bottles!

Baby Party for Dad

Some of Joe's colleagues surprised him with a baby shower this past week - they invited me, too! It was so nice of them to want to celebrate our baby girl with us.  

 

Thirty-Two Weeks

The first trimester - piece of cake (minus my insomnia). Second trimester - no problem. Third trimester...let's just say the past couple of weeks have been a different story for my very easy pregnancy. Lots of swelling in my hands and feet and even pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel that is causing me to sleep with a wrist brace every night.

Maternity Photos

4D Ultrasound

We went to a studio today that does "vanity" ultrasounds to get some pictures of our little girl. As usual, she was a bit camera shy but we still got some photos. She is very low, likes to be curled up in a tight ball, her preferred position is facing my spine and my husband says some of her photos resemble a character from The Walking Dead.

Thirty Weeks

Decorating for Baby

Two hands are better than one when it comes to hanging a curtain rod. Thanks to Joe's dad who was here over the weekend for the extra hand!

Putting up the wall decals.

Mommy and daddy teamwork. Can't wait to show you the final room.

Twenty-Eight Weeks

Officially in the third trimester! 

Baby Love, Part 2

The next stop was to see old girlfriends in the city where I used to live before I was married. It was so fun catching up with everyone. Thanks for celebrating with me!

Beautiful yellow and gray quilt.

Diaper cake!

More yellow and gray.

We dressed alike.

Baby Love, Part 1

Joe and I spent the weekend in Missouri. The first stop was my hometown to see my family and friends and celebrate our baby girl.

My family - sister, mom, grandma and me

Mmm - cake!

Friends - Amber, Sara, me, Ellen, Carrie and Micah

The parents to be