Crib time!

Annabelle slept in her crib for the first time last night and I can honestly say it wasn't a complete disaster!  She has been taking naps in her crib during the day for the past week, so we knew she liked it, but the naps never lasted longer than an hour.  So, we decided to try the crib last night and we both slept in the twin bed we have for guests in her room (NOT comfortable).  It started out well, but by 3am she ended up in bed with us because I was too exhausted to get up again.  Brandon, Annabelle and me in a twin bed...needless to say none of us got a lot of sleep!  We just have to get past the beginning where she is used to having a warm body next to her, wish us luck!

Crib time!

In other news, we have had many visitors in Delaware lately.  Last weekend we had Brandon's brother Ryan with us for his spring break.  We were able to go baby-less to my swim banquet on Friday thanks to him and Annabelle got some uncle time!  That was our first outing without her and it went well.  Next week my mom is in town for her spring break and I'm excited to spend time with her.  I feel isolated sometimes here and its nice to have family visit us.


Spending time at Mommy's work, playing with a monkey!

Annabelle is growing like a weed! She is 13 pounds and looks super long, though I haven't measured her lately.  I do know when we go to the pool and see babies that are 6 months old, she looks bigger than them!  She loves the pool, as long as we make sure she is fed and has just napped :)  Yesterday we spent about 45 minutes just floating around the deep end as she kicked her legs and pushed her head back.  I hope this love of water continues!


Swimming with Daddy

 Last, but not least...Annabelle shows off her Buckeye pride.  Final four!


O-H-I-O!

Video Find

Found this video on Brandon's computer...its amazing how much of a personality she has developed since then.  We had our two month check-up today and got the first round of shots.  Much harder for me than her I think, but she was a trooper!  Now she is sleeping on Grandma Hammer and hopefully won't have too rough of a day.

I started back to work this week after an eight week break and I have to admit, I am looking forward to the day when I can be a stay at home mom.  I miss my baby so much during the day and I know she is growing so fast...I don't want to miss out!   Here are a few pictures of my beautiful girl (she is loving the warm March weather!)

Six weeks!

Well, its been four weeks of baby bliss and I absolutely love being a mom!  Annabelle is a pretty easy going baby for the most part and she has hit the six week mark full of smiles and coos!

We have had a busy past four weeks to say the least!  When Annabelle was a week old we made a trip to Columbus, Ohio to visit with my paternal grandparents while Brandon was on a business trip.  I had some much needed help and my grandparents were able to meet their first great grandchild.  We were then on our own for a few weeks and luckily the weather was pretty fantastic in Delaware.  We were able to go on walks at the park and when it was cold we ventured to the mall to keep up the exercise routine.  Annabelle loves to walk and she usually falls asleep right when we get in the car (on the rare occasion she doesn't it makes for a not so fun car ride!)

Last week, we were able to make an unexpected visit to Cincinnati to visit with family and friends.  It was great to show off our baby and to see family we hadn't seen since September.  We had a great time and are looking forward to making another visit for Easter.  Brandon started a new job this week in Pennsylvania, so he leaves earlier and gets home later, but he's happier and for that I am grateful!  I start back March 12th and have mixed feelings about leaving Annabelle.  I'm excited to get back to coaching, but I love seeing every change and expression on her face.  Its unbelievable how fast she is growing!

We're hosting my grandma this week and she has been a great help!  I was able to show her around Wilmington a bit yesterday and hopefully we'll be able to go to the zoo tomorrow.  Having help is definitely a great thing and having Annabelle around family is even better.

Brandon and I are getting back into the workout routine this week.  I'm going to try swimming tonight - definitely in the warm pool.  I think it will be easier on me than running and I'm excited to get back to something I enjoy!  I'll leave you with an Annabelle video!

Annabelle pictures!

With Ya-Ya

Big binky!

Big yawn!

With daddy

Daddy time before work

Family picture

First day home

Froggy girl!

   

Sleeping upright

Sleeping on mommy

Playing with daddy

Holding bink

Annabelle's birthday!

Our beautiful girl has finally made her grand debut!  Annabelle Lynn Hammer was born January 17th at 12:44am (only 12 days late...but who's counting!)  She weighed in at 9lbs 1 oz and was 22 inches long.  It was a long labor (24 hours), but we wouldn't have it any other way - Annabelle is perfect!

 Here is mom's version of Annabelle's birth story:

We went in for induction at 1am Sunday night/Monday morning.  I tried my best to get some sleep, but I was too excited thinking about meeting our newest family member!  So dad got some sleep and mom took a bath and tried to relax.  When it was finally time to leave we were of course running late (you will learn that with dad this happens a lot!)  We finally got to the hospital and were able to skip triage - those nurses aren't very nice.  They checked us in and took us to the room where you were to be born!  I got hooked up to lots of machines - one to check your heartrate, one to check the contractions and an IV to deliver the saline and pitocin.  That meant for awhile I was confined to bed...not my favorite thing! 

I sat with dad and we got a few hours of sleep while the pitocin worked its magic.  When I really started to feel the contractions we asked the nurses to hook me up to a portable monitor so I could walk around - that was super helpful for awhile and I think it helped you to descend a bit.  But that's when things started to get pretty painful and I'm pretty sure I was scaring your daddy!  Around noon, I was 4cm dialated and contractions were very intense, so after much discussion we decided to get an epidural so I could enjoy the actual delivery (if you ever decided to come out!)  I felt much better after that and had visitors to keep me company - your ya ya, grandpa and uncle Ben all came to see me and daddy.  Around 4pm, the doctor came and broke my water and told us I was about 5cm dialated.  Boy, you were taking your time in there!

One important thing to remember is that I was not able to eat once we got to the hospital - so I sat and watched everyone eat yummy meals all around me and all I could do is drink water and eat yucky jello!  But I'm pretty sure it was worth it :)  So after the doctor broke my water, we waited, waited, waited and waited some more.  Around 9pm, the doctor came in one more time to check me and viola! I was 9cm!  Half an hour later it was time to push!  After that long day, the pushing seemed to come very quickly and boy was I tired.  Daddy was encouraging and I pushed for 3 long hours...but you were just not coming out that way.  That's about the time I started to yell at everybody in the room - they must have all thought I was crazy!  I kept telling the doctor to get this baby out of me - I was in a lot of pain!  After the nurse calmed me down a bit, they wheeled me to the operating room to deliver you by c-section.  I was very nervous and your daddy was too.  We just wanted to meet you!

They finally pulled you out at 12:44am and both mommy and daddy cried because you were so beautiful (mommy also cried because you were 9lbs 1oz and 22 inches long!)  I didn't feel so bad about not being able to push you out after I heard those numbers!  They cleaned you off and wrapped you up and daddy brought you over to me.  I had lost more blood than normal, so they made sure I was okay and then after everything was finished I was able to hold you in my arms as they wheeled us to recovery.  It was the happiest day of my life!  I nursed you right away and soon learned that you would be hungry all the time!  Grandma & grandpa Hammer and yaya and grandpa Stone and uncle Ben came to see you.  They all fell in love with you and couldn't believe how big you were!  Then they finally took you, me and daddy to our room and we all got some sleep - our first night as a family!

I'm now watching you sleep and you are 10 days old - so much of you is changing already!  I can't wait for this amazing journey with you and dad - we are so excited to welcome you to our family!

Love,

Mom

Due date!

D-day comes tomorrow and I don't feel any closer to having this baby girl!  Of course I absolutely love carrying her every day, but the aches and pains are definitely something I will not miss!  Annabelle will be worth the wait and in the long run, it really isn't that long :)  We have set an induction date of January 16th, but I'm hoping that it won't last that long...and I'd really like everything to start naturally (less pain for me, less complications, less risk of a c-section!) 

In the mean time, I'm keeping myself busy at work and trying to get everything in order for my absence.  I haven't been able to be on deck much due to pain in my legs and it is something I really miss.  In the end it will be worth it though (that's what I keep telling myself!) 

The cold weather is finally upon us in Wilmington and I can't say I'm ready, nor that I really missed it in the month of December!  Having a bundled up newborn is not going to be fun!  But we're ready for it and hopefully all the snow will fall during my maternity leave!

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and happy new year!

Almost at the finish line!

Well, this Thursday will mark 38 weeks carrying this baby girl and I can say I am more than ready to meet her! We've had two hospital trips in the past week - one for my hip (couldn't walk) and one for some pretty strong contractions...but no baby yet!  It is kinda cool to watch the baby's heartbeat and your contractions on the monitor though :)  I'm not sure whether she will be early or late or maybe on time, but I do know that we are ready for her!  We finally organized and completely finished the nursery this weekend and everything is ready to go.  I've even made a video to give everyone the official tour of her room.  Hope you enjoy!

In not so great news, our dog Winnie passed away Saturday morning.  She was an older dog, but a great companion to Brandon and me.  We have so many great memories of her and we're glad we were able to have her for as long as we did.

We'll keep everyone updated on the status of our baby girl, have a great holiday week!

Forgot the most important thing from the past week...I'm 2 cm dialated already and 50% effaced, which Brandon and I think is great news!  Woot!