He'll Thank Us Later

This morning was Garrett's 2 week checkup with Dr. Bennett...and Cherice! :) Thanks again Cherice for letting Garrett be your patient! He now weighs 9 lbs. and 1 oz. This happened to be the appt. where Garrett got circumsized! It was so sad! I stayed in the room and watched while John walked the halls, and to my surprise...I didn't cry! Garrett on the other hand...I gave him some Tylenol and he's been kinda drowsy ever since. It makes me feel so bad that I put him through this but he will thank us later. :)

I also had my own 2 week checkup. It wasn't as traumatic as Garrett's. Dr. Hall just checked my incision and sent me on my way. He said that I am healing fine and he's going to see me again in 4 weeks.

2 weeks old

Garrett is two weeks old today. He has changed so much. I feel like he's not a newborn anymore! It's a little sad. He still has his days and nights mixed up. He usually falls asleep around 11:00 pm, sleeps til about 2:00 am. That's when I feed him, change him, and try to put him back to sleep. It takes me/him about an hour to get all this done. Once he falls asleep, he usually will sleep til about 6 or 7.

During the day, he will take about three naps from about 10:00am-6:00pm. Then he's up til 11 and we do the same routine all over again. Sometimes I don't even know what day it is, I sometimes forget to eat, and I can't really remember the last time I took a shower....oh ya-that happened yesterday!

When I was pregnant I told myself that from day one he'll sleep in his crib (not with us) so that doesn't become a habit....uh, yep that didn't happen! He's been in our bed for the past two weeks. Hopefully, it's not too late to break him of the habit....

As for me: I am recovering well (as far as I know). I can barely see my incision (which I love!) but I have a numbing feeling that constantly reminds me what I went through to get our little Garrett here. I've cut back on the Hydrocodone and Ibuprofen. I actually haven't had to take any pain killers for about a week. I consider that progress. :) It still takes me awhile to walk up and down the stairs, get up out of bed, or get up off the couch. I have to use my arm and leg muscles (which I don't have!) and John still has to help me in and out of his pickup. I'm still not able to pickup the carseat or vaccuum. Some days I feel so helpless. I just want it to be six weeks later and I'll be all better.....On the bright side-I think I've lost all of my baby weight!! But I still have skin that just kinda hangs there. I can't wait til I can get outside and start exercising to get the rest of it off! :)

This Tuesday Garrett and I have our 2 week checkup. This is the day I'm kind of dreading. Garrett will be getting circumsized this day. :( John and I will definatley NOT be in the building when that happens! I'm a little nervous about how I'm supposed to take care of it afterwards...

Other than that, we are doing just great! We are enjoying being parents and taking it all in strides! :) He definately keeps us busy! We sure love him!

Family of Four

Today my mom and I took Garrett to see his cousins. And I got to see my new niece for the first time. Ashley, Nick and Hallie welcomed Cooper Olivia to their family on March 22nd. She weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long!

Cooper Olivia Hunter



She is so tiny! And so cute! :)

Good job Nick and Ashley!

Cooper and Garrett's first photo together. Crimaney! Garrett looks enormous compared to Cooper!

I know he's only 2 weeks old but he's getting so big and changing so fast already!

Hallie, Cooper and Garrett. Hallie is going to be a great big sister and cousin. She sure does seem so grown up lately. What cute little babies we have! All 3 of them! :)

Is this all they do??

Eat and Sleep?? Not that I'm complaining-I sleep (well try to anyway) when Garrett does! Today, he slept from 9:30 am to about 2:00pm. I changed his nasty gross diaper, fed him a bottle, burped him and he was out again for a couple more hours. I love watching his facial expressions when he's sleeping. Sometimes he just lays there and sometimes he'll even give me a little smile. I love it!

This is his favorite sleeping position.

When we were at the hospital, nobody got a picture of John holding Garrett! That made me feel really bad! John sure does love his little buddy :)

And so does Hallie! She thinks little "Guy-yet" is "soo tute." She keeps calling him a "her" though. It's pretty cute! :) Hallie became a Big Sister Monday night. Ashley had an adorable bably girl. Cooper Olivia Hunter weighs in at 6lbs. 10oz. 20 in. long! So not fair! That's tiny! I haven't been up to the hospital to see them yet but from pictures and from talking with my mom and Ashley (and Hallie) Cooper is just so cute! I can't wait to compare Garrett and Cooper-he probably looks like a monster compared to her! :) Congrats Hunter Family! You did great!

The other night we snapped a few pictures while Garrett was actually awake. Sorry, I still haven't figured out how to rotate picutres!

Garrett Overload/Our Sunday Adventure

I promised I would post lots more pictures!! And, I also want to share my experience. I like to think of myself as somewhat of a private person but after having a baby and with the very little dignity I have left, I won't go into major detail of labor and delivery!

Sunday Morning: We arrived at Mountain View at 4:30 am to get things started. Remember, I was 2 days overdue! The nurses got me all hooked up to an IV and about 3 monitors. I was already dialated to a 3 when we got there and the nurse kept telling me that I'd probably dialate 1 cm every hour to hour and a half....which I did. About 9:00 am, Dr. Hall came in and broke my water. Uh, that was weird!

Around 10:30 am I was up to a 5 (almost 6) and started to feel MAJOR contractions! I seriously thought I was going to die! They hurt so bad and the anestisiologist wasn't even in the building yet!! They told me it would take him about 30 min at the most to get here-that half hour turned into 2 hours, I swear!! Where the he** was he! He finally shows up and gives me my epidural-which honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Although, I was having contractions while he was giving me the epidural. OW! After my epidural, I felt great!! Didn't feel anything after that!

After the epidural-obviously! Look how happy I am! :)

I did have some side effects from the epidural. They put me on oxygen (more for the baby than for me). One major side effect that I could have done without was the nausea and vomiting! Yep! Grand total of 6 times!! That was the only part that was making me miserable.

Later that night around 6 ish, I was up to a 7 and was there for awhile. The nurse kept checking me every hour and around 8:30 pm /9:00 pm I was at a 9! Here's where the story takes a turn for the worst-Unfortunatley, as much as I was progressing, Garrett wasn't. His poor body had been wedged for quite awhile. Dr. Hall comes in and tells me that I would have to have a C-section. All the feeling and blood drained from my body! I didn't want to have one! I was so scared! From what I understood, I had to have the C section because Garrett was too big to fit through my pelvis and he was pushing against my cervix instead of going through which made my cervix swell up.

They wheeled me into the OR. By this time, I am just shaking! They strapped my arms down, draped the blue curtain over me and went to town!! John watched everything! From open to final stitch! EW!! In the end, it was all worth it! Look what I got!! :)

Garrett and Granny

Mom and Garrett

During our hospital stay, we had lots, and lots of visitors! Which we loved! We got so bored! Thanks everyone who did stop by!

Uncle Alex and Garrett

Justin and Garrett

Hallie absolutely loves Garrett! She holds him every chance she gets! She'll be a great big sister!

My Grandma and Garrett

My Grandpa and Garrett

Grandma Linda

Nick, Hallie and Garrett

I love his chuby little body! Look at those cheeks!!

John's cousin Trevor

And Trevor's wife Adria

Granny enjoying her grandkids!

Grandpa Bruce!

Aunt Ashley! Becoming an aunt is a first for her! :)

Hallie helping me eat my "yummy" hospital food! We went for a couple of rides in the bed! :)

Addyson (John's neice)

And John's brother Garin.

We had a lot more visitors than that! And I also have A LOT more pictures than this! But I figured this will do for now! Recovery from the C-section hasn't been that bad. I am a little sore and probably will be for a couple more weeks!

Yesterday was the day we got home from the hospital. I was a little nervous having Garrett throughout the whole night but we made it! Garrett ended up sleeping in between us! I hope that doesn't become a habit! It was a very long night and hopefully we figure out a routine soon! All 3 of us are wiped out!! Thanks to those who have dropped off dinners for us! We really appreciate it! All of our time revolves around Garrett now! :) We sure do love him a lot and are enjoying our time together! More pictures to come......

Look Who Finally Came!!

Garrett Ryker Spaulding
8 lbs. 6 oz. 21 inches long
Sunday, March 14th 2010
9:30 p.m.






Proud Parents:

I will post more pictures because I have a TON!!! We just got home today from the hospital around one and both of us are exhausted! I just wanted to give you all a little preview of what our sweet baby boy looks like! I can't believe he's here and that he's ours forever!

He's Definately A Spaulding!

As I have mentioned in past posts-the "Spaulding" Family is never on time....for anything!! If you ask a member of the family to be somewhere at a specific time and place, they always, always, always show up about 45 min. later than what they are supposed to. Apparently, they think that time stands still.... I'm not exaggerating!

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Having said that-our baby has picked up on this annoying Spaulding habit already due to the fact that he is a day late!! He could even possibly show up tomorrow! Who knows? Having said that-I called my Dr.'s office Thursday morning (have I already shared this story?) and talked to a nurse about how I'm not having any contractions...blah, blah, blah, so I set up an appt. for Friday morning just to have Dr. Hall to a quick checkup and hopefully tell me some good news-like, oh! you're dialated to a 5! Let's go have a baby! Wow! My hopes were set WAY too high for that one! All day Thursday I kept thinking "By this time tomorrow, I'll be in the hospital holding my baby boy!" "I can't believe he'll be here tomorrow!" (You can imagine my excitement) Then, the night time hit....totally different emotions! As we were getting into bed and after saying our prayers, I just layed in bed for awhile thinking/pondering/worrying when all of a sudden tears just welled up and I couldn't stop crying! It all boiled down to being scared of the unknown, am I really ready to be a mom, can I really handle a baby, the epidural, the contractions, the hurt and the pain my body will be going through...things like that. John finally got me calmed down and I finally fell asleep.

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Friday morning: Anticipation starts to get the best of me. John and I loaded the trunk of the car with our bags, pillows and a blanket. Then, it really hit me when John buckled the car seat into the car! WIERD!!! Still thinking and hoping that we would be going to the hospital in a few short hours, we arrive at my appt. where Dr. Hall mentions to me that Mountain View is FULL today but he can get me in either tomorrow morning at EIRMC or Sunday morning at Mountain View! HUH?? I HAVE TO WAIT TWO MORE FREAKIN DAYS???? I just started bawling right there in the exam room. I really wanted to see my baby boy today and there was no way I was going to deliver at EIRMC for reasons I won't share and when about a month ago John and I registered to have a baby at Mountain View! Why they didn't save a room for March 12th is beyond me..... :)

After my appt. and still crying being so discouraged, I called up Ashley and stopped by for a little visit. She could tell that something was wrong over the phone but it didn't even cross my mind that she was thinking the worst...she thought that the baby had no heartbeat and I would be giving birth to a still born! :) Thinking about it now makes me laugh but at the time I can see why she would think that! Sorry Ash! I still feel really bad about scaring you like that! :) Let's just add one more thing to my "Worry List".

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The rest of the day I felt meloncholly. I kept getting text after text after text asking if I've had my baby. I apologize to those of you who did text me and I never got back with you-I just wasn't really in the mood to text or talk to people. I was just discouraged that I couldn't have my baby on my due date. Please don't take offense! We will let everyone know when Garrett makes his arrival! I honestly really do appreciate the concern and wondering and best wishes stuff-yesterday was just a...downer day for me.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet-John and I will be heading into Mountain View Sunday morning at 5:00 am to get things started! :) Dr. Hall will be getting there around 6 ish to break my water and then we'll just go from there....I honestly didn't want to be induced but I'm really ready to have this baby and I'm really ready to be done being pregnant and I hope the baby (and the Lord) decide that tomorrow is the day! One request baby Garrett: PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! John and I are extremely excited and anxious to see you! We've waited long enough.....See you tomorrow baby!! We love you!!

Hmm...

Well, here I sit a day before my due date and......NOTHING!! In fact, I haven't noticed any changes in my body since my last Dr.'s appt that was last Friday. I have no idea if I'm still stuck dialated at a 3 or if I've progressed, the baby hasn't dropped (I don't think anyway), and I guess the pains that I do have, feel exactly the same. I feel like I have done everything I can to help myself go into labor but obviously nothing has worked. I've been walking/exercising everyday for about half hour, eaten spicy foods and John has been "zoning" my feet. I guess the only thing I haven't forced myself to try is taking some Castor Oil...I don't think I'm that desperate yet....Oh ya, does anyone have a ball I could bounce on?? Maybe jumping jacks will work? I don't know-I'm out of ideas!

This last week I have been watching "A Baby Story" on TLC. I'm not sure that was such a good idea. I'm starting to pysch myself out of all the possible wrong senarios that could happen to me! I can't even make it through one episode-as soon as the women starts to push...I change the channel! I can't watch it-how am I supposed to do this?? (Focus Taunya-one step at a time)...

Today I called my Dr.'s office and explained my situation. The nurse said that if I haven't done anything by tomorrow (my due date) to come in and have Dr. Hall check me and hopefully he gives me some good news. Guess I can wait another day....I should probably get a bag packed just in case :)

Family Times

A couple of nights ago, Ashley, Hallie and Robert stopped by our house for a visit. Ashley gave John and Robert haircuts while Hallie and I watched American Idol. After haircuts, John thought it would be a grand idea to get belly shots of me and Ashley together for the last time before we have our babies. So, Ashley definatley looks smaller (and cuter) than me and she's carrying lower than me, too!

Ashley at 37 weeks/Me at 39 weeks (I think)


Hallie playing with the boys....

...being silly as usual! :)

It's always fun when family visits!!! OH! Did you notice our new carpet?? :)

Last One

This morning was my last checkup with Dr. Hall! I can't believe that this little guy will be here in less than a week! (We're hoping). Everything is great! Dr. Hall checked me and...yes! I'm dialated to a 3!! Sweet!! It seems like things are moving along quickly-but the weird thing is is that I haven't really felt any changes other than I am having some pressure, er...down there and I am starting to feel some "cramps" that last for about 10 sec. (if that) I don't know if you could call them "cramps" or labor pains or whatever cuz they're not consistant and not everyday so I'm not too worried about them. Although, I will say that they do kinda hurt. I wonder what this next week will bring.....

Also, yesterday was my last day of work! It was kinda bittersweet-I was sad to leave and say goodbye but at the same time I'm glad to be done and spend all my time taking care of a new baby. I felt bad because I wanted to cry when saying goodbye but nothing came out! I will definatley miss the girls I worked with but I definately won't miss the drama that went on in the office. Needless to say-I think I quit at the right time. I'll just leave it at that.....

Well, there's not much else to say other than I will most certainly post pictures of him when I get the chance and John and I are hoping that this next week just flies by and soon be holding our baby in our arms! Mommy and Daddy are waiting....see you soon baby boy! :)