Back to the Kitchen

My dad tells a funny story about one of his memories of my mom's pregnancy.  He says she was not a good pregnant woman.  She hated it!  By the time my sister's due date was here, she was so ready to have her that she was making both of them miserable.  My dad says that she felt so great after giving birth, that the day she came home from the hospital she was in the kitchen baking cookies.  He couldn't believe it.

I am thankful that I didn't have a miserable pregnancy.  In fact, I only had a few moments where I was extremely uncomfortable and wishing for the end.  Since giving birth, like my mom, I have felt great!  So, this morning I decided that I would try a new recipe.

Since my strawberry loving husband has been out of town, I knew the fruit was going to spoil if I didn't find a use for it.  I pulled out my Tee Time cookbook (second time around) and found a recipe for strawberry bread.  I decided to try it out but make muffins instead.

Of course right when I decided to get started the camera battery died.  I only had a window of time before the little boy woke up, so I had to go ahead with the baking.  I used my phone for the pictures.  The quality of the pictures is pretty terrible.  :(

I gathered the ingredients.

I mixed the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar together.

I added 4 eggs, oil and the strawberries to the mix.

 Because I used fresh strawberries instead of frozen, my mom explained to me that I could add a Tablespoon or two of sugar to them to help make a little juice.

I baked them on 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I enjoyed one with my morning cup of coffee, which I have thoroughly missed for the past 9 months!  So thankful for these simple things in life!

After enjoying a muffin...or two, I decided it was time for one of these.

Busy Boy

Wills has had a busy couple of days.  He had his newborn photos taken on Wednesday by Ashleigh Dees Photography.  Mandy Fox helped her and hosted the photo shoot at her home.  Ashleigh was only able to get a few sleeping pictures because this bright eyed boy woke up and was too curious to go back to sleep.  I am so pleased with these two pictures; I can't wait to see the others.  

William left Thursday night for a two night get-away to celebrate our friend Dallas and his upcoming wedding to Emily.  Wills and I have been spending some great time with Gammy and Papa.  They came over and my dad cooked my favorite: "slug-fest" chicken. 

It was a beautiful night to be on the deck.  I love this weather.

Wills enjoyed a morning sponge bath.

And some tummy time.  He wasn't too fond of this.  I'm sure he will get used to it as time goes by.  I'm not even sure if we are supposed to be doing this yet.  Guess I need to look it up in the What to Expect Book and add this question to my growing list for the pediatrician.

Did I mention he's 12 days old and been to the doctor 3 times?  What can I say, I'm a nervous new mom!  But my mom has made me feel better and assured me that all 3 times were for legitimate reasons and two of them were simple weight checks. Thanks, Mom!  :)

Wills met his first cousin, Isabella.  She was great with him.  She was very serious about caring for him like she would her baby dolls.  It was really sweet. 

He helped celebrate Aunt Sissy's birthday with a quick family lunch.  His first birthday party will be tomorrow night when we really celebrate Sissy!

And, he spent some sweet time with his mommy.  I love this little boy!

On a side note, William and I can't wait to get back here!  We are itching for the little boy to get to know one of our most favorite places: Land's End and the coast.  William, Papa, and Uncle Tone have big plans for this little boy on the water.  :)

Daddy's Boy

I'm my daddy's boy! 

William picked out this onesie for Wills in hopes that they will share a passion for music.  We hope he gets his daddy's musical talent and not mine.  :)



Push Prize

A few months ago, William and I had dinner with some good friends of ours, the Sheffields.  Emily was giving William a hard time and asking him if he'd thought about a Push Prize.  To be honest, neither of us knew what she was talking about.  She went on to explain that a Push Prize is the gift a husband gives his wife after she goes through the nine months of pregnancy and labor.  The idea is that it could be something for the mom to give to that child one day.  Anyway, we never spoke again about a Push Prize.  I figured this little guy was prize enough.



 William has told me over and over again, since Wills was born, how proud he is of me.  He has been so sweet throughout the entire process.  Today, he mentioned that he had a surprise for me.  Usually when he says this he comes home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers...which I love.  However, today he walked in empty handed but with a huge smile on his face.  He wrapped me in his arms and told me he had something for me.  Again, he told me how proud he was of me on Sunday and the past 10 days.  He started asking me a series of questions.  He asked, "Do you remember that gift we heard about for having a baby; what do you think would be a good gift for that?"  I didn't answer.  He then asked, "Do you know what Wills' birth stone is?"  I started to get excited.  I knew that September was a sapphire, but I was scared to say anything.  I was still quiet.  He asked, "What color represents little boys?"  I answered this one.  "Blue."  He started reaching into his pocket, and I started crying.  He pulled out a green box, and told me that he wanted me to think of Wills and the day he came into our lives every time I looked at this.  And one day, to maybe give it to him, to give to the woman he loves. 

I opened the box.  Inside was a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring.  It is gorgeous!  I am still in shock and so surprised that he remembered one conversation about a Push Prize.  He never ceases to amaze me.  I'm one lucky girl. 

What a Week!

What a whirlwind of a week!  Bringing Wills home from the hospital has been exciting, exhausting, emotional (for mom), and an overall week of pure joy.  We never imagined the capacity of love we would have for the little guy.  He is so blessed to have the family and friends in his life who are all so crazy about him.  William and I are also so thankful for the flowers, sweet cards, dinners, calls, facebook messages :) and visits from everyone.  The outpouring of love has meant more than words can express.

Getting him ready to go home was a little stressful.  We had doctors and nurses in all morning with discharge instructions and paperwork.  Plus, we were trying not to let him go too long without eating.  Thankfully, Aunt Sissy came to help.  However, when it was time to get dressed, Wills also seemed to feel the stress of the morning.  According to William, he only fussed because he had to wear a dress home from the hospital.  William told him that he would have fussed too.  :)

My mom (Gammy) bought Wills this beautiful day gown, which I LOVE!  We had his initials monogrammed into the collar.  So sweet!

We tried the first night home from the hospital on our own.  That didn't go so well.  After being held the majority of the time in the hospital and all day on Tuesday when we brought him home, William and I finally decided we would put him in his cradle, by our bed, around midnight and try to get some sleep.  He didn't like it at all.  William is busy at work and was having to leave for a little while the next day.  I forced him to go to sleep and called my mom around 4 am.  She came over and was a life saver.  I was able to get some sleep while she rocked the little boy.  She ended up staying the next two nights and helping us get him on the Baby Wise schedule.  Ever since then, he has been a "by the book" baby.  We are so blessed!  He eats, we keep him awake as long as possible, and then he naps.  This rotation occurs every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  William and I are adjusting well, taking turns with his care, and actually getting some sleep.  We pray that as long as we keep his routine the same, he will continue to be a happy, peaceful baby. 

In the hospital and his first week at home, Wills has been a popular guy.  He has had visits from Gammy and Papa (my parents), Dede (William's mom), his Godparents: Aunt Sissy and Uncle Tone Loc, Uncle JD, Uncle Stevo, his Greatgrandmother Nanny, William's Aunt Lisa, my Uncle Bubba and Aunt Kim, Pau Pau Steve, Rebecca, and Uncle Kenneth, Uncle Lee, Aunt Chasity, and Garrett, my sister Merry Glenne, Mariah, Shawntae Gunder, Emily Parker, Keith and Kristy Brigham, Danielle and Paul White, my Uncle Lee, Allison and Madison Yawn, Cathy and Mary Katherine Abramson, the Ingletts, Patti Massingale, and Julie Newman. (I hope I haven't left anyone out.)



He went for a weight check at the doctor on Thursday, September 29th.  He was perfect!  I was so nervous about the visit, but he was a complete angel, even when he was stripped down to his diaper in the cold examining room.  He didn't fuss at all.  William was GREAT with him.  If he would have been in my arms, sensing my anxiety, it could have been a whole different story.  He had dropped from his birth weight to 7lbs 6 oz.  Dr. Herzwurm wasn't too concerned, but she did want to see us back on Saturday.  On Saturday, he was 8 lbs!  Yay!  We go back for our first official appointment in two weeks.

Wills also experienced his first Georgia game!  Go DAWGS! 

 

Other thoughts about the first week:  Wills loves his swing, bouncy chair, and boppy pillow.  During the day, we let him take naps in any of these places, including his crib.  At night, it's all about the cradle, which he also likes.  He loves his nature lamb that we turn on during the night.  We usually use the whale sounds which are peaceful even for us to listen to.  He LOVES to be swaddled.  At first we used a blanket, and I was constantly checking on him and making sure it wasn't coming undone and moving too close to his mouth.  We switched over to the swaddle-me velcro sacks, and it has made all the difference in the world.  He loves sleeping on his daddy's chest.  He met Finn, and so far, that has gone really well.  Finn will occasionally sniff him, but for the most part, seems to be uninterested right now.  Wills loves for us to talk and sing during his wake time.  He really focuses in on our faces when he hears the sound of our voices.  It is really sweet.  Unfortunately, I am a TERRIBLE singer, but he doesn't seem to mind.  William, on the other hand, laughs and reminds me of this regularly.  Oh well. :)  Thankfully, William has a great voice and plays the guitar.  He wrote Wills a really pretty acoustic lullaby that he plays frequently.  So far, Wills hears a lot of "You are my Sunshine," Bob Marley "Stir it Up" and "Three Little Birds," Jimmy Buffett "A Pirate Looks at 40," and The Temptations, "The Way You Do The Things You Do."  I'm sure William has exposed him to much more, seeing that if he doesn't have a baby in his arms than there's a good chance he has a guitar in them, but he's the music buff, and these are the only songs I recognize. 

I can't believe a week has passed us by! 

Birth Story Continued

Sorry for the cliffhanger.  Here we go again...



After the scare of the low heart rate, I was on edge the rest of the afternoon.  I tried to relax but found it hard to do so.  The nurses turned out the lights and suggested I get as much rest as possible.  I was progressing very slowly.  Dr. Cook explained that as long as I was dilating a centimeter an hour, we were good to go in avoiding a C-section.  The epidural was starting to make me feel nauseated, and at one point I was sick.  By 8 o'clock I had slowly reached 5 cm.  The possibility of a C-section was mentioned and explained by Julie.  I was upset, but was determined to stay positive, pray, and hope for some quick progress.  Dr. Cook came in around 9 pm, and I had reached 6 cm.  Because I was progressing, he was willing to give me more time.  I prayed harder.  At this point, William mentioned to me that our boy may have a September 26th birthday instead of the 25th.  I was fine with that if I could avoid a C-section.

Because of shift change, Heather was my new nurse and was just as wonderful as Julie. Around 9:15 pm, the epidural machine began beeping.  Heather began changing out the bag of medicine.  She had the new bag set, and the machine was still beeping.  She explained that these were new machines, and they were all getting used to them.  Great.  She continued working on the machine for about 5 minutes.  The machine continued beeping.  At this point, William had walked out, only for the 2nd time of the day, to "take a lap," talk to his buddy, Keith, speak to our families who had been patiently waiting all day, and get a short break.  My mom and sister were with me.   After a few unsuccessful minutes of replacing the epidural medicine, Heather went to get another nurse to try the machine.  I started getting nervous.  I knew I had enough medicine in me for the moment, but how long until I needed more?  I was on a constant drip and knew I hadn't received any for the last 5-10 minutes.  I was beginning to feel my toes.  The monitor indicated that the contractions were coming on hard and fast.  A new nurse came in, fumbled with the machine for 5 minutes and claimed, "I have no idea."  At this point, I was really nervous and beginning to feel the contractions.  What if they couldn't get it fixed???  Heather explained that she would have someone go and call Mark, who apparently knew about the machines, and was somewhere on the floor.  Mark was called, and Heather began setting up the delivery table, just in case.  At this point, I was feeling it.  My mom and sister helped me breathe through the growing pain.  At one point, I said, if they don't get this fixed, I don't think I can do this.  They stayed positive and assured me that I was okay.  I felt like I was losing my breath.  Mark finally arrived.  When he walked in, I asked him if he would be able to fix the machine.  His response: "I'll do my best."  What???  That was not the right answer, at all.  I was beginning to panic.  William quickly returned from his break, took his position by my bed, and helped me breathe.  I remember focusing in on his eyes as he told me when the contraction would begin, reach it's peak, and start to decline.  Ten minutes later, I breathed a sigh of relief when the machine stopped beeping.  Because I had been without medicine for awhile, Mark gave me something extra directly through my epidural, while the drip began catching up.  I began to feel relief.  Those were definitely the hardest 30 minutes of the entire day.  I am so thankful that the machine was fixed when it was and maybe thankful that it went out on me???  Because, when Heather checked me at 9:50 or so, I WAS 10 centimeters!!! Praise God.  Perhaps the lack of medicine made me progress quickly???

Heather called Dr. Cook.  He had gone home to eat dinner, thinking we were going to be awhile.  Thankfully, when she called him, he was already on Riverwatch, headed our way and would be here in 10 minutes.  I remember looking at the clock.  It was 10 o'clock sharp.  Heather decided we would go ahead and push once.  She and William counted out three sets of 10 second pushes.  She could see the head.  When the next contraction began, she got me ready to push, checked me, and changed her mind.  We would wait for the doctor.  We were that close!!!

Dr. Cook walked in at 10:10.  He scrubbed in, and I remember thinking how casual the atmosphere was.  I was thankful for this.  I guess I imagined it to be very serious, quiet, only the sound of machines beeping and lights glaring down on me, and have a very "medical" feel about what was about to happen.  It was the opposite.  It felt so laid-back.  I remember Dr.Cook casually asking, "So, are you ready to have a baby?"  YES!!!  We were so excited.  I pushed for the second time: again, three sets of 10 seconds. 

A quick side story I want to remember.  Dr. Cook is an avid Georgia fan, GO DAWGS, and a big sports fan all around.  This has been a connection he and William have made from the beginning of our doctor's visits.  They talk sports.  When Dr. Cook walked in he joked about how we were going to have a baby on a day the Falcons and the Braves lost.  After the second push, I decided to add to the sports banter.  The Colts game was on in the background, and I casually commented, "Too bad Peyton isn't playing; he's my favorite."  The expression on Dr. Cook's face was priceless.  He whipped his head around to William, a look of complete surprise on his face as if to say, "Did she really just say that in between pushing out your baby?"  William had already explained to him that if he tells me stories behind the players, I get attached, and will watch sports with him.  I think they were both dumbfounded by the timing of the comment.

Okay, back to pushing.  I pushed a third time.  Dr. Cook said, "There's his head."  He asked me to push a little bit, with about half-strength, and our baby was born.  He cried immediately.  It was a beautiful sound.  William completely shocked me when he decided to cut the cord. 

They placed my little boy on my chest, and all I could say was, "He's perfect."  I was crying.  It was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt.  It is a complete miracle, and a moment I will never forget!  The fact that the life that William and I created, started as a small bundle of cells, grew in my body, and was born a perfect little human, can only be explained as an act of God Almighty. 

William and I spent 30 minutes alone with Wills before he took him out to meet our families.  It was a really sweet time for the two of us. 

I wish I could have seen their first reaction, but I'm thankful Heather captured it on camera.

William Timothy Mooney, Jr. "Wills" was born on Sunday, September 25th at 10:21 pm.  He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz, and was 20 3/4 inches long.  

 Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being a mother.  I will treasure every minute of this new adventure.  I am excited to see what is in store for our new family of four (don't forget about Finn.)  :)

Hello, Again. I'm a MOM!

Yes, it's been awhile.  I won't offer an explanation....just a new reason to blog!  A BABY BOY!  I don't know of any bigger moon dream than this: bringing a precious new life into the world that's half of me and half of the man I love.  I'm not making any promises about the blog, but I do know, that I want a place to record this new journey.  I also know the joy I find in writing, and I am ready to try again.  And, I must admit, I miss the kitchen and the new recipes....so, maybe, between feeding, burping, changing diapers, doing laundry, kissing on my sweet boy and sweet husband, there will be a place for that, too. 

First things first, his birth story: a day I want to remember forever.

As my pregnancy progressed, Dr. Cook told me and William that we could have an elected induction at 39 weeks.  Of course, if there were any medical concerns, he would always do a necessary induction.  However, everything was going very smoothly; thank you, Lord.  Our due date was the 25th of September, so the earliest we could have this baby would be Monday, the 19th.  Dr. Cook suggested an induction on Thursday, the 22nd.  However, after being checked that week, and not having progressed at all, we decided to wait.  Because our due date, the 25th, was a Sunday, and Dr. Cook was on call, he decided he would try to electively induce us on that day.  But, there was a catch.  The hospital does not typically do planned inductions on the weekends because they are short staffed and need to be ready for any emergencies or moms that go into labor on their own.  We were to call at 6am, Sunday morning, to make sure it was okay for us to come in.  If they already had too many patients, we would have to wait until Monday morning.  Although, we were super excited to possibly have the baby on the 25th, this uncertainty caused some anxiety.  We went to bed Saturday night, excited about the possibility of having our baby boy the next day, but afraid to get our hopes to high, in case we had to wait until Monday.  Dr. Cook said it was an 80% chance that we would be able to come in on Sunday. 

We set our alarm clock for 6am.  Of course we woke up before, about 4:30am, and watched the clock until 6.  We called the Labor and Delivery floor, and they said Come On!  We were on our way to meet our baby boy. 

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am.  William said we looked like we packed enough to stay two weeks.  I packed everything that the teacher of our birth class said to bring, plus a little more.  We couldn't believe, as we drove to the hospital, that the next time we were home, we would have a baby!  It was a really strange and exciting feeling.  The L&D floor was so empty at 6am that they, literally, were standing there waiting to greet us as we came up the hallway.  "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Mooney?" they asked.  I commented to Bill that it was similar to the greeting we got when we arrived in Jamaica on our honeymoon...minus the champagne.  He laughed.  Okay, maybe not that similar, but not what we expected. 

We were taken to our room, 316, met our nurses, Julie and Ashley, and got settled in.  William was great as I started to get a little nervous.  I just couldn't believe we were actually there, about to do this!  I changed into the hospital gown, and the nurses put in my IV.  This hurt, a lot.  They had to stick me three times, claiming I had beautiful, yet rolly, veins.  Finally, they got it in my hand, and started the Pitocin drip around 8:15.  I immediately started having very small contractions that I couldn't really feel.  Dr. Cook would be in around 9 to check me. 

My mom and sister arrived shortly after and came in the room to visit.  We laughed, sissy massaged my hands and feet (so sweet!  and she HATES feet), I attempted to read a magazine, and we waited.  Dr. Cook arrived and checked me. I was the same: 25% effaced, 1-2 cm dilated. 

Julie, my nurse, suggested I get my epidural around 11.  I was a little nervous about this, because I knew William couldn't stay in the room with me.  Apparently, many husbands pass out during this procedure, and therefore it is policy that they have to leave the room to avoid having two patients on hand.  Dr. Meeks placed my epidural.  It did not hurt, at all!  Julie stood in front of me, holding my hands.  At one point, I got clammy.  She noticed, and simply talked me through the time it was taking, not the pain.

After the epidural was turned on, Dr. Cook came in to break my water.  He explained that after this happened, we would, hopefully, see more progress.  My feet and legs were starting to go numb.  I was really anxious about this in the weeks leading up.  I didn't like the thought of not being able to move my legs on my own...similar to a feeling of being trapped or claustrophobic.  There were a few times, throughout the day, that I could feel myself becoming anxious, as my legs got heavier and heavier.  However, I continued to tell myself that it was better than the alternative.  It never became too much.

The day continued.  My dad arrived in the early afternoon.  Dot, William's mom, did, too.  We waited, anticipating each check from Dr. Cook, praying I was making progress.

Everything was going really well, until William ran out to get some lunch.  I was fine, so we thought it was a perfect time for him to grab a bite to eat.  He left with his mom.  My mom and sister were in the room with me.  I noticed Julie was watching the monitor closely.  In a matter of seconds, I was rolled onto my side, a group of about 6 nurses hurried in my room, an oxygen mask was placed on my face, and Julie was pushing on my stomach.  I was scared.  The baby's heart rate had dropped to 80.  I don't really know the amount of time that passed, but his heart did resume a normal pace.  They assured me everything was okay.  Dr. Cook came in and further assured me everything was okay, and that this was relatively normal.  But, I was literally shaken up.  My teeth were chattering, and my body was trembling.  On top of all of this, where was my husband?  He walked in a few minutes later, frightened to see the oxygen mask on my face, and extremely upset that he wasn't there.  I told him I was okay, and we were left alone in the room to be together for awhile.

I know this is a lot...I will pause here.  Stay tuned for Wills' birth story: Part II.