Mom Life

Being a mom is something that I've always looked so forward to. After growing up being best friends with my mom, I've always dreamed of and had the desire to have the same type of relationship with my children. Well I'm a mom now!! 

seems crazy that this was a week ago, right before we left the hospital.

It was a week ago that Chris and I finally got to bring our adorable baby boy home...
only after 54 hours of labor.

At 41 weeks and 3 days, we went to see our midwife for our weekly appointment and they scheduled our induction for 42 weeks. We prayed hard that we wouldn't go that long, but continued to trust that the Lord would bring our baby at the right time. Our midwife stripped my membranes to try to naturally induce labor (this was after trying ALL of the other wives tales... spicy food, clary sage oil, walking, skipping, curb walking, yard work, squats, eggplant parm, nipple stimulation, relaxation, lavender baths, chocolate for endorphins, ginger, making love, chinese food, pineapple, stretching, banana, raspberry leaf tea...). We tried everything to get this baby out!

Well... Wednesday afternoon, the contractions started and by Wednesday night, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. We went to the hospital around 1am on Thursday morning and I was only 3cm dilated. They didn't want to admit me yet, so they let me stay in triage and they had Chris and I walk the empty hospital halls all night long. After 4 LONG hours, I was still at 3cm... but I was having contractions every 1-2 minutes... so... we kept walking. By 9am I was still at 3cm and they sent us home. (my mom and Chris' sister were both there all night supporting us, waiting with us - they are amazing!)
We were completely exhausted, so they gave me an ambient and told us to go home and try to rest. We slept for about 4 hours, having contractions the whole time through. I continued to labor at home with my contractions spreading farther apart until Thursday night when they got so close together and so intense, we decided to go back to the hospital. (at this time, my mom and Chris' sister started the wait again with us - they were amazing and such troopers)
At 3:30am Friday morning, I was 6cm dilated (we were so excited not to hear the number 3 again). They admitted us. After a day full of contractions getting closer and closer, and monitoring of me and the baby, they came back to check me at 4pm to see how dilated I was.... 8cm. The midwife looked at me and asked can you do another 12 hours to go 2cm more. Chris and I looked at each other, both started crying and I without hesitation said 'no'.

My body, my mind... they were exhausted... Chris was exhausted! We hadn't really slept since Tuesday night... it was Friday afternoon. Chris had been standing next to me all day, helping me relax, holding my hand, giving me water, praying over me and the baby, being the best support I could have ever asked for or expected.

The midwife asked if I wanted her to brake my water to speed things up and Chris and I decided this was the best option. She did, and the contractions got more and more intense but weren't getting any closer together. By 7:30pm, the nurses and midwife shift change had taken place, and when the new midwife came to check on me she checked and said I was at 10cm!! By this point, I felt like my body was going to shut down and the contractions were so intense, I had to push. She said okay, and my nurse said I wasn't ready... well after 2 hours of pushing, and needing an oxygen mask due to the baby's heart rate dropping, we could see the little head right there... so close... just not coming out. 
I pushed through 10 contractions with this tiny head full of hair poking out, and nothing was happening. I thought I can't push anymore, they have to get this baby out. I prayed and prayed that God would bring this child to us and that he would give me strength. As the baby's heart rate continued to be an issue, they saw that he had a bowel movement in utero and they became concerned about the stool getting in his lungs, and I felt like I was suffocating from the oxygen mask, she asked about an episiotomy and Chris and I decided yes, as soon as she gave me the episiotomy, this precious 7lb 11oz baby slid right out. They rushed our baby away to make sure the stool wasn't in his system and I begged Chris to leave me and go be with our baby and to find out if it was a boy or girl. 
He came back to me leaned over with a huge smile and said 'It's Grayson! It's a boy!'

My heart was so happy! I laid there staring across the room watching my amazing husband love and sing to our precious baby boy and the last 54 hours became a blur. I was overwhelmed thinking about the strength that came from our prayers, how God provided for all of our needs and helped me get through the absolute hardest thing I've ever experienced.

It is truly amazing how much joy and happiness came from something that was SO hard.
My heart melted time and time again as Chris selflessly gave of himself to me and my needs. He gave up sleep, skipped meals, stood on his feet day after day, encouraged me through every contraction. He wept with me when we felt discouraged and exhausted and prayed for the strength to keep going.
Then I see this amazing man that I love so much holding OUR baby... this tiny little human that WE made... we created him and brought him into this world! Wow... I am so blessed!

my first time holding Grayson Coy Reese - I love these 2 so much!

Baby oh Baby

With only 3 weeks til our due date... we're working as hard as we can to get everything done around the house. 

I have to say... seeing the carseat in the back of the jeep is one of my favorite things and just walking by the nursery stops me in my tracks and I get so excited starting in dreaming of our baby laying in the crib!

And can I just say that I am so blessed with such an amazing husband and family!

Chris worked so hard to paint the room, paint my old childhood dresser and remodel the baby closet. And our family and friends blessed us with all of the furniture and goodies we needed to complete the room.

It's been so fun making the room cozy and ready for baby... and not knowing the gender hasn't made it the easiest, but I love how it's turned out!

Cannot wait to have our sweet baby here with us.
Come on Baby Reese!

Sincerely, Loo

The Pregnant Life

Being pregnant has been one of the most amazing, crazy, unbelievable experiences of my life. As I expected that it would be... but just didn't know exactly what to plan for.

So much has changed in the last 36 weeks... I've changed physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally... our marriage has changed... our house has changed... our schedule has changed...

And every moment has been amazing and challenging all at the same time!

Some things I've learned about being pregnant:

*don't feel guilty if you're tired and need a nap. 

I struggled for a while with the feelings of guilt when I'd take a nap in the afternoon. I felt like I was being lazy, but I finally realized it was okay and I needed it. I have no reason to feel guilty, I'm growing a baby inside of me. It's exhausting... it's worth it... but a huge thing to take on physically and I deserve a nap sometimes!

*heartburn and indigestion are no joke.

I thought I knew what heartburn was before... I had no clue! Some really great natural remedies are... papaya enzymes, milk, apple cider vinegar (mixed with apple juice or water), DigestZen (essential oil - rubbed on throat and stomach). These are just a few things I've found that help without taking meds or Tums.

*let hubby take care and spoil you.

Again, I've found myself feeling guilty when Chris takes such good care of me and does so much for me. But after many conversations, I've learned that letting him do simple things for me like carrying the laundry downstairs, cleaning the kitchen, and making dinner are things that he can and wants to do for me. Carrying a baby is a lot of work, that he cannot do, but he can help me and I should let him.

*don't stress - just keep praying through it.

Becoming a parent is kinda huge! We are bringing a human into this world that we are responsible for and there are a lot of things to learn and prepare for. While it can be super overwhelming, I've realized that God has chosen us to be the parents for this baby. We're not going to know everything and we may make some mistakes (or a lot of mistakes) but it's okay. We pray that we will make the best choices and be the best parents, but stressing does nothing but make it all harder.

 

Sincerely, Loo

Growing Families

What a crazy summer it has been. I have had so much to say but no time to share it.

Not only is our small family of 2 growing to 3, but my immediate family is growing as well. In the last few months...

My big sister had the most precious baby girl, Everleigh Grace. 

And my not so little sister just married her best friend last weekend.

isn't she beautiful!!!!!!

 My cousin also had an adorable baby girl, Addison in July.

 My other cousin got married the middle of August in Baltimore.

Chris' step sister had a beautiful wedding the end of August.

And in 6 weeks (give or take) Chris and I will bring our baby home... 

This is at our 32 week ultrasound - the baby didn't give us a great picture but we could see the head full of hair!

My sweet parents have been troopers having 2 pregnant daughters and an engaged daughter all summer. Planning 2 baby showers, a bridal shower and a wedding has been very eventful and they have been champs!

                        Annie's wedding shower                                    Jessie's baby shower                                      My baby shower

I for one cannot wait until the holidays when we can just sit around eating lots of yummy food, loving on babies and being together! What a crazy summer!

It is so exciting!

Sincerely, Loo

It is hard to believe that this pregnancy is halfway over... 20 weeks has flown by! Being pregnant is so different than I ever expected. I've learned so much about myself and my hubby...as well as my body, babies, pregnancy, labor, and so much more. 

It's hard not to become emotional and a little bit overwhelmed when I stop and think about the fact that I'm carrying a human being  inside of my body.

In light of Father's Day being this past weekend, I want to brag on my husband. Chris has been the absolute most amazing husband and father already. He has taken such good care of me and the baby. He genuinely thanks me daily for carrying our child. He rubs my feet and back, cooks for us, he goes to every appointment with me, surprises me with treats often, helps me make every decision for the nursery (let's face it, pregnancy has only made me more indecisive), he prays for me and the baby everyday, he keeps me calm and brings peace when the doctor shares hard news, he talks to the baby everyday telling him or her how much we love them, he puts up with my complaining when I just don't feel good or can't get comfortable, he carries all of the laundry to the basement for me, tells me I'm beautiful everyday even when I feel ridiculous in all of my clothes and just want to stay in my pj's under a blanket, and the list could go on forever. He is amazing and has made this pregnancy so much more than I imagined. 

I cannot wait to meet our little 'Reese piece' in a short 20 weeks! Chris has been reading about pregnancy with me and has now asked if we can watch a delivery video so he is more prepared...I love that he wants to know and understand!

my favorite guy!

Although I'm tired, my hips hurt, I miss my old clothes, I have constant heartburn and I now have an outie rather than an innie... the last 20 weeks have been so worth it! To see images of this little human in my belly and to know that we made him or her out of so much love...ah! It's absolutely amazing! And I love that I get to go through all of this with my best friend... thanks Chris!

10 little toes...so perfect!

Sincerely, Loo

Birthday in OBX

It's hard to believe that Chris and I are 28 years old and having a baby... where has the time gone?

I have been blessed with the most amazing husband who always looks for ways to surprise me and spoil me. This year, he surprised me with a trip to the beach. 

I didn't realize how much I would miss living at the beach when we left Savannah.

 

This was our first time in OBX.

 

can you tell how much I love the beach!?

OBX... you did not disappoint!

We explored a lot of the island and visited Jockey's Ridge, where they were having a kite festival... so fun! We went to Bodie Island State Park and walked up all 219 steps to the top of the lighthouse. Then went to the Wright Brothers Memorial which was so cool to see where the first flight took place. 

Of course we couldn't travel to a new place and not eat good local food... we found local coffee, a local breakfast spot that was delicious, and we had to check out 2 of the local restaurants featured on Diner's Drive-In's and Dives... it was so worth it and so yummy (Tortuga's Lie and Cravings)!

happy momma and happy baby!

I even got a birthday from the babe... daddy is the best!

Thank you again for an amazing birthday Chris! You're the best. Love you!

Sincerely, Loo

working from home.

Since being in Maryland, I've been working from home. It's amazing. I really do like it. But sometimes it's hard. I stay home all day by myself, and I miss being around people. I sit on a computer all day and I miss human interaction.

I tried to make my office space fun - not just a boring desk where no one would want to spend their day. 

I've learned a lot about myself and about how to efficiently work from home...

*Always get ready for the day. 

If I don't brush my teeth, wash my face, shower and get dressed, my day is doomed. You have to feel ready for the day and get out of the PJ's!

Some days I even put on makeup & earrings and feel extra special and nice :)

*Take breaks. 

Okay, so I'm still working on this one. But my husband helps me a lot! If you were in an office setting, you would walk to the printer, go to a neighbors office to ask questions, take a lunch break. Don't restrict yourself to the desk all day long. It can be daunting and really bad for your mojo.

*Keep normal hours.

Just because I'm at home with all of my work here does not mean that I can or should work outside of my normal hours. When I first started working from home, I felt like I needed to just 'work a little longer'. This was false, and so not good. I'd say that and sit at my desk way more than the normal 8 hours/day. I was letting work keep me from doing anything else, because it was so easily accessible.

*Get your house stuff done before you go to work. 

I like a clean house. I like everything to be in it's place. And if it's not... I can't stop thinking about and then I'll have to do it anyway before I start working. I clean up the kitchen and pick up around the house before I go to the office. That way if you walk to the bathroom... and see clothes on the floor, or stuff all over the counter, you don't end up cleaning on your potty break. This is hard for me...

*Find something that you love to occupy your time after work hours.

I started stitching... and I love it! Having something to look forward to doing in the evening has been so great. It's nice to have something to look forward to and distract me at the end of the day. I look forward to getting done work so that I can work on my crafts. And it's given me something to do that other people like too. I have already given a few away as gifts and now, I'm considering selling them to make a little extra money on the side. Why not make a profit off something that you love doing?!

Anything else that I should be doing while working from home? 

Sincerely, Loo

Thankful

Where has the time gone? It's already February and it feels like I just left Savannah a few days ago. 

A new year has begun, and it is incredibly overwhelming to stop and think about all that has changed during the last few months. 

After living with my parents for a few weeks, and dealing with the paperwork and stress of buying a home, and Chris commuting an hour and half to and from work, we were able to move into our beautiful home! 

move in day :)

We moved in just in time to celebrate Christmas and New Years, which was so fun. Since we have been married, we've been moving every year at Christmas time, so we had our very first real Christmas tree, and we were able to enjoy our decorations! We had friends and family visiting and even had our dear friend, Amber who was visiting home from Australia come visit and stay with us fro New Years! I was also able to go to Lynchburg, VA (where I went to college) to visit with one of my favorite people who graduated as a nurse! Couldn't be more proud of this woman and the hard work she put in to make her dreams come true!

Congrats Sarah!!! (& so good to see Kelsie & Alli too, love my college roomies!)

Chris did an amazing job cutting down his first real Christmas tree!

enjoying our home and watching Christmas movies.

Baltimore Inner Harbor celebrating 2014 with Amber!

We church shopped for quite a while, and it was honestly pretty discouraging at first. We LOVE our church in Savannah, so we had to pray hard for open hearts and minds as we began our search for a church home here. Well... I think we found it. The Foundry is an amazing place where we have met amazing people. We feel so welcomed every week and fall a little more in love every time we go!

Moving to a new place... even if it is just an hour and a half from home... is really tough. Working from home has been amazing, but it gets lonely. I miss sharing an office with my best friend and having amazing people around me all day. Evenings are my favorite time when Chris comes home. It has been a challenge to not use my family as a crutch and just 'run home' every time I need to be around friends. Don't get me wrong, its amazing to have them so close, but I know that community needs to be built here, in our new home. 

This week has by far been the most overwhelming of the year so far... I thought this was going to be a very lonely, quiet week, with Chris traveling to Chicago for work, however, he has been by my side through a tough time. After driving him to the airport Monday and driving home, he called to say his flight was delayed until Tuesday morning. So I got to spend another night with my amazing hubby...great! Except that Tuesday morning was an icy one. As we drove in the dark to the airport, we were 2 miles out when we hit a patch of ice. This was the most terrifying moment of my life. I had no control of the car... we spun in circles across the highway... into the exit ramp... hit a highway light pole which threw the car into another circle and finally stopped when our car slid backwards up onto a huge highway sign that had been knocked down minutes before by another car. Within seconds after stopping, I looked up and saw another car sliding straight toward our car. Chris leaned across toward me while the other car slammed into the passenger side of the jeep. As we got out of the car and called 911, one after another, cars hit the same icy spot and spun out of control. We would watch one car spin and another car start spinning until they crashed and then moments later another car would start sliding and crash into the other two. It was like a horrible scene you would watch in a movie. There were 11 cars that had to be towed away, and many more that were able to drive away. 

All of this to say, Chris missed his flight... we sat at the scene for 2 hours in the freezing cold. It only looked worse once the sun came up and you could see all of the damage. What a crazy morning! 

*Thankful for our friend Jon who sacrificed being on time for work and came to picked us up and took us home.

 

Thankful... this is the only word that makes sense right now. I am so thankful that after spinning out of control on the highway, and smashing into a light pole, Chris and I walked away from the accident with nothing more than a scrape on the leg and a stiff neck. I cannot stop thanking God for keeping us safe! I miss my car, and I wish I could stop replaying what happened in my mind. But my car can be replaced and memories will remain... but sitting on the couch with my husband last night, with tears running down my face, I tried to put the words together to tell him how much he means to me and all I could say was 'I love you so much'.

It feels like this was just another reminder of how precious each day is and to never take for granted the opportunities we have to love on those closest to us! 

Sincerely, Loo