Our 1st Thanksgiving as a Family...

Well today is Thanksgiving...Jayden is now napping getting ready for a long day. Luckily we do Thanksgiving on different days with our families. That way there is no rushing around, no splitting it up..it helps keep things more peaceful. Today we are going to my sister in-law Sandy's house for some yummy food and of course some nice drinks! I always look forward to seeing and spending time with my in-laws. We always have a blast! We will be taking lots of pictures and I will post some later.
Tomorrow we celebrate the holiday with my side of the family. We are going to my sister Debbie's house for mom's delicious turkey, mashed potatoes and the most desired....STUFFING! YUM-O! I look forward to this day too as we have so much fun together playing games and just being silly. Again, many pictures will be taking that I will share later...
For those of you reading this...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
I hope it is a very blessed one for you and your families!

6 MONTHS OLD!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I cannot believe my little man is 6 1/2 months old already! It's crazy! He is getting so big! He has his 2 bottom teeth and the 4 on top are starting to come down. The tips of the front two are out and he often grinds them with his bottom teeth! Ouch! My ears hurt when he does that! He is sitting up now, too! I like to stand guard though because he is still a little wobbly. Everyday he is getting stronger and stronger. He absolutely LOVES Elmo! We have to watch Elmo's World every morning after his cereal and bottle. He loves eating! However, he isn't too fond on sweet peas. He tends to gag when trying to eat those. I think we'll stay away from that veggie. He has loved all the others though! He is a very vocal little guy, too. He loves to talk just like Mommy and Daddy! Boy are we in for it!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Well, I could definitely say that Jayden has mastered rolling over from back to tummy. He does this while in his crib. Usually it's partially a roll over, but tonight it was a full roll. It's funny because he doesn't like being on his tummy so once he rolls he starts getting frustrated...So why did ya do it silly!?!?!? He's such a funny little guy.

He is really growing and is becoming more and more fun to be with every day. His smile could change anyone's mood from grim to chipper in a nanosecond! It's irresistible!!!! Especially with his two cute little teeth popping out on the bottom. I just want to eat him up!

He loves chillin' in his exersaucer throughout the day. He has begun spinning the seat around. I could say I noticed this on Sunday (9/7). He moves from toy to toy amusing himself. He loves to pull off any toys he can and if he has difficulty doing so he makes sure to let me know with a scream showing his frustration. He definitely has a touch of a temper! Right now I will say it's pretty cute! I don't know how I'll feel about it as time goes on. LOL

Thursday marks his 5 month "birthday". I can't believe it has been 5 months already! I am looking forward to taking him in for his 6 month pictures. It's perfect timing seeing that it will be October! We have already planned that he will be sportin' a BEARS outfit for his photo shoot! We are also going to try to take a Halloween shot and have him pose in his costume. Sure enough Jayden will be a froggie for Halloween! I figured it's a perfect choice seeing that is his nursery theme and he loves all of his froggie toys. He is going to look so cute!!!!

Life sure is fun and has so much more meaning with this little guy in it!!!! We are so thankful everyday that he is in our lives!

Growing so much!!!

Wow! So much has happened. I am bad for not blogging more! Jayden is doing awesome! He is getting so BIG! He is over 14 lbs. already and is even cutting his two bottom teeth!!! I can't believe how the time is flying. I have seen so many changes in him just this last week. He's way more attentive, giggly and interactive. It's so wonderful! I started feeding him cereal on Monday and he absolutely loved it! So now he gets 1 tbsp of cereal everyday. I have some videos of him eating that I will "try" to post on here. I am not sure how to do it so you'll have to be patient with me. I noticed his teeth coming in on Wed (8/27). Jeff was changing his diaper and low and behold I noticed two little white lines right under his gum. Now if I put my finger in there you could feel them! He wants to chew and bite on everything. Luckily he hasn't had a fever though so that is good! He's my little champ. Here's a 4 month pic of him...

It just blows my mind how quickly he is growing. Jeff and I were watching some older videos of him, which feel like just yesterday, and we were amazed to see just how much he has changed.

Everyday I thank God for bringing this little angel into my life!!!! We are very fortunate for the gift we have and do not take it for granted.

3 Months!

Little Jayden isn't so little anymore! He is getting so big! Especially tall! It's crazy! He is growing so much. Now he is giggling...not just smiling. It's wonderful! I love when I get him to laugh. He is totally engrossed in his hands right now. It's so cute. Sometimes it looks like he is praying. He loves watching Baby Einstein or anything that has vibrant colors. He is mesmerized by beautiful colors.

Jayden's first 4th of July ended up consisting of him sleeping most of the day. He slept right through the fireworks. It was GREAT that he slept so well, but I couldn't get a picture of him until almost midnight that night. Oh well, next year will be different.

He is an EXCELLENT sleeper! He is averaging 9 hours of sleep a night. He usually goes to bed between 7-8PM (usually closer to 7) and will not wake up until 4-5AM. It's awesome! He definitely takes after mommy and daddy and loves his sleep. Nap time is a little different. Sometimes he takes some really good naps (for 2 hours), but other times he will only nap for 45 minutes. Those are the days where he is totally out of sorts. If we end up going anywhere on those days he will just cry the whole time we are out. For example, we went to my brother and sister in-law's house on Sunday to celebrate my dad's birthday. He started crying the moment we got there (at around 3:30) and would NOT stop! He finally stopped when he fell asleep a little after 6PM. So my family really couldn't enjoy him at all. He cried the whole time then slept. I am sure they cannot wait to really spend time with him when he isn't a little cranky butt! Hopefully he will grow out of this phase soon!

Jayden has his first official vacation coming up soon! Every year we go to Sheboygan, Wisconsin with my in-laws. We have such a great time. This year will be interesting seeing we have our little guy with us. I am hoping he enjoys himself and settles into his new surroundings OK.

Ok...we'll he is up from his 40 minute nap! I have to go try to get him to go back to sleep!

Never Wake a Sleeping Baby!

Well we have learned that lesson, that's for sure! Here I was looking forward to the 1st Father's Day and unfortunately it turned out to be a horrible day for our little guy. It all started when we woke him up from his morning nap to go to my parent's house. HUGE MISTAKE! He seemed pretty ok at first, but slowly his mood began to change. Kinda like the Hulk when he's angry. I am actually surprised he didn't start turning green!! Anyway, after watching some Baby Einstein for a while he started crying for his bottle. So Nonna fed him and his crying wouldn't stop. Auntie Debbie finally got him to quiet down and brought him downstairs in the basement...the coolest part of the house. My mom had the air conditioner off so it was a little hot in the house...not a good thing for my little guy. Anyway, Auntie got him to fall asleep. Unfortunately, we couldn't let him sleep and make another HUGE mistake of waking him up (after about 10 minutes of napping) to go to my brother in-law's house. Well, from having nap #2 broken on top of nap #1 Jayden was not a happy camper! He ended up crying the majority of the time that we were there. We would take him for little walks which would calm him down briefly, but then he would start crying again. At one point he fell asleep for a little while, but woke up and started crying again. It finally got to the point where we decided it was best for us to go home. So we ended up leaving the party early. Uncle Scott and Auntie Debbi sent us home with some food - thank you so much! We got home, fed Jayden and he fell fast asleep and slept from about 9 until 5 am!! He was such a tired little boy! At least we learned something from this experience. We now know to definitely NOT wake up our little guy to do anything! LET HIM SLEEP!! From now on we base our days on HIS schedule. We will NEVER wake our little guy to do anything again!

I will have to say that was probably the worst we've had it with Jayden. He is actually a very good little boy. He is happy for the most part. Especially in the morning. He definitely takes after his daddy and he is 100% a morning person...nothing like his mommy! As far as his sleep schedule goes, he pretty much sleeps through the night. For example, he went to sleep at about 9 last night and didn't wake up until 4:30 this morning! Now he has been napping since 8:30 am and it is 1:00 pm!!! I guess that means he is a growing boy! I actually told Jeff that it looks like he did grow over night. He looks bigger to me and his hair looks longer and thicker. It's amazing!

Well, tomorrow we are supposed to spend the day with Sandy, Jake and Gina. Of course we will be following Jayden's schedule. I am praying that we have a good day!!!

Well...he's up! Time to go make that bottle. We don't want the Hulk to show up!!!

2 Months Old!!!!

Well here we are at the 2 month mark as of June 11th! I can't believe how quickly time is flying! Our little boy is getting so big! He is smiling up a storm now too! He is on the verge of giggling! I love it! I keep trying to get that giggle out of him and I am getting so close. It's bound to happen very soon!

Parenthood has been quite an adjustment, but one that is WELL worth it! I must say that we have a good little boy. He is an awesome sleeper! Despite the bout of crying spells that we ran into for a few weeks, things are going very smoothly. Actually, we are over that hurdle! I am sure there's another one to come, but that's parenthood! :)

Jayden had his 2 month check up yesterday and he is weighing in at 12 lbs.! He is in the 95%ile for his height! Doc says he's a future basketball player! He definitely will be taking after his daddy...thank GOD! He would not like having my short genes!

Jayden spends his days napping, eating, watching Baby Einstein (which he absolutely LOVES!) and going on walks with mommy and daddy. We try to get him out for a walk everyday. He really enjoys the fresh air. It's perfect timing to have had him in April!

We are looking forward to Daddy's first Father's Day on Sunday!!!

He's here!!! Our Story...

Jayden’s Birth
On Thursday, April 10th, we had our 41 week Doctor appointment. We went there with hopes of being sent straight to the hospital. We had our bags packed in the car and ready to GO! My visit began with an ultrasound then I had to meet with the doctor. My doctor did her exam and discovered that I was dilated to 3 cm. The ultrasound showed that the baby was running low on amniotic fluid. The doctor was concerned about this, plus with being a week late, she decided to send us straight to the hospital to be induced. Our wish came true! Yay! So we headed to the hospital at around 1:30. We arrived at around 2:00 and got things rolling. My parents arrived at around 2:30 and my sister, brother in-law, nieces and nephew were on their way. Everyone was sooooooo excited! Anyway, sure enough the nurse had trouble giving me the IV...which I now still have a lovely bruise from, so I didn’t start getting my Pitocin until 3:00. I was hooked up on the monitors and having contractions. Nothing too crazy. They weren’t any worse than I had already been experiencing at home. So we just waited and waited. My contractions were progressively getting stronger. They finally got to the point where I requested my epidural. It was about 9:00 when the anaesthesiologist came to my room and administered the epidural (WHAT A MIRACLE!!!). However, it didn’t take on my right side. I tried to give it some time, but the contractions started to get worse and I could totally feel them increasing in intensity on my right hip. My left side was TOTALLY numb! So I told my nurse and she suggested that I lay on my right side to get the gravity to work and pull the medicine to that side of my body...DIDN’T WORK! The contractions were only getting stronger and I was really started to feel uncomfortable. So they sent up another anaesthesiologist who was AWESOME! He was so funny and had this strong Russian accent. He wore a Darth Vadar picture on his name card. It was cute. Anyway, he began with just trying to readjust the catheter to see if it would make a difference. Unfortunately, it didn’t. My next option was for him to redo the epidural. He explained to me that he could redo it, but there is a 10-15% chance that it still won’t take. I said I didn’t care...just try it and see what happens. Luckily, the second epidural took beautifully and I was completely numb! YAHOO! By this point of the night it was around midnight. We realized that we were not going to have the baby on April 10th. I was happy about this because it turned out that we would deliver the baby on my grandfather’s birthday (who passed away) which would make it even more special for me. So after epidural #2 it was time to wait and see if I had progressed any further. I can’t remember time wise, but I do know that I jumped rapidly from 4 cm to 9 cm. Once I reached 9 cm they decided to get me to start pushing. At this point it was 2:00 AM on April 11th. However, the baby was still pretty high up there. He was at station +1. Ideally, he needs to be at +3 in order for vaginal delivery to take place. Well, I pushed and pushed and pushed for 2 and ½ hours. My epidural was starting to wear off on my left side at this point so I was starting to really feel the pressure and some pain. I was getting SOOOOOOOOOOO tired! At one point I even asked the nurse if I could take a little nap in between pushing. My doctor came in and told me no and said I need to keep working at it. So that’s what we did. She kept checking to see where the baby was and he just wasn’t budging. After 2 and ½ hours of pushing he was still stuck at the +1 position. At this point my doctor recommended a cesarean section. She said my pelvis is not wide enough to accommodate him, he was a large baby, and after 2 hours of pushing he didn’t progress at all. She said the chances of him progressing were very slim due to the with of my pelvis. She said I could continue to push if I’d like, but she really didn’t think he would budge. Especially if he hadn’t moved one bit in the 2 and ½ hours I pushed. I took some time to think about this with Jeff. I was really ready to get the baby out and I was TIRED! However, I was scared to go though the operation. Finally, we realized that it was probably the best thing to do. So they prepped me for surgery, gave me more meds in my epidural and off we went to have our little baby. I couldn’t wait to find out what sex it was!!! The surgery was a piece of cake. I remember lying there on the table and not feeling a thing. I was so sleepy from not getting any rest and pushing so much but my adrenaline was pumping to find out what it was. Finally, I could hear this little cry...then the doctors said, "It’s a boy!" I just started bawling!!! I had a feeling it was a boy especially during this last trimester. I started the pregnancy thinking it was a girl, but as the pregnancy progressed feelings of a boy grew stronger and stronger. They brought him around the curtain and I finally got to see my precious little man. He was soooooo adorable!!!! I gave him a kiss and off he went with Daddy and the nurse to get weighed and cleaned up as I got stitched up and rolled to the recovery room. It was 2 hours until I got to finally see my little guy again and I was in heaven! I’ll never forget the feeling of finally holding him for the first time. It was such a wonderful feeling.

FALSE ALARM! :(

Well yesterday was an eventful day. I woke up and was pretty out of it. I think it is just all getting to me. This waiting game was taking toll on me and my patience. I felt cooped up and told Jeff I need to really get out of the house. So we decided to go to the mall and do some walking. It was a perfect idea seeing there were some things I wanted to pick up with some store credit that I had coming to us. So, first we used a gift card and went to lunch at Chili's. It was pretty yummy. However, as soon as I stood up after eating I had a sharp pain right above my pelvic bone which made it very difficult for walking. We decided to call the nurse and see if this was normal...it really hurt. The nurse said it was normal but advised us to see if we could actually time the pain. So that's what we decided to do...we headed off to Woodfield and Stratford and walked, walked, walked. While walking the pain continued in about 5 minute intervals. I was having strong lower back pain and my stomach was tightening. Walking was still difficult. We were really thinking "This could be it!" So as soon as we got in the car we called the nurse back (this was about 2 hours since the 1st call) and explained what I had been feeling. She said, "Go on in!" So that was it...the words we wanted to hear so badly..."GO ON IN!" So we stopped home, grabbed our stuff and headed to the hospital. Sure enough on the way there, while sitting in the car, the contractions stopped. I started feeling foolish for even heading to the hospital now so decided to call the nurse once again. I explained to her that now that I was sitting I wasn't feeling any pains...she reassured me that I was still doing the right thing by going in the to hospital. She said, "You are post date. Don't worry about it. Still go in and see what they have to say. You never know." So that's what we did.

We got to the hospital and I changed into the "fancy" robe they give you and sat on the bed. The nurse had to put a heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor on my belly. The baby's heart rate was excellent! She was actually very impressed with it. She said that the baby looks GREAT! That was such a relief to hear. Unfortunately, I did not have 1 contraction while sitting there!!!! Nothing...nada...zilch! WHATEVER!!!! She did an internal exam to see if I dilated more and I was still only at 2 cm, however, now I am 90% effaced. So that's good! Basically, it's just a matter of time. The more of these contractions I get the more effaced I will get and the more I will dilate. So I guess I just need to keep active and keep moving around to keep getting these contractions...no matter how uncomfortable they might be. Anyway, then nurse called the doctor who was "on call" and she was told to send us home. That was fine...we expected it. Now we know that the next time I get these contractions from walking around we will sit and rest for at least a half an hour and see if they progress or diminish. Then we'll call the nurse/doctor instead of jumping the gun like we did yesterday. We learned! However, we do not regret the experience we had yesterday. At least we know our little baby is doing well and is not under any stress...even though his/her mommy and daddy are going nuts waiting for him/her to arrive!!!!!!!! :)

40 Week Belly Shot...Hopefully the LAST!

Due Date...Where's the BABY???

Well, today's the official due date. We have NOTHING! Looks like Baby W. is going to be a late bloomer! Every night when I go to bed I think..."Tonight could be the night!!!" But no luck yet! I've tried to keep busy today. I did some yummy baking. I made some chocolate chip banana bread and chocolate chip cookies! YUM! I figured they will make good snacks for the hospital...if they last that long. We also went for another little walk. It's bound to happen at some point...WHEN? We just don't know! It's totally going to be a surprise...which makes it even more fun. I'm just getting impatient! It doesn't help that I have this pain to the left of my belly button. It feels as if my insides are splitting apart...OUCH! Not a pleasant feeling! It'll all be over soon enough! ;)

Of to go continue playing the waiting game! Hopefully we'll have an update soon!

Update...Doctor Appt.

Well I went to the doc today. I'm dilated to "almost" 2 cm and 80% effaced. He tried poking around to get things moving along, but couldn't accomplish exactly what he was trying to do. I guess it's just not "time" yet. So now it's just the waiting game! I have another appt scheduled for next Thurs., April 10th. I will also be having an ultrasound that day to check the fluid around the baby and I will have a stress test. From what doc says they will give me until late next week or latest would be Wed the 16th and we'll end up inducing. We are hoping to not have to get to that point. So the waiting game continues... I keep talking to the baby and telling him/her that's it's okay and he/she could come out now. We are ready for her/him and cannot wait to hold him/her...but I guess he/she is just not ready yet.

COME ON CONTRACTIONS!!!!!!! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!! :)~

Waiting...

Well, here we are at 39 Weeks and we are still waiting for Baby Wagner to arrive! We are getting so excited and cannot wait to find out what sex it is!!! I've been getting some contractions, but nothing serious. The closest they have been is 10 minutes apart. We know it could happen at any time...just WHEN??? is the question! I went to the doctor last week and I am dilated about 1 1/2 cm and more than halfway thinned out. I have another appointment on Tuesday, so we'll see what's new.

Here are some updated belly shots... (38 weeks, then 39 weeks)

Here's a pic of my cute toes that my sissy Debbie polished for me. I want them to look cute for delivery :) Yea, I know...I'm a dork! ;) But you gotta admit that they are way cute!!!

37 Weeks Belly Shot and UPDATE!

Well here we are at 37 weeks!!!! 3 weeks until my due date, but I don't know if we'll make it 3 more weeks! I guess only time will tell.

I had a dr. appt. today and it turns out that I am 1 cm dilated and more than 1/2 way thinned out!!!! I know that doesn't mean I'll go into labor right away, but at least it means that it has all begun! We are truly on our way there!!!!! We are getting so excited!!!!

Baby's Room is READY!

As promised, here are the pics of the baby's room! I LOVE IT!!!!! Thanks to Scott, Debbi, Debbie and Larry for all of their help with getting the crib together and doing all the finishing touches. It looks great!!! And I have to thank my mom for all of her help with the laundry! That was wonderful! :)

OFFICALLY 9 MONTHS PREGNANT!!!

I can't believe that I am already in my 9th month! It's crazy! This last trimester really flew by. I have been really bad about posting anything new, sorry. Life has been very busy with showers and getting the baby's room ready for the arrival. :) I've had all 3 of my showers and they were all so beautiful and perfect! I loved all of them. We received so much stuff! We are very blessed to have such generous friends and family....THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! Thank you cards are getting worked on...you should be getting them soon! ;)

Sandy & Bill came over last weekend and helped us. Sandy and I organized all the gifts and we put them away. While Jeff and Bill put together some of the baby stuff such as the bassinet and swing. So we are getting ready! It's really starting to feel real!

Jeff and I have been attending classes to get better prepared for all of this. We have recently finished up a breastfeeding class and tomorrow is our last Prepared Childbirth class. They have been good so far. We are happy we enrolled in them.

This weekend the Godparents are coming over to help us put the crib together. It's going to be fun! I will take some pictures once it's all done and post them for you all to see. The baby's room is looking so cute!!!!!!! I love it! Then, on Sunday, my mom is coming over to help me wash the huge pile of laundry (baby clothes) and put them away. I feel good that we are actually accomplishing something! Auntie Sandy K. might be stopping over on Sunday, too to check out the baby's room. How exciting! Pretty soon our little munchkin will be here! I can't wait!!!!

Well, here are 2 belly shots that I haven't had a chance to post until now.

This one is from 2/22 - I was 34 Weeks

And this one is the most recent, 3/3 - 35 Weeks

You could see there's a difference. It seems to be protruding out more. I could only imagine how much more it will do that!!! YIKES!

My next Dr appt is on 3/14. This is when they start doing internals and I have to go weekly. So this is officially the home stretch! I'll post more on Friday with a belly shot and update from the doctor. I am curious if I've started to dilate or not!!! This is all getting so exciting!!!! YAY!!!!

31 Weeks!

Well, I have less than 9 weeks to go! It's CRAZY! We're still not done with the baby's room, but it should be done soon.

I've been on my glucose intolerant diet and everything is going ok so far. It's a bit harder to follow on the weekends but I am doing my best.

I went to the doctor and everything is looking good!!!! I am still measuring right where I should be. As far as the glucose thing goes, he said it wasn't that big of a deal and I'll be FINE! So that was a relief! The heartrate this time was 148, so it jumped up a bit. I'm really confused on what this little one could be...boy or girl??? Hmmm...All I know is either way I'm going to be the happiest mommy in the world!!!

Here's an updated belly shot:

UPDATE!

Well, I got my test results back from my 3 hour test (I went in yesterday for it). It turns out that one of my blood draws came back out of the normal range. It should have been below 155 and it was 179...therefore I am considered "glucose intolerant". Luckily, I am not diabetic!!! I do have to go see a dietitian now and follow a special diet. I guess I am a little bummed because I was really hoping that everything would come out OK. Oh well! I guess there is nothing I could do.

Anyway, here is a semi-done updated picture of the baby's room. It is only 1 of the walls. It looks adorable! Auntie Debbie and Uncle Larry did a GREAT job! Thank you!!!

Yikes!

Well, I failed the 1 hour test for gestational diabetes. So I have to go back to the doctor's tomorrow morning at 8:15 for a 3 hour test! I hope that I pass this one! It's going to be a long morning. I cannot eat anything until after the test is complete. I'm going to be starving tomorrow morning.

As for the baby's room, the border will be up tomorrow so I will post a semi-done picture of the room. We still have some work to do, but I'll give an update.

Say your prayers for me for tomorrow's test!!!

3rd Trimester!!! Home stretch!

Well, we are in the home stretch! I can't believe how quickly it is going. I had my doctor's appt. today and everything is going well. I only gained 2 lbs. which was a relief...especially after the holidays!!! At my last appt. I had a weight gain of 10 lbs. in only 4 weeks, so I was worried to see what today would bring. But, luckily all went well!!! Whew! The heartrate today was 135, so I am really starting to wonder if we are having a little boy!!!! I can't wait to find out! I had to take that test for gestational diabetes. It wasn't too bad. I had to drink this stuff that tasted like very potent Sprite, then sit there for an hour and wait for them to draw some blood. They said no news is good news so hopefully I won't be hearing from them this week. Geeze, it's hard to type while crossing my fingers! LOL! I'm at the point now where I have to go for my appointments every 2 weeks. So my next appointment is on January 28th. I guess I'll start doing biweekly belly shots now, too. Speaking of, here some from today (28 Weeks 1 Day):

Here's a shot from the front (notice the line going down my stomach):

The baby's room is currently under construction. Right now, as I type, Jeff is installing the lighting while we wait for Debbie and Larry to get here. They are going to paint the room today. They primed the walls yesterday so today is painting day! It's so exciting. The next step will be the flooring then it'll be all done! YAY!!! Here are some BEFORE pictures...

Yes, currently the walls are PINK. The couple that lived here before us obviously had a little girl. Now the walls are all white from the primer, but once the painting is done they will be yellow, green and white.

The changing table is going to be on that wall to the left of the window. Jeff is installing some wall washers right above where the changing table is going to go. These will be put on a dimmer switch and they will angle so that they reflect off of the wall.

The ceiling fan is coming down and we have a light fixture that we are replacing it with.

The crib will be going on the wall to the left of to the door. All the trim in the room is going to be white along with the door.

Here are the closet doors which will also be white. I am also going to replace the nobs on the doors with something cute. I still have to go shopping for that ;)