Aubrie's first month

The many faces of Aubrie:

(above: just waking up)

 She loves bath time and is content just relaxing in the bubbles. She especially loves getting her hair washed and completely goes into relaxation mode.

 Her hair is super curly when its wet...just like her mommy

Aubrie's first outing was when she was about 2 weeks old and she went to the Utah State Fair to see her aunt Shannon sing. It was a little scary being out with a newborn but I was glad to have my parents with me to help.

She got to see/smell lots of farm animals including: pigs, cows, and lambs. 

 She also went to Gardner Village with grandma and mom to see all the witches for halloween, but as usual, slept through most of it.

She was so exauhsted and wouldn't wake up for anything.

 When she turned one month she went with mommy and daddy to Oktoberfest at Snowbird and got to wear her new hat from great grandpa Pearson.

 

It has been quite the adjustment to having a newborn in our lives. She is slowly getting better at sleeping 2-3 hours at night although we have been surprised a few times when she has slept 4 hours! We discovered Aubrie has lots of gas pains and our nighly routine includes gas drops, full belly, bath tub time, and cuddle time with dad or mom. I have been trying to get out of the house at least daily because I get stir crazy sitting at home so we have taken lots of trips to the store, to visit dad and have lunch at work with him, and visiting grandparents and great grandparents.

I am finally feeling better and finally enjoying being at home and watching Aubrie grow and change everyday. She is such a cute girl and is becoming more interactive each day although I do miss when she was so tiny and would curl up on your chest.

When she was 2 weeks old she had her first doctor's appointment:
Weight: 8 lbs 1 oz
Height: 21 in
The doctor said she is very healthy and is tall and skinny.
She is now also able to turn her head from side to side on her own and hold her head up for a few seconds as well as looking all around.

Birth story and more first adventures

 The above picture is one of Aubrie's first diaper changes from Dad and below is Dad giving her her first bath at the hospital.

Above: Getting ready to leave the hospital after 5 days.

 Below: Arriving at home!

 Tired mommy and tired baby.

 A few days after being home, she began fixating on our faces and now she loves her daddy's voice and will always wake up for him.

Aubrie's birth story:
 On Saturday Sept 1st, Jeff and I decided to go with my mom and sister to Swiss Days to do something fun for the Labor day weekend. After about 5 attempts to get in the car and multiple clothing changes, I realized my water was leaking. I called my mom to get her advice and decided to head to the hospital to get checked if my water truely had broken and we packed up the car with our bags (even though I really thought we would be coming home shortly). I ended up being admitted right away into a Labor and Delivery room and they started my IV with pitocin to speed up my contractions (which I had been having for over a month now). After what seemed like hours and hours of waiting and contractions getting more intense I was slowly dialating. Eventually my contractions got so bad and close together (within a minute apart) that I was more than ready for the epidural... I had wanted to wait longer but there was no way I could handle the pain any longer. After the epidural I was stuck in bed and could no longer feel my legs and the waiting game continued. After the 3rd nursing shift change and 12 hours after being admitted I was stuck at a 6+ and the baby wasn't getting any lower. Finally at 7 am I made the decision to get a C-section after 19 hours of labor and no change in dialtion since midnight. I really wanted to avoid the surgery but was so exahusted from labor I couldn't handle any more. A huge thanks to my mom, sister, and Jeff for helping me through the tough night.
    At about 7:30 I was sent to the OR to have my little girl! Jeff suited up and stood by my side thoughout the procedure and took pictures of the process. It was pretty uncomfortable but nothing like what I would face in the following days. At 7:51 AM, Aubrie was born and we became parents to this sweet girl! Jeff and I were amazed to see this little thing with tons and tons of DARK hair and sucking on her hands and crying a bit. It was such a neat moment and one I hope to never forget!
   We were sent back to recovery afterwards and then sent to the mom and baby unit for the following 5 days. The days seemed to blend together as I was very ill and couldnt even stand up or get in/out of bed on my own. After going home on Wednesday, the real adventure began. I ended up being on heavy pain meds due to the surgery and then got the flu, became anemic from loosing so much blood, then I got an infection in my uterus, and trying to recover from the surgery itself and be a decent mother...needless to say...I was tired and hurting. Luckily I have wonderful family who spent each day for the first week and a half cleaning my house, bringing meals, taking care of me and my family to help me get through it.
   I am so greatful for everyone's help and for the opportunity I have been given to be a mother to a sweet girl!

Welcome Aubrie Lynn Bath

The above picture was taken at approximately 37 weeks pregnant and I was so ready to meet this little girl.

 

 Aubrie Lynn Bath was born on September 2, 2012 at 7:51 AM via C-section and was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches long. She was 38 weeks and 3 days.  More on her birth story in a later post.

 First family picture in the OR. We were both very proud parents to a sweet little girl.

 Aubrie had lots of visitors in the hospital:
                                                     Aunt Shannon

                                                       Grandma Susie

                                                              Grandpa Matt

Grandpa Allen

 Great Grandma Carolyn Pearson

 Uncle and Aunt Sterling and Amanda

 Great grandma Joan Evans

 Great Grandpa and Grandma Pearson (luckily she arrived before they left on a cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary)

Baby shower time

I was lucky enough to have 3 more baby showers: work, a ward shower, and one my mom threw for me.  I got so many fun things for the baby and I am so excited for her to come out so we can use them.

The delicious spread at my Mom's shower:

 Adorable cupcakes

 Katie, Staci, Jill and me.

 I feel like a total whale...thats why I haven't posted many belly pics, but this is me at 36 weeks.

Since then my appointments have been going great. I have still been having contractions throughout the day and they are getting progressivly more painful, but the Dr. said thats normal and its your body getting ready for labor. Currently, at 37 weeks I am 70% effaced and 2 cm dialated and 2 station and yesterday the Dr. stripped my membranes, hoping to get things rolling. He said there is a 50-50 chance that this would help the baby come sooner and we will know within 24-48 hours! The Dr. also said he estimates she will be 7lbs. It is crazy to think that my sweet girl could be here so soon...I never though I would say I am tired of being pregnant and always thought I would never want to deliver early, but I just want to hold her and I am getting impatient. Jeff is just as excited if not more than me....he is like a kid waiting at Christmas for presents and asks me all the time...is it time yet? I guess only time will tell! I am hoping it happens this weekend so I can not be at work and closer to the hospital as well as having Jeff get the weekend to spend with us.

Sterling and Amanda's wedding

 On August 1st, Sterling and Amanda were married at Highland Gardens in Alpine. They had a nice ceremony and it was fun to celebrate this exciting day! I can't wait for the day if and when they get sealed in the temple...it will mean so much more for them.

 Grandma and Grandpa Pearson at the dinner.

 Mom and Grandma

 Shan and Dustin

 Dad giving a speech.

One month or less...

The past few weeks have been super busy with Sterling and Amanda's wedding on August 1st and many family birthday parties. Pictures to come soon!

I started visiting the Dr. weekly now and as of yesterday was 35 weeks and 50% effaced and in head down position. I have been having contractions for almost 2 weeks and was told to decrease my activity and take medication to stop the contractions so the baby can continue to grow. I am having such a hard time taking it easy...the entire time I am sitting and resting I just think of all the things that need to get done. Yesterday the doctor told us that he would be happy if I can just make it another week! After hearing that it finally hit me that "Wow! This is for real! We will soon be a family of 3." I feel like there is so much more to do to prepare for this little girl...including my 3 baby showers in the next week. I am so excited but nervous at the same time for the unknown. I can't wait to see how cute this sweet little girl will be...it has been so much fun to see her little feet push out on my stomach (even though sometimes it hurts).

4th of July and summer happenings

On June 23rd, I had my first baby shower from the Bath family. It was at Marrianne's home and turned out great. There was homemade cakes, cupcakes, suckers, and salads! I got lots of goodies for our little girl that I can't wait to use.

 I think this picture was around 30 weeks. I still just feel fat not pregnant although it is getting more difficult to tie my shoes, shave my legs, walk long distances without my feet swelling until they are unrecognizable. She has been moving more and more every day and as of week 32 I was able to feel her hiccup. Her favorite spot is to wedge her little feet into my right ribs...ouch!

We also attended the West Jordan Demolition Derby.

 On the fourth of July, I unfortunatly had to work in the morning but later that night we did our annual tradition of riding the fire truck in the Sandy City Parade with my dad. This year we couldn't all fit into the model A and the city officials wouldn't let us throw candy so we rode in the fire truck instead! I have never ridden in the front seat of the truck until this day...and I have to say it was fun! The crowd was loving the fire trucks because recently we were hit with at least 9 fires in Utah (with Herriman going up in flames again) and people were so greatful for the firemen. I am proud to have a Hero as my dad! He is such a talented and amazing man!

In project news, since this spring we have been working on improving our yard. Our backyard has beautiful trees lining the yard, but in between the trees was little grey gravel that was ugly so Jeff and I decided to take out the rock and replace it with compost. Little did I know how big of a project this turned out to be! After at least 5 loads of rock to the dump and 6 loads of compost it looks much better! I was hoping to plant some pretty bushes and flowers this year, but as I have gotten more pregnant and had less energy, I decided this will be for next year. We did however, get some apricot trees and raspberrys planted.

 Project number 2: New deck
     Jeff rebuilt our porch deck since it was rotting and the bottom stair had a huge hole in it. He had to rebuild it from the ground up since it was so bad. It looks great now!

 Project number 3: Rocks in the front yard
    Here you can kinda see the "before" pic of the flower beds in the front of the house. They are filled with a mix of bark and lava rock and look awful! So we decided to cover it up with some prettier rock to make it look more complete.

 "After" picture with the rocks. Next I have to plant another bush in the empty spot.

We have been working so hard to complete all these big projects before the baby comes so we can enjoy spending time with her and catching up on sleep.