Sophie's Family

Here are pics of Sophie's family.

Grandpa Mike


Paw Paw Briggs


Cousin Levi


Grandma Noi and Grandpa George

Uncle Bill, Cousin Kaitlyn, and Cousin Ethan

Maw Susan

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I met a woman a few years ago who did this with her kids. I love the idea and said I would do it with mine. Each year on our wedding anniversary, I will take a picture of our daughter(s) in my wedding gown. (If we have a son, I'll use a cream colored tux shirt just like Paul wore.) Sophie came along just in time for our 5th anniversary, so here she is looking quite glamorous.

Funny Stuff at Hospital

Just a couple of things that happened that we kind of funny.

1. After they gave me the epidural, my legs went numb pretty quickly. I have a tip for other women who get this done. Don't touch you hips, legs, etc after they go numb. You know how your lip "feels" huge when you get Novocaine at the doctor. The epidural has the same effect on you lower body. My hand was on my hip and I honestly thought it was swollen. I knew I hadn't gained that much wait but still, someone should have warned me that I would "feel" like I had a huge butt.

2. I thought I was going to have trouble once the pushing started. I couldn't feel anything and
the doc was telling me I needed to push differently. How the heck was I supposed to know how to push! Anyway, the doc tells Paul he can come down and take a look if he wants. He told her "no" because he didn't think I wanted him to be down there, but I said go ahead. I asked him about it later, thinking he probably didn't actually get to see much. But she was out all the way to her shoulders. He said it was very weird to see. I'm not sure he'd do it again if he knew then what it was going to look like.

3. To prove that the doctors get very focused, ours didn't even look to see what gender the baby was. She thought the nurse said "he" so when another nurse came in and asked she replied we had a boy. I said "What?!?", then realized that if it was a boy Paul would have been way more giddy.

4. I think it's interesting that it took the doctor longer to finish up with me after Sophie came out than it did to push. Also, that the labor and delivery was so, so easy and the recovery has been horrible. I was completely frightened about the birthing experience, and I should have been worried about recovery.

5. Paul's parents got to the hospital just minutes before pushing so I saw them then they went to the waiting room. After delivery the baby stayed for about an hour or so and then she went to the nursery for another hour or so before we all go to the postpartum room. His parents were nice enough to go get me some food, but ended up being gone during the few minutes they could have seen Sophie before going to the nursery. Then about the time she would have come to my room they had shift change and kept her in the nursery until visiting hours were over. The nurses were very nice and told them not to leave, they had been waiting all day to hold her and they weren't going to kick them out. Finally, after about 6 hours Grandma Noi got to hold Sophie.

6. They had warned us that the chair/bed for the dads to sleep on was terrible. I tried to talk Paul into bringing an air mattress but he refused. That first night he's getting the bed ready and complains how bad it is. (Told you so!) Of course, he's snoring within 10 minutes of laying down, and I still had to wake him when Sophie cried.

7. The second day we were there I got really overwhelmed. I had gotten to take a shower and we had dressed Sophie in an outfit. I was looking forward to taking a picture with my daughter. It took over 2 hours to get that picture because everyone kept coming in. The photography lady, the lactation specialist, the birth certificate people, nurses, techs, the pediatrician, my doctor. It was crazy! Seriously, wasn't I supposed to be resting and recuperating?

Induction Part 2

So, day 2 of the induction. I called before 5am (I woke up and decided I couldn't wait). They told me to come in at 7am. Yay!!!! I let everyone sleep in a little and then got them up to go to the hospital.

Here we are outside.

I had to wait a little bit once I got to the hospital, but I was undressed, in a room and hooked up to the monitors by 8:30am. They gave the meds to start labor at 8:30 and broke my water at 9am. Contractions started right after that. Everyone knew I wanted the epidural and I was already dilated 4 cm before I came in so I didn't have to endure much before they came in to place it at 10:15am. After that all was good. At about 11am the nurse checked and I was at 9am. My doctor came in right after that on her lunch rounds, and couldn't believe I was that far along. They kept checking me and at 2:30pm the doctor was back and I could start pushing. Thirty minutes later, Sophie was born.

I had over 9 hours of music on my Ipod (thanks for all your suggestions). Here I am just chilling (thanks to the epidural).

Paul's guitar teacher wrote a lullaby for the baby. I downloaded it to my phone and would play it for her.

Induction Part 1

So, when I went to do the labwork at the hospital on Friday they told me I could start calling at 4:00am on Sunday to get my time for the induction. She also told me that they schedule a few at 5am, a few at 6am, most at 7am, and a few at 8am. So, I hardly slept on Sunday, but I waited until my cell phone said 4:00 am before I called the hospital. They told me to call back at 7am. I knew this wasn't a good sign, since if they were making me wait until 7 that meant I couldn't be in before 8am and they only have a few slots at that time. The next 3 hours sucked. I called at 7am, and they told me to try again at 11am (they were too busy and didn't have a place for me). Keep in mind I haven't had anything to eat or drink since before midnight. They did say I could have a light breakfast but nothing else. Just before 11am the charge nurse called, she had already spoken with my doctor. I was now scheduled for Monday, call again at 5am to get an exact time, but I should be able to get in since I had been bumped. So...Happy Mother's Day to me. Not!

We decided to take my mom to lunch at Springcreek Barbeque (her favorite), then she and I went to the mall to walk around and kill time. Coming out of the mall I noticed a pink and brown playard at the consignment shop, so we stopped there. Don't remember if I've blogged about this but we had a swing, playard, highchair set picked out in this great Cherry Blossoms pattern, and it was discontinued just weeks before we went to buy it in February. We picked out different items, but hadn't found a playard yet. The consignment store had the Cherry Blossom one in great condition so we bought it. So I guess the day wasn't a complete bust.

Here She Is...

Miss Sophie Rose Walker

I have lots of pictures and lots to say, but it will take me a while to get it all done. (I spent 2 hours just going through my email.) Sophie was born on May 11th at 3pm. She was 6 pounds 9 ounces, 18.5 inches long. Labor and delivery went very well. (I was completely scared about that part.) Recovery has been a lot harder than I anticipated, but my mom and Paul have been wonderful, helping to take care of me and Sophie.

Tattoos from Gail

Gail gave me these belly tattoos at my shower. I've saving them to use when I go to the hospital. There are 2 hands that tell you where to feel for kicks. And then another one to make if it's a boy or girl, and finally one that says how far along you are. I hope these pictures are proof that I have gotten "huge" as Paul likes to point out. I don't mind that he says that because I feel huge!

Twas the Night Before

I've spent the day trying to kill time. I've done the dishes, straightened the linen closet, put up the extra diapers, watched a couple of movies, brushed all the pets, cleared out a draw for the nursing stuff, folded load of laundry, and put on new tattoos. Mom suggested Paul and I go out to dinner, since this will be the last time it is just the 2 of us without needing a sitter. We decided to go to a movie first (Star Trek), then to Red Lobster. We had a very nice time.

Doctor's Appointment Today

I didn't have to make an appointment for next week because we are going to induce this Sunday (unless I go into labor before then). I am 4 cm dilated but not having any noticeable contractions (of course I have no idea what they would feel like). Paul and I are so excited, we have been ready to hold our daughter for so long. Everything is ready with the exception of the car seat installed in the car, but I have an appointment to do that on Friday morning before I get my pre-hospital lab work done. I'm all packed, the room is set, everyone's on standby. Mom is still in East Texas with my sister and new niece, but she'll be back by Thursday (my step dad is here to drive me around and carry stuff if I need it). At this point, I just plan on sticking around the house trying not to be bored for the next few days.