Paint The Barn Red: weekly baby bumpdate / 40 weeks / labor & delivery edition!

There's nothing like taking photos in between contractions just before heading to the hospital!

40 WEEK INTERVIEW

Labor & Delivery Edition

Since I went into labor on my due date, this won't be a usual bumpdate post (: All the interview questions will be answered in terms of the arrival of sweet baby Aiden!

How far along?

I went into labor on my due date (40 weeks, 0 days) and Aiden was born at 6:06am on March 29th (40 weeks 1 day)!

Baby's size?

Aiden weighed 6 pounds 14 oz at birth and measured 20 1/2 inches long! He's my sweet little guy (: The need for him to stay this small forever is real.

Days until next doc appointment?

Aiden's next appointment is in five days. This next one he has is actually on my birthday! I know, I know. Spending part of your birthday at a doctor's office isn't exactly the most glamorous, but I love this kid so much it doesn't bother me one bit. (: Can I just say how much I love my little guy?

Ok.

Here goes.

...

I love my little guy.

Ugh! I love him. Did I say that already?

How was your last appointment?

Aiden had his first doctor's appointment yesterday! He weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and the nurse said his skin color is looking good so jaundice isn't something they're worried about! (:

As we were getting ready to see the doctor, Jason wanted to try his hand at guessing how much Aiden would weigh. It went a little something like this:

"I'm guessing he's going to weigh 6 pounds 17 ounces."

"You mean 7 pounds and 1 ounce?"

"No..."

It's hard to accurately describe this conversation over text because you can't hear tone of voice, but I will say that for a moment he was quite sure that 6 pounds 17 ounces is a thing.

New parent brain is a thing though. We are both running around on the grace of God and the Reminder app on the iPhone because without both I don't know how we would survive.

Total weight gain?

Well, Aiden hasn't gained any weight yet, but that's totally normal. Again, the need for him to stay small forever is great. I'm looking for the "pause" button on him. Do any parents reading this know where to locate this button?

Maternity clothes?

Now that I've had my baby, so many more of my clothes fit me now! I still wear my maternity leggings and stretchy pants because let's face it - ain't nobody got time for restricting pants after just having had a baby. But so far all the shirts I've tried on since having him fit me again!

Stretch marks?

Since learning about the whole "drum theory", I can say with confidence that I did not get a single stretch mark on my stomach or sides from this pregnancy. (:

Sleep:

Remember how I said in last week's bumpdate, "[I miss] sleeping through the night! Heck, I wouldn't even mind waking up multiple times in the night if I could fall back asleep every time." Remember that?

Well, I meant it! I will say that yes you wake up a few times in the night when you have a newborn. But waking up at all hours of the night to change a diaper or feed a baby (or both) is surprisingly tiring, so you never have trouble falling asleep once they're settled. Take the other night for example: I awoke only to find that I had fallen asleep draped over my child's bedside crib after having reached over the railing to soothe him with a pacifier. And I don't mean, "I had fallen asleep" as in, "I was just resting my eyes". I mean, I was asleep. Out like a light. My face was well acquainted with the railing of the crib. And it was surprisingly comfortable.

#parenthood

Best moment this week:

Giving birth to Aiden!! (: That day will definitely go down as one of the best days of my life. Who knew you could feel so much joy and fall in love over someone you just met all in just a moment?

Food cravings:

I don't know if food cravings continue on soon after pregnancy or not (you know, with all the crazy hormones). But anyway, I've never been a fan of citrus before or fruit at all for that matter, but this week I discovered an excellent thing.

I did it. I ate an orange.

I know, I know. A daring feat for many (most, even). And: I liked it. It's not like it's the first orange I've had in my life, it's just one of those foods I've had a personal vendetta against since childhood. Personal food vendettas are normal, right?

Anything make you queasy or sick?

Just the thought that time is going way faster than I would like it to and I'm still looking for that "pause" button and I cannot find it.

Movement:

My little guy is quite the active fella! After he was born and they put him on the warmer to weigh him, he let out a kick that even surprised the nurses who were attending to him. He may be little, but he packs quite a punch! Once of the first things Jason and I noticed after Aiden was born was the amount of muscle he has! I've told Jason since I was working out until the 9th month of pregnancy, Aiden was actually working out in my belly with me! I am actually jealous of my baby's delts. Good.grief. Talk about some boulder shoulders!

As far as my movement goes, I've (for obvious reasons haha) been a bit sore since Aiden was born. I still have some pelvic pain from bones shifting around, but it's not nearly as bad as it was over the last few months. My back also gets sore pretty easily, but I imagine that's just from having had so much weight out the front for so long and then all of a sudden most of that weight is gone. It's like my back has to readjust to not needing to lift/support so much weight 24/7. Needless to say, it is getting easier with each day and I am looking forward to being able to exercise and be more active again after my 6 week check up!

Have you started to show yet?

I think having Aiden with us shows that I was pregnant very recently! haha.

Missing anything?

Honestly there were a few days where I missed feeling kicks and punches and stretches and hiccups in my belly. You go 9 months with this little babe wiggling around and then all of a sudden you don't feel that anymore. It can be bitter sweet. But now I'm just glad to have my little boy here (:

Gender:

Baby boy! (:

Labor signs?

I would say that contractions, a stay in the hospital, and having my baby are some pretty good labor signs. haha

Belly button:

I finally have an innie again! And I can actually see my belly button again without looking in a mirror! All great things to have accomplished this week.

Wedding rings on or off?

On!

Happy or moody most of the time?

Becoming a mommy has been one of the happiest experiences of my life and has made my heart so full! There have been so many happy moments. But when I start thinking about the future...I get emotional. I've never exaggerated when I say I only cry a few times a year. But now since having Aiden I have cried at least once every day. Not in a sad way, but in a "I want him to stay little forever" and, "Oh my gosh one day he's going to be 18 and leave me" and, "One day he won't need me to take care of him anymore" and, "One day he's going to get married and we're going to have our last dance at his wedding and I will definitely flood the entire venue with my tears." kind of way.

And with that, the floodgates have opened.

This boy has stolen my heart.

#motherhood

Weekly symptoms:

No more symptoms of being pregnant with the exception of those post-partum symptoms of course haha

Looking forward to:

A whole lifetime of happiness with my growing family.

It's kind of bitter sweet ending this blog series on my pregnancy and ending these weekly bumpdates. I am so glad that so many people have enjoyed reading these posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them! I'm thankful for all the people who have read along through this crazy and exciting journey and those who have prayed for us and cared for us along the way. I'm going to keep posting updates on Aiden and life in general, but since we're adjusting to this new schedule of caring for a baby, I don't know how often or regular those posts will be. But I do know I want to keep sharing our life with this little guy because not only is it fun to share with friends and family these precious (and sometimes ridiculous) memories, but because this is a journal of my life through pregnancy and becoming a mommy and all the little moments in between. I have been posting on instagram more often lately since posting a photo with a caption is a lot quicker than writing an entire blog post. So if you would like to and aren't already, you can follow me over there for more pictures of Aiden and more updates on our life. (my instagram username is @marlyssa). I also have a facebook page for this blog if you haven't "liked" it already! I post over there whenever I've added a new blog entry. It makes it easy to know when there's a new post instead of needing to check back over here. You can "like" my facebook page for this blog by clicking here. I do have a few blog posts in mind for the near future, so stay tuned for those! (Including a nursery tour! You don't think I would go on and on for months about all our nursery projects and then just never share them, do you?!) I'm really looking forward to life with Jason and this little guy and all the fun memories we will share as a family and I can't wait to share them all with you too.

I hope you'll stick around for the ride.

- Some recent instagram photos -