Becca - Four Months

*again, this post is late! So sorry! I'll get better about this! I will!*

On December 8th, Becca was officially four months old. Was it really four months ago that she entered this world?
It was right around this time last year that we found out we were expecting. Sunday, December 6, to be exact. It was around 7am when the test was positive. It seemed like an eternity we had been waiting for that positive test! And finally, there it was, as definite as it could be. I was so overjoyed I cried. Mitchell was ecstatic. We had both prayed for this child, and the Lord heard our request. We were so excited, we couldn't keep it to ourselves. We were going to wait a week before telling our families, but just couldn't keep it in. So we decided to tell one person from each of our families. I told Brittany, and Mitchell called and told William. They were the first besides us to know! Then we thought, how can we expect them to keep it from the rest of the family? So we ended up telling them all that Sunday morning. What joyous news! We waited a week, though, to tell (basically) everyone else... Church friends, other friends.

And thus began our journey, that we are now full fledged into. Becca is a joy and treasure. She lights up every moment with her smile and giggles. Still growing, she weighed 14 lbs. 14 oz. at her last doctors appointment. She's started on rice cereal, and loves it! She tries to grab the spoon and feed herself! She rolls over constantly, "talks" our ears off with her cute sounds, and is getting closer to crawling every day.
We've had quite the eventful last weeks, as we lost Mitchell's great-grandmother, great-uncle, and two family friends. Then just recently, Mitchell's dad suffered a mild heart attack. Praise the Lord that he is well and recovering. We are so thankful for God's provision and care.

More photos to come soon!

Becca's First Thanksgiving!

*sorry this is so late! We are already days from Christmas, and I'm just now getting this published! I guess it goes to show how fast this holiday season is whizzing by!*

We had a great holiday weekend, and celebrating Becca's first Thanksgiving! She was so cute in her shirt that said, "everyone is thankful for me!" How true that is!! We had a lovely thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents on Dad's side. It was nice to see them and my aunts and cousins, who we don't get to see very often. And Becca got lots of snuggles and kisses!

Picture of the Day

Many times I've looked at my phone to find a text message that says, "I'd love a picture of Becca today!" or, "Any chance you could send a picture of my granddaughter today?" I won't name names, you all know who you are. 😉
So as you can probably tell, I've learned from experience that those doting relatives really appreciate a snapshot of their little pride and joy from time to time. Usually I find one of those cute little onesies to put her in that have a cute message on the front. For example: "is it cute in here, or is it just me?" or, "I know my finger is small, but I got daddy wrapped around it!"

Becca - Three Months

Little miss Becca-boo is already three months old. I can't believe how fast time flies. She has changed so much, even in the last month. She smiles and coos all the time, and she even had her first real belly laugh the other day. She now knows for sure if she's not being held by mommy or daddy, and sometimes fusses if she can't see us. But she won't take her eyes off of us until we "rescue" her from whoever it is that she doesn't quite recognize yet. There are a few people, though, that she's been super content with from the very beginning. It also depends on what type of mood she's in.
She's on a really good schedule, usually goes to sleep around 9pm, and sleeps till 7 or 8am! (I know I'm super lucky!) When she wakes up in the morning, she eats and sometimes even falls asleep again for another hour or so. That's when I get ready for the day! Usually she is awake for the rest of the morning, eating about every 1.5-2 hours. Yup...she eats a lot! Most days, she takes a 1-2 hour nap around 1 or 2pm. That's when I get things done around the house...or, on some days, take a nap right along with her! Then she's up until her bedtime!
It's been so nice to have a solid night's sleep since she was about 8 weeks old! When I went for my 6 week post partum checkup, my doctor said that me being able to sleep well so early on probably helped me heal from my c-section even better/faster. I'm so thankful that there weren't any complications with my healing process. It's still hard for me sometimes to accept the fact that I had to have a c-section. But Mitchell is always reminding me that God was in control of it all, and that He wanted me to trust Him....even if it wasn't my best laid out plan. And look at the reward! Becca was worth every pain, every contraction, every fear and every tear. All the unknowns and all the waiting. All the difficult days. The hard nights. She is worth it all. 
Becca is SUCH a good, beautiful, precious girl... She brightens up our days and makes us wonder what we ever did without her in our lives. It's hard to imagine a time when she wasn't around. God has given us this amazing gift... We are so blessed! 😊❤

Thanks to Auntie Dayna for these pictures! 

Becca - Two Months

As of October 8, Becca is officially 2 months old! I meant to get this update written and posted way sooner, but life is busy!
Becca had her two month appointment this past week, and she now weighs 12 pounds, 15 ounces! She is so interavtive, makes eye contact, and follows voices. She holds her head up and takes in all her surroundings. She likes to push up with her feet, getting her legs all strengthened for walking someday!
I can't believe Becca is already two months, almost three. She's growing right before our eyes, and I'm already seeing how it all goes way too fast!

Thanks to Becca's Auntie Dayna for these great pictures!

Becca - One Month

My baby girl is over a month old! This "one month update" is a bit late, as Becca will be six weeks on Monday. It's crazy to think how fast time has flown! It seems like just yesterday that we welcomed Becca into the world.
She has changed and grown so much in the past weeks.
She smiles a lot and even giggles sometimes. She is so interactive, and makes eye contact more and more. She loves music, especially to be sung to. She loves to be cuddled and held.
She is really an easy, good baby. She is content mostly all the time.
As you can tell, everything is going so well! There are times when it can be overwhelming and tiring, but I know that's very normal. Becca is a joy!
I'm recovering well, I'll have my post-partum appointment coming up. I'll be able to start more exercise soon, which will be nice, but I've just got to find the time to set aside and do it. Its hard to really have much of a schedule when I have a little one who wants to eat all the time!

I finally got a chance to take a few one month pictures of Becca today. She's so cute!

Uncle & Auntie

Two very excited siblings of mine got to hold their niece for the first time awhile ago. And you can tell they're overjoyed! Becca, on the other hand, looks a bit apprehensive...

Becca - Day 12

In a way it's flown by. In another, it really hasn't. Becca is twelve days old! She has changed so much since the day she was born.
We are so enjoying getting to know our baby girl! We can already see her personality peeking through!
We are amazed at how perfect she is. Knit together by the Lord in the most wonderful way. We are so grateful for her and that God gave us this treasure that we truly don't deserve!
Becca has been doing amazingly well.....she is doing 4 and 5 hour stretches of sleep at night which is amazing!
She had her first doctors appointment on Wednesday, and she is doing wonderfully! She was 8 lbs. 15 oz., so getting right back up to her birth weight.
Nursing is going fabulously well....and I am so extremely grateful! Becca has taken to it super well, and now we are a great team. :)

And of course....here are some cute pictures of our precious one!

Welcome Becca Lyn

On Monday, August 8 at 4:12pm, we welcomed our baby girl into our arms! Becca weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long.  

We finally got into the hospital on Friday, August 5, and started the induction process on Saturday. Finally on Monday, having exhausted all our options and nothing progressing any further, a c-section was what needed to happen.

Although that wasn't in our "original plan," God really gave me the confidence to say "let's get her out." He gave us both amazing peace about it that didn't come from ourselves. It could only have been from Him. 

Yup....going into that operating room was one of the scariest things...especially since Mitchell couldn't come in until I was all prepped. And that took awhile. They were having trouble getting me numb, which meant they would have to put me under. And that would mean Mitchell couldn't come in at all. But thankfully, just in time, the epidural took full affect. In just a few minutes, Becca was out!

The moment I saw her for the first time was one of the most amazing moments of my life. Holding her up against me, staring at her little face... And sharing this indescribable moment with the love of my life, thinking, "it doesn't get much better than this!" I didn't care about anything else in the world than those two. Us. Family.  

It seems so surreal that she is actually here, and that she is actually mine! 

She's almost here

After months of waiting, we are finally days away from meeting our precious daughter. We are about to hold her in our arms for the first time. To see her precious face and wonder who she looks the most like. I just can't wait for that moment of seeing her for the first time. There will be tears of happiness and unbelief that she is finally here and the waiting is over.

Well the waiting is almost over, because a date has been set for induction. We go in tomorrow night. Please be praying for everything to go smoothly! We would really appreciate your prayers.

Here are probably some last pregnancy photos... My sister took them a few weeks ago.

38 weeks 1 day

Two weeks till the due date everyone! Just two weeks! That's what I have to keep telling myself lately.
Our weekend was quite full with a trip to the hospital.....I thought was in the early stages of labor!
Throughout the day I'd been having consisitant contractions. For a few hours they were between 2 and 5 minutes apart. They died down for an hour or two and then started again, but not as close together, this time 5-10 minutes apart. During the first "batch" of close contractions, I had called the doctor's office and spoke with the on call midwife. She said it very well could be labor, but since it's my first baby and first labors usually take a while, to stay home as long as I wanted to and to come in when contractions got to the point that I couldn't talk or walk through them. So we waited it out. After that is when they died down, so we went for a walk to see if they would pick back up again. They did. Long story short (but not really that short), we ended up going in so they could check me and see if my water had broken. It hadn't. So they sent us home. While we were there my contractions had pretty much stopped. It was a little disappointing to have to go home. For a bit there I thought that was the day! I thought it was time! But it wasn't. In reality, Becca could stay in there for another few weeks! I'm trying to just trust God. He knows the day and the time that she will arrive, and He is in control!

Here is a picture from Sunday after church! I'm getting pretty huge! :)

37 weeks 4 days

Thought I would write an update on how my doctor's appointment went on Monday and how Becca and I are doing. The appointment went well, although they hadn't received the results from the ultrasound we'd had on Friday. We told the doctor what they had said about Becca being estimated at 7 lbs 6 oz and in the 75th percentile.
The doctor seemed to think that was normal and that everything looked good. So its still just a waiting game! These last days have been the longest days ever! It seems like she can't get here fast enough.
I've been having a pretty uncomfortable week, feeling lots and lots of pressure and cramps. I've also been extremely tired and very emotional.

Here are some pictures from the baby shower on Saturday! It was so nice and we felt so blessed!
Thanks to my sister Brittany and all who helped! :)

37 weeks 1 day

Yesterday was the three week mark till Becca's due date, but I have a feeling she will be here sooner....and I hope so!
On Friday, we had an ultrasound to see how Becca is growing. She is approximately 7 lbs 6 oz! She's in the 75th percentile. They also did a 3D ultrasound, which we were so thrilled about! She is so cute!

Saturday was my baby shower. It was absolutely wonderful, and such a blessing! I felt so loved and encouraged! And now we have pretty much everything we need....Becca can come any time now! :)

As of this morning my pain level has really increased. I'm having really intense pressure, it feels like her head is even lower. It's been hard to walk around this morning! I have a doctors appointment this afternoon, so we will see what they say. My guess is that they may want to set an induction date if I don't go into labor by a certain time.

We'll see! I am so ready for her to arrive! :)

The baby bump picture was taken on Friday.

35 weeks 5 days

Just came from my baby appointment today, and we were in for a surprise. I'm measuring at 39 weeks! Just over 3 weeks ahead! The doctor explained to me that 3 weeks on either side is still considered normal, but I'll be scheduled for an ultrasound coming up pretty soon to make sure Becca's not growing too fast, and to check fluid levels.
At my last appointment, I was measuring normal, so that's a lot of growth in just two weeks!
Which.....explains a lot of the aches and pains I've been experiencing lately. I've been extremely tired and fatigued very easily. Long days away from home are very hard, so we have been trying to keep those to a minimum.

Here's today's baby bump, and also a side by side that my mom did of me in the same shirt at 20 weeks 5 days and then today!

33 weeks 5 days

Just over six weeks till Becca's due date! It's hard to think about anything other than her lately! Especially when she's constantly reminding me that she's in there with her forceful kicks and jabs.
I had a doctors appointment yesterday, and I was surprised to have a short ultrasound done, which was so great! I wasn't expecting to have another one. Becca was head down at the last appointment, and she still was at this one. The doctor was checking to see if she was face down (anterior) or face up (posterior) by just feeling, and she couldn't quite tell, so she decided to get the ultrasound machine out to check. As of yesterday, Becca is posterior (face up). I'm hoping she flips around before she decides to come! But its not a huge deal if she stays how she is. I'm just grateful she's head down!
I got a quick picture from the ultrasound, which I'll include here. I can't really make out her profile in it or anything, but its just her head and hands in the picture, I think. She has gotten so much bigger since my last ultrasound!!! I couldn't believe her head took up almost the whole screen! And I think she may have a head of hair! It looks fuzzy around the edges of her head!
There have been some exciting preparations happening around here...we set up Becca's crib! It's beautiful! I'll post a picture on here once her room is more decorated, but other than that, its ready for her! We are ready! But we wouldn't mind if she stays inside a few more weeks. :)
The heat was really getting to me this week. Those few days that were in the mid 90's were rough, and we didn't have our air conditioner installed yet. But last night my dear husband set it all up. He had to make a frame because it didn't fit in any of our windows. So that's a relief!
I've been being more diligent about staying hydrated, especially in the hot weather. It really makes a world of difference in how I feel.
I've been tired lately and my feet are really feeling this extra weight. Other than that, and horrible back pain, I'm feeling pretty good. I just have to be careful not to over do it!

32 weeks 3 days

Time for another pregnacy update! Can you all believe that precious Becca will be here in just under 8 weeks (if she is born on her due date, that is!)?
I sure can't believe it! The summer weeks are going to fly by. Soon I'll have a baby in my arms! She is going to fill our home with so much joy.
This week, Becca is approximately 3 3/4 pounds and 16.7 inches long. She is about the size of a large jicama! She now has fingernails and toenails, and real hair (or considerable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for her birth.
I can't wait to meet this precious girl whom I already love so much! She is always on my mind as I imagine who she'll become.

I've been feeling tired lately....I tire easily and need to put my feet up throughout the day. Becca's been feeling really heavy to me lately, and it puts a lot of strain on my back, which I really feel by the end of the day.
At my last doctors appointment, I was told that her head is down in my pelvic area, so that explains the pressure I've been feeling on those bones, and on my bladder!
Kicks and jabs from my little one are getting way stronger! She was kicking me all through church on Sunday, and my belly was visibly moving!

We are in the true countdown mode, waiting excitedly for Becca Lyn's birthday!

30 weeks 4 days

Can you all believe it? I've reached 30 weeks! I sure can't.
Less than 10 weeks to go till the big day.....August 7th, Becca's due date. Who knows...Maybe she'll come sooner than that....or later... :)

Becca is getting so, so active. She always has been, but its reaching an all time high lately. At this point, she is about 3 pounds, and 15.7 inches long. She is about the size of a large cabbage!
Becca is most active in the evenings. When I'm relaxing, she's a jumping bean!

I had a doctors appointment last week, and everything is looking good. I measured on track and Becca's heart rate is good!

We headed to the hospital last Thursday because I had been experiencing some cramping throughout the day. They decided they wanted to see me to make sure I wasn't in preterm labor. Everything was fine, I was dehydrated. I hadn't been diligent enough about keeping up my water intake!

I've been feeling okay lately...aches and pains are setting in big time. By the afternoon each day my feel kill, and my back is aching. I've been doing some stretches and exercises that do help ease the pain. I also feel pretty exhausted by the end of the day, too. In the morning and early afternoon I do have more energy.

When I make sure I have enough water, I don't have as many Braxton Hicks, so that's nice!

Over the weekend, we traveled to the Westfield MA area for a friend's wedding. We took my sister Grace with us because she and I did all the music for the ceremony. We traveled down on Friday for the rehearsal and the wedding was on Saturday. It was so nice!

Here is the latest baby bump! She's getting big in there!

28 weeks - Hello 3rd Trimester!

Yes, its true! Today marks the start of my 3rd trimester! The other day someone asked me if it seemed like my pregnancy is going by fast. To be honest, it seems like a bit of both feeling like its dragging on, and also disbelief that I am already this far.

My first trimester was pretty miserable, and being sick so much made things seem to go on forever! As soon as the second trimester came, and sickness slowly started to ease up, I actually felt like I could start enjoying my pregnancy! Don't get me wrong... I have loved the fact that I'm pregnant all through, and the anticipation and excitement of having a baby. It's just that its hard at times, especially those first months when I was so sick.
I am so thankful for the relief I experienced a few weeks into my second trimester! Many women struggle with morning sickness all the way through pregnancy!

As of now, I'm feeling good. I have been experiencing some Braxton Hicks or "practice" contractions. They're not unbearable, just very uncomfortable and tight. By the late afternoon most days my back is aching and the pain wraps around to the front of my belly. There's lots of stretching pain and cramps going on now too.

This weekend, I went with my Mom and two of my sisters to Word of Life Inn for the annual spring ladies conference. We are actually on the way home as I write this! It's always a blessing to attend... This was my sixth time. I was 15 my first time! I've missed Mitchell so much! This was our first time apart since we have been married. I cannot wait to see him!

Over the weekend I was able to swim in the pool, which was so great! I felt so good in the water! I swam both Friday and Saturday night and it was wonderful.
I think Becca liked the music at the conference, she was very active while it was praise and worship time!

Here's today's baby bump, and also some pictures from the weekend!