One Week Old

I can hardly believe it has been one week.

I've had my little man for one week.

Oh how my life has changed and oh how I love that it has

Who knew someone so little and perfect could cause you so much happiness, stress, anxiety, joy, tears, and bliss in 7 short days. Sometimes I feel like I can't do this and that I was not cut out to be a mom, then other times I feel like this is what I was made to do.

He is constantly on my mind and I can't help but hold him as much as possible (nannie says i'm a holding hog) but I just love him so much I want him all to myself. To say he is easy would be a lie but he is the best thing that has happened to me. He is an appendage. I can't imagine my life without him and I already kind of don't want him to grow up.

*sigh*

Brooke came out for a few days to help show me the ropes of motherhood. I am in her debt. She was just what I needed. My mom is my mom of course and I am still trying not to think about her leaving in two days ~gulp~ but my sister had a way to let me know this is something I can and will be able to do.

AND

she may take my favorite pictures ever and brought some of her gear to shoot my beautiful boy

....

Enjoy

He is the sweetest thing in the world.

He's my little turtle.

Happy birthday little love.

p.s. these are the things every mother should have in her Week One Survival Kit:

1. A mom to come stay and help

2. aden+anais blankets

3. Medela breast pump

3. Lanolin

4. Sterilizer

5. Depends ha ha

6. Vanilla Pudding

well... at least those six items have made ALL the difference for me this last week :)

Taking my baby out...

I am trying to get back to some kind of normalcy and taking baby OUT of the house is one of them.

So we went out for a Sunday stroll and Brig tried out his stroller.

Of course the dogs had to come... they are really adjusting quite well.

Just not getting much attention from me.

Nate is however still being quite obliging

Nannie kept the little guy a moving cause he wasn't so sure about sunday strolls yet

handsome boy

(who won't take a pacifier)

handsome dad

my new family

I am officially

The Happiest Girl in the World

Brig Zeyer Clark

Brig Zeyer Clark

March 22, 2010 7:01 PM

7 lbs 3 oz 20 inches

Sunday evening we went in to the hospital to prepare to be induced the following morning. Might I say this night was very long and neither Paige or myself got much sleep. The following morning at 8 the doctor broke Paige's water and the fun began. The nurse had asked Paige on a scale from 1-10 what was the pain from her contractions and her reply was a "6". After the Doctor broke her water she told Paige that the contractions she had been feeling were a 1 and the pain was about to begin. Our Doctor would not allow Paige to receive the epidural until she was dilated to a 4. Needless to say that took almost 5 hours and my poor wife was in a lot of pain. Once 1 rolled around she received the epidural and things were great.

At 6:10 the pushing process began and 30 minutes later they called the Dr to let her know Paige was ready. A few minutes later we got to experience the most incredible event as our child was born. The love we felt in that room was so incredibly strong I couldn't even explain what it felt like. For months I had heard various stories on how scary, gross, amazing, unreal the experience was so I wasn't sure what to expect but I will have to say without doubt it was the most incredible spiritual experience I have had.

Baby Brig was having a tough time breathing so the nurses allowed us to hold him for a brief moment then they let me walk him to the nursery where they could monitor him closer.

I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to leave or not but I stayed put until I was told to leave. All the tests came out perfect so within a few hours we were able to have him in our room for the rest of our stay

Greg, Jon, Bryce, Lisa and Miranda came to visit us in the hospital and first thing Greg did was strike the Heisman Pose and several other football poses for the camera.

Thursday morning we were told Brig had been cleared to go home so we packed up and home we went.

Baby B's first car ride!

One of our main concerns was how the Dogs would react to Brig especially Lucy. All I can say is so far so good. Redford has been more interested in all the flowers we brought home from the hospital.

We are now settled in at home and Pam and Brooke are here for a few days helping out which is very much appreciated. Thank You!

The Little Guy is doing great!

well a few things...

I mentioned momma was coming to babysit me this week? Well she's here! But I didn't really go into the details; this is why:

Nate's Presidents Club that he worked for ALL last year just happened to fall at this lovely time. It is in Monterey this year (which isn't very far away) but an all inclusive/whatever you want to do vacation with a 9 month pregnant wife just isn't fun for anyone and frankly gave me quite a bit of anxiety to even think about. So Nate has gone to enjoy 4 days of non-stop golf and delicious meals in Monterey...

He so kindly keeps sending me these pictures that don't make me jealous at all...

Zie golf course (I'm only posting this pic of course #2 but I'm sure I'll get one from each)

Oh and a quick brag....

Before I packed everything unnecessary up I had to display all of Nate's awards from 2009.

Yeah I know you can't see these up close BUT they may all say some variation of #1 in California (and I'm missing 2 from Nov & Dec cause his manager got sick of making them for him)....

Yeah he's kind of crazy like that and I am never as applauding as I should be.

BUT I am very proud and he deserves this lovely little vaca even if it is without me.

On to me....

Still growing...

At 38 weeks I had no change from the last 2 appointments :(

SO el dr. said to come to the hospital Monday night at 6pm and she will induce me!!!

Yes you read that correct.

By next Tuesday 3/23 I will have a baby in MY arms.

I am so relieved/excited I have had many a labor anxiety/stresses of when and what is actually going to happen. Now I have a plan :)

SOOO happy :)

(oh... and stretch marks can you please stay away for 5 more days?)

My Guy

My guy is 26 today.

He means the world to me and I wish you all could just know what a good man he is.

A good man.

Sometimes I want to kiss him silly

(like when he he has let me buy everything I want for baby)

Sometimes I want to smack him silly

(like when he comes home from the mall with the exact same shoes I bought him for his birthday)

Most times I just want to be near him.

(Like when I drive with him to work at 11pm to pick up his computer)

I still wake up every morning and think to myself how happy I am that he is next to me.

(like when he kisses my belly goodbye before work )

I hope you know how happy I am that you were born today Nathan.

You're MY guy.

Smug and all ;)

Love,

me

Nursery Time

It seems the longer I have to wait for my little man the more I add and embellish his nursery in which location he probably will never sleep in.

But come on... it is so fun and makes me so excited.

This is Brig's wall... the other half of the room is still playing the part of guest room.

View from the door

The lovely cameos of the family

Ohh... and if you come to visit this is where you will sleep!

(and those are my hospital bags ready to go)

and this is my baby doll sleeping in the crib helping 'prep' the dogs for this new transition.

I don't think she is helping......

And 37 week FULL TERM me. After work.

Yes, imagine this body as your cheer coach.

lovely.

Oh.... and after Dr appt today... NO change from last week :(

Why is that such a disappointment?

Brig will probably be arriving right at his due date.

ohhh welllll

On the plus side, my mom is coming to babysit me on Monday!

36 Weeks!

It is high time I update with a belly picture! It all has happened so quickly that I forget how much I really am growing and consequently NOT photo recording my growth. And this all is going to be over before I know it! sheesh....

Well at 36 weeks... this is where we stand

Dialation:2

Effacement: 50%

Body: HUGE

I couldn't believe it when Dr. O told me such things... then went on to say she thinks by 3 weeks I'll have a baby here. What happened to march 28th? I am semi-thrilled that this COULD happen earlier, but planned mind Paige was planning on an extra week or so there...

It definitely shook Nate a bit too... See he has Presidents Club March 15-18 (more on this later) so he kept throwing out numbers at Dr. O to see if said vacation will be happening. We'll see right? But let's just say I NEED to get moving here.

Gear wise I am set, baby clothes are washed, essentials are put away, nest-cleaning is coming along, but I still have that "I have so much to do" and "What do I need to do" constantly running through my mind.

HOWEVER

That has not deterred my LOVELY sleep. The past two days I have slept in till 10 am.

Glorious.

And a special thank you to my husband for making it possible for me to not have to be working right now! I am going to selfishly live up my sleep because rumor is you don't get much of it for the next 15+ years, and I love sleep.

Belly. Very. Veiny. yuck.

I forgot to ask my measurement this week but at 35 weeks I was 35 cm

I am documenting this because I am furious when I ask my mom what she was around this time and she "doesn't remember" so posterity daughter of mine.. here are your momma's stats.

Now For things that I am loving

waking up and rolling over to see this... which very soon will have brig inside

(this amazing cradle is a family tradition that I am so tickled to be able to use. (Thank you Uncle Tim!)

My favorite little booties.... they are sooo soft and sooo small. I think when I washed all of Brig's clothes I brought them out like 5 times to show Nate :)

ps LOVE the smell of Dreft

And my Hanna Andersson skull caps... can. not. wait.

I am still putting finishing touches on Brig's nursery/guestroom but will surely post them soon.

That is if Brig decides to remain in-utero for a short time longer :)