Wednesday, April 30, 2014

{1 Month}

Our little peanut is one month old! I can't believe how fast these past four weeks have flown by and I know that time won't be slowing down either. It makes my heart so happy that she is growing and thriving, but it also makes me sad to know that she won't stay this tiny forever. This past month has been challenging, yet so rewarding, and we are so excited to continue to watch her grow :)





Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Newborn Shoot

The week after our little peanut was born we had a newborn photographer come to the house to take some photos of her and our little family, Winston included! Before C was born I contacted Adria Peaden of Adria Peaden Photography here in Panama City about doing some photos for us and she was so enthusiastic about helping us out! She came to our home, which was so amazing. I seriously couldn't have imagined taking her somewhere to have them done when she was only 10 days old. Adria was so patient, kind, and did a fantastic job of making us all feel comfortable despite our major sleep deprivation and me still recovering from giving birth the week before.  Sweet little C was an angel the entire time and didn't wake up until right after the very last shot. Here are some of our favorites that she took for us!















Saturday, April 12, 2014

Postpartum Hospital Must Haves

Post Partum Must Haves

Another post for the expecting ladies, so all others please feel free to tune out until next time! Now that our little peanut is over a week old I thought I would post a list of some of the items I felt were must haves while we were staying at the hospital after labor and delivery. I wanted to post this as soon as possible while things are still fresh in my mind in hopes it would help some of you ladies that are getting ready for you own little one's arrival in the near future!

Wet Wipes: Our hospital didn't provide moist wipes ,therefore I was very glad I brought some to "freshen up" every time I made a trip to the restroom. The last thing you want to do is use hard toilet paper when you nether regions have been traumatized for hours on end. Plus, the thought of taking a shower or bath, at least for me, was so traumatizing that I preferred to use these for the first 24 hours until I felt up for getting in to clean off after the initial delivery bath.

Pillow: I would highly recommend bringing your own pillow, and one for the hubs. The hospital pillows are limp and awful and having your own makes you feel a little more like you're at home. Make sure and not use a while pillow case though so they don't get confused with the hospital ones.

Robe: I was so glad that I brought my own lightweight robe from home. The nurse wanted to me to get up and walk around the hospital halls a few times to get my "sea legs" back so I was thankful when I didn't have to wear that awful hospital gown around and have my bare bum exposed to the world.

Water Bottle: At our hospital they only gave us these teeny tiny styrofoam cups that could be gulped down in one sip. I was very thankful to have my camelback, which has been mentioned in a previous post.

Nursing Pillow: I took our Boppy to the hospital and was thankful I did. The nurses and lactation consultants tried using the pillows from the hospital to position Baby C when I was learning how to nurse which just didn't work. Using the Boppy made a world of difference and helped the process along immensely. 

Gatorade: A good friend recommended that we take some gatorade to the hospital for dad, but I was also very thankful to have some on hand postpartum. I got sick of drinking water after 24 hours and felt the electrolytes really helped me feel better. Buy a 12 pack and keep it in the car until you get moved to your postpartum room. 

Mittens: Your little one will have insanely long finger nails right out of the womb, so make sure and bring some for when you take them home! You'll regret not packing them when they claw up their tiny little face on the way home.

Folder: The hospital will send you home with all kinds of paperwork that will need to be taken to your pediatrician and insurance company so it's a great idea to have somewhere to store it all so it doesn't get lost!

Trash Bag: Let's just say that if you're water breaks before or on the way to the hospital, this is a good thing to have....for obvious reasons.

Blanket: Bring a blanket from home. We didn't have an extra bed in our postpartum room so the hubs was so thankful to have a blanket that wasn't paper thin to sleep with while I was recovering. 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

{Sweet Baby C}

We were incredibly blessed to welcome our new baby girl last week! She was born on April Fools Day, exactly three days before her expected arrival. I was blessed with a fairly easy and uneventful (if there is such a thing) labor and delivery and she came into the world at a tiny 6lbs 10oz. We could not be more excited to finally have her here with us and are already head over heels in love with her. I have been blown away by the amount of love I feel for this tiny human and could not imagine life without her. God has blessed us immensely and we could not be more thankful or feel more honored to be her parents. 

Meeting my sweet baby girl for the first time.

First family photo!


First time daddy held baby C.


Grumpy face.


Proud daddy.

Leaving the hospital!