Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Gracyn!

One year ago today my sweet, little Gracyn was born. She is such a blessing to us and we have thoroughly enjoyed every minute with her. I couldn't imagine my life without her.

This morning she woke up about 6:30. I brought her to bed with me hoping she would go back to sleep, but no such luck. So we got up. She had a banana and some dry blueberry wheat hearts for breakfast. I put her favorite movie, Curious Buddies, in while I worked on finishing up the pinwheels for her party. She was vegged out in her pj's watching TV, as any birthday princess should do!


We had to go pick up her birthday "smash" cake at 1:00 and be to Rogers for her pictures at 2:00. We decided to go ahead and let her open one of her presents before we left. She got a beautiful pearl bracelet that she can wear now. As she grows, I can send it back and have more pearls added. The first thing she did was put it in her mouth. She had it looped around those two little bottom teeth and would not let it go. Not good. We finally managed to pry it from her little mouth.




We had so much fun getting her pictures done! I can't wait to post some of them on here, but will have to wait til after her party!!!

Happy Birthday Gracyn, I love you so very much!!!

Looking Back, Part III

THE TIME HAS FINALLY COME!

November 11 at 9:45, I left work to go to the doctor. I was always so excited to listen to Gracyn's sweet heartbeat. Dr. Addington said I was 1.5 cm dialated and 30% effaced. He also said that my blood pressure was a little high and that my feet were really swollen so he wanted me to stop working. He also said that if I didn't have her by my due date, Nov. 20, then we would induce the next day. So we went ahead and made an appointment for me to come in Nov. 21 at 7:00am. Part of me was excited to know that she would be here no less than ten days. The other part of me was praying that she would come on her own. I wanted the excitement of not knowing and to wake up in the middle of the night with contractions, or to say, "I think my water just broke!" Cliche, I know! I went back to work and told my boss that I would finish out the day, but that I wouldn't be back til after the new year. I got all of my leave paperwork started and could barely focus the rest of the day. I was just too excited to get out of there!

November 12-14 I was bored out of my mind!

Sunday, November 15, came around and Clint and I decided to get out of the house and go on one last date as just the two of us. We went to red lobster and had dinner. We had about two hours before the movie started so I suggested we go to the mall and walk around. We went to the late movie and saw, Law Abiding Citizen. During the movie, I was having a lot of Braxton Hick contractions. It was so neat to see my tummy harden then relax. They were happening more than usual, but I didn't think too much about it.

Monday, Nov 16 at about 1:30 in the morning my back started hurting. I got up to go to the bathroom then went back to bed. A few minutes later the pain came back. I got up to go to the bathroom, then went back to bed. A few minutes later they came back. Then I thought, "Could these be contractions?!" I layed in bed and timed them for about an hour. They were about 8 minutes apart. I woke Clint and told him I was hurting. So we layed in bed about another hour and timed them, about every 7 minutes apart. Clint jumped up and got in the shower...I put laundry in to wash. The pants and shirt I wanted to wear home from the hospital were dirty so I had to wash them. Meanwhile, my contractions got less and less frequent. About 5am we decided to go back to sleep. Well, Clint slept. I woke up about every 30 minutes with a contraction.

I had a feeling I would have more contractions that night so I went ahead and had my bags packed and had taken a shower. Clint was watching a Monday Night Football so I went to our bedroom to watch TV. About 10:30 pm the contractions started again. Clint ran in the bedroom and said, "Are they here?! Let's go!" I told him I wasn't ready to go just yet. We layed in bed for about an hour then got up and went to the living room. I sat on my exercise ball while Clint applied pressure to my back. The nurse in our baby classes said this is a great way to ease the pain and she was right! Clint was so ready to go, but I kept telling him to wait. I was scared the contractions would start to lessen and didn't see the point of driving all the way to the hospital in Rogers just to be turned away. At about 1:00 am I said I was ready to go. I really don't remember the car ride there. I was too busy focusing on whether or not that contraction really hurt. For some reason, I kept telling myself I wasn't really in labor. Dumb, I know!

We arrived to the hospital and checked in through the ER. I told the lady at the counter that I thought I was in labor, but not sure...but that they hurt. Within 5 minutes a nurse, Trinity, from labor and delv was there to get me. We got up to a room and she had me change into a gown. She checked me and I was already 5 cm dilated! I guess I'm glad Clint made me go! Trinity and another nurse were pushing around on my stomach and asked me if the doctor told me what I thought she weighed. I said no and they said, "well, she is a big one!" She then asked if I wanted an epidural and right away I said, "yes!" Clint said, "I thought you wanted to wait and see how you felt later on..." I said, "Oh yea, I don't want one right now." STUPID! About an hour later, she came in and checked me again...a 6! 2 contractions later I was saying, "I NEED ONE NOW!!!" The nurse said, "I already ordered it, it will be here in about 5 minutes." She was so great! Clint is terrified of needles. Not really shots, its the needles that go into your veins that creep him out. So when the anesthesiologist arrived Clint headed for the door. I was like, "Where are you going?!" He sat in front of me, holding my hands the whole time. I think I was actually there for him more than he was for me.

I had originally told the nurse that I didn't want more than two people in the room at once. My mom and entourage of siblings got to the hospital about 4:15 or so. They stuck to the 2 people rule at first. Then Clint's parents showed up about 4:30. Jeffie was already there. Eventually everyone was in the room! I didn't mind at all...I was on Cloud 9 and so was everyone else!

At about 6am I was dilated to a 7 and the doctor came in and broke my water. He suggested I take a little nap. So everyone left and I slept for about an hour. They came back in at 7am and said my contractions weren't getting any harder or lasting any longer like they should be so they wanted to put me on pitocin once I got to an 8. Four hours later I was finally dilated to a 10 and could start pushing!!!

Pushing was hard...much harder than I expected it to be. Gracyn hadn't really dropped much so I was having to push really hard. At one point, the doctor told the nurse to prepare an OR. He came back around the curtain and told me if I didn't make any progress in the next couple of pushed I was going to have a c-section. I DID NOT want a c-section so I gave it my all!

Gracyn Blair Thomas arrived
November 17, 2009, 12:29 pm
9 lbs 21 inches

Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her little neck twice so the doctor had to cut the cord so they could get her on oxygen. It was a scary moment, but they assured me she was going to be ok. I could see her lying across the room and I wanted to just pick her up and hold her and comfort her. After about 10 minutes she started to pinken up and Clint got to hold her. I had a 2.5 degree tear so the doctor had to give me stitches. This, honestly, was the worst part of my labor. I'm not sure if my epidural wore off or what, but I couldn't even let the doctor touch me without screaming in pain. He finally called the anesthesiologist to come up and give me something. Whatever he gave me worked, bc I just kinda dozed off. Meanwhile, Clint and the nurses were taking tons of pictures!


The very first picture of Gracyn!


Dad "cutting the umbilical cord"!


9 lbs! Big Baby!!!


Daddy loves his little girl!


Looking right at the camera!


First family picture!

Clint and I wanted to call our parents and announce that she was here, but bc I was in so much pain we waited til after the doctor was done. So about 1:45 pm we finally had them on speaker phone to announce the arrival of their first grand baby! Everyone was ecstatic! After feeding Gracyn they got me up and moved me to another room. Now it was the family's time to come in ohh and ahh over her!


Gracyn with her Nonna!


Gracyn with her Ma!


Gracyn and Aunt KK!

I ended up staying 2 nights in the hospital. I was just too sore to get up and move around the first day. By the second day, I was feeling much better. We were ready to be home and start our life with our little miracle!


Waiting to be released.


Home at last!


We definitely weren't planning to have a baby, but she is the best thing that has ever happened to us! We love her more than anything and couldn't imagine life without her. I can't wait to hold her in the morning and tell her Happy 1st Birthday!

Looking Back, Part II

Two more days til the BIG day! I can't believe a whole year has passed. This time a year ago Clint and I were on our last date as just two of us. We went to Red Lobster and to a movie. However, the were many events leading up to this time last year.

SHOWERING US WITH LOVE

Our family and friends were shocked to learn we would be having a baby. Shocked, but happy. The first of our friends/family to find out was Katie, Jeffie, and Jake. I called Katie to find out what I needed to do. Clint didn't think it was fair that one of my friends knew so he insisted on calling Jeffie and Jake. Still not sure how that one was fair. We wanted to wait til we had our first official doctor appt and heard the heartbeat before we told anyone else, including our family.

April 27, a week after our first appt, we met our group of friends at Mexico Veigo (our favorite!)I was so nervous. Jake is the one that actually broke the ice when he said, "Clint and Peevy have some news." So of course, everyone stops and looks at us. I was so nervous I don't really remember how Clint told them. Everyone was excited and had tons of questions to ask.

April 29 I called my mom on the phone and told her I needed her to buy me a baby bed. She didn't quiet understand what I was asking for. She said, "Why do you need a baby bed?" I said, "Because I do." All I heard was screams and "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" I seriously had to repeat it for Janaca, then Jolynn, then Justin. She was excited, to say the least.

May 9 we went to Bristow for the Wild Flower Run. This also just happened to be Mother's Day weekend. I was so nervous about telling Clint's parents that I begged Clint to not make me go. We got there late Friday night. All I remember about this part is me sitting on the couch and Clint saying, "Well, you are going to be grandparents." Wayne said, "hmmm, how do you spell..." He was doing a crossword puzzle. Not the reaction I was expecting, although I'm not really sure what I was expecting. They were shocked, but excited to have their first grandbaby on the way!

June 23 sweet, baby Caroline was born! Two days later is when we found out we were going to be having a little girl as well. Katie and I were ecstatic that our little girls would be the best of friends!

June 28 my mom came up and we went shopping for baby furniture and bedding. We went to several different shops and I just couldn't find anything that I really like that fit our budget. We decided to go with a crib that Clint found online and a pink and green crib set. We defiantly owe my mom a big thank you for those two big items!

July 11 we went to Tulsa to register at Babies R Us. Clint's parents and Jeffie met us up there. We had a lot of fun as went up and down the isles wondering if our little girl would like this or that, these or those? Clint got a little carried away with the registering gun as I noticed things on the registry that I would never register for! I was getting more and more excited as each day passed!

July 25 was the Branson family reunion in Salem, AR. The Branson's are Clint's maternal grandmother's side of the family. Juanita has two sister's who were also expecting grandbabies that year. They decided it would be fun to have a "Grandma's Shower" after the reunion. We had a lot of fun and received many great gifts from family!

August 8 we finally started on the nursery!!!! Clint's friends were giving him a "man shower" out at the lake so my mom came up and we started painting. I decided to go with a green on the bottom and pink at the top. I love how it turned out!


Three days later the furniture arrived!!!



Gracyn's rocker...I love this chair!


The cradle, which Gracyn slept in in our room for about the first six months.

September 17 our childbirth classes started. At this point I am just 9 weeks away from my due date so am getting very excited! I loved going to the classes, because it just made everything seem real!

October 3 was my big baby shower hosted by Katie, Sarah, Jeffie, and Heather. It was the most fabulous shower ever! We received tons of gifts and were so thankful for them all!

Very cute invitation!

Beautiful Cake and Topiary! Katie made the topiary and it is now sitting on one of Gracyn's dressers. I love it!

The best hostesses ever!

My favorite gift...the afghan my mom made!

Such great friends!

40 weeks is a long time to wait for a sweet baby to arrive. However, I had such a great pregnancy it made it that much worthwhile. I really enjoyed being pregnant, but all good things must come to an end. Lucky for me, this good thing that was ending was just the beginning of a wonderful adventure!

Looking Back, Part I

I feel this blog is a great way to capture memories that Gracyn can look back on someday. I am so upset with myself for not starting it from the day I found out I was pregnant, instead I started it when she was 4 weeks old. Better late than never. Her first birthday is in 3 days, so I decided to look back on when I found out I was pregnant/ultrasounds, preparing for her arrival, and the day she was born.

THE RABBIT DIED!

Clint and some friends were running a relay in the Little Rock Marathon on March 15. I had been sick for several days, but it seemed to get worse that weekend. Clint insisted that I go to the doctor when we got home. So, the next day, March 16, I went to work like any normal day. After work, I went to a walk in clinic for what I knew was a sinus infection. The nurse asked if there was a chance I could be pregnant. I said, "No. Well, I mean there is always a chance, but I'm not." She said, "well, let's just do a pregnancy test just to rule it out. It will make a difference in what antibiotics we give you." I was like, "OK." I've never had to do a pregnancy test at a doctor and really didn't think much about it. I knew it would come back negative, so no big deal. I was sitting in the room when the nurse walked in and said, "Congratulations! The rabbit died!" I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked her what that meant and she said, "You're pregnant!" (apparently, back in the day they would insert women's urine into a rabbit and if the rabbit died it meant the woman was pregnant.) I was in shock! I kinda laughed and was like, "what?!" She just thought it was the funniest thing! I was like, "But I just booked a cruise today!" Needless to say, I canceled the cruise!

I get home and am standing at the bar opening the mail, still in utter shock. I hear the garage door opening and am trying to think of how I am going to tell Clint. He walks in and asks how my doctor appt went. I started crying and somehow he guessed that I was pregnant. Right then, I asked him to take me to Wal-Mart to get a pregnancy test. Surprise, it came back positive as well! I called Katie and told her the news. Of course, she didn't believe me. I'm not sure at what point she believed me but she told me to call my primary physician the next day. SO that I did. I had to go back in for another pregnancy test. Positive. That evening I took another test. Positive. Later that week, I took another. Positive. So, after 5 pregnancy test it finally sank in that I was going to have a baby. The moment Clint said, "This is going to be fun," I knew everything was going to be ok. Although we weren't planning on me getting pregnant, we were both very excited at the thought of having a sweet baby.


The next week, on March 25, I thought I was having a miscarriage. I was at work and the doctor asked if I could come up to the office. The whole way there I was just praying and praying that everything was going to be ok. The ultrasound tech had already gone home for the day so it was one of the doctor's doing the ultrasound. He said he wasn't too savvy with the machine, but he figured he could find what we were looking for. Then, we saw a little spot on the monitor. He asked me what I saw and I said, "A little spec." He said, "look right there." In that little spec was the most amazing thing ever...a little heartbeat.


On April 20, Clint and I got to hear the heartbeat, 160 bpm!!! It was the most amazing sound ever!

June 25, we had the ultrasound and found out we would be having a GIRL! We were lucky because we could NOT agree on a boy name to save our lives! We already knew we would be naming this little girl Gracyn Blair!



July 1 was the first time I felt her move. I was at work and it was about 6:30 am. I felt an odd sensation in my lower tummy. I didn't think much about it, then I felt it again. Then again. That is when I realized it was her moving. I called Clint and woke him up to tell him what had just happened. I told him I felt like I had fish swimming in my belly!

August 27 we had the 3D/4D ultrasound. Clint wasn't so sure about this one. He thought it was going to be creepy, but he enjoyed it and was so glad we did it! We could tell by the ultrasound that she was going to have Clint's forehead and my nose and lips...and sure enough, she does!

Our Little Gnome!

This was Gracyn's first halloween! It took me awhile to decide what I wanted her to be. I finally stumbled upon this costume and loved it! She makes such a cute, little gnome! Clint and I were taking her around to some of our friend's house when we decided it would be funny to make her a "roaming gnome." So, we took her to campus and Wilson park and got some cute, random pictures. We had a blast, not so sure how much Gracyn enjoyed it. Here are some of the places visited by the Roaming Gnome!










That night, Gracyn helped me hand out candy to the trick or treaters. She did such a great job!

Little Miss Piggy...Oink Oink!

The pictures say it all...












The girl LOVES to eat!

Such a Big Girl!

Not a lot of things going on in the past few weeks. Gracyn did say "bye bye" the other day. She hasn't said it since but Clint and I both heard it and she was waving bye when she said it so we are convinced! I thought I would just post a few things going on around here that shows how big Gracyn is getting!


She is starting to outgrow her exersaucer. It's about time we take off the rotating chair and make it just a play table.


The other night I was unloading the dishwasher and she decided she wanted to help. She climbed up their all on her own. It was cute at first, but now it's becoming difficult to load or unload it because she thinks it's play time.


I have gotten into the habit of bringing Gracyn to bed with me when she wakes up at night. The doctor even told me I was her lollipop and that is why she is waking up at night. So, a couple nights ago when she woke up Clint turned off the monitor and would not let me go get her. It was tough but after a couple minutes of crying she went back to sleep. The next two nights she didn't wake up at all. This will be the fourth night so I'm hoping it will go as good as the past few nights.