Memorial Day Weekend

Hayes and I headed down to Blanding on Thursday night for Memorial Day weekend. We drove down with Shad and Brooke because Joe had to work all weekend :( Cody, Manda and the boys came down Friday night too. It was a good excuse for me to get out of the house and be around people all day! Hayes and I have spent a lot of time at home the past few weeks! Here are some pictures of the activities over the weekend.

We spent Friday relaxing on the mountain.

Hangin' out at the rec center on Saturday.

We had a family bbq on Saturday and had a late celebration for Trey and Carter's bday.

Hayes and Grandma all ready for churchWe had lots of fun but missed Joe! Joe made me send him pictures of Hayes constantly while we were away. He definitely missed Hayes more than me! haha

Update on Hayes:

Hayes is such a good little baby. He had his days and nights mixed up for awhile but I think he's starting to get them straight. YAY! He's been sleeping so good the past few nights and it makes for one happy mommy! We're getting on a good schedule and everyday I figure this little guy out even more. I know I probably sit and stare at him a little too much but he's just so dang cute! I'm starting to get some "real smiles" now too :) He's getting so big and it seems he changes a little bit every day. Some of his newborn outfits are too little now which makes me sad. Can't he just stay little bitty forever? I love to watch Joe with Hayes, he's so gentle and loving and it just makes my heart smile. A few little facts about Hayes: he enjoys bath time, doesn't like his swing, loves to be held, ALWAYS trying to scratch his face, loves to "talk" he is noisy! He is really aware, he likes to be able to look around at things and see what's going on, and he has to have his arms out when he's swaddled up or he freaks out. Oh, how our lives have changed but we sure love our little boy to pieces. I can't imagine life without him!

Hayes Joseph Andelin

Hayes Joseph Andelin
Born May 5th, 2011
7 lbs. 8 oz.
20 1/2 inches long

Wow, I have a lot to catch up on! I'll have to do a few posts to get caught up because it seems like so much has happened in 2 weeks! I've been a little busy.. and tired.. I'll start with the "labor story."

LABOR STORY

So my whole labor experience was actually pretty nice! I was scheduled to get induced on the 5th at 5 a.m. Joe and I showed up to the hospital bright and early and got settled in our nice big room. The nurse came in to get an IV in me, which I was actually the most scared for, due to I had to get poked 6 times with my last IV. But, luckily she got it in with one poke and it wasn't too bad. Then she asked when I wanted to get the epidural. My answer? Why not just do it now? :) I figured why feel pain if I don't have to? I know I'm such a girl. So the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural, which also wasn't as bad as I thought. I was so scared to move when he put in that needle, I swear I've never been more perfectly still in my life. After that they started the pitocin to get contractions going. Pretty soon I looked up at the monitor and apparently I was having these major contractions regularly but I couldn't feel a thing. Lovely.

So Joe and I decided to take nap since it was still pretty early in the morning and we had a long day ahead. Rough life I know... The nurse came to check my progress about every hour and after 3 or 4 hours and still only being dilated to a 1 I got the feeling this was going to take awhile. A few more hours passed by and I was finally barely at a 2. My parents had shown up by this time to keep us company and wait for baby Hayes. We mostly just watched t.v. and chatted and slept through out the day. I was soo hungry I might add- I was only allowed to have clear liquids and those popsicles tasted like heaven. It got to be late afternoon and I was preparing myself for a long night with such slow progress. By 5 o'clock the nurse said I was maybe at 4, which was at least some progress so I was happy. After that I started feeling the contractions a little bit and some pressure. After about 30 minutes I told the nurse I was really feeling the contractions and didn't know if my epidural was wearing off or what? So I got the okay to push the "happy button" but it didn't really help. 30 minutes later I told her I was still feeling a lot of pressure so she decided to check again and I was dilated to a 10! From 4 to 10 in an hour!

We waited for the doctor to show up and the anesthesiologist gave me a little top off for the pushing :) When Dr. Judd arrived about 20 minutes later it was time to push! Only it wasn't so big of a deal- I pushed for about 10-15 minutes and... we had our beautiful baby boy! I can't even describe the feeling of holding him for the first time. What a special moment that was for Joe and I. Hayes has brought so much joy and has changed our lives forever. We are so grateful for our healthy little boy. I just love being a mommy!

Home Stretch

Almost there!! I can’t believe I’m going to be a mom in two days! I’m so excited/anxious/nervous. I’ve always looked forward to and have known being a mom is my most important calling, but it seems unreal that I will have a little baby in my arms this week. How fitting that this Sunday is Mother’s Day! Fixin' to sneak him out just in time to get me a present :). Thank goodness my mom will be here to help me too! Even growing up my mom has always been one of my best friends and I’m so lucky that God gave me such a great example to be my mother. I’m sure I’m not even close to aware of the challenges that await Joe and I in becoming parents!

Even though I will be delivering on time, pregnancy seems like it has lasted FOREVER, so getting this baby here will feel like a huge accomplishment. I’m also feeling fairly enormous lately, thus the lack of a baby bump picture update… It’s just too much for the camera at this point. Haha. We’re ready to meet our little boy! I can't say it will be better than heaven but we're going to do our best!