cousin time

So, yesterday, Krystal & Jackson brought Avery & Brodie to visit after school. They're still not too interested in Whitten, but I know they will be in time. After dinner we all played (well, I mostly watched) in the backyard. It was really funny....the picture of Jackson spinning Brodie.....when he put him down Brodie couldn't walk straight, he was so dizzy! He didn't like that feeling too much. Avery was pretending to be a mermaid in the picture of her laying down in the "water" (grass). She loves mermaids.

Our new life

Right now M & Whitten are taking a nap (see picture). Today Mom & Gran came over and spent the day until Marty got back from school. I cannot tell you how much help Mama has been. She has cleaned every square inch of this house, has washed who knows how many loads of dishes and laundry, and today she even gave me a pedicure while I was feeding Whitten. I told her I know what it's like to be rich and famous now and have someone do everything for you. I also told her she'll need to take a vacation before she goes back to work Monday because she has worked so hard here. My house looks better than it typically did pre-pregnancy. Mom will be embarking on her much deserved retirement at the end of the year. She has nearly 37 years with the government. Daddy is great, too. Yesterday he came down with Mom and he had Whitten listening to songs on YouTube and sat with her out on the porch and talked about cars driving by. The other picture was taken last night while M was studying. It's so sweet.....he puts her in her bouncy seat wherever he studies.

How'd I forget the stats.....

She was 6 lbs. 10 oz., 19 inches long. Born @ 8:04am Wed. 9/17/08. Here's a not so good shot of her in the sling while I was typing.

It's a girl! Whitten Claire Matthews!

Ok, so ALOT has happened since I last posted. I am typing this while Whitten Claire Matthews (5 days old) is resting snuggly in my HotSling. She loves this thing and so do I. I have 2 free hands to work with.

Last Tuesday (9/16) I left work around 6:00. We ate dinner around 6:30, then I sat down here at the computer to e-mail some friends with an update from my doctor's appointment earlier that day. (Not that it matters anymore, but the doctor said all was looking good and she scheduled me to be induced this week, but I may go sooner on my own.) After the e-mails I was going to update this blog. So, Teresa, I finished your e-mail and hit "send". At that very moment (7:00pm) my water broke! Talk about getting freaked out! I yelled in the most terrified tone of voice "Aahh, Martin, my water just broke!", followed by repeating several times "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THIS IS SO GROSS!". We made it to the hospital by 7:40. (The hospital is less than 15 mins. away, but I needed a little time to freak out some more.) I didn't have any contractions until they actually got me back into a room and hooked up to everything. EVERYONE TAKE NOTE: GO FOR THE EPIDURAL. Pre-epidural I had never felt such pain in my life. Thirteen hours after the water broke and after an hour and a half of pushing, Whitten made her entrance, but not easily. She scared the daylights out of us. She was not crying and barely moving. I couldn't see anything, but the room was silent with nurses hurrying about, so I knew something wasn't right. The NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurses were called in. I was crying, of course. I could only see M's face, which had fear written all over it. As we later found out, her cord had gotten wrapped around her neck during the delivery and cut off her blood supply and she was face up instead of face down. They took her to the NICU where she stayed for the first day and a half. Seeing the other babies in there while we were visiting Whitten made us realize just how much God blessed us. We got to come home Friday night around 6:00. My mom stayed with us. I pray I can be the kind of mother my mom is. Martin is awesome, too! I have the best support one could ever ask for. M even went to school Friday. He had 2 tests that he studied for while in the hospital room. I urged him to go home to study and even spend the night to get some rest b/c my mom was there to help me, but he would not leave us.

Whitten had a visit to the pediatrician today. They wanted to see her before the usual two weeks because of her stay in the NICU. The doctor was impressed with how well she is doing considering her rough entrance into the world. She has lost only fractions of an ounce, which is very unusual for breastfed babies. She'll return for another check up next week when she's 2 weeks old.

The pictures above.......the one of all of us was taken last night (4 days old). The one of Whitten (2 1/2 days old) is in her coming home outfit with a pink hairbow & pearls, of course!

We are so in love with our baby girl!

House divided: Rebels/Tigers

I've failed to mention the awesome shower my friends, both Ole Miss & Memphis, gave me the weekend before last (8/30/08). It was in The Grove (the Circle, to be exact) before the Ole Miss vs. Memphis game down in Oxford. With M being a Tiger right now and me being forever a Rebel, it was the perfect opportunity for all of us to get together and involve the baby and the guys. After the guys had had enough baby shower business they went to the game and the girls stayed behind to catch up and people watch---which is always interesting on game days. One really neat gift was a blanket that both the baby's grandmothers had a hand in making. One side was Memphis, the other was Ole Miss. You can't see it, but in the picture of me with the hostesses, hanging behind us was a crib mobile with Col. Rebs & Tigers---too cute! Thanks y'all for a great day.

the nursery

So we got home today and this rug was on the front porch. I ordered it from Target last week for the nursery.

I went to the doctor today for my week 38 check up. She says I'm progressing well and at next week's visit we may schedule to be induced the following week which is the week of the due date!