Sleep? Whats that?

So almost three weeks of having my little man home, and I have maybe slept a total of 14 hours over those weeks. :) Not complaining-I have just decided that this is a right of passage and I should just get over it. But, I will complain a little about Ash getting more sleep than me. Now I know he should during the week cause he is working, but this picture was taken on a Tuesday night about 7:45. And he was out for the rest of the night,,,,must be nice.

sorry---cant figure how to rotate this pic

We took Charlie to get his newborn pictures done Friday, and of course he slept the whole way there and was wide awake when we got there. We finally got him to sleep, but it was slightly stressful. There I was in the background holding the hairbrush, like my mom used to do to me. I kind of felt like a stagemom just waiting for my cue to go in and fix his hair when called upon. Then Paul (photographer) wanted me in the pictures. Um,,,,I looked horrible because I thought it was just of the baby!! I did what he wanted but I will NOT be ordering any of those. Geez Louise,,,,. As a sidenote I did put some makeup on Friday and I am pretty sure Charlie had no idea who I was for the longest time.

Had my checkup with the doctor to and he gave me the ok to do some "light exercise", whatever that means. I took Charlie walking this weekend cause it was so gorgeous outside! He did so good!! The driveway is so bumpy and I thought his head was gonna fall off but it turns out he is pretty resilient.

I just finished making him watch "Twilight" with me for his first time. He needs to learn to appreciate the arts. ")

It is amazing how I seem to be making some sense writing this considering the lack of sleep I have had---ok. Baby boy is now screaming his head off for no reason. I have heard they get fussy in the afternoon and he must be going through that now because his face is purple. Amazingly I put on some Dave Matthews Band music and he calmed down. I put earphones on my tummy while pregnant playing DMB, so glad to know its paying off!

Goodnight~!

Happy Birthday and What do I do?

On behalf of the Clayton Family, we would love to wish my lovely sister in law, Kelly, a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! We love her so much and are so thrilled they live here now! Kelly has been a lifesaver from the very start of this adventure we call motherhood. I am feeling nostalgic today, and would love to share the story of how we met. It was my freshman year, her sophomore year at college---JUST KIDDING KELLY!! :) I already told this story on an earlier post so you have to look it up to read it. Kel says I totally exaggerate the story, but I feel like I am crystal clear on every detail!!

Here are some pics from her birthday dinner at my parents:

So quick question--did anyone get a manual when you left the hospital? Mine must have gotten misplaced or something....because between the hours of 1-6 my little wild man is just that--WILD! I am doing a great routine during the day,,it just goes down the drain at night. Charlie would say--"Hey--cut me some slack! Im only 14 days old!" I'm not expecting him to say his ABC's anytime soon, but to at least sleep sort of better at night. When does this all happen? Is there a magic spell I need to say to him or just lots and lots of prayer? :)

Well, besides those few hours he is precious. I wonder if he associates me with anything other than food at this point. Does he know what I went through to get him here? Does he know I am his mommy? Here are some more pics from last night when daddy came home from work:

what a ladies man already!!!! HAppy Birthday Aunt Kelly!!! We love you!!!

Charlie's Here!

So this is how it all went down for the arrival of my baby Charlie,,,

We get to the hospital at midnight, July 1st, with much anticipation. (That and some indigestion because I ate so much food prior since 4 pm was my deadline:) After registering, the super nice nurse takes awesome care of me for the next 6 hours. She answered all of my "I'm a new mom and I am super scared to death about this whole thing" questions. Ash and I tried to nap here and there for the next few hours, until my doctor came into break my water at 6:45 am. The nurse told me it would feel like a normal cervical exam. She must have been smoking crack because that was one of the worst feelings I have felt. I immediatly thought--"Ok. Im done. No more--lets go home. Seriously."

After that painful experience, I thought that the show was on the road and Charlie would be here in a few hours. My doctor said to me, "Ok. Gonna let you rest now and we will check back in 12 hours to see how you are progressing." Huh?!?!?!?! Did he say 12 hours???? Yet another shock. She raised my level of Pitocin (sp) and we were off. I did not feel much of anything for a little bit, and then -WHAMO!! CONTRACTIONS! I was trying to be a big girl and fight through it, while trying to explain to Ash what it felt like. He relates to it as indigestion. Yeah. Sure pal. So around 11 am I got my epidural.

I was scared about this too, mainly because having a gigantic needle in your back just doesn't seem normal to me. Lucky for me, a great friend was there to help with the epidural . She is a nurse anesthetist at the hospital and walked me through the whole thing. She didnt want to give me one, being a friend and all, cause she wanted it to be a good experience just in case. Kind of like when you invite someone to church and the preacher is gone so they do the annual budget meeting. You explain feverishly that "its never like this" and "its normally AWESOME!" So she had a doctor come give it to me, whose name was Charlie :)

After that was given, I felt so much better. Next time I will get one as soon as I pull into the parking lot. What a weird sensation! So after hours of checking to see if I dilated at all, my doctor decided that we would check at 10 pm and make a decision then. So, at 10pm I was barely a 5, and he thought it best to do a C-section. Fine with me, whatever was best for the baby, but I immediately started crying for some reason!!! I guess it was a mix of nerves probably.

So after the call was made things happened very quickly. I was wheeled into surgery a few minutes later and next thing I knew all my insides were on the outside of me. Ash was holding my hand, but kept watching the whole thing saying "this is so cool. oh my goodness. " yea,,,thanks pal. Then they tell me its gonna be alot of pressure, and from what Ash said a lady literally was laying on me pushing my boy out. And finally at 11:01 pm, I see and hear the most beautiful noise in the whole wide world. They take him to the warmer and suction him out cause he had lots of the meconium aspirated. I started crying again, with good reason. They give him to me, but my arms are numb so I have this death grip on him so he doesnt fall. After some pics they take him away, and Ash follows. The proud papa:)

Then the tugging and pulling and yanking began. I asked for a tummy tuck while they were down there. No harm in asking right? They laughed, but I was serious. Come to find out, my pelvic bone was to small and he was turned sideways trying to get out. The doc told me there was no way he would have ever come out normally. So, seeing as how my pelvic bone was too small I felt better because my grandmother used to tell me I was "big boned" like her. Well nanny nanny boo-boo! :) Granted it was not my hip bone, but still. To be told you have a small bone does wonders for a pregnant girl. But I really thought there should be some way to tell if that bone is too small so women dont have to go through 20+ hours of labor. Seriously-that was ridiculous.

They wheel me out and I see my mom and dad and start crying again. I am just a faucet today! The grandparents are all in the room for awhile and then everybody leaves. Suddenly its just Ash, me, and Charlie. It all sets in---what do we do now???? Isnt someone gonna bring in the massive manual to guide us through the next few weeks? No one did, but they did take us to our next room and left us alone to sleep. I was too excited though---like Christmas eve. I had just been blessed with the best present in the whole wide world and sleep was the last thing on my mind.

Then over the next few days, all the things of after labor happened. Stuff no one told you about. I had been forewarned of a few things from Kim and Kelly, but oh my word! I wont go into detail cause I might get in trouble from mom. One of the most humbling experiences for me was wearing those gigantic diapers for a couple of days. Yeesh.

So then came the day we got to leave. Being discharged from the hospital took FOREVER! And then they trust you enough to just let you walk out with this tiny person. But we got him home safely, after driving 15mph on the interstate and me holding his head so it didnt bobble everywhere. Family came over with food and we celebrated Charlie's homecoming. I had forgotten that the day we came home was July 4th, so there were fireworks going of everywhere! I almost yelled out my door to our neighbors-"UM HELLO!?!? NEWBORN IN HERE!!! KNOCK IT OFF!" But I refrained. We should celebrate our nations independence. :)

We took Charlie to the doctor Monday, again driving very slow, and then to his first visit to Chick-fil-A. All is well with the little guy, and we are loving every minute of him being here. Even the late hours:) If anyone has a secret to getting them to sleep at night, please feel free to pass it along:) He sleeps next to us in a co-sleeper, and every little whimper or movement causes me to be right in his face checking on him. Hey-I'm a new mom. Cut me a little slack:)

My mom used to tell me that I will never understand how much she loves me until I have a child of my own. Now I understand the magnitude of my parents love for me and my brothers. And I have a newfound appreciation for my parents and all the sleepless nights I caused them. I love this sweet miracle so much it actually hurts my heart. I just melt when he looks at me, even though I know he cant see alot now, but still. :) I also love watching Ash with him. I totally fell in love with my husband all over again. (I am just a pile of much aren't I ? Good grief!)

So there is the story--our story--- and many more will follow with our new journey as being parents to Charlie. Weird to say "parents"--sounds old. Have a good night sleep everyone, and know that I will be awake all night.:)

To my sweet friend Leslie

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

After being thirty for a few weeks now, I can safely say its not so bad. I wish I could see you on your birthday, but things around here have more or less been turned upside down in a good way:)

I will never forget when we first met. Freshman year at ACU, and I was going with some girls to play basketball. We were waiting in the lobby for a friend I had not met yet. The door opened and out walks this red headed, bowl cut, post player who looked like she knew basketball. After playing that night, and for the next 4 years, we made a pretty good team on the court. Some accused us of being ball hogs, but we were so not! We just knew that we were better:)

Our senior year was the best. PLaying against DT'S was always a blood bath. Kojies was just a game of pride really. The most competition came from the freshman cause they were in good shape fresh from high school. But when that championship game came around, we were all business. We won-naturally, and the way you and I celebrated was so ridiculous. We run to the middle and start jumping up and down as if we had just won the Olympics. I will bask in that glory always:)

More than being my basketball soulmate, you have always been my best friend. So many memories, too many to tell, especially the ones Cilla does not need to know about:) You are truly such a blessing to have in my life, and even though we live 800 miles from eachother, it never seems that far. To see you surprise me on my birthday will always be the bestest surprise ever. I could have cried seeing you there!

I miss living near you, getting a cajun cone every 45 minutes, walking in the ridiculous times of the heat, getting ready for dates, and praying together. You have the best prayers-so simple and so heartfelt. You are such a godly woman, and the best mother I know. Your girls are so lucky to have you as their mommy!

I could write all day long, and would but I have a 6 day old whom I cant seem to take my eyes off of. I will write about him maybe tomorrow.

I love you so much Leslie, and I hope you have a wonderful 30th birthday!

Charles Ashley Clayton III

This is Kelly, but I just wanted to announce the arrival of sweet Charlie!!!

Mere was in labor for 23 hours and they finally decided to do a c-section last night.....so at 11:01 pm on July 1st Charlie entered the world weighing 7 lb. 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

He is sweet as can be and Mere is doing great. Enjoy these family pics from Thursday morning!

Last note,,,

so a real quick post,,,

We are going in tonight at midnight to start this whole adventure. I have spent the day cleaning every single thing in my house-sometimes twice. I got a pedicure yesterday so at least my feet will look great for our first meeting in awhile:)

Ash and I went to dinner last night at Eastland Cafe and ordered everything on the menu. Seriously-it was embarrassing. I cant eat past four today so I figured to pack it all in while I can. Of course it meant a few bites of everything, but still the waiter very graciously kept bringing me food. I felt like Jaba the Hut from Star Wars.

During the cleaning portion of the day, I have jammed out to Michael Jackson. I know he has made some bad personal choices, but who hasnt? Also, its also part of our childhood that has left too. I can remember being scared to death watching the "Thriller" video. We werent allowed to watch it, but when mom would leave Randy would turn on MTV and we would watch videos. (Sorry Randy,,its confession time:) But that particular video would literally scare me to death. Anybody else scared as a child from that video?

oh well, i have some more things to do before heading up to the hospital. Thank you to everyone for your encouragement--I truly appreciate this. And yes Audrey and Kristen--surely it cant be worse than 8,6,4, 2's right? :)) We'll see...

And congrats to you Sarah-I am so sad I will miss your wedding to Nick but I cant wait to see pictures! You are going to be the most beautiful bride ever:) Love to you!!

Next time I blog, I will be a mom:) WEIRD!!

7 more days,,,

One week from today life as I know it will forever be changed,,,

We are inducing next Wedneday, July 1st, at 7 in the morning. Crazy and bizarre. Everything is fine, its just my doctor will be out of town and I would feel more comfy having him there. He is like a grandpa and used to work under the doctor who delivered me forever ago. So next Wednesday, if you think about it, throw up a little prayer for everyones health and safety.

I was still going back and forth on the decision until last night which completely solidified the choice. I am sick and tired of waking up and my arms being completely numb. What is the deal with that? I sit up in bed and let my arms hang down to get feeling in them, but as soon as I lay down it goes numb again. And working with numb arms? Not the best situation to be in let me tell you. And as I am up at 3 or 4 in the morning trying to get feeling back into my arms, I look over at Ash who is out like a light. This may be a sign of things to come, when I am up with Charlie and he is out. Great.

So, this morning we made the call. I know my nights will be sleepless with a baby, but at least I will have feeling in them.

Another thing I miss which prompted me to make the call was simply that I miss my feet. I miss seeing them. They are literally the only body part that I like, but I havent seen them in a few months. I am assuming they are still there, and next Monday they will be treated to a nice pedicure. Cant go into the hospital with stinky feet can we?

This is my last week of work, and while I am sad to leave my patients and staff, I will enjoy the "break" for several weeks. At this point, after I finish with a patient and go to get Dr. Mark, it feels like the bottom is about to drop out of my stomach when I stand up. So I hold the bottom of my stomach as if that will somehow keep the baby in for a bit longer. Speaking of my stomach, it usually hits most patients at this point too. I can't help it that its so big. I feel like a female version of Santa Claus because when I laugh now my belly shakes like a "bowl full of jelly."

So, this is our last week to get things prepared, but mainly rest. If there is any advice for these last few days, I gladly welcome it. I am scared to do this, but I know billions upon billions have done this before me. I just cant wait to meet him-this blessed miracle God gave us. But one who also has been blocking my view of my feet for awhile now...

Maybe my next post will be from Womens Centennial Hospital next Wednesday,,,, :) wish me luck!!!

3 more weeks:)

The time is near....

My due date is in three weeks and I am counting down the seconds! The time for being cute is over, now I am having a hard time working and sleeping. My one cup of coffee I have a day has been cut because I think that makes me sick. And I am getting to the point to where when I brush my teeth I tend to gag some. I didnt believe that when other girls told me that and I thought that would never happen to me since I am a dental hygienist. But, alas, it has happened to me.

I have had two amazing baby showers, one at Kelly's house and the other at Keeley's.
The hostesses here are my sister in laws Kim and Kelly, my cousin Courtney, my oldest buddy Kandace, and dear friend from church Melissa.

After the shower we had some good family time with the kids,,,here they are

These two pics were so stinkin funny because its hard to get three kids to look at you and smile somewhat. So when Lainey Hope gave this adorable smile, it was like the papparazzi in my house. Kim, Kelly, and I were snapping pictures like crazy!! BUt it was well worth it,,I mean,, look at those three!!

here is Palmer, who at first glance seems to be quite an introverted child, but dont worry. LIke father like son:)

This was the shower Keeley and Mrs. Linda had for me. It involves all the high school friends and we sit and tell the same stories over and over and over and over again:) But its the best!

So Ash and I worked on the nursery for a couple of hours last night, just trying to get things sort of ready:) I have been to BabiesRUs at least a thousand times, and still have no idea what we are doing! I guess we will figure it out sooner or later:)

Just a quick sidenote to all of you who have adorable blogs, i.e. Audrey, Keeley, Missy,,,I have no idea how you guys make your blogs so stinkin cute but I applaud you. I have a hard time trying to just make mine legible:) Maybe one day,, ,,,

ok, so here is a cheesy pic of me on the lake,,, I apologize:)

Surprise Surprise!!

I will be honest.

I was completely dreading my 30th birthday this year. I had a bad attitude pretty much the whole week long. I remember when I turned 20, and I thought "Man--I have 10 years till I am 30 and that is so old!!" So, I even took the day off work Thursday for a day of mourning, but it turns out it wasn't such a bad day after all.

I got to see my sweet baby boy on one of those 4-D ultrasounds! He is such a stinker cause he really wouldnt get his feet or hands out of the picture:) The tech kept pounding my stomach with the ultrasound wand, and I was like " Whoa! Easy sista!! Back the train up--he obviously does not want to do this!" But whatever she did worked and I got to see him. In all honesty that was the best birthday present I could have asked for!

That night mom, dad, Kelly, and Bennett came over for dinner and Ash grilled steaks for my birthday dinner. It was so wonderful being with family on your birthday. Mom retelling the story of when I was born and she couldn't get dad to come on to take her to the hospital cause he was watching his favorite tv show. Always good to be reminded of how serious your parents took actually getting to a safe place for my blessed arrival.

Friday was a big day because my dear friend Shelby was coming over to decorate my nursery. I am so bad at all of that and am so blessed to have her. Everone needs a "Shelby" in my opinion:) But as I was waiting for her to come, my husband pulled up the driveway. I was sweeping the porch and the passenger door opened, and out popped my best friend from college Leslie! I stared at her like she was a ghost as she ran up to hug me! I could not believe she was standing on my porch! Ash had flown her in for the weekend and I was so stinkin excited! So by now your thinking I have a sweet hubby right? Wait,,,it gets better,,,

Saturday Ash sends Kelly, Leslie, and I to the spa for facials and massages. Utmost of relaxation honey. We went back to Kelly's to get ready for dinner downtown. As Leslie and I are driving downtown Ash calls and says he needs me to come home to get him cause his car wont start. Sounds shady huh?? Thats what I thought and decided to put my investigative powers to work. I would get home and start his car myself and if it did he had people waiting for me downtown. If not, then he wasn't such a liar afterall.

We get to my street and I pull up and see lots of cars and a gigantic grill outside. He was out there waiting for me and lots of people were inside for a surprise party! I was stunned! I immediatley panicked at the state of my house but Ash had cleaned to whole house that afternoon. He had it catered, but made them bring a piece of steak just for me cause chicken is just not working with me these days:) Now thats love!

My family and dearest friends were all there, and I got to show off my nursery too! We ate on the porch overlooking the lake and just had a blast. I had the best time, and I am so thankful for the bestest husband in the world!

Sunday Les and I went kayaking and laid around watching "Jon and Kate plus 8" cause its drama these days! I know your thinking,"wont she tip over the kayak?" Amazingly I did not!Had dinner with the family last night and walked around downtown, but had to take her to the airport this morning. So wonderful to see her,,,she is truly amazing:)

So I started off with a really bad attitude about turning 30, but it turns out it wasnt so bad afterall:) It was the best weekend ever! Your only as old as you feel right? Well in that case I am pushing 25:) I do know I have the most amazing husband who I fall more in love with every single day!!

7 weeks to go!!

So,,,I did have quite a bit written on my blog the other day but the storm came through and cut off all our power. All my hard work was lost, so I just started to pout. I decided I would punish said storm and not write on my blog for another day. :)

Ash and I went to Miami a three weeks ago for our babymoon. I got spa treatment while he played golf, so it was a win-win situation. Oh--I also got chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast everyday...in bed!!! So fun! Here are some pics from the golf trip:

Ash playing...

random raccoon running on the course,,,sure,,,why not?

is this thing a dinosaur? I have no idea what it was but i sure was glad my zoom lense was working,,,,

here we are in South Beach. I am the whale in front,,,embracing my "whaleness"

The week after Miami, we went to Louisville for Ash's youngest brother's wedding. Whit and Ali are so stinkin cute you might throw up,,,so beware:)

Needless to say, it has been a very crazy past few weeks around this house. And the next few will undoubtedly be just as crazy. My sweet and dear friend Shelby is putting together my nursery this coming Friday, and then I celebrate my 30th birthday. Oh my goodness. 30. Geez Louise. Cant even think about that now....:) YOu know whats funny? How I measure my life in weeks now. Like I have 7 weeks left till my baby is here. Odd isnt it?

My son is kicking away in my tummy now as I type. You want to know his name? Its Charles Ashley Clayton III,,,and we will call him Charlie. :)))) My very first dog was named Charlie. He was a basset hound who ran away on Thanksgiving morning when I was very young. Hopefully my Charlie will not do the same....:))