Come look how cute I am!

So basically I'm a failure as a picture taking/ blogging mother. seriously, I'm horrible. I havent been keeping track of anything! I make mental notes but if you know me and my memories, they kind of go missing. so I'll try and recap some stuff.

Well first off, we moved to Louisville, Kentucky for all of you who weren't paying attention. Me and Parker came out about 10 days before Drew with my parents and rocked it at their house until he g0t here. Lets start there.

This is Parker the morning we left Arizona. Drew said its his 'Let's

go to Kentucky!" face

yep, thats right, Parker slept the ENTIRE flight! all 3 and a half hours!

we stopped at auntie Paige's so she could meet parker. he seriously looks tiny in his carseat here.

just chillin at grandma's

"I don't think so mama"

deep thinker while he sleeps

our happy boy!

PArker has recently discovered his tongue. haha! he likes to stick it out all the time and try and lick you. I was kissing his cheeks one day trying to get him to smile and he tried to french me. haha. it was too funny. Oh, and he's more socially smiling now. he's quite the talker too.

oh! and he's 2 months old today!!

Introducing....

Parker Drew Solomon

Born May 14, 2011 @ 1:39pm

8 lbs, 0 oz

21 1/4 in.

So being how Parker will be 2 weeks old tomorrow, I figured I should finally post about his birth! I honestly don't know where to begin.

It was about 12:50 am Saturday the 14th, Karabi woke me up like he usually does to go outside. I get up and notice I was a little more "moist" than usual (sorry if TMI) I went to the restroom, didn't even have a chance to think about pee'ing before it just gushed. Didn't think too much of it, maybe I just really had to pee. So I take Karabi outside, all it good. Come back in, bend down to unhook his leash, more fluids. So I go to the restroom again. Lets just say it kept happening off and on for the next hour. I got online, found the number of the hospital (by this time thinking I could have broken my water) and called. For some reason I couldn't get through to anyone! I did some research online. Figured it could have been my water that broke but still not completely convinced. Drew is still sleeping through all of this. I didn't want to wake him up for nothing. I even considered driving down to the hospital to get checked by myself so I wouldn't have to bug him. I'm tellin ya, I was no convinced my water had broken. So I repacked my hospital bag just in case. The water situation kept happening. About an hour and a half of this going on I decided to wake Drew. I went in and told him I think we need to go get checked out. He wakes and I kinda tell him I think my water broke but wasn't sure. He calls his mom for me (she's a labor and delivery nurse) we come to the conclusion it probably has broken but I should go in to get checked either way. Then Drew went a little crazy. I was completely calm, in no rush. He asked me what had happened and like mid sentence, he turns, says "I need to pack a bag" and walked off. haha. I think he was still a little out of it. And of course, we had to stop for gas on the way. again, I'm not stressing. I'm not in pain or anything, just feeling awkward cause I'm leaking fluids!

So we get to the hospital. luckily I pre-registered so they just had to double check a few things. Put in a room in triage and they give me a gown to change into and get checked out. Well, lets just say I made a couple messes on the floor in the process. Totally embarrassed. Anyway they have to do a test to see if the bags of water have really broken. She does the test and then checks to see how far along I am. I'm still at 1.5ish cm. and really gushing fluids now. haha. Embarrassed again. Luckily the test agreed with the verdict that my water broke. then my IV was put in and I was moved into the Labor & Delivery room. We had a super nice nurse. I feel horrible cause I can't remember her name. She got me started on pitocin and my antibiotics for my GBS. It was about 4 am by this time. haha, I guess I was having contractions and had been the whole time I was at the hospital but couldn't feel a thing.

Shift change for the nurses happened and in walks Kate. Love her! I wasn't sure I was going to at first cause she was a little rough checking me. I think I was at maybe a 2 by then?? Drew and I were just hanging out.

I was checked again and I was at a 4. Pretty good progression being how it had only been like an hour and I jumped from a 2 to a 4. I was starting to feel the contractions a little bit but nothing too crazy. Just felt like internal pressure on my pubic bone. no big. I could do it. once it got a little bit later in the morning, maybe 7ish, Drew called my mom to update her. She got showered and headed down to the hospital. I think it was right before my mom got there the contractions started coming stronger and closer together. and worst of all in my back! I could not handle those!! I went through a couple rounds of contractions and told Kate I think I needed a visit from the "drug man" soon. No joke, like 5 minutes later he was in there and prepping me for my epidural. Drew couldn't handle seeing a huge needle going into my back (I dont blame him) and went for a breakfast burrito. So they got me all set up and I was shaking like crazy! I don't know if I was cold or nervous or what. Kate said it was just all the pregnancy hormones, who knows. So the 'drug man' walked me through the epidural as he was doing it. It definitely felt weird. Only one point kind of stung, but for like 2 seconds. It started working instantly. He hung around to make sure it was working for a few minutes, I thanked him for not paralyzing me and he was on his way.

I was worried an epidural would slow things down. Nope, they just kept progressing! At some point Dr. Beck came in and checked on me. Made sure everything was okay. He gave a guess of delivery around 3ish with how I was progressing but said it could be way later since this was my first delivery. Kate got me started with the peanut ball. Awesome invention! I was rolled on my side and the thing was put inbetween my knees. I guess its supposed to help put your pelvis in the right position for the baby to travel. That was my biggest problem. I was dilating by my cervix was just too far back. So every hour I would roll over and get the ball repositioned. I slept during this time a little bit. haha Drew always tells people I slept during labor. After about 3 hours, I was at a 10 and ready to go! This was about 1 pm. I did a couple of round of pushing (3 pushes per contraction) and he was just comin along. Kate was awesome during this too! she was a great coach. Very encouraging. Drew did awesome too feeding me ice. haha. I don't even remember what was on TV but that was keeping my mind off what was going on. Kate had me skip a couple of contractions just to give Dr. Beck time to get there. Once he got there he just sat back against the wall for about 3 contractions then I did one last push and hello Parker! So, 39 minutes of pushing, not too shabby for my first!

I was so convinced I didn't want a messes, gooey baby put on my chest, but Dr. Beck was a pro and cleaned him off real good before they gave him to me. THANK GOODNESS!! We did some chest to chest time before they took him to get all cleaned up. He was such a good baby! He has the best temperament. Totally chill. While drew and I were admiring our little man, I got all stitched up. I had a little tear. I wouldn't of known if I didnt see the string. I don;t know why people would ever give birth without an epidural!

Parker scored a 9 and 9 for his apgar score. How could he not, he's perfect!

Parker with daddy

After he got all cleaned up we were just able to spend some time with Parker before people came to see him. My mom was the first since she was already at the hospital. oh he's so loved! Kate helped clean me up and get me ready to move into post postpartum.

one day old, our first family picture

We stayed an extra day in the hospital so they could watch parker since I was positive with GBS. which was no big. The morning we left the hospital (Monday, the 16th) little Parker got circumcised. He was a pro! Not fussy after or anything. Luckily, we weren't even given the option of going for the surgery. But he healed perfectly! A couple hours later... it was time to go.

Parker in his carseat ready to go home. He didn't cry at all in his carseat.

Parker has been great at home! He's a pro pooper! haha. He loves to be cuddly and makes the cutest little faces. Here are some pictures since he's been home.

zoning out after eating

one morning I gave him a mohawk and Deb just happened to catch this face on camera. blue steel anyone?

parker is just too cute when he sleeps, open mouth and all.

we broke the rules and let parker sleep with us. aren't my boys so cute?

Karabi the protector dog looking over Parker

I love that he sleeps with his mouth open

he's just sooo dreamy!

All in all, I pretty much had a perfect pregnancy with no sickness and no pain. A perfect delivery with no complications for me or Parker. A perfect baby who doesn't cry excessively, sleeps long hours, and is just so darn cute and cuddly!

sorry for the massive post, I guess I should just update more often

Am I ready for this?

Yesterday Drew and I finished our last childbirth class. I don't know if I feel more prepared or more freaked out now! This L & D stuff is tough! So many different things can go wrong. Every childbirth is different. Things usually don't go as planned! That doesn't work for me. I mean, how can I mentally prepare if I walk in the door and its nothing like I expected?

Right now I can't help but stress over timing and details. Will I know when my water breaks? How long should I really labor at home? What if I get there too late and can't get an epidural? Can I handle a natural birth? How far along should I be before getting an epidural? What if my pregnancy stops progressing after I get one? What if it doesn't work for me? What if Parker freaks out and I have to have a c-section? Is Parker going to be too loopy to breast feed right away? Will I be able to even do it? Are they really going to put him on me all gooey and bloody for an hour? (note: I'm SOO not a bodily fluids person!) Does the 48 hrs in the hospital covered by insurance start when I walk through the door or after the baby is born? How soon should I let people come in the room after delivery? What if I'm not up for visitors and just want time with Drew and Parker? Will I have time to change and 'freshen up' before people come in? Will I go into labor before my mom gets to Arizona?

Oh goodness. I realize I pretty much can't control any of this. I just don't know what to expect. Well, I do. We went over it in our childbirth class. All the "if this happens then..." "if this doesn't happen then you'll have to...." stuff like that. But still. This is crazy stuff! I'm trying really really hard to not stress, but I can't help it. Not to mention everything that will happen after.

I'm not so much in the nesting phase as far as getting the house ready cause the baby is coming. Its more.. my moms coming! I can't look like a slob! I really don't want her cleaning my shower! I'm not good at people doing things for me that I should be perfectly fine doing myself. But I don't know how I'll feel afterwards. Am I gunna be stuck on the couch for 2 weeks in my nightgown and not be able to get up and around? Not to mention have people over! Oh goodness. Then there's getting the house ready to move! packing and cleaning, packing and cleaning! I'm just not ready for this all to happen. I'm sure it will pass in a blur! Luckily, I will have my mom here, even if I don't want her cleaning my nasty shower, which I'm sure she would do.

I'm just in a worrying stage. Was the a contraction? Is Parker moving less? Is there something wrong? Should I call the doctor? My left ankle is massive, way better than my right, is something wrong? Should I call the doctor? No, I can wait until monday. I'm starting to get a headache, is it preeclampsia? Stupid stuff like that. I know its not. I'm just freaking over nothing.

am I really ready?

The final stretch

I seriously can NOT believe I'm 9 months pregnant! You think I would have been expecting it but I've been SOOO spoiled with this pregnancy. But sure enough, 9 months is here. And in case you weren't closely following my pregnancy, I only have 2 weeks (plus a day or 2) left! SOOO CRAZY!!

^37 weeks + 4 days^

Last night Drew and I took our first child birthing class. It was interesting. Drew got pretty bored, which kinda of makes sense since most of what was talked about he won't be going through. He did like when we got up at the end of the class and practiced breathing/comforting techniques. He's such a goof. I couldn't stop laughing when he was doing his 'coaching'. Hopefully he'll be able to keep me happy the day of. We have another class next week, that one will be more info for me since I plan on havin me some drugs during labor. All the videos we watched last night were about women who went natural. Yeah, no thanks! I don't want to feel anything if I don't have to.

Also yesterday, we got Parkers 'lil swing! It's darling. I love it. Seriously, its too cute. Drew did a lovely job putting it together too.

We're still waiting on the travel system though. For some reason walmart is struggling with it even though it was ordered before the swing. Hopefully it comes in before Parker does!! Or Drew might be going to the store to pick of a random carseat so we can take parker home!

Parker is getting big. That kid is a mover! I think he's guna have attention issues like Drew. Not that Drew can't concentrate, he totally can. His mind just never shuts off. He always needs to be doing something! I think Parker is leaning that way already! At my last appointment he was estimated at 6.8 pounds. That was over a week ago too. He's going to have a big head too! The doctor didn't use those exact words but when he was doing an ultrasound to measure him I was like, is that his big 'ole head? Dr. Beck was like, "it is good sized" then kind of smiled. haha. A week before that I was at 1cm. I go in monday so we'll see how I've progressed. I'm not making my prediction on whether he'll be early/late/ on time until after this next appointment. But honestly, I'm still in no hurry at all! The most my doctor will let me go over is a week. so no later than 3 weeks from now, I'll have a kid! whoa!

Other than that... I made it through tax season and still going. I feel fine so I'm still working. I'll be here atleast until the end of the month, maybe a little longer depending on how I'm progressing. Drew took this last week off (even though he didn't want to) cause he jacked his neck up some how. We're talking crazy muscle spasms, enough that it pulls his head to the side. When he's fighting to keep it in place it looks like he has really bad twitches. But he's on the up side of it now. He went in to work today. He'll be fine, I'm not worried.

Welp, you've seen my MASSIVE belly, Parkers cute swing, and heard some updates. I guess thats all for now! I'll keep ya posted!

8 months... really?!

Where to begin, where to being. Well, first off, I've struggled with updating this mess. Everytime I wanted to I thought, no I'll wait for a picture when my belly is bigger. So before I get into recent happenings, this is me at 30 weeks below.

Okay, now on to the big stuff. I don't think you're ready for this jelly, cause my body is BELLY-licous. haha. that version of Beyonces song was in my head yesterday. weird? oh yeah! so um... (looking down in embarrassment..)

I'm 8 months pregnant kids! I have 6 weeks left - assuming he comes on time. It's still insane to me. I know I always say that it hasn't clicked in my mind that we're having a kid, but its true. It is slightly starting to... maybe. I trying to kind of force reality on me, but to be honest, it freaks me out! I'm DREADING the big hospital visit. AGH! but to help with that a little bit.. I bought myself a gift.

yep, you guessed it, a blonde pregnant lady. hahaha. okay, I'm so not funny. But I bought myself a hospital gown. seem weird, probably. but I hear that the standard ones they give you don't really fit and sometimes you have to wear two just insure you aren't flashing anyone. Plus, having something from home is supposed to make you feel more comfortable with the whole experience... which I'm currently not. so I was telling Drew I bought this yesterday and he totally wasn't liking it and thought it was a stupid purchase, then I put it on for him. He thought it was pretty cute. haha. So if you're curious into getting one or what its all about check them out here... http://babybeminematernity.3dcartstores.com/ So here is my big reveal.. (not that big if you already saw it on facebook) This is me at 34 weeks! It still catches me off guard sometimes when I see my reflection.

Man I'm huge! face, belly, and all. But I guess thats what happens when you try and grow a baby inside your body. Things have been going good though. He is a little stinker and likes to be all up in my rib cage...all the time! he doesn't really push underneath them, but right on the bottom and pushes towards my head. its quite uncomfy. I've been having alot of heart burn too. I'm talkin just about everything gives it to me... apples, cereal, chocolate, water... everything. Another kind of weird thing that has been going on is Parker likes to push on my abdominal aorta which causes me to feel my heart beating really hard in my body accompanied by pain and tightening with every pulse all the way up my spine. its painful. but Dr Beck said its normal just because of the placement of the baby. lets see, what else? Sleeping has become un-enjoyable the last couple of weeks. I can't sleep on one side too long cause my serratus anterior starts to cramp up. That poor muscle has been struggling through this. But don't forget about the lower back, sacrum, pelvis pain too. Makes sleeping oh so amazing, even with a body pillow. joking kids.

but I really shouldn't complain. My pregnancy has kinda been cake. I just worry that because it has been so easy that delivery will be horrible. something will go wrong. something will be wrong with parker. It just doesn't seem like I can 'have it all'.

In other recent happenings in the family:

-We have been accepted into 'little Provo' of Louisville. It's the apartment complex all the young mormon dental students live in. So thats exciting we'll actually have a place to live, huge worry lifted. We're still trying to finalize how we want to transport our stuff across country. A feat I don't wish on anyone. It's sooooo annoying!

-Karabi got neutered. I was so worried for him. Not that I didn't trust the vet but I didn't want him to be in pain. But let me tell ya, that little guy sure can bounce back. The first day he was a little loopy from the anesthesia but by day two he was basically back to his normal self. He's still doing great and healing nicely.

-I have two baby showers this week. I'm excited to finally know for sure what WE need to get for parker. I've been holding off on buying anything because I didn't know what people were willing to give. But now I'll finally be able to start getting ready for the little guy.

-Paige, my little sister, is coming for a visit. My mom had a free flight through southwest that needed to be used pronto and since I'm still working and can't really take time off during tax season (I work for an accountant) it just made more sense for her to come to us. Drew and I are really excited to see her! She's too funny.

-Drew has become obsessed with mountain biking. He LOVES it. He tries to go on a ride a couple times a week. He's increased his number of times he plays racquetball a week too. He's got to get all practiced up for my dad. haha.

I think that is about everything... even if its not, this post is massive! pat yourself on the back for getting through it!

7 months & 3rd trimester

27 weeks + 4 days

So the 3rd trimester has begun. Still SOO weird for me since I still don't really feel pregnant. Yes, I can feel him move. Yes, I see my belly getting bigger. But don't really feel pregnant. Weird I know, trust me.

I'm starting to get a little anxious about the 'hospital event'. I try not to think about it. One concern is that I won't be able to handle the pain leading up to it. Just the other day I had some discomfort and thought to myself, 'I feel miserable' which wasn't true of course. I just haven't had any pain or anything big for the last 27 weeks so it definitely a different experience. I'm just nervous. I'm having a kid!

Ha, I went to motherhood earlier this week to finally get some preggo shirts and while trying them on I finally realized how HUGE my belly is now. I swear like the day before it hasnt anywhere close to that big. It came out of no where! So I was standing in the dressing room, just staring at my belly. SOO WEIRD! The worker probably thought I was crazy. (I was the only person in the store so we were chatting through all this) Meh, oh well. It's only larger from here right? Its still funny to hear Drew say randomly, 'you're really starting to look pregnant'... um...yep. haha

man I'm large. and hungry. That is one thing I've noticed lately, I sure can eat now! holy smokes! I never was a huge eater, like it wasnt uncommon for me to not finish a meal if we went out to eat. ha, we went to Outback last week I think, yeah, I put it away. I had tons of bread while waiting for the food. Than ate ALL of a outback burger and all the fries with a little bit more bread after that. I couldn't even believe it! you'd think I'd feel stuffed, yeah no. haha. It seems like nothing completely fills me anymore. I guess Parker really needs to put on some weight or something.

But I deserve it more..

So have you ever had a case like that, you feel like you 'deserve' something more than someone else. I don't know what's wrong with me but I've been feeling like that a little bit lately, and with the dumbest stuff ever. ha! dirty satan! I went from one day thinking of our super bright future and all that Drew is going to accomplish to later that day thinking I needed 'upgraded' things because someone else had it... because I thought I deserved it more that they did. Who thinks like that?! ungrateful selfish people, that's who. GUILTY!

in other news, I've just become a belly. well, a belly that is carrying Parker of course. That's all I am right now, Parker's carrier. I don't say that to sound mean or anything negative towards the people who feel that way, but hello... I'm up here! Its great people are excited for parker to join our lives, but don't push me out in the process. It makes me feel.... I don't know which word I want to use. But you get my drift right? So please don't call me and the first thing you say is... 'how's parker' sorry again if that's rude.

another wonderfully selfish thought of mine... there will be some events taking place after I have my little guy. Ones that I at occasion feel like will, well, take away from me. horrible I know guys. I know. and honestly, how much time and focus do I really need for popping out a baby. I'm sure it will just be like the above paragraph to the max anyway! But sometimes I just feel like I don't get the attention I want or, there's that word again, deserve. But it's hard to stand out when Drew's your husband I guess. I won't say anymore about that. Because I really like the person who I feel gets the attention and preferential treatment. So... I'm basically a horrible person.

large, oh so large, and horrible.

wo is me.

welcome to my pregnancy downs.