Dear Laurel,

You are 7 weeks old today, and attempting to nap. A lot has changed since you were first born! You don't look like this anymore:

Now you look like this!



You also like to sleep from about 11pm until 4am now, which I like, a lot. This is what you look like when you sleep:



I made your room all pretty for you. It looks like this:



Then, you pooped all over it. I won't include a picture. Trust me though, it was all over the changing table, bookcase, stuffed animals, books, etc. Not fun at 1:30 in the morning.

After you were born, your dad stayed home from work for 4 weeks! We had a lot of fun together, the three of us. Here's a picture of the two of you, hanging out. Look you're matching!



Then, he had to go back to work. But the two of us, we've been hanging in there without him. We've been having conversations, taking baths, going for walks... You know, girl stuff!

Your very first smile was for.... Gramma! Not fair at all! I was jealous, because I'm the person who hangs out with you all day long. It's okay though, because I knew it made your Gramma very happy. You were almost 6 weeks old. Here's a picture of you with Gramma and Grampa right after you were born:



Your next smile was for your daddy, then me. You always smile when I dry you off from the bath. Especially when I'm drying off your hair. Your smile says: "Mom, you're silly!"
Here's a picture of your beautiful smile:



In a few weeks, I'm going to go back to working. Do you remember what your mom does for her job? I'm a teacher, and I love it! All of the students that I've had are so excited to meet you. They can hardly contain themselves! When I was pregnant with you, they would ask me, "Mrs. Smith, when are you going to have your baby? What's her name going to be?" I'm going to teach a class of Kindergarten students starting in April, all the way until June. Their teacher is having a baby, too! That's why she needs a substitute teacher, like me, to teach in her classroom.

I'm going to miss you a ton when I'm gone, but you are going to have a great time, do you know why? First of all, after I teach this Spring, I'll have the Summer off to spend with you. Secondly, you are going to spend your days with Becky, Valerie, Aunt Kara, Logan, and Gramma! What more could you want?! Here's a picture of you and Valerie together. This was from the first time Becky and Valerie took care of you, when I went to get some stuff ready for my Kindergarten job. Look how much fun you're having!



There's something important I need to tell you... shhhh... are you listening? I love you! When I first held you, right after you were born, I was overjoyed to be your mommy. Sometimes, you've made me cry, like when you haven't slept for hours in the middle of the night and I just wanted to sleep. But you know what, I would just look at you, smile, and say, "Laurel, Mommy wants to sleep now, can we do that?" Sometimes you would listen... Often you would not, but it was alright.

My favorite thing to do with you is bath time. Did you know, that when I was pregnant with you, I took a bath nearly every night? I would take a nice, warm bath, read a book, drink tea or hot cider, and relax in the water. The day after we brought you home from the hospital, your dad and I decided to give you a bath. We put you in the water and your little arms and legs just got completely still and relaxed. You opened your eyes a little bit and just stared up. You looked so peaceful. At 7 weeks old, your reaction is about the same! You still relax your arms and legs and seem so peaceful. Now, you open your eyes really big and just hang out. Then I drain the tub, grab your towel, and wrap you up to dry you off. I hold you close to me and think about how much I love you, and how much I'll always love you.

Love,
Mom

Laurel's Birth Story (Short Version)

My water broke at 2:15am, we got to the hospital at 3:45am, at my first internal I was 4, almost 5cm. Around 4:45 am I still didn't have the IV in, and I asked about changing my mind about the epidural and getting it. We start to finish the IV, and I comment to the nurse that I am feeling some pressure. Not sure if I just need to have a BM (because I did earlier) or what. She checks me and says "Umm I don't think I feel any cervix!" Doctor comes in and agrees. We start pushing around 5 am, and after 30 minutes of pushing, Laurel Elizabeth Smith arrived at 5:30 a.m. on January 8th! She was 7 pounds, 7 ounces, 20.5 inches long. She has a FULL head of dark hair, and is absolutely perfect!

Laurel's Birth Story (Long Version)

As I mentioned in my last pregnant blog post, I had some contractions and lost my mucus plug on Wednesday night (1/6). I wondered if this meant things were happening or what! I assumed that they might progress, so I made sure to get all of my bags packed so that we could head to the hospital right away. The contractions stopped when I went to bed that night.

On Thursday, I subbed in the first grade classroom I'd been in all week, but I wasn't sure if I was having contractions or just dealing with wearing uncomfortable pants during the school day. Around 3pm I texted a friend (Becky) to see if she wanted to meet me for a walk in Woodinville- we met up around 4pm and walked for about a mile. After the walk, we had burgers at Teddy's and I had a delicious milkshake. :) Becky and her 9 month old daughter, Valerie, came back to our condo to see the nursery, we chatted for a bit more, and then they went home. Sam was over in Bremerton for a funeral all day, so I waited for him to come home. He got home around 10:00.

I was having contractions every 11 minutes, so I thought nothing of it. I woke up around 12:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom, had some contractions, but nothing special. I was half awake at 2:10 with stronger contractions and then around 2:15 I definitely woke up because I had either just lost control of my bladder or my water had broken! I went to the bathroom and checked out my underwear (yeah, that's right, I was smelling my underwear to see if they smelled like pee!). I didn't want to be that girl that went to the hospital because she peed herself. While I was googling what it might be like when your water breaks, I started having regular contractions. From 2:30 until 3 am I timed them. They were coming about 2-3 minutes apart for about a minute a piece. I also needed to have a BM, but was pretty constipated. I can tell you, trying to poop while having a contraction is no fun!

I finally called the Family Maternity Center at Evergreen and told them what was happening. They said, take a shower, get your stuff together, and come on in. So, I wake up Sam, I start to pack the last minute things, while I'm still contracting every 2-3 minutes. These contractions are getting more intense, though! I'm waiting for Sam to take a shower first and then I say to myself- he can wait! I hopped in the shower and the shower made my contractions a lot more bearable. I thought to myself "I'll definitely be doing this in the hospital!". Sam and I finally leave the house around 3:30ish. The contractions are getting stronger!

We get in to Evergreen, sign forms, etc. I change into my hospital gown, get settled in bed, get ready for our nurse to have everything ready. I had to be coping with my contractions on the bed, not in the shower or standing around, because the nurse was getting my monitors on, starting the IV (I was positive for strep so I needed to have 4 hours of penicillin through the IV), taking blood for the cord blood donation. The first internal exam, I was 4-5 cm, 90% effaced. The on call doctor, Dr. Russell, (who we've actually seen before when my doctor had a family emergency) comes in and says: "Well it's 4:15, so unless you have this baby before 7am, you'll get to have Dr. Keys (my doctor) deliver you! You're doing great, just wanted you to know that I'm here!"

While all of this is going on, I'm thinking.... Oh man, I wanted to try to go without pain medications, but this is way more intense than I thought it would be. After one major contraction I tell our nurse that I think I want to get the epidural. She goes to tell the doctor, I focus on my spot on the ceiling and do some short breaths, with Sam stroking my forehead. My veins were being uncooperative, so it's taking awhile for the nurse to get the IV started, get the blood drawn, etc. I'm getting a little impatient but trying not to be. When we first got to the hospital, I had a loose BM which was, like I said, not fun while contracting. So around 5 am I feel like I need to go to the bathroom again. My nurse says that we should do another internal exam, to make sure it's not time to push, you never know. She is checking me and kind of unbelievably says, "Ummm.... I don't think I'm feeling any cervix. I'm just feeling baby's head.... Let me go get Dr. Russel to check you." Dr. Russell comes in and confirms, I am indeed at 10 cm and we can start pushing when I'm ready! Ummm yeah, I went from 4/5 to 10 in half an hour.... Didn't think that would be happening! At this point, we are past the point of no return with the epi, but I'm feeling good when I push and am able to relax between pushes, so it ended up being fine.

Sam, our nurse Amber, and Dr. Russell were fabulous; they made me feel encouraged and gave me good directions. One thing Dr. Russell told me that helped me was to, even when it was uncomfortable, to try to keep pushing. It helped me to overcome any fear of the pain. I just thought about how each push was bringing me closer to my daughter! After 30 minutes of pushing, Laurel Elizabeth Smith was placed on my chest, and our whirlwind labor was over! I was so excited and Sam and I just kept looking at each other in disbelief! Because it was so quick, we didn't have to worry about any visitors during the first hour/hour and a half, so we got some time to just absorb it all. It was so great.

Everyone was amazed that I went so fast and that I was so calm during both stages of labor. My nurse kept saying, she's acting like she's had the epidural! We never got around to giving the nurse our birth plan, but our nurse was so great and really asked us before we did anything what our preferences were. It's funny because in my plan I didn't want an epidural, I didn't want pitocin, Sam wanted to cut the cord, etc... and even though I was ready to deviate from my plan (I so wanted that epidural), I actually ended up getting most everything that I wanted! I am bummed that I had not time to labor in the bath tub though! I was looking forward to that. :)

I cannot say enough about the staff at Evergreen. All of our nurses have been fabulous and our wishes were always respected. We had to stay at the hospital until Sunday morning because I was unable to get the penicillin for my strep, so they have to keep an eye on Laurel and make sure she doesn't show any symptoms of infection. That's the only real wrench in things, but on the plus side, I got more consultations with the lactation consultant, so that got us off to a good start. All of the muscles in my body felt sore for the first two days, like I ran a marathon, but over all I felt great!

Welcome to the World, Laurel!

Laurel Elizabeth Smith arrived at 5:30 am on Friday, January 8th, 2010.
She weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
We love her to pieces!

37 weeks :)

How far along: 37 weeks, 1 day.

Maternity Clothes: OMG I hate wearing teaching appropriate clothing. Nothing worse than wearing a pair of uncomfortable maternity pants all day.

Stretch Marks: Barely noticeable one on my lower belly, I'm hoping it will still be barely noticeable after birth..

Sleep: Slightly better than last week.

Best Moment this Week: Having some time to myself to get a pedicure. And, I pretty much completed everything on my to do list. Bags for the hospital are PACKED. All in less than a couple hours. That's what happens when you're worried you might be in labor. ;)

Movement: kick, roll, kick, roll.

Food Cravings: LEMONADE! Well 1/2 club soda, 1/2 lemonade.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: If you wish to not know the state of my cervix or about discharge of any sort, stop reading now! 2nd exam- Laurel is still head down, I'm still almost 2 cm dilated, now 80% effaced.

I've been having non-progressing contractions for two days now, and lost my mucus plug. Don't google that. Basically it means that my body is getting ready for birth, and if there are bets placed on when I deliver, I wouldn't put much money on overdue.

Belly Button: The first graders whose class I was in this week were curious as to what that thing in the middle of my tummy sticking out was.

What I Miss: Feeling comfortable.

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Seeing family this weekend, a one-day baby class, relaxing, spending time with Kindergartners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders.

Weekly Wisdom: From one of the first graders this week: "You know that frog on that last page, the blue one? you look kind of fat like him." (In case you missed that gem on facebook).

36 weeks!

How far along: 36 weeks, 1 day.

Maternity Clothes: My options are becoming more and more limited...

Stretch Marks: Still none.

Sleep: I've been up since 5:15. Not something I'm happy about.

Best Moment this Week: Wonderful Christmas with family and friends, getting the stuff up in the nursery.

Movement: Kick, kick, kick.

Food Cravings: Jello? Weird?

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: If you wish to not know the state of my cervix, stop reading now! I had my first exam yesterday- Laurel is head down, I'm almost 2 cm dilated, 75% effaced.

Belly Button: It will be weird to have an innie in a couple weeks.

What I Miss: Sleeping in. Can't do it lately.

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: New Year's Eve, Finishing my to-do list.

Weekly Wisdom: If you've been trying to fall back asleep for an hour and nothing is happening, just get up.

35 Weeks!

35 weeks is a big day- 35/35, because I am 35 weeks pregnant and only have 35 days until my due date! Crazy!

How far along: 35 weeks, 0 days.

Maternity Clothes: One pair of jeans is too loose, the other is too tight! I can't win!

Stretch Marks: Still none.

Sleep: Hit or miss. I think I got up 5 times last night.

Best Moment this Week: Having a wonderful dinner with Reagan and Chris on Monday night. We started going out to dinner as our Christmas presents to each other last year. I think it's a wonderful alternative to getting more "stuff"..

Movement: Knee here, elbow there.... She's poking me as I type this!

Food Cravings: I love empty calorie drinks... soda, juice.... delicious.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: I've had a few Braxton Hicks contractions, but that's all so far.

Belly Button: Still poking out.

What I Miss: Having a drink on NYE.

What I'm Looking Forward to this Week: Christmas!

Weekly Wisdom: Don't ever try to find parking in Belle Square by going on Bellevue Way. Go up to 100th and park in the back parking garage. Especially at Christmas.