introducing blaire robyn baumgartner

our sweet daughter was born on saturday, october 6th at 9:45 a.m.

blaire robyn baumgartner

she weighed 7 pounds and is 20.5 inches long

she has very dark eyes, but very light hair, and is absolutely perfect!

so far everyone is telling us that she looks just like mama and her side of the family, but i see so many similar features to hendrix when he was just a wee newborn.  

she was born at exactly 37 weeks, which is just plain perfect as that was my target date.  i had been so fearful of an early arrival, and this was the goal by my doctor for optimal growth and development, and blaire did a beautiful job of listening and being patient!

she was able to snuggle skin to skin with mama immediately, meet her big brother when she was less than an hour old, and room in my room the entire short two-day hospital stay.  it was the most different experience from my delivery of hendrix, and i couldn't be more thankful for how special and awesome it was!

her birth story is pretty short and sweet.....

i woke up to my water breaking at 4:15 a.m.  contractions got regular and strong pretty quickly.  we called my mom and told her it was time to come and stay with hendrix......

i hopped in the shower and did some last minute toiletries packing having to stop every couple minutes and breathe.  the contractions got really intense really quickly, and i labored at home bouncing on hendrix's toy beach ball as if it was a birthing ball, until my mom got to our house.  we then left immediately and got to the hospital at about 7:30 a.m.  we went in through the ER entrance, and i had to ride up to the birthways floor in a wheelchair as i just couldn't walk through the contractions anymore. 

my contractions were less than three minutes apart, and they got me set up in a room immediately to find that i was already dilated to a 6.  the doc on duty came in and said hi briefly, i got going on the birthing ball again, and before i knew it i was feeling kinda 'pushy'.

i got in the bed and pushed for about 30 minutes and my baby girl was in my arms before i had even been at the hospital for two and a half hours.  

it was perfect. 

i got my natural birth just the way i wanted it, and it went very quickly!

we are home and happily adjusting to life as a family of four!

hendrix adores his role as big brother, and wants to see, talk to, and touch blaire all. the. time.  he has been a little more clingy and needy of mommy, but i am trying to be really sensitive to that and help him feel needed and still very important to me.  

we have had a few meltdowns, but overall he has done way better with the adjustment than i was expecting him to.

daddy is loving his new little princess, and spends every chance he can with her snuggled on his chest.  she spends most of her time either eating or sleeping, and he loves to talk to her and snuggle with her.  he even does a great job stepping up to the plate to help with burping and changing dirty diapers.  

he has been home from work all week, and i am thankful for his help not just with miss blaire, but also with hendrix.  he has taken him to do some fun things that help him burn off energy and allow him to be a lil' bit calmer when we are home with baby sis.

as for me, i am just elated with my precious bundle!  i couldn't be more in love with her tiny little features, and i am soooo thankful for the way this labor, delivery and recovery has gone to allow me the opportunity to bond with and care for my baby from the very beginning.  

our family is so blessed!

photos courtesy of bella baby photography. 

36 weeks

though i am just now getting around to posting these 36 week belly photos, i will actually be 37 weeks here in just a couple days......

on saturday to be exact.....  

while i was trying to capture a couple images, my sweet little boy kept saying "belly" and "blaire" and "kisses", so though it is a little blurry and i am awkwardly bending down so he can reach me, i thought this photo was really precious!  he is going to be such a wonderful big brother ;)

i am really poking out there.  i have heard lots of funny and interesting comments about how i look ready to pop; and believe me, that is exactly how i feel.

i have very few shirts that seem long enough for my belly, and i have actually started feeling really uncomfortable in maternity pants.  none of them have panels that go up high enough, and there is nothing worse than wearing a waistband part-way up my belly.  in these shots i am actually resorting back to my pre-preg pants with a belly band.....

makes me feel pretty good about myself that i can still fit my butt into them!

sort of helps to soften the blow that i have now gained 20 pounds. 

that is 4 pounds more than i did with hendrix.

and, she could still wait another couple weeks to arrive.

wowzers.

i have really gone back and forth about how i am feeling.  over the weekend i had a couple rough days and was really thinking that she would be born very soon - but i am now thinking it might have been my body reacting to just having such a full plate.....and i am settling back into the role of patiently waiting mama.

she has definitely dropped, i can see that, feel that, and the doctor noted that at my appointment on tuesday. i am feeling a ton of pressure down low on my pubic bone, but that is giving me some relief up higher on my rib cage and lungs.  it isn't terribly uncommon to drop a couple weeks before you deliver from what i have read though.......it just makes sitting and walking a lot less comfortable.

i made it to the appointment where you get tested for strep this time (hendrix was born before that ;) and had my first cervix check in which the doctor found that i am 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced.  she said those numbers are no prediction of anything to come and are in the very normal range for this point in time.  in contrast to my first and only cervix check with hendrix, which was the day before i delivered him, i was 1 centimeter dilated and 70% effaced.  my hubs is convinced that following in that pattern......today will be the day.  he thinks he is going to get a phone call that will pull him from work and change our family dynamics sometime today!

i did have some braxton hicks last night, and am randomly awake at 5:20 am (which is really not a normal scenario for me).  usually i try to sleep until the last minute possible - in fact, most mornings my toddler starts pounding on my shoulder saying "wake-up mommy" and then literally takes me by the hand and drags me out of bed......

it is so interesting to now be almost two weeks past when i delivered with hendrix.  while i am soooooo thankful and feeling so very blessed, i am emotionally unsure how to proceed with my schedule and plans.  i have a few things on the calendar for the next couple weeks, but most of them are easily "skippable" and i keep telling everyone that it all depends on blaire's arrival....

but honestly she could make me wait until the end of the month.

heck, she could make me wait until november.

i don't really want to think about that though......lol

the doctor said she is really happy with how far i have made it, and would consider it safe to have her anytime now.  yippee!  so i guess that really takes the fears and pressures away, and i can just relax and let it happen when she is ready.

here's to being all ready, and just patiently waiting!

blaire is going to look so sweet snuggled in her crib.....i really can't wait to meet my sweet lil babe ;)

almost 35

tomorrow i will be 35 weeks pregnant.

hendrix was born at 35w1d pregnant.

that would be this sunday.

woah

here are a couple belly shots from earlier in the week, though i am just getting around to posting them...

baby girl seems more perfectly rounded than hendrix was.  i remember my tummy with him looking quite a bit more lumpy.  and i don't think she has really dropped yet, so i don't have any plans to deliver a baby this weekend.....but you just never know what these lil' babes have in mind.

i did have my first dose of braxton hicks contractions on wednesday night, which was an entirely difference experience than i have ever had.  (with hendrix the only thing i experienced was the real deal, and i didn't even know that was what it was at first.....) bud was working late, so i was at home alone working on some photo edits, and i experienced a crazy tummy tightening of muscles that lasted for a minute or two and then relaxed.  it didn't really hurt, but it was a little uncomfortable.  

i pretty much ignored it thinking it was gas, cramps, or maybe strong kicks - who knew.  until it happened again, and again.  after the fifth one in an hour, i decided to go soak in the bathtub and head to bed so i could stretch out and hopefully stop whatever was going on.  doc had told me that at this point, if i have anything resembling contractions more frequently than 5 times in a hour to call her.......

luckily the bath worked magic and i was ready to snuggle in bed for the night.

hopefully that was just a sneak peek of labor, but not a sign that my body is getting ready to do it soon.

i really want to want another two weeks.  

that is my goal.

37 weeks

we can do it, blaire!

there are a bunch of people out here waiting to meet you and love on you, but you will be so much better off when you come out if you can just be a lil' bit patient.......

in the meantime, this mama has been nesting like crazy and all the baby preparations are ready.

really.

i think everything is in order (i guess i do still have intentions of getting my pump out and cleaned up and ready to go, it is sitting in an accessible place, i just haven't done it yet).

blaire's closet is full of sweet little clothes.  i have a couple little pumpkin and halloween things sitting in front, and the rest seems to be more along the pink and purple hues.  

i even managed to get daddy to work on building shelves in the closet, so now i have a toddler boy side which is full of all hendrix's clothes (man, those jeans and tops seems huge after folding up little newborn onesies), and a hanging side that has both her stuff on the top, and his hanging clothes on the bottom.

this freed up the dresser drawers for all her little sleepers and outfits.  i can't get over how little and sweet they all are!  i can't wait to play dress-up with my real live dollie ;)

got out all the little sized cloth diapers.....

packed up the diaper bag with a few cute outfits (for going home from the hospital) and some accessories.....you know, cute booties and hats.  i am optimistic that we will get to have our photos taken in the hospital this time, since the whole NICU trip sort of put a damper on that for hendrix.

at the very least i imagine i will bring my camera and can catch some of those precious first newborn days.  

our car seat is here, and though not installed in the vehicles yet, it is sitting out and ready for daddy to do. 

i ended up not getting too girly of a seat, though i love how it matches our diaper bag, and i think that it will look adorable with pink blankets and a sweet head of flower clipped hair ;)

looking forward to meeting you, sweet blaire.

but remember, two more weeks would be perfect!

matching bumps

remember how my sister-in-law and i are expecting babies really close together?

well, look at our matching bumps!

cute, huh?

i am now 33 weeks along and it is starting to feel like the home stretch....

well.....

kind of.  ;)

at least we are still finding humor in our bulging bellies, waddling posture, and insatiable appetites.  

or, at least, they are.  

31 weeks

31 weeks pregnant.

NOT really a great time to get my driver's license picture taken, but hey, it was time to renew it.  

please don't ask to look at it.  i look fat. real fat.  i guess i didn't realize that i had gained any weight in my face (how could i when it seems to be going all straight to my tummy??), but when you compare it to my previous photo it is pretty clear that i am chubby.  puffy.  swollen.  whatever you want to call it.

blaire you are so worth it, but you are wreaking havoc on my figure.  i am in the stage in this pregnancy when i start outgrowing even my maternity clothes. 

blaire baumgartner - 31 weeks

just for fun i dug around and found a comparison bump of my pregnancy with hendrix, and really they seem pretty comparable.  i still think it seems like she sticks out a little father than he did, and also that she seems to be riding a little lower.  what do you think?

hendrix baumgartner - 31 weeks

i'm still feeling pretty good, though i definitely am running lower on energy, and my appetite is starting to be impacted by my shrinking tummy space.  we ate at noodles & co the other night for dinner (which has probably been the closest thing that i have had to cravings this pregnancy), and even though i was starving, i could only eat about half of what i ordered, which i had easily been able to devour just a few weeks ago.  

oh well, probably not a bad thing if i slow down on the weight gain, as at my dr. appt last week i was up 8 pounds from my appointment the month before.  

speaking of weight, blaire is weighing in at around 3.3 pounds this week, and finally starting to build up a little bit of baby chub on those itty bitty arms and legs.  she is most definitely getting stronger and stronger as her little kicks and somersaults are clearly visible through my clothes.  she is an active lil' gal.....

must take after her big brother!  :)

last week was my final monthly doctor visit, and now i get to start going every two weeks.  doc said that everything looks and sounds good, and i am measuring right on target.

now moving higher on my priority list is getting a carseat bought and installed for miss blaire, and also sorting through all the clothes that i have for her and even getting them into her room.  i need to find a creative way to store all of hendrix's and blaire's wardrobes in their itty bitty nursery.......

we are getting family photos taken next week, and i am glad that i decided to do it relatively early because this bump is about to go from cute and big, to just plain monstrous!  

27 weeks

my 27 week belly.

i am absolutely loving dresses this pregnancy!  i happened to receive several really cute and trendy dresses as gifts from all the stylish gals in my life for my birthday.....and have been finding them far cooler and more comfortable than shorts.  thanks ladies ;)  there is something about them that makes me think my belly is far more endearing than it is just plain huge and frumpy......

miss blaire is weighing in at almost two pounds now; no wonder i am starting to get more and more uncomfortable as each day passes.  in fact, i actually have a sneaking suspicion that she has done some rotating from her 'head sideways' position, to more of a 'head down' position.  the biggest clue for me was the other night i felt her hiccuping for the first time.....and those hiccups were super low....like almost beneath my belly.  it seems like the kicks are higher than they used to be too, which would kind of make sense if she rotated around.  

 all the same, it seems like she is riding much lower than hendrix was.....i don't feel nearly as much pressure in my rib cage, and a lot more of it it my lower back.

oh, and my 'button' is really popped now.  you can even see it through my clothes.  

how. attractive.

my lap is getting smaller and smaller which makes me sad for hendrix, but in the last two weeks he has adopted some super cute habits about my belly, including saying 'i love you, blaire' when he kisses my tummy, and also in pointing out her bed in his room.  he likes to remind me that he has the big boy bed, and the baby crib is for blaire (which sounds a bit more like bear, but whatev....he is trying!)

here's to my third trimester....

i am ready!

26 weeks

i am now 26 weeks into my pregnancy.  i can't believe that we are so close to saying good-bye to the second trimester (my favorite trimester)!  blaire will be here in our arms before we know it!

i had a drs. appt on friday and got some of the best news so far this pregnancy.  my cervix measurements are holding strong, and i am far enough into the pregnancy that my doctor is ready to back off all the extra caution and proceed from here as if i am no longer high risk for preterm delivery!  

hip hip hooray!

she told me to call her the minute i feel any contractions (there will be no harmless braxton hicks for this mama!), but otherwise i don't go back for another 4 weeks, and we won't be doing an ultrasound at that point.  sure, i will miss getting my routine photos of baby girl, but i feel so much relief about keeping her in there long enough, that i don't think i will mind at all.  ;)

i also passed my glucose test with flying colors (which was great because then i proceeded to eat tons of sweets in the form of cake and ice cream all weekend long for my birthday!)

overall, things are good.

i'm tired.

and hot.

but happy.  really, really, happy!  ;)

gender revealed

so you might remember that we announced our pregnancy at the same time that my brother and sister-in-law announced their pregnancy (in fact we did the announcement together with a fun photo collage), and they are due just a few short weeks after us.

all along i have had this feeling that they were having a boy.

not sure why.

i just did.

even when we found out that we were having a girl, and i couldn't really imagine anything cuter than two little girl cousins so close in age, i remained firm in my belief that they were having a boy.

but 

i. was. wrong.

and i am so thrilled to announce that my very first experience being an aunt, is going to happen this fall when hendrix's baby cousin, 

annalise marie is born!

i had the pleasure of taking some fun maternity photos for the adorable couple to use as a part of their gender reveal party.  we didn't know at the time what the gender was, so we took some with both pink and blue, and they didn't let the surprise be spoiled at all, even though they knew for a couple weeks before their party.

the party was a casual backyard picnic, and i loved all the little details that involved both the pink and blue and kept us guessing all the way up to the grand finale reveal!  

we each voted on our prediction, and chose to wear a little pink bow or mustache pin.  

the tally was more weighted towards boy, so there was definitely a big surprise in store for most of us!

hendrix loved running around with all his aunts and uncles, being the center of attention, of course.  he is going to have some serious adjusting to do when he shares that spotlight with his baby sister and baby cousin this fall!  ;)

hannah even did a great job of remaining neutral about the whole affair, with a mustache pin to counteract the pink bow that my brother was wearing....

it was fun to have a little baby there, for all of us to ooh and aaah over! 

the food was super delicious (and cute!)!

and this was how they made their announcement.  after leaving us is suspense for a couple hours, they opened up a box that was full of the right color balloons.

it was super cute and fun!

doesn't he look like he is ready to be smitten with a sweet little daddy's girl of his own?!?!

i am so excited for them!

what a great party hannah!  and if you have an interest in following along with them on the rest of their journey, you can check out hannah's blog over at this chaos called life.

hooray for babies!