Baby Adah months 1-12

I finally have wifi for the first time in over 4 years. That means I will be updating this way more often again!

Also, as some of you may know...I have really struggled with posting pics of Adah on any social media, public blog, etc because of my weirdness with people taking photos at their discretion for whatever reason. Because I am a stay at home mother, it has been a little weird not posting pictures of what I do 100% of the day and my AMAZING daughter. SO! Let the good times begin. I will be starting at the beginning and catching up as much as I can.

Baby Adah! 

1st family photo

So alert!

9 days

standing at 1 month...crazy!

Smiling...yummy!

I was dominos and she was a hillbilly

Happy Birthday!!!

And that's just a start... :)

Do you still read this? If so, send me your email address or include it in the comment section. Thanks!

Uh...is this 5 months past due?

My loyal followers...or should I say Tressa,

I know this blog is entirely past due. Honestly, I've struggled with the whole social media and making my daughter a public part of that. However, my husband just KEEPS adding pictures of her to facebook so I guess I'll start talking about her here. To be perfectly fair...we have started a blog for her and we update that frequently.  This is her birth story:

Thursday morning I woke up and went about my normal business.  My family had decided to go ahead and come up because they knew Adah would arrive any moment, seeing she was late.  Everyday I kept saying, “today’s the day” even though I knew that not one thing felt different from the day before…but it has to just happen at some point so I was optimistic Day 8 was the one.  Halfway through the morning I had a very serious migraine.  I could barely see.  My parents thought it would be good to get out of the house, walk around downtown Philly, and get some fresh air.  I was still having Braxton-Hicks multiple times an hour but it was not progressing, as it had not been for 2 weeks.  Some days I was having as many as 40 so I had just about decided this could go on forever!  We walked around Center City for a couple of hours and the cool air helped take away my migraine.  The Braxton-Hicks were coming every 4 minutes but still no progression. 

I finally decided that I had had enough and wanted to head home.  On the way, we stopped and rented a movie.  That night while sitting on the couch (it was about 9:30 pm), I felt a contraction.  Not Braxton-Hicks, there was a little cramping….  So I waited.  About 15 minutes later, there was another one.  I leaned over and whispered to Jarod, “I’m in labor”.  His eyes were as big as golf balls! We did not want to say anything to my family because we wanted to have our time to enjoy this moment together.  Throughout the movie, the contractions continued and I felt progressively more excited this was going to happen!  After the movie went off, I decided to go take a bath and just relax and enjoy the last moments I would have alone before I became a mommy.  Jarod came in and we just talked.  About what now, I cannot remember but it was exciting.  After the bath, I went to bed.  I ended up sleeping from about 12:30 am to 5:30 am. When I woke up, I was a little disappointed because I thought man…it must have Braxton-Hicks since I slept all night and did not wake.  Then I realized that I was having a ‘strong’ contraction at that moment and that must have been what woke me!  I went to the bathroom and then came and got back in bed.  I have no idea what I did for the next couple of hours because I know my family didn’t wake up until 8:00 so I guess I maybe fell back asleep? We all know how I love to sleep!

When I got up, I took Zuba for a walk and called my friend, Johnna. As soon as I told her, she got so excited because after having three kids, she obviously knew this was real from my description!  So there it was.  Today (12-21-12) we were having a baby!  I continued walking Zuba around the complex for about 30 minutes enjoying the fresh air and realizing I was about to meet my little girl.  When I came back in, oh man, did I go a little nuts.  Yes, yes I did.  I immediately went on a cleaning rampage!  Seriously.  I washed every single thing that would fit in the washer, dishwasher, and/or sink.  I washed all the clothes, sheets, towels, dishes, trashcan, and random things I could find. Then, I vacuumed. Like an OCD person.  I had that vacuum cleaner going on high speed.  I quite possibly looked as if I had done crack or something.  I dusted. Everything.  I swept the floors. I made sure our bags were packed.  My dad said, “Well do I need to go shower since you’ve washed every other thing else in this house?  Of course my answer was “yes go get yourself washed ….you stink!” ha!  Finally, around 330 I told my family that I had been in labor since the night before.  Then all the questions followed.  How do you feel?  How far apart are your contractions?  What do you want to do?  Etc. About 5:30 pm, my mom asked if we wanted to go walk around the mall and try to speed up my contraction.  So we all got dressed and headed that way.  We got there between 6:30 and 7:00 and Jarod and I began walking.  We were walking as fast as we could while I was stopping to breath through my contractions.  My doctor had told me 3-1-1.  Call when your contractions are 3 minutes apart, lasting for more than 1 minute for more than 1 hour. (Well…the 1^st doctor said 5-1-1, the 2^nd said 4-1-1 and the 3^rd said 3-1-1).  I knew I wanted a completely natural birth so I needed to wait as long as possible.  While walking, my contractions were maximum 3 to 3 ½ minutes apart and pretty ‘strong’.  Twice we sat on some benches and my contractions slowed to 5 minutes but that was the max.  There were coming regularly.  At this point, I decided I wanted out of my pants, boots, and wool coat and wanted in my pjs.  Everyone was hungry though, so we went to the food court to eat.  Naturally, I did not want anything!  We all piled back into our car (about 9:00 pm) after eating and went home.  I changed and came to the realization that this was getting close! 

I tried to remember all of my breathing techniques.  I sat on my ball and really had to focus.  For about 2 hours, Jarod had been saying that I needed to call the doctor and let them know what was going on.  I was convinced it definitely was not time to do that as I have always been told that child labor is one of the worst pains in your life and you will definitely know when you are ready.  I was tolerating my contractions so I felt that it could not be time yet.  About 9:30 pm, I finally gave in to his requests and called.  The doctor on call of course was not a doctor that I had met.  She assured me that I could not be far enough along because I sounded too calm and that I would be doubling over in half if the contractions were strong enough to bring me to the hospital.  She urged me to continue waiting as long as I could if I really wanted a natural birth. I was a little bummed and a little frustrated because this woman did not know me…how does she know what I would sound like if I were “ready”.  I am very quiet when I am in pain.  I do not get loud or scream out so how would she know?  However, I kept assuming that this was going to be the most awful pain I have ever felt in my life so clearly I was not close enough or I would be feeling like I was dying…right? 

Jarod kept urging me to go ahead and get ready so we could go to the hospital because at this point, I had been having contractions less than 3 minutes apart for about 5 hours.  AND I had been in labor for 27 hours.  I, being a little bit stubborn, refused.  It was nuts, with every contraction, I went to the bathroom to pee.  At this point, there was NOTHING in there.  Literally, a drop might come out. TMI? What was up with my body?  Around 11:30-12:00, my contractions were about 1 ½ minutes apart lasting anywhere from 1 minute to 1 minute and 20 seconds.  I was not getting any relief from them to even catch my breath.  Jarod finally put his foot down and said, “get your clothes on or you’re going to the hospital in your pajamas.  We are leaving.”  I complied. 

When we left home for the hospital it was 1:10 am and snowing!  What a beautiful sight.  The hospital was 30 minutes away and now looking back it is hard to remember the ride.  I do remember that every bump felt like it was going to push her right on out.  About a block away, I became super hot and starting slapping Jarod’s arm to have him pull over.  I did my business…unfortunately all over the door and a little on my foot.  Oops…  

I am pretty stubborn as we all know and I was convinced that I was not going to be one of those women that roll into the hospital screaming and panting in a wheel chair while her husband runs around like a chicken with his head cut off.  In fact, I had made my mind up I was going to just walk right on up to floor 4.  Ha.  They brought out a wheel chair and I refused.  Then my contraction came and I dropped to my knees for a second.  All the while, I am telling this nurse that I will walk just give me a second.  Truthfully, it would have taken us probably 20 minutes or more because I was having contractions so frequently I would have been stopping about every 3 feet.  My dad told me to get my butt into that wheel chair…I complied.  They quickly took me up to labor & delivery.

It was roughly 2:00 am when we checked in and began doing all the “checking” that they do.  Lots of questions.  Leaving.  Coming back.  Leaving.  Coming back.  Seriously, what is the pre-registration for if they are going to ask every single question again?  Somewhere in there, the nurse asked if I was in the military and I said no so she said well then are you from the South, to which I replied, “Yes mam” and she said, “I knew it had to be one of them since you kept saying ‘mam’”.  Glad to know I did not lose my manners!  After a few minutes, I felt something very warm and realized my water had broken.  At this point, it was just Jarod and me and my mom was hanging out for a few more minutes before we went to the next phase.  My mom went to tell the nurses and they FINALLY came in to do the actual “check”.  The nurse’s eye got big and she let me know I was dilated to at least an 8/9.  I was so happy to hear that.  I think I was a little delusional because I said, “So I don’t have to go home and come back?”  She assured me I was definitely far enough to be checked in and in fact, I would be having a baby very soon.  That was the only time of the whole night and months before that I cried.  I could not believe it was here and I was about to have a sweet little baby girl! 

Fast forward about an hour and there I was ready to deliver.  I told my nurse I was ready to push and she assured me I was not I just “felt” that way and I needed to wait for my doctor to hurry up and arrive.  Once she finally came in, she told me she was proud of me for waiting so long and that she heard I thought I was ready to push.  She said she would check me out and sure enough, she said…yes, you are ready!  Start pushing on the next contraction.  Wait…Whhhhhhhaaaat?  You mean it is time?  And there we went.  I only pushed a few times and there she was at 4:09 am on December 22, 2012.  Roughly 30 ½ hours after we began…  Sweet baby Adah Noelle Ring stepped into our lives!  She was 8 pounds and 3 ounces.  Supposedly, she was 21 inches long but at our 5 day check up they informed me she was just then 19 ¼ inches (so apparently she was only about 19 inches at birth).  They do not say it feels like you are “sitting on the sun” for no reason.  We will just leave it at that.  It is amazing though how quickly it all just stops!  There is your baby and boom….contractions are gone.  It’s over just as quickly as it came and I fight to make sure those memories do not fade.   

Baby Adah was perfect.  10 days late and perfectly on time!  Perfectly aware of everything around her.  Taking every moment in from the moment she arrived.  Even more now as we have watched her grow for 5 months.  She rarely cries.  She smiles often.  She sleeps so well.  She’s every parents dream.  If you do not believe me, ask ANYONE who has met her.  Every one keeps informing me that “babies just aren’t like this”.  So that makes me a little nervous about the next one.  I will just keep on thinking it is our stellar parenting skills that keeps her rocking like rock star.

Now our worlds are forever changed.  No longer are we a couple.  We are a family.  No longer are we just married, but parents.  Gone are the days when the decisions we make, affect just the two of us.  God is incredible.  And even more than before, I want to adopt all the babies in the world.  

Sarah

It is time baby, please get out!

Striegler photography...amazing!

How far along? 40 weeks. It is offically my due date. Child, please vacate the premises.

Total weight gain/loss? 30 pounds gained of course! I have been so strict with the sweets all of my pregnancy because well, I LOVE sugar…but I totally took advantage of the whole “you don’t gain weight the last week or two of your pregnancy” fact/myth.  I have eaten more junk food than I’ve ever allowed myself in my life! I actually indulged and LOVED it…no guilt here! It has been so amazing. ½ dozen Krispy Kreme’s, 2 bags of peppermint white chocolate kisses, 1 bag of reeses peanut butter cups, chocolate chip cookies, sour patch kids (watermelon of course)…and I’m sure there are things I’m leaving out.  But guess what…I still lost a pound.  Thank you Jesus!  Let’s hope my kid doesn’t have sugar issues after the last two weeks.

Maternity clothes?  As this pregnancy winds down I am happy to say that I only purchased 1 tank top (which I faithfully have worn every single day since about 7 months), 1 shirt, 1 dress, and 1 pair of pants. Yay. Cannot WAIT to have a full wardrobe again.

Sleep: You bet your bottom dollar! Since arriving in Philly and getting our bed set up…we sleep like babies.  We crawl into bed and the next thing we know that darn alarm is waking us up.  I LOVE IT!

Best moment this week: Definitely was this weekend.  Jarod and I had the mentality that this will probably be our last weekend with out a child so we did all those wonderful things you supposedly can’t do when the baby arrives.  We slept in.  We watched about 4 movies. We cooked food at all hours of the day and night.  We took long showers.  And spontaneous shopping trips.  It was wonderful.  I have to say that I have the most amazing husband in the whole entire world.  He loves me so much and I feel it every moment of the day!

Movement: She is still moving like crazy.  She kicks day and night. I generally wake up around 5 am to make a bathroom run and she is kicking when I fall asleep and kicking when I get up.  When does this child sleep? 

Food Aversions:  None.

Food Cravings: None.  I have always watched very carefully what I eat (moderation is key) but these past 2 weeks…not a chance.  And I have loved it!  I’m sure my post pregnancy body won’t enjoy that I ate so much stinking sugar and crap for 2 weeks but this weeks body…loves me.

Gender: Baby girl

Names: Yes!  Still not telling until she arrives.  So very close. 

Symptoms: I have been having Braxton-Hicks for about 1 ½ weeks now.  It started last Thursday and we were convinced I was in labor (except that it didn’t hurt at all so I was pretty skeptical) but my contractions were coming every 5 minutes for about an hour but they weren’t increasing in length nor getting more painful so I knew something had to be up.  After 30 in one day…they just stopped.  I had not had but 1 single contraction around week 26, so I naturally got pretty excited.  Bummer!  Now I officially hate their guts.  They come and go ALL day long but are getting me no where.  Just playing tricks on my uterus.  I think I’m honestly looking forward to the first painful one so I can know…the show is starting!  Thankfully, I have not had a lot of symptoms since my morning sickness.  I mean yes heartburn but its totally manageable.  Bleeding gums after brushing/flossing…gargle some Listerine.  But I have not felt crazy hormonal, needed to pee every few minutes, nor had strange aches.  I have actually been pretty happy through out this whole pregnancy.  I have felt great and am so happy for her to stay in as long as she wants, although I am getting SO impatient because I want to meet her right now.   Update: just came from the doctor...we have nothing ladies and gentlemen. NOTHING!!!!!

Belly button in or out? Just a little out. Not much though.

Rings on or off? Still on and fitting perfectly!

Stretch marks?  Nope!  THANK YOU LORD.  I feel safe to say this considering my due date is today, that if I don’t have them yet…I don’t think I will.

What I miss?  Sleeping on my stomach.  I miss it so much.  I didn’t even know I liked it until it was gone.  And bending over without feeling like I just got rejected. I can still stretch and am limber as always but my stomach definitely puts a halt on simply bending straight over to grab something!

What am I most looking forward to: Seeing my sweet Baby girls face.  Hearing her voice. Holding her little fingers and tiny toes.  Kissing her face.  This week’s event’s couldn’t progress any quicker. I am ready!!

Weekly wisdom: Several people have told me to take advantage of having family here after her birth and allow them to cook and clean because once they go home…exhaustion sets in.  Woo HOO!

Milestones: Not going into labor early during our crazy move to Philly.  Reaching full term and sailing past it with flying colors. Reaching my due date…granted anything can happen in the next 48 hours but we are here baby!

Baby Ringlet- make your grand entrance, the world awaits you.

1. Purchase Diapers

2. Purchase crib

3. Buy lots of adorable clothes

4. Acquire pack & play

5. Find a middle name

6. Paint crib

7. Sand/paint dressers

8. Move to Philly

9. Get nursery ready

10. Have her!

Her crib

Her dresser after we repainted it

31 weeks

32 weeks

37 weeks

somewhere between 33-36 weeks

39 weeks

38 weeks

In other news, Jarod and I are happily moved in.  I know it has been a whole month since we arrived but I haven’t blogged.  It is  more difficult now because we don’t have internet in our house so I haven’t really wanted to tote this giant computer anywhere.  We love our apartment.  All 875 square feet.  It is so wonderful to have our own home again.  We are too independent to be living with other people.  It was such a joy opening all of our containers that had been closed for 1 month and 1 week shy of 3 years!  We were surprised to remember all that we had.  TONS of stuff.  We ended up getting rid of 5 HUGE Rubbermaid bins packed with stuff.  We still have half of our small storage space with stuff we want to get rid of that we’ve decided in this month we don’t need.  We spent the first few weeks without a vehicle and it was more difficult than we anticipated due to the precise location of our apartment.  The shopping centers, grocery stores, bus pickups, etc are about 1.6 miles away in all directions.  We walked it several times but 36 weeks carrying groceries was a no-go.  And my sweet hubby sitting on a bus for upwards of 3+ hours a day-absolutely not!  So alas…we bought a car.  Yay!  We are mobile for the first time since January 2010.  We are so thankful for our car.  The Lord is AMAZING.   He provides just what you need, when you need it.  

our sweet ride!

Zuba has had a rough transition.  He doesn’t necessarily care for the staying inside all day but has adjusted to it.  When we open the door to go outside he sorta creeps out like a freaky stalker looking for squirrels or other dogs to pounce on.  I guess he makes it fun when he does go outside.

Poor zuba. Wishing he were outside...

How we pass the time....

As you all know...I'm pretty nuts about Christmas. I LOVE IT! It makes me incredible happy. We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Here's a pic. Zuba thinks he is a gift so he sleeps under it. So cute.

our little gift.

WHY AM I SO TERRIBLE AT BLOGGING!!?

Ok...Honestly who is better at blogging with no electricity than with electricity and high speed wi-fi daily!??...this girl. SORRY!

How far along?: 1 day shy of 31 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: 19-20 pounds.

Maternity clothes?: Not yet. Since I've made it so far now I really don't want to purchase anything since her due date is ever nearing!

Sleep: Well, it has been pretty good but the last 2 nights I haven't slept well...I'm blaming it on Jarod. He needs to get back to me so I can snuggle him!! His girls miss him!

Best moment this week: hmm. It's hard to have a best moment. I mean, pregnancy is a pretty awesome moment squeezed into ten months. I guess if I really really had to pick it would be painting the crib. Although we aren't nearly finished, my dad and I have been working on the crib for a couple of days. I just can't wait to have it finished and put together! Soon enough...

Movement: If her womb activity says anything about how she'll be as a child...dear Lord help us because she may be the most hyperactive child in the history of time. She moves sooooo much that if she's still for more than a couple of hours I start getting really nervous. I love every single little movement that I feel!!

Food aversions: Still none. I still don't want meat but that's a personal choice. 

Food Cravings: None. Although pregnancy has made me eat/drink things I never would have before. I can not stand milk. But since being pregnant, I can drink a whole glass and it is yummy! I am generally a sweets person. And by that I mean, I like to eat sugar from the bag. But since being pregnant, I haven't really eaten a ton of sweets....mostly because I don't even allow myself to go there for fear that once that can is opened...the world can't contain this sweet tooth!

Gender: Sweet baby girl! Here's a hint at her name...It is in the Bible. :) 

Names: Yes! We named our baby girl but have decided that we would like to keep something between the two of us. We will announce our sweet baby Ringlet's name when she's born...although I'm thinking of telling this blog the initials...guess we'll have to wait and see.

Symptoms: Still just heartburn. Nothing else really. 

Belly Button in or out?:Still in, but not as "in" as it used to be. I still have my belly ring in but it is getting tighter.

 Rings on or off?: Still on. Fitting the same.

Stretch marks?: Not yet...and praying I don't have my family's genes! I already feel like my stomach is stretched to its max though.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach! Dr. Pepper. I have been drinking it in teeny tiny amounts (sharing a 12 oz. can with Jarod) because I just want to be good...but man I have been dreaming of drinking Route 44's filled with Dr. Pepper. 

What I am looking forward to: The next 3 weeks! This is our last week in Arkansas and then we'll spend about 10 days in NYC on a "babymoon" as the blogs are calling it. (A final honeymoon/vacation before the baby). And then the day after I get home...my dad and I are driving our Penske truck to Philly!! We have an apartment. Jarod has an awesome job and I AM SO READY!!! Since we have an apartment now, I know what her room will look like. We are getting a 1 bedroom with a den and the den will become her room. It's 10 ft. by 7 ft. Unfortunately, no closets or windows but we'll make it happen. It's a room!!! So she'll most likely have two dressers now to keep everything in. 

Weekly Wisdom: Still haven't had any advice really. Anyone??

Milestones: Third trimester!!! I'm 30 weeks and have 10 left. I'm almost in the single digits. WOA! Also, we finally picked out a middle name. I still am not 100% on it but Jarod is so I'm sure it'll stick. He generally doesn't have preferences so when he does...I like going with them. 

1. Purchase diapers! 

2. Purchase crib

3. Buy lots of adorable clothes

4. Acquire Pack-N-Play

5. Purchase car seat 

6. Find a middle name

7. Paint crib

8. Sand/Paint Dresser(s)

9. Move to Philly

10. Get nursery ready!

24 weeks

25.75 weeks (1 day before 26)

26 weeks

27/28 weeks (somewhere in a 2 week period)

30 weeks!

This was my great grandmother's candy dish! It now belongs to baby ringlet/me. :) I can't decide if I'll put her hair bows in it or my jewely. ha!!

This dresser has a beautiful story. It came from my great grandmother's house but somewhere a long the way we found out it actually belonged to my mom when she was a baby and my g-ma has had it the whole time. My mom slept in the bottom drawer! We are stripping it and painting it a light gray. Yay!