Baby Joshua is here

Hi! I'm sorry I don't have time to write very much right now... as I'm needed by my little one. But I wanted to post some pictures for your enjoyment! Here is the first week with the newest member to the King Family!

Getting prepped for the c-section... and very, very nervous I might add.
Doesn't he look cute in scrubs!

While in the O.R...

In recovery... very proud mommy

Our baby boy... and in the homemade hat that the nurses gave us.
Our little family :)

Both my boys.... oh so cute.

It's like looking in a mirror...

After I was able to put some make-up on :)

I love this one...

Oh, I love this one so much...

This one too :)

Big yawn

Our first family outing... to the arboretum in Fullerton

If you can't read Joshua's onesie... it says: Handsome, just like daddy :)

And me, feeling a little bit more rested after being able to take a shower at home.

That's all for now... There will be tons more I'm sure. And I'll post our delivery story soon too I hope.

Love,

Sarah

May 23rd it is!

Well, this Friday is the big day! It's so surreal... I can't believe we're going to have a baby in two days! yikes! Based on my doctor appointments last week, my fluid levels have grown even more, and it has affected my blood pressure, so they had told me they really want to get me delivered this week. I was pushing for earlier in the week, but the doctor/hospital's schedule would only allow for Friday. Because of the baby's projected size, and my fluid levels, and the fact that I'm not dilated at all... they don't want me to go another week. Which, to be honest, I'm more than ok with. I think I'm pretty much done with this... although, now that it's set in stone, I think I might miss it a little bit. So, I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. I did nothing but dream about it last night, as I tossed and turned. I just have to keep reminding myself that people do this everyday, and everyday babies are born... I'm not the first one to go through a c-section! I just keep asking God to calm my heart, and help me rest in Him.

That being said, I'm SO unbelievably bummed that I'm going to have to miss my very good friend, Amber's wedding :( I was really hoping that I'd make it past it, or at least deliver early (like the doctor's had been hoping for) so that I could at least be at their wedding. It truly sucks to have no control over this particular situation. Sort of bitter sweet, because I'm SO excited to have a baby, our very first baby... but I'm bummed that I will miss Amber's very special day.

Last Saturday, I got up when Jude got up to go to work, so I could get my glucose test done ... it was really early! I had to fast for this test, so the doctor told me to go in the morning. I thought, getting there by 7am would be perfect... in and out... NOT so much. I got there, and the line was out the door. I waited an hour and a half just to have them call my name and get my paperwork! THEN, they drew blood and I had to drink that nasty solution stuff and wait ANOTHER hour for them to take more blood. talk about a nightmare. And the only reason I had to do this again was because they wanted to make sure that I wasn't diabetic... which would explain my high fluid levels. The doctor called me on Monday and said: we got your results from the glucose test, and everything's normal. GREAT, so I wasted my whole Saturday morning for no reason! I'm not bitter!

Just thought I'd rant and rave a little bit! :)

Anyway, I think that's all for now! Please keep us in your prayers this Friday, and in the weeks to come. So Crazy!! :)

Love,
Sarah

The Baby's Room :)

Well, here are pictures of my favorite room in the house! Like I said before, Jude surprised me, and painted the baby's room all by himself. I wasn't aloud in until he finished! I thought we were just doing a chair rail, but he went above and beyond (as usual), and did a white picket fence! He painted a beautiful tree, and clouds all throughout the room. It's simply adorable! I hope you can get a feel for how amazing it looks by the pictures I'm about to post! The only thing we're missing at this point is curtains... which my mom said she'd make for us. And once we get our crib, my mom made all the bedding for us, and I know it'll look adorable too! So here you go... in no particular order... our baby's room!

If you look closely, Jude put our initials in the tree :)

and in the clouds... :)

I think Bosco is a little jealous!

I love the tree!

This is what you see as you enter the room

There it is! I love to just sit in there, and look around! We're all ready for Baby Joshua!

Here I am at 36 weeks, and half of Kyla's head :)

Sick + Pregnant = grouchy!

Well, my second week of maternity leave, and I'm sick :( I'm hoping the worst is over, and I'm on to recovery... I really hope so anyway. And it is nice to not have to worry about work... as Jude said: let's look on the bright side! :)

Last week was so great, being off of work! I slept in, I nested, and just relaxed for the most part... it was wonderful! I've been going to the doctor three times a week now, and I had my first pelvic exam last week. The testing sessions are a breeze, baby Joshua is very healthy and active, and the placenta is doing it's job. I do have a ton of fluid however... I don't know what term they use to measure the fluid, but "normal" is 8-10, and I have around 30. yikes! haha! They have no idea why some women have excessive fluid... unless you have diabetes, which I do not. Anyway... I'm not dilated at all, and my cervix is closed. Today at the doctor, she said that next week, we'll talk about delivery, and get me delivered next week. So that's exciting! I'd prefer to schedule a c-section, especially since my cervix is completely closed still. So we'll see about that next week. The nurse during testing today really wanted a reason to get me delivered this week... which was kind of scary... but exciting at the same time. She said if the baby wasn't looking so healthy, we would have done it today!

The baby's room is completely finished, and I love it so much! Jude surprised me, and worked feverishly to get it done within a week. We took a ton of pictures of it... I should post some! Will and Jessica threw us a great "couples shower" last Saturday, thankfully, before I got sick. It was lots of fun, and I can't believe it's all over already! We got our travel system, and lots of other great gifts. THANK YOU to everybody who came, we had such a great time! And THANK YOU to Jessica and Will for being so kind to throw us a shower! I had my very first mother's day on Sunday as well... it was very nice. Jude bought me a bouquet of flowers, and got me the sweetest card! We took our first mother's day photo at UP too... so that will be fun to frame!

I'm feeling bigger by the minute! I look at pictures and think, holy cow! HA, literally! I think that God made pregnancy the perfect length... because I think I'm ready to be done with it. However, at my doctor appointment last week, I actually lost four pounds! I was excited about that! I forgot to ask her about my weight today. So, according to last week's doctor visit, I've gained a total of 25 pounds. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Today I got kind of sad thinking about going back to work... I literally had to shake my head to make myself stop thinking about it. It's going to be very hard to leave my baby... (sigh).

Anyway, I better get going, I hear Bosco getting into something. Please pray that I get better soon!

Talk to you all soon!
Sarah

The Sooner the Better

So, you know how they say you get tired again in the third trimester.... wow, were they right! I'm not quite as tired as I was during the first trimester, but I have been taking a nap pretty much every day because I just can't keep my eyes open. My feet look like bread loaves, however I haven't been able to see them in weeks! ha! People still tell me that I am all belly, and they are SO nice! Sheree said I looked skinny last Sunday, and I wanted to squeeze her so tight.

I went to my first testing session yesterday, and they strapped me with fetal monitors and took my blood pressure. They just recorded his heart rate, and then made him move around to see what his heart rate did then. Everything looked great, and she was happy with how much he was moving around. Then today, Jude and I went in for another ultrasound, and our "little" baby is at 7 1/2 pounds right now (give or take a half a pound) and is in the 90th percentile for his size. I still have lots of fluid, and they just need to make sure that diabetes isn't the reason behind that... which, odds are, it's not because my glucose screening came back normal. So she said it's probably just normal for me to have lots of fluid and a big baby. She is going to tell Dr. Lawton to check for diabetes again, just to make sure, but that I shouldn't worry. I asked her about c-sections and inducing, and her thoughts are that we should just let the baby come when he's ready. Because he's so big, and i have lots of fluid, she's thinking he'll come before his due date anyway... (which is what I'm hoping for). So if i don't deliver in 4 weeks, I am scheduled to see that paranatalogist again, and if the baby is SUPER big by then, she said she will probably recommend a c-section. We got two more pictures of our baby boy... and he is just the cutest thing. This afternoon I've had some cramping, so I'm thinking maybe he's moving down?? Or it might just be in my head, since we've been watching our Lamaze video! ha! I'm going to do what I can to have this baby early... I really would rather NOT have a 10 pound baby, and that's where we're headed if I carry to full-term!

Only two more days of work, and BOY am I ready for maternity leave! This week feels like it's lasted a life time! Jude started painting the baby's room!! And I'm SO excited! We bought the paint on Monday, and he has since locked me out of that room. He said I can't see it until it's done... such a sweetie!

AND next Wednesday, some girlfriends and I are going to Burke Williams! Hooray!

Alright, well, I'm going to go walk around to see if this cramping will stop. I'll keep you posted!

I have to warn you... I probably won't blog as much when I'm on maternity leave, so I apologize ahead of time :)

Have a fabulous rest of the week!

35 weeks... and counting

5 more weeks to go... if that! Can you believe it? Seems like it went by so fast, but at the same time, I am so looking forward to being able to lay on my stomach again, and being able to bend over and tie my shoes without it being a huge ordeal. Awe, the joys of pregnancy! :) I really can't complain though, I've had a great time being pregnant, and I've really tried to enjoy it to the fullest, because I know it's only a short part of my life, and before I know it, this chapter in my life will be over.

This is my last week of work before maternity leave!! YIPPEE! I'm so excited! Even though I just sit at my desk pretty much all day, my chair gets awfully uncomfortable, and my feet get SO swollen by the end of my work day. And I get so hot in here too! It's just me, because everyone else says they feel fine, while I'm burning up. so annoying!

I had a baby shower at my work last Thursday, and a shower last Saturday at my sister's house! It was so great, and my mom and sister did such a great job of putting everything together!! People are so very generous, really makes me feel loved...sounds silly, but true. My next, and final shower is in two weeks at the Parris Home. I'm looking forward to that as well! All of the wonderful gifts are sitting in our dining room, so hopefully I'll be able to 'nest' and put everything away and get everything ready for our baby boy. Jude and I have been looking at paint colors, so we'll hopefully be able to buy the paint this week! So exciting!

I saw my doctor last week, and she gave me an order for another ultrasound for this week. So I called to make that appointment, and they said because of my fluid levels, I need to go see the paranatologist twice a week to make sure the baby is doing fine in there. Apparently, because of my high fluid levels, it can flatten the placenta, and harm the baby. She said it's always better to have too much fluid, than not enough... and odds are, it will just make me more uncomfortable, BUT, they like to keep an eye on it to make sure. So there's that... and luckily, St. Jude is close to our house, so it's not too far out of the way. I don't know if I talked about this in my last blog entry... but I've come to a resolve about the whole c-section possibility. I'm just going to trust the doctors and as long as I have a healthy baby and I'm alive and well, I'll be happy. And who knows what will happen... but I'm just really at ease about the whole thing... which I think is the best way to be.

Tyquon is going to be moving out this Wednesday, and I have to say, I'm really looking forward to that. Our good friends are taking custody of him, and I really think it's the best place for him right now. Jude and I are looking forward to being his aunt and uncle again, and being a part of his life in that way. I'm looking forward to being able to focus completely on our baby, and the last few weeks of pregnancy.

Jude and I were driving home last night, and he said: Gosh, It's so crazy that we're going to have a baby..." he couldn't have read my mind more clearly! I feel like I've had so much time to mentally 'prepare' for this huge life changing event, but just the last few weeks it's actually started to sink in! It's very real all of a sudden! We went on our Hospital tour last Thursday... and we got the Lamaze DVD that Jude bought for us... which, turns out... very informative! :) I thought that was so cute of him to buy that for us!

Anyway... I think that's it for now :) THANK YOU so much if you were a part of my shower this last weekend! and Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts! I've already started on thank you cards, so hopefully I'll get those out soon!

Love,
Sarah

34 1/2 weeks :)

Well, the third trimester is in full effect. I'm feeling huge and swollen, and I haven't seen my ankles in about two weeks now. :)

I had another doctor appointment yesterday, and my belly is measuring at 36 1/2 weeks, and the heart rate was at 140... just perfect. She wants me to have another ultrasound next week, to chart his growth, and because I have so much fluid, I'm at 'high risk.' So I'll have two more ultrasounds before we meet Joshua. She talked to me about c-section, and inducing... so we'll see what happens. The whole thing makes me a little nervous, but I trust my doctor to do what's best for me and the baby. I think I'd probably feel nervous even if our baby wasn't huge and a 'regular' delivery was in my future. And who knows, that could still happen i suppose. I also got all the paperwork from them to fill out for my disability claim, so I have to get that done by next week. I can't believe next Friday is my last day at work, for FOUR months!! I'm really excited! I haven't been without a job for this long since I was 16 years old!

No stretch marks on my belly yet... knock on wood. Every morning I put on the 'mommy to be stretch mark cream'. I really need to start getting my hospital bag packed and ready to go. I need to purchase a few things, like a nursing bra and nightie. And I need a really cute outfit to bring him home in! So about 4 months ago, I was reading on babycenter.com, and they mentioned a 'maternity mask' and how it's really common for women to get this in their second and third trimesters... well, the maternity mask is in full effect as well. Even the other day, Jude was like: "what's on your cheeks?" awe man! Oh well... I'm able to cover it up with some concealer, but still, kinda stinks. I've noticed it got worse when I was in the sun last weekend. Oh well, I'm glad I wear make-up! :)

My work is having a little baby shower luncheon for me tomorrow, which is really nice of them! And then my first baby shower is this Saturday, and I'm really looking forward to it! My sister and Mom are throwing this one, and they've really worked hard on it! Knowing my sister, everything will be so detailed and amazing! I just looked at my registry, and it looks like people have bought me some stuff already! How exciting is that!! Baby stuff is so expensive... it worries me a little bit to think about having to buy all of it on our own! eek!

Anyway, I hope you're all having a fabulous week! I'll post some pictures from my shower for sure :) I have to go get a cute outfit to wear to it!!