One Month!

Emily Lucia is one month old today!

Because I've been terrible about updating, I'm going to just post a bunch of photos from the last month and say this - our sweet angel baby is such an amazing blessing and my heart is so full and happy. The last month has been so wonderful and she's already growing so

much! I love this new life and can't wait to see everything she has in store for us.

One month old!

I'm a mom.

Emily Lucia Costella is here! It's taken me a while to get into the swing of things and actually write this all out, but here's her birth story for those who are interested.

My next weekly appointment was scheduled for August 8th, but the morning of August 7th I woke up and things felt a little off. I hadn't felt her moving around much the night before and didn't feel a thing that morning... Her two favorite times to work out (or whatever she was doing in there). So I called the office and they had me come in for a nonstress test.

I have to admit, the NST was great. I sat there for 15 minutes just listening to baby girls heartbeat (which was totally fine) and feeling her kick me in the ribs to let me know how crazy I had been. Dr. W came in to check me out (in lieu of my Friday appt, since I was already there) and offered to do a membrane sweep when I asked about ways to edge things along. I agreed, and he completed that (rather uncomfortable) procedure and sent me back to work.

Around 1:00 I started feeling pretty regular contractions. These were different than the 'tightening' feeling from the Braxton hicks I had been getting all week.  These ones ached in my back and wrapped around my front, especially lower. I started timing them, and they were lasting around 30 sec each, 5-10 minutes apart. I gave Brad a heads up that things might be happening, and I got back to work.

By 3:00, contractions were 30-45 seconds long and closer to 5 minutes apart consistently, so we called it the real deal and headed home. There, we waited out the next 8 1/2 hours of contractions by walking, talking, cleaning, resting, and watching Friends, Pitch Perfect, and NFL preseason football. The contractions got longer and closer together until around 11:30 when they were just 3 minutes apart and lasting a minute each (and getting pretty painful!) it was time to hit the road to the hospital!

We got to the hospital right around midnight and they checked us in right away. Our nurse, Andrea, was fantastic. We told her we were hoping to make it without an epidural and she thought I could do it. I got checked out and Dr. W said I was 4, maybe 5 cm dilated. He broke my water, which he said would help speed things along.

Once my water was broken, things started moving much faster and much more painful. I tried moving around as much as possible, but the contractions were so painful! Eventually I caved (and convinced Brad that I was serious) and got a dose of fentanyl to help mellow the pain for 30 min. It was much needed and gave me the little rest that I needed to keep going.

After the 30 minutes, the pain medicine wore off and I was back to feeling horrible pain. I begged for the epidural and out of nowhere felt the need to push. brad told me not to (like we learned in class), but the urge was so overwhelming I couldn't help it. He grabbed the nurse and they checked me again and it was time! The next thing I remember, she said to someone 'go get Dr. W... Quickly.'

Pushing was hard, but only lasted 20 minutes (yeaaaa. I'm lucky and my body was pretty much made for this). Brad said it was hard seeing how close I was so many times to popping her out before I would back off, but before I knew it I heard her cry! The whole experience was so surreal and still doesn't feel completely real.

They put her on my chest and it all hit me. She was mine and we made her and get to keep her forever and watch her grow. We were a family of three, and my heart was so full of love and disbelief that I still can't completely comprehend.

So yeah, Emily Lucia Costella joined us at 3:29am on August 8. She weighed a whopping 8 lb 11 oz and was 20.25" long and absolutely perfect in every way. Hopefully later today or tomorrow I'll actually write up what having her in our lives has looked like, but for now just know that our little angel baby is the best thing that ever happened to me and Brad. We are so in love.

Our first family portrait

It's time!

This was written on 8/7/14... So much to update since then! Coming soon!!!

It's been a while since I last posted. Things are good. I'm actually in labor right now, which I'll hopefully remember to write about later, but for now here are pictures of our finished nursery and some bump pictures. Next time I write, hopefully I'll have pictures of a beautiful baby girl to share!!

38 weeks.

I just had my 38 week appointment. Things continue to progress, slowly but surely. I'm still only 2 cm dilated, but up to ~80% effaced. Doc also said everything is looking great in terms of baby's position - she's anterior facing, which should make labor easier. He said multiple times that he wishes everyone was this easy. I just hope it all stays that way!

I still feel like there's so much to do - blankets to sew, headbands to make (I already got started on these! so cute!) and naps to take. Sleep has been horrible lately. Like I can't even describe how terrible it's been. I wake up for at least an hour - usually around 3am - just totally unable to fall back asleep. Or I'll wake up randomly with shooting hip pains that are just the worst. I'm really looking for some relief there, but I'm not sure it's going to come until baby girl does... at which point sleep will be a luxury in a whole different sense.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Hoping that Brad and I can be productive but also get a lot of relaxing in. It's so weird to think that this could be our last weekend without a child. Heck, there's still a chance we don't make it to this weekend. Also weird.

Until then, a snapshot of my recent handiwork and today's bump pic!

37 weeks. Full term!

I'm totally ready for this little girl to make her grand appearance.

Sleep has been rough lately. And I know that won't actually get better once she's here, but I'm a great napper and even that has been terrible. I woke up every 20 minutes last night with my hip/butt throbbing. It's just so hard to get comfortable!  And the heat. Yuck. I could do without that (and I've been super lucky - it hasn't even been that hot out this summer!)

Enough complaining though - overall things are still going really really well (and I do still love being pregnant... I'm just looking forward to being a mom even more!).

I'm down to weekly OB appointments. Two weeks ago (36 weeks) I was 1 cm dilated, and a week later I was already up to 2 cm and 50% effaced. Baby girl is at 0 station, so she's hanging real low which is exciting (and evident if you take a look at my bump compared to a few weeks ago!). Doc said he expected me to go at or around my due date... probably not too much later... which is really exciting. It's also a little nerve-wracking that she really could come any day now! The little bit of sleep that I was able to get last night was filled with dreams of water-breaking and labor. Every time I'd wake up thinking it was happening, but no such luck :)

Yesterday we spent the afternoon out on the James River with my family. It was nice to see all of them and be outside for a bit. And probably the last time it will be just the 7 of us!

Without further ado, my most recent bump pictures. Once the baby comes, I'll have to do a post of all of them progressing through... it's fun to compare the early pictures where I was just wishing for a little hint of a bump! And I never thought I was that skinny, but looking back... damn I'd take that.

Humming Along

Things are going really well these days. It is starting to get pretty hot and I'm starting to feel pretty uncomfortable, but with under a month to go and the middle of July, I think both of those are expected.

We went to two weddings the last two weekends (dancing is a stretch these days, but they were both lots of fun!) and got CPR certified this past Saturday. At my last doctors appointment on Thursday, I got tested for Group B Step and had my first check -- 1 cm dilated and my cervix is starting to prep itself. We really are in the home stretch!! We're also down to weekly doctor appointments which is pretty crazy.

Brad and I have been doing a lot of work on the nursery these last few weeks. Yesterday he hung up all the artwork, so now all we are really waiting for is the crib (and curtains)! The crib is on back order until next week but should arrive soon. We have the pack and play to get us by until it comes should baby girl make an early appearance.

I can still feel her moving around often - though her kicks are less powerful as she is running out of room. She still gets the hiccups pretty often though. Seriously so adorable.

I've gained about 30lb this pregnancy 😁 though it seems to have slowed/steadied these last few weeks. It's been pretty hard coming to terms with the numbers I see on the scale, but I know it's all worth it! My belly button is half flat half out... Pretty weird looking overall. 

I started an email address for our little girl and have begun sending her emails and updates about everything as we prep for her arrival. I hope to share it with family/friends once she's here so they can write to her too! Then when she is older, we can tell her about it - I think that would be pretty cool!

Last but not least - recent bump pics!

Picture Update.

It's been a while.

Things are humming along here pretty well. I had a checkup on the 16th that Brad came to (he's been skipping most of them since they're about 30 seconds long and pretty uneventful). We had a few questions for Dr. Wolanski about the birthing process, cord blood donation, etc etc. We got to hear our little girl's heartbeat again (there's seriously nothing better!) and Dr. W said I'm measuring great and should expect a regular old 7 lb baby come August. Brad and I both laughed at him when he said that -- we were both over 9 lbs and two of the smallest from our families. 7lb is not likely. I'm going to go ahead and expect at least 9, and be pleasantly surprised if it works out another way :)

I had my baby shower on the 21st! It was absolutely amazing. Corey (and Michelle and the two grandmas) did such an amazing job - I seriously loved it. It was a Velveteen Rabbit themed shower (my favorite childhood book), and the weather held out perfectly so it was in the gardens right off the Lawn at UVA. My friend's daughter, Eloise, helped me open presents (she's so cute!) and we sat around and chatted and ate delicious carrot cake. It was a great day and I felt so loved and supported! We closed off the evening by heading out to a local brewery for dinner, which was a lot of fun.

My friend Caroline took some great pictures at the shower that I'll include below, including the real bunny that crashed the party!

Then this past weekend, I threw a FRIENDS-themed couples bridal shower for my friend Katie, who is getting married at the end of August. Again, we lucked out on weather and had a fantastic day!

Brad painted the nursery (mint green) and I finished my first baby blanket :) Now we're just waiting on the rest of the furniture to come and and getting ready for the little one to arrive!

And now another progression of bump pictures from the last few weeks...