Connor is 2 Weeks Old!

 It has been a crazy 2 weeks around the Cornett household! Between breastfeeding for what feels like 24 hours a day, getting very little sporadic sleep, and changing a million diapers a day, I can honestly say that Connor has been life changing for both Brad and me. Although we are exhausted, we wouldn't change it for the world. Connor is amazing! He is so perfect in every way, even when he is crying at 3 am uncontrollably :)

We have seen Connor's pediatrician twice now. Once at 5 days old and today for his 2 week check up. At 5 days old, Connor had lost down to 6 pounds 14 ounces. At that point, he was not eating well primarily because I had very little milk. After pumping in between nursing and talking to friends and several lactation specialists, I finally began to produce a decent amount of milk. I still do not have just a lot, but am able to feed him regularly and pump still to try to begin my supply for when I return to work. The doctor suggested supplemented 1-3 ounces of formula at each feeding in the beginning, which I did for 2 days, but after my milk came in, I backed off to just giving him 2 ounces at night. Today at his 2 week check up, he was back up to his birth weight of 7 pounds 6 ounces! The pediatrician told me to continue feeding him as I was but to limit his feedings to 45 min since I sometimes would let him eat for an hour or even longer at times. The pediatrician was very pleased at his weight as well as with how strong our little man is. He instructed us to definitely not leave him alone on the couch or elevated surface because he can about turn himself over! Crazy at 2 weeks old can almost roll from back to side on his own.

This second week, we have noticed that Connor is so much more aware! He stays awake a little more throughout the day and when he does he is constantly looking around with his big dark blue eyes. He reacts really well to light and sound, too. He loves his hands. They are constantly moving, even when he is asleep. And boy does he make some funny faces when he is sleeping! My favorite is his little smile :)

We had Connor's newborn pictures taken at 11 days old by Suzanne Carey. She came to our house and stayed for 3 hours. She was so patient with him since he decided to be wide awake when she arrived. With the newborn sessions, it is best for him to be asleep so she can put him in various positions. But after taking our lifestyle pictures with him and nursing him, he finally passed out and was able to get a ton of pictures. I cannot wait to see them!

We have had lots of visitors over the past 2 weeks. Everyone has been so anxious to meet Connor! Our first night home, Leah and the girls came over. Rocki just loved Connor. The following weekend, Stacey, Cassandra, Jeff, and C.Jay came over on Saturday and on Sunday Laura, Trent, Meredith, and Chord came to visit. My mom stayed with us for 5 days after Connor was born. She was a huge help! My sister stayed through the weekend after he was born. And Brad's parents have been popping in and out pretty regularly bringing us dinner and helping out as we need them. Michael and Whitney have also visited pretty regularly. We brought Connor to visit his great grandma this week. She was overjoyed with our visit and thought he was the cutest little thing! Everyone thinks he is looking a little more like me than Brad at this point :) He definitely is handsome no matter who he looks like!

Our second weekend home with Connor (about 1 and half weeks old), we decided to go to our church Saturday night service. I was getting ready to get out of the house so we decided church would be the perfect place to go. Brad's parents (Nana D and Big Daddy) came over to babysit. They loved it! I think Connor slept the entire time we were gone, which was only about an hour and half. That's about as long as I could stand to be away from him :) We are so blessed to have this healthy baby boy in our life!

First night out :)

39-40 Weeks

So, today (Jan 8) I had my 39-40 week doctor appointment. Jan 9 is my due date. I'm getting a little anxious! I'm having some signs of labor but not much at all. Beginning to get crampy in my back and pelvic region. Having a few more contractions but still very inconsistent. I'm hoping that I will not have to go another week! So ready to meet Connor!

We got good news at my doctors appointment though! I was completely 1 cm dilated (before I thought I was, but she said I was really only a fingers tip) and my cervix was at 80% effaced! Those cramps must have been doing some work down there because the next thing my doctor asked me was when do I want to have Connor, the 10th or 11th?! Of course, I wanted the 10th but also had some questions about being induced. Throughout the entire pregnancy, I wanted to go into labor on my own without being induced because of the increased risk for c-section. She was very positive about me being induced at this point because I have made it to full term and my body was in the process of getting ready. So, we decided to induce on Thursday, Jan 10th!

Brad and I had to be at the hospital at 5 am Thursday morning. I cannot even express all of our feelings that morning. So happy and excited, but so nervous because I had no idea what to expect. I knew there was a possibility that I could be in labor for hours and hours and that scared me the most. I knew I could handle the pain, but fatigue was another thing. But, I said a prayer for a healthy and fast delivery of our baby boy and quickly became calm and ready. The time had finally come to meet our son!  When we got to the hospital, the nurse talked me through everything that would be occurring throughout the day. She registered me, did blood work, hooked me up to the IV's then checked me. Surprisingly, I was 3 cm dilated!! Brad and I just looked at each other. Didn't know what to say. From Tuesday to Thursday I had dilated on my own from 1 cm to 3 cm. This was great news! My doctor came in a little while later to check on me and she was also surprised. And even said this may be a quick delivery! I really was not feeling my contractions at this point still although they were showing up on the monitor that I was having them. Connor's heart rate was doing great and fluctuating from 120 to 180 BPM all morning. It was so neat being hooked up to the monitor so that I could hear his little heart beat. It seemed to calm me. At 10 am my doctor came in to break my water and give me my epidural. I did not even feel a thing from either, just a little pressure. Very soon after, though, the contractions became intense. And I mean intense. The epidural had not completely set in before they began so I felt them for a good 30-45 min before it did. My blood pressure dropped several times and became nauseated because the pain was so intense. Thank goodness the epidural was on a pump that I could manually pump every 15 min if needed. And it was needed! A little while later, I was checked again and I had dilated even more to 5 cm! By 12:30-1:00, I was at 9 cm. And at 2:00 I was finally 10 cm. When she said 10 cm, my heart skipped a beat. it was time! I didn't know what to think. The nurses began coming in and getting everything ready. My family had been asked to leave the room. And I started pushing. After 45 min of pushing, with the help of Brad, Connor was finally here! He was perfect! I was overjoyed with all kinds of emotions when she put him in my arms. He was finally here. After 9 long months, I was finally holding our baby boy. And it was the most amazing feeling I have ever had. Words cannot express what it felt like. Simply a miracle.

CONNOR BRADLEY CORNETT

Born January 10, 2013 at 2:59 P.M.

7 pounds 6 ounces, 22 inches 

Perfect little bundle of joy :)

39 Weeks

Well, I'm still hanging in there! Doctor's appointment didn't go exactly as I had planned this week. I  had my hopes set high that I would be more dilated and progressing more, but I'm still at 1 cm. My doctor wants to do an ultrasound next week (day before my due date) to check Connor's size, fluid, etc to make sure everything is okay. She said that by me not progressing anymore may be mother natures way of telling us something. So now we just wait. And I'm getting inpatient :( We are so ready to meet Connor and pray every day for a safe and healthy delivery and baby. Hopefully, the ultrasound does not show a 9 pound baby or any other problems that may cause me to have to have a c-section. I have not even prepared for that. Since my entire pregnancy has gone so smooth, I just assumed that my water would break and I would go into labor on my own. I know I still have a week before I hit 40 weeks so there is still time for Connor to get ready. But, now I'm getting a little anxious! His heart rate was around 160 BPM and he surprisingly is still moving a good bit. I have read that many babies quit moving as much in the last few weeks because they just run out of room, but Connor is still very active. I feel like I am still having a few contractions here and there, but still not a lot. Swelling is still very minimal. Primarily still in my hands at night, which is very painful when I try to make a fist. I'm still feeling pretty good. Back aches come and go. Still working and plan to work up until Connor makes his arrival, whether planned or unplanned.

So, at this point, we are waiting for Tuesday to see the results of ultrasound and internal check. Then we will set up a plan. Praying I will have progressed by then.

Brad took some pictures of me this week since we were both off of work for New Years. Here are a few of my fav's. Of course, Nola wanted to be in a few as well :)

We celebrated NYE with the Lee's and their newest addition, Layla. Grilled out steaks and relaxed!

And we rang in the New Year falling asleep on the couch :) 

37-38 Weeks

Merry Christmas to us! And Connor! We have been spoiled
yet again for Christmas by both my family and Brad's family. My mom and sister bought Connor a lot of really cute clothes! His closet is about full with of the clothes he has! Mom bought Connor a monogrammed pillow that I had been wanting and searching everywhere for. It's perfect! Brad and I have been wanting a really good DSLR camera for years, and now that we have Connor on the way it was the best time to put it on our Christmas list. So, on Christmas Eve, Brad's parents surprised us with a Canon Rebel T3i and his grandmother got us an extended lens and case! For Connor, "Santa" brought him a Pack N Play and Baby monitor! Those were the last 2 big items on our registry so finally feel like we have everything we need for Connor's arrival...I think? Guess we will find out in a few more weeks!  Can't believe Christmas has already come and gone and now we are about to be in January! Not much longer for Connor's arrival.

Due to it being Christmas week, my doctor's appointment kind of got split in the middle of weeks 37 and 38. Not much has changed since my last appointment, though. Still 1 cm dilated. Having some contractions (braxton hicks) but they are still off and on. Swelling is about the same..primarily in my hands and worst in the mornings. I can barely make a fist in the mornings with my left hand. Crazy. I have to soak my legs and feet at night because of restless leg kicking in. Seems like they just won't relax until I soak them in hot water for a few minutes! Once I soak them, I can go sound to sleep and sleep throughout most of the night with the exception of getting up once or twice to use the restroom. My back is feeling better for the most part as well. Overall, I really feel great for being 38 weeks pregnant. I kept hearing that the last month of pregnancy was terrible, but it hasn't been for me. I still have a lot of my energy and have definitely been "nesting" throughout the house. Brad never knows how the house is going to look when he gets home from work :) I can always tell when I over do it though, because my back will start getting achy and stiff feeling and feet start hurting. Brad has been very good about massaging my feet and back throughout the entire pregnancy. Even when he is tired and been on his feet all day, he will come home and rub mine. He is great! And I can't wait to see him as a father to Connor.

I go back to the doctor this Friday, Jan 4, and then again Jan 8. Connor's due date is Jan 9. I'm hoping he will come on his on by the 9th but if he doesn't we will induce. That's the plan as of now anyway :)

36 Weeks

36 weeks and 1 cm dilated! Whoo hoo! Connor is still very active with a heart rate of 170 BPM. It's kind of funny seeing Dr. Sessum's face every time she checks his heart rate. She can't believe how much he moves. He is obviously going to take after his daddy for having so much energy! :) He has dropped even more into the birth canal she said, too. I'm trying not to get my hopes up since I still have a few more weeks to go, but I sure am getting anxious about meeting Connor! I go back next week so we will see how he is doing then.

My braxton hicks contractions are still present but mainly in the afternoons. Still not too bad yet. My feet and hands are swelling some. I tend to prop my feet up and take my shoes off at work a lot without even realizing it. Ha! My left hand has been giving me trouble this week with achyness in the mornings and difficulty making a fist and squeezing anything. Last night I woke up around midnight with my entire left arm achy and numb. The achyness started from my arm pit down my tricep and elbow then to my wrist and hand. The numbness was primarily at my wrist and thumb, index, and middle fingers. I could not even bend my wrist for the pain it caused. I knew it was my median nerve being compressed but didn't know why? After about an hour of stretching and moving my arm around, the feeling came back and I was finally able to get back to sleep. I told Cindy at work when I got there and she said I was probably developing carpal tunnel due to the swelling and compressing of the median nerve. Great. My index finger still doesn't feel right. It's really tight and achy. So now I have a splint to sleep in and exercises to do for the my left arm. Hopefully this will disappear once I deliver! 4 more weeks to go! :)

35 Weeks

35 weeks pregnant..wow! Can't believe it is getting so close! We are so ready to meet Connor! We have pretty much gotten his nursery ready..at least all of the necessities anyway. There are a few other things I want to do but if I don't get to them it will okay too. Brad is planning to install the car seat this week so that the car will be ready. I have my hospital packed and Connor's bag packed. I absolutely love the little outfit I have for him to come home in!

My MD appt went really well this week. She checked his position and found that his head has dropped into the birth canal and was actually able to touch his head! That is still so strange to me but so happy he is not breached. She is estimating that he weighs approx 5 pounds right now. With only 4-5 weeks to go, he could def gain a few more. I'm hoping he will not be over 8 pounds by delivery though. His heart was a rapid 170 BPM! I told my MD that he was as ready as I am for him to come into the world! :) He is so active and constantly moving from one of my stomach to the other while kicking and punching me! I think I am going to miss those little moves. I'm beginning to have Braxton Hicks contractions, but really aren't that bad..yet. I had envisioned them to be a lot worse that what they are now. I'm sure its going to get worse though. Overall, I'm still feeling really good. Starting to have a little bit of swelling in my feet and hands still able to wear my wedding rings which I have heard is pretty amazing at this stage. I haven't been to the gym lately but really am not as tired as I thought I would be. Think I'm just getting lazy :) And Brad says I'm beginning to "nest" because after work I am constantly doing something to the house. I'm getting a little anxious about his arrival so asked when the earliest my doctor would induce. She said Jan 2, which is only 1 week early, but still haven't completely made up my mind. Even though I'm ready to meet him, I feel that he needs to come when he is ready. So we will see... Everyone tells me to enjoy my sleep and peacefulness while I can because its not going to last much longer :)