Introducing....

Addison Hope Jones

She arrived at 5:04am after 25 minutes of pushing. We got to the hospital about midnight and things moved really quickly. I had a fever so they tried to make her wait to come out until I could get a few rounds of antibiotics but she was not interested in waiting very long.

She weighed 6 lbs 15 ounches and is 19 inches long.

She has a full head of black hair, Josh's ears and my nose.


More updates soon....

Addison Hope

We're at the hospital (this is Josh, not Shiloh...) and we are all set up waiting on Ms. Addison to show up. Shiloh's already got the good medicine in her, already dialated to a 10(!)...so shouldn't be long now at all!!!

Fall

In order to not think about being frustrated at the doctors for telling me Addie would come early and at myself for believing them I thought I would write about something non-baby related.

I love fall. The last few days the weather here in Denver has been much cooler. It has been rainy and even snowed a small bit in parts of the city. It is supposed to warm up again in a few days so this is really just a teaser. I love so many things about this time of year and thought I would list a few.

1. Colors - the darker colors of oranges, reds, dark green, grey etc are some of my favorites. They look warm and cozy and I love clothes in those colors.

2. Sweaters and cozy pants - Soft sweaters, sweatpants, fleece jackets, scarves etc. It just makes me think of snuggling up with Josh, talking a walk outside etc.

3. Retreat - fall is when the youth group retreat happens and it is one of my favorite activities of the year. Josh always does a great job with coming up with a theme, lessons and a balance of fun activities as well as deeper spiritual activities. This is last years retreat...


4. Football - I don't necessarily like Josh zoning out all afternoon on Sunday but I do love football. Especially the #2 Texas Longhorns! This is also the second year that I am playing in a Yahoo Pick 'Em league where you pick the winners of each NFL game and give them "confidence points". Last year I was the only girl and did really well. This year I convinced my sister in law Lauren to play too. I'm doing ok so far - 5th place out of 15.



5. The smells - I love fall scents like spiced pumpkin, apple, nutmeg, pine and others. I bought a bunch of different scents in the melting wax things. They came with ideas on how to mix the smells too so I am excited to try some of those.


6. Yummy fall foods - there are too many of these to list but some of my favorites are soup or chili in bread bowls (we are actually having that for dinner tonight), pumpkin bread, homemade caramel corn, stew, hot tea, sweet potatoes and apples.




7. Aspen leaves- Aspen trees are my favorite and this is the time of year that they change colors. On Saturday my mom and I drove up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park to see the colors. They weren't at the peak yet but they were still amazing.


8. Decorating my house - I love all of my fallish decorations. This year since there is a lot of other things taking priority I'm not doing very much but I just love any sort of fall decor - wheat, leaves, beautiful colors, pumpkins, anything really.

That's all for now. Is there anything that you love about this time of year?

Pictures

These are a bunch of pictures of the nursery, presents at the church baby shower, me before our false alarm etc. Enjoy!

37 Weeks

I have been getting super impatient lately wanting Ms. Addison to get here. We had a doctor's appointment this morning and even though it wasn't as good as I had hoped, it did make me feel better. I'm dilated more than I was even earlier this week. The doctor said her head is as low as it can get without coming out and that there is a good chance that will make labor quicker. I like quicker. I have been having tons of pain and pressure because her head is low and pressing on nerves so that isn't great and apparently won't get better either.

I'm trying to keep busy with work at home so that is helpful but other than that we are just waiting. Josh has his Daddy Boot Camp class tomorrow and I'm interested to hear how it goes. We have heard really good things about this class so I 'll update about it later.

After my stroller meltdown last week we found one that I loved and got it in the mail Wednesday. We were also lucky enough to have a family from church give us two extra car seat bases that fit the one we ordered so we will have a base for my car, Josh's car and Connie's car.


Connie is the sweet lady that will be watching Addie when I go back to work. Her family is so special to Josh and I and have been since he started working at University. They have had two other kids go through the youth group at least a year with Josh and now the youngest daughter is a senior. Connie was working part time at an adoption agency as well as running University's Thursday School Program (Mother's Day Out). She actually asked us if she could keep Addie and we could not be happier about it. There really isn't anyone else I would rather she spend so much time with when Josh and I are working. This whole situation is definitely one of the ways God has blessed us during this pregnancy and preparing for Addison.

That's about it for now. I keep hoping that the next time I post will be announcing that Addison is here but I guess we'll see....

Grateful

Since the past week has been pretty rough for me, I decided to make a list today of things that I am grateful for right now.

1. Josh - He has been so incredibly patient, understanding and helpful. He also always makes me laugh at just the right times. He will do something silly like poke my belly and then say "Addison likes it. She told me"

2. My Mom - She has now been here for almost two weeks. This is longest she has ever been apart from her husband Larry and I know that is a huge challenge for both of them. She has made me meals, cleaned my house and hugged me when I cry. She will be here until Addie comes and then for a little while afterwards. It was hard to be pregnant when she was in Alaska and Canada all summer and even though we weren't sure when Addie will come she decided to come early just in case and to help out.

3. Swimming - I have loved being in the water the last few weeks. I don't necessarily notice that my belly feels a lot lighter when I get in the water, but once I get out I definitely notice that it feels heavier.

4. Books- I have always loved to read but while being pregnant reading has been a sanity saver sometimes.

5. My boss and my team at work - The agency I work for is small and my foster care team that I work directly with is 3 other women and my boss (the only man in the whole agency). They have been incredibly flexible and supportive during the whole pregnancy but especially the last few weeks while my work schedule had to change and now I'm working from home.

6. Sonic Ice - One of my favorite things has been to get a large water with lemon and then eat the ice.

7. Foam Rollers - if you don't know what this is - sorry, it is a little hard to describe but it is a dense foam cylinder that I use to stretch. It works wonders on my hips and thighs when they are sore. I got mine at my gym but they also have them at target.

8. Bath and Body Works Sugar Scrubs - they feel so good and have helped exfoliate and moisturize my skin (especially my belly) so it doesn't itch.

9. Linda - this is the nurse practitioner that I see every other doctor's visit. She is so sweet and patient with all of my questions. She has seen me off and on throughout our whole history of the miscarriages etc and that always makes me feel better.

10. Other people - Our church family and friends have been so supportive! I was overwhelmed at the generosity at our baby shower and so many people offer to help with anything. It has been good for Josh to know that there are also people who can help out with youth group stuff when ever he is home with me.

That's it for now. There are so many more things that I have been thankful for but I am needing to take a nap. Hopefully Ms. Addison will decide to come meet us soon!

Stroller Meltdown

The past 48 hours have pretty much stunk. Yesterday Josh and I went to Babies R Us and realized that the stroller/car seat combo we wanted had been discontinued and no one let us know. So, we had to try to pick out another one. There was one that was basically the same as the original just different fabric and $70 more. Then we went to Target and found one that was cheaper but about 30 lbs heavier. So, I started crying, upset because I couldn't even pick out a stupid stroller and car seat. Eventually I found one on line at Target that was a reasonable price and still lite weight with the other features we liked. Crisis solved.

Today I had another meltdown or two. The first was putting away clothes in Addie's room and trying to figure out where to put things. I am having lots more anxiety lately that I am going to do a terrible job taking care of this tiny little person.
The second meltdown was a the doctors appointment this afternoon. I was already worried that she would tell me that nothing much had changed (which she did) and it didn't help that they were running 45 minutes behind and my blood pressure was high. I have been getting so easily overwhelmed and unfortunately my body's first response is tears. I think I have cried more this week than in the last 3 months of the pregnancy. I hate crying. I really, really hate crying. It makes me feel stupid. I've also been completely over analyzing everything. I get so worried that other people are upset that it makes life worse. Hormones suck. I honestly thought I had been doing really well most of this pregnancy - I've been easily frustrated and more sensitive lately but the crying at the drop of a hat is new.

Back to the doctor's appointment - I'm dilated to a 1 which is an improvement over last week I guess. I can stop taking the medication to stop contractions and I can do more activity now too but it could still be 24 hours or 28 days. I'm praying she comes early - the doctors have no more concerns about her development or health if she comes now and I am super uncomfortable with her head being so low. We also got and put together my glider tonight and Josh also finally packed his hospital bag so I really am ready whenever she decides to come out.

Josh's Blog

My husband has finally started a blog. He has toyed with this idea off and on for awhile and decided to actually go for it. He wanted to have a mix of a "preacher blog" with devo thoughts, spiritual insights etc and a blog just to update on his life, share etc.

If you are interested the address is http://theblogofjoshjones.blogspot.com/

I will update with some pictures of showers hopefully soon.

As of today Ms. Addison still hasn't decided to come out but I'm still hopefully it will be soon. I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable and having more contractions even though they are still little.

I'll keep everyone updated!

Baby Class

Today Josh and I went to the Weekend Express Birth class at the hospital. They normally do a 4 or 6 week series but we couldn't fit it into our schedules over the summer. I was actually worried this past week that we wouldn't make it long enough to go so I'm glad we did.

It was a small class to start with - about half the size of their usual ones. Within the first ten minutes one of the women had a seizure or big blood pressure drop and passed out. So, even though we were in a building on the hospital campus it wasn't an actual medical building so the teacher called 911 while a class participant (who was an EMT) helped the woman. It started off the day with a bang.

It was a pretty good class. I started to get really overwhelmed right at the end - lots of information, lots of things to think about and lots of emotions. Overall it was good and informative. We talked a lot about, and practiced a lot of different positions to help with labor contractions, massage techniques etc. It was helpful and I think I have a better idea of what will be or won't be comfortable for me and the way my body is. We also talked a lot about being able to vocalize what we need during labor so that our husbands or whoever can help the best possible way.

I was nervous about watching super graphic videos but the stuff we saw wasn't bad at all. The teacher was also about to use some good visual aids that were helpful.

Overall it was a good day. Tonight I am hoping to maybe play a game with my mom and Josh after dinner then curl up with Josh and watch a movie. That was another thing that the class made me think of - I have been craving time with Josh even just sitting and doing nothing.

Tomorrow is the shower at church and I am so excited. I will post stuff about that later.

Last nights' adventure

So yesterday we had our 35 week appointment. The doctor was more rushed than usual so I wasn't able to ask him all of the questions that I had. He did take me off of working at the office completely but said that I can work from home. He told us that my cervix is still thinning and Addie's head is at a 0 which is "engaged".

I was pretty stressed out after the appointment because I had other questions and I'm not excited about bed rest. Really, it's ok if she is coming early but I'm anxious about being on full time bed rest for 5 more weeks. A lot of that stress is about finances and not getting my full paycheck for as long as I was hoping to.

Yesterday after the doctor I took a nap and then ate dinner with my mom. I've been meaning to write about that and can't remember if I did or not. Mom flew in on Monday and will stay until a week or so after Addie is born. Anyway, last night Mom and I went to the fabric store and just watched tv. Josh and I hung out for a little while after he got home from church last night.

Around 10pm I started having more intense contractions - not super painful but worse than they have been up to this point. I took the medicine that is supposed to stop them but it didn't help. Around 11pm Josh and I called the after hours nurse line and they said to go into the hospital to get checked out. Josh woke up my mom and the three of us grabbed bags and headed to the hospital. It's normally about 40 minutes away and Josh made it in 30. We went into the triage room where they monitored my contractions for awhile and then basically just sent me home. The midwife that was working said that she didn't understand why the doctor had me on bed rest or medication to stop the contractions and that they aren't strong enough to stay at the hospital. I was kind of anticipating that this would happen anyway. I was feeling embarrassed and frustrated that we went all the way there for nothing but Josh keeps telling me it's better to be safe than sorry. I keep coming back to the frustration that the doctor said they think she could come anytime but there is still the chance it could be awhile. I don't like not knowing and feel like I'm on edge with every little contraction, pain etc.

So, we ended up going back home but I guess it was a good practice run. Josh was able to show my mo how to get to the hospital in case something happens while we are at home without him.

That's really about it. I hope that we don't have any more false alarms but I guess you never know. We are supposed to try to retake maternity pictures tomorrow since it was raining on Monday and Josh and I have the birthing class at the hospital all day Saturday. I am going to still plan on doing those two things but am not planning anything for after that. My shower at church is Sunday so hopefully we will be able to make it to that as well.