The Love for your children

I'll love you forever.
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Before Mac was ever thought about I remember one of my best friend's (Mica) mother telling me that the love for your children is a love like no other.  That is the one main reason I even thought about having a baby one day.  That statement had me so curious about that love my whole young life.  Once I married Mike another reason I thought about having a baby was to see him as a father.  I will save that for it's on post another day. 
I am here to tell you that statement is sooooo TRUE.  Mike and I look at each other all the time and we cannot even begin to explain to each other how much we love Mac.  Daily Mike looks at me and says "I just love him so much."  I know what he means.  When I was in the hospital after Mac was born I was crying because of the pain and I remember my mom started crying too.  Now I understand why because it does not matter how old your children get you never want to see them hurting.  I have told my friends that think they never want to have children to not rule it out because they will miss out on the best feeling in the world.  I went from not really knowing if I wanted kids to now wanting lots of them. ;o)
My heart this week has been so full of gratitude for every single minute I have with Mac.  My job also keeps me so thankful for the little things, so many people take for granted.  I have come across so many blogs this week that have broken my heart for complete strangers who are fighting for their children's lives or who have actually lost their precious children.  Life can change in the blink of an eye.  Please pray for these strangers Pray for Lucy   Pray for Kate Pray for this family  and this one 

Love on your sweet babies and never take anything for granted!!!!

A smiling boy began at 2 months

 

Weight & Height:
10lbs 12oz and 22.5 inches  30%/25% (this appointment was actually 8 days before you were actually 2 months)


Sleeping patterns:
4-5 hours and it feels so good!

Eating habits:
Every 3 hours during the day unless you are napping and then 4-5 at night.  You still have one big spit up a day, but it does seem to be getting better.

Discoveries and accomplishments:
You have started smiling and it helps reassure mom that she is doing a good job.  You are really moving those feet all the time and kicking like a wild man.  Bath time is your favorite thing right now.  If you are fussing you immediately stop once in the tub.

Highlights:
This month at your checkup you had your first shots which your mom was DREADING!!!  You only cried for a few minutes and stopped once in mom's arms.  Mom held it together pretty well with only watery eyes.  You will come to find out about her big fear of needles.  Your smiles are the best thing in the world.  We are very blessed with a happy boy.  We have so far made two trips to Tennessee which your Mimi and Papaw love.  You are starting to get on somewhat of a schedule during the day which is nice.  You continue to be talking more everyday.  When I look at this picture of you as compared to last months' I can see our little boy coming to life.  Everyday it seems you do something new.  We love you so much!!

Like a natural WOMAN... ;o)

Breastfeeding

https://www.divasanddrooligans.com/

The most earthy natural thing I have ever done and I love it!! I debated on doing this post, but I am tired of feeling embarrassed about such a great thing.  While pregnant with Mac I really wanted to be able to breastfeed.  I read books and talked to lots of friends.  Mike did not understand why I thought I would not be able to do it.  I knew some people found it easy and others very difficult.  I really think I was successful because of the amazing nurses at my hospital who were so patient and helpful with my first day or two of feedings.  A C-section I feel makes it harder for women because you are in so much pain.
To be honest I wanted to do it for all the amazing benefits for him and to help me lose the baby weight.  It seriously came off except for 2 lbs in less than 2 weeks.  It has been so much more than that.  I love going to the doctor and seeing how much weight he has gained all because of me.  I love how he needs me.  It is such a special time between you and your baby!  It can be demanding at times, but I am so thankful it has worked out for us.  I made small goals for myself and my most recent is 6 months.  I know right now I will not be ready to completely stop by then.  I am traveling alot these next couple of months and working full time, so that may lead to some use of formula. 

For future mommies here are the things that helped me:
1.  Find a support group near your home
2.  Find friends on facebook who have babies close to the age of yours (My friends I have connected with have been such lifesavers through this crazy wonderful adventure.  Love you ladies!!)
3.  Be prepared to breastfeed before the baby gets here with all the equipment things (bras, pumps, etc) you will need
4.  Do not be afraid to ask for help at the hospital (I found the nurses more helpful than the lactation specialist)
5.  Fight through those first couple of weeks because they are the hardest and then the next hard phase is managing a life while breastfeeding.  Once you figure that out you are good to go.
6.  Think of the money you are saving $$$ (Since I was not working and we needed to save that was a big motivator for me)
7.  Get a cute cover for feeding in public if you do not want to bare all.  I honestly do not care about this anymore, but at first I was nervous.
8. Get your husband on board with you
9. Get the breastfriend!!

Mac is already a boob man! hahaha

Thank goodness for 1 month!

Mac,

We made it through the first month!!! PRAISE THE LORD!! Mom and dad were not stupid when we knew it was easier to stay in the hospital for as long as we could, but they do eventually give you the boot.  Once home I definitely had the baby blues for the first 3 weeks.  The cause HORMONES and I could not wrap my head around how much I loved you and how scared I was of losing you.  My mom stayed with us one week after you were born and then Nana stepped in at night the next week.  I do not know what I would have done without these two wonderful women.  Your dad was of course cool as a cucumber the entire month.  He had to travel for work the second week, so I was extra glad to have Nana around.

Weight & Height: 
At your first appointment on March 24th you were almost back at birth weight 7lbs 7oz , 20 inches, and 50th percentile for both.  The next week you made it back to birth weight and had already grown another inch making you the 75% percentile for height and 25th for weight.  At your one month checkup you weighed 8lbs 9 oz and 21 1/4 inches placing you in the 25% for weight and 50th for height.


Sleeping patterns:
3-3.5 hours- mommy however did not sleep the first 3 days ;o)  I just stared at the monitor until my body gave out.


Eating habits:

You eat pretty much every 3 hours around the clock.  Mom has so much milk and a powerful let down that she has to give you breaks every 3 minutes or you get choked and over fill that belly which leads to a big spit up.


Discoveries and accomplishments:

At 3 weeks you began cooing which Mommy loves.  You demonstrate great eye contact and head control at four weeks.  The only time you fuss is when that mean ole gas gets you.  The last very exciting thing this month is your cord finally came off at 2.5 weeks.  Big boy bath time here we come!!


Highlights:
Your first Target trip was when you were 6 days old.  This was really silly on mom's part because we just sat in the lawn and garden area while Mimi shopped because mom was to exhausted and sore.  Hey we made it though!  Your first restaurant outing was to Cowboy cafe at 2 weeks with Nana.  It hit me once in there that I might should worry about germs.  ;o)  Hopefully your mom will stay care free!  You do not like being woken up from a nap.  Your first road trip was at 3.5 weeks to TN to stay with Mimi and Papaw for a week!  You were a dream boat in the car.  We are so lucky to have you baby Mac!!  You have made your parents better people and we are madly in love with our Macaroni! hehe

Chatty baby boy

Being a speech therapist I maybe guilty of doing therapy activities with my little man. It looks like he will not be a late talker like a lot of little boys are. My mom said I was born talking! (not me ;o)) This makes my heart happy!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:My parent's house

24 hours old

In the hospital it just blew my mind when they would refer to Mac's age by hours.  These precious pictures were done by Mac's Aunt Maura who is an amazing photographer when he was just 24 sweet hours old!!!

Thank you Maura!

I love my baby LOVE!



Ready or not Mac's about to come!!!!

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 38 week appointment and I got great news!!  I am dilated to a two and 50% effaced!!  This morning there other signs he is getting ready to rock on out, but I don't want to gross out my prebaby readers.  Our only problem is Mike is out of town until Saturday morning, so I informed little man to hold out until then.  Mike's orders are to "sit on the couch with my legs crossed!" HAHA  I am staying pretty stationary writing thank you notes because I need my man by my side for this.  Saturday afternoon we will hit the walking trails!  I cannot even explain my thoughts right now.  I have read some blogs this week that have made me realize I can do this!!  I am not scared anymore and just want him safe and in our arms.  The prayers are working friends and family, so keep them coming.  I haven't really worried about motherhood, but delivery I have stressed until this week.  Like Mike says "We got this babe!"  So here goes nothing baby Mac!!  I hope you are ready for a wild ride with your parents and crazy dogs.

Love you already!

DC Baby Shower "Sweet new baby coming aboard!"



March 5, 2011

I know I say it a lot, but I am one lucky gal. 

I have been here a little over a year and have been blessed with amazing friends.  They hosted a lovely shower this past weekend.  The food was delicious and my favorite thing was the CUPCAKES!!!  I may or may not have eaten two a day since Saturday.....  They were the best cupcakes I have had in this area.  My sister in law Jamie and niece Mae came down from New York and two of my best friends Ashley Brown and Jessica Hopkins came in from TN and NC.  I have been touched through this whole pregnancy with kindness and generosity by many wonderful people. 

Mac is one lucky boy!

Ashley and Jessica

Mums for the new "mum" as said by my New England gals and of course the CUPCAKES!!

My mother in law and Hillary had these adorable thank you notes made with my maternity pictures!

This was to funny to watch!  The girls had to race drinking out of a baby bottle.

My mother in law Suzanne and I

Jodi and Lia my former work besties!

The perfect Hostesses!

Thank you ladies!

Love you all!!

I can't wait for Mac to be touched by each of you!

Good Boy

Mac gave me my Valentine's Day present today!!! He let us get a sneak preview of his face.  I think it is a good sign of how well he is going to mind his momma. 

Mac weighed 5lbs 11oz and his heart rate was 149 today.  I am still having irregular contractions.  Mac has hair on his head.  I think he is less active and hopefully sleeping at night because I am not waking up near as hungry as before. 

 Look at those chubby cheeks!!!

Can't wait to hold you sweet boy in 5 weeks or less!!!!

Stay tuned for nursery pictures.....

Showered with *LOVE*

This past weekend I flew home to Tennessee and had a huge baby shower in my hometown Bolivar.  The airport was interesting I had lots of comments (congrats, should you be flying?, I can't believe you are 8 months, etc).  TSA did not even pay attention to me in security because they were to interested in my baby belly.  I will really miss the perks of pregnancy!  

Anyways back to the shower it was at one of my best friends from high school's shop Greenberry Bright.  The shower was perfect and I was overwhelmed with all thoughtfulness of all these people that helped shaped me throughout my early years.  I am so blessed and I try to not go a day without realizing it.  I had friends drive from all over just to see my belly and spend time with me.  We talked every night until at least midnight and woke up the next morning and talked some more.  It was the PERFECT grown up girl's weekend.  Mac was well taken care of with all his gifts and we feel much more prepared. 

Leaving my parents was emotional and exciting.  It is really hard to explain, but I think it has alot to do with me being the baby in the family.  I have always been the young cool wild and free Aunt.  The next time I am home I will have a family of my own.  I am very ready and excited, but that other chapter in my life is about to end.  My dad got me with these words "You will always be my little girl."  Wow tear jerker!

These beautiful pictures were done by my bestie Amy Love!!! ENJOY!!

My Sweet Mom (MiMi) and I

8 months!

"No little boy will keep me from my heels!"

Mariellen Rigby

Pa paw and Haley Grace

Thank you to all of the hostess!!! It was such a wonderful event! I love you all!

7 weeks or less until Baby Mac is here!!!   

Already a stinker!

We had another ultrasound this past Monday.  Mac weighs 3 1/2 lbs at 31 weeks and is measuring right on time!  We wanted a 3d picture of his sweet face, but he had his arm and foot covering it.  While the lady was trying to get a picture he punched the ultrasound device over and over.  It was very cute!  Another funny at this ultrasound the first thing the lady pulled up to measure was his head.  She said "Wow that is a big head."  You can imagine what I am thinking.  Well, she kept saying this over and over and I was about to say I get the point.  Then she asked "When is your due date?"  I said March 23 and then she said "oh okay they had May 23, so his head is a normal size."  What a relief for me on d-day! LOL  She was right his head would have been massive for that age.  At this point I have one more two week appointment and then we are down to the weekly appointments.  I will also have one more ultrasound and starting this week a non-stress test every week.  I am going to be on a first name basis at the hospital.  I am pretty excited I will get to see Mac every week until he is in my arms.  This weekend I am flying to home sweet home for our first baby shower in Bolivar.  I cannot wait to see all of my sweet friends and family.  Leaving home will be an emotional one knowing the next time I walk through my parents door I will be holding our little boy. Wow that made me tear up just writing it.  I have girlfriends that are driving from all parts of TN and other states.  We are having a big sleepover and much need reminiscing.  2011 is filled full of new babies and weddings!!  At this point I have 6 to attend and could not be happier for each one of you guys and gals.  I cannot wait to post pictures of the outfit Mac will be wearing to the summer weddings. OMG it is so cute!! Have a great week everyone!!

TOTSY.com is a bad site!

I am spreading the word for everyone to not shop at totsy.com.  I ordered two different items the first of December and have not received either one.  I have also been charged for my items.  I really hate this because they advertise really cute children's items on sale for a limited time.  I have tried contacting the customer service department via email and have not had any luck.  There is no contact number anywhere on their site.  I googled the site today and found several other bad reviews.  One review was from a lady who was asked by Totsy.com to write a review and she still got bad service.  Lesson learned google websites before buying from them.  I am most mad because the dress I wanted to wear to my baby showers was one of the purchases.  

Mac's Bedding

I am thinking the nesting has begun.  When we got home for Christmas his beautiful baby bed had arrived and that got my nesting going.  I am a super organized person, so I am pretty sure that does not help the matter.  My mother in law is going to make all of his bedding and curtains.  I am so excited to see the finished product.  Here is a preview of the fabric!

From left to right: fitted sheet and part of the panel curtain, bedskirt and loops on curtain, outside of the bumper and bottom half of curtain, inside of bumper, and extra fitted sheet

*I am making Mac a blanket with the brown minky and moose material!*

99 Days

I can't believe we are under 100 days.  After the first trimester was over this has really flown by.  I have loved the second trimester.  At 25 weeks Mac began to feel heavy.  His heart rate at 25 weeks was 145.  One morning last week Mac woke daddy up by kicking him in the back.  My parents have already gotten him his own stocking and snowman.  YAY!  I feel like I am very behind on getting ready for him.  My mother in law is making the bedding.  I almost have all the patterns picked out.  I have begun my registries and for now it looks like I will be registered at Target and amazon.com.  I have already done the dirty work in finding the sites with the best prices.  Wherever the item is registered is the cheapest place to get it.  We are done looking at daycares and are now on to interviewing nannies and checking out home childcare programs.  Daycares appear to be a lost cause for a baby in this area. 

I am in love with my baby bags and all his adorable clothing that has already been given to him by sweet friends.  I maybe having a little to much fun buying things for him when he is older.  My girlfriends think it is a blessing to my bank account that this baby is a boy.  We are going home to TN for Christmas.  I am so excited to see my family even if it is only for a few days. 

The cord

I wanted to post more detailed information about a two vessel cord.  I did not want to make the last post any longer than it already was.  During the anatomy ultrasound, one of the things the sonographer looks for is the presence of three vessels within the umbilical cord: one vein (which carries oxygen and nutrients from you to the baby) and two arteries (which shuttle that waste back to you, to be processed and disposed of by your kidneys). Instead of those three vessels, our baby's cord has only two: one vein and one artery. Two-vessel cord — also known as single umbilical artery (SUA).   Researchers don't quite know what causes SUA, though they theorize that the second artery disappears at some point during early pregnancy.  I feel the chance of this happening is higher than 1% because sometimes it is not even identified until the baby is born.  When we were all babies they were not able to check for this.  Do not quote me on this, but I think when the cord develops the heart, kidneys, bladder, and GI tract also form at the same time.  That is the reason they look over each part in great detail to make sure the anomaly is isolated to the cord only.  The thing that I hate the most about this is the thought that while he is in the womb he is working harder than he will once he is out.  I am sure he does not realize it.  So I hope that if all is good and developed he will come a little early.  He is measuring ahead of his due date, so we will see.  Once again we are very thankful that all is well. 



6 Months

6 Months

Mac now weighs 1lb 7 ounces with all his measurements at average for his age.  I have gained 9 lbs and have still managed to keep up a workout routine.  He has been labeled as "Super Active" by the past two ultrasounds.  That makes me laugh out loud because everyone that knew me as a child knows I was a wild thing.  This sweet little boy is going to probably give us a run for our money.  I am looking forward to every minute.  Daddy and I can see you moving every night.  The first time you heard music you were going WILD.  I am hoping that it means you will love music as much as I do.  I haven't had any specific cravings and my appetite is the same as it's always been.  My belly has literally sprouted these past 4 weeks.  I sometimes feel that is gets bigger each day.  Mike's first comment to me on Wednesday morning was "babe your front end is definitely bigger than the back end."  Men know how to tell it like they see it. 

We were extra thankful after this ultrasound (US) because at his 18 week US they found out that he only has two vessels in his umbilical cord instead of three.  I chose not to tell many people about this at first because it could have been something and vice versa.  I knew after the 24 week US we would know if lots of extra prayers were needed.  Well, he is perfectly healthy and this is suspected to be isolated to the umbilical cord only.  PRAISE GOD!!!  So baby Mac you have already had one heck of a photo shoot.  On Tuesday you had a level 2 US and an echocardiogram by the baby heart God of DC.  Apparently fetal cardiologist are one in a million.  She told me that the size of his heart right now is that of a marble and I was blown away at how well you could see each chamber.  I am so thankful that I have found this amazing facility and group of doctors to have our baby with.  There is a 1% chance of having a two vessel cord.  I told Mike we should go and play the lottery!!! I really wasn't to freaked out by it because having a medical background I knew that since there were no other issues at the 18 week US that more than likely he was going to be just fine.  Since all is well we are supposed to have an ultrasound every four weeks from here on out to monitor his growth and kidney function.  I am excited to be able to go into an US and just enjoy seeing our baby boy.  Baby Mac you are already one tough little boy! We love you so much!!
XOXO,

Mom & Dad    

What's in a name?

Malcolm "Mac" Raylynn Rigby

is our son's official name!

A couple of years ago we came across a book written and illustrated by Mike's paternal grandfather Malcolm Rigby at the age of 9.  At that moment we thought that is such a strong name for a boy.  His grandfather was brilliant and even Amelia Earhart's weatherman.  We also both loved the fact that we can call him "Mac" for short.  Malcolm is from Scottish origin and the name of four kings in Scotland.  I love royalty! Raylyn is a name we came across and it works out great because my father's middle name is Lynn.  Naming a human being is one tough job.  We wanted a strong classic name that would represent him well throughout his life.  It is crazy all the opinions people will throw your way with names.  I would love to know about your name or childrens' names.



Reveal Party

We decided to do a "Reveal Party" for our little baby Friday night after our appointment.  It wasn't as hard as I thought to keep a secret from family and friends here because I still got to tell sooooo many people back home.  You are welcome to laugh at my cake.  It was my first time to bake a cake (no Mike did not marry me for my domestic abilities), but it was surprisingly very easy.  I made the inside blue and the writing looks so ghetto because I did not know I needed tools with the icing.  I then tried to make it look better with polka dots, but by the time we got to Mike's parent's house they had melted on the cake.  Mike's Aunt Cyndi was in town from Seattle and his best friend Scott was in town from Fl.  Lots of family and friends gathered at his parents house for the party and dinner.  As soon as we got to the house his mom came running toward the cake with a spatula.  She was NOT going to wait any longer.  She was really hoping it was a girl, but now she has 6 GRANDSONS!!!  Mike and I are still debating names, but I think we are close to deciding.  I never knew it would be this hard.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  I think you can tell how super excited we all are about this sweet little boy!!! XOXO

I am a BOY!

  I surprised Mike with daddy gifts!

                                                            Mike with his parents

                                                

                     Mike's oldest sister passed down that sign that reads "Mother's of little boys work from son up to son down."  I am thinking this has a very good chance of being true.  I have been feeling him on the go since he was 18 weeks.