Rub-A-Dub-Dub

First, I feel like I need to throw out the disclaimer that no, we are not just bathing our newborn. So, to my mom and all of her coworkers at the Department of Children's Services, abort the mission to report me. I am simply behind on my postings. :)

Raegan's umbilical cord fell off relatively early so we were able to give her a bath fairly quickly after birth (April 21st, to be exact). The experience was a success.

When we first lowered her in the water, she got wide-eyed...obviously, unsure of what was going on. Shortly thereafter she was cooing and seemed to really enjoy it. She let us clean her off with no trouble, especially enjoying being rinsed off. Following the bath, she was super relaxed and slept 5 hours straight. 5 consecutive hours of sleep--HALLELUJAH! Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of her actually IN the bathtub as we were focused mostly on catching it on the video camera. We do, however, have some AFTER shots:

 
Squeaky clean

 
Daddy, please don't take my towel off yet....BURRRR

 
Ahhh...covered back up

Ready for a nap This may sound ridiculous, but I can already foresee Raegan's "firsts" really tugging at my heart strings. There is something to be said about witnessing this new life experiencing things for the first time.

Based on this particular "first", it looks like Raegan may love the water as much as her mommy and daddy.

Beach trips-here we come!

Groggy in Green Hills

When you're pregnant and other parents warn you about getting no sleep when you have a newborn....well...um.........they aren't kidding. (I say this with a smile on my face...that is...my delirious face.)

Oh, how I miss my 8 (okay, 9) hours of sleep at night. But, I love this sweet little Butterbean even more. And the sacrifices begin...

Let me say this: I had in my mind exactly what kind of mom I would be when it came to sleeping. Consistent (putting baby down in one main place at naptime and bedtime); Erroring more on the side of letting baby cry it out rather than rushing to pick her up every time she whimpers (being loving, yet teaching her to fall asleep on her own); and, finally, no "Sleep Props" (creating habits of dependencies to help her to fall asleep. To name a few: rocking, giving her a pacifier, etc); The intentions were there.

And, I really tried all of the above for about a week and a half. But, the fact is, this is survival mode, everybody. After 4 nights of sleep deprivation, even I recognize that it's time to try a new tactic. As we all know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. When your husband looks at you at 3am and reminds you of this, you put the Baby Wise book away and oblige.

The one thing that I will say that I have not hung my head in defeat on just yet is that I'm not rushing to pick her up at the slightest sign of a whimper. Don't get me wrong, there is no "crying it out" in the Ransom home; however, I'm really trying to pay attention to the cry and see if she can settle herself down before mommy comes to her rescue.

This, my friends, is the first time in my life where I'm practicing an approach often referred to as MODERATION. Be proud, very proud. What, do you ask, have I done to break my own rules that I set out for myself?

Well, for one, I'm entirely inconsistent on where I put her down for naps. My justification is that I'm teaching her to be flexible. Flexibility is important, right? When we travel, she won't have her comfy crib...so, why not let her sleep in various places to get "used to" sleeping in various places? Forget it. Rationalization is pathetic. What can I say? The little peanut is fickle about where she sleeps. To be fair, the nursery at the hospital warned us of this before we were discharged..."While all the other babies in the nursery are sleeping, yours is being held. We think she's one of those babies who is going to want to be held all the time." Understatement. Not only does she want to be held. But, she refuses to sleep anywhere while lying on her back. Case in point:

Cradle, Moses Basket, or anywhere flat on back:

WIDE awake

Swing: zzzzzzz....

CarSeat: seeeepy

Bouncy Seat: she's out!
(oh, and is that a pacifier in her mouth? Rule #3: broken)

In Mommy or Daddy's arms: ahhh...

Check out the close-up. Not even in a comfortable position and STILL asleep:

Daddy's Chest: "This is the life"

Oh, and the other areas where I had I strong feelings related to sleep? No "props"...example: Rocking to sleep:

Ooops.

Although, I'd like a "take back" on this one because, I just really don't think it's right to feel guilty about this one. It's one of my favorite things to do with her. Raegan's favorite songs? Do you Know the Muffin Man, Jesus Loves Me, and Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Beyond the lack of sleep, things are going great! Still trying to get this nursing thing down (which, oh by the way, is the other place that Raegan loves falling asleep). We are loving getting to know her and watching her grow every day. She is so sweet and so funny.

I definitely have lots to share...that's another blog update in itself. It's so hard to believe that we brought this little one into the world. We feel so blessed.

By the way, if you've called/emailed and haven't heard back from me-please know that it's a result of my trying to learn how to balance all of "this". I've certainly not conquered how to have a social life and a baby. Believe me, we'll be working on that one. :)

To close, and keeping in with the theme of sleep, the four-legged girl in our family has had NO trouble sleeping....and, um, yes, that's a Boppy (nursing pillow) that she is curled up on. Comical.

If you need to find me, chances are-I'll be nursing. That's right, people, I'm a milk machine....and, loving every minute.

Raegan's Arrival

RAEGAN CLAIRE RANSOM IS HERE!

I apologize for being out of touch! For the past week and a half, we (Chuck, myself, my mom, and Chuck's mom) have been in a complete "BABY HAZE". It's so hard to believe that our baby girl is actually here. All of the moms out there know exactly what I mean when I say that there is no feeling like it--Chuck and I are completely in love.

I have so many things to "blog" about-from the experience as a whole, to little things she's already done, to visits from family and friends, to funny anecdotes that you will undoubtedly find hysterical, (Let's just say that when it comes to baby bodily functions, daddy was broken in very early!), etc. For now, I'll simply share the story of how/when Raegan made her debut.

The last time I updated this, the ongoing debate was: "to induce or not to induce"-that was the question. Well, here is how it all went down...

Monday, April 6th, 2009: We had our weekly OB appt. Everything looked normal. Also had some progress...though, not as much as we had hoped for. Dilated 2.5 cent and was 60% effaced. My OB mentioned again that we could induce at any time. He actually posed the question of whether or not I wanted to get induced that Thursday (the 9th). We asked his opinion and what our options were, etc. He basically said that, although Raegan wasn't "late", that she was just getting bigger in the womb and was no longer benefiting from being inside of me. He said that if we opted to not get induced, and if she still hadn't arrived on my due date (Fri, April 10) or through the weekend, that he would send me to get an ultrasound the following Monday before my OB appt and we would be scheduling my induction some time that week.

For some reason, I had a really hard time with this decision. After much prayer, thought, and discussion, Chuck and I decided not to induce on Thursday. The only downside would be that we would go into labor Fri, Sat, or Sun and our OB wouldn't be on call. Giving Raegan a chance to arrive on her own outweighed the negative connotation of this possibility. Plus, the more I talked with people who had been induced, the more I didn't want to do it unless absolutely necessary.

I felt good about the decision. That day and night, I continued to have what I considered light abdominal cramping, back aching, in addition to experiencing some other "signs". I kept thinking---"Are these contractions?" Everyone assured me "Oh, you'll know when you're having contractions and you won't have to ask"...

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009: 9am: I call the OB's office to let them know that we decided not to induce on Thursday. During that conversation with the receptionist, I mentioned that I'd like to speak with Beth, the nurse, to let her know some of the symptoms I had been having the day prior and that morning. The secretary asked what those symptoms were. When I told her, she went and got Beth out of an appt with a patient. (She had never done this before as she always sends me to Beth's voicemail.) Beth came to the phone and said that I needed to come into the office. She was very calm but said that I needed to be checked out.

9:20am: Chuck and I are on our way to OB's office. The verdict? I am progressing. Almost 4 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced. I told Dr Wingo that I'd called into the office earlier that morning to communicate it, but that we'd decided not to get induced on Thursday.

Wingo's response? "It doesn't matter. You aren't going to make it that long anyway." Chuck's jaw hit the floor. Dr Wingo never says things like that. He's the guy who, when I'd had other "signs" said, "Yeah yeah yeah. Those signs just mean that you'll have a baby within a month or so." Chuck asked for a predicted timeframe. Dr Wingo didn't have one. Chuck went back to work. I decided to keep myself busy.

11am: I meet Elaine and Mandy for lunch...a HUGE lunch....followed by dessert. I continued to have light cramping and back aches. But, again, dismissed both as contractions b/c I would "know for sure when they were contractions".

1:30pm: Elaine follows me to my house and I hop in the car with her to go run some errands.

1:32pm: I'm feeling a little "strange" and think there's a slight possibility that my water broke. Elaine pulls over at McDonald's so I can check. False Alarm.

1:35-3:30pm: Elaine and I shop.

3:30pm: Elaine drops me off at home.

3:30-4:30pm: Trying to stay busy, I break out the laptop and work on planning a bridal shower for a good friend of mine, Stephanie Heath. While I'm working on sending an email about the shower to friends, I notice "something"...but, I dismiss the "something" as the same false alarm as it was at the McDonald's stop. I continue with the email for about 15 minutes.

4:30pm: I get up to go check out the "something"...In an effort to not dispel Too Much Information, let's just say that my water had broken!

4:31pm: I call Chuck.

4:32pm: I call my mom and dad.

4:35pm: I take a shower.

4:45pm: Chuck's mom, Ms Nan, just happens to stop by the house-only to find me in a towel and trying to get things ready for the hospital.

4:45-4:55pm: Chuck gets home. I text family and friends to tell them the news while I'm getting ready.

4:55-5:30pm: Chuck and Ms Nan work on gathering up final items for the hospital. I put on make-up. (I was strangely calm.)

5:30pm: We head to the hospital. Ecstatic.

5:50-9:30pm: We check into hospital. I get all "hooked up". Chuck and I keep saying that we can't believe it's happening. At one point, I ask the nurse, "Am I having contractions?" She says, "Um, yes. See that monitor? It's measuring your contractions. They are sporadic but they are contractions." What do you know? Apparently, the cramping and back pains were contractions all this time. Mom and Dad arrive. Ms Nan and Bob arrive. Dana arrives. Contractions continue....and get stronger each time. I hold out on the epidural.

9:30-11pm: Contractions are getting stronger and stronger. They are about 3 minutes apart and I'm 7 centimeters dilated. Everyone is gone except for Chuck and me. I decide to go ahead and get the epidural before the pain becomes worse and risk flinching during the process.

11-12:30pm: Epidural is complete. I am the most comfortable and relaxed than I've been in 9 months. Chuck and I talk, watch "Friends" (yes, we brought every season on DVD), and even nap a bit. The nurse, Becky, wakes me, checks me, and says that the baby will be here "soon". Chuck's jaw drops, "How soon?" "Around 2:30 or 3. She's progressing fast. You might want to call your family." Chuck calls family to see if they want to be woken up when I start pushing.

2:10am: I am 10 centimeters dilated. Becky calmly says, "I'm going to call Dr Wingo and when I get back, we're going to start pushing." (By the way, I found this whole situation, not only surreal, but completely ironic and not what I expected. In the movies, it's like "10 CENTIMETERS! GET THE DR! EVERYONE MOVE MOVE MOVE!" This was much more relaxed. It was great.)

2:10-2:45am: Pushing continues...during breaks, we (Chuck, myself, and Becky-the nurse) watch Friends and chat...I had a little game of trying to "outdo" the last push with the next. Everything was really quiet and calm.

2:45am: Enter Wingo.

2:45-2:53am: Push, push, push

2:53am: Enter Raegan!!!!

What can I say? Incredible. Wonderful. Everything and more than we imagined. In that second, our family went from 2 to 3.

8 pounds/0 ounces/21 inches of a miracle:

I'm not going to lie and say that everything was picture-perfect from that moment on. As some of you may know-we had some complications. Everything is fine now, but we had some scary moments. High level: Raegan was taken by NICU to "Transition".

They were worried about potential respiratory issues. I was completely fine for a while except scared for my new baby and anxious to hold her, nurse her, and comfort her. Once I got brought down to Recovery from Labor and Delivery, I had some complications of my own, had to be taken back to Labor and Delivery, etc. Sparing the details----God is good...really good. And, as nuts as the post delivery was for us, we were and ARE thankful for our healthy baby girl. That is the most important thing. All is good.

(PS-to those future moms out there, Labor and Delivery was the EASY part! Before AND after the epidural. That's coming from someone who waited a long time to get the "drugs". Don't let anyone scare you. If you have any threshold for pain, it's a breeze and you can do it!)

Friday April 10th: I eventually got released again to Recovery and was able to hold, nurse, and comfort our new baby girl. After several nights of stay in the hospital, lots of visitors, lots of calls, and our tornado warning scare-which, of course, on its onset forced us out into the hallway of the hospital for an hour and a half right when we were about to be discharged-we eventually headed home. Precious Raegan slept the whole way there.

Friday, April 10 - Today: Life is great. We are trying to figure this whole parenting thing out and I'm sure, making tons of mistakes along the way. But, we are doing it. And, it's wonderful. And, we are in love.

Our moms have been extremely helpful. De De was here for a week and Nan Nan has not only been "on call" but will be helping this week. Thank you so much for your prayers, calls, meals, well wishes, etc. Chuck and I feel so blessed. We look at this little person and can't believe that we brought her into this world. As any parent knows-the whole experience brings on a whirlwind of emotions. I don't know that that will ever end.

We'll keep you posted from here! I'm sure there will be lots of stories to share. And, yes, I will eventually make the blog private. I just haven't had a chance to go through the motions and change all of the settings. Imagine that...

(By the way, when it IS set to private, you'll receive an email if you requested to continue to have access. If at any point, you are unable to access it and you didn't receive an email, just let me know.) Thanks for letting me share the incredible experience of our pregnancy.

Now, the fun really begins! Here's to dirty diapers, sleepless nights, and lots of cooing!

PROJECT NURSERY

First things first, no baby yet. 2 centimeters dilated. 70% effaced. She must be comfy in there. :) While we're anxious for her to get here, I'm not going to lie-I'm somewhat relieved that she didn't make her debut on April Fools' Day. Pop-Pop would have had never-ending tricks up his sleeves. Unless she decides to join us between now and then, we will likely be determining a potential date to induce at our next OB appointment: next Monday, April 6th.

More to come on that front...

Okay, I've had a lot of requests to post pictures of the nursery on here. I have to honestly say that I struggled with this because while I know I've posted a lot of information here on the World Wide Web (I love saying that), I was hesitant on posting pictures of the nursery. Call me crazy, but I just felt odd putting pics of "Raegan's room" out on the Internet. I don't know why I'm private about some things and some things, I'm not. It's baffling. However, after some thought-I decided, "why not?" The thing is, I have lots of family and friends who may never be able to travel to Nashville to see. Plus, this blog is serving as my pregnancy journal. Selfishly, I'd like to have this documented. :)

I will say, if you're asking to see the pictures, you have to let me explain the whole thought process. You may not share my enthusiasm in the whole creative process, but, please be patient-decorating is one of my favorite hobbies. I may not be great at it, but that doesn't keep me from loving every second of it. I told you-I'm limited on creative outlets. Fashion and decorating are my only hopes. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Or, who am I kidding? Skip to the pics if you despise my need to outline the evolution of this fun little adventure. I decided a long time ago that I wanted to use peach for a girls' room. I love the thought of doing something non-cliche...especially in decorating. It evokes more creativity as it provides less options. Less options = a good thing for me.

Additionally, my goal was to create an environment with the feeling that I wanted. When I start decorating a room, the first thing I think about is how I want to feel in the room and want type of mood I want it to provoke. Related to that, I had 4 feelings I wanted to incite in the nursery: Soft. Sweet. Original. Baby (yes-"baby" as an adjective).

No bright, bold, mod designs for me...I mean, don't get me wrong-I love when I see nurseries in that style...I appreciate just about every style of design; however, I personally didn't have a desire for those things. Besides, my philosophy is, bold can always come later. On the other hand, how long can you get away with pastels in decor? All of that said, I vetoed the primary colors and locked down peach. It met the 4 pieces of criteria above.

Deciding what I would couple peach with...While it seemed odd, I thought gray would be cool. I went back and forth between chocolate and gray. Main reasons I went with gray-Chocolate is a major fad right now. Love it, but it didn't accomplish the "original" feel that I desired. Additionally, I thought it would bring in too much "bold" and not enough soft. So, gray it was. It was also a muted color so accessories would pop more. Color Palette determined:

Fabric was tough. Hardly ANYONE carries peach fabric. I guess that's what I get for wanting to do something so "different". Stephanie, my friend who recently started her own design business (and, she's good-really good) agreed to help me do some accessorizing. 1st thing I needed help with: fabric. She and I searched for peach and gray fabric for weeks. I fell in love with several of the fabrics---they were just what I wanted. Speaking of fabric, when I met with the lady who was making my window treatments, I quickly told her that I wanted simple side panels but with ribbons at the top.

Awww...totally worth saving the $ for...

Paint-actually, I should say, "paint drama". Let me just say that gray paint is SO difficult to pick out. My friend, Mandi, (aka-A Blonde and a Brush) came into town and helped me with this. I had already gone through 2 paint wheels and spent time picking out grays, purchasing samples of favorites, painting swatches on the wall, and making sure they looked good in every light.

I chose my favorite and Mandi went to work.....only to get a call from her while I was at work saying, "I'm done painting, but you are NOT going to like this.". UH OH. While Mandi did a great job painting, she was right, it was way too blue. So, after a trip to Sherwin Williams the next morning, receiving a color lesson on gray (wow-lots of information) and picking out 4 more samples-Mandi, Steph, and I painted more swatches and unanimously decided on a new gray. Seriously, who knew that gray would be so tough?

As far as everything else-it just kind of came together. With the furniture: As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I knew exactly what I wanted in several pieces.

Armoire-I found it online and decided that it was a definite. I just needed someone to make it b/c I couldn't afford the one I found. Check. The side table I found online was also a definite-I just needed a cheaper option. (Stephanie to the rescue!) The changing table was undecided but I knew what I was looking for: something with a drawer at the top and shelves at the bottom for baskets-which, for some reason was more difficult than it should have been to find. After I shopped around, I found a reasonably priced one at JC Penney....who, by the way, has lots of cute baby furniture.

Chuck worked hard...

While he was doing this:

I was doing this:

And, Gabby was doing this:

Already bitter...hysterical

Glider/Rocker/whatever you want to call it-I picked this out with no problem....of course, after Chuck and I sat in about 20. Does it make it more practical to have a white chair if it was 40% off?

The crib---now, this was a huge search. I went on every website, searched all local shops in Nashville, printed off favorites, etc. I so wanted a cool crib. I finally decided. Then, realized, no one in Nashville carried that crib (at the time) so I was going to order it online. I showed the pic to Stephanie and she found a boutique that was just about to open in Nashville who already bought it and was going to have it on the floor of their shop. So, we went, looked at it (before the shop even opened), and they were nice enough to order it for us and give us a 25% discount. WOO HOO! (Now, might I add that several boutiques in Nashville now have the crib on their floor as soon as you walk in the door? A little upsetting since I thought I was being cool and different, but in the end-hey, it's crib. And, what am I thinking with trying to be cool anyway?)

Again, the handyman at work:

Gabby, a little confused about the entire concept of a crib:

Lighting, I had trouble with. So, Steph found me an awesome light fixture. I am obsessed.

Everything else that I used, I found and it was all pretty random. From TJ Maxx to online boutiques, I was able to locate some sweet things. I wanted everything to be simple so I tried not to overdo the accessories.

For example, one of my favorite little shops carried custom trash cans. When I saw that they came in peach, I went for it:

I asked my talented sister-in-law to cover a crib comforter (thank you, ebay) with gray damask fabric that Stephanie found:

I utilized a lot of white with some simple peach accents. (i. e. white baskets and white liners with peach embroidery):

The rest of the accessories had more "meaning" than style...and, in some cases-both. This will bore you all to death, but it's important for me to write this out so I have this saved for Raegan some day.)

For example, pregnancy pictures hanging above the changing table. Not a decorating statement but personal. (Might I add that they're hung a little high for my taste, but there will be a little baby reaching her arms up soon):

Other examples: The clothes hanging in the armoire are some of my baby clothes. My baby ring and bracelet are also stored here. (My mom is the best.

She saved all of my baby stuff. And, I mean ALL of my baby stuff.)

Lots of other keepsakes in the armoire, including: A gray monkey that Chuck got Raegan for Christmas (I have always loved monkeys.); Items that my mom gave to Raegan from my late Grandma Carol (crystal bootie and an angel ornament that she made.); Dried flowers from one of our baby showers in a piece of Chuck's grandmother's silver; Porcelain cross from a good friend; An ultrasound picture of Raegan; A "room blessing charm" from my aunt; Tins for Raegan's growing hand print; An embroidered pillow with Raegan's monogram from one of my mom's good friends; Frames that I painted; Silver containers for her first curl and first tooth; A blanket with a bunny (Easter baby) that my sister-in-law made.

I know, I know, I know. Sappy and too many un-needed details. The bottom line is: the final product ended up being exactly what I wanted. Everyone may not love it, but it's my idea of perfection for a baby's room.

So, here it is-Raegan's nursery. Soft, Sweet, Original, and Baby:

I have a feeling that this room will be a safe haven for her for a long time. Let's just pray that she does A LOT of sleeping here. :)