11 Days Old!

Today is Ali's 11th day here on earth. I don't want to jinx it, but today has been great! Last night was my first night "on". Besides breastfeeding throughout the night, Joel has been staying up pretty much all night with her, changing diapers, walking with her, and playing with her. We are a little worried that we have a night owl on our hands but who can blame her, mom works nights...poor Joel. Last night I tried to not play with her and just feed and change her diapers, it seemed to help out a little. I actually did get a few hours of sleep. I also got the pleasure of witnessing her smile at me for the first time while she's awake. She is super strong and definitely a little gassy :). We pulled out her play pad and she just loves it! I would recommend that toy to anyone, it helps her work on all of her senses, reaching for objects, lifting her head, etc., it's a wonderful buy. She's the best and I'm finally getting that time with just her and I that I needed. She's starting to feel more and more like mine, however she's starting look more like her Dad. Joel and I are besides ourselves, we love being parents!

Unfortunately I didn't pass my "pee test", so I had to have my catheter put back in for five more days. Those 4 hours without it felt like freedom. It's crazy how much we take for granted the basic things in life. What I would give to just be able to go pee on my own! I'm getting tired of having a pee bag attached to my leg, especially in 100 + degree weather. Everything else is healing well...thank god. Some of the things I've had to go through with my recovery have honestly been worse than labor and delivery (at least I had an epidural). Like I've said many times over again, without Joel and my family by my side things would have been extremely difficult. I have I new found respect for all those single moms out there.

Well, Ali is just napping right now and I probably should be too.

Pictures from Ashley

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Introducing Ali Belle Evans

She's finally arrived! Ali Belle was born July 14th, 2010 at 4:24 a.m.. She weighed 8 lbs. 6.8 oz. and was 20 inches long...absolutely perfect! She's been here now for a week and I can't believe how fast that went! We are still getting used to her dark hair and complexion, it is not what I expected at all. I was almost 100% positive that she would be a blonde hair, fair skinned girl. When people see her with Joel and I, I know they are thinking "where did she come from?", I think it's kinda funny because nobody will say it but you can see the confusion on their faces. She had her first doctors appt. yesterday and the doc said she was perfect! She's already back to her birth weight and is in the 93rd percentile for weight. She loves to nurse and to snuggle. She's really good at both of them.
I am still on the mend. I was sent home with a catheter in place because I was unable to go pee on my own so my bladder filled up with 2400 ml of urine. I had a pretty bad laceration (3rd degree) and faced a couple problems during labor and delivery. But I think things are starting to look up. When I look at Ali Belle all those pains and problems seem to disappear, she is my natural pain killer. I can't imagine going through all this without Joel and my mom. It would have been impossible. Well, I will do my best to keep the updates coming. It is a little more difficult, especially since I now have something new to keep me occupied :).

37 week check-up

And the verdict is...



we wait until next week.



It was a very uneventful Dr.'s apt., to say the least. Basically, I'm now measuring out at 40 wks. What does this mean? Well, not much really besides the fact that it's painfully obvious how large I am and it's extremely difficult to do much of anything (walk, sit, lay, sleep), I'm pretty much uncomfortable 100% of the time. I actually got a little depressed when I got home from my appointment, thinking "I can't live like this anymore"...obviously I can, but it's miserable. The only thing keeping my spirits up at 3 a.m. in the morning is feeling her kick, squirm, and roll. I'm starting to get a good idea of what her personality may be like when she arrives. I've actually felt her startle a little bit with the rumble of my digestive system. It's pretty amazing to feel something like that (a cause and effect), it makes her seem even more human.

Anyways, I go back to work tonight. Which I think will be a good thing because it will keep my mind off of being so uncomfortable. Wish me luck!

36 wks and 3 days...

...and I am getting ancy! We only have a couple more days left and I'll be full term. It's getting really hard to just wait. Right now she is basically just growing, which she seems to do pretty well. I've noticed within the last week that my low back is just killing me. It's hard to tell if I've dropped or not, some days I feel lower but other days I can feel her all the way up on my ribs kicking the heck out of them. She's still moving, but I can tell that's it's slowed down a little bit. At my 36 week check up I got swabbed for GBS and measured at 37 weeks. Her heart beat sounded great, I would have guessed around 146 bpm. I start weekly check ups now, it will be interesting to see what my Dr. thinks is going to be the best route for me. While I have my preferences of how I would like my labor and delivery to go, I completely trust my doctor and will do whatever he suggests.

This past week my friend/coworker Nikki threw me a baby shower! I had a great time and was actually surprised at how many people showed up...mostly kids but that's okay :). I am so fortunate to work with a great group of women. I would have any one of them as my nurse. I know that Ali and I will be in good hands.

Well, I get the next few days off of work to just relax and gestate :). My goal is to make it to full term and we are almost there!