Doctor Visits

On Tuesday Nathan had his first doctor visit. The doctor (who was my pediatrician growing up) said he's perfect. He weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. It's normal for big babies to lose a lot of weight initially. And today we had a 2nd visit to have him weighed again. The nurse was impressed that he gained 5 ounces since Tuesday. We said "that's great" and she told us it was more than great. We were relieved to know he's gaining weight. It's hard to know how much he gets from breastfeeding. I'm feeling better about nursing and Nathan's getting better at it too. It's a learning process.

Sleepy boy

He does have moments of being awake but in all of these pictures he's sleeping:)

NATHAN'S BIRTH

Here we are on Thursday. We were running a few little errands and stopped by our parents houses to say hello. It was hard to believe that we were going to the hospital that very night.
I was nervous about being induced but I can say I had a great birth experience. It all began at 9 pm on Thursday as we arrived at the hospital. I was hooked up to an IV (my first experience with an IV) and around 10:30 pm they put some gel on my cervix to help it soften. I didn't sleep much that night and did not like being hooked up to the IV and baby monitor. It was impossible to get comfortable. At 6 am Friday morning the nurse started the pitocin in my IV. My contractions began soon after that and became even stronger after Dr. Bhasin broke my water around 9:30 am. I was 3 cm dilated at the time. I was told I could ask for the epidural at anytime but I was doing OK so I wanted to wait a bit longer. It must have been 10 minutes later that I told Kevin "I'm ready for the epidural." The contractions quickly became more intense and closer together. Being a busy baby day at the hospital (30 babies were born that Friday and the average is 10 babies/day), I found out that the anesthesiologist was in the OR for a c-section so I would have to wait. That extra hour of waiting was the roughest part for me but Kevin was such a great coach and really helped me to stay focused and breathe. (We actually used 3 breathing techniques from our class!) By 11:15 I had the epidural and with it came great relief. I was able to relax and rest awhile. By 1:00 I was 10 cm dilated and around 1:30 I was getting ready to push. At that point I couldn't believe that soon we would finally get to see our little boy. Nathan was born at 2:28 after pushing for 45 minutes. My first thought upon seeing him was "how did he possibly fit inside me?" Even the doctor was shocked by his size. Her estimate was 7 1/2 to 8 pounds. It was unreal that he was my baby. It is such a miracle how we enter into this life. We are so blessed to have a healthy baby. We love him beyond what we imagined!

Here's Nathan after his first bath. He loved having his hair washed and feeling the warm water on his head according to dad. You'll notice his foot sticking out which bears his baby lo-jack band.
Just hanging out with daddy after being cleaned, checked, poked and all the other baby procedures they do in the first few hours after birth. He was very good during all that...what a tough little guy. I was happy to have my boys return from the nursery.
Looking at this picture I can see how much Nathan has already changed in his first few days of life. He only gets cuter with each day:) And here's mommy with her little love bug on Sunday. I finally showered and was feeling a little more normal. We came home from the hospital at 4 pm on Sunday.

And so begins our new adventure as parents.

Grandmas and Grandpas

The first-time grandmas get their first peek at Nathan just after he was born.

Grandpa Scott gazing at his first grand-son.

Grandma and Grandpa Carter

Grandma Karrie

Grandpa Jim

Grandpa Dean and Auntie Faith
Great-Grandma Carter
Nathan is still waiting to meet his Great-Grandma and Grandpa Hansen who are in St. George right now. Nathan is lucky to have so many wonderful grandparents!

The Star of the Show

Introducing...

Nathan Jay Martin

He arrived on Friday, May 25th

at 2:28 pm

Our "little" boy weighed 9 lbs 4 oz and measured 20 inches long.

And here are the adoring parents!

We love this little boy and are so grateful he made it here safely.

More pictures to follow :)

Baby Time

At my doctor's appointment we found out that I'm 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. I was surprised to hear that. My doctor said at this point I am considered "inducable." So the decision was up to us...to be induced or wait to see if things happen naturally during week 41. We decided to go ahead with the induction which means I go to the hospital Thursday night at 9pm. Then Friday morning they will start the pitocin. I'm nervous about it but also excited to know that our baby will be here soon...I can hardly believe it!

How much longer?

4 more days until the due date... and here I am. I had some back pain Sunday morning and evening but no real contractions. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment so we'll see how I'm doing and talk about induction if I go past my due date. Now that I'm so close to having this baby I sometimes wonder if it's really going to happen.

Just look at that belly!
Not much longer...we'll keep you updated.

San Pedro Shower

I was happy to have a baby shower with all the ladies from San Pedro Ward. It still feels like my home ward since Kevin and I spent the first 4 1/2 years of our marriage in San Pedro. Thank you to Shawn for opening her home and giving such a wonderful shower! And thank you Lacey and Teesha for helping with the shower too.

All of the food was so yummy but I especially loved the cupcake tower. The cupcakes (with home made frosting) were so good! And here's Shawn and I right before I opened my gifts. I was surrounded by baby gifts...I felt a bit spoiled.

The dark blue outfit I'm pulling out was a little basket ball outfit complete with mini wrist bands. It made me laugh as I imagined Nathan running around in it with Kevin.

Here's some of the San Pedro ladies.

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with me! It was so fun to see all of you.

38 Weeks

Today I am 38 weeks...only 2 weeks to go! This picture was taken last night after our Breastfeeding Class. It was late so that's why I look a bit tired.

Baby's Room

Since I've been off work we really started to work on setting up the baby's room. Here's his crib with the adorable bedding.

I just love it!

And with the help of Jim (Kevin's stepdad) we got the letters up above his window. There's no turning back now after all the hard work and measuring it took to get those letters up:) Thanks Jim!

Here's a peek into our little guys closet. He's already acquired quite the collection of clothing, books and toys. One of the perks of being a teacher is that I was able to get a lot of great books through book orders using my bonus points.

This is a drawer of all the 0-3 months clothes we've washed so far. I can't wait to see him in some of these adorable outfits. Just look at those little shoes...I hope he can wear them each at least once:)

Tonight my job is to pack the hospital bag...I just want to to be prepared as possible. And tomorrow we meet with our pediatrician. Only 15 more days (give or take a few) until we meet our little guy!

A Busy Saturday

My cousin Lindsay was married in the LA Temple to Matthew on Friday, May 4th. Their reception was Saturday evening. It was a beautiful reception. One of my favorite things was the candy table...I wish I had taken a picture of it! You took a little bag and filled it up with different candies in shades of green and yellow, which were their colors. How did I not think of that with my sweet tooth?! Here's Kevin and I at the reception...I'm looking mighty big.

Baby Shower

It was so fun to have so many friends and family at my shower. Thank you to everyone who came! The food was delicious, we received so many wonderful baby gifts and I enjoyed spending time with good friends. I felt very loved. Baby Nathan was moving around like crazy during the shower! I think he knew that the party and presents were for him and he didn't want to miss out on all the fun. Here's a few pictures from the shower:




Thank you to the Wood women and Kelle for putting this shower together for me!

Farewell

Friday, April 27th, was my last day of work! My class, with the help of many moms, threw me a baby shower. When we came back from afternoon recess the moms had tied balloons to my chair and set up for the little party. We had cake and strawberries, played a game (Guess-how-big Mrs. Martin's-belly-is) and then I opened gifts. The best gift of all was from the whole class. Each of my students made a special page that included a recent photo and a baby photo along with little notes or advice. I thought it was such a cute idea! Here are a few of the pages:
I will miss my first graders...I had such a great class this year! I keep thinking I'll be going back to work in a couple of days...it's hard to fully let go. But I am very grateful to have this time off. My body definitely needs the rest. So, here's to enjoying more days of relaxation and getting ready for this baby!