Laurel meets Uncle David and Aunt Brooke

Glad we got to see these world travelers before they headed off again. Laurel was excited to meet them for the first time.

What a furry face you have Uncle David

They look pretty content with one another. 

Valentines Day

Andy has cooked me Valentines dinner for a few years now. I'm glad I married a husband who can cook, and when he does it's amazing!!! He outdid himself this year and made me shrimp for an appetizer! He knows me well. Thank you Andy for going through the trouble to make me a wonderful meal. I love you!!

In action at the stove.

Proud Handsome Man right there!

Steak, mustard roasted potatoes, asparagus, and salad!

Laurel Loves to look at the Valentines tree I made up.  I still have it up even though it's mid March.

Happy First Valentines Day Laurel. She even took a catnap while we ate.

Tea roses for Laurel and big red ones for  Momma.

3 Months- Where does the time go?

I can't believe Laurel is already 3 months, that's a quarter of a year. Each day I continue to discover more of here likes, dislikes, personality quirks and she is simply amazing.

• Laurel is now sleeping in her crib, we started this a couple days before she turned three months. 
• Nursing is getting better, last month was bumpy to say the least. 
• Sleeping between 10 and 11 hours a night, usually winding down by 7pm and up by 6 or 7am. Back to waking up once a night now, was twice for awhile due to a growth spurt. 
• Naps are 30 min. on the dot unless I hold her or sleep with her beside me. I've been letting her do this at least once a day for the past couple weeks. I may be creating bad habits, but I love it.
• Sometimes when she wakes up super early I slip her in-between me and Andy and she'll usually sleep another hour and a half. 
• Laughed for the first time when I kissed her belly and neck! The best feeling ever!!
• This girl is strong, she can now undo any swaddle with a regular blanket so I've started using the swaddleme and kiddopatamus for naps and at night and even then those little hands find their way to her mouth. I wish her hands would self soothe her back to sleep, but she still wants a paci for that. 
• Oh, she has a new trick. She loves to stick one or both of her hands so far in her mouth that she gags herself and throws up her entire meal. Bulimic baby??? She is completely happy before and after this happens, it's only 20 min later or so that she gets cranky because she has a empty belly. I've tried pulling her hands out and putting a paci in, but she either spits out or pulls out the paci to get her hand in there. I'd say she was teathing, but she has always loved her hands in her mouth. I have ultrasounds with her hands in her mouth or right up against her face and many of the pictures we have from day one are with hands hands in her mouth.
• Feeding every 2 -3 hours. She would last longer if she would stop gagging herself. 
• We are now cloth diapering. I have a good routine down and love the accomplished feeling I have after hanging up a fresh load of diapers to dry. 
• Laurel loves to lay on a blanket on the floor and coo and squeal.  She even does this when she is alone sometimes.
• Definitely a people person. She stayed in the nursery the first time on 3-5 and did great. Her first Sunday in nursery went well too.
• We learned she travels well at night if we need to be in the car for a few hours. 

2 months

Little miss Laurel is starting to show some personality.

Here are a few things she has been up to:

• Sleeping 5, 6, or 7 hour stretches at night. Not consistent on which one bc. sometimes she will do a dream feed and other times I can't wake her up to do one. 
• Likes to kick and pump her legs up and down, especially likes the rocker chair we have on the wood floor, she can really get it going
• Has started to focus on her hand, she gets cross-eyed when she brings her hand really close to her face.
• Loves her new mobile and likes to coo and talk to it
• Best time of day is in the mornings
• Still likes to be swaddled for naps and at night
• Doing well for the most part when I take her into church, sleeps most of the time.
• Loves taking naps on her Daddy
• If I can't get her back to sleep at night I put her next to her Daddy and she falls right back to sleep
• Does not like tummy time! Can't stand it for more than a minute
• Still takes one longer nap around 1:30pm
• Poops are starting to slow down, she now has one or two a day (if just one it's usually a blowout)
• We were using the Fisher Price Rock n' Play for her to sleep in at night, but we have transitioned her into a flat bassinet so she will be ready for the crib. The first couple of nights she had an extra feed, but she is sleeping just fine now. 

Yay, Dad is home bc. of snow!

Best naps are on Daddy's chest.

First Snow

This mirror has already provided hours of entertainment!

Looking at Daddy, she loves that boy!

Vitamin D face, she loves this stuff

One month with my new love

Laurel is one special girl and we continue to thank God for the blessing she is in our lives. This past month Laurel has amazed is in so many ways.

What Laurel is up to this month:

• She continues to smile (she has been doing this since day one in the hospital)
• Likes baths if you keep warm water on her, does not like getting dressed afterward
• Started taking a paci at 2 weeks old (the day my mom left from helping us out was when she decided to take one)
• First road trip to my mom and dad's for Christmas and Gran's Funeral 
• Loves to be soothed by being held in the upright position while you do the baby dance with her and say "SHhhh" over and over
• Likes to have her diaper changed and looks at herself in the mirror
• Feed every two hours during the day
• Takes cat naps throughout the day and one big nap around 1 or so in the afternoon
• At night she goes 4-5 hours and then wants to be fed, so I'm getting up with her twice at night
• Is ready for the new day around 7:30am and loves it when we unswaddle her, she gives the biggest stretches by putting her hands above her head and pointing her toes
• Does a cluster feed at 7, 8, and 9 then is ready for bed
• Liking her car seat more and more, she has her best naps when we are out and about
• First walk around the neighborhood was at one week old
• First restaurant was a Chinese buffet at 10:00pm (this was at a week old too, had a unexpected trip to the hospital due to me hurting my back)

8.8 lb, 20.5 in

Christmas Day

Pawpaw and Laurel

Pappy, Darla, and Laurel

Aunt Callie and Laurel

Aunt Virginia and Cousin Ashlyn holding Laurel

Laurel's Birth Story

We were in Knoxville for a date day and decided to go see the new James Bond movie, all day I had noticed my belly getting tight and had felt some little cramps. Mid movie I decided to start timing them and they were about 5 minutes apart. I waited till we got in the car to let Andy know this had been happening all day and they had gotten closer during the movie, and he immediately wanted me to call the doctor. I thought this had to be it, but I was wondering why they didn't hurt. I called the doctor and we decided to wait and see what happened in the hour and after that we then headed to the hospital to get things checked out. At this point I had been contracting for 4 hours every 5 minutes When I got there they determined I was sill at 4cm and 90% effaced (I was like this for at least 3 weeks before Laurel was born) and was not continuing to dilate. So, they sent me home with the contractions and said to come back when they were painful. We were a bit disappointed that night to say the least, but knew it was best for this to happen in God's timing. At my 39 week appointment they had offered to admit me and "get things going". I was a bit perturbed at the offer as they knew how I wanted things to go. I decided that having a baby around a holiday makes doctors do things they might not normally do so they can spend time with their families too. Later that night the contractions began to get further and further apart and I finally got some sleep. So that was hospital trip #1.

Hospital trip #2. A couple days after my first trip to the hospital I started to notice some leakage. Not enough to say that my water broke, but enough to know it wasn't the norm either. I knew a slow leak wasn't a good thing to have happen and could lead to an infection of the baby and me. I called my sister (she's a nurse) and asked for her advice and she said if nothing had happend by the next day I needed to get it checked out. At this point I knew it wan't normal for me to be leaking for 3 days or to wake up and have a wet spot in the bed, I did not pee in the bed! So, we had a peaceful breakfast at home that Friday exactly a week after our first hospital visit and did a few things around the house just incase this was THE day. We headed to Knoxville and had lunch at KFC, love those crispy chicken tenders, and we were at the hospital by 12:30 and released about 45 min. later. They do a litmus type test to determine if your water has broken and mine was negative. I had already done some research on this before I went to the hospital, and knew that sometimes they give a false negative if there isn't a trickle at that exact moment. So at this point I'm sticking to the fact that I did not wet the bed! This was black Friday by the way, and after we left the hospital we did a little shopping at Belk (Andy got a corduroy sports coat for 35.00), Sears, and Sams. I was determined this baby was going to come soon if not that night, so we walked, and walked, and walked some more, and if that wasn't enough, we put up the Christmas tree when we got back later that night.  Well, it must have done the trick because a couple hours later I started to notice more than just tightening of my belly but some extra pains in my back as well, but nothing to alarming considering I had been contracting off and on like that for about a week.  We went to bed around 10:30 that night and I woke up at 1:11 (yes, I remember the exact time) and felt menstrual like cramps that didn't seem to be going away, but I wasn't sure it was the real thing since our last two trips were false alarms. So, I drank some water, walked around, went to the bathroom, and back to bed thinking they would probably go away soon. I couldn't sleep through them, but was able to breath through them for the next hour in bed till I couldn't lay comfortably anymore without being twisted into a ball. So, at 2:15 I got out of bed and walked into the living room and started timing them. They were every 5 min. again and I let that go on for close to an hour till they started to get closer together (every 3 min.) I called the doctor and got ready to set off on hospital visit #3. Third times the charm right?

Hospital trip #3. I woke Andy up at 3:30am and said "You ready to go see a baby." He was very groggy and I think he was pretty skeptical because of all the false alarms. But, off we went to Knoxville about a 35 min. drive. We got to the hospital and I was a whopping 8-9cm. and they also determined I had a high leak, hmmm.... imagine that. I immediately asked if a epidural was even possible, and this is when the nurse looked in my chart and stated that I was going all natural according to my preferences. I told her my preference was to see how things went before I jumped into anything. The nurse said if they could get 2 bags of fluids in me and get blood drawn and labs back they could then do an epidural. So they admitted me around 4:30am, got fluids going and blood drawn and not long after the anesthesiologist was there and pain relief was on its way. I am very thankful we were the only ones on the L&D floor at the time and got first priority. I have to say the epidural was the worst part. It wasn't even the actual epidural that hurt, but the position they made me get in that scared me, I just couldn't breathe and felt my heart slowing.  They made me get indian style on the bed with my head bent over around my watermelon of a belly while the nurse and Andy kept me pushed in that position for what seemed like a unnecessary amount of time. Other than that, I was one happy girl after the epidural! For about an hour they let me rest and get fully dilated and another hour and 6 min. later of pushing and our little lady was here.
When she came out, they immediately put her on my chest and I was amazed at how pretty she looked. I was expecting a cone shaped head and tons of white goo and blood, but instead God surprised us with the prettiest shaped head and nice pink skin from the start. Her cry was more than enough to make me and her Daddy cry, it was a beautiful sound! She is a wonder and I will be giving thanks for her for the rest of my life. I do have to remind my self that she is God's little girl first and formost and He has entrusted us this while to help watch over her and guide her to one day put her faith and hope in God as her heavenly father.

Laurel Emery Henard

Born 11-24-12 @ 7:26am

6.14oz

19 1/2 in

Mimi and her sweet girl.

Nana and Pappy meeting Laurel for the first time.

35 weeks

Well as Linnie Brown (my pastor's wife) would say, I'm large and in charge. lol
I really love being able to feel this little girl move around inside me, it's reassuring that she is healthy and happy in there. I think it's funny how she gets active right after I eat or sit to rest for a bit, or lay down for bed. I will miss having here in there for sure, but I look forward to seeing her face and all her little features God has created.

35 weeks, hello love handles

32 weeks

I had my first baby shower a couple weeks ago and we were blessed beyond imagination. The shower was in Bowling Green and my mom and aunts did and amazing job putting it all together. The theme was teddy bears because I was mom's teddy bear when I was little.

My beautiful cousin Emily and her sweet daughter Willow with my Mom.

Last weekend was a dear friend's wedding. Katie is now a married woman and she was one beautiful bride!! The day was wedding perfect, a wonderful crisp fall day. I loved all the fall decorations  and special touches her daddy put into the wedding. I wish I had more pictures to share with you, it was gorgeous and the evening will definitely be memorable for years to come.

Katie and Dan cutting the cake

 

 

A far away glance at her beautiful bustle.

Bouquet toss.

Mom and Dad. I love Dad's corduroy sports coat!

Today I packed my bag and baby girls bag for the hospital. I told Andy about it and he asked if I packed him one too. lol  Things are definitely starting to feel more real now. I think I got all the essentials, there are some things I jotted down on a list and will add later, like the camera and makeup.

Baby's Stuff for the hospital, lacking a bag to put it it. We will get one soon.

My bag

34 week photo, Darla blocked the belly, but you can still sorta see it