He's Here!

Liam Allen has arrived! 

He came via a planned cesarean on Monday, October 15 at 2:31 pm, weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz and 19 inches long :)

I had kept the fact that we knew all along when Liam would come (well, unless he decided to grace us with his presence early) a secret because of the significance of that date. You see, one of my truest & greatest friends was born on that day. Chelsea was there for me for some of the greatest moments in my life, and stuck by my side through the worst as well- everything and then some that you could ask for in a friend. In May of this year she passed away due to Cystic Fibrosis, just a few days shy of her first "birthday" (the anniversary of her double lung transplant). Throughout my pregnancy with Aldon, she kept willing me to go into labor and have him on her birthday (he came 2 weeks later), and then when she discovered I was due again on October 20 (side note- she was the first person I told that I was pregnant again, before our parents even!), she was placing bets again that baby would come on her day. Once I found out I could guarantee that she would get her wish and baby would arrive on her birthday, it was a no-brainer to do anything I could to make it happen. 

So, Monday morning we found ourselves starving (ok, that was just me- I couldn't eat the entire day of the surgery, which is just cruel to do to a pregnant person), and heading to the birthing center to be prepped for surgery! (another torture- it took two nurses 5 tries to start an IV on me. 3 veins were blown in the process. My arms now look like a domestic violence poster with all this bruising). 

A half hour into the procedure, at 2:31, Liam had arrived! This time around was a little different from my c section with Aldon- the nurses wheeled the scale around so I could watch him being weighed, and Keegan was even able to cut his cord. Dad & baby hung out for about an hour while the doctors were still working on me- since we know we are set with our two boys, I had a tubal ligation after the c section as well. 

Recovery this time around has also been a little easier on me- I was able to get up and be walking around Monday night after getting out of the OR at about 3:30 that afternoon. We spent 3 nights in the hospital (they wanted me to stay an extra, but I was so sick of that place and just wanted to be home), and then got to bring our baby home!

Liam is a spunky, expressive little peanut. He nurses about every hour and a half- 2 hours, and sleeps much better than his big brother ever did! He will actually sleep alone in his bassinet between feedings- Aldon was a co sleeper since birth. Aldon is fascinated with his baby brother, and loves to make sure he always has the most important things in life- like slippers and toys ;)

Our little family is now complete & it's safe to say it's the best feeling in the world and we could not be happier :)

Our last picture as a family of 3! headed to the hospital :)

One of Liam's first photos

6 days old & already has big brother wrapped around his finger ;)

{37 weeks!} + life lately

How far along? 37 weeks, full term!
How big is baby? on average, just over 6 pounds and 19 inches
Weight gain: 30 pounds
Maternity clothes? I live for elastic.
Stretch marks? Notta. whew.
Sleep: I now wake up every night from like 3 am to 5, unable to sleep. And then of course get about half an hour nap in before the alarm goes off and it's time to start the day! Preparation for a newborn?
Best moment this week: this week has been ucky. But it is pretty awesome to finally be full term, and know that baby could come at any time!
Miss anything? being able to reach across the counter, being able to bend down, getting off the couch without help, etc.
Movement: has slowed down quite a bit, poor guy has no room!
Food cravings: potatoes! of course. and oranges, carrots, celery... basically, any raw fruit or veg.
Anything making you queasy or sick? It's still difficult to eat meat.
Gender: BOY!
Labor signs: BH, moments of intense pressure, and the fact that baby has zero room in his waterbed anymore.
Symptoms: heartburn, mostly. and though it isn't quite a "symptom", I have completely lost all motivation to do, well, anything. And the latest development has been killer migraines every day, all day. just three more weeks...
Bellybutton in or out? It's officially out.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time? I can admit it, moody. And emotional.
Looking forward to...? baby being here!

Life has been crazy busy for the Ohio Hartman's lately! I feel like I just sat down for the first time in weeks... whew. 

The past two weekends we had visitors (yay!)- my in laws first, and then my own parents just this past weekend. Aldon of course loved being the center of attention among his grandparents ;) Lots of fun was had both weekends at a nearby apple orchard picking apples & a few pumpkins! 

 

 

35 weeks in this picture! And at least there was one pumpkin there that my belly wasn't bigger than...

This past week, though, I've been hit with serious migraines every day. Basically, it sucks. With Aldon I had high blood pressure towards the end of my pregnancy, so naturally I was prepared to hear that it was spiking again at my appt today- it's not! I guess they're just par for the course at this point. 

However, baby Hartman has been much less active these past few days compared to his normal hyper self. So, I got to spend an hour hooked up to the monitors at the doctor's office having an NST to make sure everything is going ok with him. While he didn't meet the "10 kicks per hour" rule of thumb quota, he did move around 6 or 7 times in the hour I was there. We're on orders to count those kicks for the next few weeks to establish a norm for him so I {and the docs} can know better if he starts to really mellow out. {btw, the kid has a crazy rapid heart rate, jumping from mid150's to almost 170 bpm at times!}

Also, while on the monitors, I had several contractions/"tightenings" that my doctor pointed out to me {yes, I did notice them, they just didn't seem significant}, along with the speculation that maybe baby will come early... hmm? 

 At this point, I'm really, really, really ready for Liam to be here. I usually don't believe in worrying too much over things, but all I can think about is the problems I had while pregnant with Aldon & afterwards, and then the findings on baby's ultrasound {echogenic cardiac focus}, and now he's not moving around as much... plus throw in life with an almost 2 year old who tries to be more and more independent day by day, and those migraines kind of explain themselves.

For now, we're just taking it day by day, and counting down the few short weeks {or less?!} until he will be here! :)

The Hartman's :) {and yes, it is impossible to get the hubs to smile for any photo}

{34 weeks!}

How far along? 34 weeks!
How big is baby? on average, 4.75 pounds and about 18 inches long!
Weight gain: 21ish pounds.
Maternity clothes? I live for elastic.
Stretch marks? Notta. whew.
Sleep: actually hasn't been that hard to achieve {knock on wood}. I still get heartburn like crazy, but you get used to that. 
Best moment this week: all of our moments spent in MI visiting family over the weekend!
Miss anything? I miss not bumping into everything. Not that I was the definition of grace before getting pregnant, but it's absurd now.
Movement: all of his movements are so painful now. He's running out of room! I'm constantly getting kicked, jabbed, and shoved in places that nobody wants to be kicked, jabbed, and shoved...
Food cravings: potatoes! and this week, cereal. I ate four bowls in one day, mmm.
Anything making you queasy or sick? It's still difficult to eat meat.
Gender: BOY!
Labor signs: BH, moments of intense pressure, and the fact that baby has zero room in his waterbed anymore.
Symptoms: heartburn, mostly. and though it isn't quite a "symptom", I have completely lost all motivation to do, well, anything.
Bellybutton in or out? It's so close to being out! 
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy, just emotional. I cried watching a c section reenactment on the show The Doctors today. Seriously. 
Looking forward to...? Being full term in just three short weeks!

Baby Liam is so close to being here! yay! The timing was perfect for us to take one last trip over Labor Day weekend to MI to visit some family that we didn't get to see before we left, before I'm too far along to travel & baby comes. Aldon was such a trooper for the 6-7 hour car trips to Manistee {it helps that since he was three weeks old we have been traveling three hours once every other month or so to visit family, he's a seasoned veteran}. I now start seeing the doctor every two weeks, and I'm still toying with the ideas of VBAC vs planned C section.... so we'll see on that. For now, here's some pictures of my cutie at the beach in MI :)

and of course, my lovely shadow at almost 34 weeks pregnant ;)