Maternity Shoot- 29 weeks!

Last Saturday our friend Shaylee Meurer met us at a park in Heathrow for a maternity photo session.  Even though we met around 9am it was already REALLY hot, but my boys were good sports and she was able to get some really great shots!



This is one of my fav's!

This was her first maternity session and I think she did AWESOME!  Check out her blog http://shayleemeurer.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-first-maternity-session-ever.html

I am 29 weeks pregnant now. 

I'm feeling VERY large and I've been feeling pretty achy but other than that, I'm doing good. 

Autrey is VERY active and if the intensity of his kicks and jabs are any indication, he getting really strong!  I can't wait to meet him in person.  And just like any expectant mother I constantly have a million questions going through my mind.  Will he look just like Jackson did?  Will he have darker hair like me? How BIG is he going to be?  When is he going to arrive?  Will my labor be quick like last time...and will I make it to the hospital!!?  How is this going to change our family dynamic?  Is Jackson going to like being a big brother?

Being a housewife and mother is by far the best job in the world!  I feel so blessed to have such a hardworking husband who has made it possible for my dream of being a stay at home mom come true.   Isn't it amazing how God can use even bad circumstances (like me getting laid off while I preggo with Jackson) to make some of your dreams come true! 

As Autrey's birthday draws near I am feeling nervous and excited and incredibly blessed!

Big Boy Bed

We are trying to make some major transitions for Jackson now so that he is all settled before the baby gets here.  So today we set up his new bunk beds and moved the crib into the nursery.  Jackson always likes to "help" daddy!

 And here is the finished product!

We spent some time showing him how to get in and out of his new big boy bed. 

 I'm a little nervous about this transition but I'm hoping it will go really smoothly...and I know we'll be glad that we did this several months before the baby arrives so that hopefully Jackson is totally used to it by the time we are up all night with a newborn:)

I also set up the crib in the new nursery.  I still have a lot of work to do in there but it's fun to actually get to set up the crib with new bedding:)

So we are about to head upstairs to put Jackson to bed. 

Wish us luck!!!

We have a name!!!!

So after much going back and forth we have finally decided on a name for our new baby boy!

We knew we wanted to name him after Phillip's dad, Autrey Odelle, but originally we thought we would use Odelle as his middle name...but the meaning of names is really important to us and when we looked up Autrey, we knew we wanted to use that instead.  Joseph has been a contender since the beginning and we love what it means. 

So it's official...Autrey Joseph Boykin!  There is a lot of sentimental value to his name because Autrey was not only Phillip's dad's name (he passed away in 2009), but it was also Phillip's younger brother's name (he passed away in 2000). 

 I'm so glad he finally has a name! 

I was starting to worry that we would be making a decision in the delivery room!

27.5 weeks

So I am 27.5 weeks pregnant now...I am feeling HUGE and uncomfortable:(  After my Dr's appointment last week, I'm feeling a little anxious about how big this guy is gonna be when he's born...I'm trying not to linger too much on that though.  All that matters is that he arrives healthy!  This is the last week of my 2nd trimester.  I can't believe how quickly time has gone by.  I wasn't very good about documenting my pregnancy with Jackson so I am bound and determined to do a better job this time.  So I got out a tripod and set up my point and shoot camera on it and did a little self-portrait session this morning. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day 2009 - My mother was going through Chemo in South Carolina and I was able to get a round trip ticket for $69 to go visit her for a few days.  I knew she wouldn't feel like doing much because she had Chemo the day before I got there but I hoped that a visit from me would make her feel a little better.  The first day I was there she was still feeling ok so we went to the mall and she got me some new maternity clothes.  I was 31 weeks pregnant with Jackson. 

The next day she crashed and spent a lot of time sleeping.  On Sunday, my dad was flying to NY and my Aunt Frances was flying in to take care of my mom while my dad was gone.  I went to church with my cousin Jen and her husband Joey on Sunday morning and then we had brunch together.  In the afternoon my aunt arrived.  I believe I was leaving on Monday and my mom was feeling a little better so we went out for lunch and to one store. 

 It was a low key Mother's day but so nice to spend it with my mom!

Mother's Day 2010-  My mom came home early from Vietnam last year and was able to be here for Mother's day.  Phillip's mom was also here so I got to spend my first Mother's Day with both my mom's.  It was so nice to have them both here!

Mother's Day 2011- my second official Mother's Day.  I started out Saturday night and Sunday morning feeling VERY weepy...pregnancy hormones are SO much fun:(  We headed to church at 7:30am  because Phillip has worship team practice at 8am.  I basically tried to keep from crying most of the service...no idea why...just feeling really emotional.  I don't think I've been too emotional for most of my pregnancy so it was weird to be dealing with it this weekend.  After church we were going out to lunch with our friends the Watsons.  Phillip and Stewart had actually discussed where we would be having lunch earlier in the week.  Isn't it nice when they take the time to plan?! So we headed to Logans Roadhouse, one of my favorites.  It wasn't crowded and we were seated right away.  We had a lovely lunch then Phillip wanted to run a few errands.  He starts his second semester of classes this week and he needed a few supplies so we headed to Walmart.  He took Jackson outside in the garden center while I paid.  When I found them, they were swinging on this lovely outdoor swing.  Jackson loves to swing and I had told Phillip that was an item on my wishlist.  I had seen one on sale at JC Pennys' a few weeks back so we headed over to look at it.  It wasn't on sale anymore and it wasn't as nice or sturdy as the Walmart one...so we headed back to Walmart and Phillip purchased my Mother's Day gift.  When we got home, Jackson went down for a nap and Phillip and I put the swing together on our back porch.  I LOVE IT!

 SO what started as a weepy not so great Mother's Day, ended with some nice family time on our new porch swing.  It's crazy to think that next year I'll have two little guys in my mother's day pics:)  I can't wait!

Thinking about birth...

I had a Dr's appointment yesterday, my normal monthly check up, and all is well with baby boy.  His heart rate was 132 and the Dr. was able to feel some body parts when he pushed on my tummy.  As you may remember I had to have a second ultrasound because the machine kept freezing the first time I went.  The Dr. said everything looked good but he said the babies size is 70%...meaning he's bigger than 70% of other babies that had an ultrasound at 24 weeks.  So big shocker there, we are having another big baby.  Jackson was almost 8lbs at 3 1/2 weeks early, so I'm hoping this baby will come right at 37 weeks.  That way he won't be considered a preemie (we had to stay an extra day in the hospital because Jackson was technically a preemie) and hopefully he won't be TOO giant yet!  I have shared my birth story with lots of people, although my mom always warns me that people will hate me because it was so fast.  I just think it was a nice gift from God after the really tough first trimester I had and all the rough things my family had dealt with that year. 

 So for those of you who haven't heard it, here it is (I tried not to be too graphic)...

 I woke up at 2am to go to the bathroom. When I got out of bed I felt like I had peed a little and couldn't stop it...which is what they say it's like when your water breaks. It was only a little so I knew my water hadn't broken but I wondered if it was leaking. I went to the bathroom and had a cramp, felt like a combo period/gas cramp. I thought that was odd but didn't think too much of it until I had another one prob 5-10 min later. By 3am they were about 3 min apart so I woke my husband up and asked him to time them. He didn't really take me seriously at first and just sorta watched the alarm clock and counted. When he realized they were only 3 min apart he got up and turned on the light and got his watch. He said they were lasting about 40 sec and were 3 min apart...then they were lasting almost a min and were 2 min apart. ( I'm not gonna lie....it hurt BAD!!!!! Like don't know what to do to make it through the pain kind of bad. It really helps to move around. Laboring in a bed has got to be horrible. I was up and walking around and hanging on to my husband while he rubbed my back) anyhoo, so my husband is sorta freaking out ( only on the inside of course) because I'm early and it's happening so fast. I go to the bathroom again and there is a little bit of blood so we decide we need to go to the hospital. That was at 4am. By the time we left the house I was starting to feel like I had to poop (sorry might be TMI for some men, but mommies know what I'm talking about) which is what it feels like when you start having the urge to push. I was in my room at the hospital by 4:15am. Right before the nurse went to check me for the first time my water broke. When she checked me she said, " I have good news and bad news. The good news is you are fully dilated, the bad news is you can't get any meds." Well I hadn't been planning on doing it naturally but there's no stopping it once it starts:) It's actually so amazing. Your body knows what to do. You are gonna push whether you want to or not. I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. God made my body to do this! My Dr. arrived prob around 4:45 or so. At this point I'm breathing through my contractions and trying not to push which is much harder than you think it would be. As soon as my Dr. arrived he told me I could start pushing. Now the amazing thing about this point of your labor is that you get a break in between contractions. It's not like active labor where it's fast and furious. You can take a breath if you need to in between. It took me a few times to get the pushing right and Jackson was born at 5:17am. They put him right on my chest and my life was forever changed. It's so strange and wonderful to finally see this little person you feel you already know so well. It's a combination of overwhelming relief, joy, and love. I never knew I could love someone so much. I mean I'm totally in love with my husband but my love for my son is different. I had to get some stitches, which weren't as bad as I thought they would be, and by 7am I was moved to my recovery room. Now I know that my story is not the norm and that most woman have much longer labor and deliveries than that but I think we can all agree that no matter how bad it is, or how much it hurts, it's SO worth it in the end.

This is just moments after Jackson was born.  My friend Judy (She's a nurse and has worked with my Dr. in the delivery room before) has always said that my Dr. has an uncanny way of being within a couple ounces when he holds a new baby and guesses the weight.  He only held Jackson for a second before they put him on my chest but he was off by almost a pound.  This was him holding Jackson again because he was so surprised by how much he weighed:)

Daddy holding our "preemie".  I had prepared myself for a BIG baby so it was a nice surprise to end up with a 7lb 15oz peanut.  I know that seems big to most people but imagine if I had gone to 38 or 40 weeks.  He would have been HUGE. I thank God everyday for blessing me with such a great labor and delivery and a perfectly healthy baby boy.

So as my second baby boys delivery day draws near, I pray what I prayed when I was pregnant with Jackson.  That this baby will choose his birth day,  if at all possible for me to have another quick and easy delivery, that he will arrive safe and sound, and not be  too big of a baby:)



26 weeks!!!

I am 26 weeks pregnant today.  If this baby were to come in the same time frame as Jackson I would only have 10 weeks left!  (Jackson was born at 36.5 weeks)  It feels like this pregnancy is flying by now.  It won't be long before we are holding our new baby boy!  Hopefully we will be able to decide on a name soon! 

I promised myself I was going to try and document this pregnancy better than I did when I was pregnant with Jackson but I haven't been doing a very good job. 

So here is my attempt at a few self-portraits of my bump at 26 weeks. 

I already feel HUGE and I know it's only going to get worse.  I've really enjoyed the slight reprieve we had from the heat that last couple days.  Being pregnant in the summer in Florida is not exactly ideal.  But PTL for a healthy pregnancy so far (except of course for my 17 weeks of puking at the beginning).  Hopefully I won't have any complications and I'll have a fairly easy delivery like last time (that helps make up for all the months of being sick in the beginning)!

Car woes...

On Friday I received a not so great call from Phillip.  The car had overheated on his way to work.  When he got home for lunch he found out that the radiator would need to be replaced.  Luckily, this is work Phillip knows how to do himself, however it does take time to fix everything he needs to fix on the car.  We had a busy weekend coming up and we weren't sure how Phillip would find time to work on the car.  He did a lot of research on Friday to find parts, etc...then Saturday he got almost everything disassembled. ( he's going to replace the timing belt, water pump, radiator, and a few other things).  I was really frustrated about this at first but as I thought about it, I was amazed once again how God's timing is so much better than our own.  Because of a few generous gifts from family we were able to get our mini-van much earlier than we anticipated.  So now even though it's frustrating to have to fix the car, at least we still have the van.  Also Phillip is in between semesters at school this week so he may have time when he gets home from work to work on the car.  I've also been able to work more hours for my part-time job, which is paying for the parts we need to fix the car.  And we've had the car for almost 7 years and these are the first repairs we've had to make!  Praise the Lord, for His ways are SO much better than our own!

  My super organized hubby:) 

So hopefully everything will go back together as easily or easier than it has come apart.  I am SO thankful that my father-in-law taught his boys about cars.  What a money saver when you can do the work yourself!  I have such a talented husband:)  I'm a lucky girl:)