Fourth Of July! 2016

We Spent Fourth of July at my dad's this year again. We had such a great time! We were only there for a day but it was very well spent. I love spending holidays with our family and this is one of my favorites! I made a little video of the firework show at pismo beach , click play below to watch. 

enjoy! 

Levi's 1st Year

Seriously,
It's so hard to blog lately. I should rephrase that, It's so hard to want to blog lately. Levi is so attached and so curious at this stage. He smacks his hand on anything he can touch, and this shiny lit up thing called a laptop is his favorite thing to lay his dirty little paws on.... Soooooo , the only time I am able to blog is night time when they fall asleep but that's also my "me time" "hubby time" "relax time" and "watch my favorite shows I can't watch in front of children time" , ya with me? I've been blogging for YEARS and I really just had the intention of keeping it as a online scrapbook/journal. But it has been hard keeping up with and I keep going back and forth with wanting it public and than private. For now, it is what it is and I really want to share Levi's bday with all of you. Thanks for the positive feedback! =D

Levi, Watching this makes me so emotional! I cannot believe a whole year has gone by already! You are so special to us, you make us so happy, you make us smile and you just love to love on us! We Love you baby ! Here's to many many more years! 

Thrift Store Haul!

Hey Guys n' Gals!
So I recently went to the Goodwill 50% off sale, and I thought I'd share some of my finds from there! It's up on our youtube channel, so make sure to subscribe to keep seeing fun videos in the future! =)

Vlogs 2 and 3

So we're still vlogging! So far it's been good, a little awkward but it's fun!
Its so weird to see yourself on camera and hear what you sound like but I'm sure we'll get used to it  soon.

So if you haven't already, take a look at our channel and subscribe to be updated when we upload new videos. We aren't sure yet if this will be a daily vlog thing or just vlog certain events and happenings. If any of you have any suggestions on what we should film go ahead and leave a comment on here or on a vlog and we'll get to it! ;)

Surprise! We're Vlogging!

Hope you all had an amazing Fourth of July weekend, We sure did! It was spent with family fun and fireworks at  the beach!

So, As I mentioned in the last post, we have a little "blog" surprise... we decided to start Vlogging! I've been wanting to do this for some time but haven't had the courage to just go for it. I've been talking to David for some time now about this and now that he's on board too we're doing it! We were going to start this "vlogging journey" with Levi's birth but we weren't ready to deal with something extra just yet so we started fourth of July weekend since there'd be a lot to vlog about.

It's pretty nerve racking talking to yourself on a camera, especially knowing that people may view you, but looking back at this first video, it's worth it just to have those memories captured. I could warn you about how awful I may look or sound and how maybe some vlogs won't be so exciting... but honestly, it doesn't matter, this is for fun and I want it to be fun. =) so I hope this new journey takes us far and that we may meet new people doing the same thing! Hope you all enjoy and welcome to our life.

Just this.. (Video)

 

Tickle Monster.

It's Official, I'm one of those Mamas that uses the squeaky voice to get her baby to make any cute noise. =)
I love tickling my little giggle bug, and he loves to laugh. Can you tell I'm enjoying mommyhood?

What does my baby want?!

 Tomorrow Noah will be 3 weeks old and I can still say we've been blessed to have a fairly easy baby! He does have his fussy moments here and there, for the most part he cries when he's hungry and when he needs to be changed. I've learned to distinguish his hungry cry from others, but what do the other cries mean?! Well , years ago (when I used to watch Oprah) I remember watching an episode where this lady was able to distinguish one cry from the other. She said that ALL babies have 5 words/ cries meaning one specific thing.

So I youtubed the video to refresh me on the different cries, and ever since, I can now see what Noah needs based on his cry and it seriously works! I can tell the difference from when he simply needs to burp to he's just sleepy! Check it out! It's a life saver!

Happy Baby

These Precious Moments

I'm Loving life. I feel happy and complete with my family. I love my baby, how sweet he is, how good he smells and the way he looks at me. But one of my favorite things is watching him sleep so peacefully. These precious moments are ones I will treasure forever and ever. I am so in Love with the baby we have been blessed with. 

Noah's Birth Story

January 8, 2013 - 6:47 pm

9lbs 1oz 22inches long

We welcomed our baby boy Noah into the world!

The Begining Jan. 7th

Last you heard from me was almost 2 weeks ago when I made a video announcing that I was getting induced Watch Here. Well on Monday Jan. 7th at 8am, we arrived at the hospital, with all our bags (which was like our whole house lol) and they checked to see if I had progressed. Luckily my fave nurse Chloe, was on that shift that day so I got her. ( Every time I went in for false labor she was my nurse and we really got along.) She's a total sweetheart that genuinely cared about David and I. To our surprise, my body had actually begun dilating on its own! I was 2cm and 50% effaced! Not much but after being at 1 cm for about a month and a half, I was happy! They decided to still get me started on pitocin, So at about 10am they got me all hooked up and going.

We were there all day and I had finally progressed to a 3 1/2 cm after hours of nothing happening. Since I was on an IV, I wasn't allowed to eat. All I had was toast and coffee early that morning. I WAS STARVING! By about 9pm, they checked me again and I was finally at 4cm. Still not much pain, it felt like strong period cramps but not too bad. I did get fentanyl (a pain killer) through the IV, just so that I could sleep and relax, and my gosh, that was a trip! I've never felt like that before and my mom and dad were cracking up at the things I was saying and giggling! It was a fun drug. ha ! So after 9pm, they decided it would be best to unhook me from the IV completely and let my body relax hoping that it would naturally progress. They let me walk around the hospital for a good hour, let me eat (which I could not because the pitocin made me sick) and I even got to shower!

Jan. 8 - 5am

After getting a great night's sleep with no IV's or anything, the Doctor and my amazing nurse, Chloe, came in to wake us up and check me. They were happy that my body had naturally stayed at 4cm and seemed to be 70% effaced. After my shower they got me started on pitocin again and penicillin as well since I was GBS +. ( GBS is a bacteria that occurs in about 20% of pregnant women, Nothing dangerous for the woman but could be dangerous for the baby when they are being born) By afternoon I was as swollen as a hot air balloon! With all the different things I had flowing through my body it made my hands sand feet swell up like crazy! The Doctors kept talking to me about getting an epidural just so that my body would again relax and hopefully progress from there. I kept denying it until about 4pm, I decided to get it hoping it would get me somewhere other than 4cm... I wasn't in horrible pain, but when I did get the epidural, (Ladies it does not hurt, they numb you before putting the epidural ) it made me extremely nauseated and gave me the shakes pretty bad. At 4:30 pm the doctor came in and broke my water. They made fun of me because I HAD to do my makeup before they ruptured my water! Yes I totally pulled out the powder, mascara, blush... all of it.

My Dad thought it was hilarious that I was preparing to give birth! 

And the Doc kept coming in and laughing saying "now? you almost done?!" hahaha . The rupturing of the water was not at all what I thought it would feel like. It was not a gush, it was a trickle that came out and kept coming out. Since I had the epidural it felt like I just kept peeing myself. Turns out there was meconium in the water (baby poop) and that was kind of a worry.

Active Labor

Not pretty at all but so real. I love that David was being annoying and captured this! ;) 

It was not long AT ALL  after they had ruptured my water that everything came in a blink of an eye! The contractions grew stronger and stronger and I started to feel horrible. The baby's heart dropped a couple of times so they had an oxygen mask on me to make sure I was breathing okay through the contractions. At that point I didn't want anyone in the room but David and my mom. I was surprised I let my mom stay there through that and the delivery. I originally only wanted David there but when the time came, I needed my Momma! She was extremely comforting and kept praying over me and would put her iphone next to my ear so that I could listen to Kari Jobe on Pandora. It calmed me. I had tears running down my face from the pain but I kept my cool. David called my dad in to wish me luck (I hardly remember ) but I do remember seeing my dad's face and then just closing my eyes in pain. In no time I had gone from a 4 to a 6 and within another 15 min to a 7 and than an 8! They took me off the epidural so that I could feel the urge to push. Let me tell you, I felt absolutely EVERYTHING. By about 6 pm I reached a 9 and a half and they had me push myself into a 10! After that I got the urge to go to the bathroom. The Nurse ( a different nurse) kept telling me to push when I needed to. I begged and begged to let me to the bathroom and everyone kept saying no that's the baby! So I began to push.

Noah's Arrival! 

The Nurse I had that evening (NOT CHLOE) really got on my nerves. She kept telling me to push and that "this one's going to hurt real bad but just push!" ummmm duh lady I can't even open my eyes, you think I need you telling me it's going to hurt?! ugh!
That feeling of the strong contraction and the urge to poo (sorry TMI) was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life! I'm not tooting my own horn, but I'm pretty pain tolerate and with this, I literally thought I wasn't going to make it. I was shaking to the point where I couldn't breathe too well, and I was in so much pain that I couldn't see straight. I would grab at my face and cover my eyes and  push. I cried and cried and kept telling my mom "it hurts! It hurts!" David kept encouraging me and kissing my forehead and telling me how good I was doing. Finally at about 6:20 pm they wheeled me in my bed to the delivering room. I didn't open my eyes from that moment on... I remember hearing a ton of different people in the room, since there were many possibilities of complications with the GBS, Meconium, Heart rate dropping and I was hardly able to breathe, they had a group of about 10 attending with Noah's delivery. My Doctor is the sweetest doctor ever and I was so blessed to have him. He too encouraged me throughout the delivery. I kept pushing    and pushing and I remember this horrific burning pain followed by the most amazing words " I can see his head, Susie keep pushing! He's almost out! He has a lot of hair!" -my doc.  David kept directing me to breathe and push, catch my breath and breathe breathe breathe!  and than that dumb nurse said : "He's got a big head, this is the most painful! Push! " .... wow.....  I remember my doctor asking if I wanted to see, but I ignored him and just kept my hands over my eyes while I pushed.
Than my mom said "you're never going to believe who's here! Nurse Chloe! " when I heard that, I pushed real hard! and "PLOP!" his head was out! once that was out, I felt sooooo much better, right away I pushed about 2x and he came out with a gush! He literally sprayed everyone there and made a big mess! Hearing that nurse Chloe ran in the delivery room once she clocked in (15 min before her shift) she had heard that a girl was about to deliver, she knew it was me and wasn't going to miss it for anything, made me get Noah out. It was just what I needed to help me push him out.

I love this action shot, Love that it doesn't show too much but just enough!
Left: My doctor, Noah's foot on my doc's sleeve, The annoying nurse and David cutting the cord.

Right away, David cut the cord,  they took Noah to the table next to me, suctioned the meconium out of him, and checked him, weighed him and got him all settled and I got stitched up (1st degree tear at the top, only 3 stitches needed thank God!). I finally got him on my chest about 30 min after and got my bonding hour with him. I fell head over heels in Love with my sweet baby boy the moment I saw him. Words can hardly express the immense love I gained for him that second. My mom captured these amazing moments with my camera. Noah was born perfectly healthy and ready to be held by his mama at 6:47 pm.

Believe it or not, I took this while getting stitched up! 

You read it, 9 pounds 1 ounce!

His first tear! 

Nurse Chloe! 

Finally with mama! 

We Did It! 

We had done it, I delivered my big 9 pounder vaginally and he was completely healthy. My favorite moment was having Noah and David coming right to me to kiss me. It all felt like a nightmare turned into a beautiful mesmerizing dream! I wouldn't change it for the world. I felt every single pain, every part of my son coming out and looking back at it, it's something that I can say I went through to get him here and I'm so proud of it. A long labor but totally worth it.

After the bonding hour, David walked out to let our family know that Noah was here! The waiting room was full with our whole family, and when David was in the hall he ran into my best friend's boyfriend and turns out she was in labor too! My best friend's water broke on her due date (the 8th) and was in active labor by the time I delivered. So when I got wheeled out of the delivery room by nurse Chloe (who had heard about my best friend being there) she took me to her room and I got to see her right before she had her baby! It was the best. Her baby was born 6 hours after Noah on Jan.9th at 1:15 am! He was 6lbs 15oz! =)

My experience was one heck of an experience. I'm so thankful to my heavenly father who watched over me and kept me safe and healthy through out the whole thing. He kept Noah healthy and I couldn't be happier!
Our family visited and Nurse Chloe also came to see me on her day off to meet Noah and bring us her famous chocolate cake! My Dad got to stay the night with David and I. The following day my Best friend walked over to my room and met Noah and than I went to meet her baby and we shared our birth stories.

A week into it

Wow, it's been a week and a half since Noah was born and time is flying by! I love every single second of being with him, I love holding him, kissing him, talking to him and I even love when he just stares at me for minutes! I'm loving being his mommy! David is amazing! He's taken good care of us both while I recover, he watches over Noah, cooks, cleans and watches over Cosby as well!

We've been blessed every single day of the week by having family and friends come and meet Noah and they bring us food!
Today I'm finally feeling good enough to walk around with out saying OW, so we went for a walk to the park with baby and Cosby. It actually left me feeling very sore again so I'm taking it easy for now.

I love life, I feel so complete. I feel so loved and I'm so in love!

"And the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the  grace of God was upon him ."
Luke 2:40

Surprise! A quick Vlog!

* Sorry for the bad quality recording and my no make up face lol. David was shy here =-) 

Hey guys! So we decided to do a quick video to share some exciting news with you all! It's pretty awkward talking to yourself on camera ha! But we tried! I love David's expressions lol He didn't know what to do. 

So the BIG NEWS is that we are getting induced today! We are beyond excited to have Noah! God willing everything goes well and the cervadil & pitocin really do kick things off today. This IS NOT  what I had planned, as you may recall me posting about my Birth Plan, I wanted to go completely natural with no medication no interventions of any kind but God had a different plan and so did Noah. I'm 41 weeks and 4 days and at this point waiting any longer can lead to a c-section but at the same time if the pitocin does not work within a certain amount of time it can stress the baby out and that may lead to an emergency c-section as well. We are praying for a smooth and easy delivery overall and we know God will be by our sides leading our Doctor and nurses. Since I am being induced, I know the contractions will not be natural and probably 10x more painful so I will most likely be getting an epidural. Again not what I had planned but that's okay. 

Words cannot fully express how excited we are to meet our little man. I've hardly slept all night, David's been cleaning like a mad man, and I've been organizing our bags and house as well. This is what we wanted, what we had prayed for, for a while and now we are finally going to become parents and I can't believe it! 

Chinese food! Ew I'm poofy... Not for long! ;)

Yesterday we got to see my dad for a little while, he treated us out to dinner and all we talked about was how excited we all are to meet this little nugget. My dad says he wants to be called Tito by Noah. =) I love it. 

Saying Goodbye to our little Cosby. The last time it'll be a family of 3! 

Afterwards we came home and David's mom, Ken and Grace came over and spent time with us and then took Cosby home with them. =( They are doing us a HUGE favor by watching our 1st baby meanwhile we are at the hospital. We're blessed by amazing support from all the parents! It was very hard for me to say bye to Cosby! Since I quit my job in June, I've had Cosby around everywhere I go he would go, so saying bye was a tear jerker! 

Well I've got to get ready to go now, Thank you again for following us on this fun journey! *family and friends, I will most likely have my phone off for a while, to spend time with our new addition, please do not get offended if I don't respond right away. 

Also I will probably not be posting many pictures on FB seeing as to how easy it is for Anyone we may not know to see our photos. Instagram  me @Snooz3 to keep up with current pics! 

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21 Weeks!!!

I can't believe I'm already doing a 21 week update on my pregnancy! My goodness I know I say it a lot but I cannot believe how fast this is all happening!
This past Thursday I had my 2nd trimester ultrasound where they inspect every little bone, organ and brain development on my little boy. And Thank God, Noah is doing so well and he's very healthy! =)

21 week update/symptoms:

Mood: Happy! Excited! And still Emotional! ~ I cried watching Walk The Line the other night. David on the other hand likes to make fun of my sobbing moments but still hugs me everytime and says how cute it is. ugh whatev. lol

Symptoms: Can you say Gas?! Ewwww. sucks but oh well, I swear it was Noah. ;) Also, constipation has never had a part in my life... Now it does. No fun! Sleep, I sleep like a newborn and so does Cosby. I feel a ton more energized though! And I love that I can finally be out and about for the day! Leaky boobs while I sleep=gross and not so fun.

Stretch Marks: still just on the sides of my hips, just a few and on breasts.

Gender: It's A Boy! Duhhhhh! ;) Ha. Now for sure we know he is a he and not a she.

Cravings: Chinese food, Sushi rolls, Burgers, Bagels, Coffee, Ice Cold Water, Fruit!

Maternity Clothes? Been rocking it for a couple months now. Although I do for the most part still wear my regular clothes.

Belly Button: Innie/ Outie? It's still an Innie, but it has morphed into a big, wide, deep innie!

Linea Negra, only on the bottom of my tummy.

Movement: Movement?! Are you kidding?! Noah is a hyper, dancing, boxer! Little McD loves to move and be felt! Daddy can now feel him moving too and I love waking up in the mornings to his tumbling skills! =D

David Snuck in a video while we were getting the Ultrasound. =) Hope it's not blurry, It looked fine on my phone, But you can see Noah flickin his head, using his thinking finger, and he even blows a bubble! I love my little boy!

If you're like my mom and wondering why the heck I've had what seems like a million ultrasounds, let me explain.
First one was to see if I was pregnant. Second one was to measure the heart rate, which we actually weren't able to, so they scheduled another a week after. (I was about 6 weeks than.) We had been going to a clinic because I still didn't have a doctor, and at the clinic they Only did ultrasounds and gave us information on what to expect. At about 14 weeks I still didn't have a doctor so I asked to go in to the clinic to make sure everything was A-OK. At 16 weeks I finally got a doctor but wouldn't have an appointment until a month later. At 18/19 weeks, David and I worried after a week of not feeling the baby, so we asked the clinic if I could be seen since my Doctor still hadn't scheduled an Ultrasound. Everything was fine. Than Finally I saw my doctor at 20 weeks, and he scheduled for me to have an ultrasound a few days after for the 2nd trimester check up.
I've been blessed that I've had so many chances to see my baby boy especially with this being our first, it's nice to know what is going on in there!

* Something else I've been doing lately is Nesting. I had never heard of Nesting before until my aunt came over and told me I was obsessed with cleaning and organizing! She told me, it's normal and it happens because the mother is preparing for the arrival of her baby. She did have a point. For the past couple of weeks, I've been doing a ton of cleaning, organizing, washing and just getting ready! Today for instance, I steam Vacuumed the carpet in our apartment. And you know what? I loved it ! =) I love cleaning!
I also organized our bathroom .

Our little Bathroom Nook.

Have a box with the top full of medicine. The bottom, face wash, cleansers and body scrubs. Towels on the second shelf.

Hand Creams and Febreeze. Under this shelf is our ihome and ipod

Than below shelves I have a portable plastic drawer. On top of it I have this fishing box full of jewelry.

1st drawer: Most of my Makeup. 

2nd drawer: hair care

3rd drawer: My hair styling tools. 

Essentials By the Sink.

Our medicine cabinet is full of smelly stuff and face creams. I love perfumes and Sprays!

And our simple sink. 

At the moment I'm working on Noah's room. Organizing but we still need to get a couple things. Soon to come!

Yesterday we hung out at David's mom's house since his grandma and grandpa came down to visit from Missouri! It was fun! We hung out in the backyard and played like little kids. I always wondered what it would be like to hula hoop while pregnant and well, it's possible, but def don't have the momentum I used to! His grandma captured me in Action!

Anywho, that's it for my weekly update! =)

Just this.

I went to Baton Rouge to a conference at Bethany Church a couple years ago and had the most intense one on one with God there. The second I walked into that place I could feel that there was movement. I love this song and I'd thought I'd share it with you . That's all.

I'm showing my free loader undies to the world!

So I've been scoring big time lately with just about everything! I'm gunna come off as a snob I know it, but I've been getting a lot of things for free and finding good discounts lately! I got my awesome  Victoria's Secret Backlace Boots about 3 weeks ago and I saved like $30 on them because they had given me a $10 gift card with my new Angels VIP card! On top of that they were having all clothes and shoes online 20% off! So that was nice! Well when the boots finally arrived they came with a secret rewards gift card and it said on there that I couldn't find out the amount that was on it until yesterday! So I rushed to the nearest mall after school yesterday to find out how much my card had and it had a whopping $100 on it! =D I hear most people got $10 on theirs. The gift cards went anywhere from 10, 50, 100 and 500 dollars! So I was one of the lucky ones! So I got a lot of good stuff, some cologne for the boy's stocking and lotions and all that jazz! I also had a coupon that if I bought anything from the Pink section I got a free pair of undies ;) whoo! and THENNNNN .... They were giving out real cute t-shirts from the fashion show that just happened for anyone that spent $75 or more and guess what ! I did! ha (literally I didn't since it was all free but I still got the shirt!) To top it all off, they gave me a little Victoria's Secret stuffed animal dog! I walked out with a hefty bag! lol

It's no secret now...

Cosby's growing up so fast...=( I feel like such a mom and it's only a dog... But he's my BABY! My son! hahaha

 

It's insane how smart he is , even though he doesn't look it in this picture! 

He really takes care of me and sleeps right on the curve of my hip. When David's on 24's , Cosby takes over . ;) He's my little man/dog. 

Speaking of David working the 24 hour shifts, it sucks... I'm a whimp when it comes to sleeping a our place alone. Yep I'm scared of the dark. I haven't been getting much sleep but I'll get used to it. Right now he's on a 48 hour shift so he'll be back tomorrow. Seems like I haven't seen him months! Our schedules are so opposite right now too, so it's an adjustment. But I'll have him home for the weekend and I'll have my cuddle bug. 

We've been looking for a house to rent or even a bigger apartment.  We hope to move out after the holidays, God willing! We are crowded where we're at! And Cosby needs a big yard! We've been driving around town and finding the cutest houses ever! I love "woodsie" looking places! Ahhh I can't wait!

I want something we can make look nice and like our own. We both also really want to experience living out of state for maybe a year and just see what it's like. We have the same mentality when it comes to living in certain places. That's why I married him, well not the only reason but one of them. ;) We don't want to stay in the same place for the rest of our lives that's for sure!
I'd even settle for this! ha

23 Days until Christmas! And it's Friday! Have an amazing weekend!

Carrie Underwood : O Holy Night.
My Fave Christmas song!