Hayden Matthew

Hayden Matthew joined our family at 9:00 am. on March 29th. He weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 1/4 inches long. It was so nice to have the c-section planned out and everything went very smooth and calmly for the most part. It took 3 nurses to finally get my IV in, 2 anesthesiologists to get my spinal block in (OUCH!) and then Hayden surprised up all by being breech. His feet came out first and then he was stuck because the umbilical cord was tied around his neck 3 times. They had to work very hard to get him out, but thankfully his oxygen levels were great and he's doing wonderful! It was definitely a blessing that we had already elected to have a repeat c-section.

I feel like my recovery is already moving along faster than it did with Kaitlynn which is wonderful. Kaitlynn is such a great big sister and loves her little brother so much! She loves to hold him, rock him, and sing him songs.

We have already stopped breast feeding and decided to just do formula with him. I was nervous already because my milk never came in with Kaitlynn and we waited way too long before we realized and she was starving and dehydrated. We noticed last night that his lips were already getting dried out and his wet diaper was already that orange color. He had also lost 6 oz. in 36 hours. He was doing really well with latching on and knowing what to do, but there wasn't even any colostrum coming out and he was getting very frustrated and hungry. Matt and I both decided that the best choice is to do formula so we know he is happy and healthy. I'm feeling relieved knowing I don't need to worry about it anymore, but of course disappointed as well. It is really nice that everyone else can help out with feedings now!

He had his "little procedure" this morning and after having a little bottle he's sleeping away! We'll be heading home tomorrow and are all looking forward to beginning life with our new little family of four!





The first time Kaitlynn saw him she was so excited!
Showing us her Big Sister Dora hospital bracelet
Grammy and Papa Sewing came to visit for the day yesterday
My parent's watched Kaitlynn for us while we came to the hospital and then came up later that afternoon to visit.
Opening her Big Sister gift from Hayden. He just knew she'd love some new nail polish!

My friend, Dana came up to the hospital last night and took these adorable pictures with her new fancy camera.

Almost done!

I am now 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Mr. Hayden. Thank goodness he'll be coming out to join this great big world on Tuesday! There's a part of me that it totally ready to not be pregnant anymore. I can't wait to be able to walk without pain (and waddling!), sleep in my own bed (I've been sleeping propped up on the couch for the past 3 months). I also am looking forward to being able to carry Kaitlynn, have her sit comfortably on my lap, play on the floor, etc.

On the other hand, I'm actually kind of sad to not be pregnant anymore. I absolutely LOVE feeling the baby move and knowing that he's always with me no matter where I am. I love it when he starts going crazy in there and nobody knows it but me. Unless you see my stomach rolling in waves!! Knowing that this will probably be our last baby, I'm trying to take in every moment of these last few days that I have.

I'm not really very nervous at this point about the surgery, but am simply excited to see what he looks like, hold and snuggle him and most importantly to hear that first cry. I also can't wait for Kaitlynn to see him and to watch her as she adjusts to being a big sister. I'm sure we'll have some tough moments but she's going to be great! Our lives are about to change forever and we are just so excited for this new journey. I'm feeling so blessed to have the ability to get pregnant and safely carry these two precious little miracles.

And...Here's the latest picture. Ahhh!!!!

At least we don't have to worry about him being to small and thankfully I don't have to get him out of there myself!!! He is curled up in a little ball in there and my stomach is a completely different shape than it was with Kaitlynn because she was stretched out long with her feet in my ribs. :)

More pictures to come next week as soon as we get all settled in!

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Fun!

My little cupcake "helper"

We had an early birthday party for Kaitlynn this year. I wanted to make sure we get it in just in case Mr. Hayden decided to come early. We have less than 2 weeks to go and he's still hanging out in there! I am glad we have her party done, though. This was the first year that she really got into it and it was so much fun watching her with her friends!

The party table

We made some yummy chocolate and strawberry (of course) cupcakes this year with delicious butter cream frosting

Last time snuggling with my niece, Kinley before Hayden comes out to meet her. Hello..."little" basketball in my belly!

Enjoying some nachos, carrots and cucumbers with the ladies. Notice her new pink lawn chair. This was an early gift so we had enough seats for the girls! (Notice in the next couple of pictures that she's REALLY good at saying "cheese" but NOT at looking at the camera!)

Who's 3??

With her best buddy Averi showing off their snazzy new glasses!

Time for pin the strawberry game

Here are a few videos of the fun evening...


After opening gifts we went outside to see her new sandbox from Grandma and Grandpa! If you are becoming concerned with her head twitching...don't be! This is a wonderful new habit she has begun to get her hair out of her eyes even when it's not really in her eyes! I'd like to just grow her bangs out but she won't keep anything in to keep them out of her face. Hopefully she still won't be doing this when she's 30!

My school had a baby shower for us last week. We were so thankful for that and were able to get all of the rest of the things we needed for our little guy! Plus, LOTS of diapers which I'm sure we'll go through fast! Kaitlynn's babysitter (who used to teach at my school) brought her and the other kiddo's up for the shower. She again had a great time helping me open some of the gifts. I think her favorite part was probably the frosting on the cake!
A few weeks ago my best friends, Lindsey, Dana and Joanne had a "mini-shower" and we met for dinner at Olive Garden. It was so nice to have time to chat and to celebrate Hayden's arrival (coming very soon!) Jo was sick and couldn't join us and we missed her a lot. :(
Kaitlynn was there in the beginning before Daddy could come pick her up and Lindsey even had a big sister gift for her. She LOVED it!
Lindsey had an Iowa themed basket with all kinds of little goodies!

Dana even made me 2 diaper cakes. I LOVED them! I might even hang up the wooden tags with his name spelled out above his curtains. :)

At almost 38 weeks I'm feeling pretty good. I've been having a lot of pelvic pain the last month or so. It was horrible for about a week where I could hardly even stand to walk. Thankfully the past 2 weeks have been better and I've been able to move around with out too much pain. Although, I can definitely tell when I need to take a break and shopping at Walmart is now out of the question. :) We have his room ready and most things in place for him to be here. Kaitlynn's getting ready to have her mommy back who can hold her, go for walks, sit on the floor, etc. Unfortunately, having a c-section I'm not going to be able to do those things as soon as he's born. The date is set for March 29th and even though I'm not quite sure I'm ready (who ever is!) we're all very excited!

Nursery is done!

Here are some pictures of Hayden's finished nursery. This nursery was a compromise from the beginning and I think it turned out really well! Matt has always wanted an Iowa Hawkeye nursery if we had a boy. I had always pictured something with brown/blue, etc. I wasn't against doing football or some IA stuff. Thanks to my mom's help, we finally found some fabric that incorporated other colors along with the golden yellow. I think it has finally all come together and the colors mesh well together...I hope! In the end, we both like it so I guess that's all that matters! Enjoy!
The polka dots are orange, yellow and teal buttons.
I just love the bedding my mom made. She did such a nice job!

Pictures I made by cutting out some of the animals from the bedding fabric. Thank goodness we've had so many snow days this winter!
I added a football and some ribbon to this basket.
I added some black ribbon and glued footballs to the curtains today!
It's hard to believe that we have 4 1/2 weeks or less until our little guys is here. We are getting genuinely excited to meet him and bring him home to join our little family!