Birth Story: Leighton James Noonan

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our little Leighton James was born on May 29th at 10:40PM, weighing 7 pounds 4oz, 19 3/4 inches long.

My due date was June 2nd, but so happy she decided to make her entrance a little earlier. May 29th was Memorial Day and I woke up feeling super crampy, but didn't think much of it. Then around 8:30am, my water broke, but not like in the movies, it broke slowly and not all at once. So I called my doctor and she said since my water broke I would have to go to the hospital. It was baby time! But first, I knew I wanted to eat something filling and I wanted to shower. So I cooked breakfast, took a shower and my husband packed up the car. At this point, I had no contractions at all.

We got to the hospital and I was checked in. My doctor checked and I was only 2cm dilated. I headed up to my delivery room and I was soon started on Pitocin. Then those contractions started! I originally had a birth plan to bring, but then threw it away and decided that this was something I couldn't plan. I knew I wanted to go as long as I could without an epidural. At one point, I couldn't stop running to the bathroom to empty my bladder, little lady was directly on it. So every 5 minutes I would have to get up, take all of the wires with me and it was beginning to be too much. I just couldn't relax my body and I knew this wasn't going to help me dilate. I knew it was time for the epidural. Once I got the epidural, I was completely relaxed and the nurse checked for dilation and I was already 9cm!

Little girl was ready to come out, I pushed for 2 hours & was completely exhausted. Nothing prepares you for labor, especially when it is your first. It is so scary to not know what was happening was supposed to be happening or whatever I was feeling was normal. I had to get oxygen towards the end, which was scary, but I was so determined to get her out. I couldn't have done it without Greg. He was by my side, coached me & made me feel so comfortable the whole time. Finally, Leighton made her debut, and it was such an indescribable flood of emotions. All the exhaustion and pain disappeared and nothing else mattered at that moment, but her.

Thank you to everyone for the well wishes!

May 29, 2017 is a day I'll cherish forever & I am so thankful to be your momma Leighton James!

23 Week Bumpdate

 

 

 

23 weeks, I can hardly believe it! I can’t even begin to describe our excitement that we are more than HALF-WAY to meeting our baby girl! I feel so incredibly grateful that we were giving this little babe & she can't come soon enough. Getting her nursery ready has been so much fun, I could spend hours in there just looking and organizing. I am hoping my OCD will continue once she is here because I love how everything has its place. Seeing Greg get excited has been so fun and I know he will be such an amazing father once she gets here. I wanted to start this week with a little 20 week ‘bumpdate’ to just give a little overview on how its going so far and hopefully answer some of the questions I’ve been getting!

How far along: 23 weeks!

Gender: Baby GIRL

Name: We do have her name, but waiting to share until she is here!

What are we most excited about next: We get to see her on our next ultrasound on Valentine's Day, couldn't think of a better way than to hear her little heartbeat on that day!

Movement: I feel her a lot, mostly at night when I am lounging on the couch or when I am attempting to go to sleep at night. I am thinking she sleeps most of the day & wants to party at night. If I drink anything with lots of sugar (usually OJ) or have dessert, she really MOVES!

Size: According to my app, Baby Noonan is the size of an ear of corn. About 11.4 inches & 1.1 pounds.

How I’m feeling: Amazing, the first trimester was rough with exhaustion & nausea, but the 2nd trimester has been so easy. (knock on wood) I have zero complaints.

Cravings: Chicken caesar salad & Mexican!

Aversions: Nothing at all, which has been nice since the first trimester all I could really eat was carbs.

Weight gain: About 16 pounds so far, I love seeing my growing bump.

Physical changes: In the last few weeks, it feels like my bump has grown rapidly. My belly button is flattening out, but not sure if it will ever pop, since I already have a deep, shallow belly button anyway. (TMI?) I have never had "bacne." I am getting these huge pimples on my upper back that actually hurt. And I break out on my chin. I haven't been swollen, I stretch a lot & still go to Pure Barre 4-5 times a week, so I think that has been helping.

Nursery:  We have the room painted, crib up and the closet installed. The closet has been my favorite so far, I showed a sneak peek of it on my insta story (@jenncnoonan). We originally were going to go with the Elfa series from The Container Store, but it ending up being more than double of what we wanted to spend. I searched for other options and didn't have high hopes on the Home Depot one, since it was so cheap, but I LOVE it! The dresser is on back order until June (when baby is due!), but crossing my fingers it comes in sooner.

Pregnancy items I purchased:

     + This wrap by Solly Baby — I have heard SUCH good things about them!
     + Milk Snob cover — so many cute prints & I love how you can use it for some many things.
     + Copper Pearl has such cute bibs and car seat covers, I got these bibs and this on Amazon.
     + This pacifier holder/teething toy
     + This pillow – I sleep my best on my back, but that is a no no in pregnancy world, so this pillow has prevented me from rolling completely on my back. I was having so much trouble sleeping and getting comfortable, but this has been a lifesaver & doesn't take up the whole bed!
     + This cream – I’ve been using this to prevent and diminish stretch marks. I put it on at least once a day & don't have any stretch marks yet.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or any mama's or mama's-to-be that have any recommendations!

SHOP MY DRESS & PREGNANCY ITEMS:

Surprise!

It has been awhile, but I have a good excuse! We're expecting Baby Noonan in June!

I am well within my 2nd trimester now & couldn't wait to share the exciting news. We're beyond thrilled! The first trimester was a little rough, I just wasn't up for blogging because I was just absolutely exhausted. I am super grateful though because it really wasn't that bad. My 2nd trimester has definitely been better, my energy is back up, I am back at exercising and eating better, so that is definitely helping.

I do plan on continuing to blog, it may not be as often as before, but I am up for it! I definitely plan to do some bump updates, since now I have officially popped, so look for them soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by! xox

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