Hello blog world... it's been so long since I've visited and I'm so sorry!! Little Miss Raegan decided to surprise us 3 weeks early (not really a surprise as my doc predicted it!), and has kept us on our toes ever since! She's, of course, the cutest little girl on the planet (biased, YES!!), and is really starting to be a peach! I can't believe that she'll be 3 months old tomorrow! Where has the time gone?
So, we got our first family portraits taken last week, and I can only laugh when I think about all of the 'fun' we had in the hour that we were there! Miss Raegan decided that she wanted to be cranky the entire time, so we have screaming pictures, and sleeping pictures... yep, that's about it LOL. Unfortunately they didn't turn out as great as we would have wanted, but now we have something to look back on and laugh at in our future! It's the first year that I'm doing the photo Christmas cards... I'm a bit excited about that :o)
Other than that, the Steppe clan is doing well! Rae is sleeping better, now that Nick and I are getting use to little to no sleep. Ironic really! Shug and Kona are still trying to figure out what this 'thing' is that moves and makes noises all the time. They really don't mind her at all, and will even sneak in a big cheek kiss every now and then.
We're starting to use our cloth diapers more and more now that Raegan isn't 'going' every 15mins. If I can keep up on the laundry, it will be great... that will be the toughest part about it though, for sure! I even made my own laundry soap (thanks Abbey!!), which I think is pretty freakin cool!! This mommy stuff is rediculously hard, but soooo much fun! Stay tuned for the Adventures of Rae :o)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Third Trimester Joys!!
I'm not very good at keeping up on here, but since I've recently discovered that someone (Michelle) actually reads this, I figured I should try to keep up a bit better :o).
We are in our third and final trimester of pregnancy, and I can't believe that very soon, Miss Raegan will be joining the world. I'm finally feeling the affects of the 30lbs I've gained, and am more than ready to have my old body back (or one that atleast resembles it!). We haven't yet set an 'eviction date', as my doctor likes to call it, but we will be discussing this at my next appt. I've chosen to be induced a week early, and since baby girl is measuring small, we may proceed with caution a few weeks early! Many people have their views on inductions, which I respect greatly, however, for myself, the epidural and few less weeks of pregnancy are more than welcomed :o) (Although Raegan's health is my number 1 priority through it all despite any circumstance!)
Everything is nearly ready to go for the big day, with just a few more pictures to be hung and my hospital bag to be packed. I still need to invest in some granny panties and a wide array of maxi pads, as I hear that these will be my best friends for a few weeks following delivery. We're hoping that I can have a vaginal delivery, but aren't overlooking the fact that I'm quite small and may need to have a c-section after all. Unfortunately for me, I'm unable to plan every aspect of these final stages, and I must admit that it's kinda driving me crazy!!! I didn't realize (or atleast not completely) how much of a control nut I am about situations that I'm going to be placed in. My excitement is, in part, jaded with my new found anxieties of the unknowns that I'll be faced with the delivery. Yes, I know that I can't plan everything, but if I could, I think that I could rest a little easier at night (It's 4am as we speak LOL). It will all be ok, and I'll have the greatest man in the world beside me for the entire ride-- so I shouldn't worry!!
JOYS of the third trimester-- hahahaha, kind of a sick joke! Let me start out by saying that I have been more than blessed with an amazing pregnancy! I didn't get morning sickness or the crazy constipation and hemorrhoids that many women are blessed with. I've still been able to function and enjoy life, although these past few weeks have started to really wear on me. For me, this has been the most difficult time due to the insomnia, exhaustion with minimal activity, inability to get comfortable, and irritability for the whining person that has no reason to complain :o). I have had many people tell me how 'tiny' I look, but yet I feel like a moose and continue to grow on a daily basis. I realize that this is part of pregnancy, and I respect this fact, however, don't tell someone that has gained 30lbs in 8 months that she is so little. Although I may only be average sized to the rest of the world, I am gargantuan for me. (sorry, mild vent!) As of 31 weeks, my wedding and engagement rings no longer fit, but I still have ankle bones!! However, there was a night when my inner right ankle bone decided to disappear, but after a long lecture, he returned by morning!! The highlights of being 8ish months pregnancy are being able to get chocolate milkshakes daily and eat whatever, whenever and no one says a thing :o) I only have <6 weeks to enjoy this, however, because Mr. Cellulite is NOT my friend, and I will be sending him home very quickly after Raegan's birth!
We are officially 34 weeks today, so only 5w6d to go (or less). Be sure to check out Raegan's page for picture updates!! http://www.babygirlsteppe.shutterfly.com/
We are in our third and final trimester of pregnancy, and I can't believe that very soon, Miss Raegan will be joining the world. I'm finally feeling the affects of the 30lbs I've gained, and am more than ready to have my old body back (or one that atleast resembles it!). We haven't yet set an 'eviction date', as my doctor likes to call it, but we will be discussing this at my next appt. I've chosen to be induced a week early, and since baby girl is measuring small, we may proceed with caution a few weeks early! Many people have their views on inductions, which I respect greatly, however, for myself, the epidural and few less weeks of pregnancy are more than welcomed :o) (Although Raegan's health is my number 1 priority through it all despite any circumstance!)
Everything is nearly ready to go for the big day, with just a few more pictures to be hung and my hospital bag to be packed. I still need to invest in some granny panties and a wide array of maxi pads, as I hear that these will be my best friends for a few weeks following delivery. We're hoping that I can have a vaginal delivery, but aren't overlooking the fact that I'm quite small and may need to have a c-section after all. Unfortunately for me, I'm unable to plan every aspect of these final stages, and I must admit that it's kinda driving me crazy!!! I didn't realize (or atleast not completely) how much of a control nut I am about situations that I'm going to be placed in. My excitement is, in part, jaded with my new found anxieties of the unknowns that I'll be faced with the delivery. Yes, I know that I can't plan everything, but if I could, I think that I could rest a little easier at night (It's 4am as we speak LOL). It will all be ok, and I'll have the greatest man in the world beside me for the entire ride-- so I shouldn't worry!!
JOYS of the third trimester-- hahahaha, kind of a sick joke! Let me start out by saying that I have been more than blessed with an amazing pregnancy! I didn't get morning sickness or the crazy constipation and hemorrhoids that many women are blessed with. I've still been able to function and enjoy life, although these past few weeks have started to really wear on me. For me, this has been the most difficult time due to the insomnia, exhaustion with minimal activity, inability to get comfortable, and irritability for the whining person that has no reason to complain :o). I have had many people tell me how 'tiny' I look, but yet I feel like a moose and continue to grow on a daily basis. I realize that this is part of pregnancy, and I respect this fact, however, don't tell someone that has gained 30lbs in 8 months that she is so little. Although I may only be average sized to the rest of the world, I am gargantuan for me. (sorry, mild vent!) As of 31 weeks, my wedding and engagement rings no longer fit, but I still have ankle bones!! However, there was a night when my inner right ankle bone decided to disappear, but after a long lecture, he returned by morning!! The highlights of being 8ish months pregnancy are being able to get chocolate milkshakes daily and eat whatever, whenever and no one says a thing :o) I only have <6 weeks to enjoy this, however, because Mr. Cellulite is NOT my friend, and I will be sending him home very quickly after Raegan's birth!
We are officially 34 weeks today, so only 5w6d to go (or less). Be sure to check out Raegan's page for picture updates!! http://www.babygirlsteppe.shutterfly.com/
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
What is a Parent?
As Nick and I start our journey into parenthood, as like with anything, I'm a perfectionist! I want to be the best mom I can be, and support Nick to be the best dad he can be. I've thought about the amazing relationship I have with my mom and how much she's helped me to develop and grow into the woman that I am today. I'm sure that everyone appreciates their parents (atleast to some degree), but my mom is my best friend as well as a parental figure, and I hope that my daughter and I can share that same bond! So as I've thought about this topic, "What is a parent", and questioned others as well, I believe that I'm starting to get a firm grasp on the type of parent that I want to be.
**A parent should not judge their child, but listen and try to understand their views
**A parent should do everything in their power to keep their child from hurting, and certainly never be the one to inflict the wound!
**A parent needs to be able to distinguish when to nurture, when to punish, and when to let your child learn from their own mistakes.
**A parent needs to know when to hang on, and when to let go
**A parent needs to love unconditionally, and always be sure to let their child know that they are proud of their accomplishments.
**A parent should be selfless, always putting their child first!
**A parent should give anything and everything to see their child happy, even if it meant sacrificing their own happiness in return
**A parent should know when to step back in awe of the child they've raised and realize what an amazing job they've done to bring up such a strong and independent person
**A parent is responsible for instilling morals and values, and teaching respect
I plan to raise Raegan in a home where she knows an amazing love, but also has respect for Nick and I, and is aware of what is and isn't expected of her. I want to be her friend, and her mother, and not doubt that she will be able to come to me in times of need. I want to hold her when she cries from her first heartbreak. I want to teach her good morals and values, and to stand up for herself despite what others may say or do. I want her to be independent, a leader instead of a follower. I want her to have big dreams and aspirations, and reach them. I want to be able to let her make mistakes and hopefully learn consequences from them. I want her to be respectful, and to be able to trust-- although not too easily. I want to be able to show her the world, and give her experiences in her younger years that will help to mold her as she grows. And lastly, I will do everything in my power to show her every single day that I am proud of her and that I support her in the decisions she will make in life. I know it won't always be easy, and I don't expect it to. I know there may be days when I'm more disappointed than proud, and more heart broken than happy, but I've learned from others that this is all part of being a parent. Too many times I've seen the type of parent I DON'T want to be.... it's nice to focus on the good every now and then!!
**This is solely my opinion. Any additional advice is welcomed. You can keep your criticism for your own rainy day :o)
**A parent should not judge their child, but listen and try to understand their views
**A parent should do everything in their power to keep their child from hurting, and certainly never be the one to inflict the wound!
**A parent needs to be able to distinguish when to nurture, when to punish, and when to let your child learn from their own mistakes.
**A parent needs to know when to hang on, and when to let go
**A parent needs to love unconditionally, and always be sure to let their child know that they are proud of their accomplishments.
**A parent should be selfless, always putting their child first!
**A parent should give anything and everything to see their child happy, even if it meant sacrificing their own happiness in return
**A parent should know when to step back in awe of the child they've raised and realize what an amazing job they've done to bring up such a strong and independent person
**A parent is responsible for instilling morals and values, and teaching respect
I plan to raise Raegan in a home where she knows an amazing love, but also has respect for Nick and I, and is aware of what is and isn't expected of her. I want to be her friend, and her mother, and not doubt that she will be able to come to me in times of need. I want to hold her when she cries from her first heartbreak. I want to teach her good morals and values, and to stand up for herself despite what others may say or do. I want her to be independent, a leader instead of a follower. I want her to have big dreams and aspirations, and reach them. I want to be able to let her make mistakes and hopefully learn consequences from them. I want her to be respectful, and to be able to trust-- although not too easily. I want to be able to show her the world, and give her experiences in her younger years that will help to mold her as she grows. And lastly, I will do everything in my power to show her every single day that I am proud of her and that I support her in the decisions she will make in life. I know it won't always be easy, and I don't expect it to. I know there may be days when I'm more disappointed than proud, and more heart broken than happy, but I've learned from others that this is all part of being a parent. Too many times I've seen the type of parent I DON'T want to be.... it's nice to focus on the good every now and then!!
**This is solely my opinion. Any additional advice is welcomed. You can keep your criticism for your own rainy day :o)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Baby Girl Steppe!
Let me start out by saying that I feel soooooo blessed with the wonderful pregnancy I've had thus far! I have heard so many horror stories, and can't believe that I made it through my first 20 weeks without much craziness at all!! Sure there was the immediate weight gain (10-15lbs!!!), but I haven't gained a pound since. Then there was the mild, but constant, nausea, but never once did I meet face to face with the porcelain throne! The fatigue, I would say, was the worst of it all, and even that wasn't something a nap a day couldn't fix ;oP So overall, things have been wonderful!!
On April 9th, we had our 2nd trimester screen to look at baby, determine the gender, and make sure all of baby's organs were developing properly. Baby looked great and was moving around everywhere when the tech was trying to get her measurements. We chose to have a 'cake party' that night, so instead of the tech telling us what we were having, we had her write it on a piece of paper for us to give to our cake lady. The cake lady made us a gender neutral cake with the inside being pink, or blue. We had friends over that night, and cut into the cake, and all together we learned what we were having. It was lots of fun!! You can search 'baby steppe' on YouTube.com and watch the video of us cutting the cake! Here are a few pictures of my ever growing belly and of baby Raegan! You can also check out our other website with all of the ultrasound pics and videos at www.babygirlsteppe.shutterfly.com !!
On April 9th, we had our 2nd trimester screen to look at baby, determine the gender, and make sure all of baby's organs were developing properly. Baby looked great and was moving around everywhere when the tech was trying to get her measurements. We chose to have a 'cake party' that night, so instead of the tech telling us what we were having, we had her write it on a piece of paper for us to give to our cake lady. The cake lady made us a gender neutral cake with the inside being pink, or blue. We had friends over that night, and cut into the cake, and all together we learned what we were having. It was lots of fun!! You can search 'baby steppe' on YouTube.com and watch the video of us cutting the cake! Here are a few pictures of my ever growing belly and of baby Raegan! You can also check out our other website with all of the ultrasound pics and videos at www.babygirlsteppe.shutterfly.com !!
At 19 weeks, I'm definitely getting a belly (Not a great pic, but it's for belly anyways)!!
At 20 weeks... she must be hitting a growing spurt, cuz mama sure is!!
Nick and I at the cake party!
Our perfect little girl and her hand on her chest.
Kinda creepy but too sweet if you ask us! Rubbing her eye.
My favorite one! Her smiling with her mouth open :o)
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Baby Steppe!!!
So as most of you probably already know, we're expecting :o) It's been a long time coming, or atleast it's seemed like it to me!! So let me bring everyone up to date on all of the details.... We got our first (of 9 lol) positive pregnancy test on the evening of January 4th. I just felt 'different' so thought I'd take a test since I had a few of the cheap dollar store ones handy. Not expecting anything, when I went to throw the test away, I started shaking, because I KNEW I could see the 2nd line and it wasn't just my imagination playing tricks on me!! I hurried to get ready for work (this was around 5:30p and I have to leave by 6:30p), and ran to CVS to buy another test and a digital. **My thoughts were: the cheap test is probably wrong, and if both say pregnant, I still won't believe it until I read the word "Pregnant" on the digital test. Yes, I'm a bit retarded, but that's why you all love me!** In the CVS bathroom, I quickly started to believe that I could quite possibly, maybe, 'no I'm not just dreaming', I think I'm pregnant! Ahhhhhh!! The excitement and nervousness set in all at the same time--lets just say we didn't want history to repeat itself in this case!! So I bought a small gift bag, a fluffy bow, and pacifiers, and headed to Nick's work to surprise him! First off he was surpised to see me there at all, knowing I had to work. When I held out the bag and told him I had a surprise for him, he had 'clueless' painted across his face. He reached in and pulled out the pacifiers (should've been a dead give away if you ask me), but again, 'clueless'. Dying for him to know, I told him to look in the bottom of the bag (the positive tests). He pulls one out, and looks at 2 pink lines, still unsure what to make of it, and then, out of nowhere, it hits him! His eyes lit up and he said, "REALLY???", and I replied with, "I think so!". And there it was... we were pregnant!
In the following weeks we were quite nervous until we seen the doctor and had an ultrasound. After all, that would be proof that everything was as it should be!! On Feb 1st, we had our first ultrasound-- we got to see our little bean and that beautiful little flicker of a heartbeat for the first time!! Heart rate of 179-- everyone says it's gonna be a girl! The next week we went to see a specialist, and got a 2nd ultrasound (I wasn't upset by this at all!) It's amazing how fast the little one was growing already, and we even got to see baby move! It was crazy! We heard and saw the heartbeat again- 171bpm this time. It was simply amazing! The specialist said everything looked great, we were 9 weeks along by this point!
So here we are today, 15 weeks today! I feel so much better than I did in the first trimester, and we're so excited for our next ultrasound on April 9th to find out what we're having :o) I've been thinking boy, but everyone else thinks girl, so we'll see!! We're having a Gender Cake Party (although Nick thinks it's a bit much) on the evening of our ultrasound. The plan is-- at our ultrasound, the tech will not tell us the gender, but write it on a piece of paper and put it in a sealed envelope. I'll take the envelope to our baker, and she will make either a pink or blue cake (gender dependent of course) and cover the cake completely in icing. We're inviting our friends over that evening, and we will all cut into the cake together, and find out the gender of our little one. It think it will be alot of fun!! We'll record it and post it on YOUTUBE, so you can all watch to see what we're having!
That's all I've got for now, we'll keep you all updated!!!
In the following weeks we were quite nervous until we seen the doctor and had an ultrasound. After all, that would be proof that everything was as it should be!! On Feb 1st, we had our first ultrasound-- we got to see our little bean and that beautiful little flicker of a heartbeat for the first time!! Heart rate of 179-- everyone says it's gonna be a girl! The next week we went to see a specialist, and got a 2nd ultrasound (I wasn't upset by this at all!) It's amazing how fast the little one was growing already, and we even got to see baby move! It was crazy! We heard and saw the heartbeat again- 171bpm this time. It was simply amazing! The specialist said everything looked great, we were 9 weeks along by this point!
So here we are today, 15 weeks today! I feel so much better than I did in the first trimester, and we're so excited for our next ultrasound on April 9th to find out what we're having :o) I've been thinking boy, but everyone else thinks girl, so we'll see!! We're having a Gender Cake Party (although Nick thinks it's a bit much) on the evening of our ultrasound. The plan is-- at our ultrasound, the tech will not tell us the gender, but write it on a piece of paper and put it in a sealed envelope. I'll take the envelope to our baker, and she will make either a pink or blue cake (gender dependent of course) and cover the cake completely in icing. We're inviting our friends over that evening, and we will all cut into the cake together, and find out the gender of our little one. It think it will be alot of fun!! We'll record it and post it on YOUTUBE, so you can all watch to see what we're having!
That's all I've got for now, we'll keep you all updated!!!
I only took a total of 9 tests, just to be sure ;oP
I SWORE I had a belly here! Hahahaha!
You can see the little heart in the very center of baby!
If you use your imagination you can see the large head, looking down, you can see the eye and little nose. There are also little arm and leg nubs forming too!! We were 9 weeks here!
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