Such a strong little guy

I swear Sawyer is already trying to crawl, I know that is impossible but during our last few tummy times he gets on his knees and arms and holds himself up for a few seconds. It is just so crazy, I had to video it! I know he is crying in them but I promise I wasn't being a cruel mom and made sure he was okay :)
He has had a bunch of awesome visitors and we just love introducing him to  everyone. Today he got to visit with Melanie and Hollie and had a great time. Thanks everyone for thinking about us, it means so much!

Hollie snuggling with Sawyer

Mel, Sawyer and the little Blair Twins 

My new favorite pic!

Jared posted a couple new pics from his newborn session, my heart melts!

My pregnancy Go-To's

Since I have a couple hours while Sawyer's napping to blog, I have been wanting to post about some of the things that made my pregnancy much more comfortable and actually a pretty enjoyable experience.  They may sound strange to non-pregnant people but for my friends who are expecting you might appreciate it.

This was my gold, went through 6 bottles and NO STRETCH MARKS!!!
I know it has a lot to do with genetics but it is worth a shot!

Target's Boyfriend T's fit my bump perfectly and
are super cheap and comfy. Bonus you can wear them after.

My Pregnancy Wedge pillow was a great help when my bump
got big enough it was uncomfortable to sleep on my side. 

Citrus fruit tasted so good during my pregnancy,
and it helped keep me from getting sick! 

I did Ozark Fitness' Body Pump up until Week 36 and I never had back pain.
I also think it helped with the actually "work" of labor, pushing is the hardest thing
I have ever done. If you just modify your weights it really helps keep you strong!

The Babybump App is great, I was able to track mine and Sawyer's progress, appointments, pics and they post weekly and daily tips.
It was my favorite of all the apps I downloaded

I had my Tervis Tumbler in hand non-stop. It helped keep me
hydrated (no swelling), they never sweet and stay cold/hot all day!

My mom bought me the book "You Being Pregnant" before she even knew
I was pregnant because she knows I love Dr. Oz. It takes a different approach
than other pregnancy books he explains things in ways that just seem to make sense. 

I tend to forget to take my vitamins but then I found these gummy versions.
I actually looked forward to taking them before I went to bed, they are yummy!
Target even has a off-brand version called "Up and Up" and it is around half the price.

Sleeping was really my only struggle during pregnancy so I created a
pillow fort to prop me up. I used anywhere from 4-5 pillows
every night and I am normally a tummy sleeper or a one-pillow gal.

In the beginning, being a work-out-a-holic, I wore a heart rate monitor
every workout (thanks to Anna Whitaker for lending me hers for 5+ months).
It is crazy to see the change in your heart rate when you are expecting and I
am so glad I had it to gauge when I was pushing myself to hard.

I love my heels but they are not always suitable for a pregnant body, Toms
were a great back up and still cute. I even wore them in the hospital as my slippers.

I walked the whole pregnancy on the days I didn't do Body Pump and when
I couldn't do Pump anymore, the treadmill and I were very close friends. I had walking
dates with my preggers friend Melanie and it made our hour-long workouts fly by!

Happy 1 Week Birthday to our Sawyer

Our little man is 1 Week Old today, I can not believe it! It feels like the fastest and longest week ever.  Now that we have him healthy we are getting into a routine and I am slowly healing and feeling better every day too. Today was so great, my mom took the day to help me since it was John's first day back at work. She brought me some Starbucks (with caffeine) and even watched Sawyer as I showed, oh the things I took for granted! We had so much fun, Sawyer was so alert and loved showing off with his gma. Aunt Amie got to come over for lunch with us too. The best part was my mom brought over all the ingredients for my favorite meal to make for John for dinner when he got off, chicken & noodles, carrots and zucchini :)
Here are more Sawyer Pics with the chicken & noodle recipe to follow...

So alert and happy to have a Gma day

Aunt Amie came to play

Best buds

My mom brought over some more pics from the hospital today too

Grandma & Grandpa Nelms

We're so in love!

Aunt Rachel

Our new family

Chicken & Noodles

Ingredients: 

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into chunks

1 egg, beaten

1 cup (or more) bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

16 oz. linguini

1 stick butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp butter softened

Steps:

1. Dip chicken in egg and then the breadcrumbs, coating it.

2. Heat oil in large skillet

3. Saute chicken until golden brown and cooked through

4. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, set aside

5. Discard oil in skillet & wipe out

6. Cook pasta

7. While it cooks, melt a stick of butter in cleaned out skillet. 

8. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute

9. Add chicken, lemon juice, salt & pepper

10. Toss to coat chicken with sauce but don't allow chicken cook further

11. Drain Pasta

12. Toss pasta with the 2 tablespoon butter

13. Spoon chicken & sauce over pasta and serve.

j+k

Sawyer Update: Day 6

Today was a great day for Mr. Sawyer. Started off going to the pediatrician to do a weight check and we are proud to say he is now 8 lbs. 5 oz. The doctor was very pleased with his weight gain and said to continue pumping and bottle feeding him breast milk. We did notice however over the past 36 hours he hadn't had a stool and his abdomen was very hard, so we asked her about him possibly being constipated.  Yep, he sure was. She did some not-so-fun things to him to get things moving and recommended we go home and give him prune juice mixed with water...and wallah, 20 minutes later he was feeling like a new man. There are just so many fun things you learn as a parent. Sawyer also had his first at-home bath tonight, he didn't really like it but he smells super good now.
Here is a video of his first bath at the hospital, I was unable to be there because I was still in recovery but John filmed the whole thing. So glad he was able to capture it.



And of course more photos (I just can't help it!)

Grandpa stopped by last night, little man was showing off!

Not so happy about getting clean

What did you do to me? 

I'm pooped!

I like my crib!

Sawyer is doing great but he had a little bit of a bumpy start at the beginning. We had a small delay being released from the hospital because he had a small case of jaundice and they also were concerned that he might have a heart murmur. The Pediatric cardiologist came to see him and did an echo only to find it was a trivial matter (in his own words). They set us up with a followup appointment in two months to make sure it is nothing. Then we got home and where in for a whole other round of speed bumps. The first night he couldn't seem to get satisfied breastfeeding even though he did great in the hospital. After a night of zero sleep John and I took him up to the Mother & Baby Support Center to see why he wasn't feeding right. When we got there they were very concerned with his weight loss, he was down to 7 lbs. 12 oz almost a full pound less than his birth weight. He was also more jaundice due to lack of food. After 2 nights of syringe feeding my milk, 2 trips to the Mother & Baby Support Center, a visit to his pediatrician and lots of lab work we learned he was very dehydrated and the problem actually is with his tongue. The tendon that connects his tongue underneath is too short to allow him to get efficient food. March 15 we have an appointment with his doctor to have it snipped (sound terrible), the doctor said it actually isn't that uncommon and he should heal fast without much pain. I am also praying that even though this appointment is a few weeks away he will take to breastfeeding again since I have been able to still pump and give him my milk. Prayers welcome as always!
John and I are learning so much and we are doing everything we can to keep our boy strong....pack some meat on his bones. We go back tomorrow to check to see if his weight is better so I will post an update after. In the meantime here are so adorable pics of Mr. Sawyer. And just so everyone knows, yes I will be over-posting baby pics. I just can't help it!

On our way to our first Pediatrician visit

Getting blood drawn, it cracked us up because they put a heat pack
on his heal and it made him pass out and straighten like a board

He never straightens his legs like this!

Daddy lovin' on his son

Sawyer Farris Hamra

Hamlet is officially Sawyer now. And the best part is we didn't have to be induced and after my blog post my water broke that same night. See prayers do work! We have been very busy so I hadn't gotten a chance to post but Friday Feb 17, 2012 at 3:59 pm we welcomed our baby boy into the world. Doc was a little off on the "being small" thing and he came out a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 inches long. It was a long 11 hour labor but worth every second. We are so in love with this little man! Thanks to everyone who has brought us food, gifts, called and visited and for the prayers. We couldn't have done it without the help. I will be posting shortly about some road blocks we've hit but that's gonna have to wait until Sawyer's been fed :) Also lots more pics to come.

Let's get this thing started

Hi World My name is Sawyer

My sweet Sawyer!

Grandma Engel and Sawyer

Grandpa Engel giving him some kisses

Proud Grandpa Hamra

Daddy changing little man

Released from the hospital, first car ride home

Baby Hamra update

Today was very eventful and emotional. Went to my weekly appointment (sans John, he had to work) and unfortunately had another high blood pressure ready. High enough that my doc sent me to Labor & Delivery. They kept me for a few hours and did blood work, urine test, more blood pressure readings and monitored me, contractions and the babies vitals. They released me after a few hours but my blood pressure was still high and they were concerned with protein in my urine so would not release me to return to work today or tomorrow. They ended up calling me a couple hours later and telling me they scheduled me for an induction this upcoming Monday at 7 am. It is not worth having me continue with elevated blood pressure and she feels he is ready to come. She even said that she thinks there is a good chance he will come on his own this weekend. While I am sad we may be induced, I trust my doctor and know she is just doing what is best for him. We would appreciate prayers that everything goes smoothly and that we get to meet a healthy Hamlet hopefully this weekend if not then Monday.
The good news is doc said he is very healthy and they are not concerned with him. I was still 3 cm dilated but he had descended a lot. We are just so excited to meet our little man!

j+k

Baby Hamra: Doctor Update

We had another weekly doctor's appointment yesterday and it was  definitely more eventful.
Little man is measuring 40 weeks already (we will be 38 weeks sunday) with a healthy heart beat of 148. I am 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced (half way) and getting a lot of contractions, enough that she said at this point if they are 5 minutes apart for an hour to skip the phone call and come straight in because she will admit me. She even said she would induce me this weekend if I wanted. I am definitely not interested in getting induced, he will come when he is ready.
I had a pretty rough day yesterday after the appointment and thought about going in but my contractions were only 7-10 minutes apart so I stayed home but I had major cramping. I can definitely feel a difference though with way more pressure and dull pain.
My blood pressure was high for the first time but she wasn't worried thought it had to do with me having a head cold and having trouble breathing. I also lost weight this week. She wasn't concerned and said that is normal at the end because the baby starts taking weight from the mom as it grows.
Who knows, maybe we will get to meet our little guy in the next few days. Megan and I plan to walk tomorrow morning so that should help.

Living Room Spruce Up

Randomly this past Sunday, John and I were sitting watching TV and decided “Hey, let’s update our living room”. It was part nesting…part “We are about to have a new baby and lots of visitors coming over” that sparked our idea but it definitely needed an update. We rearranged the sectional to add room for Hamlet’s swing, moving one of the corner pieces to the opposite wall creating a little reading nook. We also got a new rug, curtains and blinds that match our décor better.  Having a new rug definitely puts my germ-aphobic mind at ease with having a new baby in the house. Who knows what was on that old one…ah! Next up, we plan to update our room. Might be a little while before we get to it but I can’t wait!

before closeup of old blinds and curtains

close-up

new reading nook

Kitchen Experiments: Cake Mix Cookies

WARNING THESE ARE NOT HEALTHY: STOP READING IF YOU ARE ON A DIET (YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO RESIST)

 So I admit it…I do make some non-healthy recipes every once in a while. And this recipe is the antithesis of diet friendly. My mom baked these cookies last week to bring to the hospital for John’s step-dad’s chemo treatments. We took one bite and I swear it was like a scene out of a movie where everything slows down and the song “Dreamweaver” starts playing…but seriously, John and I were shocked at how delicious they were and knew we had to make some ASAP!

I decided to bring them to our friend’s Super Bowl party hoping we would have extras to bring home. They are really good warmed up for a few seconds with ice-cream (and yes I am pregnant if you couldn't tell). Thanks mom for another amazing recipe.

This recipe allows for personalization depending on your taste. My mom used chocolate cake mix and chocolate chips I decided to go with chocolate chips, dark chocolate cake mix and mini Reese’s cups.

Cake Mix Cookies

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 box cake mix, any flavor (I used Dark Chocolate Fudge)

8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup total of any add-ins you like (candy, chocolate chips, nuts or a mixture of any of them) I added one 12 oz bag of semi sweet chips and 1 bag of the Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups

STEPS 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream together the stick of butter and the cream cheese. 

whole stick of butter = amazing-nessss!

 3. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well blended. 

4. Stir in the cake mix a little at a time until it's all blended and then add any add-ins you like.

Is your mouth watering yet?

5. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets

6. Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are brown (watch carefully because every oven is different. Mine took about 12 minutes).

7. Set on a Cooling Rack to cool

j+k