Giving Thanks for our Beautiful Girl

Another week has flown by! We seem to be getting into a routine with Camryn now, which means that it's probably about time for her to change it up on us!

Thanksgiving was extra special this year, with our CC here and healthy - we have so much to be thankful for. Life is good! On Thursday, we did venture out for just a few short hours. We first stopped by Oneill's house (good food!) and then to Kevin's parents for a bit. She slept for most of the outing. I did get to dress her up - in an outfit from Leslie and Dane and in her first headband! :)

I always think of my Dad even more during the holidays - and this was the first Thankgiving since he's been gone that I wasn't mostly sad - still miss him terribly - but it all seems like it's going to be ok now.

A picture of my baby girl and her handsome Daddy:

And with me:

We had more visitors this week, which was great since I'm starting to get a little stir-crazy. We spent almost all of Tuesday with Camryn's Great-Grandma Lo - who I spent a lot of time with as a kiddo, so it was really nice for them to get to know each other. Other visitors included her Granny and Grandpa; Grandma Linda and the Cowboy; Great-Grandpa George; Uncle Brian, Aunt Kay and Bryleigh; the Tagtow family; Johnson; and Bailey and Todd.

Camryn's Firsts This Week:

• First time to sleep the whole night in her pack and play in between meals (I prefer to just snuggle with her - I know, I know!)
• First trip running errands - and she did so good! Slept the whole time and seems to like riding in the car!
• First time to start studying our faces when we hold her and she's alert
• First Thanksgiving (and boy, are we thankful!)
• First headband (see Thanksgiving pictures above)
• First TAMU football game to watch - she tried to cheer them on, but was just so sleepy: (and let's be honest, wasn't much to cheer about anyway!)

• First time to play Rock Band and Guitar Hero (ok, first time to just watch her Daddy and Johnson play)
• First ride in a truck
• First time to start holding her head up on her own (below, a picture of CC with her Grandma Linda and Oneill (the Cowboy)):

• First time to be in her nursery and lay in her crib - she LOVES the mobile (not sure if she can see it too clearly, but she can definitely hear the music)

One of my favorite times to take her picture is after she eats - she's what we call milk-drunk! A few of her pictures like that from this week:

And, the fun picture of the week: Grandma Linda came over on Sunday to hang out with Camryn while I helped Kevin with the floor in the gameroom (which looks amazing - Kevin and Buddy did a great job!). Grandma spent most of the time in the nursery rocking her in the glider (which she seemed to love) and when I went to check on them, this is what I found:

Looks like Tate is not adjusting to the fact that she's not the baby girl in the house anymore... at least Grandma Linda let her stay up there for awhile and be rocked too!

More next week!

Lots of Diapers, Visitors and Naps... a Great 1st Week at Home!

We've now been home for a week with our baby and have adjusted pretty well to our new life! CC (our little nickname for her - we also seem to call her 'Sister' quite often) sleeps a ton and seems to be hungry all of the time -- she's a growing girl! We also had lots of visitors this week, which was great since we can't wait to share her with everyone we love!

This week Camryn had a lot of firsts:

• First car ride (from the hospital to the house last Sunday)
• First pediatrician appointment (When we left the hospital last Sunday, her weight had dropped to 7 pounds 10 oz. At the pediatrician appointment on Wednesday, she had gained back 5 oz)
• First bath (She actually seems to enjoy her baths, even if not obvious by the picture below - which are just sponge baths for now. I keep telling her that Conway girls love their bubble baths, so she just needs to accept it and enjoy!)

• First visitors at home (Both Grandmas, Grandpa and the Cowboy; Great-Granny; Aunt Pattijean and Dennis; Kayleigh, Brian and Bryleigh; Brooke, Katie and Rachna; Allie; Erik and Candace; Johnson; Peltier, Hot Jeff and Tara; Darla; Beeman; Mark, Sue and Aiden; Uncle Rich and Cathy; Blane and Monica)
• First walk in the neighborhood with Otis
• First trip to Billy's Donuts (ok, so she didn't get to eat any of the goodies, but I was glad to get out of the house!)

Kevin and I also had a lot of firsts:

• First time to change dirty diapers w/in 5 minutes of each other (we're trying to learn to let her finish her business before jumping up to change her diaper)
• First time to get pooped on two times in one day (poor Kevin... :))
• First gathering at our house (to watch the Oklahoma/Tech game last night) with a baby in a baby swing!
• First time back in non-maternity clothes for me (ok, so not really a first, but it feels like it after 6+ months of expandable pants and flowy shirts! -- and I can see my toes again!)

The last few nights she's actually slept for four hours at a time, which is awesome, except I wake up panicked that I slept through her crying. After her 5 am feeding we usually just keep her in bed with us (she is a snuggler, that's for sure) and on Saturday morning I just couldn't resist taking a picture of her swaddled up snug as a bug next to her Daddy.

Otis and Tate are adjusting to the new little human in our house. Tate doesn't seem interested in her at all and I can't tell if Otis thinks she's his baby or if he's just trying to alert us that there is something alive in the house. If Camryn is not where O thinks she should be, he goes through the house looking for her. If she moves when he's watching her, then sometimes he'll bark. He can't smell her without giving her kisses (which drives me crazy, but oh well). He likes it the best when she's in her swing, b/c then she's at his level and he can see her better (and get better smells).

And, the fun picture of the week: To her Grandma Linda's delight, she looks to be a fan of yoga at a very early age. Here she is in one of her favorite poses (she also loves to do the child's pose on our bellies -- see picture in post on November 18th)

I can't wait until we can start seeing some of her personality. I have a feeling I have a very feisty girl on my hands -- but as long as she lets me dress her in sparkles occasionally, I'm good with feisty!

More next week!

The First Few Days at Home with Camryn

We have now been home for a little more than 48 hours with our new baby and it has been amazing. Kevin and I are both sleep deprived and exhausted, but I can safely say that I've never felt more content.

A few more pictures of our sweet girl:

Introducing... Camryn Elise Conway!

Camryn Elise Conway was born Friday, November 14, at 7:52 pm. She weighed 8 pounds, .8 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We all made it through 12+ hours of labor like champs... Kevin was an awesome coach and Camryn is beautiful. We were released from the hospital Sunday at 3 pm and have been adjusting to our life with our newborn ever since.



Now, a few details about the events on November 14:

We were admitted to Clear Lake Hospital at 1 am that morning with regular contractions (every 10 minutes, getting stronger). After examination and being hooked up to the monitors, it was determined that I was still pretty far from active labor, but the nurses were a little concerned about the baby's heart rate (it was steady and stable even through contractions - when they prefer to see a little reaction/movement for the heart rate). So, it was decided that they would keep us there and break my water in the morning when the doctor made her rounds.

At 7:30 am, they broke my water and an hour or so after that, started a Pitocin drip. At this point, I was still dilated only 3 centimeters, with contractions between 5 and 7 minutes apart. This was pretty much how our day went until 4 pm, when I was finally dilated 4 centimeters and could have an epidural. It was exhausting...

At 5 pm, the epidural was put in place and instant relief! I was able to sleep a little bit and the dilation started to really happen. Seven minutes before 7 pm I was 7 centimeters and soon after that I started to feel the contractions again and a lot of pressure. Sure enough, within those 30 minutes or so I had reached 10 centimeters and it was time to push! Twenty-two minutes later, our daughter was finally here!

Camryn being weighed/measured:


Camryn and her Daddy right after she was born:


Camryn and her Daddy on Sunday before leaving for home:






Camryn with me before leaving for home:



So thankful! :)

No Baby Yet!

We had our 39 week appointment today and have made some progress in terms of being ready for labor, but no baby yet! Since we will be 40 weeks on Saturday, we will most likely discuss our options (induce, wait, whatever) at our appointment set for next Tuesday morning (that is assuming that we do not go into labor before then). We would prefer to let her come when she's ready, but I am not sure how far past 41 weeks the doctor will let us go.

That is all for now!

The Last Nine Months and Other Bits of Info

Just wanted to create a post documenting the last nine months and other information from our pregnancy in one place --

Week ending March 8 --

• Last Corona Light with salt and lime (my drink of choice!)

Week ending March 15 --

• Positive home pregnancy test (with several more to follow that week, just to make sure!)
• Confirmation appointment with Dr. Petitt

Week ending April 5 --

• Kevin returned from Hong Kong (FINALLY) and we had dinner with our families to share the good news
• Appointment with Dr. Petitt - we saw the heartbeat for the first time - also confirmed SINGLETON only (not twins, thank goodness)

Week ending May 10 --

• 12 week ultrasound - we were able to watch the baby kick, dance and move all over my belly! And I still couldn't feel the baby then, so it was absolutely surreal! Funny story from that day: the baby was asleep when the ultrasound started and the technician asked me to cough so that we could wake it up (she was taking measurements for the screening test) -- so I coughed really hard and the baby did a full body stretch and then started moving all around. So crazy. (Also resulted in me apologizing in my head after every cough for the rest of the pregnancy!)
• From the pictures we had from this ultrasound, Uncle Brian made a prediction on the sex of the baby -- he could not see a "weiner-bone" so it must be a girl! (uhh... weiner-bone??) ** we will remove references to weiner-bones when she is old enough to read this on her own!

Week ending June 14 --

• First time I felt the baby move (18 weeks) -- like butterfly wings/bubbles in the belly

Week ending July 5 --

• Jamie Kervin Cox, one of my oldest friends, college roomate and maid of honor, found out she's having a BOY! (she's due Nov 11 - 4 days before us!)
• 20 week ultrasound - healthy baby and a GIRL! Here is one of the videos from that ultrasound (it's a little freaky, beware)

Week ending August 9 --

• Baby-moon to Beau Rivage in Biloxi
• Kevin could see her make my stomach move (he was able to feel her move before then)

Week ending August 30 --

• 28 week 4D Ultrasound - AMAZING!

Week ending September 6 --

• Bought a new car (had to say goodbye to my Z)
• Caldwell/Oneill family vacation to Port A - my last time to sport a maternity bathing suit in 2008 (thank goodness)!

Week ending September 13 --

• Hurricane Ike, a Category 2 Storm, made landfall near Galveston - damage to the house but everyone was safe. Without power for a little over 24 hours, which was an absolute miracle and blessing -- many in Pearland were without power for well over a week!

Week ending September 27 --

• Baby shower at Mom's house - started to seem a little more real that we were having a baby!

Week ending October 4 --

• My team had a surprise baby shower for us - so sweet!
• Baby furniture delivered and nursery under construction
• Celebrated Kevin's 30th birthday with friends/family at our house after our all day of baby classes! (I think we're growing up... it's a little scary)

Week ending October 11 --

• Baby shower at Aunt Patti's house - so much fun!
• Finished baby classes - very real at this point

Week ending October 18 --

• Couples shower at Brian and Kay's - nice to see everyone - had been too long in between visits for some (Wighty especially!)

Week ending November 1 --

• Last day in the office for awhile :)

Week ending November 15 -- (now updated!)

• Nursery ready for baby and new floors installed downstairs... Kevin's amazing!
• Jamie and Doug had their baby boy, Caleb James Cox, on November 13!
• Camryn Elise Conway was born the next day, nearly 24 hours later exactly, on November 14!

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Some general fun facts:

• 34 pounds = weight gained during the pregnancy
• 45 inches = circumference of the belly at 38 weeks (at the widest part) -- it's even funnier when you consider that I'm only 62 inches tall! I am a human bowling ball!

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Cravings during pregnancy: (or really, things that didn't make me gag)

• Orange juice
• Pickles (in 1st and 2nd trimester especially - drank the jar of pickle juice one time when we did not have an emergency extra jar in the pantry)
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Skim milk
• Fresh fruit and cheese
• Cereal (especially Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms)
• Billy's Donuts Breakfast (sausage/cheese kolaches, donut holes)
• Mexican food

Aversions during pregnancy:

• Anything with bones and/or feathers (CHICKEN especially)
• Shrimp - this one makes me sad - developed an allergy during pregnancy - shellfish gives me HIVES now! :(

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Still Waiting for Baby!

Well, we're 39 weeks and one day -- and still waiting for Baby Conway to join us! At our appointment earlier this week, we had not made much progress... and even though I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and just felt overall 'weird', not sure that we've made any more progress since that appointment. We go back on Tuesday, so we'll see then...

In the meantime, I've thoroughly enjoyed my first week off work. It is the first time in several years that I have had time off without working, studying, or something... although - not sure that this could be called a week of vacation, either. First of all, for the last seven days or so I've had the head/chest cold that has been going around (I had a husky voice for awhile, which was fun). I am finally feeling better - which is awesome, since we could be only days away from her arrival.

Then on Wednesday, the new floor was delivered (to help with the Hurricane Ike remodeling) and Kevin did not waste any time getting started. On Thursday and Friday, we tackled the dining room (I'm using the term 'we' here very loosely - he did ALL of the work - I just stand to provide some resistance and retrieve new boards, measuring tape, pen, etc). And yesterday, we moved to the study. In the past 72 hours, my amazing husband has:

• Put new floor in two rooms - the study and dining room;
• Repainted the dining room under the chair rail (we had previously had it in a matte red - we've now opted for the same red in a satin finish due to little fingers that will soon be gracing our walls when she's mobile); and
• Painted the entire study in a new green color...

He will be starting our master bedroom today and then will move to the game room (I'm going to try really hard not to freak out that my house is in complete disarray -- I know he's working hard to get everything done before the baby is here!). After the floor is installed in those two rooms, we still have the kitchen sheetrock repairs to do.

And, we have pretty much finished the nursery. With the exception of the canvas art that is being painted which we have not received yet (will go on the wall behind the crib) and a beautiful butterfly mobile that hangs from the ceiling (my one Pottery Barn Kids splurge -- I could buy the whole darn catalog!).





Some have asked for a close-up picture of her bedding:



And finally, pictures of her adjoining ladybug bathroom:



So, that's all we've been up to this week. My baby brother turned 24 yesterday, which is cool until I realize that I'm going to be 31 in a few months. Yikes! I knew my friends were getting old... I just didn't think I was too! More next week - maybe Tuesday if we have some news!

38 Weeks and Counting

Today we are 38 weeks... unbelievable! We had our weekly appointment on Thursday - not really any change except that we both continue to put on weight... (which I know is a good thing for her - Kevin tells me to quit obsessing!)

Yesterday was my last day in the office... we had a team lunch and also had a cookie cake and comments from the comment box. It was really sweet and I didn't cry, which is what I was worried about. One of my sweet girls did make me tear up a bit, but we got through it ok! :) I'm going to miss them!!!

Hopefully we'll finish decorating her room soon - when it's done, I'll post new pictures. Kevin's going to prep and paint the rest of her bathroom this weekend (the ladybug stuff came in this week and it is TOO CUTE). We're also having someone paint three canvases for the wall behind her crib with pink/red flowers - not sure when those will be in, but I'm very excited about seeing what we end up with!

So now, the waiting begins. I'm going to spend the next few days making sure that everything is ready - run the last few errands, take a few extra naps - and then patiently (or impatiently, whichever it ends up being) await her arrival!