Christmas 2010

Tristan enjoyed his FIRST Christmas! It was definately a busy one :)

Tis the Season

Tis the season to be JOLLY :)

Its amazing how fast the past couple of weeks have flown by! Trey is still working hard at his new store, and I'm still at home with the baby. Tristan is now over 8 weeks old, and he is changing every day. Tristan now is making cute Coo's and attempting to talk back at me when I'm talking to him. Tristan loves to smile and has discovered how much fun a bumbo seat and boppy can be. Tristan is also attempting to now hold (at times) soft rattles and of course take them straight to his mouth! He goes for his 2 month check up in 2 days and I'm not looking foward to him receiving his round of immunizations :( But, I cant wait to see how much he weighs now, because he LOVES to eat!!!!!

We're still working on getting Tristan on a schedule (especially to sleep at an earlier time). Next week starts the Christmas celebrations ---the "schedule" I've been working on will definately be disrupted - oh joy!

Soon, I will be going back to work and it will be hard to leave Tristan at daycare. But, atleast he will get to meet other babies and "socialize." :)

Meet Tristan

Meet our bundle of joy! Tristan Hayden Fender was born Oct 19 at 4:37 PM, weighing in at 8lb and 7 oz and 21 inches long. It was a long day and emotional day as well, but I finally got to meet my baby boy later that evening :)

On Monday, Oct 18, we had dinner at City Range with my family and Trey's family. We finally got the OK from Labor and delivery to come to the hospital shortly after 9 PM for cervadil placement (help dialate me in preparation for induction the following morning). I started to have more consistant contractions after midnight that were 2-3 minutes a part, and around 0700, we started pitocin for the induction. Once I had the epidural placed, it became smooth sailing until time to push. I tried pushing for over an hour and half and the baby was not descending..come to find out he was "sunny side" up and his head kept getting caught behind my pelvic bone. We then went around for C-section---which is where it became more stressful and emotional for me. Once they had Tristan out (after much pulling and tugging), he wouldnt take his first breath. More back-up NICU team was called to surgery room to help stimulate him to start breathing. They used the blow-by oxygen bag and Tristan began crying and breathing (MUCH RELIEF FROM ME)!!!

I didnt get to meet my new little man until 11 PM that night. He spent 5 hrs in NICU and then went to well baby nursery for a bit as well. Everything checked out OK and Tristan was ready to meet us :) It was the best feeling to finally meet him and get to check him out. He had dark hair which I knew he would!

Its been one week post delivery and we're home doing well. I need to get Tristan on a better schedule eventually due to the fact he sleeps all day and loves to be up at night. Feedings are going well --he loves to eat...sometimes soon after his last feeding!

I'm looking foward to watching him grow and develop and I cant wait to when he starts to have more expressions and able to respond more to toys etc.

Almost made it!!!

TIME....there is no time left!

It's hard to belive that the pregnancy is almost over. In just a few days, Trey and I will have a little baby in our home and under our care. I belive we're ready, but I dont think you can be completely ready for a new baby.

My bags are packed and the baby bags are packed and ready to go in my car...you never know if he is going to come early. The plan is to have my amniocentesis (check lung maturity) on Monday, October 18th at 0800, and then check myself in to the hospital at 5 PM for cervadil that evening. On Tuesday, October 19 - we will start my induction. We went to the doctors office today and baby Fender is weighing around 7lbs and 4 oz :)

Hopefully next time I post a blog we will have actual pictures of our little one - cant wait to meet him!!!

Lake Fun

For Labor day weekend, we also had a fun day at the lake with family. We ate a yummy lunch and enjoyed everyone's company. My parents were there along with my aunt and uncle. Jennie and Matt brought little Campbell with them. Cam now loves attempting to walk when someone is holding both his hands. My cousins were there as well along with their little ones. Sheena, my cousin-inlaw, is also pregnant, so it is nice to have someone else experiencing the same things as me. She is around 25 weeks now, which is not to far behind me - they will get to meet their little boy in December :)

Fender Baby Shower

Trey went with me to his first baby shower on Saturday, September 4th in Lexington. His brother, Tommie, hosted the shower, and we had alot of Fender family come to the baby shower. We both had a great time and we received alot of GREAT things! We received items such as our pack & play, bouncer, high chair, cute clothes, baby swing, baby carrier, etc. Our little baby also received his first ring, and it also came with a necklace for me to wear after he is born. There were also a lot of food items at the baby shower such as hamburger and hotdogs, different dips, potato salad, and many more items. We also had a precious cake that was yummy too!

After the baby shower, a few of us went swimming in the Fender pool. The water felt wonderful, and it also felt great to take some of the weight off and float around :)

A few days before the baby shower, we had our growth ultrasound at our OBGYN office. Baby Fender is still growing well, now weighing 4 lb and 7 oz. This time they checked to make sure baby is starting to "breathe" on his own, which he did perfectly! We also watched him have the hiccups during the ultrasound. Everytime I see him, I become more excited to meet him. Now, that we are getting baby gifts, it feels like the time is getting closer. His nursery is finally starting to fill up - yeah!

First Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower on Sunday - August 22nd in Lexington! My sisters, Jennie and Laura, threw me a wonderful shower. I received tons of gifts --- which now our house is a big mess with baby things everywhere...time to organize...or time for a bigger house!

I had a few of my college friends come to the baby shower, which was awesome! It was great seeing and catching up with family and friends. Two of my favorite teachers from high school even made the trip up to the baby shower...I only wish the baby shower could have lasted longer - time flew by quickly!

We received so much at the shower, I'm very grateful :). Some of the items included - Bath tub with toys, video monitor, blankets, clothes, bottles, pacifiers, Vera bradley diaper bag with goodies, toys, diaper champ, diapers and wipes, baby albulm, any many other items!

The snacks and punch were yummy, and I had a very cute diaper cake. Also, everyone got to play a small game of estimating on the calender of the day they belived I would deliver, and baby's weight ---we will have to wait and see who was correct!!

Thanks again Jennie and Laura!!! Also, thanks to everyone who came - It was great catching up :)

28 weeks

Nausea, vomiting, backaches, headaches, fatigue, etc! Oh, the joy of being pregnant! Sometimes I wonder how women enjoy all of this, and actually look foward to getting pregnant. Its definately getting tougher to sleep at night with my attempts to get more comfortable in bed, and with my frequent bathroom trips - I'm lucky to get 4 hrs or so! Sleep can also be tough when you have someone who becomes very active at night and somtimes has the hiccups.
BUT, I somehow forgot about all my complaints when Trey and I went in for our 28 week OBGYN visit with our growth ultrasound! Its amazing how much our little boy has grown, and it was cute watching him move his hand around his face. We were able to see that his head had hair fuzz growing on it, and our man measured in the 80th percentile on the growth chart. Our little boy is 3 lbs 2 oz in weight, which was a shocker for me! The doctor said that he was definately "holding his own." Afterwards, Trey and I went out to find me a dress for the up-coming baby shower that my sisters are throwing for me in Lexington. All we could talk about after the appointment was our future baby and all of the funny things to look foward to! The sonographer mentioned that he was most likely going to be a long baby due to the measurements of his leg/femur. Hopefully, I will still be able to have the baby the natural way versus C-section, but I will do what I am told. Our non-stress test will be in 2 weeks, and our next growth ultrasound will be in 3 weeks (after that it moves to once a week appointments)!
Hopefully, everthing will continue to run its course and progress well - hopefully with no difficulties along the way. I'm definately looking foward to the next time we get to see him with ultrasound, and October is getting closer by the day :) I think I talked the doctor in to allowing me to go 38 weeks - if everything continues well. We will just have to wait and see!!!!!

OIB 2010

Our summer vacation finally arrived! Trey and I were both very excited to finally take a break from the work life and also from Spartanburg to head down to the beach.
It was definitely what we were looking for! Trey enjoyed his time on the boat all week fishing with the guys, and of course I enjoyed my time laying out on the beach...with my feet in the water :)
This year was Cam's (my nephew) first time at the beach - so of course we were all focused on his reactions to everything! He was absolutely cute when he went out in the water, especially on our last day of vacation. He splashed around like a fish or dolphin...made me laugh! Next year, our baby will be the same age at the beach, so it helped me to get an idea of what to expect next year - I definitely cannot wait!
Overall, it was a great trip for both Trey and I. I enjoyed floating in the water - helps to take some of the baby weight off, but I don't believe the baby enjoyed it as much. He would not move as much when floating in the water and it felt like he would get into a ball when the waves came on! I got to enjoy my sno-cone at Broadway (something I've been looking forward to ALL summer). We had a fun time on vacation with the family, and it was definitely hard to return back to reality. On our way back home from the beach, we had the opportunity to stop in Harleyville, SC to attend the Dantzler/Fender family reunion. The food was awesome, and we didnt get to stay long - but we were there!!!
With our summer vacation now over, it means October is getting closer to our delivery date :)

Little Fender

Trey and I found out in late February that we are expecting our first baby. We are now in the middle of the second trimester and its definately been an experience thus far. Since I'm somewhat of a higher risk pregnacy, we've had extra test completed -ie blood work, extra ultrasounds, etc....only more to come especially in the last trimester!

Trey has been hard-core into reading the daddy books...its cute - but also annoying at times with his comments on what is best for the pregnancy and post birth (even though he is correct, I still try to pretend he is wrong..).

Trey and I like to believe Daisy and Pluto (our two furbabies) know that we're expecting a little one so that they will be prepared for the baby in October :) Its going to be interesting to watch them adjust to the baby when he is here, and I belive Daisy (momma's girl) will have an even tougher time seeing someone else in my arms and lap.....when its not her!!

So far, the pregnancy has had its ups and downs! I feel sick most of the time (yes even after 1st trimester) and the aches that go along with the pregnancy are no fun. But, I do love the little kicks that I feel most of the time, even at 4 in the morning! Trey and I have most of the nursery complete with furniture and bedding ...just now need to fill the nursery up with miscelleanous things!

Well, hopefully with this blog I can keep friends and family updated on our family!