Our first Christmas as a family of three and Alexander is a month old!

Christmas was a very busy and tiring few days for our small family. We spent the time with our families and tried to make sure we were able to see everyone for the holidays. Alexander was able to meet a lot of his family over the course of three days and was lovingly greeted by all of his aunts, uncles and cousins over those days. Here are some pictures of Christmas:

Daddy and Alexander:


Alexander is 1 month old!!!


He's too cute!

5 generations: Dad, Mommom H, Mommom B, Alexander and I


Uncle Sean and Alexander on Christmas Eve


Nonna and Alexander (his great grandmother)


Nan and Alexander (his great great grandmother)


One tired baby wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!


My mother-in-law's dog watching over Alexander as he took a nap during Christmas.

Alexander meets Santa

Andrew and I took Alexander to see Santa last week. I'm sure a two week old baby doesn't really care too much about who Santa is to him, but in a few years I know he will look forward to going to see Santa. Alexander slept the whole time we were in line and while he was getting his picture taken. We also walked around the mall for a little while, but it was very nice to be out of the house in public as a family for the first time. Here is Alexander and Santa:

Alexander meets his family

Alexander is already two weeks old! He has had a very busy two weeks getting to know his family. We had his first doctor's appointment last week and everything looked pretty great according to the doctor. He gained thirteen ounces and is now weighing in at seven pounds and thirteen ounces. He will be back up to his birth weight before we know it. Mommy and Daddy were happy to hear that the doctor had only good news for us at his visit. Next time Daddy will even go to the doctor's with us, which will be nice since Alexander has to get his second Hep B shot.

Here is Alexander meeting some of his family:

Alexander and Poppop

Alexander and Nana

Alexander and Aunt Jaci
Alexander and Uncle Sean
Alexander meeting his cousin Avery, she wasn't thrilled to meet him.
Alexander and Grandma

Alexander and Pappy

Alexander and Uncle Matt...Alexander was kind enough to let Uncle Matt have his birthday to himself.
Alexander and Uncle Geoff
Alexander and his great grandmother Nana. He also met his great grandfather but we didn't get a picture with the two of them yet.
Alexander will be meeting his great grandmother (Nonna), great grandfather (Poppop), great grandmother (Mommom B) and great great grandmother (Mommom H) this coming weekend. We will have those pictures in a blog to come.

Introducing Alexander David Whitworth

Andrew and I are extremely happy to introduce Alexander David Whitworth to our family and friends. Alexander was born on Wednesday November 25 at 4:59 in the evening, weighing in at eight pounds, six ounces and twenty-one inches long. Xander's birth came after a very long night of only getting a half hour of sleep from 11 to 11:30 and then waking up to back labor pains. I was able to walk off most of the pain and finally got another half hour of sleep from 2 in the morning to 2:30. I once again woke up and tried to walk off the pain of the back labor, but then started to have contractions that were six to eight minutes apart. I tried to see if I could labor more at home, and sent Andrew to work.

Andrew had just gotten into West Chester when I called him and said I couldn't handle the pain anymore and was going to call the doctor to see what the next step should be. By the time Andrew arrived back home my contractions and pains had mostly gone away. I had already called the doctor and was instructed to go into the hospital to be check at labor and delivery. We arrived at Grand View Hospital a little after 8 in the morning and was then seen by the doctor around 9. Andrew and I had prepared ourselves to be sent home for false labor. When Dr. DeBrakeleer examined me I was three centimeters dilated and very thin. He then said I could either head home and see what would happen or be admitted and have pitocin started to regulate my contractions. I asked him which he thought was best and he instructed us to stay at the hospital because he was afraid I would have the baby at home.

We then went into a labor room and I was examined twenty minutes later and had already progressed to four centimeters dilated. The pitocin was then started. At Noon I could not handle the pain any longer and asked for pain medication. I was originally going to just start with an IV pain medication and then move to the epidural at a later time. I was re-examined at 12:15 and was seven to eight centimeters dilated. At this time we moved quickly to get my epidural in before it would be too late to receive one. I had received my IV pain medication before the epidural was inserted which did help take the edge off of my shorter contractions. Around 1 in the afternoon my epidural was in place and quickly started to work. At 2:45 the doctor came in and said it was time to start pushing. After two very long hours and pleading with the doctor to get the baby out Alexander was finally born.

Without farther adeu, here is Alexander David Whitworth:

Meeting Mommy for the first time:

Alexander and Daddy:


Ready to head home:

39 weeks

Well another week has come and gone and I am now pass my due date. I know it is only two days pass but I'm more than ready to meet Alexander. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and I really feel like the doctor got my hopes up about meeting Alexander this weekend. It is still early on Sunday morning so maybe I still have hope to meet Alexander today. I really have a feeling we are going to be in the hospital over Thanksgiving.

How far along? 39 weeks and 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: plus 27 pounds
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks? yes
Sleep: I am up a lot during the night and end up sleeping during the day.
Best moment this week: finding out I am 90% effaced and 1 cm dilated.
Movement: He has slowed down, and likes to scare mommy and daddy sometimes.
Food cravings: I'm not too hungry these days and force myself to eat.
Food aversions: none
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: some, the contractions just need to get it together now.
Belly Button in or out? Still in
What I miss: sleeping at night
What I am looking forward to: Meeting Alexander!
Weekly Wisdom: rest now.
Milestones: Hopefully meeting Alexander very very soon!

The nursery is complete...

Well as much as a nursery can be completed without a baby to sleep in there. I finally feel like I can call this project done. All the clothes, sheets, blankets, burp cloths and bibs are washed and put away. The changing table and dresser are organized and ready to go. We have the curtains hung, crib bedding set up, and glider all in place to welcome Alexander home. Andrew painted the letters for the wall over the crib and hung them this weekend! Here are the pictures of Alexander's nursery...











Here is Xander's cradle set up in our room all ready to go:

38 weeks

This past Friday marked my last day of work until the end of March! I was suppose to have a doctor appointment but it was canceled since the doctor was called into emergency surgery, so now I have to wait until Wednesday to see how Alexander and I are doing. Andrew hung the letters for Alexander's name yesterday in the nursery, but we need to take them down and retouch the paint on them. I failed to take a 37 week belly picture and still need to take my 38 week picture today. I'll update my post later with pictures.

How far along? 38 weeks and 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: plus 25 pounds
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks? yes
Sleep: I need more of it these days. I have been taking about an hour nap each day this week though.
Best moment this week: Celebrating my last day of work!
Movement: He's still an active little guy
Food cravings: I love eating
Food aversions: none
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: more contractions I just need them to stay more consistent
Belly Button in or out? I still have an innie
What I miss: being comfortable.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting Alexander!
Weekly Wisdom: nothing new this week
Milestones: I'm full term!

37 weeks

Another week down and only a few more to go! Next week is my last week of work and I am very excited about that. My mother-in-law Jane threw me a baby shower on Saturday and it was a very nice time to spend with our families and friends. Xander received a lot of homemade gifts that were made with love. My mom crocheted Alexander a beautiful blanket and put a blue ribbon through it. Andrew's grandmother knitted a small stroller blanket that is white and blue and also gave us a beautiful hand knitted pair of booties, sweater and hat that Jane's Aunt Julie knitted before she passed. They only discovered this outfit after the death of Jane's Uncle Bill while cleaning out the house, and I feel so loved to have it given to us for Xander. My best friend Lauren cross stitched three bibs for Xander. I almost forgot to mention that Jane bought us a cradle for little Xander to use for the first few months he is home. I have to take pictures of everything and will post them shortly.

How far along? 37 weeks and 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: plus 25 pounds
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks? yes but no new ones!
Sleep: I think I will be adding naps back into my daily routine until Xander decides to arrive.
Best moment this week: We hung the curtains in the nursery this weekend, the letters for Alexander's name have the first coat of paint on them and we are almost finished with the nursery!
Movement: yes more hits than kicks these days.
Food cravings: I love eating
Food aversions: none
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: more contractions and hoping to find out on Friday that I am making progress.
Belly Button in or out? still in for the most part
What I miss: being able to walk or do daily activities without worrying about falling or losing my balance.
What I am looking forward to: My last day of work is on Friday! And I will only be working 30 hours next week compared to my normal 45 hours.
Weekly Wisdom: Ask for pain meds during labor when you can't take the pain any longer, if not you may slow down the progress of the labor and delivery.
Milestones: Getting closer to my due date!

Here are the bibs that Lauren cross stitched for Xander:




Here is the hat, sweater and booties Great Aunt Julie knitted:


Here is the blanket my mom made for Xander:


Here is the stroller blanket Andrew's grandmother made for Xander:


Here is the cradle Andrew's parents bought us for Xander:

36 weeks

I am now visiting the OB every week for check ups, which means we are one step closer to meeting Alexander! We bought our glider for the nursery after our OB visit on Thursday and have it set up in the nursery. I am still working on the letters to spell out Alexander to put on the wall with the crib. Once I have them done and hung up I will consider the nursery complete, well that is until Alexander is home to use it.


How far along? 36 weeks and 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: plus 23 pounds
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks? yes, and they are itchy now too!
Sleep: I am tired all the time again. But I am getting sleep in between the frequent trips to the bathroom.
Best moment this week: Having the glider in the nursery makes it one step closer to being ready for Alexander's arrival.
Movement: yes, still trying to count them to make sure everything is fine.
Food cravings: I love eating
Food aversions: none
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: some contractions, I'm starting to thin out but no dilation.
Belly Button in or out? still in for the most part
What I miss: having a sense of balance...and walking without waddling.
What I am looking forward to: My next OB visit to see if I am getting closer to meeting Xander.
Weekly Wisdom: To try and take it easy.
Milestones: Just hitting the weekly visits to the OB. Xander is in the head down position and ready to go once he decides it is time!

Baby Shower October 10, 2009

Well I have finally uploaded my pictures from my baby shower. I don't have all the pictures yet since I still have to get them off of my mom's camera. But here are a few pictures from the shower.

Cookies my sister had made for the baby shower, not only were they cute they tasted great!

The diaper cake my mom and sister made for me:






Some of the decorations:


The yummy cake:


My family and Friends who shared in my shower with me: