Thursday, June 27, 2013

baby model

so i think i might have the cutest baby this side of the mississippi.
i told myself i would totally know if my child was ugly.
but the truth is, i think every weird face she makes is the cutest thing i've ever seen.
but just to prove to you that she really is adorable
we had a photo shoot with moments and memories photography in independence
she captured brette at just a week old.
 
here are the instructions to view all her pictures:
 
(feel free to mute the music)
click on the link photo cart
click on the portraits box
our shoot is called 6-20 Brooke
when you click on our box it will ask you for a password.
type in cox
a big picture of brette will come up and underneath it will say:
click here to enter
click on that link and you should be able to view all her pictures.
 
i am IN. LOVE. with them.
do you have a favorite?
let me know.
 
 
here is the picture off facebook.
(this must be the photographer's favorite but i don't even think it looks like brette.)
 
 
ps- do you love her chevron headband she is wearing with the blue skirt?
my friend made it for her!  she makes the cutest headbands for girls of all ages.
 visit her page, the pleated polka dot, on etsy to view more.
 




Wednesday, June 26, 2013

monthly updates

ready to take a little trip down memory lane?
when we found out we were pregnant we took a few pictures.
it just so happens that the shirt i was wearing was one that i normally wear with leggings
so i was able to fit into it all throughout my pregnancy.

(the start of my pregnancy photos outfit - - 6 weeks pregnant)
 

(17 weeks)


(22 weeks)
 

(27 weeks)
 

(32 weeks)
 
and i meant to take one before we left for the hospital,
but i forgot.
so this is the last tummy pic i have:
 

 
it was taken a few days before i had her.
and since i'm always dieting and trying to figure out how to be naturally skinny,
i was worried that my body would never go back to normal again.
but here i am, two weeks later.
it's crazy how fast your body changes.

(don't mind my mirror - i'm cleaning on friday)
 
i weighed myself this morning,
and i've lost all but seven pounds.
BUT - my goal is more like 17 pounds.
 
 
but i know you are really interested in seeing more of brette
she is two weeks old today.

(she's not a fan of tummy time - but once i tried it on the boppy it went much better.)
 
(our little one got a little hot at madeline's
third birthday party and we had to leave early.
a couple ounces of fluid and a cold compress later, she was just fine.)

(we needed a little rest and relaxation on the deck.
she loves watching the leaves.)
 
happy two weeks, baby girl!
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

hospital thank you's

part of my extreme planning for this baby
was to make thank you's for everyone that visited in the hospital.
i thought it would be nice little gesture just to show
how much ronnie appreciated all the love
AND
it would get me out of sending a million thank you cards
once i got home.
 
 
plus it's super cute.
you need peanut m&m's
tags
and string
 
i also bought the "it's a girl" stamp,
but you could buy tags that are already decorative.

 
i stamped all my tags.

 
wrote our "peanut" themed thank you on the back.

 
and attached them to the m&m's

 
the key is to actually remember to give them out
when people come to visit.
i remembered for some and forgot to give them to others.
so if you're reading this and you didn't get your m&m's
i'm sorry and thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come to see our little girl.
 
 

Monday, June 24, 2013

how we became a three

i wanted to write this out before i forgot some of the details
and i wanted to share it for my friends out there that keep telling me
that they can trust me to tell them the truth about having a baby.

here it is.
my truth.

pregnancy was a 100 times worse than the labor or birth.
i think god threw me bone and realized that with the horrible time
i'd been having he should at least give me a break while having her.
and so he did.

i was scheduled to be induced on the 12th. 
my due date was the 10th and my doctor didn't want me to go any later than that.
(i don't know why, that's just what she said)
in fact, she offered to induce me on the 5th but i told her i wanted to give
brette another week to come on her own.
that is why i was riding harley's, mowing the yard and ronnie and i even went mudding in the jeep.
but in the end, none of it worked and i had to be induced.
we checked in on tuesday night at 8:00.
ronnie, his mom and i had just had a big dinner at olive garden.
i wanted to make sure and fill up before i went in because
i knew it would be the last thing i could eat until she came.
we walked in the hospital with another couple also scheduled to be induced that night.
she and i are were so scared.
she was crying.
i can only describe it as crazy fear.
fear of the pain.
fear of not knowing what's going to happen.

i felt better once i got in the room.
here's a picture of me from that night.

this is also the very last picture of me pregnant.


the plan was for me to take a pill called cervidil that night
and be induced at 9:00am the next morning.
basically the cervidil softens your cervix and gets you ready for labor.
they give you a forth of a pill every four hours.
it shouldn't put you into labor but just give you some mild cramping.

the first dose, i was fine.
a little uncomfortable but nothing crazy.
the second dose, i was pretty uncomfortable.
it reminded me of a night at had at home when i thought i was going into labor.
but the third dose, it was five in the morning, i was in definite pain.
i called the nurse into my room at seven because i was nervous.
i told her that if this wasn't labor i was really scared because the pain i was in was pretty bad and i didn't know how i was going to make it through something so much worse than this.
i think she thought i was a wimp.
she told me that birth was painful and that we could try a heating pad.
i asked her if i was in labor and having contractions
but she said she couldn't tell because of the way i was laying. 
she said that if my pain was really that bad then i could have a pain killer in my IV.
i said yes to that.
whatever she gave me didn't really get rid of the pain,
but it made me so tired. 
i felt like i could sleep for five years.
come to find out i was in labor and having contractions
even though the medicine wasn't supposed to do that.
and i didn't have to have any potosin - which i was afraid of.
i heard it makes things pretty intense and painful.
wahoo!
thank god, i'm not THAT wimpy,
i was in true pain and not just having mild cramping.
about 15 minutes later (around 9:00am) my doctor showed up to check on me.
i was dilated to a two and she decided to break my water.
after that the contractions got more intense and so my nurse ordered my epidural.
within the hour the anesthesiologist was there.
i wasn't afraid of the epidural and honestly it wasn't that bad.
it feels exactly what you would think it would feel like.
a shot in your spine.
after that, i felt nothing.
it was amazing.
my nurse checked me at 11:30 and i was at a four.
at that time she told me she was going to give me a tiny bit of potosin.
i wasn't scared this time because i wasn't feeling the pain
and she thought this would help speed up the process.
i called her back into my room at 1:00
and told her that even though i wasn't in pain
i could feel pressure and i felt like i wanted to push.
i think i surprised everyone when she checked me again and was at a nine.
five centimeters in an hour and a half!
she had me labor for another 30 minutes.
that was the worst part.
i felt like i was going against nature.
all i wanted to do was push
and she kept telling me to not push so i was breathing through every contraction
just waiting for the green light.
come to find out my doctor was in surgery and we were waiting on another doctor to come deliver.
finally, my nurse went ahead and got me ready. 
i did two to three pushes and she called for a doctor immediately.
apparently brette was ready to make her entrance.
a random doctor showed up in the 11th hour.
 i did three or four more pushes and baby brette was here.
 
 
wah la!
a perfect little baby was born.
 
 
so yeah,
when people say "it isn't that bad"
it's the truth.
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

if you build it, they will come

there are so many people that were excited to meet brette
so ronnie and i have been getting to see all our family and friends
over the last week.
here's a little photo montage of our visitors,
minus a few that i forgot to snap a photo of.
(sorry, angie, randy, hollie, loren, dana and jessica)
















 
these are all in backwards order,
but i just wanted to give a little shout out to all my family and friends
that have been checking on me, sending messages and coming to visit.
 
we feel loved.
 
 
ps - our little girl is one week old today and getting more precious by the moment.
 
 
 

Monday, June 17, 2013

hospital pics

i know all i'm doing right now is sharing pictures,
but that's the best part, yes?
 
my cousin kelly is amazing with a camera so i asked her
to bring it to the hospital and she captured these for me.
my daughter is so freaking adorable.
 



 

 
and then, the hospital offered to take photos as well.
here's the link:
 
and here's the password:
689501424454833

Sunday, June 16, 2013

she's here!

brette annaleigh cox
made her way into the world
on wednesday, june 12, 2012
at 2:28pm
weighing in at 7lbs
and measuring 19 3/4 inches long.
 
there is so much to tell and say
but for now i'll leave you with some photos
and lots of stories for another day.


baby girl's first photo


getting checked by the doctor
 
back in the arms of mamma - skin to skin

 
 
her face is so puffy
 

so in love

passed out
 
daddy and brette taking a nap
 

so sleepy
 
hospital style

ronnie took over my hospital bed and took a nap

hearing check - she passed
 
ronnie is showing off how much she looks like him.
especially in his cubs hat.
 
family photo - leaving the hospital
 
 
such a peanut in her carseat.

going home!
 
meeting our other babies.
they were very interested.
 
wrapped up in the basinet.

our summer look - first day home.
 
 
right now i'm spending all my time
figuring out nursing, holding my baby girl and changing diapers.
every once in awhile i get to sleep too.
 
 
so after trying and trying to go into labor,
i'm so completely happy that she is home with ronnie and i.