Saturday, October 23, 2010

Life of the Rutledges: October

Drake had his 1 month checkup this week.  He has gained almost 2 pounds and has grown 1 1/2 inches.  He now weighs 8 lbs 9 oz and is 21 inches long.  Our baby boy is growing so fast!  Dr. Keever said that everything looks great and that he'll see him next month for his first set of shots :(  That will be one appointment that daddy gets to take him too by himself.    

Aaron had to come from work to Drake's Dr. appointment and while we were waiting on Dr. Keever we took the opportunity to make a 1 month checkup family picture. 

   
The holidays are coming up quickly!  I love the holidays and having baby Drake here will make them that much more exciting.  Grammie will get to be here for Drake's 1st Halloween.  He is dressing up as a hot dog and then Aaron and I will be ketchup and mustard.  I tried really hard to get Bailey and Peyton to be ketchup and mustard but Bailey said that she didn't even like mustard :)    Mom gets in next Friday and we have alot of photo shoots to do (Drakes 1 month, Family fall pictures, Family Christmas pictures, Drake's Halloween pictures, Drake's Christmas pictures, and Drake with his cousins)!  Aaron and I are also going on our first date night since Drake was born.  We aren't going very far but we are going to dinner and then to see "Life as we know it."  That is if I can get myself to leave my son.  It's alot easier said than done.  

When Aaron called and asked my parents permission to marry me my mom told him that there was one stipulation... every other Christmas we had to go to Idaho.  Last year we were in Idaho so this year was mom and dad's year to come to Arkansas BUT since baby Drake is here now mom and dad offered to fly us to Idaho for Christmas so we can show him off to my family.  I am so excited!  My brother CJ gets to meet Drake for the first time, I cant wait to see my family, and we get to show off our pretty little boy.  Aaron and I have just about finished our Christmas shopping and the Christmas count down is ON. 


Sunday, October 17, 2010

! Drake turns 1 month old and Jamie comes to town !

Drake had his 1 month birthday on Saturday the 16th!


It's hard to believe that it's already been a month since our pretty little baby was born.  Drake is growing and becoming so much fun.  According to the Wii Fit... he's gained a little over a pound.  We go to the Dr on the 19th for his 1 month check-up so we'll see for sure how much he is growing.  He is sleeping pretty well through the night.  We have started a night time routine and it's going pretty well.  Between 8pm and 9pm we give him a bath and then its diaper, lotion, and jammie time.  He typically stays awake about 30 minutes after bath time and sleeps until at least 11pm and sometimes 1am.  His next feedings are 3-4am and then again about 6am.  By his 8-9am feeding we're up for the day.  Aaron went back to work last weekend so it's just Drake and I during the day.  His daddy misses him so much when he's gone though.  



 
Drake had alot of firsts on his 1 month birthday.  He got to meet my best friend Jamie for the 1st time, he went to his first craft fair, and to his first haunted house.  Drake is alot like his mommy and loved Miss Jamie. 




She brought him a very cute but HUGE 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs sleeper.  His daddy was very excited since that is his favorite team!  Jamie was in love with our baby and has decided that she wants another SOON!  Our child loves his car seat and anytime he is in it, he sleeps!  He slept all the way through the craft fair, dinner, the haunted house, and yum-yo's!  I read alot of posts on thebump.com message boards and ALOT of the ladies on their buy their kids onsies for each month they turn.  Instead of buying the onsie... I made my own.  I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  I bought a plain white onsie and used fabric paint and a template that I made on Microsoft Word.
Jamie came down from Kansas City and spent the day with us on Saturday.  We had alot of fun... Jamie had never been to a craft fair or to a haunted house either.  The craft fair was rather warm and of course there were people EVERYWHERE!  We hit up a couple of tents, ate lunch, and then did some sampling.    We don't get to see Jamie very much so when we can we definitely take advantage of it.  We get as much in as we can and still have time to just relax and catch up.  After the craft fair we waited for Aaron to get home so he could take us to Olive Garden for dinner and then to Yum-Yo's for desert.  Jamie's husband, Justin and son, Jaxon didn't get to come down with her :(  They were having daddy-son bonding time and went to Aunt Kaitlyn birthday party.  Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!  Sunday morning when we woke up, we went to Gravette and Jamie got a tattoo!  It looks really good and she really likes it.  Before Jamie left KC, Justin's only request was that she not get any tattoos... when she told him that she got another, he didn't believer her!  Guess he'll see it when she gets home :)





Sunday, October 10, 2010

Momma needs a new pair of jeans!

The diet has started!

I am bound and determined to lose this baby weight plus 17.  I have lost 14 pounds since I had Drake 3 weeks ago.  But almost 7 of that was baby! 

Aaron and I have both decided a "lifestyle" change is needed.  We are both counting calories and trying to get some sort of exercise 5 days a week.  Since I haven't been to the Dr to get cleared for normal activity... I'm pretty limited to walking, shopping, and playing wii. 

I'm 1/2 way through my first week and have made a little bit of progress (1.1 pounds).  My goal is 2 pounds a week. 

When I make my goal weight...I told Aaron I'm buying myself new and expensive jeans.  I have to work at this and I really wanna be skinny again.  And since I wouldn't normally buy myself expensive jeans, I figured they would make a nice reward.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Life with our new baby

Life with a baby is not what I expected...its so much more!

Drake is an amazing baby!  Aaron and I love him more and more everyday.  We can just sit and stare at him with HUGE smiles on our face.  He makes our lives complete.  It's just the three of us and we love our little family.   



Drake is 2 1/2 weeks old today and time is flying by!
When people say that kids grow up too fast and that time flies by... they aren't kidding! 

Aaron and I are definetely learning as we go.  Having a new baby is tough stuff... although I think we are doing pretty well.  We've learned not to let to much cool air get to him during diaper changes or you WILL get pee'd on.  We've also learned that it helps to actually pack diapers in the diaper bag when you go out... we only had one mishap where I forgot them.  And in my defense the reason they weren't in there was because we were waiting to see how big he was going to be before I packed them... and I forgot to get some before we left the house.  Thank goodness the DR's office had extras.   

Lucky for us, Aaron was able to take the first three weeks after Drake was born off.  He has been at home with us everyday and does as much for Drake as I do.  He is a great daddy!  He goes back to work this coming Saturday and Drake and I will miss him being here all day.  My sleep schedule may miss him too!  Right now Aaron does half of the night feedings and I do the other half.  It works out really well for us BUT that is all about to change.  Mommy gets to do all of the feedings when daddy goes back to work...wish me luck.  I really <3 my sleep!  But we all know our little baby Drake is worth it.  Drake has pretty much set his own schedule and it doesn't change TOO much from day to day. 

He is growing so fast though... he is leaking out of his newborn diapers so I think its time to go up a size.  Even though he is still too small to fit into most of his newborn clothes still.  He is now drinking 3-4 ounces of formula at night instead of the 2 ounces he drinks during the day.  He does really well with different pepole and going out and about with mommy and daddy.  He's already been out to eat, to his aunt and uncles house, and shopping.  His next big outing will be to silver dollar city with his cousins Bailey, Peyton, Micayla, & Dillon... he may not be able to ride rides yet but we'll still have fun. 

Things that have changed since Drake came home:
  • I sleep alot less (duh)...who knew that I could run on such little sleep when I'm used to going to bed at 8pm and sleeping until 7am
  • I sleep alot lighter... I wake up to EVERY little sound that he makes and I check on him 100x's a night
  • My house is picked up, and my laundry and dishes are done... it's alot easier to keep up on when you don't have to work all day
  • I don't smell poop and want to puke anymore... that's the last thing on my mind when I'm trying to not get pee'd on
  • It takes me over an hour to get ready to go anywhere... I used to get ready for work and out the door in less than 30 minutes.  Not anymore!



 






Sunday, October 3, 2010

It's a Boy

DRAKE AUSTIN RUTLEDGE


I was scheduled to be induced on September 17, 2010 @ 5:00am.  A week before my EDD (estimated due date) so that my parents would be able to come for Drake's birth.  My parents were flying in to XNA on the 16th at 10:04pm.  Aaron and I were supposed to drop my car off at the airport for them after our last "night out" before baby.  Well... that didn't happen!

The morning of the 16th I woke up at 5:51am to go to the bathroom.  This wasn't anything out of the ordinary... The night time bathroom visits were quite frequent.  When I got back into bed, I felt my first contraction of the day.  Being so close to my due date every twinge, cramp, or pain I felt I thought "could this be it."  As I laid in bed the contractions kept coming.  I started timing them as I fell in and out of sleep. 

By the time my alarm went off for work, the contractions were just about 8 minutes apart.  I got ready for work and headed toward the office.  On the way into the office I downloaded a contraction timer on my iPhone (oh what would I do without my phone).  The app kept track of all of my contractions and told the 20 minute and hourly average.  By the time I got to work the contractions were about 6 minutes apart. 

The contractions continued at 6 minutes apart for hours!  I went ahead and continued working until 12:30pm.  The contractions weren't getting any more painful but they were definitely uncomfortable and I had to stop what I was doing during them. This did not make for a fun day at work.  I was becoming very irritable with the people on the phone and the people that were coming into the office.  I told Lynda that I was going home... and off I went.  Maternity leave was starting 4 hours early for me.

I went home and laid down in bed for a little while Aaron finished up cleaning the house and getting things ready for my parents to get in.  The contractions were getting closer together and then farther apart.  I tried taking a nap, but that was not happening.  At about 1:30pm I decided that I would try taking a bath to soothe the contractions.  The hot water helped alot.  The contractions were almost unnoticeable when I was in the bath but unfortunately the bath only lasted about 15 minutes before I was dying from the heat.  So.. I got out of the bath and went and laid in bed again.  The contractions weren't 6 minutes apart anymore... they were 3 minutes apart and lasting almost a full minute. 

I called my mom and told her that they might not make it in time if these darn contractions kept coming like they were.  I didn't really think that I was in labor but I knew that it was coming soon.  I couldn't remember if we were supposed to go to the hospital at 3 to 5 minutes apart or 2 to 3 minutes apart.  I didn't want to go in just to be sent home for false labor... especially since we were being induced the next morning. 

Mom apparently called Aunt Jessica and I got a phone call soon there after telling me to GO TO THE HOSPITAL.  Aaron and I talked about it and decided yea, we probably needed to go to the hospital.  We didn't need to be having a baby at home!  Aaron had to go get dip from macadoodles so we made the 15 minute trip to Missouri.  The drive was HORRIBLE.  On top of the contractions, I felt every bump and turn in the road. 

After we got back from macadoodles I took another bath (I couldn't go to the hospital with hairy legs) and got all ready.  Aaron finished packing our bags and we loaded everything into the car.  The ride to the hospital was worse than the ride to Missouri.  Traffic on hwy 102 was of course horrendous and people were driving as slow as they possibly could. 

We got to the hospital at about 5:15pm... I had Aaron drop me off at the emergency room entrance so I could check in while he parked the car.  The lady at the window was really nice but she knew that I was in some pain!  She politely asked me to not have my baby yet.  She did the paperwork in record time and the next thing we knew the nurse was there wheel me up to labor and delivery. 

We were taken to room 1244.  The nurse told me to change into my gown and my nurse would be in shortly.  Our nurse, Cathy came in and checked me and we were definitely not going home... We were having a baby!  I was 5 cm dilated...a flood of emotion fell over both of us as the nurse hooked me up to the fetal monitor and the blood pressure cuff.  The IV was horrible... they tried on my right hand without success.  My nurse had to go get another nurse to try on my left hand.  Apparently I didn't come with my "good veins" or so I was told.   



When the nurse left to get paperwork started and call Dr. Ford, Aaron and I started calling our families.  We called my parents first in hopes that we would catch them before they boarded their plane.  BUT we missed them!  I called Aunt Jessica as Aaron was calling his mom.  

Uncle Dusty, Aunt Jessica, and the girls were there within minutes!  They didn't waste any time!  Faith and Micayla weren't far behind them.  The contractions were still coming and were getting stronger but were bearable.  I knew that I wanted an epidural but didn't think that I was far enough along for it.  We just hung out, talking, and watching 27 dresses.  The girls were extra lovey and were patiently awaiting the arrival of their new cousin.  I wasn't allowed any food or anything to drink... but I was allowed these WONDERFUL cherry popsicles!  Before too long the contractions were getting crazy bad and my whole body was shaking.  Everyone left and went to eat dinner.    

Aaron and I waited for everyone else to get there.  I had about 3 more contractions before the anesthesiologist came in.  They were ready to go and started setting up.  For those who know me, I am not a fan of needles (strange coming from someone with so many tattoos I know).    Apparently I handled my contractions well because I didn't move or shake during them.  Everything looked great EXCEPT all my labor was in my back and she couldn't get the needle in because of the pressure.  After about 15 minutes or so it was IN and I was in heaven.  It was way worth the HUGE needle in my back.  

The nurse that we had when we came in was going home and we got a new nurse.  Priscilla would now be with us until the 6:30am.  She was great!  She was very friendly and made sure that she did any and everything to make me comfortable.  After the epi was in and she checked vitals... she checked me and I was 7 cm dilated.  Aaron called and told Jessica how things were going.  She didn't even finish her food... she headed back to the hospital.  She wasn't about to miss any of the excitement. 

The next couple of hours flew by but were pretty much a blur.  People were coming and going like it was cool.  I did surprisingly better than I thought I would with everyone in my room since I swore that I wouldn't want anyone but Aaron in there.  And without that magical drug I wouldn't have.  Poor Dillon came straight from football practice and his dad didn't even let him go home to change.  He had to stay in his football pads and cleats all night.  The kids were getting restless and hungry.  Peyton and Dillon played Yahtzee in the hallway and Micayla and Bailey made drawings for Drake.  Aaron's parents and grandmas were there too!  

Uncle Dusty and Mark went and picked my parents up at the airport.  They landed a few minutes early and were in a hurry to get to the hospital.  While we were waiting on them to get there, Priscilla checked me again.  I was 9 cm and my water FINALLY broke.  Mom and dad got to the hospital just in the nik of time.  They were in the room with us for MAYBE 15 minutes before I had Priscilla check me again because I was feeling a great deal of pressure.  I was fully dilated but baby was still up pretty high. 

Aaron and I decided to keep everyone out of the room so that I could rest for a few minutes before all of the action started.  It seemed that as soon as she left the room I had Aaron quickly go get her.  I felt sooo much pressure and the urge to push was intense.  We pushed several times and he was starting to move down.  She had to leave to call Dr. Ford and when she came back we started pushing again.  Within just a few minutes she told me that if I wanted my Dr. to deliver him I had to stop pushing.  That was NOT happening... I couldn't stop.  He didn't want to wait for the doctor either.  Drake was born at 11:34pm and Dr. Ford walked in a few minutes later.   He weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.   


Aaron and I were instantly in love!  Aaron stayed with Drake while the Dr. finished things up with me.  Our families were patiently waiting in the waiting room and in the hallway outside of our room.  While the nurses and Dr. finished what they needed to, Aaron and I spent our first minutes with our baby!  Once everything was situated in our room and all of the nurse's left we let everyone back in.  

Aaron and I weren't the only ones in love with our precious baby boy.  Everyone wanted to hold him and he was passed around for everyone to see.  

I'm sure there are WAY more details that I am forgetting but there were so many things going on and so much emotion that I have forgotten alot.     

Saturday, October 2, 2010

"pregnant"

The morning of January 20, 2010 our lives changed forever. 

We found out that we were pregnant!  It was a long road for us and we were almost at the point of talking to a fertility doctor.  Actually we had an appointment for the following week.  That morning I took the pregnancy test as soon as I woke up, not expecting it to be positive.  When it was I ran into the bedroom, throwing the test in Aaron's face while he was still sleeping.  I was yelling "Aaron look at this" over and over.  At first he thought I was showing him a pen.  And for anyone that knows my husband, you know that he sleeps HARD so him thinking that doesn't surprise me.  Waking him up is a chore in itself.  After finally getting him up and making him realize that hello, it says "pregnant" I danced around the bedroom and bathroom before getting ready for work.  I was so excited I wanted to go to walmart and get 6 more tests just to make sure it still said "pregnant."  Aaron told me no though. 

As excited as we were that the test was positive, we wanted to make sure that it was positive before we told ANYONE.  I went ahead and went to work and Aaron stayed home (it was his day off).  Aaron called wellquest and made a walk in appointment to confirm the pregnancy.  After he made the appointment he called me at work and just a couple of hours later we were on our way to wellquest. 

Once at wellquest they had me pee in the little cup and then go back to the room.  It seemed like FOREVER and a DAY before the DR finally came in.  When she walked in she asked if we already knew the results.  Well uh no... we were waiting on you doc.  She told us that it was in fact positive and that I was 4 weeks 4 days pregnant.  She handed me a little bio hazard bag with the pee stick in it. 

As soon as we left welquest we headed for target.  We wanted to be able to tell both grandma's in a "special" way.  On our way to target I called my dad at work and told him that I was pregnant!  I had to tell dad first because we needed the address to mom's work so we could send her flowers.  We got the address from dad and he told me that we better tell mom fast because he couldn't keep a secret like that for long.  On the way to target I ordered an arrangement of flowers to be sent to moms work with a card that said "cant wait to meet you - Baby Rutledge."  Ya know... now that I'm thinking about it, I never did see what those flowers looked like.  At target we bought a "i love grandma" bib and put it in a bag and took it to Aaron's mom's work.  She was surprised to see us... and didn't even have to take the bib out of the bag before she knew what was going on.  She put the bib on and sent a picture to Aaron's dad, John who was in Chili for work.  After mom got the flowers at work and all 4 grandparents knew.. it was free game for us to tell EVERYONE.  Aaron took a picture of the pregnancy test that I took that morning and we texted it to everyone we knew.  Our phones rang off the hook with phone calls and texts for the rest of that day!    

Welcome To The Life Of The Rutledge's


Let me start off by saying that I am definitely not the blogging type of girl but since having Drake... I figured this would be a great way for family and friends to keep up with our oh so busy lives. 


I would hope that everyone reading this knows at least a little bit about Aaron and I... but for those who don't..


I am from Gravette, AR and graduated high school in the spring of 2005.  I left for Parson's KS that fall to cheer for a junior college.  It only took me one semester to realize that was definitely not for me.  I made one of my best friends but homeward bound I was.  I came home and started school at NWACC that fall.. and lucky me, I've been going ever since.  It would help if I didn't change my major 3 times and take so many semesters off.  I have been working for Benton County since I was 19.  I love the people that I work with and was lucky enough to meet my wonderful husband there!  Oh the joys of being able to tell someone that we met in jail.  The reactions that we get are quite humorous!    


Aaron and I have been together for 3 years this month!   Our lives have been moving very fast since we got together.  We met in February 2007, started dating in August 2007, moved in together in March 2008, we were engaged by September 2008, married by February 2009, and we had our son in September 2010. 


Aaron is from Rogers, AR and graduated high school in the spring of 2001.  In the fall of 2001, he joined the Marine Corps and left for Camp Pendleton, California.  He did his 4 years active.. met alot of great people, went alot of interesting places, and got alot of life experience.  After his 4 years was up he headed back home to Arkansas for his 4 years inactive.  Aaron is an easy going guy... he loves his xbox, his Harley, his job, and of course his family.