The 4th trimester

For 9 long months this little one grew inside my belly, towards the end I couldn't wait to get her out and meet her face to face. I wanted to talk to her, sing to her, smile at her, show her off; I just couldn't wait. No sooner did she come out of my belly that I realized she just wanted to be popped back in and, at times, I wish I could just pop her back in. Baby experts say babies need and want a 4th trimester but then we would never be able to push them out, so out they come at the end of 3 trimesters. Its strange that you know this little person inside you but when she came out, I realized I had an endless amount of things to learn about her, did I really know her at all?

Babies are precious little angels with their own distinct personalities and they surprise you everyday. The saying that "you learn something new everyday" is an understatement when you're a mom. You literally learn something new every hour, at least! And when you learn it and use that information again, you suddenly feel so accomplished, I did it, I followed her cue and was successful. Give myself an applause, yay me, I'm not clueless after all.

My baby girl is 6 weeks old and she is doing all new fun stuff, like smiling when you talk to her. O, how it makes my heart melt every time. Even after, what seems like the worst night, that smile in the morning can instantly make it all disappear. How blessed I am! How lucky I am to be sharing this "4th trimester" with her outside my belly :)

Sweet little face

I was inspired by a fellow blogger to write a little story about remembering to call on God first.
This picture of my daughter's precious face was taken earlier in the day yesterday when we were all happy and playing and then things went downhill very fast and I had an unhappy baby on my hands. Not her fault, we had quite a few problems nursing yesterday, we just couldn't seem to get on the same page. Baby girl was trying to figure out why she was so frustrated and I was trying to figure out what she needed. Living my life on a 2-3 hour feeding schedule has been one of the hardest things I have ever done but I am so happy that my baby is healthy, thriving, and growing as she should.

Ever since we have been home from the hospital Brandon has been working around the clock to provide for his family. We are so grateful! However, that means the responsibility of baby falls on me. I love her to pieces and cannot get enough of her but sometimes little things like eating with 2 hands and taking a shower can seem like heaven.

Last night Brandon was working really late and I tried everything to soothe my poor baby. Nothing worked and I believe that sometimes babies just need to have a little crying time but it had been hours and I knew she wasn't feeding right and I just became so sad. I called Brandon just to hear his voice and I told him the baby was probably not going to sleep well tonight. I hung up the phone and realized that I wasn't giving my baby enough credit, we just had to figure out what she needed. Then I thought, I will pray for her, DUH! Why had it taken me so long to just pray for her little body to be able to relax and eat well. God came through, she got a full belly and slept well last night and only woke up twice to eat so I even got a little extra sleep.

Its safe to say that this young mom has learned her lesson, pray first! God soothed her and me!

A little story

Hi! My name is Abigail and I am 1 month old!
My mommy and daddy have taken such good care of me this first month and I feel very safe around my protective dog, Jeter! I've met lots of new friends and spent time with my family and cousins who love me! I always wear a pretty bow in my hair and still fit into lots of cute newborn clothes. People keep saying I look like my dad, it must be my eyes that my mom and dad think are going to be blue. I still love to sleep in my boppy and am getting good at holding my head up! I love spending all day everyday with my mom and am thankful to my dad for working so hard to make sure I have everything I need. I am a happy little baby!

Birthday celebration

Happy Birthday Brandon!
We are spending the day together and then my lovely sister Katrina is babysitting so Brandon and I can go out to dinner and a movie! Such a treat! This will be the first time we will both leave the baby. So excited for a night out and I'm pretty sure Aunt Katrina is excited to babysit :)

A picture is worth...

One thousand hugs and kisses!
My little babe is turning 1 month old tomorrow and I know this sounds cliche, but I cannot believe how fast this month has flown by. So many new little beginnings, so many little noises and cute little faces, so many things learned and things still to figure out. A few things I know with certainty are how much I love love love my baby girl, how much I appreciate my husband, and what a great little companion Jeter is. My life is beautiful.

Taking charge

Sleep is so hard to come by so today when Abigail was sound asleep I knew it was my chance to lay down and catch some z's. Unfortunately, there have been workers in our place for the past 2 days doing some repairing on the roof through Abigail's room. Today they were suppose to come by in the morning and finish up by just painting the ceiling in our dining room. Welp, they did not show up this morning so I decided to take charge and put a note on the door. Please do not disturb. Its time they come when its convenient for me. Who knows if they even attempted to come by, all I know is I got to sleep for an hour and a half with my sleepy newborn and my sleepy puppy without any disturbance.

My beautiful life

This is Brandon's favorite time of day and mine too! Brandon can't wait to hold sweet Abigail as soon as he gets home from work and I love being able to sit and eat dinner with 2 hands. Such a beautiful, simple life we lead. We are happy.

cousins, nephews, niece, aunts... Sisters

We were all in the same room yesterday! Kids everywhere, sisters swapping stories, cameras flashing, and lots of love for everyone. So blessed!

Abigail's story

July 7th, 2011... that was the day I had circled in pink on my calendar for 9 long months, Abigail's due date. Well that day came and went very quickly with no sign of progression. Boy, were we frustrated. We went ahead and scheduled and induction date for the 12th. In the mean time we tried just about everything to induce labor and she just wouldn't budge, until the evening of the 11th, at 11:15pm, right after we laid in bed, POP, my water broke! Brandon immediately hopped up and started getting dressed, putting his shoes on, getting the bags ready to bring down to the car, and I sat in the bathroom, very calm, contemplating everything that was about to change. Brandon, still slightly hysterical, beckoned me to get out of the bathroom and get dressed so he could rush me to the hospital. I very calmly said, "let's wait a few minutes while I call my doctor." Doctor said since I haven't started having contractions yet that I can wait at home for a while until I start feeling strong ones and then I can go to the hospital, or I can go now. Up to me! About 10 minutes later, hello contractions! They were coming on strong and fast. But we were able to wait long enough at home to get admitted after midnight so that Monday did not count as a day. Good timing Abigail!

Contractions are no joke, truly intense pain for a few hours, until about 3am when I got my epidural. All I remember thinking is Dr. Tran, the anesthesiologist, was my hero. Bye bye pain, time for bed. Brandon and I dozed off to sleep most of the morning. So peaceful.

Hours and hours later, the epidural slowed things down, cue the pitocin, it definitely got things moving a lot faster. So fast, that at times Abigail was having a hard time coping with it, cue the oxygen. I was amazed at how smoothly things ran, they had a solution for everything.

There I was 9 and 1/2 centimeters dilated, I asked Brandon to grab Katrina and my mom from the waiting room so we could chat and spend some time together. They gave me tips, took some pictures, and we had a few good laughs. At this time I was thinking, this is great, everything has run so smoothly, I'm excited to get this show on the road.

Finally, it was time for me to push, and I saw the time pass, and pass, and pass, and pass and still no Abigail. Low and behold, she had one more attempt to stay inside my tummy, which she seemed to love, because she was turned the wrong way. It was clear that she was not coming, no matter how hard I tried. 3 looooong pushing hours later, I was exhausted and it was time for my doctor to step in and assist me with the help of forceps. There really is no way to describe the amount energy it took to push for that long, I was simply delirious and slightly hysterical.

One last contraction, one last push, and at 6:07 pm on July 12, 2011, Abigail arrived! All 8 lbs, 2 oz of her, with a beautiful full head of hair, big eyes, a button nose, and pouty lips. She is perfect!

No one tells you how bad the recovery is going to be, this has been the most painful but rewarding week of my life. We are so blessed to have a beautiful baby to enjoy, dozens of pictures to take, lots of love from daddy, and help and well wishes from family and friends. And its good to know that everything will go back to normal in 6 weeks.

Abigail Lin Lykins

Abigail
Born 7/12/11 at 6:07pm
8 lbs 2 oz
She is just perfect and has stolen our hearts! We love her so much!
Here she is, 1 week old!
While sweet baby sleeps I have just enough time to get on the computer for the first time in a week and put a few pictures up. There are many more to come! Now back to mommy world.

Jeter loves sitting with Abigail. He follows her wherever she goes :)

Love my fam

They are the BEST!

Trying all the classics

With my due date just 4 days away and little to no progression in the labor department, Brandon and I have resorted to trying all the "classics" to induce labor. Maybe this little girl is waiting for the 4th of July so she can get some fireworks. It has been quite amusing to try all the old wives tales. Yesterday we wanted to shake things up a bit from our normal long walks so we went on a hike and made it up a huge hill to a beautiful looking spot. Poor Jeter was exhausted and so were we but it was definitely a fun adventure. Later that day I ate the spiciest burger ever, with jalapenos, habanero sauce and pepper jack cheese. Today maybe I will try raspberry leaf tea. Any other suggestions?

Pool party

So far on the maternity leave agenda, pool party with my sis and nephews! We definitely had some fun in the sun. I never gave my sister enough credit though, she is an amazing hard working mother watching over her 2 beautiful boys everyday. How she makes it through the day is a wonder, I got tired just watching her! She has such a wonderful little family unit and I just love them all!

"A" is for Abigail!

The last day of June

July starts tomorrow and my due date is exactly 1 week away. I started my maternity leave a few days early and I couldn't be more happy staying home and resting. 39 weeks pregnant and I dared to put on a bathing suit, thank goodness I still have one that fits!

Waiting...

Seems like all I'm doing is waiting for this baby to come... time is moving as slow as a snail right now. Almost 39 weeks pregnant and STILL working full time, I cherish the weekends to be able to tidy up, take naps with my pup and soak my feet in my very own Homedics foot spa. So for now, I'm still waiting, and working, but boy am I READY!

A night at the beach

On a whim we decided to go to the beach for the evening. This was little Jeter's first time at the beach and it was a beautiful night. Yes, our dog is very spoiled but it was nice to get out and spend some time together before the baby comes. As proud parents to a Yorkie-Poo we had to video tape this experience. If you fast forward in about 1 minute, you will get a glimpse of the 38 week belly :)

Untitled from Felicia Lykins on Vimeo.

In baby news... Abigail gave us a little scare this morning when she decided to sleep for hours and not move even after putting on music for her, drinking orange juice, and eating a yummy egg breakfast. She was monitored all morning and perked up within in a few hours. She is back to her old, active self. Who knows when this little one will want to make her appearance, but hopefully it will be soon!

Fun family photos

A couple of weeks ago we had some fun family photos taken at the Lake by photographer extraordinaire, Darla Abigt. She has an amazing camera and always takes great pictures for us. Jeter and my belly pretty much stole the show :)

This is Rancho Santa Margarita Lake. I love living by it so much and walk around it daily.

Jeter was pretty cooperative but not the whole time. Its okay, he can be distracted by the ducks for one shot :)

I was going to just tie a ribbon around my belly but I decided to whip up a crocheted ribbon instead.

Hello Belly!

Here I am
36 weeks pregnant
Just waiting around for the time to pass...
Along with being 36 weeks pregnant I also have, swollen feet and ankles, major back ache at the end of the day, irritability, exhaustion, and I can't pick up something off the floor unless I get really creative.
On the other hand, I have excitement, joy, great skin, shiny hair, an excuse to just lay around, and a baby girl that moves and grooves around as if she is trying to find the exit.
All I can is, hurry up June!

Hard to believe that this was me, at just 12 weeks, when I had discovered the belly band. Now that thing is shoved so far in the back of my drawer I don't know if I could even find it. I pretty much don't plan on wearing pants this summer, only long flowy dresses, so its safe to say I have retired the belly band for good and it will just stay in the back of my drawer. It most definitely worked and came in handy when my belly was this small.

Blessed with another shower

We have been beyond blessed with support from family and friends for the upcoming arrival of our daughter, Abigail. Brandon's friends threw us a co-ed baby shower this past Saturday and we all had a blast.

Enjoying the sunshine

Here is Brandon trying to demonstrate a baby shower game... he cheated, but we all got a good laugh out of him trying to scoop cotton balls into a bowl on his head blindfolded.

Great hosts and great friends

Etsy shop coming soon!

I have a good little collection of hats going now, a beautiful baby boy to model them, and now I just need to take pictures of the rest so I can officially open my Etsy shop! I make all different sizes, colors, boy hats, girl hats, you name it, I will make it! Here is a little preview of a few that Graham graciously modeled for me :)