One month

Happy One Month Sophia Lee Gowan! 

I can't believe it has been one month since sweet Sophia Lee was born. I still look at her in awe and can't believe the little miracle that she is!  I can say that I have learned so much about myself, motherhood, and this beautiful baby that God has blessed us with. The joys of mommy-hood is an emotional roller coaster for sure! No matter how many books I have read or how much advice has been thrown my way, I have learned that the best thing I can do is listen to my heart and pray that God is leading me on the right path to raise this precious baby. I have felt so much happiness seeing her sweet face daily, so much love for her that I can't describe, and so much joy in my heart, but have also felt feelings of self-doubt, frustration, anxiety, and being scared. Hearing her cry and not being able to soothe her even after trying everything the "books" advise you to do, not knowing if I'm feeding her enough or if she's getting enough from me, the frustration of not sleeping (that's no fun at all...my 10+ hours of sleep during pregnancy is now a distant memory...), and trying so hard to get her to sleep, but failing so many times has left me feeling those feelings. But, looking back at this past month, I wouldn't change anything for the world. I treasure each moment that I have with our baby and am so thankful that I am learning how to lean and depend on God each day & every moment as a new mom, just as my daughter depends on me.

I am also so thankful that I have such great In-Laws who were able to help out so much in the beginning  and for my family here in San Diego as they are helping me out while Caleb is gone. My mom has also been such a wonderful help, teaching me simple tricks like how to hold her in a more comfortable position when I cradle her, and being the extra pair of hands to hold her while I use the bathroom or take a shower! I love how God provides and I am so so so thankful for her. It's been a crazy roller coaster of a month, but I feel so blessed. Motherhood is truly a blessing, and I am so blessed that we have our sweet baby Sophia Lee!

I don't have her current stats, but here's what I know:

- Last Thursday at her weigh in, she was 8 lbs. 5 oz, 21.5 inches long. We will be doing another weigh in next week!
- She is very alert and is awake most of the time (NOT what I was expecting for a newborn..I thought they sleep all day!). We are still trying to figure out how to get her to sleep. So far, the best technique is in my mom's arms while she sings a lullaby! We have tried everything, from the miracle blanket, swaddling, white noise, swings, bouncers, leaving her in the crib to fall asleep by herself, but nothing seems to work better than being in Grandma's arms!
- She grunts and loves to stretch A LOT in her sleep
- She has a lot of control of her head movement. When she does tummy time, she can lift her head and peck, and also move her head from side to side
- She tracks sounds very well. When you talk to her, she will follow your voice with her eyes!
- She loves falling asleep with her right hand on her face
- Her sleep cycle usually lasts an hour, but has reached 4 hours once!
- She coos and hums while I feed her (best sound ever!)
- She has stolen the hearts of both me and her daddy!

Day 1: First 24 hours in this world!

Day 2: First time meeting daddy!

Day 6: Loving the car rides

Day 13: Being in Daddy's arms

Day 16: Ready to conquer the world

Day 17: Relaxing in her snugglebunny

Day 18: showing off The Gowan Furrowed brow! 

Day 19: First time in her stroller enjoying the outdoors

Day 20: Enjoying crib time

Day 21: Mommy's sleepy sweetheart

Day 23: Mommy and me time ~ Sophia

Day 25: Facetime with daddy (mommy is very tired...no sleep that night!)

Day 29: Fresh and clean from a bath

My heart and soul 

One month old: 

“Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”

The birth story of Sophia Lee Gowan

What a month! We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and our greatest blessing is our little bundle of joy, Sophia Lee Gowan, born Tuesday, 11/12/2013 at 10:31 AM. I was in the hospital for 18 hours and had contractions starting 2 days before she arrived. Here is a glimpse into her journey into the world...

Caleb's parents came in the beginning of November to give me all the help I needed...what a blessing they were! They spoiled me (and Angel!) rotten! =) 

A couple days before she was born. "Sophie, are you in there?! We can't wait to meet you!"

My beautiful family. They came up on Sunday to give me some love and support as well. That night,  I was experiencing contractions every 10-14 minutes. Caleb was on the phone with me and was already coaching me through them. The pain was moderate and I was waking up every time I had one. 

40 weeks pregnant! (to be exact, I was 39 weeks and 6 days).  

I went to the doctor's that morning and he told me I was 4 cm dilated already. He also scraped my membranes to help the labor progress. We headed to the hospital several hours 

later when my contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart. 

We arrived at the hospital at 4:00 PM. They had a nurse check how far along I was and she informed us that I was only 2 cm dilated, not 4. Because I wasn't that far along, they were going to monitor me for an hour and have me walk around the hospital for another hour to see if that would help me dilate more. If not, I would be sent home. 

Walking around the hospital...I really didn't want to get sent home! I wanted this baby out! 

We went to the cafeteria to eat something (even though I couldn't eat anything because I had no appetite!). I was still experiencing contractions every 4-5 minutes as well. I had my phone with me so I could

 tell Caleb what was going on every step of the way and when he should Skype! 

When they rechecked me, I was at 3.5 cm, so they decided to admit me at 6:30 PM. We got one of the nicest suites in the hospital too =) I called Caleb and told him that it was happening and he should get on Skype! 

One of the worst pains ever, (besides a contraction) is getting an IV! This was the only time I cried during the whole labor experience. One of the nurses tried 2 times to get the IV in and failed, and it HURT. A LOT! I was in tears the whole entire time, but thankfully I had my dad's hand to hold and my husband's handsome face to look at. The third time they tried, it finally went in, but I was already a mess at that point! 

The sitting area in the room...That's my sister, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law! 

At 12 midnight, the nurse checked how far along I was and I was only at 4 cm! The nurse asked if I wanted Pitocin to help speed up the contractions and hopefully it would help me dilate faster. After weighing our options, I decided to go ahead and get the Pitocin.

From midnight until 4:30 AM, I was in pain...contractions are NO JOKE! I had one every 3-4 minutes, and Caleb was coaching me throughout that time, telling me to breathe and encouraging me to get through it. It was the loooooong and tiring night for everyone...

At 4:30 am they checked me and I had only progressed 1 cm. I felt very defeated and tiiiirrrred! It was then that I decided to get an epidural to help me relax and rest so I could have enough energy and strength to push when I needed to...

...and it worked! I slept (as well as everyone else!) from 5-7 AM and progressed another 1 cm, pain free! When they checked me at 8 in the morning, I was at 9.5 cm!!! They had to break my water because it wasn't going to break on its own. When they did, I went back down to 8 cm, but was at 10 cm ready to push 15 minutes later.

I pushed for 40 minutes. 

And then this little miracle came.

No words can describe the immense joy of motherhood. 

Holding my beautiful Sophia Lee for the first time. 

Saying "HI" to dad via Skype. 

Opa holding his first granddaughter for the first time.

Grandma holding sweet Sophie! 

and Pho Pho holding her first granddaughter for the first time! 

and Grandpa holding baby Sophie! 

Two days later, Caleb was able to come back home and meet his daughter for the first time. The Gowan family has grown! 

Sophia Lee, we love you and are so happy you are a part of our family. 

"For this child I prayed; and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of him." - 1 Samuel 1:27

Full Term!!!

I am so excited that I am now considered "full term." My doctor doesn't believe that 37 weeks is full term though, he says that a pregnancy is full term once I reach 40 weeks, but at 37 weeks, if baby G were to be born, her lungs would be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. So, I am now in the "safe zone." Woo hoo!

Here's my 37 week update:

How far along:  37 weeks and 1 day 

Symptoms: Feeling pretty good! My legs are sore when I stand up for too long and I have some mild lower back pain and hip pain, but nothing too bad. Finally started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions where I feel my stomach tightening up, but it's not bad at all. 

Weight gain: 34 pounds! 

Sleep: It's harder for me to sleep at night now. I think a part of it is because Caleb isn't here, but I also have some insomnia so I don't feel sleepy til about 12-1am. 

Wedding Rings: Still OFF. I can't wait to wear it again. Hopefully all my swelling goes away right after birth and I can start wearing my ring!

Cravings: Nothing really. It's actually been hard for me to eat anything these days just because nothing really sounds good to me. My staples are yogurt, apples, chicken, and cereal =) 

Movement: Definitely can feel every inch of her now. It is actually kind of painful when she stretches and digs her heels into my ribs! But, I love feeling her moving inside of me and I know that it's going to be something that I will miss. 

Belly Button: I am an OUTIE! It looks really weird to me...I think it looks like a flower right now and you can definitely see it poking out when I wear my tank tops! 

Excited for: Baby girl to come! I am counting down the days til my "due date" and hopefully she doesn't make me wait too long after! 20 more days! I am also super excited that my In-Laws are coming to visit me for several weeks to help me and be there for the labor and birth of baby G. She will definitely feel loved by so many people! =)

Missing: Being able to tie my shoes, getting out of bed easily, my pre-pregnancy clothes and shoes (I can't even wear my fall boots!), and ice cream & sushi & coffee! She still doesn't like ice cream (makes me want to throw up), and I can't wait to eat sushi and drink some coffee in the morning! 

Exercise: Still doing Zumba 2 times a week and walking about 1.5 miles a day. 

Stretch Marks: None! Cocoa butter is still doing its job! 

How big is baby girl: I went to get an ultrasound at the hospital last week because one of the doctors thought my stomach looked kind of "small." They took some measurements of baby G and today at my appointment, they said that they predict her to be 6 lbs right now! Which means that they are predicting that she will be a 7.5 lbs baby! Let's see if they are right =)

Feeling: Excited and anxious. So many of my friends just had babies this past week and I can't wait to meet mine and hold her in my arms. Anxious about the labor and birth, but talking to my doula and meeting with her often has been helping me prepare for the big event. Missing Caleb and wishing that he could be here, but happy to know that he will be coming back once our baby is born! 

Here's a picture of a stomach comparison of me at 7, 27, and 37 weeks! Holy moly! 

Still have to finish packing my hospital bag. I have the diaper bag pretty much packed and ready to go. I have my first small group/bible study tomorrow morning at 10am so I'm excited about that and hopefully, I'll be able to meet some more people and connect with them from the church. Tomorrow evening, Angel will have her first playdate with a couple that I met at the dog park last Sunday, so I know that she will be happy to play with a friend and not just 'mom.' 

I pretty much talk to Caleb every day, but the time difference sucks. I will call him to wake him up at 5am his time (1pm my time), and he will call me when he gets off work which is about 4-5am my time (8-9pm his time). One of us is always sleepy, but I'm happy to always hear his voice. 

Hope everyone is having a good week and happy hump day today!

XOXO,
Nancy

Deployment #3

I can't believe how fast this deployment has come. This will be our 3rd deployment and I'm starting to feel like quite the veteran, but no matter how many times he leaves, it is always so hard to say good-bye. We went on base last night to say our good-byes, and here are some pictures I'd like to share:

All the stuff that needed to be packed! Took us a several hours to do it but we finally managed to fit it all in his two sea bags! 

Finished! 

Yesterday was actually pretty cool outside, so we took advantage of it and cuddled by our fireplace. It also rained (surprisingly hard), and we enjoyed a quick date at Starbucks drinking some pumpkin spiced lattes! 

He surprised me with a bouquet of flowers...

...and made me another worship CD that I will be listening to in the car.

Saying good-bye to daddy... =( 

Saying our final good-byes. 

I'm praying and hoping that nothing will prevent him from coming back for a couple weeks after baby G is born. So far, it doesn't look like there should be anything in the way, so I'm hoping for the best! It would mean so much to me for us to have a little family time together once baby G makes her debut! 

As far as baby G goes, I am 35 weeks and will have another doctor's appointment on Monday for my 36 week check-up. The doctor that I saw last Monday was a little concerned that my bump looked kind of "small," so she has referred me to get an ultrasound at the hospital so they can do some measurements of the baby and see how big she is. Baby G is still head down, and her heart beat is strong, and she told me that there are lots of fluids around her, which means it's good! She is moving a lot, and stretching, and I just can't wait to meet her. My to-do list this week is to finish packing my hospital and diaper bag and getting ready for our little princess =) 

I'll definitely try to blog more often now that I have some time on my hands! Other than that, I will be working on stretches that my doula has recommended me to do to help with my labor, my pre-natal Yoga, Zumba, and lots of walking (even though I can't walk more than 5 minutes without having to use the bathroom!).

Love you all,

Nancy

Good news!

I've been meaning to update since last week, but didn't have time, but I wanted to share a couple of things: 

1. Caleb won an award! I am so proud of him. It's called the Navy Comm award and he earned it from all his hard work from his deployments to Afghanistan. Go Captain Gowan!  

2. I got the results of my gestational diabetes test last week and it was negative! Super happy and thankful and super thankful that I got through the test without throwing up the drink. Like everyone warned me, it was indeed, pretty awful. 

3. I am now in my third trimester! 13 more weeks to go.  Feeling pretty good these past couple of weeks. Still have my bouts of nausea here and there, but overall it's been better and the best thing is the end is in sight!  Here is my 27 week pregnancy shot: 

And lastly, I wanted to share pics from our trip up north. We had a great time at Brandon and Melody's wedding in Sacramento and had a wonderful time hanging out with family. Even though the trip was short, we had such a fun and memorable time with everyone.  

HOWEVER, we did have a little hiccup driving up to Sacramento. We left early Friday morning, planning on stopping at Aunt Joan's house to change and get ready for the wedding, then we would make our way to the venue. About 2 hours before we were supposed to arrive, we made a quick bathroom stop, and I just happened to ask Caleb, "Did you grab our wedding clothes from the closet?" and he said, "No. I thought you did." 

*GASP* 

The night before, he laid out our clothes (his suit and my dress) on the floor so it wouldn't get wrinkled in the luggage. I told him to put the clothes in the closet instead so it wouldn't get dirty on the floor. Well, out of sight, out of mind because we both forgot about our clothes the next morning! We had our wedding shoes in the car, but had nothing to wear for the wedding! So after my "minor" meltdown (do you know how hard it is to find a dress for a pregnant woman?!), we rushed to a mall in Sacramento about 15 minutes away from the venue and had about 1 1/2 hours to shop and get ready. I ran into a maternity store and he ran into Express. We both took pictures of our selection for approval. Here's our dressing room photo shoot: 

He text me this picture and I said "Looks good babe!"

I text him this picture and he said "That dress looks great!" 

We both got ready in the Nordstrom's bathroom and got to the wedding right on time! It was hectic and crazy, but hey, the silver lining is that I got a new dress! Woo hoo! =) 

At the wedding with my love. 

Love him. 

The beautiful bride and groom (although you can't see the groom's face because of the waiter!)

Caleb with Ezra! 

The next day, Caleb and I went to Starbucks (of course!) with Grandma and Grandpa Hillis. Here's Grandma and I reading the paper together while waiting for our drinks =) 

Caleb and Grandpa Hillis

Group picture! 

That night, we drove down to Merced and had a great time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Gowan. Here's a picture of us the next morning at breakfast before we headed back down to Oceanside. 

It was a great trip and Caleb and I have decided to make it point to try and visit more often! 

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Tonight, Caleb and I have to go to a pre-deployment brief at his unit. Can't believe that he'll be deploying so soon! Please keep him in your prayers and also keep praying as we are still looking to find a home church here in Oceanside. 

Love to you all, 

Nancy