Obviously I am EXTREMELY overdue for a post. And surprise, surprise. A LOT has happened. As you know from my previous posts, I was pregnant and due in April. Well here it is August and I haven't even posted about the fact that I had my baby and everything went great. So let's go in order shall we?
Here are a couple of shots from my maternity shoot. These were taken the day of my baby shower- so March 14th.
The next weekend I headed up to Chicago with my mom to go see my little bro play his final water polo games. He did a great job! Walking around Chicago at 35 weeks pregnant probably didn't end up being the greatest idea however...
As you can tell from the pictures, my face was really swollen, and worst of all- I couldn't even get my shoes on from my feet being so swollen! I swore I wouldn't show this picture to anyone- but you just have to see this! I didn't have ankles! I was soooooo swollen!
When I got back to St. Louis, I had an appointment with my doctor and it came as no shock that I had gained 9 lbs in 2 weeks- and it was all water weight from swelling. Up until this point, I hadn't really had any issues and really hadn't gained that much weight. I guess that changed! On top of my swelling, my blood pressure had also sky rocketed. So I was put on bed rest until the end of my pregnancy. That ended up being 3 weeks total. As you can see from this pic- we got out of the house anyway. I just had to have my feet up at all times and always had to be doing calming activities. In general I stayed in my bed, but every once in a while, I got up and allowed Ben to take me to the botanical gardens. :)
We also got the nursery all ready for the babe to arrive!
With my blood pressure and swelling issues, I was finally scheduled to be induced at 39 weeks. Here I am right before heading over to the hospital at midnight on April 14th.
My birth experience was honestly incredible. And I'll tell you why, because I know the word incredible isn't usually a word someone uses to describe a birth. Giving birth has always been my number 1 fear in life. I grew up with horror stories of how painful it was for my mom to have me (thanks mom! :) and I just knew that it was going to be the most miserable and painful experience that I would ever go through. And yet it wasn't like that at all! I was extremely calm 90% of the time and it honestly wasn't that bad! I was so shocked. They put me on pitocin around 1AM and then my doctor broke my water for me at 7AM. I got my epidural around 7:30am. The epidural I got didn't end up working so well, so I actually ended up getting a spinal tap just in time to start pushing. My blood pressure was continuously rising, which meant that I had to get an episiotomy and the little babe was vacuumed out. So I literally pushed for 11 minutes. I started pushing at 5:00pm and he was born at 5:11. And the best part is that thanks to my spinal- it didn't hurt at all! And I felt great! I could NOT believe it. I felt on top of the world because I had just conquered my biggest fear. I couldn't stop thinking about it the entire time I was at the hospital. I still can't sometimes. Which is why I describe my birth story as incredible. Because it was so much more doable than I expected. Plus I got an adorable, healthy baby boy out of it!
This is when my parents see him for the first time. I thought it was so sweet that they both burst into tears!
As far as the stats go. We named him Flint William Fisher- after my dad (Flint) and Ben's dad (William). He was 7lbs 11oz and 21in long. Born at 5:11pm.
Heres our family pic as we are getting ready to taken him home!
Proud Dad taking him into our house for the first time.
He looks like a ginger, doesn't he?
Here are a couple of shots from his newborn shoot:
And just like that a month had gone by!
We blessed him in May- doesn't he look darling in his outfit?!
He was 6 weeks old on his first flight- ready to go to Uncle Parker and Aunt Torie's wedding!
4 generations with my Grandma, Dad, and baby.
Pic with the bride and groom. All of the Finlinson siblings and in laws.
The original 3 Finlinsons:
After the FABULOUS wedding- the fam (minus the honeymooners) went on a little vaca to San Fran- which was awesome! I love that city. So gorgeous.
When we got back to St. Louis, it was our 2 year wedding anniversary. Being married really is the BEST thing ever. I literally wake up every morning and just can't believe how lucky I am to have found Ben. He is the best husband and I can't get over it!!
In case you are wondering what kind of grandparents my parents are... Here is a good picture to describe: (They didn't know I was taking this picture)
And just like that- he was 2 months old!!
Flint had his first road trip to Ohio for my sweet Aunt Johnnie's funeral. It was good to see family, even though for a sad reason. One good thing- the Flints wore matching outfits :)
After the funeral we went to Hocking Hill- a beautiful park
After getting back Flint attended his first birthday party with mustaches as the party favor :)
Flint made his Dad these awesome posters for Father's Day.
Then we headed out to the Fisher Family Reunion and got another 4 generation shot with Ben's mom and Grandpa Wilson.
We went camping for the reunion. Flint did great! He slept through the night both nights and was a dream baby. I really am so lucky!
Caught my boys taking a snooze in the tent and had to take a pic!
I stayed a couple of extra days longer than Ben to spend time with my brother and his wife in SLC. So I flew home with the baby by myself! We had a layover in Vegas. He was a champ on the plane! I seriously have the best baby!
Then I headed down to Oklahoma City to join Ben for his first away rotation for Orthopedic Surgery. We were down there for a month and stayed with some friends who happened to move down at the same time. That worked out well!
He turned 3 months in OKC. And time really is flying.
We also got to take him swimming for the first time in OKC, which was so fun! He loved it!
We did the Canal boat tour in Bricktown, which was a lot of fun.
We got to go to Zoes Kitchen for the first time- one of my dad's clients. It was very good!
And we checked out the historic stockyards in OKC as well. Overall, we really enjoyed Oklahoma.
I also started up a new business! It's called Baby Biscuit Bow Ties. I make clip on bow ties for babies, or at least that is the main focus. I also make matching ones for dads or older children. I just opened up a week ago- so far so good! Hopefully it turns out ok.
Now we are in Columbia, South Carolina for Ben's 2nd away rotation. I'll have to let you know how it goes.
Aside from what we've been up to, I've also been thinking a lot about motherhood. And how simply incredible it is. I seriously just sit around and feel like bursting at the seams with how lucky I feel and how much love I have for such a little person! And I just marvel at the fact that I grew this little guy inside of me for 9 months and now he is a person! It has been so amazing to watch Ben become a father and see how much he loves our son as well. I didn't realize how much I would like being a mom, but I really truly do! Flint is so mild mannered and has such a pleasant demeanor almost all of the time. He rarely cries, unless for a good reason. It is so fascinating to watch him learn and grow so much every day. Just the simplest things amaze me. Like him realizing he had feet today. He was entertained for hours on end with just playing with his feet. And to think that just yesterday he couldn't figure out how to grab his feet. It's such a simple thing, and yet it's amazing to watch him learn how to do things and figure out his little body. I was worried I would be so stressed out with a new baby and resent the fact that I couldn't do a lot of things that I used to be able to do (like go out past 8pm or go to a movie theater without worrying about a babysitter), but motherhood has been such a relaxing experience for me so far. I have truly enjoyed every moment. I do realize that I might change my mind once he is able to run around and destroy my house, but for now I feel like life is near perfect. And I don't really miss going to the movies. Sitting and watching my baby seems much more fun. :) It does help that we live by my parents who are willing to watch him when I do want to go out though. :) Anyway- I recognize that everyone's experience with motherhood is different, and it's not always easy for everyone. I don't tell you all this to make anyone feel bad. I guess I'm mainly wanting to put good vibes out there for mothering since it's so easy to get bogged down with negativity these days. Anyway- those are my 2 cents. More details to come soon hopefully!
