Our little girl

I wish I had an easier way to upload pictures on here, there are so many cute pictures that we've taken since Gwendolyn was born, and to post them all would take up way too much space. We brought her home Saturday morning (the 21st) and so far we have only had ONE difficult night. Last night she only woke twice! :D Once at 3am and again at 6:45am. Not too shabby for being only a week old! She's so sweet and spends a lot of time just looking around at us and the room. As of right now she is sleeping on Jeff's chest. He spoils her so much! We were hoping the weather would be getting warmer faster, I've been wanting to get outside a little and go for a walk or something. But as it is, it is too cold. So we spend our days straightening the house and watching movies or playing games in between feedings. She is so sweet and I couldn't ask for a more mellow baby. She's started randomly smiling in her sleep and I'd like to think she's seeing memories from heaven or something. It's impossible not to smile when I see her smiling, it is so adorable :)This is Jeff spoiling her at the hospital :) She is daddy's girl

She randomly makes this face like she's saying OOOHH! I love it ha ha!

It took a while to get a few pictures with her eyes open. I love it when she just looks around.

Sorry if this bores you, but I love it! And will be posting lots of pictures in the future. She changes too fast not to have picture updates. I sometimes feel guilty though, I was my mom's first child and the amount of pictures they took of me outnumber the pictures they took of my sisters combined. I hope I am this picture happy with all my kids. I wouldn't want them thinking I was playing favorites ;)

Drumroll please...

I know you've probably been wondering why I've taken SO long to get things updated. Some of you have been checking my facebook status(s) thanks to Jeff and are already aware of our new addition!
-----This is me on Sunday the 15th with my full term belly :)

Yep, that's right! She's here everyone! And she's beautiful and the best thing that has ever happened to us!

Thursday morning we went in to Ogden Regional to get induced, got all checked in at 8am, got an IV an 9am, started Pitocin at 9:30 and she made her entrance at 3:21PM It was a little bit of an adventure, once on the pitocin, I was still feeling fine, and didn't need any pain killer. They had my doctor come in and break my water once I was at 5cm and they got a little more intense. The nurse suggested that if I wanted an epidural, I might want to get it soon, because they had 2 c-sections coming up and the anethesiologist would probably be too busy later on, so I went ahead and got it, the problem was... it was only working on the left hand side of my body. My right hand side was COMPLETELY in labor and heading into hard labor. The contractions didn't last long, but were SEVERELY painful on that right side. At first the nurses tried to lay me on that side to help the drugs take effect better, but then they panicked and made me switch to my left hand side because the baby's heart rate dropped. They came in with an oxygen mask and little by little my left side got more and more numb and heavy. I labored that was as long as I could stand, then finally called the nurses trying to find anything that would help my pain. She checked and found that I was at a 10! and ready to deliver, so she tried rolling me back on the right while she went to page my doctor for the delivery, (I sat praying constantly that the epidural would work...) Then she called the anesthesiologist and asked if he could give me an extra boost to try to help my right side, which he did. And THANK GOODNESS! Luckily by the time my doctor had gotten there, my right side had numbed enough to let me focus on delivery :) It all went really fast and I was very energized once the contractions weren't felt as strong or intense. I was really nervous on Thursday morning to have the baby and knowing that life was going to change... and also worried that once I had been through this once, I might not want any more kids :S
However, this whole experience has been the greatest of my life! I am excited to be able to have more kids and mostly SO grateful for my darling baby girl! She's so beautiful and such a sweet baby, I couldn't dream of anything more, she is already doing so well at recognizing mine and Jeff's voices and touch. She's so cuddly and melts my heart everytime I look at her. I wish there were better words to describe how great it feels to be a Mom! And I'm sure all you other ''Mom's" out there feel the same way! Here are a few pictures and I hope you like them!!

Gwendolyn Jenae Judkins
March 19, 2009
3:21PM
6 Pounds 1 ounce
19 inches long
Beautiful baby girl!! :D

Jeff putting on her first diaper...

The Judkins family
My little girl (and my tired face)


Almost one day old!

we'll wait until the weather is better...

Our doctor appointment was yesterday and the only progress we've made since last week was that she is a lot lower. Our options are... 1- wait until she comes on her own 2- our doctor said that things are ready enough to start us whenever. I'm really glad that we're not going to go over our due date! That has been a real worry for me. I seriously don't think that I will go into labor naturally. My mom had all 3 kids without going into labor naturally. Her body knows how to carry a baby full term and keep the babies healthy, but once it's time to be done, her signals get crossed and nothing happens. I was her first child and was 2 weeks overdue even with her being at 4cm for 4 weeks and them trying everything they could to get me to come. After her whole ordeal with me, the doctor told her she would most likely never go into labor on her own, and she never did. I anticipate that they will have to start me to get this bundle to come. This is my first day home from the hospital with my mom :) Nice couch huh?? Tee hee :)Like mother, like daughter I guess. Anyway at least that way I can plan things a little better, eh? Also can I just mention that I am SO looking forward to the warmer weather this coming week??? We may hit 70 degrees! Woo hoo!! I'm more of a spring/summer person myself, so this is GREAT news.

I'm also going to be spending my free time (starting tomorrow) helping my parents start their house remodel! First they're going to finish the downstairs bathroom
(in case you didn't know, my family built and moved into their house in 1987 and a few years later finished the WHOLE basement EXCEPT the bathroom. Which was used as a makeshift bedroom when my cousins Sammy and Jan Slager moved in with us for 2 years during high school) It's really only 22 years later and we will FINALLY have that bathroom complete ha ha!)
This was the best picture I could find of our house, and I know you can't even see the whole thing... sorry guys! Anyway after the bathroom is finished my dad is going to raise the living room floor up to the level of the dining room and kitchen so we have a bigger family room downstairs and a lot more space upstairs. Then he's going to be pouring cement for additional driveway space on the west side because he has a foundation for a garage back there so he can work on cars (what he truly LOVES to do) and that will make my mom happy cause then she might actually get to have her regular garage back! ha ha! I'm really excited for them to get this finished because they will enjoy it a LOT more I think, plus my mom will be able to get new carpet and new furniture that she's wanted for a long time!

cardio aerobics?

Today marks the first day of what should be our last week of pregnancy, and I'm wondering... any tips on how to get this kid motivated? I've been staying pretty active and all making sure I don't just lie around and be lazy. When the weather has been good I've gone walking on the parkway and when it has been cold I've spent my time cleaning my house and redecorating. I'm bordering on trying more drastic things to see if I can push her to come sooner! Jeff and I would both like her to come in a few days. I was joking about joining a gym and starting cardio aerobics or something ha ha! But seriously, does that work? I've been trying to pay attention to the contractions I've felt to know if I'm in real labor or not, but every person is so different. I mean the contractions I've been feeling (and assuming are braxton hicks) are the same kind of feeling my friend had for her REAL contractions up until she was at a 7... but I have just assumed they aren't painful ENOUGH to make me leave for the hospital. And then I have a hard time sleeping and focusing because I REALLY don't want to have an emergency home or car delivery (Jeff's aunt almost had one of these last May, so I know it happens...) I sometimes wish she would come right away and other times I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through the delivery. I'm such a girl. Can't make up my mind. Neither can she apparently LOL! I'm so jealous for all of you who can already hold your little ones. Right now, I only see her in my dreams, and it's so hard to be holding her one minute and wake up the next to realize she isn't here. For today, it will once again be business as usual, Jeff and I have another doctor appointment at 3, and hopefully we will have progressed from last week, but who knows!? I think tonight would be great for going for another walk, (or jog...) and see if we can't get some pictures of this little girl for the next post! Also does anyone have tips on how long we should wait before we take her to family dinners on Sundays? My mother in law is expecting us on the last Sunday of this month, but I wasn't sure if that was too soon to be bringing her out. Maybe I'm just a paranoid mother, but I think I'm just inexperienced... HELP!! :)

Scentsy

To anyone interested in Scentsy, the spring/summer catalog is out! Anyone interested in hosting a party just let me know! I'm doing one for a friend tonight, they've got some good new release smells and some great new warmers! :D Hostesses receive great discounts and some half price items, so make sure to be the one to host the party in your group of friends!

Busy shopping day!

Jeff and I spent most of today getting the final touches to our baby room, carseat, stroller, etc. We now have 2 bases for our carseat (one for each car) and a thing called a snuzzler, which is like a full body support for the carseat or stroller
And we got a few finishing touches for the bed set we chose for her room (Mind you we don't have ALL these things, just to give you an idea how her room is decorated)
Anyway, I feel MUCH more prepared now that we've finished this shopping spree. It took most of the day and Jeff was SO patient with me while I wandered all over the store trying to remember exactly what we still needed. We then visited my parents house for a little while and came home to relax. Now that we've got all our shopping done and started trying to put everything away, we realize that we may need to move out to accomodate all her belongings ;) ha ha! Either that or we will need to be watching for an upgrade on our house...

On another note, I don't know about any of you other 'Mom's' but in the past month or so I've gotten 2 horrible migraines, so painful that I was unable to keep food down. I hope that is all I EVER have of those, I think I might ask them just to put me out of my misery if I go into labor with one of those... The worst thing I've ever experienced thus far. I will accept any help on how to combat these nuissances. I'm looking forward to being able to sleep without bathroom breaks, although I know it will come at the cost of getting up to a hungry baby :)

Sorry for those of you who have to read our boring stories only hoping that you'll get to see a picture, trust me, I'd rather be blogging about our new arrival, than the anticipation of our arrival anyday! :)

I'm dreaming of...

Okay, so I'm going to vent a little. During pregnancy it's normal to have dreams about your unborn child. I'm still not sure about family having dreams about it though... About a month ago, my younger sister Kori had a dream that Jeff and I had our baby and hadn't told any of my family for like 3 months... Yes, IF we had done something like that it WOULD be rude, however we weren't thinking we would deliver anytime soon and we just laughed it off. A few weeks ago I had a dream that I went into labor and my husband dropped me off at the hospital and left to go to work and missed the baby being born... I called him to come to the hospital and he made some lame excuse about how he hadn't let anyone know he was leaving yet and he'd come later. (good thing THAT hasn't happened) Last night I had a dream that our baby was born and the umbilical cord came completely detached and she was losing fluid through her belly button! (I'm a paraniod mom all of a sudden) and now my other sister Annie texted me to tell me that she had a dream that (once again) we had the baby and didn't tell my family for 3 days. Then she has the nerve to tell me that if I do that, she won't claim me as her sister anymore. Come on people!

They're dreams! There is no scenario in this lifetime I can think of where Jeff and I wouldn't tell our families that our baby was here. I doubt that Jeff will truly leave me at the hospital to go to work, or that my baby will be born leaking fluid through her belly button. Let's just realize these are dreams and not signs of things to come, and laugh them off.

On another note, after my LONG walk yesterday, I feel as if my entire bottom half wants to shut down. I'm so sore I couldn't sleep after my early morning "run" (to the bathroom) So I tried to get some things done today, and am sad to report that hooking up a small desk fan to blow on the carpet where I just shampoo-ed and rinsed... is probably my biggest accomplishment aside from getting my hair and makeup done. I had wanted to get the house clean today, but I think I might have to hire out for that, or try to coax Jeff... I think it'd be easier to hire someone though. I am now trying to come up with a list of movies to take with us to the hospital, I'd like some happy ones that will keep our spirits up. Any suggestions??

until the 12th??

Our appointment today revealed that we are now 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. Our doctor predicts she may not arrive THIS week, and so our next appointment is for the 12th. Will we make it to that day? Who knows. I've been having such a hard time sleeping lately because my hips are so sore when I lie down. After my appointment today, I went for a LONG walk with my friend Stacey and her adorable little boy McCoy hoping that this activity would encourage our little one to want to come sooner. And all Jeff could say was "hey, if she doesn't come until after our next appointment, I can watch and work the Big Sky tournament!" Yes, if a baby isn't going to be coming, sports is the next best thing honey ha ha! He makes me laugh! He's been so cute lately trying to double and triple check to make sure we have everything ready. I love him for being such a protective daddy already :) Sorry I don't have any pictures to add this time, but she kept her hand over her face the WHOLE time, stubborn girl, must take after me! Meanwhile, I will be looking for any ways to get this thing going so we can bring her home. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! And Congrats to Lorraine and Kelly and their new addition!! So cute!

I will make sure to post something as soon as our little one is here as well :)