The McSpaddens

Here are some of the names she has been called in no particular order...

Nicknames:

C

C Bear

Claire Bear

Little Bear

Monkey

Monkey Face

Button (my personal favorite)

Buggy

Pandita

Kiddo (this is what Mark calls her)

We'll see what other names emerge in time!

We have so much to be thankful for! Thanksgiving was only about a week after Claire was born, so we stayed at home on Thanksgiving Day and had a small Turkey Day lunch at home- just the 3 of us (plus Myko :))

Thanks Aunt Shawna for this super cute onesie!
This was our Thanksgiving plate: Stuffing, cajun turkey, yummy casserole potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. We were able to eat our our china for this meal (we only have 2 place settings of our Vera Wang Wedding China), and it was wonderful!
Such a great meal!

We headed to Waco that weekend (just for a couple of hours) for a few close friends of the family to meet Claire. We only see them once a year, and they were excited to meet her. She did great in the car. Here's a pic of us outside by the lake (we only stood out there for about 2 minutes--- it was freezing!)

Born November 14

10:24 am

6 lbs. 2 oz.

Well, I feel awful that I haven't posted anything to the blog, and here it is December 1st already! Claire is already 2 weeks and 2 and a 1/2 days old. What can I say... we've been a little busy!

I'll catch everyone up now!

Well, my doctor thought she would have to induce me, but I prayed really hard about her coming on her own, and apparently the LORD agreed with me. I woke up Friday the 13th (yikes) and knew something was different. I started having contractions that morning, so I went to see my doctor early (we had appt. scheduled for 1 pm), and I called in my sub. Interestingly, Friday was supposed to be my last day at work... just missed it by 1 day! So, I had contractions all day, and Mark and I stayed at home trying to "wait the labor out" at home as long as we could, so as "I" could, shall I say. :)

After the contractions got to be about 3 minutes apart, we went to the hospital. Things progressed rather quickly, so we were prepared to have a Friday the 13th baby. This is merely laughable now, considering that I eventually was in labor until Saturday morning at 10 am. :) That's right 27 hours. I was really determined not to get an epidural, and at around 2 am ish (this was when I hit my wall) my contractions slowed waaaayyyy down. No changes. I was so frustrated. Every hour seemed like an eternity. My husband was an amazing coach, but at that point, I think he would have signed off for me to have a C-Section. Still no epidural (by my choice). I mean, I got that far... why quit now. Well, I eventually took an IV drip of a type of sleeping medicine to help me relax between contractions and rest. This was great. I mean, I could still feel the contractions (not great), but it was great to get a minute of rest every 3 minutes. :)

My mom and Mark's mom were also in the room off and on helping massage my back, get me ice, and breathe. They were great assistants! I felt bad for our families who were in the waiting room from around 7pm to 10 am the next day! They were so beat, but excited to finally meet her.

Towards the end of the labor, I was incredibly exhausted, but I was so excited to see our little girl. She was so tiny. What does she look like? Is she healthy? I mean there was so much rushing around. She was perfect!

Claire had some issues eating, so we had to do some formula supplementing and she eventually had to be fed with a tube (which crushed me). She also was a little jaundiced, and had to do a photo therapy. We called her our little "Super Claire" because she got to wear "superhero" glasses. :) We were so excited to take her home and start our new life with our baby girl.

Well, the first few days were an adjustment. Luckily Mark took off of work and the following week was a short work week for him (Thanksgiving), so we were able to try and get this whole thing down. Here's a quick list of what we learned the first few days...

1. Buy a better and new coffee maker

2. Sleep when we can... 20 minutes feels like 6 hours

3. When the hospital prescribes pain medicine for new moms for 12 days, there is a reason for it... :) (ouch!)

4. When Shevawn cries, it's mostly hormones... she doesn't want to drown the baby... she's also lacking a full night's rest. :)

5. Mark is great at washing bottles, pump parts, and changing diapers

6. it's a lot easier to hold her and "not break her" than we thought!

7. Always keep a diaper underneath her when you are changing her, or prepare for a leak!

8. Nothing smells better than a newborn baby!

9. Patience is a virtue. :)

10. We love her more than we ever expected to!

Claire is eating much better, and sleeping well for the most part. Each day is new! We've had wonderful visitors bring us food, do laundry, dishes, and mow our lawn, and we are so very grateful. I am still recovering from the longest labor ever (still surprised at how long this recovery process is), but it helps that I have the most wonderful husband ever to help take care of me, and the cutest baby girl ever to stare at me with those big (currently blue) eyes. :)

Although I'm not getting a lot of sleep right now, I am really enjoying my "maternity vacation" and I am trying really hard not to think about March 3- when I have to go back to work. I'm just going to enjoy these days... she'll ever be this little again!

There are other big changes coming next week, but that is a blog post for another day! So, our next post: Thanksgiving with our little family of 3 + Myko, Mark's exciting news, and more photos and Claire updates!

We are really feeling pretty ready for her arrival (or as ready as we could be). We still have little things to do, here and there, but all of the "necessities" are done, so there has been kind of a wave of peace on the McSpadden front. As of last week, the doctor said that I am still not dilated, in which I replied, "Thank goodness..." She was shocked by this b/c apparently most women are wanting it to be over. I haven't felt that way. I LOVE being pregnant. I love feeling a human move around inside of me, and the wonder and mystery of it all. Also, I want to make it to November, so just a few more weeks and then I might be one of "those" moms.

In the past month, we've had 3 beautiful baby showers (I'll post these pics later...), I had (and recovered from) the flu, and we learned that I can back off of the gestational diabetes because the baby is pretty small, and my doctor wants the baby to gain a bit of weight. Also, at our last appointment, we learned that there is a small chance that the McBaby Girl may have kidney reflux. We are praying about that, and we have been encouraged by so many people who have said that there kiddos have it (or have had it) and it isn't that big of a deal.

Mark and I have also been SO encouraged by our new church. We have met SO many people, and we have felt like we just joined a new family. It's been wonderful, and it was really what we were praying and looking for. Yea!

Both of our jobs are going great. I am ready for what I would call my "maternity vacation" with McBaby girl, but my students have been really cute about the baby, and this week I intend on cracking down on my maternity plans, so that things are ready to go for the 12 + weeks that I am gone.

As for how we are feeling, I'll start with Mark... in his words, "I'm excited! It's a lot of preparation... I'm ready for it to happen already." :) Cute... In my words, "I daydream a lot now about what she will look like, how will she laugh... what will it be like when there are 3 of us... and these Braxton Hicks contractions are driving me nuts..."

Here's some other pics that our friend Zach took with our new camera. Thanks Zach! We'll keep you posted on any news! I think everyone's more excited about finding out her name more than her actual arrival! Either way, we'll keep everyone posted!

We've Reached Month 7! Here's my latest belly pic. My how McBaby Girl has grown!

If you want to see really how much I've grown, I am wearing the same top below on our anniversary, but that was about 2 months before. Yikes!

Well, let's see... since our trip to Tahoe back in June, A LOT has happened around here... Here's a brief summary:

Well, in just a few days we'll know if we are going to have a boy or a girl. We are pumped!

(Please ignore my hair in this one... it's hot, I'm preggo, and I just woke up from a nap. But isn't McBaby cute? :))

Well, we had our big appointment yesterday! We had the doctor put the gender results in an envelope for us to open while we are on vacation in Lake Tahoe. He had us close our eyes for a part of the sonogram, which was crazy! I wanted to peek, but I know that it'll be worth it for us to enjoy that moment on our anniversary trip. Don't worry, we'll share the news with you once we know! Here's a little photo for the tease!

In regards to how I'm feeling, only one word will sum that up--- GREAT! The 2nd trimester has been wonderful thus far. Right now, we are at 17 and a 1/2 weeks, and my belly is just growing. I don't have a "great" picture right now to upload, but the one below with Noah shows just about how big the baby is getting. As for food, I am finally eating "normal" again... that is, if you call craving okra, mustard, fruit, and bean dip "normal." Here's a pic from a recent grocery trip. I laughed when I looked in my cart to see my 1/2 healthy, organic food and 1/2 "preggo" cravings! Ha ha! The cashier was a little confused, as was I! Please excuse the terribleness of my appearance, as I didn't shower before the "photo shoot." My mom came over that day for breakfast, and I just had to take a preggo pic with her. She looked adorable, and she sure knows how to make my day! 

In the meantime, I got to spend some quality time with my sister, Shawna, and he sweet baby boy Noah this week. He was just laughing and smiling at me. I guess I am pretty funny looking to him! He did make it easy for me to see us with a sweet boy! Time will tell.... Here are some photos from their visit. 

Do I look ready, or what?
Look at that sweet boy!

It was fun making him laugh!
Ranger Game with Friends