A new day

So today I begin my journey into "going natural" with my hair. lol This may not sound like a big deal, but having never seen what my actual natural hair looks like, it was kind of scary to tell my hair dresser to "chop it off"! But that she did and here it is!

My natural hair is pretty curly. Crazy, right?! It's going to take a while to get used to, but I'm excited to see what will happen when it grows out.

I needed a laugh.....

Haiku's are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

-Threadless t-shirt

Not profound. Not deep. I just needed a laugh today. :)

A month has flown by....

 and I have been motivated by another recent new mommy's blog to finally update you on our little bundle of joy. :)
Malakai Ray Knight was born on February 25th at 2:55 pm. Today, he is one month old and the absolute love of my life (besides Drew, of course). This past month has flown by. He's grown so much just in this short time. Today, at the doctor, she told us he's gained 2 pounds in 2 weeks....GOOD GRACIOUS! lol He's a growing boy. That's for sure. :)
So, going back to birth day....My doctor wanted to induce me because of my high blood pressure. So on Wednesday the 24th at 6 am we were ready to go have a baby! We called the hospital to make sure we could come in and get things started. They told us to wait 2 hours and call back. The computer system had shut down and they were running around trying to get everything straight so they didn't want me coming into all that which I was thankful for. Buy now we have 2 more hours of waiting. I was very pregnant, uncomfortable, but most of all....just ready to have this baby! So what did we do? We went to IHOP, of course! LOL Kristi (who had taken the day of work to help me) went to breakfast with us. We sat and ate waiting for 2 hours to pass. When the time came I called the hospital and again was told to call back a little later. SERIOUSLY?!?! Get this baby out of me! lol So now what? Let's go watch Lost. We missed it the night before cause we went to bed early thinking we were going to have a baby the next day. That didn't seem to be the case at this point. Now it is noon and we REALLY have nothing to do. So we take a nap. Well.....Drew took a nap...I laid there staring at the ceiling and slept for, maybe, 30 mins.
Finally, at 2pm we get the call to go to the hospital BUT there are absolutely no beds open. Apparently everyone and their mother was having a baby that day. After sitting in the waiting area for an hour we went to triage where I got my preliminary tests done. We were there for 2 hours. During this time I was having contractions, but they were still 8-10 mins apart and not that strong. I was 3cm dilated.
And then there was hope! The nurse came in and said that there was a room available!!! I didn't have to go back home!!!! And this room was awesome! Anne Arundel Medical Center is awesome. We were in the biggest birthing suite which was made and dedicated for Pat Sajak (Wheel of Fortune!). We felt kind of special. LOL
At 7pm they started the Pitocin and within 5 mins the contractions came! They were not lying when they said Pitocin contractions are intense. WOW! At this point, it was apparent that I was not having this baby today. I made it to 2:30am and I couldn't take it anymore. They were going to give me some drugs (not an epidural) to help dull the pain, but they were concerned about the baby's heart rate dropping so epidural it is!!! Just as fast at the Pitocin started the epidural kicked in! MAN it was great!!! I actually slept for 3 hours. :)
The next morning they increased the dose of Pitocin to get things moving and it sure did. By 11am I was 6cm dilated and this is when they broke my water. Drew had left to go to dialysis which was really hard. For me, cause I didn't want to be alone, but even more for him. I knew he wanted to be there for every moment. At 1pm I was 8cm dilated and getting more and more nervous about actually having this baby. Then, around 2:15, they checked me again and it was GO TIME!!!
Kristi, who was flying from work to get to the hospital, barely got there in time. I had been pushing for 10 mins when she got there, and 23 mins later Malakai was born. :) Pushing, although it was somewhat painful even with the epidural, was more exhausting than anything else. There were a few times I thought I was going to pass out. It was great to have Dottie and Kristi in the room with us. The nurses thought they were HILARIOUS! lol Dottie bombarded them with questions before they even had a chance to talk to me. The room was full of laughter (including my doctor) while I was pushing and I couldn't think of any better way for Kai to come into the world then to the sounds of happiness and joy.
Looking at him for the first time...I was overwhelmed. I didn't cry at first. I couldn't believe I actually just gave birth; that he was finally here. I sat there with a look of shock on my face. Drew, on the other hand, had to be told to calm down. He was hyperventilating. LOL He was just so excited. It wasn't until they brought him back, all wrapped up, looking into my eyes, that it really hit me. This is my son. My flesh and blood! And then the tears flowed and didn't stop till the next day. :)
We brought him home the first night and were promptly back in the hospital the next day. Although he was eating, Kai wasn't getting enough when he was breastfeeding which resulted in him becoming dehydrated. He had a fever of 100.6 which is very high for a newborn. After multiple tests to make sure it wasn't anything else more serious, 2 more days in the hospital and worrying like I never knew I could, we brought him home for the second time. This time it stuck and he has been happy and growing ever since.

It has been a crazy time of not sleeping and a crash course in parenting, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world! :) And look how cute!!!

I'm having a baby tomorrow.......

Seriously?!!?!?! I'm going to have a baby tomorrow. (hopefully I'm not in labor for longer than a day, but you never know) The range of emotions I've had in the past few days has kinda thrown me. One moment I'm super excited, the next I'm terrified of the pain. Then I start thinking of the huge undertaking raising a child actually is...Then I just can't wait to meet him and see who he looks like. LOL I'm a little exhausted just from thinking. Everyone has reassured me that this is normal, and I'm sure it is, but it's so scary not knowing.
So here I sit....the day before I am induced, with my feet elevated cause they look like elephant feet, trying to occupy my mind with things other than thinking about the pain. All I want at this point is to see my little man. :)

The end is near..

And we're ready! :) This morning we found out that I will be induced, if I don't pop before, next Wednesday morning!!! WOW.....I WILL have a child in 6 days....or less, maybe. These 9 months have seemed to fly by, but these last 2 weeks seem to be creeping by. lol We are just so excited to meet our little man! (That's still pretty crazy, but alot easier to say, now that I've had some time to get used to it).
It's funny (and amazing) to see how God works, and to realize over and over again, that He is truly in control of all things. Even the little things. My good friend Dottie had been trying to get that baby shower together, but EVERY time she scheduled it the snow would come. 3 dates later and we finally were able to have it, but if we had it on the original date I would have had even more pink! I was overwhelemed with what we already had. I can't imagine more. God knew! :) And now our little man is set! The amount to stuff we got was CRAZY! We are truly blessed with amazing family and friends who have given and continue to give to us so generously.
So now we wait. Everything is set up...Car seat installed, pack 'n play set up, bassinet in place, clothes washed...whatever comes out (boy or girl) we'll be ready. LOL

Wow.......

So most of you have heard the news. "She" is really a "He" and finding this out at 37 weeks kinda blew our minds. Not to mention the plethora of pink items that have overtaken our room. lol And it was totally by surprise that we even got the sonogram. We thought the nurse was making a funny (but not-so-funny) joke and when she just stared at us with a blank look on her face, we knew it was for real. We have been talking to our little boy like he was a little girl! (I really hope that doesn't scar him for life). Now, nothing is for sure till this little one comes out, but the nurse AND the doctor seemed extremely positive that it is, in fact, a boy. The doctor walked in and said, "So it looks like your daughter grew a penis!" lol....nice.

All I could do was laugh. Whether it was nervous laughter or laughter of sheer disbelief or just laughter of joy...I don't know. All three I guess, but for a good 5 minutes all Drew and I could was laugh. As the day went on, the more it sunk in that we are going to have a little boy. Now don't judge me for the next statement. After it sunk in, I was a litte dissapointed. NOT because it was a boy! It doesn't matter what comes out. I will love this baby SOOOOO much! But there was a little part of me that was sad for losing the idea of my little girl. Now before you say it, I know that it's not like I coudln't have a little girl further down the road, and I know that she wasn't even real. But it's the dreams and the ideas of that little girl that are hard to let go of. But now I look ahead to dreams and ideas of our little man! I never thought I could love something so much before even setting eyes on it. I can't imagine what it will feel like to see him and hold him for the first time. Amazing.

So now to the task of getting rid of pink and bringing in the blue and green. lol Although, nothing is going away until this baby comes out and we know for sure what it is. :) I've learned my lesson. Next time we're just gonna go for the surprise. Way less stress.

Here are the sonogram pictures.

This was at 21weeks when we thought it was a girl. 

And this is at 37 weeks.....BOY!

Technology is great, but it's not always right. LOL

I guess I should thank her....

I will probably never get this amount of rest ever again. lol So thanks are in order to my little one inside because I am now on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy. High blood pressure is not a good thing....especially in pregnancy which is why my doc wants me to lay down all the time and not be stressed. :) So don't stress me out, k? I had planned on working up until I popped so that threw me off a little. I feel bad for leaving work so suddenly, but my baby's health is more important that answering phones and making copies. lol I just hope my co-woker doesn't go crazy with no one to talk to. :) I promised I would call once a day just to check in.
I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get a little crazy laying at home all day, but I have thought of a couple projects to keep me busy AND can be done laying on a couch. LOL Not much time left. She will be here soon and rest will be a thing of the past so this is why I am thanking her. Thank you little one!!!

So....guess who sucks at bloggng... :)

Now to be fair, I warned you all I was horrible at blogging. lol I always think....I should blog today...then 2 weeks later I finally do. Well today is the day. : )
I am now 35 weeks. 35 WEEKS???!?!?! It's RIDICULOUS how fast the time has gone, and even more ridiculous that this baby could really come at any time now. I hope she waits a litle longer though. She needs to bake some more. : ) Right now, she is pretty much developed and just gaining weight. I hope she's all cute and chubby.

This is my huge belly.

And these are my Nutty Professor feet...

LOL It's pretty bad. We are not new to this though. Back when Drew had a semi-working kidney his feet used to swell up REAL bad and, being the good girlfriend I was, I would sit and push the fluid out of his feet. Now the favor is being returned. LOL Sometimes it's wierd having a husband whose been through more of the pregnant experiences then I have. He's had the swollen feet, stretch marks (after his transplant), an epidural (which he totally recommends), and the complete loss of dignity from tons of doctors pricking, poking, shaving, and observing. He's definetely more used to being in a hospital bed then I am.

Now that the time is getting closer, my mind is in hyperdrive. Do we have everything we need? Do I have enough of this or that? Will everything go ok? Is the house ready for the baby? What can I clean? Have I finished everything I needed to at work? Am I going to be good at this? The questions continue....I can't seem to make them stop. But with those questions comes dreams of... what she will look like? What kind of personality will she have? Will she love music and sports like mom? Will she be smart and strong like her dad? Will she have his eyes? So many things I can't wait to find out. My only prayer is that she is healthy. : ) I know that God has already planned her life and knows who she will be. I just pray that we can raise her and guide her in a way that is pleasing to him. This adventure is just beginning.

ugh.....

Today has been a rough day. Woke up with a migraine and a sore throat. Sweet Andrew, being the great man he is, forced me to stay in bed. lol To make the day even more wonderful, the stress of life seemed to come down on us today. Life is overwhelming as it is....add baby worries (providing, protecting, etc...) and I couldn't stop crying. lol Now to be fair, hormones DO NOT help when you're already feeling sick. The thing that continues to amaze me, though, is God is IMMENSELY bigger than any sickness, any stress, any hormone in this world. We have been reminded time and time again, and today is no different. He shows His love through family and freinds that love us and would do anything for us, and by providing for our needs even when it looks like there is no way out. I just knew I couldn't end this day without praising God for loving us for no other reason than He loves us unconditionally. We definitely don't deserve it.

New Camera...New Adventures!

So this Christmas Drew and I decided that our gift for each other would be a new Flip Camera. We've wanted one for awhile, and now, since we're going to have a new addition to the family, it would be nice to be able to document all the crazy times that will come. Drew, of course, can not stop playing with it, so here is a video of our day out in DC. Good times. lol I almost confiscated the camera from him, but in the end, it was a really great day. lol No cupcake, but still a good day. Watch and you'll see. : )
Dandrew's Big Day Out!