Jemma Rose

Jemma's birth story started super similar to Jade's. I had my 39 week checkup on Thursday and found out I was only dilated half a cm. My doctor said I should enjoy my Labor Day weekend as it would be unlikely that I would be having a baby then. I was pretty bummed out, so I resorted to what I believed to have brought on my labor with Jade, and I bounced on a yoga ball later that evening. 

Late Friday afternoon, I started feeling like things might be happening, but figured it was probably just in my head. Turns out, it wasn't in my head and it was actually my first sings of labor. By 10:00 p.m. my contractions were coming regularly about 7 minutes apart. By 1:00 a.m. they started coming about every 3-4 minutes and were increasing in strength. After my long labor experience last time, I was afraid this was a false alarm and was hesitant to call the doctor. After some convincing from my mom, around 1:30 a.m. I decided to call her, and she told me to head to the hospital. However, I still had to wait for Nate to get home from work and my mom to get to our house to stay with Jade! Finally, just after 3:00 a.m. we were in route to the hospital. 

We arrived at the hospital and made it up to the labor and delivery floor pretty quickly. Luckily it was a slow night so I has able to have several nurses working quickly to get me all set up as I was already 6-7 cm dilated and my contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes. The next two hours may have been the longest, most painful hours of my life. There were several things that needed to get into my system before I could get an epidural. Finally, I was able to relax and get some rest prior to Jemma's arrival. Around 8:00 a.m. I was at 9-9.5 cm and a short hour later, Jemma was born after three contractions of pushes! 

Birth Stats:
Date: 8/30/14
Time: 9:03 a.m.
Weight: 7 pounds 14 ounces
Length: 20.5 inches

Love at first sight!

 Holding Daddy's finger!

 Cute girl version of the standard hospital hat!

Mommy and Jemma!

Love!

Sweet girl!

Praise God for a fast delivery and a healthy baby!

The Final Weeks

I've been enjoying these last few weeks with Jade and cherishing our special time together before sissy comes along! :)

She has recently taken an interest in helping with everything in the kitchen!! We've been doing a lot of baking together! Jade was such a good helper while we made cookies using my Kitchen Aid mixer for the first time and with my first attempt at zucchini bread! Both turned out great I must say!

I'm so proud of Jade and everything she has accomplished this month. She is doing great with her speech development. Her therapist even seems to think she would be just fine if we chose to opt out of therapy at her evaluation next month. She is fully potty trained during the day and hasn't had an accident in weeks. Not to mention she has overcome her fear of big toilets and has no problem using the bathroom if she needs to when we are out! She is ready to be a big sister and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sissy (I think)!

Santa's Village

We had a fun time visiting Santa's Village and Azoosment park last weekend with Nate's mom and dad! Jade loved going on all the rides, feeding the animals and seeing Santa! 

The obligatory sign picture!

 Riding the rides all by herself!!

Having so much fun!

 Smiling for the camera!

The fun house was a big hit. Daddy took her through at least 3 times in a row!

The big slide was also a favorite. I can't even remember how many times she went down this!

Mommy daughter selfie!

No fear of the petting zoo animals. She loved walking around feeding them!

 She did feel a little differently about her first pony ride! Her face tells the story!

With Grandma and Grandpa!

Visiting Santa at his house!

She loved the princess that was walking around and thought holding her magic wand was pretty cool!

Thanks for such a fun day Grandma and Grandpa! :)

Potty Training Week 2

Week two was definitely an improvement to week one! Jade is doing awesome and is starting to develop a "routine" (typical Jade). The last few days she has gone #1 on her potty after breakfast, before nap, after nap and before bath without too much prompting! She used the big potty at Culvers which was a major accomplishment! With her holding power, I feel pretty confident making park, store, and meal trips. So far we have done them all accident free! Jade is still working on her #2. This week we had two successful times on the potty, one accident and one time in her overnight diaper. 

Jade's feeling of accomplishment is too cute. I love hearing her jump up and shout "I did it." She also refuses to wear any undies other than Bubble Guppies. Minnie Mouse, Sofia and Disney Princesses were all shot down on our trip to Target to pick out some new pairs. Silly girl! :) 

Sissy

At my 32 week appointment my doctor said I was measuring a cm big and that she wanted to send us for an ultrasound to check the size of the baby, which was totally fine with me! It was great to see that everything was okay, that she was still a girl and that she was already approximately 5 lbs 3 oz. She wasn't cooperating much for pictures, she kept her hands over her face the whole time the doctor tried to get a 3D shot. But i thought this one of her little nose and mouth was just too cute not to share!

I think Jade is starting to understand what is happening. She knows sissy is in my tummy and that we go to the doctor to check on her. When she sees an ultrasound picture, she knows it's her sissy and as of late, has even asked for her to come out and come home! :) I can't believe our due date is just over a month away. We can't wait to meet you, Jemma Rose!

Potty Training

I've decided that i'm either extremely crazy to begin potty training at 33 weeks pregnant, or just really ambitious. I'm leaning more towards crazy! :)

Jade is off to a really good start. Her first full day of training began on Friday where she successfully went both #1 and #2 on the potty, however did have a few accidents. On Saturday, we were out of the house most of the day, so unfortunately she had to spend most of the day in a diaper. I got a little frustrated at her on Saturday evening after she sat on the potty for 30+ min without going, and then had an accident immediately after getting up. This however seemed to be the biggest turning point in her journey so far because since then, she has hardly had an accident and is doing a great job self initiating her trips to the potty! She is now telling us she has to go prior to actually going!

She is super afraid of a regular sized potty, so going in public places without a diaper isn't quite an option yet. She does continue to tell me when she has to go even when she has a diaper on, which is a good sign! She is also still wearing a diaper for nap time and bedtime but has woken up dry a few times. We definitely have a long way to go, but I'm so proud of Jade and what she has already accomplished!

Daddy's Girl

The relationship that Nate has with Jade is so fun and so sweet! She totally adores her daddy and her time with him! Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks of Nate and Jade happenings!

I got a little taste of what goes on when I'm not home one afternoon! :)

Being silly at the park!

Giraffe watching at the zoo!

Fun daddy daughter date to Whalon Lake for a little nature walk and flower picking!