Christmas 2012

Christmas Eve was on a Monday this year, so it made for an extra long weekend for all the Christmas celebrations! We loved having John home with us as well so we could spend more time as a family. 

Our Christmas Eve was spent with the Huston's this year. We did things a little different this year and decided to do our gift exchange while dinner was cooking. We were spoiled of course and so was Camden. It's hard to get a baby gifts when they were just born and really he has everything he needs, so we asked for a bumbo for when he gets a little older :) I give it another couple of weeks and he'll be using it.

After the gift giving we enjoyed the feast! Ham, cheesy potatoes, salad...There is always so much food around the holidays...so much for losing the baby weight!

 The rest of the night was spent visiting and talking (mostly the ladies) while the boys played video games. Since this was Josh's first year back for Christmas since the mission, we took pictures in our Russian fur hats. Camden even got a cute hat from Uncle Josh to match the family! Then it was time to make it home before Santa would arrive...we definitely had ourselves a white Christmas! This Christmas Eve we got over six inches of snow. It made the drive home horrible, but sure made for a beautiful Christmas Eve and Christmas day! 

  

On Christmas Eve, after we got home from our snowy drive, we got Camden ready for bed so Santa could come. He slept for all of two hours and was up ready to play! We say its because he was so excited for Santa, but really it was totally our fault. He slept for five hours straight at grandma and grandpa Huston's and just wasn't tired anymore. ..so we paid for it! We were pretty much up the rest of the night, but at least with a happy baby.

Christmas morning my parents came over for breakfast. Since we slept In from our lack of sleep the night before, my parents watched us open our gifts. I got the cutest gift from John and Camden...a beautiful necklace from Tiffany's. On one side it says mom and on the other it has Camden's initials. I think its safe to say that Camden was definitely the best Gift this year! 

The rest of our Christmas was spent taking naps...mostly for Camden :), visiting extended family, showing off our adorable baby boy, and eating more food at the Huston's. Our Christmas this year was great on so many levels. It is everything and more than what i could have imagined with our baby boy. We can't wait for many fun and memorable Christmas seasons to come. Until next year...

The Weekend Before Christmas...

I love this time of the year...I always have, but this year is a little more special for our family. I bet you can guess why :) I have dreamed about what the holidays would be like with our children for a long time, so to finally have Baby Camden here to celebrate with us, makes this year that much better!

The days leading up to Christmas are always so much fun! We usually have my family Christmas party and if we have procrastinated at all...usually some last minute shopping. This year I am happy to say that even with having a newborn, we managed to get all our Christmas shopping done early. I still love going to the mall though...I am a sucker for mall crowds around Christmas time. am I weird or what?! 

This weekend before Christmas (and Christmas Eve) was full of lots of food, friends, family time, and gift giving. Friday we headed down to Steve and Kayla's place for homemade pizza and a little bit of gift exchanging. Camden was able to finally fit in some of his "real" clothes...that's what I call the non-pajama/lounging clothes. We have so much fun with Steve and Kayla and love hanging out with them. They live downtown right in the middle of all the Christmas Festivities, so you bet we took advantage of going to City Creek, looking at the Christmas lights, and enjoying all the madness of shoppers. 

 

Saturday, we slept in because baby boy slept from 12:30am-6:30am, got up for a feeding and went back to sleep until 9:00am! We were happy :) Later that afternoon we got ready and headed to my parents for our Horton/Ashcroft Annual Christmas Party. My mom and I finished up the last little bit of cooking, while Grandpa held Baby Camden. 

 

We had a delicious ham along with a lot of other goodies, my mom read our annual Christmas story, and then we all exchanged our gifts. I look forward to this night every year. I love spending time with my family. 

Camden got spoiled, as always, with a lot of gifts and a lot of love :) He also received his first Christmas Ornament. He actually got two...a mini snow globe that lights up and a rocking horse.

Our Sunday has been great thus far...we stayed in our comfy's and have been lazy watching Christmas movies. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and our Huston family Christmas party. 

Merry Christmas Everyone! May we all remember the real reason for this season and remember to count all our many blessing. I know I will :)

Camden { 0-1 } month old

 Guess who is one month old...

 

 Time is flying by...and I'm not sure I like it very much! I had to pack away a few of Camden's outfits this week because he is growing so much. It amazes me how much he can change in just one short month. 

I'm not going to sugar coat it and say that having a newborn is easy :) We have had ourselves quite the four weeks. It's been a challenge, but we are slowly learning what Camden likes and dislikes. Even though some nights we have wanted to sell him to the zoo (totally kidding), our life has been so blessed because of him. I honestly can't remember life before. We love waking up to this sweet boy everyday and can't wait for all the fun milestones we will meet with him. 

At one month, Camden...

 *Celebrated his first Thanksgiving
 

*Loves his baths. He didn't like these much at first, but after about two weeks it has become part of our nightly routine.
 *Loves his swing. He also didn't love this at first until one day I put him in it and the next thing I knew he was out like a light.
 *Not much of a Binky baby. He will keep it in for a little bit, but doesn't need it to fall asleep at night.
*Has been sleeping in his crib since about 3 weeks. We all sleep better at night :)
*Doesn't like to be swaddled at night because he likes to have his arms out.
 
 
*LOVES to be naked (with a diaper on of course)


*Hates to have a wet diaper, but also hates to be changed.
*Got newborn pictures (at one week old)
*Eyes are open more often. He has become more alert to lights and faces.
*Sleeps about 4 hours at a time during the night, so we usually only have to get up once during the night. This makes momma happy!
*Doesn't fit in newborn clothes anymore. We had to pack his first outfit away and it broke my heart :(

*Switched to size one diapers. He can still fit in newborn size, but they are getting a little too snug.
*Doesn't really love car rides
*Eats A LOT... He eats about 4oz- 5oz every three hours. He is starting to get lots of rolls on his cute little body and has the cutest double chin.

We have been having a great time together and look forward to when dad gets home from work so we can spend time together as a family. We love this handsome boy...especially his cute cute lips! Happy "one month" baby boy. We sure do love you!

John's Graduation

Friday was an exciting day for our family!  John graduated with his Bachelors degree from Weber State University.  It's been a long time coming and we are so proud of him of all he has accomplished. I am so proud of the example he will be to our family and teaching our children the importance of education. He didn't want to walk at first, but after much thought he decided he would because when you have worked that hard to accomplish something,  why not be acknowledged for it?! Plus I told him if he didn't walk my parents wouldn't give him his gift :)

John is such a hard worker! Not only did he do great in school,  but he worked full-time while he attended...sometimes taking an upwards of 20 credit hours. It stresses me out thinking about it, but he always managed to do great.

After graduation we went to Outback Steak House for dinner and today, went to Fashion Place Mall to pick up John's Graduation gift. He got his Breitling watch he has been drooling over for sometime and I'd say it's well deserved!  While there Camden and I enjoyed a lunch date with John at Cheesecake Factory. Camden slept the whole time :)

Its been an exciting finish to 2012 for us...a new baby boy and a graduation! We've got quite a lot accomplished this year and we definitely feel VERY blessed. John plans on going back to school in a year or so to get his Master's degree, so for now he is going to take a break and enjoy being a dad.

Congrats to our grad!

My little boy...

How did we get so blessed?! Those beautiful big blue eyes will get you everytime :) and those lips?!...well they'll get you everytime too!

Baby its cold outside!

I Had to share this photo! We finally got some snow here in good ol' Utah and along with it came freezing cold temperatures.  I decided to pull out Camden's winter gear...he wasn't too happy about wearing the hat because its still too big, but doesn't he look so darn cute :) love this little boy! 

Only two more weeks till Christmas!!!

Camden's Birth Story

On November 18th, 2012, John and I headed up to Ogden Regional Medical Center at 10:00am for my scheduled induction. Since Camden decided not to come on him own my doctor was generous enough to go ahead and induce me at 39 weeks 4 days. Once we arrived at the hospital, they checked us in, got us in our room, and there we waited to get the process started. They asked me a million medical questions...all about my history and any medical conditions I might have. It's a good thing I wasn't having contractions or in "real" labor at this point because I really don't know how someone in that kind of pain could sit through all those questions. My first set of nurses were great! Their names were Becky and Sherri. Becky was a trainee, so it was definitely nice to have Sherri there as well to help her. They decided to start my Pitocin at 11:55am and then call Dr. Bierer to come in and break my water. I was completely scared o death of Pitocin. I had heard my fair share of scary stories and well...I believed them all. Honestly, it wasn't that bad and I knew when they started to get bad I would be getting an epidural, so I was able to calm down about the fear of feeling that much pain.

Dr. Bierer showed up at 12:22pm and broke my water. ( he was able to go to his entire block of church, which he said hardly ever happens). I was really starting to feel contractions now, so we decided we better call for the epidural. You never know how busy the anesthesiologist can be and I didn't want to wait too long. At this point I started to cry. I was literally scared to death to get this epidural put in. Once again, I listened to every one's horrible stories and had pretty much set myself up for the worst. The doctor administering it reassured me he had been doing this for 25 years and promised everything would go great. The nurses had me sit up while they gave it to me. I had John sitting in front of me on a chair and I had to put my feet on his legs and really arch my back. I wouldn't say getting the epidural was fun, but it was not bad at all. I did feel a little bit of pinching as it went in and I was shaking because I was so scared, but I am so thankful I was able to get one and that everything went well. I am also thankful for the sense of humor the anesthesiologist had because it made things a lot better.

 I was given a button I could press every hour to administer more pain meds, which made it really nice. The only thing was every time I would press it, ten minutes later I would throw up a couple of times, and unfortunately dry heave because all I had in my tummy was water. Once all the water was gone it was terrible. I made sure I ate ice chips constantly so I would have something to throw up. The throwing up actually helped my labor move along quicker because I was using all those pushing muscles. They offered to give me Zofran, but I declined because I really was only throwing up once an hour and it wasn't all that bad.

Things really started to move along after Pitocin, breaking my water, and getting my epidural. Since I was already dilated to a three when I was induced, it made the process move much faster.At 1:30pm I was dilated to 4cm. The nurses said once I was able to get over 5cm. I would move quickly and they were right! Finally at 3:52pm I was at 6cm and by 4:32pm I was dilated to 8cm. Every time we had any progression, we all got really excited knowing it would be soon that we would finally meet our little boy. By 5:10pm I was dilated to 9cm. and soon would start pushing. It was right about then we relieved a new nurse...Her name was Emmalee and let me just tell you...we did not get along at first. She came to check me and said I was about a ten, but that she wouldn't check me for another two hours. I was not happy about this because I was having the urge to push and knew it wouldn't be long because I had been progressing so quickly. She disagreed because it was my "first" pregnancy. There were moments when John had to walk out of the room because she was frustrating him so much. I simply told her I would know when my body was ready and I would press the button when I needed her to check me again. I called her back in 30 minutes and sure enough I was a full 10cm. and ready to push. We started to push at 6:51. At first it was really difficult. I wasn't sure how to push, or I guess I couldn't really feel where I was pushing. I pushed for almost about 35 minutes with the nurses. Than Emilee called Dr. Bierer. He was there within 10 minutes and that's when the real pushing began. I pushed for about 15 more minutes, while I could see all the nurses running around and preparing for the birth of our little boy. John, my mom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law were all in the room helping me push and can I just say, I wouldn't have made it through this without them! I am so glad I had them all in there for the support and the help.

Camden John Huston was born at 7:48pm on November 18th, 2012. He weighed 8lbs. 4oz and was 20 inches long. When he came out the nurse said " oh big baby!" When they set him on my chest I was in pure amazement that something this beautiful was all mine...forever. All of the hurt and pain I had felt over the past two years was worth it for that very moment when we made eye contact with each other. I felt a feeling of complete happiness and as if the world had stopped just for a couple of seconds, so I could enjoy that very moment. I will never forget looking up at John and seeing the look in his eyes when he saw his baby boy. We were both so relieved to finally have him here with us.

My labor went smoother than I had ever imagined. We feel so blessed that Camden was born healthy and had absolutely no complications. We can't thank the Ogden Regional staff enough for there help in getting our angel here and all of our friends and family that were so excited to meet this baby boy. He is so loved and I don't think he'll ever understand just how much he has healed me and John's broken hearts. Everyday I wake up I thank my Heavenly Father for this opportunity I have been given.

Camden we are so excited to finally have you here. It's as if you have been a part of our little family forever. I feel so blessed that our Heavenly Father trusts your dad and I to raise you here on this earth. We are so blessed to have such a healthy baby.

Camden John Huston

Its amazing how one individual can change our life so much. We are completely head over hills for this sweet boy and can't get enough of him. Until I can write his birth story, here are "some" pictures (we have so many)

Enjoy...

 Most Recent- 10 days old :)

39 Weeks!

I can't believe this will be my last post before my baby boy is here! I had my final pre-natal appointment before Camden comes this week and everything looked great. I hadn't progressed anymore since 38 weeks. I am currently still dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. Camden did however put on more weight. They are guessing he will weigh about 7.5 lbs. 

I got weighed for my last and final time before Camden makes his debut. I didn't put on any weight from last week, so for this pregnancy I put on 22 lbs. over my pre-pregnancy weight of 122. I am weighing in at 144! The questions is...how fast will this weight come off?! We shall see...

I am looking forward to wearing some normal clothes again. I realize I will probably still be wearing my maternity bottoms for a bit, but I am okay with that. At least they won't fit as snug as they do right now.
   
As delivery day is drawing closer and closer I am becoming more and more emotional. I find myself tearing up thinking about meeting this little boy. It seems so surreal that it is so close for John and I. For sometime this all seemed so out of reach! 

I haven't been getting much sleep lately. In fact I am up every thirty minutes it feels like. I get the best sleep between four and eight in the morning. I am pretty much running on very little sleep. I know I won't get much sleep with a brand new babe, but at least the little bit of shut eye I get will be more comfortable. Camden has been moving like crazy at night lately. My ribs and back have never hurt so bad. I think he is really uncomfortable too.
 
I have managed to not get any stretch marks! Oh how happy that makes me! It's amazing how much your skin can actually stretch. I didn't think when I started showing that my skin would be able to stretch this much.

  
I haven't been eating as much this week. I have been more nauseous lately, which is a sign that labor is near.  There just isn't room for food anymore and I have been getting indigestion and heartburn anytime I eat. My body has been aching more than ever this week. I can barely walk without feeling like I am going to pass out and my pelvic area feels as if it's going to break. I am so grateful my doctor isn't making me go another week...He pretty much rocks! 

This week John will be up at the St. Regis hotel in Park City for a "work thing". I get to join him and relax in the awesome hotel room for a couple of days. I am going to soak this all in, after all life will change a lot come Sunday. 

There are so many different emotions John and I are feeling as delivery day draws near, but most of all we are very excited to meet our baby boy. We have tried to be as prepared as we can be for all the different emotions we will feel, but many have said it's unlike any love you have ever felt. 

 
We can't wait to me you, Camden. We love you!

38 weeks!!!

38 weeks and still going strong!I honestly didn't know if I would make it to this week after my last appointment, but Camden has other plans for us. He is still inside...and I am pretty sure we are both extremely uncomfortable! Dr. Bierer said he is weighing around 7 lbs. still. I am just glad I will hopefully not be giving birth to a baby over 8 lbs. I am just not sure my body could handle that :) 

At my appointment this week I wasn't expecting any sort of progression because my contractions had completely stopped. I would run errands, walk everywhere, and still not feel a thing. Much to my surprise I am now dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced! After being checked, Dr Bierer asked if I would like to chose a day after my 39th week to be induced! Oh I have never been so happy to here those words in my life! A while back he told John and I that if my cervix looked good close to my due date than we could discuss an induction date.

 Since everything is looking great right now (and I seriously don't know how I haven't had this child yet) we set an induction date for NOVEMBER 18th!!!

So if Baby Camden decides to not come on his own...that will be the day! How exciting is that?!

I am still putting on weight believe it or not! I am now 22 lbs. over my pre-pregnancy weight of 122, so I am weighing in at 144! OH MY GOSH! I am hoping that at least half of this will come off after I give birth. My mom was always so lucky to lose a ton of weight even before she left the hospital...so I guess I am being hopeful that I will be the same way. 

With the Christmas season coming upon us, I have started to put together my list of items I need (or want). I just want clothes! My maternity clothes are not fitting anymore...and I am pretty uncomfortable in them most days. When I am at home, it's sweats for me! I am looking forward to clothes fitting a little better than they are right now :) 

I have been pretty lucky to not get any stretch marks with this pregnancy. Once again....thanks mom :) I have heard these are hereditary, so since she never got them I am hoping that I will stay clear of them as well. My belly button is most definitely poking out. I really wonder what it's going to look like once Camden isn't in there anymore...

I have been experiencing a lot of fatigue this week, and at times a lot of energy to clean my entire house. I have had a ton of pressure in my pelvic area and I still feel like my bladder is going to fall out.  I have been experiencing menstrual cramps and have also had some nausea, but not as much as weeks past. My sleep has been...horrible! I can't get comfortable at night for anything. I am waking up every hour...I'm ready to have this baby :)

Baby Camden has been moving like crazy lately. I still think he is trying to do flips and turns in there, but he has ran out of room. I've had a limb hanging out in my right rib cage lately too and he loves to kick right there. OUCH!

 I haven't craved anything in particular this week, but I have been so hungry. It must be the last minutes pounds Camden and I are putting on.  

  
Words can not explain how excited, nervous, and anxious I am to meet our baby boy. It is so exciting to know that I only have eight more days at the most until we get to see him for the first time. Like I said...no words! There are so many things we are looking forward to, but most importantly we are finally getting to start our little family. Camden has no idea just how happy he is going to make his mom and dad :) 

37 Weeks! Full-term!

 I cannot believe I am full-term... and at the same time I can definitely believe it. We are so ready for this baby boy to come. I went to my 37 week appointment this week not expecting too much progression. I didn't have many contractions this week...it was pretty uneventful in the "Labor Signs" category. John and I even ventured out last Saturday to try and get things moving. We walked around the entire City Creek and I honestly felt great! Camden definitely teased us with his scare at 35 weeks. 

Dr. Bierer said I am still dilated to a 2, but I am 50% effaced now so there actually has been some progression! Camden is now weighing 7lbs...yep already 7lbs! There is just no way I can go till his due date. He'll be a big boy if that's the case. When Dr. Bierer checked me, he was trying to "get things to move" and OH MY GOSH it hurt so bad, but hopefully by next week we will be about there...if I don't find a way to go on my own by then :)

At this point in my pregnancy I have put on 21 lbs. over my pre-pregnany weight of 122. So I am weighing in at a whopping 143 and lets hope it stops there! I don't have any stretch marks yet thank goodness! My maternity bottoms are starting to not fit anymore and tops...well basically I am having a hard time finding anything that fits over this belly of mine. This weekend, John and I are supposed to go to dinner at the Little America. We are supposed to dress up and I have no idea what I will be able to squeeze over this body of mine. I would be happy living in sweats until Camden decides to come out :)

   

This week I have experienced some intense pelvic pain and cramping. Doc says this is my cervix thinning out. I have had a few headaches and some Braxton Hicks contractions...but not the real ones. I am pretty uncomfortable! I don't really sleep that well because every time I have to roll over I have to re-situate my pillows and blankets to be tucked just right :) Thank goodness I can sleep in! 
First thing I am probably going to do when this little boy comes out is sleep on my back and my belly. I definitely miss it!

 

  Camden's been moving a ton this week! It hurts a lot though because there just isn't room in there anymore. My bladder feels like it's going to fall out and my ribs are being kicked all the time. I still look like I am doing belly rolls anytime he moves. I love being able to feel him move and a lot of people say I will miss it a lot.
 

 I have been more hungry this week then usual. I notice though I have to eat smaller meals...there just isn't any room. My tummy has dropped more, if that's even possible at this point. I feel like if I sit Indian style that I have a basketball sitting in my lap. It's getting hard to get around now days. My belly button is no longer an inny...it's graduated to an outy for the past couple of weeks. I do feel lucky I haven't had any swelling or retaining water this pregnancy. I can still wear my wedding ring :) 

I am really hoping for some labor signs as this week progresses. We are feeling so anxious to get this baby here. John asks me every night he comes home from work if I think he'll come that night...if I only knew John...if I only knew. We know he will come when he is ready, but we want him to know that we are ready for him and can't wait to meet him. We have waited a long time for him :)

 
My next appointment is on November 8th...we'll see if I make until then. If I had to make a bet on it, I am sure Camden will still be inside enjoying himself :) 

36 Weeks!!

This week we had our 36 week appointment. I will start to go in weekly now to see if I am progressing. After our little scare at L&D last week, here is the Doctor's Orders...take it easy, don't over exert yourself, and keep Baby Camden in until November 1st (this is when I am full-term!) Dr. Bierer said he would be fine if he came now, he might just have to stay an extra day in the hospital. 

I had contractions every four minutes last night and just about when I was going to wake John up to head back to L&D, they stopped and they haven't been consistent since. I think Camden is testing our patience :) and I still think he might make us wait until his due date! Dr.Bierer on the other hand doesn't think I will make it until November 22nd!

How far along? 36w2d

Size of baby? He is weighing in at about 6lbs

Total weight gain/loss: +19 from my pre-pregnancy weight of 122...so I am weighing in at 141. I Lost a pound this week.
   
Maternity clothes? Of course...couldn't even imagine squeezing into normal clothes, at least bottoms.  

Pregnancy symptoms this week? Braxton hicks that progress into contractions, headaches, hip pain, heartburn, nausea...the list really could go on and on :) I AM UNCOMFORTABLE and so is little boy!

Stretch marks? None! and lets keep it that way!
 
Sleep: Not sleeping so well...this seems to be when my contractions come on the strongest.

 
Best moment this week:Realizing how close we are to being parents...I seriously can't wait to meet you baby boy!

  
Miss Anything? oh...lots, but I am going to miss being pregnant with this little boy :)

 
Movement: So much movement, except it's not the same as it used to be. I feel every little thing because he is so squished in there! Sometimes it looks like I am doing belly rolls. My ribs burn and hurt and my bladder...well that thing is going to fall out

 
Food cravings: no cravings
 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Food...it's like I am back in my first trimester. I have been so nauseous! 

 
Have you started to show yet: what do you think :) My tummy has dropped as well...I can feel it in my bladder!

 
Gender: Baby Boy

Belly button in or out? It's officially out!     

 
Wedding rings on or off? Still wearing it! 

Labor Signs: Yep! Contractions on a daily basis, I am dilated to a two still and baby Camden has dropped. Dr. Bierer said if he came now, he would be just fine, but they would like him to be in there for another week.

 
Mood? I want our baby boy to come! After our scare last week John and I are anxious to meet him and would be happy if he came any day now. I can't wait to be a mom!

 
Looking forward to: Seeing if I progressed anymore at our next appointment on Halloween. We are ready for you baby boy :)