Amelia Lynn McNally

Amelia Lynn McNally

November 30th, 2013 08:40am

7lbs 11.7 oz 20 inches

The Friday before I went into labor (39 weeks), I was having some mild contractions. My husband decided to stay home from work with me and we headed off to Disneyland for some walking, hoping to see if things progressed. While there I did have some more intense contractions but they were sporatic. We went home and I lied down and they went away completely. Whoopee :/ The next Monday was the same story, kinda of. I woke up around 4am with contractions that were pretty intense (or so I thought, HA!). I thought, "This has got to be it!" I sent my husband to work anyways, figuring he could always come home.Well, by 7 am the contractions had stopped. I lied on the couch and just sobbed to myself. It was so frustrating to get my hopes up and have them dashed completely. 

Walking around Disneyland

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and he stripped my membranes (HOLY HECK THAT HURT!!). He said that if it was going to work, that it would work within 24 hours. Well, 24 hours came and went with nothing, only a few braxton hicks. We went about our daily lives, including Thanksgiving. Our first Thanksgiving on our own. We couldn't travel to family and decided not to have a bunch of family around waiting for me to go into labor. We went to Mimi's for dinner that day and it was fabulous! After dinner we went on a walk on the beach in Seal Beach. 

Thanksgiving in Seal Beach

Friday morning (Black Friday), Kevin and I spent the morning shopping online for Christmas presents. I was so ready to meet my little girl that I decided to do a few things to make the sporatic contractions I was having be the real deal! (I'll spare you the details of what I did ;) ) Well, my sporatic contractions turned into more regular ones and got me excited! So I jumped in the shower, because I was determined to shave my legs and be fresh for my delivery :) While I was in the shower my contractions started to get harder where I actually had to stop what I was doing a take a deep breath and grab onto something. It was time! Got out of the shower and told Kevin about my contractions. They were about 3-5 minutes apart and were pretty intense. I bounced on my exercise ball for awhile, since that was the only thing that helped the pain. My husband ran around finishing up some chores and putting our things in the car. Around 4:30 pm I called my mom to tell her that she should leave and by 5 pm we were on our way to the hospital!!

Getting into the car, I'm pretty sure my water broke but I wasnt sure. The drive to the hospital was tough but exciting! We were checked into triage and the nurse checked to see how far I was progressed and my water broke, most definitley! After that the pain was insane! They admitted us and off we walked to Labor and Delivery! 

I got my epidural around 8 pm that night and all I can say is HALLELUJAH!!! I told the anestegiologist that I loved her!! My mom showed up not too long after and my sisters, dad, sister-in law and brother- in law came a little later. I was progressing nicely; about 1 cm per hour and tried to sleep but by 2 am I was at 10 cm. The nurse wanted me to hang out and let the baby descend more (which is great because thats what I wanted). The nurse came and checked me every 30 to an hour but Amelia wasnt descending as much as she'd like. Sometime in the early morning the nurse said I could try and push. We did a few practice pushes and then got the show on the road! Frustratingly, Amelia would descend down but then slide right back up. The nurse soon discovered that Amelia was OP (face up) and called my OB to come check on me. My OB was on call (YAY!) and came shortly and tried to turn Amelia with his hands (totally weird!), but she was a stubborn girl and wouldn't turn. Shift changed and I got a new nurse who wanted to try and push while lying on my left side to see if this helped turn Amelia. This was tough to do and wasnt working well and soon I was back on my back pushing. At some point I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder blade and that was the worse pain that I had during delivery, ugh! It was hard to curl my head into my chest. 

Finally Amelia's head was RIGHT THERE! I got to feel her head that was FULL of hair!! The OB came in and a couple more pushes and a skillful flick of the wrist, Amelia was born facing the proper way at 8:40 am.

They placed her on my chest and I finally got to meet my little girl, her full head of black, curly hair and all!!

She was beautiful! 

I loved every moment of it, looking back at it now, and love that our love made this precious, perfect little girl!!!

I love you Ms. Amelia!!

The last 7 months...

The last 7 months I have neglected this little blog. It's crazy how little time you have with a baby. 

Here are some pictures of Amelia the last 7 months.

I will post my birth story in a separate post.

Time's going by fast!

32 weeks!

Baby Stats: 2.5 to 4lbs depending on which source you look at. :/ They say that baby will start to be head down now but she's been head down since 20 weeks and she hasn't done any flip flopping. It's crazy to think that she hasn't moved around much other than her extremities.

Weight gain: 22 lbs total. I went a month without gaining any weight and then gained 3 lbs in 3 weeks, so not awful.

Stretch marks: NONE....that is to say that weren't there before! lol

Belly button in/out: Out at the top part of my belly button but only when I stand up.

How's mom feeling: Most nights I am tossing and turning and its becoming difficult to turn over because of the belly. I have been having some uncomfortable Braxton Hicks that at times I've thought were real contractions. They are cramps low in my belly and go around to my low back, but they go away when I change position, like get up and walk.

Cravings: They are totally random but I've been trying to eat healthier. I LOVE cereal though!

Movement: Still having lots of movement but it has decreased. My OB said that its pretty normal since she's running out of room in there and so the movements are smaller and they are more of her dragging her feet, elbows and hands over my belly.

Boy or Girl: GIRL!! Amelia Lynn McNally!

Maternity clothes: Pretty much everything I wear is or if it isn't, its a shirt that was baggy on me before.

Our maternity photos were pushed back because my new niece was born!!! So we will be having them done in a couple weeks. 

My shower is next weekend and I cannot wait!! 

<3

28 weeks

 

 

28 weeks as of Friday! 83 days to go! WOW!!

 

 

Baby Stats: About 2- 2.5lbs. Lungs are developed enough to survive in the outside world.

Weight gain: Not sure. I have an appt. tomorrow and will find out how naughty I've been :|

Stretch marks: NONE....that is to say that weren't there before! lol

Belly button in/out: Not in or out. Its pretty flat. Depends on where she is, the top part pokes out a bit :P

How's mom feeling: great, but sleeping has been a little more difficult. Tossing and turning but thanks to my Snoogle, its not too bad.

Cravings: They are totally random but I've been trying to eat healthier.

Movement: Lots!! She's most active at night right before bed and in the morning. She loves when I lie on my side and she kicks. I've been playing relaxing piano music at night and she dances to it!

Boy or Girl: GIRL!! Amelia Lynn McNally!

Maternity clothes: Pretty much everything I wear is or if it isn't, its a shirt that was baggy on me before.

 

Having my maternity photos taken in a couple weeks and I am so excited! Gotta go shopping!!

Behind as usual

I have 3 belly pictures that span approximately 7 weeks....I will eventually get the hang of posting weekly...at least until the baby comes ;)

 

21 weeks

 

 

Baby Stats: about 1 lb and size of a pomegranate. The digestive system is already producing poo! :)

Weight gain: 12 lbs- should only be at 10lbs but oh well :/

Stretch marks: NONE....that is to say that weren't there before! lol

Belly button in/out: In..for now

How's mom feeling: great!!! Not much else to be said. Have had some ankle swelling but they say its normal :)

Cravings: They are totally random and usually not good for me. I've been eating a lot of cereal, which I know isn't good for me.

Movement: Lots of kicks and pokes. I sometimes can see I little outside movement but its so slight.

Boy or Girl: GIRL!! If you didn't realize that from the picture! It was totally unexpected to find out that we are going to have a little girl. Both Kevin and I just felt that it was a boy that we even didn't come up with any serious girl names.

Maternity clothes: Pretty much everything I wear is or if it isn't, its a shirt that was baggy on me before.

 

 

 

Baby Stats: 11/2 lb and the size of a grapefruit. She can hear us talking now!!

Weight gain: not sure...

Stretch marks: still none

Belly button in/out: in still but its getting tighter

How's mom feeling: Still good. Still with swollen ankles at times but going strong!

Cravings: I love red grapes and apples.

Movement: She's getting stronger in there. I can definitely see her from the outside now.

Boy or Girl: GIRL!!!

Maternity clothes: nothing new

 

 

Baby Stats: about 2 lbs and the size of a rutabaga...whatever size that is :) She's practicing breathing in there, floating around in fluid.

Weight gain: Too much unfortunately :( 19lbs at the last OB appt. She lectured me a bit about adding some exercise, so we will try and go for some walks at night.

Stretch marks: None

Belly button in/out: becoming smaller and smaller...Kevin says it'll be an outie by the end of September.

How's mom feeling: It's getting tougher at work to bend over and pick stuff up. I also have to work with stroke patients, helping them transfer and such. I'm pooped by the end of the day (Hence this awful picture)

Cravings: Random. I craved cherry coke on Friday.

Movement: Still tons. She's mostly active at night and early mornings. Sometimes she's having her own little dance party in there and my tummy wiggles back and forth. Still hurts when she river dances on my bladder :(

Maternity clothes: went to the OldNavy outlet yesterday and got 2 new shirts that were 40% off! They aren't maternity, but I got a size bigger so they will work.

 



 

There you have it! All caught up!!

And now without further ado I'd like to announce......

 

Amelia Lynn McNally!!

A little surprise!

The McNally clan is growing by 2 feet!

In the middle of March we found out that we are going to have a little bundle in November!

I thought I'd start a pregnancy journal with updates and pictures :) And since I am SOOO behind, I'm going to sum up the last 20 weeks or so :P

8 weeks

 Excuse the bad picture and the dirty bathroom mirror!
During this time I was having all day nausea. I wouldn't say I had any cravings, more so what I could eat without making myself sick. I ate a lot of bean burritos and mashed potatoes.
This picture was taken the week after we told everyone at my mom's 60th birthday party!

How's mom feeling?: Nausea pretty much gone and now just enjoying being pregnant.
Cravings?: No specific ones, I still loved burritos!
Movement: None
Girl or Boy: Don't know yet, the tech during the 12 week scan wouldn't even look :(
Maternity clothing: I can still wear my normal clothes but they are starting to fit tight!

How's mom feeling?: Great! Not too tired, yet.
Cravings?: I love gala or Fuji apples with peanut butter. Still love bean burritos!
Movement: Some bumps and pokes and for awhile I just thought they were gas, but eventually I realized that they were baby. I know its a bit early to feel anything, but I'm pretty sure its baby.
Girl or Boy: Don't know yet, but my "motherly instinct" says boy!
Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing some maternity jeans but that's it. My work pants still fit, snuggly, for now. As soon as I get home, off they come and I am into my yoga pants!

How's mom doing?: Still doing great! Halfbaked!!! I feel like I'm getting bigger but I look smaller compared to the picture at 15 weeks...
Cravings: none really. I just am happy that the nausea days are behind me and I can eat like a normal person!
Movement: LOTS! Kevin finally was able to feel a kick the other night. He has a huge smile on his face! The only problem with all the kicks, at times, baby feels like its river dancing on my bladder :(
Girl or Boy: We'll find out tomorrow!!
Maternity clothes: I can't wear any of my old pants without the use of my belly band. I have bought a few shirts and 2 tankini bathing suits to cover the growing belly!

OK, so I'll try from now on to update weekly.

Thanks for reading my little blog!

Carter's First Birthday Cake

So, this was my first attempt at making a car cake....Don't think it turned out too bad!!

The license plate on the back said CARTER 2012 on it! Too cute

The tires are made out of donuts and the little shapes on top of the car are suppose to be the buttons that are like the ones on his favorite car toy.

His party's theme was blue and green, so that's why a green car :)

The cake inside was funfetti, and I made it myself! No boxed cake mix! 

It was really easy.

It was a simple vanilla cake recipe with a little bit of almond extract, yummy, and those rainbow colored jimmies (sprinkles)

It was layered with a vanilla buttercream also......oooo yum, just thinking about it makes me what to make this cake all over again!

The recipe is from theKitchn blog.

It was SUPER yummy!

That's all for now :)