First week and a half home

The last week and a half has flown by. We came home last Thursday afternoon and had lots of people anxious to meet Ainsley that afternoon. Jim, Rita, Dad, Thomas, and Tanner all came over that afternoon to see Ainsley. It was also Tanner's sixteenth birthday and his first time holding a baby! Everyone commented on how little she was and how they were so happy to finally meet her.

Thursday night was pretty rough. Around midnight, I was ready to send Joel to Walmart to get some formula because I was so frustrated with breast feeding. We made it through just fine, and it wasn't too bad considering that it was our first night home. Neither one of us slept very good that night, because we were too busy listening to every little sound Ainsley would make. She's sleeping beside our bed in a bassinet, so we could hear everything.

We had more visitors Friday. Jeremy, Kathleen, Jack, and Lani all came to meet Ainsley after school. Lani was able to hold her "baby sister".

Jim and Rita stopped by Friday afternoon and Rita helped give Ainsley her first bath at home!

Lou and Alaina came Friday night. Alaina looked pretty good holding a baby! She'll be holding her own before we know it.

Friday night we slept a little better, but we both were still pretty nervous. Joel is such a good Dad already and was doing almost everything around the house for me as soon as we got home. He unpacked our hospital bags, put dishes away, laundry, watched Ainsley while I took naps, and the list goes on. I don't know how I would have survived without him!

Saturday afternoon I had gone back to the bedroom to take a nap, while Joel was watching Ainsley in the living room. I had fallen asleep and was awakened by Joel yelling "Shit!". I put my glasses on and ran into the living room to see what happened, and I see that Joel is changing Ainsley's diaper. I asked what was wrong, and he said, "She pooped on me!" I looked down and all I could see was poop all down Joel's leg. I immediately cracked up and ran for the camera. (Yes, I ran for the camera instead of helping my husband!) He had Ainsley laying on the foot stool and when he took her diaper off, she pooped and it shot out and was going to land on the floor and he said he jumped in front of it so it didn't get on the floor! Like I said before, he's such a good Dad!

Mimi came and met Ainsley Saturday.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. It was Super Bowl Sunday and Joel was pretty stoked that the Packers were playing. Dad and Joel watched the Super Bowl while I took a long nap that evening. I changed Ainsley's diaper when I woke up from my nap and her umbilical cord fell off. Of course, I was grossed out by it, and was glad Joel was home to pick it up for me!

Over the next week, we had lots of visitors and the days began to run together. Below are pictures of visitors from the last week.

Nolan and Jodi came to visit.

Uncle Thomas and Aunt Jamie came to visit a couple days.

Great-Great Grandma Mary, Great-Great Aunt Royce, and Great-Great Aunt Bessie came to visit!

Aunt Jennifer and Drake came over to visit one afternoon. Drake was excited to tell Uncle Joel all about baby Ainsley when he got home!

Great Aunt Sudi, Abby, and JD all came to visit one afternoon.

Mark and Debbie Bicknell came to visit one morning.

Tuesday was Ainsley's one week doctor's appointment. She gained two ounces, and was up to 5 pounds 8 ounces. The doctor was happy with that and said that a baby should be back to the birth weight by 2 weeks. Joel and I felt a sigh of relief when we learned that she gained a little weight because we both were worried about whether she was getting enough to eat. While breastfeeding, there isn't a way to tell how much she's getting and it reassured us that she was doing just fine. The nurse thought Ainsley still looked a little jaundice, so they had to prick the heel of her foot to get a blood sample to test. I don't know who did worse while they were getting the blood; me or Ainsley! She screamed and wailed the entire time. The nurse had her little foot so white from trying to get the blood out and then once she was done, wrapped it up in a bandage and her foot started turning purple!

Her level came back at a 12, and the doctor said we didn't need to take any further action on it and that the level had to be at least at a 20 in order to do light therapy or any other treatment. I had a list of questions for the doctor and she didn't look at me like I was too crazy and took the time to listen to my concerns and reassure me that everything was fine. The doctor told us how we had a perfect baby girl, and that we need to go back in two weeks for her next checkup. When the doctor walked in and went over to look at Ainsley, she said: "Oh, she's so tiny; but she has really big feet and hands!" Ainsley still has a lot of skin that she has to grow into, but I can tell that she's filling out a little each day.

Below is Ainsley on 2/11

I left Ainsley for the first time Wednesday afternoon. Mom came up, and I needed to run into Walmart for a few things. I was gone for a little over an hour and it was really hard! I couldn't believe how hard it was to leave her. Joel didn't want to leave her Monday morning and had a hard time with it, and I can totally understand why! I'm not planning on leaving her for a few weeks now.

Grandma Shelly helped give Ainsley a bath while she was here.

We have noticed that she has started keeping her eyes open more often each day. She'll keep them open for about half an hour at a time now and do it three to four times a day. She's very alert, and watched the mobile in her swing yesterday. She likes to make noise while she sleeps, but I think it's gas pains. We catch a few smiles every now and then, but that's probably gas too. Her hair is starting to fall out on the top of her head and she's getting a couple bald spots. Baby acne has kicked in also, and hopefully it goes away quickly.

We've had good nights and bad nights recently. It seems like she starts to get really fussy around 4 in the morning and whimpers and grunts while she sleeps. Joel has been getting up with her and takes her into the living room so that I can sleep a little more. I really can't say enough how wonderful Joel is. He loves both of us so much and is such a good Daddy!

Ainsley Rose Freeman

How do you write about the greatest day of your life? I know I'll never find the perfect words to describe it, but Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011 was perfect in every way. We welcomed our daughter, Ainsley Rose into the world at 5:02 PM in the middle of one of the biggest winter storms in years. She weighed 5 pounds 12.4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

I'll start with the night before she was born. We went to the doctor Monday afternoon and he decided to induce the next morning at 6. Because of the winter storm, we got a hotel room in Springfield. I had the worst heartburn of my life all throughout the night and only slept for a few hours. I'm sure nerves played a part in not sleeping either, but I ended up keeping Joel up for most of the night too. When we woke up Tuesday morning to go to the hospital, it hadn't snowed as much as they thought it would at that point, and we had no problem making it the three blocks to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital, I was checked in and taken up to my room. They immediately started prepping me and the nurse snuck in some crackers so I could eat something. The nurse put the iv in, and had trouble with the first one, so she had to try again. The second one blew, so a different nurse came in and was able to get the iv in with the third try. I was worried that our day was already starting out with things not going right, but the next few hours were pretty easy. I slept a little and was still able to get up and go to the bathroom and sit in the rocking chair since I didn't have the epidural yet. I didn't really feel the contractions and the nurses told me I was lucky! They had checked me when I got there that morning and I was dilated to a 3 around 7 that morning. Around 11 the nurse came in and said that they wanted to break my water and if I wanted an epidural that I needed to get one then. She said that the guy that did the epidurals was on the floor and he was one of the best. I was still undecided on the epidural, but decided to go ahead and get it. Getting the epidural ended up being the most nerve-wracking part of the entire day. Of course, I couldn't catch good luck and the first epidural he put in didn't work right, so I had to get two different epidurals. Once we had the epidural in, the doctor came in and broke my water and checked me again. I was dilated to a 5 around noon.

Mom and Jamie showed up around 11 and Joel went to lunch with them while I had my epidural. When they got back up to my room, I tried to take a nap again and when I woke up, I was itching like crazy from the epidural. I was starting to feel a lot of pressure at that point, also, and would have Jamie verify that I was having a contraction when I felt the pressure and she said I was. They didn't hurt, it was just pressure and it felt like they were coming more often. Hunger was starting to kick in, and they let me chew gum and have hard candy so I wanted to get some Bubblicious gum so that it seemed like I was really chewing something. Around 3, I asked Joel to go down to the gift shop/cafeteria to see if he could find me some gum. He went to the gift shop and they were closed! Because of the snow, anyone that didn't need to be at the hospital left, and let me tell you-St. Johns was EMPTY! I still wanted some bubble gum, so Jamie and Mom decided they would go down to the cafeteria for me to see if they had any.

In the meantime, the shifts had changed, and my new nurse came in to check on me. I told her that I was itching like crazy from the epidural and she said that she could probably get me some Benadryl to stop the itching, but she needed a doctor's approval. A few minutes later, the nurse and doctor both came in and decided to check me to see how far I was dilated at that point before giving me the Benadryl. The doctor looked at the nurse and said I wasn't getting any Benadryl at that point and I was dilated to a 10 and needed to start pushing! We had no idea I was that close. The nurse immediately starting telling me to push with the next contraction, and told Joel that he needed to hold one of my legs for her. Joel wanted to stay up by my head the whole time and didn't really want to hold a leg, but he knew that he didn't have a choice. I'm sure he's happy that he ended up holding one of my legs because he was able to see everything that went on. Her head was crowning in no time and they told me they could see her hair. I was so excited that she actually had hair! (Joel told me later that when he saw her head crowning that he thought her head was going to be tiny and was so worried that she was going to be so small. He said that with each push, her head kept getting bigger and he started feeling better.) I pushed for an hour and a little after 5, Ainsley was born! The labor was pretty easy, and I'm so happy that I was able to experience it.

Below is Ainsley Rose Freeman, born at 5:02 pm, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011. She weighed 5 pounds 12.4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

Joel cut her cord and they took her over to the warming table. I could see her on the table from my bed and could tell she was really long and skinny! Joel followed the nurse over to the warming table to get a better look at her. The next half hour was the worst part of the entire day. There was something wrong with my placenta and it wouldn't come out, so they had to do an episiotomy and pull it out. It took them half an hour to get it all, and I wasn't able to see Ainsley the entire time. Joel had her wrapped in a blanket at this point and was holding her trying to show her to me, but each time he would get her low enough for me to look at her, I would cringe in pain again. I was finally able to see our little girl for the first time around 5:40 and she was wide-eyed and just stared at me. She was perfect!

They took her a little while after that for her first bath and Mom and Jamie came in to get a look at her. She didn't mind her bath and never really cried. While that was going on, the nurse came in and gave me Benadryl because the itching had then gone down to my trunk, and told me that it would make me tired. She ended up giving me a double dose and I fell asleep shortly after that. I know Joel, Mom, and Jamie snuggled and loved on her for the few hours that I slept and it made me feel a little better about crashing right after giving birth.

Ainsley after getting her bath. Her hands were still pretty blue!

Aunt Jamie holding Ainsley!

Grandma holding her first granddaughter! (Daddy didn't get a very good picture!)

The interstates were shut down by Tuesday night because of the snow and the police were giving out tickets to people on the roads, so Mom and Jamie ended up getting a hotel room that night. The hotel was three blocks away and it took them an hour to get there and got stuck three times! I'm so glad no one else tried to come up that day, because the roads were terrible.

First family picture!

When I woke up, they took Ainsley to get shots, etc. and I took a shower. When I got out, she still wasn't back and I remember thinking how hard it was not to have her beside me. Her smashed-in nose, swollen eyes, little puckered mouth, long fingers and toes, big feet and hands, and soft baby hair is all I wanted to see! That night, she was awake and ate good throughout the night. The next day, she crashed! They came and got her around 8 Wednesday morning for her pictures and to see the pediatrician and she was asleep when they brought her back. She slept until around 4 that afternoon and didn't eat once. We were worried, but the nurses reinforced to us that it was normal and they will sleep for the first 24 hours or so after they're born. Mom and Jamie came and visited again around noon Wednesday before they headed home and Jennifer and Brian braved the snow and came up later that afternoon. She woke up while they were visiting, and they were able to see how alert she was.

Uncle Brian, Aunt Jennifer, and Ainsley

Ainsley passed out Wednesday.

Wednesday night went as well as it could while being in the hospital. The nurses would come in at all hours of the night to take her for various things. They had to weigh her at midnight, do a bilirubin test around 2 and because she didn't pass it, they came in around 5 to get blood from her to check her levels, and then the doctors start coming in at 6. Thursday morning we both were ready to get home! We met with the lactation consultant that morning and she gave us a lot of good pointers, and the pediatrician came in and talked to us and let us know that we had a perfect baby. Jodi also stopped by to see Ainsley Thursday morning while on her lunch break.

I dressed Ainsley to get ready to go home, and Joel got a laugh out of a little mishap I had while dressing her. Of course, he also got it on tape, so I'll never forget it. While putting her boots on her (which were too big, if you can't tell from the picture!), I couldn't figure out why her second boot wouldn't go on her foot. The first one went on easily and the second one wouldn't go on, no matter how much I tried to shove her foot in it. I finally pulled the boot off her foot and reached in it, and there was still the packing paper in the bottom of the boot! Oops!!! We packed our bags and finally got all our paperwork done and headed out around noon. It was so hard to put her in the car seat. She is so little in that "big" car seat! I was definitely a nervous, over-protective Mom on the way home and had to sit in the back seat with her. The interstates were clear by the time we went home Thursday afternoon, but getting out to the interstate from the hospital was terrible. Fifth Street was snow-packed and there wasn't any visible lanes. I'm so glad that ten minute drive out to the interstate is behind us!

Daddy holding Ainsley before going home.

Mommy snuggling with Ainsley before putting her in the car seat.

We're all ready to go home!

This is the snow we came home to!

I have a grunting baby in the swing beside me that wants someone to talk to, so I'll post another blog on our first week home later on.

We're Ready!

Where have the last few days gone? Maybe I should say: Where have the last few months gone? This entire pregnancy has gone by way too fast. The weekend flew by and in twelve short hours, the induction process will start. Since finding out Thursday that we would be induced early this week, I finished up some last minute things with work, cleaned the house, caught up on laundry, re-packed our hospital bags, went grocery shopping, got a pedicure, ate some mighty good prime rib, and tried to relax as much as I could.

I was worried at the beginning of the pregnancy knowing that my due date was in the middle of February because of the weather. Sure enough, it looks like we're going to have her in the middle of a pretty good winter storm. They're calling for 8-12 inches of snow and some ice accumulation with lots of blowing on Wed/Thursday. Hopefully by the time we're ready to come home the roads will be clear. Our appointment was at one this afternoon and he checked to see if I was dilated. I'm 1-2 centimeters dilated, so the doctor decided to induce me tomorrow morning around 6. If I hadn't been dilated at all, they would have started tonight. Because of the weather, we got a hotel room at the Abraham Lincoln hotel, which is right by St. Johns.

We are both very excited to finally meet our little girl. I'll also be glad when I can breathe again, easily tie my own shoes, lay on my stomach, roll over in bed without it taking a minute or so each time, walk for more than 5-10 minutes at a time without getting out of breath, and I'm sure there are many more things that I'll think of after I have her! I think Joel is more nervous than I am. Below is him trying to relax this afternoon at the hotel room.

Last prego picture is below. 12 hours before being induced!

I'm so excited that I can finally say that Lou and Alaina are also expecting their first baby in September!!! We're so excited for them and can't wait to meet Baby Hallock in a few months!!!

Ready or Not, Here She Comes!!!

We had our weekly appointment today and it didn't go exactly like we expected. Our appointment was at 8:45 and we didn't leave until 2. We met with the doctor and did the usual blood pressure/weight check. Our sonogram followed and she had gained a little weight, so Joel and I both thought everything was going great. They are estimating her to be 5 pounds 1 ounce. She is still small and is in the 5th percentile now. The doctor came in to look at the results and he started asking me a lot of questions that they usually don't ask, so I kind of suspected something was going on. He told us that she is still small and that I'm going to "full term" (37 weeks) on Sunday. Because I'll be full term, they think that she'll be better off outside the womb. The way the doctor explained it is that they don't know if she is getting adequate nutrition inside the womb, and if they get her out, she'll get better nutrition outside at this point. If that's what is best for Ainsley, then we're all about it.

The doctor said that he wanted me to do a non-stress test and depending on the results from it, they may decide to take her today. He wanted me to have lunch and be back at one for the test. That hour we ate lunch was terrible!!! I was so nervous I could barely eat. We got back and started the test. It was only 20 minutes long and the doctor came in three times to check it, which was nerve-wracking. He told me the second time that he came in to check that I would be having a baby in the next three days. Joel couldn't go back with me during the test, so I had to hear it alone and started freaking out. Dr. Huston (my regular doctor) came in after the test, once the other doctor had time to consult with him and told me that he wanted me back Monday at one and he would decide then if they were inducing me Monday night or if it would be Tuesday morning. The latest they'll start inducing is Tuesday morning, so by this time next week, we'll definitely be parents! I'm so glad we have the weekend to get some things caught up and mentally prepare for her.

We're both pretty nervous and anxious, but so excited at the same time! We cannot wait to meet out little girl!

36 weeks

We only have 28 days until our due date. 28 days!!!! I feel 100% better than I did on Thursday. Friday I woke up and felt a little better, but my lower abdomen still hurt quite a bit at times. Yesterday I could barely tell the pain was there. Joel and I both think that the pain was coming from my scar tissue on my right side. I have four scars from the hysteroscopy I had done last January, and two of the scars are on the right side where the pain was. We think that the scar tissue was stretching out, but either way, I'm so glad it's pretty much gone. I'm going to mention it to the doctor on Thursday and see if he agrees that could have been the problem. Below is a belly picture at 36 weeks. I think my belly has grown a little in the last few weeks...my tshirts are getting pretty tight!

Josh and Kathleen came over this afternoon to watch the Packers/Bears game and brought me some cookies and cream ice cream. I was making brownies, so what goes best with a warm brownie right out of the oven? Cookies and cream ice cream! It was delicious!!! Baby Augustus tried out Ainsley's swings and Nathan played with her toys today. I think they all pass the baby test!

Yesterday I went to Jack's basketball game. They have improved a lot since last year and won their game!

Doctor's appointment 35 1/2 weeks

I had my weekly appointment scheduled for this afternoon at 1:30, and we were worried about going to it because we got around 3 inches of snow last night. Well, I ended up going into the appointment a little early because of really bad pain in my lower right side. I woke up last night around 11 with pain in my lower abdomen and thought that she was just laying on it wrong. I ended up getting out of bed and walked to the bathroom pretty easily. I didn't have any other trouble with it throughout the night. When I woke up this morning, I had the same pain and could hardly get out of bed. It took me 15 minutes to get out of bed and make it into the bathroom. I couldn't put any weight on my right leg, so I would take the biggest step I could with my left leg and then drag my right leg behind me while holding on to anything I could! I think I cried for the first hour I was up. I called the doctor and the nurse told me to come in early and it sounded like a nerve. Joel came home and we left to go to Springfield. I want to add that Joel had to tell me numerous times that I picked the "BEST" day to have something wrong. By the time we got to St. Johns, I could walk half way decent. I was afraid I was going to have to ask for a wheel chair!

We got in pretty quickly to see the doctor; my blood pressure was fine and I didn't gain any weight again in the last two weeks. Ainsley's heartbeat sounded good and he said that he didn't think my symptoms were too serious. He said it's probably a muscular skeletal problem and to take it easy, take Tylenol, and put a heating pad on it. Ainsley was moving around like crazy all day yesterday, so I'm wondering if she is laying weird and I hope that's all it is and she moves off of whatever she is on quickly. I was pretty scared this morning when I woke up and in pain. She didn't move right away when I got up and I was so happy when she finally moved. It made me feel a lot better!

We have our next appointment next Thursday and we also have a sonogram scheduled for that day to check her growth again. Hopefully my pain starts to subside and we don't have to go back to the doctor again before next Thursday!

Baby Shower

Sunday was my family baby shower in Hettick. It was nice to see everyone and hear that my belly is growing. Joel and I haven't been able to tell a big difference in the size of my belly, but we see it everyday. I had numerous people come up and tell me how much I've grown since Christmas. I was happy to hear that! We got a lot of nice things for Ainsley and can't believe she's going to be here in a month. Even though I was exhausted when we got home, I still found the energy to get most of the stuff put away. Joel even helped! He got the monitors out and started charging/figuring them out and put together her bouncer. The swing was next on the list to put together, but he decided that our house already has too much baby stuff set up in it already and ended up putting it together yesterday. I tried to tell him that our house is going to be "baby central" for the next few years and he's going to have to get used to it!

Ainsley's Great-Great-Grandma Mary made an adorable quilt for her!

It's not every baby shower you go to that a firefighter shows up at, but one did at mine. I'm sure Mom or Jamie got a better picture, but my wonderful brother did stay long enough to get a picture taken with his pregnant sister!

One of the games that was played at the shower was to have everyone guess how many inches around I was....needless to say, Abby guessed the highest. I was 45 and 3/4 inches around, not close to Abby's estimate of 62 inches....yet, anyway!

Saturday I ran into Jacksonville to run some errands and came home cranky, sore, and tired. I was in town for three hours and told Joel that I refuse to go to Walmart/get groceries by myself while I'm still pregnant. I've been having cramps and by the time I got home, my back was killing me and the cramps were pretty bad. I laid down and slept for a few hours and when I woke up, my back started having spasms. Never again will I try to do that much in one day when I feel like crap!

Friday night we went out with the Bangert's. We got a picture of me and Jodi together while we're both pregnant. Of course, I look huge compared to her (but I do even when we're not pregnant). Our babies are about three months apart. She's due May 11th and we can't wait to meet baby boy Bangert!

Joel and I both want to thank everyone again for an incredible shower. We're so lucky to have such a great family!

Breastfeeding Class

We went to Breastfeeding101 last night at St. Johns. Joel was absolutely thrilled about going, as you can probably imagine! It was a three hour class and we heard that it would be pretty bad with a bunch of videos, but we didn't see any videos. The woman just talked the entire time about different topics. Some of it was boring, but the instructor had some good insight on different things and it helped that she was young and was still breastfeeding herself, so she was up to date on everything. Joel commented on the way home that he never in a million years would have thought that a wet t-shirt contest would have been referred to during the class, and does everyone know there is a "Hooters Hider" product on the market for more privacy when breastfeeding in public???

This week has been the worst yet when it comes to sleeping at night. Not only do I get up 5-7 times each night to go to the bathroom, get a drink, etc. but I woke up the other night starving. When I say starving, I mean, like I had eaten in three days. I had to get up and fix a bowl of cereal, a banana, and a big glass of milk and as soon as I ate, Ainsley thought I was up for the day and was squirming around like crazy. I keep telling myself that I'm preparing for when she gets here and I don't get any sleep.

My legs and feet are still pretty swollen and it is getting so bad that it hurts to walk. The tops of my feet get so swollen that when I walk it feels like my toes aren't connected to the rest of my foot any more because the top of my foot almost goes over the top of them. I know I've said it before, but I'm so glad that I'm not pregnant during the summer. I can't imagine everyone looking at my legs/feet in flip-flops. At least I can cover them!

Sunday is my baby shower in Hettick and I'm getting excited! I'll have 5 weeks left on Sunday and I'm planning on going sometime next week to finish getting everything we'll need before she gets here. We stocked up on batteries last weekend so we have plenty for the swings, bouncers, toys, etc. There are still a few things I need to get put in our hospital bags, and I'm trying to get all of our tax information done before next week so it's all ready and I don't have to worry about it.

I printed off our blog into a book for 2010 a couple weeks ago and the book came yesterday in the mail. I'm so happy with it and very glad that I have kept up with the blog. Seeing the book only motivates me more to continue. We also got the rest of our pictures from our photo shoot last weekend. I'm adding a few more belly pictures below, and am planning on bringing all of the pictures from last weekend and our blog book to the shower Sunday so everyone can see them!


Mom called Saturday morning before the we did the pictures and thought I needed to get a picture doing a snow angel. A pregnant woman trying to get down in the snow and back up wasn't easy, but I got up pretty quickly because it was so cold!



Who is Ainsley going to look like? Mommy or Daddy? I'm going to scan in our baby pictures in the next few weeks and get them uploaded so everyone can decide for themselves once Ainsley decides to make her appearance!




Jeremy and Kathleen will love the picture with the cowboy boots! Joel and I got those for Lani when she was a baby and everyone made fun of them. I told Kathleen that she had to save them for me so that I could have them when I had a little girl if they weren't going to put Lani in them. Sure enough, they saved them for me, and I think they were both happy to give them back!