Well, here it is the end of July. I go back to work in less than two weeks and my last post is from CHRISTMAS!? Why do I always find myself at least a half year behind on my blog posts? I'm sure that working full-time, going to school full-time, being a wife full-time (whose husband is often called away) having a five year old and four month old have nothing to do with it. ;-) That's right. We have a four month old. And, I have realized that I have yet to post about our precious little Jude. So, this post is dedicated to my pregnancy with Jude. I will get to a post dedicated only to him, but for now let's focus on the pregnancy.
Adam and I decided that we were ready to expand our family and, BAM, it was done. Seriously, I think all we had to do was literally think the thought and.....I was pregnant. We found out in mid July of 2013 and we very excited! Jackson, My Mom (Mimi) and I went to the movies that day. We took Jackson to see "Turbo". On the way home, as I was driving, the world all of a sudden did one giant spin. That was it, one spin and back to normal. I immediately thought "uh-oh. I've only had that feeling one time before--when I was pregnant with Jackson." I told Adam as soon as we got home and we both agreed that I should take a pregnancy test the following morning. I knew that if we were expecting, it was super early and the best chances for it showing up were if I waited to take the test first thing in the morning. Curiosity, along with excitement, got the best of me and I said "There are two tests in the box. I'll just take one now and save the other for the morning." It was the middle of the afternoon and I did not expect to see that little blue line, but......I did. I came out of the bedroom, announced it to Adam and, from that point on we were excited and praying for this precious child that God had gifted us with and the journey that we were about to embark on.
About 2 weeks after we found out that we were expecting again, we headed to Amelia Island for our annual week at the beach with Adam's parents. We've been going to the same exact condo (owned by family friends) for the past 3 summers. It was such an exciting feeling to go last year, knowing that the following summer we would be coming back with a new baby in tow! :-)
Last week a the beach as a family of 3!
When I was 16 weeks pregnant, we went in for our gender scan. We let Jackson stay home from school that day and go with us. He was SO EXCITED to find out if he was going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. He was pulling for a brother, but said he would be excited for either. We had my parents meet us for lunch at one of our favorite spots in Savannah, Spanky's, to reveal the surprise to them. Adam's parents live a couple of hours away, and because it was a week/work day, they decided to settle for a phone call. ;-)
Opening the box with the surprise inside!
It's a BOY!!! I absolutely LOVE being a Mama of a boy, so I was very excited to be welcoming another precious boy to our family! I was also excited that Jackson was getting a brother, I knew that seeing the bond between them would be something special. Although Mimi & Papa have yet to welcome a granddaughter, they were just as excited to be welcoming their 5th grandson into the family!
Looks like Adam and Jackson knew what color to wear!
There's our BOY!! As soon as the ultrasound tech put the wand on my belly--BAM--there it was! She didn't even have to tell me, I said "OH....I see it!!" ;-) As soon as we found out that we were having another boy, we knew what his name would be. We'd been discussing names since the day we found out that we were expecting and pretty much had our boy name picked out from the beginning. When Jackson was a baby I jokingly said one day "If we have another boy, we need to stick to the same initials so that we can recycle all of this monogrammed stuff!" I was halfway joking, but halfway thinking that it would be a great idea. Then one day, not long after, we were sitting in church and Adam leaned over to me (pointing at his Bible) and said "What about Jude? If we had another boy, I like the name Jude." I nodded my head that I liked it too, and from that day on, we knew that if we ever had another son, his name would most likely be Jude. I decided that if we were going to have another "J" name, we may as well stick with the "JAM" initials. Jackson's full name is: Jackson Abbott McCullough. Jackson is Adam's maternal grandfather's middle name and Abbott is my Mama's maiden name. Being that I like to have at least one family name in our childrens' names, coming up with an "A" middle name for Jude was an easy one--"Adam". So there it was, Jude Adam McCullough would be his name. And, we loved it (and him) already. :-)
This isn't the best picture, but I loved this little side profile of our boy. It looked exactly like the side profile shot that we had of Jackson and this same stage of gestation. I could tell just from this photo that he was going to look very much like his big brother!
Trying to get family photos for our Christmas card...
About 23 weeks pregnant...
Getting ready for a date night in Jax with the husband and about 25 weeks pregnant!
Christmas down in Folkston--27 weeks :-)
New Year's Eve! 28 weeks along!
Jude's sweet little nursery. Since we had the room, I decided to leave the full size bed in his nursery. Previously, it was our guest room. I thought that keeping the bed in there would come in handy. As a nursing Mama, having a bed in the nursery is never a bad idea. And, I knew that because Adam's parents come up to visit often, it would come in handy on those weekends, as well. I was very pleased with how it all turned out. We took a dresser and side table that both belonged to Adam when he was little and painted them red. The crib was Jackson's and the bed was Adam's while he was in college. I love getting to use furniture that has been passed down, it makes it that much more special. I got the adorable prints above the crib from this shop on Etsy and love the way they turned out!
Baby bump selfie in the mirror--30 weeks.
32 weeks & 5 days :-)
We received this sweet gift in the mail and I was so excited to get Jude's very first gifts with his name on it! So precious.
34 weeks and counting!
Headed to my Baby Shower--35 weeks and 4 days!
I was given a beautiful baby shower for Jude, at the end of February, at the home of my best friend since 7th grade, Kathryn. It was perfect and Jude got lots of adorable goodies!
With the two excited grandmother's--NayNay McCullough and Mimi Dykes! :-)
The fabulous hostesses-- Aunt Kat, Aunt Leah and Aunt K!
Doing what we do best-- being goofy. ;-)
Just a week later, my sweet co-workers hosted another shower for me at my sister, Leah's, house (who happens to be my co-worker, as well!)
Rhonda, Lynne, myself and Leah (36 weeks pregnant)
After my first day back at work (from being on bed rest) 36 weeks and 3 days.
WE MADE IT! My last photo with Jude still in Mama's belly. 39 weeks and about to get the party started!
Overall, my pregnancy with Jude was fairly easy, but more difficult than my first. I was definitely more sick this time around. Although I never actually got "sick" for the first several weeks, I felt like I had the Flu every day ALL DAY. It was no fun and made for many afternoons on the couch. I would come home from work, get Jackson a snack, and we would both cuddle on the couch (I usually fell asleep) watching "Wild Kratts" until Daddy came home. Luckily, I have an amazing husband, and he would come in the door and take over. Cooking dinner, bathing Jackson, packing his lunch and getting everything ready for the next day. This allowed me to take a shower and get some much needed down time. Once that phase passed, things got much easier and I felt great! Then, around 32 weeks, I began to experience some pains while at work. I did as the Doctor said, rested on my left side and drank tons of water (on the floor in our school counselor's office, none the less) for an hour. When the pain did not go away, I called the Doctor and they had me come in. After hooking me up to the monitor and running some tests, they determined that I was having contractions and Jude was trying his best to make an early arrival! They sent me home with medication (to stop the contractions) and ordered a week of bed rest. Her words were "Get up to eat, drink, shower and bathroom. That is it." After a week, I returned and they discovered that the contractions were still going on and ordered me to bed rest until 36 weeks. Once I hit 36 weeks, I was allowed to go back to work. The contractions continued, but by this point I was use to them. Jude ended up hanging on and I was induced at 39 weeks. Because of his size, she was afraid to let me go any longer. I had Jackson at 38 weeks (my water broke at home and my body went into labor on it's own) he weighed 7 lbs. 3 ounces and the Doctor made the comment that due to my narrow birth canal, I may have problems delivering a baby much bigger than that. Jude was already weighing a little ahead of Jackson and Dr. McIntosh didn't want to take any chances. I was a little weary of an induction, but she assured me that because this was my 2nd child, I'd been contracting for nearly 2 months and was already 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced, m body would be ready and things would go smoothly. I'm happy to say that she was right. I experienced another quick, easy, and amazing birth. Just as I did with Jackson. It was one of the best days of my life, but I'll save that for the post about Jude's "birth day". As for now, I will say that I loved every minute of my pregnancy. Being pregnant is one of my favorite things in the world. I feel so beautiful, strong and blessed. The gift of creating life is one of the best gifts that God bestowed upon us. I am completely amazed by it. And, the beautiful little angel that comes as a result, is the icing on the cake. :-)
