by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 30, 2009
Note: There’s a special new section to my website called “Baby Hudson.” If you look at my tabs, you’ll see the “Baby Hudson” tab. I’ll try to update it at least once a week with new pictures of the baby for those of you that are interested!
Do you remember this post? You know, the one about the push present.
Well… I wanted to introduce all of you to my push present. This is my “Congratulations, Erin, you just pushed out a kindergartener” present.
He got me the pearl because it the birthstone for June. Every time I look at it I’ll think of Hudson and his June 5 birthday. {And I’ll think, “Dang! This is a gorgeous ring!”}
Poor Todd. A couple of hours after the baby was delivered and I had been stitched up, I was lying there and the nurses came in to get me to try to sit up so they could wheel me down the hall to the room where I would be staying overnight. Right before they came in Todd started to give me the gift, so I started opening it, but stopped so we could open it privately after the nurses left. Well two seconds after the nurses got there and I stood up, I fainted. So the push present opening was put on hold for a little while!
My husband out-did himself again! I haven’t been able to wear the ring yet because my fingers are still the size of sausages, but I can’t wait to wear it and get it fitted. (I actually haven’t worn my wedding rings in two months either because of the size of my fingers)
A little help here… how long should I give my fingers to return to their normal size before I just give up and go get all of my rings sized again?
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 28, 2009
I need your help and honest opinions. We’ll be spending a week on the gulf coast in August with my entire family and at that time I’ll be two months post-partum. I have a feeling that my tummy won’t be bikini ready by then. {The good old linea negra is still there} I’m going to do what I can to get ready for the beach trip, but I’m still healing so working out isn’t an option yet. And I’m busy! There’s not a whole lot of free time for me to get out and work on getting bikini ready when I’m feeding every three hours!
I’m looking for some stylish, flattering one-piece swimsuits. I might try a tankini, but I’ve never been a huge fan. My problem with one-piece suits is that they always seem to take all of my shape away and completely flatten me out. I found the suits below at J.Crew and think they may not be so unflattering. What do you think?
Please send links to some flattering swimsuits that fit this description. Let me know your favorites.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 23, 2009
Baby gifts are so much fun and I think part of the fun is thinking about what you would have liked when you were a kid. Now that I’ve had a baby and have had a chance to use all of the gifts, I know what gifts will save your life in the middle of the night! My other favorite gifts are the ones that I think he will remember when he’s older and what items he’ll always cherish.
These are some of my favorite favorite gifts that I received that weren’t on our registry.
Fill in the Blankie
These blankets are so wonderful and such a great keepsake! A friend of ours in Dallas sent one to us after Hudson was born and it lists his full name, birthdate, time of birth, and weight.
The examples shown below are for a baby’s baptism, but these blankets can pretty much be used for any occasion and you can personalize them however you want to.
So precious! And they are perfectly packaged!
Engraved iPod and Docking Station
Todd gave me an iPod nano for Mother’s Day with Hudson’s name engraved on the back so we could have all of Hudson’s favorite music playing in his room. We already have a Bose docking station for our living room, but we needed another one for the nursery. Todd got the Sony Dream Machine because it has FM andAM radio and a clock. (and it’s not nearly as expensive as the Bose version) When you’re timing every feeding, nap, and diaper change, a clock is completely essential!
We’ve already over-played all of the songs on Hudson’s iPod, so we’re in the market for more tunes for him. Now I can’t imagine sitting in the nursery for so many hours without a soundtrack. Seriously, this is a great gift for a mom-to-be!
Sleep Sheep
The Sleep Sheep is a really cute sound machine. It has four different soothing sounds like a mother’s heartbeat, waves, rain, and whales. It clips on the outside of the baby’s crib and makes noise for 30 minutes while your baby is falling asleep. It has seriously been a lifesaver.
And… it puts me to sleep, too. I can hear the Sleep Sheep in the baby monitor while I’m trying to fall asleep and it puts me to sleep immediately.
Swaddle Designs blankets
Now that we swear by the soothing and calming methods in The Happiest Baby on the Block, we have to have the ultimate swaddling blanket.
Some say that the hospital blankets are the best swaddling blankets, but that’s just not true. The Swaddle Designs blankets are a perfect square and are just big enough to wrap all the way around the baby and tuck in nicely.
They also have some handy-dandy swaddling instructions in case you forget which side folds up and which side folds down. We love these blankets!
So next time I have a baby shower to attend and all of the good items have been purchased off the registry, I’ll be picking up one of these great gifts for mom and baby. What is your favorite gift to give at a baby shower?
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 20, 2009
Right before I found out I was pregnant, I helped launch Weight Watchers Wednesdays with my blogging buddies, Mojito Maven and LyndsAU. It was only a week later that we found out we were expecting and the WWW had to go out the window for the next 9 months.
I was concerned with how much weight I was going to gain, but because I was so sick for so long, when I finally started feeling well exercise was the furthest thing from my mind. At 5′8″ I ended up gaining 42 pounds. My doctor never told me that I was gaining too much weight or that she thought I should try to cut back. This is what I looked like at the very end of the pregnancy.
taken June 3, 2009 (the day before I was induced)… and seconds before I fell down those stairs!
So because so many of my pregnant friends have been concerned about weight gain and how to manage it while you’re pregnant, I have pretty good news. I saw the tummy in the above picture for many weeks and would wonder every day how that big tummy was ever going to go back to normal. I lost 20 of the 42 pounds while I was in the hospital. I had a baby that weighed nearly 10 pounds and I lost 2 quarts of amniotic fluid. I don’t even know how much water I was retaining, but 20 pounds was just gone like that.
Now, two weeks after Hudson was born, ten more of those pounds have come off– on their own– and probably with the help of breastfeeding. I can’t be too sure how it’s coming off. My appetite isn’t nearly what it was when I was pregnant and I’m BUSY. I don’t even have time to think about what I’m going to eat.
So, be encouraged, pregnant friends. I’ve lost 30 pounds in two weeks. I’m sure the last 12 pounds won’t be so easy.
taken June 19, 2009– two weeks after Hudson was born
The muscles in my stomach are completely gone and my skin has lost a lot of its elasticity. After my six week post partum check up I’ll be back in the gym to correct all of that. I didn’t have any stretch marks while I was pregnant, but as soon as I delivered him I looked at my stomach and it was half the size that it was two seconds before and I could see stretch marks immediately on my lower stomach. Oh well.
Here are some recent pictures of baby Hudson. We’re just so in love with him!
celebrating his one week birthday with a cake ball made by Jenny of Lucky in Love
my mom ordered a stork for our front yard!
Fiona thinks that Hudson is her baby
tummy time!
Daddy time
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 18, 2009
Over the past two years I’ve probably drafted over 300 thank you notes. Between our engagement parties, my bridal showers, our wedding, and baby showers, we’ve received a lot of gifts. And I’ve written a lot of thank you notes.
I am in the Junior League, so I’m supposed to be a professional thank you note writer, right?
The good news is that I love to write thank you notes. I find it therapeutic. I sit in front of the TV or turn on the iPod dock and listen to my favorite music. I hold my favorite pen and pull out some gorgeous stationery and thank each person or couple in the most personal way and go on and on about the importance of the gift they gave us.
Kate Spade for Crane’s
Here’s my question of the day: if you don’t know the person that gave you the gift but your husband does, should you go ahead and write the thank you note? Or wait for him to do it?
Timeliness is very important when it comes to writing thank you notes, but it’s also difficult to write a personal thank you note that shows your appreciation for the gift giver and the gift if you don’t know that person.
My dear husband isn’t quite as interested in the hand written note as I am, unfortunately. Emily Post herself suggests organizing a household thank you note writing party with baked goods, yummy drinks, and an organized set up of thank you note writing supplies.
How do all of you get your significant others to help with thank you notes? Or do you just do it yourself?
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 15, 2009
When Todd and I registered for our every day china, we chose a pattern that I’d been in love with for years. I was so excited to finally officially choose the Juliska thread and berries pattern in white and pistachio as our every day dishes. We registered at Neiman Marcus and a local gift shop for this pattern and got almost everything we picked out.
We ended up with lots of serving pieces, but never received the pitcher– and I really wanted the pitcher.
A few months ago, my friend Cyndi invited me to join One Kings Lane, a home goods online retailer like Rue La La or Shop it to Me. A few weeks ago I got my daily email from One Kings Lane letting me know that the sale of the day was for Juliska and I hopped over there immediately! They had the pitcher and the teapot for half the retail price! I obviously ordered them right away.
To make everything even more perfect, I got an email from One Kings Lane yesterday letting me know that the shipment had been delayed for my items and they were very sorry for the delay and any inconvenience it may have caused. To make it up to me, they were crediting my account with $25.00! So I got my two gorgeous items for less than the retail price of the pitcher alone and then I got $25 back!
If you aren’t a member of One Kings Lane and want to be, just shoot me an email or go to my “contact” tab and I’ll email an invitation to you. Happy shopping!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 14, 2009
After my friend, Kate mentioned the J.Crew ruffle tees, I was intrigued. I ordered a couple of tee shirts right before I had the baby because I knew that I’d want some new summer clothes that fit, weren’t maternity clothes, and were cute, of course.
I hadn’t bought normal clothes since before finding out I was pregnant. I wasn’t sure what size to order so I just ordered Mediums instead of Small, but they’re still really comfortable!
I’m about the 100th blogger to mention the awesomeness of the J.Crew ruffle tees, but they are wonderful! I ordered two different styles and then went back and ordered more of the same shirts in different colors. I’ve seriously washed them every day since I’ve been home from the hospital and I live in them. They’re thin enough that I stay cool– my body is still constantly “working,” so I stay pretty warm. They’ve got enough style to dress up a pair of yoga pants when I feel like lounging around all day.
Get these shirts now!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 13, 2009
Some of you have left comments asking questions in some of my earlier posts, so I thought I’d take some time to answer them.
Where did the names John, Matthew, and Hudson come from? And why are you calling your baby by a name that isn’t his first name?
Yes, the dreaded, “You named your baby what?” questions. I’ve always loved four names for a boy, so that’s why we gave him four names.
John is the name of my cousin who passed away last summer. He was Fiona’s (our dog) original “dad” and he was very very special to me. I don’t believe in coincidences, so I think God knew exactly what he was doing with this one. My cousin passed away on June 5, 2008 and baby Hudson was born on June 5, 2009. Coincidence? No way.
Matthew is Todd’s first name and Hudson is my dad’s name and was his mother’s maiden name. I’ve always wanted to name a baby “Hudson” because I just love it and feel fortunate that we have such a wonderful family name in our family. Not all family names are so great!
We put the name Hudson is the middle because it just sounds better. People may get confused and call him John, but we’ll just correct them. My dad goes by Hudson, but that isn’t his first name. My husband goes by Todd, but that isn’t his first name. They both swear to me that calling the baby by one of his middle names will not cause any damage.
Do you normally have blood pressure issues like the issues you had with low blood pressure during your delivery?
No. I had completely normal blood pressure before pregnancy and during pregnancy. I am not anemic. Because I lost so much blood during the delivery, I’m now on iron pills. The low blood pressure right after I received the Bolus drip was due to the fact that I had no eaten or had anything to drink since 9:00 p.m. the night before and my body was dehydrated.
What kind of outfit is Hudson wearing in the first photos of him? Where did you get it?
Hudson is wearing a little Feltman Bros. day gown. It is newborn size, so we had to hurry and get him in it before he’s too big to wear it! We purchased it and most of his clothes at Hip Hip Hooray in Dallas. It’s pretty much the best kids clothes store ever.
Where did you get your crib? Where did you get the rug? Was the bedding custom made?
The crib and dresser/ changing table came from a company called Newport Cottages. They have beautiful children’s furniture. My mom is an approved designer with their company, so we were able to order directly through them. They do, however, sell some of their furniture on Posh Tots, I believe.
The rug came from Pottery Barn. (big PB, not PB Kids) Fortunately, we waited for it to go on sale– slightly– and got it then.
The bedding was custom made by Calico Corners in Dallas. The fabrics are all Annie Selke fabrics and my mom and I selected them and then she chose which fabrics should be used in each place. I love the way it all turned out.
What grandmother name did your mom choose?
My mom’s first name is Karen and she didn’t want a traditional grandmother name. She chose to be called “K.K.” My dad is going to go with Poppie. We’ve been calling him Poppie a lot in order to not confuse him with the baby since they share a name.
I think that covers all of the questions. Please let me know if you have any others– I’m an open book. I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend!
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 12, 2009
Todd and I drove to the hospital so I could be induced at 5:30 a.m. on June 4. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew how the process would go and I had been wanting a c-section through the whole pregnancy. Because I felt like I owed it to myself and to my child to try to do things the conventional way, I chose to be induced instead of go through with the c-section.
We checked in to the hospital, I got changed, and the nurses started pumping fluids into me. Around 6:30 a.m. they started the pitocin drip to induce labor. I was at about 1 cm at 7:30, but was still about 75% effaced. Around 11:00 a.m. the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural. The contractions weren’t horrible at that point, but the nurses thought I should go ahead and get the epidural while I was comfortable.
The epidural itself didn’t hurt at all. About fifteen minutes later, when the anesthesiologist started the Bolus drip, I started to fade. I got tunnel vision, I felt really dizzy, and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. The nurses took my blood pressure and it was down to 70/40. I didn’t faint, though. They started pumping more fluids into me to bring up my blood pressure and about an hour later I was feeling good again. I only got 20% of the usual amount of Bolus that is administered through an epidural.
Around 12:15, the doctor came in to break my water because it wasn’t breaking on its own. I had reached 3 cm and they told me that labor would start progressing more quickly if my water was broken. Holy cow. Breaking my water did not feel good at all, but even worse than the pain was having to lie around in my amniotic fluid all day long. The nurses were switching out my absorbent bed pads all day so I wasn’t really lying in it without relief, but it definitely felt like I was peeing on myself all day long. Who knew that there were 2 quarts of water in there?!
So, the rest of the day and night was just labor. The contractions weren’t terrible because I’d had the epidural. My blood pressure was kind of all over the place all day and I was starving. I started getting sick around 8:00 p.m. when my favorite nurse of the day started her shift. We seriously had the best nurse ever who did everything she could to make me feel better, encourage me, and relate to my experience. I was throwing up about once every hour, which is nothing for me if you remember what the majority of my pregnancy was like.
The doctor came in to check me around 3:00 a.m. and it was finally determined that I could push! The contractions weren’t horrible and I wasn’t going through any kind of torture, but I was so ready to be done with the process. It had been nearly 24 hours and I knew that the big stuff was still coming.
I started pushing at 3:15 a.m. and pushed for over an hour. The pushing wasn’t that bad because I was so determined to get the baby out! I was using muscles that I hadn’t used since I found out I was pregnant and I was working as hard as I could. The doctor and nurses knew that he was big and were encouraging me as best they could. Right at the end of the pushing, the doctor told me that she was going to give me some “help” with the vacuum. I didn’t feel any of that at all. I also had to have an episiotomy. I won’t go into the details of the episiotomy on my blog because I’m still a Southern lady, but if you do have any questions please feel free to email me and I’ll give you lots of straight answers. I know that pregnant women are often scared because they feel like they aren’t given many details about what could happen, but I think you know by now that I’m not into holding back. But… there are just some details that I don’t plan to put out here for everyone to see.
At 4:39 a.m. on June 5, John Matthew Hudson Carroll entered this world and the doctor and nurses were laughing immediately at his size and the size of his big cheeks! Todd took the sweet boy to meet his grandparents who were praying right outside the delivery room. I laid there for about twenty more minutes while they stitched me up. I had a 4th degree laceration.
The theme around our house since the delivery has been, “I’d rather have stiches where I can see them.”
They brought the baby back to me and I got to feed him for the first time. Then they took him to the nursery to be weighed and checked out by the pediatricians. The nurses got me to stand up so I could move to the room where we’d be staying for the next few days, and about ten seconds later I fainted. I knew I was feeling dizzy, but I had never fainted before in my life. They determined that it was because I’d had such an extreme loss of volume. Lots of blood, water, and baby.
About three hours later, I was well enough to move to the room where we’d stay for the next few days.
My delivery experience had its ups and downs, but I’m so thankful that we’re both healthy. I’m still going through a tough recovery and will be for a long while. Because I have such large babies, I’ll be going with the elective c-section next time around. And now I can tell anyone who tries to convince me otherwise that they’re crazy.
But, I’m sitting here right now while my little man is hanging out in his swing, and I know that this face is totally worth everything I’ve been through and will continue to go through.
by Blue-Eyed Bride on June 8, 2009
Our nursery came together the night before we went into the hospital for the induction. Just in time! Hudson already loves his little room and we’re so happy to finally have a baby in there!
We wanted a really happy nursery that our sweet boy could grow up in. I think he’ll still love it when he’s a smelly little toddler that likes to dig up worms!
