Last Few Weeks of Pregnancy with Cutler

This is my last pregnancy update. I spent a lot of the end of my pregnancy sick. I was coughing my head off so much that I ended up having to get my doctor to call me in something so that I could get a little sleep. I remember telling Colt that hopefully Cutler didn't decide to come when I was sick because I wasn't sure if I would be able to breathe and push. I'm sure being sick didn't help the way that I felt at the end of my pregnancy. Regardless, by the end of my pregnancy, I was definitely over being pregnant and ready for Cutler to get here. I didn't get to experience these final weeks of pregnancy with Kinley. By the time I was induced with Cutler, Kinley would've already been here a month. It is crazy that know matter how uncomfortable the end of pregnancy is and the pain of childbirth (even though I had an epidural)... you forget all that so quickly when the baby gets here! Even though at one point I remember telling Colt that I didn't want to go through another pregnancy ...and we think Cutler probably completes our family... after he was born, I remember thinking that I just might want to do it all over again... even if the thought was short lived. Waking up to feed a baby every couple of hours is definitely better than having to roll out of bed every hour or two to go to the bathroom while pregnant. 

My dad had a hip replacement on January 10th, when I was 35.5 weeks. Since this is when I had Kinley, my mom was scared to death that we were going to have Cutler while my dad was completely out of commission. We made it a lot further than that though. By the time Cutler arrived, my dad was getting around pretty well for the most part. 

The last pregnancy post that I did included week 35.

 Here's a look back at week 36 with Kinley. 

It's my last comparison post because after that, Kinley was here.  

36 weeks

I missed taking my 36 week pictures for some reason. I have a few that I snapped on my phone during that week though. I sent the one of my bare belly to my mom that week, and she told me I looked like I was about to pop. At my doctor's appointment that week, Cutler was still looking good and measuring on track. The doctor checked me at this appointment. I was dilated to almost a 1, and Cutler was head down. My blood pressure was still good at 124/68. I weighed 158 lbs... meaning I was up 36 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight. The 30-35 lb. average weight gain was out the window, yet again! Although I was a lot more swollen with Kinley, at this same time frame, I had gained 38 lbs. with her. The weight came off pretty easy with Kinley, which I'm sure is in part to her diet issues and me having to eat meat and veggies for a while there. I guess we'll see how it comes off this time around.

37 Weeks

 My doctor was on vacation this week so I saw his nurse practitioner. Before he left, he told me to wait and have the baby when he got back. When his nurse practitioner checked me at this appointment, she said I was dilated to almost a 2. Cutler was still looking good and holding tight. My blood pressure was still good at 120/80. My weight was 162 lbs., up another 4 lbs. from the week before and up 40 lbs. overall. 

38 weeks 

This weeks doctor's appointment ended up being my last. I was 38 weeks and 2 days at my appointment. Cutler was still happy staying inside, and his heartbeat was in the 140's. I was still only dilated to almost a 2. My blood pressure was high the first time around. When they rechecked it, it was down to 132/80. I weighted 164 lbs, up another 2 for a total of 42 lbs. Colt went with me to this appointment so we could talk to the doctor about inducing and timing. We had to get permission for him to come in and bring Kinley because my doctor's office didn't allow kids over 6 weeks old. We had to talk to him about being induced because Colt had to schedule his time off so far in advance for January and February that he had picked the last week of January and the first week of February assuming that Cutler would probably arrive at least a little early. The doctor said that he prevented that from happening by making me take my weekly shots. I guess they worked... either that or Cutler just wasn't ready to come yet.  Although Colt had picked up and traded as many shifts as possible, his time off and opportunities for days off and trades was running out. He was scheduled to resume his normal schedule and go back to work on the 9th and 10th out of town in Sulphur Springs. Since this pregnancy was a healthy pregnancy, they couldn't induce me until 39 weeks. The earliest date the hospital had available was February 7th. I would be 39.5 weeks. It was almost to my actual due date of February 11th. We went ahead and schedule the induction for the 7th. I was supposed to be at the hospital to check in at 5 am. Luckily, Colt was able to get those Sulphur Springs shifts picked up after we scheduled our induction and he didn't have to go out of town the day after we got home from the hospital. He was off with us until the 12th and then he just had to work in Tyler on that day. He is currently in Sulphur Springs so I'm solo with both kids for a  couple days. At least it's now and not right when we got home though!

Another pic during week 38 that I snapped on my phone before we went and grabbed dinner at Jucy's the night  of my doctor's appointment. For some reason after my appointment that day, I was feeling weak and dizzy so I got out of cooking. 

39 weeks

Since my weekly doctor's appointment would've been no earlier than Tuesday and I was getting induced on Wednesday, my doctor didn't make me go in for an appointment this week. This was my LAST pregnancy picture because I didn't take anymore before we went into the hospital at 39.5 weeks. 

Kinley was, and still is, in a little phase where she is gets up and immediately finds and puts on shoes... hence the light up Skechers and her pajamas! I actually think this day she told me she wanted to wear her pajamas all day too. I asked her if she wanted to put clothes on and she told me "No, jama party!" I honestly don't know where she comes up with some of the stuff that she says! 

Another one of big sister because she was in the mood to take pictures that day!

Introducing Cutler Colt Smithson - The Best Days of My Life

Cutler joined us on February 7th at 4:46 pm. He was 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 21 inches long. We are in love with this little boy. Your heart definitely grows when you have a baby. I already can't imagine life without him. He's made us a happy little family of four, plus the dogs! 

Unlike his sister, he didn't join us early like we thought he would. I ended up being induced at 39.5 weeks. He had almost 2 lbs. on his big sister when he arrived. I started typing his birth story the other night. I will post it eventually, along with a ton more pictures of our little man. Until then, here are a couple of pics of Cutler right after he was born. It's crazy how much babies change within a few hours of being born and especially within a day. I know I'm biased, but he's pretty handsome. He gets more and more handsome every day! 

Big sister spent two nights this past weekend with her Giggy and Pa. While I planned on getting a lot done and resting since only Cutler was here with me, I didn't. I couldn't put him down! I soaked in all the baby snuggles! I know I was the same way with Kinley, but I could hold and stare at him all day! I feel like with two kids, I haven't gotten to cuddle him quite as much as I did Kinley. I took advantage of some alone time with him! 

Looking back, I thought having one kid was hard and I was lacking sleep. Now that I have two kids, it seems like one newborn would be or should've been a breeze! Kinley was definitely not the easiest baby though. I also think that starting out in the hospital so long with her, we started out tired from the beginning. We had a little scare and the mention of being admitted to the hospital with Cutler for jaundice. Thankfully, we didn't have to! We've got to stay in our own home this time around. I'm not sure if it's because Cutler was full term, but he has nursed better from the beginning. It might change and I don't want to jinx it, but so far, he's sleeping a lot better than Kinley did. I don't remember Kinley ever really sleeping! With one newborn, you could nap when they nap (I didn't because I was running to the computer to try and get tax stuff done). With two, you don't even have the option to nap or rest! The hardest part to me the first week home was the feeling like I was neglecting Kinley and having to split my time between the two of them. I know I wasn't neglecting anyone, but I tried to give Kinley as much attention as possible and not change her normal routine. I didn't want her to feel left out or pushed aside.

 While I may be tired from waking up to feed the Cutler in the middle of the night or repeating myself to Kinley a million times a day, I wouldn't trade any of it for anything. I know, without a doubt, that these are the BEST days of my life. Unfortunately, it's going to go by in the blink of an eye, and I am going to miss every bit of it. Cutler is already a week and a half old. It already feels like time is flying by too fast! I saw the poem below  by John F. Connor twice recently. I don't know if it's the hormones or what, but both times, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Both Kinley and Cutler, along with their dad, make my world go 'round!

Remainder August in Photos

Here's a recap of the rest of our month of August in photos and videos. 

August 1st

 August 2nd

Powdered donuts for breakfast... I think this may have been the first time that she had them. 

August 3rd

August 5th 

We went to China Springs for Witten's 1st birthday party and stayed the night with the Burge family.  

August 7th

Sitting on the potty... no we are not potty trained. For a while she showed interest. Most of it just lead to book reading time though. Now, she doesn't act interested at all. 

She wanted her Minnie Mouse pajamas on over her clothes.

August 11th

We went with a playgroup that morning to the Brookshire's Wildlife Museum. 

That night, we went to Benjamin Allgaier's 2nd birthday party. 

August 12th

That night I found Kinley like this. She had gotten in the pantry and pulled out Froot Loops. Lucky was there for anything she happened to drop.

She got on a kick where anytime she saw something sweet, especially baby animals, she would say "Aww" and put her hands together beside her face. Here's a couple of videos of her doing it. 

Here's another video from the same day of her eating spaghetti. 

August 18th

Matt and Whitney came to see us on the 17th and stayed the night. Before they left on the 18th, we took Kinley and Witten to the Brookshire's Wildlife Museum to play. 

That night we played on the back porch with the water hose. She wanted to do this all the time this past summer. She also remembered and wanted to do it just the other day. I had to convince her that it was too cold outside. 

August 22nd

I have found Kinley hand feeding Lucky way too many times. 

August 23rd

 August 25th

Playing Seek-a-Boo

August 26th

Before we left to go to Josh and Brianna's baby shower that morning, Kinley was wearing my shoes around the house. 

Here's a video of Kinley when we were about to go to the baby shower. She was showing her little attitude and telling me she wanted to go see Giggy and Pa.

August 30th

Chicken and rice for dinner

Soccer Shots

Kinley started Soccer Shots on August 31st. Her group was 2-3 year olds. It lasted 10 weeks, and it was 30 minute sessions every Thursday. The sessions just taught the basic rules. They mainly just dribbled and scored some goals at the end. There weren't any games or anything like that. Her group started out with 13 kids. Some kids (or parents) only made it the one session, and the kids dwindled down fast. By the end, I think there were only 3 kids left. Luckily, Kinley loved "soccer ball" and still was just as excited to go by the end of it as she was the beginning!

Her dad was disappointed that he had to work the night of her first session. He's the one that played and knows about soccer. I know absolutely nothing about it because we really didn't have it growing up. I had to send him pictures and videos since he couldn't be there. 

Kinley got the hang of soccer pretty fast. I think she was actually pretty good for how young she was. I don't think I'm just being biased either! She also did a good job of listening to her coaches and following directions. She didn't have it on her first day, but she ended up getting a soccer jersey to wear every week that she loved. She would get excited on Thursdays when it was time to put her soccer clothes on! She actually still talks about going to play soccer ball with other kids. Randomly some days, she'll ask, "Soccer ball today?" She also randomly will put her hands on mine to do her Soccer Shots cheer that they did at the end of every session. Soccer was definitely a hit for us! 

This was her all dressed in her "workout clothes" before we left the house. She was trying to run and get me and the camera. 

Some shots from her soccer debut

Here's four short videos of her that first day. The last one is of them doing their cheer at the end of the session. 

1st Day of School - Fall 2017 Mother's Day Out

Kinley's first day of school for the fall was on August 29th. I took multiple pictures on our doorstep that morning before school because she was overflowing with personality and spunk that morning! As long as the weather is good, her drop off is typically on the playground so it's a breeze. I kinda wish she would care more when I leave her.  She doesn't even look back at me most days! She still only goes on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:30-2:30. She seems to love it, and I'm glad she does! 

She is the cutest little thing with her backpack and lunchbox in tow!