Christmas Morning

Here is Ms. Payton sleeping through her first Christmas.






Here is Cooper opening up his Christmas present from Aunt Shan Shan and Uncle Derek.



Notice the hat. He thinks that he is Indiana Jones.

The Story of Payton's Birth

I woke up to go to my regular scheduled doctor's appointment at 7:45 Monday morning. When I woke up I was having some contractions; however, I thought they were pretty normal since I seemed to have contractions whenever I would wake up in the mornings. I went to the doctor and I was 2 cm and 75% efaced. The doctor told us to go the hospital Tuesday morning to be induced.

I left the doctor's office and started to have contractions again. I was on the phone to my legal assistant and the contractions started to take my breath away. I was about a third of the way to work and decided I needed to go home. I arrived home at 9:00 a.m. and woke Derek up from a peaceful sleep. I told him he needed to get up and get ready because we may be heading to the hospital. He took a shower and took Daisy to daycare to be boarded. I laid in bed and started timing my contractions. They were anywhere from 7 to 3 minutes apart and lasting about 2 minutes. As soon as Derek got back I told him to load the bags because we needed to leave. We arrived at the hospital at 11:00 a.m. and my contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting 2 minutes. I was also 70% efaced and 3 cm.

They took us to the labor room at around 12:30 p.m. and Collen the labor nurse checked me again. I was now 4 cm and 50% efaced. The contractions were painful, but managable. The doctor came in and broke my water at 1:00 p.m. That is when the real fun begin. I was in so much pain I was crying and begging for drugs. I was given the epidural at 1:30 p.m. and tried to rest for awhile. There were a couple of times when Collen was concerned about Payton because I was having such strong and long contractions that Payton's heartrate would drop. She would roll my over to the other side and Payton would approve.

At about 3:00 she checked my again andI was 6 cm and completely efaced. The pain medication also started to wear off so more drugs were ordered. At around 4:15 I was 9 cm and completely efaced and Collen called to make sure my doctor was actually in the building. At 4:30 I started pushing and Payton arrived at 4:47 p.m.

I have to admit labor was not that bad with the help of drugs. I am still amazed at how fast everything happened.

6 pounds 9 oz and Simply Beautiful

Those were Derek's exact words when he called his Dad in the waiting room to announce the arrival of Payton June Cargill. I have to agree. Ms. Payton made her arrival into the world at 4:47 p.m., Monday, December 22, 2008. She was 18 1/2 inches long. There are no words to describe how much I love her. She is truly a blessing.













Getting Ready to go home......



All snug in the car seat. She did great on the ride home. She slept the entire time.





First night home and they are both passed out.......

End of an Era

I would like to take this opportunity to mourn the passing of a dear friend. I met this friend in my second year of law school and we have been together almost every single day since then. Oh sure, we had our ups and downs, but through the years she has been there for me. We have gone on many road trips together and seen every part of this fine State. I will miss you........



You were a wonderful Rodeo and you were also paid for. I will always remember you fondly.

Update

Well, I went to the doctor yesterday and it appears Payton is happy in my womb and is showing no signs of leaving anytime soon. I have to go back on Monday the 22nd to see if I am favorable for delivery i.e. made any progress whatsoever. If not then Derek and I will be reporting to the hospital on Monday the 22nd at 5:00 p.m. Oh....... how I would love to make progress to avoid an extra night in the hospital!!!!


I promise I'll post more this week of my growing belly and Payton's room.

The Final Countdown

Well, the nurse called me today at exactly 9:00 a.m. this morning to tell me that Derek and I are to report to the hospital at 6:00 a.m. on December 23rd to get things started. That is only 14 days away...........

I can't believe it. Some people have asked this question so I would like to clarify. Derek and I are not going in for a planned C-Section. Hopefully, we will be able to avoid that because the recovery time is longer, and I would like to avoid any type of surgery if at all possible.

I still have my regular doctor's appointment on Monday the 15th, and who knows....... may be Payton's not much of a planner and she may decide to arrive sooner.

Tis' The Season

To make your husband go up in the attic TWICE to get down the Christmas decor....


To make your husband rearrange furniture so the tree will fit..........




To scare the crap out of Daisy to see parts of a Christmas tree come down the stairs....


To yell at your husband for breaking two Christmas ornaments...........




To turn around and break two yourself (oops)..........


To have to explain to your husband why you purchased green ornaments when the tree is green..........




To have a beautiful lit Christmas tree..........







Merry Christmas!!!

Positive Thinking

I've decided that my last post was a little too whiny. Therefore, I wanted to post some of the positive things about being 9 months pregnant.....

1) We are close to being full term and if the little munchkin decided to come today the chances of everything being okay are extremely good;
2) Everyone from the dry cleaners to the grocery store employees won't let me carry a single item out of their store without help. (I don't know if they are being nice or fear a lawsuit if an extremely pregnant woman injured herself on their premise. Damn Lawyers!!!); and
3) I can go to bed at 8:00 at night and not feel guilty about it.


Therefore, I am going to tough it out like a big, pregnant girl and try to think of all the positives of being 9 months pregnant with our little girl.

"Whine" of the Month Club

For my birthday last year Derek bought me a subscription to the wine of the month club from Napa Valley. It was the best present ever because every month for six months we would receive two bottles of red wine from different vineyards. When the wine would arrive, we would open a bottle that night and have it with dinner and put the other bottle in our wine case. Ooh......... the days of being able to sit down to a good glass of wine. I miss those days.

Therefore, I decided to start a new "whine" of the month club. First, I want to say that Derek and I are very blessed to be able to have a little girl and we realize how lucky we are to have a happy, healthy pregnancy so far. That being said....... this last week has been tough. I can't sleep throughout the night because I have to go to the restroom every two hours. I literally have a hard time breathing and I am starting to make really attractive grunting sounds when I move. And........for good measure, I have started to snore at night. Add all that to the general uncomfortableness of being 36 weeks pregnant and I am exhausted and Derek is a trooper for still wanting to be around me. I wanted to throw myself a pity party yesterday when I was at the doctor; however, there was another woman there that was 39 weeks pregnant and she looked miserable. I started to think that I didn't have it so bad, and then I realized that I would be in her shoes (or flip flops because her feet were so swollen, and yes it was extremely cold here yesterday) in another 3 weeks. Bring on the violins and pity party balloons.

It is times like these that I wish I could go back to the other wine of the month club and get nice and toasted on a nice bottle of red wine.

My Favorite Turkey

This is my newphew Cooper and I adore him. He loves to take pictures and be in the picture. You also have to say "Cheese" when you get your picture taken with him.

To Protect and To Serve and To Install Car Seats

Normally, if the police knocked on our door at 7:30 in the morning I would be more than a bit concerned. However, this was a planned visit. God Bless the men in blue, especially the Irving Police Department. At one (of the two we actually attended) of our childbirth preparedness classes we were given a great handout regarding certified car seat installers. I had no clue there was even such a thing. I know it sounds stupid to have a "professional" install your car seat. However, a very good friend of mine (uh, um Ashley) informed me that a perfectly good marriage almost ended in divorce over car seat installation. Therefore, for the sake of our marriage and for the safety of our little girl we contacted the professional.

I contacted the Irving Police Department and Officer Shell arrived promptly at 7:30 in the morning and installed the car seat. It took him all of five minutes to do it, but he was incredibly kind and answered all our questions.

A Sign of Things to Come

This is Ashley's little girl Jillian. Miss Jillian was really impressed with Daisy's Doggy Door. I think Derek and I need to start thinking of ways to child proof the doggy door for Payton.

Freaking Out..........

For the past 8 months Derek and I knew we were having a baby and that she would be here sometime in December. Therefore, as rational people we attempted to go to the Childbirth Classes (hey, we made 2 classes and did the CPR class) and register for all the things you need for a little one.

However, it wasn't until last night when we started organizing the nursery and putting everything in its place that it really hit us. Holy smokes........ we are going to have a baby. Derek and I both admitted that we were freaked out and were scared to death because we both have no clue what we are doing. I know, at least I hope, all new parents go through this and that everything will be fine. I know that Derek and I will be just fine, but we can't help but worry.

Friends and Family Shower For Payton

Payton's Cake



The grandmothers to be. Payton is so blessed to have three grandmothers to spoil her rotten.




Three pregnant amigos. I can't believe Ashley, Jamie and me are all pregnant at the same time!!!!



I had two of the best gift openers at the shower to help me open all of Payton's gifts. Thanks Cooper and Jillian.



All the wonderful presents. Thank you so much!!!!



Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts and for all my friends and family that traveled to be with me on this special day. Also, thank you mom for all your hard work.

Nesting

I have read in all the books that I am supposed to be entering the nesting phase of my pregnancy. I will be the first to admit that I am not feeling any nesting urges; however, Derek has started to nest for the both of us. It started last night when I made the comment that I was over 8 months pregnant. I guess that freaked him out because he started to say I can't be that far along because he is not prepared. He told me he still hasn't read all the books on what he is supposed to do and he needs time to prepare. Then today at work I received an email with 20 questions regarding the status of the nursery, the car seat, what we will need to get before Payton arrives.

I have to admit, I think it is adorable that Derek is so concerned that everything is perfect for Payton and he wants to be prepared. Although, I really don't know how you fully prepare yourself for the arrival of a newborn.

The Bad Guy

Derek announced this morning that Daisy looked sad as we were leaving for work and that she needed a playmate because she gets lonely while we are away. I reminded him that we pay for her to go to doggy daycare twice a week and that Daisy (who at the time of the conversation had hopped up on our bed for morning cuddles) was a very well adjusted and happy dog. I also reminded him that we are about to have a new baby in the house and that a brand new puppy was not a good idea right now. I thought Derek and I were on the same page this morning until I received the above picture from Derek. I guess my subtle message about a newborn didn't get through. So I was forced to be the bad guy with my husband and tell him we are not getting a new puppy right now.

Although, I have to admit they are adorable, but I will not let those cute little faces and puppy paws weaken my stance.

31

In honor of Halloween.......... the 31st of October, I bought Daisy a Halloween shirt for the occassion. She was such a good girl when I put it on. She was a little scared to move in it, but then I gave her some turkey and she was fine.




As promised....... her is another belly picture at 31 weeks. Only eight more weeks to go.

Contraction...... What Contraction?

I had my biweekly doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor asked me if I was having any contractions yet as she was measuring my belly. I told her no, and I also asked what one would feel like. I wanted to be prepared for when I finally had one. She looked at me and said that I was actually having one right now. Oh well........ I didn't know because I always imagined a contraction like you see in the movies where the woman is doubled over in pain. She said it is common to start feeling contractions at this point a.k.a braxton hicks. I still haven't felt one (in the form of pain) but she said that when my muscles in my stomach go real tight that it is actually a contraction. I just thought I had abs of steel every now and then.

Also....... it is looking more and more like December 22nd will be the date we will induce. Our doctor is going out of town during the following week (the first time in 6 years she is actually planning on being out of town), and I want to make sure she delivers Payton. Therefore, we will go on the "list" on December 15th to get a spot at the hospital to induce. There are only so many spots. She doesn't anticipate it will be a problem getting the December 22nd date. However, we won't know for sure until December 15th.

And this little piggy

stayed in front of Payton's face for almost the entire time during our 4d ultrasound. At least we know she has five toes.

She finally moved her foot so Derek and I could see her precious little face.

Paint Pictures and Sleeping on the Couch

Okay......... many of you have requested that I put up more pictures and I promise I will. However, we are having our house completely repainted, and when I say completely repainted I mean everything from the baseboards to the ceiling. Therefore, our house is a complete wreck. The good news is that they will be done today and I should have the house put back together by next week. So, I promise I take the belly pic and pictures of our new painted house.

Yesterday they painted our bedroom and textured our master bath. So last night when I went to bed I could still smell some paint. Since I am pregnant, (and extremely paranoid) I decided I would sleep on the couch. (The upstairs was still under plastic wrap and I was too lazy to remove it to sleep up there.) So last night, me at seven months pregnant slept on the couch while my husband and dog got to sleep on the $1500.00 pillow top mattress.

I think Daisy is going to have a rude awakening once the painting is done because she is going back to her doggy bed in the living room.

I never thought I would say this..........

but I went to the doctor yesterday and was truly upset when the doctor told me that I lost 3 pounds since my last visit two weeks ago. Nine times out of ten most women would be through the moon if they lost 1.5 pounds per week. However, this is not one of those times. From all the books I read I am supposed to be in the gaining stages of my pregnancy. It also didn't help the way the nurse said, "Oh, you have lost weight since your last visit. We will have to be sure to tell the doctor about this." Then she looked at me like I was trying to diet or something.

To cut to the chase, I have had a horrible cold the last week and a half and I can't take any medicine because I am pregnant. The doctor just told me not to worry about it and that if I don't at least maintain or gain weight at my next visit then we will discuss it then. In in effort to maintain my weight and gain some more, I enjoyed Blue Bell Choclate ice cream in bed. Yummy................


Payton's heartbeat was perfect 150 bpm and I am measuring right at 28 weeks.

THE NAME GAME IS OVER

Derek and I finally decided on a name. We gave ourselves a deadline of October 1st to officially decide. Drum roll please............... Our little girl will be officially named

Payton June Cargill

June is after Derek's grandmother and Payton we both liked. However, since I have been pregnant (and even before I knew we were having a girl), I have been calling her Poppy June. I couldn't convince Derek to name her Poppy, but he has said that Poppy June would be a cute nickname.

Prepared Childbirth Class

First of all, I think the name is misleading. I have never given birth to a child, but from what I have seen I really don't think a class can fully prepare you. That being said...... Derek and I headed off to our first class last night with our two pillows in tow. The class started at 7:00 p.m. and was..... how should I say this...... HORRIBLE. The teacher introduced herself and said that this was her first time teaching the course and it went downhill from there.

It was like the teacher from the Wonder Years with the slide projector. This is your baby at 24 weeks. *Click* This is what your baby looks like at 25 weeks. *Click* and on and on and on.

I truly thought Derek was going to lose it when we had to watch a 30 minute clip by Bill Cosby talking about childbirth circa 1970. Talk about a complete waste of time.

As we were walking in the parking lot, we debated if we would be horrible parents by not going to any more classes, except the one we signed up to bring the snack. We are definitely going to the one with the CPR instruction, but I don't think we can handle the slide show from hell for six more weeks with that instructor.

Our New Nephew

Arrived yesterday at 1:15 p.m. Jackson David Newman decided to arrive about 6 weeks early. He was 6 pounds and 3 ounces and 18 inches. Casey is doing great and little Jack will have to stay in the NICU for a couple of weeks until his lungs finish developing.

I can't wait to see him. Derek and I are going to Lubbock on the 11th for the Nebraska game. However, I think I may drive up to Amarillo and shower my new nephew and his big sister Addison with gifts instead.

A Christmas Baby??

I went to the doctor this morning for my monthly appointment. Everything with Baby Girl Cargill was great. Her heart rate was 140 bpm, and I am measuring at 26 weeks. Since Baby Girl Cargill is due right on the 31st of December, I asked my doctor about inducing. Today she said she would feel comfortable anytime after December 22nd, but we will know more as we get closer to December.

Looks like we may have a Christmas baby...........

Baby Uniforms

This is an actual conversation that took place between Derek and myself the other night.

D: How many of these baby uniforms do we have?
S: Baby uniforms?
D: Yea, baby uniforms (looking over at a onesie we received as a gift)
S: Oh, you mean baby clothes?
D: Yea, how many have we received?
S: I don't know about 7 or 8.
D: Can they wear them more than once?

Name Game

Derek and I are really struggling to agree on a name. We have a list of names started. However, in order to get on "the list" both of us have to agree that we like the name. We have about five names on "the list" and every night we go through names to see if they will make it onto "the list." The only problem is that neither one of us are absolutely in love with any of the names. In all fairness, the ones I love he just likes and ditto for the ones that he loves.

I never thought naming a child would be this difficult or this stressful. Derek even suggested waiting until she was here to see what name would go best. However, I am too much of a planner, and I want to have a name in place to customize the nursery. So...... I guess the name game will continue.

Fabric Time

I think I have picked out the bedding for our little baby girl. There is one more store I want to look at before deciding, but I think this is what we are going to use.

Mr. McGrillin' and Ms. McChillin'

Derek got a new grill last week so we had to test it out. I don't know if (1) Derek's grilling skills improved (not that they could); (2) the new grill really does cook everything better; or (3) if I am just pregnant and very hungry, but those were some really good hamburgers.


Also, about a month ago someone in our household (not me) decided it would be a good idea to let Ms. Daisy May cuddle with us at night and in the mornings. For the record......... Daisy does not sleep with us at night and wasn't even allowed in our room until about a month ago. This is how I found her when I tried to get into bed.

It's a Girl........

Derek and I found out yesterday that we are having a little girl. Our little princess is measuring right on track and everything looked really good. Derek and I have a list of names, but nothing concrete..... yet.

19 Weeks

Here is a picture of my growing belly at 19 weeks. I didn't think that I looked that pregnant; however, after seeing this picture there is no denying it.

Mission Accomplished

Daisy has finally learned how to use the doggy door with the help of Timber and Bear. Yes, we had to call in for help. Timber and Bear are two labs that go to doggy daycare with Daisy. Their owner was kind enough to have them come by on Thursday night and show Daisy how to use the doggy door. I wish I had pictures, but my camera run out of batteries. It was pretty funny......


P.S
I have now bought some batteries and will be posting a belly pic soon.

Doggy Door

Due to our electric bill this past month, Derek and I had to make some changes. Specifically, the sliding glass doggy door. Therefore, we purchased a wall doggy door that is energy saver rated and had it put into our wall. Needless to say this energy saver doggy door did not come cheap. After getting it installed and patting ourselves on the back, we noticed one small problem...... Daisy is terrified of the new doggy door. We tried everything we could to get her to use it. We even had to push her through a couple of time, which is not small task considering she is over 70pounds. I wish I had a picture to depict Derek on one side and me on the other pushing/pulling Daisy through the doggy door. I am sure she will eventually use it on her own; however, we still hold our breath every time we come home to make sure she didn't leave us any surprises.

Four Month Check-Up

This morning I had my four month check-up and everything is right on track. My mom went with me since Derek is in trial today. We listened to Baby Cargill's heart rate, which was a perfect 156. We also found out that at our next appointment on August 26Th that we will have an ultrasound and find out the gender.

On Saturday I had to break down and buy maternity clothes. (Okay my mom bought them for me........ thanks Mom). However, I am still surprised to see my changing belly. Derek and I also had another wonderful surprise this weekend. Casey, Camille and Addison came to Dallas this weekend to do some last minute shopping for Casey's new house and Baby Jackson. It was wonderful to see them and Addison is getting so big. I hope Derek and I are able to make it up to Amarillo sometime soon to see the new house and have some of Camille's wonderful home cooked meals.

Don't Mess With Shamu

Derek and I went to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's presentation of The Blue Planet last night. It is part of the Symphony's summer program to get people out to the Symphony. The Blue Planet was the orchestra playing live to images of the Discovery Channel's Blue Planet film of the ocean life. It was really good and Derek and I are planning to try to go out there again. Since this was part of the Symphony's summer program, there were a lot of kids in the audience. However, there were two segments of the film featuring the Killer Whale i.e. Shamu. In one feature Shamu had struggled with a blue whale mom for over 6 hours trying to get to the baby calf. Shamu won and drowned the baby blue whale. In the other feature Shamu leaps onto a beach and snatches a sea lion and then proceeds to take it out to the open ocean and toss it around and play with its "victim" before eating it. The entire time I was thinking........... Wow, I wonder what all these kids think about Shamu now?

Also, I started crying during the segment about the baby blue whale. Derek was so embarrassed, but I am going to blame it on the hormones. However, in my defense, it really was sad to watch.

Daisy Today

Here's a recent picture of Daisy. She is about sixty pounds heavier than her first picture below.

Daisy May

I know I have mentioned our first baby, Daisy. However, here is her baby picture. She is such a wonderful dog and has such a good heart. She is going to make an excellent big sister.

We Are Going to Need A Stopwatch

Derek and I had our second doctor's appointment with my new doctor yesterday. The nurse got us into our room and gave us a packet with information regarding this doctor and the hospital. As Derek and I waited for the doctor, Derek started reading the information about the stages of labor (apparently there are three stages). Derek then read the section entitled "When to Go to the Hospital." According to the book, you don't go until the contractions are 1 full minute in length and 5 minutes apart. Derek then looked at me and said (in all seriousness), "We are going to have to buy a stopwatch." I couldn't help but laugh.

On a separate note........... everything with Baby Cargill is looking good and my next appointment is July 21, 2008.

Baby Cargill's First Picture

Today was a very important day because Baby Cargill had his/her first picture taken. The doctor said I was measuring right at 9 weeks and the due date is December 31, 2008. Baby Cargill's heartbeat was a perfect 185 and he/she was one inch. My next appointment is June 16, 2008.