Now that Christmas is over and everyone received their presents I can now post the remaining pictures from Daylen's 1 month session:
For Christmas this year, Darren's mom's side of the family decided to spend time together in a cabin at Beavers Bend in Oklahoma. Both sides of the family spent 3 days in the most beautiful cabin! Of course it seemed like it took hours just to drive to the top of the mountain. During our stay we were able to really enjoy spending time together under one roof. We played Phase 10, Cranium, and Skip Bo. Daylen spent his 3 days in the arms of a family member who gave him lots of love. It was nice to have all hour babysitters for 3 days. Darren and I hardly had to change his diaper or feed him. After the 3 day stay I was saddened to leave, but enjoyed the fellowship with our family. I am looking forward to spending more time with them in the future. Hopefully we can do it again next year for Thanksgiving or Christmas.Today Daylen is 6 weeks old. These last couple of weeks have really flown by for us. Daylen is close to 12 lbs. now and is starting to fit his 3 month clothes. Of course the 0-3 clothes fit him better. It seems like only yesterday I was learning to determine what each cry meant and now I can tell, at least 80% of the time, what his cries mean. Daylen has slept all night 2 nights in a row without waking up. He has also started smiling a lot more. My sister, Jennifer, noticed the other day that when Daylen heard my voice he smiled and moved his eyes in my direction. He smiles when I move his chin down with my fingers, and when I blow on his neck or give him kisses. He has had his first 3 baths this week, which he LOVES. He slides down into the tub and hangs his feet off the side of the hammock to soak them in the water. He has started cooing which ultimately leads to a smile.
Daylen has been such a blessing to our family. This week has been especially hard on Darren's side of the family and Daylen keeps all of our spirits up. Darren and I have noticed how the Lord has used Daylen to bring more joy to the Lemons after the death of Brandon. It has been almost 8 months since his death and it is still hard on us. Sadly, Daylen's first Christmas will also be our first Christmas without Brandon. We know that the Lord will help us get through this Christmas season and begin new traditions and memories.
Darren and I bought Daylen a Bible for his first Christmas. Sean Belknap, one of our teens, works at Mardel and he imprinted "Daylen Keith Lemons" on the cover of his Bible. Darren decided to buy him building blocks to play with once he is able to sit up by himself. We also had his picture taken with Santa and his reindeer, a dachshund named Dixie. This Christmas Daylen will not be able to open his presents, so we look forward to next year when he is able to tear open the presents himself. Although Darren would LOVE for Daylen to already be walking, I am going to make sure I enjoy every minute that I am able to hold him.
We took Daylen to Babies R Us for his one month pictures. We are going to TRY and take him for each month pictures, we will have to see how well that works out. I decided to share some of the photos from that day. Since some of the poses will be Christmas gifts for our family, I will not post all of them yet. Here are two of the poses:
He is wearing the sweater and jeans that Auntie Beth bought him and shoes that his Granny Dianne bought. I'll put up the other pictures once we give everyone their presents.
Daylen Keith Lemons arrived by C-Section on November 3, 2009. He was born at 4:48 pm and weighed 9 lbs. 5 ozs. He wasn't quite as big as they had originally thought. He was 20 3/4 inches long!! He had a full head of hair which was no surprise to us since Darren had his first haircut at 2 weeks old. We were able to go home on Saturday, November 7th. I had developed high fever and blood pressure while in the hospital. So I was put on an IV drip for an infection and given blood pressure medicine. Thankfully my fever and blood pressure went down long enough to release us from the hospital. However, as soon as I got home Saturday night my fever went up to 102.2!! Thankfully my Mom stayed the night to help take care of Daylen.
Darren and I have been adjusting to life with a newborn. He goes for his 1 month check up on Tuesday, right after my 1 month check up. I haven't been released to drive or play sports yet, so hopefully I am released on Tuesday. Daylen weighed 10 lbs. 1 oz. at his 2 week check up so we'll see how much he weighs now.
Darren pointed out that I haven't updated this blog in awhile. It wasn't that I wanted to stop doing it, but that I have had other things on my mind as we prepare for Daylen's arrival. Let's see...where do I begin? I guess the most important part that anyone reading this would want to know is that Daylen's due date has been moved up a week. Darren and I went to the doctor to begin my weekly visits to the doctor. Last week was my first one and I was 36 weeks. On top of going to the doctor, I also had a sonogram. Dr. Light referred me to Dr. Rinehart who specializes in sonograms, so that he could tell us how big Daylen is going to be. Needless to say....Daylen already weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. at 36 weeks! Dr. Rinehart printed off the report and told us to take it to Dr. Light and tell her that in about 3 more weeks she will be delivering a 12 lb baby!! When we went to see Dr. Light she wasn't surprised. During my exam she said that I hadn't dilated any and my uterus measured 42 cm instead of the 36 cm it should have measured since I was on my 36th week. She said it was no surprise to her that he measured so big knowing that he already weighed close to 9 lbs. So in agreement with Dr. Rinehart, Dr. Light decided that she will take Daylen by C-Section one week early at 39 weeks. So I am scheduled to have Daylen by C-Section on NOVEMBER 3, 2009 AT 4:00 PM!!! Dr. Light said there would be no possible way she will allow me to have him naturally because his body measurement is double the size of his head. In most deliveries, once the head comes out the rest of the baby will just follow it. In our baby's case, his head will be delivered and then he will get stuck at the shoulders. To prevent him from having his shoulder or collar bone broken, Dr. Light decided to do a C-Section. I have to be at Presby-Dallas at 2:00 PM on November 3rd to prepare for my surgery. One thing that stinks is that I cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight on the 2nd. So I will be entering close to 16 hours of no eating or drinking until after Daylen is already here. I don't know how I am going to make it. I can handle not eating more than not drinking anything....even water!! I mean doesn't water just go right through you anyway? So unless Daylen decides to come early, we are preparing to meet Daylen on November 3rd!! We can't wait.
I will update everyone on how I am feeling. I have found that the closer I get to the due date the less sleep I get and the more tired I am after I get home from work. I am having to get up to go to the bathroom every hour. I am only able to sleep on my sides now which makes it uncomfortable to sleep. Just a simple task of turning over or getting up is exhausting. I have developed carpal tunnel in both wrists and even picking up my 8 lb. puppy is painful. I can't even carry my teacher's book or hold my Bible up during service. I don't know how I am going to be able to hold Daylen, especially since he will be close to 12 lbs. My feet, legs and knees have continued to swell which requires me to wear support hose. Darren gets up every morning before I go to work to put on my hose. He has become the expert support hose fitter. Putting on my hose requires green rubber gloves to help smooth out all the wrinkles and a lot of pulling. Although they are uncomfortable by the end of the day, I notice that when I don't wear them, just the simple task of walking and standing is very painful!! As I get closer to delivery, my hips get more painful and apparently I have started "waddling." I used to wonder why pregnant women always "waddled" when they walked, and now I know. Daylen moves more and more everyday. I thought that the bigger he gets in my stomach the more limited his movements will be, but it appears that his movements have increased. I don't think Daylen got the limited movements memo. He is either hanging out low or up around my belly button, which by the way, has slightly began sticking out like the Thanksgiving turkey ready to eat. Lately I have enjoyed feeling around for hard spots of where Daylen is and poking it. He moves far away from wherever I push him. Although I have a couple of pregnancy uncomfortable experiences, I can honestly say that I have been enjoying my first pregnancy!! I haven't had any sickness or nausia. Being able to reach down and feel Daylen is so calming and exciting. Darren and I are so excited about Daylen and can't wait to hold him. We thank everyone for your prayers as we prepare to be first time parents.
I go back to the doctor tomorrow, so I will try to remember to update the page as new developments occur.
Darren and I were truly blessed at the church shower. We were expecting a handful of people to come and found close to 100 people there!! By the end of the shower the sheet cake made to feed up to 100 people was all gone and some didn't even get cake. Beth and I ended up spliting a piece of cake. We opened present after present and after it was all done we realized that 1 1/2 hours had passed!!! We ended up having to use a microphone so that everyone could hear what the present was and who brought it. Darren and I were so excited that the Lord has blessed us with such a loving, supportive church family. Daylen will be nicely dressed and will not be lacking in anything. We had a good time. Daylen's closet is full and all the drawers and baskets are full. There are still things in the living room that haven't been put up due to lack of space. I posted mostly pictures of the gifts at home rather than at the shower. When Darren and I got home Beth helped sort through all the gifts. Afterwards we looked over all the piles and laughed that our living room looked like a garage sale.
Darren's cousins, Shannon and Kristi hosted our family baby shower at Dianne's house. We had close to 30 people there. It was a great time of fellowship with our loved ones. We had some laughs and some tears. It was a very memorable night!!!
Dr. Light discussed the test results with me from my 3 hour glucose diabetes test. According to the results I "passed" the diabetes test. However, it was by one point. She said that if I was to take the test again I would probably fail it, so she wants to treat me as a gestational diabetes patient. I have to meet with their dietican to develop a modified diet plan. I go next Tuesday. In the meantime, she wants me to check my blood glucose levels on a monitoring system once a week. Darren has been doing really good at making sure I am not eating or drinking any sugar until we meet with the dietican. With all the people in our family with diabetes I know I will have many resources to help ensure Daylen is okay.
Daylen is still growing bigger and bigger each day. On the day this picture of Daylen was taken I was undergoing a 3 hour diabetes test. Between the tests I went for a sonogram. The reason for this sonogram was because the week before Dr. Light decided that he was going to be a big baby. She wasn't sure how big, so she wanted a sonogram to give her a better estimate. This is Daylen at 30 weeks. It is a picture of the right side of his face. As you can tell he has a full cheek and he is rather big. The sonogram technician estimated that if I carry him full term he will weigh about 9 lbs. 3 oz!! So she said he is going to be a big baby.
Darren and I went back to the doctor this week for my 31 week check up. Dr. Light was pleased with the sonogram because she got a better understanding of what size baby we will be having. According to Dr. Light, Daylen is in the 95th percentile meaning that he is already bigger than most babies at this time. She is estimating that he will be between 9 and 12 lbs!!! She isn't expecting him any smaller than 9 lbs. When she measured my uterus I measured 39 inches! I'm supposed to only be measuring 31 inches since I am 31 weeks. Daylen doubled in size again since the last time! She used the term "gynomorous" to describe what size baby he will be. We asked her if there is a chance she'll take him early so that he doesn't come out weighing 20 lbs. She said she isn't planning on taking him any earlier than 39 weeks unless I develop medical problems. So, she is expecting me to carry him 1 week before full term to ensure his lungs developed. I don't know where else he is going to go in my belly. I guess I will just look like I am having triplets. She said that I am headed towards a C-section and then asked if I had an objection. I explained to her that if he was going to weigh over 9 lbs. there was no way I was going to have him naturally. So in 5 weeks when I am 36 weeks, I have to have another sonogram that is administered by a doctor rather than a technician. The doctor has better equipment that will help determine he closest due date and his actual size. Right now I think he is over 5 lbs. He is going to be a very healthy (chunky) baby. If anyone is wanting to buy us diapers or clothes, you won't be able to buy newborn or premie sizes because he has already passed those sizes. If he is able to wear them it will only be for about a week. Darren is joking that I will deliver a toddler and he'll come out walking. I'm glad he finds this humorous. He did say that now instead of an NBA star, he is going to have an NFL star. We'll just have to wait and see.
Darren and I went to the doctor this week for my check up. I found out that I will have to take a 3 hour diabetes test due to an abnormality in my glucose test. So I am taking a whole day off to wait in the hospital for all the blood work to be done. While I am there I will also have a sonogram!!! It has been 14 weeks since we saw him, so we are so excited to see him again. Dr. Light decided it was time for a sonogram when he measured 5 inches MORE than he should be measuring. His growth has been right on schedule each week, except this week. She said it looks like we are going to have a BIG baby!! Of course Darren is excited because he wants Daylen to be an NBA star!! =) The only thing she can come up with as to why he is big might be that he is stretching all the way out in my uterus. The sonogram will help give us a clue as to how big he is. I can't believe we are so close to his delivery date. My feet have been swelling more and more everyday. Most people are fearful that I might be put on bedrest before I deliver. Dr. Light didn't seem too concerned about my swelling because my blood pressure has been good. Today I really felt pregnant due to the swelling and my stomach seeming enormous!! Beth took a picture of me today for my 7 months. In comparison to last month's belly, I really have grown. What do you think?
Daylen is really growing this week. He should be about 2 1/2 pounds and around 15 inches long. His muscles and lungs are maturing and his head is getting bigger. Every day about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited into his skeleton, which is hardening. He has been very active especially at night when I lay down on my sides. Today I was sitting in my chair after school and from the corner of my eye I could see my stomach bouncing up. My swelling has been getting worse each day, which may be caused from sitting and standing all day at work. A teacher can't teach sitting behind a desk, so I have trouble staying seated. Darren told me today that my doctor, Dr. Light, called him and told him there were abnormalities in my glucose test results. I am going to have to schedule an appointment for the 3 hour diabetes test, which will cause me to have to take off a whole day. I'm not happy about having to already use my days before Daylen is here, but like Darren said, I don't have a choice. She said that 1 in 3 pregnant women have gestational diabetes and then return back to normal after the baby is born. She's not too worried about it, so I'm not too worried about it. I can't believe we have 11 weeks until Daylen is here. Darren and some teachers at school think Daylen will be here sooner. If not, they think I will be on bed rest before he is born. I hope bed rest isn't in my future, but if so I am prepared. I signed up for disability BEFORE I got pregnant, so when I am off work too long I will start drawing disability.
Since we were in desperate need of more storage for Daylen's very small room, my Dad volunteered to make a shelving unit and storage space. With the new shelving units, we are now able to store things in storage baskets and organize his closet. I decided to post pictures of the progress since I haven't posted anything from his room update in awhile. I am also posting a picture of the sports mirror I got at Kirkland's. Of course, it is a tad bit high because my Dad is so tall so we'll have to lower it.
