Our first Month with our little Lily

Being a mom is the most wonderful thing in the whole world. I am loving it. The first month has flown by, as I was told it would. Lily has been quite the adventurous one already! She has been away on two mini-trips. Two weeks ago we went down to the cape for the weekend and Lily loved it. We took her for several walks along the ocean. It was beautiful and very peaceful for mom and dad. Last weekend we all went to Vermont and visited with Grammy Trent (Alan's Mom) for a couple days and then went to visit Grandpa, Juanita,Auntie Em, Auntie Kate and Cousin Nate! It was a fun filled weekend. She has her first visit to the Cheesecake Factory (Mommy's Favorite) and she loved it! Lily has adjusted nicely to life on the "outside"! The summer is going to be full of fun activities and I will keep blogging!!!

Here are some more pics of her first 4 weeks! Enjoy!

Little Lily's Arrival!

Our Favorite...Sleeping Beauty

Lily Mae Schulte made her way into this world on April 29th 2009 at 10:24pm....after 17 hours of labor. She weighed 8lbs and 9oz and was 20 1/2 inches long! She arrived via C-section due to her "Sunny-side up" positioning! We are hoping this means she will have a "Sunny" personality! She is very healthy and seems to be a happy baby. The first 8-10 hours of labor were "manageable"; certainly not fun or comfortable by any means but manageable. The last 7 or 8 hours were much more difficult. I would try to explain the experience but just like everyone told me....words can not come close to describing the experience-it's surreal. Alan and my mom were my labor coaches and they did such a wonderful job. They were there to provide exactly what I needed (which changed minute to minute).

So, now about Lily. Wow. I am not sure words can describe her either...but I'll try. Being a mom is 100 million times more wonderful than I ever would have thought. It is also much harder than I ever would have thought. People told me this but it's one of those things you can't understand until you experience it. We are very sleep deprived. We longer have "meals" we now have "okay you eat really quickly while I hold her and then Vice Versa"! I am no longer the center of Alan's affection...nor am I the center of my own attention (if that makes any sense....it is all about Lily and providing this angel with everything she needs to be a happy and healthy baby girl. I am so grateful for Alan, I couldn't do this without him. I don't know how anyone does this alone- props to all the single parents out there because this truly is the hardest job in the world, so if you are doing it alone I think you just might be a super-hero.

I'm not sure If I will keep up this blog or not, now that she's here. I will try. Thank you for all of your support and words of encouragement throughout this journey.

This is truly the greatest gift on earth and Happy Mother's day to all of you superhero's.

Love,

Molly

Still...Waiting for Lily Mae.....

I am getting the feeling that I will be forever pregnant! I remember being about 4 months pregnant and reading an article where a soon to be mom was about a week late and she was feeling that she was never going to have her baby. I remember thinking how silly that was. Now....3 days past my due date I feel the same way...am I ever going to have this baby!!!??? We Had another Doctors appointment yesterday and she said everything looks great...about a centimeter dilated and 90% effaced (thinning of the cervix). Basically, that means everything is ready....I am just waiting for that moment when labor begins. I have been having lots of Braxton Hicks (false labor) contractions. They are annoying and uncomfortable but not painful like the real thing. We go back to the Docs on Friday if Lily has yet to make her big debut! At this appointment they will check her heart more closely than they do at regular appointments. I will have an ultrasound checking her size, the amniotic fluid and all sorts of other good stuff just to make sure everything is OK. If all is good than we just wait some more. If anything were to be wrong they would either induce or I would have a c-section. But there is no reason to believe that would be the case.




We are all done with all the "foreseeable" preparations for baby...but we keep finding more work to occupy ourselves while we wait. Above are some pics of the Nursery!
Hopefully next time I write I will be saying She's Here!!!

Waiting.....

When I picked the title for this blog; Waiting for Lily Mae, approx 6 months ago....it meant something totally different than it does today. Now, I am really "waiting for Lily Mae"!!!! I am so excited for her to get here! I am becoming quite literally obsessed...I can't wait to meet her. She is not actually "due" until this upcoming Saturday, April 25th, but it feels like she should already be here. The last month is tough. People warned me but it's just one of those things you don't understand until you experience it yourself. Probably like labor- everyone tells me their experience and what happened to them but you don't have a clue until you've been through it. I am not really scared for labor. I know I probably should be but what good is being scared going to do??? I say that now.....but check in when I'm having contractions ...I'm sure I'll be a little more scared then!!!!
We had a death in the family this weekend- My grandmother (Dad's mom) passed away. That has been a little tough to deal with-- I wish she could have got to spend some time with Lily Mae but I know she is in a better place now. God is taking good care of her.
Alan is so ready to be a Daddy...I think he might be more "ready" than me(but shhh...let's not tell him that). It's so comforting knowing that Lily is going to have an amazing father--I have no doubts about that!
It's so hard to imagine what it is going to be like to be a mommy. It still feels so surreal sometimes. I think about how much I love her already and I can only imagine what that's going to be like once she's here. Well, until then....

Well, I will try to update as soon as Lily arrives--perhaps even from the hospital!
Thanks you for all of your love and support along the way.

What a Wonderful Week!

WOW Where do I begin.....

The past few days have just been wonderful! First off we had our baby showers this weekend....yes I said "showers" (plurl)!!!! I know....I am soo spoiled! My sister and my mom threw a nice "Jack and Jill" style shower for us in Saturday with our family and friends. It was wonderful. We had such a great time and we got sooo many wonderful presents!!! Then on Sunday My Aunt and Step mom threw me a shower too...this one girls only! After this weekend there is hardly anything we need to buy for Lily's arrival! Thanks to all of you! I've included a few pics from the showers.

Then on Monday we had some good news... Lily is in position..."head down"!!! Last time we went to the Docs lily was laying sideways, which at this point is not good (for labor purposes). On Monday we had an ultrasound and she ws right where she is supposed to be (give or take)! Things are falling into place (no pun intented:)!

We are in the home stretch now and I am feeling it. Sleeping is near impossible and I am officially a "waddler"....yes....I waddle instead of walk... I just realized it today! I just keep telling myself it's all worth it. My little angel will be here soon. Alan is getting anxious too. He is ready to meet his little girl.

I will try to post again soon!

Just checkin in...

I don't have much to blog about but I just wanted to check in and say Hi.

Things have been going well. I still feel great! I am really tired and a bit achy (ok and very moody too) but other than that I am still feeling good. It's hard to believe theres only 7 more weeks to go. It's also hard to believe I can love someone soooo very much. She's not even "here" yet and I love her so much I can only imagine how it will feel once I get to see her, hold her, snuggles her...I can't wait! Alan has been absolutely adorable...doing all the daffy prep stuff. He is going to be such a wonderful Dad, I have no doubt about that.

The nursery is coming along nicely. We actually changed the pattern of her bedroom set (new picture to the right). She now has a bedroom set called "Ducky Dots" and it's much brighter; more cheerful. My Mom and I are working on her room this weekend....getting it ready for her arrival. Anyway....I don't have much else to say...nap time....but I wanted to just check in and thank everyone for their love and support throughout this amazing process!!

Welcome to the Third Trimester!!!

The beautiful bedroom set we've picked out for Lily's nursery.

The "mommy to be" with the VERY excited Grammy.





My former "innie" is quickly becoming an "outie"
Just another strange yet mundane occurance in pregnancy land!

YAHOO!!!!

We've made it to the 3rd Trimester!!!! We are so excited!!!! It's truly hard to believe that it's been 7 months already but the reality is setting in that little Lily Mae will be in our arms soon enough! Wow. Lately I have been beginning to feel the transitions from "individual" to "mother". There is a definite loss of identity- a loss of self- but an addition of a wonderful new one. We will no longer be Molly and Alan....rather "mommy and daddy"....that may take a little getting used to...


Anyway, we've got so much to look forward to in the coming months. We will be starting our birthing/new parent classes sometime soon. We are also going to be having a baby shower which is always a blast!We just registered this past week and it was so much fun. Although we are very exited for our little angel to arrive we are also enjoying the pregnancy. I am still sleeping fairly well at night. The swelling and all those other terrible "3rd trimester symptoms" (extreme fatigue, achy back/achy everywhere, ad infinity) have yet to come my way, so I am still a very happy (but big) preggo.

I will try to post more regularly but all my "free time" is being spent on baby preperations!!!