Newborn Pics

Professional newborn pics by Crystal Jo Foto. Thanks to the Pentons for getting us the photo shoot as a gift. Whit breaks the "newborns aren't always cute" rule for sure!

The Birth of Whitney Anne

Alright, I'm over it. I get in these moods where I want to blog but then I'm always stopped by thinking, "oh, people don't care and I don't want to talk about myself all the time." Well, I come to find out that people DEMAND information about a baby you just had. So I'll do my best. But first, I'm going to recount the birth story --partially to help me remember!

Due Date- May 7th: Ryan had his brother, Kyle's, bachelor party extravaganza all day so he was gone. I called my mom that morning and kind of played the "I'm lonely and 9 months pregnant" card. She came down to Cbus and we spent the day shopping. You're the best, mom. We were at JoAnn's fabrics so my mom could get more baby fabric (easter dress for next year? Done...yes, before she was born.), and my mom was freaking out every time I said I had a contraction. I'd been having them off and on all week, but they weren't that painful so I didn't think much of it. I remember telling my mom that I had heard that the non-painful contractions could go on for weeks but when you feel the contractions in your back, it's the real thing. I said this and literally 5 minutes later, I got one that really hurt deep in my back. Was I mental? Nope, because there came another one 15 minutes after that. I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at midnight because the contractions were waking me up. Was I going into labor? I tried to sleep, but couldn't because the contractions kept waking me up. Watched tv. Tried to doze off. Gave up and got up for the day.

1 Day After Due Date- May 8th: We headed to my sister in law's college graduation. We arrived Ryan-Holliday-time= LATE and squeezed our way in with the rest of the fam. The chairs were close together, it was hot (outside), I was tired, I was having contractions....... I took one look at Ryan and we immediately got up and squeezed our way back out. There was no way I could sit through a 3 hr college ceremony like that. Is it bad that I was glad I was pregnant so I could walk around instead of sit there? I am sooo ADD when it comes to stuff like that. Like father, like daughter. The contractions were happening every 10-30 minutes, but they weren't as painful as the ones the night before. I was hungry, so we walked to KFC...yes, during the ceremony. When we got home that evening I noticed the contractions were getting painful again, but I laid down to try to take a nap because I was so tired from missing the night of sleep. It was only 10 min. and a contraction came along. A bad one. Oh no. They started getting worse the later it got and I started realizing that there was no way I could sleep through them. But it was night time and I w astired! I spent the entire night laboring... contractions less than 10 minutes apart every time. No breaks.

2 Days After Due Date-May 9th: The last thing I wanted to do was go into the hospital and get sent home. That would have made me feel like a wussy first time mom. But, it happened. I showed up in the morning, they checked me, and I wasn't dilated. Not even at all. With contractions that close together and that painful! The nurse offersed me a sleeping pill to help me sleep. That actually realllly ticked me off. A sleeping pill was not going to allow me to sleep through those contractions. I would have needed knocked out. She thought I was a wussy first time mom! Ah.

This day is an absolute blur. I labored all day with contractions less than 10 minutes apart. Bad contractions. Horrible. I'd have the 5 or so minute break in between each one... but all that did was help me to gear up for the next one. By that evening, I was so physically and emotionally drained. I was a wreck. I couldn't lay down during contractions because it made it worse. I had to stand and bend over on a ball, the bed, whatever. I couldn't breathe, or talk. I could barely move during those contractions. SO PAINFUL. SO SO PAINFUL. SO TIRED. SO SO TIRED. I can't do it. I can do it. I can't do it. I can!! I couldn't eat because I felt like I would throw it up during contractions. I spent hours and hours in the shower with hot water hitting my back. I watched the minutes pass and tried to give myself rewards for making it an hour.... things like, you can go upstairs at 4am or you can wake Ryan up at 5am or you can call the doctor at 6am. I think I am pretty tough. Maybe not, but this was by far the most challenging thing I have ever gone through. It was a marathon. A 3 day unbearable- pain- with- no- sleep marathon. Exhaustion takes on a whole new meaning to me now.

I called the doctor for the second night in a row and told her that this is crazy, I know I am in labor... how could I not have been dilated at all? She said I had what they call prodromal labor. Basically, you're in labor, but it's not causing you to dilate. It can last anywhere from 2-5 days. She sees it about once a year with first time moms. I was on day 3... there is NO WAY I was making it another 2.

Maybe this is TMI, but I could actually feel her head dropping when I felt up there. The pressure was unbearable. If I would not have been dilated when I went back in to the hospital, then that's it, cut her outta there. I was losing my mind.

3 Days After Due Date- May 10th: 7am rolled around and we headed to the hospital. I had not slept in 3 nights.... If you were ever wondering if it is possible to do that, now you know. I seriously wanted to punch out the window in the car on the way when I was having contractions... every 4-6 min. I needed to stand up! But you can't stand up in a Honda Civic. THEY ARE ADMITTING ME, I thought. No questions asked.

The check-in at labor and delivery in the hospital is so awkward to me. You go up to the window and they are like " Hi, can I help you?" Uh yeah! I'm in labor! HELP ME. Of course, right when I got up there I had a massive contraction. I was standing there for a full minute trying to keep my composure by grabbing on to Ryan and the wall.

I went in.. she checked me... and said "oh hunny, you're 5 cm! good job!" I cried. I wanted to hug her. I felt proud. And all I could think about is an epidural. Yes, the same epidural that I was planning to originally not get. That was until I went into labor for 3 days.

The rest of the story? Easy. Had the epidural at 9am... laid there and felt literally nothing for 3 hours. Want to know what I thought about? All the women of the world who had similar labor stories to me and didn't get an epidural because they didn't have an opportunity to. They were just as emotionally and physically drained as I was, but they couldn't take the easy way out. Thank you, Lord, for epidurals. I LOVE EPIDURALS. But you know who might love them more than me? Ryan. Poor Ryan had to watch his wife labor for 3 days and nights. There was pressure for a couple hours and the end was obviously uncomfortable, but 15 min. of pushing and out she came! Out into this world to change our lives forever. More on that in the next post. :)

I love epidurals ...........

xc girls came to visit the first night....love them


welcome to world, lil Whit!

The Aftermath: The 2 days in the hospital was like vacation. Laying in a bed that reclines up and down with the push of a button, a cable tv to watch while you're in it, and people bringing you food. AND, most importantly, the reassurance that your new baby is in good care at all times in case something went wrong. Plus, you want to take a nap? Send your baby to the nursery.

Amazingly, I felt really good. The nausea went away almost immediately and I had this extra energy that had been zapped from me during pregnancy. Yes, even after not sleeping for 3 days. As I walked through the halls, I would see a lot of women hobble around. They looked tired and exhausted. I felt so energized. I did it! And postpartum must be my thing!

And then we went home.

The first 2 nights I got up with Whitney in the night. There's no point in 2 people getting up, right? Ryan might as well get a good night of sleep. I don't know about you.... but the middle of the night is not my thing. I get irrational. I get the creeps. And I get very emotional. All while my husband sleeps peacefully in bed with no idea of what is going on.

Day 3 at home I felt overwhelmed. My world was completely consumed by breastfeeding around the clock. Even though Ryan and my mom were both there, I didn't feel like I could nap because what if she was still hungry? What if she choked on her spit-up again? At night, I would not be able to get back to sleep after I got up to feed her. And I would wake at every little sound she made on the monitor. I was thinking about my old life... my old, easier life where it was just me and Ryan....and I wanted it back. I got clingy to Ryan. I got teary about everything. Every heard of baby blues? Supposed to hit around that time. And it did. So, after my emotional breakdown about how I had a hard time with the night duty because I was so irrational, we came to a solution:

Ryan took full "monitor duty" which meant the monitor was on his side of the bed and he would wake me up if she cried.........like I would be sleeping. Then, he would go and get her and bring her into the bedroom with us. I would feed her in bed and then tap Ryan to take her back to her crib. This changed everything. He was somehow a part of the night situation and I was so relieved. I slept the best I had in a week for those short stretches of time and started to feel myself again. It took about a week and then one day I said, "this is silly, I'll go feed her in the nursery." And I got up and fed her in the nursery from then on.

Whew. That sums up the birth story. Stay tuned for pics/videos of the life of 3 month old Whitney!

It's a.....

GIRL! We just found out that we are having a little girl. We are thinking of naming her Ava. Not for sure yet.

Here are some pictures from her 20 week ultrasound. We are thankful that everything looked great. She's actually big right now for her age.....sure hope this doesn't mean big at birth. Ryan said not to post any 3D ones because he thinks they are creepy. Which, they kind of are... but they are too incredible not to share!

We leave tomorrow for a 2 weeks of Christmas traveling....

1st week is in Florida. We'll be heading to my parent's place in Fort Myers. I got Ryan Miami Heat tickets for his birthday so we'll be heading to Miami on Monday to watch Miami Heat play the Mavericks. They we will be driving down to the Florida Keys for a couple days. Woo hoo, final babymoon!
2nd week is in Van Wert/Huntington to see family and friends. Can't wait..

Hope everyone enjoys this special time of year with extra time for friends and family and for celebrating our Savior's birth!

Big News

Well, if you did not already know....... I am pregnant! 14 weeks.

Ryan and I are THRILLED. Blessed. Excited.

It's going to end up being a school year pregnancy. I found out the first week of school and am due at the end of the year: May 7th. Perfect timing for a teacher! 1st trimester is fall, 2nd trimester is winter, 3rd trimester is spring. Or as I like to think of it: cross country, indoor track, and track.

I am officially to the end of the 1st tri-semester. For those of you moms out there that were sick, I'm with you! Needless to say, teaching and coaching has been pretty brutal these last 6 weeks. Exhaustion and nausea (even throwing up a lot, which I never do!!) has really gotten the best of me. Good thing I have such a supportive husband because I could not have done it without him. He picked up my slack in coaching, and did more cooking, cleaning, and laundry than in our whole marriage combined. Thankfully, for him, I think I'm on the upswing.

We wanted to embarass some people and share their reactions when we told them we were pregnant. They did not know they were being recorded. We will go in order of increasing intensity:

The Hollidays (a typical Holliday reaction=excited, but not overly excited)


The Sealscotts (a typical Sealscott reaction=overly excited...and by the way, my parents are not alcoholics. It's heart medicine, right dad?)


Our Cross Country team (a typical high school girl reaction=enough said.)


6 weeks until we find out whether it's a girl or boy. :)

Fall Life

Hey Everyone,

No more summer vacations to post about. :) But, fall life is setting in, and I love it! Fresh start for school, cross country, football games, great weather....

For those of you that know me pretty well, you know that last school year was rough. REAL rough. I will be honest: It was making me bitter. I did not like how I let my students bring me down so much. At school and when I was home. Poor Ryan.

This year is going to be A LOT better, and I am so thankful. God used the summer to refresh my spirits and he gave me a new outlook on the awesome opportunity that I have every single day.

It's my birthday today......and you know, I really like getting older. I mean, I know the physical aspect of aging isn't so great (my spider veins are getting out of control on one of my legs-- what the heck?), but I would never want to go back to what I knew or who I was in high school. I appreciate everything I have learned over the years. I truly am thankful for the journey...... it keeps getting better!

Well, we're off to the football game. Joel is sharing the gospel at half-time too-- yes, at a high school football game!! Can't wait.

CO!

This summer has been full of traveling and we have loved it. Right when we got back from cross country camp, we headed to Lake Erie for a coach's ministry weekend getaway. Then we had a day to prepare to visit our friends, Daron and Rachael, in Colorado Springs, CO.

We drove all the way there with our friend, Molly, and spent a few days hanging out around Colorado Springs (well, Ryan and Daron worked) and getting used to the altitude. Then, we loaded up the Subaru and drove to Aspen where we camped and hiked for the weekend. We even met up with a friend from high school, Katie. We went on the most beautiful hike I had ever been on called Buckskin Pass. Once we got to the top of the mountain, I didn't want to leave. The views were beautiful in every direction-- you have to check out the pics! After our approx 10 mile hike, we went to a Hot Spring pool in Glenwood Springs where Katie lives. They actually pump water from a nearby hot spring into a huge pool. It's warm and the minerals make your skin feel soft. It was much needed on our sore muscles!

You can check out photos from our trip here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020747&id=153800542&ref=mf

Once we got home, we headed to the cross country boys coach's lake house with the top 10 girls and top 10 boys on the team. We had a great time!

Now, we're enjoying some home time....... just in time for school to start. I'm actually really looking forward to school. Is that weird?

XC Camp 2010

This past week we went to Buck Creek State Park in Springfield, OH for our annual cross country camp. Ryan and I, a few mom chaperones, and 23 of our high school girls made the trip.

Despite the unbelievable humidity all week, we had our best camp week yet. Often, people ask... so what exactly do you do at cross country camp? Just run? This especially cracks me up when it is from someone that doesn't truly understand all the aspects of running. We run, mountain bike, swim, decorate water bottles, make a team quilt, laugh... a lot, make bag tags, drink water, make sidewalk masterpieces, eat, set goals, run some more, have bonfires, sleep, talk about our core values as a team, play competitive games, etc. Most importantly, we bond.

This year, we decided to hit home our 5 core values that our team stands for:

1. Integrity

2. Discipline

3. Team work

4. Serving

5. Excellence

Each evening, we dug into one of these 5 topics and how they apply to our lives and to our team. I am SO proud of the girls and their willingness to be transparent with each other. We know our team this year is special. We have great senior leadership, and for the first time since we have been coaching, I can honestly say that this group wants it. They want excellence and they are willing to put in the work to get there. We can't wait to see what this season brings!

By the way, Ryan gets Camper of the Week. Hands down. He got up and mapped out courses when it was barely light out while already sleep deprived. He was the one standing by the grill sweating when it was 95 degrees at 5pm. He was the one lugging the giant water coolers in and out of the cabins, and driving to the dumpster multiple times a day. The greatest thing is that he never complained once. I love that guy!

Our team... love them!

Since I am the meanest coach ever, I took their cell phones for the week except for an hour in between dinner and team time. This was when I handed over the bag that held the cell phones after dinner one night....