.splash.

A couple weeks ago, on a trip across the border, we bought Nyah her first bathing suit. Ever since then we have been dying to take her swimming. She's had a runny nose for a few weeks and I thought she may have a cold but since it's been so long now, I think my girl may suffer like her mama from allergies. So yesterday we decided we had waited long enough and it was time to take our girl to the South Surrey pool.

When we got to the pool we were so excited for Nyah to have her first swim we shared our excitement with the woman checking us in. She must have figured that we were new parents and had no idea what we were doing because she asked us if we had a pool diaper. Both Jay and I looked at each other clueless... I asked the woman if we could just use a regular diaper and I proceeded to get the feces in the pool lecture! Luckily, they had a reusable pool diaper for sale. So after purchasing this pool diaper for $11.00 we continued into the family change room. We stripped Nyah down and put her in the pool diaper. It was way too big.... if Nyah decided to "drop any kids of at the pool" they definitely would have gone for a swim. The woman at the front was really great and when Jay took the diaper back and told her it was way too big she gave him a smaller one. Even the smaller one was a little big but at this point I just wanted to get in the pool and swim with my girl. Once we got in our bathing suits it was time for one quick picture then off to the pool.

I love her little yellow ruffle swimsuit!

Nyah loves the bath so I was really hoping she would love the pool. Just like at bath time, I dipped her toes in so she could feel the water temperature. The kids pool was nice and warm.

We brought our camera in the underwater housing so we could take a picture of her chubby little legs under the water.

She really wasn't too sure what was happening. There was a lot of noise and a lot of people and things to look at. She was really serious the whole time and this was the closes expression we got to a smile.

She definitely looked cute as a button.

This was pretty much the look she had on her face the whole time! She was just so busy checking everything out.

She was probably wondering what the heck all these people were doing in her bath!

We took a couple family shots in the pool and this was the best one. Unfortunately, we had a water drop on the lens. I'm sure if we had a fancy editing program I might be able to fix it but I don't. If anyone out there wants to help and thinks they can fix this with some type of photoshop program, we would really appreciate it!

We weren't in the pool long before the little miss started to yawn. She had just had a nap before we got to the pool but it was a little too short.

After about 20 minutes, I thought it might be time to head home. We took one look at her little feet all pruned up and knew it was time to go!

.4 months.

The little miss turned 4 months old this past Sunday. It's amazing how much she has changed over these past months. She's growing like a weed. We did a quick little photo shoot today. The lighting wasn't great but here are a few of my favourites.

An old friend sent us this headband and we absolutely LOVE it! Thank you Chrystal!

This is the only picture I got of her full smile.... too bad I cut off her hand!

I'm pretty sure this shot is when she peed on our bed!

Such a sweet face.

I've been meaning to take these "body part" shots for a while now. There is nothing cuter than a baby belly button.

She has her mama's hands.

I love the bubbles brewing on the lips.

And she has her daddy's feet.

So serious!

I could stare at this face for hours... oh wait... I do!

 

Those blue eyes melt my heart

I love this girl more than anything in the world. I never could of imagined how much I would love being her mama. Spending my days taking care of her and watching her grow and learn have been some of the most satisfying moments of my life. Although I wish I could freeze time because it's just flying by, I can't wait to watch her grow and see what she discovers next.

.mommy loves you.

A couple weeks ago when I was laying in bed with Nyah I was overcome with the feeling of love and security as I remembered something from my childhood that I hadn't remembered in years and years. At first I was a little sad that I didn't really "remember" it until now. But then I realized that as I get older my childhood memories may become foggy as I create new memories with my own family but the old memories will always be there. And it's amazing how they "re-surface" at just the right moments. So as Nyah lay sleeping so peacefully, I softly kissed her forehead and gently whispered the words that I had heard every night of my childhood... "Good night, God Bless you, Mommy loves you". Ever since that night I've whispered these words to Nyah every night before she falls asleep. And when she gets older and asked me why I say this to her every night I will tell her because my mommy used to say it to me when I was a little girl.

.breaking news.

Sometimes when we are in bed, Nyah will do this little "inch worm" move to nestle into me so I thought that maybe she could roll over. So the other day Jay and I were playing with her on the floor and we were trying to get her to roll over from her back to stomach. She was pretty close! She uses her arm for momentum and throws it over her little body to start the rolling motion but she hasn't quite figured out how to move the underneath arm in order to get all the way over. It was so exciting to watch her try. So many times she almost did it! I was so proud that I could have almost cried!

Fast forward 2 days and you can imagine my surprise when during "tummy time" Miss. Nyah just rolls over from her tummy to back like it's no big deal!! **Reader discretion is advised; there is going to be some serious Mommy bragging coming up... lol... I can't believe that at 14 weeks and 6 days old, my little girl rolled over! What a smarty pants! Of course I did not have the camera ready to capture this amazing event so there are no rolling over photos to go with this post.

What I do have is some cute pictures from our first Valentines Day with Nyah. Everything just seems so much more special with her around. It was really fun to shop for little gifts for her and Jay.

I found this really sweet baby's 1st Valentines Day card that I'm going to keep and put in her baby book.

I wasn't really sure what to get Nyah for Valentines Day. Obviously chocolates were a no go and I didn't really think she could appreciate pretty flowers quite yet. When I saw this sweet little lamb, I knew he would be perfect for her. Happy Valentines Day My Girl!

Even Daddy couldn't resist a cuddle with his girl and her little lamb!

Picking out a little gift for Jay was so easy. Ever since I was pregnant he talked about wanting one of those baby carriers that you wear. I figured this would be a great gift and a great way for him to spend some special time with his little Valentine.

Now I could end this post here and it would already be ranked as my best Valentines Day ever! But this day got even more special when I received the most amazing Valentines gift from my loves. Jay and Nyah got me a beautiful white gold necklace with the letters of Nyah's name as the pendant! I absolutely LOVE this necklace! It means so much to me! One day when Nyah is older I'm going to give it to her on Valentines Day and I hope she loves it as much as I did.

In the afternoon, we meet up with Kristen and Adrianna for a Valentines Play Group Party. A group of local moms put together this little potluck party. It was super cute and a great way for kids and other mom's to connect. After the play group it was time to get ready for dinner. I was making a roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies and yorkshire puddings! Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out as planned. When I opened the oven there was a little bit of smoke! I didn't put enough water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Luckily, the roast was fine. The gravy on the other hand, not very good. For dessert I had bought the cutest little heart shaped ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. It was the best part of the whole meal! 

.2 weeks old.

When Nyah was 2 weeks old we had a photographer, Roger Hur of m&m photographie, come to our house to take some family photos. Even though we were still getting the hang of our little girl and were worried about how she would do, I'm so glad we did it. Nyah was such a good girl! She has such a sweet disposition, we didn't need to worry. The photos turned out amazing and are just too good not to share!

 

Everytime I look at these pictures my heart overflows with joy. She is so amazing! I can't imagine my life without her. From these pictures we had our birth annoucement created by a seller on etsy. It turned out so great and we were super happy with it.

Her first breath took ours away.... truly sums up how we feel about this little girl!

.the greatest day of our lives.

It all began on the morning of November 17 at 4:15am. I awoke to a little trickle of water. I remember thinking to myself... oh my water just broke... that wasn't so bad. I rolled over to wake up Jay and all of a sudden I felt this HUGE gush of water. Dripping wet I woke Jay and told him my water broke. He flew out of bed in panic mode! He must have asked me a hundred times... what do we do????... He wanted to go to the hospital right away but since I wasn't having any contractions yet I told him that I wanted to straighten my hair and put my make up on first. I know this may seems crazy but people take lots of pictures of you during this time and I wanted to try and look my best... lol. Before I started my hair and makeup I called Deanne to tell her my water broke. I knew she wouldn't be upset me calling her so early. She told me to make sure I ate something before I went in because they won't feed you once your in active labour. So at 5:15am Jay made me some toast and I drank a Pepsi!... lol. Once I got ready and Jay cleaned up the bed I called the hospital. They asked me a series of questions and one of them was how often had I felt the baby move since my water broke. I honestly couldn't rememebr feeling her at all so they told me to come in right away for an assessment. Jay grabbed the hospital bag and we hopped in the car and off we went to the hospital.


Once we got registered at the hospital, we both called our parents. They were so excited and mine where going to jump in the car and make their way down from Kamloops. We also called our work to tell them we wouldn't be there cause we were having a baby. When the nurse did the assessment we found out the baby was fine and I was 2 cm. She suggested I go home and labour there for a little while and come back once the contractions were stronger. So back home we went with a quick stop at the McDonalds drive thru for some egg mc muffins. At home I tried to lie down and get some rest but things got crazy quickly. The contractions started to get stronger and I could feel them in my lower back. I told Jay I wanted to go back to the hospital but before we could leave I felt nauseous and was going to be sick. Jay was doing such a great job. He got me a bucket and held my hair back but once things started to get "ugly" all of a sudden I was all alone, bucket on the floor, hair in my face. Jay was getting sick in the bathroom! I remember thinking... Oh my god... if he thinks this is bad.... I'm going to end up doing this alone!!!!!....

The drive back to the hospital took forever and every little bump hurt. Luckily once we got there they hooked me up with the gas for pain relief right away. It really took the edge off. I spent most of my labour in the tub using the gas. The great thing about the tub was the unlimited hot water. To entertain ourselves between contractions we called a lot of people! We called Kym and told her we were in labour and that they needed to change there flight now to come sooner. I also made Jay call Deanne so I could tell her that I didn't hate my husband for "doing this to me" instead I hated her for not telling me not to do it!... Oh the effects of gas!

Sometime between all my check ups and tub time I receive morphin for the pain. I was constantly asking for the epidural and it felt like they were trying to stall me but eventually after what seemed like forever the Anaesthesiologist came and I got the good stuff. I was able to rest and relax for a little while. The down side was that the epidural slowed my contractions so after about an hour of rest they had to give me pitocin to get them going again.

It seemed like it took forever to get to 10 cm and when I finally did I wasn't getting any relief from the epidural anymore. It was time to push so they gave me fentanyl to help with the pain. Pushing was the worst. It hurt so much and I could feel something was wrong. The pain in my lower left back was excruciating. Almost every time I pushed I threw up. I remember begging them to help me, begging Jay to tell them something was wrong and feeling like no one was listening. Jay did such a good job supporting me. After the bathroom "incident" I was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it but he did so good! Sometime during my pushing it was determined that Nyah was sunny side up but the Doctor wanted me to continue to push in hopes that it would turn her. After 21 hours of labour and 3 hours of pushing the Doctor said she wasn't turning and that she thought we could try forceps or go for a c-section. I was so scared to try forceps. I begged the nurse to tell the Doctor no forceps. When the paediatrician came in to assess me he said I was going to need a c-section for sure. I was a little scared but more relieved that it was all going to be over soon. What I didn't realize was that I would be pushed down to the surgery floor and left in the hallway to wait with NO gas and NO pain medicine until the room was ready. This was the absolute worst! I vividly remember thrashing in the bed in the hallway waiting for what seemed like forever. Once in the OR, I got my epidural topped up and I finally had relief. Things from that moment on are kind of a blur. There were so many people in the room and I was feeling so anxious. Not to mention I couldn't stop shaking. I know the doctor asked me to put my legs in the stir ups because they had to push Nyah back up cause she had come down so far. During the surgery I didn't feel anything except a very little tiny bit of pressure. Jay and the doctor's chatted and they asked Jay if we had any names picked out and he said we really liked Nyah but I was quick to say we hadn't decided yet... cause we hadn't! At 4:11am they pulled her out everyone in the room erupted into song... singing Happy Birthday Nyah. They held her up for me to see and I was overcome with love for my girl.

They took her away to weigh her, measure her, clean her and have Daddy cut the cord. This felt like it took an eternity. I could see her little feet up in the air while they were doing all that and I was just dying to see her pretty face again and to feel her against me.

Our beautiful girl.

Daddy cutting the cord.

7lbs 6 ounces

Finally, the doctor brought her back to me and I got to really see my little girl for the first time. I memorized every one of her little features while kissing her and thanking god for my beautiful healthy girl.

Unfortunately, because of the surgery I had to go into recovery and Nyah was not coming with me. This was so hard. I had waited so long for my girl and when she was finally here I couldn't really hold her or be with her right away. I was in recovery for an hour and a half. They kept doing these test where they would touch cold ice to my skin and see if I could feel it. Until the effects of the epidural had worn off and I could feel the ice they wouldn't let me go back up to my room. I contemplated lying cause it was taking so long. But eventually I could feel it, it was time to go see my baby.

Being reunited with and actually getting to hold my little girl in my arms for the first time was one of the greatest joys of my life. There were a lot of happy tears. She was so amazing and I was the luckiest girl in the world to be her mom. Jay and I choose not to have anyone waiting at the hospital or to even call anyone right away. We took a couple hours just to ourselves to enjoy the first few moments of her life. We tried to take our first family picture but let's just say that because I was technically still "under the influence" none of them really turned out.... lol

Once it was a "decent" time of the morning, we phoned our parents to tell them the good news. My parents had arrived from Kamloops on Thursday and had stayed up all night waiting to hear the good news. When the call finally came Friday morning they were exhausted but excited to meet their grand daughter. They were the first visitors to arrive.

Minutes after my parents got there, Jay's parents arrived. Everyone fell in love with her right away.

At this point we still had not named her. I think both of us knew it was going to be Nyah. I mean really how could we not name her "Nyah" after everyone sang Happy Birthday Nyah in the OR. The first day is kinda of a blur. I can't really remember the sequence of everything. We had lots of visitors. She had her first bath. And when Jay and I finally had a moment alone with our girl we talked about what to name her. I think we both knew from the very first time we said the name Nyah when I was just a couple months pregnant that was going to be her name. But in this quiet moment we said it out loud and called her Nyah for the first time and it just felt right. Now the middle name was another story! I was all over the map. I liked Kennedy and Lilia. I think it was the next day, after trying to decide which to go with, Jay said why don't give her your middle name. I loved it. And so Nyah Ann it was.

We ended up staying in the hospital for 5 days. Nyah lost almost 10% of her weight and had jaundice. During those 5 days we worked really hard at breast feeding and s&s feeding to bring her weight up. Thankfully, it all worked and on November 21st we got to go home!