One Month Old!

My baby girl is growing up, and I don't know how I feel about it! I want her to stay my tiny peanut forever! I look back at the pictures of the day we brought her home, and she looks so different now. She is getting bigger, chubbier, and looking more and more like her father every minute.

We are loving this holiday season with her. It's been a little hectic trying to get ready for Christmas with her here, but in the same sense, I love watching her stare at the lights on the christmas tree, and to watch christmas movies as she falls asleep in my arms. There is nothing better.

She and I are starting to get on a routine together. It's nice to know how my day is going to go with her- although she does like to throw me some curve balls every once and a while. The girl is a monster when it comes to eating! I'm surprised that she isn't chubbier than she is!

Can't wait to spend the holidays with my family! Miss everyone so much!

Three Weeks!

I can't believe that my little girl is 3 weeks old!!! She gets bigger and bigger everyday!

I was laying in my bed this morning with Harmony, and I realized that I never officially told the story as to why we chose the name Harmony. So here's the scoop:

Back when Mike and I were dating, Mike wrote me a poem for Valentine's Day called "The Sound I Have Waited For", and the poem said that I was "The harmony to his melody" and how together we made a beautiful song. Later he took that poem and wrote me a song for the night he proposed. The bridge to that song says this:

And as we get older
And our steps are slower
Harmony will grow stronger
We will sing the same tune


Harmony is another part in our love song- and she makes it so much richer and beautiful than I ever imagined. We love her more and more every day, and are truly is awe of the life we made!

So there you have it- the reason she is named Harmony. Her middle name is Joy, after Mike's sister, Alyson Joy.

So-
This week Harmony had her first official bath! Her belly button is finally healed, and we no longer had to give her sponge baths. I was a little nervous about doing it on my own, and since I didn't have my mom in close proximity, I called on her pseudo grandma, Linda Cordle, who is my pastor's wife. She came over, showed me the ropes, and Harmony did awesome. She really didn't know what to think of it, but she didn't cry at all. She scowled, as you can see in the pictures, but no tears were shed.

Doesn't she look so big!




Not really sure what she thinks about this whole bath thing...



She looks like mike when she scowls like that!



All clean and warm again. Big girl!

Two weeks old

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago Harmony was born. On one hand I feel like it was just yesterday that I went into labor, but on the other hand I feel like she has been with me forever.

So how are things going with the Shipmans after two weeks? Well...

1. My mom went back home to Allegany on Sunday, which was really hard for me since i relied on her for advice and for help with taking care of Harmony since Mike had to go back to work. But I am lucky that I'm feeling a lot better, and that i can do pretty much everything for her now. It's still hard to go up and down the stairs a lot, so Mike is doing a lot of the chores around the house (and he just LOVES it....right honey?)

2. Harmony is finally on somewhat of a predictable schedule now. She wakes at 7 or 7:30, and eats every 2 1/2, 3 hours until bedtime. At night she only wakes up once for a middle of the night feeding, which is so nice! I actually don't mind getting up and snuggling with her for a half an hour or so. After she's done eating she goes right back to sleep.

3. Evenings are her fussy times. From about 7-10PM she doesn't like to sleep, and she gets SOOO overtired that she works herself up so bad. I hate it! I have to let her cry it out, and it's torture. Pure torture to listen to my baby girl wail. But she can't rely on me to rock her to sleep all the time. I hope this little ritual goes away soon!

4. When she first was born i thought she looked just like Mike. And she still does. but I'm beginning to see a little of me in her eyes, and unfortunately her nose! We swear it gets bigger every day! Poor girl!

5. She is so curious. She turns her head toward any noise (especially daddy's voice), and is always watching. She LOVES to watch kemper when he is sniffing around her. She'll be torturing him in no time. He's starting to get a little jealous of her now that it's just me and Harmony during the day. He's been whining a lot, and has been very needy- wanting to be near me all the time. I feel terrible when I'm feeding her and he is at my feet whimpering, wanting to be cuddled too. But overall he has been WONDERFUL around her. He loves to lay on the end of the bed and watch her sleep. It's so cute.

I really really love being a mom. She is such a good girl, so she makes it easy! I love our quiet time during the day when it's just her and I. We snuggle, we nap together, I sing to her and talk to her, and she just watches me. It's so wonderful to see this little life grow before your very eyes. On one hand i can't wait to have her walking and talking, and making us laugh, but on the other hand i never want her to get any bigger than she is now. She's my little cuddle bug, and I want to remember these first days forever. I can't wait for all of you to meet her!

The road to recovery

Recovering from a C-Section is no fun! It's been 10 days since Harmony was born, and I still am having trouble even getting out of bed, let alone take care of a newborn. I've been so lucky to have a husband who loves to serve me, and a mom who is able to give me so much advice about being a new mom. But it's been really frustrating to not even be able to pick her up from her bassinet, or get up at night to change her diaper. I'm trying hard to get up and move around everyday, but my incision hurts so bad. I actually went to the doctors today because I was afraid i had an infection. But they checked me out and said it all looks great. They said that i just have to take it slow, and that i won't feel like myself for about 6 weeks. That seems like forever!!!!!! Please pray for a fast recovery so i can start feeling like a mom!

Mom and I have been trying to get as many pictures of Harmony as possible while she is here, and i thought i'd share some with you.

She's Finally Here!!!

Our precious little girl has finally arrived! We couldn't be more BLESSED to have Harmony Joy in our lives. I know all mom's say this about their children, but she truly is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I could stare at her all day long.

It all started at exactly midnight on November 20th. Mike and I had stayed up late to watch a movie together, and we went to bed at about 11:30ish. I'm always a little crampy at night, but when that first pain came, I thought "hmmm... that pain was a little different than what I usually feel." I don't know why i looked at the clock, but I did. Ten minutes later I felt it again. This went on for about 40 minutes, with every contraction coming 10 minutes apart. At around 1:00, the pain was a little more intense- to the point where i jolted out of bed because the pain was so surprising. They only lasted about 20 seconds, and this is when I woke Mike up to let him know that I was pretty sure I was in labor. I've had false alarms before, so he didn't jump out of bed or anything, but he defiantly became alert. During the breaks in contractions we started getting things ready- finishing packing for the hospital, printing of directions for my mom, and just cleaning up. At around 2:00 the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds to a minute. The hospital doesn't want you to come in until the contractions are 4-5 minutes apart for an hour. I felt like it would take FOREVER to get to that point. Mike got a stop watch out at this time, and we could do nothing but wait. At 3:30 the contractions were so intense that i began throwing up after them. Now, I made the mistake of not going to any pregnancy classes, so i had no idea how to properly breath through a contraction. I was literally YELLING and squirming all over our bed until the contraction finished. NOT a good idea. My body was so tense, and I'm pretty sure that is why the throwing up began. I called my doctor right away, and she said to come in. At 4:00 we arrived at the hospital, and that is when I started calling family, and I sent out texts to friends.

They hooked me up to all these monitors that showed my heart rate, her heart rate, and the contractions. My doctor FINALLY got there at 6:00, and she told me I was only one centimeter dilated. Because of the tremendous discomfort I was feeling, they gave me some medicine to take the edge off the contractions, and allowed me to rest for an hour or two. After it wore off, they checked me again, and i hadn't dilated at all. They told me that I wasn't in active labor, and my only two options were to either go home or have a C-section. I didn't want to do either, and I got really emotional about it. I begged for them to give me another round of drugs, and then see if anything progresses. They agreed, and after another 2 hours they checked me again. I had finally dilated another centimeter. At this time they ordered an epidural, which is hands down the most WONDERFUL invention ever. A. it didn't hurt at all, and B. It started to work so quickly that by the time they laid me back down I wasn't feeling anymore contractions. My mom and Allison made it to the hospital at around 9 or 10, and were a great help during my contractions. Mike nor mom and allison were allowed in the room with me during the epidural, so when they were allowed back in, my nurse sent them right back out so i could rest for a couple hours. I think about an hour went by when my doctor came in and informed me that Harmony's heart rate had dipped twice, and she was a little concerned about it. She checked my cervix, and as she did I began bleeding a lot. This put everyone on high alert, and they began giving me oxygen and checkin the monitors very closely. They called Mike and told him to get back to the delivery room ASAP. About 5 minutes later her heart rate dipped again, and that is when they started to prep me for an emergency C-section. Mike walked into the room only to be thrown scrubs and to get changed as soon as possible, and then they wheeled me into the OR. Fifteen minutes later, at 12:57PM on November 20th, Harmony Joy Shipman came into this world weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce, and was 21 inches long. They had me strapped to the bed so they handed her to Mike. The first thing we noticed was her RED hair! We couldn't believe it! She looked so perfect lying in her daddy's arms. They soon took Mike and Harmony to the nursery while they sewed me back up.




Once I was out of recovery, I was taken to my room where I could finally hold my little girl. I couldn't believe how alert she was. She had her eyes wide open looking around. I love this picture, where she is looking right at the camera.

The rest of my day consisted of resting and learning how to feed Harmony. Becca didn't make it to Pittsburgh in time to see her that day, but you can bet she was there the moment visiting hours started the next day. Her aunts and Grammie gave her lots of attention while I rested. Mike and I had to watch videos about car seat safety, and about bringing a baby home. We had paper work to fill out, and I had to make sure I got up and walked around so I could begin healing from the surgery. It's hard work! I didn't think it would be as difficult as it is. I'm feeling pretty helpless as I am confined to my upstairs. I have yet to change a diaper because I'm not even allowed to pick her up. I try to walk around as much as I can, and sometimes it's easier, and sometimes I feel like I'm not progressing at all. I get my stitches out on Monday, and I CANNOT wait. My mom has had two C- Sections, and she says that you feel so much better when they come out. Let's hope!!!

Any hoo- I was released from the hospital on Thanksgiving morning, and it was the most exciting feeling to take her home!! They warned us that the first night is the hardest, and to be patient with her. Harmony was a little fussy at around 10, but once she was asleep, she slept until her next feeding, and then went right back to sleep until I needed to feed her again. We couldn't believe it. But even tho she slept a lot, i got very little sleep because I was in pain, PLUS every noise she made woke me up. I must have made Mike get up a dozen times to check on her. And speaking of Mike, he as been the most INCREDIBLE husband and father. I love my husband very much, and watching him with Harmony has made me fall deeper and deeper in love with him. He is so good with her, and he has served me so well since I can't do anything on my own. Yesterday I just held him and cried because I seriously don't know what I would do without him. I am sooo lucky.

We all are getting into a routine here at the Shipman home. My mom is here with us for another week, and I am SO thankful for that. She is doing a wonderful job doing all the things I can't- laundry, cooking, changing Harmony, and watching her while I rest. She has been a great encouragement to me during my breast feeding too, because it's been pretty painful. But I'm getting there...

Mike has made a website for Harmony, and I would love for all of you to see it. There are a bunch of pictures on it, and Mike has been faithfully journaling on her progression. The link is: http://www.totsites.com/tot/babyshipman

Be sure to sign the guestbook!

I leave you with a picture of our happy family!

Last Bump Update....hopefully.

I'm officially 39 weeks today!! Becca MADE me get a bump pic for you to see. I thought it woud be fun to remember what my very first bump pic looked like.


Oh to be skinny again....

On with the update....

1. As of the last doctor appointment, baby and I are doing very well. We're both healthy and "on track" as they love to tell me. What that means, I have no idea. They checked my cervix, and I'm not dilated, but it is thinning, which is what happens before you start to dilate. I go back on Friday to see if there has been any progression.
2. I've gained a total of 33 pounds. Not bad, not bad. Hoping to lose it quick! I'm sooooo tired of my maternity clothes. Even those are not fitting well since my belly is so big. I have two outfits that fit. Everything else I wear is Mike's.
3. Her room is officially done! My mom, dad, and my sis, Allison, came down a couple of weeks ago and we spent all day putting it together. Allison got all of her 0-3 month clothes washed and put away while mom and I figured out how to organize all of her things in the most effecient way. I seriously have SO MUCH STUFF! I have more clothes, more bibs, more blankets, and diapers that i have room for! How blessed am I!?! Becca BETTER have a girl first, that's all I have to say! I promise I'll post a finised pic soon.
4. Sleep has become a thing of the past for the Shipman home. We've tried everything. Sleeping separate, together, in the same room on different beds. We put pillows everywhere, and nothing really seems to help, I've tried sleeping sitting up, and it doesn't really work. I've actually become accustomed to it. Good thing, cuz when she comes I'm never going to sleep anyway! :-)
5. I'm officially done with work! Yay! It feels so nice to be at home- tho i feel like I'm as busy as ever with finishing editing all my weddings, tying up loose ends so we have everything ready when she comes. I'm also trying to help Mike as much as I can with work because he's got SO much on his plate for Christmas. I'm having this baby at a very inconvient time for our ministry! What can you do tho!
6. Everyone seems so be on high allert when I call. They automatically assume that I am in labor and calling them to give them the news. It's so funny to me. I called Becca today to get her address and she was freaking out that i had called her 2 times in 5 minutes. I even called Denis and (shock), he answered! I think he thought the same thing. I'm just letting you all know that i have a mass text message going out to most, if not all who read this to let you know when I'm in labor. So until you get that text, assume all is normal. This doesn't apply to you tho, mom. You will be getting a phone call. So keep in on you at ALL times!
7. I've been lucky to not have swollen ankles, but i have it in my hands. When I wake up in the morning i can barely bend my fingers. It takes about an hour for the pain to go away. If i go to hard or do too much during the day, I feel it in the evening. I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring for a couple months now. If anyone has any suggestions on how to eleviate the swolleness, I'm all ears.
8. I think Kemper has an idea of what's going on. He is at my side almost all the time, and he loves to be near my belly. It's so cute. He has been such a good puppy for us. We couldn't have asked for a better pet. Amy and John, you are totally doing the right thing by getting Beckett. I remember many people saying that getting a dog was a stupid decision, but I've NEVER regretted it since the day we got him!
9. The female body does CRAZY things while pregnant! Men, you may want to skip this point in my blog.
One day I can't stop going to the bathroom, adn the next day I'm so constipated I want to scream! I get terrible headaches when i wake up. I get heartburn like MAD in the evenings!! Isn't there an old wives tale that says a lot of heartburn means the baby will have a lot of hair? Well if that's true, then I expect a shoulder length bob on this girl's head! Braxton Hicks are in full force, and I am having a hard time knowing what is false labor and what is real. They say you'll just know, but I worry.
10. Lastly, I am so excited for this little girl to be in my arms, you don't even understand. Seriously, i think I'll be singing praises when those contractions start. When I do truly go into labor, I would love for all of you to be praying. Pray for a smooth delivery, pray for my family's travel on the way down, pray that Mike doesn't faint! And most of all, pray that she will be a strong, healthy, beautiful baby who is shaped like a bullet so she just slips out! HA! Kidding kidding..... kind of.

MY Ashley and Ryan

I have to clarify what Ashley and Ryan I'm talking about since I know two couples by those names. I call them MY Ashley and Ryan because the Ashley and Ryan from Rochester have been claimed by Amy and John; plus we always need to clarify what Ashely and Ryan we are talking about. BUT the funny thing about all 4 couples is that we all got married on Columbus Day weekend. Mike and I were first on October 11th, 2003, AMY'S Ashley and Ryan got married October 9th, 2004, Amy and John followed on October 8th, 2006, and MY Ashley and Ryan got married on October 6th, 2007. What a popular weekend... do Mike and I know how to start a trend or what!?

I was HONORED to be a part of their big day, and I wanted to share some pictures with you all.

Pregnancy Update

Time for a baby bump update! Notice the lack of a picture- that was done on purpose. I am huge, that's all I'll say. And I haven't gotten up enough courage to see what I look like in a picture. Maybe at a later date I will expose the belly pics....but not today.

The biggest piece of new I have is not GOOD news per say, but it's news none-the-less. My dotcors have moved my date BACK to November 21st instead of November 10th. They said that she was measuring small for the original date, so they now expect me to have a Thanksgiving baby. I'll admit that I wasn't happy at this news. I don't want to be pregnant LONGER. I want her here now, thanks! But she will come when she wants to come, and many of my friends are proving that fact since everyone i know is having their baby before me!!!!! But I refuse to compain.....




Ok, so here are a few tid bits about my third trimester.

1. I have to apoligize to many people for my lack of correspondence latley. This trimester has officially made pregnancy no fun. I went back to full time at work, and by the time I get home I am in so much pain that I usually take my dinner to my bedroom, eat, and go to "sleep". Sleep is a relative term these days since I get little to none of it. I'm so uncomfortable ALL the time. I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago, and he was concerned about how much pain i was in, and suggested to cut back on my hours at work- that I was giving no time for my body to recoop from the strain of work. And for those of you who may not know what I do, I work with 12-24 month old's for about 9 hours a day- that means picking them up all the time to either change them, soothe them, or whatever the case may be. I'm also picking up after them all day, which means I'm constantly bending over. It's painful. But work is not paying for my maternity leave, so i have to work as long as I can so I have enough money to pay bills. So for all of you who have called to check up on me and I haven't called you back, I sincerely apoligize. Just bare with me these next few weeks....

2. I finally got the baby furniture! Her room is FAR from being done, and the nesting mommy in me is going bonkers because of it. So on my day off this week I went to babies r us, and ordered a crib, a changing table, and a armore (i think that is how you spell it) for her. It's a beautiful dark cherry wood that goes so well with the quilt my mom made her. I'm so excited to put it together and have the room all set for her arrival.

3. I've offically gained 30 pounds now. Can't complain about that at all. If I go full term then I'm guessing it will be more toward 35 when all is said and done. As much as you know that it's all a part of pregnancy, it's hard to see that number rise higher and higher when you step on the scale week after week.

4. Ah, the dreaded words......Stretch marks. They have appeared on my once spotless belly, and I am trying my hardest to make them go away. They are are on the very underside of my belly, so i didn't notice them until recently. They are small, but still there. Grrr... Cocoa Butter is my best friend now, and I'm hoping it will do the trick. Everyone keep their fingers crossed.

5. My waddle is offically OUT OF CONTROL. I actually have people come up to me in the grocrey store telling me that I am in labor because my walk is so ridiculous. And like I said, I am in pain a lot, so I'm sure the looks on my face don't help. There are women who try to put me the carts that you drive around because they don't think it's safe for me to be walking on my own. It's annoying and funny at the same time.

6. My poor poor husband. I really don't want him to have to move into the guest bedroom at night, but I keep him up all night with my tossing, turning, moaning, groaning, peeing, and cramping episodes that he is a walking zombie during the day. I've just been really selfish with having him in the room with me in case anything goes wrong. So now we've put an air mattress on the floor so he's still only a few feet away instead of a room away. He's still not sleeping to well because I still make so much noise. I'm gonna have to suck it up sooner or later and let him reside in the guest room. Grr.

7. I'm tired of going to the doctors. I am now going for weekly check-ups, but on top of that we have tours of the hospital, epidural consultations, and all that jazz, so i feel like we have baby appointments every day. And to make it all even more fun, the check ups have become more.... intimate... so I don't look forward to them at all. Before all they did was check my weight and blood pressure, make me pee in a cup, and check her heartbeat. I still have to do all that, but.... i'll save the details since i know people of the male gender read this. to sum it up, it's no fun.


that's about all the details I can think of right now. If God shines his mercy on me and lets me have this baby soon, this very well may be my last update. I just cannot wait for her to be here, and for her to meet all of u!

Oh, and the baby name thing....

here are my hints:
1. Three syllables
2. Not biblical
3. A word name (like grace)
4.Not a uni-sex name


So far I've had one freind guess it, but she doesn't know she is right. Leave your guesses, and we'll see if I reveal it...

A Summer of Pictures

So I've been going through a lot of my pictures from this past year, trying to choose some of my favorites for my new website that will be going up in the next month or so, and thought it would be fun to show you some of them. Some pictures I've already posted, and some I haven't. So I hope you enjoy all of them. The pictures are of:

1. Bethany and Aarom
2. Rob and Jesse
3. Matt and Meg
4. Matt and Beth
5. Rachel's senior pics
6. Nate and Kaila

Enjoy!

Her room!!!

As most of you know, Mike left me for two weeks to go over to England with his father and brother while I was left at home to be miserable. So i gave myself a project. I decided to surprise Mike by painting the baby room so he wouldn't have to worry about it. And just to clarify, I personally did not paint it, my small group from church did it.

I wanted to paint it in purple, Mike wanted it pink, so i compromised and painted it "lilac rose". then I got all creative and put diamonds on the wall in a deeper purple. It was A LOT of work, but I was so pleased with how it came out! Mike was SOOOO surprised when he came home and saw it. We both love going into the room to just sit in it and imagine what it's going to be like to have our daugher in there! We have the letters of her name all set to go up on the wall, but obiviously I didn't take a picture of it! He he.... I'm so mean.

Matt and Beth :-)

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of being at Beth and Matt's wedding. I've known Beth for almost 6 years now, and it was SOO good to see her again!

It was a beautiful day, and I had so much fun with the wedding party (thank you Ashley and Carrie for being so entertaining!).

I love you Beth! Hope you enjoy the pics!