LIAM-6 MONTHS

So, my sister-in-law is a PRO Blogger, and I love what she did in the past for her babies. Which was a month-by-month post, charting the progress of her children. So here is Liam's progress for his first 6 months:

By 1 month:

-You were going to your first swim meet. All of Mommy and Daddy’s friends wanted to hold you and love on you.

-You were going to church and looking good.

-You took your first bath.

-And you loved napping!

By 2 months:

-Showed your first smile!

-Loved chewing and sucking on fingers!

-Had your first cold.

-Slept through the night for the first time.

-You were blessed into the LDS church.

By 3 months:

-You started enjoying tummy time.

-Laughed for the first time!

-You started cooing and babbling.

By 4 months:

-You started scooting and moving.

-You sat in your Bumbo! But only liked it for about 5 minutes at a time.

-You started chewing on your toes.

-And you started grabbing faces.

-You also swam for the first time.

By 5 months:

-You took your first REAL bath... and you LOVE it.

-You got to visit Baga for the first time!

-You also rolled over for the first time!

-You went on your first vacation! Isle of Palms, SC! Which meant your first time at the beach. You weren't a very big fan of the sand.

-Had the biggest, most memorable blowout ever!!! And it was all over daddy! It required the use of an entire family size bathroom to clean it up.

-You "ate” rice cereal and baby food for the first time.

-And you used your jumper for the first time…and LOVED it. It is by far your favorite toy.

By 6 months:

-You sat in the front of a shopping cart for the first time. But only for about 10 minutes.

-You started giving “kisses.” Which meant shoving your mouth on mommy's cheek. But they are the best kisses ever.

-You had a small surgery on your “little boy parts.” You were a champ the entire way through. And you were much tougher than mommy was…

-You started taking DVDs off the bottom shelf. Time to baby-proof the apartment!

-You met Missy Franklin. She’s your new girlfriend. J

-You decided that you LOVED rice cereal oatmeal and baby food!

-You also decided that you REALLY loved swimming. Especially with Daddy.

-You started communicating with mommy and daddy.

-And you had your first hair cut!

We love you, Liam! You are the best thing that has ever happened to us! Happy 6 months!

Liam's Birth Story

LIAM IS HERE!!! .... And has been for 2 months! Sorry it took me so long to post the story.  We are so happy to have baby Liam with us. He brings more happiness and love into our lives than we ever thought possible. Here is the story:

On Tuesday, December 30^th, I had my 39 week doctors appointment. We had been going back and forth on the decision to induce early or not (due to the baby’s size and insurance reasons), and at this appointment we were going to figure out what to do.  I was dilated to 1cm and my “cervix was favorable,” so the doctor recommended I go ahead with the induction and to stop eating by 2pm. As we were leaving, I asked the doctor if we should plan on staying the night or if we would be sent home if I wasn’t progressing quick enough. She responded with, “you will not be leaving the hospital without a baby.” That was when it hit me. I was going to have a baby SOON.

Later that evening, Christian and I showed up at the ER at 5:00pm, and by 6:30pm I was in my room in a hospital gown with an IV stuck in my hand, a blood pressure cuff on my arm, and 2 outer monitors around my belly. The doctor came in and checked me- and told me that I should expect to have a LONG night and a LONG day tomorrow. Oh good. Just what I was hoping to hear…

So they gave me the induction tablets and I waited. Thank goodness I had a TV in my room. The contractions started to come strong and fast that evening. Later in the evening around 11pm they gave me some GOOD pain medicine. It definitely dulled the pain and made me very loopy, but I was still not able to have a restful sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night/early morning they gave me another dose of pain medicine, which made me loopy all over again…Christian has a great video of it.

The next morning I was only dilated to 2cm. I still felt the contractions that were consistent and strong. By 9:00am I had the epidural. I was very nervous for this part. I had heard that the needle was big and that it was pretty uncomfortable to get a big shot in your back. It was very comforting to have an anesthesiologist who was talkative and personable through the whole epidural process. After he gave me the shot, I ached in my back and hips for just a little bit, and then tingling and numbness. It was so nice and relaxing to not feel any contractions. I literally could not feel a thing from the hips down. I was then able to take mini naps (not satisfying sleep though). I was also given a catheter so I didn’t need to use a bedpan…thank goodness.

As the morning and afternoon went on, I was progressing at the rate of a snail. From 2:00pm-4:00pm I was at 4cm. By 4:00pm my patience had worn thin. I hadn’t eaten solid food or slept soundly in over 24 hours, and was getting my hopes crushed every time the doctor or nurse checked me and said it would take a few more hours. At 6:00pm the doctor came in and told me that I was dilated to 9cm and that I should get ready to start pushing within the hour. I got really excited, and then REALLY nervous. I started shaking and my teeth were chattering with anxiety, nerves, and excitement all rolled into one.  At 6:30pm the nurse came in and said we were going to get started.

At 6:46pm I started pushing. Gradually more and more nurses filed in to help. Then the doctor came in when the baby started crowning. The last 10 minutes of pushing consisted of lots of pressure and Christian, the doctor, and all the nurses telling me to push harder and to keep going. Finally, after 24 hours of labor and about 50 minutes of pushing, Liam Peter Hanselmann was born at 7:38pm on Wednesday, December 31, 2014.

8 lbs. 7 oz. 21 in

 Smiley baby Liam now-a-days! He's growing so fast!

We are a very happy family. We LOVE this baby so much. Thanks everyone for your love and support!

I Did Not Expect This...

Guys. I'm so bad at keeping up with blogging! I think I'll have more to write about when this baby boy comes. Speaking of this baby boy...

I am 36.5 weeks along in this pregnancy. Christian and I are SO ready for this baby to come! I keep telling myself things like:
"Maybe today is the day" or "Better be prepared if he comes today"

36 weeks prego in this pic

I know I'm torturing myself by thinking those things, but what else am I supposed to think about?! The waiting game is pretty dang hard during the last trimester.

Anyways... I was complaining in my head this morning about the woes of being pregnant, and I thought I'd share the things I did NOT expect during pregnancy. Fair warning:  some things that I say might be a little much for some people... I'll try to keep it G rated. :)

-Being uncomfortable literally ALL the time.  I knew going into this pregnancy that I would be uncomfortable...but I totally underestimated this. Sitting down in a comfy position, then you can't breathe. Cramps in legs. Achey feet. etc. The uncomfortableness varies in severity, but the WORST for me has been not finding a comfortable position to sleep in. My nights go something like this:

     -lay down: pure happiness to be off my feet

     -lay on left side...hip/butt muscle cramps

     -switch sides

     -lay on right side...baby pushes on my ribs (he doesn't like my right side)

     -lay on back...can't breathe

     -go back to left side

     -process starts over again.

-Pepto Bismol Song... We all know the song. Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea! Yeah...had all that. :) It's mostly been the nausea and heartburn for me. Tums usually makes it go away pretty quickly, so this one's not too bad.

-How much stuff a baby actually needs. Holy cow...so much stuff. Can I just say THANK GOODNESS FOR BABY SHOWERS! There is no way Christian and I would be able to afford this stuff. Stroller, crib, car seat, clothes, DIAPERS, DIAPERS, DIAPERS, wipes, bath, towels, blankets, hats, bedding, bottles, pacifiers, carriers, monitor, etc. You get the picture.

-Mood Swings. All I have to say about this- I am so lucky to have such a loving, kind, "go-with-the-flow" husband. He is a great man to still love me after all the mood swings.

-How much my body changed. For almost my entire life, I've lived an incredibly healthy and active lifestyle. I've almost always had defined muscles and an athletic build. These things are now replaced with cellulite and stretch marks. I'm slowly learning that this is a different kind of beautiful. The stretch marks are almost like badges of honor. It's amazing what a female body can do. Our bodies were made to grow and birth a human. That's pretty amazing. I'll take a few funky looking lines on my sides and belly to have a beautiful baby. :) I know I've changed a lot on the outside, but I can't imagine how smashed up all my organs must be right now! haha.

-Appetite Changes. It's pretty simple. I'm starving one second (so I eat a ton) and absolutely stuffed the next (to the point of nausea). There's rarely an in between. I get hungry and full very quickly.

-Potty Breaks. I don't need to write much about this one. I've never counted how many times I go to the bathroom and pee in a day... But I'm 100% positive it's in the double digits now. I mean, an 8 pound brick is sitting on my bladder. I think that's justified.

-Sleep, sleep, and more sleep. I have always been a pro sleeper. But this past month I will take a solid 2-3 hour nap every day. I'm not upset about this though, because it's obvious my body needs it. It's hard work to grow a human!

-How great of a support system I have. I am so lucky. I knew before that I had a great family and  amazing friends. But sometimes you don't really recognize it until you need them. So many acts of kindness and understanding, gifts, hugs, advice... it's all been so great. I'm a very lucky person, and I know this baby will have so many people loving him!

Look at this chunky monkey! Chubby cheeks!

This post wasn't about me wanting to complain, so sorry if it came across that way. It was just me looking back on my pregnancy and these things stuck out to me. Maybe they'll help somebody or someone can chuckle and relate to this. :) I know all of these things are important and are a part of pregnancy. I'd go through all of these things again ten-fold to have this baby.

Next up: LABOR AND DELIVERY. Bring it on.

BIG Baby Boy

Time is flying by! We're already in the 3rd Trimester, which means...NOT MUCH TIME LEFT TIL BABY HANSELMANN COMES!!! Can you tell I'm just a little excited?

Actually, the excitement comes in waves. One moment I'm really excited, and the next I'm terrified. So far, this pregnancy has been pretty easy and not too challenging. I never threw up, never had too bad of aches and pains, and hadn't had any complications thus far. Some people may call me lucky...and I would too. I'm a wuss when it comes to pain, so I think I've been VERY lucky. I've been so excited my entire pregnancy, with not too many concerns- until yesterday. Yesterday was officially my 28 week mark. And to start off the tail end of my pregnancy, Christian and I signed up and went to our first pregnancy class last night. I was really excited/anxious to get this whole process underway. I was like a sponge- listening and trying to retain all the information I could get. The last thing we did in the class last night was watch a birthing video (minus all the gorey details, thank goodness). And that's when it hit me. I'm going to be doing that in less than 3 months...going through THAT. LABOR.

When I was swimming, I was a very hard worker. But you could always see on my face when I was struggling. I don't hide pain well. And watching a woman go through labor made me realize that I am most likely not going to handle that pain very well. It became very real to me. After the class, Christian and I were driving home and I expressed to him my concerns. I told him that I was trying to visualize myself going through those pains and the whole process of actually HAVING a baby. I told him that I know I'll be scared and most likely frustrated with the pain, and that I will be an emotional ball of crazy and I will need him to be positive the whole time. His answer: "I know. I was planning on that."

Oh...Ok. Simple. He knows me better than anyone. He's perfect, you guys.

But like I said, the excitement and nerves come in waves, and right now I'm excited. And just like those HORRIBLE, long sets I swam in practice for all those years, I know I'll be able to handle labor when Baby Hanselmann decides to come. It might not be pretty...but I'll make it happen.

On a more positive note- Baby Hanselmann is HUGE. He is in the 86th percentile for size. But the doctor is pretty confident that he will plateau when it comes to his size. So hopefully he won't be THAT big when he decides to come. But I'm really not surprised he's a big boy. I was only a 6 pound baby, but Christian was a 9 pound baby! So this baby is going to be big, no matter what- but hopefully not as big as they are anticipating. Christian thinks it's great that our baby boy is going to be big. But Christian doesn't have to push him out...so I'm leaning towards a more normal, smaller size. :)  Right now he is a solid 3 pounds and very healthy- and that's what matters!

Baby Boy is HUGE and LOVES to kick/punch mama.

28 weeks! Big Baby = Big Mama.

Baby is starting to get pretty heavy!

We can't wait for our baby to come! Our family will be that much more complete.

FALL IS COMING.

After having a zillion travels and weddings to go to this summer, we are finally back home in Knoxville and excited to get the fall season going! Fall is my FAVORITE time of year for many reasons, but here are just a few:

FOOTBALL.

All things pumpkin flavored.

Cooler temperatures!

Pretty leaves! Especially in Knoxville.

Hot chocolate. I've been drinking it for a while now, but it's socially acceptable now.

Jeans and Sweatshirts.

Holidays!

Family visits.

Evening walks.

Good food.

AND...

The baby getting HUGE.

Speaking of the baby... IT'S A BOY. Which I'm pretty sure I've made clear on social media.  He's getting big too. This week (22 weeks) he's the size of a corn on the cob. And I feel like I'm ballooning...which is good I guess. :) But I can't express how happy we are.  Christian is more than excited that it's a boy, but I'm just happy he's healthy. :) I've had a really easy pregnancy, thank goodness. But I wonder if that means this baby will be a bit of a demon when he comes out...haha.

We are really blessed to have such an amazing family with plenty of baby experience! We are getting a lot of the big stuff second-hand from family, which I'm so grateful for. And, I love the advice that I get from them. 

The main thing I'm nervous about with our first baby, which I'm pretty sure is common, is that I don't know much of anything about how to raise a baby. I know I'll figure it out through help from friends and family and through trial and error...but I don't want to make a big mistake. I don't want to forget something super important. I don't want to lose my temper. I don't want to get frustrated. I don't want to feel overwhelmed ALL the time, especially when Christian will be busy with school. These aren't constant worries, but they're in the back of my mind. I've been told in the past to not worry and to enjoy it when it comes...but how am I supposed to if I don't even know what I'm doing in the first place?

I know in the end everything will be alright, and that Heavenly Father trusts Christian and I to raise one of His children, but it still makes me a bit nervous. I guess I still have 4 months to figure all this out. :)

BIG Blessings!

For the majority of the summer Christian and I have been stressing (in the back of our minds) about finances. We knew this fall that money could potentially be a bit of an issue. We needed multiple things to fall into place. Christian needed an assistantship at UT, which would pay for his tuition.  He also needed a job/some type of income.  I already had a small part-time job in place, but not enough to make a living.

A few weeks ago, two programs contacted Christian and told him that they had assistantship positions available. So Christian emailed them back and sent his schedule right away, hoping that he would get one. Tuition is due on Monday, and we DID NOT have the money to pay it. Sure we could have gotten a student loan, but we were trying to avoid it if at all possible.

Yesterday, Christian called one of the assistantship programs and asked if they knew anything about the assistantships. They told him HE GOT THE ASSISTANTSHIP! He is going to be a TA for the psychology department. I cried and Christian didn't know what to do with himself. We quickly knelt down and prayed and thanked Heavenly Father for this HUGE blessing.  We then celebrated by going out to dinner and a movie.

So today, Christian found out that he also got a job as an assistant coach on the club swim team here in Knoxville. HE HAS A JOB!

Today we have been so happy. We have been praying and fasting for these things for so long, and now that they're here, we realize how blessed we truly are. Our testimonies have been strengthened. We know that God hears and answers our prayers. Even though they might not be answered when we want, prayers WILL be answered.

We know we'll still be poor; all couples at this stage are poor I think. But we won't be in debt. We won't be completely scrounging for money. We will be ale to pay rent, buy school supplies, and buy things we need to prepare for our baby to come.

We...I...can now officially stop stressing. :)

Baby Update- 16 Weeks

This week was my 16 week mark in my pregnancy! This baby is about the size of a dill pickle. It's crazy how fast it is growing! 

Since this is my first baby post, I'll write a little about the beginning and first trimester of this pregnancy.

Christian and I found out we were pregnant at the end of April. Early on a Sunday morning, I felt like I should take a pregnancy test. I had taken a few before, and had failed them, so I tried not to get my hopes up. So I took the test and went out of the bathroom so I wouldn't have to look at it. A few minutes later I came back into the bathroom and saw that it was positive. I was shocked. I walked into the bedroom and just stared at Christian while holding the stick. He saw that I was holding the test and said, "Well, what does it say??" "...It's positive."  We both jumped up and hugged. Then went back to sleep. :) That was when I was 4 weeks pregnant.

Since then I've gone through the entire first trimester. I have so far had a pretty easy pregnancy. I haven't thrown up once. I was just really nauseous and REALLY tired. And I've noticed this whole pregnancy that I've had pretty consistent head aches. But I've always had a problem with headaches, so this one isn't really a surprise. I have had quite a few cravings though... nothing crazy. Just fast food and fair food (crispy chicken sandwiches, soft pretzels, coney cheese dogs, pizza, doughnuts, etc.) But the weirdest craving I had was chef boyardee. I never even ate that stuff growing up. But it tasted SO good.

The second trimester has been very nice so far. I'm still tired a lot and get headaches, but I'm never nauseous, so I feel great. Just slowly, and happily, turning into the size of a whale. :)

16 week bump

Our little baby at 15 weeks.

Still a little too early to tell if it's a boy or girl.

Til next time! :)