Baby Courter is Finally Here!!!!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!  We are thrilled to announce the birth of Ella Louise Courter; she was born 4/4/11 at 6:50pm weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches long.  Her birth was more dramatic than we would have liked as Ella was in the posterior position (sunny side up) and had shoulder dystocia but she is here and both Ella and Beth are doing great.  If you would like to know all the details we are happy to share, it's just not blog appropriate. 

If you are wondering how we came up with her name, Ella is the name of Beth's Great Grandmother and the Louise comes from Scott's side where there are various forms of the name, most notably is the name of Ella's Grammy, Barbara Lou.  We love that her name is a mixture of our families and we know that she will love that when she gets older.  

And now to what everyone wants.....PICTURES!!!!!!!

Ella's very first bath, safe in Daddy's hands!

All cleaned up and pretty with her bow!

There will be more pictures to come but we are going to get some rest while we can.  Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes.  We can't wait for everyone to meet her.....we think she's pretty amazing!

40 weeks 3 days and still counting!

Well, since we have no baby yet we decided to add some pics of monkey's room.  We love how it turned out with all the bright colors and look forward to adding personalized touches once we meet the person who will be sleeping in there!  So here are some pictures!!

All dressed up & nowhere to go! Our due date pictures....holding a baby but not the one we thought. 

Everyone's ready!!

At today's doctors appointment, Dr. Nabors told us we needed to think about an induction date in case this tiny human refuses to leave on his/her own.  We were hoping to wait until the 11th but that date was already booked.  Drum roll please........that means that if this child of ours doesn't come on it's own we will go into the hospital the night of the 3rd to start the induction process and should be meeting the newest Courter on Monday April 4th, just in time to watch the National Championship with daddy!!  Stay tuned, an introduction is coming!!! 

Baby Courter's Shower!!!

This is a little late.....to be honest, I thought I had already blogged about this. Whoops. On February 5th our dear friends Iashah & Deon threw a baby shower for Baby Courter and we got to celebrate with many of our friends and family. Unfortunately, a snow/ice storm hit just days before and due to road conditions some people just could not make it. While they were missed, we had a great time & hope those who made it did to.

Iashah & I, love her!

You probably know that Scott & I are pretty laid back; we like to have fun and celebrate with our friends and family but formal settings are not really our cup of tea. So, we had the shower at a local sports cafe where we could all be relaxed, watch some basketball and have great finger foods while celebrating the upcoming arrival of the little monkey. Iashah did a wonderful job and everything was perfect!

Who's bigger??

My favorite part!!!!

Presents for the Lil Monkey

Scott's parents drove all the way from the Ville' on some pretty bad roads to be able to celebrate with us and I couldn't even keep my eyes open for the picture.

The Courters & the Stevensons

Pregnancy & the 3Day

In 2008 I participated in the Breast Cancer 3Day, it was a wonderful experience and I hope to do another one soon!  If you're not familiar with the 3Day, it is a 60 mile walk over the course of 3 days to raise money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer. (for more info go to the3day.org) I've been thinking, having never done this pregnancy/birthing thing before, that the two experiences have a lot in common.  What do I mean by that?  Well, with both you kind of have an idea of what your getting into but you don't really know until you do it.  Also, both are truly a journey.

Day 1 of the 3Day is like the 1st trimester; full of excitement, expectations (some wildly unrealistic), lots of new experiences and a lot of anticipation about what lies ahead.  Since you don't really know what to expect you just walk along, happy to be there and blissfully unaware of what lies ahead for you.  I'm sure you see where this is going.

Please note the giddy, goofy smiles in both pictures.  I was clueless! 

Day 2 of the 3Day = 2nd trimester;  you're still excited but now reality is sinking in and so is the soreness.  There is probably too much food consumption but you justify it to yourself because, well you're doing something BIG!  On both Day 2 and the 2nd trimester, you're trying to enjoy yourself and soak everything in but you can't help but be in a hurry to get to the home stretch.

Day 2 soreness

I felt so big then......not sure why with that cute little bump

Oh Day 3, aka the 3rd trimester....at the beginning of the day you are full of energy; you know you are in the home stretch and the excitement is palpable (at least in the morning).  As Day 3 goes on, you grow weary; you are so sore and tired and you really just want to bypass the 10 miles in the middle of the day and just get to the end already.  It's not that you don't realize the importance of what you're doing, each step is important, but for crying out loud, why does it take so loooong?!?  With each step your feet swell more, your back hurts more, and you just want to take a nap.  Along the way people tell you how great you're doing and how good you look, but you know the truth.  You feel the truth.  The truth is you are a big ol hot mess walking down the road! 

The flag and the tape job say it all

Oh the swollen feet of pregnancy

Now you're just a few miles, or days, away from the finish line.  You are excited that you're almost there, you are so proud of yourself for coming this far, excitement is building, but each step is painful now.  You realize why you're doing this....in the 3Day, each step is a step closer to a world without breast cancer.  Awesome.  During pregnancy, each day is one day closer to holding & meeting that brand new precious person.  Awesome.  People are really cheering you on now!  Literally, in the case of the 3Day, and figuratively during pregnancy.  People line the streets to tell you that you're doing a good job.  That is great, it's wonderful actually; people telling you how great you're doing and how good you look, but there is one thing you don't, or shouldn't, tell either one of these women if you come in contact with them.  *Pay attention, this is a warning!*  Do not, under any circumstances, tell a woman in her last miles of the 3Day, or her last days of pregnancy, "You're almost there!"  When I was at the end of the 3Day people, said that to me a lot.  At first it was a welcome blessing.  Then, you realize after a few miles that you're not close to the finish line, at least not the kind of close you're ready to be.  You keep walking and you get closer and people keep telling you that you're almost there, but by now you don't trust them because there is only one type of information I wanted that day, and only one type I want right now...NUMBERS!!!   You want numbers at the end of the 3Day!!!  How many more steps will it take?  How many more miles until I hold my shoe in my hand triumphant?  Now with this giant baby in my belly, I find myself with the same feeling of desperation.  How many more hours will it take?  How many more moments until I hold my baby in my arms, triumphant?? 

Walkers with shoes held high!

Fanny & I waiting for the tiny human to arrive

 

The good thing is, I know the ending to this story, well kind of.  I know that at the end of the 3Day, once I saw the finish line, I was good.  I was strong and I finished.  The birth part of this story has yet to be written but I know that the same will happen.  Scott will be there, we will be strong, I will finish, and this baby will be here.  So for now, I will sit here and eat my Pecan Sandies, and listen to those who tell me that I'm almost there.  I will also be grateful; because you only get this time once. 

I finished!

Still waiting on my "I finished" picture holding the baby....but I'm almost there right?!?!?  

Counting down & getting ready...

We are 36 weeks pregnant and feel like we're in the home stretch!!  Baby Courter's room is close to being finished and we are planning on getting the rest of the items we need by Saturday.  So, hopefully by next weekend we will be all set and ready for this little monkey to make his/her big debut!!  Scott got the car seat base installed so we are ready in case this little human grows too impatient and decides to come early. 

We are working on getting our furry kids ready for the new arrival.  They have thoroughly sniffed the bassinet and car seat and tonight we took our first walk with Fanny, George & the stroller.  Prior to his training at K9U Georgie would bite the tires on parked cars so we were wondering how he would do with the stroller.  He was awesome, almost protective.  He heeled well and stayed right next to the stroller as Scott walked him and pushed the stroller.  Fanny was less than thrilled that we took the stroller with us; she acted like her feelings were hurt.  Toward the end of the walk she was doing better so we are confident that by the time the baby comes she will be okay with the family walks.  As much as she loves kids we're sure after a period of adjustment she will do just fine....especially when she realizes that the tiny human drops lots of food!

Well, we did get some interesting news at our doctors appointment on Monday.  Our doctor said that it looks like baby will be a solid 8 pounder!  We were really expecting a 6 or low 7 pounder.  We don't have an appointment this week (unless something happens) and then start next week with weekly doctors appointments.  It's hard to believe that our monkey will be here in just a few weeks!!  

I am getting HUGE!  Others are being very nice saying things like "you're all belly" but I own mirrors so I know the truth.  The swelling in my legs and the soreness in my wrists are annoying but not huge issues.  I'm still very much on a milk binge, I went through 2 gallons this week....maybe the reason for the giant baby.  I'm finding it hard to eat without being miserable afterward and I can use a lengthy nap at any point during the day.  I'm finding it difficult to get up off the couch without grunting or help from Scott and sleeping for more than a few hours at a time has become a battle.  The most current pregnant irritation is waking up in the night and finding both my arms are numb.  Apparently this is very common during pregnancy but it's one of those things that no one tells you about.  Scott is finding it helpful to get all the small things around the house done.

 Scott putting the crib together!

35 weeks and getting bigger by the second

Well, the next post may be the one announcing the newest Courter.....so stay tuned!! 

32 Weeks & Loving It!

To be exact, we are 32 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  I could stay this pregnant forever, okay not really, but I am loving this part of pregnancy.  Yes, I have moments where I feel huge; those feelings mostly come when I am trying to get up from a laying position or trying to get comfortable in bed.  I feel most like a whale when trying to roll over.

We are working to get monkey's room ready and things are moving faster now that National Signing Day is almost here.  For those that don't know, National Signing Day is better than a National Holiday in the Courter home!  Fresh, VOC free paint is on the walls, that's it so far, but we're excited about how much we'll get done in the coming weeks.  We have our names picked out.....No, we're not telling.  We LOVE the names, and love that they are family names with history behind them.  We have found our daycare & our pediatrician and we really like both, which is a big relief.  To be honest, we are really enjoying this time together but always wondering what our life will be like once this tiny person arrives.  

Things I currently LOVE:
~ Feeling Baby Courter flip, kick, punch and roll
~Apple juice....I REALLY LOVE APPLE JUICE!!!!!
~Playing "what body part was that?" with Scott after the above mentioned movements
~Going back and forth on what gender we think the baby is (we are both on girl today)
~Milk, milk & more milk!!!  Not kidding I've gone through a gallon in 3 days, we should buy stock in Braum's
~Pizza
~Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice cream (cobbler is currently in the oven)

Things I currently do not love:
~Heartburn
~Not being able to get comfortable
~Random emotional outbursts (Scott is not a fan of these either, poor guy)
~End of the day cankles

We are just so thankful for this tiny human.  We know how blessed we are and we are so grateful to be given this amazing gift.  We are very much looking forward to meeting this tiny human.  We are also really looking forward to our baby shower this weekend & celebrating with friends and family.  Hope to see you there, let us know if you need directions/info!!!! 

Broken hearted & 30 Weeks Pregnant

We said goodbye to our sweet Emipre today.  He was a part of my life for 11 years and was my first baby.  Empire taught us both so much and we will be better parents to Baby Courter because we had him in our lives. We wish he could have met Baby Courter but it was not to be. While we miss him terribly, we are comforted in the knowledge that he is in a better place and does not hurt anymore.  We made sure to get some pics of our 2 babies together....Empire was not excited but we will cherish these pictures!
 

He was such a cutie and always looked so peaceful when he slept

Please excuse my appearance, I had been crying A LOT

Bubba & Baby Courter

Even with all the sadness and tears (there have been LOTS of those) we have been trying to get ready for our little monkey to join us.  We worked on the nursery and it should finally be painted next weekend.  We also took our first childbirth class and we found that very informative. 

We'll have a better update soon.