3 Weeks Old!

I seriously can not believe our sweet baby boy was THREE WEEKS old yesterday!

Its seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! He is growing so much already! He had a doctor appointment yesterday just for a weight check to see how he's progressing. Which they had already been impressed with his weight gain. When he was born he weighed 7.6, that was on a Wednesday, we took him home on a friday and he weighed 7.2, they told us it usually takes about two weeks to get back up to their birthweight especially in breastfed babies. Well we had to take him to the hospital on that Sunday to be checked for jaundice, and he was already back at his birthweight!! He's a good eater!

Yesterday they weighed him and were very impressed he weighed in at a whopping 9.4 pounds! Kasen is a growing boy!!! He's changing everyday. I swear every morning I wake up to a little guy thats more handsome than he was the day before. And I wake up to a pretty handsome husband too :)

Now that we have this amazing little boy, I couldn't have imagined having a girl. Kasen is just perfect for us! And he is such a good baby! He sleeps pretty good at night and he loves his bath time! He usually gets a bath around 9:45 every night, then I rub him down with lotion real good, he gets so relaxed, its so cute! Then he gets fed and is in bed asleep by 10:30 and usually sleeps until 2:30, wakes up to eat, then sleeps again until about 5:30. He eats again then, and usually stays awake until about 11.And of course he eats in between there too. but he stays awake a lot in the mornings. He's definately a morning baby! He's so cute first thing in the morning too. He makes all kinds of faces and has started making different noises too! Its amazing to watch him grow and do more things! He looks around and is very alert. He already has pretty good neck strength. He lifts his head a lot and looks around. We are very proud of him!

We had company all last week! Dallas's dad came to stay with us during thanksgiving, and Dallas's Grandma was also able to come for a few days! It was nice to get to see them! And I think they enjoyed meeting Kasen! I'm sure I wasn't the best host... I am just now starting to feel like a human again! I've been pretty exhausted! Everyone says "Oh sleep when he sleeps!" Well... when hes asleep thats when I get things done! I have yet to take a nap! I'm not a napper anyways, but I think I'm going to have to learn to be. I could definately use a nap here and there! Being exhausted all the time is no fun for me, and I'm sure its no fun for Dallas either. When he gets home in the evenings im pretty well pooped! So, I'm going to try to do better and catch a nap or two here and there so I'm not a zombie any more!

It'll be Christmas soon... I'm so excited for Christmas this year. My neice Piper is 15 months old.. I can't wait to watch her tear into presents! She's so much fun right now! I'm sure I'll be doing mostly online shopping this year.. I don't want to get little man out in the cold more than I have to!!

I'll try to keep this updated with pictures and posts... just bear with us!


Playtime!!


Turkey Day!


He loves his playmat!


Kasen getting his first bottle!!

11~7~12 What a Perfect Day!

Our bundle of joy is finally here!!
I dont even know where to begin this blog.. Its going to be crazy long so I'll just start from Wednesday morning.. November the 7th!
We woke up at 4am Wednesday morning, we needed to leave the house by 5 to get to the hospital by 6. I only slept a few hours that night, I was so anxious and nervous! Our dogs were staying with my parents while we were at the hospital, so we dropped them off at my parents on the way to the hospital. We spent a little more time there visiting with them then we had planned so we were running late! I wasn't that worried about it, I didnt figure they would send me home! lol! We got to the hospital at about 630, got in our room and got settled in! I don't think it actually had hit me yet, we were about to meet our sweet baby!! My doctor came in a little after 9 to break my water. I was still just 3cm at that time so she figured once the pitocin kicked in we'd have a baby by supper time! I was still feeling great at that point! About an hour later my contractions were terrible! I told my mom at one point "this is for the birds!!" My nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist
was on the floor now and had a few people in front of me so it would be about an hour before I could get an epidural if I wanted one. I decided to go on and get it. She told me since I was pretty uncomfortable she'd check me again after I got the epidural. I toughed out that hour but my contractions were pretty bad. The anesthesiologist came in a little after 11 and was finished by about 1145. I told the nurse I felt alot of pressure when they gave me my epidural, she thought that was weird. She checked me again and said "Either I can't find your cervix or your at like 8! Im going to get another nurse to check you!" So another nurse came in and sure enough I was at 8. She said well that explains the pressure you felt during your epidural! I had a massive headache so she laid me flat and said she'd be back in a little while. I asked her how everything was going to go, she said, "Well, we'll wait til you get to 10, let the baby drop more on its own, do some practice pushes, then call the doctor for the real pushes!" That sounded fine to me. So she left, well a few min later I felt a lot of pressure so we called the nurse, a different nurse came in and said my nurse would be back in 15 min, that she had just checked me so she'd let my nurse check me when she got back. My nurse comes back in a litle bit later to check me, I asked if I could set up now cause my headache wasnt bad anymore. She said I could after she checked me again. As soon as she checked me she said "Don't move! Its time to call the doctor the head is right there!" I asked if I could set up she said "NO! Its litterally right there!" I then asked about those practice pushes she told me about she said "We're long past that!" Within no time there were several nurses in there and my doctor and it was show time! I didn;t even have a chance to really get nervous or anything! I pushed about 6 times and at 1:44pm we welcomed Kasen Stone Shepherd into the world! Dallas announced that it was a boy and he got to cut the cord! I was absolutely overjoyed! He was perfect in every way! He weighed 7 pounds and 6.8 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long!!! I couldn't believe I carried a baby that big! It was love at first sight! He was healthy and the delivery couldn't have gone smoother! It was a perfect day :)

We're home now and he's changing every day! We are so in love with our sweet boy! He's been a really good baby so far! He might kinda be on my night shift schedule, but we're working on it! Any loss sleep is completely worth it! I have never been happier! Dallas has been a huge help around the house and is the best dad! Kasen has a good man to look up to! Dallas was already talking about buying him saddles and ropin dummys and his Dallas's dad already bought him a pair of handmade boots! He's not spoiled already or anything :)

I'll try my best to keep yal updated on how hes doing and how he's changing! Thank you everyone for your love and support. We are so blessed :)

The Countdown is ON!

Yep, the countdown is on!!
We have an official countdown unless Baby Shep decides to make its own agenda! lol!
I went to the doctor again last thursday and she was surprised I hadn't already had the baby! I had been 80% effaced for two weeks! But thursday she said I was basically 100% thinned and about 3cm dilated. She thinks I may not dilate completely on my own because of where the tumor is but she was pretty certain that inducing me would get things going pretty quick. So... we are scheduled for an induction wednesday morning! Ahhhh!!! Thats TOMORROW!!!
This whole pregnancy I haven't really thought much about labor and the whole idea of actually having the baby.. lol, i know, who would think about that?! I'm not nervous about the labor process, no, I've never had a child before but I have had a few major surgeries and am fairly certain I will be ok. I know its going to hurt like the dickens and I could be in labor for hours on end... that doesn't worry me. The idea of actually being a parent scares me to death!!
I am very excited about becoming a mother, don't get me wrong. Its just now setting in that we WILL become parents. There is no going back!! I know Dallas is going to be an excellent father. I love watching him with my niece, it just melts my heart! And I think we'll make a good team as parents. I'm just starting to get nervous about it... I mean surely thats normal to be a little nervous right?!
And I think not knowing if its a girl or a boy makes me a little more nervous. Like I just haven't prepared myself for either I guess. Not that it matters. We'll love it to the moon and back either way. I can't wait to hear Dallas tell me whether we've got a little boy or a little girl. That is just so exciting! And maybe I'm just mixing all the excitment with the nerves... who knows! Its just a feeling I can't hardly describe and now I'm just rambling! So enough of that!
Baby Sheps room is basically complete :) And, we've got a bag basically packed... so, we're making progress! We have waited til the last minute but thats okay!!! Today I'll get the carseat in the car and finish doing a few things on my "to do" list!





Sunday night was my last night to work! I'm sure going to miss my coworkers while I'm off work! But I am very excited to get to spend some time at home with the baby, especially during the holidays :)