Greenlee Peyton Ballew

Well since our last posting, some things have changed... Our sweet and wonderful daughter was born into this crazy world.



On Tuesday, September 21st, I went to the doc and was scheduled to be induced the following morning at 7:30. So, since I couldn't have ANYTHING to eat after breakfast, me, Justin, my parents and his all went to the Waffle House bright and early that Wednesday morning. At 7:30, I checked into the hospital and was taken back to the Labor, Delivery, Recovery room where I would spend the remainder of the day.



At 8:30, my midwife came in, did what she needed to do and the process started. Contractions came and went... Not as bad as I was thinking they would be. If I wanted to have the epidural (because I am a wuss), I needed to have it in before the pain got too unbearable... So once I had dilated to 6 cm, I decided it was time. At 12:30, the epidural was placed~ not as painful either... Of course it could be because I was having contractions the while time and a malfunctioning BP cuff that kept on inflating and deflating every 5 seconds. The next thing I knew, my midwife came in and said that it was time to start puhing... So, at 3:30 we began pushing... Justin on my left and my Mama on my right... I pushed for 45 minutes... took a 45 minute break because some sweet little baby wasn't wanting to come down... pushed for another hour and 15 minutes or so and all of a sudden she was here... Greatest experience of my life...



I really didn't get to see her immediately after she was born. While I was pushing sweet baby Greenlee had pooped on herself and once she was in this world, she was taken away to be cleaned up and monitored. When I did finally get to see her, I saw the most beautiful baby girl ever!!!



Here he is...Miss Greenlee Peyton Ballew... Wednesday, September 22, 2010 born at 6:04 pm weighing 7lb 7 oz and 19 inches long

Nope~ No Greenlee, yet!

Greenlee's due date has come and gone... she's still hanging out in the comfort of my belly!!! But the good news is that by the end of next week, she WILL be here~ either from her own decision or with the help of Pitocin... But we don't care which way, just as long as she is healthy. We can not wait to meet our little angel.

Yesterday we went to the doc, again. Things were done, again! All I can say is WOW~ if that hurt as bad as it did, I can only imagine what giving birth is going to feel like. But I know that the pain will all go away once that precious little girl is placed in my arms. After the "exam", the doc gave us our options... There is still a good chance that she can come on her own, but if not, we go in Tuesday for a Non-Stress Test to make sure everything is OK since I'm overdue now. From there we schedule to be induced. And this is how we know that our little girl will be here next week.

One thing that I can't wait to do is have her pictures made. Remember my friend & photographer from an earlier post? Well, she is going to be at the hospital to take some pictures after she's born and within that first hour of her being born... the 1st "bath", getting weighed, those tests they do, our 1st hour with her. etc... These are going to be so great... some that most people never think about taking professionally. I can't wait to share these with y'all.

It's That Time of Year!!!

This is the time of year that most Georgians look forward to...It's Labor Day weekend (yeah- OK~ we get a few days off), it's opening day of Dove Season (not really impressed by that~ haven't been dove hunting in 7 years)... It's time for some Bulldog Football~ THIS is what I'm talking about. Hopefully with the coming of the season this year, it will bring cooler weather- Lord knows we need it. This has been the hottest summer I can remember in a LONG time; and I'm not just saying that because I'm 38 weeks pregnant!

As many of our family & friends know, we are HUGE Dawg (that's how real fans say it...) fans. When I met Justin, I was amazed at his "home office"... It is painted UGA red and was just about full of all kinds of Georgia stuff... Once we got married, I added all of my Georgia Stuff... Now it's full and there are some things that we have 2 or 3 or 4 of. We're always looking at new stuff to add to our collection... That's why I love the Cotton Pickin' Fair in Gay, GA (1st weekend in May & Oct~ hopefully I'll make it this year) and the Geranium Festival in McDonough, GA (ususally 2nd or 3rd Sat in May). I usually come home with something to add to the room... Even our (new 9 foot) Christmas tree is decorated in Red & Black & UGA ornaments... It sits in an old wash tub that has been wrapped & sealed in UGA fabric instead of a boring old tree skirt...

Just to show how much we like the Dawgs, we named our black lab Munson... Our OB doc is just about as big a fan as we are- he has his office decorated from floor to ceiling with all kinds of UGA stuff... Greenlee already has MANY Bulldog outfits to wear, plus I'm in the process if making her UGA tutu to wear with her UGA onesie...I have a Georgia "G" cake pan... I could just go on & on about all this, but the purpose of this post is to say what great friends we have...

Usually during the football season, we have get togethers at each other's houses to "watch" the game... 2 seasons ago, we pretty much just went to 1 couple's house every weekend & everyone brought food... Last year we mixed it up at different houses, but we all still brought food... This year is kinda sad because for the 1st time in the past 3 1/2 years, none of us are getting together on opening day... Like I said earlier, it's opening day of Dove Season~ that's where most of our friends will be I'm sure, but we will be at the Ballew Family get together. The rest of the season, who knows where we will all be gathering...

I hope all of the DAWG fans enjoy their opening day festivities! We will miss all of our friends today as the Dawgs open their season against the other Bulldogs... Hopefully we will all be watching "in spirit" together... GO DAWGS!!!!

Early, On Time, or Late???

For some reason, I have a feeling that this sweet little girl is going to come early... why?, I don't know. I officially have 26 days until her due date. Justin seems to be calling September 9th as her arrival date... I say September 6th (Labor Day~hahaha!)... Everyone asks me how I'm feeling, I just say "ready". I can tell she has "dropped" and is getting in position and lots of people tell me that they can tell too. I have loved every minute of being pregnant up until this past week. I was MISERABLE! I had the worst heartburn ever, I was HOT all the time, and slept maybe 3 hours a night. I was very uncomfortable. I could hardly breathe. And so far, this week has been the same. I see sleeping in the recliner as a possibilty. But on a positive note, we are packed and ready to go~ diaper bag(s) packed, car seat installed, our bag packed, and several other necessities are ready and waiting. Just keep on thinking positive thoughts and sending them our way... maybe she will get the hint and come on!

this post isn't about Greenlee or being pregnant or anything like that.

So if you read the post about Justin and his mysterious illness, you know that we've had all kinds of tests ran and all with the same results~ NORMAL! So, now he's on an "I'm losing weight, working out, & eating healthy" frenzy... 25 pounds down and guess what- yep- no pain! I just hope that he can help me get this baby weight off when the time comes. I don't mind the eating healthy part~ it's good for all of us. He walks 3 miles everyday! If I walk out the door I swell (feet, toes, fingers) and am miserable for the rest of the day. I can't workout like he is because he's doing that "Insanity" workout DVD with his brother. I am so proud of him!!! I absolutely have the BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD!

And on another post~ I mentioned that one of my best childhood friends is pregnant... Well, on her birthday (August 4th) she went and had a 3D ultrasound and found out that she's having a girl... I can't wait. Now our little girls can play together just like we did when we were little. I've been joking around with her about picking out a name, cause when we were little we had our favorites~ Amy, Haley, Jessica, etc (these are SO not our favorite names anymore)... But instead she has decided to name her little girl Gracie Lynn. Gracie is after her MawMaw that has past several years ago and Lynn is her own middle name. CONGRATS Steph, Scott, & Peyton! We can't wait to meet her in January (maybe the 29th??? I don't mind sharing my birthday)

Counting Down...

The showers are over... All these presents are put away somewhere~ nursery, bathroom, spare bedroom... You name it, I think Greenlee got it.

Now that we have entered the August, I have officially started a countdown... we have 6 1/2 weeks left until our "Little Green Pea's" official due date. I don't know who's more ready for her to be here, me or Justin. It will be kind of strange not being pregnant, but I will get to see a precious gift from God. I just can't wait to see who she looks like the most~ me or Justin or a combination of both. Justin is so ready to hold her it is hilarious... He says it's his turn since I've been holding her this whole time. He did finally get to see her doing her gymnastics in my belly the other night and I think he got a little teary eyed (which is fine... this is his daughter). I'm sure that's not the last time I see him teary-eyed when it comes to Greenlee. One thing that I will NOT miss is the heartburn~ it's getting a little out of hand...

Stay tuned... not sure when I'll be back to give updates... the next one may be when Greenlee gets here and I can show her off...

Great Photographer!

Here lately, I've wanted to capture every moment of being pregnant. This has been an experience like no other... the lack of morning sickness (never did get sick), the exhaustion, the HEARTBURN, the kicks & flips, etc.. So we decided to call on our friend and photographer, Paige, to take some maternity pictures. So the question was, where to take them? We used Heritage Park in McDonough for engagement pictures 2 years ago, so that was out. Paige didn't want me on the rocks at Indian Springs~ they were a little slippery. At High Falls, we would have to walk a good ways to get to the perfect place. So, after seeing a friend of ours have family pictures taken at Dausett Trails, we picked there. This place has a little bit of every setting you would want~ nature, rustic, water, etc.. She did an amazing job. We've posted several on our Facebook page (under photos). There were tons taken, but the ones of my bare belly didn't make the public viewing cut... They are here at our house and for us to see... If you are ever in need of a great photographer, get in touch with me and I can get you in touch with Paige.