Introducing Lydia May McGough! Born October 3rd at 5:56 pm. 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long. Mama and Daddy are overwhelmed by God’s little blessing.
More pictures and stories coming soon!
40 + weeks!!
As I am writing this post I am 40 weeks + 3 days… not too bad, just ready and excited to meet our mcnugget. We have been enjoying these last few days of just us… almost finished with Parenthood season 3, Lydia’s room is ready to go (I have a post started to share pictures of her adorable nursery soon), laundry is caught up and dishes are clean (thanks to Gramzi), so we are just waiting and praising the Lord for His goodness. I hope the next post with chalk boards is us holding our baby girl!
How far along? 40 weeks- due date was Thursday, September 27…
Total weight gain: 20 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes… I have only a few that really fit me anymore! Too late to buy anymore!
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: sleeping pretty good.. have been going to bed with some contractions and cramping and thinking they might keep me up, but then I wake up in the morning still preggo… one of these nights they will keep going 🙂 Thankful for good sleep though!
Best moment this week: Having my mom here… it is so fun that she has gotten to see me pregnant and feel Lydia kick from my belly! Thankful Liddy waited for her.
Miss Anything? my pre-pregnancy clothes… looking forward to wearing them again soon (ish- maybe?)
Movement: yes, super thankful for that… ready to see her move on the outside
Food cravings: nothing particular lately… Chase has made two batches of chocolate chip cookies this week though and those have tasted pretty darn good.. he is getting to be quite the baker! (love him… the first batch he put baking powder in instead of baking soda… they were a little flat and sticky but still tasted awesome!)
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really…
Gender: girl!
Labor Signs: last time I was checked (Sunday night) I was 1 cm dilated (maybe 2 if it was stretched), cervix was back and long… but I have been having more consistent contractions today/this evening… so we will see! Its probably nothing, but you never know?
Symptoms: achy lower back, cramping/contractions, sore hips, sharp pains…
Belly Button in or out? OUT!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! But ready to meet our little girl!
Looking forward to: Holding and kissing and seeing our baby girl on the outside! I can’t wait to see Chase as a dad… it warms my heart just thinking about it! He is going to be great!
It’s super fun that Lydia is going to be an October baby just like her daddy, Aunt Brooke and Uncle Knate! Chase always thought she was going to be an October girl… looks like he was right!
in the waiting…
For those of you who know me well, know that I am what you would call a planner. I generally work better on a schedule and like to plan out my days, weeks, months, vacations, etc… Since marrying Chase I have become more free and ok used to not always having a plan (he is still helping me in this area! ha) and he actually enjoys having a plan & talking about what we have going on in our week together now- marriage is a give and take right? Anyway, this whole not knowing when labor will start and when I will get to hold my sweet baby girl is well, starting to be hard for my planning heart. I truly believe that God has her birthday already picked out and its the perfect day for both her and me… its just a matter of reminding myself of this! I wanted Lydia to wait for my mom to get, for Jord to get back from an unexpected trip to America and now that both of these things have happened… according to my plan she is supposed to come now…
We had a doctors appointment on Tuesday and everything looks great! Praise Jesus- heart beat, measurements, she is head down… however, I was not dilated, was 0% effaced, cervix was still back, but she was at a station -2 (Aubs sent me a pic of this… basically means she is head down & in position to hopefully start doing stuff… ) I thought that a little something more would have been going on since I was 39 weeks and 5 days that day… and have been seemingly having contractions on and off for a few weeks now (who knows?), but alas nothing. I have heard this is totally normal especially for your first baby and that ALL you moms out there have played this waiting game. Which I am ok with, but I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t even 1 cm dilated! Who knows what I am today- my due date- the doctor said things can change over night, but we still made an appointment for October 2nd, to discuss having an induction or not. I am hoping/praying that she will come on her own before that, but again trusting the Lord in His timing.
I think there are a few things (and I am sure more… just don’t know them yet) the Lord is teaching me through this… to wait on HIm… “be still before the Lord & wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7… to trust in HIm… “but I have trusted in your steadfast love, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” Psalm 13:5… to enjoy this time as a gift with my mom and hubby before many sleepless nights and someone to care for 24/7… “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…”
I am thankful for these things He is teaching me… thankful to feel little wiggles and rolls in my tummy, thankful for a healthy pregnancy, thankful my mom gets to be here to see our life out here, thankful for a healthy baby girl growing inside of me, thankful for a sweet husband who takes such good care of us, thankful for a wonderful community who is excited for us, praying for us and involved in our lives, thankful the Lord chose us to be Lydia’s parents… So in the midst of waiting I am going to remind myself of these things and just be thankful.
While waiting we have…
done several border runs to make sure mom is on the correct Visa… she is now getting to experience and understand the joys of living in a border town…
had a mini impromptu baby shower with all sorts of gifts and love sent from America! Thank you to all that sent stuff- we feel super loved…
given mom a tour of Oasis Hospital where Lydia will be born & taken as many belly pics as possible since it’s probably hopefully the last week with it…
sat at Starbucks after finding some great deals on some last minute baby essentials…
packed and re-packed our hospital bags, organized Lydia’s nursery, watched several episodes of Parenthood, talked, eaten lots of food, and relaxed.
Some things on the list to do until Lydia is ready:
- bake onesie cookies to share with friends that visit after Lydia’s arrival
- Finish up some crafty things in the nursery
- Maybe start Lydia’s scrapbook
- Print pictures
- Explore our town
- Visit some local friends
- Watch more Parenthood 🙂
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September 13- September 23
September 13: making hair bows for Lydia!
September 14: Breakfast with one of my local friends: beans, tortillas & tea!
September 15: Matzos (unleavened bread) with butter… I grew up eating this stuff… I know it is strange, but it tastes like home!
September 16: our bags are packed for the hospital… can’t wait to use them!
September 17: last date night with my baby daddy before Lydia comes… Chinese food & flowers- love him!
September 18: Chili’s for lunch after a great doctor’s appointment!
September 19: it rained!! Chase thought Lydia would come this day since it rained on our first best day of our lives…. but Lydia had other plans 🙂
September 20: my mom is here!!
September 21: pedicure + Starbucks coconut tea + window shopping with my mom & hubby in Dubai = perfect day
September 22: hospital survival kit from nurse/Auntie Aubs! so thoughtful & practical…stuff I would have never thought of- thanks sis!
September 23: Frist local visit complete with dates & Omani coffee with mom- so fun to share our everyday life out here with her
Cute as a Button
A few weeks ago my friends threw me an adorable “Cute as a Button” baby shower! Lydia and I felt so blessed and loved by all the hard work, friends that showed up and the gifts she was showered with. What a blessing it is to have great community out here- super helpful since we live so far away from our fiends & family back home.
Now for some pictures of the shower! (all picture & creative credit goes to Jord)
The food table- which included “button” mushrooms stuffed with yummy stuff (not exactly sure what), chicken salad & egg salad sandwiches made to look like buttons, veggie buttons, fruit skewers with button tops, Oreos dipped in chocolate & decorated like buttons…
Traci made a delicious apple cinnamon cake and Jord made homemade petifores for dessert
Fruit Sangria iced tea served in mason jars decorated with buttons (one of my favorite details!)
My lovely hostesses! Love you girls!
One of my Arabic teachers came- my old (in my heart the are still my neighbors) neighbors came as well, it was so fun to see how excited they were to come to a baby shower.. they had never been to such a thing! They thought it was a great idea and want one for their next babies!
Fun fact: We are both named Brittany and both due with girls within 11 days of each other! Can’t wait for our girls to be friends!
Jord has been God’s grace to me this pregnancy… being so far from family during my first pregnancy hasn’t been easy or fun, but having Jord here makes it not only better, but great! She has been supportive and excited through every step, my personal photographer, a listening ear, great advice giver & shopping buddy, cooked me food I was craving, gave me a pedicure… I could go on. Thanks so much dear… now I just hope Lydia waits for you to get back here!
There was also a button jewelry making station! Now I have cute clips for Lydia to wear.
Button Sugar cookies for the favor!
Can’t wait to see our little baby girl… I know she will be “cute as a button“! (Ha I know I am a dork)
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September 2- September 12
September 2: Girls day in Dubai to see this sweet friend during her travels back to America!
September 3: Hanging out at a new stand-alone Starbucks (all the rest are inside malls) “on the other side” after a my first hair cut in the ME and before our last birthing class
September 4: nursery in progress…
September 5: Happy 4th Birthday Sayla Grace! I still remember the day you were born…
September 6: another great party thrown by Jord: Sayla’s puppy party!
September 7: lots of little PINK laundry to do!
September 8: My new favorite morning spot- the rocker in Lydia’s room.. can’t wait to be holding a baby in this chair…
September 9: Thank you cards from my button shower
September 10: Getting our freezer ready!
September 11: Lydia’s future b.f.f…. or boyfriend- whichever 🙂
September 12: Had been wanting chocolate chip cookies all day… finally decided to make some at 10:30 pm! they were worth it!
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full term baby!
Its crazy to think that if I went into labor anytime now they wouldn’t stop it! She is ready and just finishing up in there! We can’t wait to meet her whenever she decides to come… however, we are hoping for a 24-25th arrival :)… that way my mom will have a few days to get over jet lag and Jord will be back! I know that I have NO control over her date of arrival and that Jesus already has that day picked out, so I am praying that I can believe that and rest in that truth and no matter who is present when she comes we will rejoice!
How far along? 37 weeks (September 5)- Full Term!!
Total weight gain: guessing 19 lbs.. go to doctor on Tuesday
Maternity clothes? Yes… and they are getting a bit small… I just hate to buy anything new at this point
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: good about every other day… I have had more sleepless nights or at least a few awake hours in the early mornings (4 am-ish)
Best moment this week: Lydia’s baby shower! It was so fun and she/we got so spoiled… we are truly blessed. Missed all my American friends & family though!
Miss Anything? Cookie dough! (can’t eat it because of the raw eggs… ha)
Movement: yes! She seems more crowded in there… but love feeling her wiggle around.
Food cravings: nothing particular lately… just feel like I have to eat every two hours and not a lot at a time- its getting pretty tight in there!
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really… I actually had some Arab food that I had been avoiding this week & it tasted good! Hoping my love for Arab food is coming back!
Gender: girl!
Labor Signs: Have Braxton Hicks more often & they are more painful…and at night I have been having cramping pains (not sure if it is contractions or not- but they feel different & from what I read I think they are)- it is not consistent right now, but stuff is happening! We will go to doctor tomorrow- so we will see if anything is really happening…
Symptoms: achy lower back, cramping/contractions, sore hips… I feel pretty blessed though- not much to complain about
Belly Button in or out? OUT!
Wedding rings on or off? On most days… a few days this week though I couldn’t get it on!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy about meeting our sweet baby girl soon! I asked Chase if I have been moody… mind you this is a very tricky question, I know, but I was in a good mood & told him to tell me the truth and he said “you have had your moments, but for the most part you have been good”- I thought this was a good answer J
Looking forward to: Finishing up the last minute things I want organized and done before the BIG day, seeing my mom, aka Gramzi (this is her new grandma name- I love it) in 10 days!!!, seeing Chase hold Lydia for the first time whenever that might be… so much to look forward to!
To Do (wish list) before D-day: (thought I would share this with you.. mostly for my record, but also to see what we get done.. and honestly most of it is just icing on the cake, I feel mostly ready for her to come any day!)
- Make a few freezer meals to have on hand – any meal ideas you have would be great! (so far I am making Lasagna, Chicken Spaghetti, Vegetable Beef Soup & a few crock pot freezer meals)
- Wash Lydia’s coming home outfits- yes I said outfits – she has 3 to choose from! My wonderful Mother-in-law sent us a package yesterday with the most adorable coming home outfits… I will share them with you soon!
- Pack Chase’s hospital bag & finish mine – hard to know what all we will need since we can’t just “run” home if we forgot something since we live on the other side of an international border from our hospital!
- Clean out & organize craft stuff
- Clean out & help organize Chase’s tools
- Catch up on blog posts
- Make some hair bows & crafty stuff for Lydia (this is to get me to rest & sit on the couch!)
That’s about it! We have been super busy getting things cleaned out & organized. I have to brag for a minute- Chase has been so wonderful & working so hard to keep up with me and my crazy nesting feelings! I am so blessed to have him and so thankful for how he serves his family.
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August 18- September 1
I just realized today that I am almost a month behind on posting my pics for the 365! Oops… figured I better get caught up in case little miss decides to come early (or even if she is late.. I still need to get caught up). I am not going to lie to you lately I have felt uninspired to take pictures… I am thinking that once Lydia makes her appearance I will be re-inspired with an adorable subject 🙂
But for now, I will share with you at bit about what we have been up to…
August 18: scrapbooking… I had been wanting to make one of the local families I hang out with a scrapbook of all the pictures I have with them for a long time, but of course I waited till the day before I wanted to give it to them to make it! At least it forced me to sit for a few hours!
August 19: End of Ramadan= lots of Eid visits… Chase enjoying some haluwa (Omani sweets) with a friend
August 20: Mexican night with some fellow Texan friends… first time to see homemade tortillas made… I used to be super intimidated by them, but they are super easy- hope to make them again soon.
August 21: Gilmore Girls & Brownies… great way to end the day
August 22: More haluwa with my language helper
August 23: celebrated this sweet boy’s birthday with a super fun piñata party! Happy 5th Joey!
August 24: the boys were on a surf trip so Jord set up a “spa” and spoiled us with pedicures…
August 25: Chase brought these back for me from his surf trip… love them
August 26: Mas Salama (good-bye) midnight rider… we do not miss you! We were super blessed to have the opportunity to trade our car in for a less broken car– lets just say Chase become good friends with the mechanic in our town with this bad girl- ha
August 27: Our authenticated marriage certificate came! Now Lydia can get a birth certificate and passport when she is born! Apparently you have to get a bunch of official stamps out here to prove that you are married in order to have a baby
August 28: Build-a-bear & Rainforest Cafe for miss Sayla Grace’s 4th birthday! It was so fun seeing these girls pick out the perfect outfits for their bears… Lydia even got a bear because we had a buy one- get one coupon
August 29: still too hott in the kitchen to keep fruit out on the counter overnight and I don’t like my bananas refrigerated… so they came to bed with us! ha
August 30: my “Cute as a Button” baby shower! Loved all the adorable button details… hope to post more pics soon! This was a delicious apple cinnamon cake- perfect fall flavors
August 31: the gift I gave my wonderful hostesses for my shower… ingredients for a Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread in a mason jar with a chalkboard painted top to be reused for other storage later & some earrings
September 1: Jord & I deemed this day the first day of fall out here… even if there is no sign of it outside, my house feels like it inside 🙂
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baby bump pics!
A few weeks ago Jord took my maternity photos during a trip to Dubai! I am so happy with how they turned out… I am so lucky to have a bff that is so talented in photography! I had such a hard time deciding which ones to share… sorry if it is an overload of pics, but there were so many!
We took the photos at a big fancy mall in Dubai… it had great natural lighting, which was great and kept us out of the heat/humidity. The first few were taken in our hotel room before we headed out to the mall.
Me and the photographer 🙂 Thanks again Jord- you’re the best!
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34 weeks!
How far along? 34 weeks (August 15th)
Total weight gain: 16.5 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: great still… just have been going to bed way too late, but thankfully have been able to sleep in because of the Ramadan schedule we have had
Best moment this week: hearing Chase talk about how excited he is about becoming a daddy… I think he is ready! And so am I J
Miss Anything? Being able to bend down with ease and not something in the way…
Movement: yes, we have been trying to get her movement on video cuz we can see it quite a bit from the outside, which has been super fun!
Food cravings: chocolate
Anything making you queasy or sick: same story… nothing really, but still just avoiding most Arab food
Gender: girl!
Labor Signs: Nope… .not yet, hoping to hold out for a few more weeks
Symptoms: tired again, achy lower back, emotional
Belly Button in or out? OUT!
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but have become more emotional again and possibly moody- ask Chase J
Looking forward to: seeing our baby girl at our next appointment- it will be our last ultrasound and my baby shower next week- the theme is Cute as a Button! Can’t wait to share pics!
Chase went on a surfing trip this weekend with some guys- he figured it was his last chance to leave his girls for a while… starting next week I will want him close to my side in case there is any action! I will try and get him to post some pics from his adventure when he gets back.
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