baby bump.

I had Jonas take these bump photos all along. I am not sure what the point was because it was difficult to take them from the same spot every time and reflect my growing belly. How do people do it? Oh well, here they are:::

 17 weeks.

 20 weeks.

21 weeks.

23 weeks.

25 weeks.

 26 weeks.

27 weeks.

28 weeks.

 29 weeks.

 30 weeks.

31 weeks.

 32 weeks.

 33 weeks.

 34 weeks.

36 weeks.

37 weeks.

38 weeks.

baby.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas was grand.
Zara got to meet lots of family.
& I loved seeing her loved.
It was the best part.
I hope yours was wonderful !

Happiest Christmas Eve.

We celebrated a joyful Christmas Eve together.
It was not stressful. It was so peaceful.
& I could not ask for more.

our family.

one week old.

our baby is one week old! it is so unfair that the first week went by so fast. our walk helped my emotions a little. we sure do love this little one:::

family walk.

my sister, mom and nieces and nephew came to spend some time with zara. we took her on her first walk :) and they brought a meal that they all made together. it was a special evening and i love them so much. i am grateful for how much they love my baby girl !

Zara's birth.

This is the short version of our baby's birthday:: It was an extraordinary day that changed everything. I woke up on Monday, December 7 at 3:30 am to go to the bathroom and my water broke as I tried to get back into bed. I knew I was far from seeing her and was dreading going to the hospital that early. Plus, I had so much to do at work and it was so hard not to go in! Luckily I had made myself a list the day before and I just couldn't be the one to finish it :( But I had a new work to do. So I was only 1cm when we arrived at 5:30 am. Of course. I wanted to go all natural so badly but was forced to go on pitocin after a few hours. I was told it would be low doses and would be informed if they moved it up. haha, the nurses just did what they wanted. I labored with incredibly painful contractions for many hours, and finally they checked me and I knew that the news would be bad. I still had 6-10 hours more to labor because I was only 4cm. My body and mind could not handle the amount of pain and the amount of hours left to labor with it. I am not a huge wimp when it comes to pain, but this was horrible! I felt defeated and cried my eyes out because things were not going as planned. I felt like 'the system' got what it wanted when I had to go on pitocin and when I asked for an epidural. I am glad I got it, there was no way I wouldn't have passed out without it. I felt great once it kicked in! My sister and my sister-by- heart came for my labor. I wasn't expecting that but it was the best! I loved having them there. It meant a lot to me and made the whole experience richer. Bless their bones for all the time they sat with us in the hospital(and for the sandwich they brought to me after). I pushed for a couple hours. It wasn't bad at all because I felt nothing. We all just joked around the whole time. I will say that seeing my legs moved and touched and not feeling it was the strangest thing. I did not like it. Zara Charlize Wolf was born at 1:42 am on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. 8 pounds. 19.5 inches. Nothing prepares you for how it feels to see your child for the first time...