Rylan Leigh Nau

Many of you know that I had the pleasure of being pregnant with my best friend, Kendra. Kendra and I have been best friends since we were 9 years old. We have been through so much together and have remained the BEST of friends. She is a part of our family and is basically a sister to me and her family is my second family. You get the idea...

Kendra told us she was pregnant when we went out for Jason's 30th bday in December...we told them a week later. We were worried at first that being pregnant at the same time might not be the best thing with all of the hormones (and we do sometimes fight like sisters)...BUT that was not the case. It has been wonderful going through this experience with my best friend.

Kendra's due date was the 18th of August and mine was the 24th. Well...Declan and Rylan are 9 days apart. Rylan was born on the 20th...7 lbs. and 3oz. She is absolutely perfect and beautiful...just like her mom. I am so excited that our children will get to grow up together. Now Kendra and I get to take that journey of motherhood together...and God knows I will need her!

We are SO happy for you Kendra and Bryan! You will be amazing parents! Rylan is lucky to have you! We love her so much already!!!

Loving it!

I am absolutely loving being a mom. I know that may surprise many of you, but it is so true. Things are going extremely well at home. Declan is such a good baby. I have to wake him up to eat every 3 hours during the day and then he wakes me up every 31/2 to 4 hours during the night. He is just so relaxed and laid back...kind of like his parents.

We have been getting out of the house too. We have ran lots of errands and been out to eat a few times...and Declan was an angel. I am enjoying this time now and hoping it lasts, but that is probably not the case.

We went to the pediatrician too. My mom took us. We absolutely LOVE Declan's Dr. He is wonderful!!! Dr. Elliott says that Declan is "perfect." Of course I agreed. He said we are doing everything we should be and that we should give ourselves some credit for being good parents. Declan weighed 6lbs. and 10oz. when he left the hospital and he was up to 7lbs. He is getting chunkier by the minute. We decided to stick to the formula. Declan liked the breast feeding, but me...not so much.

We also want to thank all of our friends and family for visiting and for the delicious meals. It is so nice to know how much Declan is loved already. He is one lucky boy and so are we!

I have to thank my mom...again. I am healing slowly but surely. Still can't do everything. My mom has kept this house immaculate and done so much for us. I do not even have to ask. It just gets done. Stuff I don't even think about. She just does it and does everything. I don't know what I would do without her. I hope I am half the mom to Declan that she has been to me. I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Declan will be here today!!!

I went to the doctor yesterday after a successful first day at school. I was calm and relaxed, or so I thought, but my blood pressure read otherwise. The nurse immediately told me I would no longer be working and that the doctor would be in a minute. Dr. Taylor came in and was very concerned about my blood pressure. I had taken some bp readings that I had done to share with him (doctor's orders) and he was less than thrilled with those. They obviously wanted to check on Baby D too. He was head down at 34 weeks, but decided to move. He is now transverse. You cannot deliver a child vaginally that way. He may move, but he may not, so a c-section was mentioned. Anyway...I laid there and tried to relax as Dr. Taylor took my bp again...still high. He sent me over to the hospital to be monitored for a couple of hours and have tests taken. Blood pressure went down and tests came back okay, but they then decided to monitor me for the rest of the night and morning.

Dr. Taylor called me (Jason was home getting our stuff to stay the night and check on Dixon) around 7:00. He told me that I could go home and put my feet up and be on strict bed rest and take my bp 3 times a day and we could wait it out OR we could go ahead and schedule a c-section. I asked him what he thought the BEST option for me and the baby was (imagine that...me being indecisive) and he suggested the c-section. The baby is full-term and it would be okay for him to be delivered.

I could not sit around and be on bed rest...just waiting for him to come or to see if he would move head down to induce...and not work. I would be extremely anxious and the bp raised just me thinking about it!!!

I will stay at the hospital and continue to have my blood pressure monitored. It was up at 7:00 this morning. So they will monitor it more frequently. I am scheduled to have a c-section around 4:00 pm. My doctor has surgery until 2:30 or 3:00 and then he will be here.

So...Jason and I will be parents this afternoon and will welcome our new baby boy, Declan Edward Wood! Didn't really see this happening in my pregnancy, but as long as the baby and I are okay that is all that matters.

Thank you to ALL of our family and friends for the thoughts and prayers. We are so lucky to have ALL of you in our lives!!!

37 1/2 Weeks and a New Do

I will be 38 weeks on Monday! I went to the doctor yesterday. Evrything looked great...except my blood pressure was high. He was a little concerned and I have to monitor it the rest of this week and weekend. So far...so good. If it gets high I need to call them. The good news is the baby is full term, so if need be he is ready to make his appearance. So...instead of going to see him later in the week (weekly visits now) I am going to see him Monday after school. Monday is the first day of school, so I am sure my bp won't be up...yeah right. Ha ha! I will keep you posted, but I am feeling great and have great doctors. I also have an amazing husband that makes sure that I follow doctor's orders and that I take care of our baby boy and myself. I will update Monday!

I also got my hair chopped off. I go to an amazing guy to get my hair done. Not only is he a kick ass hair dresser I have also come to love him and his family! Getting my hair done these days is actually enjoyable. I usually go to his house where we have food and wine (when I can) or he comes to one of our houses. It is a time to relax, hang out, laugh...oh yeah and get my hair done! Thank you Kevin! Love you, James and Marissa!!!

My Classroom and the New School Year!

We finally finished my classroom and everything else on my to do list before the school year starts! By we, I mean my wonderful parapros and myself. It took us a couple of extra days when we didn't have to be there (THANK YOU, Debbie) but it is all finished and ready for my kids on Monday. The furlough days did not help, but I have a job that I truly LOVE and I am passionate about...it doesn't get much better than that as far as a job or career goes=) I work with wonderful people and we have an amazing principal and administration. I am very lucky. It is going to be hard for me to go out on maternity leave, but I know my students are in good hands. For those of you who don't know me...my students are SO important to me and I adore each and everyone of them that I have taught or currently teach. I know that 6 weeks will fly by with my new baby boy too. So...I will cherish every moment with him and trust that my class is taken care of. I have to.

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!

Me and Harold...long time family friend!

Kara, Gavin, and Owen partying with Pop!

Kara...the cutest pirate ever!

Old friends :-)

The birthday boy! Love you, Dad!

My dad turned 60 yesterday! It is crazy to me that my parents are 60! They don't look like it or act like it (whatever a typical 60 year old should act like). Mom threw him a great party at the future Pirates Pub (owned and operated by Uncle Ted, Aunt Susan and friends)! It was so great to see everyone and nice that they came out to help dad celebrate a big birthday. The bar is going to be awesome when it is finished and will definitely be a fun place to hang out! Thank you!!! We love you, dad!

Nicole and Sawyer

Me and precious Sawyer
Dixon watching their every move...
Look how adorable she is...she loves her mommy :-)
Dixon still making sure Nicole knows what she is doing. Ha ha!

Nicole and Sawyer came to visit us this week. Nicole is one of my best friends from high school. We go waaayyy back and have been through a lot together. Nicole tried for a very long time to get pregnant and close to 3 years later she gave birth to Sawyer Elizabeth Sheffield! We are so happy for Nicole and Ron! Sawyer is perfect in every way and I am already in love with her! Nicole delivered at Piedmont Hospital (which is where I will deliver) and we also go the same OB practice. It has been so nice to go through this experience with her...she has answered a lot of questions I have had. Thank you!!!


We also got to see how Dixon (our dog) does with a newborn baby...and he did GREAT! He has been around my nephews, but never a baby. He loved Sawyer and wanted to kiss her all over and protect her when she cried. I think he will be great with Declan!

Happy Birthday Grandmama and Staci!

Grandmama turned 85 this month and Staci turned 33! We normally spend their birthdays together, but Staci was at the beach house in Fripp, so I only got to see grandmama on their special day. Uncle Ted and Aunt Susan treated me, mom, Aunt Jana, and Grandmama to a nice lunch. Grandmama is 85 and still going strong! We love you!