The Number 20

Dan has a friend who is crazy smart with numbers and calculates things in a weird way.

The day June was born he wrote on Dan's wall congratulating him and wondered if we liked the number 20. Here is why:

• June was born on the 20th day of the month
• There are 20 letters in her full name
• The most common constant in her name is "T" which is the 20th letter of the alphabet
• The name of the weekday of her birth "Thursday" starts with the 20th letter of the alphabet
• The first two digits of her birth year go together to make a "20"
• When she is 20 months old, it will be the month of her name "June"

I know that some are obvious like her birth year but the rest is pretty cool. We have no connection with the number 20 it's all a coincidence.

It just makes our baby girl, June, all that much more awesome!

JUNE LORETTA LANCASTER

I can't believe it.

I can't believe that she is here.

I can't believe how no one can prepare you.

I can't believe we made it through labor and delivery.

I can't believe how much I love this little girl.

She is here. I am going to BLOG all about it. I BRAG all about it. It is going to be a LONG blog post, so grab yourself a snack, get in a comfy chair, and get ready for our story.

Let me take you back to October 18th, 2011....

As many of you know I was complaining non-stop about her not coming, because I was purely expecting her to come early. My mom's flight was scheduled to come in on this day, so I called her and told her no baby. She changed it to the 20th. I went to my Dr. appointment and we decided it would be best to be induced on the 20th of October at 7:00 a.m. So that was the plan. I would go to the hospital the night before at 10:00p.m sleep at the hospital and be induced that morning.

Dan took half a day on Wednesday (the 19th) because I was very nervous so he kept me company and luckily the Ranger's were playing that night so my mind was pre-occupied with the game. (Well Kind of..) I couldn't eat or drink anything until after 4p.m. so Dan took me to a late lunch and we got ready for this baby.

9:50p.m arrives and I am ready to puke because of the excitement and nerves. I knew I wasn't having a baby until later the next day but still....

We got all checked in and they hooked me up to the monitors and we started our night. Not everything went according to plan.

The plan was to give me some medication to start softening my cervix. I can't remember the name.. Not petocine, but something else. It wasn't meant to put me into labor, just to help prepare to be induced on the next day. They knew it would be an uncomfortable night for me so they gave me Ambien to help me sleep through the night. If you have never taken Ambien before it does some crazy things to you.... That is an important part of the story.

So I took my drugs and hung out with Dan until the drugs started to work.

This picture was before anything started. I was just hooked up to the machines ready for a good nights sleep!

I DON'T REMEMBER MUCH....

Dan had to tell me what happened, so a lot of this story is second hand from Dan. Here is why:

The Ambien. It took control over my body. The problem was, was that I went into labor on my own, which was NOT supposed to happen. They took me off all medication and put me on my side to help slow down the contractions until they could get my doctor to the hospital.

(Remember Dan's Words)

I was getting prepared to get my epidural, but supposedly I was very uncooperative. They kept telling me to hold onto the pillow and bend my back, but I guess I was doing the opposite. I remember holding the pillow and wondering why I needed to hold the pillow, so I don't remember getting my epidural at all.

I am telling you it was the weirdest experience of my life. I remember certain parts, them telling me certain things, but Dan said for some reason I kept doing the opposite of what they said. My Doctor came in about 4:00a.m and I was ready to push... But again I wouldn't. Finally Dr. Hoffman (my OBGYN) had to get firm with me and I guess pretty much put me in my place. Dan said it was kinda funny, and I kept appologizing for not cooperating, but I just couldn't think straight in my mind how to do what they were saying. He also said that I was very polite and kept telling everyone thank you for the most random things. Again I do not remember any of this, but Dan said I acted alert and aware of everything!

I do remember the pressure, there was just so much pressure and I remember delivering her and feeling the instant relief. I remember talking to my Doctor about his new house and how moving was going... Guys I seriously do not know where my mind was.

In the end I was on labor for about 5 hours... I remember some labor pains, and I remember holding her in my arms for the first time, but than I was out cold. I don't remember even going into the postpartum room. It was a pretty wild night.

I am VERY SAD about not hearing her first cry, but Dan said she cried right away and that she got perfect scores on all her little tests.

SO INTRODUCING....

JUNE LORETTA LANCASTER

BORN: October 20, 2011

TIME: 4:51 am

WEIGHT: 7 lbs 14 oz

HEIGHT: 18"

So this is what I may have looked like. All smiles, feeling amazing and knowing exactly was was going on.

This is how it really was. I was out of it.

From what I can remember and what the nurses told me, Dan was Dan. AMAZING. He is already an amazing father. He was so supportive and calm.

"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?" I love this photo. She doesn't cry she just has a very high pitched scream. I know its lovely!

I actually remember this. I was able to sleep off the Ambien and felt like a million bucks. It was an amazing feeling holding her in my arms. It is a feeling that no one can explain. The love I have for this girl the instant that I saw her was so over-powering. It is so true how you ask yourself, how could I have lived for so long with out this little girl in my life?

She has so much hair! She also has Dan's little ears. I am in love with her ears!

Proud Parents.

The look on Dan's face is nothing but pure love. This is one of my favorite pictures of Daddy and Daughter. Ya Dan hung out in the hospital bed a lot with me.

The next two days in the hospital were full of pictures, smilies and love of this little girl.

Here is why Dan is so amazing. The next morning it is just me, him and June in the room, and he pulls out these little diamond earrings. He got them for her when she is old enough for us to pierce her ears. They were so petite and just perfect. He then grabs another box and said that it only makes sense for June and her mother to having matching earrings. I got my very own pair of Diamond earrings to match my little Juniper. I can't express the amount of love I have for this man. No... not because he bought me and my daughter diamond earrings, but because the love that he has for his daughter and her mother. And yes... They're real. :)

GOING HOME: I was BEYOND ready to go home! Let me just say I am SO GRATEFUL for all the nurses who were watching out for June and me, but they were constantly coming in our room. I didn't get lack of sleep because of June, but because of the nurses. Dan and I counted and realized that a nurse was coming in almost every 8 minutes. It was a little much, but I guess necessary.

The first picture in her car seat and getting ready to come home.

Our first family photo.

Coming home to my mom at our place was amazing. The house was spotless she had dinner on and it smelled so good! It was warm and cozy, a perfect way to bring a newborn in the home.

Nana and June

INTRODUCING RANGER TO JUNE:

He was so excited to have us home after being gone for 3 days. He wanted to know what in the world we had in our hands. We tried to introduce them nice and slow.

Range was at a little hesitant at first, but slowly got more courage.

He sniffed for a while, tried to roll on top of her a couple times, but soon started ignoring her.

Now he is protective over her, he follows her everywhere and is always laying by her. It's pretty darn cute!!

This is how we spent the rest of the night.

These are things that I don't want to forget....

My nurse board. I don't think I would have been able to keep them all straight if it weren't for that board.

June's alligator animal from Nana

Dan having to sleep on the couch that turned into a bed. He slept horribly on it, so a lot of the time he spent laying with me.

Her little bed that she slept in. She spent most of the time asleep in my arms. I just couldn't put her down.

My bed that allowed me to go up and down without having to do a thing! It was pretty legit.

My water bottle. I'm not a huge fan of water and I had to drink 4 of those big things a day! It never happened!

We are a family. We are so in love with this little girl. We are tired. My mom has been amazing watching her and letting us get some sleep and plus making us all these meals and cleaning our house and everything else. I don't know how I will ever repay her.

She is now 5 days old. We are doing so well. She is a great little nurser and I feel really blessed that breast feeding is coming so easily for her and me. She is already gained back most of her birth weight. Ya she's a chunk! Everything is great.

I hope your still reading this, and that you enjoyed the story of how June Loretta Lancaster came into the world and has already changed our lives for the better.

Her Name and Her Nursery

I first want to thank everyone for the phone calls, messages and comments about my last post. I am feeling much better and beyond excited to get her here and ROCK motherhood!

I am excited about this blog post. I don't know why I waited so long to share what we are going to name our little girl since we have had the name picked forever, and the majority of you already know, but I thought I would tie it in with the nursery blog since you will see her name in block letters above her crib. I know, name above the crib? How original... Well SHUT UP we like it! :)

We are naming her: JUNE LORETTA LANCASTER

She will go by June. Dan has had the name picked out since we found out she was a she. We went through a million names and no other name was good enough. It grew on me over time and now I can't picture a better name. I think its cute he named our first child. We get a lot of compliments on it and a lot of weird looks but we love it! Loretta is my grandma Mendenhall's middle name. We wanted to keep some type of family name going and it has a nice ring to it! I'm stoked to get it printed on that birth certificate and make it official.

THE NURSERY:

It is finally finished with one week to spare. Of course there are a few tweeks here and there that we want to finish up but for the most part the nursery is done.

We pretty much made or re-made everything in her room and we laugh at ourselves because she won't even be sleeping in there by the time we move so really we decorated for ourselves and it kept me busy during the summer.

I took a bunch of idea's from different nursery's that I saw online and made it our own little creation. The colors are random, yet organized and I feel like that portrays the type of people we are. :)

Let's take the tour.

When you first walk in this is the view you get. Our second bedroom is massive. It's bigger than our bedroom upstairs so we had a lot to play with.

The crib wall. See "June in Wood blocks" this is her crib which she won't be sleeping in for a while but it's still cute! It's a good thing we hung her name above the crib just in case we forget her name.. The quilt, fitted sheets (4), crib skirt, and changing pad cover are all homemade. Nothing in stores was what I wanted and I love that it's one of a kind. Back in Rexburg was where we made her bedding. LOTS of help from my mom and sister's!! We saved a TON of money doing the bedding ourselves. In the end we saved over $200.00 for the bedding. For us that's a lot of money. We decided against the bumper pads simply because we have read a lot about how they can suffocate a child and plus I think it gives it a cleaner look! I am very pleased how it turned out! Don't worry I know to take out all stuffed animals and pillows in the crib. There should be nothing but a baby. See I can do this.

This it what is on the sides of her crib. To the left we have her rocking chair, hanging stars (Which Dan and I made over conference weekend), her laundry hamper, and my favorite painting, The Four Dancer's by Dega. Dan actually got that painting for me when we were dating because he knew it was my favorite. I don't think he planned on having it hung in our little girls room 4 years later!

The right side is her diaper pail, an old rack we had that Dan painted blue, and a white shelf Dan painted orange. I can't wait to get real pictures in the frames instead of the model babies...

THE OTHER WALL

Since we only have two bedrooms right now we kept the desk in there and it actually filled some space that otherwise would have looked off kilter. We made it as baby as possible without going over the top. Yes the mobile in the corner is hanging sideways a bit, but its because of the ring not how it was hung. I did the hanging so Dan doesn't believe me but still I can't fix it. The alphabet was all Dan. He made that happen and I think it turned out perfect for her room.

The left side is the desk (Obviously) and a mobile that I made thanks to pinterest. I made it more my own than what they had me doing but it still turned out pretty cute and its back in the corner so no one can see it to closely. My sweet Ikea lamp is a dimmer which will be super nice for those dark nights. I'm pretty sure it's a curse to have Ikea so close to where we live.

The other side of the wall is actually a whine rack that I got for $20.00 when Dan and I got married. He has hated that thing from day one simply because we really had no use for it and its heavy to move. When you have moved as much as we have I'm sure it gets really annoying. :) Poor guy. Now he loves it. He painted red and its super convenient for holding our million and one swaddle blankets, and burp cloths along with her other little goodies.

THE BURP CLOTHS

So in Rexburg we made a bunch of burp cloths. They looked super easy and super fast to make so we did a ton of them. When I got home and started washing all of June's things I pulled the burp cloths out of the dryer. Some turned out great.....

and other's didn't quite make it. I'm still learning my sewing skills...

That is the nursery. I wish you could see it in person, its much better but pictures will have to do for now. I had so much fun putting this nursery together and I must say Dan did a lot of the work. Probably more than I did, I just had it pictured in my mind.

Well Unless I have another mid-night crisis I think this will be the last time I blog until she gets here which we are hoping is so soon!! I hope you like her name and her nursery. If you don't keep it to yourself! HA HA XOXO

i am scared

I feel bad. Maybe you shouldn't read this. I am putting this down for my records since the end of the year is coming up and it's time to print the blog for the year, so I have to document feelings.

It is 3:54 am on a Saturday night, (or Sunday morning). I of course have been having a horrible time sleeping lately but what woman doesn't struggle with that being 38 weeks pregnant? But tonight has been the worst of it. I don't know if its because I am getting so close to having this baby that it's actually hitting me how real this is or the fact that my life is going to change so drastically. So as I sit here on my couch wiping tears away (I know I seem to be doing this a lot lately.. lets not even mention the whole bra situation!) I share some thoughts....

my anxiety level is through the roof. I have anxiety issues anyway but I feel pregnancy has made me top the charts.

bullet points seem to be working for me lately:

MY LIST OF SCARED-NESS:

• Her movement, I feel her move every once in a while but she isn't as active, her heart beat is great but is something wrong?
• Labor and delivery. How in the world do I handle this? what if something goes wrong... I can only keep thinking of the worst case scenario and that puts a horrible picture in my head.
• Girls seem scary to raise. I can only imagine what raising a little me would be like. I can't believe my mom and dad did it. You say patience, but what if you don't have any?
• I am so worried about my dog. Laugh all you want but Range has been our center of attention forever and my heart can't take the thought of him feeling lonely
• My mom comes, but than she leaves and Dan goes back to work and life goes on as normal, but does life go on as normal?
• How much will Dan and I's relationship change? Will it change at all? I don't want to be that couple that their sole focus is on their children. I still want Dan and Lesli time, just me and him. Will we get that? Dan is my best friend and I don't want to lose that closeness with him.
• Please don't think I am one of those people but I do care what I look like and what if I can't get my body back? I don't want to be a stump, I want to still feel pretty....
• How do I not lose myself in motherhood? How do I stay me, but still be the outstanding mother that my mom is?

Please oh please understand I am so beyond thrilled for this little girl to come. there is nothing more I have wanted than to be a mother. It was not an easy road for us to get pregnant and I am on my knees every day thanking my Heavenly Father for this amazing blessing that is coming into our lives.

I am just scared.

I'm not really sure if I am looking for answers, maybe I am. I'm not looking for a pity party either, maybe just some reassurance that other's felt this way too before having a baby. Millions of other women have done this so why can't I? I just needed to write these down and my blog is where I turn for random thoughts like these, now I think I will go grab a tissue since I have been using the end of my sleeve for the past half hour and go crawl in bed and cuddle with Dan. Thanks for reading.

Last Baby Shower and Last Pregnancy update!

The "lasts" have come with this pregnancy. It is so crazy how fast time has gone by. The summer was a huge blur and I don't think time is going to slow down any for a while.

I had my last baby shower up here in Dallas. It was a great chillaxed shower which was perfect! The girls and I had lunch at California Pizza (one of my favorite pizza places) and then did the whole baby shower thing. Ya know the presents, the advice, and party favors. I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of the party favors. They were super cute! (Thanks again girls) It was fun to just sit and chat for a while. It is so nice having friends that have been through the whole baby thing before. I'm sure they get so sick of all my questions, but they always seem to answer with smilies on their faces, so I just keep asking.

The girls and their babies, or bellies. It is so funny this stage of life that we are in. I swear that every girl I know and friends my age either have kids or are pregnant!

THE LAST PREGNANCY UPDATE:

I am huge. I feel huge, I look huge, and I eat like I'm huge. I seriously have LOVED being pregnant. To me it has been pretty easy, but I am SO ready to not wear belly bands anymore (even though I have to say how grateful I am to have been able to stay in my regular pants, just unbuttoned, but thats what the belly band is for), to be able to paint my toe nails normally and plus I am beyond ready for this baby girl to get here!!!

38 WEEKS PREGNANT!

• I am feeling great, spurts of tiredness every once in a while, but feeling good non-the less.
• Sleeping and getting out of bed has become an olympic sport.
• My abs are really sore
• Can't wear my CTR ring anymore, but my wedding ring is still fitting which is good!
• So far I have gotten 5 stretch marks, Ya I check everyday and I keep count.
• Still obsessed with eating gummy bears.
• I have this huge urge to eat cement, like my teeth ache so bad to just chew on a chunk of it.
• Like I said before, I'm huge.

BABY GIRL LANCASTER

Not much to report on this little thing since we are near the end but here are the last few things she has been doing.

• Our little girl is just growing like a weed. It's kind of weird because I am measuring small in my stomach, but she is measuring big. I guess she is all in my back.
• Her movement has slowed down to where it feels like she is just dragging her body across my stomach.
• She has dropped and her head is down, so that's a good sign!
• She has enjoyed using my ribs as a toy.
• I think she is ready to come out too!

Things We have been thinking about:

• I am VERY SCARED for labor and delivery. My stomach just gets all tied in knots when thinking about it. (and its all I think about)
• Dan is beyond excited for this little girl, I asked him to show a little more nervousness just to make me feel better.
• We are getting the documents ready for her passport, crazy right! That a newborn has to have a passport, but we would like to take her home to Canada with us for Christmas. :)
• My mom has bought her plane ticket and is ready for the call... Now if I could just make the call.
• I'm not going overdue. I am an impatient person, and luckily my doctor is on board about not wanting me to go overdue also, so if she doesn't come on her in the next week, I'm MAKING her come out!! (Judge me all you want)
• ALL WE WANT IS THIS LITTLE GIRL OUT!!!!

That's it! The last post of pregnancy and the last baby shower! Thanks to everyone who have listened to me ramble on and on about myself and letting me share things that you probably could care less about, but to me its fun!!

LOVES TO ALL!!

Baby shower & Baby Shower

I truly am so grateful for amazing people that I have in my life and who care so much about our little family to be.

Its been a busy month getting ready for the baby's arrival, but it has definitely been a fun type of busy. This past week we were busy with baby showers. Dan and I first headed back down to Waco, where my beautiful friends threw me a shower even though I don't live there any more... That just shows what amazing friends they are. I am very happy that we are only two hours away from our Waco friends so that we can still see them every once in a while.

The theme was "Ready to Pop" it was super cute and very well done.

They had a popcorn bar full of the most delicious popcorn like Oreo, Rootbeer, Baked Potato, and so on and so on. It was great!

We played a game where you had to hang the baby clothes, hold the baby, and talk on the phone all at the same time. You were timed to see who could do it the fastest. I came in last.

Deena and I. We were in Young Womens together and it was the best calling I have ever had in the church. She is an amazing Lady and she will definitely be apart of my life forever! I just love her.

Krista is 20 weeks pregnant here (I think, maybe 21) I am 36 weeks pregnant. She is so itty bitty that she will probably stay small forever... Super cute!!

This picture is great. Its a timeline of baby evolution. ha ha.

Mary has a 3 month old, Liam, Lauren has a one month old, Quintin, Me who has a 36 week old fetus, and Krista who has a 20-21 week old fetus. It really is funny because when we all became friends none of us were pregnant... Then all of the sudden Mary got pregnant, Lauren got pregnant, then me and then Krista. All our children will only be 8 months apart. All three of these girls have or are having boys. Our little girl is the outcast but I guess she will have her pick of men!

The company that Dan works for threw us a shower. They are seriously so generous and I am very happy that Dan likes who he works with and that he enjoys what he does.

This shower was so fun because it was a shower for both Dan and I. I had never been to a shower where men were invited, and it was really funny because the men there really didn't know how to act, especially while opening gifts... One of guys thought we were literally talking about a baby's bootie when I opened some baby booties for their feet! It was so funny!!

I didn't get hardly any photos, in fact I only got one... But I had to share because I thought the cake was so super cute and they were delicious! We took some home with us and Dan and I pretty much at it all that night, well I should say I ate it all pretty much that night.

It was very sweet of them to do that. Really people are so kind and I don't know how I will ever thank them enough. This baby girl is so loved and spoiled! We have one more to go and then we should be wrapping it up with the baby showers. Its been so fun to get together with family and friends and celebrate this little girl's arrival... I really am grateful for the kindness and generosity, I definitely feel loved.

Hopefully with in the next few blog posts it will be about her arrival!! Hoping she comes soon, VERY SOON!!!