Life in the Collins' home

I have a ton of pictures from this last month and in order to catch up here is a quick run down of a few moments.

My first mother's day: 

Trever took these pictures at our first outing when Hudson was 6 days old.  We went to Riverside to celebrate Brooke's graduation from college. 

Gotta love those feet

Travis is learning how to take pictures with his new camera... below are a few shots he took when Hudson was about a week old. 

This was the outfit we used to tell our families we were expecting a baby

Went to lunch with Aunt Summer and Bryan
Hudson and I went to breakfast across from the pier with Emily at one of our favorite spots

Travis and I went on our first date night when Hudson was 3 1/2 weeks old (below is a picture from our night... unfortunately, we didn't get a picture with all 3 of us). 

We have spent a lot of time doing this:

And this: 

He is just so cute!

Grandma Collins came from Ohio to visit
Travis took the picture below before Hudson smiled.  He happened to take the picture right as Hudson smiled in his sleep;)


But now we are smiling!!!!! 
more smiling... I just can't seem to turn the picture ;)

 And lastly, we are working "tummy time"... we have yet to convince Hudson it is fun. 

5 Weeks

Hudson is 5 weeks old now. I can't believe how fast time goes and how much I love being a mom. We had his one month check up and found out he now weighs 10 lbs 11 oz and he is 23" long. So, that puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. He is basically long and skinny and I just can't get enough of him.

Below is our first self portrait ;)

Hudson Ryan Collins

Here is a really long post with lost of pictures to make up for the last month.

Well, I am back from my blog sabbatical:) I have been a busy with the most precious gift I have ever received... a sweet baby boy! Sorry it has taken me so long to post, but I wanted to be sure to post pictures along with his birth story. I have had some computer issues, but we are now back up and running.  To see more pictures that Uncle Trever took (some of which are not included in this post) click here.

So here is the story of how Hudson Ryan Collins joined our family and changed our lives forever. 

Hudson was due on April 25th... that day came and went with nothing to report.  Below is a picture of me on our due date. 

On Sunday morning, April 26th around 9:30 I finally began having contractions. They weren't very strong, but they were consistently about 5 minutes apart. I didn't think much of it because I knew we couldn't leave for the hospital until I couldn't talk through the contractions. So, we decided to go with our day as planned.

Travis never has a Sunday morning off, and he had planned ahead to take the Sunday, just in case Hudson came on time, so we wanted to take advantage of our morning together. We walked downtown with our dog Gunner, Chris and Amy Hof who came to spend the day, my sister Summer, and my dad and Kathy. There is a farmers market every Sunday and Travis has never been able to go. We made a few purchases and then had lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

My contractions were still coming about 5 minutes apart and they were finally getting stronger. Around 12:30 I told Trav I was pretty sure he was going to have to call in his back up plan to cover for the service he was supposed to lead worship for that night. I figured little Hudson was probably going to arrive within the next 24 hours.

Travis had high hopes that when I went into labor he would get to rush me to the car...just like the movies... speed on the freeway...just like the movies... and wheel me into labor and delivery. I think he was a little disappointed that I was in labor and still walking around without any sense of urgency. I really didn't want to get to the hospital too early and have them send me away.

So, after lunch I decided to go get my eyebrows waxed (which Chris Hof thought was hilarious...but, hey we were downtown and I had been meaning to go to the salon all week). I had a few contractions while laying on the table that were pretty painful. I am sure I scared the sweet Asian lady who was waxing the eyebrows of this pregnant lady who was obviously in labor.

After my trip to the salon, we decided to walk to the frozen yogurt stop. On our walk home I was having to squat during the contractions because they were definitely more painful. We made it home and I decided to take a shower and try to relax. My dad, Kathy and Summer all ran home to gather a few things in anticipation of spending the night at the hospital. Chris and Amy hung out with us while we timed the contractions.

Of course, Travis was making me laugh and this is not a good thing when you are in labor. It is definitely more painful to have a contraction and laugh at the same time. By this point the contractions had been about 3 minutes apart for over an hour. I still didn't want to head into the hospital though because I could still talk through them.

Finally, around 3:30 we decided to call the doctor just to see. The doctor thought it would be best for me to come in and get checked since they were so close together and I live 20 minutes away from the hospital. I reluctantly got up and started getting ready. I figured I would get there and they would just turn me away. So, I took my time. I put makeup on which I believe most girls would do in my situation...but again Chris Hof found great humor in this.

(below is me taking a break from putting on makeup during a contraction)

We loaded up in the car and headed for the hospital. By the time we were in the car, I was definitely have strong enough contractions that I couldn't talk through them and I had to use the breathing methods we had learned in birthing class. I remember telling Trav to be careful driving over and large bumps if he had to do so while I was having a contraction.

We arrived at the hospital around 4:30. I was hoping I was far enough along that they would keep me. After the being checked, I was cleared to stay! I was 60% effaced and at 3 cm. The nurse was wonderful and started getting everything ready for the epidural right away. The contractions were continuing to increase in intensity and I was definitely ready for the "oh-so-wonderful" epidural.

I think within an hour of arriving I received the epidural and it was, as promised, "oh so wonderful". I can't imagine having a baby without it. I definitely give kudos to those of you women who have had babies without medication.

After the pain was gone, all my family came in and we were just visiting. After about 2 hours which seemed more like 30 minutes, I finally felt like I needed to push. This came as a surprise, as everyone was prepared to spend the next 12 hours in the hospital. We event sent a few people out for food! The nurse checked me and to both her and my surprise I was 100% effaced, at 10 cm, and she could feel his head. Since his head was so low she said I wouldn't have to push long and she began to quickly prepare for the pushing stage. 

The pushing was definitely harder and more painful than I had expected, but totally worth it. After 43 minutes of pushing Hudson Ryan Collins was born. My mom, sisters and Travis were all hysterically crying. I was so exhausted from pushing I initially didn't cry at all. He came out face up which the doctor said is more painful and harder to push out versus the way they are suppose to come out--face down.  They laid our sweet baby boy on me and I just remember looking down and see his bright blue eyes looking me straight in the face. It was a moment I will never forget. He was born on April 26th at 9:03pm weighing in at 7 lbs 4 oz and he was 20" long.  

Travis was so emotional looking at his son for the first time. 

 

I have to say the moments we had in the hospital were some of the most sweet moments of my life. Travis and I are completely in love with our son and our love for each other and our love for the Lord even has more depth to it.  I actually really enjoyed my birth experience with Hudson and I am looking forward to doing it again when hopefully God will add to our family.  For now we are excited about life's adventures with Hudson. 

The aunts anxiously waiting to meet their nephew.  My mom and sisters were in the room taking pictures and video taping so Travis could just focus on being my coach. 

Sweet Hudson

I was totally emotional as we left the hospital.  It was such a surreal moment.  We had walked through those hospital doors so many times dreaming about what our little boy would look like and wondering about what it would be like to have him.  And there I was holding him... so of course, I was crying. 

The proud daddy bringing his baby home. 

Thanks to Uncle Brandon's artist ability we had a sign in our front window welcoming Hudson home. 

Thanks to another awesome photographer and friend Michael Norwood for the pictures below:

Got to love the double chin ;)

sleeping while pregnant...or the lack there of

It is now 3:35am and this is the second night in the last 3 nights that I haven't been able to sleep at this hour. I have often heard women say they were so uncomfortable the last weeks of pregnancy, but I don't really feel that. I guess I expected the lack of comfort to be the reason pregnant women can't sleep. For me, it is just because my mind won't turn off. I never seemed to have had this problem before, actually most people would have been jealous of my pre-pregnancy sleeping habits. I used to lay down...never remember falling asleep (no matter how early or late it was or how loud it was or how dark or bright the room was)... then i would wake up in the morning refreshed. I never would get up to use the restroom or to get a drink of water. Now, I get up to use the restroom anywhere from 3-7 times in the night and I can't seem to get my mind to sleep. I guess this is the beginning of a new season of life for me in the middle of the night. I am just excited to have a different reason to wake up in the middle of the night. I would rather wake up to a beautiful baby boy than simply wake up to just use the restroom or because my mind won't turn off.

2 weeks from tomorrow I am due to have this baby. Really he could come anytime now and at the latest 3 1/2 weeks from tomorrow... so the count down continues.

It is finally April!!!!

I woke up this morning and my first thought was it is APRIL... which means this is Hudson's birthday month (at least I hope so). I only have 24 days left until his due date. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and found out I am already 30% effaced which really doesn't mean anything but that my body is beginning to prepare for his arrival. The good news is my doctor thinks he might be small because I have been measuring small consistently for several months. Who wouldn't prefer to have a 6 or 7 pound baby over a 9 or 10 pound baby? As of this Saturday, I will be considered "full term". GOSH... I just can't wait to see him... I am sooo excited. I still love being pregnant and I don't feel uncomfortable yet just tired. I do think I am going to miss feeling Hudson's movement inside. Tonight he actually had the hiccups which Travis and I both think is adorable. We are so excited to finally see him and hold him.

His room is finally done and after several requests (especially from Grandma Collins) I am posting pictures. All we need is a baby!

This is the fabric that inspired it all and I have had so much fun I am thinking about starting a line of baby bedding...


The collage my sisters and I put together.  Summer is so creative and thought it would be cute to frame a few pages from a Dr. Seuss book...and it came out sooo cute.  The pillow on the chair was made by the same seamstress who made the bumper and bed skirt.  I just showed her pictures and drew a few pictures of what I wanted...and she made it!  I had her add the brown balls around the edges of the pillow and at the bottom of the curtains. 






Summer also thought it would be cute to make a mobile.  We cut out the birds from the left over fabric for the bedding and then hand sowed them.  I absolutely love how it came out. Also, Britt, Brooke and Summer cut out letters to put Hudson's name in the frame behind the mobile. 

The black and white picture is a picture of the Harborside Pavilion in the early 1920s.  Brooke found it at an antique shop and I love it because that is where our wedding reception was at. 


We are really excited to read all those books to Hudson. 

Gaby decorated the shadow boxes and I asked Summer to make a tree for me. 

I painted the night stand, dresser, and bookshelf.  The night stand is actually our file box in disguise and we purchased the bookshelf off of craig's list.  Unfortunately, I only took before and after pictures of the dresser.  Several people have asked what technique I used to paint the furniture, so I thought I would show you.  This is what we started with...


Then I sanded it....


Then I painted it with the same grey color from the walls. 

And then I used a dark grey on top.  I let my paint brush get dry so I could make streaks on the dresser allowing the light grey to shine through. Then we bought knobs on sale at anthropologie and we were done!

Since my original post showed pictures of the fabric for the baby's room and my room... I thought I would show you what I did with the other fabric.  I had the same seamstress make pillows and curtains which really helped to spice up our room.  Here is the fabric we started with...

This is before....

And this is after... (ps...apt 36 girls I promise I am not leaving the picture frame empty.  I just got it as a gift and I am saving it to put pictures of us with Hudson)