my life as a new mommy

I can't believe it has been a week and a half of having my darling little girl here. It's hard transitioning to the life of a mom, and a stay at home mom at that (at least for the next 12 weeks). I have to eat, sleep, shower, and clean all around this little ones schedule. Luckily, she is a pretty deep sleeper and I can vacuum right next to her while she's sleeping and she doesn't even flinch. She actually sleeps for about 3-4 hours at a time and I sometimes have to wake her up to make sure she eats every three hours. She is taking to breastfeeding VERY well and I haven't really had any problems with it. I have read tons and tons of books and articles on breastfeeding, so I am pretty confident that we both can stick with it.

One of the adjustments I am having a hard time with is being stuck at home all the time. We only have 1 car and James uses that to get to work. I could drop him off and take the car, but it is really hard getting up that early in the morning when I was up for an hour or two with the little one and just got to go back to sleep when James' alarm goes off. Also, I am so used to just going going going and hanging out with everyone, that is hard to not be able to participate in all the fun get togethers that are going on right now. Especially because of the holidays coming up.It definitely is different, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 The other hard adjustment is spending less time with my 1st love, James. I am so used to seeing James 24/7 because we work together and now I see him about 4-6 hours a day before it is time to get some shut eye. I think that has been the most hardest transition for me. I love spending all my time with Chloe and have no problem, for the most part, going around her schedule. It is our lack of family time we get to spend together with James that is so hard for me. I know it won't be like this for long, he has been putting in overtime hours everyday because of an emergency situation at the job, so more family time will be coming soon. :)

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that have been visiting every day and staying with us to help me out. I am going to be so lonely when everyone leaves. I have a million park and zoo trips planned in my head for Jackie and I.

My life is definitely completely different than it was two weeks ago, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.


Here she was at 1 week old...

♥ Michelle

She's HERE!

After 15 hours of labor (relatively easy labor) and 45 min of pushing, Chloe Darling was born on November 27th. She weighed in at 7.9lbs, 19 inches long. She has a head full of hair and beautiful long lashes.... She is so gorgeous! We couldn't be more proud.

I will update with the birth story and how my life as a new Mom is in another post, hopefully soon. It's hard to find time for the computer when you have a precious little one you just want to stare at 24/7.

♥ Michelle

Baby Update

Still no Chloe yet. Although, little Noah Cruz Yourdan did make his presence in this world on 11/10/10. It was such an honor to be there to witness the miracle of childbirth. We are so lucky God has designed women for such amazing feats. I feel so lucky to be able to experience giving birth to our little girl and feel kind of bad that James will only be able to witness it and not actually physically take part. If that makes any sense....

While in the laboring room with Jackie, I actually was having contractions about every 5 minutes the entire time she was laboring. The Dr told me later that sometimes women who are so close to their own due date and are assisting in a birth can cause your body to go into labor as well... Interesting. Is it kind of like when you have a house full of women and they all end up on the same "cycle" time? Haha. But seriously, I found it interesting. Anyway, I wanted to rest a bit before going to the Dr. because I was living on very little sleep and I knew I needed some rest before going through labor. So we decided to go home and try to sleep for a bit before heading to the hospital, then about 4 hours after we got home, the contractions slowed down again. ugh! This girl is really playing with my emotions!

I went for my final Dr appt on Thursday and she said that Chloe will be here any day now and wouldn't be surprised if it happened that night. Well, it didn't happen and has yet to happen. However, contractions had been going pretty strong, just not close enough to admit me into the hospital. We walked for 3 days straight (and finished all our Christmas shopping while we were at it!) and all I got in the end was lots of contractions and pains and no baby. The contractions finally have stopped coming and I only been getting about 2-3 a day since Monday, which is actually nice now that I can get a full night's sleep! Not to mention, I still have free time and ability to go visit Jackie and baby Noah.

I guess many of James' and my family members who have given birth have said they had tons of false alarms where they go to the hospital and eventually sent back home. So at least this isn't something out of the ordinary. I am actually kind of hoping it is sudden and that my water breaks, instead of having to sit around in the house for hours on end in anticipation and having contractions then finally going in. I think it kinda sounds fun to have your water break and to be honest, all the movies show a lady having her water break. Although, it's a very small percentage of women who's water actually breaks and no one in our families have had their water break on their own.

Luckily, James' mom gets here tonight and will be here until December 3 to help us out and then my Grandma comes out to help too. We are so fortunate to a have loving and helping family!

I am still working so I can get a full paycheck and it helps keep my mind of things. Wouldn't it be funny if my water broke at work? Funny might not be the word I will be thinking of when it happens, but when I look back on it years later, I am sure I will think it is hilarious.

Anyway, that's the not so quick update and I hope to have some time to be able to actually start blogging again. At least I have time to still read all of your lovely blogs. :)

p.s. My coworkers had made guesses as to the birth date, sex of the baby, wait gain and wait of baby early on in the pregnancy and we just took a look at it. It is quite funny. I will have to share it in my next post!


♥ Michelle

Right now, James is painting a big "C" in Chloe's nursery. I love that he wanted to paint something in there himself, I feel it makes it special.

We were so close to having a little Halloween baby. The contractions were coming strong and fast for quit sometime. As soon as I laid to rest a bit before deciding to go to the hospital, they started to subside. :( Another close call. Chloe sure is a tease! I think she likes keeping us on our toes.The anticipation for the little one is killing me!
I am so excited for to finally hold my baby in my arms and not in my tummy! Not to mention all the fabulous family coming in from out of town to meet her. I feel like the next 2 months are going to be the fastest months of my entire life!

James birthday is tomorrow. Wouldn't it be a sweet birthday present to have his baby girl here in the outside world? Lots of fun to be had the rest of the week. Birthday get togethers, baby shower for my sister in law and of course our 2 weekly meetings with our church families. 


Anyone else already half way done with Christmas shopping? I always make it a point to be finished by December 1st. So far, so good! I am really loving Amazon.com... and I just realized they have tons of FREE mp3 downloads! woot!

p.s. I don't like that the spell check always tries to change Chloe's name to Cleo.

 ♥ Michelle

I am VERY sorry I have been so neglectful of my blog lately. I still do read all of the lovely blogs, but have not really taken the time to comment on them or to post anything myself. Usually I only go on the internet at work, and things have been crazy busy here! So, to sum up about 5 post in to one, I am going to give you a quick run down of what has been happening around the Schmitz home.

The first thing I wanted to say: I WENT INTO PRETERM LABOR! although, it was short lived. Not that 5 hours with contractions every 3-5 minutes was all that short, but the doctors ended up giving me terbutaline to stop the contractions. The medicine was like magic. The contractions and pain went away, although it made me super jittery, my teeth were even chattering! When I left the hospital, I was told that I would most likely be back there and ready to deliver around 36 weeks. I am already 2 cm dilated and I still have contractions all the time.

Since the early labor scare, the doctor has put me on partial bed rest. I can go to work (as long as I sit all day) and then I have to go home and stay home to rest and relax. This seems like it would be great, but to be honest, I am not one who likes to be locked up inside all the time. We have had to miss birthday parties and Halloween costume parties which is definitely put me in a bummer mood. I know it is all for the better health and safety of Chloe, and that is what I have to keep telling myself so I don't go insane. James does let me go out once in a while, to church or small group or to Sombreros. Off subject: totally want Mexican food all the time now! We also have had to permanently take over our living and convert it into a bedroom. We now sleep on the couch every night. James loves it though because that is where our only tv is and he gets to watch movies all the time while I sleep.

I know it is more hopeful than anything, but I am really wanting Chloe to grace us with her presence around the 10th or the 11th of November. James' mom will be in town for that weekend for a family function and it would be perfect timing. Not to mention, I get to hold my little girl sooner and I get to finally be done with all the aches and pains!

I have been lacking in taking weekly photos, which I really need to make sure to do because I want to make a flip book out of them. When I take some more, I will update them again on here.

I had my baby shower earlier this month and then my church and is throwing one again tonight. I am so excited and will have to tell you all about both of them and post some pictures. I can't wait to share, Chloe is so loved!

Also, not only am I pregnant, but 4 of my friends are, and my dearest friend, Jackie is due only 2 weeks before me! It has been so awesome to get to experience the same thing and have someone to talk to about all the craziness of pregnancy! Please keep us both in your prayers as the time is soon upon us and we are both feeling pretty done with being pregnant.

anyway, that is my sort of quick update and I will try to actually make legit post with pictures and all very soon. :)



♥ Michelle

Baby Bump - week 33

"Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 11 1/2 inches. She weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and gains about eight ounces every week. (She is getting SO BIG!)" - Fit Pregnancy

"Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies. (Good thing Daddy's a musician!)" - The bump


♥ Michelle

maternity photo shoot (picture overload)

♥ Michelle

Maternity Photos - preview

Heather Pepin is an amazing photographer. She had photographed our engagement pictures for our wedding and was also the one taking the pictures on my wedding day of the girls and I getting ready. I really love how she captures everything, especially the love and romance between two people.

We just finished taking our maternity pictures with Heather and her husband Brett on Sunday and boy was it fun! We got to romp around in the tall grass and random fields. Heather totally makes it a warm experience without making it awkward. She makes you feel so lovely and beautiful, which boost your self confidence and really helps you shine in a photo. We are in LOVE with our photos and cannot wait to have Heather capture our little Chloe Darling.

I will post some pictures from the shoot on here soon. Until then, you can see some of them and read about Heather's experience with us from her blog here.

I definitely encourage you to take a look at Heather Pepin Photography on her website.


♥ Michelle

8 months on Monday...

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, well at least the last 4 months. My belly is getting bigger by the day it seems. We are going to take maternity pictures this Sunday and I am so excited! Then next weekend is my baby shower - YAY! My sister and mom have been working super hard on the shower and I am so thankful! To be honest, I feel like the shower will be the last time I see a lot of my friends until the next year. I know with Chloe here and family coming in from out of town to visit the new little one, I will be so busy and exhausted and just starting to adjust to an infant in the family.

We have the rest our pregnancy classes every Weds for next 4 weeks, then it is pretty much go time any time after that. It just blows my mind how soon that is. The classes are definitely enlightening, but I feel like everyone in the class still know much more than I do about labor and delivery. Looks like I need to start doing my research and talk to all the mommies I know. Time to get personal with these ladies, I need to know what exactly I am expecting, or could possibly expect. I know each birth is different, but it is nice to know what I might have to go through..... We have learned about the different types of medications that can be administered  and the 3 phases of labor. We have learned about contractions and water breaking and when to actually go to the hospital. I feel as though as I will learn so much, but when it comes down to "go time" I will completely forget everything I was just taught. Thankfully, all the nurses will be there and they no exactly what to do. whew. James is taking this class seriously too, he is learning and talking to me about everything and even asking questions in class. It makes me so excited that he will be there with me to coach me through and just not sitting in the waiting room until it is all over.

On to non-baby related issues:
Today is OCTOBER 1ST! I Love this day because it somehow resembles the kick off of the holiday seasons for me. I wish that we actually had "autumn" here in San Diego, but I just browse the hundreds of pictures on the internet to get my fix. James and I celebrated today with hot caramel apple spice from Starbucks... and I am going to go back (thank you for the $2 treat receipt) to get a pumpkin spice latte. yummmmmmmmm. We are going to go look for Halloween costumes today at one of the local thrift stores. We have decided to be Juno and Paulie Bleeker. I am pregnant this Halloween and gotta live it up! I was contemplating on being Santa, but that would be much too hot of a costume. haha.





♥ Michelle

baby bump - week 31

so sorry! I just have been too busy this week to post this picture. It was taken Monday, the start of my 31st week of pregnancy.

Chloe has been movin' and shakin' this week. We had our 2nd day of birthing classes (that experience will have to be in a post of its own). Half the class the husbands were taught how to message and soothe the moms during labor. The teacher brought candles, scented lotions and soothing music. I doubt that is anything like what my labor will be, but it was really nice to get to relax and get James to give me a message :)



♥ Michelle