Happy 3 Weeks!

My sweet baby girl was 3 weeks old yesterday! I can't believe it! Where did the last three weeks go?

Is she not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

The First Few Weeks

I can't believe that June Anne was 3 weeks old yesterday. I feel like the past three weeks have flown by! And there have been times in the past three weeks that I wish I could freeze in time. There are no words to express how much we love this sweet angel. Everyone tried to tell me that I would love her that much, but there is no way to truly understand until they arrive. It's completely indescribable.

The past three weeks have been filled with family, friends, and lots of sweet time getting to know my sweet baby girl. When we left the hospital, our families were both at our house and stayed with us that evening. It was so nice to have them here to spend time with June Anne. Before June Anne arrived, we had worked out "shifts" of when people would stay with us to help out right after her birth. My mom ended up staying the rest of the first week, Jason was off the second week, and Nin and Popi came this last week to help out. In between all of this help, we have had so many sweet friends stop by with food and to visit our little angel. What a blessing! I'm so grateful for our amazing family and friends!Our first week home was definitely a whirlwind! I was an emotional wreck! I was definitely prepared for the "recovery" - I have some wonderful friends who were brutally honest with me about this. The emotional part - I was not so prepared for. I saw friends who went through some of this after their babies were born, but you only see glimpses here and there. I didn't know I would have a meltdown at least 2-3 times a day! It wasn't that I was not elated that my sweet daughter had finally arrived - I was over the moon! The meltdowns were totally irrational and hormone related. I'm thankful that they have finally subsided. Week 1 was a learning week for all of us.

Jason had to work a couple of days that first week, so June Anne and I spent some time hanging out with BeBe and resting up from delivery. It was such a sweet time that I know I will cherish forever. It was so nice having my mom here - I didn't realize how much I couldn't do after labor and delivery. She was such a huge help.We managed to get out a couple of times that first week - we went to the doctor - June Anne was up 4 oz from being discharged! We also went to Kroger and Target, and spent Saturday evening at the Cain's watching football. June Anne also got her first bath - sponge bath at least - and her hair washed. She didn't love it so much!Jason was off for the second week - and what a sweet time it was! The week was absolutely amazing with us getting to spend time together as a family. Jason is amazing with his daughter, and he is totally in love. Seeing him with her has filled me with such joy. And like Mary, I have "treasured up all these things and pondered them in my heart." Not having the best relationship with my dad, I thank the Lord that my daughter has a sweet daddy to dote over her and show her what a daddy's love should be. I can't wait to see how this relationship grows in the next few years. I'm so thankful for an amazing husband and father!

This last week, Jason's parent's came into town to visit and help out. And what a help they were! Melinda cooked and helped clean the house, and John hung everything that needed to be hung downstairs! My house is finally starting to look like a home! Not to mention - they loved on my sweet daughter the whole week. June Anne loved spending time with her Nin and Popi!

Last week we also went for June Anne's 2 week check-up (at the beginning of the week). She is doing amazing, and Dr. Miller was impressed with how well she is growing and gaining weight. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 11 oz! 6 oz above her birth weight! Dr. Miller said everything else looked wonderful as well, and we feel so blessed to have a healthy baby girl.

As far as June Anne goes, she is a sweet, sweet baby. She rarely cries - the cries usually indicate that she is hungry, gassy or just wants to be put down and left alone (just like her daddy, she needs her space sometimes!). She doesn't care in the slightest if she has a dirty or wet diaper, and I have to admit that I have forgotten at times to change her because she hasn't told me she needs changed! It has been so fun to see her personality coming out in the past couple of weeks. She is chill, calm, and happy. She obviously loves to eat and has gotten the name "milk monster" from her vigorous eating style. She loves her Daddy and perks up the moment he walks in the door. She is curious and looks around constantly, taking in her small world. She doesn't mind the dogs - even the few times that Bruiser has snuck in with a kiss on the face! She loves to be outside, and, if she is fussy, she instantly calms down when she feels the breeze. Sometimes when Jason is working outside, we sit her out in the shade and let her enjoy the outdoors. Again, just like her Daddy. She loves going for walks in the B.O.B. I am so excited to see more and more of her personality come out in the next few weeks and months and throughout the years!

Welcome, June Annalisa Faunce!

We are so proud to announce the birth of our sweet daughter, June Annalisa Faunce! June Anne decided to make her grand entrance into the world last Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 11:52 am. She weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 20 inches long. She is perfect and amazing and beautiful and we are in love beyond what words can say. I thought I would share the story -

As many of you know, Jason and I have been trying to sell our house for some time now. Recently, we decided to rent it out. The week before June Anne was born, we found someone to rent it. Talk about perfect timing! Last Saturday, Jason and I spent the day cleaning out the remaining items from our old house and signing the lease agreement. That night, we went to bed pretty early for a Saturday night - thankfully so because at 2:38 am I woke up in labor! Contractions started out about 10 minutes apart, so I told Jason to keep sleeping and I would tell him when things started to pick up, and he needed to get up. After timing them for about 50 minutes (still at 10 minutes apart), I took a bath to try to relax and relieve some of the pain. As they started getting closer together, and I realized this was the "real thing", I blow-dried my hair and started putting on my make-up. (Yes, I did all of these things before going to the hospital - there is something about looking pretty while laboring. If I'm going to be in that much pain, I'm going to try to look my best doing it!). I figured that things would take awhile, so I didn't rush. Boy was I wrong! Contractions started picking up speed VERY quickly and were 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 minutes apart in no time! I woke Jason up somewhere between when they were 5 and 4 minutes apart. We left for the hospital around 5:00 am. Driving to University Hospital, my contractions stared coming at 2 minutes apart and were probably an 8 on a scale of 1-10. I remember thinking, "I'm not going to get my epidural. If they are two minutes apart, I'm probably close to 8 cm, and they aren't going to give me my epidural!" For those of you that know me well, you know I have zero pain tolerance. We made it to the hospital around 5:30 am, got checked in and found out that I was at 7 cm!!!! I always said that I didn't want to get an epidural until I was at least 7 because I wanted to be able to walk around freely. That's exactly what happened! I made it to 7 at home (and on the way to hospital) and not in a L&D bed.

After being checked in to L&D, I was rolled back to my L&D room and quickly surrounded by quite a few nurses who were trying to get blood drawn and get me and the baby hooked up to monitors, etc. I think they thought that I would be having that baby at any minute with how quickly my labor was progressing. It took some time to get my blood drawn and down to the lab and for the lab to run the necessary tests to call the anesthesiologist on-call (since it was Sunday morning, very early, the anesthesiologist was not in-house). It was 8:00 before I got my epidural. Luckily, I stayed at 7 cm until 8:00, which means I was still good to get an epidural. I applaud women who go without pain medication - I think they are VERY brave. Personally, my epidural made my labor FANTASTIC! Up until the point that I received it, I was miserable. The pain was unbearable at certain points. Jason says that I did great, but honestly, I don't remember much from the time I got to the hospital until after I got my epidural. When my epidural finally kicked in, I felt amazing....not loopy or disconnected. It just took the edge off the pain. After that, it was a breeze! June Anne was born at 11:52 am, and I was able to enjoy every moment of her arrival. It was the perfect day!

Jason and I are blessed beyond what words can say, and we are truly grateful for this little miracle in our lives.