1st Beach Trip

Almost 1 month ago, on Caden's 2 week birthday, we left for a 3 week venture to Emerald Isle and Kinston, NC. The first week we stayed in Emerald Isle with Gigi and Papa. You know they were thrilled to have the three of us there. Shane, Kenneth and Alex were missing though. Shane and Kenneth came later on in the week. Mom loves her biddies under her wings. What a wonderful and relaxing time it was.

Definitely a beach trip like I've never had before...Welcome to motherhood. 100% of the time I would pick being a mommy rather than a beach bum. Funny how our expectations are so off at times. Feeding a newborn and being sandy doesn't work out too well. My mom begged me to go to the beach and enjoy myself while she watched Caden. I only took her up on that one day. Only because I found out it was much easier to stay inside and stay clean rather than beaching it for one hour and then cleaning up to feed Caden again. Also I might mention my harmons are not quite back to normal yet. I pour sweat at the drop of a hat. As we packed to leave Durham and head to the coast I thought, "yes, these lilly white legs will finally get a tan." Little did I know that I would only be a half shade darker a week later. I am still prancing around in my shorts though. I have decided who cares. What a great thing to watch my priorities change before very my eyes for the better.

Since Caden cannot wear sunscreen yet, we never go out into the sun with him. We want to protect his beautiful little skin. We did sneak him out really fast to get a family picture with the ocean in the background. He snoozed the entire time.

Thank you to my family for taking care of us for the entire week. You guys are such great parents and caretakers.

Gigi comes to town!

Caden's Gigi came to town this past Saturday night through today. We are feeling the pains of her leaving already. What a tremendous help she was. It was great for me to get lots of mothering from her myself and also to learn quite a few mothering skills from her too. What a blessing to have a great mother to learn from.

Gigi washed lots of clothes and dishes, she was the hostess with the mostess with all of our guests coming over, she changed lots of diapers and was a huge help during feeding time. What a sweet Mama to also cook for us each day. We got some great blueberry pancakes during her stay.

As she left this morning Caden was crying. I think he misses his Gigi already.

WE LOVE YOU GIGI!

P.S. We also got a visit from Uncle Shane while Gigi was here. Caden loves his uncle Shane too.

Caden's 1st Night Out

This past Friday night we decided to get out a little. The new Mama needed a little fresh air. So we were invited to join the Tuckers for dinner. We had a blast. Ryan cooked chicken on the grill. Along with that we had salad, pasta salad, rolls, apple butter (Jason's fav at the Tuckers) and good ole sweet tea.

Caden did so well. He slept for the first two hours, then ate himself, then did a little socializing. He got to see Aunt B, Aunt Angie, Uncle Ryan, and Noah all in one sweep. What better outing could he have asked for? Thanks to the Tuckers for your hospitality. We had a great time and love you guys so much!

It's Bath Time!

Caden's first bath was a true experience. I had hoped he would love the feeling of a warm clothe running over his skin. He did not at all. In fact he hated it. He cried the whole time. He also pooped while the bathing was in process. Jason and I laughed tons. Who knew a child pooping would be so funny...

While all the pictures that were taken are of him screeming, I am also including one that shows what a true angel he is away from the water and soap!

The best DADDY in the World!

Jason is without a doubt the best husband and father, already, in the world. He's a proud Papa and a joy to watch .

The day I married him I knew God had hand picked him for me. He's the best man I could have ever asked for; to be my partner in life, but also to be the father of our children.

From the moment we found out we were pregnant he's taken such great care of me and even Caden while he's been in my belly. He says, "Heather, are you drinking enough water," "Quit standing in that chair," and the list goes on and on I assure you. The instant Caden took his first breath, Jason fell head over heals in love with him. What a great experience to watch him follow Caden in the delivery room over to the table to be checked out and then as family members passed him from arms to arms was a movie I will play in my mind for a long time. I wish that I had an actual recording of it so others could see.

While I was laboring, I was most amazed by him. This man rubbed by back for a good 15 hours all together. If he was not rubbing my back, he was feeding me ice chips or telling me to breath out the pain. His voice helped me to know I could indeed make it. He's always been my hero in many ways and I've been able to see him as that yet again.

Over the last few days he's learned how to change diapers, swaddle a baby, put in a car seat with sweat dripping down his face, but the thing he's best at is giving Caden all the kisses a little boy could ever desire. Here are some sweet moments with Caden and Daddy.

Not every man is happy when his child enters the world so I hope you enjoy with me the incredible bond these two have already. He was born to be a DADDY!

Update on our last week of life...

It all started last Saturday night...

At 9:38 p.m., Jason, Mom and I were sitting on the couch and it hit me; my 1st contraction. (Mom came up for the weekend she says, "to get Caden moving along." I was fast approaching a week past my due date.) The contractions started from there. I had the next one 10 min. later, then the next 10 min. later, then the next 10 min. later. I decided to go to bed until they woke me up. With all the anticipation I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to go to sleep, but I did. So happy because I knew the night ahead could be a long one...and it was.

At 1 a.m. I woke up and couldn't ignore the pain any longer. The contractions went from 10 min. apart all the way to 3-5 min. apart by 6 a.m. the next morning. With the drive to the hospital closely in sight and our little boy on the way all sorts of emotions flooded my mind. I wondered what the end of this labor and delivery would be like and how I would feel seeing Jason and my son for the very first time.

So I continued laboring until around 9 a.m. when we called Dr. Zimmerman and he told us to head over to the hospital. Because I wanted to eat before checking in, we were finally admitted into Rex Hospital at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday morning. Upon arrival, I was 90% efaced and 2-3 cm dilated. From there the pain intensified by the hour and my body continued to progress. At 2 p.m. a lot of our family and friends arrived at the hospital and still no Caden. The story goes on and finally after literally 23 hours of labor and 1 hour of pushing, at 9:34 p.m. on Sunday night, the love of mine and Jason's life entered the world, Caden Jase McDaniel. He weighed 8lbs. 5oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long.
As soon as Caden was delivered Jason was crying and laughing all at once as a result of the overwhelming joy he felt. Our family and friends (all 22 of them) came in the room about 15 minutes later to celebrate and see Caden. That was amazing. So much love filled that room. It was the best day of mine and Jason's life...June 22nd.
He's beautiful. Our home is much warmer and we feel even more of a sense of purpose and direction in life. He truly is a miracle and gift.

Soon and Very Soon....

So our little bundle of joy is soon to come. We can't wait. I appologize for not updating this page more...Please keep checking it. When Caden arrives the updates will be much more frequently.



An update on the progressing labor; Caden's official due date is June 16th. I am thinking he may come a little early. I know, I know. How can you know that? I don't. Jason continues to tell me not to predict. I really do feel like he's coming a little early though because of the way my body is already progressing. We went to the doctor this past Monday and it's looking good. I am already 1 cm dialated and 75% efaced. Efaced means my uterus is thinning. Since yesterday afternoon I have been extremely crampy feeling. Hear say is, that means you are still dialating and labor's not far away. Who knows?



The McDaniel household is filled with excitement. I can hardly calm Jason or Caden down. Jason's constantly thinking about Caden, touching Caden with his hands on my belly, talking to Caden, praying for Caden, dreaming of what Caden will be like, etc., etc., and Caden has tons of response as well. Just this morning he was kicking Jason in the cheek when Jason laid his head on my belly. What a special bond they already have. So neat for me to experience. They will be best of friends for life. It's also very funny to see their similarities even though Caden's still in the womb. Both, very HIGH ENERGY!



It seems as though Caden's love language is kicking. He also kicks my mom when she hugs me. He knows his Dad and Gigi.



We can't wait to introduce the little man to you all. Find attached above Heather at 37 lbs. over her normal weight!