Name and Pictures

I finally pulled out our laptop so I could post some pictures of Bria. However, I can't find my camera cord! I am sure it is in a box somewhere, so for now, you will have to settle for the pictures from the hospital that I uploaded before the move.

Also, I thought I would write about where we got Bria's name. Sam and I debated for a long time on her name. We had all the boy names in the world that we loved, but we could never agree on girl names. We had a list of 5 or so names that we agreed on, but neither of us really loved. One night, Sam was searching on some baby name websites and found the name Bria. He said it to me, and I liked it. I had never heard it before, but I really liked it. He told me it was Gaelic for strong, valiant, and courageous, which made me like it even more. From then on, Bria was our number one choice.

As for her middle name, many of you will know that I did not want to name her after me. I have never really liked my name, and I don't feel like a Courtney. Why would I want to pass that on? We discussed it often, and it didn't seem that Sam would budge. It was the only middle name that he liked. I had another name in mind (a family name) but he wasn't as excited about that. Going into the hospital, we were both still fighting strong for our preferred middle names. After she was born, I decided that I would let Sam win the battle. I didn't have the best labor and delivery experience, and Bria and I both had to work really hard together to get her here. I decided since we shared that experience together, it was fitting that she have my first name for her middle name. Sam was really excited when I told him we could name her Bria Courtney. And that's how she got her name!

And now for some pictures.

Resurfaced-- or in the process

The past week has been quite the whirlwind of events. Bria was born one week ago, graduation was one week ago, and we moved to a bigger apartment. Thanks to our ward, we were able to move in a total of 4 1/2 hours, start to finish. Sam and I had barely packed anything on Monday when some people from the ward showed up to help us. They packed everything and then deep-cleaned the entire apartment. Sam and I were overwhelmed with gratitude to everyone who helped-- there is no way we would have gotten everything done in time to move. So now we are trying to settle into our new apartment. It is so nice to have two bedrooms! My mom and sister have come over almost every day to hold Bria and help me put stuff away. I have been so happy to have family close by!

Bria is also doing well. She is pretty calm so far and, in classic infant style, she is confused about the meanings of "day" and "night." Sam and I have developed shifts around her feeding schedule as to who will get up with her. Our new apartment has free cable, so I am becoming reacquainted with the Food Network and its middle-of-the-night shows. I also enjoyed watching the Saved by the Bell tv movie the other night at 3 am on TBS. Ahhh, the joys of parenthood.

I will upload some more pictures of Bria soon. My dad and a few friends think she looks like Sam. My mom says she has my nose. We'll see-- the swelling in her cheeks has gone down, so they aren't quite as prominent as the picture I posted last time, although she still does have some impressive cheek bones.

Baby Bria is here!

Bria Courtney Mangum was born on April 25 at 2:29 am.

She weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz and measured 19" long.

Details are forthcoming!

The Update . . .

So I am scheduled to be induced on Thursday, which I feel pretty good about. I think it's a good balance between giving my body a little more time and not letting the baby get too big. I'm dilated to a 3, and the baby is really low, so I think I have at least a good chance of going into labor before then, but you never know.

I also had a Non Stress Test today and everything looked good. I had them double check (for the THIRD time, so really, it was a triple check) that the baby is still a girl, and it is! I was happy about that. I worked with a girl who found out during her non stress test that her baby girl was actually a baby boy. Surprise! If that happened, our poor baby boy would have to wear pink dresses.

Now it's just the waiting game. The downside to this is that now Sam won't be able to go to his graduation. We are pretty bummed about that, but Sam is still going to get his cap and gown so we can take pictures. This Baby Girl is probably going to be a drama queen-- she's already stealing the show! (But let's be honest, look at her parents! We all know where she gets it from.) We are trying to keep ourselves occupied so we don't drive ourselves crazy wondering if she will make her appearance before Thursday.

Still No Baby . . .

But we are going to see the midwives today. I've been having 10-minutes-apart contractions since Thursday night, and I think they are planning on inducing me tomorrow, so we'll see. Sam is planning on begging them to just induce me today; I am planning on begging them to wait until Thursday. We'll see who wins.

Food Boy Trailer!

No baby yet, but for those of you waiting with baited breath here is a little something to pass the time. We put this new trailer on youtube and the Food Boy website the beginning of this week. Check it out.


And here is the link for the trailer on the official website. Also you can check out the movie's site on the Newport Beach Film Festival site here. Sign up on the page and add it your to calender.

We're down to the single digits!

Um, let's just talk about the fact that the countdown is at 6 days. SIX DAYS! In December, one of the women I visit teach was 8 months pregnant and she told me that when you are going along being pregnant, your due date always seems so far away, until you get the end and you realize that it actually went by so fast. That is so, so true. I can't believe it's already about time to be done with this! Now every time I have an appt with the midwives, they say "we'll see you next week if you're still pregnant." I don't mind if she comes late, early, or right on time, but I just want to know when it will be! The suspense is driving me batty.

My last day of work was Wednesday (!!!!) and my birthday was on Thursday (I'll admit, I'm glad the baby didn't come then. I like to have my own special day), so this has been a fun week! My co-workers had a birthday party/baby shower/farewell party for me on my last day-- it was great. Here is a picture of me with my friends from work. I don't think I could have gotten through the past six months without them!
My birthday was very fun. Sam and I spent (almost) the whole day together. First thing in the morning, we had an appt with the midwives. Then Sam took me to a salon where I got a pedicure. Then we went to the mall and Sam bought me some fun new makeup. And then we went to lunch at P.F. Chang's. Sam had a job interview, and then class, so I hung out at home for a little bit. When Sam got home, we went to my sister Lindsay's house and watched The Office and ate ice cream cake (my favorite thing in the whole world). It was really a great birthday!
Today we went out to lunch with my parents and my sister Lindsay's family (her son, Hunter, turned two on Tuesday). I didn't realize quite how huge I have gotten until I saw these pictures! Standing by my mom, my belly extends halfway past her! Well, my mom's really small, so that might not be so impressive. One thing I love having in common with my mom is that she also was due with her first child about a week after her 23rd birthday.
So, stay tuned! Either the next post will be from an impatient-and-still-pregnant me, or from Sam telling you the exciting news about the new arrival!