39 Weeks - Welcome Oliver!!

Welcome to the world, Oliver Jensen Sanders! We had our beautiful baby BOY on October 30, 2012 at 12:40pm - weight: 7lbs, length: 19.5in. He decided to come a little early, which was just fine with us :) Thankfully he waited until after Hurricane/SuperStorm Sandy passed through! Most of you have already heard his birth announcement but I thought I'd share the birth story on here so everyone is up to speed on how our little man made his grand entrance :)

Before I start, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who were praying with us for a healthy little baby and a safe deliver; God gave us a precious gift and we are so thankful :)

2:30am - contractions start at about 3-5min apart, each one lasting about 45-60sec. These weren't super intense contractions and weren't real consistent in their length and timing, but were definitely a lot stronger than any Braxton-Hicks I'd felt earlier in the pregnancy. I decided to just kind of monitor them on my own for about an hour to see if they stuck around before I woke Tyler up (I didn't want to give him a false alarm and then make him go to work in the morning!). I contacted my friend Danielle (don't worry - she was already awake either at work or nursing her little girl!) and asked her what she thought about them so she was my early labor coach...thanks Danielle!

3:30am - Tyler wakes up and realizes I'm not in bed so he comes out to the living room to investigate. I told him what was going on so we monitored them together for a bit before calling our doula (birthing coach) Renea to let her know what was going on and get her opinion. She told us to have me get in the bathtub and see how that affected my contractions. If they were real, they would persist; if not, the warm water would relax me enough to make the contractions stop. Well, they slowed down a little but stayed pretty painful and persisted so we decided it was time to call the midwife on call. She talked to me through 2 contractions and determined I was in enough pain to come in so we packed up and headed out to DePaul.

5:30am - We get to the hospital and are placed in a room in the Midwifery Center, which just happened to be the ONLY room open on the entire labor and delivery unit...guess the storm really scared out a lot of babies!! They checked me and determined that I had made no progress (still 2cm dilated and 80% effaced) and wasn't in active labor. They weren't able to admit me at this time because of this so they told us we had two options: 1) stay in the hospital and walk around for a few hours to see if anything changed or 2) go home and come back in when we had a definite sign we were in active labor. We decided to head home and come back later as our plan all along had been to labor at home as much as possible before going in. Renea had met us there and told us to keep in contact with her and she would come over and labor with us when we were ready for her.

7:30am - Back home, in bed resting through contractions...we had no idea if it would be 2hrs or 24hrs until we got our "sign." Feeling pretty frustrated at this point and poor Tyler had no idea if this was "it" or if he was supposed to be going to work...thankfully God gave us our sign!

8:30am - My water broke! I was laying in bed and I felt it break - let me tell you, I was out of that bed so fast! Even though this spared our sheets, it brought the nausea I had been feeling to a full peak and I started dry-heaving and throwing up stomach acid (sorry, tmi...just wanted you all to know the full story!) because I hadn't eaten anything since 12hrs before. I wasn't sure what to think of the color of the fluid - it just didn't look right, but I wasn't sure if something else (I won't elaborate....) had happened at the same time. During all of this, Tyler was talking to Renea and she told him to have me get back in the bathtub because the contractions were going to get a lot stronger and we should think about heading to the hospital soon.

9:00am - Contractions are much more intense than they had been, even in the bathtub. I also lost there rest of my mucus plug (again, eww...if you haven't figured out by now that it's going to be a little gross you should probably stop reading now!). We tried Renea and phoned the midwife but weren't able to get in touch with them as quickly as we wanted. Tyler, using his best judgement, determined it was time to get me to the hospital because it was going to be impossible to move me anywhere once these contractions started getting worse.

9:30am - We get to the hospital and are placed in the exam room at the Midwifery Center as there are literally NO beds anywhere other than this to be examined. They had me go to the bathroom and I saw my fluid for the first time, knowing it was only amniotic fluid I was seeing - and it was definitely brown/yellow/green - not good! I mentioned this and the midwife came in and confirmed that I had thick meconium in my fluid. What does this mean? It means poor Oliver was in some type of distress in-utero and passed his first stool/poop. This can be dangerous because they can breathe in the meconium as it's in the fluid and it can go into their lungs, possibly causing pneumonia. Because of this, I risked out of the midwifery center :( and was taken to labor and delivery. Prior to moving me, the midwife checked me - I was 3cm and 90-100% effaced, which means all I needed to do was dilate to 10cm and Baby could come out. Thankfully a room had opened up; they got me into bed, started an IV with some fluids (I was getting dehydrated), drew some labs and got me hooked up to the monitors. Let me preface the rest of the story with this - I was not in a good mood at this point. I really hope the nice nurses didn't feel the hatred I had for them, only because I was so uncomfortable and really didn't want anyone to touch me.

11:00am - We are moved to a different room :( Not good. Very unhappy at this point. You see, every movement I made put me into a contraction so walking across the hallway seemed like a really bad idea. Especially since I'd just made the difficult decision to get up and go to the bathroom about 15min prior and had just gotten settled back into bed (after experiencing about 5 contractions in that little journey itself). So, needless to say, I was pretty upset about needing to move to a different room. However, my fetal monitors weren't working and they really needed to keep an eye on Oliver and also on my contractions. So, across the hall we went. Got re-situated in bed and they put the monitors back on me; thankfully, these worked!

12:00pm - Yes, I did it - I started telling Renea (and Tyler) that I was going to need some pain medicine; I just couldn't do this anymore. The contractions felt like they were ripping me in half. Renea tried to talk some sense into me and encouraged me to try different positions (ie: birthing ball, walking, hands/knees, etc) but I told her I was in too much pain to move and only wanted to lay on my side in bed; I physically felt like I couldn't move. This frustrated me, as I knew this was why we hired her and I really hadn't wanted to get pain medicine yet I wasn't willing to try other positions - what?! Anyways, about 12:15 she went to go talk to the nurse about pain medicine options. About this time, unbeknownst to anyone but me, my body started involuntarily pushing with the contractions - uh oh! Of course, I decide to tell Tyler this when Renea is out of the room, causing panic in my poor husband; we both knew you were NOT supposed to push until they tell you. So he's running out in the hallway, pushing the call button, trying anything he can to get someone's attention - hello, she's pushing in here!! Thankfully, Renea, the nurse, and the midwife were headed back to my room just in time.

12:30pm - I told the midwife what was happening and she decided it was a good idea to check me (it also needed to be done if I was going to be getting an epidural). I was fully expecting her to tell me that I was about 5cm and still had a long way to go; to my surprise she says: "Well, you're completely dilated and Baby is at station 2 - you're ready to have this baby!" HALLELUJAH!! They started to get things in the room for delivery and had me get into position to push. I started pushing and Oliver started dropping his heart rate so they put some oxygen on me and told me to breathe to get the oxygen in and get his heart rate up. At this point, it's like an exorcism is going on in the room and being "calm" and breathing just seemed ridiculous. Somehow, I was able to do it and his heart rate came back up and they told me I could push again.

12:40pm - Oliver is born! Yep, after only 10min of pushing - woohoo!! Tyler was a bundle of emotions next to me through the whole pushing process (laughing/crying at the same time - I mean, it probably was pretty hilarious to see his normally calm wife moaning and screaming; not hilarious that I was in pain, but I'm pretty sure it was straight out of a movie...so embarrassing!!) Unfortunately because of the meconium, Tyler wasn't able to cut the cord - the midwife did it and the nurse and OB took Oliver over to the bed to start cleaning him up/suctioning him out. Poor little guy - swallowed a bunch of meconium into his stomach so they had to suctioning his stomach out a few times. His color was great and boy, was he screaming! But he still appeared to be in a little bit of respiratory distress so they put an ET tube down him to suction him below the vocal chords - praise God, nothing down there! His "respiratory distress" was simply anger at being so rudely pulled from his nice warm home :) Once they put him on me and let Tyler hold him, he calmed down and started breathing better.

1:30pm - Oliver is put on my chest and allowed to breastfeed for the first time - what a champ! He did so great :) They let us hold him and cuddle with him for about an hour and then took him and Tyler to the nursery so he could have his first bath. They checked his blood sugar and it was a little low so they wanted me to feed him when he got back to the room; he very happily obliged and his blood sugar came up :) We had a few more episodes of lower blood sugar but eventually after a few feedings, it came up and they were satisfied.

We've been home now for 2.5 days and everything is going very well. We had our first doctor appointment yesterday and everything looks great - the jaundice has gone down (it wasn't ever too bad to begin with) and all of his organs look/sound like they should :) He's lost about 1/2lb since birth, which isn't unexpected; they just want to start seeing it go up now that he's eating better. Our next appointment is next Wednesday, praying for another good appointment!

Thanks again for everything you've all done; we're so grateful! We will be keeping you updated periodically (aka whenever I remember) and be sure to look for pictures on Facebook (for those of you who don't have FB, I'll try to remember to post more pics on here!) Love to you all!

38 Weeks

38 weeks...and still no Baby! That's OK, he/she is just finishing the growing process - but it's so hard to wait!! As of this week, Baby is 6 1/2-7lbs and is about 19-20inches long (or the length of the leek pictured above). Also as of this week, every single organ system is completely developed (or should be) and is ready to function outside of the uterus...what are you waiting on, Baby?! This is very exciting news!!! Baby also has developed the ability to make a tight grasp by now - can't wait to hold those sweet little hands :) Basically, everything is a go - we're just waiting on my body, Baby, and God to decide it's time!

I had my 37 week appointment last Friday and there was no change in my cervical dilation or effacement, and Baby's head remained nice and low. The only "glitch" was that my BP (blood pressure) was slightly elevated and they wanted me to keep any eye on it; because of this they moved my 38 week appointment up to Tuesday (yesterday) instead of Friday. We were disappointed that nothing had changed since we had such awesome news at our last appointment (and because I'd had a night of approximately 60 contractions that seemed to do absolutely nothing...awesome! NOT). But, only time will tell and Baby will come out when he/she is ready.

Come out!! It's a great BIG world out here; lots of space!

So...you'd think I'd be prepared to hear the same old story at yesterday's appointment. But of course not! I had all of my bags completely packed and zipped shut, the house cleaned, convinced I would be coming home in a few days with Baby...nope! No changes, again :( But, my BP is fine - still slightly elevated but not too concerning; they do still want me to keep an eye on it, but they didn't feel the need to draw lab work or keep me overnight for monitoring. So, praise God for that - as much as I want this Baby, I don't want to be induced or be put on bed rest for my BP! I've also had some more intense Braxton-Hicks contractions, so maybe we're headed in the right direction?!

Needless to say, Tyler and I are getting very restless and anxious for our Baby to get here! I'm ashamed to say that I was pouting and had a mini melt-down yesterday when things didn't go my way...ha! And all this time I'd been praying to carry Baby to term, that he/she would be healthy, etc and here I am trying to rush it out! God knows when is best for Baby to come...I need to just trust Him and His timing :) And enjoy the little stretches and rolls I'm still feeling inside :)

So ready to meet our special little someone!

Please continue to pray for my comfort - it's getting pretty uncomfortable carrying a 7lb baby around that is practically always sitting on my tailbone :( Also pray for our patience as we wait on God's timing for Baby; I want to be enjoying the last few weeks, days, minutes? of our time together as a twosome instead of rushing past it onto the next exciting thing :) Lastly, as always, I just ask that you continue to pray for a healthy Baby (and Mommy!) as we near the end and approach delivery. Thanks so much for all of your love, support and prayers - can't wait to show you all a picture of our sweet little son or daughter when they finally arrive!!

37 Weeks

37 weeks...officially FULL TERM!!! YAY! This week, Baby weighs in around 6-6.5lbs and measures about 19 inches from head to heel (or the length of the lovely Swiss Chard above). Until today, I have never heard of Swiss Chard - maybe I need to get out more :) Anyways, Baby is fully developed now and is simply practicing for life outside Mommy - breathing, swallowing, crying (yep, they have the cry reflex going on already!), sleeping. Sleep cycles are established, however thankfully they are NOT specific to days/nights yet so the fact that Baby is moving around like crazy at 4am doesn't (necessarily) mean he/she's a night owl. Phew! What a relief that is! Still lots of rolling and stretching going on in there - definitely still enjoying watching my belly move around :) BUT anytime he/she wants to come out, we are more than ready :)

Feeling a little cramped in there? Come on out! The world is HUGE out here ... and we're all waiting for you :)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! I'm officially 2cm dilated and 80% effaced, plus Baby is in "0" station. What does all of that mean, you ask? Check out the pictures below :) Basically, at my appointment last Friday the midwife checked my cervix and was pleasantly surprised to find just how LOW Baby's head was (oh, so all of that pressure IS valid!). Explained the most recent pain and discomfort I'd been having :) As expected, this got our hopes up that maybe Baby would be here sooner than we were planning; however, no "new" signs of labor and I could be this way for weeks. Boo hoo :( We're still keeping our fingers crossed that Baby gets fed up with his/her tight quarters and decides to come out soon! In any case, even if we HAVE to wait...3 more weeks isn't bad!!

Effacement - the thinning out/stretching upward of the cervix  (allows for proper dilation); Dilation - the opening of the cervix to allow for Baby to come out. Basically, I'm the top right picture (a little less effaced, a little more dilated). Baby's head is resting on the opening of the cervix, just have to wait for the cervix to open fully so Baby can come out. Bottom right picture is what it should look like when it's time to deliver.

Stations - position of Baby's head in the pelvis. Negative numbers - Baby's head is still above pelvic opening and kind of floating around. Zero (0) station - Baby's head is engaged (or locked) in the pelvis and is headed down where it needs to go. Positive numbers - Baby is headed out! So, Baby is at 0 - locked in the pelvis but hasn't started descending down too far yet - don't really want the descent any farther until it's time to deliver, so Baby's in a good spot!

That being said, I'm definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore! Don't get me wrong, I love feeling the Baby move and all, but the discomforts and pains and swelling and constant bathroom trips can cease ANY day now! Because Baby is so low and sitting directly on my cervix (pretty much), it is VERY uncomfortable to walk, sit, or lay in almost any position. Therefore, not sleeping a whole lot anymore and definitely feeling tired and almost ill most of the time...super fun! 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks.... :)

My wonderful friend and co-worker, Jamie, threw me an AWESOME baby shower last Thursday - I can't believe how blessed I am! We now officially have over 700 diapers (easily) and plenty of wipes, along with a completely stocked nursery! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! It was such a good feeling to have the love and support of so many friends here; I am so grateful for all of you :)

That's pretty much all of the updates for this week; please pray for our patience as we wait on God (and Baby's) timing for this birth. We are so excited and so ready but we have to keep waiting! Also please continue to pray for comfort (ha!) as this pregnancy draws to a close...I would like to get some sleep every once in a while ;) Lastly, as birth could happen any day now (today? please?!), please be praying for a safe, complication-free delivery with a healthy Baby and mom at the end of it. We have everything all ready; all we're waiting on is the "go ahead" from Baby and (hopefully) my body will do what it needs to :) Thank you for all of your prayers and excitement for the 3 of us, we will (try to) keep you posted as things progress!

36 Weeks

Yep, we're still melon sized...anyone know what this type of melon is? It's a crenshaw melon - never heard of it before! But, the important thing is that our Baby is about the size of this melon, which is about 6lbs and over 18.5inches long...that's a big baby! Basically at this point in the pregnancy, Baby is shedding the fine hair and protective coating that's been on his/her skin through the pregnncy, and inevitably swallowing it (yummy!), which will be the main components of it's first bowel movement. Bet you're glad you know that - you can now sleep better at night knowing what baby poop (aka meconium) is made of. Moving on! The other main activity: putting on the pounds (literally!) at a rate of about an ounce per day. Which, by the way...WE ONLY HAVE 26 DAYS LEFT!!! Woah! And....by the end of this week, Baby is considered full-term! SO EXCITING!!! We are totally ready if Baby decides to come October 14th or any day after - yay!! Baby continues to be very active but definitely has a favorite position - at least one leg straight out into my side :) Also, Baby is definitely head down; let's just hope he/she stays that way!

As for me, my back pain is definitely getting worse (as can be expected) and my heartburn is a constant daily presence...no fun. Work is definitely starting to take it's toll; let's just hope that I'm able to keep working all the way up to my due date! Also new - I no longer have defined ankles and officially have fatter fingers and plumper lips...the swelling has started! Not to fear, my blood pressure seem to be stable for now and doesn't seem to be causing any concern. I will definitely mention it to the midwife on Friday and make sure everything is OK. As I mentioned last week, my appointment of Friday is a big one - first cervical check and first of the weekly appointments! Definitely a sign we're nearing the end :) Also at this appointment will be my screening for GBS (group beta strep), mentioned in last week's post. Please pray with us that I'm negative and that everything looks good - and maybe even some dilation and effacement (for those of you who don't know what that is - dilation is the opening/expanding of the opening of the cervix, effacement is the thinning out of the opening of the cervix; both of these things need to happen for Baby to be born)!

Not a whole lot to say this week - just maintaining status quo, waiting for Baby to get here! Baby shower is on Thursday (so excited!) and Dr. appointment on Friday - exciting end of the week ahead! Can't wait to fill you all in on how both go :) Have a great week!

35 Weeks

Apparently Baby is still melon-sized, just a different melon this week! I'm now carrying a honeydew melon - which means our dear, sweet Baby is about 5 - 5 1/4 lbs this week, measuring over 18 inches long! I can't believe how big Baby is getting - it's really almost here! At this point, Baby is completely developed and therefore considered to be "term" by some websites. However, according to the March of Dimes and most medical authorities, babies born at 35-36 weeks are considered late pre-term babies and are therefore not considered to be full term until 37 weeks...but we're almost there! The websites say that Baby doesn't have much room to move around so we may not feel him/her moving as much...I don't know what they're talking about! Our baby is SUPER active still - maybe he/she is a tad smaller than they're predicting on these websites and Baby is taking full advantage of whatever room he/she has left :) As long as Baby remains inside, he/she is adding fat to the body and allowing the lungs to continue maturing, making sure Baby is fully prepared to take on the challenges of human life when he/she comes out!

Wow...not much space left! Also, notice where this lady's hands are...on her back...I feel her pain :(

We've really been able to notice Baby moving around by watching my stomach lately; Tyler was so amused with it that he decided to video-tape Baby's movements yesterday. Most of it is pretty boring but we were able to catch some pretty intense leg movements across my belly...it was so fun to push it back and watch Baby kick again! Such an interactive, persistent little Baby :) I've also attached pictures from the nursery - I know you've all been waiting!! This is about as "finished" as it's gonna get until Baby is born and we know how to better decorate. But we have some empty picture frames up, just waiting to be filled with adorable pictures of our sweet little child, and all of the basics are there just waiting to be used! I've also put up pictures of the bassinet that was loaned to us by one of my sweet friends here, Deanna. And, funny enough, it matches our bedroom PERFECTLY! Tyler just finished painting our room grey and yellow, like the rest of the condo...it looks great! Now all it needs is our little Baby to sleep in it :) Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Pictures of the bassinet - very gender-neutral and also matches our bedroom well :)

Picture of the nursery from the doorway

Picture into the nursery from the hallway

Just inside the doorway...looks so cozy! Can't wait to sit in that chair!

Wall #1 - picture frames, shelving, and furniture with our awesome Noah's Ark snow globe on it! Also, the swing - probably won't stay in here, but no use in cluttering up the living room just yet :)

Wall #2 - changing area: changing table/dresser with picture frames and shelving to look at - planning on putting a family picture of the 3 of us in that big frame in the middle, whenever we get one :)

I realize that it looks a little "bare" still - but we're not really able to decorate with all of the cutesy things just yet - promise it will be cuter once we get all of the finishing touches added :)

We have our 36 week appointment next Friday - this will be the first "cervical" check and also the test for GBS (group beta-strep). GBS is common in about 25% of pregnant women, and it's not too terribly dangerous if they know it's present and are able to treat it with antibiotics immediately before delivery. If they aren't able to catch it, it can be very VERY dangerous (even fatal) to healthy newborns. So, in order to avoid any additional stress at delivery, please pray that my test comes back negative and that we don't have to worry about GBS :) Also, please continue to pray for the health of our baby and myself as we get closer and closer to D-day. Lastly, just be praying for our final preparations to become a family of 3 - still not completely sure what this will look like but we're definitely feeling excited and a little apprehensive about it all :) Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers through this whole journey - it has been so wonderful to experience it all with you (as much as we can!)!

34 Weeks

6 weeks (or less) left!!! Yay! It's official - I'm carrying something the size of a melon in my middle-section, which explains why my back has been hurting so badly! Baby is almost 5lbs by the end of this week (woah!) and 19-20inches in length. All of the muscles in Baby's body are maturing and he/she is practicing using them by all of the wonderful jabs, kicks, and stretches that have been going on constantly :) Not a whole lot of "change" per se, mostly just fattening up in preparation for the big day. We had our 34 week appointment on Wednesday - Baby's heart rate is 155 and he/she is definitely head down still, which is perfect! The midwife predicts that Baby will be 6.5lbs (at the smallest) to 7.5lbs or so (at the largest) on D-day...hooray! Sounds like a perfect size to me :)

I'm finding it harder and harder to sleep lately - so much movement going on inside, lots of weight to carry outside, and just generalized discomfort all around. I keep telling myself - 6 weeks, maybe 5 weeks even!, and I'll get to hold Baby...I can do this! Our changing table/dresser arrived yesterday (yay!) and our mattress and changing pad should be arriving by tomorrow! Slowly but surely getting everything together; now all that's left is putting the final touches on the nursery :) Our condo is completely painted!! It looks great; Tyler did a great job :) His list of projects is almost gone, which is nice to see (at least on this end...he may start looking for others soon!). We've also hired a doula (thank you for all of the prayers for wisdom)! We found this lady through our child birth educator and she seems like a really good fit for us; plus, she has her training in midwifery (she'll be taking her boards in February) and this allows her to labor at home with us until we're ready to go into the hospital. We are very thankful for her and think she will help make this natural birth a wonderful experience for us :) We've also finished our child birth classes as of Wednesday; we are now officially certified to birth our child...good to know! Haha, in all seriousness, we did learn a lot and feel like class has prepared us a little more for D-day...can't come soon enough!\


Baby born at 34 weeks

Thanks for all of the prayers - please continue to pray that God will provide someone to temporarily watch our child from mid-January through the end of February while we wait for our spot at the childcare center to open. He has been faithful in providing for us thus far and we trust that He will continue to do so :) Please also continue to pray for our preparations overall as we get closer and closer to having our little one, and also for a healthy end of the pregnancy/safe delivery for both Baby and mom. Thank you all, again, for your love and support - we couldn't do this without you! Have a great weekend!!

33 Weeks

7 weeks to go - could they please go by faster?! We are SO anxious to meet our little one! Our "little one" is growing rapidly - we're over 4lbs (about the weight of a pineapple) and over 17inches long from head to heel! So that's why my belly feels bigger - and more painful :/ Other than growing, Baby's had a few developments this week. His/her skin is no longer a red color but has turned the more "normal" newborn color of pink. This is because the liver is now storing Baby's iron; apparently prior to this all of the extra iron in the blood was making Baby look like a little red tomato :) Baby's skeleton continues to harden, with the exception of his/her head - these bones won't fuse completely until early adulthood - which allows for easier passage through the birth canal (and also a funny shaped head, temporarily)! Baby continues to be active - no need to count fetal movements with this one! He/she never stops moving! Ok...that's a little dramatic, but it really does feel like Baby's moving more often than not which is exciting, reassuring, and sometimes annoying/painful (like when I'm trying to sleep!). We've discovered that our child is stubborn and likes to stick feet and elbows into unpleasant places; when we try to gently reposition, he/she promptly puts it right back where it was...sigh. Determined little child!! :) It's fun to play these games with our child - gah, I can't wait to hold him/her in my arms!!!


As this picture demonstrates, the space is rapidly decreasing in the uterus. Because of this, the amniotic fluid amount has slowly started decreasing which is apparently why I'm able to feel so many movements - not as much cushion!

As for me, I'm still tired - all the time, it seems! Tonight is my 3rd night shift in a row and I am definitely feeling it! After tonight I get to go back to day shift for about 3 weeks - yippee! A more normal life schedule! My back pain has been much better this week, very thankful for that! Tyler had a busy weekend - he painted the kitchen all by himself (extremely time-consuming and tiring, I'm sure) and put everything back together and in its place; as if that wasn't enough, he also made 2 delicious dinners for us - he's amazing, what can I say?! Other good news - we've moved up quite a few spots on the daycare waiting list...we've moved from 11th to 3rd!! This means that, at the latest, we should have a spot by the end of February - praise God!! Thank you for all of your prayers in this area - please continue to pray that a spot will open sooner, or that we will find someone willing to watch our baby temporarily between mid-January and February.


Cute little baby born at 33 weeks. No, he's not suntanning with some super sweet shades - he's under phototherapy to help with jaundice and those goggles protect his little eyes. Jaundice is definitely not uncommon in newborns, especially premature babies.

 That's about it for this week - not a whole lot of updating going on, this week has been a pretty quiet one :) Thanks, again, for all of your prayers. Please continue to keep our little growing family of 3 in your prayers this week, that God would just continue to provide for us as we prepare for Baby's arrival and that we would be blessed with a healthy, full-term baby :) Have a great week!

32 Weeks

Countdown continues...8 weeks to go! Baby has reached a hefty weight of about 4lbs (same as a sack of red potatoes) and is approximately 17 inches from head to heel. As far as we know, Baby's still on track to gain about 1/2lb per week and double his/her weight in the next 8 weeks - yikes! Not a whole lot is changing with Baby now, just simply growing and adding on the pounds. Still lots and lots of movement going on in there, which is becoming more and more noticeable (and painful!) as those elbows and feet are very quickly running out of room to stretch before they come into contact with my bladder, ribs, or sides :) It's still very exciting to feel Baby move so much (definitely an extremely active baby - what am I in for when he/she comes out?!) and to watch my belly change shape on a regular basis!

Just a little cramped, I'd say :)

As for me, I have to admit - I'm definitely getting tired. Ready for this baby to come out (not that I want a preemie, but I'm ready to have the baby here already)!! All in all, it's going very well and I really don't have much to complain about. Definitely gained more weight than I expected to (duh!), so I've started trying eat more protein-packed, smaller meals (not that I was eating unhealthy before, but trying to slow the weight-gain down just a tad!) and need to get a little better about exercising :)...but who wants to do that when a nap sounds oh so much better?! Sleep has been more challenging in the past few nights as Baby seems to be very VERY (uh-oh) active at night and his/her weight gain (and my increasing belly size) makes it harder and harder to find comfortable positions to sleep in for an extended period of time. I guess God is just getting me ready to wake up several times during the night once Baby gets here :) Have to give Tyler a shout-out again - he's been really great with giving me back massages and reminding me to take it easy or sit down when he knows I've over-worked my back throughout the day...so thankful to have such a wonderful husband! Our birthing classes are almost over - yippee!! - and last night we had the pleasure of watching a video on birth (boy, was that an experience!). Not that any of this is new to me, but it was definitely a good visual reminder of what is to come in the not-so-distant future. And, I realize I probably sound crazy and naiive, seeing the birth didn't scare me - it actually excited me more than anything! I know, I know, it's going to hurt a lot and be a long, enduring process that I will more than likely be miserable at the end of...but I'm so excited! All of that hard work and pain will result in the sweetest little miracle we've been waiting on for so long! Side note - please pray that I maintain my optimism :)

Another side note - we officially bought our plane tickets to come home at Christmas time!! YAY!! And...we're flying into Fort Wayne! Double yay! Our "tour" with Baby begins December 21 and will end December 31; we plan on splitting the stay with Tyler's parents and my mom and Sam (most hospitable housing environment for my allergy-stricken hubby), and are really looking forward to spending 10 days at home with our little one! Definitely want to try and see a lot of people, but we also are very aware that we are not going to be able (nor want to) travelling all over the city/state to show off our little cutie. That being said, we will definitely try to arrange times to get together with people in groups or in individual visits at the places we're staying. We'll keep you posted as the time gets closer :)

Please continue to pray for Baby's growth - that it stays on track and that he/she puts on the appropriate amount of weight when the time comes to grace us with his/her presence. Prayers for my comfort as Baby increases in size are also greatly appreciated :) We think we may have found a decently-priced doula for the birth (requirement for delivering at the Midwifery Center), but we'd love prayers of wisdom as we make our final decision on who that person will be. Lastly, just continued prayers for Tyler and my peace of mind as we get closer and closer to becoming a three-some; our world is going to change more than we ever imagined (and we're so excited!)!

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! Have a wonderful rest of the week :)

31 Weeks

Woohoo! We're in the single digits (weekly countdown, that is)...only 9 weeks/2mos to go! Baby's weighing in at approximately 3.3lbs, the equivalent of 4 navel oranges - that's a lot of weight! - and is measuring approximately 16 inches from head to heel. Not a lot of space left to stretch! The scary thing is this - Baby is going to be more than doubling his/her weight in the next 9 weeks - eek!! Get ready for some serious growth! One website put it this way - Baby will gain approximately 0.5lbs per week from here on out; grow, Baby, grow! Exciting news on the development front - all of Baby's systems/organs are mature except for the lungs - so crazy to think about! This means that Baby would have a very good chance of survival outside the womb, but would definitely still need some respiratory help. Also, all of Baby's senses are mature now so he/she can taste (yummy amniotic fluid!), smell (what does it smell like in there? Probably not pleasant...anyways...), see (eyes are open most of the time and able to visualize things that are close to his/her face), touch (pulling on that umbilical cord and playing with his/her face!), and hear (all of those lovely sounds inside Mommy, along with mine and Daddy's voices, and who can forget Samson and Delilah?!). Baby's skin is almost completely smooth now as more fat has settled into place around the body. Lastly, because Baby is running out of room (and rather quickly, I might add), his/her arms and legs are tucked in close to the body (or in the fetal position - of course!) and will more than likely stay that way until birth. That's not to say that I'm not feeling Baby move as much - he/she's moving more than ever! We definitely have a very active little one :)

If you haven't seen our Facebook album of Baby's pictures, check it out! We had the awesome experience of having a 3D/4D ultrasound done last Saturday - so cool!! Got a sneek-peak of what Baby will look like (facial features, hands, feet, etc) when he/she graces us with their presence in a few months; I think Baby definitely has my lips/mouth, nose could be mine or Tyler's...we'll see! Unfortunately, like last ultrasound, Baby was feeling a bit camera shy and didn't want to move around much (could be due to the fact that he/she was up all night long with Mommy at work the night before), but it allowed us to get some pretty awesome close-ups of the face (and I mean REALLY close up - face was smashed up against the side of my uterus! Is there some cuddling in our future?!). I'll try to remember to post the pictures on here when I get home from work tomorrow :)

As for me, I'm growing too :) I've found the first (evil!) stretch marks on my legs - sigh, just a sign of things to come I assume. Still feeling pretty good, overall. The heartburn has increased and is becoming unbearable at times - may need to look into some Zantac or something a little longer-lasting than the Tums I've been popping like candy. I find it's worse on night shift, possibly because Baby is moving so much then and pushing those sweet little legs/feet up into my guts and lungs :) Backaches have also gotten a bit more unpleasant - that uterus needs to stretch with Baby's growth, and I have a feeling it's attached to my back close to my sciatic nerve which means lots and lots of pain in my bottom and legs - not fun! Thankfully a good night's rest and staying off of my feet for a while gives it time to relax and feel better. I keep reading about Braxton-Hicks contractions (practice contractions for actual labor - not harmful or painful at this point, just the uterus stretching and getting ready for the big day), but I don't feel like I've noticed any at this point. Guess we'll see :)

Cute little baby born at 31 weeks :)

Tomorrow marks the half-way point through our child birth class - there are six or seven other couples in the class with us, and the teacher seems to do a good job of keeping us entertained and providing good information. Not really learning a whole heck of a lot (on my end), but it's all been a good reminder and helping us focus on the things that are to come (signs of impending doom, ahem I mean labor :), when to come into the hospital, stages of labor, etc). Although it's not what we'd call "fun" and how we like to spend our Wednesday nights, it has been enjoyable enough.

Tyler has officially finished the mantle/built-in bookshelves and it looks great! I will, again, try to remember to post some pictures on here tomorrow so you can see it - I love to brag about him :) Also have gotten rid of some furniture from the past (tear) and have started to re-arrange, getting our house more settled and ready for Baby. Finally broke down and bought some really cute Holiday outfits for our little own (gender neutral, of course) - I couldn't help it! Carter's was having a huge sale, plus I had a coupon and I just had to ;) Our Baby is gonna be looking stylish for his/her tour around the Fort come Christmas time :)



I like to add these pictures - it's so much more real when you see an actual baby the size of ours! So cute :) And as much as I want to meet our little one, I do not want it to spend the first several weeks of it's life in the hospital - so stay in, little one!

I think that's all for now - I realize I've typed a lot...can you tell I'm a little bored at work tonight?! Thanks again for all of your prayers - please continue to pray for Baby/mom's health through the end of the pregnancy, preparation on our end for Baby's arrival (finances, supplies, childcare, timing of relatives visiting, etc), and that we would be making the most of our time together (just the two of us) as it won't be that way for very much longer :) We love and appreciate all of you, thanks so much for all of your support and love. Have a fantastic week!

Update - 9/5/12 - Pictures, as promised!

Love the sweet little feet!

Cute little nose :)

Love those lips!!

Now for some "project" pictures - Tyler's been working very hard on making slight improvements to our condo; they're wonderful!

Project #1 - Install new door, gives us SO much more light!

Project #2 - Custom build and install microwave shelf/cook book shelf/spice rack - so helpful in creating more space in our kitchen!

Project #3 - Built-in bookshelves and the mantle - my favorite!! It looks AMAZING! Such a great addition to our place :)

I think I've uploaded all promised pictures :) Enjoy!

30 Weeks

30 weeks - only 10 more to go! Baby has reached a hefty weight of about 3lbs, similar to a head of cabbage, and measures approximately 15.7inches from head to heel. Most of the focus this week has been on Baby's brain - it's starting to "fold" (or become more developed and function more like a human brain) and apparently this takes a lot of energy because there wasn't a whole lot of growing done this week. As it stands now, Baby has approximately 1.5pints of amniotic fluid surrounding him/her - this volume will slowly decrease as Baby gets bigger and bigger, taking up more space and leaving less room for fluid. Baby's eyes are open most of the time now (provided Baby's awake), but the vision's not so great just yet...Baby's only seeing 20/400, which means Baby can only see things that are a few inches in front of his/her face (not that there's much to see in there!), but he/she can definitely respond to changes in light! Other developments this week: fingernails/toenails have finished growing! Not looking forward to cutting them...eek! Also, Baby's bone marrow is now making all of the red blood cells Baby needs - this is exciting because, if he/she were to be born early, it's less likely they would need a transfusion (not that we're going to have to worry about that, right Baby?!). Lastly, the fine coating of hair that has been keeping Baby warm for the past several months is slowly starting to shed; now that he/she is gaining weight and adding fat, this extra coat of protection isn't needed as much. 

Definitely starting to run out of room!

As you can see in the above picture, Baby's starting to get a little cramped, which means I get to feel every single move. Although this is very exciting, lately more of Baby's "bony parts" have been jabbing me, which doesn't always feel pleasant :) Often times, I feel like we have a littly gymnast growing; I've never actually had this experience before (obviously!) but I honestly believe this is one of the most active children ever...must take after Mommy ;) Hope Baby slows down a little bit before he/she is born - Mommy and Daddy won't ever sit down (or sleep, for that matter!)! Baby is very good at keeping me awake on my night shifts - I think he/she is most active during this time (again, probably not a good sign for our dearly beloved sleep....). However, with all that being said, we LOVE feeling Baby move so much - it's a good reminder that we have a healthy, active child and it's really helping us bond with him/her :)


Here's a little 30 weeker - that scary Darth Vader mask? It's called CPAP and it's helping this little guy's lungs stay open for better gas exchange; it's one step down from a ventilator, so he's still breathing on his own but needs a little assistance.

As for me, I'm slowly starting to feel less and less comfortable and more pregnant, if that makes sense? I just have a general sense of feeling more "off" lately, I guess that's to be expected :) Definitely sleeping a lot more too, I've noticed. But I'm not sure if that's because of Baby's growth or because I've been working so many night shifts lately...probably a combination of both :) I finally had to break down and buy some larger scrub pants today (sigh...). As depressing as this was, I feel SO much better at work!! And, thanks to Walmart's wonderfully cheap scrubs, I was able to get 3 pairs of pants (enough to get me through a normal work week) for under $30! These should get me through the last 10 week stretch, one can only hope ;) Other new developments for us: we started childbirth classes last Wednesday! Super exciting, ok, maybe not. But I will say that I'm enjoying them and feel like it's giving me just a little bit of comfort knowing what's coming and how to best prepare (yes, I know how terribly painful it's going to be, but I also know there are lots of things I can do to try to best prepare and to help keep myself calm...I think...haha). These will continue for about 6 weeks...crazy to think that when we finish, we'll only have 4 weeks until due date!! Tyler's been keeping busy building our mantle - he's almost done and it looks fantastic! I absolutely love it :) Can't wait to hang 3 stockings on it this year at Christmas!


One more cute picture of a little 30 weeker who is able to breathe completely on their own!

Please continue praying for the health of our little one, and for me also, as this pregnancy starts to wrap up. I know the discomforts will probably get worse before they get better, but prayers for any comfort would be greatly appreciated :) Also, we're still searching for a dresser/changing table for the nursery - kind of minor as far as prayer requests go, but we'd really like to find one for a decent price before Baby comes! Lastly, please be praying for childcare - we're still on a waiting list at a daycare center in Portsmouth, but may need some alternative options before a space opens up (we do have some potential options, but please be praying for clarity and guidance in this area!).

Love and miss you all; we think of and pray for you often - can't wait to see everyone in a few short months!