He's Here

I know it has been a long time since I last posted, but I suppose you could say that I have been a little busy. Our precious baby boy arrived on Wed, Dec. 16th at 3:48am. While we were anticipating his arrival that week by induction, he decided to make his appearance a little earlier than scheduled. I thought I might share the story with those of you who may be interested and haven't yet heard it. I really want to write it down for myself though so I don't forget it. I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday, Dec 17th which was 9 days before my due date. My plan was to work on Monday and Wed and then have the induction done on Thursday. I went to the doctor on Monday feeling pretty bad with some very uncomfortable back pain that had been lingering on for several days. I was having a rather difficult time working due to the pain. The doctor checked me and I was no further along that the previous appt(about 2 cm). They hooked me up to the monitor just to make sure that I wasn't having any regular contractions and of course I wasn't. So my doctor bid me goodbye and said he'd see me bright and early Thurs morning. Since I was just so uncomfortable, I decided that it was best to call it quits at work so I proceeded home for my last few days before the induction. On Tuesday, I decided that I really needed to bake goodies for people at Chris's work so I embarked upon Wamart to shop for supplies. My intent was to finish early in the day and relax, but for those of you who know anything about my Tuesdays, there isn't much time in the day for doing much. So, at 10pm when Chris came home from his dinner meeting I was still cooking. He sat down at the table with me and I finally finished up at 11:30pm. I arranged and rearranged the refrigerator until I finally had all 5 platters strategically placed and carefully shut the door. I then walked over to the stove to finish cleaning up and ..... "I think my water just broke." No exclamation just a calm statement and then I proceeded to tell Chris to call K. as I walked into the bathroom. A few minutes passed by and I said to Chris, Did you call K.? To which he replies what for? I think that I ignored this and waited a few more minutes and then asked the same question again to which he responded "Why in the world would I call K.?" To this I boldly exclaimed that my water had broken and we had two children sleeping upstairs and we needed to go to the hospital! Now, I will say that once in the car Chris did apologize saying that he just couldn't understand why he should call K. as he was thinking all along that she was in school and he needed to call someone else instead..I like to believe that he was just in shock and not sure what to do as this had never happened to us before quite like this with our other children. And as he said, we didn't discuss who to call because this isn't how it was supposed to happen! I guess that God just knew that it was time for us to welcome Andrew in our arms a little earlier. We are so glad He did! So we proceed to wait on K. and I change my clothes and finish gathering my things, straighten the house and take out the trash(YES! I took out the trash). At this point I was not having strong regular contractions so I was just busying myself. "I think my water just broke." No exclamation just a calm statement and then I proceeded to tell Chris to call K. as I walked into the bathroom. A few minutes passed by and I said to Chris, Did you call K.? To which he replies what for? I think that I ignored this and waited a few more minutes and then asked the same question again to which he responded "Why in the world would I call K.?" To this I boldly exclaimed that my water had broken and we had two children sleeping upstairs and we needed to go to the hospital! Now, I will say that once in the car Chris did apologize saying that he just couldn't understand why he should call K. as he was thinking all along that she was in school and he needed to call someone else instead..I like to believe that he was just in shock and not sure what to do as this had never happened to us before quite like this with our other children. So we proceed to wait on K. and I change my clothes and finish gathering my things, straighten the house and take out the trash(YES! I took out the trash). At this point I was not having strong regular contractions so I was just busying myself. On the way to the hospital the contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart, but still very tolerable in pain. When we got there I was at 4cm and in 1 hour I was at 8cm and waiting on an epidural...I have never gone this far without an epidural and it was not my intent to do so this time either. I finally got my epidural and a little rest for about an hour and then my sweet boy arrived at 3:48am! He is precious and we adore him. That's his birth story and I just wanted to share it with everyone. Here are a few pictures of our little man!

Just waiting

I thought that while I had some free time I would update my 2 readers(who already know this anyway). I am scheduled to be induced on Thursday. I went to the doctor on Wed. and I had dilated 1-1.5 cm and was 50% effaced. I go back on Monday for another appointment and then induction on Thurs. I am doing pretty good. I had pretty noticeable contractions on Wed and Thurs morning and again in the evening, but nothing really regular. I am scheduled to work on Monday and Wed, but I am taking it one day at a time. As of right now I will be at work on Monday and see what the doctor says before I make a decision about Wed. I am actually pretty impressed with how ready I actually am. All my Christmas presents are bought and wrapped with the exception of just a few. All the Christmas decorations are up and I have done some Christmas baking and put it away in the freezer. I have all the teacher gifts ready to give with the exception of a few minor details like needing saran wrap to wrap the plates in. The nursery is ready, Andrew's clothes are washed, folded and put away, and the car seat is installed in the car. So, now I am really just in wait mode. I am actually quite glad that most things are done because the motivation right now is zero and I am exhausted. I think that the 'nesting has left and now I am just tired. Well, that is my update on me. I will do my best to let you know when my little man arrives, complete with pictures as soon as I can.

Andrew's shower

I had my baby shower for our sweet little boy just 3 weeks ago. It was an awesome time and I was so blessed to have so many people show their love for us. I was overwhelmed at the turn-out and I still am. 34 weeks My roommate and very good friend from college came to spend the weekend with me and go to the shower. She brought her two precious children with her as well. She and I were together thru thick and thin in pharmacy school and have remained in touch since. I am so glad she was able to come. Surprise! Yes, this is my best friend from NE and I couldn't have been more surprised to have her arrive at my house on Friday night unannounced. Her husband made the arrangements with mine and everyone did a great job keeping the secret.(a hard thing to do where I am concerned) Look at all those gifts! My mom and Vicki of course came for the shower as well. In case you haven't figured it out yet, this made for a very full house for the weekend. It was great though. I love to have company and what better time to be surrounded by so much love..... As if the day hadn't been wonderful enough, I was blessed to have my dear friend J. and her two children there as well. J. and I are very excited to have the privilege of having two little boys that will be just a few months apart. However, J's baby G. is living proof that GOD IS SO GOOD. G. is her little miracle after 7+ years of infertility and I am so blessed to say that I have been able to witness what God has done in this family's life. I can't wait for Andrew and G. to meet!

It's a....

BOY. Yes, in case you read this and didn't know we are having a boy. I am sure that this is not news to many as most who read this blog are just friends nearby anyway, but I thought I would share it anyway. His name will be Andrew Jarrett. The first name is a name that Chris and I have had picked out for years and 'Jarrett' is his mom's maiden name. We decided that since she has passed away we would carry on her name in him, whom she was never able to meet. Vicki made this. It is made from all the kinds of things you would find in a little boys pocket. My mom came up this weekend and helped me finish painting the nursery. She and Vicki moved the furniture and put the crib together. I am excited that this is all done and now all that is left is just little stuff like decorating etc. VIcki is working on a mural for his room which is a scene from Guess How Much I Love You. I am so excited and can't wait to see what it will look like. I have seen the drawing she did, but not the final product(she is actually making it on foam which I will then attach to the wall) The girls have these kind of pictures on their walls and it is very nice. My mom has again outdone herself and made the nursery bedding. All of it is done with the exception of the crib skirt. She is finishing that up. All in all we are close to being done with the exception of lots of little things. I am looking forward to having it done before the holidays. Helping mom make the bed. Look at how big they are! So hard to believe that this used to be their crib!