Introducing Laura Lynn B.

Well, Baby B arrived today (3/30/09) and surprised Mom and I. The entire pregnancy we thought Baby B was a boy, but in fact Baby B is a beautiful girl! Laura Lynn arrived safe and sound at 3:36pm. She weighed 7lbs 13oz with a length of 20inches. I will post more in the next few days about the prelabor and active labor.

I really have to stress that Mom was a true champion. She did her best to have a vaginal birth and pushed for over 2 hours, but Laura was stubborn and wished to stay inside (sounds like she is taking after her father.) After 2+ hours in active labor, the surgeon came in and suggested we go the C-section route...without hesitation, we did!

Mom, Laura and I will be released from the hospital on Thursday. We encourage people to stop by and see Mom and Laura. If you decide to, please call before heading out.

Mom and Laura

Auntie Lynn and Uncle Scott

Great Aunt Sue


Uncle Michael - Well done!

The Family

Mom and Laura Again

Father B and Baby B!

Still No Baby Yet

Well. We're still waiting! I was actually pretty glad that the baby didn't come on Wednesday-Friday, because I was in a lot of pain. Things are on the mend now...my ribs are a little sore but I am able to be active and get stuff done, which is good. Father B did a great job of caretaking and worked from home a little extra so he could be here to help me, and my mom came over on Friday to help me run a Target errand and clean up a little.

I was convinced I was going to go into labor last night; things just felt different and my belly was all tight. Plus I had the crazy nesting thing going on (I washed dishes, did laundry, made cupcakes, cleaned out a messy basement room, etc.) - but it turned out to be pretty uneventful.

Today is Grandpa B's and Uncle Matt's birthday! We will see if they have to share this birthday with the baby, or if they get to keep it to themselves... Tomorrow, it is back to school. Hmmm. Not sure how I feel about this. My sub is ready to go, I'm ready to be done, and I tied up all my loose ends before break started. So, we're just waiting around at this point to see if anything happens today or not! We'll keep you posted.

Step Right Up for the Magical Nursery Tour!

Mom gives a tour of the baby nursery.

*Sorry, forgot to post this on Monday!

OUCH!

I have been dealing with the lingering effects of a cold from the beginning of March, including some occasional coughing. On Monday I talked to my doctor about some pain on my left side near my ribs, which she decided was probably due to pulling a muscle from coughing. Yesterday, I was coughing again and felt a pop right in the same area of my ribs, and immediately after that I was in a lot of pain! Last night I sat in a chair all night long with ice on my back...Father B was calling me "Queen Bee" because mostly all I did was sit there and ask him to bring me stuff.

Today I called the doctor's office to see how I could deal with this or if I needed to come in. My doctor is assuming that I have cracked a rib, but they won't x-ray to see if this is actually the case. So, my treatment is rest, ice, Tylenol, and in an hour I am heading in to the doctor's office to get wrapped up in an Ace bandage as well. I'm a little nervous about going into labor now since I'm already in a lot of pain on my side and back, but the nurse assured me that if I have an epidural (which is the plan anyway) it will help block this pain.

Again, it's good that I'm home on break anyway right now, so I'll just be resting and taking it easy! Father B is taking good care of me.

March = Babies!

Another congratulations is due to my cousin, Steph, her husband, Mike, and their daughter Anna! Meet the newest member of their family -

Monday, March 23
Mason James was born at 8:59 pm. He weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. We're glad he is doing well!

39 Week Appointment

Father B and I just went to our 39 week appointment...I'm really hoping it was our last one! Unfortunately, there really was no change between last week and this week. Still 80% effaced, baby's head is low, not dilated. We went over some different scenarios with our doctor depending on what happens:

1. Baby B shows up whenever, our doctor will be able to deliver as long as it's not Apr. 3-5, when she's out of town again.
2. We go to next week's appointment...if I am dilated to a "2," she will schedule an induction on Wednesday, April 1st.
3. We go to next week's appointment...if I'm still the same as this week, I will have an appointment with a colleague of hers on Thursday or Friday (she only works M/W), and they would schedule an induction on Monday, April 6 (cousin Lilly's birthday!).

I personally am hoping for option 1, preferably over the weekend (27th-29th)!!! Right now I'm on spring break, and if I have the baby during the week, the days would "count" in my maternity leave even though I'm not technically working. However, I'm not really thrilled about the prospect of returning to school on Monday the 30th either. I tied up all my loose ends there on Friday...but of course we all know you can't really schedule babies or anything that happens with kids, so we'll just keep sitting on edge around here for now!

Congrats to two new parents!

Just want to take a moment to send a special congratulations to a couple of first-time parents.

Friday, March 13th
Scott and Connie had a baby girl, Chelsea Lynn at 5am. She weighed 7lbs 11oz.





Sunday, March 22nd
Adam and Tricia had a baby boy, Nolan Gregory this morning. He weighs 6lbs 2oz and is 20.5 inches long.




Next in line is Stephie and then us! Whoo Hoo!

Farewell DINKS!

Dual Income, No Kids.

The big day is coming fast. Time for reflection. We are quickly approaching the end of a wonderful era, DINKS (dual income, no kids). As mom and I say goodbye to this era, I will reflect on the things that made this time so wonderful!

Here is what I will miss the most:

• Only worrying about Mom
• Being lazy when I want to
• Sleeping in
• Privacy
• Larger Paychecks
• Doing things at the last minute
• Hanging out with friends - without planning too far in advance
• Taking a nap - I love you, NAPS!
• Vacations - week long, out of the country
• Being responsible for only entertaining mom
• Quiet house

I know I could add a few more if I really sat down and thought about it. I realize parenthood has its advantages, but the days of being DINKS were oh so nice!

Happy Birthday 'Nell!

Hoodwinked!

March 30th is our due date...Not March 27th.

At Monday's appointment, our doctor mentioned that the due date is March 30th. March 30th?!? I looked at mom in bewilderment. From our ultrasound appointment at 20 weeks, we were told the due date moved up three days to March 27th. Bamboozled!

FYI- the ultrasound technician takes measurements of the baby and determines the due date based on the results. The original due date is based on the date of the mom's last period.

After being misled for nearly 20 weeks, I asked the doctor how and why did the due date move back to the original due date and not the date given after the ultrasound?

She replied that you should never, ever go by the ultrasound date except when the difference in days from the original date given and the ultrasound date are greater than 5 days. Since the difference is only three days, we have to remain with the original date given, March 30th.

So, Mondays are once again the new change in weeks. Today, we are 3 days into week 38.

Doctor Visit - 38 Weeks

Continuing to get closer...
Today's appointment:

*80% effaced
*Still dilated to "0" but getting closer
*Baby has dropped lower than last week
*If I had the baby today, the doctor thinks it'd be in the high 6 lb. range; full term she's guessing high 7 lb. range ("slightly above average")
*Heartbeat was at 130

I am just glad to have Father B back in-state, and my doctor back in town. The baby can come any time now, we're pretty much ready! Uncle Matt is in town this week on spring break so I think he'd like it to arrive when he's here. My long term sub has been hired and will be in this week to "shadow" on Thursday and Friday, my bag is packed for the hospital, Father B has the carseat installed in his car, we cleaned this weekend and finally took the computer out of the baby's room. Nursery pictures will be coming soon...