Christmas, Indiana, and Cold

Erin had a great Christmas and got to see ALL her family - including meeting Uncle Tom and Aunt Pam from Boston for the first time! Of course, it was a busy time, but lots of fun too. She enjoyed watching Mommy and Daddy open her presents and loved her presents. She has even started playing with them...and so have Mommy and Daddy! Here are some pictures from Christmas in Concord.

Her first trip to Indiana went well, we think...she was a big hit, and we had lots of fun seeing everyone there. My aunts had a shower for me and her which was a lot of fun. We didn't really see any snow, but that was probably for the best for our travels!

Bella had a much-deserved vacation at the kennel and came back with nicely healed surgical sites - no more cone! We enjoyed our vacation from her as well (it had been a trying 10 days with her and that cone), but of course were so happy to see her last night.

So the only bad thing out of our Christmas holiday has been a cold...I got it first, then Bob and Erin got it. We don't get many colds, and boy are they not fun! I do not know how parents of chronically ill kids can take it - she's been sick for about 2 days and my heart is just broken! Hopefully she will get to feeling better soon. She has slept a lot today, so we are hoping that helps her feel better (without compromising her night time sleep, of course!). I stopped at Target and got her a humidifier tonight, so hopefully that will help also.

Finally, and most importantly, we have a new web album for her now that she's 2 months old: http://picasaweb.google.com/bob.callaway/ErinMichelle2Months Enjoy!

Update from Indiana

We all made it to Indiana today, despite the cold and frozen conditions in the midwest. Erin took her first plane ride today (two actually) and did pretty well - only some crying right before takeoff of the first flight to Cincinnati, and during the descent into Ft. Wayne. Gina's grandma had an infant scale, and we weighed Erin - 12 pounds! She's already enjoyed meeting her great-grandparents, and her first cousin (once removed) Jimmy and his kids (including their 3 month old Carson, who just stared and smiled at her).

We hope you had a good Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! We feel so fortunate to have the best gift in the world - a new baby. Erin is celebrating Christmas in Concord and then taking her first plane trip to Fort Wayne to see everyone up there...it shall be an adventure.

Oh, and the long sleep stretch did not repeat itself last night, but we are hopeful for tonight and for the future!

Early Christmas Present from Erin!

Erin gave her Mom an early Christmas present - she slept last night from 9:30 until 4:30! 7 whole hours - and it was in the crib! If you add the bath, and trying to get her to sleep, it was 8 hours between feedings. Gina feels very refreshed this morning, as you might expect. We don't expect it every night (yet), but it sure is nice when it happens!

Bella also slept through the night last night, for all of you who are interested. She's become much more adept at life in the cone, walking, sniffing, and sleeping.

8 Weeks!

Wow, Erin is 8 weeks old today! It is really starting to fly by for me, and I know Bob would say the same thing. She seems to be doing great - she definitely is getting plenty to eat (judging by what's leftover in her diaper!), and her sleeping is coming along. Most nights for the past week or so, she has slept in her crib. Some nights are easier than others, and we still resort to the bouncy seat at times, like last night. Naps are about 50/50 with the crib or pack and play vs. the bouncy seat or being held. So while I still get discouraged, I think we are making progress.

We know you are all worried about Bella, and we are happy to report that she slept with the cone last night. Breakthrough! She also is walking much better and will lay down on her own. Plus she acts completely normal when we take it off for meals. So we think she is doing fine!

Irony

Isn't it ironic that the first night Erin slept 4 hours straight (yay!) that we were up halfway through with Bella? Poor Bob was up most of the night with her...she does NOT like the cone collar thing. We have been practicing this morning, and she will walk and sit with it on (with biscuit bribes), so we are working on laying down...laying down is very important for Bella : )

The saddest thing you'll ever see

Bella made it through her surgery today - she's at home recovering now, but is definitely droopier than normal. She's got a decent incision on her leg from where they removed the mass, and then another smaller one on her back. She refused to walk out of the vet - I had to carry her to the truck, where she collapsed in the seat and was passed out the whole way home.

Our furry baby

Please keep Bella in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow as she is having surgery. It's not a major thing - just removing 2 lumps that have been growing, one on her back and one on the front of her leg. She will have to wear one of those ugly cone-shaped collars, how embarrassing! Hopefully she will be back to taking walks and babysitting Erin in no time.

Portrait

Erin had her picture taken today at JC Penney at North Hills, and I must say I was very impressed with them. They did a great job and even took us early since we got there early, which turned out to be a blessing to finish up before she got hungry. We don't have proofs online to show off, but let me just say they are beautiful! Plus, I got them for about 1/3 their regular price, thanks to a coupon I had (score!). We couldn't get her to smile, but they are still really good - not that I am biased or anything : )

See the post below for a picture of her smiling...she still doesn't do it very often and you have to catch her at just the right time, but it's awfully cute!

In other news, we continue to struggle with her sleeping. She has good nights and bad nights, but the bad nights are really rough and discouraging. Plus, I can only get her to sleep during the day if I hold her, or she MAY sleep in the bouncy seat with it vibrating (but not always). I may have to take a break from reading the sleep book because it is just making me more depressed to read what she "should" be doing by now. Oh well, we can just hope she comes around soon. She is still pretty fussy in the evenings too, even though we are a week past the magic 6-week mark where it is supposed to get better. It has got to get better at some point...right?

Week 7!

As close as we have come to getting a smile on camera (see more here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bob.callaway/Erin1Month):



Well, Erin will be 7 weeks old tomorrow! We don't have much new to report. She continues to be more alert every day and already seems to have favorite toys and books (of those we have tried, anyway). I took her and Bella to the vet yesterday and put Erin, in the car seat, on the scale. After researching the weight of the car seat, we estimated her weight to be about 10 lbs., 9 oz. She definitely feels heavier!

Let's see, what else...she likes baths much more now than she used to, so that's something fun we can do. She does look at the Christmas tree, but isn't as interested in it as I thought she would be. Her sleeping is better - now she usually sleeps between feedings at night, which are about 2-3 hours apart. She tends to go to bed around 10pm or 11pm, sleep until 1am or 2am, eat and sleep until 4am or 5am, and eat and sleep again until 7am. Some nights are better than others, but that seems to be the trend. I'll take it for now, but longer stretches of sleep will be nice too!

We have had a busy week so far - doctor's appointment on Monday, vet yesterday, a little Christmas shopping today, she is getting her picture taken tomorrow, and maybe going to meet Bob's work friends on Friday. Whew! We'll post pictures soon!

Cheese!

I *think* Erin smiled at me today! It happened twice, right after I fed her. Her whole face got into it and her mouth was open wide. However, we can't get her to do it again. So maybe it was a coincidence, but we are going to keep trying. We'll get a picture as soon as we can!

6 weeks!

Well, we made it to 6 weeks...I have a completely new respect for parents! Erin is still pretty fussy, and the only thing that always calms her down is holding her and walking up and down the stairs. That's good for my baby fat, but bad for my already low energy level! She has not been sleeping as well as night the past several days for some reason - it's like she is sleeping really lightly and wakes up as soon as we try to put her down, or even if we try to move. I am hoping this phase goes by really quickly! She is eating about every 2-3 hours, but will occasionally go about 4 hours at night on a good night, so we live for those nights. I don't know how some moms go back to work at 6 weeks, because I still feel like a zombie. I keep saying that the crying doesn't bother me - it's the lack of sleep that is so bad!

Here's a picture of our pretty girl who makes it all worth it:

Erin weighs...

...about 10 pounds! Yesterday, we took her up to her grandma's work (NICU) where they have a baby scale, and at 5 weeks and 1 day old, she weighed 10 lbs., 3.5 oz. with her clothes on. All that eating is paying off!

She's having fun visiting her Ambrosini family and enjoyed her first Thanksgiving, even though she slept through the meal. Her mommy and daddy appreciated that!

1 Month Old!

Today is Erin is 1 month old! To me (Bob), it sure doesn't seem like a month ago, at this time, we were getting ready to head to the OB office for Gina to get checked, but we were!

As Gina has posted, Erin has good nights and not so good nights, but I think we're all getting a bit more sleep, as the general attitude around the house has been improving.

Grandma and Grandpa F. will be here this afternoon to visit with us - we're looking forward to seeing them!

And, for the obligatory blog-post-picture, here's Erin this morning hanging out on her favorite blanket (that Aunt Pam made!):

One other item of note - I've created a new web album @ Picasa for the pictures during the first month: Erin - 1 Month.

P.S. From Gina: Bob has been a very good sport about my lack of sleep (and resulting crankiness)...and if anyone has sleep tricks that would work on a 4 week old, let us know! She falls asleep great but wakes up as soon as we put her down. She still doesn't like the pacifier - now she likes to gag if we put it in her mouth. Very dramatic.

Week 4

Well, we don't have much new to report...Erin is doing great! Some nights are better than others, but that's fine with us. Last evening, she didn't cry much at all (she definitely still cried, but not for hours!) and she played for a long time on the floor and in her bouncy seat. Sometimes she likes tummy time, but sometimes not so much. She can hold her head up for a few seconds when laying on her tummy. She is much more alert and loves to look around at us and whatever is near her. And last night, I got TWO stretches of 2-1/2 hours of sleep, plus a couple of short naps. No complaints here!

She has started to spit up more, and we had to have an emergency bath this morning because of it. She was not happy about that. We measured her last night and she is somewhere between 21-1/2" and 22" long (she was 20" when she was born). Bob also tried to weigh her on Saturday with our bathroom scale and estimated her around 9 pounds. It's hard to think that on Sunday she will be a month old already! She's got a busy week next week with Grandma and Grandpa F. visiting, Daddy off work, and Thanksgiving. Then she is spending a week in Concord with Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa A., then Christmas coming up not long after that!

Here is a picture of how hard her life is, laying around on pillows:

Sleep News!

Well, last night was a huge breakthrough in the Callaway house. Erin slept in her crib! Prior to last night, she would sleep in the pack and play in the living room and I would sleep on the couch next to her. We do have a bassinet in our room, but she didn't like it and we didn't like her being so noisy in it. So I got to get reacquainted with our bed too.

So anyway, she ate around 10:15, slept, ate at 2:15, slept, ate at 5:30, slept, and ate at 8:15! It was heaven. Hopefully I didn't jinx it by telling everyone.

And Bob thinks she is crawling already - she "crawled" up his stomach this morning during tummy time. I, however, am skeptical.

Fussy and Crib

Whenever I heard the word "fussy" before now, I imagined a cute little baby squirming around a little bit and maybe whining every few minutes or so. I think I had the meaning of the word wrong! Erin's version of fussy is screaming at the top of her little lungs for an hour at a time every evening between feedings. It is so hard to hear her cry, but we are doing everything we can think of to make it better. We walk with her, sing, talk, rock, rotate her in the bouncy seat, swing, and Bjorn, try to burp her again, change her diaper, give her a bath, and anything else we can think of. We have not taken her in the car yet, but I think that is the next step. Tonight I am going to try to feed her more often than every 2 hours in case that is the problem. My book says this is normal and it usually peaks around 6 weeks...3 weeks to go, eek! She is definitely more vocal and alert now!

We tried to go on a walk this afternoon, which she has decided not to like this week. Afterwards, I took her up to her room and rocked her with the radio on. Then I wanted to try her in the crib. 30 minutes later (and past the 2 hour feeding mark), she is still passed out. Maybe the crib is magic!

Week 3 Update

It's been a busy week for Erin... let's see. She's been eating all the time, sleeping pretty good, and starting to look around a lot more. Gina and I both think her eyes are starting to turn from the slate blue color that they were at birth to a brownish color (just like her Mom & big furry sister).

And today, she finally cut the cord (stump)! Now all you see when you look at her belly is a big ol' gut (after all the eating she's doing)!

I'm back at work now, and Gina's adjusting to the mostly sleepless life of a new mommy.

We've also learned that she likes us to walk her in circles and sing to her, so we're being stretched to remember the lyrics to many different songs (she doesn't seem to like you to sing the same song more than once).

Erin's First Trip

Today, we went to Concord for the day so Erin could meet her great Gramma and Grandad Ambrosini. She had a busy day with them, her Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Chris, Logan, Uncle Dale, and (almost) Aunt Maria. She was good at first, but wanted to cry after lunch. She did great in the car, sleeping both ways. Bella had to share the back seat with her, but she managed. We posted pictures on the picasa site!

2 weeks!

Wow, has it been 2 weeks already? It has both flown by and dragged on forever, if that makes any sense. Probably part of it dragging is because I have been awake for most of it! Today was Bob's first day back at work and I took Erin for her 2 week checkup. She has gained.......are you ready......one whole pound since leaving the hospital! Today she was 8 lbs. 1 oz., so she's definitely passed her birth weight, which is what they check for at 2 weeks. She's also grown 1" in length and 1/2" in head circumference. So far, she is the opposite of me - tall (70th percentile), small head (30th percentile), and average weight (50th percentile)! Maybe she's got more Callaway traits than Ambrosini. Anyway, everything checked out good, and we are good to go until her 2 month appointment which will involve shots. We met Dr. Steele today and I was most impressed with him. He took a long time to check her over and talk to me.

We also stopped by the grocery store on the way home and took a walk with Bella this afternoon. I felt like a Mommy pro...or at least on the way to becoming one!

Otherwise, things are going pretty well. She is starting to sleep a little better by herself, an hour or so at a time. At least that's something. I am not good at taking daytime naps, so I'm just trying to rest and sleep when I can. Maybe I'll get used to it soon! We'll post 2 week pictures when Bob gets home.

Update

We're still here and still doing pretty well. Erin's Grandma A. came up Sunday afternoon and stayed until Monday afternoon. Erin was very good for Grandma and it was so nice to have her help out with the evening shift!

Erin had a bath today and it knocked her out for 4 hours afterwards. That was nice, and good to know for the future...maybe it will help her sleep!

Otherwise, not much else is new. We are doing the best we can with sleeping, but I am not getting too much. She was wound up last night, but hopefully tonight will be better. I am worried about being on my own when Bob goes back to work on Thursday, but hopefully we will be all right. Somehow it never dawned on me that breastfeeding meant I would be getting up with her around the clock! We think she is having a growth spurt because she has been eating more often in the past couple of days.

Bella had her yearly vet appointment today and passed with flying colors. They even talked Bob out of teeth cleaning, which was a change from what they normally do!

Visit from Logan

Erin's cousin Logan came all the way up to Holly Springs to see her today with his mom, dad, and grandma. Erin showed off all her tricks, except she didn't want to scare them with her full volume of screaming. We had so much fun seeing them! Also notice she's sporting the overalls I made her. I took them off after they left to avoid any staining...she's been having some "blowouts" lately, and it would break my heart if I went to all that work only to have her wear then once!

From Erin Michelle Callaway

From Erin Michelle Callaway

Halloween

Here are a couple of pictures of Erin in all of her cute Halloween things that she got. Also, she tried out her new frog towel from Uncle Tom and Aunt Pam. Check out the belly on this baby! More pictures are on the Picasa site.

From Erin Michelle Callaway

From Erin Michelle Callaway

From Erin Michelle Callaway

From Erin Michelle Callaway

p.s. the best costumes at our house this evening were:

• dead hannah montana
  
• bag of jellybeans
  

Better

Last night was better than the past several nights, which was a nice change! Erin was wide awake for part of the night, but she didn't scream. We'll take that! It's still hard to get her to sleep on her own, especially at night. She has been eating more often...basically I try to feed her if it's been awhile since the last time and she's fussy. Hopefully that's ok. She likes the baby bjorn carrier (thanks, Amanda and Tyler!), which is nice for having both hands free. She also likes the swing (today, that is...thanks to my UNC nursing buddies!) and has spent the past 2 hours sleeping in it. She's excited about her first Halloween tonight and hopefully will rest all day getting ready for it! We've been going on walks nearly every day, which is nice to get out of the house, and today she'll get her second at-home bath.

From Erin Michelle Callaway

From Erin Michelle Callaway

Lungs

Erin can scream. There's no doubt about that! She even screamed for Liz on the phone last night. Monday night, she screamed from 4:30am-5:15am, just to prove that she can scream any time of the day or night. Last night, she screamed for me for about 30 minutes, then again for Bob for an hour and a half! Poor Bob. Sometimes, she doesn't even cry real tears, so it's like she really is just yelling. We haven't figured out what works to console her, so we are just trying everything we can think of. For example, she loves the bouncy seat during the day, but these evening screaming fits are apparently no time for the bouncy seat. Usually she decides when it is over, and then she passes out.

Speaking of her making decisions for herself, we have had so much fun getting to know her personality. She's got plenty of that, too! My personal favorite - she likes to hold one pinky finger up in the air when she's eating, kind of like she's at an English tea. She LOVES to stretch, and she gives Bella a run for her money in the yawn department. She will make happy noises, and she "smiles" after she's done eating. And so far, she doesn't like her arms to be contained/swaddled. Yesterday she started to suck on her hands. She's started to become more alert, which is really fun too.

So, we are hanging in there with the sleep and enjoying ourselves in the meantime. I think it's sinking in for me that she is finally here...and Bella has come to that realization as well!

Pediatrician visit

Today was Erin's first outing from the house - to the doctor. We were happy with the doctor (Dr. Bowman at Apex Peds) and had a good experience, as far as doctor's visits go. He said she is doing great, and she has gained a whole ounce since Saturday morning! He answered all our questions and said we are doing everything right...nothing can help the sleeping problem, unfortunately.

We have, however, discovered the magic carseat. She hates getting put into it, but once she's in, she goes right to sleep. We will definitely be using that to our advantage!

Also, she had her first bath at home today...she did NOT like it, but we liked seeing her clean, fuzzy, sticking-up hair afterwards!

Lights! Camera! Erin!

Here's a short clip of Erin about 2 hours after she was born (click on it to play)!

From Erin Michelle Callaway

and another one of Logan touching Erin's nose and calling her baby (Doggie if you're Logan):

From Erin Michelle Callaway

Home!

Here is my first post as a new mommy. I still remember how to type, but I had to get Bob to help me download the pictures. We had visits in the hospital yesterday from both Grandmas, Dale, Maria, AND Rio! We had to go to the parking lot to see Rio, but we were so happy to finally meet her. So, we've been home since yesterday afternoon, and all is going well so far. Erin enjoyed her first car ride and we came home to beautiful balloons from our neighbors an a sign, pink ribbon, banner, and balloons from my mom! Bella got acquainted with Erin, but they don't seem to be too excited about each other quite yet.

Erin is eating wonderfully. We are so relieved that she is doing great with it. I won't provide a lot of details here, so just let me know if you want to know more about that : ) However, her sleeping is not so great. We think she is just getting used to the new house, and maybe her stomach is trying to get used to having food in it. She will sleep if someone is holding her, but would not sleep alone. Things are looking up though - her naps at 7am and 10am this morning were all by herself, so maybe she is starting to be able to fall asleep on her own. It's hard to get used to short spurts of sleep when we are used to a full night! Bella is a little grumpy this morning.

Here is a picture of Erin and Bella meeting each other. Some more pictures are on the Picasa site:

From Erin Michelle Callaway

This girl has more pink in her closet already than I do! Here's her laundry basket right now:

From Erin Michelle Callaway

Hour 38 Update

Well, it has been 38 wonderful hours since the birth of our little angel Erin, so it's time for an update!

Gina's feeling a lot better today, though she was up and moving around yesterday with not too much trouble... Erin has been great - sleeping well, eating really well, and most of the time she generally seems content... she really loves to be held, though she does enjoy her sleep! Though sometimes she's not happy about something and doesn't hesitate to let us know - we knew before the pediatrician told us that she had healthy lungs!

We had lots of visitors yesterday, and Erin got to meet (for the first time) Grandpa Steve, Uncle Dale and (almost) Aunt Maria, Shannon, Joanna, Liz, David, Yannis & Sofia, Mike, and saw Grandma Lois, Grandma Pam, Uncle Chris, Aunt Leslie, and cousin Logan again!

Since it looks like everything is fine, we're expecting to be taking Erin home today! We've already seen the pediatrician this morning, who said she's looking great - she's lost 6.6% of her birth weight (currently 7lbs 1oz), which is well within the normal range. She's got her first doctor's appointment on Monday, so we'll learn updated stats then.

And for those of you concerned about our other (more furry) baby, she's been having fun at home. Dale & Maria brought their golden retriever puppy named Rio (and Chris, Leslie, and Logan brought up their dog Willie) so she's had doggie playtime for the last couple of days! She also took a walk with her neighbor friend Wendy (thanks Ken & MK!), and has been eating well, so we think she's coping with the news of Erin's arrival just fine.

On a more personal note - being a dad is about the coolest thing ever - I love being able to hold her, and thinking about all the fun that's to come is great - I can't wait! Gina was such a trooper through the entire pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and she's a wonderful mom - I couldn't ask for a better family!

I'll be uploading pictures periodically to the Picasa site, for which RSS feeds are available. I also got a little bit of video footage of Erin so far (sleeping, being held, and being called "doggie" by Logan), which I'll upload somewhere when we get home.

Thanks again for all the phone calls, well wishes, gifts, thoughts and prayers - we have been truly blessed with a beautiful, healthy daughter and the best family and friends - we couldn't ask for anything more!

It's a Girl!

Erin Michelle Callaway was born on October 23rd, 2008 at 7:01pm. She was 7 pounds
and 9 ounces and 21 inches long. We are very happy and relieved that she is here!
The delivery went great and both mom and baby are doing wonderful!

We will be at WakeMed Cary hospital for the next two days - we're in room WP26, and visiting hours are from 9am-8pm... just call Bob before you come (919)601-1526!

Thank you all for your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers. Now, let the fun begin!

Love,
Bob, Gina, Erin, & Bella

http://picasaweb.google.com/bob.callaway/ErinMichelleCallaway

Getting really close!

Well, this is Bob from the hospital bedside - no baby yet, but we're getting quite close!

Here's the timeline of today so far:

2:30AM - Gina starts feeling painful contractions
5:40AM - Bella awakes and requests her breakfast
5:45AM - Bob awakes and sits up, about to get ready for work, when Gina says "I think you're gonna need to stay home from work today"
6:00AM - Bob & Gina eat breakfast, counting and timing contractions (5 min apart, 30-40 sec in length)
8:00AM - Gina calls OB; they recommend coming into their office to be checked
8:20AM - Bob calls Lois @ work, will call back with updates after OB appt
~10AM - Jessica (the midwife) checks Gina - approx 3cm dilated, sends us on to the hospital
10:30AM- Check into Room #5 at WakeMed Cary
~1:30PM- Jessica checks Gina, ~6cm dilated
1:45PM - Lois, Leslie, and Logan arrive
3:15PM - Gina has had enough of the pain (but has been a champ all along) and gets an epidural
3:45PM - Kelly (our nurse) checks Gina - says she's around 8.5cm
4:00PM - Gina's water breaks
~5:00PM- Kelly checks Gina again, says around 9.5cm dilated, 100% effaced.
5:55PM- Kelly just checked again, says that we can begin pushing once Bob finishes eating the delicious Wendy's chicken sandwich that Lois brought him
6:15PM- We get ready to start pushing
6:25PM- The pushing commences, crowning soon follows
7:01PM- Erin takes her first breath!

Nope, nothing

Well, no updates from the doctor this morning. I am the same as last Wednesday, which is a big bummer. Unless anything happens, I will go back on Friday morning for a non-stress test, which is when they hook me up to a fetal monitor for about 20 minutes and see how the baby is doing. He said if all is well with that, they will continue to wait and not talk about an induction until the end of next week. While I am still scared of an induction (the full-blown Pitocin type, that is, after hearing so many stories of those inductions leading to c-sections), it's kind of discouraging to know that we may be waiting a lot longer. He said to do an induction now would be tough because I haven't made much progress.

So...we will keep waiting and hoping, and I will try not to go crazy from boredom! At least Bella is happy to keep her life normal and baby-free for now.

The Big Sister

I have heard that parents should give older siblings presents or do something special for them when a new baby is born. I don't see how this is any different:

My plan was to let her get used to it now, so we could leave her alone with it while we're gone to the hospital. The plan may backfire when she chews the whole thing today. After all, it is coated in peanut buttery delicious-ness. Who can resist that?!?

Finally - (a little) something

Well, I finally got checked at the doctor's (technically midwife) today, but I am only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Jessica has redeemed herself to me - she only called me "love" once and took some time to talk to us, as well as doing the exam, of course. She said everything is doing what it is supposed to, so I just need to give it some time. Torture! I was happy to hear that at least something is happening. She said she felt the baby's head, which I thought was kind of weird because I thought the amniotic fluid would protect the head, but maybe she didn't directly feel it - I didn't think to ask about that. She said the baby is still in the right position and the heartbeat is good (140's), so that's good. I am measuring good and all else is fine. She also said a couple of times that I have a good pelvis (gynecoid, for the nurses). I said thank you - what a compliment! Her estimate of the weight is 7 lbs. 8 oz...but of course that is just from poking around outside, so she may be way off. I've heard they can easily be a pound off either way. I think that is a good size though, not too big! I was sad not to have more dilation, but I guess it is something and everything is going good. She can't say how much longer it will be, of course. I wish she could!

She did try to sell me on laboring at home...she had a patient this week who she brought into the office at 3 cm, checked the fetal heart rate, and sent her home until she was 6 cm. I am not sure how I feel about all that. We will just have to see how it goes.

I think that's it from this morning. So, I feel a little encouraged that we have something going on, although it's not much. I sneakily (with Bob's approval) made the next appointment for Monday instead of Wednesday to not have to wait a full week. Besides, Tuesday is the due date, so I figure it's all right to see them on Monday, right? Hopefully we won't even have to go back to the doctor's! Really, I feel fine and have no complaints other than boredom. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

A Non-Update

Still nothing from the doctor this morning...and I had such high hopes for Dr. V! He said they should check me for any progress next week, but I was also told that he would check today and he didn't. So, we shall see. He said they will only induce me if my blood pressure is high (it is nowhere near high right now), or I assume/hope they will also induce if I go past my due date. Otherwise, no weight gain in the past 2 weeks, which I guess is good, I am measuring good, and everything else is good.

So, we continue to wait. I have learned that I am not cut out to be a stay-at-home-wife...even with being home all the time, I am still not making Bob gourmet dinners or cleaning the house every day. Poor Bob! Bella is enjoying all the personal attention though - she is constantly begging for biscuits now and ringing the bell to go out all the time. As long as she is happy, we are happy.

Slumber party?

Who wants to guess how much sleep is going to happen in this room when you add 2 adults and a newborn?

We got nothin'

Well, the Week 37 appointment was kind of disappointing. We probably saw Kim for less than 60 seconds for a quick listen to the heartbeat and measure. That was it! She seemed nice, I guess, just...quick! She did say that Dr. V will probably check for any progress next week. I was disappointed that she didn't poke around (Leopold's maneuvers, for you nurses) and check the baby's position since Lucie did that last week, or speculate on the baby's weight, or anything like that. But they are the professionals, so I'm sure they are doing what needs to be done. My blood pressure, weight, etc. were all fine, so that's good news.

So, right now I am feeling a little sad that I will most likely have to wait another week with nothing to do except whine about my heartburn, and poor Bob has to hear it! But I need to remember how lucky we are to be in this situation, and the baby will be born when he/she is ready. For what it's worth, I am ready!

Birthday poll

Please see the new poll to the right - when the baby will be born. Also note that I helped you eliminate one answer : )

Happy voting! The prize is the opportunity to contribute towards naming the baby.

My latest project

Here is a picture of the first two sets of overalls. The first try was the yellow one, which didn't turn out so great, but the second one was better. I have learned that "Fast and Easy" patterns are not necessarily fast nor easy! The plan is to make one more in green that's one size smaller to go with the smaller onesies, but I may need to take a short break before trying that one. The only things missing are the buttons at the tops, but I haven't quite mustered up the courage to try to make buttonholes! I got super cute white star buttons for the star one and plain white for the yellow and green ones. Hopefully they will fit - the feet seem to be a little small compared to the rest of it, but we'll see.

Class & doctor

Last night was our last baby class, so now we can say we are officially ready for the baby...or as ready as we're going to be! Bob would be happy to report that we got a certificate of completion (he's into awards and degrees, if you haven't noticed). We both agreed that we still are a little nervous about the whole thing, but we are much less scared than we were before. So that's a good thing!

Also yesterday was the 36 week appointment. The midwife, Lucie, didn't check me because she said it doesn't really give any indication of when the baby will be born. I guess I buy that, but it would have been fun to know if anything has changed. She said everything looks good, and we get to go back next week already to finally meet the famous Kim! Lucie poked around and told us where all the baby parts are, which was fun (it's in the LOA position, for all you nurses out there). So, really nothing new to report. She said they'll start talking about ways to help things along if nothing has happened in 2-3 weeks. Bob is anti-induction (thanks to our class instructor who made it sound so bad), but I am open to anything - except a c-section, unless we have no other choice.

I am attempting to make some baby clothes, and the second try is turning out a little better than the first. I'm doing the little overalls that the baby on the front of the pattern is wearing. I'll take pictures when the second one is done. It's been fun, and hopefully they will fit!

Just call us Bob (and Gina) Vila

Today we proved all those nay-sayers out there wrong, those people who said it's impossible to install a storm door without getting divorced and/or causing major damage to your house. Poor Bob probably got tired of hearing me say how bad I wanted one, so we went to Lowes and got a Pella 60-minute Express Install model. We were amazed at how easy it was to install and we would recommend it to anyone. I think we even got it installed in 60 minutes, including a frantic search for some screws and clean-up. They have lots of colors of the door and handles to pick from, and you can take the glass out and replace it with a screen that also came with it. We will install one for you for some free food!

So, here's the final product. Bella has already enjoyed looking out, but she wouldn't let us take an action shot of her guarding the house.

Almost Ready!

I guess I won't say we are completely ready until we finish baby class next week. We still don't have many updates to report...less than 5 weeks to go until October 21st! I am feeling good, no big complaints other than boredom - and if that's my only problem, I consider myself lucky!

Since our class last week was canceled, she extended it to have our last class next week. Last night, we talked all about epidurals and other interventions - very important topics! Bob took issue with the instructor citing research without citing where it came from and how credible it is. Luckily he didn't try to argue with her in class. The instructor was talking about how bad inductions are for the baby and how it's not natural, and then 2 girls said they already have inductions scheduled! I thought that was kind of funny.

No doctor's appointment this week, but starting next Wednesday, I get to go every week. Oh boy!

I am just hanging out at home these days, trying to come up with projects to do that don't cost a lot of money. We now have a freezer full of food ready to throw in the oven when we are too busy/tired for anything else after the baby is born, and the house is cleaner than it has been in awhile. I have also become very familiar with the Holly Springs library. Otherwise, not too much is going on. I tried to volunteer at the church/school, but the secretary said they don't have much they need right now. So, if anybody needs any errands run or housework done, let me know!

Dog Days

Our dog has more of a social calendar than we do! It's only Saturday afternoon, but she's already had two social events this weekend. Yesterday, she and I met some nursing school buddies at Homestead Park in Chapel Hill, where they have 2 fenced in dog areas. At first, she wasn't too sure about it, but she gradually warmed up to the idea and even started running over to greet/sniff new dogs as they came in the fence. She mostly hung out with the people though.

This morning was Dog Day in the Park in Holly Springs, one of her favorite events. We walked there, but it was awfully hot and humid, so we had to send Bob to get the car to go home. She had fun meeting other dogs and people - again, she was more interested in the people than the dogs.

Here's what she's been doing ever since:


Not much else is new around here - we had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday, but nothing really exciting to report from that. Everything continues to look good! Our fourth childbirth class was canceled on Wednesday night, so we have nothing to report from that. I was upset as it was the epidural class, but it sounds like she's going to be able to finish all the content. We are tossing around ideas/projects for the rest of the weekend, but haven't quite motivated ourselves to do any of them yet. Right now, we are cheering for the Wolfpack...beat Clemson!

Tropical Storm Hanna Brought Some Good News

While we're currently being rained upon due to the arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna (yes moms, we're fine - no damage, we still have power, just a lot of rain), I got up this morning and discovered the following information:



For those of you who aren't sure what that means, it means that Gina passed the NCLEX and has joined me in the family tradition of adding letters after our last name, and is now a certified, licensed registered nurse! (Note the subtitle of the blog has been updated to reflect this!)

Congratulations to Gina - I'm so gosh darn proud of her. Having been there with her through the whole ordeal, from deciding to leave her engineering job, to the months of taking online and traditional classes to meet the prereq's for the program, to driving back and forth from Chapel Hill to go back to school (and doing it while being pregnant), and finally cramming and studying (and passing) the NCLEX, I know how hard she's worked for this. Her caring heart, persistence, and dedication are just a couple of the reasons why I love her so much.

I'll stop gushing now :)

Boston 2008

We had such a wonderful time in Boston this weekend with Tom and Pam. It was a busy 3 days, but we got a lot done and had a great time. We got there around noon on Saturday and had lunch with them at a delicious Mexican place in Arlington called Zocalo that was in walking distance. Bob and Tom worked on Tom’s car all afternoon with some success, and Gina hung out with Pam. We had dinner at a local pizza place called Za that specializes in unique and local foods. It was really good too.

Their house is absolutely gorgeous and Pam’s garden is really magnificent! If you are wondering what all she is growing, the short answer is everything. It’s really amazing. We got to sample some of the yummy items from the garden. There are a few pictures of it, along with all our other pictures from the weekend, HERE.

Sunday, we went to St. Agnes church (also in walking distance) with Pam, which was really nice and took less than an hour. After church, Bob, Tom, and I headed downtown Boston via the bus stop (again, in walking distance from their house – I am very jealous of the proximity of so many amenities in the area) and the T subway. We hit some historical sights on the Freedom Trail, had lunch at this huge place called Faneuil Hall, which was like a big tourist area. From there, we took the subway to Fenway for the Red Sox/White Sox game at 1:30. Sadly, the Red Sox lost 4-2, but we had such a great time and had really good seats, despite being right under the Jumbotron so we couldn’t watch it. The Red Sox had a small rally in the last inning, but it wasn't enough to win. Tom and I got seriously sunburned, but somehow Bob escaped it.

After the game, we started out on foot because the subway was a madhouse – people literally lined up along the street outside of the subway entrance. We got a nice walking tour of MIT and walked across the Charles River. However, due to time constraints and a little whining from me, we took the subway from MIT to Harvard where we met Pam for dinner at Legal Sea Foods, which was also super delicious.

Today, Tom, Bob, and I went to Lexington and Concord and saw some more Revolutionary War sights. After that, we went to eat lunch with them at this place in Arlington called Not Your Average Joe’s. Then, sadly, it was time to leave, and we got back to Raleigh around 6pm with no problems.

Also mixed in there were a few runs to Auto Zone and Walgreens and a couple of tours around Arlington. We also went to “The Dunkin”, aka Dunkin Donuts, which seems to be the equivalent of Starbucks in Seattle or California…people are nuts about it. Bob also got to play Tom’s cool new PS3, though I won’t incriminate him by saying which games he was playing (and loved).

We had such a great time and can’t wait to go back soon! The weather was literally perfect – highs around 80 and lows in the 60’s. It was really hard to come back from that! Many thanks to Tom and Pam for having us and we can’t wait to go back and see more very soon!

Looks Good!

Today was yet another doctor's appointment (32 weeks, if you're keeping track) and we saw our buddy Dr. V this time. We do like him an awful lot, even though he is not, shall we say, the perkiest person in the world. I think he is very calm and would keep his cool if anything unexpected happened. Anyway, I got my hemoglobin tested and it was very good, and so was my blood pressure. And we were glucose-free this time, which is also good! Not much else to report there.

I also broke down and got a boy outfit and a girl outfit. I'd love to take them both to the hospital and use whatever we end up with, but then I couldn't wash them beforehand if I wanted to return the "wrong" one. Maybe we'll just take them both anyway. As much as I tell everyone how I would love to have a boy, baby girl clothes are really, really cute. Hopefully the newborn size (up to 8 lbs.) won't be too small...we tend to have big babies in our family.

Tonight is Class 2 for Labor and Delivery, so we are having a baby-filled day!

Now we are baby experts

Well, maybe not quite! But we did go to our "how to take care of your baby" class on Saturday morning at WakeMed. It was good and interesting and they covered a lot of topics. I think we both feel a little better about taking care of the baby, especially at first when it is so small. We practiced bathing and diapering on dolls, as well as some other stuff. They also gave us a book of information about health care, cord care, feeding, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I used my nursing school knowledge and the expert nurse/moms in my family to figure out that a couple of the things they told us were a little outdated, but at least we know better!

In other news, our beloved Taurus is giving us problems. It won't start. I know, such a minor thing. Bob got a new starter and put that in yesterday, but it still wouldn't start all the time, so last night he got a new ignition switch, and so far it seems to be starting up consistently. He was also suspect of the starter relay, but they didn't have one to sell him at Advance Auto Parts. For more details, you will have to talk to him, but that's what I know.

I am down to 3 more days until the NCLEX on Friday morning - good thing since I am about burned out on studying. Then we are off to Boston for the weekend to see Tom and Pam!

Baby class

Last night was our first in the five-week series of labor and birth education classes at the hospital. It went fine - the first class was mostly an overview of anatomy, pain in labor, and talked a little about pregnancy discomforts. Out of 9 couples there, we are the only ones who don't know "what" we're having! I thought that was interesting, and I had assumed that more people would like to be surprised, but I guess not. We got the usual reaction from people who can't imagine not knowing. Surprises are fun and exciting, people!

The class seems to be slanted towards the all-natural approach, which is just fine, but we/I still don't know if we/I can handle (or even want to attempt) that. Even after seeing the videos, as well as several births in person in nursing school, I still don't know what to do. We are definitely not the only ones unsure of all-natural, because a few other people kept asking how things would be different with an epidural. It looks like we get some time in one of the classes where they will talk about medication options and c-sections...hopefully there will be no videos of that!

So, all in all, I think it will be good and interesting. This Saturday morning is our 3-hour class on how to take care of the baby, which will be much more fun and less scary...though I realize we will spend much, MUCH more time on that than the hospital stuff!

Camcorder and Dresser

After some deliberation, I ordered a camcorder for the family yesterday - it's a Canon ZR950. It should be here in a couple days.

I also spent most of yesterday working on the dresser. As Gina had mentioned earlier, the polyacrylic was starting to flake in spots. While I'm still not exactly sure of the reason, I got rid of all the bad areas and recoated it. Initially, it looks good (though it did after I finished it a few months back), so we'll just have to see how it goes.

Check out the new poll to the right!

Doctor (again)

I have come to respect people who have a lot of doctor's appointments...they sure take up time! Today we met Jessica, an extremely perky (even by my standards) midwife. She was nice, but Bob said if she is on call when the baby is born, he may end up punching her. Oh dear.

Anyway, everything is looking good. She said the baby is very active, which we knew, and she told me again to lay off the sugar and white bread/pasta/rice/etc. Considering that is most of what I eat, this is going to be difficult. So I came home and had ramen noodles and yummy leftover baby shower brownie dessert for lunch. Don't worry - I added vegetables to the noodles to negate everything else.

We have been in super baby-room-preparation mode now that we have all the wonderful stuff from the showers. Monday, I went to Target and got some of the few remaining things off the registry with gift cards that we have received, and we are set to go! Here are some pictures of the room - the pack and play, stroller, bouncy seat, high chair, and infant seat are in the dining room for now. Thanks to Bob's boss Adolfo and his wife Kari for loaning us their bassinet!

We are contemplating getting a video recorder but haven't actually started looking at them yet. And if anyone has experience with finishing wood furniture, we need help figuring out why the dresser is flaking and how to fix it. We are befuddled.

Baby Shower!

The only thing that could have made our beach week even better would be a baby shower...which is what I had yesterday! HERE are pictures from the shower, again, not edited in any way yet. I had such a great time with everyone and the shower was just perfect. So many thanks to everyone who came and helped out with it. Many people had quite a drive to get to Holly Springs and it was so great to have you all there!

It was at Elizabeth and David Williams' house, which was so nice for me to not have to worry about cleaning and cramming all those people into our house. Special guests were Bellamy, Connor, and Oliver (who were all so good the whole time), and Gramma for coming all the way from Concord! Also thanks to Mom for the adorable cake, Liz, Leslie, Melanie, and Whitney, for all the delicious food, and Shannon for the super cute invitations. I could go on and on, but I will stop. Of course, Bob and I (mostly Bob) had everything put together within 2 hours of getting home and we love it all.

Thank you all again - we are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends to share our baby excitement!

Ocean Isle 2008

We had such a great time at the beach this week (Ocean Isle, NC)...we got to play in the ocean and the pool, saw Bob's mom's and John's new condo, had excursions to Fort Fisher and the Oak Island lighthouse, and Bob had quite an adventure on the deep sea fishing trip. Let's just say that he's not going to quit his day job to become a fisherman!

We didn't take many pictures ourselves, but HERE are ours and some that my parents took. They are out of order, don't have captions, and some need to be rotated, but I wanted to get them posted now and will fix them up soon. Bella overcame her hunger strike for the first half of the week with the help of doctored dog food and started to enjoy herself after we let her up on the couch. Of course, we all had fun playing with Logan too.