almost 8 weeks

Our strong man holding up his head!

I'm obviously really bad at updating this thing. Ryan is nearly eight weeks old, and it's a wonder how much he has grown. Things he loves include: being on his belly, Mommy or Daddy singing along to anything, his aquarium bouncer, taking a shower with Mommy, and falling asleep on Mommy or Daddy's chest. He was sleeping through the night at around week 5, but is back to getting up during the night to eat. I think he's growing. He's officially grown out of newborn clothes, which made me really sad for a day or two. Much to our disappointment, Ryan won't take a pacifier, which I am convinced would make him a happier kid during his sad moments. Plus, it would really help his caregivers at daycare.

Jason went back to work this week (he's tenured!) and I go back on September 14th. I'm definitely not looking forward to getting up at 530am to get us all ready and out the door each day. Ryan's baptism is scheduled for September 20th. We are excited to see family that haven't met him yet and introduce him to the church atmosphere.

Week 38!

Well, week 38 was a big one! Ryan arrived on Sunday, July 12 @ 3:23 pm. I tried to go to bed Saturday night and couldn't sleep, so I stayed up watching the lightning and rubbing my belly. At 1:30 am I headed to the bathroom, and guess what? My water broke! I immediately called the doctor, and he said we should go to the hospital. By 3 am we were settled into a labor and delivery room with monitors on my belly and contractions strengthening. The nurse gave me medication to try to help me sleep, but it only made me feel drunk and let me sleep for about 5 or 6 minutes in between contractions. Actually, I got the medicine twice, because it was taking forever for me to get far along enough to get an epidural. Then the doctors gave me petocin to start speeding things up ... and wow, did they ever. Before I knew it I was getting the epidural and I was 9 cm dialated by noon. Jason called everyone, thinking it would be no time before he arrived. Soon it was time to push, and boy, did I push. Ryan was a little stubborn about coming out, and it took 2.5 hours of pushing to get him to finally come out! The doctors even put a monitor on the top of his head while he was still inside to make sure he wasn't in distress. Finally he arrived at 3:23 in the afternoon, crying and beautiful. By 9:30 pm Ryan had met both sets of grandparents, Aunt Courtney, Aunt Lindsay, Uncle Bryan, Great Aunt Linda, second cousin Megan, and his Great Grandparents and switched into room 4112.

We spent Monday in the hospital and came home Tuesday afternoon. While we were in the hospital, Ryan met even more people, including Aunt Laura and Uncle Mike, Bill and Becky, Joe, Great Uncle Rick, Great Aunt Chris, and Regina. It was a tough stay between all the visitors, doctors and nurses coming in and out, and Ryan getting up and down every few hours. During one of his exams the doctors discovered that Ryan was "tongue-tied" -- the skin that holds your tongue to the bottom of your mouth should be in the middle of our tongue, but in Ryan's case it was all the way at the front of his tongue. This made it impossible for him to breast feed, and difficult for him to even bottle feed. Hence, we were at the pediatrician Wednesday to get a referral to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. Later Wednesday afternoon we went to the ENT, who stuck a HUGE needle in his tongue to numb it. Then he snipped the bottom of his tongue so it wasn't attached to the front anymore. It was so scary!

So all in all, Ryan had a scary tongue-snipping experience, got his first Hepatitis B shot, had blood taken from his heel for his jaundice test, was circumcised, and got stuck in the birth canal, all in his first three days. Poor guy. Luckily, now he's settled at home. I still can't believe he's here, out of my belly. He's eating about every two hours, which makes Jason grumpy at 2 and 4 in the morning. :-) Overall, we are thoroughly enjoying being Mommy and Daddy. It's a tough adjustment for everyone (especially the doggies and Daddy) but we will survive. We are very lucky Jason is home all summer, that's for sure.

So that's week 38! :-) Ryan will be a week old tomorrow ...

35/36/37

We've been so busy lately! Jason finished up school, and we finished Ryan's room. Jason has been working hard organizing the garage and those pesky to-do list things done before Baby arrives. Carly has had TWO surgeries, we had a Father's Day picnic here, (I made 7 different kinds of homemade cookies!), Maddie got baptized, and I traded in my Jetta (yes, my beloved Jetta!) ... all while getting to that oh-so-important full-term status July 4th. :-) Yesterday (just as I hit full-term!) I went to labor & delivery because I wasn't feeling Ryan move as much. After being monitored for a while, the nurses said that he looks fine, but my blood pressure was high. Basically I was told to stay hydrated in the air conditioning until he arrives. I have to try to get an appointment with my regular doctor tomorrow so he can have a look at my pressure earlier than our scheduled Wednesday appointment. The nurses didn't think it was preeclampsia, but I guess it's still a reason for concern, considering my pressure is usually low. Luckily, Jason is around and not stressed with school, so he's able to basically do everything so I can relax.

We have yet to take pics of the new car or Ryan's room, but here is a pic from Maddie's baptism until we get around to taking the other pictures ...

Week 34

Week 34 - The week began in a very special way: my shower! I had such a great time seeing everyone, and we received so many useful gifts. It was definitely the right venue and right people for the perfect baby shower. :-) As far as Baby Boy goes, we had an ultrasound yesterday, and he weighed in at 5 lbs, 5 oz. and in the 49th percentile with measurements, so everything is on track! It was awesome to see him - he was practicing swallowing, and each time he swallowed his bottom lip quivered. Priceless.

Laura, Me, Katie, and Emma - our lil Frog reunion at the shower :-)

Week 33

Week 33 update - It's been a quiet week. On Sunday we bought a kiddie pool for the puppies, and we enjoyed a quiet afternoon with them. It was a nice moment, just to sit back and watch them enjoy the yard. Yesterday we went to the OB, and listened to Ryan on the fetal monitor. The doctor said "the baby is doing beautifully," and because I am NOT diabetic I don't have to go every week for monitoring. yaaay. Other than that, it's been a peaceful at-home week. I wrote my birth plan, bought a nightgown for labor and delivery, and made tee-shirts for Ryan's arrival. This weekend is my shower, and I am SOOO excited. I absolutely cannot wait to see everyone, and eat yummy cake. :-)

Carly loves the pool!

Week 32

Week 32 - Well, it's been a busy week so far. We began the week at Grady's baptism, Monday I went for the dreaded three-hour glucose test, Tuesday we headed to Mountain View Golf Course for Emily's Graduation/Birthday party, and yesterday I went to the ob. The baptism was nice, and it was very special to be godparents. We even got authentic certificates. hehe. The glucose test was horrific - I look like a drug addict because my arms are so bruised. But ... (surprise!) the results came back normal and I don't have to prick my fingers anymore! yaaay! I'm supposed to "not go crazy" with my diet, but apparently I am not officially diabetic. wahoo! Tuesday was bittersweet. I started watching Emily when I was 18, and she was in third grade. Now she is 18, and in the same place I was when I met her (except she's brilliant and going to Cornell and I was headed to Mercer, lol). There was a slideshow, and I was in it, short hair, bangs, and all. haha. It was great to see the girls, but it got me a little down, because the reality of how fast time is going by really got to me. Anyway, on Wednesday I went to the doctor, and they did a non-stress test. Basically they hooked up a fetal monitor to my belly - one monitor on the baby's heartbeat and the other on my uterus. Plus, I had to press a fancy button each time he moved so they could track his movement. Turns out that he's fine, but I was having small (painless) contractions. This got me sent to Labor & Delivery, where they hooked me up again and fed me. I had one more contraction, and they did an internal. The doctor said, "Your cervix is closed. Go home. Rest, drink lots of water. Don't come back for at least six weeks." LOL. It freaked me out a little, but I guess it's just a sign that I need to slow down even more. Below are some pics from the eventful week thus far ...

Emily & me. (same color hair! lol)

Grady's baptism.

week 31

Today I went to the OB. He said everything is looking good, and he's satisfied with my sugars. Yay! Iasked him about the bruising and pain around my belly button, and he said it's "just normal stretching." Thanks. Another perk of pregnancy I wasn't warned about. LOL. I need to start going once a week now and have non-stress tests each time. Blah. Tomorrow is my 3-hour glucose test that Cooper is making me do. It makes absolutely no sense, considering I'm nearly 32 weeks, and by the time they get to tell me the results I'll be nearly 33 and six weeks from getting induced. I have no clue what the point of making me sit at Quest for three hours is at this juncture, except to torture me and waste a morning. I'm already testing my sugar regularly and doing what I can. Roar. The light at the end of the tunnel is that Emma and Patrick are coming over Friday. Horray! I haven't seen them since December. Crazy.

Anyway, week 32 will be really busy. Sunday is Grady's baptism, Tuesday is Emily's graduation party, (um, she was in third grade when I met her. I'm old.) Wednesday is the OB and rabies shot clinic for Carly, Thursday is the ice cream party at the center, and Friday is Relay for Life. Yikes. I'm sure there will be pics to post ...

week 30 u/s

That's a profile shot of Baby Ryan, weighing in at 3lbs 11 oz and measuring right just as he should be. :-) He wouldn't hold very still for his photo shoot, but at least we know all is well in there. The mean lady at the office is making me go for the three-hour glucose test (no thanks) just to "confirm" that I have GD. AND I have to e-mail my sugar readings every Monday so they can monitor me in between visits. (again, no thanks) As if that weren't enough, she told me I have to get up between 6am and 8am to test my sugar and eat breakfast ... no more sleeping in. I wouldn't mind so much if I actually slept at night ... between peeing a million times and my back I barely sleep anyways. Boo. Perhaps I'll become a napper at the age of 28? Nevertheless, I am grateful they are so on top of things and that Baby is doing well in there. It'll all be worth it in the end. :-)

Week 30

Laura, Maddie, and me at the picnic :-)

Week 30 started off quite happily. Jason and I took a drive up to see Laura and Michael, where they were having a picnic in Holmdel Park. It was great to see them, and it was beautiful to celebrate Aidan. Sunday was our 1-year wedding anniversary. We didn't exactly have the most romantic day - Sammy and Carly were sick, and we had chores to do. We did, however, take a few minutes to plant some new plants for our ledge and watch a movie together while we ate take-out. AND we tried our cake ... it was so good! It tasted exactly as it did on our wedding day. I was so happy. YUM! Truly the best cake EVER.

Unfortunately, by Tuesday Week 30 wasn't so happy. I spent a few anxious hours in Labor and Delivery. I was having weird cramps, and didn't feel Baby moving around as much as usual. Turns out I was dehydrated from my tummy being upset by my pesky colitis. Baby Boy is happily swimming around in there, but the rest of me isn't as happy. haha. Luckily, he is healthy and strong ... now if I could say the same for my belly! Anyways, tomorrow I go for an ultrasound to check on Baby's size because of the gestational diabetes. Hopefully all the finger-pricking has kept him on track! I'm excited to see him. :-)

Week 29

Ok, so I figured with Ryan's pending arrival, we should start a blog to keep those close to us up-to-date with news, pictures, and stories. So here we go!

Week 29 - I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said everything is going well! He said I'll be induced during week 39 because of the gestational diabetes, which (for those of you who know me well know) is better because I am a planner. A scheduled birth means that we have time to prepare the house and ourselves for Baby. A lower-anxiety choice for me, for sure. Another perk of this whole gd thing is more ultrasounds! Starting next week I'll be going every week so they can keep an eye on Baby. This means more sonograms to ooooh and ahhh over until Ryan arrives. Yaay!

Anyway, I'm posting a pic of us at Karyn and Lou's beautiful wedding. I actually think the maternity dress served my belly well. :-)