It's Been a While....

hasn't it? I am sure everyone knows what or should I say who is occupying my time. Yes, that little Nicholas keeps me busy!

He's just growing like a little weed, but thankfully not too terribly fast (though, I still think it's too fast sometimes!). He's flashing his adorable smile and smiling eyes on a regular basis now. He has quite a few smiles actually to amuse his mommy. One of my favorite activities as of late is watching him while he sleeps (okay, it's been one of my favorite activities since he came out!) because he smiles intermittantly. I often wonder what he's dreaming about. He seems to have lots of little baby dreams...very cute!

He also has begun coo-ing. He is sooooo cute when he "talks." You just want to pick the little guy up and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. I'm definitely making up for the teenage "eww, Mom...not in front of the guys!" episodes that are probably in my future. I can't help but kiss those little chubby cheeks.

And, yes, they are getting chubby. He even has a bit of a double chin now and his legs seem to have filled out as well. He's still a small little guy, though....he weighs about 10 pounds and still doesn't quite fit into size one diapers. I think it is kind of funny that I had bought one box of newborn diapers before he came home thinking he'd probably wear them for a week yet he's still in them. I said I wanted a baby that looked like a baby and I think I got one! :) Actually, I get asked a lot whether Nicholas was born prematurely because he is so small for his age. I think people are just so used to seeing bigger babies now days for some reason!

Let's see what else can I think of to update you on what's going on. Oh, well, the gas problem is still around. Thanks to everyone for the tips. We have tried pretty much everything. We've even tried, on our pediatrician's recommendation, a couple of different formulas. Lactose free formula was a big mistake. The poor little guy just did not take to it well. So, now we're trying the other hypoallergenic formula on the market Nutrimagen by Enfamil. It's supposed to be slightly more broken down than the Similac Allimentum we have been using. I can't tell honestly...and he's still not feeling well though it is an improvement over the lactose free stuff.

It's quite distressing watching him suffer through the gas stuff. He just looks and sounds like he's in so much pain (and he probably is). So, we're still looking at ways to help him out. I found a formula that is geared for infants and children with food allergies...it is free from both milk and soy ingredients. We may give that a go at some point in the future, but it is expensivo stuff - $35 for a 14 oz. can of powder. I also wrote our health insurance to see if they would pick up the cost of feeding him donated breastmilk. They didn't say they would, but they didn't say no either so Nick's pediatrician is in the process of trying to get it authorized through his medical group. This is actually a bit bittersweet since I had planned to donate whatever milk I produced that Nicholas didn't need...

For now, I am making an effort to increase my supply to decrease what we do need to feed him in formula thus hopefully decreasing his overall discomfort. I can't say that I've seen much improvement at this point, but I recently came across a little technique that I think could be helpful and I am taking various supplements to promote milk production as well. The other thing we're going to try is using a goat's milk formula. Goat's milk is the closest to human milk so we are hoping it will work better with Nicholas' system. It will only require that we give him a vitamin supplement and some fish oil (joy....unless I can find an odorless kind!) to ensure that he gets all the nutrients he needs to grow up big and strong. It comes highly recommended by many of Mark's instructors.

Other than this, we are trying to get ready to go to Memphis this coming Thursday. It should be a fun time. I'm not sure what all we'll do there - we might visit Graceland...maybe if for no other reason than to see crazed Elvis fans. Oh, and of course, we'll be tossing the allergy list to the wind and having lots of yummy BBQ ribs and what not. I plan on taking a lot of claritin with me...

I think I mentioned that we're stopping in Colorado on our way back. We are going to let my parents have a little time with their grandson and look at a couple of chiropractic offices that Mark is considering. Since we'll be there on our 3rd anniversary we're also going to go for lunch at Marigold's Cafe...if you're in the mood for some of that triple chocolate mousse cake we served at the wedding, please join us. :)

Well, until we get back (assuming I don't make it back to the computer before then), I hope all is going well for all of you!

More About Our Cow

Since Annie asked, I'm happy to give a few more details about our cow acquisition for all those who are interested in knowing the info. :)

Our cow, who's name is very Shakespearean (still not going to tell you, but that narrows it down, perhaps), was grass fed until the last month of its life. At this point, they start feeding it on grain to get some of the grassy taste out and to help create some marbeling. It really is some of the tastiest beef I've ever had. And, one excellent thing about it when I was pregnant was that since I knew where it came from and what it had eaten and such (i.e., no antibiotics or what have you), I could still have a nice medium steak if I wanted. Of course, I didn't really like my beef undercooked (nature is one heck of a smart lady) so I rarely did, but if I had wanted.

Cost-wise, it really is quite a steal. You pay a per pound amount -- ours was $3.25 per gross pound (i.e., before butchering) and then you go over with the butcher what cuts you want. This year, in contrast to last year, we went for a lot of steak and also increased the amount of hamburger we got in lieu of many roasts. Whether you eat a pound of hamburger, a pound of filet mignon (my personal favorite) or a pound of NY strip (which is what we enjoyed tonight for dinner), you've paid $3.25 for it. I can truthfully say that filets and NYs would never be on the menu at our house if we didn't do this cow thing! :) The only drawback to this method is you do have to pay upfront (our total cost was about $1100), but if you can save your pennies, the decrease in your weekly grocery bill makes up for some of it. For us, our dining bill also decreased because we kept finding that we were never as happy with restaurant beef after...

Beef. It's Still What's for Dinner...

Believe it or not, the 1/2 cow that we bought last year is gone except for 2 packages of stew meat and a london broil. Our freezer was looking mighty sparse for a while there, but no more! Today we picked up this year's cow just outside of Sacramento. This time around we went for more steaks and fewer roasts. We like roast, but it takes some planning and frequently results in way too many leftovers.

We did get a lot of hamburger again this year and I am thrilled. After having to eat hamburger from the store again (and it was even fancy schmancy Whole Foods hamburger), I am very happy to have a stockpile again. I grew so accustomed to hamburger with minimal fat content (so little that any attempt to drain it after cooking is futile) that when I ate the stuff from the store, I found it quite "icky." So yea for good hamburger again.

At any rate, I have to say I am slightly disturbed by the 1/2 cow this time around. Only slightly, but nevertheless disturbed. Why? Because I know what its name was. I hope that everytime I tear into a burger or steak I am able to forget. I will spare you in case you happen to come over for dinner sometime the name...if you really want to know, you can always ask, but don't say I didn't warn you about the possible disturbance in your brain.

To celebrate our now well-stocked freezer, we'll be having some very tasty burgers for dinner - anyone want an invite? ;)

A Troubling Tale of....

Gas. It's back. Poor little Nicholas!

We were thinking the little guy was having gas just because he was crying for more food, but alas, it doesn't seem to be so. He's spent the last couple of days in periods of misery trying his best to get the bubbles out! We're thinking we may take another break from his current formula to see if that would help. We really just want the little guy to feel great!

Otherwise, our big adventure for this week took us to Santa Clara for pictures with a photographer friend of mine - Lucie of Lucie XYZ Photography. She is in the middle of wedding season and busy as a bee can be so we'll not get the final product for some time, but we know it will be worth waiting for. She took some great shots of all of us...we can't wait to see them!

Of course, there was lots of fun to be had during the photo shoot thanks to Nicholas. He managed to "shower" both Mommy and Daddy (only Lucie was spared!) and never fell asleep for the sleepy time photos. That's okay, though...we have quite a few of him wriggling on a towel showing Miss Lucie how he's been practicing so he can crawl soon. These should be quite priceless.

Other than that, this marks the last week of Mark's last school break. On Monday morning he'll begin his final quarter at Life West. It is kind of crazy to think he's almost finished!

All Clear!

Yea! At my doctor appointment today I was given the great news that everything is finally healed up and can be left alone. No more sticking long q-tips or sticks into my wounds. Thank goodness - I was just waiting for the time when one of them would break off!

We also did a little weigh-in for Nicholas today and are happy to report that he's all the way up to 7 pounds 14 ounces. This is about a 14 ounce gain since he was at 7 pounds even last week at our weigh in. Given that Nick has been eating like a horse these past few days, we're glad to see some of it is sticking with him.

Speaking of eating, we discovered why dear Nicholas was having "colic" symptoms. He was HUNGRY! We were giving the little guy the amount of formula (and breast milk, of course) that he should be eating to enjoy a steady weight gain, but we discovered on Sunday that it probably wasn't enough at the moment...he really wants to get big and strong folks. So now that he's in a little growth spurt we're making sure he's getting enough and we're really enjoying having our little angel baby back.

Finally, we enjoyed a nice little outing today to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Since we arrived about 15 minutes to closing time, we plan to return soon. It was a great place to stroll with Nicholas...

Way to Go Mark!

The results are in - Mark passed his Part IV Exams! Can we get a woo hoo? Doctor Rocco is one step closer to emerging! Our thanks to Nicholas for not coming during daddy's testing weekend. Your patience has been rewarded!

Happy Birthday to Nick!

I'm a day late here (which is funny since I had the realization on Monday that I was a day early), but things are just crazy with a baby in the house. Life is definitely more exciting (and in a good way for the most part since I so frequently cite that excitement is overrated) with little Nicholas around...and can you believe that yesterday marked his being on the outside for a whole month? Wow!

And, what a month it was with doctor appointments for him and I in the double digits. Thankfully, his weight is good and so we got to decrease our quota a little. Mine are still going since we're waiting for the last little drain hole to close up properly....that should be done by the end of the week. I honestly don't know what I'll do when I don't have a reason to visit my OB's office on a regular basis...they're pretty much family at this point.

Nicholas has been doing very well lately, but he's developed a nice little case of colic....poor little guy. It's all due to gas unfortunately. Where the gas is originating we're not sure - from formula type to things I eat (that are then transmitted through breast milk), we're trying to find the culprit. We seem to have had some success in at least calming him during the witching hours of 6 to midnight by instituting a little nighttime routine that gets him in bed by 7 p.m. which was suggested by my OB. We're still working on perfecting it...

Other than that, we're scheduled to go get some professional photos done of our little family and Nicholas by my friend and favorite photographer on Tuesday morning next week. I'm really excited to see what gorgeous shots she'll come up with. :)

We hope you're all doing well!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Mark's first Daddy's Day! How exciting, eh?!

We started celebrating yesterday with a trip to Red Lobster for lunch and the purchase of a new trash can (really, we needed one and it's a really neato trash can - yeah, we know all you other dad's are jealous out there!). We made up for the lackluster shopping of yesterday with a gift befitting a new daddy - a VCR/DVR combo that Mark's been wanting for quite some time at Best Buy. We also made a little stop by the baby store and got a few more nipples for bottles and some more burp clothes (not that they did much good when I forgot to put one over my shoulder and Nick let loose - he was a little upset about a slight delay and lunch which led to more volatility in his digestive track).

Other than Father's Day festivities, we do have some updates on the whole weight gain and infection fiascos we've been dealing with. We seem to have brought Nicholas back to his birth weight and perhaps beyond. We'll find out for sure on Thursday at his next doctor visit.

Finally, with respect to my infection, we've beat it and now we're just trying to not get another one. This is fun (not!) to say the least. Mark's mom has the extreme pleasure of sticking long q-tips down each of the "holes" to ensure they stay open. We've been doing this for a bit over a week now and things seem to be healing up...despite the fact that they hurt something awful when I move around too much (and yet, that's part of what I need to do to heal properly).

I still take tons of pictures, but haven't really had the motivation (or time) to put any up on his site...I will try to soon. I got a couple of really cute ones of him and Mark today!

Hope you're all doing well...

Catching Up

I was contemplating the other day what, if anything else, worth mentioning happened during our first week as a "new" family that you might find intriguing or interesting to read. To be honest, I'm not sure much of what went on, besides that which I already mentioned (and can't remember right at this moment, incidentally, but that's beside the point!) would be in the "news you can use" or interesting category except to us, but here are a few highlights nevertheless:

• Dr. Newman, Nick's pediatrician, came to visit and check him out on Memorial Day for the first time. They seemed to get along swimmingly! :)
• We had a visit with Doug and Diane, friends of ours, on Memorial Day. They brought flowers, a beautiful pearl bracelet for me and, after shuttling Mark home for additional clothes and what not, ice cream for me since I was leary of what would be served by the cafeteria!
• We had a visit from Mark's teacher, Dr. Thompson, who checked little Nicholas out and told Mark he'd done an awesome job with his adjustment on Tuesday!
• We took our first ride in the car with Auntie Cassie at the helm to return home on Wednesday afternoon.
• On Thursday, Grandma Rocco came to take care of Mommy and spoil Nicholas!
  

Despite the list being less than "thrilling" for most, it was quite a wonderful first week for us. I think the best part of it was when we were in the hospital, to be honest. It was so nice to have Mark and Nicholas all to myself...except when we had a few visitors here and there to spice things up. I have to admit that it was hard to say goodbye to all of that...especially since Mark would be going to school the very next day. I admit it actually made me cry when he had to leave that morning...I was just so sad that we were back to "normal" life with all its committments.

We did have a couple of other happenings which I've reserved to talk about currently since they are more in the newsworthy area. First, we're having some issues with breastfeeding so poor Nicholas lost a little more weight than they would have liked a little more quickly than they would have liked and he hasn't gained it back as quickly as they would have liked. So, we're in the process of supplementing with formula (much to my chagrin...) and pursuing a bunch of different avenues to up my milk production including taking reglan (a prescription drug that has helped other women be more "milky"), fenugreek (an herbal supplement with the same goal) and I am pumping regularly with a hospital grade pump. I am stubborn if nothing else and sooner or later my milk supply will come in at a level that meets little Nicholas' needs, I hope. If not, well, it isn't the end of the world, but it will be extraordinarily sad for me since this is one of the parts of being a mommy I was really looking forward to. We'll keep you posted on Nick's progress with weight gain...at last weigh-in on Friday, he was 6 pounds 6 ounces - 6 ounces short of his birth weight. He's in the 5th percentile right now (i.e., there are 5 kids out of every hundred out there who weigh less than he at his age). Length-wise, he's pretty average - 20.75 inches which puts him in the 50th percentile.

The other bit of excitement is about as fun as that one. My C-Section incision became infected. We're not sure how, but these things do happen. Thankfully, we caught it early enough that the doctor didn't have to re-open the incision, but the treatment still hasn't been what I would call pleasant. I'll spare you the details and just let you know that I am improving daily and should be out of the woods, hopefully, by the end of this week. We'd appreciate your prayers both for my becoming a better "cow" and healing...

One final thing before I rush off. We did have a "first" yesterday evening. We took Nicholas out for a little walk in his stroller around our community. He seemed to enjoy it....good thing since it is a nightly activity around here!

Have a great week!

Week One with Baby Nicholas – Part I

I have a little time to wait to take drugs (good friends right now) and then go feed the little guy so I figured I'd continue on with my "writing assignment."

Yesterday at 5:01 p.m. we celebrated Nicholas’ first week with us outside the womb. Or at least Grandma and I sort of did by singing him a fun little round of Happy Birthday.  So, now that we have the birth story out of the way, let’s talk about the past week and how it’s gone!

There’ve been good times and bad. Times with laughter and times with tears (speaking of which, I don’t’ think I mentioned that Mark said he cried when Nick came out…he just loves his little boy so much!). Times of elation and times of frustration. In a word, we had a pretty “normal” first week, I’d say! :)

Since we had a C-Section, the first four days with Nicholas were spent in the hospital. It was sooo nice having that team of professionals there to help us keep on top of things. We really do have to give a shout out to all the nurses and doctors who crossed our path and especially to Dr. Toig (who is responsible for Nicholas’ entry into the world!) because they were outstanding. Each one taught us something that has made our time caring for and enjoying Nicholas more precious and more productive.

So, the first night, I have to be honest, I don’t remember too much about. With all the morphine and other drugs I’d been given, I just wasn’t real “with it.” We actually had Nicholas in the nursery for most of this night with him coming in for “on demand” feedings so that I could get a good night’s sleep (or at least attempt it). That seemed to have gone pretty well. I spent a lot of time marveling that this little being was so precious, so tiny and created by Mark and I. It seemed too good to be true most times…especially since Mr. Nicholas is one sweetheart of a baby. Temperament-wise, he rarely cries unless he needs something and it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what it is he needs. This is saying a lot since most of the other babies on the maternity floor were crying A LOT during our stay. We actually had many nurses remark just how well-mannered our little guy was.

Despite his tendency, though, we did have a couple of “all-nighters.” Mark put an end to these frustrating crying fests one night after trying everything he could think of. I, believe it or not, actually slept through most of the episode because I was so exhausted. He had just remembered that in school they had learned that one way to calm a fussy baby was to put your finger pad on the top of his/her palate to allow them to suck, suck, suck to their heart’s content. Now being his mommy’s boy he was particular about Mark’s positioning during this exercise and wouldn’t let him set him down. He was okay, however, with laying in his bassinet with Mark standing there soothing him. After doing this for a while, Mark decided it would be amusing to have a look-see at our little guy’s spine (leave it to a chiropractor to be amused by such things, eh?).

Believe it or not, he found that C1, the first bone in our spine called the Atlas, was just a bit out of place on our dear little Nick. So, he gave it a little pressure for about 15 seconds with his pinky finger (there’s no racking and cracking when it comes to little ones) and, we kid you not, the moment he felt the bone go back into place, Nick was out like a light and we haven’t had a crying fest night since. You can bet your bottom dollar we’ve been using this little story to promote chiropractic right and left! Mark just wished he could go up and down the hall of the maternity floor and offer to check on and adjust all the other babies to give their parents a break from continuous crying, too!

As is always the case now, I need to run now so we’ll call this “Part I” and we’ll come back another time to relay more stories of our first week and all the neat things we learned and all the wonderful (and some of the not-so-wonderful) experiences we’ve had with baby over the past week!

And Now...

The rest of the story...

The next morning the day began with a pitocin drip and a wonderful process called breaking my water. All I can say is I will be wary of crochet hook looking things in the hands of others for a bit. And so, the real fun began...

Contractions. Fun? Not really. In this case, even less so because every time I had one, Nicholas' heart rate decelerated...not a good thing. I tolerated them by getting up and moving around with the help of Mark and a good friend of mine, Cassie (who was made an "honorary Auntie" due to her role in the birthing process). We made it to 13ml/hr. of pitocin (I may be off on my units here, but go with me) at which point the baby's heart rate was really decelerating and so they stopped the drip, ordered me back to bed and started monitoring again.

At this point, the doctor came in and discussed with us our options: 1) get an epidural and try the pitocin drip again to see if a normal delivery was possible or 2) get an epidural and go in for a C-Section. As I see it, going in for a C Section was pretty much a last resort sort of thing so I opted to try the pitocin again. Lemme just tell you how much I hate epidurals - it wasn't pleasant at all. The part I didn't care for the most was that I felt paralyzed from the waste down. I don't know if this is normal, but I did...though Mark and Cassie assured me that I could wiggle my toes when I tried despite not feeling them wiggling. Enough on that, though.

So, we began the drip again and this time I was forced to lay, yet again, on my right side so they could monitor the baby and I most effectively (is it any wonder that my right side was terribly sore the next day - my shoulder was totally the worst). This turned out to be a waste of time. They gradually increased the dose and we waited to see what would happen. In a word, nothing. At 10 ml/hour (3 away from where we'd ended the first round), I was having no contractions...none. Furthermore, I had not dialated any further...2 cm was still the call.

After some contemplation regarding the implications surrounding us, we decided to call the doctor in and discuss the C option. After learning that, given all factors present, we had a 5% chance of actually making it through a normal delivery, and after considering how long it was going to take to even get to the delivering part, we decided to go for the C-Section. Apparently, this was a good decision since, about two minutes later, little Nick's heart rate started decelerating rapidly with no contraction present.

What this meant for me, though, was that instead of being prepped and taken to surgery in a calm way, I was rushed with shouts and all manner of excitement (if I've said it once, I've said it a million times - excitement is WAY overrated). And, of course, as luck would have it, once they got me there, everything stabalized.

So, they got everything ready to go and Mark and Cassie came into the OR and away we went! Once baby Nicholas was taken out of my tummy (which I am so grateful Cassie actually took pictures of the event - a little bloody perhaps, but oh so magical!), Mark helped to cut the unbilical cord (which, by the way, we found out from the cord blood people, they like to get 100 million cells and Nick's had 190 million - go him!) and then he was bundled up and given to me to say hello. I held him, best as I could for a bit, and then let him go see daddy because I just didn't feel like he was very stable where he was and it made me nervous. Then Mark, Cassie and Nicholas went for bathing and screening and I "hung out" with my doctor and the rest of the staff to get stitches and such...

We all met up again in my recovery room where Nick and I made our first attempt at breast feeding. We did pretty well all things considered I think. Then we returned to our room for some much needed R&R and bonding time.

With that, I'll take another pause for a nap (I'm just absolutely exhausted at the moment) and try to get back here soon to give you some of the details of our time in the hospital as well as what's gone on since we left! Hope you're all doing well.

Yes, Saint Nick,,,

The Sprout has finally arrived! :) And, if we do say so ourselves (and we do...) he is one of the cutest sprouts we ever did see! So, without further a-do, we are happy to announce to you the birth of our precious little boy:

Nicholas Makana Rocco was born on Saturday, May 26, 2007, at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California, at 5:01 p.m. He weighed in at a perfectly pleasant 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long - wow! He was named if you haven't already guessed after one of my favorite saints - good ol' St. Nicholas (which is appropriate because he's not only the patron saint of children but of scholars, but also because we found out he was a he on December 20!). His middle name was chosen by Mark (known to our little guy as Daddy of course!) and means "gift" in Hawaiian. We truly do feel blessed with this gift that the Lord has bestowed upon us so we really liked this name. It also holds special meaning for us because on our honeymoon, MeLissa swam with a dolphin named Makana.

And now, for those of you who are interested, the rest of the story:

As seems to be the case, Mark and I never do things low key and so you can probably classify our son's birth experience as an adventure! It all began on Friday evening. I went to the clinic for a last minute adjustment and then we went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe. After our yummy meal, it was a surety that we'd be late, but we figured we'd have to wait anyway so no big deal. As things turned out, we should have just waited until morning...

We got to the hospital and after finding a solution to the problem of too many bags and not enough coordination and talent to get all of those and the two of us to labor and delivery, we finally made it to check in. They showed us to our birthing suite and we began the process of getting me ready for the "marathon" that lay ahead. Once I was all dressed up with no place to go but a birthing bed (ha ha!), I crawled in and was hooked up to monitors that checked whether I was contracting and how the baby was reacting to it based upon his heartbeat. I was supposed to be in monitoring only state for about an hour...3 hours later after being in many uncomfortable positions and despite not getting a picture perfect grade on how we were doing (the sprout's heartbeat was being difficult to track often cuz being the little wiggle worm that he is he couldn't stay put), the doctor finally told the nurse to put in the Cervadil and get going. So, she did...

But, it came out before too long (by the way, I'm typing this one-handed with lots of drugs in my system so keep this in mind if there are lots of weird things) because the sprout (aka Nicholas), was again looking a little less than perfectly happy with the process. They decided to wait until morning and give me pitocin (yea! ha ha)..hence why I say we should have stayed home until morning. What I failed to mention is that the rest of the night was spent "enjoying" the periodic influx of numerous nurses when the baby's heart rate went off the monitors. So, I can't really tell you I had a pleasant night's sleep...

Morning finally came and a whole 'nother bit of exciting happenings...unfortunately, dinner is about ready and so you'll just have to tune in to the next installment to find out what transpired during the rest of the adventure...sorry for the additional suspense!

Today Is Really The Day...

Well, tonight...to start the process at least of coaxing Mr. Sprout out of his cozy quarters. I sure hope he's ready. I am and I'm not at the same time. That list yesterday made me a bit less eager to move from preggie princess status to marvelous mom (I hope) status...if there's one thing that always gets me it's being too sentimental.

Nevertheless, tonight at 8 p.m. PDT (or perhaps a bit earlier), we will be arriving at the hospital for our Memorial Day weekend adventure. I can't think of a better way to spend it...I imagine this may be the best Memorial Day weekend I'll enjoy in my lifetime. It's going to be tough to match that's for sure!

The plan, I think, is to get me adjusted (gotta have that nervous system souped up and ready to go) around 5:30 and then go grab a nice big meal at Red Lobster (assuming we can get in - maybe they'll have pity for me when we tell them I won't be eating another large meal until I'm finished pushing something the size of a watermelon out something much smaller...I hate that Red Lobster doesn't take reservations). After that, we're heading to the hospital...for what is sure to be an experience.

I've still been having a good number of contractions (still for practice, I think) and so I'm hopeful that the body is pretty close to being ready on its own and will just get in gear with a little persuasion by the cervix softening agent they're planning to use. If it is, I escape the joys of pitocin. If not, well, we'll manage!

So, here's to all of you having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend of your own! Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday we'll have arrived at home and will be able to share a little picture of our bundle on his little totsite. We probably won't post any pictures here since I'm feeling a bit protective of the little one so if you don't have the site and password info, drop me a note and we'll get it to you...

Today's the Day (I Hope!)

May 21, 2007...it's here!

Today the sprout is due to come out and play - how exciting! Though there is no sign that he's planning to grace us with his presence today, the day is young!

Still, just in case he decides to be tardy (I keep telling him that Hawaii time only applies to his daddy), here's a new little ticker to keep you informed of his "overdue" status (which, of course, I don't really need to put up since he's coming today, right?!), but just in case he doesn't I don't have time to do so tomorrow (ha ha!) and since the other ticker I had was showing (horror of horrors!) that I had 366 days to go (um, I don't think so!), here's another one for your amusement:

OD Day 3: Okay, Okay...I Will Miss It.

The Mom left another comment with my exact birth weight and length should you be interested. I was fairly average despite my late arrival. I probably just needed that extra time in the oven...

Based upon the rest of her commment, I guess I better admit that I will actually miss being pregnant. There I've said it. I think I've said it before, but it was earlier in the process before things really started getting uncomfortable. It still holds true today. Despite many less than pleasant aspects of being pregnant I've experienced, I have found many joys in the process.

A few of the people I know do this little thing called the Thursday Thirteen. I don't participate, but I'm going to borrow the concept today. As such here's a list of the thirteen things I have enjoyed about being pregnant and will miss (where applicable):

1. The biggie - having that little sprout inside of me wiggling, squirming, kicking and carrying on....even the jabs that hurt bring a smile to my face.

2. Believe it or not, watching my belly grow. In fact, I have to admit I kind of was a bit bummed that it took so long for me to look pregnant.

3. Being doted upon and treated sweetly by friends, family, and once I finally looked pregnant, by complete strangers.

4. Never being alone - I always had someone to talk to and sing to...no matter where I was!

5. My shelf as "The Mom" put it. I am going to look like a dork for a while when I keep trying to rest my hands on a non-preggie belly.

7. The nesting instinct - I can think of no better way to get your house looking pristine and to help clear clutter. Of course, it will probably be less than pristine in just a few more days, but at least we're starting with a pretty clean slate!

8. Baby Showers - whether thrown by co-workers or friends, there's nothing better than being the center of attention and getting to see all the neat things people have found for your little one...until after the baby comes, of course!

9. Shopping for baby clothes and goodies - there's no better reason to part with your hard earned money.

10. Receiving hand-me-downs - perhaps a bit strange for some, but it's like Christmas for me. I love to see what secret treasures are hiding in a big bag of clothes passed along to us!

11. Playing "guess that body part" and "hey sprout move!" These kind of go together...we have a little game where Mark and I feel the little parts that sprout rests up against my belly and where we give them a little push and he gives me a little kick in return. It's too amusing. Right up there with it is watching my belly move when he's rolling over.

12. Bigger "girls" and a break from certain monthly processes - I have to admit that it's kind of fun to be a bit more buxom since I've always been modestly endowed. I think the other part goes without explaination.

13. Hearing his little heartbeat and watching his antics on the ultrasound machine. This is probably just below feeling him moving around...it always brings a huge smile to my face.

I was worried for a bit there that I wouldn't be able to get 13, but there you are. :)

Otherwise, I have been having quite a few contractions (I think they're braxton hicks since they aren't terribly uncomfortable) since last night. My belly gets hard as a rock and I have some achiness, but that's about it. Maybe we're making some progress which will help us along tomorrow evening, though.

And now for some fun! Since we're getting awful close to D-Day, anyone want to take a guess at what that little sprout's name is going to be? There probably won't be a prize if you guess it other than being "all knowing and powerful." ;) Feel free to guess on anything else that amuses you as well (weight, height, time of day he'll emerge, etc.)! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all think!

OD Day 2: Still Have a Belly!

Yep. It's still there...funny how that works out, isn't it? To be honest, though, just having that induction scheduled takes a lot of anxiety out of the process for me. I tend to do very well when I have a deadline to look forward to. Of course I also tend to try to do things ahead of schedule, but obviously not when I, myself, was being born. If you missed it, "the Mom" (mine - hi Mom!) left me a little comment and confirmed that I was indeed right - I made her wait for an extra month before coming out. Now it's payback time, I guess. ;) I sure am glad that doctors today don't like to let you go so far overdue - a month! Eeek!

At any rate, I'm not sitting around bemoaning my still pregnant state...I just do it while I'm flitting to and fro cleaning and what not. Last night I was able to pack up most of the knick knacks on our bookcase in the living room. After such a feat, we now have a bookcase with (shocker) primarily books on it. I was pretty pleased with myself on that one.

I also moved plants around last night such that a table that has elicited countless grumbles from Mark who seems to have a homing beacon that directs him toward it is now outside keeping my plants organized out there. That process brought an excellent surprise last night. It turns out that the purple calla lily plant I was sure had met its demise last year is, joy of joys (!), recovering. I saw little sprouts coming up last night. Awesome! I wondered if it might when I noticed that the white lily that I also thought I had killed had grown back. So, some happy news on the plant front there.

The last little bit of cleaning I did was this morning and definitely must be due to nesting. I took windex wipes and pretty much scoured our car. I've never done that before, but I likes it.

So, still no baby, but soon...really we only have what 3 days to wait? That's not too long at all. I suppose I better go prepare Pixie. ;)

Pixie on the State of Things...

It has been waaaay too long since I have been able to post on this blog. Frankly, I am less than amused with my typing slave, MeLissa. She seems to have plenty of time to tell you all about this "baby" thing and has even, horror of horrors taken time to write about a D-O-G possibly joining our household. Has she even taken a minute to post my thoughts about anything...anything at all...over the past few months, though? Let me answer that for you - NO! Not one post for months. It's a travesty. I apologize profusely my dear fans...

How I persuaded her to post today for me is truly a mystery, but I'll take it because I have a few things to say about these two things (the baby and the D-O-G) that may invade my territory. First, on the baby or "the sprout" as I've heard him called...I'm not sure what this is exactly, but I'm not liking how things are going around here because of his impending arrival. I have noticed that shortly after this became a topic for discussion in the house, MeLissa's belly started growing. It is now quite round and it scares me...especially since one time when I was on it, I was kicked. I did not like that at all and now refuse to sit on MeLissa's lap. That will teach her to sniper me.

Besides this, though, I am displeased because there has been a flurry of cleaning around here lately and the vaccuum has been making way too many appearances. There is no good place to hide from this destructive monster that I can see so I end up running from room to room...I have been punishing them by hacking up hair balls and spitting up my food periodically in places I know they'll find with their bare little toes...preferrably first thing in the morning. I like it best when Mark finds the presents...his reaction is always so much more entertaining.

I am also displeased with the fact that they are being stingy. They have brought a ton of interesting and colorful things into the house recently which just scream to be batted, laid upon and scratched. They will not let me play with them. They lock them away in their bedroom and the guest room. To add insult to injury, their practice of ensuring the bedroom door is locked has kept me from pursuing my sock fetish. I am not happy about this at all. Stingy humans. Apparently, something big is happening on Friday and Saturday of this week involving this baby thing. I hope they change their mind and send it back so I can finally get at those toys.

As for the D-O-G, this better be an empty threat. I will not tolerate it. Someone please explain to me why it is they need another pet? Did they not learn from when Banshee was here that other creatures are nothing but trouble? It was bad enough that there was another cat before, but a dog? You must be kidding. They keep talking about it being to help Mark get around better. Ha! He seems to do just fine to me. He may not know it, but I am wise to his constant mission of stepping on me every chance he gets. I'm still trying to fight back by making him stumble and fall...still to no avail, but I make up for it with fur. It's a rare day that he doesn't need a quick defuzzing and isn't griping about my hair being everywhere...and yet he wants another hairy beast that probably slobbers to come live with us. Stupid humans...they never learn.

Well, I suppose that is enough for now since it appears that MeLissa may go face down on her desk if I don't let her go take a nap. I approve of this activity and will probably take one of my own...just not anywhere near that stomach of hers! I hope to have another opportunity to speak with you again soon...

OD (That would be overdue) Day 1: No Sprout Yet

Sorry to keep you waiting in suspense...I'm not a 5% - er. :) Still no sprout.

We had our OB appointment today and he's still not seeming very interested in greeting his adoring fans - no dilation, no effacement. Nothing, zilch, nada, rien, as ususal. Lucky for you (and me!), a world premier date has been scheduled (that would be an induction date) so our wait is not indefinite. By the end of the day on Saturday, the world's population is increasing by one little boy...

Yep. After all that talk of inducing so that Mark's test wouldn't be interupted and then deciding that we were going to take our chances and go for the surprise factor, we still may end up inducing. I say may because the little guy could still decide to come out on his own, of course...

Friday, May 25 at 8 p.m. I go in for a little somethin' somethin' to get the process started. If all goes well, the doctor plans to let things go on their own from there rather than juicing me up with pitocin (he prefers not to use it if he doesn't have to!). From there it takes between 3 and 12 hours for labor to get underway...so it could be a very long night my friends...a very long night indeed. At least the end result should be well worth it!

Until tomorrow's update (assuming we don't get some sort of surprise tonight)...

T-1 and Counting: Could Tomorrow Be The Day?

Or will it be just another day? I read only 5% of people have their little ones on their due date. I guess, in a way, I have two chances since I calculated the 21st and my doctor calculated the 22nd. Perhaps we'll both be wrong, but wouldn't it be nice if one of us were right?

Mark and I made good use of what may be our last Sunday (we're hoping here!) as a family of two with one on the way...we went to a movie! We haven't done this for quite some time so it was quite a treat. We chose to see "Delta Farce" with Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall. It was a pretty amusing flick and best of all there weren't many cuss words...just a good portion of slapstick humor. I'm still chuckling just thinking about it.

Other than that, we did make it to church today and the grocery store. Now we're just kind of cleaning and straightening the house in the hopes that we will soon be heading to the hospital and returning home to a nice and clean abode. Keep your fingers crossed that we get our wish!

T-2 and Counting

Still nothing on the baby front. I have been having some practice contractions yesterday and today, but that's it and after that first appointment where I had a ton of them and nothing to show for it when I went to the OB, I don't really put much stock in them!

I just returned from an infant care class that I took this morning. I think it was helpful, but I'm now a little anxious/nervous about the baby's arrival. It seems like there are so many things to do and to remember and to take care of and so many ways to mess up! It seemed pretty overwhelming to me, but that might partially be because I'm still not sleeping well due to my back. So much for maternity leave allowing me to rest up in preparation for labor. ;) I guess if I weren't able to at least get cat naps in and such I'd be much worse off so I won't complain too much. At any rate, I hope I do better than I am currently feeling I will when it comes time to bathe, diaper and care for our little sprout...

In other news, Mark is still in the second portion of his test. This is the practical portion so he should be just fine. If they finish up according to the estimates given yesterday, he's only got about another hour to go.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend...