Just a few pictures

My little monkeys

Such compliments!

JD has been able to take some time off of work to help while we adjust to life with a new family member. It has been so great to have him home! I really wish he didn't have to go back to work. Things just go so much more smoothly when he is here. Anyway, late last week, he took Pierce to the store. As they were checking out, Pierce saw a picture of Cameron Diaz on the front of a celebrity magazine. He pointed to it and said, "There's Mommy!" Ha! Nice going kid!!

Later while we were at home, JD made a comment about me being a good mommy and Madelyn said, "Yeah, she works so hard to keep the house clean even though we're messy." I've never thought of myself as a good housekeeper, but I'll take the compliment anyway.

A funny prayer and a smart girl

Last night at bedtime, Pierce was praying: "Thank you God for Mommy. Thank you God for Isabel. Thank you God for Madelyn. Thank you God for my blankets. Thank you God for Daddy. Thank you God for Daddy's penis..." At which point, I started laughing. Pierce finished up what he was saying, but I have no idea what that was. As we were leaving Madelyn's room, I said to JD, "Why do you think he prayed for your P-E-N-I-S'?" (spelling it out.) Madelyn asked, "Why did you just spell penis?"

Our days of spelling things out are quickly coming to an end.

A Baby Story

We arrived at the hospital around 6:30 but didn't get admitted until 7:30 due to a "situation" in labor and delivery. By the time we got to my room and I was hooked up to the monitors, I was already having mild contractions. However, they weren't really painful yet and they weren't regular, so they put me on a pitocin drip. That really caused the contractions to pick up and become more regular, but they still weren't very painful. My doctor then decided to break my water and YOWSERS did that work. I made it through about 4-5 contractions and thought, "Ummm...why am I doing this? Epidural please." The anesthesiologist was there in record time and about 10 minutes later, all was well. This occurred around 9:30. By 10:30, I was starting to feel some pressure and by 11:00, I asked if someone could check my progress. In that hour and a half, I had gone from 4-7 cm dilated. Things continued to progress and by 12:30, I was ready to push. So, they prepped the room for delivery, and then, three contractions later, Isabel was lying on my stomach.

The rest of the hospital stay was somewhat interesting, as Isabel's body temperature fluctuated between normal and slightly elevated. The pediatrician was concerned and ordered a series of bloodwork to determine if she had an infection. Everything came back fine, and on Sunday, as we were getting ready to be discharged, the nurse did one final temperature check. It was right around 100, so she called the pediatrician back. The pediatrician then ordered one more test, so we were there until 4:00 pm yesterday when the "all-clear" was given.

I took her to the doctor today, and things seem to be going well. She does have a clogged tear duct that is pretty pitiful looking because she can't really open her eyes. Her doctor told us to monitor it for the next three days, and if it doesn't clear up, he gave us a prescription for an ointment to apply to her eyes.

The entire family seems to be adjusting well so far. Madelyn and Pierce seem to really love her. We'll see if the trend continues once the newness wears off. Here's a slideshow of about 50 pictures for your viewing pleasure.

She's here!

Baby Isabel is now here. We are doing well, and I'll do a more detailed post later. Here are the stats: Isabel Joy; 9 lbs, 10 oz; 21.5 inches; born 12:53 pm. We feel very blessed.

Me pre-delivery:


Me post-delivery


Baby Isabel:

I got the call

We're to be at the hospital at 6:30 tomorrow morning to start the induction. I'm excited, anxious, and relieved. My back is killing me and I"m not sleeping anyway, so I might as well be awake and holding a newborn. We'll keep you posted as things progress.

Pierce's First Day of School

Today was Pierce's first day of school. He will go on Wednesdays and Fridays. He also seemed to have a really great time and was a little sad to see me at the door to pick him up.

Madelyn's First Day of School

Monday was Madelyn's first day of school. She goes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and she has loved every minute of it. She's been excited to tell me about her days and is always excited to tell me when she gets to go back.

39 week doctor appointment

Well, I already feel that I am passed my due date since both of the other kids came at exactly 39 weeks. I am now 39 weeks and 1 day. I'm trying to remind myself that this baby girl is still NOT late, but I guess I had prepared myself again for a 39 week pregnancy and now am a bit frustrated. Everything at the doctor was fine. I'm now 3 cm dilated, so "any day" still holds true, and I've moved up to number 1 on the waiting list, so pray that someone ahead of me will go into labor before tomorrow afternoon.

On the way to the doctor, a service van pulled up beside me, and the driver (a man) asked me to roll my window down. Thinking he probably wanted to get in front of me in the turn lane, I obliged. So, he says, "Don't hit your brakes too hard or that baby will just pop out." Was it really worth getting my attention just to say that?

A "sprinkle"

Last Friday night, the ladies from our Bible study "sprinkled" me and the baby. We had a great time eating dinner and sitting at the water front in Old Town Alexandria. We picked a great spot at the waterfront, too, because we had a perfect view of the fireworks display at the end of the Nationals game. They were all so generous and we have lots of cute new outfits for this baby girl. As you can tell from the picture, I have a nice looking beach ball hanging out there. I'm hopeful that it will be deflated within the week.

Remembering...

Where were you? I was at home watching the news when it started happening. There was mass confusion for several minutes. Was it a small plane? An accident? And then the second plane hit, and everyone knew something major was going on. I remember listening to a reporter at the Pentagon talk about what was going on and thinking that I would be getting out of that building if I were him. During that interview, he reported that the building was shaking. It had just been hit.

I'm thankful for all of those who have served our country during the last 8 years and have kept my family safe. I will never forget!

My doctor appointment

I went in for my 38 week check up today. According to the doctor, the baby is "quite low" and I'm dilated 2 cm and about 50% effaced. While I know that I could walk around for a month like this, I at least feel like my body is finally making some progress. His comments then included, "I won't be surprised if we see you before next Wed. (my next appointment), but I won't be surprised if we don't, either."

In other news, I was informed that I am number 2 on the waiting list for an induction on the 18th. So, if I don't go into labor on my own before then and two other women deliver before that, then they'll schedule me for that day. Otherwise, they'll just keep backing me up a day and moving me up the list.

I've been avoiding packing a bag for the hospital. It's kinda like the proverbial watched pot never boils. I think I'm afraid that if I prepare, then the baby will never come. Ridiculous? Yes. Am I pregnant? Yes. Therefore, I feel entitled to a little "I feel like this baby is never gonna come out and I don't want to do anything to delay it" mentality.

I'll be sure to keep you posted if anything changes. In the meantime, I'll be anxiously waiting for signs of labor and/or a call for a definite induction appointment.

Summer Farm Fun

The kids have enjoyed some time on the family farm this summer. We have a few pictures of them from a vist during the planting season, and JD took them back so that they could see the fruits of their labor. Click on the picture below to enjoy the pictures:

Summer 2009 Farm fun

Zoo trip

We decided to take the kids to the zoo this morning. The highlights were seeing the pandas really clearly and also seeing a momma gorilla with her baby. Hopefully you can see the baby even though the picture is a little blurry. Click on the picture of the elephant to see the entire album.

Labor Day 2009 Zoo Trip

Dr. update

So, my dr. appt. went well. It appears that the baby is still head down (yea!) and that she has turned so that her back is facing out (yea!). There has been no significant progress in the dilating/effacing situation, but the baby has "dropped". And one minor point of frustration--the doctor wrote down the wrong date to start checking on an induction, so she asked if I would be willing to wait until Sept. 23 for the induction. I said something along the lines of "Well, I would be past 40 weeks at that point." She just stared blankly for a few seconds and then said, "Oh my gosh! I totally put down the wrong date."

Aarrggghhh! Oh, and can someone explain how it's possible to gain 2.5 pounds in one week?????