They had three, it's a magic number...

Sophia's first two weeks have gone by so quickly. At first, she didn't know her days from her nights. She thought that 2am was the most ideal time to get up and fuss, and day time was the best time to catch up on her sleep. Slowly, ever so slowly, we've been convincing her that this is not the case. She's starting to sleep more and more at night. The Husband and I have even been so fortunate to sleep 3 or 4 hours at a stretch. How luxurious!!

The Husband turns out to be a natural Daddy. He is a champion swaddler. He made every nurse in the hospital who came into contact with us show us their own technique. Only he can swaddle Sophia in a manner that she cannot break free from. He is also an excellent diaper changer. In fact, he volunteers to do the poopy diaper duty- which I appreciate immensely. He just thinks it's hilarious when Sophia isn't quite done being "done" and poots or poops all over him. Getting pooted on is a funny high point of his day. He's going to be a great Daddy- making sure she has "tummy time" and has already started to spend time reading to her.



Sophia is thriving- gaining weight like a champ. I've lost all the pregancy weight already- plus a pound or two. So together, we look pretty good. Sophia has even started to smile. Mostly because of gas, or when she's happy and full from eating. We're working on getting a picture of her smile- it's amazingly cute. She'll be a poster child for something, just you wait.

Sophia has arrived

Sophia arrived on March 10, 2007 at 8:33pm, weighing 7 lbs and 8 oz. She has a head full of red hair and big blueberry blue eyes.


For those who are interested, I'm going to summarize Sophia's arrival. If you don't want to know- then skip this part and keep scrolling down for more pictures.

On March 9, I had a dr. appt., where I was basically informed that this baby would not be arriving any time soon and a date was reserved for an induction. I left the doctor's office, ran some errands, cleaned my home and then went for a walk. I "was" planning on going to the grocery store, but later decided I would do it over the weekend (this becomes more relevant later).

So I went for my 3 mile walk, came home, cleaned the house some more and eventually settled in for the evening. The Husband was at work, and following work, he was going to go to the gym. The Husband decides to stop at home to change for the gym.

Now, many of you haven't seen my house, so you don't know how small the house and garage are. In order for both of our cars to fit into the garage, I pull in on the right, and The Husband BACKS IN on the left. I know now that The Husband does not typically check my side of the garage when pulling in (because I know how to park my car, thankyouverymuch) and only checks the wall. He failed to notice that my car was parked smack dab in the middle of the garage (because I WAS going to go to the grocery store, I swear I was). So he hit my car. Big ole dent in the bumper. This upsets The Husband a great deal, and he comes into the house in somewhat of a panic- yelling, saying something about the garage and why did you...blah, blah, blah.

I just hear the panic in his voice and essentially jump off the couch and run to the back of the house to see what's the matter. Note to self: big ole preggo ladies should not be running and/or jumping under any circumstances. My actions caused me to pull an abnominal muscle- OUCH.

The Husband winds up being much more upset than I am over the car. It's a bumper, we'll get it fixed, no big deal. However, my pulled muscle really hurts, so I take a bath and fall asleep watching TV. I went to bed around 11pm. As I was drifting off to sleep, I felt the weirdest sensation in my lower abnominal area. I told The Husband: I think that was a real contraction- before I drifted off to sleep.

Oh and it was a real contraction. I felt them on and off in my sleep, and eventually got out of bed at 12:44 am to start timing. By 6:30am, the contractions were 4-6 minutes apart and 1 minute long. We left for the hospital and were admitted arount 7:30am. The Husband and I had decided to enlist the services of a doula. A doula is basically a professional labor coach. Her name is Diana. She met us at the hospital around 7:30.

Unfortunately, my labor did not progress as quickly as I or the doctors would have liked. To make a long, detailed story short- after 12 hours, I opted to ease the pain and speed things up with help from modern medicine. This allowed me to get some very badly needed sleep (ok, only about 2 hrs or so, but I had only slept 2 hours in the past 30, so this was a big deal to me). Approximately 12 hours after leaving our home for the hospital, it was time to have Sophia enter the world. In the room were the doctor and nurses, The Husband and Diana. I felt that I had wonderful support emotionally from The Husband and fantastic labor support from Diana. Overall, it was a very positive experience. I may not have been the experience I thought I wanted, but that's ok. Everyone is happy and healthy and that's all that truly matters in the end.








Uncle Sean comes to visit.

After Baby's first bath.

Please locate the nearest exit

ONE WEEK LEFT UNTIL MY DUE DATE!!!! And I am ready to be done. The question of the hour seems to be "Are you still working" and the answer is yes, I am still working. My last day is going to be Tuesday. Then its just a waiting game waiting for Miss Thing to arrive. As you can see, I'm still very high and pregnant:







So to celebrate my changing shape, I bought a belly cast kit. This is essentially a box of supplies that hospitals once used to make plaster casts before fiberglass came along. Relying on The Husband's fine arts background, I put him to work. Turns out, he's made casts before- when he was in high school. But, perfectionist and professional he is, he took his task very seriously. It was messy, it was a little uncomfortable, but I am very pleased with the results.



It's been a while since I've last "sat" for The Husband. I won't be begging to be cast in plaster again anytime soon.

Our finished project:
(well, it's not finished yet- The Huspand says he's going to paint and finish it- make it fancy and suitable for hanging in our home as "art")

She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes

Who-Hoo! Week 38 pictures- the good news is, I really can't get much bigger-Yaaaaaaaaaaay!! Check out my roundness and no, there ins't a basketball under there, it just looks that way.






The turkey is DONE!!




Today is March 1. That means there are only 10 days to Sophia's anticipated due date. I can't believe how fast the last 7 months have flown by. I didn't think it was possible for all of this to happen- emotionally and physically- in such a short span of time that feels even shorter.
The Husband keeps asking me 'Are you ready?" How can anyone answer this question honestly? Everything is washed. The bed is made. We have a car seat. So, the house is ready. We have all the right things. But this is one of those life changes that there is no turning back from, so can anyone really say they are ready to give up the life they once knew - and enjoyed alot, don't get me wrong- for a different life with different priorities and a different center of the universe? I dont' think anyone can truly be "ready", only willing and welcome to the change. And that....that I am.
The Husband and I keep saying it- we can't wait to meet her. We can't wait to see who she looks like, what color eyes she will have, what color hair she will have. It's all just SO EXCITING!!

So what I need now is for everyone who has shared our journey with us via this blog to start sending some labor ju-ju my way. Sophia may be all warm and cozy, but she can only stay for so long before there is an eviction proceeding. Yes, she just may overstay her welcome. So let's just keep our fingers crossed that she decides to leave on her own.