Baby News

Sorry for the long span of posting. I will admit that I haven't had much to say on the baby front. Every week no change, no movement, no news. It gets discouraging to write that so I ignored the internet for a while. Also I have been very depressed. I have been without my routine medication since April and these last few weeks it has been severely missed. It is not something I care to admit, because frankly in some Christian circles there is a thought that my problem is strictly spiritual and if I could just get right with God I wouldn't need medicine. Well my doctor, my husband and I can attest that this is not the case and I DO need medicine. We are starting back on it so that I wont be entering post partem without it. It doesn't harm the baby and is safe for breast feeding. Ryan and I are ready for me to be my old self again. We will need the old Sara as we enter this next transition to CA with a 1 month old.

Speaking of babies I know soooo many of you have been wanting to know what is going on and when this baby will be here. The answer is not yet. Today we were hoping that I would be dialated enough so that they could help our process along but I am not progressing. Some people just have a lousy cervix that never progresses on its own. Mine seems to fall into that category for this pregnancy. So, in light of the fact that I gained 4 pounds in fluid this week, am leaving in less than a month, and have a stinky cervix we are going to induce. We will arrive at the hospital on Tues at 10 AM. The first part (12ish hours) I get to wait around and be pain free as I do stage one. I will be monitored and watch a lot of tv. Once phase one is complete they will give me the meds that will start the labor process, and then we wait for Charlie. She will most likely be a Dec baby now but we don't mind, we just want her. We are praying that I will progress and won't have to have a C-section. It is not that there is anything wrong with it but the recovery time is longer and we would like to spend Christmas with our families. And who wants to go on a 17 hour + car trip after one.

Our Thanksgiving plans:
We have none. Ryan is off and we will cook at home. We were hoping we would be in the hospital but that is not happening. Pray for Ryan that he doesn't go stir crazy. My braxton contractions, swelling, ect are beginning to limit what I can do. So we will wait patiently till Tues and in the meantime will cook, play games, watch movies and try not to be too bored. Hope your Thanksgiving is full of joy and loved ones.

I am thankful for a husband who has done wonderfully these last nine months putting up with a shell of who he married.

A doctor that isn't making me wait too miserably long

A job that we are moving to

A family that I miss greatly

And a God who hasn't given up on me, though I do deserve it

A baby in our arms soon.

Charlie

arrivals and departures

So we are waiting for Charlie's arrival. We are now full term and she can come at any time. However my last two doctors appointments have stated we are dead as a door nail, when it comes to activity. My doctor (I think mostly to make me feel better) said it can change overnight. But I am not holding my breath this evening. Her glider arrived today and now we have all the pieces. But as we are all done with her nest, its time to pack it all up again. Our departure and new adventure is coming. We are moving to Southern California. Ryan's new assignment is Buena Park, CA. For those of you that don't know the area it is about 45 minutes Southeast of LA. It is 15 miles from a beach, close to Disneyland and other fun things. It is a permanent position (over a year). We know we will be there for one to two years, it could be longer but that won't play out till towards the end. Ryan would be a field coordinator (the position he was originally hired to do) and will get him out of an office and on the field. Bechtel is moving all of our stuff and we are now preparing for the move. Our first major and largest hurtle is finding a home. We are doing a lot of research right now and looking at all of our options. We may end up buying a home, if possible. We are hoping to be beginning this transition around Christmas. We hope the timing will work out to spend Christmas with families, then Ryan would drive out and prepare a way for us girls. We will stay and let people love on us and take care of us in Indy for a bit while Charlie grows old enough to fly. Once Ryan gives the all clear, away we go to our new, warmer home. I know everyone is thinking that this is crazy, we just had a baby and now are moving across the country? My only response is, yes we are. There are a few factors that we truly believe will make this transition a little easier than the last one, even with a baby. So I am going to make a list of things you can start praying for now, because frankly these next 8 weeks we will NEED it.
Things to pray for us
1. Charlie's arrival will be sooner than later so we have a little practice time as parents before we move.
2. God would provide all the details that still need to be worked out with the transfer, ie what the company will cover, ect.
3. That the Lord will provide our needs. It is so expensive to live out there and we will be on a tight budget. Also that our worries over money won't overcome or overwhelm us.
4. That God would lead us to the right house, in the matters of finance, location, according to our needs, and that it would be a place where we could shine for the Kingdom.
5. Young baby traveling by car and plane, need I say more
6. That as all these things run through our minds our joy and focus would always be the blessing of our daughter.

This is our short list. If you want the long list email me and I will send it to you.
I am nervous and excited about this next chapter. I think God could use us in new ways out there, that right now we cant even imagine. All of it is unknown from labor to being parents, to moving, ect. We know we wont be able to get through this without the strength of Christ and the support of those "around" us.

We will also gladly invite anyone who wants to visit. We are now a perfect vacation spot so all are welcome, once we get settled.

Tomorrow I will post pics of Charlie's temporary nest. But for all of the time, effort and love we put into the nursery our handiwork shall be put up in the new one, once we get there.

Family and birthdays

My mom came this week. She was here from Wed-Sat. Wednesday night we had dinner as a family, Ryan made soup and talked until bed time. The next day was a typical mimi comes to visit day. We went shopping all day. We shopped for Charlie and threw a little bit in for mom as well. I made her buy sensible shoes. They are still very cute but are more practical then what she would have picked for herself. We did find Charlie's Christmas dress. It took a while. I hate roses and too many bows. I wanted something cute and understated. For those of you that knew her, it reminds me so much of Linda Buis. I know she would love it! There are still so many things that both mom and I would love to buy for her but we must have some self control. But needless to say we shopped till we dropped. We had a late dinner out with Ryan and went to bed early. Friday was our working day. Mom helped me wash, sort, separate, unpack and clean the nursery along with all the shower gifts that were shipped to us. We even got the wall decal hung, which was a miracle. We started at 8PM and finished a little after 10. On our first piece I thought we were going to kill each other. But I told mom if we could finish this and survive we had a great relationship. It ended up being a fun and we laughed a lot. It was great to have mom here. She got to feel a part of the pregnancy which she hasn't got to until this point. I wish she could have stayed longer.
Birthday Bash
Ryan's birthday was Saturday and I wanted to do something special for him. So I took him to a comedy club in our local mall to see Mark Curry. He was popular in the 90's with a tv show, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, but hadn't heard anything about him since. We sat at a table with 2 strangers but they were very nice and it was great to meet new people. The comics were funny and Charlie was moving the whole time. I don't think she has ever had so much stimulation from mommy laughing so hard. The last few minutes Mark called up people who were celebrating something and I made Ryan go. Everyone had to share what they were celebrating, let Mark make fun of them and do an embarrassing dance. For those of you who know Ryan, know this is WAY out of his comfort zone but he did a great job and I laughed a lot. Mark told me this was going to be so good it would break my water. My response was Hartford Hospital here we come! Then Charlie decided that she didn't want to sleep ALL night and I was up with an awake and busy baby causing mom pain and the inability to sleep. This was our first time of this but I don't think it is our last. Honestly I thought I was having contractions for a while the pain was so intense and not localized but it stopped around 8am this morning.
Our agenda is to put together our last few big purchases for the baby on Sunday, as well as do some crafts to get the nursery ready. Ryan is even willing to help me, so I will post pictures of our craft time later. We have much to do and are anxious of getting it done. We both have a feeling this little one might come earlier than Thanksgiving. We can't believe we have less than a month and we are both so excited and ready (at least we think we are) for her to be here. Ryan spends tummy time with the baby everyday. I can see his love and excitement growing with each passing day. May it come quickly.

bellies and babies

This week has been the hardest week for me physically since May when I was in the hospital for half a week. I will spare you the details but know that it is extremely painful, and there is nothing I can do about it. Boo hiss for no relief. We thought we were going to have to go to the hospital last night because of it but thankfully it was just a very long night. Ryan was great. When I finally attempted to go to bed he held me while I cried at 4 am with no complaining that he had to go to work in 1.5 hours later. Needless to say it was a long night and around 6 am was finally able to fall asleep. I woke up in time for my ultrasound today. Even though I still feel horrible it is now bearable because of our appointment today.

What we know about Charlie so far:
-as of today she weighs 5 pounds 5 oz
-as of today she is 17 inches long
-she has hair
-she is in the 49th percentile so far. Average is okay with us
-If she goes 2-3 weeks early she will be between 7-7.5lbs
-if she waits till her due date she will be between 8-8.5 and could be 22 inches long
-she was breathing great and was very very active today

Everyone kept telling us how great everything is looking. I will give a pat on the back to myself right now. I only gained 1 pound over the last 2 weeks and only 21 overall since being pregnant. Now when you see pregnancy pics below you may not believe me but it is true. We aren't counting the 10lbs I gained over our first 4 months of marriage, shhh don't tell.

This is dad (Ryan's) belly. We don't know why it was taken but I thought if I am showing mine he can show his too.

This is my belly shot.



This is us and my new hair cut. It was windy but you get the jist.


WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS A DISTORTION. I AM TRULY NOT AS BIG AS I APPEAR IN THE FOLLOWING PICTURE. REMEMBER 20 LBS TOTAL!!!



NOW WHAT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...


CHARLIE

I want to say she looks like me but I know its way way to early. Almost all babies look alike when they come out but this is our first good glimpse of what Ryan and I made. I was so happy he got to be there today to see her. We are both so overjoyed with our biggest tiny blessing.

her profile

Thank you for sharing our joy with us, even though it is far away. Feel free (PLEASE is what I really mean) leave a comment so I know who is reading this from home. Next picture post will be of our apartment for grandma b who has been asking for a long time.

Picture Page picture page, everyone loves a picture page!

This is us at a fair. We are in the ferris wheel, the only ride for pregnant women.

This was Ryan's dinner. As you can see its quite a corn dog. I really didn't want to take this pic next to the scary clown trash can but we did. It made me nervous.

The beginning of a bed

actually working

I really did help for a moment, then went back to taking pictures

Almost done

ta da!!!!!! This is all you get to see for now. I am turning our nursery from drab to fab with my crafty projects. I know I am not my sister but it will be fabulous anyway. More pics as I go.
Bedding Product is Cotton Tale, Lizzie is the set name.

missing everyone

So yesterday we went to the hospital because we hadn't felt the baby move in about 3 or 4 days. We tried caffine, sugar, exercise and more but not a budge. So I called the doc and since it was already 4 we went to the hospital. We were on a baby monitor for about two hours. At first she was still but eventually they saw movement and told me she was beautiful according to her stats. The doctor was very nice and said that she would rather us come in for 10 false alarms than have us sit at home and worry. On the upside we saw where we will deliver and met some of the nursing staff. They were very funny and nice and we look forward to delivering there in a short time. My orders are to lie down and make sure I feel the baby move 4 times/hour. If she doesn't I do it again. If we fail that I call the doc. She has been active since we got home so that is good. I guess I am breeding a lazy girl. She doesn't want to move or breath at times (don't worry its optional for them at this point). We are thrilled with our doctors in the practice. We go for our sizing ultrasound on the 14th and hopefully will have new pics to post.
On a very different note, today is my dad's 60th birthday. All of our friends and family went for dinner to celebrate. I was feeling homesick today but tonight at about 7ish I couldn't hold in my sadness or stress from the day before and I fell apart. I wanted so badly to be there with the people I want to see most right now, minus a few key people. It is hard to be out here. Both my sister and I are daddy's girls. It's who we are. But I didn't get to be one today. I called but its not the same. I am sorry I missed it and love you very much, dad. Thanksgiving can't come soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!