Baby pictures!

Here he is!!!



Just born!!



8 lbs. 6.4 oz.



Snuggle with Daddy



Andrew meeting his little brother for the first time.



My three boys.



Naked before his first bath.



Mama love in recovery.



Heading home!

Ethan is HERE!!

Hooray!! Ethan Ryan came into the world at 8:12a.m. on Tuesday, May 12th weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 21" in length. His Apgars were 9 and 9 and he is by all accounts completely healthy. We are now home with him and enjoying settling into life as a family of four.

Wow, that seems weird to even type that..."family of four." Aaaaahhhh....

He was six days "past due," just like his brother was, and only 2oz. heavier. At least I'm consistent! My OB said, "Next time, we'll just plan for you to be six days late and to have an 8.5lb. baby!"

Instead of landing on our "family number," he chose his own number! Not only was he born on the 12th and at 8:12a.m. but our room number was 1112. So we think he chose 12 as his very own special number.

I'm uploading all 300 pictures we've taken in the last two days so it may be a while before I post any! :)

I had a really great birth experience--almost the complete opposite of the last time--with a labor that started out at 7:00p.m. Monday night. The first "real" pain wasn't until almost 3:00a.m. (after I slept restlessly through minor "cramps" for several hours) when I woke my husband up to help me time them. I was in triage at the hospital by 6:00a.m....admitted and in a labor/delivery room by about 7:00a.m....started pushing at about 8:00a.m....and then there he was!! It was truly an amazing and blessed labor and birth, thank the Lord!

I'll be posting a more detailed version and the complete birth story here soon for those who are interested.

I am thrilled to no longer be pregnant and so happy with the experience we had. Plus, I have a beautiful baby boy to show for it! He is gorgeous and the first baby born into our family in a very long time that has a head full of light hair!! It is exciting to get to know him.

Andrew loves being a big brother and is quite happy that we all got to come home together. Seeing my three boys just fills my heart with joy!!

Now I hear him...gotta run! :)

PICTURES COMING SOON--YOU KNOW I'M GOOD FOR IT!!

OB update, five days past-due

Here are pictures of me from Mother's Day weekend. It was a lovely, relaxing day!







My folk's got me my favorite bottle of wine to celebrate Ethan's arrival, plus a two-pack of OPI nail polish (in the pink bag around the bottle).



My mom used the pink polish and gave me a poolside pedicure!!



As for the baby news, obviously Ethan is not here yet! I saw my OB today and she said I'm soft and dilated to 4 cm. She stripped my membranes since I'm already getting "false" contractions, so that may help. She thinks he'll be here in 24 hours--my guess is Wednesday. He and I are both healthy--so now it's just a matter of waiting!! I'm feeling emotionally GREAT and physically weary and definitely ready to "get the show on the road." I'm so excited to meet him and to know he is healthy!!

And I'll update more as we know more! Thanks for your well wishes and prayers-

OB update, almost 40 weeks

I honestly cannot wrap my brain around the idea that my due date is TOMORROW. It's still surreal, that we're HAVING A BABY IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!!! Andrew was six days past-due, that's a week from now! My doctor has agreed to "let me go" to 41 weeks, then we'll be taking it two days at a time after that (checking amniotic fluid levels, seeing how he's coping, etc.). I have an appointment for Monday, 5 days past-due...and I'm REALLY hoping to see her before then!!

So today I had lost a little weight again, which seems impossible...I just need to eat two of everything to gain at this point, I suppose. She isn't concerned, however, and says he's growing just fine. My belly measured 37 cm for 40 weeks, his heart rate was in the 130s and my blood pressure was normal. She said we're doing great!!

Looking at me, she said twice that I "look done." I said, "Maybe that's because I'm not wearing make-up." She said, "Nope. You look done." I'll take it!! Who wouldn't, though, at 40 weeks pregnant?? When you've had that due date in mind for so long, it's not much fun to get to the PLUS "x-number of days" phase!

So I am dilated now to 3.5 cm, so that's an improvement! He's still pretty high, as is my cervix, so she again couldn't do the membrane sweep. I'm glad, actually, and would rather nature take its course. I'm not at that really, really DONE phase of, "Do anything to get this baby out!!" so a little more waiting is fine with me. I'm hoping he gets things going on his own soon, though!

The best part was that when I was heading down the hall, she looked up from my chart and said, "My bet is you only have a few days left." I said, "I'll take that bet!"

I think just last night was that turning point of "being done." We took Andrew to the park so I was walking, of course, and going up and down steps, sliding, climbing, etc. and all evening, was crampy and not feeling great. By the time we were headed for bed, I was getting tons of weird sensations and pains, lots of cramping (even low) and plenty of BHCs. At about 1 a.m., he started moving like crazy--more than EVER before--and causing me all kinds of discomfort. I finally got up and sat on the ball for a while, and realized I was feeling some pulsing down low--so I think he was so squirmy because he had hiccups, but I couldn't feel them laying down! Either way, I definitely felt "different" and like things were moving along--and from today's report, I guess I was right.

Still today, I'm feeling different and he's moving different--so hopefully we're making progress! We have Bible study tonight but afterward, I'm thinking we need another trip to the park and more walking!! I also have a ton of energy, so that's interesting.

So...we wait. Could be any time now!!