More Pictures...

Our things waiting in our living room for over a week for Baby Sam...where was he :)??

Towards the end of the labor...notice I'm laying. This is after the epidural. Before that, all I could do was sit on the birthing ball and deep breath. Maybe next time we'll be able to do complete natural birth!!

All I could think when he came out was, "My son's a moose!! He's huge!!"

Our very first family photo together :)

Here's some pictures from his birthday!! We had quite the journey...

So Good to be HOME

We finally dressed him and got him ready to go! He was having a meltdown with Chris and the nurse prior to this, but then he settled down for our ride home.

There are two women vying for Sam already...Taylor VanderWal and Elly Huette. This is Sam's introduction to Taylor. Who will give the better dowry :)?

Sam has skills already. 2 days old, and he can do "tummy time"! He has an abnormally strong neck for a newborn. Chris says he'll be a cross-fitter someday like his dad.

We were greeted at home by many of the neighbor kids. They wanted to see "what came out of my belly." Day Kawl (above) came back later with her mom, brother, and 2 other sisters. This family has never just come to our house. Sam's building bridges already!!

Sam had quite the day yesterday...he received his middle name (Greyson) after much discussion. We had 5 options we were down to. I wish there was a great story for the middle name, but we just like how it sounds. We were going to go with Aiden or Cole...Aiden means "little fire" but we didn't want to encourage this behavior. Sam had some meltdowns the night before, so we thought we should go with something more neutral in meaning :) With Samuel being such a strong name and having much importance to both of us, we're glad we chose that.

And then...he was circumcised. Poor little buddy. It was the first time we heard his "pain" cry. Everyone keeps saying what a "big boy" he is...and the nurses warned he would breast feed a lot. He has...pretty much when he's awake he wants to EAT. I'm okay with that...it will build up my skill and strength quicker. People say give it 2 weeks...I've made it 4 days. Only 10 more to go!!

We came home yesterday afternoon. It's a much slower pace here. Although we had great care at the hospital, it's good to "live life" with Sam. Keep us in your prayers. Here are some more pictures!!

He's FINALLY HERE!!

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!! We're doing well, and we really like this little guy. So I realized I haven't taken many pictures yet, but Baby Sam has had probably 500 of him taken already. He even had a photographer take some today!! We like him a lot...here's our baby story :) Read if you'd like :)

He's here!! Samuel Hardy (still settling on a middle name). Aug 27
at 11:30am...9 lbs 2 oz...21 1/2 inches. It was quite the
adventure...I was a week overdue, and the MD didn't want to wait
longer because that last week I started having high BP in the office.
He wanted to induce me on Weds, but I wanted to wait because I wanted
to do natural labor. I still hadn't gone into labor on Thurs, and so
he sent me over the the hospital for blood work and monitoring.
Everything was fine, but if I wasn't on my left side my BP was
elevated. I was already 4 cm dilated and 66% effaced...and having
mild contractions every 5-15 minutes. But, I'd been doing that for
over a week!! He wanted to keep me and start the process going. That
was at 11:30am on Thurs. He let me wait it out to see if I went into
active labor, but I didn't. At 6pm, he broke my water and started
Pitocin super low. That did it...active labor started immediately.
It was SO INTENSE!! They wanted to keep going up on the pitocin, but
I didn't want to go too quickly because my contractions were 2-3
minutes lasting a minute, and I had to breath through them. Then at
midnight, I had only progressed to 5cm...he said we needed to be
aggressive with the Pitocin. We turned it up to 6, and the
contractions kept getting more intense...but I still wasn't
progressing. I was having horrible constant back labor...and then
hard contractions every 3 minutes. He still wanted to turn it up more
to make me progress. We'd been up all day...and I hadn't eaten since
lunch, and I was too nauseated to keep well hydrated. By 3am, I
decided to get an epidural. We were both exhausted...and I knew there
was no way I was going to be able to push for an extended period of
time. The epidural during allowed me to rest, for me to continue to
progress, and for some relief to occur. I could still feel and move
my legs, and I was getting pelvic pressure with the contractions. By
7am, I was 8 cm...by 9:15 I was complete and ready to push. I started
pushing then...and at first it was challenging, and I could do it.
But...as I started to get him down, the epidural wore off...and I
still had to push for another hour!! He was OP (meaning face up), but
eventually turned toward the end. THE PAIN of pushing was so
bad...fire...and I could feel every contraction. I think that was
good because I could actually push out such a BIG baby. Just as I was
ready to deliver, my doctor was helping in a C-section...so the other
doctor was going to. Just was he was crowning, my doctor walked in.
I tore and had to have an episiotomy because he was so big...my bottom
is SO SORE!!! That's the worst part...but he's healthy...I'm
healthy...and Chris is tired :) We're doing well. We'll get to go
home on Sunday morning...ready for our new life.

Coming out one way or another...

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment, and the baby is doing just fine. My blood pressure was up from previous times, so this caused the doctor to question whether or not we should induce sooner rather than later. Chris and I felt like it's still a little premature, and he was giving us the option to wait a little longer. We decided to wait and to have an appointment on Thursday morning. I'm not a week overdue yet, but if my blood pressure is high on Thursday...he'll definitely push the induction again. I've been contracting about every 10 minutes for the past 16 hours...so we're hoping I'll just go into labor. Otherwise, I think we'll have to come in for an induction at the end of the week. Let's get this started!!

The Wait is ON!!

Cookies make the wait even better...

Chris' "I'm tired of waiting face" :)

40 weeks, 1 day...I thought this would be my last pregnancy picture!!

So, we keep thinking this will be our last day...but the baby's still brewing!! Life continues, and we're ready to meet him today. But, it may be next week. I was hoping we'd have him before Chris starts class this Weds, but I think the baby will decide that!

Due Date arrival...

Today is our official due date!! I've been having contractions all week about every 4-15 minutes, but not strong enough to stop me. We're going to wait until I can't talk or walk during contractions and obey the 5-1-1 rule (less than 5 minutes apart...lasting 1 minute...for 1 hour). I don't think this little boy can get much lower in my pelvis!! That's been the most painful so far...pelvis lightning jolts!! We've been walking a lot...eating a lot...trying to rest...running errands, but pretty much we just want to meet him. The doctor on Thurs said it could be anytime now because I'm dilated and effaced (not completely yet). So hopefully by Labor Day!

No work...time to play!

Raymin (our neighbor) and Matthew (my sister watches him each week) playing on the tanks.

39.75 weeks pregnant...can you hear the babbling brook?

What I thought was early labor seems to have come and gone. I'm definitely feeling the nesting, hunger, frequent trips to the bathroom pick up. Not too many contractions today, but I do indeed feel exhausted. I was supposed to work my last shift today in the ER, but after the weekend and early week's events I couldn't do it. It definitely was a wise decision (thanks Chris and Sara for making me stop!). So, now we continue to wait. I was able to go with my sister to Cantigny today and walk around the grounds. It's great to get out of the house!! I can't believe I'm off for 3 months now.

Early Morning Wake Up

I have been waking up around 3-4am this week. I made it through my last weekend at work for awhile, but for some reason cannot sleep past 4am. This is way too early and makes for a truly LONG day. I know this is preparation for the days to come. Yesterday I think I officially entered "early labor." Even though I can use the term labor, this stage can last several days for 1st time moms. So, I continue to wait. The pain is not too bad yet...so I hope to get some more done today before the real deal begins!! Come on Baby...let's get the show on the road.

My mom, sister and I saw "Eat Pray Love" on Friday. Although I do not agree with the author's theology, I think it was a pretty powerful reflection of the worldview present today. Although many people would like to escape after relational turmoil and travel the world, this is not realistic or in many cases helpful. The author definitely creates her own "religion" as she makes comments about the "god in you" and combines elements she finds palatable in several religions. It made me desire to pray even harder for friends, family and others who truly haven't embraced Christ's gospel message.

We're Ready...

Is this appropriate for the Emergency Department? Sometimes I wish I could seriously wear something like this. It's hot!!

I keep telling the baby he can come anytime now...especially with this heat!! I can't believe how hot it's been; I've definitely been staying inside. I only have a few more shifts at the hospital. I'm trying to make it as long as I can to have the full 3 months off after the baby. I think our "nest" is in place...the breast pump/bassinet have been borrowed...and our bags for the hospital are ready. I think I'll make a final trip to Trader Joe's today (for Chris of course :) ).

We had great news yesterday! Chris had a follow-up appointment with the Diabetes doctor (endocrinologist) yesterday. They drew a blood sample that shows his blood sugars over the past 3 months. The doctor said his level is better than most non-Diabetic people!! He's been working so hard to keep his readings down; I'm so proud of him!

One more week...probably more.

I'm a couple days away from 39 weeks. That's crazy! I've been pregnant for almost 10 months now. That's almost a year! I think I'm ready to have my body back from this invader and finally meet him. It's hard to say that I feel like we've bonded. I think that process will begin once he's finally out of me. Chris and I have enjoyed quiet nights at home and times out to dinner together. This will all change very shortly, but we truly feel up to the challenge. We're excited to take it on together.

Baby names are still up for discussion, but I think we'll be okay once the commitment needs to be made. The even bigger discussion has been circumcision...Chris wants to make sure there's nothing Biblically wrong with circumcising. We've agreed it's more cultural. I'm leaving it up to him...it's definitely a "guy thing." Would you like to cast your vote?

A Large Turkish Woman

Yesterday I visited one of our Turkish neighbors in the hospital. She just had her 2nd child...via C-section. She had quite the intense birthing process. I'm hoping ours will be a little more smooth!! She said in Turkish to my friend Amy, "Wow she looks like a fat Turkish woman!" The funny thing is this is supposed to be flattering. Not what you want to hear in your almost 38th week of pregnancy, but I am feeling rather large!!

We're on our way to our "birth place tour." Chris hasn't seen it yet, so it should be a good time. I'm finally attaching a picture of my HUGE belly. Wow. I never thought it would be this large!!