3 Days Old

Here are a couple of pictures of Gavin from this weekend.

Home again

We're finally beginning to find some normalcy and enter the world of the wakeful again, including visiting the world wide web again.

Gavin, Erin & Cliff are all home again and trying to get used to our new schedule, or lack thereof. For the moment, Gavin is sound asleep in his swing, Daddy is taking a little well-deserved nap and Mommy is enjoying a French Vanilla Cafe and listening to baby lullabies while watching Gavin sleep and Drake (the dog) lay watchful nearby. Daddy and Gavin hung out all morning so Mommy could get some sleep.

We had a visit at home this afternoon from Jeremy, Rita, and Sloane and they even brought us lunch. Rita says Gavin is looking great. Yesterday we enjoyed the company of Carrie and Nathan, who also ran a few errands for us while they were out and about and brought us dinner. Gavin's cousin Renee also made it out yesterday afternoon for some long awaited snuggling.

We had many visitors at the hospital and helpful offers from so many of you! Thank you. I'm going to continue to share Gavin's story with you and will continue to add pictures, but right now a very soft and snuggly little boy is just too scrumptious to be sitting in a swing and not in my arms.

We're so lucky and so blessed to have this sweet angel of a baby in our lives. Thanks to all of you for all of your support and love. We're happy to share our wonderful news with you. (and more pictures soon to come).

We have a baby!

Another update from Kristin - As promised, we have a baby!

Gavin James was born Wednesday, 11/19, at 7:07 p.m. He's 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 22 inches long. Everything went well, and the family is doing great. Mommy says, "He is perfect." So perfect, she's having trouble letting him go to the nursery. :) Congratulations Jennings family!

Going to the cha ... wait... that's the wrong song

Update from Kristin - Erin just called me and asked me to update the blog. She doesn't have internet access... at THE HOSPITAL!!

Cliff is grabbing some lunch. You never know when time's up and you're stuck there with an empty stomach. Erin is watching some TV. They're just waiting, but things are going well. Expect a baby today! :)

Just Gel-in'

It's Monday night, November 17th and baby is still warm and comfortable inside. We're 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant and I see that the little baby in the peapod on the ticker just stopped at 40 weeks. So, my theory of the baby going on past the 40 week marker went out the window.

We had an uneventful, but nice weekend. Enjoyed a couple of nice walks around the farm, visited Cliff's aunt, did a little shopping, watched a few movies, and Cliff even did a bit of goose hunting, along with several projects around the house.

This morning we went in to see Dr. Raverty and my cervix hadn't dilated any more over the weekend. My weight was again unchanged (actually down 2/10 lb). She sent us to Labor & Delivery to have the baby monitored for stress and check to see if I was having any contractions even though I didn't think I was. It turns out that I was, but I can't feel them and they're unproductive, which means they're not actually causing my cervix to dilate. So, they put some gel in my cervix to help it to soften and thin, which should help to prepare it for labor. We stayed there for a couple of hours while they continued to monitor the baby's heart rate, which was good, and the little graph that printed out showing the contractions and the baby's heartrate was neat to see. We'll go back in tomorrow for another gel treatment and see how things look then. Maybe baby will arrive soon!

Better late than never

It's Friday night, Nov 14 and we're at 40 weeks and 1 day. I've been wondering what will happen with the little pea pod ticker at the top of the blog once we're past 40 weeks. Will it keep counting? Will the pea pod baby go off the end of the vine? Will it say 40 weeks plus x days? Will the baby in the pea pod start traveling backwards?

If the baby comes a week late, here is what I think the ticker would look like then... maybe we will never know for sure...

40 Wk Dr Appt

It seems baby isn't quite ready to come out yet. We went in for our 40-wk appt this morning and there isn't much change from last week. We're still only dilated to 1 cm or a little over, although baby has dropped lower now so that the shoulders are now where the head was last week. A couple of people at work on Thursday commented that the baby had dropped and they were right on!

My weight is unchanged from last week and my blood pressure is still good. Baby's heartbeat sounds good and baby is still active. She or he has been practicing stretching out, I think, because I keep getting strong little feet pushing out my right side.

We're going to stay active this weekend and see what happens. If baby doesn't make a move over the weekend, we'll be back in to see Rita on Monday and see if anything is changing yet. Wish us luck!

We put on our walking shoes...

All week, Cliff and I have been taking a brisk walk at lunch over to Abbott Northwestern hospital, trying to get some exercise and hopefully help this baby get ready for birth. I've read about natural induction and some things you can do that may safely help to encourage your body into labor. Some foods are suspected to help things along as well as accupressure, exercise, etc. So, baby doesn't seem to be quite ready yet, but I'd rather encourage the labor naturally if possible than be induced with drugs next week. There is no reason to worry since our due date is actually Friday and we could still safely go several more days, but it's just something we're mindful of. We may have encouraging news Friday morning after our 40 week doctor appointment. Wish us luck and a healthy baby!

Belly at 40 Wks

Even in these last few days, this baby is still growing in my belly... a little bigger every day. I decided if we were going to capture the remarkable image that is both beautiful and at the same time a bit unnatural looking, our chances are limited. One of these days very soon, my belly is going to look very different, so we captured a few pictures of what it looks like now, at 9 months pregnant. I hesitated posting these, knowing that means that anyone could see them, but decided only my family and friends read this anyway, so here they are...

Nesting?

What is regular household activity and what is nesting? Lately when I tell someone what I did over the weekend or last night, they ask if that means I'm nesting. I sure don't think so. Yesterday we cleaned the ovens and toaster oven, baked pumpkins and squash to freeze, made pumpkin pie and groundcherry pie and froze those, cleaned out the refrigerator, did about 8 loads of laundry and packed up the halloween decorations. Last weekend I made wild rice soup and froze that for when I don't feel like cooking and my sister Carrie dropped off some frozen meals for us this weekend, which will also be great to have post-hospital! This weekend Cliff also cleaned out the sump basket in the basement and did some very thorough cleaning in the canning room (had some rotten apples in there). I don't think this is nesting. I think this is just regular old housekeeping. A few weeks ago Cliff and I spent an entire morning organizing our bedroom closets. I also went through my "pile" of papers which included everything from records that needed to be filed away to leftover Christmas cards from last year, to things I meant to mail to people and hadn't yet. So, some of you may have received something in the mail from me in the last couple of weeks, but I likely have no idea what it was. I found sealed, addressed, stamped envelopes that had never been mailed, so I just sent them off! Hope there was something fun inside! I've also washed all the baby clothes and bedding, washed all of the rugs and throw blankets in the house, and am working on organizing the hall closet so that I can actually fit our extra bedding in there since right now it is full and I still have a basket of folded extra sheets sitting in our bedroom. So, I'm not sure if I'll go through the nesting stage or if I will even know if I do, but for now, we're just trying to keep on top of things so that we don't fall too far behind after baby arrives. Now if I could just get the windows cleaned and get the rest of the screens put on. We've only lived in the house for over a year and still don't have all of the screens on the windows. : ) What's the rush now, it's winter again! We'll be watching the snow fly while snuggled up by the fireplace!

Waiting for Baby

Still here, still going about our business, still waiting for baby. We have 4 days until our due date. Just 4 days. I'm beginning to think this baby is just as happy as a clam, all safe and warm and cozy in my womb, and possibly has no intention of ever leaving its warm, relaxing, bathtub-like environment. If he or she takes after me at all, it won't want to come out. I can spend 3 hours in a warm bathtub in the winter, with a good book and a glass of wine or cup of coffee. Okay, so I know the baby isn't sipping wine or warming up with coffee in my womb, but she or he is probably pretty content in there anyway.

I thought I sensed some signs of early labor Friday night when I started feeling really sick to my stomach and had a persistent back-ache, but it must have just been a plain old stomach bug, because by Saturday morning, I was feeling fine again! I was just sure we'd be heading to the hospital Saturday... and here I am, about to start another day of work... another week perhaps. Will I be here next Monday too? I wonder.

Our friend Steph's sister had her baby Saturday morning! I think their due date was today. How exciting! I can't wait to see pictures of him!

Soon enough, we'll be posting pictures of our little bundle! Maybe this week? Maybe not.

39 Week Dr. Appt

Wow, just one week to go! Here is what the baby bump looks like now - actually this picture is earlier this week, at about 38 1/2 weeks. It's less of a bump and more of a bulge now, I guess. Most people tell me it's still so small, they can't believe we're 39 weeks along, and I realize it could be a lot bigger, but I sure have no complaints and I can guarantee there's a good sized baby in there! It reminds me all day long with little nudges and pokes as well as some big stretches and what feels like somersaults!

We had our doctor appt this morning and have good news. We're dilated to 1 cm, so things are progressing! We will likely deliver in the next week, and if not, Rita will let us go up to a week past our due date, but not longer than that. So, she said we'll talk about the "what ifs" next week if we haven't had the baby yet. Baby's heartrate still sounds great and fluctuates when baby moves around, which is a sign of a healthy baby. My blood pressure is good and I've gained another 3.5 lbs. This is up a total of 22 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, but its up a total of 30 lbs from my lowest weight during pregnancy. I guess its time to lay off the sweets!

We're getting really excited and very anxious!! Baby will be here any day now!!

Eating for Two

I have never agreed with the whole "you can eat twice as much since you're eating for two" motto or the one that says you can eat whatever you want when you're pregnant. I believe that you still need to make wise, healthy choices about what you eat and for me, that pretty much meant eating as I normally do, with two exceptions - no skipping meals because I don't have time, and eliminating or minimizing just a few things like caffeine and alchohol. Generally, I don't consume a ton of caffeine anyway, but I basically now don't drink any more than two cups combined of coffee, pop, or whatever and obviously no alchohol.

I thought it was funny that the pregnancy guides and newsletters I get kept reminding me to avoid filling up on sugary foods like glazed donuts and instead make the most out of the calories being consumed. Basically, get the most bang for your buck. Instead of having a donut, have a protein bar. Instead of having a piece of cake, have some fruit. If you're consuming the calories, make sure that they contain nutrition for the baby, not just sugar. Makes total sense to me... and plus, I'm not much of a sweets person anyway. I tend to crave salty potato chips rather than candies and cakes.

...UNTIL a couple of weeks ago. And it seems to be getting worse each day. I suddenly can't get enough sugar. I want cake, candy bars, ice cream, pie, candy, cookies, hot cocoa... basically anything sweet. And I don't tire of it. It came upon me suddenly and it hasn't left yet. I had a bowl of Crispix for breakfast, but then followed it with a peanut butter granola bar. Then when I got to work I had a mini Kit Kat. And then with my lunch I had an oatmeal raisin cookie. Then someone told me there were pecan caramel rolls in the break room, so I went and had one of those. Now, granted, I did eat half of a roast beef sandwich and a bowl of fruit at lunch, so it's not like all I've had all day is sugar. But I just can't seem to get enough of it. If it isn't readily available, then I go looking for it. One day last week I think I had 5 or 6 pieces of taffy from someone's candy dish. I've avoided that candy dish since then, but soon discovered a big bowl of halloween candy in the storage room at work. I'll tell you there are no snack sized snickers left in there... but I won't tell you who ate them. : ) So, even after a Kit Kat, an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a pecan caramel roll, I'm thinking about whether I should go get a piece of candy or have another granola bar. I am not hungry - not even a little. I just want more sugar.

Is this sweet tooth going to go away soon? ...hopefully???

Friends Shower in River Falls

Last Sunday, our friends Stephanie Linehan, Stacy Delwiche, and Missy Murphy threw a baby shower for us at Missy & Colin's house. It was so much fun! We played a version of the newlywed game - which was very entertaining, enjoyed a delicious dinner, received some really wonderful gifts for the baby, and most importantly, got to hang out with some of our favorite people!

Thanks to our shower planners and to the Murphys for hosting us! Thank you to all of you for coming - we are so blessed to have this incredible circle of friends. We love spending time with all of you and can't wait for our baby to meet you!

Steph took a bunch of great pictures that she has shared as well! To see all of the pictures of our "friends" baby shower, sign into snapfish:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=71541225837810858/l=437338525/g=11116803/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

What wonderful coworkers we have!

Last week, our coworkers had a shower for us at the office. When we had originally talked about it, we thought they were just planning to have a casual get together - basically a reason to eat cake and hang out for a bit unrelated to work. But, they had a real, full, baby shower planned, complete with food, dessert, drinks, decorations, and gifts. Since Cliff and I work on the same floor at the same organization, we work with a lot of the same people, but we had over 20 people join us for this fun gathering. Lots of people helped out with the shower, bringing food, dessert, decorations, etc. It was really wonderful. I think I had three pieces of dessert, since of course I needed to try each one! We also went home that day with a car-load of really wonderful gifts for the baby. Who could ask for nicer coworkers???

You can log in to Snapfish to view pictures from the shower at:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=31241225826848401/l=437333497/g=11116803/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Counting Days

I remember the morning of March 15th so clearly... looking at that positive pregnancy test and not knowing if I should really believe it. Thinking it couldn't possibly be true. Then almost three weeks later, cautiously sharing the happy news with our parents - reminding them that we were only 8 weeks along and there was still a long way to go. We were counting days then too, but we were counting the days that we had made it so far with no complications. Now today, here we are counting down to our due date. 10 days. This baby is due in 10 days. Thats a week and a half. It could come any time now, but it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of coming in the next couple of days. We'll see. When we first took that pregnancy test, that was at about 5 weeks, or 35 days. And we didn't even know anything was "going on" until we took that test. Now, I can barely imagine going another 10 days, knowing that we're going to be parents any day now, waiting for our baby's arrival in this world. Remembering that these 9 months have been so easy. As long as I was taking care of myself, I was also taking care of the baby. The baby was getting it's nutrition as needed, and we haven't had to feed, bathe, change or comfort him or her. This baby has been living off of what my body has been providing without me having to do a thing except stay healthy and safe. Now that is all going to change and we are going to be making a concious effort every minute of our lives to make sure this little one has what it needs. In just 10 days, give or take a few... I'm hoping for closer to 3 or 4 days, but it could be 20 or more yet! Counting down... 10...