Sleep - how precious . . .

Jack's first two nights at home were great. He slept at three hour stretches, fell asleep after he ate and had a new diaper and even took a nice long nap in the morning (like 7-10). Last night, however, Jack decided to be a hungry, hungry hippo and he wanted to eat constantly. He would wake up, eat for almost an hour, and then go to sleep just to wake up an hour later. So, technically he was eating every two hours except it takes him an hour to eat so we only got an hour of sleep at a time! Oh well, he slept from 7-11 am so at least we got some sleep then. Its fine with me because I don't have to go back to work until January but in about a week Chad isn't going to be as cool with getting a bulk of our sleep during the day when he needs to go to work! Oh well, at least he is a good eater and goes to sleep when he's full - Jack, that is, not Chad. Well, on second thought, Chad too. I guess they are both good eaters and sleepers! :)
Continue to check out our Shutterfly site for more pics.

He's Here!!!

Jack Thomas was born on Friday afternoon at 12:58 p.m. via c-section. Everything went really well. He was a mover and a shaker right from the start! Here are some basic stats:

So far he has brown/redish hair depending on the light. His eyes are still blueish but they are getting darker by the day and I think he might have brown eyes at some point. He is a big guy too!
Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz
Length: 21 inches
Head: 14.25 inches circumference


That puts our little Jack in the 80-90th percentile in all of his categories. Oh yeah, and he was a week early! They said the head circumference alone likely would have been enough reason for a c-section.

I am feeling great - I am on lots of steroids so my Crohn's is under control, which even though its artificially under control, its enough for me right now!

Jack is eating like a champ and so far he sleeps fairly well (knock on wood and lots of prayers for continued sleep!) He is so calm and content so far - he loves looking at our faces and he just relaxes and coos. I could just look at him all day.
Check out our picture site CLICK HERE for pictures. We are trying to update them as much as possible but we get a little busy somtimes (surprise, surprise!)

Getting ready!

Homework done - check
Laundry done - check
dishes done - check
house cleaned - check
classroom ready to go for sub - check
eating all of the junk food I can stomach - check

Tomorrow is the big day - I am going to have a baby - tomorrow! We welcome all of the postive thoughts and prayers we can get!

Oops, its been a while!

Yeah, so, I've been a bit busy. I am trying to get a lot of things done and ready because I am having Mouser on Friday. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? I am having a baby on FRIDAY!!!!! My Gasteroenterologist and OB have decided that the best thing for me at this point is to have a scheduled c-section for various medical reasons. I trust my doctors and I have decided to follow their advice. This weekend we lived it up a bit knowing that it was our last weekend ever without kids! YIKES! We are excited, nervous, and a little overwhelmed! I keep thinking that I have no idea what to do with a baby but it seems like most people figure it out.
I am not sure if I will be updating before Friday (I have lots to do!) so if I don't be sure to check our shutterfly site for pictures of our little Mouse and of course the big reveal of his real name!
Oh, and we will take any prayers and positive thoughts anyone has to offer. I am kinda scared of the surgery but I know that the Lord will take care of the baby and me too! I trust my doctor and I am just looking forward to meeting the little dude soon!!!

Shower from Kacey and Casey!

I had a wonderful weekend. Two of my closest friends, Kacey and Casey threw a wonderful baby shower for me on Saturday. It was great! Those girls are wonderful. They worked so hard to make my day special! It was mostly my friends from work as well as my mom and Chad's mom. We had delicious food, great company, and of course a generous array of gifts! We got lots of clothes and baby essentials! It was so great to see everyone and to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our little dude. I can't believe how soon he will be here!
Check out all of the pictures here!
On Sunday, Chad and I went to WalMart to get all of the last minute things that we still need before he gets here. We had to get wipes, a few more bottle accessories, formula, and stuff for me to recover. Oh yeah, its starting to dawn on me that this little guy is going to get here one way or another and I am going to have to recover afterward! Yikes!
We also installed our carseats this weekend. Looks like we are almost ready for him to get here. Of course, I hope he keeps cooking in there for a while but as far as stuff is concerned we have what we need! As far as if we are mentally ready - we are getting there, I wonder if anyone is totally mentally ready when a baby comes? I guess we will find out within the next month! WHOO HOO!

Doctor's Appointment Today!

So, I am 36 weeks pregnant now which makes me in my ninth month. I have less than a month left until we meet our little guy! Chad and I went to the doctor today to have an ultrasound and a regular check up. We got to see our little guy - well, what we could see of him. He is head down, way down, and face down. Which basically means we didn't get to see his little face. Its a bummer even though on an ultrasound they usually look like Skeletor anyway! We did see the back of his head, though, complete with hair!!!! YAY! I was born with a full head of dark, thick hair and it looks like Mouser will have some hair as well. I am so excited!
I talked to the doctor about a discussion that one of the other docs in the practice had with me regarding my Crohn's and delivering early. Of course, the were talking about 37 weeks - uhh, in case anyone lost count like I did, that would mean next week. Ummm, no thanks. I think I will just stick it out. I am not very interested in an amnio and a premature baby anyway - thanks! We had discussed that option if my Crohn's got worse or if it was harming Mouse. Since I am still fully functioning I figured let's let it ride.
The doc today mentioned inducing at 39 weeks (without amnio) if the Crohn's is still bothering me but I think at this point we will wait and see. Of course, the planner in me would love to plan an induction so I know when the baby would be here and I wouldn't have to just "wait and see." I think the best thing to do, however, is let God decide when this little guy is ready to see the world.

Oh, and as many of you know, I am having a bit of a big baby. Nothing astronomical or anything. Right now, according to the ultrasound he is in the 85 %ile. His estimated weight as of today is 7 pounds! No wonder I get tired at the end of the day! They estimate he will be about 8 1/2 lbs. when he is born. Chad and I were each over eight pounds so I wasn't really surprised when he told us that. I suppose only time will tell. Our little dude is growing and thriving. Of course, I only gained 1/2 a lb. over the last month. That sounds pretty good but its more of a sign of the Crohn's flare up than of me watching what I am eating or excersizing (hahaha). Of course, I am busy at work so that may help things along. I am not too much over my weight gain hopes so maybe I won't be too HUGE when this is all said and done! :)

Random Stuff

Okay - so we have been very busy around here. I have some pictures to share. First, a new school year has started so I am busy, tired, and happy to be back with little kids again. As tired as they make me I still really love my job! So here's me on the first day of school!


Also, I got a new car! WHOO HOO! Oh wait, its a MOM car! In typical Amy fashion, however, I couldn't get anything less than something super cute and sporty so this is my version of a mom car. It has four doors and a big trunk. It also has leather, Monsoon stereo system, remote start, sunroof, power everything, and a pretty fast engine. Its the most mom I could do for now.



And finally - when we bought our crib set it came with a bumper which isn't considered safe to use with babies anymore. I didn't want to waste the great fabric so I decided to use some of it to make a valance. I cut out all of the stuffing, hemmed the edges, and sewed ribbon to the top. I think it turned out pretty great! What do you think?

Our Nursery - More Progress

I made a new website that has pictures of the nursery and my shower from my mother in law. I plan to use this site after the baby is born so you might want to bookmark it.

Click HERE for our picture website from shutterfly.

Enjoy!

31 Weeks!

How could I possibly have only 9 weeks left until I have this baby? Yikes! We went to childbirth class last night again and I think it freaked Chad out a little. It freaked me out a little for sure. You know on a Baby Story they don't show everything and I think they try to make the mother look cute. The women in the movie we saw were looking ROUGH, really really rough. Of course, they didn't have the beauty of the epidural, which I know doesn't always work or I know I may encounter a circumstance where the epidural isn't an option, but after watching that video last night I hope to become very close friends with the anestsiologist.

Of course the childbirth instructor is quite ANTI-epidural but whatever, she isn't having this baby, I am, so she can go fly a kite for all I care! Anyway, I just wanted to check in and show off my newest pic. I got my haircut so it was a good day for a picture! I hope everyone is well. I am continuing to work on my classroom to get everything ready for a new bunch of little darlings! I hope they don't tire me out too much, yeah right!

The Nursery Progress

I just realized that I haven't really shown much progress on the nursery stuff for a while. Many of you have seen many of these pictures but I wanted to make a post of some pics that are the most recent with even more stuff in the room. I am going to IKEA tomorrow and I am sure I will find some stuff to use there. I really like IKEA, its so big and stuff is so cheap and fun! So, without further ado . . .

New Stuff

So, sometimes I feel like we are getting stuff too early for this baby but then I think, hmmmm, we only have like 10 1/2 weeks left and frankly once school starts I am not going to have lots of time to shop around for stuff. So, though it seems early, things are starting to come together. Today in the Target add they had the travel system (carseat/carrier + stroller combo) on sale and we just returned something for my mom so we decided to get the system from my mom for my shower in a couple of weeks. Works for us because we can get it locally and take it right home and get it set up, works for mom because we take care of all of the details! Also, we picked up the travel swing she ordered for us as well. So, we set up the swing and the travel system today. We also have lots of clothes (hmmm, from mom again, she may be getting excited too!) to show off, including an outfit for his baptism (no little weird suits with bowties here). I will post a couple of pictures here but there are lots more here.

My night in Labor and Delivery!

Oh boy! First let me say, I am just fine and the baby is just fine. My mom, Aunt Pat, and I got into a very small fender bender on Thursday at about 5:45 p.m. We were exiting the highway and inching forward to see if cars were coming and the dude behind us thought we were going so he hit the gas and rear-ended us. My poor mom hit her head so while I was asking her if she was okay, my aunt and my mom were like . . . FORGET ABOUT US! HOW ARE YOU! Then it occurred to me, oh yeah, I'm 7 months pregnant. I described it last night as having something around so much that you seriously forget. Like if you had an 11th toe, after a while it wouldn't occur to you that it was any different. But anyway, my seat belt was under my belly and we were stopped and the other guy wasn't going fast at all. But, of course as soon as my big pregnant belly emerged from the car the guy who hit us kinda freaked out. I have that effect on people nowadays.
So, I called the ob after hours line to see if they wanted me to come in (crossing my fingers that they would say just come in tomorrow) yeah right. I had to go in and be monitored for 4 HOURS! UGH!!!!
So, Chad and I went home got some books, said goodbye to mom because she didn't need to sit around l&d all night, then we got some McDonald's and went to the hospital. Before we even got there mom called and was like, I can't stand to go home, I need to know you are okay, so she came to the hospital too!
I got hooked up to the monitor at about 8 p.m. so I knew I would be there until midnight. They said I had to lay on my back until they could rule out that I was having contractions and then I could lay on my side. They said it would be 20 minutes. An hour later the nurse came in and was poking around at stuff and I asked if I could lay on my side. But she said NO! Ugh again! It turns out I was having contractions, though I didn't feel them. So then after a while and lots of contractions the doctor came in and said that I had to stay for 24 HOURS!!!!! He asked if that would be okay, I wanted to say, don't give me a choice buddy or you may not like what I say. Anyway, I decided to stay.
I finally moved to my overnight room (out of triage) at 1 a.m. and by the time I settled in etc, it was late, late, late. Chad and mom left just before 2 a.m. so they could go to bed. My baby was SO busy and moving SO much that the monitor kept not detecting him. I wasn't worried about it for a minute because he moved and moved and moved so much that I knew he was just fine. So the nice nurse came in constantly until about 4 a.m. when the baby finally went to sleep and stayed on the monitor without moving away. So, I slept from 4 a.m. - 7 a.m. A whopping three hours. Over that time, however, my contractions pretty much stopped which is great news. The doctor came in at about 11 a.m. and told me that I didn't have to stay the whole 24 hours and that I could go home!!! YAY!! So, my mom brought me home and I finally ate (I didn't even get water until 1 a.m. and then I had a clear liquid breakfast, ick!) so I was hungry and then I slept for 3 hours in my own comfy bed. I am so glad to be home and not have those pesky contractions any more. As eager as I am to meet the baby I would still like him to wait quite a few more weeks. Of course he only has 11 more weeks until I am sending him an eviction notice!
I hope everyone is well and had a better night than I did last night. I am so glad to be home, I am so glad to be done with my classes this summer, and I am so glad to not have to go to work for a couple more weeks!

Our New Furniture!!!

We got a call on Tuesday night that the furniture we ordered was in so we bothered my cousin, Den, to help us bring it to our house (since we have little cars). We spent a bit of time upstairs in Mouser's room putting his furniture together. We even had a picnic dinner upstairs while we worked on the crib. The dresser was all put together and we thought we were all done when we realized that we didn't screw the feet into it. After lots of moving around we figured out where we want the furniture in the room (for now, until we change our minds 300 more times). So here are the pictures, we don't have the matress yet and the bedding should be in soon. Also, we are planning to get a glider for me to sit in and a bookshelf for Mouser's books. I can't wait to get it all put together. For now, though, we have a VERY good start.

3rd Trimester!

No I am not kidding. Today begins my third trimester. I am 26 weeks and 6 days today. That is exactly 2/3 of the way through the pregnancy! WHAT?!?! How is that possible??? That means I have like 3 months left until this baby is here. Wow! Lots to do but I don't even have time to think about it with all of the school work I have to do. I am ready for that to be over but I am about half done or so with my classes this summer. Of course the second half of the classes tend to be a bit harder with bigger, longer, and more complicated projects but time seems to go very quickly because of the pace of the schedule which is good and bad. I know that I will want the time to go quickly because I want the baby it be here asap but thank God August is a slower time because I have things I always want to accomplish in the summer. I really don't get a lot of days off in the summer like people think. I haven't had more than two days off in a row (the first two days after school got out) without homework. August will be a welcomed break and I think I will be tired enough to enjoy the down time! It is also helpful to know that I will only have to work like 6 weeks before I get another 10 or 11 off! That's a bonus for sure! I know it won't be a vacation, but it won't be going to work either, its just different, I will be with Mouser which I might just enjoy!
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still feeling okay - starting to get tired more quickly and somehow everything causes me to have heartburn but I think the only cure to that might be childbirth at this point! I am sure I will feel worse and worse everyday but so far I am getting by! Mouser keeps moving and shaking in there and I am glad that I have the opportunity to sit down quite a bit for classes and homework. I hope everyone has a good day!

He's Gonna Have Hair . . .

Chad had a dream last night that Mouser was born. Apparently he had a head full of dark (yay!) hair! Also, according to Chad he "popped right out" with very little effort on my part. Now, let's all hope that Chad is psychic! Chad and I are going to Kalamazoo today to meet up with my sis and her husband to show our hubbys around the best school in the Midwest - Western Michigan University!!!! I can't believe I spent 4 years of my life there and other than my graduation I have never brought Chad there to look around. I am pretty excited. I think there are some changes but it will be fun to remember the good ole' days. Also, we are meeting up with some friends for dinner so that should be fun too. We are going to Old Penninsula or O.P. for the locals. They have really great locally brewed beers, my favorite is Raspberry Wheat. Of course, I can't have any this time but at least Chad can give it a try!

99 DAYS!

So, according to my countdown on one of my pregnancy websites I have 99 days to go until I have an outside baby! YAY! It is getting closer and closer. Of course, those who know me know that while it is very exciting, this milestone gets me a little anxious about all there is to do! It will get done, though, it will be just fine! We might even get our nursery furniture later this week!!!!!! I can't WAIT for that!!! In fact, I may have to just buy the bedding set too so I can get something in that sad, empty nursery!

On a side note, I have the next 5 days off!! Better yet, Chad has them off too!! I have a TON of homework to do but I have been plugging through it so hopefully if I do a bunch everyday it will only be like 3 hours or so per day (yeah right) but we are going to Kalamazoo on Thursday and Traverse City on Saturday. Oh, and I REFUSE to do homework on my birthday Saturday. I DON'T do work on my birthday as a rule! I hope everyone has a great day!

Ooops! Sorry its been so long!

Hi Folks! I have been really busy with master's classes, family commitments, and lots of other stuff (including plenty of pregnancy related naps). I am feeling quite well, the steroids are so amazing I hope that I can get everything back to normal soon.
I am enjoying my new classes and although they will be a lot of work I think they will make me a better teacher, which is important to me. I would love to write more but I have more homework to do and I have class at 8 a.m. So, I hope everyone has a great day!
I have my pic at the top. I am about 26 weeks along now, about a week until my 3rd Trimester!!!! Time is flying. Of course I say that now, I am sure that the next three months will be a bit of a challenge!

Crohn's Disease SUCKS!

So, apparently, summertime for me means another Crohn's flare up. How exciting! UGH! I finally talked to the right person at the Gasteroenterology office so I could see the doctor. The 'wonderful' nurse there ordered blood work then apparently forgot about it. I called for the results after waiting for a week and she said, "oh, who ordered that for you?" WHAT!? She ordered it herself. My OB had already told me that my SED rate was more than twice the normal rate which usually means I am all inflamed somewhere. I also have some other exciting symptoms including lots of intense pain though it is usually just for a minute or two but it still HURTS! The other interesting thing is that being pregnant and having abdominal pain is really interesting. A couple of times my stomach will hurt and then I will get a little kick. Not great! :)
So, now I have to take steroids, specifically prednisone. I know what you are thinking, "Is that safe for the baby?" Believe me, my GI doc and I went over this before we even tried to have a baby. We talked about the pros and cons etc. And honestly, does ANYONE think that I made this decision lightly? It isn't like my doc was like, "Well, you aren't THAT sick and it might give your kid an extra head but its up to you." This is essentially keeping me out of the hospital again. Because honestly, if this doesn't work my doc said that will probably be the next step. I had to wait until I was healthy enough to get pregnant and it just turned out that I am having a flare up while I am pregnant. That is just how it is when you have a chronic disease. It isn't all that great at 26 to have to deal with all of this but oh well.
So, now that I am on steroids I hope that I don't have too many negative side effects. I am doing a "short burst" of four weeks of steroids. After this week I already start tapering off. It is a pretty small dose but I am really looking forward to the relief. Still, its not like I am not moody and emotional enough just from the pregnancy hormones, now with 'roid rages too, WATCH OUT! Poor Chad. Also, I was already super stressed out about weight gain from pregnancy and now add steroid weight gain. I don't want to be one of those humpty dumpty fat pregnant people. I am still looking kinda cute, I don't have cankles (calf-ankles) yet and I was hoping it would stay that way. I guess I have to worry more about getting better, life goes on.
So, any prayers would be appreciated but don't worry too much. Let's just hope the steroids work quickly, that they are a temporary solution, and that this is my last bout of Crohn's while I am pregnant with Mouser!

"You're lucky your house didn't blow up!"

That is a DIRECT QUOTE from the poison control guy I called today. Thanks for the reassurance buddy, really comforting. I hope I get to talk to you when my kid swallows windex in a few years!

Okay, so apparently one of us turned a burner last night on our oven without knowing it. That means that gas flooded into our house all night last night. We didn't know until morning because we were in our room with the door shut and the sliding door open all night. When I went into the kitchen this morning the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. We had the whole house open in a matter of minutes and it cleared out pretty quickly. We opened the windows all day while we left and now the house seems fine. When I got home I wanted a snack but then I was worried about if the food was contaminated so I called poison control (I didn't know who else to call!) As you can see the operator was nice but less than comforting.

I am sure you are all wondering, what about the baby! Well, at the urging of my mom I called the OB today about the gas leak and I figured they would say, okay, let us know if you have any change in symptoms. NOPE! I was in East Lansing at a conference when they FINALLY found my chart, took me off hold and asked how soon I could come in. SHOOT! I didn't have my car and I was in the middle of this conference. So, my friend Casey threw me the keys to her van and off I went. It was an easy route to the doctor's office, I wasn't far away. Of course I had to wait awhile when I got there but good ole' Mouser was doing very well. The first think the ultrasound tech said was, "wow, he sure is moving!" Seems like a pattern when people see our baby! He is quite active! I am glad he is doing well and I didn't poison him with the gas!

So, that was my exciting day. A bit of an adventure but we all got through it. Praise be to God!

Here he is

I am sure that pic looks terrible but the formats are all messed up. I hope you can see it!