Some more adventures

February 6th we took a walk back in a hiking trail that we have in Silverdale, WA. Every so often through the trees you could see a beautiful site of the mountains, fully covered with white snow and clouds grazing them. It was a beautiful site and definitely was interesting to take a hike. Not sure how long the trail was, but it took us probably an hour, hour and a half to finish and get back to the car. Granted I was taking a lot of pictures so we did stop rather often. I was amazed at how many people were in the trails too - we ran into a lot of people considering. It's definitely a nice place to get a little work out in and see some beauty on and off.

My mother came to visit for a week for my son's birthday, which is February 14th. Yes, he's my Valentine's babe and I'm so grateful for the gift. So we wanted to celebrate and have some fun so all of us went and spent about 1 1/2 hours having fun and bowling. Obviously Andrew needed some help so my husband was there helping him. Sadly Andrew bowled as good, if not better, then I did. He had a blast!! Afterward we went to have Dairy Queen - didn't actually get a birthday cake or candle but it didn't matter, he had a good time and that was all that mattered. As for his birthday present? He got a "bunk bed", and we said goodbye to his crib that turned into a toddler bed. It's not 100% a bunk bed, it's got a three step ladder and is meant for one child but has a dresser, storage spots, and a desk that slides out! It's spiffy and will last him a long time.

February 21st was a visit to Hansville, WA at Point No Point. We looked at the lighthouse, watched boats sail, saw dogs having a blast in the water and fetching sticks and took a long walk along the beach. We saw Seattle very close in the distance, but not close enough to get a perfect picture of it. It was so neat to see it that close, though! My husband over heard a couple looking at something and they had found a star fish on the beach!! We allowed Andrew to feel it nicely and I took about 30 pictures before we set it back into the water (it's bottom side had it's little "feet" still moving). We actually found out later they can survive a little while out side of the water but we preferred to be considerate enough to make sure it survived or had a better chance of it. Someone saw me and my camera and told me there had been Eagle's in the trees and pointed to one. Unfortunately by the time I switched to my longer lens the Eagle flew away. We didn't have any success seeing any more after that, but it was a great day otherwise. Andrew has his fun playing with sticks, making "designs" in the sand and got really dirty. Even the picture shows that.

February 28th we ventured off to Poulsbo, WA. We checked out the Poulsbo Marine Center and it's very interesting! They have this place where you can feel some of the marine life (kiddo was more interesting in playing with the water, of course). They also have an octopus named Bob who usually isn't that active and hangs out in the corner most of the day. Not sure what prompted him to but he put on a good show for me for about 20 minutes. Maybe he hated my flash but I sure did get some awesome pictures of him. Afterward we went to a state park nearby and Aldon watched our son while I went and took some pictures of the water/Hood Canal area. Before we headed home we visited one of the communities and I took some pictures of the beautiful houses - they're close together but all of them are so colorful!! Beautiful houses, but personally I wouldn't want to buy one because they'd be too close to the next house! I'd like space to roam.

Been busy...

Lately I've been trying often to go out with my son and my husband and take some pictures with my "new" camera and capture some memories as well. Every weekend if it's been great weather we've done something, which is wonderful. There's been a few weekends where we stayed at home, but for the most part we've gotten to see a few different places in Washington.

January 23rd we went to Sequim, WA. There's a game farm there which has a lot of different animals - peacocks, bears, bison, buffalo, elk, deer and a few other types of animals. It was fun slowly driving through and feeding the animals. Andrew didn't throw out really any bread - we wanted to be safe and have him just enjoying the animals. That way we could stick our windows up quickly when we needed to (like with the bigger animals). He had a blast looking at all the animals. We also looked around part of the hood canal, saw some animals and looked at the water.

January 24th we took a ferry ride to Seattle, WA. We took a walk along the harbor and made our way to the Seattle Aquarium. It was nice! It was definitely a little busy and hard to get many pictures, but Andrew had a good time checking out the sea creatures - fish, anemone, star fishes, and a huge octopus. There was also a second area that had puffins, sea otters, and a few other neat animals as well. He also got his face painted while we were there which he loved, although it got quickly smeared around. It was definitely a good experience, although if we ever do it again I think we'll buy the family pass and make it more worthwhile. It was roughly $35 to get two adults and one child in and the family pass is roughly $85 for the whole year. Go three times in the year and you make up the value and then some.

January 27th was a decent day - I went to the Seabeck, WA beach alone while Andrew was at school just to explore a new area. I didn't get many good pictures, I was still trying to discover how to get my camera to work. In fact I've had this camera three months and I *still* don't know every thing about it. Didn't take as many pictures as I now do - took some shots of the playground, a cabin nearby, and the beach. This is my favorite shot from that day. Kind of feels like the view from a child's eyes. Thankfully I did go there another time with Andrew - I'll talk about that in another blog, of course. Make sure this one doesn't drag on too long!

January 30th a submarine came back and so my husband, son and I got to witness that. It was kind of neat since I never actually watched when the submarine came in with my husband. I tried to stalk the submarine and shoot a ton of pictures (and betting the coast guard had their eyes on me), but alas this is the only picture that turned out that day. It was a dark and gloomy day and since I didn't know my camera well enough all the pictures closeup have a ton of noise in it. Not cool. I was glad we made it to our destination since the draw bridge had every one backed up for about 40 minutes!

I'll add more another time - leave it at two or three pictures and comments until I'm completely caught up.

I've been busy

Okay so this past week I promise I *have* been working on my bisque ornaments, but I've also been a tad sidetracked!! Okay... really REALLY sidetracked! My husband and I have been discussing more and more actually letting me get a good camera! Not an $1800 one, obviously, but a Cannon EOS Rebel T1i. It's a great DSLR camera - 15.1 megapixel with an 18-55 mm lens included. Kind of exciting, but of course I'm nervous about any expenses to get these items! Although best-buy has a deal going on where I can get a credit card and pay no interest for 18 months assuming the full balance is paid off. I'm considering that offer - it would honestly help my credit!

Obviously I'd be buying more equipment for it.. a camera like this you can't just buy the camera and expect things to happen. I'm aiming to get some SDHC cards (saw 8GB ones on sale), an extra battery, another lens (I cannot remember the one I'm planning to get but it's a decent one), tripod, carrying case, and cleaning tools. I could get the price up there, but it'd be so worth it and the camera will last me a lifetime. Unfortunately, though, the one thing I'd *really* want to add to the bundle is.... photoshop. You seriously cannot go wrong with photoshop. Hopefully someday I can't get that as well - but a new camera will help out a ton.

Obviously if you have a great camera you need to be able to do things with it! So husband and I have been discussing going on short vacations every weekend he has off. It'll be good for all of us, even our little kiddo to go out and get to see the surrounding areas. Hopefully I can make some profit off the photos I take to allow us to afford the vacations more freely. If all means I might need to see if I can get a free job taking photos of someone's wedding and see if they'd be willing to buy copies for a little difference. Who knows, it's one of those things that will take me a while to work out. But as Aldon said, "at least if you don't sell any photos, you'll still have a camera you take great pictures with." Well said :)

When the time comes I might be making a blog only for my pictures and progress. It is a type of art/craft but this was meant for other projects! It sounds like a lot of work.

Digital camera

My husband and I were talking about how I love photography and we discussed cameras. I said if I want to take really good photos I'd need a rather expensive camera... he agreed with me if that I made $1800 I could get whatever camera I would like! My husband is insane, but so sweet. However that's $1800 I haven't made but at least I know now I have motivation to get projects complete and see what else I can do to aim for a camera I'll love.

I know it's kind of insane but one of my thoughts was how much I love photography and my camera (which is 10 MP) just doesn't cut it on quality or professionalism. I've always wanted to take photos and being able to sell them but when you blow up most photos past a certain point they start getting gritty.

I wouldn't want necessarily the picture I have on this page - it's just the first digital camera SLR picture I found. It would take a lot of time, research and comparing on cameras for me to ever settle down on one. I have a while any way - because first I'd have to make $1800 lol. Then maybe someday I can take photos for a living... or get closer to that step!

The last three days

The last three days I've been focusing on getting more of the ornaments done - since I only accomplished most of the front sides I was concentrating mostly on the back. I guess I wanted to make it look less bare. I still have a lot to do - once the two coats are on there is touch-ups and what-not. All the fun stuff which requires a ton more focus, more than I'm already having to do. I don't mind, although I probably will be touching up the touch-ups knowing me. LOL.

The mice in the wreaths are coming along great. I love the ones with the gold ribbon - I really think it helps them stand out more. These are harder to do which of course means one wrong move and I made a mistake. That's happened quite a few times. LOL. Just need to get those holly berries finished being painted.



Now these mice took some figuring out. I couldn't figure out what color to make their ears and front part of their face so inspiration from Tom & Jerry helped me manage a color that makes these mice look really adorable. I think I pulled it off quite well, but the real thanks goes to my dear husband who had the idea to watch Tom & Jerry to figure this dilemma out. I still need to work on coloring the snow - I'm trying to figure out a light blue/white that would make it look good but not stick out too much, just enough. That's last on my list though. Well second to the last since fixing my mistakes always come next. I never do mind.



It's sad but this one has proven to be more hassle to me although it's the SIMPLEST it gets. You'd think I couldn't mess up on this but you would be wrong. I have a feeling of all the ones I work on this one is going to take me a while to feel like I got it right. I think all the white makes it seem more like a blah ornament, but we'll see if in the next day or two I can make it fit my taste.



These wreaths are pretty easy to explain - fix my many mistakes. LOL. These came along "decent" but it is hard to not make mistakes unless you have a very steady hand and fine eye. I have neither but it's alright since I can still make it look wonderful in the end.



The trees got the rest of their ornaments painted both front and back. All left needing to be done is fixing where the ornament ends and the tree begins. Then I'm going to lightly paint pearl finish on them - thanks to my husbands idea - which seems to give it this neat silver glow to it. You'll have to wait and see :)

Teddy bear and Santa have been started the last two days. They're not too hard to work on, but the angles to provide an extra challenge. I'm more satisfied with the progress of these than any other, but they do look extra adorable. The teddy bear was worked on prior - probably 4 years ago when I only did some brown on his body so that needed fixed up as well.

These bears are a work in progress, thanks to my husband. He did two coats on the back of them so they'll be worked on by me soon. He's been trying to be a great husband (which he is) and join in helping me out or painting along side of me which is nice. Makes it so much smoother (and funner) with him around!

Once all these are done I get to start trying out my spray-on sealer. It should be interesting! I'm just hoping they will all look nice by the time they're done. I'm confident they will though. I'm excited to see the end results.

My progress so far

This one I got the most accomplished on - although don't let looks deceive you, his body is no where done on the back side! There's a few places needing fixed - which is why the first mouse has white on his neck. I also noticed a little too late part of the brown I covered was not his foot, it was part of the ribbon. At least I can cover it in white then pant it whatever the ribbon color will be (probably a silver or gold, although I did find a metallic blue which I like as well). This should not take too much longer to finish these, but last minute fix-ups will be a given.





This one was improved a little bit. I changed the colors to match mittens - since before I thought they were just his hands but husband proved me wrong. Would have looked good either way, but still. I finished the ears and face color - a lot more to do still, but it will get done. I need to find the perfect mix for the snow, probably going to go with a white/light blue and then put pearl finish on it in the end (that's what the shine on it is right now). I just want it to stick out more. Of course the back isn't painted either...









As you can tell these didn't get much accomplished on it. All I really did was add a few metallic blue ornaments on the trees, add metallic silver to the ribbon and crimson red to the holly berries on the wreath.

That's pretty much the update. Got a lot done considering but much more to finish along with fixing the mess-ups. Once these are complete I'll start working on a dozen more ornaments. I arranged them all into the ones that have more than one and am working on those before the individuals get started. If I can accomplish 7 in a week I think I'll be fine. I really should start looking up crafting fairs in the general area, especially the one they have here in November. If I find out I can sign up I need to make sure I can finish not only these but other stuff I want to do. That's my goal.

First craft blog *Imported from another blog*

This blog's main purpose is to get me motivated to do the thing I once loved - crafts. I used to do a lot of different things but found myself getting too "busy" over the years to focus on what I liked doing as well. I won't say I'm the best, but I aim to do as well as I can. I'm interested in a lot of crafts/arts - painting ornaments, painting walls (along with color coordinating), crocheting, cross-stiching, and a few dozen other things I'm interested in trying. I've had closets of crafts I've always wanted to finish and here is my chance! This is my hobby and love.

My goal lately is to finish these bisque ornaments. The majority of these pictures were painted today. Yesterday half of the wreaths were painted as well as the trees. As you can see I have a long way to go to get done and this isn't even 1/6th of my bisque ornament collection! I have a lot to fix - hard to paint small items so delicately without error. One single movement or interruption causes me to accidentally knick another part of the ornament and of course bisque dries way too quickly.

I'm a SAHM who doesn't want to teach my son to give up on what he loves. I honestly hope someday to start selling crafts on the side, whether it be on etsy.com or in craft fairs. I have always dreamed of making some extra money doing what I love as hobbies so here is my chance. One step at a time.

I know it's been years...

I know any one who glances over will question why it's been about 3 1/2 years since I've posted about my son? Well, honestly I can say time flies when you're enjoying life. My son is almost 4 years old. I cannot express how quickly his birth came and went - and now he's 4, very independent and in developmental preschool since he has been speech delayed. He's been ahead in everything but speech. He started speech therapy about 2 1/2 years old which did not help much but when he hit developmental preschool at 3 years of age he just soared. He's funny and quickly becoming a riot. He does not understand everything 100% but is humorous with comments. This was our conversation a few days ago:

Me: Daddy pees more than a horse!
Andrew: Horses pee in the grass
Me (laughing): You should tell daddy that
Andrew (with a funny tone): Nooooo I won't tell him to do that!

LOL. I know it isn't much to some people - but to me it's a lot. For years we had him not say much of anything. Sentences came later on in his life which meant he couldn't even tell us what was bothering him, when he needed something, or how he was feeling. To a mother who has a child very delayed everything means so much.

Since he was speech delayed potty training never really happened. Now we're working on it. Every 1-2 hours we'll nag him, "you need to go potty? Let's go!" It's obsessive but he still refuses to tell us when he needs to go potty. Most of the times he'll wait until we've discovered it. He hasn't done #2 yet in the potty - but if we can focus on one thing at a time we'll be fine.

I'll make additions to this in time. I've just been enjoying him a lot. I am thankful he's in school though - he soared.

And time does fly

It seems times flying by quickly. Andrew will be five months old tomorrow and I haven't updated this site in two months! I really should've because he's been accomplishing a lot and I don't want to miss putting down any milestones or praises. Unfortunetely I can't remember all of what he accomplished last month but I'll try!

First, we'll mention his appointment last month. The fourth month check-up our little Tigger weighed in at 15 Ibs 2 Oz and was 26 1/4 inches long. That put him in the 50% for his weight and 90%(!) for his height. All the things the pediatrician asked us if he did he either has been doing for a while or had just barely started. Here's his accomplishments since my last update.

The 4th Month (3-4 months):
-Started rolling from his back to front
-By the end of the month rolling from both his front to back, and back to front.
-Pushes up quite a bit when on his tummy
-Discovered his feet near mid-month
-Giggling and laughing more often
-Full of smiles
-Grasps things pretty well
-Still trying to get that paci in his mouth, still winds up trying to put it in backwards
-Still trying to pull himself with crunches, once did it when he was on me and got in an upright position for a few seconds

The 5th Month (4-5 months):
-Becoming a pro at rolling back to front, and front to back
-Such a pro at rolling he'll be a few feet from where we put him if we leave the room a minute
-Thinks squealing is fun. He does it when he's tired (which is the worst because that hurts the most), squeals when he's happy, and squeals to be heard
-Babbles, often
-Starts making noise if we put our finger over his mouth, that way we start making it sound like he's an indian. Will have to put up a video sometime to show it since the explanation isn't the best
-Pushes off his tummy VERY well
-Of course very full of smiles and laughs
-Reaches and grabs objects (this has become a problem because he rolls and has wound up finding things, like pieces of paper. House is now being baby proofed and floors cleaned from items)
-Along with reaching out and grabbing objects, putting them in his mouth
-Has occasionally been on his back and pushes off the carpet to move along the floor a couple feet
-Will wind up in different positions in his crib, like being 180 degrees from where he started or sleeping on his side or tummy. Will add pictures of that soon
-Been introduced baby food. Had some funny faces at first :) Enjoys banana and applesauce (only two he's been introduced too). He's fed by spoon, but doesn't eat it too often, yet
-Feet are now being pulled up to mouth and put in his mouth

We have a little sheet of paper they gave us when we had Andrew called "Owner's Manual". It has months and what milestones they should have accomplished. He's accomplished everything he should be in the fourth month and some for the sixth month. I figure I'll put down a little checklist.

4 Months Old
Babbles
Smiles/Laughs
Raises body on hands
Rolls front to Back
Good Head Control (how about GREAT head control?)
Reaches for objects
Grasps without release

6 Months Old
Single COnstanants (Does ooos and mamamamamas count?)
Makes sounds back if you make sounds first (We have conversations with eachother sometimes)
Rolls both ways
Sits with Support (this is a question mark because he'll sit when on us but isn't stable yet, but he's got a month to work on that)
Picks things up with a raking grasp
Transfers cubes (Nope? That one I don't get what they're meaning)
Looks for dropped items (and tries getting them)


So he's doing great on his milestones, to say the least. There's other little things he does otherwise too, but if I put them all I'd never end this. I'll try to update things more often. Take care, everyone!

I apologize

It's so hard to believe my little man is already 3 months. It's surreal as it still feels like he should just be a newborn. I remember so much of the details it's hard to think he could be three months at all. And here I haven't been writing down all the details of what has been happening.

The 1st Month (0-1 months):
-Recognizing us
-Pays attention to us
-By the end of this month he became more alert and aware of everything around him
-Sleeps most of the time
-Eating about every 2-3 hours
-Lost his umbilical cord and had his first bath at 13 days young


The 2nd Month (1-2 months):
-Becomes very responsive
-Starts "talking to us" with oohs and ahhs
-Pays close attention to us
-Trying hard to control hand movements, but has no success
-Mid-month has wonderful head support
-Starts paying attention to the fish that go in circles on his oceanwonder swing
-Near the end of the month starts mocking our laughs
-Occasionally smiles (not gas related)
-Sticks out his tongue as a game, Aldon or I will try to grab it and it'll cause him to smile
-Awesome head support by the end of the month, has turned into a little superman (pictures will be up soon showing our little Superman)
-Attempts to move his head around to put back in his paci if it falls out
-Tries to do pushups when it is tummy time
-Is such a wiggle worm
-Eats around every 3-4 hours

The 3rd Month (2-3 months)
-Starts to gain more control of hands
-Discovered his hands, which now start going into his mouth
-Tries using his hands to push his paci back in his mouth (only once or twice with success) but mostly winds up pulling it out
-Starts grasping at things.. mainly mommies hair but also toys (which then go into his mouth)
-Very talkative, tries to communicate with a lot of sounds... coos, ahhs, squeals, etc.
-Starts giggling more, thinks daddy is such a blast
-Knows he's ticklish, he'll respond to tickled feet by jerking them away. Going to take after daddy and become a kicker when he's tickled, I can tell.
-Loves having his face touched
-Does wonderful pushups when on the floor
-At the end of the month (May 12th) my mother came to visit. He showed gramma the good stuff. When he was on his back he started to turn to the side which we've never seen before. However, he could only get to his side because he couldn't figure out where to move his arm. The day mother was leaving (technically 3 months old, May 15th) he went the distance. My mother got him on camera, for the very first time, rolling from his back to his tummy. Success!
-At the end of the month tries so hard to pull up, like he's doing a crunch to situp. Gets around halfway
-Eats about every 3-4 hours, at night usually wakes up once or twice

He's been so active. Personally, I think he's trying to be an overachiever. I don't mind, I love seeing his milestones. I know if he could, he'd be crawling by now. Everytime he's on his tummy he tries so hard to move. We'll see how long it takes the little man to master crawling. For now, we'll work on his sleeping schedule :grins:

I promise I'll update more and promise the album website will be up within the week.

The Birth Story, Our Valentine's Day Baby

It's been *five* weeks since delivery, and since I have time to sit down I figure it's time I get into the birth story of Andrew. It's about time, now isn't it? Considering I've been trying to write this post for the last three weeks. Please pardon my grammar and my run on sentences. For all those who are english teachers, run now, or hold your breathe.

February 6th was my 40 week appointment. I was still 2 CM dialated, 50% effaced and the baby was around -3 station. She mentioned that she'd want to have me induced sometime around Valentine's Day and to make another appointment for my 41st week. She scheduled me for a NST also. Unfortunetely I couldn't get an apopintment that would satisfy my schedule for my routine, but I did get my NST scheduled.

February 10th I had gained 3 pounds in a single day and I didn't feel like the kiddo was moving much so they had me come in. They monitored me for 20 minutes. I was still only 2 CM dialated and probably 60% effaced by then. Andrew was doing fine and was moving a ton there so they had me leave.

February 13th was my NST appointment. Andrew's heartrate was doing great, and having peaks, which they like to see. The amniotic fluid was also doing very well. The lady there was very considerate and was able to schedule my check-up for that day. After the NST appointment we had time to go downstairs and get some Subway's. Afterwards we went back up for my appointment.

I saw a man named Dr. Q, for short. I was still the same CMs and effacement. He did a quick GBS test, since they needed to update it after 4 weeks. During the appointment he said that I'd hate him very much. I paused a moment then asked him, "Wait... you're going to strip my membranes, aren't you?" He smiled and said, "Someone has been doing their homework, haven't they?" I can tell you, I was in a ton of pain while the neverending minute of having my membranes stripped was going on.

After the appointment, around 3:45 PM, we had to go down to the laboratory to give them my GBS test. I started going into contraction heaven. At first they were going on every five minutes, but two hours later I was having them every 2-4 minutes. At 7 PM we decided to go to Labor & Delivery since I was having them constantly and they were getting intense. Unfortunetely I was only 3 CM dialated and they said they couldn't keep me unless I was in active labor which is at 4 CM. They told me to walk the hospital for two hours and they'd see if I was further then.

Walking around was *horrible*. I was in so much pain that every two minutes I'd have to stop and hang onto Aldon. I took breaks and everytime Aldon or my mother told me to start walking again I would protest before giving in. Two hours went by and they checked me again. Still was 3 Cm so I was sent home with some tylenol and ambien, to help me sleep.

That night was horrible. I took the ambien and tylenol but since my stomach was uneasy I quickly lost it. Even though I lost the ambien I think it quickly went into my system because a few times Aldon had to catch me because I was falling asleep standing up. I spent the night walking between rooms, trying to find a place that I could sleep comfortabably. My mother says I walked more between the night then I did when we were at the hospital. I was feeling bad, and the contractions weren't lightening up. Around 4:30 AM, after having the contractions every two minutes, I was able to sleep between contractions. I found relief in sleeping on a stability ball. Yes, I slept on a stability ball. I sat down on it and put a pillow on the couch nearby and laid my head down on it. I really didn't sleep, to say the least, since every two minutes I'd wake up in pain.

Around 10 AM I kept having the feeling like I was needing to use the restroom. I was quickly becoming frustrated because despite my effort, I couldn't. I decided to take a bath to see if that'd comfort me. I know this will sound gross, and you could skip this little italisized part, but for some reason I decided to "feel" down there and noticed I felt something inside me that was very soft and shouldn't have been there. I mentioned this to my mother and we decided it was time to call the hospital. Since they couldn't tell if what I was describing that I felt was either the umbilical cord or not they told me to get in as soon as possible.

We arrived there at 10:45 AM. For what reasons I'll never know, but we parked far away from the entrance. I darted from the car and ran to the elevator, which I think surprised my mom since she's never seen me go that fast. We got to the Labor & Delivery room and they sent me to a room to be checked. I kept telling Beverely, the sweetest nurse I've ever known, that I had to use the restroom. Every time I attempted I failed. She started asking me questions about that and had the doctor in very soon. The doctor told me I was 10 CM dialated and had a little lip left. What I was feeling was my water bag! I was quickly rushed into a delivery room. Dr Q. was so proud to see me in there. He checked me out and said I was 10 CM with no lip.

Since I was positive for GBS they hooked me up to some antibiotics. Not once did any of the doctors or nurse leave the room and if they did, there was someone there to replace them. Around 11:30 they told me to start pushing. They weren't going to pop my water bag so they put on saftey goggles incase I gushed. I was trying to push as hard as I could but wasn't doing that well. 30 minutes later they decided it was time to pop my bag. I was told that there was a thick amount of meconium, which meant the baby had his first bowel in utero. As I was pushing everyone kept encouraging me. Dr Q. suggested a vaccum pump if I needed it, since he knew I was tired and lacked energy. I didn't accept it and continued to push. Andrew Blake Wallace was born at 12:57 PM. He was 7 Ibs 10 Oz and 21" inches long. Unfortunetely he had breathing problems so they had to take him and started giving him some oxygen.

After they were finished I got to see him a few moments before they took him away. I hadn't had an episitiomy and only had two small tears. One required a single stitch, and the other one didn't. Within less then an hour I was walking around and visiting Andrew.

They had to keep Andrew in a little oxygen hood since he was having problems breathing. They were going to keep him on 12 hours and then ween him slowly off. I visited him often that day. The morning of the 15th at 7:30 I went in there. He was still on the hood. One of the nurses told me that he was being weened off earlier, and at 3 AM he started wheezing so they were giving him a little longer. The took him off the hood around the same time and he did wonderful. He was able to room-in around noon. He was also receiving antiobiotics because I wasn't able to receive 4 hours of it before delivery.

On the 16th, around 5 PM, we were all able to leave the hospital. Thus starting a hectic, but wonderful relationship with the newest addition to our family.

39 Weeks 4/7 Days (or 2/7 Days)

Isn't it amazing how close I am to the end? I still can't believe it. And while I'm not really thinking about delivery and I'm not too nervous, I still am at the same time. I don't think anyone is ever prepared for the end. The delivery. How do you prepare for an event like that besides packing your bags? Which I haven't completed, by the way. That's the task on today's agenda. I just don't think there is anyway to physically and emotionally prepare yourself for the day.

My mother arrived here Friday, January 27th, which is very nice to have. She's leaving here February 14th, that way she should be here for the birth and be here long enough Aldon will be home. The extra hand with her being here has came in handy. That, and it's great to have her around. Plus it's been good on my sleeping schedule, in a way. I wake up when she wakes up, since I'm a light sleeper. Today, though, I woke up before her because my cats were making too much noise at 8 AM.

We've accomplished so much since she's been here. We've got the crib set up, clothes washed and put away, more of the painting accomplished, and so much more. It's been a relief.

Monday, January 30th, was my 39th week appointment routine checkup. My blood pressure was 124/78 which was still good to me! Considering my weight gain and everything I'm really surprised my blood pressure has been very good. My weight was a bit bad though. I've gained a ton. The doctor pointed it out, as if I should "watch my weight", and obviously I have been watching it... it's been going up. LOL. Seriously, though, I haven't eaten all that horrible lately so I don't know what is going on.

The babies heart rate is doing very well and my uterus is measuring right on schedule. She then did an internal exam. I'm already 2 CM dilated and 50% effaced. The baby is stationed at -2 which means he's right in there where he needs to be. He's head down (don't ask me how she found out! It hurt like a mo-fo). So everything is going along well. When she was doing the internal she started moving her finger back and forth and I started complaining about the pain so she stopped. She was trying to strip my membranes! She said if I was ready to go into labor it would help push me into it. And if it wasn't time, I wouldn't. She mentioned though she so wanted to "strip the bejeebus out of" me because she swears I would've gone into labor. Only reason she didn't was because I was in pain. Who the hell wouldn't be? One thing she mentioned is that daughters tend to take after their mother in delivery. I think that made mom a little anxious, considering she had her first delivery take only 9 hours (quick for a first delivery) and that was because he was breached and I only took an hour and a half.

After the appointment I wanted to show my mother the birthing rooms so she could feel at ease about everything. The second we got onto the floor she mentioned she was now getting nervous. I asked one of the ladies on the floor if she had an open room available so I could show mother around. She walked us around every area of the place. She showed us the room (which has the biggest tub in there), she showed us where the baby would be circumcised, the incubators (?), everything. She also answered every question I could think of. Questions about circumcision, what they'd do if I don't have enough time to get antibiotics for my GBS, if I could still relax in a bath during labor, etc.

That night I was in contraction heaven. Mother was getting very worried because I kept getting contractions every 5 minutes for around 30-45 seconds long. But they were irregular since a few were 10-15 minutes apart. They say true labor involves back pressure/pain and that is exactly what I was having too. They settled down when I moved around and we both went to sleep. This next part is a little gross so those who may be relatives skip over the italicized part: Yesterday I noticed I've lost part of my mucous plug which means my body is prepping. Today I lost a ton more of my mucous plug. It doesn't necessarily mean I'll be in labor soon, but it means my body is taking a step in the right direction.

Ever since that appointment, though, I've been having more contractions. Not really any today, thankfully.

That is pretty much all there is to say. Pray Aldon makes it home in time!