Baby Luke

Our sweet baby boy arrived on Friday night and we are so happy that he is healthy and perfect! The night before he was born was a full moon and also a crazy thunderstorm here. I was having pretty heavy (but irregular) contractions all night long. I was feeling good about going into my appointment on Friday morning. After they took my blood pressure, I was relieved that it was low. The OB came in with a disappointed look on her face and I could tell she had some bad news. The protein and urine in my blood had only gotten worse with every test they took. She explained to me that my kidneys and liver were not functioning as they should and I could be putting my body at risk for septic shock. She asked me if I felt any signs of labor, and I told her about my contractions so she proceeded to check my cervix. Of course my cervix was completely closed. She then told me she had a feeling I would not be going into labor anytime soon and I had a very good chance of still being pregnant for another 2 -3 weeks. Especially since I was having contractions, but had nothing to show for it. If I had at least been dialated she could have stripped my membranes or let me go home for the weekend to try to naturally induce labor. She said given my condition, they couldn't afford to have me wait even another week. She recommended we deliver the baby on Friday. I was really upset and she was trying to be very understanding because she had been such a strong advocate of me having a VBAC. She called the doctor on call to give her my situation and they both recommended I go home to pack my bags to go to the hospital. The doctor on call was my favorite doctor, so I did take some comfort in knowing she was going to be the one to deliver our baby. We were so lucky that Jeff's parents happened to fly in the day before to visit for Memorial Day weekend. I went home to pack our stuff and get everything situated, and off we went to the hospital. The surgery was very routine, but I was reminded of why I didn't want to give birth that way. The OB was fantastic and I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon. Luke and I are very healthy so we will count our blessings! Everything has gone very smoothly since the delivery and they let us go home a day early. Here are some pictures of the last few days:

It did take us another day to decide on his name. When he first came out Jeff and I didn't think he looked like us at all. He had lighter skin and lighter hair. He also looked nothing like Addy!

Here is a picture of Addy showing Luke his new room:

I had to post the gorgeous ring that Luke and his daddy bought for me!!

Luke with his big sister and Mimi

Only a few hours old:

The morning of his birthday, last belly shot.

39 Weeks

I've been really terrible with blogging because we've been so busy and I haven't taken very many pictures. So I am promising to get better! Once the new baby comes, we should have more down time and plenty of photo opportunities.

Today I am technically 39 weeks pregnant, although my OB moved my due date to tomorrow. I am pretty confident that my original due date of June 3rd is much more accurate (they only changed it based off of the baby's size in both of my ultrasounds). I can assure you that I will most likely not go into labor tonight. I had an appointment yesterday and my cervix is still closed and I am carrying very high just like I did with Addy. I am still not in any hurry. I feel really good and still have lots of energy. I'm still able to exercise almost everyday and do lots of yoga. I can sleep well most nights and I definitely feel like I am in better shape than I was with Addy. I have gained 35 lbs thus far (a few more lbs than I did with Addy & I also started this pregnancy a few lbs heavier). I'm hoping I don't have to lose 40 by the time it's all said and done!

At my appointment yesterday, they were concerned that my blood pressure went up almost 25 points in a week, but it was still good (120/82). They were also concerned that I had lots of protein and blood in my urine so I had to do a 24 hour urine sample. I have no swelling, and I've been carefully monitoring a high protein diet for months to avoid toxemia. I go back on Friday to get the results. I am really hoping that nothing is wrong and I can continue to wait to go into labor. Jeff and I have been preparing for months now for a natural childbirth and are really hoping that spontaneous labor happens. I am scheduled for a C-section on June 10th in case I don't go into labor before then. Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy baby, and speedy labor. I will post another picture of my full term belly. I know I've been bad about it, but I assure you it looks very similar to my Addy baby body!! There is very little difference.

Busch Gardens Fun

I know we have hundreds of pictures at Busch Gardens. One day it will be fun to look at how much Addy grew every year on all of the rides! Since I stopped teaching a few weeks ago, I thought it would be neat treat to take her Friday mornings before the baby comes. We've had a lot of fun, but it sure is a lot of work walking around that park. There are lots of hills (combine that with a 30lb stroller and 30lb child), the weather has been HOT, and it could really put a 8.5 month pregnant lady into labor!! Luckily it hasn't, but I may need to quit going until the baby gets here. This past Friday, the Pavlick's came to visit us and Addy had fun playing with Ryleigh. She also decided to run through the sprinklers in Elmo land for the first time. I had no bathing suit for her (thinking she would never dare run through the sprinklers). I was THAT mom who took off my toddler's dress and let her run around without a shirt on. Jeff took Addy back to Busch Gardens at night while I went to a baby shower, and let Addy get her face painted.

House pictures

Excuse my lack of blogging. We have had the busiest month ever and I really think EVER. We moved ourselves slowly into our new home, and at the same time have done many home improvement projects. On top of that, we also had no internet/phone/cable access for over a week (which was horrible by the way). It's also not a good time to be 8 months pregnant, but luckily it is almost all over. We are hoping to have a few weeks of "normalcy" until baby boy makes his arrival. And for those wondering, this is probably the reason why he doesn't have a name yet. Too many things happening for us to actually make that decision! Jeff has worked so hard since I can't do all that much to lift anything. We almost have the new house set up, we still have lots of things to put up on walls, but for the most part it is very liveable and the rooms are set up. The only rooms I posted are the Addy's and baby boy's room because I'll wait to post the others once everything is in it's place-- maybe by the weekend.

Here is the before shot of our house:

Here is the after picture. We put up a new roof, new shutters, outdoor paint, all new light fixtures, and have completely painted every room on the inside. We are still waiting on our new front door and landscape (which should hopefully all be done in the next few weeks). More pictures to follow!

Addy's room

She calls her armoire her "princess chest"

Baby room

Murder at the Four Deuces

Our dinner group had a really fun theme this month, we decided to do a murder mystery dinner complete with Roaring 20's costumes and character parts. There were 13 of us who participated (one of the husband's was on-call and had to work that night). I played the Baroness Ravioli (which explains the tiara) and Jeff played Inspector Nuvella. Jeff was voted for best costume with his bright blue zoot suit. We both guessed the murderer right and were awarded the Super Sleuths! It was a really fun night and we especially enjoyed it since it was our last dinner group with our really good friends, the Zola's, who are moving next month to Connecticut.

Group shot (courtesy of the babysitter)

Inspector