In the beginning...

Here's a few photos from the hospital and Evan's Birth : )

Super hero daddy and Evan at an two hours old.

Getting footprints done. Granddad holding Evan's hand.

Post womb bath.

All clean and ready to go.

Evan and Mommy in the recovery room.

All wrapped up like a package from heaven.

Week one of Evangeline (or as I am calling her Evan)'s life was pretty normal for a baby. It consisted of a lot of eating, sleeping, crying and changing clothing and diapers. Greg is still planning on posting something about why we chose her name, but he is really busy catching up on school and work from the week he took off.

Mom, Dad and Evan in front of the Women and Children's Hospital on Thursday

Coming home from the hospital was hard, but with my parents in town it was a lot easier than it could have been.

Home in my bouncy chair.

We came home Thursday. It was hard not having all the nurses and hospital staff to remind me of feedings and checking the color of Evan's diapers. It was also hard to keep track of my own pain medication. Several things about the hospital reminded me of a spa. I got a sinus massage one night and the hospital even hosted a congratulatory meal for us our last night there.
Evan went to her first pediatric appointment on Friday. She had gained 6 ounces since leaving the hospital. The doctor also said she was developing very quickly. He commented on how good her head control was. Evan even made a dirty diaper for the doctor.

All dressed and ready to go home.

During the week she spent a lot of time with her Grandad (my dad) and Grandma (my mom). Spoke to all three of her aunts, Nana, Grand-nana, great aunts, second cousins, friends, Greg's former students from the Washington Journalism Center and many others on Skype.

My dad and Greg managed to get the radiator for the Mustang dropped off and fixed, but mainly we just played with Evan and got settled back at home.

We had great friends provide meals for us beginning on Thursday and continuing for the next week and a half. Flower and gifts arriving daily. Neighbors stopping by to say hi and ask if there was anything we needed.

Granddad and Grandma and Evan

Birth Class Buddies, James and Evan

My dad went home Sunday. And our friends Brenda and Kyle and their baby James, who was born the Friday before Evan, came over. Brenda and I met in birth class and were walking buddies during our third trimesters. It was so special to finally lay our babies side by side.


Greg went back to school and work on Monday.
Mom and I went to the grocery store on Tuesday (my first trip out of the house since the pediatrician), she had been to the grocery store earlier in the week and spoke with a large number of the staff there so several of them congratulated me on Evan's birth.

Evan and her Grandma

Mom hung out a few extra days and went home Tuesday. It was so helpful to have her around. I'm grateful that she cleaned house and helped me keep sane in the first few days home from the hospital.

False Alarm

Yesterday I went to the hospital after having contractions that were three to five minutes apart...but I was not dialated so they sent me home. I hate to call what I experienced a false alarm--because it makes me sound like that woman who is so clueless about her pregnancy--but I seriously thought I would walk in that hospital and walk out with a baby yesterday. Miss P has other plans.

The doctor said what I was experiencing was "early labor" and to not come back until I could not talk through contractions or breathe through them. She then said "it could be any day now"--a phrase I am slightly tired of hearing. The nice thing is that I could see the contractions on the monitor, so I at least knew I was not imagining things. Maybe at this point I've read too much?

39 Weeks and still waiting

I reread the section on labor and delivery in What to Expect When You Are Expecting twice this weekend, hoping to read between the lines and get a better idea of what "being in labor" would feel like for me. I felt like I was asking myself "When will Jesus return?"

Basically the book says labor is different for everyone. In the book it says the baby's brain sends a signal to my body to make labor, contractions and dilation take place. Therefore, I determined she is not ready to leave my body just yet. Mom and I went on two walks yesterday which I thought would help. The problem now is that my feet are so swollen that walking for a long time makes them more uncomfortable. We also went for a three mile walk this morning.

It has been wonderful to have my parents here over the Columbus Day weekend, and I am really going to miss them when they leave in later today. They helped Greg and I get so many projects finished around our house. They fed us, encouraged us and have made us feel loved.

Among those projects....Greg and my dad finally got his 1967 Ford Mustang up and running (although it needs a new radiator). This is the biggest smile I've seen on his face in a long time.

Greg and his Mustang

Are we there yet...

So I'm asking this question literally as the "child in me" refuses to come out...

I'm not super impatient, but yesterday I started to get that way. I know I still have a week left until Miss P's "guess date" but she keeps making me think she might be early. Yesterday Greg and I went to my last prescheduled doctor's appointment. Miss P was half asleep and had a low heart rate on the Doppler, so the OB sent us over to the hospital to be hooked up to some monitors.

They got me situated in a "pregnancy triage room" which is basically just a labor and delivery room equipped for emergencies. I'd been there before back in June when I hit my head on the chandelier in our living room.  I sat on the hospital bed in the room. Then they hooked me up to the fetal monitor and started measuring her heart rate and mine to see if I had any contractions. They also gave me grape and cranberry juice to drink. I was actually happy and positive while we were at the hospital, despite the fact that I very quickly discovered we would not be having a baby.

Within five minutes her heart rate was back up to 140 (babies are supposed to have a heart rate between 120 and 160 during this time of pregnancy). Within 10 minutes she was already awake, kicking, and moving around. Greg would talk to her and her heart rate would go up. The nurse and technician said she was perfectly happy in her "home." All I could think is that my little girl needed some sort of dress rehearsal to prepare herself for coming out.

While in the room, I was made aware of all the details of a labor and delivery room.  There was a green cart with all the pain solutions one might want right in front of the window, a board with patient information (with a section for the baby's information too), no nasal tissues (which I thought odd), comment cards to praise the hospital staff (very clearly placed in the middle of the wall in front of the hospital bed), one chair for a guest, a food tray and small bathroom. I kept thinking to myself that if they took all the medical equipment out the room slightly resembled a dorm-room setup.

We had a nurse, technician, resident and doctor assigned to us. We spoke with each one. They were all nice. After they had taken my blood pressure and observed me and the baby for awhile they said she was fine, I was fine and we could go home. They said they needed to contact my doctor before they let me leave. This took the longest amount of time compared to the rest of the visit.

After about an hour in the triage they "discharged" us. This basically meant they said to go home and hope that we have our baby in the next week and a half or so. I've had a pretty uneventful pregnancy so far (knock on wood, or fiberboard since my Ikea desk is all I have).

So after this adventure Greg and I went to TGIFridays and had dinner, and maybe out last date as a childless couple. I'm going to miss our times out together, but we both expressed that we cannot wait to be parents. That trip took a lot out of me, but I am hoping that is all Miss P needed to feel confident enough to leave the womb.

Give me MO...

This weekend Greg and I went through what I want to call "New Parent Boot Camp." This consisted of Greg's first visit to meet our new doctor at the Women and Children's Hospital, our all day birth class and hospital tour and putting together Miss P's room and crib. Tonight we round it off with our Infant CPR and healthcare class.

After three weeks of organizing, unpacking and painting Greg and I are finally starting to see the end in sight for our house projects. It has been exhausting, but we have loved it. The only room left to paint is our bedroom which Greg will be working on when I head to Texas later this week. This will also be after his presentation at the Journalism Educator's conference (again so proud of him for getting the student paper award). Below are some photos of our living room, two of our bathrooms, and Miss P's room (where I've started on a mural). Three rooms what we worked on during the past two weeks. Greg has done such a great job painting all these rooms and cleaning up after the painting. I am so grateful to have him to share in this journey with.

Living room photo progression...



Bathrooms...



Miss P's Room...

Also for those who remember my sorority sister Kara and her baby James Sikes, this week a baby giraffe was born at the Dallas Zoo and they are petitioning to have her named Jamie after James. The form is available on the Dallas Zoo website or click here.