New Blog

Hello!
So I have created a new blog so you can follow along and get updates on our new little family. I have posted my birth story already and I will get to blog updates soon... once Michael allows me to put him down ;) The new blog is http://aphotographersfamily.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!!

40 Weeks... Our Due Date!!!

“April Nineteenth”… A phrase and answer Joe and I have said hundreds of times in the past 9 months. It was a mythical date… that was given to us as a guide to when Mikey should arrive. Now of course most babies don’t arrive on their ‘Due Date’ so Joe and I never thought he would come… and he proved us right. It is very common for most first time moms to deliver late. I think the average is 41 weeks 3 days (but I could be wrong) so that puts Mikey’s arrival April 29^th. Now this date would work for me as it is my grandfather birthday. Since Michael is names after him it would be a special birth day in my opinion.

Lucky for me I am not horribly uncomfortable. Besides the swollen feet (which get worse when I sit in a chair to scrapbook… strange I know) I can’t complain. The weather has not been too humid so I have had the windows open all week and the breeze is wonderful! Everyone tells me that it’s easier with him inside me than him outside so I am in no hurry to get him out. I am taking the advice and enjoying this time just Joe and I. We have gone out to eat more than we should but we want to nurture our relationship with quality time before Michael comes. It has been fun and we have really enjoyed it. I finished another scrapbook today and I will start on another tomorrow. I sure hope to finish before he comes but I still have a lot of work ahead of me so who knows!  

I have another appointment tomorrow afternoon and I am sure nothing has changed. Julie and I are going together so that will be a lot of fun to have a mini girls day out. Since Joe is in a 3-day class he was not able to come with me to this appointment. I know it kills him but he has come to every single one to date and this is just one! I doubt anything fun will be revealed anyway… I don’t feel any different so I am sure everything is the same.

There is not much to say about Michael this week… he is full term and ready to come any day now. With each passing day his hair and nails continue to grow as well as his lungs mature more and more with each day.

39 Weeks

I never seem to get these updates on time but that’s ok! We are in week 39 and I am feeling pretty good. Mom came down all last week. It was so nice to have her here! She and I did a little shopping (since she didn’t bring any warm weather clothes… silly mom!). We did some cleaning, organizing and even relaxed a little. She kept me entertained as we both waited and hoped Michael would come a little early.

39 Weeks and 2 Days

Grandma is doing better… great news! She now has a tracheotomy so she is able to smile and mouth a few words. Eventually she will be able to talk with the trech so that is very good news! I skyped with her today and I love that she can hear me and smile at me! It’s almost as good as being there!

On Friday Mom, Joe and I went to Savannah for our appointment. We got to meet the Student Midwife… I had no idea they had one but she, Jennifer, was very nice!  Everything looks good… blood pressure is still normal, Michael is measuring right on and he is still head down… quite low might I add. I did request to get checked. I know it’s not a measurement of when he will arrive but I wanted to know. Plus mom wanted to get an idea so she can determine what weekend to plan to see Birtt’s show. So the results were… Cervix is still posterior… it is soft however so the Primrose Oil is doing its job… and it’s barely 1 centimeter. So we are not far along in the progression but that’s ok. We never thought he would come early… we just hoped :) I have lots of stuff here around the house to keep me busy and to keep my mind off him coming. It’s a waiting game and he will be here when he is ready. April 29^th is my Grandfather’s birthday and since Michael is named after him it would be pretty special to have them share the same birthday. Of course I don’t know how excited I will be to go 10 days overdue but you just never know!

This weekend Joe and I went to a movie and dinner… a nice little date night :) We saw the movie The Conspirator, it was about the conspiracy to commit the murder of Lincoln. It was filmed in Savannah so both Joe and I were excited to see it! It was very good! I hope it was factual because then I feel like I learned something!

Here is Michael’s update…

Our baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

OHHH and I almost forgot... Mom and I attended an award ceremony fo Joe... we won Sailor of the Quarter. I was so proud of him :) There is a picture of him below!

Eventful 3 days...

So it has been an interesting and eventful weekend. On Friday Joe and I went to the Birth Center for another appointment. We took Aria to daycare so we could spend some time in Savannah. When we got to the Center the midwife Rita first said, wow he is still high up there! I agreed because his feet are defiantly up in my ribs but I also mentioned that he feels quite low. So when we went in for the exam and she checked his head location she confirmed what I thought… He is very very low. So her idea is that Michael is going to be a long baby! So that means he may not fit it to many of his newborn pants… but only time will tell!

Saturday Joe started the spring-cleaning process… though one could argue he was nesting :) He and I both spent a good portion of the morning cleaning and organizing the house. It looks so much better. I was getting out of control with the constant people in and out working on the floor and bathroom. For lunch we met up with Julie and the kids at the Mexican restaurant. So yummy! The kids have really taken to Joe and I and it is quite fun to have them recognize us and call us by name! Being with them makes us even more excited to meet Michael and become parents ourselves.

Sunday was quite the day I must say. I was exhausted to begin with so halfway through the day I needed a nap so I laid down and fell asleep for about an hour. Joe got home and he and I were hanging out on the couch when I got a phone call from my dad. (Now this was not a surprise for Joe… in fact he knew before me and requested that I be informed after he had gotten home from work… sweet of him; just another reason I love him). Dad told me Grandma was not doing very well. He and Ashley had flown up to Cleveland that morning (this whole time I was texting ash I was under the impression that she, dad and mom were in Boone NC… WRONG!). They left mom at home incase Michael decided to come into this world.

So Grandma (from my understanding… since updates have been hard to get from the medical professionals for some reason… mostly due to the fact that they just don’t know all that’s going on yet) is now hooked up to a ventilator that is breathing for her. She is still awake but unable to talk obviously (making skype harder than normal… all you want to do is ask questions and poor grandma can’t respond but I couldn’t help but keep asking damn questions… so frustrating). She had a high fever and blood pressure. Basically they thought her body was fighting itself after she had broken her leg about 2 weeks ago. So it’s a whole lot of unanswered questions but all we know it that she is in the ICU… and doing a little better than she was the night before. So that is a positive. I just wish we had some answers.

The worst part about all this is the fact that I am to the point now in this pregnancy where I can’t travel… or at least it would be a really bad idea! All of the family is doing their best to fly up or drive up to Cleveland and I can’t do a damn thing. I can only skype… I can’t hold her hand or kiss her head and it is killing me. I just hope and pray that she can make it through one more month (or maybe less) so Michael and I can fly up to see her for a few days. It means so much to me to have her meet Michael and I just want to touch her and see her! So once Michael is 2 weeks old we will make a quick trip up to see her. It will be one hell of a trip but it will be worth it! So any prayers are welcome :)

The update from dad this evening is that Grandma is sedated. She needed some rest with all the visitors she had the other day. He kidneys and liver are not functioning properly so we are hoping the increased oxygen from her tube will help. They are going to try and wean her off the tube so she can breath on her own soonish but they don’t see it to be too successful so this will result in a tracheotomy. All I need is one month… I know its selfish to ask… but my worst fear of not being there with her is coming true and I can’t handle it emotionally… I know she understands me not being there but I will never forgive myself if I can’t hold her hand one more time!

So Michael… Mommy is asking you to come just a little early so I can see your beautiful face and so that you can meet you Great Grandma :)

Week 38...

Update for week 38… I know I said before that we are full term but I don’t think Michael cares much! Of course I would love to have him in my arms now there is no rushing him out. Nothing Joe and I do or say will get him to start the birth process. Like I said before we are on Michael’s time. I had high hopes of him coming the first week in April but I think he will be in there for a little while longer. Technically we have 2 more weeks till his ‘due date’ so I will be patient. In the meantime I will work on getting some of this stuff done around here. Besides, I am not to the point yet where I need him out. Sure I would love to get ride of this monster belly that keeps me up at night and makes it hard to move… But someone once told me that in order to go through the labor and pain, I have to be really really done with being pregnant and I am not quite there! I have been savoring every movement he makes because I know very soon I wont feel him inside me anymore.

This week has been eventful… we have made lots of progress in the bathroom. We have a level floor… tile… and drywall so now we have a few more days of drying/sanding mud on the drywall and then Joe can paint. I say Joe because when I say “Joe and I” I get a lot of grief from people saying I shouldn’t be doing all this stuff. So it will just depend how I feel on Sunday when we are ready to paint! I am hoping to have Jim our plumber in on Mon or Tues to install the toilet, vanity/sink and shower head. I thought for sure Michael would want to join in on the party and come this week because we had so much scheduled. I guess he is not going to have much interest in home remodeling! That’s fine… He didn’t show up for any March Madness games but how can I blame him… OSU got knocked out so after that who cares to watch! I do hope he shows up for the NFL draft at least! That way I have a shot at a man in this house watching football with me :) Lucky for me I have my dad on my side… he will help me introduce and teach sports to Mikey :)

Tomorrow Joe and I are heading to Savannah for another appointment with the Midwife. I have been feeling a few infrequent contractions but nothing consistent. So I doubt the appointment is going to say much other than “He is awfully comfortable in there… See you next week!”  So when we go tomorrow… should we bring our birth bag and stuff just in case. Knowing my luck… we wont bring it and then when we get there they are going to say… hey you are in labor! And then Joe will have to come back here to grab everything but I am going to want to come with him cause he might miss some stuff… and then I will be in labor in the car for 2 hours… and my mind just goes these places haha!  While in Savannah Joe and I will probably get some lunch and run to Target. Why not right… we are there so we might as well go. With gas prices so high when we make the trip out of Beaufort we better take advantage and go to the stores we need to go to that aren’t near us!

Julie came over this week for more photos… how lucky we are! She took some photos of Joe and I in the nursery; Joe goofed off most of the time. He was trying to talk to his son… and he was using the path of least resistance if you know what I mean! What a GEEP! I have put my favorite photo on the blog but here is the link to a few more! https://picasaweb.google.com/julie.gayler/AmandaNursery?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKS7pym1O2ffQ&pli=1&gsessionid=mphGFt2JYCSjlYuadDQUmg#

OK here is the update with Michael… nothing too interesting since he is fully developed but here it is nonetheless!

The final details are being rounded off before your rocket-baby's big launch into the world.

For one, your adorable poop-factory's meconium stockpile is growing (are you ready for that historical first tarry black poo?) as their baby fat stores continue to increase.

Most importantly, your wee genius' rapidly developing super-brain is abuzz with new brain cells that'll be growing for years to come.

Woohoo!

Whether you give birth tomorrow (yes!) or next week (aw), your fantastic baby is pretty much 100% ready to face the world outside of your womb.

And by "ready", we mean weak, helpless and unable to do anything other than cry, pee, poop, and eat.

Below is a helpful view into your baby's first year and why they're so radically different from the rest of we walking, talking, thinking humans.

And just some more food for thought:

Understanding Your Infant's World

Between your infant's poor vision and inability to speak or comprehend language, as well as their newness to the entire life-on-Earth gig, they'll understand virtually nothing of the world they're born into.

One critical thing your newborn does understand is this:

Mama's warm arms = the happiest safest place in the world.

Abstract concepts such as time, language and object permanence remain far beyond your infant's grasp.

The many ordinary objects and items that surround you will be almost totally incomprehensible to your infant for the first months of their life. Not until they gain the ability to grasp and manipulate objects with their hands, will these things start to become slightly more understandable.

An infant's lack of object permanence causes them to become anxious whenever you disappear from their sight because they're unable to understand that you're going to return.

In your infant's perception, you'll have simply and irrevocably vanished and will cause a clear and obvious distress cry that can be translated as: "Where did mama go?! Come back now!!! I'm afraid to be alone because this world is confusing and overwhelming without you."

As your infant develops, they'll become more comfortable when you disappear from their line of sight, and become slowly aware of the fact you're going to come back again.

Explicit knowledge of your permanence in their life won't be possible until nearer the one year mark, although the more you're there for them, the sooner they'll learn that and the more secure they'll feel.

The best way to ensure your newborn is feeling safe and happy, is simply to keep them near your body as much as you possibly can.

Before you worry about your arms breaking off from all that baby-carrying, you can keep baby snuggled near your body AND have use of your arms by wearing a wrap or baby carrier that supports their newborn bobble-head.

38 Weeks... Belly Cast Photo

I plan to write more on week 38 but I wanted to upload a photo of the belly cast! It is also our 38 week photo! I had a fun time doing this with Joe! I know he is not a fan of getting messy or doign arts and crafts but I think it turned out great! I can't wait to decorate it!!

First video... Mikey's Room!

Joe and I finished putting together Michael's room the other day. With my new (Christmas present... so not that new) Flip I took a quick video. Sorry the audio is low... First time recording myself talk was kind of weird but my argument is... Joe was still sleeping so I tried to be quiet!

We are on Michael's time now... he will come show his beautiful face when he is ready!