Catching Up

we have been having router problems that have kept us from having internet access. so, to catch up on the weekend's activities . . .

Henry donning his adorable Noah's Ark outfit from his Auntie Deirdre
Henry with his grandmother
Auntie Deirdre came to visit!
And so did Gary's Dad!

future conductor

Henry really enjoys flailing his arms about . . .

wonderful wednesday

really, can he BE any sweeter than this?!
My mom gave Henry this outfit when I was around 15 weeks pregnant with him. What a handsome little guy!

Today marked Henry's first walk/stroll in the jogging stroller. He had no idea where he was and slept the whole time. What a great feeling to take a walk with our son!

wake up henry

snoozin' . . . on a tuesday afternoon . . .

Gary's mom came to visit today and was able to hold Henry for the first time.
This is normal post feeding position. It's tough to be a baby.

chilly weather

Our four legged children are adjusting fairly well to the new family member. Bricks and Savannah haven't really paid Henry much attention; however, Shelby is especially curious about her new brother. All the dogs got baths yesterday and curled up and dried themselves in front of the fire. The fire got a little too hot for Shelby so that's why she is not in the picture.

Bricks curling up for a long winter's nap.

sleeping angel

tiny hands

Touchdown Auburn and a "Storm of Historic Proportion"

Henry sometimes likes to sleep with his hands raised, in perfect touchdown Auburn form!
Today something happened that I've always wished for since I've lived in Auburn . . .
It snowed! The Montgomery news channel called it a "storm of historic proportion." As you can see it's not so much historic as it is just a dusting. But I will take it!

Too bad the snow didn't just melt the Jetta and make it disappear. . . at least we could file for the loss on our insurance and replace it with a "fixed" vehicle. Oh well!

Henry's first few days

snoozing in his moses basket - which is his favorite place to sleep. he doesn't seem to be very picky though about where he likes to sleep!
Henry's first outing . . . to the doctor's office for a weight check.

more hospital photos

Henry had to have an IV put in his head to administer some antibiotics. They couldn't get the IV in either hand, so his head was the next option. Everything is fine with Henry now, it was more for preventative measures since he was early.
auntie tricia and auntie allison were there to greet him upon arrival!
Dale and Meredith stopped by on Monday.
Katherine and Doug also stopped by meet Mr. Henry.
This is our going home photo from Wednesday when we were released. Sadly, Henry looks really small here so you can't see much of him!

superdad

My two favorite men!
Gary wanted to imitate Henry's expression


This is my OB, Dr. Golden. Unfortunately, he wasn't on call on Sunday so he didn't get to deliver Henry. But he stopped by on Tuesday and was excited to meet our little man.

Welcome Henry!

what a big boy to be almost a month early~

We are so thankful!

to the hospital we go

Last belly shot . . . 36 weeks 3 days
I wanted a picture with the dogs before they meet their new brother . . . it was chaos as you can see. They were just so excited!

Here we go . . .

ready for the c-section

the story of little Henry's arrival

things have changed quite a bit from our last post . . . as you know, our precious gift arrived on Sunday, January 13th. to recap . . .

last saturday (the 12th) my contractions started to increase; they were not patterned though. somewhere around 4am Sunday morning they picked up and were more regular. I also had sort of a weird pain in the top of my abdomen that would not go away. needless to say, I moved to the couch and turned on the TV as I was not really resting. We don't really watch a lot of television (other than sports), but we do both enjoy the Food Network. Gary got up around 8am and came into the living room and joined me in watching Bobby Flay prepare one of his delicious meals on Food TV. Just as Bobby was ending and Michael Chiarello was beginning, my water broke. It was the wildest feeling! The contractions strengthened in intensity and we called the hospital, gave them a heads up we would be coming, and started getting things ready. Since we figured he was still breech, we knew that a C-section was inevitable and that since my water broke, they would want to do the c-section as soon as they could. We did a few things around the house, made sure the dogs were settled and fed, and took a few pictures. We got to the hospital around 10:45am that morning and guess who was working on the labor and delivery floor? My friend Paige from Junior League. She was awesome and it was so nice to have a friendly and familiar face to be taking care of us.

They confirmed my water had indeed broke, that he was still breech and that I was dilated 3 centimeters. Around 12pm they came in and said they would be taking me back to the operating room at 1pm. Henry was delivered via c-section at 1:26pm weighing in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches in length. Gary did great in the operating room and as nervous as anesthesia makes me, everything went well with regards to spinal and the surgery. I was able to see Henry for about a minute and then he and Gary were whisked away to the nursery while they finished the surgery and I was in recovery.

We were discharged from EAMC yesterday and arrived home safely. Henry arrived about three and half weeks early, but we were ready and feel great about the sequence of events. He has captured our hearts already!

Pictures coming soon . . . and, one thing to point out . . . some of you got back on the blog and voted on his arrival date "to win" so to speak. When we left for the hospital, the earliest "guess" was the Jan. 16th range. There was one vote for that range, and that vote was mine and was placed about 3 weeks ago. Weird eh?

Stubborn already?

Henry update . . . I went in on Thursday afternoon for my doctor's appointment. Everything looks good, heartbeat was 131, sugar and protein levels were fine. I have gained a total of 24.5 pounds thus far.

However, either my doc was wrong last week or Henry has moved because he is breech. He is far enough along now where he won't move to the head down position on his own. So, we are going to try a procedure called external cephalic version (ECV), in which the doctor manually tries to move him to the head down position by pressing and moving my stomach.

In order to do this, Henry's amniotic fluid levels need to be sufficient and he needs to weigh less than 7.5 pounds. To find out if he meets these two criteria we will have to have another ultrasound. So, we are going in Monday at 7:45am for the ultrasound to see if ECV is indeed a viable option.

If so, I will go into the hospital on probably Wednesday to have the ECV done. If not, we will have to schedule a c-section. I know people have c-sections all the time and it's a common procedure, but I am still hopeful that we can avoid this route. Bottom line, we will be elated with a healthy baby however the type of delivery.

Will keep you posted on the events of next week as we know more . . .

almost 36 weeks

I'm asking that the photographer does not zoom in for these "second" belly shots anymore . . . yikes!

My doctor said last week Henry is definitely head down and should stay that way. He also said I'm measuring ahead of schedule . . . we will see if that proves to be true. His guess on weight was that Henry is around six pounds or so. Everything is still going well. Our bags are packed, car seat is installed, everything is washed, and lists are made. We are ready!

Who are thou, lone voter . . .

the one who is guessing the weight of over 9 pounds and who is estimating an arrival between Feb. 17th-23rd . . . make yourself known!

All the Best in 2008

We have no pictures to post today . . . just a few thoughts.

Raise your glasses to: good health in the coming year, creating fond memories with family and friends, healing and peace for those who are ailing, a spirit of generosity and kindness to fellow mankind, continuing to enjoy the little things in life, strengthening relationships, and always maintaining a positive and thankful attitude.

Gary and I were reading 2 Peter and came across a verse that we thought would be so nice to keep in mind as our family grows. Then we thought it would be a good one to reflect upon as we begin a new year . . . "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever!" 2 Peter 3:18

A few other notes . . .

Today the high in Auburn is in the mid-40's. I love this type of weather; it makes you feel alive! Sue and Kevin were supposed to get ten inches of snow last night . . . and while snow would be even better, we'll take the brisk temps.

The Henry Polls . . . maybe not as exciting as the Iowa caucus, but several folks have asked "What will the winner receive?" Since there is no way to identify your vote and the ranges allow multiple votes, we have not come up with a decent prize. Suggestions anyone?

New Year's Resolutions . . . last year Gary resolved to stop all New Year's resolutions. I resolved to finish reading a book before starting another one. For Gary, he met his resolution-ha! He is very proud. For me, I almost met my resolution, with the exception of two books, the Collected Stories of Eudora Welty and Dean Koontz's "The Good Guy." For 2008, Gary continues to NOT have a resolution. He is reveling in this guaranteed method of achieving his resolutions! For 2008 for me, my goal is to not be rushed and be late, but to consistently be on time or even early. With the exception of going to work, it always seems like I am running a few minutes behind. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that adding another person for which to be responsible will only impact this tardiness even further. So, I resolve to take the necessary steps to change this habit altogether.

Last but certainly not least, WAR EAGLE! Auburn's overtime win over Clemson ended yet another great football season. This year had its ups and downs, but a 9-4 season is not too shabby all things considered.

Cheers!