Dear Gracie

We now know who you are and it was a surprise I wasn't expecting. You will hear this as you grow older, I thought you would come out a boy. When the doctor held you up and I saw you, I stopped. This was not what I was expecting. Now I can't imagine you any other way. I am going to guess this was just the first of many times you will be something I wouldn't expect and I can't wait to see the woman you will become.

It is an amazing feeling to have you rest your head over my heart. To have you sleep so peacefully on my chest. It has been two weeks and you are already a totally different girl. You can hold your head up, you are starting to open your eyes more, and I am pretty sure you have completely taken over our lives.

You have an amazing mother. You may only think of her as a vending machine right now but she is taking such great care of you and making my job easy. I guess we are becoming your parents because we have begun referring to each other as 'Mom' and 'Dad'. Wasn't really expecting that change.

I hope you keep your cool blue eyes. They are the part of me that passed on to you, the part I hoped you could take from me. You may get cursed with my nose or your mom's skin but I think if you keep those blue eyes you will be able to mesmerize anyone you want. You have already started practicing with me.

Love,

Your Father

Changes

I really can't believe how much Gracie has changed in just one week! We were looking at all our photos the other day (which are uploaded on our picasa site), and she already looks so different!

We took Gracie for her first doctor's appointment last Friday, and she did great! She has regained her birth weight in just one week and grown almost an inch! The doctor checked all her reflexes and thought she was doing great. Because she's regained her birth weight, we can let Gracie sleep through the night. For now she continues to wake up for every feeding, but we are hopeful that within a month she'll be sleeping six hours at night.

This weekend we saw Gracie smile for the first time! It was while she was half-asleep, but it was very exciting to see her precious grin. The next evening, I was kissing Gracie on the forehead as we tried to get her to fall asleep, and she grinned each time I kissed her. Now we're just waiting for an open-eyed smile!

Thankfully Gracie is still a great baby! From the first time I fed her, she's been good at latching on for feedings. And she seems to be content with her 3 hour feeding schedule, which gives me time to rest or visit with friends and family in between feedings.

Gracie also got to listen to her first ever Texas Tech Red Raider football game on Saturday! I think she brought the Red Raiders good luck with her adorable Tech outfit, which she will hopefully grow into by the end of the season! It's a little big at this point, but we had to deck her out in her Tech gear for a family picture. A big thanks for Anna for the cute onesie and skirt!

Mimi (my mom) was with us for the first week of Gracie's life, which was a huge help. And I'm so glad that Gracie got some one-on-one time with Mimi. My brother and Megan have also been over to visit several times. Trinity's parents and sister and my dad and Linda also came down for parts of the week, so she's met all of our immediate family. Now that they are gone, we're looking forward to week alone with Gracie, especially knowing we have several friends that plan to visit over the next few weeks. I can't say thank you enough to all our friends and family who continue to provide us with meals and visits! We love you!

It's a Girl!

On Sunday morning, Trinity and I welcomed our daughter, Grace Elizabeth, into the world. It was a day I will never, ever forget.

Although I didn't realize it, Saturday morning I started going into labor. I woke up at 7:30 am after a long night of discomfort and sleeplessness. Little did I know that would be the last sleep I got for 36 hours! As we watched the UT/OU football game, I couldn't find a comfortable position for long, and I was having mild cramping and lower back pain. At one point I remember thinking that it might be labor, but it wasn't coming in waves like contractions should come...it was more like a constant, dull pain. So, I assumed that I was uncomfortable because I was almost 40 weeks pregnant and tried to distract myself with the game. At some point the pain subsided and I was able to get comfortable. Around half-time we'd planned to drive to a bar in Dallas to meet Erin for the Tech/Iowa State game. On the car ride there, I noticed the pain had returned but it was coming in waves this time. We made it to the bar to find it packed for the game-watching party, and because I was so uncomfortable we decided to just head back home.

By the time we were back at home, I figured out that they were definitely contractions, and Trinity started timing them. We walked up and down our street, and I would tell him every time I had a contraction. By the end of our walk they were averaging about 5-6 minutes apart, so we finished packing our toiletry bag and headed to the hospital. While on the way to the hospital, we talked about how embarrasing it would be to show up to the hospital and not be in labor at all. About 10 miles from the hospital, Trinity asked, "Is it insensitive to ask if I can get Chick-fil-A to go?" I laughed and told him that of course he could get him some dinner...it would be a long night if I was in true labor.

We arrived at the hospital, checked in with the charge nurse and were sent to a triage room to hook me up to the fetal heart monitor and contraction monitor. After answering numerous questions, the nurse let me walk up and down the ward for a few minutes to reve-up my contractions, as they'd slowed considerably after arriving at the hospital. After 30 minutes of monitoring, we were admitted to the hospital and realized we were having a baby in the next day!

The next twelve hours I was in labor...lots of pain, breathing, walking, then pitocin to increase the contractions, finally an epidural, and 3 hours of pushing. After pushing for almost 2 hours, I'd made great progress but the baby's head was stuck sideways in my pelvis. The doctor and nurse both tried to rotate her head while I was pushing, but it just wasn't going budge. They allowed me to try to push her through for another hour, but there wasn't much progress. So we accepted the fact that we'd have to have a c-section. That was a very frustrating moment, but I was also so exhausted from pushing that I was glad to know that our baby would soon be here! I was quickly preped for the surgery and wheeled into the operating room. I remember laying there a little nervous but reminding myself that our baby would be born in the next 30 minutes. After about 10-15 minutes, Grace Elizabeth was delivered at 8:51 am!

They allowed Trinity to stand up to peer over the screen as she was pulled out, so that he could announce whether it was a boy or girl. After looking at her for a good 5 seconds he announced, "I think it is a girl" in a not very sure voice. The doctors confirmed and tipped Grace's face over the screen so that I could also see her, and I just cried tears of joy. Her face looked so perfect, and I was a mom.

They allowed Trinity to hold Grace next to my head while I was stiched up, and then we all went to the recovery room together as a family. I was allowed to hold Grace for the first time, breastfeed her, and have about 20 minutes of skin-to-skin time, which was very important to me. Then they took her to the nursery for her first bath and check-up. I was given some pain medications and allowed to sleep in recovery for the next 30 minutes before I was wheeled to our postpardum room, where we will be until we are released on Wednesday.

We've now had Grace for almost 48 hours, and I already can't imagine life without her. She is truly a joy and blessing to us. Thank you to all our friends and family who have been supporting and blessing us with love over the past nine months. We cannot wait to introduce each and every one of you to our daughter.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Today we got confirmation that our doctor will induce me on Tuesday, October 5! Our doctor would normally not induce until I reached the 41 week mark, but because Peanut is already weighing over 8lbs, she thinks it is best to get this baby out! I am a little nervous about the actual induction, but I trust my doctor's judgement.

And honestly, Trinity is driving me a little crazy! We are both impatient by nature, but he is going bonkers waiting on this kid to arrive. Of the two of us, I really thought I'd be the worst, since I'm carrying the baby and all, but nope. He is beside himself with stress and impatience. It's a little funny... when I'm not feeling tired and enormous. Speaking of, here is a picture of my HUGE belly today.

Can it get any bigger?!?

Week 39

Today's doctor appointment was not promising. I have made little to no progress since last week. Unfortunately, the doctor was out at a delivery, so we ended up seeing one of the nurse practitioners. After doing her check-up, she dropped a bomb shell on us... she doesn't think the baby has even dropped yet. I was in shock! I have felt a lot more pressure on my bladder and felt that the baby was lower, but maybe it's just because Peanut is continuing to grow. I guess that explains why I haven't had many contractions since my false alarm last week! The nurse suggested that I walk 5-6 times per day for about 10 minutes and rock in a rocking chair/glider to try to help manuver the baby down. So, tomorrow begins my new routine of several short walks instead of one long walk in the evenings with Trinity and the dogs.

The nurse did not guesstimate Peanut's size this week, but I can only imagine that he/she continues to grow each day. Some days I feel like there is no way I can get any bigger! Thankfully my feet, ankles, and hands still only have minor swelling. Since I've been at home this week, I've noticed that what swelling I did have has gone down some. Thankfully I can keep my feet up and my shoes off during the day.

Since the doctor was out this afternoon, we didn't get to schedule an induction date. We are expecting a call from her office tomorrow to determine a date. Right now, it sounds like it will most likely be early next week. We'll definitely keep everyone posted once we have a firm date set. I'm still hoping that Peanut will decide to come into this world on his/her own before the need to be induced. At least scheduling next week gives me another few days for things to work naturally.

False Alarm

For about two hours yesterday, I really thought I was going into labor. I was sitting at my desk all morning thinking, "My lower back really hurts." Every once-in-a-while I'd get a small Braxton Hicks contraction that would tighten my abdomen, but they didn't really hurt. Then all of a sudden I started feeling much stronger contractions with much worse abdominal and lower back pain.

I started timing the contractions and time in between contractions. They were about 45-60 second contractions coming between 7-10 minutes, mostly around the 7 minute range. From all the pregnancy books and classes, I knew that it wasn't anywhere close to the 5-1-1 (60 second contracts, 5 minutes apart, for 1 hour) rule to call the doctor and head to the hospital, but I decided that I should probably drive home in case they quickly picked up speed.

I also called Trinity and told him that I didn't know if I was going into labor or not, but that I was having pretty consistent contractions and they felt different. I wouldn't have called at all had he been working at home, but he's been working from the office all week due to some web trainings he's attending (so that he didn't have to go to the trainings live in Houston).

I made it home around 3:30 and just started walking around the house. Again, a trick I picked up from the books and classes. Apparently walking often increases real labor contractions, while it usually decreases Braxton Hicks contractions. After about 20 minutes of walking, my contractions slowed to every 15-20 minutes, and then down to basically nothing. I'm not going to lie...it was disappointing.

Thankfully I did not get too excited, nervous, or anxious at any point during the experience. I just remained calm and thought, "Please let this be Peanut's birthday. We're ready." Hopefully when I do go into labor, I'll be able to remain that calm.

So, we're still playing the waiting game and hoping that Peanut makes his/her grand entrance in the next week. As an update from my last post, we went to the doctor on Tuesday, but I hadn't made any progress. The baby has definitely dropped, which is causing me to waddle more every day. Our doctor is still talking induction in the next week or so due to the baby's size. Our next appointment is on Tuesday, at which time we'll make the decision for when to induce if I do not go into labor naturally first. Hopefully we end up with a September baby!

Dear Peanut

I'm ready. I can't say for sure what changed in the last week but as your mother and I lay in bed, my hand on her belly feeling you kick at me, I just knew. I want you out here so I can hold you. There was an excitement that built up inside of me and now I have to wait. Please don't make it too much longer.

We saw you on the ultrasound and glimpsed your face. You have my nose and I am so very sorry for that. Your left hand was in front of your eyes and I could only imagine how annoyed you must have been to have us prodding your home but we got to see you and you look almost real.

You are big. Does that mean you are strong enough to face what is about to happen? Are you ready to come out and face the world? Can you conquer it? You don't have to worry though, your mom and I will be here to protect you. I can't wait to watch you do all those first that you will one day do. The wait is going to be worth it for us. So how about you come on out of there and we can start this adventure, huh?

Love,

Your Father