Such a BIG bed...

...for such a little baby! Max slept in his crib for the first time, which I thought was photo worthy. He just looked so tiny in that big bed. Too bad he will fill up the bed before I know it.

Yesterday was also opening day for the Reds, which is a national holiday as far as Daddy is concerned. Unfortunately the Reds lost, but at least we got a cute picture!

5 weeks old

Hello all!

I am happy to report that even though the NCAA tourney isn't over yet, Max did better than Daddy with his picks. Yeah, Max! Now if Butler could win it all, Mommy would be ecstatic!

So, an update in the world of Max. He has seen the neo-natal doctor 3 times so far and is finally gaining weight. On Wednesday he was was up to 8 pounds 12 ounces! That is a little better than an ounce a day which is finally what he should be doing. We are supplementing with rice starch enhanced formula which is also helping with the projectile vomiting we were experiencing.

Not much else is going on around here. We've had lots of visitors and Grandma Lu is currently here. In a few weeks my aunt & uncle from Indy are bringing great-grandma for a visit. (She is 92 years old!) How exciting is that? I just wish we could get Max on a schedule more than eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours!

Happy spring!

Happy St. Patrick's Day & March Madness

All is going well here as we adjust to life according to Max. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to have his weight checked, but as of last week he was only back up to 7 pounds 15 ounces. His head is growing, we just need his body to catch up! He's to hoping Max gains weight and Mommy loses! (I always weigh myself while we are at the doctor's office as well.)

This week we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by spending 2 days in appropriate clothing. What's the point of having a baby if you can't dress them up, right? Then today, Max spent the day watching basketball with Daddy. He even has his very own bracket completed. Too bad daddy didn't do so great in advising his choices! At least Max doesn't get upset when his teams lose, but maybe that's because UNC stunk so bad this year they aren't even in the NCAA tourney!

Have fun with March Madness...Go Xavier and Butler!

He's finally here!

Let me first apologize for not getting this posted sooner, but we have literally had out of town family visiting beginning about 10 minutes after we arrived home from the hospital. It has been helpful since it has allowed me to get in some mid-day naps, but not so conducive to getting anything posted on the blog.

Most of you already know, but Maxwell Ivan (named after my great-grandfather & grandfather) arrived at 9:57pm on Tuesday, February 23rd. He weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces and measured 20 inches long with red hair! The induction/eviction process began at 8am that morning so I was pleased to have him delivered before midnight the same day.

We came home from the hospital on Thursday evening and have been working on breastfeeding (which is really hard for both Mommy and Max!), sleeping at night instead of all day and getting completely spoiled by both sets of grandparents. Now that the grandparents have come and gone it is now time to get spoiled by Aunt Katie, Aunt Shawnda & Aunt Val who are visiting.

Overall, he is a really good baby, not too fussy except for when he is getting his diaper changed. The last few nights he even slept for about 4.5 hours when he went down for the night. Mommy & Daddy loved that!

I will try to post updates about once a week, but if you want updates or pictures besides these just email me and I will happily forward extras along to you! I am attaching a picture from the hospital as well as one from a few days ago since he is changing so quickly.

Until next week...get some sleep for me!

40+ weeks...ugh.

I was hoping to be able to tell you Max's official weight and length at this point, but apparently that is not his plan. Instead you get the most recent babycenter.com produce update and past due belly picture.

Babycenter.com says that most babies are at least 20 inches long and 7.5 pounds. This is the weight of a small pumpkin. Does he look like a pumpkin at this point? What's bigger than a small pumpkin? A HUGE pumpkin?

I have a doctor appointment on Monday and an induction appointment on Tuesday. I've tried just about all the "natural" induction ideas I can locate online or that people have told me with no success so far. Hopefully the next posting will include actual baby details!

Due date? What due date?

In an attempt to keep myself in a decent mood as I have now officially hit my "due date" I happened upon a top 10 list of what not to say to an overdue pregnant woman. I thought I would share:
1. Now, when is your due date?
2. Your belly sure is huge. (That's helpful, I feel so tiny right now.)
3. Are you sure it isn't twins?
4. Have you tried...
5. When will you be induced?
6. Don't sit there, your water might break!
7. Doesn't the placenta have an expiration date?
8. Maybe they got your dates wrong.
9. When I was pregnant...
10. Oh, being overdue isn't that bad...

I personally would like to add to the list:
11. Voicemail messages that say, "Have you had the baby yet and just not called and told me?" Seriously, with text messages, cell phones, email and a blog you seriously think I would have had this baby and not told anyone?!

This baby had better come out soon! If not this weekend, my induction appointment got moved up to Tuesday morning. We'll keep you posted for lack of anything else to do!

When will this be over?

I went to the doctor today to find out that I am only 1 centimeter dilated after a VERY uncomfortable exam. Last week my doctor told me that I could be induced next Monday or Tuesday if I haven't delivered by then, but guess what?! The scheduling secretary never scheduled it so I refused to leave the office today without an induction appointment. Unfortunately, the earliest I could get is next Friday! I know that is only a few extra days, but does this baby really need a few extra days to make me miserable while in utero and just get bigger? Hopefully I won't need the appointment, but I had to complain in a public forum to make myself feel a little better. I'll keep you posted.

Let the countdown begin!

Hopefully this will be the last babycenter produce update that I need to post regarding Baby Kumquat. Since I didn't post last week I am going to go ahead and let you know the produce comparisons for weeks 38 & 39.

Week 38 - He measures in at 6.8 pounds and over 19.5 inches long, like a leek.

Week 39 - He measures over 20 inches long and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, but boys tend to be bigger. This is about the size of a small watermelon.

Unfortunately, I am probably giving birth to a child with a head the size of a small watermelon, is already at least 8 pounds and will most likely need an eviction notice rather than a due date to come out! I'm sure I'll adore him when he finally arrives, but Mommy isn't so happy with him right now! However, as Tony pointed out, we don't really want him coming this weekend as that would mean we would never be able to go on our annual Gatlinburg trip with our Cincy friends again as it would be bad to skip out of town on his birthday!

We'll keep you posted, but if he doesn't arrive by next Saturday (Feb. 20th - my actual due date) I will be induced on the following Monday or Tuesday.

37 weeks

Hello all,

This week Baby Kumquat is said to be 6 1/3 pounds and over 19 inches long. From head to heel this is about the length of a stalk of Swiss chard. The best past is that if Baby Kumquat has hair, hopefully a bunch of red hair, it should be between 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long.

I am including a belly picture for this week since I am down to only 18 days left until the official due date, not that I'm counting. Nothing much has been going on around here since we got the "white death" on Friday and schools have been closed ever since. I should point out that we only got 2-3 inches of snow here with freezing rain on top of it. Some areas north and west of us got up to 8 inches. It was enough for the kids to go sledding down the street for 3 days though!

Tomorrow it is expected to reach 50 degrees (the neighborhood kids have another snow day!) but since no one here seems to have a snow shovel or salt to treat the ice goodness only knows when the kids will go back to school! Oh, did I mention that the weather forecast is saying that we may get more snow on Friday/Saturday?

36 weeks

Let me first apologize for not posting the 36 week update sooner, I honestly have no good excuse since I'm not working or taking class. Babycenter.com says that during week 36 Baby Kumquat is 18 1/2 inches long and almost 6 pounds which is the weight of a crenshaw melon. Luckily, he has tucked and rolled into the head down position and is still measuring exactly on target by the doctor. From here on out I have weekly doctor appointments, but all seems to be pretty textbook.

Friday night, before the "white death" winter storm we are/were predicted to get here in NC my youth group kids had my 4th and final baby shower. Although there were games played, you all know I hate babyshower games, I was able to supervise as a youth group adviser instead of participate! More than anything over the course of the evening I enjoyed the cupcakes and Madsen bars! Due to the weather only a small group of the youth were able to make it, but I had to include a pic of the group that were there.

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who have attended a baby shower in the past month, sent a gift, checked in, called, etc. We are overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and can't wait for the boy (as Tony refers to him) is able to meet you all! Only 3 weeks until my due date!

35 weeks down

This week babycenter.com says that Baby Kumquat is over 18 inches long and about 5.25 pounds - about the weight of a honeydew. All I know is that I feel like he has dropped down a bit so I can actually breathe again, but now I REALLY have to pee all the time! I've started getting sharp pains right on my pelvic bone, which completely freaks Tony out! He has decided that I must pack a bag for the hospital immediately and is convinced that Max will most likely come in the next 2 weeks. Wouldn't that be fabulous? I know I've said this a lot during this pregnancy, but I REALLY don't like the way I feel right now! I know, I know...I'm a big whiner.

Other exciting news is that my 2 good friends who are also pregnant recently told me that they are also having boys! Max already has a built in play group! Congrats to both Pamela and Liz. :)

Talk to you all soon.

34 weeks and 2 baby showers...

Hello all!

I am now in my 34th week of the alien invasion and babycenter.com is now saying that Baby Kumquat is about 18 inches long and 4 3/4 pounds, which is about the weight of an average cantaloupe. Tony & I both think that I have really popped in the past 2 weeks and am beginning to look like I'm carrying around a basketball under my shirt! I guess as long as the basketball doesn't get too comfortable and decide to stay forever, then I'm ok with that!

This weekend we were in Cincinnati, as I said in the last post, for baby showers. We now have a room full of baby stuff and no room for a baby! I decided to start sorting through everything by sorting out all the clothes by size then tackling all the other "stuff" that babies come with. For such little people they sure have a lot of stuff that come with them! Can you believe all that stuff in the pictures? That isn't even all of it, but I thought I should at least show you pictures of some of it.

Until next week...

33 Weeks and in Cincinnati

This week I am in my 33rd week of the alien invasion. Babycenter.com reports that Baby Kumquat has passed the 17 inch mark and is a little over 4 pounds. The produce comparison for this weight is to "heft a pineapple." The best part of the description for this week of development is that he is "rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look." Sorry, but until he formally arrives he will continue to be referred to as the alien within!

We are currently in Cincinnati for baby showers this weekend with family and our fabulous friends here in town. We drove up on Wednesday just in time to be here for their first real winter storm of the year. It has snowed most of the day and all the schools in the area had snow days due to the bulk of the snow arriving mid-day and making it difficult for buses to get the kids home. Tony is loving the snow while I continue to be happy that we moved south and away from this mess! Tony was so excited he took a few pictures on his phone, I am including one of them.

I'll update next week with the weekly produce and how the showers go. Until then, stay warm everybody!

32 weeks...

I hope this finds everyone doing well and having had a great holiday!

I am now finishing up week 32 of the alien invasion. This week he is said to be 16.7 inches long and 3.75 pounds. Apparently this is about the weight of a jicama. Once again, I wasn't sure about this produce, but apparently it is a turnip shaped root vegetable. So, once again my baby is being compared to an UGLY vegetable! Yikes.

I went to the doctor this week, but nothing really to report. All is on track and looks good. He says I am still on track to have a 7.5 to 8 pound baby. I pray for no bigger! I see the doctor again in 2 weeks. Next week, we are headed back to Cincy for babyshowers so I'll give you an update on that next week.