2 Weeks Old!

Jack is now 2 weeks old and we've taken over 1,000 pictures already! Scott thinks the poor little guy has flash burn! ;-) We are absolutely head over heels in love with this little man and feel so amazingly blessed that he is a part of our lives. We often find ourselves staring at him with amazement asking ourselves if he is really ours. He is just so perfect and too sweet that he can't possibly be ours... ;-) He is definitely a special gift from God and has filled our hearts and our home with tons of LOVE!!!

Here are few pics of our handsome little guy!!

Jack's First Christmas

It was a busy but fun holiday week for us! Of course we started off our week with the best Christmas present ever - little Jack being born on December 17th ;-) Christmas Eve we went to my parents for the day and went to Grandma Elsie's for Christmas Eve dinner where we got to meet cousins Clarissa and Jacob for the first time. Christmas Day was spent with Great Grandma Jackelen at Glenhaven. We all had lunch and Great Grandma Jackelen also sang Jack his Happy Birthday Song (see attached for the clip...so special!). Later that evening, Grandpa and Grandma Miller stopped in and brought supper. Grandma & Grandpa Jackelen, Auntie Kayla, and Adam, Anna, and Liam also stopped by. We also got a surpise visit by Santa Claus! My Dad dressed up for the occassion ;-). We had all of Scott's family over on the 26th for family Christmas party and Jack got in some great snuggle time with his Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Our last party was held on January 3rd with my side of the family. Jack's first few weeks of being in our world has been nothing but "Party, Party, Party!" haha...he did pretty well, but it has been nice to have a few quiet days this week to just relax! ;-)

Introducing...Jack Daniel Miller

Our baby boy has finally arrived!! Little did we know that Jack was holding out for my birthday to make his debut! What an amazing birthday gift he was!! How special to be able to share our birthdays together for life! Scott is happy that he only has to remember one date! ;-) We love our sweet little boy to pieces and have been counting our blessings everyday.........because right now we have a MILLION of them!!!

Jack Daniel Miller
Born Friday, December 17th @ 10:32 p.m.
7 pounds 10 ounces, 20.5 inches

A Baby Story

It's 7:45 a.m. on Friday, December 17th and Scott and I are sitting in the waiting room waiting for our nurse to call us in. Finally we get checked in and I get hooked up on the monitor to see how my contractions are doing. They had dwindled off since the night before and in a 30 minute period, I only had one. Bummer...the gel wore off and I was going to have to get another dose.

When Dr. Hildebrandt came in, he started talking about what his plan was for me next week. He said he'd bring me in on Tuesday for an induction that would be more powerful than the gel. He said we'd try the gel again today and see what happens, but most likely it will dwindle off and he'd see me next Tuesday. I was so disappointed that he was going to make me wait another 4 days. He gave me the gel treatment and hooked me up to the monitors for an hour.

Contractions started immediately and were pretty intense. Dr. was going to send us home after our appointment, but then said we better stay around the Stillwater area because by that point, he changed his game plan and thought that he'd probably see us back that afternoon. When the doctor left the room I told Scott that I wasn't going to leave the hospital feeling like this. I could tell the contractions were much more fierce than they were the night before and there was no way I was going to be able to just hang out in Stillwater for the afternoon waiting for things to keep progressing. So, we decided to grab some lunch at the hospital's cafeteria. That didn't work out so well because my contractions were getting so close and hurt so bad that I couldn't even think about eating food.

As we left the cafeteria, I started getting another contraction in the hallway and had to sit down and do my breathing techniques to get through it. A nurse seen me in the hallway and asked if I needed a wheelchair...I told her I was having contractions and she said I better get up to the birthing center. So, she brought us a wheelchair and Scott wheeled me up there...this was about 11:00 a.m.

The nurses got me a room and had me change into a gown and one of the first things they asked me was what kind of pain medication I wanted. Jokingly, I told them I wanted an epidural. Little did I know that they would actually give it to me that soon! Sweet! About an hour later, the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. While he was doing the procedure on me, I had a contraction, and he told me that would be the last one I'd feel! I totally didn't believe him, but I laid back down and the nurse told me I was having a huge contraction....I couldn't believe it because I didn't feel a thing! WOW...this was like heaven!! Amazing!!

Soon afterwards Dr. Hildebrandt came and visited me. He told me he was planning on me having this baby today so he'd be born on my birthday...all the nurses agreed! So, that was our game plan the rest of the day...to keep things going so he's born before midnight! A few hours went by and my contractions started to slow down...the gel was wearing off again. Luckily, I was dilated to 3 at that time, so they could give me pitosin to get things rolling faster. It was a slow process, but during this time, I was so relaxed that I took a nap, watched TV, and even had my family in the room for a bit, all the while I was having hard contractions that I didn't even feel!

Things really started to kick into gear after 8:00 p.m. and each time they checked me they said they could feel the baby's head! At this point things were definitely looking good for Jack being born before midnight! By about 9:50 p.m., the nurse said I was dilated enough to start pushing. This was a really exciting moment!! Scott and I both looked at each other and said "are you ready for this?!?" Here we go! The first push we could already see baby's head, and by the third push he was already crowning. I had to stay in that position until the doctor came. The nurse told me that if I didn't have the epidural that staying in that position would have hurt really bad.

About 5 minutes later, Dr. Hildebrandt showed up and I pushed a few more times and out came his head...another push and there he was!! It was amazing...they put him on my chest and Scott cut the umbilical cord. Jack didn't even cry at all...he just had his eyes wide open and stared at me and Scott. It was an amazing moment I'll never forget it!

Congratulations to Jesse & Lacey Buhr!!!!

IT'S A GIRL!

Congrats to Jesse & Lacey Buhr on the new addition to their family!!

Clarissa Mae Buhr
Born December 15th @ 3:19 a.m.
8 lbs. 5 oz. 21 in.

Two down, one to go!! ;-) C'mon Jack...it's your turn now!! ;-)

41 Weeks, 3 days Appointment

Well, not much progress made today. Still haven't dilated. Doc gave me another dose of gel and monitored my contractions. We are scheduled to go in again tomorrow for more gel at 8:45 a.m. Doctor said usually by the third dose patients start seeing some action...so we are crossing our fingers!! We also scheduled two appointments for Friday to get two more doses of gel if we don't see any progress. But hopefully we won't need the two other appointments on Friday. Scott and I think the earliest things will start happening is probably Thursday night. We are both thinking that Jack is just holding off until my b-day on Friday! Which would be sooo awesome! I would love it if that happened...how special!!!

As of today, the doc said worst case scenario is if nothing happens Friday or over the weekend, he will admit me to the hospital on Tuesday for a more intense induction that requires me to be monitored. He said a c-section will be our last resort but he won't let me go any farther than 42.5 weeks (which would be next Wed the 22nd). UGH...seems so long away....hopefully I won't need to worry about any of that!

So far tonight I've been recording my contractions....They have been ranging from 20 minutes to 7 minutes apart. So we are all over the board! The last few I've had are starting to get a little more uncomfortable, but not really painful at all.

We are praying for some progress tomorrow ;-)

41 Week Appointment

Today I had my 41 week appointment. I haven't dilated yet, but am about 90% effaced. The doctor induced me with Gel and hooked me up to the monitors to watch my contractions and Jack's heartbeat. I had a few contractions, but they weren't painful at all and were not consistent. So, he sent us home and is having us come back tomorrow for another dose of Gel at 10:45 a.m. He may give me 2 doses of gel if time allows. We will probably do this the next two days until I begin to dilate. This is all we can do at this point to help things progress. Before he is able to break my water or give me patosin to help speed things up, my cervix needs to be dilated, and that is the part I'm missing. If I don't end up dilating at all with the gel, we will schedule a c-section for early next week!

So far tonight, I'm still feeling great - I've started having more consistent contractions that have been about 10-15 minutes apart, but they don't hurt at all....my stomach just gets really hard and tight for about a minute and then it goes away. This has to be the start of something!

My mom and I were talking and she said this is the same exact situation she was in with me 28 years ago!! My mom's due date with me was around December 5th and I was not born until December 17th, so I could be on the same exact schedule! Jack just might be waiting a few more days to give me one of the most amazing birthday presents ever!

I'll keep you posted on tomorrow's appointment!

Dr. Appointment Update - 40 Weeks 2 days

It's 2:20 a.m. on Wednesday morning and I can't sleep!! So, I figured I'd get on the computer and fill you all in on my appointment yesterday. It went well, except that I haven't really progressed any! Doc says I'm continuing to soften and thin, but no dilating. I thought he'd be able to strip my membranes today, but he couldn't even do that because I haven't dilated. Bummer!

If nothing happens between now and my next appointment, I will go in next Tuesday morning to be induced with prostaglandin gel. He said to come to the appointment with my bags packed! So, we should for sure have Jack in our arms by next week - I'm thinking December 15th will be his birth date....but who knows, he might end up being my birthday present on the 17th, or his Grandma Dellene's birthday present on the 18th! Hopefully we get to meet him next week at some point!

Oh...and here's a scary thought - Doc said yesterday that he now thinks Jack's about 8 pounds!! ahhh!! That scares the crap out of me. He said it was just a guess, and that it could just seem that way due to water fluctuation. My belly measured the same as last week - 38 centimeters, so who knows! I liked it better last week when he estimated 6 pounds!

Scott's last day of work is today (he doesn't go back until January 3rd), so it will be nice to have the next few days to ourselves as it won't be just the two of us for too much longer! I am also so happy that he'll be able to be home with Jack and I those first few weeks after he's born...that will be so wonderful.

I hope to share more exciting news soon! Stay tuned! ;-)

40 Weeks!

My Bump at 40 Weeks

How far along? 40 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained about 27 pounds

Maternity clothes? I've been off of work for two weeks now, so my attire has been PJ pants and long sleeved knits since I've just been sitting at home. Although, yesterday I broke out my skinny jeans and high heels when Scott took me out to eat and to a movie! I love dressing up!!

Sleep: Sleeping has been the most uncomfortable experience these past few weeks. It's so hard to turn from side to side with my big belly....it's hard work!! Not to mention having to get up to go to the bathroom a couple times a night too! It also doesn't help that Chloe wants to be right smack in the middle of me and Scott...so there's not a whole lot of room! haha!

Best moment: I've really enjoyed these past two weeks being off of work. I just needed this time to myself to get mentally prepared. The house is now clean, organized, ready for Christmas, and ready for Jack! I've also enjoyed this time off so I could finish reading my books on what to expect when Jack is born. My mind is now at ease and I don't feel as stressed as I did when I was working. These past two weeks were well needed and I feel so much more prepared!! Thank you God for giving me this time to myself!

Movement: Jack's moves have slowed down, but he still loves to dance when he has the energy!

Food cravings: None

Morning sickness: I've been lucky - none at all!!

Mood Changes: Just nerves and anxiety.

Aches & Pains: I've had weird cramps and pains down below, but it's all due to my body getting ready for Jack's departure. ;-)

Belly Button in or out? I'm pretty sure the turkey is done...my belly button totally sticks out!

Stretch Marks? I am happy to report - no stretch marks!!! Yay! Cocoa Butter had to have been the trick!

What I miss: I admit I will be missing my baby bump. I ordered the Belly Bandit which is supposed to help your hips and belly get back into shape quickly after birth. So I'm planning to use that, but it is kinda sad that I'll no longer have a bump. I know I will miss it!!

What I am looking forward to: There is so much to look forward to! I cannot wait till the day I get to see my baby boy for the first time and hold him in my arms. I will probably cry! He's our little gift from God. I can't wait for the many days ahead where I can sit and hold him all day long in the warmth while its so cold outside. We won't even have to leave the house! I will just stare at him all day long and will be so amazed that I grew him inside of me! It's going to be an amazing experience! I can't wait!!