Sleep... gotta love it.

I've mentioned that Ruby's sleep pattern has been off since she started getting sick. The last few nights have been very restless in our household, and I've been so hopeful every night that it gets a little better. Well, last night, it did. It's not great, but it's better. I put Ruby down in her crib about 8:15 and she didn't make a peep until 12:30. She just wanted her nuk. At 1:30, she realized her nuk was again not in her mouth, so she (in her own Ruby way) asked us to help her with that. At 3:30, Ruby decided she was ready to be awake and wanted conversation. Normally, we would be able to just let her stay in her crib and talk to herself for a while, but she was talking SO LOUD!!! There was no way we could sleep with her talking. I even pulled the covers over my head and through two closed doors, I could still hear her... I wonder what she wasy saying?! Finally, Ty got up to talk to her, and she shared with him that she wanted to eat... now! I got up around 4:00, fed her, then we both slept again from about 4:30 until 5:45. We're getting there. My hope is that tonight will be slightly better yet so that by the weekend she is back to sleeping through the night, so as to not keep her Gma and Gpa Kaproth up all night on Saturday when they spend the night with her! I snapped a pretty funny picture of Ruby last night... you'll have to wait to see what it is. I'll try to post it tonight.

Weekend in review

The theme of our weekend was "get well". After Tyler stayed home from work with Ruby on Friday, we were able to see that she was definitely on her way to feeling better. Coughing less and eating more. A lot more... Friday night was pretty restless in the Engquist household, as Ruby decided she wanted to eat before bed at 10, then again at 12:30, 3:30 and 5:30. Oh- and, she woke us up just to say hello at 1:30 and 4. Nice. Sadly, we had to cancel our plans to go to a family wedding in Willmar on Saturday. We thought it would be best if we kept our little one home to rest and get well for another day. A major bummer this was, as this would have been the perfect opportunity for Ruby to meet all of her Kavanagh relatives. Oh well, another time. Last night Ruby slept better, but still not back to her 7-hour night. Hopefully tonight... Today we made a quick trip up to Foley. Jeff, Jean and Wyatt were there, too so Rubes was able to hang out with her cuz for a short time. She also visited her great grandma Kaproth! Back to school tomorrow for Ruby, and hopefully her classmates will be back and healthy as well.

On the mend

What a difference a day can make (I think I said the same thing not long after Ruby was born). Thanks to the power of prayer, I am sure, Ruby is much healthier today than she was yesterday at this time. Her breathing has been completely normal all day, her personality is back and she is coughing less. It's good to have her back.

Ruby and her daddy had a nice time at home today. Tyler said that she talked to him for about a half an hour straight this afternoon. She's been very talkative this evening, as well. She's probably just happy to have her voice back!

Tonight I sat Ruby in her Bumbo chair looking out at the pond in our backyard, which our neighbors have made into a skating rink. There were about a dozen kids out there skating tonight, and Ruby was having a good time watching them.

Icky-sickies

Yesterday morning I received a phone call at work to come and get Ruby from school to take her to a doctor. The mother of one of the kids in her classroom is a nurse, and she saw Ruby yesterday morning when she was dropping off her baby, and mentioned that she thought it would be good for Ruby to get checked ASAP for RSV, due to the appearance of her breathing. We got an appointment to see a doctor right away, who told Tyler that Ruby had nothing more than an upper respiratory infection. So, he dropped her off at school again and went back to work. I picked Ruby up around 3:30. I fed her around 4:30, and after she was finished eating, her breathing appeared to be labored and her chest was caving as she inhaled- a telltale sign of RSV. I panicked and called the doctor's office again, and they said to go to the ER. After talking to a second nurse, she talked me through it a bit more after she realized that I was angry at the fact that 1. when I requested a pediatrician to see Ruby in the morning, a Family Doctor ended up examining her. 2. How can a doctor send us away telling us there's nothing to be concerned about, and just a few hours later, we're being told to go to the ER?! That would have been the THIRD trip to have her checked this week. The nurse was very patient and kind and said that if we would be comfortable just monitoring her breathing throughout the night, we could bring her in to our clinic in the morning. That's what we decided to do. Ruby was running a low-grade temp all night, but never went above 100.9. By morning, she seemed to be doing a bit better, so we cancelled our appointment for today and Tyler was able to clear his schedule for today and stayed home with Ruby as a precaution. What an icky feeling! We wish Rubes could just tell us what's wrong so we can fix it, rather than us- not knowing what the heck we're doing- trying to decide if we really need to go to the Emergency Room with the possibility that they send us home (again) saying there's nothing wrong. We'll see what the rest of the day and the weekend has in store. We are supposed to go to a wedding in Willmar tomorrow, but we may have to ix-nay that trip and instead give Ruby a couple more days to relax and get better.

Here's to hoping...

Yesterday when I picked up Ruby from school her teacher informed me that a child in the infant room had been diagnosed with pneumonia and RSV. Because Ruby is already sick, this concerned me, so I called the nurseline again, and they advised me to watch her breathing and the color of her nailbeds to be sure she's getting enough oxygen. So far, she seems to be okay. She is eating very well and is sleeping more - all good things.

I'm just hoping this doesn't get worse and that she gets better soon!

Here's a picture of Ruby from this morning before she headed off to school

And one of her last night

And a pic of Ruby from Friday

There are ups and there are downs.

First, the down (it's always best to end on a high note):

• Poor little Ruby is still sick. In fact, I'd say she's sicker than she was when we took her to the doctor on Sunday night. She's coughing and has a really runny nose and runny eyes. Her throat must be really sore, because she has sort of lost her crying voice. The odd thing is that she can still make noise when she talks, but her cries are virtually nonexistent. You may be thinking that this isn't such a bad thing (and prior to this week, I'd agree), but the problem is that if we can't hear her crying we don't know that she needs something. The noise comes out as a tiny little squeal. As a result, I haven't slept much the last couple of nights, as I am trying to be so cognisant of listening for my little baby. On top of that, every cough she makes during the night wakes me up completely, followed by me listening for her to breathe... not fun. Throughout the day we suck lots of icky stuff out of her nose, but it seems to be never ending. Her little nose is so dry and chapped now from all the wiping. Not a good situation.
• The laundry. Oh my. Another "downer". I'm not sure how- or why- she does it, but we go through at least two outfits a day due to diaper-related explosions. No joke. I'm thinking of buying some of those plastic pants that you put on cloth-diapered babies to try to catch the mess before it escapes onto her clothes. Tyler is such a sport about it and has taken a new love to Oxy Clean. That stuff is amazing.

The Highs:

• Amid her illness, Ruby is still a smiley little girl. While she's not quite herself, she is still so much fun to play with. I love that little gal.
• Ruby's talking has returned. She is once again making noises like a human being instead of her tongue-out-spitting deal that she displayed last week. We LOVE that she is "talking" again. It's so funny to watch her think that she is telling us fascinating stories. Even at 3:30 AM on Tuesday morning, she was going on and on to Tyler (he got up to suction out her nose) about who knows what. On top of being fun to watch and listen to, it's an added bonus that she's no longer causing so much drool and spit to soak her clothes.

We are so lucky that Ruby is an easy, happy baby. She gets a huge smile on her face and wiggles with excitement when it's time to play, but she also allows us to get things done while she has fun with her toys. Since she's been sick, I've noticed that she has wanted to cuddle a little more (I don't mind!), but she is also fine with watching us cook dinner, work on the computer, etc.

I will plan to post more photos soon. Sorry to go an entire week without! :-)

Weekend in review

For not having a lot planned this weekend, it turned out to be quite a busy one! I meant to mention in a previous post (Like a siv) that while Ruby's mouth is leaking, so is our living room ceiling. It started a week ago when we noticed little wet marks, which spread to big wet areas, which led to a drip and eventually holes in the ceiling. We had people over to look at it on Friday afternoon and it was determined that it was coming from the shower faucet upstairs. We now have three 2' x 2' holes cut into our living room ceiling. The source is repaired, but having to look at it is stressful, so Ty and I went out to an early dinner on Friday before picking up Ruby. When we got home we got some things done around the house and enjoyed playing with Rubes. On Saturday Ruby spent some quality time with her dad while I ran to St. Cloud to help my mom shop for furniture. By the time I got home, the two of them were visiting some friends a few miles from our house, so we spent the evening there. Ruby loved being passed around and adored by Maurer, Phillips and their "gals"! Sunday morning we went to church and then out to breakfast with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Susan. When we got home, I noticed that Ruby sounded a little congested and was coughing. I ended up calling the nurseline, and they recommended taking her to Urgent Care just to be sure it wasn't more than a simple cough. We forged the cold last night and headed to Blaine. Ruby appears to just have a cold; no temp, lungs are fine. Thank God! We are continuing to monitor her temperature to be sure that doesn't begin to spike. Tyler kept her home from school a little longer than usual this morning so she could rest, and I will pick her up a little earlier today. We feel so bad for our little peanut because she sounds so congested. She is a bit cranky but still pretty smiley, considering she obviously doesn't feel well. Poor lil thing.

Play dates and sleepytime

Yesterday Ruby was invited to her first play date. Her cousins Erin and Brita wanted some Ruby time, so after work I picked her up from school and brought her to Shoreview, which worked well, since I had to go back to work last night. As Ruby and I arrived at the DePhillips residence, we weren't even through the door yet when Erin (who will be 4 next month) ran to us and started pulling the blanket and cover off of Ruby's car seat in anticipation of the fun they were going to have. Brita (3 next month) was also squealing with excitement. It's fun to watch those girls get so excited to see Ruby, and once Ruby woke up from her cat nap, it was clear that she was excited to see her cousins, as well. Erin and Brita definitely wore out our little girl! Tyler picked Ruby up on his way home from work, and she was sleeping when they got home. We woke her up to put on her jammies, then she fell back asleep. Then we woke her up to feed her, and she halfway slept through her entire feeding. We put her in her crib at her normal bedtime and I had to wake her up at 5:30 to feed her. Then I brought her into our bedroom to wake up her daddy, but she was more interested in just cuddling with him and going back to sleep... so she did! She must've been pretty tuckered from her big play date! Shout outs and congrats the Schmidts on the birth of their little boy, Rian Joseph. Prayers, hugs and well wishes to Ruby's cousin Wyatt to get well soon. Poor little man is suffering from a bad cold, cough and ickiness.

Like a siv

Oh my word. Ruby has a serious drooling issue. I picked her up from school today and (as usual) she was in her second outfit of the day due to a diaper blow-out. This was a problem for the following reason: the outfit that she was now wearing was completely drenched down the front of it from all of her drool. On top of the drooling, she now spits when she "talks" (as mentioned in my previous post from today), so add that to the already copious amount of drool, and we're dealing with quite a flood. Her teacher even went so far as to suggest that we may possibly be in the beginning stages of (insert big sigh here) teething!

Other catchy pics of the Rubester:

Another new trick

Ruby speaks a second language! Weeks ago, she was doing nonstop "baby babble" and seemed to think she was having a conversation with us. That has sort of stopped now, but she has picked up a new way of communicating... she now sticks her tongue out and blows bubbles. She does this with so much conviction- sometimes so much that her forehead wrinkles up and her eyes squint- that she MUST think she's telling fascinating stories. Along the same lines, but different... Last night Ruby was getting cranky before bedtime, but she was either too tired or too lazy to actually cry, so she was making a half-hearted attempt at a repeated "squeal". She was sitting up on Tyler's lap at this time, and the two of us just kept watching her, taking humor in this ridiculous sound she was making. All of the sudden, she made the squeal, but this time with so much force and passion behind it that her head kind of whipped forward. Tyler and I busted out laughing, thereby causing Ruby to think this must've been super funny, so then she started laughing, too. What a great, funny moment!

Still a Vikings fan...

We were so excited last night for the Vikings to earn their ticket to the Superbowl, but as we all know... things just didn't go as planned. Still, we had a nice time watching the game at our house with Paul and Nicole. Ruby donned her Vikings Finest, and cheered her little heart out.

I don't have to work today (bomb threat), so I plan to work on Ruby's baby book and the invitations for her baptism. It was nice to spend a little extra time with her this morning before daddy took her to school (it will likely be a short day for Tyler, as he has fallen into a deep depression and is mourning the Vikings loss).

BIG news alert!!!!!

Yesterday morning we took Ruby for her 3- month portraits. The photographers were running an hour behind, and Tyler and I had meticulously planned the timing so that Ruby would be on her best behavior at 11:15 when our appointment was supposed to begin. Well, as we sat in the waiting area we got more and more nervous that as soon as we finally got into the studio, Ruby would flip out. We couldn't have been more wrong. She was such a good girl the entire time! The photographer captured many smiles from our little nugget. Here is a link so you can view the photos online:

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=

Customer name: jill engquist

Password: LTPP0806138719JCP

And now, for the biggest news of the day... Ruby rolled over! How thoughtful of her to do it for the first time while both mom and dad were watching AND while a camera was handy. In the middle of her photo shoot, she decided to roll not just one, but both ways, belly to back. So exciting.

Last night we had some friends over, and Ruby enjoyed spending time with a couple boys that she'll likely cause trouble with at upcoming State Farm trips.

Today we plan to attend Baby Alivia's baptism in Vadnais Heights as long as the roads are okay, and tonight Nicole and Paul are coming over to watch the Vikings game.

Here are just a couple photos from yesterday:

It's PJ Day!

Clearly, Ruby was very excited that today is PJ Day at school...

Pouty Lip Girl

Ruby has had this cute little pout since the day she was born. It usually makes an appearance when she falls asleep as she's eating, and last night we were able to catch a photo of it: front and side profile.

Ruby in all her cuteness

"Hmmm, what is this that they've got me doing now?!"

"Yes, I am aware of the drool on my lip. Now leave me alone"

"MMMM... tasty!"

Buddha, Buddha, Buddha

Sometimes after Ruby gets done eating, her belly protrudes out and she looks like a Buddha! This photo doesn't even do that thing justice. It's so funny!

Love from mommy and daddy

"Daddy, stop eatin my cheeks!"

We're in the clear... I hope!

Tyler and I have been worried that little Ruby was going to get sick with whatever it was that we both had going on earlier this week. In fact, I think she may have, but it's difficult to really know, since she can't yet tell us. She just wasn't herself for a few days. Our babe is a smiley, happy girl who really only cries when she's hungry or needs a diaper. Over the weekend and early this week she'd cry for no apparent reason- something we just aren't used to. I was really beginning to worry when her sleep schedule was off: Monday night she didn't fall asleep until almost 11:30, and was up at 4:15! Tuesday night she slept from 10:30 to 4:30. Finally, yesterday she was back to her chipper self- showing us lots of smiles and talking. She was asleep by 9:30 and I had to wake her up at 5:20- Back to normal! I've learned over the past few days how difficult it is to not know if your baby's okay. Several times I wondered if I should take her to the doctor, and I must have checked her temperature at least thirty times! I guess it's all part of parenting... the worries never end. On that note... sending prayers to Baby Alivia to feel better soon!

Time well spent

Last night we took a quick road trip up to Foley to watch a basketball game between the Foley Falcons and the Melrose Dutchmen. Ruby enjoyed cuddles from grandpa and grandma Kaproth while we were there.

I am home sick today with flu-like symptoms. Please say a quick prayer that Ruby doesn't get sick with this after both her mommy and daddy have had it over the past few days.

The up side is that I got to spend extra time with Rubes this morning before she left for school. We had some quality tummy time. It's been a while since we've done this, and I was amazed at how good she is at it!

Speaking of amazing... Tyler picked Ruby up from school yesterday and the teacher told Tyler that she is very close to rolling over. They lay her next to a mirror that Ruby likes to look at. She rolls onto her side, but can't quite get her rump to do the full roll. They are predicting that this will happen very soon. I can't believe she's big/old enough to do these things already! It seems like she was just born yesterday.

We have Ruby's 3-month photos scheduled for Saturday. THREE MONTHS! Sweet thang is growing so fast.

Weekend in review

Ruby has enjoyed her weekend so far... Friday night we spent quality time at home- the three of us just chillin.

Yesterday we finally bought a new vehicle, and I'm so glad the search is over. We found a Chevy Equinox. The salesman let me drive it home so I could show Tyler (and Ruby), which gave us the perfect opportunity to put Ruby in her snowsuit. She'd never worn it before, and will never wear it again, since it is already too small. To the storage box it went right when we got inside... but she did look cute in it!

Clearly, it was quite windy when this photo was taken...

Ty and I had plans to attend a party last night, but Tyler got sick, so he decided not to go. I was still planning to, but Ruby had a bad case of the crankies, so I stayed home, too. Actually, Ruby has a touch of a cold going on. Without going into too much detail, the nasal aspirator has been our BFF this weekend. Poor little thing. She seems to feel better today, but is very sleepy and wants to be cuddled. My mom and dad came down last night for a few hours, so Ruby got lots of love from them.

Today has been spent cooking soup, cuddling and watching the Vikings spank the Cowboys. Ruby has enjoyed watching the game in between her naps.

Below are some other random photos we captured this weekend.

We don't have much else to report today. Have a good week everyone!

Skol Vikings!

Ruby is getting psyched up for today's Vikings game against the Cowboys.

Go Vikes!

Busy, busy baby

Ruby has been SO busy lately. Her social schedule is jam packed...

First, I must mention that we bought Ruby's next car seat last weekend (I can't believe I forgot to share this!) We are very excited about the Cowmooflauge!

It won't be long before she's rollin in her new seat. Ruby has gotten so big so fast... even some of the girls who see her fairly often at Kidstuff said this week that she has grown up so much and that "suddenly she's not a peanut anymore!"

Ruby had a fantastic week at school. She is so easygoing and adjusts so well to change- her sleep routine hasn't changed much since before Christmas, which is a blessing. She sleeps 9:30-5. The only difference is that the mornings after those days that she doesn't nap as long, she doesn't wake up at her normal time and I actually have to wake her up. Her eating pattern is the same as it has been since birth- she eats every three hours. Some days at school she gets so wrapped up in the stimulation (her teachers shared that she enjoys watching the other babies, looking in the mirror and grabbing for objects) that she doesn't need to eat for longer periods. Still, so that we can stay on a routine at home, she sometimes will eat twice within a couple of hours and has no problems with it.

Ruby got to see her grandma Therese on Tuesday while I was getting my hair done, and tomorrow she will see her grandma and grandpa Kaproth, as they are coming to take care of her while we attend a party.

Today, as Ty and I look back on the past 12 weeks, we are astounded by everything that has happened, and more importantly how much joy Ruby has brought us. We are so lucky to have a healthy, sweet little girl.

My, how time flies!

Now we get it. When you have a baby, people are constantly telling you, "they grow up so fast" and "before you know it they'll be...". It's true. Our little Ruby is no longer a newborn.

Last night when we got home from visiting the Simon Family, Tyler and I were talking about how tiny Charlie is. Tyler made the comment, "I don't think Ruby was ever that small, was she?" Yes, infact, she was 7 pounds, 5 ounces the day we brought her home from the hospital. It seems as though that day never even existed! It seems surreal to think that it was less than three months ago that our now 12- pound babe was as tiny as that sweet baby we held yesterday!

She may not be tiny anymore, but she IS still sweet. We had a wonderful weekend with Ruby as she was as smiley and chatty as ever. Both Saturday and Sunday night we had SO much fun having "conversations" with her. She makes us laugh dozens of times throughout the day.

Ruby (11 wks), Charlie (9 days) and Alivia (12 wks)

Ruby and me, Charlie and Emily, Alivia and Amanda

How things have changed! Now, when the guys have a beer, it's while adoring their babies!

Sharon and Charlie, Tyler, Ruby, Strommer, Alivia and Brian

A quick "Hello!" from Ruby

Ruby is quite talkative tonight. At one point this evening she was talking so loud that Tyler could hear her in the office when he was in the kitchen with water running. So funny. It appears as though she's got a bit of stage fright, because once I turned the camera on she got a little less talkative, but she still just wanted to say hello...

We made it through week one...

We managed to make it through Ruby's first week of school! I was especially excited to pick her up today, knowing that I would get to spend some time with her this weekend, but I think she's afraid that she has to go back there tomorrow. She cried when her teacher handed her to me this afternoon. I tried to tell myself that they were tears of joy, but I did have a bit of mommy guilt for leaving the little darling in someone else's care for 11 hours.

Ruby's teachers gave her this "Welcome" certificate for her first week of school

After her first week, little Ruby is quite tuckered out! I'm anxious to see how long she sleeps tonight since we won't need to wake her up in the morning. The last two days I woke her up at 5:30 and she was a little ticked off at me for doing that!

Tonight we are just getting a few things done around the house while Ruby catching some zzz's. Tomorrow Grandpa Bob and Grandma Susan are coming over to babysit so Ty and I can go to a memorial service for our pastor's wife. We then will continue the daunting task of shopping for an SUV (so we can fit all of the stuff that goes with us whenever we take the baby out and about). On Sunday we have plans to travel to Albany to visit Charlie Simon, born to our friends Brian and Emily last week. We'll be going with the Strommer family and our friend Sharon, so it should be a fun day.

Have a safe and warm weekend, all!

Doesn't she look smarter ALREADY?!

What's more, check out that barrette that doesn't fall out of her hair!

Ruby's first day/week of school

So, I started writing this blog on Monday and have clicked "save" four times since then, as I haven't had an opportunity to finish it. If I've discovered anything this week, it's that there are simply not enough hours in the day to complete everything I'd like to. I'm also trying to find time to work on Ruby's baby book, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather spend my evenings playing with Ruby than writing about her!

Ruby's first few days of school have gone well. Tyler has been dropping her at off 6:00 in time to get to the gym before heading off to work, and I pick her up around 5:00 after I hit the gym on my way home from work. We then go home and start dinner and Ruby eats, so by the time Ty gets home dinner is almost ready so we can eat and clean up by about 7:30. That gives us just two little hours to get in some good Ruby time. Needless to say, I will be looking forward to the weekends so I can enjoy a little more time with the little gem.

We were a bit disappointed on Monday when we saw that her report card indicated that she had slept for four hours straight in the afternoon! We've been working so hard to stick to a schedule of 3-hours between feedings and not allowing her to sleep for too long at a time, in hopes that she'll continue to sleep through the night (which, by the way, she has been doing for a few weeks now- typically 9:30 to 5). Tyler talked to the teacher about this the next morning, and it seems that they are making more of an effort to keep her awake and engaged throughout the day. Now, she's so tired at night that we have had to wake her up for her last feeding before bed!

Something unbelievable: we have been bringing a backup outfit for Ruby wherever we go for that "just-in-case" situation. Well, Ruby has now been at school for three days; two of those days, she came home in her backup outfit. Darn girl! How can someone so cute and tiny create such a mess?!

Yesterday when I picked Ruby up at school the Assistant Director (Val) was sitting by the front door, so we started chatting. She said that yesterday, Ruby was laying on the activity mat on the floor, and there were two babies next to her. They both started crying, and Ruby looked and them as if to say, "geez, what's wrong with you?!" Ha. Also, on Tuesday Ruby got a tour of the entire school, and Val took her in to each room to meet the teachers. According to Val, "everyone was just swooning over her and loved all her smiles!" That's our girl! What a charmer.

A couple photos of Ruby's first day for your viewing pleasure:

Finally, a couple photos of Ruby cheering on the Vikings to a win on Sunday:

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Found: One pair of feet

Big news! Ruby discovered her feet last night! She was chillaxin in her bouncy chair, makin her cooing sounds and... staring at her cute little feet! She would kick and her eyes would follow her toes' every move. This morning I caught her talking to them. Next up: potty training! :-)

Tummy Time Champion

I hate to brag, but... I will anyway. Ruby is getting SO good at tummy time! Yesterday she held her head up for four whole minutes before she got fussy. What an athlete!

This morning Ruby got her first should ride from her daddy. It doesn't look like it here, but she was actually smiling and enjoying it.

A general update (non-festivities related)

With all of the hoopla of the holidays behind us, I thought it would be good to provide our followers with some general "Ruby news":

• Ruby has been "talking" like crazy! It's hysterical. Sometimes it seems like she's actually carrying on a back-and-forth conversation with us in her own baby language. Below is a weak attempt at catching it on camera.
• Ruby sounds like a basset hound. Occasionally when Ruby wants something but probably she isn't even quite sure what that is, she'll give a poor attempt at a whine, which ends up sounding like a basset hound. In turn, we tend to make the noise back at her. Is that wrong?
• Ruby has been wearing some 3-6 month clothes! She received two outfits for Christmas that fit already. It's crazy how different the sizes are between brands. 3-6 month clothes in the Carter's brand fit, while 3-6 month Baby Gap is still huge.
• Monday brings a new challenge for us: Ruby starts school. We'll see how it goes trying to determine a new routine. Tyler will be getting the little one ready in the morning and doing drop-off (which will be interesting in about a month, as I suspect Rubes will have hair long enough for a ponytail on top of her head), while I will do pick up. I hope to be organized enough so that after work I can stop at the gym before picking her up, then running home and starting dinner and STILL (and most importantly) finding time to play. Seems like a huge task, and I'm praying we can make a smooth transition.

I think that's all for now. One of my goals is to figure out how to get the video from our Handycam onto the computer, as I have lots of footage of Ruby for your viewing pleasure. Until then, the grainy not-so-good footage below will have to suffice.

More Christmas partying

Little Ruby continued the Christmas celebrations with the Engquists and had a fabulous time being adored and loved on by her cousins Erin and Brita. Between their "big girl" play, they would stop to admire the softness of Ruby's hair, the smooth skin on her hands and her small ears (a trait inherited from her dad). Both of the big girls even held Ruby a few times- and Rubes seemed to enjoy every minute of it!

Cousin Erin (almost 4) holding Ruby

Cousin Brita (almost 3) holding Ruby

Great Grandma Dee Engquist and Daddy with Ruby

Fancy Lady

Ruby had a very special outfit to wear for Christmas this year. Sort of "Sex and the City" meets 1930's flapper baby.

Merry Christmas!

And along came snow.

It appeared as though a winter storm was going to jeopardize our travel plans for Ruby's first Christmas, but so far, the travel Gods have been with us. We made it to church yesterday so we could see our nieces sing their little angelic hearts out for the children's service (they did a great job) before departing for Foley to celebrate with my extended family and friends (and their families). Ruby enjoyed being passed from person to person and especially liked the cuddles from her great-grandma Kaproth. She gave lots of smiles and had fun seeing her cousin Wyatt.

We came home this afternoon and are spending the night at home- just the three of us.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the day celebrating Jesus's birthday with Ruby's grandma Therese, Tom, Amanda, Erin and Brita. Sunday we will go to Grandpa and Grandma Engquist to party some more.

Merry Christmas to all (and to all a good night)!

T minus one day til the Baby Fashionista prevails

A sneak peek of Ruby's party outfit for Jesus's birthday

Baby Girl is TWO MONTHS OLD TODAY!

It's hard to believe it's been two months already since she entered our world. Most days it seems like just yesterday, while other days it feels like she's been a permanent fixture in our life for a long long time. We're still figuring out "life with kids", and so far, it's been a trip! This morning Ruby had her 2-month well baby check and vaccinations. I'm pretty sure it was more painful for me to watch than it was for her to receive, but we made it through. Actually, Ruby was a champ. She had one oral vaccination and three needles in her leg. She just got a little fussy for about one minute, then was her happy self again.

The nurse said she's never had a baby take the oral vaccine so well. It's a sticky salty-sweet substance, and Ruby sucked on the injector. I think she was channeling a salted nut roll.

More importantly, we have growth reports to share:

• Height: 23" (75th %)
• Weight: 11 lb, 7 oz (68th %)
• Head circumference: 15.4" (62nd %)

Dr. Wineinger said that she is "perfectly healthy". Great news!

After her doctor appointment we went to Ruby's school to drop off her registration materials and to meet the people who work there. Danielle will be her teacher, and Dawn and Lindsey are the assistants in the infant room. It was good to be able to talk to Deanna a bit and to discuss routines prior to Ruby's first day. We did make note of the several children who were running around with snotty noses. Ironic after the doctor had reminded us minutes earlier to have people wash their hands before touching Ruby! I guess it's par for the course... it won't be long now before Rubes has a chronic crusty, runny nose. Can't wait for that.

Tyler went to work today, so Ruby and I are spending some quality time together before the peak of the Christmas chaos starts tomorrow. We will be attending church at Faith to watch little Erin and Brita sing, then we're heading up to Foley tomorrow night. Christmas day is at Therese's and Sunday at Bob and Susan's. I am hoping for the predicted winter storm to shank and miss us completely, but that's not bound to happen, so... safe travels to all and Merry Christmas!

Buckle up...

...cuteness is coming! T minus two days until Miss Ruby dons her finest Christmas attire. Are you ready??!?!?

Dinner time!

I told Tyler that I was going to blog about this and he retorted that no one would be interested in knowing about this topic. What I have to say to you is this: if you don't want to know useless facts about my little angel, GET OFF MY BLOG! :-) ha So here it is... the useless piece of information/ bragging. Tonight Tyler and I were eating dinner and as always, Ruby was in her bouncy chair next to us at the table. She was looking around, "talking", and randomly smiling. We would occasionally ask her a question or give her a little tease or something to make her smile and do her little giggle/ arm flail. Stuff to make us laugh. That's when I realized how good our little Ruby is while her mommy and daddy are eating. It is rare that she fusses enough to keep us from enjoying our dinner which is nice, since that's really the time that we tell each other about our day. What a good little girl! Also- she is still sleeping through the night! Praying that it continues... Now... aren't you glad you read this?! :-)

Good news all around

Ruby was such a good girl at our first family Christmas celebration! She was passed from person to person without issue and even sat in her car seat for awhile as the adults played games. The room got mighty loud a few times, and she wasn't even phased. What a good little girl.

More good news- she slept through the night again. Well, as best she could. We got home late so we missed her normal bed time, but even so, Ruby slept for 7 straight hours before waking up just to eat and have a diaper, then slept for three more hours! Yay, Ruby (and... THANK YOU!!!)

Dare I say... she slept throught the night?!

Twas the night before our first Christmas celebration and all through the house, not a creature was stirring. NOT EVEN RUBY!!! Last night, Ruby went to sleep in her crib at 10:30 PM and did not wake up until 5:30! Even then, all she needed was a little breakfast and a clean diaper. She went back to sleep at 6:15 and slept until 9:00. What a champ! I hope we're able to make this a pattern. Perhaps it was all of the excitement of the basketball game she went to last night. Even though she didn't get to see her little friends (where were you guys?!), she had a good time watching the game. We are just getting ready to go to the gym and then we're off to our first Christmas celebration with Tyler's family. I promise you, our loyals followers who want to see photos, that I will post some tonight or tomorrow.

A simple update on Rubes

I can't believe I've already been back at work for five days! The first week home with daddy went well for Ruby. She slept a lot, sat in her Bumbo seat, learned about football, college savings accounts and life insurance and did some laundry. A couple "highlights" from the week:

• On Tuesday Tyler had to go into the office for a short while, so Grandpa Bob came over to spend some time with Ruby. Sounds like she was a good girl!
• On Wednesday my cousin Katie came over to meet Ruby for the first time. Katie will be the one to teach Ruby to appreciate the goodness of Foley Fun Days and the MN State Fair
• I almost had a nervous breakdown: I went in to pick up registration information for Ruby's school so she can start on the 4th. The director of the center gave me a new rate sheet for 2010, and told me that the cost of daycare went up $25 a WEEK! I almost passed out. Then I got angry. Because I had paid a deposit already, I felt she owed me a notification of a rate increase. After some crisp discussion, she agreed to keep our 2010 rate at the old price. Thank God, because otherwise Ruby would have been attending the daycare that smells like poo (see post from 4/13/09)
• Today Ruby gets to go shopping with her daddy for a boy gift that he needs to give tomorrow (nothing like waiting til the last minute, eh?)
• Tonight we plan to go to the St. Francis basketball game. Hopefully Ruby will have a chance to meet her friends Scarlett and Anders Hauge, as well as see her friends Ella Waterworth and Drew Julson!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Yet another new trick!

She is simply amazing. Check out what Ruby did today while she was home with her daddy!

Weekend in review

Rubes had a pretty low-key weekend, but didn't hesitate to amaze her parents.

Friday night we went to the Y, so she spent some time with the ladies in Kid Stuff. They really like Ruby there, and often argue over who gets to hold her. It's nice that now when we go in there, they recognize her by name.

On Saturday, Ruby and I hung out together while daddy held his business meeting. We wrapped some presents, organized photos and smiled at each other. Ruby also got a manicure (okay, fine- I clipped her fingernails).

Today Tyler and I went to the Vikings game, so Ruby stayed home with her grandma Therese, but don't think Rubes wasn't cheering for the Vikes!

I go back to work tomorrow, so Ruby and her dad will be home together for the next eight workdays until I go on Christmas break. I'm looking forward to getting back to work, but am nervous about trying to figure out my new morning routine which will include a feeding before I head out the door. In time, I'm sure it'll get easier, but I'm dreading having to get up so early when the little gem is still waking up once a night!

Big-eyed beauty

When people first see Ruby, their first comment is typically, "look at all that hair!, followed by (in the rare instance that she isn't sleeping) "wow, she's got big eyes."

Ruby's eyes make me smile.

Last night when we were attempting (operative word) to get her asleep in her crib, I rocked her until she was snoring before slowly and gently placing her into her crib. By the time she was down and on her back, I looked down and all I saw were her huge eyes staring up at me.

And then I melted.

Later on last night, after Ruby worked her magic to get out of her crib, Tyler was laying on the bed in our room with the lights off and had Rubes sitting up on his stomach, wide awake. I walked in and the first thing I saw were these big, beautiful eyes looking around the room. My frustration for her lack of interest in sleeping escaped me, and I just had to laugh.

This girl knows how to use those eyes!

Sweet lil thing

"What the heck is this white stuff?!"

On the first official snowfall of the year, I decided to sit Ruby in front of the window so she could watch the snow fall. Here is what followed:

1. Set Ruby in her bouncy chair in front of window so she can watch the snow.

2. Ruby screams.

3. Pick Ruby up and check her diaper, thinking there MUST be something in there to warrant that scream. Nothing.

4. Ruby smiles at me on the couch.

5. Walk over to window with Ruby so she can watch the snow.

6. Ruby screams.

7. Walk to the couch and attempt to feed her, thinking possibly she might be hungry. Not interested.

8. Ruby smiles at me on the couch.

9. Walk over to window and set Ruby in her bouncy seat so she can watch the snow.

10. Ruby screams. Game over. Ruby hates snow.

Ruby giggles

This morning Ruby was in her bouncy seat and I noticed that she was really focusing on the toy that was hanging above it, so I decided to attach another hanging toy that you can pull and then it vibrates as it shortens. I pulled it, and Ruby giggled! It's fun to see her focus so well on people and objects. She seems to like being a part of kitchen activity, too. I always put her in her bouncy seat as I'm preparing dinner, and she loves to watch me dart back and forth between stove, refrigerator, cupboards, etc.

Tyler thinks Ruby looks like the little green toy in this picture.

Weekend in review

What a fun, busy weekend for little Ruby! A weekend of many firsts... 1. Friday night, Ruby attended her first live sporting event since she's been born. She was at many football and baseball games prior to her birth, but her first post-birth sporting experience came in the form of girls basketball when we drove to Milaca to watch our friend Chris coach the Melrose Dutchmen as they beat the Milaca Wolves. Ruby did so well during the game even when the buzzer went off! 2. Saturday morning Ruby was cared for by a stranger for the first time when mommy and daddy dropped her off at Kidstuff at the Y while we worked out. She was a total ham and was a hit by the gals who were working. 3. Saturday afternoon Ruby attended her very first birthday party for her friend/ second cousin, Maggie. Maggie turned two, and Ruby was SO exhausted watching Maggie running around having fun that she slept through the entire party. But, she was passed around from person to person and got lots of love from partygoers. 4. Saturday night mommy and daddy went out to dinner with some friends, so grandpa Bob and grandma Susan babysat for the first time. From what we hear, she was a good girl while we were gone! Today Rubes woke up and was all smiles as she and I hung out in the living room reading books with Christmas music playing. This afternoon, she spent quality time with her dad on the couch watching football before heading back to Kidstuff at the Y for a couple of hours. Right now she's cheering on the Vikes (it is a strong possibility that her first word might be "touchdown" or "skol"). This will be my last week of maternity leave, and while it will undoubtedly be difficult to be away from my babe all day, I am looking forward to getting back to work. It is SO exhausting caring for an infant all day! It will be a slow transition as Ty will be home with her while I go to work until the new year. On a final note, I must report that Ruby is going through a major growth spurt right now, and it's no wonder, as she's eating like a madwoman! In fact, one day this week Tyler came home from work and stated that she looked different than she did the day before! We can see her growing right before our eyes, so we are trying absorb each moment of her early life before it passes us by.

Ruby's Room

I promise this will be my last post today (I'm trying to make the most of Ruby's nap time)...

It occured to me recently that I never posted photos of Ruby's room since it's been finished. Well, sort of finished. I still need to hang a curtain (I have a vision of what I want, now I just need to find the materials) and a couple more photos on the walls.

The best recliner EVER! I have spent many hours in this puppy already!

The family tree: There is a baby photo of each of our immediate family members on this tree

"From Small Beginnings Come Great Things"

Ladies who Lunch

Ruby and I had an outing yesterday with some of our favorite ladies. My friends Amanda and Sharon, and Ruby's friend Alivia (Amanda's daughter) went to the downtown Macy's Auditorium 2009 Santaland exhibit. This year's story was "A Day in the Life of and Elf", and it was very cute! Ruby slept through the entire thing, but I'm sure she enjoyed the sounds of the elves working.

Last night we had our State Farm holiday party, so Ruby got to spend some time with Adam and Steph, which I think she really enjoyed. It is clear that Adam and Ruby dig each other.

I was a little worried that Rubes wouldn't sleep last night since she slept a lot in the car going from place to place, as well as sleeping through our outing. But, she fell asleep at about 11:30 and only woke at 2:15 and 5:15. Not bad!

Ruby and Alivia

Mommy , Ruby and Mrs. Claus

Mommy, Ruby, Amanda and Alivia

Ruby enjoying the Christmas trees

Amanda, Alivia and Sharon

She is her father's daughter

I found this photo on my camera from a few days ago. A football on one side, and the Good Neighbear on the other. Sweet dreams for Ruby! On this morning (Ty, I forgot to tell you this) during tummy time, I put toys out in front of Ruby so she had something to look at and reach for. The football was one of them and no kidding, she actually reached for it. That's our girl!

Smiley

Unfortunately, my prediction was correct, and Miss Ruby has caught a touch of a cold. Her breathing sounds a bit stuffed up, and we've been making good use of the nasal aspirator this morning. Nevertheless, Ruby is still all smiles today! She's also had some good bouts of giggling and cute squeals. Here are a few pics of her big smiles.

Hey, a girl's gotta wonder...

"Does this diaper make my butt look big?"

Weekend in review

Ruby had a nice long weekend! After all, what's better than taking naps all day long?!

On Friday I went on my annual day-after-Thanksgiving shopping trip with my mom and sister-in-law in St. Cloud so Ruby stayed at home with daddy. Then on Saturday I went to my annual girls weekend with the gals in Tyler's family (this year it was just a girls day; we didn't spend the night), so Ruby and daddy got to hang out again, although they did have an outing to Sears to purchase a snowblower!

Sunday we had family day. Tyler and I are both feeling a bit under the weather with sore throats, stuffiness and runny noses. We're praying that Ruby doesn't catch it, but I'm thinking that it's probably inevitable. We did run out yesterday to enroll at the YMCA that is just a mile or so from our house. We're excited about that, since we cancelled our gym membership when we moved to Andover. The Y is only a couple of years old, so it's got lots of nice equipment and great classes for us, as well as a couple swimming pools. Ruby and I will be taking parent/child swimming lessons this spring! They also have a Kidstuff so Ruby will be able to go play while mom and dad are working out.

Below is a photo of Ruby today... just because!

We are thankful.

Today was Ruby's very first Thanksgiving, and I have to say, we have SO much to be thankful for this year! Ruby has brought so much joy to my life. God has truly blessed us with a healthy, happy miracle.

In addition, Tyler and I are thankful for our own health as well as the health of our family, the roof over our heads, the jobs we love and the friends we have.

God has been good to us, and we extend warm Thanksgiving wishes to all of our followers!

Happy one month birthday, little one!

I didn't have a chance to post yesterday, but November 23 was Ruby's one month birthday! It's amazing everything that has happened over the past month:

• Seeing Ruby for the first time is something I will never forget. The 6-pound baby I was expecting to arrive was placed on my chest at a whopping 8 pounds, 1 ounce! I thought there was no way this could be my baby- she was far too big!
• Enjoying the first couple of days in the hospital with our little girl was a lot of fun. We couldn't get enough of her- all we did was stare at her.
• The whirlwind 24-hour period of getting news that she may have some unexpected health complications: having her moved into the NICU; making the trip home without our little girl in the backseat; the sleepless night; waiting for x-ray results; praying for poop then seeing the most beautiful poop ever; being a bystander in the NICU and seeing how lucky we truly are compared to some other families
• Taking our little pumpkin home- it was a great ride!
• Watching Ruby's funny faces: her pursed lips, scrunched up scowl, pouty lip
• Being so amazed and proud of her ability to hold her head up so well so early- we tummy time!
• Seeing how happy our little baby makes others when they stop by to meet her- thank you to all of our visitors!
• Sleepless nights but very restful days (for Ruby, anyway)- having her days and nights flipped around was a challenge, but something we were able to overcome after a alot of hard work.
• Finding out that Ruby needed to gain weight, then hearing that she gained like a champ and is continuing to grow so well. She's a tall little girl, and we still wonder where that comes from?!
• Listening to Ruby talk to herself in her sleep. I wonder what she's dreaming?!
• My favorite: Ruby's smiles. She begins with the cutest little half-mouth grin that quickly turns into a full wide-mouth giant smile when you make eye contact with her and prompt her to smile. So funny.

It's been a crazy, fun, wild, exhausting, happy month for the Engquist family. We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy child and we are looking forward to the holidays with our little gift from God!

Additional professional photos of Ruby

She is four weeks old today!

Happy 4-week birthday, baby girl!

This girl is a-growin!

We had a nurse come to our house today from the Healthy Start Program through the Anoka-Hennepin School District to check on Ruby. It appears that she is still doing well, and has gained good weight since her doctor appointment last week. She is now a whopping 9 pounds, 3 ounces! It's amazing to see how much she changes each day, both physically and developmentally. She looks nothing like she did when she was born, and looks more and more like her daddy each day.

The most exciting news I have to share is that little Ruby now reciprocates smiles! It is so fun when we make eye contact and Ruby will actually smile back at me when she sees my smile. I love that little toothless grin.

Below are a few photos from her first photo session on November 2nd (the day she peed in my hand).

Weekend in review

This was a fairly laid-back weekend for Ruby- probably the most relaxed one of her life so far! Friday night we just hung out at home until my mom got here. I had to work all day Saturday, so she stayed the weekend with us to help out with baby girl. It was bittersweet to be gone for nine consecutive hours yesterday; I love spending time and Ruby and feel like I could just stare at her all day long, but at the same time, it is quite exhausting to care for her 24/7 for 21 days! It was good to get away and talk to adults for a while. The only time I really missed her was when I showed some photos to my peers- then, I couldn't wait to get back to my little peanut!

Saturday night we planned to go to a birthday party, but decided not to at the last minute since Ty and I were both so tire. We are really working on getting Ruby's sleep schedule reversed, as we are convinced that she is completely flipped- she thinks daytime is when she should sleep and night time is for partying (not for another 18 years, girl!) We do our best to limit her naps to only an hour or so at a time during the day, but it's been a challenge. Last night was good for us, as my mom would stay up with Ruby so we could get a few more hours of sleep.

This morning we went to a pancake breakfast benefit, and although Ruby slept through the entire event, Grandpa Joe enjoyed trolling around, claiming to use Rubes as a "chick magnet". Ruby quickly acquired quite a few fans while we were there.

When we got home this afternoon we watched the Vikings beat the Panthers, and Grandma Therese and Great Aunt Marge stopped by to say hello to Ruby. Ruby also endured another photo shoot this afternoon since it was so nice outside. A couple of those photos are below: Ruby in her Gopher hat (thanks Dawn!)

After I got involved in her photo op, she completely lost interest and got mad

.

Oh well.

Ruby loves bath time!

Ruby is usually a pretty good sport about bath time, but we recently discovered something that makes her especially happy in the bath tub: after we're finish scrubbing her, we put her little duck on her to keep her warm, then we slowly pour warm water on her body. She just lays back and relaxes. I think she'd probably stay in the tub all day if we'd keep doing this!

And what Diva doesn't deserve to be wrapped in a warm towel after her soak in the tub! Ruby's towel is always fresh out of the dryer.

Ruby is 3 weeks old!

These photos were taken on Friday, November 13th- Ruby's 3-week birthday. The first was taken at 11:47 AM; the second was taken Friday evening when we were trying our hardest to keep her awake so that she would sleep at night. Well, that worked- she was sleeping by 9:30, but when she woke up for her 12:30 feeding, she decided to stay up for a while... 5:30 AM, to be exact. This didn't sit well with mom, who had to work all day Saturday or dad, who had plans to get up early for the Gopher game. Little brat.

Our at-home photo shoot

Last night we decided to conduct our very own home photo shoot. Below are some of our favorite images that we captured.

Two-week well baby check

We had Ruby's two-week checkup yesterday, it and went so great! I am so proud of her! She did an awesome job at the doctor's office. I was a little nervous because Tyler couldn't come with us, as he had an appointment for work. I could just imagine a major meltdown occurring in the doctor's office and I'd be by myself and unable to soak in any of the information that was being given to me... Turns out, the baby in the next room had that issue going on, while Ruby was a poster child (until we got into the car to come home- then, it was 12 minutes of screaming her lungs out). Rubes is currently 21 1/2" long (same as her birth length), which puts her at the 85.4%. Where her height comes from, I don't know. She weighs 8 pounds, 12 ounces, placing her in the 58.94% Ruby's head is 14.57" around, which puts her at 70% for melon size- it must mean she's got a lot of brains stuffed in there! I was so happy to find out that the doctor was pleased with her weight- in fact, he said it is rare that babies who are exclusively breasted gain that much weight- I guess all of our hard work has paid off! Because infants are in the high-risk group, the doctor offered my the H1N1 vaccine, and I took it. Tyler is also eligible for the vaccine, so he will be getting his soon, too. What a relief that is! Our next visit isn't for two months, at which time Ruby will receive some of her vaccinations.

Our first walk; fun, not fashion

It was so nice out today! We had to take advantage of the 60 degree day in November, so Ruby and I decided to go on a little walk. A few problems, though:

1. We do not yet own a stroller.

Solution: Baby Bjorn!

2. Ruby does not yet own a jacket (or sweater or sweatshirt) that fits.

Solution: A 0-3 month fleece sleeper put on OVER her outfit for today (which means a long sleeved onesie under a short-sleeve onesie under pants and socks, all under her fleece sleeper- makes her look chubby!)

3. Ruby does not yet fit into any of her hats except for almost fitting into her pumpkin hat.

Solution: make do with what we've got: wear the dang pumpkin hat and keep pulling it up off her face!

End result: a major fashion fopaugh. What can you do... ya can't be cute ALL the time, right?!

Nothin better

Ahhh... Ruby has discovered pure bliss. A full tummy, a fresh diaper, a smooth swing and the acoustic sounds of Jack Johnson. Nothin better.

Ruby's Fan Club

We appreciate all of the love that has been given to little Ruby in her first days of life.

A tribute to you who have shared in her first moments...

Weekend in review

This weekend was another busy one for Little Miss Ruby. Saturday morning while daddy was at the Gopher game, Rubes and mommy drove up to Foley and attended her first craft sale! Ruby enjoyed being doted on by many ladies at the sale. Next, we went to meet her Great Grandma Kaproth for the first time, and I do believe there was a mutual love established between the two of them. While mommy went to a baby shower for her friend, Ruby spent the afternoon napping on her grandpa Kaproth's belly. We drove home Saturday night in time to welcome our friend Janell who traveled from SE Iowa for our baby shower. She spent the night with us, and Ruby loved being cuddled and loved on by Janell, who even got to help give sweet little Rubes a bath this morning! After that experience, I'm afraid we may have scared Janell away from any thought she may have had of even having a child... Today was our baby shower that was put on by Nicole (see previous post), and tonight we received a visit from our friend Tom Holland, who generously brought us all the fixings for several meals of home-cooked spaghetti, including dessert! We are now winding down for the night while Ty and I try to strategize how we might get Ruby to sleep for longer periods and stay awake for shorter periods throughout the night...

Ruby was showered with gifts and a lot of love

Today my friend Nicole hosted a baby shower in honor off Ruby Grace. Several of my closest friends attended and had the opportunity to meet Rubes for the first time. It is so comforting to see all of the love that these lovely ladies have to give to my little girl. Ruby received lots of cute girly clothes (including a pink tutu~ thanks Ali!), fancy sunglasses (Dr. Janell), and even a Maroon and Gold afghan knitted by Steph so that Ruby is set to attend a Gophers game next fall!

Here are some photos from the party (Nicole, Ruby and I; Ali Ross; Drew Julson (I already warned him to keep his paws off my daughter!); Janell Kassel

Ruby is 2 weeks old!

It's hard to believe it's been two whole weeks since Ruby was born! Here's a photo of her at 11:47 this morning.

Too much of a good thing?

While we are still rejoicing about the long-awaited poop from 11 days ago, an incident today begs the question... can there be too much of a "good thing"? Disclaimer: I fully understand that in 14 years Ruby will hate me for posting this. This afternoon Ruby and I were settling down for a feeding when that dreaded sound came from her diaper. This was followed by another dreadful sound, and then a third. Knowing the potential disaster I was likely to uncover, I sprung to action and carried the now screaming Ruby (cuz who wouldn't be distraught under this condition?) swiftly to the changing pad to assess the damage. Folks, what we had here was a multi-wipe casualty that exploded beyond a well-placed diaper and through a onseie and a cute little outfit. We dealt by doing a complete body wipe-down for temporary relief so that we could get on with our feeding, since Ruby had nothing but food on her mind after she had a fresh dipe. We will be having a bath tonight, no doubt. Honestly, how can someone so small and cute produce such a catastrophic disaster? Ah, the joys of parenthood...

Our new "normal"

I started this posting on Monday... how funny how it's impossible to finish anything in a timely manner with an infant in the house!

It's been a busy week with just Ruby and mommy home alone! Our days consist mostly of feedings, naps and diaper changes, but we try to get in lots of storytime whenever we can. Also, Ruby is doing really well with tummy time. Her neck seems to be very strong and she likes to show off that skill whever she can. She especially likes to rub her taggies blankie on her face during tummy time (thanks auntie Amanda!)

Here's a picture of the talented Ruby holding up her head during tummy time.

On Monday we took Ruby for her first photo session. She slept the entire way there, but as soon as we took her out of her car seat she was wide awake and hungry. Bummer, since we were hoping to capture some photos of her sleeping (Anne Geddes style). Instead, we spent a lot of time trying to get a cold, naked baby to appear happy. She got backk at her mom and dad in her own way when we were doing a family pose and we were both holding naked Ruby and she peed on us. You know you're a mother when... you try your darndest to catch pee in your hand. Ty left with a wet shoe. Ah, the joys of parenthood! Another monumental event occured at the photo shoot, too- Ruby's cord fell off!

We expect to have the photos later this week and I will be sure to post some.

Tuesday, Ruby and mommy went down to daddy's office for a little while and then went out for lunch. We also had an outing to Target still in search of a dress for her for Sunday's shower, but no luck. Everything is just too big for her. I think tomorrow we will make a stop at Baby Gap after we have lunch with Baby Alivia Strommer and her mommy, Amanda.

Last night, Ruby had her first babysitter while mommy and daddy went to a Counselor Appreciation dinner. We dropped Ruby off with Adam and Steph for a couple of hours, since they live right around the corner from where were, and she was a perfect angel for them and slept the entire time! Not even a poopy diaper to spice things up a little!

Today Ruby and I are going to have lunch with Baby Alivia Strommer and her mommy Amanda. Alivia is a week older than Ruby and this will be the girls' first time meeting, so it should fun.

A very busy weekend creates a very sleepy baby

We had a wonderful first weekend home with Miss Ruby. We were so busy that our little gem has been sleeping a lot from all of the excitement. Last night she slept from 11 to 4:30 then again from 5:30 to 9:30! I'll take six more nights like that this week, please!

Friday night we were visited by Brian and Emily Simon along with Baby Simon who is expected to arrive in December.

Saturday we ran some errands before going to the DePhillips' house for a Halloween celebration. Ruby got to try out her new puppies on her car seat to keep the straps from cutting into her neck. She looked so squished in there- I'm not sure if this was a better option for her or not!

The Halloween celebration was both fun and traumatic all at the same time for Baby Ruby. First, we put her in her "costume", which probably wasn't the most comfy selection we could have made. She was the cutest little gift basket in America!

We also placed Ruby in a pumpkin, cuz of course, she's our little pumkin!

When we got home, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Jean and Wyatt were here, so Ruby got to meet her only boy cousin for the first time! They spent the night here, then Grandma and Grandpa Kaproth came over today to celebrate Grandma's birthday.

Ruby was also paid a visit by her "auntie" Nicole and Paul Hydukovich. She got lots of love and hugs from them, which she loves. We cheered on the Vikings to beat the Packers, and I think Ruby's cheers won. Also of note- the Gophers beat Michigan State on Saturday night; daddy and uncle Jeff were at the game, so mommy had to teach Ruby the MN Rouser and the signal for "touchdown"- cuz there were a lot of them that night!

After all of this excitement, Ruby is tuckered out and is enjoying quiet alone time in her bouncy seat and mommy and daddy are hoping for another restful night.

Daddy goes back to work tomorrow, so it'll just be mommy and Ruby alone all day. We plan to go shopping for a party dress for Ruby's shower at Nicole's on Sunday.

Ruby's Fan Club

In her first nine days of life, many people have visited little Miss Ruby. Her parents appreciate all of the love these people have given their little gem. Here's the start of a video of some of Ruby's biggest fans.

Happy one week birthday, little girl!

I can't believe my baby is already a week old! At 11:47 this morning we had a moment, recalling how life has changed so much in just 7 days. Even with severe sleep deprivation, life is so much better now!

Here's a photo of Ruby at 11:47 this AM- exactly 1 week old.

Last night was a bit more sleepless than previous nights. Poor little girl got a serious case of the hiccups at about 1:30 after she ate, which caused her to be wide awake until 4:00. She then woke up again at 6:30 and 7:30. Hopefully tonight will be a little better!

Twice today Ruby tricked her parents with diaper incidents. This afternoon I had just changed her, then sat down to feed her when I heard some business happen in her diaper. Sure enough, we assessed the situation and had to change again. This evening, Ty changed her, then sat down on the couch. Ruby gave him a funny look, then that dreaded sound came from her rump, followed by this look, as if to say, "oh yes I did." Gross, but still oh-so-cute!

Finally, because I can't get enough of those cute lil curls, here's another photo after her bath this afternoon.

Fun stuff

Last night brought us much more sleep than our first two nights at home. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we received such positive news at the doctor yesterday morning, but also because now that we don't need to be so strict on the 3-hour feeding schedule, we were able to sleep for longer stretches of time. We woke up when Ruby woke us up, which gave us a total of about six hours of sleep last night- not bad for only our 3rd night home!

We spent all day just hanging out in the living room staring at Ruby. She probably thinks her parents are psycho stalkers since that's all we want to do. It's just so much fun to watch her facial expressions and mannerisms! We plan to video tape some of these moments so that we never forget them, as we know that our little girl is going to grow up too fast!

Photos of the day: 'Where's Ruby?'

There she is!

Ruby's clean bill of health!

We had Ruby's follow-up appointment this morning to assess her weight and bilirubin and...

SHE IS A HEALTHY LITTLE GIRL!

The doctor was pleased with the progress that she has made over the last couple of days. She now weighs 7 pounds, 13 ounces and her color is very good- just a trace of yellow. But, she continues to poop like a champ, so before long she should be pretty pink with bright white eyeballs. I was surprised with how well she did at her appointment. She didn't wimper even once for the doc! She is such a happy little girl and really only cries when she's hungry or has a dirty diaper- both completely acceptable reasons to be upset.

The doctor gave us clearance to let up on the feedings now that Ruby's weight is good. We now only need to feed when she tells us she's hungry. Our plan is to continue with a 3-hour feeding schedule during the day and only get up when she cries at night. Hopefully that will help mommy and daddy to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep per night.

Below is a photo of Ruby getting weighed this morning. I'm such a proud mommy!

Uncle Jeff and Auntie Jean came to the hospital to visit Ruby on Sunday right before we received the news that she wouldn't be coming home. The brought her a fun gift, including the book, "Everyone Poops". At the time, we thought the irony was pretty funny- yes, everyone poops except Ruby! Now we are happy to celebrate the fact that YES, EVERYONE POOPS- EVEN RUBY!!!

Her first full day at home

Ruby loves being home! Today has been quite an exciting day for this little girl, so I wanted to share with you some of the highlights:

She spent the first night in her own bed, and her little crib looks HUGE with her little body being the only occupant!

She tried on one of her new accessories from daddy

She had a bath- check out those curls!

She put on her Brewers shirt and sassy leg warmers for daddy

She cuddled with mommy

Ruby has company coming tonight, too. Grandpa and Grandma Kaproth are coming to give her a little TLC.

Once again, we thank you for your prayers in helping to bring our little one home and make her healthy! A special thank-you to our siblings, Jeff and Amanda for getting prayer chains started worldwide. The power of prayer is an amazing thing.

What a difference a day makes

Wow. It has been a little over 24 hours since baby Ruby was discharged from the NICU, and she has made huge strides. Her hospital discharge orders indicated that she needed to poop, gain weight and improve in color. She has given us six healthy poops (including a nice blowout this afternoon), which is likely what is causing her to appear more pink and less yellow (even her cute little eyeballs, which at this time yesterday were pretty yellow). The hospital nurse just left, and she weighed Ruby. When we left the hospital, her weight was 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Today, she tips the scale at a whopping 7 pounds, 12 ounces! That's my girl!!! We can probably attribute the tremendous weight gain to the fact that we are sort of force feeding our little doll. We are on a 3- hour feeding schedule around the clock. She feeds for about a half an hour, and I've been pumping to supplement additional quantities for her to have after each feeding. We have been really diligent about getting her to eat as much as she will take in our attempt to chub her up, and... success! We are looking forward to our doctor appointment tomorrow morning at 7:45 to check on those concerns after her hospital release. We are confident that Miss Ruby will earn a clean bill of health and we can continue to love her up without the concerns we were presented with two days ago!

Photos of the Babe

A photo of the time that we hope we to soon forget...

Tyler is smitten... already. The most beautiful poop I ever did seeWe stopped at Target today and found these cute headbands. When contemplating which set of colors we should buy for lil Ruby, Tyler chose... both. Uh-oh. We're in trouble.Ruby says good-bye to her biggest fans in the NICU. They get excited to send now-healthy babies home, and today was no exception. We had plethora of people sharing their true happiness that we got to take our little one home today! Her grand entrance into her homeRuby's life is so so tough

PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!

We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and we thank God for working miracles! We are home WITH RUBY from the hospital, and feel so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful network of prayer warriors on our side. We believe prayer made it possible for us to now be at home holding our little gem... Yesterday was the longest day of our lives... As Tyler put it on our way home today: As adults, we are able to control much of what happens to us on a daily basis. If we don't like something, we create change to make it better. When you receive news that your once-thought perfectly healthy baby is going to be moved into the NICU, all control is taken from you. We were instantly moved into a state of unknown territory and had to turn over all control to the hands of the doctors. We were taken to a place that we never hope to be again- ever. We met with the neonatologist from Children's hospital this morning after Ruby's 5:00 x-ray: The intestinal issue that was detected in the first x-ray was resolved, likely as the result of Ruby's big poop that she took last night (yes, we took photos of it- see below if you can stomach it!) We have never prayed so hard for poop, and seeing poop has never made me cry. But last night when we were with our babe in the NICU, Ty checked her diaper and there was the most beautiful black, sticky poop we have ever seen. It brought tears to our eyes. the lung problem miraculously fixed itself overnight. Apparently, if babies' lungs collapse at birth, there are oftentimes tiny tears in them that allow air to escape from the lungs. Ruby did have some small tears in each lung, but between last night and this morning, her lungs have healed themselves and she will not have lasting effects. I didn't mention in last night's blog that her bladder was also a concern. It appeared in yesterday's x-ray to be enlarged. Therefore, they gave her a catheter last night, but nothing came out. It was determined after this morning's x-ray that it is likely her bladder was just very full during her first x-ray, causing it to be enlarged. It's fine. Prayers are still needed... We still need to watch her pooping issue, but since the time I sat down to begin writing this entry four hours ago (it takes that long to get things done these days), she has had two beautiful BM's! Way to go, sista! Because she hasn't pooped "normally", Ruby's bilirubin is still a little high. Not officially designated as jaundice, but we're keeping an eye on it. Ruby's body weight has dropped 9% since her birth. A little weight loss is normal, but when it gets to 10%, it's a risk. We are feeding her on a very strict 3-hour schedule and giving her every option to chup up; we breastfeed, then offer breastmilk from a bottle and if she's still hungry we will offer formula. So far, she's taken only a healthy amount of breastmilk from both me and a bottle. We think she must LOVE being home... since we've been here she's presented us with two big poops and a great feeding session! We will add more photos later tonight. Again, we thank you SO much for your continued prayers. God is SO SO good!

Additional information on little Ruby

Thank you for sending your prayers our way. Before I go into detail, I have to mention how crazy it is that a person can love someone so much in just a couple of days. We love everything about Ruby: her pouty lip, her squeaky Diva attitude, her crazy curls and her love of cuddling. We love her healthy heart, her good reflexes, strong muscles and healthy eating habits. What we're struggling with is two-fold: First, Ruby has not yet pooped. Term babies should produce a nice healthy diaper within 24 hours of birth. We are going on 60 hours, and still, she's not squeezing one out. Nurses and doctors have attempted to stimulate her rectum, and this morning she produced a small amount of meconium, but not enough to really speak of. Becuase of this, the pediatrician ordered an x-ray to rule out any issues with her intestines. A neonatologist at Children's read the x-ray and determined the following: 1. There appears to be a small part of Ruby's intestine that may not be fully functional, but it is not an issue that is an immediate emergency. A second x-ray has been ordered for 5:00 tomorrow morning to get further information about this. In the meantime, we are PRAYING FOR POOP! The nurse gave Ruby a suppository this evening to hopefully produce something. The odd part of this is that she is passing gas very well. Also, she is eating SO good and doesn't appear to be agitated by the fact that her tummy must be very full. She seems to be very happy, and by looking at her, you'd never know that she's in the NICU. 2. During the x-ray scan, the neonatologist also found some issues with Ruby's lungs. Apparently, during or soon after delivery, her lungs collapsed unbenounced to anyone. She never appeared to be in respiratory distress, and by the sounds of her cries, you'd never guess there's anything wrong with those puppies! Also, a small leak was detected in each of her little lungs. The lung issue will also be re-evaluated with the 5:00 AM x-ray. We hope to learn good news from the doctor tomorrow morning when we meet with him at 6:00. Our goal is to bring Ruby home in the morning, as it was SO tough to walk into our house for a short time this evening to collect some things without Ruby in tow. It will be even more difficult to go home tonight and crawl into bed knowing that our little family is not yet under one roof. Again, Tyler and I thank you SO much for saying a prayer for our little girl, and a special thanks to those of you who have spread the word to your prayer chains so quickly. We are already feeling God's work in progress. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

All prayers are welcome

Jill and Tyler ask for your prayers as little Ruby is still hospitalized with a few complications. More information in the future, but all the thoughts, prayers and well wishes that you can send will be very uplifting.

Ruby's first full day of life

We celebrated Ruby's 1-day-old birthday today!

It was a nice day for our little family at the hospital. Because I had Group B Strep and the 2nd dose of the vaccine were not able to be given through IV yesterday (because I ended up delivery so quickly), that are requiring us to stay in the hospital a full 48 hours post-birth. While we were a little disappointed to hear this, it's okay so we could have some time to bond with our little girl and figure out some things that we needed to know before we go home. We mostly just spent the day away staring at Ruby, feeding and giggling at her little mannerisms.

One thing we are looking forward to is Ruby's first poopy diaper. She's only had two wet ones since birth, and while she is a champ at eating, we are still anticipating the myconium to come out of her little belly. Because of this, she is testing in the high concern level for jaundice. She's not at a level yet that she needs to be under a light or anything, but she will be tested again at 3:00 tomorrow morning and if she's high she may need the light and/or a formula supplement to help her poop.

Our little girl has been poked and prodded so many times in her short little almost-36-hour life! it makes me so sad to see all of her injection/ poke sites. Both feet have received a stick, as well as both thighs and her pretty little hand. Tonight when she came back from getting her bilirubin checked her cheeks were bright red, and it almost looks like she broke a couple blood vessels form crying so hard. Poor little thing. Still, she's the most beautiful thing we have ever seen.

Below are a couple photos from Ruby's first day.

A prayer for Ruby

"Loving God, thank you for the gift of Ruby Grace into our lives. Thank you especially for such a safe delivery, family support, the kindness and good work of the doctors and nurses and especially for the good health you've given to Ruby. You know how eagerly we anticipated Ruby. Rejoice with us, as we welcome her and guide her to grow strong, healthy, and beautiful in Your name. Amen."

Baby E has finally arrived!

We are truly blessed... Here's our labor and delivery story.

We arrived at the hospital a little before 7:30 on Thursday night (10/22) and were told that we were not scheduled to be admitted. Immediately, I went into combat mode and when the check-in nurse kindly said that they "would at least check me since I'm here", I informed her that "oh no, I am NOT going home" (Tyler's impression of me saying this incorporates 'snapping a Z' and a little neck action for effect). She said that if there aren't enough nurses on that we would have to go home. "Nope, I'm staying here tonight". End of story.

Next fiasco was related to the H1N1 issue. When we arrived at the hospital, we saw several patients wandering around with protective masks on, and Ty declared that he would be having his photo taken with a mask on- just for fun. Well, at the check-in desk, they had a box of masks available, so Tyler was about to take advantage when the nurse said very urgently, "do you have a cold?!" Ty explained that he did not have a cold and was in fact just joking about wanting a mask. The nurse coldly scolded Tyler for joking about such a thing: "this is no place for jokes about that. I've got many people who should be wearing these and are not, so a joke like that is not funny". O-kay then!

We were settled into our room about a half an hour later, and after being checked for dilation learned that I was still barely a 1- same as I was on Tuesday. Already, I was feeling slightly discouraged. The nurse administered the first dose of the softening agent at about 9:00. Ty ended up going home for the night to get some sleep in our own bed, rather than trying to catch some zzz's on the small hard chair in our room. I was able to sleep from about midnight to 1:00 when my second dose came. That's when I learned that I was still only a 1. Imagine my concern. At this point, I began having serious cramps and was unable to sleep. At all. Dose #3 came at 5:00, at which point I was in so much crampage pain that I would have paid the nurse any amount of money to allow me to just throw in the towel. Instead, I tried to move as much as possible on the stability ball, standing, etc. Ty arrived at the hospital around 7:00 AM and was a total lifesaver. He reminded me to breathe through my cramps (which we later learned were contractions) and rubbed my back and tailbone through each one. With all this pain4fr3ed, I was so glad to have him on my team to get through this.

My doctor arrived in our room at 9:05, at which time we had planned to administer pitocin to really get things going. Instead, because I had now progressed to a 3, she decided to break my water to see what would happen. I got back on the stability ball and moved around a lot to move the baby lower into the birthing canal. Low and behold- an hour later, I was almost completely effaced and fully dilated.

They offered me an epidural, and I took advantage. If for no other reason than to get some sleep before I had to begin pushing. This was administered at 10:30. The plan was for me to get some rest for a few hours and begin pushing around 2:30. Ty went downstairs to make some phone calls and I rolled onto my side to fall asleep. At 11:00, the nurse came into my room and asked me to roll onto my other side, because it appeared that the baby's heart rate had dropped and we needed to try to bring it back up. Rolling over didn't do the trick. The nurse (very speedily, may I add) inserted an internal heart rate monitor, which picked up the heart rate immediately- thank God! She called the doctor, who said that she had a C-section scheduled for someone else at noon, so perhaps we could try to get our baby out before that. I called Tyler and told him to hustle back up because it was time to push! After a fiasco with the elevator and some obstacles with H1N1 admission barriers, he finally made it back to the room to find me already in stirrups ready to push. He received instruction and began coaching at 11:20. It was shockingly easy to push even with the epidural, and Ruby was born at 11:47 AM at 8 pounds, 1 oz, 21" long. Her head measured at 141/4" and her chest was 16". A far cry from the expected 6-pound baby we thought we'd be bringing home!

As Dr. Schoel delivered the baby, she did find that the cord was wrapped around Ruby's neck, which is likely the reason that her heart rate had dropped. There were/are no issues as a result of this, though. She's a spunky little girl with lots of dark, curly hair, chunky legs and a great pouty lip.

We instantly fell in love.

Since the delivery, we have received visits from Grandma Therese, Grandma and Grandpa Kaproth, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Susan. "Uncle" Adam also stopped by last night, but unfortunately, visiting hours were over so he was not allowed in. Ty was able to run downstairs to say hello for a short time. Thank you all for visiting us making Ruby's Birth Day special!

Hospital Admission Day

Well at least we know we're getting CLOSE(er)!

Ty just called and he's on his way home to "get ready for the hospital". I asked him what he has to get ready- is he going to do his hair or what?! Who knows. I think the excitement of what's to come is deep in both of us, along with the reality that we'll have a child not too long from now... oh, crap!

I was home from work again today due to my back issue, which I'm not happy about. I'd much rather be working that sitting at the house doing nothing but ruminating about the inevitable.

Tyler and I are planning our last "pre-baby date night" tonight before we head to the hospital. We'll just go out to a nice dinner and enjoy the peace and quiet- something that our household will likely be lacking for oh, the next 18 years or so. After dinner, we'll go to Mercy for our scheduled admission at 7:30. I'm hoping we'll be settled and they begin the procedure prior to 8:00 so we're able to watch Grey's Anatomy!

Below are two photos of projects Ty and I took care of last night.

These dots will be hung on the branches of the tree in

the baby's bedroom. Each dot will have the baby photo of one of our family members as a baby. I have painted the dots to coordinate with the bedding and am working on decopaging the photos onto the dots. Something I should've done a lot time ago...

My, how things change... we now have a bottle drying rack that has made it's home on our counter. Ty washed and dried all of the bottles last night- they're ready and waiting for baby, just like us!

No-Baby Update: The Self-Pity Edition

40 weeks and 4 days, and all we want is the freaking baby to come out!!! "My name is Jill and I feel sorry for myself". I woke up early this morning, unable to get out of bed on my own due to my ferocious back pain. After Tyler helped me, I iced my back and Tyler rubbed it for a while before we were able to get back to sleep for a few hours. As a result, I did not go to work today and instead went back to the chiropractor for an adjustment which helped, but it's still difficult to walk or really do anything standing up. This is so frustrating to me, since I'm not good with just sitting at home doing nothing. If I have to be here, I want to be cleaning and getting ready for baby! This is NOT how I envisioned my last days of pre-baby life. I did anticipate that I'd be shuffling around the house wincing in pain, but I thought the winces would be due to painful contractions; not a bad back. It sucks! Many people have suggested that perhaps this pain in my back is the start of labor (as in, "back labor"). I'm not disregarding this idea, but it seems that if that were the case, I'd have some other symptoms, which I'm not. It's solely back pain. It's odd to think that tonight is the last night that Tyler and I will spend at home~ just the two of us~ without a child. We're so excited for what this new adventure will bring and we will soon find out! For our blog readers who hope to visit us soon after the baby arrives, please note the following new visitor policy that has been established by Mercy Hospital due to H1N1. We ask that you please call before coming to the hospital so we are able to keep somewhat of a schedule of visitors both at the hospital and after we arrive home.

• Visiting hours are 11-8
• You must sign in and be screened prior to coming to our room
• No visitors under the age of 5 will be allowed
• Non-immediate family visitors must be above the age of 16
• Maximum of three visitors per patient at a time
• Visitors must follow strict hand-hygiene procedures; foam in and foam out prior to entering or exiting the hospital room (and prior to holding my baby, darn it!)

Doctor appointment update- 40 weeks and 3 (long) days

Let me begin wtih the positive: I still feel great, pregnancy-wise. I really couldn't have asked for an easier pregnancy and I will be forever grateful to the good Lord for giving me a good, fun 9 months. "And then there's that..." We had another doctor appointment this AM, and my bod still isn't interested in getting this baby out on it's own. I am just barely dilated, but am effaced, but certainly not enough to mean this baby is going to be joining the party in the next couple of days. I will be admitted to the hospital on Thursday night, when they will do a "cervical ripening" to get things started. Friday morning, my doctor will induce labor and she says we should have a baby by late Friday afternoon or evening if everything goes as planned. Because I wanted to avoid induction, I am trying to focus on the positive. My blood pressure is good, the baby's heart rate is good and movement indicates that Baby E is getting proper nutrition and oxygen. When asked why we need to do induction this week, Dr. Schoel said that waiting over a week increases the chances for stillbirth. After hearing that, I say, "game on!" One wrench in the situation occured on Sunday. Trying to get labor going, I did some work outside pulling weeds, cleaning out pots, etc. As soon as I got inside, I knew I had overdone it, and my back has been in excruciating pain ever since. I had an adjustment at the Chiropractor yesterday which helped, and have been applying ice and using Tyler's old stim machine to loosen the muscles. I'm hoping it feels normal by Friday when it's time to push! Until then, it's difficult to be relatively stationary when I'd like to be out walking or doing any physical activity. Again, I'm trying to focus on the positive... Please keep our family in your prayers this week as we are still hoping for labor to begin naturally. If it does not, we pray that God works through the hands of the doctor to give us a somewhat fast delivery without complication. We will keep you posted through this site on any new developments!

Here we are... 10/17!

October 17th has arrived, and no baby yet. I realized that this IS Tyler's child, and therefore, is likely to make a fashionably late entrance into this world.

It's amazing how quickly time flies and moves so slowly at the same time. Nine months ago, today's date was imprinted in our minds as THE most exciting date. Something to really look forward to, and it seemed SO far off. We couldn't wait for it to arrive. Now, looking back, it seems like just yesterday that I took the pregnancy test and ran into our bedroom to share the news with Tyler. I thought today would be a good day to revisit the very first blog entry I made to this site.

How we found out... February 13, 2009- I was convinced that I was NOT pregnant, and therefore saw no reason to take an at-home test. Tyler, on the other hand, knew (his first parental instinct, perhaps?) and bought a pregnancy test for me to take. The morning of February 13th, I woke up in anticipation of the test (I've never been great at tests), and was thrilled to see the result! I crawled back into bed and told Tyler, "Ty... we're pregnant". He rolled over and responded, "What? For real? You're not bullshitting me?!" I wasn't. A miracle has taken place, and we couldn't be more excited! Note: the following day, I took a second test, just to confirm. You can never be too sure.

Eight months and four days later, instead of cuddling our little baby at the hospital, we curled up on the couch to watch some football, hoping that the excitement of the Gopher game and/or the Irish game will be enough to induce labor. We also hoped the incredibly spicy chili I ingested might do the trick. Playing with our favorite little neices didn't even get things rollin!

Oh well. We know it'll be worth the wait...

Doctor appointment update- 39 weeks and 5 days

Bad news, folks: At our appointment this afternoon, we learned that we will NOT be bringing a baby into this world anytime soon. While my due date is this Saturday, the 17th (as in TWO days from now), my bod shows no interest in delivering a child within the next several days. I am not dilated at all, and have not effaced any more than I was two weeks ago. Dr. Schoel had planned to strip the membranes today, but because no dilation has occurred, she was unable to do that. Therefore, there's nothing we can do to get things moving any faster. I will have another appointment on Tuesday morning to check for progression, and if nothing has happened we will schedule an appointment for Thursday to apply a softening agent and then induction for Friday. While this is disappointing news for us, we are still counting our blessings. We want our baby to be born not because I'm uncomfortable, but because we just want our baby! This pregnancy has been a dream; a dream come true but also extremely easy for me. I can't complain that I will be pregnant a little longer than I had hoped because the past nine+ months have been filled with so much joy and excitement; no sickness or pain. We're not giving up yet, though... spicy foods will continue to be ingested and walks will be had. Anything I can do to encourage this baby out will be attempted... even if it's all for not. To be continued...

10/14 has come and gone...

...and no baby. Darn! I was hoping that I'd be spending today cuddling my little gem. Instead, I'm sitting in the home office watching snow fall outside, praying that contractions will begin soon.

We have a doctor appointment today and we look forward to finding out if we're progressing toward a birth day at all. Please say some prayers!!!

I've been doing everything I can to get this "show on the road". Spicy food for lunch, brisk walks, bouncing on my stability ball (which I think Baby thinks means play time, not come out time).

Last night we visited Alivia Eloise Strommer, born on 10/10 to Aaron and Amanda. She is precious with lots of dark hair that screams for a bow, and long skinny legs. She's a good baby and I can't wait for Baby E and Alivia to become close friends like their parents.

Stay tuned for a post- doctor appointment update!

Doctor appointment update- 38 weeks and 5 days

This week's appointment brought some slightly disappointing news... it's unlikely that Baby E will arrive on my so-planned date of 10/14. Shocking.

I am NOT dilated at all, so Dr. Schoel thinks it could be another two weeks. Baby E will not come into the world until at least my due date, but 10/24 at the latest. If no progress happens prior to next Thursday, she will "strip the membranes" to get things going. Right now, the doctor is guessing that the baby weighs a little over 6 lbs.

I still feel good, although this belly is getting HEAVY! Especially at night. It's difficult to get things done around the house with this extra weight hanging off my front end.

Below are some lovely photos that Tyler took of my on Wednesday, 10/7. Check out that belly!

SFHS Baby Shower

My fellow counselors at SFHS hosted a shower for me last week, and many of the ladies I work with were so kind to attend. We enjoyed cake and punch, and they shoewered me with many gifts and lots of love. It has been a ton of fun to be pregnant among these women; they are genuinely excited about the upcoming birth, and now that we are getting closer to my due date, I have begun hearing "oh, you're here today, huh?" on a daily basis. Below are some photos from the shower.

The Final Countdown

Although my official medical due date is 12 days from now, my planned date of arrival for Baby E is just NINE days from today! Again, my plan is to begin having contractions at work on the 14th, then I'll go home to relax (meaning a jacuzzi bath and nap) until about 5:30, when my water will break. We will then go to the hospital where I will deliver around 7:00 PM. Baby and I have been discussing this game plan, so hopefully it all goes well... what do you think?! :-) Please begin sending prayers our way as the birth of our little one nears. Our prayer is that the labor and delivery go smoothly and most importantly, that our little gem is healthy.

The nursery is {almost} ready!

My parents delivered the baby furniture tonight, and we love it. It is even better than we expected, and now it seems that things are really falling into place. My mom and dad put many hours into the furniture to make it perfect for our little one. Check out the photos below!

Tyler's dad and step mom purchased the polka dot baby bedding to set the dot/circle theme for the room, and Tyler's sister painted the tree on the wall. I am going to paint coordinating dots to hang on the branches. Then, I'm going to decopage black and white baby photos of each of our family members on each dot... a family tree!!! Get it?

Doctor appointment update- 37 weeks and 3 days

I had another appointment today, and shockingly, I am now measuring AHEAD of schedule! I'm convinced it was the enchiladas I had for lunch today and has nothing to do with the size of the baby in my belly. I confirmed the hospital admission plan with the doctor for D-day: we just need to call the hospital when I think I think we may be heading in that direction so they can have my room ready when we get there. Then we simply go to the Family Birthing Center, pop out the kid, and we're good to go!

Doctor appointment update- 36 weeks and 6 days

We had another doctor appointment on Friday (we will have them every week now, which means we're getting close to D-Day). There's not a lot to report from the appointment, other than that I measuered between 35 1/2 and 36 weeks, which means I'm about a week smaller than I should be. DARN! The odds of my plan working out for delivering on 10/14 is not looking good. While this was a bit disappointing, we know that it won't be long until we get to meet our little one. My lovely coworkers are hosting a baby shower for me at school on Wednesday, so I'm really looking forward to that! My friend Nicole will also be hosting a friends shower after the baby is born, so that too will be fun and will give some of my far-away friends to meet Baby E. On the homefront... we hope to get the baby furniture next weekend, as my parents are planning to finish it this week. Tyler is a bit more at ease for the birth to take place now that his grass is growing. Yes, he has been having some anxiety that his newly seeded lawn wasn't going to be looking good prior to Birth Day, but no need to worry- it is looking very nice for the arrival of Baby (as if Baby will be able to play in or see the grass). We all have different needs and concerns, right?! Other than that, Baby E has been moving like crazy! It's fun to imagine what he/she is doing in there at times, as it feels like a tornado is going through my belly. Sadly, Baby also has the hiccups at least once a day. The doctor says hiccups don't bother babies, but I still feel sad for him/her every time they occur. Next appointment: Tuesday.

Cousins!

We were able to see Baby Wyatt today and captured the photo of cousins below:

Q: "Are you ready?" A: "Nope."

The question, "are you ready?" seems to be the question most commonly directed toward me these days. It's sort of a confusing question at times, because I oftentimes don't know if people are referring to my physical state or our state of preparedness. I thought I'd take a moment to outline our level of "unreadiness" for you tonight.

Physically, I still (thank God) feel great. While my belly has gone into high-speed these last couple of weeks in terms of growing, that is really still the only symptom of pregnancy I am experiencing. Occasionally I suffer from sore feet and a sore back (which has been a part of my life for over ten years anyway), but there is nothing extraordinary physically that makes me feel like I want this period of my life to be over. As far as I'm concerned, if I still feel half this good on my due date just four weeks from now, I still won't feel the real need to get this baby out! I get funny looks from other moms when I tell them that I usually forget I'm even pregnant, but it's true; I even run into stationary objects with my belly quite frequently by accident, since I feel so "normal".

Now, the preparedness issue. Oh my, where to begin? I guess you could say we are prepared enough to bring a baby into our home and ensure it's safety. We have a car seat (which Tyler installed into our cars tonight- see pics below), blankets, clothing, books, and a roof to put over Baby E's head. However, there is a lot to be done, my friends. We do not have names picked out yet; not for a boy, not for a girl and no middle names. None. It's not that we argue over names at all. We just simply can't find any names that we think are worthy of our little peanut... "to be continued" on that.

My parents are building the nursery furniture, which is nearing completion. It is built, but has yet to be stained, finished, delivered and assembled. It looks great so far, but until it is set up in the nursery, we won't feel "prepared".

The final- and possibly biggest issue we are working on- is that we have a leaky window in our living room that we think may have caused mold to make its way into our home. Therefore, we really hope to get that fixed prior to Baby E's big debut at 2519 153rd Lane NW.

Am I ready physically? No. Are we prepared? No.

But, we have a lot of love to give to our little Baby E in just four- or more- weeks. We are so excited to meet this little person!

Take THAT!

Daddy has discovered a new "game" which mommy doesn't approve of. The other night, Tyler was feeling the baby move, and decided to give it a "zerbert" (or "rasberry kiss"). As soon as he did it, Baby gave a good hard kick out. It was hilarious. So, Tyler did it again. Once again, Baby E gave daddy (and mommy, I guess) a hard kick. I felt bad for allowing daddy to keep buggin Baby, so that was enough of that. Last night, Tyler tricked me. He wanted to "give Baby a kiss goodnight", but instead of kissing my belly, he once again gave a zerbert. Baby gave a full body blow this time in dismay of daddy's actions. NO MORE ZERBERTS, DADDY!

Future Husky

It was a perfect night for high school football, so we decided to catch the second half of the Andover Husky game. As soon as we got there, Baby E began kicking and squirming nonstop until we left the game. Can you blame him/her? The sights, sounds and smells of high school football under the lights... there's nothing like it! Now here's the question: Was Baby wanting to get out onto the field for some PT, or perhaps jump into line with the Dance Team or cheerleaders??? By the way- our local Huskies beat the Osseo Orioles in front of a packed house. Go Huskies!

A message from Baby E...

Baby E says, "Hello to my first BOY cousin, Wyatt Kenneth Kaproth, born on 9-10-09 at 7:07 AM. You're a big boy, weighing in at almost 9 pounds! I can't wait to meet you tonight, but see you for real in about a month. Hey, Wyatt- GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!" Love, Baby E

34 weeks + 3 days

We had doctor appointment today and received the following information:

• I have gained the appropriate amount of weight for my height/frame (even though it's a bit difficult to see that number getting so big on the scale!)
• My blood pressure is good (which is remarkable, since this was the first day of school, which equates to a very hectic day)
• If I should go into labor tonight, there will be no attempts made to stop it (this is the moment that I asked the doctor to re-check my blood pressure)
• Mercy Hospital has an astonishingly low rate for C-section, at only 14% (they pride themselves on this, as the national average is around 30%, which means that the team of doctors at Mercy only do C- sections when it's absolutely necessary for the health and well-being of the baby and/or mother)
• Baby's heart rate was 140 (hmmm.... low again. Does this mean Baby E is a boy?)
• Baby E will likely be a small baby, as he/she is probably only a little over 4 pounds right now and Dr. Schoel thinks it'll be a little one (which has sent Tyler into a slight depression, as he doesn't want his child to be the one always standing in the front row for class photos, etc. Let me remind everyone of our family genes. It's unlikely our child will be a center on the basketball team)
• The amount of Baby E's movement indicates that he/she is good n healthy and getting plenty of oxygen (wish I could say the same for mommy- she's having trouble getting a deep breath due to the large mass that has affixed itself on my lungs)
• Baby E is head-down (which means it has been giving mommy some pretty swift kicks in the ribs which I previously thought must've been it's noggin. Maybe Baby E will be a punter like it's "uncle" Tyson?)

As we count down the minutes to the birth of Baby E's cousin (affectionately known as "BK" (baby Kaproth), it is exciting to think about all of the changes that lie ahead for our family. When I spoke with my brother a few minutes ago, I reminded him that there are only about 9 hours left that the Jeff & Jean Kaproth household is made up of just two people. Next time they go home after tomorrow, they will be toting their new little bundle. Soon, it'll be our turn, and we're so excited, but also a bit nervous.

What the heck are we going to do with this thing when we get it home?!

Daddy's gettin Baby E's toys ready!

Tyler assembled Baby E's bouncy seat today! What a cute little lamby.

Weird? Yep, definitely. Cool? Uh-huh.

This will likely be the oddest posting that will ever find its way onto the Baby Engquist Blog. Weird? You bet. However, this is something that is likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I jumped on it. A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting a web site called Moms Like Me (www.momslikeme.com) and found an offer from a company who is trying to grow and market their services to expecting mothers. Casting Keepsakes does belly casting. Their offer was to come to our house to do a free cast of my baby belly. Mary came and did my casting on Monday night. It was the oddest experience, but I'm hoping it will be a treasure that we will perhaps display and share with our little nugget for years to come. I will post a photo of the cast once we get it back, which should be any day. Mary took it back to her shop so she could sand it and apply a hardening agent, which will help make it last forever. It will be returned to us as just a plain white cast, and we will be given paint to add our own touches to it. When we were comtemplating what we should do to it, Tyler came up with a good idea. We are going to paint a Bible verse on it and hang it on the wall in the nursery. We will also probably take the cast with us when we have newborn photos taken- sort of a "before" and "after" kind of deal. So... is it weird? Yep. But we don't care!

He/ She is enrolled!

I had the day off today, so I bit the bullet and registered Baby E to begin school on January 4th, 2010 at Foundation Hill Montessori School (http://www.foundationhill.com/).

This is something that we've been dreading, as the cost of daycare is SO expensive in our area. However, we feel really good about sending our little gem to FH, so even though we may need to skip a few meals to pay tuition, we know it'll be a great fit and Baby E will undoubtedly be a genious in no time!

A little hiccup in the situation

The other night when I was laying in bed, I thought Baby E was repeatedly kicking me in the same place nonstop. Tyler felt it, too, but after a few minutes I realized Baby E wasn't kicking at all... Baby E had the hiccups! This was the first time I felt the little bugger hiccupping, and it was kind of fun. I felt bad though, that I couldn't recommend a sip of water upside down and I certainly wasn't going to try to scare it out of him/her!

Baby Shower Fun!

We had my baby shower today, hosted by Tyler's aunts and cousins. What a great time! Thank you to the readers who attended the event.

Things seem very real now. As Tyler and I were looking at the gifts we received, we realized how soon we'll actually be using those wipes and reading those books to our little one. We're so excited.

This evening we went to Babies R Us and Target to get some of the biggest necessities that we'll need when Baby E arrives. We picked up the car seat, changing table cushion, and Tyler's favorite... his manly diaper bag. Below are a few photos from our shopping trip.

Tyler LOVES his new man {diaper} bag!

Loading the goods in the trunk. Shopping trips look a little different these days...

A photo from my baby shoewr- Baby K and Baby E getting to know each other

- by the way, if any of the shower-goers have some photos from the party, please send them to me electronically! jill_engquist@yahoo.com. Thanks!-

Wierd malformations of my belly

I read about this in a few books, but never realized it until last night... Apparently when you are pregnant, your ab muscles separate to allow for the baby bump to make itself at home. Well, last night I was laying on my bed and had my shirt pulled up so I could watch Baby E moving. I sat up using (what's left of) my ab muscles and saw my belly take on this freakish pyramid shape. It was astounding! Because my abs are separated, a point actually forms in the middle when my tummy is flexed. Odd, the things that happen when one is preggers!

Girl or Boy? Tough call.

Over the course of this weekend, I randomly had four individuals tell me the sex of Baby E. Our niece, Erin, unsolicited, pointed to my belly and said, "there's a baby girl in there!" After confirming with Erin that she indeed said that she thinks Baby E is a girl, I decided to check with little Brita. Brita also said that I will be having a girl. Today at Tyler's baseball game, his Grandma Carol said that she thinks based on the way I'm carrying (out in front), Baby E is definitely a boy. Uncle Skip was standing with us when she shared her well-practiced knowledge (after having four of each kind of baby), and he too said that he thinks it's a boy (he's got three boys). Oh, who knows??? Only 7-12 weeks until we find out for sure!

Doctor appointment update- 30 weeks and 2 days

We had another doctor appointment this week, and reality has officially set in: the nurse reminded us that in 8 (very short) weeks, we could have a perfectly healthy baby in our possession. EIGHT WEEKS?!!?!!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

SO much to do:

- name

- crib

- paint the nursery

- school

- baby proofing

- unthinkables

I need to start nesting.

Today's appointment was a busy one. I had my blood glucose screening to rule out gestational diabetes (which I passed, thank God!). Below is a photo of me preparing to enjoy my orange-flavored sugar drink. I thought it was going to taste disgusting (the taste of Airborne is what I expected), but it tasted a lot like McDonald's orange drink that you get for free at sports functions and other large gatherings. Not bad. Bottom's up!

After downing my 6 oz, we met with the doctor, who declared that I am right on track for everything- weight, growth, etc. I am measuring right at 30-31 weeks. She reminded me that exercise is important throughout pregnancy so that I have the stamina to push this baby out quickly. As not only my doctor, but also a new mom, she said it's difficult to push every 1 to 3 minutes for 2 to 3 hours. I kindly let her know that I plan to get the baby out in 30 minutes or less. Nevertheless, because I haven't been very diligent about my exercise routine lately, this is something I needed to hear. I do need to get my butt moving a little more. I'm now researching pregnancy yoga and possibly pregnancy water aerobics. It'll be a good way to meet other expecting mommas in my neighborhood, too. Maybe I'll see them at the Momma and Me yoga classes at the Y!

After meeting with the doctor, we had to go to the waiting room while the sugar drink worked it's magic, before having my blood drawn to get the results. Below, you can see how nervous I was- not only for the blood draw (my veins are never very needle-friendly), but also to learn of the result.

After the lab tech told me my result was good, I took a deep sigh of relief, but then remembered what was about to happen next: the Rh- shot.

Because my blood is Rh negative, I am required to have a shot during each pregnancy and again after delivery. This shot is given in the butt, and it stung! Not like a shot stings, but a shot sting PLUS burning of the medicine as it was going in. Tyler kindly documented the whole process on camera, and afterward, stated, "you did well, Jill". He is no longer invited to appointments.

After the shot, I was free to leave. I expected to get a sucker or something for enduring so many pokes and sticks today, but nothing. Good thing I had a granola bar in my purse.

Next appointment: September 10.

WARNING: Big, naked belly photos below!!!

Some of our followers may not know that 10 weeks ago, Tyler and I started a video of my changing belly. Each week, I put on the same outfit and stand in front of the same empty wall in our house and do a 360 degree turn in front of the video camera so we can have documentation of how much my belly grows each week.

Last night, after we wrapped our 30-week film, we realized that we haven't been very good about taking still shots of me and my belly, so we decided now was as good a time as any.

WARNING:

Content may not be suitable for some audiences. Use discretion if huge bellies gross you out!

Baby E with friends and fam

Baby E has already spent some time with some very special other babies (who are not yet born), and who will without a doubt be some of his or her best friends. Baby Strommer (son or daughter of Aaron and Amanda Strommer) will arrive in early October. They live in Hugo, MN, which is about 30 minutes from Andover, so hopefully Baby E and Baby S will get some good play time together while their mommies are home on maternity leave! Baby Simon (son or daughter of Brian and Emily Simon) is expected to arrive on 1.1.10! Although the Simon family lives far away in Albany, Baby E will definitely get to know and love Baby Simon. Baby E with Daddy at auntie Nicole's wedding (7.25.09).

Baby E with cousin Baby Kaproth, to be born in early September, 2009. Though Baby K lives in Cloquet, we are so excited that these two little first cousins will be so close in age and will grow up "together"!!!

Lets make things interesting...

If you are interested in participating in a wager for the upcoming birth of Baby E, please email me at jileng@stfrancis.k12.mn.us. I will email you the rules and registration form!

Are we "those people"???

We have found that the shock of preparing to welcome a newcomer into the family is ongoing. With everything one must consider in the nine months leading up to that little 7-10 pound bundle of joy coming home (choosing a name (or two, if you don't know if it's a boy or a girl), finding a school, preparing the nursery, deciding on all of the "extra stuff"), it is a daunting task that takes a whole lot of time and energy . Yesterday, Tyler and I spent the better part of our evening finalizing our gift registries. When we got to Babies R Us, Ty pulled into a parking place with a sign, "parking for expectant mothers only". I instantly said, "What are you doing?! We don't need to park here! I'm not like "one of them"!" He insisted that, yes indeed, I AM "one of them". We proceeded to get out of the car and began walking into the store, when "one of them" got out of HER car (more appropriately parked in the expectant mothers space). Ty and I looked at each other and began laughing as we both realized that while I AM 6 1/2 months pregnant, I am NOT ready to pop, I do NOT have a belly so big that my shirt doesn't come even close to covering it in it's entirety, and I do NOT (yet) waddle when I walk. Still, this IS really happening, and my day too will come.

Baby E is on the move!

While we are happy to be home, the Engquist Family had a great time in Europe. Thankfully, Baby E didn't hold momma up at all- I was able to truck along with everyone else (minus, of course, staying out at the bars drinking German bier until early morning hours). Below are photos from our climb to the top of St. Stephen's Cathedral in downtown Vienna. 394 steps in a dark, narrow stone stairwell was nothin for us!

Baby E is moving and shaking ALL THE TIME! I'm trying to figure out if this baby ever sleeps! It's been a lot of fun to feel all the movement, but now it's amazing to watch the movement in my belly, too. It provided great entertainment on our plane ride home on Monday!

We received a call that our latest ultrasound looked good and there are no concerns about the health of Baby E. That's what we like to hear. Our next appointment is on August 10th, when I will have the glucose test and my RH shot.

Ultrasound results- round 3

We had another doctor appointment and ultrasound yesterday...

First, we met with the doctor. This was the last time I'll have a substitute doctor, as mine is on maternity leave through July. I look forward to seeing her again in August! Nonetheless, everything was good; heartbeat was strong at 145 bpm and measured right on track.

Next, we had to go to the hospital for our ultrasound. This was a little different; apprently there was a scheduling error for the radiologists at the clinic, so we were booted over to Mercy. We ended up waiting over a half hour past our scheduled time for our ultrasound, so when the radiology tech came to get us, she generously gave us two free meal tickets for the hospital cafeteria. Knowing how delicious hospital food typicllay is, we can't wait to use those!

This tech was very nice, but was a bit stingy on giving us photo printouts- we only got THREE, and they weren't all that great!

Baby E was very stubborn again, and wouldn't give us a nice shot of it's facial profile. The radiology tech feels like she got a good enough shot to ensure that everything looks good, but still, I was really hoping for the "money shot". Oh well.

Below are a few photos: #1 is the best printout of Baby's profile that we got;

#2 and #3 are Baby waving to us. It was pretty funny because it actually looked like Baby was waving to us!

#4 is mommy watching Baby move on the ultrasound screen.

It was fun to be able to see baby moving. Because I can feel it so distinctly, it was neat to see which of Baby's body part it was that was moving. At one point, Baby was punching me. Brat.

Current Happenings in the pre-life of Baby E

Baby has been moving nonstop lately. We learned in a recent pregnancy class that the times at which the baby moves the most is when we can expect to be feeding. You can expect to see blog entries at 11:00 PM, 3:00 AM and 7:30 AM beginning mid-October... We have another ultrasound tomorrow, and we're so excited to see Baby again! I hope Baby is on the move, but I also hope it stays still long enough to get a good photo of it's profile. Tyler and I have been working on our baby registries. Because we'll be on vacation next week, and the remainder of July is pretty booked after we get home, we are trying to cross things off of our to-do list. One of the biggest issues we are facing is still with choosing a school for our little one. We were temporarily hopeful that the St. Francis School District was going to offer childcare for employees, but I received a letter today that stated that that is no longer a possibility for next year. So... back to the drawing board. We are now examining both in-home daycares and childcare centers. I still really like what I saw at both the Montessori and Kindercare, which are both just a few miles from home, so they will provide a good comparison for when we do more pop-in visits. Another hurdle that we've been dealing with is choosing the perfect name for Baby E. I am happy to report that we have narrowed our list. Somewhat. We probably will not have definite for-sure names picked out before the baby is born, but I'd be more at ease if we had just a couple for each gender. We'll get there.

Baby bump

I haven't taken any photos yet of my emerging baby belly, so I thought it's probably time to start that... Some days I appear to be bigger than others, but I do seem to be in an "in-between" stage- most of the maternity clothes I have are too big, but I haven't been able to zip up my own pants for quite some time... thank goodness for sundreses!

Ultrasound results

The doctor called on Friday to confirm that the ultrasound looked fine- no concerns at all. We are planning to have one more ultrasound, however, on July 2nd to try to get the photo of baby's profile. I also have my normal 24-week appointment that day. Baby is still kicking like a soccer player. We'll need to set him/her straight on that (wrong kind of futbol/ football).

"Wassup, Mom & Dad?! Wham! I'm here!"

So yesterday Tyler and I were sitting on the couch at home. I was reviewing some resumes, Ty was watching Sportscenter- nothing out of the ordinary. Baby E began moving and I casually mentioned it to Tyler, when all of a sudden, WHAM! The baby kicked so hard that we actually SAW it! We find it quite amazing that at only about 13 oz, there could be enough force behind a kick already for it to be so visible. Of course, after that kick, we were waiting for another one, so Ty and I were both staring at my belly waiting for it. The tough part is that I was wearing a dress with skinny horizontal stripes, and we were staring for so long that we started getting dizzy! Not another kick like that was had for the rest of the night, but it was fun to be able to see it together!

Baby E: Stubborn, just like daddy

Our appointment yesterday went well. The baby is measuring to be the appropriate size for 20 weeks, 3 days, and all of the anatomy and other "scientific stuff" looked great. We were able to see the four chambers of the heart, the three ventricles in the umbilical cord, both sides of the brain, ten fingers, ten toes and a big 4.5 cm head. Baby E appears to be strong and healthy, as well as active (in fact he/she must know I'm writing about him/her right now, cuz it just gave me a couple of swift kicks, as if to say "hello"). The down side to yesterday's appointment: Baby E is stubborn! Even after a discussion I had with baby on the way to our appointment about needing to cooperate, baby refused to show his/her face. Because of this, we will have another ultrasound in four weeks- simply to get the "money shot". The ultrasound tech said everything appears to be fine physically, but she'd write up an order to have another appointment so we can try to see baby's face. Hey- as long as it's covered by insurance, we'll take any chance we get to see our little one! I will post the photos we do have of baby as soon as I get them onto my computer. I didn't really feel the need to rush out and do it right away this time, since really none of the photos were brag-book worthy.

Another photo op

We have our second ultrasound tonight, and we're so excited to see our baby again! Because we are at 20 weeks, we have the chance to find out what kind of a baby this is- boy or girl. I've been trying to talk Tyler into agreeing to find out, but... no luck. Unless Baby E is in a position that makes it ridiculously obvious, we will not be finding out. Tyler hopes the baby is giving us the finger... then he'll know it's his. :-) I will be sure to post updated photos of our little one as soon as I can!

Everything we ever needed to know and more

On Saturday, Tyler and I attended our Birth and Parenting class at the hospital. It was a full-day deal from 9-5, where we learned everything we need to know about the birthing process. Cleansing breath ~ He He He Who He He He Who He He He Who ~ Cleansing breath It was good to see the actual rooms at Mercy so we know what to expect, and we also got a lot of answers to the "what ifs". Along with quite a bit of general knowledge of giving birth, we had to consider many options. We decided that it would probably not be in Tyler's best interest to be right in my face telling me what a great job I'm doing during delivery; we learned to try to stay home until contractions are 5 minutes apart; and we learned to never wake a sleeping baby (uh, no kidding- we plan to take full advantage of getting our own sleep when the baby is zonked). To epidural or not; that is the question. Prior to this weekend, I thought I would absolutely get one (if I am able to after the doctors get a better look at my x-rays from my back injury), but now I'm not so sure. I may try to tough it out. I have a lot to consider, and hope I make a final decision prior to D-day!

"Hello, I am your baby, and I do acrobatics!"

Oh my word. The moving and the kicking has started and doesn't stop! Prior to this past weekend, I have occasionally felt the baby move (I believe we call them "flutters"), but it wasn't until Friday that I actually felt real movement and what I believe are kicks in my tummy. I emailed Ty on Friday and told him, "the baby is dancing". He was quick to respond, "No, the baby is doing plyometrics". Whatever we call it, there is very active movement taking place, which is fun- until around 10:00 PM on a school night when I really need my rest... Last night (Sunday), I went to bed around 9:30 and was watching TV for a little while, but there was no hope of falling asleep anytime soon, as the baby was moving so much. I adjusted my position a few times, but nothing helped. Around 10:30, Tyler got home from baseball, so I went downstairs to talk with him for a little while and tried to sort of bounce and rock, hoping the baby would fall asleep, like a good little child should do at night. Finally, around 11:30, I think the little beaner fell asleep, and so did mommy. I hope the acrobatics calm down before the baby gets TOO big, or I will not have another restful night for the remainder of my life!

Baby E = World Traveler!

We are attempting to bring Baby E into this world as a natural-born explorer! At the ripe age of 20 weeks B.B (before birth), Baby has already traveled cross-country to Anchorage, Alaska and now Boston, Massachusetts, and has not held mommy up too much! While we were in Alaska, I was early in my first trimester, so I was dealing with extreme fatigue. Other than needing a nap in a very fierce way each day, the pregnancy was not causing me to be sick or put a damper on fun in any way. In Boston, while I did try to take advantage of a daily nap (probably due more to walking many miles while sightseeing each day), I felt energized and great the entire time- plane ride out to plane ride home! Baby E is primed and ready to go... Austria, here we come (July 6-July 14)! If we plan to take the baby with us when we go to Hawaii next April, I will have no reservations about taking the baby on a plane- after all, he/she is already racking up frequent flyer miles! Note: I am NOT naive. Ask me again in 11 months if we are going to take a newborn with us to Hawaii. Ha!

The "Nothing" update

I don't have much news to report! As they say, "No news is good news", so I guess this is a good thing in my situation. Baby E will be taking its first flight on Friday morning, when we meet daddy in Boston for a long weekend. I am really looking forward to it, though I hope I do okay with all of the walking that one must do to really appreciate Boston. As of late, my back and feet have been hurting. I hope to be a trooper though! Perhaps the reason I've had these aches and pains is due to my waistline. You see, it has simply become nonexistent. I truly appreciate the comfort I have found in maternity pants; in fact, I may never go back to regular jeans! After a regular waistband poking into my "baby bump" for so long, the joy I find in the stretchy waist on maternity pants is indescribable. We continue to look forward to our 20 week ultrasound on June 2nd and pray that everything looks perfect.

HATERS!!!

While updating the blog, I noticed the results of the due date poll... So, ya'll don't think October 14th is the date, huh?! Baby and I have been having discussions about the importance of arriving on 10/14/09. The plan is for him/her to enter the world around 7:00 PM after a short labor (because, of course, I cannot go into labor until after work at 3:00). This is a good baby- it's gonna listen to it's Mama! HATERS!

Baby E is good at tests!

The GenScreen is a test that checks for abnormalities in the baby, such as Downs Syndrome and Spina Bifida. If this preliminary screening comes back "abnormal", an amniocentisis is done for further testing. Because the outcome of the amnio would make no difference to us in the outcome of our pregnancy, we opted out of the GenScreen entirely. Besides, there are serious risks that happen with amniocentisis, and we don't like risks. We then had the option to have a QuadScreen done at our more recent appointment. Again, this checks for abnormalities such as Downs and Spina Bifida. We decided that we would like to know if we are going to be facing the challenge of raising a child with a disability so that we could get a quick education on it. There is no risk with the QuadScreen- it's administered simply with a blood test, and the follow-up with an abnormal test is a level 2 ultrasound. Though I'm not a fan to providing my blood to the takers, I offered up a couple more vials. I am happy (and a proud parent) to report that Baby E is good at tests, and passed the QuadScreen just fine! Everything appears to be completely normal with Baby E... though it would've been fun to get a 3D ultrasound! No need to worry about raising a child with Down's or SB- from the looks of the ultrasound, finding out about the ADHD is a whole different issue...