10 Days Old

Well, I'm sure that everyone knows by now, but our little Anna made her way into our world on December 17th. We had a scheduled induction for the 17th at 7:30 am and sure enough at 4:30 am my water broke! So we got up, got our stuff together and headed to the hospital. I still can't believe how smoothly everything went, and I feel incredibly lucky. We got to the hospital and got settled in and after a couple hours of painful contractions that just kept getting worse, my nurse said that now was the time to get an epidural if I wanted to. Did I want to...um, yeah I did! I will just say this for anyone ever to have a baby...the epidural is your best friend. I was SOO much more comfortable after only a couple minutes. Dane and I spent the next few hours napping and resting while my body prepared for the birth. At about 1:00 pm the nurse said I was fully dialated and wanted to see what happened if we started pushing, and sure enough, two pushes into it she could already see the head! I ended up pushing for about 20 minutes and then the most miraculous thing happened. Anna was placed on my stomach for me to get a good look at her for the first time. It is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Dane and I couldn't take our eyes off her...she was perfect! Anna came into this world weighing 8lbs 9oz and was 19 inches long...and beautiful!

We stayed in the hospital for only one night and came home the following day in the afternoon. We were all ready to come home and get settled and Grandma Dufault was here with dinner ready and open arms to hold Anna! :) It's definitely been a transition getting use to the sleep deprivation and feeling like my only use right now is to be a 24 hour feeding station. But I knew that this was the way it would be at first, so we're just trying to push through, and thankfully Dane has been my rock and become quite the expert diaper changer. I think one of my favorite parts of this whole parenthood role is watching Dane with his little girl and seeing the love in his eyes that just keeps growing with every day that passes. We are both totally and utterly in love with this little girl.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and I must say that Anna stole the show! My parents and Dane's parent's were at our house for Christmas Eve and we had a delicious turkey dinner with all the extras that Dane's parents prepared. We exchanged gifts and ate lots of food and snuggled Anna all day long. Everyone was properly spoiled and I just feel more and more thankful for such a special family. My mom made a delicious breakfast the next morning that Dane's folks joined us for and then the rest of the day was spent with just me, Dane and Anna relaxing and taking naps. That's pretty much all our days consist of lately...I'm lucky if I get a shower in there somewhere! :)

Well, as I type this my sweet little angel is waking up from a nap is starting to root around for dinner! Duty calls! I will add more in the next day or so...we are very excited because my brother and his family will be coming into town on Saturday and staying with us through the new year. We can't wait to see them and are excited to introduce them to their new niece/cousin!

Here we go...

It's 11:30 pm the night before we are going to have Anna, and I'm not even remotely tired. In 8 hours we are going to be leaving for the hospital for our scheduled induction and I have so many emotions running through me, it's overwhelming. For starters, I am more scared than I thought I would be...it's just that this is such a HUGE thing we're going to do, and I have NO idea what is in store for us. That's a little intimidating! Who said I was ready to take care of a newborn baby? I mean, shouldn't there be a class we have to pass or a test run or something first, before they just send me home with one of my very own?

As scared as I am, I can't even put it into words how excited I am to FINALLY meet this little girl that has been growing inside me for the past 41 weeks! I can't wait to see what she looks like, and to see who's features she got, and what her little cry is going to sound like and to see her look at her mommy and daddy for the very first time...nothing in life will ever come close to that. It is definitely going to be a miraculous day tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow at this time we will have our little Anna bear to hold and touch and stare at. Tomorrow will be a big day.

Tag, I'm it.

Okay Brittany, you tagged me, so I thought I would give it a try. :)

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago (in 1997)...
1. Loving my senior year, attending all the football games and aftergame dances.
2. Enjoying the single life after being in a relationship all through high school with Todd.
3. NOT working, so that I could enjoy the activities of my senior year.
4. Spending ALL my free time with our friends.

5 things on my to-do list today: (It's the end of the day, so this is what I got accomplished)
1. Helped Dane install a new kitchen faucet--let's just say he got a tad bit cranky
2. Went to Fred Meyer and finished up a little Christmas shopping.
3. Still need to wrap some Christmas gifts.
4. Put my feet up and relaxed while eating my chicken ceasar salad that I made for dinner.
5. Waiting impatiently for Anna to come.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. An apple cut up, dipped in peanut butter--I've been addicted the last part of my pregnancy.
2. I'm with Sara...I LOVE a bowl of cold ceral at night! My fav. lately has been Oh's.
3. Jello pudding snacks (I found a SUGAR FREE chocholate mint that is actually tasty!)
4. English muffin with peanut butter, and a cold glass of milk. (are you noticing a peanut butter theme?)
5. I have a serious sweet tooth...cakes, candies, cookies, anything along those lines. Having gestational diabetes these last few months has been HARD! Anna had better appreciate my sacrafices. :)

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Build our dream house right on a lake here in town.
2. Buy a beautiful home in the Virgin Islands, on St. John
3. Purchase a plane so that we can go stay on St. John whenever we want and have friends and family come along as well.
4. Help my parents so they can retire and have the lifestyle they dream of.
5. Make sure my brother and his family are financially set.

3 of my bad habits:
1. I bite my fingernails...I know, it's horrible.
2. I tend to boss Dane while he's cooking...as if I know what I'm doing! He really hates it when I do that...I usually get kicked out of the kitchen! :)
3. I have certain ways that I think things need to be done, and when it's done differently it bothers me...I need to learn to just be happy that it got done!

5 places I have lived:
1. Yakima, WA
2. Bellingham, WA
3. Renton, WA
4. St. Thomas, USVI
5. Olympia, WA

5 jobs I have had:
1. Courtesy/Helper clerk at Safeway
2. Car detailer at Enterprise Rent A Car (yes, it was as glamorous as it sounds--but hey, I got a good tan that summer!)
3. Child Care Supervisor at Enatai Elementary in Bellevue, WA
4. Stewardess for Clipper Cruise Line...best year of my life!
5. Financial Assistant at Weinand Financial

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I've always wished that I had played soccer growing up...and to be honest, it's mostly because I really like the uniforms!
2. I am competitive to a fault...to the point of feeling my blood pressure rising if I am loosing at something.
3. I have a constant fear of something horrible happening where I would loose a family member or a dear friend.
4. If I could change one thing physically about me I would want smaller hips.
5. I'm secretly afraid that I'm never going to outgrow watching shows like MTV's "The Hills" and "The Real World".

I'm with Sara...since I don't have enough people on my blog list, I can't tag anyone either. :) Sorry to have it end here...although Tara, I'm still waiting for yours!

1 Day Past Due

Well, this is officially day 1 past my due date. I've posted a picture so you can all see what that looks like...if my smile looks a little forced, it's because it is. :) People keep asking me how I'm doing and usuallyI'll try to respond all chipper and upbeat with the classic "Hanging in there...just can't wait to meet her!" What I really want to say is "Well, I feel like I've got a bowling ball inside me, sitting right on my cervix and making the pressure overwhelming at times, all the while, I'm trying to get out of the house to keep my mind off of the fact that I'm so uncomfortable, but unfortunately, not one pair of my damn shoes will fit over my sausage-like feet, so I get to wear flip flops in 40 degree weather. In addition, I'd rather not have to get out of my sweats seeing as though my biggest, stretchiest pair of maternity jeans are starting to feel snug over my pregnant ass. Other than that, I'm great".

My only saving grace is that there is an end in sight. We have scheduled a day for induction which will be next Monday the 17th. At our last doctor's appointment yesterday, there still wasn't much progress...only 1 1/2 cm dialated and that just means there's a long ways to go. While we were at our appointment, I mentioned to the doctor that it seemed like Anna's movements weren't as often as they have been, so they set me up for a non-stress test. We basically got to sit there for 20 minutes and listen to Anna's heartbeat while it printed out a report. I was relieved to see that she passed with flying colors. In the printout they look for at least three peaks in her heart rate and then where it comes back down to normal. And sure enough, they said that she's plenty active, happy and healthy in there still. So I feel very reassured that while she is overdue, she's still doing great in there...that's the most important thing. Dane and I are really hoping that she decides to surprise us and come out on her own before Monday because I would really rather not be induced. But I'm certainly not dead set against it, so if that's what needs to happen, then let's get the show on the road!

In the meantime, I'm trying to keep myself busy. This week has been the first week off work and it's been glorious. I'm just so much more comfortable at home and it's been great to be able to get some stuff done around the house that has been on my list for awhile. We've pretty much finished up our Christmas shopping, so now I have a bunch of wrapping to do...I plan on tackling that tomorrow. We've got all of our Christmas decorations and our tree up and it is just making us so excited for the holiday. Dane and I were sitting in our living room looking at our tree the other night and he just said "it's going to be such a great Christmas this year" and I couldn't agree more. :)

Anna's Room

Well, I finally took some pictures of the nursery...it's not totally complete but it should give you an idea of what it looks like. There's really no theme but the main colors are pink and sage green. She certainly has what she needs for her first few weeks and after that, I'll put stuff away where it works best for us. The countdown is at 9 days...can you believe that?? I'm feeling pretty sure that she will take all of those days and maybe a couple extra before she introduces herself--she doesn't seem to be in too big of a hurry to be going anywhere. There doctor said that things are starting to get underway, but that I could stay like this for a couple weeks. Dane and I are both ready to just have her here with us and I am very ready to not be pregnant anymore! I'm uncomfortable whether laying down or sitting or standing, my hands and feet look like sausages, and I get winded just getting up off the couch. My sweet husband should get a medal for putting up with me these last few weeks. :) Well actually, he gets his little girl, so what more could he need or want!

We had a nice weekend filled with decorating our house for Christmas, watching some football and relaxing. I'm definitely going through my last minute nesting stage...I managed to clean out and organize our linen closet, my bedroom closet and our laundry room. Things I normally don't care too much about...but it feels great to get them done! :) I'm hoping that Tuesday we can go get a Christmas tree and then we'll be all ready for the holidays!

It's back to work tomorrow, but the exciting news is that this is my last week! I told my boss and his wife that Friday will be my official last day and it feels great to have that to look forward to. I plan to take off three months and enjoy every last day!