So much to be thankful for!

We had a great Thankgiving week with Nana and Gramps Maldoff! He started to smile this past week, so that was great timing with them here.

All the decorations are up and we're getting in the Christmas spirit around here. I just put together my "Christmas 09" itunes playlist to get even more in the festive mood. Everything I'm reading about baby development says that right at 6 weeks is a really important time for them listening to music, so Henry lucked out that it's Christmas season.....because I tend to sing Christmas songs all the time!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

One month old!

Can't believe it's already been a month!

Here's a glimpse into his little personality:

- Quite the big man! 10lbs and 4 oz and 22inches long at 1 month. 75th percentile across the board.

- Henry is obsessed with ceiling fans & lights. When he's crying and nothing will calm him down, we just lay him on his changing table where he has full view of the black ceiling fan in his nursery. He just lays there and coos and sighs and is happy as can be.

- Bath time is another big fave. Just like his mom, he loves his baths!

- Little H is quite the sleeper too. We still have our nights, but he's been sleeping 4-5 hour stretches. Just like his dad, he loves his sleep!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Chilling on the couch

More pictures!

Here's some more pics from the past week including some of Baby's 1st Halloween! It mostly involved nursing while Dad was handing out candy and trying to keep Betsy away from the trick or treaters. So, overall Henry thought it was pretty awesome.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Henry is here!

Our little baby boy has arrived and is already a week old! I know all new moms say this but it's so true, time really does fly by.

Henry has quite the little personality already. He is a very sweet and chill baby, but when he does cry, he does not hold back! His cry is similar to the velicoraptor in Jurassic Park. Ear-splitting! He has the most extreme neck strength of any baby I've ever seen. When we burp him, he raises his head up like crazy up off our shoulders. I can always tell when he is hungry because he will bang his head up and down on my chest like a rooster! He does not like laying on his back to sleep. He would rather be at an incline- thank goodness for the miracle that is the vibrating bouncy seat. He loves to eat. I'll take the sleep deprivation over this adjustment to breastfeeding any day of the week- talk about a labor of love! This boy has a voracious appetite and it's taking "the girls" a little while to get in the swing of things.

Here's the story of how he arrived.....

Henry arrived on 10/20/09 at 8:24am weighing 8lbs 2oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. I started having contractions on Monday at about 5:00 while I was taking a nap. We had scheduled the induction earlier that day for Thursday, but this baby had other plans! The contractions started out about 15 minutes apart and pretty mild. I kept feeling them throughout the evening and they gradually started getting closer. I tried to stay calm- we took a walk, I took a shower, and finished packing my bag. As we started getting ready for bed, they started getting quite a bit more painful but we both thought labor was still a long way away. I tried to sleep but OMG- talk about the most pain I have ever felt in my life. I don't know why I was worried about knowing what a contraction would feel like, you definitely know!

By 2:30am, I woke Marc up and told him it was time to go (ah, just like the movies)- they were about 6 minutes apart and hurting like a motha. When we got to the hospital, I was already dilated 4cm which made me very, very happy because that meant I could get my epidural. After 3 tries (ugghh), the anethesiologist finally got the epidural going. Once that got cranking, we all just rested and tried to sleep. The nurse kept a close eye on us because mine and the baby's blood pressure was pretty low. I had to wear an oxygen mask to keep our pressures up. But....I started feeling a little scared with how closely they were monitoring us.

By 7:30am, the doctor came in and checked me and said I was 9.5cm! I couldn't believe how fast it was progressing, especially after so three weeks straight of doctor's visits with no change in dilation. They felt the baby's head and said he was face up instead of the preferred face down, so for the next 45 minutes they had me switch positions and try to get him to move. By 8:15am, the doctor came in, checked me again, looked me straight in the eyes, and said it was time to push and we needed to get this baby out quickly. All of a sudden, there are like 10 nurses in the room and my mom's holding one hand and Marc is holding the other and it's time to push! I pushed about 15 times and then he was out, but there was no crying. Henry had the cord wrapped around his neck and shoulders and was blue. The look on Marc's face scared me most of all since I couldn't see the baby from where I was. He was crying and I heard my mom crying behind me. But, thank GOD, the doctor worked quickly and cut that cord off and we heard him cry! They took him away to check him out and I just rememer feeling sort of in shock and numb with how fast everything happened and how truly frightening it had gotten. After they made sure he was A-ok (9 on the Apgar, thank you very much), they brought me my precious baby boy and I cried. I love him so much :)

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

Are we there yet??

In about two hours from now, it will be my D-day. So close.......yet, so don't know when this baby is going to want to make his appearance. I'm trying to be patient and think about other things but at this point, it's getting pretty impossible to do that. Mom and Ash are helping me to keep a good attitude and stay upbeat and focused on the prize. Well, all the cooking they've been doing isn't hurting either! Oh, banana bread how I love you. And my necessary hour long siestas everyday. Better take advantage of that while I can!

We had an ultrasound today just to make sure everything looks ok and all is progressing just fine. He looks to be about 7lbs 12oz and is in the 56th percentile at this point. The pics were a little hard to make out at this point since everything is so scrunched up. We had fun playing "guess the body part" on the ultrasound screen. Oh, wait that looks like his hands (no, that's his liver). Oh, look at his spine (no, that's his ribs).

Since I'm not high risk and everything looks healthy, they are not willing to induce till at least this coming Sunday or Monday. We are praying that I will go into labor naturally and soon!

Mom and I took a little day trip up to Blowing Rock on Friday. It was so pretty with the fall foliage just starting to peek out.

For our 3rd anniversary, Marc got us a sweet Flip video camera. It is so easy even I can use it :) Can't wait to take some home movies. Just not in the delivery room, seriously.

We'll keep everybody updated on any news. Next time I post should be THE DAY!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, baby, and Betsy

Happy Fall Y'all

Cooler temps hitting tomorrow! Got me in the fall mood.

Banner inspiration from Fabulous K. Great idea!

http://fabulous-k.blogspot.com/2009/09/simple-burlap-bunting-tutorial.html

Trip to Childress Vineyards

Taking advantage of one of the last weekends where we can take a spur of the moment trip, we took off Sunday morning to Childress Vineyards in Lexington for brunch. What a great day trip! It's only an hour away and the brunch & wine is to-die for! I indulged in half a glass of wine- glorious :) We indeed felt quite sophisticated as we dined on the outdoor terrace listening to the sweet sounds of the band, "Sophisticated Jazz". Although their tune selection was a step above Muzak and we were the only people under 70 years old around (what is it with the elderly & wineries?), it was a refreshing change of pace.


Speaking of food/drink, I tried a sweet potato muffin this weekend and about fell head over heels in love. I didn't realize I could fall in love with a piece of food, but this was about the most delectable morsel I have ever tasted. I will have to make a batch when I'm allowed to eat more carbs again.
Who woulda thunk this place is right off the highway?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Love,
Lyndsey, Marc, baby & Betsy

Nesting mania

I've been hit with the nesting urge. Not necessarily the urge to clean per se. As Marc puts it, it's more of an urge to buy "tchotchkes" for the house. Which, frankly, I take offense to. They are not tchotchkes. These are items and projects that help make a house a home. The baby cannot feel at ease living here with us unless I have a proper seasonal wreath at the door. Ladies, am I right or am I right? I never said it was logical people. This is primal, instinctual stuff.

Initial wreath- $10 to make. Beat that Martha.


Centerpiece with acorns found outside. Sorry, that candle has seen better days. If you have never gathered acorns, you should. Once you start, you can't stop. We were quite the sight with our bulging pockets. Looked like we had robbed somebody of something...circular and lumpy looking.


Finished painted stairway- Sherwin Williams Whole Wheat. Love how it turned out!


Finally, the bed is finished! Found the perfect Pottery Barn euro shams on ebay. Fluffy dog not included.


Fun little wall above our desk in the bedroom. When the baby is here, I want to get a real silhouette of him made instead of one of some other kid I printed off the computer.


Baby shower that Abby and I gave for Angela and baby boy Ian Matthew!Me, Angela, and Abby. Preggos unite! Sorry Abby!
I was 37 weeks complete yesterday, so I've got about 3 weeks left. He is full term now, so if he was born today, he would be perfectly healthy and fully developed. It could really be anyday now! Marc and I made a list last night of last minute things to do because I don't feel quite ready yet :) Honestly though, there is not really much of anything left to do and I doubt you ever get to that point where you feel completely ready.
The biggest weight off my back is that we've finally found a good in-home childcare provider. I'm not making a final decision for a little while longer and will still keep my options open, but it's such a relief for me to find an in-home person versus the traditional day care setting. So happy!
Love,
Lyndsey, Marc, baby, & Betsy