Anderson

This is the birth story of our first born, our son, Anderson.

Anderson was due on Monday, December 19th. All of my appointments came & went & I didn't progress much, if at all. My last Dr.'s appointment was on Tuesday, the 20th, and I knew that we would schedule an induction. AW & I had the plan to do a natural childbirth, we had a doula lined up and everything. I had done lots of homework and had even read the super-granola Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth. 

AW had saved up almost all of his vacation time for the end of the year for Anderson's big arrival. Well, the year was quickly coming to a close and we did not want him to lose that time off. He made arrangements to start his vacation at a certain point and we were praying that Anderson would come on his own so that AW would have plenty of time at home with us. As much as we wanted a spontaneous, natural birth, it became more important to us that AW have time at home so we scheduled an induction for Tuesday, December 27th. Now just because I was to be induced didn't mean I couldn't still go natural, it just meant it would be harder plus it increased my chances of ending up in a cesarean, which I really REALLY did not want to happen.

We weren't morally opposed to an epidural or anything like that. We just decided we wanted to go natural but if for some reason we changed our mind we would be ok with that too. After all, we had never experienced this side of birth before. 

Now, let me back up just a little bit...When we found out we were pregnant we were so excited. Actually, AW was more excited & I was more "what-the-crap-did-we-do"?! Anyways, throughout our marriage we have seen God's provision over & over in different ways. AW & I both have always wanted me to be able to stay home with our children and we both acknowledged that would require sacrifices. Well, I knew I would be able to stay home but it would be really, really hard. I began praying and just prayed that the Lord would provide. I truly had peace about it for months even though I had no idea what His provision would look like. I knew He had given us this baby & He would provide as He saw fit. Well, He provided in a big way this fall through AW's job. We were both so overwhelmed and grateful but really I wasn't that surprised because I knew He knew what we needed and I was going to Him daily with my concerns.

Back to birth week. I had been praying and praying that the Lord would let Anderson come on his own in time for AW to have plenty of time at home with us. As of the day AFTER his due date I still wasn't dilated and was very discouraged. During the previous week or two the Lord had brought 1 Peter 5:7 to mind. It says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." ...He CARES for you... What a thought I so easily forget. I am quick to let the Lord know what I need and want but I am also quick to forget that He CARES! How silly!

So, I began really trusting that the Lord not only knew but cared about what AW & I wanted. I just kept praying continuously...

Tuesday: I left the Dr.'s office at 5:15p.m. discouraged but still trusting with an induction scheduled for the following week.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21: 

2am: I woke up with what I thought to be some awful stomach flu. I ran to the bathroom preparing to die a disgusting death but nothing happened. After I woke up fully and got my wits about me I realized who had given me this...AW. No, it wasn't the stomach flu it was contractions. Like, the real-deal-have-to-focus-through contractions. I got back in bed & worked through constant contractions for about 2 hrs. The whole time I was debating whether or not I should call my mom & call Rachel, our friend & doula. I decided that if I was debating then the answer was no. I just worked through them on my own, which wasn't so easy but do-able. The hardest part was not freaking out about the to-do list running through my mind. Wash our bedding, pack our bags, wipe the bathroom counters, vacuum, do as much laundry as possible, etc.

4:30am:  I fell asleep for 2 hours 

6:30am: I awoke with more contractions doing the same pattern they had done earlier that morning. Ouch!

8:00am: I went back to sleep with the contractions having subsided.

10:00am: I woke up yet again with contractions & decided to text both my mom & Rachel. I was really getting nervous & decided I had better start on my to-do list. I told my mom I really didn't have time to go into labor & she said, "Yes you do! It's exactly what you have time for!" 

So, I began doing laundry, cleaning my bathroom & basically going around our apartment like a mad lady. The whole time texting Rachel. She kept telling me "Just rest." "Rest." "Keep resting." ...oops.

1:00pm: I decided I would lay down for 30 minutes solid and rest and time my contractions. I had noticed they weren't as strong or as regular when I was moving around so that is one reason I had kept busy all morning. In 30 minutes I had 6 decent contractions. I decided to go to my brother's basketball game because I felt like it would be the last one I got to go to for a while. I took a shower and drove to the school gym. Let me suggest NOT driving while having contractions. Anyways, it was a good game, they won & we gave the referees a good heckling. I drove back home, again, NOT fun!

5:00pm: I finally arrived home through all of the holiday traffic and decided to lay down for a while. In the meantime AW came home from work, cooked dinner & we decided to go see our friends who had had their baby the night before. The contractions were coming on pretty strong & regularly at this point. AW was concerned but I told him I was fine. On the way to the hospital I had a few really strong contractions & he wanted to go back home but I knew if we didn't visit with our friends that night it would be a few weeks before we would get to see them. I knew...

9:00 We get back home from visiting our friends and their sweet baby boy & I know that I am in labor. For real. We had been in constant communication with Rachel, our doula, the whole time.

10:30pm: Rachel comes over to our home and agrees I'm in labor. The contractions were 3-5minutes apart and lasting 30-60seconds. As the night progressed they were coming faster & lasting longer. We labored in our bedroom with me on Rachel's birth ball leaned over a stack of pillows on our bed. At one point I began to cry & I said I wasn't ready to have a baby. I didn't want to go to the hospital. I just couldn't do it all & wasn't ready. Besides, what if this WASN'T the real deal? I would be crushed mentally. Rachel said, "Laura, this IS the real deal. In fact, I'm going to say that December 22 is going to be your son's, Anderson's, birthday." I just looked at her. She got me to walk around our living room and then I would "prom dance" with AW when a contraction came. I'm not sure how long we did the walking/prom dance thing but at one point I had a 2 minute long, double peak contraction and she decided it was time to go to the hospital.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22:

1:30am: We arrive at the hospital & I can sense AW's excitement. We get set up in a room and the Dr. comes in to check me. I just KNEW he was going to say 6 or 7 cms...

3.

I'm sorry, WHAT?!

3cms.

I was upset. "I'm a wimp!" "You're not a wimp" "You're not a wimp" everyone said.

"I'm a wimp!"

"Sometimes going 0-4 is the hardest part of some women" the Dr. said.

Ok, fine, maybe that was me. I was already a 3, just one more cm & I'd be through the hardest part...right? It had all happened so quickly already I knew I could do it. My parents arrived at some point and the laboring continued. We walked the halls for a while, me prom dancing with AW & Rachel applying counter-pressure on my back. We labored and labored and labored.

6:00am: My Dr. is now on-call and comes in to check me. Still 3cms. The same. At this point we are all exhausted. I had been up since 10am the Wednesday morning, AW since 5am Wednesday morning & Rachel & my parents probably about the same. 

6:30am: We decide that everyone needs some rest so I'm given NuBain (I have NO idea how to spell it) which helps me to sleep for a couple of hours although I could still DEFINITELY feel the contractions which were happening about every 2 minutes, so really, "sleep" is a term I use loosely here. AW stretches out in the recliner in the room. My parents & Rachel all go home.

10:30am: Everyone returns to L&D with coffees & Diet Cokes in hand and we regroup. Rachel tries to assess if maybe there are some mental blocks that are causing physical blocks. We talk & she tells me she knows I don't like to be touched but could we try the next 3 contractions using a relaxation method she knows. Sure. So we try it & I'm really focused & it goes great. The contractions were handled so much more smoothly. We continue to labor for 2 more hours.

12:30-ish pm: The Dr. comes back in to check me. Alright, game time. I KNEW things had gotten going now. It had been 6 hours since my last check & 11 hours since we'd checked into the hospital & 34 hours since the first real contraction!

3.

I'm sorry, WHAT?! ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME?!

3cms.

My Doc lays out my options: 

1. Go home -- HECK NO, was I going home! I was invested in this process & I wasn't leaving until I had a baby. I don't care how it happens anymore!

2. Start Pitocin -- ok..not the best option because it lowers my chance for a natural childbirth but I don't really give a crap anymore because HOW LONG CAN A PERSON REALLY LABOR FOR?!?!?!

3. Start Pitocin & break my water -- really, REALLY don't want to have my water broken because that puts us on a time clock & at this rate I was going to labor forever... & die.

He leaves us to discuss our options and says he'll be back in about an hour.

1:30pm: I tell him to start the pitocin, there was no way I was going home. I think my mom might have physically breathed a sigh of relief  that I had decided to not go home.

**Disclamer: 

After this point, the details get a little hazy & I'm sorry I might get something wrong...but really you probably won't even notice**

At some point I got really angry. I can't remember why or what exactly set me off. Maybe if was nothing more than just another contraction, but I flipped. Rachel was talking me through a contraction, I think...

"I don't want to do this anymore! I'm done! I want to go home! I'm done with this! I don't care anymore, when I hit 4 I'm getting the drugs! I don't care!"

Rachel attempts to bring me back down

"Stop telling me what to do! Stop touching me! I'm done!"

My mom tries to bring me back down, "Just calm down. Try to relax..."

"Don't tell me to calm down! I'm done! I don't want to do this anymore!"

Wow. 

Rachel helped me move to the shower where I sat on the birth ball and she sprayed my back. It was amazing! It was probably the best I had felt yet. I did have to start wearing the monitors full-time because of the pit but it *almost* didn't matter because that water on my back was AMAZING! As I came back around I felt really bad for yelling at everybody. I apologized to Rachel as she was sitting there spraying me and she was so kind, "Please, don't even worry about it or think about it."

It felt like I had only been in there for about a minute when the nurse came in to say the baby's heart rate was too high & I had to get back in bed. I was really upset. I labored over the back of the bed for a while and finally thought something HAD to be happening. I asked to be checked & sure enough I had progressed!

I was 5-6cms the nurse said! 

PRAISE THE LORD!

I continued to labor & mentally conversed with myself,

 "Ok, this is it. Do you want the epidural?"

"Absolutely!"

"But remember there is a chance it could slow your labor down."

"Right, right...I've progressed so quickly now. I can NOT risk this taking any longer!"

"Ok, so no epidural?"

"No epidural."

I had to have this conversation with myself several times of course but I made up my mind to forge ahead. I can't remember exactly what all happened next...I blocked it out I'm sure. I just kept laboring. At some point I got to get back in the shower. That was good. Really good. After an amount of time I'm completely unaware of, I decided I wanted to get out. I didn't know what exactly I wanted to do next but I just felt I had to get out. I made it a whole 2 feet to the toilet when I just couldn't take another step. I had to rest. AW was applying counter-pressure to my back but in order to reach me he had to reach over one of the new, fancy automatic trash cans.

So there I am trying to work through these contractions, feeling a need to go to the bathroom but knowing that wasn't what I needed at all when this STUPID trash can lid starts going up, down, up, down, the whole time making that horrible noise & wafting the smell of a spicy chicken sandwich my way.

"Get that thing out of here or I'm going to BREAK IT!!!...What is it still doing here?! GET IT OUT!...MOVE IT!!!"

The trash can was moved.

I made it back to the bed eventually where they checked me again. 8-9cms. WOOHOO!!!

This was one of the worst parts I think because all I felt was the urge to push & bear down & everyone kept telling me NOT to. 

How can you not?! It's ALL I wanted to do. In fact at one point I went to bear down & bit Rachel's knee...my bad. Don't worry I've apologized & I really didn't do it out of meanness, it was just some weird need to bite something. 

Have you had a baby? ...Then stop judging me.

Anyways, at some point I just knew it had to be time to push. Our awesome nurse, Daphney, checked me & when she did my water broke AND she said I was 10cms!!!

Push time!

At this point there was a total mental switch. Before I hated the contractions & couldn't wait for them to end. Now that I was pushing it felt so good! I would get frustrated when the contractions would end & I couldn't keep pushing. I just wanted to push until he was out & just be done. 

They got a mirror so I could see what was happening when I would push. At one point I saw a nose! Overall I think I pushed for about an hour & a half. I felt a big rush of relief and the contraction was over & when I looked up there he was. My Dr. was holding my baby & I could see that incredibly long umbilical cord. It was amazing!

It was over.

6:36 p.m. Anderson had finally arrived. 

From the first contraction on Wednesday morning at 2am it had been 42 hours.

We had been in L&D 17 hours.

I hadn't eaten for 27 hours.

But we did it!

Come to find out he had been posterior. That was the cause of all the trouble & why I had stayed at 3cms for FOREVER. Also the reason he had two major dents in the top of his head, swollen eyes, scratches & a very flat nose. Poor baby. But of course he was still beautiful.

Reflecting back I am definitely glad I didn't get the epidural because I don't think I would have been able to push him out or push as effectively due to just sheer exhaustion. Because I could feel everything I was able to keep going. I don't know if I'll go natural next time but this time it was definitely the best decision. In fact, I don't know if there will be a next time. GOOD GRIEF.

Now it's been 9 days and we've been home for a week. He has been the sweetest baby. He eats wonderfully, he only cries when we change his diaper & he is the world's BEST snuggler. He curls up so sweetly on my chest after I feed him. Breastfeeding has been a true joy. Challenging at times but overall a wonderful experience.

I am SO grateful for my husband, my mom & Rachel (who's not only our doula but friend). I absolutely could NOT have done it without any of them. Having this baby in our life has been so fun & such a joy. 

Here he is at 1 week looking much better & so stinkin' cute:

The-Not-So-Iron-Woman

I am the not-so-iron-woman. Although, I didn't realize it until one evening while cooking dinner. I was digging around in the freezer for ice. I've been obsessed with eating ice. I took out a couple pieces & attempted to put one in my mouth when it instantly froze to my lip & I couldn't get it off. I had to have AW help me get it off & it was not easy & removed some skin & I bled for the next 10 minutes.

That was my "What the heck am I doing?" moment. I called the Dr. the next day & they said it was a sign of iron deficiency (that & the fact that I eat 5-6 cups of ice a day) & prescribed some supplements for me. Oops.

Obviously it's not that big of a deal & is really common for women in the 3rd trimester but wow, who knew an ice addiction could cause pain?

Before we progress in this blog entry let me warn you it might get lengthy. I know I should update regularly so as to avoid lengthy posts but I don't. So, sorry about that. 

Anyways, here's my most recent pic at 34 weeks:

Please no comments about how "fat" or "huge" I may be. I'm aware. In fact, I vote we ban all men from speaking to pregnant women in general. Don't misunderstand, I am not anti-men. In fact, I would consider myself an anti-feminist but I am also aware of the stupidity of the male species.

You may think that sounds harsh but let me provide you with 2 examples.

True Scenario 1:

I was at work this past week talking with one of my male co-workers when another male co-worker walked up, looked at the other man & said these EXACT words, "Hey, she's fat".....

Fat?

FAT?!

MUST we use the "F" word?

Wow! NOT FUNNY!

True Scenario 2:

I was shopping with my cousins & sister 2 days ago & we were leaving a large store when a man YELLED across the store, "Someone stop that lady, she's stealing a watermelon!"

MEN! I am aware of how I look! Don't you think I'm aware as I attempt to sleep at night & can't get comfortable therefore never sleeping more than 5hrs at a time?

Don't you think I'm aware when I'm trying to get dressed every morning & I'm frustrated because I might be covered but don't always look stylish? 

Don't you think I'm aware of how my body looks seeing as how I own a mirror?!

I realize you all think you're the funniest person God ever created, but you're actually not. And I actually DON'T appreciate your little comments & jokes. That is why I move we vote to ban men from speaking to pregnant women!

We recently had our picture made professionally by my dear friend Mary Margaret. She is an amazing photographer who truly has a gift. If you'd like to see the pictures, check out her blog here. I hope I don't disgust you all with my "fatness".

I'll move on from my angry pregnant lady rant now & share some pictures of the nursery! Those are always fun! I don't have any pictures of the bed with the bedding but I might post those later. Here is everything else:

Here's a before shot, back from this summer. Clearly it was our catch-all room:

Here is the crib set up!

The changing table all stocked up with diapers & wipes!

His chest of drawers. Thanks to my wonderful aunts the whole top is now almost fully covered with lots of wonderful books! Also, The awesome diaper cake my cousin, Amanda, made is up there too now. I'll have to post an updated pic later.

Here is the artwork my sister helped me do! She painted the verse on this canvas for us. It's the theme of the nursery!

And this is a picture of the main wall in his bathroom:

And the following are pictures of my first completed Pinterest project! I found the idea for these curtains on pinterest and made them the next weekend! I just hot glued lots of buttons on some boring curtains & voila!

**********************************************************************************

We had a Dr.'s appt. this past week with an U/S & it was so fun getting to see him! The Dr. said everything looked great & we are right on track! I go back a week from Monday & start my weekly appts.! 

Anderson, come on down....

Life. Or Something Like It

As to be expected life has been busy, busy, busy these past several weeks.

I've slacked on blogging but who didn't see that coming?

So here's an update.

Today I am 30 weeks & 1 day! I went to the Dr. & my Wild Baby has a heartbeat of 150. He was active as always & is growing right along, I'm just SO ready to meet him & kiss him! 

I've been taking pictures every 4 weeks so here's a picture of us at 29 weeks (I didn't wear the lovely butterfly tank this time):

I love fall & I've been anxiously anticipating this fall season as it means I'm getting close to Christmas which is my absolute FAVORITE time of year AND it will be extra special this year with a new baby!

Last weekend Mom & I went to Kid's Market & I would say it was a successful trip & fun too. Afterwards we went to a little bead/jewelry shop and next door was a nursery. They were throwing out a ton of white pumpkins because they said they were rotten but you couldn't even tell & they were beautiful.

I got 2 and brought them home. I went to Michael's and $3 worth of stickers later & a little bit of fun I had some cute fall decor outside our front door:

Then, there was my sister's wedding this past weekend. It was beautiful and lots of fun! The best part was getting to spend time with family & see our friends that we haven't seen in a while. Here are some pics:

My dad & sis about to walk down the aisle!

The gorgeous wedding cake:

The yummy groom's cake (chocolate with peanut butter icing!):

A Reeves/Mus picture. It was so fun spending time together all weekend:

My hubby & me before the wedding. It was fun to be in a wedding together & to get to dress up:

So, there's the update on life lately amongst work, church activities, football games & parties. I go back to the Dr. in just 2 weeks! It's getting closer & closer...

25 Weeks!!!

I'm 25 weeks as of Monday & growing every day! I'm thankful to be growing because that is a healthy sign but this morning I woke up to the wonderfully cool weather to realize I literally only have 1 pair of pants and a pair of jeggings! I've been wearing skirts & dresses all summer & haven't even thought about jeans or pants! Ha!


Guess I have to get serious about shopping. I'm going to attempt to be happy about a shopping trip...we'll see how it goes.


Here's my 25 week pic! In my next picture I'll be in my 3rd TRIMESTER!!! WOOHOO!!! (I just have a lot to do in these last 15 weeks! Ahhh!!) I can't wait to kiss my baby boy!

It's All Fun & Games Until Your Pants Won't Button

Seriously.


It's fun being pregnant & I don't mean to be a whiner but sometimes it's just hard.


Let me preface by saying that I am very grateful for our son & grateful for the opportunity to be pregnant but sometimes you just need to vent a little. Or cry.


Last night I nostalgically went through old photos on facebook of my college days. College was such a fun time & I always looked good, I just didn't know it.


I never had to worry about out-growing my skirts & pants in one weeks time. I didn't have to worry about if a shirt was long enough to cover my quickly-growing belly. I didn't have to wonder if I really needed that second bowl of ice cream.


Today, I think about every bite of food I put in my body or don't put in my body. I wake up dreading getting dressed every day. I shudder at the thought of shopping.


In fact, this past weekend AW took me to a couple of stores & their maternity sections were hardly anything to write home about. In fact one store had approximately six maternity shirts one of which was bedazzled & said, "Bumpalicious"...

Yes, because that's what every fat-feeling pregnant woman wants to wear. & besides, who has a bump that looks like that??? I looked like that when I peed on the stick at 4 weeks.


Another thing, I don't kow if I've slept all the way through the night since I found out I was pregnant. In the beginnning it was due to anxiety, "what's that feeling?" "what if this happens?" "what if I'm carrying multiples?"


Now it's due to acid reflux, back pain, mild, mild contractions, back pain, Baby A kicking me so hard I feel nauseas & did I mention the back pain?


Several people told me how great it is to be pregnant & that I would develop a glow & that my hair would be beautiful. Here's the thing, in my 1st trimester "the glow" = a broken out face and as far as my hair goes, it's hopeless.


In fact, I found dandruff this weekend. How disgusting is that?!? I've never had dandruff before in my life but of course when my hair is supposed to be at it's most beautiful it rebels to be it's most disgusting.


I really shouldn't be complaining. I've only been up sick all night twice but sometimes at night I just cry. I feel fat. I feel tired. My ribs hurt. My back hurts. And I still have about 3 1/2 months to go.


Any encouragement? Or ideas on where to find CUTE maternity clothes?

Just An Update

Sorry for the lame title. I really can't think of anything witty. You might be yelling at your computer right now with a super-cute title but I can't hear you & chances are you really don't care either =)


Of course this is an update on my little wildman. He is a busy, busy boy. I've noticed a sort of schedule he's developed. Around 10 a.m. I start feeling him move around & he's pretty consistent until about noon. Another time that he is really busy is 8 p.m. - 11p.m.


It's funny to notice this about him. AW says he's like his mama, stays up late & likes to sleep late. We'll see how true that is when he actually gets here. Don't worry, I'm not holding my breath ;)


As of today I am 22 weeks! WooHoo! Over 1/2 way!!! I went to the Dr. today & everything measured great & he had a heartbeat of around 159. It was so funny because my appointment was during his "busy time" & he every time the nurse would move the doppler around he would give it a good, strong kick. He did not appreciate her pressing in on his space!


I've been taking pictures every 4 weeks & I started at 9 weeks. I'll do a recap of all my pics so far so you can see how large I've grown! AW makes sure I get my bowl of ice cream every night as you'll be able to see =)

9 WEEKS:

13 WEEKS

17 WEEKS

21 WEEKS

I'm really feeling the squeeze now! It may be time to invest in some maternity clothes! Anyone up for a shopping trip? =)

We have already been receiving gifts for our little man! THANK YOU so much to everyone who has been giving us little things along with letting us borrow things! I love getting to borrow clothes & other supplies! 

I've made some progress on the nursery. We're doing a tool theme based off of Hebrews 3:4 which says, "For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God."

There are also other verses that we'll incorporate which talk about "building each other up". It's so much fun getting to decorate!

We decided not to paint & to just leave his walls neutral but I do have his name on the wall already:

I found these plain wooden letters at Hobby Lobby:

And I just painted them yellow & hot glued on the wooden appliques I found & also hot glued on the ribbon:

I love them & I can't wait to do more fun projects! I must say though, finding tool-themed baby stuff is quite difficult. In fact, finding tool-themed stuff in general is quite difficult. 

I had no idea! But I did come across this cute little hat at Cracker Barrel yesterday & HAD to get it! It's too perfect:

Who Are You?

So, now that we know we have a wildman on the way I can't help but wonder who he is. What he looks like. What his interests will be.

I hope he doesn't have his daddy's baby-squinty-eyes:

Or his mommy's baby acne:

I wonder if he'll be as suave as his daddy when we dress him up:

Or adorable like his mommy:

I wonder if he'll have too cute blonde hair & pretty blue eyes like his daddy:

Or reddish-brown locks & big brown eyes like his mommy:

It seems inevitable that he will suck his thumb:

I just hope he never feels confused (or maybe constipated) like his mommy & daddy must have at some point in their childhoods:

It's A...

BOY!!!!

Hooray! Our little wildman looks GREAT! Which is SUCH a blessing! 

I can not thank everyone for being so excited for us & with us throughout this awesome journey. It means more than I could ever express to have people all around, both friends & family, who are not only excited but also praying for us.

Everyday my heart is truly overflowing with love and gratitude and awe at what all the Lord has done for us & is doing for us. THANK YOU!!!

We've decided on a name...we think. But, we're still trying to figure out what we're going to call him.

Him.

Wow! It's SO AWESOME to be able to FINALLY call this child a him!!!

I knew it was a boy all along but I NEVER called him a" him" because I would have felt horrible if I had been wrong. But I wasn't =)

Now, all of the detailed nursery planning & cute-little-blue-onesie-buying can begin!

Of course, y'all know I cried when I saw that sweet little face on the screen. He is the cutest little man & now I can not wait to see him. To see what he looks like. To see if he has AW's blue eyes or if he's going to have blonde hair like AW did when he was a child.

I can't wait to kiss all over his sweet little face. To touch his nose and to just hold him close. 

The Dr. was so encouraging and said everything looked wonderful and he was really pleased. After our appointment we went & had lunch and AW thanked the Lord for our son by name and prayed for him & there I was crying in Five Guys at Brookwood Mall like a big goober.

Our son.

Son.

Wow.....amazing. Life is amazing. The way the Lord works is beyond me. I just have such a spirit of thankfulness lately.

Ok, I'm going to share some pictures & I asked AW if I could share the picture of our wildman's manhood but he said no. But trust me, it's there. The nurse said, "There is no mistaking. That is definitely a boy" hehe.

Here is a profile view of his sweet little face with his nose up & mouth open:

This is another profile view of his sweet face with his little fist under his chin. He really liked that position:

Here's one of his sweet little feet:

I promised myself that after we found out I could buy a little onesie for him but I wouldn't go crazy buying up every blue thing I saw. This is what I got this afternoon (one t-shirt that I couldn't pass up & an adorable fuzzy onesie):

He is a VERY active little boy already. I've been feeling him kick me for about a week or 2 & the U/S tech said he was very active. I don't think he's quite big enough that AW can feel his kicks yet but the Dr. said w/i the next couple of weeks he should!

Wildboy weighs 8ozs. & has a heartbeat of about 170/bpm right now. Thank you for all of your continued support! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!