We're Home

We got home around 6 p.m. tonight and hosted our first visitor, K-State friend Janet, who brought Rachel back home to meet her brother. Big thanks to Janet, Chris and family for watching Rachel the past few days! A few pictures from Sunday:

Resting with Daddy
Waiting to get discharged.

First ride in the carseat. He slept the whole way home.

Where I left my guys so I could eat dinner and post this blog.

Will's First Picture

Here's Will at 8 hours old. Not his very first picture, of course, but I wanted one with his eyes open. We'll post more after we get home. Most of the pictures look the same since he's just had one outfit so far. We're enjoying having him back in our room to cuddle with and stare at in amazement!

He has a small/medium amount of light brown hair under that hat. We've been leaving the hat on to help with his crazy cone head after his long labor. The labor and delivery were not the quick, relatively easy process that I was hoping for after all the progress we had already made leading up to birth day. The short version is that we got there at 7:30 a.m., but active labor didn't start until 3 p.m. when it hit with the force of a runaway train, epidural in by 3:45 p.m., pushing started at 8:15 p.m., pushing assisted at 11:15 p.m. with suction cup extraction which failed, so c-section prepped, all the while the midwife and labor nurse helped me keep working on productive pushing. Out he came at 11:47 p.m., presumably just minutes before the doctor would have forced us to go to the operating room. So long, exhausting day, but it ended the perfect way: with our new little boy in our arms. He's healthy and happy except for the suction cup abrasion on his scalp. We hope that heals soon; it really looks like it hurts.

He's Here!

Twenty-four hours ago, the alarm went off to get up to go to the hospital for our scheduled induction. I'm now wide awake after a 2 1/2 hour nap listening to the air-conditioner and my Pitocin drip and watching Jason sleep in our post-partum room. The Pitocin drip now is for helping my uterus work to contract to its original size instead of contract for delivery.

The baby is sleeping in the nursery, where we sent him at 3 a.m. so we could all sleep after our LONG day. I'll post more of a story and a picture later, but let's just say labor and delivery are HARD WORK!

The stats:

William Leidolf Shields
Born Friday, May 29, 2009
11:47 p.m.
7 pounds, 10 ounces
19 1/2 inches long

Pushed him out with 13 minutes to spare on 5/29, so we got the prize that the hospital was awarding to all 5/29 babies: a waived registration fee for setting up a Virginia 529 plan for your baby!

Oh, and Leidolf is in honor of Jason's grandparents, Bob and Evalin Leidolf, who were so instrumental in helping his mom (their only child) raise him. Since their name didn't continue, we wanted to give it to his son. Bob passed before I joined the family, but I enjoyed Evalin's feisty personality and tremendous love for family (including me!) for a half dozen years before her passing.

Friday at the Latest

Baby didn't make his entrance over the holiday weekend, so I had another doctor's appointment today. The midwife seemed surprised that I wasn't in active labor yet considering I am already 4 cm dilated and totally effaced, and the baby's head is "way down there."

I had two different days last week where I had lots of contractions that made me think "today's the day!" but they went away after a half day or so without anything becoming regular enough to time. Apparently my uterus just isn't maintaining the contractions long enough to get things going. So, we're now on the induction calendar . . .

I just got off the phone with the hospital coordinator, and their next available induction time is Friday at 7:30 a.m. So, if I haven't delivered prior to that, I will be receiving a drip of pitocin to help get my contractions going and hopefully have a quick delivery of a healthy little boy!

UPDATE: Picture from Thursday evening 5/28. My brother said it's only fair for you to see what you're voting on in the poll! :-)

40 Weeks

I must admit that I'm shocked to have to write this post; I was so certain that baby would be here early! :-) So much for my mother's intuition!! I know inquiring minds have been wanting to know if he's here yet. Nope, not yet. But he has to be here eventually! Right?!

Things I've been doing this week awaiting baby:

• Walking, brushing, and napping with Rachel
• Walking on my own/with Jason
• Surfing the internet (thank you to all who update your blogs daily!!!)
• Watching daytime TV (starting Wednesday once I realized there is such a thing)
• Watching movies in the evening (why did all the season finales have to be last week?)
• Re-reading baby books in bed until they put me to sleep for a nap (although, in general, not sleeping great)
• Cooking and loading/unloading dishwasher
• Washing tiny loads of laundry to keep my favorite three things clean "just in case" I need them today to wear to the hospital.
• Getting out of the house to "go somewhere" at least once each day except Monday. I've now been to Safeway, Wal-Mart, PetsMart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, the Mount Vernon Trail and the rec center pool. That sounds more ambitious than it really was, since all that "shopping" was over the course of just two trips.

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning and had made a little more progress. My next appointment is Tuesday the 26th where we can discuss post-term induction options if he still hasn't arrived.

If he arrives tomorrow on his due date, my family members will get the big award for guessing correctly in the poll. If he's truly late, then all my friends who were overdue themselves win. Unfortunately, there is no prize except the baby arriving! We aren't offering up the naming rights or anything! :-)

U.S. Patent & Trademark Museum

Before we ventured out to the suburbs for our movie, we made a stop near us at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Museum. We tried to go in late February but the museum was closed for installation work.

The museum was much smaller than I imagined. What I thought was the lobby was, in fact, the entire display. There were 50-60 inventions and their stories on display. Considering the millions of patents that have been issued, this is an incredibly small fraction. But, I think the way they presented the stories helped it from being overwhelming.

While I was looking for a picture of the building, I came across this reference on Wikipedia, which I had to post for my Dad: patent #5,443,036: "Method for exercising a cat" by having the cat chase a laser pointer. Sorry, Dad, I guess you weren't the first to try that one!

I didn't find a good picture of the building, but this photo was several places. The wall of pictures are famous inventor talking to each other about how they got their great ideas and giving inspirational "anyone can do it" sound bites. The middle pictures are Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The upper right hand corner is Steve Wozniak whose original Apple II is on display.

Star Trek Movie

For only the second time since we moved out here, we went to the movie theatre. The last time was the during LONG Memorial Day weekend in 2007 when we were waiting 4 days for our moving truck to arrive. We saw Pirate of the Caribbean that time. . .

Deciding it may well be another two years before we go to a movie theatre, we went to an IMAX showing of Star Trek. Great movie! I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it's got a lot of action, good tie-ins to the earlier plot lines, and is generally a plausible story throughout the entertaining two hours. As a side note, I'm not sure what I was expecting from the IMAX, but it seemed like a normal movie theatre to me. Jason said the screen was wider and the theatre a little bigger.

Our local theatre's IMAX show was sold out, so we ventured out into the true suburbs (i.e. the AMC connected to an outlet mall)! I did a little internet research before we went out there and identified an authentic Mexican restaurant called El Charro for our post-movie dinner. It was exactly what I was hoping: piping hot, tasty plates served about 7 minutes after ordering and our meal ticket was less than $20! Pretty sure our movie treats were more than that!

39 Weeks

Another busy week getting ready for baby! On Saturday I started taking Evening Primrose Oil gelcaps as recommended by the midwife at my appointment the week before. Apparently if you take 9 of these a day (4,500 mgs total) from 36 weeks on, it's supposed to help ripen the cervix and prevent you from being overdue and facing the dreaded Pitocin for labor induction. Well, I didn't get the message until 37 weeks and then I didn't go to the store until 38 weeks, but hopefully they're helping somewhat.

On Tuesday I had my weekly doctor's appointment. My blood pressure and the baby's heart beat were both good. I gained another pound (up to 27 now). I've started to "make progress" according to the doctor (i.e. dilating and effacing), but I'll spare you the details. When prompted, the doctor guessed the baby to be about 7 pounds. I still think he'll be here by his due date, but time will tell!

On Wednesday I had an ultrasound done on my leg to check if the discomfort I've been feeling in my calf is just "sluggish circulation" due to swelling (yes) or if there were any blood clots (nope). I was hoping I would get to sneak a peek at the baby, but they kept that ultrasound wand focused on my leg only!

Today is my last day at work. We were supposed to have a farewell lunch on Wednesday, but I had to cancel due to the last minute leg ultrasound. My group offered to reschedule lunch for next week, but I suggested we wait until the baby is here and ready to come into the office for introductions sometime in the next month before we move. I'm looking forward to no commuting next week! Just naps, reading, walks and bubble baths for me! Well, unless the baby comes this weekend, then it's nursing, diapers, rocking and sponge baths!

38 Weeks

We've got our bags packed and we're ready for the baby to get here! Well, actually no bags are packed, but we do have the carseat installed and waiting in the car; the stroller is assembled and sitting next to the bassinet in the dining room; and dozens of outfits are washed and folded in the dresser. So that means we're ready, right?! I've been thinking about packing the bag this weekend just in case!

The survey closes in a few days, but I'm happy to see the majority of you so far think he'll be here a week early or punctual! Jason and I are hoping for next weekend or early that week (16th-19th would be great). You may have noticed from my clothing in the past few weeks that the temperature and humidity are picking up. . . .

Yesterday my co-workers hosted a baby shower for me. It was so much fun! We played baby BINGO, baby word jumble, and the ever popular - see who can cut the string the right length for the size of the pregnant lady's belly. My group is experienced with this last game due to previous baby showers, so they did very well. Three people were within 2 inches and one person was within 1/2 inch. If we had played the game after I ate all the cake, it would have probably been the exact same size!

Of course, the logistics behind getting presents home when you commute via subway is a little different. I took home all the outfits and board books last night stuffed into my computer bag and giant purse. Tonight I'm taking home all the toys and baby grooming products in a copier paper box! I could have just waited until Saturday to bring the car down, but I wanted to show Jason all the cute outfits last night. Almost all of them came with some type of hat or cap which was adorable. My intuition (baby pictures of myself and Jason) leads me to believe we'll have a baldy or just a touch of light brown hair, so hats are going to be important!

This weekend is just about relaxing. No plans that I'm currently aware of. Maybe Jason and I can work in one last date night!

Pentagon Memorial

Ryan and I had a nice day in the city. We started with pedicures and brunch in Dupont Circle and then headed down to The Mall to see the Smithsonian American History Museum. We loved the display of Julia Childs' kitchen and the video loop of her cooking garlic mashed potatoes. On our way home, we stopped at the Pentagon to see the 9/11 Memorial that was dedicated last September. It consists of 184 benches - one for each person on the plane and inside the Pentagon who died on 9/11. They are organized according to the age of the victim, and face either into or away from the Pentagon based on whether the person was on the plane or in the building. When you look at the small edge of the bench to read the name of a person from the Pentagon, the Pentagon is behind it (i.e. the bench in the foreground of this picture is a Pentagon employee). When you read the name of a person from the plane, the sky is behind it.

Across the street from the Pentagon is the Air Force Memorial, which I have only seen from the interstate as we have driven by. The sculpture represents a formation of Blue Angels flying up and away.
Finally, here's a sign in the Pentagon parking lot that I found amusing: I knew that the Pentagon's close proximity to I-395 (which doesn't allow a car with less than 2 passengers on prior to 6 p.m.) made it a common place to pick up "slug" riders, but I didn't realize there was an organized pick up system.

37 Weeks

Well, here we are. . .37 weeks is officially full-term! Not sure we're ready for the baby just yet but Jason and I sure hope he's here soon. I've put a poll up in the sidebar for everyone to guess the due date. I didn't have a doctor's appointment this week, so I don't have any medical insights to offer about the due date except that the baby "dropped" more than 2 weeks ago, and my Braxton-Hicks contractions are picking up. Other than that, I can just say that we really, really hope the baby isn't late! :-)