Alexandria Mary

Hi Everyone, This is Kelly's husband Ralph.  I wanted to post a picture of Alexandria for all to see.  Kelly will certainly post plenty more but here is at least one shot of our new little girl.  Kelly is doing well -- just very sore and tired right now -- and will be heading home from the hospital with baby Alex tomorrow.  Her big brother Jake is real excited as well.  When he held her for the first time yesterday, we asked him "What do you think of your new baby sister?"  His response..."She's Beautiful!!". And just a note on the delivery...as much as Kelly said she didn't want the baby born on her birthday, that all changed with a few hours to go on Monday night.  She decided she DID want to have the baby on her birthday.  So it became a very funny scene when she started pushing at 11:56pm with a huge digital clock sitting on the wall directly across the room.  Kelly was doing her best to do the equivalent of "Braxton Hicks Pushes" -- you know, pushes that appear like something, but in fact aren't the real thing -- until midnight when the real pushes began.  Four minutes later our new daughter entered the world and her mom couldn't have been happier, along with the rest of us!

Alexandria Mary has arrived!

Alexandria Mary arrived at 12:04 am on 2/23. 8 lbs, 6 oz, 20.5 inches long.

Alex & Kelly are both enjoying their shared birthday :)

Labor!

I'm emailing from my Blackberry (thank God for technology!) in my labor and delivery room. I find it ironic that just last night I posted that I didn't think I'd go into labor on my own, and I didn't think the baby would be born on my birthday, but here we are.

I'm progressing slowly but surely. Unless I get really bored, this will probably be the last update until baby is born. So the next time you hear from me, I hope to be sharing the happy news! :)

Light at the end of the tunnel

At my doctor's appointment on Friday, we finally talked induction. If baby girl does not evacuate the premises by Thursday, she will be forced out :) Jake's labor was induced, and all went well, so (knock on wood) I am comfortable with the idea. Would I like to go into labor naturally? Sure, but at this rate, I could be waiting until March for her to get out. No thanks.

A lot of people keep telling me they think baby will show up on my birthday (Tuesday, 2/23) but I'm convinced she's stubborn and enjoying her current surroundings too much to leave of her own accord. Selfishly, I don't want baby showing up on my birthday. I don't want to have to share it. I don't want HER to have to share her birthday with her mother either. And I really don't want to spend my own birthday in labor.

So I am fine with being induced on Thursday. It's a light at the end of the tunnel - literally and figuratively! It's a solid date. I like definites, I like solid plans, I like knowing instead of guessing.

Dear Baby, Please Get Out.

Of all of the various due dates I have been given along the way, today is the last one. It was as early as Feb 6th, and as late as Feb 18th. And she's still not here. I had a revelation the other day: babies don't know what the heck a due date is. They have no clue. A due date means absolutely nothing to a baby.

So here I wait. My favorite doc, the one I was hoping to deliver with, is out of the office this week. Jake is off school all week. My chiropractor was away as well. Ugh. I thought it would all fall into place and I would deliver this week, but it's nearly friday and nothing has happened. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. And that's fine. I'm getting a lot of stuff done around the house - laundry, putting the finishing touches on the playroom, shopping for a few needed last-minute things (damn you Babies R Us and your bazillion things I never knew I needed!). It's a very odd sensation I've been experiencing lately: boredom.

Physically, I'm feeling okay overall, I really can't complain. I've been having minor contractions for days, but nothing very strong or consistent. Yesterday I was having some cramps, thinking that might mean progress in dialating, I guess I will find out at my docs appointment tomorrow. Without a doubt though, I am READY for her to vacate. I hate waiting, and even more, I hate NOT knowing. Such is the life of a control freak, in a situation that cannot possibly be controlled. Ugh.

I'll keep you all posted as soon as I know anything....

Jake playing in the snow

I don't always use my fancy camera. Sometimes there isn't enough time, or I just don't feel like lugging it around. So these were taken by me, in my fashionable green rubber rain boots and maternity coat (see pic in previous post), from our front porch, using only my little "point-and-shoot" camera. I will admit to using a tiny bit of Photoshop afterwards (to lighten a few pics that were under-exposed because all that white snow has a tendency to fool the camera's metering; I also sharpened the pics just a bit). Jake also ate more snow than he shoveled, and was ready to come back in after about 10 minutes of eating and playing in the snow.

Snowy Self-Portrait at 9 Months Pregnant