First trip to IHOP

We went to IHOP with Grandma Terry on Tuesday night, and Nina had mixed feelings about this. We had joked just before she was born that it was the waitress at IHOP that had finally induced labor by "annoying" her out of the womb!! Of course, said waitress was not working this time, but we're bound to run into her eventually...

Nina concerned she may not get some pumpkin pancakes...

And settling for a pacifier...

Nina's First Two Weeks

First Bath

Scrapbooking... attempt 1!

Make a Smilebox photobook

A busy, busy week.

Make a Smilebox postcard

We've been so busy this week. Mostly eating, pooping, visiting with Grandma Terry, and sleeping. We saw Dr. Norwood, our pediatrician, on Monday, and Nina got measured and weighed. She is spot-on average for weight and head circumference, but in the 95th percentile for length! She is one long little baby! On Tuesday grandma got here, and it's been very nice to have help and to visit. We went out to visit Grandma and Grandpa Militante last night, and Nina once again enjoyed the car ride. She is a very good visitor- she was sociable and pleasant to everybody. She wore the outfit with the frilly skirt that Natalie got for her, and it is adorable. Today we may go shopping after Dad gets home from work, and we plan to take our first bath! The umbilical cord fell off yesterday morning, so we are looking forward to a good soak in the froggie tub.

Coming home pictures- continued

Nina is HOME!!

Oh, are we happy!!! Nina's CRP (a test to check for inflammation and infection)came back under the normal level, so we got to take her home!! It was a rainy, windy day, and Lakeshore drive was flooded, but Dad got us both back here safely. Nina stayed awake to take some pictures at the hospital, then slept all the way home. She wore her pretty cardigan from Mariah, and we had the Hello Kitty balloon her dad had brought for her (the roses were at home, because they weren't allowed into the NICU.) So now we're visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Militante and Uncle J, watching the Bears and staring at her faces. It's great!!! Now the pictures of pretty clothes will start coming. And we'll have our first outing tomorrow- we're going to the pediatrician. Grandma Terry will be coming down Tuesday to visit; we can't wait to see her!! Here are some more pictures!

Yay! All clear!

Nina is on day 3 of her 7 day course of antibiotics. The results of all her tests have come back negative- and we expect her to continue to do really well and come home with us on Sunday. Today she went under the Billi lights for her jaundice, so she's been taking naps and trying to relax. She still gets to come out and play when it's time to eat, and we're hoping by tomorrow she'll be able to live in her blanket again- she LOVES being swaddled and is ready to get back in the bassinet!! Nina thanks everyone for praying for her and wants them to know that she's doing really good- peeing, pooping, eating and sleeping are tough, but she's very good at all of them. We can't post pics at the hospital, so it could be a little while before we get them up- but we'll try to do it soon.

She's doing good.

We're expecting to get more lab results back throughout the day, but Nina says hello and tells everyone she's getting plenty of rest and that the nurses are a pain in the butt but she's dealing with it. (She is giving them absolute HELL when they mess with her.) Red and I are going down for feedings, and she's been working hard to master both breast and bottle feeding- she's a greedy little thing and that's good. I need to rest up quick, but we'll keep everyone posted.

You're Perfect!!!

Oh, baby- do we ever love you!!! We are all getting ready to spend our first night as a family at the hospital- but here are some pictures. We have had a long weekend, and all want a nap!

Saturday September 6, 2008

It is midnight on Saturday, June 6 2008. Your mom has been having regular contractions every 5 minutes or so for the past 4 hours, the contractions are about 30 seconds apart. We have called your grandparents in Michigan, they are driving here to be present at your birth as I write this. Your grandparents and uncles in Chicago are waiting for us to call them and tell them to meet us at the hospital.

This afternoon we had an appointment with your primary doctor, Dr. Lin. We asked Dr. Lin if he could 'strip the membrane' when he examined your mom, which is a procedure that is supposed to induce labor within 48 hours. After the doctors appointment, we walked to Ihop and had dinner. I think your mom entered the early stage of labor as we were walking to the restaurant. We took another walk around dinner, and called the hospital - Dr. McNair at the hospital told us that we would probably go into labor either tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

I've been very excited all day, I have a big knot in my stomach which I think is due to nervousness. We've been watching videos on my laptop in bed, timing the contractions on an online timer. We have a bag packed and ready for the trip to the hospital. I should probably go back to my 'job' of rubbing your mom's back. I can tell that the contractions are gradually becoming more and more intense, judging by her mood. I think we will probably not be able to spend the night at home, and will have to leave for the hospital soon.