So funny...

When my sister-in-law, Kristy, had there most recent baby she told me that she knows it is just the parent thing but that she thought Cameron (the baby) was the cutest baby in the whole wide world. I now know exactly how she feels. I think it must be hard wired into our DNA that when we see our own offspring we immediately think they are the cutest baby ever and convince ourselves it is not just the parent thing.

Sam really is a great baby, hardly fussing at all except when I change his diaper. even when he does fuss all you have to do is swaddle him tight and he will immediately calm down and soon fall asleep. Today I speculated that this was a side effect of Tracey eating large quantities of Mexican food while pregnant and that he just wants to be like a burrito.

Hello World

I decided it was time for me to finally check in. Ben has been great about handling the correspondence but now I that I'm starting to feel human again I thought I should take a turn.

Sammy is doing great! He is the cutest little monkey (as the world seems to call him) or "Bunkee" as Grandpa Hanson calls him. Grandpa H says he has a hairdo "like the guys up in Canada". So far he is such a sweet baby. He only cries when Ben changes his diaper or when he becomes unswaddled. He has such a sweet face that according to my mom looks just like Ben. We know he has a dimple in his chin like Grandpa Dannelly (Paul) but there might just be a hint of dad's dimple in his cheek. I will be in BIG trouble if that is the case.

We had a rough day of labor on Monday but finally after 19 hours and a second epidural that didn't come until 8 (the first one DID NOT work) the kid decided to join us. I have an amazing doctor and seem to be healing really well. I even walked around this floor of the hospital yesterday AND was able to get up tonight at 3 am and go to the bathroom on my own. Shocking! I seem to be itching a lot and hot ALL the time but I think that just maybe this kid might be worth it.

Ben has taken to being a daddy so well! We all knew he would but he has gone above and beyond! He's changed yucky tar diapers, seen "gross girl stuff", dealt with a randomly emotional wipe and taken a million pictures.

Since I know that is the part you all want anyway, here are some pics of the little guy. SO CUTE!!! I'm the mom so I might be a little bias. . . in the words of my sister-in-law Kristy referring to out nephew, "Isn't he the cutest baby you've ever seen?!"

Samuel Joseph Hanson

Last night at 12:41 Samuel Joseph Hanson finally entered this world and promptly, for the first of what will be many times , peed on his dad. Tracey had him c-section which was the right choice since they said he would have never come naturally due to some girl stuf I won't go into. He was 8 lb 0.1 oz and 20.5 in long. We will have more and better pictures later but you will have to put up with this blurry one taken at 2:00 AM

Waiting for Sammy

Well . . . we're sitting in the hospital waiting. They started the pitocin so we should be getting somewhere in the next couple of hours. They were unable to break my water because he is still too high. You will all be happy to know that I survived the first needle!!! In case you didn't know, I don't do so well with needles. Luckily my nurse got me on the first try. She was able to take my blood and start the IV with one needle. Thank goodness for tender mercies. I still started feeling a little faint though. My sweet husband held my hand and worked on distracting me during the "procedure".

I'm not sure I have ever been this nervous and excited at the same time! Ben brought the Wii for me so I can distract myself with some Dr. Mario. The nurse said that they actually see a lot of people bring them in. So far now we will just hang out and wait. We will keep you updated throughout the day.

Ben . . . the Daddy

I have the cutest husband ever!!! I think that the baby thing is really setting in because he has made the cutest comments lately. The other day after he set up the crib and I put the bedding in he came out and said "There's really going to be a baby in there! I'm a little weirded out!" Yesterday we were walking into the apartment and he said, "I can't imagine how it is for you but sometimes I get so excited and then other times I think that we don't have everything we need!" The best came today though. A couple weeks ago Ben told me that he thinks he needs to stop wearing skate shoes. Today, he wore his Nikes all day! Then tonight he said, "I need a hair cut." I almost went into labor. Once he realized what he had said I heard, "What is happening to me? Real shoes? Haircuts?" I told him it's just his way of getting ready to be a daddy. So cute!

Doctor's appointment was good today. We've progressed a little bit and Dr. Y said he wouldn't be surprised if the baby comes before Monday (fingers crossed). We'll let you know if anything happens!

Monday!!!

I just heard back from the Doctor. We are scheduled for Monday at 7:00 am. Now if I can just talk him into coming on his own . . .

10 days . . . or less

It appears that we will be having a baby sometime in the next 10 days! I can't decide whether to jump up and down in excitement or pass out if fear! Because of my blood pressure they like to deliver between 38 & 39 weeks because the placenta has a tendency to break down early. I called the doctor's office this morning to schedule it and am now waiting for a call back. I should have a date a little later today. Ben and I are hoping that he will decide to come on his own before we have to help him but we will do whatever is best.

We had an ultrasound on Friday and Sammy is doing great. It seems like his little body has evened out, his stomach and head aren't seeming so outrageously large. They are still estimating that at 37 weeks he is 8 lbs 2 oz . . . give or take 15 oz. (That seems like a large window when they are that little) My placenta was in good shape and his head was down, facing a little bit to the right, but mostly towards my spine. YEA! Apparently he has tons of hair. You could see it on the ultrasound and the tech was quite surprised at how much was there.

I am officially off work and home for the duration. The doctors and nurses have been trying to get me to stay home for a couple of weeks. Dr Yamashiro got back into town last week so the decision was made to start today. We were quite happy we had given in when he told us that he was inducing.

We'll keep you updated and hopefully let you know when he is coming later today!

An unexpected side effect

There are a lot of side effects that go along with pregnancy. Heart burn is pretty universal along with morning sickness and a whole host of physical symptoms that are too gross to list. There are a lot of non-physical symptoms as well such as "pregnant brain" which I think is Tracey's excuse for just forgetting stuff. One of the unexpected side effects, at least for Tracey, has been a slight shift in her music tastes. This is exemplified by her enjoyment of the new Jesse McCartney song "Leavin'" and especially by her love love love of the new New Kids on the Block song. Weekend mornings we usually have the tv on VH1 for background music and Tracey will always stop what she is doing and watch if the NKOTB video comes on. Her favorite part is when they do the poses in silhouette and any part where Donnie is singing. Maybe it is not a pregnant thing but a "I am a girl that grew up in the 80s" thing. Anyway, for you perusal the NKOTB video

I thought they were called NON-stress tests . . .

We had a little adventure yesterday.  I went for my non-stress test and the "alarmist nurse", as Ben likes to call her, decided that my contractions were too long, too close and too strong for my too big and too early baby. They sent me down to Labor and Delivery to be checked and monitored.  I was thinking, "Oh, this will be quick."  Not so much. 

 

I learned that little boy's respiratory systems are slower to develop than girls so they decided that if I was having too many contractions that they were going to give me a shot to stop them.   They made me put on the gown and lay in the bed with about a million monitors hooked up (ok, maybe just 3).  Then they gave me a cup of ice chips and left me for a couple of hours!  Do you know what happened then?  Nothing!  That's what!  My contractions stopped and when they "checked" me there was no change. Apparently all you have to do is tell me that you are going to give me a shot and I will stop the contractions myself!  

 

Nothing like a good old panic attack and pregnancy drama to brighten your day.  I'm thinking it might be time to start mentally preparing for this whole birth thing.      

31 Days to go . . .

Well, we had our first "exam" today. Our male friends. . . you can stop reading now.

I am dilated to 1.5 and 75% effaced. I wish that meant something but apparently it doesn't. My sister was 1 cm and 50% went into labor the next day. Ben's sister was where I am for a couple of weeks. Blerg. The kid is measuring at 39 wks. We have an ultrasound a week from Friday to see how big he is . . . again. My doctor is back a week from today. So I'm voting for Sammy deciding to come on his own next week. Somehow I don't think I get much of a say in it.

My 3 yr old nephew did ask me where the baby was last night. When I told him my tummy he said, "Let's get him out!" When I asked how he said very simply, "A knife." And then proceeded to tell me that we needed to stick a hand in my tummy and "wake him up." Somebody may have seen a couple of episodes of "Baby Story".

Dr. Horrible

As some of you may know, Tracey and I love the show How I Met Your Mother. One of the best parts of the show is Doogie Howser playing Barney Stinson, womanizer extraordinaire. I was pleased to see he has been doing some other projects, including the following: