motherhood....

motherhood....
Originally uploaded by Kerianne Brown

Things have been very hectic since little Luke and I arrived home from the hospital-I promise to write a full blog post soon!! I just had to share this amazing image Kerianne captured at Luke's newborn photoshoot....seeing him makes all the late nights SO worth it!!! Love you little man!!

Luke Thomas has arrived!!!

Doug and I are beyond thrilled to finally be home with our adorable baby boy!! Luke Thomas was born on Oct 10, 2009 weighing 8lbs 13 oz. More details and pics to come soon...right now baby is needing nursing!!

:)Sam

40 weeks+4 update

So, I saw the Dr. today-baby is still doing great in there (maybe too good...). He did another sweep (#4 now!) and said that I was about 75% effaced (compared to about 50% last check) and a little more dilated than Friday, but I'm still not having any kind of regular contractions, so we are continuing to do the waiting game. He thinks baby will likely come in the next couple of days, so here's to hoping!! If baby boy doesn't come by Fri, I see the Dr. again to assess things.

I know he'll be worth all the discomfort and the extra wait (and weight...4 more pounds in the past 5 days! in the end....I just hope the end is SOON:-)

Let's hope this is my last PRE-baby post!!!

:)Sam

Maternity photo wrap-up/Due date update

Friday was baby boy's due date, and he's still playing hard to get...no signs of him yet, but hopefully soon!! If he hasn't come by Thurs, we see the Dr. again, but fingers crossed he makes his appearance sooner than that:)

I had another membrane sweep on Friday, but it obviously didn't do the trick, so we'll just see what the next few days brings. I feel lots of pressure now, so I'm hoping that means he's "getting into position". So, it's just more R&R for me (which I'm sure I'll appreciate once he's here:)

Kerianne did an amazing blog post of our maternity photo adventure over the past several months....I feel so fortunate to have these images to remember my pregnancy with:) If you get chance, check it out at keriannebrown.com

I'll keep ya posted on any baby developments!

:)Sam

39 week Dr. appt update

I had my Dr. appt today, and baby and I are continuing to do well. My Dr. did a sweep of my membranes (which was uncomfortable, but not too painful) and said things were looking good....hopefully it will kick start labour, and baby will be here just in time for his due date! I go back on Friday if baby hasn't arrived by then, so it's just a wait and see for now.

Things are pretty much all set now for his arrival-we can't wait to meet him!!

:)Sam

ps-here's a sneak peek Kerianne sent me from the final "bump session" she did for us a week ago-we convinced Doug that there should be some pics with the baby Daddy included, and I'm so glad he agreed!! She took some artistic shots in her studio as well, and I can't wait to see them:) I feel so lucky to have these beautiful images to document this special time in our lives...I cannot thank Kerianne enough for all her efforts in chronicling our pregnancy journey. Kerianne, you are an amazingly gifted photographer, and an incredibly dear friend. xoxo

38 week Dr. appt update

I had my 38 week Dr. appt earlier this week, and everything went well. Baby is continuing to grow, and my BP was great. I am swelling like crazy, though...I hear that might be a good sign that the end is near!! I'm about 50% effaced but still closed, so no imminent labor, but he said to just keep doing what I 'm doing (essentially staying off my feet) and see how things look next week. Thanks to everyone who shared with me their experience with getting a membrane sweep done...since I'm still closed it wasn't really an option, but next week may be different.

Baby's room is coming together-the rocking chair arrived and is so comfortable!! I love it:) The dresser is still not here, but hopefully soon. No solid progress yet on the crib bedding, but we've found some potential sets.

We are getting so very excited to meet the little guy....it seems so unbelievable that he'll be with us soon!! By the looks of the pic above of our kitties, we're not the only ones eagerly anticipating his arrival...they snuck into his room and decided the explore his moses basket after I just cleaned the linens...bad kitties:)

Here's my 38 week pic-I had to get Doug to re-take it without showing my very swollen ankes:)

I'll be sure to update things as they happen!!

:)Sam

37 Weeks!

Happy Wednesday!!

So, I had my weekly Dr. appt today, and everything w/ baby was good-I've been gaining weight at a pretty "good" pace the last 2 visits, though....over 2 pounds this past week! Hopefully it's mostly going to the baby, although the extra servings of frozen yogurt and 2 pizza nights make me feel slightly guilty (but not enough to not eat them:)

The Dr. said that given my physical state of discomfort, he figures that an earlier, rather than a later appearance of baby boy would be good, so he's going to do what he calls his "super-duper sweep" of my membranes next week! Now, I know it's A) Very uncomfortable; and B) Not a reliable way to induce labour BUT I'm willing to give it a go. He was pretty confident he could get labour started, so I guess we'll see! If anyone feels up to sharing their experiences with the sweep, I'd love to hear them!!

Otherwise, it's been a low-key week (given that I can't really do much) but I'm just happy baby is thriving, and I'm not in agony every second of the day:)

I am, however pretty upset about getting "scammed" by a bad Etsy seller though....I purchased custom crib bedding back in July, and never received it. Late July she emailed me to say that she was waiting for one of the fabrics to arrive and that she'd get it all finished up and sent by mid-Aug, but no such luck. I've emailed her a bunch of times since early Aug, with no reply, and she has a bunch of recent bad feedback reviews from other buyers w/ similiar stories....it sucks! What I didn't know was that the Paypal "buyer protection" only covers you for up to 45 days from the time of purchase, so if you wait longer than that to file a claim, you're out of luck in terms of a refund! It's my first negative experience with Paypal....although I'm fairly new to Etsy, I've been ordering off of Ebay for about 7 years. So, I guess I won't be ordering any more custom items on Etsy that say "5-6 weeks to ship" b/c with shipping time, you can't be sure they should get here within that 45 day window. Anyway, I'm pretty upset that I'm out the $ AND now have no bedding...the reason I ordered it custom was b/c I couldn't find any commercially-made sets that go with the room. My advice-always check detailed seller feedback, and be wary of ordering stuff custom that will take several weeks to make. Oh well-back to the drawing board!!

Here's my 37 week pic-I was so excited to get out of the house for a few hours to have dinner with a few of my girlfriends a few nights ago...our last night out all together before my friend Gina gets married, and I give birth! It's such an exciting time:)

I'll keep ya posted on any crib bedding finds:)

Sam