Day 6, My First Mommy Blog

Well, it's the morning of day 6 and we are feeling pretty good. My Dad is here and made fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast so we have full bellies and we only got up two times last night. YEAH! Now that we have milk, we are all sleeping a little easier. However, with the milk comes a mess. Milk face and dirty diapers. We gave Justin a bath this morning to clean up all that mess and he decided to give us a shower too! Good thing I had the towel covering him so we didn't get pee pee everywhere.

Yesterday was a big trip to the pediatrician to have his new baby exam. Everything checks out great. Collin and I were feeling a little concerned on our way there since Justin hadn't pooped in a day and a half, but WOW did he make up for that. While we were in the waiting room, Justin was working on a big surprise. A diaper full of poop! I have never laughed so hard over or been more excited about a dirty diaper. The clean up was a two man job with more wipes than we were prepared to use, but it was relieving to know that the pipes are working.

It seems like we are starting to get into a little routine with each day being easier than the last. We are learning new things about each other everyday and our love of our family grows deeper. I haven't figured out how to express my feelings about being a mom because they are so overwhelming and wonderful in a way that I couldn't have imagined. I already wish I could go back and relive parts of this experience where the memories are fading, but I know there is so much more to come.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the week...

Hours before the little monkey arrived



I didn't believe it when Collin told me he had a cone head. Guess I was wrong:)



Love at first sight



First pic with Nana Mary



A proud Daddy





More with Nana Mary



First time in the car seat



My new glider chair is getting worn in pretty quick!



Nice and relaxed



First pic with Grandpa a.k.a. "Big Guy"



So peaceful

We're Home!

Justin is happy (as long as he is eating or sleeping) and healthy. He had a long morning, as they were running a series of tests and such to make sure he was ready to leave the hospital, and is a bit fussy as a result.

He is eating really well and is taking some really fun pictures for us...take a look...

Leaving the Hospital

Wow! There was a lot of action in the hospital when we were trying to discharge. We finally were able to get the baby sensor cut off the ankle and were able to put on his clothes (which are WAY TOO BIG-haha). We departed about an hour later than we were trying, but it was nice to see the outside world again.


Justin was in good spirits when leaving and fell asleep immediately as we drove away.

A safe drive home and lots of fun to see him in the car with us!

Uh Oh

Justin just 'woke up' while feeding. For the first time he was REALLY feeding, not just going through the motions and taking some in.

As we arrived to the nursery for drop off (to get some sleep) the nurse warned us that he is going to want to eat tonight and to "sleep fast"

YIKES

Day 1

I don't really have much to report...

He is eating, he is pooping and he is sleeping; things are well.

The other new families to either side of our room have left today, so it is much more quiet right now. We are about to walk by the nursery to see if and how many birthdays are today!

Off to the Chopping Block

Justin and myself just met the Pediatrician, Dr. Khanna. She is very sweet and has a terrific bedside manner, just another positive in this whole experience.

Justin may not think she is so great as she whisked him away to the Nursery for his circumcision!

Sleepless Nights????

Nobody told us about the sleepless nights! :)

Or, was it that every single one of you have talked about that? Last night was an hour here, a few hours there of hardcore sleep. I can't recall a single dream (first time in a long time I have slept so incredibly deep) nor can mom. However, her baby "crydar" was in effect last night as she kept hearing other babies in the unit.

Justin is incredible and eager to learn how to feed; it's going pretty well (we think).

It was so great to hear from everyone last night and/or to see who signed on to follow us on this site. Thanks again for all the support and we are looking forward to showing him off to each of you.

Features

Well, Heidi decided it would be cute to mimic the 'pouty' lip.

You all tell me....Schumann bottom lip or what?

Positioning

Interesting tidbit

Through Heidi's Ultrasounds, months of feeling all the activity of the little guy and seeing multiple pictures of Justin, this was his position of choice whle in utero!

Audience

Well, during Justin's first bath I was able to hear what his lungs were made of....let's just say I never want to make him mad! I think we'll just come back here anytime he starts crying and take him to Nurse Sharon, after all she's the one that started it!

I can truly appreciate the fact he already has an audience of good lookin females!

That's my boy

Wow

Indescribable

Well, that was a truly uniqe experience, and was so amazing to watch Heidi and I enter Parenthood.

We are thrilled and already exhausted to be here :)

This is a picture of our little Justin sleeping soundly next to Heidi's bed; all the while we hear another newborn somewhere else screaming away.......ooooooooooo now that is scary.

Justin Ray Rueppell

HERE HE IS!!!!!

5pm on the dot!
21.5 inches
7lbs 9oz
Conehead like crazy

Labor went great...nurse was excellent and Heidi had about 3 contractions and he was out (maybe 9 pushes)!

Stay tuned

WHAT???!!!!

SHE'S AT 10!!!!!!!!!

Well, I just went outside to call and update all you family members and this is what I get...a call to say come back in, she just measured 10! So, thanks for that...Donna! haha

Now we are back in, they just rolled in 2 more furnishings, so apparently Justin will be coming soon...Cool!

An assitant is here prepping the warming table....lots of blue gowns and sheeting is also entering.

Mom is thinking ETA is a couple of hours

An eery calm is filling the room

Another One

Here are the contractions. On the bottom row you should be able to see how consistent they have been.

Well, Heidi is now at 6cm. The bad...Justin is head down but turned and facing forward, he needs to face back! So she is having to flip from side to side every 30-60mins. This is actually quite fun to watch because of the Epidural controlling her legs and not the person :)

Heidi is still feeling well, the meds are keeping the pain away and she is able to progress nicely.

Lunch was good, as was the ice cream I got....mmmmmm ice creeeeam

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

Everything is going fine. She's still feeling well from the Epidural, and her shaking has subsided. Now Heidi is relaxing...

Time for the girl to sleep...blinds are drawn...

WooHoo

EPIDURAL!

Heidi went through a serious contraction phase...really strong, pain up to a level of 8 out of 10 at times, and the frequency was 2-3mins.

The doc came in and Heidi felt relief from the pain by the 2nd contraction!

Wawa

Dr. Woodard just made his morning appearance and decided it was time to 'Break the Bag'!

Heidi and Justin are both doing really well. Heidi is very interactive with the nurses and the doc, oh and me too! We had some time to relax this morning, so I took advantage with a little cat nap, and at least Heidi was able to close her eyes.

She's having a good contraction right now...

My guess is that she is in Labor :)

3:30am

Wow is that early! We left the house right on time this morning, traffic was light and Heidi's arm just got stuck for fluids to get pumped in.

In the background is Justin's audible HB (between 125 and 144). She had a contraction about 10 mins ago and had many throughout the fairly sleepless night. It was neat to see the contraction on the monitor and establish a "baseline" (only to escalate).

So, the wait begins......

August 19th

Well, here we are. Another day passes and no baby yet. The good news is that tomorrow morning at 5:30am we have an appointment to go to the hospital and work on getting him out. Am I ever ready!!!

Today is full of last minute details that need to be taken care of like laundry, packing for the hospital and getting the car washed. Collin has been up since 2:45am working on all of these things since he can't sleep either with all of the anticipation.

It has been kind of strange thinking about the change that is coming. It's our last day just the two of us. Its been this way for so long, but I can't wait to make the change. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life. Now we get to be parents together. :)

August 17th

Heidi had great nights of sleep over the weekend (first good nights in a few weeks), however, the good nights were quickly dashed by last night's bad night :(

The good news is today she is contracting A LOT and more frequent than she has experienced, however, they are not consistent. Justin has visibly 'dropped' as Heidi is having some new aches and pains. It's pretty surreal to see the physical change in her belly, as she is more full closer to her waistline.

There she goes, again, writing down the time of another start to a contraction!

Stay tuned...

Collin, Heidi and Baby

This our official first blog! Yeah!! I am just starting to figure it all out and which buttons to push, but it's really fun. I am hoping that this will be a great way to start documenting our family and keeping everyone posted on what's going on with one of the "West Coast Rueppell Families."

As you can all see, my belly is ever expanding and stretching. We just took this picture a few days ago, but it's already grown some more. Good for the baby, uncomfortable for me. My due date August 23rd, but at my appointment last week Dr. Woodard let me schedule an induction for August 20th. Knowing there is an end in sight is such a relief. I think the hardest part of the last trimester of pregnancy is not knowing when your going to pop. Well, I guess we still don't know, but at least we have an idea. :)