Rockstar LJ

Here's one of our favorite pictures of LJ on the day he came home.

Lance Joseph

Lance Joseph (or LJ for the purpose of this blog) was born Sunday, December 26th at 12:17pm. He was six lbs, 13 oz and 20 inches long--and of course perfect in every way. He has tons of rockstar hair and my nose with daddy's cheeks--just like we predicted.

His arrival into the world was pretty dramatic: after 18 hours of labor, I had to have an emergency c-section because the cord was wrapped around his neck and his heart rate was dropping too often. It was the scariest thing JLO or I have ever been through. I was put under general anesthesia and JLO was not allowed in the OR. We both are very sad we missed the "moment" of his birth, but we said we can trade that one moment for the many ones we've had and will have in the future with our lil' buddy.

Thanks for all of your thoughts, prayers, and support over the last week.

lil' buddy update

At today's ultra sound two things were confirmed: lil' buddy has the Olstadt cheeks (the technician called them "great kissing cheeks!") and that he is pretty comfortable where he is at. So, we are moving forward with our plans for Christmas with my family and then we have an appointment on Monday to determine next steps.

The woman at the doctor's office today told me I am not nearly mad enough to be four days overdue. She accused me of being "too happy." I guess, but it's hard to get mad at my lil' buddy for being like his daddy. If you know JLO, you know how hard it is to get him out of bed in the morning (unless it's for fishing!). Plus, JLO said the other day, "why would lil' buddy want to leave? He has an all-you-can-eat 24 hour buffet!"

Happy Holidays to all!

Baby Bump--40 Weeks

So according to babycenter.com, I've had lil' buddy already.
Clearly, according to my body, I have not!
If he does not arrive on his own this week, I will be induced either Monday or Tuesday next week.

We just can't wait to meet our son!

Still Pregnant!

I've started answering my phone, "Still pregnant." Not because I'm annoyed that people are calling or texting, but because I know that is the real reason they are calling :) In reality, I am a little overwhelmed by all the love and affection we have in our lives. So many people care about JLO, lil' buddy and me. Even though we don't have any news to share yet, it's a nice reminder of how truly loved we are. Thank you so much to everyone for this love and support. We'll keep you posted of lil' buddy's arrival--any day now!

"If something goes right tonight, we'll miss you"

On Monday, my students started to ask some very interesting questions:


*Will they make an announcement if you leave school to go into labor?
* Are you standing with your legs crossed because you are afraid your water will break?
*Are you sure you won't be able to skype teach us?
* Will you send us an e-mail/picture of the lil' buddy?
*Are you afraid it's going to hurt?
* SVO, can you please not have the baby in class? My mom (an OBGYN doctor) gave me a crash course on what to do.



On Tuesday, they started putting baby predictions on my whiteboard. Ironically, I don't think one student had me having the baby before Friday.

On Wednesday, I heard a lot of "Oh, you're still here!" comments.

On Thursday, I got a lot of "come on SVO you can make it one more day!".

And every day this week, the same student has left class and said, "SVO, if something goes right tonight, we'll miss you." As I think about this week, I'm overwhelmed by how much they care about me. It's not often that teachers get reminders that students are people, too. And I know, that even though I'll be pretty busy with the lil' buddy, I'll miss them, too.

Baby Bump-39 Weeks

Originally when I found out my due date (12.20.10), I was hoping that lil' buddy would wait until after Friday 12.17.10--my last day of school before winter break--to be born. As the school year went on (and I got more tired teaching throughout the day), I threw that wish out the window--he could come whenever. However, I'm thinking I'll make it through this week after all.

Snowy Saturday!

The hospital is only three miles away, but with the snow we are getting today (up to 14 inches) it'd be quite the adventure. As of 10:15am this morning, JLO has been plowing the driveway/sidewalk for 45 minutes (and he'll have to go back out again), I've been blogging, and lil' buddy has been moving around in my belly---but staying put. Even though numerous people advised us that snowstorms put women into labor, I'm thinking we've got a few more days of anticipating lil' buddy's arrival.

Nesting

For awhile now, JLO has been waiting for me to get to the "nesting" stage of this pregnancy. I told him to not hold his breath. Since when has he ever known me to want to clean? Sorry to say, not even pregnancy hormones are gonna make that happen. However, I have been nesting in the form of baking! It might the be holiday season combined with the need to experience the holidays gluten-free for the first time, but either way I'm convinced that lil' buddy will come out of the womb craving sweets. Oops!

Tonight was the RF Girls 9th Annual Cookie Party. It's one of my very favorite traditions with some of my very favorite people. And I think we'd all agree our baking skills have surely improved since the first one back at 117 W Charlotte. We still might forget a few ingredients here or there, but we certainly are never lacking in laughter and conversation!

Baby Bump-38 Weeks

My 38 week appointment indicated that the lil' buddy likes it in my belly and will probably stay for awhile. Thankfully, I'm still feeling really good!

We are ready . . .

As soon as the calendar flipped to December, I started to get the "any day now" comment from people. Yes, it's true we are in a safe zone for his arrival. Yes, it's true that it will happen this month. Yes, it's true that at any point I could start labor. And so I respond to these people with "we are ready!"

I have everything ready for my long-term sub and have all but one set of papers graded for my students. The HR paper work is filled out, the desk is cleaned, and the plan of who to contact when it is time is in place (a text to AB who then calls CP who then tells BR). When it comes to work-- I'm ready.

At home we think we have everything we need for the lil' buddy and our bags are packed. The car is full of gas and JLO and I have our "signal" figured out if I go into labor and he's at work: one call. Leave a message. Call back again. And then text and/or e-mail.

JLO and I have done most of ourChristmas shopping and made arrangements for the holiday season. We even stocked up on meat and have simple (although we rarely make "simple") meals planned out.

So, we're ready! And most importantly, we're emotionally and mentally ready to be parents. But as so many other parents have told us, this is the first lesson in parenthood: the lil' buddy is in charge from now on and he'll come when he is ready!