Mommy time

Here are some new pics of the girl. We are doing well, mom had her first solo outing yesterday to Target while dad watched Hadley. It was nice to get out of the house for the first time in over a week. Other than that, we are pretty much the same ole same ole for these days, sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom! Hadley is starting to have some awake time which is nice, but mostly spends a lot of the day sleeping and eating!

So peaceful...

Some of our favorite times are staring at Hadley while she is sleeping wondering what she is dreaming about. It is amazing how peaceful they look when they are sound asleep. We continue to do well, just are in shock how fast the days pass just looking after her needs.

Hanging out at home

Here are some more pictures for everyone to see. We are all continuing to do well. We are getting used to life as a three-some and are loving it. We have had a couple rough nights and a couple good nights. We'll see how things continue to go as Hadley starts to learn what is day and what is night. Overall though, we are very lucky, she is a great baby. She doesn't cry much at this point unless she needs something.

I'm new here...

First book with daddy...

Here's a picture of Hadley reading her first book with Daddy. She loved it. (:

Our daughter...

Hi all, this is going to be a quick post with promises of more to come soon, when we rest up a little. We wanted to get pictures on here though so you could all see our exciting new addition to the family. Hadley Margaret Schwenzen was born on Thursday, February 15th at 6:20pm. We are home now and all doing really well. We are both madly in love with this little girl and cannot believe how blessed we are to have her. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, we will post more soon...

39 1/2 weeks

Time for another update.... We had a doctor appointment this morning. She said that I am one centimeter dialated this week and that my cervix is definately different than last week. She did a really rough exam trying to "stir things up" which was quite painful, but in my opinion, totally worth it if it gets this show on the road! She said that she doesn't think that I will make it till next week, but if I do we set an induction date for next thursday, the 22nd if I don't go on my own. Originally she was going to make me wait until the 27th, but I think my look of dread of being pregnant for another two weeks made her willing to compromise with next thursday. I have an appointment for next wednesday to have a non stress test and an exam with her in which she said that she would try to stir things up some more, but either way the light at the end of the tunnel is next thursday. That's all for now!

Still pregnant....

So, we made it through another weekend with no baby! (: This morning we had a bit of a scare, but all is okay. I got to work and suddenly had a terrible headache and was seeing stars. I called the doctor and they told me to come in immediately. These are two signs of pre-eclampsia so they were very concerned. However, my blood pressure was fine and they monitored the baby's heartbeat for an hour and it was just fine, so no worries. The doctor did tell me that at my appointment this wednesday we would set an induction date in case I don't go into labor on my own by 41 weeks. So, if nothing else, we will have a date that will make the end in sight!

38 and a half weeks

Update for all of you keeping track at home. Unfortunately it isn't too much of an exciting update! We went for our weekly doctor appointment today. There was no change since last week. I am still a fingertip dialated. So, we will continue to wait. She did do an ultrasound to confirm that the baby is still head down and it was so that was good. Other than that, not too much to report. She told us that she would let us go one week overdue before inducing, so we'll see how this all works out!

Superbowl Sunday and Comment Moderation

Here are some pics from our Superbowl Sunday. It was spent with the babies. The little one with the dark hair is Monroe, our godson. The other little guy is JJ hanging with his parents, Joe and Melissa. We had a great time getting some baby time in, now we look forward to having our little one meet all his or her little playmates!

Also, on a different note. I have had to enable the comment moderation button. All that means is that before your comment is seen on the blog I have to approve it. I have to do this since I allowed anonymous comments to be able to be posted I have been getting "spam" comments. Just wanted you all to know. We love to read your comments though so keep leaving them!!!!

The nursery

A lot of our "far away" friends were wondering what our nursery looks like, here are a couple pics for you so you can get the general idea. Enjoy!

37 and a half weeks

So, we just got done at the doctor. The baby is still head down so we were thrilled. I am a "fingertip" dialated. That really isn't anything, but it is super exciting to us because at least it means that it is starting. The doctor thinks it is still going to be a couple of weeks though. Other than that, all was well, the baby is doing good. So, we wait...

impatience...

So, I never realized how impatient one could get at the end of pregnancy. I find myself praying to God on a regular basis to make "today the day". Now that we have passed 37 weeks and the baby is technically full term and esentially just getting bigger, I want to be done! I know that 2 1/2 more weeks to reach 40 weeks is not that much longer, but it feels like an ETERNITY at the moment! So, this is my plea, pray that we have this baby soon, I am so ready for the next stage!!! (:

Doing flips...

So, we had a doctor appointment this morning and Bean did a flip! That's right, he/she is head down. So, we are excited, but do know that there is a chance that he/she could flip back. So, keep saying those prayers, but now say them that bean stays where it's at! We'll see where we are at at our appointment next week and keep everyone updated! Outside of that, all is good. I am not dialated at all or anything so it looks like it will still be a little while!

36 Weeks

Okay, so even I am shocked when I see the size of my tummy. You think that I would be used to it since I carry it around all day every day, but then I see this picture and I am like, "really, I am that big?!?!" It is crazy. I am hoping this is my last "month" picture. I am assuming that we will either have the C-section or go into labor, if the baby turns, by the time I reach 40 weeks, but we shall see. It is funny, I know that this is all going to come so soon, I mean 4 more weeks is nothing really, but at the same time, it feels like FOREVER! I am truly uncomfortable now, I thought I was a couple weeks ago, HA! that was nothing. Thanks to a combo of the rib, the fact that I have to pee every 45 minutes and the large size of my stomach, sleeping is something of the past. My ankles and feet don't even look like they belong to me anymore, it is the weirdest thing, sometimes I look down and can't get over how much they resemble sausages! But, that aside, the excitement is almost killing Mike and I. We think about the fact that technically the baby could come any day now and it would be fine. We are dying to know if bean is a he or she and what he/she will look like. I secretly pray each day that bean inherits Mike's curls. I watch some of these birth stories and am crying with emotion over the fact that it is going to be us, and soon. It is so weird, the whole past 9 months I have been excited and looking forward to the date that the baby would come, but it always felt so far away, now it feels so close and it is amazing! So, that is all for now. We will of course keep you all updated on bean's position and whether or not he/she decided to do a flip!

Baby, turn over PLEASE!!!!

Okay, so I am getting another lesson in the world of "things don't always go how you think they will". I had my 36 week doctor appointment yesterday and received some disappointing news, the baby is breech. Now, this is not world ending, it's not like there is something wrong with the baby. But, the deal is, if this little one doesn't turn over by 37 weeks, we are going to have to schedule a cesarean section, and that is exactly what I didn't want to have to have. Again, this is not the end of the world, in fact, there are even some perks to the idea. We would be able to schedule it and know for sure the day that the baby would be born, there would be no waking in the middle of the night to my water breaking, I wouldn't have to go into labor, etc. However, there is also, at the same time, some disappointment in the thought of never getting to experience the way it is "supposed to happen". There is almost some feelings of failing as a woman, like this is what we are supposed to do and I may not get that chance. Also, the vision of my delivering included Mike and I in the nice little birthing rooms they have with Mike coaching me and me pushing through the pain to end up with a little baby that would be immediately put in my arms after it was born. It did not include an operating room with my stomach cut open and Mike sitting behind a sheet with me while my arms are taped down and someone having to hold the baby at my head after it is born for our first meeting. Again, I don't mean to be so negative about this, in the end we will still get a little baby out of the deal, it just wasn't what I was envisioning and that is, at least initially, a little disappointing. So, Mike and I will spend the next week coaxing the baby to do a flip so we can give this a shot the "natural" way. However, if it doesn't move, I think I'll adopt my doctor's philosophy. She said at my appointment that she likes to view it as though there is a reason the baby is breech. I think I'll choose to look at it that way, maybe the baby being born by c-section saved us from something unpleasant that would have happened if it was born otherwise. In the end, we will still have our little one arrive and really that is all that matters....

Babies, babies, babies....

Don't worry, we didn't have our baby. (: This is a picture of our friends, Eric and Anna's, new little one. Rowan is his name and he was born on 1/11/2007. For those of you who might have met them, Eric and Anna, are friends of Jill's from college. This is a picture that they emailed us. Since they live in Appleton we weren't able to meet him yet, but hope to sometime in the near future!

This weekend was filled with births! We learned of Rowan's arrival on Friday and Saturday morning our friends, Marc and Christina, had their baby. They also had a boy and named him Monroe. Mike and I could have kicked ourselves, when we went to visit Monroe we forgot our camera so I'll have to get his picture up sometime in the future. We were honored when we went to visit little Monroe and his parents asked if Mike and I would be his godparents. We gladly accepted and instantly felt the need to protect the little one. He is quite cute with a full head of dark hair.

So, we congratulate our friends on their new little miracles and are now even more excited for the arrival of our little one. It was quite surreal to us when we went to visit Marc and Christina, they delivered at the same hospital that we will. We were both amazed to think that anytime in the next month we will be in the exact same place, but this time, it will be our baby that will have arrived!!!