Sunny days...

Momma status: happily sleeping
Pain level: 3
What's-a-goin' on: after a couple of hours since the introduction of Cervidil the wonderful nurses here let Jamie and I go for a walk and enjoy the beautiful Arizona spring weather.

We walked all over the hospital and outside and had some good solid contractions! YAY. Then I have momma a good back run as she balanced on the Yoga ball.

Now after all the excitement and activity, she's snoring through some more contractions. I'm so glad that she's getting some rest, because I think its going to be an eventful night and morning!

E

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Cervidil

Momma status: struggling with a stubborn IV
Pain level: 0
What's-a-goin' on: The doctor was caught in the OR with back-to-back surgeries which we're hoping went well.

Finally, she had a chance to spend some attention on the most important patient in the hospital and ordered the induction medication Cervidil which should help Jamie progress.

The thing is that it takes 12 hours for it to work! Then after 12 hours (if Jamie hasn't already gone into heavy labor) they'll use another round of Pitocin and get the baby out! So it's looking like baby not Bailey is going to have a May birthday after all!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

E

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Oh yeah, he's a big boy!

Momma status: sleeping again
Pain level: 0
What's-a-goin' on: we just had another ultra-sound so that the doctor on call, Dr. Ference can see how big he is before putting together a plan of attack. I suppose I shouldn't say 'plan of attack' I should say 'plan of care ' or 'plan of delivery'...

Anyway, baby boy has gained 4 more ounces since Thursdays ultrasound and he's now 9 lbs. 8 ozs. Give or take a pound and a half. Jamie was 9-8 when she was born, so the old threat, 'I hope you get one just like you' might come true for Karla and Jamie.

They got his approximate weight by measuring his femur (7.6 cm) his head circumference (35 cm) and his abdominal circumference which was literally too big for the machine to read! It looks like he may have his nose from Daddy, but he's got mommy's belly! I can make that joke, because she knows she's beautiful and only gained weight in her belly.

I'll update when Dr. Ference gives us any news.

E

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Room number

Jamie just caught something, the room number is 322 not "22 on the 3rd floor". Thanks babe.

E

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One mo-gain

Momma status: resting and watching TV
Pain level: 0
What's-a-goin' on: we're back at the hospital for our next round. Dr. Jarem and Tammy the nurse aren't here but Mercy Gilbert has a wonderful staff and we're sure we'll have another day of wonderful care.

We're in room 22 on the 3rd floor, basically it was meant to be! Hopefully we have a quick labor and and a baby within the hour. Somehow I don't think that its going to happen, but a guy can dream can't he?

Will keep you updated.
E

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Home at last

Well it was a long day but very exciting. It's so great to hear from everyone and know that we have so many people praying for us and pulling for Baby Boy Bailey to arrive healthy. I am very tired with these contractions going all day long. But hopefully tonight we can make some more progress so when we get to the hospital in the morning we will be able to get some good news.

Our nurse Tammy was AMAZING! She was so sweet, attentive and knowledgeable. She stayed with us all day and took really good care of me and BBB. Dr. Jarem is also my favorite doctor ever and I'm sad that she won't be there again tomorrow with us. But God has a plan for the safest and healthiest way for BBB to make his arrival and we're okay with letting His plan take its course.

Both of our moms were there with us today and it was such a nice atmosphere in the room. They really love their babies (Eric and I) and ESPECIALLY love their grandson-to-be. It was nice having them there to help with my frequent bathroom trips among other things. :)

I'm off to bed for tonight. I'm hoping for more good contractions (meaning strong and painful ones) since those seem to be what we need for more progress. One quick funny story before I go is that I peed on the floor today, definitely a first. I was trying to squat because my legs were sore from contractions but I didn't bend my knees enough. The outcome, it looked like my water broke. Eric and I laughed hysterically in the bathroom while the nurse wondered if everything was okay. Once we filled her in she got a good laugh, too.

Thank you for all the prayers, love and support! We're definitely feeling them and hearing everyone. It's such an amazing feeling knowing that so many people are with us through this entire experience. Eric did a great job posting today and will continue tomorrow. Did I mention that he also did all those posts while being the best labor coach ever?? I love him SO MUCH!!!

I will probably not write another blog until we're home next. (Hopefully with a baby in my arms, not my stomach. hehe) Goodnight, sweet dreams, and strong contractions! ... Full Post...

Good things come to those who wait.

Next to exclaiming, ''Its a Boy!'' Doctor Jarem gave Jamie the best news possible, ''You can go eat a steak!''

At the last check, Jamie made a little progress which means that we could either stay at the hospital and be uncomfortable overnight or we can go home and get some much-needed rest, (not to mention eat a good dinner).

We are on our way home right now but first we're going to stop at Texas Roadhouse for our last dinner out.

Thank you everyone for checking the Blog throughout the day, signing the Guestbook and keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it more than you know.

I will keep updating the Blog as much as possible.

E

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Thank you

Due to overwhelming response, I have to make a post. (Since it's been 2 hours.)

Momma is sleeping right now and having a lot of contractions. Did I mention she's sleeping??

The doctors are going to check her in the next hour so I'll report later if she's making progress and we're staying or if we're going home.

E

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Pitocin... (put toes in?)

So they just did another exam and it looks like our little one is stubborn just like mommy. (Again, don't tell momma I said that. You know, it's really easy to feel bold when she can't run after me!) No progress yet.

Well it looks like they're going to try the contraction helper pitocin to help labor progress. Hopefully this works but if it doesn't we might be going home tonight to let things progress overnight (Mercy Gilbert is a pretty expensive hotel) because they don't want to keep us here if we're not ready.

Jamie just got about 15 minutes on the yoga ball and it really helped loosen her back and hips. She's been horizontal for almost 8 hours (less the 15 trips to the bathroom). Now she's back in bed and we're hoping pitocin works its magic.

I'll keep you posted.

E

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We're in

We're in Room 321 at Mercy Gilbert. We're hoping that the baby isn't too big to come out!

My mom just got here from Seattle and she's just as excited as we are!

The nurse just induced Jamie so in 4 hours we'll see if there's any more progress and possibly give a second dose.

No pain so far, in fact I'm watching the fetal heart rate monitor and the contraction monitor and Jamie doesn't even know that she's having contractions! Who needs an epidural (don't tell momma that I said that).

E

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It's Tuesday!!!

We had our best nights sleep in 3 nights! Please pray for as as we meet with our doctor and hopefully induce labor at around 8 am.

I'll keep you posted! Let's have a baby today!!!

E

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What a Day

Okay, so this message serves two purposes.
1 - I am testing my mobile posting capabilities so that when I'm not around the computer (like at the hospital) I can still keep everyone updated via the blog. So, this is your one stop shop for all Baby News and Updates.
2 - So yesterday we got the amazing news from our Doctor, that our baby was probably coming next week. Not even 24 hours later, on the way to work this morning, my wonderful bride started feeling some solid contractions! I don't know why, but they decided to show up today in full force. She felt them sporadically and painlessly (for the most part) throughout the day. I guess all that we needed was to get in the "baby's coming" frame of mind.

Since the baby is almost here, we decided to take this weekend and get some things all wrapped up... like this afternoon we went to our last movie for a few months (Jamie thinks we'll be able to sneak away for the Sex and the City movie, but we'll see how she parts with our 1 month old). We ended up seeing "Baby Mama", how fitting huh? Oh my goodness, EVERYONE go see it, it's hilarious!

We're also doing some other things around the house that need to be done prior to BBB's arrival (hence me being up at 12:30 testing my mobile blogging ability). We have to finish packing the labor and postpartum bags, we need to finish washing all of the baby's first outfits and onesies, we need to get the camera and video camera all together, etc. And I decided to finally cover up the semi-gloss paint that I mistakenly used to touch-up the "flat paint" walls.

All-in-all, not a bad day. I'm starting to think that the baby's not going to wait until Tuesday to show his little head (pun intended). Okay, back to work with me.

E ... Full Post...

BIG Baby Update (Literally)

Today we had another weekly check up with our favorite doctor, Dr. Jarem. We're 38 weeks and 4 days. Dr. Jarem did an exam and wasn't sure whether the baby had flipped to breach presentation or was head down. So we went over to the other room for a quick ultrasound scan. During the ultrasound we found out that Baby Boy is head down, but that he's also 9 pounds 4 ounces!! (The ultrasound could be off a pound in either direction though.) I still have not made any progress, no contractions, and baby boy is still sitting very high.

So the plan is that we are going to check into Mercy Gilbert hospital on Tuesday morning around 7am and they are going to try and induce us. Hopefully my body will react to the induction and we will have baby boy sometime next week. Another possibility is that he's too big and my body won't make any progress. If this is the case, then we will schedule a C-section and have a healthy baby boy next week. Either way, WE'RE PROBABLY HAVING A BABY NEXT WEEK! It's such a shock still since we really weren't expecting to have him so soon. But we're very trusting in Dr. Jarem and can't wait to meet our baby boy. He's so squished in there and we can't wait for him to come out so he can be more comfortable.

Please send lots of prayers our way for patience of our nerves through the weekend, health and safety for both the baby and me, and prayers of thanksgiving for our little blessing from God. We'll keep updating the blog from Eric's blackberry as we get more news so this is probably one of the best places to check back for updates. Hopefully we'll have a name, a baby, and a very happy family next week. Until then...

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Guitar Hero

Eric found out that our good friends Karen and Uriel have PS2 and that Uriel rocks Guitar Hero. He was so ecstatic to be able to play Guitar Hero that we went out the next day and Eric bought his own guitar. Last night we had an impromptu game night at the Padilla residence. Karen and I had fun watching the boys rock out. We even did a little rockin out ourselves. WOO HOO! It's fun to watch our boys play together and still look forward to our little boys playing together once BBB gets here. A very fun Monday night...

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Hiccups

Just a quick little story...

On Saturday I took a nap for about three hours in the afternoon so our schedule was a little off. We didn't eat dinner until 9pm and didn't go to bed until a little before 11pm. (Very late for us!) Eric had just fallen asleep and I was trying when I kept noticing a rhythmic kick or movement in my belly. It had pretty consistent intervals and was kind of strong. So I woke Eric, had him feel my tummy and told him that I thought the baby had the hiccups. We've heard about the baby getting hiccups but it hadn't happened yet. We talked about it and how cool it would be. IT TOTALLY WAS! Eric was exhausted and had to work on Sunday so he went back to sleep pretty quickly. But I laid there giggling in bed for about five minutes while Baby Boy hiccuped away. Very fun and just another cool experience of being pregnant. It really amused me and made me so happy. It's another fun little reminder of how alive our little guy is. He's so big and so ready! Hopefully we'll be kissing and hugging him soon... ... Full Post...

El You Tube-o

Here are a couple more of my favorites...

First, a novela (spanish soap opera) that we can all understand!


And secondly, I heard this on the radio a few months ago and thought it was a crack-up.
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Work on a Sunday

So I had a wonderful day at work today. My beautiful pregnant wife came to visit me with a couple of our friends Karen, Urial and Rafael Padilla!

They saw all kinds of stuff and I'm sure that Jamie will blog more about their trip tonight, but I just wanted to share how amazing it was to have them there today. It's not offten that I go in to work on a Sunday, so needless to say I wasn't too thrilled, but once everything got going and then I saw their smiling faces, it made the day special.

Thanks Guys!

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Basketball Belly

Eric and I have been taking pictures of my belly every month or so throughout the pregnancy. While taking pictures last night we decided to have a little fun before our little guy gets here. Think he's a basketball player in the making? Hehe...



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No progress

We had our weekly doctor's appointment today. No progress yet. I still don't think I'm having any contractions yet, not even Braxton Hicks. I have noticed that he is dropping though, you can see it in my belly and how he's sitting now. I also have noticed a lot more pain and pressure down toward my bladder and more frequent trips to the bathroom...YAY! hehe Dr. Jarem will do another exam next Thursday and maybe we'll have some news then. We're 37 weeks and 2 days today. Baby Boy was SO active this morning. He was moving like crazy at the doctor's office. The nurse even had a hard time getting his heart rate cause he kept switching positions on her. Too funny...

We're still working on his name. Unfortunately our list of names is getting longer not shorter. This is going to be a tough decision.

We started looking more seriously at child care options for when I go back to work (tear) after his birth. We're finding a couple places that we think might be good possibilities. One of the front runners is Kindercare where our friends Karen and Uriel take their son Rafael. It would be awesome having a couple more pairs of eyes to check on him when they're there. It's great cause they also live in our neighborhood. It's been such a blessing having them enter our lives at the perfect time. They give great advice on what they've done with Raf and helping us on our decisions. We're going to their house tonight for dinner. Fun times!

Guess that's all for now. We'll give more updates as they come. We should be completely ready for baby by this weekend. We started packing our hospital stuff and have an appointment to get the car seat installed by the Fire Department this weekend. After that, it's game on! We're ready for you Baby Boy. Mommy and Daddy can't wait for your arrival!!! (Neither can Auntie Kacia, she emailed and told me so yesterday. hehe) We all love you so much! ... Full Post...

You Tube Baby

So last weekend, my aunt Linda was in town for Jamie and BBB's baby shower. While staying at Karla's house we decided to occupy an hour of our time with You Tube videos!

Here is a selection of our favorites!

Watch this one if you need a little giggle.



If you start laughing too hard, make sure that you watch your head.



For some reason, I think that this is what Jamie did when she was a baby!



Have you ever tried with all of your might to communicate something, but nobody seems to understand? You'll appreciate this one!



This one isn't funny, but HOLY SMOKES! (No camera tricks)



These guys have become icons in China... this is their first "Music Video". Oh and by the way, they don't speak English, they just mouth the sounds REALLY well! (Keep an eye on the guy in the background... he NEVER TURNS AROUND!)



Finally, my favorite video! Enjoy!
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Fun week but very tiring

This week has been so much fun so far! Not only did we get to go swimming but I also found out that I get a pregnancy discount at Cold Stone Creamery. 10% off! SO COOL! I'm not sure if this is offered at all locations but the one by our house offers the discount. We went for ice cream after dinner on Wednesday evening and I found out this amazing information! It's the Cold Stone on Power and Rittenhouse for any other expecting moms that are interested.

Wednesday we had dinner at my mom's house with Jen, Bradley, Braden and Emma. It is so nice having them in town and getting to hang out with them. We miss the kiddies so much! Braden was of course adorable and amazes us with his perfect memory and awesome sentences that he puts together. He's such a big boy. And princess Emma is cuter each time we see her. Her hair is getting so long and pretty and she has so much love and energy. It was very fun getting hugs and kisses from them.

We are now on weekly appointments with the doctor. Yesterday's appointment was great! Joanna went with us since she was in town and was able to join us. Dr. Jarem is the best doctor and we can't speak highly enough about how lucky we feel to have her. We met for a long time and covered all the birth preferences and specifics. It's so exciting to talk about this stuff. It makes it so much more real that Baby Boy is almost here! He's head down and we're very excited about that. No progress yet but maybe in two weeks or so we'll have more news about his estimated arrival. The other great news is that Dr. Jarem officially gave me the title "Super Mom" yesterday. I'm still right on track with my weight and didn't gain anything these past two weeks. My weight is very steady and she said she is so proud of me for keeping my weight on track and under control. I officially earned the title "Super Mom". I'll happily accept that title...

On top of all that fun news, my office threw me a surprise baby shower yesterday here at work. Eric and my mom both were able to be there which was so awesome. They had food, snacks, drinks and of course, more presents. It was a total shocker! I could not believe how generous everyone is and how loved this baby is already. We can't say enough how blessed and grateful we are for our friends, family and co-workers. Also, a co-worker of mine has a son who recently turned one so she gave us her swing and bassinet. SO GENEROUS! She won't let us give her anything in return and both of the pieces are immaculate. Denise and her family are too kind. Thank you! ... Full Post...

Swimming

What an amazing evening! After work yesterday we went swimming as a family. Baby boy loved being in the water and SO DID MOMMY! The water was a little chilly but nice enough to swim. We played a little volleyball even. It just felt so nice to have my entire body in the water and moving around. Eric held my head up and the rest of my body just floated. It was funny to see my belly sticking up out of the water. We had a really good time swimming and I finally got to get in a pool. I've been wanting to for so long and it's seriously been my only craving this entire pregnancy. Hopefully we'll go again this weekend or next week. Fun times and a very happy mommy!!!

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Baby Shower

What an amazing weekend! We feel so loved and blessed!! Saturday was Baby Boy Bailey's baby shower. Not only did we have so much fun but we also got to spend some much needed time with family and friends.

First of all, Rose and Linda (Eric’s mom and aunt) flew into town Thursday night… What a great way to kick off the weekend! On Friday after work we all met up with Joanna (also flew in town!) and went to dinner in Queen Creek at my new favorite restaurant El Rico’s. WHAT AMAZING FOOD! The restaurant is beautiful and the food is phenomenal. It's family owned and all the staff is so friendly and incredibly attentive. Try to save room for the churros, yummy! I highly recommend trying this restaurant as soon as possible for some great Mexican food. My personal favorite is the shredded beef tacos although the nacho plate is huge and very good looking!

I started off Saturday with a manicure and pedicure. The manicure was completely ruined by the end of the day after opening SO MANY presents, but it was still nice to be pampered!

It was crazy how many presents we received. We are so grateful and shocked at the outpouring of love we have received. Thank you everyone so much!!

We played some fun games and of course, ate some good food. My sister Jen and niece Emma surprised me by coming into town early and joining us at the shower. What an awesome surprise!!

It was amazing to have so many wonderful happy women all around me. Thank you to everyone for sharing your love with me. I will remember this day for years to come.

Sunday morning we had to take Rose to the airport. I was so sad she had to leave so early but incredibly grateful that she and Linda both came to AZ for the shower. It was so great having them here with us.

In the afternoon, my high school friend Sarah came over with Enrique and their beautiful baby girl Eva. It was awesome having them over and getting to spend some time enjoying the wonders of baby Eva. She was so happy and made tons of noises for us to enjoy. She liked the kitties and squealed each time they passed. Too fun...

After they left Eric and I ran some errands before church. (We got there a little late – oops). After church we celebrated Uncle Dale's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Uncy D! We went to Barro's Pizza and invited our friends Karen, Uriel and Rafael to come with us. We had a lot of fun at dinner and enjoyed the good company.

This entire weekend was full of family and friends and we are full of love after such an awesome weekend! It's been fun getting closer to Karen, Uriel and Raf these past few weeks. They're a great family.

The only other exciting news I have is that I bought a bathing suit yesterday!! We are planning on going swimming tomorrow after work and I honestly can't wait! I have been wanting to go swimming this entire pregnancy and just haven't gone yet. The weather here is perfect and I actually have a suit that fits now. I'll definitely write more after the big swimming event. WOO HOO! It's gonna be a great week, I can tell already...

As for baby boy, we're 36 weeks pregnant today and are counting down the days until his arrival. We go to weekly appointments starting this week and hope to hear great things at each appointment. Our next appointment is Thursday with Dr. Jarem (the best doctor ever!) He's started to drop but I haven't felt any contractions yet. No Braxton Hicks or anything, PHEW! We're getting maternity pictures taken next weekend with our wedding photographers. It should be fun.

Baby boy must have known I was talking about him cause he just woke up and started moving around. Too funny. We're still working on a name for him. Wish us luck...

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Babies Galore

We are so happy to hear that a couple we know from the Newman Center is also expecting their first baby. Congrats and prayers to Mark and Rachel Davis. We are so excited for you two!! We feel so lucky to have so many friends around us that either have a baby similar in age or will be having a baby soon. We have girlfriend options (both older ladies) between Libby and Eva. Then we have a best little buddy in our neighborhood to show Baby Boy Bailey the ropes. Raf is so adorable and we he hope will be good friends with BBB. Then the Dysons are expecting their first baby just a couple of weeks before us and now the Davis family is expanding. SO EXCITING! Congratulations to all the proud, happy and loving parents. We can't wait to start setting up play dates...

This Saturday is Baby Boy Bailey's baby shower being thrown by my momma and Joanna. Luckily it's at our house so I don't have to travel too far. My mother-in-law Rose and Eric's aunt Linda got in town last night. Joanna also came back to AZ yesterday. It's so nice having family in town and getting to see them. I love it! Tomorrow is going to be great! We'll have lots of lovely ladies surrounding our handsome little guy with fun, laughter and love. We feel so blessed with family and friends who pray and care for us so much. Thank you for all of your support and generosity. We truly feel blessed.

More to come after this weekend. I'll be posting pictures of the nursery and also giving a weekend wrap-up. Maybe I'll even go swimming on Sunday. Oooh, that sounds SO NICE!!! ... Full Post...