Caleb Michael is Here!

Here are some of the pictures of sweet Caleb boy that have been taken over the past two weeks. It seems as if a month has gone by. Eddie and I joke that each day is actually two days because we are awake so much throughout the night, it should count as its own day. :)

Caleb meeting Mommy 

Stats: 7 lbs 14.6 ounces, 20 inches long  

 Caleb meets Daddy

Caleb was so awake and curious after being born

Hanging out with Uncle Ryan in the hospital

 Saying Hi to Daddy

What he does most of the time...

 Sweet boy

 Sleeping off the turkey dinner

6:00 am wake up call! 

Picking out a Christmas tree! 

Caleb's first bath 

Smiling in his sleep! 

We are enjoying this sweet baby boy so very much. There have been some challenges, which I think always comes with adjusting to a new baby, but we are so in love. At his last doctor's appointment he was weighing in at 8lbs 9 ounces and measured 21 inches long. He is becoming more alert every day and I am looking forward to when those smiles will be shown when he is awake!

37 Weeks 5 Days

This last week was very difficult as it was filled with memories of Joshua and wishing he was here. We tried to fill the week with relaxing activities to help make it a better week. We had a lot of people praying for us and overall, I think the week went as good as it could, considering the circumstances. We really appreciated all of the prayer support and felt God's provision of comfort in the midst of our pain.

The day before Halloween, a Phil's BBQ opened up in Santee. Eddie and I had never been before and wanted to visit, but we expected a line around the block. We were pleasantly surprised to find no line and quick service. It was busy inside, but they had plenty of workers. We each ordered the ribs and chicken and it was delicious.

Exhibit A

Also, when we checked the mail that evening we were so surprised and incredibly thankful to find that the DMV sent a letter approving Eddie to drive again!!! Eddie did a dance of celebration and I got tears in my eyes. I was so very tired of driving and my belly was not fitting behind the wheel very well.  It was just in time for our day of activities on Halloween the next day and we no longer had to worry about me going into labor and finding a ride to the hospital. It was a huge blessing in the middle of a tough week.  

Delighting in his new freedom :)

Halloween morning we started the day with breakfast at Janets. It was super peaceful out on the patio and while I was sleepy (woke up at 3:30 am and didn't fall asleep again until 5:45 am), it felt relaxing. 3:30 is a special time for me. I woke up at 3:30 every night for potty breaks while pregnant with Joshua and he was born at 3:36 am. Now, while pregnant with Caleb, I still wake up at 3:30 each night and it reminds me of Joshua. 

After breakfast, we drove out to the zoo and walked around visiting monkeys, tigers, bears, and otters. It was nice to go at our own pace and the keepers were feeding several of the animals while we were there. The only bummer to the trip was that the escalators were broken. We did not find this out until we were already at the bottom of the hill. So, we climbed stairs back to the entrance. Nothing to make you feel more pregnant than climbing stairs with kids running by you playing tag. I told Eddie that was my workout for the week. 

Resting on a bench watching the monkeys

Our next stop was to a restaurant right on the water near the airport. It was delicious food and again, a very peaceful atmosphere. The best part of the meal was when our server brought out the dessert. A giant slice of mud pie with congratulations written on the plate in chocolate and a candle lit on the plate. She told me it was to congratulate us on our first baby. Even though she was referring to Caleb, I didn't correct her since I knew that we were in fact celebrating our first baby. It was a sweet moment to blow out Joshua's candle for his first birthday. And it had some comedic relief in that when I tried to blow the candle out, the flame did not even flicker. I'm not sure if I couldn't lean far enough due to my belly or what, but Eddie had a good laugh and he blew it out for me. I kept the candle to put in Joshua's memory box. Unfortunately, we did not think to take a picture before we devoured the dessert, but at least I have the candle.

Stuffed with delicious food, we drove to our hotel and were surprised with a free upgrade to a balcony room. It was a slow night and the grounds were quiet and peaceful. 

View into the courtyard from our room 

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel before leaving to go to our doctor's appointment. At the appointment, Caleb was measuring 7 lbs. 15 ounces. which confirmed that those measurements are quiet inaccurate. The week before he was 6 lbs. 8 ounces. He's such a fast growing baby! :) Still head down as he should be and still looking healthy. We also discussed my kidney stone results a bit. It turns out they are struvite stones, which are usually always caused by infection (urinary tract infections). I have had numerous urine cultures throughout the pregnancy, all of which say no infection is present, so that is quite confusing. She also confirmed that there is at least one if not two more stones in the right kidney. So I have an appointment with a urology surgeon on Thursday, the 8th, to discuss a plan of action. I'm pretty sure nothing will happen until after Caleb is born, so even more reason for him to come out soon!

Yesterday for Joshua's birthday, Eddie and I went to the cemetery and hung his giraffe wind chime on his tree and we brought flowers that we had picked out in the colors of a giraffe. We were surprised to see how much his tree had grown and that it had flowers blooming. It was so hard to wish that we could hold him again and celebrate his birthday together as a family. It somewhat helped to think of how Caleb will be involved in years to come. Picking out flowers to bring to his brother's tree and telling him about Joshua. I kept telling Eddie, "I'm so glad that he's not really in the ground, that he's still alive". It reminded me of Easter. Not to be irreverent, but just that with Easter we have Good Friday of thinking about Christ's death and then Sunday we celebrate that He is alive. We had Halloween of thinking about Joshua's death, but then Friday we were able to celebrate that he is alive. And it's all because of Jesus dying on the cross.  

Such a beautiful tree

 Me and Caleb with Joshua's wind chime

Close up of his flowers

Close up of flowers on the tree

Mommy and Daddy

We love you and miss you sweet baby boy! Can't wait to see you in heaven. 

35 Weeks

From my baby shower with some of my friends

I was hoping to gather some more photos before posting, but I have not been able to get a hold of the shower photos. It was a beautiful shower thrown by mother-in-law, Cindi. The weather was really nice and it was the last shower before Caleb comes. So crazy that he can now come at any time! At my doctor's appointment, Caleb was measuring 6 lbs. 10 ounces and he was head down (hooray!). At the time, I was not having too many consistent contractions, so she did not check to see if I was dilated or effaced. Since the appointment, I have at least one "set" of contractions a day. They will come on for an hour or so and then leave. I am becoming more uncomfortable, which is so different than it was with Joshua. I always thought with Joshua that I could be pregnant forever and not mind it one bit. The pregnancy waddle that so many had was foreign to me. And then out of the blue this past week, Hello pregnancy waddle. I now completely understand it. It makes me hopeful that maybe my body will go into labor on its own and not need to be induced. In other news, my body passed another kidney stone. Hopefully the last one. My next appointment for Caleb is tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing him!

34 Weeks!

Well I had good intentions for a picture post this week, but a kidney stone passing got in the way. In my last post I mentioned apple picking, and on our way home from doing that, I had intense pain come on out of nowhere with nausea and vomiting. Earlier this pregnancy, I was in and out of the hospital trying to pass what we think was a kidney stone. Since I had that experience to draw from, I knew that this pain was identical to that pain and by the next morning I could not keep any food or water down. My dad drove us to the hospital in what felt like the longest car ride ever. I tried to tell myself that it was practice for labor, hopefully minus the vomiting. I have now realized that when in intense pain, I keep my eyes closed, I breathe calmly to myself and I shake my foot vigorously. Eventually, I received anti-nausea meds and some pain medication which made it so very much better. I will endure intense pain for a baby, but not for a kidney stone. A renal ultrasound showed a 7mm stone in my right kidney and some fluid buildup in my left. I was having no pain on my right side, but a lot of pain on the left so we initially thought they had messed up the results. However, they later explained that the left side could have a stone as well, but ultrasounds are not as good at showing them. By the evening, I was no longer having intense pain and I had passed some small bits of stone, so we figured that was it and were discharged in the morning. After leaving the hospital, the pain returned off and on and I was drinking lemon juice and water around the clock and I started chanting, "get it out" over and over. Pain does weird things to me, but it worked! Friday night I passed a 5mm kidney stone. I have never been so excited. You would have thought someone gave me a puppy. I sent a picture to all of my siblings, which Eddie told me is disgusting. I just figured if they were praying for my health, they should join in my celebration full force. I'll be sending the stone in this week to be analyzed and hopefully they can let me know what is causing the stones so that I can prevent any more from forming.

In other news, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions while in the hospital and yesterday, they were very stubbornly sticking around. At one point they were every 3 minutes lasting a minute. Caleb and I had a heart to heart and I told him he is not allowed to come yet and I prayed God would keep him inside at least a few more weeks. They eventually subsided, so hopefully they stay spread far far apart. I will try to take a 34 week picture and post it soon. I am certain that my belly is much larger than it was at this point with Joshua. I told Eddie that it is unfathomable that it can grow any larger and yet, I know it somehow will. 'Til next week!

33 Weeks and Apple Picking

Just wanted to post a few recent pics. Recent being today. Eddie and I drove up to Cuyamaca Lake and decided while we were out that way to stop in Julian. We shopped a bit and had some lunch and then we drove over to a place called Raven Hill Orchard and picked some apples. They had Jonathan, Golden Delicious, and Empire apples. We mostly picked Empire and Jonathan apples and it was very fun. It was also super hot so I tried to find shade under the trees. As far as pregnancy symptoms, I was having some of my kidney pain rearing its head again today, but it is currently gone and I am praying it stays that way. Other than that, I am doing well. Caleb moves around frequently throughout the day, which is so reassuring and a blessing to experience. I will miss that part of pregnancy when he is finally here.

 Inspecting apples for worms and hiding in the shade :)

Such cute little apples!

 Side view of Caleb

Want some apples?

 We like to share :)

29 Weeks & Birthday Fun

Last week Cassie and Alan were in town and we celebrated Abby's 3rd birthday. It was so much fun to see how excited she was for her birthday party and how much she loved simple things, like balloons.

Exhibit A

Luke also loved the balloons

Prior to the birthday festivities, Uncle Eddie was teaching Benjer the ins and outs of being a Chargers fan

Then came time for cupcakes

And Luke asked for his picture taken while presents were opened. This is his "say cheese" face.

 I was hopeful to get lots of pictures of our time hanging out throughout the week, but Cassie came down with the flu and she did not get well until right before they left to go home :( So our week was spent avoiding germs and the hot weather. One day we visited the beach and on another day, we went to nighttime zoo with Eddie's parents. Nighttime zoo is nice for many reasons: the crowds have gone down, the sun is setting making it the perfect temperature, and the animals that are sleeping during the day become much more active at night.

My 29 week photo at the zoo

Eddie and I at the zoo, both of our smiles are funny because we posed for quite some time to take the picture.

I had a Dr.'s appointment yesterday and everything was looking good with Caleb. His head is up at the moment, but I was reassured by the doctor that he has plenty of time to turn around. He was also measuring 3 lbs. exactly. I am still feeling a lot more aches and pains than last time around. By the end of our zoo trip, I was feeling very fatigued and was ready to lay down and rest.  The hills at the zoo are not my friend.

I also took pictures of some gifts that my mom knit for Caleb. Since we have a turtle theme in his room, she knit some turtle animals. I call them Joshua and Caleb because there are two of them. She is still working on a blanket that has turtles knit into it. I will definitely post that when it is finished. And she also made the cutest little turtle outfit that Eddie says Caleb will completely be embarrassed by when he is older. It was inspired by a newborn photo of a sleeping baby with a turtle shell on its back and a hat: http://cutearoo.com/2012/02/28/turtle-baby/. I think he will forgive me when he's older.   

Joshua and Caleb turtles

So cute!

28 Weeks and Picture Update

I can't believe that I am already in the third trimester! Time is flying by and I like that and don't like it all at the same time. I like that the anticipation and anxiety of Caleb coming seems to go by quicker, but I am sad that my time with him inside of me is ending. I have grown rather fond of carrying him around and only having to worry about taking care of myself, which then naturally takes care of him. So much more responsibility after he comes out. But I am up for the challenge. 

So yesterday Eddie, with the help of his mom, and my small input of "move the letter higher, move the letter lower, umm...I think maybe that looks good", put up Caleb's letters above his crib. I think it turned it quite well. 

We also took the wall hangings and put them above the changing table. I like how the turtle looks like he is swimming up the wall. 

A close-up of the letters. 

 We hung the comforter on the opposite wall

We also put up the super cute decorative hoops that Aunt Sonya made for Caleb. At my shower, Sonya gave me a blanket that she made and decorated hoops with the theme of our bedding. I am not at all crafty in any way so I love that Caleb can have some home made things to decorate his room. 

Close-up of the hoops.

A picture of them hung above the closet. 

And last time I posted pictures of the room, I did not have my glider chair put together. So here is a picture of that with some of Caleb's stuffed animals.

I also took a 28 week picture today. I am technically 27 weeks and 5 days in the picture, but I figured that is close enough to 28. 

Side view

View from the front

In my next post, I will try to put up some pictures of a few more home made gifts for Caleb (from my mom) and will add another picture update on the growing belly. 

Update

I have been so behind in my updating, which I guess when I look back, I'm not so great at keeping up on my updates. However, I am determined to do better with that.

So back at 23 weeks Eddie and I made a trip up to LA and on the way back we stopped at Downtown Disney and decided to eat at ESPN Zone. It was a nice stop and we got our "Disney fix" without having to pay admission to the park. Eddie fell in love with an infant ESPN hat which he bought for Caleb and we wandered all through the Disney store looking at all of the fun toys. Here is a picture of me at 23 weeks in front of ESPN Zone.

Also, Eddie's sister recently decorated some letters for Caleb's room. They are so cute and I can't wait to put them up on the wall above the crib. I'll have to post a picture when that is finished. Until then, here is a picture of the letters:

The only difference from this picture to how they are now is that there a small sea turtle in the lower corner of the letter "A".

And last but not least, some pictures from a walk around Cuyamaca Lake. Ben, Sonya, Piper, and McKinley were in town last week, which was super fun.

 25 Weeks and Gettin' Big!

My last doctor's appointment Caleb was weighing in at 2 lbs. 4 ounces (66th percentile) and I passed my glucose test, which was such a relief. My stomach and the glucose drink do not get along, but it survived this time. Caleb has been super active, especially early in the morning and late at night. He also kicks like crazy any time I get super hungry, maybe he hears my stomach growling? I am feeling physically ok, more aches and pains than last time. I think my body is going on a pregnancy strike, two babies back to back and it is throwing in the towel. I remind it every day that it has three months to go so it can't quit yet :)