Two Weeks

It's Miss Olivia's second week on the outside and things are going well! That's not to say that we don't have the occasional rough night, but all in all the princess is pretty easy going! She had her second check-up with the pediatrician this week. According to Dr. Gurchiek, Olivia is growing beautifully! She is weighing in at 8 pound, 9 ounces (that is a full pound more than when she left the hospital!) and is measuring at 21 inches long. That puts her in the 68th percentile for weight and 89th percentile for length. Because she is doing so well, she can now have a pacifier and is allowed to sleep for up to 5 hours at night before we would need to wake her to feed her. Can I get an AMEN for mommy's sanity?!?! Miss Banks was not a happy camper when we had to wake her every three hours from a sound sleep to eat.

She has also graduated to baths in the tub now that her umbilical cord stump has fallen off. She loves being in the tub! No more screeching and crying at bath time from Miss Olivia. She enjoys the warm water and the undivided attention of both mommy and daddy.

To wrap up the week, we went to visit Josh at work. Unfortunately, it rained and many of Josh's co-workers were in a meeting. We did manage to get one pic outside of our future Greyhound (she's definitely not going to Wabash!). We will definitely have to visit again and show her the rest of the campus.

One Week Old!

It's hard to believe it's been a whole week since Miss Olivia was born. We have had a few rough nights, but overall things are going quite well! It has been a big week of firsts for Olivia...

She had her first car ride as we left the hospital:

(Of course I played "Haven't Met You Yet" for her and got choked up!)

We went to the pediatrician's office for the first time for a routine check up

(Did I mention she hates being strapped into her car seat? Although, once in the car she usually falls right to sleep. Like mother like daughter!)

Olivia also got to have her first (sponge) bath. She's not necessarily a fan of baths yet, but I think she will be one day!

Since the weather was finally decent, we went on our first walk around the park at the end of our street.

I don't think Tinker has ever been so happy to be around his new sister!

And she wouldn't be my daughter without getting to do a few of my favorite things...shopping and eating out! Our first shopping trip (of many!) was to the Fashion Mall

We wrapped up Olivia's first week (and Grandma Sue's birthday) with dinner at Macaroni Grill

All and all, a very good (and busy) first week with Miss Olivia!

Here's the Story, Of a Lovely Lady...

May 11, 2011 will forever be the day our lives flipped upside down and inside out (and not just because our heater/AC went out!). I woke up around 5 am because Tinker needed to go outside. I decided to just go back to sleep on the couch because our house (particularly our bedroom) felt like a sauna. Around 5:15 I felt what I can only describe as a dripping sensation. I quickly stood up because I realized my water had broken! I called for Josh to come downstairs (poor guy, he was awoken from a dead sleep by me yelling "JOSH! GET DOWN HERE, MY WATER BROKE!") and he said, "What do we do now?!?!" Thankfully, we had posted the directions for what to do on the fridge because we knew we would not be thinking clearly when the big moment arrived. The doctor told us to go ahead and come on. I of course had to take a shower, get dressed, put on a little make-up, and fix my hair. Yes, there are things even motherhood can't change about me! :-) So, Josh loaded up the car and we headed to Community North. Here is the last pic of my baby bump:

When we arrived at the hospital, they took me to triage to evaluate where my labor was at. I was dilated to 3 centimeters and since my water had already broken, they officially admitted me and we made our way up to the 5th floor. My OBGYN came to check on me a little while later and decided we would re-evaluate the situation at 10:15 and start Pitocin if necessary. Well, after a very uncomfortable exam at 10:15, Pitocin was started and I was also given an epidural. Now, I am not one to judge but let me just say you would have to be crazy not to do an epidural! It made child birth a VERY pleasant experience! In fact it wasn't until the end when it was time to push that I really even felt any thing. Any who, the next few hours moved very quickly. By noon I was at 6 centimeters and at 2:30 I had dilated to 8.5 centimeters. My nurse then had me lay in a position called "Texas Roll". Within 5 minutes, I was at 10 centimeters. The team quickly called my OB and prepped the room for the delivery. Josh and I tried to mentally prepare for Baby Banks to join us on the outside.

While we were waiting for Dr. Stuhldreher to arrive, she had given the nurses instructions for me do some "practice pushing". I was also told I needed to "Boot Camp Pushing" and not "Princess Pushing" in order to move the process along (I compromised and put on some lip gloss in preparation for the "Boot Camp Pushing"). When you are pushing, they have you take a deep breath, hold it, and then push for ten seconds three times. As I was starting to push, the nurse counted to 3 before she said, "STOP! STOP! STOP!" Immediately concerned that something was wrong, we asked what the problem was. Apparently, Baby Banks' head was already starting to come out! Girlfriend may have been two days late, but she was now in a hurry and trying to make up some time! Dr. Stuhldreher then arrived and we resumed pushing. Within 5 minutes, Olivia Marie Banks was out and loudly letting me know of her arrival!

Weighing in at 8 lbs, 0.5 ounces, 20 inches long, and with a full head of dark brown hair (guess I know what all the heart burn was about!) our daughter was here and beautiful!

I too cried right along with her for quite a while! After months of hoping and praying, she was absolutely everything we had dreamed of.

A perfect, healthy baby girl.

Her buns are still in the oven!

40 weeks: Baby is the size of a small pumpkin

Your baby is probably around the size of a small pumpkin.

The average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds and is about 20 inches long.

I have to admit that I am one of those naive people that assumed when the doctor tells you your baby's due, she actually comes by that date. However, a due date is really just a best guess. And Baby Banks is still doing her hair! I mean it is one of the biggest entrances she will ever make!

Although, I'm not dilated and Baby Banks appears to be in no hurry to join us on the outside, the doctor assures us she is still doing fine! Currently weighing in between 7 and 7 1/2 lbs with a heart rate of 143 beats, Baby Banks just decided the 9th doesn't work for her birthday. Perhaps, she doesn't want to be a Taurus?

One of the other fun things when you bypass your due is that you get to start going to the doctor TWICE a week! Lovely! The doctor again assured us that this is completely normal. On the upside, if we don't get to hold her by Thursday we'll at least get to see her via an ultrasound. Woo-hoo! The last time we had an ultrasound was at 20 weeks, so I think this is long over due. So, stay tuned!

Mother's Day

Well, I'm not sure if I am "technically" a mother yet, but our friend Michelle told us, "You are taking care of her, that makes you a mother." So I'll take it! Real or not, I was certainly spoiled! First, Auntie Lisa and Uncle Drew sent a beautiful blanket and cute book:

Josh and our friend Jackie also treated me to a very relaxing mani/pedi. I will spare you the image of my swollen feet and hands, but I would definitely recommend OPI's "Shanghai Shimmer"!

Josh continued to spoil me by buying and planting all of my annuals. It was very fun to walk around the store and say, "I want those and those and those over there..." while knowing I wouldn't have to actually do all of the planting!

He did a fab job! Here are a few pics from around the yard.

And to round out the day some lovely flowers for the inside and a treat from Taylor's Bakery!

I can't wait until next year when Baby Banks is here! I hope all of the other mommies out there had a great day as well!

Single digits (hopefully!)

39 weeks: Baby weighs as much as a mini-watermelon

Your baby matches up to a mini-watermelon, weighing a bit over 7 pounds.

(Length: about 20 inches, head to heel.)

Okay, so I'm not so sure about the "mini" part of this watermelon. I feel like I have a full size watermelon in my belly these days!

Another doctor's appointment and no progress towards labor. Sigh... I know the nurse practitioner was trying to be encouraging when she said, "Well, you definitely won't be pregnant any more by May 24th!" (My due date is May 9th) but I did not find much comfort in that!

Perhaps, Baby Banks knows that I need to get my haircut before she arrives so I will look nice in our pictures together. Well, that appointment is scheduled for Thursday, so maybe she will be a Cinco de Mayo baby (Auntie Carrie has already promised to take her out for margaritas on her 21st birthday). Or she may be thinking she still has another week before she is late, so what's the rush? She also knows that some of her future girl friends aren't arriving until September, so again she is in no hurry. But my doctor will be on call at the hospital from Wednesday through next Monday which would make it awfully convenient for me! So until then we just keep waiting!

Ready Whenever She Is...

Well, I think we've done all we can do to prep for Baby Banks arrival. Her nursery is done. We've stock piled diapers and wipes. Grandma Sue has stocked the freezer. Grammy and Grampy Banks have sent the cradle (via Uncle Paul's delivery service). We've packed for the hospital...

And yes, Diva Banks has her own suitcase. :-)

Let's just hope when the time comes it goes a little more smoothly than this!