Audrey is here!

I promised more pictures of Audrey and the birth experience. Here they are ~ Enjoy! Click for big versions.

Here I am moments before getting hooked up to the IV and going into surgery. I think I look bigger than 37 weeks... would you agree? :p

Getting cleaned up. C Section babies sometimes stop breathing shortly after birth, because their lungs/heart etc. haven't been stimulated by being pushed through the birth canal. Such was the case with Audrey... they had to drain her lungs and stimulate them as she stopped breathing for about 15 seconds. Scary!! Thank the Lord I had no clue that was happening as I watched, immobilized on the operating table.

Get that bright light out of my face, people!

Note the amount on the scale. That's my big girl! :D

A very very happy Daddy!

One big happy family. I'm pretty drugged out in this picture. :p

Dave, Katie, and many of our friends came to visit us while in the hospital. Dave wanted to hold Audrey all day, and she loved it!

A happy and tired momma.

Audrey in her going home outfit on our last day at the hospital. She's just so cute I could scream!!

At one point, she reached out, grabbed Eric's nose, and held on for about 5 minutes. I could hardly take the picture because I was laughing so hard! I thought I would lose my stitches...

Folks, we've got a whistler.


We introduced Gabby & Sasha to Audrey the night we returned home. They were absolutely fascinated with her, and still are!

Audrey's first sponge bath. She LOVED it as you can see! :p

Ahh... now this I can deal with.

I'm ready... feed meh!

Eric has become quite the multi tasker... watching TV and feeding Audrey at the same time.

Audrey stretched her legs out and set them on Sasha's nose. It was possibly the cutest thing ever.

Her first walk outside... she slept through the whole thing, bumps and all!


We're picture-happy-parents, so expect a lot more pictures soon! :)

Miss Audrey has arrived!

After much anticipation, our beautiful little girl is here. Audrey Ann Rice was born at 10:03am on Friday, April 4th. She weighed 9 lbs. 1 oz., and was 20 inches long. The C-Section was smooth, quick, and a great experience overall. I am recovering quite well, but I still have some pain and am taking things slowly. We've have had a fun and tiring week... taking care of a newborn is something else! We are completely in love with her and couldn't possibly be happier. More rested, sure... but not happier! :D

I have started a long post filled with pictures and details of the whole birth experience. I will pack as many pictures of our beautiful little girl into one post as I can! However, I'm too exhausted to do this tonight. I'll add a few pictures now to hold you over, since I know some of you may be checking my blog for news of the most beautiful baby in the world!





More to come. I hope to have an extensively detailed post for you tomorrow.

Only in Ohio

A few days ago, I picked Eric up from work and we were on the freeway driving home. Eric hadn't had a particularly encouraging day at work, so we were talking about it and feeling a little glum in general. I was focusing on the road as any decent driver tends to do, when suddenly Eric erupted in laughter, shrieking about something or other I couldn't quite catch. He insisted that I slow down in order to get a look at a truck that we had recently passed, because it had a COW in the backseat. You read it right, I said COW. If the cow was in the BED of the truck I wouldn't have bothered, but he said he thought for sure he saw a cow in the extra cab of an old F150. When we passed it the first time, he thought the truck had some fancy leather seat covers. As he looked closer, he realized the leather seat cover had a tail. And a bell around it's neck. And a tag in it's ear. By no means were we in the middle of a rural country town, but smack dab in the middle of a major metropolitan city! What did I say? Only in Ohio.

Eric snapped a picture with his cell phone as we drove by.


Take a closer look:


It seems that Bessie has moved up in the world. Only in Ohio. :) That brightened Eric's day considerably, and we both had a good laugh!

Current List of Favorites - March 2008

I think I'm due for another CLoF (Current List of Favorites. Or was it LoCF: List of Current Favorites?). I didn't include obvious things, just the new stuff!

~ www.Songza.com. This is a fun music website. I've made a great play list that is saved under my account name, so it can be pulled up on any computer (work, home, etc). Plus it's free, and fun to browse!
~ Joe Purdy. He wrote the catchy tune that plays on the Kia commercials, "Can't Get It Right Today". His music is so laid back, I love his acoustic style! My favorite song of his so far is "Blue In The Sky". I would have linked them to songza, but it doesn't work that way. You'll see what I mean if you check songza out. Come on!!!
~ Crunchy Taco Supremes from Taco Bell ~ also knows as Fourthmeal! MMmm. How can something that's not very good for you taste so good?! Sad to say, I'm addicted.
~ Flip Flops
~ The color GREEN ~ mostly referring to spring and green starting to come back into nature. I think if I had an item of clothing that was green and fit me big belly and all, I'd definitely enjoy wearing it!
~ Nertz! The best card game. Ever. Period. Somehow my shrunken pregnant brain still functions while playing Nertz. It's one of the last functions my shrunken pregnant brain can perform.
~ Sleep, and a break from work! I start my maternity leave on Monday of this coming week. Since I haven't been sleeping well during the night, I'm hoping I can manage to sleep in and take a few naps during the day on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. My poor body needs to be as rested as possible before venturing into the world of taking care of a newborn, recovering from major surgery, and completely readjusting my insulin regime among other things!

Spring is in the air!

Finally. The last snow of winter is melting, the sun is shining brilliantly, little green shoots are coming up through the soil, and the smell of spring is in the air. Dawn transforms the night sky into a radiant sunrise, greeted by cheerful birds and a cool breeze. There is something that awakens in one's heart as spring is ushered in. The long, gloomy winter months are gone!

Spring can also bring things like rain, which magically transforms our backyard into what we not-so-affectionately call "The Lake":

But, Spring does make the snow melt. YAY! (cell phone quality picture ~ sorry)

In other news, Gabby & Sasha are the cutest puppies ever, and sneaky little pillow stealers.

Cell phone quality pictures again... gah!

I will post again soon as our birthing adventure draws near. 9 more days! Enjoy the beautiful day, Mid-Westerners!

A Post-Pregnancy List

It occurred to me this weekend that there are some things I am looking forward to, post-pregnancy. Why not make a list out of it, since lists are fun bloggy type things? :D

I am looking forward to....

~ Holding Audrey and seeing what she looks like after feeling her move inside of me for so long.
~ Watching her personality bloom as she grows. It will be wildly entertaining if she is anything like Eric and I, which I certainly hope she will be! :D
~ Seeing my feet again. Also, getting a much needed pedicure after not really being able to bend down and do my toenails!
~ Reaching the faucet at the kitchen sink.
~ Taking long walks with Audrey in the warmth of the spring sunshine.
~ Sleeping better. Notice I did not say sleeping for longer or more often, but simply sleeping in a physically comfortable position for the 1-2 hour periods I will have it. :)
~ Watching Audrey interact with the dogs, and growing up with them.
~ Bending over to do things like put my shoes on comfortably.
~ Watching God mold Eric & I into the parents He wants us to be. I have a lot to learn!
~ Having a big cup of coffee every morning.
~ Wearing high heels again.
~ Having my normal body temperature back. I look forward to not being roasting hot all the time!
~ Getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Or better! :D

The Big Day Approaches

We got a call from my doctor this afternoon. Because Audrey is measuring so big (7 lbs. 9 oz. a week ago), my amniocentesis and C-Section have been scheduled. The amniocentesis is a test that determines whether or not the baby's lungs are mature and ready for birth. That test is scheduled for early morning on Thursday, April 3rd.... providing her lungs are ready to go (we'll know by the end of the day on the 3rd), the C-Section will happen early Friday morning, April 4th. I will be 37 weeks on that day. Her body parts are all measuring on schedule, except that her abdomen is measuring large. They include the shoulders in the abdomen measurement, and they don't want to risk having her shoulders get stuck in a vaginal birth. (Lovely thought, isn't it?!) One thing to keep in mind is that these growth scans are often not completely correct, so Audrey may be smaller than they think. However because she goes by the result of the growth scan ultra sound, my doctor is doing what she feels is safest for everyone in scheduling the C-Section.

Both my perinatologist (high risk doctor) and OBGYN agree that my blood sugars have not played a part in her being so big, which is a relief to me. Thank God I've been able to keep my diabetes under good control!

We had expected to hear that the C-Section would be scheduled for around 38 weeks, so it wasn't too much of a shock to hear that the doctor wanted to do it at 37 weeks. We covet your prayers and thoughts as the countdown begins... may God's peace, wisdom, and timing prevail over the entire situation and all of us involved!

How exciting. I can hardly believe we'll have a BABY in a few weeks! AHH!