Evalyn Ingrid

She's here! Staying true to the pregnancy, Evalyn kept us on our toes. I thought for sure I would deliver early, but she decided to keep things exciting. 3 days past my due date I had a doctors appointment to monitor Evalyn's heart rate and my contractions. It turned out with each contraction her heart rate would drop to a level the doctor was not comfortable with. The doctor sent us directly to the hospital to get the labor going. They broke my water and contractions began immediately, being 2-3 minutes apart. While the nurse went to get things going for the epidural, things really started to pick up and before we knew it, 3 pushes and an hour and a half of labor baby Evalyn was born. I remember seeing the anesthesiologist peek his head in, assess the situation and walk right back out. He knew he would not be needed.

Evalyn Ingrid was born July 20 at 1:49 pm. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 19inches long. A lot of people ask about her name and have noticed we are calling her Eva. Sam's great grandma was named Eva and we wanted to incorporate part of my name. One of our Compassion kids is named Evelyn and when we picked her out years ago Sam said "If we ever have a daughter, we should name her Evelyn." So, for us, it's more than just a name that we liked and thought sounded nice.

I can't believe she is already 8 days old. It has been a good first week, with a little scare to the ER, but thankfully everything is ok. My mom has been in town for 2 weeks and it has been SO wonderful to have her help. Sam's parents have been equally as great taking care of Soren. It is great to transition this way into being a mom of two. I think I'm getting the hang of this!

Rollin'

We were at the park waiting for Sam's softball game to start when Søren saw some other kids rolling down a hill. He, of course, had to try it himself. Monkey see, monkey do...

37 weeks

I made it to 36 weeks and beyond! Thank goodness. The last weeks have been fairly uneventful, pregnancy wise, but nonetheless I am so ready to be done.

I am looking forward to...

*running around with Søren again

*being able to bend over and not have to think "ok, I'm down here, what else can I pick up?"

*drinking fluids and not having to go the bathroom 5 minutes later

*not needing help off the couch (yes, I got stuck the other day while I was by myself. That was interesting.)

I will miss the eating and baby kicking, but I can not wait to meet our little girl. We had an ultrasound today and found out she is as healthy as can be. She is an estimated 7lbs 4oz. We were told if she comes tonight that she would be just fine.

This picture is from our 20 week ultrasound.

I do it!

"No, I do it!" Does that phrase sound familiar to anyone else who knows a two year old? From taking the lid off the drink to buckling himself in the carseat, he wants to do it all. I will say the positive about Søren wanting to do everything on his own is that I can't do as much these days. The simple act of picking him up to wash his hands has lead us to getting him a stool so he can do it himself. One thing he is very particular about doing himself is putting on his shoes. I must plan a few minutes in our getting out of the house routine just so he can put his shoes on. The pictures below are the only ones I have of him putting on his shoes. He doesn't wear his boots everyday, it's his "Fiderman" (Spiderman) shoes that he is CRAZY about. If you've run into Søren in the last month, then you know he likes to show you how they light up!

i heart faces: babies

34 weeks

Not the greatest photo, but so many have been asking how my pregnancy has been/is going. Here is a little re-cap.

I am currently 34 weeks and could not be more ready for this pregnancy to be over. Looking at the big picture and hearing other people's horror stories of pregnancy, mine has been a breeze. Compared to my pregnancy with Søren, it hasn't been such smooth sailing. Things were going fairly well until about 19 weeks when I started having Braxton Hicks contractions. A lot of them. When I was up to 30+ a day I finally decided to call my doctor. A Fetal fibronectin test was done which can determine pre-term labor. The test was negative, thankfully. I was told to go on the planned vacation with my family and to take it easy. Do doctors know there is no such thing as "taking it easy" with a 2 year old running around? The vacation was good for me and my contractions calmed down. Weeks later they started up again and I was back at the doctor having another FF test done. This one, again negative. Once I learned what triggered the Braxton Hicks and how to keep them at bay, the real contractions started. I found myself each night before bed counting how far apart each contraction was a preparing myself to head to the hospital. Each night they settled down. At a 33 week doctor appointment I filled her in and yet another FF test was done and again negative. Thankfully. That night I was up at 2am for 2+ hours pacing the bathroom trying to ease the contractions. I don't know anymore what specifically is triggering all this, but I have learned that even just doing 2 loads of laundry is enough to wipe me out for the day. This last week has been a great week and I am starting to wonder if this is the "calm before the storm." Our goal is to make it to at least 36 weeks. As anxious as I am to meet our little girl, I am trying to enjoy every precious moment I have of a full night of sleep, time with just Søren and being a family of 3.

as of late...

It's been fairly quiet around here. The weather has been awful, except for a few days, so we've been staying indoor a lot trying to get ready for "baby sisters" arrival.

Getting out with friends while we can.

Building forts

Learning to do "headstands"

Gig Harbor parade and 34 weeks along...

Grandma and Grandpa were given a "playgwound."