home again

Happy Halloween from our little pumpkin!

I was hoping that he might be able to wear this outfit for Halloween. Today, it was his going-home outfit. We were all discharged right before noon today and it felt good to get home -- although it was pretty nice to have nurses available around the clock. Hopefully we'll be able to manage on our own without too much trouble! After a quick lunch, we all settled in for long naps. Last night was not very restful for anyone and our own bed sure felt good. And putting on my own clothes instead of hospital gowns felt pretty good, too.

Aaron is out getting Halloween candy just in case we get any trick-or-treaters. And if not, I'm sure the candy will be put to good use :)

We're all continuing to do well. James seems to be pretty content and healthy. I suppose we can't ask for much more than that!

a few pictures

A few pictures from today:

Just a few minutes old

finally!

burrito baby

happy dad

happy family

baby!

Baby James has arrived! He's 8 lbs, 2 oz and 21.5 inches long. We're all resting comfortably after a long night. More updates and pictures to follow!

Labor - Part 1

Last night Sarah started having contractions. They weren't very strong, but they were about eight minutes apart and not very regular. She didn't sleep terribly well and woke up about 5:00 or so with her contractions a bit stronger and more regular. I put in for a sub at the high school, but went in to the CLC for my morning classes. By the time I got home at about ten o'clock, the contractions were stronger yet. They would be more infrequent when she was laying down or wasn't very active and would be more frequent if she was walking around. We went for a little walk to Tea Source for a nice hot cuppa and to hopefully get the boy moving a bit.

The walk certainly seemed to help. Her contractions were as close as about three minutes apart on our walk home, so we called into the hospital and they suggested we come in. We packed the car and set off... only to come home again a few hours later.

The baby is looking very good, we were told, but though the contractions have gotten painful, they weren't doing much yet. When they come regularly regardless of Sarah's activity level, and when they start to feel different (don't ask me how), then we need to think about coming in again. She was given a prescription to help her rest for tonight and they estimated that we would be back in anywhere between an hour and a couple days. Oof.

Now it is late and despite the drugs Sarah is woken up by each painful contraction. They're still not frequent enough to warrant going in, but considering how uncomfortable she is I put in for a sub for all day tomorrow for me. Not that I couldn't get home from work in about fifteen minutes, but more because I want to be around to do whatever I can to help her out. I just wish there was something I could do to help her sleep.

I guess for now all we can do is wait and try to rest. More later as things develop.

39 week check up

Yesterday was my 39 week check up -- things are still progressing as they should, which is always nice to hear. I spent about 20 minutes hooked up to the fetal monitor for a non-stress test (making sure the baby's movements and heartbeat are in a normal range). Everything looked just fine there.

Aaron asks me every evening if I can't just go into labor then so he doesn't have to go to school. If only it were that simple!

39 weeks

This morning, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was wearing something else besides extra large sweatpants and one of Aaron's T-shirts. And since this picture was taken about 15 minutes ago, clearly baby Olson has not made an appearance yet. At this point, I think we are more impatient than excited.


It's a cool, gray, rainy day. Perfect for a hot bowl of soup, a cup of hot chocolate, and curling up with a purry cat to watch football on TV.

one week down

Well, I've made it through my first week of maternity leave -- still no baby. He has shown no indications that he is on his way any time soon. So I've been slowly taking care of things on my to-do list, making dinners and baked goods on a daily basis, and taking plenty of naps. The hospital bags are mostly packed. The car seat is installed. The cloth diapers are washed and ready to go. Just need the baby and we'll be all set!

This time off has been nice but I'm starting to run out of things to do. I can only refold and rearrange baby clothes so many times ;) Hopefully we don't have too much longer to wait...

38 week check-up

This morning was my regular 38 week check-up. We went over the ultrasound results from last Friday -- again, no red flags or reasons for concern. The baby's heartbeat sounded perfectly normal on the doppler today, too, so last week must have just been an anomaly. I am now 3 cm dilated and his head has moved down a bit as well. So things are progressing and all appears to be normal.

My next appointment is in a week -- unless the baby decides to arrive before then!

last day of work!

Today was my last day of work until the end of my maternity leave in January. This past week has been a busy one, -- tying up all sorts of loose ends, making sure notebooks and data are in order, and making sure my job duties are covered until I get back.

I'm still not used to this idea of all the time off. I haven't gone more than a month or so without working ever since I graduated from college. Well, I suppose I will still be working, just at a different kind of job. And I have a good-sized to-do list for next week that should keep me busy. I'm also planning many naps :)

37 week update

My 37 week appointment this past Tuesday was a bit more eventful than my previous check ups. The fetal heart monitor picked up an irregular heartbeat so I was given a referral to a perinatal center for an ultrasound, just to make sure everything was okay. My midwife emphasized that this was only a precaution and from what I was able to learn from the internet, irregular heartbeats aren't that usual in babies -- nothing to be concerned about unless there are structural issues with the heart. Up until this point, the heartbeat (along with everything else) had been completely normal.

My ultrasound appointment was this afternoon. Since Aaron is off from school for MEA break, he was able to meet me. We spent about 20 minutes with the ultrasound technician, who took all sorts of measurements and specifically focused on the heart. When she finished, the perinatal doctor came in for a few minutes to reassure us that everything looked just fine. He was very happy with how everything looked, which was a relief to us. And it was fun to see some images of the baby trying to chew on his own hands. We were given a weight estimate of 7 lbs, 11 oz -- plus or minus 1.5 lbs -- and measurements that put him in the 85th percentile for size.

We also got some pictures to take home, but unfortunately as the baby gets bigger, it's harder to see all of him at once and his movement made it difficult to get anything that was very clear. But at least before too long, we'll actually get to see him in person.

fall in Minnesota

Fall in Minnesota (the few short weeks of it, anyway) typically means cool nights, warm and sunny days, and beautiful fall color. Instead, we woke up this morning to something completely different:

The windchill is 17 degrees and a hard freeze is predicted for tonight. According to the local news, there are lots of car accidents and spin outs and the sand and salt trucks are out in full force. Seems like a good day to stay inside!

Fall also means playoff baseball. Unfortunately, our Twins have been having a tough time of it against the hated Yankees. That hasn't stopped Amelie from showing her Twins spirit, though.


(Yes, it did take me a while to get her to pose like this. And yes, Aaron was laughing at me the whole time.)

36 weeks

I had my 36 week appointment today. It was only slightly more eventful than my previous appointments in that I had a strep B test and a blood draw. I also had a more thorough exam which determined that I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. And the baby is definitely head-down, so that's good news. Heartbeat and measurements are right on track as well. I suppose it's about time to start thinking about getting hospital bags ready. Hopefully we won't need them for a few more weeks, at least!

Assuming our little one arrives before Halloween, he will have this little outfit waiting for him:


Well, he can probably wear it after Halloween as well :)

apple time!

We make a trip out to a local apple orchard every fall. Now that the weather is considerably more fall-like, it seemed like a good weekend for apple picking. We decided to make an afternoon out of this outing and head down to Northfield. We first stopped at Northside Apple Orchard and in about 10 minutes, we had picked two bags full of apples -- Cortlands, Firesides, Sweet Sixteens, and Honey Gold. For the grand total of $11, we left with 10 lbs of apples and a gallon of cider. Considering what we would pay up in the citiies, that deal alone was worth the trip!

Next up was the new tri store in town, but unfortunately for Aaron, the store wasn't open yet. I left him at Goodbye Blue Monday coffeeshop so he could work on grading and other schoolwork while I ran errands.

It's gray and rainy outside now, and we're enjoying a cozy night at home with homemade soup. Every once in a while, one of us will check up on the White Sox-Tigers game... our Twins are only 1/2 game behind the Tigers! Go Twins! And go White Sox!