Her first trip to the doctor...

Sydney had her two week check up today! Her coloring is much better as her jaundice is calming down. The doctor said her days of bili tests are over! Although she cannot speak I am sure she is glad that she will not have to suffer through anymore heel pricks.

She has regained her birthweight and has even grown 1/2 an inch! She is in the 75th percentile for weight (8lbs 8 oz), 90th the for height (21 1/2 inches) and 50th for her head size (36).

She absolutely is the best baby ever. She sleeps really well during the night - usually close to 5 hours. She eats really well and is very calm. She only screams at me when I change her diaper or give her a bath ( she clearly has some cleanliness issues to work through). I love giving her a bath though because afterward her hair is super curly and way cute.

Well, Sydney is now ready to eat...

She's here!

Well, I am pleased to announce the birth of our daughter - Sydney Blair. Although her official due date was not until February 8, she decided she was ready to come - much to our delight.

On Monday January 23 I awoke at 4 a.m. with a strong contraction, by 4:15 a.m. my water broke and we headed to the hospital. I must admit, at first it wasn't bad. My contractions were about 8 minutes apart and I felt pretty good. Around 5 a.m. I wanted to die and I told Donnie he had to do something about the pain. Finally at 6:30 a.m. I received an epidural and from there on out it was smooth sailing.

My parents were on their way from the other side of the country so we were hoping the baby would wait for them. We started puching around 11:40 a.m. and my parents arrived around noon - that's when the doctor came too.

Thankfully they were there to see her birth. Surprisingly so, Donnie didn't pass out, but rather he made it through the whole process. He even took pictures of it all. I was relieved when I no longer needed to push, as I found this to be the most difficult part of it all!

She was born at 12:33 p.m. and weighed 8 lbs and 8 oz. She was 21 inches long and absolutely beautiful. She looks a lot like her dad, but has her mom's attitude (when she wants to eat you have to feed her immediately or she screams!).

You can check out a picture of her here: http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=012306sby

Could be soon...

Yesterday we had another weekly visit with the doctor. Last week He told us I was dilated to about a 3 and 75 percent efaced. That sounded pretty good to me and made me think, "Oh maybe she'll come early."

Dr. Gamette said most first babies run a little late though so we'll just have to wait and see. The coolest thing we learned is that now Sydney's heart is big and string enough that Donnie can put his ear just below my belly button and listen to her heart beat.

Yesterday we went back hoping for some news that we have progressed a little and we were not disappointed. We are dilated to a little more than 3 and are 80 percent efaced. Instead of waiting until next Friday, Dr. Gamette wants to see us on Wednesday.

After the exam he seemed a little more confident that the baby would come sooner rather than later - which is great for us. We can't wait for her to come! He also said that she is already over 8 pounds and is a very healthy size. She will grow atleast a pound a week and if we have to wait for her due date (2 more weeks) then she will be really big and I am not sure I will appreciate that.

We are now just waiting on her to come and Dr. Gamette gave us one last piece of advice - "The thing that got you into this mess may help get you out."

I guess we'll see.

It's almost time...

Well, yesterday we went to the doctor for a checkup and everything is going really well. We have about 4 more weeks to go, but I am already dilated to a 2 and so she may arrive a little sooner.

I have been having contractions, but they are about two and a half hours apart and they usually only come at night. Maybe it is a sign of things to come and we will have her in the middle of the night.

The doctor said she is already in position and we will go back next Friday to see how things are progressing. It would be nice if she came a little early, but we would like her to wait at least two more weeks so she will be ready.

It's getting closer...

Well, we went to the doctor yesterday and everything is going wonderfully! The baby is growing and she is already well over 4 pounds and 16 inches long.

She likes to move around and kick a lot, but the last few days she has limited her movement to when I want to go to sleep. Donnie said she likes to play with me. She is so big though that when she does move, my stomach looks like it is doing the wave.

Her heartbeat is getting so loud and strong! Last month when we went to the doctor she was moving so much that you could hear the heartbeat, but it was muffled by the sounds of her movements. This time, even when she moved, her heartbeat was so clear.

Last Friday was my last day at th enewspaper and we all went out to lunch. My editor gave the baby a present. Now she has even more clothes! It is always very exciting to get more things for the baby, as I am sure she will make use of it all. It also makes me excited for her arrival!

We are down to the last 7 weeks, unless she decides to come a little early. I have been really antsy, but Donnie has always seemed to be very patient about it. Then last night he was playing with Kasi (Deidra and Nnamdi's two-month-old girl) and afterward he looked at me and said, "I want our baby NOW." It's nice to know he is just as excited as I am!

The belly is growing...

Well, we are officially starting week 32 today. I can't believe how fast the time is going by! Pretty soon it will be Christmas and then our little girl will come about a month after that. I really didn't gain much weight at the beginning. In fact, I even lost a few pounds around month 4, but at our last check up I was back to gaining and I have gained 18 pounds overall. I know they say you are supposed to gain between 25 and 30 pounds, but I am not trying to go that route.

The doctor said that normally babies at week 31 are about 3.5 ibs and 15 inches - from now on, her weight gain will exceed her growth in length. Genetics also plays a big part in that growth.

As requested by Kayli, here are pictures of my large belly. I know that most of you will not believe that it is real unless you see my skin with your own eyes, so that picture is there to. Sorry my belly is so white!

Our Little Girl

We went to the doctor again and had another ultrasound. These are two of the pictures from that. I didn't include the last one because I couldn't really tell what it is and so I don't know how to describe it. The tech said it is a good footprint, but Donnie and I don't see it, so we left it off.

This is a shot of her profile. You can really see her cute face. Starting from the right side of the pic, you can see her forehead, then her little nose, and finally her lips. Maybe she'll have Ralston lips. The "hump" after her face is her rib cage. You can see the little lines of her ribs.




This one is a little blurred when we scanned it. It is a shot of her profile. She has her arm raised above her face. She kept bringing her arm up, but it seemed she didn't quite know what to do with it. We looked away to check out her heart and when we came back, her mouth was open and she had her hand there! I guess she did know what to do with those tiny little fingers.


She is now about 1 lb 7oz and 12 inches long. We are at 25 weeks, and we were told that genetics take over size development at about 28 weeks, so I guess we will see how big she'll grow. We are guessing she will be pretty large since I was 8 lbs 3.5 oz and I am a twin!

The baby's progress

Well, the good news is the baby now weighs more than a pound - 1.2 pounds to be exact. She is growing very fast and is already about 9 inches long!

Of course I look like the baby weighs about 10 times that much! I guess we will see in about four months!

She is so active too! She must never sleep because she is always kicking me or punching me. It feels really interesting. Donnie and I flew to New Mexico last weekend with my mom and dad and the baby was very excited the entire flight. Hopefully that means she likes to fly!

Everything is going well and we are getting ready to go back for our second ultrasound. Hopefully, we can see her face this time!