12 Weeks Later....

So, it is has been quite awhile, 12 weeks in fact, since my last post. Apparently, I am not good at blogging with a newborn in the house! Big apologies for the lack of updates. Anna is doing great - she had her 2 month check up (at 10 weeks) last week and weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 12oz and 23 inches long. (Clearly, she gets her height from her daddy!) I cannot believe Anna will be 12 weeks already this week, where does the time go? The past few weeks have been alot of fun. She has become quite the social butterfly (shocking, I know!) - she loves to coo and tell us stories. It is so fun to see her face light up when we play with her little toes and hands. She also started rolling over from her belly to her back, we find it just amazing to see how well she can support herself when we stand her up and how well she can hold her head up when she is on her belly. Another exciting development is she has started to semi sleep through the night. Before I went back to work, she was getting up once or twice a night. Starting last week, she has been sleeping until 4 or 5 every morning - we are so excited to say we are officially getting 6-7 hours of sleep straight - it's wonderful!

I went back to work almost 4 weeks ago. It was by far one of the hardest things I have had to do. I absolutely love being home with Anna and couldn't imagine leaving her every day. I am happy to say now, while I miss her terribly, I have adjusted well to being back part time. It is certainly hard to be away, but it makes the time we spend with her that much more special. It also helps that I have pictures of Miss Banana plastered all over my walls and computer so I can see that smiling face anytime I want:) My mom watches her while I am at work, which also makes it easier - I can call for updates:)

We are really looking forward to this weekend - it will be our first weekend away from home with our little lady. We are going to Milwaukee for my cousin's wedding and are looking forward to spending the weekend with family, including Michele and Mike, who are flying in for the weekend. Time for Anna to get her dancing shoes on:)

Anna Rae Arrives!!!!

Bob and I are happy and excited to annouce the arrival of Anna Rae. Anna arrive Thursday, July 29th at 8:44 AM. She was 7 lbs and 19.5 inches long. We were admitted to the hospital Wednesday night to be induced. My water broke naturally Thursday morning around 5:30 - they started the pitocin at 6:00 and after 2 very intense hours of labor Anna Rae decided it was time to join the world. She surprised everyone, including our nurses and doctor, as we thought it could be a long day before she arrived. We were fortunate our Doctor was able to be there for her delivery as she had a scheduled c-section for 9:00 AM. We are so excited to have her and absolutely love her to pieces. Bob and I and the puppies are adjusting well to life with a newborn. It is by far the hardest and yet most rewarding time of our lives. We have fallen into a schedule of feedings, diaper changes, cuddling, and rocking. The puppies are doing great with her - they are very curious and love to sniff:) The cutest moments are when Anna stirs in her sleep and they hear it over the monitor and run to the nursery to check on her.

39 Weeks

I cannot believe I am 39 weeks along in my pregnancy now and Baby Seidel could arrive at any time. Bob and I have spent the past few weeks making last minute preparations for our baby’s arrival and are hoping he or she arrives soon! My emotions range from anxious, nervous, excited, and scared all in a day’s span. We spent this past weekend running errands, some last minute house cleaning, and just trying to relax and enjoy our time together with the puppies, knowing that our family of four will soon be a family of five! Saturday was a great day – we ran a few errands in the morning and then came home to relax. Being pregnant and it being such a hot summer has only intensified my desire for a pool. While Bob and I both agree we want to have pool some day, we know we won’t be in our current house forever and we want to wait for our next home to put one in. When we got home, I noticed our neighbors down the street were sitting in one of those blow up pools, having a few cocktails and having a great time. I never really noticed how big those blow up pools were! Bob caught one look at me watching them and I think he knew what was in his future. I ran to Wal-Mart to pick one up. 30 minutes later Bob and I were soaking in our very own swimming pool – I couldn’t wipe smile off my face – it was a great afternoon! After our “swim” we decided to get cleaned up and go out for what could be our last “date night” for a little while. We drove down to Appleton and had a great dinner at The Melting Pot, our favorite of ours.

Two weeks ago, our friend Kelly was gracious enough to come over and spent a few hours taking maternity pictures of Bob and I in our nursery. We had a great time and really appreciate Kelly taking the time to not only take the pictures, but also edit them, print them, and provide us a disc of them to have. The pictures turned out great – exactly what we were looking for and we were really excited to be able to do them in the nursery. Included in this post are a few of our favorites!

Other than that, it is just a waiting game from here on out…At my weekly appointment last week I was 1 cm dilated, 90% effaced and baby’s head was at a station of -1….Dr. P was very excited about our progress and was optimistic we would see more progress this week. I go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and my fingers are crossed we will get some good news.

One Month To Go!!!!

It is hard to believe we only have one month to go before we get to meet our little bambino! The past few weeks have kept Bob and I very busy! Two weeks ago we had our last baby shower, thrown by Bob's parents. It was a great day! Minus a little wind, we had beautiful weather and enjoyed the company of family at Bob's parents house at a backyard cook out. It was great to spend time with the family and celebrate the arrival of Baby Seidel. We are so thankful for all the effort Paul and Lois put into the shower and for all the help from Bob's siblings - we really appreciate the effort from everyone to make the day such a success!

The week following the shower I took off of work as a required furlough week. I plan on taking 8 weeks off when our peanut arrives and decided it might be nice to take one more week before the baby comes to prepare the house and to enjoy a little free time. It worked out well - with the help of my mom we organized and finished the nursery, washed the baby's clothes, washed baby bottles, and did some cleaning around the house I have been meaning to get to. Bob and I also installed the car seat and packed our hospital bag and diaper bag and loaded the car with everything we want to bring to the hospital, so when the time comes, we are ready to go. The reality of everything really hit me this past weekend when Bob and I were in the nursery playing with the video camera. We wanted to make sure it was charged and ready to bring to the hospital. Bob took some video of us and the puppies and it really dawned on me how much our lives are about to change. I tear up just thinking about how lucky we are to have one another and how fortunate we have been to have experienced such a healthy pregnancy and I just can't wait to meet our little one. We can only hope the puppies are just as excited as we are:)

I had my last biweekly appointment today. From here on out I will see my doctor on a weekly basis. We had a great appointment - Baby's heart rate is still strong and my blood pressure is very good. As I had suspected, the baby has started to drop. Hard to believe we have just 4 weeks to go!!!!

7 Weeks to Go!

Hard to believe that 33 weeks have passed since Bob and I began our pregnancy adventure and there are just 7 weeks to go! (8 at the most as my doctor has promised me she won’t let me go more than one week past our due date:)) Bob and I are amazed each day as we feel (and see!) our little one kick, punch, and somersault in my tummy! I must admit, some of this little one’s maneuvers are quite impressive! A few weekends back we took a trip up to Door County for our “Baby Boom” aka – our last little getaway as a twosome. I have read about couples taking a getaway sometime throughout their pregnancy as a chance to spend some quality time with their partner and relax and enjoy some free time before the baby comes and things change quite dramatically. Bob and I have been so busy in the last year or so; we haven’t gotten away together since last summer, so this trip was a no brainer. We booked three nights up in Door County for Memorial Day weekend. We had a wonderful trip – the weather was hot and sunny the whole time we were up there, allowing plenty of time for swimming, shopping, and sunsets. We hit up some of our favorite spots (Pirates Cove, Wilson’s for a burger and ice cream, and Fred and Fuzzy’s in Sister Bay) and tried a few new ones (Al Johnson’s, and White Gull Inn in Fish Creek). We came home well relaxed and it had quite a few laughs enjoying each other’s company.

Last weekend, my good friend Kelly threw us a baby shower with some of our friends we routinely get together with for game nights (amongst other things) – we had a great time and enjoyed their company and appreciate everyone coming to help us celebrate the not to distant arrival of Baby Seidel. Thanks Kelly – we really appreciate your efforts!

I had a check up earlier this week and I am happy to report things are progressing quite well. Baby’s heartbeat is strong and I am measuring right on track. We attended a breastfeeding 101 class last night, which we found to be well worth our time and look forward to starting our childbirth education class in a few weeks. We also have another shower, this time with Bob’s side of the family, later this month and I am taking a week of furlough from work after that, which will allow me time to make final preparations on the baby’s nursery and get the house ready for his or her big arrival!

29 Weeks

I am 29 weeks along now and have started going to the OB every two weeks. We had an appointment this week on Wednesday and tried for the second time to get a 3D/4D ultrasound picture. We were really looking forward to seeing our little pea pod, as the doctor said at this point the baby’s features have all developed and it is not just a matter of the baby growing for the next two months or so. At our last ultrasound the baby was face down and sleeping on my belly so we couldn’t get a good look at the little guy. Our fingers were crossed that baby had shifted positions. The good news was it had and is no longer breached, but now face down. There was also plenty of amniotic fluid to provide for a good 3D picture. Unfortunately, our little one is just as determined to be a surprise to us as we want him or her to be for us because baby hands and feet were hiding his or her little face. In the pictures you can see a hand and foot covering the face on the first and on the second baby did move his foot, and you can make out a little chin, lips, and part of a nose – that is the best we could get!

They said we could try again if we would like but we do not plan on it – if baby wants to be a surprise, we are totally ok with that and just happy baby is healthy! Once he moved his foot away from his face we were able to see his or her lips just smacking away and he even stuck his tongue out a time or two which was really cute.

Baby Shower

This past weekend we had our first baby shower – it was so much fun! We chose to have a “couples” shower at Titletown Brewery on Saturday afternoon. I was so excited to be able to include Bob in this very special day, as together we are embarking on a new chapter in our lives. We were very overwhelmed and touched by all of the family and friends that came out to support us, celebrate the pending arrival and Baby Seidel and enjoy some good food and drink:) A special thank you to my sisters Michele and Elizabeth and my mom for planning this special day. You girls did a great job and it all came together beautifully! Also to Peg Houston for putting the flower arrangements and centerpieces for the tables together, they were so cute! Also to my Aunt Jeanie for taking some wonderful pictures to help us remember the day by – it seemed to go so fast! We kicked off the weekend Friday afternoon making and decorating cupcakes for the shower – we had a blast. It was so great to spend time with my mom and sisters and bond over frosting and sugar:) Here are some pictures from the shower…