First Bath

Reid is like his Dad...

Not a big fan of the water, his first bath was a little tramatic for him. I think this is what his looks were saying "what the heck just happened? I'm naked, wet, and everyone is staring at me"

But once he is swaddled, all is good!

Next time I am sure it will be easier.

So far so good

Reid has been really good. He fusses at times in between feedings and is wide awake at night and sleepy during the day.

Hopefully this will soon shift to get on our schedule.

So Sleepy....

It's a BOY!!!!!

After many hours of labour Kari found the strength to deliver our precious cargo

10 fingers and 10 toes


Reid Patrick Wingerter entered the world
8.0 lbs, 20 in long on 5/26/2008 at 8:44 AM CST

More info soon. Mommy and Daddy need to rest!

Thanks for everyones thoughts and wishes.

Three more days to go!

Well, I am finally seeing the finish line. Monday evening we will go to the hospital to start the induction. It usually take about 12 hours to see if there is going to be a reaction to the cervidil. Tuesday morning, if I have not begun to start contracting at a regular pace, they will acess me to see if I could use another dose of cervidil or it they will have to move on to pitocin. This will be the big decision.... Hopefully the cervidil will work and I will not have to move on to the pitocin. They said that some women don't respond to cervil and some respond very nicely. I hope I am in the "nicely" category.

On the positive note...

The baby is EXTREMELY active and likes to show off its Ironman feet and hands. Andy and I have gotten a big "kick" out of how much this little bugger can move around inside. It is not uncommon to see a foot print or hand print protrude out several inches, responding to verbal or physical touching.

Since it is a couple of weeks past due, studies say that it will act like a two week old baby when it comes out. Its eyes will be open a lot more throughout the day and it should sleep better throughout the night than a baby born on time. I will let you know if that is true. Since I have have had to wait the least I could get in return would be a better sleeping baby, I am not holding my breath.

Here are some pictures of the garden we planted last weekend. Andy rented a tiller and tilled up the fluffy black earth. So far this is what we have planted. Blue lake green beans, zucchini, regular squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, four different types of tomotoes, beets, pumpkin, banana peppers, bell peppers, cucumbers, garlic and when I find some, corn, honeydew melon and onions. I have also planted seeds of arugula, mesclum mix and basil. We have pots of basil, cuban oregano, italian oregano and rosemary. Whew, lots of stuff..... We both have enjoyed watching the garden grow. Hopefully we will be able to keep it all alive!

Memorial Day is the Big Day!

Well, they scheduled my inducement today for the evening of the 26th. I am planning on getting a pedicure with a deep massage Thursday (there are trigger points in the foot that have caused women to go into labor). I will have one more appointment on Friday morning to try to get things rolling, then Saturday morning I will drink Castor Oil mixed with a fruit smoothie (last resort as mentioned in a previous post). If none of these things work the plan is to start with Cervidil Monday night. If Cervidil works then I will not have to change any of my birth plans and can still have a water birth. If Cervidil doesn't work, the next step would be Pitocin. Pitocin is a drug that is administered by IV, if they have to use this drug, this means, no water birth or the posh delivery room that I SOOO wanted. Since it is more of a risk for the baby, I will have to be hooked to monitors to make sure the baby is not stressed which will not allow me to move freely like I had planned. In the end, I am making peace with this and whatever else I will have to do to bring home a healthy baby. This is truly our ultimate goal.
Send good vibes our way! Erin, I am praying that it is on your birthday!!!

Still No Baby....

I have another appointment tomorrow afternoon, I am sure that I will have to schedule an induction for either Friday or Monday. I am extremely nervous and concerned. I have tons of questions to ask the midwives and will probably have to redo my entire birth plan. So everyone cross your fingers, legs, arms, and pray or whatever works for you to coax this baby out, so I do not have to change my entire plan of birth.

Top 5 reasons why waiting for baby to come, SUCK!

#5 I never know when my last meal will be.


#4 Keeping the house clean, in case tomorrow is the DAY.


#3 My breasts are resting on my stomach, but only because the stomach is getting bigger.


#2 Daily shaving my legs and arm pits, again, in case tomorrow is the DAY.


#1 Its the only thing that I have waited this long for, engagement was half this time!!!


COME ALREADY!!!!! GOSH!!!!

O-H-I-O

Well it is official, we have a little Buckeye! Well, almost, it just won't come out and say hello! I had an ultrasound done today to check on everything, size, amniotic fluid and heart beat. This is the first ultrasound that I was able to see the baby! My last ultrasound, I was very sick and couldn't see the baby from where I was laying without getting sick to my stomach. Anyways, how cool it was to see the little one moving around inside! They got a face shot of it and it has huge eyes like daddy, chubby cheeks like mommy and big full lips like daddy as well. I think it has mommy's attitude though. (It would not stay still and cooperate, moved the entire time.) There was one point its mouth was open wide and both hands were above its head like it was doing the O-H-I-O inside the womb!
Everything is healthy and looks good, PLENTY of activity an amniotic fluid still. Right now they are estimating from measurements of the head and abdomen that it is weighing about 7lbs 9 oz. They moved my due date back three days, which is what all the other ultrasounds have shown as well, May 13. So I am really only 2 days overdue. I have one more appointment next Tuesday, then after that if no progress, they will schedule an induction for a week later. So by the 27th we should definitely have a baby.
But I think it will happen by the weekend..... Cross my fingers!

Still NOTHING!!

Nothing, Nada, Nunca, Zelch, ZERO.......... However, Andy is cleaning the leaves out of the gutters right now, maybe that's a sign? HUMMMMM



Enjoy these belly pictures!

Two Days Past Due Date......

No Baby Yet! The little bugger just doesn't want to come out. I'll keep you posted on how Kari is doing.

Kari Says:
Midwife appointment went well today. They did a stress test on the baby, everything looked great, lots of activity and a nice strong heartbeat. I will be having an ultrasound on Thursday to make sure that there is still plenty of amniotic fluid for the baby. If everything looks good then they will not induce unless I request it. By having an induction, I would greatly increase my chances of having a C-section, 30% of their patients that are induced have C-Sections. Unlike the 9% C-Section rate that my midwives practice has. They have given me a list of items to eat, drink and do to bring on labor. Two of the items, are marked LAST Resorts after everything else fails. I guess they are really potent and get more than just labor moving, if you know what I mean, wink wink.....
My prediction, Thursday night or Friday, girl! Andy won't make one, CHICKEN!!!

Rub-a-dub-dub....... Getting ready!

Everyone is getting ready for the arrival... including Obie! Andy and I decided to give Obie a bath, so he would look and smell his best for the introduction to his little brother/sister! We made the mistake of saying the "B" word out loud and this is where we found him!

We really worry about how Obie is going to adjust. We know he is a dog, but if you have ever met him, you understand when I say, he is so much more than that. He is so human-like in sooo many ways. I can't believe I am crying right now writing about him. He has been my companion for 10 years now and has been "our boy" through mine and Andy's whole relationship.

We bought a stuffed animal the other day at the pet store for the baby to give to his/her big brother as a welcome gift! We hope that works, I have a feeling we should buy stock in pet toys!

Nothing yet!

I had an appointment yesterday, my midwife doesn't think it will happen this week. (She says she knows this because, I can easily stand on one leg without touching anything, while taking off my pants and not falling over. ) What GREAT SCIENCE behind the reasoning! It looks like we might have one more child-free weekend. I AM SO READY THOUGH!!!!
If you have any suggestions on inducing labor naturally let me know, I am willing to try ANYTHING!!!!
Most likely it will be next week. I don't think they like you to be more than two weeks over due anymore, so lets hope it happens next week, so I do not have to have any medical interventions to get the ball rolling! Andy and I both keep having C-section dreams, I definitely want to avoid that at all costs as well..... Fingers crossed!

Andy has found his calling!

Here are some pictures of my sweetie enjoying his new favorite job, GROCERY SHOPPING!!!

Andy found this bike in the back of the garage that we are renting, cleaned it up a little, now its good to go! We have both enjoyed riding it around the neighborhood and on the Illinois Prairie Path. Here, he is coming back from the grocery store with a few items. He says he enjoys it because it is so GREEN!!! I am green with envy!

No baby yet!!