Due Date Plus 4

As the magic of childbirth continues to elude us, we've been walking. Our weekend consisted of endless walking, eating spicy food, and the other things one does to induce labor. Did I mention we went walking?


Below are a few shots from our walk in Snoqualmie on Saturday.


There are many punch lines to this one, so I'll list a few of them out.
1. I don't think this is what our doctor meant by pushing.
2. Jackie found a new tool for helping her during labor.
3. Pregnancy hormones clearly have given her superhuman strength.



On Sunday, we walked around Alki. Jackie doesn't really look pregnant, let alone 4 days past her due date.


A rowboat out in the Sound. This is the one thing Jackie didn't try to induce labor. Maybe next time.




A tug heading home.

Due Dates Come, Due Dates Go

We are due date + 1 and no baby. Apparently Baby Van decided it's comfy in there and no need to come out (like mother like child). As of yesterday, not much progress had been made to indicate that anything would be happening anytime soon. So we sit and wait. House is clean, nursery is done, bags are packed, car seats in the car. So we again sit and wait...and answer the phone, our email, and all our facebook questions that no baby has arrived.

A Look Back

With Baby Van's due date approaching quickly (Wednesday 2/18), I thought it would be a good time to take a look back.

September:

October:

November:

December:

January:

February:

1 Week To Go

We had another checkup today, and everything is progressing normally. Slowly now, but normal. And normal is great. So, we continue to play the waiting game. Should Baby Van decide to hang out too long, then Jackie is scheduled to be induced on Wednesday, 2/25. Who knows if it will come to that, but it's nice to have an end in sight. And the end is only the beginning!

More shower pictures courtesy of Ashley...

Reid, Becky, and Keaton.

Julie, Khalil, and Jacob Khoury.

Babysitter Ashley, and her buddy Liam.


Cory and Reid. Hang on tight Reid. It's a long way down.


Loren and Liam. Liam pondering the meaning of life.

JD and Keaton.

Jami, Cory, Becky, JD, Keaton, Jackie, Andy, and an angry Reid.

A diaper cake that took countless hours to make.

Kassio and Dillon enjoying his juice.

Baby Van wanted to share pictures of his/her friend, Ryleigh. Blogspot also apparently doesn't like the idea of adding blogs that are not blogspots so its being added in a post instead of a link:
http://web.me.com/abell9/Site/Photos_of_Ryleigh.html

Ryleigh decided she wanted the enter the world a little on the early side so she is about 5 weeks old and still 4 weeks from her original due date but she is going strong.

Showering Gifts

With all of the nesting, trips to the hospital, and getting those last few deliverables taken care of at work, we've been behind in our postings. Those on the East side of the state threw Jackie a wonderful shower. We'd be lost without everyone's help, so thank you all sooooo much!

This one was ladies only...

Below are a few shots of the Bellevue shower for those on the West side of the state. This one included boys, and was the first baby shower for a few of my guy friends. We all had a great time, so thanks everyone for turning out, your gracious support, and catching up with us.

The baby's room is all but ready. All we need is a baby that sleeps through the night. I hope that's the one that Jackie ordered.

More pictures of the pregnant one. We're about 2 1/2 weeks from the due date, so our bouncing baby could come bouncing along any time now.

Good Appetite

My wife ate a basketball.

Sooner or Later

Baby Van may be here sooner rather than later. Yesterday at lunch, Jackie slipped and fell on the slick floor in the restaurant. Aside from bruising on her knee, bottom, and ego, thankfully she's fine. We had our regular checkup that afternoon with Dr. Brown and brought up the fall. Just to be safe, she had Jackie hooked up to a monitor to examine contractions and the baby's heart rate.

We were told after about 20 minutes of monitoring, we'd be sent home.

About 5 minutes later, Dr. Brown sent us over to "Labor and Delivery." Clearly a term we weren't quite ready to hear. This is the Labor and Delivery at the main hospital, not another room around the corner in our Dr.'s office.

As we drove over to the hospital we gave ourselves a quick pep-talk and gut check. Upon reluctantly entering Labor and Delivery, they had a room with a view ready to go. Nurse Pat had Jackie hooked up to more monitors. Blood tests were ordered, ultrasounds scheduled, and we quickly realized that our previous plans to head to Costco and wait 3 more weeks for the delivery were no longer in the works.

After several hours, the blood tests and ultrasound ensured that Baby Van didn't endure trauma and there was no internal bleeding. However, Jackie was experiencing an increase in contractions. As the contractions were still within the normal range for 37 weeks, they sent us home.

Today Jackie is resting to keep the contractions to a minimum. We had previously wondered when was the appropriate time to have our bags packed in case we needed to head to the hospital. Guess that answers that question. Today I expect to cross off about 50 things on my to-do list before Baby Van arrives. Take your time baby. No hurry.

Jackie enjoying a nice relaxing evening:

A Hard Day's Work

When you have the below going on outside your office window, it's hard to get much done other than to sit back and watch the show. Oh to switch jobs for just a day.

Answered Prayers

On Wednesday, following our last ultrasound, Jackie received a voicemail from our doctor. She mentioned a couple of things, but all I got in the subsequent call from Jackie was, "heart," "issue," "more tests," and "don't panic." Naturally, we panicked. Up until now, this whole process had been fairly event free.

A couple of hours later, we had an appointment for the next day with a perionatologist to reveal the true nature of the heart's problems. Suddenly, the happy-go-lucky pregnancy had taken a very serious turn. With the wind out of our sails, we were crushed. We put our faith in God and hoped everything would work out for the best.

On Thursday, we nervously made our way through the maze of hospital corridors to eventually find the right office. Jackie had an ultrasound that lasted the better part of an hour. Ultrasounds up to this point had averaged 5 minutes. The tech examined everything from bones to internal organs. The last 30 minutes or so were spent focusing on the heart. From arteries to ventricles, she took pictures, measurements, and recorded video of everything. Before leaving to talk with the doctor, she offered up a well received slice of hope that she didn't see anything wrong, but would send the doctor in shortly.

Forty minutes later, the doctor showed us exactly how the blood was flowing through the heart. In the previous ultrasound, they noticed that a valve wasn't closing, and half of the blood was flowing back into the wrong place. Thursday's ultrasound showed that all of the blood was flowing properly and the heart was structurally sound. So, with a clean bill of health, we were sent on our way.

We went from thinking Baby Van may need heart surgery to being completely fine in the span of a couple of hours. We were relieved beyond belief that our prayers had been answered. Only then did we realize how much stress this was on us and immediately we were exhausted. After working our way back through the maze of hospital corridors, we found the car and drove back to a normal life.

Thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and reassuring advice. We appreciate it more than you'll ever know. We are truly blessed to have such caring friends and family and thank God for our good fortune.

Below is the best picture I've ever seen. This is our baby's heart working exactly like it should. The highlighted two items are the blood flowing through the ventricles. Just as normal as can be.

6 Weeks To Go

As Baby Van sailed past it's 34th week en utero, we are approaching the state of readiness. I define readiness differently than Mr. Webster. Readiness to me means we have no idea what we are in for; however, we will appease the anxiety by assuming if we have enough onesies, burp rags, and car seats that we can tackle whatever nature throws at us or burps up on us around February 18. In my most recent preparation, I slept for 12 hours straight (as Jackie noted below). And it was good. A dad has to do his part as well.

Below is a snapshot of Baby Van during our last ultrasound. He or she is clearly running out of room. This ultrasound was different from the last as now we only see parts of arms instead of the whole arm, chest, head, whatever Jackie had for lunch, and some car keys. Not sure how those got in there. I think Baby Van has my nose and Jackie's chin. As long as it doesn't have Belle's tail, we're good with however things turn out.

From the front and behind, you many not notice that Jackie is pregnant. Below, sure, you see a little belly there.

But when she turns sideways, POW! There's Baby Van, and I love it! How cute!!!

Who's Sleeping Now?

Andy noted in his first blog that he would be updating the blog while I (Jackie) was sleeping and has subsequently made many a comment about my sleeping patterns. I would just like to note that 1, this is Jackie and 2, Andy has been asleep for a long time.

We had an ultrasound today to check the baby's size. Baby Van is weighing in at 4 pounds and 9 ounces at 34 weeks and 2 days old! He or she is on the smaller side but they don't seem too concerned about that. Baby Van appears to have missed the Shea giant head gene which I am pleased about considering I get to deliver this little number. It does appear to have picked up the Shea gene for hair thickness (I will remain silent about how this compares to the Van Inwegen hair gene), apparently she could tell it has a good amount of hair already. Andy was very disappointed that she gave no hints or pictures that indicated anything regarding the baby's gender. He/she was very active during the ultra sound and we got some great pictures which we will post shortly. We are also lacking in belly pictures so will post some of those as well.

A White Christmas in Boise

This marked the last quiet Christmas for us. On Christmas morning, it was just my parents, Jackie, and myself. Luckily, it snowed heavily so we had a white Christmas. Unfortunately, it snowed a little too much, so the Spokane Van Inwegens were held up in Oregon tyring to head to Boise for a party on Saturday after Christmas. Don't worry, they safely arrived the next day and the presents were saved for Alex and Ella.

Saturday's party was centered around my cousin Matt and his wife Maria who were married in St. Lucia in October. A lot of our family couldn't make the wedding, so we all got together for a post Christmas wedding celebration bash. Welcome to the family Maria!

(well done Matt)

Ben and Nicole were all smiles as well as we played Apples to Apples.

Typically when my family gets together, we play games. Here is the rest of the clan comparing Apples to Apples.

You can't open presents without enjoying Grandma and some cookies first.

The Spokane Van's arrived on Sunday before we left, but we still had time for the kids to climb their mountain of presents.


Snow in the back yard. The next day we received 4 more inches. By the time of this posting, it has all melted away. Thankfully it was timed just right for a white Christmas.

I tried to zoom in a bit as the sun was hitting Shafer Butte that overlooks Boise. The pink sunset on the white snow made for quite a scene that a camera sometimes fails to capture. But I tried my best.

Congratulations to Abells

For anyone that may know Becky and Erik Abell (one of Jackie's best friends from college), they welcomed Ryleigh Paige into the world on December 22nd. She arrived a little earlier than we expected (9 weeks to be exact) weighing in at 3 pounds 11 ounces but she's doing very well. She found herself a happy little home in the NICU for a few weeks at the hospital where Becky is a pediatrician so she is in good hands. Congratulations Becky and Erik and welcome to the world Ryleigh! I tried to post a picture of her cute little toes but it won't post so we will try later.

Ice Planet Hoth

Our winter storms continue. This time, we had both wind and snow. We had sustained winds between 50 and 60 miles per hour. A neighbor up here has one of those home weather stations and measured gusts at 87 miles per hour. The storm claimed our power and our fence. Luckily the power came back on the next morning, but the fence will take a little longer to heal.

Below is a picture of the gate once it was rescued into our garage. It measures 9 ft by 5 ft, and was flopping around in that wind like tissue paper. The rescue mission was a little hairy at 10 PM, 18 degrees, and 60 mile per hour winds. After about 30 minutes of wrestling with the wind, snow, and wood, we were able to call it a night.

Here is a close-up of the piece that was ripped from the 6 x 6 post.

The 6 x 6 post after shedding it's pesky gate.

We had a nice even 4 or so inches of snow in our backyard. After the winds, everything was whipped up into drifts.

Every window in the house has a similar look to it. The snow was blowing around so much, that on all sides of the house, there's a few inches of snow tucked in between the window and the screen like our below sliding kitchen door.

You know it's windy when your car, inside the garage for the past week, has snow on it the next morning.

Winter Arrives

Winter finally blew into Snoqualmie Ridge. We have had an occassional snow flurry, but today's storm is the first real accumulation of the season. I snapped a few photos of wintery scene outside. Inside, Baby Van's developing lungs caused a case of the hiccups. It was either that or break dancing.

9 Weeks

We've been practicing our "parent pose." Thanks to our niece, Savannah, for stepping in.

Naming a Name

It's hard to pick a name. With recent events, it's even harder. Blagojevich Van Inwegen was one of our top picks, but now, not so much. Thanks Rod. Real helpful.

10 Weeks To Go!

With only 10 weeks to go, Jackie is looking good! We've started our birthing/parenting classes put on by our hospital. There are a dozen or so other couples in the class, and just about half the class has exactly the same due date as us - 2/18/2009. Could be a full maternity ward. It's fun trying to guess the sex of the baby. We're told that heart rate can be an indication. Beats in the 140's signify a boy, and those in the 150's suggest a girl. During our last visit, the beats were between 148 and 152. Great, real helpful. As of today, I'm thinking girl and Jackie is thinking boy. That changes daily. Who knows, maybe we'll just have a green kitty.

Week 30:

Cousins

Baby Van and I talked a bit last night. He or she mentioned that he or she really looks forward to playing with his or her cousins. I thought I'd post a picture of the cousins playing from Thanksgiving as Baby Van waits in anticipation for future play dates.

Emily, Bailey, and Dillon: