Baby Niner is Here!

Owen Stephen Niner arrived Tuesday, September 30 at 1:19 pm. He weighed 8 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Thanks to all of our family and friends for their love and support, Owen is very blessed to have you all in his life.

The nursery is ready!

We finally have the nursery exactly how we want it! You'll notice our bags are packed - we're ready, we just need the little guy to arrive.

Here are some pictures of the nursery:

Appt. with Dr. Vuoung

We haven't seen Dr. Vuoung in a while, and she clearly remembered us and was excited to see Amy so far along and with such a big belly! A lot of the doctors are fairly subdued and matter-of-fact during these appointments; Amy and I wonder if they enjoy more the work they do at the hospital when it's time to get hands-on and deliver babies, instead of meeting with a bunch of couples and talking to them for 4-5 minutes during daily appointments. Dr. Vuoung, though, is always really happy and excited, which is great. I told her that the surgery she did on Amy last fall clearly worked, and she laughed.

Just like every other appointment, we heard Baby Niner's heartbeat immediately once the nurse put the jelly and the "sonar detector" on Amy's belly - his heartbeat was loud and strong. Dr. Vuoung said Amy is measuring perfectly, and her weight is just right - not too much, not too little. I know Amy was especially relieved to hear that, since a couple of doctor's told her she was gaining slightly more weight than they wanted during the second trimester. Those yoga sessions and taking Bailey and Daisy on walks clearly helped!

We told Dr. Vuoung that we picked a pediatrician, Dr. Barrocas, who is the same doctor that sees her daughters. We brought a copy of the birth plan Amy typed up, but after talking it over with Dr. Vuoung, we didn't even add it to our doctor's paperwork - the "plan" is so straightforward and hands-off, we all agreed we don't need a formal document. Dr. Vuoung also confirmed that the baby is head-down, which for me was a huge relief since I've heard Nana's stories about how Jenny and I were breach - I'm excited that he's head-down and getting ready to go! Finally, we talked over the details of the 2 circumcision options we have: one is the normal procedure any adult can image, but there's another one where they place a plastic contraption over the little guy's thing and he wears it for a week or so while it does its job. We'll probably opt for the normal procedure, done at the hospital a day or so after he's born.

Amy is 36 weeks today, and she's less than a month away from the 10/22 due date. She's having trouble sleeping and she's uncomfortable all day, but her health and the baby's health is fantastic, and her spirits are really high. One month to go - or less!

Sean

Apt. with Dr. Josephson

We just got back from our appointment with Dr. Josephson. She's the newest doctor at the practice, there are five total and we've seen all but one so far (any one could be on call when you deliver so they ask that you schedule at least one apt. with each.) She was great and the appointment went really well. The baby's heartbeat was 145, the lowest it's ever been but perfectly fine. My blood pressure was fine and measurement was right on track for 33 weeks. The dr. felt around my belly, she said she saw a foot! And that he is head down with his butt facing forward on my right side. It was neat to hear about what he was doing and where he was!

Next week we have 'off' as Sean puts it, then we start going to dr. apts. every week! Hard to imagine we're getting close to crunch time but we're very excited to have the little guy out in the world with us before much longer.

Dr. Apt/Childbirth Class - Aug. 19

On Tuesday, August 19 we had our 30 week checkup with Dr. Gorsuch. Everything looked good! Heartbeat was 152. She said we needed to find a pediatrician soon so we put it on our list and will be comparing two this week.

We also started childbirth preparation classes at the hospital. There are about 10 other couples in the class with us. Some of what we're learning is really interesting and new to us, some we'd already heard or read, and some (those videos!) is just downright frightening, lol, but we're glad to be going through it together and feel sure it can only help us when the big day arrives.



Here's the latest belly pic:

Nursery Furniture Arrives!

Baby Shower - August 10

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted (more on that later)...a lot has happened in the last month. While we were up in Maryland for Jim's wedding, Mom and Jen threw baby Niner a shower. It was such a great day, so much good food (of course) and so many of our loved ones attended: Bebbie, Lois, Nancy, Lori, Robyne, Marie, JoAnn, Anne, Sharon, Katie, Erica, Emma and Reagan. We had a great lunch, guessed a how many jelly beans were in a bottle, everyone left some advice in a notebook for us and then we opened gifts. Sean even got something special - a Diaper Dude Bag! After the shower we spent the night with the Kinsey's and watched the Olympics and everyone had a chance to feel the baby kick! It was a really nice visit even though it was a short one.

We received so many great gifts (Mom and Jen nearly bought out the Toys R Us) that we came home feeling like we were really ready for the baby to arrive. But not quite yet, he still has some growing to do. We knew we could keep busy washing all of the little clothes and blankets we received and putting things away in the nursery. We just had to wait for the furniture to arrive...

28 Week Appointment

We had our monthly appointment yesterday with Dr. Little...For the diabetes test I had to drink a bottle of really sweet fruit punch, but it wasn't so bad. The appointment went well, we heard the baby's heartbeat (168) and she said my measurement was perfect. It might have been the first appointment (since morning sickness) where I had some things to complain about: really bad heartburn (she said it's probably here to stay) and a pain under my ribs on the right side (my uterus apparently, also here to stay). But everything is going well, I just need to keep exercising so I'm not as big as a house when he's born. They'll call me if anything comes out of my blood tests, so no news is good news. And now we're going to be having appointments every 2 weeks instead of 4 - time is flying by!

The Nursery

Last weekend Mom helped me paint the nursery while Sean was out of town for work. We also hung a wall paper border that matches the "Farm Yard" bedding set we got. Should anyone bring their measuring tape into the baby's room they'll find the border exactly 16 3/4 inches down from the ceiling all the way around the room - thanks Mom. Well, except in that one pesky spot!

Shower #1: pictures!

Jen and Mom threw a fantastic shower for Amy and Baby Niner on Sunday, July 17 at Toast in Huntersville. Toast is one of our favorite breakfast places, locally owned and operated by a guy we've met a couple of times, so we love supporting it. It was really cool that the restaurant was completely shut down and the staff was there just to serve Amy and the ladies who gathered for the shower.

I found it odd to show up and see all these gifts that everyone bought for us ... it's the same basic concept as a wedding shower, so why'd I think of it any differently? I guess it's because all these people came together not just to celebrate Amy and I, but to welcome and support the little guy before he's even here! Dad and I stopped by just in time for dessert and we got to say hello to everyone and thank them for coming; and, of course, the women needed our innate hunter/gatherer skills to move the presents from the restaurant to the 4Runner.

I brought everything up to the nursery when we got home, and Mom, Jen, Am and I (and the pobbies - notice how Daisy makes an appearance in the pictures, shocking eh?!) looked through all the gifts again. I got out a box of stuff Nana gave me a long time ago - probably when I graduated from Salisbury - with my christening outfit, some of my baby clothes, my baby book, and a bunch of toys I had in my room as a kid. Nana - see the picture of me holding up the train puzzle?!

All of the gifts are amazing and we're truly thankful for everything, but a couple of my sentimental favorites: Jen's "Where the Sidewalk Ends" 30th anniversary edition, and Monica's labels for Baby Niner's books. I was a bookworm as a kid, so these gifts make it especially neat to think of reading to our little boy one day. I put together the high chair late Sunday night and put it in the dining room across from the one I had as a kid, and I'm pretty sure that was Amy's favorite moment - walking into the dining room the next morning and seeing his chair ready to go. Now all we need is a little boy to put in it!

Here are pics from the shower:

Baby Shower 7/20

The baby was 'showered' with so many nice gifts at the brunch given by Mom and Jen last weekend. In attendance were family: Aunt Ruth Ann, Stephanie, Cindy, Bethany and work family: Sheila, Katie, Monica and Kelly. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves and enjoyed some great food from the menu Jen put together. Then it was present time...

The baby is going to be very well dressed after getting so many cute outfits and shoes and we received so many items off of our registry it was almost scary, like he can come soon, we're almost ready! Some of the big items we got were the highchair, infant stroller and regular stroller and a pack-n-play which will be great for traveling. There were even gifts from Nana all the way from Maryland. Everyone who came brought a book to help start the baby's library, and Monica made special labels to go inside each one.

At the end we had an amazing German chocolate cake and Dad and Sean arrived to help cart away all the gifts. It was so nice to celebrate the baby with so many great ladies and also fun to watch Sean go through everything when we got home!

Breastfeeding class

Am and I went for a breastfeeding class Saturday morning. There were about 20 couples there, and a registered lactation consultant at the hospital conducted the class. I had no idea what to expect going in, but it was a great class - 2 1/2 hours went pretty fast, and we learned things we didn't anticipate. Probably the most useful tip we learned was that you can't overfeed a newborn who's breastfeeding; in fact, a lot of new mothers will withhold feeding and wait for the "2-3 hour" time period in between each feeding. The lady said we should even wake the baby up to feed for the first couple of days - this is why we're going to be so tired!

The hospital is really committed to helping new mother's learn how to breastfeed, and if Amy needs some help at anytime, she can schedule an appointment with the lactation consultant office in the same building right down from her OBGYN. I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago to look into whether I have allergies, and it's a new office on the same floor at the hospital - so everything for Mom, Dad, and Baby Niner will be convenient, no matter what we have to go for!

We spent the weekend getting the house ready - we bought and installed some new blinds for the nursery, nice faux wood plantation-style ones that don't have a cord, you just press a button and push/pull to raise or lower them. We finally hung our wedding pictures in the dining room (now that we have furniture, 3 years later) and we got all the supplies to prime and paint the nursery. Lots of stuff gooing on!

We've settled into a pretty comfortable routine - Amy and the baby are doing really well, so we're focusing on getting any projects that we want done now so when October rolls around, we'll be relaxed and ready to take care of the little guy! Amy's ligament pull was a little scary, but she's so naturally calm, she didn't panic and just "listened to her body" - she's fully recovered now and working on doing more yoga and consistent exercise so she won't have any other issues.

We think we might have picked the baby's name! Neither of us are in a rush to decide, but we're confident enough that we're using it when we refer to the little guy. Some of you guys know, but for the rest of you, it's still Baby Niner for now. :)

Amy noticed this morning that we're 100 days away from our due date - only 100 days left! Here are some new pics of Amy and her belly:

Apt. with Dr. Little

We had our monthly appointment this morning with Dr. Little and are very thankful for another great report! The heartbeat was good at 150, she also said the measurement of my belly, blood pressure and weight are good. We asked about the weight since I know I've gained a lot and there's still 3 months to go! She said that it is on the high side but if I increase my exercise a bit it should be fine over the remaining weeks. We told them about some soreness I had over the weekend and she said it was likely from a round ligament strain. It feels a lot better already so we aren't worried. Next month is a longer appointment with some extra routine tests including diabetes screening. Until then we'll just keep daydreaming about his arrival and getting the house and ourselves ready!

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Friday, June 6th and Father-to-be Day

We had our first appointment since the ultrasound on Friday, June 6th at 10:30. The nurse took Amy's blood pressure and told her it was great, and we listened to the baby's heartbeat and it was perfect, 147 beats/minute. For whatever reason the baby's heartbeat was much easier to find than last time - he was probably more relaxed and stayed still during this appointment. The nurse gave us paperwork for the hospital and information on pre-registration, as well as classes that we can take before the delivery: breastfeeding, childbirth prep (the equivalent of lamaze), infant CPR, etc. The coolest class is a tour of the hospital, which Am and I are both really excited about. Am went right to work registering for the hospital stay and signing us up for classes - our last classes are a hospital tour on September 4 and CPR on September 18, and then we'll be ready to deliver!

I went away for 6 days for work this past week, and saying goodbye to Mommy and Baby was really hard - I can't imagine what it'll be like when the little guy is out here in the world with us. But going away for work allows us to have such a great life and will allow Amy to stay home with the baby, and that definitely makes it easier!

Sunday was Father's Day, and it was bizarre to hear people wish me Happy Father's Day at church. We went out to lunch with Dad, Cindy, and Bethany, and one of the gifts we gave Dad was a "Grandpa 2008" shirt! They got us a present, too ... clothes from Gymboree, including the little guy's first pair of khakis. Everyone's gotten him such cool stuff that he's bound to be pretty stylin' as soon as he replaces Mommy's womb for actual clothes.


When we got home, Nana had sent a package for us, so we opened it - my Father's Day gifts were a Redskins pacifier and onesie for the baby! The Redskins onesie might be my favorite article of clothing we've received - so cool. I can't wait 'til we're all watching games together, buddy! Can a newborn eat hot wings?


Nana also got us a *ton* of clothing, and all of it was fantastic - velour sweaters, nice pants, great pj's, and our favorites: a white shirt with "Daddy Loves Me" in red, and an identical version with "Mommy Loves Me".

Amy then gave me my Father's Day gifts - for Baby Niner, I got a baby blue onesie that says, "If you think I'm cute, you should see my Daddy!" And then my favorite gift of ALL TIME, a baseball shirt that says "Daddy 2008." It's fantastic, Amy must have felt I'd be insecure about it because she immediately mentioned how I could wear it around the house or out to cut the grass ... are you crazy - I'll wear it everywhere! Today I wore it out to Target and for a quick stop by church, and a lady at church noticed it and thought it was great.

Next year, our boy will be here for Father's Day - I can't wait. We love you buddy - we pray for you all the time. Be safe with Mommy and we'll see you soon.

Dad