Those Crafty Talley Women...

My mom came to Columbia to spend some time with Andrew and me before the arrival of little Miles. I am so excited to spend some quality time with her while we are waiting for this little guy to make his appearance. She got into town last night around 5pm. First thing we did was head to dinner and then we watched The Big Lebowski, which she thought was entertaining and 'completely mindless'. She was pretty tired after her 11 hour drive so we went to bed pretty early. Today we have gone to Rock Bridge State park, Hyvee, and Michaels. Andrew is making cedar plank salmon for us for dinner. In the meantime, my mom and I completed the origami mobile I have been meaning to get to. We used the origami owls that guests from the Columbia Baby Shower had painstakingly created for Miles. I have to admit I am quite impressed with our feat of engineering - it wasn't easy to balance all of those owls! Anyway it turned out great! Check it out!

Place Your Bets!

Date of Birth:

Amelia: June 30th
Andrew: June 29th
Amelia's Mom (Tracy): June 26th
Christine: July 11th (Yikes!)

Height and Weight:

Amelia: 7 lbs., 3oz., 22 in.
Andrew: 8 lbs., 6 oz., 23 in
Kristie: 8 lbs., 3 oz., 21 in

Won't Be Long Now...

We had another weekly appointment on Monday. It went well, but was very quick. The doctor came in and listened to his heart again. Everything was good. She also surprised me by telling me that I was already 3cm dilated. I guess I thought that that was pretty far along in the "labor process" but my web searching has told me that some women can stall out at this point for some time (as long as 2 weeks!). Really, I blame the movies. They always show women who go from 1 cm to 10 cm in a matter of hours (plus their water always breaks - which also isn't the case for every women). The promising news is that my doctor estimated it would be within the next 10 days. So, Andrew and I are getting pretty ansy.

So ansy, in fact, we did a lot of chores when we got home last night. We packed our hospital bag and finished up Miles' diaper bag (with first picture outfits!). Then we watched some youtube videos about labor relaxation exercises and breathing patterns. It was pretty wild to watch some of those videos - looks pretty intense. That reminds me of a story...yesterday my doctor asked me if I had had any contractions, and I was like "well, I don't think so; or maybe, if yes, then probably not regularly." When Andrew and I were talking on the way home, he was saying "it's probably like orgasms. If someone asks a woman, 'have you ever had an orgasm?' and she says 'i think i might have' then the answer is probably no." I thought it was a pretty apt analogy. So, there you go, I am 3 cm dilated but not yet have any regular contractions.

My mom heard about the 3 cm and asked if she should start driving from Texas. I told her I thought it would probably be a while before we were admitted to the hospital. So, her and Andrew have this thing worked out...when we are headed to the hospital, he is going to text: The Torpedo has Launched. This will be her indication that little Miles is on his way. That way she doesn't think every time I call her or send her an update that I am in active labor.

Finally, last night, I did have some trouble sleeping. I got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and just started thinking about little Miles and meeting him. It was hard to go back to sleep, but I think I still clocked about 6 hours, which is nice. I also have been having some pretty weird dreams. Most recently, I had a dream I was eating a "baby" cake that looked extremely realistic. It was definitely precipitated by the following clip - no more Tosh.0 before bedtime for me...(warning: the content of this clip is pretty graphic and probably offensive)

http://tosh.comedycentral.com/video-clips/20-seconds-on-the-clock---dead-baby-cake

Columbia Baby Shower Montage

Columbia Baby Shower, May 15, 2011

Columbia Missouri

Hosted by: Liz Wagner, Pilar Garcia, Sheila Cook, Theresa Becker

At the Home of: Liz Wagner

In Honor of Andrew's First Father's Day...

Top Ten Reasons You Will Be a Great Daddy:

10. Children naturally love and gravitate toward you.

9. You have the distinct ability not to take yourself too seriously.

8. You are affectionate and love to cuddle.

7. You are always willing and able to explain things to inquiring minds.

6. Your creativity and imagination will make playtime extra fun and adventurous!

5. You don’t shy away from hard work and doing what needs to be done.  

4. You come from a great family.

3. You know how to make a person feel well-loved.

2. You know how important love and family are to a life well-lived.

1. Raw, natural talent

Update on Miles and Belly Watch 2011

We had another Dr's appointment on Monday. First, we went to an ultrasound to check and make sure that Miles was in the preferred position. The tech confirmed that his head is down (very low) and facing my spine. So, he is in torpedo launch mode (as Andrew so eloquently put it). She also did some measurements to estimate his size. Currently, he supposedly weighs about 6 lbs 9 oz. She also mentioned that he has looong legs, a skinny torso, and (still) a big head. She showed us that he has a little bit of hair and also how he was "practice breathing" during the session. It's cool to see on the ultrasound because I have been seeing some outward signs of his practice breathing. That is, sometimes I look at my belly and can see little up-and-down rhytmic movements (pretty cool!).

After the ultrasound, we met with the doctor. She said I was positive for my Strep B test (which means I will have to have antibiotics administered during my labor). Although my doctor wasn't concerned at all about the result (98-99% of babies with treated mothers are unaffected), it is a little frustrating that this is yet another health issue with me that may affect little Miles (although he's blissfully unaware). She estimated Miles would be about 7.5 to 8 lbs at birth. Overall, she was really happy with how healthy he seems to be (and with how well my blood sugars have been looking). Finally, she said his head was right at the cervix and that I was about 1 cm dialted but probably still had a ways to go. I have not had any "real" contractions yet, so I am thinking it will still be a couple of weeks. We shall see!

In the meantime, here are some pics at 37 weeks with my favorite maternity shirt:

 

Ten Things I Loved About Sylvia

10. Her sense of humor and they way she laughed at her own jokes (something we have in common).
9. Her hugs, always warm and cuddly and full of love.
8. Her love of dogs; that always says a lot about a person in my mind.
7. Her unending faith, always inspirational to those around her.
6. Her ability to give advice that was even-handed and practical.
5. Her optimism and love of life; she was always happy and tried to look on the brightside of things.
4. Her protectiveness; always willing to speak her mind when it came to those she loved.
3. Her humble nature; she was reticent to brag about what a wonderful person she was.
2. Her unfaltering loyalty to family and friends.
1. She loved my mom and my mom loved her...more than anyone.

Thank you, Sylvia. I still  remember the last thing I wrote on your Mother's Day card. "I think it's pretty awesome that Miles will have two wonderful grandmas on his Mom's side of the family. You will have so much to teach him. I can't wait to see what amazing things he learns from you." Even though you are no longer with us, I think Miles will still be able to learn a lot from you. Hopefully, he will share some of your amazing qualities.

Miss and love you always,
Amelia, Andrew, & Miles