Sophia's past few days

Sophie checked out perfectly at the pediatrician's visit. Dr. Soppas said she was perfect and to bring her back in next week for a weight check. Sophie's mommy did not do such a good job at the pediatrican's office though as she had a little melt-down (well, a big one really) when other little kids were playing too close to Sophia's head. Maybe it was the raging hormones or maybe it was just the exhaustion of the past hours kicking in but taking your 1 day old out into the big world kicked my maternal lioness instincts into hyperdrive and I was barely able to control my emotions during the relatively brief visit. Anyway, back to Sophie, have I mentioned that she is the most amazing, most beautiful, most alert and wonderful baby in the entire universe? She is. Belive it.

Jim and I are really enjoying our special time with her and bonding with her (even in the middle of the night - sometimes these moments are the best). Wednesday and Thursday night she cried through the night. A lot. We were thinking that maybe she takes after us in our night owl tendencies. Last night, however she slept for three hours straight (of course, I felt horrible for not waking her up to feed after two hours) but I really never thought she'd sleep that long.

We've had lots of lovely visits (Dee Ree and Pop Pop, Nanny and Poppy Oxenford, Amelia, Nancy and the Powell monkeys stopped by on Wed, too). Today we'll visit with the Snediker godfamily before they have to go back to Ohio and we have a home visit from one of the Bryn Mawr Birth Center midwives. We know there are many more visitors who want to come and see her and we can't wait to see you all! Thanks for spacing out your visits so we don't get too overwhelmed and have time alone with her, too. We really appreciate it. Thanks also to everyone who posted their congrats - we really appreciate it! Sorry we have not be able to respond to everyone individually but we are so grateful for all your well-wishes for her! Sophia sure is surrounded by a whole lotta love in this world (that tarot card reader was definitely right on that one)...

Anyway, here are some recent photos of the gorgeous girl. There's more on the smug mug site, too.

Now, we're off to enjoy Sophia's first Saturday!!!

Welcome to the World Sophia Grace

She's finally here!!

Sophia Grace Oxenford was born at 1:10am on March 26, 2008. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. Labor went incredibly quickly for me (active labor started around 8pm and by the time we arrived at the birth center around 10pm, I was 9 cm dialated! I pushed for about 2 hours with a dream team of helpers including Aunt Pat (a trained doula), godmother Heather, midwifes Jamesina and Peggy, and of course the best daddy in the world. Dee Ree and Roger showed up shortly after her arrival. Jim was the first to put his hands on her as he caught her when she finally came out and he then put her right on my belly for some quality bonding time. Jim then also cut the cord after it pulsed out. Labor and delivery were almost exactly as we'd hoped and planned (strong and fast) with just a couple of unexpected gotchas (turns out I was GBS positive afterall but that wasn't noticed until my birth center appointment at 3:30pm on the 25th (when I was already 2 cm. dilated and my cervix was fully thinned out already). So, when I arrived at the birth center, they wanted to give me IV antibiotics but because I was already 9 cm dilated and in very active labor, they were not able to get the IV into me on either arm. So, we did not have the antibiotics but because I had no other risk factors and because my water never broke (Sophia started crowning while still in the bag of waters) until the very end, the chances that she will have GBS complications are less likely. Extra precautions are being taken to monitor her and we have our second pediatrician's appointment today. The other complication was that I did have to have many stiches because Sophia was born with her hand against her face so I've been a bit sore but already healing quickly I think. Sophie scored a 9.9 on the apgar test and was alert and intent and a happy little girl all night long.

Proud pappa and I survived our first night home with her (with help and provisions from Dee Ree and Godmother Heather) and while we didn't get tons of sleep, we were able to sleep on and off by taking turns with her. She was definitely most vocal between about 11 and 3am but then we were able to get some good feedings in and some rest (though always on either Daddy or me) not any solid rest on her on in the co-sleeper.

Today, Day 2, is going well so far. We've eaten healthy breakfast. Sophia has been eating like a champ. We will soon get ready for the pediatricians visit. And, of course, post more as we can.

More photos are available as we can post them at http://joxenford.smugmug.com/gallery/4593083_upLbX

39 weeks + and Evelyn Jolie's Arrival

Well, it's Easter and the full moon has past and Sophia is still happily ensconced on the inside. The New York tarot card reader was wrong, godfather Tim was wrong and apparently some others (early birds in the baby pool at work) were wrong, too. Here is a bonus 39 week belly shot. Even though we normally do these every two weeks, we thought 39 weeks deserved its own belly shot anyway. I'm feeling good overall though it's a bit harder to get around and it's quite tight in there. Tomorrow, I start a week of working from home so it's nice that I won't have to worry about getting into the office or sitting in my work chair for long periods of time.

I'm so excited to report that my friend Megan had her baby girl, Evelyn Jolie, yesterday, March 22nd at 9:59 AM. Little Evie Troyer weighed in at 7 lbs, 9 ozs. and 21 inches long. After 23 hours of labor, Evie was finally delivered by cesarean section. Early photos and even a video are available on Justin and Megan's blog. We are so happy for the newly expanded Troyer family and wish Megan a speedy recovery so she and Justin can enjoy every moment with their new gorgeous baby girl!!

Prenatal Visit

We had a visit (not sure if this is the 9th or 10th now, I've lost count) with the midwives last night. Everything is on track. No news to report. I haven't gained any weight since last week (which is surprising given the bad ice cream habit Jim and I have gotten into and the bad "Tuesday is doughnut day" habit at work). The midwife said that is a maybe a good thing and when I asked why she said it means the hormones might be changing, meaning Sophie is closer to being on her way. Fundal height was good (37 cm), baby's heartbeat was "strong" at 150 beats per second though hard to find for the midwife, my blood pressure was good. And, her head is still down and in the position. Not much more to tell there. It's anybody's guess now as to when she makes her debut...

Sophie's nursery has made some good progress, too. We got a new rug and some new curtains and Jim did a first coat on the Eiffel Tower. It's almost done now! Just waiting on the furniture and a few finishing touches. I'm quite pleased overall with the room and feel ready to spend some quality time in there with her when she arrives!

38 Week Belly Shots

Friday was 38 weeks! Only two weeks until the estimated due date. I keep getting bigger though I think technically she's growing at a slower rate now. We are almost, not quite, but almost done putting things away (clothes, toys, strollers, etc) that were all around the house from the shower and from things that we've had to get and almost done washing her clothes and towels and things. I think by the time I finally get it all put away - she will arrive (for us to have it all out again)! No change in how I am feeling, still big, still a little on the tired side but otherwise good. It was a busy week at work. I'm glad that it's over and Jim and I treated ourselves to a nice relaxing day today. We both needed it!

Updates on Birth Center Appointments, Classes and Hospital Tours

Tonight we had our 37 and a half week appt. at the Birth Center. Jamesina (a new midwife there) was nice and talked to us about real signs of labor and how to be aware of signs of post-partum depression. She also reviewed our Birthing Hopes and Dreams and then said Sophie was right on track - weight was good, fundal height was good (37 cm) and the baby's heart beat was 140. She also gave us the good news that the results of my Group B Strep test came back negative (which means I will not have to be on antibiotics during delivery - that's a relief!) Finally, she felt Sophie's position and said she was still head down and most likely had her back on my right side and her feet and hands on my left side. She had Jim feel where the head was and also the hard parts (which she claims were back and feet). Funny, she also had Jim feel that I was having a contraction although it didn't feel like anything to me besides a tightening. I've been having lots of that so apparently, I'm contracting a lot and just didn't realize it. So, all in all we're in good shape until our next appointment next week (yes, I'm on weekly appointments now).

Last night we had a tour of the Bryn Mawr Hospital. This was something the Birth Center recomends you do to familiarize yourself with the hospital should you need to be transferred. We saw the Labor and Delivery area, the Maternity area, the NICU, where the operating rooms are for C-Sections, the recovery areas, and finally the nursery. When Jim and I were talking about whether to do this tour or not, I said "well, at least we'll get to see babies in the nursery" so we were both looking forward to that part but of course, the tour guide saved the nursery for last and there were NO BABIES in there! What's up with that? We were so bummed to not even get to see a newborn wrinkly little baby hanging out in there. Oh well, most likely they were rooming in with their moms. All in all is seemed ok though of course I hope we don't end up there. At least if we do, we now know where to park and where the cafeteria is!!

Last week we finished our 5 weeks of birth classes with a class on breastfeeding. It was led by one of the birth center nurses, Patty. And, our last actual childbirth class was the week before that with Sarah doing a wrap-up on what to expect post-partum.

In other updates, I'm feeling overall pretty good but tired and big and pretty weighed down with all this baby in front of me. I have a little bit of swelling (but nothing too bad) and sleep is pretty uncomfortable. Natures way of preparing me for being up all night, I guess!

For Sophie's nursery update, I finally hung the letters I painted for her wall and we ordered a rug for her. We continue to put away all the beautiful gifts and wash all the beautiful clothes (and try to find room for them). Last weekend, we put together the co-sleeper (which now sits in her room where the crib will eventually go) and the swing. Ollie is facinated by them both, of course. We also assembled the Baby Bjorn (I keep waiting for Ollie to try and get carried in there) and now have two slings. One we ordered from Target with a gift card and another we just got as a surprise in the mail yesterday from some of our amazing friends (Monty Q and his Mom who is also pregnant) in the Cat Blogosphere. We can't wait to use them both!

We're stocking up on food for the birth center and adding final things to our bag to take there. Not much more to do now except wait for the day she decides to make her grand entrance into this world!

Belated Shower Photos

Well, I know these are really late but I just wanted to finally post some of the photos from the beautiful baby shower that my mom and Roger and other friends and family threw for us on Feb. 23rd. It was held at Pica's restaurant and there were so many loved ones there - it was just fantastic! Our friends, The Martins and Stacey R, came in from New York and Heather flew in from Ohio to not miss it! The decorations were so adorable and were made largely by my Mom and her good friend Lisa (who runs Wiffledust Music Academy). The two of them made an astonishing amount of unique diaper cakes (some of which are shown below) which were on the different tables for decoration. The main diaper cake featured two hugging monkeys! Thank you Mom and Lisa!! Stacy Franks also brought a beautiful diaper cake and a special Daddy Tool Belt for Jim. Thanks Stacy! The food was delicious and there was just an obscene outpouring of gifts and love for Sophia. It was so wonderful to see everyone and Jim and I are just so grateful to all! Thank you everyone!!!

Jim, Roger and Me

The awesome cake from Viking pastry

Friends

The Martins

Jim's folks

Delicious monkey pop favors made by Awesome Aunt Dee

Just a small sampling of the many diaper cakes
This first one made by Stacy's sister Nicki

The main monkey diaper cake made by Mom and Lisa

Lisa's Dr. Seuss Diaper Cake

Happy 37 Weeks, Sophia!!!

Today is a HUGE milestone as Sophia is officially 37 weeks or full term. She has been developing and growing for all these months and now officially she is recognized as being able to survive outside the womb if she were born today!! How exciting!!

To celebrate the big day, I've made some cupcakes for Jim and I to take into work. Here's a sampling of them (the numbers didn't actually come out as well as I'd hoped but oh well, they taste good.)

My estimated due date is now three weeks away. However, if you believe the word on the street, most folks are saying I'll never go that long. We shall soon see...

36 week belly shots

Well, one week from full term and here are the belly shots. She just keeps getting bigger! I know I have lots of shower photos to post too but I'll try to do that this week.

Other Huge Milestones this week:

1. We finished our childbirth education classes. Yep, we're all set to birth now...Mm-hmm. Yep.
2. We got a carseat (from wonderful colleageus at work who threw us a beautiful baby shower complete with virtual guests coming in from all across the country via videoconference). Jim installed the careseat this weekend. So, if Sophie were to arrive now, we're ready for her! It's a great feeling to know we really have everything we need now to be able to safely bring her home from the Birth Center.