Welcome Tyler Frank Spinner

I know, I know... it's been a long time since I've blogged anything.  Truth be told, the last couple months of my pregnancy blogging just wasn't a priority.  Rightfully so!  Anyway, the real reason for this blog - Tyler!!





Tyler Frank Spinner was born at 12:45am on June 19, 2011.  I don't think I'll ever be able to top that Father's Day gift!  He was 6 pounds, 10 ounces and 19.5" long - just a bit smaller than I expected!  I guess those utlrasound estimates are purely just estimates!  Initially he was measuring in the 75th percentile, though I believe that's because his legs are LOOONG!  In actuality, he weighs in at the 10th percentile while his length is in the 65th percentile!

I must admit, I had a pretty enviable experience.  On Friday, June 17th I started having subtle contractions, but I wasn't sure if they were Braxton Hicks or legit contractions because they were so light.  Early on June 18th I started thinking they were legit, but they were spaced very far apart and not too intense yet.  However, later that afternoon they started getting more intense and though still very sporadic they were no longer hours apart like earlier in the day.  I anticipated going to the hospital in labor at some point on Sunday, but then the cotnractions started coming on fast and furious around 5:00 in the afternoon.  We started finishing up the hospital bag and taking care of a few things around the house, knowing that this baby would be here soon.

Then, at 9:00pm it all became real.  99% certain that my water broke I called the doctor and was told to go in to L&D to check it out.  At 9:45 we arrived at the hospital where they checked the leak, and sure enough my water broke.  After an internal check they also discovered that I was at 4cm dilated.  Thank God, because the contractions were every 3 minutes at that point and PAINFUL!

Around 11:40 I got my epidural and at midnight the nurse wanted to check my status before putting in a catheder.  Thank goodness she checked because I was fully dilated by this point.  She then decided to have me start the pushing process so that I was close to delivering once the doctor arrived.  Well, that was short lived as after one push the head was already crowning and she still hadn't called the doctor.  Thankfully he must live close.  Once he arrived and prepped I pushed 2 more times and then heard the most amazing sound in the entire world.  My precious baby boy was crying, and had a great set of lungs on him!!

Let me just tell you something about a quick labor - though amazing, the pushing part was hard as hell... My epidural had JUST gone in to effect, so I couldn't feel a thing!  I just had to listen to the nurse and Rob to know what to do.  Whatever I did worked though!



All of us are adjusting well to being home and hopefully soon developing a routine!

Just a quick update

Well, I just wanted to give a quick update... though a lot has happened I haven't been able to blog it due to not being able to log on to Wordpress for a few weeks.  Hence the lack of updates on my food blog too, though most of that is due to laziness and the preoccupation with the baby!

We should get to meet this little guy in about 5 weeks and we're so excited!  I can't wait to see what he looks like, learn his mannerisms and personality, etc.  Of course, I'm most anxious just to hold him in my arms and cuddle with him.

The room is relatively finished but we still have a few things we need to do (finish washing the clothes to put away in the correct spots, hang the curtains and make the name art to hang.)  Now that we've told his name we can get to work on the name art aspect, but again, it all goes back to the whole laziness thing!  I have everything we need though, it's just a matter of breaking out the saw and getting to work.  I can't wait to finish it though so I can share pictures because I know it'll be amazing!

Speaking of the room - here are a few quick pics of the bedding, in various stages:

Puma playing with the bag the bedding came in...

Pinot hanging out in the crib after I put the bedding on to check it out (pre-washing)...

And of course, the bedding, uninterrupted by kittens!



We still have a few things left, but we're getting there.  Next on the list is to pick a pediatrician, get the car seat installed and buy the rest of what we need.  It's all planned though!

I also need to clean the house, but the couch is so much more appealing!

Nursery Sneak Peek

30 Weeks

Another milestone, at least in my book.  I am now 30 weeks pregnant, meaning this little guy will be here in roughly 10 weeks.  We're really chipping away at our lists too!  We've narrowed down some day-cares and I'm in the process of calling pediatricians to check that they are accepting new patients.  A good amount of what is left on the list we have to wait on anyway considering it's too early to check off (i.e. pack a hospital bag, wash baby clothes, etc.)  For the remainder of our time I guess I'll be nesting!  I really need to learn how to be a better homemaker though because I'm HORRIBLE at keeping the house clean and organized.  Too bad I don't think I'll be able to build a system in 10 weeks that will be habit after the baby comes.

Third Trimester

While there are several different ways to view trimester dates, I tend to be of the camp that the later date is the correct date!  Basically, that's what I did going in to the 2nd trimester because I was adamant to wait until then to spread our good news, so to me it just made sense to do so for the third trimester as well.   I am now officially in my 3rd trimester!  I'm either 1 week and a few days in to it or just starting it, but regardless - Rob and I are 2/3 of the way to meeting the Wee Baby Seamus, Little Dude, or whatever we want to call him until we share his real name after he's born!

I can't get over how quickly 28 weeks goes.  Twelve more weeks left - though a few people seem to think he'll grace us with his presence a little early.  As long as he stays in his little home until he's fully cooked (and not too much longer!) I'll be happy.

All in all though everything is going great.  I had a monthly check up last Wednesday and the doctor told me to keep doing whatever I'm doing because it's working!  As of then I've gained 4 pounds total (and per my scale that number is still accurate), my blood pressure is perfect, the babies heart beat is perfect, I haven't had any swelling and I passed my glucose testing with flying colors!  Thank goodness for the last one because I really didn't want to have to spend 3 hours at Quest on an empty stomach with a pint of pure sugar coursing through my blood stream!  One hour made me dizzy enough!

And lastly, for a little bit of fun... another quick nursery sneak peek...

It's a monkey climbing up the door frame!  Who wouldn't love that?!

I promise we'll share more pictures of the nursery soon, but we need to vacuum the floor something fierce to get rid of the Styrofoam!  Plus, I love little teasers!

Double Digits!!

As long as baby boy isn't late we're down to double digits until we get to meet the little guy!  I can't get over how fast time has flown by.  I am now officially in my 26th week with 98 days left.  Wow, 98 days left - only 14 more weeks!!  Check out my bump!  I probably should have wore a different top to take a picture that shows off the bump, rather than adds bulk to it.  Oh well!  PS - ignore the bathroom shots...

You can tell by the shot from the front that I'm carrying this baby full frontal!  Despite the tightness of clothes around the bump, you can't really tell I'm that pregnant from looking at me straight on.  I actually feel like my waist-line is more defined now that it was pre-pregnancy.  Let's see if that sticks postpartum :)

There is still a lot we need to do, but overall I think we're pretty much on top of it.  You would think I'm already nesting with all of my lists - but I would like to call it "pre-nesting".  I have great anticipations of traditional nesting, but right now I'm just listing out what I need/want to do and spending a good amount of time on the couch instead!  My excuse - those days are few and far between so I'm taking full advantage now!

The big things on our list are daycare and pediatrician.  I have some pretty solid lists going (pre-nesting, I tell ya!) so it's just a matter of buckling down and picking where we want to go, visiting a few places and then making that huge decision.

Operation Fun-Baby

This past weekend Rob and I actually checked off a daunting box on the good old checklist - painting the nursery!  To be honest, we were both a little shocked that we actually did it.  Obviously we were going to paint the room but Saturday was such a beautiful day - the perfect kind of day to make excuses and procrastinate.  And, we didn't!

I can't wait to share some sneak peeks at the nursery, but for now it's just a newly painted room without a crib, changing table, rocking chair and with carpets in need of a good cleaning - all coming soon!  However, I can say that this kid is going to have one awesome room!  On one end of the spectrum we went bold:

On the other end we went tame:



Between the two though we're happy with how it turned out and can't wait to start adding all of the fun elements we have planned!  Stay tuned for more!