Pumpkin & Scoop

Inquiring minds want to know: How is Scoop doing with Pumpkin?

We tried to make the transition as smooth as possible, setting up furniture and making changes - like moving her bed and stopping letting her in our bed in the mornings - way ahead of time so she wouldn't blame the baby for all of the changes. Chris brought home some clothes Pumpkin had worn in the hospital the night before we came home for Scoop to smell, and when we came home I came inside first and let Scoop in the house and played with her for a couple minutes. Then I took Scoop outside to meet Pumpkin. She smelled her and her carseat, and then we brought her inside and Chris laid her down and Scoop sniffed her some more.

At first she was confused and maybe a little jealous - although we've been trying to keep her routine and give her attention she knows it's not quite the same. But overall, she's handling it really well. I think now she's more curious, wanting to look inside the pack and play or crib when Pumpkin's sleeping and see what she's doing. And she's very gentle with her - just mostly wants to smell her.

Here she is helping Pumpkin with tummy time. I keep telling her when Pumpkin gets bigger they'll be best buddies. Scoop's not convinced yet, but she was pretty excited when we got out the stroller so all four of us could go for a walk together.

Welcome Baby

Our little Pumpkin officially joined Team Gabel on Friday morning - the best birthday present her momma could have ever hoped for! Official stats: 7 pounds, 20.75 inches.

For those interested in the birth story, the whole thing happened very quickly. I went into labor around 5 a.m., although at the time I wasn't sure if it was labor or not. Around 7:30 I woke up Chris, and a little after 8 talked to my doctor's office. They said to come in and they'd check me to see if I was in labor and save us a trip to the hospital in case I wasn't. By the time we left the house I was having contractions about 6 minutes apart. When we got to the doctor's about 45 minutes later (we stopped to drop off Scoop) they were right on top of each other and I was dilated 7-8 centimeters. They wheeled me across the street to the hospital. We checked in just before 10 a.m. and our sweet little Pumpkin was born before 10:30. She had some fluid in her lungs and tummy and they sent her to the NICU. She was on oxygen for a little bit, but improved very quickly. They kept her there for 24 hours. The hardest part for me was not being able to see her for five hours, but Chris was able to go see her right away and took my mom over when she got there.

By the time I got to go see her, she had been off of oxygen, and we were able to hold her. It was the best feeling in the world.
Chris was amazing throughout the whole process. He was a great coach, keeping me focused and breathing the whole drive to the hospital and up until Pumpkin was born.

The one comment we've heard the most since she's been born is "Look at all that hair!"

Here is Miss Pumpkin on the ride home from the hospital.

And here she is today after she got washed up. So fresh and so clean!

We are just so blessed and so happy and so thankful to have this beautiful little girl.

39 weeks

"I really want her to have an epic kind of childhood. I want her to run along streams and know how to work a canoe, be able to entertain herself outside. I want her childhood to be Huck Finn-y. You know?" -Away We Go

Dear Baby,
You are due one week from today. I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone, but I assure you, we are ready for you. Before I was pregnant I kind of thought it was funny when pregnant ladies would get anxious for their babies' arrival before they even got to their due date, but now I get it. I might not have learned to play the guitar over these last nine months to play along while I sing you lullabies like I'd secretly hoped I would. I might not have read as many books as I wanted to, or stuck with prenatal yoga during the whole pregnancy as I'd planned, or taken the water exercise classes I filled out all the paperwork for. But we've taken the prepared childbirth classes, a breastfeeding class and infant CPR. On Saturday we had the car seats inspected and we stocked up on groceries. Your dad picked out some frozen dinners, and I also made a lasagna to freeze for some night after you arrive and I'm too tired to cook. We made two dinners last night so there are lots of leftovers for this week should you choose to arrive early. Your dad also put together your pack-n-play yesterday, so now there's a place downstairs for you to nap and be changed. The video monitor is in place. There really isn't a whole lot more we can do before you get here, so feel free to show up at any time. Whenever you're ready. We can't wait to meet you and see what you look like and how you take after each of us, and in what ways you are uniquely you.
See you soon!
Love,
Mom

38 Weeks

I'm now 38 weeks as of the Fourth of July. (This picture is from Sunday, when I got home from a wedding shower). Miss G could arrive at any day, and I think we're as ready as we can be. Over the weekend I cleared out a drawer and cabinet in the kitchen for her things, and the rest of her clothes and blankets are now washed and put away in her room. The hospital bag is near-ready to go (the missing items are things that are in use) and so now it's basically just wait until she decides she's ready. By popular demand (okay, per Michelle's request), below are some pictures of the nursery. It seems a little bare, but we have a couple of decorative items on the way, and I'm sure we'll be adding more things after she arrives.

As for me, I am feeling pretty good, although it's in the 90s here which makes me want to not move off the couch because it seems to be the coolest spot in the house. At this point lots of random people want to talk to me about the baby, which is usually very nice, but last weekend I had the first stranger touch my belly (without asking) and another belly bump me (yes, you read that right) and that part makes me uncomfortable. (But both women were very nice and said that I was beautiful and glowing. And also this was at a homebrew fest so I guess that should be taken into consideration.) And now I feel as though I'm sort of rambling, so I guess I will sign off now. Don't forget to fill out the baby pool if you haven't already - we are enjoying reading everyone's guesses!

Flash Mob

The Nevada Immunization Coalition organized a flash mob in front of Aces ballpark last Friday to promote the Text4Baby program and invited pregnant women and women with babies younger than 1 to participate. For two game tickets and a gift card to the mall I figured why not. Here's the video:

Photo courtesy Calvert Photography