Colin Thomas McDonald - March 13, 2013

Introducing our +1, Colin Thomas McDonald, born March 13, 2013 at 7:58pm.  He was 7 lbs 15 oz, 21" long**.  I was so happy to finally see that face that we had been waiting for so long to see!  I don't like to wait 10 months for something, but in the end it was definitely worth the wait.

Without further ado:

Minutes old

Taken March 14 - Bella Photography

Hopefully this works? Just a mash-up of pictures leading up to meeting the little guy.

Now here we are -- a family of three... responsible for another human being.

**Updated: Previously I had said he was born at 7lb 11oz... that was what he weighed at his 5 day check up.  He was born at 7lb 15oz.  I swear, I'll get this right one day.

The end was nigh..

... but I had no idea.

Weeks 39 and 40 were pretty normal for me.  I was still feeling pretty good.. googling what contractions felt like, various ideas for how to jump start labor (evening primrose oil, castor oil -- so glad I didn't have to go that route, spicy food -- even though up to this point it had no effect).  Not because I was uncomfortable per se, more because I was getting impatient.  I started working exclusively from home, the idea of being 30 miles away from my hospital terrified me.  It would have been just my luck to drive in and then have to have a coworker drive me back to the city while I'm in pain.  It didn't sound like a good time.  

Week 40, coincidentally on our due date, I had a doctor's visit which was pretty anticlimactic.  I wasn't really progressing looking like labor, so we made an appointment for Monday morning to look again and schedule an induction.  I know that a lot of fear is involved with inductions for a lot of people.  I looked at it in a very "at least I know my absolute final day"... and was super relaxed about it.  I liked just having a deadline.  I guess that's the engineer in me.  He was scheduled to be induced on Sunday night, I was supposed to go to the hospital that evening at 6:30 and get all set up.  I never did make it that far.  Haha... but that's a-okay with me!

Otherwise, weeks 39 and 40 were pretty status quo.  I was still sleeping through the night, no swelling in my ankles or feet, and generally I just felt pretty good.  

Here are the pics - along with the last picture I took before he was born.  I took one on Tuesday morning on our way to the hospital - just in case.  So it's me 40 weeks and 4 days.  Looking back, I didn't think I looked that big.. I was super wrong.  I looked uber-pregnant.  Thank goodness to me I didn't feel that way.

Coming up will eventually be birth story (never though I'd be in to that, babies change things), and pictures of our new little guy.  He's pretty stinkin' cute, and we are pretty excited that we get to keep him..  

Week 39:  The Woozy Watermelon

(from my food poisoning where I was gross sick)

  

Week 40:  The Potentially Punctual Pumpkin

(clearly not the case)

Right before leaving for the hospital for our false alarm -- 40 weeks 4 days. 

T-Minus 4 days until.. probably nothing...

I have 4 days until my due date.  I think that means absolutely nothing, except that it provides a basis for the longest I can possibly go before my doctor decides he isn't coming and she will take matters into her own hands.  So, that's fun.  

I knew going into this that the due date was essentially a guess anyway, and there was little chance that anything would happen then, and I would most likely be late.  But, now that I'm actually nearly there -- I have to say, I have a hard time liking that concept.  Not that I'm necessarily ready (I know, I know... you're never ready), but it would be nice to just know that on this date I have a baby.  It's like the deadlines I was working on the last few months for work - I liked having that due date as the light at the end of my tunnel... oh wait, that never worked out either.  Damn.. Ha.  

But, just for fun - I'm attaching a picture I took in the bathroom out here in Lombard today to show off my 40 weeks.  I have to say, the most enjoyment I get these days is people finally feeling confident that I'm pregnant and asking me about it...and then being able to respond to the age-old "when are you due", with "Friday"... and then watching their faces shift from "aaww cute pregnant lady" to "holy shit, she's about to have it on my floor".  It's a small amusement, but I'll take it.  

I also would like to say that I made it through 8.5 months without anyone touching me.. and in the last 2 weeks or so, I've had 2....  Soooooo close.

Now here's what I look like at 9 months... sans make-up (wait, that's not unusual, I never do my make-up).

One day I'll get to posting baby shower pictures and new 2nd bathroom pictures... and everything else that I have planned.... I swear it.  I'm about to have a lot free time on my hands, right?

Good (Medieval) Times

What's a 30 year old to do for her birthday?  Watch jousting, eat with her fingers, and cheer on the Red Knight of course!  

For Katie's part of the shared 30th birthday she decided on Medieval Times for her celebration.  I hadn't been there since another friend's birthday a few years earlier, and this time it would not involve alcohol.  I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous.  All that was for naught, as it turned out to be a pretty entertaining time.  We sat right next to the King and his daughter, we rooted for the Red Knight (who didn't end up winning) and switched our allegiance to the Rogue Knight... and of course gambled on who we thought would win the various jousts and who would come out the victor.  Not too shabby for a Saturday night.

John and I in our Red Knight crown glory.

The King and his daughter - they got to eat pizza - not fair.

Chris got a carnation from the Red Knight - he was pretty psyched - the knight even kissed it before throwing it to him.

The birthday girl!!  

After Medieval Times, we went out in Rosemont.  They just opened an entertainment district which has about 6 or 7 bars in a small area.  The Monster Truck Rally had just gotten out at Allstate Arena, so Toby Keith's was packed with a line out the door (yes, those are all real things that happened... monster trucks and a bar called Toby Keith's).  So instead we headed over to Hofbrauhaus, a German beer hall modeled after the original in Munich.  They have a live band and litres of beer, and apparently a large contingent of Jersey Shore rejects.  I swear 80% of the people we saw were overly-fakely tanned, wearing Ed Hardy v-neck t-shirts, with faux-hawks, and just looked ridiculous.  I have never seen so many of the same person in the same place.  It was hilarious... and bizarre.  

The big drama of the night was Katie losing her diamond in her engagement ring..... that was a terrifying 5 minutes of when I looked up and saw Katie sobbing into her hands, not knowing what was going on, then transitioning to reassurance that it had to be in the car or somewhere easy to find, to John looking under the table and seeing it on the floor of the beer hall underneath Katie's seat on the bench.  That was one of the biggest floods of relief I have ever had, so I can't imagine how Marla and Katie felt.  It all ended well though, and we had a great time.  If only Hofbrau wasn't so far away, it would be a fun place to go out for a couple of beers.  We got one of our friends to go in the conga line, heard the best reason to not have or want kids ("I like pickles").  Loved every minute of it, but geez was I happy to get home and go to bed.  

Impatience is a virtue, right?

Doctor's appointment today (now yesterday) showed ...... NOTHING!  Ha.  Essentially what we expected.  Sure, I'm not due for another 2 weeks, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I guess I imagined her looking at me and being like -- the baby is totally on track for getting here early!  Or something that when said out loud sounds pretty silly.

The only thing we found out today is that I'm still measuring right on track, and he seems pretty comfortable in there and is essentially making no progress to make his grand entrance into the world.  BUT, he is still head down, so at least he's making some sort of effort in there.

Also, the doc said I'm only allowed to go an extra week and a half before they induce.  While that's fun to know, that means that I'm a month away from the absolute deadline for meeting him!  I'm impatient already and we have 2 weeks.... I don't know if I can wait a month!  I mean, of course I'll have to, but geez.... he's already making me crazy.

So, I'm thinking opening thoughts, and relaxing thoughts... and just trying to keep my patience up so that I can be ready if it still takes another 3.5 weeks.

As a girl in my Pilates class said, "I don't know why I keep thinking I'll go into labor early, they say 40 weeks and I'm not at 40 weeks yet, so I shouldn't be surprised if it actually takes the entire time."  Good call girl who's due a week ahead of me.  Good call.

And here's a picture of me at Week 38..

Full term madness

So, I should probably say something like this:

The bag is packed, we have clothes clean and ready for him to come home, and we are just so excited to meet this little guy now that he could come at any time.  

This is what I want to say:

Holy crap, he could come at any time and he would be a fully developed human, we have enough clothes to keep him clean for like 2 days, and our house looks like we vomited baby stuff everywhere.  I would keep in the fact that we are excited to meet him and I'm starting to get pretty impatient - so on THAT note alone, I would be okay with him coming out to meet us.  :)

John and I just can't believe how quickly the last part of everything has gone.  The first 12 weeks took what seemed like forever, the time until the body scan ultrasound never came quick enough - and now here we are like 15 weeks later and we don't know where the time went.  It's so insane.  But, it's good too.  We are much more excited, and generally much more prepared.  We have a few things that we still need, but he can at least come home and I don't think we'll have to wrap him in towels or something if he runs out of clothes.  So that makes me feel much better.  :)  

At the doctor's appointment yesterday we got an exciting little surprise.  We were there for our full-term appointment so she was making sure he was head down and all that jazz -- turns out he is -- phew.  Then she was like "well, if you want to, we could get a quick ultrasound, we can do that if she's available"... umm, yes please!  So we got to see him really quickly - confirmed he was still a boy, confirmed he was head down, and that he's hanging out in there with a stomach and a good heartbeat.  I like it!  So that was extremely exciting.  I think it was the best ultrasound for me, because I am actually starting to be impatient.  (As I said John, I don't know that I've ever waited this long for anything in my life....)  It was nice to see him, especially since he's been a little bit "slow" these last couple of days.  I never know that fine line between stupid freaking out and legitimate freaking out on the "fetal movement scale".  Wednesday you would have thought he was trying out for the NFL as a punter -- then the other two days you would think he was competing in some sort of nap tournament.  This fluctuation is KILLING me because I just don't know what his "routine" is that makes it so that I need to call my doctor.  I guess this is the first of many that I wish there was just an explicit instruction manual.  

I had another first the other day -- someone touched ... correction, poked, my belly.  Yeah... what the f man?  I was at a happy hour/meet and greet for work and earlier in the night some guy came up and introduced himself to me and was all about looking at my belly and talking about it (creepy, but acceptable in the sense that it was out there and it's been a nice conversation starter/continuer) and then as I was leaving for the evening, he sees me and pokes me in the belly and says "you get that baby home!".  Uhhh... really?  First off, it's like 8:15, second off .... really?  It was a little bizarre-o.  I'm not a fan.  But I do feel lucky that I've made it this far.  

Otherwise, things are going well.  No sense of when he'll be here, other than the fact that I feel like since I've not felt any sort of sense in anything, he's going to be late.  I can also still see my feet, which is excellent.  

I wish I had more to share -- but my next post will be pictures of how awesome John is and how handy he is becoming because he redid our spare bathroom and it looks awesome!  I'll have to post some pics of that soon.  I still have to take some good ones and put them up.  

I also need to post some pictures of my awesome baby showers!  It was such a great time, and so lovely to hang out with family and friends..... and a 30th birthday celebration for Katie McD at Medieval Times - which was still entertaining without ability to drink.  :)  And the ridiculousness that is Rosemont -- I did not realize that it was where all the Eastern European wannabes and Jersey Shore cast all met on Saturday nights.  Lots of hair gel, fauxhawks, mohawks, Ed Hardy v-neck t-shirts, and waaaaay too short dresses.  Wow, just wow.  We didn't fit in, but we had a good time.  

Here is the latest and greatest set of pictures.  My belly has gotten bigger (stupid stretch marks... I had been doing so well... ugh), but I think it's hard to see the difference in the pics here.  It's also gotten a lot heavier, which is not my favorite feeling, and I second my friend's description of a crowbar to the pelvis... I didn't know that was possible, but it's awesome.  Otherwise, I can't really complain too much.  It's been alright, just awfully tired.

So yeah, that's all I've got.  Enjoy the pics!

Week 34 : The Playful Pineapple

Week 35 : The Colossal Cantaloupe

Week 36 : The Collegiate Cantaloupe

Week 37 : The Wiggly Watermelon

So cute...

... one reason I shouldn't have been TOO worried about my (now resolved) maternity policy, the reaction to a 3 month old baby being brought into my office today.  One of my coworkers had to bring his son in for our company meeting, and the guys were practically lined up to hold him throughout the 4 hour meeting.  It was really cute.  They were so excited about the baby, and picking him up and carrying him around to try and help out dad.  I like it when guys like kids...  I however stared at him from a distance and only agreed to hold him at the very end after he'd made the rounds and didn't appear to be fragile.

Another tidbit that made me smile -- when I said I was 6 weeks away, they all looked at me wide-eyed and said they never would have guessed, that I look great, and "shouldn't you be relaxing with your feet up somewhere?"  So I guess I'm doing alright with this pregnancy thing....

Oh and the new dad offered to give John pointers about how the baby thing works, and to assure him that after you watch a baby being born, you realize there isn't much you can do to break them.

And finally, again from new dad (2nd time dad, but new dad all the same)... when trying to convince one of the other coworkers that he and his wife need to start having kids, bearded coworker said that he and his wife were on the same page and there are still a lot of trips they want to take.  In response, new dad says "well, there's nothing like a trip down the birth canal".  I nearly choked on my lunch...

My coworkers crack me up.