away...

We've been in California for nearly a week to attend Grandma Lisa's memorial service and spend time with Jason's dad and family. Will update the blog when we're home again.
Love,
g, J, and KZ
:)

oh the love!

Kaemon Ze met so many uncles, aunties, great aunties, and his "GumpapaD" on our trip to California, who doted on him and showered him with love. There were always arms to hold and cuddle him in our nearly week-long stay. With the passing of his Grandma Lisa so fresh in our minds, Kaemon reminded us all of the eternal cycle of life. The above collage is merely representative of all the family who held him that week. :)

meeting the reno cousins

While we were in Grass Valley, my cousins from Reno drove the two hours to come meet Kaemon Ze - and they brought my daddy with them! :)

Left-Right: Daddy, Bonnie, Kyle, me, Rowan, and Beckey.

Beckey holds Kaemon Ze.






Me... with my daddy.



Isn't he cute?

Kaemon Ze is two weeks of age

Today Kaemon is two weeks of age - and still more "firsts". We're traveling to Grass Valley, California to attend Grandma Lisa's memorial and to visit Jason's dad (Darwin) and his family. It's a 10 hour drive, normally, without a two-week old and a 19-year old miniature dachshund in tow. Heh! So we split the drive into two days. Here's Kaemon Ze with daddy in his first hotel room. Oliver is still snoozing on the bed. *grin*

On the way to Grass Valley, we were able to meet up with my long-time friend Sara, and her beautiful children.

Here's Darwin, Jason's dad, holding his grandson for the first time. "GumpapaD" looks pleased as punch, doesn't he? Darwin also thanked me for having him... just like Jason and Joe had both done. Those simple words, given by these three men, really touched my heart.

hello Grandpa Joe Joe!

Tonight Grandpa Joe came over to hold his grandson for the first time. Joe Joe melted my heart as he was holding Kaemon and thanked me for giving birth to this lil guy. :) My heart melted when Jason told me the same thing.

i'm one week old!

So much learning in so few days!

My first sneeze scared the beejeezus outta me .
The second sneeze kinda surprised me.
The third sneeze was a non-event.

From the moment I arrived, I had my parents wrapped around my little finger and now, one week later, they are at my beck and call. I know it's ALL about me! :)

Happy One Week Birthday to Meeeeee!

In Loving Memory

of
Grandma Lisa

As we were preparing to leave the birth center this morning, we got a call from Darwin, Jason's Dad, who shared very sad news: Lisa, his wife, had passed away unexpectedly earlier this morning.

Grandpa Darwin and Grandma Lisa

May 2008

Grandma Lisa was very much anticipating the arrival of her first grandchild and could hardly wait to, as she put it in an e-mail to me, "take that child in to our arms." Blessedly, Lisa got to see the first photos of her grandson this week and in her last e-mail to me she asked, "has the child been named and no one told me? I'm fine with calling him beautiful boy jaxon forever." She did learn his name before she passed and quipped in her last e-mail to Jason, "what you Ze?"

Lisa and Darwin were planning to visit us and meet their grandson at the end of November. It deeply saddens us that she will not be able to hold this darling boy and smother him with kisses. We're planning to take Kaemon Ze to the Celebration of Life next week to meet his "GumpappaD" and the rest of the "famby".

Lisa is survived by her husband, Darwin, her two grown daughters, Chelsea and Halley, and her brood of grown step-children: Jason, Ryan, Greyson, Ben, and Briahna.

(Most of) The "Famby"

May 2008

We love you all so much. Our hearts and thoughts are with you.

With much love,
Jason, Gigi, and beautiful boy jaxon forever

space baby

On Thursday afternoon (Kaemon Ze's fourth day of life) my Dad went with the babe and I to his first pediatric appointment. The doctor noted his yellow legs and had us get his blood tested that evening at a local hospital. Good thing he did... the low-level jaundice he had when we were released from the birth center spiked.

Gramma Lin and Grandpa J.C. get Kaemon ready
for his ride back to the birth center.

Within a hour or so, we found ourselves back in the birth center (hospital), suitcases in tow, so Kaemon Ze could be treated from anywhere between one to four days. We were commended on how well he looked, compared to other babies who come back for treatment (not dehydrated; not lethargic), and was warned that the light treatment therapy machine would probably be too bright to have in the room with us at night (to sleep) and that babies really dislike it (read: cry a lot), which causes parents to take the baby out to soothe him/her; and that the hospital usually supplements with formula.

Space Baby!

Jason and I must seem so resilient to the staff - we made it clear that we wanted Kaemon Ze to be in the room with us; that we wanted to breastfeed; and amazingly... the babe was such a trooper and adjusted to his environment like a pro. The few hours Kaemon Ze did fuss each night, Daddy stayed up with him to comfort him. We could touch him, change his diaper, and when it was time to feed, we could remove him from the machine to do so.

Daddy reads "Where the Wild Things Are" to Space Baby

This morning at 6am, after two nights at the birth center, the pediatrician came in with the latest lab results - Kaemon Ze's numbers came down and he said we could go home. Whoo hoo! He also said he heard I was pumping enough breast milk to feed the entire ward. *laugh*

Happy Mama with her 'drunken monkey'
after a feeding.

One of the blessings to having to go back to the birth center was that we got lots of time with the hospital's lactation consultant and learned several new techniques to help both Kaemon Ze and I really get the knack of breastfeeding. Another blessing was that we were just beginning to teach Kaemon Ze to nap in the bassinet (especially after those late night/early morning feedings). Being under the lights... our lil guy did such a great job of self-soothing. Tonight we'll hope to continue that trend. :)

We're back home - getting used to a new routine, without the help of my parents who left yesterday to fly back to Reno. We're so smart though... on the drive home we called in Jason's mom to come over to hold the baby while we napped and then showered... needless to say, we didn't have to bribe her. :)

Thank you grandparents!!

Love and Joy to you all!

He's here, he's here!

Kaemon Ze Jaxon Gable*

Was born Sunday, October 26 at 4:34 am. 7lbs 12oz, 21" long and is doing well. Today is our first full day home. Jason and I are catching up on sleeping and restoring energy, with our parents help. Thank the stars for the grandparents!

I'm doing well - had a tough go, but have really rebounded. Kaemon and I are getting breastfeeding down and today we have lots to celebrate: my milk came in; and Kaemon had his much-needed 2nd and 3rd poos and pees. Small, glorious, celebrations. Makes me cry just typing it. Hormones must be surging.

As you can imagine, we are very much looking forward to introducing you to our beautiful boy. With my parents here our lil home is pretty full and Jason and I are needing time to get into our new routine. We'll probably start having a few people over at a time, so let us know (e-mail is great) if you're interested in stopping by for a short time.

THANK YOU ALL for your love, support, care, prayers, etc., etc. We are blessed beyond belief.

Love & Joy,
Gigi
*( pronounced "Kaymon" "Zay" "Jackson")










Today... contended with milk













Today, with Grandpa J.C.










Welcome to the world baby! Kaemon's birthday! First photo!

we did the (good) deed

... ooooh! It felt good to drop those ballots in the ballot box this morning! Jason and I were quite happy that the ballots came in time for us to be able to vote before the lil guy arrives.

Have you voted yet? :)

about those water bags...

People have been asking me about "the water breaking" and are surprised to learn that it only breaks at the beginning of labor 10% of the time; it usually occurs during labor. So if I sit on your couch (Dan), know there's a 90% chance you won't have to send the cushions to the dry cleaner.
My barista's wife was in the coffee shop this morning with their 15-month old son. She asked when I was due. I told her November 3rd and she nodded politely. Then I mentioned the 3-80 and her eyes got really big. "Don't have him here!" she said. I told her that her husband had said that to me two weeks prior, but I told him "he couldn't buy better publicity than that!" hehehe On the way out, she cautioned me to "take it easy".

That's about all I can do these days... my waddle's slowed way down, thanks to the ache in my lower ligaments - it feels like they were in a marathon.
Oh - something funny happened the other day. I was in the kitchen and I knew Oliver (my little dog) was nearby, but I didn't see him. I asked Jason, "where's Oliver?" Jason smiled and pointed at my feet. I bent over slightly and whaddya know... there he was! I couldn't see him for all the belly in my way.

imminent... (still)

My OBGYN came into the exam room to find me reclining on the table (I got tired of sitting there), feet in the stirrups (trying to keep them elevated to reduce swelling), and hands behind my back (helped support my back). She just beamed at me and said I'm "just so laissez-faire and easy going... did I tell you that?" Ummm... yep... just about every time I see you these days.

Pretty amusing that my simple attempts to be as comfortable as possible on a table not really designed with comfort in mind some how just re-affirmed me as her happiest patient.

She said I have no idea just how easy going I am (as a patient) - she must really get some challenging patients.

The doctor confirmed I'm definitely dilated to three and surmised my cervix is now effaced to 80%. She again cautioned me about not waiting too long to come to the birth center once the labor contractions start. She said I really don't want "that mess" in the car.

So... the arrival of our son remains... imminent!

"a renewed sense of clumsiness"

In the weekly pregnancy updates Jason gets via e-mail, it reads:

Week 38 of Your Pregnancy Hi Jason, has the nesting instinct struck you yet? Many women feel the urge to put their house in order just before they give birth. Just be careful to not overexert yourself or climb on high ladders from which you could fall.

Jason read this aloud to me... because he knows I *really* want the dining room painted... like NOW. He's got plenty to do on his "to do list" and we both know my energy level won't sustain actually getting the project completed... so it remains my one nesting urge... my one unfulfilled nesting urge, I might add. *grin* If anyone out there has the time and inclination to assist (read: do most of the work), let me know. *laugh*

As he started to read the rest of the weekly e-mail update, I momentarily lost my balance in the living room but managed to right myself. I looked over at Jason and he was grinning from ear to ear. He continue to read:

A renewed sense of clumsiness... Jason, since your baby has settled down into your pelvis in preparation for birth, your center of gravity has shifted and you may feel a renewed sense of clumsiness or awkwardness. And while this shift has alleviated the pressure on your lungs, you are probably feeling increased pressure on your bladder and as a result, may be making much more frequent trips to the bathroom. Continue to monitor your Braxton Hicks contractions and watch for signs of labor as your baby could come at any time!

The e-mail also said:
Your baby weighs about 6.5 to 7 pounds and is approximately 19.5 inches in length. You have been full term for a week now

Tomorrow is my weekly appointment with my OBGYN... stayed tuned. :)

sneezes just aren't as satisfying...

...when there's a baby under your ribs are you just don't have your usual lung capacity.

My lil brother called recently and asked what I was doing. I told him, "I'm sitting on the couch, with my feet propped up (to reduce the swelling), trying to breath." He just laughed and laughed at me. Bugger. His wife was pregnant with twins a year ago, so he knows what I'm saying. :)

I updated the suggested list of baby names today - and I will tell you that our top two names for our son are from the list of names suggested by you - our community! Nope... I'm not going to tell you what they are. Heh! Keep the names coming, if you're so inspired.

It's clear my energy level is best in the morning to afternoon. After that, I'm pooped.

The photo is of our largest sunflower. Happy Fall! And Happy Sunday to you all!

baby and me... we're still one

Hi everyone. Guess I'd better 'get my post on' so you know I'm still pregnant. Heh.

When I told Jason the doctor said I lost a pound this week, he looked in the nearly empty mini-doughnut box and, with a smile, wondered where that pound went.

One of Jason's co-workers suggested to him that I walk a lot to make the baby come; a co-worker of mine suggested leaning against a wall and squatting (to use gravity) to make the baby come. My mom on the other hand is saying, "don't do anything... he's not finished baking... just let him be." I haven't done anything to intentionally encourage him outward except to ask him when he's coming. :)

Here's a photo of me in the "Halloweener Dog" t-shirt my boss' wife got me so I'd have a Halloween costume. While Jason was taking the photos, my tummy got real tight (another Braxton-Hicks "practice" contraction) and he snapped the photo of me responding to it. Heh.

Two weeks away from due date (11/3); Today is the start of my 38th week.

We're off to "family game night" at the home of Jason's cousin. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

Love and Joy!

lucky number three

I went in for my weekly check-up today. As part of each check-up, I'm supposed to pee in a cup, and give it to the nurse who dips a stick in to to determine if there's protein in my urine. Well, the inevitable happened... I suspected it would... and it did: I was laughing at myself and shaking my head, knowing I had to open the door and tell the nurse, "ummm... I forgot to pee in the cup - but I feel quite relieved now, thank you very much." The nurse thought that was pretty funny. Probably more evidence that the baby is sucking my brain power...

The doctor said I'm "at most people's three"... not sure if that meant I'm actually dilated to three centimeters, or... what. She also said I'm effaced about 75% and me losing my 'plug' is simply because I'm dilating and it really didn't have much to hold on to anymore.

She beamed at me and said I'm the happiest patient... mostly because I don't come in crying and complaining. Heh. I'm lucky my hormones haven't been out of control and I had no morning sickness. If I'd been nauseous as much as my friend Karen was during her first pregnancy, I would be owning a different patient title. Heh.

And still, it's anyone's guess when our lil guy will join us in the 3D world.

Sara said in her comments in the previous post that my practice contractions (known as Braxton Hicks) will continue to get stronger. That does seems to be my experience. Last night I went to the store, came home, made dinner and by the time Jason came home, my back and stomach were so tight I had to go sit down and let him finish preparing the meal. Whew.

Tonight we're going to venture out to hear a new-to-us singer/songwriter who's performing in town. Kinda like a date night - with dinner, too! We're both looking forward to it.

Hope you all have a gentle night.

full moon baby?

My friend Claudia said maybe the baby's waiting for a full month to make his appearance. She's familiar with that old saying that more babies are born during a full moon. She encouraged me to check the veracity of that claim online. I did a quick check online and discovered that the full moon is tonight. How's that for synchronicity? But... there seems to be no scientific research to back up the full moon = more babies born claim. Tonight, I've been asking the lil guy, "is this what you're waiting for?"

In the quick look-see online, I learned that October's Full Moon is called the "Hunter's Moon" - named for the hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight. It's the first Full Moon after the Harvest Moon.

Other than my belly and back being really tight... there's no sign of labor starting. I've been getting lots of rest these past few days. Tomorrow is my weekly OBGYN appointment... once again, I'll be curious to see what she says in light of the "show" showing last Thursday.

I hope you are all doing well! Thank you for your e-mails, posts, texts, and phone calls. *heart* Please forgive me if my response to you is delayed. My energy level isn't what is used to be. :)

Photo credit: Luc Viatour

where's the baby?

Another night of waking up choking on stomach acid at 1am. Not fun. I migrated to the recliner with a neck pillow and a blanket and managed to get a few hours of sleep, much to my delight. When I woke up I ventured to the couch for a full-on lay down and was quite pleased that my body seemed willing to let me. Whoo hoo! I slept on the couch until I heard Jason wake up this morning. I feel rested and I am grateful for that.

When I was unpleasantly wakened at 1am, it brought me out of a dream I was having. I was on a small stage with two other folks, performing in a casual jam session (which is funny, since I'm not musically inclined). Jason was in the small audience and the baby was on stage with me, in his bassinet. I looked over at the bassinet and realized it was empty. I thought, "where's the baby?" I thought he was in the bassinet. I wasn't panicked - but I was trying to recall where he was. I had a vague memory of giving birth to him recently (for all I know, we were performing our jam session in the hospital)... but he wasn't in the bassinet. I remember I touched my belly with both hands to see if maybe he was still there. I couldn't quite tell if he was or not. Heh. I tried to think hard about if I actually gave birth to him... and then I woke up.

When I got up to go sit in the recliner, I surmised that dream came from the "Mind Your Duck" game we played at the baby shower yesterday. We were each given a rubber duck and told we had to mind our ducks. If we left them unattended, another guest could snatch it up. The winner was the guest with the most ducks (Teresa rocks at this game!).

I did pretty well minding my duck, though during the games, I did forget the duck three(!) times - luckily everyone was engrossed in the games and no one took the duck from me. Heh. At one point I was at the buffet table, trying to one-handedly put food on my plate while holding the duck in the other. I almost blurted out, "it's hard to fix my plate ~and~ hold the duck." Luckily I saw the irony (over my swollen belly) of the complaint before I actually verbalized it. I later told Kim my near-complaint and she laughed with me. Soon, I'll get to learn how to do many, many things one-handedly while minding a baby. Heh!

The baby is still moving quite a bit and his movement are so much stronger and bigger than they were a month ago. When Jason helped me to a sit-up position on the couch this morning he asked, "when is that baby going to get here?" I told him of a middle-of-the-night thought I had: since we've had two recent "hurry up! The baby's coming moments," and now that we both feel "ready", we could invite him to come forth. We very intentionally invited our baby into our lives, and now we could invite him to come out and meet us. :) Jason read a story of how women in one African country give birth: when the time is near for the baby to be birthed, the mother will lean against a wall and tell her baby, "baby, come." Perhaps that'll be our mantra this week: baby, come.

rubber ducky you're the one...

Yea! The baby so kindly waited to make his entrance so his Mommy and Daddy could make all their baby showers and be blessed by their community. And blessed we are! Thank you to everyone who has contributed their love, energy, effort, time, talent, presence, and thoughts towards welcoming our sweet baby boy. What a blessing, indeed.

This afternoon was our third and final baby shower. It was co-ed, rubber-duck themed, and a lot of fun. My belly muscles got a workout from all the laughter. :) We played lots of games: guess who's baby picture belongs to who (both Jason and I guessed all the photos correctly!); guess the number of "baby boy" mints in a giant plastic bottle; listen to (mostly) awful baby songs and nursery rhymes and try to guess the correct names; the baby food taste & guess made a reprise - only this time Jason got to join in on the fun (hahahaha); and the grand-daddy of them all: melted candy bars in baby diapers... guess which candy bar it is by looking, smelling, and for some competitive types... tasting - right out of the diaper. I did ~not~ win this game. It's apparent my repertoire of candy bar experience is lacking.

Hostess Laura spent hours making & decorating a professional cake at her parent's bakery the night before... only to have it collapse on the drive home. Luckily, she was able to keep her sense of humour about it (not that she didn't go through the range of emotions), but she saw the perfection in it: the was a tier of three baby blocks... and what is the nature of baby blocks? You build them up and then (at some point) they fall down.

Click on the photo to see a bigger image the photo collage. Thank you so much Laura and Kim for hosting such a fun love-fest for us!

thank goodness it's Sunday

I had a rough night last night: acid reflux, which meant I had to try to sleep sitting up, on the couch. I wasn't very successful. Jason woke up with Oliver around 5am and after taking Ollie out to piddle and fed him, walked to the store to get me a bottle of Maalox. Then we sat on the couch and chatted for a while about the day ahead of us. This afternoon we are both looking forward to the baby shower being hosted by Laura and Kim. Jason has plans to finish stacking the firewood this morning, but first he did the dishes, changed the sheets on the bed, took the curtains down to wash and started a load of laundry. Yep... you don't have to tell me. I know it. I'm one lucky girl. :)

While he was down stairs doing laundry I felt I might actually be able to lay down without having to worry about the acid reflux. I slept for a few more blessed hours and went out to see how Jason was progressing on his wood stacking. He was nearly finished. Whew! That was a big job! I went in to do some nesting of my own: vacuum, sweep, clean for a bit. I made Jason a nice breakfast, then he took a shower and a much-deserved nap before we left for the baby shower, but not before a quick stop for some caffeinated lattes. :)

use the force, luke

Jason's parents (Karen & Joe) stopped by this evening so Jason could install the spare infant car seat and base into their car. When the police officer helped install the bigger car seat into my car, she mentioned that the nurses at the hospital's birthing center may want us to bring the car seat into the center to check to make sure the baby can breath okay in it. Isn't it amazing how billions and billions of humans have survived prior to these kinds of requirements?? It's not a "for sure, going to happen" request from the hospital, but the seat in my car is in so tight and so snug that I am simply unwilling to remove it. Jason had the brilliant thought that, since his parents will be at the birth center anyway, we'll put the infant car seat in their car (it's the kind you can unclick from the base and carry around), so if it's needed, we'll have one to take into the center.

After Jason got the base and car seat installed, we all went out for dinner at a place that serves yummy Mexican food. It was there that Joe announced his Baby Names of the Week to me: "Obi-Wan," he said, trying to suppress a smile. "Like... Obi-Wan Kendobi [of the Star Wars series]?" I asked. "Yep. Well that," Joe replied, "or Dice". "Dice," I repeated, becoming conscious that I was nodding my head, willing myself to comprehend... "like Andrew Dice Clay." We'll see what he comes up with next week. I've noticed Joe's getting more obscure in his suggestions... it's vexing him that he'll come up with a name he likes, only to hear it on the radio, tv, in conversations. Blast that Law of Attraction!

11-11-11

No, it's not the baby's date and time of birth and weight(!). Rather, it's the theme for today's baby shower bunch: 11th day, at the 11th hour, for 11 women. Hostesses Deborah and Claudia were so thoughtful and thorough in their decorations and planning - thank you so much! It was most enjoyable to be amongst my YaYa's and Spiritual Growth Circle again - a sweet reunion.

Brunch was delicious; the games were a hoot: a memory game (I didn't come close to winning); and the traditional (and often dreaded) baby food tasting game which elicited a few gags from two of the girls. I believe peas was the culprit of one; and some sort of squash got the best of the other. hehehe Personally, I didn't find any of it overly offensive. In the collage of photos, you may be able to see the look of repulsion on the faces of some of the girls. :)

Deborah baked a cake that was an effigy of me: brown hair with a big, round, white belly. She put out tubes of frosting colours for us to 'paint the belly'. The purple frosting dyed my tongue (there's a photo of that in the collage too).

Whew - I was pretty tired when I got home and took a nap. Tomorrow is the third and final baby shower, and it's co-ed. So far, the baby hasn't made any signs of leaving his quarters any time soon. :)

mmmmm....doughnuts

Jason e-mailed me this cartoon today... no doubt inspired by the fact that he was left one glazed doughnut out of a box of six. A box of six glazed doughnuts that I bought this week... and can I say he's lucky he got the last one?
I'm just waddling along... baby's still making big movements. Last night I think I had a couple of minor contractions that woke me up a bit, but did not keep me awake. I came home from work today and took a nap (Sara - we keep hearing REST is key at this time, and I'm all for it!). After I woke up, I watched the breastfeeding video Trish sent and was pleased to know how much I knew from being around so many nursing babies in the past. Yippie.

Heather sent a video on a baby crawling to the breast - most fascinating to see a newborn rooting her way to the mother's breast within 10 minutes being placed on her chest. Amazing instincts.

When Jason got home tonight, I showed him how to install the borrowed infant car seat (thank you Annie!) into his car then we went to dinner tonight at the Claim Jumper. While waiting for our happy hour appetizers to arrive, Jason mentioned he had his first 'baby dream' last night - but couldn't remember the content of it. Sweet.

Jason got our bags packed into the trunk (that's 'American' for 'boot' for you Brits out there), and made a list of what else we'll need to grab on our way to the birthing center.

I'm still planning on making the brunch baby shower tomorrow... we'll see what the lil guy is planning on. *grin*

There's a handful of folks sleeping with their phones in their rooms these nights... just waiting to hear from us. :) *smooches*

Love and Joy to you all!

"the show" has occurred

The new car seat arrived today - just in time I might add - as I had an appointment with a police officer to get it installed today. Heh! It's all about flow and timing, isn't it?

You may be wondering why I would have a police officer help me install the car seat. Statistically more than 80% of all car seats are improperly installed. The officer I had met with had to undergo 40 hours of training + on-going training. Let's see... I've had *counting* ... zero hours of training on the subject. The new seat perplexed the officer at first - she'd never installed the kind we have. But, we persisted, in the parking garage of the police department, and by golly - we got it! I'm looking more like a mom every day: a car seat in the car! (Like the tags, still on the car seat? Heh!)

After the seat was installed I dashed back to the office to use the bathroom. I believe it was my sister-in-law, Jacquie, who said, "when you're pregnant, you learn where the bathrooms are where ever you go... and then when you have a child, you learn where the bathrooms are where ever you go." Heh. I thought it would be good to "go" before the 20 minute commute home.

And that's where I got a surprise! The "show" happened. I won't go into details, you can look it up or ask - but it means labor, as Jason put it, "is imminent". And, according to one of the books we have: "The show may happen a few days before you go into labor, so wait until you start to feel regular contractions in your abdomen or back, or your water breaks, before calling your doctor."

After I called Jason, I called my Mom. She said, "I don't think we had mucus plugs back when I gave birth." Hahahaha! I think ~all~ my mom had to prepare for pregnancy AND labor was a single brochure. She asked if I had called the doctor. I said, "No. I called you!". She laughed at that.

Guess what Jason and I did tonight? We finished packing our bags; got the pre-admissions paperwork signed and completed; and packed ourselves a hefty "snack" bag. There are two baby showers scheduled for this weekend, so I e-mailed the hostesses with the news to be aware.

The baby's been moving a LOT tonight... my whole belly is on the move. I called Jason over so he could see. :) Our lil guy is sure getting strong.

Whew. Time for bed!

pink power!

After work today I went and got a pedicure for my puffy feet (are those really ~my~ feet??). I wanted a colour that would hopefully help inspire some whimsy-ness (I just made that word up) during the labor process. I went for pink pink - a colour I call "girl power". :)



The package of gDiapers arrived today - whoo hoo! 160 diapers all at our fingertips. Trish's video on breastfeeding arrived this week, and the car seat should arrive tomorrow. And... I'm nearly done with the pre-admission paper work! :)

I'm really enjoying all the baby name suggestions - thank you so much! A couple have caught my eye... yep, the ones that have "joy" as the meaning. :) Thank you and feel free to keep them coming.

Love and Joy!

i'm now at ...

This week starts my weekly visits to the OBGYN instead of every two weeks, or the prior every four weeks (or so). Jason has been anxious to hear my status... he's wanting to know if this baby's coming this week... or when!

The nurse asked if I wanted an exam today or wait until next week. I told her that my husband definitely wants the exam. She laughed at that.

The doctor said I am now dilated to a "two" and still effaced to 50%. Progress. She also said there is no way to determine when the baby will come, though like me, she's hoping he'll come earlier rather than later. My tummy-size 'measures' at 40 weeks, and I'm at 38 weeks.

I know it doesn't count towards anything... but I've been carrying around the hospital's pre-admission paper work for days... maybe I'm hoping it'll fill itself out.

Happy Tuesday!
Gigi

no... we don't have a name yet. :)

We got through our "birthing class" this weekend, offered via the hospital, without the lil guy making an entrance. :) We're definitely that "hurry up and wait" phase. Jason is busy getting things moved around the house and put in order. I teased him by saying he's the one with the "nesting" urge. He said, no... he's just feeling a wee bit overwhelmed by all there seems to do be done before our son arrives. It might have been a good time for us to take one of those deep breaths with the audible exhales we had learned about in our birthing class, but... maybe not. *grin* At any rate, I didn't think of it at the moment. Probably better that way. Heh.

We're pretty settled on a middle name... probably "Jaxon". Why? It's a name that Jason's Grandpa Bill called him... mainly, as the story goes, to irk Jason's Mom (and I get called ornery!). So - it's a name that brings fond memories and chuckles to Jason's family. And we like the spelling, it's unique; similar to Jason's name; and consensus is Grandpa Bill was ornery enough he would have spelled it that way.

That being said, we don't yet have a first name picked out. A few folks have had enough gumption to suggest names (like Grandpa-to-be Joe, Jason's step-dad... he comes up with at least two a week it seems). At the shower on Sunday, folks were invited to write suggestions for baby names on a posterboard. Below is a list from that, including names that have been suggested thus far.

Do you have a suggestion? If so, post it on this blog (as a comment)... we're digging what the community is coming up with!

(List updated 10/20/08)

O' Jaxon
Jackson Jaxon
Jannes Jaxon
Z'ev Jaxon
Jaydon Jaxon
Yale Jaxon
Andy Jaxon
Joshua Jaxon
Cutie Mc Cutie Pants Jaxon
Asher (Hebrew, meaning Happy) Jaxon
Tyce (Old French, meaning High-spirited) Jaxon
Kyran (Hindi, meaning beam of light) Jaxon
Jazlaan (Arabic, meaning joy) Jaxon
Bliss (English origin meaning joy; happy) Jaxon
Tayten (African-American origin, meaning beautiful joy) Jaxon
Sacha Jaxon
Jacob Jaxon
Eoin (Pronounced Owen) Jaxon
Matthew (Gift from God) Jaxon
Zaid (Egyptian meaning he shall add) Jaxon
Kaemon (Japanese meaning joyful) Jaxon
Benen (Irish meaning kind) Jaxon
Emerson Jaxon
Dice Jaxon
Obi-Wan Jaxon
Forest Jaxon
Mathew Jaxon
Finn Jaxon
Storm Jaxon
Kevin Jaxon
River Jaxon
Terry Jaxon
Brook Jaxon
Ty Jaxon
James Jaxon
Tucker Jaxon
Clifford Jaxon
Jerome Jaxon
Marston Jaxon
Narayan Jaxon
Darwin Jaxon
Astor Jaxon
Ramses (really?) Jaxon
Garth Jaxon
Jefferson Jaxon
Grayson Jaxon
William Jaxon
Gary Jaxon
Edward Jaxon
Yasper Jaxon
Alexander Jaxon
Ethan Jaxon
George Jaxon
Allen Jaxon
Evan Jaxon
Dakota Jaxon
Logan Jaxon

Not on the list (for good reason):
Michael Jaxon
Reggie Jaxon
Jesse Jaxon
Able Jaxon

cousin Trish said...

I talked to my Mom last night who said cousin Trish (who is a long-time nurse is ~the~ lactation specialist for the hospital where she works) was over the night before. Trish told Mom that since I was dilated to a one and 'effaced' at 50%, I would give birth within a week. I said to Mom, "No way!" And Mom said, "that's what I said!" Trish said definitely within two weeks.

I know I keep saying and thinking, "I hope he comes early" ... and hearing "one week" is still shocking. Heh!

Jason and I are beginning to scramble on this end, as you can imagine. Last night, Jason set up a temporary changing table and got the first loads of "newborn" clothes, blankets, etc. in the wash. Good thing the car seat and diapers were shipped yesterday. Our friend Annie offered her infant car seat - and we may just take her up on that. Thank you Annie! I still have yet to pack a bag for our upcoming stay... and still have the pre-admission paper work to fill out.

Tonight and most of tomorrow, we are scheduled to take the birthing class offered via the hospital. I'm looking forward to getting some questions about hospital procedures answered.

I think it's safe to say we're in a mode of "hurry up and wait." :)

car seat and gDiapers on order - whoo hoo!

We are ONE step closer to being ready for this little guy! Last night Jason ordered a car seat and a package of 160 gDiapers - both of which shipped today. Jason did his usual research-before-purchase (thank you!) including reading customer reviews and found this car seat to be most fitting for our needs. One of the things we like about it is the seat will grow with the child - meaning we won't have to keep buying another as our son grows from infant to toddler. Here's some of the features:

• Removable head rest-better installation rear facing
• Harnesses to go to 65 lbs, as preferred by Safety Advocates
• Larger inside dimensions of seat to better fit your child as they grow- lower center of gravity allows for a deeper, taller and wider seating area without making the seat bigger on the outside
• "Easy Off" pad makes washing and keeping clean easy
• No-rethreading harnesses, adjust the harness height without having to uninstall harness strap; adjustable crotch strap

Yesterday morning, I brought my lil suitcase up from storage to pack for the hospital, and last night I sorted all the "newborn" clothes and blankets (and such) to be laundered. We are slowly getting there. My friend Pam said she got a kick out of reading the blog when I mentioned another friend saying her baby came early. Pam said all three of her babies were three weeks early. Wow!

I've got my swollen feet propped up after being at work all day and now the baby's on the move... doing his daily exercises, which at the moment includes pressing on my bladder, so I will sign off now. :)

*hugs*