Finnegan Todd is here!

Finnegan Todd Stephan has arrived!

He was born on May 12, 2009 at 2:08 p.m.

He weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces and is 21 inches long.

And as we knew he would, he fits into our family like a missing puzzle piece or as Braeden likes to say, he is the fourth pea in our family pod.

Thank you to all of the blessings and prayers and well wishes we have gotten from family and friends everywhere. It's wonderful to see how loved Finn is already.

He's practicing or teasing

I don't know if I have a little jokester on my hands or what, but I spent all of Mother's Day in pain. The contractions lasted about 2 minutes each but only came every 10 to 15 minutes. It happened all day long.

Don't get me wrong, I did have a lovely Mother's Day. Brian and Braeden made sure I was well taken care of. They made me breakfast which was yummy. And then Brian made spaghetti for dinner. I didn't have to do much of anything. It was a painful, yet relaxed, day.

Today I'm hoping to hear that some sort of progress towards labor has been made. The appointment is just before noon.

38 Week Appointment

I had my 38 week appointment a little bit late, it was this morning. I had been hoping to hear that things are progressing and that my body is preparing itself for labor soon. But no. Nothing has changed in terms of what's going on inside. Bah.

I know I have 2 weeks left until my due date and in all honestly I truly just want the baby to be healthy and happy so whatever he needs I am more than happy to oblige. But I'm definitely selfishly ready to be done with this whole pregnancy thing. I am so uncomfortable and in such pain sometimes, it's just not cool.

But who knows. Braeden was early and perhaps this babe would like to be late. It's really all up to him.

That's all I've got for you on this rainy Monday.

Peace out.

Genius in the making

I found this article interesting since I threw up every day all throughout the day for the first four to five months of this pregnancy.

"Children born to mothers who have morning sickness may be smarter than those whose moms don't have nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, suggests a new study.

Researchers found that the children of mothers with morning sickness scored higher on tests designed to assess children's IQ and mental acuity, the Canadian Press reported.

But while this difference was statistically significant, it doesn't mean that children born to mothers who didn't have nausea during pregnancy are developmentally slow, said senior author Dr. Gideon Koren, director of the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. It's just that the other children scored higher on the tests.

The study appears in the Journal of Pediatrics."

HA! Another genius in the making.

In other news, I'm craving radishes. Intensely. We're talking eating whole bowls full of radishes in one sitting without salt or dressing or anything. I'll be working and suddenly find myself thinking about radishes. Likewise with the radishes I am craving ice. I crush up ice in the blender, fill a glass with it and spoon feed the delicious ice bits to myself. Seriously, radishes and ice and I'm a happy girl.

Baby is moving around less, most likely because there can't feasibly be anymore space in there. My stomach is sticking out so far, it truly is a wonder I am not toppling over.

As I'm approaching nearer to the due date I am definitely feeling more stressed and emotional. I'm sure my allergies making me miserable is not helping with this, plus the millions of other shtuffs hitting the fan these days. But all in all I am hanging in there. I'm big, I'm swollen and I'm peeing every hour, but at least I'm hanging in there which means our babe is getting stronger and stronger. And soon he'll be here making our loves so much more full and happy. Brian, Braeden and I are just so excited!

Right on schedule

This morning at my (now weekly) baby appointment I was told that our baby is right on target. I am maintaining weight which shocked me considering I look like I have elephant legs now (seriously, no ankles).

My blood pressure was high but nothing alarming. And so all is well on the baby front. I still feel him moving a lot so I know he isn't ready to be born. We have 21 more days until the due date but most people, myself included, feel I'll have him early. Not too early mind you, just early. Although in terms of time off from work I'd rather I go on my due date which would make it able for me to not have to worry about the third week in July when my Mom's daycare is closed.

Whatever is to be will be. As long as he is born healthy and the labor is better than my last experience I will be happy.

25 days to go

Now that my due date is less than a month away I'm getting very anxious. I'm ready. I ready to hold him in my arms and not in my uterus. It's a long time being pregnant. I want to see his sweet little face and tell him I love him without him having to hear it through his watery cocoon.

My appointment last week was fine. They checked to make sure he is in position, head down and he is. And now start the weekly appointments. My next one will be this coming Friday.

I'm getting as much reading, gaming and cleaning in that I can. I should be getting more sleep, but that's just not possible when you're this big and have to pee all the time.

My friend Tommy and his wife had their little boy on Friday. His name is Thomas Emery Watts, III, he weighs 8lbs 6oz and is 22" long. I am thrilled for them and their family. This is their first child and I know they will both be wonderful parents.

Predictions

On Friday of last week I had a check up and pretty much everything went well. My blood pressure was actually lower than two weeks prior which shocked the heck out of me; in a good way of course.

I did gain 3 pounds which as inevitable as it may be I still wish weren't happening. And I do have pitting edema. Which means I'm retaining a significant amount of water and if you push down on my legs it leaves a pit for a few minutes. Not comfortable, but tolerable.

Next appointment is in about two weeks and they'll be doing a bit more of an invasive check up. Bleck. But it just means we're getting closer and closer.

Hayden's Mom, Yvonne, had a dream that baby was born two weeks early and all was well. She has dreams which come true often and in fact are so real it is like deja vu when the event really does take place. So there's a prediction for you.

My biggest worry is for the babes health. With Braeden's health issues I am nervous and I know I have no control over it and so worrying is fruitless, but what can I do. It doesn't help that I am testing positive for Group B strep. 1 or 2 babes in ever 200 babes can get an infection from that bacteria. If they do get an infection the signs are normally seen within 24 hours, but there is a mandatory 48 hours stay if you have tested positive. It also means they want to hook you up to an IV for an antibiotic drip at least four hours before delivery. Needless to say this does not make me worry less. But what can I do...nothing. I must say feeling helpless in terms of taking care of people you love is the very worst feeling ever.

I wish someone could tell me everything is going to be fine and that I would be able to believe them.