COLE is here ! ! !

Proud Papa

Minutes after delivery

God is so good. Right after I sent the last post, Leigh Ann's nurse checked again and she was progressing to an 8 and Cole had began to turn. The nurse then decided to prep the room for Cole's delivery. The doctor came in at 4:30 to check Leigh Ann and she was at a 10! We were ready to have a baby. Leigh Ann then began pushing right after 4:30 with the nurse. The doctor showed up and Cole was born within 2 or 3 minutes.

Cole was born at 5:00 PM.

weight: 7 lbs 13 oz
length: 20 inches

Labor Update #3

At 2:00 pm Leigh Ann had progressed to 6 1/2 cm, but Cole was face up. The doctor checked again around 3:30 pm and Leigh Ann had not progressed and Cole still had not turned face down.

We are waiting for the doctor to come back and check around 4:30 pm. If Cole does not turn or there is no progression a c-section will be very likely.

Anyone reading this please pray that Cole will turn so a c-section will not be needed.

Update #2

After Leigh Ann started the pitocin the contractions began but she didn't really feel them. Once her water was broken the pain got worse quickly, so she called for the epidural.

She is feeling good after the epidural and the doctor said everything is progressing nicely.

Right now she is 80% effaced and 4 cm.

We are having a July baby 4 sure!

Hey everyone! Count them with me now, only 4 days until Cole's big debut! I can't believe it! That is so crazy. We went to the doctor this morning for my weekly visit, she said I was 70% effaced and 1cm dilated and then she said, "so, do you want to have your baby next week?" I didn't understand, I was thinking what do you mean??? So after having several questions answered, we decided to induce on Monday the 21st. Then we left her office and were about to get on the elevator and I said, "Oh, that is only like 4 days from now!" Wow. I have been going on Thursdays for my visits but my weeks in pregnancy world start on Tuesdays, so I guess I was thinking I had a week. Nope! Wow. I am still in shock but so excited! Now my parents can be here (they live in Tulsa so it would take awhile since they drive) and I know how much they wanted to be here. Brent's parents can plan to come and with Allen's work planning is important. It is not a drop and go type of thing. So this is great!

She said it would be an all day process, but I am hoping not. We would love to have visitors, but first we just want some time with just us, our parents, and siblings. If all goes well and quickly, then we should be ready for visitors on Tuesday. We will follow-up with you about the process, post pictures, and let you know our room number (through email, since I don't want to disclose that on the WWW).

Also, just for fun...I know you know the date, unless Cole wants to come even earlier, but still put in your guesses for his weight and length! See 2 posts down.

18 days: Tell us your prediction!

We have 18 days until my scheduled due date. I can't believe it! It is so soon yet feels so far away. We are both so excited to meet this little boy face to face, but apparently he is not ready yet. I went to the doctor on Thursday and nothing is happening as far my body progressing towards birthing this child. I was hoping differently but all in good time. I am trying to get things going though, tonight is bowling with the girls in my Sunday school class. Hey, it put Larra into labor, but she was already contracting. Maybe it will just begin the contractions for me??

I am now officially finished working at Ridgway's and am enjoying my time at home. It was hard to leave and feel okay about it, since my replacement was not there yet, but it will all work out. I did everything I could to prepare her when she returns. It is thrilling to know that I will not have to go back after Cole is born and that I will have the opportunity to stay at home with him to love and train him; exciting times are ahead and many learning experiences I am sure.

Here is the latest belly shot update:

(37 weeks, 2 days)

I had the suggestion from Brent's parents to put a poll on when Cole would be born, how much he will weigh, and how long he will be. So what do you think?? Here are the predictions Allen and Dena submitted, submit yours in the comments section. Let's see who is the closest!

Mimi: 7/22, 7 lbs 10 oz, 21 inches (Dena, Brent's mom)

Papa: 7/29, 8 lbs 3 oz, 21 inches (Allen, Brent's dad)

Leigh Ann's: 7/27, 7lbs 3oz, 22 inches

Brent's: 7/30, 8lbs 2oz, 20.5 inches

30 Weeks Down...10 More To Go!

30 Week Update:

I am officially in my 3rd and final trimester now, well for a few weeks now. It has passed so quickly it is unreal. Cole is so much more active then my last post which is very exciting and sometimes a little painful, but it is totally WORTH IT! I am looking forward to the day to meet him face to face and I know Brent is as well.

My last appointment at the doctor was yesterday. Just a regular appointment of weighing and measuring. I am going every 2 weeks now and then at 36 weeks I believe I start going every week. I have had a few dizzy spells over the last few weeks and headaches so I told my doctor about all that and she wants me to change my diet in the morning as far as what I am eating for breakfast since they mainly happened in those early hours. Hopefully, that will help, but if not then I will talk to her again about it.

Growing Up with Pets

(this is us with Maci last October)

If you don't know, then we have a dog and her name is Maci. She is a great friend to have around and very playful, but we are trying to get her familiar with the idea of her not being our only "child" anymore. I know this may sound silly but it is very serious. For the most part, she is a very well-behaved dog, perfectly house-trained, until she decided to not like me anymore. That was about a month ago now. She started acting out in the house while we were gone. And not just once, but more like 6 times! We thought something was wrong with her because it was so out of character. I did for about a second think "maybe she is acting out because I am pregnant" but I quickly thought it couldn't be that, surely. Well we took her the vet and had some bloodwork done and everything came back perfectly fine. I mentioned my thought to the vet and he said that dogs can sense the hormonal changes and possibly hear the baby's heartbeat and be reacting to it all. Wow! That's crazy but so what had to be happening. Brent and I decided that I would have to pay more attention then I normally did to her and let her relax more with me on the couch more. So I have and she was still standoffish for awhile but has been slowly warming back up to me. I am glad. It was kinda sad not to have my dog not like me anymore. I expected it to be an adjustment when Cole "actually" came home with us but now, already, I was not ready for that, but am glad she is doing better. Check this web site out:

http://www.growingupwithpets.com/

Belly Shot Update

Me at 30 weeks exactly. I feel like I am growing everyday now!

Cole's Room Update

Cole's crib with his bedding...I think I am supposed to turn the bumper the other way. Does anyone know for sure?? And the curtains are up too!

Cole's bookshelf with lots of little things already on it. I am in Tulsa for the weekend right now and am going to bring home some of my books from my childhood that I think Cole will enjoy.

24th Week Update

Just wanted to give you a short update about what we have been doing and what is happening with Cole. We had our last appointment this past Friday afternoon. I have not been feeling Cole move around too much or like everyone said I "should be" but the doctor said that is nothing to worry about that it is still early to be feeling him all the time or even everyday.

We had an exciting moment this morning: Brent felt him for the first time! So his movements are getting a little stronger if he can feel him. He went to his first Astros game today and we had a few loud people around us and the general noise from the game so he was kicking me alot. It is so funny to me that he can already react to noise like that.

We have been working on his room some more last weekend and this weekend, so below are the latest updates. We are almost finished. I still have not completely decided what we are going to do above his crib and bookshelf yet, so that is still to come.

His bedding (it's construction trucks)

(notice the lamp shade here)

Remodeling Take 2

We have been really busy around our house this last month. We are spending our time preparing our home for Cole. There are lots of projects we want to do, but we had to sit down one night and decide which were top priority before his big arrival in July. I have included lots of pictures in this post so everyone can see what we have been up to, mostly in slide shows. I included one for each major project.

First, here is my latest belly shot. I am at 22 weeks and 3 days today. I am feeling well for the most part. Some nights I wish for a little more sleep but I guess you can look at it as I am being prepared for less sleep in the future? I like a lot of sleep so preparing me for less is probably a good thing. :)



By request (from awhile ago, sorry Cliff), here is the finished product in our master bath for the time being. We would LOVE glass doors, but glass is pricey and other projects needed to be finished first. So for now, we just have a regular shower curtain. Click here to see the master bath remodel complete slide show.

The three main projects we have finished over the last month include the guest bath, replacing the carpet, and Cole's room. When we bought this house we knew it was going to need alot of work, so slowly and we had some extra cash, we have been doing these projects.

The guest bath was an easy one to complete. We had tile left over from the master bath, enough and some to complete the guest bathroom and all the materials that were needed for tiling, so no expense there. We have a wet saw, but with all the work done in the master it required a new blade, we replaced the trim board (some of which was left over from the master), and replaced the old toilet. There were sliding doors on the tub which we took down for the baby and just in general they were dangerous. I won't mention some of the injuries that happened but they needed to come down. When we were looking for a curtain for the master at Ross, I ended up not finding one for that bathroom but the guest bath instead! That was super! It was striped which I love and pulled in all my existing colors in the bathroom. Perfect!

The new carpet was a must and one of the only projects so far we have not completed ourselves or with help from our family. We decided to have this one done for us. We just got it yesterday and it is beautiful!! I love it! Brent picked it out and it is perfect and it fit our budget! If you have not been to our house before, then you will see in the pictures and one of the reasons it needed replacing. It was old, green, and nasty. The second and more important reason to us, (I mean green was a HUGE reason) but we bought the house from smokers. We have done a lot over the last 2 years to remove the smell, but removing all of the flooring will help even more. I don't really smell it anymore, but if we have been out of town for awhile or when there was carpet in our bathroom/closets we could really smell it in our clothes. We did not want to bring Cole into that. It is not good for our health but more so his, and he will be crawling around on the carpet way more then we will be or did until he arrives.

On to Cole's room! This was a two weekend and week between kind of project that was just for the walls! While Brent laid the tile, I started taking all the wallpaper/"hairy" material off the walls. It looked like the stuff on cubicle walls to me. Fine for an office, not for Cole's room, but also another thing that would hold in smoke. This material was in almost every room in the house when we bought it and this was the last room we had to complete and the only room out of all of them that we did not have to TEXTURE! What a blessing! We have gotten pretty good at the texturing business, but it was awesome not having to do that step too. We wanted to get all the messy work complete before the carpet came in so we could make a mess and not worry about it, because stripping wallpaper is a dirty job. Then when Brent was finished tiling, we switched projects. He started peeling the paper backing and I started painting the guest bath. I finished that up and went back to Cole's room. There are so many steps to take to get the walls ready to paint: tearing down the wallpaper, peeling the backing, scrubbing off the glue, washing with vinegar, and then finally priming. The vinegar was for the smoke, a tip I picked up from Larra's mom, Tina. My parents came for Easter weekend and help us alot with the priming and painting. My dad primed early Friday morning and painted all the trim for me. He did not want me on the ladder and the fumes from the primer were too much for me to take in. He also knows how particular I am so he worked very hard at getting the edges just perfect for me. It looks great dad, thank you! We definitely have more work to do in Cole's room and updates will come but the walls were the major project that needed to be conquered before he join us at home. We will keep you updated on the progress of his room and post new pictures.

(If you scroll over the pictures, then it should show the caption.)

The Guest Bath:

New Carpet:

Cole's Room Remodel:

"RC" is growing and so I am...

(18 weeks and 5 days)


Not much to update. We go back to the doctor on the 17th and find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We are so excited to know and finally be able to call our baby by his or her name. I really have no idea at this point what we are having. I had one of those dreams in the very beginning that you don't really remember all the details and we were having a girl. But about 2 weeks or so ago, I had another dream and it was one I do remember and it was so real. It was about our next appointment and we were having our ultrasound and it was a boy and his name was used in the dream. WOW. I really don't know what to think about that, so I am just waiting and will be happy and thankful either way.

We did lots of shopping this weekend. We are trying to get things around our house that need to be done before the baby comes and we weren't planning on getting this yesterday, but we bought the baby's crib!! I am so excited!! I made a budget last week about all the things we were going to be doing and everything we did yesterday came in UNDER budget! God is so good to provide our needs.

New Poll

Okay, I put a new poll up below...please leave your vote in the comments too. Thanks! Sorry for all the confusion. :)

let the voting begin!

Well, I had a cool poll up here but I did something and messed it up...oops. I still want you to comment and vote if you think we are having a boy or a girl.

We will know MARCH 17th!!

15 weeks: my belly is growing...

(15 weeks)

Wow. I can't believe I am 15 weeks. Part of me thinks this is passing quickly and another part of me wants time to move more quickly so we will know what we are having and meet the little one. I know, I need to be patient. :) Not a strong suit of mine.

I am feeling much better these days. I have not been taking my meds for 2 weeks now and I am still FUNCTIONING! Praise the Lord for that!! I am still very tired so I go to bed early most nights. It is 9pm right now and that is late for me. haha.

We go to the doctor next week on the 14th. I believe they will just take some blood and run some routine tests to check me and the baby for a few things, so be praying that goes well and our little one is growing strong in there.

Not much else to report today...

YAY! For heartbeats!!

Yay! We heard our baby's heartbeat today! It was a quick appointment and we did not have any pictures taken to share but the doctor was pleased with what she heard. To me, it sounds like the ocean in there. haha. But I am so thankful that our baby is doing well.

I do not have another belly shot to show either, basically because I have not changed much. I have only gain a pound and a half since the end of November. But I am eating and eating every few hours, just not as much each time, so no worries.

Our next appointment is on Valentine's Day and blood work will be taken to check the baby for a few things. I thought we would find out what we are having at our February appointment but we will not, maybe the next one. I can't wait!! I want to know so bad, so I will be able to call this baby by its name.

we SAW the heartbeat yesterday!

It was still a little to early to actually hear the heartbeat yesterday but we definitely could see it! It was so neat to see our baby and he/she is growing with each visit. The doctor said we are right on target. My official due date is July 29th, right in the middle of mine and Brent's birthdays! How fun!

Here are a couple pictures from our visits:

(5.5 weeks, above)

(7 weeks, above)
This is the appointment when we saw the heartbeat. We go back in January, when I am about 12 weeks, and the doctor said we will definitely hear it at that visit.

(6 weeks)
My first belly shot. Not much baby to show off yet, just a little of me...

Our family is growing and God is so good!

Hi Everyone! Some of you this will be a surprise and others of you know this story but we wanted to share the recent happenings in our lives.

God is still healing, working miracles, and showing us everyday that it is His timing and not our own. In January, after about a year and 4 months on various birth controls, Brent and I decided to stop taking it because it was affecting my body too much and not in a good way. Since then, I have been very irregular which made it difficult to start a family. About 6 months ago, we decided that we wanted to start a family and when you decide that you want it now. Well that did not happen. I don't like going to the doctor, especially that kind of doctor, so I avoided it. Finally, it was time for my annual exam and a friend (Ali) suggested that I get my hormone levels check through blood work while I was there to make sure everything was where it should be. So I went to the doctor, told her we were trying, explained about my cycles, and had blood taken. She wanted to see me again in 3 weeks, which was today.

Last Monday (the 12th), the nurse called and said my results were in. Some of them were expected/routine, but some of them were heartbreaking. First, the minor one. The nurse told me that I was not immune to Rubella and that I would have to get that shot and take birth control for three months and NOT get pregnant. Who wants to hear that when they want a baby so badly? Not me.

Second. The crushing news. She told me that I had signs of PCOS, which is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. That means that my ovaries are overactive and produce a lot of small eggs that would not develop into a pregnancy, but would be easily corrected with medication (fertility drugs). That hurt. I cried alot and encouraged alot by friends. There was hope and nothing is impossible with God. I know that but wow, that was so hard to hear. To hear that I might not be able to have babies or that it would be difficult. The only thing I have ever truly wanted to do in life was be a wife and mom and that was slipping away.

http://www.thefertilesoul.com/Diagnosis/PCOS/

Well, towards the end of last week, I was waiting for my cycle to start because it was unlikely that I would be pregnant, but I still had a strange hope that I would be. I prayed. Friends prayed. Family prayed. I just kept reminding myself and praying that God is bigger then me, then a doctor, then medicine, then anything. He can do all things. Heal all things, make then even disappear.

Saturday morning my period still had not came so I took a pregnancy test and it was...

POSITIVE!!!

OH! I couldn't believe it! It was 6 AM when I tested on a Saturday morning, so when I went to wake Brent he was not too thrilled (at that point he didn't know I just tested...) but when he realized what was going on he was just as thrilled as I was. I didn't know what to feel. I wanted to scream and cry all at the same time which was a little confusing for B, but girls are a little more emotional, that's just how we are wired I guess. It was so perfect too because my parents were in town and Brent's parents too and I always hoped we would be able to tell them both in person and maybe even at the same time. God is so good to give us the desires of our hearts.

Today was my second appointment with the doctor. She thought I was there to talk about fertility and I was there to confirm being pregnant. It was great. When she started asking me about how my cycles usually are I said, "Well my last one was on October 15th, so Saturday I took a test and it was positive." She did a double take and said, "Positive, like positive as in your pregnant??!!" She wanted to do an ultrasound right then and see what was there. It was awesome! I am only 5 weeks and 1 day so there is only a tiny black spot, but it is in the uterus and the lining looked good she said, so I am now going back in 10 days to hopefully see more and hear the heartbeat for the first time!! How exciting is that! She also had me do another urine test just to be sure and all things were good to go. Sorry for all the details but this is so exciting and so good I had to share!

Brent and I want this blog to be a way to connect with our friends and family, so that they know all the happenings in our lives, more so what is happening with our baby. We plan to post updates throughout the pregnancy and throughout our baby's life, so if you live near or far, you can comment and keep in touch!

We love all of you and thank you all for praying for us during this time as our family grows. Please keep us in your prayers throughout the pregnancy but more specifically through the first trimester, since that is the most sensitive time.

Love you all,
Brent and Leigh Ann