Some recent shots of Sophia

Great news...about Sophia

When I got home from the grocery store this evening I was pleasantly surprised with Sophia's brand new skill....creeping/crawling.

She's been testing the water on her belly for a while but has been more interested in standing and walking rather than crawling. Well tonight she was able to get up on her knees and pull herself along with her elbows and kick off with her feet. She cruised across the floor. We were so proud of her and so was she.

Her motivation was to play with the toy bone that Sadie was happily chewing. She got the bone. See a video.

She's 1/2 a year old already

Holy cow. Time really does fly, but considering that my wonderful husband got me a laptop for my birthday, I'm hoping to stay more connected and to update Sophia's blog more frequently than I have been.

With that said...she turned 6 months old yesterday. It's hard to believe how quickly the first 6 months have gone. Her progress is HUGE every day. It amazes me how much she develops overnight. I'm happy to report the following milestone updates:

MOBILITY: Sophia can roll from her back to her belly...going in the left direction no problem. Just today (11/15) she rolled to the right side - by accident. Rolling from the front to the back hasn't happened yet, but it's coming. She's just now tolerating being on her belly at all.

SPEECH: Sophie loves to hear the sound of her own voice. She squeals in delight at Sadie. Whenever Will and I are talking in the car and she's alone in the back seat, she strikes up a conversation with herself and chatters away

FOOD: So far she loves squash, peas, carrots and sweet potatoes. Grean bean fall into the YUCK category. Bananas are new to the menu this week and so far so good. Next week we're going to start pears.

SITTING: Sophia can sit all by herself already. I'm not saying that she doesn't fall over too, but she can definitely sit up on her own.

Favorite Toys: Daddy's glasses and hats. Mommy's hair.

Isn't she adorable?

Exploring the world of solid foods

Sophie is eating solids now. Well, she's been eating rice cereal for the last 7 nights before bed. Whoever said that solids will help a baby sleep through the night must have been crazy. It hasn't helped us one bit. Sophia goes to bed anytime between 6:30 and 8 depending on how tired she is and how long its been since her last nap. Sometimes she has a midnight snack when mommy is going to bed. Other nights she can wait until 1 or 2AM for something to eat. Then she'll get up for another snack between 3 and 5AM. She's awake each day like clockwork at 7:30 and can usually entertain herself until 7:45 and then she gets fussy. Yes, mom is tired!

Tonight we added sweet potatoes to the menu and after a few "yucky" faces she didn't seem to mind them too much. Maybe baby food solid food will help her to sleep through the night. We'll see. Sophia's doctor recommended introducing solids in this order: veggies, fruits then meats.

Phew, time flies...

It's been 2 months since my last post. (Gee that sounded like a 'confession')

Sophie turned 3 months old yesterday and is truly the light of my life. She is so happy and smiley. She melts my heart every single time she smiles - still! Check out some of these photos.

More to come about Sophia and the rest of us, but first...the pictures:

Sophia turns 1 month

You are 1 month old! You've been sleeping through the night anywhere between 3 and 5 hours. You love tummy time. You also really enjoy taking walks and just going outsideto get some fresh air.

It's hard to believe that a month has gone by already. You are getting so big. Tuesday you weighed 10 pounds 15 ounces. So I'm thinking that today you probably weigh 11 whole pounds.

I was very proud of you yesterday when you got a bath. You usually cry your eyes out during the entire bath, but yesterday you only screamed bloody murder when you got your hair washed.

3 weeks old today

Sophia is certainly a handful. She's got a mind of her own and doesn't seem to like to follow a schedule just yet. Some days she'll sleep for 4 hours straight without waking up to eat and other days she wants to eat every 45 minutes. This doesn't allow for mom to get much sleep. :-)

She's just a darling little girl. We're having so much fun with her so far. She's been out to eat three times. She went to her first BBQ at our neighbor's house on Friday night. She's been outside for countless walks.

She hates getting a bath and just to prove her point she cries (I mean wails) the entire time. She cannot fall asleep unless she's being held. She loves to bounce on Will's knee. She loves sleeping on her stomach while being held.

Meet Sophia Amber Alexander, our little angel

Sophia was born at 11:27 PM on May 14. A truly awesome Mother's Day present.

Weight: 8 lbs 13 oz
Length: 21 in
Apgar Score: 9/9
Hair: Full head of dark brown hair
Eyes: Blue for now
Digits: 10 fingers and 10 toes. Her second toe is longer than the big toe. Her ring finger is longer than her index finger.
Interests include: sleeping and eating. Will is certain she likes quantum mechanics and Linux and dogs.

A future Nobel Prize Winner according to Dad.

We're on our way to the hospital

My water broke shortly after midnight. I'm still not contracting, but at least the process has started. :) Yea!!!!

Will got about an hour of sleep. I couldn't. Every time I shut my eyes my mind started racing.

So, it seems like Sophia will be born on Mother's Day. What a wonderful present. :)

Stay tuned.

4 days overdue

hmmm.....at this point I'm beginning to think that I'm never going to go into labor. I'm open to all tips at this time. If you have a secret weapon to start labor, let me know. I've been eating a ton of fresh pineapple. I heard that helps, but no luck yet.

We're taking Sadie to the K-9 Carnival today at the dog park and I'm hoping that I will run into our birthing class instructor since I've seen her there before. I want to see if she has any tips for me.

Since tonight there is a full moon, Will is predicting today will be the day. Maybe I'll get lucky!

Update on mom and baby! 3 days overdue now

I had my doctor appointment yesterday. Surprise surprise - I have made no additional progress. I'm still 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My blood pressure was borderline high and there was a trace of protein in my urine. Those 2 things coupled with the excessive swelling that I have could be leading to toxemia which means that the baby's oxygen supply can become compromised. The doc did not officially diagnose toxemia, but said that I could be developing it.

The doc did a non-stress test on Sophia by having me lay down for about 30 minutes and they monitored her heartrate, movement and the contractions that my uterus had. Everything checked out ok. Movements were great and Sophia's heartrate was between 145 and 175 the entire time (which is fantastic). :) I was slightly scared because the doc said that if the test didn't turn out ok she was going to send me straight to the hospital to be induced. As it turns out I got to come home to a nice surprise. Will came home early because he hadn't heard from me after my doc appointment. He basically put me on "rest" for the rest of the day.

As it turns out - I have to go back to the doctor on Monday afternoon to be checked again and the induction has been scheduled for Wednesday of next week. So, if Sophia doesn't arrive before Wednesday, we'll be going to the hospital at 7:00 AM. In the meantime, I have to watch out for blurred vision, headaches, difficulty breathing and sudden swelling in my hands and face. If any of these symptoms occur then we're supposed to go call the doc and go right away to be checked. Unfortunately, I KNEW this was coming because I've been swelling for a month and my blood pressure has been getting slightly more elevated each time I've gone to the doc in the last month (but it was never in the danger zone until yesterday). It's so amazing to me that it took the OBs sooo long to come to the same conclusion.

Regardless....the baby is definitely considered full term and I carried her to full term without the toxemia problem. Now, when is this little girl going to arrive?????

May 11th

Today is May 11th. We're 2 days past our due date. Mike, Will's brother, put all his money on today as Sophia's birthday. Considering that I just took Sadie for a walk and am about to head out to a doctor appointment, I don't think Mike hit the jackpot.

However, the day is not over and hopefully I'll go into labor today.

Here are the other predictions on her birthday:
May 12th - Grancy (Will's mom)
May 13,14,15 - My mom
May 13 (Because it's a full moon) - Will
Last weekend (Totally convinced) - Me
Yesterday (Kind of convinced) - Me
Today (Hopeful)- Me
Tomorrow (Praying) - Me
May 17 (The day I will pick to be induced if I get to choose) - Me

Sophia is a day late

This morning I was thinking that now Sophia will have a double-digit birthday. Oh well. Her mom and dad both have double-digit days too.

Here are some pictures of her nursery. Now we just need a baby to put in it. :)

Well, today is/was my due date

It's no wonder they call them estimated due dates. :) Baby Sophia is moving and kicking, but doesn't want to come out and meet us yet. I'm now thinking she'll arrive on Friday the 12th. We'll see. Stay tuned for the big announcement that she's coming!

Just for the record - I was 11 days late and Will was 3 weeks early.

Due date is tomorrow

Tomorrow is our due date. At this point I'm thinking it will pass without even a contraction. It's true that I have been having more and more Braxton Hicks contractions (mostly in the evenings after dinner), but they are not consistent nor regular.

I really believed that I would go into labor this past weekend. Deep down I had "that" feeling. I guess it must have been something else... I had the same feeling when we found out that I was pregnant. Deep down I just knew we would be having a girl and that turned out to be true...at least I hope so because if not we'll have the prettiest little boy in town dressed all in pink and purple.

Only 5% of women actually deliver on their due date. I'm willing to stick it out as long as it takes for Sophia to arrive naturally. At this point, I really don't want to consider an induction. I go to see the doctor again on Thursday so we'll see what they say. I know that I'll have to be induced if I still haven't delivered by the 19th. That day seems like next month to me at this point!

4 days until my due date

It's Friday...only 4 days until my due date and when I went to the doctor yesterday, I learned that I am STILL only 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. That's 2 full weeks without progress... So much for really hoping she would arrive early. At this point, I'm beginning to think that baby Sophia is hibernating! My next appointment is going to be Thursday of next week - 2 days after my due date. Hopefully I won't get to keep the appointment. :-)

My hands and feet are completely swollen and the doctor said there is really nothing I can do about it. My right hand is still numb and almost to the point where I can't use it. I had a hard time gripping onto the coffee pot this morning to pour coffee. EEK!

Overall, I've had a completely normal and very nice pregnancy. It's only been in the last 3 weeks that I've been uncomfortable so I really should not be complaining. Even Will commented that I will never be able to say to Sophia "I carried you around for 9 months" and use that against her. He said at most I'll only be able to say 1 month. hehehe It's crazy how much my belly skin is has stretched, when I look in the mirror I can see blue veins everywhere. Luckily I've avoided stretch marks, but I've slathered on tons cocoa butter cream for preventative measures.

It's finally May!

Today I flipped all of my calendars to the month of May. It made me smile to see that on each calendar I had marked May 9th as the baby's due date complete with stars and smiley faces. It's just around the corner now. Only 8 days away.

We're also half way through a gallon of milk that has a "sell by" expiration date of May 9th.

Some fun facts about the Month of May:

• Emerald = Birthstone of May


• Holidays = Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day


• Flower = Lily-of-the-Valley and Hawthorne


• Taurus (the Bull) = April 21 - May 21. Traditional
  Taurus Traits Are: Patient and reliable, Warmhearted and loving, Persistent and determined, Placid and security loving
  On the dark side....Jealous and possessive, Resentful and inflexible, Self-indulgent and greedy


• May is:
  Better Sleep Month
  Date Your Mate Month
  Healthy Baby Month
  Military Appreciation Month
  Physical Fitness and Sports Month
  Teach Appreciation Month
  Tennis Month
  National Asparagus Month
  National Barbeque Month
  National Egg Month
  National Gay Pride Month
  National Hamburger Month
  National Salad Month
  National Strawberry Month
  

11 days until the due date

I had another doc appointment yesterday. There was no change in my progress. I'm still 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I was really hoping that she would tell me that I was 4 cm dilated and wouldn't make it until next week. hee hee

I go again next week on Thursday and then I will go again the following Tuesday (on my due date). The doc told me that if I haven't delivered by then that we will pick a date to schedule induction. Personally, I want to wait it out as long as possible without having to be induced. I've heard that the contractions are much worse when the mom is induced. But, I guess if I DO have to get induced then I will get to select the day and the doctor that I want to do the delivery. That's the only plus side to it in my mind.

According to the baby websites that I visit, Sophia probably weighs 7 pounds at this point. I'm anxious to see how big she really is when she's born.

We took the hospital tour

Last night Will and I took the official hosptial tour. Our hospital, Virginia Beach General is about 20 minutes from our house.

The tour lasted an hour. We saw the labor and delivery room and then got to see a private and a semi-private recovery room. We learned that each month the hospital delivers about 350 babies - so that's about 10 babies per day. I didn't realize there were so many other pregnant women around. :)

There was a newborn (literally only a few hours old) in the nursery and she was precious.

Will installed the infant car seat in my Explorer yesterday so I'd say we can have this baby any day now! And, boy I'm ready!

Her movements have slowed down a bit, but she hasn't let me forget that she's in there. 15 days to go!

Kankles - nobody mentioned those

I've been waking up several times every night for the past 5 days with a numb right hand and it's been driving me crazy. At most I'm getting 4-5 hours of decent sleep each night.

The first two night I woke up in the morning with a numb right hand and thought that I must have slept on it in a way that would make it fall asleep. No big deal, right? It would go away. Later that morning I was doing some writing and I noticed that my entire arm below the elbow was numb. I shook out my hand and continued on with my day.

That night I woke up around 3:00 with a numb hand and lower arm. It took me about an hour to get comfortable enough to fall asleep again. It was now affecting my sleep. What on earth was going on with me? It was still numb when I woke up in the morning. And throughout the day I was noticing that it was especially numb when I clenched things like kitchen cooking utensils, etc. I knew I had a doctor appointment on Thursday and made a note (or otherwise I would have forgotten with my baby brain (hehehe)) to ask Dr. Waterbury if he knew what was going on with my hand.

That night I propped myself up in bed using 4 pillows from the spare bedroom and practically slept sitting up in bed. Trust me this is not very comfortable at all. Woke up throughout the night because of my hand. At my appointment I explained my situation to the doctor and he told me I must have pinched a nerve! Great!!! How on earth did I pinch a nerve? What have I been able to do lately that would have pinched a nerve? It hardly seemed likely. I don't really have a general practicioner doctor - I never needed one.

Over the next 3 days (Fri, Sat and Sun) I continued to sleep propped up to keep my hand below my heart to let the blood flow to it more freely. On Saturday I noticed that my ankles had finally started to swell which is a normal sign of late pregnancy. I had actually started thinking that I got off really lucky in that department. Anyway, as Saturday wore on and my knees started to blend into my feet and I no longer had definable ankles, I realized that I needed to get off of my feet and prop my legs up to relieve the pressure. This DOES work, but it takes and while and I'm not the type of person who can just sit around with her feet propped up for long periods of time!

The final straw happened this morning when I woke up at 6:00 AM and couldn't fall back asleep after being up from 3-4 AM. Will looked hand numbness up in one of the pregnancy books I have and right there described as a symptom of MONTH 6 was a FAQ about Right Hand and Arm Numbness !!! Ok, so now I know that it's related to my wrists swelling up -- just like my ankles and feet. I now know that I need to sleep with my hand above my heart so the extra fluid swelling my hand will drain. I should have my feet raised when I sleep so that the fluid drains out of them. My question is - why didn't my doctor know about this pregnancy symptom and why didn't he correlate swelling with numbness???

We took a 4 mile walk on the Boardwalk today with Sadie and I was soooo swollen by the time we finished. My ankles and feet turned into kankleet (ok, I made that one up). Even my wrists and hands were puffy and swollen. It probably didn't help that it was noon and 78 degrees outside. So I just spent the last hour taking a nap with my feet in the air and my hand propped up on my belly and I'm happy to report that most of the swelling has gone down. Unfortunately as I've been sitting here typing, most of it has come back!

Now I'm scared that the last 2 weeks of pregnancy are going to render me on my own type of rest prescription.

March/April Baby Showers Bring May Babies...?

Just wanted to post a few pictures from the 2 baby showers that were thrown for Sophia and me. One in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia Beach. Will and I received practically everything necessary to have, bring home, and parent a newborn. We were very excited to get started. And, I just love the smell of baby things.

37 weeks photo

The cat has a nice sleeping area when I'm sitting on my side.






Baby has dropped. Can you tell?







Stretched to the max if you ask me!

Full Term Now

I'm finally full term today. 37 weeks - only 3 weeks left until my official due date. This is what the baby looks like inside. She obviously doesn't have much room to move around anymore.

She's gaining a 1/2 ounce of weight every day and will continue to do so until she's born. All the bones in her body have hardened except her skull. She probably weighs somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5 pounds.

So, now the waiting game begins. But first we have a small checklist of must-dos before she arrives:
1) Install the car seats in both of our cars and have them checked at the fire station.
2) Put the finishing touches on the nursery. Still have a few things to put away and hang.








3) Need to finish packing our bags. EEK!
4) I need to buy a nursing bra.
5) Need to put together my email list so everyone will know when baby Sophia is born.

Technically labor has started!

At my 36 week appointment today I learned that the baby has officially dropped (which I kind of suspected anyway). I also learned that I am 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. Just to give you a reference....a mom needs to be 10 cm dilated and 100% effaced in order to start the active "pushing" phase of labor.

The doc told me that I can stay 1 cm and 60% effaced for quite a while. I'll find out more next Thursday at my next appointment.

I preregistered at the hospital today and took a mini-tour. The private birthing rooms are really nice and have a rocking chair, dresses, private bathroom, radio, cable tv, internet hook-ups, and a bed for mom. Once the baby is born, it will stay in the private room with me unless it needs to be in the infant/nursery room for something specific.

I walked past the nursery on the tour and got to see 2 newborns. One was a tiny boy and one was a hefty girl. Both were absolutely adorable. All of a sudden it hit me. That is what is kicking me and growing inside me! It's amazing. Instantly my eyes started welling up. I can't wait to take Will there this weekend to see his reaction. Viewing the nursery made it all seem so real.

We've decided on a name for Baby Alexander

Unless something major happens and we change our minds when we meet our little girl in the hospital.....we've decided on Sophia Amber Alexander.

Let the countdown begin....

OK. I'm officially 9 months pregnant. 36 weeks yesterday! Considering the average pregnancy lasts 10 months (or 40 weeks)....I'm officially in the last month and technically I could have this little baby girl soon! I cannot wait to meet her. My official due date is May 9th. Each grandma thinks I'm going to be a bit late. Grancy (Will's mom) thinks I'll deliver on May 12th. My mom thinks I'll deliver on the 13th, 14th or 15th.

The baby probably weighs 6 pounds right now! Yikes!!!

I've got OB appointments scheduled for the next 3 Thursdays in a row. Tomorrow the doctor will tell me if I've started to dilate at all or if I'm in the beginning stages of pending labor.

It's definitely time to pack the hospital bag, the camera bag and the diaper bag - just in case.

Sadie's graduation

Here's a picture of Sadie and her friend - the only other dog who showed up to pass the class. 5 dogs started the class and three dropped out.








Here's a picture of Sadie wearing her graduation cap last Sunday when she passed obedience class.

pictures from 33 weeks.

I'm 34 and 1/2 weeks right now, but here's a few photos of my ever-growing belly... Can you tell I've outgrown this "non-maternity" shirt?

odds and ends

34 weeks tomorrow...time is flying now. I have a photo to post of me at 33 weeks. I plan on posting it later this week. I also have photos to post of the baby shower in Pennsylvania. It was so much fun.

The baby is doing great. I had an appointment last week. Her heartrate was 155 beats per minute and everything else checked out ok too. Next Wednesday I start my weekly appointments and my chart will be kept at the hospital in case I go into labor. I have a feeling that it won't be for a while. I did hear today that U.S. pregnancies are acutally 39 weeks now instead of 40 weeks. A 39 week baby is considered full term.

I selected our pediatrician practice on Friday. They have a very nice office - it has a sick-side and well-side - depending on what you need. There are 5 doctors in the practice and they are only a mile from our house. They also see patients at our hospital so each day were are in the hospital they will check up on the baby. The appointment schedule after that is a little daunting... 2-3 days, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months...all the way to 1 year. They only once per year. It was very cute to walk into the waiting area and be surrounded by "kid stuff". Primary colors, an underwater sea painting on all the walls, and mirrors hung half way down the wall.

Our very last birthing class is tonight. I am definitely glad we took the class and I bet it will help us "breathe" when the time comes. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Speaking of classes, Sadie graduated her obedience class yesterday! She even got a certificate. I am absolutely, 100% glad that we enrolled her in that class. It helped out a lot! She's on her way to being very well behaved. Again, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

31 week OB appointment

I saw the doctor today for my 31 week checkup. Baby is doing fine. Her heartbeat was in the 150s. The doctor felt my stomach and told me that her head is face down already and showed me where I could feel her butt sticking out. I feel it, but there is no way I can tell that it's her butt. :) Just by feeling my belly the doc told me that she weighs about 4.5 pounds and said that is right on track. To me, that seems like a lot for only 31 weeks.

Anyway, baby is doing great! So, we're all happy.

31 weeks right now!

9 more weeks until my due date.

Baby is probably weighing in just over 3 pounds now and heading for a growth spurt.

I just found out that she's opening and closing her eyes and knows the difference between light and dark. Crazy!

Her brain is also able to start forming memories now. I just read an article that I need to start reading the same story to her twice a day. Then when she's born, this story will be familiar to her. Studies have shown that if I read this story to her when she's fussy it should calm her down. Does anyone have any suggestions on the story? Something that won't get tiresome for mom? Maybe something from Dr. Suess?

A future swimmer, runner or soccer player

This baby sure can kick. At least twice so far I've been minding my own business only to be kicked or elbowed hard enough for me to say a loud "OUCH". Will is convinced she'll be an avid swimmer. I, on the other hand, hope she wants to take after mom and become a runner. But by the way she moves around, I think we're going to have to settle for a soccer player.

Regardless, it's some much fun to rest my hands on my belly while she moves around and try to guess what boby part I'm feeling. I also like to "watch" my stomach move after I've had something to eat or drink. Will is still amazed everytime he feels her move.