He's Here!!

Thomas Edward Ketchum

February 11, 2011

7 pounds 15.5 ounces

22 inches long

9:35 p.m.

Welcome to our world little man!

Meeting my baby for the first time!

Proud Daddy!

Exhausted Mommy!

Hello!!

As planned, I was admitted to the hospital Thursday evening for Cervadil over night. By morning I was dilated barely 1 cm. The doctor on call actually told my nurse that he didn't think I would progress with the Pitocin and we may have to redo the Cervadil that night! Luckily, they did not tell me that until after the fact and he was WRONG! My water broke on its own about 12:45. I got the most amazing epidural ever at 3:30 (after waiting for an hour for that crazy doctor!). Dilated from 5 cm to 10 cm in one hour from 6:30-7:30. Pushed for 2 hours and then he was born at 9:35 p.m. just in the knick of time. He was turned side-ways and the doctor told me around 9:15 if he wasn't born in the next 30 minutes, they were doing a C-section. Boy was I determined to get him out! With the next push, the nurse was like "don't worry about the C-section, he turned and is coming!" It was a LONG day, but well worth it to see his little face (looking JUST like his daddy!)

D Day

Well, it looks as if Thomas is going to need some encouragement to come out. I FINALLY made it to the doctor Monday. I had a sonogram which revealed that my fluid levels were on the borderline of low and Thomas weighs between 8 and 8.5 lbs. Also, the technician did not observe the sorts of movements they would like to see. (Personally, I think Thomas is not a morning person and was just not very active because that afternoon he was going nuts!) But, I'm not going to argue with the professional. Then my blood pressure was high (which I blame on laying on my back for 30 minutes while they did they sono) and I was STILL only 1/2 cm.

SO, the doctor decided we needed to induce before the end of the week. I will be admitted to the hospital Thursday at 4 pm and receive a Cervadil treatment over night. Then Friday morning at 4 am, they will start Pitocin. I'm still holding out that he will come on his own before then. But seeing as there are only 36 hours left before this process starts, I guess I need to check in with reality. I will officially be 41 weeks and 2 days when we induce. She told me she'd only let me go as far as 41 weeks 6 days from the beginning, so I suppose this is a nice compromise.

So, that's where we are today. We appreciate your prayers. We will update the blog as soon as we can with pictures! I'm not sure if we will have internet access at the hospital, so it may have to wait until we get home probably Sunday.

Snow Week but No Baby

Hello friends.
Since I do not yet have a baby out of the womb to show you pictures of, I will grace you with a picture of my ever enlarging belly. This is at 40 weeks and 3 days.

 We have had a fairly eventful yet uneventful week around here. It started Monday with my doctor's appt. in which I was STILL 1/2 cm. I was supposed to return Tuesday for a sonogram to assess Thomas' weight, but when we woke up to this:

 and a phone call from the doctor's office informing us they were closed for the day. I cried. Thankfully, Michael stayed home so I wasn't left to wallow in my misery alone. Then one day at home turned into two and two turned into three and three turned into four. I never got my sonogram and Michael never made it to work. We did take these pretty pictures though and enjoy our last few days together without a baby.

Today is Saturday and Michael worked all day to try to make up some of the time he missed. I spent the day being absolutely unproductive. We go back to the doctor on Monday....hopefully. I've learned not to count on anything. IF I make it to the doc on Monday (if meaning no snow/ice or no baby beforehand), then she will do a sono to determine his weight. Based on that we will decide when to set an induction date. At the earliest, it could be Wednesday the 9th. At the latest, Tuesday the 15th. As I really want to go into spontaneous labor, I'm hoping he weighs less than 8 lbs so we can wait it out. Only time will tell.

That is all for now.

Fuzzi Bunz!

As most of you know, we have decided to use cloth diapers with Thomas. We made this decision not because we are all earthy friendly and don't want to fill the garbage dumps with our child's diapers, but because, over the long haul, it is SO much cheaper. Plus they are super cute! While it was a hefty one time investment, we were able to buy everything we need with money we were given for Thomas, so essentially, it was free to us! So I thought I would introduce you to the cloth diapers for those who are curious.

The stash. On the right are our 24 diapers. On the left are wet bags and up top you see the detergent.

We opted for one size fits all, so that we could buy more and wash less. This is sized down for a Newborn.

The inside. You stuff the diaper with an insert(s) (see below) and put it on like a normal diaper.  

Inserts. You can use more than one for older children or overnight/naptimes.

After the deed is done, you put the dirty diaper into a wet bag (basically its just a water proof laundry bag). Then when you've got a load, you wash. I got two travel bags for the diaper bag. The box of detergent supposedly will last us a year and was only $15.

You can compare the sizing. On the left is sized for a newborn. On the right is size small which is 6-15 lbs. (If I remember correctly). The elastic in the legs and waist is adjustable to find the perfect fit. Then there are a bunch of snaps to adjust the tightness in the waist.

So there you have it. A brief overview of the cloth diapers. Not what you originally pictured, huh? We have 24 diapers, so theoretically, we'll only have to wash every 2-3 days. You don't really want to go past 3 though because of smell and germs. However, 12 diapers would be plenty for one child. I just went ahead a got more while we had the money in preparation for more children. By having more, they will be washed/worn less and last longer.

Burks Christmas!

We also had a wonderful Christmas with the Burks family. As you can tell from the central figure in all the pictures, Luke was a big part of the fun of the celebration! I can't wait until next year when our little man and Luke will be getting into everything!

Luke said: "Becca, if Martin doesn't want that bottle, I'll sure take it!"

The only way to get a real smile out of Smitty is to put him in a picture with Luke!

Wrangling the great grands.

Michael meeting Martin for the first time!

Luke is way more interested in laughing at Poppa than checking out his present.

Uncle Tater getting some quality time with Luke.

Ketchum Christmas

We gathered with the Ketchums the day after Christmas to celebrate. Unfortunately, we were one short because Jason was sick and stayed at home to recuperate and not share his sickness with all the pregnant ladies! We had lots of fun as usual with all the kids. this year they were old enough to take turns, so we watched as each one opened a present. Lots of fun. Next year, we'll have two more little ones, so its really going to be crazy! Clara Beth and Kaylea will be far outnumbered as both babies are BOYS!

Kaylea with her stack of presents! She was ready to go and not interested in taking a picture!

Clara Beth posing with her stack before getting started!

Nana and Pops and all their gifts!

Todd, Nicole, Matthew, and Andrew getting ready to open presents!

Michael helping Kaylea dig out all her goodies in her stocking from Nana and Pops. She would pull something out, look at it, and throw it behind her before diving in for more!

Even Thomas managed to snag a few things from under the tree! Note the little monkey feet. We love monkeys!

We had a really good time playing with all the kids at Christmas. Aunt Mary Beth introduced the tackle Uncle Michael and tickle him game which all the kids thoroughly enjoyed! Michael...not so much. Luckily, I was pregnant, so he couldn't retaliate!

Friends!!

Rebecca, Alyson, Courtney, and me (and Thomas)

The coming of graduation brings lots of things that I'm really excited about--namely Thomas' birth and moving home. However, graduation also brings the inevitable--saying good-bye to the amazing friends I've made here at SWBTS. Before I ever moved to Texas, I prayed that God would give me solid, Christian friends here. As always, God was so faithful and blessed me abundantly with three amazing girls. Each one is different, but we all seem to mesh together in the perfect way.

Courtney graduated at Christmas and with that came the first good-bye. She moved back to Florida over the Christmas break. This picture was taken at our last get together before the graduation festivities began and I shipped out for MS for the rest of December. Courtney was one of the first people I met at SWBTS and has remained a dear friend. She has the sweetest spirit and heart that you will EVER meet. I'm going to miss her tremendously.

I still have this semester with the other girls, Alyson and Rebecca. Its going to be different because we only have one class together and it ends in early March. We're going to have to work hard to keep up with each other these last few months, but I plan to do my best! Then I suppose Skype or Google video chat will replace lunch dates!