Christmas with Ruthie

It was one for the books. Both Ian and I said many times how wonderful this Christmas was and how much we loved sharing it together and with Ruthie. She is truly the most precious bug-a-boo that ever God made.

Since she was born within a week of Christmas, she got to participate in the hospital's stocking tradition. They sent her home with a stocking she could get inside of and since she was our favorite Christmas gift by far, we took a picture of her under our tree in the stocking. I'll let you see for yourself how darling it is.


And since I have received a few comments about how mommy isn't in any of the photos, I am letting go of my vanity and posting this one. Maybe someday my face will return to a normal size. Sigh.
And here is the whole family at Christmas. We celebrated with Ian's family at his sister's Heather's place. It was so great. Everything was so festive and fun and Ruthie did great on her second outing ever (she had only been to the pediatrician before that).

We probably won't have another Christmas quite like this one and we treasured every minute of it. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your own families!

Our Cricket Has Arrived!

Ruth Nellie McCurry joined our family on December 19th at 11:38AM. She is amazing and we are so happy to have her home now. We got home from the hospital yesterday (Wed the 21st) and stand in awe at God's good gift to us.

Some day soon I'll give a fuller version of the birth story, but let's just say that after 11 days of being post due and 35 hours of laboring, this little lady made a very grand entrance.

She was 7 lbs, 4 ounces, as you can see in the photo below. And she is 19 inches long and all kinds of perfect.

The nurses really encouraged us to give her as much skin to skin contact as possible and in his new role as Daddy, Ian is loving that responsibility. Ruthie also really enjoys their cuddle time.
Here she is, in her first girl outfit. I know I'm beyond biased, but isn't that the cutest little rose bud of a girl that you've ever seen?

More to come, but the lady calls for a nursing. And my laptop battery is dying. =)

Day 10: Something's Happening

12:34 AM: Had a contraction, water just broke. Because of the Group B and the antibiotic our baby needs, that means...we're on our way to the hospital! Pray for a healthy baby to come soon!

Day 9: Are You Expecting Something?

Still no news. It's funny - neither Ian or I really expect anything to happen. We're basically just waiting until the next doctor's appointment. But Ian is off of work now and that helps a lot.

We just got back from the Sunukjian Family Christmas. It was supposed to be Friday the 23rd, but my family graciously decided to move it up, since us having any kind of Christmas celebration is looking dubious. We originally set it late so we would have more time to adjust to life with a newborn before taking it places. Ha!

Anyway, we had a lovely time of eating brunch together and exchanging gifts (thankfully, we draw names, so what could take 8 hours only takes about 1). I felt a little sad not to have a baby, since this is one of the get togethers that when we planned it, I "knew" I would have a baby. But as we are certainly learning, we are not in control.

And so we wait. Someday, we'll laugh about this and we'll tell this little son or daughter about their grand entrance and the huge build up that came before it. And they'll love it and it will be great.

Day 8: A Funny Story

So Ian was giving me a report a few days ago about his day and how school went and so on. And he said that his kids said when they saw him still in the classroom (I guess they were expecting the sub), "Your wife still hasn't had her baby? Well, is she walking?"

Gee, thanks Doogie Howser. I didn't know his freshman English kids were medical professionals, such experts on how to get labor going. Thank goodness they didn't ask about the other common household method for inducing labor (wink, wink).

And for the record, yes, I'm walking. But they lie. It doesn't do any good. I've been walking every day for the past nine and A HALF months and still no baby. But, at the advice of Ian's very knowledgeable students, I am about to put on my walking shoes this morning and give it another go.

Baby Watch Day 7: All Quiet on the Western Front

Now that I've started with the daily reports, I feel the need to continue, lest someone think by my not posting that I've gone into labor. So here we are now, 41 weeks pregnant, and hanging in there.

I just have to say how grateful I am to the mom, sisters, sister-in-laws and many friends who are doing more than their part to distract me during this time. Everyone is so supportive and sympathetic - thank you!

And now, I am off to Seal Beach, to go for a walk with Mary and her kids. Later today, we have our second post due appointment at the hospital, where they will again monitor the baby's heartbeat for 15 minutes and then do another ultrasound. If all looks good (which I suspect will be the case), they will again send us home. If not, they will keep us and schedule an inducement. We made this appointment in the afternoon so Ian could go to work and still be with me for whatever happens. The one car thing is tricky, but thankfully, all my entertainment has been willing to come to me and either hang out at my house or take me somewhere and then bring me back. I am so well loved. And it's nice knowing Ian can get home quickly if he needs to.

Hopefully one of these days I'll have something interesting to say!

Day 6

You know what's funny about what's happening right now (and by that, I mean by what's NOT happening right now)? I'll tell you. As each day passes, it seems to me less and less likely that I ever will go into labor.

Of course, the truth is, with each day that passes, I'm closer to having a baby than ever before and each day, I'm more likely to go into labor that day than any previous day. But rationale truth aside, it FEELS like it gets less and less likely, that I'm not actually going to go into labor and that I really will be pregnant forever. Ah, the cruel ironies of life, I suppose.

Day 5

You know the funny thing with due dates? They are such an inexact science. Did you know that only 4% of babies are actually born on their due date? So clearly, it should really be more of a range. They should tell you, "Sometime between November 25th and December 25th, you're going to have a baby." Doctors will caution you not to put too much stock in your due date. Okay, check. Got it. Truth be told, I really didn't expect to go into labor on the 8th.

But then riddle me this, Batman - if everyone agrees it's an inexact science, why do they watch you so closely the second you go past your due date? Ah, well, I guess it could be worse. Well, I know it could be worse, so hopefully my prayer of being a more patient waiter will be answered. Any day now. =)

And, if you're going to be sitting at home waiting for a baby, I must say - throw a fake log on the fire, turn your couch to face it, and get your husband to cuddle with you while eating peppermint ice cream. It's pretty great.

Maybe tomorrow there will be a baby!

My First Post Due Appointment

So, we're still cooking away over here. Hopefully babies aren't like microwave popcorn - you leave that in there for just a second or two too long and your whole house stinks for hours and the popcorn is totally inedible. But, the very nice nurse at Memorial assures me that is not the case and our baby cooking a little longer is no problem.

We had a great visit today to the hospital. Seriously, I'm not joking. Many of our appointments and experiences at Talbert, where I go for my regular visits, has been less than enjoyable. But today, the nurse was so friendly, answered all of our questions and when she did the ultra sound to check my fluid levels, she let us look at the baby for ten minutes. It was glorious! We hardly got the see the baby at all during our mid-way ultrasound so this was super fun. Ian took the day off work so he could go with me (and with the thought that if things weren't fine and they decided to keep me, he would already be there). So he also got to see the baby and it was great. I tell you what, this baby is cute. Oh dear, it's so soon for the totally nonobjective statements to start. But I can't help myself.

Everything is looking good - my fluids, the baby's heartbeat, movement, etc. Since the baby is doing fine, so they are going to continue to let us go, which we're glad for. We've heard being induced can be a doozy. Tomorrow I have my regular appointment with the doctor and then Thursday we go back to the hospital for another check up. If things still look good, they will send us home again. If not, they'll keep us and induce then. So each time we go, we pack up our bags, not sure if we'll be coming home again. I will say this - it's a great way to keep your house very clean. Each time I think, "We may not be coming back, so I better tidy this up or put that away." I'm sure my clean house is the reason the system is having me spend so much time with medical professionals.

The nurse today did say that the longest they let people go is 42 weeks - please pray we don't have to go 42 weeks and then be induced. 42 weeks would be Dec. 22 and then if I have a long labor, we might not have our baby until the 23rd, meaning we wouldn't leave the hospital until the 24th. YIKES! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We could still go into labor today. Let's hope for that. In the meantime, pray that I will wait with courage and patience. I have been battling a lot of anxious thoughts about the health of the baby, so pray I trust the Lord and wait on his perfect timing.

Signing off,

Momma in Waiting and Baby A Stewing

Nursery: Part 3

Since the baby is not here and I have the time, I thought I would finish the nursery "series." So, I give to you...the completed nursery!

Here is a photo which shows the decals, which you've already seen, but it also shows how I mounted three board books on the wall. I think it turned out so cute! You can also see in here a portion of the valences we put up, which came with our bedding (which my co-workers so generously gave me at my work baby shower).

And here is a shot of said bedding, which we love. Not having seen it in person (because we registered for it via Amazon), we were pleasantly surprised to find that we loved it even more than we thought. It is so cute.

I know, I know, you're wondering about the blank space above the crib. That is for the baby's initial. We already bought the boy initial and girl initial, so we're all set! It's like one of those kits...all we need to do now is to add water. I mean have a baby.

Stay tuned for baby updates!

32 Years Old, 40 Weeks Pregnant

I think most of you know that I was due on my birthday. A very strange coincidence, but true none the less. So, in spite of our terrible picture taking-abilities, is a photo of me, now 32 years old and 40 weeks pregnant.

Obviously, Ian is with me and we're in our family room, by our tree (don't you just love Christmas?). This is just before Ian took me on a birthday date down to 2nd Street, where we ate at Open Sesame (YUM!), did a little shopping, got dessert at Frosted and then coffee at Starbucks. It was a wonderful date and I am so blessed to have such a great husband. He came home with bouquet of flowers, also. I know, too adorable. =)

The lovely date night was preceded by a delightful day full of the wonderful women and children in my family. I had a great walk with Mary and her kids, then met my mom and all my sisters and sister-in-laws for lunch, with their kids that weren't in school. And then Heather came over to wish me a happy birthday and due date day and we had a great time chatting before my date with Ian. I felt very loved and celebrated.

Now if only this kid would come and get his or her own birthday!

40 Weeks Today, No Baby

Well, today is the due date. Why do they give you a due date? Did you know that only 4% of babies are born on their due date? They should just stick to a range. I've told myself all along that I was going to be late and now it appears that is true, and it's okay, I can make it. But I tell you, the anxiety increases with each day. Let's get this show on the road!

I might be back later with a photo - depending on how huge my face looks today. =) Vanity strikes once again. Or I might carry on with my regular blogging. Aren't you just on the edge of your seat now.

Blog-A-Thon: Nursery Part 2

In my first nursery post, I showed you the drawer pulls and changing table/dresser. Life changing stuff, I know. Well, I'm back with a glimpse of the crib, bookcase, shelf and even some decals. If this doesn't blow your hair back, I don't know what will!

Feeling inspired (and taking pity on my husband who hates assembling IKEA furniture probably more than anything else in the world), I decided to put together our bookcase myself. Trying to avoid the cheapness of IKEA, we had looked on Craigslist and other places online a lot but just couldn't find what we were looking for. So we broke down and purchased "assemble furniture," aka low quality. But, I have to say, it looks pretty cute all put together!

So here is part of the assembly process. I'll spare you the gory details of how long it took me. Here you can see part of the bookcase up, the crib (with the awesome blanket my mom gave us at the family shower), as well as the SUPER CUTE rug that all our baby's aunts gave us (our baby has five aunts - what treasures!).

And here is a photo of the decals. Ian put those up, and quite happily I might add. I think he figured spending 20 minutes putting up decals was way better than two days worth of repainting. We both love how the decals turned out - so cute and whimsical!

And here is an ABC shelf my friend Tali gave us for our shower. On top are some ABC flash cards from my friend Amy and hanging from it is a darling little monkey from my friend Roe. See what I mean by amazing generosity? Oh, and below that is Ian's favorite gift so far, from his grandparents. It's our back pack - we can't wait until cricket is big enough for us to cart him or her around in that!

More to come on the nursery - the third and final installment. You're going to love it!

Blog-A-Thon: Family Baby Shower

Get ready for a blog-a-thon! I have been MIA for almost a month. Terrible! But I was very busy finishing up work and then there was Thanksgiving, and now I've been bustling around getting ready for our cricket's arrival. Enough excuses! Here comes more blog posts than you can handle.

First up, my Family Shower. What a WONDERFUL time of celebrating this amazing gift with the ladies in my family. Ian's mom and sister where there, of course, as well as aunts and cousins from my mom's side as well as my dad's. And my sisters and sister-in-laws were there, as they all helped to throw it, with our matriarch, Nellie. Every detail was so perfectly planned and the ABC theme carried through to the tiniest detail (thanks to Sarah and my mom). Ian actually commented that he didn't know there was that much ABC stuff out there, but don't count these ladies out when there is a party with a theme on the line!

One of the other fun things about this shower was that it was at my house. Don't worry, I didn't lift a finger. My mom came over the day before to clean everything and set everything up. I just got to enjoy showing our house and nursery to many of the ladies in my family that had never seen it before. And it certainly made putting the presents away easier!

Enough words - let me show you in photos how great it was. Below is a photo of our mantel, just one of the MANY places where ABCs appeared.

My mom and sisters used my dining room and family room for seating. Didn't the family room turn out so cute?

Here it is, with people this time! From left to right, that is my Fenska cousin Amy, a Fenska aunt, Aunt Susan, Ian's mom and Ian's sister, Heather.

Here I am (in all my swollen glory), with a mound of gifts around me. What generosity! I hope it takes our baby no time at all to realize what a wonderful support system he or she has been born into.

I thought this was a fun photo that Sheila took - Ian is holding a stuffed tiger that was originally his dad's (so it's almost 60 years old now) and I'm holding Super Monkey, my most loved stuffed animal from my own childhood. Both of these sit on the shelf in our nursery.

In addition to the food and gifts and lovely women who attended, my shower was also extra special because my mom gave a short devotional. Since I'm due on my own due birthday, my mom and I have gone through the exact same pregnancy stages and it's been a really fun connection. I am constantly reminded of what a good gift this baby is and how loving and excited my family is for me.

Thanks Mom, Sarah, Mary, Sheila and Gina for this lovely shower! I enjoyed every minute and felt so celebrated!