Carter's 1st play day...

Carter had his first play day today with his new friend Reid. He also had his first Dr. visit and everything looks great. He is down t0 7lbs. 14 oz. (which I hear is good). He will be back to his hefty self in a couple weeks. Anyways, mama is doing great. Her eyes still look freaky but what can you do!  Things are going great. Carter didn't sleep much last night and neither did Shellie. Pray they sleep better tonight.  Anyways, here are some more pictures of Carter and Reid(Wilson) "playing" for the first time. 

This is what 3 hours of pushing (incorrectly) does...

Pics, pics, pics...

Looks like we made it...

Well we are home! It is 10 am Sunday morning, the day our son decided to enter this world. Talk about a long, long day...especially for Shellie.  We arrived at the birthing cottage at about 2pm yesterday afternoon. Shellie was at 3cm and contractions were regular and strong. She labored for a good 8 to 9 hours. At approximately 10:30pm she began to push, and pushed...and pushed till 1:52am, this morning Carter entered our world. Shellie pushed for 3 hours. She was a warrior. I can't begin to explain to you the strength she had to push and push. She is amazing.  The reason it took so long was the fact that Carter was in a posterior position and it took forever for him to flip in the birth canal. He's perfect. 8lbs. 9oz., 21 inches long, and he has BIG hands and feet! He has a full head of dark hair (obviously from his mother).  So far he has been the ideal baby. Doesn't fuss, doesn't cry much, he's just chill...much like Shellie and I live our lives.  Mama is doing great. She is obviously sore. She did break blood vessels in both eyes, so they are blood red and brusied. She looks a little freaky! All in all it was the toughest thing she has been through but she faught through it lika a champ! For that I am forever grateful, and respect her so much for the champion she is, I love her so much and can't wait to raise this child right, with her and our loving family around us. Pictures will be coming soon.

Sports

He's not kidding about the sports being vital!

Nothing yet...

Well,  we showed up at the Birthing Cottage at about 7:40 this morning. Shellie was checked and we were told to come back 2 hours later to check on progress.  We walked to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and strolled around a while. After being seen again Alice told us to go home and labor there for a while. Well it is 1:10 pm and we are still sitting around waiting. Shellie's contractions are about 10-12 minutes apart consistently and lasting close to 2 min.  Her parents made it in  around 12 this afternoon and we are all just sitting around waiting. My family is also on standby ready to go at anytime. This is the frustrating part, not knowing what is going on and when this baby is coming. I had tickets for Bay Hill today and we were planning on going to walk this kid out! Well it had other plans. I will remember this day and a few years from now we will have a discussion (while at Bay Hill) on why I missed the 2009 Bay Hill Invitational! Oh well, this kid will soon learn how vital sports are and how important they are to us as a family...just kidding. I just want this baby here and Shellie's pain and discomfort to be gone! It sucks seeing her like this.  Please pray for her as contractions are getting stronger and please pray for me as I am fighting sickness. 

Almost five hours in

Well, I was awakened at 2:02 am, almost 5 hours ago with a for real contraction.  They were 15 minutes apart until I called my parents at 4:30 and then they were 5 minutes apart.  Go figure.  I got things together and took a shower and then laid back down.  The contractions slowed for the next hour or so from between 10-15 minutes.  Then when the pressure increased and there was only 6 minutes between contractions, I decided to call my midwife, Alice.  We are heading to the birthing center within the next 20 minutes.  How I pray my parents will make it, but we'll see! 

The hard thing at this point is that Scotty is sick!  Head cold and chest congestion and stuffy nose.  Poor guy has been out of it since I woke him at 3:30 am.  Thankfully, the pain has been bearable (not fun though) so he was able to sleep off and on until about 15 minutes ago.  We just have to load the car now and make sure that we have everything we need, which isn't too much.   Really, the birthing process is about as natural as you can get.  Well, I'm off for now.  We'll let you know how things are going when we can!

One Week To Due Date

Well, I have to say, I have been shown a whole lot of grace (undeserved favor and kindness) during this pregnancy, because it has been so very smooth! I am very grateful because there are so many women (you my friends) who have had and continue to have it rough and you are all troopers!

Even with the ease of my pregnancy, it has still been hard on my body. I have really started to feel it in the last few days. I'd have to say over the last three weeks, I have felt great besides an ear infection. But this weekend, has turned the tide and my cold is getting the best of me. I just can't shake it. So, a trip to my midwife today confirmed that I do not have an infection so we are just actively shaking this cold with over the counter medicine and sleep and phytonutrients! Please pray that I feel better quickly because this baby is coming shortly (shortly being relative to any hour to a couple weeks). I really do not want to feel blah during labor and delivery; it's going to be hard enough as it is! With the hopes of getting better, we have decided that this Friday will be my last day of work. I had planned on going until delivery, but my body needs some rest so I am going to take it!

Now, for those of you who care, my cervix is dilated to 2 cm and is 60% effaced. The baby's head is also very low. For those of you who have no idea or don't care, it doesn't really mean anything except things are beginning to move around and get ready for the baby to come. Again, it could be any minute or it could be two weeks. Alice, my midwife, said, "We're just waiting on the consistent contractions because everything else is ready." Good to know.
I've been having practice contractions for weeks now, but they are getting stronger and encompassing a larger area. Still though, they are not regular at all. We shall continue to wait patiently. I do feel though that the time is drawing nigh (whatever time span that means).

My due date is next Monday, March 30th. If I haven't gone by then, they will schedule an ultrasound just to make sure everything is good with the baby. Then as of now, they will allow me to go until April 13th naturally. After that, the attending physician decides what happens.

Scotty is pretty much ready. Still not happy about the pain that I will have to endure, but ready for the little one to show herself. That's what he thinks--it's a girl. I, on the other hand, haven't the foggiest idea if we have a son or a daughter in my womb. The excitement is building! We can't wait to share the news that our child is here. This really is so much fun!

Two Sundays Before

So here we are, 2 weeks and 1 day before our due date.  Really though, our child could come any day or not for another 4 weeks.  It's so crazy how we actually think we can guess when a baby is going to come.  As a wise woman said this past week, "Do we really know the gestational period of a human down to the day?"  Babies come when God says it's time, ultimately.  

Currently, I, Shellie, am not nervous at all about the delivery.  Now, we will see if that changes when contractions start or my water breaks.  

For those of you who don't know: we did not find out the sex of our baby, so we are so excited to see what we are having!  My excitement and curiosity grows dail

y.  I do not have an instinct as to what it is, honestly!  We do have names for both, though.

If we have a son, his name will be Carter.  In honor of Scotty's maternal family.  It's meaning: "transporter of materials!"  Hopefully, legal ones!

If we have a daughter, her name will be Okalani.  It's Hawaiian and with our love for surfing and Scotty's obsession with Hawaii it fits us well.  On top of that it means "from heaven." Whichever we have, boy or girl, will be a gift from God!

We have not chosen middle names for either, as we want to wait to give our children names based on who they are.  We have many months to decide on the middle names (I think even a year).  Do you know how in the Bible, peoples' names were often indicative of who they were?  That's what I'd like for our kids--names that express who they are.  I wish I knew now what our children would be like, but since we don't, we will name them fully after they are born and here with us for a little while.  What's in a name?  A whole lot if you ask me!

We have a wonderful midwife, Alice, and great nurses, Meg, Penny and a couple others who are going to deliver our lil' P!  We are having the baby at a birthing center, where it feels like home, but where they have some of the "needed" extra equipment, just in case.  I will save the details of a birthing center for another post though.  Lord-willing, we will birth in water as well, which seems like so much fun!  OK, so fun isn't quite the right word, but have you ever seen a baby under water-it's the coolest thing!

Thanks for caring about us and being interested in our lives.  We pray that as we bring this life into the world that you will see how amazing God is and how much He loves you too!