Wow....uh, yeah...wow.

Well, she's here. Yep, Lily made it....but it wasn't easy.

On Saturday night (1/20), Katie and I went to bed around 11:00pm, only to have the mother-to-be awakened a little over an hour later by a fairly intense contraction. This in itself was not alarming to either of us, as we had grown accustomed in previous weeks to just such a wake-up call. However, what followed was both new and very exciting. Whereas previous contractions had been equally strong, few had been followed closely by another. On this night, Katie's second contraction arrived no more than four minutes after the first subsided. By the time the fifth and sixth contractions had convinced us that this pattern was indeed very real, we knew our restful nights were coming to an end.

Just after 2:00am, still sitting in bed and timing her contractions, Katie felt her water break. I must give her credit....she was out of the bed and sitting on the toilet in about 4.4 seconds. After a quick analysis of the situation (remember it was 2:00am), I concluded that indeed her water had broken, and we were off to the hospital.

We had pre-registered at OSF just after the New Year so that the process of checking in at the hospital on The Night could be expedited. As it turned out, so many people thought that having a baby on January 21st was a good idea that we waited for about 15-20 minutes before being ushered up to the maternity ward. Once there, a nice, veteran nurse named Sally got us situated and informed us that Katie was only one centimeter dilated, approximately 60% effaced, and not likely to deliver for a long time. We settled in for the long haul.

Because Katie had lost her water, she was not allowed to walk unless it was to and from the bathroom. This meant that the bed was her home. As we learned in our birthing class, changing positions can help a laboring mom with the discomfort of contractions (Oops..I know several of you moms just read that and thought "Discomfort? How about pain? He's obviously never been pregnant!"). Therefore, we tried moving Katie around in the bed, but nothing felt as good (again, sorry, nothing was as pain-relieving) as just sitting up with pillows stacked behind her. It was my job to constantly rub her lower back during contractions, and this upright position made my job difficult, as I was pushing and pulling my arm from between Katie's back and the pillows we had placed behind her. Making this more difficult was the fact that Katie had been getting too warm, so I had placed a cold, wet washcloth up against her back. This meant I was trying to force my arm between her back and heavy, wet linens, while her weight rested against these very same linens. Now, granted, a sore shoulder and fatigued forearm are a far cry from the physical challenge of labor, but for all you guys reading this blog (and I know there must be dozens), I wanted to give a shout out to the supportive father.

Okay, moving right along...we went on this way for about 9 hours, at the end of which Katie was fed up, fully effaced, and three centimeters dilated...and I was...well, who cares? We decided we needed a change if she were going to go the whole way unmedicated (did I mention I had been taking codeine for my shoulder by now?), so we asked about getting Preggo in the birthing tub. We were unsure whether this would be an option since Katie had lost her water, and the nurse deferred to Katie's OB. Dr. Thornton okayed the tub, and soon we were lowering my beautiful and rather bloated wife into the contraption that would turn the tide (pun intended) on this whole laboring ordeal.

Katie immediately found relief in the tub, and the contractions, which were getting stronger all the time, were becoming relatively easier (less difficult) to manage. A little before 10:00am, we placed a call to Beni, our pre-arranged labor assistant, in hopes that she might spell me for a spell and then accompany us for as long as it might take to get Katie the rest of the way. With Beni soon at Katie's side, and after I took 10 minutes to eat a bag of Cheetohs and two granola bars (probably not the preferred amount of time for ingesting such a meal), the team was assembled for the big push. Katie progressed from three centimeters to six in a matter of about two hours, then from six to 10 in another two hours. At 2:00pm, Katie was given the green light to get Lily the heck out of her belly. This is when things got fun.

Still without medication, Katie began pushing Lily down the birth canal to the waiting arms of the doctor...and ultimately about 438 family members. There was a slight issue with this, however, as our little Lily was turned in such a way that she couldn't make it out. Dr. Thornton attempted to reach in and manually turn her, but remember that Katie was not on drugs, and this became too painful to work. Katie was then left with a decision to make: get an epidural that would allow the doctor to reach in and turn the baby, or have a C section. Right. Anyway, once Katie had the epidural, we were at it again, and the doctor was turning Lily with her hand in a medical procedure that can only be filed under "wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it." Lily, unfortunately, had the umbilical cord wrapped around her wrist, and this turning caused her heart rate to plummet, leaving the doctor no choice but to let go. Back to square one with a baby sitting in a bad position for vaginal birth. Then came decision number two: try taking pitocin to increase the frequency of the contractions in hopes that it might flip the baby and move her naturally down the birth canal...or have a C section. Right. Anyway, after Katie had been administered pitocin for about an hour and a half, it was time to push again. This time, fortunately, Lily's head appeared after only about three rounds of pushing, and soon she was landing in Dr. Thornton's able and gloved hands. Touchdown. Oh, did I mention that the Bears won right about this same time?

After much ado, and much pain (though Katie was UNBELIEVABLY strong throughout the whole ordeal, and I couldn't be more proud of her), we welcomed Lily: January 21, 2007 at 6:08pm...7 lbs, 13 oz...21 inches long.

Am I in Labor Yet?

As we near Lily's wonderful due date, I wake up each morning wondering if today will be the day she decides she wants to come out and meet the world. Many times these feelings are preceded by a strong contraction that passes and in turn fills me with excitement. Unfortunately, neither my excitement nor the contractions last very long, leading me to conclude that today is not the day. I know that having these contractions are a good thing, as they are practice and help me prepare for the big day, but I am just so anxious to get her here that not knowing exactly when she is coming or what it will be like is somewhat discouraging. The pregnancy book is really of no help in trying to figure out if and when labor is going to start, either. My water may break or it may not. My contractions may be really strong and send me straight into labor, or I may have pre-labor contractions for days, weeks, or even a month before I deliver. Nothing is set in stone with pregnancy, and every woman's experience is so different. It makes it really hard to know if what I am feeling is pre-labor or false labor. I had one woman tell me that when she went into labor her contractions felt as if she just had gas. Other moms tell me that I will know when I am in labor because the contractions will be stronger than any I have had before. Well, I had a really strong contraction this morning and it hurt more than any of the others, but I didn't have anymore after that. Does that mean that they will continue to get stronger and more consistent or is what a felt today the strongest I will feel? The answer is... there is no way to know. Luckily, besides the contractions that come here and there and the constant questioning of whether I may be in labor, I am feeling pretty good! My back and hips hurt at night in bed and my ankles swell on days when I work all day and then have a game. Other than that, Jeff and I are just looking forward to the arrival of our little one. Tonight we are going to go walk at Shirk and see if we can give Lily a little push. We went on Monday night and walked about 3 miles and that obviously didn't get me anywhere, but it feels good to get out of the house and exercise. About a week and half left and we hopefully will have a little one here for everyone to meet!

In work-related news, my boss has approved my proposal to work from home two days a week! I will work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays and be in the office the other days. I will continue to work events at night as needed as well, which works out fine since Jeff can be at home with the baby during those times. Jeff's mom has kindly volunteered to watch Lily every Friday, and I think that my mom will be willing to help out at least one day a week as well. It is so nice to know that our little one will be looked after by people that really love her! It will definitely make going back to work a little easier.

Working at the Coliseum has been such a great experience. Having our company manage all three entities and the food and beverage service has given me a chance to learn about so many different aspects of this business. Most buildings, such as the Peoria Civic Center, have a different management team for the building, each sports team, and food and beverage, which would not afford the experience that I have had to this point. Not only have I learned a lot by working closey with the sports teams, I have been able to learn a lot about shows and concerts as well. It is really neat to learn about all the behind-the-scenes workings of shows and concerts. Many times I have been able to listen to sound checks and watch practices. I even have been backstage and helped work "meet and greets" with the artists. I was, of course, very quick to volunteer to work the John Mayer "meet and greet" in February. Not only does my job offer me fun and exciting work experiences, but it also means that Jeff and I always have something fun to look forward to, whether it be hockey games, football games, concerts, or shows. There is always something for us to do...and do for free. We certainly have a pretty sweet set-up here!

In related news, the PrairieThunder have really started to improve, and the starting line up that we have now is really fun to watch. Hockey seems to be catching on here as our attendance has continually increased from game to game. We even got my dad hooked. Working the hockey games is a lot better than working football games because I actually have time to sit and watch. As an employee, I have season tickets so Jeff comes to all the games and I go and sit with him when I have time. The nice thing is that he likes the game so much that he doesn't mind sitting by himself for awhile if I have to go take care of something. Soon we will have to make Lily a fan as well, so Dad will always have someone to sit with him.

Stay tuned....Lily could be making her appearance any day now!

Soo Close!

This week my belly has finally dropped and I am feeling enormous. My appointment on Monday was fine and the doctor said that her head is very very low and that she will just pop out when I go into labor. Let's hope that is the case! Our digital camera decided to poop out on us this week so I haven't taken a picture of my belly yet. Hopefully, we will have that situation resolved before she gets here.

In other pregnancy news, the girls at work decided to throw me a surprise baby shower. I had no idea and was totally shocked when I opened the door and saw all of them waiting for me. It was so nice and fun. They had decorated the party suite and even had a chocolate fountain going for me. It was so thoughtful and fun! Lily was given a bunch of cute outfits that I can't wait to put on her. Mom was given a gift certificate to Fox and Hounds that I am looking forward to using after she gets here!

Pregnancy's ups and downs

I always get the question" how has your pregnancy been?" or " how are you feeling?," and when I say pretty well, without fail, whomever has asked me the question gives me The Look. Let me explain The Look: it's something like "are you sure you feel ok?" or "you really can't feel that well." The truth is that for being this far along in my pregnancy and comparing myself to the symptoms that other women feel, I feel really good. The first trimester, I was plagued with terrible morning, noon, and night sickness. I lived on bagels, bread, cereal, and water. At the Coliseum the closest bathroom is in the concourse outside our office, so I would have to anticipate my next bout of vomiting so that I could make it to the bathroom in time. Additionally, I carried a plastic bag in my purse for emergency situations, such as driving in the car, or anywhere I might be too removed from the luxury of indoor plumbing. Everything made me feel nauseated, from the smell of peanut butter-filled pretzels to Jeff's hair goop. The first trimester was not a fun time. It was hard to be excited when I had to be ready to run to the bathroom at all times. Luckily, around my 12th week the stickness suddenly stopped and I was able to eat again. I had very few weird cravings and mostly developed food aversions. Unforutnately, my aversions were to the healthy green vegetables that I needed to be eating for Lily. I have tried really hard throughout my pregnancy to be healthy and eat the best things for her. I love fruit and have been really diligent about getting plenty into my diet. Vegetables, however, which I loved pre-pregnancy, have been a struggle and have mostly consisted of french fries and chips (both in the potato family), carrots (sometimes), salad (sometimes), and asparagus when Jeff makes me eat it. At this point, I have been craving La Bamba's, Bennigan's Chicken Tenders, and Steak 'n' Shake steakburgers--really healthy! In the past week I have been able to eat more than I ever have in my life, and my hunger is almost insatiable. I could eat all day, no problem.

From what I understand, I need to be thankful for more than my steel trap of a tummy, too. I feel very fortunate that the wieght I have put on has mostly been in my belly. I am all baby, which makes balancing a little more difficult, and the girls in my office are afraid I am going to plunge forward at any moment, but I hear about horror stories from other women and the weight they added to their pre-pregnancy frames. Fortunately, I still feel okay, and I can attribute that to the fact that I have been able to continue with pilates. I have really enjoyed keeping up with it, and I believe it is the reason why I have felt so good throughout. My back pains have been very minor, and without pilates I think I would be a mess in that area. I just started to get a little swelling in my ankles, but nothing extremely noticeableto others (I don't think). There are definitely days that I feel frustrated and tired of pregnancy, but those have been few and far between. It is so weird and funny how one moment you can be so happy and excited and then you find yourself stressed and tired and hopeless when you are having trouble with something as minor as getting up off the couch. Thankfully, for Jeff's sake if not my own, my emotions throughout pregnancy have been pretty steady. Like I have said before, I have had my moments, but no major ups or downs. That probably means he has it in store for him when I go into labor or shortly following. Speaking of Jeff, my husband, strength, rock, coach, chearleader, and best friend. I couldn't do any of this without him. He has made my life as stress-free as possible. He walks and feeds the dogs, does the laundry, cleans the house, takes out the trash, and pretty much does anything and everything for me. He has been so wonderful this entire time, and seeing how excited he is about Lily makes anything I have endured all worthwhile. I couldn't ask for a better husband and soon-to-be father of my child. I don't even have to ask for back rubs anymore, he just seems to know when I need them. I am sure my sitting forward or touching my back is not much of an indicator to him or anything.... I love him so much and can't wait to see him hold Lily for the first time. We have both been waiting for this for so long, and now it is so close! She could come any day now, and we are really looking forward to this new and exciting chapter in our lives to start.

Almost There

Today I had my 36-week appointment, and Lily and I are still doing well and remain on schedule. The doctor said I looked great. I am still feeling pretty good, but I am very anxious for her to be here at the same time. I have minor aches and pains, but nothing too bad to complain about. We have been very lucky that my pregnancy has gone as smooth as it has. Only a few weeks left and she will be here! Her room is finished and we installed her car seat yesterday. Jeff and I are going to go to the hospital this afternoon to pre-register so that when I do go into labor we won't have to wait. Never too early to be prepared. Work is going very well, and I am almost done with all my club seat renewals for next year. Since Jeff is so on top of things, there is not much "nesting" for me to do at home, so instinct has really kicked in at work and I have created a binder with way too much information for the person that is taking over for me while I am on maternity leave. She probably thinks I am a nut. Either way it makes me feel good to have it done and ready.

We had wonderful Christmas and were spoiled to the max--or should I say Lily was very spoiled. Grandma and Grandpa O'Rourke gave us the curtains, curtain rods, curtain holdbacks, and bed skirt for Lily's room. It looks so cute! Aunt Molly gave Lily a smocked Polo plaid dress and a blue and white polo dress. Of course very cute. Uncle Mike gave us the Baby Bjorn to carry Lily around in, and he gave Lily a cute pink sweater that will go perfect with her smocked dress. Grandma and Grandpa Mavros gave us a camcorder so that we can document Lily as she grows. Jeff has already taped her moving around in my belly! Finally, Aunt Dana built us a cradle with her very own two hands. It is pretty amazing, and I am sure Lily will get a ton of use out it! We are so thankful to have such a loving and excited family. Lily is a lucky baby!!! And she's almost here...

Christmas Spirit

Jeff and I have had a lot of fun decorating the house for Christmas. This is our best tree to date and we love having it all lit up while we sit by the fire and listen to Christmas music.

A Little Behind on the Blogging

It has been a quick and crazy past two weeks, and I apologize for not updating the blog sooner. Everything with the baby and me is still going well. My belly is enormous, and I think Lily is really ready to get out of there. Her room is coming together and looking cute. We hung the mobile that Melissa and Ryan gave us, and her rug came in last week. Now we are just waiting on her dresser, which should be here right after Christmas. Grandma O'Rourke is putting the finishing touches on the room as our gift for Christmas. She purchased the curtain rods, curtains, and crib skirt for Little Lily. I can't wait to get it all up and see the finished product.

In other Mavros news, Jeff and I were models for OSF St. Joseph Hospital last week. Poor Jeff, neither of us had any idea what we were getting into when I agreed to do this. OSF owns a suite at the Coliseum and their suite contact, Mickey, called me and said he needed a favor. He said that they needed a pregnant woman for some photos, and it would be great if I could lend my belly and convince my husband to join me...otherwise they were willing to find me a substitute husband, which I've only considered once or twice before this anyway. So I called Jeff, and he agreed to do it and figured that it would be a good opportunity to receive a tour of the labor/delivery unit while we were there. I called Mickey to tell him we were in, and he said that he would have the tour set up for us when we got done with the photos. We arrived at St. Joe's around 3:00 p.m. and met Mickey and the photographers. As they started to describe what they wanted to capture, I realized that this was going to be more than just photos of Jeff and I sitting around talking to doctors. I guess I should have asked before I agreed. They had me get into a hospital gown and lay in bed while Jeff stood next to me and gazed lovingly into my eyes. It was very professional with lots of lights and even some props (flowers, cards, and bears by the window). They had us set up in the dorkiest poses. Jeff had to hold my hand and kiss it or put his hands on my belly as we both looked at my bump. My favorite was when they had him make an amazed looking face like the baby was kicking and he had just felt it. Jeff, as you know, is a great actor and pulled it off very well. I had a hard time because I couldn't stop laughing. We both felt so stupid. We finished up and got our tour, and we were out the door around 5:15 or so, just in time to run a few errands. Jeff and I reveled in our grocery shopping that night, as we knew it would one of the last times we could make a trip to the store without being mobbed for our autographs.

Last week I worked on club seat renewals (everyday all day), and I am still chugging away at those. Thankfully, many people have enjoyed their club seats and have decided to renew for next year, which means I have less to try to sell before the football season begins. At this point I am in my nesting phase at work. I am trying to get everything set up for when I am on maternity leave. As long as she doesn't come too early I think I will have plenty of time to have the club members settled and organized and train one of our other staff members on the ins and outs of premium seating.

I have my 34-week appointment tomorrow, and we have a few holiday parties to attend this week and Christmas stuff all weekend. Soon it will be January and time for Lily to meet everyone!

First Showering of Lilian

This past weekend we had our first baby shower up in Elgin. All Jeff's mom's favorite lady friends were there to shower Lily with wonderful gifts. It was so much fun to see all of them, and the shower was so beautiful and perfect. Lily received many cute things, including lots of darling outfits, a yellow cozy blanket made with love by grandma, an amazing rocking horse made by Uncle Dave, and a tea cup from Lily's great grandma Mavros. Lily's mom also received a fun gift from Aunt Dana. Dana found a chic maternity shirt that says, " Does this baby make me look fat?" It is super cute, and I can't wait to wear it. After the shower, grandma O'Rourke, great grandma Williams, Jeff and I returned to Bloomington where we unpacked everything and looked at it all over again. Jeff even put together the swing that grandma O'Rourke and Aunt Molly bought for her. We can't wait for her to be here and dress her up in all the cute clothes, read her the books she has received, and play with her. Not too much longer!!!

Today I had my 32-week check-up, and thankfully everything still looked great! I am still measuring right on my due date, and little Lily's heartbeat was loud and strong! Luckily, I am still feeling (for the most part) pretty well. I am definitely a lot bigger, which makes moving around and getting comfortable a little more difficult. Jeff has been great at hoisting me up off the couch and bed. Soon we will need a crane. Other than that there is not much to report on the baby front. She is still frequently wiggling and rolling around and sometimes kicking me a little too hard. I have two more appointments on the 2-week-between-appointment schedule, and then I will start going every week!

It is getting very exciting!!!

Silly Dogs

The perfect look for our little stinker

Buster's new do

Mohawk boy

Jay Sleeping on dad's lap as we drive up to Elgin for Thanksgiving

31 Weeks and Growing

Today marks Katie's 31st week of pregnancy. It also marks the first day of my new life. That's right, good people, Jeff changed his first diaper last night.....well, sort of. During our weekly birth class last night, our instructor asked me to get off my posterior (harder than you'd think right now, following a Thanksgiving weekend game of football), sit on the floor, and change the diaper of one "Pebbles the doll." I must say, while this exercise was undoubtedly easier (and cleaner) than the real thing will be, I received high marks from both of my teachers. Jennifer evaluated me on my technique, including minding the baby's head at all times during the change, while Katie weighed just how soon she might hand over all poopy diaper responsibilities. Had I known my efforts were to be met with such praise, I might have sandbagged just a bit to potentially delay my participation in this most illustrious component of child rearing. As it is, however, I'm sure to be in the thick of it when Lily arrives.

By the end of the night, Katie and I had been introduced to all things post-partum. From the good to the bad to the ugly, we now know that we can expect lots of fun even after the baby is delivered. Yikes! It's amazing the things people don't tell you! Nonetheless, we are even more excited now for our baby girl to get here. Katie is still feeling about as well as can be expected, and we are making sure she's eating right and drinking lots of water, staying somewhat active, and doing her prenatal exercises. We both know that she is going to experience increasing discomfort over these last two months, but so far she has taken everything in stride, and I'm very proud of her.

The last bit of information to share is the dogs' reaction to having Baby Pebbles in the house last night. As soon as Jennifer walked in with the doll in her car seat (to teach us about car seat safety), both Jay and Buster were immediately interested. They of course mobbed Jennifer as usual, their Shih Tzu guard dog training evident in the number of debilitating kisses they landed, but they soon forgot her and focused on the baby. In fact, after Jennifer got settled and the initial interest in our visitors had seemingly passed, Katie and I glanced over to find Buster, not sitting quietly as we had believed, but rather inside the car seat itself, sitting on Baby Pebbles' chest and sniffing her plastic face. Needless to say, we hope not to recreate this scene upon Lily's arrival at home. While we know the dogs will both be excited and somewhat threatened by the impending addition, we are hopeful that their curiosity will soon give way to love for their new little sister.

30 week check-up

This morning Jeff and I went in for my 30-week appointment and sonogram. Lily is getting bigger! The nurse said everything still looked great, and we got to see her little face again. She even blew us a kiss. She was positioned on her side with her head down, her bottom up, and her hands and feet all together on my side, which confirmed why I was having so much side pain last night and this morning. What a stinker. Everything looked to be functioning properly, and we were even able to see the lens of her eye and some hair on the back of her head. Technology is so amazing! The sonogram showed me to be right on target for my due date and projected her birth weight to be between 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 pounds. After the sonogram we met with Dr. Thorton, and she said that I was looking good and that I seem to be in great health. We have been very lucky with how smooth this pregnancy has been to this point...knock on wood. This past weekend Jeff and I went to the Shirk Center and walked two miles so I could get some exercise. I am still going to pilates once a week and enjoying that, even though it is getting much harder. I bought a pilates ball on Saturday for exercise purposes both before and after the birth. The pilates ball will also come in handy during labor, allowing me to lie down on it so that Jeff can massage my back and anything else that is aching. I should mention that I already used it for that purpose last night, and it was great! I will try and keep all the massaging to a minimum prior to labor because I think Jeff will be doing plenty of that then. Jeff is still being a wonderful supporter, husband, and birthing coach. He is already practicing keeping me calm for labor by not freaking out now whenever I freak out about any wierd ache or pain. He is very good at reading me and my emotions ( a little too good at times), so I think that will really help during labor when I need him to take care of me and know what I need even if I am not able to communicate it. Time is still flying by, and we can't wait for her to get here! Jeff has so many plans for her, inlcuding things that we will not be able to do with her until she is quite a bit older, but it is fun to think about the future. She is going to be a total daddy's girl and she will have him wrapped around her finger. He is already totally in love with her, and she isn't even here yet!
We have some fun sonogram pictures to show to everyone, including the one of her blowing a kiss, which Jeff would rather not share because he swears he can make out a moustache and buck teeth. I guess we'll find out in two months!

29 Weeks

* 29 weeks of belly

Lily and I are still doing well and feeling pretty good. I have had some lower back pain, but nothing too debilitating. Lily still loves to kick and stretch and roll around all day long. She is getting better at going to bed when I go to sleep, but unfortunately, I don't think there is necessarily any correlation between her current schedule and the schedule she will keep outside of the womb. Jeff is now almost done with his basketball league and will soon start indoor soccer (aahhh!). Luckily, the season is fairly short, and he will only have games once a week. So hopefully, we will keep the injuries to a minimum. Work has been pretty busy with all the hockey games, concerts, and trying to get stuff in place before the baby comes. Thankfully, although I have been busy, I have not been too stressed out. At this point, all the clients I work with have the routine down and really require very little of my time at the events, which has been a nice change. Also the Game Time (food & beverage) staff has figured out their role, and they are handling everything really well. Knowing all of this makes it a lot easier for me to relax at the games and not wear myself out. It also is a relief to know that everything should work smoothly while I am at home with baby. I will probably work a little from home while I am on leave to help with all the Club Seat renewals, but hopefully they'll be mostly completed before I'm out of the office. Nonetheless, if I need to process renewals from home, I now have a nice new desk for when I am at home with little Lily. Just two and half months away now...and most likely time will keep flying by. Lots of little milestones to reach between now and then, what with the holiday season and all...and Monday is our 30-week sonogram. Look for news on Lily's 30-week development soon!

Jingle Bell Run/Walk

Lily's First Charity Experience. Of course we had to have brunch at our house beforehand. We needed to have strength for the long race and all.
ready for our ...walk.

Preggo girls finish! We weren't sure if we were going to make it, but we pulled through.
A littly chilly, but feeling good.
Relaxing inside after our awesome race!

Getting Ready for Lily

Not only are we getting the nursery ready for Lily's arrival we are also spiffing up the rest of the house with the addition of new furniture in the living room and the finishing of the basement. We purchased a new T.V. stand, coffee tables, cubby unit, and a desk for mom to work from home on when she is on maternity leave. Jeff also refinished the french doors that are original to the house and put those up between the dining room and living room. I will get some pics up of the basement later. Jeff and his dad worked really hard on tiling, painting, putting up the ceiling, and finishing off the bathroom down there. It looks great and it is so nice to have another full bathroom in the house!

Braxton Hicks

We had our second birthing class with Jennifer last night, and we learned about all the stages of labor and the different contractions that go along with them. She asked me if I had any Braxton Hicks contractions (a.k.a. false contractions) yet. I told her I didn't think so, but I wasn't sure because I didn't know what they felt like. She explained that during one of these contractions my tummy would get really hard and knotted--but not in a painful way--and then relax. It occurred to me that I actually had felt this before, but I had always believed it to be Lily just coming up to the surface of my belly. It is nice to know now what I am looking for and to have an idea of what the real contractions will feel like. So far the ones I have had don't hurt and mostly just take my breath away for a split second and make my belly feel really heavy. I even had one during our lesson last night and asked Jennifer to feel it to confirm. Pretty cool stuff! In addition to the stages of labor, we learned about different coping techniques, including massage, focusing, and visualization. After Jeff found a massage technique he was comfortable with, we moved on to thinking about helping me cope, too (just kidding)! Jennifer tried to illustrate for Jeff all the possible moods and emotions I may or may not have throughout the labor process, which ended up being pretty humorous. She said that some women are loud and hate their husbands and don't want to be touched, while others are weepy and emotional, and some are a mixture of everything rolled into a rollercoaster of emotions. While Jeff and I can see me reacting in any and all of those ways, it will be very interesting to see how I really handle the whole thing. I hope I can surprise him and hold it together and be really strong, but neither of us are holding are breath for that one. Thanks goodness we learned how I can help Jeff cope!

Birthing Class the Natural Way

Last night Jeff and I had our first birthing class experience with our very funny and experienced instructor, Jennifer Maloy. Jennifer is a private instructor who will be coming to our house once a week for six sessions to teach us about the exciting endeavor of birthing a child the natural way. She is a licensed instructor with major first hand experience. She has birthed 4 children of her own and experienced labor in all different forms. With her first child, she did it the "all American way," as she describes it...with an epidural. Her second child was a natural birth, which she prepared for with yoga and lots of exercise. Her final two children were delivered safely in the comfort of her own home! Our first session was an introduction that focused on healthy eating, specific exercises that she wants me to do each day, and terms and definitions. We really liked how honest yet comforting and excited she is about labor. It was so nice to have her all to ourselves so that we could ask lots of questions and really find out what we wanted to know. Doctors are so into their routine sometimes that they don't always stop to explain things and don't realize that you, as the patient, don't know what is going on. So having Jennifer a phone call away is very reassuring. In our future sessions we will continue to learn about the labor process, obviously, but she will also work with us on massage, breathing, emotional and mental satibility, visualizations, drug options in case I do decide I want them, and c-sections. I know that there is really no way to be prepared for the pain that will come with labor, but I know that if I stick to her regimen and have great coaching support from Jeff, I will try my best to get through it. The best way she could describe labor for me was in terms of track...or a marathon. In the beginning, there is excitement and adrenalin keeping you going and pushing you through. Then you move to endurance and strength. After that you are tired and begin to lose the feeling in your legs (it is at this point that people give up if they aren't mentally prepared). However, if you have heart and mental strength you can make it to the finish line. So, although I cannot visualize labor like I did my races prior to those events, I hope that if I am mentally strong and able to keep my cool, I will be able to a make it to the finish line on heart alone.

26 Weeks

Look at that Belly!
Not prepared for this photo to be taken.
Overprepared for this photo to be shot!
Can you tell I am not too happy with Jeff in this picture?

Happy with Jeff again. I am sure he said something funny here.

Making Progress

I had my 26-week appointment today, and everything is still looking good. I am measuring right on schedule and Lily's heart rate was fine. Each week I have been getting significantly bigger, and last Thursday I had at least 4 people make a comment about how big I am and questioned whether I am having twins. I became a little worried that this could indeed be the case, seeing as my mom is a triplet, Lily kicks all the time from several angles at once, and the size of my belly really has increased a lot in the past 3 weeks. Nonetheless, Dr. Thorton has assured me that 1) the nurses would not have missed a second little one on the 20-week sonogram, and 2) I really am not that big (I would be measuring about 30 weeks now instead of 26 if I did have twins). Thank goodness! Twins would be fun, but I don't think we're prepared for that right now.

I have been super busy with the start of the hockey season, and my weekends are now pretty jam-packed with concerts and games. Therefore, last week Jeff and I decided to take a day off from work and go up to Oakbrook to register for baby showers. We had a really great day going to Pottery Barn Kids and Babies 'R' Us. Everything at PBK was so cute, making it hard not to register for the entire store. We did find a bumper for her crib that was on sale for $20, and we decided to buy it and bring it home. Luckily, it looks perfect! Shopping at Pottery Barn Kids was all about the accessories and fun stuff, but Babies 'R' Us was a different story. When we got to Babies 'R' Us, we were greeted right away and given a list and a scanner to start doing some major registering. The store was set-up so nicely (the registry list was color-coded and corresponded to different departments within the store), it was very easy to navigate. We started at bottles and diapers and worked our way around the perimeter of the store until we ended up in the clothing section. Jeff and I had our own list that we had made after reading our Baby Bargains book, but having both our list and the store's did not really relieve the overwhelming feeling that I started to get when I saw all the different brands, gadgets, and accessories. Looking at the large wall of bottles, I started to feel very unprepared and worried about being a parent. As we moved on to the bath section and butt cream area, I felt a little worse. We couldn't decide which diaper rash cream to get and that's when I told Jeff how I was feeling. Before that moment I felt like "Hey, I can handle this. I have babysat before and have younger siblings and cousins. I can take care of a baby." Somehow, knee-deep in butt creams, that feeling changed, and luckily Jeff was there to calm my worries. As we were looking at the first aid kits, medicines, cotton balls, rash creams and humidifiers, he soothed my worries by saying, "Katie, we're humans too, and we don't come with a manual. When we get a rash or get sick we go to the store and buy something for it. We don't have to have everything on hand for the baby. We'll be fine." From that moment on, I totally relaxed and figured if we didn't register for enough or for the right things we could always buy them later. No big deal. The pressure was off, and we had a good time once we got past that bottle, medicine, and butt cream area!

Jay and Buster still seem to be oblivious to the change that is about to take place in all our lives. Buster still tries to leap across my big belly and I have to catch him in mid-air before he touches down. The one time he did hit my belly, Lily kicked right back. Jay may have some idea that something is going on because he doesn't seem to like it when we are in the nursery and begs to be held whenever we go in there. We try to tell the dogs that they are going to have a little sister soon, but unfortunately their English is limited to "hungry," "go out," "upstairs," "treat" and the like. Luckily, both dogs do love kids and are very good with them. Hopefully, they won't be too jealous and will love her as much as we do.

I go back to the Doctor in a month, and at that time we will have our 30-week sonogram. Yeah, we get to see her again! It's not too long now, and we can't wait to finally hold her...and pass her around to all of you.

* The picture above is of Jeff wearing the head of "Chip," our hockey mascot. Chip is the mascot for the Bloomington PrairieThunder and happens to be a Buffalo. Buffalo Chip is sponsored by Kitchen Cooked Chips. Coincidentally, there are still great tickets available for all PrairieThunder home games this year, so come on down and bring the kids!

Lily's Room

Picture of the lily that bloomed in our yard

All her pink outfits

Dad loves to practice pushing her in the stroller

Daybed with new pink comforter

Crib with little friend hanging on

23 Weeks

Belly at 23 weeks. As you can see from my previous picture to this one my belly button has now popped out. I am feeling really good right now and little Lily is still kicking away. Every night she does some sort of acrobatics in my belly that Jeff gets to feel. As soon as he starts talking the show begins as he places his hands on my stomach and I get pummeled from the inside. Then in the mornings I wake up to a hard knot of baby sticking out of one side of my belly. I love putting my hands on her when she does this because I can really feel her moving and swishing around. I can't wait for the day that we see a hand or foot sticking out!

Jeff and I are making progress on Lily's room with the recent addition of her crib, stroller, and new comforter for the daybed that will stay in the nursery. We have a had a lot of fun planning for all the things we need to get for her room before she gets here. We have yet to pick out bedding that we love and will possibly have it made. We were picturing a toile fabric for the bumper and actually found the perfect pink toile at the fabric store the other day. So we are playing around with the idea that we may just have the bumper and bed skirt made. How spoiled is this child already? Jeff will probably order the dresser in a couple of weeks and we will start registering soon. Being the super organized couple that we are, we of course already have a list and have a had a list for a long time now of the different items that she will need. Hockey season starts next week and I will start to get really busy with work so we plan to try and register this weekend if we aren't too tired from all the I.W.U. homecoming festivities.

You may have noticed that I have been referring to the her as Lily still. We still like this name the best, but there is a chance that it will change. The response to the name so far has been very positive and everyone seems to be referring to her as Lily already. Lily has received a plethora of gifts from her loving family already. Her favorite aunt on the Mavros side has given her a darling outfit with matching hat, onesies, and blanket. While her other favorite aunt, Molly, is weaving her a pale pink blanket and given her her first ornament. Both Grandmas are doing there best to spoil her with clothes, stuffed animals, and anything cute that they come across. She is going to be a very loved and spoiled daughter, niece, and grandchild!