What a day! I've been really good today, but I think mommy is a little wiped from the rest of the week. Guess what times I woke up last night? This time it was 2:15 and 5:15. And of course I didn't go back to bed after 5:15. Mom kept me preoccupied until 6:30, but then she passed me off to dad so she could get a few more minutes of sleep. Poor dad. We both agree that is woman's work, so mom really needs to get on the ball. Dad shouldn't be changing my poopy diaper in his work clothes. I brewed that one up especially for mommy. She's always sleeping on the job!

Last night daddy gave mom a break so she could relax. She decided to take a shower. What a weirdo. If I had down time the last thing I would do is take a bath. Yuck. Speaking of baths, daddy gave me a bath for the first time last night with mommy. I screamed at first until daddy poured the water on me. Then I remembered that I liked baths again.

Today I was a very good boy and let mommy work out while I just chilled in my swing. Mommy even got my laundry done. It's about time. I've been spitting up extra often and going through outfits like a mad man. Mom was on my last spit up rag. Now I'm taking a little nap and I even let mom sleep for one hour. In 3 hours we head to the airport to pick up Becky. Mommy says she's going to help out for the next few days. It will probably be busy so you might not hear from me for awhile. Nana and grandpa Dobbs are throwing me a party on Saturday. I get to show my true party animal colors! Watch out people..Adam's in da house!!!

AMD (Attitude Magnified Double -- the apple doesn't fall far from the tree)

Here we go again. Mommy still says that she is tired. I just didn't feel like napping yesterday. I was a good boy, but I didn't nap which meant that mommy didn't get a nap in yesterday. So, instead we played all day and I did a lot of eating. Dad played raquetball so when he came home last night he was all sweaty and gross. Dad is starting to feel a cold coming on so Mommy isn't letting him play with me as often. I told mommy to give him one of my toys to lick, because that always makes me feel better. But mommy started talking about germs or something and wouldn't do it. She is no fun at all.

So, today I slept in until 2:45 like usual. But mommy didn't like it when I got up at 4:15, 5:00, 5:45, etc. Dad took me downstairs at 6 to try to distract me so mom could get an extra 15 minutes of sleep. Then I started wailing so mom got up and said, "I'm at least going to brush my teeth first." When she walked into my room I was as quiet as a mouse. Dad had laid me on my tummy in the crib and this felt great! Now, I'm not supposed to lay on my tummy unsupervised, so mommy didn't go back to sleep but she spent the next 2 hours doing chores upstairs while I slept off and on or just laid there quietly awake. Daddy knew just the trick!

Okay, I'm going to start crying now so mommy will give me attention. Gotta go!

Adam

Hello to all my peoples. I am wide awake today and mommy and daddy look so sleepy. I don't get it. I told them they should have gone to bed at the same time as me last night, but they wanted to stay up and socialize with their friend Michelle. So, that's their own fault they stayed up past my bedtime.

Yesterday mommy and I went for a walk during the day. I didn't cry until we got back to our front stoop so mommy was happy. She sure does get happy over the littlest things. Then we went for a car ride to pick up mommy's friend Michelle. We went to Lou Malnatis and I was awake the whole time. But, I sat in my car seat and just stared at all of the people walking by, and my favorite, the ceiling. I get so excited when there is a brand new ceiling to look at. Daddy tried to change my diaper but they didn't have a changing station in the men's room at the restaurant, so mommy got stuck doing it. (And of course I had brewed up a nice big mess for her). When we came home it was daddy's turn to take care of me because mommy wanted to talk to her friend. But, I wouldn't let daddy rest. I require mommy time before bed. Daddy finally took me to mom so she could rock me and I conked right out. I was asleep by 9:00 and like clockwork I got up at 2:45 and 5:30 a.m. Mommy is waiting for me to fall asleep right now because she wants a nap. We'll see.

That's all folks.

Adam

What a relaxing weekend. It was just mommy, daddy and I all weekend. According to my mom that won't be happening again for awhile, since we have a lot planned over the next month. Yesterday we went to church and I was a very well behaved boy (of course). This time I didn't really sleep (not even through pastor's sermon) at all so that kept mom more on her toes since she was nervous about all of the noises I would decide to make. But, I was pretty good. After church we went to Chillis and I slept in my car seat. When we came home I was busy letting mommy know that I was hungry. Mommy was really sleepy (she kept saying something about needing her beauty sleep). So, after I ate I conked out and mommy and I took a nap for 2 hours straight. Dad came upstairs and saw me out like a light in my bouncy chair with mommy out cold on the couch. Mom was so happy to get the extra sleep, even though I've been giving her a decent 6 - 6.5 hours each night.

I have been sleeping very good these days. Mommy is starting to wake up automatically at 3 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. every day because those are the times that I wake up 90% of the time. The problem is mommy thinks she needs to go back to sleep after the 5:15 feeding, but I'm ready to be awake and play. So, she tries to pass me off to dad when he wakes up at 6. Dad and I usually hang out downstairs while dad eats breakfast. However, after watching daddy eat I'm pretty hungry myself, so mommy needs to wake up. But, then I give mom enough of a break to shower and brush her teeth and eat breakfast. I usually just hang out in my bouncy chair. Mom and Dad keep having to haul the bouncy chair all around the house. They finally registered for another one because they realize how essential my bouncy chair is to me. It's like my own lazy boy! So, mom has been getting some time to get things done during the day, but everytime she thinks she can put on lotion or floss her teeth or put on makeup I have to remind her that this is not a spa and that there are more important things (i.e. ME) than her vanity.

Well, I better get a nap in because Mom's friend Michelle is coming to see me tonight. I have to look my best. Plus, this week Becky is coming into town. Mommy says that she is pregnant with my future buddy Aiden. I can't wait to play with him. In the meantime, I'm going to help prepare Becky for little Aiden by making her change all of my poopy diapers and swaddle me at night. I'm happy to help in anyway I can.

Time to catch some Zzz's.

Adam

Yep you heard me. My parents rubbed me the wrong way today. I was gassy, tired and cranky. They had to work to put me down to sleep. Mom finally gave up and took a nap from 2-5 or so. Dad fed me a couple of bottles and put me down in the crib. He thinks he can just put me down to sleep. Mom always rocks me, I expect nothing less. He burped me, that helped and stuck the pacifier in my mouth. That worked for about 30 minutes. Then he moved me to the bouncy chair where I slept for an hour or so.

Other than that, mom and dad have been just chillen.

Well, I got some diapers to fill.

Peace Out!

Big A

Busy, busy, busy. I'm trying to keep up with my blog, but there is SO much to do these days. I'm almost 4 weeks old now so that is keeping me pretty busy. Yesterday Nana came over to play with me. Mom went out grocery shopping (lame) while Nana and I played at home. Nana even let me play with the vaccuum cleaner. That is way more fun than these lame old rattle toys mom trys to get me to play with. When Nana left I took a 3 hour nap, so my mom almost felt like she had the whole day off because I was so well behaved. I didn't start crying until daddy came home from work and then mom just let dad take care of it. Dad tried to put me to bed, but he was all sweaty and smelly from playing raquetball. Eww gross! So, I let mom rock me and sing me "Jesus loves me" about 20 times and then I went right to sleep. I was so wiped from playing with Nana all day that I slept from 9:30 until 3:30. Then I didn't wake up again until 6:45 a.m. Mommy was so happy. I sleep much better when my grandmas are around to play with me all day.

This morning mommy decided it was time for me to have a bath. I have only had sponge baths until this morning and I HATE THEM! I worked hard to get dirty the past few days and now mommy just washes away all of that hard work. Well, mom put me in my actual bath this morning and she was already apologizing to me as she walked me to the bathroom. Boy did I surprise her when I didn't cry at all during my bath. I thought it was great. Like my own personal jacuzzi. Very relaxing. Mom was SO happy. Silly mom. What did she think I was going to do? Scream my head off? (Okay I guess I'm guilty of that sometimes).

Anyway, it's time for me to hang out in my bouncy chair. I better go.

Bye,

Adam

Well mom and I are just hanging out at the house today waiting for daddy to come home. I should really say that I'm just hanging out and mom is running around taking care of me and trying to get some housework done when I see fit for her to do so. I didn't get to see daddy all day yesterday because he decided that he was going to pretend to be "young" again and go out with Uncle Bryan and Meyers last night. He came home after I was already in bed, so I made sure to make him wake up with me this morning. Mom did her middle of the night shifts, so after daddy's shower I had him change my poopy diaper and hang out with me in the morning so mom could sleep. I was very good for him and only decided to start crying again when he passed me off to mom. I figured the "cute" act would convince him to come home and hang out with me tonight. I really want to play some video games. Mom is boring and just does housework and watch TLC while I hold her captive in the recliner. That is DEFINITELY not as fun as playing God of War II with dad.

Last night I slept "decent" as mom would say. I've decided to no longer sleep for 5-8 hour shifts like I did a few times in the beginning. Now I have mom down to 2-4 hour shifts (but more 2 hour shifts than 4 hour shifts). Now that they put me in the big boy crib I just want to make sure they can still hear me in the next room.

Today I've been doing a lot of sleeping. Mom is starting to get nervous that that means I won't sleep tonight. But, we'll see how I feel. Mom also took me outside on the deck for a few minutes. She said that she needed to see the outdoors. I was good for about 10 minutes. Then I let mom know it was time to go back inside.

Well, that's all the excitement in my life. Nana Dobbs is coming over tomorrow to help watch me so mom can have a break. I don't understand why anyone would need a break from me, but there are a lot of things I don't understand about grown ups yet.

Adam

Well, it's a Monday so it's just me and mommy again today. I had a fun weekend with dad and nana and grandpa Dobbs. Nana and Grandpa came over on Saturday night and they earned extra brownie points because they brought a new toy. They are so well trained. They kept me awake so that I would sleep for mommy that night. I did pretty good. I slept for 5 hours and then decided to get up every 30-45 minutes after 3 a.m. Mom finally gave up on me going back to sleep at 7 a.m. and decided to take a shower because we were going to church that morning at 9. Well, she laid me awake in my bassinet next to dad and told dad that he had to get up with me, since I was wide awake. Well, as soon as mom turned on the shower I conked out next to dad. 30 minutes later mom came out of the shower to see both me and daddy stretched out in our beds and fast asleep. Mommy kept getting ready and doing chores until 8:15 when she decided that daddy and I had to wake up to get ready for church otherwise we would be late. Mommy was in awe that I would sleep on daddy's shift and not hers. But why would I get up for daddy? I know he doesn't have the good stuff. I might as well sleep. I was wide awake during church and just sat there staring at the ceiling. It was quite entertaining because it is very different from the ceilings we have at home. Mom ditched me with Lori (pastor's wife) for bible study. She has 4 boys and knows how to take care of a macho baby boy like me. I slept like an angel for her. Then my parents decided to get extra confident and take me out for lunch with a couple of their friends because I had been so good up to that point. Mom was nervous because she knows me too well and knows that I can only be good for so long. But, I fooled her and slept the whole time we were out at the restaraunt. Of course, when we got home it was a bit of a different story. But, I did let her take a one hour nap at least.

Last night I slept pretty good. I wouldn't go to bed until 11 and woke up at 2 a.m., 5:30 a.m., and finally at 7:30 a.m. So, at least I gave mom a few good stretches of sleep. At 6 a.m. mommy and I were hanging out and we heard dad's alarm going off for 10 minutes. Finally mommy put me to bed and had to go wake daddy up and tell him his alarm was going off. Again he thought his alarm was me, so he kept sleeping. Good thing mom is on the ball! She has two baby boys to take care of these days. It's a full-time job. Today has been pretty same old same old. I was pretty impressed because today not only did mommy have to change my outfit twice but she had to change her outfit twice too. First I spit up all over her, then I peed through my diaper, my outfit, and all over mom's shirt. Now I'm going to take a nap, because as you can see I've been hard at work.

Adam

Yea! Gma and Nana Dobbs are coming. It's been a while since I've seen them, about 1/3 of my entire life! Yea I know what you old people are thinking.

Mom and Dad are excited to ditch me for a weekend out at LA Fitness, a cheap Chinese buffet and maybe Costco? What a bunch of nerds. They are sooo not trendy.

Dad and I hung out today while mom went grocery shopping. Dad finally replaced the ceiling fan in their room. The old fan wasn't working right. It took my old man forever to put that up. He tried to put me down in my crib in the other room. I was bored so I screamed until he set me up with front row seating to his futile efforts to install a simple ceiling fan. Valpo really needs to work on the quality control of the Electrical Engineering graduates.

Peace,

AMD

Hello to all of my fans out there. I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile, but I've been busy keeping my P's on their toes. I've been trying to get my sleep at night, but there is something magical about 3 a.m. that makes me want to wake up every night at that time. So, my days have been filled with lots of eating, lots of diaper changes and a little bit of sleeping here and there. My favorite hobby is to fall asleep in my mom's arms and then right when she lays me down I like to start grunting and squeaking and then crying. It's a fun game.

I have a trendy Polo outfit on right now but I've already had my diaper leak on it. Fortunately it came with 2 sets so mom is about to change me into the other Polo outfit. Good thing people buy me gifts because my parents are too cheap to buy me something as trendy as Polo. (I think they did mention it was because I would just get it dirty anyway). Mom is hoping to get a couple more weeks out of my newborn outfits, but she's already had to put some away because I've outgrown them. I'm a growing boy, what can I say.

Anyway, I am just chilling in my bouncy chair right now. It is the greatest thing..every time I wiggle the chair bounces. I should get daddy to patent it! I might go into daddy's office today and show off my good looks, but daddy will let me know if my fans are ready for my red carpet entrance.

Okay time for me to cry and get mommy to feed me.

Later,

Adam

Well, Adam and I survived our first whole day alone together yesterday. Mike had raquetball after work, so Adam and I really were together alone the WHOLE day. But, I think we did pretty well. Unfortunately, Adam decided again last night that he know longer likes sleeping until 4:30 a.m. and got up at 2:59 a.m. last night. Ugh. I know that is close enough to 3, but the clock still was showing a 2. I think I was spoiled by those 7.5 hour nights. But, 5 hours is not terrible for a newborn. The problem is that once he's up I only get 30-45 minute short spurts of sleep after the one long stretch during the night. Right now he is laying on his play mat in his cute little onesie with little cars on it and grabbing at his different toys. He just turned around to look at his mommy and my heart melts. He is definitely worth the sleepless nights.

So, last night at 2 I woke up to Mike coming over to my side of the bed and telling me to scoot over. I thought, "Oh how sweet. He is laying next to Adam so that he can get up and let me sleep since I've been running low on sleep lately." But then at 2:59 Mike was not getting up to Adam so i got up (and let's just say that from the noises Adam was making I knew there was one bad diaper that needed to be changed). In the morning when Mike came down around 7 a.m. (well rested and showered and leisurely eating breakfast..mind you that I had been up since 3, no shower, no food, etc) he said, "What's up with you taking up my side of the bed last night. I had to move over to your side because you were hogging the bed." So much for the romantic gesture. But, Mike and I had a good laugh about it in the morning because of our two very different perspectives of what had happened.

So, the biggest challenge that I have been facing as a new mommy once we finally got past the first few nights is nursing. Let's just say that I have a WHOLE new respect for mothers out there. I think I need to start buying my mom a much nicer gift on Mother's Day! The toughest part about nursing for me is the time constraints. Since I've been nursing it means that I have to be available when he is hungry and you can't really plan exactly when that will be. Sometimes he can conk out for 4 hours and not need me. Other times he is hungry 30 minutes after we finished the last feeding. He seems to be especially hungry in the mornings (before noon) and in the evenings (after 4:30). That's why it is especially difficult for me to walk away and run errands and things. Because if he ends up getting a bottle then I need to pump around the same time so that my body knows to produce enough. And if you wait too long to pump and he gets hungry again, then I might not have enough for him during his feeding. So, like I said in the beginning it's all about the timing. I feel like I need to have a stop watch next to me. But, things are definitely getting better every single day and I'm happy with all of the benefits of nursing, but I'm not going to deny that it is a challenge.

Okay, we're getting ready for bed now. Hopefully we'll all be asleep by 9. We're really party animals these days. I think Adam is planning to blog tomorrow. He is hoping to get more messages on his "Leave your mark" link!

Katie

Well, Mike is at work today and Grandma and Aunt Sarah are back in Minnesota. So, it is just Adam and I. I feel MUCH MORE comfortable and confident now. For anyone who hasn't had their first child yet I have to tell you that the learning curve is exponential for the baby and the parents in the first few weeks. I remember back to the first few nights after he came home and the complete panic I was in compared to the relaxed atmosphere we have now and it is a complete 180. Now, I am still very tired and don't have a lot of free moments but I am much more confident in the fact that when he cries I will be able to get him to stop. I am more confident in knowing what he needs and I am much more organized and prepared for having long periods of time where I am confined to a chair with him, so I have things within an arms length away. We also measure our success now in poopy diapers, hours slept, and loud burps. Today Mike was able to go to work AND Adam has been fed a few times AND we had "tummy time" AND I have had a shower and am wearing real clothes AND we went for a walk AND he is down for a nap. And this was all before 10 a.m. (granted we go to bed by 9 these days and get up around 4-5 a.m. to start our day for good). He only slept for 5 hrs straight last night, but that is still decent so I can't complain.

When we took Adam out of the car seat on the first night home he pretty much started crying and really didn't stop until about 1 or 2 in the morning. The motherhood thing did not come so naturally at first. I felt so awkward with him and I felt like I was going to break him. Mike came in and told me to go to bed because I was completely wiped and still trying to recover. I woke up 3 hours later with a start because Mike hadn't come in to wake me up. I went into the nursery and there was Mike in the glider with Adam in his lap on the boppy pillow. Mike had him wrapped up and was holding his little hand. In Mike's other hand was a book called "Be Prepared." It's a book for new dads with a comic twist. When I walked in Mike said in an official and calm tone.."this book says some babies like to be swaddled and some don't." He had finished reading the entire book. I asked Mike how Adam was doing and Mike said that Adam just needed someone to hold his hand and that when Mike let go Adam would get restless and his breathing would start getting fast. I knew at that moment that I was married to a GREAT man and that he was going to be a wonderful father. Adam is a very very blessed boy. When Adam finally fell asleep and Grandma took over Mike and I spent every free second organizing our house so that we could actually leave the nursery with Adam. Then we had grandma start a list of EVERYTHING we discovered we all of the sudden needed from a velcro swaddler (best invention ever) to the formula they had used at the hospital to bottle liners. It was so helpful to have her there to run to the store for us and take the morning shift while we showered.

Slowly but surely I am actually able to do a chore or two in addition to taking care of Adam. We are also slowly being able to handle more and more guests and everyone who has been coming to help is greatly appreciated. And it has been equally nice to have those moments where it is just Mike and I and Adam getting adjusted to what life is now like as a family of three. Also, to everyone who has been sending gifts and cards...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I will soon be catching up on thank you cards and emails but please know that our family is very thankful for your generosity and well wishes.
We feel very loved.

Love,
Katie

So another doctor's appointment today. Yea, 10 pounds 10 ounces. 21 and 3/4 of an inch long. For those of you who aren't so good at math that's 1 pound and 3/4 of an inch more than I was about a week ago! Yea, I'm Pumping....me..up! Hanz and Franz baby!

After the doc, we went over to Applebees. It was nice to see mom and dad go out somewhere for a change, instead of always boring me around the house. The waiter said I'm a cute kid. Yea I already knew that!

Word,
A

After a few requests I hacked together a message board. Keep it G-rated folks! I will read these and determine who is my favorite. The favorite will get nothing, but the satisfaction that I find them pleasing.

A

It's been a while. I'm bored. Mom is watching some lame ABC family video. I'd rather be watching dad play Halo III. He's got this other game called God of War that's pretty cool. He's so cool.

Anyway today I went to church. All these ladies were all like "Oh look at him, he's so cute." I was like yea, I know! Then they wanted to hold me. My mom demanded they use some hand cleaner before they touch me. I agreed with dad, we should charge for this kind of stuff.

Well Grandma and Aunt Sarah are heading out. I'm sad to see them go. Mom and Dad need the help, they're pretty lazy. I cry and Dad's like "he'll live." What a jerk!

Anyway, it's past my bedtime. Better go.

Peace Out,
A-dog

Sorry it's been a while. It's not that we've been busy, more that we've been getting into a routine. Adam is becoming more and more aware. He looks around and even moves his head to try to eat various toys.

Well back to Saturday. Once Katie woke up it was pretty close game time. The pushing went about an hour. The pain started to come back when the pushing started. The nurses didn't want Katie to push right away, since the baby wasn't in position yet. However, Katie was pretty motivated. The nurses told her not to push. However, Katie kept pushing the nurse button because she wanted to push. One nurse even called the nursing station asking for the doctor because she had a "pushy patient."

Finally, the nurse told her to push when ready. I could slowly watch Adam's head descend. The only part that scared me was Adam's head. I thought I was looking at the top of his head. It was actually the back of his head. As his head started coming out, more and more head came out. I was imagining the drone from the aliens moving coming out. Eventually Adam's was pretty much out. Katie's eyes were closed and the nurses told he to look. Once Adam was out, Katie exclaimed "That's my baby!" I got a kick out of her statement, since it was pretty obvious to all of us that Adam was her baby.

To be continued...

Once we got to the hospital we waited around in the triage room. Basically, that's the room where the questionable people go. Questionable, not in the sense that we were going to take all the toilet paper in the bathroom and leave, but questionable in that Katie was actually going into real labor.

Although Katie's contractions were about 5 minutes apart, they weren't consistent enough. Plus Katie wasn't effaced or dilated much at all. When Katie first had contractions, she wasn't sure what they were. By about 10AM they were 9/10 on the pain scale. I was really worried about what was to come, since these 5 minute contractions were so terrible.

Eventually, the doctors began trying to make a decision. Katie and I discussed the issue and determined that we did not want to go back home and go through this again. We told the doctor that we wanted to move things along. After some consideration, we were finally moved to the labor room. They broke her water and the contractions almost instantly moved to about 3 minutes apart. That is when the pain really kicked in. That is when we asked for the epidermal. They didn't let me watch for the epidermal part. I had to sit on the couch. They cited some guy that passed out and his his head.

Once Katie got the epidermal, she fell asleep. After an hour she was fully dilated and effaced. Adam still had not dropped.

To be continued...

What a day! My day started with grandma trying to distract me so that my mom could try to get an extra hour of sleep. I think I spoiled her by sleeping 7.5 hours yesterday and now 4 hours is no longer good enough for her. I'm going to have to remember not to spoil her again. A boy gets hungry and likes to be rocked. How can he do that if mom and dad are sleeping? Parents these days! Mommy decided that I was getting smelly so she gave me a bath. Doesn't she know that little boys like to be dirty? I screamed and screamed like any boy would. Then mom put me in a little blue alligator robe that my great Aunt Nancy got me. Come on mom! This is not a photo shoot! But, I did look pretty cute. So, my big accomplishment today was that it was my first day to wear pants. Mom finally got organized enough to put together an actual outfit which included pants. It's about time. After I was dressed and fed grandma, mom and I went to pick up grandma's car. She had hit a deer 2 weeks ago on her way to come see me. That didn't stop her though. She knew I was coming so she kept on driving. Good thing she has insurance. So, mommy drove us and I slept the whole time. However, mommy's driving isn't nearly as good as daddy's. But, she got me home safe and that is what is important. We'll have to work on her driving over all of the potholes next time. Grandma is babysitting me tonight while mom and dad go out to dinner. Ha! They think they can still act young. Just wait until grandma is gone...

Adam

Whew! What a rollercoaster! It is Day 11 and I finally have 2 hands to write a little blog entry. Adam slept for 7.5 hours last night. When he started squirming this morning I shot out of bed and searched for the clock. I couldn't believe it when I realized it was 4:30 a.m. and he had fallen fast asleep at 9:00 p.m. the night before. I felt like a whole new woman!! So, let's go back to Adam's first day from my perspective.

After a whole whopping one hour of sleep I woke up at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday the 28th with contractions about 8 minutes apart. Like the good wife that I am I let Mike sleep for a couple of hours until my contractions were 6 minutes apart. At 3 a.m. I told him and my mom to start getting ready because my contractions were pretty consistently less than 5 minutes apart and it was time to go to the hospital. They got themselves all showered and prettied up while I sat next to Mike's "talking clock" and had to time my own contractions. And for those of you that know me yes my hair was a disaster and I could barely care enough just to put on a fresh pair of clothes. (Contractions are not pleasant). My contractions started slowing down when we got to the hospital unless I was walking the halls. They were talking about sending me home (although my contractions were 4 minutes apart and an 8-9 on the pain scale). So, I was determined to keep the contractions coming and I would set "mini-goals" as to how far I would walk. I even started doing the stairs..whatever it took! Mike stayed back in the hospital room to take a nap. The nurse was a bit surprised when she came to check my progress and found Mike sleeping in the hospital bed. By the time they came back and were still talking about sending me home I was ready to pull out fake tears, because I hear that works. But, they finally decided to admit me and break my water.

Well, that was about the time the pain really kicked in, ESPECIALLY after they broke my water. They asked if I wanted an epidural and I was ALL about it. Let me tell you..epidural is a BEAUTIFUL thing. As soon as I got it I conked out and slept for over an hour. I woke up with a big smile on my face and still didn't feel a thing. Mike was looking at my contraction sheet and was amazed that I wasn't feeling anything. During my hour nap I went from 4 cm dilated to fully dilated and ready to push. Then they turned the epidural down and I went from being pleasant to nagging the nurses every minute (I'm surprised they didn't turn off the call button) that I needed to push. They wanted me to just blow the urges to push out through my mouth like blowing bubbles because the doctor was busy at an emergency c-section. Well, after I wouldn't let up with the call button the nurse finally said we could start pushing. An hour later with the doctor running in and putting on scrubs as fast as she could because I refused to stop pushing little Adam arrived. Mike said that he thought it was funny because the first thing I said when they put Adam on me was "That's my Baby!" He started talking about how that was an excited utterance and in court it would hold up as not being hearsay..or something like that..and that it was an obvious statement so it was funny that I would choose to say that. I don't really know what Mike was talking about all I know is that I was SO HAPPY to be done with the labor part. The other funny statement I made was "How do women do this?" I guess I said that while I was pushing.

Well I just heard some bubbles coming out of little Adam and an "aroma" is quickly filling the room. Mommy duty calls!

So Friday morning there was some fun. Katie woke up around midnight (Friday) with some contractions. They weren't 5 minutes or less apart so eventually she went back to bed. She woke me up around 1AM or so, but I slowly fell back asleep. It was exciting that she was actually having contractions, but we both knew that it was not labor.

At this point the doctors had told us that Katie was completely effaced, and then a week later told us the she wasn't effaced at all. I guess the previous nurse practitioner didn't look enough? Yea, we're changing doctors.

Anyway, I'm sure you are all waiting for me to get to Saturday. Well Saturday around midnight, Katie was awaken by some contractions. She woke me up around 2 AM as the contractions started to approach the 5 minutes apart mark. I wasn't prepared to mark down the contractions. First I tried using my blackberry, but it was cumbersome to switch from the home screen to the memo pad to write down the time. Plus I didn't have a seconds indicator. Finally I just turned on my computer. The only thing I could think of with a seconds indicator was my trusty talking clock.

If you don't know about my talking clocks: When I was 13 I wrote a talking clock in visual basic. For some reason I had a dream of writing a talking clock in C++. That dream came true when I was 24! They're available at my website

At about 3:30 AM we decided to head over to the hospital. Katie's contractions varied, but definitely averaged around 5 minutes apart. I took a shower, and Grandma (Karius) got her hair all ready. Once I determined that Adam would like to see his father for the first time in a "It's Miller Time" T-shirt, we loaded up the car and headed to the hospital. Not before I left a message on the front door to the Empire Carpet guys who were to show up between 8AM and 5PM "Wife in Labor Please Call."

To be continued...