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Here You Go...

Here's a bunch of random Eva pictures—just a fraction of the many we've taken so far. (Click on them to see bigger versions.)

We're Home!

Hi, everyone! We got home at about 7PM last night. It was pretty damn scary having Eva all to ourselves—we kinda liked the hospital's 24/7 nursing staff and all that. We got through the first night just fine! Eva is feeding spectacularly. (Even better than at the hospital.) Today, we even got Eva all dressed up for her first doctor's appointment! She loves car rides!

Shannon has yet to be online since she went into the hospital on Monday, so she hasn't been able to read all your nice comments and emails—but I've been reading them to her, and she says "Hi and thank you!" to everyone. She's doing so good with Eva. She's an incredible mom. I can't tell you how proud I am to be married to her.

Next up: pictures!

Hi, Eva!

As you can see, we're doing fine.

The Baby Has Left the Belly!

Too tired to go into all the details, but after a long and slow labor that was eventually sped up by inducers and pain meds, at 2:23pm today, Shannon gave birth to our brand new daughter! (They are both very healthy and happy.) Her name is Eva Marie Paulus, she weighs 8lb 13oz, and is 21 inches long.

And we couldn't be happier. She's beautiful. (Sorry, we can't post pictures from the hospital.)

-Mike and Shannon

Quick Update

Hi everyone! We are still at the hospital and baby is still in the belly. Long story short (kinda): Shannon labored all night long, and things were moving very slowly, so early this morning, we decided to start petocin to speed things up. And since Shannon already had a rat's nest of cords and wires connected to her because of all the monitors and special IVs for the preeclampsia, and because she's stuck in bed, and because she's been nauseous, and because she labored through the night with so much strength, we decided it was time for some meds. So now Shannon is sleeping comfortably and gathering her strength for later. And things are definitely progressing now.

Stubborn kid.

Update: At the Hospital Again

Hi! We are back at the hosptial. We went in for a (routine) ultrasound appt. this morning, and based on the results (less amniotic fluid than they'd like to see), along with the chance of preeclampsia, we've decided to get things going. So today Shannon has been started on some mild inducers and will probably progress onward to petocin later tonight. If all goes perfectly, the baby will be in our arms sometime tonight!

The tough part is that Shannon needs to be on an IV drip and get some special meds during and after delivery. So she'll be stuck in bed for most of this. Not what we hoped for, but Shannon is doing really well with the change in plans. She's really amazing!

Thanks again for all the nice thoughts and messages!

And… We’re Home

Hi! We’re back home right now. As you can see by this totally hot  picture, baby is still in the belly. Shannon was monitored for a long time and given a [insert giant pharmaceutical-type word here] suppository to gently nudge her into labor. It seems to be working, because Shannon is slightly dilated and our midwife says she’s on the way.  Being at the hospital made me kind of anxious to get things going, but really it was a blessing to go there and see how things will work when baby decides to move out for real. Since Shannon’s blood pressure is back to normal, we decided to come home and let things take their course. We might be back tonight, or it could be next week, but no matter what happens we’re getting pretty damn excited. Our parents are excited, too—both of them drove to town to see us. So much love!

Thanks for all the good thoughts, everyone. Hopefully we’ll have a picture of that little baby soon!

P.S. I got a job interview! Weeee!

And Suddenly, We're Off!

Well, our midwife called this morning. Turns out there are a couple things in my urine that are elevated (forgive me, I have no idea what 'things' they are), and she feels it would be wise to induce me. Basically, I think this is to prevent my body from developing preeclampsia. So, we are all packed and heading to the hospital...and she said they're not letting us leave there without a kid.

A kid!!!

Right now, everything is all kind of dream-like. We're running around like we do before we go on vacation, tying up loose ends. Mike said he feels like we're getting ready for guests. Yep. The mother of all house-guests. A new little baby.

We'll be in touch as much as we can...today could be a very long day. I might not even go into labor until tomorrow. But, as soon as that little baby introduces itself, you will all hear about it! Thanks for all your well-wishes and happy thoughts.

And now...we're off on a new adventure!

Thirsty?

So there’s a jug of urine in our fridge. Yep. Urine.

My blood pressure was still a bit elevated yesterday, so our midwives wanted to do more extensive tests on my urine, which requires me to do a 24-hour collection. And it has to be refrigerated. Yum.

Turns out I’m a champion pee-er. (Peeer??) I’m supposed to be collecting my urine until 2:30PM, but by this morning the giant jug they gave me was full. Apparently, I stay well-hydrated. We had to be creative and find another container to hold the rest of my pee for the day.

I have to say it is NOT FAIR to ask a pregnant woman to catch all of her urine. Especially one who is 40 weeks pregnant and has a baby perpetually lounging on her bladder. I’m in the bathroom enough as it is, and now it’s an even bigger production. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the details.

I think this is all ‘just in case,’ because all of my other tests (I had bloodwork done too! Yes I did!) have come back normal, but there is a chance they’ll find protein in all the gallons of urine I’ve saved, and that means they’d most likely induce me.

So, tomorrow may be Baby Day! Which would actually be ok with us because our favorite midwife is on-call this weekend, and she would do the delivery.

We’ll keep you all posted. And if you stop by our house, no matter what Mike says, DO NOT drink out of the big orange jug in our refrigerator.

Hey--Guess What!!

Nope. No baby yet. BUT—I did have high blood pressure yesterday at my regular appointment, soooo…I get to go to the clinic Again! This morning! Wheee!

Our midwife (a different one this time) was concerned about me developing preeclampsia late in my pregnancy. A sudden increase in blood pressure is one sign they look for. She said that she’d seen a lot of it lately, and that normally she wouldn’t be concerned, but at the moment she’s a bit gun-shy. Of course she is.

Also, she said (with no small amount of wonder,) “And you’ve managed to gain 3 pounds in 2 days?!??”

What can I say? If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s ‘bulking up.’ I mean, I’m going to need the extra energy for labor, right??

I calmly pointed out that 2 days ago I was weighed at 8 AM, and yesterday I was weighed at 4PM. I mean, I can practically gain 3 pounds in 1 day just in water weight. Plus I was wearing really heavy shoes. (How about it? Can I get some back-up on that, ladies?) Well, it made sense to me. She didn’t seem quite so eager to commit to my reasoning.

Anyway. She wants to be on the safe side (and I’m a big fan of the safe side), so I’m stopping in today to have my blood pressure checked again, and to pee in a cup. Mike and I are assuming that all is well: I’m feeling ‘normal’ and I don’t show any other signs of preeclampsia.

But…we’ll keep you posted.