Elijah Ryan Arrives

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get pictures posted on our blog! It's amazing how much less I get done with a newborn in my arms!!! Elijah Ryan Mayhew was born December 18, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long. I went into the hospital on December 16th for prep, induction with pitocin began at 8:30 a.m. on December 17th, and 25 very long hours later Elijah entered the world. I narrowly escaped a c-section and for that I am very thankful! Elijah was worth every minute of the difficult labor and has truly been a joy to Ryan and I. He is a great baby and rarely cries, though we are still working on the concept of sleeping at night. He's been nursing like a champ and at his 3 week checkup this past week already weighs 8 lbs 5.5 oz and is 21.25 inches. Here are some pictures... More to come soon.

Thanksgiving

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Life has been busy! Between work, church, doctor appointments, family gatherings and getting the house in order for baby it's been hard to stop and slow down. On Thanksgiving Day, we had the opportunity to do just that - relax! We spent the afternoon with the Mayhew's and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, then headed over to the Mayo's for some yummy dessert. It was a great day with people we love... Here are some pictures from the Mayhew side. I guess by the time we got to the Mayo's we were too stuffed to remember to take pictures! :)

My last day at work will be Tuesday, December 2nd. I cannot wait to be on maternity leave and start to really focus on our little guy's arrival. The nursery is almost done - the crib and bassinet are ready, clothes are washed and in drawers, and the changing table is set up. Though we still have some finishing touches, it's good to know that if he came tonight we would be set up enough to bring him home.

I guess in some ways you can never completely prepare for the arrival of your first child (or probably any thereafter). I find myself to be an emotional yo-yo lately; some moments I am so anxious for him to arrive I cannot focus on anything else, and other moments are pure panic at the thought of how life will change and whether we will be good parents. The responsibility is amazing! I am comforted to know that many many have gone before us in this endeavor, and having children is spoken of in the Bible as a blessing from God. We have prayed long and hard for this baby and we trust that the Lord will give us our DAILY bread and wisdom as we set out on this new journey of parenthood.

36 Week Ultrasound

We had an unexpected ultrasound at 36 weeks to determine the position of our little guy. At my 35 week ultrasound he was transverse, which means he was lying in the cradle position with his back to the floor. If he stayed in this position it would have meant the doctor would have tried to turn him and if that didn't work - a c-section. So this past Wednesday I went in for another peak and was very pleased to see that he had moved head down - this is great progress towards his big entry into the world!



Here are a couple of pictures from the ultrasound. I'm sorry they are so small but I couldn't get them to scan any larger. One is a profile shot and the other is a picture of his face, though it looks fairly skeletal as most of our ultrasounds have. During the actual ultrasound I was able to see him moving around and catch better glimpses of what he looks like - pretty amazing! He has some good cheeks (on his face!) already and lots of hair. All his little toes look pretty good too! :) Unfortunately Ryan wasn't able to be there because it wasn't planned in advance, he will definitely be there for the big day!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since we were married! So much has happened in those five years... we spent our first three married months on different continents while we waited for the Army to allow me to come live in Germany... we finally began married life together while adjusting to a different country and culture, as well as military life... we spent 11 months apart while Ryan was deployed to Afghanistan, not to mention the months apart for training leading up to the deployment... Ryan lost a good friend in the first five days of his deployment to a land mine and we realized once again how fragile and precious life truly is... we moved to Virginia and established a new life with new friends and new jobs... we grieved through losing a baby early in pregnancy... we were blessed with a wonderful church home in Virginia and amazing supportive friends... and now we've left the military, moved back "home" near our families, are part of an incredible church family, and God has blessed us with a little boy who will be born in a few weeks! It's amazing what five years can bring about - two continents, three different homes, and so much joy amidst the stretching and trying times. God has always given us the grace and the strength for each new phase He has asked us to walk through. It's amazing to look back and see His faithfulness and care for us. Our love has grown stronger with each year and each circumstance. Can't wait for 5...10...50 more years together!!!!

35 weeks and 3 days... 32 days left until my due date - but who's counting? The past few weeks have been filled with work for me, doctor appointments, overtime for Ryan and working on the house. The baby's room is almost done... one more coat of paint on the moulding and one more closet to paint and we will be finished. Maybe tonight??? We shall see! We are really excited to clean up all the dust and tools and painters tape and actually see floors again!

Ryan has been working a ton of overtime for the past three weeks. With the stock market plunge, people are frantic about their retirements (understandably) and so he has spent lots of extra hours at MassMutual. He should be back to a regular work week now and we are both grateful! At the same time, we are grateful for the extra income that overtime provided at a point when it is coming in very handy!

We had another ultrasound this week to determine the size of the baby. He was thoroughly uncooperative in showing us his face. We managed to get one little profile shot but it was blurry... The ultrasound tech told me I was ultrasonically dense - which was why should couldn't get clear pictures. Hah! It definitely sounds like an insult! :) The one thing that our son managed to show us again and again was the fact that he is most definitely our SON. He was very demonstrative in that fact, so we can be assured that all the blue clothing we have is ok. His weight was estimated at 5 lbs 7 oz, right on track for where most babies are at this point. He is not completely head down yet, so we are hoping he gets there quickly before he runs out of room.

It's amazing the emotions that having a baby bring out... one moment I am thrilled beyond measure and cannot wait for him to get here. The next moment, I'm not sure how this little person is going to change our world and our routine. Everyone says becoming a parent changes your life, and it's impossible to know exactly what that means until you walk through it. So we are waiting in anticipation - and most of the time with longing and excitement and sometimes with a little nervous wondering - to see his little face and meet the person who continues to enthrall us with his late night karate chops and his bony bottom pressed against my belly. We have begun calling him by his name at home... which we will share with all of you when he is born!

Are we there yet???

Well, as of today I am 33 weeks and 1 day pregnant... which leaves 48 days left until D-Day - but who's counting??? This belly is getting bigger by the day, and our little guy seems to be getting more and more squirmy as room runs out. It's hard to believe I still have about 7 weeks left to grow bigger! Here are a few funny pregnancy things I've noticed lately:

• No matter what I eat, I gurgle, burp and hiccup uncontrollably.


• Sometimes when I'm sitting at work I can watch the baby kick me - my stomach jumps all over the place.


• Reaching my toes is getting to be almost impossible, and I certainly can't see my feel while standing up.


• I am starting to waddle... and it's definitely not pretty.

• I constantly want food - but after eating a few bites I feel full (no room in there for my stomach anymore).



• I can't put my hands over my head and breathe... (no room for my lungs either!)



• Though he will be quiet for hours, as soon as I want to fall asleep the baby starts kicking.



• Poor Ryan is required to be very patient with the tears, laughs, and crazy hormones... he never knows what he's going to get from me next!

At my baby shower last weekend, a friend asked how it felt to have a little one growing inside of me. She wanted to know if it was a strange sensation that took getting used to. I told her that I definitely went through a stage where it was very odd to know there was someone alive inside of me, moving around. Almost like a fish in a fishbowl! That took adjustment. Then I told my friend that a couple months ago I hit the stage where I realized this someone inside me was getting much bigger and would somehow have to come out! Talk about frightening! A mother of four who was listening to our conversation piped in and said, "Pretty soon you'll get to the point where you'll want him out so badly, you don't care how it happens, as long as he gets out!!!!". I can see God moving me in that direction already! It's amazing how He prepares us for the miracle of childbirth and gives us 9 months to get ready.

Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery... we are steadily making progress!