6 lbs 8 oz!!!!!!

Check out this video......I think you'll enjoy it!

David Edward is Here!

Here is a few pictures to start off with, but I"m sure that there will be more passed around as we go. We love him so much and can't wait for everyone to meet him! Thanks also to everyone who came to see us at the hospital. Trinity Medical Center was our home for four days and it was an amazing place! The nurses took great care of us....Notice I said us....Because they cared to me as much as they did Michelle. Enjoy and we love ya'll!

WOWEEEE!!!!!

Today is March 3rd...2 days before the birth of David Edward, and yet...This blog is not about him at all! You would think...By looking at these pictures....That we lived in Minnesota or back in Kansas or Washington DC or in Denver Colorado or something. But we live in the south, people! We live in Texas....Lewisville, Texas. Where it may average one or two inches of snow all year long....But this is March...

Well just enjoy the pictures...We love ya'll and we'll see ya soon!

GO BABY DAVID EDWARD!!!!


This little boy is having none of it! I called for him and he turned and booked!





THIS IS TEXAS PEOPLE!!!!!




This a picture of our beautiful house in March and oh by the way, the temperature yesterday was 74 degrees! Who would have known! As I said. This is Texas...Two days before David is to be born. (FYI we blame this on Grandmama Miles because she brought it with her from Kansas...were kidding!!!)

5 days to go!!!!

Michelle had her last official doctors appointment today at 2:30 to see Dr. Paroski and we didn't get out of there until about 4-something. They were really backed up and they were trying to get us in and out....(but I think the doctor got so busy that they forgot about my sweet wife on the NST Machine) Here's a funny side note...During the NST test, Michelle and double-digit contractions while she was being tested! They were measured at 17 minutes apart! And you'll hear about this later, but this nice man Leo who I met today who use to be a co-worker with Michelle a few years back said that Michelle might give birth this weekend! Just because he thinks so! OH MY GOODNESS! What's the deal! Stay put little boy! You'll come soon enough! But early afternoon today, Michelle had a very nice baby shower at the downtown office where Grandma Margie is the manager. Michelle has previously worked with a lot of these nice folks before when she worked in the office before she went to art school. But it was a very nice shower, and I have included some pictures below to prove it. What great people. We had lots of fun and Margie worked hard putting it together, and there we were given some very generous gifts. We received a couple of hand-knited blankets that were so soft and cuddly!

Huh, this weekend is going to be the last one with just us...but honestly we wouldn't have it any other way! In all the places that we have been going lately, there have been a lot of little toddler boys running around, and Michelle and I just look at each other and laugh and think about where our boy will be in a few years...And goodness knows that it will be here sooner than you can imagine. Well its late...I've gotta get up for school, and Michelle gets to enjoy the day in bed! (I wouldn't have it any other way!)Enjoy the pictures below and we love ya'll! We'll see ya soon!

DEM

More pics for your enjoyment. White onesie is from Uncle Jason and Aunt Dana, Miles 08 is from Aunt Carol, and bags by the door are, well just plain necessary.

7 Days to GO!!!!!

What an amazing time!!!! Can you believe that next Tuesday is the day!!!!! Mommy and Daddy can't be more excited. We got the video camera out last night and filmed mommy's belly and daddy played some rock and roll guitar and the baby was just going crazy! We are going into Trinty Medical Center in Carrollton at 6:00 pm next Tuesday and we will be there for the rest of the week. If mommy has a natural birth, she will probably be released on Friday...But we'll have to see what happens. Daddy's taking the rest of the week off from school so I can be with mommy and my son. The birth will definately be taking place on March 5th.

Mommy had her last official sonogram today and we got a couple of pictures: The top picture is of David's face profile. From right to left you can see the top of his head, his nose, his eyes, and his chubby little cheeks! The next picture is of David's special parts....Every man's gottem...Don't be embarassed! David might be if he reads this...But he needs to get over it! CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR BIG!!!

One last thing before we sign off....Special thanks to Sarah today for helping mommy get around to her appointment, and thanks for the sweet sentiments about the nursery. We're really lucky it turned out as nice as it did. So thanks Sarah for everything you've done for us. And everybody else too. Everyone's been just awesome!

WE LOVE YA'LL!!!! GET READY PEOPLE!!!! 7 DAYS AWAY!!!!

Update

Just an update on how everything is going...
Michelle is taking it very easy. She's now on full-time bedrest and is not allowed to work. It seems as if the baby is draining her energy and she is spending a lot of time in bed. Which is just fine. Tell me this everyone...Can you believe we're only 8 days away from the big day??? Just 8 days! Can you believe it! Michelle and I can believe it, trust us. We want to thank Nadine for cooking for us this last weekend. It means a lot to us and it makes our lives just a little bit easier! And it also gives Michelle something she can eat and will eat lots of! So thanks to Nadine! Well...With that said...The Nursery is complete, 100% done....

Michelle has a three doctors appointments coming up this week: She has a NST on Monday (which daddy is sure that mommy will see some more contractions...Now that we are getting closer to B-Day, Tuesday she has one last sonogram, and on Thursday she has an NST test with Dr. Paroski.

March 4th is getting closer!!!! Get excited people! David Edwards almost here!

DEM

Some Family Photos

Here are some recently taken family photos for you to enjoy.

Knowing that David is coming in such a short time makes us all very excited.

This was taken in the sweet "daddy chair" and we got Sarge to pose! Isn't he sweet! Mommy is so cute!

This picture was taken during the final steps of completing the nursery. Mommy helped daddy with the finishing touches on this shadow box. Looks great! Daddy's a dork!

Big Daddy has recently picked up the game of golf...When we played last week, he really hit the ball well! I was very impressed. Look at the man go! Go Big Daddy!

WHOA!!!

Oh wow! What a past couple of days. Well lets talk about yesterday. What a day! Michelle wakes up with really high blood pressure. She took it the night before and it got worse overnight! It usually dosen't do that. Michelle decides to go to the hospital to get checked out. Well guess what, on the way to the hospital...Dr. P calls and asks what Michelle is doing. Doc said that Michelle needed to get to labor and delivery right away! Michelle calls me while I'm in the middle of second period and she is obviously upset and crying. I was really worried. But she tells me to stay at school because she is just going in to get checked out and that's about it. David is not due for another two weeks. So I was put on high alert that David could have been born yesterday if Michelle's disposition would not have improved. So I spend all day at school pretty much freekin about Michelle and David. And so...Michelle is admitted, she's taken to a room and she has some basic tests run. Everything turns out okay! The baby is okay, she's okay...Bloodpressure goes down...Levels are okay...David still is strong...The way that I see it, is this was just a little scare of preeclampsia. That's how dangerous it is. So Michelle is discharged from the hospital about 3:30 or there abouts and she is ordered to go straight home and get in bed and don't move. She is on doctor's ordered bed rest for the next two weeks. Until David's birthday. We honestly thought that this time for bedrest would come, but we weren't really for sure when. Well, its here. Michelle can do a little work from the bed, but for the most part, she is to relax and that's it. I am going to be coming home from school during lunch so I can tend to her and make sure that she has everything she needs. I came home today for lunch and got her some leftover tater tot casserole and fetched her test supplies and other things. But overall, today was a nice, easy, and relaxing day. Michelle took naps, ate a little bit here and there and just relaxed. She needs to concentrate on rest. That's the most important thing.

Here is proof of Michelle and her doctor ordered bed rest. We love ya'll!

What a Whirlwind Weekend!

We want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for making the baby shower for Michelle such a wonderful and memorable experience last weekend. We still can't stop talking about it! It was just an overall great weekend. We want to thank Dana, Stacie, Sarah and Krafty Katie. With all your individual touches, it made a spectacular party. And we want to thank all the family members who made trips to be with us here. We hope that you enjoyed yourself and hope that you will return shortly when David arrives. (MARCH 5th to be exact! We'll discuss that tidbit very soon. )

Michelle and her mother went to see Dr. P today, and we found out a very large bit of news! There are two scenarios that can be played out. Here is scenario A: Dr. P said that we would go into the hospital on March 4th at 6:00pm, which is a Tuesday for induction!!!! The reason for the early arrival is for "cervix softening" which prepares the cervix for the baby's exit. No need for any further explanation - You get the idea. And the baby would be born on March 5th!!!! (at what time we don't really know.) Scenario B: The baby could be born as early as this Wednesday! This is going to be based on her test results that will indicate signs of severe preeclampsia. The doctor said specifically that the preeclampsia would blossom into an evil creature if allowed to get any worse! So we don't want any part of that! So David Edward could be arriving sooner that March 5th! So be ready at any moment! David's comin!

Well before we head off to bed for the evening, please enjoy this video that Michelle made of the nursery that is fully complete! We hung the last bit of shelving and hung the letters that Krafty Katie made for us and did some minor rearranging. You'll love it. We love ya'll.

34 Weeks 2 Days

Holy cow! Michelle had a NST (non-stress test) today...Routine...No big deal right? WRONG! Today while Michelle was sitting in the chair, without really knowing at all, she had a contraction! No joke! It was small and didn't last hardly at all...But to me...A contraction is a contraction! That really hammers home the fact that our baby is going to be here very soon! Speaking of that....The induction date for our baby to be brought into the world will be scheduled on next Monday. 37 weeks is the farthest that doc is going to let us go. Any farther than that and Michelle is going to be putting herself into some scary situations. Preeclampsia, out of control blood pressure and diabetes etc. SO none of that. So here it goes - the way that we see it, the baby will either be born on March 4 or March 7th! Those are the two dates that Doc gave us. Tuesday or Friday. But honestly, it really has us beaming with anticipation! We are excited that we are going to be having lots of family coming into town this weekend for the baby shower. Daddy has a stinkin basketball tournament that is interfering with family time, but I hope some family can come and watch me coach...That would be awesome! We love you all and the time is fast approaching! GO BABY DAVID EDWARD!

32 weeks 6 days

The Scoop according to yesterday's appt. Dr. P says David is growing well, has a bad case of the hiccups, and moves so much! As for Mommy, we're adding another dose of insulin, another dose of iron, and suggestions have been made for me to stop working at 35 weeks. Blood pressure is right on par and pulse is at 99bpm. Wait, stop working? At 35 weeks? Are you kidding me, do I have to? Dr. says I don't "have" to, unless things start going down hill. She is still delivering at 37 weeks, doesn't seem to want to budge from that.

On another note, David and I went to Daddy's BBall game last night, it was so loud and exciting, David kicked constantly. Daddy's team won by 20 points! I'm so proud of him! He is so intense and passionate about his team that crowd members could be heard shouting, "Hey ref, get that coach off the court!" I hope David has Eric's passion and work ethic about something in his life, it's one of my favorite things about him. That, and his awesome music stylings. ;)

This boy's got it goin' on!

Look at this boy! He is so handsome! The time is winding down and he is going to be here in the matter of just a few short weeks. I want the little man to be born on mommy's birthday because that will let daddy be off the whole week for spring break and that will be a great week to bond with my little lineman. Michelle had a 4-dimensional sonogram today and was it worth it! As you can see from the pictures, he sure is a handsome devil!

31 1/2 weeks!

Here's the scoop, because you're enquiring minds want to know, right?

This week has been all about David moving and turning. At the last sonogram, he was in the breech position, butt down, good measurements and so on. Last night, during Eric's bonding time with the baby, I was telling him how D's activity is the most intense that it's ever been. How I had a feeling that he was making a drastic change to his position. Sure enough, at the sono today, Dr. Albert confirmed he is now in the head first position. He's taken his post and is preparing for departure. He's about 4lbs and seven ounces. All bones and organs measure on the higher side of average, which makes sense with gestational diabetes. Dr. A said David was moving so much, it's difficult to get a reading on the umbilical cord flow. Somehow he slowed down enough to allow the Dr. to get a good measurement. Cord flow is great. Amniotic fluids are perfect and all is well with the heart rate.

As far as Mom's health, not so great, but manageable. Some of the things we're focused on right now is steadily creeping blood pressure, steadily creeping blood sugar levels, no weight gain, and general emotional swings. My daily medical regiment is all consuming. Something had to replace the all consuming nausea, don't you think? Here's how it goes:

Morning: Take urine sample for key tone readings, whatever those are, record results.
Test morning fasting blood sugar levels, record results.
Remember to eat a low carb-sugar free bfast.
Mid morning: Take 5 pills in one swallow without gagging.
Remember to eat a low carb-sugar free snack.
Test blood sugar, record results.
Midday: Take lunch dose of three pills, without gagging.
Eat whatever lunch I find time for, in a reasonable portion.
Mid afternoon: Test blood sugar, record results.
Remember to eat snack.
Evening: Eat balanced dinner, which my dear husband usually prepares.
Take blood pressure, record results.
Late evening: Test blood sugar, record results.
Have small protein centered snack.
Inject 4 units of human insulin into my stomach wall. (Side note: I cried like a baby the first time I had to do this and Eric sat dutifully by coaching me on, counting down to the "stick" and just generally being supportive.)
Take 4 pills without gagging.
Take 2 to 3 Rolaids for sound sleeping.

That's it. Not too much. On the upside, I'm sleeping well, with the exception of occasional acid reflux, bathroom visits, and leg cramps. I'm working like a fiend, and often have trouble tearing myself away from the office.

We're seeing the Dr. twice a week now and a sonogram every other week. The Dr. also calls me every few days for my recorded results of everything. Oh, the monitoring went well this week also. Dr. P laughed at David and all of his activity. She says, "It's the best sign of a healthy baby." Eric says he gets butterflies in his stomach when he thinks of how far we are now. Talk goes in the direction of urgency to complete the nursery and potential child care services. We've set up our childbirthing classess at the hospital, finally. Our likely delivery date will probably be during the week of March 7th to the 15th, if all goes well. We'll be in our 37th or 38th week, do the math, that's only six weeks away! Yikes!

Guess what? Another Dr Appt.

So, a Dr. appt last Thursday, was good, another ultrasound was taken, David is right where he should be growth wise, about 3.8lbs. Dr. still says the baby is showing no signs of being affected by my blood pressure, meds, or gestational diabetes. Great news!

I met with a nutritionist and a nurse who specializes in GD. They gave me a meal plan and demonstrations on how to test my blood sugar. I also got to see the hospital where we will deliver. As far as I can tell, it looks well run, clean, and ready for everything. Wish I could say the same for myself.

This weekend, Eric and I went to update some more registry items and visited friends. The visit was really fun, they have two little girls, both in diapers, and just watching them play made both Eric and I laugh like crazy and even more excited to add to our family. They also gave us great hand be downs for David. A little funny side note, I woke up at about 3am on Saturday, out of a dead sleep, screaming and wailing, due to a leg cramp. I scared the crap out of Eric, who tried desperately to massage it. Before we could get that cramp under control, the other leg started in. Before I knew it, I was up out of bed, bouncing off walls in the dark like the Tasmanian Devil trying to stretch through the pain, while screaming at the top of my lungs, and Eric chasing me like a corner back, still trying to massage my legs. Somehow, it stopped, I stopped sobbing and went back to sleep. I still don't know how Eric didn't have a heart attack on the spot. He's a good man!

Today's appt, not the best, but not bad either. We had another non stress test and the baby's heart rate is steady and strong, with ample movement to boot. My blood pressure is creeping just a bit, but another change in meds should take care of it. The Dr's not too pleased with my blood sugar levels so far, but she's willing to monitor it for another week before putting me on insulin. She says, sometimes, with GD, you can eat all the right things at all the right times, and GD will still win the fight. In the meantime, I'm trying not to get discouraged about what I feel like I'm doing to the baby. I gave another sample to test for preeclampsia, results should be in by next week's appt. We also talked about our estimated due date of 03/23/2008, big development...... Dr says she will not allow me to go that far, she plans to induce at 37 weeks. She says if David's healthy and strong at that time it would be safer for him and me, to induce and avoid any possible complications.

Please keep us in your thoughts as the road gets a little bumpy and here's to smoother roads ahead....... hopefully.

Today's Dr. Appt.

Another appt today, it was confirmed, I have Gestational Diabetes. To try to manage it, I have an appt on Thursday, 01.10.2008 with a dietitian and GD RN to educate me on the proper diet and exercise regiment. Thursday is also our next sonogram, which will reoccur every two weeks until delivery. Dr. P says she will repeat the non-stress test at every weekly appt from here on out also, to keep a very close eye on the baby. Side note: On Friday night we had a little scare, I was experiencing some strange abdominal pains that caused me to almost make a trip to the ER. I took some Rolaids, Tylenol, and a warm bath and finally managed to get to sleep. Close call. In the meantime, we're still having so much fun watching David move and move and move some more. There's also been lots of talk about showers and registries. I'd better get that nursery finished!

News for the New Year....

Happy New Year to everyone! We hope you all are well!

A quick baby update....
We spent the better part of the day at the Dr's office on New Year's Eve. The Dr. had called about a week prior to that to say she suspected I may have Gestational Diabetes, based on a blood test taken. Anemia was also found in that sample. I've started Iron supplements for the Anemia and Eric and I have started a new diet with exercise to help with the Diabetes until we found out for sure if I in fact had GD.

So, on New Year's Eve we went in for our 28 week appointment, a "Non-stress Test" and a 3 hour glucose test to confirm the Dr's suspicions. As for the baby, he's growing well, soooo much movement and a great heart rate. He was moving so much, as a matter of fact, that the Dr. had a hard time steadily tracking his heart rate. She says, "If the baby's moving that much, he's doing just fine." As for Mom, my blood pressure is very well under control and my pulse is a bit high. Which is expected during pregnancy and nothing to worry about right now. The 3hr test for blood sugar was not fun, but a necessary evil. It gives definitive results about GD.

Last night, Dr. Paroski called to let us know the glucose test came back positive for GD. I will hear from the nurse today to set up the necessary appointments. We'll first try controlling it with diet and exercise, then medicine, if necessary.

Aside from all that, we're really getting excited about all the things to come in the new year. We talk alot about how Sarge will react to having to share his coveted position in the family when the baby gets here and all the other big changes coming in just about 2 1/2 months.

Our next appointment is on 01/07/2008.

Got some more pictures of our boy....

Dr. says everything is going great. David Edward is weighing in at just over two pounds and has a heart rate of about 147 bpm. Daddy's is 60 bpm. Dr. also says he is measuring above average in his growth rate and we're still looking at a March delivery. Daddy says for the Miles folks to be ready for travel in the Spring. David is showing no signs of negative side effects from Mommy's high blood pressure or blood pressure medicine. Fluid levels are all good.

Our next appointment is December 31, 2007 with Dr. Paroski. After that we will see the doctor every week until birth to monitor for any complications. These sono pics are from our 10/17/2007 appointment. The first one is of his face on the right, looks like a skull from Halloween, creepy. The second is his little hand, ready for high fives! The third are the infamous Miles feet.

What a great time! The baby's health is phenominal, mommy's health is doing great and daddy is happy as a clam. As much as our boy rocks and rolls in mommy's belly...He seems like he's enjoying his time in there. Daddy is playing lots of rock and roll music and acoustic guitar and we sing lots and lots together, which makes him very happy. The kicks are really becoming more noticible and are quite fun to catch. Both of us go...Ooooh! Ooooh! Its hilarious! But we can't wait for David's arrival in the Spring. He's going to make us so happy! We're getting to the point now where we're looking for essential things likes car seats, strollers, etc. Big stuff. We are soon going to register at Baby's R Us, just to let you know. (That's daddy talkin...HA HA)

We wish everyone a safe holiday season and hope Santa gives you many gifts and days of happiness! Love ya!

E and M and DE

We saw so much good stuff today!

The appointment with the specialist went great. He performed basic tests to detect any birth defects and abnormalities, such as, Downs Syndrome, among others. He said everything looks great and all the measurements are normal. He gave an estimated due date of 03/23/2008. Heartbeat is about 170bpm. We've also got a great DVD of the sonogram, but I just can't get it to upload to this site. I saw the baby moving it's arms, turning it's head, bending it's knees, all very neat stuff! The baby has grown out it's arms and legs and it looks like it'll have the Miles' big feet, too. So all is well. Till the next appt. That's next Monday, by the way.

Long Time no blog...

I'm here blogging because my dear friend Dana, and others, believe I don't speak to the world enough. So, here goes.

We've finished moving.
We've mowed the lawn for the first time.
We've had friends over for dinner for the first time, (mostly, for free labor).
I've Christened all the loos with pregnancy blessings, all sorts. The backyard too, on one very bad morning.

Friends are great,too. In an attempt to keep me from over-doing it and also to keep me from burning Eric out with endless "honey do" tasks, Dana and my Mom have become quite the handy ladies. They've been over slaving to replace hideous door knobs, electrical outlets, and light switches. The house feels more like home everyday. Mom went crazy at the home stores to purchase house warming presents, Eric's favorite, a mini fridge for the media room.

Dad helped with the grunt work and a few necessary gadgets that I didn't even know existed. He also gives great tutorials on how to program an air conditioner. Nadine brought a home cooked meal and lots of help in the kitchen. Sarah brought many pregnancy books and children to fill my home with laughter. The outpouring of support has been awesome and hard to accept at times.

Things are also okay with the growing babe, as far as I know. A little spotting last night, but I took it easy and it's subsided. But, it's scary every time.

Our next appointment is Tuesday, tune in Tuesday night for the next update.