OK, so a lot has happened since the update I posted previously. One of us will write it up at some point, but suffice it to say that we have a healthy baby boy and mother and baby are both in excellent (but extremely tired) condition.
The official stats were 6:52am on November 26th, 9lb 8oz, 20.5 inches. I will convert this to "real" numbers in the next post.
And here is what you have actually been waiting for, some photos!
Cheers
http://picasaweb.google.com/craigsdickson/FirstBabyPhotos?authkey=p0bDeO8Aom8
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Status Update
It is now 11:30am Sunday, California time (6:30am Monday, Adelaide time). We checked in at midnight last night and went straight to the delivery room. Jen was hooked up to the Pitocin drip at 12:55am (7:25pm). Basically from then on until about 5am (11:30pm) it was an uncomfortable night of tossing and turning and not much action apart from contractions beginning to happen at regular 2-3 minute intervals.
Jen finally gave in at about 5am and asked for some pain medication. They gave her some through her IV. That knocked her out and she slept better until about 10am (5:30am Monday).
Around 10am the IV drugs began to wear off and the mid-wife and anesthesiologist (bet you didn't think I could spell that!) and Jen decided to get the epidural set up. That took until about 10:45am. So Jen is sleeping again now and has tubes everywhere. I have escaped for a few minutes to grab some breakfast/lunch.
Will post again when there is more to tell.
Jen finally gave in at about 5am and asked for some pain medication. They gave her some through her IV. That knocked her out and she slept better until about 10am (5:30am Monday).
Around 10am the IV drugs began to wear off and the mid-wife and anesthesiologist (bet you didn't think I could spell that!) and Jen decided to get the epidural set up. That took until about 10:45am. So Jen is sleeping again now and has tubes everywhere. I have escaped for a few minutes to grab some breakfast/lunch.
Will post again when there is more to tell.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Week 41 Baby Bump
Here is the last baby bump photo. We are off to the hospital in a couple of hours.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Non-Stress Testing
We went in to the hospital this morning for a "Non-Stress Test" - basically they strap a couple of censors around Jen's belly and monitor the baby's heart beat and also they can detect contractions. That all took about 30 minutes - it apparently could have gone a lot longer, but we were (as usual) perfectly normal.
We then moved to another room where the nurse did an ultrasound to look for the level of fluids around the baby - apparently there is a risk of the amniotic fluid levels dropping in the womb once you go past the due date as the placenta basically begins to die. Once again no concern there we had way more than enough fluid as well.
Finally we had a mid-wife come in and do another exam. She felt that we had made progress since our Monday appointment with our regular doctor, to the point that she did offer us the option of beginning the process of inducing labor today. Jen and I decided to wait until Sunday to see if anything happens naturally before inducing though. Jen has been having more significant and regular contractions since Wednesday - but so far they have subsided - so there is a chance we could avoid being induced.
If nothing happens, we will be heading for the hospital early Sunday morning and they tell us that the induction process can take as long as 24 hours. So there is a good chance before the weekend is over we will be 3 instead of 2.
We then moved to another room where the nurse did an ultrasound to look for the level of fluids around the baby - apparently there is a risk of the amniotic fluid levels dropping in the womb once you go past the due date as the placenta basically begins to die. Once again no concern there we had way more than enough fluid as well.
Finally we had a mid-wife come in and do another exam. She felt that we had made progress since our Monday appointment with our regular doctor, to the point that she did offer us the option of beginning the process of inducing labor today. Jen and I decided to wait until Sunday to see if anything happens naturally before inducing though. Jen has been having more significant and regular contractions since Wednesday - but so far they have subsided - so there is a chance we could avoid being induced.
If nothing happens, we will be heading for the hospital early Sunday morning and they tell us that the induction process can take as long as 24 hours. So there is a good chance before the weekend is over we will be 3 instead of 2.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Date Change
Not sure if we mentioned it early on in the blog, but we had 2 ultrasounds done originally, one to confirm the pregnancy and one to get a more accurate date. At the first one, the doctor gave us the November 21st date. At the 2nd ultrasound we were told November 18th, but since the dates were so close they would stick with the 21st.
Well it appears that in this last week or so the doctor has switched it up on us and is now working with the November 18th date. So here today on the 19th, instead of being 2 days away from being full-term, we are now (according to the doctor this morning) 1 day overdue!
As a result I have reset the countdown clock on the top right of the blog.
We have Thanksgiving coming up this week, but we are booked into the hospital on Friday morning for non-stress testing, which is basically some more closer monitoring of the baby and any contractions that might be happening to make sure everything is still going well.
If we make it as far as next Monday, the 26th, there is a chance they will begin the process of inducing labor.
Well it appears that in this last week or so the doctor has switched it up on us and is now working with the November 18th date. So here today on the 19th, instead of being 2 days away from being full-term, we are now (according to the doctor this morning) 1 day overdue!
As a result I have reset the countdown clock on the top right of the blog.
We have Thanksgiving coming up this week, but we are booked into the hospital on Friday morning for non-stress testing, which is basically some more closer monitoring of the baby and any contractions that might be happening to make sure everything is still going well.
If we make it as far as next Monday, the 26th, there is a chance they will begin the process of inducing labor.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
no news is... well... no news
over the last week i've gotten many phone calls and emails asking if there has been any 'progress' with wiggly. i've also been told that the blog is being checked regularly for baby news, photos, or updates. currently the lack of news being reported is due to the lack of news to report. wiggly is exactly where wiggly has been for the last 9 months or so. i do assure you, once anything happens we will (or more accurately, Craig will) pass along the news.
attempting to get wiggly born we've been listening to all sorts of medical, and other recommendations as to how to get labor moving along. i'm walking a lot, taking the stairs, and eating spicy foods in an attempt to encourage wiggly out into the external world. we do have some progress - the baby is head down, and settling low, but nothing has encouraged wiggly to take the final step. i've contemplated a trampoline, but my doctor insists that while the trampoline would be amusing, it won't really do anything to help things along.
so, since i have no cute wiggly photos to share with you, enjoy some of the finer things the web has to offer.




attempting to get wiggly born we've been listening to all sorts of medical, and other recommendations as to how to get labor moving along. i'm walking a lot, taking the stairs, and eating spicy foods in an attempt to encourage wiggly out into the external world. we do have some progress - the baby is head down, and settling low, but nothing has encouraged wiggly to take the final step. i've contemplated a trampoline, but my doctor insists that while the trampoline would be amusing, it won't really do anything to help things along.
so, since i have no cute wiggly photos to share with you, enjoy some of the finer things the web has to offer.





Monday, November 12, 2007
Is this an omen?
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
playing catchup...
It’s been quite some time since our last update. Let’s do a little catch up – shall we?
Late September brought a trip up north to our northern California shower. We took a leisurely drive up the coast, stopping in Ventura (overnight), Monterey, and San Francisco.
While in Monterey we visited the aquarium – which took us all day to go through – and yet I somehow thought it would be larger. My favorite part of the aquarium could have been the jelly fish exhibit. While they are not cuddly looking – like the otters – the exhibit was beautiful. I wouldn’t like to meet any of the jellies out in the wild, but behind glass they were quite the sight to see. I finally got to see the box jellyfish that I’ve heard so much about in all my trips to Australia. For those not familiar, it’s a little tiny jellyfish that has so much poison that just a little touch from it can put a person in excruciating pain. The box jellies were tiny, and it’s hard to believe something that small and fragile looking can cause so much trouble – however, since most everything in Australia can be deadly I will not ever test my theory. Craig didn’t even approach the glass to take a look at the jellies. The years of education and warning to stay away from them at all possible costs apparently even applied to the ones behind glass.
In San Francisco we stayed at the Sir Frances Drake. It is best known (to me at least) as the hotel with the doormen who dress up in Beefeater costumes. It also has the starlight lounge on the roof (which we didn’t get to this time around – being pregnant and in a lounge can be depressing.). The main reason for stopping in San Francisco was that the Australian rules grand final (the super bowl of Aussie rules football) was going on and one of the local Australian clubs was hosting a party. The place was packed, and the beer flowing, but we managed to find a couple of chairs to watch the game from. As I may have mentioned earlier – the game was a slaughter. However, since neither Craig nor I had a preferred team we didn’t take it personally.
The shower went over very well – from my perspective. I got to see a lot of family and friends I don’t see all too often due to living in southern California. The baby got lots of wonderful things and has already managed to be spoiled, even before being born.
Fast forward a little bit to October. All of our doctor’s appointments went well – and the doctor mentioned on more than one occasion that I was ‘perfect’. I made sure to note each and every time she said this and pointed it out to Craig each time – just in case he didn’t hear her. I taught the last of my classes in October, and got my desk and work space all packed up for my months away. October was the last month I’d be working in the office. As I was not terribly comfortable in the desk chairs in the office and I have a good boss, my ‘office’ was now at home.
October also brought our southern California baby shower. We hosted the event at the club house at our apartment. Quite a lot of people showed up, and everyone seemed to have a good time. As with any party that an Australian was hosting, the beer was flowing. I had my sodas and enjoyed my non-alcoholic wine. (I pretended it was the real stuff, which somehow makes it taste better.) The baby once again got spoiled by the generosity of our friends. The prize of who came the furthest to join us goes to Alicia – who lives in New Mexico – but came to the party via Chicago. In addition to her travel, she helped with food shopping, food pickup, balloon wrangling, keeping the pregnant woman sane and entertained, and designed the much complimented labels on the favors handed out.
Once the parties were all taken care of Craig and I started to focus on the remaining baby necessities we had left to take care of. We wrangled the two car seat bases into each of our respective cars. The ‘key’ we were told by the installation manuals (that we read, cover to cover) and an instructive DVD was to make sure the seat could not be wiggled more than an inch in any direction. We followed this direction to the letter, and I am proud to say that neither car seat can be wiggled in any measurable way in any direction.
The remainder of our ‘necessities’ have been gathered, and the hospital bag’s contents are being assembled in one very large suitcase. I suspect when we finally show up at the hospital the staff will have a giggle at our expense and our HUGE bag.
So now the plan is to wait for wiggly to decide it’s time to show up. At 38 weeks he/she is fully cooked and ready to go – if only he/she would be ready to go! I’m not as worried about labor as I was previously – which both encourages – and confuses me. I suspect it’s some hormone that is designed to calm me down – which I am perfectly happy to accept. My body has managed to figure out this pregnancy thing without my mind getting in and confusing matters – so I figure it knows what it is doing.
Keep your fingers crossed for us, think baby being born thoughts, and if anything interesting happens we’ll let you know.
Late September brought a trip up north to our northern California shower. We took a leisurely drive up the coast, stopping in Ventura (overnight), Monterey, and San Francisco.
While in Monterey we visited the aquarium – which took us all day to go through – and yet I somehow thought it would be larger. My favorite part of the aquarium could have been the jelly fish exhibit. While they are not cuddly looking – like the otters – the exhibit was beautiful. I wouldn’t like to meet any of the jellies out in the wild, but behind glass they were quite the sight to see. I finally got to see the box jellyfish that I’ve heard so much about in all my trips to Australia. For those not familiar, it’s a little tiny jellyfish that has so much poison that just a little touch from it can put a person in excruciating pain. The box jellies were tiny, and it’s hard to believe something that small and fragile looking can cause so much trouble – however, since most everything in Australia can be deadly I will not ever test my theory. Craig didn’t even approach the glass to take a look at the jellies. The years of education and warning to stay away from them at all possible costs apparently even applied to the ones behind glass.
In San Francisco we stayed at the Sir Frances Drake. It is best known (to me at least) as the hotel with the doormen who dress up in Beefeater costumes. It also has the starlight lounge on the roof (which we didn’t get to this time around – being pregnant and in a lounge can be depressing.). The main reason for stopping in San Francisco was that the Australian rules grand final (the super bowl of Aussie rules football) was going on and one of the local Australian clubs was hosting a party. The place was packed, and the beer flowing, but we managed to find a couple of chairs to watch the game from. As I may have mentioned earlier – the game was a slaughter. However, since neither Craig nor I had a preferred team we didn’t take it personally.
The shower went over very well – from my perspective. I got to see a lot of family and friends I don’t see all too often due to living in southern California. The baby got lots of wonderful things and has already managed to be spoiled, even before being born.
Fast forward a little bit to October. All of our doctor’s appointments went well – and the doctor mentioned on more than one occasion that I was ‘perfect’. I made sure to note each and every time she said this and pointed it out to Craig each time – just in case he didn’t hear her. I taught the last of my classes in October, and got my desk and work space all packed up for my months away. October was the last month I’d be working in the office. As I was not terribly comfortable in the desk chairs in the office and I have a good boss, my ‘office’ was now at home.
October also brought our southern California baby shower. We hosted the event at the club house at our apartment. Quite a lot of people showed up, and everyone seemed to have a good time. As with any party that an Australian was hosting, the beer was flowing. I had my sodas and enjoyed my non-alcoholic wine. (I pretended it was the real stuff, which somehow makes it taste better.) The baby once again got spoiled by the generosity of our friends. The prize of who came the furthest to join us goes to Alicia – who lives in New Mexico – but came to the party via Chicago. In addition to her travel, she helped with food shopping, food pickup, balloon wrangling, keeping the pregnant woman sane and entertained, and designed the much complimented labels on the favors handed out.
Once the parties were all taken care of Craig and I started to focus on the remaining baby necessities we had left to take care of. We wrangled the two car seat bases into each of our respective cars. The ‘key’ we were told by the installation manuals (that we read, cover to cover) and an instructive DVD was to make sure the seat could not be wiggled more than an inch in any direction. We followed this direction to the letter, and I am proud to say that neither car seat can be wiggled in any measurable way in any direction.
The remainder of our ‘necessities’ have been gathered, and the hospital bag’s contents are being assembled in one very large suitcase. I suspect when we finally show up at the hospital the staff will have a giggle at our expense and our HUGE bag.
So now the plan is to wait for wiggly to decide it’s time to show up. At 38 weeks he/she is fully cooked and ready to go – if only he/she would be ready to go! I’m not as worried about labor as I was previously – which both encourages – and confuses me. I suspect it’s some hormone that is designed to calm me down – which I am perfectly happy to accept. My body has managed to figure out this pregnancy thing without my mind getting in and confusing matters – so I figure it knows what it is doing.
Keep your fingers crossed for us, think baby being born thoughts, and if anything interesting happens we’ll let you know.
Friday, November 2, 2007
More Photos
To help us remember this time we went to a photo studio and got some professional photos taken.
Professional Photos
Professional Photos
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