Luke - Week Two

This week Luke got to meet his Grandpa and Grandma Eigsti and I think it was love at first sight! They spent the week with us and it was such a huge help - from taking on diaper duty, the night shift when Luke got fussy, and making us meals - we really appreciated it after our first week of not getting much sleep.We're pretty sure Luke is a genius (naturally). ha ha. But he did do some pretty exciting things this week. He's been more alert and was very into his first toy as you can see below. He was trying to bat at it and was so excited when it played music! He's also super strong and can lift his head up high during tummy time. We got a good laugh at him last night because every time Grandma would hold him and sing he would wimper and grunt like he was trying to sing along. When she would stop singing, he would stop. It was hilarious!I was starting to feel a little better toward the end of this week, so we decided to venture out to one of my favorite stores - Target! It was Luke's first shopping outing and this Mommy was excited to get out of the house for a little bit. :)And this is what he did during our shopping adventure. He slept the whole time! Luke loves his daddy!
Who could get tired of this face?
Tomorrow my mom will be flying in and Luke will get to meet his Grandma Nisly! We're looking forward to it!

Cute Luke

First family picture! (well, other than the one when I'm still in a hospital bed)I have to argue that Luke might just be the cutest baby ever!
A.dor.a.ble
"It's been a hard day, people." He often sleeps like this - so cute!
Chad was changing him and got an interesting surprise. Hopefully you can see it in the picture...yes, that is pee on our wall! We laughed for a good long while at that one!
All Chad could say is "that's my boy!".

Luke is one week old today! He had his first dr appointment the other day and is back up to his birth weight and doing great! He gives us so much joy (but not so much sleep)! :)

Welcome, Sweet Baby

We are proud and happy to announce the birth of our baby, Luke Thomas Eigsti, born February 27, 2009! He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. I started having contractions at about 10:00 a.m., we left for the hospital at 6:15 and he was born 5 hours later (just 36 minutes before his due date)! It went pretty fast - he was ready to meet the world! We did have a bit of drama, though. About 30 minutes before it was time to push, his heart rate was dropping too low and they gave me oxygen. Fortunately, my body kept moving fast and was able to push. While pushing, his heart rate continued to drop rapidly and the doctor did not let me push more than 10 or 15 minutes before using the vacuum to get him out quick. She said she was going to give it 3 tries with the vacuum and if he didn't come out, she would have to do an emergency c-section. Thankfully he came on the third try! Both the cord and his arm were on his neck (like if you were to reach across your neck to scratch your back), and this was cutting off his oxygen. He was a little blue at first, but quickly recovered and is doing great! We could not be more excited! These pics were taken about 1 hour after Luke was born. It's hard to describe all the emotions we felt at that point!
Going home...these pictures crack me up because they were taken about 10 seconds apart. He is generally a pretty content baby and his crying fits don't last long as you can see! :)
Isn't he cute in his little ducky outfit? The jury is still out on who he will look like. Chad thinks he looks like me in this picture, but in person I think he looks more like Chad. Either way, we think he's the cutest baby on the planet, of course!

We just took this picture last night, and the shirt matched the occasion! About a minute after we took this picture, he had 2 poopies in a row (poopie #2 came while we were changing poopie #1), as well as his first fountain pee during the diaper change fiasco! Things were flying everywhere and there was nothing to do except laugh. We decided it was the perfect occasion for his first bath at home. So here he is all clean after his first bath! Recovery time has been a little rough on me, but we are totally in love with this little guy, so it's all worth it.
Look at the beautiful flowers my sweet husband surprised me with yesterday! He's been so good with Luke and has probably changed about 95% of the diapers and has been taking good care of me, too.

5-5, just for you Dana

My friend Dana B (I have to use last initials now that I have 2 friend Dana's, both with blogs!) tagged me on her blog to post the 5th picture in the 5th file of our photos. Her 5th picture captures my feelings these days...it was of her when she was 5 days past her due date with Bella. :) Anyway, so here you have it folks: our 5-5 is of Chad sitting across the table from me at dinner the night he proposed. And I decided that while I was posting that, I'd go ahead and take a moment to brag about that magical evening, since he went all out for me. Don't worry, I'll tell the short version. He was living in Cleveland and I was in Kansas, and he surprised me by showing up on my doorstep one night. Well, first there was only a package on my doorstep that contained a video he made of himself talking to me about how much he loooooves me and then footage of him traveling to Kansas to me, and when the video was done he was literally on my doorstep! But he didn't propose at that point. We first went to dinner and then he drove me to his parents' house where he had transformed their living room into a romantic proposal spot. And the rest is history...

A day or 2 after he proposed. Definitely one of the happiest times of my life!

Hot Date

The Broadway musical Hairspray came to Cleveland's Playhouse Square last weekend, so Chad and I made a date out of it and went to dinner and the show. Unfortunately I have no pictures of us in our hot-date appearances (as hot as you can get at 9 months pregnant), but we had a great time! Gotta get these dates in before we have to think about getting babysitters!

Baby Shower

A couple of weekends ago, my lovely friend Jen hosted a shower for me at her house. It was so much fun - thank you Jen for all the work you put into it! The biggest crack up was that about 50% of those in attendance are also pregnant - I am surrounded by pregnant friends! :) From right to left we represent half of a year of babies: me due in February, Emily - March, Peggy-April, Jen - May, Helen - June, and Olga due in August. Ha!

Jen, the hostess with the mostess

Jen set up a table where people could decorate bibs and onesies - such a cute idea! Me in the background getting ready to be a mommy by holding the cuddliest baby ever - Baby Bella.

Who Are You Baby???

So, don't expect any preggo pictures after this...I'm feeling quite large these days! This pic was taken at 36 weeks and now I am 37 weeks, which means Baby is now full-term! We are getting so curious to know when this child will grace us with his/her presence and WHO this child will be! The heartbeat was 160-something last week and 139 this week, so no hints there. Several weeks ago, people kept asking me if I was uncomfortable yet. Naively, I was like "No, I feel great - never better." Then about 2 days later the late stages of pregnancy finally kicked in. Totally uncomfortable to sit/walk/sleep/breathe/move/anything/everything. I'm exhausted during the day and can't sleep at night. It's currently 2:30 am if that's any indication. Seasoned mothers laugh and comment..."get used to it because you won't sleep for the next 18 years!". So encouraging. Continuing to work full-time has been a challenge since I don't function well without sleep! Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade it for the world, because it's all worth it to get to become a family of three, and I feel totally blessed that Baby seems healthy and growing as it should. And Lord knows I'd take this tired/uncomfortable 3rd trimester over sick. all. the. time. 1st trimester any day! But, Baby, aren't you ready to come out yet and meet us?

Ikea getaway

Last weekend, my dear cousin and friend Emily left her own two darling kiddos at home and came for a quick visit - one last girls' weekend before Baby comes! We decided to take a day trip to Pittsburgh, PA (about 2 hours away) to explore Ikea for the day. Note this is the only picture we have because we were way too busy shopping after that to think about pictures! We had a great time and did plenty of damage at Ikea, bringing home lots of great loot. Chad, rock star husband that he is, had supper made and ready when we got home! What a great day! Thanks for visiting Emily!

Take a Hike Old Man Winter!

Ok, I must vent a little. So we live in Cleveland. That means snow is expected, and long winters. I get that...this is my 3rd winter here. This January, however has been exceptionally snowy though and COLD! On the news the other night, the weather man (who is no Merril Teller, but he gets the job done) said that we have had snow/freezing rain 45 out of the last 51 days and we are already more than 20 inches over the January average of snowfall so far! Yikes! Don't get me wrong, some days I do enjoy the beauty of the snow, because it really does look quite lovely. And if I wasn't 8 going on 9 months pregnant, perhaps I'd have to go out and play in it or go sledding. But I am and have always been, a warm-weather lover, so Spring, anytime you are ready, so am I.

Guessing Game

32 weeks!!! As we are now approx. 8 weeks away from Baby Time, it seems to be a good time to start collecting your guesses on the gender/size/date of birth/hair-bald/whatever you want to guess. Unfortunately for me, my mothering/women's intuition has not seemed to kicked in, so I have no inclination one way or the other...boy, girl....your guess is as good as mine, so I may as well see what you all think. Chad thought he knew for a while, but now seems as unsure as I am. Anyway, please leave your guess under the comments and be sure to sign your name. Secret blog stalkers (you know you're out there :) are welcome to guess as well. Feel free to document (along with your guess) any supporting data for why you are guessing what you are guessing (i.e., heartbeat, family history, the way I'm carrying, whatever floats your boat). The winner will receive the gratification of being the winner (lame I know), unless I can think of an interesting prize by the time the baby comes. Really, this is all to amuse me and help pass the 8 grueling weeks to the finish line. Happy guessing!

As a refresher - Baby's heartbeat has been in the 150's until my last couple of visits and dropped into the 140's. Baby is pretty active, especially in the evening. I haven't had too much heartburn - only on occasion. What else? I had horrible morning sickness the first 14 weeks, and after that it's been smooth sailing. No food cravings, or really any other major changes other than I am carrying around a basketball in front. Good luck!