Doing the family thing!!

On Saturday, with Brandyn's brother and family in town, we all took a walk around the block. Our first time using the stroller. It was very fun... and we only stopped to look at the Babe to make sure he was ok... like... 10 times during the 20 min walk! :)



This morning... after another long night... we just hung out together in bed for a while. Now THIS is the life! :)

Trial... Error... Sucess (eventually!!)...

I think I've discovered the secret to parenting... its all about trial and error. Try one thing... if it doesn't work... try something else... if it doesn't work... maybe go back to the first thing, etc., etc., etc. Eventually... you WILL get it. Here are a few of our trials, errors and successes thus far!

Sleep
Trial - Bassinet. Result - Error (baby was NOT in to being left alone).
Trial - Sleeping in bed with us. Result - Error (baby slept... WE did not).
Trial - Sleeping in the rocker/glider and on the couch with baby on chest. Result - Success (baby slept... and I slept).
Trial - Bassinet. Result - Success (we had two good long naps... and one long chunk of sleep last night... we're working on it).

Skin to Skin
Trial - Baby and I lay skin to skin (my chest to his chest/tummy). Result - Success (we both love it!).
Trial - Brandyn and baby lay skin to skin (chest to chest). Result - Error (Brandyn loved it... baby did not).
Trial - Brandyn and baby lay skin to skin (Brandyn's bare arm to baby's bare cheek). Result - Success (who knows... maybe Baby doesn't like chest hair!) ;)


This picture has nothing to do with the post... but he's soooo cute, how could I not share! ;)

The end of pregnancy... and the begining of Motherhood!

After a frustrating week filled with contractions... slow progress...and a failed trip to labor and delivery on Friday morning... Saturday finally brought us a little closer to meeting Baby C. Through out the day, I stared experiencing the "stop you in your tracks" contractions that L&D told me I should experience before heading in to the hospital. Unfortunately... they were only coming about once or twice an hour... mixed in with other less painful contractions happening morning regularly.

As the night progressed... and Saturday turned to Sunday... I started feeling them more often. Around 2 a.m. they were coming about 3-5 min apart. I tried my best to hang out... take a shower... etc. until about 3:30 when Brandyn woke up. We labored around the house until about 4:30 when I decided we needed to head to the hospital.

We were admitted around 5 a.m.(along with half of the other PG mom's in Walnut Creek). (The weather and barometric pressure apparently worked its magic sending us all into labor!). It was very busy but the Kaiser WC staff were excellent. By the time we arrive at the hospital, I was 4 cm. dilated. I had originally thought that I would try and labor naturally with no drugs... but after my morning at home and the hour and a half it took to get settled into a labor room, I quickly realized I was going to need some assistance! ;)

Around 7:30 a.m. the anesthesiologist arrived and she could NOT have gotten there any sooner! By then, I had progressed to 7 cm. and was definitely ready for a break. After I was settled in... we called out "the troops" (our family) and told them to get ready to head to the hospital. The next few hours went by slowly... totally pain free... and with a few naps interspersed!

They continued to watch my progress, gave me some Pitocin to help move things along, and broke my water. At this point they realized that Baby C had popped in the womb (not uncommon for over due babies). They were some what concerned that he may have swallowed some of the fluid... and let us know that there would be extra Drs. on hand we we delivered.

By 1 p.m. I was at about 9.5 cm., but the nurse suggested I wait for the baby to descend a little more before I started pushing. By around 2:30... we were ready. I pushed for 45 min... and he was born!

The first few mins were so unbelievably amazing! They placed Andrew to my chest and began checking him out. They quickly realized that he had indeed swallowed some of the meconium and told me they needed to take him over to the bed next to me to check him out. Brandyn went with and said it was a pretty scary time. They suctioned his nose and mouth and put him on oxygen. After about 10 min the Dr. expressed his concern for possible infections and breathing issues and told us they would need to take Andrew to the NICU (intensive care). They were very reassuring that this is not uncommon, but they wanted to be very cautious.

By around 5:30 p.m. Andrew was looking better and they allowed us to visit him. I won't share the pics, as he looked pretty pathetic hooked up to the oxygen, but he was very cute none-the-less! Despite being told earlier that he would likely have to stay in the NICU over night, Andrew was able to join us in our room around 10 p.m. It was the best sleepless night we're ever had... and we've looking forward to MANY more to come!!

Minutes after he was born...


Later on that night in our room...

Alison & Brandyn proudly welcome Baby C!

Andrew Owen-Frame joined our family on Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 3:18 p.m. He weighed in at 7 lb. 8 oz. and is 20 3/4 inches long. We are glowing with pride.

Andrew was named in honor of both the Brandyn and Alison's family. Owen is in honor of Alison's Irish roots and especially in remembrance of her Uncle Owen (on her mom's side). Frame is in honor of Brandyn's family and especially in remembrance of his maternal grandparents.

More details and photos to come!!

Still hanging in there - literally.

Its true... babies can't read. Otherwise Baby C would be here by now, as I sent the memo DAYS ago. Apparently no amount of Brandyn coaxing "Come towards my voice..." can entice Baby C to join us in the real world.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Cheers to ALL my friends and family... Irish... and those who WISH they were Irish! :)

June 2008, Dublin, Ireland.

UPDATE: Still truckin' along!

Well... guess that was nothing. As was last night... which was also full night of contractions - closer together and stronger than Sunday night. But... here I sit... still... pregnant! I know, I know... be patient Alison. First of all... patience is NOT a virtue of mine. Second.. the midwife TOTALLY mislead me last week by telling me she didn't think I'd go pas my due date (what did she know!). She got me all excited!

So... I'm putting on my BEST patience face... and trying EVERYTHING I can to get things moving. Today... I walked over 2.5 miles (up and down hills... Brandyn didn't think I could do it!) ;) And tonight... we're fulfilling another local wives tales by having the Prego Pizza at Skipolini's.

Wish me luck!!

"Expected" Due Date...

Today is my expected due date. That silly, almost arbitrary date that the doctors picked out as an estimate of when we can expect Baby C to arrive. Somewhere along the line, they even thought about changing my "due date" to a little earlier, as they though Baby C was measuring "ahead of schedule," but my doctor assured me that the chances of the baby coming ON my due date (which ever date they picked) was sooooo slim that she just kept it the same.

So, here I sit, at 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 15th... WIDE awake. Why, you may ask??? Well... I'm having contractions. I've been having them since about 2 a.m. this morning. At first they were much like what I experienced before... low level of pain... not very close together. But now... over the last hour... the pain level has increase (only slightly) and so has the frequency. Could this be it?

We shall see.

Doors - Check, Light/Ceiling Fan - Check. Baby - still waiting........

The room is finally read to go. Brandyn finished up the new french doors this weekend - painted them, trimmed the door frame, and removed the plastic to expose the beautiful glass panels. Yesterday we had an electrician come and install the light fixture/ceiling fan.

So, Baby C... we're ALLLLLL ready for you!

I have reached "maximum pregnancy"!

The other day I got dressed... walked into the living room.. turned my belly towards Brandyn and said "Wow, my belly is really big." His response... "Yup, you look like you're at maximum pregnancy!"


I just got back from my Dr. appointment a little bit ago. I'm 39 weeks and 3 days today. According to the Midwife, Baby C's positioning looks good and heart sounds nice and strong. After hearing from a previous Kaiser Dr. that I need to lay off the sugar, as it will "only add to the baby's weight at this point"... the Midwife seemed to think that the baby was a good size... "not too big." Bring on the Girl Scout Cookies!!! She also did a quick exam and concluded that she doesn't think I'll last much past my due date, if at all!

We're ready!!!

Counting down 'til Christmas!

No, I'm not really counting down 'til Christmas (289 days, in case you're wondering!)... it just feels like that for me. Waiting for the arrival of our baby is making me feel like a five-year-old waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve... "is he coming tonight!?!"

The anticipation and excitement has me busting at the seams (much like my belly, which is also busting at the seams)!! After over a year of wanting/trying to have a baby... plus 9 months of growing and caring for this baby... I can hardly wait any longer!

Hurry up little one... we're waiting for you!

(5 days until due date!!)

"Why is her belly so big?"

As heard in Trader Joe's this afternoon...

3 Year Old Little Girl: "Mommy, why is her belly so big?"

Mommy: "Why do you think? Do you remember before Mommy had Liam... did my belly look like that?"

Me, realizing that the little girl was referring to *my* big belly: "Do you think I have a baby in my belly?"

Little Girl: "Uh hun. My mommy had Liam in her belly and then she had me in her belly."

Mommy: "Sorry about that."

No bother to me... just glad for the mom's sake that she chose an actual pregnant women to direct her question to! ;)

Proofs are back! More maternity shoot pics...

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Brandyn and I decided to capture this exciting time in our life, and our growing baby with a photo shoot. The photos were taken by Kelly M Photography. Here are a few of my favorites!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Who knew that Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Seuss Geisel) is also a March baby like Baby C! Wouldn't it be funny if Baby C was born today! (Not that I'm seeing any signs or symptoms... so I'm not getting my hopes up!).

So here's an ode to Dr. Seuss... another pic from my maternity shoot.