It's A Boy!

Jackson Ryan Stewart finally decided to join us at 4:25 pm on Thursday July 10th.  He is a big boy with LOTS of hair.  He weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and is 21 inches long.  He has very big feet with long toes!

As far as the delivery goes...he's here, so I'm happy.  He really wanted to stay in there!  I thought delivering babies was supposed to get easier as you had more, but I'm not thinking that right now...

All in all, he is adorable, healthy and we are thrilled to have a new little boy in the family!

Update

Well...the 'mind over matter' thing only worked enough to get me to 3cm.  A week ago, on my actual due date, I was at a 1-1.5cm...so maybe the "willing" worked a little bit.  So, here's what happened this morning...

My doctor went on vacation when I was at 39 weeks and finally returned.  When he got home and saw in his paperwork that I STILL had not delivered, they called me this morning and said they wanted to see me.  If I had made any "progress"  I wouldn't have to go in tonight to have my 'cervix ripened.'  Sounds like fun huh?  So, I am scheduled for induction at 5am Thursday.  Just wanted to keep you updated.  Hopefully the next post you read will be about an actual baby that is here...outside of the belly.  Wish me luck!

Mind Over Matter

Maybe....just maybe...If we get enough "willing" we can make this baby come before I have to be induced tomorrow night at 6pm.  If I would have known that I would end up being induced, I would have done it 2 weeks ago before my doc went on vacation!  Just think...right now, instead of reading this, you would be looking at cute little pictures of the new munchkin and you'd be secretly making fun of me for all of my sleep deprivation typos...

I can feel that the force is strong within all of you...If you want to help, send me all your thoughts and "willings" on the following things and we will make this baby appear!

1. Contractions...

2. Dilating...

3. More contractions, a little bit closer together...

4. More dilating...

5. More contractions, even though these hurt...

6. More dilating...

7. The really ouchy contractions that make you wonder why you ever had sex in the first place.

8. The urge to push...

And most importantly...

9. Small baby head size...

I'm putting my faith in the mind power of my fellow blogging addicts...we have 21 hours, (10.5 hours...updated 7:30am) we can do it!

Light-Weight Nerd

So, evidently I am not nerdy enough to actually get a score because I took the stupid test twice...and it never gave me a number score, but it gave me my percentages.  I always knew that I was a nerd...I am just surprised that my dumb/dork/awkward percentage isn't higher!

Blogging Questions...

Since I am still new to the blogging...I have a few questions for you veterans out there.

1. When I post a blog, it is reporting the time all crazy.  It is off by like three hours, and its not exactly 3 hours off either...If if is actually 9:21 PM, it will say that I posted at like 6:37 PM.  I don't get it??? I have been going in manually and changing it, although I had some issues with that too the other night.
2. I love the little 'cross-out' feature that I have seen used, especially by Andrea.  I looked everywhere for that option and can't find it!
3. Is there any special reason to put labels on your posts? Is that just a cataloging feature for the archives?

I guess that is all I have right now, but I am sure I will think of more as time goes on...

My "To Do" list is all crossed off...

I woke up this morning bound and determined that the baby was going to come today.  I know Grandpa John was placing his bets on today since it is the 7th and his birthday (and my dad's, actually) are on the 7th (of different months).  Joslynn went to daycare today so, in my attempt to induce labor, in a subtle way, I made a little 'to do' list of things to get done, hoping that the baby would come and my list would sit on the kitchen counter with nothing crossed off.  As I sit here blogging though, I realize that my list (below) is all crossed off, and I need to come up with a new one...

• Pick up toys...Our living room and family room downstairs usually look like a toy store got massive stomach cramps and threw up everywhere...all that bending and still, no baby...
• Vacuum...I vacuumed the entire house, including the foyer and downstairs...even the laundry room!  I have to tell you too...when I vacuum, I vacuum.  (I love my Dyson)...and still...nada...
  
• Clean bathroom...The toilet got some special attention because, of course, Joslynn gravitates to that the instant she walks in there...scrub, scrub, scrub and still, nothing...
  
• Re-pot plants...I had been putting off re-potting some house plants simply because I wasn't feeling very 'green-thumbish' lately, but I thought to myself, 'It's somethin' to do...' So I went outside in the humidity, hunched and bent over my, now beautiful, plants and still, you guessed it...no baby...

Since the physical activity wasn't working for me...I thought, 'Maybe doing as little as possible will set something into motion...'

• Check blogs...I read everyone else's blogs, but didn't post one of my own, because that would require mental work and I just didn't have it in me earlier...nope, nothing but the normal kicks...
  
• Watch House Hunters...Josh and I watched an episode together before he went to class...my back ached a little, so I got really excited, but didn't want to say anything...it just turned out to be a back ache...
  
• Read...I finally gave in yesterday and went to Barnes and Noble and bought the book that I wanted to read, even though the hardcover was expensive.  My hope was that as soon as I opened up to the first chapter that I would go into labor and my book would just have to wait; I am now on page 99...just a bunch more kickin' as I laid on the couch...
  

So, my list is all crossed off.  After I post this blog, I think I need to write up a new one...

The Waiting Game...

Sounds like a new game show doesn't it?

As I sit and wait around for this non-punctual baby to make its grand entrance, I am in need of things to distract me.  If I don't occupy myself somehow I start doing things like clean the top of the cabinets or start to re-design the layout of my living room furniture; trust me, there isn't a lot of room to work with, so I definitely need a diversion.  Everyone knows that when you are waiting for something, it always seems like an eternity before it actually happens.  A few examples that you may be able to relate to are: like waiting for Friday during that long week at work, like waiting for payday, like waiting for your food when you are starving, or like waiting to have a baby that you were counting on having 2 weeks ago...

Here are the things that I have tried thus far, and maybe why they haven't worked to keep my attention for long:

1. Clean, clean, clean...everyone knows that no matter how much you clean, the job is never done, especially with a 13 month old, my kitchen floor could be swept 17 times a day and it would still be dirty.

2. Shopping online...this is a problem because you know as well as I do that money doesn't grow on trees, especially in a yard that is owned by two teachers.  Also, when you do order online, you don't have the satisfaction of seeing your new purchase right there in front of you, so, again, you play the waiting game while you wait for it be come in the mail...

3. Planning my science curriculum...I have gone into school more in June this summer than I really wanted to, so I am just a little more than burned out, for the time being, on school stuff, and trying to get that stuff done at home is impossible because it's just more fun to play and be silly than to be serious and focused on work...

4. Read a book (for fun)...I can't remember the last time that I actually did that, but the book that I want to read, A Thousand Splendid Suns, is only in hardcover at the store and I don't really want to spend $26 on it, so that is out the window...

5. Bake homemade blueberry muffins...I did some baking a few days ago, and of course the muffins are all gone now, and it is too hot to do any more baking right now.

6. Watch TV...I have watched more TV in the past week or two than I did in the past year combined.  I watched a bunch of reality shows that I didn't even know existed: The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Shear Genius, Tori & Dean, Denise Richards: Its Complicated, The Next Food Network Star...just to name a few.

7. Research food recipes...I did find a few new recipes, although that brings me back to #5 with the heat problem...

8. Take a nap...I rarely, if ever, take naps, and they can only last so long, and then you are back to waiting when you wake up.

9. Blogging...I started my blog as part of this waiting game, and I can only come up with so much to talk about when I have one thing on my brain and one large, kicking thing in my belly...

Any other "distraction" ideas are more than welcomed.