December 15, 2008 - First Pediatrician Appt.

Hi All,

Berkley's first appointment with her pediatrician (and first outing since coming home from the hospital) was on December 15, 2008.

When she was born, she weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz. Upon being discharged from the hospital, she weighed 6 lbs, 10 oz. The goal is for her to be back up to her birth weight within 7 - 10 days. At her appointment, she weighed 7 lbs, 0 oz, so she's well on her way. She's a good little eater! She's in the 25th percentile for weight.

At birth, her length was 21 1/2 inches, which I thought was super long. At the doctor's office, with a bit more of a scientific method of measurement, her length was recorded at 20 1/4 inches (I don't think she shrunk!). She's in the 50th percentile for length.

Her head measures 13 3/4 inches, which is in the 75th percentile.

The noted percentiles are expected to change a lot, since they grow so fast at this young age. We'll keep you informed.

Mom and Dad are doing well . . . extremely sleep deprived most of the time, but well.

We like visitors, so if anyone wants to come over, give us a call! We mean it! Thanks to Kevin, Debbie and Nolan; Grandpa and Grandma Wheelock and Aunt Tracy and Uncle Jeff; and Kelli L. for stopping by to see our little one! Also, thanks to everyone who came t9o the hospital to visit!

Tammy and Jon

December 10, 2008 - It's a GIRL! :)

Hi Everyone!

I know I'm so behind in posting this, but things have been a little crazy. Most of you know already, but here's the run down of the last week.

We checked into the hospital at 8:00 last Monday (12/8/08) to be induced. I was started on a low dose of Pitocin (because I was already having regular contractions, they just weren't strong) and given a sleeping pill. I woke up with stronger contractions around 8:00 am on Tuesday morning and my water broke at 8:40 am. I continued to proceed and got an epidural (heaven on earth!) between 12:30 and 1:00 in the afternoon. I was pain free from that point and slept a lot during the day (doctor's orders, since I needed my strength for pushing). Speaking of pushing, that didn't begin until about 11:00 pm on Tuesday evening. After nearly 2 1/2 hours of pushing (and a total of about 17 1/2 hours of labor), our beautiful baby girl was born!

Here are her stats at birth:

Name: Berkley Anna

Date: December 10, 2008

Time: 1:22 am

Weight: 7 lbs, 3 oz

Height: 21 1/2 inches

We're so in love with her! She's the best thing we've ever done! We just sit around staring at her, in awe that we were able to make something so beautiful and perfect!

I'll post more pictures later. The one of her in her Christmas hat above is her Grandpa Wheelock's favorite! The other is our new family!

Tammy and Jon

December 3, 2008 - Due Date!

Well, I made it to my due date and we're still waiting for this little one to want out. Above are my "before" picture, taken at 6 weeks pregnant and my 40 week picture, taken this morning.

We had a doctor's appointment this morning. I am "almost one cm" dilated now. I had a non-stress test to determine how the baby is doing and everything still looks okay in there. I had four or five contractions while I was hooked up to the machine, but I didn't feel any of them. I think it's a good thing that I had some contractions, though. I scheduled another NST for Monday morning (if I'm still pregnant), at which point the doctor will determine the best way to go about inducing labor. So, it's looking like it won't be any later than next Tuesday. You never know . . . maybe the little one will want to make his/her grand entrance before then (please, Baby, mommy and daddy want to meet you!)! :)

Tammy and Jon

December 1, 2008

Hi Family and Friends,

Today is my first day being off of work. Actually, tomorrow is technically my first day on STD and my first day of maternity leave (today is technically a vacation day), but today is my first day being home when I would normally be at work. I'm going to be off of work for six months! YAY!!! I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with myself until the baby comes. I'm just waiting for this child to decide that he/she wants out of me!

Jon and I got quite a bit of Christmas shopping done this past weekend, so I have some gifts I could wrap. I have a few more I could purchase and a few other things I could get at Meijer. I might take myself out for a little shopping trip today. We'll see . . . Jon thinks this baby is never going to come out of me because I'm going to sit on my butt all day every day!

Wednesday is our due date. We can't believe it's here already! It's very hard to believe that the baby could come at any minute! Last week my doctor said I was "almost half a cm" dilated. We have another appointment this Wednesday morning. We'll keep you all updated!

Tammy and Jon