baby boy is here!

Ethan George Whinery made his appearance on June 27th, 2012.  He is happy and healthy, weighing in at 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long.  

I was scheduled for an induction but was admitted to the hospital the night before and happened to go into labor on my own.  Ethan's heart rate dropped while I was in labor, so we were so thankful that I was already in the hospital being monitored.  As my labor progressed, his heart rate dropped again, and when none of the standard interventions were successful at bringing it back up, the doctors made the decision to get Ethan out with a stat c-section.  It was a really scary experience, but Ethan and I were in good hands.  They were able to get him out within about 5 minutes after they made the decision to do the c-section.  When he came out, his cord was around his neck, which is why his heart rate had been dropping.  Thankfully I had just gotten an epidural, so a few minutes were spared since they didn't have to do anesthesia.  Matt was by my side almost the whole time, which I was so thankful for.  We are so grateful to God that Ethan and I are okay.  Having to have an emergency c-section was my biggest fear about delivery, but the Lord protected us!

Our little guy is now two weeks old and we love him sooo much.  He is precious.  Nursing has not been my best friend, so we're working through that and seem to have made some progress (hopefully!). 

due date!

Well, here we are!  I almost can't believe it's been 40 weeks!  Still no baby, though.  I guess he's happy in there, we'll see when he decides to come out. :)

I had my last day of work yesterday, so it feels great to have that behind me and be able to just focus on one thing now.  My co-workers and patients have been so sweet and supportive, which made the last couple of weeks more bearable.  I'm going back part time in three months - can't believe I'll be gone that long!  Lately, I'm feeling good, but definitely feeling tired in the afternoons.  A lot of my not-so-fun pregnancy symptoms seem to have improved over the last couple weeks - less back pain, sleep has been better, etc.  So nice!

We officially finished the nursery (including the name on the wall), but since we're keeping the name a secret till we meet baby I cut it out of the photos.  I'm really happy with how the nursery turned out.  It was such a fun project!

We made the prints on the wall above the crib out of some favorite (old and new) children's book covers.  The bedding is a combo of a pottery barn kids sheet and an adjustable bedskirt that I found on etsy.  My talented mama made the curtains; and most of the books, stuffed animals, and other little things on the bookshelf were gifts.  Matt's mom gave us the big dog that sits on the side of the crib - I love him.  :)  Oh, and both the crib and the dresser were Matt's when he was a baby!  I love that we get to use them!  The rocker (a couple photos below) has also been in matt's family for generations.

The John Deere tractor on the bookshelf was Matt's when he was little.

the photo below might look a little funny because I erased his name and his initials in a couple places :)  

And, of course a 39.5 week belly shot.  I keep thinking maybe it'll be my last one, but not quite.

 I think Matt's is bigger, don't you?

In other news, Matt is just about done with his third year of residency!!  He had his last call of third year last night, so now he officially has no more primary call!! He'll be back-up call from now on, which means he'll get called a lot less when he's "on-call" and he'll only have to go in for complicated cases or when they have to take someone to the OR.  Baby's timing is perfect. ;) 

 Here we are at the annual ENT resident graduation - always a fun time.  

this was 38 wks.

So, now we wait for baby!! We are so excited to meet him and so thankful for a healthy pregnancy... and that it's almost over. :)

showers!

We have been so blessed by friends and family celebrating our little boy with us over the last couple of months.  Our first baby shower was in Denver and was hosted by my closest friends here.  They put so much thought into it and made it so meaningful and fun!  My sister came up from Dallas to celebrate with us, along with Matt's mom and my mom.

hostesses: Sarah, Christi, Liz, Pattie, (me), Gretchen, Mary Jackson, & Sarah 

 Sarah, Judeanne (Matt's mom), me, and my Mom  :)

 delicious cake made by Sarah C!

 so thoughtful - they handed out pansies which were all marked with a set of dates to remind friends to pray for us.

 yummy.

My sister stayed in Colorado for a few days, so I got to hang out with her and my precious nephew, Henry, which was such a treat!  He is seriously the cutest little baby boy and we had a blast.  He went for his first Colorado hike, mastered his rolling over skills, and belly-laughed at his Pops (my dad) all weekend.  :)  such a fun time.

My office also had a book shower for us!  This was so helpful - such a great idea.  The bookshelf in the nursery is now fully stocked with wonderful books for our kiddo.  Most of my co-workers are moms as well, so they know all of the good books. ;)

me with the awesome medical assistants & front office gals

our front office staff on the left and my two favorite docs on the right  :)

Last but not least, this past weekend the Chandler's hosted a lovely couple's shower in Colorado Springs.  Matt has known the Chandler's forever and grew up with their son, Garrett.  They were so kind to host this shower, with both sets of parents and many family friends who live in the Springs.  We had such a fun, special time.

with the Chandler's!

 Matt's excited to wear this onesie.  :)

awesome super-hero cape and mask that my friend Sarah made!

with the (grand!)parents  :)

In other news:  less than a month to D-day AND the nursery is almost done.  We just need this little man to have a name.

third trimester!

We're well into the third trimester around here and things are going well!  We're thrilled to be getting so close to meeting our little boy!!!  Baby seems to be perfectly healthy and I still feel pretty good on most days.  Sleep doesn't happen as much as I'd like, but I've managed to be pretty productive in the middle of the night. (i.e. writing this post)  ;)  My doctor said that the sleeping difficulties that happen in pregnancy are just preparing me for when baby comes.  I don't think I found this to be as reassuring as she intended it to be.

Work is challenging, but it keeps me busy which I'm thankful for.  The weeks fly by.  It's also very entertaining.  I don't know what happens in the doctor's office to make people just say whatever they are thinking....  the comments have been hilarious...
-  "I almost didn't recognize you!  You used to be so skinny!"
-  "I didn't say anything the last time I was here, I thought you had just gained a little weight..."
-  "You're a pretty good size for 29 weeks ... you're going to get bigger, you know."
-  me: "I think it's been about a year since you were last here..."
   patient:  "Yeah, I don't think you were pregnant the last time I was here, were you?"
   (is it possible some people don't know it only lasts nine months?)

and my personal favorite:  "How much weight have you gained???"

I got my first "You're about to pop!" comment the other day.  I'm only 31 weeks, people.

We celebrated our 4th Anniversary in Vail a few weeks ago.  Apparently Matt had possibly the best meal of his life at Sweet Basil that night.  It was a really fun, relaxing weekend!

28 weeks!

29 weeks?

31 weeks

The nursery is coming along!  We are still far from being finished, but here are the best before and after photos I have so far. :)

the first photo was before new carpet, after new paint, and obviously while I was trying to decide on fabric for curtains...

after!  new carpet and two of my favorite things in the nursery so far:  My mom made these fun green and white striped curtains that turned out perfectly. I love them! (the color isn't this dark, but it was a nighttime iPhone photo).  And the rocking chair was Matt's grandmother's.  She gave it to us around the time we got married and I finally had it recovered.  I absolutely love it!  (there's a before shot of the chair below - quite an improvement).

There you have it.  We're making progress.  More to come, soon!  :)