Two Weeks Already!

Time is flying by! I can't believe that Brody is 2 weeks old today! It's amazing time can go so fast when you get so little sleep! We still haven't figured out that night time is for sleeping - so mom and dad are up pretty much every 1 1/2 - 2 hours feeding and rocking. Hopefully the little man will get things figured out eventually. Luckily he is a very good baby during the day so it does allow for some nap time for mom and dad (although we still aren't good about actually relaxing during the day)

Grandpa and Grandma Raguckas made the trip out to meet Brody this week. They arrived Monday night and stayed until Thursday morning. Brody enjoyed all of his time with the Raguckas side - Grandpa even tried to teach him the first steps to crawling (see the picture below). We will make the trip to Pennsylvania with Brody during Thanksgiving week - it should be an interesting 11 hour drive!

Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen came to visit again today (it had been 4 days since my mom had seen him - she was afraid he wouldn't remember her!). We are going on our first trip tomorrow to my parents house to spend the night - Jim and I need some time out of our house. Plus it will give us an opportunity for our first "date night" since Brody was born. It will be nice to have some time to just spend with each other and Grandma Christiansen is very excited to have Brody to herself!

Here are some more pictures from the week! I'll make sure to update the blog next week with his progress!

This is my favorite face - I should probably be a fish for Halloween!

Now that I am out of mom I am free to stretch out!

One Week Old

Brody had his first doctor's appointment yesterday at mom's work. He was the main attraction while we were there with all of the nurses and physicians coming to his room to meet him. Everyone was surprised to see how much hair he had and agreed with mom and dad that he is a very cute baby! He did very well at his check up - he has already gained back 3 oz and he measured 20 inches.

We are all adjusting to life with a newborn. Each night Jim and I have hopes that he will sleep just a little longer at night - but he has shown us that it is just unpredictable. He is a very good baby during the day though so it does make life a lot easier.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Hanging out in Grandpa Christiansen's arms

Mom and Dad like to style my hair!

This picture makes mom laugh! Doesn't he look like an angel?

Dad had to have a picture with the Penn State Nittany Lion

Just hanging out on my 1 week birthday!

Brody Joseph Raguckas Has Arrived!

Surprise!!! Brody Joseph decided that he just couldn't make mom wait all the way until October 22nd. He was born October 12, 2007 at 12:47am to everyones surprise!!

Road To Delivery

Thursday seemed like any other day for mom at work. I met with Rick (one of her old residency advisors) for lunch and returned to work to help with the first day of flu clinic. Something seemed a little odd starting at 1:30pm with a lot of back pain but I thought that it was probably just the beginning of the baby moving down to get in position. As I continued to fill syringes with the flu vaccine the pain continued to get worse and by 3:30pm everyone was suggesting that I call my doctor. They called me back at 4:30pm (by then the pain had moved to my stomach) and suggested that I go home and call them back if the contractions were 5 minutes apart for an hour. I called Jim on my drive home (he was working in Big Rapids - about 45 minutes away) and told him how bad it hurt and that I was going to start timing them. He said he would leave work in about 15 minutes. Thirty minutes later he called from work to say he was just getting ready to leave (not believing I was really in pain I guess!) - I definately let him know that I was not joking and that he needed to be home NOW! By the time he arrived at 6pm I paged the oncall doctor and was told we could come on in to the hospital since the contractions were 5 minutes apart. Jim stayed relatively calm on the way in and I continued to feel more and more contractions (about 3 minutes apart) by the time we arrived at the hospital around 6:45pm. The nurse checked me in at triage and said that I had surprisingly progressed to 4-5cm and was fully effaced so I would be admitted - I immediately let them know that I was planning on having an epidural! By 9pm I had the epidural and the doctor decided to break my water to help things progress (by this time I was only at 6cm). The contractions returned even though my legs were completely numb so they gave me another bolse dose - which did the trick for about 30 -45 minutes. I let the nurse know that pain was back and after she checked me she said "well it doesn't look like we will do anything because you are ready to have the baby". I couldn't believe I was dilated to 10cm and it was coming! Jim was laying on the couch trying to get a little rest and didn't hear her say we were going to be pushing but finally realized it when he saw her getting everything ready for the baby's arrival. We started pushing at 11pm and the pain got WORSE! I couldn't stand to do anything so I received another bolus of medication and then everything was numb - and pushing was so much easier! Then at 12:47am Brody Joseph entered the world and Jim and I were thrilled! We couldn't believe we had a son when for so long we really thought it was a girl!

We came home Saturday night and things have been going pretty smoothly. We didn't sleep much at all the past few nights but the days are much easier (and we were very thankful for Grandma Christiansen's help on Saturday and Sunday!). We are now on our own though and hoping that Brody continues to be good to us!

Grandma and Grandpa Christiansen are VERY excited to welcome their first grandchild into the world (we were lucky Grandma gave up enough time holding Brody for Grandpa to get a picture!) Uncle Neal is ready to start teaching Brody how to fly! There is definately a lot of love to be given to this little guy!

We will try to keep you updated on our progress and share some of our many pictures!

Week 38

I had another doctor's appointment on Friday and was really hoping to hear that I was progressing...but instead I heard that I am still in the same stage I was 2 weeks ago and that we would talk about inducing labor in another 2 weeks. Not what I was hoping to hear! Everyone at work continues to comment on how much the baby has grown and that I am definately a poster child for what a pregnant woman looks like.

It's funny as the pregnancy continues everyone has their various reasons for what sex they think the baby will be. I have heard that since my belly button sticks out that it is a boy, I have had someone say that it is a girl because you can tell that I am pregnant from behind and also heard that you can't tell that I'm pregnant from behind so it is a boy (so I'm not sure which comment is better!) It seems as the weeks continue the majority of people are starting to lean towards this being a boy Raguckas rather than a girl - although I have to say I have felt like it was a girl from the day I found out I was pregnant. Then at the most recent doctor's visit the baby's heart rate was in the 170s which some people would associate with being a girl - so it is definately going to keep us guessing until it decides to make it's appearance into the world.

Jim went to the local firestation and learned how to properly install the carseat on Friday. He is very excited about all of the features and I think this project made the arrival of the baby seem very real to him. He gets excited now because the baby's movements are a lot easier to feel and he really gets the opportunity to bond with them. I think it is going to be a great moment when I get to watch him finally meet the little one that has been with me for the last 9 months.

I will keep everyone updated to our progress. Hopefully you will see a picture of Baby Raguckas on here sooner than later! I can't believe I could still have 21 days of pregnancy left!

Preparing for Arrival

Chloe finds the bigger belly comfortable for napping!

Jim's mom made sure to provide him with all the necessities for Diaper Dooty!

Still growing! The baby definately doesn't have much room to move - We are starting to see legs sticking out from mom's belly!

Week 37

I can't believe that it is already Week 37 - only 3 more weeks until the expected arrival of Baby Raguckas. I will be posting an updated picture of myself shortly so that everyone can monitor the continued growth!

During my 35 week appointment the doctor informed me that I was 1cm dilated and 70% effaced (to me that sounded like the baby was on it's way!) but really it only meant that things were going normal. I am looking forward to my appointment this Friday to find out if things have progressed at all. Jim and I are both eagerly awaiting the arrival of the baby - the not knowing when labor could start is driving me crazy!

Jim's parents and two of his brothers were in to visit us a week ago. During the time they were here the guys went to the Penn State vs. Michigan Football game and his mom and I went shopping and attended my second shower (pictures of the cake are posted below). We are pretty much all set for the baby now except for packing our bags for the hospital and setting up the carseat and pack-n-play.

I will try to keep everyone updated on our progress for the next couple of weeks. We also plan on posting pictures of the baby here once they arrive, so keep checking for updates!