Introducing Liam Vincent Sanderson

He's here, he's here! Liam Vincent Sanderson as born on 10.20.10 at 10:22pm and is the most amazing and best thing that's ever happened to us. I've always heard that you don't really know what love is until you have a child and that is so true. I never could have imagined how in love I would be with our sweet baby boy!

Last Wednesday was like any other day. I was up early with Joe before he went to work, cleaned house and had an NST (non-stress test) at 11am. The test showed that baby was still thriving and was fine to stay until our induction date on 10.26. In fact, I didn't have a single contraction the entire hour I was hooked up to the machine so I thought for sure he wouldn't be here until the 26th.

At around 5pm I started feeling a little different but wasn't in that much pain. I had plans to go for dinner with my parents since Joe was working until 7:45 so we went to the Cow Deli and that's when it all started. Suddenly my pain started getting worse. I powered through it but as I was about to start eating my soup my water broke at 6:15pm. Sorry for all of you Cow Deli lovers. I wont say which booth it happened in! I called Joe at work and told him and he headed right home. Mom drove me home, I jumped in the shower and at that point the pain was becoming unbearable...and contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart. We gathered all of our stuff and took off. At this point I was in so much pain I couldn't talk. We got to the hospital at around 7:10 and the nurse that checked us in said we were staying....and she was calling Dr. Saraf because she thought things were going to go fast.

Our nurse was right. Since I had cancer they had to do a bunch of blood work before giving me my epidural. Little did we know that I was almost totally dilated at this point, which is the reason I was in so much pain. They finally got the blood work back and gave the anesthesiologist the go ahead to give me my epidural. The nurse checked me again and was shocked but it was time for me to push. I didn't get to enjoy any of the benefits of the epi! I pushed for about 20 minutes and he was born. Only 3 hours after we arrived at the hospital! Everyone was shocked at how fast it happened and said our next baby will come even faster. Lucky me!

Life since last Wednesday has been wonderful. We've been totally blown away with all of the love and support we've gotten from friends and family. Meals delivered, gifts, flowers...it all means so much and we love introducing him to everyone! He is so loved already!

This is the first time I've actually sat down at the computer since the last time I blogged. Breastfeeding is a full time job for sure. When I'm not feeding him I'm either enjoying holding him, relaxing with Joe, visiting with visitors or getting stuff done around the house. I love our little family! And I've also loved having Joe off. He'll go back to work next Thursday after being off for two weeks. Joe has been SO amazing, he's an awesome dad---it melts my heart to see him interact with Liam!

Next post: how Daddy stole the show from Liam on the big day. Stay tuned!

Joe's last day!

Today is Joe's last day of work for....a long time! Tomorrow is the beginning of his long break off and whether the baby is here or not, he'll be taking all of next week and part of the following week off. YAY! I'm so excited he'll be here. Even though he could be home in 5 minutes, I feel anxious without him here. Today also marks two months since I quit work. TWO months! Wow! The Katy they hired to replace me isn't there anymore. Interesting...

We had our last doctor appointment at Dr. Saraf's office yesterday! Even though I'm still only still 1cm dilated, it was encouraging to know that by this time next week we'll have a sweet baby boy to hold. Finally! I have to have another NST (non-stress test) today. Our doctor is going out of town tomorrow until Monday, so it will probably happen sometime while he's gone. Such as life.

Happy Wednesday!

Delicious!

This morning I woke up to the wonderful smell of my husband making us breakfast. It was delicious! He's a big Alton Brown fan so he made Alton Brown's French Toast. Definitely a recipe to keep! And try!

It's a gorgeous day---we're off to walk the lake!

Today is a great day to have a baby!

But let's be real, it's not going to happen today. Every morning when Joe leaves for work he says, "Maybe I'll get a call saying it's time today." Maybe I'm totally wrong but I just don't think it's going to happen before the 26th. I wake up every morning feeling the same as usual. Or maybe I'm being really ignorant and it's going to happen when I least expect it. Like when we're walking the lake and are 2 miles from our car. Or when I'm on the freeway coming home from Portland or Vancouver. I've been on the go constantly just because I don't think it's going to happen! Perhaps I should get wise and get everything for the hospital in the car just in case? Might be a good idea...

Yesterday I had to go for a fetal non-stress test (NST) because I'm overdue. It measures fetal heart rate in response to it's own movements. They hooked me up and we had to wait and be monitored for 20 minutes. She came back in at the end of 20 minutes and he hadn't moved so she gave me a sucker. The sugar in the sucker woke him up almost instantly! It was so amazing. They were then able to get the readings they needed and everything looked great. According to the machine I had one small contraction while I was being monitored but I couldn't feel it, just a Braxton Hicks. It always amazes me when we're able to listen to his heartbeat. Truly a miracle!

Hope everyone has a great weekend...maybe next time I write it will be to post a picture of our sweet little boy!

It's official, Baby S is going to be evicted if he doesn't decide to come soon. We had a doctor appointment yesterday and he's made absolutely no progress since last weeks appointment. Nothing. At. All. I now understand why these last appointments can be discouraging. My official due date isn't until tomorrow but still...nothing, baby? The nurse said it's a sign he's going to be "very laid back like his parents." I was thinking more along the lines of stubborn...like his daddy, not me. ;) If he doesn't come by the the 25th, I'll be induced the morning of the 26th--at the end of my 42 week. I'm worried he's going to be huge, but doctor doesn't think so. Here's to hoping he's right about that!

No-name, just please think about coming on your own before the 26th! We are ready for you, your room is ready, you have a closet full of clothes, the house is freshly cleaned and I've run out of things to keep my mind off of waiting for your arrival! But with that said, please wait until after tomorrow night. Mommy really wants to go to the Cabaret!

A boring post

Tuesday already! And October 12? I'm sad how fast October is going, it's my favorite month of the year! Especially with weather like this!

We had another busy weekend. Joe was off on Friday so we decided to have (what we thought) our last date night. We took off for Portland, hit up REI for Joe and had dinner at 360 Pizzeria. We were going to go see "Life as We Know It" but we missed the 7:30 show and Joe didn't have faith that I would make it to (and through) the 9:30 show. He was right, I was exhausted by the time we got home! It was a great night but I'm thinking we'll have the opportunity for a few more date nights before baby comes.....

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for a friend who is due December 1. Our friend came up from San Francisco so after the shower the three of us went for dinner. It was great catching up!

Sunday was quite possibly the most boring day I've had in awhile. Joe had to work Sunday night so he slept as long as he could and then relaxed all day. Ended up going to see the movie Sunday night with sister, mom and aunt. Joe was happy he got out of it, he wasn't too thrilled about seeing it.

Yesterday I left the house at 8am, went to Vancouver, got home at 5:15 and then had a class reunion meeting at 6. Last night I was exhausted and looking forward to not having anything planned for today but I've been up since 5 and I'm roaring to go again. Good thing Joe is off today and will be ready to hang out with me after he comes home and takes a short nap!

Happy Tuesday!

A preview of what's to come?

Not sure how I found it, but this website is funny. Check it out. I especially like the post from October 4 and June 29. Subie better watch out!

Goodbye to the Subaru

Three years ago yesterday I traded in my Jeep and we drove home in a 2008 Subaru Legacy. The trade happened because I was sick of paying a ton of money for gas, insurance and big car payments. I bought my Jeep right after I graduated. I didn't think it would be any big deal to have a car payment...that's why I was working, right? That thinking didn't last long. I HATED it! Seeing what little amount of the payment was going towards the principal and how much towards interest was beyond depressing! The Subaru was a great idea (or so I thought). I decided to lease--thinking that I would want a new car every three years--and it was perfect because it was AWD, cheap payments, good gas mileage, etc. Well, that thinking didn't last long either. Soon after I realized how stupid (for me) leasing was. I was making rental car payments!

Solution: knowing our lease would be up October 5, we bought a 2002 Subaru in March, paid cash for it and are now officially done with car payments--forever I hope! I have no desire to ever make payments again! Ever. Funny how things change. Yesterday we had to return our 'rental' car. Very weird. We pulled up to Clary's, handed the keys and left. End of story. We had 5 miles to spare on our lease, every mile over costs $$, and pretty much coasted in. It was so low on gas instead of the dash saying "20 miles to empty" it just said "---- to empty." We planned it out well! :) It was kind of sad to drive away from it, but after cancelling insurance on it yesterday and finding out we'll now be paying $900 less per year made it a little easier.

Goodbye Subaru, hello new pre-loved-paid-for Subaru!

Beach trip

A perfect day at the beach! It was an overcast day in Longview but we got to the beach and it was sunny, gorgeous and warm. Mom and dad bought a house so of course we had to go check it out. It's going to be so much fun to have somewhere that all of us can go and stay. So many good memories to come. Here are some pictures of our day...