The Final Weeks

Although Emerson has made his entrance into this world, I don't want to forget all the moments leading up to his arrival.

Here are a few final photos/thoughts before he entered our lives.

Week 37

•  Dr appointment as usual, but no new progress. I remember being disappointed because I was hoping she would say I was ready to deliver. Looking back, I am glad I wasn't rushing things.
• Jesse and I went on a final dinner date night. We went to Brenner's Steak House and got all dressed up.  

A picture from our date night. Looking back I can't believe how big I was! 

It took many changes of clothes to finally find something nice enough to fit for our date.

 Week 38

• I finally came to the conclusion that nesting was never going to kick in. I was constantly restless, but I never had the urge to clean or prepare for anything. The only room I wanted to clean was the baby room. I swept and mopped it several times.
• I started a puzzle and actually thought I would finish it : )
• Had my Dr. appointment on Thursday, April 18 and that's when I got the unfortunate news that they were concerned I had preeclampsia and they sent me to the hospital for further testing and observation. This was the moment that changed my life forever and was the last time it would be just Jesse and I. Very exciting and scary.

 The rest is history!

Introducing Emerson Kye McKee

Emerson Kye McKee was born Friday, April 19, 2013 at 3:41 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20.75 inches long.

It doesn't need to be said, but Jesse and I are overwhelmed with joy and love for this little, perfect human.

Just a sample of his first photos.

 

 

Proud mommy and daddy photos

 

 We can't believe Emerson is already one week and one day old!

This is hopefully just the first of many other baby posts, but I wanted to get this out there before too much time lapsed and our man was a toddler!

In the meantime, I may be a little busy trying to figure out this whole parenthood thing : )

A Whale of a Good Time- Baby Shower #2

We had more baby shower fun last Saturday at our couples baby shower!

The shower was filled with friends and of course it had a whale theme with adorable decorations. Our hosts did an awesome job putting this all together for us. We definitely felt special and loved.

Whales galore!

Yummy food.

 

Brittany, our hostess, attempting to get the little rubber duckies to float in the punch.

A variety of our guests.

  

There were also lots of fun games thanks to Matt and Katie.

Yep, those are baby bottles! The guys, and one brave girl, had to swallow their pride and drink out of them as fast as they could.

Let's just say it is not as easy as it looks and it made for some good laughs.
 

The winner was Trent, a father of three so he knew how it was done : )

We also played the Newly Parent game, like the Newlywed game.

These are our answers for how big we think our baby will be when he is born. I surely hope our baby is closer to my guess than Jesse's.

Just one of the great gifts we received. Jesse will definitely be wearing this sign in the hospital.

 

 

Jesse made me "sit" on the whale.

He got to come home with us!

Jesse and I with the shower hosts, James and Brittany.

 

So many thanks to give out! Thank you Polly and Joel for opening your home for our shower, Matt and Katie (and Charlotte) for all the fun games, to all of our friends who traveled from all over Houston and from out of town to be a part of our shower, and of course thank you James and Brittany for hosting the shower. We had a blast!

Now what's left? Oh yeah, have a baby!

Month 9 (33-36 weeks)- Baby Showers and Preparation

Only 20 days left until my due date! Wow, time has flown.

We made it to full term pregnancy, 37 weeks. Of course ideally we want the little guy to stay in there until 40 weeks so everything has had time to fully develop, but it is comforting to know that we made it this far with no complications and he could be born anytime and be perfectly healthy.

This month has been lots of fun with all of our wonderful showers, visits from family and friends, and getting final things ready for baby to arrive.

Week 33

• Baby Shower # 1- The church we attend hosted a lovely shower for us where we got lots of wonderful things for baby
• We had a good deal of family and friends travel to be with us for our showers

Week 34

• Vivid baby dreams! I had these several nights in a row. I keep telling Jesse I now know exactly what he is going to look like. I guess only time will tell if my dreams are right : )
• Received surprising news at this weeks Dr. appointment. I shockingly learned that I have already gained 30 lbs! I have no idea where all of that weight came from. I was so slow to gain weight that I thought surely I would stay in to 20-25 lb range. Oh well.
• Prepared for babies arrival. After our first baby shower, my mom stayed a few extra days to help prepare the babies room. We washed all of this blankets and clothes, and organized the room.

Week 35

• Other than the Easter holiday, not much exciting happened in our babies world this week

Week 36

• Final ultrasound, Dr. visit. We receieved more surprising news
• Packed hospital bag. This is becoming very real!
• Baby Shower #2 (blog post to come soon)

 

 

Here is what is on my check list for the next four weeks:

• Install car seat
• Finish packing last minute hospital bag items
• Purchase any last minute items that we absolutely have to have before baby arrives
• Practice newborn photography, with stuffed animals of course. Oh yeah, did I not mention that Jesse and I decided I should try and attempt his newborn photos? I am not very confident on how it is all going to go down, but I am up for the challenge
• Pick up rocking chair
• Finalize baby room decorations
• Clean house top to bottom...I sure hope this nesting thing kicks in real fast because I have had no motivation to clean
• Stock up on groceries

 We will just see how much of that actually gets done : )

 

A final reminder, if you haven't already placed your bet on when you think baby McKee will arrive, don't forget to do so this week on my poll or leave a comment here. It will be fun to go back and see what the majority thinks.

Place Your Bets

I had my 36 week doctor appointment and ultrasound a few days ago and we received several pieces of "shocking" news so I think it's time to place your bet on when this baby will be due.

Just to be fair, I will first give you all the news I know about the baby from my latest doctor appointment, so maybe that will help your bid.

What I learned:

• Baby is predicted to currently weigh 7 lbs, 3 oz! (big baby, skocking news #1)
• Based on the information above, I am measuring more like 38 weeks, instead of 36 (shocking news #2)
• I am already dilated to 1.5 cm (shocking news #3)
• Baby is in head down position (the correct position)

What all that information really means:

• "Predicted" is the key word, meaning they could be off on the weight
• Although based on weight I am measuring at 38 weeks, my doctor still considers it a 36 week old baby for lung development purposes, so he needs to stay in there. She kept my due date the same, April 29
• I could be dilated around a 1.5-2 cm for several more weeks
• Just because baby is in the right position does not mean he is ready

OK, with that information in your hands, it's time to place your bets on my poll or leave a comment with your thoughts. The poll dates are general, but if you have a specific date you want to declare, please leave a comment.

Sorry, no prize for the winner who is the closest, just the pure satisfaction that you were right :)

Happy guessing!