The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We traveled west to celebrate Christmas with Andy's family. Luke's 1st ever Christmas! We were really looking forward to this as a family because all of the babies born this year- 3 babies in one year! Mia was a great big cousin, giving all of the boys kisses and making sure that they were having a good time. Micaiah, who is a few months older and ever the busy guy, was at least able to stay awake for the main event. Luke and Eli on the other hand.....

......spent most of their first Christmas out cold! Will this be the boys with Mia next year?

It was really a great Christmas to spend so much time with family and catch up with friends. Of course I think I went a little overboard with buying gifts for someone who has no idea what gifts are yet. In about 2 years he'll be all over it, but for now.... he is just a smiley, content, and happy baby that was mesmerized by a 10 cent glow stick that he got at Eli and Mia's church when Eli was baptized Christmas Eve. We look forward to Christmases to come, and look forward to starting traditions with Luke and the family that he will look forward to and always remember. That is, if he can stay awake for it!

Smiling Face

Luke is now 7 weeks old, and things are going well for us right now. Luke is smiling and "cooing" and "gooing" a lot these days. We first saw hints of a real smile around Thanksgiving, but now he'll smile several times a day. He loves talking with Daddy, and those 2 can really get going together! Of course it's almost impossible to get it on camera, but we've managed to get some video. We are also settling more into a routine with him. We have gotten Luke as close to a 3 hour schedule for eating as we can, even going longer in the middle of the night for us which has been great. We are still sort of lacking in the sleep department, but we're starting to figure out when we need sleep and grabbing it whenever we can!

Teddy Bear

Luke would spend hours staring at this bear that sits in his crib if we would let him!

This is the Day

Sunday we celebrated Luke's baptism. It turned out to be a great weekend- lots of family in town to enjoy a weekend away and to celebrate this important sacrament. Luke wore the same baptismal gown that Andy wore 30 years ago, so that was very meaningful. I was nervous about trying to fit 21 people in our little house, so we ended up hosting a reception at the church instead of the house. I was ready to recommend that we all go to a resteraunt rather than host a reception, but I ended up having some family to help take the initiative to put together a lunch. Thank you to everyone who helped to cook and organize the party!! I honestly couldn't have done it on my own at this point!! We had the opportunity to also put Luke and Eli together- cousins who were born 4 days apart! As you can see from the pictures, Luke and Eli are already getting to know each other. We all were so touched when we put the boys together for a picture and Eli gave Luke a hug. Even though it ended a little rough, it was cute nevertheless!

Andy and I were reflecting last night on how blessed we are to have such great family. We couldn't have asked for more supportive and loving people to be related to!!

We are maintaining at our house at this point. Sleep deprivation is still a problem, but we are getting to be more mobile which is defiantly a plus. I took Luke out for our first outings last week on our own without Andy. I think I really have missed being out in public- I'm staring to get cabin fever now, even though I opt to stay home a lot more because getting everything ready ends up being a lot of work! I took Luke to Andy's work one morning, which was great to go visit Daddy and Daddy's co-workers. The ladies in the office LOVED having a newborn to cuddle with!!! It has helped my sanity too to be able to leave the house again!!

People have been asking about how Luke is doing. We are happy to say that he is gaining weight now and doing really well!!! We hope this will continue!!!

Baby Baby

What a busy few weeks that we have had! Luke is now almost 3 weeks old (3 weeks on Monday) and we are busy adjusting to life at home. We were warned that as new parents we could kiss sleep and life as we knew it goodbye, and we know now what everyone was talking about. I don't think Andy and I knew what we were in for, but we're starting to realize what having a baby in the house means. We had been married for 8 years before Luke arrived, so we had a really comfortable routine down. Now that has been turned on its ear! Instead of going out for long dinners as a couple, we are lucky if we get to choke down half of our dinner. Outings are mostly doctor appointments at this point, and sleeping is done in shifts. We honestly can say though that we wouldn't change it for the world- Luke is beautiful! We have honestly lucked out- he is a GREAT baby. He really is not that fussy, when he has to be changed. He HATES having his diaper or his clothes changed, so that's when we hear the most out of him. Luke can also hold his own head up really well which surprises us because infants usually can't do that very well. He sleeps very well at this point- we usually have to wake him up at night to eat. The only thing that has been of any concern the past few weeks is that he was losing weight very quickly, so we've had to supplement his feedings with formula. I didn't want to have to do that, but after a very hard weekend last weekend of tube feeding along with his normal feedings we decided to forgo the tube system and use some formula along with breast milk. He has been gaining weight back now all this week, which is a good sign, so now he's up to 8 lbs, 1 oz. as of Friday. It was good news!

We have had a steady stream of visitors over the past few weeks, and we are looking forward to Luke's baptism next weekend. We will have a lot of family in town for that. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to fit 20 people into our tiny house for a reception!
Overall, Luke has been a content and happy baby so far. Well, except when we have to change him. Then that's up for debate!

Luke's First Weekend at Home

Here are some pictures of Luke and family that visited over the weekend. He is well-loved, that's for sure!

Blessed

As you can see, we finally had the baby! We welcomed Luke Andrew Hoffmann into the world on October 27th. It was a very long and hard labor and process. We had gone for a walk Saturday evening to get some family/belly pictures outdoors, knowing that it might be the last opportunity to do that. We did a mild hike, only to find out that the camera was out of batteries. It was a good thing we charged them when we got home, because I started cramping that evening in my back. They came and went all night, but I didn't realize I was going into labor until Sunday late afternoon. My contractions were all in my lower back and were not following a pattern at all. By 8:00, they were fairly regular and I KNEW that I was indeed in labor. We timed them out and called the hospital a few times. I finally couldn't take it, and by 3:00 in the morning we were driving to the hospital. They admitted me right away. At that time they were 5-9 minutes apart, but very strong. By morning I was enduring 3-5 minute long contractions in my back (no joke- the nurse told me she never sees that) and boy were they ever strong. I was only dilated to 1 at that point, so I wasn't "ready" for an epidural (ha, ha). When I wasn't dilating any more, we conferred with my doctor and everyone at the hospital and decided that this baby could be too big, so a c-section was our best bet. Even though I didn't want a c-section I was so tired and exhausted and in such pain that I agreed. I was supposed to go into surgery at 4:30, so I was given a spinal to "hold me over". It did the trick for the 2 hours that it was supposed to. I was still having monster contractions, but I wasn't feeling them. We both got some sleep, waiting for 4:30 to arrive. It did, but of course they were not ready for us in the OR. Meanwhile, my medicine was wearing off, so I was stuck in bed with my legs half dead, waiting to go, having more killer contractions. The icing was on the cake when the nurse said "were ready!" and began to wheel me out, only to see a whole group of people wheeling another girl to the elevator ahead of me. An emergency I was told- I had to wait for even longer. By the time I got down to the OR it was 6:00. I was nervous about the c-section, but anxious to see the baby. Luke Andrew Hoffmann arrived at 6:35 pm, pooping and peeing all over Dr. H. on the way to the warmer! Andy and I were so excited- he was beautiful. Eyes were wide open, fair skin color, nice round head. Andy went with Luke up to the nursery while they finished working on me. I was told later that it killed Andy for us to be separated while I was in recovery, and he would not leave the nursery until I could see him. No one could see him or know anything about him until I got to see him. I don't really remember much of that time, but I do remember Andy bringing Luke out into the hallway for the first time. Andy and I felt so blessed, and we shared some nice moments as a family for the first time that I will treasure forever. I have a whole new love and respect for Andy that I would have never known until we had a child together. The love we have for Luke is something that I can't explain, and the hard labor was all worth it. I would do it all over again, no question.

In recovery the surgeon came up to me and asked me if I had a guess as to what Luke weighed. Since that was the million dollar question weeks before he was born, I was eager to hear. 8 lbs. 6oz. WOW!!!! No wonder why he wasn't coming into this world without surgery! We still shake our heads at that one. How could he ever weigh that much???

Luke is beautiful, and we are in such love with him. It has been a busy week and weekend, filled with best wishes and visits from family and friends. We are still getting used to our new lives, including middle of the night feedings and poopy diapers, kisses and cuddles. We are loving being parents, and feel so blessed to have Luke in this world with us!

HE'S HERE

Luke Andrew Hoffmann

Born Monday October 27th at 6:35pm

8 pounds 6.3 ounces

20 inches long

The Final Countdown

We are getting closer to meeting Baby Hoffmann! We had our last ultrasound on Monday to see how big Baby is getting. We didn't get any pictures because the printer wasn't working, but we saw so much. We saw so much more than 2 weeks ago- we did see his face VERY clearly. This time I could tell what features were without having it explained to me. He has chubby cheeks, which tells me he could look like a Jarolimek! We also saw his foot (yes, there were 5 toes- we counted them!) and we were able to confirm that he is a BOY! It was quite obvious on the screen, actually!
Tuesday we had our doctor appointment, and I haven't made any real progress since last week. We did talk about induction though. If I don't go naturally on my own by next week, the tentative plan is to go in possibly Wednesday night where they would get the ball rolling by giving me some gel or a pill to start the process, and then start Pitocin to start my contractions Thursday morning. So Thursday the 30th could be Baby's birthday. The ultrasound estimated Baby to be at about 7 lbs. 3 oz. right now. It's hard to know how accurate that is, but they feel pretty confidant that he won't grow that much more. My hope is that he isn't an 8 1/2 lb. baby, and I am hoping that a C-section is not in my future. But if it means a healthy baby, I'm going to have to suck it up and do that. I'm just hoping that if that's the case, I don't have to go through hours of labor and then have to have a last minute C-section after all of that. We'll see.

We are so excited!!! The Final Countdown is really on in our house. We have finished unpacking the last of our gifts and equipment, washing everything and getting our house prepared for our new arrival. The amount of phone calls have picked up with friends and family wondering if there is any news yet. I'm now done with work too. I thought I might go in this week, but it turns out that I'm too tired to do really much of anything and to be productive there. So I'm getting things ready at home and taking lots of naps. Andy is working all this week. He was hearing from his boss that he might be either completely or partially laid off this winter if a house deal didn't go through, but yesterday he found out that even if this house doesn't go through that he will more than likely be able to work through the winter! That is great news since I am about to have several weeks of unpaid leave that will not be good for us as it is.

Andy is also suffering the effects of his "traumatic" flu shot experience. When we were in the doctor's office on Monday, both Doctor H. and I convinced him that since Baby was on the way, he had to get the flu shot this year. I wasn't sure if it was a fear thing or just stubborn guy thing that has prevented him from getting one in the past, but he was all of the sudden was adamant- he DID-NOT-WANT-A-SHOT. The same guy who put a rusty nail through his wrist and missed his eyeball my millimeters with a screwdriver last year and didn't go to the ER did not want a shot! We told him it was for the good of the baby, and that if I could endure childbirth in a few short days, he could certainly handle a little poke. I took my shot in front of him with a smile and gave him lots of encouragement. So he did it and belly-ached the entire night about how much pain he was in and how now he was going to get the flu.... I told him he was crazy and rolled my eyes at him. But then Wednesday night he came home and laid down on the couch and didn't look so good. I felt him and- he was warm! He had a fever! Now, fevers have been making the rounds at my work for the last month, but of course Andy's convinced there's a direct correlation. To make him feel better I looked up flu shots on the CDC's website and low-grade fevers are a side effect of the shot. Oops!! I'm sure he probably won't be listening to me again when I tell him that things are a good idea.

We are counting down the days until Baby is here. Only a few days to go!! We are anxiously awaiting news from our brother and sister-in-law to see if there baby boy is going to arrive close to ours. With the way things are going, we could have 2 Hoffmann boy cousins born on the same day!!! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

One Way or Another

I went to the doctor again this morning- basically nothing new has happened over the last week- I'm in the same spot I was a week ago. We're going to have another ultrasound this week to see if we can estimate the baby's size. If the baby is estimated to be really big, I might be induced next week. If not, then we'll have him within the next 2 weeks (the doctor said he won't let me go beyond 40 weeks) or sooner if he decides he's ready to make his appearance. One way or another, we should be meeting our son within the next 2 weeks!!!

The Closer You Get

A lot of progress has been made lately. We MAY meet our Baby Boy a little sooner than we had expected (sooner than our Oct. 29th due date). I went to the doctor on Monday and he said that I was thinning out (about 50% effaced) and that Baby's head is lower than he had expected. This may mean that I'm getting closer, but it might not mean a thing. Since babies and dates can't be predicted, I could have another 3 weeks or another 3 days left to go. I might be one of those people that progresses slowly or have everything happen immediately- you never know. Of course this is starting to drive us a little crazy since we heard that on Monday. Since I'm a planner, I'd like to know the day that I should be expecting this all to happen. Yeah. I basically have to pack my bags and just WAIT- so hard to do. I think it would have been better just to not have known any info because now it's starting to dominate my thinking- could this be the day? Should I do this project at work? Should I even GO to work?
I'm still working- I figure as long as my body is hanging in there, I'll continue to work as long as I can so I'll have more time with Baby later. I'm down to 4 days a week (I think my boss is doing me a favor by giving me Mondays off now). Of course I'm bombarded all day with questions about when I'm leaving and if I'll be back. So far I'm planning to be back. I wish that I could be home, but I'm hoping that Powerball will somehow come through just like the rest of you are, I'm sure.

We've had a lot of questions lately about whether or not we want visitors at the hospital. Well, we'll say that we haven't made that choice yet, and we're waiting to see how the delivery goes! If things go well, we'll call and give the green light. If things don't go as well, we'll still call everyone on our list to let you know that he has arrived and his NAME, but we'll let you know when we'd like to have everyone come by. Of course if it's a Monday, we'll know that most people will need to wait for the weekend. Our prediction is that Baby will come on the Sunday that Dr. H. is going to the Vikings game at the Dome. Just a prediction!

As far as the Baby's size, since he was estimated to be so big on last week's ultrasound my doctor wants to do another ultrasound next week to see if the 6 lb. 10 oz. estimation was just a fluke or if I'm really on target to have an 8 or 9 lb. baby. If so, for those of you that know me, that would be a cruel joke. I'm hoping the results were way off and he'll be 6-7 pounds at birth just like Andy and I were when we were born.

We are getting more and more ready for Baby as the days get closer. Andy's parents were here last weekend, and we washed all of his clothes and put stuff away. We also took a mega shopping trip to Target and cashed in the big gift card I got from the girls at work to get all of the rest of the stuff we needed. Andy has installed the car seat, and I'm packing my bag for the hospital. We finished up the last of the classes now. Our last class on car seat safety and infant CPR was taped for a news story and ended up on the news on the local Fox station. Andy and I were shown A LOT during that story. I wish that channel had a website so you could all see it, but they don't. We saved it on TiVo, so if anyone comes over, you can see our family TV debut. I'm hoping I can convert it to a tape or DVD and show Baby one day what we were like when he was almost here. We'll just see if "almost" is this week or Thanksgiving- you just never know.

Freeze Frame

We finally had our ultrasound today! We were really excited to get in there and hopefully take a look at our little boy. I had been talking to Baby a lot this week letting him know that it was a good idea to somehow flip around and show us his face if he were hanging with his back to us. After my last ultrasound experience I was scared that we'd get the same person who would be all business and just want to look at the fibroid and wouldn't care about seeing him. Luckily it was another person who walked in this time and she turned out to be really nice! We first looked at his head and then his heart and kidneys. Wow- I still can't get over seeing that heartbeat right there on the screen. It's just such a reassurance to know he's OK! He had grown so much- he's estimated now to be 6 lbs, 10 oz. at this point. He's even practicing breathing- his lungs are coming along and we watched them go! The fibroid is still the same size, so I'll ask the doctor next Monday and see what he says about that. The ultrasound tech though was very nice and tried hard to get a peek at his sex to confirm it (we couldn't see anything, but she did say that if we were told previously he was a boy we could pretty much bet on it). When it came to seeing his face, we couldn't get a good look since we were on an older machine that didn't work as well, so she brought us to a new room with a better machine! We did see his face, even though I had a hard time distinguishing it on the screen. You can look at the picture and see what you think. Of course Andy sees it plain as day, but I somehow lack that part of the brain to make those things out. The picture we're posting are of his face- his eyes, nose and mouth. 3D mode wasn't working out for us, so we don't have any of those. Still- baby is HEALTHY and growing strong- good news for today!

Joni was here this weekend as my official "babysitter" while Andy was away hunting with his family. We took some time to organize all of the gifts and clothes in the nursery. It was good to have her here do some of that and to hang out. Thank you Joni for keeping me company this weekend. Luckily there were no medical emergencies to deal with!

Breathe

Hello everyone! We are at 35 1/2 weeks, and I just had my latest doctor appointment this morning. Baby is doing well- the heartbeat is still around 130 and he's growing at the rate he's supposed to. He's still moving a lot, even though the movements are slowing down a bit now since he's getting bigger. No more giant flips, just jabs and kicks and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s. Big stretches. Andy has claimed that he can hear his heartbeat just by putting his ear to my belly. Dr. H. is skeptical, but Andy loves to listen for it. He's also getting more comfortable with talking to Baby and he's even starting to sing to him a little. At first Andy was claiming that just his interactions with me would be enough to have Baby learn his voice, but since all of the guys he knows are telling him it's actually OK, he's switched from using the weird Darth Vader voice he was using to actually talking to him. I think it's harder for guys in that respect- I'm constantly talking and singing to Baby, and I even have to make sure that I'm not talking to him when I'm in the grocery store or somewhere where it looks like I'm talking to myself!

We went to our childbirth class last weekend. We decided rather than taking the 6-night class to do a crash course Friday night/Saturday all day one. The nurses said Friday night that we would hit the wall at approximately 1:00 on Saturday. Sure enough, at 1:00 on Saturday I was in the middle of a panic attack and wanted to run for the door. Pain medicine, emergency c-sections, all of that- it's enough to make me crazy! Getting ready for Baby is so much more than buying cute clothes and coordinated crib sheets at this point- I actually have to start preparing myself for all of the possibilities of what could go wrong and for the actual BIRTH. Of course everything could go smoothly and be just fine, but the butterflies of not knowing what to expect have caught up with me. People aren't exactly helping either. I'm not sure what it is, but everyone feels the need to share horror stories this week. One woman at work who seemed to mean well at the beginning of our conversation somehow transitioned into the story of her ruptured uterus with her last child rather quickly. Before I knew it I was not able to breathe again. I feel like wearing a shirt that says "No Trauma Stories PLEASE". I don't know if I could take much more- I already have nerves as it is.

But I do continue to take deep breaths and remind myself "It's all Been Done Before". Andy and I are also starting to practice our breathing for labor (the "hee-hee-hoo's). We were in our childbirth class and were sitting down on the floor Saturday afternoon to practice for the fifth time. The lights were all turned off, the relaxing music was on, and everyone closed there eyes and began rhythmically "hee-hee-hooing". The instructors were telling the coaches to really get in close, to lead the rhythm for mom. Of course, as soon as Andy got within 6 inches of my face I realized what he had done- "You had onions on your sub at lunch, didn't you????" And jalapenos and banana peppers and about a thousand other things that make my stomach turn right now. The instructors were looking at him and saying "No- GET IN THERE" and I was like "Get AWAY FROM ME!" Maybe breathing may not be as easy during labor if Andy gets close to a Subway for lunch anytime from now until the end of October!

In Your Room

Andy is finally done with the nursery renovation, and Labor Day weekend was spent starting to move in! We ended up painting the walls a light yellow color to brighten up the room. Blue would have just been too dark in there since we don't get a ton on sunlight with only one window. I'm going to focus on bringing in color with the curtains, bedding, wall hangings, etc. We're going more with brown and blue for those things. I also found the perfect letters for the wall that have blue and brown dots on them for his name. Andy put together his dresser on Friday night and we set up the crib Saturday morning! We also worked on unpacking our shower gifts and getting all of the clothes organized by size. It's been so much fun to look at everything we have received so far and the things I've picked up over the last few years and to get things put away. Now we have a better idea of what we need to get to fill in the blanks and to get ready to go. Only 6 1/2 weeks to go!

With only 6 1/2 weeks to go, I am officially done traveling and loving being at home. I think it will feel best to be at home now- riding in the car was just getting to be too hard, not to mention not sleeping in my own bed and following my routine. My belly is growing so fast and I am tiring out more again. Not quite like the first trimester, but getting close. I crash out on the couch almost every night before Andy attempts to move me upstairs. My back will also freeze up at night and it gets hard to move around. I was talking to one of my friends on the phone the other night and we had a laugh about dropping a pen on the floor- she asked me yet if I've gotten to the point where if I drop a pen on the floor I have to act like MacGyver to try to pick it up. I said yes, and then I have work to do to figure out how to get back up again. I really have to say though that even though there are aches and pains and brainless moments, I have honestly LOVED being pregnant. I used to roll my eyes when people said that, but honestly what a blessing to be able to carry our own child and experience this!

Baby is moving so much now. Andy and I are convinced that we have the strongest Olympian on the way. His kicks and movements have brought tears to my eyes once or twice- they have soooooo much power behind them. Andy is constantly reminding him to be nice to his mommy!!

We had our last monthly doctor appointment yesterday before I start going every 2 weeks. The word of the day was "normal". Everything was normal- baby's heart rate, my belly's size, my blood pressure, my symptoms- normal normal normal. And really- thank goodness for normal!!!! Apparently the baby's head is down so I'm getting closer, but the doctor thinks that I will go full term. I really believe he will make his appearance early, but maybe that is wishful thinking on my part!

The last ultrasound I need to have to check on that size of the monster fibroid has been delayed another 3 or so weeks. My doctor wants to do it around 35 weeks, which bummed us out because we wanted to take another peek at our little guy this week. Something to look forward to, I guess! I hope we get good pictures of Baby so we can post them on here! Cross your fingers!

Shower the People you Love (With Love)- Again!

Saturday was my family's baby shower in Fargo. It was a long drive out to ND and I was really sore after the car ride, but I enjoyed being there and it was a fun afternoon! There were members of every branch of my family there and we had quite a turnout, which was wonderful. There were a lot of people that came that I haven't seen in years, so it was nice to catch up with everyone! Sandy brought her "babies" which were a big hit. The babies were replicas of the actual size/weight of babies in utero that she uses to train with at work, and they were really fun for people to hold and look at. I loved seeing the 30 week baby again since I'm right there this week. We played only one game (the "Price is Right"- it's amazing to me how much everything "baby" costs!!), but we had plenty of time to visit and take pictures. And yes, this time I did get lots of pictures this time! "Baby Brain" wasn't going to happen this weekend- I put my cousin Krissy in charge of the camera and she took care of things so I could enjoy visiting with everyone and eat my "Uncle Joe Cake" (my uncle Joe has made almost every cake for every major life event that I've had- good stuff!!!). Thank you those who hosted the shower- you went through so much work and I really appreciate it!!!! Also, just like last weekend, I'm so appreciative of everyone that came and were so generous- you are all so kind and we can't wait to introduce the baby to you!

I had my 3 hour gestational diabetes test Monday and (good news) I passed with flying colors! The test is not one I'd ever like to repeat EVER again, so I'm glad it's behind me and I still can continue to eat all of the cookies I want! I made a huge pan of Scotcheroos for a potluck at work today and I think that the plate that I took to work vs. what I left in the pan for home was a little lopsided. I just hope Andy doesn't get to them first!

Andy is progressing on Baby's room. Besides all of the shower gifts, we have gone shopping ourselves to get ready for Baby, so a corner of our living room is overflowing with stuff that needs to get organized and put away. My mom and sister went shopping with us this weekend so we could get a few more essentials. I can honestly say that I am officially "nesting". Andy is hoping to get the room painted & carpets cleaned soon so we can set up the crib and "move in"!