New Pictures on CentraCare.com

Hello all. Everything is going really well. We are all at home now and doing well - just a little tired :-) Thomas has a little jaundice but is gradually getting a little pinker and certainly is eating well now. As soon as I have more time I'll get some of the Operating Room pictures up on the blog and some of Thomas's debut pictures. I also wanted to let everyone know that there are now pictures of Thomas on the St Cloud Hospital website: www.centracare.com Click on the Nursery Link. You'll need to enter our last name information and/or hospital and the password to see the pictures is: J9W9N1J3Q2 I think their website kind of sucks so you may need to enter in our information into different things to make sure it comes up.

Anyway, thanks to all for their good wishes and happy thoughts. We'll update more later! :-)

Daddy and baby Thomas 9/24

My 2 sweeties

OUCH! The poor little guy

OUCH!
The poor little guy was circumsized this a.m. He doesn't want to wake up. Guess I can't blame him...

Morning time

I AM NOT waking up yet.

Another from phone.

Baby Mama and Shorty

Here is Amanda and Thomas having a peaceful moment together. This was later in the evening, when Amanda was starting to feel a little better.

This picture and the previous are from my phone. Next time I'm near a computer I will try to get some camera pictures posted.

Thomas in pre-scream

Here is Thomas at the beginning of a scream. He has his face all wrinkled because he really let loose with a yell!

Happy Birthday Thomas John.

Happy Birthday Thomas John. He was born about 11:50a.m. 8lbs 7oz and 20inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well.

It's time!

Here we go!

Scrub

They're gonna put me in scrubs now for the O.R. so this is probably the last update before the baby is born.

Just had an ultrasound that

Just had an ultrasound that confirmed baby is still breech. We are cleared for take-off.

Baby's heart is beating at

Baby's heart is beating at a very normal 158 BPM. It has no idea what is coming...

Beautiful

The dreaded gown.

Just checked in to the

Just checked in to the hospital. Amanda is nervous now, and pacing back and forth. Updating from my cell phone as I can...

Sept 23 is the big day

Well, we went from waiting patiently to cramming everything in to one night to make sure we are ready. Tomorrow is the day!!! I'm scheduled for a C section at 11 a.m. 9/23/08 to deliver. We are extremely excited and I think both of us a little scared - or at least I am. Anyway, I'll make sure John posts some pictures as soon as he can tomorrow and at least post what and when everything happened. :-)

It's Breech

Well, so much for the last post. I had an ultrasound this afternoon that confirmed that the baby is definitely breech. Our options are now changing. Our doctor's appointment has now been changed from the Monday after next to this coming Monday so we can discuss possibilities and options of what we would like to do. Other than being head up, baby looked really good though....and big!!! :-) No estimated fetal weight was done, but I just couldn't believe how big it looked up on that screen - definitely a lot different than a few months ago. Anyway, we'll see what happens after our doctor's appointment on Monday.

One and a Half Weeks...I think

Well, we are now at the 38 1/2 week mark and still NOTHING is happening. Still not dilated to anything and nothing really is going on, just getting bigger and more uncomfortable. Apparently I have made it a little TOO comfortable for our little one and he/she just doesn't want to leave :-) Our doctor seems to think that the baby may have moved again and is getting pretty large. This afternoon I am going to have an ultrasound to check position. If it's breech, we have to call the doctor and see what he says. Otherwise, the heart beat was really good at 140 bpm, but was heard in a different spot prompting the ultrasound (I think). My blood pressure was great this time around, at 124/80. I attribute that to not having to work this morning - must be trying to tell me something :-) Anyway, we still sit here patiently waiting and will go back to the doctor again a week from Monday (9/29). I'll post later after the ultrasound :-)

2 1/2 weeks to go

Another week, another doctor's appointment. Friday morning we again visited the doctor to find out that basically nothing is happening. This baby is not ready to make an appearance into the world yet. It was a little scary right away though, as my blood pressure was sky high - 150/100. After laying on my left side, it came back down to normal 132/78 and they were again happy. He said I could expect some high numbers right away from now on out though, as the baby is pretty big and pushing on those major blood vessels. As long as the numbers come down after laying on my left side, we are fine. The baby was again really healthy with a heart beat of 148 bpm and moving all around - although I don't think it appreciated having the doctor check where it was sitting when he squeezed my stomach and subsequently the baby's little head :-) It started really kicking around then.

We also went shopping this week and got our stroller/car seat, baby monitor, and the baby swing. John set up the crib, with mattress delivered and in the crib, and everything seems to be pretty much ready to go. My parents were here this weekend as well. My dad and John replaced our bathroom floor and Mom cleaned - with me pointing her in the right directions :-) Everything seems to be in place...everything except the baby

So, again, we patiently wait for SOMETHING to happen.....although the doc seems to think it will be closer to the due date....unfortunately :-(

Baby Shower

On Saturday we had our very own baby shower. The day started out with me walking around the nursery, just walking around thinking I was finally going to have a baby shower - something I thought would never happen (and of course I started crying again - but John was happy it was a good crying). I had a blast! It was a great time with good friends and family. We got a lot of great things that we and the baby can enjoy for years!!! We were surprised to see some of our friends and family that traveled from long distances and really thank EVERYONE who could make it and enjoy this special day with us. (I say us because technically John was there - although he and some other guys had been "banished" to the back of the room) :-) Again, we want to thank everyone who attended, who were there in spirit, and thank everyone for their awesome gifts and sentiments!! Also, a special thank you to Amy & Tara, who did an AWESOME job and couldn't have done a better job - it was perfect! It truly was a special day for us, enjoying a day that we never thought would happen, but are extremely grateful we are getting a chance to experience.

Picture 1: My grandparents, parents, and myself
Picture 2: The Baby Herring "fishing bucket"
Picture 3: Playing with the toys (if you look hard enough in the background you can see the boys tucked away in their corner)
Picture 4: The girls!
Picture 5: It's hard work opening these presents!
Picture 6: The quilt my mom made for her grand baby - coming with matching valances & sheets
Picture 7: The cake (can you see the cute little baby peeking out?)
Picture 8: John's aunt Tara, me, and John's sister Amy

Another dr's appt

Another week, another doctor's appointment done. Another trip to the dr's office today and baby was moving today!! Heart beat was 159 beats per minute and was moving the entire time the doppler was on my stomach to listen. My stomach was dancing :-) Blood pressure was 120/84, which was ok according to Dr. He said I could expect to start having some more swelling now, especially in hands, feet, and face, and said the little contractions I've been having should start getting stronger and may even start hurting. I had the first one that hurt the other day when walking around Target. He also said that he thinks the baby is head down now so things will hopefully start progressing!!! And in the next 4-6 weeks (I'm obviously hoping for 4, or even less) we'll be welcoming the newest little Herring.

Holiday Time

Well, it's Labor Day...not my labor day mind you. I keep telling John and my folks that it's Labor Day so today's the day I should go, but they keep telling me I need to "keep baking". :-( I'm definitely ready to be done "baking" though. Baby is getting pretty big and heavy now. I'm starting to get inpatient and for those of you that know me well, patience is NOT one of my virtues.

Anyway, in the meantime I'll just have to settle for waiting for more doctor's appt and my upcoming baby shower. We've had a lot of questions lately from people wondering what we need, etc. For those of you that are looking, we are registered at Target...and think green and yellow since we don't know if a little boy or little girl will be joining our family!! Hope to see you all soon!