June 5, 2009
8:02 pm
7 lb. 14 oz.
20 inches.

I’m going to try to attach a picture of Taylor in labor, chatting on Facebook for your viewing pleasure.

We had our final doctors appointment today. The most surprising thing we found out is that we are supposed to report to the hospital at 4:00 AM on Friday morning for our induction. And not only that, we are supposed to call the labor and delivery floor an hour before (3:00 AM) to make sure they have room for us! I knew I wouldn’t get much sleep the night before, but this takes it to a whole new level.

We got some good news. I am already 1 to 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. Not bad for being 38 weeks pregnant today. According to Dr. Despres, the farther along we are when they start the induction, the shorter my labor should be. So he was encouraged by our progress thus far.

My nesting instincts are in full swing. Chris and I replanted our front flower beds this past weekend and I’m spending this week getting the inside of the house ready for Lily’s arrival. I’m trying to do all I can now to have the house in order since I’m going to be preoccupied with Lily after the end of the week.

We appreciate all the well wishes and we will post photos and a new blog post as soon as time permits. Love ya’ll!

My parents are coming in on Thursday, barring any new developments. I’ll probably update this weekend with photos.

We are DAYS away from having little baby Lily in our arms and it is getting more and more exciting as we anticipate her arrival.

I am monitored twice weekly and I am down to about two more visits before the June 5th induction. This time has really flown by and now that Lily’s arrival is close, there seems so much to be done.

Her new shabby chic bedroom (all pink, of course) is almost done. I’ll try to send photos. The dogs and cat think I have done this room just for them; they especially love the fur rug. Go figure.

Her clothes are hanging in the closet and she is going to be one well-dressed little lady.

At night she likes to start cranking as I go to sleep. I can feel her every movement now since space is getting a little cramped for her and she is approaching 7 pounds.

Thanks for caring about our little family and keep praying. Chris and I look forward to introducing our little girl to all of you.

We had a good crowd; it turned out to be a mixture of friends from our church, friends of Taylor’s parents, and old family friends. Two of Taylor’s elementary school teachers got to come, along with a couple of Taylor’s friends from college who are in the area. Check out Linda Hutchinson on Facebook to find some photos of the hall and of the event as it happened.

I promise our next hiatus won’t be nearly as long; we’ll keep this blog updated with more pictures and verbiage than you can shake a stick at once Lily comes home. Until then, I’ve got to get back to work on that nursery.

We’re very pleased that Taylor’s grandfather has chosen to come live with Taylor’s parents in Orlando. He still has his house in Daytona, and it’s move-in ready, but his recent poor health has necessitated his having more or less constant care, which means he stays in Orlando for the time being. He was initially reluctant, but he’s in better spirits now.

On to Lily news: I went with Taylor on Monday to her latest non-stress test, and Lily’s heart rate and movement were excellent. Taylor takes care to eat breakfast and indulge in something sugary to get Lily moving around on mornings she’s scheduled for an NST; Lily’s heart rate ranged from 130 to 175 during the test, which is right in line with where things should be. Last week, Taylor was released from the care of her specialist. We initially visited him because of Taylor’s history of high blood pressure, and he was the one who discovered the single-vessel umbilical cord as well. He seemed very pleased with Lily’s development and will check in on the whole family after the birth. At $180/visit, I’m glad we’re finished with him as well!

Things have progressed very niceley at home. We have the nursery painted and decorated, with the exception of wall hangings. We also have many of the supplies that we’ll need for Lily’s first few weeks at home, like diapers, clothes, blankets, a stroller, and a baby swing. I know I’m probably forgetting more stuff than I’m remembering now, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Trying to write updates for a whole month worth of happenings has made my head spin; more later after I get my thoughts in order.

It is a fairly well known fact that the Hutchinson’s like the number 5. My OB suggested we deliver on June 4th, but given the choice of Lily’s birthday… I obviously choose June 5th. And so it is… Lily will make her appearance June 5th… lord willing.

I also had my first non-stress test today. They put you on a fetal monitor for about 30 minutes and monitor the baby’s heart beat. Apparently they like to see lots of little hills where the heart rate is increasing due to activity. They had to get some sugar in me via a juice box, but Lily passed after that. I will continue to go every Monday and Thursday until Lily is born to monitor her heart rate to make sure she isn’t under stress which might necessitate an earlier deliver.

Everything else is going well. We are paining the house this week, which includes Lily’s nursery. This will start to make the room look much more nursery like and less like a home office. The reality that we only have 45 days at most until Lily’s arrival is a bit shocking, but super exciting!

Dr. Fuentes did tell us that he thinks Taylor will be induced 7-14 days before her due date, which puts Lily’s birthday in late May or early June. We have a lot of family birthdays in May (Taylor’s mom, my mom, my brother, my grandmother, my great-grandfather), so that would be an auspicious month for the “golden grandchild” to be born in.

While Lamaze has been interesting, it has only further proved my desire for a medicated birth. I want to do a post-birth poll of all the mother’s in the class. In our class of 10, eight have said they are going to have a NATURAL birth. I must admit that by being one of the brave two who admitted to wanting a medicated birth, we were shunned a bit by our classmates and specifically our teacher.

Now, what is even funnier is that 90% of all first time others have a medicated birth, so you do the math! Out of the 10 of us, it is likely that only one will have a natural birth. While the past three weeks have been spent singing the praises of an un-medicated birth, I can find few reasons why 90% of new moms and 80% of all mothers wouldn’t want a medicated birth. Anyone up for some dental work without Novocain? Just think of how proud you would be for making it through that tooth extraction! That’s one of the arguments for a natural birth… the sense of accomplishment you will have once you have done it. NO THANKS!

Let the countdown begin. We have entered the third trimester. My anticipation is growing rapidly. I find myself laying on the couch at night watching TV and thinking about having Lily laying on my stomach while we watch together. She’s never crying in these little mental montages of mine… go figure! We are getting super excited though as the date approaches. We currently have 11 weeks and 5 days to go. It’s still a little weird to imagine that soon it’s not going to be just Chris and I, but Chris, Lily, and I. It’s getting difficult to contain myself.

Chris and I already know how accomplished Lily is, but I thought I would share with you some of the milestones she is making in utero. She can now blink and her eyes have color… probably blue or grey right now, although this may change for a number of months after her birth. Word has it she can also dream. I wonder what she has to dream about? Is it like a dog running in her sleep? That’s all we have to compare Lily too, although Chris gets on me for comparing other people’s children to our two Greyhounds, but they are a lot like children!

Next week will also mark a fun (NOT) project for me. I will be going for my gestational diabetes test, which involves no food or beverages (other than water) starting the night before. They get to take my blood, which never goes well at my OB’s office. The nurse always has a hard time finding my deep veins. Then I get to drink this sickly sweet orange drink, sit at the doctor’s office for an hour and have my blood drawn again. Fun stuff! Hopefully I pass the first time, otherwise I have to go back and do it all over again except I have to drink more of the sweet orange drink and wait three hours and have my blood drawn each hour. I’ve been feeling good though, so hopefully I’ll pass the first test and I’ll be done.

Everything else is going well. We are anxious to Lily to get here and I’m pretty sure Lily is anxious to be here with us!!!