Update!

Joel turned 2 months yesterday! I cannot believe how fast its going already and I know its not going to slow down! Joel has started smiling a lot more, every time it is so cute and I love it just like the first time! Joel is also holding up his head very well!

Joel got to meet his cousin Dain last week. Dain is Michelle's (John's little sister) little guy who was born 6 days after Joel. They live in TX but came over to FL for a visit. It was so much fun to spend a few days with them and watch the boys together!

Joel has experienced the start of his first football season! He has enjoyed cheering on his FSU Seminoles (college) and Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL).

Joel and I have enjoyed just hanging out at home and enjoying the time I have off work. I will return to work on Oct 12th.

First Beach Visit and 1 Month Picture

On 8/14/09 we took Joel to the beach for the first time! It was a perfect day as it was stormy in the morning and early afternoon so it was cool and breezy by the time we made it out. Joel liked the water on his toes. No big surprise since he loves his baths so much!! Here are some pictures:

We also bought Joel a big Mickey to take a monthly picture with. It will be fun to see how it grows to be as big as Mickey!! Here is 1 month:


Joel will be 6 weeks on Wed (8/26/09). He is still doing great. He is growing every day. He is starting to get on a rough schedule, some days it changes but I can see it starting. We weighed him at home and he is about 10 lbs. We will get a true weight when we go to doctor for his 2 month check up. I have another 7 weeks off work with him and we are enjoying every minute. I’m not going to think about going back yet, but I know it will be here before I know it.

3.5 Weeks

Wow, it’s amazing how fast the days and weeks fly by! Joel is 3.5 weeks now. He is doing GREAT! He was a little slow in gaining back the weight he lost after birth but we are now back on track. At his 3 week doctor’s appointment (for weight check) they wanted him to be back at his birth weight (8.2) and he was 8 lbs 6.5 ounces!! We don’t have go back till his 2 month check up now!

We had family in town in town for a full two weeks which was wonderful. Joel and I have been doing well now that we are alone too. We have started to make daily outings. With feedings every 2 hours its hard to be out too long but we make it work! Joel even had his first play date last week! My co-worker had a baby 2 weeks before Joel. Although Ryan and Joel barely noticed each other it was nice to visit with Tee’ha (Ryan’s mom).

We did professional pictures before John headed back to work, Joel was 9 days old. Here are some updated pictures including some of the professional ones.

ITS A BOY!!

ITS A BOY!!!

Joel David Payne was born on July 15, 2009 at 8:28am. He was 8 lbs and 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. The c-section delivery was perfect. Our hospital visit was uneventful and everything went as perfect as planned. My recovery was quick and the nurses and doctors were surprised how fast I was up and moving!! We came home on Friday. Friday night was a little rough but Sat and Sun night went a lot better. Everything at home is going well. My dad, Stephanie, Bailey and Brandon were in town from delivery through today (Monday). Mom and Bruce arrived on Sunday and will be here throughout the week. John is also home from work this whole week!

Here are some pictures, I will try to continue to post as time goes on :)

Daddy ready for the operating room:

One of the first pictures:
I see you:Happy Family!!!

All ready to go home:

38 Week Doc Appt.

Had another doctor’s appt this morning - Overall the appointment was fine but it took some time because baby was being lazy and stubborn :)

We did the same ultrasound we did last week where the doc looked at a bunch of different things but really wanted to see the baby take a breath. Last time the baby did it right away, baby was awake and moving lots. Well today our appt was an hour later and baby was sleeping and being LAZY!!! Doctor said sometimes it takes up to 30 mins so we sat on the ultrasound for 30 minutes. Nothing, so she had to move me to another test - NST (non stress test) sees watch the heart rate and movement.

She said that if it did not do what she wanted it to do then she would deliver today. So I sat on the NST for about 15 minutes and the heart rate spiked 2x, that’s what they were looking for, spike means movement etc. So she was happy with that, she moved me back to the ultrasound and saw enough movement to not deliver today.

We think it was just b/c of the timing of the appt, too late after breakfast, baby was sleeping. I'm going to go back on Monday at 1 (after lunch) to do another NST just to be sure everything is looking good for Wed.

She said if I have a large decrease of movement over the weekend to give the emergency line a call and I will go to the hospital for monitoring. After lunch the baby was moving just like normal so I’m sure it was just the timing, no food in my system, baby is usually quiet around that time anyways. So no worries and we are still on schedule for 7/15/09!

I will keep you updated if there are any changes over the weekend and after my appointment Monday afternoon.

37 week appt (full term) and Birthday scheduled

On July 2nd we went to our 37 week appointment. Everything is still looking great. The doctor did an ultrasound to check a few items that are not checked during the other ultrasounds. She saw everything she wanted to see. I learned something new today. A growing baby does not consistently take breaths, as mom is breathing for the baby. They will take breaths but not consistently; this is one thing the doctor wanted to see today. Our baby was taking breaths the whole time! She was very pleased with this as it’s a sign of how strong they will be when they are born! The heartbeat looked great too!

As of 37 weeks I’m now considered full term! Baby Payne can arrive any day :)

We have scheduled the C-section. Baby Payne’s Birthday will be July 15, 2009, assuming he/she does not decide to make an early appearance. I will go to the hospital the day before for pre-op paperwork and blood tests. On the 15th John and I need to be at the hospital at 6am for 8am surgery. From 6 to 8 they will finish up any paperwork, pump me with fluids, monitor me and baby, give me anesthesia for the operation, and doctor will come in for any last minute questions. Doctor said surgery will start at 8am and baby will be born by 8:15! As long as everything goes good with me and baby, baby will stay in the OR with us until I’m put back together and we will all go back to the room together. I will be able to do the first nursing as soon as we arrive back to the room. We will be sure to make calls and send out text messages as soon as possible :)

I have one more doctor’s appointment on Thurs July 9th to be sure everything is still on track!

36 Week Doc Appt:

First and most importantly everything is still looking good, baby and mommy are both healthy, although a few new items have come to light.

We started this appointment with an ultrasound to track the progress of my polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid). The ultrasound tech asked if I had been having regular contractions. I have not and she was shocked. Although I’m only 36 weeks and 1 day she said the all the measurements are at full term and was shocked that the baby had not arrived yet and overly shocked that I have had no regular contractions. She took a lot of measurements (all over at least 37 weeks); the baby’s current weight is between 7 and 7.5 lbs.

I only gained 1 lb since the last appointment which is great. My blood pressure and urine tests were normal.

We then met with the doctor. Because of 2 issues – baby measuring big and too much amniotic fluid – she foresees and recommends a c-section delivery. The main reason is the risk of umbilical cord prolapse. This would be an emergency situation that could arise if I go into labor or was induced for a vaginal delivery. Cord prolapse happens when the umbilical cord is delivered prior to the baby, when the baby is delivered the cord would be compressed and therefore the baby would not be receiving oxygen. This would be an emergency situation and most likely would result in an emergency c-section where I would have to be knocked out.

So the next step is to do biophysical ultrasound which is a more in depth ultrasound to look at the baby, this is performed by the doctor instead of the ultrasound tech. We have scheduled this ultrasound for Thurs (7/2). If everything is looking good and the same at that point a c-section will probably be scheduled around 39 weeks.

34 Week Doctor Appt

Back on June 11th, I went to the doctor for my 34 week appt. All labs from blood work at last appointment came back negative. I’m still measuring big (39cm at 34 weeks, suppose to be within 2cm of number of weeks) but since all the labs are fine there are no concerns. I have another ultrasound schedule at my next appt. (6/26) to measure the fluid levels again.

Heartbeat sounded great. My weight is up a little bit but last appointment I hadn’t gained anything so really it was over the past month not 2 weeks, again doctor was not worried about it, but just told me to watch it. They drew one vial of blood to check my iron again, routine for 34 weeks. Next appointment is on 6/26 for 36 week check, after that appointment I will begin going every week.

Baby Shower!!

WOW – I don’t even know where to begin on my baby shower recap because it was absolutely amazing!

My shower was actually a whole weekend event thanks to all the friends and family that traveled into Jacksonville!!

My mom arrived from TX on Wed evening; she stayed with John and I that night. Our life-long family friends Mary Kay and her daughter Allie also arrived on Wed from Chicago. Jacki another life long family friend arrived on Thursday from Indiana. Thursday while I was working all the girls drove around town shopping together. We all met back at my house and did dinner together. It was so great to be able to start the weekend with them on Thursday. My Dad, Stephanie, Bailey, and Brandon arrived on Thursday evening from Ft. Myers. I took Friday off work to spend some extra time with all my family and out of town guests. In the morning I had a doctor’s appointment, with ultrasound. See the post below! That afternoon we went up to Amelia Island (where Mary Kay and Allie were staying) and spent some time on the beach and the pool. Despite the awful Jacksonville weather we had the week before, we could not have asked for better weather the whole weekend! Friday night all 10 of us went out to Carrabbas for dinner. GREAT TIMES! Here is a couple of pictures from Friday:

The whole clan:

Almost forgot – While the girls were out shopping mom added a few gifts onto my shower gifts but did not want to wrap and take them to the shower. We got us the pack and play that will also be used as the bassinet in our room for the first couple of weeks till the baby moves to their room. Of course we had to put it together right away, here is a picture:
Now onto the actual shower day! Once again my shower was amazing. I have the best family and friends one could ever wish for. There was about 35 people and I was thankful for each and everyone one of them coming! Between co-workers, church friends, John’s aunts and cousin from Cocoa Beach, college friends from FL cities other then Jacksonville, neighbors and all my other Jacksonville family/friends. Special THANKS to John’s Aunt Jo for opening up her beautiful home to fit us all in! I tried my best to get around and talk to everyone but that was probably the hardest part of my day!! We received an amazing amount of gifts and are so thankful for each and every item. We received a lot of the useful items, even though they may not have been the most fun to buy. I believe not knowing the sex of the baby helped here!! We have a very short list of remaining items that John and I actually have to go purchase. Here are some pictures from the day!

Look at all those gifts!!!

Everyone playing games! The blanket my mother in law made :)The quilt my mom made :)

Because so many family and friends traveled to Jax for the shower John and I had family and out of town guests back at our house after the shower for a BBQ. It was great to spend the rest of the day with family and friends!

Later that night I went back through all of my gifts with John and my dad since they were not at the shower. It so a lot of fun to go back through everything!!

Sunday Mom and Jacki came back over to my house to hang out for a bit before they had to catch their planes home. We went through all the gifts again and started some of the organizing :) Here is a picture; I was having too much fun!
Thank you again to EVERYONE who came to my shower and for every gift we received. We are so grateful for the amazing group of friends and family that we have. We cannot wait for each and every one of you to meet Baby Payne!!

33 Week Update – 32 week Doctor’s Appointment

So again a month has flown by since my last update!

Yesterday (Thurs 6/4) I hit 33 weeks. The time is still going really fast but we are getting more and more excited to meet Baby Payne, even though we don’t want an unhealthy early arrival!

On Friday, May 29th I had my 32 week Doctor’s Appointment. Everything is still looking good. They started with an ultrasound to take a look inside since I had been measuring big over the past couple of months. They determined that I do have a little too much fluid. You are considered to have to much fluid at 25 (not sure what the measurement is) and I am at 26. The doctor said she would not be concerned until someone is in the 40’s. They don’t have an exact reason for the extra fluid but one reason can be caused by an infection. They drew blood to perform tests for infection. If there is something wrong they will contact me immediately, if not they will update me at my next appointment. So far I have heard nothing (its been a week) so I think we are fine! The doctor said its nothing I should lose sleep over, so if she is not concerned I’m not going to let it concern me. My next appointment is next week – Thurs June 11th (34 weeks).

My mom and John’s mom came to the ultrasound with me. We were small talking with the tech and mentioned that my shower was the next day. During the ultrasound she clicked over to the 3D/4D portion. This is something that you normally have to pay extra for (insurance does not cover it). But she was just doing it to be nice and mentioned it was her contribution to the shower. We got some amazing pictures and video of Baby Payne. I could not believe how clear the images were. She mentioned if we had paid for the 3D/4D session we would not have gotten this good of pictures, the baby’s like to hide. It was very nice of her and we appreciated it very much. Here is one of the pictures:



The baby is constantly moving and kicking. Its still an amazing feeling every time. I have felt a few instances of the hiccups recently too, so neat!!

My baby shower was also this past weekend. It was amazing and I have lots to share so I will save that for another post :)