Special Delivery: Lillian Harper Anderson

February 7th came and went with no Baby Anderson... as did the 8th, 9th and so on. We scheduled an induction for Friday the 11th, but everyone was still hopeful she'd come on her own. Friday morning came and we found out that there were too many women in labor (19 to be exact) to get me in for induction. They were hopeful they might squeeze me in later in the day so I kept eating light and tried a couple things that everyone kept saying would put me into labor including walking around Northpark Mall. By noon I'd caved and eaten a kids meal at Chic-Fil-A. At 3:50 I'd made my second smoothie of the day and the phone rang... it was the hospital and they said I could come in at 5. I called Michael who was at REI, and mom and I loaded the car.

We checked in at 5 pm. - with a belly that looks absolutely enormous, especially in the hospital gown!

They hooked up IVs and broke my water and started pitocin around 6:20. By 7ish I was having strong, regular (and painful!) contractions. We got the epidural 'ordered' and I had it by around 8:30pm or so. By 9 I was literally 'feeling no pain' and was able to rest and talk with family as I progressed and contracted unbeknownst to me! At midnight I was at 8 cm. Family went home to rest as Michael and I tried to sleep through the excitement. At 2am we started pushing. Mom and Michael encouraged me along with our wonderful nurse for 2 hours.

At just before 4 am, Dr. Thurston came in to assess the progress, of which there had been some, but not enough. Lillian was trying to come out "OP" - or looking at my left thigh. Later they'd tell us she was trying to 'lead' with her nose and mouth, which is less desirable than face down (where the softest part of the head leads). They gave me the option to push longer, but statistically only 10 - 20% of women in my situation with an epidural deliver successfully. So, I pushed for 30 more minutes (we tried pushing on my side and in the 'cat' position) and with little progress, we made the decision to go forward with the c-section.

I was tired, crying and pretty shaky by the time the c-section began and it felt like it took forever for them to prep me. During the prep Michael and my mom couldn't come back to the OR. They changed into scrubs and finally joined me before the surgery began.

As soon as they pulled her from my belly we heard the cries that didn't stop until we dropped her at the nursery at just after 6am.

She was born at 4:53am, almost exactly 12 hours after we'd checked in, weighed 8lbs 7oz and was 20.25 inches long. A perfectly healthy, lovely little girl. Michael shot up out of his seat at the sound of those first cries and looked down at me and said "She looks just like your baby pictures!" The first thing I said was "Whose nose is that?" Ha! Her little face was smashed from the way she was trying to 'exit'. She was beautiful with a furrowed brow and a big open mouth full of relentless cries that first night and Michael and I were both exhausted from a long night. My mom, Michael's parents Charlie and Cathy and Michael's brother David were all at the hospital to welcome Lillian (still-no-middle-name-at-that-time) Anderson.

Saturday night, about 12 hours after she was born, we both still felt like we were living in a dream and that her birth had been on another date and time. But, with some good time in the hospital (that's what a c-section will get you) we were mostly well-rested by the time we got home... which is a very fortunate thing with the 'first-night' we had (more on that later!)!We're more adjusted now as I write this and we're just enjoying these moments with what is now our family of 3. And enjoying sharing this precious little one with our family and friends who have been so wonderfully helpful as we adjust to our new sleepy lives!

Old Man Winter

The week before Lillian was due, and the Wednesday after she was due, we had some icy, snowy weather here in Dallas. Hucklebear thoroughly enjoyed himself running through the snow until there were little balls of ice matted in his leg hair. Michael and I occasionally call him old man winter, a nickname all the more appropriate when you see how much he LOVES to play in the snow!

Growing with Friends...Nate and Brenna

When I was 6 weeks pregnant +/- Michael and I were in charge of the monthly Engaged and Newly Marrieds Class event which was whirlyball. About two weeks before the event we found out we were pregnant and decided that a bunch of mini car wrecks (whirly ball is like a bumper car/la crosse hybrid) probably wouldn't be good for a growing fetus. Fortunately, I was supposed to get my braces on the Friday before and so I planned to use a headache/sore teeth as a reason not to be out there driving around and crashing into our classmates.

At the whirly ball event, our good friend Brenna also said she needed to sit out because she "just hadn't been feeling good." Once everyone was out on the court ready to drive I asked if she was sick. Her response? "I think I'm pregnant." Turns out she knew she was pregnant, but they had only told family and were waiting until they were further along to tell friends. She told me, because 1) if you know Brenna she does not have a good poker face 2) because if you know Brenna she would have felt guilty about 'lying' and 3) because I'm her favorite person (but that one's just hypothesis). :-) I was so excited to know that we'd get to share in our pregnancy experience with some of our very favorite people - Nate and Brenna - but we hadn't told any of our family yet and weren't planning to for another month and half, so with all of the will power I have I managed not to tell her right then and there that we were due just 5 days before they were.

For weeks (6 weeks to be exact) Nate, Brenna's husband, asked Michael if we were trying to have a baby, if we'd 'been successful' at making a baby, etc. and Michael just tortured and tortured him. One night we were all out to eat at Chuy's and when Nate and Michael went to the bathroom Nate straight asked "Is Natasha pregnant?"

Michael: "Yup."
Nate: "Really?"
Michael: "Yup."
Nate: "REALLY?!"
Michael: "Nope."

Anyway, when we finally told our families that we were pregnant, we were so excited to call Nate and Brenna and tell them that our baby was due Feb. 7th (theirs is due Feb. 12th). It has been so wonderful to share a pregnancy with a friend like Brenna and I can only imagine that it will be even more fun to share the experience (and provide support to each other) as we both add new babies to our lives within the next two weeks.

We haven't been very good about documenting, but here are a few pictures before their baby, Dane, and our baby _ _ _ _ _ _ _ meet 'in person' so to speak.

Below: Brenna and Me at 28 Weeks - Front View

Below: Brenna and Me at 28 Weeks - Side View

Below: At 31-ish weeks at my shower with the hostesses.

Below: At Brenna's shower at around 35 Weeks

(my belly looks so much bigger than hers in this picture!!!)

Below: Brenna and Me at 38 Weeks

(We actually played Wi Fit at their house this night which supposedly sent our friend Angie into labor.... but it didn't do squat for either of us as we're both still pregnant at the time I write this!)

Below: Brenna and Me at 38 Weeks - back to back

We love you guys and we can't wait to meet your beautiful (probably red-headed) son Dane when he decides to make his appearance! I'm already looking forward to the play dates....

38 Weeks and Counting...

Well, here we are two weeks from the due date. I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb and it seems the rest of the world views me that way as well considering the faces I got at the gym on Saturday when I went to the pool and people asked "How far along are you?".

I have to tell you, it's very satisfying to say "9 months". Satisfying because I know the end of the huge belly is near and satisfying because the moment when we meet this little girl is near. I have so many friends that have little ones that are now a couple of months old that say they see me and miss being pregnant, so I will try and relish these last couple of days... I AM certainly enjoying the lots of sleep that I'm currently getting, but there are things I miss like my mobility, jean selection, hugging Michael like a normal person and running. (Granted, it's not like I was running consistently when I got pregnant, but I see people out jogging and I miss it. This stands to be compounded as Michael begins "race season" with marathons, half marathons and tri's on the schedule for this Spring. I always enjoy watching the races, but without fail they get me excited to get out and do one!)

Below: The belly at 38 Weeks.

I know that not all things I miss will return immediately - that it will take time for life to find a new normal - but there are also things that I am looking forward to with _(baby name here)_. This week I have started thinking ahead....

• to Easter and how Michael's family (and others we love from College Station) will be up in Dallas for LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) and how _ _ _ _ _ _ _ will be the perfect age for seeing her first chorus performance or puppet show
• to cousin Brenna's wedding and how _ _ _ _ _ _ _ will get to meet some of our very extended family and visit SA
• to my first Mother's Day
• to Summer at the Sparkman pool
• to _ _ _ _ _ _ _ meeting Clara Skow and all the other babies that have recently arrived
• to family vacations with _ _ _ _ _ _ _ who will be experiencing all of these things for the first time

There are many other things that I am looking forward to that are even further away and I can't help but anticipate all that is to come following the moment that we welcome this little one into the world. We can't wait to meet her and we can't wait to share her with all of the family and friends that anticipate her arrival as well.

The Nursery (37 Weeks... and Counting)

Below: 37 Weeks, Belly Front View

Below: 37 Weeks, Belly Side View

(On a Side Note: These khakis are from Old Navy and fit terribly - they're bunchy in the front with extra material way below where the pregnant belly would be and the panel hits right at my belly button which is such a strange and uncomfortable spot. Pregnant friends, you might steer clear of these - they have to be ordered online and then if you want to return them it's like $6 in return shipping... that's precisely why I still have them, b/c with the coupon I used, that was like 1/3 of the cost and so I figured I'd just keep them.)

Who cares if the original goal was to get the nursery done in the second trimester. I was full term as of Monday 1/17, 37 weeks, and the nursery is BASICALLY done. And by basically, I mean if the baby came today, I wouldn't cry alligator tears!

Below: Clear glass, rose knob on the closet door.

Below: Our closet, stocked full of diapers thanks to the awesome girls in our neighborhood who threw a diaper shower for Andress and me. Yes, there are also a pair of skinny jeans in there - who knew they made these for baby!?!

Below: The nursery with the crib, glider, curtains and some misc. items laying around that need to be hung on the wall.The baby has transitioned from a honeydew to a watermelon this week and she's perfecting her "breathing" in the womb. I have officially passed the stage in my pregnancy that many of our friends have skipped (the large majority of our friends over the last 6 months have had their first babies up to 4 weeks early) and as much as I really didn't feel I could go another month, I have tried to mentally prepare myself to go all the way to the due date, though hopefully not beyond!

We had a sonogram at the end of the 37 weeks where we weren't able to see much since she is so jam packed in my belly at this stage, but we can tell a few things:

• Baby's organs all still look wonderful and appear to be functioning properly
• Baby's head, torso and femur are all measuring as normal
• Fluid around the baby is not too much, not too little
• Baby is enormous

Okay, so maybe she isn't ENORMOUS, but they estimated her at 8 lbs. as of 37 weeks and 4 days (+/- 1.5 lbs). Because she is measuring large, which she has been since about 27 weeks, they've actually scheduled another sonogram at 39 weeks to check on things - assuming that I haven't gone into labor by then. For now I guess, it's just a waiting game!

Until 38 weeks...

36 Weeks and Counting...

Baby is still the size of a honeydew according to TheBump.com, but she's been that size for what seems like weeks now and I KNOW my belly has grown. Holy cow has it grown. My skin hurts and my insides hurt as my body works to accommodate a full blown baby in there... as much as I am uncomfortable, I am still sleeping well (and hard) and for the most part getting around very well. Even with the discomfort, the wonder of what God designed our bodies to do is there along with a sense of gratitude for my long torso (which God designed as well, haha)!

Our weekly doctor's appointments start this week and next week we'll have a sonogram to "guess the baby's size". The only function that is still maturing for baby is 'breathing' as her lungs practice expanding with the amniotic fluid. As far as I can tell she hasn't "dropped" and if you asked me how she was positioned, I'd say that she's breach with her head on my right side, but that's just me guessing what all these lumps and bumps are. They haven't felt the belly to see how she's positioned at any of our last visits, but she's getting to the stage where MOST babies turn down so I guess we'll know in the next couple of weeks if she has.

Michael has really been pushing this last week for me to pack a bag and make his "hospital cheat sheet" which makes me smile because it's just him wanting to make sure he knows exactly what to do when I call him (probably panicked, I mean, let's be real here for a moment) to say "THIS BABY IS COMING!".

Just the other night he looked at my belly and sighed "Man, when is she going to get here?" His impatience makes me smile and I can't wait to see the joy in his eyes when he holds this little girl for the first time.

35 Weeks and Counting...Nursery Progress

Ooohhh baby... You are large, or at least you sure feel that way. You do strange things with your pointy little limbs particularly when I lay on my side at night. You are wide awake around 4:30am (around the time that I have to get up for a bathroom break, which is very inconvenient for daddy who usually gets woken up too and whose alarm goes off just 30 mins later). Aaand for some reason you make my belly jut out at the top, slant downward and then round out at the bottom.

Below, the Belly at 35 Weeks

35 Weeks was an important week for productivity in our expecting-Anderson-household. Michael installed shelves in the baby's closet...

Below, Michael reading instructions for the shelves.

Note: Michael said he'd prefer if I not take pictures of him reading instructions, but rather take pictures of him working with tools. I explained to him that he was much more of a man for actually reading instructions than for knowing how to use tools.

We installed baseboards (shout out and thanks to the Francis family who had a saw we could borrow)...

Below, Michael uses the tiny flowered hammer I got from mom this Christmas to pull out the nails from the OLD baseboards. Huck is a great supervisor!

Below, Michael puts in the finishing nails for the baseboards.

We assembled the crib and dresser...

Aaand we found out that the lovely bedskirt mom and I made is too long, so I begin yet another sewing project for baby - shortening the skirt. I'm hopeful that pics of that are to come for week 36!