Yay!

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice and support! We had our follow up appointment and after taking 2 GIANT baby poos on the exam table we got to weigh Oscar. After all that he still gained an ounce and a quarter since yesterday! We have turned the corner and I feel great. And I am SO glad to have done it with my own milk. He's on the upswing which means no more pumping and we can just get on with it.

In other news, rumor has it that my husband and friends kicked it up a notch last night at Raleigh Undercover as INXS. I hope everyone had a great time and I can't wait to see pictures, video etc because I know those costumes had to be ridiculous.

Also, as you can probably tell by all the exclamation points in this post, I got some good sleep last night. I think I had a couple 1 hour naps and a good hour and 45 minutes this morning. It was a good night :-). I have so many more pictures....LOVE Oscar on film. I'll post more later!

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Laying around in robes....

Well we got home yesterday and tried to get reacquainted with the house. I've found that most of my furniture is very low to the ground and not so easy to get in and out of. Today is much better and I pretty much stick to the couch and our bed. The couch has become the nursing station, so if you were to pop by, you would find me there 23 out of 24 hours. Oscar and I are both working hard to get some weight gain. We had our first pediatrician appt and he was all the way down to 9 lbs 11.25oz! So we call him tiny. I have been feeding, pumping, feeding, pumping all day and will through the night to get a good reading at our appt. tomorrow! Thankfully, when I pump I get really great amounts so I think maybe we just need to get our systems synched up. He seems to get a lot but maybe he isn't getting as much as I think? Because I pump about an ounce in 15 min. Experts?

Otherwise, we are having a great time. Jerry and I were able to each get about 3-4 hours sleep total last night (this morning). When we got here yesterday we immediately got ready for bed, robes and all. Bob and Steph came by to sneak a peek and take some pics. Bob took this picture and if it were still in print, would make a great LIFE Magazine cover.

This is my new favorite picture

of.
all.
time.

***Photo by Bob Witchger

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Got Milk?

We do and we're home! It's a great day. More later :-)

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Oscar is one day old!

Well today was a good day. I was taken off everything I was hooked to and have been up and walking around. It's very slow going but I am amazed at how much better I feel tonight as compared to this morning. Oscar was very alert today and we had one really good feeding! My milk hasn't come in yet but he is definitely getting his part down. I just hope it isn't too much longer for some milk! This boy is hungry!

We are so blessed by all the encouraging words and comments! Thank you all for your support. I will be working on the birth story once I get the time line from our doula. It is such a jumbled memory to me. It was really so much harder and more overwhelming than I could have ever imagined. Jerry was and is amazing with his support and I know it will hit me soon. I still haven't cried and while I was in shambles during pushing, I still had no tears. I got a few when I heard Oscar cry but they faded fast. I was just so glad he was out!

We have one amazingly healthy boy on our hands! Here are some pictures of him today at one day old!

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A couple starter pics until the full story gets posted

Mom and baby:



Practicing to be a Dad:

The Updyke's!

Everyone is doing great. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Our friends and families are awesome and we are very lucky to be in all of your lives.

Love,

Jerry, Andrea and Oscar

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Have I got a story for you!

Well we have a baby! Labor went nothing like we hoped but we are at total peace with the outcome and everyone who busted ass to help us out! I'll do a birth story soon :-)

Oscar Lawrence Updyke was born on 1/26/2009 at 3:31am via necessary c-section. He weighed 11 pounds even and is 22 inches long! His apgars were 8 and 9 and he is perfectly healthy! No signs of jaundice or anything. We are all exhausted but totally in love!

Thank you for all the prayers!

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....

You might get to find out his name today.

We'll keep you posted!

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Baby wants out.......right??

So I had my weekly Dr. appointment today and have made some progress. I think it will still be a while, but if I make it to next Friday, I'll be having an ultrasound to check things out and make sure all is well. Then I can go a week over my due date before the big talk with the Dr. So, here's hoping I don't get that far!

However, based on how I feel I think we are in it for the long haul. He seems quite comfy where he is despite my efforts to "walk it out". I just want him to come when he is ready! But I hope he is ready sooner than later :-) Here we are naked belly and all at 39 weeks today!


Note that my "linea nigra" is crooked above and below my belly button! God does have a sense of humor to stick someone with my OCD capabilities with something like that :-) Anyone else tired of belly pics?? I know I am! I am ready for baby pics!!! Come on Mr. Tumnus! We're ready for you :-)

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Ahh home sweet home..

Well Jerry was back to work today after an unintended 4 day weekend due to the holiday and snow. So today was really the first day on my own and not at work. And boy was I lazy! I mean not completely, but there was definitely a long nap in the middle. I just started sleeping again since propping up my pillows like a craftmatic adjustable bed. That made all the difference.

Also, my BP was down today, which Jerry credits to him going back to work, but I say it's the fact that I finally got some sleep! It was a nice day though. We are relatively packed for the hospital save for a few items and the house is mostly clean. I doubt I will ever get to the scrubbing phase of nesting, but you never know. Alot can happen in 9 days!

For now, there is food in the crockpot and the dishes are done. That makes me happy. Also the coffee table is cleared off. It's the little things for me really.

In other news, my Dr. appointment from yesterday was rescheduled to Friday morning and I am happy with that too. I was scheduled with a Doc that had no chance of delivering the baby and that really didn't make sense to me since I am so close. So with the new appt., I am seeing one of the others who could be on call when it happens so I am glad that worked out. I also ate some fresh pineapple today to see if it would jumpstart anything. But I don't care if it works, it was sooooo yummy!

Other than that, there's not a whole lot on the agenda except waiting and resting. I am really thankful to have this time though, I really needed it!

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One more snow post....

I thought it would be fun to watch it coming down...and this little squirrel decided to make a guest appearance :-)

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Snow Day!

our back yard is already filling up with cold and hungry birds!

Well as it turns out, it DID snow overnight and it's still coming down as I type. Jerry is home again today so we decided to play in the snow! Krusty was born for this weather I think. He is absolutely loving it.


As of now, Mr. Tumnus is staying put. We had a Dr. appointment scheduled for today but the office is closed so that will have to wait!

The front of the house looks so much better with snow!

Today promises lots of soup and fun and maybe even some card games....let the good times roll!

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Let the waiting commence.....

Well today is the first day of no work! Technically I am on vacation until my benefits kick in, which will be anywhere between now and 3 weeks from now, depending on when Mr. Tumnus decides to show up. Last week there were a couple days when I felt like it was going to be really soon. And then I had 5 straight days of nothing as if he has decided he is just fine where he is, thankyouverymuch.

Sleep just torments me. I know I am falling asleep because I am having little dreams here and there, but I feel conscious the whole night. And sore. I think at this point, I am a little nervous that I will be so exhausted from lack of sleep that I don't want him to come yet. But I know that I will be so happy when the time comes.

Today, Jerry is off as well so we have been doing a little bit of cleaning. We are caught up on laundry and we just cleaned the refrigerator. It's pretty much empty so we thought it would be a good time. He is going with me to get groceries later on so he can do all the lifting. I am hoping the walking around will do some good. And since it looks like we might get some snow, we might as well stand in line with all the other MILK AND BREAD seekers.

This week should be fun though. I have a few friend dates lined up, a Dr. appointment tomorrow and a shopping trip on Friday. Nothing too strenuous but it will be nice to go at a slower pace. Saturday, Jenny, Jessica and I had pedicures! It was wonderful. I have been waiting til this month to get one and it's almost silly how much better I feel! So all in all I am looking forward to this week. I feel ready for the baby, but also thankful to have a little time to transition to the next BIG thing. Have a great day!

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Our Baby Shower!

Last Saturday my good friends Jessica and Kim threw us an awesome baby shower! We decided to go with a coed shower because Jerry wanted to be a part of it and we have so many friends with small children, we wanted to include everyone. It was so much fun! We had such a great time and it was really humbling to realize what an amazing support system we have. We did the usual food and gifts and games, but one of the games was particularly fun because it was for the boys! Since we plan to use cloth diapers Jessica brought some supplies and the guys had to race to get the dipe on the fastest and correctly! And I am proud to say that Jerry won! He ended up in a face-off with Joe, who is an old pro and managed to eek out a win with only a mild amount of cheating :-)

We also wanted the kids to be included so mom and dad could both come and hang out. There were so MANY kids! It was awesome to see all the built-in friends that Baby U will have :-). Thanks everyone for making it such a special time for us! We are truly blessed!

Thanks Jessica for everything! Yummy delicious punch and cake included!!!

Jenny and everyone's baby Jude! Ok technically he belongs to Jessica....

The guys stuck pretty close to the beer and food...who can blame them?

Full House!

I came close to winning the "guess the cartoon character game' but Joe beat me to it....shoulda known!

Jerry and his cloth diapering skilzzz

Matt gave it the old college try!

Gifts! We got so many adorable and useful things! You guys are rockstars!

Handmade Whale pillow by Steph

Good friends and good times!

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Chirp Chirp....

I had a wonderful fit of nesting last night and finished the nursery! Hooray! Don't worry, my baby shower post is still to come, but I wanted to get these up here because now I can confidently and happily say it's done! I think Baby U will like his new home :-)

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Droppin it like it's hot....

Based on how I FEEL I think the baby is burrowing lower and lower into the birth canal. SO I thought it would be fun to get picture verification. I think I am lower....do you?

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Ahhhh....

I am off caffeine completely at the moment, but my new coffee cup was BEGGING to be used so I just poured a cuppa decaf. And it is good.


I have so much to blog about! We had our amazing baby shower this weekend and since then we have been SO busy with church, work, Dr. (and dentist) appointments and of course community group! I want to do a beefy post with lots of pics so hang in there :-)

Speaking of hanging in there, today I have another OB appt and I will hopefully get the all clear in regard to any potential issues that may try to creep up at this late hour. Other than that, I just have 3 more days of working from home and then I am free to simply wait on Mr. Tumnus to make his grand entrance! If he is anything like his parents, we'll be waiting a while.

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BP Shmee Pee

Well this week got interesting! Wednesday I had a Dr.'s appointment and all is well with me and the baby, with a minor snag, I had a high blood pressure reading. Our Dr. is very thorough and decided to have me monitor it at home for the next week, which I am now doing. Well, the past 2 days have been incredibly busy and I have been running around a lot more than usual so yesterday when I took my BP I got some more high numbers so I called it in (as requested). Well, as it turns out, that gets you one free pass to a visit at labor and delivery! High blood pressure can be very serious in pregnancy when combined with other things (that they are checking but don't have results back on yet) so needless to say, I was a bit freaked out. And definitely going to L&D was not at ALL what we had in mind when we called, but we obliged. And I am actually really glad we did!

We got there and I had to be hooked up to the BP cuff for an hour so it could take a reading every 15 minutes or so or about 4 times. My BP was completely normal every time! We even took it again with my cuff and it had gone down on it as well so I was really relieved. I also got to hear little man's heartbeat which completely soothes me every time. I'll still be monitoring for the next few days but I feel so much calmer today and a bit back to normal.

I was talking to my dad last night telling him that I kinda felt silly going to the hospital to check my blood pressure and he responded with a very true statement, "you're a mommy now, it's not about you anymore!" It's a good feeling. And if nothing else, we finally took that hospital tour we had been putting off!

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Aww...

My niece Alyson is 5 years old. She is adorable and for a few more weeks, the youngest grandchild. She is growing up though! And fast! This Christmas, she and my nephew Roan (her cousin, 6 y/o) decided they wanted to make cards for people. As I was just cleaning I found the one she made for me and I just love it! I can't wait til our son starts drawing pictures for us. Hopefully they will be just as adorable and not of snakes and rats and the like.

I think I must have a feather on my head in this one. but it coordinates nicely with my pink sweater and my extra pair of pants!

This is especially sweet because even the I love yous are saying I love you. I love you too, Aly :-)

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It's a Brand New Day.

Last night, Jerry and I hosted our last community group at the house. The group will go on, led by the very capable Joe and Jessica and hosted at Jon and Jen's house just around the corner. The transition couldn't be smoother and we are so thankful that they have been called to do the next leg of leadership for this group! We will still attend until the baby comes and then as soon as we can after he is here.

This morning I feel reality striking. 2009 is a year of change. I think it is all good change for us (so far) and I remain excited and optimistic. However, there is always a sense of anxiety that comes - and goes- with change. And with change there is always reflection.

When Taylor asked us to branch off of his group in 2007 we weren't even married yet! Actually, I don't even think we were engaged. We talked and prayed about it and decided we were in. It was a new experience for me, leading a bible study with my soon to be husband, and for Jerry who had never done anything like this. I think it really helped us grow in our faith in Jesus and also our commitment to our church and to each other. We didn't want to be a group that caused dissension, but one that allowed honest discussion (even negative) without judgment. From that, our group has grown and we have some of our best friends looking out for us physically and spiritually on a daily basis. That is an amazing blessing. We are really a part of a community! The group belongs to God and we all know it. I doubt I could list all the ways we have blessed each other by meeting needs and serving - and we have certainly been blessed by everyone! It has been a great run, and we are so at peace in passing the baton.

In other ways, the reality of no longer leading brings up questions of, "What could I have done differently? Better?" Where did my heart never change? Why do I still struggle in certain areas after all this time?" These are thoughts on my heart this morning. I don't want to fall into the trap of happy happy all the time and walk around with blinders on to my sin and areas that need improving. Right now I think we have a real chance to take some time and really get our hearts and minds focused on the tasks ahead (baby) as well as where God is in all of this. We must consciously keep our priorities straight. For us, they are:

1) Our Relationship with God
2) Our Marriage
3) Our Family
4) Our Jobs/responsibilities
5) Our Community

I have never felt closer to my husband than I do right now. But it's a different kind of close. It's still giddy and excited at times, but now there is a knowing. We are growing up, growing together and growing in our marriage. I think 2009 will be a great year but probably not the easiest year. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves alongside my beloved and getting to work on what we are called to do. I am excited to see how God will grow us in the new community group transition. I am so truly thankful for all of the support that the group has given us and continues to give. I believe that great things are in store for all of us and I am looking forward to the next season. Thank you to everyone who made the time at our house so special!

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Who are we kidding?

Let's skip straight to being 90. Jerry and I plan to grow old together. I hope we are blessed with many many years to watch each other grow old. But, why wait? We already play UNO at least once a week, go to bed at 9pm and watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune on a regular basis. Let's be serious, we ARE old. Case in point, the new storm door. We decided to install a storm door on the backside of the house so that we could get more light in the kitchen. All the sun is on the south side of the building and we don't have any windows there in the kitchen. Problem solved! However, since I am 25 days away from being a mommy, I wasn't much help in this endeavor. So Bob came over and he and Jerry installed the door. It looks great! AND it's so nice to have the light and look out on the back yard.

From the kitchen

Outside View

Which brings me to our premature aging issue. We currently have 5 (yes FIVE) bird feeders in the back yard. It all started with 1 sunflower feeder attached to a tree and then a second, followed by a suet cage. Then when my husband decided to make his own suet, the one cage became 3 and there you have it. He is still holding out on the hummingbird feeder, but that is the one I really want so maybe my time will come soon.

All that to say that in the past few days we have really been able to watch the birds FLOCK (hehe) to our yard. It's like wild kingdom! We have cardinals, finches, woodpeckers and various unidentifiable other species. Next on the list is the Peterson's Guide and a pair of binoculars. I finally realized this morning that the storm door isn't really for light at all, it's so we can birdwatch in the winter and not freeze. Mission accomplished :-)

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Some things are just worth it....

I don't watch a lot of you tube but I came across this video on another blog and it was just what the Dr. ordered after waking up grumpy due to a VERY maddening dream about not understanding how to play the Wii. If you have seen it (pretty sure it's from Reno911) just watch again and laugh.

Enjoy :-)

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Happy New Year!

Jerry got a new griddle for Christmas and we couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year than to break out the pancake breakfast! We didn't make it up til midnight last night because I was exhausted, but we did wake up in time to say happy new year and listen to all the fireworks going off outside. This morning was very relaxing and we have SO much to be thankful for from 2008. Now it's 2009 and I think it is only getting better! Our baby is due THIS month! WoW! We are really getting down to the wire and I am so excited. My only resolution is to be the best wife and mommy I can be! Happy New Year!

Just like they said!

mmmmm....bacon!

First feast of 2009!

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Belly update!

Well here is the transition over the past month or so...just a few more weeks!

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