Loving Life

I love my life, I have a beautiful loving wife that is the mother of my child, a beautiful baby girl and a great dog; if you look real close you can see Sam sleeping amongst the pillows on the right side of the picture. These pictures sum up what I love about my life, my girls.

Adjusting

We've had the joy of living with our precious little Bella for almost 4 weeks, it's been crazy but it's been amazing. Everyday is a new challenge and a new experience. She is just so wonderful, it's hard to realize just how much Stacy and I love her. She's such a cuddly baby it's hard not to love her, she doesn't like to be put down she loves it when you hold her tight and close to you. She makes you feel like you're really special, like you're the only person in the world that matters to her. I start my new job on Monday and I know that's going to be the toughest day I've had in three months, but I also know it'll be great to come home to her and Stacy that night. I love to hold her and just watch her sleep, she seems like she's in such a peaceful place. It's hard not to just stare at her every moment I'm awake. She is our precious Bella.

My Precious

It's amazing how your life can go from being busy every moment of every day, planning weekly meals, work, family, parties, planning the next get together with friends, doing housework and trying to squeeze some relaxation time, to sitting around waiting for the next feeding to change diapers, swaddle her and then watch her sleep for the next three hours. I know Stacy and I could sit here and have sat here all day and just watch her. It's extraordinary when you really think about how this precious miracle came to be. I know I'm just gloating about our little girl but the miracle of life is a true wonder of the world to behold.

NO MORE BILLIBABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We finally received a call from the doctor and Bella's count is under 15, so no more BilliBed!!!!!! I can't explain how excited we are, I'm just happy we don't have to deal with that bed anymore!!! Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, they paid off, our beautiful Bella is strong and healthy.

BilliBaby

It's amazing the emotional roller coaster we've been on for a week. 16 minutes from now Bella will be a week old and we were on such an emotional high during that entire time. People came by to see our beautiful little girl and to see how we were doing, and Bella did great. She was swaddled and passed around like green beans at Thanksgiving dinner. When we went to the Pediatrician on Monday she told us to go to the hospital to get her Jaundice level checked again. We thought, no problem she's been eating great, pooping regularly and just being a happy healthy baby. But when we got the results her level had risen from a 12.5 when we left the hospital to an 18.6! I can't describe the feeling I felt when I heard the news, we haven't had this angel in our lives for a week and already I'm worrying about her health. I know Jaundice is common and it's not something that's a huge concern, but that doesn't matter, when it's your child it's an entirely different situation. So we tried getting more sunlight on her and feed her every 2 to 2 1/2 hours to get her system working even faster. We did that the rest of the day and into Tuesday, then Tuesday morning she had to be tested again. She increased again, now to a 19.1. So as a precautionary measure the doctor prescribed a BilliBed, which looks like an infant tanning bed. I know this BilliBed is for her own good and she has to be in it to get better, but it's the hardest thing to try and continually soothe your child when she's screaming cause she just wants you to hold her. Stacy and I camped out on the living room floor last night with Bella. We put her bed in between us and just tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but there were times we just had to take her out and comfort her. She gets tested again today, hopefully she's doing much better, otherwise we have do this for another 24 hours. If both of those sessions don't work then she has to go back to the hospital. Stacy and I have the highest hopes and are saying our prayers that she will be fine after today and won't need any further treatment or hospital admission. I just want my daughter to be healthy and not have to worry about anything other than changing her diaper for a little while.

Last Night

We've made it through the last day. With nurses, doctors, hospital staff and visitors filing in one after another it has made for another long day. Luckily it wasn't as bad as last night because we hadn't slept in such a long time. Last night we were able to send her to the nursery and sleep for three hours before she had to nurse again. Which she did and we sent her to the nursery again after she was done, so altogether we slept for about 7 hours and we were finally able to shower. It's amazing how good a shower can feel after 36 hours of labor. But Thank You Very Much to everyone who came by and visited us. I know for some people it was a drive but thank you for your time and effort, it's humbling to see the amount of support we received. And to all of our family who called, texted, sent emails or came down Thank You, Bella, Stacy and I appreciate everything you all have done for us. Tomorrow is the big day, we finally get to bring our precious Bella home.

Wrapped around her finger

I'm not going to say much in this post, I'm just going to put up some pics. We just had a session with Bella Photography, and just so everyone knows this is a real photography business not me taking pictures and no we didn't get her name from them, and some time this evening or tomorrow, everyone will be able to view and/or order pictures online. I will give the log-on information to everyone privately, not through the Internet. Anyway, I will post more pics later of everyone that has stopped by to be a part of her life.

Bella Marie Frame

Little precious Bella was born June 24 at 7:32am, 7lbs 5oz, 21 1/4 inches long with a full head of dark hair. It was a very long night, labor was tough at times but eventually Stacy dilated fully and was ready to push. Delivery went very smooth and Bella was among us before we really knew it. She's healthy and beautiful and the light of our lives!!!

Little Bitty!

She's taken her sweet time! Family is starting to wear down, but they're all being real troopers and helping as much as possible, especially Uncle BJ... I mean Dr BJ. She is definitely won't be here on the 23rd, I'm thinking it's going to be some time VERY early morning the 24th. Uncle BJ thinks she is doing this because she doesn't want her birthday overshadowed by her Uncle BJ and Aunt Danielle's Wedding Anniversary. Since Peanut's Aunt Donna Lee has nicknamed her "Little Bitty", I think she's just trying to live up to her name and have everyone in her immediate family revolve around her, which is working. But we will love her even more when she gets here!!

Labor...you're not kidding!

We've passed the 24 hour mark, but we have good news to report. She is now dilated to a good 5, 80 percent effaced and the baby is in the +1 position. Basically this all means that we are getting close to starting delivery. It's been a long 24 hours so far, lots of waiting, hoping, guessing, walking around, eating and just trying to pass the time. I know our family grows more anxious with every passing hour, but they also know how special it's going to be when they're here to see her in her first few moments of life. Time goes by so fast, it feels like two months ago Stacy told me she was pregnant. The feeling I had that day still resides in me now, I just can't wait to see, hold and love my new baby girl. She means the world to Stacy and I right now, when I think about all the texts, email and calls we'll have to make once she makes her appearance it seems overwhelming and such a burden. But I don't feel that way at all. I look at the people in our lives and I think, "How lucky are we and what have we done to deserve such loving and caring family and friends?" So many people have touched our lives in different ways and we've touched so many others lives, it's just amazing. This little girl has no idea how many people have been waiting for her at the hospital, at home by their phones and following her progress on the Internet. I just want everyone who reads this to know that Stacy and I are so grateful for everyone in our lives, you've made this experience the pinnacle of our time together, and I know you will all share your love with our new baby girl.......just as soon as princess decides to show.

I like to move it move it

We have some progress!! Her water has been broken and she's now starting to dilate faster and the baby is coming down a little farther. She should be here around 10 tonight. Still just waiting, contractions are nice and consistent and Stacy is doing great!

Progress

Finally, we're starting to make some progress. She's starting to dilate more, become more effaced...and feeling more pain. I would post a pic of her, but like I said before what pregnant woman would want a picture posted of her during labor. Anyway, I'll post when there is more info available.

Family is arriving...and waiting

It's 11:30am and still no Peanut. She's still in there kicking away, Stacy's contractions are getting stronger and closer together, but it might still be a while. So far Bob and Sue are here, my Mom and Phil are here, my dad just got here and BJ and Danielle just showed up. I know this is the most boring part of waiting for a new little member of the family, but it's great to see we have such great family that they would be here in our time of need. It's a long slow process and it's nice to have family here that will just sit and be with you while hour after hour passes. I know we're all excited to meet and hold her, but all the suspense just makes the time she gets here even more exciting and special!

Nothing yet...

Not much going on yet, but I think Stac might've gotten a little sleep. I finally fell asleep around 2am, I fought it off until then. One thing is for sure, the Boppy pillow is not only a great pillow for mother and baby, it's a great pillow if you need a pillow. Stac had all the pillows through the night so I just used the Boppy and it was very comfortable. This is a picture of my sweet bed, it actually wasn't too bad, pretty comfortable really. Only a little while longer before we start bumpin up her meds and we get to meet our baby girl!! I can't wait!!!

Waiting...

Waiting is part of the process, we've been here three hours and it's going to be many more. The best way to describe waiting for your child to be born is like waiting for Christmas morning. Think back to that one Christmas when you were little and you knew you were getting that new bike, you didn't know what color it was going to be, what features it would have, would it be a mountain bike or a bmx bike? This is a very vague description of how I feel, we've waited for 39 weeks to meet her and now the waiting game gets more intense. We know she's coming but we just don't know when. I need to get some sleep but how do you sleep at a time like this?

Final Countdown

The time has finally arrived...we're at the hospital. After 39 weeks of waiting, doctor visits, reading books, receiving advice from everyone and the last few weeks of Stacy being on modified bed rest, it's time to finally meet our beautiful baby girl. We've been checked-in and Stacy went through the initial battery of pokes and prods, everything is fine and now we're just relaxing, as much as possible in a hospital. I've posted a pic of our room and NO, I will not be posting a pic of my gorgeous wife. For those of you who have gone through pregnancy yourself, you know that having your picture posted on the Internet is not a first wish you want fulfilled. For now you'll have to live with the pics I do post. I may post other random things later, depending on how much sleep, if any, I get tonight. ;)

And yes girls, that is a Seat Belt Diaper Bag in the picture...you know you're jealous!!

Day Before

For everyone that has been following my blog, I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with what's been going on. Just so everyone knows I WILL be updating more when we get into the hospital. We're going in Monday night at 8pm, so she should be here Tuesday. Thanks to everyone who was involved in the shower Sue threw, and my Mom and Kelly for the shower they threw. We have so many friends and family to be thankful for, we've received so many wonderful gifts to help us with our baby. I'm getting more and more excited, at this point we've talked as much as possible about what to expect for the delivery and we don't know what else to say, we just have to wait and go with the flow. It's going to be a busy and exciting day, I believe Stacy will labor well and we'll have no problems. Anyway, we're going to enjoy the rest of this fathers day and do our final preparations for this week.

Lots of updates!

I have many things to update, I've been a slacker lately. First and foremost I have to thank Angie and Dawn for the great shower they threw Stac, she had a great time and I thought the cupcakes were delicious. It was a great first shower, everyone was very generous and I'm very appreciative of all the hard work and time that was spent to bring this event together. Next, everyone that participated in the shower at Citi, thank you as well. She was very surprised and again we received many great gifts from friends that bless our lives. The most unique gift was a small chair and desk that was painted to match the colors of her bed set, it's really neat. Finally, we went to Ultrasona and did a 3D ultrasound session, which if you have a hard time seeing 2D ultrasound the 3D is no comparison. We could actually see her face, it looked like a normal baby's face, it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. We're getting closer to the due date and the excitement builds with every passing day. I can't wait to hold her, feed her, rock her to sleep and watch her learn and grow.

27 Weeks

Had another routine doctors appointment Friday, everything is going great she's still in there enjoying life. Stac went for her gestational diabetes test last Friday, needless to say it wasn't an enjoyable experience. She was worried when the nurse called to give her the results because usually they don't call unless something is wrong. The good news was that she doesn't have diabetes, the bad news is she's anemic. It's not that big a deal though, she just has to take some iron pills and she'll be fine. I was worried when she started telling me because I didn't know how the anemia would affect the rest of the pregnancy, but she reassured me that it's common and nothing to worry about. The good news is the iron will give her more energy, which she has desperately needed for a while, but I will miss her mid-day naps. :)

Stac, Joe N Peanut

Welcome everyone!! To get caught up read from the bottom up, I made a cute little rhyme. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the work that has been put into this site, and please leave as many comments as you wish on whatever post you want.

P.S. If you're wondering why I added this picture it's because I was doing an experiment. I wanted to see what Peanut's world was like, swimming around all day under water, it was fun.