8 week appointment

Lennox is now officially a sumo baby. He is 12lbs 11oz and is 26 inches long! He also rolled over for the first to show off for the doc. So crazy! He had his 8 week appointment on the 3rd, and it was quite an interesting experience. He had three shots in his little legs and one liquid vaccine. When he got the poke with the needle(s) his little face slowly turned red (like a cartoon, it started at his neck and went up) and he went to scream so loud that no sound came out. Poor little man. I don't know who is more traumatized, the baby or the parent watching the baby go through the pain. No fun. He tired himself out within five minutes though and slept forever. He unfortunately got the diarrhea, vomiting and no sleeping side effects, so the last four days have been a blast let me tell ya. He threw up so much right as I was trying to get him to bed.....I was amazed at how much milk he threw up! It is like he is a hamster, holding onto his food in some random pocket in his body. Last night we took him to our friend Kenyon's Saturday Night Music Club get together and he had a blast. He loved meeting everyone and enjoyed listening to some sweet tunes. We brought him home and put him to bed and he had his first good night sleep since the evil day of shots.

He has been laughing and 'talking' so much now that it just the norm! It is so cute. (Of course, being his mother, I think his poop is cute....so you will have to see it for yourself and decide whether or not it gets the cute award). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was so great having Levi home for the whole week. We went to Apple Hill on the Sunday after Thanksgiving with the Henson's and the Cowger's and we got our Christmas tree. It was the best day ever and I do believe that we have created a new family tradition. I am so excited for Christmas!!! :)

7 weeks old today...

It has been a few weeks since I wrote anything! Can you believe how OLD he is? Lennox is now 11 lbs 4 ounces and is almost a whopping 26 inches long. He is as tall as some one year olds evidently....this all means that he is still a 'linguine baby.' Instead of gaining weight he is just growing longer. He is smiling now, laughing, cooing and 'talking' all the time. It is the sweetest thing! He does NOT like the car anymore and even if he is sleeping when you put him in his car seat, he will immediately wake up and let you know how pissed he is. People in cars around us can hear him even with the windows rolled up. He is L-O-U-D! If he is even the slightest bit hungry or tired, you are going to hear about it...sounds like his father, perhaps?? The loudness comes from me, this I know. The lungs on this kid are something you have to hear to believe. He loves his Serene Sling, and I sling him all around town. It also helps for when he is tired but is fighting it. He falls right asleep.

I was at Costco the other day and started getting emotional (damn breastfeeding hormones) about having this little one here to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. He is such a blessing for us and I am so excited to start traditions for our little family. I also got a little sentimental at the fact that Coscto has the old school Rudolph, Frosty and Santa Claus is Coming to Town claymation cartoons all in one package for sale! I snatched that up in a minute. Brought back all the memories of my childhood and all of our traditions.

the sickness...

Lennox is sick! Boo! Last night he woke up and was breathing hard and wasn't able to breathe through his nose. His dad has been sick the last couple of days (which is super awesome....Levi is the BIGGEST baby when he is sick, so now I am mother of two :) so it isn't too surprising that Lennox is sick. It is so sad to hear him breathing through his mouth and coughing. Last night we went to the grandparents house for grandpa and Aunt Tracey's birthday dinner. Evidently, grandpa got sick last night as well, some really bad flu and didn't go to work today. That is saying something because grandpa NEVER misses a day of work! So, I am trying to stay well and avoid the evil sickness. So far, the score is Sickness: 3 Wellness: 1. We are dropping like flies!

Lennox is smiling and laughing a lot now and it is so much fun to watch him. When he wakes up in the morning, he is so cuddly and happy and I just want to stay in bed with him all day. He loves it when I sing songs to him (which is amazing because my singing voice is an absolute nightmare and my morning dragon breath is not appealing either...) and say silly things to him. He is getting bigger and bigger everyday and his cheeks are getting chubby. I think that he is only gaining weight due to his ever increasing length more than his weight increase. He is truly a linguine baby! I have been working with him on taking more naps during the day because he needs some assistance in that area. He fights naps like crazy but always sleeps well at night.

It is amazing how much my life has changed since he was born. I am less tired than I thought I would be with a newborn, but I am less knowledgeable about babies and baby related situations than I thought I would be. It's a constant give and take. Being a stay at home mom truly is the most challenging job in the world and it is tough being a parent in general. Everyday I wake up ready for a new challenge, and boy let me tell you, there are plenty of them! I am so happy that it is starting to feel like Fall outside and that all the holidays are coming up. So many things to look forward to.

Oopsy, gotta go, baby just woke up and is....you'll never guess!! HUNGRY!! :)

happy halloween!

Let me start out by saying that I promise I will get photos up soon! I am totally lagging in that department and I know that people are getting anxious to see how little man has changed in the last month. He is officially one month old tomorrow! Crazy. He is such a joy. He has some intense lungs on him; I hate to even imagine what our neighbors think we are doing to him sometimes :) He loves being held, he loves eating (all the time!!), he loves being swaddled (even though he fights it at first) and he is sleeping for three to four hour stretches at night and goes right back to sleep after feeding. We had him circumcised a little over a week ago and that was about as traumatizing as you can imagine. Levi was in the room with him and watched the whole procedure....maybe one day, after he has survived his post traumatic stress he will blog about what that was like for him....

Lennox was a skeleton for Halloween. He is just so damn cute that it is ridiculous. We went over to the parents house for an Oktoberfest party and some trick-or-treating with Ainsley. She was a zebra and I can't get over how hilarious she is! All the lawn signs that she sees, she walks up to them and says 'Barack Obama he's our man!' We have Grandma Barbara to thank for that little chant :)

Things are just getting better and better. We are finally mobile--going out with friends and attending get togethers and baby showers. What a life we have.

a slice of humble pie

As many of you already know, being a parent of an infant humbles you quickly. I am amazed how everyday I have a new hurdle to figure out how to jump over. From figuring out his cries to trying to understand what way he likes to be burped, I am always solving puzzles :) It is such a treat though and I look at everyday as a new chance to learn more about him and about myself as a mom. Babies are wonderful little people, and everyday that I look at my little man I fall more and more in love with him. He is such a wild little man.....always kickin his legs, pumping his arms and staring at whatever is in front of him. Everyone that meets him always points out how 'alert' he is and how 'strong' he is. He lifts his head up already and has since he was two days old. When we lay him down on the couch or the bed, he tries to push off with his little legs and roll over. I am beginning to realize that the newborn stage probably isn't going to last long. He is already trying to grow up too fast!!! It has been so great visiting with everyone and having people drop by to meet the little man. He loves to see new faces and hear the voices that were talking to him for the 40 weeks that he was in the belly :)

the day you were born....

So, since baby is sleeping and I have a few moments, let me tell everyone the story of his birth. I went into labor at 3am on October 3rd. I thought they were more Braxton Hicks contractions at first, but I wasn't able to fall back asleep and they were stronger than any 'false' contraction I had ever had. I walked around the house, drank water, practiced my breathing and waited to wake Levi up. (For those of you that know Levi his least favorite number on the PLANET is three, so I thought that waking him up at 3AM on the 3rd would just about give him the big one...) I waited until 6AM to wake him up and he was really excited. I continued walking around the house, called Tracey and Barbara and Carrie and told them to come over as soon as they would like to. We then left a message for Claudia, one of our midwives, and spoke on the phone with Jen, our other midwife. At this point, my body was getting rid of everything out of every orifice possible. Levi has never seen me blow chunks, so that freaked him out a little....although the body fluids he would later see would far surpass a little vomit.....

Claudia and the assistant midwife, Katie, showed up at the house around 10AM. They set up the house with their supplies and then told me that they would leave for a few hours in order to let me get to the next stage of labor....I guess that saying 'a watched pot never boils' also applies to labor :) My contraction began to get stronger after they left and I went in the shower for some relief. Claudia and Katie came back around noon and Jen arrived around 1PM. We had the birthing tub set up in our room, and I was eager to get into that thing for some more relief. I ended up getting into the tub around 2:30PM or so, and it felt FABULOUS. It was so warm and feeling weightless really helped me get through the contractions. I started pushing....wait, don't get excited yet because there ended up being 4 hours of that said pushing before Lennox came into the world....

I progressed quickly to 10 centimeters in the tub and I began pushing. We found out fairly quickly that my water sac (which had not broken) was actually coming out simultaneously with baby. This happened to be rare, and so I was pushing and it evidently looked like a water balloon that continued to move in and out as if it were inflating. After a few hours of this, I began to get slightly discouraged. I got out of the tub and sat on the toilet and tried to empty my bladder. I then asked Jen what some options were since I felt like pushing wasn't really getting me anywhere. She suggested that I find a different place to push and she would feel how I was progressing during my next contraction. So, I decided to get on the bed, and try pushing while laying on my side, holding my right leg up. Levi asked if I wanted him to hold my leg for me, and I proceeded to tell him 'no' yet dropped my leg.....obviously exhausted and disoriented, my wonderful husband took matters into his own hands and lifted my leg for me. Jen began putting on a glove and was preparing to check to see how my pushing was progressing and I decided that I needed to get this baby out into this world so I didn't have to have another hand feeling around up there :) So after a few more hours, I began pushing and could feel that the pressure had changed to a burning sensation and I knew that he was coming into the world. I began pushing very intensely and the midwives began putting on gloves and preparing to help little man into the world. Evidently, Lennox had his own ideas about that....when they turned around he was instantly out to his waist with one push! They turned back around and assisted him out the rest of the way and it was like he came out on a water slide since my water sac broke with him entering the world! Thank goodness for his umbilical cord, or else that dude would have flown off the bed :)

The midwives put him on my chest and cannot even describe the sensation of seeing him for the first time. It was like every thing around me was quiet except for him and I and the room felt like it was spinning. I was crying and kissing him, and the midwives were working on getting every thing settled with him. His little arms were like 'linguine' arms at first, but he started to pink right up and move his arms on his own. His lungs were working quite fine, let me tell you, but he had some mucus in his lungs. They got the mucus out and then gave him a little oxygen to make sure all was well. Levi in the mean time, was ankle deep in 'fluids' and was about ready to lose his mind. He was also convinced that our son's 'cone head' was going to stay like that for all of eternity....these are the differences between mom's and dad's :)

We all sat around with him and then my father in law arrived with pizza and champagne for everyone. It was phenomenal. I was on cloud nine and felt as though I was floating. I wasn't even tired!!! Levi cut the umbilical cord after about 45 minutes and I was able to see the placenta and find out the information on which side was near the baby and which side was attached to me. The midwives then cleaned little man up, and weighed and measured him. He was 8lbs, 12oz, 21 3/4 inches long, blue/grey eyes, brown hair, long legs, and a cute little dimple on his butt :)

That night I could not sleep because I was just staring at him all night. I was in awe of this little human that Levi and I created--this little person that is fully reliant on us, and is looking to us to learn how to exist. Such responsibility. I was amazed by the experience. I am so thankful that I was able to have my sweet little baby at home, with the people that I love and admire surrounding me. My mother in law, my sister in law, my best friend, my husband and our midwives were all amazing in their support and encouragement. I couldn't have planned it any better......I am smitten :)

Some of the 400 pictures (yea, that is not a typo, seriously, she took 400 pictures) that Carrie took will be posted soon.....keep checking back!!

Lennox Carlyle Paul Henson

As manof you know, our son was born on October 3, at 7:04PM. He weighed 8lbs 12 oz and is 21 3/4 inches long. I went into labor at 3am on Friday and ended up pushing for 4 1/2 long hours!! It was all well worth it, because once I saw his face and kissed him I was smitten. I will write more details soon, with photos. I mean, Carrie only took 400 photos.....

Thank you for all the phone calls, gifts, visits and love. We are so blessed :)

october 2, 2008....the DUE date

Soooooo, here it is October 2 already and no baby. I read that only 5% of babies are born on their due date. That means odds are he will not be here today! Due dates are pretty ridiculous anyway, these babies don't really work on schedules no matter who makes them.... :)

Yesterday I went to the first monthly Born at Home Community Potluck. My midwives put the whole event on and it is going to fall on the first Wednesday of every month. The potluck is held at Javalounge on 16th street and it is a way for all of us to keep in touch, talk with other mothers that had home births and stay in contact with our midwives after our babies pass the 6 week mark :) It was sooooo much fun. It started at 11am and allegedly ended at 3pm, but I didn't get home until after 4. I loved talking with all the other mothers since I don't know anyone personally who has had a home birth. It was wonderful hearing all of their stories and their pointers of how to relax through contractions and labor in general. Everyone gave the birthing tub high marks for aiding with relaxation and helping labor progress. I was really excited to hear that since the 'birthing tub fairies' came and dropped off my tub on the front porch a few days ago!!! I have already sat in it and am so happy to have found out that I actually feel SMALL in it, which is quite a task these days....I even feel HUGE in our king sized bed for heaven's sake....
So, all the mothers and their little ones were walking around, eating yummy snacks and just enjoying each other's company. It was a very fun and festive event and a lot more women showed up than I had originally thought. There were only two other pregnant women there, and one of them is due this Friday. It was funny how many women were asking when I was due and the look on their faces when I responded with 'tomorrow.' I got the best compliment while I was there as well (which is so uplifting when you are 40 weeks pregnant), a mother told me that she never really believed or had seen the 'pregnancy glow' until she met me today. She said that I literally was glowing. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was because I decided to order HOT tea, and I was already sweating bullets from walking across the street from the parking lot to the coffee house......either way, she is my favorite human for weeks at this point.

So, I am still waiting, still in limbo, and still preggo. Thanks to everyone for all the phone calls and the funny stories about how 'ready' everyone is for this little man to arrive. Carrie told me that she already has her bag packed and will jump in her car as soon as I call her. I guess everyone is on 'high alert!'

you say it's your birthday....

Happy Birthday to ME!!! It's my golden birthday, I am 29 on the 29th! I just went to breakfast with Katie and I have a lot of visitors coming by during the day. Then a big birthday dinner at mom and dad's house with Tracey, Ryan, Ainsley and Grandma! I am really excited. I am feeling A LOT better and am ready to celebrate :)

Soon another type of celebration will be in order!!!

SICK!!!! and still preggo...

So, I woke up Saturday morning another day pregnant as well as SICK! I caught some weird head cold from an undisclosed person. It came without warning. Totally lame. I have been in the house on lock down for the last two days. With the exception of three small outings.....first to dinner at a really great Thai restaurant on Broadway and 28th, then to the Holy Bowl football game (between Jesuit and Christian Brothers) and then to Target today. I was so out of it during the football game, it was unreal. Totally head cold disoriented. I will get rid of this thing by tomorrow, no matter what, because it is my damn birthday and no one can be sick on their wonderful day! Lennox may decide to share my birthday with me, which would be all right with me :) Levi says that it would make things easier for him....one less thing to remember!!!

My actual due date is this Thursday, October 2nd. It is so funny because I really thought that he would be here before his due date. He showed me....letting me know that this is not my show to schedule or to organize. Sorry ma! That is all right with me, he will be here before we know it and we will forget about all this anticipation about when he was going to arrive. I just let him know that he has to be sure to be here by October 8th because his Grandpa Jim will be coming over from Thailand to see him. I know that my dad loves us and all, but he really scheduled this trip to meet his first grandchild.

low baby!

Jen came over today for an appointment and evidently the little man has dropped! Of course two minutes before she arrived for our appointment, I got a stupid migraine and could barely see her through the visit. Totally sucked! I haven't had one of those in a long time....it came on fast and would not go away. She checked where the baby was and she said that he has dropped and that his head is really down in the birth canal. She said that she would do a pelvic exam if I wanted one, but said that even if I was a few centimeters dialated it doesn't mean the baby is coming anytime soon, and if I wasn't dialated at all I could have the baby tonight. All in all, she let me know that doing an exam is not absolute and will not tell us anything in regards to when the little dude is going to arrive. So, why even bother with the exam??! He will come out when he is good and ready. Levi is going nuts and can't wait for him to arrive....more because he get some time off work :)

While Jen was checking to see where the baby was positioned, it definitely hurt more than usual. It was a different feeling. I could feel the pressure of Lennox in my pelvis and I could definitely feel Jen's hands locating his head. It was crazy. Everyday is something new and different! I will keep everyone posted on his descent!!

amazing

I just got home and received a card in the mail from Aunie Diane (my momma's very good friend) with the above photo enclosed. In the card she explained to me that this picture was taken right before my parents left for San Francisco to stay the night at the St. Francis Hotel. This also happens to be the day before I was born. She couldn't have picked a better day to send this photo to me and share the story of the day before my birth......I have the best women surrounding me.

september 23, the day i have been waiting for

So.....this is the day that Lennox was born in my dream. It was such a fantastic dream that I had when I was about 4 1/2 months pregnant. It went like this.....

I was in the car with my mom, she was driving, it was early morning and I went into labor. I went to call Levi and let him know that I was in labor and I looked at my phone and it said the date and time which was September 23 at about 7:17AM. I called Levi and told him to come and home and get ready to welcome his son into the world. My mom and I calmly drove to the house that I grew up in (14th street house) and my dad was there to greet us. I proceeded to go through a fairly long labor and delivered Lennox late that night. I literally felt the contractions in my dream as well as the delivery. He was gorgeous!! He had dark hair, was chubby, and was a tall baby. It was an awesome experience, I was at home with the people that I love and my momma was there as well :) We all sat together, talked, laughed and kissed that little guy a million times. It was such a realistic dream that when I woke up I was still glowing and felt exhausted like I had just delivered him. I also had to realize that he wasn't born yet and stop looking for him next to our bed. It was so awesome.

So, that day is now here and we shall see what occurs. I may or may not go into labor today, but that dream was phenomenal and I am thankful to have had it early in my pregnancy. No matter what day he arrives, I hope that my experience is similar to what I felt and went through in that dream.

Yesterday was a fantastic day....Sal took me out for my 'birthday' since she was wise in thinking that I will probably be too busy to celebrate my day....(which for those of you who really know me, the fact that I normally celebrate my birthday MONTH should let you know how focused I am on this baby to not even think twice about the fact that my birthday is in six days). So, she took me to get a mani/pedi and out to Thai food for lunch! The Thai food was in your honor Dad :) The food was fantastic, the mani/pedi felt awesome and the conversation was entertaining as always. I then treated myself to a prenatal massage later in the afternoon which was beyond relaxing.

I will keep you all posted.....I am planning on putting an entry on this thing when I go into labor to keep you all in the know......
Wish us luck!
:)

doc appointment

So, I am not in labor (yet). I met with Dr. Micks today and she said that she thinks that this little man will be on his way out very soon. I just love her! Dr. Micks, Claudia and Jen are just the greatest......I will keep you all posted on any other contractions (REAL ones..) or signs of labor :)

contractions and the ticking clock...

So, I started having random contractions yesterday right after our midwife left. She was telling me how many of her clients are having contractions and how crazy things are going to be this weekend. She said she has five women that may be having their babies this weekend or early next week. So OF COURSE I would start having my fair share of contractions, albeit false, the second she walked out the door. I had a restless night sleep, I can tell you that much! When your belly feels like a concrete boulder is trapped inside, finding a comfortable position is nearly impossible. This morning I woke up early and was still feeling those random contractions. Levi and I are in our uncle's wedding tomorrow and we have the rehearsal dinner tonight. I thought that Lennox and I already had a little convo about this situation and had agreed that he could not even begin his entrance into this world until Sunday evening. Kids, they never listen, do they?? :)

I organized all the items that are on the birth list and put them in the baby's closet. It was funny getting all the supplies together last night, with Levi looking at me like he couldn't even imagine what in the hell we would need extra sets of sheets for, or a flashlight. It was hilarious. I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt. I must say, I will have the best prize ever for finishing this particular scavenger hunt!!!

Think good thoughts for me in regards to having this baby hold out until after the wedding!! I have an appointment with my doctor today at 3pm and she will probably do a pelvic exam to see if I am dilated at all. I will keep you all posted!!!

WOW!!

dog park mornings and free days...

Took the dogs to the dog park today. Fall is in the air and I loved walking all around the park with Sami and Finn in tow. Every one keeps asking me if I am 'so ready for him to come' and/or if i am 'bored with all my free time.' The answer to those two questions are no and no. I am having the best time ever! I am able to visit with my friends and family whenever I want to, organize the house, get mentally prepared for the little man's entrance, catch up on sleep, become a wii master (my fitness age score today was 26...beats the heck out of the age 53 I received the first time I took the fitness test...), play rockband as loud as I want, make delicious food and spend time with the hubby. It just keeps getting better :)

I got my first disability check in the mail today and it sure is nice! At least for the next few months I will be providing a little bit of income to the pool. Levi has been working so hard since he started his teaching job. He has been coaching every weekend (usually Saturday and Sunday) and he has been such a good sport about it. Even through his complaints, he still is able to say that he 'really likes' his job teaching (which is quite amazing for him to admit that...especially because he hadn't even had any beers yet). He is such a capable, genuine, structured and creative teacher. His students are really lucky to have him. He is getting into his groove now, and I can tell that he is less stressed out every day he gets home. Thank goodness for his job and for coaching...without those two things I would have to be back at work super early!

baby daddy bbq and lovely friends

Yesterday afternoon we had our final bash to celebrate Lennox's pending arrival. Auntie Kamaria went ALL out--organizing the bash, bringing food, treats and fun! When she pulled up in her Passat surrounded by food and a Maragarita Machine AND a chocolate fountain, I knew this bash was gonna be no joke! It was was fabulous. We have the most LOVING and AMAZING friends in the whole world. During the party I could not stop thinking about how lucky we are and how thankful I am to be surrounded by such phenomenal friends and family. Levi and I much have some good karma from a past life or something....I don't know how else to describe it. All the little kiddos were hanging out together and seemed to have a blast as well. It seems like it happened overnight....one night we were having 'adults only' parties and now every get together we have there are kiddos six and under running around the backyard playing! Times are a changin.....which I love. Levi scored on some soccer related (Man U and England) jersey kits for little man. He was also given a Bob Marley onesie for Lennox.....these gifts really stole the show! He is going to be sooooo stylish!

Now I am in complete waiting mode for the little man's arrival. His room is all set up (thanks to my crazy organization skills....note to self: going to IKEA nine months pregnant and buying a dresser AND a bookcase and proceeding to drag it home and put it together by yourself is probably not the best idea in the world...). Anyhow, it had to be done, and I was the one to do it. The room looks fabulous and the only thing that is missing is little Lennox himself. Everyone has been so generous and it is so much fun looking at all the little gifts that each person gave us.

Pictures will be up soon. I am planning on getting most of them developed today...although that will take initiative and that is something I am lacking today :)!!!

THANK YOU AUNTIE KAMARIA!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

so many thoughts...

I was just thinking about how amazing this little new life is. I can't wait to meet him, but I also am sad that I won't have him in my belly anymore. I only know him in my belly at this point--how he moves like crazy when I am trying to go to sleep and after I eat a really good meal, and how he gets the hiccups just about nightly around 9:45pm. I am going to have to get to know him in a completely different way once he enters this world. I am so thankful to have had such an easy pregnancy, one that I can actually enjoy and pay attention to on a daily basis. He seems to have started to drop. I am feeling pressure in my pelvis that definitely was not there before. He has also switched sides in my belly, but he is still head down. I am going to be a mommy to this little man who is a blend of Levi and I and our families. We try and guess every night when he will arrive, what color his eyes and hair will be and what type of personality he will have. I am so glad that I have had this time off work to reflect on this pregnancy. I even made a little video for Lennox to watch when he gets older! We are so lucky.....

meeting with midwives

I met with one of our midwives, Claudia, yesterday for my now weekly appointment. I am measuring at 38 weeks, which is two weeks ahead of where I am at right now. Every thing else was great--my blood pressure, weight, heart rate as well as Lennox's heart rate. Our two midwives, Claudia and Jen, come to the house for our appointments and usually stay between an hour and an hour and a half. The first part of the appointment is just like what happens at the doctor's office--weight, blood pressure, urine test, heart rate, etc. After that, we get to catch up on how things have been going, any questions or concerns that Levi and I have and/or information about the birth. They are amazingly patient, kind, knowledgeable and genuine. We are so thankful to have them in our lives. Levi and both feel very safe and taken care of and are so happy to have a home birth!

Many friends and family (and complete strangers for that matter :) have asked Levi and I why we have chosen to have a home birth. After researching options regarding labor and delivery shortly after I found out I was pregnant, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to have an intimate and 'normal' experience instead of a medically induced birth. We wanted to be able to be at home, where we feel comfortable, and I wanted to be able to move around a lot, eat, move to different spots and have the option of either laboring or delivering in the water. We watched the documentary, The Business of Being Born, which was informative and startling. The documentary was done wonderfully, and after watching it I had pretty much decided that I wanted a home birth. After talking it over with Levi, he agreed (a lot quicker than I thought he would) and we were on our way to finding our midwives. The first midwife I called was unable to work with us because was already booked for the month of October. She referred us to another midwife who then referred us to Claudia and Jen. We were so happy when we finally found our midwives :)

We had to go through a screening process to ensure that we had a low risk pregnancy, that I didn't have any pre-existing health conditions and that Levi and I were both in agreement that we wanted a home birth. At first, Claudia and Jen met with us monthly and then bimonthly and now weekly. They are both so helpful and have explained so many things to us that I have never heard anything about at the doctor's office. We started off with a different doctor than we have now at UC Davis Med Center--we didn't get Dr. Micks until I was half way through the pregnancy. Thank goodness that we did get her (it was seriously meant to be) because she is supportive of our choice, is open-minded and is amazingly kind. She even wants to talk personally with our midwives and coordinate services with them! In the event that I need to be transported to the hospital, she has given me her pager number and she stated that she will meet us at the hospital and will do whatever is necessary for us.

I know that I am rambling on and on, but one more piece of information for everyone--the following is a list of celebrities that have had home births with midwives present:

• Pamela Anderson
• Charlotte Church
• Cindy Crawford
• Ricki Lake
• Demi Moore
• Thandi Newton
• Kelly Preston
• Meryl Streep
• Leila Ali

Thank you all for being so supportive and open minded to our choice. We can't wait for our son to arrive so that you can shower him with the love and support you have given us for so many years!!! We love you :)

Officially on maternity leave...and info from doc appointment

Today was my last day at work! Hallelujah! I am so excited to finally have some time to myself to enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy. I have really enjoyed every minute of it so far. I have been so lucky! No sickness, no heartburn, no swelling and no difficulties sleeping. I can't believe how many side effects that I have somehow dodged! :)

On Monday we had our last ultrasound. It was the determining ultrasound because we needed to find out if my placenta was finally where it was supposed to be. If my placenta was still low, then I would have had to have a scheduled c-section at 37 weeks. The ultrasound tech was the same woman we had when we found out the sex of the little man. She was really talkative and helpful. She told us that the little man ain't so little! He is measuring at 37 weeks already and has long legs and arms. He has a little bit of hair on his head and he weighs about 6lbs 15 oz. He is gonna be a BIG boy. I can't even wait to see the chubby little man!

We had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Micks to find out the results from the ultrasound (since we listened to the last ultrasound tech and that didn't end up being correct info...so we didn't even ask this time). As we were walking up to the doctor's office, we see Dr. Micks running to the main hospital. Evidently, she had emergency surgery with one of her patients and therefore we weren't able to find out the results. Totally sucked! We ended up meeting with a different doctor that told us that Dr. Micks would call us tomorrow with the information.

I could hardly wait to hear from Dr. Micks, so I paged her. After I informed her it was not an emergency, she told me that she was waiting to hear from the radiology department for results on the ultrasound. She said that they didn't give her the centimeters distance that my placenta is from my cervix. She said that I can call her anytime, even if it isn't an emergency and she assured me that she would call me back this afternoon. (She is the BEST doc ever!!!) She called me a few hours later and told me the great news......my placenta is so far from my cervix that they don't even need the centimeter distance!!! She said that I don't even have low lying placenta anymore, much less placenta previa. I was estatic. I called Levi and told him the great news and he was over the moon. Dr. Micks said that she was so happy for us that we could continue on with our homebirth plan. I called our midwives, Claudia and Jen and let them know the news.

I had a pizza party at work and finished cleaning off my desk and turning all my work related objects in. It felt so wonderful to be done with the work obligation. Tomorrow is my second shower at my mom-in-laws house with the family. I am looking forward to it. After the amazing shower I had on the 16th (momma's birthday) I can't even imagine receiving any more gifts! Everyone has been so generous, kind and loving. Levi, Lennox and I are so lucky. We are surrounded by the most phenomenal people.


Here is the latest ultrasound picture of the little big man....Lennox Carlyle Paul Henson.