INTRODUCING....

Asher Scott Lein arrived at 6:10 p.m. on Friday, June 20th, 2008. He weighed in at 7lbs 7 ounces and measured 19 inches. He is absolutely beautiful and the whole experience has been truly amazing. I can't even begin to tell you the number of prayers that were answered this week in our little man's birth story. I'll have to save that for another day when we're not so tired. Enjoy the picture's for now and I'll fill you in on the rest later. Thanks to all for the calls and prayers, we appreciate all the love and support. Feel free to come visit, just be sure to call first. And now, for the pictures you've all been waiting for....

June 16th, Our Due Date

In the words of Tom Petty...

....the waiting is the hardest part.

We've packed our bags and filled out everything we can in the baby book. The relaxing mixed CD's have been made and my focal point picture has been chosen. The bags are in the car, along with a sleeping bag for extra comfort for Kyle, and of course we have the car seat installed. All the little socks and outfits, blankets and bedding have been washed in baby detergent and folded and put in their place.

Our laundry is caught up and the spare room has been made up for the guests that will be arriving. We have a point person ready to send out the mass text message to our friends when our bundle of joy arrives. I'm carrying my camera and two sets of batteries in my purse everywhere I go, and my mom and sister have started to get jumpy when they see my number on their caller ID. Kyle never turns off his phone, and he carries his stopwatch 24/7.

My last day of work will be Monday, June 16th. My official due date. My shower thank you's have been sent (finally) and we even have a pediatrician. Now all we need is that baby!

I've been blessed with a pretty painless pregnancy. Sure I had my complaints and tough moments, but overall I couldn't have asked for anything better. So it's not out of pain, discomfort, or even exhaustion that I can't wait for it to be over. It's the unknown, the uncertainty of when and how it will happen. And Kyle and I just can't wait to meet our little man, hold him in our arms, and love on him like crazy.

And that is why the days pass so slowly and I can't get Tom Petty out of my head.

End in sight...

There is a definate end in sight now. My due date is less than a week away and my doctor won't let me go much longer than a week after that. So either way, there will be a baby in about two weeks, give or take. I pray I don't have to be induced...

Well, I gained back that pound I lost but I'm not overly devastated. I've gained about 39 lbs total and now my belly is 39 centimeters up and down. Notice I said centimeters, not inches. I think in all my past posts I've said inches. Thank goodness it's centimeters!! My word!

No one thinks that the baby has really dropped any yet, but somehow the waistband on all my pants is getting ruined. The belly juts out so abruptly that the band gets folded over. I'm afraid on my weaker pairs, I may not get a second baby's worth of wear!

And I would walk five hundred miles...

Well, I missed my day in the baby pool at work. It chose yesterday, and it would've made sense from the way my day went. But alas, still no baby boy.

I started off the day with a trip to the doctor. Normally I go to the East Clinic but yesterday I had to go to the hosital. For those of you who don't know, St Mary's is under major construction and I'm a bit challenged when it comes to navigating that part of town. So I parked where the signs sort of told me to, even though my gut was telling me it was wrong. Should've went with the gut feeling because I ended up walking about 5 blocks to the hospital entrance, through the construction, and among the hard hat clad workers. None of whom whistled or made any flattering comments toward me. Hmmmm.....

I finally made it to the doctor's office and I was tired, hot, and crabby. Did I mention it was already in the seventies at 9:00 in the morning? I told the doctor about my long hike and her unsympathetic response was "well good, maybe that'll put you into labor". Let me tell you, that would've made it all worth it. But it was not his time I guess.

There was an upside to this appointment though; I may have gained another inch up and down my belly (now I'm 37.5) but I lost 1.1 lbs! And don't say it was probably the walk! There is no more room for food in the half/whole basketball.

After the hospital ordeal, I went to work only to have people staring at me all day as if I may burst into labor at any moment. I think they thought I had some mother's intuition about the day I picked in the pool. But really I just picked that day because Kyle had a double-header in softball and was so excited about it, that it seemed the most Murphy's law-ish day to choose.

Yep, that's right, you heard me. Last night we had a double header in softball. Yes, I went to both games. Yes, it rained almost the entire time. And yes, they locked the nasty park bathrooms so preggos like me had to use the even nastier port-a-potty. But all in all it was a really fun night. Kyle got his second home run of the season, and we even won our last game!

So after all that walking at the hospital, trudging to and from the ballfield, eating extra Cholula sauce at Taco John's, and making myself as exhausted as could be, still no baby boy. I suppose it's for the best, I may have been too exhausted to even get in the car to make the mad dash to town.

Full Size Basketball?

Tomorrow I'll be 38 weeks along. Wow, that's amazing! I just looked at the little ticker at the top of the screen here and it says only 15 days to go. Shocking. All week I've been wanting the baby to come NOW but when I read that, 15 days doesn't seem so long! I feel so anxious for him to get here and so unprepared at the same time. Good thing he'll come on his own time, otherwise I'd never be able to decide if I was ready or not.

This week has been pretty uneventful. On Tuesday at my doctor's appointment, I weighed in at 38.5 lbs gained and she measured me at 36.5 inches up and down the belly. At home, Kyle measured me at 41 inches around the belly. I'm not sure how big a basketball is, but I'm pretty sure I've got one under my shirt. Just take a look at this picture taken minutes ago:

When I look in the mirror it really doesn't look this big! And Kyle says that it's only about half a basketball, so we'll go with his description because it's better.

The last few days have been draining since I caught a nasty cold at work. Sore throat and stuffy nose....no fun. Hopefully that will go away before baby comes.

As for excitement this week, we packed our hospital bags and wrote out our birth plan. Kyle's bag mostly contains snacks, which is a good thing. He can get pretty crabby when he's hungry! Also, I decided to take the next two wednesdays off of work so I can get more rest and then Friday the 13th will be my last day, even if the baby hasn't come yet. Yay! The countdown begins!! =) Kyle is convinced little man is coming this week though, so it may be even sooner than that. We'll keep you posted!

37 Weeks...

Baby boy is officially full term today! Yay! He can be born any day now and his lungs and everything else should be functioning as designed.

We spent Memorial Day at Oakfest, our church's first annual M-day festival, and we had a great time. The weather was sunny and hot so I had to try to find shade whenever possible and drink as much water as I could. I didn't really do any work, but Kyle was diligent about his post as bounce house monitor. I mainly just sat by him and ate. I got tons of comments about my outie belly button and almost everyone I talked to suggested I hop in the bounce house myself to get this show on the road. As much as I love bounce houses and am dying to go in one, I just couldn't do that to the little man.

Today my coworkers decided to start a baby pool. It's a $2 buy in and all you have to guess is the date. Total winnings could be around $50 if everyone gets in.

So a baby pool is a pretty normal thing, people make their guesses based on who knows what and then somebody wins. Well, when 50 bucks is on the line I guess things get a little more serious. You wouldn't believe the questions that the GUYS had!! Has the baby turned? Is it my first? When's the full moon? Granted none of the questions were asked directly of me, but I got to hear them secretly over speakerphone or through the grapevine. The ladies of course asked no questions...

A few people at work have started to comment that they think the baby has dropped. I'm not sure, I can't really tell. Once they said that, I started thinking they were right. I can breathe a little easier, although I still can't sing as long as I could before without taking a breath. I asked the doctor what she thought and she would neither confirm nor deny. So who really knows? I can tell you that my getting out of bed problem was worse last night and all day my hips were hurting and feeling kind of stretched out. Sounds like somethings going on to me!

OMG there's a car seat in my volkswagen!!!

Well friends, I'm 36 weeks now and we're getting pretty close to ready. I guess that's as ready as we can be....I'm not sure anyone is ever really ready. We've taken baby CPR and a childbirth class, the baby's bedding and clothes are in the wash as a write this, and Sunday night Daddy K put the car seat in. Man that was weird to see when I got in the car to go to work on Monday!

I had my first weekly dr appt today and everything is right on track. The good news of the day is that I only gained one pound in the last two weeks!!! Are you as excited as I am? The dr made the comment "well, he doesn't feel like a huge baby yet". I'm not really sure what that means. Hopefully yet never comes and he stays a nice manageble size.

Reality...

First and foremost, Congrats to the Galvins!! As of Tuesday they are proud homeowners. We can't wait to go visit them after the baby is born! Check out their new place on their blog: http://samandsaragalvin.blogspot.com/

And now ladies and gents, on to the wonderful saga that is my life....

So last night was a doozie. As you all know, my husband is wonderful, and in being so he decided to set up a tv in our bedroom so I can be more comfortable as I rot my brain. Last night I got sucked into reruns of The King of Queens (possibly the funniest show ever written), reruns I had seen more than once before. Time got away from me and I ended up going to bed an hour later than usual. Not so bad when you're a normal person. But of course the last 9 months haven't been exactly "normal" for me. =)

I finally fell asleep, only to wake up at least five times in the night. And no, that is not an exaggeration. Now the best part about it is that my hips have issues in the night and refuse to work as designed. So when I try to stand, my hips rebel and I almost crumble to the ground. Luckily the door frame is close enough for me to stagger to and hold on to until I regain my balance. Unfortunately, one hip never returns to full strength and so I limp all the way to the bathroom. Sounds attractive, doesn't it?!

So I went to bed late and I got up a bunch of times, but I still woke up feeling pretty rested today. Maybe that's because I sleep so hard between pee breaks. It doesn't really feel like I'm sleeping at all, but the drool all over my pillow is proof that I am in fact sleeping, and sleeping very deeply at that. Not to be gross, but I'm shootin for a realistic blog here and those are the facts, folks. Last night I "slept so soundly" that I immediately took off my pillow case the moment I woke up. I won't be using that one tonite!

But I'm not complaining. Life is interesting as a preggers and all the craziness will be 100% worth it. I saw a great billboard today with a picture of a baby that said "God knew my soul before I was born". What an amazing thought. God knows this little guy inside me already. He knows his birthday and what he'll look like, what kind of personality he has, and what he'll grow up to be! I can't wait until he shares those details with me. Awesome!

Prenatal Advisory

I have a warning for all you out there who are pregnant or who may be hanging out with a prenant person. Please, for the sake of all involved, avoid the country music stations at all costs! Those country DJ's are quite gutsy in picking their playlists and you may be shocked by the lyrics they are playing on these stations - lyrics that will cause expectant moms to crumble in an instant. Not a good thing if that mom is the one driving! So beware cowboys and cowgirls.

On my way home from work today I heard a lethal combination of two songs: 'You're Gonna Miss This' by Trace Adkins and then 'My Front Porch Looking In' by Lonestar.

(Here are the lyrics if you're not familiar: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/adkins-trace/youre-gonna-miss-this-23933.html ... http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/lonestar/my-front-porch-looking-in-2889.html).

Anyway, I was able to hold it together and still get home safely as long as I didn't try to sing along. For those of you Monona Oakies, Pastor played the first song in church on sunday and I'm sure I wasn't the only one there with a few tears flowing! What a great song - I had never heard it before! It points out the fact that we are always looking ahead to our next big plans, usually so focused on the excitement of the future that we forget to appreciate the excitement of today. At 35 weeks pregnant, and getting less sleep and more uncomfortable by the day, I've been thinking lately how great it would be if the baby came a little early. Not too early, maybe a week or two. But then I hear a song like that and think about it more and realize that being pregnant is amazing and exciting and something I will surely miss when it's over.

What will it be like when it's not just me and Kyle anymore? What will happen to poor Lu when she's not the center of all our attention? How strange it will be not to feel the little (or sometimes big and strong) kicks! How sad to be done with the unique excitement of expecting our first child. Will the second, third, and fourth pregnancies bring that same look to Kyle's face? A mix of sheer love, bliss, and incredulousness? This time is too precious, we must make a sincere, intentional effort to appreciate every day!

Alas, my post is getting too long and time consuming so I must be off. If you read the lyrics of the second song, you'll understand why it kept the emotions running high in the aftermath of the first song. The first reminded me to appreciate today, the second was a view of the future. And hopefully we will be living in the moment and counting our blessings now, a few years in the future, and for the rest of our lives. All we get are moments....let's make them count!

Here we go Lubee Lu

Hello friends! I've been away from the blog a bit lately for a few reasons...last week was rather busy and I've been pretty tired. Poor Lu has been in her pen most of the week so she is very happy to get some time out in the sun today! You'd think she'd be more energetic having been cooped up all day but this has been her favorite position lately.

I think she just recently realized that there's something in there! She doesn't seem any more careful around me, but she loves to snuggle up to the belly. What a pooch!

Week 33 has been a little tougher than the others. I thought I was over the heartburn but now it's back with a vengence. In the past I mostly had it when I laid down to sleep at night. Then I'd wake up once in the night, take another rolaid (both berry and tropical flavors are delish!) and then it'd be gone. But now it's there when I lay down, it's there when I get up to go to the bathroom 4 times in the night, it's there when I get up to retrieve my body pillow that has fallen on the floor, and it's even there when I wake up in the morning. I'm afraid I may have to cut out all things carbonated and chocolate if I want this to go away. I'm not sure which is worse though, life with heartburn or life without chocolate!

The Hallway Gate

Hey, this is Kyle, the husband, the man of the house, here to make my first entry to this here blog. Just the other day we ordered this sweet gate for our hallway, which is going to be great for when out little man is a toddler but also nice for keeping Lula out of the bedrooms/bathroom. Well, when my phone rang last night I ran out of our bedroom and down that hall until I reached the gate. It appeared that the gate was unlocked just from looking at the top of it, however, the connecting piece at the bottom of the gate was securely in place. When I went to gently push the door open I lost my balance because I didn't realize it was half locked and promptly laid into this innocent gate with all 185 lbs. of me and took the whole thing down. I don't know how I didn't completely scrape up the walls, but all I know is that I was upset. I thought I had ruined the gate for sure even though it is a pretty solid metal item. Jean came out of the bedroom and could see I was upset and it was all she could do to not laugh at me. I didn't know this though because I was so worked up! It didn't take long before Jean was laughing (and barely breathing) at me because she couldn't stop thinking about me laying there on the gate sprawled out into the living room. You see, my wife can't help but laugh when someone falls down....it's just the funniest thing for her to see. She tells me that if she had actually seen me take down the gate she would not have been able to keep from laughing right away. She even started laughing about it in the car again fifteen minutes later. Anyway, the gate is still functional, I've cooled off now and Jeanie got a really good laugh out of it. Laughter is good for a baby, right?

Random thoughts of the day

My goodness, I think this baby has grown 2 lbs and 5 inches overnight. My giant belly suddenly feels to small to hold him in. He is kicking and sticking his little butt out and rubbing his elbow across my whole stomach. He's very active and lots of times, convenient times like during church and meetings at work, he moves so much my belly jiggles all over the place. I haven't seen anyone notice yet, except Kyle, but if they were looking they could totally see him. Good little boy that he is though, he never starts making a ruckus until after 8:30am. He must be a late sleeper like his Mama.

Early on in my pregnancy, I read somewhere that pumping gas could be hazardous to the baby's health. My dr. was not convinced that this was a legitimate concern, but since my husband is so wonderful he took over that job for me anyway. So I really haven't pumped gas since October! But alas, the dream was destined to die someday...and that was today. Yesterday, the gas light came on as I drove to work (which is about 23 miles). I coasted back home on fumes and then promptly forgot about it. So I had to stop on my way to work today and I wasn't really sure what side of the car the tank was on! Luckily I made a good guess.

Last time I tried to pump gas, I was such a paranoid freak that I tried to hold my breath the whole time. That was not a good idea as I almost passed out! This time I breathed normal, just turned my body away and tried to stay up-wind.

Lastly, I must say that Super Wal-Mart is just too gigantic for a pregnant lady to navigate. Next time I go, can I get one of those hover-rounds to zip around on?

A Touring We Will Go

Yesterday we toured the hospital. Grandma Marble, Grandma & Grandpa Lein, and me and Kyle all went. What a place! The new addition to St Mary's is gorgeous and the rooms are huge. They sure knew how to handle a group of preggos....they had water and brownies for us - what more could we ask for?! While it was good to see where we need to go and what we need to do on the big day, I have to admit that I really wasn't paying too much attention. I figure that's Kyle's job. I'll be too busy to remember how to navigate the maze of hallways to the check-in desk!

Being at the hospital was quite the reality check that caused a minor meltdown. Ok, maybe it was a major meltdown. Let me just say that while the other moms were listening and looking around excitedly, I was blowing my nose. All I could think was "this is gonna hurt!". Halfway through I pulled it together and was fine the rest of the tour. Can we say overtired and emotional? Not a good combo for Preggy Preggerson.

Isn't my mom the best!? She drove all the way from Michigan just to come on the tour with me. We had a great weekend together, the only problem was it was a little too short. Now I know I'm 33 weeks and getting gynormous, but my goodness, my mom looks shrimpy next to me here!

High Maintenance?

Believe it or not, I've been called high maintenance a time or two in my life. In fact my sister used to call me HM for short. I never really understood why. Could it be the fact that I grew up in the U.P. but don't prefer to wear hoodies every day? Or maybe it's that I like to wear shoes with heels sometimes, even in the snow.

Whatever it was, I never really thought the nickname fit. I mean I've done some serious roughin it in my day and I thought for sure that would erase all memory of the dreaded nickname. I've visited Guatemala twice, and let me tell ya, it was amazing, but it was not luxurious.

The first time I stayed at an orphanage with ice cold showers. My bunk bed collapsed nearly on top of me and the roof leaked so bad my bed got soaked, not just once, but twice!

The second time we stayed in a motel that cost $8 a night. The room was so dark we had to wear headlamps to look in our suitcases. The shower head was attached by duct tape and the water ran into the room during every shower. We rode in the back of a pickup truck for an hour to get to our worksite, all the while wearing hankerchiefs like bandits to breath through all the dust. Once on the job there were no bathrooms, unless you count the dried up cornfield which provided little privacy.

If those two trips weren't rough enough, last summer Kyle and I spent a week in the boundary waters! No showers, pit toilets with no walls, and worst of all NO MAKEUP - thanks a lot Mark. At least in Guatemala I had my makeup!

So after all that hard work at clearing my name of the high maintenance label, times are a changing. Baby boy Lein has made me more high maintenance than ever. Not just in the fact that I'm tired and so I like someone to bring me snacks or drinks, or a pillow, or the remote, or whatever I may desire at the moment. But now I love girlie things more than ever! A mani-pedi would be divine! These new shoes shown in the picture made my whole week! A cool new handbag or some fun accessories which were great before, now can make me ecstatic! Wearing pretty smelling lotions or perfumes make me feel like a whole new woman! The less comfortable my clothes are, the more I love these little girlie treasures.

So here's a tip to anyone out there who's pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant: While we can't all afford mani-pedi's once a month, we can take time to pamper ourselves a little. And a little goes a long way! A new eye shadow or haircut can make you feel good for a month. Soaking your feet or doing a body scrub on the weekend can rejuvinate you for days. And getting all the rest you want or need is an absolute must. Remember: a body pillow is a preggo's best friend!

Well I guess my sister was right when she named me HM. She couldn't have known at the time how spot-on it would be. It's time for me to give up the fight and let my true self be known. Until next blog.......sincerely, HM

33 Pounds & 12 Inches Later....

....I've abandoned my beautiful rings....I've given up on my watch....and I've long since stopped wearing any shoes other than sandals. It's impossible to bend over gracefully and my belly has started reinacting scenes from Alien. We had our 32 week dr. appt today and in the waiting room the little man was kicking up a visual storm! My stomach danced this way and that and Kyle and I just cracked up. The other patients in the waiting room must've though we were obnoxious but at least we were having fun!

Dr. says everything looks great. She thinks Baby boy is about straight up and down now, and they almost never turn back around. So that sounds good to me! Kyle entertained me and the doctor with his grave concerns over having to deliver the baby at home. He never even realized calling 911 was an option! =) We decided a barrett would be the best household item to clamp off the cord with and Dr Thousand is going to pass that along to her other patients. So if you notice Kyle has started carrying a barrett around in his pocket, he's not hoping for a girl, he's just prepared.

Go Meat!!

So far my pregnancy has gone pretty smoothly, praise the Lord! But it's been hard in many ways I didn't expect. I've never had heartburn before in my life - now it's a daily occurance. When I'm tired - I'M TIRED! Like someone unplugged me from the socket and I can go no further. I can't wear my rings anymore and I often feel starved, thirsty, and so full I could lose it - all at the same time. How is that even possible?

I don't think I've been overly emotional, which is good. But ask my husband and maybe he'll tell you differently. The one crazy tearfest that's most memorable happened about two weeks ago. Suddenly baby Lein decided enough of the fruits and veggies, a real little man needs meat! It was my strongest craving ever. It didn't matter what kind, but I wanted meat for dinner!

It was a Monday night, and as luck would have it, our fridge/freezer looked as though vegetarians lived here. And so the meltdown ensued. I started to cry and a bewildered Kyle asked what was wrong. "I want meat!" was my desperate reply. So my wonderful husband jumped in the car, shot over to the Piggly Wiggly and got me some Johnsonville Turkey Cheddar Brats. He hurried home to get the grill out of the shed, only to find that last fall it was put away dirty. So he cleaned it up as fast as he could and had a steamin plate of brats in front of me in no time at all.

In the words of Salt N Peppa "What a man, what a mighty, might good man!"

April showers bring June babies!

My first baby shower and boy did we get spoiled! About 25 people showed up for great food (thanks Patties) and fun games (oh yeah sister Sara), many with babies in tow. The gifts were unbelievable! Our nursery is packed! Our friends and families have been very generous.


You know, I was thinking... Target should give you a present for registering there. We've brought them quite a lot of business between wedding and baby showers! Anybody know a big-wig at Target I could talk to about this?

Lots O' Love

I thought twice about putting a picture of my bare belly online....but if you can't show your belly to your friends or family, who can you show your belly to? As the belly grows, so does the love!