cruel and unusual punishment...

I apologize for the cruel and unusual punishment bestowed upon the faithful readers of this blog. If it makes you feel any better, it has been driving me crazy all week to not update my friends and family with this wonderful experience that is Harper Elle Peel. I just hadn't found a second to take a breath, let alone blog or gather pictures until now.

So let's go back to Monday, September 15, 2008.
Jeff and I arrived at Hillcrest at 5:30 a.m. I was quickly settled into my labor and delivery room just in time to answer a thousand and one questions. Time was passing quickly even at that point. Dr. Koeritz arrived shortly after 8 a.m. and the pitocin drip was turned on. By 9, I was signed up for my epidural! Those epidurals are just wonderful - why anyone wouldn't want one is beyond me! Dr. K checked on me at 11:30 and dilation was at a 4. He returned after lunch at 1 p.m. and dilation had zoomed to 9.5 cm. (I think somewhere in there the pitocin "drip" turned into a turbo faucet!) Our awesome nurse, Amy, called it a 10 a few minutes later, and we were ready to get the show on the road. I can't even describe how quickly everything progressed from there... I pushed a few times with the help of Jeff and Amy, then Dr. Koeritz returned and I pushed a few times for him, and then Harper made her grand entrance! I am still struggling to explain how something seemingly so uneventful is also the single most defining event of my life.

Harper weighed 6 pounds, 14 oz, and measured 20.5 inches long. She has blonde hair and blue eyes (for now, at least). Her fingers and toes are soooo long, and her feet remind me of those of a puppy.... I'm just hoping she grows into them! She is just a sweet, happy and healthy baby girl. She makes the absolute greatest faces, well, except for that one grumpy old man wrinkled face. :) I realize she doesn't know what a smile is or what it conveys, but her smile will melt anyone!

We came home on Tuesday evening, and it was nice to get back here. Harper seems to like her new house, and we enjoy having her here with us. Wrigley is intrigued by our new roommate. She already has a sweet spot for Harper. I caught her guarding Harper's bedroom door while Harper napped yesterday... she alerted me when she heard a knock at the door, but she refused to leave her post!

I am getting drowsy, so I will call it quits on that note. I will continue my report WITH pictures in the morning, I promise. Guten nacht!

Sunday, fun day?

It is Sunday morning...less than 24 hours to go until the induction process is scheduled to begin. I have been awake for two hours, and I could not possibly count the number of times I have already looked at the clock today. Can we say impatient? :)

I wanted to take a picture this morning to mark the end of this pregnancy. 39 weeks and 5 days later, and this is what we've got!

fire in the hole!

Breyer and I were talking yesterday about the alleged tricks one can use to encourage a baby to evacuate the uterus. "They" say eating spicy foods is one possibility. Well, I eat the spiciest of the spiciest foods possible on a daily basis, and Harper has managed to survive in there for over 39 weeks without protest. Breyer suggested that maybe, just maybe, Harper refuses to budge because she is thinking of her diet for the next year upon exiting...bland milk, pureed veggies without any seasonings, cereal, etc. Maybe she is enjoying the spicy selections a little too much!

So, I could try toning things down these next couple of days. Try to bore her taste buds in hopes that she will come out reaching for a bottle of sambal olek or siracha sauce! Nah, I don't think I can do it. I think I will have dinner at Bangkok Royal tonight and order the "crazy salmon." Now, they don't call it crazy for nothin.' It can be H-O-T hot!

Harper - the gloves are on, baby! Fire in the hole!

are we there yet??

This morning's appointment was our last one at Dr. Koeritz's office. It has been kind of fun to meet Jeff there every four weeks, two weeks and then weekly. We usually scheduled the appointment right before lunch, so we could hang out and grab a bite afterwards. Usually our discussions included talk of what in the heck we have gotten ourselves into...a mix of feelings ranging from excitement to nervousness, back to excitement, and then to "this is the best ever jalapeno cheeseburger." (Ok, off topic on that last bit, but I couldn't help but recall how fantastic of a burger I had for lunch today! Go to Britt's Burger Barn in Waco immediately and I promise you won't regret it!)

We are now at week 39 and counting down until Monday, September 15th, otherwise known as D-Day. We received our marching orders from Dr. K. Report to Hillcrest by 5:30 a.m. on Monday (Jeff, that includes you, pal!) to check in and prepare for the induction. Dr. K will arrive around 8 a.m., and we'll get the ball rolling! There is no telling when Harper will make her grand debut, but I hope she will come easily and without excess coercion. We'll just have to wait and see! I know some people would feel gypped at not going through the labor experience completely naturally, but I am not one of them. The planning and scheduling suit my personality just fine! However, I would be 100% happy if Harper decides to come at any time between now and Monday!

I asked Dr. K to estimate Harper's size today. He thinks she might be in the range of 7.5-7.75 lbs. I hear those estimations are never accurate (hence, the estimation aspect of it all), but it was nice to hear that he didn't think she would be a nine-pounder. Speaking of weight, mine went down a pound (19). I don't really get how that works, but it hasn't caused any concern with my doctor and Harper appears to continue growing regardless. The fundus height has held steady at 36 weeks, well, since 36 weeks. Dilation is not quite at 2cm. These details are interesting to some, while utterly boring and irrelevant to others... my opinion is this: I am ready to not be pregnant any longer. Number me this, riddle me that - let's just get on with the show!

And I repeat: ARE WE THERE YET?? :)

the heat is on...

I decided to throw off the pattern this morning and take my weekly pregnancy progression pic facing the opposite direction. Crazy, I know. ;) I thought it was time to shake things up a bit -- I'm getting antsy! (Kinda like in Super Troopers..."those boys get that syrup in 'em, they get all antsy in their pant-sies!") So, here it is in all the 39 weeks of glory...

I threw in a little modern art just for the heck of it today, too. I'm just glad I can still see feet!

Completely unrelated, but hilarious to me at least... Wrigley scored a new Halloween costume today from Target. I think she might need a smaller size. The head wouldn't quite stay put. As "Pig" has almost replaced her given name, it was only fitting that she dress the part. :)

Well, I hope to have some news to report tomorrow following our appointment with Dr. K. Continuing the count down...

can you hear me now?

Ha, well, maybe.... Uncle Kevin gave us quite possibly the best baby gift ever: two pairs of ear plugs! He also included the advice that we should not both wear our plugs at the same time. Apparently, one of us should be able to hear Harper cry at any given time, while the other person gets a break from all sounds in general! Thanks, KP!

The Peel family at the Pinnacle office shower...

And Kevin's other gift. I think I will leave this one to Jeff!

(Wow - check out the side view! Hehe...)

still truckin'...

Labor Day weekend came and went, and Harper is still safely tucked in the wooooomb. Though I am all for her arriving early, I am very happy that she did not make a move during the Peel family trip to Abilene. Jeff seemed to have had an absolute blast during the trip, and his reports definitely have me looking forward to joining him next year. Apparently, Abilene really knows how to celebrate Labor Day right!

We saw Dr. Koeritz again this afternoon. I really like being able to see our doctor every week - it is nice to have such frequent updates! Today, at 38 weeks, my weight and BP remained the same, as did the fundus height measurement (36 cm). Surprisingly (to me), I hadn't dilated much more than last week. A little more than one, but not enough to call it 2. However, I did receive some news that was music to my ears. Dr. K scheduled an induction for the morning of Monday, September 15th - that is if Harper doesn't decide to show up on her own beforehand. So, at the very most, we will meet Miss Harper Elle Peel in 13 days!! I can't hardly believe it... The 15th also happens to be my mother's birthday, which should please her to no end. I am still trying to convince Harper to get on with things and get this party started. When is it considered too early to start bribing your children?? :)

We'll be back to see Dr. K next Tuesday morning for another update. He'll tell us more about the induction process and everything we'll have in store on the 15th. Exciting!! Car seat is installed and the hospital bags are packed...now we just need to work on getting Jeff ready! You'll love his delivery outift...UT scrubs, no diggity, no doubt!

labor day? nah!

well, it's labor day weekend, and we are hoping it remains a harper-less weekend! so far, so good! jeff is in abilene until monday night for a golf tournament, but he left harper with strict instructions not to get any ideas while he is out of town. i've got a busy schedule next week at work, too, so i've also left a message with harper to keep herself busy at least thru wednesday! we're closing in on 38 weeks.... man, 38 weeks sure feels like forever! these next two weeks are likely to feel painstakingly slow, too. ugh, i'm torn between wanting harper to hurry up and get here AND taking advantage of every last minute before she gets here.

what else is new?? hmm... well, harper went to her first football game on thursday. jeff asked me not to mention this fact in the interest of it not having been a longhorn game. considering she had womb-side seats to the baylor game, i think there is still hope for her first official "live" game to be none other than a UT game. hook 'em, harper!

our doctor's appointments have escalated to a weekly frequency - things are heating up! i don't know what is considered TMI in this situation, so i'll just say that we are at 1cm and leave it at that. i know that 1cm doesn't mean much - considering that you can sit at that spot for quite awhile or not - but it was awesome to hear that we have begun making progress! i can't wait to go back on tuesday afternoon and find out if we're still making progress.

tuesday is a big day for another reason, too! breyer and coats should hopefully find out the gender combo of their twins! i had a dream last night that they are having a boy and a girl, so we can probably take that prediction to the bank. ;) (it was also the first relatively normal dream that i can remember having this year!) the agony of waiting is tough - i can imagine it is even more intense for breyer and coats since they are just a tad more personally invested! hehe...

time for bed. big day tomorrow...maybe some lounging (which means i won't actually sit down at all) and jazz fest tomorrow evening downtown. nighty night!

fortune cookies...in bed! ;)

Jeff and I picked up take-out from Pei Wei earlier this week, and you wouldn't believe the eerie accuracy of our fortune cookies! Jeff finished dinner first and went for his cookie. He looked at me with somewhat of an incredulous face and read his fortune aloud: "Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you." On the reverse side, the Chinese word for "Father" was written. A little weird given our current set of circumstances! My interest was piqued, and I grabbed my own cookie expecting to read something about following your dreams blah blah blah. Imagine my surprise when I read this fortune: "Don't be surprised by the emergence of undiscovered talents." On the reverse side, the Chinese word for "Mother!" What in the freakin' heck!? It kind of made my skin crawl...I mean, what are the odds? I have been a little at odds with the Chinese this past week regarding some of the shenanigans with the gymnastics competition and the shady judging exhibited at the Olympics, but I couldn't agree more with their fortune cookie fortune writing skills! Jeff and I are definitely in for our share of adventures with Miss Harper Elle Peel on her way, and I sincerely hope we both discover some unknown talents as we attempt parenthood! (God Bless us all!) Hehehe...

On another note, I am ready to install the car seats this week and to pack my hospital bag. Counting down!!

36 weeks and counting...

36 weeks down and 4 to go. I am absolutely exhausted this afternoon - totally out of nowhere- and at this tired moment, I cannot possibly fathom 4 more weeks! I could definitely go for a nap with the Wrig Pig right about now! Wrigley - if you are reading this, pencil me in to join you for your 5:15PM nap!

I'll post an updated progression picture tomorrow. Harper is still growing, and she is as active as ever. It is quite bizarre to look down and see your stomach "dance" and jut out at random intervals. I do feel pretty special from time to time when I make a comment to Harper and she "talks" back with an extra wriggle or two.

Okidokie, back to work. I hope I don't fall asleep at my desk!