Birthday Photos

Nervously waiting to see if Canaan's heart rate would come back up... we ended up being rushed back for an emergency c-section two times before we eventually were able to deliver naturally in the OR (just in case). His heart rate kept dropping because I was progressing so fast - at one point I went from 5-8cm in 20 minutes (normally it's 1cm per hour).
Our little guy... finally here.

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Welcome to the World Canaan

Our son Canaan is finally here! :) He was born on Tuesday at 6:15pm after 3 months of preterm labor and just over 4 hours of active labor - when the time came it came quickly! Now we're just spending our time soaking in every moment. He's been such a blessing and a wonderfully easy baby! We are completely in love. More photos will be coming soon!

About the name... :)

Canaan (pronounced Cane-N), in the Torah / Old Testament scriptures, is actually both a name and a place (though we chose it because of the meaning behind the place, not the name). It was the name of the Promised Land that God gave his people after their long captivity in Egypt. More recently, African-American slaves sometimes sang of Canaan in their spiritual hymns to symbolize freedom from their bondage. For some, the word Canaan is imagery for heaven (because of the comparison between the earthly Promised Land and heaven). For us, it represents the fulfillment of God’s promises. Though He never promises that this life will be perfect or without suffering, He does promise that He will be there with us and that He has a loving hand in our lives. God has revealed to us His faithfulness in so many ways. He is so good and now He has blessed us with our beautiful son!

Check out the lyrics of “A Song for Canaan” by one of our favorite artists, Matthew Perryman Jones. They make me cry every time…

Inside the night, across the holy river
When you arrived, a promise was delivered
I waited for you, dreaming away
All the while, how I adore you my lovely little child.

For you, I’ll fight; I’d face a thousand armies
I’ll hold the light, and nothing can disarm me
I waited for you, dreaming away
All the while, how I adore you my lovely little child.

I waited for you, dreaming away
All the while, how I adore you my lovely little child.

Nearly 37 Weeks...

Current Stats

Weeks along in the pregnancy:
Just shy of 37 which is FULL TERM!!! Isn't that amazing?! God is SO good!
Weeks on bedrest: 15!
His approximate weight: 6+ lbs
Latest Changes: Off medicaion (to stop the contractions) now... the doctors are okay with the baby coming any time!

And now we wait... :)

Ready & Waiting

I love a great bargain... and the biggest bargain was being able to make a lot of the nursery decor myself (and the Ikea dresser & shelves didn't hurt either)... I originally wanted to do murals but bedrest put a damper on those plans. Instead, I sewed like crazy - making the owl pillow, a growth chart & two mobiles.
I'm so happy with our Target crib... modern just the way I like it!
Finished bird mobile... inspired by Etsy finds...

The owl pillow and the AMAZING quilt from Jen, Peggy & Gene! :)

Bassinet

Yesterday we received this bassinet from my Grandma Marie - isn't it gorgeous?! Grandpa Rod, Dad & Bill slept in it when they were babies. Grandma touched it up, added new bedding, the ribbon and an adorable blanket. This made my day! The baby weighs now about 5lb 2oz (bigger than average!) and I am now 34 weeks! It's so amazing to be at this place that we thought we might never get to. It's been a tough road but we've been very blessed.

33 Week Photos

...Looking very much like a pumpkin these days!! :)

Meet Dewey

BJ's holiday creation (that also included some very yummy baked pumpkin seeds)! :)

Baby Moving

Okay, so this may be hard to see (and also maybe strange, I know)... but I just thought I'd share some baby movements! He's certainly active!

Dear Heidi, I'm Okay :)

So here are our current stats:

Weeks along in the pregnancy: 30
Weeks on bedrest: 8
The progress: 2cm dilated, 50% effaced (sorry if that's TMI)
Frequency of contractions: anywhere between 4 & 9 per hour
His approximate weight: 3 lbs
His position: his booty's all up in my ribs & his head is down
New fun things: he gets the hiccups!
Possible d-day: could be anywhere between 1 & 4 weeks from now
Feeling: positive! :)
His name: wouldn't you like to know?!

Big things coming up:

Our next Fetal Fibronectin test is on Thursday (the 15th), which will give us a clearer picture about when we might (or I should say, might not) deliver.

I'll be getting steroid shots next week to help develop the baby's lungs (I joke that he'll be able to rip off his onesie like the incredible hulk... Don't worry, I know it's not that kind of steroid). :)

I have some baby shower photos... just need to get around to posting them! We have been so loved on by all of our amazing friends and family!

Owl Pillow

Finished owl pillow! :) Inspired by this Etsy creation!

Nursery Painted! :)

Check out our adorable nursery... sans decor. The high chair of course live downstairs, and a comfy chair will go in its place. We will also be adding a dresser, owl prints, mobiles, his name in white letters and maybe, after he's here... a mural or two. :)

My Lazy Daytime Companions

Flowers :)

It's incredible how many people have helped us already as we transition into bedrest land and parenthood. We've had family and friends shop for us, cook for us, paint for us, keep me company on the couch and give much needed encouragement and advice (especially from those who have been through similar situations). Check out these gorgeous flowers from my Grandma Marie, Grandpa Rod and Aunt Jean! :) We are so blessed! :) (Also in this photo are some of BJ's pears from the orchard - aren't they just adorable?!)

For the Baby's Room

My original plan was to make a lot of the decor in the baby's room like this mural - but now that that's not a possibility I am trying to find new creative ways to decorate without leaving the couch. The walls are now a happy apple green and brown (thanks Linda!) which has me inspired! I am still going with a woodsy theme, but now am adding owls (and a teal accent color) to the mix. Last night BJ helped me design these prints (the day and night contrast was his idea - I LOVE that!)... to be framed with some lovely Ikea frames.

[click to enlarge]

Next I am going to tackle a few owl pillows (like this, this or this) and possibly a growth chart like this.

24 1/2 weeks!

With anywhere between 4 and 6 contractions an hour... the bedrest continues... but at least one benefit of all this is getting to see our little guy so much. On Friday we had a fetal echo which showed his perfect heart (yea!) and then today we finally got a bit of a profile shot while they were checking things out contraction wise. He has his hand up by his cheek and he was drinking (gulp gulp gulp)! :)

Four Months of Labor

I thought some might appreciate a bit of an update... about 4 weeks ago I started having these contractions which we now know were the beginnings of preterm labor. They have only picked up since then, and so I need to be very closely monitored for the rest of the pregnancy. Our hope would be to make it to 37 weeks (I am 23 weeks along now - 40 is full term), but the realistic goal (from the doctors) is 34... which would bring this baby into the world around the first week of November (our official due date is December 15).

So my life is now modified (ie. not strict) bedrest. Anything that can be done from the couch I can do (like working from home) and I can get up a bit but I have to take it really easy and avoid things that give me contractions (like standing for more than a couple of minutes). It's been an adjustment already, but we have such an amazing support group of family and friends that makes it all so much more bearable.

There's another contraction now! I have to chart them, which is a pain (during the 12 hours I am awake during the day I usually have around 38 contractions), but I'd be more stressed if I didn't. This way I get a clear picture of what's happening and how I'm doing bedrest wise (also, I take medication whenever I have more than 6 an hour).

So that's our status! Just working on keeping this bun in the oven as long as possible! :)

Photo Album

In case you're not on Facebook, here's a link for our ever-growing baby album!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2538214&id=13742577&l=97ab1df86f

The latest pics!

These were taken last Thursday at 22 weeks (I'm 23 weeks now). Pregnancy has gotten just a little bit more complicated... and so I am on moderate bedrest for now (long story), but the baby is healthy and doing well. And... he's worth it! :)
Some fun things - BJ can very easily feel the baby now. He kicks so hard sometimes you can SEE him move! As of last Thursday he weighed 1 pound 2oz. I've slowly been gaining weight myself but read recently that I should now start gaining about a pound a week!
This is why I love love love hospital ultrasounds!

Our BOY!

Yup! It's a BOY! :) We are completely thrilled! If you're wondering like most about his name... it's a secret. Yes, we want to drive you all crazy. :) Also, you'll never guess it.

So far this pregnancy has been pretty easy on me. There are some normal pregnancy things that I have come up (such as heart palpitations and round ligament pain) but I can handle anything that's normal. :) About two weeks ago (at 20 weeks along) I started having what we believe to be Braxton Hicks contractions, which aren't painful just a bit uncomfortable. These are also normal so again, no worries. :)

This Thursday we have TWO more ultrasounds! We get to see our little man and we then get to check out me to be sure my Braxton Hicks is in fact BH and not the real thing.

Here are a few photos from our 20-week ultrasound...

The money shot...
His foot...
His face (right), torso (left) and arm (top)... SO cute! :)

Family Reunion!

This weekend BJ and I headed up to the Bend for a family reunion and to celebrate birthdays (including my Grandpa Jack's 80th)! It was so nice seeing everyone again!! :)


We also learned a valuable lesson about putting Palmolive into the dishwasher! Ross (Julie's fiance) will forever be branded with the nickname 'Suds'! :)

Dogs Playing Outside