Christmas Contractions - Falso Alarmo!

Christmas Day brought a fun surprise; a real world test of our labor preparedness. This morning, Pamela started experiencing contractions. The first two were bout two hours apart, then the next about an hour. The next was about 30 minutes, then the next in about 8. After the third, I was already on the phone with the doctor on-call. To make a long story (day), short, we ended up testing our preparedness for the big day. We packed up the car in a hurry and ran off to the hospital. The doctor met us and Pamela was immediately in bed and being monitored. She ended up having moderate contractions about 3 minutes part. She never did dilate or efface, which is a good thing since Sophia is only 35.8 weeks along. Even though she'd be fine, the longer she's 'swimming', the better. We have been given permission for a New Years baby though. In the end, the doctor gave Pamela a prescription, to take as needed, that would stop any false contractions and ordered her to drink 5-6 liters of water a day. Lack of sufficient hydration may have been the cause since that is the number one cause of false contractions. The good part is that Pamela now knows what they feel like and we know that we are fairly well prepared.

Ironically enough, Pamela had a previously scheduled appointment with the doctor we saw today. Yes, we're still going.

~ Matt

What We Have, What We Need - Updated

Christmas Day Update: As of Christmas Eve, we pretty much have all of the big stuff / essentials. Thanks to everyone for their help!

Per special request, I have updated the list of what baby stuff we have, and what we need. By no means does this imply that anyone must buy us anything.


What We Have
Breast Pump
Bassinet, convertible to cradle
Crib and Mattress
Changing Table
Baby Stroller
Infant Carrier
Car Seat
Boppy Pillow
Booster Seat
Infant Bath Tub
Potty Training Toilet
Play Pen
Winnie the Pooh Musical Mobile
Baby Blankets
Quilts
Bed Sets
Hooded Towels
Newborn Bodysuits (creepers)
3-18 Month Bodysuits
Pairs of Newborn Footed Knit Pants
Newborn Sweaters
Newborn Shirts
Pair Newborn Pants, Non-footed
Lightweight Newborn Footed Sleepers
Heavyweight Fleece Newborn Sleepers
3-6 Month Footed Sleepers
Lightweight Newborn Sleeping Bag
Heavyweight Newborn Sleeping Bag
Booties
Newborn Socks
2-4 Month Socks
Bonnets
Knit Caps
Bibs
Newborn Gloves
Some Newborn Diapers (maybe 300 or so ... or a couple of days worth)
6-8 Month Summer Outfits
Flannel Sheets
Newborn Undershirts
Waterproof Lap Pads
Food Mill (grinder)
Freezer Teething Rings
Musical Lap Bear (prenatal)
Mother Goose Compendium of Nursery Rhymes
A Zoo of Stuffed Animals (had them long before the baby was on the way)
Walker
Misc. Baby Lotions / Oils

What We Need (included are registry items)
Bottles (bag kind)
Pacifiers
Baby Swing
1,000,000 Diapers (actually only 5,000 to 7,000)
Jumping Chair
Baby Medical Stuff (nail clippers ... etc.)
Baby Carrier (a.k.a. Baby Bjorn)
Water (pee) proof Mattress Pad Cover
Diaper Bag


Amazingly enough, I almost feel like we're ready.

~ Matt

New Look For The Blog

The love and support that everyone has shown us, including Sophia, has really moved me. It gives me a new light to shine on my day. It truly has been life changing. As such, I thought it appropriate to give the blog a new, happier look. Since we're having a girl, why not something feminine.

New Images of Sophia

In all of the excitement of Sophia's arrival, Pamela and I have gone ahead and obtained some new images of Sophia. The technology used really shows some amazing detail. We can't tell you how excited we are. Due to the size of the file, I have hosted the images on another sever.

Click here to see the latest images of Sophia.

Message to Sophia

SOPHIA…

Esperando tranquilos tu llegada,
nos damos cuenta que eres una chica afortunada,
el amor de tus padres que traspasa las fronteras,
sintiéndote tan cercana en estas tierras lejanas,
la bondad de la vida y tus enérgicos movimientos,
nos hacen sentir que eres un gran proyecto.
Las imágenes que desde Chile conocemos por medio de la tecnología,
te aseguran que acá tienes el amor de tus tías.
Pequeñita dentro de tu madre,
al verte en la web siento que eres un gran ser,
que me hiciste emocionar hasta una lágrima brotar.

~Claudia

34 Weeks and All is Well - UPDATED

Not much more to say than that. Pamela is now officially 115 pounds, a total weight gain of 27 pounds so far. I guess I shouldn't have laughed when they said that she'd gain 30 pounds. The doctors say that she looks great and she should go full-term. Now, off to start the Sophia diaper fundraising.

New, Much Better Video

We have a new, and much better, video of Sophia dancing. She's listening to Niyaz and really enjoying it. The video can be found by clicking on the link below. The music you hear is the actual music that she's listening too. This song seems to be her favorite. It's about 4MB so it may take a minute to download. Feel free to Save it to your hard drive to help me save on bandwidth. Sorry for the cheese-factor, but I guess I'm becoming one of those camera happy Dads. Now I get it.

Click here to see the video of Sohpia dancing.

~Matt

Found a Pediatrician!

We finally foud our Pediatrician for Sophia. They're a big pratice with hours 7 days a week. They have phoine support 24/7 for any sort of question. Most importantly to me, they do not believe in medicating every little thing. They like babies to develop their own, strong immune systems. They even have a doctor on staff that is big into Complimentary Medicine and Natural Remedies. You can check them out at http://www.pediatricdoc.com/index.htm. They're next to the hospital where Pamela is giving birth so they are fairly convienently located for us. One more thing done.

The Big Day Bag List

I thought it might be fun to share with everyone what we're packing in the bag(s) that we are taking to the hospital. Seriously, we're taking all of this stuff.

• Pillow(s)
• Musical Teddy Bear that Sophia listens to most nights
• Radio / CD's
• Infant carrier
• Baby blanket
• Baby clothes / cap / socks
• Candy to help keep Pamela hydrated during labor
• Night gown / pajamas
• Nursing bra / pads
• Slippers / socks
• Robe
• Toiletries
• Going home clothes for Mother and Child
• Diaper bag*
• Hair band
• Snacks for the Birthing Coach (That's me!)
• Hair dryer / shampoo
• Makeup
• Phone list
• Video camera
• Playing cards
• Lotion
• Baby book - They'll do a nice set of footprints in the book for us
• Coins
• Breast pump*
• Nursing pillow (boppy)*

*Yet to be purchased

I think that's it. Maybe ... there might be more.

The Real Internet Dancing Baby

Yeah! Black Friday brought us new toys and the ability to capture and post video. Click here to see our first video of Sophia kicking. I know it's not long, nor is the picture great, but it was taken last night at around 12:30am. I promise bigger and better video soon. This is my first attempt a home video production, so please be kind.

NOTE: The video is in Windows Media format so you shouldn't have any problems viewing it.

Matt