the pentz family

Another cool day in Florida, but at least it stopped raining! I bundled up Carrington and took her for a walk outside. Isn’t she cute in her outfit from Uncle Brian?!

I thought Orlando would be sunny and warm. Instead, it’s rainy and 60 degrees (I can’t complain too much, sure beats snow!). Carrington doesn’t mind staying inside – she’s all smiles!

Yesterday my cousin Vanessa came over to meet Carrington for the first time. Carrington was so good! She had some cuddle time with Vanessa and played on her play mat. It was a great way to spend the afternoon!

Carrington’s first Thanksgiving was great! The family (my parents, brother, sister, Aunt Pam, Uncle Joe and Michael’s family) had Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma Pentz’s (Mark and Cheri’s). We had lots of good food, enjoyed Mark and Cheri’s brand new kitchen, and all got to play with baby.

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Tummy time with Uncle David.

Carrington finally met Great Grandpa and Grandma Pentz. This little girl has the family tied around her pinky!

I can’t believe Carrington is already a week old! This week flew by… or maybe since we’re so tired we don’t really notice time passing .

We came home on Monday, November 9th. Tucker (our puppy) was great meeting Carrington. He’s being a sweetie and following the baby to whatever room we go to. My sister Alicia stayed at the house with him while we were at the hospital. She even had cookies waiting for us, a freezer full of food, plus had cleaned the house (even scrubbed the bathrooms!).

My mom and sister stayed with us the first two nights (thank goodness!) to help with the baby and make Michael and me great food. Carrington was amazing the first two nights at the hospital, but the nurses kept telling us to just wait until we get home – and the nurses were right! The first night home was pretty rough. Carrington was having trouble breaking down the breastmilk and was very gassy and uncomfortable. So, from midnight until 2 am she would draw her knees up to her chest and scream, cry for a bit, calm down and start all over again. My mom rocked her from 2ish until 4 so Michael and I could sleep. Carrington then calmed down and slept a couple hours. The second night my mom was on standby if we needed help, but Michael and I were able to handle everything ourselves.

So, the rest of this week has passed by in a blur. It’s just Michael, Carrington, Tucker and I at the house (love my little family!). Our days and nights are a bit mixed up, but that’s okay. We had our first visit to the pediatrician’s office on Thursday. Carrington’s doing great, just need to get her to gain some weight before our next appointment (her weight dropped to 7 lbs. 7 oz. – which is normal for newborns to do in the first week).

We’ve had family and close friends visit in the afternoons and evenings. Also, our wonderful neighbor has made us food and helped Tucker get some energy out by playing with her grandkids.

I’m in process of uploading more pictures to Shutterfly. However, I had to switch laptops in the middle of it to a Mac because my PC is stupid and I HATE Windows 7. I’ll post a link when the photos are available.

We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. If you want to visit, please let Michael know. I’m not paying much attention to my phone and e-mail right now. We just ask that you haven’t been sick recently, think you may be getting sick, been around anyone who’s been sick (We love you dearly, but want to keep baby healthy with all the crazy stuff going around right now *cough* H1N1), and wash your hands as soon as you get here, before you touch the baby and anytime after you pet the dog. Yeah… I’m being a bit of a germaphobe. I love this baby!!!!

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Well the time has come. Hallelujah! Yvonne woke up at 3:30AM with contractions and we came over to the hospital around 8. She was already 6cm! She decided to get an epidural and is doing great. I’m so proud of her. Thoughts and prayers appreciated.

Pictures to follow in abundance once I get the laptop at the hospital.

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Current Labor Specs: Still 3+CM, fully effaced now. Baby has dropped to station -2.

We had another appointment today. Dr. Paul said Yvonne’s cervix is “fulled ripened” and we are just waiting “for the engine to move into 1st gear.” As you have already noticed there was not a big change in the labor specs other than the baby has dropped into the pelvic area (station -2).  In case any of you are wondering, the baby’s “station” is his position in the pelvis, and is measured in numbers from -4 (just entering the pelvis) to +4 (ready to be born). Station 0 is when stuff really starts to move quickly – it is called engagement and the baby’s head is crowning.

Dr. Paul also said that she thinks Yvonne will last until November – and set an induction date (if she goes that far) of Monday, November 9th. So now at least we know at the very latest we will bring our baby into the world in a week-and-a-half (tops). I think Yvonne is still impatient – yesterday she walked up and down the stairs all day trying to walk the baby out. She keeps talking about how Indian women (feathers) walked around and popped out babies then went back to everyday life.  I’m not sure if that is a real stereotype or just idealistic.

We met up with “Grandma and Grandpa” (my parents) and “Aunt” Michelle at Bob Evans for some delicious breakfast/brunch after the appointment. I’d list all the food we ate but lets just say they served my father and me on multiple plates (we love breakfast food).

To sum up the day everyone was impatient and anxious before the appointment – now waiting and wanting to get the baby in our arms ASAP.

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