Welcome Andrew!

Andrew's birth story:

Since I wasn't dilated really at all on my 40 week appointement, the doctor scheduled me to be induced after staying the night in the hospital to be given a drug to help me dilate. We were admitted at 7 PM on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 and I was given Cervadil to help with dilation. When they hooked me up to the monitors we found out that I was indeed having fairly regular contractions but just wasn't feeling them. We went to bed for the big day ahead and around midnight I started to actually feel the contractions. It was hard sleeping with the baby heart rate and contraction monitor on, plus the contractions got stronger as the night went on but I managed to get maybe 2 hours sleep. We were woken up around 6:30 AM to have the Cervadil removed and for me to take a shower. The Cervadil did it's job because at that point I was 1-2 cm dilated with regular contractions.

After my shower they found that I was getting a slight fever and my heart rate was a little elevated. They broke my water and decided not to induce more labor with Pitocin because of that. I wasn't upset at that, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of pitocin because I'd read it brings on super strong and close contractions, can stress out the baby and can cause breast feeding issues. The slight fever and raised heart rate got better as the IV gave me fluids and it turns out they were a blessing in disguise because I was able to labor on my own and make enough progress that they never had to give me pitocin.

By 9:30 AM I was really uncomfortable with the contractions. I felt nauseous when they would happen and afterwards I'd feel like I was on fire. I was just past 4 cm at this point and so I asked for the epidural. The anestesiaologist came in and gave me the epidural around 10 AM and it slowly began to work. It was such a weird sensation to slowly loose feeling from my chest down. I'll never forget feeling my legs and thinking they were swollen 3 times their normal size but it was just the numbing feeling - kind of like how big your tongue and lips feel when you get novicaine.

Around noon I was about 8 cm so Duane made the call to the parents to come to the hospital. Dr. Senzon was in to check on me shortly after that. She found that I was progressing quickly and that the baby was in a face up position. Babies are supposed to be face down to fit more easily through the pelvis. She tried to turn him but he was pretty wedged in my pelvis. She asked if I'd be completely upset if I had to have a c-section and said that if he did come vaginally he would most definitley have a cone head. She wanted me to push for an hour and see how far he'd come down.

Around 1 PM, I began the pushing and after an hour they were really impressed with how far he'd made it. Dr. Senzon didn't want to have to do a c-section at that point because he was so low and my nurse Marina encouraged me to get him out as it would be so much better than a c-section for recovery. Duane was great and held my hand, my head or leg when pushing while encouraging me to keep it up. Around 2:30 Dr Senzon told me that if she performed a small procedure he'd be out and I agreed to have it done otherwise we could be pushing for hours. Once she started, I gave one more push and he was out! He cried right away and they put him on my chest. We were in love right away, he looked so squishy and swollen but adorable. Duane cut his cord, they got me cleaned up and him as well. Duane and I decided he looked like an Andrew and that became our final choice...Andrew Allen Peck.

He was born at 2:49 PM, weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 inches long. He is just perfect and we adore him!

Here are some of his earliest pictures:

After being admitted to room 247, last pic of him in my belly

Right after he came out he was all swollen and squishy, normal for the tramatic trip he'd been on...

Getting checked out, already starting to look less puffy

Meeting Dad for the first time
Hanging out with Mom after getting all cleaned up

Turning into the cutie he is today

Mom watching over him in his crib

Getting in the car seat for the first time for our trip home

In case you didn't hear...

Andrew Allen Peck was born Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 2:49 PM! He weighed 8.13 pounds and was 21 inches long. He's been home for a week now and doing great. He's quite the snuggler and loves to be held so that's why Mommy is so behind on posting our big news!

Almost forgot...I'm officially a Master of Science

Back in September I finally received my diploma from Temple certifying that I'm a Master of Science in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs! It'll probably live in it's envelope for a little while so I took some pictures to display instead:

40 week, 3 day update

We had our doctor appointment yesterday and I didn't come out of there too happy. The doctor checked me and said that the previous doctor who told me I was dilated 1 cm has "small fingers" and she didn't think I was even that far. She felt the baby from the outside and asked how tall I was then said "well, I don't think he'll be a small baby, but I'm sure you can handle it." I have no idea what weight range that means though! Then she said, we'll schedule you for an induction next week and ran off to do that.

I'll be calling in Tuesday night (I think just to make sure there is room for me) and going in that night to get medication to help me dilate. They will then start the induction with pitocin on Wednesday morning. From what I've heard from others, that could mean I have a baby on Wednesday afternoon or even as late as Thursday.

I'm still hoping something happens naturally but I won't be surprised if I'm sleeping in the hospital on Tuesday night either. I find it hard to believe that this baby doesn't want out yet, it feels like he's mighty uncomfortable in there when he moves (or maybe that's just me!).

Baby boy's nursery

The nursery is ready to go, all we need is a baby! He probably won't be sleeping in here for a little while but I think he'll like it when he does:



And here's a pic of Pooh and Little Guy - the stuffed loveys that Duane and I had as babies:

Happy Due Date to us!

Well, it would be happier if I was in labor or had a baby by now! I'm feeling mostly impatient and sometimes a little bit nervous but otherwise good. At my last appointment on Friday I found out that I was 1 cm dilated and the cervix is softening. The thing about these measurements is that they don't mean much really, labor can come as fast or slow as it wants!

Last Wednesday was my last official day at the office. I'm working from home in my comfortable clothes and no shoes and it's great, so much easier on me. I still have a lot to do for work so I'm trying to get it done as quickly as possible. When I return to work in February I'll have a new position due to a restructuring in QA and a new manager (who will be across the ocean in the UK!) so I really just have to close out all the remaining stuff I have open at this point.

So far, I've had a few contractions but nothing too bad, timely or consistent. I did have a few that surprised me because they weren't the strong cramping feeling I was expecting but more of a sharp stabbing pain. The doctor said those were indeed contraction feelings which made me a little more nervous about what to expect. I'm still feeling really swollen, my feet usually get hot and tight by the end of the day, and I think I'm just all around retaining water. I managed to gain 4 pounds in one week (which concerned me more than the doctor!) and I think it's got to be water weight. I'm pretty sure he's dropped lower because my hip pain while sleeping has returned and the lower part of my belly is stretching and super itchy now. They say that when the baby drops you can usually breathe easier and have less heartburn but unfortunately mine has gotten twice as bad now! I think he must be stretched out in there b/c I still feel feet in my upper belly! I usually require Tums after I put anything in my mouth! Baby boy is still super active, he get's especially excited as soon as I eat something! I don't know if he hears my stomach or what! He's definitely under tight quarters now because the movements feel more like stretches and a little bit of struggles to get in a different position. He's a strong little guy, he's made my abs sore for weeks now with his pushes and punches!

Thanks for all the check ins, we'll keep everyone updated once something starts to happen. Tomorrow is a full moon and they say Labor and Delivery wings are super busy then...maybe tomorrow will be our day?!

Vote 2008!

Duane and I both worked from home today and walked down to vote around 11AM. We only had to wait about 15 minutes and after a little confusion because I was still listed under my maiden name, we both cast our paper ballots! We were voters #321 and 322 at our polling place. Here's a pic of the line inside our polling place, the Santa Anna Italian club and my souvenir slip(taken from my iPhone):

World series parade!

As soon as the Phillies won the World series on Wednesday, we knew there would be a parade on Friday and mobs and mobs of people would be going to see it. Right away I booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown with my Marriott points (thank you travel for work for once!). The hotel is right across from City hall so it was the perfect central location. Duane and I planned on taking the day off on Friday and going down Thursday night to avoid the travel nightmare on Friday morning. Thursday I got an email from corporate that said "If you want to make the trip to this monumental event for the Philadelphia Phillies, please take the day and do NOT use a vacation day!" That was one moment I really loved Shire, I saved a vacation day for use another time! Thursday before we left we thought it may be a little crazy trying to get out of the city after the parade so we booked another night at the Courtyard with my Marriott points.

Also during the day Thursday, we lucked out and got the presale code for the celebration in Lincoln Financial Park. Sharkie had given us the inside scoop that the players were going to make a stop there on their way to Citizens Bank Park and also that they were going to be broadcasting the whole parade during the day. We got some great seats and planned on going there after the parade passed us around City Hall.

Our trip down to the hotel on Thursday was easy and flawless. We had an awesome room and it was only costing us the valet rate. We watched Cole Hamels awkwardly do the Top 10 List on David Letterman and went to bed. We got up and Duane went scouting for a good place and a subway station. He went out around 8:30 AM and the streets were already mobbed! The news was reporting that the Regional rails were already behind schedule which wasn't a surprise because they weren't adding any additional trains (which are already full with rush hour commuters at those times). The subway lines were running OK but they were anticipating extremely full trains all morning. As the plans to meet up with Tom, Fred, Warfel and some others was fizzling we decided we'd probably be safest going just to the stadium to watch. We knew the stadium would be cool and we'd be closer to the players than we could ever get a spot on the streets. Although it would have been cool to see the floats and ticker tape and confetti flying around Center City, there was no way my pregnant self was going to be able to stand around on the streets for that long then fight the mobs of people to get on the subway and make it to the stadium in time.

We left the hotel room around 10 AM to make our way down to the stadium. I could not believe the number of people already lined up on Broad Street - they had to be 6-8 people deep from the curb already! Everyone was screaming and super excited and all the cars driving in the city were honking and waving out the windows! There were people already on roofs, on top of planters, anywhere they could get higher for a better view and the parade wasn't scheduled to start at Market and 20th until Noon! We made our way to the subway station and got on the second or third train to come through. The trains looked red inside as they flew by stuffed with Phillies fans. It was a little uncomfortable, smelly, hot and loud on the train but I managed to get a seat as we rode to the Stadium stop.

We met up with Sharkie in the stadium and he gave us tickets to Section 123, Row 1, seats 1 & 2!!! We were so excited and excited for him too because he was scheduled to drive the cart with Charlie Manuel, Pat Gillick and the trophy ahead of the team as they took a lap in the Linc!! The seats were amazing, we could watch the parade come down Market then Broad, have snacks, bathrooms, a seat (very important for me!) and avoid all the chaos.

The stadium wasn't too full until the parade was close to the stadiums. The announcer let us know they were in the building and before we knew it Sharkie was the first out of the tunnel driving the cart with the team walking behind him! It was so exciting and being in the first row was awesome! I had my camera on continuous shutter release so we didn't miss any of the action passing by! Duane got to high-five Rich Dubee, Milt Thompson and Pat Burrell! A lot of the players were taking pictures as they walked by, I'm sure we're in some of them! Once they passed by, Shane Victorino, Jamie Moyer and Charlie Manuel all spoke at the podium a couple of sections down from us then they made their exit to get over to Citizens Bank Park for the final celebration.

We stayed for a little while to see the entrance to CBP on the big TV then decided it would be a good idea to get on the subway before the crowds really left the stadiums or the makeshift viewing area that was set up in the parking lot with TV's and speakers. We made it into the subway just as they stopped the crowd to control the number of people on the platforms. We had to wait for a few trains in order to get on but once we did I even got a seat! We got off and walked back to the hotel to wait out the traffic and see what was going on on the news. Turns out we were smart for leaving the stadium at the time we did because shortly after we got on they were inundated with people, the line was outrageous and people were so frustrated that some started making the walk down Broad to Center City. The regional rails were also inundated with people, some stations closed and didn't let anyone else in the area until they could clear some people out. The SEPTA system was so crazy with people, the news stations weren't even doing the normal traffic reports! During our walk back to the hotel, the streets department were already doing a majority of the clean up. The streets had been washed and swept although cans, bottles, glass and confetti were still everywhere you looked. Every car that was parked on the streets off of Broad were covered in dents and footprints from people that were trying to get a better look.

We decided to have dinner at the hotel then make our way home. After dinner we packed up and went to check out. Since it was only about 7 PM, this confused the front desk staff a bit and they ended up giving me back all my points for the second night's stay! The drive home was super smooth, we didn't hit any traffic, either from the construction on 76 or the people still leaving the city!

I had almost forgot that it was Halloween until we got home and saw a few straggling trick-or-treaters in the area. We were too tired to give out candy so we'll be snacking on it for a while now. All in all, it was such a fun, exciting and once in a lifetime experience! We lucked out with everything and couldn't believe how smoothly it went. I even think that all the walking started to move baby boy down (or at least I'm hoping it did!). Either way I was glad we got to experience it and can tell Baby boy that he was there for the parade!

Here are a bunch of the pictures we took during the day...

Corner of Broad Street around 10 AM, 2 hours before the parade was to begin

Me and Duane on the street

More people lined up 2 hours before the parade was to begin

View of Center City, CBP, Port-a-potty lines and the makeshift viewing area in the stadium area

Me and the baby boy belly at the Linc

TV screens broadcasting the parade. That's Pat Burrell riding on the Clidesdale carriage

The Linc as the parade comes through

Sharkie driving Charlie Manuel

The trophy

Pat Gillick with the trophy on his head

Duane high-fiving Rich Dubee

Duane high-fiving Milt Thompson

Shane Victorino

Brett Myers

Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz, Pat Burrell (and Elvis)

Pat Burrell (and Elvis) about to high-five Duane

Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Kyle Kendrick

Ryan Madson, Greg Dobbs

Ryan Howard

Jamie Moyer

?, Pedro Feliz, Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels

Brad Lidge

Cole Hamels

Geoff Jenkins, Chris Coste, Rudy Seanez

Matt Stairs, Chad Durbin, Eric Bruntlet, Scott Eyre, So Taguchi, Jimmy Rollins

Scott Eyre, Jimmy Rollins, So Taguchi

Subway train after the Linc ceremony

William Penn on City Hall

New Comcast building (with miniature William Penn statue to lift "the curse" on top of it)

And here are two video's of the parade passing by that Duane caught...