Our Family of Four: Welcoming Grant Robert

We are officially a family of four!  It seems so surreal saying that.  Our little guy finally made his entrance into the world and into our hearts on August 26th, 2015 at 10:22 AM.  He wasn't interested in coming into the world willingly, so we had an induction of labor when he was 3 days past his due date. 

Winnie Palmer Hospital has been very busy lately, for about the past 3 months in fact, our numbers of deliveries have been increased compared to previous years.  We are the second busiest Women and Babies hospital in the country delivering 14,000 babies every year.  That averages out to about 40 babies every 24 hours.  The numbers are mind boggling and the work is very busy.  That being said, sometimes people who are electively having their baby don't always get to come in at their scheduled time.  Take me for example.  They called me the night before to let me know it might be too busy for me to come in at my scheduled time at 5AM.  However, being that I work on the unit, they made me an offer.  Come in super early, at midnight, to secure my bed and get my induction started.  I didn't refuse, thinking I probably wouldn't get much sleep anyways, and we headed to the hospital in the dead of night.

Things were fast a furious once they started the medication to make me have contractions.  After I got my epidural, my midwife broke my water, and in no time I was completely dilated.  My medication was started at 1:30 AM and I was completely dilated at 5:30 AM!  Things progressed so fast that my epidural didn't quite cover my pain as well as it should have.  For the next four hours we worked on pain control, a little bit of pushing, and some position changes to get this little guy out.  We would also come to find out that Grant was positioned in a way some refer to as "sunny side up", his face was looking up towards the ceiling.  This makes everything a lot harder to get the baby out.  After about an hour of pushing, more pain control issues, and another 30 minutes more of pushing, we had our son!  Grant Robert finally came out at 10:22 AM.  The next few pictures show some of our first looks at him.

The look of pure joy and relief!

My son!

A very proud Daddy!

Snuggles with Grandma

Our big guy weighed in at 9 pounds 2.2 ounces!  I was shocked to say the least.  I had a suspicion he was going to be big just by the way my belly felt.  I was very big in the belly, and it felt very heavy, however I was always measuring normal when I went in for check ups.  Sophie was only 7 pounds 11 ounces, so this guy was a pound and a half bigger!  He has a voracious appetite to go along with all that poundage.  Thank goodness, because I have a lot of work to do to feed this guy, so he had better request it from me!

Big boy!!

First photo with Mommy and Daddy

Sophie was able to join us at the hospital later that evening when she was done with school.  The baby nurse wheeled him into the room and Sophie patiently awaited to see him.  This is one of her first looks at her baby brother.

 





Shortly after I placed him in her arms she said, "Mommy, you hold him?"  Still a little timid

When Sophie sat by my side looking at him, she just wanted to touch his face.  She spent a few minutes stroking his cheek and his very soft hair.  She wanted to touch every part of his face but we had to restrain her when it came to the eyes and such.  She's still a little unsure about holding him, and doesn't like it when he cries.  If he has a poopy diaper, she immediately asks for me to change him because she can't stand the smell or the idea of someone sitting in their poop.

First look!  Such a cute face on my girl

Brother and Sister, best buddies already

My dad got into town on Saturday, the day after we made it home from the hospital.  He was so excited to meet his new Grandson who's middle name is Robert after his Papa.  There is one thing that Grant does that is just like Grandpa.  When he sneezes, it's usually four in a row, and his Grandpa has a knack for sneezing multiple times in a row.  There is something about baby bodily functions that makes us all laugh every time.

Papa's first look at Grant

Milk Drunk!

"It's so bright out here!"

Morning snuggles

Daddy's new buddy

 

There is still plenty of debate going around about who Grant looks like.  The Swartz's say a Swartz and the York's have said a York.  We don't think he looks a whole lot like Sophie, except for maybe in the nose area.  Either way, he's a whole lot of cuteness!

Be still my heart...

First bath at home

Both of my babies liked getting their hair washed

Peek-a-boo!

On our way to our first doctors appointment

We have had an outpouring of well wishers and congratulations from family, friends and co-workers.  It's all been overwhelming and we feel so lucky to know such great people!  Grandma Cindy is staying to help us over the next month, so we are very fortunate to have her here, since she basically waits on all of us hand and foot, all while working from home for Pfizer!

Life is about to get crazy!  Check back to see if we're surviving :)

With a little extra love,

The Yorks
Dan, Jess, Sophie, and baby Grant

Baby York is 6 Months!!

Last weekend I celebrated my 31st birthday!  Dan had been asking me what I wanted to do this year as it would be a change from years past when we would go to the bars and clubs.  I accepted the fact that it would be a subdued birthday this year since I get to enjoy it with our baby girl in my tummy!  Dan and I met up with some friends at our favorite "hole in the wall" mexican restaurant for a delicious taco dinner. You can't go wrong with chips and salsa!  He invited everyone back to our house for "dessert" he said.  So when we got home he had me open the gifts he got me.  One was a book called "Preggatinis", a book on mixology for virgin drinks made especially for the expectant mother.  The other item was a wii game called Dance Party 3!  It's a game with pop music that you dance along with that I had been wanting for a while.  Dan said now I can have some cocktails and dance the night away just like my other birthdays.  He made me some delicious drinks (which are also proven to have ingredients in them that are good for a fetus) and we danced with our friends all night!  Despite the pregnant belly, I beat all of my opponents!  Can't wait to use the game to work off the baby weight once the little one arrives.

The next morning I met up with my girlfriends from work to enjoy a scruptious breakfast followed by manicures and pedicures.  They brought along some champagne to sip on and also had a fine sparkling grape juice for the pregnant ladies (yes, one of my friends is pregnant too!).  Top that off with red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and you have a prefect afternoon!



Enjoying the spa!

 

Nice toes!

24 weeks

Today we went to the doctors office for a routine check-up.  Her heartrate was 140 and my belly measured 25 weeks (even though I'm 24 weeks by my dates).  It's normal for you to measure up to one week ahead or one week behind, whew!  I'm feeling her move all the time, and only once has she kept me up at night with consant kicking.

The house is decorated for Christmas!  Dan and I got our tree on my birthday weekend which is something we've done every year.  I decorated the tree while Dan hung the garland and lights on the porch.  The fresh smell of the tree is amazing!  I think Lucy likes it too since I frequently catch her curled up on the tree skirt catching some Z's.  I have actually completed all of my shopping this year!  Most of it was done online while in my pajamas enjoying a cup of tea, very relaxing.  Today all of the gifts were wrapped and put under the tree, so I'm all set.  It's such a relief to be done early and to have skipped the crowds!  Below you will see some pictures of our decorated home.


Lucy and Dan with our tree




Our frist "baby" ornament from Melissa



My Christmas cactus is actually blooming for Christmas!
It's usually my "Easter" or "4th of July" cactus

Just a few more weeks until my parents are in town for Christmas and we can't wait!  We're excited for Mom's good cooking along with Dad's handyman skills.  We will start working on the nursery while they're here as well.  And one last thing, Dan and I have decided on a name for our little girl!  She will be Sophia Elaine York, and we will call her "Sophie".  Sophie is a name that we both adore, and Elaine is after Dan's mom.

With Love,

Jess, Dan, Lucy, and baby Sophie

Is it a boy or a girl??!!

We are 20 weeks pregnant today!  I can't believe I am halfway through my pregnancy.  We had an appointment today for an ultrasound to make sure everything was forming correctly and to take some measurements.  Oh yeah, and to determine the gender of the baby!  WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!! 



Sweet Baby Girl



We saw so many things on the ultrasound.  The spine, the brain, the heart (with all four chambers beating away at 140 beats per minute), the stomach full of the amniotic fluid she's swallowing (yes, we saw her take a big gulp!), and a couple of well functioning kidneys (to pee the amniotic fluid out so she can drink it again, hee hee).  We even got a good look at the structures of her face and mouth especially.  The technician looked to see if there is a cleft lip or not.  She pointed out her lips, which are intact, no cleft.  I mentioned it looked like York lips to which Dan clarified to the technician, no upper lip.  She said there are two full lips, so it looks like she has mommy's lips!  All in all, everything is formed perfectly on our baby girl.  She's even got mommy's stature ranking in at the 58th percentile in size for her "age".  We may have a basketball player in our future!

I now know I am definitely feeling her move.  Small pokes from inside that I usually only notice when I'm lying down.  I think it's still too early for Dan to feel it from the outside, but I hold his hand on my tummy while we're sitting together watching TV just in case.  **Update** I wrote the previous statement three hours ago and Dan and I were sitting on the couch just now, the baby was kicking hard, and Dan actually felt her! Yay!



Look mom! I can stand on my head!  OR, I can put my feet on my face



There aren't many foods that I'm craving, but one thing that I can always go for is a grilled cheese.  Yum!  I usually get them when I'm at work, the nice man in the cafeteria makes a fine grilled cheese.  Add a side of pickles to that and I'm good to go!  I had switched from drinking regular coffee in the mornings to decaf which just isn't the same.  So recently I've been having hot chocolate or hot apple cider in the mornings, still a far cry from my morning joe.  A friend of mine suggested a decaf tea to me in a Bengal spice flavor, and when you add some sugar and milk, you get a delicious chai tea.  I now have a new favorite morning beverage!  Hard to say what I'll be eating next week as my taste for things changes quite frequently.

A few bump pictures at 20 weeks today!

A note from Lucy



Today Jess told me there's going to be another girl in the house!  Wow, I guess Dan is going to be outnumbered.  That's good news though, because I tend to like girls better.  Jess is still walking me every day she's off work.  She says she needs her exercise too for a healthy baby.  I'm trying my hardest not to pull her along, but it's really hard to resist the temptation of a squirrel.  The way they twitch their tails at me and squeak at me when I run them up a tree is just really annoying!  I'm also being really mindful of Jess' growing tummy these days, while I still enjoy cuddle time, I try to steer clear of the tummy area.  Jess warns me that soon the baby will kick me, then I'll be sorry.

I thought I'd share some things about myself with those of you who may not know me that well.

Favorite food:  Iams

Favorite snack:  Milk bones

Human food I would die for:  Cheese  (I can hear the drawer open and I know the crinkle of the cheese package from across the house! I also ate the cheese off the top of a pasta casserole grandma Cindy made that was sitting on the counter. Hey!  I left all the pasta for them to eat!)



Favorite sound:  The jingle of keys (I am a sucker for a car ride)

Favorite phrases:  "Go for a walk"  "Go for a ride"  (either of these can wake me from the deepest sleep, or encourage me to come in the house when I'm being defiant)

Until next post...

With Love
Jess, Dan, Lucy, and baby GIRL York!

Halloween Party!

Our 7th annual Halloween Party has come and gone!  We feel like we spent weeks preparing for it and it has passed way to quickly.  Dan dressed up as Stu from the movie The Hangover and I dressed up as a "Mummy" (very appropriate)


The sign on my tummy says "I love my mummy"


Surprisingly, I wasn't the only pregnant attendee at our party this year.  Three other girls were there with their husbands, all pregnant, one very pregnant (32 weeks!)  Lucky for them I made some virgin jello shots for us to enjoy with the other party goers.

We has some extra entertainment at our party this year, always something to step it up a notch from the previous year.  We had a guy who does all sorts of "tricks" to help keep our guests entertained.  He did such things as juggling, sword swallowing, and putting nails up his nose.  He even got some of our guests attempt to put nails up their nose as well, impressive!  At one point he had a group of people attempt to lift a guy off the ground by pinching small portions of his skin!  A group of ten people all took hold of portions of this guys skin and actually succeeded in lifting him about four feet off the ground.  It's amazing what you can get people to do after a few drinks!

The party was quite different for me this year as I was not partaking in any alcohol.  I had a great time with all of my friends, and was getting some really good pictures!  Watching other people make fools of themselves is always entertaining.  Having no hangover, cleaning up the house the next morning was a lot easier than years past.  7th Halloween Party=SUCCESS!

18 weeks and 5 days pregnant today!

Just over one week until the official ultrasound to tell us if we're having a boy or a girl!  Time seems to be flying by now, I can't believe I'm nearing the halfway point.  For people that know that I'm pregnant, I've reached the point that a "Hello" in the hallway is met with a stare at my tummy followed by the eye contact.  It's kind of funny to catch people looking at my tummy all the time.  For my close friends, they are just itching to touch the bump all the time.  It's definitely something to get used to!


17 weeks 4 days


I think I might be feeling something poking me from the inside!  Everyone tries to tell me what it felt like when they felt their baby move for the first time.  So far I haven't felt what their telling me.  But, I think I'm feeling little "thumps" from inside.  Not sure if what I'm feeling is the baby, but I don't think I've felt this before.  Still waiting for the big kick, and something that Dan will be able to feel from the outside.  It's all very special to know that a little baby is living and moving inside of me...

We got a package the other day from my Aunt Regina.  In it were some of Dan's favorite baby clothes we've received thus far.  We received two little onesies with Purdue Boilermakers emblazoned on the fronts.  Dan is very excited to dress baby in these come football season next year!  Thanks Aunt Regina!

With Love
Jess and Dan

So much has happened...

Welcome to our blog!  My mom had the idea to start this to track our pregnancy progress, and with some ideas from other friends that blog about family life, I came up with "The Family York" blog.

So, Dan and I got married April 21, 2011 in Las Vegas.  We had a beautiful wedding surrounded by wonderful family and friends! 

Then, 3 months later we realized we were pregnant!  On August 25th we had our first ultrasound done and saw baby York squirming about.  The heartrate was 170 and the baby looked like a little peanut.  It was surreal to see this tiny thing living inside of me.  The ultrasound tech said, "Seeing is believing, huh?"  Wow was she right!  To our surprise, the baby was 9 weeks and 2 days at this point, a week ahead of what we originally thought.  Let's hope this is not a trend...

On September 19th we had another ultrasound done for genetic testing.  This time the baby looks more like a baby with facial features, arms, legs, and hands!  The baby was lying in a curled up position, basically on its face and tummy when we first saw it.  This was the perfect position for the tech to see what she wanted to see.  The heartbeat was again in the high 160's.  I asked if the baby would move to get a different view and she said no problem.  She took the ultrasound device and bounced it up and down very quickly on my low abdomen and I lost it!  For some reason I started laughing and could not stop.  The baby was bouncing all over the place and every time I laughed it bounced again!  The problem here was when I was laughing, the tech could not get the picture of the baby since my tummy pushed the device away from where it was supposed to be.  I managed to calm down for a few seconds and we got an awesome view...

A darling five fingers on baby's precious tiny hand!

Now, lots of planning has begun.  After working a long weekend I came home to a clean house thanks to Dan!  He also started cleaning out the guest bedroom which is going to eventually turn into the nursery.  Up until this point, all of Dan's clothes were in the dressers and closet in the guest room.  So, the next day I stepped up and cleaned out some old clothes and other things that I did not wear or use anymore so Dan could use some drawer space in our room.  In the end we took six garbage bags to the Salvation Army for donation.  I guess our spring cleaning was more like fall cleaning.  I tought it felt good to get rid of all that stuff, Dan thought we've only scraped the surface...

Speaking of Dan, we just celebrated his 38th birthday with a biking pub crawl!  We've done this for three years now, and it seems this may have been the final year on bikes...  What a different perspective I had on the occasion being pregnant and the sober biker!  The day was a success with only one minor (ok, maybe moderate) injury (thankfully not to Dan or I).

We haven't bought anything for the baby yet, but we've started browsing.  There is so much baby stuff out there it's overwhelming!  Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike get the prize for the first baby clothes bought!  We received a package the other day with some cute onesies!  There was also a knitted baby blanket that belonged to my Uncle Mike.  He actually received two blankets, and the one pictured is the only one that survived over time.  A neighbor made them for his mom before he was born. A blue blanket with a pink border and a pink blanket with a blue border.  So amazing that we will be able to use it for our baby someday soon!  Thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike!

Now that it is October, we are starting to plan our annual Halloween party.  A few costume ideas are floating around.  Check back with us to see the party ideas and pregnancy progress.

With Love,

Jess and Dan