Finally Home & Meal Baby

Ben's sister and one of Makai's favorite aunties (he has lots of favorite aunties) was kind enough to set up a meal baby registry for us. We've had lots of offers for meal support which are SO appreciated. This is just an easier way to keep it all organized. You can go to http://mealbaby.com/viewregistry/306600 to sign up.

We're so happy to finally be home from the hospital and had a peaceful nights sleep in our own bed. Thankfully Makai is a great sleeper and an even better alarm clock. He wakes up every three hours like clockwork for a feeding and diaper change and we get some solid rest in between.

We'll be coordinating visitors soon though the doctors do advise that we limit his "play dates" until he's at least 4 weeks (full term) because he gets overstimulated quickly and his preemie immune system is more prone to sickness. However, limited visits from adults are okay and we are excited to show him off.

His Arizona Grandma (my mom) arrives tomorrow and for the next few days while she's here we plan on handing off some baby duties and stocking up on sleep.

Thanks everyone for your willingness to help out. We couldn't be more appreciative and look forward to visits and seeing everyone at a Mr. Ben show soon.

The Waiting Game

A baby and momma update:

My water broke yesterday at 8:00am as I pulled into my parking spot at work. I promptly called Ben, had a quick conference call with the midwives and turned around and drove home.

I was at that time officially 34 weeks and 6 days into the pregnancy. That left me one day short of the required 35 weeks needed to continue care with our midwives.

Our head midwife made the decision to transfer us to Legacy Emanuel hospital to be checked out. We arrived at 1:15 yesterday and we've been here ever since.

The doctors wanted to induce yesterday since I wan't having any contractions but we asked to hold off at least one day. By law if we had Makai yesterday he would have been admitted to the NICU if he needed to be or not and we would have gone home without him. If we have him today he will only go to NICU if he needs to but we can most likely take him home with us when we're discharged.

So - now we're waiting. Contractions started in the night but nothing serious or regular. We meet with the incoming team of doctors at 9:00 AM to discuss a plan for induction today.

Not exactly what we planned as far as the birth goes but we're staying positive. Our ultimate goal is a healthy baby.

We think 1/11/11 would be a great birthday though we've been warned that once induction starts we could still be 3 days out from baby. Eek!

More updates to come.

I need fruit crates.

Sorry no posts for awhile (I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting one) and here I am asking for something. I've been sick in bed since Monday with a terrible cold. I'm finally on the mend (barely) just in time for the Tiniest Thompson Showstravaganza tomorrow (check Mr. Ben's facebook page for details, all are welcome). Anyway, I digress...fruit crates.

Ben and I had been struggling with book storage options for Kai's room. We have a million kids books and considered buying a bookshelf from Ikea but would prefer not to buy a new piece of furniture but used something recycled instead. So a few weeks ago I had the brilliant idea to use old crates. Paint them, hang them as a group on the wall and use them as bookshelves and shelving for miscellaneous items. The problem is, we don't have any fruit crates.

Then today as I was surfing ohdeedoh from my bed, I inevitably fell down the blog rabbit hole and came across the picture above. So cute! Turns out I'm as brilliant as I thought I was.

Now I just need fruit crates so if you happen to have any lying around that you've been thinking about parting with, let me know. I'd love to take them off your hands! Or, if you know where I can score some, I'd be greatly appreciative.

On another note, when I say we "have a million kids books" I might be slightly exaggerating but not much. The Mr. Ben parents were very generous at Christmas. We received so many books, which we couldn't be more excited about. If there's one thing Ben is passionate about it's music. For me, it's books. I love them! We read to Kai every night and it's been nice to have a variety of stories as opposed to the few Dr. Seuss books we had. We love the notes that came along with all the books explaining why each one was chosen and why they are loved. Thanks!

Optimistic or Stupid?

Aloha!

Warm sun, sparkling pool, sandy beaches. Honolulu with a 5-6 week old. Optimistic or stupid? You be the judge.

We'll let you know how it goes when we get back from Hawaii in April. It will no doubt be an adventure. Anyone have any good traveling with an infant stories? Or tips?

Maybe winter is just making us crazy but we couldn't pass up the sweet Hawaii deals and figure if we're giving Makai a Hawaiian name we might as well give him an early taste of Hawaii. Good excuse, right? And maybe it will be motivation to get the baby weight off. :)

It's A Start

Crib assembled, bedding washed and ready for a baby. Well, a little ironing may be needed. Who knew making a crib was so much harder than making a normal size bed. It was a pain. I love the crib though and I have to admit I sometimes wander into the nursery just to stare at it.

So we accomplished one item on our to do list this weekend. We even got the dresser moved into the bedroom and baby clothes washed and put away.

It's a start...

(I apologize for the crappy camera phone pic, I was too lazy to find the real camera)

Ukuleles Everywhere!

The much anticipated (in the Thompson household) ukuleles have finally arrived! Ben and Ricky spent the day getting them all tuned up. I hung around and supervised. Someone has to keep the boys on task. I also got to make the first delivery to a retail store while making our lunch run.

I immediately set one aside for Kai, it's his first toy/musical instrument. I had to grab one before they sell out.

The pallet of ukuleles was not our only exciting delivery today. Kai's crib arrived as well (thanks Dad)!

So after the ukuleles are finally all set up Ben's next task is putting the crib together and then pictures of the nursery in progress to follow.

A lot of fun all around today! Good days and bad days...today was a good day.

Worst. Mom to be. Ever.

I woke up this morning not feeling on top of my game. Kai has had his feet firmly planted in my ribs for the last few weeks, making sleeping, walking, eating and moving in general a bit painful. I'm possibly fighting off the beginning of the cold that Ben's been fighting for a week. The maternity clothes I bought early in my pregnancy are getting so uncomfortable and tight (with 9 weeks left to go) that by the end of the day I would give up limbs in order to have sweatpants on.
This morning I woke up in a bad emotional and physical space. Stuffed up, slight sore throat and exhausted and decided to call in sick for the first time since I got pregnant.
I slept in later than usual and then picked up my blackberry to break the news to my boss. That's when I saw the e-mail from a co-worker requesting meeting coverage for the day because she was home with a sick kid. First meeting at 8:00. It was 6:45 and I have a 45 minute commute to work, not to mention a 10 minute walk from the parking lot to my office. I'm not exactly fast these days.
The quickest shower and blow dry later I throw on some uncomfortable clothes and hit the door knowing I'm barely going to make the 8:00. As I'm backing out of the driveway my gas light starts flashing and I realize I have to stop. Zip into the gas station, pay at the pump broken, run inside in pouring rain to pay. Another 10 minutes behind. I didn't make the 8:00.
I did however finally arrive safely at work for the busiest day ever. Multiple meetings to cover for someone else as well as my own work (plus one shattered water bottle later) and it was 2:00 when I realized I hadn't yet fed or hydrated myself and by extension the baby. Bummed a granola bar from my boss and I hit the door at 4:00 Had my 45 minute commute turn into an hour and a half to due torrential rain. I finally arrived home at 5:30 feeling like I'd failed at life; not taking care of my body and baby, my own duties at work not quite met, a sick, neglected husband at home along with two bored and ignored dogs. I ordered Thai takeout and then started whining to sick Ben about how uncomfortable I am, I hadn't even gotten to the part about feeling like I"m doing a poor job of carrying our baby when Ben's phone rang.
Our dear friend Jesse was calling to see if we were almost to our birthing class. It was 7:00 pm. Birthing class was at 6:30. We forgot about birthing class.
Emotional breakdown ensues. So here I am, at 7:30 pm on a Thursday night, crying over my keyboard and feeling like a failure. Worst. Mom to be. Ever. I have to wonder if I can't manage being pregnant, work, household responsibilities (my house is a pig sty and I haven't cooked a real meal in weeks) and a few miscellaneous commitments, how am I going to manage those same things and being a mom?
I thought writing it down might make me feel better. It didn't. But at least I got to give myself a little pity party.