Alexander Frederick Graden.

I'll have to devote a whole post to Alexander's birth story, but for now I wanted to post some pictures from the last few days.

My amazing team--Mom, Bry and Ashley--I couldn't have done it without them. They were by my side the whole time and their help was invaluable for my goal of having an unmedicated birth.

Dr. Smith made it! She was 2 hours away when we checked into the hospital, but arrived in time for me to finish transition and to give birth to our little Alexander.

My boys :0)

Bry has been SUCH a support through it all...nausea and exhaustion of 1st trimester, achy back of 2nd trimester, swollen feet and tiredness of 3rd trimester AND then helping me through Alexander's birth.


Aunt Ashley and Alexander.
(Notice his blankie on her lap.)

Our little family, shortly after Brie saw her brother for the first time :0)

On Tuesday morning, before being discharged from the hospital, a baby photographer came in for a mini photo shoot. She arranged Brie in my hospital bed then placed Alexander in her arms. It was the cutest thing...I had to grab my own camera. Here are some of my favorites...


This one's blurry, but I love the expression on her face!
She really was SO excited to be holding her baby brother :0)

Brie was so gentle and sweet with him...it melted my heart.

Alexander Frederick Graden
Born Easter Sunday, 24 April 2011 @ 8:56 PM
7 lbs. 10 oz. 20"

We are so happy to have this sweet little guy with us, safe and sound.

Baby Bump: 40 weeks.

40 Weeks.

Yesterday was D-day...and no baby! (Even after trying ALL week to get my labor going! We tried spicy food, jumping jacks, lots of walking, etc. I've been having contractions off and on all week...and sometimes for whole days at a time...but haven't gone into labor yet.) But my parents did take us out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, so it felt like we celebrated something anyway.

Dr. Smith asked why this baby wasn't coming?! :0) She said that I was dilated to about a 2 1/2 and still 80% effaced...so a little progress since last week. We scheduled an induction date for next Tuesday morning but hope that this little guy will come before that on his own. I was hoping that he'd come on the 18th since it's my brother Matt's bday, but don't mind that he didn't come yesterday and hasn't come today (I guess the 19 & 20 of April have some pretty negative historic associations/events). But maybe tomorrow? :0)

Em flew out Sunday and my Dad flew out this morning...it was sad to see them to finish their stays and leave without having met Alexander :0( But I'm just having faith that the timing is in God's hands and is for good reason. I'm so glad that my Mom will at least be here FOR SURE for his birth. But I can't complain, baby or no baby, it was so nice having Em and Dad visit! I'll have to post more on that later.

As for my pregnancy, things are about the same. It does feel more and more laborious to walk around. Sometimes at the end of the day my body just feels exhausted. But generally I'm still sleeping really well and have enough energy to get me through each day...and to keep up with busy Miss Brie. That's a blessing!

Also, this is a frequent sight around our place...

...because these little beauties (my "Hobbit Feet" :0)) have taken to being swollen almost all the time! Putting them up doesn't seem to help a whole lot, but it's nice to give them a rest.




Last but not least...my daily calendar had this on it last weekend. I was being optimistic and thinking that meant that Alexander would come on Saturday or Sunday, but apparently it meant that babies are in charge. Should have known :0)

Baby Bump: 39 weeks.

39 Weeks.

Tuesday marked 39 weeks. (I'm just posting now because Em's here and we've been busy having fun!!) Brie, Em and I went to the Carondolet Park on Tuesday morning. It was in bloom and beautiful! Em took some fun shots for me. I love 'em! Here are a few...

(An aerial baby bump shot...I'm glad that I captured Little Miss Brie running around me :0))



We all went to Dr. Smith's for our weekly check up. She said that my dilation hadn't changed any...which was a bummer but was to be expected since I had been having minimal contractions, if any. In any case we decided to get a picture with our nurse Crystal, hoping that we won't make it to our 40 week appointment.

We have sure loved Crystal. It's not like we had tons of interaction with her, but she always greeted us with a big smile and was so cheerful and happy. What a difference that makes, eh?

After our appointment we headed to Chili's for dinner where we ordered the spiciest things on the menu (jalapeno this and chipotle that). We told the server that we were trying to induce labor :0) That evening Em and I had a jumping jack competition...but no contractions. Wednesday and Thursday we did some sight-seeing and LOTS of walking. Wednesday I had maybe one contraction but yesterday it seemed like our efforts were finally starting to pay off. I think I counted 20 contractions throughout the day which was major progress for me! Last night we thought that maybe I was going into labor, but the contractions kind of subsided as the evening went on. Bummer. But hey, my parents fly in tonight, so maybe Alexander is holding out for his Bompa and Mémé to be here :0)

I should add that it's been really nice having this week to make more preparations. Bry got our hospital gear into the trunk and Alexander's car seat installed. Em and I decorated Alex's baby corner. And yesterday we got all sorts of organizing done...it was great! PLUS, last Saturday some of my friends put on an AWESOME baby shower for me! I was SO happy to have made it to that.

In any case, I hope that this is the last weekly baby bump picture that I post! We'll see what this weekend brings.

Brie as of late.

I was realizing that lately our blog has been dedicated to baby bumps and talk of Alexander... and that I hadn't given an update on our Bugaboo for awhile. Here are some random snapshots from the last little while:

after church. She LOVES going to church to "sing and pray" and especially loves nursery!

Beautiful bright-eyed Brie...our little thumb sucker. Oh boy, this is one habit that is going to die hard. I hate to admit it but she sucks it more than ever these days. Hmm, we'll have to figure that one out eventually.

Trying on her Dada's shoes.

She loves to pick out her outfits and to dress herself in the mornings. She sometimes gets things inside out, on the wrong foot or turned around, but it's cute to watch her be such a big girl.

I had to get a picture of this one. After each meal I pick Brie up and carry her over to the sink to get her cleaned up. I always joke that she's "sitting on baby brother" :0) As a side note, I've been amazed that I am still able to carry Brie around if needs be. Hasn't put me into labor yet! Having her sit on my lap is another story. She has to sit on one side or the other because baby brother is currently taking up all the room on my lap. I do look forward to being able to have Brie sit ON my lap again for stories, rocking, snuggles, etc.

After Bry set up Alexander's bassinet. Brie was SO excited about "baby brother's bed!"

Having made her own fort and hiding under the piano bench. She loves blankie forts, hiding and being sneaky. Bryan built her a blankie fort in her crib. She loves to sleep under it!

One of her new favorite friends, "Piggy." One of my stuffed animals that she recently found and has taken a serious liking to. It's so cute to watch her cheerfully greet Piggy in the morning, give her a hug, wrap her in a blankie and "take care" of her throughout the day :0) Brie is going to be a great big sister!

One day I pulled up some home videos of when Brie was a newborn. It's now her favorite thing to watch movies of "Baby Brie."

Although we butt heads from time to time (like when she spills her water everywhere, won't listen to me when I tell her to stop doing something, "lotions" her arms with her food, etc.), generally Brie is such a fun, happy, cheerful, sweet, helpful little bug. I'm so grateful to have her as my built-in buddy and am trying to soak up these final days when it's just the two of us.

Sure LOVE that girl!

Baby Bump: 38 weeks.

38 Weeks.

Today at my weekly appointment Dr. Smith said that I was almost dilated to a 2 and was 80% effaced. That was exciting to hear! A few days ago I was having contractions off and on throughout the day so it was nice to hear that they had paid off. Other than that I went through our birth plan with her. She's great to be willing to go along with as much as possible while still giving us her professional opinion on things.

The last few nights I have had the hardest time falling asleep and sleeping soundly. When I do fall asleep I have the strangest dreams. Hopefully I can get at least a few more good nights of sleep before I go into labor.

My baby shower is on Saturday and then Emmie comes. YAY! I'm way excited :0) I told Em that once she's here I don't mind going into labor. We'll see.

Alexander's bassinet arrived in the mail yesterday...Brie was SO excited :0)...and Bry got it all assembled and set up in our room. Bry's gone into an organizing mode this week and has been wanting to get stocked up on things. The mothers may nest but the fathers stock, at least this father does. I think it's cute...him getting things ready for our son to come :0)

So that's where we're at. Who knows if we'll make it to next week's appointment or not. We'll just have to wait and see.

** I wanted to get another baby bump shot in this shirt since I was wearing it in my first posted baby bump shot. I've grown quite a bit, eh? **