Our sweet baby! :)

pictures...

New Videos

I have uploaded some of our videos to the Internet. Please check out the links on the right!

Camden Hollis

Camden Hollis is here!!! He was born at 5:11am this morning weighing 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. He is precious! Because mom's water was broken for so long and because she had a temp (he did too) he is being taken to a transitional nursery to be given antibiotics and some labwork taken. Mom, Dad, Aunt, Grandparents, and Uncle are VERY tired. Will update when we know more.

Complete and starting to push!!!

Allison Update

Now 1-2 cms and have epidural!!! Getting comfortable.

Just a quick update!

Hello! This is Ashley (Allison's sister). I have been with Allison and David all day. Her water broke around 7am this morning and she has been contracting REALLY good since about 3pm. She hasn't made a lot of progress but they will put her on low dose Pictocin tonight and try to get something to happen. Hopefully, we will have a baby in the morning. Feel free to check my blog for more updates!

and THIS is why Mondays are the hardest...

I'll make this brief. 

NO PROGRESS

NO CHANGE

I am so frustrated with my body's failure to do what it should be doing right now! I'm seriously pulling out all the stops on this kid...

Camden...consider THIS your eviction notice!!!

full term

I just wanted to take a moment to say...We are officially FULL TERM!

My baby can come on out ANY time now! (Although my momma would really like for him to wait until she gets home from Brazil!)

I have my usual Doctor's appointment tomorrow at 2:00. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as disappointing as last week! Please pray for some progress! :)

I'll update again tomorrow.

nervous energy...

Holy cow! I feel like I'm loosing it today!!!! 

I literally feel like I'm going crazy trying to sit still. I'm cleaning, doing dishes, laundry, you name it. I think David is REALLY looking forward to going to work so he can "relax." :) 

Mom and Dad are safe and sound in brazil...you can keep up with their trip by visiting the Mission Trip Site. The journal is really a "must read" in my opinion.

Just wanted to touch base and let you know how I'm feeling...Hopefully not too much longer now! :)

give away

Check out this give away over at  Scribble it ...very cool

monday is the hardest day...

If you haven't figured it out by now, Monday is the day I (usually) go for my Doctor appointments. 

I'm at the point now where I have to go once a week.

I think I have realized that Monday is the hardest day for me. There is something about having to go to the Doctor...looking forward to it all week...and then feeling let down because nothing has really changed. 

They were not going to "check" me today but I requested very nicely that they do...and I was notified I'm not dilated at all. I was really hoping for SOME progress...

I really really REALLY think I will literally go insane if I have to carry this baby full term. I have really "hit my wall" this week where I am FINALLY really uncomfortable. I'm hot...I'm miserable...and I can't sleep at all! 

Not to mention that I'm really just dying to hold my baby! David and I both are just feeling super impatient right now...

like I said...Monday is the hardest day...last week, Monday was hard too...but I felt better as the week went on. 

I have a little more energy today than I have for the past two days...David had a NASTY little bug on Saturday morning and I'm not convinced I didn't have a touch of it too...I think it just made me really tired...which I'd take ANY day over what it did to him! He's feeling much better, by the way. :)

I worked 3 days last week in my classroom getting things unpacked and put away. It kept me busy and really got my mind off this waiting game... I plan on doing the same again this week. Hopefully I'll feel up to heading down that way tomorrow. It's nice to be able to go when I want/need to...but not having any real pressure to be there if I don't feel up to it.

last chance...

Ok, I'm going to "lock" our online baby pool in about 48 hours. 

If you want to make ANY changes to your guesses taking into account any recent information, you are welcome to...

You can indicate in the "who am I" section that it is guess #2 by including "#2" after your name and I will go through and delete your first guess...if you like.

Just trying to be fair :)

To those of you who STILL haven't guessed...now would be the time :)

Remember...just click in the "expectnet" box to the right of this post and it will take you directly to our game :)

the roof, the roof, the roof is...you know the rest right?

So...most of you already know...Billy's house burned today. We are very sad for he and his family and just so thankful that they all made it out of the house and everyone is ok.

I do have some pictures from the inside of the house (David took them) but there aren't many and they are on my camera...I'll post more tomorrow. 

This is best I could I do with the pictures...not that you didn't see it on the news. 

days, weeks, months...

Everyone who knows anything about pregnancy understands at least the basic concept of trimesters. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters made up of "3 months" each. 

We often refer to pregnancy length in months. In all actuality, you can ask any pregnant woman out there in the world how many "months" along she is and (unless she's already sat down to figure that up this week) it's probably going to take her a minute to figure out the answer.

See...pregnancy is actually timed in weeks. Always weeks and nothing but weeks. We are technically pregnant for 40 weeks (although we aren't ACTUALLY pregnant for the first two). If you break it down to 4 weeks a month...then...yep, you figured it out...we are actually pregnant for 10 months. I realize it's all so confusing to our convention minds that have always been taught that human gestation is a 9 month process. 

So...your "estimated due date" is 40 weeks into this whole pregnancy thing BUT your baby is actually considered to be "full term" at 37 weeks. So babies that are born 3 weeks "early" are viewed, in the medical world, as being fully developed functioning babies.

Most doctors will induce at 37 weeks or perform a c-section at 37 weeks...they just don't really hesitate to bring a baby on into the world at 37 weeks. 

I don't know when Camden will be making his entrance into the world...but hopefully...once we hit the 37 week mark (the last week of July) he'll be ready to come on!

I'm still feeling good. I'm actually feeling better than I have been. He finally "dropped" this week (also know as "Lightening"). So I am FINALLY able to breath easily again and I actually have a stomach for my food to go into! :) I still don't know if my body is making any other progress because my doctor chose not to check me just yet. Either way...we are inevitably getting VERY close. While I would LOVE to have a date (being the "control freak" that I am)...we don't. This is one surprise that even I can't snoop around and find out. That's a hard lesson for me to learn...but a good one :)

average

We are home, and the results are in. 

Our baby, by all indications, (at this point in time) is totally and completely average! His current weight is estimated at 5.6 lbs. 

The rule of weight gain from here on out is 1/2 to 1 lb. a week. So...he should be a good healthy size...but PERHAPS not the size of a "Thanksgiving Turkey." 

We talked a bit about induction...possibly 2 weeks early (38 weeks)...but my doctor will NOT induce if my body isn't "ready." He was very clear about not putting me in danger. 

So...there you go. There is your update and we are back the the "waiting game."

We are just SOOOOOO ready to hold our baby!!!!

35 week ultrasound

Our 35 week ultrasound is coming up!

I'm getting super impatient to see what they have to say! Hopefully on Monday (at 2:oo) we will have a much better idea of when and how our baby boy will arrive. 

The Doctor may decide to do nothing. We just won't know until we get some indication of just how big baby Camden is right now.

Of course, I'll keep you updated! 

P.S. You can vote on how big you think the ultrasound will say baby Camden is on Monday.

*hint* the average baby at 35 weeks  gestation is 5.5 lbs ***

d.o.n.e. DONE!

The crib is assembled...the letters are painted and hung! It's all set and ready for baby!!! :) 

I can't believe we are FINALLY ready!

it's a miracle!

My laptop is working again! I'm so excited!!! :) I don't know what happened...I just tried plugging it in...yet again...and suddenly it came on! :) Good stuff!!!

looking good...

We are ALMOST totally done with the house!

Yay!
I do not think I could be more excited about what we have accomplished! I know I could not have done it without Mom’s help! She has worked so hard the entire time she has been here.
I keep telling her that when she leaves I’m not going to be able to get out bed for an entire day! She has more energy than should be humanly possible! (As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t humanly possible!)

So…here are the pictures so we can share what we’ve done with all of you who aren’t here to see it.

As I said, we are “almost” done…David is planning to assemble the crib tomorrow…that is all that is missing from the nursery. The room we used is TINY and it has never felt SO small as it does now! So, in with adding all this furniture to our house, the entire space has had to be “revamped.” We even had to move my dresser into the living room/dining room space. My mom says it’s called a “credenza” and that it’s perfectly okay to have such furniture in this room. I went with it, and…it really doesn’t look bad!

We are still planning on getting a queen sized bed and moving our full sized bed into the “office” so when we have guests, they will actually have a place to sleep! (That will be really nice.) So, we went ahead and measured out room for the furniture changes and the set up shouldn’t have to be changed much at all from where we have it now! Yay for less work!
Okay, you’ve waited long enough…here are ALL the pictures!


This is the living/dining space with the "credenza" :)




This is Camden's closet. I'm pretty sure he has NOTHING to wear!
We still have a "little" stack of things in the corner of the nursery...including the crib bedding...still waiting for the crib :)
This is where the crib will go. Please note the precious dalmation (Ozzy) nightlight.
Camden's stuffed puppies :)
Diaper changing table...fully stocked, I might add, and the letters on top WILL BE hung on the wall (with brown ribbon) above his crib.
Here's the new office set up. I don't know if I mentioned that my mac laptop (FINALLY) gave up the ghost last week...so, this is the new set up Tyler was kind enough to transport down from Tennesee for us!
Yes, the nursery "over flows" a little into the office/guest room. The cradle will likely be in our bedroom for the first few weeks.
The corner of the nursery again.
Changing table again...you can see the glider in the corner. (Did I mention the room is TINY?)

The "baby" part of the office/guest room. That "swing thing" is the new Graco sweetpeace. It might just be the coolest thing EVER!

p.s. anybody out there want some fish?

everything looks good

I know I said I'd update today.

I also know it's late. I'm tired and off to bed soon.

I did see the Doctor today and he said everything looks fine. My blood pressure was back down and there are no problems or warning signs.

He said for me to keep talking it easy...but also said he would recommend that to anyone who is at these "end stages" of pregnancy.

So, Mom is still here. We have really accomplished a ton. I'm so thankful for her time here.

That's all for now! :) Take care!

all is (still) well

Just wanted to check in again!

I'm still doing well and feeling just fine. Mom is still here. She and Ashley came up yesterday (Saturday) morning.

We have gotten lots accomplished. I can't even begin to call it "bedrest" with all I've been trying to do. Mom has really helped tons and tons though (and they have TRIED to make me rest as much as possible.) Ashley helped a ton yesterday too but had to get home to her sweet baby boy last night. (She'll be back tomorrow for my Doctor's appointment.)

We have finished painting the nursery and even got the curtains hung.


It's coming along. David is going to assemble the crib on Thursday (his next day off) and we'll hopefully have the room all set up then! :)

It is exciting! It's all finally happening. We're gonna have a baby in no time!
I'll update again after my appointment tomorrow afternoon.

home...and just fine!

We are home...

It has been a bit of a crazy day. I went to the doctor this morning, as requested, and they sent me to the hospital to run some tests. 

EVERYTHING CAME BACK FINE!

I am fine! I'm on bedrest for the time being. David is hard at work on the nursery! :)

I'll keep you updated!

fair warning...

This is my right hand. I put my wedding rings on (as far as they would go) to show you some scale of how HUGE my fingers are! Try to imagine, these rings SHOULD be able to fit on this finger!

Ok, I just wanted to make an announcement.

I'm starting to get concerned at the amount of swelling I'm having in my hands...and now my ankles and feet. 

I am in the process of "taking it easy" for my second day in a row. I'm trying to get the swelling to subside but it is just getting worse. 

This is a frightening situation due to the things that swelling can signify. You may or may not be familiar with a condition known as  preeclampsia. (You can click on the word to read more about it.)

My blood pressure has not been high at any of my appointments thus far, but the scary thing about preeclamsia is that there isn't always a warning. Sometimes it comes out of NOWHERE. My next Doctor's appointment is on Monday. However, my sister has informed me I MUST call them tomorrow if I'm still swelling. 

This may be nothing to worry about! I may be totally fine! Hopefully  that's the case. I really don't want a NICU baby...but then again, who does?

Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers and I'll update you guys tomorrow.