We're home!!

We were able to get out of the hospital a little early, so it was great!! We just wanted to get home, be with Eli, and enjoy our newest family member!! Miles got some visitors, including his Grammy, Uncle Matt, Aunt Devon, and cousin Peej, his Aunt Chrissy (aka Kiki) cousin Paige, and the Puchmeyer's! We grilled out and had a great time together. It was a great Saturday!

Today was a less hectic day, and I had the boys by myself while Nader ran to work for a bit. It was smooth sailing! Eli is adjusting very well to his little brother, despite going through the terrible two's! Here are a few shots from the first 24hrs Miles spent at home!

And one of his proud big brother!

He's here!

At exactly 40 weeks pregnant, it was time for baby no name to be born. I was 4 1/2 cm, having contractions and the start of back labor. My doctor decided we should break my water and that should do the trick. I was very adamant about wanting to avoid pitocin at all costs, so this seemed like a doable solution.

Arriving at the hospital, 6/25 7am. Last belly shot, exactly 40wks

My water was broken at 8am. I was contracting about every 5 mins before my water was broken, but the contractions were pretty weak. Nader and I walked the halls for some time, trying to get things moving. It worked, and by noon, I was feeling them a lot more and back labor was really kicking in. I got checked and I was 6 or 7cm, (I can't recall exactly) and I was ready for the epidural. Was feeling much better after that, (except for the brief moment my blood pressure dropped to 60/30...it was a crazy feeling!) By 2:30pm I was feeling pressure. I was fully dilated, and we were just waiting for the doctor to arrive. Can you believe they made me wait to push? Talk about torture! At exactly 3pm, she arrived and I began to push. (At this same time, my epidural wore off!) I think the lack of the epi motivated me more to get him out, because at 3:08 pm, on June 25, 2009, our little angel was born! He weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19 3/4inches. It took us quite some time to decide on his name...well, for me to decide on it as Nader actually left it all up to me! Luckily what I picked, Nader liked too!! Here is our perfect little man, Miles Alexander Salem! (On a side note, it's a good thing I did pick this name! The day Miles was born, Farrah Faucet AND Michael Jackson died. Quite a day in history. Anyway, a couple other names that were in consideration for me were Jackson, and Charlie! How ironic! The last thing I'd need is people thinking I named my kid because of Charlie's Angels or after the King of Pop, lol!

With his great-grandma

Tata

Grammy

Bonding with Daddy!

and ready to go home!!

After the months of stress and worry, it looks like Miles is perfectly healthy. His heart sounded great, and everything seemed to check out just fine! We have to go get his bilirubin levels checked again on Monday, but with the way this child has been nursing and pooping, I think we'll be just fine, lol!

Our last night as a family of 3!

By tomorrow evening, baby no name should be here! The doctor will be breaking my water in the morning. I'm 4 1/2 cm, so hopefully things will move fast. I can't believe my little man will be here! I just can't wait to see him and make sure he's healthy. We have spent so much time stressing and worrying this pregnancy, and hopefully it was all for nothing!

I'm so excited to see how Eli reacts to his new baby brother, see Nader look at him for the first time, and have our little family all together!

Here's hoping for a smooth and quick delivery! If the contractions I am having keep up, we won't even make it until the morning!

Father's Day at the Zoo!

First off, Happy Father's Day to all the Daddy's and Daddy's to be, especially Nader! He is such an amazing husband and Father, and these boys are so blessed to have him as their Daddy!!

We spent most of today at the zoo! More so to try and walk this baby out than anything, lol. It was something we used to do with my dad every year when we were younger, so we're going to try and do it every year with our family. Nader, myself, Eli, Matt, Devon, Peej, (aka little Matthew) mom, and Steve all came. Note to self...never, ever, go to the zoo with a child that had been running a fever the day before and is getting all four of his 2yr molars in. We had a few melt downs! Beware, there are tons of pictures!

Grammy and Eli

(sorry mom, I had a great one of you guys but I accidentally deleted it, lol!)

Meeting the monkey statue, Eli loved it!
They had a lot to say to each other

Taking a walk with Daddy!

Not even sure what he was looking at here!

Taking a break on the turtle.

Mr. Peej didn't seem to enjoy it as much as Eli did

Chillin' with Uncle Matt

and wiping off his head, lol!

Eli loved looking at the Red Panda

All tuckered out, waiting for the tram

(I walked up all those hills and steps, I wasn't about to walk down them! I thought this baby was going to fall out, or be delivered by the gorillas!)

Of course, Eli was so tired and cranky, he fell asleep in the car. Got a good nap, and relaxed with daddy for the rest of the evening. Daddy changed his diaper, hence the lack of shorts.

First he covered Nader in a blanket, then he sat on his head!

Taking some time to cuddle up with daddy!

One last shot of the little man before it was bath and bedtime!

To wrap up our evening we had some Chipotle for dinner. Got the spicy meat, the spicy salsa...one can hope right? Today's activities to get baby no name out:

5 hours walking at the zoo

Chipotle

Pineapple

Bouncing on the exercise ball

Let's hope this brings on more contractions!! (I've been getting them all day long, I just need them to get stronger and closer!)

Come on little man!! I promise we'll give you a name once I see your precious face!!

39 Weeks and counting!

I am still in shock that I'm already 39 weeks. It seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant again! Everything is ready for baby no name...(except a name!) all of his clothes, bedding, hospital bags are packed, swings/bouncers are set up, and Eli is about as ready as he can be! This little man has been giving me false labor for the past couple of nights. About an hour of two of pretty strong contractions, but they just aren't close enough...and when they are close, they aren't strong enough, ugh! I have to barter at each of my appts for my doctor not to induce. She really wants to since I haven't passed the kidney stones yet. Last week I was 3cm dilated, this week I was between 3 1/2 and 4...so that's some progress! If I don't have him by Sunday, we're going to the zoo for Father's Day and I'm going to try and sweat/walk him out! Hopefully it will work! Finally, here is belly pic at 39 weeks! He's dropped a bit...so he just needs to move down a bit more!

39 Weeks

Salem Family Reunion

We went to our family reunion (Nader's side) on Saturday. We had a great time, and got to meet many people, and got some great food! Eli had a BLAST! He wore himself out for sure!

Swinging with daddy

There was a hill, and Eli was obsessed with going up and down it!

Family shot on Eli's other obsession...the patio swing

Haning with his buddy Uncle Joe, and cousins Hannah and Bella

Future's so bright...

With Mera, Uncle Joe, cousin Hayden, and great Aunt Norma

Trying to give kisses

I figured I'd toss these in here too. Today we went out with Ghea (Eli's great grandma) and Grammy. We went to lunch and did some last minute baby shopping. We had a great time!

First, Eli had to share some goldfish!

and then some kisses! After that, we were off!

Baby No Name Eviction Notice

June 11, 2009

To: Baby No Name
From: Your Mommy

To the above tenant in possession of the below described premises: I am issuing a 14 day notice for EVICTION! You will have 14 days in which you can either gather your belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, you will be physically removed from the property.

Expansions to only the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made! Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base of the structure. Due to the property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the structure. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 14 days from this letter, if you do not comply, it will result in immediate (and possibly forceful) removal at my discretion. Thank you for your cooperation!

Love you little man, but it's time to get out!! I can't eat, can't sleep, but I do a great imitation of a beached whale. Seriously though...are we done yet??

Baby "no name" update!

Only a couple more appts to go...if that! Wahoo, there is an end in sight. Went in and had my weekly non-stress test, and baby is sounding great. His arrhythmia seems like it's getting better, which is wonderful! The skips weren't nearly as frequent as they have been, so maybe he's already outgrowing it!

Good news: I'm 3cm dilated and 70% effaced. That's a start! I'm really hoping this little guy will come on his own. I'll be doing everything I can to avoid induction!

Bad news: I was telling the doctor that if I wasn't having my urine checked weekly, I could swear I have a kidney infection. (I've had one before so I know the feeling) Turns out I'm spilling protein (and my blood pressure is low) and I have kidney stones! Are you kidding me? This pregnancy has just been nuts, lol. First the pelvic separation, then all the different problems with the baby's heart, bed rest, and now this? Oh thank goodness we're almost done! We're just going to wait and see if they pass on their own. Many of the treatments they do for the stones are not safe for someone who's pregnant, and since I have such a short time left, I'm going to try and tough it out. I have gone through labor, I can handle some kidney stones...again!

Send lots of labor vibes my way! This little man needs to come meet everyone and finally get a name!

Sunday fun!

Our day started WAY too early, with a very cranky and teething Eli waking up at 2am. Daddy goes to get him (as I'm still not supposed to be lifting him) and within 5 mins I have a toddler in my bed. Why is it that Nader can never calm him down? I think it's all a devious plan that the two of them came up with. So, a GIANT preggo woman, my giant Snoogle (pregnancy pillow) an over sized toddler and his daddy do not make for comfy sleeping arrangements. Somehow the boys slept great though! (Just to give you an idea, Eli slept horizontally, and I woke up to his chubby little feet in my face!)

So, we decided to go to a Family Fun Fest at Bay Nature and Science Center. It was nice, but I'm sure Eli will enjoy it much more next year. He liked looking at a lot of the gross snakes and such, and he LOVED climbing through a hollowed out tree. Surprisingly he freaked when we put him in the bounce house. I think it was just too crowded for him. So, our day at the Family Fest ended after climbing through a tree trunk, and running to the car, lol! We got to see Eli's favorite ladies, Bella and Lucy for a few minutes. Jason braved it with the two girls (and his sister and brother in law) while Callista is out of town. She'll be happy to know everything looked under control, and they both had matching outfits on! I would be afraid to see how Nader would dress Eli in my absence. We also ran into my OB there, and she was hoping walking around there would put me into labor. No such luck!

Climbing through the tree trunk

Chasing Daddy! In the words of Eli, "Rawr!"

Timeout for some meditation

At the splash park...he started out slow!

And then let loose!

Now, notice a common theme in these next few pictures...

He actually wasn't drinking the water, he just has a big mouth, lol!

And this picture made me crack up...he looks like an old man with a beer gut!

My happy water logged boy!

We ended out day with some ice cream, and then a lovely steak dinner. (Yes, I know we had dessert before dinner, but us Salem's are backward people sometimes!) We're trying to cram as much one on one Eli time in before his world is turned upside down in the next couple weeks!