Revised Time Estimate

Dr. Bell has broken Niki's water. She projects 2:30 AM for Peter. Niki is at 8 cm and 90%. We're getting there.

Soon, soon, soon.

Quick quick quick

Dr. Bell has been called, and will be here in 15 minutes to break Niki's water. Once that happens, people predict things to happen quickly!

Peter Rabbit

12:30 check puts Niki at 7 cm and 90%. The attending anesthesiologist predicted 3:20 AM. Niki's moving much quicker than she was with Charlie.

Baby before daybreak?

Also - we have two very fun, funny, perky nurses - Beth and Nancy. Dr. Bell (now Dr. Eia) will deliver. Peter will be born into a room of very fun, happy people. We couldn't ask for more.

Progress

When we checked in the hospital at about 11:00, Niki was at 5 cm and 80% effaced. The epidural (sp?) is in, and Niki is resting. We're ready for Peter.

We were having a very nice evening. Charlie was in bed, and Niki had finished baking a loaf of banana bread. We had been watching Public Enemies with NanaB, when Niki asked me to start timing the contractions. When we got to 3 minutes, we fired up the Mustang to warm it up, loaded the car, and left for the 2 minute drive to the hospital. Niki tried to take the banana bread - NanaB reminded her she was carrying it around when we were on the way out the door.

We'll keep you posted. Think good thoughts for Niki and Peter.

Peter is on his way

Niki and I are at the hospital.

A little suspicious

Despite calling him "grandpa" repeatedly, Charlie Jo was a little suspicious of this big bearded guy in the red suit...



Of course, she has always been a little suspicious of Mr. Claus...

No photo will be taken of Peter on Santa's lap this year (it is recommended that you don't take newborns out in flu season until they are a little older than Peter will be by Christmas), but maybe we could add him digitally?

Ready for Peter to come

The hospital bag is almost all packed, I'm pre-registered at the hospital for admission when I go into labor, and we have all sorts of contingency plans for Charlotte's care when that occurs. My next appointment with my OB is on Thursday. Last time I was one to two centimeters dilated and 50% effaced, so we'll see if I have made any progress then. Charlotte is getting very good at putting her baby dolls "night night", but her diapering technique leaves a lot to be desired. We'll need to kick her training into high gear over these next two weeks!

Thankful for cousins

Since I am not exactly supposed to be traveling so close to my due date, Erin, Andrew, and Sonia drove down from Illinois to cook us a gourmet Thanksgiving dinner. Charlotte and Sonia are becoming good buddies now (or at least we would like to think so), and it was really funny to see them interacting. Here are just a smattering of the ridiculously cute photos we took this weekend:

Fun with the hamper

I can't really remember why she wasn't wearing pants. I certainly have no clue as to why she felt the need to repeatedly put the hamper over her. I don't ask her why -- I just get the camera out and document.

What's better than one hat?

Two hats! It's Charlotte's version of the layered look.



And you can't really see it, but she wears her jammies like Elvis wore his jumpsuits - unzipped to the belly button. If we zip them up all the way, she gets annoyed that she can't pinch her belly button while she sucks her thumb. She even sleeps all night with the jammies unzipped like that. Maybe I need to look harder for two-piece fleece jammies that have feet.

Never say never...

I swore I wouldn't cut bangs for Charlie Jo so that she wouldn't have to grow them out when she got older. But then, CJ suffered from the same affliction I did as a kid -- fine hair that grows absolutely straight forward. I saw a little girl at the playground with the same type of hair and she didn't have bangs. Guess what? Her hair was in her face the whole time. Considering how difficult it is to get CJ to keep a barrette in her hair for more than a few minutes, I figured an epic battle was brewing that would continue until CJ started becoming interested in her appearance. Who knows when that might be?

So, I broke down and took her to a salon to get some bangs cut and the back trimmed. Once the sides actually grow in, the haircut might get a little cuter. For now, I'm still trying to get used to it. The good thing is, I can see her face!

Weekend with NanaB & Granddad

A weekend with Charlie Jo's NanaB and Granddad was just what we needed. Not only did we have a great time hanging out, but they came to help us with some projects that needed attention before Peter joins our family. NanaB cooked us a big batch of a yummy soup to freeze so we won't starve (or live off of fast food!) when life becomes considerably more complicated. Granddad helped Corey with a long list of what might sound like small projects, but each project had a few annoying steps that made it something that kept us from finishing it. The dynamic duo may have been easily distracted by things such as beer and the MSU football game, but they did get all their jobs done!

Charlie Jo loves nothing more than to read with her NanaB. CJ would have sat there until NanaB's voice gave out if we had the time.



CJ was dancing with joy while modeling her new fleece and hand-knitted hat courtesy of NanaB & Granddad.



We replaced the moon light that hung in Peter's room back when CJ slept there with this motorboat light. The moon will be moving to Charlie Jo's new room sometime soon.



Quit posing for photos and get back to work!



Charlie Jo is obsessed with "painting" with paint brushes, and NanaB had the brilliant idea of letting her "paint" outside with water. CJ loved it, but she spent half the time bossing NanaB around. It was a preview of the real toddler bossiness to come, I guess.



The grandparents also insisted that Corey and I take a date night so they could have CJ all to themselves. Apparently, she was a model citizen and went through the bedtime routines without a fuss. I'm still trying to find out what bribery method they must have used.



Mystery solved -- there is probably nothing CJ wouldn't do for a patient soul who reads books to her. Just kidding! CJ was a good girl because she loves her NanaB and Granddad.



We had a great time and are so grateful for all the help they gave us. Come back again soon!