Home, Sweet Home

Today was the day we got to bring Zach home from the hospital. After Andy's little alarm clock slept in until 7:35, he showered and headed on back over to Broken Bow.

Zach had already been taken by the doctor and circumcised. You feel so bad for the little guy (and his little guy), but we take solace in knowing he won't have any recollection of the whole thing.

After lunch, the lady from the lab came and took Zach down to do his blood work, and then all that was left was the discharge paperwork. Our nurse and doctor were quick getting the discharge orders all ready to go, and we were out the door at 2:45.

Zach slept most of the way home, and has spent a good part of the night sleeping. Meanwhile, Alex is keeping his grandpa awfully busy, and he even took a few opportunities tonight to kiss his little brother on the head. Unfortunately, he frequently tries to head-butt Zach after kissing him, but we're working on that.

One funny Alex story before I close the blog for the night. I have mentioned in the past the little boy's club at daycare, which consists of Alex, Dawson, and Jake. Through our visits in the past, we have noticed that Jake (who is a few months older than Alex) is a little on the naughty side (he's two, so that's not all that unusual). Anyway, the past few days, we have noticed that while playing Alex will say (sometimes to himself, sometimes to myself or grandpa) "NO JAKE!" or "MINE JAKE!". Needless to say we all really get a kick out of this, and thought a few of you might enjoy that as well.


Until later, enjoy another group of pictures.

Zach in his carseat after the ride home.

Momma and her little boys.

The kiss before the headbutt.

Grandpa Dave getting some time with his 3rd grandson.

Happiness is a boy with a brownie.

Zach's Hair

Sorry, again we realized that there were no pictures of Zach's head - - so here are a couple of shots of Zach and his Daddy, with no cap on, so that you can see the little bit of "fuzz" that Zach has.


He doesn't have as much as Alex had, but still has more than most newborns (in my completely unbiased opinion, of course!)

The Dr. thinks that we will both be able to go home this afternoon, around 3 pm. They will be putting Zach's picture up on the hospital's website - www.melham.org if you would like to check it out. Don't know how soon it will be up there, so check back if it's not up there right away.

That's it for now - - have a great day!!

Baby-Picture-Palooza

As promised, I have posted several pictures to tonight's blog. Here they are, in no particular order...

Alex meets Zach up close and personal for the first time.

Alex and Zach

Alex gives Zach a kiss on the head

Alex meets Elmo, the gift "Zach" gave him for being a good big brother.

Two pictures of a very newborn.

Grandma Le meets Zach.

Face in a blanket.

The happiest aunt in the world.

Exhausted, relieved, and most of all, happy.

It's over. And it was all worth it.

Here At Last!!!!!

The title of this post says it all.

At 1:04 PM Central Time, Zachary Michael Bowin was born.

Zach was 8 pounds, 8.5 ounces, and 20 inches long.

Mom and baby are both doing very well.

Tune in later for more pictures.

Update for Monday

Well, I wish that I could say that the little man is here - - such a wish will have to wait for another day.

When the Dr. came in to check Christine around 5 pm, she hadn't changed much since the beginning of the day. Needless to say, this has been incredibly emotional for her....the Dr. said that nothing would be happening for the rest of the evening, but they want to keep her here overnight just to be sure, since we live an hour away. Her contractions were very regular, every 2 minutes, and they have all but stopped now. She could really use your thoughts and prayers, today was very rough on her.

So I guess the plan for tomorrow is that they will start again first thing in the morning, and see how it goes tomorrow. Other than that, we don't know too much else.

Wish we could have pictures and happier news on here, but that's just the way that it goes sometimes.

Maybe tomorrow.

Update from the hospital

Hey faithful blog readers. This is Andy giving you the quick update from the hospital.

We got here just fine this morning, got checked in, and taken to the delivery room. Dr. Lawrence came in about 7:30 and started the induction process. At this point things are progressing well. Christine's contractions are about 2-3 minutes apart, and are getting stronger. As for the other things the doctor checks (which I will not go into details on here), things are progressing a little more slowly, and it sounds like they are preparing for the possibility of a birth tomorrow.

As for us, we are in the hospital until he gets here. Please check the blog for updates. Christine's cell phone is still in Ord with Dave, Le, Sarah, and Alex, and my battery was dying quickly (constantly looking for a signal here in the heart of the hospital), so I had to turn it off. I wanted to be sure and have enough juice to call everyone I need to call.

Please keep your thoughts and prayers coming this way, and stay tuned for more updates.

Ready or Not....

Yep, still here again tonight. :)

Unless the little man decides to make his appearance before tomorrow morning at 7 AM, I will be induced at that time. Thanks to all of you who gave phone calls, e-mails, and sent prayers our way, we certainly appreciate your thoughts.

We will keep everyone updated as soon as something happens. The hospital does have wireless internet, so we should be able to e-mail and update the blog periodically. Yes, there will be pictures, so no need to worry about that. :)

However, I do need to get to bed and "try" (key word is TRY) to sleep tonight. We have to leave at 5:45 to be at the hospital on time to meet the Dr......so it will be a short night at best.

Until he's here........... :)

Still Here!

Yep, still here and "with child" - -

I have learned a few lessons today, though......

1. No matter how many times you tell an almost-2-year-old "No" or "Don't do that" or "Let's go out here and play" or.....(fill in your own phrase here, because I probably used it today), he is still going to dip as many pairs of socks that are in your drawer into the cat's water dish. Good thing I was doing laundry - my socks needed "freshening" anyway......

2. Standing on top of anything is the best. Tip over the laundry basket, stand on top, and yell AS LOUD AS YOU CAN at the cat. Then tip over Mom and Dad's hamper, stand on top of that, and point at the ceiling as you yell AS LOUD AS YOU CAN. Becoming instantly taller gives you that much more power over the cat, and yelling let's her know that you mean business.

3. When Daddy is gone at work all morning, it's a great time to hit your head, face, arm, leg, toe, stomach, etc. on anything that you can. Because Mom can't cuddle you the way that you like (because her HUGE belly is in the way), you get even more upset and holler even louder for "DADDY!!!!"

4. Jumping onto and off of Daddy (once he gets home) is the world's best game. Sure, Daddy makes all sorts of odd noises, but the giggles drown out the groans.

5. Making a mess just for the sake of making a mess isn't Mom and Dad's idea of a good time.

6. Even though you can push ALL of Mommy and Daddy's buttons mulitple times throughout the day, once you flash them that smile, say "love you", blow them a kiss, or walk up to them and say, "Want you", their hearts melt all over again and they forget about all of the crappy stuff you've done.

So, yes, it was a good day. Exhausting, but good. Grandma, Grandpa, and Sarah (Aunt Rah-rah) all get here tomorrow, so then we can have this baby!! :) We'll see if it will be tomorrow or Monday! :)

....until Dec. 8!

Well, today was the last day of "work" for me until I go back on Dec. 8! It was a pretty good day, but I was so very tired. I haven't been sleeping well at night (surprise, surprise), and I just seemed to be dragging today. Today was the last day with the volleyball girls, and three of them especially seemed to have a little bit of an attitude today. We were going to have a "fun day" and play "blind volleyball" (you hang a sheet over the length of the net so they can't see what's happening on the other side) - but the three decided that since they weren't on the same team, they were going to pout.....good grief. I was ready to make them run for the hour since they obviously didn't want to participate, but then I thought, "There's only 30 minutes left in the day, do I really want to deal with it?" The other coach came in, and said not to worry about it, so we began playing some two-on-two ball.

That was about the extent of my day - - most of the snow is gone, it's just wet here now. Tomorrow they are predicting 60's, so that should help dry everything up. This is the most ridiculous weather I think that I have ever seen......but at least I don't have to worry about how to get to the hospital anymore. :)

It's hard to believe that in three more nights the little guy will be here (hopefully!). I still can't believe it's time, but when I listen to my body for three tenths of a second, it says, "Oh, yes, we ARE ready!!" I just hope that something happens naturally before Monday morning.....but if not, then plan B works too.

I'll try to do a daily update until at least Monday, just so you know what's going on. If you don't see anything on here, then I guess you can assume that something happened. :)

It's OCTOBER 22!!!

Wow - October 22, and this is what it looks like outside........

Yeah, I was sent home from school at 1:40 today, they dismissed students at 2. There are already a number of schools that have a late start tomorrow, but we are forecasted to get between 6 and 12 INCHES! I am REALLY hoping that the little guy decides to wait until after the snow melts - because it's supposed to be 60 degrees on Saturday! (But I am REALLY hoping that we have a snow day tomorrow - - that would be AWESOME!) :)

That's about it from here - - Alex is doing well, Andy's staying busy with work, I'm still GINORMOUS and pregnant - - all of us are just trying to stay warm. I think that we'll have Broccoli Cheese Soup or Potato Soup tomorrow.....yum! :)

Forget the Birthday Toys......

....all the little boy needs is a laundry basket.

Dr. Update

Hello all - -

Yes, I had my FINAL Dr. appt. today, and all went well. His head is engaged, I am "flat" and about 3 cm....a little more than last week, so things are progessing. There were a LOT of people at work today who told me, "You're still here?" Yes, thank you - - until next Monday. Only 3 days of work at school left - plus one day in Ansley doing the External Review. I think I can make it. :)

Other than "all is well", there's not too much new. My blood pressure was 112/72, which she was impressed with. She has had a med student with her, and she was doing the "interview" of my session today. As the student was running the machine, all of a sudden she exclaims, "WOW! I have never seen so clearly 'boy' ever!!" Yes, the little man was givng her the great shot - - and then a swift kick to my ribs just to top it all off.

I just hope that he isn't this "show-offy" once he gets older - - it's cute now, but notsomuch when he's 16........

I am to meet her at 7 AM next Monday (if not sooner) to begin everything. I keep wondering how Alex is going to adjust....he's able to say his name, and knows about all of the stuff around the house for the baby, but I don't think that he really gets what's about to happen.....I don't think that any of us do.

All changes coming, we are looking forward to this new little man - - can't wait to meet him!!

We'll try to get some pics of Alex up tomorrow - - sorry it's been a while. :)

Tracie and Claudia - have you figured out the name yet? Elly - just call me, I'll tell you the middle name. That's the deal - you figure out #1, you get #2 free. :)

Volleyball's Over, and Acta's Still Here!

Well, I guess Acta is ALWAYS going to be here - he's just still in the "expecting" stage instead of the "here" stage. :)

Today was the big tourney in Bassett - which is darn near South Dakota. Because there were only 9 girls that could go (one had to go to a birthday party, so was unable to go along.....I don't ask questions anymore.......), we took a van.....and I drove.

Once we got going, we had to stop 9 miles into the trip because three people ALREADY had to go to the bathroom......and this was the last town before we reached Bassett....which was another 60 or so miles north. I told them to grab some extra toilet paper, because the next time would be on the side of the road with an audience......no one had to go after that. :)

I guess I get a kick out of teenage girls - they had their cell phones and were calling into a radio station that was taking requests......unfortunately, it was "80's flashback" so they didn't have too many songs they knew of to request. Lucky for them, I am an 80's fan, so I was able to offer a few suggestions. :) A couple of them even made it onto the radio, which made their day!

Once we were out of cell phone range, and the radio station was coming in fuzzy, the girls announced that last night at the football game they all figured out what they would do in case I went into labor IN THE VAN. (Obviously, they know nothing about labor - but I did admire their planning and creativeness!)

The girl who is the oldest decided that she would drive - because she's the closest one to getting a learner's permit. Another two would be on cell phones, one to the hospital so they could get "turn by turn" directions, and the other would be talking to Andy, so that he could be a part of the baby's birth. One would be the "lookout" person, so that they could watch for any oncoming traffic, and to see if any police officers were around (because the driver would be blind??? Again, I don't ask questions anymore......) Another girl would be there to hold my hair back (am I going to be vomiting??), and yet another would be the one "to catch him as he comes out" (because they just come FLYING out of there like a football - we wouldn't want him shooting out the window or anything!) Yet another is the "cut the cord" girl, while the other two are there to hold my hands and help me to remember "hee, hee, hoo" as I breathe. One girl even said (I AM quoting her here), "I know all about this having a baby thing - I watched it once on TLC."

Yes, I was laughing as they told me all of this, partly at how blissfully unaware they are about the entire childbirth process - and the other part of me was laughing because I can only imagine the story on the news - and the look on all of their faces if the event were actually TO happen while we were on the road...it made me smile.

Once we got to the tourney, we played well for our first game. The girls all came together, and while it wasn't a perfect game, we won. Our next game we lost in 3 sets, it was a close one but our serving was just terrible. Our third game also went to three sets, and the third set was back and forth - the final score was 21-19, when usually it's over at 15. They hung in there, never gave up, and gave the other team a run for their money. We ended up getting third place medals, so I was glad that the girls would have something to show off to everyone else at school. (They all decided that they were going to wear them on Monday) All of them (except one) had family there, so I was glad that they played well for their folks. Andy and Alex came up for most of the day, but left before our third game because Alex NEEDED to get his nap in (it was already 2:30).

So, I didn't get to see my boys much today, but tomorrow is going to be all about family. We need to go to Grand Island to get a couple of things, but we haven't decided if it's going to be tomorrow or next weekend. We'll see how we're feeling in the morning......

So, I am sad that the volleyball season is over, but glad that we ended playing well. Now I can cross one more thing off of my list of things to do before Acta gets here. The only things left on "the list" are to finish packing (I have the list done, I just have to physically get everything into the suitcase), and to do my External Review at Ansley on Wednesday. THEN I can have a baby. :) (I do have a Dr. appt. on Monday, too).

The time's almost here......I can hardly believe it!

Clue #4 (for those of you that still haven't got it....)

L
O
O
K

A
T

A
U
G
U
S
T
'
S

P
O
S
T
S

If that doesn't give it away, I don't know what will. :)

Dr. Appt Update

Here's the short update on the little man, and how things are going.

I saw Dr. Lawrence today, everything was good-blood pressure, oxygen levels, he's growing to just the right size, all of my measurements looked good. She thinks that there will be no problems inducing on the 27th, so for now, we are still a "go". However, she thinks that he may decide to come into this world on his own before then......hmmm....something else for me to worry about. She will just do a "quick" check of me next Monday, and then she won't need to see me again until we meet at the hospital - whether it's to induce or otherwise. :)

Yesterday I had contractions on and off all day (more "on" than "off"). None of them were consistent - I would have one and then another 2 minutes later, and then the next one wouldn't come for another 15 minutes. Some were pretty painful, others were pretty low-key. When I finally got home after the VB game, I took a short nap on the couch and that took care of them. I have had only a couple today, very sporadic, but it still keeps me thinking of when he is going to make his appearance. I know - God has it all under control.......but I just wish that I had a little clue. :)

VB update - the girls couldn't serve a ball to save their lives yesterday, so we lost. We won the first set 26-24, then lost the next two 17-25 and 26-28. So, today in practice we served the ball.....a LOT. Hopefully we can get it all figured out before Saturday, that's when the tournament in Bassett is. (Yes, we have a back-up plan in case I go into labor before or during the tournament.....just in case.)

Thanks for all of the support and prayers - it's hard to believe that in 13 days (or less) we'll have a little man here! Which brings me to clue #3 - review the posts we had in August.......

AFLAC!

Last night as we were cleaning some things up, we found an AFLAC duck that squawks. Alex seemed quite interested in it, and began talking back.....

Enjoy! :)

Scarecrow Patch!

Hello Blog Readers!

It's been a few days, so here is the updates - but first I want to get to the events of today, because it is just that exciting!

As a teacher, I am always getting brochures and information about different activities around the area - and I got one this year for the Scarecrow Patch. They have a petting zoo, all types of swings, slides, zip lines, hayrack rides, tricycle paths, corn mazes, and train rides for kids of all ages. We've been planning to go for a little while, but something always seems to come up. Even though the weather wasn't ideal today, we decided to go ahead and go - this was our last chance!!

We weren't disappointed! When we first walked in, there was a big area with goats and a calf. At first, Alex wanted to just look through the fence.

Then we walked over to the pigs - we couldn't go in with them at all, so Daddy held Alex and they looked over the fence. (That would have been my only complaint about this place - the fences weren't "little kid" friendly - Alex could barely see without us lifting him!)

Bunnytown

Then we tried going INTO the petting farm. Alex was fine as long as the animals were at a distance, but once they got close, he was a little freaked out.

Daddy holding Alex as he "almost" attempts to pet the calf and a goat.

Another shot of the goats - in the background (by the bench) you can see the pony ride - we tried this as well, but Alex wouldn't let Daddy put him on the pony. He did pet the pony, he just wasn't a fan of farm animals today. :)

Then it was on to the stuff that Alex really loved - SLIDES!! Luckily, they had them all over the place - and they were big enough that Daddy could slide with Alex. (No, I wasn't about to volunteer myself for sliding with Alex on a slide - I think that the fire dept. would have to come out with a forklift to get me up off of the ground!!!) :)

Sliding out of the Scarecrow's pickup!

Alex and Daddy going down one of the bigger slides!

Alex and Daddy "racing" to see who can get to the bottom first! (Yes, Alex did have just a little bit of a terrified look on his face - he and Daddy went tandem from then on.)

Alex did try one other slide on his own - but just once, as you will see. He landed in a corn pit - and proceeded to freak out from there.

Daddy and Alex on the L-O-N-G slide!

Then we took the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch! Alex loved just walking around in the sandy dirt and pointing at all of the pumpkins. We did get one, but it was a hurried dash to get it and to get back onto the ride back - the weather started raining and there was thunder!!! (Yea, THUNDER in October!!!)

And here are a few shots from earlier in the week - Alex laying on the floor with his feet up - I guess he's seen me do that a few times to reduce the swelling - he does look VERY relaxed!! :)

And this one just cracks me up - Alex has discovered that he has pockets! He doesn't want anything in them except for his hands - but it is just adorable to see him walking around with his little hands shoved into his little pockets! :)

That's it! Baby Clue #3 will be revealed soon - has anyone figured it out yet? :)

Our schedules:

Monday - Volleyball game at Dunning

Tuesday - Dr. visit

Friday - taking tickets at the Sargent FB game

Sometime this week (hopefully): Andy's quarterly review and bonus ($$$!!!) :)

Saturday - Daddy and Alex will drive to Bassett to watch my VB girls play in their tournament (this is the last thing of the season!)

Wednesday 10/22 - External Team Review that I serve on - meeting in Ansley.

And then after the 22nd, I can have a baby!! :) I haven't had any back pain lately, so (knock on wood), things can hopefully wait until the 22nd! :)

Have a great weekend and week everyone! :)

Dr. Appt

Today was the last of my every-other-week appointments...now we're on to every week.

When Dr. Lawrence came in, she did the measurements, all of the "routine" stuff....she then hooked me up to see how much room the little man has left, and said that his head is VERY low! He's still on his side, because I was concerned that he may be face-up, like Alex was. She said that the babies usually don't turn until RIGHT before birth, but when they are on their side, they most likely turn the right way and come out face down. So.....we'll see what this little munchkin chooses to do. :)

I talked with Dr. Lawrence about the induction, and she said that the 27th will be perfect. She seemed to think that he would already be here by the 27th, but she did put me on the calendar anyway. Luckily, I haven't been having any contractions, only back pain, and it hasn't been consistant at all. However, I have been having a VERY tender spot right above my belly button, and it always seems to be there, so I know that it's not a baby elbow (or knee, etc.) pushing on a certain area. I asked her about it, because it has been concerning me. She called it something (Andy knows the term), but basically it means that my muscles are spreading apart and baby (and all associated baby-things) are pushing through. VERY painful!!!! SO, she said that I need to stay off of my feet as much as possible (yeah, right - I'm a teacher!), and to not lift ANYTHING. So, that is going to be my challenge for the next three-or-so weeks...because Alex is in a stage right now where he wants to be held......and if I am sitting, it's just not the same to him. So, we'll see how we can cope.

Then she gave me the Strep-B test, so I should be finding out the results next week when I go in. She also checked me out, and said that my cervix is still closed (which is a good sign). However, she decided to freak me out anyway by saying as she left, "See you next week, if not sooner!!"

Doesn't she know that I can't have this baby until after the 22nd? Doesn't this baby know that he can't come until after the 22nd? :) I know that I have absolutely NO control, but it's nice to keep telling myself that it all will work out. :)

Until next time, I'll be here with my feet up! (Yeah, right! More of that wishful thinking!) :)

Baby Name Clue #2

Here is your second-round clue for Acta's name.....good luck!!

Birthday List

I know that Alex's birthday isn't until the end of this month, and his party isn't until November 8, but there have been quite a few requests for what he "needs" - - and honestly, the boy NEEDS nothing....our house is crammed full of toys, books, and clothes. However, what kind of parents would we be if we didn't let him have what he WANTS every once in a while?!?!! :)

So, here is the list of some ideas - please don't consider this an exhaustive list, feel free to add whatever else you'd like, these are merely suggestions and recommendations. :)

Clothing:
-He's in 2T right now, and will most likely be for the better part of winter.....
-Heavy winter coat/snowsuit (something with pants, so he can go outside and play), boots (size 7), gloves/mittens and hat

Toys:
-He's really into cars, animals, anything sports, tools, mostly "boy" stuff where he is "doing" things instead of just watching.....some ideas: http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=lpproduct&pid=44741 or http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=10&e=lpproduct&pid=44778 wooden blocks, lacing beads (the ones with holes in the middle and shoestrings - work on the hand-eye coordination)
-He LOVES our laptop - something computer of his own? (maybe that's just wishful thinking) :)
-any DVD's where you see kids singing - he LOVES to sing along, or Thomas, Little Einstein's, Sesame Street (especially Elmo),
-Books - he loves to read anything, so go for it!
-A kid-size chair of his own in the living room
-Wagon - here's one that we really like - - http://www.radioflyer.com/plastic/plastic_3100.html
- A tricycle that he can learn with - http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Rock-Roll-Ride-Trike/dp/B00005UOSC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1223341102&sr=1-2

-All else fails, money for his savings account will be fine. :)

Like I said, please don't consider this an exhaustive list, because I am sure there are other things out there that Alex would love that I have missed.

Getting Ready!

Wow - now that it's October, we (ok - I) am/are really freaking out because we don't have all of the stuff ready for baby! So this weekend we spent ALL of our time getting everything ready - -I guess I didn't remember Alex needing all of this stuff when we got ready for him, but I also recall that we had most of the stuff set up and ready from about month 7 on.....and here I am at 36 weeks......yikes!

Friday night we went down to Litchfield to watch Sargent's football team play. They did really well, and Alex made it until 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.....then he was OUT! Saturday we spent most of the day shopping - Kearney for Target and baby stuff - a new "coming home" outfit, new corks, now bottles, receiving blankets, diapers (Holy cow those are small compared to Alex's!!!), a new swing (Alex blew the motor out of his), and other misc. stuff. Then we headed over to Grand Island to stop at Sam's for the BIG purchasing of diapers. (Sam's doesn't have the newborn size - but they do have the 1's. From what we recall, Alex was in the newborn size for about 2 weeks, then into the 1's.) Plus, Alex needed some of his 5's.....so we had a full car for the ride home.

Then today it was washing, wiping off, cleaning, rearranging, organizing everything. We have a bin of baby clothes downstairs, so we went through and organized by size, and brought up all of the stuff that Acta will need here in the first couple of months.

Alex did enjoy going through everything with us.....we did let him ride in his old swing, since it was going to the garbage anyway.........it was too funny!



Then we brought (and set up) the pack and play - we'll keep it in our room for Acta. Alex wanted to put his pillow, blanket, and lovey in it - - he probably would have napped if it weren't 11:30 AM!
The bed's new "home" (at least for the next few months....)

Next as we were wiping off the plastic "stuff" while the cloth parts were being washed, Alex decided that he needed to re-live his carseat days. I don't think that he fits too well anymore!! :)

The changing table re-appeared, and found it's new home.....

And the crib is all set up and ready to go!

And here's what Squiggles did all day - - (she hasn't been on here in a while, so thought I would share a pic of her). :)

Now on to this week - if I can survive through Wednesday, then I will be on the "homestretch" - - volleyball Monday, Dr. Appt. on Tuesday, volleyball again on Wednesday......then I have to take tickets at the football game on Friday as Andy has an open house in Bow on Friday......BUSY WEEK!!!

I'm going to go to bed - just thinking about all of this is exhausting!! :) Have a great week everyone!