One Little Monkey's...

First Halloween! I think Caden had fun dressing up in his very first Halloween costume... It fit him so cute and when the monkey face fell over his eyes he didn't even seem to mind. We took our little monkey boy to this year's Annual First Fest where he got reacquainted with his long time friend Noah (aka Pastor Gregg). Between all the games, rides, food, kids and costumes, our littlest trick or treater got pooped and fell fast asleep in the blanket of his warm monkey suit.

My Punkin' in the Pumpkin Patch

On his pumpkin throne





















Backstroking in a sea of pumpkins















And pumpkin gazing :)

Bubbies Turns 2 months Old!

So, I started calling Caden "Bubbies" "Bubs" "Bubba"... it's fun to say it, but I'm not sure I think he looks like a Bubba... he's much too handsome! Anyhow, I am simply amazed at how much my little boy has changed in such a short amount of time. It is such a joy to see him sweetly but discretely lock eyes with me now and he smiles SO BIG I'm not sure his glowing little face can radiate all the happiness he feels inside! Things have become a bit more predictable schedule-wise lately... he seems to be pretty stout through the day... not much for napping, at least not as much as I expected him to. Anywhere from 8:30 to 9:30, things begin to wind down, he gets his last meal in and we rock together in the chair next to his crib until he falls asleep. He's been sleeping much longer too... mostly in the 5 hour range at night, but we did hit a rock star total of 7 straight hours of sleep in the last week! Glorious as it was, I must admit I look forward to his waking up early still and I sleepily make my way over to his crib, pick his warm little body up and hug him all the way back to Mommy and Daddy's bed where we sleep the remaining hours of the night all snuggly warm. That's the only reason I'm looking forward to the cold weather ;) Many times Jason and I are both awake before Caden is and we snicker about our little Prince Caden fast asleep in his KING SIZE bed ;)

Caden 1 Month Old

So we bought a new camera to photograph our new baby :)



















The End!

Knowing Caden

Suddenly the little stranger within me for the last 9 months is in the world and here he is... Pure, precious, innocent. He can sleep so soundly and peacefully or at times wiggle, kick an arm or leg into the air, grunt, or dream, sigh... suckle. He stirs as he wakens and blinks his sweet bright eyes and then realizes the hunger. As I draw him near his sparkling eyes widen and his perfect little lips soften into the sweetest 'O'. After three weeks, I sense he knows me now and is comforted being near me. He curls himself around me as he sleeps on my chest with that soft, round little head, resting heavily in the nape of my neck which gives me the prime opportunity to giggle at the dark hair on his ears and shoulders. He has long arms, long legs, long fingers and toes. Sometimes he sleeps with those long legs drawn into the 'froggy', others with them draped loosely to the sides. He doesn't like his feet covered very often which I learned from his kicking the bottom out of his swaddle, so now I leave his feet out most of the time. I started taking naps with him everyday and we sleep next to one another keeping warm. Waking up I get to watch him arch his back and stretch his little fists up and behind his head while his face turns red ;)

I'm learning to lay down my own agenda, to literally stop what I'm doing right in my tracks, and spend time with him. In those moments I get the privilege of discovering some new smile or expression of his that I hadn't yet seen, or maybe that he hadn't even had before and I know I will never forget them... and in those moments I am so thankful to have been given the cue from God to soak in something memorable while I have the chance.

Meeting Our Caden

With great joy, I'd like to announce that Caden James McCorvey is here :D He arrived into the world on August 8, 2009 weighing in at 8lbs. 8oz. and 19.5 inches long. Here's our story...

So, the day I turned 39 weeks, we went for our checkup. My doctor walked into the exam room and asked how I was doing and I started to cry... It was pretty obvious to her that I was very uncomfortable and so she suggested my being induced. We weighed it for a few minutes together... I was already dilated to 4cm and 90% effaced on my own so she felt with that kind of natural progress an induction had an 85% chance or so of resulting in a vaginal delivery. So, together we agreed that August 8th would be the day! My doctor wasn't scheduled to be working that weekend, but she wanted to deliver our baby, so she said she would be there for us that day;) sooo special of her to do that for us! Sooo, Jason and I left our appointment feeling excited, relieved and bewildered. We immediately came home and made of list of to-do's and went about cleaning and doing laundry and packing and making sure everything was in tip top shape before we brought our son home for the first time. Jason took Friday off from work to help with the final touches and it gave us one last day of being together before the big day.

On August 8th, I woke up at 2 am in anticipation of going to the hospital and my mind was racing with excitement and nervousness... I woke Jason up at around 2:45 anxious to talk and start getting ready as we were due at the hospital at 5:15am.

So, once at the hospital, I was connected to the contraction monitor and the nurse, Pooran, noticed I was having contractions already. She suggested I might be able to help her have a hot lunch by delivering quickly ;)





She also informed me that my doc, Dr. Vyas, was now covering for a co-worker who had fallen ill, but that she would be checking on my progress via telephone and she would be there to deliver our baby. So, the night resident started the induction around 7am which helped make my contractions more intense and helped prepare my cervix for delivery; at that point, I was grateful to not be having any pain. I was checked again at 930am by Dr. Rosenbaum (the self proclaimed "babysitter" doc that filled in until Dr. Vyas was able to make it to the hospital) and at that time I was at 5cm and almost completely effaced, still no pain. They decided to break my water at 1030 am. In the meantime, our parents showed up and helped keep us entertained with my mom singing songs she made up for Caden and Jason's mom showing us card tricks until time to break my water. Up until that point, as I said, I hadn't been having any pain with my contractions, though Pooran reassured me I would ;). Once my water was broken, PAIN, oh my GOSH the pain. I called for my epidural and Dr. Diaz, the chief of anesthesiology, was about to have to do a c-section and I was afraid I would have to wait... luckily, he came to help me out just before the c-section began. God BLESS him! Ok, so at 1130am, Dr. Lam, the day resident came to check my progress... To all of our surprise, I went from 5cm to 8cm in that one hour and all the family (behind the curtain of course) cheered! My dad cheered along with them but then shook his hands in the air and asked what does that mean? Ha. He's cute. So, at that point, Dr. Rosenbaum called Dr. Vyas and she made her way over to the hospital to push with me. By the time she arrived an hour and half later, I was a full 10cm and 100% effaced and ready to push. At that point, Jason and I were left to the business of delivering our baby. Jason was a wonderful coach, very nurturing and supportive. He was so excited watching the progress that it helped keep me motivated and excited too. After one hour of pushing, our sweet Caden was born. Here's the scene that followed...








And last, but not least... Baby Caden's Glamour Shots just a few hours before leaving the hospital.

The Wait

So it looks like it's my turn to play the waiting game ;) Two weeks ago I went for my 36 week checkup and was feeling pretty optimistic that I might be making progress given my backaches and cramping... To my excitement I found out that I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My doctor was pretty encouraged by that too seeing as how this is my first baby and I was already making good progress. Then from 36 to 37 weeks, I didn't have the feeling that anything much was really happening... My symptoms had calmed down signficantly, other than just growing discomfort with my growing baby. So, sure enough, I went for my 37 week appointment and was still at 2cm and 50-60% effaced. At first that was disappointing. I felt like maybe I had stalled out and started having thoughts that I might go all the way to 40 weeks, or even beyond. I decided to pray and asked the Lord to give me endurance and patience, trusting in His timing and plan for the birth of a healthy baby and that gave me peace. Thankfully, from 37 to 38 weeks, I started again with more backaches and cramping. For my 38 week checkup (2 days ago), I felt sure I had made more progress and it turns out I was right! I was at 3cm and 80% effaced. From my exam, my doctor said she felt that my water may even break in the next few days! She was even more reassuring by saying she felt pretty confident that I won't go all the way to my due date. I'm feeling relieved and lucky to get that kind of feedback as I know it is much more common for first babies to come late. I am also trying to be the cautious optimistic because I know I really can't know what the outcome will be. There are more signs that indicate labor may be just around the corner, so today I'm pretty anxious and excited. Jason, me and Caden all have a bag packed and in the car and an installed car seat ready to bring home our little boy. It's also my last day to work today and so I'm officially on maternity leave in just a matter of a few hours! It is a little funny to keep going through the motions of everyday life, unsure of when the next sign of labor or labor itself will come. We're on the edge of our seats, but biding our time as patiently as we can.