Bath Time!

We gave Rylee her first sponge bath the other day. She absolutley loved it! She didn't even cry at all. The nurses at the hospital told us that she had loved it there too, especially when you scrubbed her head - and they were right. She is so content when we wash her hair, even when we dump the water over her head. It will be a nice bed time routine to get into because after her bath she is so relaxed. Hopefully she will continue to love bath time!

Rylee Meets Beau

Our friends Ryan, Abby, and Beau came over the other night and Rylee got to meet her boyfriend Beau for the first time. It was so cute to see them together. He is only 3 months old but as you can see 3 months makes a big difference in size, plus Beau is pretty big for his age. They will have so much fun playing together as they grow up.

First Few Days Home

Vanessa has been taking hundreds of pictures these first few days and I thought I would share some of them with everyone. I don't know what I am going to do when my in home photographer leaves us.

What a doll - I can't stop kissing those soft cheeks!

So far she loves being in her carseat and traveling in the car - let's hope that lasts!

Auntie Ness took this one and I thought it was adorable

She looks so tiny in her play yard

I layed her down on her back and when I checked on her she had rolled over to her side for the first time...now she loves to lay on her side.

All curled up and cozy on Grandma

Sleeping in Auntie Nessa's arms

She loves to look at you in the eyes when you talk to her. It is so special and one of my favorite things to do with her.

Wide awake and looking around

Her little toesies

Going Home!

Sunday afternoon we were released from the hospital and got to bring Rylee home. We had to stay a little later than planned because the doctors wanted to do some extra blood testing. She has a bump (swelling) on her head from both/either her position in my pelvis and the labor and they wanted to take some tests before she left. It seemed like the longest hour ever waiting for the results but fortunately she passed all of the tests- what a relief. So we left the hospital around 5:00 on Sunday afternoon and came home to my Mom, Grandma, Vanessa, and Bailey waiting for us. They had balloons, flowers, and pictures - it was such a nice welcoming home for our family. Here are some pictures of us leaving the hospital and also getting home.

Welcome Home Rylee!

At The Hospital

Wide awake and only a few hours old

Back to sleep

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYLEE!!!

Meeting The Family

We called my family at 3:00 in the morning while we were on our way to the hospital to tell them what was going on. They had been waiting anxiously for this call. My mom, my dad, Vanessa, Bailey, and my Grandma Sally were on their way by 6:00 and they got here a few hours after Rylee was born. They were so excited to meet her! Friday happened to be the very last day I could have her and have my dad still be able to make it down because he started football practice on Sunday. I am so glad that he was able to make it - it means so much to me. My brother Brad was not able to come with my family because he had a Dr.'s appt. that morning that he had to go to in order to be cleared for football practice on Sunday. He called me after she was born and said how much he wished he could be there. A few hours later he walked into the hospital room and surprised us all. He had drove down all 10 hours by himself after his Dr.'s appt. just to see us and to meet his niece. Talk about a great brother (and Uncle)...we will never forget that. My brother Ben wasn't able to make it cause his football had started the week before (freshman football...can you believe it?) otherwise he would have been here too. Uncle Ben will have to wait til Labor Day to meet her. Here are some pictures of Rylee and her family.

Only Minutes Old

Her very first picture: it was so wonderful to hear her cry for the first time!

Our first Family picture!!

Daddy and his lil' girl

A very proud Mom!!

Rylee Dawn Spindler

Our Blessing From Above

Rylee Dawn Spindler

August 10, 2007

7 lbs. 11 oz. , 20.5 in.

Thursday (August 9th) Brad and I went to bed like it was any other night. By midnight I was up and started to feel some cramping but I wasn't sure if they were contractions or not. I tried to go back to sleep but by 2 AM they were a lot worse so I decided to wake Brad up. Surprisingly we both stayed calm and timed the contractions for the next hour. They were consistently 2 minutes apart so we decided it was time to call the Dr.'s office. Of course he told us to come on in. So we showered (again - it surprises me how calm we were) and packed up the car. By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were a lot worse! They had me skip the Triage and put me right in the Labor and Delivery room. For the next 3 hours I walked around and sat on the birthing ball while my contractions continued to get worse and worse. Rylee was posterior so I was mostly feeling everything in my back...which hurt more than I had imagined. At 6:30 in the morning I was 6 cm. dilated and decided it was time to have the epidural. I just didn't want to deal with that back pain anymore! I continued to dilate how I was suppose to so I didn't need pitosin (which I was happy about) and by 10:30 I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. I pushed from 11 til 11:57 and then our baby girl was born! It was the most exciting and emotional moment in our lives! We are so thankful for our precious miracle from God - Rylee Dawn.

39 Weeks!!!

Today is the day that I had picked, way back at the beginning of this pregnancy, for her to be born...mmm, I don't think that'll be happening. We had our 39 Week appointment today and my Dr. did an internal exam. I'm pretty much at the same place as I was at our 36 Week appointment. I am still 50% effaced but she did say this time I am dilated at 1/2 cm instead of nothing (I think she was just being nice). She also said she is around the -2 position (2 cm above what they call station 0). I still have not felt any Braxton Hicks either. So again, the Dr. reminded me that they'll give me about a week after the due date before they induce me. My Dr. also asked me about her movement. Yesterday and today I didn't think she had been quite as active as she usually is. So my Dr. put me on the fetal monitor for 15 minutes to record her heartbeat, movement, and the uterine activity. Her heartbeat was great and correlated with her movement. She moved around in there just like the Dr. wanted. But to my surprise, the Dr. also told me that I was having contractions. I didn't feel them but she showed me the recordings for the uterine activity and sure enough every once in awhile there was a spike which were contractions. I asked if they were Braxton Hicks and she said no that those would not show up how these did. So, she said to just let them know when I start feeling the contractions and they hurt. But we are still in the same boat...it could be any day or we may have to wait another 2 weeks until they induce me...you just never know! Maybe a whole week of it being around 100 degrees here will be enough to put me in labor. It sure is hot!

The Nursery

Our nursery has been done for a few weeks now so we thought we would post some pictures of it to share. There is nothing on the walls yet, but the shelves, pictures, etc. will come later. We are really happy with the way it turned out! The lighting doesn't show the colors the best but you can still get a good idea of what it looks like. Thanks again to my dad for doing the chair rail for us - it looks great.

View from the door

The glider, changing table and hutch - our glider is so comfortable, I love it!

Her bookcase full of all the books and stuffed animals from the showers.

Her crib

Empty crib waiting for Baby Spins arrival - any day now!

We also wanted to say congratulations to our cousins Derek and Amy Anderson and our friends Stacey and Colin Pomeroy who are both expecting babies in February! We are so happy for them! They both live in Green Bay so it looks like we will be taking a trip up to Green Bay this winter to see the babies. Stacey started a blog as well and you can check it out by clicking on Baby Pomeroy under our "Friends" blogs.