More Pictures ...

One month old!

I'm beginning to think Owen is really long ... look how long his body is already!  Maybe that's why he's 12lbs

Sleeping on his hand ... he loves doing that

Whenever we carry Owen around the house he loves to look out the windows ...

Sleeping on daddy's chest ...

One Month Old!

Owen is officially one month old! I had a nurse come out to the house to weigh him today. When he was born at 8lbs 3oz he landed in the 51st percentile in weight. At his two week check-up he weighed 9lbs 13oz which is in the 75th percentile. The nurse weighed him in at 12lbs 2oz yesterday which is the 97th percentile! Can we say, "CHUNKER"! I cannot believe he's that big. I keep thinking it's unhealthy with how fast he's growing but the doctors and nurses keep telling me he is perfectly fine gaining so much weight so quickly. Let's just pray it slows down or I'm going to have a 100lb toddler :)

3.5 weeks already!

Owen is 3.5 weeks old already! Sorry for the delay in posting. I, unfortunately, found out this website doesn't do a very good job with posting large pictures and videos. I've been updating facebook more often since it's so much quicker. I will, though, attempt to put some more stuff on here!

Things have been going really well. Owen is gaining weight like it's nobody's business. Instead of gaining the average 1 oz a day, he's been gaining 2 oz a day! He was supposed to be at his birth weight at his 2 week check-up and he was 1.5 lbs heavier than that! The dr. said not to worry about too much weight gain. He's just a healthy eater! :)

My days consist of waking Owen up, feeding him, changing him, playing with him, putting him down for a nap, and then starting the cycle all over again. Michael's been gone a lot because of Fire Academy so my days get pretty boring. Owen and I just hang out together all day every day. The positive side of being by myself is extra time with Owen -- we're bonding well!

Health-wise things are ok. My stitches are bothering me and they were supposed to have dissolved over a week ago. I may have to go back in and get some removed. Hopefully I won't need to worry about that and my issues will heal themselves.

Here are some recent pictures.

I did a little photo shoot in my living room :)



My dad came to visit!



This is, by far, my favorite picture taken of Owen! It doesn't look like him since his positioning is forcing his chubbiness to show more but I love it! Look at that smirk!

Pictures!

We've been taking pictures like crazy but have been too tired to post them.  Here is a start.  I'll blog tomorrow about how everyone has been doing!

Owen getting ready to leave the hospital:

On his way home.  The quilt was made by my great grandmother.  It's been passed down to each generation and used for all the siblings in each family when they came home from the hospital.

My mom HAD to take a picture of us entering the house for the first time with Owen:

Owen yawning ... so cute!

His grandmother giving him a bath ... I think he loves the camera.

So handsome!

Hospital Pics

The hospital has a baby album so they came in to take some pictures.  If you go to this link you can see Owen's page!  His birth date was 4-12-10 and it's under Jill H. 

http://www.peacehealth.org/Whatcom/BabyAlbum/searchpage.htm

One Day Old

Owen has been doing great in the hospital!  He's officially a day old and opening his eyes all the time now.  Here are some pictures!

He's here!

Owen Walter Helms was born today (April 12, 2010) at 10:51 a.m. Pacific Time. He weighs 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 20 inches long. Jill pushed for 3 straight hours, due to the fact that Owen decided to "surf" sideways
out of his Mom! Both Owen and Jill are doing fine, and Jill will update this blog as soon as she's feeling more
alert!

It's almost time!

It's 7:15 a.m. in Bellingham, and here's where we are: At 5:30 a.m., after a night of consistent labor, the doctor
broke the "membranes," and Jill's labor sped up. As of now, birth looking like it will occur in the very near future!

Admitted

Welp, Jill was having contractions all day so we decided at 8pm to make our way to the hospital for some medicine to help her sleep.  We arrived at St. Joes and after her first checkup, they had us walk around the hospital for an hour.  When we returned back from our walk, the dr decided Jill had progressed enough to admit us.  It is midnight April 11th/12th now.  Jill is contracting at about 2 mins each contraction, and must have a high pain tolerance.  Ill update the blog, once the lil man is born. Thanks again to all the love and support!!!

40 weeks, 3 days

I forgot to update this page this morning -- my mom is now in town so we've been doing some things.  I haven't had the baby, yet!  I've definitely begun the early stages of labor: lower back pain, hightened pressure in my abdomen, etc.  Basically, I feel like the baby could fall out any day now :)  BUT -- I haven't had any real, consistent contractions and those are what I'm waiting for.  It'd be nice if my water broke but did you know only 1 in 10 women experience that before they start contractions?  The movies are so misleading!

Contractions?

So, this is perfect timing.  Michael went to Fire Academy this morning and as soon as he left I started feeling a little uncomfortable.  That uncomfortable feeling has turned into slight contractions (I think).  I have no idea if they're the real deal but I do know it's not the best feeling in the world.  So far they're not close together or painful.  We'll keep updating!  :)

40 Weeks, 1 day

WARNING: This update may be too much information for you so proceed at your own risk :)

I woke up this morning and ... lost my mucus plug.  If you don't know what that is, you can google it but try to avoid looking at the pictures that pop up.  They're gross (I guess you could probably figure that out by the name). 

This is a good sign!  :)

Another update

I am officially 90% effaced and my doctor doesn't think I will make it another few days without having the baby.  We'll see if she's right!  She stripped my membranes so I guess that's a natural way of speeding the process up.  It was PAINFUL!  She left the room saying, "Maybe I'll see you tonight".  I hope so!

Today is our due date!

Today is the official due date!  I know that means nothing but it's still crazy that I've been waiting for this specific day for almost 9 months!  I actually had my first really uncomfortable sleep last night.  Maybe that's a good sign! 

I've got an appt. today so I'll make another entry when I get back to fill you all in! 

39 Weeks and 6 days!

My sister laughed at my last update so I guess I'll be a little more detailed for today :)

I'm feeling pretty good -- have had a few signs that labor is near but I won't list them since they're a little personal.  Tomorrow is my official due date.  I think it'd be pretty cool if I had him tomorrow since only 5% of women give birth on the due date.  I love going against the odds! 

I have a drs. appt. tomorrow at 3pm so I'll have a great update to give you after that!

Update

Still no baby! :) 

No baby, yet!

So, now I'm going to start using this blog for the reason it was created.  Michael and I will try to update this thing daily so you don't have to worry about being out of the loop with the labor.  A lot of people have been asking if we've had the baby yet so we're just going to direct them to this blog from here on out.

No baby, yet!  :)  I haven't had any contractions or any weird/abnormal feelings.  The baby is really low, though, and I've been feeling a bit more pressure.  Other than that things are normal.  I have a drs. appt. on Thursday (the due date) so if I make it till then I'll update everyone on my status! 

39 Week Check-up

I had my drs. appt. on Thursday.  My doctor wasn't available so another one had to come in.  It was a little awkward but I figured the guy who took her place could potentially be on-call when I go into labor -- he'd be delivering my baby in that case so I might as well get used to him! 

He said I was 1-2cm dilated, still 80% effaced and the baby's station is at -2 right now.  If you don't know much about the stations, they go from -5 which is the highest position to +5 which is the baby on his way out.  So my baby is sitting pretty low right now! 

5 more days till the official due date --- I really hope I have him over Spring Break.  I don't want to have to decide if I should go back to school for a few days before he comes.  It'd be really convenient to just stay out the rest of the year.  So, let's go baby! Come on out!

Nursery Pics

I forgot I had a blog....

The last few weeks have been kind of crazy so I forgot I had this blog!  Michael and I have been preparing for the baby... they like to call it "nesting" in the baby world.  Michael won't admit it but he's been nesting as much as I have been.  I've been preparing the baby room like crazy and he's been cleaning the house at random hours of the day :)  I think all of this has caused me to get sick, though.  I'm just now getting over a cold I got almost 2 weeks ago.

Some updates ...

37 Week check-up:  I was 80% effaced and a few mm dilated.  Did you know they can measure in mm?  Not sure how accurate that is but whatever!  :)

38 Week check-up:  I was about the same on the effacement and dilation but the doctor told me my cervix has shifted forward a significant amount.  I didn't even know your cervix was supposed to change position.  Since this has happened, she thinks I'll be dilating a lot this coming week.  I have my 39 week check-up on Thursday. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the baby comes really close to my due date because everything has been going so smoothly.  I've been measuring perfectly each week, I'm starting to efface and dilate at the right time and in the right amount, etc.  I could just be convincing myself of this since I really want him to be born over my school's spring break :) 

Our baby room is almost completely done so I am hoping to post pictures soon ... it's just hard for me to post pics of an incomplete room :)

It's finally here!

HERE IT IS!

STILL NO CHANGING TABLE!!!!!

I can't believe it -- all I can do is show you the tracking status ... that will explain it all.  Burlington, Wa is 25 minutes south of Bellingham.  It's been that close to me this whole time and they aren't even capable of figuring out where I live.  What they'll eventually add onto the page below is that it will be out for delivery tomorrow -- but am I going to assume they'll actually do that?  NO!  The last man I talked to said he doesn't know why it didn't make it to my house today.  What stinks is there doesn't seem to be anyone I can call who is in charge.  Everyone seems to point the fingers at someone else.  This is going to make me go into labor!

Click on the picture to make it bigger.

Changing Table continued

So ... the furniture company got our address wrong when they shipped the changing table.  We have to wait three more days now because they couldn't find our house.  LAME.

Changing Table!

I was praying that our changing table would be shipped earlier than expected.  I have been anxious to get our baby room set up and ready to go before the baby comes so this has been bothering me.  I just got an email from the company that said the changing table was shipped yesterday and should arrive Friday! This is two weeks earlier than expected!  I think I may have this room completed within a week!  Woo hoo!!!!!  :) 

34 Weeks -- Random topics to share

Giving Birth:
We're 34 weeks now!  This weekend we're going to go shopping for the items we need to pack for the hospital.  While I would LOVE it if our son decided to come late, I keep seeing friends have their first baby a couple weeks early -- so I should probably prepare just in case.  He seems pretty content, though, so I don't think he's coming out any time soon :) 

Nursery:
We're still waiting on the 3rd piece of our baby furniture.  I thought the baby room would be completely set up by now so it's been a little frustrating for me.  They say pregnant women have a strong urge to "nest" and I guess that's what's happening.  The last thing I want is to have to set up the room AFTER the baby is here! 

Dentist:
I guess your hormones during pregnancy make your teeth and gums a little more sensitive.  I went into the dentist two days ago to get a cleaning -- MOST PAINFUL CLEANING EVER!  After everything was done, I felt like I got pinched in 1,000 places in my mouth.  Your gums bleed more easily, too, so my mouth was full of blood when she was flossing.  Hopefully there will be no need for another appointment until after I've had the baby. 

Michael:
Michae's getting really excited for the baby ... especially now that he's moved up in the process of becoming a full-time fire fighter.  He's officially a part-time paid fireman now.  He has always had a strong drive to provide for his family financially so knowing he's taken a significant step in the process of becoming full-time and knowing his son is coming is making him so happy!  :) 

Camera:
My parents bought me a camera around the time I graduated high school (maybe my first year of college).  It was one of those fancy SLR camera's with the big lens.  I loved it and used it for years.  Unfortunately, when digital cameras started becoming really popular, it was harder for me to use my camera since it wasn't digital.  I don't even remember the last time I noticed film for sale in a store. 

The summer I met Michael, in 2004, one of my friends had the same camera as me but it was digital.  Ever since then I've wanted that camera!  There is a new feature on it, too, where you can take HD video.  I figured this would be such a practical buy since we have a baby on the way.  The camera is expensive, though, so that's why I haven't bought it in these 6 years of wanting it.

Michael went downstairs last night and wasn't telling me what he was doing.  He came upstairs with a gift .... it was the camera!  He went out and bought it for me :)  Now we can take pictures and videos!!  I guess that's the whole point of this blog anyway -- so friends and family can see pics and videos of the baby.  Now I can make that happen, thanks to Michael!  I love him :)

Appeasing the Masses

I guess it's time to appease the masses ... the long wait is over!  Here are some month-by-month baby bump picks.  Michael had to force me to post these since I was so resistant (my face and thighs are fat -- can you blame me?).

4 months:

5 Months:

6 Months:

7 Months (31 weeks):

7 Months (32 weeks):

31 Week Check-Up

I went to the doctor yesterday for a bi-weekly check-up.  My weight gain, blood pressure, protein levels, glucose levels, and most importantly, iron levels are great!  The doctor said very few women make it through pregnancy without any anemia issues and that I am one of those few!  She was amazed at how well my iron levels were.  "Keep doing what you're doing!" she said. 

This is the second time in my life that my doctors over the years have commented on the "quality" of my blood.  The first one to comment asked me what my diet was like because he was so impressed.  This OB doctor assumed my diet was great since she encouraged me to keep going with it.  The truth is --- it's not so amazing.  I think God just blessed me with some exceptional blood!  :) 

I did ask her about the pregnancy acne that is slowly taking over every square inch of my skin.  She said that's just the way my body responds to hormonal changes and that it'd go away after the baby comes.  I seriously hope so.  I've been having dreams about being thin, tan, and acne-free.  Can you tell what I'm stressing about?  :) 

Setting up the nursery!

I don't want to post a lot of pictures, yet, because I'd like to post them all once the room is officially complete.  We've only received two pieces of furniture so far but I'll post a few pics so those of you who have been asking can see what the baby room will look like (somewhat look like). 

I'm excited to keep working on the room but the 3rd furniture piece we're waiting for isn't going to ship until next week :(  Once we get it, though, we'll start decorating!  I'd love to have the room complete within the next month.  I'm definitely in "nesting" mode. 

Here are some pictures of the process of setting up the room so far!

Baby Furniture

I didn't realize it's been over a week since I last wrote.  Woops.  Is this it?  Am i already slipping on these blog posts?  I hope not!  :) 

I went to the doctor yesterday.  Everything looks good!  I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks (before it was just once a month).  I can't believe we're getting so close!  We have 11 weeks from today until the due date.  That sounds so soon! 

We just bought our nursery furniture, too, which we're pumped about.  We can't wait to get it and set it up in the room.  We'll definitely post pictures as soon as that happens!  Michael and I love walking by the room, opening the door, and just imagining our baby in there :)  It will be even more fun when it's not an empty room ... as in ... furniture will be in there.  And I guess it will be even MORE fun when it's not an empty room ... as in ... a BABY will be in there! 

First major baby gift!

My mom bought us a travel system! For those of you who don't know what a travel system is (I didn't until a few months ago), it's a combo of a stroller and car seat! Here are the pictures of it. Michael pushed it around the house practicing for when the baby will be in it ... isn't he so cute? :) THANKS FOR THE GIFT, MOM!