New pics of Ryan

Well, it's been a while since we've blogged. I know, we're not good at it, but once Ryan got here it became much more difficult - not sure why that is. :) Anyway, things are going well. He's still great and is the cutest baby ever (in our own humble opinion anyway). So I wanted to put up his first two professional school pictures! He is currently at a daycare here in Austin and they have a Professional come once a year just like in school and take pictures. Of course the pictures were too cute to not buy some of them. The teachers said he did so good that he got a lot more proofs to look through than other babies. I guess that's the benefit to taking them early to get photos done and having Grandma "Pamarazzi" - he's totally used to the flash and he sees the camera and automatically starts smiling.

He is a really sweet baby and smiles a lot and has been laughing up a storm. He's really easy going and loves to be in his swing, bouncer and jumper. He doesn't jump as much as his cousin Nathan but he likes to stand there and sway sometimes. :)

Also, he rolled over for the first time by himself last night. He was on the couch and rolled from his back to his stomach. He's just getting so big, I can't even believe it. We're already buying Christmas presents for him and I can't wait for his first Christmas! Anyway, here you go. Hope you enjoy them.

All the babies are here!

Again, I'm a little behind the times, but I wanted to announce the arrival of Tygan Reef Schneider (my sister's, Tiffany's, son). He came last Sunday, July 6 in the afternoon and he weighed the exact same as Ryan - 7 lbs, 14 ounces. He also looks a lot like his older cousin (Ryan) - so much so that Michael and I were pretty stunned when we saw him in the hospital nursery. They have the same round face and little nose. Michael and I were lucky enough to be in Portland over the July 4th weekend when Tiffany went into labor so we got to meet our nephew on the day he was born.

Ryan is still doing well. I'm anxious to see what his weight is at our next doctor's appt. which is still a few weeks away - hopefully he's gained quite a bit. He's still wearing newborn size clothes and I can't wait until he fits in 0-3 months because he has so many cute clothes in that size. He's growing though, and we've begun to notice that he looks at us more and follows us with his eyes. Also, he does a great impersonation of Maggie from The Simpsons with his pacifier - he makes the same sucking sound as her and his pacifier moves up and down like hers. When he really gets on it, it's hard to pull it out of his mouth.

He also had his first real smile the other day. He's had the corners of his mouth curl up before but he was sleeping and dreaming I guess because he opened his mouth so wide you could see teeth if he had any and he actually made a laughing sound. So we're counting it as his first smile.

But even on the worst days, when he's been a little fussy and cries more than usual, motherhood is still amazing and I caught myself thinking again about our next one - hopefully a little girl. But we'll definitely wait until this one stops running us ragged through the night. :)

'Til next time...

Two down, one to go

First off, sorry to everyone keeping up with this blog b/c it has taken me longer to update it than I imagined. Having a newborn in the house takes up quite a bit of time - I definitely underestimated the amount of time and energy needed. But, the laundry is up to date and the dishes are washed and the house looks somewhat clean so I thought I would sit down and give a short update on how we're doing here at Casa de Spence.

Well, we made our longest roadtrip since Ryan got here on Thursday, June 26 when we drove to College Station to meet Ryan's new little cousin - Nathan Scott Spence. Michael's brother Brian and his wife Dawn welcomed their new son into the world on June 26 at around 4 a.m. He was 5 pounds, 13 ounces and in great health. Both mom and baby are doing great and they actually got to go home on Friday. It was amazing how the boys (Ryan and Nathan) didn't really have the same features and yet they still looked somewhat alike.

So now we have two babies here and we're only waiting on one - my sister Tiffany is due July 9 and is ready to give birth any day now. We're hoping she has the baby this coming week so we can go down for the July 4th weekend and see the newest baby.

Anyway, we have been settling in with Ryan. I'm doing much better and have been off my pain medication since Monday. I can walk and get in and out of bed pretty easily without any pain. I still can't jog (which I realized when I tried to run from the living room to Ryan's room) and I can't do any ab work, but other than that I'm doing really well.

Ryan is doing good as well. He has his days and nights mixed up so Michael and I trade off spending time feeding him and rocking him in the middle of the night but it's not too bad. He usually sleeps for around 4 hours at a time so if we're lucky enough to get him to bed early enough, he may only wake up once during the night for a feeding. We've tried to get him on a schedule but it's fairly impossible to do with a newborn that sleeps between 16-20 hours a day. We had read a book which has a system called EASY - Eat, Activity, Sleep and You, but it's hard to keep him awake for activity after he eats. He's usually exhausted after taking a bottle and at this age, it's hard to find an activity that he can see, but we're still working on it.

But parenthood is amazing. Even though Ryan can spend an hour crying and I feel like I'm ready to pull my hair out, I can look at him sleeping in my arms and he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and it was all worth it. Although I was so ready to be done with the pregnancy, I told Michael the other day that every time I look at Ryan's beautiful face I'm ready to do it all over again. We can't wait to give Ryan a little sister.

Well, it's time for Ryan's feeding so I better go. Talk to everyone later!

Photos of Nathan Spence

Birth Story

Well, sorry we didn't keep up with the blog as well as we planned, but the WiFi in the hospital was on the fritz so Michael couldn't update the blog or post pictures. So we're just now getting our birth story up. Here goes:

Well, we had planned to have the C-section on Monday, June 16 at noon so my mom and dad came up Sunday night to go with us to the hospital on Monday morning at 10 a.m. and I started having contractions Sunday night while we were at dinner at Red Lobster but didn't think much of it as I've been having contractions for the past two months. Then we went home and played with dad's new Wii (his Father's Day and birthday present). While playing Wii, my contractions continued to get harder, but were not on set intervals. They continued to get worse and hurt enough that I couldn't sleep but were still not regular. After watching tv from 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. I finally went and woke Michael up and told him that I was in so much pain that I couldn't handle it anymore. He started packing the suburban and timing the contractions which were now coming every 3 minutes.

By the time we got to the hospital (and waiting through 8 a.m. traffic on Mopac) and the nurses finally checked me, as they were moving very slowly because I don't think they believed Michael and I that I was in labor as we are newbies at this, I was already 8-9 centimeters dilated! They quickly got me to the Operating Room (OR) in about 30 minutes, although it felt like it took forever to me because I couldn't get the spinal block until I got in the OR, and Ryan was born at 10 a.m. on the dot. He was 7 lbs, 14 oz at birth and was 19 1/4 inches long with a 14 1/4 inch head! His head measured on the large scale and his weight and length was normal. After seeing his head measurement I'm very happy that we had a C-section.

Well, in my life I have never been a patient in the hospital for stitches, broken bones or anything else, so this was easily the worst pain I've ever been in, but it's hard since I can't compare it to anything else. But I can say that based on the pain I was in getting to 9 centimeters, and knowing that it would only have begun to hurt even more pushing a baby out, I think a C-section is definitely the most humane way to have a baby. And of course, the babies are so beautiful with a perfectly round head. :) Ryan is gorgeous and that's not just a proud mommy talking, the nurses and everyone else said so too.

We've been home since Thursday, June 19 and every day is an adventure as we are learning more about babies and get more organized. We'll try to update often with info and pictures of Ryan. Below is a link to our Picasa photo album (you don't need to sign up to view the pictures) and you can see pictures of Ryan's first days.

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us at the hospital and sent flowers. We'll get around to talking to everyone once we catch up on sleep.

Pictures

More Pictures

He's here!

Hi Everyone! This is Michael, letting you know that Ryan Michael Spence was born yesterday at 10:00am. some of you may notice that the birth time is a bit earlier than expected. That's because little Ryan decided to come early. Tamra went into labor on Monday morning, and was well on her way by the time we made it to the hospital. We made it in time to have the C-section and everything went perfectly. Ryan is absolutely perfect! He sleeps alot right now, but that doesn't stop me from hovering over him constantly. Tamra is up and around today and doing very well with her recovery. We'll be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday, so feel free to give us a call on either cell if you want to come by. We love having visitors. Well, I need to get back to the room (the wifi only works in the cafeteria), so I'll cut this short. Here is a picture of Ryan and Tamra. See you all soon,

Michael

10 days and counting

Well, we went to the doctor this week and it looks as though Ryan has decided to become an acrobat - he has completely flipped around. After weeks, months really, of being head down he waits until week 37 to go feet down. As a result, we now have to have a C-section which is scheduled for noon on June 16 at North Austin Medical Center.

I'm a little sad that we won't get to do the whole "It's time!" rushing around to the hospital thing but it is nice to be able to plan things. Such as my mom coming up, when my last day of work is, etc... BTW, my last day at work will be Thursday, June 12 and I will spend Friday through Sunday with my feet up relaxing in preparation of this huge, life-changing event.

So now I've been reading up on all things C-section as I wasn't planning on this but it looks like whether you have natural birth or c-section, it all hurts. I'm trying to not to think too much about the procedure itself as this will be my first stay in a hospital or major surgery. I'm just focusing on the fact that 10 days from now Michael and I will have our little boy here. I'm definitely looking forward to not having something rolling around in my stomach but I'm sure I'll miss how portable he is right now. :)

So, for everyone who has been wondering when we'll actually go into labor, the time is set - Monday, June 16 at noon (as long as we don't get bumped for an emergency c-section which we probably will) unless I go into labor early. We'll try to get the blog updated as soon as possible with the story and pictures but Michael will have his hands full helping me recover and taking care of little Ryan as at our hospital the baby is housed in-room.

Can't wait for everyone to meet our new boy!

Is it time yet?

Well, I know I'm only at 37 weeks and technically I have 3 more weeks until Ryan is due, but I am ready to be done - NOW! This blog will be used for venting, so for those reading for updates - sorry, there's nothing more to update.

I started feeling a little nauseous last night after dinner and it has continued into today. It kind of feels like morning sickness again (at least a normal person's morning sickness - not the one I previously had). I feel really queasy for a few hours and then it kind of goes away, only to come back later.

I've been reading everything I can find on the web about early labor signs and praying that he will hurry up, but now I'm starting to think he's going to wait until the last second just to drive me insane. For 90% of this pregnancy I have been really good about not having any mood swings or trying to keep them from showing, but they are definitely starting to crop up more often. Poor Michael never knows which wife he is dealing with - the one who is happy and excited about the baby and cleaning in preparation, the sad one who just lays on the couch, or the angry one who complains and says "I'm ready to be done now!"

Oh well, I guess it's only 3 more weeks - or possibly earlier (fingers crossed). We go to the doctor tomorrow at 9 a.m. and every Wednesday at 9 a.m. until after Ryan is born so I'm hopeful that we'll get some good news. If nothing else, I would like to hear that I've dilated some more and am effaced, just so I feel like these contractions (which are steadily gaining in strength) are at least good for something.

Can't wait to post the pictures of our new bundle of joy. Wish us luck!

Getting closer

Well, I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now and was starting to get used to them, but they have definitely been getting stronger. I told Michael the best way to describe it was that in the beginning, I could tell I was having a contraction by putting my hands on my belly and when it got rock hard I knew I was having a contraction, but it felt like a small pinch inside - not too noticeable. Then we graduated to not having to touch the stomach to tell - I could tell just by feeling the tightness inside.

Last week we got to where the contractions actually are stopping me mid-walk and making me gasp a little and use some Lamaze breathing. They're not too painful really, they just take you by surprise and take your breath a little. Come to find out that these are NOT Braxton Hicks - these are actual the beginning of labor contractions. My doctor had checked me at our last appointment and with the previous contractions I hadn't started to dilate so those are termed Braxton Hicks, but she said that if I have more than 6 in an hour, I need to call in and possibly come into the office or hospital and get checked.

Last Tuesday night Michael and I were timing contractions and I had six in 20 minutes, so we called the doctor's office and she had me continue to time them for another hour. Well, in two hours we had 20 contractions. Being the first-timers that we are, we started working on finishing our hospital bag and loading up the truck with everything we would need - his air mattress, my labor bag, pillows, etc. because we were sure that this was it. With that many contractions I was sure I would be visiting the labor and delivery unit that night. Well, since I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. and I wasn't showing other symptoms (such as water breaking) we decided to just keep our doctor appointment and get checked there.

At our appointment the doctor said I've dilated to 1 cent. which doesn't sound like a lot, but we were still 5 weeks from our due date. Based on the number of contractions I was still having (between 30-50 a day), we expected that I would be going into labor within about two weeks. However things have slowed down a bit and I am only have contractions a couple of times an hour, although they are more intense. So who knows, maybe we will hit our June 24 expected due date.

One good side effect of the scare was that we got the hospital bag completely ready and we used this Memorial Day weekend to finish Ryan's room! It is totally done and is absolutely beautiful! We hung up his curtains, the letters for his name, the Pooh wall art and his stuffed animal net which allowed me to get the changing table finished. All in all, we are both very excited with how great his room turned out. We'll post a few pictures here but can't wait for everyone to see it in person.

Sorry we haven't been the best at keeping up with this blog, but we'll try to do better as we get close to the date and Michael will try to do short updates when we actually go into labor. The hospital is adding on to its labor and delivery unit so the construction has taken out the wifi in the L&D area, so he'll have to go downstairs to the atrium which might limit the number updates he does. I don't think leaving me while in labor to update the blog will be a good excuse at that time. :)

Third trimester fun

I am definitely in the third trimester. I am starting to feel huge, I have totally lost my center of gravity (ask Michael as he has to catch me from falling over quite often) and even though I try to fight those pregnancy hormones, I occasionally still get angry or weepy for absolutely no reason at all.

Well, we finally got a visit from Braxton Hicks and I rarely go a day without at least one contraction. A couple of weeks ago I had more than five in an hour and my doctor had me come in to make sure I wasn't dilating. Luckily I wasn't but she told me to keep track and anytime I have more than 5 in an hour I need to come in to get checked and make sure that I'm not going into pre-term labor.

The nursery is finally getting close to finished. We need to put curtains up and move the stuffed animals from the top of the changing table (although they look really cute there) but the bed is made up minus the bumper pad which some places say you shouldn't have anyway, and I've got all his clothes washed and put away. We have one more shower left, my work shower, which will be held this week so I'm really excited to see what we got and go get the rest of what we need for when Ryan comes home.

Speaking of bringing Ryan home, I took a big step toward that this weekend. Although I didn't trade in the Mach 1, it will be going in the for sale pages now that I bought the ultimate soccer mom-mobile - a suburban! It's definitely different driving a suburban rather than a mustang, but I think I'll get used to it quickly. Besides, I only want the best for little Ryan. We got a great deal on the suburban and it has all the options we were hoping for.

Testing, testing, wait and see

It's funny how you can't wait to get that first positive test and then you spend the next 9 months hoping everything comes back negative. Tamra initially tested positive for gestational diabetes, so she had to take an additional three hour test that eventually came back negative. That's the last real test she has to take, so the rest is checkups and waiting. We're seeing the doctor every two weeks and everything seems to be progressing as expected.

Ryan is moving almost constantly now and his movements are visible even through clothing. It still amazes me every time I feel him kick. We're excited that his room is really beginning to take shape. We are very fortunate to have such generous friends and family. Once we started putting everything in it's place, we realized we need more room! The drawers are filling up quick and the closet isn't exactly empty. We're planning to remodel the closet a bit to get as much as we can out of it. Anyway, that's all for now. Feel free to send us an e-mail or post a comment.

Michael and Tamra

Round Rock Shower

Well we had our first baby shower this past weekend. I want to thank our wonderful friend and neighbor Heike (and Kelly and the boys) for offering their house for the shower. Everything was beautiful and we had a full house as roughly 25 people made the trek up to Round Rock.

Baby Ryan received some beautiful gifts including many outfits, blankets, nursery items, bottles, pacifiers, bath essentials, a diaper genie and of course some Texas A&M gifts - a must-have for this Aggie family. I had a great time opening presents even though part of the time I wasn't exactly sure what the gifts were but all the moms in attendance and even some of my friends without kids were nice enough to explain some of the items. I'm sure Michael and I will get the hang of the baby lingo very quickly come June. :-)

Michael and I have a little private war of whether Ryan is more of a baseball player or soccer player. I say that judging from the kicks in my stomach he's a soccer player but the doctor said he's head down so those things I'm feeling could be him hitting with his fists. Michael said he's practicing his throwing arm and I say he's practicing his throw-ins. I guess we'll find out when he gets here. Of course, the shower wasn't much help as we seemed to receive an abundance of baseball outfits which Michael was very excited about. But his favorite item was the video baby monitor given to us by his family - any new electronic equipment get him excited.

I have to say, though, that I found the baby shower to be a little more stressful than my wedding shower. I'm not sure if it's just hormones, but I felt like I didn't get enough time to talk to everyone who showed up. I know everyone was there to see me and talk about how things are going and I only had about 5 minutes with someone before having to move to the next person. So if anyone feels like they didn't get enough time to connect, I apologize and hopefully this blog will keep you up to date. Also, don't hesitate to call and we can always meet up for lunch or dinner. I'm pretty much always hungry now. :-)

I want to take a second to throw out a few more thank-yous to everyone who helped make the shower a success this weekend. Thanks to my sister, Tiffany, and my mom, Pam, for helping coordinate everything; Heike for letting us use her beautiful house and providing nice decorations; my Aunt Rita for making a gorgeous and delicious cake (it was just what I was craving); my Aunt Elva for helping get everything ready the day of; and my friend Brandi for making the punch and helping set up. Michael and I (and Ryan) appreciate everything you guys did.

For everyone who made it, if you took any pictures that came out great, please send some to me by e-mail at tamra.spence@gmail.com and I'll put them in Ryan's baby book. Thanks again for everyone who showed up - I can't wait to get the nursery in order and dress him up in the adorable outfits!

27 Weeks

Tamra here -

Michael and I went in for our 27 week check-up today - our last 4 week check-up. From here on we are now on once every two weeks until I am 36 weeks pregnant - then we go to once a week visits. This visit we did the standard check-ups (weight, blood pressure, etc.) and they also measured the belly.

We were very happy to see that I gained 7 pounds since my last visit on March 3 and my belly is measuring at 28 centimeters (they say your belly should measure the same centimeters as the number of weeks you are pregnant so we are right on target!) I also had my glucose test which checks for gestational diabetes. I had to drink about 12 ounces of a sugar drink that tasted like a very sweet Sunkist within 5 minutes. After the first drink I thought it wasn't so bad and didn't know what other people had complained about because it didn't taste too bad. But by the fourth swallow, that syrupy-sweet drink was making me gag! Anyway, they took the blood and we should find out the results at our next appointment on April 9 - our fingers are crossed that the results are normal so I don't have to do the more extensive test of drinking more of the glucose mixture and let them take blood every hour for three hours - no fun!

Right now we are trying to clean house and get the nursery in some fashion of order as our friends and families will be coming into town this weekend for our first shower. Little Ryan's room is starting to come together.

We will put photos up occasionally on this blog but we are also planning on storing the bulk of our photos elsewhere; we will post links whenever we upload them. One thing we are excited about with regards to this blog is that it is a way to let everyone keep up with our lives and it will give Michael something to do when I'm in labor. Our hospital has wireless internet so we plan on getting information and photos online as soon as absolutely possible.

First post

OK. we're setting this up so that we can log updates about our coming family. This will also let us avoid spamming our friends with e-mail after e-mail of kid photos. Those interested can subscribe to updates.