Stella - 06/28/2009 (5:59 PM)

It is difficult to put into words what just happened. The multiple trips to the hospital, the 41 hours of labor that Mackenzie endured, and the end result that we named Stella Ryan Day. The entire experience can really be described by any number of adjectives ranging from terrifying to beautiful, but I think that the photos below describe this in a way that we never could. We hate that we are so far away but it was so nice to have Sherry and Ed (Mackenzie's parents) along with C.J., Kari, Hannah, and Haydin. (Mackenzie's brother and family) We are also so excited to have a string of visitors including Mike's family and Mackenzie's sister in the upcoming weeks. We miss everyone and can't believe that she is already 72 hours old. (actully 72 hours and 21 minutes as of right now)

Stella Ryan Day - 7 pounds, 7.2 ounces
- 19.5 inches long

Delivery Room Photos

Recovery Room

Bringing Stella Home

40 Weeks... ummm... yah.

Your pregnancy: 40 weeks

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

See what your baby looks like this week.
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Ok, so... her due date has come and gone. Let's hope she gets here before too long... otherwise, I might just pop. Seriously, it's out of control and my favorite thing now is when people say, "oh wow, when are you do?" And I say "Today." They freak out, it's hillarious. Just wait until I start saying "oh yesterday" or "a few days ago"... the reactions will be priceless. Oh and P.S. If one person acts me if I'm giving birth to multiples, I might just hit them. We'll see... I'll let you know when the next person does it. :)

My mom and I have been having so much fun over the past few days and have been super busy running last minute errands and doing all of those things you never get the chance to do. We even found an amazing antique early 19th century Boston Rocker rocking chair (after scouring through dozens of antique, consignment and Thrift shops. My dad gets in tomorrow afternoon and we can't wait, we're so excited. We'll have lots of fun this weekend and he'll help to keep our minds off of the anticipation (as much as possible!)

Also, now that we have everything finished and ready, here are a few pics of the baby zone. The first of course are from our bedroom, which we will be sharing with the little one. It looks adorable, we can't wait to have her join us!

Also, we have 2 strollers, a bjiorn, hotslings...etc that we weren't sure how to fit in our place, so Mike and I got crafty and created a contraption. A shelf, 2 giant bike hooks, a "cushion/pad" thingy to help keep the wall from getting beat up (which we made ourselves) and a little bench. It's amazing how much stuff we're able to make fit in this small place - I love it!

Anyways, we'll be in touch once any real news comes along. And sorry to all of you who have called and I've been slow in returning your call - I haven't been able to spend time with my mom like this for so long and it's been so nice. I promise to call you very soon though, I miss you all... we'll be in touch!

News from the Doc

Is.. no news. Haha. So, it looks like she's not at all interested in getting here anytime soon. I'm due tomorrow, but the doctor scheduled me for another doctor's appointment next Wednesday, July 1. So, it looks like we'll have a little more time to enjoy life before baby... and thankfully my mom is here to keep me busy and entertained or I might go insane! My dad gets here on Thursday and leaves next Wednesday (the day of my doctors appointment.) I really hope she gets here before he leaves or that would just be plain sad.

Oh well, I guess you can expect a new belly post tomorrrow. And, we'll put up pictures of the "nursery" aka the corner of our bedroom.

39 Weeks (Less than one week to go!)

Well, what better way to show you how far we've come along than to show you a comparison of the 12 week prego me and the now 'ready to pop!' me...

Then (12 Weeks)

And Now (39 Weeks - YIKES!)

Isn't that awesome? I love it, it's like a completely different person. Lots of you guys have been asking how I'm doing and how I've been feeling, so I figured I'd write a little about that. I have to say, this whole pregnancy has been quite easy and really fun. I never knew that I would enjoy it so much, and I think I'm getting a little sad to have it coming to an end. That being said, over the last week and half I have definitely started to feel "pregnant." My fingers finally got a little swollen and on Sunday, I had to take off my engagement ring because it was getting a little tight. So now I'm just rockin' the wedding band. My hips are starting to hurt and I'm not fitting into my prego clothes as well. Trying to get ready every morning this week for week has really been a struggle, nothing fits, I'm tired, it's getting hot...etc. I was excited for our last doctor's appointment which was scheduled for Monday, but after meeting with the doctor he told me that it wouldn't be my last appointment because nothing was happening, so I needed to book an appointment for next week. So, I'm all scheduled for Monday, the 22nd - 2 days before my due date, fingers crossed this time we have some sort of action :)

Today (Friday) was my last day at the office. And it felt so surreal to leave. My company has been awesome with my pregnancy/maternity situation (they threw me a baby shower a few months back) and today as I was walking out of my office, I decided to stop by everyone's desk to say goodbye, but no one was at their desk. It was really strange. But as I walked towards our kitchen, I noticed a big huge group of my coworkers and everyone started cheering. There were cupcakes for everyone and celebration for me to go and have a baby. It was really great, I'm going to miss working there but I am so excited for what's just around the corner!

My mom is coming on Sunday and my dad comes on Monday. I can't wait for them to get here and for us to hang out and get prepared for the lil' one. Who knows, this could be the last picture of the pregnancy, but let's be honest... I'm sure you'll see another week of belly pics :)

Your pregnancy: 39 weeks

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Happy 30th Birthday Mike!

So, this post is a little belated... but Sunday was Mike's 30th Birthday and what a birthday it was. We had a fantastic weekend and of course, it was filled with surprises for Mike at every corner.

I took him to the beach for a final getaway weekend before our lives change forever (in a good way of course!) We drove to Cape May, which is about 1:45 min away from Philadelphia and stayed at a beautiful hotel called Congress Hall. Saturday morning, we woke up and I made blueberry muffins (Mike's fave) and we dropped Morris off at Doggie World Daycare for the weekend. Mike was excited about his surprise weekend getaway, but of course... I had one more big surprise left. I wanted it to be a weekend, an experience he'd never forget - you only turn 30 once, right?

So, I told him we had to stop by my office to pick up his final gift. My boss (the owner of Red Tettemer) was so incredibly generous and offered to let Mike and I drive down to the beach in his Porche 911 convertible. He said on one condition "you drive the back roads because it's more fun and you stay the night so you can drive it for 2 days." I don't know how I can possibly thank Steve for giving us this gift, but thank you, thank you and thank you!

Needless to say, Mike was shocked when I went in to the office and pulled out of the garage in a convertible Porsche and told him to park our car because this was our car for the weekend. We had a blast, it was so fun to drive in and the weather was amazing. I hope I gave Mike a 30th he'll never forget.

I love you Mike, Happy Birthday!

Oh, and another surprise - this one was for both of us. My brother CJ and his family decided to come down to Philly on Sunday night and surprise Mike for a birthday dinner. We decided on the Cheesecake Factory, it was so fun to see them. Had to embarass the birthday boy with a song and cheesecake of course!

The girls have gotten so big since we last saw them at Easter. And Haydin is walking now... it's soooo cute. We were so happy to see them, thanks again guys for coming down! We love you.