Nathan keeps growing and growing!!!

This was a big week! First off, Nathan got to meet his Great Grandpa and Grandma as they stopped in St. Louis on their way out to Colorado and Wyoming. We're very fortunate that they were able to be here and meet him so early in life! Also this week, Nathan had his 1 month check up with his pediatrician, Dr. Finn of Blue Fish Pediatrics (get it? isn't that catchy - no pun intended!). He's a whopping 8 lbs. 9 oz and 21 1/4 inches long! That is the 17th percentile for weight and 35the percentile for length. We think he's going to be tall and thin like his daddy - yay! Another milestone this week...Nathan grew out of his newborn clothes (sniff, sniff)! As I was packing them away I thought I was going to breakdown in tears. I told Kevan that before we know it we'll be shipping him off to college. We cannot believe how quickly time is flying! One of the pictures here is of Nathan on his play mat doing some tummy time and guess what?!?!? He rolled over onto his back! He pushed himself up and rolled over to his right side then onto his back! I thought for sure it was a fluke but he did it 3 times! Poor daddy has yet to see this and still doesn't believe it happened. We should be getting the proofs back from the photographer any day so stay tuned and we'll post a link to his website early this week!

Nathan is 1 month old!!!

Hi everyone! Can you believe that Nathan is 1 month old?!?! We cannot believe it and we are blown away by how much he has changed and grown in just 4 weeks!!! He's really catching up to his bear as you can see in the first picture! In the second picture I wanted all of you to see his crazy hair! It's especially crazy right after we give him a bath - it looks nice in the front but sticks up in the back - too funny! It was a cool weekend here in St. Louis so Nathan got to wear his first pants suit (you can really see how much lighter his hair has gotten in this picture). The last picture is Nathan sporting his "gangsta" pose in a cute little outfit that Grandma Pratt sent this week. Nathan has an exciting week ahead- in addition to turning 1 month on Monday he has his 1 month doctor's appointment on Wednesday. We'll let you know how that goes in next week's blog. Talk to you then!

Meeting more family

WOW! Can you believe Nathan is 3 1/2 weeks old already. He got to meet Uncle Jon, Aunt Michaelle, and his first cousins from Ohio (Ashleigh, Koty, Ryleigh, and Lucas). We've also thrown in our favorite pictures of the week, along with him sitting next to his bear to show you all how much he has grown and filled out (Check out those cheeks)! Nathan had his newborn photo shoot this past Sunday. They should have the proofs online in a few weeks and we will include the link for you all to view/purchase when they are available. We purchased a "baby's first year" photo package from this photographer, so we will be able to document Nathan in photos every 3 months! Our little guy is fun to watch grow and the time is going so quickly. We are trying to savor every moment!

Milestones

Our little guy is growing so quickly! Here are two pics with his 2009 All Star Bat and also him next to his Build a Bear. We hope to do this weekly to give you all perspective on how big he is getting. He also lost his umbilical cord today. YAY! We are very excited about this since it will be off for his professional pics next Sunday! Enjoy!

Visitors

Nathan had a few more visitors in the past couple of days. Our good friends Bud and HelenVincent (aka Mimi and Paw Paw) stopped by for their first visit. They are very proud surrogate grandparents!! Also Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny were in town this weekend from Columbus to see Nathan and the rest of the family.

Our miracle baby: pics of the first 2 weeks

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it has been a whirlwind two weeks of adjustment, especially for Tiff and Nathan learning how to breastfeed. We wanted to share more pictures with everyone of Nathan's first two weeks, as well as, describing some of our adventure with him so far.

One thing that we didn't share in our initial announcement email was that we have a little miracle baby on our hands. Of course, every life that God creates is a miracle, but we learned something right after Nathan was born that solidified our faith that God had/has His hands on Nathan. The doctor was showing Tiff and I the placenta and noticed something that she described as a miracle. Nathan's amniotic sac had something called "villamentous insertion" (you can Google to see a full definition). This meant that instead of the blood vessels from the placenta going directly into the umbilical cord, they traveled within the thin amniotic sac and then gathered to the cord. The doctor said that when this occurs and most women have their water break, that the sac tears the blood vessels as well, and the baby bleeds to death in less than a minute. In Nathan's case, the tear of the amniotic sac went right along one of the blood vessels, therefore leaving them in tact. Thank God that He was, and is, watching over our little guy to keep him from harm!

Also, Nathan was a little jaundice after birth and had to be placed on a UV bed to help eliminate the bilirubin from his body (see pic of him on his bed at home). He was on this treatment for the first 5 days of his life, but his color is great now and he is doing well. The rest of the pics are just fun moments that we have had with Nathan over the first 2 weeks. He is an amazing little guy and we are loving him more each day. Can't wait to introduce him to all of you.

Pics with Family

Here are a few pictures at the hospital with Grandma Pratt, Grandma and Grandpa Krestel and Uncle Steve.

Introducing Nathan Lew Krestel

Hi everyone,
Well, I have finally arrived!! It was a long 9 months in my Mommy’s tummy and quite cramped toward the end. Whew! I am so glad that I can finally move my arms and legs around without hitting anything.

I started hinting to Mommy that I was ready to meet her and Daddy at 2 AM on Friday the 19th. After a few hours at home we finally went to the hospital so that I could meet them in person. It took 30.5 hours total, but I finally arrived at 8:34 AM on Saturday morning the 20th and God answered Mommy’s prayer of strength for a natural, unmedicated labor and delivery.

Once I followed the bright light down the tunnel and greeted everyone, a nice lady laid me on a cradle and announced that I weighed 6 lbs 4 oz. After getting a good chance to stretch out my legs, I also overheard the lady say that I was 20 inches long.

I remember hearing people call me Junebug over the past few months, which I became quite used to, but now everyone is calling me Nathan (Gift of God), which has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

You may be wondering what I look like, so here are a few pictures of Mommy, Daddy and me.
I look forward to meeting many of you soon!

Nathan Lew Krestel

Made it to the hospital!

We left for the hospital at about 3:00 PM today and got checked in after the 20 page admission form was finally filled out. We are just monitoring progress at this point and waiting for baby to arrive. Tiff is doing a great job and is a champ! Check out the pics from today's events so far. We will keep everyone updated when we can.

It's go time!

Just wanted to post an update that Tiff went into labor early this morning around 2 am. We are laboring at home for now, but will probably be heading to the hospital soon. Please pray for a safe labor and delivery! We will update later.

Week 39

Picture overload! Some of my family wanted to get some 360 degree shots, so here you go - side, front, behind, and a special shot of our dog Baxter giving Junebug a kiss!

So here's the latest news...last Friday was my last day of work (or should I say at my paid job - contrary to Kevan's opinion because he says I'll still be getting a paycheck but it will just be in poopy diapers - Hmmm...). Another exciting "last" - this past Saturday I took my final Heparin shot (these were the blood thinner shots that I've had to shoot myself up with twice a day since we got pregnant and were the culprits of the nice black and blue spots all over my belly - which are fading nicely I must say).

I had an ob appointment today and I'm still dilated to 1cm, so no change there! We have an ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday morning (the day after our due date) to check the size of the baby and the amniotic fluid levels. If all looks well my doc will let me go another week or so. God has blessed this entire pregnancy and I'm hoping He'll continue to bless it so that I will not have to be induced. This is obviously making things a little difficult for my mom to plan her trip out here for the birth but we keep praying that God will coordinate all of this as well!

Week 38

Hi everyone! Well, we're 12 days away from our official due date! I had an appointment today and I'm still dilated to 1cm - but we're just waiting patiently. I'm still feeling great and sleeping great, so I'm in no rush! My doc knows how important it is to me to let me body do what God made it to do and not have any kind of intervention, so she told me that if I don't go by my due date she'll do an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level and if baby is still safe and sound she'll let me go a week or so past my due date. I'm so thankful that this prayer of ours is being honored!

Kevan is convinced that we'll make it through the weekend, so we'll see about that! We've been getting a lot of couch time in and catching up on a bunch of movies that we've had DVR'd for a while now - it's been really relaxing!

One fun/new development is that I've felt Junebug hiccuping A LOT! It's like I've got a little earthquake in my belly!

I've got another appointment next Tuesday morning with the 3rd partner in the practice (I haven't met her yet but Kev knows her from his pharmaceutical rep days and says she's really nice). I appreciate that they have you meet all the docs so that you'll know whoever ends up delivering you! If we make it until then be on the lookout for another post from me. Otherwise, the next post will be from Daddy and Junebug!

Today's doctor's visit

Hi everyone! Well, today's appointment went great...I'm 100% effaced (my cervix is completely thinned out) and although I'm still only 1cm dilated (9 to go until Junebug arrives), my doc said Junebug is "locked and loaded!" She said she could feel Junebug's skull because he/she is fully engaged in my pelvis. She said I'm primed for a natural birth and things look the way every ob would like to see their patients at this point in pregnancy - thank you God!

I also had another non-stress test today and things looked great! The nurse couldn't get over all the contractions I was having. She asked if I could feel them and I said yes but that they didn't seem too intense. She said I really need to start monitoring them and make sure I get myself to the hospital once they're lasting 1 minute long and are 5 minutes apart. She said I could go either tomorrow or a few weeks from now, it just depends what my body decides to do. This is a very hard thing for a type-A personality like myself to handle. But, Kevan and I know that God knows the day, hour, minute and second that Junebug will arrive into the world and His timing is always perfect, so we need to just focus on that!

Well, we're off to the mall to find some cute quilt hangers for the boy or girl bedding comforter that we're going to use as a wall hanging! Cheers!

Week 37

Happy week 37 everyone! I don't think I reported the details of my OB visit from last Tuesday. I was dilated 1cm and 80% effaced. Baby was weighing 5 lbs. 3 oz; my doctor thinks we'll be having a 6 pounder; which sounds good to me! We've got another appointment tomorrow and we're excited to see what kind of progress we've made. The nursery is finally ready for Junebug with all of the clothes washed and put into the appropriate dresser drawers. I love the organization!! Grandma Pratt bought her plane ticket today and is scheduled to be here from the 20th through the 28th! The great thing is that if Junebug makes an early or late arrival, she can change her ticket at a moments notice with no extra charge! Yeah!

Also, this past weekend Kevan did a 5k run with a buddy and I walked the same distance with his friend's wife. I thought Junebug was going to fall right out after walking so far, but I felt great afterward!

We watched the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD tonight (thanks Grandma Krestel). The techniques seem easy enough (the 5 S's...Swaddling, Side or Stomach Lying, Shushing, Swinging, and Sucking), so we are hoping that Junebug is the happiest baby on Eulalie Avenue! Time will tell!

Keep your eyes peeled for another post this week with the details from our OB appointment tomorrow.

Week 36

Big news!!! Junebug has lightened (aka dropped into the pelvis in preparation for birth; however, no need get ready to pop the champagne quite yet - apparently this can happen 2-6 weeks before the actual birth). You may be able to tell by comparing the picture from last week to this week...my belly is a bit more tilted forward.

Kevan and I had a fabulous "babymoon" this past weekend- it was very fun and relaxing! We had a beautiful day on Saturday at the winery (Chandler Hill in Augusta...hey you locals, be sure to put this on your list of things to do this summer!) on our way out to the Bed & Breakfast. We stayed at The Inn at Cinagro Farms (anyone from St. Louis...we would HIGHLY recommend this - see picture attached) and had a leisurely 2.5 hour dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Washington (again, anyone from St. Louis...check out The American Bounty).

Things are coming together for Junebug's arrival and I have finally completed my psycho house cleaning frenzy. We have our last ultrasound tomorrow at 1pm and I'm starting my weekly visits with my OB as well as another non-stress test - a long day at the hospital. We're excited to see how things are progressing (and my mom is anxious to buy her plane ticket in hopes of timing things to be here for the actual birth). We're getting the car seat installed tomorrow morning so that things are ready to roll when the time comes since I have a sneaky suspicion that we're going to deliver early (ok, call it a consuming fear). This suspicion also has me packing my hospital bag sometime this week too! Can't believe that June 22nd is less than a month away...stay tuned!