Update

We woke up to some snow this morning. Made the drive in a little interesting, but now that we're in the hospital...bring it on.

We're on the 4th stage of the pitocin drip. Pain during contractions is a 3 on a scale of 0-10 right now...hunger pains are increasing. Thanks for your prayers!

Technology

We love technology...still waiting...

Grayson's Birthday

Water is broken, contractions are flowing...the anesthesiologist is on alert...here we go.

Eviction Notice has been Served

Well gang, I will try to keep this short, sweet and to the point but we had the 39 week appointment today and if Grayson doesn't decide he'd like to come before Friday he has officially been served his eviction notice for THIS Friday...yes, Friday the 13th...muahahahaha.

After LENGTHY conversations with my doctor and the nurses we all decided that it was go time this Friday. The great news is that my doctor is on call this weekend so we can be assured that she will in fact be the one delivering the baby (barring any unforeseen circumstances in her own life). That actually was a large factor in the decision for both of us. In addition my body has been at a pretty decent standstill for the last few weeks despite all our trying to induce labor on our own (see previous posts below), and from the looks of that noggin above (at 20 weeks) I do fully understand that thing isn't getting any smaller. I trust my doctor and she has served Kyle and I really well and I am thankful for the conversations we had to arrive at this decision.

Now that a date is set and it's so darn soon I'm getting a little nervous (as to be expected) but we would ask for your prayers as we head into these next few days and into Friday morning. Pray specifically that Kyle and I would just be trusting and clinging to the Lord's provision for this baby. Pray for the baby's health and for the delivery and lack of complications. Pray that He would be in control of the details and that no matter what happens on Friday, that we would trust He is good and for us. Have I mentioned that I HATE not having control...because apparently lack of control is not a specialty of mine. OH and can I add one more...pray for the EPIDURAL..that I would get that junx within minutes of getting into that hospital gown and that it would take and take quickly...very, very, very quickly. If they offer an epidural for the epidural..sign me up.

There's a good chance it will be a long day for us so please feel free to shoot emails or check in with texts, calls, whatever you'd like. We'd love to keep people as posted as possible. We will have wireless Internet there and we'll have both cell phones handy. If you're local and would like to come and hang out (assuming this is a long day and I am fairly comfortable), we welcome visitors..just give a call first.

Here is some helpful info:

Kyle's Cell: 804.426.5059

Jenny's Cell: 804.614.8421

Hospital Address:

Henrico Doctors' Hospital

1602 Skipwith Road

Richmond, VA 23229

(804) 289-4500

Thank you for loving us well and praying for us. We look forward to meeting Grayson ourselves but then getting to introduce him to all of you!!

39 Week Appointment and a Happy Birthday

The ole' 39 week appointment was rescheduled till tomorrow. Umph. Doc had an emergency C-section to attend to and thus either left me with the nurse practitioner again today pulling the ole' washing machine measurement, or reschedule with my regular doctor tomorrow. As I'm now retired I figured tomorrow was just as good as today (I mean, who keeps track of what day it is when you're retired?) and so reschedule we did. At 4:15 in the afternoon today when my original appointment time was, I have to wonder just how "emergency" this alleged C-section was or was it more an emergency I want to get the hizzy out of here and enjoy this beautiful afternoon?

I digress..either way, no appointment today. Therefore, be sure to tune back in tomorrow (appt. is at 1:00) to see if we schedule any official induction dates. Lots of exciting dates in which we could induce: 1)me and the little bambino sharing a birthday on the 16th; 2) St. Patrick and the little bambino sharing a birthday on the 17th; or 3)asking for an induction at 39 weeks and 6 days putting the little bambino and "Jason" sharing a birthday on Friday the 13th (not Jason as in my brother but Jason as in Jason from the movie). I hear so many stories of scheduled inductions though and the baby decides it's time to come the night before the scheduled date. I wonder if this whole induction thing is more of a scare tactic than anything else--if that's the case, induction is scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. (shhhhhh..).

Other than that the weekend was good. I tried to walk the baby out of me...no luck. I tried to eat an entire pineapple in 2 days to get the baby out of me...no luck (well, luck eating an entire pineapple in 2 days..no luck with the baby). I ate the spiciest meatball sub of my life (and I don't do spicy very well) to put fire to his bottom and get him out of me...no luck. I put together a patio table and chairs on my own to try and get my water to bust...no luck. My dad painted a picture last night which I appreciated. Grayson head down, one hand on either pelvic bone and one foot pushing up against each rib cage and just holding back for dear life. His strength is extraordinary and for that I must be proud.

The other tactic that Kyle came up with was reverse psychology. We woke up on Sunday and Kyle did his usual inquiring as to whether my water had broken in the night (again, does he not think I'd inform him??) and was I sure that just an average pee break wasn't my water. Once I was able to affirm with 99% confidence that my water had not broken and I had full control over anything that came out of me during my bathroom breaks, he said, "I wonder if maybe it's because we're TOO anxious for him to come. Maybe we talk about wanting to meet him TOO much so he's just playing it cool. I think we should try some reverse psychology." From then on out Kyle proceeded to announce quite loudly that he was very content to NOT meet Grayson right now and that he was REALLY enjoying life being quiet and just the two (three-love you, Daisy) of us. How he hoped Grayson didn't come for another month so we could continue going out to dinners, watching movies with no interruptions, and not have to change any diapers for a few more weeks. Outcome...NOTHIN'.

Out of all these thoughts though I have to tell you the one thing that I was hoping WOULD spur Grayson to give an extra hard kick to my water..and that was for the sake of a good story. As Kyle and I walked into Church yesterday morning I informed him that maybe we should sit in the back of church in case, well, you know---explosion. Without hesitation and like he'd already considered this he said, "Jenny...let's just sit in our usual b/c if you're water breaks just let me know and I'll pee my pants and then we'll both just get up and calmly walk out together. If anyone questions me/you/or us we'll just say, 'You're not cool...unless you pee your pants' and leave." I have to admit, all service I prayed for my water to spontaneously combust so I could just see Kyle pee his pants because we all know I would have held him to it.

Alright, that's all I got. I will leave you with a big Happy Birthday to some of our favorite friends here in Richmond. First, our friends, the Purdy's, have two VERY sweet boys that just happen to share a birthday. Owen turned 3 on Friday and Baxter turned 1, and Kyle and I were very excited to attend a little birthday celebration and even snap a few photos! Happy birthday, boys!!! Sorry Grayson couldn't share in the fun of a March 6th birthday with you! Also, our great friend Stephanie Kennedy has a birthday TODAY. Unfortunately she was not a part of this joint party and therefore have no shots of her but we think the world of her and her husband and their sweet 2 (soon to be 3) little girls. :)

No baby? No baby.

Everyday, at least twice a day, I get an email from Kyle that typically has no words in the body of the email but the subject line reads, "No baby?" and I press reply and just respond, "No baby." I wonder sometimes if he ever thinks I'll reply with, "Yes, baby...you missed a good show." Either way, that's all just to state up front that in fact there is still no baby (clarification: there is still a baby, you just can't see him yet). But, just like anything else in life, in order for something to become habit or routine (second nature, if you will), you have to be proactive and practice that behavior, no matter how uncomfortable it is, so that it slowly becomes normal.

That, my friends, is the point of this post. Practice, Practice, Practice.

We had the 38 week appointment yesterday. All was pretty routine. A little progress from the last appointment so that was good. She also was able to tell he was, as the Phd's call it, Sunny Side Up ("SSU"). For those less educated, SSU means that although he is head down, he is face up rather than face down, face down being the natural position for delivery. I didn't ask too many questions about it all (I mean, why ask questions to your doctor when you can just go home and google it and read about every terrifying thing that can occur b/c he's SSU so that you live in more anxiety the next week and a half), but the doc didn't seem concerned in the slightest and so long as everything else is okay I can still deliver normally. In fact, I read up on it when I got home and the baby can still turn at any point, even during active labor before he comes out. Sometimes the doc can even turn them as well (I shall go no further with this thought for fear of causing any visuals that people don't wish to have at the moment). The little man and I had some talks about this in the evening as I also read when they do come out SSU, labor is typically a little/lotta more difficult for mom and it can also make recovery a little/lotta bit more painful (see Note above how Google is the devil).

The doc also pushed around a bit on the belly and thinks he's measuring about 7 lbs. Although I would be content with that, I don't hold much faith in the estimate b/c let me tell you, nothing of what the lady was doing was scientific in the slightest. In fact, I just kept imagining it was probably extremely irritating to the baby (I would compare it to the idea of being put in a washing machine) who's in there going, "Oh yea?!?!..and for that I shall stay put another 2 weeks." Thanks, doc.

Other than that. All is typical. Our snow day on Monday was wonderful as Kyle and I could be home together. At one point Kyle came up to check on me and I had mentioned I wanted to go shovel the driveway to get it cleared before it got icy again at night. He clearly started to panic and was throwing on winter clothes and telling me that I should NOT be shoveling driveways at my state and he would go do it. Yet, my snow pants (i.e. his wind pants) were already on and I managed to get out the door before he did. As I started shoveling he quickly arrived to the scene and removed the weapon from my hands. I'm no fool though as I realize this baby isn't coming out by me just sitting around, and before Kyle could count to 5, he turned around again and found me with a rake cleaning off the cars and continuing to clear out the snow. He shook his head in disgust and politely reminded me that the nurse has called our baby defiant on numerous occasions and why it was he wasn't surprised.

I leave you with a photo of Daisy and her snow-mate. They really were best friends on Monday (until Daisy chewed off his nose - oh well, fun while it lasted).

Back at it...

Wow...it feels just like it was yesterday the last time we posted. However, looking at the date on the most recent post, I would have a difficult time defending that it really was JUST YESTERDAY to anyone that disagreed. However, why focus on the past when there is so much to look towards in the future, eh?

We have decided to revamp the blog to prepare for the arrival the newest Brock member. With all of our family being at a distance, I have a feeling this blog is going to become VERY important to update with pictures, "firsts", more pictures, general updates, prayer requests, cries for help, and well...maybe a video or two. Also, we won't forget about our first child and will be sure to show her some love within the posts as well :)

So, Kyle and I found out in mid July that we were expecting. Not a shock, but not NOT a shock if you're pickin up what I'm putting down. When asked the other day by a friend how the pregnancy has been, Kyle replied that the pregnancy has been a piece of cake :). That could be for a few reasons. 1) I have eaten a LOT of cake since mid July 2) I don't think Kyle has felt nauseous once since we found out 3) I asked the other day and sure enough for him, no loss of energy, no loss of sleep, no additional naps needed (in fact he ran a marathon in October!) and 4) he can still manage to put on socks with little to no effort. All kidding aside, I truly can't complain about the pregnancy either, and Kyle has been a superstar tending to each dramatic moan I have made.

The typical first trimester with no vomiting, just nausea and feeling like I was run over by a train (I will say though when I was in it, I swore to Kyle on multiple, multiple occasions this would be our first and last biological child), and then a relatively uneventful second trimester leading into where we're at now - just under 2 weeks from the official due date and although as some stranger politely (ahem) pointed out to me in the elevator this past Friday, "it looks like you're trying to sneak a basketball into the office" (Thank you, Ma'am for noticing I love sports), followed by the sweet old lady behind the deli in Food Lion (mind you I'm wearing a winter coat), "Oh sweetie, you look like you're going to pop any minute now, are you sure you should be out and about?" (I mean, REALLY people..under a winter coat and they are still saying that??) I sleep relatively well, still manage to go for walks when the weather is nice, average just 1 bathroom break at night, very minimal swelling, and do not feel too restricted in my activities. Although, don't get me wrong..I can pull the "But I'm pregnant and carrying your child" card like it's no body's business :).

Sooo, now we wait. Kyle had politely asked Grayson to hold off at least through this past week and as we can see, he is a well behaved child. I feel at a wonderful stopping point with work and so am at a place that I would welcome his arrival if he was ready but will also soak up the quiet dinners, full nights of sleep, hormones at a relatively stable level, time with just Kyle, no healing, no ice packs, not getting pee'd and poo'd on, no crying, and all the other changes that I will soon think to myself, "why did I take that time for granted???" Yet, we are so very excited to meet this boy, to put a face to the kicks, to love him, to hold him, to change him, and to dress him (more so me that's excited for this than Kyle).

It's going to be a journey..that's for sure. Kyle and I are so thankful to be learning about parenting together, as a team. Just in the last few weeks we started this crazy phenomenon of actually thinking about dinners for the week BEFORE the week got here and planning out our grocery lists so that I don't come home with our 5th bottle of syrup, 9th ketchup, 8th box of pasta, and freezer bags just because I figured, "why not" all while managing to spend around $200 on those unneeded items and still struggling to figure out if any of them can even remotely be put together to form a meal. (Typically unless pop tarts with a side of ketchup and bag of frozen strawberries was considered a meal..the answer was NO). I feel so grown up.

So, we will keep you posted. We ask you to pray for a safe and healthy arrival of this boy for both me and for him. Pray for Kyle as "co-pusher" (and yes, he has already requested a co-pusher present). Hopefully we'll be posting pictures soon of our little Brockstar.

On another note..we just got covered in a pretty sweet snowstorm as you can see from the pictures! YEA for no work today but I'm asking now for prayers that this boy does NOT decide to show his face today..I'm not all about an ambulance ride and all that attention...and from the looks of it outside, doesn't appear to be a plowed road in site. Awesome.