Another Appointment!

I took the day off school today to just "have a day". I have been quite uncomfortable on and off through the day and wanted some time to relax and try to get some labor going. We had a prenatal appointment anyway so why not?!?

Barbara (our FABULOUS midwife) checked my cervix and we are now 3 cm dilated and Reid is hanging down very low. She could feel his head right away. The exam made me quite crampy but I was thrilled to learn that things are still progressing forward.

My friend Barbie is VERY CLOSE to having her baby...she is 40 weeks now. It would be great if our two babies could be born the same weekend! Maybe that is what Reid is waiting for...or maybe it is Alex waiting for Reid...Either way, we need to talk to these boys.

We will keep you posted!

All Graduated and Ready to Deliver!

It is 3 am on Mother's Day morning and I can't seem to get any sleep. I decided to update everyone with our day yesterday to pass the time.

Jeff and I met my parents for a UNE Graduation brunch at 10am in Portland. It was nice and the food was good. I felt good. Went to the bathroom and discovered that I had begun to lose the (pardon the term) mucus plug. We continued with our day with a stroll around the Old Port to pass the time until graduation at 2. I was still feeling good but began to feel some tightening in the abdomen. It didn't hurt so we didn't panic but knew things were moving along.

Graduation time: We headed to the Civic Center to prepare. The ceremony didn't start until 3 but I had to get in line for procession. Another trip to the bathroom and the rest of the "plug" was there. Now I am in line to graduate, possibly in the beginning stages of labor. It was really funny but a little scary at the same time. I made it all the way through graduation, leaving after getting my degree (I was toward the end of the line anyway). We called the hospital to see if they thought I should come in. They didn't think so because my water had not broken yet and the contractions were probably just Braxton Hicks..."practice" contractions. Jeff and I came home and packed bags just in case.

Now we are just in the Waiting period. I had talked with Reid a while ago about being born on Mother's Day but that was before I thought it could actually happen. Now I think he should wait until, at least, Monday night. Our mid-wife will be back from NY and we will have had some time to get stuff prepared for school.

We will keep everyone updated as things move on! Wish us luck!

I almost forgot...

I am officially DONE my last course and am graduating on Saturday from the University of New England with a master's degree! Life is just working out GREAT!

Things Are Progressing!

Jeff and I had another prenatal appointment today. We are 36 weeks and 2 days along. Barbara did an internal exam to check for a certain type of bacteria (standard test). While she was "there" she also checked my cervix. We are 2cm dilated already! She also said that Reid has dropped down and his head is quite low. My cervix is "softening and shortening"! We are not getting our hopes too high about having an early delivery but we are certainly getting prepared in case Reid decides it is time! I finished packing his hospital bag and did another load of baby laundry. I added to my hospital bag and made a few lists.

Our birthing pool came in the mail today too....I think it is a sign of things to come! We are now officially prepared!

We will keep you posted on things as we have our weekly appointments!

Clarksville, Michigan Baby Shower

A few updates of Hannah and Nolan:










Jeff and I traveled to Michigan on Friday afternoon to visit our family in Clarksville. Mom DeJongh had arranged for a shower for Reid on Sunday afternoon. What a wonderful day! Aunt Wenda came over along with her three girls and thier children. Kathy, Mike, Julie, Don, Ry, and Ty came too. I can't get over how grown the two boys are getting! I should have taken a picture to update! WOW! We got a lot of beautiful gifts.

Linda made a quilt for Reid and included this beautiful poem:

It's Your Quilt

It's okay if you sit on your quilt,
Its okay if your bottle get spilt,
If you swallow some air
And you burp, don't despair;
Its okay if you spit on your quilt.


There are scraps old and new on your quilt,
Put together for you on your quilt.
If your gums feel numb,
'Cause your teeth haven't come,
Its okay if you chew on your quilt.


We expect you to lie on your quilt.
If you hurt, you may cry on your quilt.
On a cold, rainy night,
Don't you fret; you're all right;
you'll be snug, warm, and dry on your quilt.


-by Nancy Riddell


This poem and the beautiful quilt, made with so much love, made me cry a bit. Linda copied the sailboats on the border in his room to stitch onto the quilt. It is so precious!

Easter in Hartford...

Jeff and Hannah hang out on the couch while she finishes waking up from the ride to Uncle Kevin and Auntie Shannon's.



Reid's Easter basket from his Memere. You can see the belly!


Nolan, the little climber, plays around on the couch with Daddy and Uncle Matt. He is now walking around! He will be ONE soon! Wow, time goes fast!

Happy, Happy Easter to All!

We are off to my brother's house today to celebrate Easter. Happy Easter to you all! We will update the BLOG tonight with photos of the babies and how much they have grown. Nolan is walking around and spitting (he learned it from his grammy Debbie...she says accidentally) and Hannah is laughing and doing "raspberries". They are both so adorable and fun!

It IS April....right??

Jeff and I woke up on Thursday morning to a day off from school and about 14 inches of freshly fallen snow. YUCKY! I was hoping that spring was really here. We had taken out the deck chairs and everything! We headed out to clean up the mess. Jeff snowblowed while I cleaned off the cars and steps and played in the snow. It was a beautiful morning, with the snow all on the trees. I guess we can appreciate that it wasn't more snow than that.

I took the rest of the day to go through more shower gifts and set up the Pack-n-Play. It is in the living room. VERY CUTE! We covered it in plastic to keep the naughty cats out. We also got a screen door to go on Reid's bedroom to keep them out of there without having to keep his door closed. It began as a joke a few years back with a friend of mine but a screen door does make a lot of sense!