The days that come...

The next two days have been amazing! Parker got circumsized the next day and then we were released; everything was (and still is) going great! Of course there had to be a small bump in the road...the snow! Kevin went to bed as early as possible the first night back in our house to get as much sleep as possible before the white stuff started to fall. He was gone all day, but thank goodness for my mom. She stayed all night and all day the next day. It was a lot to take on all by myself; especially caring for the circumcision. But Parker is such a good little guy, it doesn't take mach to make him happy. He is such a trooper!

Parker's Birth Day

January 29th at 7:28 Parker Thomas Meirowsky came into our world! He weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long and is absolutely adorable; not just saying that because I'm his mom; Aunt Loni says so too.

The Birth Story...
Dr. Cline hit it on the nail when he said Friday (the 25th - his due date by the way) should be my last day, because all weekend long I had contractions. Monday afternoon Kevin and I were hanging out on the couch and my contractions stayed at about 45 sec every 10 minutes for 2 hours. I SO didn't want to be the one that the hospital sent home, but we decided to go anyway. We grabbed the bag we've had packed for a couple of weeks and headed out. At the hospital around 6:00, I was checked out and was dialated to a 3! They said they would check me again in an hour and as long as I progressed they would keep me. An hour later I was a 4 and they checked me in. Kevin and I were so excited! Grandpa Tom and Grandma Chris and Lisa and Aunt Jenny and Uncle JD were there for support! After a couple of hours, I hadn't progessed past the 4 mark. They suggested I take some Ambien and try to sleep between the contractions...sounded good to Kevin and I so that is the route we took. Too bad for me it had no affect! Contractions were getting worse and I was looking more and more for induction and an epidural. When we asked about it they said since I had the Ambien I couldn't have anything else for 4 or 5 hours. NEVER would have gone that route had I knowing that. We were a little upset, but about 45 minutes later the nurse (who were all awesome!) came back and said we could start inducing. About 20 mintues into the induction, the contractions were pretty difficult. Kevin and I both decided to go with the epidural - which was not bad at all. They hit a blood vessel the first time, so they had to do it a second time, but it was tons better once it was in place. I had 2 more contractions that I could feel, then I was OUT. I was super tired, so Kevin and I were able to catch some sleep as I progressed to a 10. Dr. Cline showed up to do the honors of delivering Parker - always in his cowboy hat (he is great!). It was amazing! There is no feeling/words/nothing that could share the experince of him putting him on my chest for the first time. Kevin and I were both overwhelmed. After they cleaned him up, Kevin and I adored him for a while and then we brought in the rest of the Parker fans!

Then Parker is already famous...the Wichita Eagle was doing a story on residents at Wesley. They took a picture of me, Parker, and a resident. He should be in the paper real soon!

After a couple of hours and waiting for my epidural to where off, my mom and Loni helped move us up to the 5th floor to get some rest. Kevin, Parker and I each got our own bed and settled in and started getting used to having a family of THREE. Tom and Chris, Loni and Eric, my Dad, and Megan and Layton came later. Everyone couldn't wait to meet the new arrival.

We took naps on and off and around 11 that night, Parker started to get fussy. He has slept all day, so he was ready to be up and at 'em. The nurse suggested that use the nursery so we could get a couple hours rest and that is what we did. They brought him back an hour and a half later because he was hungry. The rest of the night went well, waking every once in a while to be fed or held. He never really got real upset, he is so calm! He is so patient as Dad and I learn what we need to be doing. What a perfect baby!

40 Weeks!

Well, I'm officially past my due date. The last two doctor's visits I have not progressed any, but the last couple of days I've started having contractions more regularly. Kevin and I are SO ready. Friday was my last day at school, so come Monday Parker will be our focus!
Nothing else real exciting has been going on except Loni and Eric signed on a house! They have to be real excited about getting out of their 2 bedroom apartment and moving into a 3 bedroom house! We haven't been by yet, but we hear it is real nice. They move in at the beginning of March; it has a playground in the backyard; too bad Parker won't be big enough to try it out. Cassie is back in town too. She quit her job in Denver to be closer to her family and is now working downtown. I've only seen her once since she has been back; she doesn't ever make her presence too well know around here. Kevin's sister Jenny and her finance set a date for their wedding - Sept. 4th (if I remember correctly).
Things are rolling around her at the Meirowsky place. Things are going to be rolling a lot faster when Parker gets here.

Brand New Upstairs

This week has been crazy! It started last week when we got our downstairs carpet cleaned - which was definitely the easy part. Then Monday my Dad came over and took our plumbing our of our only upstairs bathroom because we were getting new tile in our bathroom. This was a bit of an inconvience because I am a frequent visitor at night, so I had to go downstairs. Not only is the carpet out of the bathroom, replaced by beautiful tile, but we got a new countertop, sink, and toilet. It looks so much better! They finished up that project Wednesday (so I got my bathroom back Thursday). Then the next project of getting new carpet upstairs. Poor Kevin had a ton of moving to do. I think his back was feeling it! But by Friday afternoon, the carpet was in and the furniture was back in place. It looks like a brand new upstairs. We topped it off by getting some new endtables, coffeetable, and TV stand. That was the last of the hand-me-downs that we have gotten over the years. Everything is wonderful and we are officially ready for Parker. He won't know how good he has it! :)

Baby Shower

THANKS RAMIE!!! I have the bestest of a best friend! My friend since first grade, Ramie, came all the way up from Houston TX last weekend to throw me a babyshower. She also brought along her little one Jackson (which I'm sad because I didn't get any pictures of) as well as her mom and grandma. She drove up on Thursday, but I didn't get a chance to meet up with her until Saturday morning. We met at Reflection Ridge Club House to decorate for the shower. It looked amazing - as you can see!

Everyone started arriving at 2:00. We played the babyfood game (trying to guess what babyfood was in the jar) and Denise (my sister0in-law) won. She had every right to win because she has a couple little ones. I got some great gifts including a breast pump from my grandma and aunts, bath stuff from my mom, Loni, Carol Marasco, and Hollie Zimmerman, tons of cothes, blankets, etc, and Loni also made Parker the most adorable blanket! We made some yummy ice cream sundaes with every topping imaginable. SO GOOD! After chatting with everyone and having a wonderful afternoon, I was tired!! I came home for a quick rest and then Ramie and Jackson met Kevin and I for dinner at Granite City. We had a bit of a wait, but Jackson did so good. We got a good meal in and came back to our house to talk. It was so great to catch up with her and she had tons of advice for Kevin for our upcoming weeks. We called it a night pretty early; we were all pretty tired. I owe her big time; it was a fabulous day! Thanks to both Ramie and Loni who helped but on a great day!