Steve's Baby Shower

The law firm where Steve works threw him a surprise baby shower! It was a 'double' celebration with, Josh, another attorney at the firm who's wife is also pregnant and is due about a month before me. Incidentally there is also another attorney that Steve works with who is expecting a baby and is due in about a week! Yep, there's something in the water at Kroloff! The surprise shower for Steve and Josh was so much fun. It was great to see how surprised the guys really were. The firm gave us a beautiful, musical baby bassinet and a gift card to Babies R Us. It was so generous and sweet. Steve tried some baby food and by the faces he made while trying to guess the baby food, I am pretty sure he won't be trying to eat the baby's food anytime soon! Here are some great pictures from Steve's baby shower.

The first trip to the hospital

I found out today that Steve has been paying attention at all of our childbirth classes! What a good man! He mentioned that every pregnant woman averages 3-4 trips to the hospital before they actually give birth! A fact I forgot about but clearly something Steve remembered as we were on our way to the hospital this beautiful and sunny Sunday morning! Well, we had our first trip to the hospital today. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. this morning not feeling very well. After about 4 hours of cramping and bloatedness, I finally told Steve that I needed to go to the doctor to check things out. Well, it was a good thing we went because it turned out I was having pre-term contractions at about 3-4 minutes apart. I thought what I was feeling was the baby moving, but apparently it was contractions. YIKES!!! And while the doctor said it would be ok to have Benjamin now, I am only 34 weeks, so we want Benjamin to stay in the belly for a little while longer if he can! The doctor said my cervix wasn't dilated and that Benjamin would be in his first home for a little while longer! So after a couple of i-v bags to treat dehydration (that I apparently was having and DIDN'T KNOW IT) and a shot of Tusin, a drug that is given to relax tense muscles like a contracting uterus, we are all ok! I'm back at home relaxing and Steve is running around preparing our hospital bags now! This first trip to the hospital certainly was a wake up call that Benjamin could come any moment!

MORE MADISON SHOWER PICTURES!!!!

More Madison Shower Pics!!! Starting from the top Our friends Matt and Catherine's son Spencer (he's such a ham!!!); our friends Jaymi and Nic and Steve and me; and the last is of Catherine and me. In all the excitement, we forgot to take pictures with our family!!! :( You can tell how much my belly has grown when you look at the picture from April 11th and compare to this one!!!!

A little back tracking here! Here are some pictures from the baby shower our family threw for us in Madison, WI back in February. Because Benjamin's father is an avid Packer fan, it was only appropriate that Benjamin receive a Packer's outfit, complete with booties and a bib. The shower was really fun and Benjamin was blessed with so many beautiful gifts to start his life! Everytime I come across pictures of friends and family in Madison, I miss everyone and everything there.

The belly keeps growing and growing and growing

Here's a good belly shot! I am hamming it up on April 11th at about 6:30 am! Steve always catches me as early as possible in the morning to take a picture!It just keeps growing and growing and growing...Apparently the last trimester is when the baby will do most of his growing, so that's why the belly seems to get bigger everyday.

Where It's Going Down

Last night Steve and I visited the Labor and Delivery room at Kaiser-South Sacramento. This is where I will be giving birth and Benjamin will take his first real breaths. I was delighted to hear they don't take your baby away from you after delivery unless totally necessary (i've heard a few horror stories about babies being taken from their parents immediately after birth). In fact, they'll keep the baby in your room at all times so you can get used to their cries and sounds and the fact that they'll be with you for the remainder of your life!

Only 58 Days To Go!?!?!

For my first blog post, it would only be appropriate to put in a picture of the little guy from our ultrasound. There he is on January 4, 2006. It's amazing how clear the picture is. I can hardly believe it, but there's only 58 days to go until Benjamin's due date! Only two more months and we're going to have this little man in our lives! It still seems surreal and though it's definitely a concept I am used to thinking about, I still can't wrap my arms around what's about to happen! It's surreal because I've never done this before and I can't fathom what he's going to look like, sound like, smell like. But I am so excited to find out and so grateful for this special gift. I know it's cheezy, but I really feel like life is just beginning for Steve and me.