Hello, Jane!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the arrival of our fourth adorable little girl!  

~ Jane Elizabeth Deterding~

born on her due date

October 16, 2012

9:14 pm

7 lbs. 10 oz, 20 inches

Jane means "God is gracious", and He certainly is.  

I was blessed to have a quick, calm labor and delivery and baby Jane has been doing well from the very beginning.  Her big sisters adore her, and the most common thing to hear around our house is "Can I hold Jane??"  Even Avery loves to look at her and say "dee-dee!", her version of baby, over and over again.  

As you have probably guessed, many more pictures will be coming in the days and weeks ahead! The photo above was taken at the hospital when she was one and a half days old.

Update

I'm still at 3cm, but God was so good to me because I ended up seeing my favorite OB who is incredulous that his colleagues sent me home from the hospital twice already.  Bless his heart.

He's on call on Thursday, and he told be that if I'm not in labor by then to call him up and he'd bring me in and take care of starting labor for me.  I'm always one to follow doctor's orders, so Thursday is circled on my calendar!

Off to see the OB...

Here I am in a place I didn't expect to be.... pregnant on my due date!  It's happened once before, but we all thought the baby was a little more eager to join us.  Leah and I spent the morning being crafty; I made some cute little "Big Sis" pins for the girls to wear to meet the baby.  I have to admit that was a fun little project and I'm glad I got around to doing it.

I'm off to a routine OB appointment in about 15 minutes, so I'll update afterward. Unless, of course, I can convince them to check me in to the hospital and hook me up to a nice Pitocin drip!  As I sit here having contractions 7-10 minutes apart I'm trying to think of the most pitiful argument I can...

Thanks for praying, we'll see what God has in store for the rest of the day!

Two days till the due date...

I'm praying that I don't have to take a 9-month belly shot!

In the past 6 weeks, I've had labor stopped once (34 weeks), near-daily false labor, two trips to Labor and Delivery for labor checks (38 and 39 weeks, most recently on Friday) only to be sent home stuck at 3cm without any progression, and dozens of varying yet unsuccessful attempts to get this labor show on the road!

Phew, I'm physically and emotionally exhausted-- who would have thought that the fourth time around would be the most confusing?  I'm thankful that we're in the homestretch and pray every day for some patience and wisdom.... I don't think I'm up for being sent home from the hospital again!

Rest assured, you all will know as soon as this baby arrives!

Typing this through contractions...

I love a catchy title, don't you??

I'm not sure if this is false labor or the ever-elusive "real deal"... but regardless I'm happy to share that I'm almost caught up with Project 366 on my blog!

It's something that's on my extensive "to-do" list before baby arrives.  Head on over and get caught up if you'd like!  I'm off to put my feet up....

p.s. you may have not noticed that there is now a fun Poll on the side of the blog ------>  Vote boy or girl!

Progress

Three centimeters down, seven more to go...


And for fun, here's a picture of the two biggest ones at the apple orchard.  If I don't have a baby this week, I'm going to try to make something yummy with the 30 lbs of apples we have in the fridge!

Are We There Yet?

Yesterday I had contractions every 10-15 minutes for a few hours before bed time.  Then I woke up at 4:30 am with contractions every 5 minutes for about an hour, until they faded into oblivion.

The last couple of weeks are always so much fun.

Off to watch cartoons and do absolutely nothing else,

Heather

Baby Poll Time!

* click on the image above to enlarge*

Once again, it's Baby Poll time.  Here's a refresher on the official rules and regulations:

1.  Post your guess for the baby's arrival in the "comment" section.  Be sure to specify both date and time of day -- either "am" or "pm".

2.  Limit one guess per person, and only one entry per time slot-- no sharing!

3.  Winner is determined based on time of birth.  For example, if the baby is born on Sept. 9th at 7 AM, a guess of "Sept. 9th,  AM" would be the winner.  In the event that there is no entry for the correct arrival time, the next closest guess based on actual time of birth would win.  

4.  We will post entries on the Calendar above.  Check prior entries before placing  your guess!  Dates not displayed on the calendar above are still up for grabs (be aware that my doctors usually plan to induce 1 week after the due date...)

5.   The winner will receive... bragging rights and a congratulatory post here at The Deterding Family Blog!  It doesn't get any better than that, right?!

8 Months, and We Are Ready

I've made it to 35 1/2 weeks, and I'm rounding up to 36 when asked... always round up!

After our preterm labor drama of almost 2 weeks ago, I've experienced no "real" contractions for about a week now, just some occasional Braxton Hicks cramping which is to be expected.  Now we're to the point where I miss the real thing and want them to come back!  I guess I'm never truly content with circumstances in my third trimester; I'll have to keep working on that.

We are ready.  We are ready to find out if this is a boy or girl.  We're ready to look at her if it's a girl and suddenly know what we are supposed to name her!  We are ready to get some use out of our name Benjamin James if it's a boy.  We are ready to see what Grace and Leah and Avery are like at their respective ages as big sisters to a newborn.  We are ready to see what this baby looks like and snuggle soft little cheeks!

We have NOT washed baby clothes or blankets, made freezer meals, finished last-minute projects, organized our home, moved Avery to a toddler bed, spruced up the bassinet, chosen a girl name, packed a baby hospital bag, or registered at the hospital (now that I think about it).  It's amazing how relaxed I am about all that stuff this time around...

I do have to make a Baby Poll as soon as possible, though.  This wouldn't be a Deterding pregnancy without one!!  

Compare eight month baby bellies here, here, and here.

We thought we were having a baby...

My Labor Day evening was, somewhat appropriately, spent in triage at the hospital hooked up to a fetal monitor and an IV.

On our way to a date at IKEA around 11:30am, I mentioned to Steve that I was having contractions every 4 minutes on the dot.  By the time we walked up to the cafeteria, I could no longer stand comfortably as the contractions came like clockwork.  So, I did the only rational thing and ordered a big plate of IKEA Swedish Meatballs then took a seat!  I'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions on a fairly regular basis for the past several weeks, and these weren't quite strong enough to make me nervous yet.  After four third-trimesters with lots of false labor, I'm completely jaded.

Unfortunately we expedited our tour of IKEA (I could wander around that place for hours!) and went straight for what we needed since the contractions were not slowing down and I was a little uncomfortable.  We drove to Mom and Dad Wilson's house where our girls were waiting for us, and I settled in on the couch with a huge cup of water to get the low-intensity cramping under control.

Two hours later and they're still steady at every 4 minutes.  I called my doctor and we decided to make the trip back to AAMC to get checked out.  We arrived by 4:45 and I was checked into a nice little bed in triage.  Soon, the contractions were rolling in every two minutes and extending around my back.  I turned to Steve and told him that this felt like the real deal.  LABOR.  Exactly like it was with Avery-- hours of very consistent contractions that were uncomfortable but not painfully intense.

Thankfully, being 34 weeks along made this whole situation a little less scary than the chance of preterm labor might be otherwise.  No one seemed too concerned, and actually I thought to myself "Well, I have my camera, my Burt's Bees lip balm, and my husband... that's really all I need to have a baby...." But of course we really wanted baby to have at least 2 more weeks to grow before an early arrival.  The doctor decided to give me Terbutaline shots to stop the contractions.  Within 45 minutes (3 shots later) the contractions stopped; I couldn't believe that after all that work I didn't dilate at all.

So, we headed home where I got to experience all the jitters and craziness that Terbutaline is known to induce.  What an unexpected adventure!

God is good to remind us that He knows exactly when this baby is going to arrive, and He is holding the baby and his or her mother in His very capable and loving hands!  Today the contractions are back, although mostly sporadic and not consistently hard.

Thank you to family and friends who are praying for us, watching the big sisters, and bringing meals... a huge blessing when I was so wiped out from my busy and drug-filled day on Monday!

I guess the Deterding Baby Poll should include dates in September?!

7 Months

The photo for month 7 is a little fancy, thanks to an impromptu maternity session in my backyard.  

I'm at 33 weeks and now that we're balancing Kindergarten, Pre-K, and a busy month at work for Steve, I think that the next 7 weeks are going to fly by!  

I'm feeling well, although it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the three big sisters.  We're still trying to find the perfect name in case this is a girl...

Cravings:  Ice cubes, ice cubes, and more ice cubes.  Yes, I'm slightly anemic.

Compare 7 Month baby bellies here, here, and here!

6 Months

I meant to share the six-month belly a while ago, but this is what we looked like in mid-July!  

The end of the second trimester means that it's time to get into baby mode again... and WE STILL HAVE TO SETTLE ON A BOY NAME AND A GIRL NAME!  

This month I've been craving watermelon, iced coffee, and air conditioning.  It's been a hot summer.

Compare 6 month bellies here, here, and here.

5 Months

5 Months pregnant at the Boston Public Garden

Last week I tagged along with Steve on a business trip to the Boston area.  I think I could get used to doing things like this, and am encouraging him to take more business trips (as long as I can come too, that is).  

I'm beginning to experience hip and sciatic nerve problems again (had a rough time when pregnant with Avery), so a call to the chiropractor is now in order.  Baby 4 is very active, so much so that the doctors usually have a hard time getting a heart rate because he or she won't keep still long enough!

At 24.5 weeks, I am craving spicy food and lemonade still.  I have an aversion to salads and most vegetables, which isn't ideal.  I also have an aversion to cooking dinner, but I think I may have had that problem before, when I was only feeding 5 of us instead of 6, so I can't totally blame that on pregnancy.  Haha!

Compare 5-month baby bellies here, here, and here.

Introducing...

our littlest one, whose gender remains a mystery!

We have another thumb-sucker on our hands

Ten toes!

My due date is still October 16th, so let the countdown officially begin.  Oh, and I also want to record the big sisters' latest name picks:

Grace:  Stephanie or Jack Sportacus
Leah: Benna or Benny

4 Months

It's time to start the belly shots again!  Month three is when we usually begin documenting the expansion of my midsection, but somehow April got away from us and before I knew it I was quickly approaching Week 18 with baby four.

Steve took the photo at our Mothers Day picnic tonight. He tells me that this is how the picnic at the park came to be:

Steve:  What should we do with Mom for Mother's Day?
Grace:  I know!  We should go to the park!
Steve:  Is that something YOU want to do, or do you think MOMMY would like to do that?
Grace:  Mommy.
Steve:  What do you think Mommy would want to do there?
Grace:  Sit on a bench.
Steve: And do what?
Grace: KISS YOU!

Well, not being fans of too much PDA and having lots of little people to chase after, Steve and I didn't have the chance to get cosy on a park bench. But it was a fun way to spend the end of the day with all the girls!  Thanks for the suggestion, Grace~

p.s. 4-month bellies of the past to be compared here, here, and here.

Unfortunate Cravings: 14 weeks

New baby is 14 weeks old, and my first trimester cravings left much to be desired.  As in vitamins and minerals and worthwhile calories...

~ McDonald's fish sandwiches (only indulged once, thank goodness)
~ lemonade
~ strong aversion to coffee
~ Cinnamon Toast Crunch
~ Ramen noodle soup

Oh my, I'm trying....

I'll have to direct you to my Project 365 {366, actually} for some bit of a Deterding family update.  I am keeping up with it, thankfully, and enjoying collecting photos of the every-day sort of things we're up to.

In most of my other spare time, I admit, I've been napping.  I am so very tired, because I am so very 12 weeks pregnant.

In the coming days and weeks, I'd love to update you with news about:

- Our surprise blessing of a new little baby, who is due on October 16th 

- Avery at the age of one year (and backtracking to talk about Avery at the age of 11 months)

- Grace at the age of five years

- Leah who is three and a half and hopefully doesn't feel too left out since she doesn't have a March birthday like the other sisters around here

- our plans for our garden, which include ditching the idea of starting from seed and "eliminating" our resident groundhog

- our trip to the zoo

- Avery's nursery, which is pretty much complete (just in time to start thinking about changing it for the next kid)