Updated cast, in order of expected appearance
(bold=new/updated):

06/03/07 - Jeff P (#1, girl)
06/17/07 - Mermade (#2, boy)
07/02/07 - Black Aces 518 (#1, girl)
07/07/07 - carpmentor (#2, unknown)
07/25/07 - Yo Adrians! (#2, unknown)
08/01/07 - aces_dad (#2, boy)
08/02/07 - kurto (#?, unknown)
08/05/07 - Nelson (#1 & 2, twins, boy & girl)
08/25/07 - phiphika1453 (#2, boy)
08/28/07 - Acehawk74 (#1, boy)
09/29/07 - Mano (#2, boy)[/b]
10/15/07 - TheDudeAbides (#2, unknown)
10/??/07 - Kaj (#1, unknown)
10/31/07 - Zameus (#2?, unknown)
11/07/07 - olliejen (#2, unknown)
12/11/07 - baggins (#1, unknown)
12/16/07 - Joe Tall (#1, unknown)
01/01/08 - steelcmg (#1, unknown)
01/23/08 - C-Dog (#1, unknown)

<font color="green">
Welcome to 2+2!
05/22/07 - Uncle_Billy (#1, boy)
05/07/07 - krazyace5 (#?, girl) 7 lbs 4 ozs
04/26/07 - KennyBanya (#1 &amp; 2,One of each) 6 lbs 0 oz/5 lbs 11 oz
04/27/07 - kevstreet (#1, boy) 8 lbs 3 oz
04/22/07 - DING-DONG YO (#1, girl) 7 lbs, 10 oz - BBV4L Link
04/16/07 - SpeciesFlora (#1, boy) 7 lbs 7 oz
04/13/07 - DesertCat (#2, girl) 8 lbs 9 oz
04/02/07 - Stu Pidasso(#7, boy) 9 lbs 6 oz
03/30/07 - stan1541 (#1, boy) 8 lbs 0 oz
03/26/07 - Nottom (#2, boy) 6 lbs 15 oz
03/23/07 - CrazyEyez (#2, boy) 8 lbs 13 oz
03/09/07 - Jbrochu (#1, girl) 6 lbs 2 oz
03/09/07 - samjjones (#1, boy) 4 lbs 11 oz
02/27/07 - vetman81 (#1, boy) 6 lbs 6 oz
02/22/07 - Daniel Magix (#2, girl) 8 lbs 1 oz
02/19/07 - WilliamLowe (#1, boy) 7 lbs 15 oz
02/02/07 - moldman (#2, boy) 7 lbs 13 oz
01/28/07 - dcasper70 (#1, girl) 7 lbs 15.5 oz
01/23/07 - MuckerFish (#1, girl) 5 lbs 14 oz
01/22/07 - johnwit (#1, girl) 8 lbs 13 oz
01/11/07 - pauliewalnuts (#1, boy) 2 lbs, 9 oz
01/09/07 - Runner Runner (#3 &amp; 4, boys) 6 lbs. 6 oz./4 lbs. 7 oz.
12/22/06 - gharp (#2, boy) 8 lbs. 4 oz.
12/19/06 - JDVegas5 - (#6, boy) size unknown
11/29/06 - Knight Vision (#3, girl) 8 lbs. 8 oz.
11/04/06 - DrewDevil (#1, boy) 7 lbs. 10 oz.
10/27/06 - dlk9s (#1, girl) 6 lbs. 15 oz.
10/10/06 - ChipWrecked (#2, boy) 7 lbs. 12 oz.
09/30/06 - Rduke55 (#1, boy) 8 lbs. 0 oz.
09/23/06 - JoeU (#2, girl) 5 lbs 2 oz</font>

<font color="blue"> In Loving Memory
09/02/06 - poincaraux - Allan Frederick Lerner, 7 lbs. 0.9 oz. </font>

Just wanted to give a quick update - the official due date was yesterday 6/3 but our little girl is in no hurry to make her appearance. After consulting with the doctor at her last appointment, we are scheduled to go to the hospital Tuesday night to begin the induction procedures. Looks like we'll have the baby on Wednesday.

Good luck!

Take notes, we'll be quizzing you on Thursday.

Finally have a few minutes to post an update and TR. I have to say that everything went quite normally and there were no major issues at the hospital. We arrived at 5:00 pm on Tuesday evening to check in and start the induction procedures. Shortly after we got checked into the first room the doctor performed an exam and inserted a pill called Cytotec (sp?) that is supposed to make the cervix soften and start to dialate. When we arrived my wife was not quite dialated to 1 cm, but after about 5 hours the doctor checked again and she had dialated through to 1 cm and the was making good progress. She was showing mild contractions through the night but none that she could really feel.

In the morning her doctor came around to do another exam and she had dialated to 2 cm and was about 90% effaced. The doctor was pleased with her progress, so they moved us into another room for labor and delivery, and hooked up the pitocin to her IV. This was about 8:00 am. They also gave her some pain medication because she was feeling some contractions, and it put her right to sleep which was a good thing. At 10:30 she was dialated to 5 cm and 100% effaced. Around 12:00 pm the contractions and labor pains were getting pretty bad, so she got an epidural. By 1:00 pm her water had broken on its own, and she was fully dialated to 9 cm so it was time to start pushing.

Around 1:30 the doctor had my wife start doing some "practice pushes" to get the feel of how to push the baby. It was slow progress because the epidural prevented my wife from feeling what was going on so she had trouble pushing correctly. The baby made some slow progress down but she wasn't getting through very well. The only small concern we had during the whole labor pre-delivery period was that the baby's heart rate would drop down while my wife was pushing, but it came right back after she stopped pushing.

After a couple hours on and off of pushing, the doctor was concerned that the baby was getting stressed from the heart rate variations, and my wife was getting pretty exhausted. The doctor said she was ready to do the c-section and we agreed. Once the decision was made things started moving quickly. They wheeled my wife off to the OR, I got dressed in my suit and waited for them to come get me. I was brought into the OR right when they were starting to make the incision, and I watched the whole procedure. It was quite fascinating. The doctor was a small lady about 5' tall so she had to stand on a stool to get high enough to reach in and pull out the baby.

I remember when the moment they took out my daughter I thought to myself "so that's what she looks like finally". I was awe struck at that moment at the whole process. I watched the pediatrician clean her up and I got to cut the cord. Then I carried her over to show my wife our new daughter. Shortly after, I went with my daughter into the nursery and gave all our family the good news.

My daughter and wife are now at home and doing very well. I can't describe in words how happy I am, but I know all you parents can relate to the range of emotions that I feel right now. Life is good.

Summary:
Born 6/6/07
Weight 7lb 9oz
Length 19.75"

Aw congratulations on the little girl. I'm so glad everything turned out well.

Allow me to throw my hat into this ring. My wife of just a month, has recently informed me that brought home another souvenier from the honeymoon.........and I have never been more excited/terrified in all my life.

I tell you though, I never felt more manly than I did when she told me.

Congratulations. It's a big relief to find out you're fertile after years of avoiding fertilising anything, isn't it?

It's really gonna be different for you, but it's so worth it.

It was a big relief to find out my guys were still swimming after all the years of booze and drugs. Thought for sure I'd be sterile.

I guess I should list the "what I know" stuff.

Time spent trying: None. Utter and complete mishap when I "slipped one past the goalie" on our honeymoon. I shouldn't call it a mistake though, because we are both very excited.


Due: 02/05/08 according to the subtract 3 months and add 7 days formula, then backed up by an online due date calculator, and my Mom whose a nurse.

Sex: Too early to know, but after seeing what preteen girls dress and act like nowadays, please let it be a boy. It'll be easier for me to deal with raising the hunter than the prey....

Name(s): Boy- James Thomas
Girl- Sophia Lynn

First grandchild on wife's side, 5th on my side.

acoustix,
You disappear for 3 months then come back with this! Nice job! Tell Brody &amp; the missus I said hi, and expect another CT home game some time soon...your life ends in 7 months.

Jeff P,
Congrats! Baby girls are awesome!!! Take plenty of pics, they grow fast! Post one if you can, we're suckers for babies, especially the ladies (Mrs U, katy, and carterbitter).

Yeah I had so much going on with helping the wife with the wedding that I couldn't find time to get on here. It's nice to come back with news though.

We need to get some golf on this summer. Got new clubs that actually fit me, so my game is better this time around...Is Benny still around?

Updated cast, in order of expected appearance
(bold=new/updated):

06/17/07 - Mermade (#2, boy)
07/02/07 - Black Aces 518 (#1, girl)
07/07/07 - carpmentor (#2, unknown)
07/25/07 - Yo Adrians! (#2, unknown)
08/01/07 - aces_dad (#2, boy)
08/02/07 - kurto (#?, unknown)
08/05/07 - Nelson (#1 &amp; 2, twins, boy &amp; girl)
08/25/07 - phiphika1453 (#2, boy)
08/28/07 - Acehawk74 (#1, boy)
09/29/07 - Mano (#2, boy)[/b]
10/15/07 - TheDudeAbides (#2, unknown)
10/??/07 - Kaj (#1, unknown)
10/31/07 - Zameus (#2?, unknown)
11/07/07 - olliejen (#2, unknown)
12/11/07 - baggins (#1, unknown)
12/16/07 - Joe Tall (#1, unknown)
01/01/08 - steelcmg (#1, unknown)
01/23/08 - C-Dog (#1, unknown)
02/08/08 - acoustix (#1, unknown)

<font color="green">
Welcome to 2+2!
06/06/07 - Jeff P (#1, girl) 7 lbs 9 oz
05/22/07 - Uncle_Billy (#1, boy) 10 lbs 9 oz &lt;--WOW!
05/07/07 - krazyace5 (#?, girl) 7 lbs 4 oz
04/26/07 - KennyBanya (#1 &amp; 2,One of each) 6 lbs 0 oz/5 lbs 11 oz
04/27/07 - kevstreet (#1, boy) 8 lbs 3 oz
04/22/07 - DING-DONG YO (#1, girl) 7 lbs, 10 oz - BBV4L Link
04/16/07 - SpeciesFlora (#1, boy) 7 lbs 7 oz
04/13/07 - DesertCat (#2, girl) 8 lbs 9 oz
04/02/07 - Stu Pidasso(#7, boy) 9 lbs 6 oz
03/30/07 - stan1541 (#1, boy) 8 lbs 0 oz
03/26/07 - Nottom (#2, boy) 6 lbs 15 oz
03/23/07 - CrazyEyez (#2, boy) 8 lbs 13 oz
03/09/07 - Jbrochu (#1, girl) 6 lbs 2 oz
03/09/07 - samjjones (#1, boy) 4 lbs 11 oz
02/27/07 - vetman81 (#1, boy) 6 lbs 6 oz
02/22/07 - Daniel Magix (#2, girl) 8 lbs 1 oz
02/19/07 - WilliamLowe (#1, boy) 7 lbs 15 oz
02/02/07 - moldman (#2, boy) 7 lbs 13 oz
01/28/07 - dcasper70 (#1, girl) 7 lbs 15.5 oz
01/23/07 - MuckerFish (#1, girl) 5 lbs 14 oz
01/22/07 - johnwit (#1, girl) 8 lbs 13 oz
01/11/07 - pauliewalnuts (#1, boy) 2 lbs, 9 oz
01/09/07 - Runner Runner (#3 &amp; 4, boys) 6 lbs. 6 oz./4 lbs. 7 oz.
12/22/06 - gharp (#2, boy) 8 lbs. 4 oz.
12/19/06 - JDVegas5 - (#6, boy) size unknown
11/29/06 - Knight Vision (#3, girl) 8 lbs. 8 oz.
11/04/06 - DrewDevil (#1, boy) 7 lbs. 10 oz.
10/27/06 - dlk9s (#1, girl) 6 lbs. 15 oz.
10/10/06 - ChipWrecked (#2, boy) 7 lbs. 12 oz.
09/30/06 - Rduke55 (#1, boy) 8 lbs. 0 oz.
09/23/06 - JoeU (#2, girl) 5 lbs 2 oz</font>

<font color="blue"> In Loving Memory
09/02/06 - poincaraux - Allan Frederick Lerner, 7 lbs. 0.9 oz. </font>

dcasper reminded me that I'm up next. Not that I needed reminding--actually being this pregnant makes it hard to forget. My due date is Sunday, Father's Day. Nothing is happening so far. No contractions, etc. I have my regular appointment with a scheduled ultrasound tomorrow, so I'll know more then. I grow them BIG and they just want to make sure he's not getting too big.(Hopefully, Uncle Billy can keep the record.)

Update after Ultrasound:

10/31/07 - Zameus: #2, boy

Hi all. I'm pretty sure my labor is starting. We'll see. Contractions woke me up. I'm letting husband sleep for now. At any rate, I think he might get a pretty great gift for Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to all you new dads and dads to be!

AWESOME!!!!

Good luck! Keep us posted.


And Happy Father's Day to everyone else in this thread!!!!!

Fingers crossed Mer that this is it!

Mermade

Good luck and remember what I said to my wife when she was birthing: BREATHE!

LoL! I tell that to all of my moms.

O.K. Let's see...

I woke up on Sunday at around 2a.m. something. I was having contractions but they weren't particularly painful. I figured I might as well try to go back to sleep. I tried, but they were strong enough to keep me awake. At 2:41 I got up, took out a sheet of paper and started timing my contractions. They were 5 minutes apart, but not particularly strong. I timed them for about an hour and then called labor and delivery. (I let my husband sleep.) L&amp;D said to take a shower and see if the contractions ease or become stronger and to come in when the contractions have been coming on strong for an hour. I told my husband that labor was starting and I was going to shower. I told him to go back to sleep. I took a shower and the contractions were strong enough that I had to breathe through them. I timed my contractions for a while and then woke up my husband. I told him I'd keep at it while he jumped in the shower. Everything was packed and ready to go.

When he got done, he called L&amp;D and they told us to come in. There was no one on the road at 5a.m. We got there around 5:30. The admissions process was annoying. In the car things had progressed so that when I got to the hospital my contractions were strong and 2 minutes apart. I tried to answer questions that seemed somewhat irrelevant between breathing through contractions. When they checked I was 5cm and completely effaced with the baby's head right there.

A few minutes later, they asked me to move from the evaluation room into the delivery room. I stood up and my water broke. My contractions were coming fast and hard. I had 4 contractions just walking down the hallway. My husband said I left a trail of little bloody footprints behind me.

I got into bed in the delivery room and I had the urge to push. My husband was great. He helped me focus and we breathed together. They checked and I was ready to go. Baby's head was I think they said vertex plus 1. I'm not familiar with that terminology, but it meant he was on his way out. We were just waiting on the doctor. Luckily she was the OB on call and sleeping in the hospital. (Later she said if she hadn't been on site, she wouldn't have made it.) She stepped in the door and they said push. I pushed with just 2 contractions and and we had ourselves a beautiful baby boy. In fact I was a little surprised. You know you push at the peak of each contraction and when they wane you wait for the next. Breathe push 10sec, another breath push 10 sec, another breath push 10sec then wait. Well at the end of the second contraction they all just said keep pushing. I gave one extra small push and that was it. Amazing.

The baby was beautiful: 9lbs 5.5oz, 22 1/2 in. Apgars were 8 and 9. Husband had to sit down for a spell having hyperventilated a bit from the breathing, which I thought was sweet. He did such a fabulous job.

The whole delivery was drug free. I didn't have as much as a tylenol during the delivery or after. My son and my mother-in-law visited us. My older son was really excited to take the baby home. We stayed overnight and went home the next morning.

It's been great so far. My older son has had no adjustment problems. He loves helping with the baby and is really thoughtful. Husband is being a big help. Baby and I were napping this afternoon and I awoke with a smile to sounds of the two other boys doing cannon balls in the pool. Life is too good to describe.

Wow, that's terrific! I'm so glad you're all happy, and it went fine. Awww, I'm getting mine from school in a little while, I'm gonna give all 3 of them an extra hug.

Congrats Mermade!

Congratulations Mer!!!

Very nice trip report. I am glad that thing went so well and that all of your boys are home and recovering nicely.

btw, what time was the delivery?


oh, and you now have to change your location now too. Maybe Done?

...or due due!

*rim shot*

Congrats, Mer!

Thanks everyone! Sorry I was editing to put in the final details but baby woke up and wanted to eat and hubby chastised me for sneaking off to post on 2+2. Official delivery time was 6:59 a.m. We got to the hospital around 5:30, so it went very quickly. The total labor from when I woke up to holding my baby in my arms was about 4 1/2 hours.

Very nice Mer. I like the location.