Hello Again

Welcome. I am not sure if people will be visiting as much since we have had the baby, but I thought I'd post again anyway.

We are all doing really well as far as schedule and adjusting, but we are all sick (except baby thank G-d and I hope it stays that way). Everyone has some form of the sniffles and so far I am the only one to actually get a slight fever (yesterday). This has not stopped us from living though. We are going to the movie Chicken Little in about 30 minutes. Avery's first movie, though she will spend it asleep or nursing. The kids had a half-snow day. Even though the road conditions were red (for non-military folk that means only mission essential vehicles are allowed on the road) they did not close or delay school (I had a hard time understanding this). Instead at about 11am we got phone calls that the kids would be released at noon since it never did stop snowing and visibility was low. Wouldn't it have been safer just to keep everyone at home??? Meanwhile the roads are better now and the theater is only about 3 blocks from the house, so I'd say we are good.

Avery is a great baby! We had a rough start as she was VERY impatient about waiting for my milk to come in. The first day after she was born she was on the breast ALL day, let me tell you I thought they were going to fall off! The next day I managed to get her to take a binkie (pacifier) for a few minutes to give this ol' cow a bit of a break. When my milk came in (OWWWW ENGORGEMENT) I finally got hours between feedings as now her tummy was quite full and she was content. Even before my milk came in though, she did sleep for a 7 hour stretch the first three nights of her life, though now she is down to a 5 hour stretch, still pretty good. She is content to be left on her mat and will relax and look around long enough for me to cook diner (usually). Still, I don't seem to have enough time in the day to get everything done. Basically I alternate days: one day is an errand day, the next is a cleaning day, the next day I may take a nap. It seems to be keeping me sane so far...lol.

I do have a bit of something to brag about regarding myself. While the diet for the diabetes was a pain (and I have stuck with it even after birth with some exceptions) it did have one very nice result. For the first time since BEFORE I ever had kids, this not-so-fat-a** of mine fits into a size 12 jeans!!! I was a size 12 back when I was a soldier and since I have been anywhere from a 16 to a 14 (though after having Keagan I was even an 18). The pants I had packed to wear home were falling off me on the way to the car! Mind you in some brands I do still wear a 14, but in at least one brand I am officially a 12 with, amazingly enough, some wiggle room. Now, ask me in a year what size I am, I have a feeling it will be a 14, but who knows.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I would like to thank you all for all the congratulations! Additionally, soon I will be posting a TON more pictures for the picture website. I did take the birth announcement photo's today. I tried printing them with my computer but they are still a little fuzzy, so I guess I will take them to the photo mart to get printed. If I am lucky I will send them by x-mas!

Thanks for stopping in, may you have a fun snow day in your future!

WE'RE HOME!!!!

Hello, Hello, Hello!!!!! We are home! We got out of the hospital 1 and 1/2 days early by special request so I could take care of all my babies. It is Sunday night, they wanted me there 'til Tuesday morning. They said baby and I are healthy, so no problem going home, I just had to sign a paper that I would take baby to the doctor before 10 days were up. So.....

As you probably know already her name is Avery Jean Pilch (Hebrew name Ariel), she was born at 805pm on Jan 20th, 2006. Though her estimated weight was 7.5 lbs on Jan 4th, she arrived weighing only 3180 grams, or 7.01 lbs and measuring 20 1/2 inches. All my babies were the same length, but clearly this Lil' Squirt (as I have been calling her) is MUCH thinner than the others (they were ranging in weight from 9 lbs 2 oz to 10 lbs 10 ozs). She has some serious orange hair, I wonder if it will stay that way (both Tristan and Sam's hair was much redder than it is now when they were born). She is very much a Pilch baby. So, baby story...

At about 0900 on the 20th I was given gel-I was STILL at 2cm. blah blah blah... at about 2pm I was checked and still at 2cm and we (yes WE, Brian was able to come home AGAIN-what an awesome surprise) discussed/convinced the doc to give me pitocin. The stipulation was, I could be on it for only a few hours and then it was to be "removed." If I did not progress on my own, that would be it for that day, we could try induction another day. So... at about 415pm I was given the pitocin. Contractions came and while they were difficult, I did not feel they were strong enough, so believe it or not, we (which now we=myself, Brian and Tina because she came home early from work to join in on the fun) kept asking for more dosage, which they did slowly increase. Anyhow at 610 pm I was checked again and I was STILL 2cm. Right when the doctor made this pronouncement, as I was about to beg to be allowed to continue with the pitocin, YIPPIE my water broke. Immediately I was in tears because all day I had held back on the excitement, fearful this induction would fail AGAIN, when my water broke, I knew she was on her way!!! Immediately this excitement grew into fear as I knew the pain that lay ahead...lol. So, pretty quickly the contractions jumped into full speed ahead, at 730 pm I was checked and at 4cm, then one to two pushes and a whole lotta' screaming later at 805pm out she came. It was so quick (not painless)! I went from 2cm at 610pm to baby out at 805pm!

I would like to thank my husband because he really helped me. He gets better and better at knowing what to say, what not to say, when to shut up and what to do to make it all better for me each time. I would also like to thank Tina who helped a lot too and was not grossed out or appalled by any of my "displays." I also want to thank everyone who watched my kids while I was away: Tina, Eric, Tracey E. and Sarah.

The kids are so in love with their baby sister. Tristan is already very protective, Sammi wants to show her the world and Keagan can't keep his hands off her.

I am TRYING to load pictures to our web page
http://www.msnusers.com/PilchFamilyPhotos

I seem to be running into some trouble. I will try one more time, then I am off to bed as all of my beautiful babies are sleeping, which means I should be too!

If they aren't there now, check back in from time to time and hopefully I will get them up.

Thanks for stopping in and I hope your day is as bright as mine!

Here We Go Again

After much chatting with a doctor in the labor and delivery ward (who then called my doctor twice), they are going to try and induce me again tomorrow. They wanted to do it again with the "pill" but I declined that as it did not help me last time. So, this time they will try the gel and perhaps some pitocin. However, they did tell me that if I didn't progress they would send me home. So really there is just no telling what is going on. I keep hoping lil' girl will just start things on her own and this will all be a moot point.

The German doctors just think I am being impatient, which is not the case. If I was told that the best thing for the baby was to stay in there for another month... no problem, I would easily do it (look I gave up all sweets and limited all carb intake since October for my lil gal, I think I could manage being pregnant another month). The thing is, I called up to Heidelberg (the closest American facility with a labor and delivery ward) and they said I should not have been allowed to go past 40 weeks period. They also informed me that I needed to insist the baby come before this Sunday. She specifically said "no good comes from a woman with gestational diabetes going past 40 weeks." So, that's what I did when I went to the appointment today. I told them I understand that there are cultural differences (Americans tend to do more CYA-cover your a** type of analysis; while German's are much more "just let it go natural"), but really we know that right now baby is doing good. We also know there is no more developments she can make in my tummy anymore (besides get even bigger) and we also know that everyday puts her more at risk, so I want her to come out. It was a difficult conversation, I did it as diplomatically as possible and the doctor seemed to understand so I hope I did it all without "upsetting the system."

Either way, they still came to the conclusion that if nothing much happened they'd send me home and try again yet ANOTHER day. So right now, I am praying that this time will work, not only for lil' Cutie Pie, but also, quite selfishly, for me. I am not sure how many days of semi-painful "fake labor" I can take...lol.

So, please wish me luck and once again, I hope to not be posting again until I am officially a mother of four! Ah yes and one of my favorite sayings just came to mind...

G-d grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change
The courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference... AMEN! LOL!

I hope your day is dark and dreary... no... just kidding of course.
I hope today you get some beautiful sun in your neck of the woods! Thanks for stopping by!

A Whole Lotta' Nada

Well, I have had my CTG appointment. Everything went fine, baby is still doing well. I am back to having practice contractions. There were three this time during the CTG. One of the few times in my life I was disappointed there wasn't MORE pain...lol. Went down to the doctor's office after the CTG, sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes, then secretary said "everything looks good see you tomorrow." Thanks for the long wait... didn't you know I am a hungry, tired pregnant woman...lol. Of course that's not what I said, but I can tell you it is what I was thinking...hahaha. Well, even though I got lots of rest last night, amazingly I am having trouble keeping my eyes open. So off to bed with me. I have yet another CTG tomorrow, will post when I return. Who knows, I can be optimistic right? Perhaps I will post later and write something like "my water broke, off to the hospital." Wouldn't that be nice?

Here's to thoughts of ice cream, other sweets and LOTS of bread!!!

Still Nothing

Had my CTG apt. today, baby is doing great, I am feeling better, I got some sleep. Nothing to report, though I do have another appointment tomorrow. I am not sure how much longer they will let me go before we have to try inducing again. I am hoping that baby will come on her own before we need to do that again. Brian returned to training safely, but is able to call me daily (sometimes more than once) for updates and I am grateful for that.

I hope you all have had a laugh or two today! Will add more tomorrow!

Not Bad News But No Good News

Hello everybody, as you can tell from the fact that I am posting, no baby. I decided to get out of the hospital after a day and half of attempting to induce, as all the contractions yesterday (and today) are painful and non-productive. I am tired and I wanted to come home and be with my family. For those of you that didn't know, my husband surprised me and came home Sat. night and he is only able to be home for a few more hours, then he must leave and cannot return (even for the delivery) for about a month. So, they tried to induce me a bit more today (they were gonna use pitocin, but of course my main doctor changed the plan and decided to continue with the "pill" that they had been using yesterday). Well, the pill gives me many uncomfortable contractions that do nothing. So, I took one pill (they try four doses throughout the day) and then said forget it, lets go home. So here I am, I definitely have a CTG apt. daily until the baby comes. I will update the blogger daily, if you see me missing, I have gone into natural labor. Thank you so much for hanging in there, I am sorry my body has just not cooperated, she will still be here soon.


Sorry this is rambling and not overly flowing, I am just very tired. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely day!

I must take the time to say thank you to our friends: Tina and Eric as they have both been soooo helpful, thank you to Laura for doing that "email job" (I hope you are doing it again soon) and thank to Tracey E. as when she came back from vacation she helped out with the kids too. Thanks sooooooo much to all.

Something IS Happening

Well, I went to the Doctor's to get another CTG (which there were two good contractions and baby is doing quite well). Tina and I pressed our point as to why the baby needed to come sooner than later: I have the gestational diabetes, tomorrow is my due date, dad can't come home after Tuesday, childcare is easiest this weekend. We had asked if they could do the gel today, but they said it was too late in the day. However, not all is lost. They scheduled me to come in tomorrow at 7am and they will give me not one but FOUR doses of gel throughout the day tomorrow. They said with it being my fourth, the first one ought to do the trick and put me straight into labor. The bad news is, because it is my fourth, once they give me the gel, they will NOT allow me to go home and labor here (in the states they do allow you to go home). I have to pace the halls at the hospital while in labor, something I have never been keen on doing. That's okay, beggars can't be choosers. What will really suck is periodically I will need to lay down and be monitored by the CTG and laying down while I am having contractions is just miserable for me, I prefer to be moving. Again, beggars can't be choosers. So unless my body just REALLY doesn't want to cooperate, we will have a new clan member by the end of Sunday (or early Monday)!!! Yippie! Now that I know the time is coming, I am so nervous... is that natural? hahahaha. In my wildest dreams, I will actually be in labor on my own today... who knows stranger things have happened.

I can not call long distance with my cell phone (which is all I will have) but if you would like to call me and see if the baby has been born etc. etc., email me and I will happily send you my cell phone number. It can be expensive though. Otherwise, I will be so happy with the news that as soon as I get home I will post a message. So for now, I am signing off, I really hope you don't hear from me again for a few days as I am hopeful tomorrow will work out wonderfully!!! Thanks so much for all of your kind, funny words, messages of support and thanks for stopping in.

This is Meghan... signing out until I am a mother of four (I hope!!!).

Wassa' Goin' On? Absolutely Nothing

Nada, nilch, zero. I am feeling nothing. My "perfect" time would have been to start labor in about 30 minutes and I don't see that happening. I am going to the Doctor for a CTG tomorrow morning and I am hoping to convince them to give me some gel and get labor started. So, I will post when I get back from the doctor tomorrow and hopefully I will be writing about how much pain I am in! I hope you are having a productive, sunny day. Thanks for stopping in!

Busy Evening

Well, I had a bit of activity last night (as did all of my "helpers"). Yesterday at the commissary the contractions I have been having stepped it up a notch and so I decided I better get to the hospital. I thought it may be false labor, but since I do not have Brian at home, and I have to call in the cavalry, I thought it prudent to go in sooner rather than later. So with offers of help from all sides (thanks everyone) a friend came to stay with the kids at the house and another took me to the hospital. I figured if it was false labor, we'd be back in 2 hours tops. I was wrong. SO, I get there, they hook me up to the monitor and baby is wild and crazy, wide awake (which she was nearly all day, she doesn't like these contractions) the entire 30 minutes. I had a few contractions, not peaking very high on the monitor,but no so comfortable (the nurse on a previous occasion told me it is not so much what you see, but what you feel that matters). Anyway, so "they" didn't like that the baby had not had a restful period (her HB was sticking up around 160-170, though it did dip occasionally), so they asked me to stay awhile longer. Later she STILL hadn't slept, so they told me to go walk for an hour and return. So, we did. They hooked me up again, and AGAIN no restful period. For whatever reason they decided in the end that this is okay, so I could go home if I wanted to. They did ask my ride, Tina, if she could bring me back later if I needed (which of course she said "yes") and they asked how far away I lived. I was not kept due to labor because though I continued to have weak contractions they were doing nothing (I am STILL at 1 cm), we were there for hours because baby wouldn't go to sleep. They did give me the option of staying if I wanted to, because they know my situation with Brian gone, but after this "dry run rehearsal" I am pretty confident I can easily get to the hospital anytime I need and I will get help from some corner to watch the children. I was so worried and it was very nice how everyone really came together. This morning at 0700, I already have received a call to see if I need any help today, so I am feeling less stressed. Meanwhile, I got home at ummm.... a little after 2300 (11pm for you non-military folks) but couldn't get to sleep until about 0330 this morning, and neither did the baby!!! She was awake when I went to sleep and is awake NOW! She is going to be one tired baby when she is born!

As for Brian, I wasn't going to let him know what was going on until (and unless) I was told by the Docs "You are in labor", but he called me right as I was leaving for the hospital (around 1900-7pm) and he was already SO TIRED from training, bless his heart. So he called me every hour until we were pretty sure I was not going to be kept and then he finally got to bed, but not without giving me a new number to reach him with if I go into labor in the middle of the night. I did have an alternate way to reach him, but this new way will work better, so that is good.

Well, there it is in a nut shell. I went to the hospital for apparently no reason, but I did get a lot of help (THANK YOU ALL) and now I am more relaxed about the "system." My only fear now is that to prevent a repeat, I don't call the cavalry until it is too late and I have her at home. So my current prayer is for the wisdom to know, when it is time to GO! HAHAHAHA.

Thanks again for stopping in and checking on lil' ole' me! Once the big kids are off to school, I am going back to bed... night night.

Oy Vey

I am at this point a little frustrated and a bit disappointed. I went to get the CTG done this morning and there were more contractions, which are always nice to see. They are getting more uncomfortable, but still not "labor pain." Then I go see my regular doctor (first time I have seen him since last Wednesday- all the other times it was on call Docs in labor and delivery). Well, EVERY doctor I have seen, the labor and delivery Docs and my "blood Doc" have said absolutely no later than Sunday. Well, my lovely doctor conducts his appointment (says the baby is even lower), tells me to go in on Saturday morning for another CTG and then says "see you on Wednesday." "WHAT!!!!" I scream in my head. So, I tell him I thought because of the sugar issues I would not go past Sunday all he says is "well... information changes and you can go up to ten days late." "WHAT!!!!" I scream again in my head. So, I then remind him that my husband is gone and I am having some childcare issues for the other three. I told him this weekend is a three day weekend (four day for soldiers) and it would be easiest for me to get help this weekend. Obviously baby's health is the number one thing, but come on we are 39 weeks and 3 days along. So anyway, he said for me to come in on Monday between 8-830 and they would "try" and induce me. Not too firm sounding. So, while I try to remain upbeat and happy go lucky, as I did not want this site to be a drag with my moans and groans, I am slightly disappointed today. I am fully aware that when all is said and done and I have my four beautiful children around me, none of this will matter, but at the moment, I am sort of stuck in the moment. I am hoping that when I see the delivery room Docs on Saturday, they will stick with their policy of "not past Sunday" and perhaps give me a little "nudge" and try to get the ball rolling that day. Also, I thought I'd be having appointments daily, like the delivery room Doc said; however, that is another thing my primary doctor changed as I do not go in again until Saturday.

After all that complaining, I want to end upbeat sooo...... I am truly thankful to G-d and my husband (and my own inner workings) that I am pregnant and these are just all the little nuances that go along with receiving this blessing. Very, Very soon whether it be tomorrow or on the 25th (ten days late) I will have a new baby girl in my arms and all will be well in the world (until my next big crisis occurs....HAHAHAHAHAHA).

Well, thanks for stopping by and letting me blow of some steam.

To funk things up a bit I thought I would post a picture of me impersonating the "WHAT!!!" I had going on in my head. I hope you get at least a little chuckle.

I'm Still Here

Welcome to the land of impatient pregnant woman..hehe. No, I want baby girl to stay put until she is darn good and ready (or until the doc's say it is unwise for her to reside in my belly any longer), but I am excited to hold her. Anyway, I am back from today's doctor's appointment. Baby girls heart beat went down a little with the first few contractions on the monitor, so they decided they should watch for awhile longer. She did better with the last two, so they sent me home. I only had about 5 during the entire hour I was hooked up, but they were much more regular than yesterday's, coming a little less than every 15 minutes. They asked me if I knew when to come in with labor and I said "let's hope so" and then the nurse told me perhaps I should call an ambulance when I think it is time, since this is my fourth. Anyway, I have an appointment to do another CTG tomorrow at 1000 and then I have an appointment with my regular doctor at 1100. I will post when I return.

On a bit of a side note. I have noticed that nearly everyone that has posted comments have been signing up for a blogger themselves. That is great if you want one, but incase you didn't know, it is possible to post a comment without doing that. All you do is mark "other" and then type in whatever name you like.

I do want to thank you all for stopping in and I wish you a joyous and productive day!

Doctor's Appointment Was Eventful

Well, hello again and welcome. I had an appointment today with my "blood" doctor, so I thought I would have little baby news... I was wrong. The appointment went well and since I am doing so well with my diet, while I still have to check my blood, I do not need to see him again until after the baby is born. I have to check to make sure the diabetes went away and then he suggested I get checked every year thereafter. Anyway, after the appointment he told me to go down and have a CTG (a non-stress test in the states) which monitors baby's movement, heart beat and any contractions. During the 45 minute watch, I had 11 contractions, that was a little exciting. I am sure they are all practice, as they are not any stronger now (and it has been a couple of hours), but it was neat to see and they are hopefully doing something. Additionally, they did an ultrasound because though they didn't tell me, at my last ultrasound it was shown that there was less than the "desired amount" of amniotic fluid. So, I got to see her (and her privates) one more time. That was nice. Oh and the amniotic fluid is the same as it was last time. Then they checked my cervix (and a nurse was nice enough to take Keagan out of the room for that, since I bring him to all the appointments), I am 1 cm dilated (whoopee...not) though I am almost completely effaced, which is great. Also, since the baby is not moving as much and there is the slight decrease of fluid, I now get to have an appointment EVERY DAY until she is born. I will post after the appointments. Oh and there is ONE MORE piece of info. Today's doctor said that if I have not gone into labor on my own, on the actual due date they will induce me. I figured it would be the Friday before or the Monday after since my due date is on Sunday. I was wrong they do induce on the weekends. So, unless another doctor determines otherwise, I am betting this little girl will make her appearance on Jan 15th, the day before my 33rd birthday. Well, thanks for stopping by and so you know, I AM still having contractions, they just aren't any stronger. My appointment is at 1000 tomorrow and I will post when I get back. Hope you have a GRAND day!!

Brian Called

Still here....lol. Brian called last night, he is very tired but doing well. Other than that... not much going on over here. We are selling Girl Scout Cookies today at the PX. Though I can't eat them now, I will be buying a ton for later use ;-)

Wow I really am at a loss for anything to "talk" about. Very unusual for me..lol. Well, thanks again for stopping by and checking on us. Hope your day is grand and that somewhere near you there are girl scout cookies available for purchase and consumption...lol!

Post Two For Today

Well, here I am. The appointment was fairly uneventful. My friend Tina came with me and the kids and we were all hoping for some excitement, but didn't get any. Baby's HB is good, though she wanted to sleep some and they prefer her to be awake to get the proper readings I guess. While she was awake the first part, she went to sleep for the last bit so I had to stay on for a little while longer for more readings with her awake (they gave me a clown playing music to put up to my belly to wake her up, I thought that was silly but it apparently worked). My next appointment is on Monday and it is with the endocrinologist, so I wont have any cool baby news that day either. Ah well, with each baby I have been hopeful that he/she wouldn't be late, but each time they have been. I guess my big fat belly is a really cool place to be, babies are reluctant to leave. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope your day is going well.

Post One For Today

Well, I am off to the doctors. I thought I'd post now in case I don't come back...lol. I am sure I probably will be back though. I have some shopping and errands to run afterwards so I will not be posting again until later this afternoon any update. I guess if you don't see "Post Two For Today" that means I have had the baby (or I am in the process).

Today's pic is a recent one of all three kids. I need to take some new photo's to post.

Thanks for stopping in!

A Change in Plans

For those of you that are currently part of the army family or ever have been, you know that the army motto really is something like "We change our minds daily"...lol. Well, I got a late night call from Brian last night and he informed me that the new guy in charge, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that they should not get any breaks during training. So, unfortunately there will not be any short visits during Brian's training as we had hoped (the first one was set for the weekend after this one, right at my due date). The upside is they will finish training a few days earlier and they will be allowed to come home for a few days before the farewell ceremony and then they will be off. For our purposes the short breaks would have been better, but I will take what I can get and I am just happy we will be able to see him again before he leaves. He will be allowed to come home for about 8 hours when I go into labor (he can take 12 hours off, 2 hours to drive here and 2 back), so that is good news.

I did get some GREAT news from elsewhere last night. My very dear friend Julie is flying out to see us, most likely at the end of February. It will be great to have her here!

This time the picture is of me the night before Brian went for training in one of my favorite tops (thank you Laura). Well, I guess that is it from me this morning. I am still here, still walking everynight, still pregnant...LOL... I love you baby, but the eviction notice is in...LOL.

Brian Left

Brian left for training prior to deployment this morning. He will get a 1 1/2 day break in a few weeks to come home, and if we are lucky he will make it for the birth of his daughter, we will see. The picture is one Tristan took of Dad and I right before he left. We all got up early to see him off. This separation isn't going to be very long right now, as he is coming back for a short visit, but the absence of his presence is already felt. We are doing fine right now and I am sure we will be fine when he leaves for the long (18 months they tell us) deployment, but when they have the farewell ceremony I am sure it will be a bit more difficult than today. I am just very happy that it is VERY likely he will get to see, hold and love on baby girl before he goes, as I was not always sure he would get to. Well, I am off to get the kiddos moving for school. Thanks for stopping by!

Finally!

Yes, Yes it is TRUE... We are having a girl! For those of you that didn't know, I was told it was a girl at our first ultrasound, but I was having doubts. Two of my friends were told "girl" by the same person and at a future ultrasound it was determined they were having boys. Well, I have had a few ultrasounds and they were unable to verify the sex until today!!!! So, it has been confirmed there is a new little girl on the way! There is a little more news as well. The doctor says the baby has dropped, which is unusual to happen before the onset of labor with the 2nd and subsequent pregnancies. At least this is a step in the right direction. Additionally, he has changed his mind AGAIN and now says they will not allow me to go past my due date (because of the sugar "issues"). He has flip flopped on this before though, so we will see! Also, baby girl looks to be about 7.5 lbs at the moment. I guess that is all for the doctor update. I have upcoming appointments on the 7th (yes Saturday), 9th and 11th, so I may have more "medically" to say then. Until then I will pop in daily just to show I am still here. Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome!

Brian leaves for training this Thursday prior to deploying. I knew with him gone it would be next to impossible for me to call anyone long distance and let them know of the baby's birth. So, I thought if I just hop in here once a day and post something, as soon as I am "missing" you all would be able to surmise that perhaps I was at the hospital having baby. I got this idea (and this website location) from a friend Stephanie. She also was expecting (but recently had her little girl, CONGRATS) and it was neat for me to check her site everyday and see if she had made a post. When a few days went by with no new word, we all knew the baby had come and just had to wait for the details. Now Stephanie if you could just talk me through how to post the countdown calendar you had to show all how far along you were? Ah yes, and the picture of Brian is because I wanted to test out how posting pictures here works and I thought I'd choose a nice one of him since he is leaving soon. Well, thanks for dropping by. Hope your day is going smoothly!