One week old!

One week has already gone by since Bella was born, which is quite hard to believe! We have been pretty busy since we came home from the hospital last Thursday. Bella had quite a few visitors over the weekend, not that it fazed her in the least. She is a VERY content and happy little girl. She may look like mommy, but I think she definitely has her daddy's laid-back personality. Her first night home was a little rough, but ever since then it has gone great. We actually have to wake her up to feed her. I think she would sleep through the whole night if we let her! She is also doing awesome on eating. A nurse from the hospital came out yesterday to give her and me a check-up, and she is already up to 8 lbs! So she gained 12 oz in 4 days. We definitely feel so blessed to have such a sweet baby. Already, I can't imagine what our life would be like without her!
Bella at 1 week old
Our first family outing- We went to Des Moines for my birthday, not that Bella noticed. :) She slept pretty much the entire time!
Her ladybug outfit
Bella with her cousin Jager
Bella with her cousin Dylann
Naked baby!
Such an angelic face!

More Pictures!

Here are a few more pictures of Bella's stay in the hospital, first outfit, coming home, first bath at home and her in her very own bed.

Meet Isabella Lynn!

She finally decided to make her grand entrance yesterday morning, June 2, 2009, at 10:02 am. I won't go into much detail here, but I will say that Lindsey and I are just so thankful to God for giving us such a beautiful blessing. She is absolutely everything that we could have wished for and so much more. She weighed and measured in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and 20.25" long. We are truly blessed and can't wait to introduce her to all of you. So with that, I just wanted to share some pictures of her. So please enjoy!

Here's the Due Date!

So here we are at May 30- the day baby girl is "supposed" to come into the world. But as we have found out, our little girl is in no hurry to leave my belly! It's been hard to stay patient throughout this week as I know that it could really be anytime. I have to remind myself that we will have a very healthy and big girl, and she has to come out at some point! 

We had a doctor appointment earlier this week, and I had progressed which was good to hear. He was even optimistic that I would go into labor at some point this week. I'm still trying to hold on to that hope! Derek on the other hand feels she may need a little assistance coming out. Our doctor did say that if I hadn't gone into labor by my next appointment on Monday, he would induce me either Tuesday or Wednesday. So I think I can actually safely say that by this time next week, we will have our little girl. But I'm praying that she decides to come on her own!

39 Weeks...

We have now arrived into week 39... which I am a little disappointed about. I was hoping that our little girl would decide to make an early entrance, but she is apparently quite content inside of me! Hopefully she will decide to come still in this next week, rather than dragging it on to the bitter end or beyond. I have done about everything possible to encourage labor! Derek and I have been taking many walks, and I even made him eat some of the hottest wings in the world last night. But I guess she isn't going to come until she is good and ready!

Me at 37 weeks
38.5 weeks- it just continues to grow and grow!
I thought that our blog has been dominated by pictures of me, so I thought I would stick one in of Derek. He is standing by the tree he planted- or actually, one of the trees! I've been keeping him busy with work around the house.
The bridesmaid that everybody felt sorry for and my friend Gwyn.
Yes, I wore a sleeveless dress and heels all day long at 38 weeks pregnant. It was really okay though, and I'm so glad that I made it through friend's wedding. Of course, now baby has decided to stay inside longer than I planned!
HOPEFULLY our next post will be announcing the arrival of our baby girl! But who knows what she may decide to do!

12 Days and Counting!

It's me again, Derek, and I've heard from several people out there that you've all missed my commentary, so I decided to make everyone's day glorious once again and write. As you can see from the title, we are at 12 days and counting. Could be shorter, could be longer, only God truly knows. We just had our 38 week appointment this morning and the doctor said everything was looking good. Lindsey is slightly dilated, possibly 1 cm, however, I think the doc might have just been being nice and upgraded us from a fingertip to a 1 cm, just to keep our hearts happy. But as everyone says, that slight dilation can change in an instant, so we'll keep waiting. Other than that, everything else is pretty much a constant. We'll keep praying that she comes sooner rather than later, for Lindsey's sake mostly! We hope to be sharing some good news with you all very soon and look forward greeting our new baby girl with lots of love!

Getting closer!

Today I had our 36 week appointment- the weeks are rapidly winding down! Everything continues to look good for our little girl. I am still measuring about a week ahead, but our doctor says that it is nothing to worry about, especially since I have measured big for almost the entire pregnancy. He also checked me for the first time today- I am starting to dilate (about a fingertip he said, which is almost to 1 cm) and I was 25% effaced. I realize if you've never had a baby, that means absolutely nothing! :) So basically, I am progressing well. I was reassured by the appointment today- there's nothing to indicate that I will be having the baby before my friends wedding on the 16th. I just need to make it through the next week and half, then I'll be ready to meet our little girl! We are pretty much all ready at home for her. I do have some more work I want to get done around the house, but nothing too urgent. As my dear hubby knows and loves, I am pretty anal-compulsive about having things clean. So I'm not sure if it is "nesting" or if it's just me being myself, but I have cleaned about every inch of the house already, even though most of it probably didn't need to be done!