Visit to Grandma & Papa's at the River for Christmas

River December 2008 from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

4 month check up

Bodie went to the doctor on Wednesday for his 4 month check up and everything went very well.  He weighs 15 lbs and is now in the 45% for weight and 55% for height - that's up from 7%.   The doctor was very pleased at how much he's growing.  He had  several vaccines which were not very pleasant but he did just fine.  

Skye, on the other hand, isn't doing so well.  She is having some trouble adjusting to having the new baby around.

Just Kidding!  Ed came over this morning to take some photos of Bodie for the Christmas card and we were trying to get a few shots of Bodie and Skye.  Skye gagged right as Ed snapped this photo.  We decided not to use it for the Christmas card but wanted to share it with you all.  The photos turned out great - thank you Uncle Eddie!  Here's a sneak peek.  Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays

We have been busy over the holidays!  Thanksgiving was really fun at the Hunt with Poppy and Grandma-yeah (even though Bodie slept through all of it).  After the Hunt we went to Grandma Nancy and Baba's for a yummy dinner with Uncle Jim and Uncle Curtis.  

This morning we met friends at a breakfast with Santa in Unionville. Bodie didn't mind sitting with Santa at all.  He might have known something was fishy because he tried to pull Santa's beard off.  Leslie and her family were there - Bodie's friend Henry is not so happy in his Santa suit here.  

Every day Bodie is learning something new.  Yesterday he found his feet.  This morning he was making all kinds of new squealing noises.  He is a happy guy.  We're looking forward to seeing the McDonald-Wards for Christmas.  Bodie is excited to meet his cousins.  Hope you all enjoy the holiday season!

Introducing the crib!

Bodie has now graduated to his big crib in his own room.  He is sleeping very well there and his mommies are getting more sleep now too.  When he was in our room in the bassinet, he made noises all night long.  Although he was asleep, we found it hard to sleep through his coos and grunts and groans.  The first night without him was hard because we missed hearing him and knowing he was ok but now everything is fine.  He even likes his 'alone time' to watch the mobile and listen to Classical music.  He likes 'alone time' just like his Mommy Sarah... Enjoy the video.

Who's a big boy?

Bodie went to the doctor today for his one month check up.  In two weeks, his weight went from 6lbs 4oz to 7lbs 8oz!!  The doctor said he was a very healthy boy.  His lungs are healthy too - he screamed the whole time.  Probably because I had to wake him up, undress him and let the doctor poke and prod.  By the time we left, I was sweating but I had a big smile on my face because he's doing so well.  He took a good long nap after the exhausting doctor's visit.  Heidi and I are very happy and proud.  He's such a good boy.  As Heidi said yesterday on his 1 month birthday, "Yeah us."   

Boden's First Month from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

After Birth...

Here is a video montage of pictures from the first two days of visitors and more pictures of Baby Bodie.


After Birth from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

Slideshow

This isn't Ben's best work but he wanted to share this video with you anyways:


Stills of the Birth of Bodie Fenstermacher from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

Correction

(This is Ben)

I spelled the name wrong... epic fail... anyways, the name is BODEN, not Bowden, for all you fans of embroidery out there.

Welcome Baby Bodie!!

Boden McDonald Fenstermacher was born at 11:53 pm last night.

He is 6 lbs 6 ozs and is 19 inches long.

Sarah and Bodie are both doing great. He had to have his breathing checked out for about 2 hours, but everything checked out fine and he came to have his first meal with mom sometime during the night.








More pictures can be found on Ben's Photo Gallery (check back often as new photos will be posted there)

Waiting Room

This is how we stayed entertained for 12 hours...


Dancing Barbara from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

Almost there...

Posted by Ben
-------------------
Sarah is 9 cm and almost ready to push!

Friday afternoon update

This morning started at 6:45 am when I called the hospital to see if we could begin the induction. They told me to call back at 10. When I called back at 7:30, the told me to call back at noon. This was frustrating, but Heidi kept reassuring me that it would all work out.

Ben (oh yeah, did I mention that my brother surprised me and just showed up with my Mom!) decided to use this time to get Mom signed up for Facebook and began setting everyone up on Twitter and even set Bodie up with his own Twitter page (which is were we are providing more up to the minute details, but they are also located on this page, over to the right).

Ed came by and picked up Skye so that we wouldn't have to worry about her (THANKS ED!) and he has just informed us that she is "adjusting to her new life as a second class citizen very well."

I called again at 10:30 to ask if I could eat (as they had instructed me not to), and to see if there was room at the inn yet. They said no, but then they called back 30 minutes later to ask if I wouldn't mind getting my butt into the hospital. So Heidi, Mom, Ben and I jumped in the car and headed to the hospital.

Once we got there they check me out and decided that they should start with Cervidil, and told us that it may (and usually) takes around 12 hours for that drug to work. The clock started at 1:10 pm for that. Once that drug does it's job they will start me on Pitocin which should cause the contractions to start.

So we have been waiting and being entertained by Aunt Sue, Barbara, Nancy, Lois.

Cramping is increasing and the pain is increasing, I (or my pen writers) will keep you updated.

Pre baby events video

Here is a video that Ben edited together, from the fancy camera that Curtis and Jim got us:


Bodie Pre Birth Activities from Sarah McDonald on Vimeo.

TGIF

Friday is the day. Sarah is going in to be induced on Friday, August 1. The process is to call the hospital at 7:00 am on Friday and if there is space available we go in. If they're busy we call back at 10:00 and so on. We have learned that this whole process is a waiting game so that is what we're prepared to do. They'll start the inducing process and then we wait some more. No one knows how long it will take. After nine months and the last 6 weeks on bed rest, we are excited to be going to the hospital for the birth of our baby and not just monitoring. This last week has been filled with final preparations in the nursery. Thanks for all your help Nancy and Barbara. We look forward to Lois coming in town on Thursday evening and being with us throughout this process and for Ron and Edyie to come back from Arizona just in time. We really wish everyone could be here. We're nervous and excited but most of all we can't wait to meet our son!

One Month To Go

July 16th means that the due date is exactly one month away. Heidi woke up saying that this is our last month ever without having a child. This month will go quickly and at the same time we're so ready and excited that it will go slowly. Sarah has been feeling well and is doing a pretty good job following her doctor's orders for bedrest. Her blood pressure has still been high but other than that she has felt great. Heidi has been doing a fanatastic job taking care of her and making sure she has enough of the food she craves, chicken and blueberries, to get her through the day. We appreciate all the phone calls and encouragement. We're still getting prepared for the baby's arrival. We purchased a nice camera so we can capture all the moments with the bambino. These pictures were taken with our new Canon Rebel camera. The nursery looks great. The pictures are hung, the clothes are put away and we even made the giant bear fit! We're as ready as we can hope to be.

ALL we need is the baby

Now that we have ALL of the baby stuff that one could imagine, we are putting it ALL together, trying it ALL out and finding places to keep it ALL. Thank you to ALL who gave to us so generously. On Sunday Nancy, Barbara and Gail came over to "help"...and we got carried away as you can see in the photos. We figured out the highchair and practiced using it with a watermelon! We decorated the fill-in baby with a baseball hat, a beer, a pinstripe bowtie and Frye cowboy boots.

In other news, Sarah received a good doctor's report last week...Yippee! Her blood pressure was lower than it's been and her bloodwork was all good. The doctors said she can work part-time and rest a lot. Only 5 weeks to go!!!!!

Baby Shower at The Edgars

Our good family friends, Chris, Georgia, Lynne, Susan and Suzanne threw us a lovely baby shower at The Edgar's house last weekend. The food was scrumptious, everyone wanted the recipe for the eggs. We received so many nice, nice gifts that we now know we need a larger house. The life-sized stuffed bear from Poppy got a ride home in Curtis' convertible. Thanks to all of our great friends and family for helping us celebrate our baby boy to come. Our friend Leslie had her baby boy, Henry Daniel Mariani 5 days after the shower and all are doing well.

Nursery Top Ten

Our Nursery Top Ten:

10. The tiny room is painted orange
9. The white wainscoting is finished
8. The white blinds fit perfectly
7. The new overhead dimmer lights are installed
6. The fun toys are in cute little bins
5. The many good books are on the shelves
4. The cute little clothes, bowtie and cowbow boots are all put away
3. The stuffed animals are displayed
2. The crib is assembled
1. The love and excitement are building

Baby Shower at the Party Barn

Pictures are worth a thousand words..

Thank you very much Nancy, Barbara, Lois, Aunt Gail, Curtis and Jim for a beautiful shower with delicious food and much fun. Thanks to all of our great friends for enduring the hot weather and for the wonderful gifts.

We're Staying Active Too!

We have been busy this summer at parties practicing our parenting skills. All of our friends seem to think we already know what we're doing. Little do they know that we give their kids a taste of beer and brownies. That keeps them quiet and happy.



Every morning we go for a hike with Skye; and Sarah has been feeling great because of it. Last weekend we went to White Clay Creek State Park with Sarah, Leslie, Skye and Rosco. The dogs swam a lot and we enjoyed a beautiful long hike.

He's Active!

Our baby boy has been moving a lot recently. Sarah woke up at 5 am yesterday because she said it felt like the baby was on a trapeze. He was pushing from one end of her belly to the other then from the top to the bottom. You can now see it when he kicks or punches or butts Sarah's belly. It's so cool! He also gets the hiccups every morning. You can tell it's the hiccups because the movements are rhythmic.

We are almost finished decorating the baby's room...yippee! The painting is nearly done but thankfully Grandma Lois is going to help finish the windows when she comes this weekend. The white wainscoting is up and looks terrific. We picked up the crib, bookcase and swivel chair so we're looking forward to setting up the room. Here's a sneak peak.

This weekend is going to be so much fun! Sarah's mom is coming to town for the big baby shower at Nancy and Barbara's barn on Saturday night. We're expecting 60 people and they're calling for 90 degrees and high humidity. We want to thank our hosts Nancy, Barbara, Lois, Curtis and Jim for all of their hard work and know the party is going to be wonderful! We wish everybody could be here, we'll miss you Leigh, Frank, Sherry and Ben.

Visit to Jacksonville

At the end of April Sherry threw us an incredible baby shower in Jacksonville. Many of Sarah's high school friends were there as well as family and longtime friends. We had a great time and received a lot of very nice gifts.

Thank you Sherry!

While we were in Jacksonville we also went to Sarah's 20th high school reunion. It was great for Sarah to catch up with old friends and for Heidi to meet some of the oldies but goodies.




And of course the best part was visiting with Noah, Jude, Sherry,Ben, Lois and Don! Thank you all for a great trip.