Riley is funny!

Here a few of my favorite pics as of late... Riley is so much fun. He's starting to smile and is slowly becoming more independent. He has grown a TON in 5 1/2 weeks and now has the cheeks and belly to prove it. Enjoy the pics and happy new year!

One month already!

I can't believe our baby boy has been with us for a month! In lots of ways, it has been a super challenging month, but also one of the most rewarding and emotional experiences that Kevin and I have had. I now realize that all those stories about newborns are very true...sleep is a distant and fond memory.

Riley has changed so much in his short month of life. Here's a quick video clip of us on the couch. I would swear that he is smiling when I start to talk to him!



Riley's Birth Story:
In honor of his one-month milestone, I thought I'd type out my birth story. This is more for my memory than to bore anyone else, so don't feel like you have to read it! Nonetheless, here it is:

Labor started early in the morning on Wednesday, November 21st. I woke up feeling not-quite-right about 7 a.m. or so and by 9 a.m. I was having contractions that felt distinctly different from the Braxton Hicks that had consumed my life for the past month. They didn't hurt exactly, just felt more powerful and kind of real! I actually thought, "wow, this is really it." I sent Kevin to work and told him I would let him know how things went and would call him if it got close. I knew from all of my reading that this could take a LONG time to become urgent. At about 14 minutes apart, it was a long way from the 4 minutes apart I would need to go the hospital. I spent a lot of time cleaning house, decorated the outside of the house for Christmas and put away clean laundry. I looked for any and everything I needed to do before Riley's arrival.

Around 1 p.m. things slowed way down. It had been nearly an hour since my last contraction and I was so bummed. I just knew this could not be fake. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed my Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. I brewed up a cup with very little water and took it like a shot. I don't know if it was the tea or pure willpower, but things started right up again and before I knew it, contractions were 10 minutes apart. So went the day... around 4 or so, I called Kevin and let him know that he shouldn't stay at work late and what he should actually do is come home and try to sleep. I knew this would go late into the night and wanted at least one of us to be well-rested. He came home, did a few last minute preparations and after awhile, I decided that I wanted my last pre-delivery meal to be a banana split.

We headed to Blockbuster and picked up a few DVDs (for the hospital) and then went to Braum's for my last supper. At this point, it's about 10 p.m. and things are getting much more intense. The contractions are about 7 min apart and taking my breath away. We come home, Kevin sleeps and I labor around the house. Around 12:30, I can hardly take the intensity, but the timing is just not where it needs to be. I put the bags by the front door and wait some more...

At 1 a.m. I'm doubling over in pain, but still 4-6 minutes apart. I call the hospital and they agree that I can come in to be checked. I wake up Kevin, we get our stuff loaded and off to the hospital we go. Once we arrive, I'm checked in and my contractions are monitered and, of course, they slow waaay down. I was so frustrated and determined that I would not leave that hospital! I asked them to check me, and so they do (mostly to humor me, i think). They find out I'm almost 4 cm dialted and 90% effaced. The head nurse says, "you get to stay!" I've never been happier. She asks if I want an epidural and since I'm near tears on some of the contractions, I quickly say yes and they make the 2:30 am call to the anesthesiologist. About an hour later, my life is a million times better as my pain is replaced by tingles.

From here, things seemed so fast. They checked me every once in a while and within a couple hours I had made it to 6 cm and was fully effaced. At this point, they decided to speed it along and broke my water and gave me a pitocin drip. I was feeling great, although i couldn't quit shivering and was way nervous. Kevin and my mom kept me super calm and I appreciated the quiet environment that the middle of the night and holiday provided.

It wasn't too long before I was at 8 cm and the sun was coming up. Then 9, the 10cm. It flew by. They let me know I was an 10 and ready to push and they were informing the doctor again. I immediately starting crying a little as I anticipated the pushing. I was so scared of this part. They turned my calm room into a full-blown hospital room as a team of delivery nurses came in, the nursery nurse arrived and set up the scale and other baby things. Lights came up, stirrups came out and the stage was definitely set. I started pushing and although I could feel it, it wasn't excruciating. It was so calm in there and no one was yelling like on TV. I was so relieved. I remember watching the TV between pushes--it was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. After only a few pushes, the nurse was ready for the doctor to take over and only a couple of pushes after that, I knew the big part was over. Baby cries soon followed and after about 15 minutes of pushing, our son was here.

It was an experience I'll obviously never forget and was so much better than I imagined it would be. I thought it would be horrible and it really wasn't even close. I would do it again in a second. I loved sharing the experience with my husband and mom and Kevin was such a calming force on me--as usual. Needless to say, it was the best Thanksgiving of our lives!

He's Here!!!

Riley Donald Miller made his arrival on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd at 9:37 a.m. He weighed in at 7lbs, 5 oz, and 20 inches long. As of now, he's down to 6 lbs, 13 oz, but we're working on getting that back up! He's so beautiful and I can't imagine him being anymore perfect. Kevin and I are having lots of sleepless fun learning about our new little boy. He's great! Taking a small break from internet fun while we settle in, but here's a couple of pics of the cuteness!

It's beginning....

Soooo, I've been having contractions all. day. long. It's been a long 15 hours of counting and waiting. I started out with contractions about 15 minutes apart and have made it to around 5-7 minutes. They are super intense. More than I imagined, for sure! Guess you're never really prepared for that feeling.... Anyhow, Kevin and I will be headed to the hospital soon to get checked out. Hopefully, the next time I post it will be with pictures of Riley! Send good thoughts for a smooth delivery. :-)

Baby weigh-in...

We went today for a final ultrasound to check Riley's size and position and got some great news -- he's not huge! He's weighing in at a respectable 6 lbs, 12 oz. Our doctor told us that the results could be off by a pound in either direction, which is fine with me. I was truly afraid of a 9 lb baby...

We also found out that he's measuring a little behind because apparently Mr. Man has some short legs! That, I would have never guessed.

What else...he's really low, still showing hair, and has a very squished up face right now with a super cute double chin.

All in all, in was great to get one more glimpse of our baby before he makes his in-person debut! Here's hoping that's soon!

38 week update!

Just a quick update with the latest report from the doctor today...

2 cm dilated
50% effaced
-2 station

Also, I asked how big he was and she said "not too big," which kind of freaked me out. I asked what that meant and she ordered an ultrasound to determine size. We'll have that tomorrow afternoon, so look for another update soon!

Some FYI on what all that means:
The concept of "station" denotes the degree of engagement of the fetal head as it navigates the maternal pelvis. Station is the relationship of the presentng part to an imaginary line drawn between the ischial spines of the pelvis. The ischial spines are two bony prominences that demarcate the middle of the pelvis.

Although we assess station during the last weeks of prenatal care (or in the case of preterm labor), its most frequent application is in labor. Progress in labor is assessed by means of several parameters, namely cervical consistency (soft to firm), cervical effacement (shortening), cervical position (posterior, anterior, or mid), cervical dilatation (0 to 10 cm) and station (-4 which is just coming into the pelvis to +4 station which is on the perineum or ready to be born). When the top of the fetal head (or other presenting part as in a breech presentation), arrives at the level of the ischial spines, the baby is said to be at 0 station or "engaged.”

Primigravidas (women having their first baby) typically engage before labor and may enter labor at -1, 0 or even +1 station.

Riley's nursery ROCKS!

Since I haven't had a baby yet, I thought I would share pictures of my son's rockin' nursery. I had so much fun planning and decorating this little part of our house. It's now the only completely decorated and finished room in the house and I love to go in and sit in the glider and relax. The calm before the storm...

Before the transformation....a plain, white, and empty room (and a picture of the "before" light fixture).


Kevin working hard at cutting in on the ceiling. (I only painted at floor level.)

Kevin nails in the trim. (And a good shot of the blue ceiling!)


The completed room!!




Here's a good pic of his bedding. I designed it and my super-talented mom made it all. I LOVE how it turned out. Can't wait to see it with spit-up all over it. (Also, note the AMAZING baby blanket that Jimmy's mom made for us from a swatch of our bedding fabric. It is PERFECT!)


A not-so-good shot of the awesome valance that my mom also made. Panels are courtesy of Target. :-)


Various detail shots:


His wall shelves (ignore the generic babies!)


I finally found the perfect lamp for the table last week! It turned out to be one the trickiest things to find.



Another shot of the blue ceiling--completed. (and Kevin's skills with the new ceiling fan--he rules at home repair!)


Riley's new furry friends from Brandi and Virginia.



My Projects! Pregnancy apparently brings on craftiness! I made this bulletin board, painted the letters and painted and decorated a once very boring (and plain wood) trashcan. (pretty sure these new skills will disappear with delivery.)

The bulletin board (for tracking feedings!)


His wall letters. They took a lot of time, but I'm probably most proud of these!


And the trashcan (A similar one sold online for $50. Are you kidding me? Mine was $7.)

Still no news to report except that contractions are a way of life right now, but they seem to be getting stronger...
Sprinkle labor dust my way!

One year down!!

This is totally not Riley-related, but this is, after all, the Miller Spot....

I came across this today and couldn't remember if I ever even passed it on to anyone! This is the feature that the Knot.com did on our wedding. It is on the site as one of Oklahoma's featured weddings...so cool! Anyway, in honor of our anniversary (which was about a week and two days ago), I thought I would post the link! Check it out if you haven't. I love to look at how slim my face appears and how I actually have a waist!

Little did we know where we'd be a year from then....
http://tinyurl.com/2wec2r

P.S. I love my husband!!! I'm seriously the luckiest girl in the world.

Full Term!!!

I can hardly believe it, but I'm officially full-term! Riley is free to make his entrance whenever he feels ready. Today would normally be our weekly doctor visit, but she had a surgery which pushed our appointment to Wednesday. So excited to see what might be going on.

Last Monday I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced, which is a little bit of progress. Contractions are coming all the time right now, but nothing consistent yet. The longest consistent run we had was last week at 10 minutes apart for about 3 hours. They eventually went away though... Anyway you look at it, this little guy will be here within the month and Kevin and I are so excited to meet him! Here's another belly pic for your enjoyment. Taken today, at exactly 37 weeks. Riley is much lower than he once was--can you tell the difference?

Riley on film...take 2!

Saturday was our second 3D/4D ultrasound and once again it was so amazing to see our little boy moving around on the big screen. We've confirmed for the second time that he does NOT approve of being probed--he avoided being seen at all costs! That's okay though, it was still fun to see the glimpses that we could and to watch him move around and feel him at the same time was awesome!

Things we know about Riley from the ultrasound:
He likes to wiggle and move--ALOT.
He likes to snuggle against me.
He has hair!!! We were able to see this!
He is chubby! Double chins and very full cheeks confirm...
He sucks on his fingers. He was going at it while we were watching him.

Here are a few of my favorites from Saturday and a short video so you can see him move around!


Here's chubby cheeks and hands and arms! His right hand is in his mouth and the left is up on his forehead.



A pretty good front shot, though his nose looks squished because of his positioning. Love his little lips!


Open mouth shot!


Love this one because of how well you can see his hand. This is open-palm out, pretty much saying, "leave me alone!"


Here's his goodbye shot with a great look at the bones in his left arm and a side view of his round little face. Count the chins with me....


And the video clip:

Make your wager on Riley's arrival!

Happy Tuesday, America!

I'm getting over a yuck-tastic cold with some Internet therapy. Ahhhh...sweet relief. Anyhow, I created an online baby pool so everyone can make guesses on Riley's arrival. You can enter the day you think he'll arrive, the time, the weight, etc. Fun, fun, fun! Swing by the site if you get a minute!

(p.s. it's free!)

Here's the link to the Baby Pool (it's also above on a fun, floating banner...)

Riley hearts t-shirts!

We've been putting together Riley's nursery lately (pics to come...) and in sorting out his mounds and mounds of clothes, I realized just how many cute t-shirts this kid has already! It's so fun. Considering how much his dad loves (and lives in) t-shirts, and how much I love t-shirts, it only makes sense that Riley would have little choice in the matter. (Is it wrong to be jealous of an unborn baby's wardrobe??)

Oh well, here's a small sampling of our little man's t-shirt collection:

I'll save the rest for another day. I love clever baby clothes! In the meantime, down with bears, baseballs, and racecars!!