Visit to St. Louis (September 2008)

I hadn't been to St. Louis since May so I decided to make up the lack of summer visits by staying for over a week and see people I hadn't seen in awhile. My brother David was turning 21 on August 31 so that was a big deal! Will hadn't met either one of his uncles so I was curious to see how they would react to a month old baby. Tom immediatly fell in love with Will! The only time I could hold my son was to change him or feed him. David was a little different. He was very nervous to hold Will and very careful. He loved him, I know, but was unsure about holding him. He kept saying "It's a real baby!"
There were a lot of friends who wanted to meet Will. They hadn't seen me in awhile but I knew I was "chop liver." They all wanted to meet my son, which was fine with me. I went to visit my friend Colleen, whose daughter Emily was born a week after Will was born! We have decided that Emily and Will are each others first girlfriend/boyfriend. They were so cute together!!!


My friend Sara also has a son named Josh, who is two years older than Will. He LOVED Will and kept calling him "my baby." Sara couldn't even take a turn holding Will because Josh would cry if someone took him away. It was so sweet!!


A lot of my childless friends couldn't wait to meet him and had experience with babies b/c of nephews, nieces, or working in schools. Jen and the out fit that she bought Will. I love how he is looking right at the camera. He finally learned to find mommy's voice! Robyn, Janel, and I went out to eat with Will. He was much better behaved then the little boy sitting at the table next to us! Janel is a baby pro now because of her niece and nephew. Robyn graduated with an early childhood degree so she's used to babies. I love how Will is giving her the peace sign!




Cecelia is a friend from elementry school who stopped by for a couple hours to talk. She said she complained to her husband later that he arm was sore from holding him the whole time but that she loved holding him. Maybe she and her husband will start a family soon! :)
Some other important people to meet Will were the older family members. He is not only the first grandchild but he is also the first great grandchild! Here is a picture from my grandpa's 90th birthday party with 4 generations!
My grandpa's girlfriend, Gini, also loved him. So did my Great uncle Bud. I love the smile on their faces when the hold Will!



Daddy planned on joining us in St. Louis for the second weekend (my grandpa's birthday) but he missed Will so much (and me a little) that he drove all the way to St. Louis for a day and a half instead of catching up on his sleep. I'm glad he loves his son so much! Will missed him too. Stanley has a way of holding him that doesn't look comfortable but they both seem to enjoy it.

Because we stayed so long we were able to stay for my dad's birthday (I won't say how old he was turning). My dad loves holding Will and he loves his grandpa. Here is a picture of my dad trying to rock him to sleep on his birthday.

Two Weeks Old

Will is now a little over 2 weeks old! We had his two week check up and the doctor said he's doing perfect! He weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces at birth and was 20 inches long at birth. Now he is 8 pounds 3 ounces and 22 inches long. I am go glad he is doing well! The only concern was his small amount of wheezing - probably due to the cats. I would hate if we had to get rid of the cats but I would do anything for my son.

Will is so amazing! He is so much like me that is scary! He's very particular about things - he will only nurse if he had a dry diaper and has been burped. He will only take the soothie pacifiers that they gave us in the hospital. Luckily they sell them at walmart and target since they get lost easily. Will also sleeps like me - he prefers his stomach (which we only put him on if he's laying on our chests) and has his mouth wide open.

Breast feeding is going amazing! At first it was a challenge and I was sure I would give up. I'm glad I kept with it because its like second nature now. He and I definitly prefer the skin to skin part of it!

The lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me but it's still all worth it! I try and sleep when he does but sometimes thats hard. My main goal lately has been to try and keep him awake as much as I can during the day.

I will now add some of my favorite pictures taken at the Indianapolis Museum of Art when we went with my Aunt Jean, Uncle Jules, Jen, and Sam on August 16.

Will's Birth

July 30, 2008

7:08 AM - My water broke. Poor Stanley had only gotten 2 hours of sleep b/c he works 3rd shift. He was very confused as to why I had wet myself and soon realized what was happening.

7:15 - Stanley called my mom while I called the doctor. I had an appointment at 9 AM but she said to go ahead and come on in to the hospital. We rushed around trying to remember last minute things and I couldn't find matching shoes so I grabbed the first flip flops I could - one red and one white. We knew it would probably be a long day so we stopped at Burger King for breakfast for Stanley. I decided not to get anything because on our first alarm to the hospital I ate quickly and it ended up coming back up.

8:15 - We arrived at the hospital where the receptionist gave him trouble for eating burger king in front of me. They also all loved the fact that I was wearing one red flip flop and one white flip flop.

8:45 - The doctor checked me and I had not changed in a week - I was still 1 CM dialated and 25% effaced. I was disappointed but glad my water broke - I would have been more disappointed at my appointment later that morning.

9:20 - Stanley's dad, Melvin, came to the hospital to visit.

9:40 - They started pitocin in hopes to get labor going. I talked to my mom and she had the dogs in the kennel and was now leaving St. Louis. She asked me to tell Will to wait for his granda to make it to his birth.

12:15 - Janna and Mackenzie arrived at the hospital. Stanley went home to take care of the animals. In our hurry to the hospital they had not been fed or taken out. Poor Donald, our one year old lab, had an accident in his crate. He hasn't had an accident in over 9 months. While Stanley was gone us girls watched "What Not To Wear" on TLC.

2:00 - I really began to feel the effects of pitocin. They put "the good stuff" as the nurse called it in my IV so I would feel good and loopy. The doctor checked me and was only dialated 2 CM and 50 % effaced - not much change. The upped the pitocin dosage.

3:15 - Jen and Sam arrived from Bloomington

3:50 - My mom arrived from St. Louis

4:45 - Stanley, Jen, & Sam went to the cafeteria to get some food.

5:15 - Janna and Mackenzie came back and brought Terry with them.

5:45 - I started to get major pains and wanted Stanley badly. I had a break down. Terry said he would go get Stanley. He finally got back from the cafeteria and rubbed my back. He was very apologetic and said he wouldn't leave me again.

7 - I was 3 CM dialated so they decided I could get an epideral.

7:30 - Anestesiologist came in. Stanley asked my mom to stay with me because he didn't want to faint. It worked out well because they raised my bed and I put the inside of my feet on my mom's hips and squeezed whenever I got a contraction. She was the perfect height. My mom said she never knew I had such expressive feet!

8:30 - My cousin Jen was in the waiting room and got the feeling I needed her. She came in the room and woke me up to see if I was okay. Within a few minutes I threw up and luckily I was awake when it happened - it would have been a lot yuckier if she hadn't woken me up. My nurse Suzette got excited and said "You know, a lot of people get naustiated at 7 CM. They would be wonderful!"

9 PM - the doctor checked and I was still at 3 CM. NO CHANGE. The doctor said he would be back in 2 1/2 hours and if no change then we would have to talk about other options. He said it was taking too long for my body to change and Will's heartrate was going down. I began preparing myself for a C-Section. It wasn't ideal but I wanted my baby.

11:15 - The doctor checked again and still no change. Suzette, the nurse, came in the room wearing her hairnet already so I knew it meant C-Section. I was a little disappointed because I had gone through 17 hours of labor but all I cared about was Will getting here healthy. Stanley had been asleep and was woken up to hear that I needed surgery. He got emotional - worried for me and his son. It was hard to stay calm seeing the man I love in tears and worried for us. I knew the doctors knew what they were doing. I asked if he would be born before or after midnight. The anesthesiologist looked at the clock and said it might be able to get done before (his birthday was on the 30th and we had talked earlier about them sharing birthdays)

11:50 PM I was in the OR getting prepped for surgery and Stanley joined me. The doctors all introduced themselves to me and told me what they were doing. They were all very nice and calmed my nerves somewhat.

12:14 AM July 31, 2008 William Thomas Allen was born. He weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. I rememer the first thing I said was "Is he still a boy?" The doctor laughed and said "Oh yes, this is most definitly a little boy with a head full of red hair." All I remember is starting to cry. Stanley got to cut the cord and then I got to meet Will. I talked to him and told him I loved him and he looked right into my eyes!

12:45 My dad and sister Laura arrived from St. Louis. My mom, dad, sister, cousin Jen, and her husband Sam stood for hours and just watched the window while I was in recovery. Stanley got to be with him the whole time! I am so blessed to have the most generous and kind husband ever. We had never discussed it at all but Stanley decided to wait and not hold Will right away. He decided I should be the first one to hold him!

Around 2 AM We all lost track at this point. My family decided to leave once I was in my room and out of recovery. They would be back tomorrow to meet Will - they knew this should be an intimate moment between mother, father, and baby.