Welcome Paige Lauren Zukowski

She's here! And we couldn't be more in love!

Paige Lauren was welcomed into the world on July 2nd at 2:26 AM. She weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 19.5 inches long.

And wouldn't you know that all of my anxiety about what to do with Luke when I went into labor and delivering while my doctor was out of town is so meaningless now. The stars aligned on July 1st and 2nd and our baby girl arrived! It is quite an interesting birth story (at least I think so) so I will post about that separately.

Look at that body :) Can you believe she was 8 lbs. 5 oz.?!?!


Instant love :)


Our first visitors (at 3:30 AM)!


Big Brother Luke wasn't quite sure what to think at first. His first words when he walked in were "Watcha doin' Mommy?" I will say that he both loves her and couldn't care less about her right now. He willingly gives her kisses and wants to lay by her and hold her and then he goes on his merry way not worrying a bit about his baby sister!











Luke was excited about the doctor's kit Paige bought for him!




Our new family of 4!


Grandma and Grandpa Zukowski meeting Paige for the first time!


We thankfully were discharged on Sunday afternoon. We were in the hospital for 36 hours and that was plenty for me. Whoever says to stay in the hospital and get some rest before you come home is crazy. Every time myself or Paige would just about be asleep a nurse would come in for something. I was just really annoyed and wanted to be home! Luke was at our house with his grandparents so I knew he was in good hands, but I really thought I would get more rest at home!

A picture before we leave the hospital!


More visitors at the house!






Aunt Stacey was at the house too, but I didn't get a picture on my camera. I know someone else has it - sorry Stace! And Julie Coughlin-Paulsrud was in the area on Saturday and stopped by the hospital, but unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of her either.

Have you noticed the 'cheese' smile we get from Luke these days - ha!


We are settling in nicely at home. Paige has had a great first couple of nights!

It's July, Baby!

PUN INTENDED!!!

Well, my hope for a July baby has come true! Now, on to my next wish, which is a baby born after the 4th of July!

As I mentioned last week, my doctor is out of town through Monday. If I have to deliver with a random doctor, I will, but I would MUCH prefer to wait until at least Tuesday if possible - got that Little Miss?!?!

I have my next appointment scheduled for Tuesday afternoon so until then, I am relaxing as much as possible this weekend. Come Monday night, you may find me doing squats, running laps around my block, eating spicy food, and doing whatever else might get this baby moving.

As of today, I feel pretty good. I am definitely getting more and more uncomfortable, but I also feel like not a lot is happening to show me that the end is in sight (although I know it is!).

I have been sleeping horribly though! Some of it is because I have to pee every 2 hours, the rest of it is just anxiety about not knowing when I will go in to labor. That wasn't such an issue last time because when it was time, Wally and I could just head to the hospital. This time, we have Luke to get settled somewhere with someone. Of course we have the grandparents on call and a few other backups in place, but it is just hard because you can't plan. You don't know how quickly things are going to progress or who is going to be around. It is a terrible feeling for a planner like me to have so I find myself lying awake at night praying that everything will work out, which I am sure it will - it will have to!

So grandparents, get those bags packed and have the caffeine ready to go just in case there is that middle of the night call!

Baby Girl - we are ready for you now, but we will be even more ready for you after the 4th ;) We seriously can not wait to meet you!

39 weeks!

38 Weeks

We are definitely in the home stretch!

I had my weekly doctor's appointment Friday morning and was told that I have made no progress - nada! I'm ok with that...I thought I was getting to the point where I just felt READY to have this baby, but I have been really hoping for a July baby!

My doctor mentioned that she will be out of town from July 1st through the 4th so now I am REALLY hoping the Little Miss stays put until at least the 5th! Doctor said she thinks I will go pretty close to my due date (the 9th) so hopefully that is the case. I guess you never know and the little one will come when she is good and ready :)

I go next Thursday so that my doctor can see me before she leaves, but I doubt she will check me again. Fingers and toes crossed that this little girl stays nice and comfy cozy and maybe the fireworks on July 4th will get her going again!

So here I am...38 weeks!

Dear Luke,

The days of you being an only child are drawing to a close. And what terrifies me more than anything about bringing another child into our family isn't whether or not it is possible to love another being as much as you - I know my heart will continue to grow, but what bringing another person into our family does to the little world within which you currently exist.

I worry that by bringing your baby sister into this world, we will somehow lose a bit of you along the way. I know that is a ridiculous thought, but it scares me to think that you might feel some bit of pain/hurt in not being the only child anymore.

For the last 2 1/2 years, our world has existed completely around you. And that will continue on, I promise! The only difference is that that world will be expanding to make room for your sister. Our hearts and minds will expand so that both of you fit just as comfortably in our arms and world as you have always felt.

You have amazed me from the second I held you in my arms on December 11th, 2008, and I know you will not seize to amaze me once your sister arrives. So I wonder why I worry so much about disrupting your little life. You have adapted to everything we have thrown at you, and I know that this will be the same. You have shown me no reason, thus far, as to why I should even worry. You give kisses to your baby sister in my belly, you refer to her by name, you tell us about all of the things you will teach to her, you know exactly where she is going to sit at the kitchen table when she is bigger, you seem excited to be a big brother. I know you have no idea as to what is really coming, but I have very high hopes that everything you feel and talk about now will continue once we bring your sister home.

I am so excited for you to have a sibling because in my life and in your Daddy's life, most of our very best memories from childhood are with our siblings. They certainly make life that much more fun and the love that you have for your sister will be unconditional. You will be a wonderful big brother and will watch over your little sister for the rest of your life [no matter how much she frustrates you :) ].

You made me a Mommy and because of you I learned more about myself than I ever could have imagined. You are the reason for everything that we do, even bringing another child into our family. You have showed me how wonderful the life of a Mommy can be!

Your Daddy and I love you so much and that will never change. We will work hard every.single.day to make sure that you always know how much you are loved because you deserve to know.

We are looking forward to what the future holds with you and your baby sister, and I have no doubts that you will relish in the role of big brother!

I love you to the moon and back a gazillion times,

Mommy

Another Week Come and Gone

A bit of a random post about all things pregnancy and baby...

Tomorrow I will be 37 weeks pregnant - that is full term!!! Woo hoo! I had Luke at 39w2d. I am not sure what the Little Miss' plan is, but we will find out soon enough!

I have to tell you though that I have had 2 dreams on 2 consecutive nights that Little Miss was a Little Mister! The first night I cried in my dream - not because I was upset that the baby was a boy but because I had a closet full of pink clothes at home that wouldn't be worn. The second night Wally was in the dream with me and we both just started laughing - we couldn't believe it. So at this point, I have NOT taken any tags off of the clothes (except for a few sleepers and a going home outfit). Our ultrasound tech was very certain it was a girl and the picture we have is pretty clear, but I guess you never truly know!

How am I feeling? Well, I feel like I am 37 weeks pregnant. When the back pain is here, it is killer, but when there is no back pain, I actually feel pretty good! The sleep is getting worse, not to mention I had a good old-fashioned cold this week which certainly didn't help matters.

Starting yesterday afternoon (after I told a co-worker that I felt nothing going on lately - except the baby moving of course), I began having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions and pressure. Nothing painful, but enough to remind you that this baby will be here very soon!

I had my now weekly doctor's appointment this morning and all is good. She is going to 'check' me next week to see if there is any progress. I go back and forth on these cervical checks...on one hand it is nice to know if anything is happening, but on the other hand, when you believe there is something happening and you get the news that there is no progress so far it can be disappointing.

I would say our house is ready for this addition! Luke has helped Wally put the pack-n-play/bassinet in our room, the car seats were installed this week, and the necessities have been bought. I think I will start to put together my hospital bag this weekend. Luke talks a lot about his 'baby sister'. I can't wait to see how he really reacts once she is here - it should be interesting!

Here are some pictures from last Sunday (36w1d).

One quick story about this dress I am wearing. Luke was already downstairs ready for church and when I came down wearing this dress, he so sweetly came over and touched it and said, "pretty mommy". That is always nice to hear, but especially when you are 9 months pregnant! Seriously, the sweetest boy ever!

35/35

Yesterday I was 35 weeks, which means there are 35 days remaining until my due date - CRAZY!!!

I have to say that this pregnancy has really flown by! I can see the next 2 weeks going just as quickly too. I have our annual audit at work those 2 weeks and I pretty much run it with the auditors. After these 2 weeks though, I wouldn't mind if time slowed down just a bit so I can make sure that I am prepared in every way for our baby girl. We really have all of the necessities at this point, but it would be nice to have some time to stock the house with toilet paper, paper towel, etc. and other things like that so that we don't have to do a lot of running around when the baby comes and can just enjoy our new family of 4!

After this past weekend, we finally have no more out of town stays. We still have things going on on the weekends, but they are day trips or events and we can sleep in our own beds from now until Will's wedding in early August.

I am still feeling pretty good, but I have officially become a victim of swollen feet! Ugh! On Friday, I went to try on my dress shoes for the wedding on Saturday and realized that my feet were FAT and those shoes were not going to fit no matter how hard I tried to squeeze in to them. I have officially conceded to flip flops at all times! I didn't have this issue at the end of my pregnancy with Luke - it was December! I did have to stop wearing my rings at the end of that pregnancy though, and it looks like that will be the case again. If it is not a humid day, the rings can stay on, but otherwise, they are off!

I am definitely running out of room and can't eat as much in one sitting. I am still feeling lots of movement, but you can tell that things are getting a little tight in there for her. Legs and hands and other random body parts can be found sticking out quite often!

I had my beta strep test at my last appointment and my doctor said that the baby was head down so that is good news! I go back this Friday and then weekly from here on out - again, CRAZY!!! I really can't wait to meet my baby girl :)

35w1d

Fun at the Park and Weekend Wrap-Up

Wally headed off to his last baseball game of the season on Saturday morning and Luke and I walked down to a garage sale going on at the end of our block. There was a sit-n-stand stroller for sale so I wanted to check it out. If it was a good price, it was mine. Unfortunately, it was $85 and not in the best shape - no thanks!

So now it is 8:15 AM and it was already a beautiful day - off to the park we went. Luke wanted to ride his scooter there. I knew he wouldn't last the whole way, but I thought we could give it a try. He made it to the end of our block and then the next block is downhill so I had him stand on the scooter and he coasted down the block with my help. And then I pretty much dragged the scooter the rest of the way - ha!







We finally made it to the park, had some fun, and were back home before 9:30 AM.















He said he was pushing his baby sister!










Grandma & Grandpa Z. stopped by for a short visit Saturday afternoon and then we headed to church and ordered in pizza.

Sunday was Daddy and Lukey day! I headed to Orland to meet my mom, sister, and aunt to do some shopping for the Little Miss. And let me tell you - this little girl has quite the wardrobe started :)



Wally and Luke went golfing and per Wally, Luke did great. They went to Wally's "home" course and played 9 holes. Wally said Luke LOVED riding in the golf cart and then he was able to putt on every hole and hold the flag. I think his favorite part of the day though was hitting a ball in the water. He is still talking about it! Unfortunately, Wally didn't take one single picture, not even on his phone :( When I got home though, Luke was napping and he was looking just like his Daddy in his khaki cargo shorts and red striped polo shirt - so cute!!! He can't wait to golf with Papa and Grandpa too!

Friday Fun

Before we left home for the day on Friday morning, I thought I would take some belly pics. Luke wanted in on these too! He kept saying "I hold Mommy's belly too!"

1 day shy of 31 weeks!










Then it was off to my doctor's appointment (which went great - baby, blood pressure, weight gain = all good! I go back in 3 weeks and then we start the more frequent appointments - the end is nearing!). Then it was off to work (which was the not so fun part of the day). Then we were back home for more fun!

On the way home from Punky's, I asked Luke if he wanted to play Go Fish! when we got home. He said (very enthusiastically), "Yes, that a good idea!" He cracks me up!

Baby Pool Time

So we know Baby Z. is a girl, but we still don't know when she will arrive, which means it is BABY POOL time. Click on the link on the right side of the blog to make your guess! Here is some information about Luke as some guidance!

Luke's Due Date: 12/16
Luke's Birthday: 12/11 (exact date we were given at 20-week ultrasound)
Time: 11:19 AM
Luke's Weight: 7 lbs. 9 oz.
Luke's Length: 20 1/2 inches

GOOD LUCK!!!

The Reaction(s)

Phew! It has been a long, crazy week - between car trouble for Wally and making it work for 2 days with only one car (which is ridiculous because we both work 20 minutes from home in opposite directions), constant rain, a ton going on at work, desperately needing to get to the grocery store since Monday and FINALLY getting there yesterday, extreme exhaustion the second we get home for the night, not logging on to the computer at home all week long and barely catching any TV (my DVR is about at the max!), we have finally made it to Saturday!!! I thought it was time to post the reaction we got last weekend when sharing the news about our baby girl!!!

Both are going to kill me, but I had to post this picture! Their faces say it all :)


My mom immediately ran inside and got the cutest little girl outfit. She was going to put it in our Easter basket because she has always "known" that we were having a girl! Nancy cried!

It was really fun to tell our families in person even though it was killing me for 2 1/2 weeks!

The BEST Easter Egg

Yes, that’s right – we found out! After the little scare we had and having a THIRD ultrasound since 20 weeks, I just needed to know. Can you believe it? A little GIRL!!! I know most of you can believe it since the majority of you voted for a girl in our little poll, but I have to say, I couldn’t believe it!

When the tech told us and showed us (very, very clearly I might add) that we were having a GIRL, I instantly started crying and basically didn’t stop all night long. I was SO HAPPY!

I have to say that all along, I was thinking boy. I think just having a boy first put the idea in my head that I was only going to have boys. I was perfectly fine with this and would have been ecstatic to be the mom of 2 boys, but when I heard the word GIRL, I just melted. Of course you are thankful and feel extremely blessed for whatever God gives you, but in my heart of hearts, way deep down inside, I guess I really wanted a little GIRL this time around!

Before the tech even told us the sex, she had mentioned that the baby had really long bones and the baby was moving all over the place. And then she said it was a GIRL. My first thought was “my tiny dancer”. Long, lean bones and dancing in my belly like crazy. Yep, my little ballerina is already practicing!

And Luke, well Luke was going to be a great big brother whether it was a boy or a girl, but now he can be a great big, protective brother to his baby SISTER!

The egg is how our families found out Easter weekend! I am writing this before we have even told them so that it can post ASAP after the news has been shared. I am literally BURSTING right now!!! I will write more about their reactions later!

A GIRL!!!! :)