Anna meets Grandpa Ed and Grandma Carol!

Last week Anna finally got to meet her Grandpa Ed and Grandma Carol! We met them up in Truckee and had a fun weekend with perfect weather, lots of good food, and a fantastic meteor shower to top it all off.

Grandpa Ed holding Anna while we made breakfast. She was very content.
 

Anna is already trying to figure out how she can get Carol's visor in her mouth!
 

Looking very serious at Donner Lake.
 

Watch out - she's mobile! Anna scooted all the way under the couch on her back.
 

5 Months

 

Anna will be five months old on Monday. I can't believe how fast the time is going by! She loves to laugh and look at herself in the mirror. She screams a lot which then makes her laugh some more (and us too!) She can roll over from her back to stomach but hasn't quite mastered the stomach to back. She wants to put EVERYTHING in her mouth. She's not a big fan of the nap but is a pretty good sleeper at night - usually going to bed around 7:00, up at 4:00 for a feeding, and back to sleep until about 6:30 or 7:00. I can deal with that.
The most exciting development this week is her first tooth! It's coming in on the lower left-hand side. I think it might be one of those pointy guys. Usually it's more common for the two bottom teeth to come in first but I guess our little girl likes to be different.
You might also notice I've resorted to a short "mommy" cut. Guaranteed to keep little hands from pulling out your hair!

Inca Anna (4 Months)

 

Here is a Anna wearing the adorable hat Emily brought back for her from Peru. So cute!

Last week Anna had her 4 month check up and she's now up to 17 lbs and 26 inches. Still going strong in the 95th percentile! At this rate she's probably going to be taller than me by the time she's in first grade.

Today she added these funny little raspberry noises to her repertoire of sounds. She even tries to do it with her pacifier in her mouth!

New House

Sorry I haven't posted in while - the past few weeks have been busy. We recently moved to a town just north of San Francisco called Mill Valley and so far we're loving it. It's still really convenient to the city but also close to some great hiking and outdoor recreation areas. Here are a few pictures of our cozy little house. See if you can locate Anna in her new Bumbo seat (it cracks me up for some reason!)

 

 

 

 

Anna's First Trip

We just got home from Anna's first trip to Wilmington to visit my parents. I was nervous about the flights but Anna was quite the little traveler and for the most part did really well. One of the highlights of the trip was that Anna got to meet my grandmother Joan who was visiting from New York. She also had her first dip in the pool! Anna was enamored with her Nana and Papa and was all smiles, all week.

 

11 Weeks

 

2 Months

This time last week it was 90 degrees in San Francisco. Today it's 58 degrees. Summer has arrived! I bundled up Anna and we headed out to the De Young Museum to meet up with a group of women I met through a breastfeeding support group at the hospital. It's fun to hang out with other moms and babies that are a similar age to Anna. We're learning from each other and no one ever gets tired of talking about baby stuff!

Summer clothes

 

 

Earlier this week Anna had her two-month check up. She's now 13 lbs and 24 inches long - still in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Her head has a little catching up to do (65th percentile). If they measured hair growth she'd be in the negative percentile! Seriously...when does the hair start to grow?! She had four immunization shots which I think was much more traumatic for me and Todd. Poor baby. We've never heard her cry quite like that and the look on her face was absolutely heartbreaking.

Other than that she's smiling all the time now and we're just waiting for that first little giggle. I feel like it's going to be any day now.

Recent Photos

 

 

 

 

Grandparents

We're going into week 7 and Anna is up to 12 lbs and already fitting into some of her 3-6 month clothes! Another milestone happened last night - she slept from 8:00 pm to 3:30 am! I thought she was waking up around 11:30 so I changed her diaper and started getting ready to feed her. But she never woke up so I put her back down and didn't hear a peep until 3:30. I like where this is heading!

It's tough living so far away from our families but so far Anna has had the pleasure of meeting three of her grandparents. First came Nana (my mom Mary), who was with us both before and after the birth. At that point the simplest things seemed impossible (showering, eating, cleaning) so mom was a huge help. Anna was perfectly content sleeping in Nana's arms all day while Todd and I tried to catch up on sleep.

 

Next came Grandma J (Todd's mom Jeannette) who visited when Anna was about 2 weeks old and at her fussiest! Grandma J gave us a welcome break from the holding, walking, rocking, and shooshing. It was a lot of work but I don't think Jeannette minded one bit.

 

Most recently Anna got to meet her Papa (my dad Craig) who was in town for a quick one-night layover. I think Anna was fascinated by the mustache, which just goes to show how much more aware she has become. Dad got to see the smiles and hear the cute little sounds Anna makes now that she's discovered her own little voice. I have a feeling dad will start scheduling as many trips to San Francisco as possible!

 

Anna has changed so much these past seven weeks I can only imagine what she'll be like when Grandpa Ed and Carol come out to visit later this summer. Can't wait!

5 Weeks

 

Anna had her one month check-up this morning and Todd and I had bets on how much she was going to weigh - I said 10 lbs and he said 9 lbs 4 oz. Well, we were both way off! Our little baby is not so little anymore. She's 10 lbs 15 oz and 22.75 inches long. That puts her in the 90th percentile for both height and weight! As you can see in the latest picture I think it's all in her cheeks.

4 Weeks

Tomorrow Anna will be one month old. I can't believe how fast the time is going by... each day kind of blends into the next. Here's the routine: feed, burp, change diaper, try to get her to sleep, and repeat! For a while she was feeding every hour which was pretty exhausting. From what I've heard she was probably going through her first growth spurt. Luckily (for me) she's on more of an every 2-3 hour schedule now. I would say I'm getting a total of about 6 hours of sleep each night in 1-2 hour increments. If she weren't so darn cute I might be annoyed!
It took me a while to feel comfortable leaving the house with her but now we go for walks and run errands together in the neighborhood. Every so often we'll go out in the car but it all has to be timed just right. We're slowly figuring things out, one day at a time.
Last week we attempted some "tummy time" so she can practice lifting her head and strengthening her neck. Let's just say it didn't go too well, as shown below.

Looking a little frustrated

 

Too exhausting - time for a quick nap

 

Happy to be back on her back!

 

3 weeks!

Say what?

 

Hangin' with dad...

 

Sweet little hand...

 

Milk Drunk

 

 

 

Anna Grace Youngs 3.6.07

 

Finally! Our little Anna has arrived and everyday we're falling more and more in love with her.
She took her time coming into the world. I officially went into labor on Monday morning and we went to the hospital that afternoon. Although the contractions were coming regularly there wasn't enough progress and the nurses recommended I either go home and wait it out or stay and have the doctors try to speed it up. We decided to go home and they gave me a shot of morphine so I could get some rest until the real labor began. That was the best decision we could have made. I slept from about 5:00 pm to 3:00 am and woke up to some serious contractions! My water broke around 4:00 am and we left for the hospital at 6:00. I was feeling so many things - nervous, scared, excited...it was actually happening! I'm not going to lie. Giving birth was one of the most frightening and painful experiences I've ever had. But when Anna came into this world at 1:25 pm and I saw her sweet little face for the first time - I don't even know how to describe the feelings I had...
Todd was a rock throughout the whole process. I feel so lucky to have such a supportive husband, partner, and friend. He always seemed to know what to say or, more importantly, when to say nothing and just hold my hand. I know he's going to be the most amazing dad for our little girl.

And now we wait...

Well, my due date (2/27) has come and gone and still no baby Youngs. She must be pretty comfortable in there because she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to come out! As of today I'm about 90% effaced and over 1 cm dilated so there's definitely some progress. Overall I don't have too many complaints - I'm just moving very slowly.
That's the quick update - hopefully we'll have some more exciting news to announce in the next few days!

39 weeks

One week to go! Hopefully no longer than that... One of my doctors told me that she would be very surprised if I were overdue and the next doctor wouldn't hazzard a guess. We'll see what my third doctor says this Thursday.
Yesterday was my last day at work (for the next four months at least). It feels strange. My mind is still racing with work-related things and I have that sinking feeling that I forgot to do something really important. Oh well! I'm pretty sure the company will survive without me and that soon I'll be so busy with the baby I won't even remember what it is that I do there.
I'm looking forward to spending the next week relaxing and taking care of any last minute errands. Mom is coming this Saturday, although if the baby were to come early I know she would be here in a heartbeat. Emily flies back from France on Tuesday and then Dad will probably be here Wednesday. Todd's mom will be coming out from Florida sometime around the 10th. Lots of baby holders coming to visit!
Here are a few pictures of the nursery. It would have been fun to paint and do some more decorating but we're somewhat limited being renters.

nursery

belly pic - 37 weeks

Enjoying the view from the roofdeck on a warm, February day...

36 1/2 weeks

everything is as it should be... that's what the doctor said yesterday. the baby's head is down, her heartbeat is strong, and she's still wiggling around on a very regular basis. as for me i'm measuring normally (no predictions of an unusually sized baby so far!), my cervix is starting to thin and the doctor told me i was finger-tip dilated. progress!
on a not-so-fun note my heartburn is keeping me up at night and my feet and hands are beginning to swell. for some reason i thought i was going to be one of the lucky few and have perfectly bony hands and feet throughout my pregnancy. but i spoke too soon... i'm starting to get the puffy sausage toes and fingers. lovely.
speaking of lovely, my friend julie threw me a baby shower last sunday at lovejoy's tea room here in san francisco. we had tea and delicious little sandwiches and scones and opened gifts and it was just wonderful. thank you julie and friends!
25 days and counting until my due date. unbelievable!

crib cats

So, Emily is in France for the next six weeks living the life of a ski bunny which means Todd and I have become the foster parents to Ezra and Zoe. At first I was a little hesitant - only because we're getting so close to the due date - but they've been a lot of fun to have around.

We're finally in the process of setting up the nursery. Well, we've gotten as far as putting the crib together, which right now is sitting in the middle of the room piled with bedding and other stuff I don't know what to do with yet. Ezra and Zoe discovered it quickly and now it's their favorite place to nap. Obviously I would seriously discourage this if the cats were with us permanently, but I have to admit it's pretty cute.

Emily might have to buy a small crib for them when she gets back - and we'll probably go through about a case of lint rollers to remove the cat hair before the baby comes!

32 weeks

I can't believe how quickly the holidays came and went. My parents flew out from North Carolina and the five of us (me, Todd, Emily, Mom & Dad) headed up to Truckee for Christmas. It was our first white Christmas in years - and probably the last quiet one we'll have for years to come! Here are a couple pictures.

Todd and I were back in the city for New Year's and I'm proud to say that I actually stayed up until midnight! We've been getting the apartment ready and organized for the baby's arrival. Our two bedroom apartment - which seemed huge when we first moved in - is getting smaller and smaller. Yesterday we attended a childbirth preparation class run by the hospital. It was a long day but very informative - the videos were a pretty eye-opening! I think it's really starting to hit me just how close we are to having this baby. I'm kind of anxious but more excited than anything else. I can't wait to see what this little kick boxer looks like!

30 years / 30 weeks

Does anyone else think it's crazy that I turned 30 going into my 30th week? Okay, maybe crazy isn't the right word...ironic? Well, so far 30 doesn't feel very different from 29 in either respect.
The baby is totally distracting lately. I find myself just staring down at my belly at work waiting for the next kick or punch or flip-turn. I remember someone telling me a while back how you can see the foot move from one side of your belly to the other and I finally experienced that last week! Normally I would think seeing things move underneath your skin is totally creepy but this is the coolest. Unfortunately Todd keeps missing the show. I think she gets shy in front of an audience!

week 28

Wow. It's been a really long time since my last post. Sorry to whoever is still reading this thing! Life has been busy lately with the holidays and work especially. I'm really looking forward to the week off at Christmas.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Newport, Kentucky visiting Todd's dad Ed and his wife Carol. Our friends Glenn and Shannon drove down from Columbus with their beautiful little girl Ella too. It was fun to see everyone and to pick Shannon's brain about baby stuff.

Last week I had an ultrasound to determine if the placenta was still covering the cervix and it's not! It moved just like the doctor thought it would. What a relief. Unfortunately we didn't get a really good look at the baby because she was passed out face down - again! Something about ultrasounds really knocks her out. We got a couple good looks at her profile though and she's definitely filling out and looking pretty cute (not so much like our little alien angel baby from the first ultrasound - thank god!).

I finally went in for the gestational diabetes screening earlier this week. I couldn't put it off any longer. Hopefully I'll pass because I do not want to drink anymore of that nasty glucose drink for the second round of testing. Yuck.

Here's a current picture of the belly. All of a sudden I've become quite large. A stranger asked me the other day if I was expecting a Christmas baby! I wasn't quite sure how to take that and I actually lied to her about my due date because I became so self-conscious. Pretty silly, I know...

Week 25

We're almost 25 weeks now - 15 more to go! I woke up on Saturday morning with this feeling that I haven't been very organized so I got out our little whiteboard and made a checklist: nursery, hospital, classes, registry, insurance, name???. There's a lot to do! I went out yesterday to look at strollers and carseats and it was pretty intimidating. Any recommendations are definitely welcome in that department.

In the next couple weeks I have to go in for the glucose screening (gestational diabetes test) and also another ultrasound. My first ultrasound showed that I had a marginal placenta previa which basically means the placenta was partially covering the cervix. This is very common early in pregnancy and only 10% of women who have it at their mid-pregnancy ultrasound still have it when they deliver. If it persists I would have to take it easy for the rest of the pregnancy (potential bedrest!) and premature labor would be a possibility. So we'll see what the second ultrasound shows. My doctor was confident that it would move and even said she would put money on it! That made me feel better. I'm not worried and I don't want anyone else to be.

I've had some funny observations since I'm becoming more noticeably pregnant. One of them is that people feel entitled to comment on your purchases at the grocery store - like any normal person wouldn't go to Safeway just to buy ice cream and Tums? I was annoyed. Also, I've noticed that no matter how tired and pregnant you look people still won't give up their seat for you on MUNI. Public transportation really brings out the worst in people.

I'll post a new belly pic soon. Maybe Todd will too, although I have to say he's really lagging behind...

Donner Belly

We thought it would be more interesting to take the belly pics surrounded by beautiful scenery (picnic lunch at Donner Lake). We also decided the belly looked cuter when covered! So here I am at about 21 1/2 weeks. As you can see I've grown quite a bit since the last shot.

Last week was exciting because I finally accepted that the little "bloop, bloop" sensations I've been feeling must be the baby kicking. I don't know why I've been having such a hard time believing it? Todd is probably getting annoyed because now I announce every little movement by saying "bloop!" out loud. I'm sure it's getting old.

Mom is coming to visit this week! I can't wait to see her and for her to see me.

20 weeks

I can't believe we're at the half-way point already. Not a lot of action going on down there right now. I'm still waiting for that first little kick. I swear I felt a fluttering sensation about two weeks ago but since then nothing. Maybe it was just my imagination or - more than likely - gas. Oh the joys...

We spent another relaxing weekend up in Truckee. Well, I guess it didn't start out as very relaxing... We went out for breakfast Saturday morning at this coffee shop in old town and just as I was digging into my pancakes a little cockroach went scampering across the table. Eeew! I have a major roach-phobia which I developed during my bagel selling days in Ann Arbor (now that Einstein's is closed I feel like it's okay for me to talk about the serious infestation in the basement). Todd, being the gentleman that he is, took care of the problem and I actually continued eating my pancakes. In hindsight I can see that we probably should have left immediately but they were good pancakes and I didn't want to let them go to waste! I think that just goes to show you how important food has become to me during this pregnancy.

The rest of the day could only get better and it did. Michigan crushed Michigan State (sorry, Todd) and the Tigers beat the Yankees (sorry, Carol). Woo-hoo!