Thank You...

1. Even though I'm days behind on blogging, this doesn't mean I have forgotten about some important issues. Many thanks go out to Grandma and Grandpa Nichols, Chris's parents. Mrs. Renee came on Thursday just as my mom was leaving, and Mr. Wayne arrived Friday afternoon. They stayed through Sunday evening and were a HUGE help. Mr. Wayne spoiled his new granddaughter with his undivided attention, and Mrs. Renee not only helped take care of Riley, but she kept herself busy around the house, doing many chores for us. We greatly appreciate all your help, and look forward to seeing you again soon.
   
2. I would also like to thank all our family and friends for checking in on us this past week. We are all doing great, and really appreciate everyone thinking of us. A special thanks goes to our Sunday school class who has started bring us a few meals a week for the next few weeks. It's a big help!
   
3. A big thank you goes out to Chris. He has amazed me with everything he has learned about taking care of a baby, and has been a great support system to me, as I get over this hump of hormone changes. He is a great dad to Riley and is such a joy to watch take care of this little girl.
   
4. My last thanks goes out to my newest toy. I have joined my husband and the rest of the Apple community by getting an iPhone. Granted, I have been very resistant to Chris's phone, mostly because it has consumed him since the morning it was released, but now that I have mine, I have some sort of understanding around the hype. I'm by no mean a savvy user, but I'm guilty of playing on it while rocking Riley at 2 am!

3 am joy ride...not so joyful

Let me first say that Riley is a very easy baby. She doesn't cry much, and is pretty content for 90% of the time, but last night was pretty rough for us. She apparently slept too much on Sunday afternoon, and decided last night was her play time. After Chris and I both took turns napping on the living room floor for a few hours with her as she just lay there kicking and squirming, we put her in her car seat and hit the highway...at 3:30 am! We have learned she loves her car seat, and sure enough she fell asleep, only to wake up when we got home!

Needless to say, our goal today is to keep her awake as much as possible this afternoon and evening, in hopes to get a few hours of sleep when it's actually dark outside.

Poor Millie doesn't understand why Riley can't sleep as much as she can. Millie sleeps on average of 18 hours a day, and is waiting on her little sister to figure out this wonderful luxury.

Lesson learned...

Note: Even though the diaper looks like she's finished doing her business, it does lie. In a 14 hour time, I've been pooped and peed on twice! Welcome to motherhood.

How can this cute girl make these types of messes?

Bye Nana B

Sorry it's been a few days since I've last blogged. I'll sum it up with 3 words - we eat, sleep, and poop!

Today we had another outing to the pediatrician. We went to follow up on Riley's slight jaundice the doctor said she had on Monday. We've put on 5 ounces since Monday, which means she's eating like a champ. Also, we have a clean bill of health on her jaundice, which is very reassuring Chris and myself.

This afternoon, Nana B (my mom) left to go back to Hattiesburg. Thanks mom, you were a huge help, and I know Riley enjoyed your company. Right before mom departed, Chris's mom arrived to stay the extended weekend to help out. Mostly, everyone is here to restrict me from doing too much. I'm such a busy body, and I feel like I'm back to normal, they are having to keep a close eye on me to make sure I'm not doing things around the house I'm not supposed to!

Tomorrow afternoon/evening, Mr. Wayne (Chris's dad) will come up, and then Sunday, Mama, Johnny and Karan will come up for a day trip to visit. We feel so honored everyone wants to come and see Chris and me! HAHA!

As always, we've got pictures on Picasa.

First outing

We had our first outing this morning to the pediatricians office. Riley weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz, which means she's only lost 2 oz. since her birth weight, which is a good sign. She may have a slight bit of jaundice, but nothing to be concerned about, and we will continue to monitor her these next couple of days.


**My apologies for the picture size. I can't get them to post any larger, but they are also on Picasa.

She did sleep for a 3 hour section of time last night, which is a step in the right direction. She still has her days and nights mixed up, but I'm hoping this will improve in the next couple of weeks.

Home Sweet Home

Greetings everyone. I'm back to blogging! Riley and I were discharged Friday evening, almost exactly 24 hours after she was born. I've been very lucky to have a very easy recovery, which made it possible for us to leave so soon. We arrived at home with Riley to find this wonderful announcement in our yard, compliments of Maris. I've enjoyed watching the neighborhood traffic slow down as they drive by to observe the stork!

Riley is doing great. We are so fortunate to have such an easy baby. We are still learning to adjust to the nighttime routine, but last night was better than the first, so I think with a little more patience, we will be fine. She's eating great, doesn't cry, except when her diaper is being changed. She is EXTREMELY active. I've mentioned before about the frequent kicks in the ribs during pregnancy, which has turned out to be only practice.

Riley travelled home in the same dress I wore home from the hospital 26 years ago. Mom was able to keep it in great condition, and she looks just so sweet in it!

Her uncle David came Saturday to meet his human niece. Millie greeted him with great excitement! Speaking of Millie, she's still not sure about this "toy" that cries and gets all the attention, but she's slowly adjusting. As soon as she'll get close enough to Riley, we'll get a full family picture!

We want to thank everyone for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers. Everything has gone so smoothly, so we know the prayers have been answered.

We will continue to upload the majority of our pictures to Picasa. Keep checking the site for new additions.

Baby Pictures

Good Morning! Jessica has asked me to update the blog with some of the pictures from yesterday. Let me start off my saying that we appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from everyone. Jessica and Riley are doing great, and we will hopefully be able to go home this afternoon. Above are a select few pictures (Daddy's favorites). You can find more as we update them on picasa.

She is here

A healthly Riley Elizabeth Nichols was born at 4:43pm. 7lbs 9oz 21in
long. Both Mom and baby girl are doing great. More to come later.
- Chris

Update

Good morning all!
I just wanted to take a minute and give everyone an update. Jessica is
progressing as expected. Riley seems to be doing fine. The epidural
has kicked in and as I am writing this Jessica is sleeping. The
contractions are very regular, but for the most part everything is
great. Thee will be more updates to come.
- Chris

Last belly picture...

So, we are going to be parents...

Granted, this has been a thought Chris and I have discussed for the past 8-9 months quite a bit, but the reality has really set in these past couple of weeks, and even more so, these past couple of days. I grew up with lots of little baby cousins at family events, I did lots of babysitting to earn extra money, I volunteered in the church nursery, so I feel pretty confident in my diaper changing, baby holding, general needs skills. Chris on the other hand, didn't have these experiences growing up, as I would assume most males don't necessarily to volunteer to babysit on a regular occasion. As excited, nervous, and anxious we are to get through the delivery process, I'm much more excited to see Chris and how he reacts to this new baby girl. Our neighbors have a 6 week old, and he's already learned some things from Baby Evelyn, but I know we will both have so much to take in.

Needless to say, I'm still pregnant. Currently Millie and I are watching more Olympic coverage and I'm continuing to monitor my contractions, which refuse to find any sort of pattern, yet are always very present. Our plan if nothing happens prior, we will head to the hospital tomorrow morning around 7:30-8, even though I'm not scheduled to be induced until 8:30. I'm ready to get this party started! :) My mom is already on her way to Memphis this afternoon, and my dad and grandmother will join us at the hospital, along with Chris's family mid-morning tomorrow.

Please say a prayer for not only me and Riley, but for Chris as well. Also, keep our family members who will be travelling in your prayers as well.

We will update the blog as much as we can, meanwhile, please leave us a comment to let us know who all out there in internet land is keeping up with us. I sometimes wonder if I'm only writing to our parents and Maris! :) To leave a comment, click on the comment counter link at the bottom of each post. You don't have to have a google account to leave a note, but please leave your name with your message if you don't mind!

The big day???

Well, it's somewhere close to 2 am, and today is Riley's projected due date. I'm awake at this awful hour for 2 reasons. First, I'm monitoring my contractions, as they are currently somewhere in the 10 minute range. I insisted Chris go to bed somewhere after midnight because I guarantee I'll be grumpy enough for both of us whenever "morning" rolls around. Secondly, Riley thinks she's a member of the US swim team, and has been practicing her kicking and wall approaches ALL NIGHT LONG! I swear, I never knew a child could move this much while still in the womb.

So, to pass the time, I've been watching the Olympics which I had recorded earlier. I must say, the men's gymnastics team was very impressive, especially considering they weren't exactly favored to do all that great. Plus, I'm a big fan of the swimming (apparently this has rubbed off on Riley as well), and Michael Phelps has been so much fun to watch. Luckily, we have our DVR, so I can keep up with what all is going on, and might be able to watch it at some point, especially if we are off to the hospital in the next few hours.

No fear, Chris has the ability to blog from his iPhone, so to whomever actually reads this, we'll provide updates as soon as something changes.

Giving back & my favorite pregnancy quotes

Yes, 2 posts in one day, but I just had to share.

I just returned from a quick trip to Kroger during the lunch hour, to grab a few items. While I was there, I encountered this mom and her approximately 4 year old little boy, who I concluded was spoiled rotten and a complete brat, due to his tantrum over whatever food item he deemed he HAD to have. I ran across this duo at least 4 times, and each time he was screaming for a new item. I, of course, made my mental note as I do all the time now to make sure to instill discipline and proper behavior while in said grocery store. I finally checked out, and was walking out of the store and witnessed the said mom purchasing the elderly lady's groceries in front of her in the check out line. I remember watching the re-run of Oprah (probably while I was home in my first trimester) as she has her audience members perform all sorts of acts of kindness, but I've never witnessed one like this. This sweet elderly, whom I also met on the baking isle, had a cart full of her necessities, and was overcome with joy when she realized her buggy full had been taken care of. I felt better knowing not only was this such a kind gesture, but this mom, who I assumed didn't really have much control over her child, had the heart to reach out to someone else. It also occurred to me as I was driving home that said mom had walked back and forth to find the perfect line to get in to perform such a gesture.

Now onto my favorite pregnancy quotes, prompted by the checkout lady at Kroger. I was told very early on in my pregnancy that everyone will share their opinions with me, good or bad, and to just take each of them with a grain of salt. These are just a few of my favorites, and the identities of said sources will remain anonymous, and they are in no particular order.

• Are you sure you are eating enough? You just don't look like you are X number of months along.
• Wow, you must be having twins!
• Your belly isn't the only thing growing on you. Are you wanting your chest to stay that large?
• Don't worry, you aren't big enough to deliver yet. I wouldn't get your hopes up.
• Wow, every time I see you, she's dropped more!
• Surely you aren't due in X days, you haven't dropped at all!
• Honey, don't you know it's not good to be wearing heals, it's bad for your back! (every day as I go into the office, this is said to me)
• Are you sure you should be at work if you are having contractions?

Yes, I'm still pregnant!

A few months ago, in our class with the hospital, we were all talking how each couple had the possibility of having a cool birthday for their little expected one: 08/08/08. Well, today is the day, and I know I'm rooting for this cool birthday, but I'm not holding my breath. I've pretty much given up on guessing when Riley will grace us with her presence. Our only celebration today may be the opening ceremony for the Olympics, which I intend to watch either from the comfort of my living room, or the "comfort" of a hospital bed!

I've been working from home this week, except for half a day yesterday, when I did make it into the office, but I'm at home from here on out. We will continue to keep the blog updated with any changes!

39 week checkup

We just returned from the doctor, and I'm dilated 3 cm. We are scheduled for induction next Thursday if Riley doesn't decided to come any earlier. I'm really hoping she will arrive sooner, because I'm just not excited about being induced. I know plenty of people do it, and I can understand my doctor wanting to do it, but it's just not on my list of things to get excited about. In the grand scheme of things, as long as she arrives healthy, and I'm healthy, it shouldn't matter how she gets here. That's what I keep telling myself. Enough about that...

Also, before our doctor's visit today, I went up to Chris's office for a baby shower his group threw for us and Riley. It was very nice, and we got more great stuff. We are off to meet friends for dinner. Please say a prayer, cross your fingers, do a rain dance if you must to hurry up this delivery. My ribcage will be forever grateful!

Off to the hospital.....and back again

I've been having contractions for weeks, but at some point this week they transitioned from Braxton-Hicks to the real deal. Well, I wasn't feeling well on Friday, so I came home and rested for most of the day, and continued to check in with work periodically. I love my job, and my boss has been so flexible for me to work at home when needed. As long as I stay on top of my projects, she's pretty flexible and doesn't care where we sit, as long as the work gets done!

So by Friday evening, I was down to about a 20 minute interval, which wasn't bad, it just put me on stand-by. So Saturday morning came, and I was like clockwork, 15 minute intervals. I cleaned, Chris and I took Millie for a walk, and then I went swimming next door. As soon as I got home and got a shower, they were between 3-5 minutes apart. So this kept up for an hour, and we decided to head to the hospital just to check everything out.

So, needless to say, it was a false alarm. Granted, the nurse said I was in the beginning stages of labor, I just hadn't progressed enough, and she sent us home. I've been walking, swimming more, enjoying ice cream :), and we've just been resting. It's been a long weekend, but I have my predictions that she'll be here at some point this week. (I hope so, because I'm not sure I can tolerate these contractions for much longer!)

Nursery Pictures

I have finally organized the nursery to a state where pictures can be taken! Last night, Chris hung the curtain, which we need to do for the other window, but I didn't read the package and didn't know there were 2, which works out well for us! So, while he hung the curtains, I put together the cube storage units in both closets. It amazes me the amount of stuff Riley already has, and she isn't even here yet!

Anyway, below is the door to her room. If you walked into the nursery, this tour starts from the left and works it's way to the right.


This full size bed is the bed I grew up in. It's been with me through college, and my apartment in Memphis, and it will be Riley's bed after she out grows her crib.

This closet with the door closed is FULL of the most adorable outfits for her. I also put a set of storage cubes in it as well since we have such an abundance of items for her, and this room isn't really structured for a large book case.

In the dormer space, it currently has her bouncy chair, as well as the stroller. In the future, I'll get a toy chest to put under the window, and maybe a shallow book case up against one wall. For now, it's the random storage area!



Now, we are just waiting on her arrival! We are so excited to meet her!