long overdue update

well, i know i've gotten behind in some of my routine tasks but why its been a long time since i've updated this blog. the good news is not much has changed unless you count Dillan's amazing day to day development. Luke and I are still loving parenthood and often more tired then we are sane.

We had a joyous Thanksgiving visiting Grandma Spence in Arizona. Dillan loved all of the attention from Ruth, Stan and Dorothy. Turns out he's not that fond of mashed potatoes.

Dillan is getting so excited for his first Christmas, especially when we go to the store and he gets to see all of the shiny decorations. Still working on walking, but he is incredibly fast on all 4. He babbles up a storm, including saying mama, dada, hi, bye and ba-ba indiscriminately.

His powers of mimickery are truly amazing. I learned how talented he is when we spent a few minutes next to an older kid throwing a fit and Dillan commenced to copying the kid's screams inflection for inflection.

Thinking of all of you this holiday season and praying for God's grace and glory to abound in your family.

New pictures ares up on this blog.

New videos are posted here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqnorepSRkk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S24FhKkl6Y

Enjoy.

oh what a month!

we have had quite a busy month! in addition to dillan getting his first two teeth, learning to crawl, stand and toddle around the living room (while holding onto the couch) we've also been to san francisco twice, palmdale once and had a visit from my mom and John, Carol and Peggy Dolaghan. Luke also went back to work where he is teaching a full load plus tutoring in at the community college.

the most significant changes have been in dillan's personality. he loves to play and has learned to throw a huge fit when his play is interrupted. we've also started mommy and me swim lessons which are easily the best part of my week. we spend 30 minutes floating and kicking and splashing and giggling. i truly believe dillan is close to reaching his goal - drinking the entire pool in that 30 minutes. He has also taken to blowing raspberries and seems to think my tummy is the best place on earth to practice.

Dillans favorite past time is following Dakota around the room and then tackling her. Poor girl - she just lays there and suffers through the indignity of being pulled, pinched and drooled on.

i'm busy obsessively researching how to get and afford an iPhone and trying to figure out which superhero dillan should be for his first halloween (suggestions welcomed).

Sad to see summer end but we have so much to look forward to this fall and winter next summer will be here in a flash.

The attached video shows Dillan crawling after the laptop (he has a huge fascination with all things electronic). Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2XY-JqqXts

Colorado

So as our summer comes to a close (Luke goes back to work on Monday), we fondly remember our great trip to Colorado (last week). We got to spend a lot of time of Luke's parents, brother and sister-in-law. We also got to see some of his college buddies and their families as well as Victoria's little sister and her son. Such a great trip - constantly surround by the beauty of Colorado and the love of great friends and family.

Dillan isn't quite crawling yet but he is definitely mobile, even is he has to drag his face along the carpet to get where he wants to go. He just started sitting up on his own and has learned to press his lips together in a raspberry/"G" sound - which makes us all laugh.

I put up 160ish new pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Family Fun Day

After a long sleepless night, our family fun day started out with a great mid-morning nap for D and me while Luke went for his weekly long bike ride. Image yourself riding the back streets of Fort Ord only to "accidentally" end up on the course of a real bike race. As you ride along, people are cheering for you, handing you free drink and food and not seeming to notice your lack of a race number. Luke was feeling very fortunate and found himself wishing for this support every Saturday morning. Just when he was at the top of the world, he noticed that all of the racing bikers who had been flying past him were women. Pride cometh before the fall...

We headed up to Watonsville for the much acclaimed Strawberry Festival. Some strawberry glazed chicken, shortcake, popcicles and milk shakes. We also had the great privelge of seeing some revolutary protestors. They marched around for much of the festival shouting What do we WAnt? "Revolution" Whose our leader? "ROnald Reagan"...maybe I heard them wrong - or maybe they don't know he's passed away?

Dillan cut his two bottom front teeth this week and is sooo close to crawling we are scrammbling to finish the last of our baby proofing. As I write this he is slowly inching his way to, up and over Dakota.

All and all, a great day with my amazing men.

new video!

here is a super cute video and picture of our little guy. we are having a great time - especially now that he loves to play so much. bug news of the week - he slept through the night! just once, but the night before and the night after he was only up once!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZnQOAjk2UU

We have a belly sleeper

Our little man is just growing too quickly! its amazing. He can't quite crawl yet, but gets where he wants to go by rolling over multiple times and scooting like an inch worm. all he has to do to start crawling is get his knees under him and figure out the mechanics - he has the rest of it down.

We started him on solids about two weeks ago - so far rice cereal, peas and squash. Likes them all moderately well and is working really hard to figure out how the spoon works. However, he is enjoying his new toy - Gravity - which apparently was invented just for him while he's in the high chair.

Dillan and Dakota are also starting to bond. They take turns licking each others faces and pulling each others ears (ok, maybe thats only one way). Whenever Dakota walks into the room he squeals in delight and tries to launch himself at her.

Today was a big day for me - left him at Kids Church for the first time. I was so nervous and spent the whole service wondering how he was doing. Of course, they did a get job and he was well taken care of.

strangely he also really likes all the MJ tributes, especially the music. Must be the high pitched voice.

so thats the Big D update. Luke and I are doing fine - just being the doting parents.

Trip to Oregon

We just got home from a great trip up to Oregon to see friends and family. After spending the week before moving (thank you Ma and Pa Spence for making it happen while we stay sane), we hopped on a plane and flew up to Portland. We spent 4 days with Adam and Anna and their kids, Lucas and Lainie. It was such a blessed time of hanging out and getting to know them all better. Then we headed across the state to Union and saw my Grandma, Aunt Pauline, Uncle Colvin and cousins. Dillan has now met all 4 of his great grandmas - something pretty special I think.

Today Dillan started laughing out loud - its amazingly cute. His manual dexterity is improving every day. He can now grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth and is starting to take an interest in our food (although we won't give him any for a few more weeks).

Below is the slideshow from our trip. My LCD screen broke on my camera about midway through our trip, so I couldn't see what I was taking pictures of - came out pretty good considering. New pictures are also up on the blog.

Babies are Just like us!

So it oocurs to me regularly how very much personality our little man has even at 15 weeks of age (almost 4 months for those of you mathletically challenged).

From Grandpa Yates he gets his strong opinions and willingness to share them.
From Grandpa Spence he gets his easy smile and ability to quietly drink in the world around him.
From Grandma Yates he gets his love of sleep and very serious "I'm concentrating" face.
From Grandma Spence he gets his quick laughter and love of cuddling.
From Uncle James he gets his determination.
From Uncle Rusty he gets his easy going manner.
From Aunt Jamie he gets his love of the outdoors.

Course Luke and I are in there a lot too, but we'll let you all point all of that out. He is so much fun and growing so fast. He can grab things and pull them to his mouth now and is working really hard on sitting up(he does about 1000 crunches a day). He is very social and aware.

We are trying to learn how to get him to sleep through the night. I don't say that to solicit advice (please resist the urge, we are now or already have read whatever book you are about to recommend) but so you can understand and perhaps empathize with our very heart breaking and mostly frustrating bed time routine of late. Making progress though - he only cried for 25 minutes tonight.

Here is a video of him watching his favorite video (YouTube squared?). Cracks us up.

Dillan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap5YPsG2rDo
The video he's watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muiRfqBKc64




Dillan Dancing

As promised - here are some clips of Dillan dancing as Luke plays guitar. If it doesn't look like dancing to you, well then, i guess you need to come and visit and see for yourself.

I also uploaded new pictures. I never realized how many pics I take of Luke and Dillan napping together. Maybe because its my two favorite guys and my favorite past time?


reposted without his head cut out of the screen



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Binlue1bsAU

dillan's hide-a-hole

can you believe our little man is already 3 months old? we're pretty much freaking out. he is so big and so terrific.

some highlights from the last three months:
road trips to san francisco and santa barbara
hiking and beach walking with his puppy
meeting 3 of his 4 living great-grandmas
numerous playdates with other little munchkins


he is just growing so fast. his new favorite tricks include blowing bubbles, trying to crawl (no luck yet), giggling, dancing (video to come soon) and just generally being a joy to be around.

its amazing how he can surprise me everyday. think about it - i spend all day with him, every day but still discover things about him. mostly developmental things but yesterday while feeding him, i noticed that his ear appears to lay flat against his head, but with a little tug, tehre is actually a little crevice behind it. needless to say there was some quick washing of the ears. just when i thought i knew every inch of him.

Blue Steel

we are having a great time. this newest video is dillan playing with the computer. he discovers himself in the monitor and proceeds to practice Blue Steel for several minutes. its really cute (but eerily quiet).

so according to one of our books, Dillan is a "problem baby" in that he is an active baby. Ok, so i totally don't think he's a problem baby. but here is the description...he instantly kicks off all of his blankets, squirms like crazy when he's getting dressed or changed, ends up on opposite ends of the crib during naps, is crazy alert, interested in everything and accomplishes milestones early. right now, its adorable, but i'm sure i'll have days when i don't think that once he's mobile.

we went up yesterday and spent the day with Aunt Jamie. Had a great time looking at bugs and flowers and squirrels.

New pictures will be up soon. Check back!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJZDhP-yIc




Dillan rolls over

Dillan started rolling over yesterday. The clip below captures the 4th time he did it. As you watch this, pause for a minute and consider that every move you make throughout your day was learned at some point. And that your most simple movements (like rolling over) were some of the hardest to learn and most celebrated by your parents. Pretty amazing.

We are so blessed by this little man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lg8s0lXlc8



7 weeks already!

its already been 7 weeks since Dillan came into the world (well, outside of my tummy). i can't believe how fast its gone by. We are truly loving each and every moment of parenthood (even the moments we don't necessarily like).

Dillan smiles a lot, weighs about 12 or 13 pounds and is trying to giggle. He has a really strong head, follows you with his eyes and loves the sounds of his mommy singing (who doesn't? - yeah right).

we are all doing great and so appreciative of all the support and prayers and gifts we've received (thank you cards are coming soon, I promise!).

new pictures are up on the blog. Big D is waking up, so i'm going to cut this short.

Calming the fussy beast...

so dillan is in the middle of a huge growth spurt...he only sleeps for short periods of time and seems to be completely starving every 30 minutes. lots of fun this week.

here is he after being fed, changed and stimulated by his mobile. This peaceful 3 minutes allowed me to scarf down some dinner and go to the bathroom.



Video - Dillan during playtime

Dillan started smiling this morning. Here he is at playtime, cooing and smiling. Two minutes to watch.

Enjoy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzsjfTj1Jns

new pictures

new pictures of dillan are up on the blog. enjoy!

motherhood - two weeks down

today is Dillan's two week birthday - what a ride its been so far. we've been home from teh hospital for a week now and have started to settle in to our new family life. dillan sleeps about 3-4 hours at a stretch, making it possible for us to sleep 2-3 hours at a time.

he is the sweetest little guy ever. i can spend hours and hours just watching him sleep or stare or play with his hands. we started tummy time yesterday - he seems to enjoy it quite a bit.

my mom, sister, ruth and dana have all been a huge help - especially after a sleepless night. we are truly blessed.

Photo Journal

i made a photo journal of Dillan's first week. its on facebook, but you don't need an account. If it asks you to create one and you don't want to, simply look for the No Thanks or Maybe later button.

wrong link was up before. try this one:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=507246500&k=56E42WQ6QV6MX1MGPJ33Y

We're home!!!

We're home! its wonderful. All of the test came back negative. We will never know for sure what caused Dillan's episodes (apnea is really rare in term babies) but we know exactly what power healed him. Praise the Lord who was and is so faithful.

Dakota and her new best friend get along great!

This blog will now become a constant update on how cute his moans, groans and burps are and how many poopy diapers we changed. Watch for more pictures then you could ever possibly want to see.

If you automatically receive this blog and want to opt-out, now is a good time to let me know.

Tuesday morning update - All Praises!

Yesterday was such an unbelievably blessed day. Dillan continues to be a strong and healthy baby without any signs of having another episode or any other condition. He is truly a gift from God and so amazing to behold.

Yesterday we received a clean bill of health from the neurologist and they removed all of the probes on his head. Now we can pick up, swaddle, cuddle, bathe and otherwise perform basic parenting with our son. It is amazing to just be able to hold him skin to skin agian and see his little head (he had been wearing a skull cap of gauze for the last several days - pictures to comes when we get home).

They also determined that two of the suspected bacteria were not the cause of his episodes, allowing them to discontinue two of the antibiotics.

Luke and I were allowed to stay here in the hospital another night. Also, the couple next door departed and no one has replaced them yet. We now have a barrier of at least one empty room before we get evicted for a higher priority patient or family.

The most exciting news is that Dillan's medical team is working to transfer us back to our home hospital, CHOMP. With all of the progress Dillan has made and the fact that Dillan is now only in the hospital to complete a cycle of anti-viral medication, there are no apparent reasons for us to be at UCSF. The anti-viral can only be administered by IV, but it can be done anywhere. We don't know how long he will be on this round of medication, but are so encouraged and really hope they will be able to send us home to complete it. Most of the nurses speculate that we'll be home by the weekend one way or another.

Luke and I got to go on a lunch date where we enjoyed the absolute best sushi I have ever had (especially after 10 months without any!). We really were able to enjoy each others company and recharge and reconnect. During our date, my mom "babysat" Dillan for the first time. He was awake the whole time and she was able to really bond with him. Lucky grandma!

If you have called and not heard from us, please don't be offended. We only have about 30 minutes in the morning and in the evening to return calls and most of that time is spent on the phone with our parents. We really enjoy your messages, emails and comments on this blog - please keep it up.

We have so much to be thankful for and truly are experiencing an overwhelming response to prayers! God's hand is so obviously providing for and protecting us. We are anxious to get home but appreciate how careful and thorough the doctors are being. Your support and prayers means so much to us and it is truly awesome to experience how quickly, completely and gracoiusly the Lord answers us all.

Monday morning update

its early monday morning. I was discharged from the hospital yesterday morning and mom and i made it up here about 5 PM last night. it is so wonderful to be back together with Luke and Dillan. My son is really so very precious and I never want to be seperated from him again. It is only by the grace of God that I was able to manage it so well the first time.

As I mentioned before, Luke has done an amazing job learning how to care for Dillan, especially under these circumstances. BUt he has also learned how to navigate the ends and outs of this medical center and has been a great teacher to me as I adjust to our temporary home.

Dillan is doing well. He really is so very beautiful and we enjoy losing hours watching him sleep, eat and take in his new world. I am able to breast feed him about every 3 hours. We are blessed that my milk supply came in early and plentiful but also that I produce enough to satisfy him at every feeding.

Luke and I have a room just down the hall from Dillan and are able to be by his side within 1 minute. The nurses call if he wakes up hungry before we get to him on our own.

yesterday a neurologist spent some time with Dillan and also receiving his EEG strips. At this point, it appears that Dillan was not having seizures and that his episodes were not caused by anything neurlogical. That leads us to conclude that his episodes were being caused by an infection or by somethign that will never been explained.

At this point, they cannot confirm an infection. Some of his cultures will come back today and more this week. BUt the msot important one, a test of his spinal fluids, may not happen at all. Three times they've attempted a Lumbar Puncture (LP), but have been unable to draw any fluid. They are debating whether to try a fourth time, but I don't want them to. They are already treating him as if the test had come back positive and really results will just confirm the diagnosis, not change his care.

At this point it looks like Dillan will be here through Thursday so they can finish his cycle of medicine and continue to monitor him. We look forward to going home but ae thankful for the wonderful care he is receiving.

Praise reports:
Room near Dillan
His coninuted ability to thrive and grow and eat
Rest for luke and I by virtue of this room
Free parking for our car
How close my sister lives to the hospital and her willingness to host our mom for round the clock support!

Prayer Request:
Deliverance from all of this and getting to take DIllan home soon
Being able to keep this room in the hospital the whole time
Wisdom on performing a 4th LP
Strength and guidance and wisdom for all of us

update - no news is good news

first and foremost - thank you for the outpouring of love and support these past 24 hours. you have all helped tremendously to prop my family up and keep us going through all of this. God's power and mercy are evident and our prayers are being answered every minute of the day. HIs faithfulness is unwavering and so very reassuring.

Dillan's last episode was last night on the plane ride up to UCSF, which means it has been about 18 hours. He has a great appetite, strong reflexes and is interacting with his dad, grandpa, aunt and great-aunt just as any healthy new born would. We are very encouraged.

all of the test results have continued to come back normal and we can only speculate that the medicines they started him on are doing the trick and helping him do so well. no clear signs of an infection or seizures, but nothing has been completely ruled out at this point.

dillan is truly mine and lukes child as evident in his stubborn will and his love for warmth. in the baby warmer, he throws his head back, tucks his hands behind his head and kicks his legs out - just like mommy and daddy when we are working on our tans.

Luke is an amazing father - providing for Dillans every need and being the best advocate a baby could have. i am so proud of him and how well he has managed to take care of all of us through this crisis.

i continue to pump and prepare myself to be with my men again.

specific prayer requests
- wisdom and guidance for all the doctors and nurses and others providing care for dillan.
- strength, rest and grace for luke, me and our family to provide the best environment and care for dillan as possible.
- discernment on when and if i should travel to UCSF to be with my boys.
- delivery from this whole craziness and the complete healing of dillan without any relaspe ever ever ever!

love to all. thank you again for all your support.

Dillan's trip to UCSF - scariest day ever!

So the past 24 hours have been horrible and wonderful. Dillan is such a beautiful baby and there is nothing better then holding him in our arms and watching him make his old man faces, listen to his little noises. Except for what I explain below, he is absolutely perfect and just so handsome.

since dillan's birth, he has had about 8 "episodes" of stopping breathing. he'll turn pale, then blue and get very stiff and still. after anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds, he'll start to screech and turn very deep red/purple. after a few seconds of that, he returns to a completely beautiful color and falls blissfully asleep. as you can image, this is a scary thing to witness.

our wonderful Pediatrician, Dr. Dianna Diallo, took these episodes very seriously and had us bring Dillan to the nursery for monitoring around 2:30 pm yesterday. He has had at least episodes while in the nursery, the worst of which required oxygen to bring him out of. They started a round of testing (so far all test results have come back normal) to rule out some of the more serious possibilities.

our hospital is only able to provide level 1 NICU treatment and would not be able to maintain his breathing over a long period of time if he really stops breathing. So Dr. Diallo sent him up to UCSF. Dillan and Luke left by helicopter just after midnight. My dad followed them up. Jamie and Luke's aunt and uncle, John and Carol, will meet them at the hospital later this morning. Dillan will be there at least 48 hours.

At UCSF, Dillan will be treated by some of the best specialist in the world and have unlimited access to some of the best testing possible. at best, one of his systems (like this nervous system) is immature and he'll naturally grow out of it. Other possibilities include infection, seizures or God only knows what else.

we are so scared and completely exhausted and overwhelmed and stressed out. But we are so very grateful for how much support we have received and how plentiful God has been in providing for us all. We are truly blessed and for such a horrible situation, things couldn't be better.

Please continue to pray for us and share this prayer request with anyone you like. Until things settle down, we are still going to decline visitors and phone calls, mostly so we can conserve our energies for when Dillan needs us.

Pictures of Dillan

Dillan Thomas Spence was born today at 0742! He's 8 lbs, 20.5 inches, and gorgeous! Lisa did so well during the labor part, I'm so proud of her. They ended up delivering Dillan by C-Section. Once they brought Lisa into the operating room, it went really fast. We really appreciate all your prayers. Lisa will be in the hospital until at least sunday to recover, but so far she's doing really well. (Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula - room 2202). Dillan is healthy and amazing. Pictures to follow, so prepare to be bowled over by his cuteness. Thank you all for your prayers, and 'thanks be to God for His indescribable gift'!

Luke


One more thing, because Lisa is recovering from what amounts to a major surgery, lets wait until we get home to have visitors. We'll be coming home on Sunday sometime. Lisa is really excited to see everyone, but I want her to rest.

baby today

definitely in labor. going to the hospital. won't come home without dillan. please pray.

still waiting - patiently?

with just two days to go until our due date, we are feel all of the excitement, anxiety, fatigue and stress of this round the clock waiting game. so to that end and in trying to sort through some of my many and varied emotions, i did a bible study on childbirth and found the following verses to be really encouraging.

"With the LORD's help, I have brought forth (Dillan)!" Gen 4:1
Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! Psa 71:6
May she who gave you birth be happy. Pro 23:25

Listen to me, all of you in far-off lands! The LORD called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. Isa 49:1 Would I ever bring (Dillan) to the point of birth and then not deliver it?" asks the LORD. "No! I would never keep this (child) from being born," says your God. Isa 66:9 May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb. Gen 49:25 Yet you brought me safely from my mother's womb and led me to trust you when I was a nursing infant.Psm 22:9

God's ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind, and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother's womb. Ecc 11:5


I honestly do have to say i'm a bit discouraged at how often horrible pain and anguish is related to a woman giving birth (especially for the first time). i'm trying to be encouraged by the idea that they didn't have epidurals back in biblical times.

but i know He will call out Dillan when the time is right and my job is to rest and wait and do all i can to prepare for a healthy delivery and a healthy baby. man oh man, is that hard to remember all day and all night though.

soon enough we'll get to hold this beautiful baby boy in our arms!

nevermind

no baby yet...i'm just really dehydrated. now i'm really frustrated and starting to believe i'll be pregnant forever.

going to the hospital

its 2:40 am and we are about to head up to the hospital. hopefully our next post is full of cute little dillan pictures!

Knitting: a photo tour

i've mentioned that i've spent a lot of time knitting while on bed rest. here is a slide show of some of the things i have made. most of them are 50% or more my own design.



no dillan yet...hoping he comes soon! the news from the doctor on monday was really good, but not enough progress yet to call it time or go to the hospital. of course, this could all change tonight (please Lord!)

the bigger they are....

the harder they fall. DISCLAIMER: No babies or mommies were hurt in the making of this blog!

yesterday we took dakota for a walk on the beach. with all of the other dogs there and dead seals for her to roll in, she went a bit bonkers. we were trying to distract her by throwing the tennis ball, which would work for a few minutes and then get left behind in the waves. well, luke went to guard against a super disgusting potential seal roll while i continued to amuse her with the tennis ball. dakota of course, left the ball in the waves as she went racing off to her new best friend some 200 yards down the beach. I went to retrieve said tennis ball. at the time, the ball was resting happily on wet sand. by the time i had the ball in my hand, a wave was practically crashing at my feet.

in my infinite wisdom, i decided i could outrun the wave by running backward, up the shore, on wet sand, in Uggs. my inner dialouge was telling me to stop and just allow my Uggs and legs to get wet...but i didn't listen. so of course, i lost my footing and feel straight back onto my bum and continued to roll backward until my entire body was covered in freezing wet sandy sea water.

luke just about had a heart attack, i wet my pants a little (happens all the time when you're pregnant, its amazing what you can get use to) and we left the beach for hot showers and hotter chocolate.

if Dillan's constant rib, kidney and bladder kicking are any indication, he's fine, as am I. in fact, its nice to have something to write about other then knitting and the weather.

we are now 38 weeks along and just waiting for the stork to show up! i've been having some contractions - the doctors appointment on Monday will confirm if they are real and the very beginning of labor or more Braxton-Hicks.

With just 12 days until our due date (praise God for bringing us this far!), if born today, Dillan will likely be 7.5 pounds and about 20 inches long (thats my guess, not the doctors).

besides the obvious discomfort of carrying a full term baby in my tummy, luke and i being patient even though we are both very ready and excited to meet him. i have a lot of peace that the Lord knows his birthday and will share it with us when the time is right. but like any new mom, my patience and peace waiver on a regular basis.

we'll get some tummy pictures up later today. hopefully our next blog will be to annouce we are on our away to the hospital.

my stomach has corners!

so 23 days left until our due date. God is truly amazing in helping us through these last few months and allowing Dillan to grow to his point. Now, Lord, please help me get him out!!!

Dillan is large enough that his foot, butt and shoulders are almost constantly visible, make it appear i've swallowed something very much like a bread box. This little guy is about 19 inches long and my guess is he weighs about 7 pounds (incidentally, Luke and I both weigh 189.5 pounds!).

i've been having quite a few contractions this past week, but they are all braxton-hicks (or fake out contractions). as of monday, no dilation or effacement. Thats great news in that it gives Dillan a chance to gain some more weight and more fully develop his brain and lungs. However, he is heathly enough to come out now and I'm really ready to start being kicked on the other side of my ribs. so any day now is great.

My day in the informal poll is still January 20th. Leave a comment with your guess date (pity the fool who guesses past my due date!).

later!

Video blog for Lexi and Connor

Illana - we love you too but this one is special for your big bro and sis! everyone else - week 35 pictures are up!