More Pictures of Little Emma....

What a beautiful little girl!!!!!

THE STORY OF EMMA'S ARRIVAL.

What we thought was going to happen:

Stephany was going to have a scheduled C-section on Tuesday the 19th of July, about 3 weeks early of the normal 40 weeks. No labor involved, just show up at the hospital and get a spinal, then have a beautiful little baby pain free.


What really happened:

Friday the 15th, Stephany starts having, what we think are false labor pains in the morning. By dinner time they are becoming increasingly more painful. At 10pm she has to take a warm shower to deal with the pain, followed by a walk and then a soak in the tub. All the while I (The Husband) can hear her trying to deal with the pain. At 1:30am Saturday, I can hear her not doing so well and look in on her. She is in tears and still thinks she is still having false labor pains. We decide I should call the hospital, and of course I am totally prepared (as I search frantically for any type of number or idea of what I am to do). I get Labor and Delivery and they tell me to bring her in. We then wake Jake and jump into the car driving rather aggressively toward the hospital. As I come in on 2 wheels with my now rather sailor like wife (her potty mouth was something to hear), we rush through the door, greeted by one of Sanford's finest (random chain smoking woman standing outside, no affiliation with the hospital), helps us inside and starts fanning Steph with a clipboard for 10 minutes while L&D takes their time coming to get Steph. Then I remember Jake is still sitting in the running car outside (better go back out and get him). Once I retrieve my son, we are taken upstairs to L&D and the nurses start to work with my now fire breathing wife, they ask me to take Jake outside into the waiting room. Not wanting to get in any one's way and staying one arms reach away from Steph I go with Jake to the waiting room. I then make some early morning phone calls and find some terrific friends to come get Jake for the night. I walk Jake downstairs to hand him off (and he is more than happy to go get away from this place), and I rush back upstairs to see how my wife is doing. I am figuring it should just be in time to start what ever it is we are going to do. As I get to the 2nd floor I pass the nursery and see one lone newborn laying in a warming bed. The nurse inside then notices me and waves me into the nursery. You can guess what is coming next....... She then introduces me to my brand new, really beautiful baby girl. It all happen within a 30 minute window. I walked downstairs and missed the action and Steph was put under general anesthesia, so she slept through the whole thing. What a way to have a kid (No parents needed).
Stephany showed to the hospital fully dilated, and so the midwife says, the only thing holding the kid in was the fact her water had not broken and Emma was sideways in the uterus. What a Friday night at the Zerbe house....

Well enough talk here she is......

Baby Update

We are so close now!!! Almost 8 months along.
I thought I'd share some fun results from the last 3 weeks.

We have been getting weekly ultrasounds and the Technician always tells us the baby's weight.
2 weeks ago: 4 lbs. 8 oz.
1 weeks ago: 5 lbs. 2 oz.
This week: 5 lbs. 10 oz.

She's a big girl, huh?!

Also, she has been passing all her tests. Movements, etc.
The doctor's has given her an "A" on her report card!!

A long awaited announcement .....

Baby Zerbe number two at 23 weeks.
Look at that perfect profile!! This was a long awaited ultrasound. Since Mama is 35, the baby is at greater risk of having Down Syndrome. The baby shows no physical signs of DS and the blood test shows the risk is 1 in 6000+. This is a great number!!!

Here the baby is scratching it's head with one hand and the other hand seems to be holding up it's head.

The baby was settled in right below my belly button so we had a hard time getting a good picture. But that gave me plenty of time to see the rest of the baby. We could see the arm bones and leg bones. It's little spine and ribs. It's teeny, tiny heart beating away. The baby's heart is the size of a nickel at this point. That just amazes me!

The baby kept interrupting the recording of it's heart beat by kicking and punching. Each time the baby would kick you'd hear a big static like bang. It made me laugh because I could feel most of it. It was like the baby was kicking the ultrasound wand.

And yes, we finally found out the sex of the baby.








We're










having


















a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We are very excited! Now we need to think about a GIRL name. We need to think about ALL THINGS GIRL! So exciting. It is so nice to finally know.

Don't leave without suggesting a girl name.... or six!!

Hugs!!!

35 Weeks/3D Ultrasound

Presenting JACOB RYAN ZERBE.
I think he has my wittle nose, at least for now. He sure likes to have his hands in his mouth. During the ultrasound you could see his little cheeks moving like crazy...sucking his thumb. So cute. Then one time we saw him open his mouth and insert his fist......it was priceless.

32 weeks and counting

How do I look? I look GOOD don't I?

A priceless gift from Shawn's Aunt & Uncle

Shawn's Aunt Diane and Uncle Bugs came to visit from PA and brought this amazingly handcrafted cradle made out of Black Walnut. It is the most beautiful wood I have ever seen and Bugs cut and sanded it to perfection, it is soft & smooth to the touch. Shawn and I are still in aww over the craftsmanship and the thoughtfulness. Isn't it lovely, isn't it wonderful?
Thanks again D and Bugs, we love you.

A birthday wish come true....

This year I asked for a custom shelving system for the bebe's closet. Here we go, it's all about the kid now right?
So Shawn spent his last few hours in the US installing this amazing "organize baby's stuff" system. He's the best husband ever. Thanks babe.

Teddy is dead.

I am busy nesting so I have this urge to organize and purge anything that isn't needed. Teddy didn't make the STAY list. Teddy was retired to the top of the FULL garbage can in the garage where Tan and Boscoe spend each day. B can climb so Teddy became his b*tch. Then Mommy parked her ride right on Teddy...Teddy is dead.

We're having a BOY!!!!

Da belly at 22 weeks.............Shawn & I are very excited to announce we are having a BOY!!! JUST ONE.
Now we are having a hard time finding the right name. Our lastest runners up are Jacob (Jake) and Gaberiel (Gabe).
Off to the baby store we go....not crazy about pastel blue, hoping to find some bright colors like our Alphabet Soup baby bedding. The due date is still October 20th!!

The Trials & Tribulations of Pregnancy

The Trials & Tribulations of Pregnancy...
Boy how my nails have grown! And they are virtually unbreakable.
But ohh how my ankles have grown. I believe we can refer to them now as KANKLES.
I discovered this past weekend that I could no longer see my ankle bones. I am still a bit shocked, I am only 20 weeks prego, is this normal? It doesn't really matter since it is not painful....yet. It is more of an excuse to get people to wait on me!! Lovin' this!
AND "NO", I will not give up my strappy heels! The Queen has spoken.

Before the bebe

Shawn and Steph pre-PARENT-hood. Isn't Shawn a hotty? Yeah, I bagged a good one. He's just the most wonderful man you could ever dream of. I never thought anyone could be this great. He'll do ANYTHING I ask. Sometime I have to refrain myself from asking (taking advantage) cuz I know he'll do what ever my little heart desires. Yes, even after 5+ years. Recent demands have been to run to the grocer for pickles or DQ for a Strawberry Cheesequake. "YES, DEAR."
This baby and I are so lucky to have this man in our lives. Please everyone pray for him this summer, he'll be leaving us for the 7th time....yes, seventh!! Uncle Sam plans to ship him home near the due date (Oct. 20) but then most likely he'll be shipped back out to finish his tour. "Duty calls." he'd say, "Just doing my job."
ps. In need for a lawn boy this grassy season while hubby is playing GI JOE. Handyman skills are a plus. Please contact Mrs. Z for interview dates and times.

THE NAME GAME

Shawn and I have been tossing around a few names.....sydney, taylor, jacob, jackson.
Although, Shawn's Mom Gail mentioned the name ABIGAIL KIMBERLY.....any way to include herself in the process and a small tribute to the other grammy, Kimm. It's a running joke but the name is growing on me. Of course Shawn refuses to give in to his mother's wishes. Any suggestions fellow bloggers?

Happy Mother's Day MOMs!

Kimm & Gail in Las Vegas!
Sorry Moms, next Mother's Day is all about me. Love you.

Da Belly!

Oh boy.....or girl. They say the bebe is the size of an orange at this stage. I am 13 weeks. I have been darn lucky...NO MORNING SICKNESS! (Didn't even catch the flu bug when it was passed around at work...twice!) Just nausea...oh and I gag alot in the kitchen, near the garbage cans and in the public bathroom at work. Nice huh? Pasta seems to be the only thing that really satisfies my nauseated tummy. Although this weekend the "bebe" HAD TO HAVE 6 pieces of toast...SIX...in one sitting. I have gained 5 lbs so far, I read that is average in the first trimester, so I am right on track! Oh and if you look closely, you can tell I have REAL pregnancy pants on, no more zipping. I think I could get use to this.

THE NURSERY

The beginning of the nursery. My house boy, Shawn painted the walls Pea Soup green to go with our Alphabet Soup themed bebe room. We decided to wait to order anything for the bebe until we were thru the first trimester. WELL HERE WE ARE ....WEEK 12....the Crib arrived a few days early.....maybe that's a sign that the baby will too. Then the bedding arrived just today and I couldn't wait to see it all. The quality has completely exceeded my expectations. Hope you all can see it for yourselves one day. The arrival of the bedding inspired me to finally bring this blog to fruition. And me sister inspired thee pics.

9 weeks

Our bebe's first photo shoot. It was squirming all about as we tried for a close up. It's arms or legs (not sure which) were flailing
around as if to run away from us. The most amazing sight was the heart beat. It was pulsating so fast it brought tears to my eyes. I thought to myself, "This is it, this is the real thing! We're having a baby!!"