February 22nd, 2022

I can’t believe so much time has passed since we last posted. The last few months have been an absolute whirlwind, and there have been so many changes in our lives. I write today knowing that we are in a much better place than we were the last time we made a post. Everything with the Navy has been resolved, my training is complete and I have finally returned to Hawaii, and we are SO CLOSE to Baby M’s arrival that we can taste it!

Let’s go back to September, where we last left you. Extreme Makeover: Nursery Edition was a complete and total success. We did all of the painting and ordered all of the furniture before I left for Virginia for a few months. Upon my return, we continued work and just put the finishing touches on a few weeks ago. Even though he probably won’t be in his room for a few months, all is ready to go, and we hope he loves his dinosaur themed nursery!

Amber’s pregnancy has been one for the record books. There have been so many events, and we’re glad that we have been able to be there for all of them. Through countless ultrasounds and a few hospital visits, we’ve gotten to see Baby M many times in the past eight months. But there have been some scary events along the way. A few months ago, Amber was in a very bad car accident. Her vehicle was totaled, and she went to the hospital to have the baby checked on. Fortunately, she was wearing her seatbelt under her belly, and she was sitting back from the steering wheel, so neither the impact nor the airbag affected Baby M. She managed to escape with just a few bruises, and we are so thankful because after seeing the pictures, it could have been so much worse.

A couple of weeks after the accident, we all attended a doctor's appointment together where the doctor informed us that Baby M is not growing quite as well as they would like him to. He is on the smaller side, and they informed us that they would like to deliver him a little early (somewhere between 38 and 39 weeks.) The doctor told us to pick a week as a group and then we would discuss it at the next appointment. It just so happened that the next availability for us to talk as a group was at our baby shower.

Baby shower day: what an awesome experience! We hosted a party with friends where we got to eat, drink, and be merry. We even felt the love from all of our friends and family who couldn’t make it by how they showered Baby M with gifts. We are overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the amazing people who are a part of our lives. We are so grateful for every single one of them, and will forever remember the way that Baby M was celebrated, even before his arrival. While at the baby shower, we discussed the date for the induction, and we decided on March 9th. On that day, our expected arrival went from about 50 days to about 35 days!

A few days after the baby shower, we went back to the doctor for a routine appointment and to discuss the induction scheduling. When the nurse came in, she noted that Amber’s blood pressure was higher than normal. When the doctor arrived, before we could give her the date we had chosen, she informed us that she was going to induce at 37 weeks on the dot. This took our estimated arrival from about 30 days, to 17 days!! All of us were in a little bit of shock, but Andrew and I had just discussed that morning that we were ready for him to get here already! So, at the end of that appointment, we scheduled an induction for February 27th at 9:30am!

A few weeks after the baby shower, which was just a few days ago. Amber started to have some bleeding that was very concerning. She went to the hospital, and she was having mild contractions. We rushed to the hospital, thinking that the baby was on his way. At this point, Amber was only slightly over 35 weeks pregnant, so we had some concerns as to his development. Amber stayed at the hospital overnight for observation, and by the following morning they determined that everything was okay and she was free to go back to her normal routine.

So, as you can see, it has been a whirlwind of a few months! Apologies for not updating sooner, but now there are only 5 DAYS LEFT UNTIL BABY M ARRIVES! Well, I guess that depends on if he comes quickly once Amber is induced, which we’re hoping for! All the plans are falling into place. I’ve requested off of work on the 28th so that we’re good to go if his arrival takes longer than expected. Andrew’s work has been informed that he will be starting his primary caregiver leave as soon as Baby M arrives. The go-bag is in the 4Runner along with the stroller, car seat, and plenty of diapers and wipes. We bought a breast pump for Amber, so that she can provide breast milk for a few months (I’ll talk more about that in a later post.) And most importantly, everyone is happy, healthy, and excited for the arrival of Baby M.

I think I can finally say this: the next post from us will likely be announcing the birth of our son. That alone makes me so happy. I started this blog almost two years ago, and I cannot believe that we are finally here. This is a dream of ours come true, and we’re so ready to be Dad and Papa. See you on the other side!