He's Here!

After months of waiting for the arrival of our baby - he's here! Making his due date about a month early... we were all a little suprised!

Asher John
7 lbs 18 inches
December 14th @ 8:50am

Proud daddy minutes after Asher was delivered

Our first family picture - aren't I becoming?!?

Damon and I are feeling beyond blessed to have Asher in our lives. Who ever thought that something this small could bring such joy! Huge thank you to everyone who has supported us through this adventure! :) Many, many, many more pictures to come! :)

It's a Team Thing

Stinks.
There is no other word for the icky bug that Damon and I got this week. Damon got sick on Wednesday and I followed on Thursday. With Baby Tuttle to worry about - we ended up in the ER again. I say 'again' because we were just there Thanksgiving weekend for a nasty cold I was dealing with. I'm pretty sure the Tuttle household is on first name basis with the ER staff!

First of all it was decided that I was dehydrated - imagine that since I couldn't even keep water in my system. They instantly put an I.V. in figuring that I could use the fluids. Then they decided that we should monitor the baby so we were sent to the OB. Upon monitoring baby and continuing the I.V. fluids ... we discovered that mama bear was having contractions - so thats what those pains were! :)

I was given meds to stop contractions and nausea but still wasn't well enought to go home - so they kept me over night. I feel for those who have to stay in the hospital over night... man that wasn't a pleasant experience! The nurses were nice; however, I ended up with the 'Oh, honey' nurse throughout the evening. You know the one that is super nice but may not be the best at medical 'technique'... During the middle of the night my I.V. had to be redone but because I was dehydrated finding veins wasn't as easy as it was for the ER nurse. Over 1 hour and 18 pokes later, this mama bear was ready to come home and be done! Finally my 'Oh, Honey' nurse got the I.V. in my elbow and then braced my arm with a board so I couldn't bend or move. Lovely. Not only does the I.V. machine make noises all night and the baby monitor catch every move - now I can't move my arm. I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep more than an hour at a time because of alarms sounding and the discomfort in my throbbing - poked hands.

Damon was a total trooper through the whole thing. Even though he too was not feeling top notch he refused to leave my side through out the whole event. He went home and packed an over night bag when they said I wasn't going to be able to go home and slept in the room with me on the roll in cot. I continue to say that 'I'm taking one for the Team' but last night I realize that 'We're taking one for the Team'. The one thing that really has become evident to me is how awesome it is to have a hubby that hasn't left my side through out everything. The last 9 months has been a real roller coaster and I realized last night that I haven't been the only one riding and I couldn't do this without Damon by my side.

So flu bug aside ... Damon and I were able to 'test run' the OB and get a feel for what staying over night is going to contain. We're both resting much better at home tonight knowing that Baby Tuttle is healthy.

Oh, the Side Effects...

There are so many things that run through my head now-a-days - especially with the fast approaching arrival of our baby. I thought that maybe I would beat the odds and be able to wear my shoes and 'regular' clothes the whole pregnancy - ha! Here are my thoughts regarding 'it is what it is' in the life of this ever growing mama!

• Most recently my feet have swollen to such extremes that I can't wear shoes! Yep, I thought I would dodge that bullet but I have not. I have resorted to wearing crocs... which has brought on such interesting twist to my outfits (because we know how I love to look my best - ha!:). Crocs have holes in them - not always a good thing in the winter months and my crocs are bright yellow! Trying to 'blend in' when going to the grocery store doesn't happen - which leads me to the next thought...
• I have never been a traffic stopper but I am now! I was walking out of Target (okay, waddling) and I noticed a few different drivers unable to take their eyes off me! I'm pretty sure they are thinking they have never seen bright yellow crocs and a camo jacket coming out of Target - now if I would have been at Walmart, no one would have probably thought twice! :)
• My hands are also swelling... yep, pregnancy carpal tunnel - nice. In the mornings I can't really move my hands and throughout the day my fingers go num. It's grand; however, there is hope that after I am done with this pregnancy - my fingers will be back to normal. I really do feel for those who suffer from carpal tunnel and can't do anything about it.
• Now ladies... what is up with the maternity pants? Do I need to say more? I was able to go until 8 months before putting on maternity clothes and then the week of 8 pounds/5 centimeters happened! I told Damon I was getting fatter by the minute - he didn't believe me until we went to the Doctor and she confirmed! Hey, I'm growing a healthy size baby here - it's to be expected!
• Stretch Marks - yep, another one of those 'facts of pregnancies' that I was hoping to bypass... nope. I can't see them but I know they are there! Sure enough, when I look in the mirror - they smile back at me! :)

So I guess that there are many changes that continue to happen on a daily basis but I'm finally coming to the realization that it's all good. I'm not afraid to admit that I have not always been completely okay with getting larger. I still have moments when I struggle with all these changes but I know that the reward is going to be amazing! I have a beautiful baby growing in my tummy and there are bound to be side effects! :)

The Law Report

Yep, these are fresh from the
Herald Review... word for word.

Ooops: A loud noise complaint at 10:49 p.m. from Old Central School turned out to be the Christmas music CD skipping.

I think it's done: The Grand Rapids Fire Department responded to a report of a fire on Fifth Avenue Northeast at 7:54 p.m. to find an over-cooked pizza.

It's Broken...

Yep, I thought that my computer or more specific our iTunes was broken. It would play a song for a while and than skip to another song and another and another. Finally I ventured from the kitchen into the living room to find... we just have a cat who was cleaning themselves. Duh.