She's here!

We are thrilled!  She finally made it!  She made us all wait an extra week and she made David and I wait a whole day in labor!

We went in Sunday morning at 7 to be induced and everything was looking great!  We thought she would be out in 8 hours or so, but she had her own plan.  I will be writing he birth story in more detail later.  But after 16 hours of labor (I got the epidural after 4 hours of it so we were just mostly just waiting it out with no pain, don't worry) she finally decided to make her entrance.  She wanted to make it before the day was over I guess.

Here is our sweet little girl:
Katelyn Eleanor Rudd

Born at 11:45 pm weighing 8 pounds 10 ounces (I know David told some of you 9 oz, but I am positive she was 10 and I will fight for every ounce I worked for)  :)

She has a full head of dark brown/black hair, all ten fingers and toes, and cute wrinkly hands and feet.  We are both doing great and adjusting well.  She is being monitored and tested for an infection and they want to be sure she will be fine at home so she has an IV in her hand in the first picture.  We are thrilled to have her here and David and I love to snuggle her up and hold her and kiss her like crazy!  She is too cute for us and we couldn't be happier.  We have been able to rest as they keep a close watch on her every once in a while for the infection she might have.  We aren't worried about her as they are just being extra cautious with our little girl to be sure she is fine.  We love her and can't get enough of her.  David is great at calming her down when she starts crying.  He was great the whole labor and delivery and helped out a ton.  I am so glad he was there with me because I would have been so bored on my own.  It was a long time to wait, I won't lie.  We both made it through and are now proud parents of an adorable little girl.

Progress. . . Hooray!

Not yet!

We are trying to stay busy so we don't just sit around and wait for this little girl.  We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and I am thrilled to say that I am finally making progress!  Not much, but more than ever before.  I am having contractions each day but they are about an hour apart so they aren't close enough to go in and have her. I am starting to dilate and half way effaced.  Like I said, not much progress, but it is better than nothing!  The "lifesaver effect" has started!  The contractions are kind of strange and I wasn't sure if they were contractions or not, but my doctor said they were so I will trust him.  They aren't too painful yet and with being so anxious to get labor going I want more of them.  Never in my life have I wanted to be in pain or to be in the hospital, but knowing what is at the end of it is what is so exciting.  This is what we have been waiting all this time for!

I am pretty sure that I have dropped or at least started to drop.  This bowling ball of a baby is resting more and more on my legs, which has its perks.  I can really breathe now, which I didn't realize how much pressure she put on my lungs, but it is so nice now!  I also don't get heart burn like I used to as my food has a little more space to settle. . . very nice as well.  With this dropping, I feel like I am perfecting the giant pregnant woman walk.  I sometimes feel like I am trying to walk with a bowling ball between my legs.  I have also noticed that my hair is swaying a little out of control from side to side more and more and not in a ditsy blonde sort of way :)  In case anyone was wondering, I have spotted some of those "beautiful" pink markings/stripes. . . .not too many, but when the light hits them just right, they really shine!  And I now understand why giant pregnant ladies are portrayed as waddling with one hand on their lower back.  My bowling ball child is doing a wonderful job at pulling my back out of line.  With her dropping, she has pulled my spine with her, or so it feels.  Laying on my back seemed logical in trying to get her to push my spine back in place, but that is just about as far from comfortable as could be.  David is now in the routine of giving back rubs each night, which I look forward to each night.  I love them!  

Lately, if I don't answer the door right away, or my phone, or my email, or if I am not home when David gets home, then everyone assumes that I must be at the hospital.  It is a valid idea, but I'm not sure who is more involved in this waiting game.  I think that I am not the only one anxiously waiting and wondering :)  

It has been fun with everyone so excited for me. . . from family, to friends, apartment managers, mail men, grocery store clerks, neighbors, ward members, or anyone else that I even remotely have a conversation with.  It is definitely on my mind and it is obvious that I am ready to pop.  I think so many people have experienced how great children can be whether they have been parents themselves or not, and with us being so close to being a new mom and dad, they can't help but be excited for us.  My doctor seems very excited for us too which was fun yesterday!  He too can't wait to see what kind of baby has been so nice to me all along.

It seems that this little girl is not taking requests as I have had a lot of family stop through on their way to their vacations hoping to meet her.  She seems to have her own timing and doesn't care to rush anything.  David is very excited to start teaching her everything and so I think she is holding off just like everyone else that is dreading summer coming to an end and school starting up.  She must like our dates relaxing at the pool a little too much!

BOX TOP$ Collector

This last week, David discovered Box Tops.  I don't know if he had never heard about them or noticed them or what, but he is in love with them.  With our coupon adventures, we have been buying General Mills products and  I think they all have a box top on them whether or not the product comes in a box or not.  For each box top that is cut from the packaging, 10 cents is donated to the school of our choice.  We can just mail them an envelope with all of our collected box tops and they can cash them in.
Albertson's gave away 50 extra box tops for each 10 GM products we bought.  They printed out a coupon that had a code on it that we entered online.  David is addicted.  We have our very own account set up for redeeming these online codes.  Not only does it show how much we have contributed to a certain school, but it shows how much other schools in the country have earned.  He loves to check our school's progress and likes to make sure that each and every box top is accounted for.  David is so set on making our school the winning school this coming school year.  He thinks this is the best thing ever.
When we were buying cereal, he chose which flavor of cereal he wanted based on how many box tops he could find on the box.  They were all the same price so it didn't really matter to me which ones we got, but I had it all wrong.
David will also rather eat something that has more box tops on it.  Apparently the more box tops a product has, the better it tastes.
I have noticed that some of the box tops get collected by a certain someone before the food is gone out of the box.  There is a nice hole out of the side of the box and I have a good idea of what used to be there.  Here are a few of the boxes that have had the mark left on them.  They don't quite stay closed with the chunk missing from the top, but we will survive.  Reese's Puffs have been his favorite lately as they have an extra two.

We will have to see if we are able to make our school the winner this year.  I will be sure to give the credit to David for his ambition and enthusiasm when the school wants to congratulate us and give us a big box top champion medal.

My Very Own Bowling Ball

No baby yet!  We are still "patiently" waiting.  We really aren't having as much fun as our baby must be playing this waiting game.  A guy at the grocery store mentioned that I had a basketball growing on me.  I was able to quickly assure him that it feels more like a bowling ball.  No problem at all right?!  Through this pregnancy, I have had plenty of opportunities to perfect my squat as I would probably tip over if I bent over any other way.  I   have been so lucky with this pregnancy since I didn't ever get sick and I haven't been swollen.  I had a few instances of heart burn and lately my spine is being bent out of shape, but learning to not eat late at night and David's daily massages have made it manageable.  With everything going so well, it all must be too good to be true and end that way right?  This little girl has been so nice to me so she will want to come a little early right?!  We are hoping for the best, but patiently. . . I guess.

We have dug into the whole coupon thing.  We are having fun with it and we enjoy coming home with a shopping cart full worth of food and only paying a fourth of the price we would have for it.  We are stocking up on foods and we are finding that we don't have much room for all of it.  Each week there is usually a really good sale on something and we can stock up on that item and hopefully not have to buy it again until it goes on sale again.  We have been so surprised to also find out how much we can get for free.  By combining a good sale with a coupon can get us all sorts of name brand things for free or we can even make money off of it!  It is very fun and we have had to hold ourselves back from clearing the shelves and leaving nothing for the other shoppers and coupon-ers.  It takes some time, and I follow a couple blogs that help me to know where to find the best deals, but it is definitely worth it for us.  I don't know if I will ever be able to buy things full price again other than milk and eggs and bread since we can't stock up on those things and they usually don't have coupons.  It is too fun, and it has made us organize our shelves and cupboards to see how we can make it all fit. . . I know, rough life we have here!  We got more this week than we usually will, but we enjoyed our start.

This is more for my record, but this week we got. . . 

• 20 boxes of cereal
• 8 boxes of potatoes
• 6 boxes of fruit snacks
• 5 boxes of granola bars
• 20 personal pizzas
• 6 cake mixes
• 6 cans of frosting
• 5 bottles of Life water
• 4 ravioli
• 10 canned vegetables
• 6 Deoderants
• 2 boxes Ziploc Bags
• 4 Pilot pens
• 20 BIC ballpoint pens
• 2 bottles of shampoo
• 1 razor
• 1 can shaving cream
• 1 bottle of body wash
• 2 packs of gum
• 2 boxes of feminine products

Total spent this week: $45.00 and more than $10.00 coming back in mail-in-rebates

Next week we will see what we can get for less than $15 unless I am in the hospital, which I am kind of hoping for. . . that isn't usually what someone wants, but in my case, it is welcomed and I can't wait!

C'mon Girl! You can do it!

Lately anyone and everyone is wondering when this baby is going to come.  I have never been asked so many times.  I went to 2 stores yesterday and anyone that had to pass by me in the aisle while I was figuring out what to get, or that I had to pass by or have any sort of interaction with asked the question that I wish I had a better answer for.  I really do wish I knew when this little girl would come, and all I know is that my doctor assured me that this baby would definitely be out by the end of the month whether she liked it or not.  I am due in a week and a half and each day could not be going any slower.  Honestly!  I am about ready to sign up for a marathon, rock climbing, weight lifting, sky diving, roller coasters, jump roping, anything.  All through pregnancy I have had to be careful to not do anything that could possibly pop this little baby out, and now I am feeling quite the opposite :)
I went to cub scouts yesterday and we did a little service project along the river where we put chicken wire around the base of the trees so the beavers wouldn't gnaw them down.  We had 5 adults and 10 cub scouts.  All the adults were very careful to make sure I didn't do anything but supervise the boys.  I offered to get down and dirty and to haul stuff around along the river bank so maybe this baby would start doing her thing in there to come out. . . just maybe.  All I got was some sympathy laughs, "Nice try!", and a "Yeah right, I am not delivering!  I'll stick with the chicken wire!"
David finished his class yesterday with a presentation that went well, so now we really are ready for her.  I was worried she would decide to come right before that presentation, but she was very thoughtful and held on.  But we have told her many times now that she is free to come. . . pretty please!
I have also been told multiple times that I don't look miserable enough to be having a baby yet.  No I'm not miserable, just too excited.  For the last two or three weeks we have been told "She could come any day!"  So we got really excited and tried to mentally prepare ourselves two or three weeks ago, and we are still waiting.  No fair that everyone gets our hopes up!  So now it is more of "She better come any day now!"  or "I don't want to be pregnant at my next week's doctor's appointment!"
We are just a little anxious and I know that she will come when she's ready, but can't someone just tell us when that is so each day is not a waiting game that she keeps winning?
Today is supposed to be rainy and stormy all day.  I was wanting to go swimming. . . hmm maybe a good zap would get her going.. . . I promise I am kidding and will not try to get zapped by lightning.. . promise!  I will stay indoors today and try to learn how to be as miserable as possible so I can have this baby sooner! We will get the word out as quick as we can once she comes. . . wish us luck as I know there is no skill that I have that will pop her and her regular baby sized (please not too big) body out!