Baby Zare: 2008

After 17 hours of labor ended with a C-section, we were blessed with a beautiful daughter. Aisley McKenna Zare was born on December 16 @ 11:31 p.m weighing in at a GINORMOUS 9 lbs 3.5 ounces!!! Our MD was unsure why labor stalled until the C-section revealed our "little" girl was way too big for mommy to deliver. Our MD was shocked at the size as I only gianed 25 lbs and my belly measured 1 centimeter small at my last doctor's appointment on Monday morning. Our MD laughed as she pulled her out and exclaimed that she had no idea where this baby had been hiding!!!

40 weeks and ready to POP!!

Labor begins to get painful

Eric helping me get through contractions - He was awesome, as usual.

Our Doula Fran was an amazing person and was so unbelievably helpful throughout the whole process.

Our Dr was great as was the entire staff at St. Francis

The proof - 9 lbs 3.5 ounces!!

The C-section was extremely uncomfortable but got the job done

Mommy (looking exhausted) and Aisley
(Thats what 8 hours of sleep in 4 days will do)

Daddy ordering room service (looking exhausted)

Grandma and Grandpa Kuehn with their 8th grandchild!!

Finally going home!!!

Cuddled up

Our beautiful Aisley

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Hello, I'm huge.

We are closing in on the due date and are ready to meet this "little one" who doesn't feel or look so "little" anymore! Uncle Scott came all the way from D.C. to visit this past weekend and we had a lot of fun.

38 weeks

Kanpai of Tokyo with Uncle Scott, and friends Jeannie and Johnny

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving at home

As we "round" out at 37 weeks, we celebrated a relaxing Thanksgiving in South Carolina. We definitely missed our usual travels to see family in the Midwest; Nonetheless, we had a good time getting ready for the soon arrival of baby A, Scott Zare (next weekend), and more family to come thereafter!! :)

Thanksgiving was great, despite the fact that we cooked the giblet packet in the Turkey!!! After eating Thanksgiving without Turkey (because we read on-line that harmful chemicals may leech into the meat) Eric called the Butterball hotline and was told the packaging was "food safe" and we could proceed with our meal (Thankfully we had celebrated Thanksgiving a week earlier with friends, so we did not have to inconvenience anyone other than ourselves). So, after our dinner of sides and pumpkin pie. . . we had turkey for dessert!! :) The weather was beautiful on Thursday and Friday - upper 60s, which was great for some nice walks in the neighborhood.

My growing belly at 37 weeks!

Eric spent a lot of time getting Baby A's room ready this weekend!!
We will post more pictures of her finished room once she's here. . . as a large part of the room is
decorated with her name.

Monday, November 17, 2008

5 weeks to go!!

We've passed the 35 week mark! This weekend was spent continuing to prepare for the upcoming arrival. We bought some letters to paint and hang in the nursery. A few more clues on the name will be found in the following pictures. This weekend we also attended a 3 hour breastfeeding class, which Eric thoroughly enjoyed. :)

Eric having fun with pink paint!! :)

Can you guess it yet??

A finished product

Monday, November 10, 2008

Baby Fun!

This past weekend "Baby A" (Hint on the name) had a great time at a baby shower thrown by mommy's friends in South Carolina while daddy and his friends hit the linx. At 34 weeks we are all getting quite excited. . . and a little nervous too!!

Mandy keeps trying to guess "Baby A's" name, but hasn't quite

got it yet... so she had to settle for just an A monogram on the bib.

Sara was the hostess with the mostest!

Nikki and Kim

Mel, Nikki, and Kim

Jen and Michelle

Carolina and Mandy

Too many therapists in a room

Northern Babes

Northern Babes and One Southern Bell

Saturday, November 1, 2008

33 weeks and counting...

So, we're still here....waiting, and getting a little more uncomfortable by the day. I must say that the ever-expanding belly did come in handy for a fun Halloween Costume!!

Our SC Crew minus the Smurfs

Juno and Bleeker

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Chips and Salsa at 4:45?

Well, I'm up....eating chips and salsa. Just another weird eccentricity of pregnancy. Might as well give you all an update.

I had my 3 hour glucose test last Thursday, and found out today at my Dr.'s appointment that it came back normal...yipee!! Also, everything else was reported to be going well and on track.

A few more bites, and I'll try sleeping again..until I have to wake up in an hour.

Friday, October 10, 2008

30 weeks!!

The past couple of weeks have been filled with baby preparations as well as some "camping" and boating fun. The baby preparations involved painting, tiling, and a childbirth class we attended last Saturday. The class was helpful at giving us some pointers on what to expect. My favorite part was when they had the husbands practice massaging their wives backs. After the childbirth class we headed to Clemson to "camp" with some friends. By "Camp" I mean... hang out with friends by the campfire cooking smores, then head to a nearby hotel with a cozy bed, get a good night sleep, and then meet friends out for boating the following day.

Ok, So here is my growing belly at 28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

Again at 30 weeks, I changed my outfit and had
Eric take the picture again, thinking it was the
outfit that was making me look so big, then I realized
that wasn't the case.... :)

Fishing

Skiing

Relaxing

I was so sad I could not try "hot dogging" too!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

20 week ultrasound

The most recent and last pictures we will have of our baby before birth.

These pictures were taken during the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. If you look very closely you will notice she is sucking her thumb!!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Summer trip to Wisconsin

Our recent visit to Wisconsin was filled with fun events. We played golf, ate at the local cheese corner (yummy!), attended my 10 year (yikes!) class reunion, visited with family and friends, and were also lucky enough to have a baby shower thrown for us by family and high school friends. My sisters, mom, and friend Kiley put a lot of thoughtful work into the shower and it was so nice of them!! It was a blessing to be back with so many friends and family.

Our little girl has already been spoiled by the thoughfulness and generosity of so many people. We can't wait until she is able to join in on all of the fun!