Merry Christmas! From Zoe

Zoe Grace Reynolds

Zoe Grace Reynolds
December 14, 2007
9:17am (cst)
7 pounds 10 ounces
20.25 inches long

We will post more details about how the day went later. At the present, all three Reynolds' need a nap. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement.

Tomorrow Is The BIG Day!!!

We are leaving for the hopital in a matter of minutes (St. Joseph's @ 435 and State Line Road). They want us there tonight so that they can get Rachel ready for tomorrow's induction. We begin at 6am. We are excited. We are nervous. It is a strange mix.

The next post after this should provide the great news that we all have been anticipating!!! We are looking forward to sharing the news with everyone.

Our Little Girl's Nursery

A huge "THANK YOU" to all of our parents who helped us to purchase the items for her new nursery. It looks great and will serve her well!

Kansas City's Ice Storm

For last night and this morning, the weather forecasters were calling for freezing temperatures and rain. That's a great combination for slippery roads and school closings. Kansas City dodged this prediction because the road crews did wonderful preventive work and the temperature did not dip as low as expected.

We are not in the clear, however. It is still raining today and The Kansas City Star has articles warning that tonight might bring on the ice storm that we were expecting:
http://www.kansascity.com/384/story/398805.html

Yesterday, several people had told us that in their experience severe weather has contributed to them going into labor. Whether or not this is true, we have our bags packed and are ready for whenever she decides to make her way into the world.

If she is not here by Thursday, we will go into the hospital Thursday evening so the doctors can induce labor on Friday, December 14th. This is not an indication that anything is wrong. The doctor won't let Rachel go two weeks past her due date. So for several reasons, December 14th was decided upon.

Keep checking the blog for more updates!!!

40 Weeks...And No Baby Yet!

Today is our little girl's due date...and we are still waiting. We thought she might be joining us this past weekend, but the weekend came and went; she is going to keep us excited in anticipation.

We are going to be experiencing an ice storm this evening in Kansas City. It is suppose to start around 6pm this evening and go through tomorrow. Wouldn't that be fun...inching our way to the hospital in labor?

39th Week

We are at week number 39! You know what people say: in some ways, it seems like it has gone very quickly; in other ways, it has seemed very slow. We (and all of our extended family) are ready for her to here now. Keep checking this blog to see when she has arrived and to view those first pictures!

38th Week

38th Week

37th Week

Another Baby Shower (Given By Stewart Title)

We want to thank the wonderful people at Rachel's work, Stewart Title, for throwing a baby shower on Thursday, November 15th. It was absolutely beautiful! They had lunch catered by a healthy restaurant in the area, Green Acres Market, which we, of course, ruined with cake after the gift opening. We got several wonderful gifts, and it was just a wonderful time. Thanks so much to Mary LeAnn and everyone who put it together!

36 Weeks and Counting!

We are at week number 36...and Rachel is thinking, "Will this ever be over?" According to the due date (December 10th), we have four weeks to go, but you all know how these things work. Does anybody want to guess as to when the actual delivery date will be? Just click on the "comments" below and let us know.

Photos Session Pictures!

We had our first session of three with our photographer--Jessica. The second session will be right after our baby is born and the third will be sometime within her first year.

Enjoy:

http://rachelanderic.photoherald.com

Baby Shower

My friend Sam Kuykendall and my mom threw me a baby shower on Saturday, October 13. We had a great time! Sam is so creative; she made a lot of cute things and desserts. My mom brought an ice cream cake and we all gained about 5 pounds! We did a game of “guess the baby food by sight” and everyone also had to guess when our little girl would arrive (that person gets their gift sent to them after she’s born). We opened presents – we got a lot of great stuff. Thanks everyone! A lot of aahh’s, as any good baby shower should have.

As you can see from the picture, we painted a face on my stomach with makeup. It was quite the sight! But we had a good time. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a great day!

Kramer

We are curious to see how Kramer will react to our little girl when she arrives. In the photo above, he looks a little tired of listening to all of this "baby" talk. We think he will be fine with the baby...as long as he continues to take out his agression on his stuffed bone (see photo below) and not on our child.

Rachel Through The Months

October 9, 2007
31 Weeks

October 1, 2007
30 Weeks

September 16, 2007
28 Weeks












August 1, 2007
21 Weeks















June 26, 2007
16 Weeks

The Columbus Blue Jackets' Opening Night

Today was the opening night for the Columbus Blue Jackets. They beat the Anaheim Ducks pretty easily, 4-0. The question many of you are asking right about now is..."What does this have to do with your future little girl?" Well, she has already been receiving gifts from family and friends. Grandpa Reynolds is making sure she grows up with a love for his favorite hockey team; he has already sent her much baby clothing which includes the Blue Jackets logo.

A Few Rachel Pictures

Here is Rachel with Kramer (our cleaver and mischievous miniature dachshund...actually, he pretty much sleeps 20 hours a day).



Rachel is preparing breakfast before she has to rush off to work. If you are trying to interpret the look, allow me to help: "Eric, I've had enough of the camera. Will you please help get breakfast ready?"



Rachel and I (Eric) were on a good running routine pre-pregnancy. Since the pregnancy we have kept up the exercise by walking. Kramer joins us as we walk through the park.



Hopefully, I won't get into too much trouble for posting this picture. Rachel is enjoying an afternoon snack of chips and salsa. Rachel did not have any of those unusual cravings that you hear many women talk about during pregnancy. (Again, I think Rachel was pretty sick of the camera being in my hands...but, that's what I'm there for)

30 Weeks Down, 10 To Go!

We want to again apologize for the very few posts recently. We have been properly reprimanded and encouraged by many of you blog readers. In our transition time back to Kansas City, we temporarily lost many "blogging necessities"...DSL in the home and our scanner to be specific. From here on out, the posts should be pretty consistent.

Rachel is at 30 weeks! We'll see how fast the final 10 (or so) weeks go. Several things are coming up which should provide us with blogging material for you all. We have a birthing class on October 13th, Rachel's baby shower on October 20th, and a photo session on October 27th. Our next appointment at the doctors in this Friday, the 5th. Simply put...October is turning out to be a BUSY month!

Our September 14th Appointment

Our recent doctor's appointment was last Friday. All went very well. For those of you that have gone through these appointments, you know that they begin to feel very similar. "Let's check your weight. Now let's measure your belly. How are you feeling? Any discomforts? Tell me about the baby movements." We, too, had our questions for the doctor. Yes, we are THOSE people who read everything so our questions go something like: "Our book says this. Is that true? What do you think about__________ because according to what we've read..." Our doctor humors us so; she is great.

We did have another ultrasound which is always a breathtaking experience (I hesitate to use the word "breathtaking"; it might evoke Seinfeld references..."She certainly is breathtaking.") At one point, the doctor was able to get a close-up of our baby's face right on the screen. What a moment! The doctor printed off the picture for us. Unfortunately, we are temporarily without a scanner. We will hopefully be able to get this picture up soon for you all to see.

Message From Rachel

Hello everyone! Sorry it’s been so long between entries! Since we don’t have DSL at home now, it’s harder to coordinate. I’m going into my third trimester next week – can you believe it!? My stomach has been expanding steadily. I feel really good. She is kicking all the time now and slowly making her way to my ribs. One of our favorite things to do in the evening is watch my stomach as she kicks and swirls. Sometimes I think she’s trying to escape. Maybe she’s claustrophobic like her mommy! =) My only symptom currently is back pain, which I know will only get worse as the time draws near! Our next doctor appointment is Friday, September 14, which includes a gestational diabetes test and another ultrasound. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! They are quite appreciated! If anyone uses snail mail still, we’d love to hear from you all. Here’s our new home address – feel free to drop us a line! 22267 171^st Street, Basehor, KS 66007

Love to you all!

Rachel

Another Side View

Here is a quick post to show a recent side shot. This little girl continues to be active with cartwheels, running, and kicking! She just may be a handfull!

And The Gender Of The Baby Is...

A GIRL!!! We are having a little girl and we could not be more happy. Truth be known, we would have been happy either way, but we are thrilled to announce that our family will increase with the addition of (TBA...Did you think we would drop the name now?).

(This is written by Eric)
The month of July has been an interesting mixture of busyness, loneliness, and transitioning. As many of you know, Rachel and I have been in the process of moving back to Kansas City. Completing work and life in California has added the busyness. The loneliness stems from Rachel having to move to KC before me. Kramer, the lively miniature dachshund that he is, has done an admirable job keeping me company.

I flew out to be with Rachel this past week and to attend our appointment at St. Joseph Medical Center at I-435 and State Line Road. The quality and professionalism that we experienced at this office was incredible. We feel very blessed to have found this office and this extraordinary group of doctors.

The ultrasound was the highlight of this visit (which I guess goes without saying). The doctor looked at many aspects of the baby narrating as she went along. We saw all ten fingers and ten toes. We were able to see the four ventricles of the heart (simply amazing). The spine, stomach, and different features on the baby's face were also visible. She concluded by saying, "So, did I hear that you wanted to know the sex of the baby?"
"Absolutely," we responded!
She continued, "Well, you are going to stop referring to her as a 'he'. This is a girl." Habit mixed with (false) intuition did have us calling our baby "he" up to this point. We quickly called our parents and texted our brothers and sisters to share the wonderful new. Without a doubt, this little princess will be loved.

Our June 14th Appointment

This was a pretty routine appointment. It was extremely quick. This appointment would have seemed like a mere formality if it hadn't been for one simple thing...we heard the baby's heartbeat for the very first time! The appointment was fast, but very thrilling nonetheless.

FYI: having talked with several doctors on the issue, there is no scientific facts linking the rate of the heartbeat with gender identification. Actually, cultures that have stated facts pointing to this as proof differ from one another. If it were true, the studies should validate each other.

First Side View!

Well, folks, here's the first side view of yours truly. I'm at 14 weeks this week, so we'll see how quickly the weight comes after this. I know there's not much there, but it was a good time to start. The view looks a little bigger from above (i.e. me looking down at my stomach) but it's nice to know that's the only view which gives it that appearance. Unfortunately, I'm already in maternity pants. My regular pants are pretty tight around the waist and looser around the hips (where I normally gain weight) so it didn't take long to grow out of those. Instead of buying a size or two larger in pants and only get to wear them for a month or two, I just went ahead and bought 9 month maternity clothes. They're pretty comfy! I've also already got the itching and dry skin on my stomach where things are stretching, so if anyone has any good remedies for the dry skin, please let me know. Again, thanks to all of you for your prayers and support!

Love to all!
Rachel

Our First Baby Gifts!

I (Rachel) had my last day with Perris Head Start on Friday, May 18. The girls from the office staff took me to lunch and gave me a HUGE bag of baby gifts (and unknowingly inspired my nursery colors and theme). There are a lot of clothes and blankets done in green and yellow, since we're not sure the sex of the baby yet (however, I prefer these colors to pink or blue anyway). There are also two lullaby CD's, a cow that sings when you pull the string, and a FABULOUS diaper bag (that's in the back of the picture; it's two bags in one with a changing mat, wipes container, and several handy pockets). It's all too cute, and I was so excited I had to share with everyone. Thank you Linda, Jill, Evelyn & Alicia! You're the best!

Our May 17th Appointment

Today was our monthly appointment with the doctor. Most exciting visit to date! We saw the baby clearly this month (much better than the "snail-shape" from our prior visit). There was a very identifiable head, body, arms, and legs. We even could see an eye (which, of course, had to be pointed out to us). We wish we had a video to attach, because this kid was active today. He/she was hopping, jumping, and moving in every direction. Looks like this child will be a runner like Mom and Dad.

Today's pictures are not as good as the actual sonogram we saw. The doctor said the baby was too active to get a good full body picture. So here you can clearly make out the head and his/her hands and feet are pressed up there too. Again, a very exciting day. This new reality is setting in more and more every day.

The Name Game

Since we announced the pregnancy, people continue to ask two primary questions:

1) Are you going to find out the gender before the birth?
2) What are you going to name the baby?

As to the first question, absolutely! Anyone who knows us knows that we are both 'planners' to the highest level. People who know us very well do not even ask the question; they know it would be impossible for us NOT to know.

And now to question #2: being the planners that we are, we do have a name (first and middle) picked out for each a girl and a boy. We have decided to keep this info to ourselves. Some friends of our used this approach with their children's births. Their logic was simple: people will critique names before the birth, but not after. We have followed their approach (Thanks Dave and Jennifer Fletcher!).

What we were unprepared for was the amount of disturbance this would cause...in OTHER people. Statements like, "We have a right to know," and "You have to at least give us the first letter," keep getting thrown at us. We had no idea that these 'rules' existed, but alas, there they are. Please forgive us since we will not abide by them.

For those of you with patience like Hammy (Steve Carell) from Over The Hedge, some suggestions:
1) Switch to decaf
2) Take a second to calm yourself and breath
3) Be patient; December will be here before you know it!

Just An Update

I appreciate everyone checking out this blog. I just wanted to give an update as to how everything was going. I've been dealing with morning sickness for the last month. (although whoever gave it that name doesn't know much about it, because it happens all day) It's been mostly nausea, with a little throwing up. Sorry if that's TMI for some of you. I've gained about 3-4 pounds, and have been craving mostly junk food. (and for those of you that know me well, it's been terrible to eat all the junk and sodium-filled food) The doctor said if I could keep it down, I should eat it. (within reason) I'm hoping I'll be able to go back to my regular eating habits in the next few weeks. I take a nap just about every day, and I'm very thankful my schedule allows me to do this.

Our next doctor's appointment is May 17, so we'll be able to give you more info then.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll start adding pictures of me from the side (aaa!) so we can all see the progression.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers! We love you all!

Rachel

Our April 19th Appointment

We were anticipating this appointment knowing that we would more than likely experience the baby's heartbeat. The baby had grown to 6mm, which doesn't seem like much, but now the baby is visible. And sure enough, we actually could see the baby's heartbeat (Just visual; no audio yet)! Alright, picture clarification time. You can see the gestational sac in the upper left-hand corner. Inside you see (excuse us for this descriptor) a snail-like shape. The upper right part of that shape is the baby. The rest of that circle is called the yolk sac (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolk_sac) which provides nourishment to the baby during the earlier stages. Now that the baby is visible, Dr. Lisa could give us a more probable due date: December 10th. (Although our friend, Steve deWeber, says that ultimately, the baby decides when they want to arrive) After the appointment, Rachel had some blood work done and our day was complete.

Our April 6th Appointment

Our first visit to the doctor was pretty much just a confirmation that we read the "+/-" on the home preganacy test correctly. As you can tell by the sonogram, it was really too early to tell much of anything. You can see the gestation sac. That is where the baby is, although you cannot see the baby at all. Again, too early for that. By Dr. Lisa's best guess, she thinks the due date will be around November 27th. Although there wasn't much to tell them, we were excited to call our family and share this news (This was not the "Breaking News Report" to them; we had told them the Saturday before [3/31]).

A Blog To Communicate

With family and friends across the map, we felt that a blog might be a great way to keep everyone updated with news and pictures concerning our family. While the original intent was for the approaching arrival of the newest Reynolds family member, anything news-worthy (as determined by us, not necessarily you the readers -- sorry) will probably by found posted here. We hope this is both helpful and enjoyable.

A Note For Clarity:
Both Rachel and Eric are writing these entries; therefore, "we" is used because "we" are posting together. However, there may be times where Rachel has specific thoughts to post or Eric has nonsense to express. We will clarify who is writing in those cases.