Four months old

three months old

Two months old!

Bronwyn turned 2 months old this week. She has become much easier. I'm sure all those sweet smiles certainly help. We are settling into a nice little routine. She naps well during the day, an hour or two every few hours and then is sleeping from 10 to 2or 3 in the morning and then wanting to feed again at 6 or 7. We are trying to establish a bedtime routine, though, that is still fairly variable. She is still suffering from the mysterious ailment of colic. Which means she cries for no apparent reason and drives us nuts. Other than those periods of unrest she is becoming quite the little charmer. She coos and smiles and loves alternating between her swing, bouncy seat, and lying under her new mobile.

one month old!

Here are some pictures of Miss B at one month! She is a sweetheart but certainly feisty. She makes her needs known loud and clear!

Birth Day! August 2nd.

Okay seriously. This is waaaay long overdue. No pun intended. So here is the story of a little girl's birth. On August 1st at 3:30 a.m. I called labor and delivery at Evergreen about some more than normal bleeding. I'd had some history of bleeding at thirty weeks due to a cervical polyp, so I figured that this was related to that. But needless to say any amount of blood is cause for concern in pregnancy. We were told to come into the hospital. Mike and I were pretty convinced they would send us back home, but we still made sure our bags were packed into the car and left the house in quite a panic.

Once there I went to triage where I was examined and Bronwyn's heart rate was monitored. The little bugger was rather unresponsive. I knew she was probably just sleeping but when juice and changing positions didn't do much to wake her up, they decided to admit me to labor and delivery and start me on pitocin. To make a long story short, I was given pitocin around 8 that morning and by 12 was 4 cm dilated and ready for the epidural big time. Right when we were settling down to take a long nap, around 2, Bronwyn decided to make her presence known instead. At 2:59 she made her formal appearance into the world. I was really numb from the epidural, but I swear it felt like she just slipped out.

While the labor was smooth, unfortunately the placenta refused to deliver. I was rushed back to the OR and had to have a D and C. After an hour and a fairly major blood loss, I was reunited with Mike, my parents, and my new little girl.

Happy Birthday Miss B! 6 pounds 6 oz, 20.5 inches and 2 days early.

39 weeks

So I've been convinced that Bronwyn would come early, but at 39 weeks and 1 day, that feeling is receding rapidly and the fear of being endlessly pregnant has replaced it. I know everyone says that babies make their appearance when they are ready, but that is a small comfort when you are anxiously waiting their arrival.

On the bright side, I've been able to keep busy tying down loose ends from our move like changing addresses, hanging up pictures, and getting my fill of Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC (seriously those people are nuts!) I've also been exploring the Bothell/Woodinville area, and have successfully found the bank, best grocery store, and of course spent way too much money at Target.

Mike and I have also been taking full advantage of living so close to downtown Bothell where we have sampled almost every restaurant on Main Street. Chicken and I have been meandering our way down the Sammamish River Trail that we can hop on down the block. Chicken has very kindly adjusted her pace to mine, though I think the greater opportunities to eat grass and sniff everything in her path more than makes up for a less rigorous walk.

Last doctor's appointment was yesterday and the verdict is 2 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Which basically means that I can either go into labor this very second, or not for a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted, though I'm voting for the latter.

38 weeks

This week was a little rough since Mike was out of town in Atlanta for a big Microsoft conference. I was convinced that I was going to go into labor and he would miss the birth of his first child. Luckily that didn't happen. Fortunately I have wonderful parents who allowed both me and Chicken to stay with them in their home in Kirkland. Chicken was not allowed to be on the hardwood floors, but luckily I had free reign of the house. My parents kept me well fed and entertained for the week and Mike arrived home safely on Saturday.

At my 38 week doctor's appointment we were all happy to confirm that Bronwyn has indeed stayed head down, despite what felt like pretty dramatic acrobatic maneuvers. Apparently being head down suits her, and she seems to be in no hurry to vacate her cozy home. I am still 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Onto the next week!

Here are two pictures, one of me looking very serious (sorry but it can be a challenge to take a picture of yourself with an iphone) and one of Chicken practicing her babysitting techniques.

37 weeks

Okay, I'm trying to get back on the blogging bandwagon again so here I am with this week's entry. Mike and I went in this morning for our breech inversion to try to flip the baby into a vertex or head-down position. I had major doubts that this would work and was anticipating it to be both painful and unsuccessful. Luckily everything went well and the little bugger turned fairly easily. The worst part of the whole procedure was try to get an I.V. line put in my hand. I was so dehydrated (no eating or drinking after midnight) that my veins kept collapsing. Not fun.

Overall, the experience was fine and now our hope is that baby B. stays in one place instead of flipping again. I also was fortunate enough to enjoy a nice pancake breakfast in bed (well hospital stretcher, but I'll take what I can get). My doctor also checked my progress and I'm 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced which means she is making good progress. I'm still hoping for another week or so to get ready, especially since Mike will be in Atlanta next week. But we all know that babies will come when they are good and ready so who knows when that will be.

Here is a picture of me at 37 weeks sporting a new head down baby, and some more nursery pictures. It is really hard to get a whole room shot and the lighting is poor so sorry about the quality. My mom made the beautiful letters for the baby's name.

36 weeks

Yikes! I can't believe it has been 6 weeks since I've posted. But in all fairness I did finish up the school year, move out of our home and classroom, go to the lake, and move into our new home in Bothell. We are very much enjoying being back in the northwest. As before mentioned we were able to spend sometime at Hayden Lake as well as spend a few days in Portland. We've been in our new house for a week and between Mike and our families help we are fairly settled.

I am in the home stretch of pregnancy now. Starting next week she will be considered full term if I gave birth. That is exciting. What isn't so exciting is that she is in a breech position. So I have a version (where they will try to manually turn her) scheduled for next week. If that doesn't work then they will schedule me for a c-section in 3 weeks. Not too crazy about the idea, however, the planner in me really likes knowing when she'll be coming. Other than that we are enjoying our new neighborhood and I've had plenty in which to invest my nesting energy. I just wish that energy would last for longer than 5 minutes at a time and that bending over was a little easier.

I've taken a couple of pictures of the nursery and myself. Please excuse the picture of me and just focus on the enormous belly. The beautiful mobile above the crib was custom made by her very talented grandfather Mike's dad Lewis. I'll post more pictures when the room is completely finished.

30 weeks

Two more weeks to go until school is out! Thank goodness. I don't think I could teach until my due date. I know a lot of people do it, but bending down to tie my own shoes is getting difficult enough without 17 other pairs of laces to contend with. The weather has turned into a very hot intense summer heat. On one hand it it beautiful to wake up to sunshine streaming into the bedroom every morning, but on the other hand the heat becomes a problem when even Chicken starts lagging behind on our walks. Luckily we have air conditioning and there is no better excuse for milkshakes and ice cream than a heat wave!

I had my 30 week check up this week and everything seems to be going fine. She is turning a little feisty as she packs on the pounds. Her movements are no longer gentle prods and pokes, but are full on turning motions. The other night I rested my wedding ring on my stomach and she kicked it right off. Apparently she likes her personal space!

29 weeks

This week was a busy one. My families in my class very kindly threw me a shower in a park near our house. Unfortunately it turned into a literal shower with pouring rain. Luckily the kids weren't phased by the rain and enjoyed playing while the adults stayed a little dryer in the undercover area. This week was also my 31st birthday. Mike and I enjoyed a very nice evening at a restaraunt named Eve. He had a a nice glass of pinot noir and I had a virgin Mojito. Not quite the same without the rum, but at least I felt somewhat a part of the grown up world again!

27 weeks

This week we were in Seattle staying with my parents and house hunting. I've always loved watching HGTV and apparently remembered our last house hunting experience as fun and exciting. Of course this time we had 4 days to find a house, so not quite the leisurely experience I had hoped for. That being said, we had a wonderful realtor who took us around for just the right amount of time and in the end we managed to find a house in downtown Bothell which we are excited about. We will be moving in on July 2nd. Here is a picture of the new Sprunger abode. Sorry no belly pics this week. We were too preoccupied to take any pictures.

26 weeks

Mike graduated this week. We were lucky enough to have Judy and Lewis, Mike's parents, join us for a fun-filled weekend here in Ann Arbor. We went out for many good meals and saw a lot of the extended Sprunger family who travelled to see the elder Sprungers. This was also the first heat wave that we'd experienced, which meant I am starting to understand when people say, "ooh, it's going to be a hot summer for you." Apparently hot weather= swollen hands and feet, which also means no rings and a new pair of flip flops! Congratulations to Mike on his graduation. We are all proud of you!

25 weeks

This past week has been pretty busy, but not nearly as eventful as the upcoming week will be. Mike graduates on Friday and his parents fly into Ann Arbor on Wednesday. Oh and let's not forget that someone, who is proudly wearing her big sister tank, is turning 5 that day. This past week Mike has been busy studying for finals in between pub crawls, trivia night, happy hour, and attending the Spring Gala. It seems surreal that this has been our last weekend filled with Mike having to study. It will be so nice to have him back on the weekends. It will also be so nice to have a house husband for the next 2 months. I've already started my list for him!
Another very exciting event was that we are now an Aunt and Uncle! My brother Mark and his wife Susan had a beautiful little boy named Ben. We are so excited to meet him in a little over a week when we embark on our whirlwind house hunting trip on the east side of Seattle. I have loved the daily updates I've gotten from my besotted parents and from Mark. The new parents seem incredibly at ease and are taking their new role, diaper explosions and all, in stride. I'm glad we'll have experts on hand when it is our turn.
So now I'm gearing up for another week of school, which luckily will only be a four day week since I'm taking Friday off to watch Mike graduate. I'm really looking forward to celebrating his graduation with his parents and a lot of extended Sprunger family. I'm sure there will be at least one ice cream expedition included!
This picture was taken of me before we attended the spring gala which was an MBA Graduate dance. We didn't actually dance, but we did enjoy the nachos!

Week 22-24

Okay, so I totally fell off the blog bandwagon in a big way. Sorry! But if it is any excuse the last two weekends I spent with my parents in Kirkland Washington and was out of my weekend blogging routine. Anyway, as I mentioned I just had my Spring break which I spent happily back in the pacific northwest. My mom and I found some great deals on baby things and managed to whittle down our list of nursery items. In a matter of days we bought the stroller, car seat, bouncer seat, crib, mattress, and bedding items.

It may seem that I went a little crazy buying things, but I think it is my way of making a little bit of order in our otherwise swiftly changing life. I never imagined that we would have so much going on at one time . One would think that having a child would create enough upheavel, but add to that wrapping up a school year, graduation, new job for Mike, moving across the country, and buying a new house, and all of a sudden life can seem very overwhelming. I really can't complain though, as all of the things that are simultaneously occurring are exciting and positive.

As far as baby Sprunger, she seems to be growing stronger and moving more each day. She definitely has opinions already. She enjoys the Beatles and anything sweet, but she does not enjoy being squished or poked. Oh and apparently 3 in the morning is a good time to have a dance party! I'm sure she will also enjoy being at her father's graduation in 2 weeks and being able to hear President Obama speak, though her memory of the occasion will most likely be a little fuzzy.

That is about all for now. And hopefully I'll be more diligent about keeping this thing updated.

The picture on the left is 22 weeks and on the right is from 24 weeks.

21 weeks

So keeping up a blog turns out to be more work than I thought it would be. So sorry this is a little late, but I did squeak in under 22 weeks by just a day. Right now I'm in week before Spring break hell. My children are bouncing between excited about break and just plain bouncing. They did throw me a lovely "surprise" shower last Monday. Of course I'd known about the whole thing for weeks since kids are just rotten about keeping secrets. But the fine details had been kept under wraps. On Monday afternoon I was ushered out of the classroom while my wonderful instructional assistant helped the kids pull together the food and decorations for the shower. Of course I did get enlisted to grab the cake and ice cream from the kitchen, where they appeared magically in front of the classroom door. Oh and I dutifully ignored the enormous bunch of pink and purple balloons hanging out in the bathroom for most of the day. Other than that I was totally surprised! I've put a couple of pictures from the shower for your perusal. Probably the best part was after I walked in and they yelled "Surprise!" the next thing that came out of their mouths was, "can we eat now?" After about 10 minutes of filling themselves with sugar, the shower wrapped up with me putting on a Dr.Seuss dvd and my assistant and me hosing down the classroom trying to rid the tables and chairs of chocolate cake and smears of ice cream. I have to say all jokes aside, it was a very sweet and touching experience. This was truly a child-driven party and they were so excited and rallied together as a true classroom community.




Other than the shower excitement, not too much else to report. Baby Sprunger is still nameless, thanks largely to her indecisive father who is as we speak methodically going through a baby name spreadsheet. She is becoming easier to feel, though she tends to be most active in the wee hours of the morning, particularly when Chicken joins us on our bed. I'm looking forward to spending some time in Seattle stroller and crib shopping with my parents and seeing Mark and Susan and my soon to be born nephew! Okay, goodnight everyone. It is almost 8:40, which means someone needs to go to bed!

20 weeks

Well Spring is certainly in the air in Ann Arbor. We've enjoyed some beautiful weather and have taken full advantage of it with long walks and BBQ. Well, only one barbecue, but we have many more planned since we just had to buy a brand new tank of gas. Not too much else going on here. Mike is busy with school and I've been busy keeping my students under the semblance of control. Apparently tomorrow is going to be very exciting in my room. My students have been planning a surprise shower under the guise of a puppet show. Supposedly it is happening tomorrow during choice time, but I'll keep you posted!

Week 19

So the long awaited day has come and gone and we found out that we are having a little girl! Between a very full bladder and a frozen ultrasound machine, the anticipation was almost unbearable for me. I suppose the uncooperative machine was a mixed blessing though, as the tech let me go use the bathroom which made the experience much more pleasant. I was also happy to see that the baby looked much more human this time. Of course that didn't stop me for mistaking the legs for a profile of her face, but eventually even I could tell that what we were looking at was a baby. Initially the baby had her legs crossed making it difficult for the tech to see anything, but after laying on my side for awhile she cooperated and we were able to to hear the news that we were having a girl. Something I had thought initially but then I started doubting my intuition after a series of "It's a boy!" dreams. Hopefully that is not foreshadowing for the delivery day. So little girl Sprunger looks healthy and all of her organs seem to be in good working order. I'm starting to feel movement more often and her kicks are much stronger. Here is a picture of me at 19 weeks 3 days. Excuse the windblown hair and dying plant. The hair is due to just coming back from walking Chicken, and we have no excuse for the plant, let's just hope we are more responsible parents.

18 weeks- out of the mouths of babes

So being a K/1 teacher has been a challenging, physically, and emotionally exhausting experience. That being said, the kids can be really funny. I told them I was pregnant about 5 weeks ago, after being outed by a parent who apparently was examining my waistline more closely than I'm comfortable thinking about. I decided it was time to spill the beans. A co-worker lent me a book by Eve Bunting called "My Teacher is Having a Baby." When I held this book up for my kids to see, I expected gasps of shock and rounds of applause. Instead none of the kids figured it out. I had to ask them why they thought I was reading this book. Nobody came up with an answer. So much for my big reveal. They were excited when they finally figured out that I was pregnant and sat quietly through what turned out be a somewhat lengthy read aloud.
Among some of my favorite comments have: Becca, "That is why your stomach is so fat!" Katherine, "She's not that fat." From sweet Robbie, I've had some very cute comments, one happened a few weeks ago as I was bending over, he exclaimed, "I see your bump! And it is going to get a lot bigger." Thanks for the prediction Robbie. Today he came to show me the lego ship he had made during choice time. He told me, "Your baby is going to be really cute." I said, "Just like you, huh?" His reply was an enthusiastic "Yeah!" Kira has been very interested in the baby. Today she asked me if it was wiggling inside me. I think my favorite comment so far has come from David. The other day I was sitting at my desk (trust me this doesn't happen very often) and he sidled past and said almost to himself, "your almost beautiful, Big and beautiful." Not quite sure if this was a compliment, but either way I'm almost touched and definitely amused.
One of the best things so far has been my recent discovery that I can use the baby as a way to manage the class. I believe it is either this week or last week the baby's hearing has started developing. The other day my kids were really noisy so I told them they were going to wake the baby up with all their talking. That threat actually brought about 30 seconds of silence. A miraculous moment!
Anyway, other than not too much to report. Mike has been in Colombia visiting family this week. I'm excited for him to get home. Chicken found a pink tennis ball at the park and that was very exciting for everyone, well mainly just her. Our one and only toilet got clogged this morning. That was fun, but my hero Dave Corsa came and plunged it clear for me this evening. Thank goodness I hadn't had my prune juice today. Pregnancy is so wonderful.
Stay tuned for the big sex reveal next week. Of the baby that is!
Enjoy a picture of Chicken with her new ball and me with in all my 18 weeks of glory. Please keep in mind that this was after a very large meal that I'm too embarrassed to talk about.

Week 16

So I've finally caved and decided to start a blog. I've really enjoyed reading those written by friends so I thought I would give it a shot. Hopefully I can figure it out and keep it updated! I'm on midwinter break, the only good thing about teaching in Michigan, and we woke up to 8 inches of snow this morning. Guess we won't be using the barbeque any time soon.

So while I'm relaxing on the couch watching the snow continue to fall, poor Mike is at school preparing to take his accounting final. Chicken is keeping me company though, snoozing away next to me. She is still recovering from her muddy romp at the dog park yesterday and then subsequent bath.

The countdown to finding out the gender of the baby is on. I counted this morning and we have 16 days till our 19 week ultrasound. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not knowing the gender has kept me from doing any baby shopping! I'm itching to get started but I'm trying hard to wait until March 10th. My main focus these past couple of days have been trying to feel the baby. So far I either have a very active baby or a very active digestive system. Hopefully time will help me figure out which. Other than that I'm feeling fine, though sleeping has started to become somewhat uncomfortable so I caved and ordered a pregnancy body pillow which is so large that Mike may be sleeping in the guest room for the next 5 months. Hopefully it will ease the strain on my hips and back. Well here is a picture of me at 16 weeks 4 days. Pardon the outfit, but these maternity sweatpants are pretty much the most comfortable thing in the world!