Brother "Ding Dong"

Lily's attempt to say "Dillon"

Other photos from when we brought our baby home yesterday...

More Pics of Little Dillon

We are leaving the hospital today. I am so excited to go home and begin our life as a family of four! We are just relaxing at the hospital this afternoon, waiting for Daddy to come get us. He is working today but is taking the rest of the week off to spend time with me, Dillon, Lily and his mom.

Well, here are some more pics of our little man. I call him my monkey because he makes little monkey noises. He is such a good baby! He only cries when he's hungry and he is a great sleeper. He's been nursing really well, but my milk hasn't come in yet, so I'm supplementing a little formula so he can get some nutrition. He's lost over a pound and weighs 8 lbs, 1 oz. So, the more I can get him to eat, the better.

Sucking his little thumb

Me and Big Sister, Lily!

Papa and Dillon

Nana and Baby

Our little Ham. She's eating a sucker. This is her "cheese" face.

Great Grandma (GiGi) and baby boyLily falling asleep on Nana.

Lily sleeping on my bed...poor thing. These last few days have wore her out too!

Grandma C and Dillon. Or "Grammy" as Lily calls her.

Proud Daddy and Son

Cute video of Lily giving Dillon a kiss

Welcome Dillon James Cross

At 1:41 this afternoon on what I think is one of the coolest days to be born 3/6/09, Dillon James Cross finally came into the world. Tamara Mae was 39 weeks today. We went to her ultrasound on Wednesday and they told us that Dillon weighed approx 9 lbs. 12 oz. Right after the ultrasound she had her regular exam and the midwife said that he was a very large baby and that someone would call her on Wednesday evening to discuss our options on how to get Dillon out. Her cervix was still only 1 cm dialated and only 50% eface. They started to recommed a c-section due to this and how big he is, but Tamara wanted to discuss it with me. Once we discussed this and eventually found out that if we wanted to try to be induced it wouldn't happen until Sunday evening. Also we heard about complications with inducement due to the cervix and his size. The Akron General doctors wanted to weigh out the pros and cons for an enducement or a c-section. We learned yesterday afternoon that if she was to deliver naturally that there was a possibility of having to break his shoulder or arms to get him out of the birth canal along with possible nerve damage. We were assured that babies "typically" heal from nerve damage a few months after being born. I don't know about you, but I didn't like hearing that and neither did Tamara. The midwife called us Thursday night and said that Dr. Mendise (who just so happened to be the same doctor that delivered Lily) was available for a c-section either 1:30 or 3:00 today. We opted for the 1:30 time. We arrived here today at 11:30 and before we knew it we were in the operating room. Everything went really smooth. Tamara did not feel anything. I got to be in the room with her while the doctors delivered Dillon and operated on Tamara. A few hours later she was moved into a private room and is now relaxing comfortably. With that said, here are some pictures of the day.

More pictures and videos to come soon.

Love Anson, Tamara Mae, Lily, and Dillon

"Woah Baby!"

That's what my midwife said to me yesterday after my ultrasound revealed that Baby Boy is 9 lbs, 12 oz!!

I am going to have him tomorrow via a C-section at 1:30 =) I'm not thrilled with the idea of being cut open while I'm still awake, but I'm also not thrilled with the idea of pushing a 10 pound baby out the other way... so at least he's coming out! Anson and I weighed the pros and cons of being induced vs. having the C-section, and ultimately we want baby to be safe...so we opted for the C-section.

Stay tuned for details...especially the name!

Wish me luck =)

Lily is a Talker

So, I know I've been a bit of a blog slacker lately...just not much news to report until Baby Boy arrives. But, here are some tidbits of everyday life for us...

Lily is 21 months old and has really begun to talk and repeat words. We took two videos below and tried to capture some of her best words.

We are trying to prepare her for Baby Boy's arrival. Pointing out babies when we can and telling her that her baby brother will be here soon. We talk about him a lot. She still lifts up my shirt to see my belly and kisses it. It's precious.

Oh, and she gives the best hugs. She wraps her little arms around our necks and squeezes. It's the best feeling. She is very fair with her hugs and kisses, too. If she gives me one then she'll immediately go over to Anson and give him one.

As I type this, she is getting really frustrated. She is trying to put her sock on my foot. And, of course, it isn't fitting. When she gets frustrated she hits. Something we are trying to teach her not to do. She'll hit puppy or even Anson and I. She has gone into timeout when she does it.

We usually give her the cups with the straws to drink from, so today I gave her a true sippy cup with handles. She got frustrated because she didn't know to tip her head back to drink it. But, we figure she needs to learn to prepare her for drinking from a regular cup.

She's a great helper to me. I can't bend over very well, so she'll pick things up for me that I've dropped, or bring me the TV remote or my slippers when they are across the room. I'm hoping to put her to work when Baby Boy is here =)

As for me and Baby Boy, we are doing well. I am really ready for his arrival, though. I wish I knew when he was going to come. Every day I go to work, I pray my water doesn't break there. I'm really hoping I'm at home when the labor begins. But, some things you just can't control. At my last doctor's appt (Thurs) the doctor guessed that I would have him a few days before my due date, which is March 13. I was disappointed with that news, but I'm trying to stay positive and think about the extra nights of sleep and warmer weather during maternity leave. My next appt is Wednesday, and I have an ultrasound. I'm excited to see him...unless of course he wants to come out before then!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have so much love in this family! Lily got spoiled by both grandparents and mommy & daddy. This morning: opening her gifts from mommy & daddy - books, a coloring book and crayons and magnetic numbers to put on the refrigerator. Gotta love the dollar aisle at Target =)

Thursday night: opening a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Cross.

She got a cute teddy bear that says "Somebody in Georgetown loves you" and an Elmo card that says "Elmo loves you."

Hugging her teddy bear

Nana and Papa also got Lily this teddy bear and a card!

These are some random photos from the past week.

Not really a baby anymore. She's getting to be a big girl!

Thursday night Lily was really cranky. She didn't have much of a nap that day because my mom took her to lunch with a friend, and she just didn't get a nap in. Anson put her in the basket and she laid there for a good 5 minutes.
Running around in circles and screaming...one of her favorite things to do, especially when we are trying to watch TV or a movie.

Baby Boy Update: As of yesterday I am 9 months pregnant or 36 weeks. One more week and he'll be considered full term. I had really bad back labor pains yesterday, and I was achy all over. Today was better, but we did a lot of running around that wore me out. Looking forward to staying home and doing nothing tomorrow!

Our New Grocery-go-Getter

Isn't she pretty? We have to turn in the Vue in two weeks, so we went yesterday to look at a blue Dodge Grand Caravan I found online at Spitzer. They didn't have the one I saw anymore, but they did have this Chrysler Town & Country in the same color. It only has 12,600 miles and is a 2008. We were at the dealership for over 3 hours, but it is a relief to have it. Poor Lily was such a good girl. If I've learned anything by being a mom, it's to always be prepared with juice, milk, snacks, toys and a binkie for when she wants to fall asleep on our shoulders. My diaper bag is about to get bigger!

I may be imagining it, but I swear it feels like Baby boy dropped this weekend. I have increasingly painful pelvic pressure and my walk has most definitely become a waddle. Anson had to put my socks on this morning because I can't bend over very well. I am so ready for him to be here. I told Lily this morning to tell him to come out and she said "Out, out, out!" He hasn't listened, though.

Here are some photos for all of you who are out of state. This past week so got A LOT of snow. Today was actually a heat wave at 44 degrees...hopefully some of this will melt...though I heard more is headed our way.

For Grandma Cross

This video is for you, Grandma. We are still working on "I love you."