O Christmas Tree!

Yesterday we went to cut down our Christmas tree! It's been a family tradition for me since I was a baby, and has become one of our family traditions as well. We go to the tree farm, take the hayride out into the fields, search high and low for the 'perfect' tree, cut it down ourselves and haul it back! Of course you can't skip standing around the big bonfire, and drinking hot chocolate! This being Addison's first Christmas, we didn't want to skip out on any of the traditions! We got a much smaller tree than usual (I normally get the biggest one that will fit in the house!). And no worries, the little one was all bundled up, and I carried her in a baby sling right up against me, with a blanket over that to boot! She slept through the entire experience, but at least she was there!



Addison is now sleeping her own room, in her crib. She slept in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first three weeks. The bassinet was her great grandfather's, and has been used by everyone on my mother's side of the family. For some unknown reason, Addison didn't seem to like it that much, and so we have moved her into her own room, and she is doing great! She is also eating us out of house and home! She was previously drinking about 2 ounces per feeding, she is now up to 3 ounces! I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained by the time of our next appointment in January!
We've also been gathering things for a Christmas package to send to my brother, in Iraq. We're going to get that off this week to ensure that he gets it in time for the holidays. Michael is expecting to hit U.S. soil in mid January, and to be home by February! We can't wait! Addison is so excited to meet her uncle!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day everyone! We hope you all enjoyed your day with family and friends! Our first Thanksgiving was not that exciting. Daddy had to go to work early in the morning. Mommy & Addison stayed home and we had a few morning feedings, and a nap or two in our swing for the first time. Then we went to Daddy's work to spend some time with him. Nanny & Pappy met us there for dinner..Addison pretty much slept right through the entire day, only waking up enough to eat. Maybe next year will be more exciting when she can eat some turkey!!
Yesterday was her two week appointment at the pediatrician's. She now weighs in at 8 pounds, 5 ounces. She is up 11 ounces since her last appointment! Yay! She has also grown 1/2 inch taller since birth! Overall a very clean bill of health, and we don't go back until she is 2 months old. At which time we will be due for some vaccinations, and Mommy isn't looking forward to that visit!
Here are some new pictures:

Family Photo

Pretty in Pink

Me & Nanny

Visiting Daddy at Work

Out for lunch with MawMaw & PopPop

She's Here!!!

Sorry for the delay! But our much anticipated arrival has come!
Miss Addison Riley Peffer was born on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 6:18pm. (Veteran's Day!) We went to the hospital on Monday that week to be gelled as scheduled. The gel did nothing for us and we returned to the hospital on Tuesday to be induced with an IV of pitocin. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30am. and were taken to our Labor & Delivery room. The room was huge and really nice for a hospital room! With the pitocin we were able to achieve contractions. I did not even realize that I was having them when the nurse informed me that they were about 6-8 minutes apart! I couldn't feel a thing! Apparently if your cervix is not dialating, then you will not feel the contractions (at most I could feel a very mild cramp once in a while). We were able to get the contractions up to 2-3 minutes apart, but with no luck. At about 4:30 pm my doctor checked my cervix again to see if we had made any progress, but nothing. Gates were still as closed as they ever had been. They geled me again that evening and said that they would check my cervix again in the morning, and at that point we would know more information. So we spent that night in the hospital, and the next morning the doctor checked me again, still nothing. At this point they had determined that my pelvis is narrow and that we could continue to go on and on with pitocin and gelling, but they really thought at this point that a C-section was going to be the best bet. So we agreed and were told we would be having our baby that day, it was just a matter of when. There were already 3 scheduled ahead of us, and if any emergencies came up they would bump us further down the list. I even got 'kicked out' of my Labor & Delvery room because they were getting so full, and had women in the waiting room in labor, and since I was not in labor I was kind of wasting a room..So we spent the remainder of the day in the recovery area- where you go after your C-section.
What a long wait..I was nervous about the surgery of course, but with the waiting and waiting my nerves were getting the better of me. Finally it was our time and by then I was really scared. Who wouldn't be a little nervous to get gutted like a fish? The surgery went perfectly smooth, and Jason was by my side (more like my head) the whole time. She is perfect!
Weighing in at 7lbs 14oz, and 20 inches long.
We were discharged from the hospital on Saturday, and it has been very tiring for us. We have had many visitors and are still trying to get into the swing of things. Midnight and 2 am, and 3 am and 4 am etc feedings..But we couldn't be any happier!

Here we are while we are being induced...so much for that!

Our 1st Family Photo!

What a little angel ;-)

Today's Appointment/Hospital Visitation Rules

Well let's start off with how the appointment went today:
My blood pressure and Addison's heart rate were perfect! I have been having some swelling in my hands and forearms since about Wednesday, but they assured me it was normal and nothing to worry about. I didn't get an internal exam today as I thought I would, because they already have me scheduled to be induced they didn't think it was necessary. So pretty much we are looking good, again just waiting for her to get here..Unless she decides to come on her own over the weekend, which to me seems highly unlikely. She is perfectly content right where she is.
Now on to the bad/disappointing news:
We found out that Harrisburg Hospital has changed their visitation policy due to the 'flu epidemic' that is going around. Pretty much they are on total lock-down. At first the doctor's office told us that for labor/delivery I would be allowed just my labor partner (Jason), instead of previously being allowed up to 3 people in the room and those people could switch off with anyone else at any time to allow for more visitors..Now it's just Jason allowed. The doctor's office thought that once I got to the postpartum floor (where I go right after I have the baby, and for the duration of my stay) that the labor partner (Jason) and the baby's grandparents would be allowed, but that is it. Well once I got home from our appointment, I checked the hospital's website, and then I called them to confirm, NO visitors are allowed on the maternity floors except for the labor partner (Jason). They said that what they have been doing is having the dad's take photos and they can bring them down to the main hospital lobby for 'visitors' to see. I know this is really disappointing, it is for us too, but we don't really have a choice or a say in the matter.
Here is a link to the hospital visitor policy if you want to review it. If you have any questions just let us know..And for those of you on the list to be called, I still plan on calling everyone when we know what's going on, and labor is starting, and all of that good fun stuff..It's just that you won't be able to come to the hospital!
Of course we will love visitors once we get home, but I honestly would prefer a call ahead policy just so that I don't have 50 people at one time..I might have an anxiety attack! Will keep you all posted with any new developments!
http://www.pinnaclehealth.org/news/update-visit-policy/

D Day

Well, so much for my due date! That would be today, just incase anyone could have forgotten! Addison obviously doesn't care, and she is not planning on showing up according to anyone else's schedule! (Wonder where she gets that from?!) I have been having some back pain/ache this week, but other than that nothing really going on. Hopefully we will get some good news at our next doctor's appointment, which is Friday morning!

I am counting down the days until no more work! Friday will be my last day until after the New Year, and I am so excited that I will be off throughout all of the holidays to spend with baby girl! The only thing that would make it any better was if Jason could get some time off too!

This past weekend I went to a Halloween party thrown by friends. I wasn't sure at first if I would be up for it, but once we found out that baby wasn't coming any time soon, I was confident that I could enjoy myself without being worried I would go into labor at the party! Here are some fun photos from the party.

Jason surprised me and showed up after work! I was a pregnant kitty, MEOW!

Jen & Dave..aka Mr & Mrs 'Scary Potter' (Dave really wanted to be something scary, Jen had other ideas, so someone came up with a negotiation of 'scary' potter!)

Jen's Mom, Melanie..aka 'Flo' from Progessive Insurance, and her Dad, Steve..aka 'The Mad Scientist'

And here are our costume contest winners! Mr. T and Ziggy Stardust!
I have so many more photos, but these were just a couple of my favorites!

5 Days, or is it?

Well let's see, what has been going on since our last post...? Jason and I attended one of my family's Halloween traditions - The Penbrook Halloween Parade. That took place on 10/22. We met up with my parents, and long time friends of the family - The Weiser's! It's a tradition to meet up at the Weiser's house, and walk down to the parade route together. This year we had some extra's! Jaime and Cash attended! Look how cute Cash was in his pumpkin costume! Love him! He had a great time, despite being up past his bedtime! We were curious to see if the noise from the high school marching bands, and the fire engines would send Addi out to see what all the racket was about, but no. She was moving and grooving to the bands, but that was about it!

Saturday, we received news that my great Uncle was in the hospital and had suffered two heart attacks. His prognosis was not good. My parents and I went to visit him, where we found out that he was on a breathing tube and heart medication that were the only things keeping him going. This was technically against his wishes, and he was taken off of everything and passed around 8pm that evening. His wife (my great Aunt) had passed in January 2008, so they are now together once again.

Jason ended up getting in another fishing trip on Tuesday, but to his dismay he only caught one small catfish! Better luck next time! He always tries to persuade me to tag along, but with as many times as I need to use the potty, it's just more of a hassle!

Today was our 39 week appointment. I had to reschedule it from Wednesday. My blood pressure was good, and so was Addison's heart rate. But when it came time to 'check' to see where things stand, I found out that my 'gates are closed' - as the Dr. put it! Apparently this baby is no where near ready to make her debut! I am not dialted at all, no effacement, nothing! Also, although she is in the head down position, she is still floating. Which means that her head is not down in the birth canal or my pelvis yet. The Dr. said that this raises some red flags, but nothing to be too worried about. This could be one of 3 things: 1. The baby is big 2. My pelvis is small or 3. The timing is just off and she isn't ready yet.
What the plan is for now, is that I go back in another week for an appointment, where they will again check me to see if I have made any progress. If I still haven't had the baby by that point, I am scheduled for an induction the beginning of the following week. We will go to the hospital on 11/9 and I will get the induction gel. They will keep me there for a few hours to monitor me and the baby and see if anything starts to happen then. If not, I can come home. If I come home, I go right back the next day, 11/10 and they will start an IV of Pitocin to get the labor going. I will at that point be admitted and will not be leaving the hospital without a baby! Unfortunately, if the situation is 1, or 2 (baby is too big or my pelvis is too small) then that will mean a Cesarean section, but we won't know that until we are in the midst of things and if the labor is progressing or not. So pretty much it doesn't look like she is coming any time soon, but you never know. So if we haven't started labor on our own by the 9th, they will be inducing me. Of course I will keep you all posted! Either way, she will be here soon! We are so excited to meet her, and to introduce her to our friends and family!

T Minus 15 Days!

Well we just had a doctor's appointment today. The baby and I are both doing well. Her heart rate has been consistent, my blood pressure was good. I'm measuring right along..It's really just a matter of time now!
We did find out today that I tested positive for Group B Strep. Basically all that means is that when I do start to go into labor, I will need to make sure to get to the hospital a little earlier than I may have normally, as I will need to go on 2 rounds of antibiotics (approx 4 hours total) before delivery, to make sure that Addi doesn't contract the GBS (Group B Strep). Approximately 30% of healthy, adult women are carriers of this, and most of the time there are no signs, symptoms, complications etc. It is just something to be cautious about during labor and delivery to prevent giving it to your child. But the doctors really didn't seem to be too concerned about this, it is some-what normal, so we are not too concerned about it at this time.
This past weekend, we installed the car seat base into my car. I scheduled an appointment for next Tuesday to have it officially checked by a safety inspector at a local car dealership. It didn't seem that hard once I was all done with it, but the instruction manual was a mess! Hopefully it's installed correctly, and let's also hope that Addi doesn't come before then!
I am planning on setting up her pack-n-play, and her swing, in the living room this evening. Jason is going to go out and enjoy what will probably be his last night of fishing, for the season. Let's hope he ends it on a good note, and catches a state record!
Oh and for those of you who are wondering, or have asked me a dozen times...My hospital bag is now approximately 1/2 packed..I'm getting there!