We're back home

We got back from the hospital last night and are now getting Alex used to his new home. We are also getting Sampson used to the bigger family. Sammy is SUPER curious and he whines constantly. He's slowly getting better, but it's going to take time for them to get used to each other.

Our first night at home was fairly sleepless. I think that was to be expected. Alex is a great feeder when we want to be sleeping and he's a great sleeper when we are awake. The daytime sleeping allowed me to re-learn this one important fact...daytime television is TERRIBLE.

We are all doing great and happy to have survived our first day at home as new parents.

17 hours old

We made it through our first night with Alex. We learned a couple of things about him. He likes to sleep...a lot. He doesn't like getting his foot pricked, but he does like going back to sleep afterwards. We aren't sure if we'll be leaving the hospital tonight or tomorrow.

We got a little sleep last night and getting our stomachs filled back up. Things are starting to make a little more sense. Rob can do a pretty mean swaddle and Jess and Alex are doing great at learning how to feed.

Thank you to our family who came to visit in the hospital. Everyone else will be welcome to visit once we get back home. If you choose to come and visit, you are required to spend some of your time playing with Sampson so he doesn't feel totally neglected.

Welcome Alexander Joshua!

We did it! Alexander Joshua Stern was born at 6:55pm this evening. He's just a little guy. 5 lbs, 6 ounces and 18 inches long. He was born at 37 weeks on the day that he reached full term. Mom is great, but tired. Dad is in the same shape.

Fully dilated

Jess is now fully dilated. We will probably be pushing within a half an hour. Jess has gotten and epidural and is extremely happy right now and things have calmed down. She is the toughest girl I have ever met.

-Rob

December 18th? I don't think so.

Zero hour has arrived. Jess' water broke last night around 1 in the morning. It was not obvious like in the movies so we didn't call the hospital until 6am. When we got here they said that it had broke and we wouldn't be going home. After several hours of no activity, Jess has been induced and the contractions are starting slowly. At least slowly enough that she's not upset that I'm blogging. I'll update this as time or situation allows.

Spider Bear, Spider Bear

We have been spending so much time organizing that we decided to play with Baby Stern's toys for a few minutes. When I was a kid, we just had bears. Now the bears get to play dress up. Sampson couldn't have been more confused by this.

Almost time

We had our much anticipated doctor's appointment today. Looks like things are progressing nicely and baby Stern will probably be making an early appearance. The doctor seems to think it could happen within the week but also said it could be up to two weeks. Now we play the wait and see game. Needless to say, we are very excited and a little anxious. We have our bag mostly packed and should be fully prepared when the time comes. I hope there is not a repeat in the weather we had last year at this time and we have no problems making our way to the hospital.

-Jess

Thanksgiving visitors

My parents are up for Thanksgiving from Portland. Sampson is a traitor and no longer cares about his parents. We hope our baby doesn't abandon us so quickly.

Less than one month

We are officially under the one month mark to go. Jess got her email saying "You are now 36 weeks pregnant". I'll paraphrase what it said for everyone. The baby is getting bigger...you are really uncomfortable. Oh yeah, and you can't do much about that.

We are looking forward to the short week. Thanksgiving may be our final holiday without a baby (Hannukah is listed as questionable on the roster).

-Rob

34 Days and Counting

I cannot believe we are almost at the one month mark for baby Stern to make his appearance. Rob and I are so excited for the next phase. We have been shopping like crazy to get everything we think we need, but we really don't have a clue what we are doing. Luckily we have brothers and sister-in-laws to bounce all of our questions off of.

As for being pregnant, I am ready for it to be over. If anyone were to come to our house they would think we were having marital problems, since I now sleep on the couch for most of the night because it is the only way I can get comfortable. I feel gigantic despite my husband who always tells me I am small for the stage of pregnancy I am in (I feel he is obligated to say those things). All and all it has not been terrible but I am ready.

We look forward to sharing all of our stories and pictures with everyone, but until that time comes you will have to endure more cute Sampson pictures because we have an abundance of those.

-Jess

Best Buddies

Jess's parents are up in the LFP (Lake Forest Park) for the weekend. This is especially exciting for Sampson as he gets to spend the entire weekend with his friend Ainsley who constantly tortures him. This is an old picture, but it pretty much represents what happens most of the time.

Baby Stern's Growing Home

We figured that people who haven't seen Jess lately might want to see how she is doing. The pictures below answer the question, "Where exactly does such a small person fit a baby?" As you can see, she is still smiling although Sampson looks skeptical. You might be asking why her most recent picture has the biggest smile? For those who know Jess, I think it is because she has moved into living in pajamas which is basically her favorite outfit.
-Rob

Beat My Score

Air Force Test

This is potentially the simplest and most addictive game since Tetris (with the possible exception of Dr. Mario). I'm convinced that it's the result of an evil genius from Canada whose goal is reduce American worker productivity thus inflating the value of the Canadian Looney.

Supposedly the US Air Force uses this as a test for fighter pilots. The object of the game is to move the red block around so it doesn't get hit by the blue blocks or touch the black walls. If you can go longer than 18 seconds, you are really good. My personal best is 20.9 seconds. I'd have scored higher, but I came to the realization that Starbucks actually pays me to work.

Post your best time in the comments section.

-Rob

Hello and Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to the adventures of the Stern family. We put this blog together for three reasons.
1. So that our friends and family who don't get to see us much can keep updated with things that are going on.
2. To post cute pictures of Sampson and our soon to be baby so that our parents get their grandkid fix.
3. Peer pressure. Aaron and Shana not only blogged their pregnancy and their daily activities, but they even blogged the labor and delivery. Unfortunately, our parents have the expectation that we are nearly as tech savvy as Jess's brother who builds lasers.

I'll kick it off with this...
I think Jess is ready to have a baby. As a result, she's been torturing Sampson.

-Rob