...How Long Jeremiah Is!

Jeremiah had his 2 month doctor's appointment today (yes, it is 2 plus weeks late). His head circumference is 15.5 inches. He weighs 10 pounds 11 ounces. He is 25 1/4 inches long!!! I can't believe he is sooo long!

Catch up

Since my last post, Oct. 27th, Jeremiah turned 2 months old. We also had Jeremiah's first Halloween. It was so much fun. He dressed up as a frog (a costume from Great Uncle Dale) and a Red Hot Chili Pepper (a costume made by Grandma Steffens). We visited Grandma and Grandpa Regal and also saw Aunt Vicki. Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Steffens' house. We visited with the neighbors and then went to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Steffens. It was a fun night! Here are some pictures:

Grandma and Grandpa Steffens with the red hot chili pepper. Thanks for making the costume Grandma! Heading out for our first Trick or Treating. :) Then Jeremiah helped the family celebrate Great Grandpa (Poppi) Steffens' birthday. Here are a couple pictures of Great Grandpa and Jeremiah.

Upcoming Events: 2 month doctor's appointment, Thanksgiving, Mom's 30th birthday, Mom's 30th birthday party and Jeremiah's 3rd month birthday. Stay tuned.

...how bad I have been about adding to this blog!

Sorry all of my faithful followers...I don't really know why I haven't been writting in this blog, though I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of stuff to talk about. :)

I am not even sure when my last entry was, so I will have to go back and look and catch you all up on life.

I finally caught a couple of smiles.

Jeremiah finally sat still enough (and I had the camera available) for me to catch him smiling on film. :) He has been smiling for about a week or two. This past week he also started "talking". It is really cute!

He is "talking" in this photo. He says something that sounds a lot like "hi!", though we know he isn't really talking. :)

Photo Shoot

Our friend, Aimee is a photographer & she came to our house to take some pictures of Jeremiah on September 26, 2009. They turned out beatifully. We have a very handsome man on our hands. :)Jeremiah and Mommy

Jeremiah & Daddy

I love Jeremiah's expression...he is happy to get kisses from mom and dad!

...Jeremiah gained almost 2 pounds in a month.

Jeremiah had his one month doctor's appointment today. He is now 23 inches long (grew 1 inch), has a 15 inch circumfrence head (grew 1 inch) and weighs 9 pounds 13.25 ounces (gained almost 2 pounds). These are all since September 4th. He is in the 50 percentile for weight and circumfrence and the 95th percentile for length (this means that 95% of kids his age are shorter than he is).

What a big boy!!

...Jeremiah is one month old!!

It is crazy how quickly the last month has gone by. Here is his one month picture. :)

...we are a family of three!

Here are a few new pictures of Jeremiah. My cousin, Becca, took these photos and they turned out great! Thanks Becca!

The Regal Family - we are such a good looking group!

This is my favorite photo of Jeremiah and me (so far)! I love his expression!

Daddy and Jeremiah

...I am FINALLY a mom!

Jeremiah Thomas Regal was born on August 30, 2009 at 9:08 pm. He measured 21.5 inches and weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces. The circumference of his head measured 13.5 inches. He is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen (if I do say so myself)! He was born on Dave's Dad's birthday, which is pretty fun.

Dave and I went to the Twins game on Saturday, Aug. 29th for Eric and Aimee's bachelor/ette party. I had been having contractions since about 2 pm, but they were not constant. At 7:15 pm, I started having contractions every 5 minutes for 45 minutes. Then they were 3 minutes apart. We left the Twins game (they lost by the way) and headed home to grab our bags.

When we went to the hospital that night, I was only dilated to a 3 cm. They sent me home with a couple of pills to help me sleep. This didn't help, because I was still having contractions, so every few minutes I was awake again.

The next morning, Aug. 30th, I woke at about 6 am and continued to have contractions. I took a shower, a short nap and just went with them. Dave woke up at about 8 am and we went to the hospital again.

I was 3-4 cm when we got to the hospital that morning. They started me on pitocin and the contractions instantly became about 3 minutes apart and VERY INTENSE! It was hard, but I knew the baby was on his/her way.

Dave was WONDERFUL! He was so supportive! He did exactly what I wanted and needed. He was encouraging and loving. I couldn't have asked for a better coach and husband!

I had decided not to get an epidural, but the contractions were so intense and close together and I really needed to get some sleep. I ended up getting an epidural at about 6 pm. I had made it to 8 cm without a contraction and 7 cm during a contraction. I was pretty proud of myself for getting that far. Cindy (our nurse) said she thought it was best, because I would enjoy the birth much more and she was right.

I was able to rest for a couple of hours. Then the baby decided he/she wanted to come, so I had to start pushing. Cindy predicted that I would have the baby at 9:07 pm - she was wrong though and he decided to come at 9:08 pm. It was wonderful!

He was the most beautiful person I have ever seen, he still is. :) I only pushed for 37 minutes (which is really short according to Cindy). After the birth, Jeremiah was placed on my chest and we bonded for awhile. When the doctor (Dr. Goralski) told us it was a boy, we weren't very surprised. Dave said he was like great, but not surprised at all.

I had a lot of tearing, which really stinks, but it is worth it! The breastfeeding was easy right away in the hospital. It had gotten harder when we got home, but is getting better every day.

Well, that is all I can really think to write about right now. I just wanted a record of one of the best days of my entire life - August 30th, 2009!! More photos and stories to come.

...I am 5 days over due.

I thought for sure that I would be going early, but I guess not. This baby seems to be really stuborn about coming out into the world.

The nice thing is that I have been able to do a lot of stuff I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do this week...fair and Twins game tonight for Eric and Aimee's bachelor/ette party.

I am being induced on Sunday night (only about a day and a half from now), which I am looking forward to, but not at the same time. I really hope the baby decides to start coming before the induction, so that I can have less intervention, but it is also nice to have an ending in sight.

Come on Baby Regal! We want to meet you!

...I was able to go to the fair this year.

We have family friends in town this week (Linda, Lanie and Al) and now my uncle, Dale, just showed up yesterday. Last year, Linda and Lanie were visiting us and I talked about the State Fair and how it is one of the best things about Minnesota (which in my opinion it is :) ).

Anyway, they decided they were going to make another trip to MN and bring Al along to see this fair. I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to join them when they went to the fair this year and I really don't think they believed me 100% about some of the things I told them, but they do now!

Well, they do now!! We went to the fair on opening day and had a blast! They seemed to get a huge kick out of all the people, food, animals and such. They didn't even get to see everything, so they will be returning (without me) next week.

I was there from about 11:30 am until about 6 pm. It was A LOT of walking, but nice. I was really hoping all the walking would help bring Baby Regal into the world a little faster, but so far no luck.

I ate THE BEST thing I ever ate at the fair too. It is the deep friend banana split. It was awesome!! It is located at Ole and Lena's cart right across from the beer garden and in front of the horse barn...just down from the midway. Everyone should give it a try.

I am so glad I was able to go to the fair this year, especially with our special guests who travelled here especially. :)

...I passed my due date.

My due date was Aug. 24th and today is Aug. 25th (well technically it is Aug. 26th as I write this, but the 25th is over). I had been hoping to give birth to the baby early, but it didn't happen.

As of my doctor's appointment on Aug. 24th at about 10 am, I was 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I have to reach 10 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Effaced means "ripened". Dr. McEllistrem will induce me the night of Sunday, Aug. 30th (Dave's Dad's birthday) if I do not go into labor on my own this week.

I am glad to have an end in sight. I am really looking forward to meeting the baby, but I am getting impatient. Everyone keeps texting, calling or emailing me and asking me if the baby is here yet. It is getting annoying! I keep thinking (and I said it to Dave)...seriously if I had the baby you would know....it isn't like I am going to give birth and run away without telling anyone.

Anyway, just thought a little update would be nice.

...I have a crib in my house.

Today, Dave and I put together the baby's crib. It was a lot easier than I expected, although, I didn't do much. Here are some photos of the process.

Here is dad-to-be getting ready to get started.

Dave is getting started. He is even reading the directions!

Leg one is on and ready to go.

I even helped a little with the construction. But mostly, I read the directions and supervised. :)

Dad did a GREAT job putting the crib together! It looks awesome!

Now it is the mom-to-be's turn to work on the crib. I think I got the easy job...just laundry and decoration. :)

The final product! Now, all we need is the baby!! Hopefully, he/she will make his/her entrance into the world VERY soon!

...I am 1 cm dialated

I can't wait for this baby to come so that we can meet him or her! I found out that I am 1 cm dialated today. The doctor is not worried about the baby being too big, which is great!! Next week, if I haven't had the baby, the doctor is going to scrap my membranes to help speed up the process.

Come on baby!! Time to come and meet Mom and Dad!!

...I had ANOTHER ultrasound!

While I LOVE having them, it is crazy how many I have had with this pregnancy; at least I think it is crazy. Let's see...

1. 12 weeks - we couldn't hear the heartbeat at our first appointment
2. 18 weeks - we were in a car accident - had the u.s. at the hospital e.r.
3. 20 weeks - the normal u.s. that you have where the tech measures everything to make sure all is going well.
4. 22 weeks - doctor wanted to help me to feel the movements and thought if I saw the baby move then maybe I would feel it too. (I didn't feel the movement until later that night.)
5. 24 weeks - my placenta was laying low, so they wanted to see if it would move up...it hadn't by this appointment.
6. 32 weeks - checked the placenta placement again and it finally moved up!!
7. 36 weeks - nurse midwife (I think she was) couldn't tell the position of the baby, so she wanted to check if the head was down and how big the baby was measuring.

So, we had this last ultrasound on 7/31/09 and the baby is head down (awesome!) and is measuring approximently 6.5 pounds. I was 36 weeks and 4 days along and the baby was measuring 37 weeks, so just a couple days farther along. Tech thinks that if I could all the way to 40 weeks, the baby could be about 8.5 pounds, which isn't too bad. She said the baby has a lot of hair and will have long legs.

The only stinky thing about this ultrasound is that the baby is getting so big that he/she doesn't have a lot of room, so his/her hands were in front of the face and we weren't able to get any more photos. Oh well! It was still fun to see the baby again!

I can't believe there are only a few weeks left until we get to meet this baby and find out if we have a son or daughter!!

...that I am 35 weeks along!

I am amazed at how quickly the last 35 weeks have gone. It feels like I found out I was pregnant a month ago, but I am almost done already.

Dave and I are very excited that the baby will be here within the next 5-6 weeks (hopefully less)!!

The last few weeks have been the toughest of them all. I am starting to get a lot of pressure and pain as the baby starts decending. I know this will continue to get worse, but I know I will be able to handle it.

We have been attending a Preparing for Birth class at St. Joe's hospital and are learning a lot of useful information. We have 3 weeks left and I hope we continue to learn lots - as we really need to. :)

Dave finally got his desk out of the baby's room and now I just have to clean and start setting the room up. I haven't made a final decision about painting yet. It is still up in the air. I will keep you posted. :)

Only a few weeks left until we meet Baby Regal! Yippy!!

...I had my first baby shower!

I had a great time on Sunday at my first ever baby shower. The shower was thrown by my friend KC and was attended by Angie, Daryl and Meghann. All I can say is what GREAT friends I have!!! They gave me wonderful gifts and we have an awesome time chatting! Here are some photos from the afternoon.

KC and I are both pregnant, which is so much fun! She is pregnant with her 3rd child and is 30 weeks along. I am 33 weeks and 6 days along.
Meghann gave me this great frame! I love it!

KC gave me some really awesome gifts and threw me a wonderful shower.

Daryl knows exactly what I need....diapers and wipes!! Angie gave me this super cute bouncer!

...how many people have died in the last few days.

First it was Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett and Micheal Jackson in the same day. And now it is Billy Mays today. Crazyness! Such is life though. I hope they all rest in peace!

...Dave is going to be a daddy!

Today is Father's Day! Dave is going to be a dad in about 2 1/2 months. It is almost unbelievable! If this little one wasn't kicking me right now, I don't know that I would even be able to fathom it.

I hope Dave will have a good day. (Even though he got his present on Mother's Day - I just couldn't keep it from him. I HAVE to wait to buy gifts!)

Next year will be even better, because the baby will be here to celebrate with his/her dad. :)

Happy Father's Day, Dave!

...I am still awake

It is 3:11 am and I am still awake. I am feeling tired though, so I think I will be able to sleep soon. I only took a 2 hour nap this morning after getting up at 5 am - so I am not sure why I am not more tired.

At least I was able to work on my homework again. That is a good thing. :)

Well, I am going to go try to fall asleep. Hope you are all sleeping well.

...my busy week ahead

Well, this is going to be a very very busy week for me. Here is a rundown:

Monday is my dad's birthday (not sure if we are doing anything though) and I have my 30 week doctor's appointment.
Tuesday we have an ultrasound. We might be going out to a new bowling place in Oakdale for their grand opening.
Wednesday I am having dinner with Suzie.
Thursday I am having happy hour with KC, Angie, and Daryl.
Friday we are going to the Twins game for the Kent Hrbek bobblehead with Eric.
Saturday we are attending a get together with a bunch of people Dave used to go to church with - it should be interesting.
Sunday is Father's Day.

It is a good thing that most of this stuff is in the evening, so I have much of the day to rest. :)

...I have a car seat base in my car

Today Dave and I went to class on how to install a car seat properly. We are both really glad we did it, because we learned a lot of valuable information that we would not otherwise have learned.

It is really crazy that there is a car seat base installed in my car now. It seems like we are really far away from having this baby, but we are only about 11 weeks out now. That is nuts!

...my flight from L.A. isn't until 12:20 am tomorrow

I am ready to go home. I decided it really isn't very fun to travel without my husband, Dave. The first few days were nice, because I had someone to do stuff with while my mom was working (Thanks Aunt Cheryl!).

Once we got to L.A., there wasn't a lot of stuff for me to do (I had seen all of the sites I wanted to see last time I was here) while mom was working. I spent A LOT of time in the hotel working on homework. At least we got to go out to Pink's Hot Dogs on Monday....that was something I wanted my mom to experience.

Today, I don't have to check out of our hotel until 3 pm, which is nice. Mom gets off work at like 4 pm or so. I am in charge of packing (which is done) and getting the stuff to the car. The rest of the day I am going to work on homework, rest and read. After my mom gets done working, we are going to go to Chinatown for dinner and a little shopping (mostly looking). Then it is off to drop off the car by 10 pm and to the airport for our early flight tomorrow.

I will be very happy to get home tomorrow, even though I won't get to see Dave until about 3 pm. It will be a nice evening. We will be going to to the chiropractor and then to dinner. I will probably spend the majority of the day sleeping. :)

Not much else to say right now.

...I just paid a quarter to use the bathroom...

...in a shopping center here in L.A. I remember when I was here before that I would have to pay at a gas station or a fast food restaurant, but I never expected to have to pay in a shopping area in a downtown business building. Weird! Oh well...at least I had a quarter on me. :)

...how far along they are on the Hoover Dam bridge

I had a chance to drive out to the Hoover Dam with my aunt while I was in Vegas. I have been to the dam several times, but this time I only wanted to see how far along they were on the building of the bypass bridge. We saw this bridge for the first time in January and they were pretty far...it is amazing how much farther they have gotten in such a short period of time.

The bridge on June 5, 2009.

January 2009

The Hoover Dam bridge in January, 2009.

...there is such a thing as the World's Largest Thermometer

This is the World's Largest Thermometer. I really can't believe there is something like this in the world, although, who would have thought there would be the largest ball of twine and stuff. It was ok. We stopped to take a look on our drive to LA from Vegas. It is located in Baker, CA (in case you want to take a look).

...I got to see Valley of Fire!!

Here are some photos from my excersion to Valley of Fire State Park near Las Vegas. It was a beautiful day...only like in the 80s, which was helpful, because we had a long day of walking and climbing the rocks.

Mom and I sitting on a rock we climbed.

Rocks at Valley of Fire

Uncle Doug, Daisy the dog, Me and Aunt Cheryl on the rocks.

Elephant Rock - it looks like an elephant, doesn't it?!?

Mom and I at the entrance sign to the Valley of Fire. What a great day!