My First Christmas

Baby's 1st Christmas

My personalized stocking on Christmas morning

Christmas Eve at Great-Grandma Ackerman's

Cale and Gabby having tummy time:)


As you can imagine we had one spoiled little boy over Christmas! We are so glad we were able to enjoy it instead of him being born the week of as planned. His beingearly arrival definitely worked out well:) We spend Christmas Eve at Aaron's grandma Ackerman's house and then spent the night at Kalee's parents. The weather was nasty so we didn't want to take Cale too far. And we knew Santa would find his way there for our little guy:) We spent Christmas morning with Kalee's family and she made her once yearly Christmas cinnamon rolls. They are so good i'm not sure why we don't make them more often! After we opened gifts we went to the Treat's Christmas were he once again was spoiled galore! The usual tradition is to go to a movie that night and Great-grandma Sharon was more than willing to babysit but we were exhausted and were ready to go home! The Rotzoll's were in town so wen spent Sunday afternoon visiting with them..well basically Aunt Tammy just cuddled with Cale but we know we are still slightly important:) He had a great first Christmas and also welcomed two new friends into the world!
Avery Walter Suits (Dave and Melissa Suits) was born Thursday 12/23 and Jasper William Snyder (Jason and Stephanie Snyder) was born on 12/26. We are so excited he will have two buddies he can grow up with!

Time is Flying

Wow...time sure has flown. I was originally due yesterday instead I got to hold my one month old baby:)...and spend it shopping with our "Virginia family"!

Cale's one month appointment was on Tuesday the 21st and he is growing like a week. The doctor said he'd soon be "eating us out of our house!" He's weighing in at 7lbs 11oz and is 20inches long. For the past 2 weeks he's been really trying to lift his head (of course it doesn't stay up) but this week he's started to keep it up for a few seconds before he face plants back down. He is also starting to look when he hears voices or noise.

This past month has been quite the learning lesson for mommy and daddy! We are loving every minute of it but we have learned 1) you won't always be on time-when he's hungry, crying, or wet you stop and do what you need to do and being on time doesnt matter 2) everything is trial and error 3) it doesn't matter if the dishes are done or the house is clean...cuddle with them while you can cause they are only this small once! Luckily Grammy (Barb) had some vacation time to burn so she spent a few days watching him so Mommy could get some this done and get out of the house a little bit. She was starting to lose her sanity being cooped up inside all day!

My work threw us a baby shower on the 21st also so we had a busy day. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends, family, and co-workers who are so giving and thoughtful. Cale is one spoiled little boy!

This weekend will be his 1st Christmas! We are SOOO glad that he is here with us and we are settled and can enjoy the holiday!

He is also excited his new buddy Avery Suits (Dave and Melissa Suits) arrived today (one month early as well)! We are so happy everyone is healthy and doing great!

First Appointment/ Jaundice

We took Cale in for his first appointment on Wednesday, Nov 24th. He weight 5lbs 4oz so he had lost a bit from birth weight which is common. He also grew 1/2" and was 18inches. His bilirubin levels were slighlty high at a 14.6 so they requested we come back the next day (Thanksgiving Day) to be checked again. Otherwise he looked great.

Thanksgiving Day we went in and his levels had gone up to a 15.3 which is cause for concern. We were sent immediately to the hospital for him to begin phototherapy. Talk about scary for us new parents....However we knew he was in good hands and it was best for him. We spent our first Thanksgiving as a family in the hospital. Our families both came and brought us a real Thanksgiving meal which helped pass the time. The next day he was checked again and he was back down to a 10 which he needed to be under 13 to go home. We finally got to come back home on Friday around 10:30 and get back into our "routine".

He was very lethargic before so and since he got the treatment he has been much easier to wake up to feed and spends a little more time with his eyes open now:) He still sleeps like a newborn does which we should be taking advantage of (we're trying to!) but we just love to hold him.

We've been so blessed with such great friends and all the visitors, phone calls, and texts we've received. Everyone has been so caring and wonderful we couldn't ask for better friends and family!!

Thanksgiving Arrival

Well...our little man decided he did not want to be a Christmas baby but a Thanksgiving baby. Cale Lee Ackerman arrived on Saturday, November 20th at 8:47p.m. He was 5lbs 10oz and 17.5inches.

On Friday, November 19th my water broke while at work. I had ordered lunch and went to the restroom while waiting on it....it was then I knew something wasn't right! By the time I had gotten back it was apparent what had happened. I called the Dr. and they sent me to the office. Luckily I have great co-workers who took care of me and one drove me to the hospital. On the way there a nurse called to tell me to go straight to Labor and Delivery. When I got there they hooked me up to an IV and anitbiotics and told me I wouldn't be leaving that hospital without a baby! It was quite the whirlwind. Aaron was an hour and a half away and my mom was four hours away on a shopping trip. My dad immediately left work and met me at the hospital. He was in the waiting room and saw a flash go by the door...sure enough it was Aaron who made it (luckily safely) to the hospital in 38 minutes! I was then moved to a delivery room. Contractions were few and far between and I was mostly in pain due to sitting in that hospital bed. By 8:00 I had still made no progress so they unhooked me and let me have dinner. Along with Aaron, my mom, dad, brother, and Aaron's mom were there to entertain us (as you can see from the picture of Chris below) which definitely helped keep my mind off things.

On Saturday I woke up, took a shower and put my make-up on and they hooked me up to the monitors and began pitocin. By 10:20 my contractions were beginning but were not quite "painful" just a lot of pressure. The nurse described it as "He's not understanding the pool has been drained and the eviction noticed has been served."! At 2:40 I was dialeted to a 4 and the rest of my water was broken. He was not cooperating staying on the external monitor so they had to do an internal which was not convenient as there were only so many ways you could move but whatever I needed to do we did. At 6:45 I couldn't take the pain anymore and I requested an epidural. I was dialated to a 9 by that point so I'm glad I requested it when I did. By 7:05 the epidural was complete and I had a new friend, Neil. I expressed to him how amazing he was:) That took all the pain away and just made for pressure so I would know when to push. By 8:00 I was pushing and the nurse acted as if the Dr. wasn't going to make it I was progressing so quickly. Finally the dr arrived, and 5 pushes later he was here!!!

Due to him being 5 weeks early NICU had to be present for the delivery and they checked him over as soon as he arrived. Everything looked great they said! My family was then able to come in and meet our precious little boy! It was then we could tell him the name as well. Cale was a name on our list of a few we had liked and when we went through the baby book it said it meant Charles (which is my dad's name) and we were sold! Aaron's dad's name is Dale also so it rhymes. Lee is a very common middle name in both of our families as well (including Aaron).

We were then moved to postpartum and were able to watch him get his first bath. Then began our first night as parents:)

35 Weeks

Wow...only 36 days left! We had our 35 week appointment today...baby is still head down which is great news and everything looks good. Weekly appointments begin next week!

Here is a 34 week picture (a little behind i know...)

My dad built his grandson a beautiful dresser and gave it to us this weekend for the nursery. Thanks to my mom's help we now have an organized nursery (for now anyways!). We spent this Saturday washing clothes, etc. and getting things put away. I am starting to feel semi-prepared now. I know I'll never be fully prepared but at least I feel like I've made some progress:) Enjoy the pictures below....

His name will be going over the crib after his arrival:)

Last Friday night we had a couple's shower and had a great time! Best part was the diaper changing contest between Aaron and I. He was lucky to find a surprise in his diaper and he still won! Guess he's so good at it he gets the privilege of doing most of the diaper changing! I'll post pictures next post once I get them:) Thanks to everyone who was able to make it!!

Baby Shower Barcrawl

Well..we're approaching 34 weeks. As I write this blog we have 44 official days left. We really can't believe how fast time is flying! Everyone has been on me to get my bags packed so we're slowly getting there. A few things left to purchase, clothes to wash, and we should be ready! I've been feeling great...getting more and more tired daily but I can't complain. It's only caused one mini-meltdown. Poor Aaron just let's me cry it out then makes sure I'm in bed early:) The nursery is getting there...still a lot of organizing to do. I keep thinking i'll hit that "nesting" phase and get a burst of energy to get it all done!

Grandma Barb went to the 32 week ultrasound. We have a bashful, stubborn little boy. He kept his hands in front of his face the entire time so we couldn't get any good pictures:( We know he gets the bashfulness from his dad but we still can't figure out where that stubborn side comes from:) Everything looks good and on track though. He was estimated to be weighing in at 5.5lbs which is in the 55th percentile. Therefore I'm estimating an earlier rather than later arrival (or hoping for at least) but I'm not going to psych myself up for it to be let down by being overdue. Our bi-weekly appointments begin this month so we'll go in 3 times this month and begin weekly appointments in December. I've been taking a prenatal swimming class which is amazing on these aching, growing joints. It is kind of mental therapy as well being in a class of 7 pregnant women and discussing the ups and downs we go through together! It's always fun to see them come back and hear their birthing experiences as well!

This last weekend my Blackburn friends held a Baby Shower in Carlinville for me. What a blast we had! We ended up titling it the Baby Shower Bar Crawl. "Best baby shower we've ever been too" seemed to be the comment of the night! Needless to say I thought I could stay up and party as late as I used to and boy was a wrong! Sunday was painful (I almost felt hungover! haha). But...needless to say we had a great time and it's always fun to see them. And....we got our stroller/carseat combo and a bunch of other baby goodies:) They are all anxiously awaiting his arrival and have a phone tree so everyone is notified when he makes his entrance! Oh and we can't forget Carlos...our mascot for the night! He was on the cake and we all thought he was just adorable so we made sure he was in most of the pictures!

1st Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower/diaper party this past weekend. We are so blessed to have such great friends! The Frerich's fam hosted along with the help of Laura, Ashley and Carrie. We got lots of goodies and had a blast! We definitely have a REALLY good start on diapers too which is a HUGE help!

Here are a few pictures...

Things have been going great...since the last post I've had my 28 week appointment and he was measuring just right and I am doing good. Gestational diabetes test was passed...woohoo!! He's started curling up in my ribs when I sleep which is not enjoyable...normally half way through the night I have to prop myself up so he doesn't settle up there :)

The nursery is coming right along. The bedding is done and looks fantastic. We have a few finishing touches (including the dresser my dad is making for him) to complete and we'll be set. People keep telling me I need to start packing my bags and that scares me! I will get to it soon I am sure:)

Last night we could feel his toes (or what we think were toes)...Aaron would press against them and he'd push back. We can't wait to see what they really look like!