New Pictures

Here are some pictures from Maia's 2nd and 3rd weeks of life:

Maia and her cousin Emma

Here's some video we've taken of Maia so far. We're still learning how to take good video, the lighting is kind of bad, so bear with us. It'll get better!

Baby Maia's Birth and First Weeks of Life

Well, tomorrow Maia will be 2 weeks old. It's hard to believe how quickly time goes. We are all settling in and figuring out how to be a family. It's an awesome journey.

Here is a picture of me on April 4, before we head to the hospital to induce for the 2nd time.

Aleks looking adorable in scrubs. We had decided about 30 minutes prior that we were going to proceed with a c-section. After the emotional adjustment we had to make, we were more than ready to meet our little girl.

Here is Maia being pulled out of my tummy!

Maia Lee Sternfeld-Dunn.

Born April 4, 2009

7:20 pm

8 pounds

20 1/2 inches long

Aleks holding Maia for the first time. This picture makes me tear up every time. He looks so happy, overwhelmed, and in love.

Here she is, the first time I got to meet her.

In an outfit that was my mom's.

Induction #1

Here are some pictures from the past couple days:

Aleks has been amazing through all of this. He's been a rock and a constant support. I'm so lucky!

Top chart is baby's heart beat, bottom chart is contractions.

IV, enough said.

On pitocin the first time.

My belly at 41 weeks, before heading to the hospital for induction.

Day Before Induction

Here's a picture of Maia two days after her due date. Her little nose is squished, why doesn't she want to come out? It's got to be a little bit uncomfortable foe her!

Here is a video we took last night of Maia being especially active. It's kind of hard to pick out, but you can see Maia's feet moving along my belly on the left part of the screen. She's a strong little girl!

Tonight we go in to the hospital to start the Cervidil and then tomorrow morning we start pitocin. Aleks and I are pretending that we're going away for a couple of days to a hotel where there are maids that take my blood pressure and bring me ice chips if I want. It's going to be the biggest adventure of our lives.

Due Date

Well, today is my due date and no baby. I had a doctor's appointment today and I'm not dilated at all. It seems like Maia wants to stay where she is for the time being. We scheduled an induction for next Tuesday, March 31. I don't know if we'll keep the induction date, or decide to keep waiting for things to happen naturally.

It'd be nice to know that she'll be here soon, but we don't want to induce unnecessarily. There are so many things about pregnancy that are just unknown. My due date could be inaccurate and she just needs more time to cook, or maybe my body and her head aren't compatible and medical intervention is necessary. It's just hard to know what the best choice is. So, for now we'll wait out this week and re-evaluate this weekend.

Here's a picture of me on my due date, the baby and belly are getting bigger! (Who knew that was possible?)

She has a name!

P.S. we picked a name:

Maia Lee Sternfeld-Dunn

Week 39

Well, I am now 39 weeks along and still pregnant! We're very happy that I haven't had to be induced, but I am starting to feel like I might be pregnant forever. I have 2 non-stress tests scheduled for this week to make sure that the baby is doing fine. She's been moving around a ton, especially after I drink something cold. Here are some pictures of my HUGE belly.

My mom and dad are flying in tomorrow to stay for a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to having them here. I just hope the baby comes while they are here so we can take advantage of the help!