Week 1 - Going well so far!

Grandpa Alvey bought everyone ice cream at the zoo. He is the best!

Brady & Brenna in the canoe at the zoo.

Brady, Brenna & Matthew

Brenna, the Excellent Big Sister, with her Grandma Alvey & Grant

Grant with his eyes wide open. Obviously not screaming, which is so unlike his sister when she had her eyes open. :-)

Getting his first bath at home. So far, he doesn't like them.

The Rogier family has survived week one as a family of four. We have had many visitors this week to see Grant. My mom stayed most of the week to help out with Brenna and things around the house while I adjusted to life as a nursing mom again. Alex was able to stay home with us on Monday and Tuesday, but he returned to work on Wednesday so he could save the rest of his vacation for later in the year. My sister and her two boys came down Tuesday as did my dad. They ended up taking Brady and Brenna to Chuck E. Cheese on Tuesday night. They wore the kiddos out. Then on Wednesday, they went to the Evansville Zoo with Devin and Matthew Alvey. A great day was had by all. Bob and Trish, my in-laws, have been to visit, as have Diane and Kevin Alvey.

Our neighbors have been great. Two of them have brought meals since we have been home, which was an absolute blessing. It allowed me to not stress about fixing dinner between nursing sessions this past week. Thanks to the Braggs & the Crowleys! Tara also brought us a meatloaf that we have in the freezer for next week. My mom also cooked an excellent meal one night, so we have eaten like kings for the last week.

Grant had his one week check up on Friday. He has lost the total of one pound, and unfortunately, my milk supply doesn't seem to be satisfying him...he is such a big boy I guess. Therefore, we have already started supplementing with some formula. We will see how long I can keep up with him, and then he will have to be transitioned to formula before I head back to work. Frustrating to me, but I am having to roll with the punches this time.

Hospital Pictures are Posted!

If you want to see Grant's hospital pictures, go to the following website. Click on Grant R, and the password is grant.

http://www.mckevanportraits.com/mp_client/pictures.asp?action=search&showall=true&eventid=

Enjoy!

Grant David Rogier has arrived!!!

Well, I didn't have to make it another week from my last posting...just 3 more days. I worked half days for the last week, and Thursday night I started having labor pains. They were far enough apart and mild enough that I decided I needed to head to bed in order to sleep through as much of it as I could. Friday morning about 3 am, I woke up with pretty consistent labor pains, which kept me up until about 4:30 am. I went back to bed, dozed for awhile, and Alex got up about 6 am to get ready for work.

As he got ready, my contractions started coming harder and faster. At only 4 - 6 minutes apart, Alex decided maybe going to work wasn't a good idea, and we both sat in the living room timing contractions for the next 2 hours. Around 8 am, I called my mom and dad to tell them I thought it would be a good idea if they started heading this way to get Brenna. They arrived about 9:30 am, and as I was in quite a bit of pain at this point, we headed to my doctor's office. Ironically, my doctor was on vacation when Brenna was born, and once again, she was on vacation for Grant's arrival. The nurse practitioner checked me at the office to make sure I was in labor and gave me the great news that I was 6 cm already. I was ecstatic and still thought I might make it without an epidural at this point.

We got our room upstairs, Dr. Reisinger (who also delivered Brenna) came up and broke my water awhile later. I labored for another hour with 1 cm of progress. Then the pain started to get really bad, and I was at the point I was thinking I was going to get sick. The nurse said I hadn't made any further progress, so I decided that I couldn't make several more hours of this pain. The doctor came and started the epidural at 2:30. Given my past experience, they gave me extra fluids before the epidural and only gave me 1/2 the dose in my back. I still had blood pressure problems, but I didn't bottom out like I did with Brenna. The epidural started to take effect, and they rolled me onto my side. At this point, I told them I felt a lot of pressure, and the nurse checked me again. In just a few minutes with the epidural, I had gone to 10 cm. They never even had to hook me up to the epidural pump for the rest of the dose. It was time to push!
This time, it only took 10 minutes of pushing, and Grant David Rogier made his arrival into the world at 3:05 pm. It was a much more pleasant labor experience, and I am so glad that I was able to labor so long without the epidural because I think it helped everything keep progressing. Grant weighed 9 lbs 3.9 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. His head measured 14 3/4 inches. He also came out screaming like a banshee, just like Brenna, but we can definitely say that so far, he doesn't show signs of being as fussy as Brenna.

Evenings are a little rough with him, but other than that, he is being a model baby. You can see his huge feet in the pictures below. Enjoy. I am sure I will post more in the next few weeks. They change so much this early in life.

Keeping Everyone Updated on my progress - much to my husband's amazement. I told him it gave me something else to focus on besides the pain. :-)

Right before I start pushing. I had to have oxygen due to my drop in blood pressure with the epidural.

It's a boy!

Proud Mama

Father and Son

Proud Big Sister

Look at those feet - they barely fit in the box.

One week to go! Or at least I am praying so...

Three weeks ago, we went to the doctor for an ultrasound. At that point, this baby was estimated to be 6 lbs. 15 oz., and I was 1 - 2 CM dilated. One week later, I was 3 CM dilated. The following weekend, I was having random contractions, and I would have said Baby Rogier #2 would have made his/her arrival already. However, Toyota Summer Shutdown occurred, so with some rest and relaxation, all labor progression has stopped. This past Friday, I went to the doctor, and I am still 3 CM, and she put me on 20 hours per week work restriction. Still no further contractions, so at this point, I go back at 1 pm on Monday the 27th. My due date is the 30th, and she thought we might scheduled induction for the week of the 27th. Once I know more, I will update our status. Baby Rogier #2 is almost here, but sometimes it is so hard to be patient.

Four weeks to go!

With four weeks to go, I thought I would try to document the end of this pregnancy a little better than I did with Brenna, especially since right now I plan on it being the last time I am pregnant. :-)

I went to the doctor last Wednesday, and I am already 1 - 2 CM dilated, so I was excited about that. Tuesday we have our last ultrasound to check the growth of the baby, etc. I will post pictures/results from that visit sometime next week. So far, I have gained 20 pounds, and if I can keep up the good results, it will be less than I gained with Brenna. Hopefully it will mean that it will come off easier as well, but I am not holding my breath on that one.

In one more week, Toyota has its annual summer shutdown. I am looking forward to that week off before this baby arrives, so hopefully he/she doesn't decide to make too early of an appearance. Alex and I are planning to relax with Brenna and take her to stay at the new hotel with an indoor waterpark in French Lick.

My doctor is on vacation the 18th - 25th, so I figure the baby will probably make his/her appearance then just as Brenna came when she was on vacation 3 years ago. :-) We will have to wait and see though. Enjoy the pictures. Later today we are headed to Tasha and Mike's for their annual Fourth of July party. Hopefully all of the Rogier side will make it, and I can post some pictures of that too. Have a happy 4th!

Ward Family Reunion

My mom's family, the Wards, came to Evansville this year for the annual Ward family reunion. Otherwise, with 5 weeks to go before baby Rogier #2 makes his/her appearance, we would not have been able to attend. My sister was much better at taking pictures. (I spent most of my time in the house trying to get the swelling in my legs to go down since it was SOOO HOT!) However, a few below show that the highlight of the weekend for the kids (Alex and Brad are included in that comment) was the slip and slide. By the end of the weekend, there were actually three slip and slides stretched end to end.

Brenna was tentative at first.

Then she started getting the hang of it.

Alex and Brad helped entertain the kiddos. They all took a break from the slip and slide in our kiddie pool.

In order to add to the excitement, the dads put the slide in the pool.

These are my grandparents, Bill and Beverly, with the kids. Brady was ever so excited to get his picture taken.


As you can see, he absolutely refused to smile for the camera.

Thanks to everyone for coming to Evansville. Hopefully we will be able to continue doing this every summer! We love you.

Brenna Turns 3!!

Brenna turned 3 June 23rd. It is so difficult to believe how fast the last three years have flown. The sudden June heat wave reminded me though why June was a much better month to have a baby in versus July. I hope I can mentally make it until this baby arrives at the end of July.

Jamie, Jason, Kendall, and Jaxon Ball celebrated with us at Chuck E. Cheese, Brenna's favorite restaurant. We then went home and had cake and ice cream. Brenna got books from us, and we are planning to build her a swing-set in the next month. The Balls got her a princess outfit with the special princess shoes she requested. Thanks, Balls, for helping make her birthday a great day.