Visitors Galore!

A visit from Taylor's cousins!

We captured a smile during her nap!

Staring at Dad

Taylor's first snowfall - she slept right through it!

Aunt Kim stayed with us this week, and was a huge help!

Second trip to the doctor

Taylor has enjoyed visits from many friends and family members these past couple of weeks. She's met so many people, and has been awake for about half of those visits! Thank you to everyone who has been by to see her - we have enjoyed your company!!

She had her 2 week checkup last Thursday 12-10-09, and we checked her weight - she is already 8 lb 1/2 oz, almost a pound more than her birthweight! I can't believe how fast she is growing! She does have 2 blocked tear ducts, which we have to give her medicine for 3 times per day. The doctor said that this is very common. Hopefully it will clear up soon. She also has some reflux, which has made her a little bit more fussy than usual, especially at night. We've elevated her mattress, which seems to help a bit. Hopefully this is just a phase, and it will get better over time!

Her sleep schedule has been very erratic lately. She sleeps about 3 hours at a time at night, but when she is up, she usually is up for 1-2 hours at a time. We think that this is because of her reflux, and possibly some gas issues. Again, we hope that this is just a phase!

She is getting much stronger, especially with her neck; she can hold her head up for a few seconds at a time now. She also seems to focus on faces and lights around the room. I swear that there have been a few times when I've made her smile, but I know that all of the books say that it's just a natural reflex. I can pretend that she's smiling at me though!

We are looking forward to Taylor's first Christmas, and hope that everyone stays warm and enjoys the upcoming holiday season!

One Week Old!

Proud Mom

Happy Family

Visit from Uncle Eric

A kiss from Aunt Kim

The "coming home" outfit!

Ready to come home!


Home at last!

Cuddling with Daddy

First bath - not her favorite part of the day!

At the doctor's office... thinking hard!
Lounging on the boppy pillow!Napping with daddy!

Thank you to everyone for your visits, messages, cards, and phone calls! We are so lucky to have such supportive friends and family during this exciting time!

We got home from the hospital on Thanksgiving night at around 9:30pm. Her first night was such an experience. Nothing can prepare you for that first 24 hours at home - we felt so unprepared! But Taylor has adjusted to life at home very well! She has not quite figured out her nights and days yet, and spends more time sleeping during the day than at night. Luckily, Sam and I have started to adjust to Taylor's schedule and have been taking frequent naps during the day as well! The doctor said that she should start adjusting to accommodate nights and days within a couple of weeks.

We had our first doctor's appointment on Monday, which went very well. We are very happy with the pediatric practice that we've chosen for her - all of the doctors and nurses have been wonderful. She has gained 2 ounces since being discharged from the hospital, which is great! She is now 6 pounds 15 ounces. Our doctor said she is right on track as far as weight gain goes. She certainly has been eating enough!

We've only had her for a week, but she has already changed so much! Her face is fuller and her pink color has stabilized. Her facial features have become more defined - we can't wait to see who she looks like! We have gotten to know a few things about her personality already! So far this is what we've learned about our little girl:
Taylor likes... eating, sleeping, peeing on the changing table, getting burped, looking at light coming through the window, her pacifier (only at night), car rides, being held by anyone, her soft yellow and green blanket, looking at people's faces, shivering, grunting, sleeping in her fleece sleep sack, and lounging on the papasan bouncer.
Taylor dislikes... when mom and dad go to sleep, sleeping at night, being naked, getting her diaper changed, having the hiccups, taking baths, tummy time, being hungry for more than 2 seconds, and being cold.

We are looking forward to learning more about her and watching her grow even more!

Introducing: Taylor Grace Pavelka

Born: 11/24/09 at 11:59pm
Height: 19 inches
Weight: 7 lb. 1 oz.

We are very happy and proud to introduce our new daughter to the world! Taylor Grace Pavelka made her appearance at 11:59pm. She is so beautiful and doing great!! Our doctor said she looks perfect and scored a 9 on the Apgar scale.

Tuesday was definitely a surprising day for us! We went to our doctor's appointment immediately after work, and we were told that my amniotic fluid was slightly low and that they would need to induce... right away! We were shocked. By the time we were checked into the hospital at around 4:00pm though, I had started to go into labor on my own. I ended up being induced after a couple of hours, and things went quickly after that! Labor and delivery went very smoothly! I received an epidural, to which I attribute a lot of the smooth delivery! After about 40 minutes of pushing, she came into the world a minute shy of midnight! She REALLY wanted to be born on the 24th!

She is doing really well. We are hoping to stay in the hospital one more night, but we'll see what insurance will allow. She has taken to nursing quite well. She is not a very fussy baby, although she whimpers a lot and it's the cutest little sound! She cries when she gets cold, and when her diaper is being changed. She has the smoothest skin and tiny wrinkly hands and feet. She is also developing some dimples in her cheeks. If I am allowed to say, she really is the cutest baby on the planet!!!!

Sam is doing a great job as a new daddy. He has been practicing swaddling her and has gotten really good at it! He also has been in charge of diaper changes, when she's not in the nursery.

I've posted a couple of pictures. We also had some pictures taken by my wonderful aunt who works for Bella Baby photography. They are adorable! The pictures can be seen at: http://www.bellababyphotography.com Password: 1124taylorpavelka More pictures and updates to come!! Thanks to everyone for your support and well wishes!!! We love you all!!

Home Stretch!

Hi everyone! Sam and I had our doctor's appointment yesterday. Nothing has changed - I'm still 4cm and around 70-80% effaced and ready to go! Our doctor said that we could go at any time, and that she wouldn't be surprised to see us at the hospital this weekend... I told her to stop filling our heads with the idea that we're going early! It doesn't seem like this baby girl is in any hurry! We are definitely getting anxious to meet her, and I am getting anxious to not be pregnant anymore! :)

We had another non-stress test done and everything went great. She seems to be in good health and progressing as she should be! When we hear news like that, we don't mind the wait.

We are very happy to welcome our new niece, Haley Marie Pavelka, into the world this week! She was born two nights ago and she is cute as ever!!! Congratulations to Sam's brother Mark and his wife Colleen on their new addition! :)

Our next doctor's appointment will be on Tuesday. We will keep you updated with any news! Thanks to everyone for their continuing encouragement and support! We can't wait to share her arrival with you all!!

4 cm!

Hi everyone! Well we had our doctor's appointment on Monday... right now I am between 3.5 and 4 centimeters dilated, and 70% effaced! Our doctor said that she is surprised that my water hasn't broken yet. I have another appointment next Wednesday, but hopefully I will be done by then! I can wish, right?

I also had a non-stress test done today, which went well. The only thing was that they kept extending my time. The baby wasn't moving a lot - it's not one of her usual active times of the day! So I ended up sitting there for an hour just to get the right number of movements! Overall, she seemed healthy. We weren't able to get a good ultrasound picture - her hands were covering her face again. I hope this isn't a trend with her!

I was able to get the H1N1 flu shot today at my doctor's office, which was nice because I avoided the long lines at the county health department. Now I don't have to worry every time one of my students has a cough or runny nose!

Well our bags are packed, the house is in order, sub plans are ready at school, we are all set- we just need the baby!

3 cm!

Hi everyone! We just got back from our latest doctor's appointment, and I am 3 cm dilated this week! I'm still 50 % effaced. My doctor said that for a first time pregnancy, that is pretty good. She said she'd be surprised if I went to my due date, but also warned that she has been surprised by other women before! Obviously it will happen when it happens, but I'm very excited that I have dilated one more centimeter in less than a week! Hopefully this means that I am close!

The baby has been kicking and moving like crazy lately too. I think she's getting anxious to come out and meet everyone. She likes to kick VERY strongly on my right side - I think she's practicing waking her mommy up in the middle of the night that way!

Tomorrow I will have another non-stress test done on the baby's movement. Our next check-up will be next Monday so I will keep everyone updated on how that goes!

Let the countdown begin...

Hi everyone! It's been almost a month since I've posted last! This has been due to the fact that we've been SO busy preparing for our little girl, and also that there hasn't been much to report up until now! We had our 36 week appointment yesterday, and got some surprising news - I am already 2 centimeters dilated and 50 % effaced! Our doctor started the appointment with a preparation speech about how most women go past their due date with their first pregnancy. After the exam, however, she was telling me that 2 cm is pretty far along for being only 36 weeks. She said that I need to take it easy and stay off my feet as much as I can until next week, when the baby will be considered full term. Most likely, I probably still have a couple of weeks to go, but according to the doctor, I'll probably go early rather than late!

We also had a non-stress test done on the baby. I sat in a recliner for about 20 minutes with monitors on my stomach, and had to press a button every time I felt the baby move to make sure that her heart rate was accelerating with each movement. She passed with flying colors! We will have to have that done every week until the baby is born, since I'm still considered high-risk with the complications we had in the beginning. It's kind of a pain, but it is reassuring to hear the baby's heartbeat and monitor her movement. She had the hiccups during the test, which was fun because we got to hear them LOUDLY on the machine! The poor girl has hiccups all of the time!

Overall, I've been feeling well! Although I definitely feel like I'm ready to be done. My feet and hands have been very swollen lately, and I've been so tired! I can't complain too much though - the baby is healthy and that's all that matters!

I will be updating the blog often, now that there will be things to write about! I will have another doctor's appointment next week, and will keep you all posted on how it goes! I've posted some pictures below of me at 36 weeks, and some more pictures of the baby's room! Happy Halloween everyone!!

36 Weeks - Just coming home after our school's Halloween parade and party - can you tell how tired I am!?!)

Sam needed to add some Bears decor!

Note that the dresser drawer is fixed!
Crib and bedding

Preparing for our Baby Girl...

Hello everyone! Last week, we had another anatomy ultrasound, and the baby looked great! Unfortunately, she was being shy and covering her face the whole time, so we didn't get any good ultrasound pictures to share! Our ultrasound tech said that she is around 3 lb. 9 oz. right now, which would make her on track to be 7 lb. 9 oz. at 40 weeks gestation. She looks completely healthy, and was even showing off her "practice breaths" while we looked at her lung function. She kicked the ultrasound tech repeatedly - I don't think she liked the pressure! We had the ultrasound tech check again, and she is still a girl! :)

We had our shower last week, which was wonderful! It was so nice to see everyone. We were given a lot of very generous gifts, and we're very thankful for that. We were able to start putting the baby's room together this weekend, and it looks adorable! We need a few finishing touches (including the broken drawer that my dad is fixing, as you'll see in the picture below!) but overall her room is coming together!

If anyone has any pictures from our baby shower, can you please email them to me? I'd like to keep some for a photo album I will be making in the future! :)

I'll be 32 weeks this coming Thursday, and I've been feeling ok overall. I've been more and more tired lately, and I've had heartburn so bad that I went to the urgent care center on Friday night with chest pain, thinking that something was wrong with my heart or lungs. After a bunch of tests, it was determined that it was most likely severe heartburn and reflux, and that I need to take it easy and snack during the day, rather than eating large meals. I've been having some issues with sciatica as well. While I still love carrying our baby girl, I'm definitely getting to the point where I'd be happy to be done being pregnant! :) The most important thing is that the baby is healthy, I'm healthy, and Sam is healthy (he had a checkup last week - all is good!), so I can't complain too much!!

Below, I've posted some pictures from the shower, of the baby's room, and me and my belly at 31 weeks. I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Pregnancy Update!

Hi everyone! It's been a little while since my last blog post. Things have been going well, although working and being pregnant definitely isn't as fun as being pregnant during summer break! Overall, I've been doing well at work and have been feeling pretty good. However, I've noticed my feet are starting to swell by the end of the day, and I've been getting tired much easier lately.
I went to see the doctor about a week and a half ago, and we listened to the baby's heartbeat. Everything sounded great, and my stomach growth has been exactly what it's supposed to be! I also passed my glucose tolerance test, so I don't have to worry about gestational diabetes, which is great! I did find out, however, that I am slightly anemic, so I will need to start taking iron supplements. I guess that's pretty normal at this point during pregnancy. That might explain some of the fatigue I've been having lately! We have another doctor's appointment on Tuesday, and then an ultrasound scheduled for the 23rd. Hopefully we will have some great ultrasound pictures to share with you!
The baby's room is coming along nicely! We had a little mishap with the dresser/changing table, but my dad has volunteered to come to the rescue and try and fix it for us! Once that is done, I will post some pictures of what the baby's room looks like so far! Each time we put something new in there, I get more and more excited about our daughter's arrival!
We think we have narrowed our name list down, but we have decided that we are not going to share the baby's name until she is born. We think it will be more fun that way! Plus, we might change our minds at the last minute! You can continue to vote if you'd like though! The website is still up!
She has been moving around quite a bit lately! Her kicks and punches are getting so strong that they can almost always been seen from the outside of my belly, especially when I'm laying down. She's had the hiccups a couple of times already, which I can feel as well. According to my books, she is about 2 1/2-3 pounds and about 15 inches long. Her brain is developing more and more every day, and she can respond to loud noises and bright lights at this point. Sam and I have noticed this lately, as she seems to start squirming quite a bit when my alarm clock goes off in the morning!!
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather! Go Bears! :)

Back to School

Well, Sam and I are officially back to work! Sam started last Monday, August 17th, and I started today. We both are glad to be back to our routine- the beginning of the year is always exciting. We also know that the baby will be here before we know it! :)

We are in the process of putting the baby's room together. Our furniture is positioned the way we want it. We had a little bit of trouble putting together the dresser/changing table, but we're working on fixing it. We'll post a picture when everything is all set up!

I have definitely noticed a lot of changes with my pregnancy lately, as I approach the 27th week! Only one week left of my second trimester! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by! I have had a lot of heartburn, and my feet ache after being at school all day. The baby has been kicking and moving more regularly, which is very enjoyable! I've also started outgrowing some of the maternity clothes that I wore throughout the summer! I'm sure this is just the beginning of that!

My next doctor's appointment is next Wednesday, September 2nd. After that, I will begin going to the doctor every 2 weeks. We're going to be attending a prepared childbirth class at Edward Hospital on September 19th. I also have an ultrasound scheduled for September 23rd, which we are both looking forward to! It's been a while since we've had our last one, and it will be fun to see how the baby has grown!

Below, I have posted a picture that we took at 26 weeks. It's amazing to compare how much I've grown since our last picture, taken at 21 weeks! I also have a picture of Sam putting the baby's room together.

Reason to Celebrate!

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I posted last. Not much is new with the pregnancy, although she has been kicking a LOT lately!! Sam has finally been able to feel her kick from the outside, which he was thrilled about! Now he tries to feel her all of the time! We have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, so I'm excited for that. I love going to my doctor's appointments because I love to hear the heartbeat!

We do have a big reasons to celebrate, though. We had Sam's scans at the University of Chicago yesterday, and everything came back clear! He also had a chest x-ray, some bloodwork, and a routine checkup, and he is totally healthy! This marks 4 1/2 years in remission! His oncologist has moved his care to a long-term survivor doctor, and we only have to go once a year now, instead of every 4 months! We didn't even know that this was a possibility, and we couldn't have been happier with the news!! He also went to the DMV on Saturday and took a driver's test to have the disability restriction removed from his driver's license, so he no longer needs to drive with a left-footed gas petal! We bought a new car on Saturday, a 2010 Chevy Equinox (to fit the car seat and baby stuff!), so we didn't have to pay to get the mechanical aid put into the new car and transferred to the old car. He feels totally comfortable driving without it. He is going to begin physical therapy this week to try and strengthen his weaker leg and foot. I am so proud of him for everything he has accomplished! We couldn't be happier!

Healthy Heart

Hi everyone! We met with our perinatologist on Friday and we had another ultrasound done to make sure that the baby's heart valves were in tact. Everything looked great! We also had the doctor double check the sex of the baby, and she agrees that it is definitely a girl! She had a heart rate of 142, which is excellent, and she is currently in the 47th percentile in size. Our perinatologist doesn't think that we'll have to go back and see her again, although she is recommending another ultrasound of the baby's anatomy in the 3rd trimester, just to be safe. Sam and I are fine with that - we love seeing her kick and throw punches on the ultrasound screen! Hopefully then we'll also get some great 3D pictures as well!

Lately, I have noticed some patterns in her movement. She tends to kick a lot more at night or when I'm sitting and watching TV or typing on the computer, and she also seems to kick more if I've eaten something spicy or really sweet, like a piece of candy. I'm resisting the urge to eat a lot of those foods just to make her move more, although it's very tempting since I love feeling her kicks and punches!

During the past couple of weeks, my belly has been growing a lot faster. I have noticed my feet are starting to ache if I've spent the day walking or standing, which makes me nervous about the upcoming school year! I am right on track with the weight gain, and have even started picking up the exercise a little bit, with my doctor's permission. Hopefully that helps keep me strong and energetic throughout the next 3 1/2 months!

I have posted a 3D ultrasound of the baby's face. It's somewhat hard to tell, but her face is on the left. I don't really know what's on the right. I've also posted a picture of my belly at 21 weeks. I didn't realize how much I've grown until I looked at the last picture, taken at 17 weeks.

If They Mated...

Sam and I have a bit too much time on our hands now that we're both off for the summer! We found a website that you can generate a picture of what your future baby will look like based on current photos of the parents. Yes, we're that nerdy! I've attached the picture below... it actually does resemble both of us, surprisingly!

We also had an appointment last week with our regular OBGYN, Dr. Carney. Although we're not considered a high risk pregnancy anymore, she still recommended us to a perinatologist, whom we will be seeing this week. Dr. Carney said that everything looks great, she just wants me to have a perinatologist since we had such a rough beginning, just in case anything else were to come up. Our new perinatologist is out of Edward Hospital as well, her name is Dr. Moran. We'll be seeing her on Friday, and she will be giving us another ultrasound to get a higher resolution view of the baby's heart. I guess she was laying in an odd position last time and they didn't get a clear view. Dr. Carney assures us that this happens often and is nothing to be concerned about. We will keep you all posted on how that appointment goes this week.

This week has been a lot of fun because I've been able to feel the baby move a lot! Sam hasn't been able to feel her from the outside still, so we're hoping that he will be able to feel her in the next week or so!

It's a Girl!

Yes, we caved in and found out the sex of the baby! We were so set on not finding out, but once the ultrasound tech said she knew, we started wavering. We ended up having her write it down and put it in a sealed envelope, in case we changed our minds. That stayed in Sam's pocket for all of 15 minutes - we opened it in the waiting room while waiting for our next appointment! We're so glad that we did, too! We are thrilled to be having a little girl, and knowing has made it a lot more real for us!

Aside from finding out the sex of the baby, we had a very detailed ultrasound of each part of the baby's anatomy. It lasted a while - about 45 minutes - and we got to see her little hands, feet, spine, face, and even organs like her kidneys, brain, and bladder. Everything looked completely normal and healthy, and she was throwing little kicks and punches the whole time. The ultrasound tech had a hard time keeping her still for pictures - I hope this isn't a part of her personality that lasts! She is no longer the huge baby that she was at 10 weeks - she's in the 48th percentile of size now, instead of the 98th percentile (quite a relief!). She's measuring around 6 inches long. Right now she is in breech position, but she's got plenty of time to turn around!

I've started to feel her kicks and punches a lot more often in the last couple of days. It happens mostly at night when I'm laying down, or when I'm in the car. I think Sam will be able to feel them from the outside soon, as they're getting stronger and more frequent. He can't wait! We've tried but he hasn't been able to feel anything yet.

Yesterday was the last appointment that I had at the University of Chicago. I have a follow up appointment with Dr. Carney out of Edward Hospital. She will be my new OBGYN throughout the rest of my pregnancy.

By the way, thank you to whoever has been clicking on the ads on our blog! We have already earned $20! All of the money earned on this website will go into our little girl's savings account.

I have posted an ultrasound picture below of her profile.

Painting Baby's Room

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I posted last. Thanks to everyone who voted for names -we had a lot of votes! So far it looks like the girls names with the most votes are Madison and Madelyn, while the leading boys names are Aidan and Andrew. We will continue to keep the website open for votes until the baby is born, so feel free to vote if you haven't already! Sam and Kim spent part of the week painting the baby's room. They did a great job! We chose a bright yellow - we thought it would be bright and cheery for the baby's small room size! We already have the crib set up, and will be putting in our glider shortly. We still need to order a dresser/changing table, which we plan to do soon. I have also posted a picture of me and my growing stomach at 17 weeks, even though I am 19 weeks today. We thought we'd take another at 20 weeks, then every 4 weeks until the baby is born to see how much I am growing. I have my last appointment at the University of Chicago on Monday, where I will have an ultrasound done. Hopefully I will have some nice ultrasound pictures to post! On Thursday, I have a follow-up appointment with my regular OBGYN at Edward Hospital. I will post more on Monday! Have a great holiday weekend!

17 Weeks Pregnant

The Name Game

Hi Everyone! We've been anxiously awaiting our next ultrasound appointment on July 6th, but we've been keeping busy planning and discussing the baby! One thing that we have decided is that we are not going to find out the sex of the baby at our next ultrasound. We decided that, for this pregnancy at least, the surprise during delivery would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In the meantime, we've been throwing around lots of boy and girl names so that we have a selection to choose from when the time comes! While we plan on keeping the name a secret from everyone until the baby is born, we'd also like your help in picking our top choices, since we have so many names that we like! You can click on the link below to "vote" on some of our name choices. Don't worry - votes are completely anonymous, and we won't be offended if we get some "no" votes on ones that we like (and it won't keep us from choosing that name for the baby either!) we just want everyone's honest opinion! Plus we thought everyone would enjoy a sneak peak at some of the names that we like! :)

http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9688941

Strong, healthy heartbeat!

We had another appointment today at the University of Chicago. Everything looked great - we didn't get an ultrasound, but I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat and it sounded strong and healthy! The doctor still wants to see me one more time before I'm released back to Edward, so I will go again on July 6th for an ultrasound and consultation. I had to go solo on this one, since Sam is at home with the flu! What a terrible way for him to spend his first day of summer break! I'm going to take him to the immediate care center in Plainfield in a little while to get some antibiotics, so hopefully it won't last too long!
I only have 4 more days of school left, and then I'm on summer break! I can't wait to relax and enjoy being pregnant!

Welcoming the 2nd Trimester...

I'm officially in my 2nd trimester, and thank goodness for that! I have noticed in the last week or so that I've had more energy, and I don't get nauseated as easily! I'm still very tired, but not nearly as bad as I was before. Also, I have less than 2 weeks until I'm completely off of my IVF medicine, which I think has been making me feel even worse, so I am very glad to be almost done with that.
I have also started to have those famous pregnancy cravings. I drink at least 3 cups of orange juice per day - I can't get enough of it! It will be interesting to see what I crave next...
I've started showing quite a bit in the last couple of weeks as well. I am wearing maternity pants already. It's been fun shopping for maternity clothes!
I told my students this week, which was very fun! They all had interesting questions, and great name suggestions (they suggested either their own name, the name of their pet, or the name of a character from High School Musical!).
We have our appointment on June 1st at the University of Chicago, so we will keep you posted on how that goes!

Hi everyone! We had our 12 week ultrasound yesterday, and everything looked great! Our baby is measuring big, in the 98th percentile, and looked completely healthy. It was moving around slightly, but not as much as before, and the heart rate was at 150 this time instead of 168. The ultrasound tech said it was probably
sleeping or sucking it's thumb! We both think it's a boy, due to the size, and how active it was at our 10 week ultrasound. Sam is convinced that he saw something on the 3D ultrasound indicating it was a boy, but if he read the baby books, he would know that those parts don't develop for a few weeks! :) We can't wait to find out, so we can stop calling it "it"!

I have another appointment on June 1st at the University of Chicago, and then I will be released back to my regular OBGYN at Edward Hospital where, if all goes well, I will receive care there for the rest of my pregnancy, and deliver there as well. I'm due on Thanksgiving Day (November 26th).

Welcome!

Thank you to everyone for your continued love and support. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family by our side. We will continue to keep you posted with all of the information and pictures that we can!