Thomas James

Thomas James Laschen, was born at 1:09 p.m. on Wednesday March 31st. He weighted 8 lbs 4.5 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Lil man made his birth story quite interesting, but at the end of the day, he and I are both healthy and that is all that matters. Once he came into the world, he met his daddy, grandma McConachie, Grandpa McConachie, Reid, and Nikki in the first few hours. At the hospital he also passed all of his "tests" with flying colors. The picture with electrodes on his head is his newborn hearing test. Mike and I decided that we were done with the hospital and took off on Thursday evening. Thomas wore his "jail break" outfit home. Mike had hoped he could wear bib overalls, but once he realized how small a newborn is, he realized this outfit would have to wait!
This is our first picture as a family...don't mind the swelling, pitocin and fluids for 24 hours is not nice to anyone :-)
About 5 minutes after he was born...






Thursday morning snuggle time with daddy...

Hearing test...
Daddy loves his belly...

First visitors....

We are outta here!

Since the last post...

A lot has changed! My parents came into town while we all waited impatiently for baby Laschen to make his debut. He had another thing in mind! As much as we all tried to convince him that my tummy no longer needed to be his home, he held on, and refused to come without a little bit of a fight (maybe he takes after his mom and dad?! maybe we are in trouble?!) Over weekend we enjoyed a few "lasts" before we went into the hospital on Monday to let the midwives and doctors try to convince baby to come...little did we know what a long and difficult road that would be.
In short, we went in Monday night so I could be induced (because my blood pressure still hadn't come down.) Mike and I enjoyed a quick last dinner as the "two of us" and went to Parisi, then we headed to the hospital. After getting to our room I quickly noticed that "someone loved me" because I saw two beautiful bouquets of flowers in my room. I said I wonder who these are from and Mike said "duh, me" then the tears proceeded! We got all settled and off we started on the induction at 8:00 p.m. Things from the beginning just wouldn't take off, soon enough we were at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, then 8:00 am on Wednesday Morning, thank goodness we didn't get to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night! We filled our time with movies, contractions, nurses stopping in, tv, a couple "jail break" walks, and a quick lunch with my parents! But overall we were both pretty much done with being in a hospital room/bed so we were glad he came when he did!Stella pulled the blanket off the armrest and snuggled with it after my parents brought it home. She and the cats are doing so well with the new addition!

Weekend

This weekend Mike and I met up on Saturday with Troy and Molly. We had lunch and then went and picked out some new furniture...pictures to follow. Mike and I then snuck to Colton's party, and Troy and Molly headed to our house to play with Stella, and they surprised us by cooking dinner for us! Yummy chicken stir fry was on the menu.

Sunday Mike and I got more around the house done, and then hosted Sunday Night Dinner. We used to do this often, but with everyone's schedules getting busy it has gotten a little bit trickier. Jambalaya was on the menu and after dinner we played "things" for a couple hours....that game is really great! So run don't walk to target and pick yourself up a copy!

Colton Turns 1

Mike and I headed to Colton's 1st birthday party on Saturday. He had such a cute cake and had a great time. He did get a little bit overwhelmed when we sang happy birthday, but then got some blue frosting and was loving life. Happy Birthday and Congrats Chico and Candy on Colton's first birthday!

Checking in on baby...

Baby, Mike, and I are all doing well (along with our zoo)! We have all decided that the little man is a little bit stubborn and doesn't want to make coming out easy!

Last Friday they took me off bed "home" rest-whew, even thought it wasn't bed bed rest (bless those that have to do that) it was difficult for me to "take it easy!" We had a good appointment, tests all came back great, and baby was down and making progress!

Since then we have had a second non stress test and an ultrasound to check on how big he is and make sure all is well in there. Both those tests came back with flying colors again! So we are really just waiting for him to come. I am having inconsistent contractions and have been since last week, some get us excited as they are getting stronger, but they don't stick around long enough...keep your fingers crossed! The ultrasound today also showed that baby is a big lil guy, 8 lbs 13 oz was the computers guess which is + or - a lb...I will be hoping for the lower end of that! He also has cute round cheeks! Here is his 3d picture we got this morning.

Mike and I are enjoying our last few days as a couple before we welcome the little guy. Monday night we sat in his room and joked around, Mike really is excited to have a little boy and show him all of the sports things he loves!

Nursery

The nursery is ready for baby to come! The little guy has several nicknames among our friends, "boo," "baby Carlos," and "little buddy" it will be nice to finally meet him and officially name him! So without dragging it out any longer...and because we finally have it finished...here is what his room looks like!

37 weeks

Baby in the belly at 37 weeks, he is a big boy, and I have a big belly to prove it :-) The midwives are guessing he is around 7 lbs at this point...

Still waiting to have a hard time sleeping...moving is getting a bit more tricky as well, but so far so good!

On the home stretch...

Mike and I are on the home stretch to welcoming baby Laschen home! We have been enjoying our last few days/nights baby free and have managed to get in 2 yummy meals at 2 steakhouses. I decided that we should probably just go each Saturday night until he arrives :-) Last weekend we headed down to Brooks where I could indulge and last night we headed to Capital Grill. Capital Grill is so yummy :-) Here is a quick picture that we took ourselves after we got home. The belly is HUGMUNGO! Baby Laschen and I are continuing to hang in there and doing well. We have had a little bit of a change in plans and until he arrives, I will be taking it easy and resting at home, more appropriately called "bed rest." We will also be going to get "checked on" bi weekly now until he comes. They want to make sure that with my blood pressure up that we both stay healthy. It is a little crazy to go in so much, but every time we do we get to see him on the ultrasound and we get to hear his heartbeat for 20 minutes. The constant checks along with the fact that my midwives and doctors are on top of this is very reassuring that all is well with us and baby will arrive in 2 weeks or less!

Let the Countdown Begin...

Well the Laschen house has been full of busy worker bees this weekend! We had a little "reality check" on Friday, when the midwife said that she wanted to do a check of the baby and make sure all was well in there, as my blood pressure has been on the high side. All of the lab work, ultrasound, and non stress test on the baby said life was good in my tummy. BUT, Mike and I heard the message loud and clear and have started to get our ducks in a row! For many of you that know how "on top of things I am" this may come as a surprise, but maybe denial has kept me from packing our hospital bag, installing the car seat, and doing the final pre-baby things. Not so anymore....on our list this weekend was cleaning all our snuggle blankets in the living room, putting the baseboard on, cleaning my car, and getting the house more "together." So by our next appointment on Friday we will be ready for anything! We still have a bit to do, and we will post pictures when we are done and complete...so far the house is looking amazing :-)
What we do know is that baby Laschen needs to make his arrival before March 29th or the doctors have already said that is the end date and they will induce me, I am not a fan of that, so I am hoping he comes naturally before then!

Date Night with the Bennets

Here are a few pictures from our dinner date night with the Bennet family on Tuesday night. Mike also managed to get my "belly table," pretty handy-won't be around for too much longer! I can't believe that ms. Lillianne will be a month old already! Yummy, for those of you in Denver the gelato at Parisi is FABULOUS-even picture worthy!