Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Rylee Anne

The day came for us to have a little girl! She is finally here and we named her Rylee Anne. In the next few weeks I will update you on our birth story, and how she is doing... but for now just wanted to share with you the most precious smile you will ever see! man are we in for it as parents! She already has a beautiful personality... and we just can't stop staring at her. Please enjoy this short video clip of our little one and her smile she shares with us.
Love the Downeys
ben, lane and rylee

Thursday, May 13, 2010

39 weeks and counting down the days

At my latest appointment we are still only 1 cm but we are now 50% effaced. However the doctor did say that I seem to have an "unfavorable cervix" right now to possibly deliver on my own! SO... a day to be induced was picked. Of course we are naturally hoping for that baby to come on its own... but whatever is best for doodlebug is best for us.

Tricia's last day of school is this week, and brandon will be home this weekend! So anytime next week is good for us!

I am not having many contractions or anything like that. Ben was so wonderful and took a random day off this week to spend with me before us two becomes three! It was such a nice day together.

So, this may be the last blog before doodlebug is born! but we will just see. I am going to try and put up pictures of the baby room so everyone can see how fun it is. We decorated in dr. seuss style!

New maternity pics from my good friend NICOLE




38 Weeks and feeling pretty pregnant!

38 Weeks May 4, 2010

We are still dialated only to a 1 cm and not doing much else! The baby seems great so far. I have really started to slow down and get tired much easier. The car-seat is officially installed thanks to my great hubby. And our bags are packed, even in the car ready to go! We are a little anxious and excited!
Getting to do lots of things with friends before we take some time to be just the three of us once doodlebug is here! Having people over for dinner, poker nights, date nights with friends! I did a few more pictures this weekend with sis, turned out really nice!

I did go into the Urgent care to make sure my swelling and headaches were normal! Got a chance to listen to baby for a good 1/2 an hour. Hooked up to the monitors and I only had 1 contraction the whole time. It was such an old machine that they had to tape the heart monitor to my tummy, when it would slip a little it sounded like I was going to birth a killer whale! Like from finding nemo when they speak whale... that's what I felt like doodlebug was saying to me! It was quite funny.
Turns out just a little bit of a UTI. Boo. So antibiotics are making everything better!

37 Weeks and starting to dialate

37 Weeks April 27, 2010

At our sonogram we got to see the baby moving like crazy. After a few measurements and getting to see little spots of hair on the head we found it baby doodle weighs aprx. 6lbs 12 oz. according to the 36-37 week sonogram to make sure the head was down!

We are dialated to 1 cm-ish and that is about it. Could be awhile still. Mom was early with us but I do not look like I will get to follow in her steps. That is ok... we still have a bit to do around the house and in the baby room. Paintings are coming along, all the furniture is in, we got a great new chair and we have everything we could have needed from all the showers.

Baby is doing great, I do have strep b so we will just make sure I am on antibiotics at the delivery and everything should be great. Still anxious to meet this little one and find out if we have a daughter or a son. Now we play the waiting game!

A few really late easter pictures! And celebrations!

Easter was so much fun this year. Pics of me and ben, mom and I laughing about my eject button for the baby! And many lessons on how to fly kites!








Here are a few pictures from my soon to be sister in laws bachelorette party and my father in laws birthday celebrations! We ate at melting pot and had a wonderful time with tess and her friends. I was so excited my inlaws came up for the weekend to celebrate the easter festivities and steve's 50th! Ben's brother got to come up too!



Pictures from all the festivities!

This is a photo of me still hard at work doing photos! Yeah for pictures of life! I love documenting things, and being documented!


Tricia and I at her last highschool assembly! We are getting so excited!


My friend kay who is due later this summer! Our babies like each other already! Yeah for baby bumps!


The lovely ladies who threw me a shower in the afternoon with all my church pals!



My friend Katie and I at the shower her family threw for us! All the family came to this one!

36 weeks and Headed the right direction!

And the baby is headed in the right direction! We are head down and do not have to have a c-section at this point! Now we wait. My mom said this baby is going to be a good baby because it listened to God right away. Brandon said he was the best uncle ever because he told the baby to flip and it listened to him! Ben and I are so thankful for everyone's prayers and thoughts.

The baby showers were all wonderful! We got some amazing gifts and some beautiful sentiments from friends and family! Beautiful poems and handmade blankets. Then a bbq on sunday with our bible study group! Ben got to make baby back ribs for the first time on the grill and we even had homemade icecream!

Our friends and family are such blessings.








35 Weeks and Baby Showers Galore!

35 Weeks April 13, 2010 Length 20-20.5in Weight 5.5lbs Size: A honeydew melon

"Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that it's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, baby isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of kicks should remain about the same. The kidneys are fully developed now, and the liver can process some waste products. Most of the basic physical development is now complete — baby will spend the next few weeks putting on weight."
"My insides have shifted for sure, everything seems to be up under my rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now." - Baby Center

Once a week appointments these days, and the doctor can not tell for sure if that baby is head up or head down. She thinks we are breech right now, so another sonogram is scheduled for next week. There is talking of waiting to let the baby flip, doing a manual flip procedure (very painful possibility), or a csection. So we are praying the baby flips on its own and we don't have to intercede!
This weekend I have my baby showers and a fun baby q lined up! What a blessing to have so many people that love and support us!
can't wait!

34 Weeks Talking Birth Plans

34 Weeks April 6, 2010 Length 19.5-20in Weight 5lbs Size: Medium Pumpkin/Cantaloupe

There is big talk of birth plans and having things written down that you know you want and don't want to happen on the big day. Ben and I will just have to see how it goes, we are the people who picked our wedding music out 5 minutes before we danced! Good thing I had that wedding cd I liked! We have names that we are coming up with and adding to a list. We might just have to see this kiddo before we really know the name.

I seem to be doing really well! I have two photo shoots this week and I am invested in a woman's weekly bible study as well. I really enjoy my time out of the house, and I love that my business is doing so well! Check me out at http://illustratedgrace.zenfolio.com and see my latest creations!

And this weekend I travel to Manhattan for a graduation party for my sister and cousin! Pretty exciting and probably the last trip I will be taking til after doodlebug is born!

"The Baby's fat layers — which will help regulate body temperature once born — are filling baby out, making it rounder. The skin is also smoother than ever. Baby's central nervous system is maturing and the lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies." - Baby Center

33 weeks and hard to sleep at night

33 Weeks March 30, 2010 Length: 19-19.5in Weight 4.5lbs Size: Medicine ball (or heft of a pinapple)
Ben and I have survived our labor and delivery classes! No fainting on either of our parts! We learned alot and it did not seem to overwhelming. Doodlebug is kicking up quite a storm, and it has become pretty interesting to watch my tummy do the wave. I forget that people see my tummy from a different angle then I do... but none the less it is fun to watch.
I officially don't fall into a deep sleep until about 3am and then sleep until about 9. This seems like a habit I may get myself into with this little one!


"This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. Baby is rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and the skeleton is hardening. The bones in the skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for baby to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as the brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.
As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were swaying, you may find yourself waddling. Finding an easy position to sit in — let alone sleep — is becoming more of a challenge. And bumping into chairs and counters is par for the course." - Baby Center