This Blog is soooo Last Week ...

Hey all,

come check out the new blog that is dedicated to Hannah...on the outside of the womb.

See you there.

http://littlehannahsworld.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the World...Hannah

On Friday, Rebecca and I welcomed Hannah Renee Sutton into the world and further into our hearts. She was born shouting her enthusiasm at 12:56 pm. She weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is beautiful. She is wonderful. She is amazing. I cannot believe that I am lucky enough to look at her and call her mine.

Rebecca did great during the prep and the surgery. She was a pillar of strength. I'll never be able to properly describe the emotions that I experienced on Friday, but I can say that I think I hit them all. I will also say this---there is nothing, absolutely nothing as amazing as when you hear your child's first cry---a new part of my heart came alive that I never knew was there and I felt a completeness to a part that I never knew was missing.

Rebecca and Hannah are doing great. Hannah loves laying with mommy and loves to hold daddy's hand. Today, I will teach her about football. Maybe next week I will teach her to stay away from icky boys. Anyway, I am going to attach a picture of her now. I am giving you warning so that you can be prepared to see the most beautiful girl in the world (I am probably biased)

The Wait is Over...

Hi all,

I'm sure if you read the last post then you know of our small situation. Last week we found out that our little girl had flipped into the breech position after 37 weeks (at least we assumed she flipped, I guess we will never know). Anyway, Rebecca had her 39 week appointment today and our little girl is as happy as a clam---with her head up. Yep, she hasn't flipped back. There is still time, but following our physician's advice, we are moving forward with the C-section tomorrow (providing of course that she doesn't flip in the middle of the night). Anyway, all good things must come to an end---and by that I mean this pregnancy. It has been good, very good. It has taught me so many things about myself and about the wonderful woman that I married. Rebecca is strong, both physically and emotionally. Rebecca has a wonderful sense of humor--she would have to to deal with my constant bombardment of jokes. Rebecca is patient--heck, she has to be--she waits 9 months to meet this person who is literally draining her. Rebecca is a great Michigan fan--no matter who Big Blue loses to (even if it is App. State), she still is faithful to the end.

Finally, I learned that Rebecca is going to be an outstanding mom. When told of her C-section, Rebecca quickly looked on the bright side and mentioned that if it was the best way to get our daughter out safely, then she is fine with it. I must admit, she is handling it very well.

So, that is where we all are. We will meet our daughter tomorrow (barring any late night flips). We got to see her today via ultrasound. She looks good. She is healthy. Her heart is beating strong--it looks big, just like her mom's. I must admit, I can't wait to meet her, although I wouldn't mind her doing some last minute gymnastics.

So, this could very well be my last prenatal post. It sure has been a long time since my first post. I believe in the first post, I promised to take you on one "wild ride". Well, I don't know if it has been for you, but it definitely has been for me. I can still remember the day that we found out and how new, fresh, exciting and terrifying it was. To know that there was something smaller than the size of a poppy seed growing inside of Rebecca was trippy. All of the "it" pronouns and the guessing of the gender. That initial excitement and fear gave way to a new type of fear when I found out I was having a daughter. I was terrified (I still am) of having to deal with a little girl. I had assumed that a little boy would be easier--heck I could at least throw a football at him (I mean to him). But shortly after finding out she was a she, I must admit that I was overwhelmed with joy about having a daughter. I constantly see the special relationships that daughters have with their fathers and I hope that ours is no different. I know one day she will break my heart when she meets the right man---but that is ok, as long as he is the right man. As the pregnancy went on, I watched my active go-go-go wife slow down and I can't help to wonder how humbling it must be to apologize for not walking fast enough, or having to catch your breath at the top of the stairs, or asking for help when picking things up or tying your shoes. However, Rebecca took it all in stride. Finally, we hit the home stretch and Rebecca was full term--the baby could come at any time--we were really excited. And then we found out that she was backwards--oh well, it will probably not be the last time she doesn't do exactly what I want her to do, but it is ok, we still love her.

This has truly been a wonderful experience and hope you, my readers, have gained a little bit of insight into our lives these past months through this blog. I have had a lot of fun writing it. It has definitely been different than what I envisioned when I wrote the first post, but alas, it was a part of me and a part of my thoughts as I watched my family slowly evolve. Don't worry, I will still be posting and it will still be "blog-esque", but the main difference is that is will feature a new star, little ---. Now you didn't think I would make it this whole time and then tell you the name right now. You'll find out tomorrow (or maybe later)

Anyway, let's close with some statistics! Rebecca's weight gain: normal. Jeff's weight gain: -11 lbs. Yep, I managed to lose about 11 pounds throughout the pregnancy. Nope, it wasn't really worrying--I just exercised more. Ok, the midwife today guessed that the baby was going to be about 7.5 lbs--let's see how accurate she is. So, that is it. I will talk to you soon. Maybe the next time that I write, I will be introducing you to my new daughter. Take care and thanks for the comments over the months. My final request--send a lot of prayers toward Rebecca and our little girl's direction. They can use them. The more the better!

Its all about position: Part II

Well as I mentioned in an earlier post--its all about position. Let me give you two examples. First, Michigan's defense. Obviously, the spread offense of mighty Appalachian State put Michigan's defense in some awful positions. Better yet, the Michigan defense often found itself out of position in trying to defend the spread offense. Result: Michigan loses to a sub-division I team. That was embarassing. I don't really want to discuss that anymore, because this loss should have never happened. No disrespect to App. State, but the 3rd or 4th string on Michigan should be able to beat App. State. Everyone on the Michigan team is a former "blue chip" player in high school and turned down schools much better than I-AA App. State in order to compete for a chance to actually play at Michigan. This is not Michigan arrogance, this would be the same for any good BCS football team such as Florida, Texas, Miami, etc. The talent on Michigan alone should be worth 14-21 points. But instead, they didn't prepare at all, took App. State for granted and got embarrassed on their own field. I hope the rest of the season turns around.

Second example: Rebecca and I went to her doctor's appointment on Friday and were met with some surprising news. Our baby had done an improbable post-37 week flip and was currently sitting (probably very happily) in a breech presentation. Most of you will know that this is not a good thing, especially at 38+ weeks. Our doctor (in agreement with us) recommended against any manual correction (ECV) and scheduled a C-section for Friday (39 weeks). So there you have it---our daughter has one bad sense of direction. Therefore, starting Friday, we had one week to turn her around (naturally, of course). We have been working with an accupuncturist to try and turn the baby. We have noticed a lot of movement and the baby appears to be in a different position, although she appears to still be breech. However, there is always hope. This is where you all come in. Please pray for both Rebecca and the baby. We know that a C-section is not the end of the world and we are very much at peace with it, if that is the way it all plays out. However, assuming the breech presentation is not the only way the baby will be healthy, then it is our desire that she turns head down and we jump back onto our orignial set of plans. However, some things are out of our hands and in God's (and that is perfectly fine with us). Anyway, I mainly encourage you to pray for Rebecca and the baby's health. We will go in on Thursday for our weekly appointment (w/ ultrasound) and see where (or what on) the baby ended up. If that is a bottom, then we will leave and go about our normal preparation. If that is a head, then we will go in the next day and meet our daughter. Either way, we will be ok.