It looks like we’ll be here at the hospital until tomorrow. They like to keep
you here for 48 hours after the birth. So please stop by and visit if you’d like.
Try to give us a call on our cell phone first to let us know you are coming.
If you are too far away to visit, please give us a call on our cell phone.
We’d love to talk to you! If you need our cell phone number, send me an
email: kartoone76 at yahoo dot com. Change the “at” to “@” and the
“dot” to “.”

We made it through the first night. Josiah started out with us, but when they
came in to weigh him at midnight, they just kept him in the nursery which was
great for Kristine and I to get some much needed sleep. Josiah came in to
nurse once at 3:15, and then it was back to the nursery. I got him out of the
nursery this morning at 7:15am, and he was still very sleepy.

There were so many babies in the nursery this morning! It must have been close
to twenty babies. When I went in, only one was crying but by the time I had
left about five minutes later they had all managed to start to wake each other
up and there was a lot of crying going on! Josiah though stirred a bit but was
mostly asleep even as his diaper was being changed and he was being
re-burritoed.

Here is the latest of the newest Toone!

Kristine is 7-8 cm dialated. She’s resting now and doing really well. Thanks for checking in with us and keeping us in your prayers.

I’m on a mandatory “leave-the-room” while Kristine gets an epidural. She’s
progressing well and is doing pretty well. I thought I would post the video
of Analise on her first bike ride to help pass the time. Here ya go!

(Click here for mpg version if the above link doesn’t work.)

And here’s some pictures from where I was waiting outside … beautiful
day here in Alabama!

It’s almost time! Kristine and I woke up early this morning, drove over the
mountain, picked up some Starbucks, and headed to Brookwood Medical Center.
We’re there now, and Kristine has an IV in and has her labor buddies (me and
the cow) here to help! Check back today for updates as we have wireless
internet here in the room.

Here are some pictures from outside our hospital room. Brookwood is built right
onto the side of Shades Mountain,
so here is a view of Samford. Also, here is a
picture of a mamosa tree.

Lastly, we were able to enjoy a nice romantic sunset last night. Enjoy the
pictures!

As we were out splashing in the wading pool yesterday, our neighbors from across the street came over. It’s a single mom and her 5(?) year old daughter, and she was riding a little pink bike, which always sits in their front walkway. She said they’d just gotten her a newer, bigger bike, and wondered if we wanted this one for Analise. Woohoo! I’d been planning on getting her a tricycle for her birthday later this month, but this bike is PERFECT!

Brian was excited to give Analise her first ride yesterday afternoon. She could reach the pedals, and she just needs to learn how to pedal herself. We’ll be looking for a helmet soon. SHe didn’t want Brian helping her, but since she didn’t move without him, he had to stand behind her pushing. She’s quite the little independent lady. It was fun! He may upload a video later today…

If the little Toone-to-Be doesn’t arrive later today, tomorrow will be THE DAY. Keep your eyes on the blog or your email for an announcement. My mom arrives later today, and we’ll head to the hospital at 6:30am to be induced. The doctor was fairly certain it would go quickly, so maybe we’ll have a baby by early afternoon. Can’t wait to introduce him to the world!

9:49pm, the kitchen is clean (enough), the sink is empty, the dishwasher is running, the toys are picked up. My back is aching, I’m having the usual quite uncomfortable contractions, and hoping, wishing, praying that maybe tonight is the night our little one decides to arrive. I’ve done a lot of cleaning/getting ready, and I’m tired of it. Honestly, tonight I’m miserable and ready to meet my little baby.

On the other hand, if I think about it, it’s overwhelming and a little scary to think about going from our nice, neat, organized family of 3 and adjusting to being a family of 4 with the around-the-clock needs of a newborn. *sigh* I know everyone does it, though. And we’ve got plenty of help around us, I’m sure it’ll be fine.

We spent a quiet day here, resting and playing in the little pool this afternoon. Brian’s parents joined us for dinner tonight while Brian went on his weekly race ride. Nothing new to relate from my 40week appointment yesterday (which was my actuall due date). I haven’t progressed any further, and if our little Toone-to-be doesn’t arrive on his own this week, we have an induction scheduled for Friday. My mom flies in on Thursday, so if we’re going to “plan” when he arrives, it would be nice for Mom to be here. On the other hand, he’s MORE THAN WELCOME to come tonight or anytime before then.

(CLICK THE MAP TO VIEW A HIGH RESOLUTION, DETAILED VERSION OF THE MAP)

Still no baby here! I was able to get in a 48 mile ride this morning before
church to bring my total for this week to just under 301 miles! That’s a new
weekly record for me — not counting my college days when I used to have 400
and even one 500 mile week. The map above shows my ride from this morning. I
met my dad (who has also gotten back into cycling!!!) out on the road that
circles the Galleria (bottom circle). We road one lap together before he
headed home, and I headed out on a 48 mile ride to bring my total above 300
for the week. The main thing I wanted to point out is the spot where I
set a new speed record (again, not counting my college days). Note the spot
towards the center of the map and the corresponding spot marked on the
elevation profile. Here’s the stats for the week on my bike computer:

Weekly Mileage			Maximum Speed (MPH)
Total Hours			Average Speed (MPH)

Well, if a flurry of activity is supposed to precede going into labor, last night should have been my night. I had a burst of energy in the morning (Brian was gone and couldn’t keep me from overdoing myself… whoops!), and I swept all the floors and front porch, rearranged more baby clothes, cleaned the kitchen and cleaned the hall closet. Then I braved a trip to Target by myself (not my favorite place to be on a Saturday when I’ve already worn myself out). I was so tired last night. But here we are, still waiting:)

Today, though, I’ve laid low. I’ve been having some uncomfortable contractions every evening for weeks, so that’s nothing new. But the kitchen is clean, the house is picked up, and nearly everything on my “TO DO BEFORE BABY” list has been accomplished, with much thanks to my wonderful husband. Brian did realize something funny, though. I HATE to clean my George Foreman grill. I used it nearly 3 weeks ago, and it’s been sitting on the counter waiting to be washed ever since. Tonight, he asked me if I was ever going to wash it. Hmm… I wonder if maybe the baby isn’t coming until I wash it? Ah, the crazy thoughts of a late-pregnant woman. Anyway, I washed it (took all of 2 minutes, I don’t know why in the world I didn’t do it sooner). Now I’m sitting here in a clean, picked up house, hoping that maybe our little Toone-to-be will arrive tonight. On the other hand, I can be reminded and reassured that God’s already chosen his perfect birthdate since the beginning of time, and nothing we can do will rush or delay it. We just can’t wait to meet him!

Tomorrow’s a busy day, though. The monthly women’s mission meeting at Brian’s parents church is at 10am and 7pm. And while I’d rather not go and face all the “when is your baby coming” questions, I invited the guest speaker, forgetting that it was my due date. And we sort of expected we’d have a baby here by now (why we expect that is kind of funny… even with only 1 child, given that she was 12 days late, we shouldn’t really expect anything better than him coming ON TIME, surely not EARLY). So Brian’s got a breakfast meeting at 7:30am, we’re both going to the morning missions meeting at 10, having lunch with our guest speaker at 11:30, I’ve got a doctor’s appointment at 1, and then the meeting is again at 7pm. If little one decides tomorrow is his day to arrive, I’m not sure we can fit it in!:) We’ll check in tomorrow to let you know how the day goes, though. Hope everyone had a good weekend!