A few more pictures of Little Tommy

We've been a little busy getting settled in with the newest member of our family. Little Tommy has been pretty easy and sleeps most of the time (except night - haha). He's started eating more and can even hold his head up a little by himself. I think that we have a smart little cookie on our hands. :)

The ride home from the hospital on Tuesday night.

A picture from Wednesday - his first day home.

Not sure what he's doing - maybe saying a blessing....

Thomas Michael is here!

Yesterday, we went checked into the hospital at 5:30 to start the Cervidil (which softens the cervix). They kept that in until 5:00 this morning.

Once that came out, they started the Patocin right away and things progressed pretty fast. Around 11:00 they gave me the epidural, which I am so glad that I had! Once that kicked in I was able to take a nap and when they came to check on me at 2:00 I was dilated to an 8 1/2. They checked me again at 3:00 and I was already to a 10 so we had to wait for the doctor before I started pushing.

Thomas Michael was born at 4:22 and weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. and is 20 inches long. He is the cutest baby! We've already changed 2 poopy diapers and fed him 3 times (although he doesn't eat much at all right now).

Here are a few pictures....

Thomas Michael

The Rennie's

My Parents, Thomas & Me

Tom feeding the baby his 1st meal

Representing the Steelers

38 Week Checkup

Well, yesterday was my last checkup before the arrival. Everything was great. I didn't gain any weight from last week and my blood pressure was still in the normal range.

I have only dilated about 1/2 a cm so he's having us come in Sunday night to start giving me medicine (I forgot the name of it). If I'm not fully dilated by Monday afternoon - we might opt for a C-Section. I'm only considering this option because I want my doctor to be there for the delivery and his "hospital" day is Monday. If I have to wait until Tuesday, the doctor I don't like at all would have to do the delivery - which I don't want.

I do need to finish packing my hospital bag and we have a lot of things we plan on taking to keep us occupied (computer, DVDs, Nintendo DS, books and magazines). We probably won't need all of that - but just in case! :)

Tom's Baby Shower

On Monday, Tom's tax team took him out to lunch at Luna de Noche. They had a little mini-shower for him (which makes me happy - since he didn't help me open ANY of the gifts my co-workers gave me).

We received gift cards to Babies R Us (which will definitely come in handy) and his bosses family bought the baby a really cute quilt and 2 toys from Pottery Barn Kids which match the decor we have in the nursery right now.

One of the girls on the tax team took pictures and is supposed to email them to me. Once I get them I will add them!

Our Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday was a day that we set aside to do "us" things.

First of all, we went to grab a quick lunch and then headed to Oklahoma to gamble a couple hours at the Winstar Casino. It was a lot of fun and we actually came back with over half of the money we took (thanks Tom).

We got home with enough time for me to shower again before we headed back out again. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary by going out to dinner at Del Frisco's. We had a lovely time and it was nice to relax and hang out there with all the yummy food.
On our way home we stopped at Cheesecake Amor and I ran in to get us a piece of Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake to split. For some reason I was the only one that ate my half, and the other half is just sitting in the refrigerator just staring at me every time I open the doors.....Tom better hurry and eat his half - or he might not get any. :)

It was a really nice night with just the two of us.

37 Week Checkup

Yesterday, we had our 37 week checkup. Everything went well. I only gained 1 lb. and the baby was 60% effaced (which means that my cervix is starting to thin out - I had to look it up) and that baby was at a -2 position (which tells you exactly where your baby's head is in relation to your pelvis and birth canal). A "0" position is when the baby's head is in the center of your pelvis, I believe.

My group B Strep and anemia tests came back - and everything looks good on those too.

Next Wednesday is my last appointment before we go in for the induction. I can't wait! I'm at the "uncomfortable most of the time stage" and I'm ready to meet the little guy

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today marks our 2nd Anniversary. I can't believe how fast time flies. It seems like only yesterday that we were planning our beautiful wedding.

Last year we celebrated by reserving a room at the Hilton Lincoln Centre (where we held our reception) and went out to dinner at Nick & Sam's in Dallas. This year, we don't plan on celebrating until the weekend with a nice quiet dinner at Del Frisco's and then coming home to enjoy a quiet evening at home while it's still just the 2 of us.

We did celebrate with his family this weekend with a dinner at Silver Fox in Frisco. I do look a little different from 2 years ago to today. :)

Tom and I on our wedding day.

The Rennie Family at Silver Fox last Thursday.

Marian & Carlton's Wedding

Saturday evening The Rennie Family (Tom, me, Christine and Eddie and his parents) went to Lewisville to celebrate his Uncle Carlton and Marian's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, but it was pretty windy outside (as you can tell from the pictures below)!

After the ceremony, we headed to Robson Ranch in Denton for the reception. We probably got there around 7:30 and stayed until the end - even though we hadn't planned on it since we had a late night before. The place was really nice (and I believe newer). If was a buffet dinner with chicken (yum) and beef. We did sneak out a couple times to go watch the Penguins game on the TV Tom brought in the back of the car. We made sure to be back inside for the cake (since I don't skip on desserts) and the groom's cake was tasty!

I should have taken a picture of the bride and groom leaving, because Marian chose to forgo the rice and bubbles and instead handed out glow sticks for people to wave around. She should have known better having been around the family for years - but the "drunk" people decided that she probably wanted them thrown at her. So pretty much everyone threw their glow sticks at them as they walked to their decorated car. How much would it have sucked to listen to the sound of beer cans dragging on the ground the entire way to the hotel! :) Oh well, glad it wasn't me!

Congratulations Carlton & Marian!

The Rennie's at the church

Christine & Eddie

Tim & Diana partaking in a little alcohol

Tom & Eddie attempting to dance!

I think Christine was a little thirsty...

Tom & I - I'm due in 2 weeks

36 Week Checkup

I had my 36 week checkup today. The best news was that I didn't gain any weight in the past 2 weeks! I think what I gained 2 weeks ago should cover the rest of the pregnancy. :)

We did the Group B Strep Test and they drew blood to check for anemia. I will get the results for these tests when I go back next week. I only have 2 more weekly appointments before I'm induced on the 22nd. Woo-hoo!

I also talked to the nurse about whether or not I can bring my own pajamas in my "hospital" bag and she said that after the birth I can wear my own. That's just the excuse I need to go shopping for some cute (cheap) pajamas. Hopefully, I will have time to run to Kohl's or the outlet mall before then.

Here's a picture of me at 36 weeks 1 day.

Books That I Found Helpful During Pregnancy

2009 must be the year of the baby! I have quite a few friends that are pregnant and due later in the year. A couple of them have asked me what books I liked & are the most insightful.

I have 2 books that I would recommend that helped prepare me on what to expect and were the only ones I looked at over these last 9 months.

For the pregnancy questions I had - The Pregnancy Instruction Manual was extremely helpful and gave you tips in a way that was easy to understand.

A few weeks ago, I bought The Baby Owner's Instruction Manual (by the same people that wrote The Pregnancy Instruction Manual) which gives you tips on how to prepare for delivery and what to do once you bring the baby home.

I also bought Tom a book to read from Babies R Us. It's called What To Expect When Your Wife is Expanding." He said it was very helpful (and funny) and told guys in "their" terms what happens each month of the pregnancy.
I know there are a ton of books out there - but these are the 3 that we found most helpful.