Harper Fallon Dailey is here!!!

So this is a little late but Harper was born Sept. 9, 2009! She was 7lbs 20.5in. She lost a little of her birth weight but ad already gained it back after a week. I went in to be induced on labor day at 9pm. After being fully dialated the Dr. realized that Harper was turned sideways and her head was wedge in my pelvis. The dr. tried to turn her but she turned back so they decided a c-section would be the way to go, this after 30 hours of labor. Labor wasn't bad and neither was the c-section. We got to go home friday afternoon and a week later i feel great, other than being a little (or alot) tired. Then Dr.'s say Harper and i are both doing great and after gaining 40lbs throughout my pregnancy i only have 14lbs left too lose!!!

LABOR DAY!

Its finally time, almost! We go to Vanderbilt tonight at 9pm to start my induction. They said i should be able to sleep tonight, yeah right, and they they would continue with the induction in the morning. So, hopefully we will meet Harper sometime tomorrow!!! Stay tuned for pictures although who knows when we will be able to get around to posting them.

Belly Shots!

Thanks Sister!

36 weeks!

but no progression yet. Next tuesday i will be considered fullterm so we can definately wait til then at the earliest. Brooke took some great pics of Mark and I (and my belly) tonight so hopefully I can post those soon. I will be going to the Dr. every week from now on so stay tuned for more postings!

35 weeks

We're almost there and i think we just about ready! Mark and i put together Harpers changing table today and organized all her things. We got just about everything we need and then some at my shower last weekend. Now we just have to patiently await Harpers arrival. I'll get some pics from the shower up soon!

33.5 weeks

Its almost baby shower day! My friends Courtney and Liz are in town and staying with us and Grandma B and TT are also in town. My sweet sister is throwing my shower at her house tomorrow afternoon so stay tuned for pictures!!

30 weeks!

I'm 30 weeks today and feeling good. I had my first brush wih major feet swelling this past saturday. I was sitting for too long and it was really hot. I decided to lay down and since my toes kinda felt funny i looked down and to my surprise my feet were sooooo swollen. My toes felt like they were huge and rubbing together. It was a little scary since it felt like it came on all of a sudden but after laying down the swelling went down. My sister helped me finish our target registry today but before we left her house to go to Target she kindly pointed out that she could leave an indentation on my foot/ankle when she pressed on it (due to water retention)! Great!! Its gonna be a long and hot last 2 months. Thank goodness for a.c.! Anyways, thats all for now. I go to the Dr. every two weeks from now on so i'll be back in a couple weeks with a Harper update!

28 Weeks and the 3rd Trimester!!

Birthday lunch w/ Mom and Dad!

28 weeks!

My birthday movie night!

Well we've made it through another trimester and Harpers growth is right on track. I went to the Dr. today and heard her very strong heartbeat. I've also been feeling and seeing her move alot! It really is one of the best feelings ever. She weighs about 2 and 1/4lbs and measures about 15in in length!

We were blessed to receive 3 huge bags full of baby girl clothes sizes 0-18 months from a co-worker so we are quickly getting ready for Harpers arrival and can't wait to meet her.

Our newest plan is too buy our first home this fall to take advantage of the first time home buyers credit. We've been pre-approved and our credit scores are great so we are well on our way to purchasing Harper's (and our) first home!!

first video

Just a quick video of Harper opening her mouth a little and tilting her head back.

Sweet baby girl!!!!!

25 weeks

24 weeks

Our baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Harper's brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. We go in for the second round of 3D pictures next wednesday the 20th. So hopefully Harper will be camera ready this time. Stay tuned!!

23 weeks

We've turned on the radio and have been swaying to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, Harper can feel me dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), we have been able to see her squirm underneath my clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that our baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as loud music or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. I went to the Dr. today and they said that Harper was progressing normally and I got to hear her strong little heart beat again. She moved while the doppler was on her and the Dr. could even feel her move! She's a strong little thing and she loves to move around!

3D!

After 3 students practiced doing ultrasounds on me (for an 1.5 hours!) they finally started trying to get some good 3D images. Unfortunately, they said Harper was really nested in and her face was up against the placenta so they couldn't really get a good shot :( Luckily they are letting me go back in about a month just for some 3D shots! They said once Harper gets bigger she should be easier to see. On the plus side the woman said she was 99% positive that its a girl. After my first ultrasound at 19 weeks i was a little leary. Even though they told me it was a girl the ultrasound tech didn't sound too sure. But after today, with Harpers little legs wide open, we are for sure ready to start buying frilly pink clothes!! Anyways, hopefully she be in a better position for some pics when we go back.

22 weeks

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, Harper is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If we could see inside my womb, we'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside Harper's belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. Tomorrow is 3D ultrasound day!!! I was lucky to meet another pregnant woman who told me about Vanderbilts need for pregnant women for the students to practice doing ultrasounds on. I have to sit through an hour or so of them looking around doing whatever they need to do for their educational purposes but then they give me a bunch of 3D pictures for giving them my time (and my belly). So stay tuned for more pictures to come!!!

21 weeks

Harper now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. I already feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements have turned into full-fledged kicks and nudges. If I look at my belly I can see it move when she kicks(totally weird)! I have yet to discover a pattern to her activity, other than the fact that she seems to sleep in cause i don't normally start to feel her move til around 9/10 am but maybe I will see more of a pattern as I get to know her better. In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now. Next wednesday (a week from tomorrow), I will be going to Vanderbilt to turn my body over to science! Ok, i'm just letting the sonography students practice doing ultrasounds for an hour and in return I get free 4D pictures of Harper!! Our Dr. doesn't do the 4D ultrasound so now i can get a clearer picture of our little girl. I'll post the pics after I go.

20 weeks and half way there!

Our baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of her head to her bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe. She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Its a .....

GIRL!! The Dr. said she is completely normal and I am still due around Sept. 1st. We are pretty set on the name Harper but we'll be open for suggestions for a little while longer. Isn't she cute. Look at that cute little nose!

19 weeks and the somach virus!

Our baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear our voices now, so I guess its a good thing Mark isn't afraid to talk to her/him almost everyday. Our baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of an heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

On another note, i visited with my aunt and grandparents on their way to IL from FL, on saturday. We had lunch at my sisters for maybe an hour and then they were on their way. Sunday night around midnight my grandma and i were both up all night/morning and monday with a stomach virus. Strange but true! No one else got sick (knock on wood)!! Anyways i'm feeling better now but i 'm still supper tired from no sleep.

Thursdays is the big day!! Stay tuned for a posting sometime that evening for a newsflash on the sex of the baby!!!

18 weeks

Head to rump, our baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that I've already started to notice and will feel more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If we're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If we're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from us during an ultrasound. But he better not cause we go for that ultrasound a week from this Thursday!!! One more weekly post and we can hopefully start refering to the baby as he/she for sure. Or maybe by one of the two names we have picked out!!! Get excited! We sure are!

17 weeks and our move!

Our baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Our baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. Her ears are in their final position on the side of her head. I have started to feel baby move. It feels like popcorn popping and i don't feel it all the time but i know when i do feel it its baby dailey!! On another note Mark and I have moved into an apartment for the summer. As many of you know we were staying in my parents house while they were in FL for the winter but its time for them to come home!!! We have a cute 2bedroom 1bath with a private patio right by the pool. We are so excited to be here with our family in our own little place. Our new address is 101 Arbor Creek Blvd Nashville, TN 37217. See you next week!!

16 weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, our baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as our baby continues to develop. On another note, incase anyone is wondering, we are moving into an apartment w/a pool for the summer! My parents should be home the first weekend in April so we are moving on at least for 6 months or so. Then we'll see what happens. I'm just excited to have a pool for the hot summer TN days and i know Mark is too!

Dr. visit #2

All went well at our Dr. appt. We heard the heartbeat and the Dr said the baby was moving around alot so I think its a boy because boys never sit still! We go back April 9th for an ultrasound so we will hopefully know the sex. Unless, baby is shy but lets face it he/she is a dailey so he/she probably won't be afraid to show it all!! j/k Thats all for now. I just wanted to keep you all in the loop.

15 weeks and pictures recaps!

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If I shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for our baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if we have an ultrasound this week, we may be able to find out whether our baby's a boy or a girl! We have a doctor appt. tomorrow morning but we were already told the they won't be doing an ultrasound until our next appt., around 20 weeks! Oh well, stay tuned for more baby dailey details! I will try to post whatever the Dr. tells us on thursday.