How Awesome!

So, I promise I'm not keeping Ashley off the computer. She'll be posting soon enough. I was just thinking back on the whole labor and delivery and it just didn't go at all like I thought it would. How many of you went through that wonder of life video back in school? Well, I did and had this aweful image in my head ever since. I had this mindset that I was going to be by Ashley's side, of course, but I wasn't going to be all "right there" in the action. Next thing I knew I was holding one leg and counting Ashley through her breathing. I thought I was doing pretty good and still thought I wasn't going to get much looking "down there". But I'll tell you, during the pushing, when they said there's some hair and the head and I decided to take a look, any reservations went out the door and all the emotions started hitting me. And then when all was said and done, that gooey baby was out, I was cutting the cord, and I was hugging Ashley telling her how great she was. It was truly an amazing experience and I promise all the future dads to be that it wasn't all that bad. It really was amazing witnessing this wonder of life.

May I Introduce Siena Grace Botello!

Hey everyone! Tommy here and I'm coming to you straight from the hospital. I'm probably not supposed to be doing this, but I managed to find a way to get you all through the nurses computer in our room. But I couldn't help but try in order to update everyone. So, Siena is here and she's B-E-A-UTIFUL! She's 8lbs even and 21in long. It was a tough fight, but Ashley was awesome! I couldn't be more proud of her. But the baby is completely healthy and eating well as is Ashley. We had a ton of support and we appreciate all the calls and visitors for showing us their support too. Siena was great through the night and she let us sleep, except for when she was hungry of course. Let's hope we get more of that. We'll be going home tomorrow (Wednesday) and we'll be ready to introduce her to her new home.

Ready or Not, Here She Comes!

Hey, it's Tommy again giving you all another update while Ashley relaxes. We had another weekly doctor's visit today. Ashley has been having minor contractions lately which we can only assume means that we're getting closer and closer.
Upon examination, Dr. Evitt found she was 2cm dilated and 70% efaced and she was still having contractions. So, they decided to hook her up to all of these machines to monitor her and make sure she wasn't going into labor. Obviously, since I'm writing you now, you can probably guess we're not having a baby. However, Dr. Evitt feels like this bun is ready to come out of the oven and offered to induce Ashley this Monday. We don't want Ashley having to go through all this discomfort if she doesn't have to so as long as Dr. E says it's ok, then we are good...to...go!
This doesn't mean, of course, that the baby won't come earlier, but we're definitely going to have our "dream come true" by the end of Monday. Sure that sounded all fine and good when we decided to do the induction, but now we're like..."whoa"! We'll keep everyone updated and try to let you know when Siena decides to join us.

The Finishing Touch

Hello all, it's the baby daddy coming at you this time as Ashley is taking it easy on the couch. I'm glad we've had such a great following on here since I know there's a lot of you close friends and family that we don't get to see to often.
So, we added the finishing touch to the nursery this week. Our friends got us this wall cling that we've placed over the crib and I feel that it shows that we've been looking forward to this moment for many years.

Well, we're only days away and we look forward to seeing everyone and showing her off once we get settled.

Baby Update..

I went to the doctor today and got some great news! I'm already 60% effaced and starting to dialate! I knew those hard pains yesterday HAD to be contractions! LOL.. The nurse practictioner said she could feel her head; so, she's dropped very low. It's only a matter of time before we're ready to make our hospital run! (I hope at least) Mom has began to beg me to drink casteroil and other "home remedies" to get things going quicker. LOL.. It's so funny to see her so excited. Also, I am measuring at 39 weeks and I'm only 37 1/2; so, we believe she's hit another growth spurt. Hopefully, she'll come soon before she hits too many more! We're super excited about it getting closer, and I'm feeling more anxious than ever!

Maternity Photo Shoot!!

We took some maternity pictures back on May 30th. Mary Ann did a great job and we are happy to show you a few of our favorite pictures from the day.




There are some more great shots that you can look at by going here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryannbrannan/sets/72157619385684007/

In other news, I ended up going to the emergency room at the hospital yesterday. I woke up from a nap Sunday afternoon and had a numbness in my right leg. It was pretty painful to walk on. They were worried that it could be a blood clot, so I had to go to the ER for them to do an ultrasound on my leg. It turned out that everything was fine, though. I guess it's just the way she is positioned right now that is either hitting a nerve or reducing the circulation to that leg. I've started having some back and belly pains, as well. So, hopefully this is the start of labor. I go to the doctor Friday and will post what the results are from that.

Another Ultrasound!

We had another ultrasound this past Wednesday. Boy has Siena grown in 6 weeks! She looks like a totally different baby. She now has chubby cheeks! Julie said she weighs 6 lbs. 7 oz. That's a very healthy weight, and makes me feel good if she wants to come soon.


Other than that, we are just sitting around waiting for her to make her arrival. We have made preparations by getting the overnight bag together for the hospital and washing all her clothes and blankets. This past week brought great news and relief in the fact that we found a babysitter! This was something we had been praying about for a while and it finally happened. A young stay at home mother at our church said she'd be happy to watch her. So, we are extremely relieved about that subject. Now, I can say I'm truly ready for her to be here! I don't think anyone is ever really fully prepared for the arrival of their first child, but I feel like we have done all that we can at this point to "ready" ourselves.