A Room Prepared

Huff, huff, huff, puff, puff, puff... Okay, okay, I can slow down a minute now to finally get this blog post up. Everything on the Neely homefront is going well - busy, but well. We have taken all of our classes and have been cleared to be parents. I was expecting a license, certificate, membership card, ceremony with the queen, or something, but we got nada.



What we do have is a very cute little nursery that is all prepared and ready for Eden's arrival, and a mommy that is feeling the full joy of pregnancy at this point. While we don't have a lot of room to work with in our apartment, and Eden's nursery has to share space with scrapbooking supplies and computer equipment, we were very pleased with how well the nursery space turned out.

Kendall's mom and dad came up on Halloween weekend to help put the crib and changer together and to get the nursery set up. We could not have done it without their help. We've included pictures here to give you an idea of what it looks like. If you're wondering where that border on the wall came from, it's actually the bumper that came in the crib set. Since we weren't going to use it in the crib, we thought we'd try it on the wall and it worked out perfect! The theme is Tropical Punch by CoCaLo. Kendall did a great job picking it out.

We also continue to be blessed by friends and family members who have sent us adorable security blankets, clothes, and toys. The people at Kendall's job recently threw her a baby shower at the lab and were very generous in their giving to us and our soon-to-come little girl. Thank you all so very much!



We are looking forward to enjoying Thanksgiving in Tampa with our family. Kendall went to an appointment with the midwife today who gave her the clearance to travel. It doesn't appear that she will go into labor anytime real soon, but, of course, you never know and we are making sure to take the car seat and medical records with us when we go out of town just in case.

Kendall continues to do fine for the most part. We are considering buying stock in Tums as she has nearly incessant heartburn, and getting off the couch and painting her toenails is more of a challenge for her than it was before she was hosting a full-term baby in her tummy, but on the whole she is doing well.



Jeff recently returned from his job interview at the University of Texas at Arlington. He felt pretty good about it, but we shall see what happens. As always, we just want to be where God wants us to go. In the meantime, Jeff has plenty of work with his dissertation, teaching, grading, and other research to keep him occupied.

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and life treats you well as we enter the rest of the holiday season.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

Showers of Blessing

You know the old saying, "When it rains, it pours"? People usually toss this adage around when they're talking about the tough times in life, and sometimes that's how it goes. But sometimes God turns this idea on its head and gives it a whole different meaning. Namely, there are times that he will shower you with blessing so greatly that you walk away saying, "Wow, when He rains, He really pours."

That's how it's been for the Neelys recently. And do you ever notice, when God blesses you, He usually does it through other people? We went down to Tampa on the weekend of Oct. 24 where our family members gathered to give us a baby shower. Just having everyone there was a blessing in itself - to know that all these people were sharing in our excitement and anticipation of our baby girl. Some of our family members weren't able to be there in person, but expressed their joy for us by sending us cards and gifts. The outpouring of generosity from everyone was both overwhelming and humbling. We drove away that Sunday with our car packed full of gifts, and Kendall's parents still had to bring the crib and changer up to Gainesville a week later. We are so grateful to everyone who has been so kind to us both in words and in their giving. We are truly blessed to have you as our friends and family.

Kendall continues to do very well. She hasn't had any problems and all of her appointments with the midwives have indicated that she is right on track and looking good. Kendall was able to get an H1N1 vaccine at her last appointment, which we were very happy about. The hospital where she works had run out and they only had three shots left at the midwives' office, so it was a good thing she asked! The baby is growing and Kendall says she can feel little fists and feet poking in her ribs pretty regularly.

We have been going to the Preparing for Childbirth classes every Tuesday now for the last three weeks. Last week we got a tour of the hospital's Women's Center where we will go when it's time for the baby to be born. The tour was very helpful to orient us about where we will be going and how the hospital handles labor processing. The nurse-instructor for the class explained which rooms we will be in at what times, discussed all the equipment in the delivery room, explained protocol regarding who is allowed in the delivery room, and generally walked us through the process. We have an appointment to interview a pediatrician next week, and we are still trying to arrange childcare for once Kendall goes back to work. We also have Newborn Care and Carseat Training classes to take in the next couple of weeks.

In other news, Jeff recently had a phone interview with the University of Texas at Arlington. He walked away a bit unsure about how he did, but he must have done okay because they have invited him out for a campus visit. He will be flying to the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth area during the week of November 17 to meet the search committee and other faculty members, provide a teaching presentation and research presentation, and move on in the next step of the job hunt process. We are very excited about the position and the possibility of moving to Texas, but most of all we are just praying that God will make it clear where He wants us to be.

We've included a slideshow from the baby shower below. In case you're curious, the audio track is a lullaby version of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" by Rockabye Baby. Kendall got Jeff the CD for his birthday. We hope you enjoy the pictures. Again, thank you all so much for your care and support. We appreciate each one of you.

That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

4D Ultrasound Video

Photoshoot - Take 2

I was hoping that this post would serve as Eden's video debut, as I intended to have the footage from our latest 4-D ultrasound up for you to see. However, my computer is painfully sloooooooowwwwww. We had the ultrasound on Oct. 3 and the computer still hasn't been able to open the video editing software. Okay, so I'm exaggerating just a bit, but you get the point. I haven't given up on the video thing all together, but I figured I would go ahead and atleast post the latest pictures.



Our "Meet the Baby" 3D/4D ultrasound was once again a fun-filled family affair. Kendall's mom, dad, and grandpa, along with Jeff's mom, dad, sister, and niece all showed up for the shoot. For the first 20 minutes, Eden kept her hands up against the sides of her head, as if to say, "Oy vey! Not again!" But eventually she let us see her face and we got some pretty amazing pictures of her.



Seeing this one with her toe in her eye is pretty funny. It's hard to believe how flexible little babies are, and how little room there is in Mommy's tummy. Jeff said he's pretty good at sticking his foot in his mouth, but can't quite make it up to his eye.




It's hard to make out a whole lot in this one, although you can definitely see her ear very well.



And here's a leg with a foot attached. For those unlearned in fetal development, this is a good thing.

So, all seems to be going well. Kendall went to her midwife appointment today. The baby's heartbeat is around 140 and she seems to be growing right on pace. It's hard to believe that in about 9 weeks she'll be here.

We start our "Preparing for Childbirth" class tonight. We'll be doing those every Tuesday for the next five weeks and then the car seat class and infant care. I'm hoping they tell us the rules about using our lifelines because I have a feeling I may want to ask the audience or phone a friend when the baby gets here. In other words, for you veteran parents out there, stay close to your phone. I may be calling you before too long just to hear you say, "You can do it!"

Best to all. That's the news for now. We'll keep you posted.

Hello, My Name Is...

Well, folks, I think we have a winner. After much deliberation and scouring through the name book, we decided to go with a name that we had talked about since before Kendall was pregnant. Our daughter will be able to rest assured that we did our due diligence in picking a name for her. So, without further ado... Our daughter's name will be Eden Faithe Neely.

Jeff was talking to his mom on the phone the other night, telling her the plans for the baby's name, when he learned of a very interesting coincidence. A close friend of Jeff's mom is going to have a granddaughter who is going to be named Eden Hope. How funny, huh? Actually, that was one of the initial possibilities for us as well.

Oh, and I should probably let you know in advance that we are not planning to use a nickname for our daughter. So, we are asking that people resist the impulse to call her Edie, E, Den, Edenio, Edenarino, Eden Sweden, Eden Eden Whatchu Be Needin', or any other derivation. I know... I'm having fun just thinking of the possibilities, but please, it's simply Eden.

In other news, Kendall recently had a three-hour glucose tolerance test and passed all four of her blood draws. That means she is in the clear for gestational diabetes. We also went to the second level-two ultrasound last week. Everything turned out fine there. The small choroid plexus cyst that showed up at the first ultrasound has disappeared now, so we were relieved about that. Also, the baby is still a girl, so as far as we know we won't have to spend countless hours returning pink outfits and such. We have one more 3D/4D ultrasound this weekend to catch if she's a he before the big day, but given that we've had four different people confirm the gender at this point, we're feeling pretty safe.

One last piece of good news, Jeff passed his oral defense and is now officially a Ph.D. candidate. He has some changes to his dissertation proposal to make, which was to be expected, but otherwise things look to be full speed ahead for completing his degree by August of next year.

That's the news for now. We should have new baby pictures sometime next week. Best to all.

Life is Coming Fast

A friend of mine recently posted a status update on his Facebook page. It said, "Life is coming fast." That line has seemed very appropriate to me recently. These are very exciting times, but the times they are a changin'. It's hard to believe that in approximately three months we will be Mommy, Daddy, and baby too (and Henry).

Kendall and baby are coming along fine. Jeff is able to feel the baby kick pretty regularly now. We are scheduled to go back for the second level two ultrasound next Thursday. Kendall also has to get some blood drawn to test for gestational diabetes, which is all pretty standard. We will also be signing up with the hospital in the next couple of weeks to put them on notice that we will be needing their services on or about the date of Dec. 16. I guess they want to try to process your paperwork in advance so there's not as much wrangling over insurance, etc. once you get there.

In other news, Jeff recently finished taking his qualifying exams and submitting his dissertation proposal. He has an oral defense on Sept. 29. If all goes well then, he will be a candidate and ABD. He has applied to a few jobs starting in August 2010, but he hasn't heard anything yet. It's still very early. The wheels of academia tend to turn fairly slowly. He also celebrated his 32nd birthday this week. Kendall got him a surfing DVD, the Shaun White Road Trip snowboarding video game for Wii, and a CD of Led Zeppelin songs set as lullaby tunes. How cute!

We are also planning on taking a "babymoon" next weekend. That is, it's our one last out of town getaway as just the two of us before the baby comes. We are going to Cocoa Beach for a couple of nights. Jeff is hoping to sneak in a little surfing if the waves cooperate, but mostly we are just looking forward to spending time together and relaxing.

We hope you all are doing well. That's the news for now.

Pregnancy Progression

So, this post is a bit overdue (no pun intended, hopefully). Kendall is staying busy at work and, of course, preparing for the baby. Jeff is in the middle of taking his qualifying exams and has been swamped with studying and preparing his dissertation proposal. But I know, I know... you people expect some content! Gotcha. So, here's the latest.

The pictures above show Kendall's pregnancy progression at 14 weeks, 16 weeks, 19 weeks, and 23 weeks. Kendall is now 26 weeks along, so she has 14 weeks to go. Hopefully, we'll have some more photos coming before long (Jeff finishes his exams on Sept. 16 so maybe he can be a little more attentive to the blog after that). Kendall regularly feels the baby kick these days, and Jeff finally got to feel her kick one night last week, which was very exciting! For a while there it seemed like every time he would put his hand on Kendall's belly, the baby would settle down. He's not sure if she was thinking, "Oh, here comes daddy; I better settle down lest I get in trouble," or "Oh, there's daddy; his hand and voice are so calming to me."

Things are moving right along as well with the midwives' office. The baby's heartbeat has dropped to between 130 and 140. Originally it was in the 150's. The midwives assure us that this is all right on track and normal. We've also signed up for some classes: Preparing for Childbirth, Newborn Care, and Breastfeeding. Jeff thinks he can help out with the first two, but isn't sure how much good he'll be at the last one. We also have a car seat class scheduled for early in November.

So preparations are going well. People continue to bless us with things on the registry and other items, all of which we are very grateful for. We'd also like to send out our congratulations and best wishes to Kendall's cousin, Carman, and her husband Ken, who just recently had their third daughter together! We hope mom and baby are doing well.

That's the news for now. We'll try to file our copy a little more quickly next time. God bless you all!