Last new post: January 2?!?

So I've known for a long time that I haven't posted since January 2. I guess it's been a combination of not really feeling like I have much to post as well as not really having the time to post. At this very moment I don't have either excuse. I have PLENTY of things to blog about and I have some time to post, so, no more excuses.

I don't really remember January so there must not have been too much that happened then. We did have our ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. That was pretty amazing. We didn't find out the gender. We had the technician write down the gender in a card and put it in a sealed envelope so that we could find out if we wanted. We never did give into the temptation of opening the envelope. Also had Amber and her friend Erin visit from Iowa. I needed some maternity clothes and Amber knows how well I do shopping alone. They were GREAT help! January was also about month 3 of being sick because of baby.

February is a blur also. I know I was coaching basketball and that was pretty hectic. We also had Mom, Dad and Ashley visit for a weekend. Everyone chipped in to help us turn our spare room into a nursery. Not sure I could have done it without them! Had a great time. Also, more being sick. Pretty sick of being sick by this time.

March: March started with the State Basketball tournament. Thank goodness for the new assistant coach this year! Her name is Mandy and she kept me sane. If you haven't heard my opinion of the head coach and his first assistant, I think he's an awful coach... maybe worse than awful. Mandy and I hung in there together to keep the girls on the team going and worked with them as best we could to help them grow as basketball players but especially as young, Christian women. Our team lost our first game, which was a big disappointment but they rallied and learned much more from that experience than if we would have won the Championship again this year. Very proud of those girls! March was also the beginning of the end of me being sick. I started only feeling nauseous 1 or 2 days a week instead of every day. WooHoo!

April: Can't think of much that happened in April. I'm drawing a blank. Maybe I skipped April this year?

May: Once the calendar page turned to May I had to keep telling myself that the baby would probably be late and be born in June. That way I was hoping I wouldn't get so impatient! I kept teaching and did some last minute things to get ready for baby's arrival. Henry and I finished up our birth classes which we actually really enjoyed! We had a wonderful instructor who has now become a great friend and resource! (Thanks Missy!). I also enjoyed my last few pre-natal water aerobic classes. Made some new friends there as well. On May 14 I had a doctors appointment. The doctor was concerned about how high my blood pressure was getting and told me I couldn't teach anymore. I was frustrated. I was hoping to continue teaching until the 26th because the baby wasn't due until the 28th (and I had convinced myself that it would be late!). But, we had to follow doctors orders so I called in a substitute and stayed home the next week. I had several more doctors appointments that week and my blood pressure stayed higher than what they were comfortable with. They put me on 'modified bed-rest'. I kept myself busy by baking between my times of having to lay on the couch. We had 2 pies, a bunch of bars and coffee cake. My co-workers were thankful as I brought the excess that we couldn't eat in for them to enjoy. We were scheduled to go into the hospital for an ultrasound on Friday, May 21st to make sure my fluid levels were ok and that the baby was not in any sort of distress. We didn't quite make it to Friday. Thursday night, shortly after we went to bed, my water broke. Hmmm... it was a really strange feeling to gather our things and put them in the car knowing that 24 hours later we would have a baby! We got to the hospital at about 12:15am on Friday morning, May 21st. They got us all checked in and then told us to try to get some sleep. What?!?! We tried anyway. Friday morning I wasn't really feeling many contractions anymore and the ones I was feeling were pretty weak. They decided to induce me at about 10am. By 4 pm I was very ready for an epidural. I never could have imagined how wonderful the epidural really was. It was great! Henry can attest... I may have been the happiest person in the hospital at that moment! After that I slept off and on for the next 4-5 hours...

Anna Grace Vander Pol was born at 10:16pm on May 21st, 2010 and was absolutely perfect. She was 7 lbs and 3 oz and 18 3/4 in long.

Since then our days and nights have been a blur. Anna has been a great baby. However, like all babies, she needs to eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours meaning I haven't slept for more than about 2 hours at a time since May 22nd. I wouldn't go back to the way things were before Anna. Love her to pieces! Even at 2 am :).

We came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. Mom arrived from Montana on Monday afternoon. She has been a cooking, cleaning, and laundry doing machine for which I am SO grateful! It's such a blessing not having to worry about making meals and keeping the house and the laundry going. Mom thinks she's leaving this coming Monday... we'll see about that :)

Anna is 12 days old today and had her second Dr. appt. At this point babies should be back at their birth weight. Anna weighed 8 lbs and 1/2 oz. Getting back up to her birth weight was not a problem! The doctor said she's a '10 out of 10' and he couldn't be happier about her health, so that was great to hear! :)

I will post pictures soon, but wanted to attempt to update things since my last post. Life as I know it has changed. I will work on updating the blog more frequently for anyone who is hoping to keep up with us from here on out. No promises, but I'll make an effort! :)

We pray you all are healthy and happy! Wish we could live closer to so many of you. Miss you and love you much!!

- Lindsey, Henry, and Anna Grace