Introducing Cullen Andrew Saylor!

We are proud to introduce you to our amazing son, Cullen Andrew Saylor! He was born at 8:00am on July 29, weighing 8 lbs 15 oz (yay for less that 9 lb 13 oz!) and was 21 inches long.

It turned out that we were able to go in on Tuesday night to be induced. The pitocin began at 6:30pm so we had a long night, but were blessed first thing in the morning with our miracle of a son.

Mom, Dad and Cullen are all doing well and are back at home. We look forward to sharing more photos and stories with you along the way. Send us your email address if you haven't already received a link to more photos! (drewandsteph@gmail.com)

Love,

One Happy Saylor Family of 3

Thursday???

Just a quick update for anyone following the tale of Baby Saylor...

We had our doctor's appointment this morning and despite the efforts of Dr. Cotoli, we weren't able to get on the books to induce early this week. However, we are scheduled for Thursday morning, as long as L&D isn't too crazy with natural labor patients!

So as of now the plan is: Thursday, July 30
- 5 a.m. - Call L&D to check their patient status/saturation
- 6 a.m. - If L&D wasn't too chaotic, check in and begin procedures to induce labor.
- ????? - Baby Saylor arrives!
- 48 hour later, we bring him home!

Just a few days now! We'll keep you posted as best we can!
Love,
Steph, Drew, and Baby Saylor

Any day now...

Just 8 days until my due date! Wild!!!

We had a doctor's appointment this past Wednesday. The good news is that my body is preparing and I am already 2-3 cm dilated. When Dr. Cotoli felt my belly, she said "I think this guy could be 8 1/2 pounds already!" To get a better idea, she sent us in for an ultrasound on Thursday. The ultrasound tech took several measurements and came out with the estimate of 9 lbs 10 oz +/- 23 oz!!!! I am praying that he isn't "plus" anything, but especially not another 23 oz!!! That's a huge window, but even with the 9 lb 10 oz as the average, he's going to be a big one!

First thing Monday morning we have an appointment with Dr. Cotoli. Drew and I both got the feeling that we will probably be scheduling an induction or c-section if our little guy turned out to be big on the ultrasounds. So, it could be that our little man will be arriving in a matter of days!

We will keep you posted! Or..if you don't see anything posted early this week, it might be because we are at the hospital!

3(ish) weeks to go!

Every day is another day closer to meeting our little boy (still nameless for all who are wondering!) Drew and I have done almost everything we can to prepare, so we are getting into a waiting game now. We set up the pack and play (his crib until we are settled in NM) and installed the car seat today. I have a friend at the local health department who checks car seats, so I'm going to take it by her office this week to be certain our little guy will be safe!

Otherwise, many things are continuing on as normal. I've been teaching swimming lessons last week and will be again this week. I haven't had any trouble, but a little boy in another class asked me "Is that a ball?" while pointing at my belly! hahaha. I told him it wasn't, that it was a baby and he looked perplexed (I think he was only 3 or 4). At that point, I corralled my class into the water, deciding that he could ask Mom and Dad for more information instead of me!

I'm still loving swimming laps for exercise as it is way too blazing hot and humid to go for walks anymore. I stay indoors most of the time to be sure I keep myself and our little boy cool.

Dr. Cotoli continues to give us good reports at each appointment. We'll see her again in a little less than 2 weeks and weekly thereafter. It's so exciting to think that our little man will be in our arms soon!

Lots of love,

Steph, Drew, and Baby Saylor

5 weeks to go!

It is hard to believe that we are only 5 weeks from our August 2 due date! It seems like ages ago that we were spreading the exciting news at Thanksgiving! We are still happy and healthy and getting prepared for the big day!

Drew and I went to our childbirth class on Friday and gained some insight and lots of helpful tips for labor and delivery. All in all, I think there is only so much research and planning you can do for this type of experience, especially the first time around. We will be as prepared as possible and look forward to the day we get to meet our son.

We are still entertained by his movements and in the last month, his hiccups! Poor little guy gets the hiccups about twice a day! I can't help but picture how infants' entire bodies shake when they have them, so cute! I think the first noise he makes won't be a cry but a hiccup instead!

Our next appointment is July 9 and at that one or the next, our doc is ordering an ultrasound to see how big he is. I can't wait to see him on the screen again! We'll keep you posted!

Lots of love,

Steph, Drew, and Baby Saylor

Together Again

The best news for this post is that Drew is home! He arrived last night and is catching up on some much needed rest. He is such a proud father already, so excited to feel the baby move so much now. When he left for his deployment, the baby was kicking but it was harder to predict when and was more subtle. Now he does one of three things: boxing, kicking, or having a party (aka, full body movements!) I think the baby can feel my emotions sometimes. He was having a party the whole drive over to pick Drew up!

Baby and I are doing very well. We traveled to Virginia last week for some family time and a wonderful baby shower. It is always so nice to be back in my hometown, see lots of family, and catch up with some friends too. Even some of Drew's family were able to make it to the shower, which meant so much to me. This week we are headed up to visit Drew's parents in Atlanta and then I'm out of my travel window until our little boy arrives!

We are greatly enjoying the YMCA's swimming pool for exercise and I've even surprised myself at how much I can still do, including flip turns! We have our next doctor's appointment on June 15 but don't expect any big updates or news, just continuing our check-ups.

Love from the reunited family,

Steph, Drew, and Baby Saylor

30 Weeks

Baby Boy Saylor and I are happy to report that we are both doing very well at the start of week 30! As my mom mentioned in the last post's comments, I "passed" my three-hour glucose test so I do not have gestional diabetes! Hurray!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and continue to be on the path of a healthy pregnancy. Baby's heart rate was 135 today, still going strong! Dr. Cotoli talked to me about taking "kick counts" every day. When she was explaining that she'd like him to kick 10 times in 2 hours, I laughed and said "Is 10 times in 10 minutes ok?" She laughed and said "definitely!"

We are both looking forward to having Daddy Drew home in just a few weeks, but until then, we are busy busy busy! United Way's big Open House for our new building is this week, I travel home to Virginia next week, and then it won't be long until Drew returns!

Love to you all,
Steph & son