Trey

Our first family photo with Trey

Us with Dr. O'Kelley who helped us safely bring Trey into the world

Just a few minutes old but looking great - his Apgars were 9 and 9

Thomas David Ashworth III (we are calling him Trey) arrived yesterday on October 30 at 4:26am. He was 2 weeks and 1 day early, but we are glad he is here safe and sound. He weighed 6 lb. 14 oz. and is 19 inches long. I started having some contractions Monday night - I had worked that day for 8 hours, so I was trying to relax a little after work. by 9pm the contractions got stronger - we went to the hospital at 10:30pm and I labored for a little under 6 hours before Trey was born. David was such a great support through the whole process. We just arrived home tonight and are going to get some sleep now for a little bit before it is time for him to feed again. We are so thrilled to have Trey in our lives - he is such an incredible blessing from God!

Girls I work with who were a part of our delivery - Ashley L., Ashley W., Kelly, Leigh, & Carmen

We love this boy!

Family Shower

Me, my sister in law Renee, my mother in law Barbara, my sister in law Catherine - I love them!

Me and Cindy - such a great friend

David's cousin Cindy had a baby shower for us last Saturday. My sister-in-law Renee helped her with the planning and invitations. I felt very loved and cared for. Cindy is a great friend and has been a huge source of encouragment to me since I have lived in Knoxville. It was a special time of togetherness with David's side of the family. They gave us many wonderful things, but what meant the most to me is that they ended the shower by praying for me, David, and our baby boy. We are blessed to have been raised and surrounded by Godly families on both sides. I was reminded while they were praying that God loves our little boy more than we ever will - He has a special plan and purpose for his life. Before God ever formed his little life inside of me, He knew everything about our child. This is almost too much to comprehend.

The classic "opening up the gifts" picture

37 weeks

David listening to Dustin the firefighter/car seat inspector

At the fire station getting our car seat all checked out

I am 37 weeks and 1 day pregnant. We went to the doctor today and after examining me, he said I was 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. He said my cervix was very soft which is what happens soon before labor begins. My due date is November 14 but he said he doesn't believe I will still be pregnant by then. I have been really crampy lately, so the changes to my cervix explains that. He is having me cut back from working 12 hour shifts to 8 hour shifts which I am thankful for. I worked 12 hours on Tuesday and had 2 labor patient. I was so worn out when I got home that I could barely stay awake long enough to eat dinner.

On Monday, David and I went to a Car Seat Safety Installation Checkpoint to make sure our car seat was installed correctly. It is a free service offered, and we thought it would be good to go just to make sure. We both learned some things, so I am glad that we went.

All installed

The Certificate to Prove It

David intently holding our plastic class baby and listening to instructions

Well, we survived 5 weeks of childbirth class (or the class survived us). I really wanted us to go to the class so that David has a clue about what is going on when labor actually begins. I didn't want him to feel that because I am a labor and delivery nurse, he is not needed. I DO need him - he is my number one support and I thought this class would help prepare him more. He could have done without the (as he calls them "explicit and graphic") videos, but I think we both learned some things. And we walked away with a certificate and everything :-). I was thinking today that in any other area in life besides parenting, there is training before you begin something. I had to go to school for 2 years to become a nurse and then had to walk around for 4 months with another nurse once I was a nurse before I was allowed to do ANYTHING to a patient. Why is it that with parenthood - the most important thing we will ever do with our lives - there is no training or certification involved? Not even a prerequisite course is required. I know that since we have found out we were pregnant, we have been praying for guidance and direction from our Father, and I know we will be seeking Him much in the days ahead as we venture into this new phase. I suppose we will be need to be getting daily instruction from Jesus on how to love and care for our little boy. Please pray for us that we are faithful to do this.

I had to take pictures with David's phone tonight in class. He was so cute as he gave our plastic class baby a sponge bath and changed his first (though clean) diaper. He learned how to swaddle tonight too. He did a great job, and he will be an amazing daddy to our baby.

Bath time - look at the concentration and focus

On the domestic side

My mom makes really good freezer jam, and I asked her last night on the phone if she had made any this year. My idea was that when she and my Dad come down for the baby, she could bring me a little homemade jam. But she didn't have enough strawberries to make any this year, so I decided that I would make some. I went to the Dollar Store and bought some cheapy small plastic freezer containers. Then I went and bought the pectin and strawberries - and 1 hour later, I had 8 containers of my very own homemade freezer jam. I love this stuff and am excited to eat it! I am also taking some to 2 friends at work and a friend from church.

Another exciting thing is that I went with Peggy from work today to a consignment sale called Duck Duck Goose (http://www.dkdkgoose.com/) . I was able to buy our baby some more onesies, gowns, outfits, and socks, and everything was half price today because it was the last day. Peggy bought me a Boppy (nursing) pillow and cover at the sale. Peggy has children and grandchildren of her own, and she is a very giving person - she is always protective that I don't overdo things at work, which I appreciate and need. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and has survived surgery and chemotherapy with a courageous spirit and a positive attitude that we have all learned so much from. Today she treated me to lunch where we enjoyed some tasty fajitas at a Mexican grille. It was a good day - bargains and strawberry jam.

Sweetness

David and I both had yesterday off together, but we didn't see much of each other. I had Bible study in the morning and David had physical therapy on his foot (yes, that is from the injury he had last year before our wedding). When I came home from Bible study, I put a ham and pineapple in the crock pot for dinner and took a nap. David went to donate blood and ran several other errands.

After dinner, David took me to the park where we had gotten engaged. It was pretty chilly outside, so he had packed a sleeping bag and a blanket to keep us warm. He brought a lantern and a little cooking pot with it's own heat source to cook the s'mores that he had brought (s'mores are my favorite). We had a great time out there until we were so cold that we had to come back home. I love that about David that he thinks of little ways for us to reconnect. He hasn't been able to get outside and hike and kayak like he enjoys since he injured his foot, but I am excited that as his foot continues to heal, he will be able to do the things he loves again. Some of his friends are wanting to go camping now that Fall is here, so I am hoping he will get a chance to go with them before the baby arrives.

34 weeks pregnant

happy & healthy - my ever growing belly with 6 more weeks to go :-)

His umbilical cord is right next to his mouth in this picture and it looked like he had been sucking on it

I think he looks like David in this picture

I had an ultrasound and doctor's appointment today - everything is still looking great. He is measuring 5 lb. 11 oz. which is the 60th percentile for his gestational age. I would like him to stop growing in about another pound and a half :-) I still have borderline high amniotic fluid but nothing that the doctor is concerned about - it is just making my belly a little bigger than it should be. I loved the pictures we got at our ultrasound today - I think he is so cute and looks like David in these pictures. I am curious to see if he will actually look like these ultrasound pictures when he is born. On the ultrasound, we could see his eyelashes - totally amazing.

Our anniversary trip

For our one year wedding anniversary, David surprised me by taking me to a bed and breakfast in Waynesville, North Carolina for the night. He told me I needed to take work off on Monday October 1, but he wouldn't tell me where he was taking me. We stayed at this quaint, romantic place called the Herren House (http://www.herrenhouse.com/). After dinner, we watched our wedding DVD that night which was fun to see and remember. We had an incredible breakfast the next morning, and then David had made an appointment for me to have an hour pregnancy massage. I LOVED it, but I felt bad that he didn't get anything done for himself. That is so like him - thinking of me and not himself. We strolled around Waynesville early that afternoon and then looked around some other little towns before heading back to Knoxville. On the way home, we travelled along the Great Smokey Mountain Parkway and then stopped in Gatlinburg for dinner. We ate at a place called The Best Italian Restaurant, which is a place that David and I went to when I came to Knoxville for the first time to meet his family back in December 2005. We had not been back there since then, so that was fun. We had a great couple days together.

On a funny note, the only thing I would have changed is having a shirt that fit me on Monday. I packed a pair of maternity jeans and a brown shirt that fit me 2 weeks ago when I wore it. When I got dressed on Monday morning, the jeans fit just fine but my belly must have grown some more because my shirt came about 3 inches above where my jeans left off. I looked hideous but had packed nothing else to wear. David said it wasn't that bad, but I wasn't about to go walking around with my belly exposed to all of Waynesville. Thankfully, I had packed a long cardigan sweater, so I decided to put that on and button it up. It did the trick until about 11am when it was 80 degrees outside, and I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I was able to tie the cardigan around my belly after that, and we made it through the rest of the day quite nicely.

The garden our room overlooked

Our room

Part of our breakfast