INTRODUCING: MACKLIN DEREK KING

Macklin Derek King
October 29th, 2008

8:29pm

9 pounds 10 ounces

21 1/2 inches long

He is here and he is perfect. He was born on a Wednesday night and we brought him home on Friday afternoon. He is such a good baby. He doesn't do that much these days he eats, sleeps, poops and sometimes he cries. Derek and I both walk around the house whispering and touching him as though we are going to break him. We really appreciate all the friends and family who have come to visit. We have been showered with gifts, good food and great company. We are so very blessed. Mack is already so loved and he is such a very lucky baby boy.

After we had been home for a week or so our generous and very talented neighbors Derek and Amy Malone came over to snap pictures of our little guy. He has already changed so much. We can't wait for all of you to meet him!

OcToBer 28th and 29th

Finally, on Tuesday the 28th we went into labor. A full day of mild labor pains on the 28th followed by a night in the hospital and a full day of pretty good labor pains on the 29th, 3 and a half hours of pushing that evening and then finally our little guy decided to make his grand entrance at 8:29 pm. It was an amazing experience, painful but amazing none the less!! Derek was very hands on during the delivery, for the most part he buddied up with Dr. Terrell and learned the ins and outs of delivering a baby. I think he intends on delivering the rest of our children on his own. My mom and Auntie were both in the room with us and were lifesavers. I don't know what we would have done without them. As for me I just did what they told me to. The whole process was long, I was very tired, it was too hot and it felt like it was never going to end. As you all know there was an end and when all was said and done we had a beautiful baby boy. Life is good!

BaBy ToDaY???

October 21st we went to the hospital to be induced. Due to the fact the baby is so big the doctor decided that we would have a better chance at a natural delivery if we tried to get him to come early. Our little guy had a different plan! After two long days and one long night with grueling needles and pushy nurses we went home the next day with NO BABY. After this experience I have decided to take my chances with letting him come on his own and just dealing with his size. So as of now we are still waiting on our little guy!

StiLL CoOkInG!!

Well, it seems to be taking forever for our little guy to arrive! I am feeling great and the baby is doing wonderful, I am just ready for him to get here already!! We are having an ultra sound next week where we will get a better idea of how big he is. The latest estimate at 31 weeks was 5.5lbs, we have a monster on our hands.

We have had many great baby showers. Derek and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel spoiled and know our little guy is going to love all the goodies he has received. We have been having so much fun visiting with everyone at showers and being able to share our excitement with everyone.

We have been working hard at getting the house ready for the baby. The nursery is pretty much set and we love it!! We went with a turtle theme and it is so cute. The rest of the house needed little things finished and we have been working hard to get everything ready.

My doctor keeps telling me I just have to be patient know and wait for him to be ready to come out. As most of you know patience is not one of my strongest virtues, but I am trying!

A sHoWeR FiT fOr a PRinCe!!

Well, the first baby shower was so much fun! My mom and sisters put on the shower and it was amazing. Our little guy is so blessed and loved already. He received so many wonderful gifts; I truly believe he is going to be in the running for the best dressed baby when he arrives. Thank you to all of you who came to the shower, we really appreciate all the gifts and love you have already shown to our little guy!!

I have been diligently working on the nursery and it is finally coming along. I am planning on adding a photo to the blog in the the next week or so. The baby and I are both doing great. He is getting bigger and bigger and I am trying to keep my weight under control, something that is easier said than done. He moves all the time and favors the right side of my belly over the left, making me look lopsided all the time!

AnD GrOWiNg aNd gRoWiNG!

I can't believe the difference from my previous belly shot pose to now. My belly doesn't seem to be growing at a rapid pace, but from looking at the pictures it obviously is! The baby is moving around like crazy, especially at bedtime. Derek still hasn't felt him move, but I feel him all the time. It is such an amazing feeling, except for at 3:00am, then it is a little annoying. I suppose the baby is just getting me ready for all the times I will be waking up in the middle of the night with him. The baby and I are both doing fine. I seem to have tons of energy these days. I have been putting most of that energy to good use getting the nursery ready and preparing for my up and coming volleyball season. I will try to remember to add a photo of the nursery for my next post. By the way we have finally settled on a name...Mackson "Mack" Derek King!

BaByMoOn!

Derek has pretty much decided I am no longer allowed to read baby magazines! He thinks they give me too many crazy ideas. That all started when a couple of months ago I told him we had to go on a "Babymoon!" Of course he had no idea what a "babymoon" was. I informed him that a "babymoon" is a well known tradition of the parents going on one last vacation together before the baby arrives. He disagreed with the "well known" part, but after a little pleading he finally saw things my way.

We just returned from a very fun and relaxing week in Florida. We spend five days at my Grandparents condo in St. Petersburg and then headed to Orlando for two days. We spent our days in St. Pete sampling great restaurants and relaxing by the pool. While in Orlando we hit up Hollywood Studio and then on the 4th of July we visited Epcot. All of the scenery at Disney was amazing but the fireworks were unbelievable! We stayed at The Boardwalk in a magical two story suite. We had a wonderful time. Though he complains about the "babymoon" I think that deep down he is a believer!

ITs A BoY!

Last week we hit about the half way point in the pregnancy and we found out what we are expecting in October. A little boy! We are so very excited. The search for a name is on! We had a girls name picked out but for a boy we are up in the air. Since the search for a name can be frustrating we have moved on to decorating the nursery. We found an adorable nursery that is covered in turtles and has an under the sea theme. I can't wait to get started on the decorating. The crib is picked out and will be here soon so all we are missing is the baby! Everyone tells me he is be here before I know it!

ThE BeLLy Is GrOWiNG

I thought I would show everyone an update on how the belly is growing. I am feeling excellent and the baby is doing great! I still haven't felt any movement yet, but from I read that day is coming soon.

LoOkS LiKe a BaBy!

Our most recent trip to the doctor was the most exciting! It is so amazing to see the development of the baby already. Just three months ago the baby was barely visible. Now as you can see were finally looking at a baby. Hearing the heartbeat is thrilling enough, but to be able to see the babies eyes, nose, arms and legs was so amazing! We don't know what we are having yet, we find out May 20th. I am not patient enough to wait it out through my whole pregnancy.

KiNg FaMILy FuN iN tHe SuN!

Spring break in South Padre was a ton of fun. The entire family got to relax, play in the pool and search for crabs at the beach. Nanny and Poppy are what they call "winter Texans" they spend all of January, February, March and some of April in South Padre. This was a chance for all of us to vacation while visiting them at the same time. Though Hunter and Hannah got a little burnt the rest of the trip was both fun and relaxing. Derek and I shared a condo with Dustin and Charity along with their children Hunter and Hannah. Upstairs, Nanny and Poppy shared a condo with Stacey, Storm and Suzy. The eleven of us made quite the crew. Now we are all home and were welcomed by some cold white stuff on our lawn. What a fun week, now it is back to reality. I have a Dr.'s appointment later this week so I will be updating soon.

A CLeAr To FLy

Due to some pretty heavy morning sickness and Dr.'s instructions to "take it easy" our doc felt it would be best to do another ultrasound before giving me the go ahead to travel over spring break. It was definitely a little scary but everything turned out just fine. Our growing little one is in perfect condition!! The best part of the whole mess was we got a new baby photo!! The morning sickness lasted for only 3-4 weeks and turned off as quick as it started. This baby photo is a little more clear than the last if you look closely you can see an arm and both legs.

The entire King family is going to South Padre Island Texas over spring break to visit Nanny and Poppy. Everyone is looking forward to fun in the sun and at the beach. Since I am not allowed to go to a tanner I am really looking forward to relaxing in the sun! I am heading down four days early to get a little extra TLC and spoiling!!

A JeWeLeR aT WoRk

I have seen and heard horror stories about what happens to pierced belly buttons once there is a baby on the way. Taking out my belly button ring was one of the top things on my list to do once I found out Kutie Pie King was on the way. This ring has been in for almost 10 years so of course it wasn't coming out without a fight. Lucky for me Kutie Pie King's Daddy is a jeweler and he is very experienced with difficult jewerly! To be honest with you I don't remember why I got my belly button pierced in the first place, like I tell my sisters and my volleyball team, it is just one more scar to cover up someday!

MeEt ThE PaRenTs!

Telling our parents was a lot of fun! We wanted to do something creative when we told all our parents and grandparents, but the news spreads fast and we didn't want people to find out through the grapevine.

We bought my Mom a bag that said "when a child is born, so is a grandma" it is real cute with little baby photo holes. Derek called her and asked her to come up to the jewelry store for something and we told her there.

We called his Mom and Dad in Texas and told them we made something really special last time we were down there and it would be here is 9 months. His Mom wondered why it would take so long, "because the mail is so slow?" It wasn't until she repeated it out loud enough times that Howard finally said, "Suzanne, she is pregnant!!"

I bought my Dad a coffee mug that says "Grandpa" and I was going to tell him, Julie and the boys by having dad drink out of the mug. But like I said the word was spreading fast so I just called him and casually asked him if he would like to be called "Papa" or "Grandpa" he was surprised.

My Grandma and Grandpa Tindol called it before I could even get the words out!

Mom, Gary, CJ, Chelsea, Charly, Grandma & Grandpa Currier all went out to dinner that night. I made up menus with the special for the evening in pink and blue. The server handed out the mock menus with the specials such as "Baby Toes, Baby Noes" and letting them know that all items on the list take 9 months to prepare! My family is not the quickest so it took them a minute, but when they got it they were very excited.

SpReaDiNG ThE NeWS!!

There was no real method to the madness of how we started telling people. Charity (Derek's twin brother's wife) was the first person to know. She was in my kitchen the day after we found out and we were waiting for Becky, Doug and Cooper to show up (we were going to tell them all at the same time) and I couldn't wait. I asked Charity to get me a book out of the cabinet and the What to Expect When You're Expecting book was in the front. She instantly started crying. We tried the same technique with Dustin, he didn't get it so quickly he merely handed me the book and didn't think anything of it.

The Gardners showed up a few minutes later and Charity and I stole Cooper and disappeared into the bedroom, where he had a quick change! I had bought him and outfit and ironed on letter that said "my new best bud, due..." and on the back it said "October 2008" Becky instantly noticed Cooper was in a different outfit, but it took her a second to put it together when they did we all laughed and cried!

Hunter and Hannah got busy making the new baby cards and notes and Hannah already insists that her new cousin will be a girl. I don't think she is completely over the fact that Cooper was a boy she has so many "things" she wants to give a baby girl!

HoW dO yOu ReAd THis ThiNG??

FEBRUARY 19TH

It was a Tuesday morning and I was about 5 days late (which is nothing new) so I thought why not as I headed for the bathroom and dug out a pregnancy test. This was not the first test I had taken, I assumed I would fail it like I had so many times before. Well, you know what they as about making assumptions?! When the 5 minutes went by and I saw two pink lines where there had always been one my stomach dropped to the floor. I hadn't put my contacts in yet, so I didn't trust my eyes completely. I headed to the living room test in shaky hand and held it out in front of my hubby. His first response, "What does that mean," followed by as small smile and a "Go read the directions." I thought he was right, I put in my contacts, read the directions and took out test #2, different test, same results!! After 8 months of trying, we finally passed the darn test!!