More pictures of our family of 4

Watching the Huskers (Nima is more interested in Rory).

I believe the look on Grammy's face is exhaustion, but I think she was really enjoying her cuddles.

Rory

Having some silly time

Rory's first bath at home.

Mom and Dad took care of Rory's bath while Grammy took care of Taya's.

I love this picture. Ethan looks a bit cheesy but I think it just shows what a proud dad-0 he is.

My little Mann...isn't he sweet??

I want to write a little more about how our days are going but currently I am posting while Taya takes a bath. She has already taken a break to go to the bathroom (which I need to clean up) and she is now ready to get out and do jam-jams). So hopefully I can write more soon but in the meantime, enjoy the pictures!!!

Baby Rory comes home to stay!

In the afternoon (after the Patriots game) we prepared for the trip home! Rory changed into his new outfit with bear feet. He wasn't as excited as Mom and Dad were.

In fact the whole process was sort of exhausting.

Rory wore his festive Thanksgiving bib home (originally it was Big Sister's, only the start of the hand-me-downs)

We crammed Rory into the proper cram-carrier, he tolerated it.

Mom and Dad are very proud of their new son! (The nurse took a pretty poor picture, but come on, he's a second child, so one was enough I guess.)

We weren't home long before we needed to get Baby Rory out and hold him.

This is a great picture of our new family, except Nima who wouldn't stay put.

Taya wanted to help Daddy bring Rory in.

This is the first step in the door, everyone was very excited!

While Tracy and I were trying to get out of the hospital on Thanksgiving (which took all day, literally until 4 pm), Grammy was at home with Taya making an impressive meal! Shown below was the kitchen feast that we walked into. Notice she is unloading the dishwasher, that thing usually has a day or two to rest in between cycles, hopefully it doesn't get worn out!

Taya gives Rory very soft and gentle kisses and cuddles.

Taya really likes to look at and hold Rory's little hands.

Big Sister wanted to watch (and poke) new Baby Brother.

Mom had plenty of help, good thing Moms don't have personal bubbles that could potentially be invaded. Rory is a great eater already. He had a great latch from the very beginning.

Nima wanted to be a part of everything, just a little closer...

After we arrived home Rory slept for about 3-4 hours in his co-sleeper that we had moved into the living room. He was more than happy to not have nurses poking him every 1-2 hours.

Of course, Nima was VERY interested in kissing the new baby! Grammy allowed her just a few kisses while they cuddled. All night Nima had to be next to Mom in bed to nurse as well. She gave some pretty forceful growls when we tired to adjust her.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Welcome Rory Patrick Mann!

Early in the morning on November 24th 2010 (today) we had our first (ha) little boy, we named him Rory Patrick Mann. He was 7lbs. 14 oz. and measured 20 inches long. Mom did a great job and labored through the early morning after we arrived at the hospital at about midnight (around the same time the Ohio State students were jumping into Mirror Lake on OSU's campus for "Beat Michigan Week"). Luckily we weren't delivering at OSUMC, where they were treating aforementioned students for drunk-o-thermia. While things progressed well, eventually around 3:45 things leveled out. Tracy had a lot of back pain (indicative of the baby facing or presenting in a less-than ideal way). After 2 hours of pushing, only during contractions, I was able to convince her to try to labor some on her hands and knees to attempt to get the baby to turn (thanks Bradley). When she turned, her water broke within about 5 minutes, and within 10 minutes Rory was crowning! They called doc and he only had time to get gloves on before Tracy couldn't hold off pushing any longer. Rory came out a little blue, doc said (afterwards) that he had the cord around his neck and he had a knot in his cord! He still pinken-ed up nicely and had apgar scores of 7-9. Mom and Rory did great, but only because we had so many prayers! Enjoy some pictures.

Hospital:

Grady Memorial Hospital, Delaware, OH Rm 458

Taya (proud big sister!), and Grammy

Big sister with her new special toy!

Big Boy!

Dad-O and Mom-O

Pictures

After I realized I didn't have any pictures to post, I decided to take some! Taya had been wanting her picture taken anyway (she likes to look at the pictures on the camera after I take them and is usually heading my way before the camera takes the picture!). Anyhoo, enjoy!

40 weeks..................
Grammy and Taya

Taya doing a little dance....

Goofy girl.............................."cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese"

Taya can't take her eyes of "touchdown show" eventhough Ethan was able to.

Grammy and Taya's handy-work with Taya's new foam letters and numbers.

Grammy brought Taya a big Minnie Mouse (Grammy left the bag by the door a little too long so it didn't make it to the Christmas hiding place).

No baby yet

Hi...I thought I had new pictures to post but unfortunately I don't.
My mom made it on Wednesday so I was hoping to stay pregnant at least 'til then and I made it. So far things seem to be calm and baby has been more "quiet" although he or she seems to be running out of room. My mom and I got pedicures this morning and so far no contractions :).

I had a doctor's appointment last Monday and the next is scheduled for Tuesday the 23rd. At the time my weight was stable and the baby has dropped so much that the uterine measurements aren't accurate any more. The baby is definitely sitting low and my belly is just kind of hanging out. The nurse midwife told me I have "a nice sized baby" in there.

Mom, Taya, and I took advantage of our time together and we did more Christmas shopping yesterday. Taya was good and slept almost the whole time, except for lunch. I got a lot of Christmas presents picked out for myself but still have a few left to purchase. Now Grammy's room is full of gifts that need wrapped.

Anyhoo, I do hope my next post will be with detail of our new arrival. Until then...we appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby (and mommy).

38 weeks with baby #2

A brief update from the Mann's.
Monday Taya and I had some quality time together...we went to storytime then headed to the mall to finish some Christmas shopping. Taya was such a good girl and God blessed me with some energy and we got all but 3 gifts purchased and I even got some wrapped! I also took advantage of some free gift wrapping at a few places :).

Ethan and I both had Thursday off and we had another busy day...Nima went to the groomer, Taya had school pictures, went to storytime, went to my doctor appt., then I went to a meeting at work while Ethan and Taya went to Ethan's lab. Needless to say, by the end of the evening I could barely keep my eyes open on the couch at 7:30.

A few pictures from our week........
Taya wanted to sit at the big table. Since I still haven't found a booster seat I like, Ethan put together a few textbooks with a belt. It worked pretty well but later Taya asked to sit in her high chair.

Ready for pictures then on to storytime!

Taya's new winter coat and snowpants came in the mail. She loves her "pokie-dots".

Nima looking good after the groomer. The bow didn't stay in long.

38 weeks pregnant with baby Mann #2....................

149 lbs

Baby's heartrate 130s

BP-120/62

Group B strep-NEGATIVE!!!

I was reading through some old blogs (thanks for the idea, cousin Katie) to see how I looked and how I was feeling at this time with Taya. I feel exactly the same except maybe a little more tired just from having a 2 year old and not getting the rest I did with Taya.

At 37 weeks with Taya I wrote that I felt great, didn't have any feelings of having to get this baby out, and mostly I was just feeling anxious about what to expect with labor and delivery. Well, although I am ready to get rid of this big belly, I don't really feel like this baby HAS to come soon. In fact, I've told Ethan that even if I'm overdue I will not want induced...the baby will have to come eventually. I also have the knowledge of what a natural delivery entails (not that bad) so I know I can do it again. I guess my biggest unknown now is what it will be like with 2 kids!

I read my blog from 38 weeks with Taya...we had gone to North Platte/Ogallala for Danny and Stacia's wedding, which is funny because at 38 weeks this time we went to watch Danny play football. Anyhoo, I wrote that I had slept until 9:00 that morning and was eating cinnamon rolls while I typed (haven't slept 'til 9:00 a.m. for a LONG time now). Also on that blog, Ethan predicted by the following weekend we'd have a baby (and we did, 4 days after I posted that blog). He hasn't make any predictions except he doesn't think it will be until a week from this weekend (about 2 days before my due date).

38 weeks with Taya......................

I might have another blog before the big announcement but it's possible the next time I post it will be with pictures of our new little one!