The Brown Family just got 33% bigger

Ladies and Gentlemen -

The management would like to announce the following:

Now appearing on the main stage of Plant Earth, in a debut performance:

Mr Eric William Brown. Weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 oz; measuring 21.5 inches; this dyanmo is ready to meet the new world (as soon as he finishes his nap). Mommy and baby are doing just fine.

The family is excited to have this new addition and look forward to the special talents he can bring to the table.

A Date with Destiny

No baby yet, but we have a date. Debbie is having contractions right now, having reached 2 cm and 50%. The doctor was pretty pleased with her progress, so he decided it would be good to schedule an induction for tomorrow morning. So, while no news right now, there will be an important announcement in the coming day or 2. Stay Tuned!

Home Coming

Just got the call. Debbie is being discharged today. Huzzah! We don't know the exact time, but I expect it to be late morning/early afternoon. Of course, the window installers are here too, so I asked them to do the master bedroom first. That way, I can get the space heater running in there to make it comfortable. Now, it's a solid month of bed rest, so the ordeal is just beginning.

Let me out of HERE!

It took 48 hours, but the hospital stay has started to get to Debbie. She's gotten a little stir crazy and wants to badly to get out of there. The doctor right now is saying she could go home maybe Monday or Tuesday, but there are no guarantees. Other than that, there is not a whole lot to report. I finally got around to calling some people I hadn't notified yet. I also spent most of the day getting the house ready. The window installers will be here tomorrow and I need to get all the window treatments down, plus clear the areas around the windows.
Lauren's been just a big ball of energy today. I put her down for Quiet Time^TM, which was anything but quiet. The in-laws are visiting with Debbie now and I plan to head over tonight. I don't think I'll take Lauren to see her today. It's just too much, particularly if I want to stay more than 15 minutes.
The big issue right now is what to do when Debbie comes home. The first thing that needs to be worked out a rules. The hope is, she can come downstairs at the start of the day and head back up at the end, but the doctor needs to okay that. Just a lot of questions right now, but not a lot of answers.

Saturday Update

Things have progressed very well. This morning, the doctor felt Debbie had progressed enough to move her from the labor and delivery wing to the postpartum wing. It basically meant constant monitoring of her contractions and of the baby were no longer necessary as things appeared to have stopped for the time being. That said, he still wants to keep her in the hospital for a while. The current estimate is she will come home Monday or Tuesday. Debbie was also able to confirm what we thought: she will be on bed rest when she gets home. This Monday marks week 33 of the pregnancy and the doctor would like her to remain on bed rest until the bun is fully cooked (about week 37). Debbie's biggest problem right now is boredom. She's only allowed out of bed for bathroom breaks and I can't stay by her side 24x7 anymore.
Her parents did make it late last night. The walked in the door about 11:30 pm, so it was a long day for them. I really like having them around right now because Lauren is quite a handful. Grandma was able to occupy her while daddy could get some errands done. I'm going to need the same thing tomorrow because I have to prepare for Monday when we get new windows. I have a friend coming to help me move some of the bigger pieces of furniture, but I also need to remove some blinds we would like to keep.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I will keep updates coming as I get them.

Prayers Please

We've had an interesting morning. Debbie is currently in the hospital with pre-term labor. She woke up and saw blood, which is never a good sign this late in pregnancy. So far, mom and baby are okay. The doctors right now are giving Debbie medication to arrest the contractions since it's a bit early to deliver the baby (32 weeks+). They also said she's going to be in the hospital for a minimum of 24, but most likely 48 hours. In case delivery is needed, Debbie also received some steroids shots to hasten the development of the baby's lungs. Things are a bit hectic obviously, but her parents are on their way from Detroit to help out. I'll post again when I know more and have time, but for now, just keep us in your prayers. As of now, she is on bed rest and I expect that to continue when we come home from the hospital.