Sometimes I wonder where I get the “drive” to write this blog. Well, it is not too hard to figure out where I get it from, my Mom.

My mom (Grandma) has saved some of my favorite toys from when I grew up. Yes, they might be full of lead and probably would not get by today’s federal testing — but Connor has them to play with. From Major Morgan to the Weeble Wobbles, Grandma kept them for her future grandchildren.

Here is a posting on Major Morgan one of my toys when I was growing up and one of Connor’s favorites when he is over Grandma’s house.  Too me (now), it just makes an annoying sound.

And if you want to buy one, it is going for around $90 on ebay here.  (Grandma better keep an eye on those toys…Daddy might start to pay for Connor’s college fund by selling my old toys on ebay.)

Well, Grandma also kept my Christening bib and we were able to use it for Connor’s Christening at St. Jerome’s Catholic Church.  Grandma had it embroided with Daddy’s Christening date and Connor’s Christening date.  That is really special and is something we can hopefully pass down to the next generation.

Thanks Grandma!

Love,
Daddy

…to keep you interested. I promise to post more as soon as I have time.

Victoria is almost completely over her cold. She sounds much better and the cough is just about gone. This is good news and Connor was nice enough to wait until Mommy and Daddy got over their colds the last 2 weeks.

On Friday, the hospital sent us home with a container for Victoria to collect 24 hours worth of urine so they could do some additional tests this week. Knowing how much water Victoria drinks (and subsequent bathroom visits), I questioned whether it would be large enough. They said it would be. Well, 1 container and two large plastic cups later, Victoria was done collecting. When I took the cooler into the doctor’s office today, they were laughing that such a small woman could produce so much. They said they had never seen anyone fill up the container before.

Well, Victoria’s blood pressure was still a little high but the doctor is not too concerned because Victoria’s blood work and urine indicate there is no problem. So, Connor stays put. They checked Victoria again today and she is still 1cm dilated.

Victoria took this news quite well. Daddy on the other hand…was a little disappointed. I was hoping today might be the day that they would induce Victoria and the waiting game would soon be over. I guess not.

I have since reflected on this and realize that it is probably best for Connor to hang out in Victoria’s tummy for a little while longer. So, the waiting game continues, Connor continues to gain precious wait, and Mommy and Daddy try to relax and get some sleep.

Victoria and I (as well as Connor) have all been getting ready for our new arrival. We got together this weekend and put together a “to do list” and a “need to buy” list. Boy, we thought we were pretty well prepared but didn’t realize all the loose ends that needed to be done (ie. minor home repairs, photography business work, etc…). Looks like we have most things identified and plan to start knocking most of this out real soon. Of course, Christmas just adds to the “to do list”.

I mentioned that Connor is getting ready too. Well, we visited the doctor today and the doctor believes he has rotated and is now head down. I asked if he was going to stay like that and the doctor said that usually they don’t rotate much once they go head down this late in the pregnancy. Yet another sign that Connor will soon be joining us.

We are excited, nervous, scared, worried, and excited (did I say that already?).

We are quickly educating ourselves on breastfeeding because Victoria wants to give that a try. We went to a class on it and ordered a DVD from online.

The grandparents are getting ready too. They have their pack-n-plays and are anticipating the moment.

I feel like I have read so much that I won’t be able to remember any of it. I am sure a lot of it will come natural but it definitely is a scary feeling not knowing what to expect or how to care for an infant. Most of you know that I am some what of a control freak and like to have things very structured and in my control. In the past few months, I have begun to realize that things are and will change in that respect, so I am slowly letting things happen as they will.

We both are very exciting and looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

Victoria and I went to the doctor for her monthly check-up and everything was fine.  Her blood pressure is excellent and her weight is up to 115 pounds now.

We heard the baby’s heartbeat again and the doctor said it is between 150 and 156 bpm.   Girl or boy?

Victoria worked at Banana Republic yesterday and said her feet were a little swollen.  They have returned to normal today and the doctor said that is normal.  Her wedding ring is getting a little tight as well, so she may need to remove it in the coming weeks.

We are anxiously waiting for Monday (the ultrasound).   I’ll try to get some new pics of the Mom to be shortly.

We had another doctor appointment on Thursday. Everything is going just fine. Victoria and the baby checked out fine. We actually got to see a doctor this time. Well, he was only there for about 2 minutes. Long enough to squirt some gel on Victoria stomach and then to use the heartbeat monitor. We heard the heartbeat again — pretty cool!

He was a young guy and didn’t wear the typical doctor garb (white jacket, etc…) He had khaki’s and a shirt that was not tucked in.  We laughed about it after he left because he looked like he walked in off the street.

Victoria and I went to have some additional screening done today. Part of this screening process included an ultrasound and a couple of extra treats for us!

Baby Woodruff was cooperating today! We got excellent shots from the ultrasound. They are at the bottom of this posting.

One of the extras we weren’t expecting was to hear the heartbeat. The ultrasound device they have at this office was much more sophisticated and it was able to do infrared as well as pick up a heartbeat. The doctor flipped the switch and caught Victoria and I off guard. We heard the fluttering heartbeat — it was beating away at 156 beats per minute. That was AMAZING!

As I was writing down the stats on our future Olympian (156 bpm), the doctor then switched on the 3-D view on the ultrasound. Victoria said, “Look, Donnie!” I looked up and I was amazed. I actually started to tear up a little bit — what a proud moment for the both of us. I am still getting chills typing about it right now. I am going to be a “basket case” when it is time for the birth! Oh, well — that is what this experience is all about. Be sure to check out the print out of the 3-D view below. It doesn’t look quite as amazing as it did in person, but you can definitely make out the facial features and 1 or 2 arms.

The baby was quite active and was jumping around. Imagine lying on your back and bouncing up and down. That’s what he/she did a couple of times during the ultrasound. At one point, it moved its arm as though it was waving at us. Pretty cool!

What an amazing day for us!!!!!!!

Well here are the pictures (click on them to see full size):

3D Ultrasound here –>

Today was suppose to be another big day.  It was, but it didn’t start out as expected.  We were suppose to hear the heartbeat using a doppler listening device.  Well, Baby Woodruff was not cooperating today.  Evidently, he/she has not moved up and out of the pelvic area just yet.  This makes it hard for the doppler device to pick up a heartbeat and makes for two very nervous parents-to-be.  The doctor says this is normal and that by our next visit, we will be able to hear the heartbeat.  Great…another thing I have to wait for.  😉

Jaime warned us that it would be hard to find the heartbeat and said it may take a little while.  After a couple of minutes of trying, the doctor decided to do an ultrasound so she could make sure everything was fine.  Again, it took a little while.  Victoria and I were starting to get nervous and then all of a sudden there he/she was — big head and the fluttering heartbeat!  That was a major relief for the both of us.

Previously, I promised that we would have the next ultrasound on the camera phone but I ran in technical problems this go around.  So, no videos this time either.  Most of you are probably going to think I am technically challenged and probably don’t understand how I can hold down my job if I can’t get my simple camera phone to work.

Victoria tells me I need to practice more with it.  Honestly, it recorded this time but when I tried to read the file from the disk it said it was corrupt.  If I have some free time, I’ll see if I can somehow get the files off the disk.

For now, just imagine a big head on the left hand side of the ultrasound screen and the heart just fluttering away.

Victoria weighed 109 lbs today and her blood pressure was 110/60.

On Thursday, we visit Victoria’s doctor and hopefully will hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. They sell doppler listening devices and we are thinking about picking one up so we can listen to the baby’s hearbeat whenever we like.

On Friday, we go to Riverside and have our genetic counseling and a couple of tests. Basically they are going to tell us that our child will be an athlete when he/she grows up. (An Olympic gold medalist.) 😉

I’ll try to record the heartbeat and get it posted this week (if I figure out how to use my phone).