The Rookie Arrives

Team Szynko!

Presenting Sawyer Meade Szynkowski

First off, a HUGE extension of gratitude to all well wishers on the birth of our son. It has been an amazing ride that I never expected. So much fun in store!

Okay.....I have so much to share with you. Sawyer's story is long and full of bumps. For those of you who prefer to not to read a long narrative and look at pictures, I am going to give you a quick summary. Then read on (or not) to learn the rest!

Sawyer is home and doing great. The short of the story is that unfortunately he has a few heart problems. The first is called a ventricular septal defect. This is a hole in the ventricle of his heart where blood is flowing backward from left to right. The good news is that it is the mildest form possible. The bad news is there is a chance it may not close on it's own and can cause some serious problems in the future. The other is called a patent foramen ovale. This is the hole from atrium to atrium that bypasses the lungs in utero that has not closed. Thankfully this is fairly common and will not likely cause a problem.

We are very fortunate to have an amazing pediatrician -Dr. Kennedy and a cardiologist who are taking great care of us! Sawyer is a little tired, and is having some problems with feedings but overall doing amazing right now and we hope it continues!

Here is the story of his birth

We had an OB appt on the 24th where my membranes were "helped out" a little. We were on our way to Kroger to stock up before the baby when contractions started hard and fast, and we decided it was necessary to get to the hospital. Once we arrived, they broke my water and contractions started coming back to back. They thought I would deliver in a matter of hours. Unfortunately, the epidural slowed the process and I was placed on a pitocin drip. It did not seem to work so we set ourselves up for a long night and sent the family home. We were surprised that one hour later, I was fully dilated and ready to push. 20 min later......tada! Sawyer was born!

Little Man's Stats

His weight is a little low, but in fishing terms...his length is a keeper! Ha ha!

The funny thing is that Jason, his father, his brother, and now Sawyer were all born on Thursdays. He made it just under the wire.

Picture Gallery

Proud papa!

Those of you who know Jason, are aware that he does not do well with all things medical. I was worried how he would handle the delivery. It ended up he was a champ and even cut the cord.
( I am so impressed, that I am willing to post this awful picture of myself to prove it)

BEFORE

AND AFTER

Sleeping in with daddy!

Loving on grandma

I love the bouncer!

I am a thumb sucker already!

Tummy time with daddy

Cast of Family Characters

Papa Thompson (Meade)
In case you were wondering where Sawyer's middle name came from.

Uncle Chris-the previous "lil szynko"

Grandpa Szynko

Aunt Meredith
Best big sis ever!

Papa and grandma Shetterly
(My mom and stepdad)

Nana Thompson!

Grandma Szynkowski

Thank you again for all of your support! We welcome visitors!

38 weeks and getting impatient!

70% effaced, Zero Station....ready to rock! Here I am just patiently waiting. I have been walking, doing aerobics,

eating spicy food....anything to get the ball rolling. I had a massage yesterday and asked the MT to push on all the places she that trigger labor. She was kind enough also to teach me a few pressure points that stimulate labor. No response yet.

However, I realized today that he will come when ready. So, I need to just relax and enjoy the last few days of restful sleep. The bag is packed, carseat in place and inspected, hospital tour complete....we now just need the kid. I have been given specific instructions from multiple family members of times not to go into labor. Although I love each and every one of you....for my comfort, I would prefer ASAP. However, it is out of my hands and we are all at the mercy of the little man to time his arrival.

We had a very busy weekend with a few graduation parties, the twins 6th b-day party, Cheryl's baby shower, and our first house showing. We had a little glitch and forgot to put a house key in the lock box. Made for a little stress in the afternoon.

After it was all done, we were a little bored, and created this next masterpiece. Hopefully our little man will have better artistic skills than Jason..ha ha!

That is it for now...my next post will include delivery pictures.

Can't wait!

Holy Diapers Batman!

The Diaper Party Was a Success! A HUGE thank you to all of our friends who came to the

diaper party yesteday. I have not counted the number of diapers, but easily know it s in the thousands. You are the best!!!! I think a few Depends got slipped in there as well. Ha ha!

The boys had a good time playing corn hole and other games. They shoveled Tony Packo's chili dogs and chili mac down between games. Jason had a blast introducing everyone to the octagonal beer pong table he made especially for the event. He has so generously decided to donate the table to those less fortunate (meaning a friend who does not have kids) as he is pretty sure he is in retirement from beer pong hosting. It was a hard decision, but he wanted it to go to someone who would take good care of it and use it often =).The weather held off until about 10 pm when major tornado warnings were issued.

We were fortunate enough to only have strong winds come thorough, but others were not so lucky. 7 people died in Lake township and many houses were destroyed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families.

Officially at 37 weeks today. No signs of labor yet. Since he is now full term, he is welcome to come whenever he likes =). I will post a pic sometime soon.

35 weeks and counting

35 weeks and big as a house.....only to get bigger =)

I am starting my weekly OB appointments. Things still are going well. Sleep is at a premium, but weirdly, I am not tired all the time. I guess it is mother nature's way of preparing me for times to come. I find myself a little sentimental and I cry at silly things.....sometimes it is quite annoying and others it is quite funny. My new project is putting together an overnight bag. I am an overpacker, so it will likely have everthing but the kitchen sink. You never know what you might need.

A quick update to catch you up on what is going on in our lives

1) Baby Lola Hayes was born on Mother's day! Yeah! She is ADORABLE! We look forward to Lola and little Szynko terrorizing the Loft together!

2) Had a wonderful visit with the Clelands.....Matt and Jason went to the trout club and caught us dinner. They cleaned them and grilled it up that night. Freshest fish I ever had and boy was it good. Thanks Matt and Michelle!

3) Progressed to the 3rd week of childbirth education. It has been a good experience overall, but Jason is having a tough time with the actual "birthing" part. He will just have to get over it with complete immersion therapy on the day baby comes! ha ha!

4) We went to the Justus family annual fish fry last night at Somerset Lake in MI. They had over 700 fillets of fish to cook up with four different methos...cajun battered, beer battered, pan fried cornmeal, and grilled. Darn was it not the best fried fish I have ever had (and it is not something I usually care for). Jason fished and caught a few...and I tried unsuccessfully as usual. We had a very nice time with my coworkers.

5) Our friends Jen and Matt also got engaged last night! CONGRATS to our fellow future MIAMI MERGERS!

That's it for now! Hope everyone enjoys this amazing weather!

It's all about the house

We have been busy lately preparing the house for sale. Jason really wants a bigger yard and we could always use more space for the little man to come.

We had our first open house today, and I realized that although I would like a different house, I am going to be very sad to see this one go. It was hard to imagine other people living here.
We have lived here since we got married. We have modified almost every inch of this house to make it our style. I love it.....BUT all things must come to an end. So, I am dedicating this blog to our house. I am making a permanent record that I can reflect on for the future when we live somewhere else.

The living room-

These walls have been painted literally 6 times until we found the color we liked. I added the racing stripes a few years later one weekend when I was bored. My mom made the padded stool and covered the couch and chair. We replaced the original carpet with the hardwood floors.
This desk was a donation from a family friend. It is better than any desk you could ever buy.

The Kitchen-

I told Jason before we bought this house that I wanted a red kitchen. The cabinets were originally oak. Jason put in new countertops and the dishwasher, and the floor.

Our itty bitty kitchen table.

The spice rack used to be a door leading into the bathroom. Jason walled it off and expanded the storage in the kitchen.

The stairs to the basement-

I love old produce box packaging. My friend Nancy made me these prints. I am in the process of getting them all framed...hence the empty wall space.

The basement-

The second living room, and the man cave. We did not do much to this space but add furniture.

The aquarium and TV area for Jason.

The upstairs bathroom-

This was our first home improvement project. Two months after buying the house, the shower wall caved in. So, the vanity, floor, shower, and walls were all modified and replaced. Where you see a cabinet used to be a door to the kitchen. I think the only original item is the toilet.

Master bedroom-

My mom and I made the curtains. I also got bored one day and added the city scape. Hopefully potential buyers will like it.

My mom and I made the headboad out of the old door from the bathroom.

The nursery-

Described in detail last post. I will spare you.

The backyard-

Jason's playground for his green thumb. There was no landscaping other than the tree when we moved in. The picture does not do it justice. He gets compliments frequently from the neighbors.

The fun back side garage door.

The front-

We painted the awnings and re-did the landscaping

If you know anyone in the market for a great starter home in Washing Local...

send them our way!

So, that is about it for now. I will post a 34 week pregnancy picture after my next doctor appointment.

Evolution of the nursery

The crowing piece of the nursery!

In January, I started getting the urge to purge all uneeded crap from the house. We need room for baby boy Szynko. So, here is the pile of items I 86ed. There is quite a bit more, but it did not fit into the photo.


Here are our girls trying to take claim on the bedroom. Little do they know what is going to happen!

Weeded down to bare bones before the conversion begins.

The whole nursery is a family affair!

Here is our wonderful crib. I just love it. The sheets are Dr. Seuss characters.

Thanks to grandma B and grandpa S for the crib! The room is still a WIP. Grandma B and my aunt Patty are making a Dr. Seuss alphabet quilt for the wall behind the crib.
I am so very excited for it to be done!

LAZYBOY! Multiple parents had informed us that we will want the most comfortable chair possible for all the late night feedings and sick duty. Therefore, we picked out a sinfully cozy one thanks to grandma and grandpa Szynkowski!

I would like to point out the shelves and tell you about them. I had very little input on the organization of the nursery. Those of you who know Jason are aware that he is very systematic and somewhat...anal about the way things are done. When he sets his mind to something, it has to be perfect. He rearranged the furniture and set up of this room (I kid you not) over 30 times. What you won't see in these pictures is the actual furniture we bought for the room. We decided the new furniture just did not fit in the space correctly and instead, put it in our room.

It works so much better, and looks great thanks to Jason's persistence.

Oh, please note the wonderful basket on the floor in the above picture. The guests from our shower all brought a book for baby Szynko's collection. It is a great assortment and amazingly, there were no repeats! I have always loved to read and can't wait to read them all to our

little man.

We have my dad and Terri to thank for the dresser below. It was actually my dresser when I was younger. Mind you it was white with tuplips then. Thankfully they were willing to store it in their basement until it was needed. A little paint later...and it's a great changing table! We are also very grateful to nana and papa T for keeping our extra furniture in their basement while we try and sell our house. So very helpful!

What elese have we been doing.......still busy fixing up the house for sale. I spent all this weekend painting. I usually enjoy painting. However, all I did was touch up trim and places around the house as needed. It is not as much fun when in the end it looks the same, ha ha=). I went through white, blue, two shades of green, three shades of brown, and red. Phew!

Can't you tell we like color!

Jason was also busy working in the yard and assembling the nursery. He was also able to sneak away and go fishing while the weather was nice. He had very good luck and caught quite a few bass. While he was gone, I went to the Mudhens' game with my PA friends. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect!


This picture was taken today at 32 weeks!!!! I wanted to focus on the shirt with the cute bumble bee (my nickname). I also have paint in my hair, hence the crop job. I am still doing pretty well except for this humidity. I am a little less tolerant than I used to be. Thank goodness I will delivery in June and not August.

Here is a better view of the shirt.

A quick shout out to my sister Meredith! She is in the process of training and raising the $2300 required to participate for the Susan G Koman 3-day breast cancer walk this November in Dallas. If you know someone who has been touched by breast cancer and are interested, she is selling handmade mother's day cards to raise money. They are really nice. Here is the link to the card photo.

http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3815841008/a=78569024_78569024/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Or, if you would like to donate, this is her personal link.

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/DallasFtWorthEvent2010?px=1786895&pg=personal&fr_id=1465&et=BpBZ9dEoqewmYw_uBtWh7g..&s_tafId=417980

HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY!

See you back in another few weeks!

29 week roundup! A shower, hockey games, plumming, drywall, crib assembly and putting a house up for sale!

Okay, things are going to be a little out of order, but I will try and catch you up on all the crazy things going on in the life of the Szynkowski family.

This past Sunday, our wonderful family threw us an amazing baby shower. My mom, sister and mother in law worked very hard..and it paid off! We are so very thankful!

Here is a picture of Jason and I at the shower in my mom's back yard.

I was so excited that two of my besties, Nancy and Jocelyn came in town to help us celebrate!


My sister Meredith....no eyes closed Mer!!

Jason and the mother in law bonding. I feel terrible because I don't have any pictures of Jason's mom Janine! I will post some when I get some pics from other people!


Isn't this cake the cutest thing you have ever seen??!!
Our nursery them is touch of Dr. Seuss, hence, the cake =)

A little late, but this is our 28 week picture. Things are going well.
Passed my glucose tolerance test (with a few minor nausea spells..ha ha!)
Fatigue is setting in a little more each week, but that is par for the course.
For those of you non hockey fans...the last month was an huge week for Miami hockey. We had a chance to get tickets to the CCHA championship in Detroit, and we jumped! Miami played Michigan at the Joe. I honestly can say the Michigan fight song is my kryptonite. It makes me crazy. It does not help that they beat Miami.

Two weeks later in Detroit was the frozen four where Miami played for the second year in a row. Jason was able to make the game, but I had a date with a plummer as our hot water line in the bathroom busted! Unfortunately Maimi was defeated by a Boston team yet again....still #1 in our book! Love an Honor to Miami !

A poor quality photo of the Miami lineup.

Below is baby boy Szynko's first Miami hockey game =)

The Joe

Things are trucking along in preparation for the baby. This is Jason starting the crib assembly process. Jason has also been working very hard fixing up the house to put it up for sale. He patched drywall, fixed plumming, switched out electrical fixtures, insulated the attic, and several other items....all on his spring break. We are hoping to move to West Sylvania where my commute will be shorter. There are several houses on ponds that we are interested in and Jason can't wait. Hopefully we will have luck with selling.

My next post will be nursery decorating updates, so stay tuned for more pictures.

Extra shower pic......

That catches us up on our lives up to now. Stay tuned for more updates. I hope to do them more reguarly now. Thank you for sharing in our lives! Can't wait for you to meet baby boy Szynko!