Woodmont Dedication August 24,2008

On Sunday we had the ceremony for our dedication of Daniel to God. We are so thankful that all grandparents were present, as well as GrandDodie and our church family.
Daniel slept through the whole thing. He was PRECIOUS in a handmade gown from Mrs. Ruth Ann Carathers.

It was a wonderful day! Pictures of him in the gown will come soon. We dressed him at the last minute to avoid any catastrophe (that's why he's in his tshirt for these pictures).

Sarah's pictures of Daniel

 
 
 
 

We're back from the hospital! Daniel Griffin Watson was born on May 25th, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. He's 20 and a half inches long, and he weighed 8lbs and 3 oz. Betsy did the entire labor naturally -- afterwards, she said, "That wasn't as bad as I thought. Let's have a bunch more!" I finally had a chance to upload several pictures. These are still pictures taken from our video camera. I'll see if I can upload a video soon.

Slideshow of some shower pictures- by Betsy

This is a test to see if I can embed a slideshow into the blog. Sarah is teaching me to use Picasa before the baby comes so that I can easily share photos.
Let's see what I can do!

Graduation- by Betsy

We did it! The Watsons made it through graduation without having a baby. Everyone was happy about that. It was a truly wonderful day. Joseph and I could sit next to each other during commencement and graduation. During commencement I sat next to my great friend Kerry and during graduation we were two seats down from our friend Marcus. Joseph and I walked through the diploma line one after another. The provost read the titles of our dissertations (that was interesting). I was so happy that we could be together. The day was a wonderful memory for me. Mother and Daddy came for both commencement and graduation, and Joseph's dad and Mary came to graduation. Also, our friend Nancy came to see us get our diplomas; that was so thoughtful! In the afternoon, we had a great party at Dale's house with delicious food, flowers, and balloons. Then, Friday night Joseph and I went to hear Jon Stewart at the Ryman (hilarious- I laughed so hard that my stomach was sore). We walked around downtown for awhile afterwards; Joseph got an ice cream cone and I got a grape slushie. All in all, it was a super day. I am so glad Joseph and I could do graduation together. Check out our gorgeous hats.

Hmmmm.... 2 is not very exciting- by Betsy

Well, here we are at 38 weeks and still 2 cm. Our "progress" is that we are 80% effaced now, but everyone says "that is a very subjective measurement." Either way, it is clear that my body knows what to do, but also clear that it's kind of taking its time. The doctor said we could go any minute, but just go ahead and expect to be late. Their "rules" for inducing go ten days past the due date. So, if we think of it that way, then we know we will have a baby by Thursday, June 5th. That's kind of nice. I am hoping it will be May 26 or May 30 because that's when my favorite doctor is on call. Joseph is "betting" on May 28 for some reason, and others have chosen the 15th and 21st because it is their birthday.





I am definitely s-l-o-w-i-n-g down, but have not yet reached the feeling that I can't stand to be pregnant anymore. Still walking as much as possible, and IF I COULD REMEMBER to put my swim stuff in the car, I would also swim. Hopefully, I'll remember tomorrow.





I am attaching our 38 week pictures. I'm a blimp, but I am making it! Again, Calvin seems to be winning.

Have a great day!

Centimeter Countdown- We've got 2!

We went to the doctor yesterday to get my Group B Strep test and have the check of my cervix and check of the baby’s position.

Best news- HEAD DOWN! I am so thankful for that! I don’t know how to reconcile that with the fact that he seems to be moving ALL THE TIME, but it’s okay.

Other news that we DID NOT EXPECT-

I’m dilated 2 centimeters, 60% effaced, and at -1. I can’t remember exactly what the -1 means. I think it has to do with dropping and moving down vertically through my pelvis. I know the numbers start at -5, but I can’t remember if they go to +2 or +5. I remember seeing a chart of this, but I couldn’t find it again when I looked back through my baby books. Anyway, the fact that I’m moving away from -5 is a good thing. The doctor was not at all impressed or excited by this news, but Joseph and I thought it was pretty terrific. The doctor said I could go right away or any time in the next four weeks. So, that was not really helpful.

We go back to the doctor next Tuesday.

The news of being dilated 2 centimeters helped us get in gear and finish up the room with the baby stuff. I took a little video of the finished room and really wished that I had done “before and after” photos. It’s as ready as we know how to make it, with the crib sheet and mattress cover on, the clothes washed, folded, and organized in baskets under the changing table, and all the other stuff tucked away as neatly as possible. Hope you can tell something from the pictures. P.S. I know that the baby can't be in the crib with the boppy or the alligator; they are just there for decoration at this time.

I “nested” until about 11:30; I just couldn’t stop picking up clutter and organizing things. Then, I did my special thing of waking up at 3:30 am. So, I videotaped my belly while the baby was moving. Joseph and I had talked about doing this, since he’s moving SO MUCH. It’s probably the most boring 9 minutes of footage in the world and no one other than us will ever watch it, but it was fun to make. He moved pretty big about three times, so we now have this recorded for posterity. :)

We’ll see what happens next! Please keep on praying for us!