5 Months - Our little social Butterfly

Sam is now 5 months old! She is rolling around like crazy, and has just started scooting backwards. We are no longer able to just lay her on the floor and expect her to be there when we get back. Though she lets us know when she gets stuck somewhere, often it's under the coffee table, by screaming as loud as she can. She loves to talk, and when there is a silence, she feels the need to fill it with either babbling, or shrieks. She loves to be sang to, and will usually try to sing along.

She is getting more interested in toys, and they will usually hold her interest for a couple minutes now. She is becoming less and less interested in her bouncy seat, but will still tolerate while I'm taking a shower, or if someone is around to entertain her. She also enjoys her excersaucer, but only for a little while at a time.

She is very much her daddy's daughter, she has to be entertained if she is awake. At daycare she is always with 3 or 4 older kids and loves watching them all day, so when she gets home she must be bored by me and BJ. She also will not sleep if there is something exciting going on, which poses a little problem, with the above issue of always needing to be entertained.

Sleeping is not going any better, she would much rather just be awake and play with us all night. She takes cat naps throughout the day, but not usually longer than 30-45 minutes at the most. She wakes up at least once most nights, and usually just needs her pacifier to be put back in her mouth. She is still swaddled at night, because unswaddled her arms are way too exciting, and she won't go to sleep.

She is such a joy in our lives, we are so blessed to have her around, and we are enjoying every minute we get with her. Though I do enjoy the daytime minutes a little bit more than the nighttime minutes.

Sam in her excersaucer

One of her favorite things to do now is hang out in her excersaucer.

Samantha Rolling

3 Months

Sam is 3 months old today! I can't believe she has only been with us for 3 months. She is getting more responsive, and really recognizes me and BJ and our voices. She is starting to grab toys, but is more interested in just looking at them right now.

Daycare is going well. Sam really seems to like Nancee, and Nancee loves her. I have started taking a half day off on Wednesday in order to spend more time with Sam, and am really enjoying our afternoons together. BJ and Sam get to spend every afternoon from 3-5 together, and I think BJ really enjoys his time with her (when she is happy).

Sleep is kind of an issue right now, but we are seeing some hope just this weekend that she is getting the hang of it. Usually she will go down at 8:30, and then sometime in the middle of the night (lately either 12:30 or 2:30) she will wake up and just want to sleep with mom. We end up on the couch for the rest of the night. I have tried a lot of different things to break this habit, but feeding, changing, giving her a pacifier don't work, she just wants to be held. Thursday night BJ took the night shift, and Sam slept all night. This weekend BJ's parents watched her and she slept for 7 hours straight each night. We'll see what happens tonight.

2 Month Appointment

Sam had her 2 month appointment today. She did pretty well with her shots, though she did cry a little, and was a bit fussy after her appointment. The doctor was “thrilled” with her growth and health. She weighed 10 lbs 10 oz (33rd percentile) 23 inches (63rd percentile), and head circumference 39.8 cm (68th percentile).

2 Months Old

Sam turned 2 months old on the 11th of this month. She has her 2 month doctor's appointment and shots tomorrow. She is generally a happy baby. She is sleeping a little better, but still getting up at about 3:00 every night, and usually she just wants to be held, so that makes for long nights still, but it's much better than her waking up twice or more every night.

We have been spending a lot of weekend in Michigan visiting family, and every time we go back we hear that she has grown so much. She is eating 5 oz every 3 hours right now.

Daycare is going well. Nancee, her daycare lady, seems to really adore her, and Sam will take 2 1/2 hour naps for her. At home Sam only sleeps during the day for about 30 minutes at a time.

We are enjoying her more and more every day.

Brewers Game

Last night we attending our first Brewers' game as a family. The tickets were part of a package from Aflac, for the patients of the Milwaukee Children's Hospital Cancer Unit.

Seeing those families and those children who had or were in the middle of fighting cancer, made me realize how greatful we need to be to have a healthy baby girl. I cannot imagine going through what those families have gone through with their children.

Apple picking

Yesterday we met up with some friends and went apple picking. It was a really nice day, and we had a great time. Now we have to figure out what to do with all of the apples.

We had a rough night last night. Samantha has been getting up at 12:30 or 1:00 every night, and she is not hungry, or needing a diaper change, she just wants to be held. She will fall right asleep when you hold her, but as soon as you put her down she wakes up and cries. This goes on until about 4 or 5 in the morning. Last night I tried to keep her in her crib and just replace her pacifier, but she wasn't interested. So we were up with her a lot last night. She knows how to make us forget about it though. She was wide awake when I was getting ready this morning, so I put her on our bed, and turned the light and ceiling fan on. She loved it and was smiling and giggling away. Good thing she is cute!

Smiles

Sam has been smiling for a little while now. I think her official first smiles were in Michigan when she was 3-4 weeks old. The picture above is one I caught on camera yesterday. She especially likes it when you praise her, then you get a giggle and a smile. Needless to say, she is going to think she is amazing pretty soon with all the praise she is getting.

She also loves the lights and music on her bouncy seat. She will sit in there for a long time and just giggle. We've learned to use this during shower time. I am trying to get a video of it, but haven't had any luck yet. I think it's pretty cute. I might be biased though.

6 Weeks

Sam is 6 weeks old today. She is getting so much more fun every day. She is smiling now, and when she gets excited her hands and feet wave like crazy. She will mimic us when we stick out our tongue at her. She loves lights, especially the lights on her bouncy seat that flash with the music.

She went to daycare for the first time Friday for a couple hours. She did great, I was a little bit nervous, but everything went great. I know she will be in good hands.

I go back to work on August 31st. I am going to try to get as much quality time as possible in with her this week. I think a trip to the zoo is in order, and we'll have to figure out some other fun stuff to do together. I am ready to go back to work, but I wish I could take her with me.

I have a lot of pictures to add, I just need to find the time to do it. Hopefully tomorrow.

2 week appointment

Sam had her 2 week appointment yesterday (actually 2 weeks 3 days). She is growing great, her love for eating is showing! She was 6 lbs 5 ounces at her first appointment at 5 days old, yesterday she was 7 lbs 11 ounces! She has also grown 1 1/2 inches. The doctor said she is doing great!

The has been a much happier baby since last week Thursday when we switched her bottles. She loves being held, and makes it hard on mom to get any packing done, but I love cuddling with her!

We move into our new place this weekend. Hopefully it will be a smooth move. Then Sam and I are heading back to Michigan with my parents for a week, and BJ is staying in Madison for the week, and then coming to pick us up in Michigan the next weekend.

Sam's first golfing experiance

Yesterday we were able to join some of my co-workers at a retreat area about 45 minutes from home. It was a great time. The lodge was beautiful, and the land was great. They had two stocked ponds for fishing. One with trout, one with bass (and lots of bluegill). They also had a private golf course on the property. It was so much fun going out with our group on the course, and not having to worry about being in anyone's way. BJ was pretty excited that Sam got to be on the golf course for the first time.

13 days

We have had a rough week. Samantha has taken to screaming for hours at a time. We think it's gas, but haven't found anything to make her feel better yet, despite trying everything that has been suggested to us. Hopefully the doctor will be able to give us some other suggestions next week at her 2 week appointment. I can't believe she's only 2 weeks old, it seems like she has been with us so much longer than that! Since Sam has been rather loud lately, mom hasn't gotten much sleep either, so we did not do very much this week. Hopefully we can get some relief for her. I hate seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything about it. I am also getting a little stir crazy spending so much time at home.

Here are some pictures from yesterday, just hanging around the house.

How comfortable does this sleeping position look? She loves her bouncy seat!

You can't read it on the picture but her onsie says "Daddy's little angel", I was hoping she would get the hint.

10 days Old

BJ's parents and sister's family came to visit this weekend. We had a great time visiting with them. Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market downtown Madison, and then went to Cannery Grill for dinner. Sunday we hung out at the campground where they were staying. It was a good weekend.

Monday was our first day alone. It went a little rough, but we got through it. Today is going much better so far.

Some new pictures

Our family in front of the Wisconsin State Capital building.

In her outfit from Grandpa McMurry

Firsts

Sam had a very busy day yesterday, and by the end of the night she was ready to be done. Poor girl!

We had her first doctor's appointment in the morning. I thought the appointment was at 11, it was actually at 10, but the doctor's office squeezed us in. She gained an ounce from her birth weight, and 4 ounces since we left the hospital. She is at 6 lbs 5 ounces. Everything else checked out perfectly. She was born with a little skin tag (extra skin) over her ear. The doctor tied that off yesterday and it should fall off in the next couple days. It was hard for mom and grandma to see the doctor do that, since Sam was screaming and actually had tears for the first time, but I know we will be happy that it's gone. She goes back to the doctor on the 28th.

In the afternoon we went to check out our new apartment. BJ and I are so excited about the extra space. We are going from a 750 sq ft 1 bedroom to a 1150 sq ft 2 bedroom. It will be so nice to have a semi-organized home again. Right now our apartment is being overrun by baby stuff.

For dinner we went for Sam's first longer car ride (about an hour each way) to visit with some Aflac people who are having a meeting this weekend. She did great through dinner and visiting, but I think one of her bottles had too much formula and not enough water, and her little tummy didn't like that. She screamed for a long time last night. I felt awful, and didn't know what to do for her. Luckily she is feeling better today.

Here are some more pictures from the last couple days.

Sam's first trip to daddy's favorite restaurant The Cannery Grill

Her first bath (she didn't like it one bit)

Daddy's first diaper change (we gave him an easy one)

Will post more soon

Day 5

Sam is 5 days old today! It's going pretty good so far. The first night at home was rough for both of us, but the last two nights have been much better. She is still eating like a little piglet, and I'm very interested to see how much she weighs at her doctor's appointment today.

Here are some pictures from the last 5 days.

Our Family

Heading home from the hospitalGetting ready for her first stroller ride

Hanging out at home

Samantha Gloria

Our little girl arrived yesterday! Samantha Gloria Sterken was born a 2:10 am. She is 6 pounds 4 ounces, and 19 inches long. She is such a sweetheart! We are in love already.

I went in for a scheduled induction at 5:30 Friday morning. I didn't sleep a wink the night before, because I was so excited. I don't suggest going into an induction with no sleep. I was exhausted!

The nurse got us settled in our room, and got my vitals done, and started a heart rate and contraction monitor. I was having contractions, but they were not anything I could feel. They were about 4 to 10 minutes apart at that point.

The doctor on call was supposed to see us before 7:00, but got pulled into a C-Section. My doctor was supposed to be in by 8:00, but when she got there had to deliver a baby. The resident came in and checked me, but they didn't want to do anything without Dr. Wendricks' input. I was 1.5 cm still (same as my appointment on 6/30).

At 9:30 they finally started the process of inducing. They started a miso (Sp?) pill behind my cervix, which is meant to get your cervix ready for labor. The pills last 4 hours, and the doctor said that we may need to do 3 or 4 before they would start pitocin. We knew we were in for a long day, so we called our parents and told them we were at the hospital, but to wait until Saturday to come. This turned out to be a great decision because it allowed BJ and I too sleep a little after she was born, and before everyone came to see her.

When they came back to check me at 1:30 I was only at 2 cm, so they started the second pill. After this pill I started getting very uncomfortable, which turned into contractions every 2-3 minutes. I never imagined contractions would hurt that bad that early in labor.

At 5:30 they were going to do another miso pill, but when I asked about pain medicine they decided that maybe my body was doing it on it's own. They gave me a very mild pain medicine that was intended to take the edge off the contracts, but not eliminate me from feeling them. I was still hurting, but it was a lot more manageable.

Then the staff got super busy again. At one point while we were there, there were 16 women having babies or in triage for labor pains. We heard 2 or 3 of the babies being born.

The pain medicine was only good for 2 hours, and then they were supposed to check me again. 3 hours rolled around, and there was no sign of the doctor, so we asked the nurse to check into when the doctor would be around again. Finally at about 9:45 the nurse said "this is ridiculous, I'm going to check you myself" because I was in so much pain, and the doctor was supposed to be there 2 hours before. I was only at 3 cm at that point, and when the doctor finally came in she said that she thought an epidural was a good idea. since it had been 2 hours since the pain medicine wore off, they gave me another dose to hold me over until the epidural.

At 10:45 I got the epidural. It was such a breeze compared to what I thought I was going into. It was like a little pin prick and then I felt nothing else. I thought the IV insertion was worse then the epidural.

Sweet relief came soon after, and I was finally able to sleep for about 30 minutes. Then they wanted me to change sides. At this time they put a catheter in, and I the nurse said the baby's head was "right there". I was so uncomfortable with the catheter, and paged the nurse to check it twice. Turns out it wasn't the catheter, but the pressure of feeling like I needed to push that was making me uncomfortable. I was at 10 cm, and my water had broken. It was about 1:00 at this time.

The nurse got everything prepared, and called the doctor to come in. I started pushing at 1:50, and she was born at 2:10. The doctor showed up just in time for my last push and out came Sam!
BJ cut the cord, and they put her on my chest. I was so overwhelmed with her. I couldn't believe this little girl was what I had been feeling inside of me for the last couple months. I was so happy to meet her, and so relieved that the labor was over.

They cleaned her and me up. I had an "average" 2nd degree tear, and the doctor said if I hadn't had the epidural she wouldn't have even stitched it up, so I guess I got luck. BJ went with Sam into the next room to watch her get weighed and measured. She was 6 pounds 4 ounces, 19 inches long. She scored 9 on both her apgars tests. Pure perfection!

They got her cleaned up a little, and BJ brought her back in. It was amazing to see him with her. He is a natural daddy! He is so in love with her too.

We got moved to our family care suite (not sure you could call this room a suite, it's tiny), around 4:00 am. The labor area was so busy. The nurses apologized for rushing everything, but they needed the room!

Another nurse came in to show us how to give her a bath, which she hated for the most part (except for her hair washing, such a girl!). Then we sent her to the nursery so we could get some sleep, since we had basically been up 24 hours.

We slept 2 hours, and then BJ went to get her from the nursery while I showered. It was an amazing sight for me to see him with her when I got out of the shower. He is so good with her already. My parents and BJ's mom, sister in law, and niece and nephew came in from Michigan to see her. They are all in love too. BJ's dad and brother are coming in today.

We are set to leave the hospital Monday. We were talking about trying to get the doctor to let us leave tonight, but I think one more day would be good for everyone involved. I feel great, but it was really nice to get 6 hours of sleep while Sam was at the nursery. BJ went home to sleep, there is not a pull out couch in the world that is long enough for him, and there is no reason he should be uncomfortable, when home is not far away.

It was a great day, and we are so excited to have Sam in our lives. She was alert for a good portion of the day, and is a little piglet. The nurse said she should only want to eat about 15 ml at a time. She had full 60 ml bottles three times yesterday! They are not worried about this little girl losing weight at the hospital!

My mom, and BJ's parents are staying for a little while this week to help us out. I am grateful that they are willing to stay here, even though it means staying in a hotel for a week because our apartment is so small! It will be good to have some extra hands this week.

July 3, 2009

Today is Sam's due date! BJ and I are so excited to meet her, to be able to hold her and know what she looks like. Only a couple more days and she'll be in our lives!

I am feeling great! Sam has made this pregnancy so easy for me. The doctor said she won't let me go past a week from my due date, but that would be a Friday, so I don't know if they would induce over the weekend, or on the next Monday. I have been convinced all along that she is going to make a late entrance, and honestly I am ok with that. I am still pretty comfortable, and if she's not ready, that's ok. Now, if she wanted to come anytime now we'd be thrilled!

I had an appointment on Tuesday. Her heartbeat was perfect. My blood pressure, and weight gain were good. My belly measured a little small, so the doctor decided to do a quick ultrasound to make sure there was enough fluid in their for her. Everything on the ultrasound looked great. I go back next Tuesday, but not to my doctor because she is going to be out of town. Hopefully everything will be perfect still.

I am really excited for this weekend. BJ has today off, and I am going to only work a 1/2 day. I don't know what we will do today, but BJ talked about lunch at the lake, or to go to Olbrich Gardens in Madison. Tomorrow I'd like to go to the farmers market, and then we talked about getting together with Jason and Liz, and Jeremy and Angie. I would love to see the fireworks somewhere tomorrow night, but I don't want to get stuck in a crowd. Downtown Madison is not easy to get out of. We'll see what we can find. It should be a fun, relaxing weekend!

38 1/2 Weeks

So the picture a day thing didn't work out so well! It's hard to find interesting pictures to take when you aren't doing too many interesting things. Maybe when Sam comes we'll try it again. I am sure some people in MI would like to see daily pictures of her.

I had my 38 1/2 week appointment today. It was great to hear that the baby is perfect, my weight gain is perfect, and belly is measuring perfect! She said she has dropped, but I am not dilating yet. I am still convinced Sam is coming late, and I am completely ok with that right now.

Our apartment has been re-organized once again to be ready for Miss Samantha. We have her corner all set up with all of her stuff, and we're just at the point where we are waiting for her to get here. It's going to be a little crazy while we are still in the apartment, but we've done the best we could.

I figured out a pediatrician today, and have to call to schedule the car seat check, and then the to do list (other than hospital bags) is done!

Things here outside of baby news are going well. BJ has his hours in to be hired in to the place he is working, but they are on a hiring freeze. He has been told he will be the first one hired in when they can hire temps, and they are teaching him a new job today. They seem to really like him there, and he likes the work as well.

I am getting ready to be out of the office for a while. Our part-time administrator, Sarah will be covering for me full-time when I am out. We are hoping it will be a smooth transition, but it's hard to know that she is taught on everything she needs to be taught. There are so many different things that come up on a daily basis. I just have to remind myself that they will get by without me there. I plan on taking 6 weeks off, but have the option of 8 weeks. We'll see what happens when the time comes.

Hope everyone is doing well, and surviving this heat!

Day 14 - 37 Weeks

Excuse the self portrait and sleepy eyes, it was early! This is what me and Sam look like at 37 weeks. She is now officially full term and can come any time, but I'm not holding my breath that she will come before July 3.

Day 13 - Samson

I'm stretching here, trying to make sure I keep up with the one a day pictures. This is not a picture taken today, but is still pretty cute!

Day 12 - Park

This is a building in the park next to the racetrack by our apartment. It's painted with such detail, and so bright, and what does the building house? The bathrooms.

Day 10 - Cannery Grill

Sunday night when we got back to Wisconsin, we stopped at Cannery Grill for dinner. We have come to love this place. It's right across the street from our apartment, so it's an easy out when we don't feel like making dinner. It's also a great place for BJ to get away from the apartment with the guys to watch sports. The guys have made friends with the waitstaff, and always get whatever they want on at least one of the TVs in the bar. Our new apartment will be about 10 minutes away, but I have a feeling the guys will still be here on Sunday's.

Day 11 - Time of a Family Car

Today was the day I think it hit home for both of us that we are going to have a family soon. Over the weekend we decided that since the carseat did not fit in my car, it was time to sell it. We got an estimated trade in value, and were going to go that route, but decided to try to sell it on Craigslist instead. I posted the car Monday morning, and it was sold, and paid for by 6:00 Tuesday night. Got to love Craigslist. Now it's time to get a more family friendly car. I sure will miss my sporty little red car, but know it was not practical! I am so happy the selling process was easy.

Day 9 - Samson

One of the things we miss the most here in Madison is our dog, Samson. He is such a good dog, and such a huge part of our lives, that it's so hard to only see him once a month. All of that will change in August when he comes to Madison to live with us though. We can't wait. This picture is of Samson and his good buddy Logan, my nephew. Logan adores Samson, and Samson is so good with him. I love Logan's face in this picture, so cute!

Day 8 - Baby Shower

Saturday my Aunt Patti hosted a wonderful shower for me and Samantha. It's amazing to me how generous everyone was. We are pretty much ready for her to come, just have to pick up a few more little things. It was great to see friends and family at the shower, and a little crazy to think that next time we see them, we will be parents. Can't wait! I think this is the best picture that we have had of me, my mom, and sister in a long time! Angie is due the end of September with her second son. Mom and dad are so excited to add 2 grandbabies to the family.

Day 7 -- Home

I don't think I will ever stop getting excited when we go under this sign. We spent the weekend at home in Michigan. It was a great weekend!

Day 6 - Zoo

Today we went to the Henry Vila Zoo in Madison. The weather was perfect. We got to the zoo about an hour before the buildings closed, but the outside exhibts didn't close until 5:00. BJ was bummed that we missed out on seeing the monkeys, but other than that it was a good day.

Day 5 - The Park

Near our apartment there is a park with a great playground. Tonight we are watching our friends daughter, and that is where she said she wanted to go. It's hard to tell who was having more fun Avery or BJ. It was a really nice night to enjoy outdoors. I think BJ did a good job of getting some of her energy out too.

Day 4 - Grocery Shopping

Our favorite grocery store. I figured this could have a spot on the picture of the day since we spend so much time here. I swear we forget something every time we go.

35 1/2 weeks

Just a quick update.

We are exactly 1 month from Samantha's due date today! I can't believe how fast these last 8 months have gone! I am feeling great, and feel like I have more energy this week than I have in the last couple months. I had an appointment today, and Sam is sounding great, and measuring right on. The doctor started asking more questions this week at my appointment, like if we had the carseat (yes), if we knew how to get to the hospital (yes), if we knew when to go to the hospital (yes). I start going to appointments every week from this point forward! I am betting the next couple weeks are going to seem really slow, but really she will be here before we know it.

We can't wait to see everyone in Michigan this weekend!

How is it June already?

I woke up this morning, went into the bathroom to take a shower, and noticed that our atomic clock in the bathroom said that it was June 1st! I was shocked, for some reason I thought that we had more days left in May. As of today we are at 32 days left until Sam's due date. I am still trying to convince myself that that is just an estimate, and that she can come earlier or later than that. I am almost prepared at work, and feel like we are pretty prepared at home. We went to our childbirth class this weekend. I think it was a great opportunity for BJ (and me) to learn more about what is going to happen when we have this little girl.

This weekend was very low key. Friday night BJ went golfing with some new friends from his work. I enjoyed a much needed night in. Saturday we went to our class, and then went out with the Kooi's to BW3's for dinner. It's so nice to have them around, and that we get along with both of them so well. It was a great dinner.

Sunday we went to church and then a whole lot of nothing the rest of the day. We were planning on going to the zoo, but instead we ended up napping and watching TV. Oh well, maybe in a couple weeks we can head to the zoo.

This week Wednesday - Friday we are watching the Kooi's daughter Avery, while they head off to Napa. BJ and I are both looking forward to having her around for a couple days. We have to figure out some ways to keep her entertained though. Our house isn't very fun for a 6 year old.

Friday after work we are heading back to MI for the last time until Samantha is born. I am looking forward to heading home, but know that come Sunday it will be really hard to leave. It will be at least 2 months before we are back in Michigan, though I know we will see our families here in Wisconsin when Samantha comes. I sure will miss Samson though!

I hope to continue the Project 365 pictures, though they might not be updated as often as I would like. BJ and I are already finding it hard to figure out what would be semi-interesting for pictures, so we'll see how it goes.

Day 3 - Evening Walk

After dinner BJ and I decided to go for a walk around our neighborhood. We tried to see the race track that is about a block away from us, since we heard the cars all night last night, but we couldn't get close enough for a good picture. We ended up walking around the race track, and taking the long way back home. It was such a nice night to be outside.

Day 2 - Church

This morning for the first time in about a year (other than Christmas) BJ and I went to church together. Finding a church we can feel comfortable in here in Wisconsin is very important to both of us because we want our religion to be a big part of Sam's life. Though neither of us felt like this was the church we felt at home at, it was a good start for us to just go, and join other worshipers this morning. Hopefully soon we'll find a church to call home.

Day 1 - Sam's Corner

BJ and I will be living in our current 1 bedroom apartment until August 1st, which means Sam will come home with us to this small limited space. For the first couple weeks this will be her area, in the corner of the living room. Right now this space is filled with all of the baby stuff we have so far.

Project 365

I saw the idea for Project 365 on another blog I follow and thought it was a great idea. With the huge changes that will take place in our lives the next couple weeks, I want to document everything, even the small things. I hope to update all of the pictures here often, we'll see how that goes.

Week 33 1/2 Appointment

I had my 33 week & 4 day appointment yesterday with Dr. Wendricks. She helped me remember why I liked her so much. She answered all my questions, and made me feel better about the doctor's office. Hopefully the last appointment was just a fluke.

Samantha is growing as she should be, I am measuring at exactly 33 1/2 weeks. Dr. Wendricks said she is head down, so hopefully she will stay that way. I have one more appointment in two weeks, then I start going every week. We are getting closer and closer to her due date!

BJ and I bought the carseat this weekend, which makes me feel better because now I know we can take her home from the hospital whenever she comes. We are slowly getting everything ready for her arrival. Can't wait to meet her, though it's crazy to think that in less than 2 months we will be parents!

Trip to Aflac HQ

Thursday and Friday our office went with three contest winners on a trip to Columbus, GA to visit Aflac Headquarters. It was a busy, fast trip, but it was a great trip.

We flew out of Milwaukee airport at 7:00 AM Thursday morning. We had a little delay in our trip, and got into the airport about 20 minutes late, which started a trip where we constantly were running late. It all worked out though.

We got our rental cars, and headed to the Aflac Cancer Center. As I posted before, this place is amazing, and I can't thank our hosts enough for giving us the opportunity to experiance it.

We left the Cancer Center and headed to Columbus, which is about a hour and a half drive. We got to the Marriott in downtown Columbus, and got a little time to relax. The hotel is beautiful, and the beds were amazing!

Then we went to dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse, Mikata. I love hibachi grills. The food was amazing, and we were able to meet up with two of our main headquarters contacts for dinner. It was great to see them, and we are so greatful that both of them drove straight from the airport to have dinner with us.

After dinner we went to a Comedy show at The Loft in downtown Columbus. The first commedian was ok, not great, but he did have us laughing a couple times. The second guy was great. I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. We are going to try to get him to come to WI for one of our State meetings later this year. After the commedian was done, I headed back to the hotel, which was right around the corner. It had been a long day, and I was ready for bed. The rest of the group seemed to have a great time checking out the bars downtown the rest of the night.

Friday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Aflac's Headquarters for a tour of the buildings. We had a great tour guide this time, who told us all about the history of the company and the buildings, and explained a little better how everything works within the company.

The highlight of the tour was the opportunity that we got to meet one of three founding fathers of the company, Paul Amos. Usually the tour includes a trip to see his office, but usually he is not there. This time he was there, and was so great to us. He let us take some pictures, and answered all of our questions, and spent a good amount of time with us. Everyone on the trip was so excited about the opportunity.

After the Headquarters trip we headed back to the airport, for a flight that was delayed an hour. We made it home safe though, and I think it was a great trip for everyone involved.

Aflac Cancer Center Tour

I know it’s been way to long, and I have a bunch of posts to catch up on, but today I wanted to share my thoughts on something I experienced today.

I have been working with Aflac for almost 9 years. I have been to our headquarters in Georgia 2 in the last 2 years, and I have heard of the Aflac Cancer Center many many times. Today was the first time I really realized what the Aflac Cancer Center did, and how important it is to so many families.

I might get some of this wrong, but here is the basic idea of what the Cancer center is. The Aflac Cancer Center is located within Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (www.choa.org). The cancer center focuses on treating and curing pediatric cancers and blood disorders. Tonight one of their doctors is being honored because they believe that he has found a cure for one common pediatric blood disorder. Not only does this hospital treat patients, they are also working to find cures for all childhood cancers, and the success rate is amazing.
I had been excited about this part of the trip, since I had been to our headquarters two times, and had not had a chance to visit the cancer center. I had worked with Diane Vaughn and Tyler Fletcher, who serve as Aflac’s main cancer center contacts recently at an auction to benefit the center. After the auction Tyler, Diane, and I worked to get a visit scheduled for this trip, which is a prize for contest winners in our state.

We got there late, and had some miscommunication on my part about parking, but when we finally got there we were treated like royalty. They had a catered lunch ready for our group of only 9 people! The Aflac Cancer center is supported so much by the Aflac Field Force, that they use these tours as a way to say thank you, even to our small group. During lunch Diane talked about the focus of the center, and a little bit of the background. It is amazing to hear her talk about the center, because you can here how much pride she has in the work that they are doing there. She said that the turnover rate at the center is very low, because people love their jobs and their opportunity to be a part of the great things the center is doing in the field of pediatric cancer.

After lunch, Tyler and Diane took us on a 90 minute tour of the center. The inpatient, outpatient, and research areas, and also talked to us about the bone marrow treatment area, which we were not able to visit due to the fragile condition of the patients immune systems. The center is decorated in bright colors, and makes you feel like you are not in a hospital at all. It was amazing to me how nice, and excited everyone at the center was. I can’t imagine dealing with the things that they deal with on a daily basis, and loving it as much as they do.
The thing that touched me the most was the little kids that were walking through the center, in their bright colored little hospital gowns. There were two little kids, who were maybe 4 years old, that I saw riding on a tricycle down the hall. Even though they were going to through something so painful for them, they still seemed happy. When I think of pediatric cancer I think of how sad it must be to see your child go through something like that, but no one in that hospital seemed sad.

The center works with the children and their families to treat the cancer, and also the emotional side of the cancer. They work with social workers to make sure that the children who have been away from school for too long are able to integrate back into school as seamlessly as possible, they have people who work with the kids to show them what is going to happen to them, and help the kids to communicate how they are feeling through age appropriate means. There is a school teacher on campus to make sure that the kids don’t get to behind in their school work. It would take me forever to explain all the little things they do, that make this place different than any other place I’ve ever heard of.

I know this has gotten long winded, and has probably been hard to follow, but I am just so excited that I had the opportunity to visit this amazing place, and to understand better how even though pediatric cancer is a scary thing, there are so many ways that this center is working to make finding a cure or seeking treatment that much better for the patients involved. If you ever get a chance to visit this Cancer center, or one like it, jump on it! I know my viewpoint has changed so much just through this two hour tour this afternoon. Thank God for the amazing people who work every day for the treatment and cure of all of these children who should never have to deal with half of what they do. These people are so much stronger than me, and need to be recognized for all they do.

Week 27 Appointment

I had my week 27 appointment today. Everything is looking great. Her heartbeat was 140-150 beats per minute, and I am measuring right at 27 weeks. As of today I have three months left until Sam is due! I did get some sad news though. I asked the doctor what I should avoid when we go to Mexico, and the one thing she mentioned was the pico de gallo. Pico de gallo is my favorite thing to eat in Mexico, I am so sad I'll have to skip it this time. Other than staying away from fresh fruits and veggies that may have been washed in their water, the doctor suggested I stay well hydrated, and said I should have a great time. I am glad she didn't seem to concerned about our upcoming trip.

This weekend BJ's mom, brother, sister in law, niece, and nephew came to visit us. Tonight we brought them to Cannery Grill, which is the restaurant we visit often because it's right across the street from our apartment. Tomorrow we are heading to the Wisconsin Dells area to spend the night in one of the waterpark hotels. It will be fun catching up with them, and showing them around a little.

Long Overdue Update

When we first told people that we were expecting, the most common thing we were told was to enjoy the pregnancy because it goes so fast. My thought every time was “it’s 9 months from now, how can it go fast?” I feels like it was yesterday we were having these conversations, and now we are 3 months and 3 days away from my due date. I know 3 months is a while yet, but I cannot believe how quickly we have gotten to this point. The planner in me is freaking out, because there is so much we have left to do before she comes, and we are kind of limited in a lot of the things we have to do because of the apartment lease that we are in, which doesn’t expire until August 1st. We can’t really plan out the nursery, because we don’t know if we’ll have a small or big space for her, we can’t find daycare because we don’t know where we will be living. I want to start figuring out a pediatrician, but again not sure where we will be living. I know all of these things will work themselves out, but of course I want them figured out now. It’s a practice in patience I guess.

BJ and I are doing really well here, and are excited for the warmer weather so we can explore this city. Madison is a town that is known for outdoor activities. It is surrounded by two lakes, and has tons of hiking/biking trails, parks, etc. We are so excited that the downtown farmers market is opening again in April. It is the biggest farmers market I’ve ever seen, with so much variety in the goods that are for sale. We have only explored downtown Madison a couple of times, but they have such a variety of shops and restaurants and attractions down there, it should be fun to check it out a little more. I am also very excited because I’ve heard that Milwaukee always has something going on in the summer. Milwaukee is about an hour from Madison, so we could do a couple quick day trips there to check out the happenings.

BJ started a new job a couple weeks ago. He has been working for a temp agency since November, and they were getting him work every week, but most of the time it was less than 30 hours, and the last couple weeks it was less than 15 hours. He went in there to see what other opportunities were available, and was placed at this new company. It is a temp to hire position at a place that puts together surgical packets for hospitals. He has also been working in the warehouse there a little too. It is a good job with at least 40 hours a week, and the people there have welcomed him warmly, so we are hoping it will work out so that he is hired in soon.

My job is going well too. We are staying busy, but I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if it wasn’t busy. Last week we hired in a part time administrator to work about 18 hours a week until I go on maternity leave, and then she will cover full time while I’m out after Sam is born. It’s been a hard thing for me to train someone, and to give up some of my daily tasks, but I know it’s necessary, and I know that it will allow me to have some free time to do some of the bigger projects that Jason and I have discussed. I think this new girl will do a great job, she is very organized, which is a skill that all three of us in the office lack, so she will bring that much needed asset to our office.

The end of April BJ and I are headed to Cabo San Lucas with my work for a much needed short vacation. It feels like it’s been a while since we have been on vacation, but I think it’s just because we are used to taking this trip in October, rather than April. We are looking forward to the break, and our last vacation together before Sam is born.

I have an appointment Friday, so I will try to update after that. So far the appointments have been less than exciting, which I think is a great thing. Sam is growing well, and according to the books is almost 2 pounds already. We are so excited to meet her, and start our family of three.

That should be a good refresher of how we are doing. I will try to update more often. Hope everyone is doing well!

It's a Girl!

We found out on February 13th that we are having a girl! We are so excited. BJ knew all along that it was a girl. I thought it was a girl from the beginning, but then the last week EVERYONE was telling me I was going to have a boy, so they swayed my thoughts a little.

Her name will be Samantha Gloria. Though we have been calling her Sam so far. It is going to take a little getting used to calling the dog Samson, and our daughter Sam. We have had a few situations already where someone has been confused on which Sam we are talking about.

I got a call from the doctor's office today that the ultrasound results came back, and everything looks perfect. I go back to the doctor March 6 to get the full results, but it sounds like everything is great.

I went to Schaumburg this weekend with Jen and Betsy to register. I was so thankful to have to experianced moms helping me. I think BJ and I would have been overwhelmed with all the decisions we had to make. Other than registering, us girls just had a fun weekend catching up.

This update is long overdue, but we have been busy! This will probably get long.

This weekend we had our second big meeting as the Wisconsin State Office. The meeting was in Milwaukee, which is about an hour from our office. The last week has been crazy busy getting ready for the meeting, and whenever I thought I had a handle on all the stuff that had to be done, another task would pop up. I was prepared and confident for this meeting though. It didn't seem to be as thrown together as some have been in the past.

We worked on last minute stuff Friday, and then headed over to Milwaukee. Got checked into the hotel and headed to Target with our rented Uhaul to do some major shopping. We had a contest that included prize tables. The prize tables ranged in prizes from $30 to $250. We had to purchase about 100 things to put on the prize tables in this price range. There were 7 of us running through Target purchasing whatever we thought others would like. It was a great mix of people for the shopping since we had men and women in a couple different age groups. We split up and everyone tackled a department. The people at Target thought we were crazy. It was a lot of fun, and I think based on the reactions of the associates, we did a pretty good job.

Friday night I had a ton of help that I appreciated so much. We worked on all the set up and last minute details, and having everyone there to help out was amazing. We were working on set up until 11:30 Friday night, but we got everything done.

Saturday morning I got up early to finish up some last minute details and to run through the day one more time to make sure that I had everything done. We meet with the hotel staff, and then our own state office staff, and the meeting started at 12:00.

The meeting went pretty well, and there was so much energy in the room. Jason had all 300 people on their feet cheering for alot of the meeting.

The last half of the night we had some problems with the hotel staff, it was like our meeting in the morning meant nothing, because none of our requests were granted. With everything else going on at a meeting like this, the last thing we have time to do is to remind the hotel staff of what their job is as well. The DJs had a little technical difficulty, but other than that I think the meeting went really well. Jason gave away over $20,000 in cash, and 7 trips!

Towards the end of the night, Jason brought me on stage to thank me. As you know I don't like being in front of crowds, so I kind of hide in the corner. It's a good thing I did, Jason announced that we were expecting and then told us that he would be starting a college fund for Baby Sterken. It took all that is within me to control the tears on stage. What a generous guy he is. BJ and I are so thankful for all he has provided for us.

The meeting ended, and the fun part began. There was a lot of drinking (of course none for me) and dancing. Jason's parents, and another couple that we know from Michigan came in for the meeting. We had a great time catching up with them. Everyone from WI was so great as well, congratulating me and BJ on the baby, and just making us feel more at home.

At about 11:30 I was done for the night, since I had been up since 6 working, and it was a long day. I took a little while to say goodbye to everyone, and checked in with the banquet manager to make sure everything was taken care of, and headed up to bed. I was in my PJs in bed for about 10 minutes and the hotel phone rang. It was Jason and he asked me to come back down to talk with the hotel staff. It seems the hotel contract said the bar had to shut down at 12, and we were told 1:30. So with 150 people still drinking and dancing, Jason knew shutting down would be bad at that point. So after some major fighting with the hotel staff, and some tempers flaring (not mine, though I was not happy for being pulled out of my comfy bed), there was a compromise made. I said my second round of good nights, and made my way back to the room.

This time I think I was in bed 20 minutes, and there was a knock on the door and some said "Security". My first thought was "can't the guys handle anything", and "Oh no, what happened?" I opened the door, hiding behind it, since I was in my PJs again, and the security guy says "we have some champagne for you". Apparently the hotel staff thought it would be a great idea to send up some champagne to the pregnant ladies room at 1:00 in the morning, in order to make up for the misunderstanding. I was so ticked. Who thinks that would be a good idea? I appreciated the gesture, just not the execution.

All in all we had a great time, but boy am I glad it's over. We got home today, and I took a 5 hour nap! A little too much excitement I guess.

We are heading back to MI this weekend to visit with friends and family. It has been a month, and I am so ready to see everyone, and my puppy!

Hope everyone is doing well!