Bye bye umbilical cord, hello belly button! This morning at Jordyn's 1:15 am changing/feeding, we discovered that her umbilical cord stump has fallen off. We are very excited about this - she can finally have a real bath!
We also went to the doctor again last week and found out she had gained 8 ounces. She is perfect according to the doctor and now we don't go back until Halloween. We are starting (knock on wood) to somewhat get on a schedule and for two nights in a row she has gotten up at 1:15 am and 5:30 am but slept through the night other than that so we are happy with that.
We did get our peanut a Halloween costume so don't forget to check back around Halloween for a pic of her in it!

Last night Jordyn met her big brother Gavin. She bonded well with her brother and Gavin was so excited to meet her. It was very cute. Gavin could not stop talking about her and cannot wait until she can play so he can show her things and teach her. Gavin especially cannot wait until Jordyn is big enough to go into the pool so he can teach her how to swim and monkey walk around the pool.

Jordyn's first doctor's appointment. So far since birth Jordyn has lost 10 ounces but the doctor is not concerned. She is healthy and strong and the doctor is very pleased. Jordyn was not happy about being unclothed - it was pretty cold and she let us know. The doctor said he loves hearing babies scream the way she did because he knows she is healthy. Sick kids don't scream like that. She is a nice pink color with no sign of jaundice. Prognosis: Excellent. We will go back next week to monitor her weight, etc.

As for our first few days home, so far so good. We got some good sleep last night so we are thankful for that.

We also want to extend a BIG THANK YOU to our church and family who have provided meals for us and offered to get us things to make the transition at home so easy. We are enjoying everything and we just really appreciate everyone's generosity.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT QUALSTAR - Aaron's work. When we got home from the doctor, we received an edible arrangement in a bear vase with fruit cut out like little bears and budding roses with a balloon declaring 'Its a Girl'. It is so beautiful we don't want to open it and eat it - but we will, of course! We just want everyone at Qualstar to know how touched we are by your generosity, we did not expect such generosity and you keep surprising us. We are looking forward to thanking you for all you have done for us and our growing family.

Thank you to Katten Muchin Rosenman for the gorgeous flowers we really appreciate them thank you.

JORDYN HOPE MILLER

Lauren and Aaron went to the hospital Friday, September 29 at 5:50 am to begin induction. We were checked in and Lauren was hooked up to an IV, and the pitocin was started at 6:30 am. Lauren began getting some contractions, and at 8:30 am the doctor came in and broke Lauren's water. At that point she was still 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. After her water was broken, the contractions began getting more intense. Around 11 am the contractions were strong enough that Lauren asked for a pain med. They gave her one through her IV to "take the edge off" but all that did was make her very sleepy and dizzy. By then she was 3 cm dilated. She tried to get through some more before asking for the epidural. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was on another project and would take "10 minutes" but ended up taking 1 1/2 hours to get to Lauren. By then Lauren was in a lot of pain and ready for the epidural. It took a few tries to get the epidural hooked in but when it was finally done, the pain began to subside instantly. Once the epdidural was in Lauren was checked and was at 8 cm. For the next few hours Lauren just labored in the bed, not feeling any pain which was great. Finally at about 5 pm Lauren was checked and was 10 cm dilated and just had a little bit of cervix on one side. They had her lay on her side for a while which got the rest out of the way. The nurse had her push a few times but Lauren had a lot of trouble because she could not feel very much. So they stopped the epidural and told Lauren at 6pm we would start pushing. Lauren pushed for about an hour. Luckily the doctor was right across the street because once they called the doctor Lauren was having trouble not pushing. At this point the epidural had completely worn off so Lauren could feel everything, and she was not quiet about it! The minute the doctor got in Lauren began really pushing and within minutes the head was out and body soon followed.

The first thing the doctor said was "Lauren, where were you hiding that baby?" She weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is beautiful and we are so proud of our peanut.

Aaron was a great coach. He was by Lauren's side the whole time and was very encouraging and comforting. We are just looking forward to getting to know our peanut. Everyone is home now and doing great.

I am sure everyone says there baby is the most perfect and beautiful baby they have ever seen, and Lauren and Aaron are following that as well. We have been waiting 9 months to see this little girl and now the day is here. Lauren and Aaron are proud to welcome there beautiful baby girl Jordyn Hope Miller ( aka Peanut ) 8 pounds 12 ounces 21 inches long born 7:14pm.

Mommy and Daddy's Angel

Stay tuned for more information.......

UPDATE Damn pregnancy hormones, Lauren just cannot make up her mind. Well, after a lot more thought, induction has now been scheduled for tomorrow, Friday September 29. After all, what is a few more days, right? Right? Anyone?

News from the doctor's visit today: if Peanut doesn't come on her own, we will be inducing next week. At that point Lauren will be over 41 weeks and all the baby will do is continue to grow so they want her out next week. Lauren is now 2 cm dilated but still 70% effaced. The doctor did an ultrasound and the baby looks good. We saw a hand and foot, and the baby is breathing which is a great sign. No gender confirmation, unfortunately. The doctor is very happy with how the baby looks, she says Peanut is doing great. Lauren also had to do a stress test where they hook a monitor up to her belly for 20 minutes to monitor heartbeat and movement, etc. and the doctor is very pleased with what she saw there, too. So the big dilemma was when to schedule induction. Once hit with the reality, Lauren got a little skittish. The doctor would still like to see Lauren go into labor on her own, as would Lauren and Aaron, even though if she were in extreme discomfort Lauren could induce as early as tomorrow morning. While Lauren would like to see Peanut come tomorrow, she would rather it happen on its own. The doctor feels the same way, so after a lot of thought Lauren and Aaron have scheduled Peanut to be induced next Wednesday, October 4, if she has not already arrived. We will go back for another stress test on Monday to make sure Peanut is still doing well if she hasn't already arrived. So now we are just hoping that since Peanut has a deadline she will decide to come along on her own rather than be forced out! As always, we will keep you updated as to any progress on that front.

Baby Watch `06 continues another day.... Well we are now in +3 days past the original due date. Lauren is continuing to feel pressure and still uncomfortable. Lauren and Aaron have been walking so much it seems like they are training for a marathon. We have another doctors appointment this afternoon so hopefully there is some good news and things are continuing to progress on there own. Once we return from the doctors we will update everyone.

Baby Watch `06 continues again.... Well we are now in +2 days of the due date and still waiting patiently. Everything is still normal and Lauren is still uncomfortable and having a hard time sleeping. Lauren had her first baby dream last night, so maybe that is a sign and the baby will be here this week ( one can only wish ) Well Lauren has a Dr. appointment tomorrow so we will keep everyone updated on what was said........

Baby Watch `06 continues. We are now in +1 days of the due date. Aaron is starting to think that everyone is right about the first child always being late. Lauren is feeling a lot more pressure and cannot really tell if they are contractions or just the baby moving in a funky way. Aaron believes they are contractions but has no clue. We are extremely anxious at this time for the arrival of our peanut. As you can see we have been giving an update daily and will continue. We have started another poll survey.

When Will Peanut Arrive
	Week of Sept. 25, 2006
	Week of Oct. 1, 2006

Special Thanks To Michelle Kane For The Idea

Lauren and Aaron would like to thank everyone who participated in the name poll. We have received a lot of great feed back and truly thank everyone. Unfortunately the name will be under a strict silence until our little peanut is here. Here is the final results of the poll.

Jordyn Hope Miller 38% 8 Votes
Savannah Hope Miller 33% 7 Votes
Hayden Sienna Miller 5% 1 Votes
Hayden Hope Miller 24% 5 Votes

Please stay tuned for more information........

CRUNCH TIME.......... Well we just got back from the doctor visit and there was good news. The baby has dropped over an inch since the last visit and Lauren is dilated over a centimeter, which is nice. The doctor is hopeful that the baby will come within the week. Aaron on the other hand is starting to see a pattern here that peanut is going to follow in her moms footsteps of never being anywhere on time. Geez this is going to be fun :) Well we are scheduled for another appointment on Thursday to see the progression. We are keeping our fingers crossed that peanut will be here this week.

WOW today is the estimated due date. Unfortunately there is only about 5% of women who actually deliver on there due date, so we are hoping we are in that percent. Lauren and Aaron thought they would never see this day. We are so excited. As of yet still nothing much to report from the front, Lauren is very uncomfortable and has a hard time sleeping. This weekend we did a lot of walking trying to get things moving along. We have a doctors appointment this morning at 11:30 so hopefully we will have some good news. We will keep everyone updated once we get back from the doctors. Remember today at 6:00 pm PST. The name poll will be closed, so get those votes in.

1 more day until Peanut's due date and we are getting very anxious. We did lots of walking yesterday hoping to get something going but so far nothing, just a few sporadic contractions. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and are hoping to hear some good news, and of course we will keep everyone posted. We thank everyone for participating in our name poll, its so neat to see what everyone thinks and will make a great addition to the baby book when we print it out. Once again everyone please get your votes in for your favorite name, as tomorrow 9/25/06 the polls will be closing at 6:00 pm.

2 days now until the due date and Lauren seems to be doing really well. Lauren and Aaron have been doing a lot of walking trying to let gravity perform its magic. We appreciate everyone participating in the name survey. Still not sure on a name but its fun to see what you all think.
We put the car seat into the car today so now we are truly ready for Peanut's arrival. We put the pack'n'play in our room earlier this week and it has its sheet and everything on it - we were hoping that would encourage Peanut to come out but so far nothing.
Lauren had a doctor's appointment this week and things are still looking good. She had a contraction while the doctor was measuring her belly so now she knows what they feel like. She has been feeling them since then so that is another good sign.
We can't wait to meet our Peanut!

Well 3 days left until the due date. As you can see from the title above we are still not sure on the name we will choose. We have some names picked out but continue to go back and forth and cannot decide. We are in the process of putting up a polling survey to see which name our families and friends like best. Stay tuned more to follow.

Which name do you like the best?
	Jordyn Hope Miller
	Savannah Hope Miller
	Hayden Sienna Miller
	Hayden Hope Miller

Just a quick update, not much to report. Lauren went on maternity leave starting last Wednesday and got some cleaning and laundry done but is now very anxious for Peanut to debut. Last night we could feel a foot up near Lauren's rib and Aaron felt it and tickled it, and the foot kicked back! Peanut was "playing" with her daddy and Aaron was so excited. It was a really special moment.
At Lauren's doctor appointment last week there had been no change and now we are a week away from her due date so any day now we are hoping to meet her... and decide on a name finally!

Well, now we are really undecided on a name. We like Hayden and Jordan, and Savannah. Guess we will just wait and see! Lauren had her 37 week appointment this week and is now 70% effaced and about 1 cm dilated. We know this doesn't mean much but we are hopeful that this means things will get going sorta soon. Lauren is doing well but is increasingly uncomfortable, though it is slightly easier to breathe these days. Her last day at work will be next Wednesday but of course she would love to go out earlier. We still have to wash all the clothes, blankets, etc. we plan on using right away and Lauren still has to pack the hospital bag but we are in good shape and are anxiously awaiting our Peanut's arrival. Our church is throwing a baby shower for us this coming Tuesday - this one is girls only and Lauren is looking forward to spending time with them. That's about it for now, more soon!

36 Weeks!
Well, only about 4 weeks until the due date! We are going to the doctor every week starting this week, and so far the head is down, the doctor can feel it, and Lauren is about 50% effaced. Progress!
We also started the childbirth series at the hospital - finally. Lauren is the first one due in the class, most of the others are due October, November and even December and she has the smallest belly! Aaron finds this worrisome, Lauren figures she is just carrying more in her middle, but all in all the baby is healthy and there is no need to worry, some people just carry the weight differently. The information is a bit overwhelming and scary - um, epidural, thanks! - but they did do a relaxation exercise and gave a cd talking you through it and Aaron really liked that. They gave us a bunch of worksheets with tips, etc. so we will have to read them over and probably pack some in the bag we will take to the hospital.
Other than that, the room is just about ready, and is looking great. We have to wash the blankets and things we know we will be using right away so that is a project for the next week or so and then Lauren will pack her bag so that it is ready to go. At this point, Lauren is still working and hoping to make it a few more weeks though she is ever more uncomfortable. The baby is making good progress growth wise and if you look at the right moment you can see the blob move! Aaron read that the baby will move away from a flashlight or a frozen/cold spoon when put up against the belly so we tried it last night and finally, he got to see the baby completely move positions. It was very exciting, and we may try to do that a bit more often in the next few weeks or try the flashlight.
Oh, and now we are really not 100% decided on names. We are going back and forth from Hayden to Savannah, but there is always the chance we will see something else we like before she debuts.

Lots to catch up on this week. We had a doctor’s appointment this week and all is looking good. The doctor said Peanut is in the correct position (head down) so that is good, and she is growing very well. The next appointment will be in two weeks and then we go to weekly appointments. Heartbeat still sounds strong and everything is going well.
We had our shower this past weekend and it went really well. Thanks again to Pam, Kelly, Kristin and Lauren’s mom for helping to put it all together. We ended up with a pretty big group and though we feel really bad that we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with everyone, we hope everyone enjoyed themselves because we did. We got a lot of great stuff – overnight Peanut’s room transformed into something that looks like a baby’s room. I will post some pics of the shower when we get some. Thanks again everyone who came, we had a great time.
In other news, we have already attended two classes at our hospital: the maternity tour and childcare basics & car seat safety. The tour was really helpful because they showed us the process of where we go when we check in, etc. Reality! The facilities seem nice and we really like that they keep the baby with you basically all the time, except for morning check-ups. Childcare basics taught us how to swaddle which seems like a miracle if its done correctly. The guy in the video just wraps up these screaming infants, picks them up and holds them on their side and instantly they stop crying. Amazing. Hope we can figure that one out! We got a lot out of the car seat safety portion. They were very knowledgeable and will even inspect the car seat once we put it in which we will definitely take advantage of.