Haydn Walker Priour

Hello! Sorry for delayed pictures. We just got home from the hospital a little bit ago. Our stay lasted longer than we thought it would. Let's just say I should have packed an extra pair of socks. Here is my 2 cents for my friends who have not yet had kids to help out the dad. Pack extra socks, make sure you have a comfy jacket and aleeve for your back. Dads you stand a lot so the aleeve is for your back. Now here are the much awaited pictures...



Friends meet our son Haydn Walker Priour. Isn't he just the cutest? I know I am biased but the nurses said he was cute too. =)



This is our first family picture!



Once Haydn was born we got a little bit of family time before he had to go to the nursery. Once we were there I was with him for about 4 hours while he was being checked out and hooked up to some machines. He was breathing really fast so he had to stay in the nursery for a while. His breathing has returned to normal but now they will be looking at an ekg to let us know about his heart murmur.




This is me and Haydn, I just had to put a pic of us up here. He doesn't look like me but I am holding out that he will get my blue eyes.



Here is another family pic!



This is Aunt Elyse. The first time she held Haydn she said, "Haydn I will get you anything your mom and dad say no to."

Dearest Auntie Elyse,
Thanks for all the help you have been. I like being held by you and I am glad you keep an eye on Uncle Stephen when he holds me. You don't have to anymore though, he is doing a great job and I like sleeping on him. Tomorrow I want him to change my diaper with your help. Now, for the stuff mom and dad are going to say no to. I want a trampoline when I learn to jump. When I turn 16 I would like a new car probably a truck like my daddy. I can wait till I am 18 if the laws change. I am sure there will be more stuff along way so I will let you know what else pops up that I want. O yeah, I love all my clothes you gave me thank you. I will try not to poop, pee, or throw up on you but I make no guarantees.
Love Haydn



Haydn day 2.

Here are some stats on Haydn for those who like that sort of thing.
- Born on 11-5-09 @ 9:06 PM
- 7lbs 5oz
- 21 inches long
- Hair on his head
- 10 toes and fingers (I counted in the nursery when he was under his heat lamp - that was the warmest I ever was in the hospital)



My Momma Loves Me
As some of you know the week before I was born my momma was told she had gallstones. She had several gallstone attacks before I was born and she and daddy were hoping that once I came out there would not be any more attacks because I would not be pushing on all moms organs. Today mom stated having gallbladder attacks again. It looks like she is going to have to have her gallbladder removed. Daddy told me that while mom was in labor she did really well. Once momma started pushing the nurse yelled WAIT and I was like nooooooooo I am ready to come out. But then I heard all these voices and mom was pushing again and I was on my way out. In less than 15 minutes of pushing my mom welcomed me into the world. I took one look at her after about 35 minutes and thought she was the most beautiful mom ever. I know I have kept her up a lot at night but she has been really patient with me. Sometimes I get to snuggle with her on my boppy while she is in bed.

Erin did a great job throughout everything. Please pray for her to not have anymore gallbladder attacks and that things will work out for us to get it removed quickly.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

The End is Near

Well, we have an induction scheduled for Thursday. So, unless baby decides to make his appearance before then we should have a baby Thursday night. Everything seems to be going well with baby, he's just running out of room!
I'm very ready to not be pregnant anymore, especially since I found out last week that I have gallstones. I think I've had them for a while but now that the baby is pressing on everything my gallbladder is easily irritated. I've had 4 gallbladder attacks so far that last 4-6 hours and are ridiculously painful. I'm hoping that once baby comes and there isn't so much weight on all my other organs that my gallbladder won't be such an issue and I won't have to be so careful about what I eat. Right now I'm pretty much eating salads and baked potatoes. We will meet with a general surgeon a few weeks after the baby is born to decide if I need to get it out right away or if we can wait a little while so that Haydn can get a little older before I have to go through surgery. I've put Jeff & Elyse on update duty so they should be posting updates and pictures this week of baby Priour! We can't wait to meet him... we're still only mostly sure that he is a boy. We only had it confirmed once in Iraq and ever since then they've never been able to see anything. Soooo...I guess we'll find out soon enough! Thanks for all of your prayers, we really appreciate it.

9 months later

Sorry we've been AWOL for a while. We're going to work on keeping up with the posting especially as baby makes his arrival in just a few weeks! Anyway, here are some pics to show the progression of the belly - which has by now reached massive proportions... I mean it just can't get any bigger... can it? Please say no.


This is the first belly picture at 9 weeks


And here is 12 weeks


Here I am at 16 weeks


Here is 19 weeks


22 weeks


This is me & fife in Thailand. I'm about 28 weeks here



And this is today, going on 37 weeks!

It has been quite the journey - I never knew 9 months could take so long, but just a few more weeks... probably a few more pounds, and we will finally get to meet baby! We're so excited - none more so than me!

Paintings for Haydn

I've been working on painting some pictures for Haydn's room for a
couple weeks. Here is the finished product. His room will be done in
primary colors. Hopefully when we get back to Iraq we'll be able to
get the nursery more set up!

A letter to my son

Dear Haydn,
This is the first of many letters I’m sure I will write you over your lifetime. I can’t wait to meet you and hold you and see your sweet face. Right now you are 24 weeks old and growing more everyday it seems. I can feel you kicking me all the time and the other night you got the hiccups and I could feel it for the first time. Last night Daddy could feel where your head and feet were. Your kicks are getting stronger so I think you are going to be a pretty strong little boy. I didn’t know it was possible to love someone so much that I’ve never met, but mommy and daddy love you so much already.
You know, from the first few months of pregnancy I knew that you were going to be a little boy! I hope you can hear it at night when we pray for you and sing to you, that is one of my favorite parts of the day. I want you to know what a special blessing from God you are. We were so surprised by you and you have already proven yourself to be quite a fighter. We know that God has special plans for your life and we have told God from the beginning that your life belongs to Him.
We have been praying that you would know and love God from an early age and that you would be a joyful baby. We are praying for the boy and man that you will become and believe God’s great love to cover and mark your life. We are praying that you will grow to love God’s glory among the nations and praying for your first friends who will likely be our Kurdish neighbors. We are praying that God will give you a heart of compassion and passion for other people, especially people who need mercy and justice the most.
Haydn, I know we will make a lot of mistakes in your lifetime, but we are so thankful that God has called us to be your parents and to take care of you. We promise to love you, provide for you, and commit our family to God. You are doing somersaults in my tummy right now. =) I love you Haydn Walker Priour and I can’t wait to be your mommy.

Love,
Mom

It's A ....

Well, we got a second opinion and a better look and the doctor confirmed that the baby is 100% A BOY! We're really excited and grateful that he is healthy and growing!


Here he is! That's his head to the left and his spine and arm to the right! Can't wait to meet you son!

Bump!

I thought I would show you guys my ever expanding abdomen. I took this picture yesterday because it was the first time that I actually looked pregnant. I haven't totally grown out of my clothes yet, so that's encouraging. I actually haven't gained any weight yet. I lost about 5 pounds due to morning sickness and had already lost a few pounds since moving here, so I still have a few pounds to go before I'm at the weight I was at when we moved here. I'm feeling considerably better than I was and my appetite has returned - not full force yet, but I'm sure it is only a matter of time. Here's the first belly picture I took at 9 weeks



And 2.5 weeks later, here's the bump again



My mom just sent me some maternity clothes... and I'm not going to lie, they kind of scare me. I'm holding them up thinking....this is going to fit me?!

We're gonna have a baby!!!

We just found out this week that I am indeed pregnant! We're still pretty shocked, but really excited and totally terrified... that's normal right? I don't know what it is about moving overseas - maybe it's the winter, the lack of electricity, the new bacteria in the drinking water...but whatever it is we are pregnant and couldn't be more excited. It is still really early, only 5 weeks, but I will be going to the doctor probably next week to make sure everything is on track. So, sometime in November we are going to have a baby.....WHAT?! Maybe I can share a birthday with someone else! Or maybe you can Chelsea, or you Sarah, or you AB, or you Jennifer, or Beth... there are so many great days in November to be born! We'll keep you posted!