He finally has a name...

Huxley Alexander Wendling!!!

Happy Birthday!

Just a quick post to let you all know our son was born today at 6:08pm. He is 8lbs 5oz, 21in. Christa and baby are doing well. Hopefully we will have a name tomorrow...

Birth photos are linked below.

Live Birth Photos

Technology certainly has it's complications, frustrations, and annoyances. However, it also has enabled a level of communication that is unfathomable.

Next Saturday (or before if our son is early), we'll be using this technology to post photos from the birth LIVE! Using the web gallery services from Apple and the iPhone, I will be able to post photos moments after they are taken right from the delivery room.

A few promises. First off, I will not be posting any messy, gross, or private pictures on the live album. Everything will be kid appropriate. Also, my primary concern will be to take care of momma and son, so if there will not be too many photos. I promise to post them as quickly and post as many as seem needed.

Enjoy:

Live Birth Photos

T Minus 1 Week

After all the waiting, trials and triumphs, we are now only a week away from looking at our boy for the first time. The pregnancy has been quite an adventure. A lot has changed over the past 9 months and we know this is only the beginning...

The first volume of our life together is drawing to c lose. We are no m=longer the newlywed couple living life to the fullest and chasing our own whims. While that time together was fun, we seem to have grown roots.

The next volume of our adventure is about to unfold. All indications are that this story will be quite different than ours that came before - but in a good way. We both have been looking forward to sharing the life we've built with the life we've made.

As we finish the odds and ends of getting materially and emotionally ready for birth, one thought comes to mind more than any other:

Son, we can't wait for you! We already love and cherish you...

Baby Room 1.0

Thanks to everyone for their contributions to our son's room! Here are the pictures! Large pictures are available in the online album (link lower right).

THANK YOU!

We had hoped to start showing off our Baby Shower loot on the site tonight. However, there was so much of it that it is going to take us a day or two to unpack in the baby's room.

We really appreciate all the generous gifts you all have given. Furthermore, we realize that these are mere tokens of the love that motivated your generosity.

Our son's greatest gift is the wonderful group of people who will surround his life - you!

Our sincerest thanks. Check back soon to see the baby room in full glory!

Baby Room 0.1

After many hours of trying to find "Screw G" and attach it to "Board RR", the baby furniture is now put together and in our son's room.

We're looking forward to all the clutter that will soon be filling our house and making it feel more alive!

The dogs are too!

A few new pictures (link on the right bar) have been added to our preggo and doggie albums. Enjoy...

Labor 101

We recently went on our hospital tour and to our labor class. The experience was good and a lot to take in. A few of the highlights are below, pictures are on our web gallery...

First off, the delivery room is enormous! 26 adult students were able to comfortably sit and stand inside the room. As you would expect, everything is centered around making mom as comfortable as possible and baby as safe as possible.

The rooms include a baby warmer, full medical kit for anything less than a c-section, and even a bathtub! They have his and her DVD players/TVs, lounge chairs that recline for dad, robotic lights to track momma's movements, and did I mention a whirlpool bathtub?

The medical equipment is all at hand, but also hidden from view in the wood cabinets. The effect is one of a relaxed calming hotel room.

The nursery is just down the hall from the postpartum room and looks state of the art and equally comforting. Access to the rooms has good security and each momma/baby pair is electronically linked.

Clarion Hospitals really know their stuff.

After going to class and seeing the birthing areas, we are really excited. It will be a tense but wonderful time and we have a great team of health care providers there to see us through the hard parts.

The Name Game: Round Two

Today we continue the name game. We'll be running a few polls for your opinions to help us decide what name our boy should have.

Every few weeks, we'll post a list of names, or thoughts on them, and a poll. Please post your comments and vote for each name you like (you can vote more than once per round by selecting multiple names).

This round's names are:

- Joshua, this is the name of my (Jason's) life long friend, Joshua Dunn.

- Scout, this name was more common pre-1950 and was unique then. I (Jason) love that era and think the name is a good alternative to Hunter.

- Griffin, this name was recommended by Carrie (sis-in-law) and we both decided we liked it. It has a bit of a fantasy flare and sounds interesting.

- Bailey, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her.

- Blake, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her.

- Dalton, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her.

- Gavin, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her.

- Hayden, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her. Jason loves this one too.

- Teagen, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her.

- Devin, this is one of Christa's picks. She's spent tons of time pouring over the baby names book to find the ones that sound the best to her. This one was the name of a girl in Jason's High School, but could work for a boy too.

- River, suggested by Rebecca. It is a nice natural name that we both kinda like.

(Lucas removed because the Brown family already has one - oops...)

The Name Game: Round One

Today is the start our our name game. We'll be running a few polls for your opinions to help us decide what name our boy should have.

Every few weeks, we'll post a list of names, or thoughts on them, and a poll. Please post your comments and vote for each name you like (you can vote more than once per round by selecting multiple names).

This round's names are:

- Winter, we both love this season, plus he'll be born during it. However, Winter Wendling is a bit too much alliteration.

- Frost, another seasonal name. This one is a bit more abstract and different.

- Augustus, another semi-seasonal name. This is also the name of the main character of Lonesome Dove, a wonderful book.

- Skylar, something about this name just feels right. It feels like an upbeat, positive name.

- Dylan, Christa loves the way this name sounds.

- Huxley, this name is a bit different and unique. It has a certain vitality to it.

- Demos, this is the name of the DJ we listen to on the way into work each day and it just kind of grows on you. It is pronounces De-mos.

- Ryder, this one came from the name Strider (Lord of the Rings) and actually seeing the name Ryder in the game World of Warcraft. It just has a nice adventurous feel.

- Hunter, I am big on the nature names. Hunter is normal enough while not giving up a natural flare.

- Shepard, this name would be a good one for the little guy to grow into. He'd be destined to be a leader.

- Logan, this is Wolverine's real name (from the X-Men). We simply just like it.

- Xavier, while this is also an X-Men name, we actually thought about it while thinking of alternatives to Xander.

- Alexander, we'd probably call him Xander for short if he gets this name. Xander is the name of a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy and Spike, our dogs, also bare names from said show.

- Huckleberry, my (Jason) favorite pick thus far. We would call him Huck for short. Huckleberry is from Mark Twain's first great American Novel. The book is about always doing the right and just thing.

A Little Help from Our Friends

Four legged friends, that is...

Maybe this takes us a step closer to being like that weird cat lady you see on TV during a slow news day, but we love our dogs.

We've decided to have a puppy theme for our son's room.

We've added a set of links to the lower right where you can access our on-line gift registries. While we certainly do not expect anything - we appreciate everything. Hopefully this makes it a little easier and a little more fun.

We'll probably start our boy's room next month - so be sure to check back often for photos of his room, dogs and all!

Grand-Parenting Classes

Grand parenting classes are available at Clarian North Hospital free of charge. Below is a link to the schedule of available classes and times.

Grandparenting Class

Time to Decorate

Now that we know we have toads and snails and puppy dog tails on the way, we need some advice on the theme for our son's room.

Please post your comments about the theme on this post and vote for your favorite themes to the right. You can select as many as you want.

The Ultrasound Video

Well, here it is...

This sneak peek of our boy is simply amazing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this video speaks volumes!

(It is also available by clicking the YouTube Videos link to the right.)

The Ultrasound

A few of the best ultrasound pictures are now up in the "Preggo Pics" gallery (link to the right).

We are working on cutting and editing the (very) long uncut video. It should be posted this weekend.

Soon, we'll have a new feature about names on the website poll section. Time to get serious about the boy's name!

We're having a boy!

More to come - but the big news is that we're having a baby boy!

Ultra-Anticipation

Just one more day to go before the ultrasound. The anticipation has been growing now for some time - not just the 16 weeks or so that we've known about the pregnancy, but for all the years we've hoped for a baby.

So, tomorrow is upon us and with it, we have the normal nervousness and fear for all the things that could go wrong. However, the feelings of joy and hope are growing stronger. Making it past tomorrow will safely put us past our doubts and worries (for the most part).

Tomorrow, when we find out the gender of the baby, it will be transformed in our minds. The baby will somehow seem more real and more ours. We can't wait to find out our first clue about what kind of life we've started...

And, just for good measure, we've run across a few more names that warrant consideration.

Boy Names:
- Winter
- Frost
- Augustus
- William
- Skylar
- Dylan
- Demos

Girl Names:
- Danielle
- Eve
- Emma
- Natalie
- Ashley
- Amber
- Autumn
- Dawn
- Lauren

Tomorrow, we can start to get more specific with the names. I hope you all will give it some thought and propose some more ideas soon!

Counting Down

On August 29th we will have our first ultrasound and find out the gender of the baby. You're welcome to post your guess on the gender in the poll section to the right.

While we wait to find out, we have been coming up with some baby name ideas...

Girls:
-Aspyn Lexya
-Aspyn Alexa
-Aspyn Alexya
-Karma
-Johanna
-Raven

Boys:
-Steven Alexander
-Hunter Alexander
-Logan Alexander
-Logan Xavier
-Joshua Alexander
-Huckleberry

Please leave your comments and any suggestions...

We have also gotten some interesting baby advice from our friends, family, and co-workers.

Once you pick a name don’t tell anyone - Rebecca

Always buy green baby stuff; in case you have another - Bob

Babies-R-Us has a twins discount if you’re buying two of something - TiJuan

Negative Results

The last week has been an eventful one. We took a couple of major steps into the second trimester. Christa got some new threads and gave a little blood.

First, the good news; the initial blood screening for neural tube defects was negative. This test has an accuracy of about 80% for detecting critical developmental problems for the spinal cord and brain.

Christa has also started to show quite a bit. So much so, in fact, that she’s already had to take a trip to the maternity clothes store. She’s a bit ahead of schedule for belly size and weight gain...

Admit it - the word “twins” raced into your mind...

The next big step is the ultrasound on August 29th. We’ll find out whether we are having a boy or girl or...both?

The Most Incredible Sound

We expected that the first time we heard the heartbeat would be an amazing experience. Looking forward to today for the last couple of weeks has been fun. Most of the apprehension and fear about the baby making it past the first trimester has finally passed.

Have a listen by going to our YouTube Videos link to the right...

Moments after hearing the heartbeat for the first time, a flurry of emotion washed over us. Obviously, we were thrilled to hear our little miracle's thrumming existence. However, all the panic of how to make sure we are good enough parents for our child soon followed.

But, that’s a worry for another day...