Welcome Braden!

Well, our induction experience was very long and similar to our experience when Aly was born (although it was supposed to be rare). We arrived Thursday and anxiously awaited hour by hour....day by day....for the baby to make it's grand entrance.

Finally, Saturday morning at 6:07am, Braden Patrick Maple made his entrance!

He weighed 7 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. , 19 1/2 in. long and a head full of hair!

Here is the proud mom, dad and sister!

So far, he seems to resemble Aly when she was born.

Here are some of his 1st photos...what a handsome guy! (Check out those chops!) His big sister is really proud and finally has come around to love and accept the newest family member.

Can we just say - Proud Daddy!

After another long delivery, I have decided that I'm done having kids! I'm sure many of you heard it in Matt's voice as he made the phone calls, but he's definitely elated that he has a son. Now that we have one of each, we're calling it done - Our Happy Family!

Well, we haven't been home long and we've already realized that we can't turn our heads for long. Aly wants to be a big part of taking care of her new baby brother!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Check back for more updates....

Going to the Hospital

Well, after about a 3 hour doctor's visit, full of tests, we have decided to start the induction Thursday, November 8th. My preeclampsia symptoms have maintained and I have been able to be on minimal pain meds since I got home from the hospital Tuesday night. Upon arriving at the doctor's today, my weight gain was only 2 lbs (+), my blood pressure was down (+), my swelling was average (+), my blood work was all good (+), my protein levels didn't increase too much (+), however, the baby did not pass the non-stress test (-). They ended up doing a biophysical profile (extensive ultrasound) to check and make sure that the baby was responding okay and it scored an 8/10, so the doctor was not as concerned, but doesn't want us to wait too long. So, we are set to go in Thursday evening in hopes that the baby will come sometime Friday or Saturday (37 weeks). So, please pray that the induction goes quicker than it did with Aly and that we all come through healthy and well. I will have to be put on magnesium (because of being preeclamptic so I don't have seizures afterward), but hopefully it will be able to wait until after the baby is delivered so that it doesn't have to have any. We'll keep you all updated either through as many phone calls as we can make over the weekend, or via the blog early next week! Thanks for all the support and prayers!

Coming Soon - Baby Maple #2

Well, I'm writing to update most of you that I have spent the last couple of days in the hospital. I went in because I started having bad pains Saturday evening. It took them several tests to determine if it was another kidney stone or whether it was something else causing me to start early labor. They have determined that I have preeclampsia and they gave me the option to induce or go on strict bed rest to buy a few more days. Due to our 45 hour induction experience with Aly, we opted to try and stick it out a few more days in hopes that my body will continue to prepare more on its own so things will progress faster once the process is started. I have to report to the doctors office every other day for monitoring and tests until the doctor thinks its time. We'll keep you updated but it looks like we'll have a baby within the next week. Pray for us all!