Merry Christmas

Instead of mailing Christmas cards this year, I emailed the following to pretty much everyone in my gmail address book. If you did not receive an email, I don't have your address. This is actually the edited version which does not include our new contact information, but I would happily send you the complete email version (which has much better resolution) if you would kindly leave me your email as a comment or send it to me at: ludlowjenny at gmail dot com. Of course, that's assuming I know who you are:) Here is the edited version of our Christmas letter as well as our annual photo montage:

2008 Highlights

Jenny
Finished her clinical fellowship and earned a few more letters behind her name (CCC-SLP).
Focused her speech-pathology skills on trying to master the Louisiana dialect.
Joined the fabulous world of bloggers (see below for our blog address).
Got pregnant, survived the first trimester, loved the second, enjoyed the third.
Devoted many days to “nesting” projects (e.g. painting furniture, organizing the house compulsively, etc.).
Became a mommy.

David
Graduated from medical school and is now officially “Dr. Ludlow.”
Wrote his first prescription.
Shopped for, selected, bought, and single-handedly moved in to our new home in Louisiana before Jenny had ever even seen the place.
Started five- year residency program in Otolaryngology (a.k.a. Earn, Nose, and Throat) at Louisiana State University.
Was introduced to his new best friend…the dreaded pager!
Rode his first mechanical bull at the Louisiana State Fair without breaking any bones.
Became a daddy.

Caleb
Was born

Family
Sold our first home in Reno (a miracle to say the least).
Took an awesome pre-residency vacation to Mexico.
Moved to Louisiana and were introduced to many southern delicacies including, but not limited to, the following: fried pickles, fried oreos, fried snickers, fried alligator on a stick, fried Thanksgiving turkey (notice a trend?), gumbo, jambalaya, and crawfish.
Welcomed Caleb to our family

It has been a wonderful year full of adventures and blessings. Thank you for your interest in our lives and for your love and support.

Love,
David and Jenny

Presenting Joe Cypress!

I know, I know, this is WAY overdue and we SO appreciate all of your patience. It turns out this whole having an infant thing can really wipe a person out:)

I have a hungry baby who needs some TLC (and a boob) at the moment, so this will be brief. Fear not, I will send an extensive overview of the events leading up to the arrival of our little Joe Cypress "soon," which is a relative term that in this instance means as soon as I've found a moment between feedings (Caleb's), diaper changes (Caleb's), and naps (mine).

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of our gorgeous little man (whose real name is Caleb, by the way:) Thank you for the emails, phone calls and prayers. We are all doing well (due in large part to my mom being here with us) and are so grateful for this little miracle that has entered our lives.

Hello, world!


"Now this is a change of scenery."


After his first sponge bath.


Hand rubs from mommy.


The look of contentment.

My mommy's name is chubby, my daddy's name is chubby...

More to come...

Ode to my baby daddy

With only a couple of days before this new baby enters our lives, I thought I would squeeze in a post dedicated to the man who made this possible...my baby daddy...David.

The other night he grabbed a popsicle and got his lip stuck to it. I heard him mutter, "Hep!" from the dining room and when I saw what had happened, I quickly waddled (an oxymoron) into the kitchen. He thought I was going to get something to alleviate his suffering, but I was really grabbing the camera. The look on his face as I snapped the picture was priceless!

He has put up with quite a bit over the last 9 months and the list is ever-increasing in recent weeks. Despite this, he has maintained a sense of humor while still being sensitive to my volatile and ever-fluctuating emotions.

One of the inconveniences is sleep related. People tell me that the scarcity of sleep before a baby is born is merely preparation for when the baby arrives. Those who know David well know that he was converted to the gospel of good sleep habits while at Stanford and strives to minimize his "sleep debt." He has had to come to terms with the fact that between being a slave at the hospital and a soon-to-be father, his debt is going to accumulate despite his best efforts, but he doesn't complain about it. Here is a typical night at our house:

10pm-David slips into a fatigue-induced coma and Jenny's manic nesting begins

1am-Jenny gets in bed and tosses and turns to position her numerous pillows

1:30am-Jenny gets up to pee then tosses and turns to reposition her numerous pillows

2:30am-Jenny gets up to pee then tosses and turns to reposition her numerous pillows

3:30am-Jenny gets up to pee then tosses and turns to reposition her numerous pillows

4:00am-David's alarm goes off and he selects which shade of blue scrubs he will be wearing that day.

After I had a particularly restless night last week, I asked him how he slept. His response was, "Well, I slept pretty well until 1am when it felt like the bed turned into a bounce house" (a reference to my restlessness...get your minds out of the gutter!). He hasn't said one word about the fact that his sleeping space has been limited to a width of approximately 12 inches over the course of the pregnancy as my need for additional cushioning and support has increased. Well, not until last week when he casually asked me, "So do you think we'll be able to get rid of a few of these pillows after the baby is born?"

Here are a few other things that have made me fall even more in love with him in recent months:

*Occasionally he comes home from the hospital wearing his latest bit of equipment which makes me laugh.

*He has accompanied me on numerous trips to baby stores looking for various paraphernalia (strollers, play pens, breast pumps, etc.). He even went so far as to brave a consignment sale with me, but put the smack down when I wanted to stand in line for more than an hour to buy an $18 Bumbo (thanks to my sister, Tiff, I now have a $15 Bumbo without having to stand in line:)

*He cares about my safety. After reading the label on the back of the lacquer spray I was going to use on the nursery furniture, he insisted that he subject himself to the harmful toxins rather than allow me to poison our unborn child while I looked on from a distance critiquing every spray to make sure it was exactly how I would do it:

*He's always been a great sport about going along with my crazy ideas for our Halloween costumes. This year was no exception and he even pieced his costume together all by himself:

*He looks good riding a bull!

So, here's to you my baby daddy. I sure love you!

Mission: Free Joe Cypress

After eating two Thanksgiving meals (one with David's ENT department and one with a family from church) which consisted of classic southern delicacies (namely deep fried turkey injected with Creole butter and sweet potato pie topped with candied pecans) I experienced some pretty strong and consistent contractions for two days thereafter and was sure Joe Cypress was on his way (see previous post for explanation of why I am referring to our baby by this name). Then, just like that, they went away and I haven't had any consistent contractions since.

The doctor informed me that I have started to dilate and "soften" (those who have paved this road know the term well) and little Joe's head is really low so I should be ready "any day." Subsequent to receiving this news, I requested a few of those lovely absorbent mats they put under you on the hospital beds and have been sleeping on those because I'm paranoid about my water breaking in bed and ruining our mattress. It makes a lovely crinkling sound every time I move (which is quite frequent since I have discovered NO comfortable sleeping position... hence why I'm writing this post at 4:45am), but I feel a little better having taken this precautionary measure.

However, despite the doctor's admonition, all I've been feeling the last few days is the most uncomfortable unilateral sciatica that has developed and I'm starting to think that having little Joe here soon wouldn't be a bad thing. Up until precisely four days ago, I strategically avoided the pregnant waddle, but it is now inevitable and with each stride, I'm not sure if I move farther forward or side to side. I dare say, my next post may very well include pictures of our first born son as long as our efforts to free Joe Cypress from his captivity are successful:)