Happy Birthday, Maksim!

We welcomed our BIG boy, Maksim Alexander Kroger, into the world on April 30th at 4:29am!  Although he weighed a record breaking (for our birth center) 11lb-2 ounces, we managed to still have the hospital/drug/intervention free, natural birth that we'd hoped for!


Here's how Maks measured up:
11lb 2oz
15" head
18 1/2" shoulders (which decided to come out simultaneously, instead of one at a time!)
21.5" long

Just a few hours old, and already practicing flexing his muscles for body-builder Grandpa Ralph.

He was perfectly healthy and we were all on the road back from TX within four hours!  

Daddy is a master swaddler.

Kira saying "hi" to her little brother.

We're so glad to have him here with us and cannot wait to introduce him to everyone!

Due Date

40 weeks

My ever-expanding belly coupled with unseasonably high temperatures in Louisiana is making the baby wait almost unbearable.  Sometime in the next two weeks our little bundle will be in our arms!

Third Trimester

Final stretch!

As the weeks continue to pass, I get more and more kicks that are becoming stronger and stronger!  It's hard to believe that just a couple of months ago I wasn't experiencing any detectable movement at all!  I"m growing each and every single day - which hopefully means a properly developing little one on the inside!

30.5 weeks

Valentine's Day is usually just another day in our house.  However, the weekend before, both Bryon and I happened to be off of work.  Bryon got up early and said he needed to run some errands and would pick up some breakfast to bring home for us, too.  Once 10am rolled around, I was extremely hungry and wondering what was taking him so long/when he'd be back.  At about 10:30 he finally made if back home with some food - and our infant car seat...complete with a V-day stuffed animal monkey strapped in!  Of course, he'd thought that the baby store opened at 9am, but it actually didn't open until 10.  He knew which brand infant seat we'd decided to purchase, but he was able to also pick out his favorite fabric/color (which I happen to love!).  A car seat has been the one thing I've been adamant about needing to purchase sometime soon to be sure that we have one once it's needed.  I'm so glad we've got that item crossed off the list!  Now I just need to convince Bryon that it would be fun to drive around with the car seat installed...and the stuffed animal monkey strapped in!  He's hesitant, so for now we're slowly exposing Kira to the monkey and teaching her that not all toys/stuffed animals in our house are fair game for her to chew on anymore.  Wish us luck!

31 weeks

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our growing family by attending our baby shower!  It was so nice to have the friends we've made in Louisiana come over and spend the afternoon with us!  We can't wait to introduce everyone to our new addition in just a few short weeks!

Approximately 2 weeks to go until my EDD and I'm starting to feel like I can't possibly expand any farther!  We're happy to have found a midwife and birthing center that we'll be utilizing in East Texas (assuming all goes as planned) and couldn't be happier with this opportunity given our current residence in non-midwife-friendly Louisiana.  As for now, we're counting down the days until our little Texas-born baby makes his/her debut!

35 weeks

37.5 weeks