Everyone say Hello!

Little Bradley is finally here, and I am finally able to tell you about it!! They began to induce labor around 8pm Wednesday night. I began having contractions and had them all through the night but never dilated past a 1. So at 6am they moved us to L/D and began the Pitocin drip. As they titrated it up, the contractions got stronger and closer together. They had me get up and walk around and different things, but by 11am I was only a 1 1/2 so my doctor ruptured my membranes. Well shortly after that with the Pitocin getting close to being maxed out, my contractions were so strong and close together I was getting no rest in between and couldn't even catch my breath. My nurse was busy in her other room, so Nick had to hunt down different nurses to try and get them to turn the drip down or something. The IV pain meds they could give were not even touching it. They said my only other option was to get the epidural. I felt like such a wimp b/c I was barely past a 1 but I could not take the pain. And I knew that Pitocin contractions are worse that regular ones so I told them fine I'll do it. Well then they had to hunt down an anethesiologist which took about an hour.

Finally I got the epidural around 4pm and was able to relax a bit and catch my breath. They checked me just after the epidural and I was up to a 4. An hour later, I was a 5. I quickly progressed after that, and by midnight I was at a 10. They had me start to push, but after 30 minutes he hadn't moved very far, so she had me sit in different positions for awhile to try to get him to move down naturally so I wouldn't be pushing forever. This went on for several hours, and I could really start to feel the pressure down there.

This is me in labor before it got really bad :)

So around 3:30am a couple of nurses had me start pushing, and a little at a time he moved down. He had a lot of trouble getting under my pubic bone, but his head finally started poking through. And that's when the second round of pain began! His head crowned for about an hour, and then he was only out to his ears. I heard that and got a little upset, so I pushed even harder and he was born shortly after 6am Friday morning!

As far as him actually coming out, I felt all of that even with the epidural. The only part that was numb on me was my thighs and my belly and butt. Nick cut the cord, and after they got me all squared away, then I got to hold him for the first time!

He was 8lb 13oz, 21 1/2 inches long. After a bit they removed my epidural and as soon as I could stand up and walk, we moved to the mother-baby unit a floor up. They say most babies sleep a long time after birth, but he is an eater and was already hungry every couple of hours.

The next morning, every muscle in my body was sore! Even my eyeballs hurt. They drew blood from me, and did tests and blood draws on him. He also got his Hep B shot, and got circumcised. So needless to say he was NOT a happy camper that whole day. He is still pretty fussy. Finally around 1pm we had all our paperwork done and got to go home!

The first night here was a hard one. He was up almost every 20 minutes just crying and needing attention. Today was a little better. We set up camp on the couch and he hung out in his Boppy next to me. If anyone has any suggestions about how to soothe a fussy baby after a circ please let me know!

I wasn't wanting to this early, but I had to break out the pacifier already. Even after I would feed him for almost 45 min, he would still be fussy and cry and chew on his hands. The pacifier calmed him down (as long as he kept it in his mouth) and I am getting very sore. Again, any suggestions on that will be greatly appreciated.

So yeah! It's been a crazy few days and we are starting a whole new world. I'm sure the first couple weeks are the hardest and he has been through a lot so just have to keep on trucking. He is an adorable little boy though, and his daddy is so proud!

A big thank you to the friends and family who hung out through the night to see Bradley's arrival, and who visited me afterwards. Your presence is appreciated.

Updates and Change of Plans

No I have not gone into labor yet...I am dilated to a whopping 1 but that was the only change at my appointment yesterday. She may have stripped my membranes, but I'm not sure. I think she said she did but I didn't verify. Otherwise I actually lost 1/2 a lb since last week, and my BP was 118/70.

The change in plans is due to a simple mistake: my doc thought she was on-call Wednesday but she is actually on-call Thursday. That means she had to move my induction to Thursday. She said if I wanted to, I could do it still on Wednesday but then she wouldn't be the delivering doctor. I figured what is one more day? So the plan now is for us to check into Labor and Delivery tomorrow evening at 5:30pm. I will get Cervidil that night, then if I still haven't gone into labor then they will start Pitocin Thursday morning. I am reaaallllly hoping I don't need the Pitocin because I've heard all kinds of stories about the crazy contractions it causes. My doc said that some people go into labor just with the Cervidil so please pray for me that is the case!

I am starting to get nervous because I've never actually been a patient in a hospital, much less for a couple of days. And this will only be my second IV ever--first one was when I had my egg retrieval done. Not to mention the fact that I am going to be giving birth!!! Wow. That's some big stuff ahead of me...I say bring it on baby! Nick is getting nervous too that the day is finally here, so let's hope he is able to stay semi-calm throughout this event.

I probably won't blog again before I go in tomorrow night so I am assuming I will be released either Friday evening or Saturday morning. Hopefully I can jump on here shortly thereafter and get something posted for you guys! Check back then.

In other news, my stepdad's mother passed away last night and her funeral is Thursday morning. So we will have two big things going on at once, and I feel bad I won't be able to make it to the funeral then. My mom is going to the service, then coming to the hospital right after. Pray for him that he gets through this ok.

PS. I posted a 40 week belly shot--my LAST one!

Come Out and Play Bradley!

So I'm here...40 weeks...almost 10 months pregnant...it's been great and all but hey--I'm ready to hold my baby!

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

My LAST checkup is today at 11am and I am hoping for at least some progress. She will at least tell me the plan for induction. I don't think I've felt any more of those "twinges" and definitely no contractions. But thanks to my ginormous belly and the God-forsaken heat here, my feet are huge!! It's pretty sad when you can barely wear flip-flops.

As far as moving, we have made a lot of headway in getting unpacked and situated. I have been searching high and lo for a couple of good cheap dressers, but I have been unsuccessful and ended up finding something online. Gotta love internet shopping!

This is the one I decided on for Bradley's room. I just ordered it today, and it should be in late next week. I recently organized his clothes by age and they continue to be piled on the floor until I get somewhere to put them.

I really like this one! This is the one I decided on for our room. I wanted to go with a double so that we would each have adequate drawers, plus the room on top for stuff to go. But of course, because this is the one I want, it is out of stock!! Remember when the nursery valances were out of stock? Oh, and the crib was out of stock? Ugh. So I am watching it like a hawk and will order it as soon as I can. Until then, all of our crap is piled up on the top shelf in the closet. That has been one big adjustment moving here because before, we each had our own big walk-in closet with built in dressers, and now we have one little closet and no dressers!! I am realizing I may have too many clothes...

Anywho, wish me luck at my appointment in a couple of hours--I will be sure to post an update before I go to the hospital! And don't worry, my batteries are charging and there will be PLENTY of pictures to show. Hopefully everything goes well and I do not need a C-section. We just want little Bradley to come out safely and daddy to survive :) I'll be fine!

7 Days Left! (9 Till Induction)

39 weeks is here, can you believe that it is almost the end??? Here are updates:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming.

I can't remember if I mentioned the "twinges" I have been getting--kind of painful stabs in my cervical area that only last a few seconds. No contractions yet...but at least the twinges are telling me that SOMETHING is going on down there! I have a checkup in the morning with a different doc (mine is in Hawaii) so cross your fingers there is some progress.

I think one thing I am most excited about is the fact that tomorrow night is my last night to work!!! I am already working on a list of things to do while I'm off. I've got so many crafts and projects and things to organize! I know the 12 weeks is going to fly by, but the good thing is I am going part-time when I start working again.

The latest with our "new" house is the other day I turned on the light above the kitchen sink--bad idea. It sparked and popped and started smoking. I called Nick in there to look at it, but he isn't very savvy with home electrical things (and I don't want him getting schocked) so we turned the power off and called his dad who knows a lot about these things. What does his dad say? He's too busy to deal with that right now and can't we just keep the power off for a couple days until he can come up and look at it? Um no? In 95 degree weather and a fridge full of food--negative. Needless to say Nick was pretty upset and disappointed (once again) in his parents for their complete and utter lack of concern for our well being. And this is his grandparents' house, it's not even ours! So if the house burns down because of faulty wiring, it is completely their problem.

After I consoled him and explained how my family would undoubtedly be there for us, I called my stepdad and he came right over to make sure the wires were temporarily disabled. He came back today for a few hours and completely replaced the wiring to the light and installed a new fixture for us. I'm glad we know who we can count on...

Backup Plan

For those who don't know me, I am one of those people who has to have everything planned out. So the whole "going into labor spontaneously" deal doesn't really fit in there. And so far my cervix is on lock down. Well I had my 38 week checkup yesterday and the lovely doctor said I am about 80% effaced but no dilation still. She did say she could feel the baby's head right there though. She will be out on vacation all next week which means I won't actually see her again until my due date. And being the wonderfully proactive person that she is, she is going to schedule me to be induced on June 24th if nothing has happened by then!

Although I won't see her next week, I will see another doctor on Tuesday morning. I will be sure to let you know if anything changes then.

In other news...we are moving tomorrow! The movers will be here at 9am, and hopefully everything will be over there and done with before I have to go to work tomorrow night. We have the majority of our little stuff packed up, only things left are the kitchen, closets, and garage. Things are moving right along! I can't wait to be done moving, get settled, and wait for Bradley!

PS: Today is my birthday! The big 23 :)

Only 2 Weeks Left

38 weeks is here, and let me say--I'm ready! Here are the updates:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

My belly is looking quite enormous these days, as are my ankles. They are fine right after I wake up, but after a couple of hours--especially at work--they are huge. Ugh. It feels like something is wrapped around my ankle! But other than that I really can't complain at all.

My friend Ashley at work that was 2 weeks ahead of me had her baby this morning. Everything went very well with hers, but she was 3 days overdue. She also had a very uneventful pregnancy like me. I'm next!

The moving is in progress--we have about all the boxes we need, and I am calling the movers tomorrow to try and do it Friday morning. I would do it Thursday but that's my birthday! It seems like this year my birthday is kind of slipping past the radar with everyone, but that's ok b/c there are a lot of other important things going on right now.

My next OB checkup is Wednesday so I am anxious to see if there have been any cervical changes. I have STILL not had any Braxton-Hicks (that I'm aware of) but I have been feeling a lot of "twinges" down there. And as far as lightening/dropping, I think he may have but I'm not sure. I am peeing slightly more now, plus the frequent twinges. I think I carried him low this whole time and I read this when you carry low it can be harder to tell when you officially "drop". Maybe my doc can tell me...

So wish me and my cervix luck, a happy birthday, and an easy move!

**Only 9 more days till I start maternity leave!!**

Nursery Updates

I have slowly been decorating the nursery with different things--some handmade, some store bought. Here are some of the latest updates:

The framed prints are actually felt from Hobby Lobby (I heart that store). They had 4 different animal prints so I got them all. I looked high and low for white picture frames (that weren't overpriced) and couldn't find them, so I just bought some cheap frames and painted them white myself. Then I tried finding simple/cheap mattes and couldn't find those either! Of course I ended up cutting out my own bloody mattes from cardstock. And voila! I think they turned out quite well.

My friend Sara and my mom and I all mulled over several different ways to arrange them, and we decided this one was the most appealing. It is above the "feeding corner" and notice the giraffe and zebra figurines on the shelf? The giraffe is from Hobby Lobby, and the zebra is from a thrift store.

Also notice the wood urn thing to the left with the dried grass in it. I got the dried grasses on sale at Hobby Lobby, and the urn thing is from Walmart. I looked several other places for one that spoke to me, but again they were waaay overpriced.

Next pic is of our carseat! We actually got it about 3 weeks ago. I just haven't taken a pic of it yet. No it is not installed in my car yet but only because we are in the middle of moving and I would only have to keep taking it out to put boxes in my backseat. It's quite simple--nothing fancy. I mainly wanted to get something neutral and practical. The cushion is washable and comes out, and it had very good reviews. I was bound and determined to just get a convertible car seat so that I wouldn't have to get another one in a year. That was until a friend pointed out the convertible car seats do not have a handle!!! Now I do not intend to carry my child around everywhere in the carseat but that does not mean I will never need a handle. So I had to get an infant one for now--courtesy of Bradley's greatgrandmother who also offered to get his next one too!

Full Term with 3 Weeks to go

37 weeks is here with only 21 days left until my due date! Here are updates:

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk tof swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

So I'm kind of feeling left out on the whole labor thing...no Braxton-Hicks, no "lightening"... as much as a I love being pregnant, I am ready to hold him! I have another checkup today and hopefully we have progressed over the last week. I am REALLY wanting to do this naturally and not be induced, but frankly I am not willing to go overdue and waste my maternity leave sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. You would think with the 5 million things I been running around doing recently, that would get things going! Nope. I got nothin'.

I told Nick that I'm getting so big now I feel like I have a Santa belly strapped to my stomach! Poor little Bradley is running out of room to move around in. He gets to kicking and it looks like he is going to punch a hole in the side of my belly. Thankfully I've avoided the rib kicks, but he likes to dance on my right hip.

We will hopefully be moving this week--I am spending the morning calling movers and working on getting estimates. Boxes are elusive right now but hopefully I can pick some more up from my work. And Nick starts his summer classes AND his new job this week!!!! We are definitely keeping busy :)