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L’s birth story

I’m going to try and update as frequently as possible, so this is accurate. It may be TMI at times, it’s a birth story! If you don’t want to hear the state of my cervix, stop reading now!

J and I took a 10 week Bradley method course in hopes of having a natural, med-free delivery. Our plan was quickly thrown out the window, as L just didn’t want to come out!

My OB will not let any of their patients go past 10 days overdue. At 38 weeks, we scheduled an induction. The first induction was scheduled for Dec 3, only 1 week after my due date. I was not happy about that. I talked to the doctor, and had a NST done, everything looked good, so we pushed the induction back to Dec 5, a full 10 days after my due date. On Dec 3, I went in for another NST. I was planning on trying to push back the induction again if all looked good. At this NST, however, there were a couple, quick, decelerations of her heart beat. The amniotic fluid also seemed a little low. Neither of these were in the dangerous range, but the dr would not budge on my induction either.

On Dec 4, I was admitted to L&D at 7:30 pm. I was given a hep lock, and they used it to draw some blood, but I won’t actually be hooked up to anything tonight. Once I got all set up in my room, the doctor came in, and a checked me out. 1cm, 0% effaced, and -3 station. Not a great start. Around 9 pm, they put in Cervidil to help ripen my cervix. By 9:30, I was feeling what may have been an increase in Braxton Hicks, or may have been SUPER mild contractions. I watched some TV, and tried to go to sleep around 11:30.

One thing that was disconcerting was that while I was waiting for the doctor to come in, there was a woman down the hall screaming bloody murder! They had her door closed, my door closed, and I had the TV on, and I still could not drown her out. Talk about scary! I just kept telling myself that some people are screamers, and it’s probable she didn’t really prepare herself.

12:30 am – my mind was still racing, so I called for a sleeping pill. Even then, sleep was on-and-off throughout the night. We had a couple more screamers on our floor. Not fun.

On Dec 5, the nurse came in at 6:30 for wake up call. I was able to get up, brush my teeth and take a shower. At 7, they removed the Cervidil and hooked me up to the monitor again. I was 1 cm , 50% effaced, -2 station.

7:30 am – they started the pitocin. I asked my dr if we could do a few hours of pitocin alone before we broke my water, and she said that would be fine. By 8 am I was having mild, but semi-regular contractions every 2-4 min.

11 am – contractions are moderate intensity, but lasting 5 min with a 1 min break! This is comparable to active labor (if I had gone naturally), but even in active labor, contractions are 1 min long, and 5 min apart! I asked to be checked. If by some magic I was 7 or 8 cm, then I would have pushed ahead. I was 1.5 cm, 80% effaced, and -1 station. I asked for the epidural!

J was amazing. He stood by my bed, calmed me down and helped me breathe, rubbed my forehead and/or shoulders. He was my rock. If all had gone according to plan, I’m sure he would have been able to get me through the end. Unfortunately, although the pain was still bearable (7/8 on a scale of 1-10, mainly because of the lack of rest between contractions), I knew there was NO way I could handle 1) having my water broken, and contractions getting much more intense or 2) 10 more hours of that. Like I said, if by some miracle we were near the end, I would have done it. But the fact that we weren’t even in active labor yet, nope! Sorry!!

12 noon – the anesthesiologist came in. I’ve never been so happy to get poked with a bunch of needles!!! I could still feel pressure of the contractions , but the pain was gone.

1:30 pm – the doctor came in and broke my water. In just the last hour with the epidural, I’ve gone to 2.5 cm and 100% effaced! She said there is some meconium in the water, but not much, and that’s to be expected this far past your due date. The pressure from the contractions picked up instantly! I’m so glad I decided on getting the epi. I’m amazed how much pressure I can still feel.

4 pm – the doctor just came back to check me. We are at 8 cm! This epi/pitocin thing is getting the job done!

5:30 pm – one last check. Baby’s head was +2 station! She was ready to be born!

I pushed for 50 min, and at 6:20pm, L came out pink and crying! She was 22″ long and 7lbs 8oz.

We had a NICU unit of nurses to watch over her because of the meconium, but that wasn’t an issue at all. She was breathing and screaming just fine.

My dr got me all cleaned up, I had a 2nd degree tear from her huge 14.25″ head, but really that’s not so bad!

The they brought her over to me, we did skin-to-skin time, and then she latched on to feed. She is an amazing little feeder.

J now has her sleeping in his arms, and all I want to do is stare at them! We are both SO in love with our little girl!

Pregnancy! – 41 weeks!!

How far along? 41 weeks!
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: on and off
Best moment this week: getting my Christmas tree up 🙂
Miss Anything? me – I don’t feel like me anymore
Movement: a lot
Food cravings: just hungry
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? still innie 😦
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody.
Looking forward to: meeting my baby

Anything Else???? I have been trying every old wives tale I can find for the last 3 weeks!  Baby is being stubborn, and definitely does not want to come on her own.

I was able to push my induction back from Monday to Wed.  I had a NST on Tuesday, there were some slight decelerations in her heart rate, and the amniotic fluid was a little low.  While not dangerous, my doctor won’t let me push back the induction any more.  I go in Wed night to start, and the “actual” induction starts Thursday morning.  Zelda will be here by Thursday night or some time on Friday!  At this point, I’m just hoping to avoid a c-section.

I’ve been in prayer, my friends and family have been in prayer.  Although this is not the path that I was hoping for, I do believe that God is in control, and it’s OK because this is His plan!

Pregnancy! – 40 weeks

How far along? 40 weeks.
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: lots and lots
Best moment this week: finishing work, going for walks with friends
Miss Anything? I’m too busy looking forward to look back
Movement: a lot
Food cravings: just hungry
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? flattening – if my dr lets me go to 42 weeks, I may get my outtie!
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody.
Looking forward to: hopefully becoming not-pregnant anymore!

Anything Else???? My dr. scheduled an induction for Dec 3, however I’m nervous about inducing that early (Dec 9 is full 42 weeks), so I’m going to talk to them at my appointment on Wed.

I’m fine going late, and will be as patient as I need to be for baby to come on her own, but I’m REALLY nervous about medical intervention, so I’m kinda in this weird “being patient” and “hurry up and get out!” phase.

Pregnancy! – week 39

How far along? 39 weeks.
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: mostly sleep well
Best moment this week: Finishing up at work – only work 2 days this week
Miss Anything? Energy
Movement: she kicks my side so hard, you can feel feet, legs, and knees
Food cravings: nothing specific, but just hungry!
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? in – I don’t think I’m gonna get an outtie 😦
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody.
Looking forward to: Tuesday is my last day at work

Anything Else????

Pregnancy! – week 38

How far along? 38 weeks.
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: on and off.
Best moment this week: getting the nursery mostly put together
Miss Anything? Everything. Nothing is “normal”
Movement: I can tell she’s running out of room!
Food cravings: not really
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? in – I don’t think I’m gonna get an outtie 😦
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody.
Looking forward to: last full week of work!

Anything Else????

 

 

Pregnancy! – week 37

In honor of Halloween last week, you get Jack-o-lantern bump!

How far along? 37 weeks.
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: having problems staying asleep. This is good practice, right?
Best moment this week: had my church shower on Sat. Details below
Miss Anything? The ability to look good in a picture!
Movement: some days more, some days less
Food cravings: not really
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing too much
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? in – I don’t think I’m gonna get an outtie 😦
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody!
Looking forward to: hopefully finishing the nursery!

Anything Else????

I set up the cradle 😀

Also had my church shower this weekend.  It was a lot of fun, the hosts really went above and beyond!  They made sesame cookies, cranberry pecan tarts, cream puffs, and adorable cupcakes, on top of a large spread of savory foods.  There was lots of eating, hanging out, a few games and gift opening.  One of my friends took some awesome pictures :).

 

Baby Z – vote #2

Vote now for your chance to win cookies! Winner is the person who has the fewest points!

Please use the same name you used before so you can get your points from the gender poll. If you don’t remember your name, ask me, I have the list!
Gender = 50 points if you were wrong or didn’t guess

Voting will remain open until I get back on the blog after birth. No guarantee that will be in the first couple days, or even week! I can see the time stamp of when you voted, any votes after baby is born will be disqualified.

Some helpful hints:

Birthday (5 points/day off)
Baby is due 11/25. Mommy (R) was born on her due date, with her mom’s water being broken. Uncle & Auntie (R’s younger siblings) were 1-1.5 weeks late. Daddy (J) was 2 weeks late, and was induced.

If genetics play a role, there is a good chance she’ll be late.

Time (1 point/30 min off, divided if needed to determine winner)
Your guess is as good as mine!

Weight (8 point/lb off, .5 points/oz)
I had a growth scan this morning, baby Z was measuring in the 43rd percentile. Meaning she is just about average.

Baby was measuring 6lbs, 4oz as of today. If she gains the standard .5lbs/week, she will be 8lbs, 4oz. Ultrasounds can be off up to 2lbs either way. The technician also said that she has a tendency to measure a little big.

My dr at my last appointment felt baby, his guess is that she would be 7.5-8lbs.

Length (10 points/inch off, 5 points/cm)
The average newborn length is 21 inches.  I can’t tell you anything more.

BONUS: Name (-75 points if you get it right!)
We have 6 names we are considering. They can be selected from the letters:

A A B C D E H I J L M N N O R R Y

Each letter provided can be used up to once in each name.  If a letter is listed twice, that means at least one name contains that letter twice, you do not need to repeat letters!

For example:
The name Sarah contains the letters: AAHRS. If we added Susan to the mix, the letters would be AAHNRSSU.

 

And because everyone already got this hint (if you read the other post), the name we are most leaning towards contains at least 1 A.

The names are generally Biblical names or family names. Or variants/similar ;).

Good luck!

Pregnancy! – week 36

How far along? 36 weeks.
Maternity clothes? yup
Sleep: having problems staying asleep. This is good practice, right?
Best moment this week: women’s retreat! So good to connect with other girls, and recenter myself on God.
Miss Anything? Energy!
Movement: starting to go down a but. She still moves 4-5 times/day, but I can tell she’s running out of room!
Food cravings: not really
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing too much, thanks Pepcid!
Have you started to show yet: hahaha
Boy or Girl: girl
Belly Button in or out? in – I don’t think I’m gonna get an outtie 😦
Wedding rings on or off? off
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody. Very moody. I snapped at J more than I should admit this week!
Looking forward to: church baby shower this weekend!

Anything Else????
I made pillow letters to hang her name in her room! I think they turned out great!

Also, the second round of voting for baby Z will be up tonight! Check it out for your chance to win cookies!! 🙂

Pillow letters

This weekend I spent making “pillow letters” to hang on Z’s wall. I am making the letters to make the name we’re 90% set on, but since you all have to guess, I can’t reveal the whole name.

So here’s your clue: the name has a A.

Here’s the process:

What you’ll need:
Cardboard
Scissors
Fabric
Batting
Stencil/cut out
LOW TEMPERATURE hot glue gun
Yarn

I used a variety of fabrics. You can use as many or as few fabrics as you want. The whole name can be one pattern, or you can repeat your favorites. Every letter can be different if you want. My local craft store sells quilting packs that have small bits of 5 coordinating fabrics for $5. I bought one, used 3 of the fabrics and a pink.

Steps:
Get a stencil. I just printed the letters off, one letter per page was the right size for me. Then cut out the letters and trace on to cardboard.

Cut out your letter

Using the hot glue gun, glue the front of the letter on to the batting, and cut out.

Cut out enough fabric to fully cover the letter, plus some. I found it easiest to cut out a large square, and cut back as needed. Wrapping the fabric around, glue to back of letter. This is where the glue gun being low temp comes in handy, you will probably slip and get glue on your fingers! I was pretty good, but still managed to get a few small burns. The glue is still manageable if you let it cool for a few seconds, just don’t wait too long, you don’t want the back to get too bulky.

Just play with it and try to get the best fit you can. The back does not have to look pretty.

*important: if using a fabric that has a pattern, make sure you place the letter so the part of the pattern you like is on the front!

Braid some yarn to make a hanger, glue on to back

And there you have it!

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