He's Here!!!!

Wow.  I can't believe it's over.....  Again.

The last post left us at 39 weeks, and waiting for this little man to arrive in the world.  Seth, Johnny, Joan, and Mike were all here; we celebrated Thanksgiving together, and everyone was settling in to wait.  Friday came and went, Saturday came and went....  I was having contractions every now and then, but nothing that resembled labor.  We were all beginning to think I was going to make my next doctor's appointment that following Tuesday!

Sunday morning, I was up early with contractions again.  But just like the previous two or three nights, the contractions completely stopped after about three hours.  We made plans to meet everyone for lunch, then go wander around the Festival of the Trees- a yearly holiday activity one of the hospitals puts on.  It was gray and gloomy outside, and I don't think anyone was really up for going out, but we all went anyway.  Afterward, S&J came back to our house with us.  We were going to just veg on the couch, watch movies, and eat popcorn and chocolate covered goodies.

We hadn't been home for very long when I finally decided we should probably head to the hospital and get checked out.  I'll spare you the details, but I had been having some leaking throughout the day.  After consulting with a couple of my nurse friends (at almost the end of the day, of course) I told Chris we should probably go in.  I didn't think what I was leaking was amniotic fluid, so I didn't want to get S&J all excited by announcing that I thought my water had broken.  Instead I had to use the really vague "there's something going on, but I'm not really sure what......".

So, we had a friend come watch the kids while S&J and Chris and I headed down to the hospital.  In triage, I told my nurse (also one of the friends I'd "consulted") that I still didn't think it was amniotic fluid....  And after seeing it, she wasn't sure that it was either.  But guess what???  It was.  lol... How long have I been doing this?  12+ years???  Just goes to show that it's not always easy to tell what is going on.  Turns out, I had what we call a "high leak"; I was leaking just little amounts of fluid at a time- not enough to soak anything, or even make me feel wet.  The "weirdness" I was seeing all day was these tiny amounts of fluid- but there was meconium in the fluid, which made it look green. 

It was Baby Day!!!!  Or Baby Night, as it was about 8pm by then....  Since I wasn't sure exactly how long I'd been ruptured, it was decided to start some pitocin.  I had been leaking all day with no spontaneous contractions, so I didn't think waiting any longer would change anything.  I had a great friend as my labor nurse, and it wasn't too long before we were all settled in our room.  Labor room 2408, where Aiden, Paige, and Finn had all made their entrance into the world.  Mia came on a day where all our rooms were full, so I didn't get to pick my room that day....  Chris went home to collect Aiden and Paige, who both desperately wanted to be there for delivery. 

I was about 5cm dilated when I was admitted.  My nurse and I expected my labor to progress fairly quickly after starting the pitocin.  That was, after all, my history.  I figured we would start the pitocin, get into a good labor pattern, get an epidural, and deliver a couple hours later.  We started the pit around 10, and I was ready to get an epidural by midnight.  My contractions weren't very strong, and I wasn't leaking much fluid so I was a little worried this might not be as quick as we originally thought.  After the epidural, the "high leak" popped, and my water broke completely.  So much for worrying about not leaking much....  there ended up being a TON of fluid in there.  My nurse and I joked that the baby was probably only 5 or 6 pounds because all the fluid had to have taken up the rest of the space!  But, I was still only 5cm dilated.  At 2am, I was 7cm.  My nurse and I started to wonder what was going on.  This was not going as expected.  So everyone settled in and tried to doze or sleep a little- the kids were sleeping and doing great. 

At 4am, I was still 7cm.  The baby was lower, and my cervix was thinned out, but I was still only 7.  So, I really started turning side to side with some sitting straight up in between.  My contraction pattern was good, the baby was looking great, but this delivery just wasn't happening.  The next little bit of time runs together for me.  The moving around was working, and I was getting more uncomfortable.  I know at one point I was 8cm, then 9cm- both numbers I hadn't seen before.  "Usually" I would power through from 7 to 10 with no inbetween.  Finally, finally, my nurse said she was going to call the doctor in and I could push soon.  I could feel the baby's head moving down, and it was getting worse with every contraction.  I was shaking, and uncomfortable, and teary.  This was definitely NOT the graceful delivery I had anticipated.

I looked up my delivery record afterward.  They called me 10cm at 528 in the morning.  Seth and Johnny, Aiden and Paige were up and ready.  Chris was on one side of me and my nurse on the other.  First contraction I was able to push the kiddo down to almost crowning, but it was hard!!!  The second contraction was harder, but they all said his head was out.  I sure couldn't tell- there was no sense of relief like I had felt before.  By now, I think I was hyperventilating and I know I was crying.  I couldn't breathe, and it all hurt, and the baby wasn't coming out!  Turns out, he really was stuck.  I was in the midst of what we call a shoulder dystocia.  The kiddo's head delivered, but his shoulders were wide enough that they wouldn't fit under my pubic bone- at least not without a lot of help.  Lucky for baby, and for me, the doctor who was on call that night is very good with that kind of thing.  After a lot of work, and a huge amount of group effort, Baby Levi finally made his way into the world.  He was quickly handed off to the NICU team who were there and waiting- both for the meconium, and now the shoulder dystocia.  Before too long, I heard his sweet cry, and they told me he was okay.  The doctor looked at me and said "I'm serious when I say this....  I think that baby is over 10 pounds!".  I think I cried a little harder. 

                             Baby Levi
                             December 2, 2013, 534am
                             9 pounds, 10 ounces  21.5 inches long

My longest pregnancy, at 39.3 days.  My biggest baby.  One of my longest labors.  Mr. Levi broke some pretty impressive records.  My nurse and I looked at each other and said, "that's why this labor took so long!!!'.....

But I would do every second of it over again to bring this miracle into the world. 

39 weeks and waiting.....

Well, any day now......

The big question at the end of a surro pregnancy (other than when will the baby get here) is when should the parents come to town?

Our plan was for S&J to head to town last Monday, November 25th.  But then some things came up, and it turned out that they weren't going to have the time they were expecting to just hang out and wait for baby like we all thought they would.  This turn of events caused us to start playing the "when is the best time to come out" game....  Unfortunately, there is just no way to tell.  A lot of surros will schedule an elective induction to give their IPs an end date to the pregnancy.  Even though babies don't always follow best laid plans (Miss Mia.....), it at least gives a jumping off point for planning travel.  We decided not to do that this time; S&J want Baby Boy to come when he is ready, and not when we are ready for him.  Also, my doc went out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday- so scheduling an induction with an absent doc is a little tricky.  Every week at my appointments we tried to gauge if anything was happening in there.  And every week, it was a resounding NO! Little Mister seems perfectly content to hang out and be all cozy in my uterus.  And apparently, my uterus likes him there and is not interested in kicking him out. 

So, travel plans were changed.  I delivered two of our babies at 39.1 weeks; the longest I was ever pregnant.  My doc and I figured I would very likely go to that date, if not a little later.  Nov 25th put me at just over 38 weeks; not wanting S&J to have to hang around with no baby, we pushed back the travel date.  Seth and Johnny, and Seth's parents came in on Thanksgiving evening. 

What a fantastic Thanksgiving!  My parents were here for the holiday, so they were able to meet everyone.  We had a ton of food and good conversation.  The travel itself was a different story, though.  Well....  The travel was okay.  It was getting into town that was the kicker.  Someone in Phoenix, the connecting stop, fell down on the job that afternoon....  He or she neglected to load a whole bin of luggage onto the plane.  And, yep, that's right- all of our party's luggage was in that bin.  They had to wait until after 2pm the next day to get their things!!!  And to add insult to injury, when they arrived in our fair city, the rental car place was out of cars.  Oh yes, you read that right.  Totally out of cars.  Now I know we live in a smallish town, but seriously.......  Good thing Chris and I decided to surprise them at the airport!!!  Luckily, the reservation at the hotel was on file and they were able to check in without a hitch.  And as of now, they have their rental along with all their things. 

So now we wait.  I'm 39.1 weeks today.  The longest I've been pregnant.  Will Baby Boy choose to come sometime today?  I thought maybe so earlier.  Now I'm not so certain.  I had a night and early morning full of contractions, but now they've calmed down.  My luck, it will happen at 2am, when I have to wake a babysitter for the kids and drag them all out of bed.  Oh yeah, and my doctor is still out of town.  I guess statistically I was bound to have a call doctor sooner or later.  The first 4 babies were all delivered by my own doc, and that is a pretty rare thing.  My next appointment is Tuesday morning.  We may make it until then, who knows??? 

I just hope we don't have to wait on Little Mister too much longer.  We're all very excited to meet him!

                                                       38 weeks and counting in this pic.

Playing catch up

So I've been falling way behind on posting.  The time is going by so fast that I think of updating, then a week flies by and I realize I haven't written.....

I'm 36 weeks now, going to be 37 on Friday.  The baby is getting bigger, he moves all the time, and I am starting to get uncomfortable.  I'm in that weird in-between time- my body is getting tired and is about ready for kiddo to vacate; but I'm not ready for the pregnancy to be over yet either.  I love the time that I get to carry this baby, the time that our family has to care for him.  We are all super excited for his delivery, to see what he looks like, and to meet him "on the outside"- not to mention SO excited to see him with his family for the first time.  But all of those incredibly special things mean that our time with him are just about over.  Certainly a bittersweet transition. 

I wish I had a crystal ball that predicted labor, too.  It would be way easier to plan when to bring S&J to town and when to have things ready if we knew even the day....  But, as it has been with childbirth since the dawn of time, there is just no real way to know.  I'm contracting quite a bit, but it's sporadic.  Some days I contract all day on and off, and other days I don't have any contractions at all.  I'm not sleeping well- during the days between my work shifts especially, but that is pretty normal for me this close to the end.  Kiddo seems to be pretty low, but sometimes that doesn't mean anything.  I love feeling him rock and roll in there, and it's kind of cool (and sometimes a little Alien creepy) to see him move.  He has been getting the hiccups daily now, and can't decide if he wants to be head down or breech.  That has been our adventure of the last week......

Baby Boy has decided to give me some extra anxiety and a few sleepless moments.  He has spent much of the last week breech or transverse (sideways) in there.  Of course today, for the doc, he was firmly head down.  My doc assures me that he should stay that way from now on.  But none of the other kiddos I carried flipped out of vertex this late.  So I'm a little concerned that he will be in a "bad" position when I go into labor.  I'm not dying to experience a c/s; at all. 

I think his impending arrival has hit just about every one of us this last week.  From S&J trying to pinpoint a day to come out and getting their bags packed, to me and Chris arranging for midnight babysitters if needed and me thinking about getting a bag packed for the hospital....  We're all preparing for these final weeks and the imminent arrival of a new baby.  It's such a far off concept for so long- a baby is coming- to Boom!!!  a BABY is going to be here.  Soon. 

It's a little hard to wrap my head around that it's almost over. 

A little sneak peek of some pictures I had taken.  Me and Baby Boy are about 33 and a half weeks.

Adventures in Baby-sitting... uh... Showers

The primary reason for our trip our to the east coast was for Seth and Johnny's baby shower.   We had been together since Thursday afternoon, and were having a great time catching up and just being together.  When Saturday morning rolled around, it was time to pack up and drive to NJ. 

We all piled into the new VW wagon and headed north.  Everyone was concerned that we were going to be in the car for so long on Saturday getting there.  It takes us 7 hours to get to Chris's family and 6 hours to get to mine by car; we were anticipating about a 3 hour car ride to get to Seth's family.  So really, it was a drop in the bucket for us, but we were appreciative of the concern. 

I won't lie.  I was a little nervous to get there and meet everyone.  Crowds of people I don't know make me anxious.  I was hoping there would only be a few people there and that we could trickle into it slowly.  Don't get me wrong- I was very excited for the party, and wanted to meet everyone, but I knew there would be a crowd.

The car ride, just like everything else on our vacay, went very fast- before I knew it, we were driving into a beautiful neighborhood and pulling up to a beautiful house.  With people out front.  Seth's brother and his family were already there along with his parents and I think one of his aunts (it has all run together a little for me by now...). Meeting the family there was pretty great.  There was such a feeling of warmth, love, and excitement in the house.  Chris and I were welcomed with open arms and made to feel right at home with great big hugs and lots of smiles.  It wasn't as overwhelming as I was afraid it was going to be.
 
When we got there, everyone was finishing up with last minute details before the party.  I wandered around to get a look at things.  There was so much time, effort, and thought that went into planning S&J's shower....  I could tell that Seth's mom- and his family- were SO excited for them.  Seth's mom even made ME a sash to wear during the shower!!!  Lol.  I'm pretty sure my face was red when she draped it around me.  I really cringe at being the center of anyone's attention- but everyone wanted me and Chris to feel special for the day too. 

Before too long, people started showing up.  There were more introductions, more hugs, smiles, and talking.   There was fantastic food, and we got to meet some amazing people.  Jason, his parents, and Mia were able to be there as well- but that's another story.  :)  Needless to say I cried when I saw them, and it was all I could do not to hover around Mia the whole time. 

After an enormous, tasty ice cream cake (yes, I ate TWO pieces), we finally managed to get S&J to break into their very large pile of gifts.  The day was winding down, and it seemed that it was mostly close family and friends who were still at the house.  It was so much fun for me to watch them open their gifts, and to see their faces light up imagining their little boy who was going to be using all the new, tiny (or not so tiny) things.  Their family and friends were so amazingly generous and thoughtful. 

Chris and I left later that evening; Seth's parent's had very thoughtfully provided us our own hotel room to stay in overnight.  I left the house that night marveling at the family and friends we met through the course of the day.  Chris and I both come from loving and supportive families, so it's not that I was expecting Seth & Johnny's family to be any different.  And we've known for a long time that S&J are going to be amazing parents.  But it was heartwarming and peaceful to know that this Baby Boy is coming into such a large loving, supportive environment.   He will be cherished by so many people, as every baby deserves to be.

Our trip in a snapshot

Chris and I just got home from our trip to Washington DC and New Jersey.  We had such an incredible time, and I want to share it all!!!  But I don't even really know where to start.  :)

We had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time.  I spent the last week at home with a weird work schedule and a crazy time trying to get everything in the house ready for our trip.  I am a master procrastinator, so there were things left over that could have been done in the weeks prior.  In any event, it was time for us to leave before we knew it. 

We lamented just a little that the federal government was shut down- after all, we were going to be in Washington DC, and had planned on trying to get in some of that touristy stuff.  This is what our trip looked like:  Fly into DC on Thursday, mid-afternoon arrival.  Hang out on Friday.  Drive to NJ Saturday morning for the shower on Saturday afternoon.  Brunch in NJ on Sunday morning, then drive back to DC.  Leave Monday afternoon for home.  To be fair, that is a LOT of things to do already.  Maybe the shutdown was a blessing in disguise for us.....  We would have crammed in some sightseeing, but I think we all would have been over- exhausted if we had done that. 

Chris and I are positive that there is some weird time warp in DC, though.  We arrived in the afternoon, before rush hour and were greeted at the airport by Johnny.  Then on to home where Seth and his brother Jared were waiting.  Then we blinked and it was after 11!!!  Jared went home, and we ate dinner in that time, but still....  Friday was the same.  We were up by 9 in the morning, but it was one in the afternoon and time for lunch before we knew what happened!  Seth took us on a walking tour of their neighborhood, and to a really yummy pizza place for lunch. (City living vs out west  living is very different.  I could write a whole post just on that!)  The plan that night was for dinner and a movie in.  Well, we had a fantastic lasagna, but somehow we missed starting the movie and it was after midnight....  I'm pretty sure we didn't even stop in NJ.  I feel like we got in the car, got out, got in, and ended up in DC again! 

Now, all the sneaky boys in my life conspired to surprise me on Sunday night when we got back to DC.  As far as I knew, we were going to go to this fabulous Mexican restaurant for dinner.  And then try again for that darn movie.  Well, little did I know that they were all texting back and forth to each other (in the car right around me!!!) and to my friend who lives in the DC area.  We hadn't seen each other in about 9 years, and the boys were coordinating our time so she could meet us at the Mexican place for dinner too!  I was already sad that I hadn't had a chance to contact her to see if she was free for a meal or coffee.  Seriously, how often am I on that side of the country???  And Chris played right along with it when I said something to him.  All, "yeah, I don't think we're going to be able to fit it in this trip...".  When Chris walked in the door with my friend, it was dim and I didn't have my glasses on.  All I could think was "Who is that woman with Chris???  Someone just stopped by to see Seth & Johnny???  Damn it, I'm hungry!!!".  It took me about 5 full seconds to realize that it was my friend....  Off to dinner we went.  The Mexican place was fantastic, with some of the best salsa I've ever had.  But the highlight (of course) was getting to catch up with my friend.  In person.  :)

Monday morning, Johnny had to head back to work.  Boo.  Chris, Seth, and I finally got that movie in, but before we were ready or prepared for it, it was time to get our stuff packed and ready for the flight home.  It's amazing how slowly the time goes when you are waiting for something- but how quickly it goes when you want it to drag on.  Goodbyes suck.  The only thing that made it even partly okay to be saying goodbye after such a short time was knowing that we would see each other again in a matter of just weeks.  Wow.  Just a few weeks and Baby Boy will be here.......

It was so fantastic to see Johnny and Seth again, finally, after almost a year.  I am amazed every day at the relationship we have formed with these two wonderful men.  After more than a year and all our experiences together, they are more than just our "intended fathers".  They are our family. 

I'm turning into a slacker...

Wow.  Long time, no post.  Really long time....

It's not just school starting, and being busy, and all that. Everything is going along just as it should right now.  Thankfully, there isn't anything "exciting" happening, and I don't think that anyone wants to read about the mundane day- to- day things. 

Let's see if I can play catch up a little.  I'm 29 and a half weeks now, and it boggles my mind that I only have about 10 weeks left with this little person inside me.  It is going to be over before I know it.  He is moving all the time now, and seems to be in a good position.  He really likes music, and deep voices.  His movements always pick up when we've been quiet for awhile, then Chris starts talking.  He also moves a lot when Finn is around, but he's just loud.  I'm starting to get super hot at night now, but not quite all the time yet.  It's perfect that the weather is starting to cool down a little.  My shoes are starting to get tight at work, so it looks like I'm starting to swell a little.  I finally caved and bought those compression hose.  But you know what?  They work!  I wore them on a recent road trip, and they made a huge difference.  I'm planning to wear them on our DC adventure.  Well, the flight, anyway. 

Speaking of which....  That's coming up in just a week and a half!!!  I won't lie.  I'm not looking forward to the flight, but I'm SO excited for the rest of the trip!  We get to see S&J again after almost a year, we get to go to DC, we get to meet more of the family, and we are going to have an awesome baby shower- that's a lot of great things to look forward to.  And Jason, his mom, and Mia will likely be at the baby shower- talk about a bonus!  After the trip and the shower, the "end" (for me anyway) is going to be in sight.  It's such a bittersweet thing.  I'm so excited for Baby Boy to finally meet and go home with S&J, but at the same time that means our time with him is over.  It is something that is inevitable, and heartwarming, and a smidge sad all wrapped into one. 

Our new "baby" came home 2 weeks ago, though.  Our road trip was to travel to Oregon to pick up our puppy, Astrid.  Whew, puppies are HARD!!!  The first week she was home, I would have been happy to trade her for another human newborn.  But every day gets better and better, and we are learning to be a "pack" for her. 

Here's hoping I do a better job with the updates!!!

25 week update

The time just keeps flying by!

All is well and moving right along.  I saw the doc last week, and Baby is growing just like he needs to be.  His heartbeat was perfect, I got a prescription for heartburn meds (whew!), and another script for some really HOT compression hose.  I notice that my feet are starting to swell slightly at the end of my shifts at work and I'm going to need the hose when we fly back east in October.  Might as well make use of them now....

I also had to do my one hour glucose test.  I have a history of gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy (I'll get to THAT in a minute), so my doc does the test about 4 weeks earlier than "normal".  I was lucky enough to pass the 1 hour my second, third, and fourth pregnancies; this time not so much.  :( I "failed" it by 15 points- either because I was sick with a stomach virus when I took it, because I didn't have any protein before the test (thank you stomach virus), or because I was destined to have GDM.  Again.  Ugh.  So that meant I had to come back for the three hour test.

Fast forward to this week.  The syrupy, gross glucose drink they give you for the one hour is bad enough.  For the three hour test, you have to drink three times as much of the stuff! You have 5 minutes to get it all in, but really  it's just best to chug it all down.  You have three flavor choices: orange, lemon lime, and fruit punch.  Pretty sure the stuff could pass for sno-cone syrup....  I chose the fruit punch for my one hour (maybe THAT was the problem, I always choose orange) and I "failed", so I went with the orange for the three hour.  Gag.  Oh!  And you have to be fasting for 10-12 hours before hand.  All that sugar hitting an empty stomach.  So, I went in, had my fasting blood draw- not a finger poke, but an actual blood draw, drank my syrup and then waited. 

By the one hour draw, I had a bit of a queasy unsettled feeling in my stomach.  By two hours I was nauseous, headachy, and a little light headed.  By three hours I felt super gross and was ready to bolt out of there and get something to eat.  Luckily I had plans to meet a friend for lunch at a local Mexican place.  With a nice, carb filled tortilla wrapped burrito.  Best. Burrito. Ever.

But I passed!!!  No gestational diabetes for me. 

I did have one value that was high- my second hour, which strikes me as odd.  But one elevated value out of the four draws is allowed.  You are diagnosed with two or more abnormals.  So, back to my first pregnancy....  I am positive that I only had one abnormal with those 4 draws, too.  I was at a different clinic at the time though, and they diagnosed me and made me do all the gestational diabetes things.  I have a friend who recently delivered who sees a doc in my old clinic- she had to do her three hour test as well and had one abnormal, and her doc tried to diagnose her too!!!  She checked her (perfectly normal) blood sugars for 4 days though, and talked her doc out of the diagnosis.  Smart lady. 

In other news, the baby is big enough now that we can see him move.  And Chris and the kids have all felt him move too.  They think it's pretty cool.  And so do I.  :)