I'm in love. Have I said that yet? Probably so, but its true. Chris and I are going to set up a blog for Andrew, but for now, all cute pics have to be posted here. :) So here ya go!
Look at all that dark hair! Everyone says it makes him look like me. For now, I can't tell that he overwhelmingly looks like Chris or me in particular...just a good blend of the two of us. He's perfect. :)

All bundled up to come home from the hospital...He looks so tiny in there!

OH! By the way - I had forgotten who it was that told me to push on my left side if his head got stuck, but it was Kathy! Genius woman! Probably saved me a lot of pain! It was really awkward, due to the f act that I was numb from the waist down, but it worked! THANK YOU, Kathy, for the wonderful advice!

Thanks, everybody, for the sweet comments and well wishes! We're doing well so far...exhausted, but very happy. :) I'll check in again soon!

Thanks, girls, for all the sweet comments! Y'all are so wonderful and supportive...I don't know what I would have done without your support these past nine months!

Now, here's the story of Andrew's arrival!

After weeks of being told when the doctors might induce and deliver this little guy, it seems Andrew got sick of all the talk and decided no one was going to tell him when his birthday would be…HE was going to make that decision! :) Thursday, Feb. 23, I spent the whole day sick as a dog…nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, cramping like crazy…I even went in to see the doctor because I just KNEW these cramps were really contractions. Nope. He checked me out and I was closed up tight, and no contractions were showing up on the monitors. He sent me home with very specific instructions on when to call or go to the hospital if/when labor did start.

I went home, took a bath, then went straight to bed. I went to sleep at about 10 pm and was sleeping pretty well, when I woke up suddenly at 2:30 am with the urge to go to the bathroom. As soon as I stood up, water gushed down my legs. I gasped and ran to the bathroom to make sure it was what I thought it was (and not just pee), and when I was sure, I hollered at Chris to wake him up. We frantically searched through our pregnancy books and decided that, if contractions didn’t start within a couple of hours, we’d head to the hospital. Otherwise, we’d wait it out a rest as much as we could at home. In the meantime, we were rushing around packing, straightening the house, doing laundry, etc. Finally, at 6:30 am, the contractions were about 6 minutes apart, so I called the doctor. He told me to head to L&D, so we got showers and got ready to go. We called our parents since they all live out-of-state and would want as much time as possible to get here in time to see us before the birth. We finally arrived at the hospital at 8 am, and at 8:30 Dr. Elliott came in to check me. I was already 1-2 cm dilated and 80% effaced, after being told I was all closed up less than 24 hrs before. They started me on Pitocin to regulate the contractions, and we were off.

By 11:30 am I was MISERABLE and screaming for an epidural. The contractions were coming one on top of the other and VERY intense due to the Pitocin. They checked me and I was only 3 cm dilated, but figured by the time the anesthesiologist got there I’d be at least 4 cm, so they called him in. I got the epi at 12:30 and by 12:45 I was LOVING life. Thank God for modern medicine!!! The family started to arrive between 12 and 2 pm, so most everybody got to see me in a good mood. :) By 2:30 pm, I was 7-8 cm dilated, and at 4:15 pm we were ready for me to start pushing. This is when it got intense.

First of all, Andrew has a big head. Secondly, he was turned face up, not face down like he should have been. Thirdly, I apparently have a “prominent pubic bone.” All of this combined led to his getting stuck for about an hour behind my pubic bone. I was tired and stressed, but I finally remembered some words of wisdom someone shared with me. She told me to push on my left side if it looks like his head is too big to come through the birth canal. I asked my nurse about this, and after 5-10 minutes of trying this technique, his head slipped under my pubic bone just enough to allow them to use the vacuum suction to help me the rest of the way. Thank God! Andrew came into the world at 6:47 pm on Friday, Feb. 24, 2006. He was itty-bitty. 5 lbs, 10 oz and 19 inches long. His APGARs were 5 and 9. He was a little unresponsive at first due to the major stress during delivery, but after a little oxygen he was very alert and ready to go! He is a beautiful baby, and so sweet. He only cries when he’s getting his diaper changed…I guess he doesn’t like being exposed. :) Chris and I are so very much in love with him and are convinced he’s the most perfect baby in the whole world, of course. So far, we've been VERY busy but having my mom here to help has been GREAT. We're so blessed!

Here he is!!!!!!!!!!! He's PERFECT! L&D was quite intense (story to come later), but he's so worth it!! We're so thrilled and just absolutely in love! We're absolutely covered up with family and other visitors but when I get a minute, I'll be back to share the whole story!

My water broke @ 2:30 this morning and I'm now having contractions @6-7 min. apart, so I'm off to the hospital! Wish me luck girls...I'll check in when something happens! I'm so scared and nervous!

Well, folks, looks like we have a penalty on the field...Yep, looks like we have a delay of game! Yes, that's right. Looks like Andrew will be staying put for one more week. Saw Dr. E today and, with my improving BP, excellent blood sugar levels, and stellar NST's, she believes Andrew could easily stay put one extra week and we'd both be just fine. So, it looks like we'll induce around 39 weeks instead of 38. Sigh. I was SO looking forward to getting him OUT and HERE!! But, hey, as long as he's doing just fine and I'm doing just fine, the longer he cooks, the better, right?

I've been mentally making a list of why this is good...

• More time to rest/nap/watch movies/hang out with my hubby...all the things I won't be doing for a long, long time...
• More time to mentally adjust to his upcoming arrival and the incredible change this will bring...
• He'll be a March baby, like me (my b-day is March 30), which is what I've been expecting all along anyway...
• There's no way Dr. E will let me go past my EDD (March 11) so he really will be here sooner or later...
• The more dilating/effacing/contracting my body can start on its own, the less the Pitocin will have to force on me, and that's a good thing.

...and why this is not-so-good:

• I want him HERE! I am so tired of being pregnant and uncomfortable.
• I'm sick of bedrest.
• I'm sick of checking my blood sugar 4x/day.
• I want to get my gallbladder taken out ASAP.
• I want to see my little boy. I want to see what color hair he has, who he looks like, etc...I'm just SO ready for my life as a mom to begin.

Anyway, that's the update. Stay tuned for more exciting news (yeah right)...

So, do ya think they know something's up?

(BTW, I know they can't do this once Andrew is here, but it sure is cute to see them do it now!)

I'm full term now! EEK! Now the little guy can come any second. So, come on, Andrew. Any minute now. Come on! Please? Oh well, guess not.

I've been having some serious cramping the past two days. It goes away when I lie down but as soon as I stand up, it gets seriously painful. What is that about? Ligaments stretching? Early contractions? Braxton Hicks? I've not had BH at all this pregnancy so I have no idea what they are like. All I know is I've been praying and praying that labor would start on its own and I wouldn't have to be induced, but it looks like that just won't happen. Not in a first (full-term) pregnancy, anyway. Oh well.

Sheesh, this is uncomfortable. Guess I should head back to the couch now...Happy "37 weeks" to me!

SO I finally got back to sleep around 7 am. Thank God! Of course, then I was even MORE tired having to get up and get to the doctor's office. Oh well. Story of my life.

The NST went well! Andrew was asleep for the first 30 minutes, but then they came in and gave me a Diet Coke to drink. That woke him up! He started moving and grooving...It was cool. I asked Dr. H about a specific date for this induction and he said what he would do is sit down and talk to Dr. E, make a plan, and Monday when I came back in, we'd talk about options and check my cervix to see if Mother Nature is helping us out any or not. He did say, though, that he's looking at the end of Feb., so I'm thinking Monday (the 27th) is when they'll start the induction. (They don't foresee any reason to suggest that I will need a c-section, so I guess we'll see how this goes!) I told him about my nightmare about trying to deliver a baby with Chris' 35-yr old head and he assured me that the baby will not have that size of a head. :) Again, I say, "Thank God!"

Anyway, that's all the news for now...I'm going to go take a nap 'cause I'm exhausted from the crazy night I had. Thanks, Cat (Galloping), for assuring me that the insomnia and c-section worries are normal. :) Glad to know I'm not a freak of nature.

Oh.my.gosh. I've been awake since 4 am. What is wrong with me?? I know I must have been driving Chris crazy with my tossing and turning, so I finally just got up and went to sit in the nursery. Then I started organizing and looking at baby stuff, so I thought maybe I should come in the den and lie on the couch. Then the cats started meowing for food, so I got up to feed them, and now here I am at the computer. What is my deal? I'm really tired! Why can't I sleep? Is insomnia normal at this point? I have a doctor's appt in less than 4 hours. Maybe that's it. I've been planning to ask him/her (depending on which doc I see today) about a specific date for induction or c-section, as well as talk about the risk of c-section. I think I would much rather go ahead and be scheduled for a c-section instead of going through an induction that fails and makes me get sent rushing to the O.R. for an emergency c-section. But I guess everyone runs that risk, so I don't know that they will schedule the c-section just because I'm a little freaked out. I'm just thinking about my first prenatal appt when Dr. E said that I'm "small" and have a "prominent pelvic bone" (whatever that means). Plus, we've recently been told that Andrew has quite a large head -- measuring two weeks ahead of the rest of his little body! Ummm...I don't know if I can push a big ol' head out of such a small space. Maybe (most likely) I'm just freaking out over nothing. I just have a really hard time shutting off my brain lately. I think its the bedrest. I can't do anything else, so I sit and think about WHY I'm lying on the couch. I'm having a baby! Then I start to stress. The unknown just kills me. I really hope this is easier next time around.

OK, off to lie down and (hopefully) get a couple of hours sleep before going to this appointment...

I'm back from the OB appt! Big news! They're going to deliver Andrew in TWO WEEKS!! I can't believe it! He's getting evicted! My BP was high (140/90) when sitting up, but perfectly fine when lying down, so I am officially out of school for the remainder of this pregnancy. Apparently, that will be just two more weeks! Chris and I are in a little bit of shock, even though we knew this was a very real possibility. Wow. I feel like I've just been told we really are having a baby...like I had kind-of thought this was just a really weird dream where I'd eventually wake up and there would be no baby. Or the doctor would eventually laugh at me and say, "Just kidding! We've been teasing you these past 8 months...You're not really pregnant!" But no, we're really having a baby. In two weeks. We have so much to do. I guess I have to make a list for Chris since I'm not allowed to do anything!
This is crazy.
OK, gotta go lie down now...Chris is getting to be kind-of a bedrest nazi, which is good. :)

So today I went over to the school for a bit to help my friend who's been coaching cheerleading with me all year. She was collecting all the uniforms and getting an inventory list together to make sure we had everything back from the girls...I figured it would take about 10-15 minutes and I could head back home to rest. Well...they (the girls and their moms) had set up a surprise baby shower for me!! How awesome is that?! I was shocked and a little embarrassed, since I was wearing sweatpants and one of Chris' t-shirts, but hey - they knew I was on bedrest and probably would've thought it was weird if I had dressed up for this, so its all good. Andrew has more cute clothes now and more diapers and wipes, so that's good. :) I am so anxious to get him here.

Today we took a big step. We washed all the baby clothes, blankets, bibs, and washcloths we'd gotten so far and packed the hospital bag. Wow. That felt HUGE to me. Like I'm assuming I'm really gonna have a baby and bring him home with me. Chris and I were talking about the BP thing, and how its still staying around 140/100, and we decided we might need to be ready in case they say they want to induce. I'm considered full-term in one more week, so I'm totally ready to do whatever it takes for Andrew's and my health. I'm really looking forward to talking to my regular doc on Monday to get their honest opinion on all this and see if we can develop some kind of plan, whether its more bedrest or possible induction. I'm thinking I won't be allowed to return to school if my BP stays up like this, but who knows. I really hate the "not knowing" of it all. I'm such a planner. I guess I need to get over that.

In other news, Chris is preaching tomorrow at a local church here, and at 2 pm I'm having a baby shower at our church. Exciting! They promised to put me on the couch with my feet propped up so I'm technically resting. :)

OK, back to the couch now...

First off, THANK YOU for the sweet thoughts and encouraging notes...Y'all make me feel so cared for! *sniff*

So, the first day of bedrest has gone all right...I took two naps and have watched a lot of TV. Nice. I worried about the students at school, of course, but quickly realized that stressing over that will only make my BP go up MORE so I need to stop. I talked to another teacher tonight and she's making sure lesson plans are in place and things are going all right there. Thank God for good friends. I checked my BP three times today. Here's what I got: 140/100, 145/95, then 138/96. That's still high. Dang it. I just keep telling myself that I go to the doc Monday and if they say its time for Andrew to come out, then its all good. 36 weeks is great. We saw him doing his practice breathing yesterday on the u/s so he's getting ready anyway. I've had a couple of contractions today, but just a couple. I feel like all these docs are watching him well and if they think he'd be better off outside the womb, then they'll tell me and we'll get him out. For now, though, I'm just counting the days and praying he and I make it these last 30 days or less. (And Lorem, to answer your question, I think its absolutely CRAZY that I'll be having a baby in the next month or so!)

Gotta go lie down again...I'll check in tomorrow! Thanks again for all the prayers and good thoughts! I sure can feel them!

Well, my BP was up to 128/100 today at my doctor's appt (checked it three times) so I am now on total bedrest. Baby looks good, but mom is falling apart, apparently! I don't have a laptop so I'll have to sneak online when I can. I go back to my doctor on Monday and hope my BP is down enough to where I can get back to work for at least a couple of weeks longer...We'll see. I'll try to keep my blog updated, but for now, I have to take care of myself and Andrew as best I can...He's the first priority, after all! If anyone out there is the praying type, I'd appreciate one or two going up for us!

Just got back from my 2nd NST! All is well, thank God! I even had two mini-contractions, which was cool to see. Of course, I didn't feel them, but they showed up on the printout. I was excited to see some sort of progression (last week it was basically flatlined). Andrew's heartrate is great, lots of movement, all is well it seems. :) Dr. E came in and measured my belly and checked his position, and couldn't tell if he was breech or if it was just his bony butt she was feeling. They took me down the hall for an ultrasound and he's still head down, thank God. Not that being breech is the end of the world, but I'd like to have one less thing to think about, thankyouverymuch. Anyway, it was indeed his little bony butt she was feeling up high. Yay! I've gained one pound this week. Not as good as the three I gained last week, but I'll take it. I go see the high-risk doc on Wed., and hopefully we'll see that Andrew is getting bigger and fatter just like me. :)
OK, I'm off to lie down now...Stay tuned for more exciting bedrest news! (I have GOT to get a laptop so I can blog lying down...)

Just checking in...still here, just trying to rest a lot, as ordered, and get fatter. :) I called my mom today and the first thing she asks is, "Are you in labor?" Sheesh. Has it already begun? No thanks. All the teachers at school are coming by my room often to make sure I'm off my feet and relaxing (as much as a person can possible relax in a classroom full of middle schoolers). I feel very cared-for and its nice. I'm not used to being so "high maintenance" and I feel like I'm being very HM these days. But hey...if it gets me a live, healthy baby in the end, then its SO worth it.
OK, I'm off to lie down now...I'll check in again soon!

About This Blog

This is me, sharing my journey through struggling to conceive, surviving miscarriage, and, finally, receiving the greatest blessing ever...the gift of a healthy, beautiful little boy.

Blogs I Love To Read

• Aurelia Ann
• Bark Like a Dog - Milo (Justin & Lauralu's babe)
• Beyond the Pale
• Certainly Not Cool Enough to Blog
• Everything Is Under Control
• Galloping Cats
• House of Miao
• Irvin World (our family blog)
• Kathy McC
• Mad Mommy
• No, I Will Never Be "Over" It
• Sweet Coalminer
• Taking Up My Cross
• The Barefoot Mama
• Three-Girls-O-Rama
• Vegas Mommy
• When Eggs Go Bad

• moving
• guilt and bad mommy thoughts
• update on us
• She is here!!!
• 5 days
• still here...
• Full Term!
• Deep thoughts
• Two years old!
• overdue update

• April 2005
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• July 2006
• August 2006
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