William's Birth Day: Part One

Disclaimer: I want to write down my memories of William's birth mainly for me and my memory; that's the topic of this post. There are so many options these days with regard to the birth process and even more opinions on the matter. These are the choices that David and I made, with the guidance of our OB and our own research. I want to be straight forward and note that these are not the choices for everyone so please don't think I'm pushing these choices, nor am I interested if you don't agree with our choices. Thanks!

Due to my potential risk for developing preeclampisa due to blood pressure issues during my pregnancy, we decided that scheduling an induction two weeks before William's due date would be a good idea. The date was originally set for Wednesday, June 27th, and one of the three OBs at the practice would deliver William. That doctor was different than the doctor we had been seeing regularly, so about six weeks prior to June 27th we asked if we could move the date to June 26th so that "our" doctor, Dr. S, would deliver William. The office had to schedule the induction with the hospital thirty days prior to the induction date, so we were told that they would call us when we got our day! And then we waited. And watched my BP stay in the "good" range, which was really nice.
Like my good blood pressure, with the exception of pain in my right hip, the last six weeks of my pregnancy were fairly uneventful. I felt good most of the time; the only problem I really had was that I woke up frequently to use the restroom at night. Like, every two hours all night long!

Four weeks before June 26th, our OB office called to say that I got a spot on the waiting list to be induced on June 26th. First alternate, if you will. I didn't worry too much about this because I figured the likelihood of someone going into labor prior to the day (including me!) was so high that I really didn't need to worry. I did ask what would happen if I didn't get a scheduled spot, and Dr. S told me that she would "make something happen" if needed. Ha! So, I decided not to worry, there wasn't too much I could do about it anyway.

Less than two weeks prior to William's new date of arrival, I had one last sonogram with our awesome sonographer and we learned that William was measuring at 7 lbs. 14 oz.! I got a little nervous at this; how big would he be when he was born!!! And how big would he be if I wasn't going to be induced!!! She had a really hard time getting a good picture of the little guy because he was already fairly engaged in my pelvis and she was mainly looking at my placenta and his size. He was healthy and just ready to start his exit!

At my 36 week OB checkup, we learned two things: I was about a half inch dilated and still no movement on  on the waiting list for a spot at our hospital for our scheduled induction. I asked what we should do for the next visit (which was going to be a Monday, the day I was meant to check in at the hospital!) and Dr. S jokingly told me that I needed to get my BP up when I came in the following week. She was just kidding, but I asked if I should go see Prometheus, the Alien prequel, prior to my appointment. Ha! She assured me that if anything, we might just have to wait a day to have William, which again was just fine with David and me.

Later that day, however, the OB office called to say I had a spot! Hooray! I was told to come in Monday, June 25th, for my scheduled appointment at 3:30pm, then plan on going to the hospital at 5pm to begin the induction process. I was also told not to eat or drink anything after noon on Monday. I remember thinking: this is it! William's impending arrival was made much more real when I knew for certain when I was going to check in to the hospital, that I had a spot, and the process, which we had discussed months prior, was being discussed again with a much greater sense of reality.

So, that week we made final preparations: bags were packed, rooms were cleaned, last minute purchases were made. I finished a few nursery projects like William's yarn wrapped letters over his crib and set up a small side table and lamp. Sunday night we had dinner with my parents and my brother and we prepared for David's parents to come to town Monday. I also have to note that my parents had spent the month at their cabin in Colorado and returned on June 23rd. If you know my mom at all, I think it is amazing that she was able to be away so close to our due date! Good job, Mom! ;) And of course I had to talk to her daily and report any and all contractions, labor pains, etc. ;)

I must say it was a strange feeling knowing that William was coming instead of going into labor spontaneously. As a planner, it definitely helped curb feelings of anxiety because I like to be as informed as possible. If/ when there's a Baby #2, I wonder how different it will be if I go into labor without being induced.

I've posted this picture before, but this was me three weeks prior to William's birth:

So that's about it in regards to what was going on leading up to William's birth, stay tuned for the actual birth story. :)

Getting Ready for Baby!

I'm not sure if anyone is ever ready for a baby, but I tried to do everything I could for his arrival! We got his pack and play, swing, bouncy seat, video monitor, stroller, and car seat put together:

I'm a HUGE nerd (or just waaaay over prepared!) and packed three different outfits for him to come home in. Why? Because he was measuring so big I was afraid nothing would fit. And yes, everything I brought for him ended up being too big. Ha!

Option One: Bears (this is what he wore home. It was a newborn size and still too big!)

 Option Two: Bunnies (this was 0-3months and while the shirt fit, the pants were not working!)

Option Three: Giraffes (this was a three month size. What was I thinking???) 

And two and a half weeks later, all three hats are still waaaaay to big for him!

And finally, I packed my hospital bag and a bag of snacks just in case. I actually think I did a fairly good job packing for myself and didn't bring a whole lot of unneeded items.

 Again, most of the snacks ended up coming home with us because the hospital food was so great! Who would have thought?

William's Nursery Tour

I've had such a great time getting William's nursery ready for his arrival! Originally, I wanted to go with a color palette of khaki, cream, white, and aqua and have some woodland animals for bedding. I had a hard time finding bedding I liked that wasn't too loud and bright. I even considered making my own! But then I found a precious set from Pottery Barn Kids that wasn't quite woodland animals, but it was the right colors and super sweet. Special thanks to my parents who have helped us so much by purchasing most of the nursery furniture. They have been such a blessing! And David's parents got us the very exciting video monitor, which has been a source of entertainment for David and my brother the past couple of weeks.

Here's a little look into William's nursery, as it's been functional for two and a half weeks now!

When you first walk in, you see his dresser with his changing pad on top. And we got this great mirror with lambs jumping and are trying to find the perfect height for it. It's a little high right now, and was too low before. We'll get it eventually! :)

Next to the dresser in the middle of the room is probably my favorite piece of furniture: the rocker/ glider. William and I, as well as William and David have already spent some serious time in this chair! I love how it's by the window and we can hear birds chirping during the day. It makes for a calming meal time!

Opposite the changing table is William's crib. We haven't slept in it yet, but I do put him in it from time to time if I need to get supplies and William is on the changing table. William already rolls (he's advanced! ;) and our pediatrician told us already we couldn't leave him anywhere!!! Ha!

 I made the letters above his crib by getting plain letters at Hobby Lobby and then wrapping them with yarn. I think they turned out really cool and have a beautiful texture!

Here's a close up of his quilt. I love it!

So, that's William's sweet little nursery. We love it already and are excited to use it more as the little guy gets bigger!!!

William's big brother and big sister

One thing I've really been thinking about lately is how our two dogs, Chewie and Sammy, are going to handle our new addition. I'm pretty sure they know he's around, but I'm not sure exactly how they are going to react to new noises and routines. The good news is the dogs are being really good about leaving the baby stuff alone. They like to smell his little toys, clothes, and sit in his room and that's about it. Sammy hasn't decided to claim any toys for her own yet, so that's good!

This picture captures my prediction on how these two will react to the baby: Sammy (yellow lab) will just love the baby, think he's hers, and will be his first best friend. Chewie will practice constrained ambivalence, but when no one is looking make sure his little brother is doing just fine. We'll see if I'm right!

School's Out for Summer!

Or until October for me. :)

We've got three weeks until our life changes for the better, and I've got some things to accomplish before the little guy comes!

My to do list:

• Organize the pantry
• Put up some glasses (we have waaaay too many margarita and wine glasses on hand) so we can make room for bottles 
• Finish some decorations I'm making for above William's crib (when they're finished and put up, I'm going to do a post of William's nursery)
• Make some exchanges to Target, Buy Baby, and Babies R Us
• Go to infant first aid and CPR class and breastfeeding class
• Get some grooming done!!! I really need a hair cut, pedicure, and maybe a massage 
•  Make and freeze some meals to have on hand
• Try to clean the house (I'm thinking of getting a cleaning service to do a deep clean!) 
• Finish organizing William's room
• Get hospital bags packed for me, William, and David 
• And, most importantly, enjoy some time with friends! 

David's dad was here the last few days and they got some things accomplished, mainly putting together baby "stuff." I'm running out of room! Right now our dining room is housing a stroller, car seat, and swing and the guest bedroom has an exersaucer on the bed and a play gym in the chair! Yeesh! I know all this is just going to multiply, too. :/

Wedding fun!

Memorial day weekend my first cousin Price married his perfect match, Kickie, in New Orleans. Unfortunately, David and I decided to sit this Ward wedding out because it's getting so close to William's arrival, plus NOLA is so hot, humid, sticky, and full of alcoholic temptation!!:) But we did go to our lifelong friend, Chris' wedding to HIS perfect match, Kristin, last weekend. It was a lot of fun, not to mention in town! William and I even danced! Here's a picture of me for posterity, about three weeks until William's birth day!

Three weeks and two days!

I can't believe it, but William is going to be here on June 26th, which is three weeks and two days from today! School got out on Friday and all I have left to do is take it easy, finish finding room in our home for him and his cute little baby things, and enjoy these last weeks with David as a family of two (plus two big stinky dogs!)

I've been a bad blogger, but the past month has been super busy! We've had three wonderful showers and are so thankful and blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! William is already spoiled rotten, and David and I are so grateful for the help by way of gifts and kind words we have received!

I've been getting extra sonograms due to my hypertension, which has been fun because we've been able to see the little guy growing bigger and bigger! The last sonogram was on Monday, May 21st. I was 32 weeks, and I expected Rebecca, our sonographer, to estimate William to be around 4 and a half pounds or so. He's been in at least the 90% for the past two sonograms, so I figured that would be the same for this visit. NOPE! She told us she figured he was about 5 lbs. 3 oz. and I think that was almost as shocking to me as finding out I was pregnant! (Maybe not THAT shocking, but still!) She said she's usually accurate within a half pound. Woah, we have a big guy on our hands! We also got to see him yawn, practice breathing, and moving his eyes during the sonogram, which was really neat to see! Also, I'm happy to report that my BP last week was "beautiful" in the words of my doctor, so that was good news. I have yet to develop preeclampisa, but they are still watching just in case.

Here are some third trimester notes I want to document:

• How I'm feeling: Like a turtle on its shell most of the time. It's hard to get out of bed with a five pound brick inside me! He also likes to be on my right side and it's putting pressure on my right hip; I've been getting adjustments with the wonderful Dr. Viehbeck at Watters Creek Chiro if you need a good prenatal adjustment! It can be pretty painful to walk at times, but the adjustments have helped a lot plus being out of school should help too.
• Swelling: my hands and feet are swelling pretty much every day, but the same amount each day. The doctor says it's the normal amount, so that's good. 
• Hands: my awesome onset of Carpel Tunnel is really picked up lately. Waking up with numbness and tingling in both hands is a daily occurrence. I am SO ready for that to go away!!!

I'm excited to meet the little guy in three short weeks, and while I'm a little uncomfortable now (and yes, I know it's just going to continue!) I know it's all well worth it! :)