1st Week

Will’s first week ended with a trip to the pediatrician, where we learned that he his back to his birth weight, plus 3oz.  On average, babies gain 1-2oz per day, but this little piggy gained a little more than 2oz per day!  We call him “piggy” because when he is hungry, he starts rooting around for milk, and making little snorting noises.  It is so funny to watch and listen to!

Here is Billy, helping the nurse take his measurements.  He is very hands-on and I am so thankful!

Our first trip to the pediatrician, when he was 3 days old, was a learning experience!  The Dr. asked about where we have him sleep, and I boasted that we figured out that he sleeps like a brick in his Fischer Price Rock-N-Play.  She quickly let me know that it does not meet the safe sleep standards and that he should only nap in it during the day.  Sad face!  I know a lot of parents with babies that use it, though, and it really is a sure-fire way to get some sleep!

I had been taking notes during the appointment, and while the Dr. was checking my vitals, she must have glanced down at what I wrote and saw that I wrote 105 degrees was the temperature we need to be concerned about when he has a fever.  She took my pen, crossed it off and wrote 100.5!  Ok, so that is a big difference!

I also keep saying that we took him to the vet.  Nope, Will is not a dog.  I frequently call him Patton too.  Speaking of Patton though, he has been so good!  We brought Will home, and all of the sudden, Patton is so obedient and not nearly as emotionally needy as he once was.  He’ll come over and sniff the baby every once in a while, but generally, he just leaves him alone, and doesn't pester us as much to pay attention to him.  For me, though, it is a little sad and strange because before Will, I gave Patton so much love and attention and couldn't imagine that changing.  Well, it changed!  I do need to get better about having some quality puppy time though.

Will watched his first Steelers game with us on Sunday.  Billy had to tone it down a little, with less screaming than usual.

Happy Halloween!

Delivery Day

Baby Will finally joined us on Monday, October 22.  That stinker was six days late, and had us all very anxious to meet him.  We tried everything to get labor moving, starting when he was 2 days late.  I don’t think any of it did anything, other than make me tired!

I started having contractions around 5pm on Sunday, but the timing between them was not showing any patterns.  Some of them were 20 minutes apart, and some were 5 minutes apart.  I was waiting for them to be 5 minutes apart, and last for one minute, for one hour, like we learned in class.  We were watching the Steelers game and decided to call the midwife to see if I should come in, because on occasion, the contractions were very close together.  She encouraged me to come in, and lucky enough for Billy, it was half time, and the waiting room at the hospital had a big screen TV with the game on.  The triage room did too, so we were able to see the Steelers get a W.  Priorities, people.

Upon admission, I was 5cm and I was able to move to the Labor & Delivery suite.  They made me lay down in the bed to monitor the baby which was, what I thought the most uncomfortable position to be in, when each contraction came.  I only had to be in bed, with the monitors for 15 minutes every hour, but it was still felt awful each time I had to lay down.  The pain became increasingly worse and I was vomiting frequently.  I wanted so bad to deliver without drugs, but after nine hours in the hospital and only dilating two more centimeters, I asked for the epidural.  Once I made the decision, I wanted the anesthesiologist there STAT.  

When they stuck the needle in my back, they put it in too far and explained to me that I would have a chance of severe headache the next day.  At that point, I did not care because I was pain free in the moment.

Fast forward 6.5 blissful and painfree hours later, it was time to push and our baby was delivered after 45 minutes of pushing.  It was the best moment!  I couldn’t believe he was finally here, and thinking back, it seems a bit like a dream and a blur.  I’m glad we have some pictures, so we won’t ever forget it.

On our way out, to the recovery room, Billy told the nurses that we would be back in 10 months.  They said they were surprised I did not punch him on the spot!  Oh…he thinks he is funny!

What the anesthesiologist predicted, came true and I had a migraine-like headache the next day.  They came back to do a blood patch, where they put my own blood in my back to clot the leak.  It helped for a day or so, but I was back to the hospital later in the week to have the procedure done again.  I mean, who doesn’t love needles in their back?  These complications seem minor compared to the awesomeness we have experienced in the past week and they by no means overshadow any of joy we have, now that Will is here.

So there is the birth story…with a little extra.   I will try to write more later, or later this week with some of the funny stories and pictures.

Due Date

Baby Will is due today and he is showing no signs of being ready to join us!  He's still moving and shaking in there and I'm not having any contractions as far as I know....braxton hicks or otherwise.

Seeing a midwife, means that I have signed up for the least amount of interventions necessary, so there won't be any talk of induction until approximately 42 weeks.  I think he'll be here sooner than that, though!  A lot of people ask me about dilation and effacement, but that is something they only check for if you ask them to.  And to me, it doesn't mean much, so I am fine not knowing for now.

In the mean time, maternity leave has begun and I've finished Emily Giffin's Where We Belong and I'm now working on The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls.  I'll be back to the library tomorrow if he's not here.  I do love getting to watch the full Today Show, Ellen, and a Baby Story throughout the day!

The belly is big and so is my face!  Water retention?  Too much ice cream?  I don't know.  The end is near, though!

39 weeks

Size: A mini watermelon and 20 inches and 7+ pounds.

Interesting fact: His nails may extend past his fingertips and his outer layer of skin is sloughing off.

Symptoms: Foot swelling, acid and back pain. Still not so terrible, compared to  many women, it seems.  I think coffee was giving me worse acid, so maybe that was more self-induced than caused by baby.  So no more coffee.

Maternity clothes: Four working days left! It turned chilly this week, which means dress season is over. Good thing maternity season is for me, too!  I cancelled my last 2 days of work because it is getting to be rather uncomfortable to be there 8 hrs/day.

Cravings: Work is taking me to Cheesecake Factory on Wed, so I will be looking forward to that and hope I hang on until then!

Aversions: B cooked Steak-ums this weekend, which looked good...until you see the fatty aftermath on the griddle! That was a first and a last for me.

Fun things: Waiting!  Nine months is a LONG time and I'm so happy we're nearing the end! I thought 39 weeks would never get here! My Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy calls this the 10th month. What? I thought there were 9!?

What I miss: Sitting/laying down easily and comfortably.  Long walks.

Misc: The ringer on my phone has not been working since June, so now that Sprint was offering free iPhone 4s, I broke down and renewed my contract. I really don't even use the features of a smart phone, so I would have been ok w a flip phone, but I don't even think they are an option anymore! So in 3 to 5 business days, I will have a fully functioning phone!

I don't feel as big as I look, but I guess you really could fit a watermelon in there!

38 Weeks

Size: A pumpkin - how appropriate!  19+ inches and about 7 pounds.  The midwife guessed last week that he was 6.5-7lbs just by feeling his size.

Interesting fact: Thebump.com and babycenter.com don't have much to offer this week.  He's got a firm grasp now?  He's basically just plumping up from now until the end.

Symptoms: A little bit of foot swelling, especially by the end of the day.  Everything else is pretty much the same though.  GO AWAY acid!!!  Still an innie belly button though! 

Maternity clothes: Exactly 10 days left of work, at most, so this is doable! 

Cravings: I wanted a McD's milkshake on Saturday on our way home from Latrobe, and to my horror, they had posted the calories on the menu board!  I downgraded to a caramel sundae.   

Aversions: We had shrimp & grits last night and SOMEONE forgot to take out the trash, so I was tempted to drag B out of bed to take care of the smell in the kitchen this morning.  Woof. 

Fun things: We got to go visit LM's baby this weekend.  I really don't think I have ever seen a newborn baby.  He was just so tiny!  He was barely over 7lbs at 2 weeks, which is what Baby Will is predicted to be right now.  They made everything look so easy, which was comforting.  They have two loud dobermans and the baby didn't even flinch when they barked.  

What I miss: Sitting/laying down easily and comfortably.  Long walks.

Misc: I've been going back and forth on newborn photos.  They are not too pricey, and I like looking at other people's photos.  Two things that are keeping me from it are: rarely do people do them for their 2nd child...so is that really fair?  And Will is a boy. Seems like a more cute and girly thing to do.  So we will probably not do them.  As if there will not be enough pictures taken of him!

Rules for Non-Dog People