The best moment of my life... (Henry's Birth Story)

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him."  1 Samuel 1:27

I have lived a very blessed life and had many moments of great joy.  However, none can compare to the joy and happiness my heart experienced when Henry entered this world.  

Here is the story of the best moment of my life.

Monday 11/21 @ 8:30 am - Doctor appointment... only 1 cm dilated and fully effaced.  No changes since the week before.  Doctor comments for the third week in a row that baby is "really low".  We talk about induction for the next week if baby doesn't come by then.

The last bump pic taken at 39 weeks.

Monday 11/21 @ 10:30 am - Head back into work, disappointed and very emotional... to say that I was a hot mess is an understatement.  I couldn't look or talk to anyone without crying.  It was so embarrassing!  Luckily, I work mostly with women who are friends of mine.  I was at the point where even sitting in a chair hurt b/c of all the pressure, I had a headache, backache and very bad braxton hicks contractions.

Monday 11/21 @ 5:30 pm - After a very stressful day at work, I head home.  The contractions are more noticeable and I wonder if they are "real" contractions, but decide to not worry about it because I have been wrong before.

Monday 11/21 @ 9:30 pm - Head to bed.

Monday 11/21 @ 10 pm - Wake up to what felt like a water balloon bursting in my bed!  MY WATER BROKE!  I yelled for Jason and we quickly grabbed a few things before heading out the door (the hospital bags and car seat have been ready to go for 3 weeks).  On the way to the hospital I was shaking uncontrollably (which didn't end until an hour or so after delivery) and started having some major contractions.  Eeeekkkk!!!!  They really hurt!

Monday 11/21 @ 10:45 pm - Arrive at hospital and get set up with monitors, iv's, etc.  When the nurse tells me I am 3cm dilated and my contractions are 2-3 min apart, my response is "Oh Sh**!".  I quickly apologize for my profanity and she laughs at me.  I guess she hears much worse than that all the time.  Ha!  I ask for an epidural stat and they put in a request for an anesthesiologist.  There were a bazillion babies being born early that week b/c everyone wanted to be induced and home before the Thanksgiving holiday so it took a little while before the anesthesiologist to get there.  So much pain... I have no clue how women do this naturally!  Kudos to those who have!

Let me make a sidenote here -
Remember my post about the reasons I love my husband... well add to that 
#11. He is my pillar of strength when I am not strong enough to deal with the situation on my own.
He was as involved with the childbirth as I was (mentally anyway), by helping me breathe through the contractions, letting me squeeze his fingers, counting as I pushed, telling me constantly how great I was doing and never leaving my side.  Ladies, I know I have it good and I thank God every day for him.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 12:30 am - Anesthesiologist (the most loved man in the maternity ward) arrives and I finally get relief!  The minute the pain went away is another one of the happiest moments of my life. : )  I actually didn't think the epidural was painful, but maybe that is because the contraction pains were much worse in comparison. 

Tuesday 11/22 @ 1am - I am now at 4cm and baby is at Station +1... pretty low in the birth canal.  Our nurse, Chelsea, spends most of the night chatting with us.  She is close to our age and grew up pretty close to where Jason did.  We discover that we have some mutual friends and spend a good hour or so talking about how much we love our dogs.  She was so kind and made the whole labor experience very calm.  Her shift ended an hour before Henry was born and she stayed so she could meet him.  How sweet! 

Tuesday 11/22 @ 3am - I am now at 6 cm dilated.  Jason and I try to sleep, but for obvious reasons never seem to get any.  We contemplate Henry's middle name, which we are still undecided on.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 5am - I am fully dilated!!!!  Holy cow, that happened fast!  Chelsea calls my doctor and we begin pushing.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 7 am - Have been pushing for almost 2 hours and am exhausted.  Doctor requests that my epidural get turned off so that I can feel the contractions better and push harder.  Eeeeekkkk!  They assure me that the epidural takes a full hour to wear off, so I agree to give it a shot.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 7:20ish - It is all a blur at this point... the doctor tells us that even though I am pushing hard, there isn't much progress because the umbilical cord is wrapped around something and keeps pulling him back in.  Say what????  Talk about scary!  She suggests that forceps be used and is confident she can get him out within a few contractions.  I REALLY didn't want to have to use forceps.  I mean, have you seen the things?  On the other hand, the pain and pressure were really getting to me and I just wanted him out and know that he was okay.  So we agreed... but I requested the epidural be turned back on beforehand.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 7:30ish - Anesthesiologist comes back in to turn on epidural, but by this time there is so much pressure that we don't wait for it to take effect.  Pretty sure I was very audible at this point.

Tuesday 11/22 @ 7:42 am - With the help of the forceps and a few good pushes, HENRY IS BORN!  How I feel when I first look at him is indescribable.  Seriously.... I have typed and retyped what I would say here and nothing fully captures how I felt.  He is perfect and I am in love with him!

Another sidenote - the umbilical cord was wrapped around his leg, but didn't do any damage.  Thank goodness!

Hello World!

Our new family, minus Lucie.

Daddy is an expert swaddler!

Go Cats!

Mini photo sesh on the day we got to come home.

 

Mommy's Little Turkey - coming home on Thanksgiving Day!

Lucie meeting her new brother for the first time.  This was the moment I totally lost my cool and cried like a baby.  Not sure if it was the hormones or just because I had really missed her.  Lucie acted a little odd that night and kept her distance, but came around in the following days.  She likes to sniff Henry and give him an occasional kiss.  :)

Baby H is here!!!

Introducing Henry Clyde... better known as "Baby H"

Born 11/22/11 @ 7:42 am weighing 6 lbs, 6 oz and 20.5" 

He is a happy healthy little guy and already has mommy and daddy wrapped around his tiny fingers!

We are busy feeding, changing and snuggling with our little guy... will post the birth story soon! 

What I Find "Pinteresting"...

I'm obsessed with Pinterest!  Here are a few of my fave finds this week...

Shout out to my baby daddy!

This past week Jason celebrated his 28th birthday... which I am so excited about because now Baby H's birth certificate will say that both of his parents are 28.  I turned 28 in July and really didn't want Jason to be 27.  Weird, I know. 

Gotta give a shout-out to him for being a wonderful husband and "baby daddy"! 

Top 10 Reasons I Love This Man...

1. He is handsome! ; )
2. He knows how to do just about anything... from hooking up electronics and fixing stuff around the house to helping me decorate the nursery.  Plus, he never complains about having to do any of it.
3. He has a kind heart.
4. He loves kids and kids love him.  He's not afraid to get on their level and be silly.  It's really cute!
5. Lucie, our 3 year old lab mix, adores him!  He plays with her and walks her every day, rain or sun.  This is one of the best indicators of how he will be as a dad... and I know he will be an amazing dad!
6. He has a good sense of humor and an adorable, infectious laugh.
7. He takes good care of me.  Just this morning he got up and made me breakfast... which he does so very often. 
8. He is ridiculously smart!  In about 6 months, I will fulfill my mom's dreams of marrying a Dr.!  Jason will earn his doctorate in neuroscience and continue medical research to help find cures and treatments.  I love that what he does could make such a big impact on humanity.
9. He's always up for a good time!
10. I know that I can always count on him... to do the right thing, to be the rock for our family, to support the decisions I make and to always be my partner.

Happy Birthday Jason!

2 Weeks From D-Day!

Due date that is.  I have very mixed emotions about it.  I am anxious to meet the little guy that has made me sick, angry/emotional for no reason, tired and at the same time happy beyond comprehension. 

On the other hand... I am scared of labor and not knowing when/how it will all go down.  Plus, I am really going to miss having him in my tummy and our "mommy and me" time.  I love laying down at night and feeling him move around.  They have been some of the best moments of my life.  *tear*

This past week we had another doctor appointment and since his movements hadn't been as noticeable for a few days, they decided to hook me up to some monitors.  Looks like the reason I haven't been feeling him as much is because I have been having contractions!!!  Note the peaks on the lower line... look pretty regular huh?

Well... come to find out they were just Braxton Hicks.  However, at the time we didn't know if they were "real" or not.  So, Jason and I spent the rest of the day and entire night thinking it could be real labor.  The contractions were happening about every 5 minutes and some were pretty intense, but not painful.   All the websites said that BH would go away with lots of water and laying down and that they were mostly irregular.  The contractions I were feeling didn't go away when I laid down and were pretty regular.  I got up the next morning (after a loooonnnnggg night of interrupted sleep) and walked on the tread mill to see if they would get more intense and wouldn't you know... they stopped!  So frustrating! 

Anyway... still having some random contractions, but paying no attention to them.  I don't want to psyche myself out anymore.  I figure I'll know when true labor happens... either I will be in ridiculous pain or a baby's head will be coming out!  Well, hopefully I would get some warning before that happens!  :)

I have to show you all this super fun gift I received in the mail last week from my friend, Sarah.  Note that Sarah is pretty crafty and the gifts were beautifully wrapped.

The pink ribbon had a tag "For Mom" and the blue ribbon had a tag "For Baby"

The "mom" gift is Chew Beads... a necklace that is safe for baby to chew on and has a breakaway clasp.  How inventive and what a great gift idea!  All my mom-to-be friends are getting these! 
The "baby" gift is a fun little dog that has body parts that make different sounds. 
Thank you Sarah!!!

Baby H is now 'at term'!

Baby H is officially 'at term', meaning it is safe for him to come any day!  We went to the doctor this past week for our now weekly visits and had an ultrasound.  This was our 7th ultrasound of the pregnancy... note that 2 were  paid for (gender reveal and 4d).  We've been lucky to be able to see him so often. 

However, after getting one upsetting ultrasound, they make me really nervous.  Baby H had an EIF on his heart (echogenic intracardiac focus), which is a calcium deposit.  They had to keep watch of it to make sure it didn't grow or  cause blockage.  The u/s at 30 weeks showed that it hadn't grown and then the u/s this past week didn't even show it.  Thank you Jesus!

Here is his cute little face in 4D from this past week.  He has my nose!!!!  I think his overall face structure looks like Jason though.  I guess we'll be able to get a better look in a a few weeks when we officially meet him!

Everything else at the doctor appointment went great.  Baby H is measuring right on target and is head down.  My blood pressure is a bit higher than what it has been - which has been really low and my feet are only slightly swollen at the end of the night.  I guess it doesn't help that I haven't been resting the much or that I'm still wearing heels to work.  I am still able to wear my wedding rings, so I don't look like a "baby momma"!  Ha!

Overall, I sleep decently for a 9 month preggo and feel pretty good.  Work has been mega-stressful this past week and I have had to work a few 12 hour days.  This weekend the plan is to rest a lot, finish packing my hospital bag, shop for some last minute things and write thank you notes.  Gotta get everything done in case we meet our little guy sooner than expected!  :)

Oh yeah... can't forget to show you this...

Lucie snuggled up against my belly in bed  (belly is the lump to the right).  She is bonding with her brother.  How cute!

Karma for Lucie

A few months ago Lucie gave into her "wild" side, chased a squirrel down the street and killed it.  Ick!  

Soooo... for Halloween we dressed her like a squirrel.  That's karma for ya!

The nut in front cracks me up!

She was a sport and wore it for a few hours without much fuss.  Of course I fed her treats all night, including her fave - peanut butter crackers.  The kids loved it and Lucie loved all the attention!