Robert William 9-21-11

This is going to be my second attempt to write a "birthing blog". I feel that there are a lot of details that need to be blogged (but will probably be left off). I have a baby now that is FINALLY asleep after 3 hours of cuddling, playing, and eating he finally fell asleep. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cuddling and playing with Robert. There is nothing in this world that makes me more happy. Robert did not sleep well last night, so I did not sleep last night. I tried to take a nap with him this morning, but obviously he was not having it. With sleepy eyes that will not fall asleep now.., I must digress and begin my "birthing blog".


One thing to know about delivering a baby- NOTHING will go as you had planned in your mind. I started exactly one week before my due date having contractions. Jordan had taken me to Scalini's in Smyrna for the eggplant parmesan. The contractions started about 10 minutes after we got to the car. We headed to church for the last night of our gospel meeting and the contractions continued getting stronger and closer together. We decided that labor had to be started so we needed to make the 30 minute drive to the hospital in Austell... After 4 hours on the monitor, they sent me home. I was told that I wasn't in active labor because my cervix wasn't dilating anymore and that my blood pressure was a little high. I was told to return to the hospital on Saturday for more blood work. I had contractions all during the night and up until Friday evening. We had a specialist appointment at lunch on Friday and was told baby weighed 8lbs 1oz and was in position for labor.

I returned to the hospital on Saturday morning and was told my blood pressure was still running a little high. They sent me home and told me to get checked out at my doctors office first thing Monday morning. My blood pressure was really weighing on me and I felt awful all day Saturday and all day Sunday. My aunt took my blood pressure throughout the day Sunday and it was definitely staying high. She took it Sunday night right before church and it was the highest reading all day -180/110. We then returned to the hospital on Sunday night. The nurses kept me on the monitor for an hour and my blood pressure came down a little. Again, they sent me home.

First thing Monday morning my mama came to my house and drove me to my doctor's office. My blood pressure was STILL high. The midwife on call told me to report to the hospital again so that she could see me and they could monitor my blood pressure. I was at the hospital about an hour before the midwife informed that they were going to have to go ahead and keep me. She told me that they would give me 2 doses of cervadil to soften my cervix and get it ready for labor, and that on Tuesday morning they would start giving me pitocin to start the labor process.

I was given a room at 12:45 and told that the nurse would be in to give me the cervadil at 1:30. I didn't get my first 12-hour dose of cervadil until 2:30. After given the first dose, the nurse informed me that they were busy and that she wouldn't be in to check on me. I would have to call if I needed something. So, the contractions started again with the cervadil. Around 6 o'clock, everyone left me to go have some dinner and let me get some rest. I was able to relax a little while everyone was gone. They returned to my room at 7 o'clock. My daddy was talking to me when my blood pressure cuff (being checked every hour) started going off. I had felt a little warm and thought my blood pressure might be up a little bit. The reading was 240/130... or close to that. We all started to get a little worried. The machine was alarming for a long time and my blood pressure wasn't coming back down very fast. We finally called the nurse to ask for a fan because I was burning up... She came in about 10 minutes later and told me that my blood pressure was up because I had too many visitors... The midwife came in and told me that since my blood pressure had come down some (it was still very high, 170/110) that I needed to rest and not have so many people in my room. She gave me a sleeping pill and told me I needed to rest. I had a HORRIBLE reaction to the medicine. I started crying hysterically for hours and didn't get any sleep. The next morning with my eyes practically swollen shut, the midwife came in and told me she was going to leave the cervadil in until 11. She had originally told us that she was going to take it out and I would start the pitocin at 8 am... 11 o'clock comes around and I was told my a different midwife that she wasn't going to take the cervadil out and start the pitocin until 2.

A nurse finally comes in at 2 and takes the cervadil out. The contractions stopped after a few minutes. She told me a different nurse would be back at 2:30 to give me the pitocin. At 5:30 the midwife came in to tell us that they had been VERY busy and were sorry that they had not had a chance to devote the nurses to me and start my pitocin. (During this conversation she yelled at my mother... but that's a story in itself).

At about 6:30 the nurses finally came in to give me the pitocin. The contractions started right away and were very INTENSE. My water broke on the second contraction. After my water broke, the labor becomes a little blurry to me. I remember ALOT of pain and wanting to know if it was ever going to end. After 3 hours I had dilated to a 3 (which was on target). But after 4 1/2 hours (10:30pm), I was still dilated to a 3. The midwife came in at 11pm and checked my dilation. She told me I wasn't progressing as I should with my water being broken and my blood pressure. She told me that if I hadn't dilated to a 5 or 6 in the next hour, they would be taking me back at midnight for a c-section. 11:45 came and they checked me again. The nurses started prepping me for the surgery. This was a RELIEF because as soon as they took the pitocin off my I.V., it was INSTANT relief from the pain. The next 15 minutes I was rushed, pulled, proded, and finally my family came in and we prayed before they rolled me back to the surgery room.

I was given a spinal block (since I had refused the epidural in the beginning of the pitocin) and they did the c-section... I won't go into all the details of that. I'm not sure if it was the bright lights in the room, or the fact that it was the first time I heard my son cry, but I can remember every detail of the surgery before, during, and after. I didn't get to see Robert when I first heard his cry, but it was the SWEETEST sound I have ever heard. I was terrified before the c-section... and I guess everyone has a fear that something is wrong with their baby before they are born. As soon as I heard his cry and the doctor tell me we had a healthy 8lbs. 1oz. 20 inches long baby boy, I started crying... I had never felt that much joy.

When I was rolled into recovery, I finally got to hold my precious baby boy. I will NEVER forget how happy I felt at that moment in time. Seeing his face in person for the first time is a feeling I will never forget. It felt as though I had known him my entire life. My life was finally complete now that he was here and healthy.

As I watch him sleep right now, I can only pray to thank God that he gave me such a beautiful, wonderful blessing. I pray everyday that I will be the mother that Robert needs. I pray that he will grow up and be a Christian and help many others to know the Gospel as well. I have been given a huge responsibility to raise a child and I will not take it for granted a moment in my life.

2 weeks... or 14 days.

I can NOT believe that Baby Robert is due in exactly 2 weeks from today....
Jordan and I are starting to get very ANXIOUS.
We spent all day Monday (Labor day) cleaning our house.
We organized the linen closet, cleaned the bathrooms, organized under the sinks, we washed everything in the nursery, washed the linens in the guest bedroom,  cleaned out the guest bedroom, cleaned out our closet, organized the chest of drawers, cleaned the kitchen, and finished organizing the basement. After all the cleaning, we both got our bags packed for the hospital.
So now, everything here is ready. We have our car seat installed in the car, house is cleaned and organized, and our bags are packed. Now we are just waiting for his arrival.
I'm pretty sure the suspense is going to kill me!!
I'm very nervous about labor, but I am very EXCITED to meet my son.
I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and we are having another ultrasound. So, hopefully we will get some good news tomorrow!!!
The next time I blog will (hopefully) be about our son's birth!! I've got my fingers crossed!!

4 weeks...

I am now 36 weeks pregnant! Or 9 months pregnant, for those counting in months :)
As exciting as this is, I am FEELING being this pregnant like something serious. Everything hurts and it's hard to get up and down.
I know in a few weeks, I will forget about all this pain, and it will all be worth it!
I just can't believe it is so soon.
Next week I will be 37 weeks pregnant, which is considered "full-term". So, Robert can come anytime after next week and I will be happy!! :)
I just can't believe how much my life is going to change in a few weeks and how excited I am to meet my baby boy!
I just wanted to share how excited I am!!
And I will try to keep this updated as the time gets so much closer!!

It's that time of year.

The past two days have been filled with some WONDERFUL weather. It's starting to feel a little bit less like summer, and a lot more like fall.
Fall is and has always been my favorite season of the year for many reasons:
-wonderful temperatures outside
-the changing color of the leaves
-hay ride
-Thanksgiving (my FAVORITE holiday)
This year fall is bringing a new addition to my family. It's bringing a new baby boy with it, and for that I am the MOST excited for fall!

It also seems to be bringing with it a sense of cleaning and organizing. I'm not sure if the fact that I only have 5 WEEKS left before there is a little baby in my house, or the fall season, but I have been CLEANING and organizing our house like something serious!
I have also talked over with my husband and we have made some decisions about things we are going to be changing in our daily life before the baby is here. We are going to get rid of our satellite television, and are planning on moving the television out of the living room altogether. I think this is the biggest decision we have made so far, but there are many more to come. I don't want my child to grow up watching the filth on television and in movies. I know I can't protect him from the evil world we live in completely, but I can take a stand and show him that his parents aren't going to support the evil world coming into our home through television and the media. Since I can't have him live in a bubble, I must try and make my home a "bubble" of safety and putting God first.
All this has led me to realize I have a lot to change in my life to make myself a better person for my children and my family.
I just can't believe I only have FIVE weeks left. I am so nervous, and so VERY excited I can't stand it! I just pray I can be the parent that I need to be to help my child get to Heaven and bring many others with him.
I'm praying now for a safe and healthy delivery for this baby boy. I will try and keep this updated as it gets so much closer to his arrival!

Lately

Wow, I have not blogged in quite awhile.
First off, I still have a sore mouth.. I had an abscessed tooth that was abscessed to the nerve. It put me in the WORST pain I have ever felt in my life. But luckily, I was able to have the tooth pulled yesterday. And although it's sore, it is NOTHING compared to the pain I was in these past few weeks.
I must say, I'm dreading the pain of labor.. But the pain I've had was pretty intense. So, I guess in the next few weeks we will see how the pain compares...

I only have 7 more weeks (if the Lord wills) before we finally get to meet Robert. :)
I'm nervous, but so very very excited!
The wonderful ladies at the Villa Rica Church of Christ are giving us a baby shower this coming Sunday, and I am so excited and so blessed!!!
I'm ready to have everything in the nursery set up! I will definitely post pictures when everything is finished and ready.

Well, I've got to get going to work! I'm sure I will be blogging again in the next few days! Stay tuned...

Amazing.

This past weekend was Independence Day. It was such a wonderful weekend. On Saturday, Jordan and I painted our bathroom together. I must say it looks MUCH better as the brown color we painted than it did with the original ugly purple it was when we bought the house. It's amazing how a fresh coat of paint can change your outlook on things.
Saturday afternoon we headed to my parents for a cookout. We had some amazing ribs, potato salad, and baked beans! It was super delicious!! Some family came over later and we enjoyed the best homemade chocolate ice cream I've ever had! We had an amazing firework show on the lake and it was just a wonderful day!!
It was a wonderful celebration of Independence Day and how blessed we are to live in a free country!
On Monday the 4th we had a hamburger cookout at Jordan's parents. It was a really great, relaxing weekend!
To me, the coolest part of the weekend was on Tuesday. I had a doctors appointment with the specialist in Austell. Jordan wasn't able to take the time off work after a holiday, so my wonderful mama was able to go with me! The doctor just wanted to make sure everything was checking out with the baby. I hadn't been to the specialist for 8 weeks, so it's been awhile since I've had an ultrasound to see baby Robert. I must say it was most definitely worth the wait!!
It was absolutely amazing how much he has grown in the last two months. I can't imagine how much he's going to grow in the next 11 weeks! The ultrasound tech was checking all of his organs and other parts of his body. During a short time of the ultrasound she used a 4-D scan to look at the baby's face. She wanted to check his lips to make sure he didn't have a cleft palate. (which he does NOT) It was the most AMAZING thing I have ever seen. She went to his face and we were able to see his face clearly! He is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen in my life. (I'm sure this is a biased opinion, but we'll just go with it) I have daydreamed and dreamed at night of what his face would look like. Then seeing it for the first time made everything so real! I cannot wait to meet him in person and kiss his beautiful face! It is amazing that he already weighs 3 pounds!! He's going to be a big baby like his daddy!!
I do not have a picture of his face from the ultrasound, but I have a dvd of the entire session. I watched the DVD and paused on his face for a long time. He is so beautiful!!
But I must digress..
Until my next blog update, I will leave you with this picture of Baby Robert.

T.i.m.e....

Time is going by much too fast these days. I am now 27 1/2 weeks and about to be 28 weeks pregnant. Wow! That means if he makes his arrival on time and not early or late, we have only 12 short weeks before we have a baby..
This idea excites me and scares me more than anything. I am so happy to have a baby... But I am more nervous than I ever thought possible. I'm afraid I won't be a good parent. I'm afraid I won't have all the answers all the time.
I have two wonderful parents and they seem to know what they are doing... I just know I don't know anything compared to my parents. I've heard that parenting is something you learn along the way. But what if you don't learn the right thing along the way? The idea of being completely responsible for another human being 24/7 terrifies me. I'm already worrying about him on a daily basis and I can't possibly imagine how much worse it will be when he is here.
Thinking of what short a time we have left, I realize how much I have left to get ready for a baby. I have a house I need to organize better and a nursery that still needs the finishing touches. But it is coming along more quickly than I could have imagined. All thanks to my wonderful, creative, and crafty mama and daddy.

Time is flying by... I know it's not going to slow down after baby Robert is here.. I just need to figure out a way to make it last longer. I want to start scrapbooking once baby Robert is here. I definitely need to take more pictures. I don't want to forget anything about the time he is an infant.

I am so excited we are having a baby, I'm pretty sure I can't say that enough :)
My parents are so crafty they were able to make a mobile after this model and I think it looks better than this picture. But I will have to share the one they made when I share the pics of our finished nursery. Just wanted to give you an idea :)