TOTALLY IN LOVE!

As most all of you know, monkey was born on May 26th 2009 at 414 PM. He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long and head circumference is 13.75 inches.




We went in for induction as scheduled. This experience was totally different than how it had been before when we went in for the contractions a couple of weeks ago. They were waiting for us with a room all ready. They checked us in and it was almost like being checked into a fancy resort.

Once all of my vitals were taken and the IV placed, they gave me a "sleeper" (Ambien) and told me to try to get some rest. Tom had a large window seat that was both wide enough and long enough for his body and they had put out pillows and blankets for him.

We slept but not very much. The contractions started to get more intense although I had been contracting about every 3-4 minute when I came in, they calmed down a little bit once I got settled and relaxed but still was having contractions every 5-10 minutes. By 6 AM, I was ready for a dose of pain medication just to see if it helped. My cervix had changed to maybe 3-4 cm at that point. The Fentanyl they gave me for the pain was "nice" in the way that having about 4 beers placed in my IV would have been "nice" I felt no pain but also had a difficult time controlling my thoughts. And the baby monitor started to look a little "flat". No more please. Let's do the epidural, thank you!

By 730 AM I had my epidural and that was NICE!!!! NICE in the way that I felt no pain, no discomfort, and could SLEEP as I haven't slept in quite some time. They had to put in a bladder catheter and I was stuck in bed but sleeping for 4 hours was AWESOME!



By about noon, the contractions were picking up to the point where with each one I could feel pressure. Not pain, just pressure. Pressure is harder to control with epidural because it is a different set of nerves. At that point I was about 7-8 cm. About an hour later I was 9+ cm. Pressure increasing significantly over the next hour or so and I could still control pressure pain with breathing and humming "Blue Skies" while Tom squeezed my hand and patted my leg. About 3 PM I could not resist the urge to push any longer. About 315 PM they let me start pushing. They set up a mirror so I could see what I was doing.

This may seem like a weird thing but I have been on the other end of the delivery process for about 100 babies and I know what good pushing "looks" like. I just didn't know exactly what it felt like. With the mirror, I could make the two come together. By 4 PM, they were calling my OB to come running over and his head was well visible. I actually panted through one set of contractions to give my friend time to run across the parking lot from her office to be there in time to deliver Oliver. She saw me push one time and put on her clothes. Only a couple of pushes later and out he came.

His cord was wrapped once around his neck so they had to cut it before Tom could officially cut it. Then he was out. He cried softly and they placed him on my chest. After a minute, he wasn't really picking up his efforts to cry loudly and be strong and active despite the nurses and I stimulating him vigorously, so they took him to the incubator and worked to get him to wake up a little bit more. While my friend tried to piece back together the remains of my perineum, I sent Tom to the incubator to hold the hand of our new little one while he was getting his act together! One hand grabbed up to Tom and then the other and I'm pretty sure it was at that moment that my husband became a daddy! He admitted later that he just about melted right on the spot. Even talking about it later made us both tear up with happiness!

In due time, he was back with his mommy and I cannot describe in words what it is like to look into the eyes of your newborn child for the first time. Those who have done it know, those who have not can only imagine.




AND HIS NAME IS........Oliver Marshall Carr





And I don't think it would be humanly possible to love anything more than this.

He is training us how to be awake from about 2-5 each AM. I am trying to figure out how to shorten that time down. He sleeps most of the day but has at least two periods of eyes open to the world. Last night was the first night that we really slept well for any length of time. He slept in his car seat and that seems to have helped (reflux? tummy pain?)

He is eating a LOT! He is having good pees and poops and basically doing everything a normal baby should do! He is practically perfect in every way and I feel like singing songs when I look at him! Everything feels like it needs an exclamation point after it!

He listens to Beatles, NIck Drake, Shins, Decemberists, and many others on his dad's iPod playlist and loves to be close to the speakers and listen to his daddy sing the lyrics to the songs as he holds and rocks him.

Although being awake at 2-5 AM (and yesterday until almost 7) is not my favorite, I am doing well with the lack of sleep and last night's almost full 8 hours of sleep was AWESOME!

I look at him in the early morning when he is wide awake and not wanting to go back to sleep and we talk about what he will be when he grows up.

I hope that he will be a strong but kind man who, like his daddy, balances deep concern for other humans with a soft spoken manner and easy going spirit. But I also hope he has a passion for life to be the best he can be and set high goals for himself so he can feel successful and happy and in love with life however that happens for him and whatever he choses to do with it.



I hope he can learn as much as possible about himself and others. I hope he has a good sense of humor about himself and tries to not find fault with himself or others.

I hope he learns to have fun and to enjoy all the things there are for him in this world. I hope for his dad's sake he is passionate about music and sports - or at least one of the two! He has long fingers and toes that would be good for either of those things. Tom thinks he would be a good pitcher and if he happens to be left-handed all the better for a long MLB career ;-)

Today I took him to my office and weighed him and he is already above his birth weight!
Yesterday we went for a walk to Target and he had his first stroller ride!
He loves to spend time with family and friends already and is a good sleeper!






My favorite time is when he happens to smile - usually in his sleep and I look forward to the day when he can voluntarily smile and interact with us with his eyes well focused!


I AM SMITTEN! I AM IN LOVE! What a difference a year makes!

Induction Part Duex

So as I write we are about an hour and a half away from our second attempt at going in for induction. Our original induction scheduled for Friday 1201 AM (May 22nd) was cancelled due to the hospital being too full of women already in labor - come on ;-).....So we got the next day that coincides with my friend/OB being on call which is tonight induction and she is on tomorrow! I called earlier to make sure that they have me still on the schedule. Yes. And at that time they were looking okay but you never know in the wacky wild world of OB what may happen. We will leave here at about 1140 PM for our 1201 induction. Tonight has been a good night of contractions. It is my due date today. This baby will now be a gemini like his mom AND dad - not that I place much worth in that but just an interesting fact.

Mom and dad have been here since Induction: Part I. We have been trying to keep busy. Friday, mom and I went shopping while dad and Tom got some things done around the house. Saturday we went to the Portland Farmer's Market and got some fresh strawberries and rhubarb, tomatoes, morel mushrooms and herbs for a small planter that I am placing on the back deck. We then went to Salem to help my brother NIck and his partner Keith with their new place. Only dad had clothes for this so mostly mom, Tom and I went to Home Depot to help Keith get some stuff and then sat on the deck and enjoyed the weather. We had some good Japanese food in Salem before heading back to Portland. Sunday was the zoo with my brother Jeremy and his family and then BBQ after at his mother-in-law's place. Yummy foods! Today, some housework, changed over the closet from pregnant winter clothes to mostly normal summer clothes with some pregnant clothes left as well. Also got some good knitting done, did some final shopping and checked the packing job for the hospital for the 100th time.

I am ready!!!!!



The charge nurse I spoke to earlier said they would call if anything changed and we get bumped again. I think I may cry if this happens - or just not answer my phone and go to the hospital anyway and just sit there waiting for a room!

I am ready to see monkey. I am ready to hold monkey. I am ready to paste pictures of monkey all over my blog and facebook. It is my due date. I feel zero guilt about augmenting labor or possible need for epidural (nothing against all you natural delivery mommies but nothing about how this pregnancy started was natural so I am not expecting it's end to be either for some reason!). I have had a good pregnancy, I gained less than 25 pounds (just barely) which was my goal. I have walked and stayed active and eaten well. I am ready to start being a mommy and since it is now three years since we first started trying to get pregnant - IT IS MY TURN!!!!

So I will go take a shower now and get as clean as I can for the upcoming physical challenge!

Induction

So Monday was the "stripping" of the membranes. It did nothing! In fact, I think it may have slowed things down from before if that is possible.

I went to work Tuesday and decided that was about it. Just not comfortable to think about having to lug my body into work for the rest of the week.

Today got to sleep in a little - thank you to Tom for figuring out the bus to work so I could sleep in and still have the car for my massage!



Had our weekly ultrasound and doctor visit. No change to the cervix, monkey is doing well.

So the plan is to try to induce on Friday. Why? Because my OB is on call and it is the weekend and we are a little anxious! I think once we get a little pitocin this random contractions will organize into something that will work a little bit better. So just after midnight (late Thursday, early Friday), we will head to the hospital. If that doesn't work after a few hours, we will have to come back next week (likely Tuesday).

This really may be it. It is exciting to think about having monkey outside and interactive in a whole new way. Hopefully he will come this weekend when it may be easier for people to visit. I can't wait to post pics of little monkey and announce his name!


Here's hoping it works! I think I should try to get lots of sleep in the next 24 hours ;-) I might regret it if I don't!

Will it be today?

Only a week until the due date! I am wondering if it won't be sooner. I have been having contractions for the last three days but they are picking up in frequency today and a little bit more intense. Not to the point where I can't talk or function but to the point of being OBVIOUSly a contraction and not something else. I am so glad that I got my pregnancy pics done last week - see sample.




Everything is packed and ready to go. My OB friend is on all tonight so she is going to try stripping my membranes and see if we can get things going. This process works sometimes. It is basically a separation of the amniotic sac from the inside of the cervix/uterus just using the fingers. It helps to release the cascade of hormones to start labor - sometimes!



I am excited! Our front office woman who was due last week had her baby yesterday and she is a cutie. I can't wait to see our little monkey!

So a short post to say here's hoping he comes soon on this nice sunny day ;-)

Bleh!

We had our most recent ultrasound on Wednesday and a visit with a different OB since my friend was in Chicago at a conference. All of my BPP exams (biophysical profile) with the ultrasound have been wonderful! Monkey is thriving. They measure breathing - he is breathing like crazy. They measure movement - he moves like crazy. They look at the fluid - there is plenty of fluid. He passes the test with flying colors! They have not measured growth yet but that will be soon.



My visit with the OB went well. I was 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced which is pretty good for a first time mommy. She also thought that monkey felt bigger than what the ultrasound indicated. She didn't seem to worried.

Our last official "married without kids" event was later that night. We went to a Shins concert at the Crystal Ballroom. Used my huge belly as a good reason to skip the line and got to go in first with the guy with crutches who didn't even have a cast. That guaranteed that I got to sit down. It was a good concert.

About mid way through the concert, in part because all I was doing was sitting with my hands resting on my belly, I noticed that I was having some not painful contractions. They lasted a minute and were fairly irregular. By later that night/early next AM they were very regular. Before I went to bed, I made sure we were all packed in case we needed to be.

By the next morning I had slept less than an hour and called the on call doc. Not painful but regular contractions every 2-5 minutes. She said to come in and they would check to see if my cervix was changing at all. We brought our bags just in case but I wasn't convinced. We arrived a little after 630AM to the hospital OB triage area. They checked and my cervix was the same. They said I could walk or go home and wait to see if thing got painful. I tried walking, but that really didn't help. Nice OB nurse who was getting off at 7 AM was replaced by grumpy - "please don't come back until you can't talk through your contractions" and "you don't want your baby to be born now anyway" nurse. The OB triage room was about 100 degrees! AND I am getting a cold!

MAJOR LETDOWN! So since then I think we have both been in a little bit of a funk. My cold is not helping my mood. I took today and yesterday off. Saw my OB today who again today (she is back from her conference) and confirmed that nothing had changed. At least she seemed a little more anxious to get things going than grumpy OB nurse.

So I will try going back to work on Monday and Tuesday. I will have my ultrasound for growth on Wednesday. My maternity pics will be later Wednesday PM. I have plans to see the Star Trek movie and visit with a friend this weekend. We will not chance the 4 hour drive to GP for Mother's Day/Ethan and Aiden (nephews) birthday party which is a bummer as I would like to see everyone.

So, i just feel BLEH! Too tired and sicky to feel excited right now and definitely not dealing well with the uncertainty. Even Tom is feeling let down after the "practice contractions". It is hard to know what to do other than wait. I think monkey will be earlier than his due date which is nice. My nesting is pretty much done - which leaves little to occupy me.

Come soon little monkey - I will feel better once I see your healthy smiling face! GO AWAY COLD!

Ooh and here is the artwork that Tom picked out for the nursery - the only pic we haven't hung yet has monkey's name on it so no ruined surprises!