Thomas's Birth Story, Part 1

I did not want to wait to write this post.  I want to try to recall every detail before I possibly lose them and I know that if I wait too long I might never get to it.

Let me start by saying from start to finish Thomas's birth was NOTHING like I expected.  NOTHING like I planned (though I wasn't all that into planning... no long birth plan here) and NOTHING like what I had prepared myself for.

God has a way of shaking things up to remind us that he is in control and BOY did this experience help me remember that.  God is in charge and He is GOOD!

So let's start from the beginning... it's going to be a long one... and I promise I will try not to include TOO many details.

Friday, 11/11/11 (MY DUE DATE)

Friday started as a completely normal uneventful day.  As much as I had wished and hoped that I would be in labor by Friday morning... alas, no such luck.  So, as I have done so many mornings I got ready and headed to school.  Again, all through the day I was hoping to go into labor, but the day went on as normal with know need for my "What to do if I go into labor at school" emergency plan.  On Friday afternoon I had a scheduled appointment with my midwife because she was a little concerned about the fact that my blood pressure had been higher than normal on Wednesday.  So I went in to have it checked and possibly have another non-stress test.  I expected to go in, have them check it, it be normal and I be heading home quickly.  Well, not so much... My blood pressure was still quite high and so my midwife sent me to labor and delivery at the hospital.  When the nurse came in to tell me this I probably looked completely shocked and confused because she quickly added "just for another non-stress test."  Oh... :( Ok. 

We headed over to the hospital and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor.  The nurse came in and checked on me every once in awhile and kept saying how beautiful Thomas looked (to which I kept whispering to him, "She means handsome, son.")  We ended up being in the hospital forEVER... or so it seems as you watch MANY couples come in and see many laboring women or support people coming and going, nurses rushing around and talking about how many babies were going to be born that day.  ON YOUR DUE DATE... and yours is not one of them.

I was told that I would have to keep a 24 hour urine collection (GROSS) and return in 24 hours to be looked at again, but that before I left the doctor who was on-call for my practice wanted to check me out.

As we sat and waited we were talking about how realistically MOST first babies come late and that we really had to mentally prepare ourselves for not meeting our baby for another week to ten days.

When the doctor was ready we walked into the exam room and she came in a few minutes later.  I had never met this particular doctor before but at once felt comfortable with her.  I knew she knew what she was talking about and she talked me through everything.  At this point I was still only about 2 centimeters dilated (which was how I had been for about a week).  Bummer I thought.  Then the doctor said these words (and I quote as closely to how I remember them...) "Ok.  So since we're concerned about your high blood pressure we have two choices.  1, we keep you here over night and induce you tomorrow morning or 2, we send you home and you come back tomorrow morning to be induced."

WHAT?  Never once had being induced really been laid on the table except when my midwife quickly had said at my last appointment that she knew I wanted natural and she hoped we wouldn't have to induce.  At the time I didn't even realize she was talking about because of the high blood pressure... I thought she meant because of going past my due date!

Because of the VERY high blood pressure that wasn't going down, the doctor was concerned about a condition called preeclampsia which apparently can lead to complications with the mother, not the baby.  The only way to resolve the issues is to have the baby delivered.  (BTW I later learned from my midwife that the doctor that decided to deliver me, "does not mess around with preeclampsia."  My midwife said she knew that when she heard that doctor was on-call she was going to induce me).

The reason she couldn't induce me that night was because (and this time I seriously quote word-for-word), "there is no room at the inn."  ALL of the labor and delivery rooms were full so if I stayed over I would be put somewhere else in the hospital.  That didn't sound too fun and I really liked the idea of one more night at home and since we lived close the doctor felt like this was a safe choice.  I would be induced 12 hours later... that meant that my little guy had 12 hours to decide to come on his own naturally.

Todd and I quickly called family and friends to let them know the news.  Though it was not the NATURAL way I had hoped, it was still REALLY exciting that we were about to spend our last night at home without a baby and that within the next 48 hours we were going to meet our baby boy!

We came home, ate some pizza for dinner and tried to relax.  We wen to bed and TRIED to sleep, though it didn't come too easily...

...stay tuned for part 2, labor and delivery.

38 Week Update and October Snow...

I realize that this post was "so 2 weeks ago," but I'm never good about getting things up quickly... but I still wanted to document this event.

Virginia (and much of the eastern coast of the US) experienced a rather strange October snow 2 Saturdays ago.  We were prepared for it, and quite honestly didn't get much, but it was still really cool to have pictures of us walking Frosty in the snow IN OCTOBER.

True to her name, Frosty LOVES the snow!

Our morning started rather early because once we saw the snow falling we really just wanted to go get out in it before it all stopped and/or melted!  We began by taking Frosty for a walk because the sidewalks didn't really have snow sticking to them.  HOWEVER, they were still very slick with a slushy coating and seeing as how I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time we decided a walk was probably not the best choice.  So we went back to our house and just played around/took pictures.

Frosty REALLY loves to have snow thrown up in the air while she jumps at it or chases it, so we had fun playing in the snow with her for awhile.

Doesn't she look so happy?  Almost like she is smiling...

I personally just liked looking at how everything looked.  I have a rose bush in the backyard, and during the week prior to the snow I had SO many roses blooming/about to bloom.  It was crazy to see those beautiful flowers covered in snow!



Can you tell how many buds and blooms the bush had?



I, of course, also had to get a picture of my baby belly!  I mean, really, who'd have thought that with Nov. 11th as a due date I would get a picture of me in SNOW without leaving Virginia?!  Notice in the picture how my coat is open because I couldn't zip it up!  I could snap it, however, when I bet over at one point ALL of the snaps popped open!  So I just went with open coat for the rest of the day!

Finally, we attempted to get some family photos in the snow.  Here is how they turned out:

In Frosty's eyes, this is probably a pretty accurate family photo... She's the star!

This one is a bit better, but poor Frosty barely made it in!

MUCH easier to take a photo when no one is trying to hold a dog!

Todd and his furry baby.

After morning fun in the snow, we decided to go out and try to get some pumpkins.  Even though we were pretty sure our friends' pumpkin carving party would be cancelled (which sadly it was) we figured we'd still carve them at home anyway... a fun snow day activity, right?  WRONG... apparently the weekend before Halloween is NOT the best time to go out and get pumpkins... after a trip to WalMart, Martins, and Food Lion we were pumpkin-less.  However, Todd made a good point when he said "So the weekend before Halloween I can't find buy a pumpkin... but I can by WRAPPING PAPER for CHRISTMAS!"  True that.  The stores were fully stocked and ready for Christmas... ugh... it's a bit early in my opinion.

Alas, we came home with no pumpkins and with Todd coming down with a cold.  So we hunkered (sp?) down for the day/night and watched movies, ate soup and stayed inside.  By Saturday night/Sunday most of the snow was melted, but we still stayed in and stayed lazy! 

My Monday (Halloween) you'd hardly have known it had snowed... but there were still very trace amounts left on the ground as tricker-treaters made their way around the neighborhood... a first for me!

And just for good measure, here was the picture we had taken the night before as my "official" 38 weeks baby belly photo...

This was NOT staged... but isn't it ridiculously cute how she is staring up at my belly??

So two weeks late, you have my 38 week update.  Tomorrow I will be 40 weeks!  Whoa... that's supposed to be the end of a pregnancy, right?  Apparently Baby Boy Narcross did NOT get the memo... though I suppose there is still time.  We'll see...

Baby Shower @ 37 Weeks

Well, last week we hit a major milestone... 37 weeks.  Our little man is now considered full term, and if he comes now, it won't be considered preterm labor. :)

I guess this is what would be considered the "home stretch!"  It just feels so weird at this point to think it could be any day now... or... it could still be many weeks!

This week I was also blessed to have a wonderful baby shower.  My dear friends Kim, Kylene and Lisa worked together to put on a wonderful baby shower!

It was so wonderful to be able to gather with many friends and family members and celebrate our little guy... and they really blessed us with some great things, too! :)



An elephant bank for the elephant nursery.  Thanks, Bethany!



Gotta love the doggie outfit, thanks Sheila!

An elephant toy for our boy.  Thanks, Kylene!

Baby's first tuxedo?  :)  Thanks, Mom!

A fun and easy to grab ball.  Thanks, Melissa!

Lil' VT onsies!  Thanks, Aunt Judy!

Diaper Genie!  Woo!  Thanks, Rachel and Sarah! 

There were some other great things that didn't make it into a picture including lots of diapers and wipes, tons of baby toiletries, a baby bathrobe, cute outfits (including an "I'm a Great Catch" VT onsie), some sweet books (including 3 Baby's First Bibles!) and a really precious photo frame (which made me blubber and cry quite a bit). 

With one of the wonderful hostesses, Kylene. 

The wonderful and delicious cake made by Lisa!
Notice the baseball for Todd! :)

Me, my cake, and my big old baby belly!

All in all it was a fabulous Sunday afternoon!  I just can't believe how wonderful it was and how everyone really "showered" me with wonderful conversation, wishes for the baby and gifts galore!  I (and Todd and this baby) are truly blessed to have amazing families and amazing friends and coworkers! 

Just a few other notes from this week: 

Todd's parents got us a car seat/stroller combo which Todd has put together, fully read the manuals for, and gotten the base in the car... yes, we are now driving around with a car seat base in the backseat! :)

I had an appointment with my midwife today and I'm about half a centimeter dilated... so not much at all, but more than last time! :)

My sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew came to visit for Saturday night and Frosty was AMAZING.  She didn't get aggressive or mean with the kids... in fact, when she wasn't completely ignoring them she was bathing them with kisses! :) 

I learned at my baby shower that many people are wishing that our little man loves karaoke, grows tall (maybe even taller than Todd) and my personal favorite, respects board games! :) 

Halloween costume pictures to come soon! :)  Have a great rest of the week and weekend!