The story and pics

My labor and delivery were pretty uneventful. Around 6:45 on Tuesday night my water broke--not gushing, just a little squirt. I wasn't totally sure if that's what is was so we waited around the house until I got another squirt a little before 8. When the nurse examined me around 8:30, I was 3-4 cm, but she still felt the water sack so they took a swab to test it. Sure enough it was amniotic fluid so they put me in a labor/delivery/recovery room and started an IV. My contractions weren't incredibly painful, but I went ahead and took the Staydol (sp?). The plan was to give me pitocin around 5am if I wasn't laboring on my own. Around 1:30, my contractions were getting a lot worse and when she checked again, I was at 5cm so by 2:30 I had my epidural. A little before 6, I was 9cm and fully effaced. When they checked me again at 8, I was fully dilated and started pushing at about 8:20. By 8:45, Sarah was born and was being cleaned. I was a little upset that the doc cut the cord without giving Josh the option, but Josh was grabbing the camera to start taking pictures. There was some issue getting my placenta delivered, but I wasn't really paying attention because I was watching the nurse with my daughter. I think I also tore a little and they had to put in one stitch. Overall, it lasted about 14 hours

Without further ado, here are pictures for your viewing pleasure:

She's here!

Sarah made her appearance this morning at 8:43 Central Time! She was 7lbs 15 1/2oz and 18 1/4 in. The winner of the online poll game was Elana!

I'll update with pictures and the full birth story later :)

At the Hospital

This is Josh typing for Monica. Her water broke at about 7pm, and we went to the hospital around 8:30pm. We moved to the labor/delivery recovery room at about 10:30. Right now Monica is on some drugs and is going to have Sarah either tonight or tomorrow morning. She's going to be getting petosin(sp) at 5:00am if she isn't in full on labor yet.

I must just say that for a woman in labor at the hospital, I am amazed how the first thing she wanted me to do was update her facebook page and this blog. Take care everyone.

Josh

(Monica's hubby)

39 week appt

Still only 2-3 cm dilated and 80-90% effaced. Doc says if baby's not here by next week we're going to have to do something to get this labor jump started. So it shouldn't be much longer now. But we'll see.

More false labor

I'd been having more cramps and pains most of the evening last night. Then around midnight or 1am, I started having more regular contractions. Though sometimes I'm not sure if it's really contractions I'm feeling or just Sarah moving around. I just know it's uncomfortable and a little painful. So I took some Tylenol PM and drank plenty of water. I also decided to try a warm bath. That seemed to alleviate some of the pain, but it still kept coming every 5-8 mins. But it didn't really seem to be intensifying too much, so I didn't think it was real labor. Finally around 2am, I took a warm shower and went back to bed. The Tylenol must have really kicked in because the cramping/contractions lessened and I went to sleep. I now have a headache and am having a bit of cramping. I am so ready for her to get here!

Single digits, baby!

Nine days till my due date. Ack!!

I think it'll be earlier than that though....

38 week appt

Another fairly boring appt. BP was up to 130/80. Weight was up about 4 more pounds. So I'm now about 5 or 6 pounds above my prepregnancy weight. I'm still only 2-3 cm dilated, but am now 90% effaced. I asked him about the 50% that the nurse said the other night. He said he wasn't going to argue about 30%. Next appointment is next Monday assuming she doesn't come this week. Josh's mom is here now and is really hoping Sarah makes her appearance before she leaves on Saturday. My mom is coming the 28th and is hoping she waits till then to come. So my guess is she'll come next week while no one is here. Oh, I forgot to ask the doc, but I had some mucus that was kinda jelly-like; is that part of the mucus plug, maybe??

Nursery before/after

It's done! Well, almost anyway, probably about 90-95%. I've still gotta put up some wallpaper trim and the ceiling fan. I also still need to put clothes and toys away and finish straightening the bookshelf.

Here are the before shots (I'd already painted since I knew it was to be a nursery someday, but we'd pretty much been using it for storage):



Here are the after shots (1-wall next to door, 2-left wall, 3-right wall, 4-walking in the door):

False Alarm

Well, the contractions got within about 6 minutes so we went to the hospital. They had me pee in a cup and hooked me up to the monitors. I was pretty dehydrated so they gave me water and some Tylenol for the pain. I was only 2-3 cm dilated, at -2 station, and only 50% effaced. So now I'm thinking I musta heard Dr S wrong when I thought he said 80% on Monday. They monitored me for a couple hours and checked my cervix again. No change so they sent me home. I'm kinda disappointed, but am glad I'll get to sleep in my own comfy bed instead of being up all night. It's now 1:30 in the morning so I'm going to take some Benadryl and go to sleep.

Baby Shower and Contractions

I had my baby shower today. It was actually a dual shower for another Navy wife and me. Her due date is the day after mine, but she's having a planned C-sect on the 19th due to placenta previa. Hopefully I'll get some pics soon and can post them. It was a really nice shower. We only played a couple games--the one where everyone wears a clothespin, but you lose it if you say the word "baby" and one where we had to remember as many items on a tray as possible. So it wasn't a bunch of silly games that made everyone feel stupid. But the coolest part was all the moms gave words of wisdom/advice about what to really expect.

Shortly after getting home from the shower, I started feeling bad. Then I realized that contractions were starting to come about every 25 minutes. That was about 3 or 4 hours ago. Now they're down to around 15 minutes apart. Dr S told me to come in when they're 5 mins apart. So we're keeping track of the time and waiting to see. And Sarah has decided to start kicking harder. I'm thinking she doesn't like her home squeezing her.

new belly pic

on sidebar. Don't I look pregnant now?!

A week to 10 days!

That's what Dr S is predicting! I had my 37 week appt yesterday. It began with the same general routine--BP is up just a little to 124/80, weight up a pound or two, urine's good, baby's HB good (not sure the exact number), fundus right at 37. (Oh funny thing about the fundus measurement. After we got home, I was talking to Josh's dad about the appointment and Josh made some comment about 37 inches. Then he was like, wait a minute, that's 3 feet. That can't be right. That would mean she could walk in the shallow end of a swimming pool. So I had to tell him it was cm, not in!)

Then Dr S did the vaginal swab for the Group B strep test. He didn't do a rectal one for which I'm thankful! Then came the pelvic exam. Not comfortable, but not too bad. He estimates that I'm about 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. That's why he's predicting that I'll go into labor in about a week to 10 days!

He also gave me the option of inducing about a week early, if I go that long. He's going to be out of town just before my due date. So I have the choice of either inducing early to make sure he's the one that delivers or just wait for Mother Nature and allow one of his partners to deliver. I told him I'd rather just wait. But again, he's not expecting me to have to wait that long anyway.

I can't believe I've got such a short time left. I've still gotta get the nursery put together. I've gotten all the crap out--well, most of it, there's still some stuff on a couple shelves but that can wait. Now I've just gotta get the crib and changing table put together. I think Josh is supposed to help me with it tonight. It's just been so hard with me feeling bad and him with only one arm. We're going to have to wait on the ceiling fan that needs to be installed and the border I'm planning on using for trim. I don't want to be on the ladder that much and Josh needs both hands.

I think we've also got grandparents' visits planned. Josh's mom will be coming the 20th through the 28th. Though now that Sarah may be coming earlier, Josh's mom will probably try to get here earlier too (we're just a 5-6 hour drive). My mom will be flying in on the 28th and staying for about a week. Dad's not coming b/c he hates to fly (he's claustrophobic and a smoker), and the drive from FL is just too long (he's got a bad back). She wanted to be here for the birth, but didn't want to take the chance of coming early and then having to leave before the big day. Unfortunately, we can't really change her ticket without it costing a hundred bucks or so. Josh's dad and stepmom are going to wait until the end of Feb and come out for a long weekend.

Full-term

I can't believe I'm 37 weeks! I am so ready to meet little Sarah, but there is still so much left to do before her arrival.

I have been completely exhausted the last week or so. I've been sleeping in until 9:30 or 10, but then by 1 or so I'm ready for a nap. I then force myself to stay up until 9 or 10, though there've been a couple nights where I haven't actually gone to bed until almost 1. Then I wake up several times a night. I guess it's just my body's way of getting used to not getting much sleep at night.

I've also been throwing up again. Not every day like I was, but every 2 or three days at least. I've been feeling really achy and sore (and sometimes dizzy) whenever I try to do very much. So I haven't gotten anywhere near as much done on the nursery as I've wanted. It's funny though. Josh seems to have gotten the "nesting instinct" as he's started some spring cleaning around the house, just not the nursery.

I don't want this to sound like a complaining post. Believe me, I know just how blessed I am to be having a healthy pregnancy. I truly am happy and excited about becoming a mom.

There's still time

If you haven't already done so, there's still time to play:



Also, if you guessed "boy" you should still be able to change your guess if you want to.