Its a boy!

I've been a bad blogger... but I have an excuse! I've been busy with my adorable son!

People keep asking, so here's my birth story. Don't worry, its watered down, so no blood and gore and gross stuff. Just happy, fuzzy, babies-are-a-joy type stuff :)

Wed night/Thurs am I woke up at 12:40 with a contraction. I had been having cramps and stuff and was so worried I wouldn't know the difference, but somehow I did. So I fell back asleep, and kept waking up with them. They were about 15 to 20 minutes apart, so I didn't wake Brandt up. About 4 though, I did, and told him I was going to take a shower. My aunt had told me that was a good way to find out if they were real contractions or not, if they weren't, a hot shower would stop them. He was up impatiently waiting for me to get done, and we sorta ate breakfast and about 6 started timing them, but they felt different, once again. Right away they were about 5 minutes apart, a minute or so long. This varied of course, some were 3 minutes apart, some 8. But they got more regular. We went for a walk around the block too, b/c we read that they should be consistent regardless of activity.

About 9 (so 3 hrs of timing) we decided to just go. By this point we had loaded up the car seat, gotten all our stuff together, and were ready. We had bags packed, but then a list of things to add, like laptop, phone chargers, etc. So we just decided to go up there and risk getting sent home. But I was starting to be in pain when they would come, so we figured we had held off long enough.

So we got up there and walked up to the nurse's station and I felt like an idiot, "hi, I think I'm in labor!" They put us in a labor & delivery room. The nurse was super concerned though since we were still 2 1/2 weeks early. They put the monitors on my belly and she was like, you are def in labor! She called my Dr a few times, but she really felt strongly that I shouldn't be having him already. I was still only 2cm dilated, and my dr wanted to start me on pitocin to get things going. Nurse, on the other hand, handed me a big jug of water and told us to go walk and we would hopefully chase the contractions away. That was depressing, if he was ready to be born, we wanted to do it! Not go home!
But after the walk, they were getting stronger, so they went ahead and put in an iv for the pitocin. It wasn't till then that we got to call our family, they suggested us waiting to find out for sure if they were going to keep me or not. I guess this was around noon. Then the nurse acknowledged that things were moving along pretty quick, and that I would be having this baby before her shift ended! As against the early birth as she was, she was a great nurse, we really liked her. She also had them give me some demerol to dull the pain until I could get the epidural.

*from here on out everything blurred together and stuff, so I hope it all makes sense*

So I guess it was around 1 or so, maybe closer to 2, the demerol made me feel soooo tired and way woozie. I know I was slurring my words, but no pain! It was just to tide me over till the anesthesiologist could come in. They told Brandt I would be out for at least 2 hours, so he should go get some lunch. He went down to the cafeteria and swears he was only gone 15 minutes, and when he got back I was already 7cm and writhing in pain! I had about 3 contractions that made me (somehow, I didn't think it was possible) curl up into a ball and I couldn't even open my eyes! Then I got the epi and all was well. No clue what time this was. It was good though, she said I had the "perfect epidural" b/c I could move my legs and wiggle my toes, everything, But I was for sure having contractions like crazy, according to the monitors! My Dr also broke my water then, but I couldn't feel anything or tell that anything happened.

My parents came in, his did too, and I think my sis was there. Brandt said something about getting some rest, and everyone just stood there and were like, Ok. Uhhh no, that was your cue to leave people! Then I said I was nauseous and they handed me a bucket thing and I started the throw up. Thankfully, that got everyone out of the room. I hadn't eaten anything in forever, but they said it was from the meds. The nurse said something about the 8cm sickness, not sure what that was about. So they checked me and were like, its time to push!

The bed was a "break away bed" so the end of it dropped down or came off or something. My dr was like, Ok, are you ready? And then told Brandt (Mr not going past my elbow) to grab my leg and hold my ankle. The nurse was on the other side, and poor Brandt could see everything haha.

I started pushing at 4:05 they said, and he was born at 5:24. So not much more than an hour. I could feel the contractions towards the end, but it wasn't too bad. But no way I could have done it without the epi!!!

When he was born, the Dr held him up and said, "ok mom, what do we have?" so I got to say "its a boy!"

Garrett sounded like he was congested, they ended up taking him pretty soon to the nursery. He wasn't warm enough and he had mucus built up in his airway or something. He's fine though, we just had to wait longer than we had liked to see him. I think it was almost 9:30 before they brought him to our room. I got moved close to 7 or so, maybe 8, to a postpartum room, thats where the family was waiting (with Chick fil a!)

Thats pretty much it! Here's the first pic of our little man :)
(he's gonna hate this pic when he's older)



(i love the flat ponytail in this one lol)

This is my all time fave

my last dr's appt!!

This morning was my last appointment! yay!

I got there, and they take my blood pressure right away. The nurse told me that it was high, which is really odd for me, its normally on the low side of normal. But no worries, they would double check it at the end of my appt. I was standing when they took it, so I thought maybe that had something to do with it?

Then the doctor comes in, and she mentioned it being high, and said she wants to use it as an excuse to move the induction date up.

*side note*
My doctor in convinced that we are having a big baby, and she wants me to be able to deliver it normally, but she think I will end up needing a c-section. Either way, she will let me try and labor first. So the longer we wait, the bigger the baby gets, the higher my chances of a c-section are. But inductions seem to be frowned upon, at least when they are just a convenience, not for a medical reason (baby is in trouble, mom is in trouble, etc) so she couldn't schedule one for more than a week before my due date.

So the rest of the appt goes well, things are pretty much the same as last week (dilation, effacement, etc) but a little "roomier" she said. So then we take the bp again, and its lower, but she wants to send me to the hospital to have it monitored.

I have never been in a hospital before :( I mean, I've visited people, but I've never been admitted or sat on a bed, etc. So I have a mini freak out session on the way to the car, but was over it by the time I got in. The doctor didn't think I would have to stay, just be there till my bp went down.

So off to the hospital we go (thank goodness Brandt has these new days off!) and I am put in a room (not a labor & delivery room) and they put the monitors on my belly to keep track of the baby's heart beat and mine, as well as the bp cuff, that goes off every 10 minutes.

After a little over 2 hours of this (man that bed was uncomfortable! and I now know to bring my own comfy pillow!) the nurse brought in my discharge papers and told us we could go! Labs all came back normal, and my bp was normal the entire time. It all just seemed so odd, but whatever. Doctor knows best, right?

Sooooo I have an induction scheduled for next Wed (Aug 12th) if nothing happens sooner. And now I know a little more of what to expect. And my dr is on call this weekend, so thats comforting, if the baby decides to come a little early!

And that's all I got!
Erin - bring your own pillow!!!

update!

If you got my email, then this is pretty much the same thing, lol!
warning: I say things like dilated and cervix in this post. uncomfortable? then stop reading :)

I had a doctors appt this morning, this was to find out WHEN we were having a baby! Well, we left feeling just as confused as before we got there... still no real idea on when the baby will be here. She feels that the baby will be here soon on its own, in fact, she went over the reasons to head to the hospital and what to watch out for before we left today. And then she said "see ya next Tuesday, if not before!" as we were leaving.

Not that I feel that we will be having this baby this weekend or anything, but I guess it could happen! I am 36 weeks now, and today we found out that I am 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. And, when she was checking all that, she said "wow, the baby's head is right there, its really low!" So I guess the baby has dropped, I wasn't sure...

I'm not naive enough to think that now that I'm dilated, that it could be tonight or something. I've heard enough stories of people being dilated for weeks with no progress. But *fingers crossed* I hope I make progress!

While she was checking all that stuff, she said that she was also stripping my membranes. I've heard of this before, but never really knew what it meant. From what I understand, its sort of a way to bring on labor, although it doesn't in all people. Technically, its separating the amniotic sac from the cervix, which can trigger some hormones to start producing and lead to labor. It didn't hurt but it does cause cramps. Which are oh-so-fun. She told us to pay attention to them though, and make sure they don't turn into contractions. Never having had a real contraction, I'm not sure what to look for, but people keep telling me "oh, you'll know!"

So thats all I know for now! Can't wait to meet our baby!

PS: I just found out through spell check that I've been spelling "dilated" wrong. I've been saying, and spelling it "diAlated"
oops!

36 weeks

as of yesterday (july 23), we only have 1 month left!
and as of today, i am 36 weeks.
so only 4 weeks left!

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: i actually found this out. 24 lbs
Maternity clothes? of course
Stretch marks? nada
Sleep: super tired of sleeping on my side. i sleep ok, but not enough
Best moment this week: seeing the baby again and saw the lungs working!
Movement: lots of rolling around and around
Food cravings: i'm really into pasta at the moment.
Gender: i said girl last time, i'll go with boy
Labor Signs: no, but i've been having cramps and braxton hicks contractions
Belly Button in or out? innie
What I miss: having energy
What I am looking forward to: meeting our baby!
Weekly Wisdom: ask questions! people are usually more than willing to share their wisdom
Milestones: one month left, 4 weeks left, saw the lungs working. signed papers at the hospital

35w 3d ultrasound

i appologize for not getting this posted sooner! its just been one of those weeks :)

ok, so last dr's appt, she mentioned that she was concerned about the baby's size and waiting till 40 weeks. i see her again on tues (28th) but she wanted me to have another u/s before then. so this past monday afternoon i went in to have that done.

brandt had worked late that morning and was sleeping, so i asked my mom to come! she hadn't ever seen an ultrasound before, so i thought it would be pretty cool for her to see her grandbaby.

i'd like to mention that i think the best u/s are from 20ish weeks, when you can see the whol baby at once. now, the baby is so big you only can see like one part of the baby at a time.

here's the face:

and another shot, mouth, cheeks and nose

look at those chubby cheeks! brandt is still concerned that we will have an obese baby, but i'm sure he or she will be fine. and then i found a picture on google of this baby with rolls on top of rolls, but i keep telling him that's not what our baby will look like. after all, we were both over 8 pounds when we were born!

as of monday, they were estimating that the baby weighed 7lbs 9oz! so now i can't wait till tues when we find out what the dr has to say!

OhMyGeeeeezzzzz

earlier this week we all agreed that maybe the baby had started to drop! ummm no, apparently the baby just got waaaay huge-er.

pics in the red: july 10 (last fri)
pics in the blue: july 17 (today)

i didn't feel huge till i compared these! ahhhh!
(oddly enough, i didn't gain any weight between my last 2 appts)

tuesday i had a dr's appt. she measured my stomach, which is still measuring 3 weeks ahead. so, at 34 weeks, i was measuring 37. both the baby and my belly have been consistantly measuring 3 weeks ahead for awhile now, so i guess thats good. better than bouncing around, i would think.

dr said that she doesn't think i will make it to 40 weeks. so next week i go in for another ultrasound to see how big the baby is, then when i meet with her the following week, we will decide what to do. she made it sound like we may induce. however, the bigger the baby, the higher the odds of having a c-section.

as tempting as not having to push may be, i'm not crazy about the surgery thing. the extent of my medical history has consisted of 4 stitches in my big toe when i was 12. that's as bad as it's been. no broken bones, surgeries, hospitals, etc.

excuse me now while i go find some wood to knock on...

34 weeks today!

click at the top of the page to give your guess on when the baby will be here! as well as if you think it will be a boy or a girl!

How far along? 34 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: ?
Maternity clothes? sick of them!
Stretch marks? keeping my fingers crossed
Sleep: varies. i tend to wake up earlier than i'd like
Best moment this week: finding out no gestational diabetes!
Movement: no more kicks, lots of rolling
Food cravings: i would love some chinese
Gender: i voted girl in our baby pool. did you vote yet? link is at the top!
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? innie still
What I miss: normal clothes. fall stuff is coming out and its so cute!
What I am looking forward to: temps with highs in the 80's
Weekly Wisdom: pregnancy is most fun when you have pregnant friends!
Milestones: people are starting to tell me i look like i'm about to pop. thanks.

the room, as of now

the room is painted and set up. not totally organized, but its getting there. here are the pics so far :)

night stand! the basket on the left is full of toys, and the dogs go for when they come into the room. it will be interesting trying to keep them from the baby's toys...

speaking of dogs... here's madi showing off the crib skirt

my tree, and the rocking chair

nev, with the changing table and hutch

the curtains and the cute ottomans from target, that matched perfectly!

drumroll please! here's the amazing bedding!
my mom made ALL of it, the curtains, rocking chair pads, ottoman cover, crib skirt, sheets, bumpers, and quilt. i. love. it.

close-up. there's also solid green and solid turq sheets. the ribbons on the side are for a hanging organizer that she made too, but i forgot to get a picture of it :(

THANK YOU MOM!

32w 4d ultrasound

on tuesday i had another ultrasound! not my last though, i should be getting one more around 36 weeks. its not as exciting anymore, its harder to see things since the baby is getting so big!

profile view


waving hi!


the face!


the u/s tech said that our baby has chubby cheeks! you can kind of tell in that last pic. also, baby has a full head of hair. (i couldn't tell what she was pointing at, but i guess she knows her stuff) not that we didn't see that coming, just look at both me and brandt lol!

the head is measuring 6 days ahead, as has been pretty much the whole time. but the belly! that's measuring 3 WEEKS ahead! the tech was like, "this kid hasn't missed a meal!" wow... so we will be having a chubby baby! but chubby babies are cuter than skinny ones, right? they are estimating the baby to be 5 lbs already! brandt had a ton of questions... esp about the baby potentially coming early. they said they prob wouldn't change my due date, but if the baby stays on the same track, i will probably be induced early. so much for making it 40 weeks!

(my in-laws, who, of course, all moonlight as doctors, don't think i'll make it to the end of july! and my sister, Dr Barron OB is worried it will just be 2 weeks or so till the baby is here!
i'm just picking on them though, i love them!)

when i went in tues for my regular appt, the measured my belly with a tape measure, and i am measuring 35 weeks. 4 weeks ago, they were concerned that i had alot of amniotic fluid, but my levels are normal now. so they are concerned that i may have gestational diabetes, which causes the baby to grow quickly.

now, i already took a test for that, and i passed. the results were "questionable," whatever that means, but they weren't worried. but now, since the baby is so big, they wanted me to take the 3 hr test.

so yesterday, i missed yet more time at work, and got to go sit at the dr's office for 3 hrs and get my blood drawn 4 times! (one before i drank the glucose drink, and then once every hour of the test.) thankfully, there was an internet signal, and i had brought my laptop, so i played online for the 3 hrs.

the worst part though was that you have to fast. sometimes, i skip breakfast, so waiting till noon to eat wasn't a big deal. the no water part was the difficult part. but its sort of a mental thing, i *can't* have anything to eat or drink, so of course, i was starving and dying of thirst!

they reassured me that if the results come back the same way they did 6 weeks ago, that everything will be fine, and no gestational diabetes. if i do fail the test, i will have to change up my diet some... less sugar. so no white bread and sadly *sniff* no dr peppers! brandt's been very supportive though, and keeps reminding me that, worst case, it will be for just under 7 weeks that i will have to change up my diet.

i feel like i've spent more time at the doctor's this week than at work... with 2 appts and the diabetes test! but now everyone is up to date :)

32 weeks!

ok i'm late posting this...
32 weeks was last friday, but i'm just now getting around to posting

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: no total, but 4 lbs in the past 4 weeks. not bad!
Maternity clothes? yup yup yup
Stretch marks? so far so good!
Sleep: been sleeping great all of the sudden!
Best moment this week: getting the baby room all set up
Movement: all the time
Food cravings: nope, i'm so boring
Gender: sorta thinking girl. but that may be b/c the clothes are so stinking cute
Labor Signs: nope
Belly Button in or out? innie, but its getting flatter lol
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: an outside baby
Weekly Wisdom: dr's change their minds alot... ugh
Milestones: we pretty much have everything we need!

my tree!

here's what i did yesterday!
its not 100% done, still needs some touch-ups

t-minus 2 months and counting

thats right! yesterday was june 23rd, so that means the baby is due 2 months from yesterday! wow...

and now, welcome to my virtual baby shower!

i did bring my camera, but all i got was pics of the cakes lol, my mom brought hers, so all the pics of me and gifts ended up on her camera. so i'll just take things off the internet!

lamb swing from jen and my mom
the first time we set foot in BRU jen found this and has been demanding that i pick this for the baby. not only is it super cute, but i keep hearing from other moms that their baby's love it! so i added it, and she promptly bought it :)


convertable carseat from my MIL
funny story, she bought it, but the box was HUGE and wouldn't fit in her truck or through her back door. so she had to call me to come to target and pick it up from here, and then luke got it from me at work and brought it home to her a few days later.
you can't really tell, but the texture of the grey fabric is paisley, really cute! and it fits a kiddo up to 100 lbs, so i could have used it up until highschool. lol i think jen tried to fit into it in the store, but it doens't take hips into account lol


highchair from michigan family!
i loved this b/c its 4 in 1! the site explains it better than me: "The Graco Blossom 4-in-1 Seating System that converts from a highchair to an infant feeding booster to a toddler booster to a youth chair."


from kyle's mom, she will never let our baby forget that he or she is an aggie baby!
(btw, she made it all, well not the original onsie, but she did the embroidery, as well as the bib and the entire bear!)


and here's the back of the onsie. i'm going to request that she makes one in each size so we always have this one on hand :)


pack 'n play! this was from his aunt sheree. she didn't want to lug it to the shower, so it got shipped to the house, so i took pics to show her. i love the colors and especially the birdies on it!

on to the bedding! well, the bumpers were a bit too long, so my mom took them back home to shorten them. i should have them back this weekend? then there will be pics. so here's a sneak preview!

the baby quilt


bed skirt


the chair cushions and cover for the ottoman
its a glider ottoman, so by putting your feet up on that, it rocks the chair! genius! we found it at a garage sale, it was white with duckies on it. cute, but not matching. so she made the cute cover!

of course, there were more things that i got, diapers, bottles, clothes, blankets, blankets, blankets, and the cutest bath towels and wash cloths. but i figured this was enough for now :)

its here! its here!

so yesterday was furniture delivery day! and its gorgeous!

i couldn't really remember what all it was going to look like, we looked at so many sets that day. in fact, when i called to actually order it, the set i wanted was sold out. so this was the second choice, although it was the set we liked best (price played an issue in having it ranked second.)

the delivery people were supposed to be there between 10am and 1pm. no problem, yeah, they would wake brandt up, but it was his day off, so he doesn't normally sleep all day anyways.


here's the nightstand! i was shocked to see it, b/c i was under the impression that we ordered the small, 3-drawer dresser. i guess that's what happens when you order over the phone. but its cute, and more practical in the long run. i double checked with the paperwork, and yup, it says i ordered the nightstand. i'm ok with that though.


the crib! (different angles make the paint color look different. for example, the rug is totally not the same color as the wall, in person at least) it's a convertible crib, so when the baby is more of a toddler, we can take the front piece off, and lower the mattress, and its a kiddy day bed! theres a side rail too, to keep the kiddo from rolling out and onto the floor. and maybe to keep bealges out... we'll see. and then when the baby/kiddo outgrows the daybed, it converts into a full sized bed! the back and front pieces of the crib become the headboard/footboard (footboard... is that the right word?) and we have the rails to use for the sides of the bed. all we need to get is a mattress!

around 1pm i got a call from the delivery guys saying that they left us the wrong mattress. so they came and picked it up and swapped it out. ours was nicer, so i'm glad they caught that! (its double sided? one side is firm, for crib/baby, and the other is more comfy, for daybed/toddler. fancy, i know... this kid is spoiled already!) and of course, that meant waking brandt up again :(

and now this is the dresser/hutch/changing table!
the hutch actually didn't get loaded on the truck, so the guys had to make a third trip to our house. they said between 6 and 7pm. (which really ended up being 9:40! i didn't care, its not like we were going to use it all tonight, but the delivery guys wouldn't take any payment until we had it all. the warehouse is in stafford, so thats well over an hour drive.) its dark in the pic, but it has 3 dresser drawers, and small drawer on the right, and then a cabinet under that. the hutch actually has another shelf that goes in it, but you aren't supposed to have it in if you are using it as a changing table too. so for now, it will be put in the closet, with all the bed rails.

so next up is moving the rocking chair back into the room. (not hard, but its blocked into a corner in the other room, and i can't lift it) and then to paint my mural! yay!

the lowes paint guy said this was a happy color :)

saturday was painting day! here's a before and after:

pouring paint

aunt jen and uncle kyle, our painting crew

us, with the first bit of paint on the wall

the smily face from aunt jen


puppies, once they realized they could hear/see us through the screen


hard at work. they actually did most of it


another after shot



madi decided to help
actually, she got into the paint trays that we set outside when we were done

we let the guys do the room while we worked on other projects. but no pics of that stuff just yet.
furniture comes wednesday! yay!