Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Normal

So I need some help or advice or something. I'm sure I'm the normal over paranoid first time mommy.

We went to Haden's two week appointment yesterday. I was concerned that he wasn't getting enough to eat. Turns out that's not a problem at all. He had gained about 21 oz in 12 days. What a porker! But on that note, I've been trying to pump. I get so much more out of one side than the other. How can I keep the one side from drying up? I just don't know what I'm doing.

In connection with that, Haden really likes to sleep. He takes after me, that's for sure! It seems like all he does is eat and sleep. That's normal, right? We make sure and try to talk to him and interact with him when he's awake. But when it's time to eat, he does so and sleeps right afterward. How long does this last? Am I doing this right? Please help me calm my nerves.

Much Thanks!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Haden's Story

So our little man is already two weeks old! Time goes by way too fast. But it's been a wonderful two weeks. We sure do love him!

The story goes:

James decided to hang out with me when he put me on maternity leave. It was so nice. We spent the next few days going on walks, making me take warm baths and timing contractions. I had really hoped to have Haden on 09/09/09. That would have been so cool! I was having some pretty good contractions that day, but they weren't unbearable. So I was too scared to go in to the hospital. I shouldn't have been though. My doctor was the one on call and said he would have kept me. But my contractions slowed and eventually stopped for Thursday.

When I woke up on Friday morning I was in a lot of pain and didn't feel good. I was really scared and just in tears. We called my dad and James' dad. They came right over and gave me a blessing. After the blessing we went over to the hospital. Since it was after 9 we decided to stop at the doctor's office instead of going right up to labor and delivery. They wanted me to be checked so they fit me in. I was getting my weight and blood pressure done when Dr. Horsley walked by and said, "you don't look good, and I mean that in the nicest way!" We all laughed at that. During the appointment we found that I had progressed, which was good. The baby had finally dropped. I was dilated to 3.5 and about 80% effaced. Dr. Horsley counseled us that he could send us up to labor and delivery then but he wouldn't be able to deliver the baby. He had a prior commitment that was taking him out of town for the evening. Or we could go home and continue walking and take a nice warm bath to bring on labor more naturally. If we did this, it would take a little longer, but he would more than likely be able to deliver the baby. Then if that didn't work, he gave us the instructions for being induced on Monday morning. Of all the options, the middle one sounded best to us. So that's what we did.

After returning home, James put me in a really nice, warm bath. He fixed me some breakfast too. During the afternoon we went on a venture to Walmart and finished some laundry and things at home. We took the pup for a nice long walk that evening as well. All the while having contractions. I timed them for a while, but they weren't really being that consistent. Well they were, but kept changing. . . from 10 minutes to 5 minutes to 8. Quite random. I decided to stop timing them and not focus on it anymore. I was on Facebook with some friends who were very helpful and tried to get me to go into Labor and Delivery. I decided that I would try to go to bed and see if I could sleep through the contractions. We headed that direction at 11:30 pm. I was up again by midnight, again by 12:30 and again at 1. James was getting worried I think. He asked if I wanted to go in, and I said let me try to sleep till 2. If I can't then we'll go in. Well, by 1:20 I was still up and having some decent contractions. We both got up and decided we weren't waiting till 2. We gathered our bags and put them in the car. Gave the puppy some hugs and were on our way.

We made our way up to labor and delivery. I told them I thought I may be in labor, but wasn't really sure. They asked me about my contractions. I admitted that I had given up on timing them, but I wasn't able to sleep through them. They got me checked in and hooked up to the monitors. The nurse said she was going to get an IV ready. I had to ask, "so that means you're keeping me? I'm having this baby?" She assured me that I was. She checked me and I had dilated to 4.5 and was 90% effaced. She asked me if I wanted an epidural. I assured her that I did and the sooner the better. Thee anesthesiologist and on call dr. were doing a c-section and they would be in right afterward. We made sure that they were calling Dr. Horsley in for us as well. The on call dr. came in about 30 minuted later and asked if he could break my water. I had heard that contractions get worse after that so I told him no, not till I got my epidural. He said that he had to break my water in order to get my epidural. So I said, "sure!." My water was broke and I got my epidural. After about 30 minutes I was still feeling some intense contractions. The anesthesiologist came back in and put some additional medication in my line. Within 10 minutes, I couldn't feel a thing! They checked me again and I was dilated to a 6. I had been informed that the whole labor and delivery thing would take about 12 hours then I would be pushing for another 2-3 hours. That's a long time! An hour later they checked me again and I had progressed to a 9! I still couldn't feel a thing. In fact, I couldn't even move my legs! The extra drug that had been given me was doing the trick! James had to keep helping me reposition myself. It was quite uncomfortable. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't sleep. So I enjoyed some Popsicles and ice chips. After another hour I had dilated to a 10. After you reach that, they have you "rest and descend." Mom is supposed to rest for an hour while allowing baby to descend into the birth canal more. Then the pushing would begin. During this hour the baby's heart rate kept changing. After about 35 minutes my nurse came back in and said that his heart rate was getting really fast and we were going to begin pushing.

James was such a trooper! Since my legs were completely numb, he had to help me by holding one of my legs. What an amazing man! Anyway, we did about 3 sets of 3 pushes. Things were going so well that our nurse called Dr. Horsley shortly before 7. He arrived a few minutes later and we did about 3-4 more sets of pushing. Haden joined our family in a rush of excitement! He started to cry and at the moment I heard his voice I began to tear as well. I couldn't stop smiling and crying. It was such a miracle to hear that little cry! Dr. Horsley helped James cut Haden's the umbilical cord. Then reminded him to go take pictures while Haden was getting cleaned up and measured. Our little man came into this world on 9/12/09 at 7:23 am, just over 5 hours after checking into the hospital. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, and measured 20 in long. What a joy in our lives!

We had such a wonderful team of nurses. Our doctor is so wonderful! We love and respect him so much. He will forever be a lifelong friend. I am so honored that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such a miracle. I have yearned for a child for years. I just had to wait for the Lord's time. Hopefully the patience I have learned from waiting will also play a role in raising this little one. Patience is not something that I'm good at. But I'm excited for this opportunity that has been given me.

I also want to thank my wonderful husband and family for all the help and love that they've given me and our new family during this time. I love you all!


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Labor Day

!!WE ARE FINALLY IN LABOR!!


Here is Our little Tidbit!

Haden James Tibbitts
9/12/09
7:23 am
7 lbs 9 oz
20 in long

Thursday, September 10, 2009

40 Weeks, Executive Decisions & Emotions

By now I'm sure you can tell that the baby tracker is off. It counted down to zero and is now adding days on. That's right folks, I'm overdue.



We made our 40 week mark on Monday. As I'm writing this, I'm 3 days over. We were sure hoping to have our little gut on 09/09/09, but alas, it was not meant to be. Tuesday evening James and I went for a fantastic walk with the pup. We all enjoyed ourselves and have been going on many walks since then.

Wednesday morning, James helped make an executive decision for our family. He put me on my maternity leave! We figured that since I had already gone past my due date and I was so exhausted that what the heck. . . start my leave. If worse comes to worse, we will deliver on the 14th. That was only 3 work days away. I must admit that I'm very grateful for this decision. It's been nice to be taken care of and be able to take a nap if I feel the need. It's like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Now I'm not saying that work is a burden, it's just nice to have one less thing to have to worry about. I've been able to sleep in a little, go on walks, patch up a few loose ends for the baby and focus on our family. It's just nice.

EMOTIONS.
Need I say more. Please realize that I am 40+ weeks pregnant. I just feel so full of emotions this week. I'm happy, sad, nervous, ecstatic, anxious. . . etc. . . all at the same time. And its all over this little guy inside me. Honestly, I'm doing really well. This is such a happy time for us. I've had such a wonderful pregnancy. It's been easy. For that, I am so grateful. On the other hand, I'm sad, nervous and anxious. He's not here yet! I don't know what I'm doing! I don't know if I'm in labor or not. Yesterday I was having regular contractions with pain. Today. . . pretty much nothing. Some here and there. I don't want to be a burden on my doctor. We had an ultrasound on Tuesday and found out the baby is doing great, he's just really crammed in there. They also told us that he was about 8 lbs 11 oz! That's huge!! But we didn't get to see the doctor afterward. We saw the nurse practitioner. I don't know if I'm supposed to be seen again, or just wait it out until Monday when the doctor said he would induce me. At that, what am I supposed to do? Do I go in for an appointment on Monday or just go in and say, "Start me."? I have no idea what I'm doing. We're so concerned about all of this. The baby hadn't dropped by last Friday. Is he going to drop at all? Are we holding out for a natural delivery that won't be achievable, or am I prone now to have a c-section? My emotions. . . just all over the place. Sorry about the ranting. I'm sure all will be ok. I just don't want to cause imbalance to the universe. Faith in every footstep. That's what I have to keep in mind.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

39 Weeks and Love!

We're to our 39 weeks! And at this point it's actually down to 5 days left! Doctor seems pretty positive that I'm going to go over though. We will see what he says at Friday's appointment. Here's my mug for now:



So, one of my favorite fall goodies is CANDY CORN!! I love it! I went on a quest for it yesterday. Luckily I found some. I bought a package for myself at work and a package for James and I at home. It's a great treat we can both agree on :) We were getting headed out of the house tonight and I had grabbed a handful and put it on the counter. I fed James a few and realized I had to potty, again! I took care of the situation and came back to grab our corns and head out. This is what I found when I arrived in the kitchen:



What a sweetheart my husband is!