Caleb's birth story

Welcome to this year's edition of Labor & Delivery: Fast and Furious! You might recall the first episode of this two-part mini series back in April of 2010. If you want to see the re-run, click here. In this year's episode we pick up on Monday, June 4.

After doing my post for 36 weeks, we were starting to get anxious knowing that we probably only had a week or two before this little guy came. We had gotten a lot accomplished that weekend, but still had a few things to get done. We have felt all along that brother would come early, but were hoping to make it to 38 weeks like we did with Caiden.

I hadn't slept very well Monday night, but I thought it was just indigestion, gas or some tummy trouble from my intestines being squished. Then Tuesday morning, June 5, I had what I thought might be "bloody show" (I'm not gonna give details, but if you're curious and daring you can see what it is here). I got a little worried and my OB appointment wasn't scheduled until Thursday so I thought I'd call to see if I could get in that day instead. Luckily I was able to get in to see my docs partner, Dr. Marshall, so at 11am,  I dropped Caiden off at Jamie's house and headed in.

At the docs office, she checked my cervix and I was already dilated to a 4! For many women that could mean nothing and they could go on walking around for weeks. I had a feeling this wasn't the case with me (knowing my labor with Caiden). The doc wanted to see if I was having contractions and since I couldn't tell, she hooked me up to the monitor for about 20 minutes. Turns out I was contracting but not on a regular pattern. She decided to send me home to have some lunch and then wanted me to come back in at 1:30 to see if I'd progressed at all. We went ahead and called my mom to get her on the next flight down.

So I went home and got Caiden from Jamie's house. Eric was bringing home some lunch for us and I got Caiden working on his lunch. I finished packing my hospital bag-just in case- and threw in a load of laundry since I needed to wash the "coming home" outfit for the baby.

Just before Eric made it home, around 12:00, my water broke! This baby was coming! no need to go back to the doc's office to check for progression!  Eric made it home as I was cleaning myself up and he made some final preparations while I ate my Chick-fil-A. I was determined to eat because I knew I wouldn't be able to for awhile in the hospital. Eric took Caiden back over to Jamie's and we headed to the hospital! I had been pretty stressed about what we'd do with Caiden when I went into labor, so we are so thankful that it worked out perfectly to have him stay with Jamie and her family for the rest of the day!

By the time we got to the hospital and settled in around 1:00, I'd started to have some painful contractions. Luckily they were still spread out a little. I was a little bummed because the nurse said that Dr. Marshall (my doc's partner) was on call for delivery so once again my OB wouldn't be able to deliver the baby. I nicely informed the nurse that I went through labor VERY quickly with my first son, so could we please do whatever possible to get the epidural coming. My labor nurse, Michelle, checked me and I was dilated to a 7 so she knew I wasn't kidding. I had gone from a 4 to a 7 in two hours! She was so sweet and put a rush on everything. They got the IV in me and my blood drawn. The blood tech said she'd rush it through for me!

The next hour was the worst of it all- but I know I am very fortunate for it to have only been an hour of intense pain. I think I handled it pretty well this time. I didn't throw up like I did with Caiden and I had some time to rest between contractions.

By 2:00, the bag of IV was in me (as required by the hospital prior to an epidural), my lab results came back and the blessed anesthesiologist was giving me the wonderful epidural.

After the epidural, the nurse checked me again and said I was a 9. She wanted me to rest a bit to let my body prepare before pushing. I liked this idea because we didn't get anytime like this with Caiden's birth and it gave me and Eric a little chance to talk about what was about to happen!

It was probably about 3:30 and Dr. Wood (MY OB!) walked in! I had said "hi" to her in the office that morning so she had pulled me up on the computer when she was leaving the office and saw that I was ready to go, so she came across the street to the hospital!  I was so excited to have her deliver the baby! This is no insult to her partner, I just think it's sad that an OB can care for you and your baby for nine months and miss out on the excitement of the big day.

She suited up and about 3 pushes later at 3:53 pm our little Caleb was here!

Stroller Strides Sprinkle

My friends in my Stroller Strides group celebrated the coming of little brother with a "Sprinkling" of gifts! We got lots of the necessities and some cute fun stuff as well!

They were so sweet to remember big brother Caiden too!

And they didn't forget about momma!

Unfortunately, we didn't get a group picture :( .  Many thanks to my workout buddies and mommy friends!

36 weeks (9 months)

How far along? 36 weeks (9 months). If your are scratching your head reading this, don't feel bad. Many people don't know that you are actually pregnant for 10 months or 40 weeks. I will be considered full term next week!

How big is the baby? more than 20" long and should be about 6 lbs

Are you in maternity clothes? all maternity clothes and many that I've borrowed are too small!  I've realized that I have a longer torso than others so even though a top might fit, it is still too short to cover my belly!

How do you feel physically? I feel huge!  My waist is now 39". As of my doctor's appointment last week I've gained 20 pounds so far. (25-35 is the reecommended amount of weight gain). My feet have been swelling a little bit in the evenings but my doc said I win the "best ankles" award :) He is already so low that I've got a lot of pressure on my hips and pelvis. I'm sure I have the pregnancy "waddle" but no one has commented on it yet!

Sleep? I'm getting up about 4 times during the night to go to the bathroom.

Miss anything? Being able to eat without being in pain afterwards. I've had really bad heartburn and indigestion this time around. I've heard that means he'll have lots of hair.  Wonder if that's true??

Feeling movement of the baby? He still gets the hiccups every day.

Food cravings? still ice cream

Gender of the baby? It's a boy! Oh... And we decided on a name, but WE'RE NOT TELLING! :)

Mood? Feeling pretty well prepared, we have gotten almost everything done. I've ordered some nursing pajamas and little brother's monogrammed outfit that haven't come in yet, so I'm hoping they make it in time.

Little Brother Baby Shower

On May 19, three of my sweet friends hosted a baby shower for me and little brother!  The hostesses really made me feel like this baby is a special reason to celebrate (even though it's the second child, and we don't need a ton of stuff like you do with the first). The food was so yummy and they even coordinated the decorations with little brother's nursery! 

I'm so glad my momma got to come to town for the shower!

The beautiful hostesses: Ashley, Jamie & Shiva

Here's just a snapshot of some of the cuteness!

Thank you so much for my friends and family that helped me celebrate!

Nursery furniture upcycle

Hallelujah! I'm finally finish painting the furniture in the nursery! I'm definitely not a professional painter, but I love the way it turned out. I think Eric is pretty impressed too!

Here is a "before" picture of the dresser and nightstand

And drum roll please.....

(in the second picture you can also see a sneak peek of one of the fabrics on the pillow my mom made!)

And here is a "before" picture of the bookshelf (I almost forgot to take the "before" picture and starting taking it apart)

Ta- Da!

Now I can't wait to have my mom bring down the bedskirt and pennant banner for the window!

32 weeks (8 months)

How far along? 32 weeks (8 months)

How big is the baby? almost 16.5" long and should be about 3.75 lbs (about the size of a large jicama)

Are you in maternity clothes? Pretty much wearing all maternity clothes.

How do you feel physically? I feel huge! For those of you out there that have said I look small, I'm actually bigger than I was with Caiden. I measured around my waist and it is 37.5". A week before I delivered Caiden, I was 38"! How much more am I going to grow???

Sleep? Still not sleeping great.

Miss anything? I would love a margarita!

Feeling movement of the baby? He moves like crazy- usually in the afternoon/evening the most. There have been several times where it's actually hurt! He gets the hiccups almost every day!

Food cravings? ice cream

Gender of the baby? It's a boy!

Mood? More anxious about how fast time is going by. Caiden was born at 38 weeks so if the same holds true, we've only got 6 weeks left- Yikes!

28 weeks

How far along? 28 weeks (7 months)

How big is the baby? almost 15" long and should be about 2.25 lbs

Are you in maternity clothes? Pretty much wearing all maternity clothes. Eric teases me about my workout clothes because they really aren't fitting, but I do not want to buy any!

How do you feel physically? Still itchy, belly button is very shallow now, and got some new varicose veins on my booty (I know, TMI). I feel like within the last week, I've grown a crazy big belly (you can see the difference in the pic below)

Sleep? I keep waking up about 3 or 4 am and my mind is racing

Miss anything? the occasional beer and being able to chase Caiden with ease!

Feeling movement of the baby? there is some crazy kicking going on. I've identified either an elbow or a knee moving across at times.

Food cravings? salty foods, chocolate

Gender of the baby? It's a boy!

Mood? A little anxious about how fast time is going by. Caiden was born at 38 weeks so if the same holds true, we've only got 10 weeks left- Yikes!

What's in a name?

I think that naming a baby is one of the most difficult things about being a parent. Do you want a name that's popular or classic? Do you want to be unique with the spelling? Etc etc. Being a teacher doesn't help! I hated having 3 students with the same name in the class, and some spellings made for a disasterous first day as I would call out roll for the first time. Also, since I had so many students, those names are now associated with that child and I had a hard time using them for my own- especially if they were a difficult student :)

Looking back, naming Caiden seems so easy. Early on when we were dating, for some reason Eric and I were talking about names and he told me that he liked "Caiden" and I liked it too. That was before the surge in popularity of all the names that rhyme with Caiden (Aiden,Hayden, Braden, Jayden). My only hang up when it actually came time to decide was if it was getting too popular and how we should spell it. In the end, I think we made a wonderful decision and I think his name fits him perfectly.

This time around it's not so easy. Actually I'm really struggling with it! We are starting from scratch going through the baby name books trying to find the perfect one. It's difficult to find one that both Eric and I like since we both associate different things with names.

So what do you think? Do you have any names that you are willing to share? If so, please leave a comment below by clicking where it says "#comments". Then where is says "comment as" you can choose anonymous if you don't have an account and put your name in the comment box (unless you'd like to remain anonymous). I'm really interested to see what suggestions you might have!

The beginning of disorder

Eric and I decided to move a few things around upstairs to start thinking about what needed to change for the nursery.

Our current guest room will become the nursery.

So the multipurpose room next to it will also become the guest room.  We moved the love seat out on the landing to see how it would work out there.

Lots of work still to do, but it's a start!

24 weeks

 Mondays are "no-makeup" days because of swim class. I'll remember this next time before I take a picture!

How far along? 24 weeks

How big is the baby? The size of a an ear of corn (almost a foot long and should be over a pound)

Are you in maternity clothes? Wearing maternity pants,  maternity shirts, Jamie & Ashlee have loaned me a ton of their maternity clothes so I'm figuring out what works for me!

Stretch marks? Still itchy, belly button is very shallow now

Sleep? Still sleeping fine, right now

Miss anything? chicken salad sandwiches

Feeling movement of the baby? more kicks- really low. At the last sono he was breech so I think he still is.

Food cravings? salty foods, chocolate

Gender of the baby? It's a boy!

Mood? Ready to get going on the nursery!

Here's a few other pics for fun:

This is me at 23 weeks with Caiden and 24 weeks this time around. Pretty similar. At first I was thinking that this pregnancy was very different from the first (which the first trimester was) but now they are pretty similar.

Gender Reveal

Have you heard all the rage about "gender reveal" parties?  It is becoming more and more popular to have a party with friends and family to reveal the gender of the baby.  I think it's a fun idea and a good excuse to have a party, but knew it wasn't really feasible to have a big shindig. Especially since our family wouldn't even be there! So the day we had the sonogram (2/15) my wonderful mom's club had a Mom's Night scheduled and humored me a little to include a gender reveal to our event! (And yes, I realize that I'm posting about this way after the fact).

My sweet friend Erin M. (yes, a coincidence) was hosting and had some pink and blue decorations to add to the festivity.

She even baked some pink and blue onesie cookies- yum!

Of course, we had other yummies too!

Another friend of mine makes delicious gluten-free cake balls (and sells them on Etsy at MamasGFreeCakeBalls) so I called her right after my appointment and she rushed to make some for the big "reveal". Notice they are iced in pink, blue and yellow so you can't tell from the outside.

The girls had to bite into them to find out the gender of my little peanut.

And, of course, it's BLUE!

Thank you ladies for helping me to celebrate a fun experience!

It's a .......

BOY!

This sonogram picture is supposed to be showing his "boy parts". If you can figure it out, more power to you! I can't ever figure out what I'm looking at in these things. We are excited for Caiden to have a little brother! Now I can start planning a nursery a little better!



20 weeks

How far along? 20 weeks, 1 days

How big is the baby? The size of a banana

Are you in maternity clothes? Wearing maternity pants, some maternity shirts (since they are longer and cover up the stretchy waist of the maternity pants!)

Stretch marks? Nope, but I'm REALLY itchy!

Sleep? Still sleeping fine, right now

Miss anything? cold deli sandwiches, summer sausage, soda

Feeling movement of the baby? feeling some kicks or punches and sometime my belly makes a weird shape and I think the baby is rolling?

Food cravings? Tator tots, salty foods

Gender of the baby? we'll find out in less than 24 hours!  Can't wait!

Mood? Anxious about the sono tomorrow!

16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks, 3 days

How big is the baby? The size of an avocado

Are you in maternity clothes? Wearing maternity pants, just got a pair of maternity skinny jeans!

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep? Sleeping fine, right now

Miss anything? Blue cheese & Feta cheese

Feeling movement of the baby? Not quite yet, maybe once?

Food cravings? Tator tots, salty foods

Gender of the baby? Too early to know, should be able to tell in Feb if baby cooperates

Mood? Fantastic, now that my restrictions have been removed!

(PS. I stole this interview idea from a blog I follow A South African in New York . I thought it would be a great way to remember some of the details of this pregnancy.)

Growing by 2 feet

After much anticipation, we are so excited to finally make this announcement!

What a difference a week makes!

In the last post on April 22 I was asking myself if I would make it through the 39th week of pregnancy or if I would go into labor. Now I sit here as a proud mom of a one-week old beautiful baby boy! For those of you who haven't heard the story, I'll recap the series of very FORTUNATE events. 

After the comments from my doctor on 4/22 and concern for me going into labor, Eric and I decided that Friday April 23 would be my last day of school.  My school is about 30 minutes away from the hospital- with no traffic- so we didn't want to worry about making it to the hospital in time.  School was great that day: I told my students and co-workers that I wouldn't be coming back on Monday due to my progression.  My 4th period class had been planning a surprise baby shower for me for Monday but after I had told one of my students early that morning, they changed all the arrangements to that day.  It was so nice- they had balloons and streamers and flowers, cake and gifts.  They had even made arrangements with another teacher to get me out of the classroom so they could decorate and prepare.  They are such great kids!! 

School let out at 3:35 and I had made arrangements to meet with my substitute teacher to go over my plans with her.  We were just getting started talking and I was standing at my desk and I felt like I peed my pants!  I quickly excused myself and almost ran to the restroom where the big gush of my water breaking happened.  I had to holler out the bathroom door to our German teacher (the only person I knew could hear me from the bathroom) and asked him to go get Beth (another Spanish teacher).  With the help of our school nurse, I got cleaned up, called Eric at work and loaded into Beth's car so she could drive me to the hospital.  Eric had just gotten out of a meeting when I called, so he made the flight arrangements to get my mom, his mom and sister on planes to get them here, and then he ran home to get our hospital bag,  On the way to the hospital at 4:35 I felt my very first contraction.  Normally Friday afternoon is extremely heavy but we were very fortunate to have a clear route the whole way.  We got to the hospital about 5:00 and I got checked in and went to my room and Eric got there a few minutes later.

My wonderful nurse Katherine started taking all of my information and when she checked me I was 4cm dilated. (If you recall, I was 3cm on Thursday 4/22). My contractions had started to get pretty painful and I was getting nauseous from the pain.  I asked her to start the process for the epidural and she said it would take about an hour.  They have to put in an IV and get one bag of fluids in me and complete my blood work before receiving the epidural.  As my contractions got progressively more and more painful, the phlebotomist (blood guy) came in and started drawing my blood in my left arm while the nurse started my IV in my right arm.  It's a good thing I've gotten over my fear of needles.  So then the wait, Eric was helping me through the contractions and I was getting to the point where I thought I was going to die. Eric could see on the monitor that I wasn't getting any break between the contractions, and he knew they were bad. When the nurse came back she could see it too, so she decided to check me and I was 9cm.  She ran to get the anesthesiologist to see if he would go ahead with the epidural without the lab work. Luckily, he did.  He came right in and brought me the sweetest relief.  Kudos go out to any mom who can give birth naturally, because there is no way on this green earth that I could have managed it. 

After the epidural, the contractions were much more bearable and i could even smile and talk to Eric again.  Just a few minutes later the doctor checked in.  My OB was not on call, so her partner would be delivering.  I had seen her on a couple of appointments so I knew her and she was great.  So when she checked in she told me I could start trying to push.  The nurse coached me through much of the pushing with Eric helping me as well.  Just less than 4 hours after my water broke, the doctor came in and helped with the last few pushes to bring our beautiful baby boy into this world.  Here's his stats: 6 lbs, 14oz; 18.7" long, 7:52 pm.

The only downside to this extremely quick labor was the fact that my mom was supposed to be with us in the delivery room but her flight didn't arrive at DFW until 8:50.  My mom, Eric's mom and sister arrived just after they had me all cleaned up and they were about to bathe Caiden. We were discharged and came home on Sunday about noon.  I'll blog more later to tell you more about our little guy!

Week 38

Well, so far I've made it through most of my birthday without the big guy deciding he wants to share my day with me, but - the big question is will I complete week 39?  After my doctors visit a week ago (at 36wks, 6 days) I was 1-2 cm dialated, 80% effaced and -2 station. If you want to know what this means check out this link Dilation, effacement .  She also did a non-stress test to check the baby's movements and he was doing great.  I went back today (now at 37 weeks, 6 days) and I'm 3cm and 90%.  Still no contractions! She acted like this was great progress and said that she didn't really think that I'd make it to the appointment next Thursday.  Yikes!  Are we prepared?  Yes! Are we ready? I think so??  She also said that if I did make it to the appointment next week and had progressed even more, then we might have to discuss inducing. She went on to explain that she's somewhat concerned that since I've progressed with no discomfort or contractions when I actually do start having contractions that I will probably go through labor quite quickly and she would prefer that Eric not have to deliver the baby at home.  Eric definitely agrees with that!   At one of my baby shower's the guests made some and these are the earliest ones: 

• Jenny- April 27 (conveniently that's HER birthday)
• My mom- April 30
• Erica- May 1

But who knows- this little guy has a mind of his own and will decide when he wants to make his grand entrance. So... what are your predictions?  

Week 37

At the end of this week I will be officially "full term".  What that means is that when he decides to make his entry into this world, he will not be considered premature!  He is done with the necessary baking and is now just broiling to melt the cheese on top :) When he is going to come is now the big question.  My doctor's appointment this week is not until tomorrow afternoon, so I will blog again if there is anything interesting to report.  But I wanted to blog today with some pictures!  Here is my latest belly pic:

Wow!  Getting big huh!  Now let's see the progression. The first one was taken December 8 (at 18 weeks), and the last one April 13(at 37 weeks). You have to click on the pic to make it bigger and see the whole thing.

 

I also wanted to share the maternity pics from our photo shoot just before Easter.  They turned out really nice!  Check them out at Lindsey Rabon Photography. 

We spent this weekend with my mom and Geno. They made the long trip because my mom and a friend, Jamie, hosted a wonderful tea party shower for me!  I have had several great showers!  It makes me feel really good to see how much people care about us!  Here are a few pics from Saturday.

Since it was a tea party- my mom had the cutest idea for the guests to decorate "t" shirts for our little guy!  I am so impressed with everyone's creativity! 

This weekend I also put mom and Geno to work in the nursery.  They helped us get our letters hung and they look soo cute.  You'll have to wait for pictures of that another day- I'm tired of uploading!  Plus- we are still having a wall paint situation!  I guess that's all the excitement for now!  We'll see how the appoitment goes tomorrow and maybe I'll give you an update!