Baby Heath made his arrival...

Most of you know by now that baby Heath made his arrival...he was born at 9:58pm on July 16th. He was 7lbs 0.5oz and 19" long.

A little background on why he was induced 2 weeks early.

If you have been reading my blog...you will know that there were a few times that my blood pressure was on the high side. When we went for a couple of our last visits to the midwives, the b/p was getting higher and higher and they don't like to see that in pregnant women. So, my midwife gave us 2 options. She said that we could elect to be induced now, or we could go back to the Dr's and be put on high blood pressure medicine and wait out the 2 weeks until the due date. We were all in agreement that we would rather be induced than to have to bow out of the midwives care and be placed once again into the Dr's care. Once the baby was born, then they (the Dr and midwife) would collaborate on a plan to see if I should then be placed on high blood pressure medicine.

We arrived at the hospital at 7am on July 16th and they immediately hooked us (I say us and not just me since there is more than just me involved!!) up to the pitocin and monitor. Ideally, I would have loved to just go into natural labor on my own, but many people told me not to mess around with blood pressure....so, inducing was the way to go. The nurse that we had, Kelly, was a wonderful nurse...very attentive to my needs, and very sweet. I feel like she didn't leave anyone person out of our conversations. Our usual midwife had hurt her hand while running (twice...poor thing) so she was out of commission for helping bring the baby into the world. But, we had Julia for our midwife, and she was very good as well.

Here we were...just waiting and waiting....I was having some contractions, but nothing terrible. I think around 1pm, the midwife came in and broke my water. She had tried earlier, but without success. I can't believe at how much water comes out when it gets broken!! It's kind of like the energizer bunny...it just kept going and going and going!!

I then started having some contractions that were stronger...really, I am not sure what time this was...but they were getting uncomfortable. I think around 7pm or so...is when it all started really happening. My contractions were very painful and I finally asked for an epidural. Julia checked my cervix at this time and said that we could still have an epidural..and we were dilated to about a 6. Tito came in( the anesthesiologist) and prepped me for the epidural. He was my saving grace as the contractions by this time were putting me in a place that I didn't want to go. I really tried to frame my mind around a mountain...and when I would have a contraction, I would (in my mind) try to climb the mountain...but it was just too much. So finally, the epidural was placed...and I got some relief. Julia checked me again and asked me if I could do some pushing?? WOW!! That was a quick change!! So the pushing began. By the way...Alissa, who was my regular midwife, came in on her day off and helped me get through the pain as well. Amazing!!

I don't recall how many pushes I did...I think about 8 or so...and Heath's head came out...followed by another push and then his shoulders came out. It was an amazing feeling for him to be born right into his Papa's arms!!

OK...so here is the part where I gush....HE IS SUCH A SWEET, SWEET, ADORABLE, GORGEOUS, WONDERFUL (shall I go on?) BABY!! Oh, and don't forget beautiful, and handsome!!!

The first night I could not get my mind to shut off....as is common when something major happens for me. So by morning, I was pretty much wiped out...J&T got their own room for a few hours so they could try to sleep. At around 4am, J came in a brought me Heath so that he could nurse. J&T came back into my room around 6:30am since the maternity ward needed that room for an induction. Making the story go a little faster now....

We ended up being discharged at around 6pm...so I went home to grab a bag and take a shower and then went to J&T's house for the week. I got to nurse Heath for the first 6 days (which was very rewarding for me)and now I am exclusively pumping for him. I have taken milk over to their house twice now...I don't know if I am producing enough, but I am trying!! They have a friend that is also breastfeeding her son, and she produces quite a bit of milk, so she is also pumping for Heath as well.

So...that is my birth story...kind of a condensed version...but none-the-less.

I want to say thank you so much to J&T for trusting me to carry their son these past 9 months. Words cannot express how I feel...

25 Days...no,,,make that 24 days left!! P.S. Not for the faint of heart!!

Hope everyone's 4th of July was wonderful. Kent and I were kidless...except for Kivu...which he IS a kid...just with 4 legs!! Our weekend was quiet with the exception of the HUGE fireworks being let off (by neighbors) from 10pm-midnight both Friday and Saturday. Friday nights fireworks didn't really bother Kivu too, too much...but there were 3 really BIG ones that he wasn't too fond of. We shut our bedroom windows and he went right back to sleep. So that was good.

Last night was a whole different story though. Kent and I had taken him on an extra long walk to really tucker him out. And that worked...until the neighbors brought out the big guns!! Poor guy!! He was so freaked out. :( Kent took him to go potty outside, and the neighbors let off a big one and it scared him so bad he ran under the deck and bonked his poor head..(Kivu did..not Kent.) And then Kivu was just a nervous wreck...so again, we shut our windows and I went to sleep...I guess Kivu finally did too but I was out so I don't remember it. I was going to open the windows about 1:30am but when I looked outside, the kids next door were still lighting sparklers in their backyard. Oh to be young!!

Kayte went with some friends to the coast for the weekend. She had a really great time...until this morning about 10am...the girls were going swimming and the motel door to the swimming pool was steel and very heavy. A gust of wind caught the door and slammed against Kayte's left middle finger. (I am sure you can imagine the screams, as can I!!) So, Kim, (the mom of the friend) calls me on Kayte's phone and tells me that they almost got by for the weekend unscathed, and then told me what happened. The whole nail popped right off...and of course there was blood everywhere since the door cut into her finger. Lucky that she didn't shear the thing off!! They bring her home around 3:30pm because traffic was so awful. Kent and I take her in the house and start to take the gauze and band aid off of it, but by then, it's pretty much stuck to the nail bed. So, we soak it in water...and finally get it to come off. Kayte says she is feeling faint...funny thing...cause I am too!! So we go down to the couch and she lays down and has her finger in the glass of water. And all I see is the drip, drip, drip of blood coming from the finger down into the water. So Kent and I decide we should take her to the ER just to be on the safe side. Thank goodness it's just up the street and we are there in under 2 minutes! Kayte has never been in an ER...in fact...I think the last time she was at a doctor was for a bacterial ear infection in the 1st grade. (She is now going into the 5th grade!!) Needless to say, we are not very familiar with the ER...Anyways, our wait wasn't awful...and they put us back in a room. The very nice nurse talks to Kayte and asks her what happened etc, etc. Then the doctor comes in and asks what happened...again, Kayte tells her story. The doctor wants to get some xrays to be sure it's not broken at the tip. They give her a Vicodin for pain..and about 15 minutes later, she says her head feels funny. :) After the xray, the doctor comes back in and says that nothing is broken...and that they are going to glue the laceration on her nail bed back together. So he does...and Kayte doesn't feel anything until he puts pressure on it to stick it together. THEN she is in PAIN!! After we wait about 2 minutes, he then applies more glue all over the nail bed...and by this time, Kayte is in a lot of pain. Poor girl. Doctor goes out...and about 20 minutes later, a nice man nurse comes in to give us our discharge instructions. Well, he looks at the doctors notes which say to bandage it up and change daily...and he says...you know...maybe that's not the best idea. So we decide to put a splint on it and just a tad bit of gauze...and walaa!! Kayte is almost a happy camper. So she needs to wear it for 3-4 days (She would probably wear it forever if she could cause it's "cool") but I think by Thursday, the nail bed will have gotten used to being naked and we will be able to take the splint off.

So that's how our weekend was.

On the baby front...since I have not updated in a while...we are 36 weeks 4 days pregnant. Big ole belly!! Baby Heath is great...loves to jab his little foot into my rib...but that's ok. I just try to push it back out. Went to see the midwife last Friday...she checked me and I am already at a 1 so I know my body is doing what it's supposed to do. I don't want to be induced this time around as the last 2 times when I was induced were hell!! Especially with Kayte. I am planning (***please note that this is not a binding contract!!***) on having a natural birth...and I know if I am induced...then it's fast and furious and I don't want that. We go back on Wednesday for another checkup. Getting right down to the wire!! So, that's it for now. I should have news on a job for Kent in a couple of weeks...but can't say much about it now...