Blogging....

BIRTH STORY: Okay, my son is 8 weeks old and I FINALLY have time to post my birth story. So, here it goes in all it's wonderful glory.

March 5th 7pm: Arrive at hospital to begin the induction process.

7:30: I receive an IV and they start me on fluids.

9:00 pm, the finally put in the cervadil (or whatever it is called.)

9:30pm. I start feeling contractions. I call in the nurse, who doesn't believe me because "it never starts that quickly." Then she looks at the monitor to realize that I am having major contractions around 2-3 mins apart. Guess it doesn't NEVER start that quickly :)

10:00pm I watch the Project Runway season finale in an attempt to distract myself from the pain (it doesn't work!)

10:30pm Woman in room next to me is in full blown labor. Is screaming at the top of her lungs, I get scared and start crying. Husband turns up the television.

11:59 pm Woman next door has her baby. At this point my contractions are REALLY starting to hurt. I ask them for epidural...unfortunately, I am only 2 cm. I cry again.

2:00am I am exhausted from the constant contractions and pain. I am GRIPPING the hospital bed. Doctor comes in to check me. Tells me I'm only 2 cm still and that "we might not even need to use pitocin!"

6:00 am Husband and I are EXHAUSTED because we couldn't sleep the entire night. I get checked by doctor who tells me I'm barely 3 cm and should try walking around.

6am-8am Husband and I walk the halls dragging my beautiful IV box behind us. We stop every 2-3 minutes so I can lean on IV box and rock back and forth during contractions. Keep in mind, IV box is held on by one screw and is seconds away from dropping to the ground.

8am Nurse comes in to check on me. Asks if I want any narcotics, such as stadol, thinking I am tough, I say "no, I will wait for the epidural."

9am I am hysterically crying and asking the nurse to get a doctor to check me, by this point I MUST be at least 4 cm!!!

9:30am Doctor comes in to check me and tells me I am 4 cm!!! Thank GOD! She calls anestesiologist to come to my room.

10am I GET MY EPIDURAL!!!! Yayee. Finally feeling somewhat pain free. I call all my family to tell them I am feeling better and then husband and I finally get some rest.

11am Doctor somes to check my progression and realizes the epidural has slowed my contractions and starts some pitocin. I go right back to sleep.

1 pm I call in the nurse in because I am in major pain again. She checks my box and tells me my epidural ran out.

1:15pm Anestisiologist comes in and gives me more medicine. I start to feel good again! Husband and I are chitchatting and getting anxious to see the baby.

3:00pm Doctor comes in...tells me that I am 9 cm and that she is going to turn off epidural so that I can feel contractions and know when to push. I beg her not to, she does anyway, and I cry hysterically. She breaks my water and tells me there is some miconium (sp?)

4:09 pm She tells me I am 10 cm and we start pushing. I push really hard with EVERY contraction.

5:30 pm I ask nurse why it is taking him so long to come out?? She tells me she can see his hair.

7:20pm I start crying because I don't understand why I have been pushing for over 3 hours and he STILL isn't here?!?

7:45 pm She tells me that I may need a c-section....I get VERY angry because I just pushed for 4 hours and labored for almost 23 with only 5 hours of epidural relief!

7:50 She does and episiotimy and delivers my son with the assistance of the vaccum! She instantly cuts his cord and brings him to the table where the pediatric people start working on him.

7:55 Afterbirth comes out...ouch! That hurt as much as the baby!

8:00 pm Why isn't he crying yet. I have asked 100x if he is okay and no one will answer me. They won't let my husband near the table. He keeps saying he thinks he is going to be sick.

8:15pm They finally tell me that they had a hard time getting him to breath, but that they finally got him to take his first breath.

8:30pm He is breathing, but they are still checking him for all that other stuff....APGAR score: 4 :(

8:40pm He has undergone even more testing on that little table and he gets an APGAR score of 8.

8:47 pm (an hour after he is born) they finally bring me my son and I snuggle him.

9:15 pm I am still snuggling my little guy. Husband goes to get me pizza while I multitask and call everyone.

9:30 pm They take him to NICU where he remains on an IV for 6 days before they finally send us home.

It was a horrible experiance, but completely worth it. There is nothing more wonderful than being a mother. Sounds cliche, I know, but it is so true. I said I would never do it again for about a week afterwards, but I am already planning to try for baby number 2 in a about a year. I realized now that no matter how terrible it is, it is all worth it in the end. Maybe that will make it easier to endure it all next time around.

Check out the cute photos of my little man that I just added under the photos section! I will be making him his own page, writing my birth story, and responding to all of your wonderful messages and soon as I have a few minutes!

Some information:

His name: Brian James.

Weight: 6 lbs. 1 oz.

Birthdate: March 6th.

Favorite thing to do: eat and snuggle.

7-27-07 Hello everyone! I am in week 8 of my pregnancy. I am having horrible morning sickness and vomiting. I lost 10 lbs. so my doctor put me on Zofran. I am now feeling MUCH better.

7-28-07 I was doing so well on the Zofran for 2 days, now I have been throwing up again all day :( I am also having major heartburn. I took tums but just threw them up. I am so happy to be having a baby, but having a hard time enjoying it with all the vomiting.

8-1-07 I have been feeling a lot less nauseaus, but now I am constipated. Does anyone feel like whenever you have one relief from a symptom, another occurs. I feel like a total drama queen at all times. My doctor told me to take benefiber so I am giving it a try. It is so painful I will give anything to get it out! (Sorry for so much information, but I'm sure some of you have been in a similar situation.) I hope the benefiber doesn't bring the vomiting back! I have an appt. at my OB tomorrow, but just because she wants to see me once a week due to all the vomiting. (I lost 15 lbs. and she just wants to stay on top of things.) I wish I could have another ultrasound. I had one at 6 weeks and was able to see the baby, the heart beat, and the yolk sac. With how sick I am, I just want to see the baby and know that everything is okay! Am I this much of a spaz because it is my first or am I just a spaz??

8-6-07 Hey everyone! Well, last night I threw up again for the first time in a week. Afterwards I was spotting a little bit. So, I called my doctor this morning and she scheduled me for a sonogram tomorrow morning. (I also had one at 6 weeks and I will post both tomorrow.) After this one I won't have a sono until 16-20 weeks. I hope that everything is okay; I could use the prayers if you have some to spare.

8-10-07 Hey everyone! I had a songram on Tuesday. The tech said that the baby is measuring 10 weeks and 4 days which would put my due date at February 29th. Supposedly that would put me at 12 weeks on the 17th but this website still says the 25th if I put in a due date of Feb. 29th. So, how will I know when I am actually in the safe zone??? Does anyone else find pregnancy incredibly confusing?? I am feeling better, but I still have my off days. I will post my sono as soon as I figure out how to do it.

8-12-07 Hey everyone, well I have spotted again for the 3rd time. Turns out that I have a marginal placenta previa. Fun fun :( I'm sure everything will be fine, but I hate having complications.

8-17-07 Hey everyone! I am sooooo glad to finally be in my 12th week. I just bought a heart rate monitor today! I can't wait for it to arrive. My symptoms have gotten soooo much better. I still have my days, but I am feeling good overall.

8-22-07 Hey everyone! I got my monitor in the mail, and I absolutely love it!!!! I can hear the heartbeat whenever I want; which is very reassuring. :) Everytime I hear that heartbeat it just makes me smile. Here's the website if you're interested. http://healthchecksystems.com/hi_bebe_fetal_doppler_bt200.htm It is a wonderful investment.

10-4-07 Hello everyone! I am so excited because we found out today we are having a little boy!!! He is so cute. The only bad news was they moved my due date back a week and I am not due until March 5th, but that's okay. He was 8 inches! I love my little man so much. I will definitely post the new sono pics soon.

11-12-07 Hello everyone! Good news! They moved my due date AGAIN! It is officially February 27th!! (Yayee) I have been feeling my little man move A LOT more lately. I love every second of it. I have been off of the zofran for over a week now. I definitely feel nausea again, but nothing like I did at 7 weeks. I just don't want to be on the zofran unless it is absolutely necessary. I can deal with a little nausea. I only throw up once a week (or every 2 weeks) when I get really bad heartburn. That is nothing compared to before! I've also been having problems with diarrhea and constipation (always having a painful problem with one of them.) Doctor wants me to monitor my water better and add benefiber to diet twice a day, should help everything regulate. I thought it was just for constipation, but apparently it is for both! Who knew. I have also been having a slight pain on my lower abdomen (the right side) it only hurts when I sneeze hard, or pull a certain way...this makes me think it is just a muscle or a ligament, but I have an appointment tomorrow and will mention it. I have officially gained 8 lbs. Since the baby now ways two lbs, I think the other six is in my hips and inner thighs! Just kidding, even through all of this...I am soooo excited to be having this little guy and can't wait until 40 weeks!

12-24-07 Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I will be 31 weeks in a couple days, so I wanted to take a moment to update my page. I added a few new photos. One of me in front of tree...showing how big belly is..one of hubby and me in front of tree, and one of my bare belly. I can't believe how fast it is growing now. I feel so huge...I have gained 12-13 lbs. which I guess isn't too bad for 31 weeks. I try to still get to the gym and walk on the treadmill at least twice a week. I also do light weights when I'm there. On top of that I TRY...emphesize TRY...to do prenatal yoga once or twice a week. I am still wearing size medium (or size 8) maternity clothes, but I am feeling like the muscles in my legs and arms are becoming much less toned...I guess it is all part of the experiance though. Also, I know that it is totally and completely worth it! My sister is coming over Thursday to paint the baby's room with me..I won't be able to set anything up till after my shower on January 26th, but I am excited to get it painted :) Also, I will be going for my 3D Ultrasound this Friday!!!! Hubby and I are excited about it. I will definitely post those photos (pending they come out good) as soon as I can. Well, Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have a safe and happy one!

Click on the link below! Here is a cute clip of my little man! It isn't that clear because she had trouble trying to get a good picture through the placenta, but he is still super cute...I think anyway :)

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2/1/08 Can't believe that I am due in less than 4 weeks! It still seems so far, but maybe he will come a little sooner. :) I had my shower and got just about everything we needed. My sisters did a wonderful job; the shower was beautiful! We have the nursery set up and all his clothes washed! I will post pictures of it soon. I even packed the hospital bag. That way if I go early, we are still ready for him! I've definitely been more achey and uncomfortable lately. I am just anxious to meet him and start feeling back to normal! I just love him so much already that I can hardly stand it!

2/18/08 I am due in about a week. I hope he comes sooner than that. I am so anxious to see him and sick of being pregnant. I just want to kiss on my little man. Plus, he isn't moving as much because he is running out of room. I know that it is normal, but it still gives me anxiety. Just want him here and safe!

2/22/08 Well, still waiting. I haven't even had a SINGLE sign that this baby is on his way. :( I think I will go over my due date, which I am NOT happy about. I mean as long as he is healthy then I am fine with whenever he decides to come, but I had this week off from work and REALLY feel too preggo to go back on Monday. I have no choice unless he comes in the next 2 days! I am a high school teacher and my job is extremely tiring. Ready for maternity leave. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! Sorry, feeling very miserable and ready to be done!

3/4/08 Well, I am officially a week overdue as of tomorrow. I am going in at 7pm for the cervidil (inserted into uterus) and then sleeping at the hospital. They will begin the pitocin on Thursday morning. I am very excited that my little man will be here in the next few days, but VERY nervous about having to be induced. SOOOOO many stories about induction seem to end in c-section and I really don't want one. I was raised in a very religious background and I just keep asking God why I couldn't go naturally. I know that I am not the only person to go through this and that I sound like a big baby, but I am very nervous and apprehensive about the whole thing. He still has 24 hours to come on his own, but I know that isn't going to happen :( I just don't understand why he couldn't come on his own?? It isn't fair. I am so scared. I just wanted to go into labor, go to the hospital, get the epidural, and deliver the baby....this whole process is NOT what I was planning. Well, I will post pictures and a birth story shortly after I get home. Labor dust and good luck to all you mommies out there! I hope many of you can just go naturally. Pray for me and my baby.