More....

We found out we were going to have a baby on January 19, 2007. When I was getting dressed for work that day, my pants could barely button which was really unusual. Not being one to watch the calendar in between my periods, I didn't think too much of it. On my way home from work that day, I bought a pregnancy test just to check. I nearly fell over when the stick indicated I was in fact pregnant! I wrapped it up and gave it to my husband as a "present" when he arrived home from work. He was as shocked as I was. We weren't trying to get pregnant, nor did we really think we'd ever have children. I went to the doctor the next day and confirmed that I was in fact pregnant and an ultrasound a week later indicated I was about 6 weeks along.

We waited until a little after the first trimester screening at 13 weeks before we told our family and friends. Since I'm 37, we wanted to be out of the first trimester all together and have some reassurance that all was well with the baby. Fortunately for me, I had no morning sickness at all! I did experience "bone deep" fatigue for the first trimester but as soon as I was about 15 weeks pregnant it like magic seemed to vanish and I had a ton of energy. YAY! Both of our family's were very excited and shocked when we told them we were having a baby. No one expected Paul and I to have children.

At 19 weeks we went for a detailed anatomy ultrasound. We found out we were having a baby girl! Initially we thought we'd tell no one but that lasted until we left the doctor's office and called our parents. :) Her name is Zoë Sophia. Over the past several weeks I've been feeling her move sooo much. I'm at the point now where I can actually see her moving when I watch my belly.

The plan is we will have a waterbirth. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I continue to have a great pregnancy.

Zoë= Life

Sophia= Wisdom

THURSDAY, October 4, 2007

Well, I made it to 41 weeks---one week past due! Most people thought I was going to be early since I was so active and had such a good pregnancy. I went for the biophysical profile and non-stress test today at the hospital. I was hoping that from the ultrasound we could confirm the sex of the baby but they weren't able to get a good "crotch shot" since there's not a whole lot of room in there anymore. Both tests showed very good results. I forgot to ask if they had a size estimate on the baby. We're still scheduled for an induction to begin Tuesday night with cervidil and continue Wed. morning with pitocin and rupturing the membranes...that is if she doesn't come before then. :o)

A friend of mine from my prenatal yoga class was due 10/10. Her doctor sent her yesterday for an ultrasound to check the baby's size. Turns out the baby is now breech since her doctor's appointment so they had her scheduled to have a c-section today. :( She definitely was not expecting that.

I'm still not feeling anything that might indicate progress or pending labor. If it does happen before Tuesday, maybe I'll be one of those women who just moves quickly. In the meantime, I hope I can continue to feel good, go to the gym, and get a decent night's sleep.

SUNDAY, October 7, 2007

Here it is 3:20am and I feel wide awake. We went to bed at about 10:30pm and I may have been asleep for maybe 1-2 hours total. It's hard to get comfortable with a moving baby in my belly and lots of pressure and sharpness going on in the pelvic region. I think of all mmy 41+ weeks pregnant yesterday was by far the most uncomfortable day. Every time I take a step with my right leg I get a sharp jolt in my pubic bone. Despite the discomfort, Paul and I had a great day. After walking at the mall, we went to a festival in town and walked around. It was great to be outside. The daycare we'll be using when I go back to work had an Open House so we popped in. The director was showing us the newly expanded infant area and the new outside play area. As we continued to walk through the festival we ran into several people that we knew (one of which was our childbirth instructor) as well as someone who recommended a Thai restaurant to us which we actually ended up going to later in the day for dinner. More on that in a minute.

We've been looking for a chest of drawers for our bedroom. Several weeks ago I found one at a furniture store but we never followed up. Spontaneously yesterday late afternoon we decided to go look at it since Paul never saw it. He loved it so we ended up buying it along with a nightstand. As we were leaving the parking lot of the store, we inadvertently came upon the Thai restaurant that was recommended earlier in the day! Without having a clue what we were going to do for dinner, we decided to try it. What a great place! Very quaint with excellent food. We ordered a yellow Thai curry and Balinese curry with some spring rolls. I figured with all of the walking I did throughout the day and the increase in the pelvic pressure, perhaps the spiciness of the curry might actually stimulate some action. Here I sit about 9 hours later, wide awake at 3:30am, with no change in my status. At least the curries were delicious! The baby seemed to enjoy the food as well as she was quite active to the point of being uncomfortable for a couple of hours afterwards. She's definitely running out of room!

I have until Tuesday to at least go into labor otherwise I'm scheduled to begin induction Tuesday night. Despite the way I felt yesterday and how I feel currently, I'm still wondering if it's going to happen on its own before then. Thank God Paul has been so supportive and awesome. He's basically taking care of the major household chores without a complaint and always asking me if I'm okay. :o) He's going to be a great daddy....he's a wonderful husband!

TUESDAY, October 9, 2007

Well, I've made it to 12 days past due and the day I begin induction. If nothing happens by this afternoon, we have to be at the hospital by 7pm for cervidil. Tomorrow morning the mid-wife will come by at around 7am to check me and begin the pitocin. Last night at around 11pm I was woken by contractions...not Braxton-Hicks...real contractions. Perhaps there will be some action throughout the day! Although I did not get a good night's sleep, I did at least rest and dozed on and off. I was up at 6am with Paul and began doing laundry. I want to do some light cleaning and straightening up today to occupy myself. Paul's parents are goign to come later this afternoon to stay with the doggies while we're at the hospital overnight. His mom is sooooo excited.

Yesterday was a great day! I went to the gym in the morning and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine but set the resistance to stair climber instead of glider. I also stretched for 20 minutes. (I'm not going to the gym today since I have some pretty sharp pelvic stuff going on.) Paul and I met for lunch and then I went for an AMAZING manicure/pedicure...one last bit of pampering. :o) It was good to be out of the house for most of the day.

I spoke with the mid-wife about being induced. She gave me the estimated weight of the baby based on last week's ultrasound....4300 grams or 4.3 kg or 9.5 pounds! GULP! Hopefully that's an overestimate and she's a bit smaller. I think it's safe to say, though, that no one would be shocked if she is in fact that big given I'm almost 2 weeks past due AND Paul and I are not tiny people. My guess is she'll be a long baby given I'm 5'10" and Paul is 6'10". The poor thing must be all cramped.

Zoë Sophia's Birth Story

Zoë Sophia was born on Wed., 10/10/07 at 11:48 am. She was 9 pounds, 2 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. She's very healthy and happy. Since I was almost 2 weeks past due, the mid-wife thought it best to induce me. After we went to dinner with Paul’s parents, we went to the hospital on Tuesday night at 7pm. They began inducing me with cervidil to "ripen" the cervix and continued Wednesday morning at about 7am with a pitocin drip to get contractions underway. I had gone from 1cm to 3 cm dilated overnight from the cervidil. The mid-wife was planning on coming back to the hospital at noon to check me again and break my waters. My body had another plan….the pitocin brought on the contractions rather fast and furiously as I had expected it might based on what I had read about it. Paul told me the nurses actually lowered the amount I was receiving since I developed a contraction pattern very quickly.

In my childbirth class we learned about the stages of labor…the early phase, the active phase, the transition phase, and the pushing phase. Well, let’s just say I bypassed the early phase. I spent a very short time in the active phase which began about 6am with some mild cramping and contractions which were a reasonable amount of time apart. From about 7am to 10:30am the contractions became very strong in the lower abdomen, lasting for about a minute each which I would equate to the transition phase. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! The cramping wasn’t what got me as much as the incredible pressure I was feeling as the contraction built and the baby descended into my pelvis more. I thought for sure I broke a few of Paul’s fingers as I squeezed his hand with each contraction. All of the interventions we learned in the childbirth class to use during labor to assist with the discomfort were out the window! Paul didn’t even have time to leave me to call our parents to let them know labor had begun! At about 10am I did go into the Jacuzzi tub which was AWESOME! The buoyancy from the water helped to alleviate the pressure I was feeling during the contractions and it allowed me to move much more freely and comfortably. I came out of the tub briefly to be checked by the nurse and I was already 8cm! Back into the tub I went. Much to everyone's surprise, by 10:45am I was ready to begin pushing! The mid-wife was called back to the hospital and by 11am I began pushing (THANK GOD!). After 45 minutes of pushing through the contractions, she was born. As she came out, the mid-wife realized she was still in her amniotic sac! My water never broke and everyone assumed it broke but was unnoticed. Once she came out, Zoë was placed on my chest while I was still in the tub. I had a few minutes to meet her while she was wiped off and Paul cut her umbilical cord. Once the placenta was delivered, I was moved from the Jacuzzi tub back to the bed where the mid-wife stitched some lacerations that occurred during the delivery. Paul held Zoë during this time before they weighed and measured her. He is so incredibly enamored by her.

We were able to have the birth we planned for, so other than being induced, there were no pain meds or epidural and she was born in the water....all natural. We're both very happy we were able to have the birth experience we wanted. :o) Other than being a night owl and Zoë only allowing me to get literally 3-4 hours of sleep, everything's going very well. I am truly amazed at how quickly I could care for and love someone. She is truly a blessing.

Zoë @ 4 days old

Zoë and mommy (6 days old)

Zoe at 12 days old

Zoë at 3 months old (happy baby)