A LOT more videos will be posted later! We have tons! And I will upload more pics soon too! Hopefully tomorrow! :)
10.21.2011
10.16.2011
Evan has arrived!!!!!!!
Ok, so it's been a few days at home now, and it's time to finally update the BLOG!
EVAN IS HERE!!!!
She was born on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 12:55am. She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. Basically, she is just perfect. :)
We had a doctor appointment on Monday morning (October 10th) where they did an ultrasound and a check-up on me to make sure everything still looked ok since we were past our due date. Of course, everything looked fine! The doc stripped my membranes again (and this time, it was no joke!), and she asked us if we had tried several things that can lead to bringing on labor. She mentioned something about taking castor oil, and I had heard of people taking that, but wasn't sure if I should or not because it obviously can make your stomach upset. BUT I was very ready to meet my daughter! So on my way home that morning, I stopped by Walmart and bought some castor oil.
I found a little recipe online and mixed the castor oil with some orange juice and baking soda and down the hatch it went. This was around 11:00am on Monday. I called into work and told them I would be out that afternoon because apparently I would be making multiple trips to the bathroom, and HOPEFULLY starting labor sometime that day! Luckily, we weren't overly busy that day and it was fine for me to skip out....plus, Allison and Lianna kind of understand about being pregnant and on the verge of having a baby. :) Well, the castor oil definitely did it's job and cleaned me out! Sorry for the details, but hey, some people wanna know---so there ya go. But it didn't upset my stomach at all....for this, I was VERY grateful. I just went to the bathroom a few more times than normal, but I really felt ok.
Around 3:00pm I started having some mild cramps. They were evenly spaced at around 4 minutes apart and lasted for about 40 seconds each. Of course, I'm thinking, "Could this be it??", but then I kept telling myself that contractions don't start out that close together. Plus my whole belly wasn't tightening up like it had done before....these were just menstrual-feeling cramps. But I tried to keep track of everything.
When Jeff got home at 6:30pm, they really started getting intense. Jackie recommended we call the hospital to ask them about it and see if we should go ahead and come in. I hated the thought that we could drive all the way there and then be turned away because it wasn't time yet! So we called the hospital around 7:00pm and the doctor said that we could definitely head that way if we wanted to be checked, or we could wait at home a little while longer to see if they progressed anymore. (Remember, the contractions are still at 4 minutes apart, and they tell you to call the hospital when they're 5 minutes apart for an hour). So we decide to wait at home a while longer and I took a warm bath to help with the pain. By about 8:30pm, it was TIME TO GO. The contractions were getting very intense and I knew it would take us 40 minutes to get to the hospital and then who knows how long to check in.
Jackie rode with us to the ER at Durham Regional. We went in the get registered, and the lady told us it would be about 10-15 minutes because they had to get a room ready for us!! I was sitting there, having contractions, while this lady was trying to ask me questions and talking on the phone....that was a moment when I almost started getting a little emotional....but I didn't and just tried to concentrate on breathing and just getting to my room!
When we FINALLY got into our room, the doc came to check on me and I was already 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was like "heck yeah"! That morning I was at about 2 cm and 85% effaced. I did quite a bit of work at home that afternoon and evening! :)
By now, the contractions were very intense. I asked when I could get my epidural since I was already 6 cm. They had to run my blood tests and it would be about 30 minutes. I ended up getting the epidural at around 11:00pm. And good gracious, I LOVE an epidural! Wooo---it was night and day with the contractions! I was feeling great after that!
At a little before 12:30am (Tuesday morning), the doc came in to check again, and we were at 9 cm! So close! She said she would come back in a couple of hours to check again and we would probably push then. But it wasn't just a few minutes after she walked out of the door that I started feeling pressure down there and asked the nurse about it. She said "that's the baby's head pushing, let me get the doctor". So instead of coming back in a couple of hours, it was only a few minutes and it was TIME TO PUSH!!
I only pushed for 25 minutes and Evan came into this world! It was amazing and perfect....just like her!
Family and friends were at the hospital and we took tons of pictures. Here are a few of her first moments:
EVAN IS HERE!!!!
She was born on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 12:55am. She weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. Basically, she is just perfect. :)
We had a doctor appointment on Monday morning (October 10th) where they did an ultrasound and a check-up on me to make sure everything still looked ok since we were past our due date. Of course, everything looked fine! The doc stripped my membranes again (and this time, it was no joke!), and she asked us if we had tried several things that can lead to bringing on labor. She mentioned something about taking castor oil, and I had heard of people taking that, but wasn't sure if I should or not because it obviously can make your stomach upset. BUT I was very ready to meet my daughter! So on my way home that morning, I stopped by Walmart and bought some castor oil.
I found a little recipe online and mixed the castor oil with some orange juice and baking soda and down the hatch it went. This was around 11:00am on Monday. I called into work and told them I would be out that afternoon because apparently I would be making multiple trips to the bathroom, and HOPEFULLY starting labor sometime that day! Luckily, we weren't overly busy that day and it was fine for me to skip out....plus, Allison and Lianna kind of understand about being pregnant and on the verge of having a baby. :) Well, the castor oil definitely did it's job and cleaned me out! Sorry for the details, but hey, some people wanna know---so there ya go. But it didn't upset my stomach at all....for this, I was VERY grateful. I just went to the bathroom a few more times than normal, but I really felt ok.
Around 3:00pm I started having some mild cramps. They were evenly spaced at around 4 minutes apart and lasted for about 40 seconds each. Of course, I'm thinking, "Could this be it??", but then I kept telling myself that contractions don't start out that close together. Plus my whole belly wasn't tightening up like it had done before....these were just menstrual-feeling cramps. But I tried to keep track of everything.
When Jeff got home at 6:30pm, they really started getting intense. Jackie recommended we call the hospital to ask them about it and see if we should go ahead and come in. I hated the thought that we could drive all the way there and then be turned away because it wasn't time yet! So we called the hospital around 7:00pm and the doctor said that we could definitely head that way if we wanted to be checked, or we could wait at home a little while longer to see if they progressed anymore. (Remember, the contractions are still at 4 minutes apart, and they tell you to call the hospital when they're 5 minutes apart for an hour). So we decide to wait at home a while longer and I took a warm bath to help with the pain. By about 8:30pm, it was TIME TO GO. The contractions were getting very intense and I knew it would take us 40 minutes to get to the hospital and then who knows how long to check in.
Jackie rode with us to the ER at Durham Regional. We went in the get registered, and the lady told us it would be about 10-15 minutes because they had to get a room ready for us!! I was sitting there, having contractions, while this lady was trying to ask me questions and talking on the phone....that was a moment when I almost started getting a little emotional....but I didn't and just tried to concentrate on breathing and just getting to my room!
When we FINALLY got into our room, the doc came to check on me and I was already 6 cm dilated and 100% effaced. I was like "heck yeah"! That morning I was at about 2 cm and 85% effaced. I did quite a bit of work at home that afternoon and evening! :)
By now, the contractions were very intense. I asked when I could get my epidural since I was already 6 cm. They had to run my blood tests and it would be about 30 minutes. I ended up getting the epidural at around 11:00pm. And good gracious, I LOVE an epidural! Wooo---it was night and day with the contractions! I was feeling great after that!
At a little before 12:30am (Tuesday morning), the doc came in to check again, and we were at 9 cm! So close! She said she would come back in a couple of hours to check again and we would probably push then. But it wasn't just a few minutes after she walked out of the door that I started feeling pressure down there and asked the nurse about it. She said "that's the baby's head pushing, let me get the doctor". So instead of coming back in a couple of hours, it was only a few minutes and it was TIME TO PUSH!!
I only pushed for 25 minutes and Evan came into this world! It was amazing and perfect....just like her!
Family and friends were at the hospital and we took tons of pictures. Here are a few of her first moments:
She is already loved so much! Here are MORE pictures of our perfect baby girl! :)
We have already taken a million pictures of her already (as you can probably guess). I will post more later, but I wanted to FINALLY get this post online to announce our baby to the world!
Thank you to all of our AMAZING family and friends who have been there to help us and support us through this incredible experience in our life....we LOVE you so much and are VERY grateful for all of you.
Another post soon, promise! <3
10.08.2011
2 days passed
Today is Saturday, October 8th, and Evan is still hanging out in the womb. It must be pretty comfortable in there. I'm thinking she will want to be swaddled up all the time once she arrives, because there's no way it's AT ALL roomy in my belly and she must like to be wrapped up tight!
If she doesn't make her grand entrance by Monday morning, we have a doctor appointment scheduled. They will do an ultrasound and a regular checkup to make sure everything is still good and healthy. Then they will pick a day to induce us if she still hasn't arrived. They won't let women go past 42 weeks of pregnancy because it can obviously start causing complications with the delivery and health of baby and mom.
They "stripped my membranes" at my Wednesday appointment. This can help bring on labor sometimes. Here is a link that describes what it means if you don't know: http://midwifeinfo.com/articles/what-is-stripping-membranes-and-why-is-it-done
I don't think it has helped us, but it definitely works for some women. It did cause me to have some false labor contractions Wednesday night. I woke up around midnight with contractions that were spaced about 10 minutes apart. That lasted for a couple of hours and I started having some stomach aches as well. I hated to wake Jeff up, but I did because I wasn't feeling good at all, and I honestly thought it could be the beginning of labor. We ended up staying up until about 4am and the contractions tapered off and we went back to sleep. It was a little disappointing because we're obviously ready to meet Evan, but we know she will come when it's right.
Today or tomorrow would be great days to go into labor since it's the weekend and Jeff is around. But I really do think that Evan likes to surprise us, so we will see what she decides to do. Hopefully the next update will be to announce her arrival! :)
If she doesn't make her grand entrance by Monday morning, we have a doctor appointment scheduled. They will do an ultrasound and a regular checkup to make sure everything is still good and healthy. Then they will pick a day to induce us if she still hasn't arrived. They won't let women go past 42 weeks of pregnancy because it can obviously start causing complications with the delivery and health of baby and mom.
They "stripped my membranes" at my Wednesday appointment. This can help bring on labor sometimes. Here is a link that describes what it means if you don't know: http://midwifeinfo.com/articles/what-is-stripping-membranes-and-why-is-it-done
I don't think it has helped us, but it definitely works for some women. It did cause me to have some false labor contractions Wednesday night. I woke up around midnight with contractions that were spaced about 10 minutes apart. That lasted for a couple of hours and I started having some stomach aches as well. I hated to wake Jeff up, but I did because I wasn't feeling good at all, and I honestly thought it could be the beginning of labor. We ended up staying up until about 4am and the contractions tapered off and we went back to sleep. It was a little disappointing because we're obviously ready to meet Evan, but we know she will come when it's right.
Today or tomorrow would be great days to go into labor since it's the weekend and Jeff is around. But I really do think that Evan likes to surprise us, so we will see what she decides to do. Hopefully the next update will be to announce her arrival! :)
10.04.2011
Oh Evan...
...everyone is so excited to meet you!! I promise you'll have MUCH more room to stretch when you're on the "outside" (it's not so bad)! Plus, Mama is getting tired of wearing the same 4 pieces of clothing over and over again....and since the weather has gotten a bit cooler, it's getting VERY difficult to put on shoes and socks with you camped out in my big belly.
We can't wait to see you and hold you and rock you to sleep! We hope you decide to come meet us soon, but we know you'll come when you're ready. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning and we'll find out if we're any closer to seeing you soon. We're only 2 days away from your due date now, so anytime you want to come, we will be ready!
Here is a picture of Daddy and Mama just 5 days before you're due:
We love you so much and can't wait to finally meet you!!! :)
We can't wait to see you and hold you and rock you to sleep! We hope you decide to come meet us soon, but we know you'll come when you're ready. We have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning and we'll find out if we're any closer to seeing you soon. We're only 2 days away from your due date now, so anytime you want to come, we will be ready!
Here is a picture of Daddy and Mama just 5 days before you're due:
9.29.2011
39 weeks today!
Anytime you're ready, Evan! We are one week from the due date and anxiously awaiting her arrival. It would be AWESOME if she decided to show up this weekend! :) The weather will be breaking to cooler, fall temperatures (lows in the 40's!) and the humidity will be gone---my favorite time of the year! But of course, she'll come when she's ready....as long as she's healthy, I don't care!
Here is what she's doing at 39 weeks:
One uncomfortable complaint of late pregnancy is frequent hiccups. No, not you, your baby. Because there is no air around your baby, when she practices breathing, it can cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe, resulting in those regularly spaced thumps that make you think you're carrying a jumping bean in your belly.
Other news this week:
I can definitely agree with the hiccups part. She gets them quite a bit, and they're quick hiccups too.
Of course, we're ready to see her and hold her....but I know there will be so much that I will miss about being pregnant. Being able to feel her little legs and arms and all of her little movements (even hiccups) has been amazing. And nudging Jeff to look and feel my stomach when she's moving....and seeing his face light up. I'll miss him talking to my belly too! :) It's such a weird feeling not having any control over this little person growing inside of me!
I have been EXTREMELY lucky and blessed throughout this whole pregnancy and wouldn't trade it for the world. I pray that the labor and delivery go just as well. We will find out hopefully soon!! :)
Here is what she's doing at 39 weeks:
One uncomfortable complaint of late pregnancy is frequent hiccups. No, not you, your baby. Because there is no air around your baby, when she practices breathing, it can cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe, resulting in those regularly spaced thumps that make you think you're carrying a jumping bean in your belly.
Other news this week:
- The lanugo (an exotic word for soft, downy hair) that used to cover your baby's body has mostly disappeared, but you may find a bit leftover on the shoulders, forehead and neck. Don't freak and think you've given birth to a monkey: It'll fall out soon.
- The color of baby's skin is changing from a red-pink hue to a white or blue-pink color (even in babes with dark skin). These changes are due to the amount of fat your little pudger is putting on. The circumference of your baby's head and abdomen are about the same size now (though you may not be able to tell if your baby's born with the common cone-shaped head!).
- The placenta is lending your Mini antibodies that'll keep him strong and healthy after birth. That said, it's still a good idea to invest in that mega-size bottle of hand sanitizer.
- At this point your little critter is about 19 to 20 inches long and weights about 7 pounds. That's just around the size of a large rabbit. What's up Doc?
I can definitely agree with the hiccups part. She gets them quite a bit, and they're quick hiccups too.
Of course, we're ready to see her and hold her....but I know there will be so much that I will miss about being pregnant. Being able to feel her little legs and arms and all of her little movements (even hiccups) has been amazing. And nudging Jeff to look and feel my stomach when she's moving....and seeing his face light up. I'll miss him talking to my belly too! :) It's such a weird feeling not having any control over this little person growing inside of me!
I have been EXTREMELY lucky and blessed throughout this whole pregnancy and wouldn't trade it for the world. I pray that the labor and delivery go just as well. We will find out hopefully soon!! :)
9.28.2011
the right direction...
Just FYI:
Had a pelvic exam today at the doctor appointment...
1 cm dilated
50% effaced
at pelvic station -2
Woohoo! Moving in the right direction! Let's go Evan! :)
Had a pelvic exam today at the doctor appointment...
1 cm dilated
50% effaced
at pelvic station -2
Woohoo! Moving in the right direction! Let's go Evan! :)
9.25.2011
Ready...
Going out to dinner with the Jenkins crew in Hillsborough...
And this is 11 days until the due date....
We're ready when you are, Evan!! :)
And this is 11 days until the due date....
We're ready when you are, Evan!! :)
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