due november 24

doing it again. due november 24th.

my birth story

our little robert came a little earlier than expected. two weeks early to be exact. i went into my normal ob appointment on tuesday, january 31st. my ob was out of town on vacation so my appointment was with the lovely nurse practitioner. around 35 weeks my blood pressure had started getting on the high side, along with some swelling of my legs and feet. well at this appointment at 38 weeks, my blood pressure was at 140/85 and i was unable to put on shoes at this point due to swelling. so the nurse practitioner sent me into the hospital to be checked out. i was only there for a few hours before they sent me on my way home. while at home i started getting a migraine that wouldn't go away. no matter what i took to try and get to to go away, it just stayed.  so come wednesday morning i had to call my OB's office back and the attending doctor who was filling in for mine told me to go back to the hospital. 

adam and i arrived at cedars around 1pm i believe, and i was admitted right away. the doc who was filling in for mine came to speak with me, and told me it would be best if i was induced to prevent anything bad happening later on down the road with my high blood pressure. so i was hooked up to monitors, and they started me on fluids through an iv. while laying around waiting, another doctor came to speak with me about putting me on magnesium sulfate to prevent me from having a seizure with high blood pressure. they really didn't want to because of the side effects, but decided it would be best. ( high blood pressure + a migraine is a sign that you could be close to having a seizure.) my husband then went home to double check on the cats, and to grab some stuff, and thats when i asked him to bring me my "last meal". while on the magnesium they said i wouldn't be able to eat, and with not knowing what would be coming i wanted to make sure i had lots of food in my stomach. 

nothing much happened wednesday night except putting me on the magnesium sulfate (which sucks btw), but come thursday morning they started me on pitocin around 9am. come 930am, i was laying on my side talking with the hubs, when all of a sudden i felt a gush of water come out of me. at this point I didn't know if i was peeing myself, or if my water had broke until i felt a second gush of water. then the nurse confirmed that yes indeed, my water did break.   then we waited around a lot.... waited....waited... i was starting to have bad contractions, but we still waited. finally the anesthesiologist came at 3:30pm to give me my epidural. all seemed well until i still could feel everything even two hours later. around 5pm, the anesthesiologist came back with a team, yes a TEAM of people. they ended up discovering that due to my neurofibromatosis there was a fibroma blocking my epidural space. therefore, they had to take out that epidural, and re-do it along with a spinal tap higher up on my spine. they made a point to say " we'd like to say this never happens,but it never happens."  he also said that this was one of the top 5 most difficult epidurals that they've ever had to do. *sigh*. anywhoo, my contractions at this point were super horrible. i was in so much pain. my night was pretty much hell. my poor nurse and husband heard me screaming all night, i was having horrible pain in my bum and bad back labor. around 5:30 am i was so desperate to be checked that i lied to my nurse (i know shame on me). i told her that the pain was way worse when i was having a contraction. so she finally checked me. i was finally at 9 something centimeters. so right as she was about to call my ob, my ob actually called her. i was then told that my ob was going to leave home, and by 6:30am my ob was there!!! as soon as she walked in the room, i told her i was ready to start pushing so we started right away. for the first hour or so, my contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart which SUCKED!!!! so they slowed down the pitocin which then made me labor slow wayyyyyyyyyyy down. they then started coming around 6-8 minutes apart, and before we knew it it was already around 10am. bob was down low, but my ob told us that it would be best if we did the vacuum and if that didn't work by the 3rd try we would need to do a c-section. the first try with the vacuum i gave a big push and she pulled but it popped off. then we gave the vacuum a second try, and bamn! baby bob came out. they showed bob to me, but then handed him off to the pediatricians to be checked because he was kind of limp, but very vocal. while they cleaned him up, i lost tons of blood. the doc took care of me, and once i was all good ( i won't go into detail with all that) they handed me my sweet baby boy. he was 6 pounds, 6 oz, and twenty inches long. 26 hours of labor total, and 3.5 hours of pushing. 

my husband was so wonderful during all of it. he held me leg and head for every contraction, encouraged my pushing, and was so excited to see his son being born. i wouldn't have been able to do it without him. as rough as all of it was, i'd do it all again for my little man. he is such a wonderful baby. (even though he doesn't let me sleep.)


and yea.. that's it... sorry for the poor grammar, and if it seems choppy. that is due to the lack of sleep. 

37 weeks!!! oh and merry christmas!

how far along: 37 weeks!!!!!! 3 weeks left! up until october i would be considered full term now, but now full term isn't until 39 weeks i believe. so no celebrating full term this week. we do get to celebrate christmas today though! merry christmas to everyone!!

total weight gain: 37 pounds. eek! i will get into this at the end of all this.

baby is the size of: a stalk of swiss chard.

miss anything: my pre-pregnancy weight. getting out of bed with ease. sleeping. lately my sleep has been terrible. no matter what pillow i use, what position i'm in i can't get comfortable. it takes me forever to fall asleep, and then i end up waking up really groggy. i know they say you don't get much sleep with a newborn, but at least i will be able to get comfy when i'm no longer pregnant.

cravings: nothing really right now stands out to me. i mean i always want donuts, but that was a craving i had before i was even pregnant. you know that question people ask " if you were stranded on a deserted island, what one food would you have with you?" well mine will always be donuts. always. nom nom nom. (ok now i really want one)

belly button in or out: out!

looking forward to: good sleep, being able to exercise, having a glass of wine once in a while, and my son being able to meet all our friends kiddos. 

best moment this week: nothing really great happened this week. i actually got some shitty news this week.

maternity clothes: yup. that and big pajamas. also my husbands shirts. 

labor symptoms: none!

so this week. eh. i started noticing last thursday some pretty bad swelling in my legs, ankles and hands. i tried to ignore it until friday, which then i could no longer do. by the time i was done volunteering i could barely walk. my ankles were so swollen i literally couldn't bend them to walk. when i got home i took my blood pressure and it was really high but i waited till my ob appointment until monday to talk to the doc about it. turns out i am border lining preeclampsia. eh! i need to monitor my blood pressure everyday, twice a day as well as when i am feeling icky. i'm not officially on bed rest yet, but i need to take it extremely easy and not do anything to crazy. along with the high blood pressure and swelling, i gained 8 pounds in the past two weeks. she says it's probably water weight from the preeclampsia. eh! just when i thought i was in the clear, and all my uti's were gone, as well as the kidney stones this happens. i haven't had an easy pregnancy at all. but i am still very grateful that i haven't had any MAJOR problems with my little bean. i know the preeclampsia is really bad, but as long as my son is born healthy, all of this will have been worth it. i can't wait to be a mama. 

on another note, merry christmas!!!!! my husbands family is coming up minus two of his sisters lara & rachael. then my mother and step father are also coming up. we will make a ham and some "fixins" and take it easy. probably watch cheesy christmas movies. so yea. today should be nice. what is everyone doing for christmas? i hope everyone has a really lovely day today. it's crazy to think that next year at this time, we will be celebrating with our son! i really am so very excited to start our own traditions with our family. 

36 weeks!!!!

how far along: 36 weeks!!! holy cow! 4 weeks left! time is really going fast now, especially with the holidays coming up!

total weight gain: 30 pounds!!

baby is the size of: romaine lettuce! 

miss anything: being able to wear my wedding rings. i'm starting to swell up and can't wear my rings :(

cravings: totally was craving a burger and shake! lucky for me, the hubs and i went out to lunch with our awesome friends jenny and joseph and greyson to a yummy burger place. i got a bbq burger and an oreo shake. both were equally amazing. nom nom nom.

belly button in or out:  out!

looking forward to: no more swollen ankles, bending over with ease, and holding my baby boy in my arms. i really want to meet this kid.

best moment this week: well there is a few!!!! got a call today saying my strep-b test came back negative. woot woot. we had lunch today with our sweet friends, which it's been way too long since we've gone out for a mid day lunch. the hubs and i got some new bedding which is always exciting. we haven't bought new bedding in forever!!!! so that's nice.

maternity clothes: yup.

labor symptoms: totally thought i was in labor last night. had waves of pain coming and going, my body evacuated everything in it (sorry if that's tmi), and yesterday was the first day my swelling got really bad. but after going on a long walk the waves of pain stopped. so my body totally faked me out. maybe it's a sign that he's coming soon? only time will tell i guess. as long as he doesn't come on christmas i'll be happy. 

35 weeks!!!!

how far along: 35 weeks!!! only 5 weeks left! 35 days to go! i can't believe it! 

total weight gain: 29 pounds!

baby is the size of: large cantaloupe

miss anything: doing things with ease

cravings: i had a craving for mc.donalds today, so i got some for lunch. i think i deserve it after my good doctor appointment

belly button in or out: out

looking forward to: meeting my little guy

best moment this week: my family coming up to see us on sunday, my doctor appointment today that went really well, my sweet friend jenny coming over to help me organize the nursery.

maternity clothes: yup

labor symptoms: nope 

i can't believe there is only 5 weeks left, give or take. i can't wait to meet our son, but at the same time i am sad that one day in the near future i will no longer be able to feel my sons little kicks and i will no longer have my big belly. i sure can't wait to have him in my arms though. 

today i had my last ultrasound, which went really well. back at 20 weeks when i went in, i had partial placenta previa. now at 35 weeks i found out that the previa is gone, and now i can have a normal birth. no c-section! which makes me really happy. i didn't want to have a major surgery to where i would be uncomfortable for days after. now i get to have the birth experience that i want to have. which sets my mind and heart at ease. 

my dear friend jenny came over last week to help me get organized with the nursery as well as a list together of things that i still need. such a blessing to have her help! she is wonderful. the nursery is now almost all the way complete. i'm excited to share it with you guys once it's all done. 

on a bad note i've had some hard times with this pregnancy. i currently have the second uti that i have had this pregnancy. this time i am feeling much worse. and in between the two, i was told i also have kidney stones. this time the pain is lingering a lot longer than the last, and more intense. i hope this passes soon.  i just need to stay on top of all my antibiotics. tomorrow i have another doctor appointment where i will be tested for strep b. then from there on i will go in every week to be checked. 

hoping my pregnancy goes a lot smoother from here on out till our little bean is here.  i will attach a photo of little bean from todays ultrasound as well as a photo of adam and i next to the ultrasound screen.  we think from what we can see, that he looks like me. 

we also got the cutest booties today in the mail from adams mom. love them!!!

alright time to go nap. i got a pregnancy pillow in the mail today since i haven't been sleeping well. time to cuddle up with it, and get some rest.

34 weeks!!!!!

how far along: 34 weeks!i can't believe there is only 6 weeks left. so exciting.  the more and more i feel him move around in there, the more excited i get to meet him.

total weight gain: 28 pounds!

baby is the size of: a cantaloupe

miss anything: sleeping on my belly, sleeping on my right side, and picking things up with ease. i also miss taking baths. i've probably taken a handful since preggo, but i am always afraid that the water is too hot and that it's hurting the baby.

cravings: today i am having a major craving for a burger, fries, and a birthday cake milkshake.  who wants to go to the counter burger with me?

belly button in or out: out :)

looking forward to: my family coming up this sunday, my sweet friend jenny coming over on saturday to help finish up the nursery, and christmas!!

best moment this week: getting to babysit our friends baby last night! i love that kid so much, and it was nice being able to see my husband interact with a baby. it was really sweet.

maternity clothes: yup. also i think being in pajamas all day is my favorite thing ever.

labor symptoms:  nope!

i have been feeling pretty great this last week! i finally passed the kidney stones, which hurt, but now there is no pain so that's nice.  today i'm super tired for some reason.  eh! no amount of laying down has given me energy.  but that's okay. hopefully i get some sleep tonight.

oh! oh! oh! i also went to target this week, and got little bean his first christmas decoration. i want to get him a new ornament every year. i wrote the date on the tag with his name on it that way we will be able to remember which year it came from. ah! love starting traditions with my family.

next week is also the big week where i find out about my placenta previa! hopefully my placenta has moved, and i will be able to have a vaginal delivery. i really don't want to have a c-section in fear of a rough recovery. so send good thoughts my way! my appointment is on wednesday with the specialist, then i have a normal ob appointment on thursday where i will also be tested for strep-b. crossing my fingers all goes well at those two appointments next week!!!

it's beginning to look a lot like....

christmas!!!!!!!!

i got our tree started last night/ today. it's not quite done yet, we still have some ornaments from when we were kids to put on the tree. i will probably put those on there tomorrow, then it will be done! i love this time of year!!!!!!!

i also got little bean his first ornament. i plan to do this every year.  i wrote his name and the year on the tag, that was we will be able to remember each years ornament. 

our day for little bean

oh my last weekend was wonderful! it was my baby shower for little bean!! my amazing friends threw it for me. my bestie andrea flew out from atlanta (it's her third time this year coming out) to throw it for me. it was such a special day. i am very lucky to have friends like andrea, bobbie, and margaret. 

the decorations were beautiful, the food was so yummy.  there was a variety of things like mini quiche, bacon, meat pies from portos bakery , yogurt parfait, french toast with cups to dip syrup into, and donuts.  if you know me, i love donuts.  they have to be my most favorite food on earth. so so yummy.  any whoo, on top of having delish food there was fun games as well.  one where everyone got to guess the size of my belly by cutting a piece of string.  my sweet friend ruby who owns the blog westside mommy ended up winning the game.  probably because we are pretty much the same size. there was also a hilarious game that andrea threw together.  she cut up eyes, noses, and mouths from different pictures of my hubs and i so that people could mix and match them to make what they would think baby watson would look like.  some of them were so funny, and others were terrifying. i will put some at the end of the post so you can see people's creations.  

another fun thing that ended up being a total surprise was a photobooth!!! so creative! they set it up in one of the rooms at bobbie's place, and it was so fun to take pictures in there! i ended up getting a photo with everyone which is good. a very sweet way to remember my baby shower. 

thank you again andrea, bobbie and margaret. you all are so wonderful. and thank you to everyone that came.  you all got us such special things.  we love all of you!

also, here is the picture of the food table...

and i don't believe we have announced it yet, but yes, robert is what we are naming our little bean.  we are naming him after my father.  i am lucky to have such an amazing dad, and i hope i am half the parent that he is.  

my niece also took some great shots of me opening gifts. i don't want to post them all so that i don't bore people with pictures. but here are a few.

pregnancy by week