New Beginnings

I had started this entry around 2:00AM one of the nights I was in the hospital (Breastfeeding gives me a little bit of a high.) and never finished it. This explains why this entry is rather long and slightly manic. 

Now that my energy level is more stable, I plan to keep up with my journaling. However, as I have learned lately, the plan is always subject to change. 

Rowan is here! He was born in the wee hours of February 19. (I had a vibe during my pregnancy that he would arrive on the 19th. Mother's intuition is real, man.) If you're interested in the birth story, read on. If not, you can skip the next section. 

The Birth Story

I had been feeling pretty good on Monday the 18th. We were off work for Presidents' Day. Jeremy and I did a few errands, looked at magazines at Barnes & Noble and returned home to get geared up for work the next day. My back had been hurting a little bit during the day and I thought I felt a little crampy once in a while. But, I thought I was just tired or maybe slept weird. Anyway, I went to bed around 10:30 that night. The next thing I know, I wake from a sound sleep and start the long process of turning onto my other side. Just as I was about to get settled in, my water broke. Strange feeling that was. My first thought was that I had peed the bed. Then it hit me what was going on! I yelled for Jeremy to come help me and within a half hour we had called the doctor, gotten dressed, grabbed our labor bags, and headed off to the hospital. 

Because the baby was breech they had to do a c-section. I did get to experience a few mild contractions so my dream of a natural delivery wasn't completely dashed to bits. 

The rest of the birth process was more like an alien abduction than what they show on Discovery Health. :-) I did not plan on being such a passive participant in the birth of my child, but as I said earlier, the plan is always subject to change. 

The actual birth part (removing the baby from my uterus) didn't take long at all. The whole thing was over and done with in about 20 minutes. Then it was off to recovery for me and off to the nursery for Rowan. 

Mi Familia

Everyone tells you how much you will love your baby. I totally believed them but I was not ready for how overwhelming that love is. Sometimes, when I look at Rowan I am completely consumed by emotion. It's wonderful!

Jeremy has been so supportive. I could not have dreamed up a better spouse or father for Rowan. He keeps me laughing when things get intense and is always quick with an encouraging word. This experience would have been impossible without him. Truly, having Rowan has deepened my love for him. 

I sure do love my guys! 

First Entry

Greetings, loved ones!

This is the place to visit to keep up with our family.

I had grand plans of starting this blog at the beginning of my pregnancy. Obviously, that didn't happen. You haven't really missed much so far. I have been blessed with a very easy pregnancy so far. So, I'll just jump in at the exciting part.

At my OB visit last week, I found out that the baby is in a breech position - butt first. Since I am so far along (38 weeks) it is not likely that the baby is going to move on his own. There isn't enough room in there for him to flip around. The only two viable solutions for a breech scenario is to try a version procedure or c-section. Butt-first just doesn't work the old-fashioned way. We decided to try the version before scheduling a c-section. My appointment was yesterday.

Basically what happens is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and a nurse push on my abdomen and try to move the baby in to the head-down position. There's usually a 60-70% chance for success. The procedure takes about 20 minutes. During that time, the doctor and nurse try to move the baby three times. I was given diazepam (Valium) and a drug to keep my uterus from contracting (nifedepine). Jeremy said that it looked painful but it wasn't too bad. I'm feeling a little bruised today, but that's it.

Dr. Brown and nurse Cheryl were able to move the baby about 75% of the way. Dr. Brown said there is a good chance that the baby would move the rest of the way on his own since he was so close. I spent last night on my left side to encourage him to move. I can't tell if it worked or not. When I woke up this morning it felt like he had moved back into his original position. I guess I'll learn more at my next OB appointment. It's looking like am going to have to do the c-section after all. 

I'll keep you posted...