Happy Birth Day Jonas!

Our son was born at home December 28th at 10:15 AM weighing 6 lb 12 oz. Our journey to parenthood has been a long one, but thankfully the labor was relatively short. If you're interested in the full details, here's how it all went down.

Saturday around 5 PM our midwife came to the house to check my cervix and strip my membranes. I had also been to acupuncture to "fluff my kidney qi" in hopes for a smooth labor and had started evening primrose oil to get my cervix ready. I had also been taking longer more strenuous walks the past few days. MM was a little nervous about the whole stripping the membranes thing, but she assured us that she does this for almost all her clients (if they're GBS negative) and only once has it put them into labor within 24 hours. Well, I'm not sure if it was the walk, the acupuncture, the oil, or if Jonas was just ready, but at 1:30 AM on Sunday I lost my mucus plug and about 15 minutes later, my water broke. Thankfully it was clear/pinkish with no meconium. I called my midwife and let her know. She said to try and rest and see if my contractions picked up. I called less than an hour later when the contractions were getting pretty strong and closer together, every 5-6 minutes. I had hopes of making banana bread during the early labor stages, but I couldn't get past gathering the ingredients. I was beginning to doubt my ability to do this whole thing unmedicated at home. MM started putting the AquaDoula together and helped me through the tougher contractions. My midwife and the nurse got to the house around 5 AM, followed shortly by our housemate Nena who had just arrived from her Christmas vacation, and Jules, a great friend and natural nurturer. They kept us all fed and hydrated throughout the process and acted as our photographers. I can't thank them enough.

The midwife didn't want to check me at first because my water had broken, but when I said I was having the urge to bear down and my contractions kept getting stronger they checked. I was 7 cm at around 5:30. Finally the AquaDoula was hot and ready, so I got in to help me through transition. It was a really nice change and helped keep me a little more comfortable. Before too long I was completely dilated and ready to push. I think it was around 7:30. I wanted to get out of the tub and move to the bedroom, so that's what we did.

I pushed for what seemed like forever, but was really about 2 1/2 hrs. I begged the midwife to just take him out, but she assured me I was going to push him out myself. I felt his head coming out and finally MM and I delivered our son. It was one of those truly amazing moments in life. To bring life into the world, to see this child who has grown inside of me from just a few cells--it's indescribable. Thanks for joining me on this journey. Hope you like the snapshot.

38 Week Report

I had my weekly appointment on Monday. My midwife checked my cervix and said I was a "cheap 2." I guess that means I'm somewhere closer to 1.5 cm dilated, but if you stretch it you could call it a 2 and I'm 50% effaced (the cervix is getting thinner). I would like to be a little further along at this point, but I'm not complaining. At least these contractions are doing something.

Monday afternoon I went for my formal ultrasound to check the fetal weight. His estimated weight was 6 lb 14 oz +/- 13 oz. They aren't super accurate this late in the game, but at least we know he's not 10 lbs or something. Everything else looked good. It was fun to watch him playing around in there. We got another good shot of the genitals--still a boy :), but he was shy about giving a good profile picture. He kept getting his feet and hands in the way. I guess we'll see the real thing soon enough.

Now I'm just closing in on the last few things I want to get done before he comes. I finally finished knitting a little sleep sack for him and am almost done making a new cover for the bassinet.

MM and I are looking forward to a few quiet days home alone together. Our families are in the South and Midwest, so it's just us this holiday. We don't have any commitments other than a reservation for Christmas dinner. I think we're going to try and pack in several movies since it looks like it's going to be rainy.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Still Here

Just wanted to say I'm still here and still pregnant. We've been pretty busy lately. Not so much with baby preparations, but taking care of family stuff. My father-in-law arrived with his wife and her daughter a week ago. He was very sick when he arrived (after a 15 + hour flight from China), and was admitted to the hospital for the next 6 days. Thankfully, he is recovering well and is now home with us for the next few days until he's able to travel to his final destination in Arkansas for the holidays.

In other news, I am still having contractions daily, but nothing regular. They seem to be worse at night and in the early morning. I've still been able to control my diabetes with my diet alone with one exception--I had a little binge the other night. Some friends brought over homemade cookies and fudge for our housemate. It was just too tempting. I had 3 cookies and 2 pieces of fudge. My blood sugar was almost 160 afterward. I apologized to the baby and vowed to do better. It's hard sometimes.

Things are pretty much in place for labor and delivery. I will pick up the AquaDoula on Monday when I'm 38 weeks, so I can labor comfortably (is that really possible?) at home and there's room for MM to join me in the tub if needed.

I had a great episode of "pregnant brain" earlier this week. A friend brought dinner over with some grapefruit to have for dessert. When it came time to cut them up and serve them we could only find one of the two. We blamed it on Sadie (the 16 month old cutie), but later found it in the upper cabinet with the glasses. Yes, I put the grapefruit away with the glasses. Classic.

The time is really getting short and I am realizing more and more that my time "alone" is limited. I'm so excited, and of course a little nervous. I know my life will change. It's just a matter of time now.

No Stops

I've officially reached the point where no one will try and stop me if my body decides to go into labor! It's pretty crazy to think how close to delivery we are.

The hand-me-down bassinet arrived this weekend, the car seat is in the car (though not properly installed), and diapers are in the washer. Our oven is out, so I'm not cooking and freezing like I had planned, but otherwise I think we're on track.

I have had a few emotional moments the past few days reflecting on where we've been and where we are. We went to get our Christmas tree the other day (I love a real tree in the house). MM and I were decorating it and listening to Christmas music last night. It was a beautiful, quiet night and I just started crying one of those wonderful happy cries. I was thinking about all the Christmases we have shared over the past 8 years together, the happy ones and the sad ones, and looking forward to sharing this tradition with our son for many years to come. It still seems too good to be true sometimes.