Harrison's Birth Story (finally...I know!)

So this whole mom thing is definitely time consuming! Here is the story of Harrison's birth...I'll post pics soon! And update on how the past 7 1/2 weeks have been the most exciting, exhausting, overwhelming, amazing, emotional, etc. etc. time of our lives! :)

Baby's Name: Harrison Troy
Date of Birth: August 22, 2010 @ 1:10 am
Original Due Date: August 17th, 2010
Weeks Pregnant: 40weeks 5 days
Weight: 8lbs 14oz Height: 21.5 inches

We had an induction scheduled for Friday, August 20th at 7:30 pm. I had been having high blood pressure since my 37/38 week appointment and at my 40 week appointment there was a trace amount of protein in my urine. So we decided to not wait any longer. Plus I was very done with being pregnant! We checked into the hospital, got comfortable in our room, and cervadil was inserted at around 9:00 pm. Got some pain meds and a sleeping pill at 11:15 pm and pretty much immediately passed out. Around 4:00 am the contractions woke me up and I got another dose of pain meds and was able to sleep for a few more hours. Around 8:30 am my midwife came in to check me and insert a foley bulb. I was dilated to 2 cm at that point. The foley bulb was absolutely awful! I thought I was going to pass out when she inserted it. My cervix had shortened so the process of her trying to get a hold of it to be able to insert the foley was miserable! Once the foley bulb came out at around 3:30 pm I was at 5 cm. My water broke shortly after that. Well...very long story short after laboring all day (which there is no way I could have done without my wonderful mom and amazing husband there to help me get through the contractions...pitocin is no joke!!) by 11:00 pm I had stayed at 5 cm. My midwife said she would give me another hour and a half to make SOME progress...any progress...or we would have to have a c-section. He was laying posterior and his head wasn't pressing on my cervix to get it dilated any more. I was absolutely heartbroken! I cried from the moment she left until she came back to re-check. My poor husband was so sad for me...we prayed that whatever happened would be the right way for us to deliver and God would give us peace about it. My midwife came back and I had made absolutely zero progress. After that everything happened so fast. The nurses started prepping me for surgery and changing into gowns. My husband had to throw all of our stuff together and toss it behind the nurses station so they could bring it to our mama and baby room for after he was born. They wheeled me into the surgery and I was so freaked out. I just wanted my husband there with me the whole time. I had an amazing team there and everyone was so great. Unfortunately I hyperventilated on the table and the minute my little boy was detached from me they pumped me with stuff to get my heart rate down and my breathing normal. I don't remember much after that...just moments every now and then. My husband said I was talking crazy! LOL!

Going through a c-section and the first week trying to recover was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Luckily with the incisions I will be able to try for a VBAC with the next little one we have. As far as our little Harrison goes...he was completely posterior when they opened me up! The back of his head had entered the birth canal and his neck was hyperextended. So God definitely answered our prayer with the many reasons why a c-section was the way it had to be. Otherwise our little boy would have had lots of head and neck trauma. We are so in love with him and I have to honestly say, as much pain as that c-section was and how much recovering sucks, I would do it all over again for him in a heartbeat!

**the above is taken from my birth board on www.babycenter.com which I posted on 8/28/2010**

Slacking...

I am so not good at updating this thing!! Ok...so quick overview of the past 2-3 weeks!

When I went in for our 38 week appointment my blood pressure was high for some reason. My midwife took some blood and did a cervical check. Absolutely nothing going on with that...he's locked up pretty tight in there...and seems totally happy with that! She then had me come back 2 days later to do an ultrasound and make sure he was ok in there. My bloodwork came back normal and the ultrasound was perfect. He was measuring at 7 lbs 6 oz at that point and my amniotic fluid levels were at an 18 (6 is when they start worrying...so he has plenty of juice in there!). His heart rate is great (in the 140's to 150's). And he was sucking on his little hand in the ultrasound! So precious! So Tanya, Jason, and I start discussing induction a bit and decide at our next appt. (39 weeks) we'd set a date!

Went back the following Tuesday for my appointment, but unfortunately Tanya was booked so I met with the other midwife, Donna. She did another cervical check and there was still no change. I had been having a lot of cramping and contractions so I was hoping something changed...but no. Her and Tanya tried to schedule us to be induced that Friday (my blood pressure is still somewhat high so medically they feel comfortable doing that) but no beds were available. So we set a date for the next Friday, 8/20. We also had another ultrasound and a non-stress test. My sister Stephanie was able to come and see that. We got the most awesome pictures of Harrison! He smiled during the ultrasound and I about started crying it was so amazing! And he had his eyes open a bit. I just cannot wait to meet him! He did great with both the NST and BPP....made a perfect 10/10! So he's still content in there and I doubt he'll be coming out by his due date (which is TOMORROW!!!!!). We have our 40 week appointment tomorrow where we have another BPP and NST scheduled. Hopefully Tanya can change our induction date to Wed. night instead of Fri. night. Jason has class starting Monday and I don't want him to miss that...it's hard to miss first days of stuff! But, obviously, if he has to he's totally ok with it!

In the midst of all that we completely finished the nursery! (Well...pretty much! We still need to sand and paint the dresser but that goes in the closet so it's no big deal.) It looks sooo good!! I love it! I've been having cleaning streaks where I just go crazy cleaning! I wish I would have some working streaks so I could be motivated to finish up my maternity leave stuff. Bleah. That's not so fun. Our hospital bags are pretty much packed...we're just waiting for either him to come on his own or Friday night! Please pray for us this week and that if we do need to be induced it will be easy and safe! I'm terrified of a possible c-section! And pray that Harrison rolls over...he's head down which is great but he's facing out (referred to as posterior or sunny-side up....which means BACK LABOR!! Yikes!). I just want him out safely so I can cuddle him...and roll over in bed without it taking ten minutes and waking up my poor husband to maybe give me a push! :)

One Year

July 25th...the day we decided to let everyone know we were going to be together forever! What a great day that was! The weather was perfect (aside from being blazingly hot!) and everything was beautiful! I remember being so happy and not caring about anything except walking down that aisle and saying "I do" and kissing my HUSBAND! Sometimes I still can't believe that after so many years of being in intense like with this man (who barely knew my name) God would somehow bring us together! I love reading my past journal entries and prayers to God about Jason and the discouragement I felt at times. It just shows how faithful God is and how no matter what we think, if it is in His plan then it is going to happen! I even started dating other people and God brought me out of that and back to pining after Jason! It's hard to believe that a year has passed since that wonderful day...and so many crazy things have happened in just that year! Specifically in 2009...but the best one will come about in just a few short weeks! Here's a rundown of our life together so far:

• End of September to November 2, 2008: Secretly dated! (That was fun!)
• October 31, 2008: Our first kiss ("So...how was it? Was it ok?!")
• November 2, 2008: Made our relationship public
• February 10, 2009: Got engaged!!
• April 8, 2009 (I think...): Got our little puppy Kate
• July 25, 2009: Became one flesh!
• July 27-August 2, 2009: Honeymooned in Mexico...amazing!
• November 24, 2009: Began moving into our new house!
• November 30, 2009: Official close date of house
• December 15, 2009: Found out we were expecting our first bundle of joy!! (And what a shock that was!!!)
• August 17, 2010: Expected arrival date of this little man growing inside me who I know will look just like his daddy...hopefully with mommy's dimples!

So yeah...it's been crazy! But amazing. And oh how I love this tall, bearded, funny, loving, musical, cuddly, SEXY, God-fearing man of mine!!

Here's a comment I wrote in response to his blog about our anniversary (which if you're interested in, and he's a great writer too!, go to www.jasonbunch.net ):

Happy Anniversary! (You should not request your pregnant wife read these while she’s at work by the way…you know I’m emotional lately!! These kids probably think I’m crazy tearing up over here!) I love you so much more than the day we got engaged…then the day of our first awkward kiss…then the day we got our first baby (Kate…who I know loves you more than me!!)…then the day we said “I do”…then the day we first woke up together…then the day we had our first fight…then the day you came home and I was wearing my veil crying in the closet because we didn’t have a videotape of our wedding and you reminded me of all the amazing moments of that day…then the day we moved in together…then the day we signed our lives away for this wonderful house…then the day my family told me how much they love you and we’re perfect together…then the day I saw that plus sign on that stick and realized we made something amazing together…then the day(s) of this pregnancy that you have shown me over and over how supportive and loving you are…but I’m sure not as much as I’ll love you the day we first see our child…the day I first see you change a diaper…the day you teach Harrison to be a wonderful musician just like his daddy…and so many other things to come that I can’t even fathom them right now! God sure knew what he was doing when He surprised me with our life together. As crazy and hectic as it’s been I wouldn’t have it any other way! I love you so much and can’t imagine a day without you!!!!

Gotta Catch Up!

Wow...it's been quite a while since I've updated! And left the blog on a negative note at that! The past 4 weeks have flown by! We have had a lot going on since we were at 32 weeks. And now we're almost done with the 36th week and Harrison will be considered full term! Such a relief to make it to that moment! The past 4 weeks have been filled with trips...crazy summer school kids...and a wonderful baby shower!

My older sister, Vanesa, got married in Chicago on July 9th so we flew up there for that. It was fun to see family again. It was kind of hard too because everyone was so cute and tiny and able to bend over...me...not so much! It's also really hard for me to depend on others to do little stuff for me...like help me get out of the car and pick my 30 pound bag up. Just frustrating. But other than my selfish complaints of being pregnant the trip was great! Jason and I went with my cousin Michelle and her boyfriend into the city Saturday after the wedding and did a lot of fun stuff and walked around. It was good.

Summer school started right when we got back on July 12th...that was not so fun. It's still going on. Next week is the last week. It's just hard when I barely have the energy to clean my house...much less keep up with these crazy kids! But quite a few of them are pleasant to be around and have very interesting personalities. I'm kind of glad I won't be around for the start of the year...even though it will be really hard to have lesson plans and stuff going for the beginning. Oh well...it is what it is!

July 17th was the baby shower! It was a lot of fun! Kristan and Cassi did such a good job with it! My mom and little sister Stephanie came into town for it. And so did my two good friends from high school, Mandy and Jessica! I didn't know they were coming so it was a great surprise! With the distance I didn't really expect them too because I know how hard it is for me to be able to get out of town for stuff. So that was really nice! We got a lot of good stuff for the baby. Hopefully we will be able to finish up the nursery in the next couple of weeks and just relax until Harrison gets here.

One last thing. This past Monday was my 36 week appointment. This is the lovely one where you get the Strep-B test and an internal exam. Those are always awkward...especially since I haven't had one for 9 months! Well...in walks my midwife with a med student. So I'm already uncomfortable and here is this young, skinny, pretty girl here to just observe. And I wasn't asked if it was ok...just told she'll be observing. I'm kind of mad at myself for not speaking up and saying I wasn't comfortable with it. And every time I let myself think about it I get super annoyed. It'll be interesting at my next appointment when I talk to her about it because part of my birth plan is no med students. And people tell me "oh...when you're in labor you won't care who's in there...you won't even notice...after having a baby you won't feel like that anymore...blah blah blah" And maybe all of that is true. But I feel this way NOW. And I think those feelings should be recognized and respected. I understand some things can't be controlled when you're in labor. My birth plan might not be followed exactly. And that's ok. But the things that can be controlled should be how I want them to make me comfortable. It's my body...my baby...my experience. Is that too unreasonable to expect? I really don't think so. And if that makes me a crazy pregnant lady who expects too much...well that's just too bad! :)

And Harrison is doing wonderfully, FYI! Growing perfectly (if not a little big...but that's to be expected!) moving around lots and giving mommy lots of heartburn and indigestion! So he better have lots of hair! :) I can't wait to meet him...he can come out anytime after July 31st!

Well dang...

Last night I hung out with Karyn and Brad finally! I haven't seen them since the baby reveal party really! It was good to hang out and catch up. Dinner was good and we had some amazing cheesecake from Cheesecake's by Alex! It was the white chocolate raz...which was our wedding cake also! We talked about baby stuff and pregnancy issues going on...Karyn felt the baby moving...Brad made a few typical Brad jokes...and we watched some Friends. Reagan has changed so much...she is so pretty! It's fun to see babies go from that cute but gender neutral type stage to "what a beautiful little baby girl!" Everything was great hanging out...then I went to the restroom. As I was washing my hands I decided to check out my belly...and that's when I saw them....stretch marks!!! I couldn't believe it. No more bikini's...no more having my belly just poking out...can't have pregnancy pics taken without worrying about that...ugh.

When I got home and was laying in bed all I could do was cry. It seems like such a trivial thing to be so upset about but I just can't help it. And I still have a little less than 8 weeks to go...who knows how many will be added. And these aren't the faint, silvery type of stretch marks...these are those red, spidery looking ones that can quickly turn into fire at a moment's notice. I'm just so sad. One thing my husband has always told me he loves about me is my skin tone and how soft and pretty it is. No longer. All those bottles of lotions...wasted...because it apparently didn't matter how much I slathered on my belly...those angry marks to remind me of how stretched out my skin is getting were going to pop up anyway.

And the absolute worst...I'm upset with Harrison. I don't want to admit that. I hate saying that. But I blame him. So now I'm more than ready for him to come out so I can forgive him for giving mommy ugly marks on her belly. Because I know as soon as I see that little face and he grasps my finger so tightly none of it will matter. The morning sickness, the cramping, the back pain, the shooting pain that makes me not able to stand, the 40+ pounds I've tacked on, no beer, no wine, limited caffeine, messy house, having to trade in my sports car for a family car, no 1st anniversary vacation, STRETCH MARKS (the last straw for me apparently!), blah blah blah...none of it will matter. And it will all be worth this little life we've created.

(I apologize for the gloominess of this post...I promise it's not always like this!)

Karate Chop!

Phew! This baby is working my abs out for me! Not to mention my bladder...lungs...ribs...stomach...kidneys...whatever else is in there he can play with...!! He has been the most active little boy the past few weeks! Last night Jason and I were just laying in bed and watching my belly moving and jumping around! I really wish we had a camera to record it before he runs out of room. Guess I should charge my camera! I can't believe we only have 8 weeks left! This pregnancy has flown by (as of now anyway...I'm sure given the next heat wave I'll be ready to be done!) Here's a pic of my belly, 32 weeks on the dot!

I am really hoping to get the nursery done by Tuesday of next week. Monday will be my first day of summer break (the very little one I have). I'm looking forward to resting and getting some stuff done in the house. I really need a housekeeper!

On another note, my good friend Emily had her baby boy yesterday morning!! Jacob Max Eddy came into the world at 2:30 am on 6/22 weighing 9 lbs 4 ozs and measuring about 20 in long! He is so cute and chubby!! Unfortunately he has a valve in his heart that didn't close so he's in NICU until that sorts itself out. Not really anything that isn't easily fixed, according to the doctor's, but they want to keep him monitored. It's preventing his blood from being oxygenated. So if you could say a prayer that that gets fixed naturally and quickly I'm sure the Eddy's would appreciate it! Here's a pic of the little (?) tyke!

Emily is doing great! She looked amazing last night...not at all like she'd been through over 9 hours of labor! Can't wait to see him and Harrison becoming great buds!

Oh Yeah!

This past weekend was a good weekend. My mom came into town and helped us get a crib. I can't wait to put it together and have the room all set up! It's such a daunting task though. We literally haven't done anything yet! Bought some paint this weekend and have an idea for the room...that's about it! Hopefully we can get the furniture moved out this weekend and paint the room. Maybe put the crib together as well!

The baby shower for work that Leigh threw for me was this weekend also. It was pretty fun and I got some good stuff. Lots of diapers and wipes. A few things from the registry. And the cake was super cute and super delicious! All in all...good fun!

Best of all...today was the last day of school! Hallelujah!!!! Now all I have left is to clean my room out and some meetings. It's not like I'll even really have a relaxing summer. With all of the workshops and teaching summer school I literally only have 3 1/2 weeks off total. And 2 of those weeks are the 2 weeks before Harrison's due date...so who knows how I'll feel or if he comes early. Oh well...gotta pay for this little dude somehow!