Gabriel Joseph: Birth Story

Our second son was born May 17th 2014 at 13:25, weighing 8lbs 7oz and 20.75 inches long! Gabriel Joseph Hess.

Pregnancy was not as easy as it was with William. But labor and delivery was easier this time. Partly because I knew what to expect and also because I chose to do it differently this time.

Starting at 20 weeks I could feel Braxton Hicks contractions. A week before he was born, they increased dramatically. I had planned on working right up until Gabriel was born, however due to the increase of contractions and major discomfort I had to quit that week before he was born. So I had a whole week home with William, just waiting for our baby to make his appearance!

I had an OB appointment which showed very little progress towards labor starting soon. Made an appointment for Monday May 19th to reassess and possibly set a date for inducing labor. Thankfully that appointment did not come :)

Throughout this pregnancy I had trouble sleeping. If it was a good night I'd sleep 3-4 hours straight, some nights I would be awake all night long. So Friday night, when I couldn't sleep I just figured it would be another sleepless night as usual. However, starting at about 3:30 am the contractions started. They were different than with William, so I wasn't sure if it was actually labor or not. So after an hour I timed them, and they were anywhere from 2 minutes apart to 1 1/2 minutes apart. Around 4:30am I woke Matt up and he continued to time them, and he called the Dr after a few contractions because they were so close together. Matt's mom and step dad came to stay with William (who was still sleeping) while we went to the hospital. The Dr said to come and see if it's really labor or not. So when we arrived around 6:00 am we weren't sure if  we'd be staying or heading home for a while. They were busy at the hospital, and it took a while to get a triage room. Once there the nurse and an intern did the usual stuff and we got to hear his heart beat, see him in a sonogram (looked like he had a huge nose!)...Intern said I was 5cm and 80% so we were happy that we would be meeting our son that day!

Once we got a room, we walked the hallways round and round many times. I hadn't decided yet if I wanted an epidural or not so we just kept walking. Around 9ish I decided yes to an epidural, 7cm. I wanted to enjoy Gabriel's birth as much as possible. Times are a bit fuzzy. Once I had the epidural it was wonderful! I could still feel a little but was so much more comfortable! Cherith arrived around 10:00 to be there for Gabriel's birth! I was a little nervous about having her be traumatized after experiencing it, but she did great!

After 2 hours the epidural wore off, so they hooked up a pump for me. This did not work well at all, so for a while I could feel contractions again. The epidural did end up slowing down labor, but that was okay as things were still progressing. The Dr ended up having to break my water to get Gabriel's head to come down. Once again my baby decided not to drop before being born! While I was managing contractions well through breathing and positioning I missed the epidural :) Poor Matt thought his hand was going to break from me squeezing him so tight! And at one point my hand cramped so bad that he had to force my fingers shut as I couldn't move it. Strange! So she came back and gave me one more dose. This numbed only my right side ha ha! So I could still feel everything on the left side. Still quite painful, but my body could relax in between contractions.

I finally felt like it might be time to push, but due to the epidural I wasn't 100% sure, so I didn't say anything. About 5 minutes later the Dr came in, looked at me, and said, "Oh, it's time!" I was so excited at that point to have him be born! As soon as the team was ready the contractions stopped for 2 or 3 minutes! Then I only had to use 2 contractions to push him out! However, after the first contraction I had to push in between them. The nurse had the monitor on listening to his heart beat. When he moved she was trying to find it again and couldn't. I still don't know if it was due to his position at that time or if something was wrong. But I watched the Dr and nurses' faces and knew they should be hearing his heart beat at that time. Dr said I need you to push right now, so I did and the nurse said oh I see his hair! I was surprised by this as William had very little blonde hair at birth. Second push and his head was out...thankfully he was breathing fine and heart beat was normal! As his body came out, so did the rest of the fluid, and splashed the Dr quite a lot! Gross! It was awesome to hold him in my arms and finally meet him! We were so happy! And couldn't believe all the dark hair he had!

We stayed in the hospital until Monday morning. The night after his birth I had to have help walking around, because my right leg was still numb and felt like jello trying to walk around. We had lots of visitors on Sunday!  And Gabriel passed all tests with no problem! The team we had for laboring was awesome! My nurse was so good! She was laid back and comfortable with what she was doing, encouraging and helpful, yet not overbearing. Our Dr was so good too, and was more involved. The nurses aid was really great too, and a big help after birth! Our nurse all day Saturday was amazing as well. Overall our experience with Gabriel's birth was great!

We are so thankful for this second son God has blessed us with! He is handsome and healthy and a good baby! William loves his baby brother, for that I'm also thankful! Our adventure as a family of 4 is going to be a fun one!

Our Birth Story: Part Three

Woohoo! We were finally taken to our room to have the baby after 11am! Exact times are a big foggy for me. Our nurse carried all our stuff for us, and Matt helped me walk the hall to our room. It was right next to the room we were in the night before. Once in the room, my nurse hooked me up to the monitor to watch contractions and babies' heartbeat. I wasn't happy to be on the monitor, but if I had wanted to walk around they could have given me a portable one. However, I was content staying in the room at this point. Contractions were still coming quite close together, so while the nurse was getting things ready, I just held on to Matt and rocked back and forth. There were a few papers to fill out and sign at this point; now I don't remember what they were all for. It took a little while to do it, cause I had to keep stopping for contractions. My nurse was in the room doing things, don't know what, and brought me a pitcher of water. I was so happy that I could drink water! My mouth was so dry, and it just kept getting more dry as labor went on. She did hang a bag of saline and ran it through my IV throughout labor. Before I hadn't wanted anything through my IV unless necessary, but I really didn't care, and couldn't drink through the contractions, so the fluids helped.

So for quite a while Matt and I just rocked back and forth. The pain was still manageable while doing breathing exercises. Around maybe 1pm I started to feel a lot of pressure, but wasn't ready to start pushing yet. So even though the pain was manageable, the pressure was pretty intense. I asked for some pain medicine through my iv thinking it would help ease some of the pressure feeling, or help with the pain so the pressure was more manageable. Next time I will know not to ask for it ha ha! I had decided before I went into labor that I would accept iv pain meds, but nothing else (like an epidural). So I was not upset to ask for these meds. I had to get into bed for her to give me the pain medicine. She gave me some Phenergan too in case the Demorol made me nauseous. I remember laying there on my side, with Matt behind me rubbing my back and holding my hand thinking things will feel a little bit better now. That was not the case! The medicine did absolutely nothing for me other than make me tired ha ha! So I now know not to have it again! Now I had to stay in bed and deal with the contractions instead of being able to be up moving. So Matt sat there with me, helping me out. Not long after, I felt a contraction come, and felt a pop and wetness! I jumped a little from surprise, and said 'oh! there goes my water!' Matt leaped of the bed! I guess I kinda startled him, and he didn't want to get any on him ha ha. My water had broken! So Matt called the nurse and she came right in. She wanted me to move around in bed so she could clean it all up, but I said no! I told her I didn't care if I was laying in it for a little while, but I couldn't roll around or lift myself up while these contractions were coming. They were extremely close together now! I don't remember how far apart they were at this point, but not very much at all! So my nurse just put extra linen under me so I wasn't laying in a mess and cleaned up what she could. She held up the mucous plug so that we could see it, and it was gross looking! She said most people want to see it ha ha!

Pretty much things continued like this for a while. Matthew was so good about helping me, getting me water, keeping me together. The pressure was increasing, and that was the worst part of it all! The baby had not dropped at all before labor started, so he was still pretty high, however I could feel the pressure of his head coming down. Maybe around 3:00 or 3:30 pm I knew I had to start pushing. I don't know if I told the nurse I needed to, or if she told me to, or if I just started, or what happened ha ha. But then I started pushing! It took a few contractions before I began pushing the right way. My nurse kept saying 'push in your bottom, not in your face.' That was hard to do. Keeping my face relaxed was so hard! It seemed like I pushed for a long time. My Dr. had come in, and was checking the babies' progress. She had said right away I was 10cm dilated and things looked good. Matt was on one side and my nurse on the other encouraging me. 30 minutes passed and I was so tired from all the pushing! He had come down a little, but I could not get him past zero station. My Dr. said that an epidural could possibly work to relax my body, and let the contractions push the baby down for me. However, the epidural could also slow down labor, and possibly result in a c-section. I knew I did not want a section, but I also knew I could not keep pushing without progress. So I welcomed the epidural.

Just after 4pm the anesthesiologist came in to do the epidural. I sat on the side of the bed with my feet up on a garbage can with my nurse in front of me holding my hands. I think I may have given her some nail marks when the contractions hit! It was incredibly difficult to sit at this point! They made Matt move off to the side, but he did watch the anesthesiologist. Thankfully when a contraction hit he stopped working and let me breathe through it! The epidural wasn't a drip, but it was just a little bit of the medicine put right in through the catheter. I would only last a little while. It did not take him long at all to get it done, and very soon after I felt the effects! It was wonderful! I had to make sure I could wiggle my toes before he left, and then I laid down in bed and was semi-comfortable! I was so thankful for this, because I was able to sleep about 45 minutes! I didn't feel the contractions at all, and the pressure was minimal! I don't know what Matt did during this time that I was asleep. After about 45 minutes I felt the contractions come back full force! So I started my breathing again, and the pressure was incredible! I knew it was time to get this baby out! Thankfully, during my rest, my body did it's job and pushed the baby down far enough so that I could push him out! No slowing down of labor for me ha ha!

So the nurse dropped the end of the bed, and the real deal began! At first I labored lounging in bed (like you see most people do in movies I guess). But it just wasn't comfortable and was more difficult I thought. So the nurse got a squat bar, and attached it to the end of the bed. I liked this much better, because gravity could help out too! That's how I did most of my labor. My nurse was so awesome at keeping me focused and pushing the correct way! She is the model nurse for labor and delivery! Matt did so good too on the other side keeping my hydrated and encouraging me! I was getting pretty tired, and was super duper uncomfortable! The pain was still manageable, but once again it was all the pressure that was driving me crazy! The epidural had completely worn off before this, so I was on my own for pain management. Once the babies' head was down down down, I got back into the bed to deliver him so that the Dr. could see him and help. At this point I remember praying that God would speed up the deliver and give me strength to do this!

My Dr. kept saying 'push right here, past this point.' So I imagined pushing the baby out to the wall across from me ha ha! Had to get past the point she was talking about! By this time I was unable to hold my own legs up, so any time I was ready to push my nurse grabbed one, and Matt the other, and they held them for me. Pretty soon, or what seemed soon, my Dr. said his head was right there, and Matt was able to see him! A couple more nurses appeared in the room to help after delivery, and a resident came in to work with my dr. At this point I was feeling extremely nauseous, and apparently I told them so, cause I was handed an emesis bag and a cool washcloth was put on my head. I thought for sure my chocolate chip waffles were coming up! That never happened though, and I lost site of the bag. I was quite thankful I didn't need it! A couple more pushes and my nurse asked if I wanted to touch my babies' head! I said no, I just wanted to get him out! So I kept pushing! I know that I felt the burning that they talk about in class, but I don't remember it now, but as soon as his head was right there, all pain left! Well, the pain left before that, but the burning pain left at this point. It was all just pressure, fun fun! I felt his head come out, but was unable to feel any tearing...thankfully! My nurse said stop pushing and take some fast short breaths. It was so very hard not to keep pushing, but she breathed with me and helped me! They had to suction out the babies' mouth and nose and make sure the cord wasn't around him. Then I gave another push or two, and that was it! I didn't even know his body had come out, as I had no feeling down there anymore. My nurse said reach down and grab your baby! And I said where is he? ha ha I didn't know he was out!

So I reached down and took him from the dr. That was the happiest moment of the whole day! Matthew was crying, kissing me, touching William. I was so relieved it was over! I always thought I would cry like a baby when I saw him the first time, but I was so relieved and happy I just held him close and smiled! He was so precious! It was kinda hard to hold on to him cause he was so slippery and covered in ickyness ha ha! But we were so happy our baby boy was here with us! And he looked perfect! Matt cut the umbilical cord; had to cut twice. After a little while they took William to weigh him and check him out in the warmer. Meanwhile the Dr. and resident had removed the placenta. I always thought I would have to push and work hard to get it out, but my dr. massaged my stomach while the resident gently pulled the cord, and it came right out! I was shocked at the easiness of it. So while they were stitching me up Matthew got some pictures of William and the nurses did all their newborn care. I rememebr looking at William, and seeing how big he was, and thinking 'how did all this baby fit inside of me?' The nurse handed Will back to me in a blanket this time, and it was much easier to hold onto him ha ha! I held him, then let Matt hold him, and it was precious they way he looked at Matt as though he knew Matt was his daddy! William cried when he was first born, but then seemed content after that!

It took the resident a long time to stitch me up. It was his first time doing it, and I had a 3rd degree tear, with some sideways tearing as well. That was due to Will's little hand coming out beside his face! I felt a couple pokes at one point, but really didn't know they were doing anything; I was just so happy to be holding our baby! Once that was all done, my awesome nurse gave me a glove with ice in it because it was much better than the ice packs they had. I had to have a foley catheter in over night because I was so swollen I couldn't empty my bladder on my own. That was uncomfortable, but it worked to help my uterus get back into place! We stayed in the delivery room for about 2 1/2 hours after delivery. I was able to feed him for the first time there! About 10:30pm our nurse took us to the postpartum unit. Getting out of bed into a wheelchair (even sitting on two pillows) felt like torture! My nurse had brought me pain medicine a while before that, but it was still quite painful. I was sad to have to switch nurses, because we loved our delivery nurse, but thankfully we had awesome nurses the whole time!

Once in the postpartum unit our nurse did our admission (it was strange being asked all the admission questions, instead of being the one to ask them ha ha). They took Will to the nursery to give him a bath and do his check. Then he was with us all night! We kept him in the room with us unless they had to take him. The next day all our families came to visit and see William! Our room was packed full of people, but it was wonderful! We were so happy for everyone to see our precious baby! Because of the pain medicine, I was quite spaced out! I don't remember everything that happened these recovering days, and wasn't able to interact a whole lot with visitors. But it was still wonderful to have them there! That night the nurse took Will to the nursery in between feedings because he wasn't sleeping so I was awake with him. She wanted me to get some sleep. I missed him so much while he was gone though! Matt was able to stay in the room with us because we were given a private room! I couldn't imagine having to share a room while recovering from giving birth! We stayed two nights, and left on Monday. A few times we met with a lactation consultant to try and help William eat better. And it helped, because once we were home he was doing just fine! When we were leaving on Monday aroun 5pm, it felt strange to be leaving with a new baby! I had mixed feelings; I was excited to be starting this new adventure together, nervous we were going to do something wrong, and wanting to stay a little longer so the nurses would be there just in case we needed them ha ha! But overall, I was happy to be going home as a family of 3 :)

I am so thankful to the Lord that labor was fast, and not as difficult as it could have been! We had a wonderful experience, with wonderful nurses! Labor lasted about 12 hours from start to finish! We are so incredibly thankful for our son William, and we love him so much! I had people tell me before that they don't remember all the pain they went through, and I never really knew that that could be true. However, a couple days after delivery, the whole process seemed like a long time ago dream! I cannot remember the pain, burning or pressure feelings! I know I had them, and that I was uncomfortable, but it almost doesn't seem like it really even happened. My sister Abby told me that's God's way of helping us forget! Maybe so we'll have more babies! Because of our great experience, and our beautiful child, I will definitely have more when the Lord blesses us with more!

We are loving life as a little family! Our son is healthy and adorable! We thank God for His blessings and His health and protection for us during pregnancy and delivery! Our lives are so much richer now, and we are looking forward to continuing our journey as a family!

Our Birth Story: Part Two

...continuing from the first part of our birth story...

So we went to bed Friday night, relieved and thanking God that William was okay! We saw him in the sonogram again, and he was doing just fine, and had plenty of fluids! As I wrote before, we were expecting to be parents the following week, but were still praying that labor would start naturally for us.

Saturday morning came, and Matt had to go to work. He left home about 6:30am after waking me up to say goodbye. Being so uncomfortable in pregnancy at this point, I could not sleep much, and I was up at 6:45am. I took my medicine and used the bathroom, thinking I would be able to get several things done on my 'To Do' list. Very very soon, by 7am, after getting up I starting feeling contractions! I knew they were contractions because of how painful they were, and how tight my stomach would feel during them. At first I thought I was finally really feeling the Braxston Hicks contractions, and I thought 'yay, now maybe labor will start naturally for me in a couple days!' Well, pretty much as soon as the contractions started I had to breath through them, and I was pacing the apartment through each one. I was texting a friend and sister about them, and wondering if this was the real thing.

I was expecting labor to be like this: contractions would start at some point, they wouldn't be awful at first, but throughout the day would gradually worsen. I would stay home and labor until the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, and I wasn't able to talk through them. Then Matt and I would go to the hospital and finish labor there. I really expected labor to last a long time, especially with the first child, and to stay at home through most of it. That was not to be!

So, I continued pacing through the apartment every time a contraction would come. I kept breathing through each one, and was surprised at how the breathing really did help! Because I was expecting to be home all day, I decided that I should eat breakfast so that I wasn't starving all day, and at the hospital (because you can't eat once you get there). I had gotten frozen chocolate chip waffles the day before, and was looking forward to eating them! So I made two of them! Somehow, I managed to eat both of them, in between pacing the apartment with each contraction. I thought how strange it was that the contractions were coming so close together, and that I had to breath through them already! I did enjoy the waffles though, ha ha!

As the morning continued, I got Matt's stop watch and tried to time the contractions. I thought I had timed one out to about 3 minutes, but I wasn't sure. After that one, I was unable to use the stop watch and think about it! That's how strong they were! I was slightly worried about how close they were coming, and didn't know if I should be home alone. But, because Matt was at work, I wasn't sure if I should call him to come home or not. I didn't want him to miss a whole day of work, just being home while I was going through labor. I figured maybe by the time he got out of work I'd be ready to go the hospital. At 8:30am I finally decided that I better call Matt, because I really couldn't time the contractions, and they were pretty painful. So I called Matt's work and talked to his supervisor, telling her I thought I was in labor. She transferred me to Matt so I could talk to him. However, when Matt picked up the phone, I was in a contraction and unable to talk to him! It finally ended, and I told him I thought I was in labor, that maybe he should come home because I wasn't sure if it was the real thing, or what was going on for sure! Thankfully he only works about 15 minutes away from our home! Just in case we were going to the hospital, I filled up the cat's food dish and water. It seemed like it took Matt a long time to get home that day ha ha! While I waited for him, I just paced the apartment and kept breathing, breathing, and breathing!

Matt finally got home, and he started throwing clothes and things in a bag for him, just in case we were really going to the hospital. I just kept pacing and breathing....I remember at one point asking Matt to time the contractions (I had looked at a clock, and thought they were about 3 minutes apart). Matt stopped and looked at me and said, "Is that another one?" He was surprised that they were coming so close together too! So Matt called our doctor, and of course we had to wait for a call back ha ha. Meanwhile he kept throwing things in a bag, packing our snacks, and getting the last few things I had to grab. I kept trying to help him, but really wasn't any help because I just kept walking away ha ha. Our doctor finally called back (it was really probably only about 10 minutes, if that) and was asking Matt questions about timing the contractions, if I could talk through them, and I don't know what else. When he told her how far apart we thought they were, she said we should come to the hospital and they would check me and see what was going on, and if it really was real labor. I hadn't showered yet that morning, and felt going to the hospital un-showered would be yucky. I managed to shower while Matt made phone calls to tell people we were going to the hospital. The shower really didn't feel good ha ha, and I had no where to pace! So I was happy when it was over!

Matt grabbed our bags, and I grabbed the pillows, and we headed to the car! I was so worried about how I was going to ride in the car! Didn't know how I would sit that long. As Matt was packing the car, another contraction came, and I couldn't get in the car, had to keep walking. Finally I managed to get in, and we were on our way! The trip only took about 15 minutes, thankfully! No traffic! I just kept doing my breathing, and gripping the car door the whole way there! Thankfully the hospital has valet service, so Matt pulled right up to the door, and we hopped out! The man wanted to get me a wheelchair, but by this time sitting was something that I did not want to do at all! So I said no, but he was quite concerned about letting me walk into the hospital. Matt grabbed all our bags (we had so much stuff it seemed!), and we went into the hospital. The security guard didn't stop us, but Matt had to go back and sign in as a visitor.

Once we were on the Labor and Delivery floor we had to check in at the desk. The nurse started to ask me to confirm my information. I was able to confirm my name, then had to start pacing around breathing, so Matt had to take care of the rest for me. They took us into the triage room, this was 10:00 am, and it was so tiny! I got my gown on, and then we waited. I tried to pace around, but there was barely any room to pace, so that's when my breathing really helped even more! Poor Matt wanted to help me, but there was nothing he could do! We were in there for quite a while before they hooked up the monitor to measure his heartbeat and my contractions. For that they had me get into the bed...that was so uncomfortable!! I stayed on my side, and held Matt's hand. Standing and walking was just so much more comfortable! Finally, about 11:00, my doctor came in and checked me. Talk about painful! I know my brain is a little foggy, but I really think that was the most painful part of the whole birthing process! When she told us I was 6cm dilated and 90% effaced, I started crying with relief! I was so happy that this was the real thing and we were finally going to meet our son! She said they were going to admit me, and then the nurse drew blood work and placed an IV in my arm. First time with an IV, and it wasn't as awful as I was expecting ha ha. Through all this I was just breathing and squeezing Matt's hand! My doctor seemed a little surprised I was so far along in labor; I think that's why they took their time letting us wait in triage for so long. But now, after 11am, we were moved into our labor room! It was such an exciting time for us, knowing that this was it! Our baby boy was going to be born, and we were going to be parents!!

More to come....

Our Birth Story: Part One

Well, he's here!! Matthew William Hess II was born on May 5th at 6:18 pm, weighing 8lbs 10oz! And this is the story of his birth, starting a few days before and ending a few days after he was born.

April 30th was my due date. It was also my last day of work. I was kinda hoping Will would be born no later than his due date as I was incredibly uncomfortable and was so ready to finally meet him! However, that was not to be. We went to the Dr. on Tuesday May 1st for a full-term appointment. They did a sonogram to make sure he was breathing normally, and that I had enough fluids for him to stay in there a few more days. Then they did a non-stress test, so I was on a monitor that recorded his heartbeat and any contractions I may have been having. It was awesome to hear his heartbeat for so long, and see it too! He was pretty active at the appointment and kept kicking that the monitors on my belly ha ha! The monitor picked up some uterine contraction which I could not feel at all. But at least we knew something was starting, even though they weren't real contractions. Then the midwife checked my cervix, and it was still completely closed with no sign of thinning. We were a bit disappointed, but knew that God would have Will come whenever he was ready.

The midwife talked with us about a possible induction if he was not born a week after my due date. We were very hesitant to agree to being induced, and I told her I would want to wait longer to see what happened. So we left the appointment just kinda waiting to see what would happen. That next day I started experiencing the Braxston Hicks Contractions. They were not painful at all, and sometimes I would miss them. The only thing I felt was a tightening of my uterus, and at first I had to actually feel my belly and see if it was hard to know that they were happening. On Friday, May 4th, I went back for another appointment. William was incredibly active that day, and during the non-stress test they could not get a baseline heartbeat (meaning what his heart beat would normally be without the times that it speeds up). The midwife was a bit concerned about his heart rate being so high and going up and down without a regular reading for 2 minutes. She checked my cervix and it was still completely closed, she thought maybe slightly thinner, but really nothing had changed that would indicate labor any time soon. Due to her concern about his heart beat, she sent me to the hospital for longer monitoring, so Matt came to the office after work, picked me up, and we drove to the hospital. Poor Matthew, I didn't explain well on the phone that Will was okay, they just wanted more monitoring. So he was thinking that something was wrong, that our baby didn't have a heartbeat, and he was so worried. He said that must be a part of being a parent; being terrified of something happening to your child, and not being able to do anything about it! I felt so bad, but reassured him that things were okay. Honestly, I think he was so hyper because I had eaten a Peppermint Patty before the appointment, and he was just reacting to all the sugar ha ha!

Well, at the hospital I was back on the monitor, and by this time his heartbeat was regular and they could have a baseline for him, however, he must have worn himself out, because now he wasn't have the variables (increases in heart rate) that should be there. So the nurse wanted to start me on an IV and give him more fluids to get moving. I gave her a look that indicated my disgust at that ha ha. So she asked me if I would try drinking fruit punch to see if that would get him moving. I very enthusiastically agreed, and that did the trick!!  We were in the hospital for about 2 hours on the monitor. They did a sonogram and everything looked great! So we went home that night not expecting anything to happen. I was convinced that the following week I would have to be induced, so I was prepared not to have a baby for several more days. I think Matt was thinking the same thing. But, we had people praying, and we were praying that labor would start naturally and we wouldn't have to go through an induction and all that goes along with one. We went to bed that night, never thinking that we would be parents that next day! We were in for a shock for sure! To be continued....

Pregnancy

Here we are at the end of pregnancy! I'm 39 weeks, and we're just waiting for William to make his entrance! The last few months have been enjoyable, with barely any sickness at all! I'm not going into too much detail about these last months, mostly because things have blurred together, and I don't remember what happened when ha ha. Some highlights are when we found out that we are having a boy, and finishing the nursery so it's all ready for him! As of now, I have one more Dr. appointment, at which they will do a non-stress test, a sonogram, and see if he is making any progress towards labor! We are so exciting to be getting so close to Will being born! Will post again after we have our little baby with us :)

First Trimester

Well, now that I'm in my third trimester, I'm finally getting around to writing about the first two ha ha! Because I waited so long I'm sure there are things I've forgotten, but here is most of it!

For the first few weeks I felt great! Didn't even feel pregnant, so I took two more pregnancy tests (4 in total)! Ya know, a week later just to be certain :) At about 6 to 7 weeks I started to feel some morning sickness. It usually came in the morning because I hadn't eaten all night. But through the day I had to learn to eat more frequently (usually every hour or hour and a half) so that I would not feel sick. As long as my stomach had food in it, I felt pretty good! It would still hit now and then, though, even if I had eaten. I rarely felt nauseous though. If I was going to be sick, I had just a minute or so of warning. I'm thankful that I didn't have weeks of feeling nauseous! That is one of the worst feelings. I didn't have any cravings at this point, although I found out that I could not longer eat eggs, drink orange juice, or smell Alfredo sauce. Through about the first 3 months I was having horrible headaches...they would make me sick to my stomach. They came almost every day, and sometimes one would last for 2 or 3 days. The only relief I could get from them was to sleep. My midwife suggested a Magnesium supplement, however by the time I got around to asking about it, and thinking about getting them, the headaches were gone.

For a while I wasn't showing at all. Then slowly, maybe about 10 weeks or so, I could notice a difference, and my pants wouldn't close anymore! Other people still couldn't tell, Matt was kinda able to notice, but I certainly could ha ha! It was exciting to think about all the changes happening, and about this little baby growing in me!

At my first official OB appointment they did blood work, and lots of it! I remember being nervous about being stuck with a needle (even though I do it to people every day), and losing so much blood. But Matt was there with me, and held my hand! I had my snack there with me too, so I wouldn't be getting sick in the office. We were given lots of information this day, and lots of reading material. We met one of the midwives at this visit. We were informed that due to my bone structure I may have to have a C-section if the baby weighed more than 7 lbs. While we were not thrilled to hear this, we were both staying positive and not worrying about that possibility.

Everything looked good though at this appointment! Baby's heartbeat was strong and fast! It was so awesome to hear it beating! Letting us know there is a little life developing in me! What an amazing feeling to know that the Lord had blessed us with this child, and that it was in me...part of me!

For the most not a lot happened during the first trimester. We told all our family and friends, coworkers, and just enjoyed the excitement! I'm thankful that it was an uneventful time, though. A wonderful healthy baby on the way! We were excited to soon find out what we were going to be having! That comes with the second trimester...

We're Expecting!

That's right folks! Matthew and I are expecting our first child, sometime around April 30th 2012! We are so thrilled and happy and thankful for this blessing from the Lord! I thought in the blog I would write about each trimester and things I'm experiencing, feeling, and how our lives are changing.

Matthew and I decided that we were ready to start a family, and felt that the Lord had shown us it was time to have children; this was November 2010. 9 months later we found out we were pregnant. That 9 months was a trying time. The hardest part was hearing about and being told that so many of my friends, co-workers and acquaintances were pregnant. Although I was very happy and excited for them, there was a part of me that was sad, wondering when it would be my turn. It was a challenge in my faith; teaching me to truly trust God that His timing is perfect, and He will show His plan when the time is right. I am so thankful for God's peace and His perfect plan. I am also thankful for my one friend who was also struggling with the same issue. She was a great encouragement to me! And, looking back, I might possibly understand why God gave us this blessing at the time He did! It's amazing to look back and think, wow, God really is awesome and has everything planned out for what is best for us! If only I could remember this every day when I worry about things or 'forget' that His timing is perfect. And, now we are pregnant and so thankful for this new chapter in our lives!!

Right now I am 12 1/2 weeks...almost finished with my first trimester. It has been an interesting 3 months!

THE BEGINNING:

In August I started to notice that I was getting very irritable. I was cranky not only at home, but also at work! This was very unusual for me, especially to snap at a nurse at work! I had a suspicion that I was pregnant, but really didn't know for sure. On August 25th I took a pregnancy test in the morning. I had to take Matt's car to be inspected, as he was at work, so I continued with my morning activities. When I went back to the test, it said 'Pregnant.' I got so excited! I didn't know what to do...I wanted Matt to be the first person I told, yet he was at work! So I got myself together and took his car to be inspected. While there, I told Katie because she had been such an encouragement and had been praying for me! On the way home...4 hours later, I stopped and got another box of pregnancy tests ha ha. I wanted to be sure! I took another one, and yes, it was also positive!

So I wrapped the 2 tests in a box to give to Matt. When he got home from work I told him he was getting a gift because I love him. He thought it was a watch that he has been waiting for, so he said (in his goofy voice), "Oh, is it about 'time' I get this gift?!" I said, "Yes, it is about time that you get this gift." ha ha We think it's funny...maybe just to us :) So he opens it, and at first just looks (he didn't quite understand for a couple seconds). Then he says "Really??" Starts jumping around, picks me up and keeps jumping ha ha. He was quite thrilled at this news! That night we talked about how happy we are, thanked the Lord for His gift to us, and took pictures of the tests. We were just so thrilled and happy!! I know, though, that I didn't quite comprehend that there was a life growing inside me. I knew the baby was there, but it just didn't seem real. I'm sure though soon enough it will feel real...enter first trimester...