Parker Grace is Born!

Now I take some time while Brad has our little bundle of joy in his arms to complete the tale of Parker's birth. We'll see how many times it takes me to get it all typed!

At the last post we were waiting for the doctor to arrive to break my water. The Pitosin was working and contractions were getting more intense and closer together. One particularly strong contraction hit and Parker kicked at the same time. Suddenly my water definitely broke! It was about 11:20am. Again, with all plans on making things happen artificially, my body decided to get the ball rolling on its own!

That's when contractions really picked up. I couldn't believe how much stronger the very next contraction was! I immediately asked for the epidural!! It was fantastic how quickly they were there. Within 30 minutes the pain from the contractions was gone. Those 30 minutes were pretty intense, though!

The doctor arrived shortly after the epidural kicked in. Dilation was continuing to increase at a rapid pace. She chose to hang around the hospital for the afternoon, knowing it would be time soon. It was finally time to start pushing at 3pm. We pushed for just over an hour before having to wait about 5-10 minutes for the doctor to get back from lunch. That was a long 10 minutes!!

Doctor Sara came in and at 4:24pm Parker was born! She was 8.53 pounts and 20.5 inches long. Since there was meconium in the amniotic fluid the NICU staff was in the room at her birth and immediately cleaned her up, cleared her lungs, nose, etc.The doctor told us not to worry, that they weren't going to make her cry until they'd had a chance to clear her lungs. As soon as she said that Parker began crying on her own. The staff gave Brad a scrub shirt with the Baylor Frisco logo on it. When they took her footprints they also put a set of footprints on his shirt.

Feeding frenzy of her first growth spurt is underway. To be continued....

Labor!

Well, it would seem that labor was well on its way the last couple of days. At our 11/23 doctor's visit, however, my blood pressure had gone up considerably. Doctor Sarah sent us to the hospital to have a few tests run. First we went home to get Saydee taken care of and to get our bags. There was a chance we would have to spend the night. If the tests were concerning they would induce no matter what. If they weren't concerning we would have a choice.

Brad stopped at Best Buy on the way home to get his camera for the big event just in case and also picked up a Nook for us to play with. Have to have the gadgets! Ha!

We got to the hospital at about 7pm and they started taking measurements, checked on our progression and we had already dilated a 1/2 centimeter more. Contractions began to pick up in pacing and we could see a pattern starting to take hold. Then they started to hurt a bit. And there we were, right in active labor on our own! More tests were run and they all came out well, but we spent the night at the hospital, dozing when possible in between contractions. By midnight I was dilated 4cm.

But, at about 4am everything slowed down. Contractions tapered off and I got some sleep. But, they never picked up again. After all of that we hit a wall! So, when the nurse called the doctor we decided that it was time to go ahead and get the Pitosin going and get things moving. We - I - certainly didn't want to go through this all over again!

That's where we sit at the moment. Pitosin is in, contractions have started again and we are waiting for the doctor to arrive. When she gets here she will break my water and things should really get moving.

Kristi and Josh have been by to visit. Mom and dad are on their way. The warmer is set up for when Parker arrives and we are just back into a holding pattern. I don't know when I'll update again, but I'm hoping to add something here and there so we can remember when everything happens!

I am so ready for Parker to be here!! I'm thrilled that we went into labor on our own. I'm also so ready to be allowed to eat again. :) It's 10:15am Wednesday morning and I haven't gotten to eat since 1pm Tuesday! Yikes!

Braxton Hicks or Labor?

This is day two of some very frequent contractions. They are very mild and feel like my typical Braxton Hicks. However, yesterday they were between an hour and an hour and half apart all day long. Lots of discomfort in my hips and back, and I was convinced the real thing would begin last night. I made sure Brad got his bag packed and then he decided it was a good idea to get the Pack N Play together.

It was a very quiet night, however, and I slept very well. This morning the contractions are closer to 30-45 minutes apart. I happened to talk to Cindy and told her how things were going. She said she thinks this might be the real thing! Keeping a close eye on it while working on painting a bulletin board for the nursery. We'll see if I get it done or not! We have a doctor's appointment at 4pm today. I'm thinking maybe I'll throw my labor and delivery bag in the car just in case. It's just a waiting game!!

San Antonion Rock & Roll Marathon

This past weekend Brad made a quick trip to San Antonio to run the Rock and Roll half marathon with his brother. We arranged for Thera and Trinity to spend the night with me just in case I had any issues and he was off! Brad very successfully finished the race in 2 hours and 31 minutes. I am impressed!!! He had a great time sharing that with his brother and thankfully Shelly was there to send a couple of photos. Hopefully we'll order some of the race photos soon, too.

While he was out being healthy and running this marathon, we girls made chocolate covered pretzels, watched Muppet Christmas Carol to get into the holiday baking mood (especially since I probably won't be doing much of that this year) and played school. Overall it was quite the fun weekend for all!

Weekly Appointments

We are well into our weekly appointments now. At our first appointment (11/2) Doctor Sarah told us that we were 1cm dilated and cervix was softening. At the second appointment (11/9), Doctor Andy told us there was no significant change. For the third appointment (11/16)we were 2cm dilated and 60-75% effaced. It feels like lots of changes are happening now. Braxton Hicks are getting much stronger and I can tell my hips are very unstable now. We don't know how long it will be, but we're doing our best to get prepared! I leave my classroom each day as if I won't be there tomorrow and there are quite a few things to do at home this weekend. We are just patiently waiting!

Nesting, Maternity Photos, etc.

I think the nesting has begun! Over the last two weeks we have purchased a car seat, pack 'n play and baby bath tub. Tonight I painted Parker's letters for above her crib. Brad assembled the swing and car seat/base. I have her clothes organized by size and ready to be washed tomorrow. There is still a lot to do and a lot to buy, but it's feeling a little more organized, which is a huge relief! At least no matter when she decides to arrive she can come home now that we have a car seat!

Last weekend we took maternity photos through Sarah Watkins Photography. It was very fun and comfortable. Sarah came to the house with all of her gear since it was a very stormy day. In fact, the tornado sirens went off while we were waiting for her to arrive. The sneak peek photos we got are wonderful! I can't wait to see the rest!

That night (October 23) Parker dropped considerably. I went to sleep looking one way, and woke up with her sitting much, much lower. I can't wait to see what the doctor has to say next week. We start weekly appointments on November 2.

Pregnancy Perks

Today we used the "expectant mom" parking for the first time. We went to Babies R Us to buy a car seat and figured that between the rain and the heavy car seat we would be carting out we could use the parking spot this time. Not to mention it's a lot easier to waddle into the store from there than the back of the parking lot!