Here We Go Again!

We are so excited to have another kidlet on its way! This has already been a brand new adventure in a lot of ways. I was never sick with Porter and that is most definitely not the case with this bundle of joy. I have been sick since week 4 and even at week 17 I still struggle, and pretty much most aspects of this pregnancy are extremely different, from what I feel like eating, to energy level. What is the same is Lovenox: I am back on those lovely daily injections to treat my Factor V Leiden blood condition. I still don't like them, and they still hurt, but they are much better than getting another clot/pulmonary embolism again, especially while being pregnant. Porter has no clue what is going on, but we are working on being soft and while he only uses a pacifier at nap time and bedtime, we will be working him off of that pretty soon too.

Apparently, we are also super good with the timing of our babies: last go around we weren't sure if JD would be 5 1/2 hours away when Porter was born or not, as JD had a 6 week rotation in Ashland Oregon and I had to stay in Portland to work. Things worked out and Porter came 2 days after JD was back in town. This time baby is due May 21st, since I am high risk being on such a fun medication my Dr wanted me to have the baby on May 14th, but JD graduates May 16th and has preliminary work that week for graduation up in Portland-I know-the irony since we now live 15 minutes from Ashland. We just figure things worked out last time and they will do so again, and at least we can make sure we are in the same city just in case things get exciting.

Things are going well and so far appointments have been right on track which is happy. So that is our exciting news!

The Blanket

I was trying to get laundry done before Porter woke up and of course it didn't happen.  In an attempt to get more done I propped the baby up in the Boppy, noticed his feet were cold, so I tossed my silky that is now used as decor for our bed, on top of him and continued to do my work.  Upon tossing the blanket on top of him I heard a big sigh and within a minute Porter was out.  Ever since my baby blanket has been magic at calming our little bug.  If he ever feels the blanket with his hand he will kick in that direction so that his face is touching the fabric.  It is pretty cute if you ask me.  Looks like I will be sharing my precious blankie, good thing I kind of like him a lot.

Happy Birthday Porter!

We are so happy to have a healthy and happy Baby Porter Dee Speth here at last!  Things definitely went in an odd order from what I anticipated in getting him here.  We went in to the hospital late Sunday night to start the Cervadil to get me ready for Pitocin the next day.  From the time that I had seen my doctor on Monday to going in on Sunday I had been having some very fun contractions but they had all but gone away on Saturday and Sunday.  The doctor had emphasized multiple times how important it was that I sleep that night for when they would start the Pitocin in 12 hours if everything was looking good.  Problem was: I could not sleep. I hated the monitors with a passion.  I had lovely SED's on my legs to keep circulation going and not clot and they were hot, uncomfortable, and sweaty.  My usual night time contractions were already present, and any time I moved they lost the baby's heart rate.  So what was supposed to be a night full of sleep didn't really happen.  I started getting a little concerned about my situation, I was supposed to be sleeping but I wasn't comfortable and I hurt.  I negotiated to not have to wear the SCD's and the nice nurse gave me a half dose of pain medication that I was hoping more for the sleepiness effect so that I could get more rest and ignore the contractions and the monitors.  I was able to sleep, but not for as long as I was hoping.  I woke up to more contractions.  The nurse gave me another half dose to help me fall asleep again, only this time it didn't really do much, she explained that I was having coupled contractions, two different contractions that were back to back with a shorter break in between, and that was probably why I was having a hard time.  So I was just awake. 

The nurses changed shifts around 6 am and I was still just awake wanting to sleep before meeting with my doctor at 10.  I asked if I could have another half dose and the new nurse said I couldn't have one but that she would check to see where I was at.  I was shocked when she did her check and said, "well my dear, you are dilated past a 6, you are ready for an epidural if you want it."  I was kind of shocked, I was just trying to sleep but at the mention of epidural I was thinking that didn't sound like such a bad idea.  So I got the epidural and I was finally able to get in that nap I had been waiting for.

Pretty much the rest of the experience was amazing.  It was a really calm and peaceful morning waiting for Porter to be ready to pop out.  I just kind of went with the flow the rest of the afternoon.  JD and I were able to hang out and talk and watch those contractions come and go on the screen-that was fun.  My nurse came to check my progress after a while and instead of a number we heard a small gasp and were told that he had a lot of hair, she left for a minute and then came back to say that it was time to push and so I pushed.  About 40 minutes later I was told that the baby's heart rate was dropping and that we needed to get him out.  It only took hearing my nurse reserving a spot in the NICU to get me to push like crazy, contraction pressure or not, to get him out.  So 4 pushes, an episiotomy and tear, and vacuum assist later (about 3 minutes) our little guy was here and in my arms and not going anywhere.  He cried a little bit, but it wasn't long before his big eyes were open and he was looking up at me with a look that pretty much said, "what just happened mom?" 

JD and I got to spend about 2 hours with Porter before they even took him away from me to do his check and get him all cleaned up. I was able to cuddle our sweet boy and feed him and hold him while the world went on around me, JD, and Porter. Everyone was guessing around 8 1/2 pounds for weight and they were all very wrong when they put him on the scale and we saw a whopping 9 pounds 4 ounces on the screen.  The assistant nurse measured Porter's length and said he was 23 inches long, my Nurse Candace didn't believe her and remeasured and sure enough he was really 23 inches long.  I wasn't so surprised since I had his feet stuck high up in my diaphragm constantly kicking to the point of discomfort for over the past 3 months.  So we have ourselves a very long and 'skinny' baby. 

Things have been going really well, Porter is a sleepy baby, I'm recovering, and JD is already back in school.  What adventure we have in store!

Ready or Not

So the past few weeks I have had my weekly appointment leading up to this baby coming.  My doctor has been amazing at working with my blood condition and with JD being gone.  We had a plan in place in case I went early and my appointments have always gone along the lines of how are things going, any questions, and closed with we will discuss more when JD is back in town.  So at my appointment today, my doctor came in and asked if JD was officially home yet.  When I said yes, her response was, "how does Thursday sound to have this baby then?" I was super surprised, we had never even discussed induction and she was suggesting August 1st, I'm not even due until August 6th.  Her reasoning makes sense, it would not be very fun or safe to go into labor when I am on Heparin, and it didn't make sense to worry about being induced if JD wasn't even in town.  We changed the date to the evening of August 4th to work things out better for my leave of absence and maternity leave so ready or not this little bug will be here no later than Monday next week, crazy!  Probably a good thing too, I have had two little feet up in my xiphoid process and diaphragm for the past 3 months and it feels like they are running out of any available space because meetings are getting more and more uncomfortable for breathing and the contractions are not making things any easier either.

A Virtual Baby Shower

Technology is crazy neat.  My mom and Erin were able to put together a long distance "virtual" baby shower that included family and a few friends and it turned out pretty good.  It was really fun getting to see some far away friends that I haven't been able to see in a long time.  Some statistics include: all 4 time zones were represented.  Attendees included the states of Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, Virginia, Texas, and California.  It has felt a bit like Harry Potter the past few days at my house. It started with one package and then they started multiplying.  Packages from Amazon.com, Target.com, and Walmart have been arriving via all sorts of ways and at all different times: FexEx, USPS, UPS, while I am at work, after work, and late night delivery-sometimes all three times in one day.  I am grateful for good long term friends and family and leaders who have done so much for me.  I'm also getting pretty excited to put the outfits, gowns, swaddle blankets, bumbos, books etc to good use even the diapers, wipes, and Bordeaux's butt paste to be honest though I am sure that attitude will change soon enough......but not yet. ;)

Work Baby Shower

We had a shower at work today for Amy and myself.  We are 1 month apart and it has been so nice to have a friend to talk with while dealing with the highs and lows of being pregnant.  I do have to say though, I am definitely blessed to have amazing coworkers.  In the 6 months I have been with Providence our department has undergone a ton of change-I've even had a job change since starting, but we are a tight knit group and it has been so fun getting to know so many people.  The shower was great and goodness they were all so generous!  We have lots of new things for the baby from a Graco Pack n Play to diaper bags, clothes, blankets, and diapers.  I was grateful that JD was able to come and enjoy the food and help fill up the car with everything after it was over.  It is strange having more than a Costco box of baby wipes in the second bedroom now.

We're having a baby!