Baby Baker's Arrival!!!

Baby B is finally here!! I want to record everything from start to finish here so that I can remember it forever...

it all started at the appointment mentioned in my previous post... as I mentioned, an ultrasound revealed that my fluid levels were measuring lower than the OB would have liked & I was to follow up on Thursday (Feb 16). On the morning of Wednesday, Feb 15, I was on the phone with my mom when I thought I noticed my water had broken. I called the nurse at my OB's office, described what I'd noticed, & she told me to come on it to have the OB take a look.

I called JD at work, told him what had happened & what the nurse had said & he headed back home while I took a quick shower & got my things together.

We arrived at the hospital around 12:30 that afternoon & were sent to a room. The nurse helped me get settled & told me that the on-call OB would be in shortly to check my water to see if it had broken. Unfortunately, the OB found that my water had in fact, not broken - but, another ultrasound showed that my fluid levels were down even lower than they had been on Monday... they were going to admit me & induce labor the following morning. We were going to have a baby in the next 24 - 36 hours!!

I was admitted to a L&D room & we called our parents to let them know what was going on. That evening was a blur - lots of family, doctors, & nurses were in & out, preparing me for the induction the following morning. The OB docs told me that they were planning to start the epidural & the induction around 11 the next morning.

As promised, they gave me the epidural around 10:30 the morning on Thursday, February 16, & then started the pitocin around 11:00. Before they gave me the epidural, they measured my cervix, which was already at 4cm - the OB said that I was in great shape to start laboring.

The contractions started pretty quickly after they gave me the pitocin - nothing too bad at first, but after a few hours it became evident that the epidural wasn't living up to its promise... the anesthesiologist said that it had become "one-sided" in that I had no feeling on the left side of my body & I had nearly 100% feeling on my right side. As the contractions got more intense, I felt them more & more. The anesthesiologist was able to manipulate my epidural a couple of times, but I don't think I ever got to the 100% level that I should have on my right side.

Other than the epidural mishap, labor went really well. I continued to dilate steadily & everything was going as planned. There were a couple of times when the baby's blood pressure dropped & the docs rushed in - but then it bounced back & we'd be okay again. Throughout it all, my heart rate never spiked nor did my blood pressure get high - yay!

Starting around 7:00 that evening things got really uncomfortable - the contractions felt much stronger & I was feeling a LOT of pressure. The only thing for me to do to get through each one was to push. I talked to the nurse & OB who told me that I was only dilated about 9.5cm & that they wanted me to wait a bit longer to officially start pushing so that I wouldn't get too tired or put too much stress on my heart. I was able to hold off for about an hour - when the doc checked me again at 8:30, I had dilated to 10cm! This was it - we were ready to start pushing!!

Officially, I pushed for 1 hour & 2 minutes. It didn't feel like an hour, though. My eyes were closed for most of it all. JD counted 13 medical staff in the room while I pushed - everybody from nursing students to the attending OB. UAB is a teaching hospital, so this wasn't too out of the ordinary. Just when I thought I couldn't push anymore, the doc said that the baby was coming!

The one thing we had asked the nurses was for JD to tell me if the baby was a boy or a girl - after all of the drama we'd been through the last 5 weeks, that was the one thing that we really wanted. Fortunately, the OB was happy to oblige.

My eyes were still closed - I was exhausted. I heard the OB say "okay dad, tell her what it is..." then JD, "it's a BOY!!?!" I laughed & burst into tears. We had a son!!

John Weston Baker was born at 9:44pm - coming in at 8 lbs, 1.5oz / 20.5 inches

He is absolutely perfect in every way & we are head over heels in love!!!

nursery wall ideas?

I've been toying with the idea of trying my hand at craftiness & making something for Baby B's nursery. I thought I'd start with something simple, like doing some letters, etc... for the wall over the crib. I checked my go-to site for ideas (pinterest, dur) & here are some things that I found & liked - I can't decide if I want to do the full name or if I want to do initials... what are your thoughts?

Week 38 Update: Getting Close to Baby's Arrival!!

Hi all - I hope that everybody is staying warm now that Winter has finally arrived! No action on the baby front here, but we sure are getting anxious to meet this little sweetie! JD & I have been trying to keep busy while we wait for Baby to come - yesterday we spent the day in the kitchen, JD making some BBQ pork & ribs while I was responsible for side items & dessert. I decided to go with some of our favorites: rich & creamy mac & cheese, broccoli slaw, & rice krispy treats. We also finally got around to hanging some things on the walls in Baby B's nursery! Here are a couple of pictures of our progress... I'm waiting until Baby B is born before I do something on the wall over the crib - I know I want to do something with Baby's name or initials, but we have to wait to find out if it's a boy or girl first :)






Today I went back to the OB doc at UAB for my 38 week check up. They did an ultrasound to check baby's size & the fluid levels. According to the ultrasound tech, Baby B is estimated to weigh 8lbs 5oz, but that could be off by a pound in either direction. The OB said that I have dilated 3cm (up from 2 a couple of weeks ago) & am still 80% effaced! Unfortunately, the ultrasound revealed that the fluid levels aren't as high as the OB had hoped, so they have asked me to come back on Thursday (Feb 16) of this week for another ultrasound to check. If the levels are still down, they will go ahead & admit me for an induction! Otherwise, we are still set for an induction on Monday (Feb 20). I have had a few contractions this afternoon / evening, but nothing consistent enough to be labor.

Here's what's going on with Baby B's development this week...
Your Pregnancy: Week 38 (www.parentsconnect.com)


Your Baby
Your baby's intestines have accumulated a considerable amount of meconium (the code name for black, tar-like baby poop), which is usually eliminated shortly after birth and gives you your first experience with the 100-wipe diaper change. Here's what else is up:

Your baby might just scratch herself in the womb as the fingernails have grown over the fingertips now. Resist painting them hot pink when she arrives.

Baby's lungs continue to mature and her brain and nerve function are working better every day. The latter two will continue to mature until Junior is a teenager, at which point she'll know it all (or at least she'll think she does).

Your baby weighs about 6½ pounds and is around 19 or 20 inches long—as long as a duffle bag (in case you needed an excuse to go shopping for a new bag for your labor gear).

37 Weeks: Full Term!!

Hi all - we are so excited to have reached a VERY important milestone this week, week 37!! Which means Baby B has *finally* reached FULL TERM!! JD & I are soooooo ready to meet this sweet little babe, so any time he or she is ready to make an appearance would be great! :) I was discharged from the hospital last Thursday afternoon - it has been so nice to be back at home, snuggling with my pups & hubby, rather than spending my days at UAB hospital. With any luck, I will stay at home until I go into labor!

Another important note this week is that the UAB OB staff scheduled an induction date (we're calling it an "eviction date", ha!) - unless I go into labor on my own, Baby B will be arriving on FEBRUARY 20!! So, a max of 12 days from now!

I went in for a weekly visit to the OB yesterday, but didn't get any new information - the last I heard, I am still 2.5cm dilated & over 80% effaced. I will see the OB docs again next Monday to see if there's been any progress. I also have a follow up appointment with the cardiology team this week from my first hospitalization. Will post any updates later in the week.

Other than that, things have been pretty good - it's getting noticeably more difficult to get around (I thank God we have a 1-story house these days!!). I have been trying to do one small project a day in order to keep my sanity - today I took the car in for an oil change & while I was out, I returned a few duplicate things to Babies R Us & bought a pack-&-play for Baby B. It was the only thing that we didn't have yet that I felt we would really need as soon as Baby B was born. In an attempt to lure baby out with fun toys / gadgets, I also started assembling bouncy chairs, swings, etc... It's never to soon to start bribing your baby, right??

So - here's what's going on with Baby B's development this week... hopefully we will have met this sweet bundle before I can post next week's blog :)

Your Pregnancy: Week 37 (www.parentsconnect.com)
Your baby is officially baked this week! That means you could literally give birth at any given moment. A terrifying, exciting and overwhelming concept, all rolled into one. Your partner is undoubtedly having the same emotional roller-coaster ride, so be sure to share your feelings and enjoy these last weeks (days?! hours?!) together.

Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...



Your Baby
Huge news this week: You're carrying a full-term baby! If you were to go into labor today, all systems would be a go. Woohoo! Even though you can't wait for the little bambino to quite literally rear his head, keep in mind that your bun benefits from every day in the oven. Other ticker-tape-worthy developments:

Baby's growth slows down dramatically this week, which is great news for your birth canal. His bones are still soft and pliable and will solidify after he's born. More great news for your birth canal.

So if he's all cooked and ready to go, what the heck is he still doing in there?! He's busy practicing for "life on the outside," working on his breathing, sucking, sleeping, gazing and peeing abilities. The only thing he can't practice yet is his ability to scream at the top of his lungs when he's hungry—but he'll do plenty of that in a few weeks.

At this point babies vary in size, but the average length is between 19 and 20 inches and most babies weigh approximately 6 pounds. About the size of an average largemouth bass caught in Minnesota by your cousin Earl.