HE'S HERE!!

Charles Everett was born at 1:31pm on Monday, May 20 via scheduled c-section! Here's his birthday story:

On Monday, May 13, I called out sick from work with abdominal pains and nausea. I really thought labor might be coming, I felt crappy and I had an appointment for an ultrasound and would have been leaving early anyway. At the ultrasound, everything looked good with Charley and he was measuring "around 9 pounds." As I posted before, this was right on the cusp of the decision to wait for labor, induce labor, or schedule a c-section.

I worked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday all feeling great and with no signs of labor. Thursday was another OB appointment -- decision day. The OB decided to schedule a c-section for Monday morning because of his size and my blood pressure. It was only slightly elevated, but there was a trace of protein in my urine, so they didn't want me to stay pregnant much longer.

I stayed home again from work on Friday for my non-stress test and other appointments, and also because it was dreaded Field Day at work and I wouldn't be missing much. C had to work, but I spent the day with my mom getting groceries and making last minute preparations. C and I had a nice weekend just hanging out with family and friends and straightening up the house for Charley's arrival.

On Monday morning, we got to the hospital at 8am and began the process of bloodwork, vital signs, gathering the team of personnel which was expected to last two hours. The actual procedure was planned for around 10am. During their examination, they found some sores on my skin, which are pretty common for me. They were concerned, however, about their proximity to the injection and decided to take cultures for MRSA.

After waiting around for various specialists and the infectious disease doctor, we were seriously delayed for surgery. They even threatened to postpone until Tuesday. Finally, when the decision was made to proceed, the anesthesiologist had moved on to a routine thyroid surgery on another floor, so then we had to wait for her to return. All the while, I hadn't had so much as a sip of water since 9:30 on Sunday night.

When we finally headed into the OR, it was after 1pm. I was incredibly nervous, but decided to hunker down and show no fear, just like I did during the egg retrieval procedure. They performed the spinal before C was allowed in the OR and it really wasn't as bad as I had feared. It really didn't hurt going in and the doctor who held me in the "curled" position couldn't have been nicer and more reassuring.

As soon as it was done, they must quickly move you into a laying position and I was immediately really nauseous, which is expected. The anesthesiologist put something in my IV that stopped the nausea almost immediately. Then we were ready.

They hung a huge drape in front of me and brought C back in. The sat on a stool next to my head and held my hands, which were strapped down to the table. They began the procedure and I never knew exactly what was going on. I didn't even know whether or not I had been cut open until I heard the gurgling and crying of my son.
The second we heard him, we both just looked at each other with tears streaming down our cheeks. He was finally here. Four years of planning, waiting, trying, anticipating -- and finally one perfect little boy. They allowed C to bring in a camera and start taking pictures as he was weighed, cleaned, prepped and assessed. C held him there next to me for a few minutes, but I could barely see Charley. When we was on the warmer, I couldn't see much other than his foot beyond the drape.

Charley still had one big surprise for us -- his weight. All indications were that he would be huge. He measured 9 lbs, 4 oz at 39w and now he was late and still growing. His charts called him macrosomic and he was predicted to be nearly 9lbs 11oz. We all know that ultrasound measurements can be off by as much as a pound, but we were in for quite a surprise. When they plopped Charley down on the warmer, the scale said just 8lbs 3oz. A perfect little peanut, more than a pound under predictions.

He also had hair! Not a ton, but much more than the fuzz that C and I both had!

With all of his little surprises, he is absolutely perfect. We're all just crazy about him. He's nursing well, sleeping well and being his mom is better than I could have ever imagined. :-)

The Final Countdown

...and I hope you are all hearing Europe's epic synth solo in your heads as you read this...

Today is the last day. C is finally off from work and we both finally have that kick-in-the-ass to get things done as time ticks away. Every piece of laundry in the house, present attire excluded, is clean and ready. The whole house is vacuumed and Swiffered. The toilet is scrubbed and the sheets changed. Now as C finishes straightening up the basement, we're debating what to do in our final hours.

We'll definitely run some errands and get lunch. Maybe we'll see the new Star Trek movie because otherwise, we'll miss it in theaters. Maybe a trip to the library is in order for some reading material. We have a lot of sitting-around-the-hospital time to kill, not to mention the home recovery time.

Well, here goes nothing... I got the Blogger app for my phone, so I am hoping to post from there with updates and pics tomorrow or Tuesday. Here we go!

Eviction Notice!

Let's be real - we all knew this kid would be a c-section. It's official after today's OB appointment and I'm fine with it, but it did really hit me earlier today and I had a strange reaction.

At my appointment today, my cervix is still completely closed and the head is still sitting high. My blood pressure, however, was slightly elevated, but was completely normal when laying on my side. (Apparently this means something...) There was some protein in my urine specimen, though, and that is cause for some concern. They decided that it would be best to schedule a c-section for Monday.

I have a Non Stress Test tomorrow back at the OB to make sure that everything is still OK with Charley, then we'll just be taking it easy, tying up loose ends and waiting around for Monday!

When they first told me, I took the news just fine. As I wandered back out into the waiting room, however, I had an overwhelming urge to just cry. Not out of fear or disappointment, but just pure shock that this is really happening. I have been so comfortable waiting that labor always seemed so distant. Especially after hearing today that there was no dilation, it just seemed like there would be more endless waiting. But no! I allowed myself a few minutes to breathe in the car, then I told C the news. Now I am just excited that this guy is finally coming!

Good News, Unanswered Questions

Today was our last ultrasound for the 40w mark, though today is actually 39w4d. As I posted before, this scan was intended to make some last minute decisions about delivery. I knew that the ultrasound technician wouldn't be able to tell us much, but I thought that today's appointment would at least give me enough information to make some assumptions and mentally prepare myself for delivery.

I was pretty confident that he would be measuring well over nine pounds and thus fulfilling my OB's elective c-section rule. I didn't really want this outcome, but I very much expected it. My OB said, however, that we would still wait and hold out for a vaginal delivery if he was under nine. Family history and previous measurements definitely suggested that he would be big. Really big.

I still had a feeling, given the fact that my bump isn't that big, that he might not be quite as large as our family's previous generation (all 9 lbs, 12 oz and over). Well, of course, today was full of ambiguity. How much did he measure? "Around nine pounds." So, he's not too big, but he's not quite small enough either.

I'm still holding out some hope for a natural delivery and to go into labor soon. I know, however, that it really isn't in my control and I'm not going to fixate on details.

I have been having lots of irregular contractions today and several waves of nausea. I actually stayed home from work today because the nausea was really bad in the morning when I woke up and I was inexplicably exhausted. Throughout the day, I had everything from the same old painless but tight BHs up to rewlly tight and quite painful cramping contractions lower down in my abdomen. At a few points, I have had a bit of lower back soreness, too. I hope this is a sign that he's coming soon!

Not really what I wanted to hear...

I had another OB appointment today and the news was fine, but a few realities are starting to set in.

First of all, the OB said that the baby is still high and my cervix is only 50% effaced. Many women are at 50% weeks before labor, so this isn't really a sign of anything. He ordered another ultrasound to determine the size of the baby, so we're still just waiting, but he doesn't want to let us go much beyond 40 weeks.

Here's the part I don't love: if I don't go into labor naturally in the next few days, it will all depend on the ultrasound. The OB says that if he measures over 9 pounds, which is highly likely, we will probably have an elective c-section. Yikes! I really just want a healthy baby, but I would prefer avoiding surgery if I can. I'm going to try not to worry or think about preferences and just roll with whatever road takes us to little Charley!

The Ghosts of Trimesters Past

This is the last official week of pregnancy, seven days to the 40w mark, and just to keep things interesting, it seems my body has compiled a greatest hits collection of our finest pregnancy moments.

Remember the indigestion that kept us up all night with a burning esophagus and substance burps so disgusting, we sometimes vomited? Poof! Let's do that again!

How about the achy fever and flu-like symptoms from December that laid us out for days because of our "suppressed immune system?" Abracadabra! Let's take that for a spin again for a few hours!

Did you miss your seasonal allergies and the rash and breakouts around your nose and mouth that accompanied them? No fear! They're back!

While other people were made sick in the first trimester by smells or foods, I got sick from showering. Other people talked about nausea or hip pain. I just got wild acid reflux, unexplained hives in Florida and breakouts around my lips.

Yes, pregnancy has been a relatively easy journey for me so far, but with symptoms unlike anyone else warned me, and apparently the final days will be no different. Instead of feeling "big" or "just uncomfortable," I am awake at 3:30 this morning from indigestion, burning eyes and a really annoying song going through my head for the umpteenth time. I am so ready to be done, but not because of pains, aches, or "bigness," just because I am so tired from not sleeping and I am just ready to finally meet my son. I'd rather be not sleeping right now because of him than because of an incessant runny nose and re-living my past two meals in my upper digestive tract...

Well, for now I will try again to sleep since I have to go to work in the morning. One of my dogs and my husband are both blissfully snoring, probably dreaming about how neither one of them has to get up tomorrow or do work of any kind, so I'll just try to overcome that last obstacle and get back to sleep. One last thing everyone said would happen that is totally true, I'm hot all the time and tomorrow will be the hottest day in Philly so far in 2013. Now to drift off to sleep to prepare for the sweating that awaits me tomorrow... Goodnight, blogosphere.

Not really what I wanted to hear...

I had another OB appointment today and the news was fine, but a few realities are starting to set in.

First of all, the OB said that the baby is still high and my cervix is only 50% effaced. Many women are at 50% weeks before labor, so this isn't really a sign of anything. He ordered another ultrasound to determine the size of the baby, so we're still just waiting, but he doesn't want to let us go much beyond 40 weeks.

Here's the part I don't love: if I don't go into labor naturally in the next few days, it will all depend on the ultrasound. The OB says that if he measures over 9 pounds, which is highly likely, we will probably have an elective c-section. Yikes! I really just want a healthy baby, but I would prefer avoiding surgery if I can.

It's not so much that I had an idea of my birth, but I really did start to think we could do this naturally over the past few weeks. I also am really not looking forward to the recovery. We only have one bathroom and it's on the second floor. I am also really getting overwhelmed by all the instructions about nursing and it's not going to be any easier after surgery!

I know that millions of women, including almost all in my family, have been through c-sections and I'm exaggerating a bit. Maybe this is just my version of the pre-labor freak-out since I never really had the conventional kind. My policy so far has been no-worries-and-just-wing-it, so now I think I just need to mix this new information into that outlook and let go. It's really not up to me anyway!

The wait begins...

Now that our due date is just ten days away, we could officially be headed into labor and delivery any day. I must admit, maybe it's the fact that this pregnancy has been relatively easy, but I'm still very comfortable and not at all nervous.

As I write this, Charley is squirming around. I still have not experienced any feelings of "lightening" and my Braxton Hicks contractions are more frequent, but still painless. As a matter of fact, I didn't realize that I was having BH contractions until I did some more research and found out what they feel like. I had been mistaking the tightening and hardening of areas of the womb for kicking and stretching, but now I realize these are the painless, but very strange-feeling BHs.

The last time I had a pelvic screen a few weeks ago, I was not at all dilated. Last week, however, at my weekly OB appointment, my blood pressure was slightly, really barely, elevated. The OB asked that I move this Thursday's appointment up to tomorrow to keep an eye on it. It was literally "high" by one point and I have no other symptoms of high BP, so they weren't overly concerned.

It has been strange, however, to tell people that we are due "next week." I have been really enjoying getting the last few preparations together for our hospital bag and the nursery, although I don't think any of this would be really "nesting." I haven't had any uncontrollable urges to clean or organize and I am just as excited about preparing for him as I was months ago!

Well, for now the wait continues and the excitement builds!