Birth Story

I know that this is a little overdue but we've been busy! :) Here is the story of Jack's birth...

At 6:00 I called labor and delivery at Kennestone about the Pitocin induction and they said, “We’ll call you back.”. I didn't know if it would be 20 minutes or 9 hours. I couldn't go back to sleep so I went downstairs, ate some cereal and watched Top Chef. At 7:40 we received a call from the hospital saying, “Are you ready to have a baby?”. Yay! I went to wake James up and get ready. I don't think that either of us truly realized what was happening but we sure couldn't wipe the smiles off of our faces!!

At 8:40 we checked in on the 3^rd floor and we signed our life away. Tons of paperwork as we were admitted. All James wanted was a bracelet. He didn't get one. ;)

At 9:15 we entered into room P302, our labor and delivery "hotel suite" with Nurse Julia. The labor and delivery room was huge and very nice. Everyone at the hospital was so nice - we did not encounter one rude or unwelcoming person. It was lovely! From here they just did some general work up stuff and started the IV.

Around 10:40 I started the Pitocin along with IV fluids. I was 3cm at this point. Not a whole lot of progress! James and I just waited, talked and passed the time.

At 11:45 James ate spicy chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-a. (Oh, and a cookie.) He said it was delicious! He didn't bring it up to the room, though, because I was starting to get HUNGRY!!

Sometime after this Merilee, the midwife from the OBGyn broke the water and I was 5cm. This was a very strange sensation. Apparently, all during this I was having contractions and wasn't feeling them. Who knew?!

Around 2:45, I had been feeling the contractions for awhile and they got decidedly tougher to breathe through. It was time for the epidural given by Dr. Fishman. Apparently he was very generous with his amounts. The nurse even commented on it when I told her that I could not move my left leg AT ALL. I had no control over it and it was so weird. I was also super, super itchy. I felt like I broke out in a huge rash. They assured me that it was normal. It did go away shortly after the initial epidural was given.

At 3:00 I received ephedrine because Jack’s heart rate was low which is common when given an epidural. :( Otherwise they said that he looked perfect.

At 7:15 our new nurse, CiCi, came in. She was hilarious and would announce her arrival every time she came into the room. "It's Cici!". :)

At 8:15 I was 10cm dilated, at the zero station and 100% effaced. I pushed for a few times but nothing was happening. I think Merilee had Dr. McClendan come in and check me out. He was another doctor on call from the OBGyn. He thought we might have to have a c-section but James and I talked and I wanted to keep pushing and wait and see if Jack descended at all.

All of the sudden, at 8:25 I was super nauseous, I received Zophran. It totally helped and I felt back to normal. We waited another hour or so in a sitting up position, to see if Jack came down at all. I pushed for about an hour and half leading up to around 11:15. Then the hard part came. We had to really decide if we wanted to do a c-section or not. I just had a feeling that nothing was going to happen if I kept on pushing, we had no additional progress. I took one look at James and broke down into tears. C-section was not a part of the plan! I really wanted to have a regular birth. I knew the end result was the same - we would get to have Jack - but that didn't make it any easier. I tried to pull myself together as tons of people flooded the room to get me ready.

Everyone was so great and so kind. We were ready in a matter of minutes and wheeling into an OR. I had a hard time keeping the tears and emotions in check. I was shaking uncontrollably from the anesthesia. After they got me all ready, they let James into the OR, thank goodness. He just said all the right things to calm me down.

At 11:35 Jack was born!! Hearing his cries was the best sound in the world!! I was so nauseous from the medicine, though, that I couldn't focus on anything. All of the people in the room congratulated us a million times - it was as if they had never seen a baby before! They were all so wonderful. The anaesthesiologist was SO, SO nice. He made tons of nice comments and just kept talking to me.

We were wheeled back into labor and delivery, where I have no idea what happened and then they took us upstairs to the mother and baby floor.

Phew. There you have it! Jack has entered the world!! The feelings were so overwhelming and wonderful. Although things didn't go as planned, we ended up with our wonderful bundle of joy.

40 weeks 1 day

So here we are, the day after our ESTIMATED due date and no Baby Jack! I said all along that I did not think he would be early or even on time. My prediction is Wednesday, June 30 but we'll see. A little part of me thinks it might be before that. We go to the doctor tomorrow, Monday, June 28 and we will see what the mid-wife says. I know we will discuss induction but I really do hope that Baby Jack comes on his own.

James and I have been trying to keep busy. We have been shopping, James works in the yard, I work on the baby book, we watch tv and movies. It's so hot outside (in the mid to upper 90's with a heat index around 100) that we don't like to venture out there, even if we want to! I would like to take a walk but it's just so stinkin' hot!!
Nothing else really new to report. We are just really, really excited and can't wait to meet our little guy, hold him, love him and watch him grow. :)

This was taken at 39 weeks and 6 days - the day before the due date.

This was taken at 38 weeks and 6 days.

How far along are you? 40 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? Of course! And some of my shirts are almost too short!
Weight – Loss or Gain? I have stayed the same for a couple of weeks...until last week when I gained one pound. Or rather, it was probably Jack that gained another pound at this point!
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope. Thank goodness!
Sleep: I feel so lucky that I am still sleeping well and often! I only have to get up once around 6:30 to use the bathroom and I go right back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Reaching our due date...even if nothing happened!
Any Movement? All the time!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Lately, certain smells have been bothering me. Mostly it's hot dogs. Gross! James drank a cup of coffee the other night and that smelled disgusting to me, although I drink it every morning. Weird.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: I miss knowing if I've spilled something on my clothes! There are so many parts of my clothes that I can't see that I always have to ask James when we are out if I am still clean! We all know I'm a little messy!
What are you looking forward to: Baby Jack's arrival, of course!!
Weekly Wisdom: I am just trying to enjoy this last little bit of time by myself and with James because (clearly) that is all about to change!
Milestones: Reaching our estimated due date - which obviously wasn't right! Or so the Internet says... ;)

37 weeks and Baby Gear!

I am 37 weeks and 1 day pregnant today. Officially, I am full term but have 2 weeks and 6 days until my due date. Confusing, I know. :)

I do feel like my stomach has started to drop just ever so slightly! I've noticed a difference when sitting, too. It's a start!


How far along are you? 37 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? Maternity and only maternity!
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain. But only a little between doctor appointments!
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope. (Fingers crossed.)
Sleep: I'm so tired at night that I sleep just fine! I usually wake up to go to the bathroom in the very early morning but I either fall back asleep without getting up or get up and then can go right back to sleep. I feel very fortunate that I am still sleeping well!
Best moment this week:
Any Movement? All of the time. It's starting to hurt, too!!
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope. Thank goodness!
Belly Button in or out? I thought that it was going to totally pop out, but it never did! It's just sort of stretched out.
What do you miss: I miss getting off of the couch and out of bed easily. That's not so easy now!
What are you looking forward to: Meeting Baby Jack. It feels like it's just around the corner now!
Weekly Wisdom: Mary said to really enjoy each little giggle and smile because it doesn't really last that long! She said with baby number 2 they realized this!
Milestones: Going to the doctor every week, washing all of the clothes/blankets/etc., putting the car seat into the car!

So the title of this post has Baby Gear in it. I thought I would give a little update about some of that. James put the car seat base into the car today! Yay! That was so exciting! The unexciting part was trying to figure out where that sucker was supposed to go and how we are going to get in and out of the garage with the carrier.

We thought that the car seat would go in the middle of the backseat, but the owners manual said NO! It said right or left side in order to use the LATCH system and also because the middle seat is not flat. Okaaaaay, so now which side to choose? Behind the driver would be more convenient to get Baby Jack in and out of but the passenger side would allow the driver to reach back a little when by themselves. Hmmm....well, the base is behind the driver right now because there is NO WAY to get the carrier in and out of the passenger side with the wall of the garage right there.

We switched the cars to the other side of the garage to try the car seat on the passenger side but with the stupid pole in the middle of the garage, you couldn't get in the passenger side. Ugh. James said that he will work it out and move some things around...but it's not the things in the garage! It's the pole in the middle of the garage. Boo. So I guess we'll see.

Here is the Pack and Play that my mom got for us! Thanks, mom! It's a Travel Lite from Graco so it's smaller than the average Pack and Play. It will be really nice for travelling. Baby Jack will sleep in this in our bedroom in the beginning.



We found these letters over the weekend by pure luck! James noticed them on the bottom of a shelf, in a galvanized tub, in a small boutique (not baby boutique) that we were in! What a good shopper! They are super cute and made out of felt that has been stuffed and then decorated.


We bought a Moses basket from a friend of a friend. I'd seen it before but completely forgot how cute it is!! The little sheep are adorable and will be fine for use with a boy or girl so that we can use it again. We will use this for Jack to sleep in downstairs mostly. But really, it's just another option for us to have!



This was a super long post. I was going to show some pictures of how the plants are doing outside since I posted pictures of them awhile ago but it's raining right now so I'll have to do that in another post!!

36 weeks and a baby shower!

Phew! What a weekend we had! Over Memorial Day weekend we had a lot of our family and friends visiting from out of town for a baby shower for Baby Jack on Sunday. We had such a great time seeing everyone, visiting on Saturday and then having a beautiful shower on Sunday. Everyone was overly generous and Baby Jack has nearly everything he needs before his big entrance in just a few short weeks.'

Elizabeth and me. She is about 27 weeks here. Lookin' good!
Grandma took this picture. I'm huge!

Jan, Mama, Kimberly and Vyneri.

Grandma, Mary, Nicholas and Nancy in the front. Jessica and Stephanie in the back.

33 Weeks

33 weeks!!! I can't believe I'm almost halfway through the 8th month. Time is flying by.

Since our last post, James and I attended our Gift of Motherhood class. It was one evening and then most of the next day. It was really, really interesting and insightful. It helped to ease a lot of our anxiety about the unknown. Just going on the hospital tour helped with that and we really enjoyed seeing the hospital and the rooms that we'll be in. (As I type this, Jack's kicking can be seen through my shirt! He has been super active the last couple of days. Constant movement!)

Other than that, there are only two more weeks of school with the kids and then two days of post planning. Amazing and unbelievable. I can't believe that it's really coming to an end. I don't think that it will hit me until the end of July, when I would normally be going back to school...

We are still on the hunt for wall art for Jack's room. We are having a hard time finding what we are looking for. We did find an amazing steal while at TJMaxx on Saturday!! They had a Boppy pillow AND cover for $15.00. Those suckers at usually at least $25.00 JUST for the Boppy without a cover! Score! So now, I will have one for upstairs and one for downstairs. (Rebecca also got us a Boppy as a gift.) You never know what you find there...

31 weeks

Another week come and gone...

Today James built the window treatment, which turned out so great AND he put together a super cute bench that his mom got for Jack. We'll decide later if we are going to paint it or stain it. We also did shopping in the pouring rain. :)



How far along are you? 31 weeks
Maternity clothes? Yep and it feels like I wear the same things over and over and over...
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope. (Fingers crossed. The doctor complimented my belly at my last appointment.)
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom! I am starting to wake up in the night, though. I either have to changed positions or go to the bathroom.
Best moment this week: I
Any Movement? Constantly and now I have started to feel and see elbows and knees and whatnot moving across my stomach.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: I really don't miss much. I have enjoyed being pregnant, but it is hard to reach things on the floor of the car when they fall down there!
What are you looking forward to: Our Childbirth Class this next weekend!
Weekly Wisdom: Someone told me to make sure to take the tiny bottles that the hospital uses because you can't find any that small and they are really nice to have in the beginning.
Milestones: Every week seems like a milestone as we get closer but I am going to the doctor every two weeks right now!

In other news, James worked really, really hard in the yard on Friday and here is some of what he did! Last year we planted tomatoes, basil and parsley. We expanded a little this year!

Grape tomatoes.Big Boy tomatoes.
Basil and parsley. I can't wait to make pesto!

Chives and strawberries.

James planted these two trees about 3 1/2 years ago and they were nothing but tiny, little twigs in the ground. It's amazing to watch them grow and change and actually start to look like TREES instead of sticks!

30 weeks & 1 day --- Baby Jack's Bedroom

Here are the long overdue furniture pictures! We love how everything turned out and couldn't be happier with our choice. We searched and searched and then waited many weeks for the arrival of the furniture, so when it was delivered and we still loved it, we were very happy!! These are pieces that Jack will be able to use for a very long time. The crib converts to a toddler bed and then a full size bed. The idea behind the furniture is that we will not have to buy anything else for a long, long time. :)

We still need to make/find/create a window treatment, find a small side table and also find things for the walls. It's just nice knowing that if Baby Jack decided to appear right now (please, no!) that we would at least have his furniture ready to go!

James opening the crib box to put it together. The delivery men laughed and said, "This is the hardest crib in the entire store to put together. Good luck." I stared at him and said, "James can handle it. He's handy." And he did! He had that thing together in about 45 minutes and without frustration. I love how handy he is and that he doesn't get frustrated and upset with projects like this. I am super lucky!!

These drawers open at an angle. They are supposed to be for easy diaper changes. We'll see!!


James and I had a lovely visit with Jan & Richard this weekend, too. We shopped and visited and it was very nice (as usual)!

How far along are you? 30 weeks and 1 day
Maternity clothes? For sure. And they are starting to look better, too.
Weight – Loss or Gain? Gain.
Has your shoe size changed? Nope.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, when my back is hurting and it's not too hot in the bedroom!
Best moment this week: Our visit with Jan and Richard and the weight being lifted about the car seat! Thanks Nene (Nini?) and Papa!
Any Movement? All the time! All. The. Time.
Food Cravings? Nope.
Food Aversions? Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's almost an outtie...so weird.
What do you miss: While shopping with Jan, I kind of missed shopping for regular clothes. Everything seems so cute when you can't wear it! :) It's all worth it, though!
What are you looking forward to: Getting Jack's room finished.
Weekly Wisdom: Mmmm....I don't think there was any.
Milestones: I think that Jack has turned head down. ALL of the movement and pressure is at the top of my stomach and under my ribs. That's exciting! We'll see if he stays that way and I will ask at my appointment in a couple of days!