Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Photo Shoot!

We had a rough night last night! You were not wanting to sleep at all. I was up for three hours before I woke Daddy to get his help. I fed you and he swaddled you and you slowly drifted to sleep. You woke up again at 8 and I scooped you up and the three of us cuddled in bed. We got to watch your hilarious waking up sequence as Daddy calls it :) Daddy went to change your dipey and right as he took it off, you peed all over yourself!! We whisked you to the bathroom and he helped me give you a sponge bath. You are so stinkin precious!! I wrapped you in a towel and rocked you in my arms.

Daddy did tummy time with you on his belly then put you down for a nap. When you woke up we tried to do a photo shoot with you in your nursery...you weren't having it! We got a few cute shots of your teeny little booty, but only after you peed all over the rug (we should have known!) then wrapped you up and you fell right back asleep. No perfect shot for your announcements yet, but we will get one soon!

My swaddled sleeper

 Moooooom!


Refusing to look at the camera! Look at that cute little tush :)

 Resting after all his protesting! I love his crossed legs!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, June 11, 2010

He's Here!!

Our son has arrived! June 11th was one of the most memorable days of my entire life. Ryan and I welcomed our baby boy - our first child together, into this world. He has completely captured every bit of both of our hearts! I have a love for him that I have never experienced before. I know it sounds crazy, but the day I gave birth to him was so much fun...such an incredible adventure that I will never forget. The pain was not so fun, but forgettable the second you push that magical last push and see what you have been blindly loving for nine months.

About 7 hours into my 21 hour labor, I laid in my hospital bed listening to Ryan and my Mom snore in sync as they tried to rejuvenate themselves for the upcoming event. I however was wide awake with excitement and I started journaling my experience so far. I will recap my entire birth experience in a blog very soon. Until now, while I have a spare second, I want to introduce you to my miniature love of my life.

Dylan Tice Smith was born on June 11th, 2010

He weighed 9 pounds 15 ounces

Measured at 21 3/4" in length


My big boy!
The moment that changed our lives forever!
Our first family photo
Daddy loves you so much Dylan!
Dylan's Welcome Home party :)
Wrapped around your little finger

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Update III

Baby Smith's due date has come and gone!!

As a friend said to me recently, "babies do not know how to read calendars!" I was talking to my cousin Mandy about how I was super ready to meet the baby but I didn't want to evict him/her too early and she agreed and said not to be a pushy landlord :)
The due date is just an estimate - a date to tell the thousands of people that ask you "when are you due?" over the 9 months that you are pregnant. But how the heck do we really know? Only 3% of women have their babies on their due date...I am apparently not one of them and that is just fine with me. Although...I would not complain if it happened sooner than later - I'm just sayin'!!

We had a crazy full day today! The alarm sounded at 7:00 and Ryan and I groggily peeled ourselves out of bed, got ready & had a delicious breakfast at Panera. Then we made our way over to the Warren Clinic (St. Francis) Broken Arrow to meet Baby Smith's prospective Pediatrician!!

 Meet Dr. Sylvia August!

She is fabulous! We weren't as prepared as we could have been...Ryan was googling "questions to ask your Pediatrician" as she walked in the door. But she helped prompt questions and the conversation flowed perfectly. She doesn't attend to babies at St. John's, but another Doctor in her office does. So Dr. Wan will meet us at the hospital when the baby is born and then we will take him/her to see Dr. August two days after that! She was so sweet and personable but maintainted great professionalism. I am really excited about having her as our Doctor :) P.S. She loved that we weren't finding out the gender...she guessed girl!!


Then Ryan asked me if I wanted to come to his work and tootle around while he finished up a few things! It was so much fun! He let me be his personal assistant for a few hours. I got to write checks and red line a report that he had written. His co-workers popped in one at a time to ask me when I was going to have the baby. His co-worker, Jay, sent out an email to everyone starting the betting on 1) What gender the baby will be, & 2) Date & Time of arrival - so much fun!!

 Ryan's view overlooking what my Mom & Grandma named "Ryan Lake" - it is a great dog walking trail by the way...Chloe loves it!

 Toni Smith: Engineer's Assistant

We made our way over to AWS for my Ultrasound/Appointment. We had yet another Ultrasound with our favorite Sonographer, Theresa! For the past few months the baby has been in the exact same position - head down, curled in a ball, and facing my left side. Today Theresa very excitedly let us know that the baby is head down, feet up and facing my tailbone, or Anterior Presentation. This is the optimal position for childbirth - and hopefully means no dreaded "back labor!" We were very happy to hear this news!


I saw Mackie again today instead of Howerton. The nurse said her usual "bottoms off!" as they do every appointment in the last Trimester. (Too much information? Sorry!) Just in case you were wondering...this is the face I make when they hand me the paper sheet...


She did the exam and told me that my blood pressure looks great and that I was at 3cm dilated (haha I found a visual chart that made me laugh - I have to share it...)

There is no change in effacement, so that puts me at 60%, and I am at a -2 Station of Presentation.
She said all of that was great and that she wanted to do a NST (non-stress test) to check how the baby's heart rate was doing, how much the baby was moving, and if I was having any contractions.

We went into an exam room and I laid down while she strapped on two sensors to my belly that were attached to an electronic fetal monitor. The machine showed the digital heart rate as it printed off a graph. I laid there for about 30 minutes and listened to the heart rate go up and down and the thump thump noises as the baby kicked the sensors. Ryan got close to the baby's face and talked a bunch and we watched the heart rate go up as the baby got excited :) Dr. Mackie and the nurse came in and said that everything looked fabulous on the charts!! The heart rate is supposed to show fluctuation based on its own movement. It stayed in a range between 130 and 160bpm which is wonderful. No contractions during the 30 minutes.



They determined that my amniotic fluid was a touch high (l point over the normal) so they scheduled an AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index) test at the hospital on Friday morning. AFI tests are done routinely for patients over 40 weeks. I will have an ultrasound to check my fluid levels, and assuming everything looks okay, we will have another weekend to "will" the baby to come naturally :) Monday, June 14th, we will have what I assume will be our last appointment before mandatory medical induction. We gave our birth plan to Jennifer, our favorite Nurse, and she passed it on to Howerton who said one more week of waiting (as we requested) wouldn't hurt. (Preggo friends: This site was my favorite for making a free Birth Plan!)

So back to the waiting game again! A few of Ryan's co-workers as well as Theresa, the Sonographer, guessed tonight would be the night...we will see!

Thank you for all the inquiries, kind thoughts, positivity & love that all of you are sending me!
It means the world!!

40 Weeks

40 weeks!! Happily awaiting Baby Smith's arrival!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Update I

Ryan and I had a Doctor's appointment a few weeks ago that left much to be desired. The office was packed and everyone seemed a bit rushed that day. I think Dr. Howerton may have just been in a bad mood, but we started discussing our plan for the next few weeks and if left me a little shaken. She wanted us to come into the office in one week and discuss when my scheduled C-section would be. HUH?? I panicked a little inside at the prospect of having to make that decision in a week. We left without saying much and I broke down in tears - the unknown factors were finally starting to weigh on me. Ryan calmed me down and reminded me that the only reason Dr. Howerton has only been discussing less than desirable topics is because we keep bringing up "what if" scenarios. I will throw in my two cents and mention that Doctors don't get paid unless they deliver the patient's baby...and she has been planning on going out of town on June 4th-8th. So it did cross our minds that she may have been trying to get a rush delivery out of me. We made the decision that at the next appointment we would kindly refuse. I wanted to at least make it to my due date without any talk of induction/C-section!!

The next appointment came and we saw a different Doctor, Mackie Sutton, because Howerton was out of the office. We had a diagnostic Ultrasound to measure the baby and we discussed the results. No surprise, Baby Smith is big!! The tech said I had "great fluid" (thanks?!) Dr. Sutton said the baby looked wonderful, & the heart-rate sounded perfect. She guessed about 8 1/2 - 9 pounds for the size. There was no discussion of C-section which was fabulous! She did let me know that they do not like to let the baby go much past 41 weeks without induction because the placenta starts to not work as effectively in delivering nutrients to the baby. So, we have an appointment Wednesday, June 9th!

Survey!

About the birth:

Do you know what you are taking with you?: All packed & have been for weeks. Found a great checklist at Discovery Health

Who is going to be with you?: Our families will be at the hospital but Ryan will be in the room with me

Are you going to videotape it?: nope! Pictures but no video allowed (I'm okay with that!)

Natural or medicated?: Natural is the plan I am hoping for!

Do you think you will need a c-section?: Argh, its a possibility if we don't get this show on the road.

Will you cry when you hold your baby for the first time?: Undoubtedly!!

Do you think the daddy will cry?: Yes, we cry watching Baby Story :)

Are you scared about the labor?: I'm nervous of the unknown, but my excitement exceeds my nerves


Names:

Do you have a name picked out?: Yes, two!

Girl names...: Olivia

Boy names...: Dylan

Is your baby going to be named after someone?: Olivia is Ryan's Great Great Grandmother, and both the middle names will be family names (tba!)


Other random questions:

Have you felt the baby move?: Like crazy!! I have a foot in my side as we speak :)

Do you have stretch marks yet?: Yup...inevitable - they are my Mommy Badge of Honor!

What was your first symptom?: Butterflies

Will your baby have godparents?: Yes

What is the baby's room theme?: Owls/Circles/Nature

What was the first thing you bought for the baby?: The crib that Daddy & I fell in love with

Will you cloth diaper?: We really wanted to do cloth diapers with a diaper service, but it ended up being more expensive than store bought :(

BFing or formula?: Breastfeeding exclusively if all goes well

What is your favorite pregnancy book?: What to Expect, Happiest Baby on the Block, Waiting for Baby

What do you look forward to doing again once you are no longer pregnant?: Sleeping on my stomach, having a big deli sandwich, and a Negra Modelo

What physical features do you hope the baby will get from daddy?: His baby blue eyes, his nose, soft skin & hair, strong teeth, metabolism

What physical features do you hope the baby will get from you?: My lips, big cheekbones, height, both of our long eyelashes

Is he ready to be a daddy?: Yes, he is so excited!!!

Are you ready to be a mommy?: Yes, I can't WAIT!!!