Conner's birth story

I don't think I have told you about when Conner was born. I was scheduled to be induced 2 days after his due date if he didn't come on his own before then. Cody and I had a normal final day as a twosome. We went shopping that Sunday for a few necessities, had a bite to eat at Panera Bread, then went home. That night I got my hospital bag ready pretty late and started to feel what felt like contractions. I decided it was just gas and kept going on with the packing and straightening up of the kitchen.

I finally went to bed around midnight but my stomach kept hurting from the gas. Around 1 a.m. I was still awake and the pain wasn't getting better and it started to come more frequently so I decided to time it. Sure enough, it was coming every 3-5 minutes. I called my friend, Mary who was helping out with the delivery as my doula and let her know that I thought I was in labor. We decided to continue timing it and see what happens. I woke Cody up and told him that he was to keep track now. He had a note pad and his watch ready. When the contractions stayed at the same rate, we headed to the hospital and I called Mary to tell her it was time.

Boy did the contractions hurt! I had to stop walking several times to breathe through them in the parking lot, waiting room, at the check in desk and once I got to the room. By this time, it was just after 3 in the morning and it seemed like Conner was ready to come 3 hours before we were scheduled to arrive at the hospital! Mary arrived shortly after I had settled in and brought goodies to help with the pain. Thank goodness for her! We didn't plan on anything to help. My contractions kept coming. They seemed to last a long time and were getting quite painful. Cody and Mary were right by my side to help me remember to relax and to let me know when my contractions were over judging by the monitor.

All morning long, the nurse had me drinking juice to keep Conner's activity up. He seemed to have chilled out and the hope was that the juice would keep him stimulated. Cody and Mary were right there holding the juices and the straws for me so I could drink regularly.

At 8 a.m. my doctor arrived. I don't think I had seen a doctor prior to her arrival. She checked me and said that I was dilated to 8 cm. I couldn't believe it!! I had been at 1 for a month and suddenly I was an 8! He was coming and it would be soon! I decided to get the epidural to ease the pain and boy did it work. I was singing along to my collection of George Strait cd's. I was making jokes and hanging out.

Side note: Cody was documenting my labor by taking pictures and updating my status on facebook for me. He was keeping Mary and I entertained by reading the comments people were leaving. I have some funny and encouraging friends. I am glad we were able to share this day with them. Anyway, back to the story.

Noon rolled around and I hadn't made any progress so they decided to give me pitocin to try to speed things up. You see, at 8 a.m., the doctor broke my water and noticed that Conner already had at least one bowel movement. That wasn't a good thing because it meant that he could breathe it in. The pitocin was to limit the amount of time he'd potentially have poo in his lungs. After a couple more hours of pitocin, they saw that it was beginning to stress him out. They stopped the drip for a while to see if it would help him which it did. Then they started it again. At this point they decided to check my contractions to see if they were strong enough. They put some kind of device in my uterus to get a better reading of the contractions because the bands around my belly were not accurate enough. Did I mention that I already had a catheter in? The nurse did that right after the epidural was done. Luckily, the epidural was still amazing and I couldn't feel any of it!

4 p.m. came quickly and I had only gotten to 9 cm. The doc started talking about the potential for a c-section but it was still early. We waited another couple hours and still no progress. Conner wasn't able to get into position because of my "dainty features." It was time to deliver the baby. Somewhere during all of this, Cody and Mary were still there with me. Cody's parents came to visit and so did my step-mom. It was after 6 p.m., I still didn't get any sleep, I had been in labor for over 20 hours, and there were suddenly so many people in my room prepping me for surgery. Boy, was I scared.

Needless to say, it was certainly odd being awake in an operating room and hearing all the machines, the people talking, being aware of the fact that my abdomen was wide open and that soon enough, my baby would be born. I could hear Cody next to me, but I was really busy concentrating on not shaking since I get the shakes when I'm nervous. Before I knew it, the time was 7:18 p.m. and I heard Cody tell me he's perfect! They brought him over to me so I could see him (through my cloudy vision since I didn't have my glasses on) and see for myself. He sounded great with his powerful screams. Man, was I happy! Then I think I fell asleep.

I don't know how much time passed when I woke up. I was in recovery by myself and was so tired. Cody came by to see me. At least I'm sure he did. I can't really remember. The nurse wheeled me to my suite. Cody was there getting us settled. That's when I was given my glasses and my baby boy.

He was so little. So precious. Mine. He knew just what to do. He started looking for food. Conner made our first bonding experience amazing when he latched on and began to eat.

I love this little boy!

Week 7

7 weeks old: This week we went on our first trip. Conner was so very good. He slept in the truck during the ride and didn't fuss when it was "past" his meal time. He got to meet his Great Grandma Edwards. He further confirmed just how easy-going and laid back he his. This is also the week that I packed up his newborn clothes. They were way too small for him! My baby boy is growing!

Week 6

6 Weeks Old: This week, Conner learned how to be a poo poo head! There were 2 days where he would be perfectly calm and then without warning, he would scream and be inconsolable. Usually he would give us about a minute of fussing before he would start to cry and then if we didn't respond correctly, he would scream (though that was rare)!

Conner's Log

I have this idea where I take a picture of Conner every week in the same place (in this case an infant to toddler chair) and write something significant from that week. I'm 5 weeks late, so I have to play catch-up in one post.

(a little out of order) 3 weeks old: Conner's personality started to show. He has some great expressions and we love to laugh at the little things he does. He also is very good at sleeping through car rides and meeting new people.

Birth Day! (12/7/09) He was supposed to be induced but instead decided to come on his own terms... right down to the 20 hours of labor to find out that I have small hips and he couldn't fit in the birth canal. C-section it was! He already melted mine and Cody's hearts when we saw him.
1 week old: He has a strong back and neck. He was already trying to hold his head up on his own. He attempted this mostly when he was trying to find the right spot on anyone to nurse. He looked like a drunken sailor (bobbing his head around) while making this attempt!
2 weeks old: This is Cody's favorite picture because he looks so happy! This week he lost his umbilical stump! He now has a very cute innie.

4 weeks old: Our boy likes to yawn and fight sleep. He also likes to make his daddy change his diaper 3 times in a row during the same diaper change. We have since figured out his expressions for needing to poo. This week he started to blow bubbles.
5 weeks old: He has started to smile and play. We are enjoying his company a ton during this time. Look how big he's getting! I weighed myself and then I weighed the two of us together. He is between 10 and 11 pounds already! He also slept for 4 hours straight earlier this week which worried me, but the doctor said to consider ourselves lucky when he starts to do this. I have news for Doc, we already consider ourselves lucky!!

Snow!

Just one day until Conner's due date and I just thought I would document on here that it did, in fact, snow in Austin, TX! The sun is out and flurries are about. For a bit there, it was snowing hard enough to look like fog as I was driving home from lunch with Cody. It was so pretty!

C'mon out, Conner! I want you to experience this!

Pregnancy progress

Seriously ready to meet this baby, but he seems to be even more serious about staying in! He is still so active! I was sure earlier on in my pregnancy that he would be early because of his size. Well, the doctor did an estimate of how big he was at about 37 weeks and said that he was between 5 1/2 and 6 pounds. WHAT? I'm HUGE! So that's when I decided that he wasn't going to be early. He's never coming out. He's too comfy. He doesn't have to do anything but have fun rolling around, kicking, punching, spinning and tickling me!

Here I am, at 39 weeks, 3 days pregnant and I just had my 40 week check up. I've been dilated at about 1 cm for almost 4 weeks now and apparently my cervix is super soft. The softness is a good thing. The doc said she could hardly tell it was there. This softening is incredibly helpful for when the contractions start up. She says that once Conner's head starts to descend that it will help with the dilation. That was definitely reassuring!

Right now, all I can say is, "Come out, come out, come OUT!"

Many Thanks

Wow, what a trip this year has been so far! I have a ton to be thankful for and YOU are just one person that has made a contribution to my life, so thank you.

I have a 97% complete bedroom for Conner. I owe that 97% to Candace and Christina who thoughtfully came up with the idea that instead of throwing a baby shower for me in Dallas (originally scheduled for 2 weeks before my due date), that they would come to my house and prep Conner's room so that Cody and I could focus on other aspects of getting our house "assembled". I couldn't have asked for a nicer gesture!

The ladies put two coats of paint on the walls, hung up the curtain and moved the furniture in. They also made the crib bed and loaded up the changing table with it's necessities. I also got the hook up with some needed baby items. I can't forget that they also prepared some yummy foods for us to thaw and cook when we are too tired to make dinner after Conner is here. They rock!

Other peeps stopped by, too! It was really neat to see them and accept their help with the baby's laundry, hanging pictures and sterilizing bottles!

Cody and I are so very lucky. Thank you all!