Thatcher's Birth Story

On Thursday August 20th, I went to work like it was any normal day. By 11:30 I was having pretty regular contractions that were getting closer together and more painful. Around 12:45, they were pretty pretty consistent in all of the areas that the hospital wanted in order to come in for a labor check. I decided to go up and talk to my boss and tell her that I may need to leave. By the time I got up the stairs, they were getting more and more strong and closer together so she decided that it might be best to go to the hospital to be checked. She drove me to the hospital and I was all checked in to be monitored by about 1:30. After being there for about 2 1/2 hours, the nurse said I wasn't progressing how they would like so she was sure that I was in early labor and I should just go home and wait it out. She told me this process could be anywhere from a few hours, to a few days...all I could think was that if this lasted a few days, I would never let Thatcher live it down.

Josh and I went to dinner and had some spicy Thai food. Once we got home, I bounced on my ball for a bit and then we went for a walk. During our walk, my contractions were still getting stronger and then at 6:40 (right on the dot), my water broke! We went home and loaded the car and got to the hospital and all checked in by about 7:30. Once we were hooked up to the monitor, they checked me and there still wasn't much progress from earlier that afternoon. The doctor on call said to labor it through the night and then we could do pitocin if needed. Since I was pretty positive (and hoping) we were having a c-section, I pushed off the pitocin because what was the point of getting it? Luckily, I had a fabulous nurse who totally was on my side and helped me to push off the doctor. By about midnight, my contractions were to the point where they were bringing tears to my eyes so I went ahead and asked for the IV narcotics to try and curb the pain. They ended up giving me Stadol, which worked great for about 2 hours, then they were back with a vengeance. By about 3:15 I had an epidural placed, which worked wonders.

While the epidural worked great, it brought on its' own set of problems. My blood pressure began to drop really low. I started getting dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseated. They kept trying to pump meds to bring it up, but it wasn't really working. The next thing I remember after that was waking up to about 6 nurses over the top of me, one with an oxygen mask, and one telling me they were going to place an internal monitor on Thatcher (his heart rate started dropping really low so they wanted to watch him more carefully). After we were both stable, I was able to sleep for about 2 hours or so before it was time for the nurses to make their change of shift rounds. At that point, they went ahead and pushed more meds, each time they did so, my blood pressure would drop and then we would go through the whole cycle of meds again... it would pretty miserable. Once I got the epidural and some sleep, I started to progress pretty quickly. At 3am I was still at a 2 (since about 2pm the previous afternoon). By 7 I was at a 5, and then by 10 I was at a 7. Around 9, we had made the plan to go ahead and do the c-section at 12pm and the doctor would be all set an ready. Since I was at a 7 at 10am, the nurse called the doctor and said we may need to bump up the time (which they did by 30 mins). The plan was made so now it was just time to wait.

Around 10:30, the nurse came in and started prepping me for the c-section. Around 11:20 the doctor arrived and we were all set to go. At 11:30 they wheeled us back and got everything all set up. Then at 12pm our little boy was born! He was born weighing 9lb 6oz at 20.5 inches long.

They cleaned him up and then brought him over to me, unfortunately, I was only able to hold him for about 30 seconds before my blood pressure began to tank again. I was freezing and shaking, dizzy, tingly, nauseated etc. I went in an out for the rest of the time they were sewing me back up. I could faintly hear Thatcher crying on one side and the doctor's talking on the other side. Once I was all stable and sewn back up, they wheeled us into our room. Once I was a little more awake, the doctor explained that I had a vessel, under the placenta, which had ruptured and I was losing blood. Since they were still working on getting the placenta out, they didn't realize that was where the blood was coming from. By the time they had, I had lost a lot of blood and that's why I was in and out.

After we were settled in the room, they also explained that Thatcher and I had developed some sort of infection so we were both heavily dosed with antibiotics. Once everything was explained, there was an endless supply of staff checking on us. Since Thatcher was on antibiotics, he kept having to go back to the nursery, making it so we each had our own nurse. We had a constant stream of help, which was nice! The rest of our stay went by relatively quickly, but we were so ready to get home!

36 and 37 weeks

Almost there! There hasn't really been too much going on in the past couple of weeks. Just waiting on our little man to make his debut!

Yesterday we got to "see" our boy again! He was a whopping 8lb15oz. His belly and shoulders are so big that they were off of the charts and they couldn't tell us exactly how they were measuring. He's definitely going to be a chunker! We didn't end up seeing the doctor we were supposed to so we had to wait for the doctor to call us back yesterday with the final decision for when to have baby boy! The doctor finally got back to us and we are scheduled for a c-section for next Wednesday August 26th at 9am! The end is in site! We have 1 week to go!!!! We are so excited and ready to meet our little man! By this time next week we will have him here with us!!! 

33, 34, and 35 weeks

Sorry I know I've been slacking on this. Life has been super busy! Not much has been going on, but I'll fill you in on what has happened.

33 weeks 

This is the week that we finished getting everything done. We finished buying what we still needed, we washed all of everything, and got everything organized. I also worked two weeks straight during this time...longest two weeks ever! 

34 weeks 

This week we had our maternity pictures done! They look amazing! I could not be more in love with them! There have been a few times where I look at them at tear up! It was so hard for me to choose just one that was my favorite, so I made a little collage of my top 15! 

I posted the rest on Facebook so be sure to check them out if you want to see them all! 

This was the week that we also got to see our boy again! He was weighing in at 7lbs 3oz. While I know these scans have a margin of error, he has been pretty consistent my whole pregnancy with the fact that he is getting more and more ahead on the growth chart. We will definitely be having a decent sized baby! At that appointment, the doctor discussed doing a c-section at 39 weeks if he hadn't already arrived. With his shoulders already measuring at 40w2d she was a little concerned about him getting stuck if we went another 4 weeks. She ordered another scan for us to have done at 37w5d and made a comment about if he had grown a lot between those 3 weeks, then maybe bumping that date up a little more. We are just taking it day-by-day, and I don't really feel like we will make it much passed 38 weeks anyway. 

35 weeks 

This week nothing too exciting happened, other than the fact that I slipped and fell flat on my butt. I was outside with the dogs in the rain and when I stepped off of the porch to coax Oliver inside, my feet went right out from underneath me. It hurt... Quite a bit. I shook it off and went to work. About an hour into work, I started having contractions. They started about 8 mins apart and then started getting closer together. Since I had fallen, I called the doctors office and asked them what they wanted me to do. They had me come in to be monitored and after about 2 hours they stopped. The doctor said to keep an eye on them, but whenever he was ready to come, they would just let him come! We could have a baby any day now! 

That's all! Nothing super duper. Just a few little things here and there! Our little man could be here any day, although I think he is going to wait until the week of the 17th (just a gut feeling I've had my whole pregnancy). Who knows though!

31 and 32 weeks!

The last few weeks have been busy with trying the finish his room and get ready for my family to be here for our baby shower. We have pretty much been working nonstop trying to get things done! Needless to say, we finished his room and I finished most of my projects for him! Our baby shower was a great success and we were so excited to share in this time with everyone!

Here are the bumpies! 

My belly is definitely getting bigger and more round! 

Here are some pictures of his room and some of the things I've made him! 

Finally, here is a snap shot of us at our baby shower! It was so fun! We really had a good time! 

Now we are starting the process of washing everything and getting it all organized! It's crazy to think how quickly things are going and how soon he will be here! 

29 and 30 weeks

These last two weeks have been super crazy! We are getting wrapped up with his room! Almost done!!!! We are getting excited for our baby shower next weekend and cannot wait to celebrate our little boy with everyone!

I have been having quite a bit of contractions and cramping. I was in labor and delivery on Thursday while they monitored me for a few hours. They said I basically need to slow down. Our little boy is in a hurry to be here, but he needs to cook a little more. 

At 29 weeks we got to see our boy again, they told me he was already 4 lbs 4 oz! That's about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds bigger than most babies at this point. He popped up 16 days ahead of schedule on the estimated date. The doctor doesn't want to change my due date just yet. They want to see how the next few weeks go, but we are pretty confident we won't make it to 40 weeks with all of the contractions I've been having. 

Other than that things are going good! I just need to slow down and take it a little easier. 

No more toes! 

Here is my most recent completion! His little turtle! 

And last but not least... A sneak peak of his room! It's not completely done yet, but it's almost there!

27 and 28 weeks

We hit the 3rd trimester! Finally! We are in the home stretch and I can't believe we are getting so close to our little guy being here!

Week 27 didn't really hold much excitement. Just a bigger belly! 

Week 28 however, was exciting for us! 

Not only did it mark our 3rd trimester, but we had our 3D ultrasound. It was so neat seeing our little boy in 3D. The place we went to gave us a DVD of the whole session, so we have about 25 mins of our boy on video. We also got a cd full of pictures! The package we got also includes a photo book (which they make so we have to wait for), a maternity portrait session, and a stuffed animal with the baby's heartbeat! It was so neat! I have never really wanted a 3D ultrasound before, I personally think they are kind of creepy, but I am sooooooo glad we did it! We are getting excited for big things coming up such as showers, maternity pictures, and getting the nursery done! 

Here are a few of my favorites from the ultrasound! 

25&26 weeks

The last few weeks haven't been too eventful. We are finally down to double digits and have 3 months (hopefully a little less) to go! Baby boy hasn't had too many new developments, but he sure does love my rib cage! I can tell just by looking at my belly where he is hanging out! It is kind of awesome!

I have been having quite a few Braxton hicks. They are increasing everyday, but aren't painful, just a little startling. We are both doing good! We are hoping to finish painting his room this week and start setting it up. I have been working hard on doing his little craft projects! Below is a picture of his name for his room. These are made with the pages of some Harry Potter books that got ruined last fall. I think it turned out really well and I can't wait to hang them!! 

Here are my belly pics from the last two weeks as well. I don't feel like there was much growth. 

That's all for this week! Almost to the third trimester! 

24 weeks update!

This week hasn't been too eventful, he has been relatively quiet. 

I finally got my Mother's Day gift! A little "T" for my boy! I love it!

Here is this weeks bump picture...he is starting to stick out there. In the mornings I can usually tell where he is sitting just by looking at my belly. One side usually pokes out a little bit more than the other. 

And finally, even though this technically should wait until next week, we got to see our boy again today! With my family history of VSD's, my doctor felt it would be a good idea to give Thatcher's heart a full look over, so we got to see a lot of him today! 

First off, he is still a boy! He was happy to show us again! 

Next, little Thatcher was flexing his arm for us! 

Here is a nice shot of his cute little foot! I can't wait to put some cute little shoes on them!

Here he is looking at us

A sweet little profile!

Finally, here is one of our sweet boy waving at us!

Being a nanny I got to try out several different types of baby carriers and when we lived in New York I loved the Ergo, so I was sooooo happy to get this in the mail today! 

It was so amazing seeing our sweet boy again! Everytime we see him, it starts to seem more real! I still cannot believe how incredibly blessed we are and it still feels so surreal! Almost down to double digits!

23 weeks!

This week has been crazy with the end of the semester and the wedding of our friends. We have been running non-stop and haven't had much time to relax. Finally the semester is over and things are calming down (I say that loosely as summer hasn't even started yet, and we have something every weekend until August...and yes, every weekend).

If Thatcher is anything like his mommy, he will have the hiccups all of the time. There is not a day that goes by where I do not have them at least once. On Saturday, Josh was in a wedding and I was doing pictures so we were both running all day long. At one point that afternoon, Thatcher had the hiccups and I felt it for the first time! It was such a weird feeling, but through all of the craziness, he gave me something to smile about and he gave me a nice little pre-mothers day gift! 

I love our sweet little boy so much already! Just another couple of weeks and we will be down to single digits! The weeks seem to drag by, but overall, time is flying!

22 weeks!

This last week was super crazy, as we had a lot going on. With the semester wrapping up, all of my free time has been focused on school. Just a few more days and it will be over though! We finally went to get the paint for Thatcher's room! We decided on a color a few weeks back, but just actually bought the paint last night! We are super excited to get started and I am SUPER excited school is just about over so I can crack out all of the projects I'm going to be crafting for his room!

Nothing new has really happened this week, until last night! Thatcher has become more and more wiggly with each day and he must think that my bedtime is his party time because that's when he seems to be the most active. Last night however, I was laying in bed and pressing on my tummy and I felt him kick my hand! It was the sweetest thing ever! The more I would press, the more he would kick! So, naturally, I had Josh press down on my belly and Thatcher kicked for him too! It was so amazing and I know Josh was thrilled that he finally got to feel Thatcher move! We both cannot wait for our little man to be here and we are both excited for the new things ahead!

20&21 weeks

It has been a few weeks. With moving and the semester wrapping up I have been super busy! Nothing new really, just a growing belly and a wiggly baby boy! We cannot wait to meet baby Thatcher! Time feels like it is going by so slowly.

We have started on his room! We finished getting all of his furniture and even chose a paint color for the walls! We are excited to get started on putting it all together! Once school is over I am going to get started on making all the fun little crafts for him room that I have on my list...and it is a pretty lengthy list! There will be pictures for sure along the way!

That is all for this week! Maybe I will have something more exciting for you next time!

19 weeks update!

This last week was a long one. We found out the gender of our little one on Friday and had a fun filled weekend of baby shopping and getting together with friends and family to share in the news! Thatcher has been moving around more and more lately and I am pretty sure I felt him kick me today! I love how much I can feel him moving around and how much he is becoming more and more active with each passing day! Here is this weeks picture. He is definitely growing in there!

Introducing Thatcher Charles!

We have one healthy baby boy! At first he wasn't too happy to show us, but after a few mins of pushing him, he gave in and spread his legs! Every time we have seen him (other than the very first time) he has been sucking his little thumb! We are so incredibly excited and cannot wait for him to make his debut! As of tomorrow we will be half way there! 

Is he not just the cutest little boy ever!!! I'm in love!