Miles Harold

Baby Miles Harold is finally here. He arrived Tuesday 4/21 at 8:59 in the evening. After 26 hours of labor the little (or should I say big) guy came into this world weighing in at 9lbs 5ozs and 22.5" long. No wonder my belly was so gigantic!

Labor was a little different than I imagined. My due date came and went on Sunday 4/19. I went to work on Monday feeling as if I would be pregnant forever. The day went on and I was feeling a lot of pressure in my belly and a bit nauseous but nothing major. I went to see Brian to get acupuncture after work and then decided to head to the gym to walk the treadmill. While on the treadmill I began to have mild contractions and walked through them. They got a bit stronger after 20 minutes so I decided to head home a little after 7pm. I was having more contractions that night and overall just felt 'yucky'. I talked to my Mom and my friend Cortney on the phone thinking in the back of my mind that I would probably be having a baby very soon. I tried to sleep on and off, and decided to time my contractions. They were randomly spaced about 7 -12 minutes apart. I remember complaining to Tim that I couldn't get comfortable while trying to sleep.

At 3am I woke up for my usual bathroom trip and my water broke, right on the toilet (very convienent). After that labor was pretty intense. Tim began to time my contractions, they were very confusing to us. They were about 2-4 minutes in length and about 5 minutes apart, giving me little time for rest breaks. We called our midwife at 5am and decided to take a shower, it didn't help, but made labor even more intense. I found myself laying on the floor unable to really move they were so strong. Tim got everything ready and we headed to the hospital at 7am. We met Kathrine (our midwife) there and she confirmed my water had indeed broke and I was in labor...we were having a baby! Unfortunately, I was barely dilated, and the reason my contractions were so painfully long was because of the baby's position....he was presenting posterior and nice and crooked. We had learned about this in our childbirth class and I knew we were in for a very long and hard labor. We labored at the hospital all day and I began requesting drugs to take the pain away, but Tim and Kathrine knew my drug free birth plan was important to me so they helped me into the tub and got me plenty of tasty orange sherbert. That helped a lot and before we knew it I was fully dilated and ready to push.

I pushed for a good 2 hours and baby Miles wouldn't budge. My uterus finally decided to quit and contractions stopped. There was no way to push the baby out on my own so I got hooked up to Pitocin which started my contractions back up. After almost another 3 hours of pushing baby Miles was finally born. He was placed on my belly and was so warm and big and was screaming his little head off. Our birth story was a little different than planned, but all went well and we are now home and happy, adjusting to our new life with Miles. It is amazing bringing a baby into this world. Nothing you can really plan for, no matter how many books you read, or classes you take. Tim was Super Coach and we had an amazing birth team. Our midwife and nurses were so great, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

39 weeks and then some

As the due date approaches, I get more nervous that it will pass and I will still be pregnant. I know that it is very common to go a week or even more past an estimated due date so I am trying to take every day as it comes. Another day of being very large, very excited, and very very uncomfortable. Tim and I are really ready to meet baby Vedder and every day drags on and on. We have been trying to keep busy, Tim has been studying for the CFA level 2 exam and I have been walking (slowly) and keeping things in order around the house. I'm sad I finished all the Twilight books as those would be very handy right now. Just trying to keep myself occupied so I don't go insane.

So I didn't think my belly could get any bigger than last week, but apparently it has. At my appointment on Tuesday I was measuring 40 weeks and that is a 2 week increase since my appointment last week. Both of my midwives actually measured me thinking maybe they were getting it wrong, but no, I grew that much more in just one little week. Baby boy is slowing down in there as I am sure he is just running out of space. He still lets me know he is okay in there though with the occasional nudge. The midwives gave their weight guesses this week. Karen thinks he is 8 pounds while Kathrine thinks he is 7 pounds 10 ounces. We will see who is correct hopefully very soon.

38 weeks

Okay, now seriously, how much bigger can I possibly get? My belly is mammoth and feels like it may just explode at any minute. Had my 38 week appointment today...everything is good. Baby boy seems to be a bit posterior still (sunny side up) so hopefully he turns the right way by the time he makes his entrance. Also my weight has evened out now, haven't gained a pound in 3 weeks which seems very impossible being that my belly gets bigger by the minute. They think the baby is weighing in close to 8 pounds, but again just a total guess. Baby is getting ready, but when will he be ready is the big question? I decided to start walking to see if I can speed things along. I got a lot of looks from people, I guess no one has ever seen a 9 month pregnant lady walking or something. Our friend Brian has been using his acupuncture skills on me so we'll see if that helps. Other than that, now we just wait.

April!!

I am very happy and excited to say that it is finally April! The month that will change our lives forever. I have been waiting for this month for 8 months now, and I'm hoping that is goes by quickly and smoothly as I am feeling extremely monstruous and uncomfortable with this big baby boy residing in my belly. Tim and I broke out the measuring tape last night. A whopping 43.5 inches is the size of my belly around my belly button (which no longer resembles a belly button). April 1st brought us cold snowy weather, but today the snow is melted and the rest of the month is going to be warm and springy so the tulips can grow and bloom and we can have a spring baby.