Induction - Labor and Delivery

Well, Aidyn is now almost 5 days old so I thought this would be a good time to update the blog. I have several "posts" to add, so we'll start with this one. We were supposed to arrive at the hospital Monday, Jan. 26th at 6am to be admitted, IV and pitocin (to start contractions) started. My dr was going to come between 8-9am to see how I'd progressed and break my water if it hadn't broken on its own. We got there a little early and were in the room by 6am; they said the nurse would be there shortly to start everything. At 7:15am we still hadn't seen a single person - no one! Ben was getting mad and so was I bc the dr was coming in 45 minutes and nothing had been done! I paged a nurse to ask for ice chips (can't even have water according to the anesthesiologist (sp?) and told them I'd been there over an hour and hadn't seen anyone. When the nurse brought the ice chips she said - we've had two emergency c-sections so we're behind. I was ok with that, just wished someone would have come and told me.

Being the case, nothing had been started when the dr came. She broke my water anyways and then they started an IV at 9am. Braking my water felt like a normall pelvic exam they do at the dr to see how far dilated you are. It was uncomfortable and hurt a little, but nothing major. The worse part was that I saw her open the tool she was going to use - ahhh! Wish I hadn't seen it. :) I thought the IV was the pitocin until another nurse came in at 11am and said, "Ok, here's your pitocin." At this point I figure we're 5hrs behind schedule for starting contractions and I wasn't very happy since I figurered that ment a much longer day!

Side note: you can't eat anything after midnight (and not even water) for an induction incase they have to do a quick surgery i guess and you get choked or throw up. However, with as much water as I drink, my dr said..."IF you do drink water before you come in, just make sure you tell them no." Sounded good to me. I figured, for people who eat dinner and do their normal thing and then go into labor naturally - you never know when the last time they've eaten and it's always fine. Soooooo, I was so hungry before we left that morning (at 5:15am) I ate half of a pear fruit cup and 5 goldfish crackers. I didn't want to over do it, ha, but I was starving and new it would be a while before I could eat again.

So anyways, before the dr left after breaking my water she checked and I was 2cm. I had increased 1cm on my own over the weekend. She said she would be back at lunch to see how things were going. Dr came back around 11:30-Noon and said I was still 2cm. She asked the nurses to increase the pitocin and said she'd be back again after the OB/GYN office closed around 5pm unless they called her sooner.

While there she asked if I wanted to go ahead and get the epidural or wait. I was pretty uncomfortable, but nothing terrible. She assured me that I could get it at any time and didn't have to "be a hero"; that it might help me relax and sleep a little. I said sure, let's do it. Shortly after that the anesthesiologists (2 docs) arrived to do the epi. I was totally nervous about it just because of the possibility of paralysis and other side effects, not to mention the size of needle and idea of something being inserted into my spine. I didn't see any of the tools (I purposely didn't look when they were getting ready) which helped, some. In the end, the IV they gave me in the morning was much worse than the epi. Sure, it stung for a quick second like when they are going to draw blood at the dr, but that was it. Wow! I was amazed when they said - ok, we're done.

They stayed in the room for prob 30 min periodically checking my blood pressure, temp, heart, etc to make sure everything was ok before leaving. Then I was able to sleep. :) Before laying down the nurse said, "Ok...let me give you my little lecture. The worst part is getting to 4cm because we don't know how long it will take. Then you can expect 1cm per hour to the last 10cm." Great I thought. 6hrs minimum and I'm still 2cm. At this point it was after lunch and I knew we were in for a long day.

Next thing I knew I was being examined again by a nurse at 4pm - about 2 hours later, maybe a little more. I was 4cm (yea!) and the baby was -1 (which means he was decending into the birth canal. They start with -3 then 0 means baby is in the birth canal and back up to +3 which means baby is coming out!

So 4pm I was 4cm and -1...6cm and 6hours to go...looking around 10pm. Ugh!
Knowing the dr was coming back around 5-6pm, Ben headed down to the cafeteria to get a snack and I was still trying to sleep. I was beginning to get more uncomfortable, even with the epi, just because you can feel pressure (not pain) pushing down - the baby ofcourse. Ben was gone and the nurse came in about 5:15pm to check. Only 1 1/2 hr later (from the 4cm) she said I was 8cm and the baby was +2!!!!!!!

I began to freak inside because we figuered we had all night. Ben was eating in the cafe and my parents were at home (only about 5-10 min. from the hospital). I quickly grabbed my phone and texted Ben, "8cm". He then called me and all I could say was, "I can't talk", because of the pressure. I was beginning to be WAY uncomfortable. With this progress, the nurses decided to sit me up in bed so that gravity could work to pull Aidyn the rest of the way down and I could dilate the last 2cm. Not fun. Within 30 min to an hr I had reached 10cm and the dr was there. Around 7pm they said I was ready to push.

I will not say it wasn't painful. The contractions got strong, but weird enough, they only hurt until I was able to push through them. You can feel the contractions coming on with LOTS of pressure. When it begins to max they told me to push. I think I "couldn't feel" because my focus was on pushing and listening to the dr's instructions. It actually felt better to push then sit and feel the pressuer and contractions peak. At the same time, Ben on the left and my mom on the right pushing my knees to my chest, I pushed with all my might. I'm not sure how many pushes it took, they just kept saying, "You're doing great! He's right here...we can see his head and hair. Come on, Whitney, give it all you've got!"

I was, and it was exhausting, and in between when I could just breathe I thought, I just want to sleep (and I think I thought I could) until another contraction came. Being a teacher that tells kids, "You're doing great!" to boost their confidence when they may not be doing great...I didn't believe the nurses, ha. Go figure. I began getting tired and the dr said, "He's getting tired, Whitney. Come on, you're gonna have to push and get him out. He's wearing down." I just knew they were going to have to do a C-section. And as Ben reminds me, even though his head literally WAS right there!

Luckily, the dr did an episiotomy (sp?) and within 1-2 more contractions - he was born! It was the strangest feeling and I let out a sortof scream when he came out. My mom said it wasn't a pain scream, and I think it was more of a cry of relief. I did not think I could have done it much longer! I have SO much respect for women who do it naturally and/or have to push for an hour or more! I just read Sarah's blog (Edisto Surprise to the left of this page) and she pushed for 1 1/2 hr! I don't know how she did it!

Aidyn Garland Evely - Monday, January 26, 2009 @ 7:36pm. He weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. He seems teeny tiny, and yet HUGE at the same time when I look at him knowing he was INSIDE me. He absolutely had to have been totally squished!

While the dr worked on cleaning me up, stitching up the episiotomy, and deliverying the placenta, Ben cut the umbilical cord and watched closely as the nursery nurse cleaned Aidyn up, measured him, and so on.

I think it took about an hour between the stiches and placenta being delivered.
Listening to Aidyn scream and cry was amazing! I couldn't believe it and it was almost like it wasn't really happening - I can't explain it. Then...the next thing I thought - Can I eat now? Ha... I was totally starved!

39 Week Appointment - INDUCTION!

Today Ben and I went for our 39wk appointment. In trying to "prepare" for better news today, since I've been 1cm since Jan 2nd, I've been doing some things to help - or I've been told they help: taking Evening Primrose Oil vitamins, doing squats, and eating grapes. Ben and I also went for a 30min walk around our neighborhood yesterday (which resulted in me exhausted and terrible back pain and cramps lastnight).

I haven't really been having any contractions, that I know of, except for a few the past couple of days...maybe like 3 or 4. Some people I talk to have said, "Oh you'll definately know when those contractions start" and yet others have said, "I was having contractions and didn't even know it." So who do I listen to? HaHa Due to this wonderful advice, ha, I THINK I've had maybe a few the past couple of days, but nothing regular or too intense. What I've experienced is tightening in my lower abdomen with some back pain also - for maybe 15 seconds, not long. A few times I've also felt pressure like I need to use the bathroom, but again, no intense pain and nothing unbearable.

During the day I'm usually fine. The evenings and late nights are when I get extremely uncomfortable to have these pains. Its hard to go to sleep at night, but once I'm finally able to fall asleep, I always take up feeling fine...unfortunately. :)

The group of doctors I see are all very good, but Ben and I have two that we prefer over the third. Last week and this week I got to see the same dr. She examined me and said, "You're a good 1cm..." and I interrupted her by saying, "Oh, please don't tell me that!" When she asked why I explained that I've been 1cm since Jan 2nd. She continued with - "No, but you're a really good 1cm with your cervix 50% thinned out and ready, and the baby's head is getting lower, at about a -2 right now. That's great!" I sure hope she's right. I began to think that I'd be 1cm forever until she asked, "So, what would you like to do?"

This confused me for a minute. What did she mean? Finally she said, do you want to talk induce or would you like to wait and come back regular time next week? I was blown away by this option and think maybe Ben was too. Blown away, but definately excited about the possibility! I had planned on asking about induction again this wk, but was completely shocked when she did. I think I was at a loss for words, ha. I looked at Ben and looked at the dr and said, "Well, I think it sounds wonderful! I really don't want to go past next Friday (our due date)."

She informed us that everything looked great and she would be totally comfortable doing an induction if that's what I wanted, but if we wanted to just wait and come back for another appointment next week, that'd be great too. My friend's daughter had this same dr for her delivery in November and was very happy and impressed with her. The dr is only on call all day Monday, Jan. 26th and then not again until the next week except for two half days - and most inductions are longer than just a few hours. After talking about pros/cons and asking different questions as well as her opinion, Ben and I decided to go ahead and plan on Monday.

I considered waiting and see if we could schedule another check up for Mon or Tues and then discuss induction then...but I kept thinking, "What is 2 more days?" and I couldn't keep thinking about how uncomfortable I have been the past few nights. Induction began sounding better. The dr went to check if there was space available (a room and scheduling I assume) to set my induction for Monday. While she was out Ben and I decided that if she couldn't Monday we would ask about coming in for another exam early next wk and then see about her availability, or the other dr we prefer. She came back and said everything looked good and was ready to go - so we were excited!

We have to be at the JCMC hospital ER Monday morning at 6am. You have to use the ER entrance since they are doing construction at the women's center. They will send me down to the women's hospital to start an IV and pitocin (for contractions). The dr said she'll be down to check on me between 8-9am and break my water if that hasn't happened on its own. She said I am not to eat or drink anything (even water) after midnight on Sunday...anesthesiologist's (sp?) rule. I can have an epidural anytime I wish, just not after I've dilated to 8cm.

So...looks like we've got 2 more days of what we know as "normal" before everything takes a huge (and much welcomed!) change in our lives! Here we go...

10 days and counting...

Wow - 10 days! It seems impossible to think that in 2 weeks (hopefully) our lives will be forever changed! Unless ofcourse Aidyn decides to hang on a little while and the doctors don't schedule me an induction until the 41st week...ugh. I hope that isn't the case.

It seems like everywhere I go and everyone I see lately wants to know "How much longer?" When I tell them 2 weeks they seem to take it as their cue to tell me how to make him come now. I know it's all with good intentions, and Ben keeps trying to remind me, "They're just excited for you Whitney...calm down, geez." But I think I'm at the point now to where I know when Aidyn is ready, and God knows it's the right time, things will happen accordingly. Yes, I'm totally ready and excited. Yes, I'm trying to do some things to help speed up the process, kinda (ha), but after like the millionth time hearing something to try - it gets old. I don't want to sound ungratelful or unappreciative of people's geniune advice and care, so I just try to smile and say "ok".

I've been doing squats (recommended by a friend at work - thanks Kim), taking Evening Primrose Oil vitamins (recommended by a friend at church - thanks Sarah), and eating grapes (recommended by Ben's grandmother), ha. I'm not real crazy about food suggestions, but I like grapes, so what can it hurt? If nothing else it's a natural, healthy fruit that's always beneficial for anyone to eat.

I haven't had any signs of labor such as "real" contractions or back pain other than just being really uncomfortable at night. But once I'm able to settle down and get to sleep - I always feel better in the morning, unfortunately. ;) We go back to the dr on Friday (just 3 days) and that will be exactly 1 wk until our due date. So, I'm hoping between squats, grapes, and EPO vitamins, we'll be told something good. I think if I hear that I'm still 1cm (like I was Jan.2)... I may cry, ha. So... let's all keep our fingers crossed that things are moving along by the time we get to the dr. Even if they say I'm just 2cm, at least that's progress.

38 Week Appointment

Ben and I went yesterday for my 38wk appointment. My appointment was at 3:15 and we got there a little early (about 2:50). They always take you straight back to check blood pressure, weight, and all that good stuff, but then you're sent right back out to the lobby area. After "holding steady" for so long, I can't believe I gained more weight. I'm not disappointed, it just seems weird that I hadn't gained in over a month and now that I'm on weekly visits it starts going back up. Usually you gain up until your last month and then things settle down, I thought. Go figure. Since last Wednesday I've gained 3 more pounds - so now I'm up to 141. Ben says that's probably a good thing since Aidyn is supposed to be growing about half a pound a wk now anyways. I tried telling myself it's partly because we had just come from a wonderful lunch at Jason's Deli (yum!) and I had a HUGE baked potato with broccoli and an ice cream cone.

At school a bunch of us always ordered out lunch on Fridays and several times we ordered from Jason's Deli. It's new to our area but REALLY good and always busy. We met one of my friends, Jennifer, there yesterday for lunch before the doctor. I was anticipating a huge mob of people because of the lunch crowd... and it was extremely busy - but the place is HUGE inside! I had never actually been to the place to eat. And the best part... they have FREE, yes I said FREE ice cream for customers that eat there. As much as you want! I started to get a 2nd cone for the road, ha, but Ben gave me this funny look and since I was headed to the dr I decided not to. Probably a good idea. :)

But anyways, Ben started getting annoyed because we got to the dr at 2:50 and at 3:40 they still hadn't called us back. I told him we got there almost 30 min early and that if we weren't called back by 3:50 then I would go ask. Luckily, we were. He absolutely hates waiting, and I do to, but I guess I try to look at it this way - things happen throughout the day and as the day progresses, you know they are going to slowly become more and more behind schedule. Oh well.

The dr didn't do any sort of examination since I've had one the last 2 weeks and nothing has changed. So I may still be 1cm, we don't really know. At first I was kinda disappointed, but I guess I'd rather not know then really be disappointed by being told it was still the same. She said my weight looks great and everything seems good to go, we're just waiting on Aidyn. She went over when to go to the hospital and that sort of thing: contractions 5 min apart for an hour. She said at this point it could be any day. I asked her about inducing and she said they usually don't discuss that until your 39wk appointment (which would be next wk for me). She said none of the doctors in my group let patients go past 41 weeks, but that they really try to wait and let things happen on their own. With inductions, evidently more moms end up having to have c-sections. Not because it harms the baby, but because nothing happens. She said if your body isn't ready to go on its own, the induction helps, but sometimes thing just don't progress like they would naturally and with it taking longer - mom becomes exhausted and once the water breaks they only give 24 hrs anyways.

I know I probably don't want a c-section, but I really don't want to wait an extra wk either, ha. So... I'm sorry I don't have any "exciting" news to share, but that's the latest. 2 weeks from our due date and still just waiting on Aidyn to decide he's ready. I'll keep you posted if we find out more before next Friday, that's our next appointment.

I'm supposed to go "weekly" and last time the receptionist tried scheduling an appt past a wk and one of the other girls said she couldn't do that. She said if there isn't anything the exact next week, then the appt needs to be scheduled earlier. I started to say something yesterday since next Friday would be a wk and 2 days, but I didn't. I figure that's exactly 1 wk till our due date, so hopefully if nothing happens by then we'll have a few extra days before going back to the dr. Keep your fingers crossed!

Day vs. Night

I think it's official that Aidyn has his days and nights mixed up... great! :) Aidyn is usually quite an active little guy, and when he wasn't in his normal "mood" yesterday, I got worried. I pushed on my belly to get him to move a little, but not like normal. Next I tried music. Ha. I took my iPod, turned the headphones up, and put those against my belly. Now, that got him going!!! It either totally freaked him out, or he really liked it, ha. So then I was relieved. He still wasn't as active as normal throughout the late afternoon, but he did begin to move a little more. THEN.... night rolled around. About 7pm he decided he was ready to be "up", and he didn't stop until this morning.

Ben went to bed without me lastnight because I wasn't tired and I didn't want to lay down and have a repeat of the night before. I decided to stay up until I was really tired and then hopefully I would be able to sleep better.

I ended up going to bed between 12:45am and 1am lastnight. I am not sure what time I woke up for my first "bathroom break" but I had slept really good up until that point and was excited. I knew the night would go better than Sunday. Next thing I knew I was up again hot and having to pee. I normally don't look at the clock when I get up because I don't really want to know what time it is. I'd rather not know it was just an hour since I'd previously been up, ha. But... lastnight I checked the clock. It was 4:10am. So, within 3 hours I thought I had been sleeping really well, but really I had already been up twice to use the bathroom or just woken up by Aidyn continuing his rounds of exercises.

I ended up moving into the office and slept on our futon until Ben got up for school at 6am. I slept some on the futon, but was continually woken up by Aidyn moving around. When Ben got up at 6am, I climbed back in bed and slept on and off until about 9am this morning.

I got up and got ready this morning to go run some errands and to visit my friends at work. I'm hoping maybe Aidyn will get "back on schedule" tonight as he has continued to move throughout the day. As I was standing in the checkout line at JCPennys I got tickled because it was as though my whole stomach took a huge leap to the right. I couldn't help but laugh. And he is still on the move. Hopefully by tonight he will decide it is indeed NIGHT time. We'll see.

Sleep... what sleep?

So lastnight was pretty much a "waste", if you can say that about sleeping. I may have slept a solid hour between 11:30ish and 6 this morning, I'm not sure. I tossed and turned unable to get comfortable and then when I finally would fall asleep, I would either wake up burning up or having to pee. Go figure.

I usually get up about every 2-3 hours and Ben normally sleeps right through it all. Not lastnight. He didn't sleep either. I would hear him start snoring and think, "Oh good, well atleast he's asleep now." But that never lasted long either. I felt bad for him since he had to actually get up and go to work this morning. Atleast I knew for myself, I could take a nap later if I wanted.

When his alarm went off 6am this morning, it was almost like a blessing. (Not for him I'm sure). But I went ahead and got up, used the bathroom once more... even though I think I had just laid back down from the bathroom not 20 minutes earlier, and headed downstairs. Sometimes I wake up hungry at night but would rather go back to sleep then "trek" downstairs and find something to eat. Plus, I figure by the time I do that I'll really be awake - and I'd rather sleep, if I can. :) So anyways, when his alarm went off this morning I got up and went downstairs to get some breakfast. Before doing that though, I thought it would be nice to fix his coffee and some breakfast. Ben usually gets the coffee ready the night before and just sets it to come on in the morning. He forgot lastnight, and with the lack of sleep I knew he'd be fighting this morning, I went ahead and started some for him. He also likes to eat muffins every morning for breakfast... which we had run out of. I had planned on making more this afternoon, but since I was up at 6am and wide awake at that, I thought - what the heck, I'll just make them now.

So on a day that I would normally be sleeping in, I was up at 6am making coffee, 2 pans of mini-muffins (which yields 48 total), eating cheerios for myself, and cleaning. I decided to get as much cleaning and straightening up done while I was up so that when I finally got tired, I could lay down and just sleep without worrying about Ben coming home and finding me asleep on the couch and the house a mess. :) With that being said, I was able to clean the kitchen, vacuum the rugs in the house, put laundry away, and straigten some things up before I started feeling tired. About 9am I closed the curtains in the living room and decided to lay down. Luckily, I was able to sleep until about 12-12:30 this afternoon. Ben has a basketball game tonight in Greeneville (about 30 min from here). The team will leave around 5:30 and be home around 9pm. So I plan on him coming home from school and just crashing or he'll be exhausted I know.

Hopefully we'll have better luck tonight. If not, I probably won't wait the entire night like lastnight. If tonight's the same, I figure I'll be heading to the couch downstairs and hopefully not keep Ben awake as well.

Baby Consult with Pediatrician

I went and met with Aidyn's pediatrician this morning (at 8am...yuck!) in the cold and freezing snow. :) One of the things I was looking forward to about maternity leave was the snowy days that I could just sit at home and actually enjoy for once. Teaching in a different county than where I live means we ALWAYS have school, always! Not that I'm complaining because there never is any reason for us to be out. But anyhow, today being the one day it snowed and Ben got to sleep in - I had to be at the dr office by 8am. Go figure. :)

I met with Dr.Pearson at First Choice Pediatrics in Johnson City. While I was sitting in the waiting area, one of my students actually came in for her well check-up. So I got to sit and talk with her and her mom for a little while about their Christmas and Aidyn. When I finally got to meet Dr.Pearson, he was very nice. He just gave me a quick "run down" of some of their procedures and a booklet that they give to all new parents about office procedures and frequently asked questions (about meds, coughs, sleeping, feeding, etc.).

After meeting with him for about 20 minutes we were on our way back to the lobby when we saw Gloria, the lactation consultant, on her way to her office. I've known Gloria for about 5 yrs now, so I am very excited that she works for the doctors that we'll be using. I actually taught her son in our school's summer program and after school program when he was in kindergarten. I think he's in 5th grade now.

Everything went well and was helpful, I guess. Dr.Pearson said they make two rounds a day at the hospital and so will be there to check on Aidyn the day he is born and each day afterwards until we are discharged to go home. I like that they will be checking on him and seeing him from the very beginning. He will schedule a 2-wk first check up before we leave the hospital unless he thinks he needs to see Aidyn sooner (due to jaundice or anything like that). I'm also glad to know that Gloria (the breastfeeding consultant) will be meeting with us at our first appointment and readily available through phone and email should I have any questions.

First Choice recommends that parents read a book called "Baby Wise" - they believe and follow the philosophy pretty closely. They were out of the book today and so was Books-A-Million, so I'll keep checking. Something I saw in the office handbook he gave me that I really liked was about parenting classes they offer... not that Ben and I will attend, althought I think it's a great idea, but it mentioned how the classes are "bibically based" and a lot of the recommending readings they listed were by Dr.James Dobson.

So not knowing a whole lot about the First Choice group, other than recommendations from other people, I feel like we have chosen a great group of pediatricians to look after and help us take care of Aidyn. :)

Ben's Birthday

Ben is disappointed he didn't get his birthday wish today...Aidyn being born. He has reminded me that we still have a few hours left if I would like to do some laps around the block (in 25 degree wind and snow) or do some squats (as suggested by a friend of mine from work). No thanks. :)

I feel more than ready for Aidyn to be here whenever he decides, but I'm not big on the idea of walking in the snow and freezing wind to make it come quicker, ha. Not yet anyways...ask me next week if nothing new has happened.

Since he didn't get his wish, I got him a couple other things for his birthday. Once of the things I got was a picture frame. At the top it said "Son", then had a place to put a picture, and at the bottom this poem (sorry it's hard to read):

The poem says...
"Just think, your son is not here just by chance, but by God's choosing. His hands formed him and made him the person he is. God compares him to no one else...he is one of a kind. Your son will lack nothing that God's grace can't give him. God has allowed your son to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation."

I thought this was very neat, especially since we hadn't planned on Aidyn...but God had. :) I told Ben once he is born, we will put their picture in the frame.

We also had our 37wk appointment today with the doctor. They were only planning on listening to the heart and measuring my stomach, but asked if I would like to be examined again. Trying to be optomistic for good news, I said yes. Unfortunately, no new changes have taken place. I am still only 1cm. :( We still have 23 days, but after last week's news of 1cm and Aidyn turning head down into the correct position, we were hoping for maybe atleast another cm. Oh well, there's still plenty of time.

We go back next Wednesday for my 38wk checkup. Hopefully we'll receive good news there if nothing happens between now and then.

Since today is a Wednesday, we still had our weekly youth group meeting at our house this evening. I made Ben's birthday cake lastnight and decorated it today. I attempted to write with icing on the cake, ha, good thing I don't secretly want to be a cake decorator. I also placed 26 candles that we made him blow out. :)

Here he is AFTER blowing out his candles. He got ready to blow them out and I yelled, "Wait!". He did, for like a second, and by the time my camera flashed, only smoke was left. Ugh!

Maternity Leave

Well, I'm "officially" on maternity leave as of yesterday, January 5th. Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am to just sit at home, ha... but I hate just sitting at home. Our house is clean (really clean!) since we cleaned it for our shower Saturday, all the laundry is done (mostly), and the baby's room is ready with all of his clothes neatly folded and put away or hung in his closet. I have finished all of my thank you cards and will be mailing them out soon and have even baked a birthday cake for Ben - tomorrow is his birthday. The big 26!

I have tried finding some really great books to read - any suggestions? I've read Marley and Me, the John and Kate+8 book, and tried reading Twilight twice. Yes, tried. For whatever reason I just can't seem to get into it, which really frustrates me because I hear it really is a great book! I need to find a really good series (like Harry Potter, ha) that has plenty of books to keep me busy. I have a gift card to Mr.Ks Used Books and two to Books-A-Million, so I think I may go searching on Thursday after my appointment with Aidyn's pediatrician.

I was told that the doctors like you to have a "pre-appointment" before the baby is born. Luckily for me I get to meet with Aidyn's at 8am!!! Yuck! That is one thing I DO love about being at home... sleeping in! And even though I get to "sleep in", usually until about 9 or 9:30, when you wake up 3 times in the night to use the bathroom or because your back hurts and you have to reposition yourself, haha... I wouldn't really count that as sleeping in. More like - just trying to get some sleep. :)

We go back to the doctor tomorrow for my 37 wk appointment. Since I was dilated 1cm last week, I'm really hoping I'm further tomorrow, but I still have 23 days so I know I may not be. It's getting harder to sleep at night and my back has been hurting more lately. Nothing regular or unbearable, just sore. I borrowed my dad's back massager and that helps a lot! It's like a little chair seat that you sit on the coach and has 3 settings - lower back, middle, and top/neck. I've placed in on my rocking chair/glider and turn it on. aaaa, relief! :) Ben laughs because it is kinda loud and sounds like the whole house is vibrating.

Well - I'm up for any good book suggestions, so PLEASE leave a comment with any great books you've just finished up and I'll go check them out soon!

Baby Shower #5

We just had our last baby shower for Aidyn. We decided to have one last shower for family and friends at our house this past Saturday, January 3rd. My mom suggested having the shower at our house since so many people have been wanting to see the progress and changes we've made, and PLUS it would be easier than having to pack up all the gifts, bring them home, and unload everything. GREAT idea that I suggest to anyone planning a shower for friends and family. Everyone else also enjoyed coming to the house because they got to see Aidyn's room.

For those of you that might not know, Ben and I bought this house in Oct. 2006 and had to completely renovate the entire thing including electrical, plumbing, re-drywall all the walls, you name it, we (or our parents, ha) pretty much did it all. So we've still got some things to work on and finish up, but who doesn't?

We had a great baby shower and received a lot of wonderful things we were still needing for Aidyn. I have posted some pictures below of the afternoon.

People eating up at the wonderful "buffett" of chicken salad sandwiches, quesadillas, fruit, veggies, cheesecake, peanut butter pie, cookies, fudge, and much more...yum!

Here my grandmother, aunt, other grandmother, and cousin are enjoying the food and delcious punch before the "party" got started, ha.

Bath time numbers and letters! Poor Aidyn doesn't have a hope...

with a reading teacher as a mom and math teacher as a dad, he's destined to live a rough life, ha. Not to mention his dad also being a football and basketball coach. But luckily, we can start practing those numbers and letters soon. :)

Pacifier thermometer - what a great invention!

It's just like a regular pacifier except there is a little screen on the front that gives you a digital reading of the baby's temperature.

One-of-a-kind, Blue Devils play mat.
My mom made this "rug" or mat for Aidyn to play on. It's supposed to be a replica of the Blue Devils football stadium with the different sections of fans. After opening it, she took it back, ha... to finish. She had Ben draw out a football play so that she could go home and put the players on the field. She is using pictures of Ben from when he played football as the players and pictures of me in a cheerleading costume from Halloween as the cheerleaders. She is so creative!

Our baby swing that I know will come in handy!




After everyone left, we sat around and talked with some of our friends. I was so lucky to have my friend Aimee in town from Nashville and my two friends Heather and Joni also at the shower. They live in Johnson City but it seems like we only get to see each other once a year. It was nice to just sit and relax and chat a while. You can see Heather's little boy in the picture too. He's a cutie!

(Joni, Heather, me, Ben, and Drake)

After everyone left, my mom tried getting some "pregnancy pictures" as she calls them. She loves taking photos and having people pose to get the "right light" and angles. :) We took several photos of me looking out Aidyn's bedroom window, but I liked this one the best. It's kinda hard to see because of the light, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Then it was time for one last photo, mom and dad (to be).

Ben hates pictures, but we got a pretty good one. Then my mom had to say, "Now, turn and look into each other's eyes like you really love each other." Ofcourse Ben and I lost it laughing and he just started walking away.

36 week Appointment

After a busy day of cleaning lastnight, Ben and I laid down to watch the movie "Hancock". It was pretty good I guess. And off to bed we went, at like 1am. Staying up and then sleeping in yesterday kinda through us off lastnight.

Today we had my 36 week appointment with the doctor. We went by the hospital first and took a tour of the women's center and labor/delivery area so we would know where to go and where we'd be when the big day comes. The children's hospital/women's center is under construction right now, so it looks like a mess unless you know where you're going.

We were pleased with the hospital, and the nurse that gave us the tour was super nice and helpful. My favorite part is the security bands they put on the baby and parents. I think most hospitals are doing this these days. But, when Aidyn is born they'll put two bands on him (one on his leg and the other on his wrist). They will also put matching bands on my wrist and one on Ben. They have alarms by each labor/delivery exit and so when anyone gets within about 6ft of the exits, the security band (on Aidyn only) automatically locks the doors and sets off an alarm. This is to keep anyone from trying to "take" someone else's baby. That's a scary thought, but its definately a great precaution to take.

After the hospital we grabbed some lunch and headed to the dr. Usually we wait forever before going back, but not today. I think since it was the day after New Years, most people were off. There weren't hardly any cars (doctors or paitents) in the parking lot. Luckily we were in and out within an hour.

I finally gained 2 more lbs after hanging steady for a little over a month. So I've officially gained 18 lbs total. I meant to ask how big she thought Aidyn was and forgot. After the exam they did, I wasn't thinking about much, ha. Apparently when they say they are going to examine you, they aren't kidding. But, to "protect" you from too many personal and gross details, I'll just say that I have dilated 1cm and according to the dr, Aidyn HAS turned. He is no longer breech, thank goodness. She said she could feel his head, and I'm sure she could. :)

So, there's our update for now - 1cm and in the correct position. We have one last shower here at the house tomorrow and Aidyn's room is ready... so I guess we're all just waiting on him now. And I'm on my way to meet my brother and his girlfriend at the movie theater (Ben is at a basketball game). My brother and I both read the book Marly and Me, and we decided we would go together to see it. Aww! :) Hopefully he doesn't cry as much as I'm sure I will, ha. I can't wait!

Aidyn's Bedroom

Well, it's 10:30pm Thursday evening and we just finished up Aidyn's room. I'm exhausted! Ben and I spent the entire day Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning and getting things done so that our house would be clean for New Years Eve. The youth were all coming over!

Now, I know you're probably thinking - what does it matter if the house is clean for the youth? They don't care. You're right... BUT we are having one last baby shower on Saturday (here)! And we knew it would be much easier to just "pick up" a little today then have to clean everything.

So the kids all left around 1am lastnight and Ben and I went straight to bed! We got up around 10am and begin our FULL DAY of cleaning! He went to basketball practice, and I began picking up food and putting things away from lastnight. We spent the entire day cleaning, hanging photos, hanging curtians, and finishing up Aidyn's room. Tomorrow I go for my 36wk doctor's appointment and I will continue doing weekly from here on out. After the dr we are going to the hospital to take a "tour" and see where I will be when Aidyn decides to make his big debut!

Below are some pictures from his nursery that we just finished. I will hopefully post more baby info after we get home from the doctor tomorrow.

This is the rocking chair / glider we got for Christmas. I LOVE it! (So does Ben, ha). We will be moving it up to Aidyn's room after our baby shower on Saturday.