Welcome to the Good Life!

trip to the library!

Now that I am allowed to drive again, I want to try to get out of the house as often as possible!  I know this winter we'll be cooped up so much that it's important that we enjoy the pretty weather now. :)

I was a little nervous about taking both babies out solo, but it ended up being wonderful.  I fed William right before we left so we would have plenty of time to play and look at books.  Henry helped me get William into the library--he is pretty serious about pushing his stroller!Once we made it inside, Henry was thrilled to see what the library was all about.  Our local library has the best kid's section and I can definitely see lots of visits in our future.  They're also offering a toddler reading program this fall which I hope we can go to before my maternity leave is up.  I love this expression on Henry's face--he is so funny.  

It's hard to see in this picture, but Henry gave William one of his Thomas trains to babysit while we were in the laundry.  Henry really never shares his trains with anyone, so this is a HUGE deal.  I'm not for sure William appreciated the enormity of who he was babysitting. :)

 

weekend recap

My mom came back to Columbus with me and I was SO thankful for her to be with me.  There was a wreck and a subsequent detour that made our trip over an hour longer!  William was a champ putting up with some extra time between nursing sessions and was pretty satisfied with his pacifier.  Henry had a Scooby Doo DVD and was totally fine. ;)

Because my mom was in town, she offered to watch BOTH babies for us while Rob and I went to dinner.  Rob and I JUMPED at the chance to get out for a date.  We went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants and had the best time.  I didn't get a picture of us, but I laughed until my sides hurt and fell in love with my husband a hundred times more.  While we are still deep in newborn days, I have to say that we're doing really, really well and this date was kind of a celebration of it. I loved that time with him.  Rob and I also made a trip through the grocery store on the way home--we are parents with two small children after all!

Look at this sweet picture of Henry with his new haircut!  My mom volunteered to take him for his haircut, not realizing how big of a breakdown he would be having.  Luckily, he recovered quickly--partly because of a sucker. :)

Saturday morning Rob made a delicious breakfast for us of french toast!  It was so so good and it's become a little bit of a tradition in our house to have brunch together.  I love it.  After getting ready, my mom, William, and I headed to the mall to meet my sister and two of my cousins to do a little shopping!  Rob and Henry stayed home and had some fun as well, but it was really nice to get out of the house again.  I had a few items to take care of at the mall including getting my wedding rings resized (BOO, but I am so happy to get them back soon) and getting a gift for my cousin's bridal shower.  My sister and I both had to nurse our babies while we were at the mall, but luckily a Macy's fitting room was available and we were able to take care of things quite easily.  I want to do a post on nursing this time around, but so far I have found it much less stressful than I remember it being.  I am so thankful for that! :)

Saturday evening, Henry joined us for a cookout at my aunt and uncle's house.  I had the best time visiting with everyone and a bunch of my family was able to get in some snuggles with William.  My cousin manned the grill and the food was just delicious.  We didn't get home until pretty late, but it was so incredibly worth it.  The whole day was good!

Sunday morning we had to get up pretty early because there were so many people showering and we had to leave the house around 10:30 to have everything ready for my cousin's bridal shower.  My cousin's shower was at our church and it was so much fun to be back at church with everyone---and show off William.  Even though it's only been a few weeks since I've been at church, it feels like a lifetime!

There were a few other big milestones at the shower--first of which is William took his first bottle!!  Rob tried to give William a bottle before we went to Kentucky, but William was not having it at all.  My cousin tried to give him a bottle also at the shower, but then finally he accepted a bottle from my aunt, Kay.  Isn't he the sweetest?? :)

William got lots of loving from my family including my little cousin, Abbie. :)

And of course, my sweet Granny!  William is my granny's EIGHTH great-grandbaby.  All of her great grandbabies love her and she really is such a good baby whisperer. :)

 

our first road trip!

After spending two straight weeks at home, I was itching to get out of the house and I could tell Henry was too.  Rob had a few evening commitments, so I decided to road trip it (SOLO!!!) to Kentucky with both boys.  I was really nervous, but both boys slept the whole way.  It was honestly probably one of our smoothest trips to Kentucky so far. :)  I was worn out from all of the prep work needed to take the trip, but honestly  I know the next time will be easier until it's eventually no big deal for me to pack us all up!

The first night Henry was SO wound up, we couldn't get him to go to sleep.  He eventually ended up in bed with me and when I came back from nursing William I found Henry sleeping sideways across the bed.  He is so funny!  I can count the number of times we've slept in the same bed on one hand, but I loved it.  Henry is so warm when he sleeps and I am always so cold that I loved sneaking his body heat. :)

On Thursday morning, my sister and I took all of our babies down to my mom's work to visit.  Every time I make it out of the house solo with both babies, I totally cheer for myself.  The biggest obstacle is the stress and anxiety I feel about it, but so far it has gone really well!  Anyways, we met my sister in the parking garage and headed in together.  Henry is obsessed with helping push William's stroller--it makes being out with the two of them so much easier.  

After visiting my mom's work, my sister and I headed back to my mom's house.  One of our friends from church brought us lunch and held both of our babies for awhile.  It was such a good afternoon!  Henry took a good nap, as did William.  

I have to include a quick story about Henry because I want to remember it for forever.  One of my mom's neighbors stopped by and she was talking about praying before meals.  Henry must have been listening to the conversation, because he hopped up from playing with his trains and folded his hands and bowed his head.  I was really surprised he was even paying attention, much less figuring out what we were talking about!  My heart almost burst with love for this little boy who wanted to pray.  We said a quick prayer for a few of our family members and it was just one of the most beautiful moments of being his mom.  There are some tough parenting moments and moments where I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing, but this moment just made me think I'm on the right track. :)

Thursday evening, there was a little bit of a family party (a bunch of my family live on the same road!) which ended up being a block party.  All of our neighbors were out and it was the best evening.  I didn't even make it out of my mom's house or off the porch, but there were so many people who came to visit, I just loved it!

This picture is SO special to me because I have one of my little cousin holding Henry too.  Also, please note Henry's face in this picture--it is covered in cupcake!  I laugh every time I see that. 

One of William's favorite things in Kentucky was my mom's couch.  He spent a lot of time lounging on it and even had a few good conversations with it one day.  While we were in Kentucky, he really started being so much more alert and exercising his little neck muscles by holding up his head.  I think he is basically just passed out in this picture from his social life with the couch. ;)

Friday morning, we spent some time getting everything packed up at my mom's house.  My granny and my sister both came over to visit.  We had lunch together before my mom and I loaded up the car to head back home.  My mom came home with me to visit for the weekend--but more about that in my weekend recap tomorrow. :)

 

coming home from the hospital!

William and I were supposed to stay in the hospital for two nights, but after our first night I was SO anxious to get home and get our little life started together at home as a family of four.  Rob was in complete agreement with me and so I begged our nurses and doctors to let us go home early!  I was so relieved when they agreed and we made our plans to come home. :)

Henry picked out William's outfit which I thought was so sweet and precious of him.  He picked out this little outfit a week before I had William and every time I put it on William I make a big deal out of it. :)  Also--this blanket was on Henry when we brought him home from the hospital too!  It was a gift from my cousin Kelly and I love that they both were covered up in it when they came home from the hospital.  

My mom didn't get to hold William much in the hospital, so I was really happy she got an extra opportunity to love on him at home.  She stayed with us through the weekend after we brought William home and I was so happy to have her!  My mom also met my brother-in-law to get my sister and new nephew after a few days and brought them up with us.  I was so so excited to have her too!

Henry continuing to love on William even after he comes home from the hospital.  Henry is still so loving to William.  In fact, he even tried to sleep underneath William's crib one night!  

Also, here is William's first time laying in his little crib. :)  He is SO little inside the crib, isn't he? :)

Coming home wasn't without a few hiccups, of course.  The first few nights were a little tough getting William to sleep in his crib.  Rob and I definitely logged hours holding him while he cried at night and then would fall asleep on our chests instantly.  Luckily, there were just a couple of those nights and William is doing a great job sleeping in his crib now.  He goes about 4-5 hours at a time sleeping at night.  He is such a heavy sleeper that I am often waking him up to feed him!  Our pediatrician said William needs to be woken up that often to nurse so we will keep doing that until we hear otherwise! :)

my two boys meeting!

Prior to William's birth, Rob and I definitely spent a lot of time talking to Henry about his little brother arriving.  Henry and I would talk every evening about his brother before bedtime.  I would ask Henry questions about him and talk about how much fun they were going to have together.  I also made Henry practice loving on my pregnant belly and showing me how he was going to be with his little brother.  He would occasionally be a little bit rough and it was a great time to explain how we had to be easy with the new baby and all of that fun stuff. :)

Henry is naturally a really sweet kid--he loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone, but I was SO pleased that he has extended that immediate love and acceptance to his little brother!  My mom kept Henry the day after William was born and brought him to the hospital for dinnertime. This gave Rob and I an opportunity to sleep, take showers, and have a few other visitors before introducing Henry to his little brother! 

When Henry and my mom arrived, there were a few other visitors and I was in a hospital bed.  Looking back, I do wish I had been sitting in a chair to make things a little less weird for him.  However, he recovered pretty quickly and came over to see me and love on me a little bit.  Rob and I were both SO thrilled to see him--we both felt like we had been away from him for a lifetime.  We were constantly talking about some of our favorite things that Henry does and our favorite little expressions.  Anyways, when Henry finally made it to our room Rob and I were both really ready to see him and have him meet William!

Henry could not stop kissing William and it made my heart full to see them together.  I know they will be such great friends.  I consider my own sister one of the very best gifts my parents ever gave me and I pray that is the same for Henry and William.  Here are a few of the pictures from when they first met. :)

william's birth story, part 3

To catch up on William's birth story, start here.

When I last left off, my OB had come into the delivery room to let me know she was going to be doing my c-section.  I was completely anticipating this moment, as it had been over an hour and a half since I was allowed to have any real contractions or any do any pushing.  However, I had been praying and praying during this time and made Rob come over and pray with me.

I noticed that my body was slightly elevated by my head and I was kind of sloped downwards to my feet.  With all of the time we had to spend waiting and resting, I did occasionally feel like William was sliding down slightly.  I never felt the urge to push, but I did think that was happening.  When my doctor entered the room and said she was there to do my c-section, I knew I had to have her check me one more time before we made any other decisions.

She was agreeable to checking me and when she did, she was surprised to find that William was low enough that she thought I could push him out pretty quickly.  In some ways, I was really surprised that she thought I could still have William without a c-section, but part of me knew that after the praying we had done, this was the way it was supposed to happen.  Because William's heart rate was not where they wanted it, they were not able to give me any pitocin to start my contractions back up.  I was having very mild contractions, but not enough to really help me push him out.  This was really frustrating to me, because I was given this incredible opportunity to have William the way I wanted, but unable to have any contractions to really help me get him out.  I did know that I didn't want to go through all of this and end up with a c-section so I did try as hard as I could.

After about 20 minutes, my OB said that we needed to do something else to get William out quickly and she recommended a vacuum assisted delivery.  I should've done some research on this, because I absolutely thought it was like a hand-held Dirt Devil or something.  When I told the doctor that, she busted out laughing in a full body laugh. HA!!  It totally eased the tension in the room and when I saw that it was basically a suction cup, I was all for it to help him be delivered quickly.  With just a few extra pushes, William came into the world at 1:41 AM!  He was immediately put up on my chest for skin-to-skin.  The euphoric feeling of bringing a little new life into the world is such an amazing, amazing feeling and I am so blessed to have felt this feeling twice!

After a few minutes of snuggling, William did need to be checked by a NICU nurse practitioner and nurse that had been called down when the nurses found William had passed meconium before he was born.  They checked him out quickly and did his APGAR scores for me--an 8 and then a 9! :)  I was so proud of my sweet little boy for being such a trooper during labor and delivery for his mom.  Rob went out pretty soon after William was delivered to let our friends and family know that he was here safely.  They didn't weigh/measure him right away so he couldn't give them any statistics other than he was here and we were all doing really well.  I did want my mom to come back and see us and so he brought her back into the room with him.  I was so happy to see her and have her check him out.  

After my mom came back, Rob's parents came back as well.  William was still on my chest--and the nurses wouldn't let him come off--so nobody had held him but me at this point!  I felt so bad for our family that had been up waiting on his arrival, but doctor's orders. ;)  I didn't mind the time holding him and snuggling up with him one bit. :)  Both sets of our parents headed home around 3 AM and some of our friends came in to see William!  It wasn't long after this that I realized William had gone to the bathroom on me!  Henry did the same thing which is so hilarious that BOTH of my rotten babies did this!   Our friends did get to hold William briefly before they headed home to try to get some sleep.  I am SO thankful they were there--I loved the people who were there and just felt so lucky and loved throughout the labor and delivery process.  :)

william's birth story, part 2

If you missed part 1, click here to catch up!

When I made it home, I immediately decided to take a bath to see if I could relax and have some relief from the contractions.  I had heard that baths would help with contractions and I was REALLY hoping this would be true for me!  I barely could make it into the bathroom because my contractions were just feeling like they were not giving me any break at all.  I was texting with a few friends and my SIL about the contractions and not getting checked at the hospital.  When my SIL said to call my doctor, I decided to give them a call because at this point it was almost 4:30 and I didn't want to have someone paged after work hours.  My doctor was out of town, which I knew, but it still made me really sad that she wouldn't be delivering my sweet boy!  The nurse answered right away and after listening to what was going on, she advised me to head into the hospital.  She was annoyed I didn't get checked either which made me feel so much better!!

I called Rob who was already heading home from work anyways and let him know the plan for heading to the hospital.  Rob picked up Henry from the sitter and all I wanted to do was snuggle him up for as long as possible.  However, I was just having such frequent contractions it was really difficult for me to relax enough to love on him as much as I wanted to.  Rob's mom came up to our house and took Henry down with her to their house.  He was so excited to go to their house and when I let him know we were going to the hospital to get his little brother, he was even more excited!  We just kept our explanation of the new baby very simple for Henry and he seemed to accept it completely.  

Rob and I loaded all of our things for the hospital into the car and headed out.  It was so incredibly surreal to be going to the hospital, knowing the next time we were home we would have a baby with us!  As we started to pack the car, I noticed my contractions really started to pick up steam and were becoming closer and closer together.  I timed a few on the way and they were now only 4 minutes apart.  Rob again voiced his concern about delivering the baby on the side of the road, but I knew we were going to make it. :)  In fact, I was so convinced I told Rob he could even make a trip through the drive thru to get dinner.  I know my body and I know my labors are so much longer than anyone else's! ;)  At this point it was about 5:30 PM.  I had been having contractions for about 36 hours at this point and it was exciting to think that it really was time for us to meet our new baby.

The trip to the hospital was pretty excruciating.  I had to completely stop talking and moving and just try to breathe through each contraction.  The worst part was the first 30 seconds until it would reach its peak.  I could handle the last 30 seconds because I knew that things were winding down.  There were so many times when I thought my water was going to break because everything was being so tight and squeezed so hard, I couldn't believe it hadn't broken yet!  Every bump and tiny turn on the highway was almost the end of me.  When we made it to the hospital, I had so much difficulty walking into the hospital.  We actually had an amazing parking spot--the first one past the handicap parking spots, but I had two huge contractions on the way into the hospital.  I had to stop and lean on Rob and try to not scream or cry out loud.  The hospital was under construction so what should have been a short walk once we were inside of the hospital, ended up being a much longer walk than what it should have been.  (And this is the second time I had made the walk in just a few hours!!!)

Rob and I only had a small backpack and my purse because we didn't want to haul in all of our luggage if we weren't going to be staying.  This was a great decision, because Rob had to carry my purse and I just had to concentrate to get myself down the hallway.  The way my hospital operates is that you first go to Labor and Delivery Triage which has its own waiting room and mini-ER when you are pregnant.  This is where you go for basically anything when you're pregnant and it's not at your doctor's office.  I checked in and while I waited for them to get my bracelets together, I had a few really strong contractions and I couldn't stand back up to get them.  The awesome receptionist decided I just could go on back to the triage area where they put on my bracelets instead of making me get back up just for the bracelets.  She was such a champ and I am so thankful for that little consideration she made for me!

When we made it back to the triage area, I was the only person in the mini-ER area.  I have been to the triage area a handful of times and normally it is kind of an exciting place to be because you can eavesdrop on other people.  I couldn't have eavesdropped on anyone if I wanted to, so I guess it is just as well that I was the only patient there. :)  When they hooked me up to the monitors, I was slightly surprised to find out that my contractions were coming every 3 minutes and were pretty strong.  I felt like they were coming consistently, but seeing them on the monitor was so cool!  Rob and I took guesses on how much I would be dilated.  At this point I had been having contractions for about 36 hours, but I only guessed 1 cm.  I didn't want to get my hopes up, but at the same time I was hoping I had made some kind of progress.  Rob guessed 4 cm and he was exactly right!  The nurse was laughing so much at us because he started cheering for himself. :)  At this point, she said we're going to admit you and you're going to have a baby!!  I immediately burst into tears--happy, happy tears.  I could not believe our baby was finally getting ready to join us and my prayers of going into labor naturally were coming true!

We called our families to let them know what was going on and texted our close friends.  I don't know how much my mom even understood because I was still crying because I was so excited!  Henry was at Rob's parents still and my mom was on her way to get him and bring him up to our house for the night.  I called my cousin Tara who lives across town and she also started heading toward our house.  I am SO thankful for her because she watched Henry overnight so all of our parents could be at the hospital.

In about 30 minutes, I was all checked into the hospital and walking down to the delivery room!  I could not believe how quickly things started moving once it was decided we would be staying.  I was positive for Group B Strep during my first pregnancy, so my doctor always treats it in future pregnancies.  This is kind of a bummer because the antibiotics to treat it stings and you have to immediately have an IV.  BOO.  The nurse putting in my IV tried for my left arm and immediately blew the vein.  (Side note--over a week later and I still have a bruise the size of the palm of my hand!!!)  She was able to put the iv in my left hand which is not ideal, but at least it wasn't on my right arm/hand.  I also met my L & D nurse, Beth.  With Henry I went through four shifts of nurses, so I had each of the nurses twice. HA!  :)

I could write pages on how amazing Beth was as our nurse.  She was so sweet, kind, and caring.  When I asked her questions she was honest, even when the answers were hard to give or maybe not exactly what I wanted to hear.  I really, really loved her and cried when I had to leave her!  

Beth asked if I wanted an epidural and when I said YES I needed some relief, she immediately got the request in and started me on some saline solution so as soon as the anesthesiologist was ready, I would be able to have it.  In the interim, some of our friends and family had arrived.  I was so excited to see them and was just SO excited to be in labor.  I was pretty uncomfortable, but I knew that relief was on its way.  :)  

When the anesthesiologist was ready, everyone had to leave the room.  Rob was able to be in there before, but this time they kicked out all of my guests!  The doctor was so funny and we had a good time gossiping about one of the other families on the hall that had the cops called on them (true story!!) because some of their family members were fighting in the parking lot.  I realized it was two women we had seen yelling at each other on the way to check in at triage.  This definitely made the room so much lighter and fun.  The epidural placement was really quick and before I knew it, I was pain free and seriously in the best mood!  I could feel so many endorphins pumping through my body and it was the best feeling.

My nurse came in to check me and let me know I was at a 6!!  I started crying again because I just could not believe that in less than two hours I had progressed 2 cm.  I know this is totally normal for most people, but I was so incredibly slow progressing with Henry that it was shocking every time she checked me and I had progressed.  To be completely honest, I almost asked her to not check me for awhile because I didn't want to be discouraged like I was with Henry.  Luckily, I did not ask her that and I was progressing!

About an hour later, a midwife came in to break my water and check me again.  This was about 9 PM and I was at 7 cm.  The midwife had difficulty breaking my water because William was pressing up against my cervix so much.  She was not sure, but thought he had passed his first meconium.  This immediately raised a lot of concerns with the nurses and they placed a telephone call to the doctor on call at my practice to let her know.  I was also very concerned because I knew my risk of having a c-section was going up quite a bit and that there was a chance William might spend some time in the NICU.  I said the first of many prayers during my labor then and was so thankful the nurses (especially Beth!) were incredibly attentive and quick to take action.

After the midwife broke my water, another nurse came in to set up the delivery equipment.  I was so emotional at this point and just couldn't believe our little man was getting ready to join us!  With Henry, I was stuck at 6 cm for about 9 hours so this quick progression was totally new to me and so so exciting!  We had several friends come in to visit and both sets of parents.  I honestly had such a good time visiting with them that I wanted time to slow down.  It was such a sweet time. :)

Around 10 PM, my nurse came back in to check me and said that I was at 10 cm! I was in total shock (per usual!) and she sat me up straight to have William labor down some while she called the doctor and had another nurse check me to make sure.  When it was confirmed that I was 10 cm, she had me do some practice pushes.  I wasn't really feeling the urge to push which made it really difficult to push at all.  She let me push for about an hour, but I didn't really make any progress.  We tried a lot of positions, but none of them seemed to help.

At about 11:30, William's heart rate started to drop drastically.  Immediately I knew he was in distress and the meconium situation was probably only making things worse.  After trying to move me from side to side without any better heart rate resolution, the nurses (and my doctor) made the decision to give me some medicine to stop my contractions.  They were hoping this decision would give him some time to rest and recover and then as the medicine wore off, we would start back pushing.

I rested for about an hour and a half while different nurses came in to check and watch the monitor.  I could see the worry and the tension on everyone's faces when they came into the room and knew what they were all thinking.  I was given oxygen in the hopes that would also help William's heart rate.  I started praying like crazy and while I was still so thankful for going into labor on my own, I did not want my labor story to end in a c-section.

Around 1 AM, the doctor on call came into the room to introduce herself to me and I will never forget her words..."Hi, I'm Dr. Teague.  I'm here to do your c-section."

william's birth story, part 1

I love reading birth stories from other bloggers, and I have re-read Henry's so many times to keep all of the details so clear in my mind.  The birth of your child is such an amazing, exhilarating experience and I am so incredibly blessed to have experienced it twice now!

Throughout my pregnancy with William, I prayed and prayed I would be able to go into labor on my own.  With Henry, I had a very long and slow progressing induction because of low amniotic fluid.  I was checked into the hospital on Wednesday evening at 8 PM and didn't deliver Henry until almost 6 AM on Friday morning.  There were hours and hours where I made no progression at all, which was incredibly frustrating to me.

On Sunday, August 2nd, I woke up to very light contractions.  This was nothing that unusual as I had some contractions off and on throughout my pregnancy.  However, because I was past my due date, I was hoping this would be something different!  Rob and I decided to stay home from church and finish up some things around the house and spend time together as a family in case this was our last day together as a family of three.  Rob made us an AMAZING brunch--huevos rancheros-- and my contractions remained about 45 seconds long and were every 7-10 minutes for most of the day.  There was never a great deal of pain, but I definitely knew they were happening.

Rob and I played with Henry and hung a few things up in the nursery.  I cleaned the baseboards in our house and Rob did some work outside during Henry's naptime.  I kept waiting for things to pick up, and honestly got a little bit discouraged when they didn't get any stronger.  I did take a little nap because I was starting to feel a little worn down from them.  Hours of contractions (even if they aren't super strong!) can really wear you down.

I didn't tell anyone besides Rob what was going on because I didn't want to get my hopes up or anyone else's.  Rob and I both decided that continuing as normal was probably the best strategy until things weren't normal anymore. :)  When I put Henry to bed that night, I definitely snuggled him a little longer and sang every song he wanted even though I was tired.  I had a feeling this was our last night home with him and I wanted to really treasure those last moments with him as our only baby!

Sunday evening when we went to bed, Rob and I came up with a little plan for if we needed to go to the hospital in the middle of the night.  I almost couldn't go to sleep because I was really hoping I would wake up in the night to go to the hospital.  However, that was not meant to be for us!  I woke up at 5:30, just a little before my alarm clock for work.  When I first woke up, I didn't feel any contractions but as soon as I started moving around I started to feel them again.  They were a little bit stronger and I needed to focus a little bit more to make it through them.

When I was all ready for work, I woke Rob up to let him know that I was going to work and that I was still having contractions.  I called my mom on my way to work and also let her know I was still having contractions, but that I was heading into work.  She decided she'd also go into work and finish everything up she had outstanding and then head up to our house later in the evening.  She only lives about 2 1/2 hours away so I knew if things changed quickly she'd be able to get up to us fast.  

I also called my work backup, Diane, to let her know I was having contractions but that I was going to be at work that day.  Her labors with her babies were really quick and she was so worried I was going into work!  I laughed because I knew my labors were long and I had lots of time. :)

I made it through the morning at work, but I was definitely stopping to breathe through my contractions.  They were about a minute long at this point and consistently every 7 minutes.  The big change was they were much stronger and I was starting to be in pain.  I didn't want everyone to know what was going on, so I really just had to keep things as calm as possible which probably helped me get through them more easily!

My doctor's office had scheduled me for a non-stress test at the hospital so I left work a little bit after 1 and grabbed some lunch on my way to the hospital.  At this point, I was starting to realize I was very much in labor and I fully expected to be staying at the hospital after my NST.  I called my sister when I was driving and she was starting to really get worried I was going to have the baby soon.  I was really calm during all of this, even though I figured I was in labor. Looking back, I'm surprised how calm I was able to be through everything--I totally understand why everyone else was freaking out now! :)

I also called Rob on my way to the appointment and texted with him throughout it.  I was hooked up to a monitor that checked every time I had a contraction to see how William's heart rate was responding.  William didn't do very well during the NST, and I was honestly in so much pain I was praying they would be admitting me.  I tried to tell the nurse how much pain I was in and how frequent my contractions were, but she didn't seem to really make much notice of it all which was incredibly frustrating.  It wasn't until the very end of the test when William's heart rate picked up and he passed.  When the doctor came in to talk to me about passing the test, I begged her to check me to see if I had been making progress but she told me she wouldn't.  I was so upset I almost started crying because I was having contractions so frequently and I was really in a lot of pain sitting in the chair holding still for the test.

When I left, I immediately called Rob in tears because they wouldn't check me.  He was so upset because he knew I was heading back home.  We live about 30 minutes away from the hospital and his immediate fear was that he would be delivering our baby on the side of the road! HA! :)  I also called my mom and sister.  My mom decided she would head up to our house to be with Henry and help us until I went tot he hospital.  Both my mom and sister begged me to go down to labor and delivery at the hospital or to my doctor's office to get checked, but I was so discouraged at my doctor's appointment that I just wanted to go home and relax.  

introducing...

Introducing our newest family member--William Robert Owen.  He joined our family on August 4th weighing in at 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19.75 inches long.  William is the perfect addition to our family and it is already so difficult to imagine what life was like before he was here with us!