A Mother's Perspective: Theodore's Birth

I had been having contractions that had been waking me up at night since April 19th. I went to my OB appt on the 22 and found out that some progress had been made and i was at a 2 almost 3. On Friday the 25. i called timothy at work to tell him that i lost my mucus plug but had not really had any contractions. he lets work know that I may be in early labor and that he may not be back at work on Monday.

Friday night as soon as i hear that Timothy is coming home i started having contraction. Timothy and i had a date planned and decided to keep it. We went and had pizza and then walked around a few city parks. I had some good contractions. We went and picked up Meredith and went home. I was again awoken with contractions and came down stairs and started timing them. they were any where from 10 to 15 mins apart. Timothy came down at one point and time and asked me how i was doing and i said fine to go back to bed and i would get him if i needed to. I eventually decided to go back and lie down to see if i could sleep. I did but woke up to no contractions.

Timothy and i decided that we wanted to get out of the house that morning and went to sea world nothing happened. We all go home and take a long nap. My mom and Jimmy came down to play with Meredith and we went out to eat. We go home and go to bed. I had a few contractions that night but nothing to really count or to focus on.

Sunday morning I woke up and felt different. it was not describable. I had a few contractions and debated on going to church. I took a shower and felt much better and decided to go to church. I had a meeting after church that i was still deciding on if i was going to go to or not while at church. I decided to go. While there one of the small boys who was playing by the pool fell in. (his father was right there and got him out with in seconds). It still scared me and I started having contractions. They were not all that painful and eventually dissipated.

We went to bed and at about 2:30 i woke up with a particularly painful contraction. I had one again at about 2:45 and then again at about 3. I decided to get up and actually time them because they were keeping me up anyway. So i went down stairs and they were any where from 4-10 mins apart. I timed them for about an hour and decided that it was time to pack the car and get Meredith off to our friend's house. We packed the car and I called our friend at about 5 am. She was wonderful and took Meredith right away and timothy got Meredith's car seat out of the car. When it was time to say good bye i was having a contraction so i did not get to properly say good by to Meredith.

Timothy got back in the car and we went to the hospital. We pulled into the ER and they wanted to get me a wheel chair but i refused. We got to the labor and delivery and got checked in and into a room. I was dilated to a 5. Timothy was wonderful with helping me through the contractions and being with me. At about 8 am My Ob came in and checked in with me I was dilated to a 6. She was concerned that i was stalling because it had been quite a few hours and not much had happened. She asked to break my water. I was not willing to do that at that point. I guess my doctor had been on call because she said she was going to take a shower and then be back in about an house to see what had happened. When my Ob left Timothy wondered why i was not wanting my water broken. he was not questioning my decision rather just wondering about what could happen with breaking my water. I did not want it broken one because it put me on a time table and two if the baby wanted to spin it would not give the baby a chance to do it if the baby did not have the fluid to do it. After I answered the question i had another contraction. I decided to squat for that contraction. i had been either sitting on my ball or swaying back and forth. i guess the baby moved down at that point. my contractions really started picking up and I started getting belligerent with timothy. i wanted in the worst way to go home. i started to scream this at him. the nurses heard this and came running. at one point timothy tried to help me with my gown because it had come untied and i got very angry with him. our nurse asked again to check me and said that i was at a 8 or a ten...really i can not remember. i was losing all focus. the baby nurse came in got in my face and some how forcefully but nicely got me to breath and to gain my focus. I started to involuntary push. The nurse got me on my left side and helped me push some more. Timothy i could tell at my side was overjoyed and excited to be having our baby. I did some focused pushing and i felt SO much better then what had just been happening moments before!. after a few minuets of pushing everyone started wandering if my water had broken. I was asked between contractions and never remembered it breaking. I guess my OB was finishing up getting ready because she said if /when my water broke that she needed to be in there very quickly because the baby was going to be born fast. I made my nurse promise not to hold the baby in. Meredith was held in while waiting for my doctor to come in and it was the worse pain! My nurse said there was no way that she would be able to hold the baby back. That made me feel better. I pushed two more times and the water broke. My Ob came in and asked me if i wanted to move off my left side and if i wanted stirrups. I wanted both. they quickly set up the bed and I pushed two more times and the baby was born. It was a boy!!! He was placed on my chest and wiped down. he started to cry so we tried to breast feed but he was not interested. I decided that if he was just going to cry then he may as well be assessed, weighted and measured and then given back to me. He was perfect! 7 lbs 12 oz. 20 inches long. he came back to me and breast fed and settled in. I don't remember much more about the time after birth. I remember calling everyone but not getting a hold of many people.

Discovering My Little Brother

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

Have I said that I love being a big sister? Sometimes, though I wonder if Theodore likes when I sit with him? Like today, he seemed to give me an interesting look...

Oh well, that's okay. I'll love him anyway. I even tried to tickle his toes!

I am a big sister, and I'm going to help by...

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

Changing the baby's diaper.

I may still be in diapers myself some days (I'm working on going on the potty), but I still can help by learning to change diapers on my baby doll.

I am a big sister, and I'm going to help by...

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

Putting the baby in the car seat!

I'm practicing right now with one of my baby dolls, but maybe someday I can put Theodore in there instead.

Right now I like rocking Theodore once he is in the car seat. He likes it a lot!

I love being a big sister!

I am a big sister, and I'm going to help by...

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

Feeding my baby!

I get more and more interested in baby Theodore all the time. Here I am learning about having a baby by feeding my baby along with my Mama.

If Theodore can eat, why not one of my babies?

Hello World!

From Theodore Elial 0-3 Months

I may not even be a day old, but my Daddy already has me posting on this thing he calls a blog. What ever happened to the good old days of writing letters and sending actual pictures? (How could I know anything about the "good old days" if I'm not even one day old???) I guess this "blog" is quite a bit quicker.

Anyway, here I am, all 20 inches and 7 pounds 12 ounces of me! My Mama did great bringing me into this world today (April 27, 2009). Mama tells me she woke up Daddy around 4:00 am, saying it was time to go. After packing the car and dropping off my big sister at a friend's, they made it to the hospital by 5:30 am. I was born at 9:27 am, and the rest is history.

Well, I think it is about time I get some more of my baby sleep. Love you lots!

P.S. - I've added my very first web album. Check out my first pictures online here.

We're going to have a...

From Cashew Maternity

Baby! :)

Lots of people have been asking, so I thought I would clear things up. We're either going to have a boy or a girl, but it is definitely going to be a baby!

Meredith, Timothy, and I went out to take some more maternity shots. I've uploaded a them in the Cashew Maternity album. Be sure to check them out!

From Cashew Maternity

Thanks for visiting, Grandpa and Great Grandpa!

From Grandpa and Great Grandpa

This weekend my Grandpa McGurk came down to visit. He brought a blanket for little Cashew, but I sure do like it :) My Great Grandpa came down for the day on Easter Sunday.

Here's my Mama, Grandpa, and me smiling pretty!

It was getting near my nap time, so I didn't like hanging out in my Mama's arms too much (I'd much rather be sleeping!). We did get some pictures of everyone, but they didn't all turn out as well. You can see them here.

Even so, here's my Mama, Great Grandpa, and Grandpa!

From Grandpa and Great Grandpa

I love you!! XOXOXO

Thanks, Grandma!

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

My Grandma Stavenger is sure handy! I don't mean handy around the house as much as handy with a sewing machine. Here's the proof!

Now I have this great dress that I can wear. Don't I look cute?

I even have a matching dress for my baby dolls. How great is that?!

Grandma, you're the bestest! XOXOXO

Owee!

From Meredith Jane 19-21 months

Today I tried to walk down the back patio stairs by myself. I've done this a few times for my Daddy, but today I just didn't have the same luck.

I fell down and bumped my head. Now I have couple of bruises and a scrape over my eye to prove it!

Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.