Few more tidbits... about our birthing experience.

I wanted to add a few more things about our AWESOME experience at Northside Forsyth.... First we chose to induce because I was progressing and this hospital is 7 miles from our house... it is smaller and brand new. However we did not realize all of the below points that makes this hospital even more incredible....

* There are only 13 delivery rooms which means it will never be overcrowded. However they still keep a large number of nurses working so you are able to get the full attention of your nurse during delivery.
* The delivery rooms are huge and very comfortable.
* My delivery nurse was the BEST ever. She coached and encouraged Reid while not letting me give up and have a c section. We LOVED her! She also came and visited us twice when we went us stairs.
* NICU nurses were great. They decorated a nameplate for his private room and also dressed him up while we were away and took pictures of him. They spoiled him rotten! One even calls her his aunt. They were sooooo sweet!
* My room was only a short distance from Carter's room. Since I was breast feeding every 2-3 hours, I could go back to my room after feedings to eat, shower, etc and get back to him if he needed me quickly.
* Also there was FREE and open air parking. No matter where you parked, you were only 50 yards from the front door of the hospital.
* The nurses would say the Forsyth location has the best, most experienced nurses. When they opened this campus, all of the experienced nurses made the move and left the downtown campus with the newbies. Not sure if they is true but that is what every nurse told us... and from our experience, we believe them :)

I am sure there are many more positive points about Forsyth but these are a few that we wanted to remember. We will for sure have our second child at this location!!

Really behind... our birthing story

Ok so I know I am REALLY behind on my postings and I really want to post but it has really been a busy week. There are so many things to juggle that I have let the cell phone talking and computer time fall by the way-side.

My birthing story is forever long! Here is the quick version... later I may go into more details.

I checked into the hospital on Saturday (12/19) at 3pm and they started cervidil once I was situated in my room. I woke up Sunday morning (12/20) to start pitocin (around 7-8am). Close contractions really started around 9am. Water broke at 9:30am. I was given my epidural at 11am. Nurses said I dilated very quickly (which is good) and was told to start labor at 1:30pm. However I was not fully ready to start labor until 2:50, which is when the labor started and did not stop until he was born at 6:13pm. By the way... he came out sunny side up which is one of the reasons for the LONG labor. He is a stubborn little boy as they would turn him and he would turn himself back around.

Labor lasted 3 and a half hours straight... so that means Carter was in my birth canal that entire time and it caused a lot of stress on him which led to his problems. They put Carter on IV at first because they thought he caught an infection from me but that was ruled out. They think his vital signs were low due to the time period in the birth canal. Also he was projectile vomiting from the formula which led to me having to 100% breast milk which was very stressful at first but happy it happened now. He was in the NICU for 4 days but the nurses were awesome so we enjoyed our time at Northside Forsyth.

I am now 100% back on my feet well except for going up and down stairs. I have a very weak leg and do not have feeling back in a portion of it (around my knee). For example I have to use a cane to get up and down stairs. The docs think this happened due to Carter's head sitting on one of my nerves while in the birth canal.

Thanks all for your many thoughts and prayers during the time we were in the hospital... we felt each prayer!

Today is flying by!

I can not believe it is already 11am... the day is flying by! Even with work being very slow, errands being done, and the house is as clean as it is going to get. I keep finding little things that need to be done.

Tonight we are going over to Buddy and Debbie's (Reid's parents) to send the night for Christmas. We will have a steak dinner tonight (yummy! - not a bad "last" dinner) and then get up in the morning to have breakfast and open gifts. After gifts are opened... we will travel back to our house to unpack gifts and Munson and then repack for the hospital (exciting!). We are still unsure what time we report to the hospital. They are suppose to call us or we call them tomorrow at 4:30pm.

Here's to the next 48 hours........ it is an exciting time!

Full of wonders...

I did a lot of thinking today and I am full of lots of wonders...

1 - When will Carter arrive? Will he wait until Saturday/Sunday when we are to be induced or will he show his pretty little face early? After walking around Target tonight getting a few last minute items... it feels like he could fall out at any point!
***He waited and was born on Sunday, December 20th at 6:13pm

2 - Who will he look like? Will he have a big head like his daddy? Big ears like his Granddaddy? Web toes like his Pops? Will he have a head full of hair? Will he be 22 plus inches long? I have a feeling he is going to be a long skinny baby boy.... is my feeling correct?
***He looks identical to Reid when he is born... and I mean identical! His head was 14in which is pretty normal. No web toes or big ears. He does have a head full of hair - yay! He was almost 22in long (21 3/4).

3 - Will he be healthy? Enough said....
***Seemed touch and go at first but it looks like we have a healthy baby. Thank God!

4 - Will he take to breast feeding or will I have to give him formula? Will my milk even come in and will it be enough to feed him?
*** He loves breast feeding and is taking it 100%. So happy!

5 - Will I know if I am going into labor? Will my water break? Did you know only 1 in every 10 women's water breaks before they get to the hospital. That was a surprise to me!
*** Going into labor for me happened very quickly... the midwife did have to break my water.

Lots of wonders... it is almost time to get the answers :)

Surprisingly I am not nervous....

So we know when little Carter is going to arrive and to be honest... I am not nervous which kinda surprises me. I thought I would be at least nervous about labor but no. Maybe it has not hit me or because I really have no idea what I am going to experience in just a few short days. I have wondered a good bit if I am going to be able to breast feed but I am going to try my best to not be to hard on myself if it does not work... God created formula for a really good reason!

I think Reid is starting to get a little anxious, nervous or some other feeling as I am starting to see a few different emotions from him. First I noticed that he packs up the computer bag every night so all he will have to do is grab it and go... he will be updating this blog, facebook and sending some "special" email to all of our friends and family. By the way, he thought up this email last weekend and of course it has a Bama/UGA reference that may even include Nick Saban... be on the look out for it. I will have him post it on the blog :)

I walked the neighborhood again today after work. The walk was not very difficult until I started walking up cardiac hill... the hill is not very long but pretty steep.

Ok - I guess that is all for now... 3 more days...

38 and a half week appointment...

So we went to the doc today to see if I had progressed from 1 and a half cm. Well I DID... I am now a full 2 cm and per the midwife - he is ready!

Again we are really trying to have Carter at Northside Forsyth Hospital so we do not have to go downtown among many other reasons... so far our plan is working out well. Our docs are only at the Forsyth Hospital on the 16th, 20th and 24th. It is too soon to induce me on the 16th and they will not induce on the 24th, so that means... the 20th is our only option. Our midwife has agreed to induce us on the 20th so that means I will check in Northside Forsyth on the 19th.

However during our appointment today... she did something that made her feel that I could go into labor before Saturday so we will see if Carter has a different plan than the one I have for him. I would not be surprised if he has something up his sleeve :)

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we are getting very close to bringing little Carter into the world!

Carter's Room

Carter's room is ready to go and waiting on him. Pictures over his bed were painted by a very talented co-worker Jazmyn Brawner. We have the most comfy chair in the entire world and I can not wait to spend lots of time in it. We also have a ton of toys and exercisers to keep him busy and active in between nap and feeding times.

This kid is already spoiled and he is not even here yet :)

Almost done...

Waiting is the hardest thing to do! I am glad I have weekly appointments but I wish they would not tell you things like.... you are 1 and a half cm and he could come at any time. That just makes me even more ANXIOUS to meet him :) Especially when it is your first baby!

So I think I have dropped and it is really funny be because it makes me feel smaller... I added a few pictures so I can remember how I looked at 8 and a half months prego. I can breathe better and even have a little bit more room for food. However there is A LOT of pressure down below. Sometimes it even feels like he is going to fall out. I know too much info but I want to remember this feeling next time :)

He still moves a good bit which surprises me as I am wondering how much room does he really have in there...

I have tried all of the wives tales... walking, eggplant, love making, pineapple, and even just a little bit of castor oil. NONE of it has worked but I thought it was worth a try! I guess this little boy does have his own schedule.

Our next doc appt is Tuesday and it is going to be an eternity until Tuesday at 2:30pm...

Munson's life is about to change...

Munson has been our little one for 2 years now and now little Carter is about to be here... what will Munson think? He already LOVES to grab and run away with rattles and he even fits into Carter's pack and play.

Good news... Munson at most times can be considered Reid's little dog. Crazy but that is so true! Looking forward to being one big family :)

Week 37 and half... almost delivery time!

If anyone really knows me... they know I have NO patience! This pregnancy has not been that "hard" except for the fact that I have to wait 40 weeks to meet our sweet little Carter. Do you know how long 40 weeks can be??? VERY long especially when you are carrying an extra 40 pounds and waited 18 months to get prego.

Few fun things....

1 - At Thanksgiving I came down with the worst cold. I know I could have taken medicine but I am not really a medicine person so I sucked it up and went threw several boxes of Kleenex. I am doing much better this week... finally!

2 - Saliva and LOTS of it. Almost daily I find myself choking on my own saliva. It is crazy. I will be sitting on the couch, swallow and then I find myself choking... very annoying!

3 - Hips hurt! They continue to prepare for childbirth and it really hurts...

4 - Carter's head in the hip area... this is a very unique feeling. I would say it hurts but it is really just an uncomfortable feeling. I started feeling it late in week 36 but it is getting a more consistent feeling as the weeks go on.

The doc visit went really well today. His heartbeat was 154 (higher than normal) and I am 1 and a half cm plus she was able to feel Carter's head! Crazy! She said I could go at any time or he may decide to stay in there 2-3 more weeks. They will not let me go more than one week past my due date (12/26/09). We are pushing them to induce on the 20th... for a few reasons. 1 - We will not be in the hospital for Christmas and 2 - We will be able to deliver at Northside Forsyth with our doctors.

Countdown is on... Carter is almost here!

Tough game today....

Picture was taken at 30ish weeks before I went to see little William Morgan.

Today is a BIG game and I hope to make it through the game without going into labor. Some think Bama will win and other think UF will win. Let's hope Bama will pull through!

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

New to Blog Spot

Well we ended our mac account which means we lost our url for the mac website... I was able to keep my posts but no one can see them but me. I had planned to start a blogspot after Carter was born but now I have to start it beforehand as I know some of you actually check my blog :)

I am now 36 and a half weeks pregnant... if I were to deliver Carter tomorrow then he would be considered full term. All this means is I will be walking and eating as much eggplant to encourage him to arrive early! As we are READY!

Had a good doc visit on Monday. His heart beat was 138 and is very active. The doc said I am already 1cm which is good but I could stay at 1cm for the next 4 weeks... We have already discussed possibly inducing on the 20th or possibly the 24th. Who knows what we will decide....

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!