Labor and Delivery

I know it has been a while since a post- but I have just now gotten the time to post about baby Brayden! I am going to post a few different blogs to help organize all the big stuff that has happened since his birth!



Here are details about labor and delivery! Warning! Thursday June 12th Drew and I went into the hospital at 8:00 p.m. to be induced. We were very nervous/excited! We checked in, and they hooked me up to an iv, and Dr. Spirek came in and put in a catheder in my cervix that dripped this liquid all night long. This was to "ripen" the cervix, and would fall out when I dialted to 3 cm. This catheder was annoying! All night I was leaking fluid onto the bed and was constantly asking the nurses to change the towels underneath of me. At midnight the nurses started giving me Pitosin to help start the contractions. This was a very light dose. They also gave me Moraphine to help me sleep through the night. The shot of morahpine was given in my rear and this hurt! This was actually to me one of the most painful parts of the whole process!!The contractions felt like light period cramps. The moraphine did let me sleep but I woke up about every hour because of the dripping from the catheder.



At 6:00 a.m. the catheder fell out because I was at 3cm. At 8:00 a.m. Dr. Spirek came in and broke my water. (This did not feel good at all!) and they upped the Pitosin a lot to get the contractions going even further. By now the contractions felt like bad period cramps but I was dealing with them. By 9:00 the contractions hurt AWFUL. They had a scale of 1-100 with the contractions and some of mine were hitting 89. They were coming every minute. I was dilated 5 cm at this point. I then asked for the epideral, but it took the guy an hour to get there! So I was in the bad labor pain for about an hour. I have had a lot of people ask me if the epideral was painful. He was giving the epideral to me during the contraction so I didn't notice a light prick to my back when my insides felt like they were being ripped out with a contraction! About five minutes after the epideral I felt NOTHING! My contractions were hitting 90's and I didn't feel a thing. This was the best thing ever! I did feel a little nauseous because of the pain medicine and no food.

They came in to check me at 1:00 and I was dilated at 8 cms. So I knew I was close! They went to get the doctor, but she was with another labor so with the relaxation of the epideral I went to sleep! They woke me up when the doctor came in around 2:15. I pushed for about 30 minutes and Brayden was here! It was the hardest work I have ever done. I couldn't feel any pain thanks to the epideral but the actual physical pushing was so tiring. Drew was by my side with the puke pan because I was feeling sick the whole time. The doctor made Drew look at the head coming out- even though he didn't want to- and she also made him cut the cord. He did really well. When Brayden came out it was very surreal- she held him up for me to see and I immediately started crying. It was all very overwhelming. The doctor then had to stitch me up since Brayden was such a big boy. It took about 45 minutes to finish all the stitches.

Drew followed the nurse to the nursery with Brayden to weigh him and held him up for all of our family to see. They all screamed and were so excited to see the full head of brown hair and blue eyes! They told us that he weighed 8 10 and 20 inches long!

39 weeks and good news!

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
We went to the doctor today! Both grandmas came and got to see him in his last ultrasound. The ultrasound tech estimated his weight to be 7 lbs 15 ounces. The doctor decided that since he is pretty big, and his tummy is measuring bigger and bigger she wants to go ahead and induce. So unless Brayden has plans to come before then we are going to head to the hospital Thursday night. They will "get my cervix ready" until the next morning when the doctor will come in and break my water. This will start labor and little guy will be here some time either Friday afternoon or Friday night. I hadn't gained any weight this week, which they say is normal. So my total weight gain so far is 26 pounds. I was sent to the hospital today for a stress test to just make sure everything was still going ok with Brayden. I stayed for about an hour while they watched his heart rate and everything was good.
I am feeling physically pretty good. Now I am just anticipating his arrival, and now my mind is running a mile a minute thinking about him coming! So here we are with three days at the latest- we'll see if he comes before....here's to lucky Friday the 13th!

38 weeks and dr.'s appointment!

Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). he has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
We went to the doctor today on our 2 year anniversary! I had gained one more pound for a total of 26 pounds. Yikes! His heart rate was a high 172! I think he was running laps in there! Nothing had changed dilation wise since last week, but we discussed what the plan was going to be. We will be 38 weeks on Thursday, and we go back to the doctor next Tuesday morning. If he doesn't come on his own she is going to do an ultrasound, and if he is still measuring big she is going to induce at 39 weeks. (The end of next week) She is afraid if she doesn't induce then I won't be able to have him vaginally because of the size. If he measures normal size then they are going to induce at 40 weeks if he doesn't come on his own. SO the longest it can be is 2 1/2 weeks! I am SO ready and excited. 2 1/2 weeks at the longest....

37 Weeks and Dr's Appointment

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
I had a doctor's appointment today. I gained two pounds- now 25 total, his heart rate was 161 which is good and high for a boy! I hadn't dilated at all, but I was 50% effaced which is a good sign that things are now progressing! We go back next week. Three weeks left....

36 weeks- and dr's appointment!

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely he's in a head-down position. But if he isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating him from the outside of your belly.
We went to the doctor today. I had gained one more pound which takes me to 141 pounds with a weight gain of 23 pounds. My uterus measured 35 centimeters, and his heart rate was 154. My blood pressure was good. She checked to see if the cervix had opened yet or not- and so far not at all. It is still closed. So he is enjoying life in the uterus as of now....He is in a head down position which is good. We go back next week and she is going to wait to give the ultrasound until she thinks labor is getting closer. Mommy and baby are both very healthy and progressing well, but as of now no labor signs!
We also finished up all of our baby showers. We were VERY blessed and humbled by people's generosity, and Brayden has everything he needs and more! Our registry was literally cleared off. Our last shower was a tea party that friends from my parent's church threw for us, and it was SO neat. Brayden's nursery is ready for him to come!
4 weeks to go.....

35 Weeks!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). (Brayden is bigger than this!) Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
We go back to the doctor on Tuesday, and will know more then....now he is moving all the time, and I am pretty tired. The doctor did call the other day and said I needed to be taking iron, because the blood work came back that I was anemic. So now I'm on the Zofran, and iron! 5 Weeks left!

34 Weeks & dr's appointment

We are now 8 1/2 months! Your baby's fat layers — which will help regulate him body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.
We had a doctor's appointment today, and everything looked good! I gained one more pound to make me 140 and have gained 22 pounds overall! Brayden's heart rate was 148, and my uterus measured 34 centimeters which is right on. Feeling tired after a day's work, but I am hanging in there. I would rather be at work and get my mind off of waiting- so I am sticking it out. We go back to the doctor in two weeks for another check-up! 6 weeks left!