River is here!!

Well, I've been a tad bit preoccupied the past week and have pretty much neglected anything that has to do with the internet but, River is sleeping right now and I'm taking advantage. :) 

River David Chilton was born on Friday, February 20th at 8:13 pm and he weighed 7 lbs 7 oz, 21 3/4 inches long. I had to be induced basically without any notice. I had an U/S scheduled at 8 am that day just to check my fluid levels and make sure everything was still ok. Well, normal amounts of amniotic fluid are about 5cm and I only had .77cm. So, baby HAD to come out ASAP. They literally wheeled me over to the hospital from my docs office and had me get checked into Labor and Delivery before I could even call Daniel. I was a little freaked out to be there by myself for the beginning but I was so glad I was going to get to meet my son. I was started on Pitocin around 9:30am and basically stayed at 2cm for most of the day, BUT once I got my epidural at 3:30pm, labor REALLY took off. I started pushing around 8pm and he was here just a few minutes later. It was amazing. No words can ever describe the love for a child and I know that, so I'm not even going to try. 

River is 8 days old today. He is such a mellow baby and I am so thankful for that. He loves to sleep and be held and he HATES baths and diaper changes. :) I am breastfeeding and we are both learning but today has been a really good day and I think we're getting the hang of it. He really is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me or to Daniel. We are both so in love with him and are so excited that we really are a "family" now. 

No news is.....No news

We just got back from the doctors office and we're bummed. He said that my cervix is a little softer but I haven't dilated anymore since last week, so I'm still at 1cm. At this point, my cervix isn't "favorable" for an induction. That being said, I have another appointment in 2 days on Friday the 20th where I will be having a BFP or Biophysical profile, for the baby. I think it's basically like an ultrasound but it will focus mostly on the amniotic fluid levels and things like that. I did have an NST today ( non stress test) I had to lay down and had a monitor on my stomach and I had to push a little buzzer everytime I felt the baby move. He just wanted to make sure the baby was fine I guess and of course, he is. 

SO, on Friday ( if I haven't gone into labor naturally) he is going to call down to Labor and Delivery and figure out a time to schedule an induction for NEXT WEEK. So at the latest he'll be here by the 27th. We're just hoping that things go well and that my body will naturally go into labor on it's own. We both are just feeling really disappointed right now. It's nice knowing everyone is so excited but it does get stressful getting multiple phone calls and emails every day and we have nothing to report. I'm going to try really hard to take my mind off of it and that might help. He will come when he's ready and BELIEVE me, i've tried ALL of the "natural" home induction old wives tales and they DON'T work. Well, that is all we have to say as of right now. 

He's still cooking....

 Today is our due date and no baby. I guess I'm not really that surprised, Dan and I were both late and statistically, first babies are usually late so I guess we just have to wait. I have another doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon and I will be asking him about induction. I almost don't want an induction because I don't want to really mess with nature and I know that he'll come when he's ready but I feel like I'm wasting time here at home when I could be a mom already. Selfish I know and I just need to get over it. Dan is walking around moping most of the time. He's so anxious to meet his son and we really thought it was going to happen this past weekend. At least he's not a Valentine's baby and that's what I wanted. :) I continue to feel cramps a few times each day, but they do go away so I assume that means I'm making progress. At least if my doc agrees to do an induction I won't feel "so" guilty about it since my body is obviously getting ready for birth. His head is where it needs to be, I am dilated and effaced, it's not like I'm not dilated at all or effaced and asking for an induction. I also worry because with an induction they basically hook you up to the pitocin and I wouldn't be able to walk the halls to help with the labor. I really want the option to be mobile during labor.

Well, not much else to report. Here's baby boy at 40 weeks 1 day. I will be sure to update after the doctor appointment. Until tomorrow....

39 weeks and some progress!

Today was my 39 week appointment. It went really well, first, we didn't have to wait for over an hour and that's always good. My weight gain was normal, blood pressure was normal and the baby's heartbeat was normal. The doc checked my cervix and I am now 1 cm dilated and about 70 % effaced. The baby's head is also pretty low so that was good as well. Dan and I are so excited! Progress!! I've been waiting for this forever it seems. So, hopefully he won't be stubborn and I will continue to progress over the next week or so. Basically he really could be here at any time. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be my last day of work before I go on maternity leave. How crazy will it be not to see everyone each week? Good thing there's email! Well, that's all the news for now. Also, here is a picture of me and the baby at 39 weeks 1 day. 

Almost Home....

 Well, as of today we are 38 weeks 5 days and I am so ready to meet our son. I thought I was having a really easy pregnancy ( which I mostly am ) but this last week I started experiencing the fun waddling, peeing every 30 minutes and SWELLING. I hoped I'd get lucky and not swell too much but I was very wrong. After a day at work or even just shopping and running errands, my poor feet look awful! My toes look like vienna sausages and I truly do have canckles. :( I'm trying my best to keep my feet elevated and I'm drinking more water, but it's not helping. I've been told that the only thing that will stop the swelling is DELIVERY. Let's pass that info on to the little one then. 

I had my 38 week doctor appointment this past Wednesday. I gained about 4 pounds within a week, pretty positive that it is all water weight. He did check my cervix and said that I am getting "very very soft" but so far I'm not dilated yet. That wasn't surprising to me. I have YET to feel a contraction or even a braxton hicks contraction. The baby is due the 17th but I keep getting the 19th stuck in my head. I think he likes it in his little womb, he also still moves around quite a bit. While I was in the waiting room for the appointment, I swear he was doing somersaults or something. When the nurse listened to his heartbeat it was A LOT faster than usual, he probably was getting a good workout. :) I don't have any pics as of yet this week, i'll probably just post one on Monday when I hit 39 weeks. Can't wait for this to be done!