Chorey Crew: October 2013

by the time we got to week 40, i was more than ready to meet our little guy, but it was also a little bittersweet thinking that our life would be changed forever, since we had really enjoyed the last six+ years of marriage leading up to the arrival of our baby. i was definitely at the point of discomfort where i was ready not to be pregnant anymore - i felt like i got a lot bigger in the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy, so whereas i hadn't been uncomfortable much before, i was definitely having a harder time sleeping and getting around with the extra weight (i now understand why overweight people get tired easily!).

last weekly picture

jefferson's still the baby :)

the weekend before the baby's due date, my mom and grandparents drove up to virginia on sunday. we had a nice dinner with the in-laws, got everyone settled in at billy's grandmother's house, and headed to bed. by the morning, my grandpa (who was very excited to come and LOVES his great-grandson) was ready to go home. about par for the course, as he's notorious for going home early from vacations (even europe), but i felt bad for the extra stress that caused my mom. she told him that wasn't an option unless he wanted to take the greyhound bus - haha!

monday morning started out with breakfast in bed courtesy of my sweet husband, as a special treat for my potential last day of getting to sleep in for quite awhile (and my first day of maternity leave). we went walking, got things set up more around the house, and did some last minute errands. i had a doctor's appointment, which revealed no more real progress, but my midwife did do the membrane stripping thing again, so i was hopeful that that might get things going. that day was my grandma's birthday, so we were all hoping for a second birthday that day! no such luck, but we did have a fun birthday dinner for her at cazadores, complete with magic dave the magician and the staff singing to my sombrero-wearing grandma! at this point, my mom was strongly encouraging me to consume as many jalepenos as i could :) i think she was more ready for our little guy to come than anyone!!

yum!

grandma's birthday dinner at cazadores

tuesday - my actual due date. we had another good day of hanging out, walking, and spending some quality time together with our families. that night after everyone had left, billy and i were hanging out and i started to have some contractions. i called the midwife, thinking that i would probably need to go to the hospital later on. she said to wait and see if they persisted, and they ended up stopping around half an hour or so later. maybe it was just wishful thinking, as it turns out those weren't even bad contractions - i would learn that well later :) so, due date came and went with no baby. i was starting to get a little anxious, but at this point we knew that we'd go into the hospital thursday night for an induction if i didn't go into labor naturally by then.

wednesday we had another relaxing day, with more walking (did lots of that the last week in the hopes that it would move things along, plus it was a gorgeous spring week!) and getting things ready for the baby's arrival. billy and i had our last pre-baby date that night. we went to captain chuck-a-mucks where they were having a pet-friendly night, so the terriers joined us. i haven't been able to live this down, but the waitress asked if the dogs were twins (which they are not) and then if i was having twins (which i was not). ha! i guess i was really showing a lot at that point :) we had a great time hanging out on the deck at the restaurant and enjoying our last evening out without needing a babysitter!

dining with the terriers

thursday - induction day. my mom, grandparents, and i hung out in the morning some, went on yet another walk, and then my mom headed to the airport to pick up my dad who came into town around lunchtime. even though i was more than ready for the baby's arrival, it couldn't have been more perfect with everyone being in town, which might not have happened if he came early! my family spent some time together at our house before billy and i headed to the hospital around 5 for the induction. we got checked into the hospital around 5:30 or so, and my midwife came by to check on my progress (still not much) and to let us know the general procedures for the induction. i got dressed in a gown, they put some kind of balloon in me to hopefully move things along, and then they hooked me up to a bunch of different machines to get ready for the induction. billy brought subway for dinner (didn't realize i could eat after i had checked in, so that was a nice surprise), and we relaxed for a little while. our families came by to visit briefly, we watched some tv on the computer, and then later that evening, they started the pitocin drip. that stuff is evil, but it does get things moving! they gave me a couple of sleeping pills, and i was able to get a decent amount of sleep before the contractions picked up.

heading to the hospital - last picture as a family of two (or four with the terriers :))

friday very early in the morning, around 4-4:30 am, i started having horrible contractions. i had been having some that were bearable, but this got absolutely awful. they were lasting around 2 minutes and were 30 seconds to a minute apart. at one point, i was in tears, and i have a very high pain tolerance, but later on, i found out that typical contractions are 60-90 seconds 2-5 minutes apart, so i wasn't being a wimp :) apparently when your induced, the contractions tend to be worse than when you go into labor naturally, thanks to the pitocin. i made it through several hours of these horrible contractions, and around 8 or 8:30, my midwife came into check on me. at that point, i was about 4-5 cm, and they thought i'd be able to get the epidural around noon and would have the baby that evening some time (they said i probably wouldn't be eating lunch, but i'd be eating dinner). so, while we had a little break between activities, billy headed to the cafeteria for some breakfast and my midwife had me sit on the exercise ball to rock back and forth, easing the pain somewhat. definitely felt better on that, even though there was still a good amount of pain and still frequent contractions. about 2 minutes after my midwife and nurse left, my water broke. while i was on the ball. it was an odd feeling but definitely relieved some of the pressure in my mid-section. i paged the nurse, they confirmed that i was progressing, and by around 9:30, i was able to get my epidural. glad i didn't have to wait until noon! getting the epidural wasn't too fun, but after it hit me, it was AWESOME. i would definitely recommend getting one (don't think it's optional if you're induced :)), as it really helped me be able to enjoy the experience rather than to be in pain throughout it. at that point, it was just a waiting game until it was time to push. so, billy and i just hung out in the room, and i was able to relax some, which was nice (couldn't feel my legs, but that was ok). around noon, our families came by just to check in, and we said it would probably be awhile before anything happened, so they should go to lunch and we'd call them later on. around 12:15 or so, my midwife came back to check on my progress, and at this point, i was already 10 cm! definitely had a fast progression, as i was only 1 cm when i checked in the night before. she said it was about time to push, so everything happened in kind of an unexpected (but welcome) whirlwind. we called our families to let them know that the baby would probably be born pretty soon. my midwife was still in her work clothes until the very last minute, so i was very impressed by her being so low-key and comfortable - definitely loved working with her!! there was a great team of nurses alongside her, and we were really pleased with the whole experience at our hospital. billy was very encouraging, and i was surprised that he didn't pass out or anything (he can't stand the sight of blood, vomit, etc - gags when trying to clean up the dogs' throw-up or poop :)). i ended up pushing basically four times over 20-30 minutes, and our sweet baby was born at 1:06 pm. as he was coming out, one of the nurses said that he was a big baby and had really big shoulders - not the most opportune timing! the midwife wrapped him up in a little blanket, and i was able to hold him for the first time, which was so special. billy cut the cord too - another surprise for me - and i was so grateful for how supportive and involved he was. then, they took the baby to clean him up weigh him, etc. he was 8 lbs 14 oz and was 21.25 in long. big baby, especially since i'm pretty petite. definitely made holding him in the early stages less intimidating, since he didn't even seem like a newborn. i remember when i held him for the first time, thinking about how big his hands were - not like tiny baby hands. and about an hour later when we were doing the kangaroo care (where they lay on your chest), he actually held his head up to look around. about half an hour after our baby was born, our families came in to see him for the first time, and we announced his name to them - noah mitchell chorey. everyone loved it, and my grandparents (the last living grandparents on either side) were especially touched since we used their last name for noah's middle name. later on, billy's dad said it had been raining all morning and about the time he was born (when they were finishing lunch), the sun came out, just like in the bible after the flood. i was pretty tired from the whole experience but also filled with great joy and love for our new son. it was an incredible blessing after all we went through leading up to noah's arrival, and we are so fortunate that God placed this sweet baby in our life! now the real fun begins :)