Anderson's Birth Story

** Somehow I deleted this post but was able to get it back so it's being re-entered**

Once we get home I promise to upload pictures of our new baby boy but before the (hopefully) pregnancy amnesia sets in I wanted to get his birth story written down.

I'd say it all started on Tuesday November 1.  I woke up just "not feeling right". Nothing I could really pinpoint just that I was a little crampier than usual, had a little nausea but really nothing horrible. I went about my day, ran errands, etc.  The point I really knew something was different was when I ran- it really felt uncomfortable. A lot of pelvic pressure/pain and it was extremely difficult to make it 3 miles.  By the way, I'm extremely happy that I ran until the day before I went into labor :)

Fast forward to Wednesday November 2. I woke up about 4am for my usual bathroom break and laid awake in bed having a few mild contractions. Not really thinking much of it I went back to sleep until about 8am. I felt like I was having regular contractions so I started timing them about 9am. Sure enough they were regular and consistent averaging about 10min apart for 30 sec and felt like "text book" contractions. I was still not convinced that I was in labor but Todd stayed home from work "just in case". We spent the morning doing usual activities- walking the dogs, having breakfast and making sure we had everything ready to go. Contractions stayed consistent and got to 5min apart for about a minute pretty quickly but they still weren't strong enough that I felt we needed to rush to the hospital. I walked, sat on the exercise ball and laid down in the Bradley Method relaxation position until about 6:30pm when contractions were starting to get very uncomfortable, were less than 4 min apart and lasting at least one minute of more- we decided it was time to head to the hospital.

 After what seemed like a horrible 15min drive (they say labor slows on the car ride, it definitely did not) and waiting for about 10 minutes in the Emergency Department before being taken to Labor and Delivery triage I was finally being hooked up to monitors and being assessed to see if I was "truly in active labor".  Fortunately, I was having strong, regular contractions, Anderson looked good and I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced so Dr. Diehl admitted me but everyone was convinced we still had a long night ahead of us.  I told my nurse my plan was no epidural but that I was wavering at this point in the game. She admitted us into the one L&D room that had a tub and suggested that I sit in the tub and try some natural pain relief for a while before I decided. I'm SO thankful now that my nurses listened to my wishes and encouraged me to follow through with them.  We got settled in our L&D room and they said they'd leave me off the monitors for 30min since everything was fine so I got in a nice warm tub for about 30-45min and labored. Contractions were getting pretty strong at this point so I laid down, again in the Bradley Method relaxation position were I labored to the point that I told Todd that I couldn't see getting through several more hours without the epidural- the contractions were getting way too intense. About that time my nurse came in and we talked about the epidural and other pain relief. Since she knew I didn't want the epidural she suggested checking my progress and deciding from there. After only 2 hours we were all amazed that I was 8-9cm dilated and fully effaced! She and Dr Diehl (and Todd and I) were all in shock! So my wonderful nurse and Todd encouraged me to not get the epidural and to try a Fenatyl (sp?) shot to "take the edge off' while I worked through transition (it conveniently wore off just as I got to pushing). Transition was definitely the hardest part of the laboring but the pain meds helped just enough to get me to 10cm in less than an hour. My water broke somewhere between 8 and 9cm and things went kind of fast from there. They started getting things set up as I was feeling the urge to push all while my whole body was shaking and I was going from hot to cold quickly, it was a very out of body experience. I tried a few pushes on my own but clearly needed direction so my nurse coached me through about 3 and then they paged Dr Diehl.

Pushing was a whole other ball game that I was not prepared for! About 3 pushes in they realized I had a second bag of water (didn't even know that was possible) so they were all standing guard for it to explode everywhere which was actually kind of funny. Fortunately, it did not and Dr Diehl broke it as soon as he came in. I pushed for a total of about 45 min, which seemed like eternity! Pushing was extremely difficult but it was so odd that in between contractions I was able to rest, catch my breath, collect my thoughts and get ready for the next one while Dr Diehl joked with the nurses and myself. Everyone was so positive and encouragin. I do honestly feel like not having the epidural helped because feeling everything going on helped me push harder with each contraction. I definitely felt the "ring of fire" as he crowned and the amazing relief when he was all the way out.  He came out instantly crying and was placed on my chest right away.  Todd got to cut the umbilical cord and I think I stayed in a state of utter shock for the next 2 hours of what had just happened. I did suffer a 2nd degree tear that took Dr. Diehl about 30 min to repair and Todd got to go with Anderson to his first bath and nursery assessments while I did all my post partum checks. About 2 hours after delivery I was able to shower and we headed to our post partum room.

So far I'm feeling pretty good. Very tired from lack of sleep and all the work that labor is and very sore from pushing/tearing. Anderson has passed all his tests with flying colors and has been sleeping peacefully with very little crying.  Breast feeding has been the biggest challege but we're getting there with the help of the amazing lactation consultants. Since I delievered so late we won't get to go home until tomorrow, but thats ok.

All in all labor was scary and painful and exciting all wrapped up in one :) I'm so very thankful for the amazing nurses we had that encouraged me and cheered me on and I'm especially thankful for my amazing husband that was an amazing labor coach. And of course I'm so thankful that Dr. Diehl delivered our beautifuly perfect son, I could not have imagined having it any other way.

So there it is, my roughly 15 hour labor and delivery of Anderson Phillip Saksa, born  Wednesday November 2, 2011 a 11:41pm weighing 7lbs, 10oz and measuring 21inches long. We are so in love with this miracle and feel so very blessed.

Where does the time go??

Seriously? I know I've heard it at least a million times since finding out I was pregnant, "they grow up so fast", "time just flies by". Of course, I nodded and smiled and went on with my way but now I seriously can't believe that this little person napping next to me is going to be ONE MONTH OLD in 4 days!! He has already changed *so much*.
Let me give you the short list:
-Weighs almost 10 lbs (haven't attempted to measure his length)
-Still wearing newborn cloths and an occasional 0-3month- he's long and lean like his parents :)
-Holds his head up for at least 30 seconds at a time and moves it side to side
-Brings his hand together and to his mouth. I'm not sure we're going to be able to avoid a finger/thumb sucker
-Still not a huge fan of the pacifier or swing but LOVES his bouncer (aka baby papasan)
-Still working on "well established breastfeeding" eats well at least 8 times a day but we still have a little ways to go before we get to try a bottle (sigh)
-Likes bathtime but hates getting out of the tub
-Loves tummy time and laying on his back on his activity mat. I think he's starting to intentially reach and grab but maybe thats the OT in me :)
-Likes looking at lights, especially the Christmas tree
-Looks super cute in his Bum Genius cloth diapers that we were able to start using at about 2 1/2 weeks!
-Sadly his poor hematomas on his head from delivery are still there but we've noticed a tremendous decrease in them over the past week!
-HATES going to bed most nights, seriously takes almost an hour to get him down :(  We think he's still working on the day/night reversal. BUT once he gets down he sleeps well.

It's so hard to believe that just 4 weeks ago he was still inside me and now he's this curious little person who is starting to do more every day besides sleep, poop and eat :)

How are Todd and I? We're adjusting to our new normal. Todd's been back at work and the nights before he flies I let him sleep which is more work for me at night but I figure its the price I have to pay to be married to a man that flies a multi billion dollar plane that drops bombs :/  I'm already dreading going back to work and doubting how much I actually want to work.  Hormones and lack of schedule and not wanting to leave Anderson with a stranger (to him) are all factors affecting my decision.  I know I still want to work but I'm begining to think I may want to work even less...at least until he's older. I  don't know...I still have time and fortunately in a position to dictate what I want to do.  A lot of people have been asking me how I'm feeling/healing. I'm feeling really good physically, I'm pretty sure I'm "all healed up" but won't push doing too much until after my 6 week appointment. I've started running about 5 days a week, still slower and only for about 30-45min and added my old weight routine 3 days a week.  I'm thankful that I was able to start wearing my pre pregnancy clothes again about 2 weeks postpartum but still have a little weight to lose, however, I won't be pushing the weight loss until the 6-8 week point because I don't want to jeapordize my milk supply.

Thanksgiving with my family was great and we're hopefully looking forward to Todd's parents coming out in December. Otherwise it should be pretty quiet around here until Todd leaves for Alabama after the New Year. 

We have a ton of picutures to upload on the computer and will take more this weekend to mark his one month with us :) Will hopefully update again soon!

Our First Week

Anderson is down for a nap in his crib so I finally found some time to get on the computer and blog a little and write a few thank you cards.  First let me say how much I *love* having an Angel Care monitor in Anderson's room! We started him in his crib from night #1 and having the peace of mind that the alarm will go off if he stops moving/breathing makes us sleep at least a little better and it gives me the peace of mind to be downstairs on the computer or elsewhere while he happily naps upstairs.

Delivering at almost midnight and not getting settled in postpartum until 4am then having the routine of doctors, nurses, aids, visitors, etc the next day made getting any rest impossible. We did end up sending Anderson to the nursery Thursday night between his two late night feedings so that we could try to get some uninterrupted sleep.  I feel like I was "jet lagged" from labor/delivery for about 3 days. We were finally released home about 11am on Friday November 4 and pulled into the drive way just minutes before my sister pulled up as well.  Introducing the dogs to Anderson was fun- they were VERY curious but everyone did great. Brody has been such a good dog! He comes running as soon as Anderson cries and sits next to the bouncy seat when he's in it and gets on the floor next to him when we do tummy time. I can tell that he is going to be very protective of Anderson and they are going to be best friends some day. Bella is also doing well but she's overall pretty indifferent to the new man in the house.

Overall things are going about as good as expected with a newborn. Breastfeeding has gotten MUCH better since we came home. Anderson eats every 2 1/2-4 hrs. I still have to wake him up during the day sometimes but he has no trouble waking me up at night! Some nights he can make it 3 1/2 hours but he more frequently likes to get up about 2 1/2-3 hours. which doesn't equal a whole lot of sleep for me.  Todd has been a huge help with diapers and clothes changes since we'd like to wait at least another week before we try bottles.

At Anderson's 5 day check up he was already back at his birthweight! The pediatrician was very happy with everything and he's passed all his initial tests so we don't even have to go back until he's 8 weeks old! We also love our pediatrician. He was highly recommended from several of my co workers and so far we've loved him. He's younger (but not too young) and approaches most things from a "this is what I would do with my kid" perspective and backs up all his advice with what the American Academy of Pediatrics says which I like.

Anderson spends his days sleeping and eating for the majority of it and when he is awake we do some tummy time, read, sing and give him all the love we can. The OT in me feels like we should be doing more but of course I know a 9 day old doesn't do much yet :) He doesn't like bath time or diaper changes much. He really just doesn't like being cold. He loves his bouncer. He isn't really taking to a pacifier much which I'm perfectly fine with but I think we're going to have a finger sucker at some point.

Having Karen here for his first week at home was a great help! She helped with laundry and cooking and also gave Anderson lots of love. We were sad to see her leave.

I'm healing and recovering well. I was religious about my sitz baths the first week which I think helped the healing. We started walking the Saturday we got home and every day has gotten easier.  I went for my first run yesterday. It was only 20 min and very slow but it did feel good. I'm definitely not trying to push it but its a start.  I definitely feel the emotional ups and downs of the post partum hormones and some days are definitely harder than others.  I also have frequent night sweats which doesn't help the already limited sleep. But as a friend told me, every part of parenting is just a stage.

We love our little man more than words can say and feel so blessed that he is here. I know I'm leaving out lots but that's all I have for now.

39 Weeks

Here we are... 6 days from D day. I just got home from my weekly OB appointment. I'm finding myself leaving my appointments very frustrated lately and not for any particular reason. For the past 4 weeks they have been uneventful, which is of course a good thing but I still find myself frustrated. Everything is still perfect- weight, blood pressure, measurements, urine, etc. Anderson is moving lower and lower but my cervix has still not moved from its "very posterior" position. Dr. Diehl even tried to get to it a little more today but still couldn't (he could if he really wanted to put me in pain). On one hand I like that I can't dwell on the fact that I'm so many centimeters dilated or so much effaced but on the other hand I think it messes with my head that I'm also not making any forward progress toward labor. Other than increased pelvic pressure and a very random contraction I still feel overall good- not like I could go into labor any day. I'm not sure you're supposed to feel a certain way though and I think its just a mind game.  If I make it to my appointment next week we have to schedule an induction and I'll have to have a Non Stress Test and Biophysical Profile to make sure everything is still ok. I REALLY don't want to be induced for so many reasons so we're going to be praying super hard that he comes on his own!  The good news- my doctor is on call this weekend! YAY! Bad news- we have a winter storm coming this weekend as well! It could be an interesting week! Here is my 39 week picture-taken after we went to the Rush hockey game Saturday night :)  I promise to actually have Todd take a decent picture this week!

So what have we been up to other than being on "Baby Watch"? Fortunately, we finished our "Must Do" list including finishing the nursery, Todd finishing his Master's class, setting up baby stuff, installing the car seat, etc and going over our hopeful birth plan. Now we're working on our "Like to Do" list of mostly things we won't be able to enjoy as a "couple" for quite some time. This has included a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant in town, a Rush hockey game, hiking Bear Butte (pictures below), Todd riding the Harley as much as he can and this afternoon we're going to go see a movie. That one is actually kind of funny because we really don't go to the movies all that often but since we know we definitely won't be seeing one for quite some time we figure we'll go. We're going to see Footloose which I'm pretty excited about. We've also been spoiling the dogs absolutely rotten with long walks and lots of cuddle time which may be counter productive once Anderson gets here and they are no longer the center of attention.  So thats all I have for now, going to enjoy this beautiful day we're having before the weather changes to cold and snow overnight :( Here are two pictures from our hike yesterday!

At the top of Bear Butte- just over 4,000ft. It was a 2mile hike with a 1,000 ft elevation change. And yes, we were matching :)

Bear Butte

38 Week Appointment

Another pretty uneventful appointment. All is still well. Anderson has dropped a little more but my cervix continues to be "very posterior". Dr. Diehl said he could check my cervix if he really wanted to/needed to but said it would be extremely uncomfortable and unnecessary at this time.  He said he was very confident that as I go into active labor my cervix will move so he doesn't want to schedule a c-section.  My only fear is that I will be that small percent that will labor and labor and it won't budge and I'll end up having a c-section. So we continue to wait and see what happens. He told me the only day he's off in the next week is Saturday so I'm hoping Murphy's Law won't put me into labor the one day my doctor wouldn't be there! Personally, I think Anderson is pretty content at this point and I don't see him making his entrance any time soon but we'll see...

The finished nursery

I finally took some pictures of the nursery this morning to share!

The only "theme" per say is an Aggie theme. As some people know, neither of us really wanted a "baby" room  and we also didn't want to have to just store all of our Aggie stuff after moving it out of what used to be our office. Plus, I really liked the curtains in this room so that was actually the starting point.  We figure he's not really going to care what his room looks like for several years anyway. It's unfortunately not a super huge room but it has everything it needs, its right across the hall from our room and it will definitely serve its purpose.

Yes, we'll probably be "those parents" who will tell our son that he can go anywhere he wants to for college but we'll only pay for it if he goes to Texas A&M :)

In case you didn't know his full name will be Anderson Phillip Saksa. Anderson is obviously my maiden name and one of the few ways I can honor my family as there are no boys in my family and Phillip is my father in law's first name and despite there already being 5 nephews in the family none of them have Phillip in their name.

He already has SO MUCH stuff! The dresser is also full of clothes and his diapers! I'm amazed by how much stuff babies need! I *think* we have everything. Like I told Todd, if we don't have it, I don't know we need it!

So there you go, Anderson's nursery, ready for his arrival. I'm 38 weeks tomorrow!

Full Term Baby

Today I am 37 weeks, 1 day pregnant so Anderson is now considered full term! YAY! I'm so thankful that we have made it to this point without any major, or even minor, complication. I had my 37 week appointment today and for the most part everything is still "beautiful" in the words of my doctor. My weight, blood pressure, urine, measurements, everything are good. I'm not having any swelling or heartburn or any of the other usual late third trimester problems except for fatigue.  My group strep B test came back negative so that was a relief to not need antibiotics before delivery. On the down side, Dr. Diehl decided to do an internal exam today to check my cervix. His first response was "well his head is very low", um, yea, my 5 nighttime bathroom trips could have told you that! His next response was that he can't check my cervix because it is still facing backwards toward my spine.  This isn't a new piece of information. I've known about my backwards cervix since I've started having regular pelvic exams/pap smears. It always makes for a pretty uncomfortable time.  I mentioned it pretty early on in my pregnancy and he was confident it would straighten out as my uterus grew. Well, now we're just over 37 weeks and it's still not straight. He thinks as my pregnancy continues to progress and as I begin labor it still could straighten and allow for a vaginal delivery but if it doesn't I will have to have a c-section as they will have no way to know if/when I'm fully dilated to start pushing and I would be pushing him the wrong direction.  So while we now have answered prayers for a full term baby and a father-to-be home from war we need to say a few more prayers that my stubborn cervix figures out which way to face!