Details on D-day...

WARNING: Read only if interested in long and boring labor and delivery details.




Last Saturday night around 11:30pm I started having what felt like strong menstrual cramps (later found out they were contractions) every 15 minutes. They weren't strong enough to bother waking Greg, so I kept busy all night doing crafts and organizing things in the house. By 5:30am they were getting stronger and about 3-5 minutes apart. By 6:30 Greg was awake and timing them for me, as they got more painful. I kept thinking, 'if my water only broke then I would know when to go into the hospital. I just don't want to be sent home yet again'. But, the pains kept coming pretty consistent and I would have to stop to brace myself while pacing around the house. Finally Greg informed me I had 3 contractions in like 8 minutes. With little convincing we packed the car and drove to the hospital. Thankfully we live like 6 blocks away, and I literally had like 1 or 2 contractions in the car, so it was a quick ride (and I was so thankful for that!).


Once the nurse set us up in the room, the contractions quickly got more and more painful, and less and less apart. I was gripping the side rail of my bed while Greg gently rubbed my back. By 9:30 I was ready for my epidural. With a quick prick in the back, the contractions got less and less with each one. All the while, the graphs were printing out on a bedside table that showed the curves of each contraction. Greg kept saying, 'man, that was a HUGE one...did you feel that?'.....'ummm, nope.' I was numb from my sternum down. I actually felt better right then, than the whole nine months being pregnant. IT WAS AMAZING :). So....the afternoon was full of naps, and chatting with my mom, and watching baseball.



Then around 4:30 I was dilated to 10 and ready to push. With Greg on one side, a nurse on the other, and the delivery doctor in the middle....it was a whirlwind of breathing and pushing and focusing. I tried to treat it like the biggest athletic event of my life, and that's pretty much what it was. I closed my eyes and just focused on when the nurse and Greg told me to push. At this time I started feeling the contractions again, and the pelvis pain heightened tremendously. But, it helped me know when to push. I just cannot imagine the pain WITHOUT an epidural. Holy Cow. So, to wrap things up, 45 minutes later our big-beautiful-healthy girl arrived. :) When they placed her on my chest immediately afterwards is when I finally lost it. Tears and sobbing erupted. I think it was a combination of knowing I was finally done working so hard, and literally seeing the product of what God had created over the last nine months. So special. I will always remember that moment.




We both looked at her and looked at each other and just knew her name was Kensie. We had a couple other options on the list, but Kensie Michelle it was. It just had to be. The name originally started out as Mackensie, but we knew we would just call her Kensie, so why not name her that? And, Greg has always loved my middle name Michelle, so it seemed appropriate to mix it in the middle. With that, our little miracle was given life and a name. We are so grateful for how God has blessed us. What a beautiful creation she is!

She has only gotten cuter over the last 6 days. Here's one from yesterday...

Introducing...

Kensie Michelle Mulder

9-6-09

5:19pm

9 lbs 7 oz

22 inches

100% perfect

Story on labor and delivery coming soon...

Embarassing

Wednesday morning I woke up convinced that my water broke during the night. I could hardly wait to get to my doc appointment at 1pm. Thinking I would go straight to the hospital afterwards, my bags were packed and ready to go. But, like so many stories...it was a false alarm. I felt so embarrassed, like the pregnant lady who cries wolf. Who looks for any little sign of progress only to be disappointed in the end. On top of it, the doc said I was still at zero and only 50% effaced. Wow, I really thought this time was for real. My belly has been rock hard the last two days straight, and the radiating back pain combined with menstrual-like cramps continues on. And STILL nothing???? So, he asked how long after my due date I want to go..."ummmm, not too long" I said. Well, he only schedules inductions on Tuesdays, so its either the 8th or the 15th. I think our baby will be like 10 lbs by the 15th....so I opted for September 8. Who knows....maybe she will get the ever elusive birthdate 9-9-09 :)

In the meantime, I've been sewing up a storm. I've been up since 6:00 this morning sewing and redecorating the house. Here's one project I'm most proud of. A simple lamp shade makeover. And I can just slip off the cover to change the look if I want something different in the future! Thanks Better Homes and Gardens! Such great ideas you have. :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Last week. This week.

LAST WEEK...

bonfires. hobo pies. story telling. and monopoly with the cousins.

38 week picture documented. and a sewing project.

38 week pic

sewing projects: 2 roman shades in the nursery in need of a hem

BEFORE

(another project is currently in the works

using the leftover 2 panels I cut off the bottom of the shades)

AFTER

THIS WEEK...

Doctor visit on Wednesday. More sewing projects. Last minute house cleaning.

And I'm wondering which one of the following babes our little girlie will look like...

Mr. Gregory Peter

OR...

Miss Shannon Michelle

Undropped?

So, apparently a baby can drop and then decide to undrop? That's the latest. I went in yesterday for my check-up and I feel as though we are working backwards now....blast! No dilation, and yes, our little girl has floated back up toward my ribs. Fan-freakin'-tastic. The only nice thing was I dropped a couple pounds! (which I expected with my decrease in appetite lately, and it's quite normal the last few weeks of pregnancy). But hey, it's a mental boost anyway and I will gladly take it.....aside from the whopping 45 lbs. I've gained this whole pregnancy. Geesh.

I had a conversation with a teenager yesterday who asked if it "felt weird to have a baby inside of me". After talking for a while, I realized that I've forgotten what it feels like to NOT be pregnant. The kicks and punches throughout the day. The hundreds of bathroom trips. The convenient shelf to rest my hands on. The waddling. The profile I've grown accustomed to as I walk by a reflection of myself. It all just feels so normal now, it truly is hard to imagine not having this round belly. But, to be honest....I'm going to miss it. I know it sounds weird. But, I'll miss rubbing my tightly stretched skin with lotion every night. (only to be replaced by a flabby stomach with nothing to offer but flabbiness). I'll miss trying to guess which body part is poking out as she twists and turns in there. And, I'll miss all the conversations I've been able to strike up with perfect strangers who can't help but ask when I'm due. It really has been quite a journey. And it's only the beginning...

** Thanks for the comments on being induced in the last post. It has been great to hear all of your different experiences. We may end up having to go that route if she continues to be so stubborn! Stay tuned in...**

Nothing yet...

So, just to update on my last doc appointment....nothing new. I was pretty disappointed. I thought with as much pressure as I've been feeling down there, something would be different. Nope. Still no dilation, and only 50% effaced. So, I wait until Tuesday to see if anything new has happened.

In the meantime, I've heard quite a few stories about induction. Apparently (from what I've heard), being induced is the way to go. It's a scheduled date that you can plan for, you get your epidural at a time when your not in too much pain yet, and boom the baby is born! I try not to get sucked into these stories, but it does sound rather enticing. However, I can't help but wonder how good that is for your body or the baby. I mean, forcing your way into delivery? I can understand if the baby is too getting too large, or if you are way past due....but out of pure convenience, to say I want to be induced on this date because it sounds the coolest, or it works with my schedule the best, or frankly I am just uncomfortable. Where's the excitement, the anticipation, the spontaneity? I could go either way I think. What do you think??

Progress...I think?

I have definitely seen a change in the last week! As I get more and more uncomfortable, I've noticed the following:

~Achy and swollen feet 24/7. Getting out of bed in the morning is the worst. It feels like pins and needles on the pads of my puffy feet. I wear Greg's crocs inside the house daily to relieve some of the pressure, which does help a bit. Up until recently, I could keep up my 30 min walks around the neighborhood 2-3 times a week. This week, we cut it down to 20. And my pace feels about half as fast. But it still feels good to walk in general, so I'm gonna do it as long as I can!

~I think I hit the bathroom 5 times in the middle of the night last week!! I've been going about 3 regularly, but this sure tops it off! Quite bothersome really. But, it's practice for those midnight feedings right?

~ New pelvic pressure. At least once a day, my right leg completely gives out from something "pinching" the right side of my pelvis. She's gotta be bumpin' into a nerve down there or something, cuz it shoots a lightening bolt down my leg that sends me straight to the couch for recovery! It hasn't happened in public yet, but I don't see too many couches laying in the grocery aisle that I could lay on if needed, do you?

~Decreased appetite. For once. This whole pregnancy I feel like I could eat a COW. Until now. I haven't had a huge interest in stuffing my face like I used to. Maybe I'm distracted by the fact that we are going to meet our little missy in a matter of weeks! Or maybe I'm busy trying to organize the nursery!! Or maybe I'm busy thinking how Greg and I will be at this whole parenting thing!!! Oh wait....maybe I'm busy thinking how on earth am I going to push this watermelon out of a lemon sized hole!?!!!! ok.....*breath*. "People have been having babies for hundreds of years Shannon. You too, can do it".

~Crazy dreams! Nothing I can ever really remember. But, seriously weird and twisted. They aren't neccessarily related to having the baby or being pregnant either. Just wacked out dreams of ALL kinds.

I get to see the doc on Friday...hopefully supporting the progress I think I'm seeing. :)

"3 more weeks. 3 more weeks. 3 more weeks...."