Recovering champ!

Born 6/28/11 @ 12:20 pm.
9 lbs. 15 oz.
22inches long
Recovering quickly from meconium aspiration. Breastfeeding started today and she is doing awesome! I will update our story sometime after she is released from the NICU and we get a routine at home. She is such a strong, adorable girl! We are in love.

Our hearts have melted for our snowflake girl!

Sydney Grace is here via C-section & doing fairly well. She is beautiful! No Faceb.ook comments yet, please. She is in the NICU for now, so prayers are appreciated.

Praying for Wisdom

Thank you so much for the prayers and love sent our way.

I am still pregnant!  The midwife has been checking on me and the baby everyday for the last few days, and we are still completely healthy as far as we can tell.  My blood pressure is still normal (120s/70s), and Sydney is still moving around a lot with her heart beat fluncuating properly to stimulation, movement, etc.  My belly palpates well like there is plenty of amniotic fluid.  Also, the baby does not feel abnormally large.  I have been checked cervically a few times now.  Sydney's head is very low and engaged in the pelvis.  Her position is optimum for delivery to start.  I am a little more than 50% effaced and close to 2 cm dilated.  She says that what I really need is some contractions to progress any further.  I have had some mild prelabor contractions off and on over the last few days, but it never progresses further despite all the home remedies and suggestions from my midwife.  I still feel great and am sleeping through the night.  Today everything has settled down and we are just going to take a day of rest.

Since we are nearing the 43 week mark this coming Friday, the risks of waiting really start to go up (although babies are born healthy all the time that late in the non-medical community).  We have one more home regimine we are going to try this week.  We have a ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday, though they usually are not very accurate at this stage of pregnancy.  If still pregnant late in the week, we will then more likely be pursuing a hospital intervention while everyone is still looking healthy.
My midwife has been researching and calling around and been diligent about trying to find a reason to not wait on Sydney like we have been.  But she can't find one, so we will continue on this week unless we do.  She has been awesome, and I feel very safe in her care!

I type all this up to update you, but to mainly ask for prayer.  Our main request is wisdom from God. (James 1:2-8, 17)  We want to have faith that He knows what He is doing with this miracle girl of ours, but we also don't want to be ignorant and not use the knowledge He has given us medically.  We also ask for prayer for the health of Sydney and me and for God's will to be done.  For those that know me well, having a natural birth is my dream.  But I am doing my best to prepare myself for whatever is necessary for the sake of our baby girl.

We are constantly, daily analyzing the situation and making decisions.  Don't worry, we are doing well, despite the emotions involved.  My husband has been off work and with me, so that has been a good thing for us both. 

So, of course we all are ready to find out what God's plans are for this little Snowflake Girl of His.  I know He has had a plan from the beginning, so I am not too worried (when my head is right).  =)

NST- 41 weeks 4 days

Today we had our midweek checkup since we are now going twice a week to check on everything.  My midwife did an official, documented, manual non-stress test on the baby to be sure everything is still appearing healthy.  For 10 minutes the heart beat was recorded every 5 seconds as well as I telling them when I had baby movement or a contraction.  Well, Sydney was thankfully awake during this time and she passed with flying colors only a few minutes into it.  The midwife said she usually has to jossle the baby a few times to get some more readings of the heart beat going up and down.  But Sydney was just performing for them on her own. =)  She appears to be extremely healthy with no placental break down yet. 

My BP is still holding steady at 120s/60s.  No protein or glucose in urine... (it actually tests for about 10 things, but I won't list them all).  Also, I had my first cervical check since we were both curious what is going on!  Well, she said the head is definitely VERY low and engaged in the pelvis at station 0.  Since the head was so low, she was having difficulty reaching my cervix behind it, but I was 50% effaced and about 1 cm dilated.  She said it seems to her that is all it will do on it's own until I have some strong contractions to pull the uterus up and open.

As far as contraction activity, I woke up last Saturday morning at 4:30 with a back ache and then realized I was having some "rushes" or true contractions instead of the steady Bra.xton Hicks that I usually feel.  I got up and walked around excited thinking that this is probably the day.  Well, they didn't get worse or better (whichever way you look at it).  So I crawled back in bed and finally went back to sleep a few hours later.  Well, without all the details, they continued off and on Saturday.  And I have noticed them off and on since.  I have definitely been more tired the last few days and taking some naps, thinking I might be up all night soon.  But no such luck, yet.  I was given some herbal options by my midwife to help increase contractions if I so desired.  But we both still feel comfortable waiting knowing that 42-43 weeks is pretty common in the past for natural labor to start and everything is appearing healthy. 

I know God granted this girl life, and He is in control.  We are not being stupid/naive, but taking it one day at time and trusting the more natural way of letting pregnancy take its course.  If either of us feel something is not right, then we will address it then.  But for now... this little girl is being used to teach us patience and trust in God.  My hubby and I have waited 6 years now for a child, what's a few extra days? =)

41 Weeks Belly Pic

Oh the irony of it all.  I can't get pregnant on my own, but my body doesn't want to stop being pregnant now. =)  I am learning patience...

41 weeks (6/17/11)

Phantom Baby

I am beginning to think that I just made this pregnancy up and there is a phantom baby in my belly.  =)  Tomorrow will mark 41 weeks.  One thing for sure is I know we did not get my due date wrong being an FET. LOL!  No, I am told and read typically first pregnancies go past their due date.  I just never thought I would make it this far...  I love the quote my friend told me:  "It is an Estimated due date, not an Expiration date." 

This little girl is definitely getting very strong and big.  She also has her most active time at night... so future late nights here we come.  She does some pretty intense dancing from about 10:30-11:30.  The thought that crosses my mind now is, the longer she stays in there the bigger she will get and I still have to push her out!  I am well on my way to growing a giant baby!  Well, actually my midwife is guessing only 8ish pounds for now.  =)  But I can imagine, right?

The other difficult part about going over your due date is the well meaning people checking on you.  I get numerous texts, calls, fac.ebook comments/messages, etc. from family and friends on a daily basis.  I think everyone is afraid I will have the baby and then forget to tell them for a week or something.  I keep telling myself it is all because they love me and Sydney and are just as excited as we are for her arrival.  But being on the receiving end, I get tired of saying, "Yes, I am still pregnant".   It almost makes me feel like my body is doing something wrong and I am purposely keeping her from coming, out of spite to others.  I KNOW no one feels that way, but hey when you have to keep being reminded you have a lazy, hermit baby inside of you.  LOL!  No it is more like a lazy Mama's body. =)  I keep saying she is just very laid back and will come when she feels like it. =)  I know no one is pregnant forever, so I am doing my best to patiently wait on God's timing for a healthy baby...

40 weeks (6/10/11)

We will take a 41 week pic tomorrow, if she is still in there...

One Day Away...

Well, here I am one day away from my due date of June 10, 2011.  It is exciting to see everyone's babies being born!  (I really wish blogger would let me comment on some blogs, but I just can't, not even anonymously.  Other blogs I can, it is really weird.  So I am sorry, I can't congratulate some of you!  I have loved keeping up with everyone's exciting times...) 

I just can't help but wonder when my day will arrive...  I am feeling pretty good despite the nagging symptoms of being 10 months pregnant. =)  With the mild swelling in my hands and feet comes the carpal tunnel symptoms.  I have always had issues with it with my job and the repetitive stress issues, so I am surprised it took until 38 weeks to appear.  The tips of my fingers on my right hand are very tingly and numb all the time.  I am still having the B.raxton H.icks often, but no increase in force or rhythm.  I have had pretty good energy and getting things done around the house.  Nesting, I suppose, though it is stuff that I have always wanted to get done... I just have the time to do it now. =)

My recent midwife appointment was yesterday and she said the baby was "very low".  There was plenty of amniotic fluid and the baby's heart rate was great!  She even got to check her at resting and then when a contraction hit the heart rate went up and then back down again after.  She said that is an excellent thing to see.  I guess that is more or less a manual stress test. =)  My belly was measuring 39 inches.

I had the craziest dream last night!  It was the first time that I have dreamed about my baby being born.  I have always just dreamed about pregnancy related things.  The crazy part was I ended up having triplets (two girls, one boy), but they were growing up way too fast!  As in overnight they were advancing and progressing.  They started talking and pointing at things and saying their name.  I kept telling them that I didn't teach them that word yet!  I also was trying to convince them they need to breastfeed for the antibodies but they were too busy and active and wouldn't hear of it.  Only the boy would try to appease me by breastfeeding some.  It was the craziest dream, but obviously I was working through some subconscious fears I have of not being able to breastfeed and that my baby will be okay without any future issues.  Now the multiples part...I am not worried there is more than one baby in me.  LOL!

Here are the most recent belly pics... though of course if I am still pregnant tomorrow, we will get the 40 week belly shot, too. =)

36 weeks

38 weeks

39 weeks

Maternity Photo Shoot

Finally, here are a few of my maternity photo shoot pictures.  My husband's sister did an amazing job.  She does it on the side just as a hobby.  I am so sorry that I can't show more of our faces, because it really does detract from the pictures.  But I was glad to find quite a few I didn't have to crop, or that were distant enough.  The reason I can't show our faces, is per my husband's request.  He actually doesn't really like to be posted on Fa.cebo.ok where it is basically just friends.  He has one of those jobs that public information is not a good thing to have a lot of, especially on the internet.



Sable, our dog, felt left out...