Levi James is here... and how he got here

I woke up early Sunday morning, April 3rd, around 2am, for my usual trip to the bathroom. I noticed when I got back to bed that I was having contractions. I observed them for an hour while lying down to make sure they didn’t go away. I woke Matt up at around 4am. I was hungry, so I had some cereal and we talked about our game plan for the birth. We tried to get some more rest, but I couldn’t sleep through the contractions. We labored together at home all morning and into the afternoon. We walked up and down Dayton Blvd, stopping to relax along the way. The exercise ball brought me lots of comfort throughout my labor as well.

We decided to go to the hospital around 5pm. When we arrived, the nurse said that I was 5 or 6cm dilated. We were happy and felt confident that we had not arrived too early at the hospital.I started to experience some back labor while we were still at home, which continued and intensified at the hospital. Meg, our midwife, let us labor for a while before she even came to the hospital. She checked me around 7:30 or 8pm and I was still at 5cm. She advised us that breaking my water could help move things along, so we did. I dilated to 6.5cm in about ½ hour after that. Matt and I continued to labor together through the ever increasing back labor pain. I was not aware of how much time was actually passing. But my labor seemed to stall out around 7 or 8cm after 7 hours of laboring at the hospital. Meg sat us down and said that she thought I was in too much pain to continue naturally and that the only way I would be able to relax and dilate the rest of the way would be to get an epidural. I was exhausted at that point and I knew she was right. I couldn’t relax any more than I already was, and I felt like it was only getting worse.When my labor started, my contractions were lasting about 1 minute and 15 seconds. By the end, they were lasting 3 minutes each and coming one right after the other. I got the epidural around 1am after nearly 24 hours of natural labor, 13 of which included intense back labor.

The epidural did what it was intended to do, I was able to relax, get some rest, and finish dilating to 10cm. I did not regret the decision to get it and I was proud that the drugs did not enter my baby's system for hours on end, but only at the end of labor. After I was fully dilated, Meg let me rest for an hour before we started pushing. Once we started pushing, I got frustrated because my contractions started to space out and I wasn’t getting enough opportunities to push. They had to give me pitocin to ensure that my contractions continued regularly. I pushed for 2 hours, 4 or 5 pushes per contraction, but the baby was not coming through my pelvis. After 2 hours, the baby was still at Zero station, and I was exhausted. Meg told me that it was time to call Dr. Collins to do a Cesarean Section. She reassured us that we did all we could to avoid surgery and get our baby here the natural way, but that it just didn’t work out. It was pretty cool to have my midwife and the L&D nurse tell me individually how cool it was to watch Matt and I labor together. The nurse said that they could have made a video for future Bradley classes... for what it's worth I guess!

They took us in to surgery, and Levi James was born via Cesarean Section at 6:10am on April 4, 2011; weighing 7lbs 15oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. Dr. Collins did the surgery and Meg, our midwife was there too. When they pulled the baby out, we both asked what the baby was (boy or girl), but the doctors would not say anything. They told Daddy to go look, so he walked around where he could see. He started crying and told me that he owed me $20! He was so excited; he kept scurrying back and forth between Levi and me. Levi was not happy to be out of his warm and cozy home, and he let everyone in the delivery room know it! He was crying at the top of his lungs and showing them off.

Most birth stories would end here, but not ours!! They wheeled me into the recovery area, Levi and Matt followed. We were there waiting for the nurse to give Levi a bath when I saw Matt start to fall while he was holding Levi. I thought he was passing out, but he was starting to have a seizure. He realized what was happening and was trying to hand the baby off to a nurse. I could see Levi's face and he looked so scared, like he realized he was falling. One nurse ran to catch Matt, while another nurse took the baby from his arms. They lowered Matt to the floor while he had a seizure. I’ve never been so scared in all my life. Because we were at a women’s center for the birth, they couldn’t treat Matt for his seizure there. So, less than an hour after Levi was born, Matt was in an ambulance on his way to another hospital across town. My mother came to be with me and Matt's mother met him at the other hospital. He was gone for 6 long hours. He was a bit dazed when he returned, but very happy to be back with us.

Levi and Mommy's first picture

After his first bath

Daddy is happy to be back with Levi and Mommy

First family photo

We are continuing to adjust to life with a newborn, and all that entails. But we are also adjusting to life with Matt having a diagnosed seizure disorder. That means no driving for 6 months. The stupid ER doctor actually wrote on Matt's discharge orders that he shouldn't drive or hold the baby for 6 months. Yeah right. "I'm sorry sir, I know your son was just born today, but if you could just refrain from holding him until October that would be great." Whatever.

The Waiting Game

Everything is ready. We are all packed. I even had time for an extra craft project that will hopefully serve us well in the coming weeks, though I'm keeping the details to myself for now. So now we wait.

I've had several bouts of false labor, and am experiencing some intense Braxton Hicks at times. I get frustrated because I never know whether it's the real thing or not, always hoping it is. So I tell myself to ignore it until I can't ignore it anymore and then I'll know. It always goes away. Oh well, I pray that my water breaks soon and ends the guessing and waiting games!

Sweet Pea hurry up! Mommy and Daddy want to meet you, and Mommy is driving Daddy just a bit crazy. :)

Seriously, GET OUT!

I'm one week from my due date and this baby needs to GET OUT. My beloved checklist is almost finished (only cooking and thank you notes left, and I doubt those will get done). Sweet Pea dropped 3 weeks ago, my feet are swelling so that I've tossed my shoes for Chacos, and I survived the biggest full moon in 20 years without going in to labor. This kid is truly stubborn, which is not a surprise considering his/her parents and extended family. The "mule" is strong in this one. But seriously, GET OUT.

In the mean time, I want you to know that I love all of my well-meaning friends and family, I do. But texting me every day asking if I've had a baby yet only reminds me that I'm still pregnant, and rather pissed off about it. Trust me folks, NO ONE wants me to have this baby already more than ME. Take your desires to meet, hold, see pictures of and know the sex of the baby and multiply them by 1 billion, that's where I am. CHILL OUT. I will let you know when Sweet Pea gets here. Until then, messages of "I'm thinking about you" and "I hope you are having a good day" are well appreciated. That is all.

UPDATE on Sweet Pea

WOW, I've been really busy. I've been meaning to blog for a long while and it just hasn't happened, but I have been checking things off of my To-Do list! Since I last blogged we've had 3 baby showers, I've almost finished the nursery and we've passed the "full-term" mark where our little Sweet Pea can come any time and be just FINE!!

I made a To-Do list about a month ago of all the things that needed to be done before Sweet Pea arrives. I am proud to say that I'm almost finished, and hope to be completely finished by the end of this coming weekend (when I hit 38 weeks!). The list is at home, but it looked something like this:

1. Return and exchange gifts, finish purchasing necessities CHECK
2. Make cloth wipes (3 dozen!) CHECK
3. Finish nursery sewing - still left are the twin bed skirt, pillow sham, and a pillow for the rocker
4. Tour hospital and pre-register CHECK
5. Clean out cars CHECK
6. Install car seat bases and have them inspected - Matt's is in, mine is still en route, appointments made for inspections
7. Make room in kitchen for bottles CHECK
8. Cook and freeze meals - really don't think this one will get done!
9. Prep cloth diapers - prefolds are almost finished, pockets and AIOs left to go
10. Pack hospital bag CHECK (it's not my problem Matt's stuff isn't packed!)
11. Finish buying stuff for and packing labor bag CHECK
12. Wash and put away all baby stuff, take things out of packaging and put away, assemble and wash all baby gear CHECK
13. Baby-proof house CHECK
14. Finish birth plan, get approved by Meg, pack all paperwork in hospital bag CHECK
15. Print and pack signs for hospital room in labor bag (such as "Natural Childbirth in Progress, Please Enter Quietly) CHECK
16. Write Thank You notes - working on it... I need to set a nightly goal or something!

So, as you can see, I've been a little busy! Matt's list is much more involved with projects around the house, and he's done a great job helping me nest. We sat down last night after dinner and he looked at me and said, "What's on our nesting list tonight?" like he was eager and willing! I appreciate him so much. We took Fat Tuesday off from nesting for the most part ;)

Our sweet friends Debbie & Griffin and Melanie & Brian gave us a fabulous couples' shower at the beginning of February. It was a Storybook themed party where folks brought their favorite children's book for Sweet Pea's library! It was wonderful because we got to include "the guys" in the celebration, since we are all such great friends. It was also a way to invite folks to more than one shower (so that we could include the guys) without people having to spend a ton of money on two gifts. Sweet Pea got LOTS of great books, and Daddy is slated to build us a bookshelf... eventually. Unfortunately, we got ZERO pictures of this shower. Everything was so cute, there were books up everywhere. Our friends were able to sign a picture matte for Sweet Pea, which is in the nursery waiting for a picture. I'm so disappointed it isn't documented!

My aunts and cousins gave us a couples' shower in Knoxville for family and friends. It was Rubber Ducky themed and all the decorations were just precious!! Unfortunately, my sweet Aunt Donna (whose house was the location for the party) came down with an awful stomach thing on Saturday afternoon before the shower on Sunday. So while we were partying away, she was locked upstairs in her bedroom. :( We got some lovely and sentimental gifts from our family. Matt's Aunt Meredith, or Dedo as we call her, special ordered the most ADORABLE newborn photo prop I've ever seen! It's a cap and "pod" that looks like a pea! So we can dress our little Sweet Pea as a sweet pea! Matt's mother, Lisa, gave us a blanket made by her aunt that Grandy and GP brought her home from the hospital in. She, in turn, brought Matt home from the hospital in it. And of course, it will escort our Sweet Pea home as well. My mother made 2 going home outfits for Sweet Pea, 1 for a girl and 1 for a boy. We also got tons of practical and useful things as well, which was wonderful. Fun was had by all... except Donna :(

Our little sweet pea pod for Sweet Pea!! You can't see it, but the hat has a little "stem" on it!

Opening the blanket from Lisa, even Matt got a little teary

I'm holding the boy outfit from G-Mom and Matt is holding the girl dress, because I think Sweet Pea is a boy and he thinks s/he is a girl! Mom used some left-over fabric from my wedding dress (which is ecru silk) to make the collars of the outfits (which are white silk)

Matt and I with all the Trousdale ladies (minus Donna of course) and Lisa

Alana and I got the kids together to play at the shower... she's due in May with little Luke!

Sweet Hilary came ALL the way from Indianapolis!!

I had my baby shower at work the Monday after our Knoxville shower. It was a lovely small gathering, and again I got ZERO pictures. My work colleagues were SO SWEET in their thoughtfulness. They all pitched in to order lots of goodies from our cloth diaper registry (which were on my list to purchase if we didn't receive them). We are so appreciative of their support of our endeavor in cloth diapering! I work with some amazing people.

I never know whether full-term is 36 or 37 weeks, but we've been taking my picture every 4 weeks. Below is my 36 week picture. 2 days after this picture was taken, the baby dropped... LOW. Meg, our midwife, said that the baby being low and the cervix thinning is much more important for the progress of labor than dilation. As of this week, the baby is still very low and I'm 75% effaced. This tells us nothing about WHEN I might go into labor. But when it does happen, things should progress nicely. This is wonderful to hear since up until this week I've been terrified of the 40hr first-time mom labor!

BIG OLE BELLY at 36 weeks

Here are the most recent pics of the nursery. I got the curtains and the twin duvet done in the middle of my frantic sewing of 3 dozen cloth wipes. There are still a few things left that I hope to finish this weekend... IF I'm not otherwise occupied!!! ;)

Full nursery view. The bed was my mother's when she was little, the toy box (under the tree) was mine when I was little, the quilt on the bed is from Auntie Meghan, and the blanket on the crib was lovingly crocheted by my mother (Sweet Pea's G-Mom)

Curtains from my favorite fabric in the room, it's burnt orange if you can't tell

Matt's dresser from when he was little, my silver bank from when I was little, our little sweet peas, the frame from our friends, and a rubber ducky (a few souvenirs from our showers)

Well, we are ready just ANYTIME that Sweet Pea would like to make an appearance!! We will post pics of Sweet Pea and the winner of the $20 wager between Mommy and Daddy when s/he arrives!