Rowan's Story

Here's a link to pictures, it's taken me forever to write this and I'm too lazy to spend time uploading pictures.
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This is really long, but I don't want to forget anything about this amazing day!

Wednesday night was when it all started, even though I didn't know it was starting. We went to Sweet Tomatoes with Derek's mom. I had been craving it for days and wanted to go before the little guy got here. I joked that maybe the super full stomach would push him out, I guess it didn't hurt! On the way home I had a few contractions, but nothing out of the ordinary.
When we got home Derek started to build our new computer and I watched him on the couch as I continued to have contractions that were anywhere from 20-40 minutes a part. I fell asleep and he woke me up when he left for work. I continued to have contractions throughout the night and would wake up in immense pain but was able to fall back asleep when they were over. Finally at 3 I woke up and the contractions were 5 minutes a part. I really didn't believe I was in labor so I just decided I would see if they lasted. Obviously they did. I browsed the internet, watched tv, and ate some food. They were now about 3 minutes a part and I decided to IM Derek and let him know that perhaps I was in labor. He asked me if he should come home and I told him not yet because I wasn't sure. I decided to go for a walk around 5 to see if they would stop. Walking with contractions is not fun. I got back inside and told him that he should probably come home because by this time they were about 2 and a half minutes a part and Super painful.
When he got home I had a bit of an emotional breakdown and started crying during the contractions. I had been fine with them until he got there! We decided to shower to make sure that didn't stop them before we called our Doula over.
Around 8 our Doula, Amy, came. The contractions were about 2 minutes a part with some coming right after the previous one stopped. Amy was at our house for about 45 minutes before she decided we should head for the hospital.
At this point I was still in a bit of denial that I was in labor. Remember just 3 days before my doctor told me that this baby wasn't coming on his own. Contractions in the car are not fun and I had a few on the way over. Luckily the hospital is about 5 minutes from our house. Walking into the hospital wasn't exactly fun either. I borrowed a truck to lean on and a sign in front of the door to brace myself during them. People kept looking at us and asking if we needed help. We finally got up to labor and delivery and the nursed asked if I was here to be induced. I was thinking "HELLO CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN LABOR HERE" Once I told her I was in labor they took me into a room to get changed and checked to see how far along I was. I remember thinking please be at least a 5 so I don't get sent home! After a few more contractions I was ready to be checked. I almost screamed with joy when she said I was already a 7! This is the point when I finally believed that I was in labor and going to have this baby TODAY!
I decided to get in the tub to try to relax. I wasn't being a very good relaxer like we had practiced and I needed to calm down. The tub felt SO good, but it didn't really relax me. My doctor stopped by while I was in the tub and said how surprised he was that I was here and had progressed this far without any help. Amy helped me with contractions as Derek filled out paperwork. After about a half hour I got out of the tub and began laboring on the birth ball we brought. My birth ball was my best friend and I labored most of the time on it. When I was checked again I was a 9 and my water was still intact. They asked if I wanted it broken but I told them no. I kept telling Amy and Derek that I couldn't do this, but they kept reassuring me that I could do and I was doing it. The pain was a lot more intense then I was expecting and I was not able to relax during the contractions like I had hoped. Instead I moaned and groaned and squeezed whatever hand was closest to me. Amy did a lot of hip squeezes to help me through the contractions and had all sorts of smelly stuff for different stages of labor. She had this orange one that helped with the nausea a ton! I'm so glad she was there to help us through. At around 12:45 my doctor came back to check me and said that I was still a 9 and baby was at a 0. I decided to let him break my water to try to get Rowan to move down. That was a really weird feeling having all this warm water gush out of you and having no control over it. The contractions became so much worse now that I didn't have my water. My insides felt like they were on fire. It was not pleasant. I was starting to feel the urge to push and so the doctor checked me again. I was finally at a 10! They got the room all set up and a lot more nurses were there. At 1:20 I began pushing our little man out! The pushing felt amazing. It was so nice to be able to do something to make the contraction pain go away. Apparently I'm really good at pushing and only did so for 25 minutes and didn't even tear! I believe I didn't tear because I could feel what my body wanted me to do, when to push and when to stop. That's one of the perks of natural labor.The feeling of him coming out was the most bizarre and amazing feeling I have ever felt. I could feel his little head trying to make it's way out and when the doctor told me he was crowning I felt a huge sigh of relief. I think his shoulders coming out hurt worse than his head. I had meconium in my water so Rowan had to be suctioned when he came out and I wasn't able to really hold him until he had been checked out. It is not how we had planned things but I was prepared for things to go differently then planned so I was ok with it. I remember staring at his cute little face laying on my stomach as Derek cut his cord. I couldn't believe that he had been inside of me. He was perfect. It seemed like forever until Derek brought him over to me. I couldn't stop staring at him. He didn't want to breastfeed right away due to a tube being shoved down his throat but a few hours later he decided to start.
I still look at him and back on the experience in amazement. Things went so well and we couldn't have asked for anything more. He is completely healthy and my recovery has been great. I was able to get up and walk right after his birth because I wasn't numb and didn't have to come down from any pain meds. Rowan was so alert after birth and the hours following because he didn't have any meds making him sleepy. I won't say that natural childbirth was easy but I will say it was worth every ounce of pain. Knowing that I let my body do what it was meant to do was an amazing feeling. Not to mention the great natural high you get afterward.
He's now 10 days old and as cute as can be. He's a really great baby and only cries when he's hungry. He LOVES to eat and does so quite often. He had a bit of jaundice when we went to his follow up visit but it has gone away on it's own. We also took him to the chiropractor to make sure that everything was aligned right (when doctors pull babies out a lot of times it makes them misaligned) The chiropractor hangs them upside down from their knees, it was the funniest thing! Rowan didn't even care. He said he was perfect, and we couldn't agree more.

Rowan's Here!

So Rowan decided to come on his own time. I'll write more later and post pictures, but he's here and as cute as can be. Born July 23rd at 1:44pm 7lbs 4 oz 20 inches long with TONS of long brown hair! The labor was as natural as can be and both of us are doing well.

Rowan's Deadline

So yesterday at the doctors he informed that I had two options, neither of which I would like (that is not something you want to hear)
Option A: Have a c section because he thinks the baby is too big which is why he hasn't dropped all the way yet.
Option B: Be induced on Saturday night with Cervadil to soften my cervix and then have pitocin started on Sunday.
Obviously I do not want to have a c section so I opted for the induction. My blood pressure was better yesterday but not great. I'm still at a 1 and 50% effaced. I'm a bit flustered with my doctor. I don't know how he can predict the baby is too big to come out when I haven't even made it to my due date yet and haven't even gone into labor. Derek was mad. We're feeling better after talking about it with each other and talking with our Doula.
We're doing everything we can to get my body prepared for the induction and possibly go into labor on its own. If my body isn't ready to go into labor the induction will fail and I will end up with a c section anyway.
I'm so glad that we decided to have a doula, as this will be a much harder labor than we had anticipated. Hopefully I'm wrong, but pitocin makes for much harder contractions.
I know that some people would love the idea of only having to go 1 day overdue, obviously I don't. I am however very excited to meet this sweet baby who has been living in me for the past 9 months! It's still hard to believe that I will not be pregnant this time next week...crazy! I just have to keep reminding myself that in the end we will have our baby here, it may not be the way I believe babies should come into the world, but he will be here none the less. I can't wait to see what he looks like and experience the joys of motherhood. I'm also so excited to see Derek as a dad. I know that he is going to be an AMAZING father to Rowan, he already is!
Last night Derek took me to get an hour long prenatal massage...it was heavenly. He takes such good care of me. It really helped me relax after a stressful day.
This is our last week before we become a family of 3 and I plan to cherish every minute of it.

Rowan's Nursery

So his nursery is pretty much done. We have a few things to hang up still, but are waiting until we have pictures to go in them. I love the calm feeling I get when I go in there and I can't wait to play and snuggle with Rowan in it!

From the doorway

Is it not the coolest thing ever that I found scrapbook paper that matches the fabric we used? Hobby Lobby is my new favorite store!

We have breathable bumpers for his crib, but will put them on once he can move around.

His changing table, the top folds down to make the area bigger. Super cool.

I think this is my favorite part of the nursery. It's supposed to stand straight up and down but I decided to have it on it's side so that Rowan can get the baskets of toys and books out. I think it turned out really cute.

We found this cute painting at a garage sale!

I love the curtains and blinds we chose. We wanted to add a little warmth with the blind color and I think it turned out great!

Almost 39 weeks

We had our weekly appointment yesterday. Nothing too exciting. I dilated a bit more and am now 50% effaced. Rowan dropped further, but not enough to make the doctor excited. My blood pressure was borderline high...no good...my doula thinks it was because I was super sick last week and my body used its "reserve nourishment" to make up for things which is causing high blood pressure. I'm not having much swelling, headaches, protein in urine, or any other signs of toxemia or preeclampsia so that is good. I'm going to try upping my protein intake and eating more fruits and veggies to help get it back down. We'll see if it works when I go back on Monday.
He did offer to pretty much induce me anytime I want to. He said the baby is a good size, lungs are ready, and my body is progressing so he has no problem inducing. Derek and I however do have a problem with that. We told him no thanks and we would rather him come when he's ready. A natural birth with pitocin will be a lot harder than without. I'm afraid though that if my blood pressure doesn't go down next week he will insist on being induced. If that is the case of course I would say yes because I don't want to endanger my son, it's just not my ideal way of starting labor.
I'm just so thankful that we educated ourselves before the big day. I feel good that we've done everything we can to let Rowan have a healthy start on life. I think the biggest thing I've learned is to do your own research. Doctors don't know everything and have biased opinions on what they think works best. So the lesson of the day is form your own opinions based on research and your doctors knowledge.

Ultrasound

We had our last ultrasound yesterday. It was so awesome! I can't believe how much he has grown since the last time we saw him. Last time his whole body fit on the screen and this time only parts did like his head, belly, or back.

He has the cutest little face with chubby little cheeks. This is looking straight down on his face. You can see his eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth.

We saw him rubbing his eyes and shaking his head as to tell us to leave him alone. He weighs about 7lbs 4oz...she said the machine usually estimates high and can be off by a half a pound. But it's good to know that he's going to be a good size baby. People keep telling me that I'm so small and how can I be giving birth in just that many weeks, so it had me paranoid that I was going to have a midget child. He's no midget! His measurements were great! He is still floating around in plenty of fluid and the placenta is holding up nicely. It starting to get calcifications on it which means that his lungs are maturing, so that is also a good sign.
He's getting down there nice and low and I'm dilated to a 1. I'm happy that I've made some sort of progress with all of the contractions I've been having. I know that it doesn't mean anything because I could give birth tomorrow or stay dilated to a 1 for weeks.
My parents finally came back from Africa so Rowan can come anytime he wants to now =)

37 Weeks

Rowan can come anytime now and he will be considered "Full Term" Hooray! We made it! I'm not expecting him to make his appearance anytime soon, but it's nice to know that he would be nice and healthy.
I don't have a doctors appointment this week because my Doc is out of town, but I do have one on Tuesday that will include an ultrasound =)
I'm SO ready to have this little boy here. It seems as the days pass I get more and more uncomfortable. I can't wait to not have to sleep on my side anymore! My hips do not appreciate my current sleeping positions. I am also sick of having to go to the bathroom all the time! It seems as soon as I go from a sitting to standing position I have to go...so annoying! However, I figure all the "bad" stuff that comes with pregnancy is a small price to pay for what we get in return. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we will have a baby in our home this month! That's if he is a good boy and doesn't decide to stay in until August!
I think I will pack our hospital bag today. I have Rowan's bag packed, but not ours. I'm also going to cook dinner in our solar oven. Hopefully we'll get enough sun to let it cook.
We don't really have plans for the 4th. We usually go to the Clearfield Fireworks by us, but I just don't think I'm up to it this year, so we'll probably spend the night at my mom's to get her house decorated for Sunday when they come home!
I think we'll do homemade ice cream and roast hot dogs and marshmallows in the parent's backyard. Derek said he thinks the fireworks will scare Rowan so he doesn't want to go...so cute!