Grandma's (priceless) advice

The dirt will stay but that baby's gonna grow.
(in regards to me not getting house work done since C's been born)

Not that bad! (the labor story)

Here's the birth story. When people ask me how it was, my answer is "not that bad!" I mean, don't get me wrong, it super sucked. (I was mad at Eve the entire time.) It just wasn't as bad as I had expected!

On Friday, Oct 1, I went into L&D because my blood pressure was pretty high. They ran some tests, checked me out and I was still only 2 cm, so we went home. I was put on bed rest for the weekend...not like serious bed rest...just like, stay on the couch and be lazy bed rest.

Fast forward to last Sunday night. Ross and I both took Benadryl to ensure a good night's rest...haha. Nice timing. Ross and I got in bed and I, of course, couldn't sleep so I read. At 11:10 I needed to go to the bathroom. When I got up, I was all sorts of wet. I thought I had wet my pants super bad. (like worse than a kindergartner) I went into the bathroom and had another huge gush. Hmm... I came out and whispered to Ross, "Hey babe, I think my water just broke." He shot up out of the bed and was dressed in under .5 seconds. He said that we needed to go to the hospital but I wasn't convinced. I didn't want to be the person who goes to Labor and Delivery only to be told that they peed themselves. We called the on-call doctor because, of course, mine was out that weekend. I told her that I thought my water had just broken and in a super condescending way she asked me, "Is this your first baby?" Hmm... Not nice. Anywhoo...she said to go up to L&D to get checked out. It was around this time that I started having severe contractions.

When we left the house the contractions were 17 minutes apart. When we got to the hospital (25 minutes away), they were 2 minutes apart...Can we say moving fast??? I was 3 cm when we got there and the nurse confirmed that no, I had not wet my pants. My water had broken and we would be having a baby that night!!! (brief moments of freaking out)

The contractions were super intense and after about 30 minutes I was begging for a c-section. The nurse told me no. I was so mad I wanted to punch her in the face, seriously. She also wouldn't let me have an epidural until I had taken in 2 bags of I.V. fluid. Again...wanted to punch her. Finally, the fluid was done so I got my glorious epidural!!! (I <3 anesthesiologists) It was WAY better after that but was still waaaay painful. Somewhere during all of that I progressed from 3 to 9 cm in about 2 hours. Again...Can we say moving fast??? Once he was in the right spot, I pushed 6 times and he was out! No episiotomy. One internal stitch. 6 1/2 hours from water breaking to baby arrival. No bad words! (Ok, I did say that it "hurt like hell" but I think I'm entitled to that one.) I'm one lucky lady!

The first part of him I saw was his sweet little hand. It rose above the blue sheet that was covering me and I just lost it. A few seconds later they lifted him up and placed him on my chest. Ross cut the cord and we both cried and cried. It was amazing. So sweet. So real. For the next few days the only prayer that I could muster up was "Thank you, God." I would look at Carson and Ross and just be overwhelmed with thanks. The experience was beyond words. We are blessed.

Carson Reid Whigham

He is here! Praise the Lord!

7 lb 5 oz
20 1/2 inches
10/4/10
5:35 am
Perfect.

Not today...

We are back from the hospital. Today I was bleeding a little so I called the doctor. She said to come into Labor and Delivery. I called Ross and he met me there. I was pretty convinced that I wasn't in labor but the doctor said go, so we went...just to get all checked out. 4 hours later we left...without a baby and with doctor ordered bed rest until Monday, when I'll go back to see her. My blood pressure was really high at the hospital. I think it was because of two things. 1) The baby was really hurting me when we got in there and when he stopped hurting, my BP went down and 2) I was laying on my back and when she told me to switch to my side, it went down. The nurse said that when you're on your back you are pressing on a big vein that slows down the blood to your heart, thus raising your BP. And finally, at Monday's appointment, the doctor said we will discuss possible getting this baby out this week!!! Wahoo!!!

PS: It was a pretty fabulous way for Ross to get off early on a Friday!

Finished nursery = Happy parents

Today, Ross and I finished the nursery! Poor Ross...it could have been done weeks ago but I kept changing my mind.

Victoria Shower

A few weekends ago we had our final baby shower in our hometown. We were blessed with SO much that we needed! I was also forced to complete embarrassing games, thanks to my sweet sister. Here are some pics. Please excuse the pregnancy-fat-face.

First, the games...




Then, one of my beautiful hostesses, Lacey!


Look what she brought! They are cake balls!


Here are some of the sweet ladies that came!

The Emotions of Pregnancy

You hear the being pregnant is an emotional roller coaster. Here's a glimpse of my ride.

First trimester: Excited, happy and tired

Second trimester: Feeling good! Still excited. Have enough energy to get stuff done. Still able to move around pretty dang well.

Third trimester: Done with excited--> done with waiting--> bored with the slow process--> frustrated with it all, especially not being able to move or do stuff and having to depend on others way more than I like--> sad because you're frustrated--> mad because you're done being sad--> depressed because you're so mad and sad about being frustrated

Can you tell which trimester has been the most challenging?

Tic, tic, tic, tic....Let the countdown begin

Yesterday we had our 36(ish) week appointment. Here's what we learned.

-We set a date!!!!! Baby Whigham is scheduled to arrive on Oct. 13, if we make it that far. Those were the doctor's words.

-I am already 2 cm dilated!

-I will go back every week for a check-up and if I'm at 3 or 4, they will send me straight to labor and delivery! Yeah!

-The baby currently weighs 6 lbs 8 oz. His growth has slowed down since the beginning (yeah!) and he is now on the more normal-size part of the curve. She's not at all concerned about his growth. She said that some babies have their growth spurt at the beginning and others towards the end. We fell into the first category, big time. They expect that he will gain one more pound before birth...perfect size!

-He has dropped. She felt his head. It freaked me out.

-I have gained 25 lbs. I don't know how I feel about this.

-Warning: This part is gross. I started bleeding a little bit last night. I called the doctor this morning. Turns out my mucus plug came out. Gross, I know. It's just one more step on the way to baby! And, it means that I need to take it easy.

As of late...

The last few weeks have been very busy for us. Ross' mom and my mom both came (at different times) to spend some time helping me get ready for the baby. It was super helpful! We made lots of food to freeze for after the delivery, washed tons of tiny clothes, shopped and returned baby items, organized the nursery, etc. After their stays, we had our 4th (and final) baby shower in Victoria and were super blessed with tons of stuff we needed for baby. I've been arranging and rearranging and rearranging the nursery...poor Ross. He's been so kind about it.

About the belly--- It has really popped out lately! Like, a lot. I have been having contractions for weeks now and they are beginning to get more frequent and strong, although they aren't real ones yet. I am getting really down because I am so done waiting. Ross and I are beyond the excited, giddy stage of pregnancy. We are down right ready. The Lord is truly teaching us patience. It sucks. I am sure that everyone gets to this point. How did you handle it?

Since the last post...

*I joined MOPS and it starts tomorrow! (thanks Les and Christy)

*I joined a ladies Bible study that meets weekly with childcare provided!

*I have acquired quite a few new stretch marks on the Dark Side of The Moon. (aka: underside of the huge belly)

*I have lost massive amounts of sleep stressing out about the nursery.

*Here's my question. Which is more important to have in the nursery....a glider for nursing or a bed for me? Right now the glider is in the playroom and I'm second-guessing that decision. Thoughts?

Moms---help!

Wow. "Help" has been in the title of lots of my posts lately....it's pretty telling about what we are going through right now.

I'll be staying at home taking care of our little man and need to get involved in other mom groups.

How did you get involved? When did you start to join those groups? Any advice?

Nursery- HELP!

I'd say that the nursery is a little over halfway ready for the baby. I mean, if he came today, he'd have a place to sleep and everything but, the pretty stuff isn't done...super important!! I need help! (the pictures are from my phone, hence the poor quality)

Here's what we've got...this area is pretty much done.



Here's what we're thinking about...a wallpaper border, maybe?





Here's what we need...What goes over the mommy bed? What goes over the baby bed?



Here's what I don't like...It's too blah...Ideas?

i'm ready...

-to have my body back
-to be able to get off the couch without help
-to stop having to take a handful of pills each morning for the baby
-to be able to go to the store without being 100% exhausted afterward
-to be able to have a glass of wine with my husband
-to feel sexy again
-to walk like a normal human being
-to wear cute clothes again, including heals
-to want to do more than just sit around all day
-to eat chicken again without gagging
-to sleep without having a baby kicking the crap out of my insides
-to not have back and foot pain at the end of the day
-to eat without having heartburn
-But, most of all, I'm ready to hold and kiss this baby boy, when it will all be worth it.

You know he loves you when...

-He is willing to clip your toe nails because you can't reach them anymore.

-He offers to shave your legs because your back hurts too bad but you really want them shaved!

-He lovingly looks at the (impossible to see) underside of your belly, which you now refer to as the Dark Side of the Moon, to see if the mark you see is a scratch or a new stretch mark. *sigh* It's the latter. Oh well. He loves me.

32 weeks and more

Here's what a 32 week belly looks like at 10 pm at night....yikes!


The playroom is finished and I just love it! Thanks, Ross!

hungry, hungry hippo

That's what I feel like.
I am absolutely insatiable.
All. The. Time.
I have never been so hungry in my life.
Scary!

Horrified

We just got back from our first class about child birth. All that I can say is that there isn't much talking going on right now because we are both terrified...the "I probably won't be able to sleep tonight" kind of terrified. Wow.

Productive (and crafty) Weekend

Here's a rundown on our weekend:

I made this amazingly simple and cute earring holder for my sister. All it took was a picture frame, some picture hanging wire and a staple gun! Of course, Ross took these pictures...that's why they are good.




Ross painted the formal dining room, which will now be the playroom. We will be switching out the chandelier in the next few days.



I finished sewing the squares together for my brother's college graduation t-shirt quilt. It is still missing the borders though.



I started and finished a quilt top for our baby boy in one day (minus the border, which I haven't yet decided upon)! Ok, so it's no great accomplishment since it's all squares, but still...

28 week appointment

Today...

-Glucose test.
-Up 2 more lbs in the past 3 weeks.
-Baby is still huge.
-His head is measuring in the top 97%. Crap.
-Overall, he is measuring in the top 93%. Hmmm....C-section, anyone?
-He weighs 2 lbs 14 oz. Most babies are 2 lbs 8 oz.
-He wouldn't show us his face. He insisted on keeping his hand over it. I was sad.
-We are measuring 2 weeks ahead.
-Did I mention that he's huge?

Almoooost 29 weeks

Updated bump pictures and a really messy bathroom: