Aedan Andrew’s Birth Story

I’ll try to keep it from getting too long, but here is the story of Aedan’s arrival!  (I’ll keep the gory details to a minimum – but for those that don’t want to hear the details of labor, may want to skip this one)

Aedan was due to arrive September 20th, but not surprising, he didn’t come on time.  At my 40w appointment, we discussed induction and when was the right time.  He said he’d prefer to induce no later than 41 weeks, which would be Sept 27th, but I could pick any day between now and then.  At this point, I’d been having contractions for a week, mostly in the middle of the night, but never enough to progress into labor.  I was this close to having him induce me the next morning.  I was done.  I also knew that Aedan was another big baby (Brody was 8lbs 14oz), so I didn’t want to let him get too much bigger!

Instead we settled on 4 days late, Monday morning.  I was positive that Aedan would come over the weekend (I mean it had already been a week of contractions!), so I didn’t think we’d need the induction.  I was wrong.  The weekend came and went and no baby. 

Monday, September 24th

Enjoyed our last morning as a family of three, took a few pictures and then took Brody to daycare.  In case things didn’t work-out as planned, we didn’t want to tell Brody anything, so he went to daycare clueless as to what was going on.

7:45 – Arrived at hospital, got hooked up to monitors and IV.  Contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart, but weren’t strong enough to be considered real labor.  But the good news is that my body was at least showing that it was ready for labor.  Took three pokes to get my IV started (lovely!) but finally got it going.

9:15 – Pitocin started flowing (medicine to induce).  Contractions got closer together, but it was a low enough dose that they weren’t too painful yet.

9:45 – OB comes to visit & break my water.  Tells me I’m about 1-2 cms dialated, 50% effaced (thinness) and -2 station (+2 is when the baby is ready to go).  I was 1cm dialated at my appointment on Thursday, so I was really annoyed that in 4 days my body didn’t do anything.

Then, he breaks my water.  This was awful.  Apparently mine was a little tougher than normal.  There was a point where I think he actually thought he wouldn’t be able to do it.  By the end of it, I was in tears.  But I knew that this was nothing compared to contractions, so I just considered it prep.

Lots of discussion at this point about how long it was going to be.  Clearly Jason was worried about whether or not he’d miss the Monday night football game, since the Packers were playing.  Sheesh.  The generally consensus was that I’d probably deliver by kick-off, but not much before that.  Jason was hoping to hear it would be by 4:00, the OB laughed.

OB also said whenever I wanted to get the epidural, that I was fine to go ahead and do so.

11:00 – Heaven.  In other words, epidural.  The contractions started coming 1-2 minutes apart after he broke my water.  Since I had to be monitored to make sure that Aedan didn’t react poorly to the lack of fluid, I couldn’t walk around much to manage the pain.  I tried a couple different things, but was in enough pain to get the epi.  I always knew I would get it, so it was just a matter of when.

After that, I layed in bed, relaxing, facebooking etc.  I could sometimes feel the contractions, but it just felt like tightness without any pain. 

1:30 – Nurse came in to check my progress.  I was hoping for some good news that things were progressing faster than expected.  (one can hope – right?!?)  I was 4cms, 80% effaced, -1 station.  So, I was progressing right on track.  It looked like the dinner-time prediction by my OB was going to happen.

Nurse told me to turn on my side to get the baby moving down quicker.  I had been staying on my back because with the epi when I layed on my side the numbness went all into one leg.  But I turned on my side anyway.

2:30 – My left leg was numb and I could feel contractions on my right side.  Since I was getting uncomfortable, I turned to my right side.  This is easier said than done with an IV and two monitors with cords.  So flipped and layed there for about 10 minutes or so.

Despite flipping sides I was still very uncomfortable.  I felt a lot of pressure.  Mentioned it to the nurse and she asked if I needed to push?  I was like, well, no, I don’t think so?  I never felt the need to push with Brody, so it wasn’t something I expected.  Besides, it had only been an hour since I was 4cm.

2:45 – Um, nurse?  Yeah, kind of feels like I need to push…

3:00 – 9.5cms – get ready for baby!  (Seriously…5 1/2 cms in an hour??  I was in shock)

3:15ish- Nurses are all in the room, everything is set up, we’re ready to go.  I’m trying everything I can to not push.  One nurse has me do a “practice-push” to see if we can get Aedan a little further down.

Jokes start about whether or not we’re going to deliver the baby without the OB.  He still wasn’t there yet…

Few minutes later… In runs my OB.  Apparently there was a miss in getting him the message.  His office is attached to the hospital, so there was no reason he shouldn’t be there for the birth.  Once he checks that he didn’t miss anything, he runs off to change.

3:30 – ready to push.  Started pushing Aedan out.  It was definitely different than with Brody and a lot more uncomfortable.  Let’s just say I was motivated to get him out sooner than later.  OB did seem concerned at one point and said a couple of times that “IF he looked good when he came out that they’d put him on my chest right away” I was a little worried that he kept saying, “If…”

3:38 – Aedan Andrew arrives!  4 contractions, 8 minutes of pushing.  He was clearly a big baby.  Luckily he was doing great and came right up by his mommy.  However, his umbilical cord was pretty short.  He wasn’t able to put him on top of me before cutting it.  Jay wasn’t thrilled about cutting the cord to begin with, so he had no issue letting my OB cut it.

Let the jokes about how big he is begin…Oh, and the bets on the official weight. 

9lbs 8oz.  21 inches long (I’m waiting for the pediatrician to confirm this, I totally thought he was longer than Brody).

My OB also made a comment on how Aedan’s APGAR score should be a 10 just because of how pink he was.  He was clearly thriving instantly.

The entire pregnancy has been more stressful and emotional for me.  Turns out the birth was to.  It was very uneventful and successful, but bringing him into the world definitely filled my heart in a different way than Brody.  With Brody, I didn’t really know what was in front of us.  With Aedan, I really know what it is like to raise a little boy and love him so much. 

What I didn’t know is that it’s possible to love two little boys more than anything else in the world.

40 Weeks

39 weeks 5 days

 

The weekly update I never really want to write.  But Aedan’s due date has come and gone.  Honestly, from the beginning I never expected him to come early.  Brody was 5 days late, so I didn’t think Aedan would be here sooner.  I’m glad I haven’t felt ready for the last 4 weeks like I was the first time.  It made for less “waiting” time.

 

40 weeks

 

Total weight gain/loss: Up a couple pounds this week, 29 in total.

Maternity clothes:  Sweatpants and tank-tops from here on out!

Sleep: I’ve been up with contractions almost nightly for the last week.  So sleep has been a luxury when it comes.  Of course the contractions stop and aparently aren’t actually doing anything.  So I’m just sleep unnecessarily sleep-deprived at this point.  But it’s all part of the process right?

Best moment this week: Last day at work!  My mind wasn’t working that well on 4 hours of sleep, so it’s best for everyone that I’m done. 

Food cravings: Custard…but since I’m not eating it, I’ve just substituted it with other desserts.

Labor Signs: Lots of random contractions, but nothing that means anything.

What I miss: My body.  It takes me like 5 minutes to roll over in bed, I can’t fit in tight spaces and my lap is nonexistent for my toddler to cuddle with.

What I am looking forward to: Baby snuggles

Milestones: Due-date!
Differences between 1&2: Everything.  Instead of laying around pampering myself the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, it’s been about making sure Brody feels loved and secure.  It’s actually been great because he helps keep my mind off the waiting.  And this time, instead of pampering me by doing things for me, Jason takes care of me by taking care of Brody more.  He lets me nap when Brody naps, sleep-in when I need to and do the heavy-lifting (literally) when we’re out with Brody. 

My Obsession with Dates

Okay, so I have a little obsession with dates.  Not the fruit.  But the day of the week, year etc.  In High School I notoriously could remember practically everything that happened on the date that it happened.  It was a little obsessive.

It’s decreased over-time (though I really think it’s my memory that decreased, not my obsession), so I couldn’t tell you exactly what I was doing on Sept 19th last year.  Although, since it was a Monday, I’m going to guess that I was at work. 

So, clearly, since I have ZERO control over when this little man shows up, I obsess over dates.  When might his birthday occur?  Wouldn’t it be great if he was born on xyz date?  and so on…

I’m actually surprised at how many dates in September we’ve felt some sort of connection to.  First it was:

Sept 9th – the date Jason & I were supposed to get married.  That is, until our reception hall decided to double-book us and we had to set a new date.  Our dating anniversary was also the 9th, so it had significance.

Then…
Sept 11th – why not have something happy on this tragic day?  It wasn’t so much a wish for this date as it was that it would be wonderful to have something to celebrate on a day that brings so much saddness.

Sept 15th – Brody was due Jan 15th and born on Jan 20th.  So wouldn’t it be funny if Aedan was born on the 15th when was due the 20th??

Sept 17th – same day of the month as Jason’s birthday

Sept 20th – same day of the month as Brody’s birthday (keep it simple kiddos!)  Not to mention he’d be born on his due date, he’d naturally be my favorite child for learning to be punctual early on. 

Sept 21st – 21 is Jason’s favorite # (and I think his baseball # in high school)

Sept 27th – 27 is my favorite #, I was born on the 27th and I was a second child.  However…I will cry if he’s 7 days late…so I really don’t want him to be born on the 27th. 

Obviously, I can’t control anything at this point.  So, since I’m sitting around waiting, I daydream about the day my little man will be born and a date that we will celebrate for the rest of our lives.  (Now I have TWO birthday parties to plan each year – woohoo!)

39 Week Doctor Appointment

Friday I had my 39 week appointment.  I found out sometime back that my OB was going to be on vacation this week, so even though I really want Aedan to join us, I am glad he didn’t make his appearance while my OB was out.  So my appointment on Friday was with the OB that was on-call over the weekend, in case I ended up going into labor. 

Weight: Down 3.5lbs – yep, I lost exactly the amount I “gained” the week before.  It looks like I was really just retaining a ton of water.  So officially only up 27 lbs in 39 weeks.  I’m happy with that.

Blood Pressure: 110/60 – also back to a normal amount for me.  I’m a lot less worried about showing signs of pre-eclampsia now!
Heartbeat: Good – 140ish
Fundal Height: Fill-in OB actually measured me, she didn’t tell me what it was, just that it was fine.

Labor Progress: I woke up with severe but sporadic contractions Friday morning.  Since I never had any contractions before I was in labor with Brody, I assumed that this was it!  I figured it had to send me into labor within the next 24 hours or so…right?!?  WRONG!  (Anyone ever heard of false labor? ugh.)

So at my appointment I told her about the contractions and she checked progress.  I was lower than last week, but still only about a cm.  Apparently my contractions weren’t doing much.  Oh yeah, and it’s now Tuesday and I’m still pregnant. 

Questions: I was also worried about how to tell if I’m leaking amniotic fluid or if I am just showing signs of dialation.  She did a quick check to make sure everything was still in tact, and reassured me that it was just my body progressing and nothing else to worry about.  So that was good news!

Then she just told me that if the contractions get closer together or stronger to come in and get checked again that afternoon.  Also reassured me that she’s on-call all weekend, but she won’t be offended if Aedan decided to hang out and wait for my regular OB.  🙂

So obviously nothing happened.  The contractions eventually fizzled out.  Then started up again Friday night continued on and off until Monday night.  But they’re pretty much the definitely of “false-labor.”  They are all over the board for timing and never get stronger.  Some are pretty strong (wake me from dead-sleep) and then the next one will be weaker. 

So, I am still predicting that Aedan will follow his big brother’s lead and keep his Mama waiting…impatiently waiting.

39 Weeks & Pregnancy Reflection

First, the routine stuff:

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure – will find out at Dr appt tomorrow

Maternity clothes:  Running out of options, hopefully only a week left of work to worry about it!

Sleep: Trying to get as much as I can!

Best moment this week: Finally feeling ready

Food cravings: Trying to eat what I can at this point that doesn’t have too much dairy in it.

Labor Signs: Lots of random contractions, but nothing that means anything.

What I miss: Currently, it’s milk!  And it’s only been a week!  Hoping once we see how Aedan is doing I can phase in some milk here and there without affecting him.  But we’ll see.

What I am looking forward to: Tiny baby feet, baby toes, baby hands. 

Milestones: 39 weeks down!
Differences between 1&2: No matter how many times you go through this, every pregnancy is different.  I never felt contractions with Brody until I was in labor.  Now, I feel them all the time.  I know they’re not the real-deal because they don’t stick around.  But it’s really annoying wondering all the time if it’s going to turn into anything.  I think I’d rather go back to being naive.  😛

Reflecting back on the last 39 weeks:
Last time, I did a post of all the things I’ll miss about being pregnant and the things I’ll be glad to leave behind.  So I thought I would do the same. 

What I’ll miss
1. Life with one child.  Nap-time at our house is (usually) a time to get things done, read a book, take a nap etc.  Now, I won’t have that luxury, until we can get them both on the same nap schedule at least. 

2. Ability to gain weight without concern.  Ice cream for dessert? Why not!  2 brownies instead of 1?  Sure!  Of course since I’ve been on a slower weight gain than last time, I’ve been even easier on myself these last few weeks…

3. The kicks.  I love the bond that I have with Aedan right now.  It’s just the two of us and feeling him move around is a great feeling.  Even when it hurts.

What I’m happy to leave behind
I think I’ve said before that I believe this will be my last pregnancy.  Jason thinks we’re done having kids, I am undecided, but I know either way, if there is another child, it will be one that we give a loving home to that doesn’t currently have one.  While I always reserve the right to change my mind, I don’t believe I’ll birth anymore children.  So, you’d think I’d be a little sad to end this chapter in my life…

Honestly?  Not too much. 

1. I’m excited to get my body back.  Breastfeeding will present certain challenges, and I will always continue to sacrifice if necessary (like giving up dairy), but for the most part, I will start to feel like myself again.  I can drink more caffeine, consider a glass of wine, and fit into smaller spaces. 

2. Putting on non-maternity clothes.  I can’t wait to get into my cute fall sweaters and real jeans (though I know I won’t be in jeans right away!)  There’s also a couple cute shirts I’ve bought while pregnant that I’m excited to be able to wear for the first time. 

3. Stress of work.  Though it’s only for 12 weeks, I’m hoping to disconnect as much as possible and enjoy the time with my boys.  Then, when I return, I’ll at least be able to function a little better at work (even sleep deprived, I can bulk up on caffeine & won’t have shooting sciatic pain from sitting at my desk too long!)

We’re Ready! (Finally)

I’ve blogged before that we haven’t been as prepared as early as we were with Brody.  By 36-37 weeks we had everything ready to go and I sat around impatiently waiting for Brody to make his arrival.  With Aedan, I figured we had time, so why rush it?

A couple weeks ago, I got to the point where if I went in labor, I knew we’d be fine.  Jason would have to go home to do a few things while I was in the hospital, I wouldn’t have had a hospital bag packed…but we had all the necessities, so we’d be fine.

Now?  I can actually say, we’re officially ready!  About 8 days before Aedan’s anticipated due date, I finally feel like we’re ready.

Car seats – installed. 
Hospital bags – packed. 
Pack n play – mostly set-up. 
Nursery – stocked (with teeny tiny diapers!). 
Maternity leave plans put together at work.
Baptism date – tenatively planned. 
Eliminate dairy from diet – 1 week in.
Toddler potty-trained??  – Close.  We’re getting there.  Just keeping my fingers crossed that when his world is turned upside-down, he doesn’t regress.

Now, are we mentally prepared for this baby?  The jury is still out on that one.  But I don’t think I’m ever going to be prepared for the challenges of two little boys.  I’m just praying that Aedan takes after his brother and is an awesome go-with-the-flow baby.  A girl can wish, right??

Picking out a name

Picking out a name is always the hardest part for us.  I have two girl names that have been picked out for quite awhile.  While we may never be able to use them (or maybe we will…depends on how crazy two kids drive me), we still have them in our back pocket.  I picked out both of our girl options and Jason agreed with them.

Naming a boy though?  So much harder!  We had a hard time agreeing on Brody’s name.  We argued so much during the early pregnancy, that we stopped talking about boy names until we knew for sure.  Then Brody was the first name we liked, so we picked it and stuck with it.

I figured it would be the same way again.  We discussed two names at great length.  Jason had his top name and I had mine.  We truly couldn’t compromise on either.

Jay’s top name: Mitchell
Kellie’s top name: Liam

Then, there was a name that has been in the back of my head for a really really long time.  I come from a strong Irish heritage (my Dad is a full-bred Irishman), so I’ve always really like celtic boy names (hence Brody and Liam).  So there was a name I read in a book that took place in Ireland that I really liked.

But…within a year or so, this became a super popular name.  Since my name is Kellie and we already have a common last name, I was trying to stay away from something too popular.  But then when I fell in love with Liam and realized it was also on the top 10 list, I no longer had an argument against picking a popular name. 

Despite having a popular name, I enjoy the fact that most Kellie’s are spelled Kelly.  Therefore, the fact that we decided to go with a more traditional Gaelic spelling instead of the modern spelling, would set our son apart (slightly) from the many boys that will inevitably have the same name as him

So, without further rambling, in September we will be welcoming…

Aedan Andrew

…to the world.

I also love that to honor another family member, we’ve chosen another one of our brothers for the middle name.  Brody being named after my younger brother Daniel, Aedan will be named after Jason’s younger brother Andy.

And History Repeats Itself

January 10, 2012
How we found out #2 was on the way:

A little background:
When we decided to have Brody, it only took us 2 months to conceive. So of course I had really high expectations with this one and was trying very hard to not to get my hopes up. However, after one month of trying, I of course was a little sad when we weren’t successful.

The second month we were trying I realized how selfishly I wanted this to be the month. I’ll list them out later, but there are a ton of reasons a Sept baby would be awesome for us. So of course I started getting my hopes up.

Knowing I could be in for the long run, I bought a pack of home pregnancy tests online for super cheap. My theory was that since they were so cheap, it wouldn’t be a problem if I tested multiple times.

The days leading up:
About 5 days before my period, I took a test. I didn’t even tell Jason because I was pretty sure it would be negative. However, we were going out with friends that night and I figured that if I knew for sure, it would be great.

Of course it was negative. I was still dissapointed and did end up telling Jason later that it was negative. The test strips were supposed to be very sensitive, so I was feeling pretty confident that this probably wasn’t the month. Just in case though, I only had a little over 1 glass of wine. (In retrospect, I wonder if I should have abstained completely…oh well)

And here we go again:
2 days before my period I had a dream that I took a test and it was positive. Crazy right?? I woke up after the dream to cramps. It felt like my period was on it’s way. Again, dissapointment.

However, I found out we were pregnant with Brody on the same cycle day, so I tested anyway.

First test: very very faint pink line that showed up after the full 5 minute testing time. (Me: This can’t be right??)

Second test: Immediately took another one (remember these were cheap!). Faint, but a little more clear. But…a line is a line…right????

Showed them to Jason but we were cautiously excited. Tossed them in the garbage. Went to work – googled – said a line is a line no matter how faint. Now I was really getting excited.

Picked up a digital test on my way home that night….Took it and yep – Pregnant!!!
I handed Brody the test (with the plastic cover over it) and told him to take it to Daddy. What does he do? He takes the cover off of the part that has my pee on it and starts to rub it on his arm. He then sticks it in his hair next. (This kid is crazy).

Meanwhile, I’m quickly trying to grab it away from him! Jason has no idea what is going on, so I just put the cover back on, throw the test at him and went to wash Brody up.

Then it finally clicks what he’s looking at and he gets very excited.

Same amount of cycles, postive test on the same day…sometimes it’s good when history repeats itself!

Brody has an announcement…

Baby #2 is on it’s way!!

Welcoming Brody into the world

Brody Daniel arrived January 20th at 4:34pm! Here is his birth story if you’re interested. I’ll keep the gory details to a minimum.

Tuesday the 19th of January I woke up about 3am with painful cramping. It was enough to wake me up from a dead sleep. I sat there for about a minute thinking that this has got to be a contraction. Sure enough, after about a minute it was gone. Then about 30 minutes later, same thing, which continued about every hour until I was up for the day. They were so far apart I knew that nothing was happening anytime soon.

I continued on with my second day off of work by having breakfast with my dad, lunch & shopping with my sister and dinner for my Nana’s birthday. Starting with breakfast my contractions became about 10 minutes apart. They never got closer together and I was always able to talk through the pain. By the time we got home from dinner (around 9pm) they were becoming a little more painful. By bedtime I had a feeling that labor was progressing as I started timing the contractions. They were now getting more like 8 minutes apart. Jason couldn’t sleep (like a little kid on Christmas eve), so we just stayed in bed timing the contractions and I tried to rest while I could.

About 12:30am Wednesday my contractions were 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each and had been for an hour. This was the magic sign to call the doctor. I called my OB and he told me to head into labor & delivery. As we started getting ready to go to the hospital, my contractions were getting closer to 3-4 minutes apart. I wasn’t worried, but Jason started to get a little more nervous. I believe all husbands have a fear that you’ll go into labor at home no matter how many times you tell them that this process takes time.

We arrived at the hospital about 1:30am. I had now been having contractions for about 22 hours but at my appointment Monday night, I was only 0 cm dilated. So I was curious what these contractions had done to my progress. The nurse got us settled in and then did an exam. She then informs me that I wasn’t dilated, at all!! Are you kidding me?!? I had a few moments of feeling like I was making it up. I was then hooked up to the machines which showed that yes, I was having regular contractions now only 3 minutes apart. At least I knew I wasn’t making that up!

The nurse and my OB believed that I may just be dehydrated and that the contractions would go away. They decided to keep me until about 5am and see if I progress on my own. I was also to drink tons of water & juice to try to get hydrated. I knew that I had been drinking tons of water all day, so I didn’t really believe that hydration was the issue, but to make sure, I went through over 64oz of water and 32oz of apple juice.

The nurse came back around 5:30 and did another exam to find out that I was 1cm dilated. I had progressed (however slight) on my own!! So they decided to keep me and augment my progress with pitocin. Basically, they didn’t have to induce my labor but the pitocin would speed up the dilation.

At this point, I was having a really hard time with the pain. The contractions were still 3 minutes apart which didn’t allow for much rest in between. I tried walking around the room and breathing through them but nothing was helping the pain. I never intended to go through labor naturally, but I also didn’t want to start an epidural too early in the day. The nurse offered some pain medication instead. I decided to take it. It didn’t take away the feeling of the contractions, it just took away the edge.

They also suggested I eat a light breakfast since I would likely be in for a long stretch. I had a bowl of Special K and a piece of toast. Shortly afterwards, I saw my entire breakfast in reverse. Not sure if it was the food or the pain meds, but I recommend not eating while in labor. I continued to get sick several times for the next few hours until they finally gave me anti-nausea medicine. This was the worst part of my labor.

12:30pm I had them do the epidural. This was the best decision I could have made. The pain meds had worn off a few hours earlier and I didn’t take more for fear of getting sick again. The anesthesiologist was fantastic. He kept the atmosphere in the room light and talked me through what he was doing. He also let me keep my tank-top on underneath my gown, which made me more comfortable. As soon as the nurse found out Jason was scared of needles, she sent him to the other side of the room to look out the window. But she did a great job keeping me distracted.

I felt very little pain when he did the local anesthetic and no pain as he used the bigger needle (which thankfully I never saw!)

From 12:30 until 4pm I was blissfully relaxed. I just layed in bed, Jason napped, we watched TV, went on facebook and just relaxed. In the meantime, I was having contractions every minute. If I hadn’t had the epidural, it would have been a much more stressful, painful afternoon.

The OB came in around 4:00 to see my progress. At this point, we were all still expecting me to be in labor until probably after dinnertime. However, as soon as he started the exam he stated, “wow! you’re ready to push!” I was at +2 station which meant that Brody was right there and ready to come out.

From 4:00-4:30 with the help of a nurse, my OB and my wonderful husband, I worked on pushing Brody out. Many first time moms will push for several hours, so it was very lucky that it only took me 30 minutes. When Brody was born there were several comments about how big he was. But he was adorable and I was immediately in love.

They put him directly on my chest as soon as he was out. Jason cut the umbilical cord and they wiped him clean while laying on top of me. He came out screaming and didn’t stop until he was clean and warm. He has quite the lungs!

He was 8lbs 14oz and 21.5 inches long with an adorable head full of hair. We’re officially a family of three!