Our Birth Story

I started having contractions on 11/2/10 at approximately 10 pm when we got into bed. I was able to sleep in between them for awhile, until they got closer together and more painful. I woke Cory around midnight to tell him. We waited until about 2:30 am when they were a lot closer together and he started timing them. The Dr said to go to the hospital when they lasted a minute and came every 5 minutes for at least an hour. Around 3:30 we decided to shower and start getting everything ready. Cory got us to Newport in record time. They took us to a room to see how far along I was. The nurse determined that I was 3 cm dialated and they admitted me at 4:30. After hooking me up to all the machines and checking my blood, they adminstered the epidural. I was very ready for it by then. After that it was smooth sailing for the rest of the morning. I couldn't feel a thing. By 9 am, I wasn't dialated any further, so they broke my water and administered pitocin to sppd up the labor. I slowly progressed throughout the day. Around noon, I started feeling pressure and the nurse started helping me push. Once she determined I was ready, she called the Dr. Apparently I wasn't pushing the same when the Dr arrived. She thought it would be another 1-2 hours, so she left. The nurse continued to help me push and things progressed quickly. She was coming when I had contractions and I wasn't even pushing. The Dr wasn't going to make it back to the hospital in time, so the Dr on call came to deliver. She was born at 1:44 pm. They immediately laid her on my chest and she was perfect. They took her away to clean her up and she had some trouble breathing. There was still some amniotic fluid in her lungs. They brought her back to lay on my chest for a few more minutes and then decided that they wanted to take her to the nursery for observation. Cory stayed with her, while they cleaned me up. Two hours later, I was able to leave the delivery room and go visit her in the nursery. They were waiting to see certain improvements and so far, they hadn't. Cory was able to visit her off and on. It was really hard not being able to hold her for so long. Around 11 pm they finally brought her to our room and she was just fine.

Scheduled for Induction

Still no sign of baby girl. We are scheduled for induction on November 8th at 7 AM unless she decides to come on her own. So far...no pains, no anything.

Happy Halloween

No new news...just a few pictures. Haven't felt any different....she still has one more day till she's late....maybe she doesn't want to be rushed.

A Boring Patient

Sorry for the delay, but it's hard to come up with news this week. Everything is pretty much the same as it has been for the last month. I'm 40% effaced and 1cm dialated with no signs that she's on her way. My doctor told me I'm a boring patient. I'm hoping to take some more belly pictures today...if I can fit it into my busy schedule : ) In talking to a friend yesterday, she said that nothing out of the ordinary happened until the day before she went into labor. So...let's give her till Saturday...maybe she's waiting for Foxtoberfest.

Halloween Fun

Our doctor's appointment last week didn't yeild anything new. Still 1 cm dialated and I haven't had any types of contractions. We'll have another appointment on Monday, but I think she's sitting tight for now. Here's a pic from our Halloween fun last night. Cory, Joelle, Gabo and I dressed up as characters from Futurama. My character get's pregnant in the "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Knotch" by Joelle's character Leela.

Not much new in Week 36

I know I skipped a Week 35 update, but I was waiting to pick one of our pictures we took at the beach and by the time I picked one, wow...it's already Week 36. We don't really have much new news. I was one centimeter dilated and 0% effaced at Week 35, which doesn't mean much, she said I could stay at this for 2-3 more weeks. They didn't check anything yesterday. So...for those of you who have no idea what this means (aka Gabo) Here's the scoop.

• 0-3 cm - Latent Phase of Labor
• 4-7 cm - Active Labor
• 8-10 - Transition - I'm guessing this means here she comes
• 10 cm - Baby arrives

More Belly Pics posted on facebook

She not a giant baby!!! Yay!

If you go back a few posts you'll see that at our last ultrasound they told us she was head up and in the 91st percentile for size. We were a little worried when they talked about trying to get her to come early so that we didn't have to resort to a C-Section if she was really big. Fortunately, they made a mistake. Remember back to our first few months when they originally predicted her due date at November 7th. Well apparently no one changed it in the ultrasound computer. At our 3rd ultrasound the normal technician wasn't there and the substitute didn't confirm our due date. So... for a Nov 7th date....yes she was big. However for her real due date, November 1st, she is just right. They estimate her to be about 4lb 15 oz (give or take a lb) and in the 47th percentile. Which makes a lot more sense when you actually look at my belly size. And she is now turned head down....so Yay for being average! And we actually have a really awsome shot of her face. Although everyone I've showed it to, stares at it like it's a worshak test.

We have our next appointment on Monday, so perhaps we'll have more to report then.

Beautiful Shower

I'm about a week behind, but I wanted to say a big thank you to Judy, Shauna, Shelly, Theresa, and Joelle for all the work they did to prepare for my baby shower. Everything was beautiful. Cory and I feel so blessed that we have so many wonderful friends and family. Our baby girl is all set with everything we need to take care of her. I don't have any pictures from the shower, but will post when I get some

Some news from the Dr's office. At our appointment last Monday the doctor indicated that she thought the baby was now turned head down. We'll confirm at our ultrasound on Thursday. She also indicated that anyone who plans to spend a lot of time around her through 6 months should get a Whooping Cough shot. Apparently there is a breakout in Southern California. We're going to find out the best place to get them and let everyone know.

I'm still feeling pretty good...I can't believe we're already at 34 weeks...only 6 weeks to go for those of you counting down. As far as her development goes...she's now the size of a honeydew and very active. She can now blink and recognize simple songs...I haven't asked Cory to sing to her yet. Less cute is that she is now able to urinate. We'll provide more info after the ultrasound.

Belly at 32 weeks (almost)

So here's the belly picture for 31 weeks and 5 days. Not much new to report on her. We are almost ready for her though. The nursery is 95% complete. We found a nice little bookshelf last weekend that fits in nicely and thanks to Theresa we have some super cute curtains. Just a few more decorations and the wall light and we should be done.

Her dresser is practically full. Thanks to Dave and Andrea, we got another bag full of clothes. She'll be a well dressed little girl through 9 months.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with a little bit of home organization thrown in. We've made good progress fitting all the stuff that was cluttering our living room back into the bedrooms and the closets.

She's right on schedule

As I mentioned in my last post the doctor ordered an ultrasound to determine how big out little girl is, Our appointment was Thursday. The pictures aren't as good as the early ones we've posted. She's just too big to fit all of her on the screen now. We got a few good profile pictures and they once again confirmed she's a girl. She's measuring consistent with her due date and weighs about 3 1/2 lbs. Only thing we saw that is a little bit of a concern is that she's standing straight up instead of having her head down. A few months ago when I was reading the development milestones, it mentioned when her inner ear developed. So she knows which way is up. Maybe she doesn't like to be upside down right now. All the books I've read say they will often turn in the last few months. Even right up until a few weeks before. Out of curiosity, I googled "Breach at 31 weeks". It came up with a ton of crazy ideas to get her to turn. As we were leaving the doctor's office Cory says to me, "I guess we'll have to hang you up by your ankles." Apparently people recommend that. Along with shining a light between your legs or playing music between your legs. Don't worry, I don't believe everything I read online : ) Today the doctor said that she wasn't concerned that her head was up, there's plenty of time for her to turn. She did order an ultrasound for the end of September to see how big she is. Apparently they are a little concerned that she's going to be a big baby. She's measuring in the 91st percentile. She mentioned there are some things they can do to try and get her to come early if she really is going to be a big baby. I guess we'll wait and see. I definitely owe some more pictures...later this week should be less busy, so I will try to post some then.

Update from the doctor...

The baby is now about 15 inches long and weighs about 2 ¼ to 3 ¾ pounds. She's very active kicking and stretching, and changing position from side to side. I think Cory and Joelle are the only ones who have felt her, but if I have a shirt that lays flat on my belly, and you happen to be looking when she kicks, you'll see my belly jump. She's quick, so if you blink you might miss it

We had our doctor's appointment Monday and the doctor measured my belly at 31 inches. The size is supposed to correspond to the # of weeks pregnant. If you look at the ticker, they don't match, so the doctor ordered an ultrasound for next Thursday. This little girl is all over the map. First she was due November 7th, then they moved her up to November 1st...who knows when she'll decide to arrive. Hopefully the ultrasound will tell us more. At least she has a place to sleep when she does come. We'll be headed to the doctor every 2 weeks now, so I'll probably be posting at least my belly measurements every week now.

So this week, I'm measuring 41inches. I read that she's supposed to triple in size between now and when she's born. For those of you who like the food analogies, she's now a squash according to the bump!

The Nursery is Almost Done

My wonderful husband has been hard at work finishing up Baby Pollock's nursery. While I was away last weekend he finished up all the painting. We assembled the crib this week and while I've been working all weekend, he's been puting on all the finishing touches...assembling the dresser and putting up the cherry blosom decal. I'm so excited to start filling it up and thanks to Nicole and Jeff we can get started. That pile of clothes waiting to get washed is courtesy of Nicole saving lots of cute little things from her two girls. We are so thankful. Our next doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so I'll post the Dr. update along with a new belly picture and measurement. It's getting BIG!!

We've reached trimester 3

We are at 27 weeks and now into the third trimester. 3 more months to go. The baby's lungs are going through some major developments. The opening of previously plugged nostrils means she's now inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid.
Her room is one step closer to being done. After a little more painting this week, we'll be ready to order carpet. Once we clean all the paint cans and such out of the bedroom I'll post a picture of the room. I had a request for belly size this week...we're at 40 inches around.

First Belly Picture

This weekend I get a call from my 6 year old niece asking me all kinds of questions about the baby...Q: What are you going to name her? A: We don't know yet; Q: How big is your belly? A: How about I send you a picture? So we proceed to snap a picture with my phone and email it to her. My mom calls me back shortly after to tell me that Rebekah thinks I might have eaten too much. After my shopping trip snacks Joelle and Nikki might agree. So today I took a new picture for all of you wondering how big my belly actually is. And as a bonus the nursery wall color is in the background.

The New Baby Mobile

We decided to test drive one of our options for a new car last night...by 9PM we were signing paperwork. Luckily I brought snacks. We picked up the the new Kia Sorrento after work today. I'm very excited no to have to get in an out of my Saturn anymore.

Oh and since I'm wearing one of my new tops in this picture I have to give a shout out to Joelle and Nikki for doing a marathon shopping trip with me this weekend. New maternity tops purchased and registry complete. Check and Check.

Bad Episode of Hoarders

I promise an intervention is not required. I couldn't resist documenting the intermediate process of getting ready for baby. Cory told me our living room looked like it qualified for an episode of Hoarders. I think I can say it's a little more managable after reorganizing this weekend and delivering a load of items to Goodwill.

We are also one step closer to being able to paint the baby's room. Cory finished the wall prep and we finished the primer.

The Nursery is Underway

Our living room currently looks like someone should sign us up for a Hoarders intervention. We've moved all the stuff from the 2 extra rooms into the living room/dining area. The gues room is essentially completed with the exception of replacing the carpet. As I write, Cory is currently repairing the walls in the nursery. We painted the trim and ceiling in there a few weeks ago. Despite it's under construction state we actually have a plan now.

Our color scheme is based on the crib sheets we picked out. We decided to paint the walls in a color very close to the green shown here. We'll be doing accents in pink and brown. Cory got me a great deal on a modern looking cherry blossom decal for one of the walls.

We've ordered blinds for one set of windows and the crib and dresser....all of which has just been added to the pile of stuff in the living room until we can move it into the nursery.

She's kicking a LOT!

So I've been getting complaints that I'm not blogging enough about baby pollock's progress. For those of you who've seen me lately, I definitely have a little belly going on...it now seems to get a little bigger everyday. Apparently we weren't paying attention during our last appointment, because we can't remember what she measured it at. I'm probably ready to take a picture now. I'll try doing that this weekend.

She's also moving around a lot now. Cory has felt her a few times. A few days ago I was actually able to see my tummy move when she moved. She's now about the length of an eggplant; approx 13.6 to 14.8 inches and weighs between 1.5 - 2 lbs.

Official New Due Date

We had our monthly doctor visit yesterday she reiterated the new due date of November 1st...so I updated all the ticker's on the blog and she jumped from being the length of a cantalope to the length of a banana (~ 10.5 inches). This definitely explains the major bump I've got going on. I'm still able to hide it with the right clothes, but it's definitely there (measured 22 inches). What's crazier is that she'll practically double in size over the next three weeks. The doctor confirmed that all genetic testing came back negative...so we have a healthy baby girl.

We're getting serious on getting the rooms ready, now that we're done travelling for a few weeks. Guest room is getting painted tonight...we may even pick out new carpet this weekend. Eventually we'll get around to that registry : ). No new pictures this time. Probably won't have many more. I'll think about posting a pic of my belly in a few weeks. I'm sure one will surface anyway once I'm in my bathing suit on the river trip.

I'm starting to show

Baby's now the size of a mango!
A greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) called vernix caseosa now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.)

I still haven't really felt her move yet, but I definitely have a little belly now. Not big enough to take picture and share them here though. We're almost half way done though. Sunday will mark the half way point. Our next doctor's appointment is Monday...so hopefully we'll have some more stat's for you then.

It's definitely a Girl

We had our second ultrasound today and they confirmed it's definitely a girl. She's 8 oz and everything looks good. You'll see the video pause often and it's usually because the ultrasound tech is checking her spine or her heart to make sure everything is healthy. She has 5 fingers and 5 toes which she'll show you in the video and her heart, kidneys and stomach are all functioning properly. I'm amazed that they can tell that from these pictures. We could also tell that she has Cory's toes. In one view you can see that her 2nd toe is just a little longer than her big toe. You'll even get to hear her heartbeat. It's beating at 147 beats per minute today. At the end of the video when the technican is looking for her foot you can see how active she's getting. She's wiggling all over the place. To view larger versions of the video, right click and select watch video at YouTube

She's getting bigger

Baby's now the size of an onion!
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. Her umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

New Due Date

We had another doctors appointment today. The doctor says that everything is looking good. All the test results came back showing the baby is healthy and we heard the heartbeat again. They moved my due date up to November 1st based on the measurements they took at our first ultrasound. I'm going to leave the countdown clock with the original date until we have our next ultrasound. I'm starting to show a little bit...enough that I had to buy some actual maternity pants. Not ready to go to maternity shirts yet : ). Our next ultrasound is scheduled for June 3rd.

It's an Avocado

Baby's now the size of an avocado!
Watch what you say...tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. So Gabo....no swearing near my tummy. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

Ultrasound Pictures

Our ultrasound was amazing. When we started the baby was asleep so the technician woke it up by poking my stomach...yes you heard me correctly. But then we could see the baby flopping around and even opening it's mouth.

Week 13

Baby's now the size of a peach!
Our baby is forming teeth and vocal cords. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with it's head now only one third the size of it's body. And intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy -- much more convenient.