Delivery Story (3 months later)

Going to the hospital to have a baby!

Holy moly!  An update is truly needed at this time!  Apparently being a mom takes up all of my time!  I feel like I need to update everyone on my delivery.  I'm not sure how many gruesome details everyone wants, but labor was a very long process.
   I got there at 6:30 in the morning.  While I was walking to the delivery room I literally froze.  I was scared silly, Derek had to give me a little pep talk.  I got all hooked up to my IV, BP cuff, baby HR monitor, my contraction monitor, and my pitosin.  This made going to the bathroom one heck of a time!!

 
  The Dr came in and tried to break my water at either 8 or 9 am (I can't remember).  After about 10 minutes of the worst pain someone has put me through, the Dr said he was going to try a different approach. They used some medicine to soften my cervix, and I had to lay there for 4 hours until he came back.
   Finally the Dr came back at either 12 or 1 (I can't remember), to try and break my water again.  I don't know how I didn't swear, cry, scream, or kick the Dr in the face.  I have never experienced so much pain in my life!! Having the Dr try to break my water was seriously the worst thing ever.  The nurse told me that she had never seen someone go through as much as I did to get their water to break as she did with me in over 6 years.  This made me feel a little better, and that I wasn't being a wuss.  After about 10 minutes my water finally broke.  This made going to the bathroom even more fun.  It was sad, but I had only progressed from a 1 to a 2.5 at this point.

   The Dr came back in at about 5 and I was only at a 4.  I was so discouraged.  The nurse suggested I get an epidural because the Nurse Anesthetist was leaving at 6.  So rather than waiting as long as I possibly could to get an epidural I said heck with it.  Give me the shot now.  My body is obviously not progressing and I'm going to be in pain for a long time.
   I was so scared to get the epidural, but the N.A. was amazing!  It was like night and day from how I had felt before the epidural.  I would talk right through my contractions once I had the epidural.  Derek kept asking me if I even knew that I was having a contraction when my monitor would show that I was.  Luckily my family came to visit AFTER I had my epidural.  I was much more pleasant to be around after the epidural was given.  I ate my ice chips and enjoyed having some company to distract me with how long of a day it had been.
   Now for the even more discouraging part.  The Dr. came back at 11 pm to check on my progress.  I was only at a 6.  My Dr. told me that I wouldn't be giving birth until early morning so I needed to try and get some rest.  Before he left, he inserted internal monitors for my contractions and the baby's heart rate so they could better monitor what was going on.  The nurse saw my contractions on the monitor and decided to crank the pitosin all the way up to a 7.
    When the Dr. left, Derek set up his bed and we were both very discouraged.  An hour later I felt the urge to push.  We called the nurse in and she told me that I was at a 9.5.  She told me to try to push and see what happens.  Well I gave one big push and I was dilated to a 10 and ready to deliver.  I asked her if she was going to call the Dr and she said not yet.  I FREAKED out!! I did not want to deliver this baby without my Dr.  Especially because my nurse was not the best nurse in the world.  I pushed for 20 minutes, and Derek told me that he could see the head.  FINALLY she went and called the Dr.  He was there within 8 minutes.  He got all set up, and 3 pushes later I experienced the happiest moment of my life.  At 12:59 am on March 20, my little angel entered this world.

   They placed the sweetest baby I had ever seen on my chest.  He wasn't crying so I said, "Cry baby cry!", and we all started rubbing him to stimulate him.  I didn't expect tears to roll down my cheeks the moment I met this sweet baby, but I honestly can't even describe the emotions that I experienced.  Meeting that baby was the most spiritual and pure moment of my life.  I couldn't think of my life without him and I had just barely met him.

   They took my baby to a warm bed to check his vitals.  He sprawled out and put his hands behind his head while he let them do their thing.  None of us could get over how mellow he was.  None of us had expected him to weigh 7lbs 14 oz either.  We all laughed at the fact that he was almost 8 pounds and I had just delivered that chubby boy.

 
  When I held that little boy in my arms his name immediately came to my head.  I knew that his name was Levi Derek Dawson.  I was so grateful to experience this because I was panicking that we still didn't have a set name for him.

   Levi has been the greatest blessing to us.  He is mellow, content, and has the cutest little chubby cheeks on the block.  Being a mom is the greatest gift I have ever been given.  I was scared about what if I didn't have the maternal instincts, what if I missed my freedom, and what if I didn't know what to do.  I have surprised myself with the fact that I DO have maternal instincts, and I wouldn't change my life for a second.  It's hard to believe we even lived without Levi.  We adore this sweet boy so much.  He melts our heart each day, and he makes me want to be a better person.

   That is a very condensed version of my labor, but all the little details would take too long to share.  I left out the part where I could only eat ice chips for almost 24 hours and I was starving, so right after delivery my nurse ran and grabbed me a sandwich. I left out how the first time I tried walking after the epidural wore off that my legs gave out and I fell on the bed. I left out the part where they didn't have enough rooms for us to go into the mommy and baby dept so we were stuck in the

labor and delivery section and were at the bottom of their priority list for a day. Hahaha.  Labor is not glamorous!! I am proud to say I did not poop while delivering!!  That was one of my biggest fears.  Recovery sucks after delivering, and no one explained to me exactly how unglamorous it truly is.  But as crazy as it sounds, going through all of it was completely worth it.  In the middle of it, I wasn't so sure I would come out in the end being able to say that, but guess what?  I'm at the end of it, and it definitely is all worth it!

Big News!!

Well.. I have some good news!! First of all, the baby flipped on his own at 37 weeks.  I worked a 10 hour day and I was having a lot of contractions that night.  I went home and laid on the couch and I felt a ton of pressure (which I now know was his head pushing while flipping), and I felt a lot of sharp pains down under (which I now know was his head pushing down).  I went to the Dr the next day and we took an ultrasound to make sure he flipped.  Sure enough that cute little boy had flipped!! No scheduled C-section for me!! YAY!

I am currently 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  I am not progressing at all which is a bummer.  I've been 90% effaced and dilated at a 1 for a couple of weeks now.  We decided to give it a week and schedule an induction on Saturday.  Today at work I got a call from Labor and Delivery saying that they had an opening for Wednesday and asked if I could get induced early.  I told them YES!!  Well... I got another call about an hour or 2 ago saying that they want to get me in in the morning!!!  I am freaking out!!!  Labor terrifies me, and I'm especially nervous b/c my body isn't progressing on it's own and I have to rely on medicine to bring this baby into the world.  I am so nervous, and slightly in shock!!  It all happened so quickly!!  I pray that labor will go well and we will have no scares!! I pray that this sweet baby boy will have good health and strength.  I don't usually do this, but any sort of prayers and thoughts would be deeply appreciated at this time!!! Thanks so much everyone!  Ready or not here he comes!!

39 weeks and 2 days

40 weeks and 1 day

A little bit of craziness!

Well, the past few weeks have been a little bit crazy!  I am now 34 weeks and 4 days pregnant.  Derek is over his head with homework and tests and running on overload.  About 2 weeks ago we came home from dinner and were sitting on the couch.  Derek's heart started racing out of nowhere and he couldn't get it to slow down.  He laid down, took deep breaths, and then we tried different valsalva maneuvers.  Valsalva maneuvers are different techniques you can do to slow down a heart rate.  Some of these include bearing down, holding your breath and then pushing it all out, and putting ice on a person's neck without them knowing.  Derek's heart raced for 3 hours, and he finally just decided to try and sleep it off.  The next morning he was completely exhausted from his heart racing for so long, he slept through 2 classes.  Finally Derek texted me and asked if I'd go to the Dr. with him so we could check out his heart.  I had to find someone to cover the rest of my shift, and got to Rexburg at about 1.  They did a CKG which looked good, (because his heart rate was normal at this point), his blood pressure was high, and when Derek laid down the Dr. heard a slight heart murmur.  He recommended that we do an echocardiogram to check out his heart murmur in greater detail to make sure that there is no hole or deformities in his heart.  It could be nothing, or it could be something.  It just stinks because we really can't afford to go get the test at this time.  Hopefully we will be able to soon.  Derek has been monitoring his sodium intake to lower his blood pressure, and he has been trying to exercise more.  He has also been trying to reduce stress... which really isn't happening.  He is taking his hardest classes this semester, we are having a baby about 3 weeks before finals, he's doing his internship on top of it, and he is trying to start on the process of applying for dental school and studying for the DAT.  Poor kid!  I know that he can do it, but he sure has a lot on his plate right now!  I will tell you that he hasn't had any more weird heart palpitations or long periods of racing since the Dr. visit.  Let's cross our fingers that the heart murmur is no big deal and that he can control his blood pressure through diet and exercise.

     On another note, I had my Dr. visit on Friday and the baby is still in breech position.  I have to go in for an ultrasound next week to see if he is has turned into  the head down position.  If he is still breech, I have to go in to the hospital at 39 weeks, the Drs will lube me up and try and get that baby into the head down position.  I have heard that sometimes this process can send you into labor.  If they still can't get the baby head down, then they will have to perform a C-section right there.  The Dr. wants us to do a C-section if this is the case because he doesn't want to risk the body coming out, and then the head getting stuck in me with the possibility of the umbilical cord getting wrapped around his neck.  Where this is my first baby he said that I  probably have a tighter cervix and it is too dangerous trying to do a vaginal birth.  So... there is a slight possibility that I could be having this baby in about 5 weeks... so crazy!!!  We are hoping that this baby will change positions on his own.  We are trying not to panic because we know that there is still 5 weeks for this little guy to get in position.  I really hope this is the case because I have heard horror stories of the recovery from C-sections.

  I am so grateful to a Dr. who is thorough.  I am confident in my Dr to help me along the way if there is any complications.  So far everything has been great, so let's hope it continues to go as such.  Derek and I are trying to stay positive, and we are confident that no matter what, all will be well.  Let's root for out little guy to get in position so we can have a normal delivery and avoid the C-section.  

33 Weeks (Sorry, this is the most current)

Dawson Update

   Well, quite a bit has happened since my last post.  I have had a growth spurt in my pregnancy, and it is very clear that I am pregnant now. Strangers now make comments every day, and few have even commented that they want to rub my tummy.  Derek finished up his last day of the semester yesterday, YAY!!!  He took over 20 credits, and all were difficult classes!! He is pretty burnt out, but such a good student.  I'm so happy that things are going to settle down a bit for him for a few weeks, and we will be able to relax and spend more time together.  And lastly we moved to good ol' Rexburg at the end of November.  We are in a cute little cozy apartment.  It's pretty small, and we can hear basically anything going on upstairs which is annoying, but other than that, we enjoy our new place.  I felt bad b/c I worked all day the day we moved, and Derek had class for half of the day.  Derek ended up moving most of everything himself, and then Thayne and Kiama stepped in and helped with the rest of the big stuff.  Thanks guys!!  I did most of the boxing, and unloading.  Because I'm pregnant I really couldn't do a lot of lifting, and I also wasn't there for most of moving day.  I felt bad, but thank goodness I have a strong super hero husband!!  Our apartment is now unpacked and decorated, and we are loving having our own space again!!  The baby room is still full of boxes and electronics and random items..... but I'll get to that don't worry!

     Yesterday we were lucky enough to go to the Dr. and get a 3D image of our little squirt!  Oh my goodness does that boy have some cheeks!! I was so excited to see those chubby cheeks on the screen!  I can't even contain the excitement I have to just squeeze those cute cheeks once he's here!!  Those cheeks are definitely a contribution from me!!  I was such a chubby baby, and I had and still have some good pincher cheeks.  Haha Derek laughed because he knew those cheeks definitely do come from me.  The picture we got is a side profile view, so it's kind of hard to pick out a lot, but it was kind of fun looking at his facial features and pointing out which side of the family it came from.  He definitely has a full set of lips that comes from Derek, and we are thinking maybe the nose as well.  Hard to really say until we see him in person!!  How exciting!

Look at those pincher cheeks and those big lips!!  Love this boy so much already!

     I am currently 27 weeks.  Next week I enter the 3rd trimester- CRAZY!!  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going!  I have so much to get ready for it's unbelievable.  I still am feeling good, but this past week I feel as though my immune system is down and I've been really really tired again.  My low back has been hurting, and I wake up with a charlie horse in my leg about 2 times a week.  Ugh, those are the worst!! I only fit into 3 pairs of my own jeans, and 2 pairs of my dress pants.  Most of my shirts don't quite cover up my belly anymore, and I am getting to the point where I am about to give in and go buy some maternity clothes.  I have gained a healthy amount of weight, and the baby is growing at a healthy pace and everything in my pregnancy looks normal.  I am so grateful for this!!  I had to take the glucose test yesterday to see if I have gestational diabetes.  I haven't found out the results yet, but the way things look, everything should be fine!  I was dreading drinking that dextrose because everyone made it seem horrible!  I actually didn't mind it at all.  Would I do that every day? No.  But was it that bad?  No.  I'm glad it didn't make me sick like it does to some other women.

27 weeks and doing well!

    Derek was so cute enough to take me out and get breakfast after my Dr. appointment because I had been fasting for the glucose test, and he knew that I was starving!!  I am so grateful for such a sweet husband that takes care of me and wants the best for me!!  I am grateful for where I am at in my life right now.  I am really happy.  I like my job, I have a healthy pregnancy, I have an incredible spouse, and we are lucky enough to expound our family and meet our sweet little boy in 3 short months.  We know that so much change is coming, and we can't even comprehend everything that is going to happen.  But we couldn't be more happy for this change.  I love stepping back from life and realizing all my many blessings.  Sometimes I wish time would stop in it's tracks and I could freeze this exciting stage in our lives!!!  I hope that the rest of my pregnancy continues to go well, and that my son will enter this world with good health and strength.

It's a......

BOY!!!!!

   Derek and I are sooo happy to announce that the new addition joining our family will be a sweet baby boy!!!!  During the ultrasound our little boy would NOT hold still.  That may have to do with the fact that I had just fed him Captain Crunch, so he may have been on a sugar high!!  

   

  Thursday October 25, we woke up to about 6 inches of snow on the ground.  Derek and I hurried to get ready in order to make it to the appointment on time, because we knew the roads would be bad.  The further north we drove to get to Rexburg, the worse the roads were.  We saw about 5 slide offs by 8:30 in the morning.  I found out that I have gained 11 pounds since the beginning of my pregnancy, and everything looks great!!  Our doctor knew immediately what the gender as soon as he put the ultrasound wand on my belly.  Derek and I both guessed it was a girl because we couldn't see anything between the legs.  Our doctor just smiled and said.... "Well that's because he has his legs together and he is turned away from us."  I very loudly said, "It's a BOY!?!?!"  And the Dr. smiled and nodded.  We were so excited!!  

   

  It was hilarious b/c as soon as he went to show us that it was a boy he turned away from us, put his legs together, and he put his hands up so he was covering his face.  Our Doctor laughed and told us, he is definitely a boy since he is already hiding from the camera.  Probably a very true statement.

      

 I am excited to play sports and be active with this little squirt.  I'm excited to see what he looks like and what his little personality is like.  I'm excited to have a mini Derek running around, for some reason that brings a lot of comfort to me!!  Derek and I both went into the ultrasound in girl mode for some reason, so we are trying to get out of that mode and into boy mode!!  Derek is excited to take him camping, motorbiking, and hunting with him.

   On Thursday night we made a cake with blue in it, and we showed the DVD of the ultrasound that the Dr gave us to my family.  My sister in law is an ultrasound tech so she knew exactly what it was as soon as the DVD started.  Derek and I both accidentally slipped out "he" while we were watching it so my mom and brother caught on that it was a boy!!  My sister in law showed us the proof that it was a boy about 4 different times.  We had a lot of fun watching the DVD, talking about boy names, baby items, and eating cake and German pancakes.

    I am so blessed to have this sweet little baby boy coming into my life in just a short amount of time.  Today I am 20 weeks so I am exactly half way done, I can't even believe!!! Yay for boys, and yay for our family!! So excited!

Waiting for our Ultrasound to begin!

  

Can't wait to meet baby boy Dawson!!

16 weeks

   This week I am 16 weeks prego!! It's exciting that in only 1 more month I will be half way done!!  I wanted to start taking pictures each week to show the growth over just a weeks time.  I won't post a picture every week, b/c I'm so sure everyone would get so sick of me, but I just wanted to keep them for myself to reflect back on!!  Derek and I attempted to take our first prego picture on Saturday.  You know... the standard prego picture where the girl is facing the side so you can see her belly.  First of all...  I was wearing a dress so it's a little bit harder to see.... second of all..... I am in this in between stage still where it's a toss up of does she look bloated, is she gaining some weight, or is she possibly pregnant?  Fun times you guys.  When I run into old friends they say, " I can definitely see you're getting bigger!"  Which apparently when you're pregnant these things are good to hear?  Sometimes when I ask Derek if I look pregnant he says, "Not really, you more just look like you ate too much."  Haha.  So I guess I'm going to just stop asking people if I look pregnant or not.  On Friday my stomach just popped out quite a bit more than usual.  It's funny how you feel like you're not really growing and all of a sudden you're tummy grows in 1 day.  

   At 16 weeks pregnant I no longer feel nauseous.  Quite a bit of my energy is back, and I am peeing more frequently.  I am starting to try and sleep on my side, b/c it is getting uncomfortable to sleep on my back and my stomach.  I crave anything that is spicy or salty.  When  I can't decide what to eat I go to the fridge and start eating pickles or banana peppers.  I literally have to pry myself away from the jar of banana peppers or else I would eat the entire jar.  I have a Dr. apt tomorrow, and there is a very slight chance we may see the gender.  It is early to tell.... but if the baby is moving and cooperates, there may be a chance.  Other wise we have to wait until week 20 to see the gender.  I am not banking on finding out the gender tomorrow, b/c you know how well babies cooperate when you need them to!!  

 Well here are our attempts at trying to get a photo of my little bump.  Derek was quite the director at trying to make this photo work.  He was cracking me up at how serious he was about trying to get the best view of the bump.

 

  

Holy Month and a half!!!

What has this past month and a half consisted you ask?  Only minor life changing events... no big deal.

First off I graduated from BYU-Idaho July 15, 2012.  I received my Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science.  I never thought the day would come, but sure enough it did!!!  So exciting!

Right after I received my diploma!

3 days later I found out I was pregnant!!!  I was in complete shock when I found out!!  Not to give you too many details, but I have a disorder that's called Endometriosis, and I was told it would be hard for me to get pregnant.  I thought it would take years before I could get pregnant, but to my surprise, it didn't take years at all!!

Look at those long legs and feet!!

Next up we headed down to Arizona for our anniversary and to visit family!!  We always have such a fun time whenever we go to AZ.  We were able to go to a fun restaurant called Rustler's Rooste, went on a tour of a candy factory, went swimming at Derek's brother's new place, and went shopping.

Such  a fun group of people!!

We got home from AZ on a Friday, and I started my new job on Monday.  I got the job in 3 days, which is pretty unheard of now days.  I was really hoping I would be able to find a job at a Physical Therapy office, but I am so grateful to have any job.  I am currently working for Eye Care Associates in Idaho Falls.  I am working as a tech for Dr. Birch.  I do all of the pre-testing before patients see the doctors, and I do acuities, health histories, and any special testing that the Dr. needs to be done.  I basically run all of the machines at the office.  I have really enjoyed this job, but it is def. stressful trying to learn everything and take it all in.  I'm on my feet all day, and I work long hours.  Pregnancy and those 2 aren't the best of friends, but I'm pushing through.  I am usually completely wiped out by the end of the day.  Luckily I  get Wednesdays and weekends off.  I def. needs those days to recoop. 

I have definitely had quite the month and a half.  I am so blessed for all that I have been given!!!  I can't wait to meet this sweet baby and I am so excited for our family to grow!!!  For some reason I have thought it was a boy from the very beginning.  Derek thinks it's a girl just because I am so set on a boy.  Since it's our first, I really don't care what comes first!!  I am due March 16, and I am currently 14 weeks pregnant.  I have been lucky that I really haven't been very sick.  I get nauseous if I don't eat every couple of hours.  I am pretty low on energy, especially since I've started working.  Before when I was tired I was able to lay down when I needed to, or grab a snack.  Now that I am working all day and I'm on my feet, it is a little difficult.  Other than that, I really have been lucky about how good I have been feeling!!  Derek and I are soo happy with where we are at in life right now!!  All these changes are exciting and scary, but we know that we were meant to have this sweet little baby come into our home at this time!!  These next 6 months will either fly by, or they won't come soon enough!!!  I'm curious to know your thoughts on what you think I'm having.  Also, any words of advice are appreciated!!! I'm always looking for tips and more knowledge in order to have a healthy pregnancy, and to help me to become a better mom!