Bath Time

We needed a post just for bath pictures. First bath was no fun. Little man cried almost the entire time. Second bath went much better. Now, we've graduated from sink baths to our over-the-sink bathtub. I think we have a waterbug on our hands. He seemed to really enjoy his last bath (or at the least didn't cry!)

First Bath!

This was not fun mom!

I am really uncomfortable!

Second Bath:
Let's hurry up please, I'm getting hungry!
Are you sure about this?
Ok, not so bad after all.

First time in our bathtub:
This is better!


Maybe I like bath time after all.

August 11th... My One Month Birthday!

Wow! A lot has happened in the past month. The days and nights seem to last forever but the weeks have flown by. Campbell now weighs a little over 7 lbs. - gaining weight rapidly during his 10-day old and 3-week old growth spurts. Each day he looks more like a little person and stays awake longer for play time. We've started to have tummy time (not just on me) but on the floor, and Campbell can lift his head to look from left to right - what a big boy!

Even though he's little, he has a big personality. It's such a hoot to watch him wake up from naps - he has a 30 minute stretching routine that he does complete with the funniest billy-goat grunting noises. It's hilarious! He'll finally open his eyes and realize that's he's starving and let out a scream to tell me "I'm ready for food NOW!"

It's amazing to me how much he has grown and changed in such a short period of time. We have millions of pictures to document his first month, but here's just a few of my favorites.

First car ride home from the hospital. I slept the whole way!

Mom and dad have me sleeping in their room this first month.

Compare this photo to the one at the end - you can really see how much I have grown.

Waylon, meet Campbell!

First visit to the pediatrician's office - one week old!

I'm a wild napper! Lots of crazy poses for mom to take pictures of.

My serene sleeping look!

Mom trying to work - I'm not so sure I like this.

I love sleeping!

Thoughtful sleeping...

Dad and Waylon catching up on their sleep.

Why do they keep taking pictures of me when I try to sleep!

Waylon and I both trying to sleep in mom's lap.

I'm such a big boy now I can sleep in just my PJs. Just like dad I kick the covers off every night till my feet are exposed. Then I get cold and cry. Mom finally remembered all the cute PJs I got and now they actually fit. So it's footed jammies from now on!

Wow I am getting so big!

A New Journey Begins...

Sunday, July 11, 2010.

After our crazy night we woke up at 8:45 AM and decided we would try to make the 9:30 summer Sunday worship service. I rolled out of bed, walked into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast and whoosh!!!! Okay this was definitely my water breaking. I paged my doctor again and the conversation went something like - "I'm sure you think I'm crazy, but I really think my water broke this time."

While I got dressed and took care of some last minute work emails, Brad took the dogs to Camp Bow Wow. I was so glad that I insisted we pick them up from the animal hospital - now they could go to our regular kennel. After Brad dropped off the dogs he called to say he had to get gas in his car. Goodness, we made it to the hospital faster the night before and that was a false alarm!

We finally got checked in to the hospital by about 10:30 AM, and the nurse performed that "fun" (aka really uncomfortable) test again to confirm if my water had broke. Positive - water broke! So exciting! The clock was ticking now - once my water broke I had about 18 hours to get Campbell out (longer than that the risk of infection goes up significantly and it's not good for baby or mom).

Problem - water broken, no contractions. My doctor arrived that morning to explain that we needed to start a "rapid induction." They would be giving me medicine to start contractions. He explained it as such, "it's like we're going to take a battering ram to your uterus." Wow, that sounds like fun. If a normal starting dose of the medicine is 2, I was started on 6 and then doubled to 12. And since the medicine can sometimes affect the baby, I was bound to the bed for monitoring purposes. All the coping techniques we learned during our birthing classes we weren't able to do. But Brad was there as supportive as possible holding my hand through each contraction as the medicine started to kick in.

After 6 hours I was dilated to about 2 cm (for those of you not as familiar with this process, the goal is 10 cm) and in a lot of pain. I finally asked for the epidural and was feeling great by 5 pm. By 6:00, I made it to 4 cm and was so excited to finally see some progress. Then all of a sudden at 7:00, my contractions started to decrease in intensity despite the increase in medicine. By 8:00 I was at 5 cm, and by 10:00 when the nurse checked me again she thought I was at 5.5 cm. She called my doctor to give him the update - it was time for him to come in and check. At 10:30 he said I was still at 5 cm and things were not looking good. With the clock ticking and my contractions decreasing my options were c-section now or c-section later.

We opted for c-section now. I had no idea how fast the process would go, but it was quick once we decided. I say "decided" because my doctor was great, and he did not want to rush us knowing how badly I wanted to deliver the normal way. But with no progress over a 2 hour period, the decision was made for us - statistically my chances of delivering vaginally were very slim. As Brad explained to me, "babe, would you rather have them operating on you at 3:30 AM when everyone is exhausted or now." Spoken like a true surgeon - I'll take now. I texted a friend at 10:56 that we had decided to move forward with the c-section and by 11:34 Campbell was born.

The whole process was surreal - Brad had to stay in the L&D room while I was prepped in the operating room. I hated being separated from him, and he wasn't thrilled with the idea either because he was concerned I might be too drugged up to know what was happening. Luckily since I got the epidural, they were able to just increase the medicine to numb the lower half of my body - no general anesthesia needed - I was wide awake for the surgery! After being prepped, Brad was allowed into the OR. I'm sure I would have freaked out if I was given the opportunity to watch, but still a little jealous of Brad that he was able to watch the birth of our son. He gave great play-by-play commentary though so I knew what was going on.

Finally, the greatest sound I have ever heard, Campbell using his lungs for the first time - screaming his announcement to the world!


Campbell is born - so happy to finally have him!
What a tiny little guy with such huge lips!

My first opportunity to hold and kiss him.

A whopping 5 lbs. 11 oz. We've got some growing to do!

Campbell's Arrival... Almost

So by Saturday I was getting pretty determined. My plan was to go to the mall and walk for hours hoping that would move things along. Instead I spent the day cleaning the house top to bottom. I think it had the same effect!

That night, we attended a party - beginning of year get together for Brad's residency program. We talked baby all night - how we were so ready for Campbell's arrival. As we left the party and walked across the street to the car, squish. It felt like my water broke, or at least something was going on.

We hopped in the car, zoomed home and paged my doctor. He told us to come in to the hospital just to check. We grabbed our super prepared hospital bag (thanks to Brad's packing job the day before), threw the dogs in the car (luckily at the party someone told us about the great experience they had at a 24 hour animial hospital), and headed out the door.

First stop was the animal hospital. It was 9 PM, and we needed a place to board the dogs for the night. Luckily the animal hospital had room and took them in. Next stop, the hospital. Since I wasn't having contractions, the nurse performed a test to see if my water had actually broken. After two negative tests, we were sent home! False alarm - so frustrating!! Brad wanted to leave the dogs at the animal hospital, but I thought we needed to get them. By 1:00 AM we were back home with the dogs and finally going to sleep. What a night!

Plumbing and Packing

I had no idea when I wrote my last post that Campbell would be arriving that weekend. To tell the story of Campbell's arrival, I feel the need to recap the week. So from where we left off, the bathroom window arrived on Monday and the tile people started on Tuesday! What a crazy week... the last part of the puzzle was to finish out the plumbing. The tile guys finished a day later than expected so even though all the tiling and grouting was completed, it was recommended to wait till Monday to finish the plumbing to make sure the grout was good and dry. We did not want to take any chances though and begged that our plumber come on Friday. We did not officially have an appointment for Friday, but they were going to try and squeeze us in if other jobs finished early. Our plumber knew we were expecting any day and made it to our house on Friday afternoon.

Friday afternoons were my when my weekly check-ups were scheduled. Brad was torn between going to my doctor appointment and staying at home to meet the plumber. We decided to divide and conquer! Brad would stay at home to meet the plumber, also named Brad... who happened to have a lab and loved to duck hunt (this guy had spent a lot of time at our house redoing the bathroom and other various plumbing projects). Me being chatty, I got to know Brad the plumber pretty well. Real nice guy.

So at my doctor's appointment, the doctor noticed that my belly was not growing any more. He assured me that it was no big deal, but wanted to do a sonogram to check for fluids just as a precaution. So after my exam, I had to sit and wait for over an hour to get a sonogram. In the interim I called Brad (husband, not plumber) to tell him what's up. Apparently the medical term for "need to check your fluids" aka fluids could be low is oligohydrodranios. While I calmly waited at the doctor's office, excited to see new pictures of Campbell, Brad was in near panic mode at home. Oligohydrodranios is not good and can cause lung problems for the baby. If my fluids were low it would have meant immediately walking to L&D for a c-section. I was totally unaware and Brad was very aware. Of course, everything was fine - fluids looked great, Campbell was head down and ready to go. It was time to just wait for labor to begin.

It wasn't until I got home that I learned what all had transpired. My neatly packed suitcase was a wreck with tons more stuff thrown in to it. Brad had packed liked a maniac and was ready to jump in the car and head to the hospital. He had given the plumber instructions on how to lock up the house, assuring him that the dogs would be fine and would stay in the house when he tried to leave. By Friday night we had a "fully" packed hospital bag and finished bathroom. We were ready for Campbell's arrival.

Our beautiful finished bathroom. I love it!

Happy Fourth of July

It is with great excitement that I announce the arrival of ... our bathroom window! No sign of Campbell yet.

My friend and colleague who has had three babies told me since day 1 that I would be pregnant for 40 weeks and probably a little longer (my baby book said the same thing is common for first time moms). She's been right about everything so far, but that one I could not believe. Over the past year, I have yet to know someone who has gone the full 40 weeks; all my friends have delivered early. So from my perspective I thought having a baby at 38 weeks or earlier was the norm.

I have come to the conclusion that our little one is perfectly happy where he is. With 9 days left till my due date, I really hope we don't go past July 14th! We can't wait for Campbell's arrival, and now it's just a waiting game. On the positive side we may actually get the bathroom finished (see June post Home Improvement Projects). The window people called on July 1st to say that our window was ready - finally! By 7 AM this morning, the window was installed and the tile team is coming tomorrow at 7 AM to begin the process of putting our bathroom back together. I guess Campbell knew better than we did that it was probably a good idea for him to stay put a little longer.

Plus, it gave us a chance to see fireworks on the 4th. I love watching fireworks, and we have not seen a 4th of July show since we lived in Nashville. I convinced Brad we needed to take advantage of the moment, so last night we ventured out toward the river. Our goal was to get as close as possible without actually going into the French Quarter. We stopped at my favorite ice cream shop - Creole Creamery (the best!) - got cones and headed downtown. Brad in his driving awesomeness found a way on the other side of the convention center. Next thing I know we are under the Mississippi bridge with a perfect view of the Go 4th on the River Dueling Barges fireworks show. We illegally parked the car, jumped out and stood under the bridge, watching the beautiful fireworks display. It was a great night!

Little boy, we're ready when you are, but till then, we'll keep making the most of the minutes we have left till you arrive.

Father's Day at the Pool

We finally pulled the trigger and joined the JCC. There is an uptown location 5 minutes from our house and most importantly, they have a pool. Last weekend, I could not take it any longer. I put on my bathing suit, grabbed a towel and told Brad we were joining. We showed up at the JCC in our swimsuits and asked what we needed to do to join. The very nice person taking our membership application asked if we would like to go on a tour first. Tour? I'd already seen the only thing I needed to see - the pool!

It was fantastic. I floated and swam and loved every minute of it. Then I got pruny and had to get out. Thus began my attempt to climb the ladder out of the pool - probably the least graceful thing I have ever done. Wow - super difficult - going from near weightlessness to gravity yanking Campbell down. I wish I could have floated in the pool all day. But it was Brad's weekend - first Father's "To-be" Day, and we had US Open coverage to watch!

Happy Father's Day, Brad!

Brad took this with his iPhone during my water break. Ironically swimming can make you very dehydrated!