Ryan's Birth Story

Okay, so several of you have been asking for this and now that my sweet little boy is down for a nap (crosses fingers that he will stay asleep until I finish this) I thought I should go ahead and write it down before I forget. It's going to be long, so read when you have time. Also, please bear in mind- VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED- if you have no desire to know the details of my labor and delivery then simply skip over this post or come back another day when I have posted about something else. However, for those of you interested, here goes:

So, as you all know from a previous post I had lots of "practice contractions" leading up to the real thing. For about a week I experienced these, some days they were more consistent and other days pretty sporadic. Regardless, each day I would wonder "Is today going to be the day??" Well, on Monday of that week I had experienced what they call a bloody show in the evening after I had my Dr's appointment earlier in the day. After reading up on it online, I realized labor could be that day, any day soon, or a week or more away. (Again the waiting...sheesh) So, on Friday, February 5th, I was working from home and feeling pretty hormonal in general. I had reached my due date and it was STILL not the day (so it seemed). I think I was feeling impatient and a little anxious and perhaps some of it was just my hormones being a little out of whack. Early in the day I had noticed a large mucousy "glob" (for the lack of a better term) when I went to the restroom. I remember thinking it was a lot and really thick. I was a little confused by this b/c I knew it must be the mucous plug, but I thought that came before the bloody show- and I thought I had already experienced that earlier in the week. Anyways, I didn't think much about it, but my Mom convinced me to leave a message for my Dr. to make sure that it was normal and see if she needed to see me before the weekend. I get to say "I was right" and they didn't need to see me and reassured me it was normal. It was exciting to feel one step closer as I was continuing to have signs that labor was near, but yet still frustrating at the same time as I wasn't having any significant contractions that day. I remember complaining to Mara on our work chat- "come on already". Ha ha.

At a little after 5pm (since Mike had also been working from home) we decided we just needed to get out of the house and go for a walk. The week prior to this we had been walking almost every night, but for the two days prior to this it had been raining and so we had not been on a walk. Friday, however was a lovely sunny day with a little bit of a cool breeze. I went to my room and grabbed my tennis shoes and came back into the living room and sat on the couch to put them on. When I bent over to tie my shoes I felt this small gush feeling and thought "that was weird, maybe more mucous plug??" I went to the restroom to check it out and there was no "gelatinous" substance, but just a large wet spot that had saturated my panties and the jeans I was wearing. I decided (once again from all the books I'd been reading) that I must have a slow leak in my amniotic sac because that was all that made sense to me. This was a very exciting thought to me b/c I knew that meant the baby would be here Friday or Saturday. I decided to just change jeans and panties and put on a maxi pad and go ahead and go for the walk. As we walked around the paths in our neighborhood I felt the little gushes a couple of times so I knew for sure I wasn't just having wishful thinking earlier. I still wasn't having any consistent contractions (or anything painful) so after about a 30 minute walk we came home. We had made plans to have dinner with my brother-in-law, Matt and his wife, Vivian that evening. We debated canceling, but I had read these things can take a long time and since I was not uncomfortable I didn't see any reason not to go eat. (Pregnant belly speaking too perhaps) Mike made me promise that as soon as I started feeling uncomfortable we would leave even if it was during dinner and head home so that I could labor there. Our plan for labor if you were unaware, was to follow the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth book that we had read and labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital. We read the book together and had practiced several times the different relaxing techniques and exercises to prepare for labor. Anyways, we went to dinner at Cafe' Bella in Fort Worth around 7pm. I was starting to actually feel the contractions by dinner time and they were definitely different from what I had been feeling for the week before. By the end of dinner a few of them were slightly uncomfortable, but still very manageable. We headed back to the Campbell's to visit for a little while. Around 8:45pm (I think) I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable and started sending "signs" Mike's way that we should wrap things up and head home.

Then, much to my surprise right after 9pm when we were getting ready to leave the Campbell's home, I got a phone call from my Mother. Her words to me were as follows: "Well, Lauren's water has broken and she and Christopher are headed up to the hospital. Now, you aren't going to go into labor tonight too are you??" I couldn't believe it. I didn't even know what to say because I already knew that things were progressing for us, but we hadn't wanted to tell anyone and get them anxious and checking in on us because we knew it could be awhile before we went to the hospital. So, I told her "I need to call you back" and hung up the phone and abruptly told my in-laws that we had to leave and we would talk to them soon. I am sure they were pretty confused and I know it seemed rude at the time, but I just didn't have the energy to explain to them what was going on until I could talk to Mike first. It had been mine (and other family members') worst fear that we would go into labor on the same day, but since our due dates were just over two weeks apart I thought the likelihood was next to impossible. (HA!) As we got into the car I filled Mike in on what Mom had said and we tried to figure out whether or not we should go home and get our bags and go up to the hospital for Lauren for awhile, or if we just stay at home and try to relax and labor there and just let everyone know the situation??? We hadn't decided, but as we got closer in the drive home my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and lasting for about 45 seconds and getting pretty intense. I realized I couldn't do the car ride again and we would just labor at home.

As we got home Mike turned on my heating pad on our bed and started getting things repacked in our hospital bags. We had been ready and packed for over a week, but had been taking out various toiletries that we needed daily. All I know is I was trying to remind him of various things to grab when I had two contractions in a row that were really strong and he said "Honey, why don't you lay down for a minute and concentrate on relaxing." So, I went to lay down and had to wait for a contraction to pass to even get into bed and as soon as I lifted up my leg and got into bed and started to lay down I felt this immense burst of hot fluid and jumped out of bed faster than I can even describe to you. In almost an instant from my waist down was absolutely drenched. It was as though someone had dumped a bucket of water on you that was warm. (Think Six Flags 'Splash Down' bridge wet- but warm not cold). My pants were absolutely plastered to my legs and I saw clear liquid dripping onto the floor. I ran into the bathroom immediately to be on the tile and Mike helped me into the bathtub where I had a minor moment of freaking out. Mike was very calm and reminded me this was entirely normal and it was okay. My response was something like, but I am soaked and this is so weird and it feels gross. By now, I realized that with my water breaking we were going to have to go to the hospital early. (It was about 9:45pm when my water broke) At this point I also had already changed clothes twice that day and had no other pants that were comfortable to wear. Therefore, I grabbed a clean pair of panties and maxi pad (little did I know what good that did NOT do) and threw on a pair of Mike's pj pants and long sleeved t-shirt, grabbed a towel and headed out the door. I didn't even think to grab a jacket which later I realized it was COLD and was a bad idea... Anyways, Mike by this time had loaded up the car with our bags and the car seat and a few pillows and we were on our way. I sat on the towel and within 5-10 minutes of our drive the towel and my lower half were soaked once again. I didn't realize that with each contraction, fluid would just be squeezed out again. It was incredible how much fluid there was. Moral of this part of the story- if a woman ever wonders "will I know when my water breaks??" YES, you will!!!! It is not something you will question- you will KNOW!

All of this took place and we were in the car by roughly 10:15pm at which time I realized it had been an hour since I had talked to my Mom and I hadn't called her back to fill them in on what was going on. Instead, for some reason I decided to call my Dad. I think Mike and my thought here was that he would be better to break the news to and less likely to freak out about the situation than my mother might. So, I let him know that I had been having some contractions since around 5pm and my water had just broken so we too were headed to the hospital. Minor problem in all of this being that my sister was delivering at Baylor All Saints in Fort Worth and we were delivering at Harris Methodist Hurst-Euless-Bedford (about 25 min away from each other). He did let me know that she wasn't having any contractions at that point and they were scheduling to start an induction w/ pitocin at 5am. Therefore, since mine were clocking in around 2.5 min apart and about 55 sec long they were going to go ahead and head our way.

In our childbirth preparation classes they had told us that the main doors to the woman's center were open from 6am to 11pm, but if we arrived between 11pm-6am that we had to use the Emergency Room entrance. However, we got there at 10:50pm and parked the car and walked all the way to the doors (stopping 3 times for contractions) and the doors were LOCKED! I remember thinking it was cold and I didn't want to stand there, but I didn't think there was any way that I could make it back to the car or walk all the way around the building to the ER entrance. (Come to find out the doors are locked from 9pm-9am... you were way off nurse-teacher) Luckily, someone walked up behind us and said her daughter was in there and she would have her get a nurse to let us in that door. THANK YOU JESUS! The nurses opened the door with a wheelchair and wheeled me down to the nurses station. I let them know I was pre-registered and my name, how far apart the contractions were and that my water had broken. I was whisked into a LDR room (#7- oddly my sister was in #7 at Baylor... ironic) right away and my nurse, Brittany? got everything started very quickly.

First, I was asked to sign a bunch of consent forms, got hooked up to a fetal monitor and one to monitor my contractions, finger thing for my heart rate, blood pressure cuff that took my BP every 15 minutes, and lastly an IV. The IV I requested in my forearm, which she said she routinely did, and it was really painless. (I'm not a big fan of needles) The weirdest part was when she started the saline solution through the line and it made a funny taste in my mouth. Since my membranes had broken they are hesitant to check your progress (dilation etc.) very often because they don't want to increase the risk of infection to me or the baby. However, I was checked in at only 2cm and 80% effaced (around 11:30pm when she first checked) which I remember feeling pretty disappointed about since the contractions were already really strong. I labored on my side for awhile though not in the position we had practiced due to all the tubes and plugs we had to deal with. By this time my parents, Nanny & Poppy, and Maggie were there.

For the rest, not positive the time frame on everything, but at some point I got up and took a hot bath for about 20 minutes. I think it was around midnight or 1am. I could be off of the monitors for up to 45 minutes I believe the nurse had said. Also, the pain was so strong that it made me throw up- I think this was around 2 or 3am??? So, the nurse gave me some Zofran through my IV for the nausea. At 3am I was checked again and was 3cm (major bummer!), but 100% effaced and was reminded that the first 4-5cm were the slowest for a first time delivery. I was going through the "self-doubt" phase by this point and told Mike I didn't think I could do it. Both he and the nurse said I was doing great and I could do it. I think around 4am I asked for the Staydol, which is an IV pain med that blocks 6 of 10 receptors for pain (so my little RN student sister, Maggie tells me). Looking back, I don't think the Staydol did anything for the pain of the contractions, but it did allow me to feel more relaxed and get some sleep between contractions. Mike was such a pro as a coach and encouraged me through each of the contractions and had ice ready and waiting since that was all I seemed to want after every contraction. I have to say with all that deep breathing in and out, my throat and mouth were so dry and that almost bothered me more than the labor. So, all I wanted was "ice, ice, more ice". I wish they would just give you a glass of water, sheesh. Around 6am I was checked and was 6cm- yay for progress! However, I was experiencing lots of painful contractions and had thrown up twice (no fun). So, she pushed one more mixture of 2mg Staydol and Zofran. Then, I decided then to get up on my hands and knees in bed and just rotate my hips to try to help coerce the baby down. I did this for about 30 minutes I think and would have done it longer, but my arms were hurting from propping myself up. About 7am was the change of nurses and Yvonne took over. I was feeling a lot more pressure at that time as well and was checked and was 8cm. Another small victory in my mind. I attribute the fast change there to being on my hands and knees. At this time she let me know that they had called my doctor and she was on her way in, but stopping for a cup of coffee. No big deal, I could see the end in sight! However, at 7:45 I was really starting to feel the urge to push and was checked again and was 9cm- she told me to give one good push with the next contraction and said that I was complete. Yay!! Then she left us (probably freaked out Mike a little) and I tried really hard not to push with each contraction. After what seemed like an eternity, she came back- I think it was about 8:15am and allowed me to start doing some pushing with just she, Mike and myself in the room. The head was coming down, but still had a way to go I think. At 8:45 a.m. another Dr., Dr. Spurdon came in the room and announced she would be delivering our baby. She seemed very straight to business and seemed a little annoyed because there was obviously some kind of mis-communication with my Doctor as to why she was not there. That was never really clear to me (still isn't) but I was just ready to deliver our baby and didn't care who did it at that point. She started putting on a robe and a nurse wheeled in a table with tools and things on it. I realized she didn't know anything about my desires for childbirth and Mike asked me if I had any questions for her because if I did I should state them now. I did not know her approach to episiotomies and I had heard from some first-hand experiences and read in books that sometimes allowing your body to tear was actually better than an episiotomy because your body would only tear the amount it needed and wouldn't necessarily need the extent of cut that the episiotomy would be. Also, that the recovery time was actually better. I let her know that I would really like to try on my own and did not want her to automatically do an episiotomy (as some Dr's do routinely). I think this almost made her mad and she said that she did not think that was a good idea and that I would tear and that she did not recommend me doing that. I tried to be very polite and said I would really appreciate her help in assisting me in the right way to push and helping my body stretch as much as it needed to first. Little did I know- this began an hour and 45 minutes of pushing. After the first 45 minutes I noticed the clock and thought "what in the world??" so I asked for a mirror so that I could view the progress that was (and was not) being made and kind of give me some incentive by seeing it. I could see the head and with the contractions would push down, but it seemed the head would slide back each time after the contraction was over. She really did work as well as she could at using hot oils and helping my body to stretch to get our little guy out. However, at 10:30 am I realized it just wasn't going to happen on its own. I could see the part that needed to be cut/tear in order to allow for his arrival. So, I told her that I changed my mind and she could do the episiotomy. I was just getting too tired and didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to keep pushing. With the next contraction she made the cut and I pushed and the head was out with the first push, and body with the second. The hardest part was not pushing while she maneuvered the shoulders. It was an incredible rush when he left my body and such a relief I don't know how to describe it to you. She cut the cord and he started crying immediately and the nurses asked if I wanted him to be placed on my chest right away, which I did. They put him under my gown and he just laid there with his eyes open and stared right up at me. It was the sweetest thing ever!

He seemed so peaceful and we were hopelessly in love from the moment we saw him. I still can't seem to look at him enough or hold him enough. I don't want him to grow big too fast because I just love holding and loving on him. Lastly, was the afterbirth which I have to say happened pretty fast, but I found pretty painful. I remember a nurse telling me not to squeeze the baby, but to squeeze her hand instead. The Dr. delivers the placenta and then has to feel around your uterus to make sure that no pieces were left inside. This does not feel pleasant, so for that alone I can understand why someone would want to be numbed by an epidural. Then was the lidocaine injected into the area of the tear and being sewn up- also not my favorite moments, but all bearable. I did have the episiotomy/3rd degree tear. Overall, the recovery was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated and by day 4 I was no longer needing ice packs or Tylenol for pain.

There are other must-haves for the 2 wks after the hospital that I will share at a later time b/c Ryan is up and ready to eat. In conclusion, I've been asked if I would do it all again and the same way. My answer is absolutely YES, but I would stick it out and not take the Staydol b/c I could've done without it and I would let her perform the episiotomy right away instead of pushing for two hours first. That's all folks, thanks for reading my "book" of a delivery story.

Love, Emily

He is here!!!

First family photo after Ryan's birth

Precious little boy waiting for his first bath


After car ride home from the hospital

Ryan Alexander Campbell has arrived. He entered into the world on February 6, 2010 at 10:43 a.m. weighing 8lbs 8.6oz and was 21.25 inches long. He is already such a joy! He was followed in birth by his new cousin, Naomi Rose Keene who arrived early via an emergency C-section about three hours later. She weighed 5lbs 6oz and I believe was about 19inches long. It was quite a crazy few days for our families but we are happy that everyone is now healthy and home. The cousins and aunts/uncles will all be getting to meet each other on Sunday afternoon. We can't wait to meet our new niece and can't believe she will be one week old before we've even gotten to see her in person. What would we do without phones and the Internet so we could at least see her before then. I plan to post my full birth story in the next week or two for several of you who have been asking or are curious. I will be sure to start with "Viewer Discretion Advised" so those of you who don't care to read it can skip right over that post. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!

Love,

Emily & Mike

Full Moon= Weekend of Contractions

Friday morning I woke up around 6am with some light contractions. They were lasting around 30-35 seconds and were 6-7 minutes apart. There was really no pain associated with them, only a really hard tightening of my belly to where it felt as hard as a rock and would then relax. I was pretty excited at first thinking "okay, I know this could take awhile, but maybe this is the start of it and today is the day!" So, Mike and I decided to work from home and wait it out and see how things went. Every few hours we timed the contractions and they got as close as four minutes apart still only lasting about 40 seconds, but they never grew in intensity or pain. So, by the evening they had really started to wean and made me feel pretty frustrated and discouraged. However, I know that first labors can be over a couple weeks and that first time mom's often have "practice contractions" so we decided I just needed lots of practice. Friday night we turned in for the night still slightly hopeful that something painful might wake me up in the early hours of the morning. ;) (who wishes for pain right?!?!)

Saturday morning rolled around and I woke up and laid in bed for awhile trying to pay attention to my body.... Nothing... Disappointed, but ready to start the day we decided he was just not ready quite yet. Saturday afternoon we joined my parents for lunch at Razzoo's (I chose something semi-spicy because it can't hurt right???). Then we went to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and walked around the grounds to see the exhibitors and animals for about 3-4 hours. On the way home I had a few contractions, but nothing consistent. We stopped by the grocery store for a few items and rented a Red box movie "Julie & Julia" (which was really cute by-the-way) and headed home. During the movie I got pretty uncomfortable as I think Ryan is pretty low in my pelvis and felt like he was hitting or head-butting my pelvis bone or something. He wouldn't stop unless I stood up and moved around for awhile, which was a little bit annoying. Anyways, that was our Saturday and off to bed we went.

Sunday early morning about 2:40am I woke up to use the restroom and returned to bed with noticeable contractions that were tightening like before, but also causing my lower back to really hurt and kind of a low menstrual cramp feeling in the front. It was hard for me to really tell when my tummy was relaxing because my back was hurting. Is this the real thing?!? I was also hungry so I went to the fridge and brought some yogurt back to bed. After feeling two or three of the harder contractions I woke Mike up so that I could time them on his iPhone. (We got the contraction master app- def recommend to those expecting) So, he kept the clock and I would just tell him when to start and stop. We timed them for about 40 minutes or so and they were lasting right at to a little over a minute and still right around 4 minutes apart. While this time they were more uncomfortable I just didn't feel like they were too extreme so I suggested we try to get some more sleep and I would wake him up if they got harder. Around 5:30am or so I felt like my back just wouldn't relax and I was feeling uncomfortable so I woke Mike up again to time them some more. They were still about the same and at this point we were both awake and I was hungry again so we decided just to get up. Blueberry muffins and milk we what sounded good so we made those and sat and ate on the couch. By the time I finished eating I felt like the pain in the contractions was going away and I was back to just the tummy tightening. So, at 7:45am we went back to bed to get some sleep. Unfortunately, we slept through my alarm at 9am to get ready for church and woke up right about as service would be starting. We never miss church on Sundays and I hate the feeling of it. Hopefully we didn't worry our Lifegroup too much with us not being there and thinking maybe we were having the baby.

So, the rest of today we've been doing some chores, taxes, cleaning out filing cabinets, and I've been trying to organize the office closet (which has been on my list for a long time). We plan a run to Home Depot and a long walk around the neighborhood later this afternoon. I suppose the moral of this post is the full moon for us has not meant "baby" but lots of "practice for baby". I think Ryan is determined to be a February baby after all. Perhaps tomorrow?!?! Only God knows and time will tell. Please keep us in your prayers and hopefully we will be able to share the exciting news soon!

Love, Mike & Emily

Weekly Dr's appointment

Today I had my weekly appointment with one of the other Dr's in the practice (there are four women). During my pregnancy I was supposed to gradually meet them all so that if I deliver on a weekend and another Dr is on call it won't be my first time to meet her. However, depending on when Ryan decides to arrive I may not get the chance to meet each of them. Today I met Dr. Carson-Henderson, who was very nice and professional. I was glad that I know at least 2 of the 4 Dr's in the practice now. :) Next week I will go back to seeing my personal Dr for follow-up. It is hard to believe next Monday is February already... I guess this week is the true test whether Ryan wants to be a January or February baby. No dilation in my cervix today, it's still closed. Although, she said it is starting to soften/efface which is good. Blood pressure was 100/78 and baby's heart rate was 145bpm (actually kinda slow for him). I attribute Ryan's heart rate to him sleeping since he's usually pretty active during my appointments and this morning he was definitely sleeping and didn't move around. Everything else is going well so not much to report. All we can do now is wait till the little guy decides to arrive. I anticipate lots of walking in my near future in hopes that things will start progressing. All your love and prayers are certainly welcomed during this time as we prepare for delivery and welcoming a new member to our family.
Love,
Emily

Dr's visit

Dr's visit yesterday went really well. BP back to normal at 124/78. Gained 2 more lbs. for a total of 24 now I believe... I didn't ask the heartrate for Ryan, but it sounded good! Routine test for Strep B came back negative, which is good- means no antibiotics during delivery. Dr. estimated baby's weight to be right around 6lbs now. No dilation just yet, cervix is still closed, but Dr. said baby's head is down really low and in the right position for delivery so just a matter of contractions starting to get things moving along. Next Monday I will have an appt with another of the doctors in the practice (there are 4) so that I will have met the others in case I go into labor on a weekend and another doctor is on call. I think that's pretty much the update in a nutshell. Trying hard to avoid all the sweets/goodies/sodas that I was previously doing pretty well about that are all of a sudden sounding REALLY tasty!! The last two months I've maintained a pretty consistent 1lb a week, which is normal, but I'd like to kind of just stop here... haha. Only time will tell. Enjoy the post below with the updated nursery pictures!
Love, Emily

Nursery Pictures

This last week Mom and I shopped for a few last minute nursery items while I had a few days off of work. I think we can pretty much call it complete for now. I'm sure there are other random things that will be added over time, but I feel good about this being the finished product for welcoming Baby Ryan. We have now reached full term- 37 weeks. So, anytime in the next few weeks our little man could decide to make his arrival. Perhaps he will, maybe he'll be late... only time will tell. I have another Dr's appointment tomorrow so I will try to provide another update later this week to let you know how things are going. I'm still feeling great, just a little tired lately, but nothing like the first trimester. Trying to get better about walking and practicing some of my labor exercises, etc. (We are planning for a natural childbirth via Bradley Method). Getting anxious and excited to meet our little man!! Thanks for your continued prayers for a safe and healthy delivery.

Love, Emily

Nursery from the door looking in

Chair from IKEA that we've had for years and decided to keep

The crib and mobile with new stick-on phrase from Mom

Quilt patches on the wall that match the bedding and Ryan's bag all packed

Changing table/dresser, quilt on the wall and Ryan's name

Bookcase from Target, matching Teddy lamp, toys and shelves

Ryan's name blocks- my friend Mariann gave us these at our first shower

Dr's appointment/Labor and Delivery visit

Yesterday I had my scheduled Dr's appointment for week 35 which led to a rather unexpected afternoon. I hit 22lbs on my weight gain for my pregnancy, but still feeling confident that it won't get too much higher since I don't have long to go. Ryan's heart rate was good and right around 161bpm. The Dr did my measurements which still seem to be just fine and she did the Strep B test, which is something they do to find out in advance if you carry Strep B and if you do they simply treat you with antibiotics while you are in delivery so it is not passed on to the baby. Unfortunately, when I was checked in by the nurse my blood pressure was recorded at 148/84, which is pretty high and definitely high for me. After explaining to the Dr about several of the recent fainting/blackout spells that I have been dealing with, she took my blood pressure again and noted that it was still high (it had been about 20 minutes since the nurse had checked). She was rather concerned about the black spots that I would see before feeling like I was going to faint and the fact that all these occurrences had happened while I was sitting and not standing. Apparently light-headedness and dizziness are pretty common in pregnancy, but mostly from pro-longed standing or standing up too quickly. What I have been experiencing is nothing like that and my only guesses have been that either the baby is pinching off some main artery/vein or my iron is low. I even thought low blood sugar at one point, but seemed to always happen within an hour or so of eating breakfast so even that didn't make much since. She looked back at my blood work from about 8 weeks ago and my iron was fine so she didn't think that was the problem, but said it would be fine for me to take an iron supplement on top of my prenatal just in case. Then she made the decision to send me over to labor and delivery for some monitoring. In the triage area, they hooked me up to a fetal monitor where I could sit and listen to Ryan's heartbeat for about an hour and a half and they had a blood pressure cuff on me that would inflate every 15 minutes or so. Someone also came around and took a few blood samples which I know one of them was looking at liver enzymes since the Dr had explained that to me in the office as a way for them to determine if my blood pressure had been staying high- which would be dangerous to the baby. Everything checked out just fine and about 4:30pm I was sent home to try to just take it easy. I was really glad that I had already had a tour of the Labor and Delivery wing so I knew where things were and that we'd taken our prepared childbirth class so I had seen the monitors and things before which made it not too scary. I suppose at least I'll be a pro when it comes to time for the real thing! HA! The Dr said if I continue to have anymore of the spells that she doesn't want me driving anymore and possibly even working from home. Luckily, Mike and I carpool to work so if needed we could re-work our schedule so I don't have to drive. Not sure just yet though.

However, yesterday and today I was on my own as Mike and the rest of my family traveled to Phoenix to cheer on the Frogs in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. (Unfortunately it was a pretty sad game and the Frogs lost 10-17 to Boise State- but we still love our Frogs and are ready for NEXT season!) So, I think everyone was a little bit on edge since I was being monitored and they were all out of the state. Luckily, everything went just fine and I think it was more of a precaution. I am glad they didn't find anything serious of course. I have been feeling just fine today and haven't been feeling a fast heartbeat or anxiety or anything so I'm pretty sure my BP is back to normal. Thanks to all the friends and family members who offered to say a prayer, help out, or stay with me while Mike was away. Mike will be back early this evening and I am happy for him to be coming home! :)

In EXCITING news, our friends James and Kristin Hamon welcomed their first baby, a little girl, Sadie James Hamon 6lbs 9oz and 20 inches long yesterday, January 4th. James and Kristin initially had the same due date as we did- January 21st, but they were moved up about 2 wks ago when they realized that Kristin was already making progress for delivery- and obviously we were moved back after our first sono due to Ryan's size. So, it looks like Ryan and Sadie will probably be right about a month apart unless our little guy comes early.

Lastly, I met with another pediatrician this morning and have decided to definitely choose her. The first ped we met with was very nice, but I felt like it was hard to talk to him and the conversation just seemed strained and awkward to me. I figure, if I am spending a lot of time the next two years with this person and will probably have to discuss breastfeeding and everything with them, I want to feel confident not only with their abilities as a physician, but also with my confidence in communicating with him/her. So, Dr. Erin Wallace it is. :) I am very pleased that my appointment with her went so well this morning. She was very reassuring and easy to talk to and gave me a lot of information. The staff seemed very nice and the office wasn't quite as crazy busy as I kind of thought it might be since they are part of a large practice. The waiting room and patient rooms were decorated with murals and absolutely adorable (not a deciding factor, but I liked it!) The office is located in the Professional Building at Mansfield Methodist Hospital which is just about 7-10 minutes from our house. They also have an Arlington office that I would have to visit for any Saturday sick visits, but I was glad to know they have that option just in case (and that office would only be about 15 minutes away). There are 4 Physicians in the practice and no NP/PA's so the Dr. will see the baby for all well visits and you would only see one of the other Dr's in the event of an emergency if our Dr. was out of town. Anyways, enough talk boring you about that, but I am very pleased and relieved to have chosen a pediatrician. :) Since we are delivering at Texas Health HEB, we have chosen Dr. Wheeler (referred by my OB/GYN) to visit the baby in the hospital and perform the circumcision.

Lastly, Lauren and I are having a joint family baby shower this Saturday, January 9th that is being thrown by our mother-in-laws and sister-in-laws. I am excited to see everyone and to get some of the last things needed before little Ryan's arrival. It is hard to believe that we are already just one month from his due date. I can't wait to meet the little guy, but could use the few more weeks to finish preparing for his arrival. Oh yes, and poll to my friends who are already mothers- Did you wash your baby's stuff in the "Dreft" or other baby detergent, or just stick to your normal detergent and switch if they have an allergic reaction? I've heard differing views, but would hate to buy the other stuff if I don't have to so I'd like to hear from you!! Thanks for sticking with me through the long blog today! Hope you all have a very blessed rest of the week.

~Emily