Trying out the crib

Right now Zachary sleeps in a bassinet by our bed, but at the rate he's growing he'll be too heavy pretty quickly, so we let him try out his crib today. He seems to like it!
p.s. - yes we will take all that stuff out before he actually sleeps in it!

Our chunky monkey!

Zachary is now over 11 pounds. That's 3 pounds in three weeks. That's over one third of his birth weight!

Baby's first bath and playtime

Due date

Today is Zachary's actual due date - I can't imagine still having him in my belly! We have enjoyed him so much the last two weeks; I'm glad we didn't have to wait. He is really starting to fill out already - his little cheeks and legs are getting chubby. This morning we played on his play mat and he is definitely starting to focus on the hanging toys, and he loves looking at the baby in the mirror. I think he is really focussing on my face too, and might even have given me a real smile this morning!

Two week checkup

This morning we had our two week checkup with the pediatrician. Zachary now weighs 9 lbs, 10 oz, and is 22.5 inches long (97th percentile). Have I mentioned he's really a good eater. :-)

She had just gotten the lab results back from the last time and it turns out the little pimples on his belly were staph, but the ointment cleared them up right away so she said just to watch for them and treat them right away if we see anymore. We also have to watch for them on ourselves. She didn't seem too concerned about it.

Other than that, everything was good! We're still having a little trouble with a blocked tear duct on his right eye, but she said it should clear up eventually. We just keep it clean and massage the tear duct to try to help clear it out.

They have a new rotavirus vaccine out so we have to decide if we want to do it before the next appointment, which is at two months.

At the end of the appointment they did another heel prick as a follow-up to the one they did at the hospital. Momma only cried a little. :-)

I'm a real boy!

Zachary got his first piece of mail today - his social security card. He's official! I'm somewhat impressed it got here so fast.

Ready for his close-up

Here is a little video I took of Zachary with my camera - this is about as awake as he gets so far... I was trying to catch a smile but they are pretty elusive.

I am tired!

Okay, I know everyone told me to expect not to sleep much when the baby came, but darn!

I think Zachary is going through a growth spurt - last night he wanted to nurse every hour on the hour from 2:00 until 5:00.

This is how I wanted him to be (at least for a couple of hours at a stretch):

















This is how he was:


























































And repeat.

I also know I'm supposed to sleep when he sleeps during the day, but I frequently end up just staring at him or letting him sleep on my chest. I'm trying to memorize how he looks now, because this time is so sweet and I know it is going to go quick!

Zachary's birth story

Sorry in advance if this is too much information - I was just trying to remember all the details...

We went to the hospital on Wednesday, August 9th at about 5:30. We checked in and went upstairs, where a nice nurse named Jennifer took us to room 15. She got me hooked up to the monitors to keep track of baby's heartrate and my contractions, and installed a heplock to be used for my IV in the morning. At about 6:30 she put in the Cervadil, a gel that was supposed to help ripen my cervix, which was still showing no signs of opening. The plan was to leave the Cervadil in all night, then in the morning we would start the pitocin and the doctor would break my water. Not long after the Cervadil was in, I started having mild contractions. They didn't hurt at all and it was exciting to think I was actually starting labor!

At about 8:30, Mom and Dad and Kathleen came by to visit. I was in a great mood - excited to be having contractions but not in pain. It was fun to see the contractions on the monitor. At about 9:30 the family left, and I asked Charles to find Project Runway on the tv so I could see who got bid Auf Wiederschien by Heidi. No sooner than he had found the channel but my water broke! For some reason I found this extremely funny - it just seemed absurd! We called Jennifer and she confirmed that my water had indeed broken, although I had no doubts. She said it was clear, everything looked good and that she would have to take out the Cervadil. I was happy because I at least got one spontaneous labor thing - I was definitely not expecting that!

For the rest of the night I had contractions about every 7 minutes - not too bad but just enough to keep me awake. By about 4 am I was started to wish I had taken them up on the Ambien they had offered me, but I was still hoping to stay drug-free. Every time I had to use the restroom Charles would have to unplug me from the monitors and then plug me back in. It was nice to hear Zachary's heartbeat all night though - he was a happy camper. At some point Jennifer left and Donna came on - she was nice too but she kept waking me up!

How did I get myself into this pickle?

Finally it was morning, and I had another new nurse, Beverly. She checked me and said I still had not dilated at all. This was a little frustrating considering I had been up all night, but apparently I was not really in labor yet. She hooked the pitocin into my iv and almost immediately I was like 'Oh, so THAT's a contraction!' They started pretty hard and fast, and before I knew it they were coming in waves of two or three at a time with very little time in between. The next hour or so is kind of a blur now - I was really in pain. Mom came in at some point and was helping me with my breathing, and Charles was great too. I was still hooked up to the monitors so I couldn't get up and walk around. I think that would have helped a lot, but I guess because of my high blood pressure they wanted to keep me continuously monitored. Zachary was still happy though, his little heartrate stayed steady at around 145 bpm.

Around 11 am Dr. Schneider showed up. She checked me and said I was dilated to 4 cm now. She said 'Okay, we can go ahead and break your water now'. We all said 'What?! It broke at 9:30 last night!' It was a little unsettling that she didn't know! I wonder if they would have done anything differently if she had known, but I guess it doesn't matter now. In any case, I knew I couldn't keep going with the contractions I was having, so I asked for the epidural. And I was not sorry! One of the reasons I didn't want to get one was so I could walk around and sit on a bouncy ball like in the birthing movies we saw in class, but since I was pretty much stuck in the bed anyway, I figured what the heck, why be a martyr.

Within about 20 minutes the anesthesiologist came in. He said his name but it sounded like Dr. Bobo to me, so that is what I call him (we really like the Petsmart commercial where the dachshund is getting a new toy, and the checker says "where's Bobo?"). Dr. Bobo was kind of grouchy, but I didn't care as long as he made the pain go away. The epidural was not pleasant, but I survived. The blood pressure cuff decided to do it's thing just as he was sticking the needle into my spine. Beverly said 'Hmm, your pressure is a little elevated.' 'Gee, I wonder why!!!'

Dr. Bobo got me all taped up and situated, and the next thing I knew I could still see the contractions on the monitor, but I couldn't feel them anymore. It was great! The tradeoff was that my legs went completely numb so I had to get a catheter since I couldn't get up to go to the bathroom anymore. But I didn't care, I was numb! I also started shivering and chattering because of the drugs, which was a little annoying but still better than the pain.

The next couple of hours were great - Charles and I both took a nap. Finally Beverly came back in and checked me and I was 9 cm! Getting close!

An hour later she came back and I was still 9 cm.

Another hour later she came back and I was still 9 cm. What the heck! She had me turn from side to side periodically to help the baby come down. I couldn't really move my legs at all, so Charles would have to hoist me from one side to the other.

This went on for a while and I still wasn't progressing, and now the epidural was starting to wear off. I could feel some pressure but not really pain yet. Beverly said maybe we should try pushing and I was all for it. She had me push through a couple of contractions but I didn't really feel like anything was happening. Meanwhile, each contraction was starting to hurt a little more, and with each one I felt like I had to pee a little more. I told Beverly this but she said it was just pressure - there was nothing really coming out of the catheter so I was most likely dehydrated. She said Dr. Schneider should be there soon so we decided to wait for her.

More contractions, more pressure on the bladder. It was getting so uncomfortable I was about to cry. I didn't even care about the pain, I just needed to pee! I told Beverly again and she decided to try to reinsert the catheter to see if she could drain anything. Keep in mind the epidural is not doing much at this point! I didn't care though. She did it but still couldn't get anything to drain. Now Beverly's shift was ending so a new nurse, Maria, was coming on duty. Beverly told her the situation with my bladder so Maria decided to give it a try and redid the catheter again (number 3). Nothing. They told me to just let it go, which I had already been trying to do, to no avail.

Finally Dr. Schneider came in - she checked me and said I was still at 9 cm and that the baby's head was still up high, but she could feel a little conehead, so he was really trying to come down but just wasn't making it. She decided we should try to push again, so we did, but baby didn't budge. He was still happy in there though so that was good. I really didn't feel an urge to push, but it did relieve the pressure somewhat. We explained my bladder situation and Maria told her that she could feel some swelling there, so Dr. Schneider tried the catheter again (number 4), but she couldn't get anything to drain either.

Now another doctor from the practice had gotten to the hospital, Dr. Landwermeyer. I had had one appointment with her so I knew her already. She came in and surveyed the situation and decided she wanted to give it a shot, so she did the catheter again (number 5!!). She didn't have any better luck though. They were all standing there just looking at me, and Dr. Landwermeyer says 'Hmm, you're a weirdo!' Not really what you want to hear when you're in labor and really have to pee! But at least they agreed that my bladder had an issue, so I was not crazy.

Hey, all the celebrities are doing it...

Dr. Schneider was giving me a look and I knew what she was thinking. Apparently baby's head and my bladder were at an impasse. She didn't think he was going to come out. By now I just wanted some relief so I didn't care what she did. She said, ' I think we need to do a C'. I said 'go for it!' It was now 4:00 and she said they could get me in at 4:45. In the meantime, they turned off the pitocin so the contractions stopped, and I got more drugs in my epidural, so I was elated! Never mind the pain, I couldn't feel my bladder anymore - yay!

The next thing I knew, they were wheeling me to the operating room. Charles stayed back to get his cap and gown on, then met me in there once they had me all set up with my sheet. Dr. Schneider had another baby to catch, so Dr. Landwermeyer ended up starting my surgery. Dr. Schneider came in at the last second and assisted. We had a new anesthesiologist now, Dr. Fritz. He was really nice (unlike Dr. Bobo) and he and Charles had a nice banter going, which kept my mind off the fact that they were cutting me open on the other side of the sheet. I could tell they were doing something over there, and before I knew it I could feel them pulling the baby out.

It felt so weird - I could feel him getting pulled out of his snug little spot where he had been ensconced for the last few months. I started laughing, it felt so weird, then he was out! I peeked around the sheet and saw him, and my laughing turned to laughing and crying - he was so beautiful! He didn't look gross at all like the babies on A Baby Story often do. He was just pink and gorgeous! They whisked him over to clean him up and do whatever they had to do - Charles went over to take pictures and I peeked around my sheet. Then they wrapped him up and brought him over to me and I couldn't believe how beautiful he was.

I realized right then that all my worrying about having the perfect delivery had been wasted effort - they could have pulled that baby out of my ear and I would have been just as elated!

They still had to stitch me up, so Charles went with Zachary to the recovery room where my family was waiting. I joked around with Drs. Schneider and Landwermeyer while they sewed me up. They said my bladder looked fine - all they could figure was that Zachary's head was pinching my urethra shut, but once the pressure was gone it drained just fine.

Finally I got to go see my baby in the recovery room. My family was all there with him. I was still shaking and chattering quite a bit from the drugs, but they brought him over to me and let me nurse him. It was so amazing - such a perfect little thing! Unfortunately all the drugs finally got the best of me right then and I puked. Hopefully he will forgive me!

After that I was fine, and the drugs gradually started to wear off as I held him and I could wiggle my toes again. Within an hour I had all the feeling back in my legs but I was still feeling no pain because of the morphine they had given me. Jim came in with the boys who brought me flowers and balloons - it was so sweet. They were excited to see their new cousin. Finally everyone left and Charles went to sleep for a little while. I had him put the baby next to me and I just stared at him, which I have been doing ever since!

Thanks to all the wonderful nurses at Seton Southwest! Especially:

Jennifer
Donna
Beverly
Maria
Becky
Kessa

They were all great!

Thanks also to my doctors:
Dr. Schneider
Dr. Landwermeyer
Dr. Bolbock (I looked it up)
Dr. Fritz

Zachary's birth story - prelude

I've been meaning to write this down ever since I got home, but for some reason have had trouble sitting down for long enough (I wonder why?! :-) ), but it's really starting to fade from memory now so I figured I'd better hurry up and do it...

When I found out I was pregnant, I had a definite idea in my mind of what my labor would be like. I would work up until my due date, and go into labor when I was ready. I would have an all natural delivery without an epidural. I would have no problems because I come from hardy Czech stock.

So, for about 29 weeks, that was a great plan.

A couple of weeks after we got back from our babymoon in Seattle, I went to my regular doctor's visit expecting everything to be normal like always, but my blood pressure was high. I figured it was all the Dick's cheeseburgers we ate on our trip, but my doctor seemed concerned. She had my blood drawn for some tests, and gave me a bucket to collect my urine for 24 hours. This was not a fun task, to say the least! I ended up filling up my bucket and had to use a Gatorade jug for the rest, much to Charles's amusement. In the next week I didn't hear anything from the doctor, so I figured everything was fine. I did try to eat healthier and rest, and monitored my blood pressure at home and it was fine. No problem.

A month later I went back to my doctor. It turned out that my urine had shown an elevated level of protein, which along with high blood pressure is an indicator of pre-eclampsia. My doctor had gone on vacation that week and somehow it had slipped through the cracks. Now she seemed even more concerned, but I still just knew there was nothing wrong with me. She had me do the 24-hour urine collection again -no!! This time I asked for two jugs. Later that week they called and said they had found protein again, and I was to go on full bedrest. What?!! This was not part of the plan!

But, I have always been one to follow instructions, so I stayed on the couch for three weeks. It was nice to get to spend time with Charles, and I did lots of reading and a couple of jigsaw puzzles. Luckily I have a high boredom threshold.

Meanwhile, Zachary was growing bigger and bigger - at 34 weeks they estimated he was 6 lb 4 oz, in the 78th percentile. My doctor seemed a little concerned about this too, but I was expecting a big baby so I wasn't surprised.

By this time I was going to the doctor twice a week to get my blood pressure checked, and it was holding pretty steady. I never showed any other signs of pre-eclampsia, and a third 24-hour urine collection showed that the protein was gone. But then week 36 came around and my blood pressure shot up again. My doctor sent me to the hospital for observation and more tests, but everything came back okay and they let me go home. The writing was on the wall though, she wasn't going to let me go much longer. I really wasn't happy about the idea of induction, but I tried to get my mind used to it.

At the beginning of my 38th week, I went for another ultrasound and they estimated Zachary was now 8 lb 12 oz. That afternoon I went to see Dr. Schneider and she said it was time, and we scheduled my induction to begin that Wednesday evening. By this time I was getting excited about seeing my baby, and a little weary of the constant monitoring, so I had come to terms with the idea of induction and missing the mad dash to the hospital that I had always envisioned. But then she tells me that because the baby is so high and I am not dilated at all, I have a 50/50 chance I'll end up needing a c-section. Great, just great! I really did not want a c-section. I don't know why I was so dead-set against it, but it just made me really upset to think I wouldn't even get my natural delivery. I already knew that the induction would probably make labor more painful, so I was trying to keep my mind open about the epidural, but a c-section? No way!! I decided that just wasn't going to happen.

Oops, baby is waking up - to be continued...

Peas porridge hot

Peas porridge cold
Peas porridge in the pot
Nine days old!

Doctor's visit today

Zachary had his first doctor's visit today and we had a good report...

He had lost 9.1% of his birthweight in the first two days after birth, but he has already gained it all back! He is definitely a good eater. He has been sleeping really well too - we've had stretches of 3 or 4 hours at night already.

He has a couple of little pimply things on his belly - the doctor thought there was a possibility it is a staph infection, so she gave us a prescription for some ointment and took a culture. We'll find out in a couple of days if it is staph.

Later this afternoon he lost his umbilical cord stump, so he is a little ahead of the curve there too.

Other than that, we have just been eating and sleeping!

Happy Birthday Reid!!!

My nephew Reid is 7 years old today - here he is with baby Zachary, his little Leo cousin... Aren't they cute?

Happy Birthday Gary!!!

Introducing Zachary Charles

Here he is! Our Zachary Charles was born on August 10th, 2006, at 4:58 pm.

8 lbs, 6 oz
21.5 inches long

We are home!

We got home from the hospital at about 3:00 today (Sunday). We are all pretty tired but healthy and very happy. I did end up with a C-section after laboring all day, but it was really okay. I'll write more later with the full story and some pictures. Zachary is just perfect - he is sweet as can be and I could not be more in love!

Calm before the storm...

We are all just lying on the couch waiting for it to be time to go to the hospital - I'm watching A Baby Story one more time and Charles and Tootie are taking a nap. Zachary has the hiccups - if he only knew what he has in store in the next 24 hours! Mom and Dad should be here from Corpus Christi any time now - I guess I'll go take a shower so I'll at least have clean hair. It is so strange that by the end of the day tomorrow I'll have a baby - I feel strangely calm right now. I can't wait to meet him!

Last Supper

Tonight Charles and I (with the doctor's permission) went out to dinner to celebrate our last night as a twosome, and also our one-year anniversary a few days early (since we might be a little bit busy in a few days). We went to Macaroni Grill because we had a gift certificate, plus we like to draw on the table. Plus I love their bread - I could go there and just eat bread and be happy. It was so nice to go somewhere besides our house and the doctor's office! I can't believe at this time tomorrow night I'll be at the hospital on my way to having a baby...

Oh, I also did a load of laundry for Zachary today (without the doctor's permission but I just couldn't resist) and I'm already missing one tiny blue sock. How does that happen?!

T minus 2 days!

Okay, the date is set! My doctor said that between the size of the baby and my high blood pressure, it is time, so I am scheduled to go in on Wednesday evening at 5:00. I still am not dilated at all, so they will give me Cervadil overnight to soften my cervix, then they'll start the pitocin at about 5 am on Thursday. My doctor says that because the baby is so big and still up so high with no dilation, there is about a 50/50 chance I'll end up needing a C-section. But, there is no guarantee anything will change in the next few weeks, and if he gets too much bigger they would want to do a C-section anyway, so this is my best chance. Either way Zachary should be just fine - she said there is a 3% chance his lungs might not be quite ready, but I'm okay with those odds. So anyway, he should be getting here sometime on Thursday, August 10th (16 days before my due date and 4 days before our first anniversary). I am nervous but very excited!

Please pray that the baby will drop in the next few days and that everything goes smoothly, however it ends up happening (but preferably non-surgically)!

Ultrasound this morning

We just got back from the perinatalogist - first they did another non-stress test to make sure the baby is moving around enough, which he is. Then they did the ultrasound to measure his growth. They are now estimating he weighs 8 lb 12 oz, which is >90th percentile. They said there is definitely a margin of error of up to 20% either way, but he is still a big baby for sure. This means he's been gaining about a pound a week, so at that rate he could hit 12 pounds if I went to my due date! We'll see what Dr. Schneider says this afternoon - that appointment is at 2:30.

Back from the doctor - no baby yet

We got to the doctor's at 10:00 and the waiting room was packed - we didn't get in until about 10:45. My blood pressure was high again so the nurse had me lie down for just a few minutes and took it again, and it was fine this time. My doctor came in and said, 'Well, what day next week do you want to have the baby?' I guess since everything came back good from the hospital the other night, and my pressure was okay today (I don't know if the nurse told her about the first reading), she decided to give me until next week. She also checked my cervix and said I still show no signs of dilating whatsoever, so that was another factor. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday morning, then I'll go back to my doctor in the afternoon and she'll re-evaluate things and make a decision as to when she'll want to induce me. Hopefully my body will show some sign of getting ready for labor. We did another non-stress test too and she said Zachary is perfectly happy in there, so that's good.

I kind of had myself psyched up to have him this weekend! Still, I'm glad he'll have more time - I think each day he stays in will be beneficial for him. So, it's back to the couch for me for a few more days!

Things I've learned on bedrest

• Bob Barker is getting cranky in his later years. He's especially impatient with the old people, which doesn't seem quite fair.
• Head On is applied directly to the forehead. I'm still not sure why!
• In a contest of who can lie on the couch the longest, my cat will beat me every time.
• Given the right teammates, I could so win the World Series of Pop Culture.
• Pregnant women are nuts. Give them access to each other over the internet and the craziness increases exponentially.
• Even if I have absolutely nothing else to do, I can still manage to put off the one thing I need to do for days (e.g. writing one thank-you note) or even weeks (packing my hospital bag).
• If your skin is dry, showering less frequently will really help. Much, much less frequently. And that's all I'm going to say about that!
  
• If I watch A Baby Story, I am guaranteed to cry when the baby comes out.
  
• I should probably quit watching A Baby Story.
  
• I have a really great husband! (but I knew that already)
  

Not much to report - we're just waiting to see what the doctor says at my next appointment, which is at 10:15 tomorrow morning. Who knows, we may have a baby this weekend!

"I'm not sure I like the sound of this 'baby brother' you keep talking about!"

Family portrait

Thanks to my sister Kathleen and her friend Cynthia who took these beautiful pictures of us.

Cynthia's photography website

Back at home - whew!

Well, we packed up and went off to labor and delivery, where they hooked me up to some monitors and took some blood and other kinds of samples. My blood pressure was still a little elevated when we first got there, but after 30 minutes or so it was back to normal and stayed there the rest of the time (they checked every 20 minutes or so). In her office this afternoon it was 155/98 but by the time I left L&D it was consistently around 120/78. The nurses said my bloodwork came back fine, they didn't see any protein spilling, reflexes were good, no abnormal swelling, baby looks great, so they called me doctor and she said they could turn me loose. She wants to see me again Friday morning. So this boy gets to cook at least a few more days! I'm glad because on Saturday he'll be considered full term, so I'll feel better then. Even though he's big, I didn't want him to have to come out early.

And he is big! They estimated last week that he was already 7 lb 14 oz. So, one more week should be just about right. :-)

Thanks for all the prayers - I will keep y'all posted...

Don't panic

That's what I'm saying to myself right now... I just got back from the doctor. My blood pressure has been a little out of whack for a couple of months now, so she's been watching me pretty closely. Well, today it was high again, and apparently I've reached the point where she would prefer to get the baby out sooner than later, since he will be just fine if he comes out now. Nothing is definite, but she wants me to go in to the hospital so they can monitor me. She says I may come home tonight, or spend the night and come home tomorrow, or come home in a couple of days with a baby! But she still had me make an appointment for Friday so again, nothing is definite. So, we'll just see! Charles is making me something to eat and I'm off to pack my bag, just in case. Can you believe I haven't packed yet? ;-) The good news is I don't have any other symptoms that are cause for concern, so hopefully she'll just send me back home for another week. I'm not quite ready yet!

Good thoughts and prayers are appreciated. :-)

August is here - gulp!

We're having a baby this month!!!