Precious Sleep

Psalm 127:2b "for He gives to His beloved sleep."

God gave us sleep last night. 

And now after a shower, I am having very regular, very strong, and painful contractions. We have packed the car and will be heading to the hospital in just a moment.

Thank you for praying.

Pray for rest

We're going to try to sleep...

Maybe tomorrow?!

This baby sure seems happy to be hanging out... contractions slowed mid-day to once every 15 minutes even while I laid down to nap - but they remained strong. 

They picked up again when Ben and I went for a walk. And after Mom & Dad arrived, Mom and I went for another walk. Good strong contractions while we were out. But they slowed again once we came inside. But they are strong when they come.

God knows what this baby's birthday is supposed to be. It's a good thing to trust Him!

I'll definitely post again before we leave for the hospital. And there is wi-fi in the birthing rooms, so Ben can post even there.

Thank you for praying. 

So Much Like Labor With James

It's almost weird how much this labor is like my labor with James. 

I still remember that day three years ago as if it were yesterday... hanging out in the basement all night while Ben slept, taking a shower and having the contractions slow down, crawling back into bed only to have a phone call come that got me back up. 

Then I made a big breakfast for Ben. And around 11:00 I went to my neighbor's house to hang out. During that hour, Susan started timing my contractions. At 12:15, she sent me home to call the doctor - contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasting a full minute each. We were in the car on the highway by 1:20. Ben was on the phone with his boss.

My doctor checked me, and I was 3 cm. He sent me next door to the hospital. They had a bed ready for me by 2:30, and I had progressed to 4-5 cm. My sister arrived. Ben's mom arrived. My parents arrived. The grandparents waited with my 10-month-old niece in the waiting room. Barbara joined us for the delivery.

Around 4:30, the OB checked me and I was 8 cm. She broke my water (hospital policy). And all at once, although my contractions up until then had not been very painful, suddenly everything hurt. Thankfully, in half an hour I was fully dilated and ready to push. Oddly, at that point, all pain melted away. I pushed for 20 minutes, and out came our precious son.

So far, things have been pretty similar... even to the timing. 

Around 9:30, we took James over to Eliza's house. My parents will probably be on the road pretty soon. I think I might go for a walk since Susan is now working and not home for me to go hang out with! 

My biggest disappointment is learning just now that the hospital has a new policy in place because of the swine flu that only two people are allowed in the delivery room (usually it's four). So this means that my sister isn't able to join us. I'm really sad that she won't be there, especially since it's her birthday. (We'll miss you, Dolly!)

Thanks for your continued prayers. If you would, please pray for things to pick up and keep progressing.

6 a.m.

Well, I've done a bunch of blog posts from pictures in July, August and September. I'm almost up to date... but I think I will stop now. It's 6 a.m. and our boy will soon be awakening. I'd like a shower before he gets up, so I should probably go upstairs.

Contractions have continued - but I've been nicely distracted, so I'm not sure how often they are coming. But they are more intense now than they were when I first got up.

Thankfully, Ben has slept for most of the night. I'm feeling sleepy... not my preference for heading into life with a newborn. But I know God will grace me for this season and be my strength when I am weak.

More later...

39 weeks 2 days

Good Morning!

(Happy Birthday, Bea! It seems like we are going to give you a special gift today. Now one question remains: will you receive a niece or another nephew? We eagerly await the announcement with you!)

I think I might officially be in labor.

Being "advanced maternal age" (since my 35th birthday fell one day before my due date), I have enjoyed weekly ultrasounds and 15-20 minute fetal monitoring at my doctor's office for the past month. Today, the tech noted that I was having "hard contractions" every 4 minutes. I felt them, but they didn't hurt at all. And the doctor didn't seem to think much of them.

After he checked me, he said I "remained unchanged from last week - still 50% effaced and 2 cm dilated." He told me to go into labor and come see him in the hospital on Wednesday.

So I came home to my boy and his Grammy, still having contractions, but not paying attention to them at all.

Right around 9 p.m., I noticed an intensity in the growing tightness of my belly. And I commented on it to Ben. I went into the kitchen to finish up the dishes and to make sure Ben's coffee and lunch were ready for Tuesday (now "today."). Then I sat down at the computer to send a few e-mails.

Ben went upstairs to bed, and I soon followed. I finally fell asleep around 10:30 but was awakened at 12:15 by another contraction. For an hour, I tried to go back to sleep while at the same time trying to time the contractions. Right.

So I decided to get up and blog about my labor.

It is now 2:15 a.m. I am still having regular, somewhat intense contractions. And I feel a bit nauseated. Maybe I've just moved to 3 cm!

I'll post again when anything changes.

3-Yr-Old Stats

I am so far behind in updating. There is much more fun stuff to write about. And I do have plenty of pictures to post. But for the moment, I want to be sure these all-important stats find their place in the history books (especially before I lose the paper from the doc).

James had his 3-year-appointment with our pediatrician today - just 10 days late. I completely forgot about scheduling it! He was very chatty with the doctor and very happy to be there. As we left, he even said, "Sank you, Mommy, for taking me to see Dr. N." So precious!

So without further ado, here are our boy's measurements:

Weight: 32 lbs (50th%)

Height: 38 3/4 in (75-90th%)

BMI: 15

BP: 96/66

Pulse: 92