Welcome, Princess Aurora

Wow. I never in a million years would have imagined that Aurora would come 3 weeks early. I have always been convinced that I was going to be late - following in my Mom's pattern. Apparently our little girl is just full of surprises :)

Well as you all know my water broke at 2:30AM. I was in total shock and not even sure I believed it considering that supposedly only 12% of women have their water break naturally. But after serious leakage and 4 wet pairs of shorts/pants I decided that there was no way it was bad bladder control and off to the hospital we went.

Since Nick was in Flagstaff Mom and Dad came over to drive me. I called Nick right away and he left - I don't even want to know how fast he drove because it seemed like he got there in record time.

Once we got to the hospital (thanks to my putzing around it was about 5:45AM) they checked to make sure that my water had broken (it had) and they checked for dialation. I was only 1.5 cm and 80% efaced and they said they could feel her head. Still no contractions.

I had my group B strep test done on Friday at the doctor appoiontment so the results weren't even in yet. We had to wait for the results to come in (they had to do an "express" test) before they could start the pitocin - something I was not looking forward too.

They moved me from triage to labor and delivery sometime around 7:30 (I think) which is about when Nick got there. So I was still doing good - no pain at all. We started the pitocin around 9AM (again, I think - my timeline is a little fuzzy since I was still in shock). I was totally fine until around 11AM. I kicked everyone out of the room just because it was starting to get uncomfortable and I really didn't want anyone to have to watch that.

I would say that I was in pain/uncomfortable for about another 1.5-ish hours. I really was OK. Definitely tolerable. When they started the pitocin it was at 2 (I don't know what the units are) and they got me up to a 10. By the time the 10 kicked in I wanted to die. Sorry - no sugar coating. That was by far the worst pain of my life and there is no way to describe how awful it is - you just have to go through it to know. I was in I-want-to-die pain for probably 40-ish minutes at which point I was like, I can't take it anymore. I told Nick I wanted the drugs. But he said he thought I was close. In my mind - I had hours to go. When we had gotten there the nurse told me I "probably" would have the baby at midnight, so I thought I was looking at another 12 hours of that. I like to think I am tough, but there was NO WAY. But when the nurse came in to check me, she said I was ready to push! They were all in shock - no one thought I wold have her that fast, but it took 3 good contractions of pushing, and our little princess was born at 12:53PM. She weighs 5 lbs, 8 oz and is 19 inches long. She is perfect in every way.

And I can proudly say no drugs for me :)



It has taken me hours to write this post as I am trying to fit it in between baby stuff. I know I have so much more to say, but I wanted to share this part ASAP.

On Her Own Schedule

Well, it looks like Miss Aurora Braelyn is on her own schedule - certainly not mine...

2:30AM my water broke.

I know - I'm still in shock too. It's 4:30AM right now and I'm doing everything I can to avoid going to the hospital right now. The contractions haven't started so I'm not in a hurry to get there and be bossed around.

Nick is in Flagstaff but on his way home.

My parents are on their way over to drive me there.

My next post will probably have pictures of my sweet baby girl!!!!!

Thinning Out...

Not my tummy! And not Aurora - that's for sure. She is baking in there pretty good and packing on the pounds. My tummy looks bigger every day! I know I've been saying that all along, but I feel like its growing exponentially at this point.

What's thinning out is my cervix! I went to the doctor on Friday and I am 70% effaced. So that was pretty exciting. I know that I shouldn't get my hopes up that Aurora will come early - but it was cool to know that I've made progress already! It is weird to me that Wednesday I am full term! Wow, it seems crazy that the end is in sight.

So that is my exciting news. Life has been pretty busy and crazy lately and I will try to update you as much as possible on all the other excitement...

Since my last post my amazing friends at work and Bible study have thrown me baby showers. That was pretty cool. The work one was at Buffalo Wild Wings (thanks times a million to Dominic for organizing that!) The food was amazing as always and we got so much nice stuff again. It was really interesting to meet my coworkers families. I have to say that for being engineers - most of them are very normal. But that's coming from another engineer, so take it for what it's worth :)

The Bible study baby shower was a surprise. It was at the best time too! I was super hungry and almost stopped to get something sugary and bad for me to eat before, but I was worried I was going to be late, so I didn't. And it worked out perfect - they had yummy food for me (more of Brittany's amazing cupcakes - pink this time!) and I got to pig out on all that goodness. And again - got more super cute baby stuff.

I have really awesome, really thoughtful friends :)

We have spent the last 2 weekends trying to be productive and I think we've done a pretty good job. Aurora's room is basically done! The furniture is in there and together and her clothes (up to 3 months) are washed and put away. There is still more stuff to do, but I'm feeling like if she came tomorrow I wouldn't be totally unprepared :)





So lots of good stuff going on. And I've gotta say that even if the house isn't 100% ready for Aurora, my body is 100% ready to be done with pregnancy. The nightly pee trips are up to a minimum of 3 times a night. And heartburn and swollen ankles are my constant companions. The doctor said the swelling feet/ankles are only going to get worse - I find that hard to believe - they are pretty bad. Oh, well - the end is in sight. And I know without a doubt that she is worth every second of uncomfortableness that I go through and it is such a small price to pay for our little princess.

Preggo Pics

Well, this weekend was eventful and I have lots to share, but not much time so I will have to do another post later. I just wanted to post some pics from our little photo shoot we had Saturday.

The Pregnant Waddle

I used to think that pregnant women waddled because of their tummies. I have lately come to suspect that this is not the case. Not that I have any personal experience with any of these :) but these are my 3 guesses as to why pregnant women waddle:

1) They are trying to keep their thighs from rubbing together
2) Their backs hurt so bad and the only way to keep them from hurting is to waddle
3) They are trying to get to the bathroom without shifting the baby and springing a leak

Yes, this is the sad reality. As far as I can tell its not the tummies - its everything else.

I have yet to waddle in public. I can avoid it even if its uncomfortable, and I will avoid it as long as I can.

But just so you know - when no one's looking...

I totally waddle :)

Counting Down

700 more expected kicks to the ribs
450 expected trips to the potty
42 days until Aurora's due date
43 more restless nights
25 days left of actual work
15 weekend days left to get ready
4 planned trips to babies R us

Unlimited excitement and anticipation!!!!!

So far to go yet its coming so quickly. I'm torn between wanting the due date to be here now and being thankful that we have some time left to get ready...

BABY SHOWER!

I have the most amazing group of family and friends anyone could ask for. I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who was able to make it to the baby shower to help us celebrate - it was so awesome to see you all! And for those of you that weren't able to be there - we missed you! Of course a special thank you to Brittany for orchestrating the whole thing - it was all amazing and perfect - and I know she put a ton of work into all the details. I mean, look at these cupcakes!!!!





Not to mention the games, decorations, prizes, planning, and everything else that went into the shower. I am very lucky to have such an amazing friend.

And other special thank yous to everyone that helped with food - Mom, Grandma Carol, Grandma Marge, and Aunt Jan. And again to Mom for providing the location. You guys are awesome :)

Thank you so much to everyone for all your amazing gifts - we are so blessed to have so many wonderful people looking after our needs (and wants) :) and you guys really went above and beyond and spoiled us. Aurora is going to be the best dressed, most entertained little girl there is!

I'm in the process of putting away all the goodies and I just wanted to share this picture:



Plain and simple - you guys rock! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Happy Heart

I had my appointment with the cardiologist yesterday and I am happy to say that I have a healthy heart. It was a LONG appointment - I had to wait for almost an hour - I was worried my blood pressure was going to be through the roof - I am not a patient waiter at doctors offices. (Just one of my pet peeves that they can't do a better job scheduling). But hooray - blood pressure was 102/70. Then I had an EKG, and an ultrasound of my heart. I'd never had an EKG before - weird test. They said it was normal. The ultrasound was COOL! It was funny because usually in ultrasounds I get to hear Aurora's heart - but this time it was mine. Hers beats a lot faster :) I got to see the chambers and it pumping - very bizarre. Really I think it looks like it could break any minute, but I'm not a doctor :) and they assured me that it wouldn't.

So it was a 2 hour appointment - yuck - but everything checks out and the doctor said I'm fine. The only thing he didn't test was to see if I could possibly have a clogged artery going to my heart, but he said that I didn't have any risk factors so he wasn't worried about that. He said he didn't want to do the test because he wasn't about to put an almost 8 month pregnant lady on a treadmill. I was up for the challenge, but I'm OK that I didn't have to :) He didn't see any reason why I would be having chest pains - so it seemed like my heartburn theory made the most sense.

So I am done with doctor appointments for the week - hooray! The last few weeks it has been one thing after another. My next appointment is my regularly scheduled every-2-weeks appointment next Friday. And no extras are scheduled in the future! Just down to my every 2-weeks and then soon to weekly appointments. I don't think I could take any more doctors - I feel like I spend my life there as it is!

Hopefully Not...

On the yahoo homepage there is a link to an article "Things Babies Born in 2001 Will Never Know"

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111745/things-babies-born-in-2011-will-never-know?mod=family-kids_parents

I really hope a lot of these aren't true! Check it out if you are bored. It's interesting to see how far technology has come, but there are certain things that I vow Aurora will know - with or without technology!

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year! I feel like this is a milestone - we are now in the year that Aurora is going to be born - it makes it feel a lot closer. Though really I feel like I have been stuck at 32 weeks for a year. I think time is slowing down... My tummy growth is speeding up, but time is slowing...



I know I have been a major blog slacker lately :( Sorry about that. But hopefully this post will make up for it as I have pictures!

The other pictures are from the ultrasound we had Monday. This was the ultrasound that the doctor scheduled because she thought that Aurora was kind of small - or my uterus was measuring small. Either way, I was a little nervous about it. Not very nervous, but a little. But everything went great. It was fun to have another ultrasound - I love getting to see her. The tech looked at everything - brain, heart, liver, etc - everything looks good. It was funny because we could see her stomach and apparently it was full which means she is swallowing properly. We could also see her chest moving up and down breathing - so cute! And we got verification that she definitely is a girl. They were sure the first time, but it's nice to double check :) We also found out that she is smaller than average - but definitely within normal ranges. She's in the 38th percentile and weighed 3 lbs. 12 oz. This was kind of a scary number for me when I realized that she basically has to double in size before she is born... Yikes!

Here are the pictures they gave us. The fist one looks like she is blowing bubbles, but it's the umbilical cord. The second one is a staight on shot of her face.