The stork dropped him off...

It has been some time since I posted anything about Jesse or myself and that is because as you know, Jesse has arrived and as you may not know, Mommy has taken some time to adjust!!

I began having contractions March 25 at 3 a.m.  They weren't strong contractions but definitely noticeable.  I had been slacking off on getting Jesse's room ready so I used that as a means to distract myself from the pain of the contractions.  I pretty much cleaned up his whole room in that one morning.

By afternoon the contractions started getting stronger and I was so ready for Jesse to be here!  Joe and I decided to go to Fred Meyers so that I could do laps and hopefully get the little guy to drop and allow the labor to progress.  The people there must have thought we were crazy!  Here's this huge pregnant woman literally looking like she's ready to pop stopping every few minutes for contractions!!  Lol!!

Well by 6pm the contractions were very strong and getting closer together.  Joe called the birth center and we decided to stay at home for a couple more hours.  By 9pm we called again and were on our way.  When I arrived I was dilated 4cm and my cervix was effaced about 80% and was very soft.  I was Group B Strep positive so I had to be given antibiotics through an IV.  After the IV was hooked up the fun began!

I was able to try just about every method imaginable to manage the pain (minus the drugs).  I was in the shower, the tub, on the bed, on the toilet, doing squats, on my hands and knees, and laying on my side.  It was pretty amazing that I was actually able to fall asleep immediately after a contraction, be passed out for a minute and wake up for the next round!

I honestly cannot say what the worst part of labor is; each part has it's very own awfulness.  I can say that the hardest part though was the very end when I finally felt the urge to push.  By this time it was already March 26 early in the morning.  I ended up on the bed because I was so exhausted and could no longer squat.  This was the only point where I really felt as though I could not do it.  It was so hard and so painful and I was terrified that I would tear!  I was beginning to get discouraged because I would feel the urge to push and then feel Jesse move further down.  I would stop pushing and then feel him move back up.  I felt as though I was losing all the progress I had just made.  The last push was the hardest and most painful!

As soon as Jesse came out I started crying like a big baby!  I don't know if it was excitement over him finally being here and me finally getting to meet him or over the fact that the pain was over!  Probably a little bit of both!

In all I'd have to say that giving birth to Jesse at a birth center was an amazing experience.  I cannot imagine doing it at a hospital!  My midwife and her birth assistant were wonderful and Joe was and awesome coach (I don't know if I could have done it without him!!).  I'm still amazed that I was able to have him without any drugs!!  It blows my mind still today.  This was without a doubt one of the most difficult things that I've ever done and now that I'm feeling better I can say that I wouldn't mind more kids in the future!

The stork dropped off a perfectly healthy, beautiful little boy!  Jesse Mitchell was born March 26 at 4:16 am.  He weighed 7lbs. 14oz. and was 20 inches long!  The Lord has blessed us abundantly for sure!!

40 Weeks

Well, today I am 40 weeks and yes this is baby Jesse's due date!!  I've had a lot of braxton hicks contractions the past few days and only a few that caused any uncomfortableness.  My last appointment with the midwives was on Tuesday and I was 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced, however, my cervix still needed to soften.  I'm hoping that I've made some more progress!!  Come on baby Jesse, Mommy's ready to hold you in her arms!!

Your Baby in Week 40 of Pregnancy 
Congratulations! This week marks the official end of your pregnancy. Your baby probably weighs anywhere from six to nine pounds and measures between 19 and 22 inches (though tons of perfectly healthy babies are smaller or bigger). The bones in his skull haven’t fused yet — Mother Nature’s way of making it easier to get through the birth canal during labor and delivery. He now has enough fat under the skin to maintain his body temperature outside the womb (with a little help from those cute outfits and swaddling blankets that you’ve been stocking up on!). You (or actually the placenta) are still providing the antibodies he’ll need to fight off infections for the first six months of his life. And if you plan on breastfeeding, your milk will be giving him more antibodies that’ll boost his immune system.

Your Body in Week 40 of Pregnancy 
When will your body know it's time to deliver this baby? Well, about half of all pregnancies go past the 40-week mark, but your baby's birthday will absolutely be sometime in the next two weeks, as your practitioner won't let you go longer than 42 weeks. One event that's not guaranteed before the onset of labor is your water breaking (the rupture of membranes surrounding your baby that contain the amniotic fluid he's been living in for the past nine months). Despite what you see in the movies, very few women experience a public water breaking. In fact, more than 85 percent of expectant moms enter the birthing room with their membranes fully intact. Even if you do end up springing a leak, it's more likely to be a slow trickle than a big splash.

38 Weeks

Now you see me...

Now you don't...

Jesse has been cooking for 38 weeks and I can't believe it!  He only has 2 more weeks until his due date and can come at any time now!  He's really poking out but still has yet to drop.  At times he feels like he's dropped a little lower which makes it difficult to walk, however, he hasn't decided to stay engaged in my pelvis yet.  So far I'm still feeling pretty good!  I've been getting tired very quickly and have been taking several naps throughout the day which has kept me going.  I've also had some really bad indigestion and acid reflux at night which has made sleeping pretty terrible.  I've resorted to partially sleeping upright and sometimes that helps.  Joe has also resorted to making sure I get out of the house and walk at least 30 minutes each day, which I appreciate because it's just nice to get out!  At my last appointment the midwife said that she thinks Jesse is going to be somewhere around 8 pounds so we'll see here pretty soon!!

37 Weeks

So that's right I'm now 37 weeks and the countdown has begun.  I can now legally give birth at the birth center which is awesome, but hopefully Jesse doesn't come too soon.  It was a wake up call not too long ago when a friend with the same due date as me gave birth to her little boy (big and healthy) at the end very end of February!!  

From Whattoexpect.com

Your Baby in Week 37 of Pregnancy 

Congratulations! You've got what is officially considered a full-term baby, even with three weeks to go. That doesn't mean he's finished growing — in fact, he's still packing on about a half pound a week (at this age, the average fetus weighs about 6.5 pounds). That makes it a little crowded in your uterus, so he’s probably not kicking as much, though he’s probably stretching, rolling a bit, and wiggling (all of which you’ll be able to feel!). Right now, your little superstar is busy rehearsing for his big debut, inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid (to get the lungs ready for that first breath), sucking his thumb (to prepare for that first suckle of milk), blinking, and turning from side to side.

Your Body in Week 37 of Pregnancy

Your body is going through its own preparations for childbirth as your practitioner starts looking for signs of labor. On the checklist: the baby's position in relation to your pelvis (engagement) and whether effacement (thinning of the cervix) and dilation (opening of the cervix) have begun. Your practitioner may also determine whether your cervix has begun to soften and move to the front of the vagina, another indication that labor is getting closer. Keep in mind that these processes can occur gradually (over a period of weeks or even a month or more in some women) or overnight. So while they're clues that you're indeed progressing, they're far from sure bets when it comes to pinpointing the actual start of labor.

Baby Shower

So my baby shower was March 5, 2011!  I was kind of worried because I knew that Jesse could actually arrive early causing me to miss the celebration.  But as the day drew closer I knew that this little guy would be late if anything!!  

Thanks to my wonderful hosts, my mom and friends Kathy and Jessica, my baby shower was everything I had hoped it would be!  I was surprised at how many of guests were able to make it, especially considering that there were actually several birthday parties and events that just happened to be on the same exact day!  Thank you so much to all of you who were able to attend and I sure hope you had a great time!  You all made my day special!!

For those of you who didn't get a chance to make it to the shower here are some pictures of the fun:

Here's a sample of the decorations!  All thanks to my mom, Kathy, and Ginneh for the awesome decorations and set up!!  

The Games!  Thank you Jessica for setting up the fun games for us!  We played a game where we had to fill in the blank on nursery rhymes (this one was kind of hard!!), baby ABC's, and the game where you can't say "Baby", "Jesse", or my name!  We had four game gifts so for the final gift we did a name raffle!  Look how hard everyone is concentrating!!

Small Group Shot...we completely forgot to get a big group shot before everyone left!!

Can't forget the pic of baby Jesse...

Take a look at the amazing gifts that our awesome friends were kind enough to give us!

36 Weeks Already!

That's right Jesse has been cooking for 36 weeks now!  Next week I will be considered full term and will be able to safely have him in the birth center if he wants to come early, but I'm hoping he waits!

Wednesday was the last of our bi-weekly midwife appointments and now we are moving on to the weekly ones! Jesse is still doing good.  We have been told that at this point he appears to be an average size baby but that they'll have a better idea of his size as I progress.

The midwife was trying to show the nurse practitioner where Jesse's head was and they were poking and prodding the little guy so much that he started to throw a fit!  Joe could see my belly flopping all over the place from across the room.  It was kind of funny!

Our next visit is Tuesday and I'll be about 37 weeks by then!!  We will have an hour long visit where we tour the birth center again and they'll go over exactly what to expect when I go into labor!  It's getting closer and we're getting more anxious!!

Hey, where did my feet go??

He's started to drop...as indicated by the belly button pointing down!  LOL!

34 Weeks Now!!

Man time is flying by so quickly.  Jesse is due in about 6 weeks!  He's still moving like crazy, however, he's not really kicking so much as just rolling and moving.  He's been head down for several weeks and likes to keep his butt slightly to the left and his feet right up under my right ribs!  When he decides to really get moving you can see my whole tummy move and jump.  I've also noticed that he's been getting the hiccups a lot lately, which is pretty cute, unless I'm trying to sleep!

As for me I've been doing well in spite of being pregnant - lol!  My pulled tendon or whatever it is was getting better but I think I tweaked it again.  Oh and I think I messed up another one right by my hip when I didn't lean forward to sneeze (trust me that was NO fun).  I've also been dealing with sinus issues and having to do a nasal drain at least once a day in order to breath at all at night.  I've recently resorted to sleeping with an ice pack on my face to help my sinuses stay clear.  My average wake up time the last week has been around 3 a.m. at which point I toss and turn, maybe doze a bit but inevitably wake up and get out of bed around 5 a.m.

In other news we have actually begun working on Jesse's baby room A.K.A the office!!  So now the desk is out of there as well as all of the junk!  We put together the play yard (Jesse's bed until he's ready to sleep in a crib) and the glider (yay!!) and set up the stroller and the car seat.  It's nothing much now, more like part of a room filled with baby stuff, but we're making progress. 

I spared you all the before pictures...too embarrassing - lol!

 I love that glider!  Now when I'm up super early I can go sit in the glider instead of laying in bed for hours!
The whole wall on the left side of the room is covered in book shelves so nothing can go on that side.  The wall that is beside the glider is a sliding glass door that leads to the back yard so nothing much can go there either.

As you can see we don't have the crib yet and there isn't much room.  The crib will actually go in front of the closet where the play yard currently is.  The desk chairs will be gone of course.  We plan on getting those square shelves where you put the baskets inside to store Jesse's clothes.