2 Weeks

To celebrate William's two week birthday, we adventured outdoors. As you can see, he was securely buckled into his stroller, which kinda feels like I'm pushing a tank. I think he enjoyed the walk, he stayed awake but calm and content. Murtle came along, too, and I think she could probably pull the stroller on her own. I was very proud of her because she was so cooperative during this new adventure. I wish someone had been with us to capture the whole thing on camera, but I'm sure we'll try it again this weekend with Patrick and then I'll get to take some pictures.

William also had his two week checkup yesterday with the pediatrician. We got another good report and I am again reminded how much I have to be thankful for with this healthy baby boy. He is spoiling me by sleeping for at least 4 hour periods at night, so I'm only having to wake up twice. Bathtime is still the most stressful part of our day, so I"m really hoping the umbilical cord will fall off soon so it will be more enjoyable for all. The blood spots in his eyes are starting to clear up and people keep saying he is getting more hair. The jury is still out on who he looks like, to me he looks like a perfect little William.

Has it really been a week?

I can't believe it's already been a week since William was born! The time has flown by, and I am loving everything about this little man. He's such a great baby. The most stressful times are baths and diaper changes because William does not like to be naked.

We had our checkup with the pediatrician yesterday, and William is doing really well. He weighs 8lb 4oz and everything looks good. I'm so relieved that the feeding is working out for us so far. Here are some pictures from our first week.

We're Home

How our lives have changed since Thursday!Murtle is adapting well to the new addition to our family. She jumps every time he whimpers, so I think she'll be a big help letting us know when he cries. She's so protective already.

For those who haven't heard the story, this is how William's birth happened. We went in to be induced at 4:30 Thursday morning. It was around 5:30 when they started the pitocin. The contractions felt like the contractions I'd been having, just more regular, but it was all manageable. Then Dr. Gautreau came in to break my water around 7:30, I was 5 cm at this point. Let me just say that is an interesting experience. I wasn't hurting too bad before she broke my water, so they made the epidural preparations at the same time as breaking the water. I had to wait 20 minutes for this IV to finish before I could have the epidural, and those 20 minutes of INTENSE labor pains were not fun. Luckily we caught the anesthesiologist between other patients and he was able to squeeze me in quickly. A positive side to the contractions was that I didn't have a chance to worry about the needle, I was so happy for the pain relief. I was still able to move my feet and could sense the contractions with the epidural. Around 9 the nurse checked my progress and I did not believe her when she said I was 10 cm! I was like, this is way too fast, what do I do now???? So I started pushing with her, then we called Dr. Gautreau in and William was born at 11:00. It was such a surreal experience, the labor and delivery were so calm, I kept waiting for some drama. I am so thankful to everyone involved for making it as easy as it was.

Big Day Ahead

It's finally here! We went to the doctor today and have decided to induce tomorrow morning. The doctor feels like everything is ready enough and I am very ready to meet the little guy. I still feel okay, thankfully, but I'd rather go ahead and induce when I know my doctor will be able to take care of me. So the plan is to start Pitocin at 4:30, hopefully Dr. Gautreau can break my water around 7:00, and we'll have a living, breathing baby boy after lunch. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow, and I'll update as soon as we have news!

Still Waiting...

4 Days To Go!

Here is a picture of the bump at 39 weeks. I laugh when I look back to the first pictures I posted of the "bump". I was so excited about it, and looking back I realize there really wasn't much there at all! Now I'm running out of clothes to wear because nothing is long enough to cover my belly. In addition to the growing belly my shoes are a little more snug and of course there's the ankles. After a day of work they are enormous, practically the size of my knees! According to my coworkers, my face has also started swelling in past few days and Patrick has asked that I not wear my engagement/wedding ring in case my fingers swell and they have to cut the ring off for some reason.

As of Wednesday I was about 4 cm dilated, but still no contractions. I'll go back to the doctor this Wednesday (unless William makes an appearance first) and we may decide to go ahead and induce Thursday or Friday. I was very anti-induction this whole pregnancy and would still rather go into labor naturally, but it appears that William just may be stubborn and needs some coercing. I totally trust my doctor and her opinion, so I'm fine with whatever she thinks is best for me.