Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Josie is here!

Josie Marie S. has now made her appearance! She was born at 3:18pm on July 8, 2011, measuring in at 9lbs 8.9oz and 20.1" long :)

I am going to try to post another update later this week with more details on her birth and how we've been doing the last couple of weeks, but free time is kind of at a premium right now :) So the short version is I ended up being induced a week past my due date because of low amniotic fluid, and Josie arrived about 6 hours after Pitocin was started. We were still able to have the pain med-free birth that we had been hoping for despite being induced and the intensity of the Pitocin contractions, so we were very happy about that. Josie is as healthy as could be, is nursing like a champ, and gained back her birth weight (and then some) by her two-week pediatrician appointment, so she is now 10lbs 3oz. We are loving our little girl and enjoying all the bonding time we get to spend together as a family, especially as we get a bit better at figuring out what keeps her happy (the answer is usually nursing or going for a walk in the carrier).

Here are a couple of pictures of Josie from the hospital:
P1010795
P1010769


And here's my final comparison pic, taken just before we left for the hospital on July 7th:
40-40w6d week comparison


The final week of pregnancy was a good one. I was able to wrap up pretty much everything that had been outstanding at work, and then actually felt like I ran out of prep to do at home too (although, in hindsight, I had plenty more I could've done before Josie arrived!). I was able to go to yoga one last time and we went swimming and walking a few more times as well. I still felt just fine physically, although I was finally starting to feel like I was ready to be done being pregnant - mainly because I was worried about being induced and because I really didn't feel like going back to work after the long holiday weekend ;)

In addition to the weekly comparison pics I had been doing for this site, I had also been doing daily pictures so that Ryan could put together the following video to show my belly transformation:

Saturday, July 2, 2011

40 weeks

40 weeks! Actually, 40 weeks and 1 day as I write this, so I am officially "overdue". Which is fine - the baby will come in its own time, although I really hope it's towards the beginning or middle of next week so that I don't start worrying too much about being induced, which has now been scheduled for 7/12. At my appointment with the midwives this week, they didn't think I'd make it to my next appointment anyway (on 7/7), so hopefully they're right! I was only 1cm dilated on Tuesday, but there were some other signs that indicate my body is gearing up for labor... which I was pretty excited about at first, until I realized that that just makes sense, given how far along I am in this pregnancy. I could interpret just about anything as a sign of impending labor (back pain, losing a couple of pounds, the swelling in my feet/legs going down somewhat, etc.), which is exactly what I have been doing :)

This week we wrapped up quite a few loose ends and prepared for essentially being shut-ins for the next couple of months - cleaning, finishing some books and other research, yet more laundering of baby things, gardening, eating at some favorite restaurants, etc. We also met with a couple of day care providers, liked one of them and really, really liked the other, so we should have that all set next week once we call the second one and work out the contract and deposit. I also got everything transitioned and wrapped up at work as much as possible - my replacement and I spent yesterday preparing as if it were my last day and then we'll just consider any time I'm able to go in next week as bonus, but I'm about ready to be done at work now. I'll keep working next week if I haven't had the baby yet, since I'd prefer to be at work rather than sitting at home analyzing every ache or twinge, but it's also a little nerve-wracking to just have to hope that my water doesn't break at work!

So here's this week's comparison picture:
39-40 week comparison


I also did a comparison from the first belly picture to the beginning of second and third trimester, to 40 weeks. Clearly, most of the growth/excitement happened during third trimester :)
5-14-28-40 week comparison


Ryan also took a video of the baby moving, and has peer pressured me into posting it here. So here you go: