It's a Boy!

Last Thursday afternoon we had scheduled maternity photos with my friend Caroline. When I was pregnant with Jackson we had maternity photos scheduled and I wound up having contractions and going to the hospital the night before our photos. I wanted to try and get some this time around. Caroline came to the house, which was so convenient for us and Jackson! Jackson loved being in the photos and was a complete ham! For weeks I had been having this intense amount of pressure and some tightness. Towards the end of the photos I realized I was in a little more pain. She left around 5:45 and we came inside the house for dinner.

Once I sat down I realized that the pain was starting and stopping... I was definitely contracting. I started timing them and they were 2-3 min apart and lasting anywhere from 30-60 seconds. I drank about 64 oz of water and continued to time them for the next hour while we ate dinner then called the OB. I sat in the tub of lukewarm water for the next hour and they were still every 2-3 min lasting 30-60 seconds each. Luckily, I had recently decided to pack some hospital bags for us. We got ready, kissed Jackson goodbye (thankfully Nana was here to stay with him!) and headed to the hospital.

We got checked in around 9 pm and headed to room B4 in L&D. The doctor probably came by around 10:30 or 11pm. I was already dilated 2-3 cm and was about 70% effaced. Since I was less than 37 weeks she wanted to give me one shot of terbutaline to see if it would slow or stop my contractions.  It did space them out by a couple of minutes but they were getting stronger. I continued to be monitored and was hooked up to an IV for fluids. The nurses checked me again a couple hours later and I was about a 4 or 5. Around 1am I decided it was time for my epidural. I had to wait until I had had one more bag of fluid and then the doctor came in to do the epidural. Why is it that anesthesiologists are always super fast?! He was done within minutes. I waited to feel a little relief but it was taking a long time. I was still feeling every contraction and they had gotten pretty strong and intense by this point. They gave me something else to help and soon I was able to relax and get some rest. The doctor decided to break my water around 4am. I was around 7 cm. Around 5am I was fully dilated. I started pushing at 5:15am and at 5:42am on September 13, 2013 Camden James Gosma was born! He weighed 6 lb 11 oz and was 19 inches long. I was very lucky this time to only have to push through 5 or 6 contractions. Last time I pushed for well over an hour and a half. Since I was less than 37 weeks they automatically bring in the NICU team for once the baby arrives. They laid him on my tummy and Jimmy cut the cord while they started cleaning him off. Then they took him over to the heated bed and checked his APGAR score. He got a 9! They continued to clean him up while checking vitals, reflexes and everything. His crying was great. I'm so thankful for a healthy set of lungs. I was so thankful that he didn't have to go to the NICU like Jackson did. I tried to nurse but he wasn't too interested yet so I just did skin to skin instead.

After a while the nurses came in to give him a bath and do his footprints and such. I was exhausted and found myself constantly dozing off. When I woke up I felt nauseous and vomited and at the same time realized I was bleeding. We called the nurse and turns out I started hemorrhaging pretty badly. They started a bag of pitocin to make my uterus contract more and constrict the blood vessels. We had to stay down in L&D for another couple of hours until they were sure everything was ok. After that we moved to our postpartum room #188. It was about 10:30 am at this point. It was so wonderful to be able to have Camden in the room with us. We tried nursing some more and then got to just doze off and rest. Since he was 36 weeks they started checking his blood sugar after he was born to make sure it stayed above 40. It started at 59 then 53 then dropped to 36 and then had dropped more even though he had nursed a little. They checked it every 4 hours. At one point they had to give him a little bit of formula to bring it up and thankfully we were able to keep it up after that with him just nursing.

Nana came to visit while Jackson was at school that morning and then Stephanie came to visit. We had a break and then Gigi and Aunt Gretchen came with Nana, Papa and big brother Jackson coming right after. Jackson was so excited and couldn't wait to see us and the baby. I had made a special big brother bag for him to open at the hospital. It had sticker books, big brother books, his own camera, snacks, coloring books and more in it. He was so excited and began taking pictures right away! I haven't taken them off the card yet so I don't even know how they turned out yet.

We had a nice quiet evening and Camden slept great! We woke up every few hours to nurse and the nurses came in as well to check vitals, blood sugar and give me my pain meds. Saturday morning Dr. Bergman came early to do his initial check on Camden. He is a healthy boy! He was circumcised and also had his frenulum clipped so that he could have more movement with his tongue to improve nursing. Thankfully it is a painless procedure with minimal bleeding. He said I should notice a big difference during feedings afterwards. Camden was very sleepy for a while from the Tylenol and big mid afternoon we decided to go ahead and head home. He had to so a car seat test since he was under 37 weeks where they check his oxygen saturation and make sure that it stays within a normal range while they are sitting in the angled car seat. We had to do this with Jackson too. He passed with flying colors. Around 6:30 everything was in order and we headed home! Jackson was so excited to see us and baby Camden when we got home!

37 Weeks

I should have still had a baby in my tummy at 37 weeks but instead my weekly photo looked like this...

36 Weeks

Here I am at 36 weeks on Monday September 9, 2013. I was feeling pretty good but was having lots of pressure and tightness. My OB said he thinks I will most likely go into labor at 37-38 weeks but could happen sooner or later. I was 1 cm and about 70% effaced already.

The night before we went to celebrate John's birthday. Dinner was delicious and after we ate we went to the park so the boys could run around.

 Happy Birthday Uncle John!

 Trying to get a picture of Gigi with her 3 grandchildren. Connor and Dillon were not interested!

Jackson decided to pose for the camera. Haha!

Pregnancy: 35 Weeks

I am so happy to have already made it to 35 weeks! It's been a long 7 weeks of hospital stay, bedrest and taking it easy but for a good reason! We are thrilled this baby has stayed put this long and hope it will wait another week or 2 more before arriving.

Thankfully the doctor told me a couple weeks ago that I can go run quick errands, go to dinners/movies and don't need to be sitting/laying down all the time anymore. I am still supposed to take it easy but it is so nice to be able to get out of the house, play with Jackson, have dinner dates with my hubby, etc. Those first couple of weeks of bedrest I had such pity parties for myself about how I couldn't do anything or help Jackson. Now I might do too much with him on occasion but I do my best to take it easy!

We are so grateful for my mom who has come into town for the past 7 weeks and helped with Jackson, cooked, cleaned, done laundry, grocery shopped, etc for us! My dad has come and been extremely helpful too but she has been here the majority of the time. I will really miss her help and company when she gets back to her life! I know they will still come visit and help often but it won't be like it is now.

I have really enjoyed reading so many books these past 7 weeks. I have read 3 Tana French books and 2 Kristin Hannah books. Normally, I tend to put reading on the back burner and always spend my time being "productive" during Jackson's nap. It's nice to have actually taken time to do something enjoyable for me! I hope I can keep it up and continue reading some once the baby comes.

At 34 weeks I was slightly dilated. I have been having some contractions but not labor contractions - mostly just feeling tightness and pressure. I am up from my pre-pregnancy weight a total of almost 20 lbs. I have been eating healthy but also have my sweet treats all the time! I have been craving pumpkin everything lately! Most of the pregnancy shorts and pants are getting uncomfortable because the band presses into my belly so much. This baby is very low already and fortunately has been head down for a couple of weeks now. The baby has been measuring right on track. Sleep is not so good. I tend to wake up every night and stay awake for a couple of hours sometimes.  

We still have no idea of the gender and are trying to finalize a top boy and girl name so that this baby isn't nameless like Jackson was for a week! :) The nursery is a blank slate right now. We are waiting to see if its a boy or a girl and then I will find some new crib bedding and wall decor to order for that room. We have all the same furniture in there - crib, tall bookcase, changing table, glider and another small bookcase.

 35 Weeks

Pregnancy Update

 Jackson likes to kiss my belly

Jackson wanted to make sure Cooper got in the picture too

I have made it to 33 weeks! Yay! Honestly when I was in the hospital at 28 weeks I didn't think I would make it this far but very thankful I have. Now if this baby can just hold on for another few weeks at least!

I have been feeling good lately. I get tired so easily which is funny since I spend so much time doing nothing and laying around at home. I do feel some pressure. This baby sits so low! I am not having (or at least not feeling) any contractions which is good! I have been going every other week to both OB and Perinatal. They stop measuring cervical length by 34 weeks and mine looked good the last time we were there (around 2cm) so as long as I don't have anything major going on in the next couple of weeks I will just see my OB every week from here on out.

These last few weeks I have been crazy about peaches. I tend to eat 2 every day! I haven't had tons of cravings this pregnancy but then I didn't last time either. I have been into baking yummy treats with blueberries and have made several lemon sweets as well. Normally I don't drink much milk but have been enjoying a glass of milk here and there in the evenings either when I have some cookies or by itself.

Sleeping has been ok. I flip from side to side all night and tend to wake up around 2 or 3 every night and am wide awake for a couple of hours. Last pregnancy I loved my Boppy body pillow yet this time I have only used it one time.

I need to start packing my hospital bag and get Jackson's big brother present ready. When I was pregnant with Jackson I hadn't packed my hospital bag so when we wound up in the hospital at 33 weeks I was not prepared! I also need to start washing all the baby things - blankets, burp cloths, car seat, bouncy seats, etc! I love that sweet smell of Dreft and can't wait to have a nursery of baby things ready for when this baby is born.

We are getting closer on names and have a girl name and a boy name we like but haven't decided for sure. At our last ultrasound Jimmy said he thinks it is a girl from the profile and face. My mom agreed but I can't tell. I am still thinking its a boy. My only hope is that it is a happy, healthy baby!

Jackson is always talking about the baby. When we ask him if he thinks it's a boy or a girl he says "no!" He loves to lift my shirt and say "hi baby" to my belly. But sometimes if my shirt rides up and he sees my bare belly he pulls it down and says "no baby!"