Alayna has arrived

Last Tuesday I went to the hospital for a nonstress test. The doctor also wanted to do an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid around the baby. Upon finishing the ultrasound, she told me that she was keeping me. I asked her for what?!! She said to have a baby. The fluid was low so she wanted me to deliver.

I was so shocked. I called Brandon and he kept repeating "Your kidding"!! I finally convinced him that I was serious and that Alayna would be coming that day.

They took me upstairs around 11a.m. and started getting things going. They started pitocin to get the contractions going. When they first checked me, I was already 3-4 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. I had not a clue!! Things kept progessing nicely. Around 5:30 they broke my water and things really started moving.

My contractions started getting stronger and stronger. I asked for an epidural and they were able to give it to me in about 30 minutes. I only had to struggle with hard contractions for about 45 minutes. The edidural was great and even had a button I could push for more medicine.

Around 9:00 pm I was starting to feel the contractions and pressure again so they came back in and gave me more medicine through the epidural. This ended my second bout of pain which had only lasted about 20 minutes.

At 11:30 pm, it was time to push. I was so excited because I thought it won't be long now. Boy was I wrong!! It took two hours of pushing before Alayna arrived at 1:38 am on October 25th. I was so overwhelmed when I saw her. I couldn't believe that she was here and she was perfect!! My first reaction was to thank God for this wonderful blessing!!

She weighed in at 7lb 10oz. She was 18 1/2 inches long. They said that her hair was blond. I couldn't really tell until they cleaned her up. The doctor said it was good that I didn't go three more weeks until my due date because Alayna would have weighed a whole lot more. I can't imagine.

My whole labor experience went very well. I am so amazed by the whole process. I can't wait to watch our little miracle grow and strive.

The excitement continues...

Saturday morning at 6 a.m. Brandon and I headed back to the Family Birthplace. My blood pressure had been high all night and my head was throbbing. The doctor instructed us to head to the hospital to be checked. It was still a little high when I got there but after about an hour it starting leveling out again. The nurse and doctors say this is not unusual.

The thing that was different this time was that I actually starting to have contractions. As I was feeling the pain, we could see the number on the monitor increasing also. The doctor did confirm that I was indeed having contractions. They were not consistent so I was not officially in labor. My body is just beginning to prepare.

Today I have had several nonconsistent contractions. The worst one was in my back. Wow, it was pretty rough!!! I am hoping that when I go into labor that I do not have back labor.

These contractions were like a slap of reality. I could really go at any time now and when I do it is going to be PAINFUL!! I have to keep reminding myself that at then end of the pain I will see my baby :)

We will see what this new week brings!!!!

Exciting week

We have had an exciting week already. On Monday I was scheduled to go to my family doctor to get a flu shot as recommended by my ob/gyn. When I woke up I realized that my hands, legs, and feets were swollen pretty bad. I called my family doctor's office and asked them if he could take a look at them before I got the shot. He did and was very concerned because my right leg was swollen more than the left. He called my ob/gyn and they both agreed that I should go to the hospital and have a doppler ultrasound on both legs to make sure that I didn't have any blood clots. Thankfully there were none. The tech said there was just alot of fluid.

Today I went for my 36 week appointment. My swelling was still significant and my blood pressure was up. My doctor thought that I should go to the hospital and be checked out by another doctor in the same practice. We were able to go directly to the family birthplace at the hospital. They automatically took me in and hooked me up to monitors and did blood work. My blood pressure came down and everything seemed to be ok. The doctor came in and said that my bloodwork showed that I was anemic so I would need to take more iron. I was cleared to go home after about 1 1/2 hours. I told Brandon this was our practice run!!! Hopefully the rest of the week will be quiet.

Recent news

I am slipping up on my postings. I realized that it has been almost two weeks since I last posted. So here are some of the latest happenings:

On the homefront:
We are in the process of having the basement remodeled. Are we crazy or what?!! We are just praying that it gets done before Alayna comes. We are putting in a multipurpose room, full bath, and a study. We are excited because we will be able to have more of our friends over with younger children. They can go to the basement and watch movies or play while the adults stay upstairs.
We also are painting our bedroom this weekend.

Pregnancy update: I am just about 36 wks now. I am really starting to be uncomfortable now. It is difficult to walk due to the pressure, I am not sleeping very well, my hands,legs, and feet are swollen, and I can barely get in and out of the car. I have to just keep focusing on the end result!! :) It really does seem like I am getting close. I can tell that I have dropped significantly. Brandon told me that I should pack my hospital bag now because he doesn't think it will be much longer. I go to the doctor on Wednesday so I should know more then.

Baby shower

Today was my baby shower given by my church and my family. The room looked so neat decorated with Precious Moments! They put a sock at each place setting filled with candy and then once you took the candy out you could mate the socks. I have such a variety of socks now.

I was so overwhelmed with just how many of my friends and family were there. I was so happy to see people who I hadn't seen for a long time including some former co-workers.
It is amazing to know just how many people love and care about me and Alayna.

There were so MANY presents. We actually had to take an intermission during the opening of gifts. It took me over two hours to open everything. I am so thankful for all of the incredible gifts. Alayna is already loved by so many people. This day was so much more than I could have ever imagined. I am truly blessed with friends and family who share our joy.

Renaissance festival

Three years ago we started a tradition of going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival with our friends Terri and Brian. We went yesterday and enjoyed a beautiful day. The festival is so much fun. The festival grounds in Crownsville are a recreation of a 16th century English village. You really feel like you are in that time period. There are alot of attendees who are in costumes for that period. People watching can be very entertaining.

They put on a variety of shows at several different outside theaters. Some of the highlights are the abbreviated Shakespeare plays, Shakespeare skum plays,and the Squire on the wire. Another definite crowd pleaser is watching a Jousting match.

The food is very good and priced very reasonable also. Some of the unique or favorite dishes are turkey legs, cheesecake on a stick, and apple dumplings.

If you have never been to the festival, you should definitely go. It is a fun and unique experience.