I am going to add a quick update, and hopefully lots of pics. Things are going just wonderful. Declan is just such a blessing in our lives, and I cannot imagine my life without him. Brent is the most supportive and hands-on father. Declan has been sleeping through the nice since right about 2 months (his longest stretch has been 11.5 hours!) He typically goes to bed between 9 and 10, and depending on the day of the week, I either get him up at 6, or he sleeps until about 7...no complaints there! At his 2 month appointment, he weighed in at 12lbs, 14oz, 25 inches long...95th percentile for height!

Enjoy the pics!

Baby Declan is here!!!

So I figured I'd post the birth story here. :) Here goes!

I went back to the doctor on Wednesday, March 10th for my regular appointment. My blood pressure was still a little elevated and I was dilated to 2cm, so the doctor figured it was time to get this boy delivered. He scheduled an induction for the following morning, March 11th at 7am at the hospital. So, 7am 3/11/10, Brent and I headed into the hospital, ready to come home with our little boy. After the paperwork was filled out, the midwife came in around 8am, and explained the induction process. Basically, she used 1/4 of a little pill to start the contractions, and used this little balloon thing to help get me dilated to 3-4cm. The pill started working pretty much right away, and by 11am, I was between 3 and 4cm dilated. The midwife came back after lunch, was very happy with the progress, and said we'd let it progress on it's own for a bit, instead of having to use pitocen. At this point I could feel the contractions, but they weren't extremely painful. She came back around 3, and we discussed what to do next. We decided to have her break my water, and go from there. She called the anesthesiologist, to put him on notice that I would need the epidural probably within the next 2 hours. Once she broke my water at 3:15, she said I would start to feel stronger contractions in about 10-15 minutes...well, literally, 30 seconds after she walked out of the door, they hit, and they hit hard. The anesthesiologist showed up at 4:30, and after 2 tries, finally got the epidural going. That was probably some of the worst pain I have ever been in. It felt like lightening bolts across my back, and on the second attempt, he just happened to do it right in the middle of the worst contraction I had ever had. BUT...about 15-30 minutes later, I was feeling much better, and Brent was allowed back in the room. All we could do at that point was wait to become more dilated. I was checked every few hours, and it went to 5cm, to 7, to about 9 around 11pm. Around midnight, the midwife said I was 9 3/4cm dilated, and if I felt the need to push, I could start with smaller pushes, and go from there. Well, about 12:45am, I REALLY felt the need to push, so I was basically able to control when I pushed. The nurses, the midwife, and Brent helped coach me along, and all I knew was I wanted this to be over with! About one hour later, at 1:38am, out he came! Brent was right there with me the entire time...in fact, he held my left leg :) He was able to watch the entire thing (I left that up to him!) and he said it was just amazing to watch. The nurses cleaned him up, and he weighed in at 8lbs 5oz, and 2o inches long. My parents and his parents came in at 3am and got to meet Declan Orie-Thomas Killinger. Feeding has been going fantastic, he was a pro from the beginning. I was able to come home Sunday morning, and we've been adjusting to having this amazing baby in our lives. I did have some problems with a lot of post-pardom pain in my head, neck, and back from the epidural though, and today is the first day I haven't been on a lot of pain medication. I'm still a bit sore from it, but recovery is now going much better. We had our first appointment with the pediatrician yesterday, and Declan is doing fantastic. He's back up to 8lbs 2oz (nearly birth weight!), and the mild jaundice has all but cleared up. He sleeps 3-4 hours at a time, and feeds every 3-4 hours. I could not have asked for a happier, more pleasant baby.

So...that's his birth story. I included some pics. LOVE this little man so much!

March update

Well, the month of March has finally arrived! Didn't start out the best for me though. On Tuesday, I went for my regular doctor appointment, and my blood pressure was very elevated (160/102)...they retook it after a few minutes, and it didn't go down, so the doctor sent me to the hospital for monitoring. After about 3 hours, my blood pressure was doing fine the entire time I was there, but they were concerned about some blood work, so the doctor decided to keep me for 24 hours of monitoring. Not what I anticipated! So...after a stressful 24 hours in the hospital, (bp was good except for one reading the entire time, but they were watching my blood work and a few other tests), I get told around 6:30 on Wednesday night that I can go home. Considering how the doctor had told me that morning I would most likely not be going home without a baby, I was of course, disappointed, but I've come to realize that he just isn't ready to make his appearance yet. So...since then I've been on bed rest. Not the best gig, but nothing I can do about it. I can do work from home, so I have that to do during the week, but other than that, there's not much else I'm allowed to do. Right now, I'm 38 weeks and 2 days, so we'll see what happens. Went back to the drs office for a BP check yesterday, and it was elevated again. The nurse came back about 10 minutes later, and it had gone down, so they allowed me to go home. At this point, I anticipate being sent back to the hospital every time I go in and my BP is elevated. Stressful, but not much I can do about it. I feel a bit helpless at home, but I do what I can. Hopefully my next post will have pictures of Special K!!!

February update

So far, so good. Not a whole lot to update. I now have weekly doctor appointments, weekly non-stress tests, and weekly ultrasounds (bonus, I get to see/hear him every week!) The doctor has been happy with my glucose numbers (yay!) and said that as long as I keep going the way that I am, I'm well on my way to a normal, non-complicated birth with the midwives, and not with him. My ultimate goal is to make it until March 15...for several reasons, but the most important being that my 6 weeks off is all unpaid, and with day care not being available until June 7th, that puts me exactly 12 weeks from that day, and with my 6 weeks and Brent's 6 weeks, it would work out....so pray that he stays put until at least then!

I've been feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions, but only a few times a day...usually right after lunch, and at times like right now, where I'm sitting in bed before going to sleep. They last maybe about 30 seconds each, and just feel really uncomfortable and tight, so I know that's what they are. During my first non-stress test, the tech pointed to a part of the readout, and asked if I felt that contraction...I was like..WHAT??? Totally threw me off, but she said not to worry at all, it's only the Braxton Hicks, and they are completely normal. I don't think I had any today during my test. They strap two monitors to me, one to monitor any contractions, and one to monitor his heart beat, and I'm given a little button to push every time I feel him move. They are looking to see if when he moves, if his heart beat increases like it should, which it has so far, so all is good.

Anyways, that's what's going on now. I'm getting antsy to get stuff set up and ready, but with the shower not being until the 20th, guess I'll have to wait just a little longer!

Time for bed...only 5 weeks left!!!

New pics

These pictures are from today. The tech said that they can be off weight-wise by a half a pound either way, but she figured he's weighing in at 4lbs, 10oz, which is right where he is supposed to be. She can even tell that he has hair! In one of the shots, his hand is covering his face, but this was the first time we've actually gotten to see his face. With the diabetes, starting in February, I will have ultrasounds, visits with the doctor, and non-stress tests every week, and based on the first few ultrasounds, the doctor moved my due date up to March 18th...here's hoping for a St. Patrick's day baby!

Ps...yes, we have decided on a name, and no, no one is going to find out what it is until he makes his debut :):)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 is going to be quite the year! Things are going well. Brent and I went and met Dr. Williams the other day, and things seem to be going pretty well. He said some of my fasting glucose numbers were too high (not much I can do about them since they are my fasting numbers), so he put me on a low dosage medication to see if that helps with my blood sugar numbers. Apparently most places go straight to insulin shots, so I'm very glad that they are trying out medication first. Since I started taking the medication (not sure if it's supposed to work this fast though), my numbers seem to have gotten a bit better, so we'll see what he thinks when I go back to see him in another 2 weeks. Special K continues to move around a lot, and gives me reminder kicks to my bladder that he's around :) He continues to be measuring where he is supposed to be, and I have another ultrasound scheduled the third week in January....keep your fingers crossed that we get a good shot of his face this time! Dr. Williams also changed my due date, based on my last few ultrasounds. So...my new date is March 18th...Eek! That's gonna be here SO quickly! I hope and pray that we are ready by then! Brent is hoping for a St. Patty Day's baby :)
On another note, I think we have just about decided on a name! But no one is going to find out until he makes his debut :)
The picture is me at 29 weeks.