He's Here!!

Liam is Here!

January 22, 2010 3:01 pm

9lbs 4.5 0z, 20.75 inches

Of course, many many more photos to come;) And, also, a more complete birth story... but, too be quick... We were induced yesterday at already 4 cms, 80% effacement and the baby at 0 station. Pitocin was started on the lowest level, 1, at about 8:15am. They increased it to 2 at some point, but couldn't go any higher because I was contracting regularly at every 1-2 minutes. The problem was, they were the same type of contractions I've had all along... painless, and not building at all in intensity. But, I was contracting, so no upping the Pit. At around 11 am, my doctor ruptured my membranes and then things finally got started... Pit was reduced to 1, and then turned off as my body took over and did it's job. Less than four hours later, and after only 15 minutes of pushing, Liam was born. It was very intense, and my little guy is a bit black and blue from hurtling through his Mama's body at such a crazy velocity, but we both made it through (drug free, minus the Pit, as I had dearly hoped), and are already madly in love with each other. My doula, Rachel, was a godsend~~ it would not have been the birth it was without her!

Liam is doing great.... I'm still incredibly sore, but recovering. And, we are all looking forward to getting home tomorrow and exploring the new parameters of our family... now 25% larger.

Welcome Home Set

Sheepy Pants in TIG Galenas Merino 'Tierney' and Malabrigo Merino Worsted 'Bijou Blue'

Little Boy Blue Ribbed Baby Hat in TIG Galenas Merino 'Tierney'

BSJ Inspired Booties in Malabrigo Merino Worsted 'Bijou Blue'

Our Little Guy will be here tomorrow!! I have an induction set for tomorrow morning, due to complications relating to my past miscarriages. We were hoping he would come on his own (he still might tonight~ you never know!), but are so, so excited to meet this long awaited little fellow. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

39 Weeks

We need 'time to come out now, baby!' vibes sent our way please!

Baby Update

So, my uterus has been a happenin' place, as of late. Our little guy is doing pretty well... We had a fetal echocardiogram done on him because he was high risk for heart issues due to the cystic hygroma he had earlier (which you can read about in this post). Little guy does have a small pinhole between two ventricals of his heart... this is called Ventricular Septal Defect and is the most common congenital heart defect, affecting 1-3% of every 1,000 births. We will be meeting with a Pediatric Cardiologist, but, to our understanding, what this means is basically that for now he'll just be watched. It doesn't change how or where I birth (phew!), but he'll have an echocardiogram done after birth and regularly after that. Hopefully, this will close up on its own, even before birth, or not too long after. My understanding is, that unless it is causing problems, surgery won't be needed.... but it's always a possibility too.

We were thrilled to get a couple of 3D shots of him during the ultrasound!! He looks like his Daddy!

At 27 weeks, he is measuring well at 2lbs 4 oz, which puts him at the 59th %tile- yay!

The other baby news is that I spent yesterday afternoon hooked up to monitors and having tests done because I wasn't feeling *quite right* and pretty sure I was having contractions. Turns out I have what is called Uterine Irritablility, which basically means I'm having frequent, but mild, contractions (lots of fun). My cervix appears to be fully closed and long which is a very good sign, and I had a fetal fibronectin test done, which is supposed to kinda predict whether I was likely to go into labor in the next two weeks, and that was negative-- which is a hugely good thing. So, now, I'm on kind of a partial bedrest.... I can still take Aurora to school and stuff, but for the most part I have to really take it easy... I was told I needed to really reduce my activity level, which I kinda felt like I wasn't doing much as it was~~ but it's better than full on bedrest, which I really hope to avoid. Because Aurora was early, I was already at higher risk for a preterm delivery, and this certaily bumps that risk up. But, like I said, having the fetal fibronectin come back negative is a great sign... and I'm really determined to keep this little guy in as long as possible... so send us lots of 'calm uterus' vibes please!