Monday, April 29, 2013

Week 2

How is Hudson 2 weeks old already!?! He grows and changes every day. Sometimes I look at him and think "is this really the same child I brought home from the hospital??" His little cheeks are filling out...probably because he is such a good eater! He still sleeps really well, waking up every 3-4 hours to eat but generally he falls right back to sleep. He is still in newborn clothes but a few of his sleepers are a little snug in the length.  Little man loves walks in his stroller and rides in the car.  He was wide awake through most of church yesterday but barely made a peep! He has been a wonderful baby so far and I'm really hoping that continues!
My parents were here for the first two weeks of Hudson's life which was so wonderful. They were a huge help. There is something incredibly special about seeing your parents with your child, it was not an easy goodbye when they left on Saturday. But they have plans to visit a lot, we are already looking forward to the next trip!
Hudson Allen, Mommy and Daddy love you so much!
 


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Hudson's birth story

Let me preface this post by saying it is mostly for my own memory's sake so it will probably be pretty long and I apologize if I offer too much information.

April 11th:  I went on Thursday, the day before my due date, for my 40 week appointment.  I was fully expecting to be at least a little bit more dilated than I was at my 39 week appointment (barely 1cm and 50% effaced).  I had walked everyday the week before at least 3 miles...surely that would have done some good?  Well, I was extremely disappointed when the doctor told me that I had no progress and he couldn't even strip my membranes because I wasn't dilated enough.  I started sobbing right then and there in the office...not because I was tired of being pregnant but because my parents only had a limited time that they could come visit and I wanted them to have as much quality time with Hudson as possible.  I left the office resigned to the fact that I would be back the next week for my 41 week appointment.  I called my parents and they decided to delay their trip a day so that they would have a little more time on the back end of the trip.  They would arrive Monday afternoon...I fully expected them to make it in plenty of time before Hudson was born.

Due date:  Not much happened on my actual due date, I went about my normal day.  I worked from home that morning and then for a long walk.  In the afternoon Alison and Gray came and visited and then I went grocery shopping.  While I was at Walmart, I had a few contractions that I assumed were Braxton Hicks (I had been having them for weeks) but a few sort of took my breath away.  That night I had a few more but I honestly didn't think anything of them. 

April 13th-15th:  I woke up Saturday morning feeling perfectly normal, a little disappointed that the contractions from the night before had subsided.  Chris was working at the nursery all day so I took the dog for a long walk and then ran some errands.  Chris and I had decided that we would have a date night since it didn't look like little man was making his appearance.  So, when he finished up his work we went and ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.  We were going to go to the movies but just decided to come home instead.  We went to bed around 10:30 and I woke up about an hour later with cramping, thinking that my dinner just hadn't settled well.  I soon realized though that I was feeling contractions and laying in bed certainly wasn't helping.  I didn't wake Chris up but came downstairs and tried to distract myself by watching tv but it wasn't working.  At 1am I finally went back upstairs and decided to try to get some rest but there was no way I could sleep through the contractions- each time I felt one I had to get out of bed and squat by the side of the bed until it passed.  Chris woke up and we started timing the contractions, they were about 5 minutes apart at that point.  By 3am, they were about 3 minutes apart and I started vomiting from the pain and lost my mucus plug (sorry, I told you there might be too much information).  At 4:30am I decided to get into the tub and the warm water actually did help ease the pain for a while.  But, unfortunately I continued to be sick to my stomach and was afraid that I was going to be dehydrated.  So, at 7:30am we decided that we should go to the hospital since I had been having very consistent contractions for 7.5 hours at that point.
We arrived at the hospital, got all checked in, and into a triage room.  My contractions were still about 3 minutes apart and lasting about a minute each.  However, the nurse checked me and I was only dilated to a 2.  I was so disappointed but the nurse explained that some people just have a really hard time dilating despite consistent contractions.  I walked at the hospital for an hour and was checked again, only to be dilated to a 2.5.  So, I was given 2 options- I could stay and they would put me on pitocin and break my water or I could go home.  I chose to go home and walk as much as possible and try to dilate on my own.  The nurse said that she was pretty confident I would be back later that day. 

We got back home around 10am and I did not allow myself to sit down other than to get back into the tub for a little while to try to get a break from the pain.  We took several short walks in the neighborhood and Chris was so helpful at this point because every time I would have a contraction, the only way I could manage the pain was by leaning over and swaying side to side and he would massage my lower back which helped alleviate some of the pain.  At that point, the contractions were still about 3 minutes apart but now they were close to a minute and a half long.  I didn't want to go back to the hospital only to be sent home again so we stayed at home all afternoon.  But Chris had been texting with our child birth class teacher and she encouraged us to go back and at least get check.  So, around 5pm we headed back to the hospital. 

Back in triage, I was told I was dilated to a 4 and could be admitted to a labor and delivery room.  It was a relief that I had made some progress but was slightly disappointed that I was only a 4.  In the room, I answered a million questions from the nurse and had an IV started to get some fluids into me (I still hadn't kept anything down at that point).  Around 7:30pm I received the go-ahead from the doctor to get up out of the bed and walk for as long as I could stand to try and make some more progress.  I made it about 30 minutes and was in so much pain that we just came back to the room and I stood and swayed until the doctor came in to check me.  At 8:45pm I had dilated to a 5 and he broke my water.  This made the contractions really pick up, they were almost on top of each other at that point.  I toughed it out until 10pm but I just got so exhausted that I finally asked for an epidural (my plan was to have a drug-free labor but I didn't expect such a long labor!).  I was dilated to a 6 at this point and I was able to get a little bit of rest.  At about 1am Monday morning I started to feel a lot of pressure and the nurse checked me again and I was dilated to a 10 but Hudson was not quite low enough for me to start pushing.  Finally, around 3am I was given the go-ahead to start pushing!  My contractions had really spread out at that point so I was only able to push every 5-7 minutes.  But after a little over an hour of pushing our sweet Hudson entered the world at 4:11am!   He was immediately placed on my chest and in that instant I felt more love for a 6 lb 13 oz, 21 inch long bundle than I knew was possible. We are so excited to start our journey as a family of three! 

 


Monday, April 22, 2013

Week one

How is Hudson already a week old?! I have loved every second with my little man, it's crazy how much love you can have for one little person! We have had an eventful week so far. Chris and I have always said that we wanted to stay as active as possible even with a newborn. My parents have been here since they day he was born which has been super helpful...I have actually had a chance to shower everyday! Also, Hudson is a champion sleeper so far so neither Chris or I feel sleep deprived...yet. 
Anyways, our first outing (other than the doctor) was to Daddy's softball game last Thursday. Hudson must be good luck because they won! We have gone on lots of walks including one at Tanglewood. I am so thankful we made the investment in a good stroller, we love the BOB!! Hudson loves to move so anytime he gets in the stroller, carseat, or swing he goes fast asleep. We successfully made it to church yesterday. I wore him in the Baby Bjorn and he slept the entire service.  Hudson had his first (sponge) bath last night.  He didn't seem to mind it at all!
We just had our one week doctors appointment and Hudson is a breast feeding champ!! He is already 7 lbs 2 oz...he gained 7 oz since our initial appointment and is up 5 oz from his birth weight!! I'm proud of us...I was nervous about breast feeding but Hudson has done awesome!
Here are a few pictures from our first week at home!

Going to the doctor's!
One week check-up...7 lbs 2 oz!
After the first bath
Cool dude with his mohawk
Hi mom!
Precious daddy/son time
What are you looking at??

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Hudson Allen Wrights

Our precious son entered the world on Monday April 15th at 4:11am. He was 6 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. We are so in love...

Saturday, April 13, 2013

40 weeks

Well, yesterday was my due date and still no signs of baby.  But, that's ok.  I know that he'll come when he's good and ready and not a second before (well, unless he lingers around too long).

I had my 40 week appointment on Thursday.  I was confident that I had made at least a little progress.  I had walked between 4-5 miles every day the week before...surely that had helped some?  Unfortunately it didn't.  I had made zero progress since my last appointment.  I was still just 1 measly cm dilated.  I had a not-so-small breakdown in the doctor's office (poor doc, must have thought I was crazy).  But, over the last few days I have come to realize that this baby is going to come sooner or later, and no amount of me worrying is going to help.

So, I'm trying to enjoy my last few baby-free days.  Thankfully I'm still incredibly comfortable and have no complaints about being pregnant.  Tonight Chris and I are going on a date...something that might not happen again for a while so I'm thankful for the opportunity.  My parents will arrive on Monday and I look forward to spending a few quality weeks with them.  As much as I cannot wait to meet my son, I know the Lord's timing is perfect!

Here's what I looked like on my due date!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Thankful at 39 weeks

Yesterday we had our 39 week appointment and left the doctor's office pretty discouraged.  I haven't made much (or any) progress since my 38 week appointment so this baby is probably going to hang out for a while longer before making an appearance.  When I asked the doctor what I could do to get things progressing he basically said "be active".  I'm not sure how much more active I can be at this point!  But, I woke up this morning realizing that this baby is going to come when he's good and ready, not when I think I'm ready.  And, I also realized that I have a ton to be thankful for:

1)  Other than the morning sickness, I have had a very easy pregnancy.  I have still been able to exercise and continue my daily routine without any problems.
2)  I am still very comfortable.  I have no swelling and have lots of energy to do what I need to do.
3)  I am able to sleep (relatively) well.  I'm not sure any woman, at 39 weeks, can sleep fabulously with a baby laying on her bladder...but I do feel pretty well rested most days which I'm thankful for. 
4)  The longer this baby stays in, the better I guess at this point.  He has measured small the whole time and staying put another week (or 2) will allow him to gain some weight.  Yesterday he was weighing in at an estimated 6 lbs 10 oz...a whole 12 oz more than 2 weeks ago!  So, I guess we won't have such a tiny baby after all.
5)  As anxious as I am to meet our little guy, these last few weeks are something to cherish with my husband.  Never again will we be a family of 2!  So, hopefully this can be a special time that we can savor.

Here's a picture taken a few days ago...not the best angle but I'm definitely growing!

Exercise During Pregnancy

I suppose, since I am an exercise physiologist by profession, I should write a blog post about my experience with exercise while I have been pregnant.  I'll be honest, it's been a very different experience than I expected.  I always thought I would just keep on running up until the day my baby was born.  I mean, I've run for years...why would pregnancy keep me from it?  Ha.  Was I wrong...for a number of reasons.  Let's start with the initial reason I stopped running- morning (noon and night) sickness.  I was just too nauseated to run much.  I really tried to keep running most days until about week 15, then I just gave it up.  But, when I started to feel better at week 18 I thought I'd try again.  I was successful for a few weeks but developed tremendous pelvic pain that was worsened by running.  So, I decided it was time to hang it up and start a new exercise routine that was more conducive to pregnancy.  At first I did a lot of inclined walking on the treadmill (sometimes with jogging intervals if I felt ok that day).  Or, I would do a workout on the elliptical.  My favorite days of exercise were the days I would come home from work and Chris and I would go for a long walk/jog.  I look forward to doing lots more of this after the baby is born with our wonderful new stroller!
I continue to exercise 5-6 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour.  Aside from my cardio workouts, I have tried to continue doing strength exercises, particularly lots of squats and lunge.
I am so thankful that I have been able to exercise throughout my pregnancy.  I really believe that it was helped me in so many ways- I have been able to gain a healthy amount of weight, I have not experienced any swelling, and I still feel extremely comfortable.  I really am not tired of being pregnant yet, mostly I think because I am still able to be really active.  I am hoping that my exercise will all pay off when it's time to welcome my precious son into the world with a quick and easy labor!