Gunner Has Arrived!

Well, after 9 months of waiting, Gunner is here! He is the cutest thing I have ever seen and can do no wrong in my eyes.

The following is a general recap of his birth...I wasn't too graphic, but I wanted to share the story since I have been so open in sharing with the whole pregnancy.


It was a long day but all went fairly well. It started out on Friday around 5am. I woke up with some cramping contractions, and after three of them decided I needed to go to the ladies room. As I got up, I realized I was leaking and it wasn't pee. So I calmly woke Daniel up and said "Don't freak out, but I think some thing is happening...." And for some reason he didn't freak out! We decided to time my contractions, and they were around 6-8 minutes apart. After an hour or two of this, we decided it was time to finish gathering our things. I called my mom to see what she thought and she agreed, I was in the early stages of labor. So we finished packing, and I told Daniel to go to a meeting he had scheduled at work at 10am. I had planned the whole time (if possible) to stay home during the first part of labor considering it was the longest part and I didn't want to be stuck in the hospital that long. So he went, and not long after that my mom arrived. The contractions were getting stronger and closer together, so I texted him to let him know we thought we should head to the hospital. I had called the doctor's office and the nurse agreed since I was leaking fluid it was best to go ahead and go. So, off we went and we arrived around noon! For some dumb reason I had decided not to eat lunch before we got there....bad move. My next meal would be at 2am the next morning.....



We arrived, got checked in and into a room and the exciting moment arrived: they were going to see how dilated I was! We were all anxious. But alas, I was only at 3 and around 85% efaced. Bummer. They also had a hard time confirming that what I was leaking was indeed amniotic fluid. So we waited and waited, and waited some more and FINALLY the doctor on call arrived. From here my memory isn't for sure on every detail that happened so I may be off on times, but he confirmed that it was amniotic fluid, and I think ended up breaking my water completely after that. The contractions really started getting strong at that point and from here I started having the shakes pretty badly. I was really having to breathe through the contractions and concentrate. We had alerted the family by this point and I think some of them were starting to stop by.



I progressed very slowly and got to the point where I was having a hard time with the pain. I had asked when we could do the epidural and Daniel said "Shouldn't we wait? I mean we're only at three and a half, we can wait" He claims that my response was "OH REALLY? We can wait?! You think so?!" with a mean look on my face.... I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of a contraction so I cannot be responsible for the things I said during this time. They decided to give me Pitocin to speed things up since I had been leaking fluid since 5am. So once I reached 4 or so, we got the epidural! It wasn't that bad at all. I was shaking uncontrollably most of the time so I was scared it was going to cause a problem, but it went well. After that, my left side went numb while my right was still able to feel things. This was NOT good, so they started turning me on my side to get gravity going so it would work. We found the side to turn on and it started working everywhere.



After this I really progressed slowly. I was trying to rest a lot and turn often to keep helping the baby move down. At one point his heart rate started to drop during the contractions and they were a little concerned. They ended up giving me oxygen and connecting an electronic monitor under his scalp which really scared me because I didn't want it to hurt him. They also had to use an internal monitor to check the intensity of the contractions. I was hooked up to tons of machines in that hospital. Since I was progressing so slowly they upped the Pitocin and I guess that did the trick because they checked me before they turned it up and I was still around 5 or so. About an hour later the nurse checked me and said "GIRL you are at nine and a half!" It was go time!

So they started prepping for the baby and getting everything ready. Once I was at a ten the nurse decided she wanted me to try and push through a contraction. They were concerned that he wasn't far enough down and that I would be pushing too long, but through that contraction he moved enough for us to go ahead and page the doctor. So the doctor came in and we started pushing! I say we because I could not hold my own legs up since they were totally numb, so Daniel and my mom helped out. The nurse explained that it's not uncommon for a first time mom to push for an hour or two and to not be surprised if that happens. So here we went, and it was exhausting. I was focusing everything I had and doing exactly what they told me to. During some of the contractions, the baby's heart rate started dropping, so the doctor told me they may have to do an episiotomy or use a vacuum. I told him I didn't want to do either if we didn't have to, and he understood...but they were still concerned with his heart rate dropping that I decided it was best to go with option A. I did not want them using a vacuum on him! The thought of that hurt my heart. After only 30 minutes of pushing, Gunner was born! However, once his head came out, they discovered that the cord was around his neck, causing the drop in heart rate. I didn't realize this until well after he was born, but it scared everyone. So he got it loosened up and plopped him right on me! Gunner just stared at me and it was amazing. They took him to the warmer and got him suctioned out, and he really started to cry! I'm so glad Mom got that on film.

The next several hours (days really) are a blur. I had been up since 5am on Friday, and got little to no sleep that night. I took a couple of short naps Saturday and slept about 4 hours on Saturday night. Sunday I took an hour nap once we got home, but that night was awful... it was our first night at home and I am SO thankful my mom was there to help. We were sleep deprived beyond belief. Once we got past the first night or two at home though, life got a little easier! Gunner started eating and sleeping better, we started sleeping more and it seemed like we might have a chance!! Those days feel like months ago now.

Daniel starts back to work on Monday and so my mom will be staying with us all week. Since I will be staying at home with Gunner, I want her to help me figure out what my daily routine will be like, so I'm looking forward to that. Daniel is calling it "Stay At Home Mom Training".

That's pretty much all I have for now! I love my little boy and couldn't be happier. He is so worth it!

Not Much Change...

My appointment today went well, she said I was doing great but the fact is that not much has changed with the progression. Still pretty much where I was last week. She is still convinced that I will go into labor before my due date though, so that makes me feel better. I plan to walk my face off over the next few days, maybe I can find some stairs and spend an afternoon walking up and down them.

She wanted to induce me next Wednesday. She is on call that day, and if I go into labor and she's not on call, the doctor who is on call will be doing the delivering. As nice as that sounds to have the guarantee for her to be there, I would much rather risk having another doctor be on call and me go into labor on my own. Convenience is not a good enough excuse for me right now. The thought of it being a week away was TERRIFYING! I think I might seriously freak out when I do go into labor though...it's really scary thinking about it!

So that's basically it. We're waiting to see what happens. Gunner is pretty low right now though, so maybe he's almost ready and he will come before my due date. I'm praying that God will make him come on his own before then. It can happen! It might not hurt if you pray with me! =)

Getting Closer...

Well I am at 38 weeks today. It is INSANE to think that we are this close to being parents. When we finally got to announce that we were pregnant, I thought to myself, "week 40 is so far away, it will be forever till we get to that point..." Well, here we are. We're pretty much prepared, as far as preparing goes anyway, for Gunner to arrive. We've got just about everything we need really, so I feel like we're "ready". (although, how ready can you be for your entire life to change.....)

The last two doctors appointments have been good, the first one I was dilated to 1 and 20% effaced, and the second one I was dilated between 1 and 2 and 50% effaced. My doctor was pleased and said I was really progressing well for where I was in the pregnancy, so her positive response made me feel like things are going well! My next appointment is Wednesday, so we will see what has happened in the last week. I've been having pretty regular contractions, nothing too intense but they happen throughout the day, and more at night. We've been going on walks every day and when I get done walking, I have lots of harder contractions, then they slow down.

Everyone was hoping today was the day, because 10/10/10 would have been a cool birthday! But alas, nothing. Oh well, he will come when he's ready! Apparently there is a front coming in, and the pressure changes have been known to cause labor to begin. Also, there is a full moon on the 22nd or 23rd which could cause it as well...and many other things I have heard that could cause labor! Every time I tell Daniel one of these theories, he just says, "Oh really? What about if you watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi while singing the Star Spangled Banner during a rain storm on a Thursday?? Will that cause you to go into labor too?!" lol I can see his point, but it IS interesting the things that have caused some people to go into labor! You never know...

That's about all that has been going on in our lives currently, we're just playing the waiting game now. People are giving their predictions and it's pretty fun to hear every one's thoughts! I personally think that I've got at least another full week, if not more...but I always think negatively so I don't get my hopes up...

Scary Moment

I had a little scare at my 34 week appointment today. I will go ahead and say EVERYTHING IS FINE, NOTHING IS WRONG! So no worries! Here's what happened.

I went in for my usual appointment which consists of me getting weighed, giving a urine sample (hooray...) blood pressure checked, uterus measurement and listening to the heart beat. Well, while the doctor was listening to Gunner's heart beat, she said it was a little low. (It's usually around 135, today it was 115 and lower) So she decided, to be safe, to hook me up to the fetal monitor for 20 minutes to get a read on what is going on. Ok, so I was slightly concerned but I wanted to get it over with so they could tell me if anything was wrong. A few minutes into the test, she came back in and it had dropped into the 90's. She immediately ordered an ultra sound, and I started to panic but kept it to myself. I didn't want to be the girl that freaks out!
They wanted to finish the test, so I had to sit in there, freaking out, all by myself for the next 15 minutes. The nurse gave me a magazine to look at. Yeah right, like I can read a magazine right now. I just held it open but stared at the monitor watching the numbers go up and down. (apparently that's good for them to fluctuate a bit) After that we did the ultra sound. She told me everything looked fine. They checked the amniotic fluid, his movement, listened to the blood pumping through the cord (amazing that they can do that) and watched him practice his "breathing". (He doesn't really breathe yet since there's nothing to breathe other than fluid, but the fact that he's practicing is an excellent sign) She said he looked great and the doctor released me! It was scary, but at the same time, I got to see little Gunner again!! He's HUGE compared to the 20 week ultra sound! He looks much fatter too and you could see his hands, they looked just like baby hands!!!! Amazing. She even printed out a few pictures for me! She happened to notice the area between his legs and said "OH yeah he's a boy"...I won't go into detail, but it looked much more like a boy than the last ultra sound! (she took a picture of that for us...lol)
It was amazing how much more developed he was this time. I'm so glad everything is fine, but that was scary for a few minutes. I did not like it. I did enjoy seeing him again though. OH and he is head down! His little feet are what's been sticking in my ribs! It's nice to know what everything is when he moves now!
I go back in two weeks and after that every week until he is here. Hopefully the next appointment will be less eventful...

A Whopper of a Weekend!

Labor Day weekend was CRAZY, but very fun too! It all started Friday night with a Pampered Chef party! We had a lot of fun. I hosted my first PC party, and the girl who was the PC consultant just started out so it was her first show too! I barely had anyone show up (seeing that I scheduled it on Labor Day weekend and all..) but I got a TON of outside orders and ended up getting a ton for cheap because of all the orders! Thanks everyone!

Saturday I got up and ran a few errands before dressing up and attending my second baby shower with friends! It was so fun and pretty! My three friends Bonnie, Ashley and Meagan did such an amazing job, it was great! The cake was ADORABLE and delicious, the food was so yummy and the decor was adorable! I loved it. We all had a great time! Daniel even came! I got some great and much needed items. I even got some hand made things! Ashley's grandmother made us a beautiful afghan that I love so much! Thank you!!!! And Bonnie (and Tom too!) made an adorable custom quilt! I love custom, hand made things so much and especially when they are for Gunner! It was a wonderful shower, I had a great time and thank you girls so much for throwing it for us! (I didn't get a ton of good clear pictures from the shower for some reason!)

Saturday night we had the family birthday party for my niece Emily's 16th birthday! It was a ton of fun and I cannot believe she is 16! When I met her (and most of Daniel's family) it was at her 11th birthday party. Hard to believe!

Sunday we got my family and Daniel's family together for a big BBQ lunch and diaper shower. That was some delicious food and adorable decorations! We all had so much fun. We got SO many diapers and other items that were much needed. My brother in law and sister in law (Scott and Kristi) helped us finish out the nursery by getting us a beautiful glider rocker with a glider ottoman! Two of my nieces even got us gifts! (Janna even made Gunner a cute little pillow!) The most memorable part though was opening the gift from Daniel's mother. She had several items from the past, and there were notes describing what each item was, who it belonged to before, and how special it was to the family. It was so amazing seeing what these items were and how they were significant to Gunner's family history.

"Gunner, This was the first outfit which was bought for your Uncle Stephen when he was just six weeks old by his mother and your grandmother, Nanny. It cost $3.98. This outfit was also worn by your Uncle Scotty and your dad. It was given to Cousin Colton when he was born, then passed down to you three years later. Today, September 5, 2010, this outfit is 40 years old."

"Gunner, This outfit was worn by your Uncle Stephen, Uncle Scotty and your dad. Uncle Stephen had his six month old pictures made in this outfit."

"Gunner, These shoes belonged to your dad, Daniel Babb, and were a gift from Mrs. Eubanks who was a neighbor and went to church with us at the time Daniel was born."

"This is the blanket that was made for Daniel before he was born. Why is it pink? One girl and two boys in the family already....you figure it out!!! He always loved his pink blanket. Right Daniel?" [the yellow one was also Daniel's blanket]

"This is the Pound Puppy Daniel begged for when he was in the fourth grade. (along with a cabbage patch doll.) He got both for Christmas that year."

"Daniel and Mandy, This is a family heirlook which belonged to Cullen Ward. [Cullen was Daniel's grandfather on his mother's side] This was his shaving mug, razor and brush he used for shaving. He used this for many years. Mama Ward [Daniel's grandmother] and Nanny want you to keep this for Gunner so he will have a little bit of heritage from our side of the family."

"Daniel and Mandy, This is a stocking which belonged to Cullen Ward. It was bought for Cullen when he was one month old by his mother. Cullen Ward would have been Gunner's great dranddaddy. Cullen would have been 98 years old on August 22nd, 2010, which is the year Gunner was born. Mama Ward found this stocking in some of her keepsakes and wanted you to keep it for Gunner in memory of his great grandparents, Nettie and Cullen Ward." [this stocking is almost 100 years old.]

So as you can see, we had a very special baby shower. It's so amazing to hear these stories, and even more amazing to see the items from the past that went along with the stories. Gunner has some amazing family, past and present, and I cannot wait to share all of this with him someday.

Friday the 13th and a Baby Shower

My Friday started out with a bang. The kind of bang that tells you "Yeah, you're welcome, you better hang on because today is going to kick you in the face". It started out with me taking way too long to get ready, but I wanted to dress up a little for my FIRST BABY SHOWER! Yeah!! I was too excited. So excited, that I forgot my gas tank was on empty and I was supposed to get gas the night before. I HAD to do it before work because I was meeting a friend for lunch and would have ended up on the side of the road trying to get there...it was that empty. So I left the house, later than normal, to go to the gas station to fill up.

Luckily, I got to work only a few minutes late. As I walked to the door I reached for my badge to open the securely locked doors and what have we here? No badge? Oh, that's right...I left it at home, in a different place than I normally put it. Of course. So I had to call someone to let me in. There goes a few more minutes. I get to my desk and apologize to my boss for forgetting my badge, and she tells me that I should head home to get it since I will need it later to go walk my mom back for the shower later. (The security is really tight in our building. There's a reason it's called Arvest Fort Knox) So I ran home to get it. It made me feel much better having it all day.

So lunch rolls around, and although it was so fun and really delicious, it took an extra 20 minutes, so I then was late getting back to work! I did have an hour of overtime that week....but it pretty much disappeared after all that craziness happened. Oh well, it's better than being short an hour!

That was the crazy part of my day. The rest was great! I attended my first baby shower thrown by my amazing coworkers! My mom got to come and that was awesome. It was fantastic. I had a great time and was blown away by the kindness of the people that I work with, past and present! There were a few faces there who I haven't seen in many months! Thank you guys for coming. We got tons of great baby items, and Gunner is going to look so stinking cute in all the new clothes he got! Here are a few pictures from the shower.

I guess that whole day took all my energy, because when I got home I was worthless. Poor Daniel just told me to go to bed at 8 45, and I wasn't about to argue. I got 11 hours of sleep and loved every minute of it. I am trying to savor these hours of sleep because I know they will be few and far between in the near future.

All in all, it was a great day, even with all the weird things that happened in the beginning. I had an awesome time.

Also, just ignore it if this post isn't totally centered and pictures are spaced weird. I can never figure out how to make it all fit perfectly, because it looks right when I'm setting it up, but the preview is always off! I don't even care...lol

We attended our first birthing class Monday night, and it was great! I was nervous about it but it went very well and was informative and fun too. It was about 2 ½ hours long, but it flew by. We sat around learning about some things, talking about pain and how to deal with it, and the last part of the class involved everyone sitting on mats in a circle with their coach doing breathing exercises. We then tried out some massage techniques for labor, which was fun. I can’t wait for Daniel to sit and massage my hands and feet for seventeen + hours. =) I could get used to that! I’m sure he’s thrilled about that idea too… I think it will be very helpful for us to learn all this information though. Its kind of fun to do this with Daniel, neither one of us have ever done anything like this so this is a new exciting adventure for us to share together. Plus, we have way too much fun in anything we do so of course we got tickled during the breathing exercises. I have a feeling we will both be more serious during the real deal.

Our instructor for our birthing class has suggested that we pick out some music to listen to during labor. Of course, Daniel and I have lots of really hilarious ideas.

Crazy Train
Eye of the Tiger

Theme from Rocky
Chariots of Fire

The Final Countdown

My more serious selections include:
John Mayer
Feist
David Crowder Band
smooth jazz
instrumental guitar

I have never gone through labor and delivery, so I really have no idea what type of music will help. Who knows, maybe I will feel the need to stick with all techno and trance music. Get me some glow sticks and I’ll be good! HA!

Got any song suggestions, funny or otherwise? Share them!