Welcome to the world Josiah!!

Josiah is here!

Josiah was born at 10:43 AM on December 30, 2010. He is 7 lbs and 1
ounce and length later to come :) He's beautiful and perfect and he
and momma are doing very well! (Pictures attached!)

We're so excited he's here!

Love,
Amy, Boomer and Josiah

--
http://www.babybakalchuck.com/

Go Jo Jo Go!

I had another NST (non-stress test, which is just being put on the fetal heart monitor) today. Once again, they said he was responding and doing everything perfectly. When I asked Dr. Powell if they were going to start checking on dilation and effacement she said, "since you are having a c-section, we really don't care!" Hahaha. If anything were to change or if I wanted them to, they would check, but at this point it really doesn't matter. If I go into labor they will go ahead and do a c-section. Dr. Powell said there's just no reason to be invasive or cause any unnecessary stress to me at this point.

I feel good. Ok, not really. I feel tired and really uncomfortable, but mentally, other than tired, I feel good. :) I feel like Josiah is really ok for the first time since Dec 6th.

We have most everything ready. All of his newborn clothes and most of the sheets, blankets and diapers are washed. We still need to install the carseat, but the room is mostly ready. Plus he won't be sleeping in there much to start with anyway. Squeakie has been evicted from the master bedroom and we've stopped letting the cats into the nursery since everything has been washed. Of course one sneaks in for a few minutes every now and then, but mostly they are gone. Christmas is coming and I have so much for which to be grateful. Wonderful friends, amazing family. I'm so glad Mom (Emmy) and Claude (Pop-pop) and Aunt Jenny are spending Christmas here in Durham with us, so we can all be together, comfortably (I hope anyway, for them) and I don't have to travel 3-4 hours to the Outer Banks when Josiah's eviction is imminent.

December 30th, here we come!

He's a Little Fella

Some of you may know about this, but I haven't really wanted to discuss at length with anyone because I've been scared, so I haven't written about it. On December 6th I had a routine ultrasound for a growth check. Since all of our previous appointments and ultrasounds had gone so perfectly I told Boomer not to even bother to come with me. So of course this was the only "bad" report we've had the whole pregnancy. Apparently Josiah hadn't grown any since the last growth check. Dr. Bird basically told me, "don't be too concerned yet". What no one bothered to tell me was that he scored an 8 out of 8 on his BPP (BioPhysical Profile), which is as good as it gets. They also didn't tell me that ultrasounds are not 100% accurate or that growth checks should not be done closer than 3 weeks apart (my last one was only 2 weeks before this one). They also didn't tell me it wasn't terribly uncommon for babies to quit growing. I just found out my niece, Mackenley, stopped growing at 34 weeks and she was born tiny but perfect, and is a wonderfully healthy 11 year old now.

So, this news, don't get me wrong, it worries me, but since December 6th we've had 2 appointments per week and everything has been fine. I go on the fetal heart monitor (called an NST, non-stress test) at the beginning of the week and have an ultrasound at the end of the week. His NSTs have been perfect, but supposedly he still hasn't grown. I type "supposedly" here because on December 6th I asked the sonographer if maybe his growth had stopped/slowed because he was out of room in my womb. She told me no, he still had plenty of room. When we had the last ultrasound this past Friday, Dec 17th, I asked if he still had plenty of room. This time she told me that no, it was tight. Now, I'm not a medical professional, but I don't think my uterus has shrunk. So if he hasn't gotten any bigger why are his quarters getting close?

Anyway, I've been told he's about 5.5 lbs now, but they can't give me a length. He is doing everything he's supposed to be doing, like practicing breathing, and his cord looks good. I'm trying not to be too concerned because I don't think stress hormones will help him.

I'm having a c-section at Durham Regional on Thursday, December 30th. Less than 11 days! I'm so ready, and so not. I'm also about as uncomfortable as I have ever been in my life. I really don't understand how any woman can enjoy being pregnant, especially the 3rd trimester. I limp and waddle everywhere. I have to pee all the time. Everything hurts, and just 2 days ago I started having these shooting pains in my unmentionable areas which are, come to find out, totally normal and due to his head being pressed up against some pelvic nerve. I ask you, is this something one can enjoy? Luckily, bitching about it helps. :) As does keeping my eye on the prize! In 11 days I get a wonderful baby boy and that's worth anything and everything.

Now go call the schmaltz-police.

Diastasis Recti

This morning shortly after I was cleaning up some water Huggy knocked off my nightstand my stomach really started hurting. I thought it was some sort of gastrointestinal issue and confused nausea with just lots of pain and went in to see my docs. Turns out, Josiah has split my stomach muscles a bit. It's not rare or life-threatening or anything. Just extremely uncomfy. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001602.htm

In other, GOOD, news, Josiah is perfect. They put me on the fetal heart monitor for about 20-30 minutes today and he moved around a lot and his heart rate went up and down, between about 128 and 178. I was, of course, alarmed, considering whenever they doppler me his rate is always mid 150s to low 160s, but that's apparently a slightly different way to measure it. When I asked about his big fluctuations they said it means he's a "REALLY good baby, and we love good babies". :)

Really, I can deal with anything as long as Josiah is ok.

34 Weeks

I'm 34 weeks pregnant today and there is a whole little person inside of me. I mean, if he came out today he'd probably be totally fine and have few to no complications. Hard to imagine. I sit in the nursery sometimes and look at all of his baby stuff and I still just can't quite believe I'm going to be responsible for a whole other person for the rest of my life. Sometimes I feel like I'm not even that great at taking care of my cats. And, I know, call the schmaltz-police, but I'm just overwhelmed with love for him. Ok, I KNOW in my head this is oxytocin, but it doesn't make it any less overwhelming for me. It's hard to wait to meet him and that's not just because I'm so uncomfortable.

Updates

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. It seems time just keeps getting away from me. I will attempt to give a run-down on everything going on right now.

Jenny gave my third, and what I thought was my final, baby shower last Saturday. It was so nice. Viv helped a lot too, and so did Mom. I got wonderful things, including, but certainly not limited to, 6 (I think) bumGenius cloth diapers, a blue bumbo, a turtle you put in the bathtub to make sure the water is the right temp, some great blankets, some cloth wipes, an organic changing pad cover, a tummy time mat, several handmade blankets and sweaters from Viv and Esther (Josiah's bubbe) and Eve (Josiah's aunt) and lots of outfits that are just too cute for words. Along with the cloth diapers from Jenny and Mom, Jenny also got him tons of clothes AND made him the gorgeous letters seen in the pic above (yes, those are my fat, swollen feet). Everyone's artistic talents and abilities just floor me. I'm not remotely creative or talented so hopefully Josiah will take after his daddy and the rest of our families. :)

I also had my work shower, which was fabulous. And Boomer got to attend! We received several amazing handmade things there and lots of gift cards and a car seat base (for Jenny's vehicle) and lots of other great stuff.

Speaking of work showers, I mentioned above I thought Jenny's shower was the final one, but no, the generous folks at Boomer's work want to have a shower for us, which will be Wednesday, December 1st. I feel truly blessed to have all these loving, considerate, good-hearted people in our lives. I've always believed it takes a village to raise a child, and I love my village! Josiah, and Boomer and I, of course, are very, very lucky.

On the medical front, I'm in considerable discomfort at the end of most days now but I'm quite sure it's normal (having been assured by the docs). I just think of it as the small price to pay in for such a great payout. And that payout is scheduled to be delivered on December 30th at 10:30am. Yes folks, that's when the c-section is happening. Be there or be square.

As far as what we really still need, basically just a swing and some crib sheets. I really think that's it. I would love more cloth diapers, but we do have plenty. Shockingly, I think we are mostly prepared, at least with the right accoutrements, for his birth. Mentally and emotionally... I'm not entirely sure about.

Oooops, we missed Centering!

We missed Centering last Tuesday! We thought it was this coming Tuesday. But now we have all the dates in our calendars. :) However, I have been to see Dr. Frenduto a couple of times. My feet were very swollen and I have been having a lot of pelvic pressure. Turns out, Josiah is head down (as he should be) and his head is sitting right on my cervix, which Frenduto tells me is normal. He acted like it was something that would come and go over the next couple months, but so far I've only had a couple hours of reprieve in the last 5-6 days. Most of the time it's merely uncomfy. Sometimes it makes me cry a little. I really hope it's not going to be like this for the next 2 months, but I suppose even if it is, the outcome will be worth it. Laying down helps so I've been doing that a lot. Standing for long periods makes it almost unbearable.

I also managed to get a pretty bad case of bronchitis a couple weeks ago, but I'm all done with that now!

On a happy, non-sick note, I had my first baby shower! It was the family/old friend shower in Elizabeth City given by my 2 moms, though some new friends were there too, like many of Mom's (MLW) Literary Divas. It was a wonderful shower. Many of the women told me it was the best baby shower ever. We received some awesome gifts and the fellowship was even more amazing. There was so much laughing that I may not have been the only one who needed a diaper!

Josiah is moving like mad quite often. Many times I feel him on my far right and far left at the same time, making me think he's practicing some sort of drumming, or possibly soccer kicks. When Frenduto was trying to doppler him to get his heart rate he kept laughing and saying, "he's kicking me!" I told him he does that to me a lot too. :)

All in all, I think things are going ok.