.....but not on xanga. 

I'm going to be updating more on my blogger blog (is that redundant? lol). I've become a polish addict recently, and it's easier to follow all my favorite polish blogs through blogger. So if you want more recent updates from me head over to:

polishandstitches.blogspot.com

See you later!

-Lynnette

I suppose i should start off a few weeks ahead, since he gave me signs he was coming then. On June 29th (34 weeks), i was having contractions bad enough that i couldn't walk so i went into OB triage. they checked my cervix and i was dilated to 3 and about 80-90% effaced. They checked him out (with a belly monitor and ultrasound) and he was doing fine. Since the contractions weren't dialing me and had actually calmed down a tiny bit, I was sent home with Tylenol 3's and told to come back when my water broke or the contractions got super bad again (which the staff thought would be later that night!).

I went for about 2 weeks taking the T3's as needed for the contractions that were still going on, just more tolerable (or i got used to them, I'm not sure which). then July 10th (36 weeks), during a cooling bath (did i mention that i've been without AC for about a month?), the contractions picked up and stayed up. At about 9pm that night, the contractions were bad enough that i couldn't walk and i told Hubby that it was time to go in. Sure enough, when i got there i was dilated to a 4, 90% thinned. An hour later, i moved up to a 6 and fully thinned, so they transferred me to labor and delivery (now about 10:30pm). Once there i got an IV, signed in and my epidural. While getting my epidural, my water broke....the point of no return the nurses joked. Throughout the night/wee hours of the morning i progressed pretty normally, about a centimeter an hour, baby Orion slowly moving down into position. My doctor was called at about 8:30/9am (when i was about a 9), and at almost 10am i was ready to push.

Now (un)fortunately i didn't have the time to take birthing classes. However i have an awesome OB that said she would guide me through, and that the classes weren't really worth the money/time anyway (lol). So with the quick and dirty explanation of how to push, away we went. My doctor was needed elsewhere, so an intern came in to push with me. It took about 2 hrs to get him out from under my pubic bone and into the birth canal, and by then i was getting tired. my doctor came back, and started to coach me on pushing again (i was using the wrong muscles with the intern, hence why i didn't make much progress. my OB got me to use the right muscles). However, i was now pretty much exhausted and couldn't muster the strength to push every contraction. with the better pushing technique, i got Orion to the point of crowning in about 15-20 mins, and since i was so tired my OB cut me and then suctioned him out (rather than tire me out more and possibly require a C-section). I've got a fairly long line of stitches, but nothing other than that. when the epidural wore off we were transferred to mother/baby, and both me and the hubby slept, snuggled baby, and i started healing.

So on 7-11-11 at 12:10pm Orion Thomas came into the world weighing 7lbs, 20.25" long. Even though he's a late preterm, he's doing very well and coming home with me tomorrow (yes i'm blogging from the hospital.....i need something to do while little one sleeps lol).

*edit* the # of weeks was wrong in the original post, but they are fixed now ;)

time keeps slipping away. I'm now 32 weeks and the countdown is on. only 8 more weeks and i get to meet my little one!

25 weeks

26 weeks

belly is now officially in the way, all. the. time. between that and ankle swelling, it's going to be an interesting summer.

27 weeks

28 weeks

I've yet to do a birth plan or pack a hospital bag. I'm not totally sure that i need a formal birth plan, but i feel like i need to have a rough outline of how i'd like things to go. as for the hospital bag, i've been putting it off simply because i'm still wearing the stuff i'll want to pack! i don't want to pack any pre-pregnancy stuff because i don't think that i'm going to fit into it right away.

29 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

though i feel better that the baby's room is pretty much put together.....it's just a matter of keeping it clean. the current occupant's (my niece) parents are exactly stellar about picking up her things. i have the gut feeling that i'm going to be coming home from the hospital to a trashed room/house. another thing i feel like i'm behind on is baby clothes. my first shower was really small, and since we didn't tell the gender people brought other things. so i've only got a few outfits.......which makes me want to run out and buy a ton of clothes! i keep reminding my self to wait till my next shower (i know that one of my aunt's has a ton of clothes to get rid of).

well off to enjoy some down time.