Welcome Waverly

On Saturday, February 27, 2010, our daughter Waverly was born at 10:57 AM. She is perfect and absolutely adorable! Here is our big baby story...

On Friday night, February 26, 2010 (our original due date), we came to the hospital, registered and were sent to labor and delivery where we planned to spend the night with some medication to prepare my body to be induced in the morning.


The nurse gave me the medication, Cytotec, to begin getting ready. It was thought that we would proceed with three or four doses of the Cytotec throughout the night and then begin Pitocin to induce labor. However, things did not go as planned. About 30 minutes after my second dose of the Cytotec, my water broke on its own at 3:55 and labor began! I was still only dilated 1 cm.


After about an hour, I was ready for some Staydol, a medication that makes you a little loopy, so you don't care about the pain. Apparently, I was a little funny while this was active, chatting and talking in between some short snoozes. Unfortunately, it only lasted about an hour and I didn't care that much for the benefits of this medication.


I put in a couple of hours before asking for my epidural. It was around 7:00 when the anesthesiologist came and gave me the epidural. He gave me a numbing shot first and then did whatever it was that needed to be done to get some relief. Thank goodness for Nurse Mandy, who held my hands because I was nervous. The epidural was actually very easy for me and none of the horror stories I had heard prior to were worth paying mention to. I highly recommend epidurals to other mommy's who are interested - there is no need to be a hero when you already are in the eyes of your baby.


After the epidural, I felt much better! Nurse Mandy did a check and I was dilated 3 cm. It was then time for her to go home and a shift change at the hospital. I was really sad and nervous, because Nurse Mandy was wonderful!!! She was informational and caring, as well as friendly and personable.


Lucky for us, Nurse Crissie was just as much of a blessing. It had been an hour since my last check, so Nurse Crissie did another check for an update. I was dilated an unbelievable 9 cm! That's when my aunt had to make a series of phone calls to let the family know, because Ms. Waverly was well on her way. The nurse called Dr. Bain, who at one point was still at home (nervous!!!), to let her know that we were having a baby pretty soon. Then Nurse Crissie prepared the room and got things ready.


Honestly, I was nervous and scared by this point. For whatever reason, I had mentally prepared to have a c-section, so when it was time to begin pushing, I was in for a rude awakening. Let me share that having a baby is hard work! Nurse Crissie was an amazing asset and I am so thankful to her for her assistance, guidance and dedication as well. She instructed me on how to push and she was there coaching through the whole labor and delivery.

Nurse Crissie & Waverly

Here I must give a moment to my extraordinary husband, who coached, cheered and took care of me through the entire labor. He is simply the best and I am so lucky to have him in my life. Waverly has the best daddy!

Daddy holding his baby for the first time...

My mom and aunt were also present throughout labor. I pushed for about an hour and forty-five minutes before it was time to stop pushing... That's right, I said stop pushing. Ms. Waverly was ready before the doctor was! By this time, what little pain medication was left was not helping me at all. It was the big moment and it was not easy! Nurse Crissy helped support the baby and just in time, Dr. Bain applied a local anesthetic and assisted as Waverly was born.






Her first cries were strong and the 'baby catcher' took her off to be cleaned and weighed while Dr. Bain was taking care of me. It was only a couple minutes before she was returned to be with her mommy and daddy. I was really surprised at her size! She was born 8 pounds 12 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. Chubby cheeks and all, our little princess is just perfect.



Our little family is doing well and enjoying every minute we have together. Once again, thanks to all for love and support.

On our way...

Well, the car is packed, car seat included, with bags and baby clothes, all ready for our trip to the hospital. And off we go, ready to have this baby!



We stopped to eat dinner out, as planned. Our last supper... so to say, since I wont be allowed any food until after Waverly is here. That's expected to be a long time, so Dean suggested I load up on carbs and have some pasta, just like a marathon runner would. We planned to go to Olive Garden, but even this late on a Friday night they were just too busy. So, off we went to Johnny Corrinos. I ordered a large fettuccine Alfredo with chicken, and then I even ate some of Dean's tortellini (he always orders better than me!).



After filling our bellies, we drove down the road to the hospital. Then we had to get all registered and settled into the labor and delivery room. Waverly has been really excited with all the goings-on and has been moving so much! It took awhile for Nurse Mandy to get a baseline read on the fetal heart monitor because of our tiny dancer. She has been flipping and moving ever since dinner. I hope she hasn't picked up on mommy's nerves, but rather takes after her daddy, who has been cool as a cucumber today.



It took about an hour or so, during which a lot of paperwork was completed, my IV was set up and they checked for protien in my urine, bur Waverly settled down so that the nurse could get the readings she needed. Then she checked my cervix (still at a lonly 1 cm) and gave me some medication to start softening everything. She also gave me some medication to help me sleep tonight.


More tomorrow!

Nursury Rhymes...

Talk about cutting it down to the wire! We finished Waverly's room earlier today before getting ready to go to the hospital tonight. Of course, most of her things and the crib will stay in our bedroom until she is older, so her room was not a necessity right now. Still, it was fun working together as parents to put it all together and decorate with some pink and brown dots.



Waverly's daddy chose and painted the pink letters spelling out her name. It was really sweet of him! We still have some plans for the room, but we do have the bassinet and swing in place.


In just a few days, we'll be ready to bring her home and get all settled in! Can't wait!!!

The Last Doctor Appointment

Yesterday we went to the doctor, as scheduled, for our weekly visit and an ultrasound. Lucky us - the ultrasound was first up and we could take a peek in at our little one. Well, I say little one, but once the nurse got the ultrasound going, she told us that the baby is approximately 8 pounds 12 ounces! Dean thought this was funny and started giggling about our chunky girl, but it took me a few minutes to realize what she had said. Once I caught on, I was shocked! I was expecting her to be about 7 to 7 1/2 pounds, the average of Dean and my birth weights. Then the nurse said that the estimate weight was plus or minus 20%. That took another minute to settle in and then I realized that she could be 20% bigger! Yikes!

Everything on the ultrasound looked good though, and for that we are very thankful. The nurse pointed out Waverly's leg, and she is going to be tall. It was hard to see her face or features very well because she is out of room. We did get to hear her heartbeat, which sounded as wonderful as always.

Then it was off to see Dr. Bain, which is right down the hall from ultrasound. My blood pressure was a little high, as usual, and I lost a pound bringing my weight total gain throughout the pregnancy back to 30 pounds. The nurse said that they had scheduled me to be induced for March 3, but I was not thrilled by this information. I don't think with the baby already being this big that waiting much longer was in my plans. Luckily, Dr. Bain agreed and scheduled me to go to the hospital on Friday evening, Feb. 26 - our due date and my brother, Matt's, birthday. Of course, induction takes awhile and we just plan to start with some medications and see how things go. Dr. Bain will be in on Saturday, and doesn't expect the baby to come before Saturday afternoon. I hope so - because Hotel Uterus is about to close!

We are very excited (and nervous!) but ready to meet our sweet pea soon!

A few more days...

Only a few more days to go! 3 to be exact and then we will have reached the due date! Hopefully, Waverly will be in agreement that it is time to come meet the world...

39 weeks and 4 days along...

These past few days on maternity leave / bed rest have not been very interesting, but necessary. I have been feeling very tired and achy. This far along in the pregnancy, I'm sure all this is normal though.

Today I took a trip to town and met with our prospective day care. We are planning for Waverly to go to a local daycare after I return to work. I met with the director and took a tour of the facility and learned about how things work there. We were referred there by some friends of ours and I was pleased to see their little boy enjoying himself and learning about animals today. I was most impressed! The director explained that this is actually a learning center, which is much different from a day care atmosphere. Even as an infant, they will monitor Waverly's development and milestones. Of course, they have an open door policy in regards to parent visits during the day, but I will even be welcome to visit every day to breastfeed and check on our little princess. So, I am happy with our choice of care so far.

Tomorrow will be another day of outings... I have an ultrasound and doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon in Lexington. Dean and I have a few more things to purchase for the baby and her room, so we will do a little bit of shopping. I'm excited because Dean has taken the whole day off work tomorrow, so we can spend the whole day together too.

Changes at Home

The addition is really coming along now! We have finished with our master bedroom and just need to move some furniture around and get comfortable now. We are so happy with the way it turned out. My walls are painted "Fragrant Cloves", a deep orange, and accented with "Heavy Cream" trim and a "Grape Leaves" dark green door. It is really lovely. We have all the baby furniture in our bedroom for now, trying to decide how to organize things and what is going to work out best for us when Waverly is home.

Now work has begun on Waverly's room. We are building a wall into our old bedroom and then painting and decorating it for her. This way, we have a guest room / storage area and still have a big room for the baby.

We are still working on the master bathroom and huge closet as well. The tile is almost finished and the closet just needs some touching up with shelving and a clothes line.

Everyone has really pitched in trying to get our house finished before the baby comes home. I am feeling really good now that just our master bedroom is complete and things are becoming more settled. Dean and I really appreciate all of the hard work that everyone has put forth for us. Many Thanks!!!

Axel really likes the new room, too!

Beginning Maternity Leave...

Yesterday was another of the weekly doctor appointments. Each week, I look forward to going to the doctor now to hear Waverly's heart beat and get a good check-up. This visit we got really good news - I will not be pregnant forever! (I was beginning to wonder...)

The nurse began what has now become routine, checking for protein, weight and blood pressure. I gained one more pound over the past week, bringing my total to 31 pounds. The nurse agrees that most of the recent weight gain is where I am retaining fluid, so I still feel pretty good about the weight gain. My blood pressure was high, of course. It usually does run higher than the doctor would like. I think this time it was 150 / 90. Then we listened to the baby's heart beat. It still sounds strong!

After all this, I still had to wait a few minutes for Dr. Bain. We never know before hand if we will be at the doctor's office for a long or short time. It depends on how many babies are born that day! We didn't have a real long wait this time and then Dr. Bain came in. She measured my baby bump and commented that my uterus may be enlarged a bit, giving just cause for an ultrasound next week. I'm excited to take a peek at the little one! Then Dr. Bain did my examination and I have dilated one centimeter! At least we have made some progress! Due to my blood pressure and all the fluid I am retaining, Dr. Bain went ahead and ordered that I start maternity leave and bed rest. So, I am off work as of today and I'll be spending a significant amount of time off my feet. Dr. Bain said that I don't have to stay in bed all day, but that I do need to rest more.

Well, only 8 days left until my due date! It would be great if Ms. Waverly holds out until the 26th, which is also a full moon, but any day that she is ready will be special. More to come!

Waiting for Waverly

Almost Done!

Over the past couple of weeks, we have really made progress on our addition! The master bedroom and bathroom are really coming together. In fact, we have gotten so close on the bedroom, that we have been able to set the baby furniture up!

Yesterday, we went over to the Wiley's, a family that we are good friends with, and loaded up all the baby furniture. We now have a crib, bassinet and changing table - all Jenny Lind! The Wiley's kept everything in great condition, just a quick scrub down and its ready to go.

I can't wait until we are finished with at least the bedroom part of our addition. Then I can go ahead and get the crib ready with sheets and the adorable bumper pad and accessories. We are so close now! Of course, next up is a room for the baby, but she will stay in our room for at least a couple months. The honey-do list keeps getting shorter though, so that is the best news.

Ahh, Nearing the End

Only 2 weeks and one day left until my due date! Thank goodness! I am well into the miserable stage. It is really amazing how much your body changes during a pregnancy. Now it is difficult to eat, sleep, lay down, sit up and sometimes, even breathe. I am told that the end result is more than worth it, and I whole-heartedly believe it! I just can not wait to meet my little Waverly and cuddle her in my arms.

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. This was a special visit because my mom and my aunt came with me to hear the baby's heartbeat and see if everything was going okay. My blood pressure was a little high and there was a trace of protein in my urine. I gained 4 pounds over this past week. Of course, when I saw the doctor, we realized that I was retaining a lot of fluid. Hopefully, this is where the weight gain came from, because my new weight gain total for the pregnancy is 30 pounds. My poor little feet and hands are very swollen.

Since my doctor was out of town, I was seen by Dr. Mike Guiler. Little Waverly has definitely turned and moved down. He said that I really need to take it easy and stop doing so much. I need to rest and prop my feet up. He also warned to be very careful when standing and walking to prevent any falls. I asked about the limited range of motion in my right leg. He said that the way the baby is laying and all the pressure is causing that. She must be more on my right side, because I can still use my left leg fairly well, but the right leg is just useless. Dr. Guiler checked and I am still not dilated. We listened to the baby's heart beat and her heat rate is still in the 140's. Overall, both mom and baby are healthy and well.

We are still trying to prepare for Waverly's arrival. Her daddy is working very hard on the addition to our home and we are making a lot of progress. I think that we will be finished with the master bedroom this weekend, and hopefully get a good start on the nursery over the next week. More updates to come!

A Baby Shower

What a busy weekend! Saturday was the baby shower hosted by my aunt Phyllis and my mom Gail. Everything turned out so well. From the pink decorations and coordinating dishes, everything was too cute!

We had a good crowd, with several family members and close friends attending. I was so pleased to see everyone! I wish I had had more time to spend with everyone individually and visit. I was just so touched by how everyone cares for me and this baby and how thoughtful everyone was!

So, after a few cards that almost made me cry, we put those away for later and got straight to opening gifts. Everything is so appreciated! Believe it or not, we didn't get any duplicate gift items and everything received was something that we didn't already have. We also lucked out with 10 packs of diapers, plus 3 boxes of diapers! That should give us a good start!




Little Waverly will be well dressed after her arrival. We just adore all the sweet little clothes and outfits we received. My mother-in-law and I have washed and stored all the little outfits so they will be ready to go.

I am so thankful to everyone for the wonderful baby gifts!!! We are lucky to have friends and family who are so kind and who already love this baby as much as we do! Thanks to all!

A Kodak Moment

We thought it would be a good idea to have some portraits made while I am still pregnant and looking pretty huge now. They turned out really well! The pictures will be in on Feb. 19th. I am sure that I will be posting them as soon as they arrive.

Thanks to my wonderfull husband for going with me and having pictures made!

Off to the doctor's office!

Yesterday afternoon was another doctor appointment. I was lucky to see Nurse Kim and Dr. Bain, especially since they had a baby delivery just a couple hours before my appointment!

Everything was fine and we got an excellent report. My bladder infection has cleared up and my blood pressure was normal. The baby's heart rate was in the 140's and sounded really good. I had a harder time hearing it this time; I think because my big belly was in the way and I was laying down kinda funny. Dr. Bain said that my measurements were good. We talked about contractions and she gave me some things to watch for as signs of when to go to the hospital. We will take off just as soon as my water breaks or if contractions become regular. I also told her that I for sure wanted medication for pain, just as soon as they could give it to me! She had no problem with this. I was really happy to have talked about a birth plan, even for a minute with her, and to know that an epidural is in my future!

I gained another 2 pounds, bringing my total weight gain to 26 pounds! I knew that we would really pack on the pounds toward the end, but we can stop now! It's hard enough waddling around without too much more weight. But, I am still really happy with that number and glad that I haven't gone overboard with weight gain. Still, bring on the milkshakes and candy bars.

Next week I will see Dr. Guiler, since Dr. Bain is out on vacation. Its good to meet him sometime, just in case Dr. Bain is out when I go into labor and he happens to be the doctor on call. Of course, I hope to have Dr. Bain, so we will hope that everything continues to be okay and that Waverly is happy in her mommy's tummy until Dr. Bain returns!

More updates to come!

Great Expectations

Last night we had the last maternity class we plan to take. We had thought this class was supposed to be more about the procedures at Central Baptist Hospital, but it turned out to be more of a general overview of labor and delivery.

The RN teaching the class was interesting with all her stories and funny little sayings. This class walked you through the stages of labor. The instructor gave us a list of things that indicate when to come to the hospital. I plan to leave for the hospital as soon as we have any indication of that labor has begun. Just think - we live roughly an hour away from the hospital! So its a bit of a guessing game for us about when to go to the hospital. All I know is to go early on! I do not want to be in pain - nor give birth to this baby in the truck!

We also learned about natural deliveries and c-sections. I know that a lot of mom's-to-be worry about having a c-section or not being able to stick to their birthing plan. I have tried to be open-minded about it. As long as I am medicated, then I am pretty happy! I just do not want to be in pain if I don't have to be.

It was a good class, very informative. I wish they had told us about where to go when we get to the hospital, whether or not to call when we are on our way, and how visitation, etc. will be. The hospital web-site is informative, but I guess we will figure out anything else we need to know about when its time.

The website for the hospital is http://www.centralbap.com/. One thing I do like about the website is that it allows you to send an email to the patient while they are in the hospital. So, everyone can send me an e-card when the baby comes! Volunteers print the email and bring it to the patient. Pretty nice! Also, this is the website where Waverly's picture will be posted after she is born.