Our Birth Story - Part 1

39 weeks 1 day pregnant.  That's how my Monday started on September 13.  I woke up at around 7 a.m. when Doug got up to get ready for work.  I was on the couch - where I had been sleeping for the past 7-8 weeks.  I kissed Doug bye as he left for work, and got all of my blankets and pillows put away.  It wasn't long, though, before I got really tired again and fell back asleep.  Most of that Monday for me was spent sleeping.  I truly believe my body knew what was coming and wanted me to get as much rest as possible.  I got up around 11:30 a.m. to fix Doug some lunch, and was awake until he left at 1 p.m.  And then it was back to sleep for me!  I woke up around 4:30.  Decided it was best if I took a shower and actually got myself looking decent that day, even though it was already almost evening!  When I was finished getting ready, I put on some comfy clothes and headed out to our back lot to do some walking.

I had been walking quite a bit back there for the past week.  I would go out and make about 10 laps around the large gravel lot.  I was finishing up my walking and decided to head to the front porch and have a seat and enjoy the beautiful day.  But, once I got up to the front yard, I got a great idea!  I decided to do a little jogging to maybe help move things along!  So, 39 week 1 day pregnant me started a slow jog up and down and back up our driveway.  As I was walking on the way back to our house, I started wondering if all my walking and jogging would really do anything to help me along, or if I was just being impatient. 

Doug got home around 6 that evening and decided to mow some of the yard while I went inside to make dinner.  We sat down to a lovely meal of cheddarwurst (glorified hot dogs) and enjoyed dinner.  As we were talking, I told Doug that I had been walking quite a bit that day, and even went jogging.  He kinda laughed at me, I'm sure thinking that I was a nut for jogging!!  About 2 minutes later I got up to clear the table.  As I got to the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks...

7:45 p.m. - "Um Doug...I think my water just broke..." were the next words that came out of my mouth.  He looked at me and asked, "seriously?"  Well, I knew I didn't just pee myself, and this liquid was running down my legs, so that had to be it, right??  The first thing I did was call my mom.  I told her what happened, and was still running down my legs, and she agreed that that is what probably happened.  I got off the phone with her and Doug started to get the bags in the car while I changed clothes. 

On our way to the hospital, I called Doug's parents to let them know what was going on, and told them we would call back once we knew more.

I had been timing my contractions since we left home, and they were about every 5-7 minutes apart lasting for 1 minute.  Nothing intense...yet.  We were just outside of Joplin when Doug asked me if I was very uncomfortable...then asked if going through the McDonalds drive-thru for coffee would be out of the question - HA!  (We didn't stop!)

Once we got to the hospital, (at about 8:50 p.m.) I walked up to the ER to tell them that I was pretty sure my water had broken.  There was another pregnant lady that had just arrived and they were getting ready to wheel here down to labor/delivery.  They asked me if I was ok to walk, because I would have to wait for another nurse to come with a wheelchair.  My reply was that I was fine to walk.  It was just a little uncomfortable to be walking with fluid leaking down your legs! 

9:00 p.m. - As soon as we got to labor/delivery, they put me in the birthing room, got me changed into my gown, and we got things started!

Pregnancy

Pregnancy stats:

Total weight gain:  30 lbs even
Weight lost 1 week 2 days postpartum:  19 lbs
I was able to wear my wedding/engagement rings through the whole pregnancy
Minor swelling of my feet that went away by 36 weeks

I can honestly say that I had an amazing pregnancy.  I didn't get sick, or swell too much.  I stayed active and just enjoyed every minute of an awesome journey!  I'm sad that my first pregnancy is over.  As ready as I was at the end to have our little guy, and as happy as I am that he is here :) I truly loved being pregnant.  I hope that the next couple of pregnancies go just as well as my first!

Here are pics of my belly at 5 weeks, 20 weeks, 39 weeks (last belly shot) and 1 week postpartum

Hopefully I'll get that 5 week belly back!! :)

I would also like to share a few of my most memorable moments of this pregnancy...in no particular order:

• Looking down at the Clear Blue Easy pregnancy test and reading the word:  Pregnant
• Telling Doug that we were expecting :)
• Telling our parents - that was such a fun day!
• Seeing our little Wolfie on the sonogram at our first appointment at 8 weeks...that is a day I will never forget!
• Hearing the heartbeat for the first time at 12 weeks - the sweetest sound I will ever hear.
• Finding out that we're having a BOY!
• Making it through the first, second and third trimester (thank you, God for a healthy pregnancy)
• Having to go to the hospital at 36/37 weeks for a kidney infection.  Not a happy memory, but it's definitely a memorable experience!
• Walking around the back lot at our house trying to get things started...and then jogging up and down our driveway at 5 p.m. the evening my water broke
• Sitting at the dining room table finishing dinner and telling Doug that I jogged just a couple hours earlier, then getting up to clear the table 2 minutes later and telling Doug that my water just broke!!
• Labor:  I had an amazing labor and great birth of our little Code Man.  It is a day that I will never forget!

I'm sure there are more, but these are just some that stand out in my mind right now.

Also, I've been working on our birth story!  Hopefully I'll get it posted this week!

Love

I never knew that you could love someone that you just met so much...all I can say is I am head over heels in love with a little boy named Cody!  Doug and I are so blessed!!

The Start of Something Amazing - Welcome Cody Douglas!

We are so happy to announce that Cody Douglas joined our family at 9:54 a.m. Tuesday, September 14. 

Cody weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz and is 20.5 inches long!

It's hard to believe that he is actually here!  Doug & I feel so blessed - God has given us a wonderful gift!  I'll be posting more pics of our adorable little guy and plan on sharing the birth story...all to come this weekend.  Right now, I'm going to go snuggle with my baby boy!  

39 week pictures

Not the best pics...but here ya go!

39 weeks - still pregnant

Ok, so I'm still pregnant.  Apparently Wolfie is pretty comfortable in my belly.  I haven't dropped yet, my cervix hasn't started to thin out and I'm not dilated.  Boo.  I had a Dr. appointment on Tuesday, and I asked him how big he thinks the boy is.  He told me on Tuesday that if he was born that day, he would be about 7 1/2 lbs.  Then he said...well, he's only gonna get bigger the longer he's in there!  Which, by my next appointment on Wednesday, I'm guessing he'll be about 8 lbs.  I know that there's no real way of telling how much he's actually going to weigh, but I have to say, I'm not surprised. 

Also at my last appointment, I had lost 7 lbs. myself.  The nurse said something to me about it, but the Dr. was ok with it.  It's not like I'm trying to lose weight!  I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that at my previous appointment, I had just gotten out of the hospital, and had 2 1/2 days of fluids pumped in me...needless to say, I was a bit bloated from that!  As long as the Dr. thinks I'm doing good, that's all that matters.

Doug has been laughing at me because I'm getting so impatient.  I know that I should enjoy these last few days of 'us' time and enjoy sleep :) but I really am uncomfortable!  I've been walking a lot, doing jumping jacks and squats...whatever I can think of to get baby to drop!  I realize that he's on his own schedule, and it is up to him when he decides to arrive, but seriously little man let's make this happen!! 

On a side note:  August 29 was supposed to be my last baby shower.  Unfortunately, we had to cancel because I was in the hospital.  Talk about sad!  We have re-scheduled the shower for Sunday, October 3.  We decided at this point it was better to wait until Wolfie has arrived than to chance having it and needing to cancel again.  So, instead of everyone being excited to see pregnant me, you all can come and meet our sweet little Wolfgang!!  (And call him by his real name!)   :)

Maternity Pictures

Just wanted to share some of our favorite pictures from our maternity photo session.  It was so much fun, and I am so glad that we did this.  I feel like it's a great way to remember and treasure these precious moments from our first pregnancy!