Liam's Birth Story

Just over twenty-four hours ago, on November 20th at 7:50 p.m. William "Liam" Lucas Hall made his grand entrance into this world weighing 9lbs 6oz and at 22 inches long. I have never been more relieved in my entire life.

Around 5:30 p.m., I begun having contractions on a regular basis. They were two minutes apart, but they weren't strong. This happened a few weeks ago and they stopped so I wasn't making too big a deal of it. Close to 6:00 p.m. I felt a pop. I stood up expecting to be standing in a puddle of clear fluid like you see in the movies. There was a puddle, but it wasn't clear. It was red. Bright red. Chris and I ran out of the house in less than two minutes and headed to the hospital. We called the doctor on our way. He said not to worry and that he would be there shortly.

We got to the hospital a few minutes after 6:00 p.m. They asked me if I could walk and I said, "yes" but told them what had happened. They put me in a wheelchair and took me upstairs. I filled out a few consent forms and was still talking through my contractions. They weren't really bad at that point. They got me in a room and said I was still 3cm dilated, which was no change from my appointment on Wednesday. They hooked me up to the monitors and the first thing I heard was the baby's heartbeat. I can't begin to describe the wave of relief that hit me when I heard that familiar galloping sound. By 6:45 p.m. the contractions were starting to pick up. I couldn't talk through them anymore and it was really hard to relax. I wasn't able to sit up because of the bleeding so finding a comfortable position was almost impossible. I knew that without the freedom to move there was no way I was going to be able to go through labor without an epidural. I asked for the anesthesiologist.

My doctor arrived just as the anesthesiologist came in. I was dilated to 6cm. The contractions were back-to-back and I felt so out of control. My doctor stepped out while the anesthesiologist administered the epidural and administered a test does of the medication. The test dose had not fully taken effect when I announced, "I'm pushing." One of the nurses reminded me that I was only 6cm dilated that that I needed to breathe through my contractions. I told her that I couldn't and my body was pushing without my consent. Another nurse told me that a team was on standby in case the baby needed special care due to the blood. My doctor came in and checked me again. He asked if I was ready to have this baby. I said no. I was so worried about Liam. My body disagreed and pushed anyway. I gave in and pushed four times.

After the fourth push I felt instant relief from the pain and heard crying. They placed Liam on my tummy and tried to wipe him off as best they could. At that moment, I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of my shoulders. I knew that God had been watching out for Liam.

After the delivery my doctor told me that it appeared that my placenta had partially separated from my uterine wall in early labor (also known as a placental abruption).

They gave me a dose of pitocin after the delivery to help stop the bleeding. Originally, we had planned to go home immediately after Liam's birth but, due to the amount of blood loss, we had to stay overnight to have my hemoglobin monitored. Everything seemed in check this morning and we left the hospital right at noon.

It definitely wasn't the birth that Chris and I had imagined, but it is wonderful to have Liam in our lives. Chris and I were both terrified yesterday and have been running on adrenaline ever since. We've only managed to sleep for a few hours since yesterday. Hopefully we can calm down and get some sleep tonight. Liam is doing well. He has some bruising on his head from his speedy occiput posterior (aka sunny side up) delivery, but is overall doing great!

You know what they say about a watched pot...

"A watched pot never boils." That's what they say at least. It also appears that a watched baby doesn't come early like his/her big siblings.

We hit the 39 week mark today. Since, until this pregnancy, I had never made it past 38 weeks it feels like time is standing still... and that everyone is watching the pot. It's funny to call people, because they all answer, "Are you having the baby yet?" Nope. I'm beginning to wonder if there even is a baby. Hopefully Pistachio will make an appearance soon. I'm told that I won't be pregnant forever. That's good. In the meantime, please feel free to let me know if my shoes don't match. I can't see them. :)

Maternity Pictures by Anna Goad

A big THANK YOU goes out to Anna Goad who took some amazing pictures of our family in Pistachio's nursery a few weeks ago. They turned out absolutely beautifully!!! :) Thanks Anna. We love you!!!

Pistachio must be pretty comfy

Yesterday Chris and I went grocery shopping. We decided to make various wives tale labor-inducing recipes just to see if they would help coax little Pistachio out of hiding. We walked all over Walmart and then up and down the street later that afternoon. For six hours yesterday, I had contractions 3 minutes apart. I took a shower and sent a text message to the doula and Chris called the doctor in the early evening warning them that they may be getting a middle-of-the-night phone call.

I decided to lay down and rest before things really got going. When I woke up an hour later, they had STOPPED. Ugh. I had one or two random contractions within the next hour or so, but nothing regular. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed. With Cadence and Gabriel, once my contractions began they never stopped so this was my first experience with "false labor."

My doctor called this morning to check on me. I thought that was really nice of him. In my first two pregnancies I called a generic number and the person that answered called the doctor to see if I should go to the hospital. This time, I call my doctor's cell phone directly. This morning he personally called me back. It's the small things that I appreciate. ;)

I understand that Pistachio will come out when he or she is good and ready. I just hope that he or she doesn't try to tease us again. Also, I would prefer not to deliver a baby on Thanksgiving, if that isn't too much to ask. ;)

Now for an update on the Pistachio Baby Pool: It appears that Grandma Hall, Big Jake, Jenni, Dianne and John Hall (aka Uncle Extraordinaire) are all out of the running. So are Mommy and Daddy (although we didn't "officially" guess, we were betting on November 5th). The next guess is Amanda's for November 10th and then there are four people betting on November 11th. November 11th would be sort of a neat date since baby would turn 1 on 11/11/11.

Tonight does not appear to be my night...

Tonight I am 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant. During my pregnancies with both Cadence and Gabriel I went into labor on this day. They were both delivered in the early afternoon when I was 38 weeks. With this pregnancy, however, tonight does not appear to be my night. At my check-up yesterday I was dilated 1cm and was 60% effaced. Baby is still high up and floating. With Gabriel, he was "locked and loaded" at 36 weeks and I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. I plan on having a chat with Pistachio tonight to see if I can talk him/her into coming out soon, but I am pretty sure that this one is going to be stubborn (we're going to blame that on Daddy). ;)

I went to the Spa at West End this afternoon for a silk & honey bath, massage, pedicure and facial. When I got there I was told that I was "too pregnant" for a bath. Were they worried I was going to get stuck in the tub??? Fine. After my massage (which was GREAT) I had my facial. The lady told me she wouldn't use any steam because I was "too pregnant." Really...? She did however put the steaming hot towels on my face. I'm not exactly sure what the difference is but apparently there is one. ;) Then I got a pedicure on my toes (TOES!). :) I was finished just in time to leave to go get the kids from daycare.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my day off to get ready for the baby; however, I may end up going into the office anyway to finish up a few things. Then tomorrow night Chris and I are going to a Road Warriors game (yay!). That is our only plan for the weekend. I'll probably do lots of walking and negotiating with this baby to see if I can get him or her to pay us a visit sometime before Thanksgiving.

I found this picture this evening and just had to share:

Eviction Notice

To: "Pistachio" Hall (Tenant)
Address: 1 My Belly Blvd, Greer SC 29650

"Pistachio" Hall (hereinafter referred to as "Tenant"), pursuant to the provisions of this pregnancy, you are hereby given an eviction notice and notice to vacate on or before November 19, 2010, the premises and appurtenances owned by Karen S. Hall (hereinafter referred to as "Landlord") of the City of Greer, in the County of Greenville, SC, which premises are now occupied by you.

The reasons for said eviction are set forth below:

The current tenant has a maximum of 23 days to gather his or her belongings and vacate the premises. After which he/she will be physically removed from the property. Expansions only to the front of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made. Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. Due to property damage caused by these unapproved renovations, there are now leaks in both the upper and lower levels of the home.

Any further violations of the terms of the lease will result in immediate and forceful removal.

Dated: October 27, 2010

By: Karen S. Hall (Landlord/Agent)

The Clock is Ticking...

We have less than one month until Pistachio's due date. I paid a visit to an online friend's blog the other day (she's also due in the next few weeks) and she had posted a video that could not describe the last few weeks of pregnancy any better. The song has been in my head ever since, so I now share it with you. You're welcome. ;)

I'm doing pretty well on my list of things I "need" to do before the baby's arrival:

1. Family vacation - CHECK
2. Trip with Chris to the Inn at Merridun - CHECK
3. Pack hospital bags - Kinda CHECK (I've started packing them)
4. Clean my house
5. Cadence's birthday party
6. Take the kids trick-or-treating
7. Spa trip

Our family trip to Gatlinburg two weekends ago was amazing. The kids had a blast at the Dixie Stampede and Wonderworks. I was really impressed by the natural beauty of Cades Cove.

This past weekend, Chris and I visited the Inn at Merridun. As usual, Peggy exceeded our expectations. She cooked us an amazing dinner consisting of carrot tomato curry soup, a salad, an amazing pork tenderloin roast with a maple glaze and deserts to die for. The inn was quiet this trip though with no questionable dog noises, drains mysteriously closing or other strange happenings. The inn is rumored to be haunted by ten or so different spirits, but they decided to stay quiet this weekend. Evidently, a pregnant woman that is kept up all night by strange sounds is a scary thought, even for a ghost. ;)

Nivens' Apple Orchard and Other Goings On

After church on Sunday, we took the kids and went to Nivens' Apple Orchard with Jon, Christy, Emily and Mitchell. It was pretty slim pickings in some parts of the orchard, but we were able to score an apple-picker-pole-thingy (yes, that's the technical term) and life became much easier. We went on a hayride, watched the kids play on the playground and picked up a few treats from the store. It was a great day!!

In other news, we had an appointment with our "baby doctor" yesterday. The baby is measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule. This doesn't necessarily mean that the baby will be early though. It just most likely means that the baby will be big (yay).

This weekend is going to be super busy and fun! We are cramming the following into this weekend: Fall for Greenville, Fall Festival at Cadence's school, Trunk Treasure's, Low Country Boil with our church family, birthday crab boil at Jon & Christy's and preparation for Thanksgiving on Monday. I love our crazy life! :)

Gabriel's wardrobe malfunction and our (somewhat) updated slideshow

We had Christy, Emily and Mitchell over for our weekly Monday dinner get-together. On the menu tonight was baked Tilapia, fried grit cakes with garlic alfredo sauce and a spinach salad. For dessert we had brownie ice cream sundaes. It was very tasty!

After dinner we let the kids play. Gabriel had to go potty and had already wet his Pull-up. I told him to just put his jeans back on and go commando for a few minutes since it was almost time to get ready for bed. Christy and I are watching Emily and Cadence play Wii bowling when Gabriel comes into the living room with one of each of Cadence's shoes on his feet and his jeans on Kriss Kross stlye with the zipper undone. I ran into the office to grab my camera and was able to get this shot as he bent over to pick something up.

In other news, I'm pretty aggravated with my What to Expect app on my iPhone. Chris and I have been taking a picture of my growing tummy every week and all of a sudden I cannot export the pictures to my library to upload to my slide show on Photobucket. Fortunately, we saved some of the pictures to my library when we originally took them so we aren't missing all of them. Here is the updated slide show:

Moving into the third trimester - baby stuff

We have just started our third trimester and Pistachio's nursery is finished! We fixed the ceiling, hung the curtains and painted it last weekend. This week we put up the tree decal. I am very happy with how it turned out.

It seems like a lot of work to do for a baby that a.) doesn't care what his/her room looks like and b.) won't be using that room for quite some time. We got a great deal on a bassinet at a consignment sale a month or so ago and have that set up in our room. Baby will probably use that for the first few months to make middle-of-the-night feedings easier. In fact, I may even move the rocking chair into our room for a while too.

Short of packing the hospital bag and buying a few more things, we pretty much have everything ready for our little one's arrival. We are planning on using cloth diapers with this baby and we still need to get a few more of those. I have heard wonderful things about Best Bottom diapers and I really want to buy 5-7 or so covers and probably 15-20 inserts to give them a try. We have 7 all-in-one's that I bought new off of Craigslist for $60.00, but I love the idea of being able to swap out the liners if the diaper isn't too messy. I am also very lucky that our daycare has agreed to allow me to bring in cloth diapers. :)

So few surprises in life...

There are so few surprises left in life - so few moments when one is truly shocked. I was hoping that the birth of this baby would be one of them. I know that everyone means well in offering their opinions about pictures of our baby; however, Chris and I really want to be surprised. We want Chris or the doctor to be there to catch the baby and exclaim "It's a ____!!!" for the first time. I'm beginning to feel like I'm losing my surprise... The ultrasound technician assured us that all pictures that she gave us were safe. I've since shown the toe grabbing picture to my wife's boss (an OB/Gyn) as well as taken a poll regarding it on my pregnancy forum and both have resulted in me being told that the shot reveals nothing. However, I still feel like if this baby turns out to be a boy everyone will tell me "I told you so!!!" or "I've been saying that the whole time!!!" Honestly, although I have no preference in having a son or a daughter, I would love for this baby to be a girl in order to avoid hearing it from everyone.

As far as I am concerned nothing can be told from the picture and there is as much of a chance of this baby being a girl as it being a boy. I still believe in surprises.

19 Week Ultrasound

We went in today for our 19 week ultrasound. We maintained our alliance to "Team Green" and did not find out the gender. Our little baby looked great and was measuring only a day ahead of his/her due date. He/she is in the 74th percentile for size (which is a nice change from the 98th percentile babies that I have delivered in the past).


Everything was looking good until they checked the position of the placenta. Normally, it is positioned high up in the uterus above the baby, like the picture on the left. The picture on the right shows it completely blocking the baby's exit. This is called placenta previa:

Mine is in between these two situations, like this:

In 90% of second trimester cases, it corrects itself and moves out of the way. We have a follow-up ultrasound scheduled in eight weeks to take a look again. If we are in the unlucky 10% of cases, it was the opinion of the doctor I met with this morning that the baby should be delivered via c-section. This, of course, does not sit well with me. I am meeting with my regular doctor this afternoon for my monthly check-up and will get his opinion on the situation then.

Why all of the c-sections?

I am probably not the best person to speak on this topic seeing that my previous births were both medically-assisted; however, we are planning a natural childbirth with our baby due in November and I have learned so much in the last few months. I am home today because Gabriel got sick last night and I have spent a portion of his naptime watching "A Baby Story" and folding laundry. I have watched this show hundreds of times before, but today I saw it in a new light. It was sad. I saw three different births and all three were c-sections. One was because of a previous surgery and the other was because of low fluid levels. I understand that it is the mother's choice of whether or not to have a c-section but it seems as though they are doing it out of convenience and attaching a medical reason to make themselves feel better. At one point one of the women joked that the c-section would be the fastest weight loss program ever... Is this what childbirth has become? For thousands of years women have given birth to babies without the need of medical intervention. Now over 30% of babies are born via c-section. I'm sure that most of these women have some medical "reason" for why they had a c-section, but really they seem more like medical excuses. C-sections mean longer hospital stays for moms and babies (since baby is told when it will be born and may not be finished developing entirely). This in turn means bigger pay days for hospitals and doctors. It seems to me that most c-sections could be avoided entirely if the mother took better care of herself with her diet and exercise throughout pregnancy and took the responsibility to educate herself on what truly constitutes the need for a c-section.

Having a c-section is one of my biggest worries. Unfortunately all of the hospitals in this area refuse to allow a vaginal breech delivery. Both Cadence and Gabriel were born head first and I hope this baby decides to do that too.

I'll step off of my soap box now. I just had to get that out.

Yard Sale WIN

Chris and I got up early this morning and went yard sale shopping. We stopped at a sale in Simpsonville that had advertised lots of baby items. The lady told us that she didn't have anything marked and to just make her an offer. So I did and paid $70 for:

Medela Pump in Style breast pump
Boppy Naked Pillow with 2 covers
9 Dr. Brown's 8oz bottles with nipples 1-4 flow level for each
2 Playtex bottles with drop-ins with nipples 1-2 flow level for each
2 sleepers
4 receiving blankets
1 crib sheet saver
1 crib sheet
5 sippy cups (2 Avent, 1 Dr. Brown's & 2 others)
10 spoons
bowl
baby food grinder
8 Soothie pacifiers
3 Avent pacifiers
3 other pacifiers

Baby Tummy

Chris has been taking a picture of me every Friday since I was eight weeks pregnant and we plan to continue this until 8 weeks after delivery. Here is the first installment of the Baby C slide show. :)

15 weeks 4 days

Chris and I had an appointment with the baby doctor yesterday. We are 15 weeks 4 days along in this pregnancy and the baby had a heart rate of 145. The last time we were told the heart rate it was 154 but that was at 7 weeks, and I understand that they gradually go down over time. The doctor told us that he wants to schedule another ultrasound at around 18 weeks. I was pleasantly surprised! With Cadence and Gabriel, I didn't have that ultrasound until almost 21 weeks. This would be the ultrasound where we find out if it is a boy or a girl, but we aren't planning on doing that this time. It will definitely be a true test of my will power to not scream "Yes!" when the ultrasound tech says, "Do you want to know the sex of the baby?"

After the doctor we made a quick trip to Home Depot to pick up some paint samples for the nursery. Originally we had planned on doing a brown, yellow & green theme, but I think now we are going to go with tan/beige, chocolate and pink or blue. Since we are not finding out the gender of this baby ahead of time, we will have to wait until November to buy blue or pink stuff, like this:

In the meantime, we'll load up on beige sheets and use Gabe's old lamp shade. I don't think that the baby will mind. :)

New car seat for baby and new room for Gabriel

Last night we picked up a new car seat for the baby. Gabriel and Cadence both used the same infant car seat, but it has since expired (yes, car seats have an expiration date). I researched several online and was really impressed with the Graco Snugride 32. Most infant carriers allow you to keep baby in it until baby weights 22lbs. This seat will allow baby to continue using it in until he/she weighs 32lbs and is 32 inches long. To give you an idea, Gabriel is 32.5lbs right now (although he is much taller than 32 inches).

After we picked up the car seat, I gave the kids a bath and read them a book while Chris hung the curtains in Gabriel's room. We have been going non-stop since Saturday and this was the first chance that we had to put them up. Apart from the ceiling fan, which Chris plans to install this weekend, the room is done.


I think I'm more excited about the mural than Gabriel is. :)



He looks so tiny in his big boy bed!



We re-finished an old dresser that belonged to Chris's parents

The Business of Being Born

Chris and I watched "The Business of Being Born" last night. It was a very enlightening and depiction of what giving birth has become in the United States. Basically, women are told that they cannot handle the pain of childbirth and most believe it. They are pumped full of drugs and the release of these drugs keep the natural release of hormones from happening and can damage the initial mother-baby bonding.

I know that in my first two deliveries (both fully medicated) I remember feeling like I was "sick." I was in the hospital, hooked to tons of beeping machines and being pumped full of God-knows-what... but I wasn't sick. I was doing the very thing that God created me to do. With Gabriel, they pumped me full of so much stuff that I spent the last thirty minutes or so of my labor throwing up. If you think labor isn't fun, trust me, throwing up during labor makes it much less enjoyable.

I switched doctors this time because I knew someone that used my new doctor for a natural birth. The same doctor allowed another friend to "catch" her own baby. That's kinda neat.

I'm spending the next seven months learning everything I can. We are going to sign up for Bradley Method classes and I've already purchased the book. The movie last night was a good start too. We probably watched five or six un-medicated births (all at home). It's really not as bad to watch as we are led to believe.

We are still planning on delivering at the hospital with a doctor. Although this morning I did check to see if my insurance covered mid-wives. They do, but the closest one that they cover is in Charleston. We are going to have a doula present and we plan on staying at home for as long as possible before driving to the hospital. It is only about 10 minutes away, so we should be able to stay home for a while.

Week 7 - Third Ultrasound

We had our third ultrasound yesterday and were able to see our little "pistachio" and hear his/her heartbeat. Everything looks perfectly healthy and normal. After the experience that we've gone through with the other two ultrasounds and the hCG level testing, I don't think I like the idea of doing that sort of testing early in pregnancy. It seems to cause more worry than good.

Everything is on track and we do not need to go back to the doctor until May 5th. By that point, I will be 12 weeks preggers and the doctor should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat using a doppler on my tummy.

Now that we've seen the baby and heard the heartbeat it is definitely feeling more real. I am looking forward to finishing Gabriel's "big boy" room and preparing the house for baby number three.... THREE!!! That still scares me if I think about it long enough. Now Chris and I will be out-numbered by the dogs AND the kids!

Results from this weekend's test

On Thursday I went to see my doctor because I had some mild cramping. He did an ultrasound and saw "the beginning of someone" and said that he didn't see anything that should cause cramping. As a precautionary measure, he also checked my hCG level (this is the pregnancy hormone - the same thing that makes the pee stick change colors). My hCG level was 13,000 at 3pm. Ideally it should double within 48 hours. I had a second test done on Saturday at 10am and it was only 19,000. My doctor called to tell me today. I was originally supposed to have another ultrasound tomorrow but the doctor would like to wait until next week. He says that the levels are rising, which is good, but they aren't where he wants them to be. Please say a prayer for our little Pistachio. We should know more next week.