It's a BOY!!!

Brody Ward Grinstead is here! I was totally in shock and absolutely thrilled that he is a little BOY! He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and is 21 inches long. We are so in love. :) Below I will detail my birth story so of course it will be long :)

We got up on the morning of January 27th and got Ella ready for the sitter. We wanted her to have a normal day so we decided to just drop her off on the way to the hospital. It was a pretty emotional morning for me because of course I was worried about how she would react to me being gone for a few days and the change of adding a new baby to the house. I was also just so emotional about the impending end of this pregnancy that has been anything but easy. We dropped Ella off and headed to the hospital and got there for our 7:30 AM induction.

After paperwork and all the inital vitals were done, the on call OB came in and broke my water around 8:30 AM. I was still 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. He said he thought I would progress pretty quickly since I came in having a good start on my own. The breaking of my water was painless and quick! They also immediately started me on a low dose of Pitocin. Within half an hour my contractions got going. They started out mild but pretty close together- about 3 minutes apart. By about 10 AM they were getting much stronger and more painful so I decided to get the epidural. The anestheisiologist talked to me a bit about my epidural experience with Ella since I had it work only on one side after three failed attempts. He started the epi and thankfully it began to work well on both sides pretty quickly. At this time, the nurse checked me and I was still at a 4-5 so not progressing much. Noon came- still a 4-5.

Around this time, my epidural began to wear off on the left side just as it had with Ella and I started to feel everything. The contractions had been 2 minutes apart and very intense for several hours so I was sure I was making progress. The nurse checked me at 1 PM- no progress. At 2:15 PM my OB stopped in to check me and STILL no progress. He was shocked and said he thought I would have delivered hours prior. He checked the monitor and said that my contraction pattern looked great and he was very surprised that contractions so intense and close together weren't making any progress. He reassured me that we had plenty of time and baby looked great but I could tell he was disappointed that nothing was happening.

At this point I started to get really discouraged. I could feel everything on my left side and the contractions were so painful and I couldn't understand how I wasn't making any progress. I told my parents and brother to go ahead and go home because I knew it would be several hours before anything would happen and I knew Ella needed to be picked up from the sitter. Shortly after they left, my grandma stopped by and had just been in the room for a minute or two when the nurse came in and said she needed to check me again. I thought this was odd since it was 2:45 and I had just been checked half an hour ago but the nurse said that the baby's heartrate was in the 70s so she needed to see what was going on. As she was telling me this, I told her that I was feeling a lot of intense pressure and pain and I thought something was wrong. She checked me and to my surprise I was at 7 cm! I was pleased that I was making progress and remember thinking that hopefully it would only be a few more hours. The nurse went back into the hall to tell Jeff and to call my doctor to give him the update. She came back in five minutes later and I told her the pressure was worse so she checked me again and I was at a 9!

That's when things started to get a bit crazy! All of a sudden all of these people rushed into the room to try to get the delivery table and supplies set up. You could tell everyone was a bit flustered. I don't think I had quite grasped the intensity of the situation because in my mind I still thought I had lots of time. The nurse told me that my OB had left for Methodist and that the OB on call was out at Methodist West- yikes! She checked me again (5 minutes after the last time) and sure enough I was at a 10 and ready to push! I was so surprised! Just then my OB came in and it turns out he hadn't yet left for Methodist. Thank goodness!

They got me ready and I started to push. After the first push the nurse told me that the baby was crowning. What!?! I was thinking I would hear that about an hour into pushing! After pushing for two hours with Ella, I just assumed that things would take awhile. Boy was I wrong. I pushed through 4 contractions for a total of a little less than 15 minutes and Brody was born! When he came out, the OB said "Okay Dad, look and tell your wife what you had." Jeff was crying as he told me "Honey its a BOY!" It was one of the best moments of my life. It just reaffirmed to me how amazing it is to wait to find out the sex of the baby and why all those months of waiting were worth it! :)

After the birth, Brody was taken to get cleaned off but he was having some trouble breathing and his color was pretty white. They put the oxygen mask on him but when that wasn't helping they needed to take him down to the nursery to be put on oxygen and he also ended up getting fluid pumped from his stomach. While he was being taken down, the doctor was finishing up with me and told me that Brody's cord was one of the shortest he has ever seen. Apparently, with cords that short it is usually dangerous and impossible to deliver vaginally so he was very surprised that it had all worked out so well!

Brody stayed in the nursery for about 4 hours and then we were finally able to be together. He is just the most perfect, sweet little guy and we are so in love! He is nursing like a champ and just a cuddly little man. We got to come home today and he is adjusting to life at home with his new big sister and puppy. :) Ella is doing well with him so far and I can't believe how big she seems to me now compared to him!

Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers as we have gone through this roller coaster journey of pregnancy. We have the most precious reward of all now and our family of four is complete! :)

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for the last nine months- the day we meet Baby Grinstead 2.0! I honestly can't believe this day is finally here. It was such a good feeling to leave work today having all the loose ends tied up and breathing a big sigh of relief knowing it is time to focus on bringing this little one into the world!

My induction is scheduled for 7:30 AM tomorrow and of course I am feeling a whole mix of emotions. I am first and foremost beyond excited to meet our new little addition. We are just so anxious to see if it is a boy or a girl and what he/she looks like and what kind of little personality will develop! This is the point in time when not knowing the sex of the baby becomes so much fun! I am also of course feeling a little sad for Ella in knowing how her life is going to change and I hate knowing that I will be away from her the next few nights. But I know she will be in good hands with daddy and grandparents. :) And then of course there is the part of me that is nervous about labor and delivery and all that it entails. I am hopeful that since I have already dilated some and am pretty thinned out that things will progress more quickly than they did with Ella- but even if they don't, I know I can handle it- I've done it before! :)

It is so surreal to think that this time tomorrow we will be holding our little one and the roller coaster of the past nine months will have come to an end. I can honestly say I really didn't know how I would possibly make it to this point when I was at the height of my battle with hyperemesis. The constant sickness and all of medical issues includng the PICC line and nurse visits were just so draining that I could hardly think about the next day let alone envision the day when the baby would be here and none of that mattered anymore. I am proud of myself for making it through and can't wait for the nausea and lingering sickness to finally leave for good after baby is delivered!

Once things settle down, I will update with the news of the little one. In the meantime, final thoughts and prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby would of course be appreciated. :)

38 Weeks and Eviction Date!

Well I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been before! I delivered Ella at 38 weeks and 1 day so today I have surpassed that. I had my 38 week OB appointment on Tuesday and an internal exam to check for progress. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that I am 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced with baby's head very low. Those are all great signs that my body is getting ready for labor! Because my cervix is favorable, we have scheduled my induction for next Thursday, January 27th and I will be just over 39 weeks.

Starting Wednesday, I have been experencing a very bad lower backache and consistent contractions so after two days of this, I decided to give my doctor a call and he suggested I come in to be checked again. I went in yesterday afternoon and unfortunately my cervix hasn't changed so it was a false alarm. My contractions got as close as 5 minutes apart last night but then sort of fizzled out and have been holding steady at around 10-15 minutes apart so it looks like baby is cozy in there and not ready to come out on his/her own anytime soon.

We have had a very busy week with one of the biggest events being Miss Ella turning TWO this past Wednesday! It is so hard for me to believe that my baby is already two years old. It is so crazy to think that two years ago I was in the hospital with her and here I am about to do it all over again! Makes me excited! Jeff and I plan to relax and enjoy this last weekend as a family of three. Then its three more days of work for me and finally baby time! It is going to be a week of anticipation that's for sure!

My induction is set for 7:30 AM on Thursday and my OB will be the one on call that day which was why we chose the 27th. I am hoping since I have already made some progress on my own that this time will be faster than with Ella! From start to finish, my labor with Ella was 26 hours but that included 12 hours of having a cervical ripening drug that I do not need this time around since I am thinned out already. We are hoping this little one will arrive by dinner time! :)

If for some reason I do end up going into labor on my own in the next few days, my wonderful OB told me to call his cell and he will come in to deliver me even though he is not on call. How sweet is that? After all I have been through it would be great if he were the one to be there when Baby 2.0 comes into this world.

I will leave you with my 38 week belly picture- not much room left in there! I will try to post a last update next week before we head to the hospital! The end is in sight! :)

37 Weeks

Another week has come and gone and we are getting closer to Baby 2.0's arrival! Yay! Not much new to report this week. I had a quick OB appointment yesterday and all is well. Blood pressure is great at 102/58 and all other vitals looked good. My OB will check me at my next appointment which is next Tuesday to see if I have dilated or effaced at all. If my cervix is "favorable," we are looking at scheduling an induction for the following week. He said that 90% of second time moms are favorable at this point in pregnancy but of course I won't be surprised if I am in the 10% that is not true for. That is sort of the way my luck has gone this pregnancy! :)

After all that I have been through, it would really be wonderful to have the OB that I always see be the one that delivers so I am very hopeful that it is able to be scheduled that way. I know that whatever happens, all will be fine but it would just be a great way to end a pretty stressful pregnancy!

I have started having noticable contractions in my lower abdomen and back this week but nothing consistent or timeable. I never had contractions with Ella prior to being induced so this is a new experience for me! I can only hope that they are doing SOMETHING and maybe helping me to progress a little!

This week is a busy one for me at work and home. It is finals time for my middle school students so we are in the midst of that right now which is a stressful time especially for my kiddos who struggle more than average. I am glad that I am still at work this week to help them out. This weekend Jeff''s parents will be in town and we will be celebrating his dad's 60th birthday and also will have a small family party for Ella's birthday. I cannot BELIEVE that my baby will be TWO next week. Surreal. So while I am so excited and ready to meet this new little one, I need to get through the rest of this week/weekend and get all that stuff done. Then the little one can come whenever he/she likes. :)

Until next week, the waiting and wondering continues. Will I be induced? Will baby be boy or girl? So exciting that we will know in just a few short weeks! I will update after my appointment next Tuesday- prayers that I will have made some progress and get some good news!

I'll leave you with my last set of comparison belly pictures since 37 weeks is the last picture I took before delivering Ella.

37 weeks with Baby 2.0

37 weeks with Ella- just a week before I had her!

36 Weeks!

The countdown is on- I can't believe I have made it to this point and am 36 weeks pregnant! Baby Grinstead 2.0 is due 4 weeks from today! I had my OB appointment and last growth ultrasound today and all is well! The ultrasound looked good- the head is measuring about a week ahead as usual and the abdomen is two weeks behind. This indicates that the baby is small, but the measurements are very similar to last ultrasound which is a good sign that baby is growing! It was fun to see the little one for the last time on the ultrasound screen and he/she was shy always covering the face with its hands. :)

I met with the doctor and he was pleased with the scan results and gave me the go ahead to progress normally with the pregnancy. This is a big relief because of course while some- okay MOST- days I am ready to be done with being pregnant, each day we keep the baby in is a good thing! He also tested me for Group B Strep and I will hear back about that next week. My appointments will be weekly now from here on out so I will go again next Tuesday. That will be a quick appointment- just blood pressure, weight and urine. The next week will be 38 weeks and I will be checked for progress/dilation.

It is crazy and exciting to think that we will get to meet Baby 2.0 in 3-5 weeks. I am hoping they go by fast! :)

Here are a few pictures from today's ultrasound- things are pretty squished in there so the picture quality isn't great.

Profile :)

Kind of cool picture of the face bones from above- baby was being shy so there are some arms in the way!

And lastly a 36 week belly pic!