Poo Party

I've been trying to be better about letting Josiah's diapers "stew" for a few minutes before changing him because too often I go to change him and 5 minutes later he has another full one. This morning I thought I had been successful at waiting it out, only to find that my son has the ability to shoot poo 3 feet across the room!

I was changing him and lifting up his bottom to put on the diaper cream when it shot out of him like a jet. I found poo running down his bedroom door, which was about 3 feet away from the changing table. No wonder he was fussy this morning!

A Week of Firsts for Mommy

As a new mom I have experienced many “firsts” in my life since the birth of Josiah. You don’t realize how much life is going to change until it’s already happening. I’ve had a few emotional ups and downs, many of them having to do with the changes that are taking place. Here are some of them:

-First time pushing a human out of me (I think it’s crazy that men will never get to experience labor!)

-First time getting stitches

-First time fainting at the sight of blood

-First time nursing (we’ve had some rough moments with nursing, but I feel reassured that when my supply can’t meet the demand of my son, or when latching on seems to be too difficult at the time, that a little formula will satisfy him. Only a few more days and I will be pumping regularly so Andrew can help bottle feed at night).

-First time getting peed, pooped, and spit up on consistently

-First time sleeping without ear plugs since the year 2005

-First time experiencing sleep deprivation that wasn’t caused by school or work

-First time experiencing the love that a parent truly has for their child-what a blessing! Sometimes I sit and look at my son and can't help but cry because I can't imagine my life without him. He is so special and even though there are times when I would love some peace, quiet, and a full nights sleep, I know that my life is truly blessed by God!

Josiah Jonathan Potratz

I woke up Friday morning Oct. 29th with lots of energy. The doctor had warned me that I may get a boost of energy before labor and so I was thinking today might be the day! I went to the chiropractor and to work feeling really great. When I got home around 6 p.m. though I started having contractions, which seemed like my normal Braxton Hicks contractions that I get every evening. However, they started to get a little more painful throughout the evening and I was thinking to myself "maybe labor really will kick in tonight!" I went to bed around 11:00 p.m. but never really fell asleep because of the painful contractions. At 11:30 they started to get really painful and seemed to come every 7 minutes. At 12: 50 a.m. I decided to call First Nurse and see if I should come in. He said to wait until my contractions were 5 minutes apart. Well, only an hour later my contractions were really painful and coming at 4-5 minutes apart. I called First Nurse again and they told me to go ahead and come in. At this point I was freaking out because I was in SO MUCH pain that I could barely move and I just kept thinking to myself "we NEED to be at the hospital NOW!" We got to the hospital a little after 2 a.m. and they immediately put me in a delivery room (thank goodness they didn't put me in one of those tiny triage rooms that they did before). I immediately asked for an epidural but the anesthesiologist had just gone back to do a C-Section and would be quite awhile. I was in horrible pain and the contractions were so close together! They checked me and I was only 5 c.m. but my labor progressed very quickly and I was a full 10 within 2 hours. The anesthesiologist made it into my room to give me the epidural at about 4 a.m. (just in time for me to start pushing). However, it took a couple of hours for me to push, so by the time Josiah was crowning I was already in pain again. I didn't even use the actual epidural because they give you a medicine that numbs you from the waste down first that only lasts 2 hours. I was having such a hard time pushing that the doctor said not to start the actual epidural once the numbing went away. It was so painful! They ended up giving me an episiotomy because I was having a hard time pushing. After they did the episiotomy, Josiah was born within a few minutes after a few more pushes.

My little boy was born at 6:35 a.m, 8 pounds 7 ounces, and 20 inches long. He was a very healthy little boy!

It took me a while to recover after delivery. I was put on lots of pain medication because of the stitches and the painful contractions that come with nursing. A few hours later I tried to get out of bed for the first time and passed out on the way to the bathroom, so I sat in bed until late afternoon before getting up to clean up from delivery. It was nice that he was born so early Saturday morning because we had plenty of time in the hospital over the weekend to rest up while Josiah slept in the nursery. We came home Monday afternoon and it's been a roller coaster since. Each day seems to get a little better as I find time to rest and as I get better at nursing. What we have learned so far about little Josiah: He loves soft blankies, will one day be a musician because music soothes him immensely, and loves to be cuddled.

Waiting Game

I think one of the toughest parts about the 9th month of pregnancy is the waiting game of when the baby will come. What makes it even harder is suffering from so many pre-labor contractions that fool me into thinking maybe this is the real thing! My time of day to get contractions seems to be between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. (really weird since it's a time when I'm laying on my side and doing absolutely nothing)! I usually find myself tossing and turning for those few hours, going to the bathroom numerous times (because pretty much every time I have a contraction I have to go to the bathroom) and eventually taking a bath so I can actually relax. It's really hard to go through these painful contractions only to find that they eventually go away and I'm not in real labor.

I have been incredibly emotional lately. I feel like I cry myself to sleep every night because today wasn't the day that baby decided to come. I am currently only 5 days away from my due date and it's frustrating for me to hear that it's normal for first time moms to go late. I was just so sure I would have this baby early since I went into early labor at 34 weeks. Now I am thinking I am going to be pregnant until mid-November! I have returned to work part-time which seems to help the days go faster, but it definitely doesn't make life any easier. I go to work and play with babies all afternoon and all I can think about is how I don't have my little guy yet. Then I go to church and see TONS of new little babies that have been born in the past month and it makes me so upset because I have so anxiously been waiting for mine to come. It's also hard when I see the same people every day/week and they always say "why hasn't that baby come yet!" or asking "how are you feeling?" Well, I'm not feeling that great because I have contractions every day and have been waiting weeks for my baby to come and I cry myself to sleep all the time because he's not here yet and all I want is for my little boy to be here! I understand their concern, it's just hard to hear it all the time.

I have decided to talk to my midwife about being induced at 41 weeks if the baby hasn't come by then. It's definitely not my first choice, but I have been so incredibly uncomfortable that I think I have a right to say that I'm not going to keep being pregnant after 41 weeks!

One thing I have enjoyed about this month is getting to spend more time with my husband. Since we have kept our schedule so open in case the baby comes, we have had several evenings to spend together. It's not always easy when I come home from work and have Braxton Hicks, but my "Lovey" will rub my back, make me a good meal and make me laugh a lot. He has also put up with my tossing and turning every night (and with that getting smacked in the face with my 3rd pillow that I keep under my belly), and even comforting me at 4:30 a.m. when I am crying because I can't sleep. He's awesome :)

Nursery Pictures

Here is the latest picture of me and my belly! Just about 38 weeks now! Hooray for making it to full term! With the early labor scare and all of the pre-labor contractions I am thankful to have made it this far. Now, I just want him to come! When I was checked about a week ago I was 2 c.m. dilated, 80% effaced and the baby was at stage 0. I chose not to get checked at this week's appointment because I'm pretty sure it stirred things up last time and made me have 15 hours of pre-labor contractions and put me in the hospital. All we want now is for real labor to come! I started Evening Primrose Oil earlier this week, been drinking Loose-Leaf Red Raspberry Tea, sitting on my birthing ball a lot (helps keep the baby low), and I went to the chiro and had all sorts of adjustments to help move things along. Our hope is that the baby will come early next week. With Andrew being so busy at work on the weekends it would be good for the baby to come early on in the week. Below are some pictures of the nursery! Enjoy!

Labor Lesson

I spent half of Tuesday night in the hospital thinking I was in labor. I had been having regular contractions (also very painful, much different than my normal braxton hicks) for 7 hours and they were getting longer/stronger and closer together. So, the doctor recommended I come in to get checked. I was 2cm, 80% effaced and baby was at stage 0. This was no different than what I was at my doctor's appointment earlier that day. I stayed at the hospital overnight, YET AGAIN, so they could monitor my contractions. I begged them not to give me an IV and thankfully they agreed, but they did give me a shot to help me sleep. It literally made me feel like I had a hangover because I could barely move my tongue to talk. I had contractions 5-7 minutes apart all night long and in the morning when they checked me my cervix was exactly the same! That was 15 hours of regular labor contractions with no changes!! Their diagnosis: Preterm Contractions-which is what I've been suffering from since I went into early labor, only this time they seemed real! They sent me home and said "Enjoy having preterm contractions! Take Tylenol PM to sleep and let us know when you're in real labor!" Ok...they didn't actually say that, but in my head that's how I took it.

My labor lesson in all of this: Even though you may have consistent contractions that feel like real labor contractions, unless your cervix changes you are NOT in labor.

So, who wants to come teach me how to check my cervix? That way when I think I'm in labor again I can check myself and tell those doctors "I'm in LABOR!"

Bed Rest

Weeks ago if someone had mentioned "bed rest" to me I probably would have jumped up and down in joy to think that I would be given so much time to lie around and do absolutely nothing. But let me just say that after a week and a half of "lying around" and doing "absolutely nothing" I would much rather be working full time! And, I still have another week and a half to go of bed rest-that is, unless the baby decides to come before then!

First I went into preterm labor and spent the night in the hospital so they could stop my labor. Then, only a week later their talking about inducing me because I might have preeclampsia (thankfully I don't!). And now I am suffering from high blood pressure (causing me to have dizzy spells, see stars, and have headaches). So my days of bed rest typically consist of:

-Sleeping in
-Showering
-Watching TV (quite surprisingly I'll watch hours of A Baby Story or I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant)
-Eating (probably not the best foods for me, but the doctor told me I need to gain 1 lb. or more every week. Despite my poor diet of onion rings, pizza, brownies, and lots of cheese I have managed to gain only 1 lb. this last month).
-Organizing the baby room (I will get pictures up soon!)
-Knitting burp rags
-And doing some light housework

I finally broke down and told Andrew I needed to get out of the house for just a little bit and he took me on a walk around the block earlier this week and my sister took me to Target so I could spend my gift cards on some final things I needed for the baby. The doctor said I am allowed to choose 1 thing/day to do that is on feet, so today I choose vacuuming!!

I am really hoping that the baby will come sooner than later. I got checked at the doctor today and she told me I was 2 cm and that the baby is very low. She said I could go into labor at any time, but there was no guarantee that I wouldn't make it to my due date on the 31st. Some days I will go the whole day without any contractions. And then there are other days where I lay around on the couch for 3 hours having contractions. All I can say is that I am trying my best to not be impatient and wait on the Lord for when He chooses for baby to come!