Silas Paul

Here's a peek at the newest member of our family...

Our computer's being giving us some trouble this week (talk about bad timing!) but hopefully I'll be able to post more pictures and Silas' full birth story soon!

it's a boy!

Silas Paul was born at 10:51 am, 8 lbs 14 oz, 23 in. Mom and baby are doing well!

Ruptured

I woke up at 2 am with mild contractions and a really stuffy nose. Between my contractions and my snoring, I kept waking myself up! At 4 am I decided to turn on the bathroom fan to drown myself out :) and as I rolled over I felt a little gush. My contractions started getting a bit more painful after that and we decided to head into the hospital at 5:30. I wasn't convinced my water had broken but a quick swab test confirmed that indeed it did. My contractions were (and are) getting more painful, but I was still barely dilated so they sent me home until things get a bit more intense. Either way, we'll have a baby sometime today or early tomorrow!

I am feeling quite congested with this head cold and Erik is still not feeling 100%, so pray that we would have health and strength for this day!

Update

We had a bit of a scary night on Monday. Keziah had developed a barking-type cough during the day and at around midnight I woke up to the sound of her coughing and trying to cry out. When I went in she was burning with a fever and struggling to breathe through the coughing. She finally threw up which seemed to help a bit, but she was so listless and her cry was so pitiful. Erik wasn't feeling totally well himself, but he quickly packed up her up and took her into emerg. I stayed at home and tried to sleep - which wasn't happening. Not only was I worried about Keziah, but I was feeling some contractions and praying that I wouldn't go into labour! At the hospital they took Keziah in right away when they discovered that her fever was in the danger zone. It turns out that she had croup so they had to give her a steroid shot as well as a steroid nebulizer mask. They couldn't convince her to take any tylenol orally so they had to give her a suppository. Erik said she cried and cried throughout the whole ordeal, with her most common phrase being, "I wanna go in my van!!" After it was all over they gave her stickers and a purple popsicle and I think she finally cheered up. She still isn't totally herself but the cough seems to be under control.

With everyone around me being so sick - including Erik - I have been caught between wanting this baby OUT and wanting to wait until we're all healthy and well-rested before entering the ordeal of labour. There's something reassuring about knowing that baby Toews is nicely incubated from all these outside germs!

I went to see my doctor again this morning and discovered that I've made a tiny bit of progress. I'm now 1-2 cm dilated, 30% effaced and baby has dropped to -3 station. It's nothing too significant but at least all that "false" labour over the weekend wasn't in vain :) I had another membrane sweep so we'll see what happens. We talked about induction and I feel reassured to have an end in sight. As much as I've resisted induction, there's something nice about the thought of entering the labour experience after a full night's sleep!

This morning I woke up with a sore throat and some sinus congestion but I'm hoping to fight off this cold before the baby comes! At least I'm hoping it won't escalate to the fevers that Erik has been dealing with. So, I will keep you all posted...

(sigh.)

2 days past the due date. Everyone here is sick. Except me. Micah started showing signs of sickness on Friday with the start of a cold and fevers. On Saturday morning he woke up with his lips full of cold sores (not sure if it's related, maybe just a result of his lowered immune system?) and remained feverish throughout the day. Then last night Erik woke up with fevers and chills and Keziah woke up this morning with a deep cough. It's probably a good thing that we're not introducing a newborn to this house-full of germs right now. If you think of us, please pray that everyone would recover quickly (especially Erik as I'm going to need him when the time comes!) and please pray that I can steer clear of all of this. I really can't imagine going through labour on top of being sick!

Speaking of impending labour, this weekend has been a cycle of hope and disappointment. On Friday Erik stayed home from work since I had woken up with some mild contractions and knew I was going to get my membranes sweeped that morning. Later that afternoon (after much internal debate) I decided to take a dose of castor oil. I figured that if it made me sick, then at least I had Erik around to help. I felt fine for an hour and a half, then threw up suddenly (and violently) and then felt pretty much fine all day. I had lots of braxton hicks all that day and the next and some other signs of labour but I figured it was as a result of the internal exam and tried not to get my hopes up (since Erik was getting his hopes up enough for the both of us!) Then I woke up at about 2 am on Sunday morning with some mildly painful contractions that were coming every 4 minutes and felt like they were getting stronger. I didn't want them to stop so I got up and walked around and timed them for awhile. I was SO certain that labour was starting since these contractions felt different than the braxton hicks. I even emailed my mom at about 5 am to let her know what was happening. Shortly after, exhaustion finally kicked in and I decided to try to sleep. The contractions kept waking me up for about an hour and then next thing I knew it was 8:30 and the "labour" had totally fizzled out. Darn it.

Anyway, that's the summary of our weekend. Now Erik is planning to take the day off to recover - which is too bad since he'll have to take more time off when the baby comes and we can't really afford that right now! At least my mom will be here soon (tomorrow). I'm looking forward to having her here. And I keep reminding myself that the most I can be pregnant at this point is another week since it sounds like my doctor will induce me by next Monday at the latest.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers - I will keep you all posted!!

Humpy Dumpy

Keziah breaks into a rousing rendition of this song several times a day. Be sure to watch right to the end to see some of her best work :)

Doctor Visit

Tomorrow is my due date. I went to see my doctor today hoping for some good news. Unfortunately baby is still high (-4 station), my cervix is only 20% effaced and 1 cm dilated. A little disappointing since I've been feeling cramps, contractions and pressure for many days already. My doctor said my cervix was soft, though, and he was still able to do the membrane sweep. So, I'm left feeling more crampy but not necessarily optimistic. He was already talking about induction at about 41 weeks. I really wanted to avoid that, but at the same time I'm glad he's willing to induce after only a week since that will still give my mom some time to be here after baby comes.

I also know that all this dilation/effacement talk doesn't necessarily mean anything. Here's hoping that baby will decide to surprise us in the next few days!

Distractions

I remember writing a similar post with this same title back in November 2006 when I was waiting for (the very tardy) Keziah to arrive. But, distractions are what are going to keep me sane in these next days before baby comes. My mind is already consumed with thoughts - analyzing each cramp and contraction or thinking that maybe I can force my water to break by sheer will!


At the beginning of last week I wrote myself a LONG list of things that could keep me busy while I wait for this little one. We have also been spending lots of time with friends and family which has been helpful.

Playdate at Kelly's house last week:


At least Ezra was willing to look for the camera!


The kids got to go swimming in Abbie's pool again. They are getting quite brave in the water (as long as their water wings are on!)


The kids love hanging out in the playpen...


Keziah's hair is doing some funky things these days!


I alternate between feeling patient and feeling anxious for this baby to arrive. Mostly anxious :P Especially as I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable. The baby seems to have moved down (which is a good thing!) but I'm feeling more pressure and making (even more) frequent visits to the bathroom!

I'm also really swollen - I have cankles that still reveal the elastic line of my socks long after I've removed them, and hands that are in a constant state of numbness/tingling (and seem to be at their most useless state when I wake up for my frequent middle of the night bathroom trips).

Sigh. I have to remind myself that each passing day brings me closer to the end - and to the reward of a new little babe!

The kids were having some fun with chopsticks and raisins the other day (Keziah likes to experiment with eating with her eyes closed lately too...):


And yet another great shot of Keziah sleeping. I just can't resist pulling out the camera in these situations... :)


Today Erik's mom treated me to a morning without any kids! Sadly it's almost over. Time for me to go grab some lunch before the kids get back...

38 weeks, 3 days and counting

I went to my doctor's appointment today hoping he might check me for dilation, but he didn't think it was necessary yet at this point. It was disappointing since I was really curious to know if I had progressed, and whether he could sweep my membranes to try to get things going. When he mentioned that he hadn't slept since Sunday because of delivering 2 babies in the last 48 hours, I decided not to push it. He probably wouldn't have been too keen on the potential of having another delivery in the very near future. He said he will do a membrane sweep at my next appointment though - which isn't until next Friday, the day before my due date. I'm guessing if it's going to work, the chances are higher of it working then, when things are a little more ready! I'm just praying that I won't make it to 41 weeks!! I really don't want to still be pregnant when my Mom gets here.

One good thing from my appointment was learning that I had lost one pound!! I gain a crazy amount of weight with each pregnancy and so I was pretty pleased to see that the weight gain has finally stalled!

Ready

This was the last week that I had things planned (i.e. babysitting) and now that it's over I am officially ready for this little one to arrive.

Here's me at 38 weeks:


I think the kids are getting excited about the baby too. And I think they understand what's going to happen. I mentioned in a previous post about the birth video that I let the kids watch. They've found several other videos on the same site that they are fascinated by, like how the baby develops inside the womb. A few times a day Keziah will ask me if she can watch "baby comes out" and her latest favourite is "the needle one" where they show a woman getting an epidural. Maybe she will aspire to be in the medical profession someday! It's really funny to me how much she loves watching these little movies, but I think it has actually helped her put 2 and 2 together in terms of what's inside Mommy's tummy and what will soon be coming out to join our family.


I just wish I could give them a specific date for when the baby will get here. How do I explain that it could happen today or it could happen 3 weeks from now?

I managed to get one picture of the kids using their sled last week after the snowfall. We were able to use it a few times before it all melted, and the kids loved it:


Doing some reading on Mom & Dad's bed:


Keziah has been a bit sick this week. She threw up once, but it's mostly been fevers on and off for the last few days. I knew she was sick when she lay in this position for a full hour the other afternoon watching Ellen on TV.


She hasn't been sleeping that great at nights either and has ended up in our bed a few times this week so that we can all get more sleep:


And just some cute pictures of her at Grandma's house yesterday...


I'm going to the doctor every week now and hope to get checked again at my next appointment on Tuesday. I mentioned all the braxton hicks contractions to my doctor and he said that was a good sign and thought another internal exam might even be enough to move things along. Of course I can hope, but I'm not expecting too much to happen after my long drawn-out pregnancy with Keziah. My main desire is for the baby to come either right before or right at the beginning of my mom's visit (she arrives on the 24th). At that point I think I may be desperate enough to try anything - so bring on the castor oil!