Labor and Delivery Part 1

April 9th!  I finally get to see my little man again in a sonogram!  I was 38 weeks and ready to check in on Fox's progress.  Daniel and Mallie were able to make it to the sonogram with me.  The sonographer told us that my fluid was low, but everything else looked GREAT!  I didn't think anything of it!  While walking across the hall to the exam room Daniel mentions to me that he has time to stay and meet with the Dr.  The sonographer leans in and says, "dad, I think you might want to go ahead and call out of work.  Unofficially, I think you will be having a baby tonight."

Talk about WHOA!  Daniel and I were immediately taken back.  Don't get me wrong, this is ALL we have been wanting for 9 months now, but something about the surprise of the news made us go from feeling so ready to, "holy moly what are we doing?!?"  I felt so unprepared... even though Daniel and I were plenty prepared.  The Dr. confirmed that we were delivering tonight and we needed to go home, grab our bags and head over to the hospital.

Time to get the phone-tree going!  Daniel, Mallie and I all called our "people" to let them know we were heading to the hospital to meet our Fox Man!  I called my Doula, Emily, and she was going to meet us at the hospital! I, then, called my other sister Rachel in CO.  I was still a bit shaken up, anxious, excited, nervous, everything!  Rachel was so calming and encouraging!  I am incredibly lucky to have such comforting and understanding sisters!  Now time to call my twin and see if he is having any sympathy pains.  While he had no pains, he was quite excited to hear about the arrival of his new nephew!

I know we were asked to head to the hospital after just picking up our bags... buuuut for my sanity, I needed to run through the shower, shave my legs and primp my makeup and hair :)  If I am going to be having all kinds of people all up in my crevices I want to look my best.  Around 2:00 we parked at the hospital and were ready to get this labor thing started.  I was hooked up to my IV and the nurse started me on a low dose of pitocin.  The following picture is of me handling the low doses of pitocin.

Ok, so I was told I was still too happy... so they bumped up the pitocin...

Alright... I'm still handling this a little too well... sooooo....

Ok I am DEFINITELY feeling the contractions now... However, I am still needing to dialate more.  And so...

yuuuuuuup.  I'm feeling them reeeeeeeeaaaaaalllllll well now and I'm progressing with dialation.  At this point, I was worried I would not be able to sit still during a contraction while receiving my epidural.  (Yes, I am not superwoman and was happy to accept the epidural)  I had Emily, Daniel, Dalie and Mallie all in the room with me hanging out while I labor.  Daniel, Dal and Mal left the room while I got my epidural and my gracious Doula held my hands while I got my sweet sweet drugs. Thanks Emmy!  After the wonder drugs, it was smooth sailing :)

Things were moving along nicely and then we had one gigantic surprise:  Look what flew into Dallas...

I was a hot mess! I could not believe Rachel up and left Colorado Springs with three kids and flew to Dallas to be here for the delivery!!  I couldn't speak I was so emotional and typically I am not one who is at a loss for words.  This meant so much to me!   Thank you again Cameron for getting Rachel to Dallas in time!! As the night went on, I kept laboring and everyone else stayed busy in their own fun ways...

This leads us to ... Labor and Delivery Part 2

Last Shower

I cannot believe how well a classroom of fourth graders can keep a secret!  Little did I know my classroom and teammates had been planning a surprise baby shower for me for the past 2 weeks.  My class and I come in after recess to an adorably decorated room!  Foxes were everywhere!  I was completely surprised!  A handful of my moms got together and decorated the room.  They brought cupcakes, bottled water, a diaper cake, napkins, and gifts!  Fox and I were so overwhelmed! Here are some pictures of the shower.

If only I had pictures of the kids wrapping toilet paper squares around themselves estimating "how big" my belly was :)  Quite cute!  Thank you to my fantastic class and parents for making Fox and I feel so special and loved!!

"Oh You've Dropped!"

If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that quote in the past few weeks, LC would have his daycare tuition paid for in full.  :)  As I mentioned in the last post, Fox is one healthy... big boy.  He is moving and growing every day.  His movements are not as big and all over as they once were, but who can blame him... his poor home is shrinking due to his rapid growth.  As of yesterday, my doctor still thinks he will be born around 38 weeks.  That means we could possibly meet Mr. Fox in the first or second week of April.  It is all becoming so surreal. 

Spring Break could not have come at a better time.  Mallie came over and we washed 7 loads of laundry... just for LC!  We organized his dresser and chest of drawers with all of his clothes from 0-6 months!  Thanks to my sisters, LC has an unbelievable amount of clothes, blankets, burp cloths, toys, socks, sleepers and beyond passed down from his cousins.  Needless to say, he is set! 

After the laundry was finished and Fox's nursery was painted... twice by his daddy (thanks Daniel!) it was time to hang his wall decor.  Here are some pictures of his nursery so far.  I am still in the process of painting his mint colored rocking chair, but, when finished, it will be set in the corner between his dresser and new fancy bookcase that Mallie and Dallie refinished for his baby shower this weekend!  Thanks Mallie and Dallie! Fox can't wait to spend time snuggled up to a good book.

The first few pictures were taken before the bookcase was delivered.  The last one has a good view of the rustic bookcase.

Like I said, Spring Break was a productive time, not only for my nesting, but also for making memories.  We are lucky to have a family photographer who loves taking pictures of our babies and doggies.  Emily had some great ideas to shoot some maternity photos of me and LC.  While the weather conditions were not ideal (windy, less than 50 degrees, and raining) we pulled our boots up and got in the nitty gritty of the elements.

Some of them have lovingly been coined "hunger games."  Again, the elements were rough, but well worth it for the incredible photos.  Thanks Emily for taking the time to capture these memories.  You even got Daniel to participate after much hesitation.  Fox tells me you should start preparing for his newborn photo shoot ASAP!  He knows you will make him proud and only capture his "good side."

Lastly, I confess... I took my first "Selfie"to show off the belly.  I, admittedly, have not been good about keeping track of my baby belly, so here's to making up for that...

#babyselfie

The Countdown is ON!

Welcome to our baby blog!  This is the first of many posts about our Fox Man!  Daniel and I are just weeks away from meeting our precious little man, who has become known to us as LC (short for Lovie Cake- a nickname my Grannie used to call me).  I am thankful to report he is a healthy baby.  And by healthy, I mean... BIG.  He is currently measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule, has a very large cranium, and full cheeks- ripe for pinching.  The tech doing his last sonogram seemed a bit nervous about the size of his melon, but anyone who knows the Bacon side of my family knows to expect a large dome.  I like to think LC is just so advanced and his brain has already developed so much knowledge. In other good news, his head is proportionate with the rest of his body, so 2 weeks ahead of schedule sounds about right.  We will happily take him whenever he is ready to meet us.

I am entering that lovely time during pregnancy when I get restless and agitated at night, starting to get achey from being on my feet all day, going to the bathroom every three minutes, etc etc.  Work has been keeping me and LC quite busy and my kiddos adore talking about him.  They also like bringing Fox donuts, snacks, and treats in general.  Fox happily accepts them... all of them :) The light at the end of the tunnel is that Fox will be born in April(ish) and I will get the rest of the school year at home with him and then ALL of summer with him before I go back to work.

Here are some pictures so far... plenty more to follow.

Our announcement picture in the fall

My Birthday/Halloween weekend

Gender reveal photo

Let's not forget the lovely 28 week Glucose test... we go way back :)

Shopping day with Mallie

Bowling ball belly!