Welcome, Parker!!!

Parker Christopher Nicholson was born on October 30th, 2007 at 2:59 p.m. at Piedmont Hostpital. He weighs 6lbs, 11.8 oz and measures 20.5 inches long. He is soooo beautiful!!!

I cannot believe our little peanut has finally arrived! After a dissapointing doctor's appointment on Monday, I was convinced Parker was going to take his time coming. My check up showed that I had made no progress since my last appointment, and the doc told me they would let me go as far out as November 16th before they would think of inducing. I made my appointment for the next week and the receptionist told me she was sure she'd see me then since first pregnancies almost always go longer than the due date. I was totally bummed and cranky at the thought of spending two and a half more weeks pregnant. I called my parents and told them that they might miss him completely during their visit from November 3rd-10th, then I went home and moped around.

I read somewhere that drinking raspberry leaf tea would help move along the labor process, so I bought some at a health food store and made myself a cup before bed, even though most articles dismiss this theory as old wives myth. May as well try, right? I had been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions over the past few days and also had some loose stools (a pre-labor sign), but figured that since my cervix was still pretty thick and I was still only 1 cm dialated, nothing exciting would be happening in the near future. Chris and I read in bed for a little while and then I went to sleep.

The next thing I knew I had woken up at about 3:15 a.m. having some cramping. I figured that I was having some sort of intestinal bug since I had diarrhea earlier. I got up and realized I was really feeling kind of weird, and then I got a BIG cramp. What in the world....? And then it was done. I went back to bed, and five minutes later it happened again. Surely this couldn't be...contractions? I waited and timed for 45 minutes before I woke Chris up. "Um...so, I think I might be in labor." After foggily trying to figure out if I was serious or not, Chris got up and showered.

As soon as I got up and started moving around my contractions went from painful, to nearly unbearable. I did some last minute packing between gut wrenching cramps, and then we were off. All the way to the hospital all I could think was, "this can't be happening, I was just at the doctor's office getting checked 12 hours ago." Come to find out, the contractions I was having then were the worst I would have during my entire labor. I started the process out fast and furious!

After being admitted to the labor and delivery ward, I endured a few more hours of contractions on the same mammoth scale. I was throwing up because of the pain. To be honest, I was absolutely astonished at the level of pain I was experiencing. To my credit, they really were big on the monitor too. I had been confident that I would be tough enough to go through child birth drug free....And maybe I could have, but I knew at that point I had an option that I was more that ready to take. After my epidural, my labor and delivery experience was wonderful. I was more comfortable than I had been for months, actually napped a little bit, and before I knew it I was fully effaced and dilated. 11 hours after waking up that morning, I was ready to push. Wow! That flew by!

And this is when the story gets funny. My labor nurse, Tessa, checked me and said it was time to learn how to push. I got the hang of it after a few minutes, and she called the doctor in to prepare for delivery. Dr. Cook came in and asked me to show her how my pushing was going. She hadn't prepped for delivery or even put on her gloves. I pushed once, and then once again and I watched her lunge onto the bed...to catch Parker! He shot out of me like a rocket!!! I was shocked! That was it? I just had a baby? Suddenly Parker was placed on my chest, having been given the nickname "Flash". My whole being flooded with love so huge it was almost heartbreaking. This was my baby...my son...my everything from this day on. And so it was.

We get to go home from the hospital tomorrow, and I will continue my story the next time I am on the computer. In a nutshell, I feel great, our baby is so sweet, wonderful, and unbelievably adorable I cannot even begin to capture it in words. I will post a picture as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support. I can't wait to share him with all of you.

Hugs and kisses from the fam.

-L

Tic, Tic, Tic...

Well, believe it or not I'm bored of being home already, so little Parker Peanut better hurry up and get here! I had some good news at the doctors on Tuesday- I'm 50% effaced (my cervix has thinned out 50%), which means my body is getting ready to push that little guy out!!! I've also had a few other pre-labor signs going on this week, but I'll spare you those details. Keep your fingers crossed that he chooses to make an early appearance!

I haven't been on a computer since last Friday, which feels pretty strange. I'm at Chris' desk at work right now after meeting him for a quick lunch date and thought I'd write a quick update for those of you who are curious about our progress. Things are going well and the little one is growing and growing. I'm not sleeping...at all really...but have developed the miraculous ability to function pretty normally anyway. Even if I sleep in 2 hour blocks when Parker comes it will be an improvement. Sigh. I find myself awake and thinking about random things like the fact that I should buy a slip cover for the couch, or wondering what type of music will be popular when Parker is a teenager, or imagining all the weird scenarios in which my water could break. Certainly nothing worth losing sleep over!

The only other noteworthy occurance of the week is that, as of today, Parker's astrological sign will officially be a Scorpio. Today is the cut off between Libra and Scorpio, so that settles it. This seems to concern my mom, but I'm sure there are plenty of perfectly nice scorpios out there. LOL. I think the only one I know is my friend Brooke, and she's pretty swell, so I'm not worried. :)

Well, outside of feeling maxed out on space, I don't have much else to update ya'll on. My parents are flying in a week from Saturday, so that should be good. Chris' mom is coming whenever we give her the word. I can't tell you how excited I am to make the first phone call saying "this is it!". I play the moment over and over in my mind.

Still counting...8....

3 more hours...

...until I am officially on maternity leave for 12 weeks! WAHOOOOOO! I am all smiles at work today, because at 5:00 p.m., I get to walk out those doors free of responsibility until January 14th, 2008. Man that feels good! :)

My plans include getting a pedicure, lounging around in my p.j.'s, and turning my brain off completely until I start labor. My friend Brooke reminded me the other day that early in my pregnancy I had a dream that I gave birth to a baby boy on October 29th, so that is my guess as to when I will deliver. We'll see...maybe it was a premonition!

I will be on the computer much less from here on out, but will do my best to give at least a couple of more updates before the big day. :)

Me...Full Capacity- 37 weeks

The Final "Stretch"

Ugh...There is officialy no more room in my belly. My skin is as tight as a drum and I am sad to report I have actually developed a couple of small stretch marks over the past two weeks. Woe is me. :( This weekend is the first time I have felt truly fed up with being pregnant, which sounds horrible to say, but I am sore, fidgety, and uncomfortable...and ready to meet my baby! I know he's ready!!! Come out, Come out!!!

The wonderful news is that this is my last week of work before my maternity leave begins, so I won't have to squish myself into the car for almost 3 hours a day after this Friday. Rejoice! I am SOOOO looking forward to having some time to rest before Parker comes...mentally and physically. My 'Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy' book tells me that "general pissed-offness" is one of the pre-labor symptoms she and her friends have all agreed upon, and I do believe I have moved into that phase. Or maybe it's just Monday morning and I hardly slept last night...

All gripes aside, I really can't express how excited I am that we are reaching the end of our long wait to meet our little boy. I know that upon looking down at him for the first time, all memories of aches, pains, and discomforts will be erased and replaced with even more love than we previously knew to be possible. I have no way to wrap my mind around the many ways my life is about to change, but I know it is going to be huge, wonderful, challenging, terrifying, and incredible all at once. I'm ready to make the plunge. :)

Fat Feet

Just a note to let ya'll know that I have sausage toes today. I had to take off my shoes which were sawing my feet in half. My fingers are swollen too. Oh my!

Still feeling good...and FULL of baby...

24....

Ok...I'm ready!

Pregnancy has been fun and interesting and all, but I'm feeling ready to be done with this part and move on to the good stuff (meeting baby, late nights, diapers, etc.)! I've definitely got the huge pregnant lady waddle going on, and am at least a little uncomfortable most of the time now. I've been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions (painless uterus contractions preparing body for labor)and can tell Parker is sitting lower in my body than he was a couple of weeks ago.

I had my doc's appointment today and my weight has stabilized, which is a good thing, and I am 1-2 cm dialated and my cervix has begun to thin. This doesn't mean I'm going to go into labor at any second, but it means things are moving in the right direction. My due date is 3.5 weeks away, but I'm feeling like we might go a little earlier than that. Who knows. I can tell you I am seriously looking forward to rolling over onto my belly for the first time in 4-5 months!!! Oh the things we take for granted!

I had an episode this weekend where I was freaking out that I might go into labor at any second and the house was a wreck. I was afraid that we would have to bring Parker home to a dirty house and he would have a bad impression of his new family. I went on a mad cleaning spree and made Chris join in. We vaccumed, swept, scrubbed the furniture, did laundry, packed hospital bags, and assembled the last piece of nursery furniture. On Sunday, we (Chris) mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedges, and went grocery shopping. Ahhh. Now we are set for Parker's arrival and I can breathe easy (figuratively). *I believe this is called the 'nesting' instinct.

I've got pretty much everything tied up at work as well, so I feel comfortable that when the time comes, I can grab my bags and be ready to go. Now all there is to do is count the days....

26...

Buddha Belly- 35 Weeks

Fun in North Carolina

The family baby shower this weekend at Chris' parents house was so much fun! My friend Christi and I drove up on Friday and stayed through Sunday morning. Many of Chris' family members came to celebrate...aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and lots of good friends. We brought home quite a haul of wonderful gifts as you can see in the picture. We played a couple of fun games, ate cake, and visited. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend.

Today I went to the doctor for a check-up, and found out I have actually lost 2 pounds over the past month! I'm sure it is because I was so sick a couple of weeks ago. Parker is still growing by leaps and bounds (He's about 6 pounds now!) and has begun to drop down in preparation for birth. Lucky for us, he is head down and in the proper position for a normal delivery in just a matter of weeks. I'm 35 weeks now, so he could come as soon as a couple of weeks from now! (wishful thinking...). :)

Above is a picture of me from Saturday...what a belly!

Love,
Laura