Happy Birthday Jareth Grae Anderson!

Jareth was born Monday, October 19th at 3:15pm. He weighed 7lbs 15 oz and was 20 1/2 in.

I had a great experience with labor and delivery! Jon and I were up at 4:30 am to get ready for my 6:00 am induction. We had to call the hospital before leaving to make sure they had room for us. When they said we could go in I let out a big "Woohoo!!" and the nurse on the other end laughed. I was so ready to meet my little boy that day and was preparing for disappointment. So on our way we went to Parkwest Hospital. When we got there we met our nurse and she took us to our room. After we got settled in I was given IV fluids for an hour before they called in the doctor to start my pitocin. At 8:11 my water was broken and the pit was started. When my water broke there was a pretty big gush. Each time I moved more leaked out. With all the fluids I had been given I needed to go to the bathroom. After I felt safe enough to get up without too much leaking Jon started to help me to the bathroom. As soon as I lifted my body what felt like a gallon of fluid gushed out of me. It went everywhere! The bed was soaked, the floor, my gown... It was crazy the amount of amniotic fluid I had in my belly.

Other than Jon, my parents, and our friends Mike and Erin were there for the entire process. After my water broke and the pit started my contractions began. Everyone had fun watching the monitor and telling me when to expect each contraction. By 9:00 they were coming on pretty strong. When I had gotten to the hospital I was 4cm dilated and by 10:30 I was at 6! That was when I requested the epidural. I'm glad that I got to feel the contractions for a while, I didn't want to miss out on anything. But, the pain got to be too much and at one point I told Jon we weren't having anymore children. So Dr. Tate, my anesthesiologist, came in to do my epi. I had been told that you can't feel the epidural being placed. Well I did! I could feel the tube going in my back and I could feel the medicine going through the tube. It hurt; it hurt pretty bad. After it was placed, my left side went completely numb. It took a couple of minutes for my right side to catch up. Then I felt no pain. It was wonderful. I could feel my uterus get hard when I contracted and I could feel the baby move so I was able to tell what was going. That was nice.

An hour later nurse Amanda checked me again and said that I was 9 cm and that we could start practice pushing. We did several practice pushes and finally she said "Well his hair is delivered!" I looked up at Jon and he had the biggest smile on his face. He was a great coach. He reminded me to breathe and keep my chin to my chest and coached me on how to push. I don't know what I would have done without him. After a couple more pushes the nurse asked me to stop and called the doctor. Other nurses filled the room and it went from a labor room to a delivery room in about 5 seconds. Dr. Walker arrived at 2:50 and I began pushing again. As Jareth's head was birthed the Doctor made me stop because the cord was pretty tight around his neck. She had to clamp and cut it before we could deliver the rest of his body. Also I had to have an episiotomy. I didn't feel anything but I heard two big "pops" and all of the sudden Jareth's body slid out. I have to say I honestly felt nothing, no pain from pushing or from the episotomy. It was amazing. I really enjoyed the entire experience.

As soon as Jareth arrived he was placed on my chest and I was in awe. I couldn't believe he was ours. They rubbed him down and he just sort of wimpered and never really cried. The doctor called him the "zen baby" and said he was relaxed because we were. Jon was so excited. He had the biggest grin on his face the entire time. After poking and proding him, Jareth was wrapped up and given to me. We just stared at him. Finally, I let Jon hold his son : ) He was one proud papa! About 45 minutes later I was able to breastfeed. Jareth did great his first feeding. I was so proud and so pleased with the way everything had gone. It was a perfect day.

4 cm and 100%

Today at my weekly appointment I found out that I am 4cm dilated and 100% effaced. Last week I was at 2 and 80. Hopefully this means that within the next few days I will go into labor. If not, then on Monday they want to induce me. I have mixed feelings about the induction. I have wanted to labor and deliver naturally since the beginning. I have educated myself on the risks and benifits of an induction and epidural and decided that the best way to go would be au naturale. Now it seems that my body and baby are ready but there is something keeping me from contracting regularly. Induction is extremely tempting. I can prepare fully for labor and delivery, my family and friends can make preparations to come to town, and it is a relief to now that he is really coming and soon. But do these advantages outweigh the risks associated with induction? On one hand, with an induction I risk not only a prolonged labor but a harder labor with more severe contractions. If the induction doesn't work I could end up having a c-section. On the other hand the induction could go smoothly and make labor go faster. Many women have great experiences with inductions. So what am I going to do? Well, I was told that there is a good chance that I will go into labor within the next few days. Emotionally and physically I feel like I can't go on much longer with the pregnancy. It is just getting very hard on me. So I am going to schedule the induction for Monday hoping that I will go into labor before then. I hope I am making the right choice for Jareth and myself. Part of me feels a little selfish for going ahead with the induction but I also feel a great sense of relief to know that he is coming soon.

10 Days To Go.... A Few Mixed Feelings

There are only ten days to go until Jareth's due date! And although I am extremely excited I think this next week and a half (or however long it takes him to make his appearance) will be fairly emotional. Mostly I am anxious to get him here but the thought has occured to me that I am going to miss pregnancy. Its so amazing to carry a life inside your own body. It's completely up to me to nourish, warm, and protect him. I get a little teary eyed at the thought of not feeling him move and squirm in my belly. It is a very intimate relationship we have right now and soon I will have to share him with the world. I waited what seemed like forever to get pregnant again and although I can't say that this pregnancy has flown by, I can't believe that within days I will be holding my little boy. So, I am going to try to be patient and let Jareth come when he and my body decide it is time.

Change

"Everything is going to change!" This exclamation is one of the most popular given to those expecting by those who already have children. However, when people tell you this you generally assume that they mean your life is going to change when the baby gets here. And by "life" you think that they mean your daily rituals and your relationships between yourself and your friends and family. But I have found that this merely scratches the surface. Allow me clarify by changing that exclamation to the following: "From the moment you find out that you are pregnant not only does your life change, but also does your mind, body and spirit and the views you have painstakingly constructed about the world around you." Too deep and ominous? Okay, fine. I will just try to stick to the part about the amazing alteration your body goes through as I have experienced it. : )

Pregnancy has changed every understanding and comfortable reliablilty that I have acquired about my body in the past 24 years. In the first trimester late nights out with friends ceased and I became highly conscious of my eating habits as instructed by my OB. We got to see our baby at just 5 weeks 5 days gestation by ultrasound yet his presence was surreal. It wasn't until I looked in the mirror one day and saw the soft curve of my lower abdomen and began to tear up with a smile on my face that I accepted the fact that this was really happening. Then I began a slow losing battle with my favorite pair of jeans.

In the second trimester my body started to change dramatically. This not only caused self consciousness with every inch gained but also pure amazement at the fact that it was solely up to me to nurture and grow the new life that Jon and I had created in my womb. My physical body began to alter but so did the relationship I had been accustomed to between my body and pyche. Upon the realization that there really is a human life growing inside of me the internalizations I had about my body changed dramatically. I very quickly began to idolize my stomach; obsessing over it, admiring it, willing to protect it at all costs. At about 16 weeks I began to actually feel the importance of what my body was doing with each butterfly movement. And that importance grew quickly with each kick, roll, and hiccup that got stronger every week.

Then as I started to understand my body again, the third trimester snuck up on me. I discovered that I could no longer do the things that I was used to doing with ease. For example those yoga poses that I had relied on to keep my thighs from growing to gigantic proportions, finding a comfortable position to sleep at night, or perhaps simply painting my toe nails without getting the paint all over my feet. Now I have finally reached the final month and the excitment from the realization that I will soon get to hold and see the precious baby that, with God's help, Jon and I created is overwhelming. However, my body has become my personal enemy resisting any resemblence of normalcy. The ninth month should be in a category all of its own. Sleepless nights with constant back ache and days of seemingling ceaseless cramping alternate with those of energy bursts and fixating on whether or not the house is baby ready. My stomach has grown to gigantic proportions and feels at any moment that it is going to burst open on its own. My muscles have foresaken me and something as simple as getting into the car has become an ordeal. The child that I have been carefully nurturing in my womb for the past 37 weeks is head butting my cervix while kicking my ribs at the same time. And to top it all off, my uterus contracts involuntarily sending me into fits of pain but at the same time excitement that this may be it; I may be in labor and will get to have my baby soon! But then all of the sudden it stops and I start yet another week of waiting.

Everything I thought I knew about my body ceased to exist the moment the nurse came into the room and told us that I was pregnant. My body has changed immensly over the past nine months and I have a new found respect for it. Everything has changed and will continue to change and I'm sure that with my next pregnancy I will learn even more and all that I think I know now will be quite irrevelent and laughable. Good thing I'm open to change.

Full Term and Oh So Ready!

It is finally October and we are 37 weeks along today which is considered full term! That means Jareth's little body has matured enough to leave the watery world he is has lived in since January. And his mom couldn't be happier! Bring on the pineapple, spicy food, accupressure, long walks, and lovin'! I haven't been experiencing as many contractions lately so I am a little worried that at tomorrow's appointment they will tell me I'm still at 2 cm. Right now my worst fear is getting stuck at 2 and not getting to have him for three more weeks.
Last night we put the carrier in the car and packed a few more items in the hospital bag. We pre-registered at the hospital on Tuesday, filling out all of our paper work and discussing our birthing options. I'm still really wanting a natural labor and delivery. Hopefully I will be able to do it. Everything is set up and ready for Jareth's arrival. All that we need to do is keep the house clean and keep the pantry stocked. We are ready for you, Jareth!