Happy Birthday Laney Tomlyn Anderson!

Laney was born March 13th, 2012 at 11:17am. She weighed 7lbs and 4 oz and was 20 inches long.

On the evening of March 9th I started have contractions. They lasted several hours but weren't getting closer together or increasing intensity so I went to bed assuming they were just Braxton Hicks contractions. The next morning they gained intensity and by 3:00 they were between 5 and 7 minutes apart. I was in Athens that day so I called my OB and the nurse told me to go on to the hospital. I really thought it was time. My sister, Dana, drove me back to Knoxville and sat with me in triage while nurses checked my cervix and hooked me up to a monitor. Two hours later I was sent home, still having contractions. Saturday and Sunday were the same; I kept having painful contractions but they just weren't making me progress the way they needed to. It was a very long weekend.

On Monday I went to my weekly appointment and saw one of the nurse practitioners. I told her what was going on and she checked me saying I was 5 to 6 cm dilated and if I was still contracting she was sending me to the hospital. She put me on a monitor and sure enough my contractions were steady and about 7 minutes apart. She sent me directly over to labor and delivery. I was so excited and called Jon to let him know he needed to go home and get our bags. Then I proceeded to text family and friends to tell them we were having a baby. Once I got to the hospital I was once again put into triage and hooked up to a monitor. The nurse said I was actually only about 4 cm dilated and that I still wasn't progressing enough to keep me there... I lost it at that point. I had been in pain since Thursday evening and had been sent to labor and delivery twice just to be sent home. The nurse called my doctor and said she would schedule an induction for the next morning. I still wasn't happy but at least I knew that it would be over soon. So we went home and got ready for the induction.

Neither one of us slept very good that night. Not only were we excited but I was also in a lot of pain. I couldn't sit or lay down and even standing and rocking wasn't helping. I had sharp, persistent, pains in my stomach and right side. We called the nurseline and she seemed to think it was a nerve shooting off. This, mixed with my contractions, made for a very long night. If all of this is anything like going into labor naturally, it isn't for me. It was terrible.

Finally I fell asleep for about two hours before our alarm clock went off and we got up to leave for the hospital. Jareth stayed home with Jeremy, Jon's brother, who had come in the night before. He was very helpful and also took care of our dog, Jack. We asked everyone who wanted to come to wait until about 8:30 before coming to the hospital. Jareth had been induced and we knew nothing really happened until about 9:00.

Once at the hospital I was hooked up to an IV and put on a monitor. (Side note: I loathe IVs.) Dr. Walker came in a little after 8:00 to break my water and at about 8:30 the nurse started my pitocin. I had been hurting for about five days at this point so I decided to get my epidural right away. I was at 4 cm dilated already so I didn't worry too much about it delaying my progression. The epidural hurt pretty bad going in and my contractions at that point were very intense. My nurse, Deb, coached me through it. She was incredible the entire time we were there. It was she who determined how this delivery process was going to go, much to my dismay.

At close to 11:00, Nurse Deb came in to check my progression. Everyone except my sister was ushered out of the room. Jon was downstairs getting coffee so Dana stayed in the room with me. Deb checked to see how far dilated I was and made a very important discovery. I was 7cm and she noticed my water was dark. She said that Laney had, had a bowel movement. Then she checked me again and very calmly said "I think I feel a bottom and not a top." Breech, my baby was breech. I looked at Dana and I immediately knew I was going to have a c-section and quickly. Deb ordered an ultrasound "stat" and all of the sudden nurses and doctors were flying around my room preparing to move me to the OR. I started crying and asking if I could deliver her breech which of course my answer was "no." I did NOT want a c-section. I wanted the experience I had with Jareth. I didn't want to be layed on a table and have my baby cut out of me and not get to hold her for god knows how long. I was afraid I wouldn't get any time with her before being put into recovery and I would lose thos precious first few moments.

The next thing I know I'm being shown an ultrasound that Laney's head is in my ribs and am being told the importance of getting her out now. Jon is back and has been thrown scrubs to put on and Dr. Walker is running in. (Dana said she was running down the hall to my room as she left) She comes to my side since I'm still crying like crazy and talks me through the process. She was very firm with me but answered all of my questions and put me at ease. It was exactly what I needed. I look up for Jon and he is rubbing my head and telling me that everything will be fine. Then we are in motion.

In the OR I am moved from my bed to the operating table where they strapped down my arms and put a big, blue sheet in front of my face. A man asks me if I can feel "this" and "that" and I tell him no. Jon is brought in and sits beside me and I hear Dr. Walker get started. She talks me through most of the procedure assuring me that everything is fine. She even tells me not to expect the baby to cry since she'd had a bowel movement and may have swallowed some of the fluid. I felt a lot of tugging and some pressure but of course no pain. Then I hear Dr. Walker say "baby's out" and following that I heard the sweetest cry. Laney was letting me know she was okay. She was brought around to me to see and her little legs were stuck up by her ears where she had been in breech positon for a while. It was comical to see them slowly come down. They took her to a little bed  right next to me and began cleaning her off and doing tests.

She was beautiful. A head full of strawberry hair, big eyes, and the prettiest little lips you've ever seen on a baby. Long fingers and toes. Perfect doesn't begin to describe her. Jon went to take photos of her and kept telling me how good I was doing and how perfect our daughter was. I had forgotten that I was on the table for a few minutes until I heard Dr. Walker say "bladder is back in, bowels are back in." I tried to ignore that statement but I got nauseas and my head started throbbing. Then a nice man named Chris who I think was an assistant to the anesthesiologist put me out for about five minutes. I woke up not having a clue what had happened. Jon just said I took a short nap. It must have been very short because Laney was still being poked and proded not two feet away from me. Her APGARs were 8 and 9 and outside of a scrape on her butt from the incision, everything was perfect.

When they were done sewing me up and done with all of Laney's stuff they put me back in my bed and asked if I wanted to hold my daughter. Absolutely! I thought I would have to be seperated from her and was so suprised that she never left my side even for a moment. They placed Laney on me skin to skin and Deb put warm blankets over the both of us. I was in heaven at that moment. The surgery was over and I had my little girl in my arms. I even got to breastfeed when we got back to the room.

We spent the next three days in the hospital. Jareth was fantastic with his baby sister and of course everyone was smitten with our little angel. We had a lot of visitors. I admit I was pretty loopy the first day. I was in a lot of pain and my emotions were running high so they gave me some good medicine! I just remember being so sleepy and calm. Although recovery has been difficult, I have to say I got better faster than I thought I would. The first 5 days or so were terrible. I couldn't do anything on my own. I have to brag on my husband. Jon was absolutely amazing. I can't say enough how lucky I am to have such a supportive husband. He did everything for us for close to two weeks. On about the 7th day I noticed a big change in myself. I could move around easier and the pain was much less.

A little over two weeks later, I am now doing much, much better. My incision is still sore and I have some ligament pain but overall I'm doing great. Laney and Jareth are keeping me busy and Laney is still doing wonderful. Jareth is an awesome big brother. He is doing so well. I'm very proud of him. Our family of four is just perfect. Jon and I are happier than ever.

39 Weeks and Oh So Ready!

I am more than ready for Laney to be here. Honestly, I've been down right miserable since Thursday night. I started having contractions Thursday evening while we were watching tv. They seemed to let up during the night but on Friday they got more intense and more regular until finally I was having them between 5 and 7 minutes apart. I thought it was time. I had gone to Athens to have lunch with Danyell and to see my sister. I'd been having contractions all morning but they weren't very regular. After lunch I went to Dana's house and they were slowly getting closer together and more intense. She started timing them and within an hour they went from 10-12 to 5-7 minutes apart and they were lasting about a minute each. I called my OB and she told me to go to Park West. So, Dana drove me to Knoxville and I left Jareth with my father in law. When we got to the hospital I went to labor and delivery and they checked me into triage. After an exam, the nurse said I was at 3-4 cm but I was still only 50% effaced. They hooked me up to a monitor to measure my contractions. And of course they had slowed down. I was monitored for 2 hours before they finally sent me home. Fantastic.
It is now Sunday and I'm still having contractions although they aren't regular. I've had my "bloody show" and I feel like I'm about to drop a bowling ball. The bottom of my stomach is very sore. I feel like either my stomach muscles or uterus is being ripped open and Laney isn't moving much at all. I really thought we were going to be meeting her this weekend.
I have a dr appt in the morning so we will see what she says. They already offered to induce me on Wednesday so if that's still on the table I'm going to take it. I would induce tomorrow if they'd let me.

And I was doing so well...

I went to my weekly appt yesterday and all was going well until my nurse practitioner informed me that my Ob would be on vacation the week that Laney is due. Great. So she tells me I have two options. 1. I can be induced next wednesday so that Dr. Walker will be there to deliver my baby. 2. I can go into labor naturally and risk having a stranger basically come in, deliver the baby, and walk out never to be seen again. Fantastic. I was so relaxed up to this point. I wasn't very anxious about when Laney arrives, I just kept counting down the days expecting her to come around her due date. I didn't let myself get all hyped up about the possibility of her coming early. But now I feel so much pressure to have her before Dr. Walker leaves next weekend.
I'd really rather not induce this time around. Yes, I did it with Jareth and it his birth was practically perfect but I wanted to experience going into labor on my own. Also, Laney hasn't dropped yet and Jareth had dropped by about 36 weeks. I'm afraid of going in to be induced and labor not progressing making me need a c-section. That's the very thing I want to avoid. Yes, I'd like to go into labor naturally and yes, I'd like to see if I can go without an epidural. But above all else I don't want to risk having a c-section. It's so tempting to induce. It would be easier on us and our family/friends to plan ahead and there is peace of mind knowing that she is coming and that I won't have to wait any longer. The longer I'm pregnant the more uncomfortable I will be and the bigger I'll get and the more anxious I will be. But what If I choose to be induced and end up having a c-section and I don't get the experience that I so desperately want.
If someone else were in my position I know what I'd say. I would tell them to wait it out and let the baby come on it's own. But that's so much easier said than done. I will see Dr. Walker on Monday and talk to her about it. Maybe I can get Jon to go with me. He seems more level headed than I am right now. If anyone out there is reading this, say a prayer for me!

3cm
50%
34lbs gained

2 Weeks to Go!

Holy Moly! I only have 2 weeks left before Laney is scheduled to arrive. Our bags are packed and we are ready to go. The only thing left to do is wait. I think I'm going to make a wreath for the hospital door like I did for Jareth. His is still hanging on his bedroom door. Everyone thought it was super cute at the hospital. I've got to show everyone how special my babies are ; ) Not much else to report. At my last appointment I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. I go back tomorrow to get checked again but I'm not putting too much thought into it. I got stuck at 2cm with Jareth for weeks. Plus, Laney hasn't dropped yet so she may not be coming for a while. Hopefully I can hold out and not be induced this time around. Wish me luck!

A Weekend for Me

My sweet friend, Danyell, called me about a month ago asking me if anyone had mentioned throwing me a shower. I told her "no" and she asked me what I wanted to do this time around. I told her I'd like something different since it was my second baby, maybe something smaller and intimate. She said to leave it up to her. All I knew was the date and that I was supposed to dress up. So exciting! I have to say it was hard to let go and let my friends take care of all the details without my knowledge though. I'm a little bit of a control freak...just a little.
The Friday night before shower I got to have some one on one time with Heather. We went to the Home and Garden Show and had dinner at Chesapeake's. (By the way, their smoked salmon plate is AMAZING!) Afterward she hung out at the house for a little while and then I had the house all to myself. Nice. I slept in on Saturday and it was wonderful. But I did miss my little alarm clock and had to call my little boy. Then, I layed around the house all morning until Erin and Danyell got into town. I loved getting to spend time with these girls. It's not often I get to have them to myself. We went to Market Square for lunch at Blue Coast Burrito and browsed around at the shops. Then it was time to get ready.
The shower turned out wonderfully and I absolutely loved the venue! It was held at Cru Bistro and Wine Bar in Turkey Creek. Jon and I had been there a couple of times and really liked the place so he suggested it to the girls. We had the party in the lounge area where there was live music. Heather made a centerpiece incorporating details from Alice in Wonderland and Danyell had the prettiest cupcakes made. It was very classy. Laney got some really great gifts. The clothes are to die for. She is going to be the best dressed girl around. And oh my goodness at the bows! I need to count them. It's going to be a long time before she has to repeat a hairpiece! There were 13 guests in all, several of which drove over an hour to be there. I am so loved. : ) Here are a few photos from the night.

Maternity Photo Shoot...of a different kind

About a month ago my good friend and photographer, Brittany, invited me via a facebook event to do a budior photo shoot. I soon texted her asking, "You do know I'm pregnant, right!?" She explained that she was getting a group of ladies together for an all day shoot and she wanted me to be her pregnant "model".(I use that term loosely) I was a little nervous at first but I knew I could trust Brittany to make this 8 month pregnant body look at least halfway decent. She is a phenomenal photographer. I decided to make this a Valentine's Day suprise for Jonathan. It was hard to keep the secret but it was very worth it! When the day arrived for the photo shoot I didn't know exactly what to expect. I was told to bring a few items such as lingerie and heels and Brittany sent me some inspirational photos to look at. My appointment was at 3:00 on Saturday and Jon was very curious as to why I was spending so much time on my hair and makeup before I went out to "run errands." When I got to Brittany's and she got started on me I felt so comfortable. Although she is my friend and I would feel fine walking around her half-naked anyway, she was very professional and I think anyone would feel at ease with her. She gave me great instruction and really made the process fun. If anyone out there reading this needs a good photographer, I highly recommend her. After the shoot I asked her if she would have a couple of prints ready by Valentine's Day and she said she would email me one or two so I could suprise Jon. I got something much better than that. Within three, yes THREE, days she texted me that I could come pick up the entire disk! Poor girl probably didn't get any sleep! I was so excited that I took my computer with me so I could check them out immediately. And......they turned out beautifully. I am so happy with my photos! I was so excited to show Jon. I took the disk to Walgreens and made his Valentine's card using one of the photos on the front and I printed off a couple more that I thought he would like. That night, Tuesday night, and yes the night before Valentine's Day I decided to go ahead and give Jon the card. We were cuddling up downstairs and I said something to the effect of "Okay, I can't wait 'til tomorrow!" and I took him upstairs and handed him the card. When he opened it he got the biggest smile on his face and started throwing words like "beautiful," "stunning," and "sexy" around. I think he liked them. I loved how suprised he was. Even 8month pregnant women can be sexy too. Thank you Brittany!
Now I can't put all the photos on here, there are some people in my life that don't want or need to see all of the goods, but here is a small sample of Brit's work.

34 Week Bump Comparison: Laney vs Jareth

Getting big! Laney will be here before we know it!

And here I am at 33 weeks with Jareth. I think I was a little bigger with him!

Nursery Pics

We don't have the baby bedding yet, the blanket in the photo is the one I made for the craddle. I will post the bedding when it's finished.

Inspiration for the flowers came from the garden scene in Alice in Wonderland.

Pinterest taught me how to make them : )

My grandfather made this changing table. My little cousins got to use it first, then Jareth, and now Laney. I love it. I still want to get a new diaper pad cover. I registered for a pretty one so I'm waiting to see if I get it. The white one just doesn't stand out. I'm also thinking about weaving ribbon in the slats for bows.

I just love these Alice in Wonderland watercolors. I found them on ETSY. One of my favorite places to shop! They turned out so pretty!

I think I'm going to put one of Laney's newborn photos above the key. So that space will eventually be filled. I made the little "L" onesie! It has ruffles on the butt. I'm planning to get some little leggings and use this as her coming home outfit. Can't wait!

I had this pillow made by RockLovenStiches. It's hard to see but the black images on the purple fabric are Alice in Wonderland themed. So cute! I made the little owl out of some scrap fabric. It still needs eyes.

I spray painted this antique table silver and added little black scroll stick ons. I think I'm going to put a little tea set on it. I found a few Alice in Wonderland themed sets that would go well with the room.

That's it so far. Less than six weeks for Laney to get here! Still a few things to do but now we are defintely in countdown mode!

On a better note : )

Since I've been giving myself a pity party in my last two posts I thought I should write something good. It's basically a sample out of my pregnancy journal.
How many days left? 49!
Total weight gain? 25lbs (I was at 30lbs this time with Jareth : )
When does baby move the most? Laney loves to move at night when it's time for her momma to go to bed. And she gets pretty excited after I eat.
How are you sleeping? I get up 3-4x to go the bathroom and it takes me forever to fall aleep. Reading helps. Backrubs from the hubby help a lot too.
What are you listening to? I got two cds for Christmas that I've been trading out in the car. Alanis Morrisette and Lady Antebellum.
What are you reading? I'm reading The Hunger Games for the second time. The movie comes out in March and I'm so excited!
What I miss about not being pregnant? Working out, being comfortable, wearing regular clothes.
Cravings? Waffles!
What I'm nervous about: Once she's here, not getting things done. I already feel like I can't get anything done. But back pain and fatigue are the biggest culprits here and those symptoms will lessen after she's born.
What I'm looking forward to most: Getting to know my daughter and seeing the similarities and differences between her and her brother.

And More Doctor..

In my last post I described my week filled with doctors appts. My first two were a bust (I got scolded for eating fruit loops and not flossing well enough) and I had two more to go. I wasn't feeling right so I scheduled another appt with my OB before my planned visit to the urologist. Well, neither of them went that great either. I found that my nausea, dizziness, and fatigue are due to anemia. I got my finger pricked, a couple of viles of blood drawn, and was loaded down with iron supplements. Apparently a hemoglobin count of 10 isn't favorable. Of course that appt ran late but my urology appt was just upstairs in the same building. I have to say I'm not a big fan of the urologist office. There was a urinal in the exam room not two feet from my chair and I was the youngest patient in the office by, seriously, 45 years. It just wasn't pleasent. I had been refered to the urologist by my OB due to repeated descrepencies in my urine samples. So, I went to the appt made for me and sat for 30 minutes in the exam room after giving a urine sample for the doctor to come in. Basically he asked me a few questions and said that he wanted to wait to do further tests after I deliver the baby. He was nice and was thorough and said he didn't think anything was wrong but felt better to do some x-rays once Laney has arrived.
Doctors: 4 and Heather: 0

Doctor, Doctor

It's been a busy week for doctors appointments. On Tuesday I had my regular OB appointment to check on Laney. She is doing very well. I however got into trouble for eating Fruit Loops for breakfast. My blood sugar was super high. No more of Jareth's cereal for me! I asked about other sugary foods and was told most are fine but aparently sugary cereal is a big no, no. Jareth probably shouldn't be eating that stuff either. Wednesday I had a dentist appointment. Jareth was very interested in my teeth cleaning. The hygenist sprayed mist into the air for him and showed him the vacuum. He walked away with a shiny, new Diego toothbrush and medical gloves while I got fussed at for not flossing well enough. Two scoldings in one day. Doctors: 2 Heather: 0
I haven't been feeling quite myself the last couple of days. I've felt dizzy, light-headed, nauseas, and really really tired. I've been getting plenty of rest though. I've been really good about napping when Jareth is. I do get up a lot at night with leg cramps and multiple bathroom trips but I think I make up for it with naps. But today I barely got through a load of dishes before I had to sit down. (which led me to write this) So I called my OB's office and they want me to come in. Afterwards I have a urologist appt in the same building. Fun week, huh? Hopefully today's appts will go better.

32 Weeks Down!!!

8 weeks to go! I'm just dying to get Laney here. I want to see her little face so bad. But I have to be patient. If she were born now she would still be too little to come home and I don't want a NICU baby!
So I've just got to keep busy until it's time. Not much else is going on right now. We did spend a fun weekend at Sugar Mountain with some friends from Enterprise. Jon got to snowboard for the first time and really enjoyed it. We went with Brian and Caroline Denny along with Chris Medina and Monica Horton. It was a great group of people! I of course didn't ski but I did get some good time alone in the condo and did some reading at the ski resort. We ate some yummy food and played lots of catch phrase and wits and wagers. I have to mention that the girls won 5/6 of the catch phrase games! I hope we get to make this an annual trip.
Between now and my due date we have a few things going on. We are going to Cookeville in a couple of weeks for my nephews birthday. We didn't get to go around Christmas and it will be a while before we get to go back after Laney is born so I'm really anxious to visit. The following weekend Jon is getting his wisdom teeth taken out. That should be a fun time.... And I'm pretty sure I'm having a shower after that. So there is three fairly full weekends to speed up the time. Maybe it will go by fast. It has so far. Jareth keeps me busy enough! We are doing our best to get him potty trained as soon as possible. I feel like that would make things a little easier once Laney is here. I can't wait to see what he thinks about her!!!!

Laney Update and Nursery Progression

Only 9 weeks and 6 days to go!!! Today I went in for a check up and Laney girl is doing fantastic. She is estimated to be about 3lbs, 15 in, and her heart rate was 147. Jareth thought hearing her heart beat was pretty cool. He gave me the biggest smile when we heard it on the monitor and I told him that it was sissy.
I'm doing well too. My back pain has lightened up. The maternity belt seems to be helping. I feel huge and putting my boots on this morning got me into a sweat. I've gained 22 lbs so far. I keep telling myself that 3 of that is Laney and at least a couple more are due to extra fluid and placenta growth..... right?! ; ) I can't believe we are just over 2 months away from meeting our little princess.
We spent this past weekend at home due to my having a cold and back pain. We were able to get a lot of stuff done though. Jon painted the nursery and we hung the tissue paper flowers I had made over the crib. We also got all of the clothes we have gotten so far washed and hung up and got out and washed all of Jareth's bottles and feeding supplies. I had forgotten how much space that stuff takes up in the cabinets. We need a bigger house!!! We don't have the bedding yet, her bumper is being made by a girl on ETSY and I think I'm going to make the blanket myself. We will see.. I started working on cradle bedding and embellishing diaper cloths. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I've been so excited to start making things. Here are a few pictures of what we did over the weekend and my craft projects.