Labor and Delivery

Calvin Sanford Shumway was born October 24, 2011 at 8:41 am!  He was 7 pounds, 2 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long, and completely perfect!
Sunday was pretty uneventful, we went to church, had a nap at home, and ate dinner at the Shumway's.  I'll never forget we had roast, potatoes, vegetables, etc, because I was puking it up throughout my entire labor. After dinner we went home, hung out for awhile, and went to bed.  I was feeling some light cramping, but nothing serious... and then my water broke.  I knew immediately what it was when I felt my water break, I stayed pretty calm and just told Nathan, "I think my water just broke".  I told him to stay in bed while I went to the hospital and I would call him when something happened... luckily he told me no and he went with me!  As soon as my water broke the cramping went from fairly mild to extremely painful.  I was frantically putting on makeup and getting stuff together between the contractions, which started about three minutes apart.  Nathan was really good about getting my stuff together and helping me when I had a contraction.  My water broke almost right at midnight and we got to the hospital at about 12:30 am.  We got admitted and sent up to room 3305.  I got put into a bed and the nurse told me she would check to see if I was dilating and then we would see about an epidural.  (On a side note... everything took FOREVER that night.  When the nurse said, "we'll be right back to check you" it usually meant 20-30 minutes...which feels like eternity during labor).  Turns out I was dilating (duh, my water broke) and I could get the epidural, but... I had to get an IV first.  That was honestly the worst part of the entire labor.  It took over six tries and three nurses to finally get my IV hooked up.  It was so unbelievably painful.  That was the only time that I almost lost it... I started crying and hyperventilating and started thinking that there was no way I could survive this.  The pain was so bad that I threw up everything I had eaten earlier that night (which, unfortunately, was a lot because we had Sunday dinner at the Shumway's).  I don't know what I would have done without my mother-in-law Susan there.  She was able to calm me down and help me focus and get through the pain.  Finally I was able to get the epidural!!!  Nathan and Susan had to leave the room when the anesthesiologist came in to give the epidural.  I had to sit on the edge of the bed and sit still (which was extremely hard because I was shivering so bad and in so much pain).  The epidural was not bad at all.  I felt absolutely no pain when she was giving it, and at that point I didn't even care that a giant needle was going into my spine.  About five minutes after the epidural the contractions were infinitely better.  About ten minutes after the epidural the pain was completely gone... sure, I couldn't feel my legs or anything below my stomach, but it was worth not feeling the pain.  I was able to sleep for about four hours, I only woke up for them to come in and turn me over (which made me puke again each time).  Poor Nathan and Susan stayed the whole time and slept on the uncomfortable chair and the hard floor.  At about 8:20 Dr. Bragg came in and said we were ready to start pushing, YAY!  I had to sit up and get ready, which of course made me start puking again (Dr. Bragg said I almost pushed him out just from puking so hard... nice).  I pushed through three contractions and we had our beautiful little boy!!!  It was the strangest feeling when he finally came out.  I could feel an instant emptiness in my stomach... it was strange, but wonderful!  I'll never forget the first time I saw him... he was beautiful and I couldn't stop crying.  He was slightly blue and the cord was around his neck, but he was fine.  I kept asking, "Is he Ok"?  They wiped him down and took him to the other side of the room.  Finally I got to hold my beautiful little boy.  He only cried for about a minute after he came out and then was wide awake and alert for a long time.  When I held him for the first time he just stared up at me and looked around.  Nathan and I couldn't get enough of him.  Nathan went and watched him get his first little pokes and shots on the heel.  I think Nathan was more traumatized than Calvin was... it is heartbreaking to watch that little guy in pain.  By the time we left the hospital his little feet were like swiss cheese from being poked so many times.

We spent three days in the hospital.  We were admitted on Sunday night a little bit before midnight and were discharged on Wednesday around 7:00 pm.  The reason we had to stay so long is because Calvin was having trouble with eating.  The doctor said he was exhibiting the same signs as a premature baby in that his sucking reflex seemed immature.  For the first two days and most of the third we had to feed him with a syringe and a tube.  When they discharged us he was still struggling, but as soon as we got home he did much better.  I think just being home and being more relaxed really helped both of us get the hang of it.

I feel like I recovered fairly quickly after we were home.  Obviously there was pain and discomfort, but I was back to school on Monday.  Having to get up and get going really helped me get over the pain and recover more quickly.  When we got home Calvin was still fairly jaundiced and had to spend two days under bilirubin lights... his own personal tanning bed.  But he recovered quickly too, and we are doing great!

Things I did not expect about labor/hospital stay:

• The shivers... I felt like my teeth were going to break they were chattering so hard
• The pain... I don't think anything could prepare you for that
• How sick I would be during labor and delivery.
• How unbelievably cute my baby boy is... I never could have imagined how cute he would be!
• How frustrating breastfeeding would be for the first few days
• How scary it would be to be alone with my baby for the first time, knowing that he is mine and I am completely responsible for him.
• Losing all modesty... I almost didn't care who saw me topless by the end of the week
• How disgusting I would look/feel.  I didn't feel human the whole time I was in the hospital.

One more month!

Well, just about one more month until our baby is born!   I am not sure it has hit me quite yet... I don't think it will until I am actually admitted to the hospital.  The baby seems to be doing great.  He kicks A LOT, usually when I'm sitting in class or laying down to go to sleep.  I can't believe that I am over eight months pregnant.  I used to think about what it would be like to be this pregnant and I always thought I would be massively huge, but I honestly don't feel that different.  Although, I have been super uncomfortable this last month, so that is different I guess.  His little feet (or knees, or butt) are jammed up into my ribs and I am sore all the time!  I have to go to the bathroom every half hour, which is difficult with two hour classes all day.  I can't walk up a staircase without gasping for breath, I can barely tie my shoes without sitting down first, and I finally have that weird pregnant walk where I waddle around because my hips and back hurt so bad.  I'm not sure if I am getting that swollen fat look yet... I hope so, because then I can blame my fat face on being pregnant and it actually might go away in a month haha.  It is so strange to think of not being pregnant... it seems like constant discomfort should just be a permanent part of my life now.

The closer the due date gets the more scared I am... scared for the pain (although that is the least of my worries), scared for how I'm going to manage a baby and school, scared to be tired all the time (more than I already am), scared to quit my job and have no income with a new baby, scared to nurse, scared for how I'm going to nurse with classes that are six straight hours for three days a week, scared to leave my baby every day, scared that the baby will be ugly (Ok, I'm half kidding about that one)....  I'm just terrified for everything and it is only a month away.  Maybe he could wait another nine months until I feel more prepared?
I've never been more afraid... but I've never been more excited either.  I can't wait to hear that little cry and hold him and look at him for the first time.  A month is way too short but it also feels like forever until I get to see my baby!

(Just a side note... he is currently the size of a large cantaloupe according to my iPod app.)

It's a BOY!

Yes, this post is very late!  We found out on June 14th that we are having a baby boy!!! We are so excited!!!  Right now I have two names that I really like.  I'm thinking either Noah Benjamin or Calvin Peter.  So far most people (including Nathan) prefer Calvin, but I'm still not sure.  At least we have a couple names, maybe when he is born we can see which one fits him better.

The last couple of months Nathan and I have been trying to get ready for the little guy.  We completely cleaned our apartment and have been getting baby stuff from friends, family, and yard sales.   We've applied for a three bedroom apartment in our complex and hopefully find out soon if we get it!!!  Kevin and Mary are trying to move in to the one right next door and we are way excited about that too!  Our baby will have a little cousin just his age to play with!
The baby has been kicking like crazy (usually during the night right when I try to go to sleep) and Nathan has actually been able to feel it a couple of times, although he usually stops kicking right when Nathan puts his hand on my stomach.  Either he likes feeling his Daddy's hand or he is just a little turd.  Nathan has sang to him a couple times since he apparently can hear things.  Nathan and I will also put on music and dance around like idiots because apparently he can feel the movement (we want a dancing baby so he better get used to it).
We've had a lot of fun talking about the baby, what kind of parents we will be, what he will look like, what his little personality will be, etc.  We also talk a lot about the changes we can expect when the baby comes.  We went to a movie the other night and I was thinking how weird it will be when we can't just pick up and go wherever or whenever we want.  Only fifteen weeks left, Yikes!


Here is Nathan's post on Facebook the day we found out about the gender, I thought it was really sweet:

Nathan 'Arah' Shumway

I'm going to have a son!

June 14 at 12:34pm ·  · 

Concerned

One thing about pregnancy that is both good and bad is baby books.  I have been given about five baby books from the doctor's office all about different things.  I've been reading through each of them and they give me some good information, but they also make me worry a little bit.  A few weeks ago all the baby books said that I should start to feel movements from the baby.  Well, it has been a few weeks and I have felt nothing.  I asked my mom and she said she felt movements at around 18 weeks too.  So, now I am 2 days from being 20 weeks and have still felt nothing.  I have been feeling really worried, wondering if my baby is still ok.  I've been fretting and thinking maybe I did something to the baby.  I finally called the doctor today to ask about it and they said everything should be fine.  They said some women don't even feel anything until 22 weeks.  It was comforting to hear that, but I'll still be relieved to have my appointment on Tuesday so I can see the baby moving and listen to its heartbeat.  It is interesting that I can care so much and worry about a tiny little person that I've never met.

Yikes

This is my 18 week old baby... but a lot uglier than a sweet potato in real life.  I was given a picture of how a babies face progresses over the nine months of pregnancy and it goes something like this: tadpole, jabba the hut, various characters from the cantina in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the elephant man, the face of someone that was in a horrible accident, the face of someone who was in a less horrible accident, and finally an old man's face.  Right now our baby is in the Star Wars cantina phase and I swear I can hear the cantina music playing late at night as I try to fall asleep.
It is my opinion that they should stop giving out this particular sheet of paper that shows the baby's facial progressions... having a baby is scary enough. 

18 Weeks

Today I am officially 18 weeks along in my pregnancy!  Two more weeks and I will be exactly half way (if my due date is exact, which hardly ever happens...but close to half way anyway).  Things have been going really well.  I have been feeling good... not as tired and not sick anymore!  I haven't really had any weird food cravings or food aversions yet.  I still hate all the usual things: pickles, mustard, fish, mushrooms, etc (I dislike a lot of things I realized), and I still love all my usual favorites: nesquik powder, peanut butter, popcorn (I'm not a complete fatso...wait for the last one), FRESH FRUIT!!!  All the yummy fruit and vegetables are finally coming back into season and I am so excited about it!  I bought the first cherries of the season yesterday and, although they were $4.99 a pound (ouch), they were seriously SO good.  I also bought two apricots and a peach yesterday and I inhaled them pretty much before I even made it home from the store... but hey, at least it is healthy stuff.  I've been keeping really busy with summer classes, work, and working out, and it has been really good for me to be doing stuff other than lazing around the house.  I'm finally starting to look pregnant which may not sound like a good thing, but when it comes to choosing between looking pregnant and just looking like I ate way too many oreos... I choose looking pregnant. 
Only two weeks until we find out the gender!  So far I have none of the "intuition" that tells what gender it will be.  I have had two dreams where I had the baby; in one dream it was a girl, in the other dream it was a boy.  The only thing that was common about both dreams was that Nathan wasn't there... I don't read too much into dream interpretation, but I'm pretty sure that I subconsiously think my husband is a flake. 
Nathan and I get more excited every day for this little baby to be a part of our family! 

3rd Appointment/My Angry Rant

I had my third appointment yesterday.  It was... awful!  The appointment was at 2:30.  I was out running errands and at 2:00 I figured I would just head over to the appointment since I didn't have time to do my grocery shopping first.  So, I showed up and checked in at the appointment at 2:15.  I figured it would be good, I would show up early, get in on time, and get done early.  Besides, I had my awesome nerdy novel that I could read while I waited.  There were only two of us in the waiting room when I checked in so, again, I was confident that I would be in and out pretty quickly.  About 2:30 a girl I know from high school came in and sat down.  I started talking to her and found out that she also had an appointment with the same doctor at 2:30.  I was thinking, "haha... you will be waiting a while since I have been here fifteen minutes and haven't even gotten in yet".  Well the joke was on me... about five minutes later they called her in.  As I kept sitting there the waiting room was getting busier and busier.  I was really starting to get pissed after they called FOUR MORE women in who checked in after me.  After waiting for half an hour I went to the front desk to see if they had forgotten to check me in... they said that they were sorry for the wait but there was only one doctor there.  Ok, that doesn't change the fact that I checked in at least half an hour ahead of all those other women.  So, after waiting for AN HOUR AND A HALF I was called in to see the doctor.  I was let into a little room where the nurse took my blood pressure and then told me the doctor would be right in.  After I sat in that little room for HALF AN HOUR I started to cry.  I cried, and cried, and cried because I was SO frustrated and angry that I had been waiting for so long.  FINALLY, the doctor came in around 4:30.  I was still crying and had a beautiful mixture of snot and mascara running down my face.  It was really embarrassing... even more so since he had a young, beautiful med student shadowing him that day.  He asked what was wrong and even though I knew he couldn't do anything about it I told him I was just frustrated because I had been waiting so long.  He said sorry and we moved on with the appointment.  I asked him a couple of questions about my back pain and such, then checked the baby's heart beat, and I was done.  I was with the doctor for a total of five minutes.  I waited two hours for a five minute appointment!  The worst thing about the whole experience was that I didn't even feel excited to hear the baby's heartbeat because I was so angry and upset.  I hate that the fun and amazing experience of hearing my little baby's heart was lost in how awful this appointment was.  Nathan was gone for the weekend at a Melaleuca convention with his dad so he wasn't able to be there.   I scared him really bad when I called after the appointment and I was crying really hard, he thought something happened with the baby.
So anyway, it was an awful appointment.  After I left it took about an hour to cry myself out and then I was able to think about some of the positives.  The baby is still healthy, the heartbeat was in the 150's, which is normal.  Our next appointment is on June 14th and we get to figure out the gender!!!! YAY!  Our baby has changed from a navel orange to an avocado size over the last week... not much of a difference, but exciting for us!
This post is pretty depressing, but I just want to say that I sure do love my little baby.  I am so excited that it is getting bigger and that I am beginning to get a little baby bump!  I am now in the second trimester and I am looking forward to finally feeling better and getting closer and closer to having our little baby with us!

2nd Appointment

Friday (April 8th) was our second official baby appointment.  It went pretty well, the first one that I haven't had to get blood drawn for, yay! One thing that didn't go so well was me getting super sick while we were there!  Nathan and I were waiting in the room for Dr. Klingler to come in and I suddenly started to feel a little nauseous.  When Dr. Klingler came in I sat down and told him to just give me a second and I would be fine (it usually only takes me a second to settle my stomach).  I thought I was ok, but then he asked me a question.  I couldn't even open my mouth because I was going to puke.  I told him I needed a minute and pretty much sprinted down the hall (past the nurses station), and BARELY made it to the bathroom to puke.  It was SO awful.  I can honestly say that I have never had an experience where I couldn't stop myself from puking, but that was definitely the case this time.  If I had waited one more second I would have puked all over the floor in the hallway.  Before this appointment I thought I had been getting better... jokes on me.  Looking back I think it was a combination of issues that brought this on.  First, I didn't have time to eat breakfast.  Second, I drank a ton of water and apple juice so I could leave a urine sample.  And finally, I took a prenatal vitamin on an empty stomach right before the appointment.  The perfect combination for projectile vomit at the doctor's office.  One good thing that comes from this is that the doctor told me I was a fast puker... yay, hidden talent! 
The rest of the appointment went really well.  We got to hear the heartbeat again... what an amazing experience!  It was beating at 160 beats per minute, which is normal.  (Interesting side note: 160 bpm is about what my target heart rate is for running... so my baby works just as hard sitting there as me when I run... and I think that from now on when I run I'm just going to add the two and tell people my heart rate is 320 bpm).  I loved seeing Nathan's face light up when he heard the heartbeat.  He is just as excited as me.
We found out that at our next appointment we are eligible for the birth defect blood screen.  We decided to decline it because the only reason to find out is termination and we wouldn't terminate no matter what we found, plus it is less blood work that I have to do.
I think that is all the eventful stuff that has happened lately.  We get to find out the gender in two months, so we can't wait for that!  Nathan and I are both feeling that it is a boy...  So, we'll see how good our instincts are in June!

Betting Pools

I was thinking since March Madness is pretty much over we could extend the competition by having a pool for the baby.  We'll do one for the gender and one for the due date.  This is Nate by the way . . .

Names?

Nathan and I have been thinking of names a little bit.  My favorites so far are:

• Hailey Renee
• Calvin

Boys names are so hard!

What Baby?

Now that morning sickness is starting to get better I have been finding it easier and easier to forget that I am pregnant.  I forget that I am going to get fat, go through an extrememly painful experience, and be a mother all in the next 7 months.  Right now I am entering the blissfully ignorant part of pregnancy between morning sickness and being a whale.  It sometimes seems like nothing is different...like life will go on as it always has.  When I have to upgrade all my clothes to bigger sizes then maybe the realization that a baby is coming will really hit home.

Good Day

I finally felt good enough to work out on Friday... Yay!  Hope it lasts.

Friday Night Fun

My husband and my Wheel of Time book, what else do I need?

If I feel sick at least I look fantastic.... oh wait.

On the last Friday of spring break Nathan and I went to Olive Garden.  I was feeling pretty good that day and was able to eat at the restaurant.  It was really good at the time, but later that night I was definitely regretting it!  It was the sickest I've been since the morning sickness started. I spent the whole night on the bathroom floor waiting to puke.  Luckily I have the greatest husband in the world and he was willing to sit and hang out with me while I was sick.

Are We Human, or Are We Dancers?

Tonight while looking at the baby clothes at Wal-mart Nathan said, "There's no reason why baby clothes should be as expensive as human clothes", hmmmm..... maybe I should have a talk with Nathan before the baby gets here.

Nate's Feelings on 1st Appointment

Wow, I am going to be a dad.  That whole concept still hasn't fully sunk in.  I think that I will be a good dad, and certainly will be fun.  My feelings from the first appointment were mixed.  The first thought I had was, "this is awkward" as the doctor did the exam on Heather. Once the ultrasound got going though my feelings were far more situation appropriate.  I thought it was cool to see our little "beanie baby" and think that it was a part of me. The real thrill, however, came from hearing the heartbeat for the first time.  The rapid, little beating of my baby's heart filled me ever so briefly with the kind of joy I know I will get to feel all the time as a father.  I can't understand how anyone can think that abortion isn't ending life.  It is just beyond me.  Well, that is all for now.  I am hoping that we can keep this blog up for our little baby! 

Our Beanie Baby

Well, here it is! Doesn't look like much now... The Dr. says that the baby is about the size of a bean.  According to my handy pregnancy book, right now the bones are forming, it's getting fingers and toes, it has a heartbeat, and it is growing eyelids.  It is apparently still in the embryo stage, but next week it will get an official upgrade to fetus, Yay!  It will look more like a baby and less like a bean before we know it!

Exciting News

Nathan and I found out that we were pregnant on Valentine's Day this year!  I took a home pregnancy test that came out just barely positive.  I got an appointment at the women's clinic that same day to have my blood work done.  On February 15th I got a call back with the official news that I was pregnant!  Nathan and I were SO excited!  Since then we have definitely been on a roller coaster of emotions.  We are nervous about the responsibilities and challenges that a baby will bring but we can't wait to have our perfect little baby with us!  Nathan is hoping for a girl.  I'm trying not to hope too hard either way... but we're going to start placing bets around June I think haha.

First Appointment

Today was my first official baby appointment at the women's clinic.  I saw Dr. Bragg today.  The appointment was supposed to start at 10:00 am, but I showed up around 9:30 to do a urine sample and blood work (fun stuff).  Well, as it turns out Dr. Bragg had to do an emergency surgery at the hospital and he was really late.  So, after I got all my initial stuff done early I had to wait until about 11:30 for the actual appointment to start.  I wasn't too disappointed since Nathan was there with me.  They gave me a book all about pregnancy and what to expect so we were entertained by flipping through that.  (I guess I should say half entertained, half horrified at what is to come for my poor body).
The actual appointment went well, we got the regular check-up exam to make sure everything was going well and then we had our first ultra-sound!  We got to see the heart beat and the little bean that is our baby.  It was really neat to actually see the baby and hear the heartbeat, it made it seem more real... there really is something growing in there and I'm not just getting fat for no reason, Yay!  I'm about seven weeks along today and my official due date is October 28, 2011.  Maybe we'll have a Halloween baby!?